And we're back with the next chapter! I'm glad that I was able to get it out this month, even if I am cutting it pretty close, lol. How's pollen season treating y'all bc it's kicking my ass lately. We've got rain coming though, so hopefully that will give me some much needed relief!
As always, thanks for reading! See y'all next update!
ignis
chapter five
kuron
"Okay."
For just a moment, he almost thought he hadn't heard Keith right despite the fact that he'd been the one to make the offer in the first place. He wasn't the type to say things if he didn't actually mean them.
At least, that's what Shiro's memories told him.
"But," Keith cut him off before he could say anything in response, "-you'll have to follow all of our rules."
"That's not a-"
"And no contact with the other paladins." Cinque interrupted. "We can't afford to let them know about Keith or the Blade of Marmora's presence here."
Snapping his mouth shut, he frowned. That was... more of a problem.
"Are you sure?" He asked. "Not to argue, but if the goal is to track down Haggar, wouldn't including them in this be helpful?"
Not that he was necessarily looking forward to them finding out he was a clone, or that Haggar had been using him to spy on them. But they deserved to know the truth- and maybe finding out that Keith was still alive would help take some of the edge off the news that they'd been lead around by a dead man's clone for the past year.
...yeah. That thought was going to take some getting used to.
Keith and Cinque exchanged a glance, the latter shaking her head.
He frowned, his brows drawing together. "...there's more to this, isn't there?"
"You could say that," Cinque said, "-but we'd have to clear anything further with Kolivan before we inform you of the full situation."
His frown deepened. He wasn't so sure he liked the sound of that. It was bad enough finding out that Haggar had been using him as a spy, but from the sound of it, there really was something else going on behind the scenes that he didn't know about. He wanted to hope that this was just more of Kolivan's trademark caution, but something told him that wasn't it.
Actually, speaking of Kolivan...
"Fair enough," he said, "-I'm just surprised he cleared this."
Ah. He didn't actually need Shiro's memories to recognize the flinch Keith made. He'd seen more than his fair share of it in his own right- which meant no, Kolivan hadn't approved this. He likely didn't even know.
"Is that... okay?" He asked, directing the question more at Cinque than Keith. He was one thing, but...
-but to his surprise, all Cinque did was shrug.
"We have clearance from Kolivan to carry out our mission as we see fit." Cinque said. "Although I imagine he'll hear about this on his own in due time."
That much he didn't doubt. He was willing to bet anything that Kolivan had more ears on Ignis than just these two. Something told him that Lotor's theory that the colony had ties with the Blade was spot on, otherwise Kolivan never would have approved a plan that so brazenly involved stealing an entire Voltron lion. If Linum wasn't in on this, he'd eat his hat.
You know. If he had one.
Or really any clothes at all, for that matter. He'd been trying not to focus too much on it given the situation, but having nothing but his flight suit wasn't exactly comfortable.
"What about my," he cut himself off, not missing the slight twitch of Keith's hands, "-the armor I was wearing?"
"Obviously we're not giving it back," Cinque said bluntly, "-but I guess we can provide you with something else to wear in the meantime. Why don't you take him to the lockers?"
That question was directed at Keith, who grimaced, presumably at the prospect of being left alone with him. He almost opened his mouth to insist that it was fine, he'd dealt with worse- but Keith just turned sharply on his heel, half-glaring at him with what could be best described as resigned annoyance.
They might be working together now, but it was pretty obvious he still hated him.
Which was... fair, really. He knew probably better than anyone just how close Keith had been with Shiro. Learning that he'd actually been dead for months, and the person he'd thought was him was actually a clone that had been used to spy on them? Just the fact that he was willing to accept his help was nothing short of a miracle.
Either that, or desperation.
(And being honest... it was probably desperation.)
"Fine," Keith said, gesturing with his head, "-follow me."
And so he did, falling into step behind Keith. From the stiffness of his back, he could tell he wasn't entirely comfortable showing it to him, so he tried to keep a little bit of space between the two of them. Maybe he wasn't the real Shiro, and maybe these feelings had been implanted into him artificially, but he still cared about Keith. The fact that he'd grieved so much when he thought him dead was proof enough of that.
He didn't keep that much distance, though. The hallways were much too labyrinthine for that. He didn't exactly fancy the idea of getting lost in them.
At least Keith seemed to know where he was going, walking unerringly straight ahead, taking each turn without hesitation. It was quiet, and he was slowly starting to suspect that he and Cinque might be the only Blades here, despite the size of the base. The only noises he could hear were the sound of his own footsteps, and the occasional drip of water.
If he had to be honest... the silence was kind of rough.
"So," he cautiously began, "-how long have you been here?"
"Awhile," Keith replied, not so much as glancing back at him, "-watch your step here."
Even with the warning, he nearly fell flat on his face, not quite expecting the sudden dip in the hallway as they changed direction. It looked no less foreboding ahead, which wasn't necessarily unusual for the Blade. He was just used to their bases being less... dank, maybe. This just reminded him more of the time he'd snuck into his elementary school's basement, than it did any Blade base he'd visited.
Except he'd never actually done that. Right.
That was going to take some getting used to.
Chewing on his lip, he kept glancing back up at Keith. There were a million more things he wanted to ask him, but he also didn't want to push his luck. He'd rather not do anything that might land him back in that cell. Instead he just settled for dealing with the silence, steadily following behind Keith.
Eventually they came to a dead stop in front of one of the many nondescript doors that lined the hallways. It slid open to reveal a vaguely familiar room, though it took him a few moments to place exactly why. He- or the real Shiro, rather- had been in a room exactly like this once before, back when Keith had been made to undergo the Blade's trials. He'd been in no condition to change out of the suit they'd given him on his own, so he'd given him a helping hand.
Or well. Shiro had.
That changing room was a lot like this one- only this one wasn't full of suits meant to be used for the trials. If anything, he might describe the sort of stuff that hung from the walls as more... casual, actually.
Huh.
"Can't exactly walk around in full Blade armor," Keith remarked, apparently sensing his confusion, "-and not many Blades own casual wear."
Yeah, that made sense. He hadn't exactly seen that many Galra in armor while passing through Rida's streets. They'd definitely need something a little different if they hoped to blend in.
Studying the clothes, he eventually found a few things that vaguely looked like they might fit him. The Galra ran tall, but if the range of sizes here was any indicator, maybe there were actually Blades who were on the smaller size, like Keith. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he couldn't help but note that he'd actually grown a little since he'd last seen him- not by much, but enough that it was noticeable when he actually looked for it.
Keith caught his gaze, and he quickly looked away.
Right.
If he'd thought keeping his balance with just one arm was hard, then getting changed with only one arm was even harder. He still managed, wrangling on a pair of plain black pants and a black shirt not unlike the ones he had back on the Castle. The boots were more of a light gray, plain and unadorned.
At least they were easy to pull on one-handed.
(He wondered if he'd ever even had a right arm in the first place, or if Haggar had just made him without one. He wouldn't put either past her.)
Keith didn't offer him any help, but then, he didn't exactly expect him to. He gave him privacy at least, leaning against the far row of lockers and staring straight at the opposite wall. The way he folded his arms was both nostalgic and stomach-churning, only slightly offset by the fact that he'd at least spent time with Keith on his own merits.
He couldn't imagine what it might be like interacting with someone he hadn't.
(Like Adam. He would have thought that knowing the truth would make thinking about him hurt less, but it didn't.
Damn.)
Catching his gaze again, Keith arched a brow, glancing over his shoulder at him. He quickly averted his gaze, pretending to study himself in a nearby mirror instead- only to end up actually studying himself, one hand hovering over a bandage on his left temple that definitely hadn't been there before. Against his better judgement, he pulled it off, revealing a set of stitches underneath that looked fresh.
"What's...?"
"Like I said," Keith began, "-we cut your connection to the witch."
Ah. Brushing his hand against the stitches, he frowned. He wasn't exactly wild about the idea of someone essentially performing brain surgery on him while he was unconscious, but it was barely a blip on the radar compared to the fact that he was a clone. If this was what it took to keep Haggar from using him as her personal spy, then a little unsolicited brain surgery was more than welcome.
"You done?" Keith asked.
"Yeah," he said, hastily reapplying the bandage, "-thanks."
Keith hummed, before gesturing slightly with his head for him to follow him. He did, casting one last lingering glance at his reflection before tearing his gaze away. He'd expected a bigger reaction to seeing his face now that he knew the truth, but nothing came. Either he was still processing this all- entirely possible- or maybe... maybe some part of him had known all along that something was wrong.
He almost expected to be lead back down the hall to his cell, but instead Keith took a different turn. Frowning, he followed behind him, wondering where they were going. Back to the hangar with the black lion? Some kind of control room? It was impossible to tell. Everything looked the same.
Maybe he should-
"How's everyone?"
Snapping his mouth shut, he blinked. He hadn't expected Keith to ask him a question.
"They're... fine, mostly," he replied honestly, "-though I think Naxzela really shook them all up. It was... rough for awhile."
Losing you was rough, he didn't say. It didn't feel like he had the right, even if it was true. Losing Keith had been rough- not just for the paladins, but also for him. Granted, at the time he'd been convinced they had a bond much deeper than they actually did, but even reflecting back on it with his new knowledge, it still stung.
Keith just hummed in response, not so much as glancing back at him or breaking his stride. Biting his lip, he hesitated. He didn't want to push his luck, but...
"You know," he cautiously began, "-I think they'd really like to know you're alive."
Keith didn't reply this time either, but he didn't miss the twitch of his fingers. He knew he hadn't exactly left them on the best of terms- and reflecting back on it, part of that was his fault- but he didn't doubt that he still missed everyone. Pretending to be dead for so long couldn't have been easy on him.
"Maybe when this is over," he said after a few moments, "-I'll tell them."
He felt his lips twitch in a smile. He might not be the real Shiro, but he still cared for the paladins. It was hard not to.
...even if they did annoy him sometimes.
Actually, now that he knew he wasn't the real Shiro, it felt like that explained a few things. It wasn't that he'd become more temperamental because of trauma- he was more temperamental than Shiro because he wasn't Shiro. He might be his clone, and they might have all the same memories, but that didn't necessarily mean they were the exact same person. Of course they'd react differently to things.
(He still needed to work on that temper, though. He'd just... put that on the list.)
"Good to hear it." He said. "So where are we going?"
This time Keith did glance back- but with only his right eye visible, it was impossible to discern his expression. Still, he swore there was a gleam in its murky yellow depths.
"There's someone you should meet."
"So this is the clone, eh?"
...alright, he'd admit it. This wasn't who he'd been expecting. He wasn't even sure who that necessarily was- another Blade, maybe. And while the girl who had been waiting to greet them was certainly Galra- albeit a short one- she didn't look any older than Keith. Which didn't mean she couldn't be a Blade, it was just...
...well, he didn't know many Blades who stood on their tiptoes so they could squint suspiciously at people's faces.
Then again, he also hadn't expected the network of underground tunnels to lead to a mechanic's shop. He wondered if the back room clutter was part of the facade, or if that was just Cinque's nature, since apparently she was the one running the shop. It didn't seem polite to ask.
"That's... me?" He asked, shifting awkwardly on his feet, glancing helplessly in Keith's direction. He caught it, the edge of his lips twitching faintly upwards, almost as if he was enjoying this.
Right. He didn't know why he'd expected anything different. He wouldn't have even helped the real Shiro, so there was no chance in hell he'd help him.
"He doesn't look evil." She frowned, before glancing over at Keith. "Are you sure you got the right one?"
"Of course I'm sure." Keith narrowed his eyes. "How many clones of Shiro do you think she has?"
Hopefully just him. Knowing he was a clone was bad enough- he didn't want to think that there might be multiple copies of him. Or to be more exact, multiple copies of Shiro.
(Yeah. That really was going to take some work.)
"I don't know," she shrugged, "-she could have always made a spare."
He was pretty sure Keith rolled his eyes, even though he could only see the left move. "I'm pretty sure the black lion would have noticed."
He tried not to wince at that remark. Back when he'd first failed to connect with Black, he'd thought it was just because it had bonded with Keith in his absence, but in hindsight, it was probably because it realized what no else had- that he wasn't the real Shiro. It should have been an obvious sign that something was amiss, but just like everything else, he'd chosen to ignore it.
Or maybe he hadn't chosen, he thought, his hand straying towards his bandaged temple. He knew Haggar had been watching their movements through his eyes, but exactly how much influence did she have over him? He didn't think she was dictating his every thought, but just knowing that it was even possible...
...then maybe Naxzela hadn't actually been his fault.
No.
It might be easy to think that way- tempting, even. His choice to stay behind when things had started to go wrong on Naxzela had been a bad one, even before the fallout with Keith. Trying to pass the buck off to Haggar was as good as trying to claim that he wasn't responsible for the consequences of his own decision.
And given what it had nearly cost them... he couldn't do that.
He wouldn't do that.
"Something wrong?"
Abruptly realizing that he was still touching his temple, he quickly dropped his hand to his side. "Nothing."
Keith arched a brow, before humming in apparent disinterest. Still, he'd sounded almost... concerned, for just a second there. It was hard not to read into it, even though he knew he was probably just worried that something had gone wrong with whatever they'd planted in his head to block Haggar's connection. Or maybe it was just because he looked exactly like Shiro. Either way, there was no point in overthinking it. Keith might have begrudgingly accepted his help, but that didn't mean he hated him any less.
And how could he blame him? Now that they were in good lighting, it was obvious that the purple patches of Keith's skin were really just healed over scars. He might have survived his suicide run, but it had clearly left its mark on him.
He doubted the damage was only skin deep.
Shaking off the thought, he glanced back towards the young Galra woman. She was still watching him with a suspicious squint, almost as if she expected him to suddenly attack them at any moment. She looked more human than he expected from a Galra, but he guessed that in and of itself wasn't weird- there were a few Galra who were basically just tall, pointy-eared humans with purple skin, although they weren't common.
(There was something about her that bothered him, but he couldn't put his finger on what, exactly. And given everything else he had to worry about? Yeah, he was just going to put that one on the backburner for now.
It probably wasn't important.)
"So who's...?"
"Oh," Keith blinked, as if only just now realizing he hadn't actually introduced them, "-this is Romelle."
"Romelle," he said, half wondering if he should offer her his hand to shake or something, before deciding against it, "-nice to meet you."
"Not sure I can say the same, given the circumstances." Romelle frowned, only slightly letting up on the suspicious squint. "It would be a lot easier for all of us if you were actually evil."
"Noted." He said, trying not to take too much offense at that.
He couldn't deny that things would be easier for them if he was. They might have a solid lead on Haggar's location right about now, and would be well on their way to dealing with her, which would be to the benefit of everyone. Out of all the threats to the Voltron Alliance, she had to be one of the biggest- and the fact that no one knew where she was or even what she was planning?
It was almost enough to make him wish he actually was evil.
Almost.
"So what now?" Romelle asked, glancing at Keith. "It's good that he agreed to help, but what do we do next?"
Keith's lips twisted in a frown, in a way that suggested he hadn't actually thought that far. "I'm still working on that part."
"Well, you're going to have to work a lot faster, kid. Haggar's going to notice her favorite spy is missing at some point."
Peering over his shoulder at Cinque, he was more surprised than he should be to see her in casual clothes, given what Keith had already told him about the Blade's operations here. The sleeveless dark blue top and dark brown pants didn't look like they'd be out of place on a mechanic back on Earth, especially when combined with the dusty beige jacket she had tied around her waist. The only thing that stood out was the gold bracelet on her left wrist, a glimmering green stone set in the center.
Huh. First Linum, and now Cinque. Maybe jewelry was more of a thing here on Ignis that it was in the Empire.
"Yeah," Keith said, "-I know."
"Well," Romelle began, "-why don't we start by catching him up to speed?"
"Sounds like a plan." Cinque remarked. "But maybe not in the front of the shop. We do get actual customers here from time to time, in case you forgot."
If the mutual flinch both Keith and Romelle shared was any indication, they probably had.
"What about Qui?" Romelle asked, recovering the quickest. "Shouldn't someone wait for him?"
"Qui?" He asked before he could stop himself.
"Our messenger," Cinque remarked, sparing him a faint glance before heading past the counter and flipping over a sign in the window, "-and he knows to meet us in the back when no one's up front."
He arched a slight brow at that. Having a messenger implied that they were in communication with someone else on Ignis, but maybe that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. This did seem like a pretty big operation for just three people to pull off, even if their original objective had just been to pump him for information.
"Come on," Cinque said, "-we can talk in the back."
It took them a few minutes to get settled in the back, half because it took that long for Cinque to clear a space so they could all sit, and half because Romelle insisted on brewing a cup of something that smelled suspiciously like coffee, but apparently wasn't. Cautiously holding the cup of calipa in his hand, he didn't take a sip of it just yet.
It wasn't like he thought they'd poison him- he just wasn't sure if this stuff was fit for human consumption. Keith was drinking it without any issues, but if Shiro's memories were to believed, then Keith wasn't exactly the best barometer for what was and wasn't considered edible for humans. He might not have any firsthand experience with them himself, but he was pretty sure normal humans weren't meant to bite into raw shallots whole- skin and all.
He'd just... hold off on the stuff for now.
"So," Cinque said, crossing one leg over her knee, "-where should we start?"
On the surface, it was a simple question, but in reality, he recognized it as a loaded one. The obvious answer was from the beginning, but from the beginning in this instance could only mean starting from Naxzela. And given their present company...
...yeah. He wasn't sure how much of a welcome subject that was.
"Why don't you just give me the basic rundown?"
Cinque and Romelle exchanged an unsubtle glance, before looking at Keith. He held his gaze for a few seconds, before slowly exhaling.
"After Naxzela, Kolivan realized Haggar was too prepared for us," he began, "-so he knew there had to be a spy somewhere in the Voltron Alliance. After thoroughly going through all the possible places information could have leaked from, he came to the conclusion that it could have only come from one source."
"Us," he concluded, "-that's why he had the Blade disappear."
Keith gave him a curt nod. "He didn't know which one of you it was at first, but he knew that the Voltron Alliance had been compromised, and the paladins were at the source of it. Measures had to be taken."
"Of course, he still kept eyes in the Empire," Cinque continued, "-just none that you would know."
"Like Krolia." He said, his eyes briefly darting towards Keith. "She's your mother, isn't she?"
Keith arched a brow, one hand digging into his newly two-toned hair. "What gave it away?"
In spite of himself, he snorted. "Family resemblance, I guess."
For the briefest of seconds, the edge of Keith's lips twitched upwards- before his expression quickly soured, likely remembering that he wasn't the real Shiro. He felt something squeeze in his chest, but he couldn't dredge up any real surprise at how hurt by that he felt at his reaction. He was already starting to understand that just knowing he was a clone wasn't going to put him on the fast track to getting rid of these feelings.
"Yeah, well," Keith said dismissively, "-that's another story."
"Got it." He said, not wanting to push him any further.
It couldn't be an easy story to tell.
"At the same time," Cinque cut in, "-Kolivan realized that Keith was still alive and used the Blades to track him down. I'll skip the details, but apparently while he was in a coma-"
He flinched, doing his best to keep it purely internal. It wasn't like he hadn't expected there was a chance, but hearing Keith had been comatose at one point twisted at his gut.
"-he'd been able to commune with the spirit of the true black paladin through the black lion. That's how we figured out you were a fake."
He blinked, glancing over towards Keith with a frown. He knew he'd said something about having talked to the real Shiro, but was something like that even possible? The lions were capable of mysterious things, and he knew that not even Allura fully understood them, but... talking to the dead?
Then again, that time back on Olkarion... Lance had to have heard someone in the void. If it hadn't been him, then it could have only been the real Shiro.
That was... a lot to unpack.
"He told me he'd died," Keith said quietly, not quite meeting anyone's eyes, "-back when we fought Zarkon the first time. That the black lion had saved his essence somehow."
...and that was even more. Setting down his mug, he took in a long breath, trying to steady himself. If Shiro's essence had been in the black lion this entire time, did that mean he'd been watching him? Just thinking about it made the hairs prickle on the back of his neck, wondering just what it was he saw when he looked at him.
He wasn't so sure he wanted to know.
"Anyways," Romelle cut in, "-through that, Kolivan was able to figure out that you were probably some kind of clone, and that Haggar was probably using you to spy on the paladins and everyone else in the Voltron Alliance! I'm not sure precisely how, but-"
"-the Galra Empire has been using artificial means to breed for generations," Cinque interrupted, "-though as far as anyone knew, there'd never been any actual cloning."
"I'm guessing that wasn't actually the case." He said, trying to put his earlier thoughts out of his mind.
"No," Cinque said, something dark briefly crossing into her expression, "-it wasn't. The Galra Empire has conducted several cloning trials in the past, all of them lead by the witch. Though as far as we know, you're the first case of one being created to be used as a spy. Most others were made to boost bloodlines by replicating those deemed to be the strongest by Emperor Zarkon."
He tilted his head, eying her. "You sound like you know a lot about it."
"I've had some involvement in the past," Cinque said, closing her eyes, "-though I imagine you'll figure it out on your own soon enough."
He frowned slightly at that. What-?
Before he got a chance to ask, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Glancing up with a frown, he watched as Romelle stood up and walked over. She paused to check a screen, probably verifying who it was, before she opened the door. The Galra she let in was younger than he'd expected, barely even coming up to her chin, with a scruff of mauve hair that looked browner than it actually was at first glance due to the thin layer of sand coating him. He brushed it off, opening his mouth presumably to greet Romelle-
-and then his eyes fell on him, and he swore they nearly bulged out of his head.
"Is that the clone!?" He blurted out. "What's it doing here!?"
It. Ouch.
"Relax," Keith rolled his eyes, "-he's helping us now."
The kid frowned, staring at him with a suspicious squint. "...so he's really not evil?"
"Apparently not." Romelle shrugged, though he couldn't help but notice the way she side-eyed him as she said that. "Although we will most certainly be keeping an eye on him."
"I wouldn't expect any different." He said honestly. "I'm guessing you're Qui?"
Tilting his head, Qui folded his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not so sure how much I like the clone knowing my name."
"It's not like he's going to steal it." Keith remarked. "He's a clone, not a druid."
Qui visibly flinched at the mention of the druids, making what he could only assume to be a quick warding gesture with one of his hands. He arched a brow- he'd seen a few new sides to the Galra since they'd started working with Lotor, but superstitious was a first.
(Not that he could blame him. The druids were pretty creepy.)
"That," Cinque cast a pointed look in Keith's direction, "-is simply a farfetched myth. Druids can do no such thing, and you should know better than to tease Qui like that."
Keith clicked his tongue, visibly looking away. "Not my fault he gets scared so easily."
"I don't get scared!" Qui bristled, looking very much like a puffed up cat. "And besides-!"
"Qui," Cinque interrupted, her tone a bit kinder this time, "-I'm sure you have a message for us?"
Snapping his mouth shut, Qui frowned, casting a slight glare in Keith's direction before he straightened up. "I do, but..."
"It's fine. You can talk candidly in front of him." Cinque said, before gesturing to his bandaged temple. "If there's one thing I'm confident about, it's my work."
Unbidden, his hand brushed over the bandage. Guess the choice of a mechanics' shop for a cover wasn't all for show.
Qui cast him what he could only assume to be a skeptical glance, before shrugging. "Governor Linum says she'll run interference with the paladins for as long as she can, and that the clone should be kept alive. Although... I guess I don't need to tell you that last part."
He arched a brow. So the Governor was working with the Blades. He'd expected as much, but it was nice to have it confirmed.
"Anything else?" Cinque asked.
Qui frowned. "She said something about a comet scanner? The paladins want to modify it to find the black lion, I think."
"Comet scanner?" Romelle asked.
"Oh yeah." Keith winced. "Forgot about that thing. Hunk and Pidge built it to locate the comet Lotor stole."
He didn't miss the way Romelle's expression darkened at the mention of Lotor. Maybe the potential for a spy wasn't the only reason the Blades had gone to the ground after Naxzela.
"Could they use it to locate the black lion?" Cinque asked.
"Maybe?" Keith frowned. "That was never really my thing."
Cinque sighed, before glancing in his direction. "Anything you can offer us?"
He blinked, half not expecting to be addressed, but quickly recovered. "Pidge and Hunk are smart. They could probably figure out a way to adjust it so that it could locate the lions too."
"In that case, I'd better get started on a way to block it." Cinque said, getting to her feet before pausing, glancing at Romelle. "I'm not sure how much time this will take me. Is there any chance you could pick up Seti?"
He blinked at the new name, but this time bit his tongue before he asked what might an unwelcome question. Another Blade, maybe? He was sure he'd find out soon enough.
Romelle's expression quickly brightened. "Of course! I was just thinking we'd need more supplies anyways, seeing as we have another mouth to feed now."
He winced, trying not to read too much into that. It sounded an awful lot like they hadn't planned on keeping him alive after getting Haggar's location from him.
"I could fly you into Rida, then pick you up on my way back from the Governor's." Qui offered, already pulling a pair of goggles into place over his eyes.
Cinque narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you nearly crash your flyer a movement ago?"
"Well, I wouldn't say nearly-" Qui began.
"I think what Cinque means to say," Romelle interrupted, "-is that it would be much easier to get back here with both Seti and the supplies if I took our transport."
Qui frowned, before shrugging. "Fair enough. I guess I'll relay the fact that the clone is working with us back to the Governor and Miss Krolia?"
"Please do." Cinque said curtly. "And see if there's been any updates on the Viridi situation. The last thing we need right now is for them to interfere."
He blinked, glancing over in Cinque's direction. With all the chaos of the past few hours, he'd nearly forgotten there even was an ongoing situation with the neighboring planet. Guess it being faked to get Lotor's attention was too much to ask for.
"I didn't notice anything when I was on my flyer," Qui said, "-but I'll ask if there's been anything new."
"Good." Cinque nodded. "I trust that's all?"
"Actually, there is one more thing." Qui said, glancing over towards Keith with a faint smirk. "Miss Krolia has a message for the old timer over there."
Hiding his mirth under the guise of coughing into his hand, he couldn't help but remember being called the same thing by Keith more than a few times in the past. Or well- Shiro had, but the irony was funny enough that the disconnect bothered him a little less.
"Like I keep saying," Keith glowered, "-I'm not an old timer."
"Sure, sure." Qui said, clearly not taking his words to heart. "Anyways, she said not to let your emotions get the better of you or something."
It wasn't hard to guess what she'd meant by that, even without Keith's mismatched gaze briefly flickering in his direction. He quickly averted his own gaze, not wanting to rile up any more unwanted feelings than he likely already was.
Heaving a sigh, Keith rubbed the back of his neck, not quite looking at anyone in the room. "Tell her she doesn't have to worry about me."
For a moment there was nothing but silence, the air awkward and heavy with it. Then Qui broke it, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, okay. So can I see the black lion yet?"
"Message first." Cinque said. "Maybe you can see it when you get back."
Qui seemed to perk up at that, white teeth flashing against purple fur in a broad smile. "Then I'm taking off!"
Qui sped out of the room before anyone could stop him, taking his energy with him. In a weird way, he kind of reminded him of Keith at that age- a thought that prompted equal parts fond feelings and nausea, as he reminded himself he'd never actually known Keith at that age.
(None of those memories were his. He couldn't let himself lose sight of that fact.)
"You know he's going to take that seriously, right?" Keith asked, leaning back in his chair.
Cinque merely shrugged. "What's the harm? Children should find joy where they can, especially now that the war is at our doorstep."
Keith just huffed, but he didn't say anything back to that, instead turning his attention to Romelle. She'd grabbed a bag, looping its strap around her shoulders and pulling her pigtails out from underneath it before looking back towards them.
"I'll be heading out as well," she said, "-unless you need me to stick around for a bit longer?"
That question seemed to be directed at Keith, who simply shook his head. The edge of Romelle's lips twitched slightly downwards, her eyes briefly flickering in his direction. This time he held it, doing his best to look as non-threatening as possible. Part of him wanted to bristle at her suspicion, but honestly it was kind of nice to know that Keith had people around him who cared about him. The Blade had always felt so cold and impersonal, but either that was only surface level, or things really were different on Ignis.
"Very well then," Romelle said, "-in that case, I'll be back soon."
"Hey," Keith called out to her as she was about to leave, "-be careful."
She met his eyes, almost seeming to communicate something wordless with her gaze before she looked away, her lips twitching upwards into a smile.
"Don't worry," she said, "-I will be."
And then she was gone too- and abruptly, he realized that Cinque had left at some point without saying anything. And just as abruptly, he realized just why Romelle had seemed so concerned about leaving. In hindsight, it should have been obvious, but... somehow it hadn't occurred to him that they'd end up alone together.
Yeah. This was awkward.
"You gonna drink that?"
The clone's shoulders jerked slightly, almost like he hadn't expected to be spoken to. Part of him was content to ignore him, but if he was being honest, the silence was starting to get to him. He hadn't exactly planned what he'd do after this- everyone else had something to do, but until they got some kind of lead on Haggar, he was as good as on standby.
Kolivan's orders, he thought bitterly. Don't overstrain himself. They couldn't afford his recovery being set back any.
"Drink-?"
"The calipa," Keith said, picking up his own nearly finished mug, "-you haven't touched it."
"Oh," the clone glanced down awkwardly at the mug, "-I... wasn't sure if it was safe for humans."
Humans. He wasn't sure if the clone had meant for his words to sting, but he couldn't deny they did. It wasn't like he didn't know what his own reflection looked like now- there was a reason why it was so much easier for him to blend in among the Galra now. What few patches of pale skin he had might get him a doubletake, but there was no question as to his Galra heritage anymore. Kolivan said it was likely due to his exposure to quintessence during the healing process, which made sense to him- he still hadn't forgotten the way his hand had briefly turned purple during his fight with that druid, even if that felt like a lifetime ago.
In a sense, he guessed it was. If Shiro hadn't dragged him back to this side, he'd be dead right now.
Gripping his mug tighter, Keith's eyes narrowed. And whose fault was that anyways? Haggar wouldn't have known about their plans if it hadn't been for the clone.
"Right," Keith said bitterly, "-guess I don't qualify."
The clone looked up, his startled expression too much like Shiro's for his comfort. "That's not- I didn't mean-"
"-save it," Keith cut him off, "-just drink the stuff. Romelle worked hard on it."
The clone snapped his mouth shut. He averted his eyes, not wanting to see what kind of expression he was making, not when his face so closely mirrored Shiro's.
He still heard him take a drink, making a small noise of surprise.
"Huh," he said, "-tastes more like coffee than I expected."
"It's a native crop." Keith remarked. "Pidge would probably love it."
"Yeah, she probably would." The clone agreed. "She's always complaining about the lack of coffee in space."
Keith had to bite back a sharp comment, instead taking a long swig of his own calipa, finishing the contents of his mug off. Something about hearing the clone talk about the others just made him bristle- a sharp reminder that he was long removed from their lives, and he wasn't. Granted, it had been his choice to leave for the Blade of Marmora, but he never would have made it if he'd known Shiro wasn't actually Shiro.
If he'd been the real Shiro... no, he probably still would have left. Lance had been right about one thing- Voltron didn't need six paladins and he was the only one of them who had another place in this war. One way or another, it was always going to be him.
Standing up, he took his mug over to the sink with the others. Rolling up his sleeves, he heard the clone make a sharp intake of breath- no doubt at the sight of his arms. The scarring there wasn't as bad as it was on his back, but it was still pretty bad.
He just wished he'd stop acting like he actually cared. He hadn't done a great job of pretending to even back when he thought he was Shiro, so he didn't know why he bothered keeping up the act now that he knew otherwise. Maybe the conditioning was hard to shake off or something.
Whatever the case, he just wished he'd stop.
Turning on the water, he didn't wait for it to heat up before he started to wash the mugs. It didn't particularly matter- the nerve endings in his hands had never fully recovered, so he could barely tell the difference anyways. The clone must have decided to keep his mouth shut, because the only sound he could hear was the sound of water sloshing around in the sink.
Good. He'd rather deal with awkward silence than fake sympathy.
"So-"
Or maybe that was too much to ask.
"What?" Keith snapped, glaring back at the clone only to find him holding out an empty mug. "Oh. Give it here."
"I could-"
"You have one arm," Keith cut him off, "-give it here."
The clone frowned, before shrugging, placing the mug in his outstretched hand. He took it, quickly cleaning it before setting it aside with the others and letting the water drain. Grabbing a rag, he wiped down his arms before rolling the sleeves of his jacket back down.
He pretended not to notice the way the clone looked at him.
"I guess I'm not getting that back, am I?" He asked.
Keith frowned, for a moment not understanding the question, before it dawned on him that he meant his arm, not the mug.
"No," he said curtly, "-it could have tech in it that might let Haggar track you."
Cinque had taken it in for examination, but they wouldn't get the full results until later. In the meantime they'd settled for placing it in a dampening field that should cut off the ability of any programs to communicate with the outside and potentially give away their location. She was probably working on building something similar for the black lion right now.
He kind of wished she'd hurry up.
"Fair enough," the clone said, "-wouldn't want that."
"No," Keith agreed, "-we wouldn't."
And the silence was back. Folding his arms in front of him, Keith opted to lean against the furthest wall, only half looking at the clone. He shuffled on his feet awkwardly for a few seconds, before opting to sit, pretending like he wasn't occasionally glancing at him out of the corner of his eye- not that he was particularly good at it.
(Or maybe he'd just spent too long around people who were.)
He wondered what Shiro would do in his shoes.
Probably be nicer. He'd actually vouched for the clone, as absurd as it had sounded. At first he'd thought all the time he'd spent in the infinite void of the black lion had started to make him go a little loopy, but maybe he'd been right. The clone hadn't been willingly helping Haggar, and was even trying to help them now that he knew the truth.
Maybe he at least deserved to be called something other than 'the clone'.
Heaving a sigh, Keith rubbed the back of his neck, glancing in the clone's direction.
"Hey."
The clone looked up, somehow looking even more startled than last time. If he didn't think too hard about it, it was actually kind of funny seeing that kind of shock on Shiro's face.
"What do you want us to call you?"
The clone blinked, as if he hadn't expected to be asked that question. "Like a name?"
"Well we can't just keep calling you the clone," Keith shrugged, "-it's a mouthful."
And there was no way they were calling him Shiro. That was out of the question.
The clone seemed to consider it for a few moments, before offering him the kind of bland smile he was familiar with Shiro giving whenever he'd found himself stuck giving a superior officer platitudes- usually while trying to defend some stupid shit that he'd done.
He'd really been a little pain in the ass at first, hadn't he?
"How about Kuron?" The clone offered.
Kuron. Clone. That was... definitely a choice.
Keith arched a brow. "You sure?"
The clone simply nodded. "I'm sure."
Watching him for a few seconds more, Keith eventually let out a sigh. If he wanted to call himself that, he wasn't about to protest. At least it was less of a mouthful than actually calling him the clone, even if it was basically the same thing.
"Fine," he said, "-Kuron it is."
Kuron's bland smile didn't change.