Back with chapter fourteen! Remember how I said last chapter was a breather? Yeah, I meant that. Boy oh boy did I ever mean that. That said, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter, I was actually adjusting my plans for this one up until the literal last minute, lol, but I think it turned out pretty well in spite of that.

Until next time!

anomalous point

chapter fourteen

the spy

"No."

Yeah. He'd kind of been expecting that answer.

"Look, if they hadn't lied to me, they wouldn't be in this situation." Keith told him, his voice firm. "If they want to blame someone, they can just look in a mirror."

Well, no could blame him for trying.

Lance's challenge to Keith had ended without him being able to land a single blow on him, as expected. Not through any lack of effort on Lance's part, but he knew from experience that some hurdles were just hard to clear. Once it was over, Keith had excused himself from the training deck. He'd meant to follow after him right away, but Lance had caught him before he could leave.

He'd asked him for tips on winning against Keith. He had a few, but none of them he thought Lance could actually use- he'd have to go over them first, adjust them a bit. He didn't doubt Lance would hold him to his word, but that was fine- he meant to keep it.

By the time he caught up with Keith again, he'd already changed back out of his Earth clothes, and back into his Marmora armor. He caught him just as he was about to leave his quarters. He'd looked surprised to see him at first, but now he just looked vaguely annoyed.

"Alright," holding up his hand- hands- Shiro just gave Keith a faint grin, "-I get it."

Frowning, Keith narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, like he half expected him to push the subject anyways- before giving him a curt nod of his head. "Good."

"But you can at least understand where he's coming from, right?" Shiro asked. "I don't think she's involved, but-"

"Yeah Shiro, I get it." Keith told him, face set in a deadpan expression. "He's been challenging me to a fight every single day for the past two weeks. I'm not that oblivious."

Heaving a sigh, Keith's frown returned. He must have looked like he doubted it. "While I was on Altea, I couldn't contact my father at all. I know what it's like to be separated from family, Shiro."

That... kind of made sense, now that he thought about it. His father had been a secret within the Blade of Marmora, and from what he understood, he rarely, if ever, left their base. That he wouldn't be able to contact him once he'd left... somehow it had never occurred to him, but yeah- it made sense.

"That was when you were eight, right?" Shiro asked.

Keith gave him a curt nod of his head. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just trying to get my timeline straight." Shiro told him. "It's... young."

Keith just shrugged. "Not really. Most acolytes have passed their first trial by eight cycles. It's normal."

Frowning, Shiro had to bite back a protest that no, it wasn't. By Galra standards, Keith was already an adult, and had been for some time. From the time they reached their fourth cycle, they were no longer considered children. When they reached their first major growth spurt, they were considered young adults.

Said major growth spurt happened at around seven.

From his perspective, Keith's childhood had been stolen from him, replaced by strict military training that would make even some Earth warlords blanch.

Except for the Galra, that was normal.

Fighting was a way of life for them- he'd learn that much by going over their history. The entire reason they dominated Daibazaal was because they were such great warriors- they'd gone from a small nation tribe to one of the domineering forces of the universe. It was why they developed out of childhood so quickly, leftover from when every day had been a fight for their existence against other tribes.

Galra history was... violent, as to be expected.

"I guess I'm just having a tough time wrapping my head around it." Shiro admitted.

"Yeah," Keith said, "-dad was never a big fan."

"So I've gathered." Shiro said.

He... actually didn't get that many chances to speak with Keith's parents. It wasn't like he never did, but the two were often so busy, that he rarely saw them. Krolia spent most of her time on border patrol, and Commander Kogane spent most of his time assisting the refugees.

But yeah- he had gathered that much from Keith's father.

He didn't seem to regret letting Keith be raised Galra, but he'd admitted more than once that he'd wished he'd been able to teach him a little bit more about Earth while he was young. He'd been hoping that now that they were on Earth, he'd be able to soak up some of the culture that he had been missing.

In a sense, he had.

But Keith was right. Culturally, he was Galra.

Even if he looked largely human.

"Look, Shiro-"

Whatever Keith was going to say, he didn't get to finish. His gauntlet let out a loud beep, causing him to frown. Holding up his arm, he pressed down on it, a small screen flickering to life. Even from behind, he could recognize Ulaz's mask, his uniform distinct from that of Keith's.

He wondered if it meant something.

"Keith," Ulaz began, with no preamble, "-you are needed on the bridge."

Narrowing his eyes, Keith frowned. "Is there a problem?"

"No." Ulaz stated simply. "But there is news."

Giving him a curt nod of his head, Keith's expression turned grave. "Understood. I'm on my way."

"Duty calls?" Shiro asked, watching as Keith switched off the screen.

"Yeah," reaching up a hand, Keith's mask flickered to life, "-sorry."

Keith left without so much as another word. He took that to mean that whatever was going on, he wasn't invited. Frowning, he watched as Keith's figure disappeared down the hall, wondering what was going on.

He didn't think anyone had breached the perimeter. They had all been run through drills on what to do if someone had, so he knew that whatever this was about, it wasn't that.

Maybe he'd find out from Keith later.

Or maybe he wouldn't.

Frustrating as it was, there was nothing he could do but wait. He might be the black paladin, but this still wasn't his war.

When he arrived at the bridge, Ulaz wasn't the only one waiting for him there.

He hadn't been expecting him to be.

He let his mask melt away as he studied each one of them- his mother and Ulaz, as well as Allura and Coran. Only Romelle wasn't present, possibly still accompanying one of the humans. His father was nowhere to be seen, which likely meant he had taken over his mother's border patrol duties for the time being.

From the look of it, he was either the last one to be summoned or the last one to make it. Exchanging a brief glance with his mother, she nodded her head, before looking up towards the screen spread out in front of them, Kolivan's image flickering on it. The reception that they got on Earth had never been great, not when it came to getting transmissions from as far away as Altea.

Straightening his back, Keith stared up at his leader. He was always difficult to read, trained to be that way, but today, his expression seemed more grave than usual.

"We've received a report from Thace."

He'd never quite mastered the art of schooling his expression, not like other Blades, so he was pretty sure he let his reaction show on his face. They had all been waiting for Thace to report in, for weeks now- if he finally had, it could mean only one of two things.

Either he'd failed, or he'd succeeded.

Either way, odds were, he was dead.

He could almost feel the room collectively hold its breath. Everyone wanted to ask, but nobody wanted to be the one to do it. It wasn't an exaggeration to say the fate of the war rested on Thace's mission.

"Zarkon is dead."

Swallowing, Keith couldn't deny the relief that washed through him. Zarkon was dead. The tyrant that had started this whole war in the first place was gone. The fear that the black lion would be seized, used against them, had now disappeared.

But he forced the relief back.

Zarkon was dead, but the war wasn't over.

"And Honerva?" Allura asked. "What of her?"

"Honerva lives." Kolivan informed them. "Thace was able to confirm Zarkon's death, but it seems he was dealt a critical blow by the empress."

He felt something in his heart clench at that. "Is he-?"

"He passed, half a varga ago." Kolivan's tone was curt, informatory. To anyone who didn't know him, it would seem like he didn't care at all, like Thace's death was just a cog in the overall plan, only important for what it accomplished.

But he knew Kolivan, and he knew that wasn't true.

"Did my father not-?" Allura asked.

"He tried." Kolivan said. "Unfortunately, the damage was too severe. Making it back to us took all the strength he had."

"I understand." Allura said, drawing in a long breath. "I am sure that father will see to it that he receives the proper honors."

It was a small consolation, for those who usually died in silence.

"What of the black bayard?" Allura then inquired.

"Thace was able to obtain it." Kolivan stated. "I can arrange for it to be transported to you at once, so that the new black paladin can use it."

"Let us hope that he does not have to." Allura remarked.

"How far has news of Zarkon's death gotten?" Krolia asked.

"Not fair." Kolivan told her. "Our spies in the lower ranks have not yet been informed of it. It's possible the empress is waiting to make contact with Lotor before she chooses to go public with the information."

"She knows that her grip on the throne is tenuous." Allura observed, brows furrowing. "Likely, if she wants to hold on to any form of power, she needs Lotor as her bargaining chip."

"Do we know if she has made contact?" Ulaz asked.

"With Thace gone, we currently have no spies within the inner circle." Kolivan informed them. "Likely, this will only serve to make her more suspicious."

"We can't risk those agents we do have in place being exposed." Krolia said, a frown set deep on his mother's face. "If we try and rush their promotion to a higher rank, we may only risk exposing them."

"In other words, we have no way of knowing what Honerva is up to." Allura stated.

Looking back towards her, Krolia cast a sympathetic look. "We knew that would be a risk when we began this plan."

"I know." Allura said. "But now that it has actually come about, I can only feel ill at ease with the idea. If not Lotor, it is possible she might attempt to recruit another commander to her cause, to lead the war effort in Zarkon's stead."

Folding his arms in front of him, Keith felt his brow furrow. "Sendak."

Catching his eyes, Allura slowly nodded her head. "Yes, Sendak is the most likely candidate."

"It could also be Ranveig." Krolia noted.

"Gnov." Ulaz added.

"Well, I think we can all be certain that it won't be Morvok." Coran chimed in, merely arching a brow at the looks his interjection earned him. "What? It's true."

"Commander Ladnok is also a strong possibility." Allura observed.

"The Galra will not fall in line behind a ruler that has not been sanctified by the Kral Zera." Kolivan stated. "Not unless they carry the blood of the emperor. Lotor is the most likely choice."

"If Lotor ascends to the throne, it is possible that there will be factions that will split from the Galra Empire." Krolia observed, catching his eye as she spoke, a glint of something apologetic in it. "There are those who consider his Altean blood a weakness."

"Not enough." Allura frowned, but otherwise barely so much as flinched at the statement. "And I doubt they will simply choose to surrender to the Alliance. Even if we send the lions to pick them off, we still put ourselves at risk of splitting our forces, making ourselves vulnerable to attack."

"We've already discussed this." Keith cut in, narrowing his eyes. "What we should be talking about is what we're going to be doing with Lotor. He's here, on Earth. We have a chance to take him out, before he can become a problem."

"Keith's right." Krolia said. "We have every reason to believe that Lotor intends to act."

Kolivan's gaze now fell squarely on him. "Have you been able to locate him?"

To his credit, he didn't even flinch. "No. A- our spy in the Galaxy Garrison hasn't been able to turn anything up."

"I'm afraid his rank is too low to provide us with any relevant information." Krolia added. "Not without putting himself at risk."

He couldn't help but flinch. The only reason they had to rely on an outside source for information was because he'd screwed up. He would do it again, without question, if given the chance, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of the consequences of his own actions.

"He may have to." Kolivan said.

At that, Allura flinched, narrowing her eyes. "I cannot ask-"

"Fine," Keith cut her off, "-I'll ask him."

Turning on her heel, Allura stared at him with wide eyes. "Keith, you cannot mean to-"

"I'm not saying that I'll force him." Keith told her, meeting her gaze. "Just ask."

She held his gaze for a long moment, before she let out a sigh, defeated. "Very well. But I do not like this plan."

He didn't like it much either. But right now, they didn't have much of a choice. They needed to know where Lotor was, preferably before he decided to act.

Narti was bad enough, but if Ezor was with him...

Looking up at Kolivan, Keith steeled himself. "How soon do I need to contact him?"

"Now."

Now.

Tearing across the desert, Keith pumped the controls of his hoverbike, giving it more throttle. Narrowing his eyes beneath his goggles, he grit his teeth- he couldn't argue with the urgency, but making contact with Adam twice in one day wasn't that easy.

He usually laughed it off, but the Garrison pinning him for Lance and Hunk's kidnapping had made moving around more difficult. Which, yeah, he was actually guilty of that, but it wasn't like he intended to do it, or even intended to keep them there forever. As soon as this war was over, and it was safe to come out in the open, he'd let them go.

If it weren't for Lotor, he could do that right now. Zarkon was the biggest threat to the black lion, and now that he was gone, they didn't have to fear him tracking it down anymore. Plus, it had a new paladin now- which meant that any Galra Honerva might send to try and claim it in her husband's stead would fail.

But there was still Lotor.

And Lotor's ambition wasn't the black lion. He might try and claim it as a bonus, as a means to provide himself further credibility in the eyes of a skeptical empire, but no- Lotor had arrived without knowing about the black lion.

Just Allura.

In some ways, he was more dangerous than either of his parents. Zarkon and Honerva were predictable to a degree, but Lotor had been keeping such a low profile since the war began, that it was impossible to say what his motivations were.

It wasn't to end it. If he truly wanted to do that, then he had a fleet of his own, and several loyal generals under his command. He could have joined the war on the Alliance's side at any time, but he'd chosen not to. As far as anyone knew, he hadn't done anything to aid refugees either- which meant even if he tried to claim peace and unity, he didn't mean it.

Allura was right- if Lotor wanted anything, it was her father's throne.

And the best way to get that was the same way he'd been trying to get it all along- through Allura. The war hadn't changed that.

But it might have changed his exact plans.

Because Narti was here.

Her abilities were well known throughout the Galra Empire. Every time Lotor had visited Altea in the past, he'd purposefully left Narti behind. As if to signal that he intended to win Allura's hand through honest courtship and fair play- which didn't mean he wouldn't use her after getting it.

But she was here.

He'd confirmed that.

Given the fact that he'd yet to confirm the presence of any of Lotor's other generals, he was pretty sure he'd let them do that on purpose. Either to let them believe that she was the only one he'd brought with him, or for some other reason- to mislead them.

Hence, why they'd had Coran update the Castle of Lion's sensors.

The risk that Ezor could break through while they fixed all of their attention on Lotor and Narti was a real one. With her ability to blend in with her surroundings, she'd be able to get onto the Castle of Lions without anyone noticing. Finding it wouldn't be easy, not with the traps they had set in place, but if she managed to do that...

It was also why even within the Castle, Allura was guarded twenty-four seven. She could protect herself, that was much true, but having an extra pair of hands never hurt.

Lotor being here was his fault. If he hadn't made that choice...

He'd done what was right, so he just had to accept the consequences that came with it. He knew Kolivan wasn't happy with his choice, but he'd be lying if he didn't think his leader would have expected it from him.

It was the human part of him, his father would say.

Not like he had planned to get attached to any humans. When he'd first arrived here, the only thing he had been focused on was the mission.

Yet somehow, he'd ended up with friends.

Weird.

Weird, but now that he had them, he'd do anything to keep them safe. Out of harm's way. Maybe bringing them to the Castle of Lions had been the best idea all along.

Pulling his hoverbike to a stop, Keith removed his goggles. The west town was considered neutral territory, without any Garrison eyes around, so they met there often. They didn't like having Adam- who was Garrison- around, but they didn't say anything to him either.

He got the impression that they were all afraid of him.

Figures. He'd been the one to spread the rumor that people had been vanishing into the valley, never to return for that exact reason. The people around here were a superstitious lot, just like his father had said, so it had worked like a charm. Truthfully, the only humans they had abducted before Lance and Hunk showed up was the scout that the Garrison sent out into the desert.

Getting off his hoverbike, he frowned. The sun was setting low over the horizon, so it was a good thing he'd taken the time to put in his contacts.

Human eyes didn't glow.

They didn't have yellow sclera either- usually, but the glowing would have been the real giveaway.

"Adam."

When they had first arrived on Earth, there had only been two humans, aside from his father, who had been involved with them- Sam Holt, and Adam Warner.

Sam had been the one to bring Adam in, vouching for him. When he enrolled at the Galaxy Garrison, he would become his flight instructor, and was in a position to cover for him where Sam couldn't. He hadn't been happy with the arrangement at first- but after suddenly being told to live out in the open after a lifetime of secrecy, he hadn't been happy with a lot of things.

Adam had been doing his own internal investigation of the Galaxy Garrison, transferring in from another branch earlier that year, so he already understood that the organization was corrupt and rotting in places. The existence of alien life had surprised him, but he'd agreed to help.

Taking down the Galaxy Garrison had become even more important to him after Kerberos.

Looking up at him, Adam frowned. "Keith. You said it was urgent."

"It is." Keith said. "Circumstances have changed."

At that, Adam's frown only deepened. "...for the worse?"

"No." Keith told him. "But we need to know more than ever where Lotor is hiding."

Adam was sharp, so he caught his drift. "You want me to dig deeper. Beyond what my rank allows."

"Yeah." Keith said. "Can you?"

He didn't need to tell him the risks- he already knew them. The stakes might be higher, but even before they met, he'd been planning to dig deep into the Garrison, and at the end of the day, even with Lotor involved, the risks then were the same as the risks now.

"I can't just lay low forever." Adam said. "This wasn't how I was planning to do it, but I'll see what I can do. Now's probably the best time. Things are still in a bit of a mess after that Holt kid's virus."

Exhaling, Keith felt his shoulders slump. It would have to do. They didn't have anyone else in the Garrison that he knew they could trust.

"So," clearing his throat, he sensed the shift in Adam's mood instantly, and fought the urge to groan, "-how's Shiro?"

Mentioning Shiro had been a goddamn mistake.

He wasn't oblivious, he'd known there was something going on between the two of them just before Shiro left for Kerberos. But given the way Shiro never asked about him, he was pretty sure he'd decided all on his own that whatever they'd had before was gone now.

His father had to be some kind of mutant, because as far as he could tell, humans weren't direct about anything.

"He's fine." Keith told him, tone probably more deadpan than he actually meant it to be. "Just like he was this morning."

"Right. Just- just making sure." Adam said.

"...you know you could have talked to him at any time while he was working at the bakery, right?" Keith pointed out, arching a brow. "You didn't have to avoid him."

Adam merely frowned. "I don't recall asking to be sassed by a teenager."

"I don't recall asking to be involved in human courtship problems." Keith replied. "And yet-"

"Alright, I get it." Holding up his hands, Adam gave him a half-smile. "Any chance you can tell him I said hi?"

Folding his arms in front of him, Keith's other brow shot up. "And leak the identity of our spy?"

"...yeah, that's what I thought you'd say."

Biting back a comment to the tune of then why did you even ask, Keith just pushed the topic aside. He hadn't come to Earth to make friends, and he sure as heck hadn't come to Earth to get involved with their romantic entanglements.

Maybe if he didn't have bigger worries at the moment, he might indulge Adam. But he did- and he just had to hoped they'd moved fast enough to get a running head start on Lotor.

Knowing Lotor, he doubted it.

When the alarms went off, he knew he was right to doubt.

He was jolted from dreamless sleep by blaring alarms.

For a moment, he was thrown back to the Kerberos mission, the smell of smoke filling his nostrils as the fire spread to the main cabin. Clutching at his chest, it was the feel of cool metal where his right arm should be that dragged him back to reality, slowly but surely pulling him out of his panic.

The smoke wasn't real.

The alarms were.

Getting out of bed, Shiro tossed the covers off. Pressing his hand against the access panel by the door, it flashed red, making a buzzing sound loud enough to hear even over the alarms.

Locked in.

Whatever was going on, he got the feeling this wasn't a drill.

Not when he was locked in his room. That was intruder protocol- in the case of a breech, the entire castle-ship would lock down for all non-essential personnel. It was meant to keep them safe, out of harm's way- they were guests- sort of- here, not combatants.

Didn't mean that he didn't like not knowing what was going on.

Because Keith was a combatant.

Did this have anything to do with Keith being called away earlier today? He hadn't seen him since then, although Matt had told him he'd spotted him leaving a few hours ago. Hunk had reported seeing him return, maybe an hour after that, and when he'd called out to him, he'd been so lost in thought, that he hadn't even heard him.

Something was clearly going on.

Closing his eyes, he tried to steady his breathing, in spite of the blaring alarms. Patience yields focus, he reminded himself, stretching out with his thoughts. He'd never tried this before, but now was as good a time as any.

He didn't know what was going on, but maybe the black lion did.

He felt their bond, and reached for it. Its presence was now a constant companion, as if it were an old friend, but when he called on it like this, it became stronger. This was the first time he'd done it while he wasn't either in the black lion itself, or at the very least, in his hangar.

But he connected.

Intruder, it seemed to rumble, hurt.

Frowning, he felt his brows furrow. Hurt? Who was hurt? The intruder? Keith? Someone else? He tried to press the black lion for answers, but it had none.

Paladin, gone.

His frown deepened, not understanding. He was right here. He hadn't gone anywhere, so what did it-

-oh.

Zarkon.

Zarkon was gone.

Snapping his eyes open with a gasp, he felt his breath come back to him in a rush. Zarkon was gone, and now they had moved into their next phase of the plan- finding and defeating Lotor.

Intruder.

Had Lotor struck first? How did he even find them?

Hurt.

Swallowing, he pressed his hand against the access panel again, but it still flashed red, rejecting him. Dimly, he became aware that the alarms had died down. Had the intruder been neutralized? If so, why were they still locked in their rooms?

Calm down, he told himself. He didn't even know if that meant Keith. There were other targets, other combatants. It didn't have to be Keith.

A flash of something brilliant out of the corner of his eye snapped himself from his spiral of thoughts. He thought he'd gotten used to Keith's teleporting space wolf, and maybe he had- he just hadn't expected it to show up in his room, especially not under these circumstances.

It let out a low whine, pushing its face into his waist, nuzzling against it. Frowning, he rested his hand on its head without a second thought.

The next thing he knew, he was in the med bay.

And from the look of it, everyone was as surprised by this development as he was.

Had the wolf...?

"...I didn't-"

"-shiro?"

Keith. Snapping out of his momentary stupor, his gaze fixed on him. He was up on a table, a hand pressed against his right side, putting pressure on it. The top half of his armor had been peeled away, soaked in a purple-red color that he dimly realized had to be blood.

Keith's blood.

His face looked flushed, taking on a pale purple shade. He was looking straight at him, but he almost didn't seem to be, his eyes glassy. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Coran, who was holding some kind of syringe, but for the life of him, he couldn't read the label on the bottle he'd stuck it in, drawing out its contents.

Krolia and Commander Kogane were there- along with a Blade that he didn't recognize.

Allura, Romelle, and Ulaz weren't.

Something had happened.

Intruder.

Hurt.

"Keith," he found his voice, taking a step forward, "-what happened?"

Leveling unfocused eyes on him, Keith's expression was more grim than pained.

"Lotor."