(~)
He never imagined he could open up to someone the way he opened up to Allura. He told her about his past, his father and his outstretching desire to find a place where he could call home.
Keith poured out most of his soul that day, and Allura listened attentively through it all. At times, she would reach out and grab his hand, stroking the surface with her thumb. Even before they became an official pair Allura grew more and more bold when it came to physical contact as their time together increased.
That was the moment Keith knew he could confined in Allura on anything that ailed him, and vice versa. Their relationship was built upon mutual trust, honesty and respect.
When did that suddenly start to change?…
(~)
It was a slow day for the paladins, but they were still wary over any possible attack by Zarkon. The group kept their guard up almost twenty four seven, even while doing repairs to the castle from the outside. After some issues, and the humans's inability to fully comprehend Altean engineering speak, Pidge was able to fix the issue before the entire thing blew up to smithereens.
The green paladin wouldn't stop gushing over the elegant structure and workings of the Castle Ship. Her tone was akin to that of a young girl swooning over a new pair of shoes. From inside the ship, Allura grinned cockily. It felt nice to have her ancestor's hard work be appreciated.
But, even with these troubling times the paladins somehow managed to find some time to unwind and just behave like the fun-loving young adults they were. Their chance came in the form of squishy asteroids with luminescent centers suddenly appeared, splattering all over their armor. Shiro was ready to evacuate the team out of there, but Lance instead threw one like a snowball at his head.
"Oh, sorry, Shiro! I was trying to hit Keith." Lance said, his helmet them getting covered in the squishy asteroid, curtesy of Keith who threw it directly at his face.
The Red Paladin chuckled and Hunk eagerly grabbed two in his hands. "Squishy asteroid fight!" he shouted. Allura would normally school the paladins for behaving in such an immature manner, but she couldn't resist the chuckles that escaped her lips. Their laughter was just contagious, especially Keith's every time he struck Lance right in the face. She could tell he was enjoying himself. The scene brought back memories to when he first introduced her to snowball fights in the Astral Plane.
After their little game the paladins were washed clean, while still in their armor, for any possible contamination from the spores. Pidge, in particular, found something unusual about them and carried one in a tube in order to analyze it.
After they had cleaned themselves up, Keith retreated back to his chambers. Yet, the other paladins quickly noticed something as very off about him. His interactions with his girlfriend today were… different.
They did the usual routine; a kiss good morning, exchange smiles, say a few sweet words, it was all there, only, Keith's behavior wasn't as… flirtatious as usual.
While Lance was, without question, the Wannabe-Cassanova of the entire group, and Keith was the hot-blooded lone wolf who kept to himself most of the time, he didn't really hold back when it came to showing Allura affection. Compared to Lance's flirting, Keith's were more innocent, sprinkled with inside jokes only the two of them would understand. Today, they were more subdued, restraint even.
Allura caught wind of this, but Keith reassured her it was nothing for her to worry about and that he just had a rough night. Thankfully, that wasn't a lie. Not even a half truth. Keith barely slept the night before. The symbol of his blade kept popping in and out of his dreams. He tossed and turned so much he was woken up only when he fell right off the bed, hitting the back of his head. He hasn't sleept since.
With his jacket laid out beside him, Keith sat dejectedly, staring at the reflection of his indigo eyes on the shinny blade. What felt like a long time ago, both Keith and Allura concluded that this symbol was not of earth. They just never imagined it could be linked to the Galra somehow. Or rather, a rebel league of Galra determined to take down Zarkon. The only information Keith knew about this blade was that it was given to him by his father.
Had the Galra already gone to earth before and the Blade somehow managed to stop them from conquering it? Was Keith's father aligned with the Blade somehow? Could there be other non-Galra members?
There was very little Keith knew about his family, only that he had a father and a mother, though he had very little memory of the latter. The lack of specific, small details of his past were enough to convince Keith that there had to be something, somewhere this little blade fit into all of this.
The sound of his door opening made him gasp and quickly hide the blade under his pillow. Thankfully, his uninvited guest didn't see it. Coran was far too occupied with something else.
"Keith, did you happen to see a mouse come through here? He has something of mine."
"Uh, no."
"I'll find you, Platt." Coran muttered bitterly as he walked out, the little scanner in his hand beeping.
Keith didn't like keeping this kind of information away from the others, especially from Allura, but after their last conversation about Ulaz he was hesitant to bring up the possibility of having a link to the Blade of Marmora, or Galra in general. He needed to have more information first before he jumped to conclusions.
Keith sprung out of his bed and ran out to catch up to the male Altean. "Wait, Coran. Do you think the Galra ever went to earth? Is that possible? I mean, they would have taken it over right?"
"Oh, I think you'd know if the Galra were there."
"The Blue Lion was there. Is it possible they somehow managed to figure out where it was but left because they couldn't find it? We only did when Lance was there."
"Hey, why are you asking about my lion? How many lions do you need?" Lance asked, stepping out of his room, wearing his sleeping robe and a green mask on his face, added with a towel over his head. He folded his arms and eyed Keith as if he had just had something precious stolen from him and Keith was the prime suspect.
"What? No, I-I was just-"
"Don't, "What? No, I-I was just-" Me! You've had your eye on the Blue Lion from day one!" Lance said, poking a finger at Keith's chest.
"Well, yeah. It's the first one we found."
"Ap, ap, ap! The Blue Lion's with me! And we're very happy together! Very happy!" with that, Lance stepped back into his room, letting the doors close shut in front of him. Keith and Coran only stood there, perplexed at the Blue Paladin's jealous rant.
Pidge managed to crack the code from the spore from earlier. It was a distress signal from the planet Olkarion. A race of highly advanced engineers who could mold technology with a wave of their hand. In a sense, they were, literal, Tech Wizards.
Needles to say, Pidge was more than excited to see their highly advanced city. Sadly for her, the distress signal was not coming from the planet's city but its forest. While Pidge's lion was associated with nature, the young paladin was far from being the outdoorsy type. If anything, she hatted it. The sunburn and poison oak were detestable to her. She shuddered at unpleasant memories of camping with her family. It was her first and last experience sleeping in a tent.
Keith, on the other hand, had a very different take on the matter. Much like Allura, he loved the outdoors. The serene sounds of the rustling leafs, rippling streams and the harmonic sounds of crickets at night with the unmatched melodies of daytime birds was his idea of paradise. A few of the flowers from outside his window even reminded him a bit of the juniperberry fields from the Astral Plane. Allura's favorite flower, and one of the many things that reminded her of her beloved Altean childhood.
Unfortunately, as it is for the paladins, this was not a vacation. The Olkari had lowered the lions down with special arrows. Once they saw the lions they cheered upon having Voltron on their home planet. One elderly Olkari, named Ryner explained their dire situation to team Voltron.
The glare had enslaved their people and forced those in the city to work for them, taking their King Lubos hostage as a result. Those who managed to escape retreated to the forest where they used nature to their advantage. Using trees, twigs and flowers to create weapons and objects fro everyday usage. Even Pidge found it fascinating.
Keith was especially amazed when he saw young Olkari teenagers turn a beautiful red flower, which reminded him of the roses from earth, into arm cannons. They worked like a dream, and he would admit it was pretty good, and the floral design of the cannon was a true work of art. Despite its mechanical transformation, it still held the same artistic natural beauty that made flowers one of the crown jewels of Mother Nature's plant life creations.
Voltron, naturally, offered to help, coming up with a plan to free the king. On their way, they saw what the Galra were planing. They were forcing the Olkari to build some kind of massive weapon, using the poor creatures as slaves. Shiro came up with a plan to free the king. Pidge would pilot the green lion, using its cloaking devices as an invisible get away car, while the rest of the paladins snuck inside.
To say they were surprised is an understatement.
King Lubos had willingly helped the Galra to enslave his people in exchange for his life and comfortable living arrangement with free food and television, and an ensemble of Galra body guards to boot. Lubos claimed he did it so the Olkari wouldn't die from fighting the Galra, but the paladins saw right through him. He couldn't be even more obvious if he were wearing a transparent veil over his head.
Keith could feel his blood boil to such high levels his Bayard formed into a sword before he could even comprehend what he just did. This glutinous, lazy, unacceptable excuse for a king was living in luxury while his people were being worked to the bone or forced to abandon the city. No true leader would sacrifice the good of his people for his own benefits.
A rage that was all too familiar to Keith took over. The assistance of the king's former Olkari slave, who he too had had enough of the lies, pushed the king towards the Red Paladin and held his sword to his neck. Shiro, Lance and Hunk stared wide eyed with jaws dropped. They knew Keith was aggressive but this was a tad much.
There were a lot of things that infuriated Keith. A faux leader was one the top five that managed to push his buttons.
Before a fight could commence, Pidge arrived in the nick of time and the paladins made a break for it, with the king in tow. The Olkari were devastated to learn the truth, but they were not only giftedly intelligent and resourceful, but they were strong in spirit. Rather than cry about their no good king, the Olkari were more than ready to fight against this super weapon.
The lions formed Voltron and fought the now operational weapon, which was a massive cube that could replicate their powers, and duplicate every time they sliced it. The lions were getting their tails kicked every step of the way, with or without Voltron.
One paladin in particular was hit badly.
Pidge was hurled into the ground, her lion badly damaged. Ryder and her fellow Okarians reached out to Pidge, reminding her that despite their differences, them, the plants, the lions, the paladins, they were all the same. Made of the same cosmic dust. Once Pidge realized this, she was able to not only form a stronger bond with her lion, but also learned a new power. A cannon that could make roots grow. They were so strong that when the cube replicated them, they twisted and crushed the surface while weighting them down to the ground. The rest of the Olkari chased their Galra abusers when they charged into the city in massive numbers with all of their nature based weapons. Before long, there was not a single Galra ship to be seen.
After the fight, Pidge thanked Ryder for not only helping them, but also for her wisdom. Pidge now had a much greater appreciation for nature, realizing how important it was. As it would seem, there were more ways to connecting with people that didn't necessarily involve a computer.
"We're all made up of the same cosmic dust." Pidge said once they were all safely back on the ship, rethinking their experience on the Olkari planet. Her words struck a cord with Keith.
While he managed to keep himself focused on the task at hand, every time the word "Galra" was brought up, it made his stomach twist like a pretzel. Keith was having a hard time believing how he went from hating the Galra with a passion to actually hoping they could be good?
One thing he was certain of, his family had some kind of connection to them. How and why was still a mystery. But, the way Pidge spoke, saying that, at the core, we're all one in the same, somehow rekindled some small spark of hope that, maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe Allura would be okay with it if she only saw that not all Galra were evil like Zarkon. It may sound a bit idealistic even in Keith's mind but, if they all came together, then Zarkon wouldn't stand a chance. This could possibly change everything, maybe even the way they fight in this war.
"So, that means we're all related." he said, staring out into the stars. All thoughts of his knife and the Blade of Marmora came flooding back. "This ship, those stars, the Olkari… even the Galra."
"Oh, oh." Hunk said, snapping the Red Paladin from his thoughts. "I think Keith just blew his own mind."
Keith turned away, crossing his arms, praying they didn't see the tint of red in his face. They probably did given how hot his face felt as they good-heartedly laughed. It got even hotter when Allura affectionately kissed his cheek, added with a giggle.
"Actually, I find this profound side of you quite charming." she said. He knew she was trying to make him feel better, but even so he knew she still meant it. Allura was never gave him a compliment without some truth backing it up. He could already feel his worries slowly slipping away.
But, their calm moment didn't last long. Before any of them could comprehend what just happened, Zarkon's central command ship manifested before them, along with his entire fleet. Just when Keith had gained some glimmer of hope that the Galra could be allies, they show up wanting to kill them.
"Zarkon! How did he find us?" Allura asked, her hand still held in Keith's.
"His commanders must have radioed him from Olkarion." Keith said.
The paladins and Alteans worked together at both evading the Galra fleet, and shooting everything they had at them. They had to get farther enough away fro Allura to activate a wormhole, but the large number of fighter ships, Lance and Keith bickering, and Hunk being too tired to even see his screen made it more difficult than it already was.
Shiro empathized with his teammates exhaustion, but like the leader he was, he pushed through it and tired to give them the motivation they needed. "We gotta stay focused, just until we jump!"
"And when is that?!" Lance asked, already sweating at the hundreds of Galra lasers shooting at them, bouncing off of the Castle Ship's particle barrier.
"They're still too close!" Coran shouted. "We need to gain more speed!"
"I've got an idea. Hold on!" Allura said, forcing the ship to go even faster than before directly towards a nearby moon. The paladins were pushed back against their seats. They could almost feel the wind in their faces, despite the fact that they were inside the castle and there was no wind in space.
"Allura, what are you doing?!" Pidge cried out, already feeling nacreous from the ship's movement, which was reminiscent of that of a ship at rapid seas.
"I'm going to use this moon's gravity to gain speed and put some distance between us and Zarkon!"
"Good thinking." Keith said, a small smile formed across his lips, which made Allura smile in return.
"Less flirting more escaping!" Lance called out, lashing out more so out of stress than anything.
The paladins and Alteas held on tightly to their seats and controls as the ship picked up more speed. Once they were far enough away, Allura used her energy to create a wormhole. As they went through the wormhole, the castle was still beeping as if they were still under attack.
"Oh, no! Teladuve lens malfunction!" Coran cried out, looking at his glowing red screen. "We're about to exit this wormhole sooner than we planned."
Just as he said, the castle exited onto the other side of the wormhole in an almost deserted area in space where before them floated a sea of slow moving iceberg looking rocks. Allura was already sweating, her legs felt like they would break and her vision was becoming clouded.
"Coran… what's the status?" she breathed, rubbing her forehead. His words were almost mute in her ears.
"We didn't make it to our exit point but we're several galaxies away from Zarkon's fleet."
Allura barely heard his words as she collapsed to the floor. She couldn't felt her feet and her vision was still blurry but slowly stabilizing. She heard the converged voices of her caretaker and boyfriend.
"Allura!" Keith hurried to her side, wrapping his arms around her. She sat upright, learning her head and upper body against Keith's. He gently wiped the sweat from her forehead and face. Her eyes fluttered and she could see the concerned, beautiful eyes of her Red Paladin. The rest of the team circled around her, looking equally concerned.
"Give her some space." Keith said, trying to keep his voice even. "She's exhausted."
Allura slowly shook her head, "N-No, I'm fine." a tired groan and sigh escaped her mouth before she could stop it. She wasn't fooling anyone, not even herself.
"Take it easy." said Keith compassionately.
"Keith's right." said Coran. "You must rest. You've been exerting way too much energy." he got back up to check the situation which caused their wormhole mishap, only to suddenly slip and crash into the wall. Right then and there, Coran began emitting shinny liquid from his body.
Allura managed to sit upright, Keith still by her side, and diagnosed that Coran had a common Altean virus known as the "Slipperies", which occurred to older Alteas, much like Coran. The paladins felt sick to their stomachs to learn that the slippery waters that kept oozing out of Coran was in fact sweat. Pidge even had to run into a corner to vomit. Coran, unwilling to admit his condition, walked out of the room.
Or rather, he slid out of the room. On the upside he did manage to reach the control room faster than was expected. The lenses from the beam generator that were used to convert Altean energy into the fuel needed to create the wormhole and it would take at least a day to fix it. With that, Shiro suggested to the rest of the team to get a good night's rest. Those were probably the nicest words Shiro has said to them all day.
Keith helped Allura back to her feet and led her to her room to get some rest. "Don't worry, Keith. I'll be fine in a bit." Allura insisted once they reached her room and she sat on the side of her bed.
He crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow and smirked knowingly. "Nice try, but you heard Coran. You need to rest after using up all of that energy."
"How can I rest when Zarkon is still out there? For all we know he could be on his way towards us right now!" Allura folded her arms over her chest, looking every bit like the frustrated teenager she was.
Keith sat down beside her, gently taking her hand. "I know you're worried, we all are. But if we continue to fight like this we have a greater risk of being obliterated by Zarkon than we will escaping him. I hate running just as much as you do, but you can't keep pushing yourself-"
"I'm not helpless!" Allura snapped. Keith jerked back, more so at her words than her outburst. She gave him a look of regret. "Keith, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it."
"It's okay." Keith replied, still a bit startled.
"No, it's not. I apreciate you worrying about my well being, really." she looked down at her hands, fiddling with the edge of her bed sheets. "It's just, the Galra have done too much damage already. I feel like any moment we waste is another moment they could be destroying more lives."
The relief that came with Pidge's revelation back on Olkarion couldn't sink any faster if he were standing on quicksand. He should have realized it would take a lot more than a few inspirational words to make her change her mind. Keith pushed his own issues aside for now, focusing more on the exhausted princess. He cupped her left cheek, gently lifting her face up to look at him. He smiled.
"That's one of the many things I love about you. You're so independent and selfless." his words made her blush. "I understand we have a responsibility to the universe, which is why we should make sure we'll be ready to fight Zarkon when the time comes. We won't be able to if we're worn out."
Allura chuckled. "You're starting to sound like Shiro."
Keith couldn't help but chuckle as well. He may have learned a lot from Shiro, but he knew he could never be exactly like him. "Maybe that's what makes him such a good leader. He cares about everyone. He understands how important we all are to this team." he learned in further, placing a sweet kiss on her lips. "And how important you are to me."
Allura gave his hand a squeeze, their foreheads pressed together, the tips of their noses touching. She could never stay angry with him, if at all. He respected her decisions and her goals, but the reality of it was that, much like herself, Keith couldn't bare the thought of loosing her. Her exhaustion wasn't letting her think straight and she lashed out without realizing what she was saying.
Maybe it was best if she rested. Maybe once she woke up everything would be alright. They could fight Zarkon and they would win next time. He knew Allura was capable of handling herself, but when you're a man in love, being protective over your girlfriend's well being was something that came with the package deal.
Allura let out a breath she wasn't even aware she was holding. "Alright. I'll try and get some sleep." she reeled back a bit, poking her finger at Keith's shoulder, "But the moment I awake, we are getting straight back to work. Got it?"
Keith held out his hands in surrender. "Loud and clear, babe."
Allura laughed and the two shared another kiss before Keith left the room. He winked at her and closed the door. Once he was gone, Allura let out a large and loud yawn. Maybe some sleep was exactly what she needed.
Or not…
Throughout the night, Allura kept tossing and turning in her sleep. She couldn't shake the image of Zarkon from her dreams. His diabolical glowing purple eyes, his massive size towering over her, and her being unable to fight. In her dreams she was not only tired, but week, frail and small.
"You can never defeat me." the Zarkon in her nightmares cackled. "You and your paladins will fall. Just like your father before you."
"No!" Allura cried out. Zarkon held out a crystal ball, seeing an image of her father, crying out for help.
"Allura! Help me!" he cried only for Zarkon to crush the ball in his hands. Behind him she saw the paladins, along with Coran. Chained together and sinking in a pool of lava that burned the skin right off of their bones.
The very last paladin standing was Keith. Only rather than melt away, his entire body was being sucked into a black hole. One which didn't lead to anywhere but a realm of darkness where she felt he would be tortured for the rest of his days.
"Allura!"
"NO!"
Allura woke up with a jolt, screaming and sweating. The sight of her loved ones dying in the hands of Zarkon was something she often saw in her slumber, though they had never been as strong as this. Now knowing that Zarkon was able to locate them so easily, who knows when and how he would find them again.
She got up, put her long hair into her signature bun and her full body suit. She looked at herself in the mirror. She still had faint bangs under her eyes and her face looked paler than normal. She wasn't feeling one hundred percent and she knew that, but she wasn't going to be able to rest like this.
"I'm sorry, Keith." she whispered and left her room.
At the exact same time Allura was having her nightmare, Keith wasn't sleeping well either. Another restless night drained him of the energy he was supposed to have gained from sleeping. He saw visions of his knife, a vision of Ulaz sacrificing himself, only then to see more Galra ships, destroying every single planet in sight. The sound of their demonic laughter boomed in his ears.
Keith tried to move but found that his feet were glued to the floor. He was wearing some kind of full body armor, but it wasn't his Paladin suit… it was that of a Galra soldier.
"You fight like a Galra soldier." Zarkon's voice said out of nowhere. Keith felt it difficult to breath and he saw visions of his friends being strapped to chairs. They weren't moving. Their bodies sat limply on the chairs. Their armor broken to pieces and bruises and cuts were seen all over their bodies. Another corner of the room lit Keith saw Zarkon, holding a very week looking Allura hostage. She looked exactly as she did when she nearly passed out earlier. Frail, week and ashamed she couldn't fight back.
"They would never trust a betrayer." Zarkon said, his voice low and taunting him every step of the way.
Keith gripped his throat. He couldn't utter a word no matter how hard he tried. With a wave of his hand, Zarkon magically made the chairs electrocute the other paladins. They screamed in pain and Keith was helpless to do anything. He couldn't even reach Allura, who couldn't fight no matter how much she wanted to. The screams of his fellow paladins rang so loudly in his ears Keith felt he would do deff.
"NO!" just like Allura, Keith woke up with a jolt, breathing heavily. His fingers traced across the surface of the knife beside him. He had forgotten it was there.
What did Zarkon mean, betraying his team? He would never do that. What did trying to figure out the knife have to do with him betraying his team? He was too tired to even think straight, and he wasn't going to go back to sleep after that fright. He needed to get his mind off of this knife situation. Right now was not the time to be swimming around the subject with Zarkon out there.
Swimming… maybe cooling off at the castles's pool would help. Allura talked about them having one, even this odd feature they had where they would turn it upside down when it wasn't in use. They said it kept the water fresh. Who was he to question advanced alien technology.
He dragged himself out of bed, wearing swim trunks and a towel over his head and approached the elevator before it closed. It would appear Lance had the same idea, also wearing swim trunks and a towel around his shoulders. He too looked exhausted, but not in the same way as Keith. Lance more more like he was bored and tired of them being chased, while Keith was exhausted from so many dilemmas swarming around his head. The mystery of his knife, how to tell Allura, if he should, would it even matter if the knife was linked to the Galra, what that would say about him.
Even he was getting tired of dancing around the same thing over and over. A cool swim was exactly what he needed to freshen his mind in order to fight Zarkon again when the time came. Allura would be well rested, so he should be too… even if he did have to share the pool with Lance, which eh would make sure to stay far, far away from. He was hoping to be alone in the pool to relax and clear his head. Well, maybe it won't be as bad as he thinks.
The elevator suddenly shuts off and the lights turn off temporarily. As if he didn't already have enough problems, now he had to deal with Lance's whining. Well, if they couldn't get to the pool, and there was no telling when the elevator would work (which probably happened due to Coran fixing the Teladuve thing) they might as well find their own way out.
Keith got an idea based from a movie he once saw as a kid, which even Lance was surprised he knew about it.
"Whoa, you saw that movie?"
"There was nothing else on TV." Keith replied irritably. The two boys linked their arms, their backs pressed together and using their feet they climbed up the walls of the elevator to try and reach the top before they suffocated in there. After some struggle (and more of Lance's whining), they managed to exit through an air vent and slid down to the pool room. Lance was dumbfounded upon seeing an upside down pool, but Keith was unfazed.
"Relax. It's some gravitational thing they use to keep the water fresh. There's a switch that turned it upright." Keith's eyes scanned the area and found the panel which would set the pull upright. The waters moved around in mid air as the pool positioned itself and the waters elegantly landed.
Lance blinked but was nevertheless grateful. Keith jumped into the water. Already he could feel his mind clearing up from all his troubles. Lance jumped in shortly afterwards and sighed in relief. The water was so clear and soothing it was like a day at the spa.
"The perks of having an alien girlfriend." Lance said, already floating on his back with his arms behind his head like a pillow. At the corner of his eye he noticed Keith giving him the stink eye.
"What? I meant that as a good thing." Keith turned his eyes away from his fellow paladin. Lance could already pick up something was off. "What's your deal? You've been acting weird. Well, weirder than usual."
"It's none of your business." Keith replied, trying to keep his voice at an even level.
"Everything okay with you and Allura?"
"We're fine."
"Not trying to be a snoop or anything, I just-"
"I said we're fine. Just drop it already." Keith's voice rose a bit in volume. His fists clenched under the water.
Lance took a short step back. If Keith didn't want to talk, then who was he to force him. Still, he at least wanted to make one thing clear to him at the very least.
"Look, I've never had a steady girlfriend so maybe I'm not the best guy to offer advice. All I can say is that, on the off chance there is an issue going on, it's okay."
Keith arched an eyebrow.
"Being together doesn't mean you won't disagree from time to time. You and Allura are always looking out for each other, so whatever issues you guys have, it doesn't hurt to talk them out and find a compromise. At least, that's how my parents handle their relationship."
Sometimes Keith didn't know just what to make of this guy. One minute he could be making fun of him, or saying some comment out of envy, and the next he's acting like a genuine friend. Maybe talking about his situation would have been more beneficial, but he knew Lance wouldn't understand. He wasn't even sure if Shiro would. His best friend. The only person who would understand, or at least comprehend what he was thinking was Allura, since he told her about the knife before. But, given her hatred towards the Galra, he was hesitant.
Still, it was nice of Lance to try and offer some encouragement. Keith didn't feel like talking too much about it right now, but he still appreciated his attempts. He and Allura weren't having any issues as Lance theorized, but maybe that's why Keith hadn't told her yet.
He didn't want there to be any problems.
Keith had come to trust Allura with everything. His past, his hopes, his fears, but this… this was something he knew was dangerous to mention. Unless he could convince her that Galra could change, and uncovered more about his knife and why he had it, then maybe it would be easier. Now just wasn't the time.
"Thanks." Keith said finally. "For the advice."
"No problem."
Meanwhile, Allura was trying to deal with her stress her own way. She arrived at the control room, where Shiro was at his seat. He turned once he saw the princess enter. She didn't look like she should be up and about.
"What are you doing here? You should be resting."
"I can not sleep. Zarkon is out there. He's searching for us." Allura tapped her finger at the air in front of her to form the computer screen, but Shiro stopped her by gently taking her hand and lowering it down, slowly releasing it.
"I know how you feel." He said compassionately. "But you have to step away for a while. It's what's best for everyone."
Allura couldn't describe how awful it felt to hear those words. He was basically telling her to step down. That she couldn't do her job right now, which was probably true. She was still tired, but how could she rest with a threat looming at their doorstep?
"Does Keith know you're up?" Shiro asked.
"Keith is my boyfriend, not my babysitter." Allura said, her eyes narrowing and voice icy cold, "And neither are you."
"I never said I was. You really shouldn't be forcing yourself like this."
"And what if Zarkon attacks while I'm resting? What will you do then?"
"We'll manage. We always do."
"I apreciate your concern Shiro, but I will feel much better if I-" she tried to create the screen again, only for Shiro to stop her. This time, she angrily removed her hand from his.
"I'm just trying to look out for you. If Keith were here, he'd be telling you the same thing."
"He knows I can take care of myself."
"I know he does." Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder. "But he also loves you. I'm sure you're aware that Keith has lost a lot in his life. He doesn't want to loose you too."
Allura's eyes softened at his words. He was Keith's oldest and dearest friend, of course he would know of his trials. Keith's concern wasn't because he didn't believe Allura was capable of fighting, he just wanted her to be well rested for the next fight so that she wouldn't get hurt or worse. While at the same time, Allura was trying to push herself to fight for the same reason.
She lost her family once… it couldn't happen again.
Before she could say anything else, the castle's alarms went off and Galra fighters began shooting at the floating piece of ice they had hidden the castle in. Zarkon's central command ship was right above them.
"We're several galaxies away. How could they find us so soon?" Allura asked, already starting to sweat. She activated the computer screen, this time Shiro made no attempts to stop her, and called on Coran. "Zarkon is back! What's our status?"
"Wormholing would be a problem." Coran said, struggling to keep himself steady due to the Slipperies. "The lenses haven't been readjusted. I don't know if the Teladuve will generate enough power!"
"Do everything you can!"
The doors slid open and each of the paladins hurried inside. Lance and Keith were still in their swimwear, having jumped out of the pool the second the alarm was heard. Keith slid to a halt when he saw Allura fully dressed and still looking as exhausted as she did before.
"How long have you been up?" He asked, almost upset that she had gone behind his back to get back to work when she still wasn't in top form yet.
"Can we discuss this later, please?" Allura exclaimed, which surprised both Hunk and Pidge. It was rare for them to see the two of them snap at each other. Keith decided to push the topic away and got back to his chair and got to work. The laser beams were coming at them fast. Coran was hard at work to get things in order, but the Slipperies were making it very difficult. When the older Altean finally came to grips with his condition and asked Pidge for help. The two of them got to work while the others fought off the rest of the Galra fleet. Keith and Lance worked together with their defense drones, but Pidge and Coran had to divert power from parts of the castle in order to make one small wormhole jump.
Despite her exhaustion, Allura powered up the castle and the paladins made a break for it, once again, escaping Zarkon's fleet. Unfortunately, the wormhole caused more of the Teladuve lenses to crack and they jumped out of the wormhole much sooner than planned.
They landed close to a space storm cloud. At least they were away from Zarkon. Allura was panting heavily. She was seriously regretting not trying harder to get more rest. Her legs almost gave way, only for Keith to hurry to her side and helped her keep balance.
"I'm sorry, Keith."
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." Keith held her close. He didn't want to discuss about wether or not it was wise that they should have stopped or not. If anything, he should have known Zarkon wouldn't make this easy for them.
"Zarkon keeps finding us." said Shiro, looking at his computer screen. His voice was low and concerned, and… even scared. "It's like he knows how to track us down. Maybe he planted some kind of tracking device."
Allura made a screen appear beside her and tapped the surface with her fingers. "Well it is nothing on the ship. The castle would have detected any tracking devices."
"Until we figure out exactly how he's doing it we should assume that he can show up at any minute. So stay alert."
While wormholing was still an issue, Pidge suggested they hide in the eye of the metallic storm before them. The interference would prevent Zarkon from finding them. At first, it worked flawlessly.
For about two seconds. Zarkon had showed up right above the eye, over the castle. It didn't make any sense, there was no tracking device, so how could Zarkon locate them? Pidge concluded that it wasn't through normal means, so it had to be something else. Zarkon was somehow able to detect them through something else. Some kind of energy he could sense.
Allura placed the pieces together. Recalling every time Zarkon and his Galra had found them. The first time, they appeared when she woke up the first time, and every other time she was there. She knew Zarkon had a large storage of quintessence, so what if he could sense energy of another being? He clearly had powers they were not aware of. So…what if…
"It's me." Allura concluded. All eyes fell on her. "It's been me all along. That's how they found us on planet Arus."
Allura didn't have much time to dwell on the realization, for Shiro had already thought of a plan. He and the rest of the paladins got into their lions and formed Voltron to lure Zarkon's ship away, giving Allura enough time to get into open space for them to escape. The plan worked and Allura was able to stir the Castle Ship out of the storm. It was then when the same horrible sensation from their last fight with Zarkon overwhelmed the paladins. More specifically Shiro.
The evil king was pulling Voltron back into his clutches by taking control of the Black Lion. "Fall back!" Keith shouted. He wasn't sure exactly where that sudden command came from, but Shiro was struggling to maintain control of his lion, currently the head of the robot, so he just took action.
Just before the paladins were split apart again, the Castle Ship shot a powerful laser at Zarkon's ship, giving the paladins enough time to escape. Shiro knew that Zarkon could easily control them if they got too close, so they had to maintain their distance. The lions separated and flew beside the Castle Ship, with Zarkon still on their tail.
Their only hope now was to wormhole out of there, but according to Coran the scultrite lenses had been destroyed and there was no way for them to wormhole out of there. It was then, Pidge remembered Hunk tried to make some kind of rounded, transparent "cookies" with said material earlier.
They turned out to be the ideal replacement for the cracked lenses. However, in order for the generator to work, the paladins had to position themselves in a specific positions (some very uncomfortable), while holding the lenses in place. And, according to Coran, there was a chance they might not make it out alive. The older Altean gave them a salute, saying it's been a pleasure working with them.
Worst. Motivational speech. Ever.
At the first attempt, it didn't work. To maker matters worse, Zarkon was right on top of them. Literally.
The lenses weren't reflected enough, but one look at the liquids oozing from his cloths and body gave Coran an idea. Using his Slipperies to his advantage he shinned the lenses and on the second attempt they created a wormhole and escaped Zarkon just in time.
Allura was, finally, able to breath a sigh of relief once they reached the other side. Allura hurried to the generator to congratulate everyone.
"Great work, team. We made it!" her happy expression quickly shifted into one of surprise mixed with concern. The paladins were all alive and well, but they did not come out completely unharmed. Or, in their case, un-scorched.
Their armor was covered in ash, their bodies emitting smoke and while they were all frozen in their respected positioned, they looked like they were all about to pass out. At least they were alive.
After cleaning themselves up, and cooling off by literally splashing water bottles at their faces, for a moment the team could take a breather. For now. With Zarkon still out there, and him being able to locate them, now three times in one day without fail, who knows how long this moment of peace will last.
If that wasn't bad enough, Allura realized that the reason why they have been running from Zarkon all day, was probably because of her. But, when she mentioned it, none of the paladins would believe it. Keith, on the other hand had a different take on the matter.
Yes, Zarkon found them on Arus not long after Allura woke up, and his Robeast able to find the Blade of Marmora's base when he wasn't able to before now. But, what if wasn't Allura?
"You fight like a Galra soldier."
Those were Zarkon's direct words. Why would he say that? Why would Keith fight like a Galra soldier. His mind went back to his knife that night when he slept. Only this time, repressed memories of his childhood could be seen in blurry images. Too far away to fully make out, but closer enough for him to hear voices. He saw the face of his father, clear as crystal. His eye color marching his own. He also heard a familiar voice. Soft, feminine and calming.
His mother.
He couldn't make out much about her face, but when she came closer, no doubt to kiss him goodnight, with her father close behind, he saw something else in her face. Her skin was not that of a normal human. It looked more….
Purple. Light, creamy purple with long dark violet hair that cascaded down her back and eyes of bright gold. Her face was still beautiful, but the details were clearly not human. In a flash the face of his mother turned into the face of Zarkon.
Keith didn't jump awake this time, rather his eyes snapped open. His eyes to the ceiling of his room, his chest rising and lowering, quickly at first before easing down at an even paste. He then remembered that one time back at the Balmara. When he was able to close the hanger by placing his hand onto the handprint. Why would it allow him access when he was human? The pieces started coming together.
What if his father wasn't just aligned with the Galra before Keith was born? What if his connection wasn't due to some kind of alliance…
But… by blood.
(~)
Well, I tried to get into Keith's mind to see exactly where he would get the conclusion that he is half Galra, or that his family had some kind of connection to them, so I hope this made enough sense.
Now, onto my favorite episode! The one which turned me into the Kallura shipper I am today! SQUEE! I'm so excited!
Until next time, God bless, *kiss, kiss*