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Keith couldn't sleep for some reason.

He wandered around, ending up in the med bay part of the castle. He would have just turned back around if he hadn't heard the soft cry of pain. He ran. He almost crashed into the med bay's sliding door.

Shiro was sitting on a table with his right arm and shoulder exposed. Allura's hands were glowing as she pressed her fingers along his shoulder and then down his right bicep. Shiro's eyes were closed tight as he breathed out slowly.

He stepped forward.

"Keith?" Allura paused when she spotted the teen. "What's the matter?"

"I couldn't sleep but then I heard Shiro..."

"Allura," Shiro opened his eyes to give her a look.

She grabbed the towel on the table to wipe the oil from her hands.

"I need to check on something."

She left them alone. Shiro rolled his right shoulder a little as Keith stepped closer.

"My stump muscles clench every now and then," the Black Paladin sighed. "That's all."

Keith frowned. "How bad does it get?"

"Most of the time it's just an ache."

"And the other times?"

Shiro gave him a weak smile. "It's a lot worse."

"...If I ever find the person that took your arm -"

"Don't Keith. You're a Paladin of Voltron. Besides," he flexed his metal fingers experimentally but ended up wincing a little, "the odds of us finding that person are pretty slim."

"Yeah. I guess." He gave Shiro a half smile. "I'll get Allura."

"Thanks Keith."

He knew what Shiro said that day but deep down he wanted to run into the bastard that did it. He may be a paladin but he was also part Galra. Galra were ruthless and determined to the point of self destruction.

...But maybe he had been wishing too hard.

Maybe this was his punishment for letting that dark wish fester inside. For craving to deliver the exact wound on the person that took Shiro's arm, come hell or high water, and then just watch as agony flooded the person's face.

This is what you forced Shiro to experience, he'd whisper into the person's ear. Before the druids experimented on him.

Then he'd do an experiment himself.

Now though...

"Krolia?" he croaked out.

Tell me I heard wrong. Tell me Shiro was remembering incorrectly. Because the universe couldn't be so cruel as to give him back his mother and brother only to find out this.

Krolia's face was blank as she looked at her son.

On the space whale he learned more about his Galran heritage. The short temper, the fighting, his acute senses and need to follow his instincts...Krolia gave him reassurances that his behavior growing up was normal. As she clasped his shoulder with a fond look in her eyes, he felt alright being more Galra than human.

"It was me."

Hot liquid spilled out of his eyes. He didn't bother wiping it away. Galra didn't cry. He wanted the proof of his humanity to remain on his face. He wanted to be human rather than Galra.

"Keith..." Shiro's voice quietly sounded out, "don't..."

The sentence was left unfinished. The silver haired man let out a breath and then fell forward, exhaustion finally getting the better of him. Keith's eyes widened as Krolia caught him before he fell on his face.

"Get away."

Krolia stared at her son's searing Galra eyes. Calmly, she shifted Shiro to lay on his back. She got up without her gear and walked right past Keith.

Neither said a word.

The fight was lasting longer than Krolia thought it would.

Any other time she would have been impressed with the human's ability to keep up with her, especially since she was the last fighter to face him. But this wasn't training or even a spar between comrades.

This was the stepping stone to rising up in the ranks. With the higher title the Blades could gain a vast amount of information. This is what she was trained to do, what she fought so hard for.

This was knowledge or death.

His blade was in his left hand - his non-dominant hand. She knew this would be the last move. The victory would be hers. His eyes connected with hers from across the way. He yelled out fiercely as he ran.

She darted forward to meet him.

She targeted the wound on his right bicep without hesitation. He cried out. She gritted her teeth in surprise. His blade was still going along her torso. She looked at the face of the soon to be dead man. He was in pain. Yet his eyes narrowed with fire and certainty.

He will live because he refused to die.

Her lungs ached and her eyes burned with more emotion than she had ever felt since her time on Earth. But the feeling was fleeting. She brought up her second hand to finish her swing. Blood immediately hit her face.

'You will die,' she thought as he stumbled backwards, 'because I refuse to lose.'

Her sword raised up to finish the fight.

Keith was laying Shiro on the med bay table when he stirred.

"I'm sorry Keith."

Behind, Allura paused in gathering supplies. Keith looked down at him with a frown.

"What are you - ?"

Shiro's eyes closed again. Keith checked his pulse to make sure he was just unconscious. He sighed long before falling back on the chair.

"It was her," he rasped out.

She stilled as Keith's hand rested on Shiro's right shoulder. Then he put his hands in his face. Allura worked around him with her hands trembling slightly. She took a couple of breaths to calm herself then went about stopping the cut on Shiro's cheek.

If she heard Keith crying she kept it to herself.

His arm was gone.

Shiro's body was flooding his mind with that information. It hurt so much. It was taking all of his willpower to stay on his feet. He breathed hard as his left hand shakily lifted the bloodied blade up.

The soldier's side was bleeding but she was determined to finish the fight. He saw the desperate fire in her wide eyes when she attacked him seconds ago. It was so out of place for a Galra. This was more than a promotion for her. This was as personal as it got. He almost felt sorry for her.

'I don't want to die,' was running through his mind.

Her blade raised. He tensed and gritted his teeth as the action caused more pain to flare throughout his remaining right arm.

'Not here. Please.'

Anywhere else but in this hellhole.

After taking care of Shiro Allura found Krolia.

The spy knew what was going to happen before it even occurred. She grunted as the Princess' hand fisted the front of her tank before shoving her against the wall. Lights flashed across her vision as Allura's fist connected with the side of her face. Krolia calmly turned her head to look at her.

Angry blue eyes stared back. "Hurt him like that again," Allura lowly intoned with barely controlled venom, "and I'll do worse."

"Shiro," Krolia tilted her head slightly, "or Keith?"

"Either," she bit out without missing a beat.

She released Krolia's shirt and then stalked away.

Krolia remembered feeling intense electricity.

She blacked out instantly. When she came to she was in the med bay. Her eyes darted around and then down to her stomach. Someone had bandaged her. She frowned in slight confusion.

"A druid stopped you."

She turned to the left, seeing the surgeon. The Galra turned around, revealing the familiar white markings of Ulaz. Her eyes slid to his right, seeing a couple of helpers around.

"It was a fight."

Ulaz slightly shrugged his shoulders. "The High Priestess wants him alive."

The helpers came around her. She slapped their hands when they made to make her sit up. With a grunt she sat up. Her wound was still tender. She vaguely wondered why she wasn't put in a healing pod.

"Come."

Krolia followed him slower than usual. Her steps halted for a tick when she heard struggling and yelling up ahead. They came closer to one of the surgery rooms. She kept her face blank as she spied the Champion through the one way glass. The remains of his right arm was bandaged. Despite the injury he was still trying to fight the numerous hands strapping him down.

"No!"

She felt a chill up her spine. She turned her head, seeing the dark cloak of a druid. They were always covered and masked. She didn't think anyone has ever seen their faces.

"You..." the druid's mask tilted just barely. "Had to take the dominant arm..."

She didn't respond. The druid hissed as he took a breath.

"No matter."

Ulaz pulled on some surgeon gloves. The helpers followed his lead, one of them stepping up to hand Krolia a mask.

"I'm down a hand," Ulaz's voice was muffled by the mask, "and you have medical field experience."

She took the mask and then went over to the counter to get some gloves. Her wound was not happy about the motion. Ulaz walked in first then the rest. The druid stood in the back. Having her witness what was going to happen was a warning. She was certain of it.

"Let me go!"

Someone injected the patient. His struggles weakened almost immediately.

"Begin the process," hissed out the druid.

When Allura came back to the med bay Shiro was gone.

Keith was asleep in his chair.

She walked right out.

Shiro hadn't meant to take long.

But the call of his bladder was too strong for him to remain unconscious. He groaned as his ribs protested the act of moving. The sweat on his face made him cup his hand to splash his face.

He halted as he finally saw a piece of his reflection.

The water spilled between his fingers. He shut the faucet off to look for a shiny surface. There were no mirrors in the bathroom - honestly he would have been shocked to see one in a spy base. He tried to recall where he had seen anything reflective when he thought of the control room.

The camera feeds were there.

He was there now. He felt his jaw slack as he looked at the man stumbling into the control room hours ago before he challenged Krolia to a spar. His hair was completely silver. He lifted his hand up to tug some of his bangs down. The clone had cut the bangs shorter than he was used to so it was not in his immediate line of sight anymore.

He stared cross eyed at the new color.

"It is not bad."

He didn't flinch when Allura spoke. He had heard her footsteps long ago. "No." His hand fell down to his side. "It's not."

"But?"

She saw his eyes drift down to his bandaged right bicep and then they closed. Her hand raised up, hesitated for a tick and then gently laid on his left shoulder. Her eyes widened a little as she felt the rare uncertainty in his energy -

His hand gripped hers, slowly lifting it off of his shoulder.

"I am sorry," she stammered a little, "I did not think I could feel -"

"I didn't think you meant to," he let loose a tiny smile before dropping her hand. "But I'd rather you don't."

She fisted her hand.

"I'd rather you talk to me," she quietly murmured with some tightness, "instead of accidentally finding out."

"Allura -"

"Never mind," she cut off swiftly. "You owe me nothing."

He stared at her unblinkingly. "I owe you my life."

"I would have done the same for anyone."

He sighed long before running a hand through his hair.

"You know what I felt in the Astral Plane."

"What you felt from me is irrelevant."

He made to cross his arms but forgot he was missing a limb. The phantom limb sensation was kicking in again. He awkwardly moved his hand to his hip. He couldn't wait to get a new arm.

"Is this some sort of game?"

She gave him a cool look. He narrowed his eyes as she stayed silent.

"Fine then. I'll go back to Earth and never return."

Something flashed across her eyes before they were neutral again.

He softly sighed. "Allura."

She turned her head away to look at the screen. She lifted her hand up towards his image but halted just before she touched it. She turned back towards him as she gestured to his hair.

"This change is nothing." Pause. "Not for someone who cares for you."

His lips parted to speak. She didn't let him.

"You are concerned about what he'll think when he sees you again." She slowly murmured the foreign name, "A-dam."

"...It's not just the hair. My senses are better. I'm healing faster. I lasted a lot longer than I should have against Krolia."

"I am only hearing positives."

He half chuckled at that. "I have old man hair."

"It's Altean," she primly sniffed. "The Breath of the White Lion is an honor."

"The breath of -?"

"The Altean royal family has always had this color." She pointed at her bun. "It is said that the White Lion breathed on his chosen leaders, changing the hair color to match his mane."

"So when you pulled me out of Black and into the clone's body - as an agent of the White Lion, you were able to change my hair color."

"The White Lion chose to," she corrected.

"...But I am no longer the head." He half smiled in pride. "Keith is Black's pilot now."

"Not completely."

"I'm not going to fight Keith over the Black Lion."

"You wouldn't." She smiled wide. "But Black is not done with you."

"And once Black is, then what?"

"I do not know," she answered honestly. "But you have more to offer than just being a pilot." She turned to him fully. "You will always have a place here."

He looked at her meaningful expression, silently hearing what was in the air. If she hadn't poured out her emotions into him when they were in the Astral Plane he might not have understood what she was saying now.

'If you return to earth and find nothing...'

He bowed his head a little. He knew Adam for a long time. It was clear to him that he still had his heart. But at the same time...He glanced up to Allura. She had his soul. He knew that for certainty. However, what exactly separated the heart from the soul? Which was stronger? ...Or were they essentially the same?

"...Allura I can't -"

"You need to see him," she softly interrupted. "I understand."

Ah. He was surprised it took him this long to realize. She wants to allow me a fair choice.

"I chose to pilot Black," he murmured. "Just as I chose to continue fighting Zarkon." He lifted his hand up to touch her arm. "You shouldn't wait while I make up my mind. That's not fair for me or you."

"...You are worth waiting for." Her hand lightly curled around his. "That is my decision."

He felt his heart throb as her words opened up an old wound. He lifted their hands to his forehead and then squeezed her hand.

"It'll be a while," he murmured.

"We're in the middle of a ten thousand deca-phoeb war," she lightly laughed. "It will take more than a 'while.' "

He cracked a smile at that.

"Allura," Keith's voice sounded out from her earrings, "Shiro's not in the room."

"He's in the control room. I'll bring him back."

Shiro quirked a brow. "What if I don't want to go back yet?"

She took his arm in a gentle, but firm hold.

"A princess keeps her word."

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AN: I almost divided this chapter up but then decided to just get it all out in one so we can move on. Poor Keith still has to deal with what he knows. We'll see how that plays out.