Here's the next chapter! I actually was almost finished with this earlier this afternoon, but changed my mind at the absolute last minute about a major event in this chapter (the clone waking up) and thus, rewrote the entire latter half of it. So that's fun! But here we are, just a bit delayed! Hope everyone enjoys!

abyss of memory

allura side

"Princess?"

Well, now this was unexpected.

"Keith," setting aside her work for a moment, she looked up towards the half Galra, "-to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her words were spoken without the faintest hint of irony. Perhaps it had been difficult to accept at first, but as time passed, she began to gradually grow used to his presence on the castle-ship. In hindsight, it felt a bit silly, really- the fact that she hadn't known did not change the fact that Keith had always been Galra.

If anything, the only thing that had changed was that he looked it now.

It wasn't bad, not truly. The Blade of Marmora... they felt as if they were what the Galra had once been, before the war had begun, or perhaps even longer than that. She'd been born after the comet had struck Daibazaal, so she could not say for certain.

Besides, the alternative could have been much worse.

"I uh, wanted to talk," shifting on his feet, Keith hesitated, "-about the clone."

"Oh yes, of course." Extending a hand, she motioned to the chair across from her. "Please, have a seat."

Frowning, Keith hesitated for a moment longer, before accepting her offer. She watched with faint amusement as his tail twitched out of the way, the tip of it lying in his lap. Lance had told her once that Keith possessed what on Earth would be called a lion's tail, and it was a notion that struck her with great amusement.

Though she would admit, she was rather surprised to learn that there were lions on Earth. Actual lions, that was.

Whatever the case, it was rather appropriate.

Folding her hands in front of her, she studied Keith's features. Unlike the others, she had some prior basis when it came to dealing with the Galra, though Keith's human ancestry could make it a bit tricky at times. He was more expressive than she was used to, more like the Galra of the old, in a way.

"So," she began, giving him an encouraging smile, "-what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

She could understand the timing of it- according to Coran, the healing cycle would complete itself come tomorrow. They had put the past week to good use, discussing how to handle every eventuality, and were more prepared than ever for when the clone woke.

Keith, of course, had been involved in all talks. Shiro was correct- he was the one that this effected the most, so it was unfair to try and leave him out of them. Whatever they decided on, Keith had the final say.

She had spoken with Kolivan, briefing him on the situation. He'd been... rather surprised, she had not failed to notice, but he had understood. For the time being, neither Keith nor Regris would be called away- the latter, as she thought it would be wise to keep someone around who could provide Keith support in ways she knew that the rest of them couldn't.

In truth, she had been slightly apprehensive about Regris at first, but she quickly came to like him. She could see why Keith had chosen to confide in him.

Chewing on his lip, Keith looked as if he was having trouble forming words. As anxious as she was to hear what was on his mind, she did not rush him. This would be the first time Keith had ever come to her about any of his worries, and she was not about to risk chasing him away.

Not just the first time since returning to the Castle of Lions- but the first time period. To her, it was a victory.

Even if he did still refuse to call her by name.

"I'm not giving up the red lion."

Blinking, Allura had to admit, she hadn't been expecting that. Mostly because she hadn't even assumed it had been in question.

"Well of course not." Allura stated. "You are its true paladin."

As much as it still deigned to allow her to fly it from time to time, it did not change the fact that Keith was the one it had chosen. They possessed a deep bond between them- so deep, that the red lion was willing to fly into the depths of space just to rescue him.

It had never done that before, even for her father.

Keith, apparently, hadn't expected her answer either, for he blinked, just the same as she had. "Oh, uh- that's- that's good."

Furrowing her brow, Allura could only frown. "Did you truly believe I would make you give it up?"

"No!" Keith blurted out, perhaps a little too quickly. "No, that's not- I just... a human paladin would be better, right?"

Arching a brow, Allura felt her frown deepen. "According to Coran's scans, the clone is still half Galra."

"Well yeah, but he's still more human than me." Keith said.

"Perhaps," Allura admitted, "-and perhaps even a month ago, I might have agreed with you. But now I know for certain that the red lion has chosen you- and twice over, at that."

Dropping his gaze, Keith's eyes disappeared underneath his bangs. It didn't matter- all she had to do was glance down at his tail, watching as the tip of it danced, to know that her words had pleased him.

"Right," masking his own faint smile with a curt nod of his head, Keith jolted to his feet, "-okay. Glad we had this talk."

In spite of herself, Allura could not help but laugh. He could be rather awkward at times, but it was endearing, in its own way.

"Do you think it will be a problem?" Allura asked. "The clone wanting to fly the red lion?"

Keith seemed to consider the question. "I don't know. Maybe."

Fair enough. There were any number of uncertainties surrounding the clone, including whether or not he presumed himself to be the real Keith. While no one liked the idea of shattering such a belief, and therefore, his world view, it was also something that they had all agreed could not persist.

Better to get it out sooner, rather than later.

That said, she did not think any of the other possibilities were better- that he was either some kind of evil clone constructed by Haggar to trick them all, or that the clone was fully aware that he was a clone, and therefore, knew that all the memories he possessed did not belong to him.

It would be enough to drive one mad.

They had considered it briefly, allowing the clone to continue under the delusion that he was Keith- provided, of course, that he did believe it. But though on the surface, it seemed the kindest option, they had all realized that perhaps in practice, it would actually be the cruelest.

If he were to find out the truth later, from someone else, it would come hand in hand with the knowledge that they had been lying to him, all this time. And that, she knew, would be a horrid thing to do.

In which case, better to be honest, even if it hurt.

"Even if he does," Allura began, "-it will not change my answer."

She watched as something in Keith seemed to ease at her words. Throughout all of this, he had held his head up high- perhaps a bit too much, she suspected. He was trying his hardest to do what he considered to be the right thing throughout all of this, when in reality, it would be perfectly alright for him to be a bit selfish.

Had Haggar succeeded, perhaps the clone would be among them right now, an unwitting spy among their ranks. All while the real thing lived out the life of a Galra solider, unwitting to and unable to recall his true identity.

She could not say for certain if that had been her plan- only that it was a possibility.

Whatever the case, truly, they owed Ulaz more thanks than she could have ever imagined. Were it not for his actions, the circumstances in which they found themselves now might have been far more dire.

She only wished she had known that at the time.

From the scent wafting out of the kitchen alone, she knew that the one in there must be Hunk. With all due respect to Coran, nothing he could concoct could even come close to matching the culinary feats that the yellow paladin had achieved in the Castle's kitchen.

While it would seem Alteans had them beat when it came to technological matters, she was willing to concede that perhaps Earth had a superior culinary culture.

Wandering into the kitchen, she found that it was almost brimming with food. Far more than any of them could eat, even with Keith and Regris' voracious Galra appetites factored in.

Hunk didn't even look back as she entered, but he must have heard her come in. "No, you can't have any."

A bit taken aback by his sharp tone, Allura blinked. "I... was not planning on it?"

Flinching at her words, Hunk did look back at her this time, now looking properly sheepish. "Oh uh, didn't think it was you, princess. Thought it was Lance again, trying to sneak a bite."

"Well, I can assure you I am not Lance." Allura told him. "Not unless we have somehow switched bodies in the past varga, and there are hardly any two-headed Vaxien snakes lurking around here."

"Okay, first of all, that's a thing?" Hunk asked, looking vaguely distressed. "And second of all, I actually take back what I said just a second ago. Think you can sample this for me? I'm not sure if the flavor is right."

Smiling, Allura stepped fully into the kitchen. Wordlessly, Hunk lifted up a spoon to her, from which she took a tentative sip. "It tastes wonderful, Hunk."

"Yeah, but you don't think it's too much, right?" Hunk asked. "I'm just- I don't want to overwhelm him with flavor."

Blinking at the question, Allura caught the glint of the preservative storage containers from out of the corner of her eye. Hunk must have dug them out of storage. "Is this all for the clone, then?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's the idea." Hunk told her. "I mean- you heard what Coran said. Those pods can only do so much. Thought I'd just get a bit of a head start at formulating a menu."

"Well I think it is wonderful, Hunk." Allura told him. "Both the food and the idea."

"Aw shucks," rubbing the back of his head, Hunk looked bashful, "-I'm just doing what anyone would do."

"Yes, but not everyone could do it with your same skill." Allura told him.

"I'm just doing it like my mom taught me." Hunk told her. "Her and my big sister, we used to spend every weekend cooking up a storm."

There was a hint of melancholy to his tone, which she could more than understand. The paladins all had family back on Earth that they had left behind, without so much as a warning- the only one who didn't, it seemed, was Keith.

And perhaps Shiro. She was... unsure about him. Like Keith, he never exactly spoke much about his time on Earth.

But for those that did... she could understand what it was like to miss their families. To miss their home.

After all, no matter how much she wished it, she could never go back to Altea. She'd had a chance, in the alternate reality- but Keith had been right. It likely wasn't the Altea she remembered.

"Sorry, just... I miss them, you know?" Hunk said.

"I understand." Allura told him. "I miss my family as well."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you would." Hunk said, shifting awkwardly on his feet. Perhaps she should not have brought her family into this- after all, hers was gone now- she could not see them, no matter how much she wished it.

But Hunk was apparently willing to let it go, instead opting to change the subject. "So uh... the flavor, it's- it's fine, right?"

"It is lovely, Hunk." Allura assured him. "I am certain he will love it."

Nodding his head, Hunk turned back to the pot, giving it a stir. "I mean, I know I shouldn't be so worried. Keith's always loved my cooking, and you know, he's his clone and all, so they probably like, have the same taste buds and stuff, but just... I don't know. I don't want to assume they're the same, you know?"

"I understand." Allura told him. It was something that had been on her mind as well. "It may be difficult, but we can help him become his own person."

"His own person, yeah." Hunk echoed. "It's gotta suck, being a clone."

That she could agree with. What Haggar had done was monstrous- creating a new being simply to house the memories of an old one. The possibility that she might have been priming him to infiltrate the Castle of Lions, before Ulaz helped Keith escape, only made it even worse.

"It will not be easy." Allura said. "But it would hardly be the first time we have had someone onboard with identity issues."

"Yeah, true." Hunk admitted. "But Keith's like, the easy run compared to this. Except... that kind of makes it sound like his issues are like... not as important as the clone's which isn't true, they're just..."

"-not quite as complex?" Allura finished.

"Yeah," Hunk said, "-that."

"We will manage." Allura said. "Of that, I am certain."

Hunk nodded, turning back to his stew. "I mean... provided he's not evil, I guess. I'm hoping he's not evil. I don't want to fight against Keith even if it is a clone."

"Understandable." Allura noted. If she could, she would keep them from it. "By the way, speaking of Lance, have you seen him?"

"Oh uh," frowning, Hunk tried to recall, "-I think he headed planetside. Something about talking to Ryner about some clothes or something?"

"Clothes?" Allura blinked.

"Yeah, for the clone." Hunk told her. "I mean... we can't just keep him in Galra prison rags, right?"

"Well no, but we do have clothes here, on the Castle." Allura observed.

"...we do?" Hunk asked.

"Yes, we do." Allura told him. "But I suppose having a bit more variety would not hurt."

"Yeah, guess not." Hunk frowned. "So uh... you come here for anything in particular? Oh man, I'm not keeping you from making lunch or anything, am I?"

"Not at all." Allura assured him. "I was simply heading in this direction when I caught the scent of your cooking."

Shoulders slumping in relief, Hunk heaved a sigh. "Okay. Okay, good."

"With that said, I should leave you to it." Allura smiled. "Unless there is anything I can do to help...?"

"No, I'm good." Hunk told her, perhaps a bit too quickly. Which... yes, she would admit, her culinary skills were a bit... lacking, in places. "I'd ask Keith, but he's busy with Pidge today. She and Matt are doing a trial run of the new prosthetic we built for Regris."

"Let us hope that it goes a bit more successfully than the last time." Allura observed. It had taken forever to get the dents out of the green lion's hangar.

"Yeah, that's kind of why I'm here, and not there." Hunk admitted. "But if you need me, just you know, give me a call, and I'll come running."

"I will keep that in mind." Allura told him. "Thank you, Hunk."

"Hey, that's the paladin code right?" Hunk beamed. "Help those in need."

"Yes," Allura smiled, "-that it is."

Dismissing herself, she left the pleasant scents of the kitchen behind. There was still time before the clone was scheduled to come out of the pod, so before that happened, there was one person that she wished to speak with.

"Are you certain you do not wish to be there?"

"We've discussed this." Shiro began, without even so much as looking at her. "It's better if it's just you and Coran. The last thing we want is to overwhelm him."

Feeling herself sigh, Allura merely frowned. Yes, that was what they had all agreed upon- that when the clone woke, it should be herself and Coran who dealt with him. Depending on how things went, he would then gradually be introduced to the rest of the paladins, a process which would culminate in meeting Keith.

It did not mean that they did not care- to the contrary, rather. The last thing they wanted was to overwhelm him, and having a room full of concerned paladins did seem a tad on the overwhelming side.

But that didn't mean she didn't have her concerns.

Taking a seat next to him, Allura smoothed her skirts. Really, if she had her way, she would be wearing her battle gear, but Coran had convinced her to dig out her formal gown. If the clone were evil, it would only hinder her movements, but if he were not, it would perhaps only serve to put him on edge.

And whatever else was true, he had been held in a Galra prison cell for months. The last thing they needed to do was to create a tense environment.

Which was why Shiro should be there, she thought.

Except... perhaps not. If the clone was aware that he was a fake, then Shiro's presence might only serve as a further stressor. Detached as they were, she and Coran would be the best choice.

This time, Shiro did look at her. "Shouldn't you be heading to the med bay? I thought Coran said the cycle would finish in half a varga."

"There is still time." Allura told him, resting her hands in her lap. "No need to rush."

Heaving a sigh, Shiro seemed to sense he wasn't getting out of this. "You want to talk to me."

"I want to talk to you." Allura agreed. "I understand that this situation must be difficult for you, given how close you were to Keith."

"Difficult." Shiro repeated, closing his eyes. "Yes. That's a good word."

Frowning, Allura stared at her own hands. "I will not presume to know the details of your relationship with him, but I do know that it is not what it once was."

For a long moment, Shiro didn't say anything, merely hanging his head. He'd opened his eyes, but he didn't look at her, instead staring straight ahead, as if the wall of the lounge held all the answers to the questions he possessed.

If only.

"Keith... he was like a brother to me." Shiro told her. "He didn't- his father died when he was young, so he didn't have anyone left to look out for him."

She had suspected something like that, but to hear it out loud was another thing entirely.

"I am sorry to hear that." Allura told him. "That could not have been an easy time for him."

"It wasn't." Shiro said, still gazing straight ahead. "We met when he was fourteen. Before that, he'd been passed around from foster home to foster home, but nobody ever kept him for long. Eventually they just kind of decided he was a lost cause."

Giving him a low hum, Allura merely nodded her head. The last thing she wanted to do was interrupt, since it didn't sound as if Shiro was quite finished yet.

She wondered if perhaps it was because they sensed it- something about Keith that did not belong. An alien, quite literally, among them. She understood these foster homes in concept, though there had been nothing comparable on Altea- if the parents of a child died, they were always, without fail, taken in by family.

Not so, it seemed, on Earth.

"I've told you how I used to work for a place called the Galaxy Garrison, right?" Shiro asked, finally looking at her.

"Yes, you mentioned it." Allura said. "Keith and the others trained there."

"He almost didn't get in." Shiro told her. "If I hadn't been the recruiter that they sent around to schools, I don't think he would have even been given the chance. His teacher didn't exactly seem to think much of him. Called him a discipline case."

Allura's face fell. That didn't sound fair at all.

"I guess, to be fair, he did kind of steal my car." Shiro added, almost as an afterthought.

"He-" Allura began, her mouth working, but for a moment, unable to form words, "-he stole your car?"

If she recalled correctly, that was the type of vehicle they used for transport on Earth. She had heard Pidge mention in passing that they could not gain licenses to drive one until they were at least sixteen, which from the sound of it, Keith very much had not been.

"Apparently not his first time either." Shiro noted, almost with a chuckle, one that was almost fond. "Guess it makes the fact that we had to steal the red lion pretty ironic."

Oh, yes. She'd forgotten about that. Yes, she supposed it would.

"I vouched for Keith. Combined with his talent, that got him in." Shiro told her. "Not that it was smooth sailing. By the time I'd escaped from the Galra ship, he'd managed to get himself kicked out of the Garrison somehow. Still don't know how he did it."

Leaning back, Shiro's brows furrowed. "I'll be honest, at first it was just a passing interest. But then I realized that what Keith needed was someone to stick by him, to be there for him. He just... Keith didn't have a lot of people there for him, in life."

"And that was you?" Allura asked.

"That was me." Shiro said, nodding his head. "And Adam."

"Adam?" Allura blinked. She'd not heard that name mentioned before.

"He's my fiancee." Shiro said, almost without thinking. "Or was. We broke it off before Kerberos. He didn't want me to go. Thought it was too dangerous. Which... guess he was right about that, actually."

Merely blinking, Allura took a moment to process this information. She had no idea that Shiro had once been engaged, but she supposed it was difficult to talk about. She felt grateful that he was willing to do so now, and to her at that.

"Do you miss it?" Allura asked.

Shiro blinked, frowning. "Adam?"

Shaking her head, Allura felt that went without saying. "Keith."

"I," opening his mouth, Shiro quickly shut it, "-sometimes."

Hanging his head, Shiro heaved a sigh. "Don't get me wrong. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that Keith is alive, that he's safe. But it's just..."

"...complicated?" Allura finished.

"Yeah." Shiro admitted. "That."

"I think I understand." Allura said. "You miss what you had."

"Yeah," glancing up at her, there was a frankness in Shiro's eyes, "-I do."

"It doesn't mean I don't like Keith. Or well, I guess he'd be Kethe in this context." Shiro frowned, correcting himself. "I- he's still my brother. That hasn't changed. I promised that I would never give up on him, that I would be there for him, and that promise still applies."

Even if only one of them remembered it, she sensed.

Except now there was one who remembered it- only, it wasn't the person he had made the promise to.

"But now there is the clone."

"Now there's the clone." Shiro agreed. "So yeah. It complicates things."

Carefully studying him, Allura's brows furrowed. She certainly could understand how this put him in a rather unique position. From the sound of it, he had once been Keith's sole support system- and now, when he was no longer needed to fill that role, left something empty behind. And with the clone's appearance, and the hanging possibility that it might believe himself to be the real Keith, it did, indeed, complicate things.

Even if he didn't, it still complicated things.

It was not as if she had the knowledge to undo what it was that Haggar had done. Even if she did, she did not know if Keith would let her.

Sometimes she couldn't help but wish that Oriande were more than a folk tale.

"Anyways," getting to his feet, Shiro gave her a strained smile, "-you should head down to the med bay. I should probably find Keith."

Nodding her head, Allura rose to her feet. "Last I checked, he was with Regris. I believe Pidge and Matt are doing a trial run of a new prosthetic today."

Shiro blinked at that. "No Hunk? Thought he was helping with that."

"Hunk has shut himself in the kitchen since this morning." Allura told him. "I believe he said something about creating a special menu with the clone's recovery in mind."

"That sounds like Hunk." Shiro observed, managing a faint smile. "Guess that just leaves Lance, then."

"I believe he is paying Ryner a visit." Allura told him, a slight frown on her face. "Something to do with clothes?"

Opening his mouth to reply, he did not so much as get a chance. Ears twitching at the sound of the alarm, she turned on her heel, brow furrowing. They could not possibly be receiving a distress signal, not now of all times, could they?

They would respond to it if they had to, of course, but the timing was... well, less then ideal, if she was perfectly honest.

On the lounge's view screen, Coran's image flickered to life. "Uh, princess? We might have a small bit of a problem."

Oh dear. She knew that tone. It was the one he used whenever he was making a considerable understatement.

"Coran?" Allura blinked. "I thought you were checking on the clone."

"Uh yes, about that," Coran frowned- and she couldn't help but notice that his surroundings appeared to be those of the med bay, "-it would seem that the pod had the teeniest bit of a calibration error."

"What are you saying, Coran?" Allura asked, exchanging a worried glance with Shiro.

"Did something go wrong with the healing process?" Shiro asked. "Is he-?"

"No, no, that's fine, he's fine." Coran told them. "It's just... he's ah, not actually here."

"He's not," Shiro began, "-wait, Coran, are you saying that the clone is missing?"

"...yes. That is what I'm saying exactly." Coran admitted. "On the plus side, since he seems to be moving around, it would seem the pod did its job just fine!"

Missing. The clone was missing.

She knew that the pods could have calibration issues, though they were rare. Likely, it was either something about the clone's hybrid physiology that had thrown it off, or perhaps it simply had something to do with the fact that the clone was, well, a clone.

It wasn't as if they'd ever had one in the pods before. It had been outlawed, back on Altea.

Tensing, Shiro's brow furrowed. This was not a development any of them had expected. "Alright. You just stay where you are. Princess, is the Castle locked down?"

Nodding her head, she couldn't help but feel a cold knot of dread rise in the pit of her stomach. "I- yes, it should be."

"Double check." Shiro instructed her. "We don't want him slipping out onto Olkarion."

She could not agree more. With a wave of her hand, she brought up a display screen, quickly double checking the settings. Just in case, she locked down both the main hangar, as well as the red lion's hangar- though she doubted the clone would be able to fly the latter.

It never hurt to be sure.

"Coran, I want you to gather everyone on the med bay. Matt and Regris included." Shiro instructed. "Do we know if Lance is back yet?"

"No, I do not believe so." Allura told him. "At least, there's no record of his entry code being used."

"Right," nodding his head, Shiro looked up at Coran's image, "-contact Lance. Tell him stay where he is for now. The last thing we want is for the clone to slip out when he returns."

"Right, I'll see to it." Coran said. "Do you think he's, ah...?"

Evil, she sensed Coran wanted to say.

"No, nobody is saying that." Shiro said, his voice firm. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for this. For all we know, he might be panicking."

"Either way, we should try to find him as soon as possible." Allura said. Even if he wasn't some kind of puppet, there was still the chance he might hurt himself, or worsen his condition somehow. "Coran, have you tried scanning for his biorhythm?"

"I tried that, but I'm afraid it's just giving me an error." Coran informed her. "I'm afraid that since his signature is so close to Keith's, it's likely interfering with the system."

Right, of course. Since when were things ever that simple?

Shiro just heaved another sigh, running a hand through his forelock. He was doubtlessly thinking the same thing she was.

"Got it." Shiro said. "We're headed your way."

Satisfied with that, the view screen turned dark- Coran had doubtlessly moved on to contacting the other paladins. Now that the immediacy of the call was done, she felt her shoulders slump, only a bit of her held tension escaping.

"This is not what we planned on at all."

Shiro had the audacity to laugh, as if this somehow were not a serious situation. "Guess you could say that."

"And what, pray tell, is so funny?" Allura asked. "We have an intruder on the castle-ship, one that we cannot seem to find."

Intruder was, perhaps a bit harsh, but under the circumstances... well, it fit.

"It's just- it seems like the kind of thing Keith would do." Shiro admitted.

Frowning, Allura's brows knit together. "I do not suppose you know where to find him, then?"

"No," Shiro admitted, "-I don't."

Right. Of course not.

Heaving a sigh of her own, Allura had to admit- out of all the possible things she thought that could have gone wrong, this hadn't been one of them. She hoped Shiro was right, and the clone was simply panicking, because the alternative wasn't pretty.

Even if none of Coran's scans had lead them to believe that there was anything to worry about. Any abnormalities in the clone's brain scans were due to either the cloning process, or to the severe, persistent malnutrition he'd experienced, the latter of which the pod would have likely already fixed.

And yet, in spite of Shiro's reassurances, she couldn't help but worry.

What if this had all been part of some kind of trap?

Granted, it didn't make much sense. While the healing pod could bring him out of the danger zone, the clone was hardly in fighting condition. It would have made more sense to use him to attempt to sow discord amongst the paladins, rather than to lead them on a wild chase throughout the castle-ship.

Whatever the case, they had to find him first.

And that, she thought, might be the real trick of it.