Chapter 8

NEAR RANVEIG'S BASE – (STOLEN) GALRA FIGHTER

Patience had never been something Keithir had an abundance of, (as Thace loved to remind him) which made sitting back and waiting for the right moment a monumental task. The familiarity of his borrowed Blade uniform and the feeling of a mask hiding his face from view served to aid him, a physical reminder of what was at stake.

He kept his eyes on the orbital base. At any moment, he would have his sign that it was safe to approach. Kolivan had laid out the plan very clearly and Keithir wouldn't be the one to deviate from it.

There!

Keithir leaned forward, hands gripping the controls as a cruiser departed the base and sped a good distance away before going into hyperdrive. He let a few more ticks pass and then a low frequency hum came through his comms and he guided his ship towards the base, keeping a wary eye out for unexpected movement.

He anchored it to the underside, out of sight in case Ranveig or anyone else returned sooner than expected. After that, it was a matter of slipping in through a nearby maintenance shaft and avoiding all sentries as he made his way to the security center, where Krolia was meant to stay and monitor all transmissions until Ranveig's return.

Keithir made it past all of the patrols he encountered without making a single slip-up, ducking out of sight and waiting until their heavy footsteps went by. He paused just outside the door, taking a moment to prepare himself before going inside.

She stood at the center console, her eyes on the screens around her to keep track of what was happening witch Ranveig. She glanced at Keithir as he walked in.

"I told Kolivan it was too early for an extraction. There's still more I can do here."

It took everything in Keithir's power not to react to hearing her voice for the very first time. He never thought it would matter that much. Honerva was his mother; she'd raised and cared for him all his life, not always perfectly, but in the best way that she could. He never needed more than that. But the moment he heard Kolivan say that Krolia was alive, all of that changed.

"Kolivan wouldn't have sent me if he didn't think it was important," he said, once he found his voice. He deliberately shifted to his human form and then removed his mask. "We should hurry, before Ranveig returns."

Krolia looked taken aback by his appearance, staring at him for a tick too long before collecting herself and nodding. "I just need a moment to set the hangar doors to automatically open as Ranveig approaches. The longer it takes for him to realize I'm gone, the better chance we have at getting away."

"I may have something to help with that." Keithir removed a small drive from his pocket and handed it to Krolia.

She took it and looked it over critically, recognizing it as Blade tech. "What will it do?"

"Exactly what you're trying to do, but it will also cause a lockdown once Ranveig is inside. Katie designed a quick learning virus to thwart any attempts to override it," Keithir said, trying not to smirk. He loved bragging about how smart his wife was. "That will keep him busy for a while."

Krolia looked unsure, but plugged it in anyway. "I hope you're right. Ranveig is smarter than he looks."

"And Katie's a genius. If she says it will work, then it will," Keithir easily countered.

Krolia let the virus download onto the ship and then removed the drive, passing it back to Keithir. There was no more talking as Keithir led the way back to his ship, continuing to carefully dodge patrols. (The less Ranveig knew about Krolia's disappearance, the better.)

Keithir was well aware of his mom watching his every movement as he unhooked the ship from the underside of the base and began to pilot them back to the Castle of Lions. His palms began t sweat.

Surely she had noticed his age didn't line up with how much time had passed. She had to see how much older he was. Any moment, she would asked about that.

"Did Kolivan tell you about the strain of unusual quintessence we found?"

"I'm-" Keithir stopped himself as his mind processed what she was actually asking. He furrowed his brow, thinking back to everything Kolivan told him earlier that day. "He said that it was more powerful than any quintessence he has record of, but that Ranveig used all of it on some kind of weapon. Should we go back for it?"

While it wasn't part of the mission, if it meant turning the tide more in Voltron's favor, it would be worth the risk.

"No, it's too dangerous to transport," Krolia said. "I spent time analyzing the radiation of the ship we found it on and all of my readings indicated that it passed through the Quantum Abyss. We have to find out for certain."

Keithir had first heard of the Quantum Abyss from his mother – Honerva. It was a place where the flow of time was easily disrupted and distorted; where hostile creatures capable of taking out entire fleets lurked in space rock and debris. She'd told all of that to caution him about the perils of space flight when he was first learning to pilot.

Naturally, the possibilities of what could be found there fascinated him as a cub and it was a long-held dream of his that one day he would be good enough to explore and map it himself. As he got older and heard more stories of those who'd tried to do just that, his enthusiasm waned and he turned his focus onto things that were less life-threatening. At least, until some time during his fourth year of marriage to Katie, when she stumbled across files detailing the unusual zone of space and they worked together designing drones capable of entering it and mapping out a safe path. All of their work came to a stop when they adopted Yorak shortly after.

It wasn't worth the risk.

Keithir kept them on track to the Castle of Lions. "I can't. My mission is to take you back to Kolivan."

"He would understand that we have a duty to find out where this quintessence came from," Krolia argued. She kept her voice level and calm, but there was a spark of heat there. "If this is the work of Zarkon and his witch, we have to destroy the source before they can use it against us."

Keithir flinched. "I can't," he repeated, thinking of Katie. He took a deep breath, keeping his thoughts on her, and relaxed his grip on the controls. "If you really feel like you need to do this, I'll help you once we get to the Castle of Lions. There are Altean shuttles there that would be better equipped for your journey, but I can't go with you, mom. I'm sorry."

There was a silence so still that Keithir's ears rang, though that may have been because his control over his shifted form was slipping. He quickly adjusted his focus to keep from doing so in front of her.

The last thing he wanted to do was try to explain that he was from an alternate reality while they were stuck in such a cramped cockpit.

"So you already know." Krolia's voice was soft when she spoke again.

"Dad has pictures. He likes to talk about you."

Krolia's smile was a sad one. "I've missed him. I've missed both of you so much, Keith."

Keithir had to swallow his words as the radio crackled to life and Coran's voice came through to say he had a lock on their location and was opening a wormhole to bring them back.

Space lit up blue in front of them.

.

.

In a way, Katie was glad for something to do. With her lack of focus, her only other option was to pace back and forth on the bridge. She was sure Coran was equally as grateful, if his relieved sigh when she made an excuse of going to see the Lions was any indication of his feelings.

Of course, that had only been an excuse to get away. Coran didn't need to know that her real goal was to sneak down and find where they were keeping Lotor prisoner. She had enough context clues to know that it was somewhere near the cell she was kept in when she first arrived. If she could find that, it would be her best starting point.

Katie traveled down through the Castle, checking out rooms and halls as she went. Her footsteps echoed around her, no less eerie than the first time she noted the emptiness of the Castle. It made her wonder how Pidge was handling things back home. There was always someone awake and walking around there. Did she miss the quiet?

She supposed it was peaceful, in a way, and allowed the paladins time to bond without distraction.

It also made it impossible to sneak up on anyone.

Katie slowed to a stop the moment she heard a second set of footsteps echoing alongside her own. Within a few ticks, Lance strode up next to her, his hands in his pockets.

"You're going to see Lotor."

"I don't want to talk to him, I just want to see where he's being held," Katie said truthfully. The last thing she wanted was to give Lotor something to use to his advantage. Seeing that he was there would be enough for her.

Lance looked at her for a moment with a frown on his face. "You don't trust us when we say he's safely locked up?"

"I don't fully trust Beta Traz to keep him and I helped update the security there," Katie said. "It's not you guys that I don't trust; it's Lotor. He's talked his way out of trouble too many times for me to not be cautious."

Lance relaxed at her words. "Yeah, I kind of get that vibe from him. Hunk keeps telling me I need to relax and appreciate that he's willing to work with us, but it feels so wrong to me. I tried talking to Shiro too, but he just brushes me off! It makes me actually miss Keith. He'd be with me on this."

"How did Lotor end up here, anyway?" Katie asked, sensing an opportunity to get some answers while no one else was around.

"He used his super-powered comet ship to take down a barrier and save us from a galaxy destroying bomb and then turned himself over to us, so naturally we now listen to whatever he has to say," Lance told her, sounding bitter. "It doesn't make any sense! Just a month ago he was trying to kiss us, and now he's here telling us everything he knows about the Galra, and sure, it's all turned out true so far, but how long will that last? What happens when he gets tired of playing nice? What does he want from us?"

Katie stayed quiet, letting Lance go off on a much-needed rant.

"I keep thinking about what you said earlier; what does he get out of all of this? He could've let us all die and then there wouldn't be anyone around to stop him anymore! Is it because of the Lions? Zarkon was always after them, so maybe Lotor wants the same? But he already has a ship made from the comet, so that doesn't make any sense!

"I just... I don't know what to do," Lance admitted, loosing a bit of steam. He slowed down to catch his breath. "Everyone else acts like I'm making a big deal about this. Maybe I am. Maybe Lotor has made a change for the better and this is his way to make amends."

"It took us three years before he slipped up badly enough that we got proof of his wrongdoings, and Keithir and I almost died for it," Katie said. "The Blade had been looking into his actions for even longer than we did. None of us could predict what he would do next or what his goal was. I guess what I'm trying to say is, at least when the moment comes, he won't take you by surprise. You'll be ready."

Lance didn't look very reassured by that, and Katie couldn't blame him.

"Hey," she said, nudging him. "Wanna help me sneak in to get a look at the security? I may have an idea for an improvement or two."

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to make sure you get nowhere near Lotor, buuuut..." He dragged out the last word as he grinned at her. "If you find your way into the room next to him where there's a one-way mirror, I don't see how that's breaking any rules."

"Lead the way!"

.

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ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS

The more Shiro tried to explain the bond between the Lions and Paladins, the more confused Pidge felt. It was on a completely different level from what she'd experienced and it was hard to wrap her mind around it all.

They were sentient beings, with unique personalities and preferences, and that was pretty much the same, but then Shiro started talking about their form of mental communication and how they could use it to influence their chosen Paladin. He lost her more when he made mention of a second type of bond shared between the Paladins and how it was strongest between the two arms and the two legs.

"It's an impossible feeling to describe with words," Shiro said. He looked at Pidge and Keith as they sat on the floor together and tried to focus on "reaching out to their Lions".

Keith frowned.

Pidge groaned and stretched out her legs, giving up on any type of meditative pose. "This isn't working."

"Then lets try something different," Shiro said, being supportive. "Instead of trying to connect to the Lions, why not each other?"

Pidge glanced over at Keith, who scowled at his knees. "We've never felt that kind of bond you keep talking about. And I'm not sure it'll work. Lance pilots the Red Lion where we're from."

Shiro blinked in surprise at the information. Somehow, during the hour they'd been working at connecting to the Lions, the subject of which one they piloted never came up. Pidge was sure she'd mentioned Green, but Keith hadn't breathed a word.

"Then which one does Keith...?"

"Black," Pidge responded promptly, but Keith had a different answer.

He got to his feet and avoided looking at either of them. "None of them. I'm not a paladin anymore."

Pidge gaped up at him. "That's not true!"

"Yes it is. Shiro pilots Black. You have Green. Lance has Red. Hunk's in Yellow. Allura pilots Blue now. Sorry, but this wasn't a good idea. I can't help afterall."

Shiro's and Pidge's protests fell on deaf ears as Keith pulled up his hood, hiding his facial features from view, and headed back towards the paladin wing.

Pidge stood up, unsure of what to do. Should she chase after him? Give him space? It was so hard to know which one was best for Keith when he was in a mood like that.

And it had been happening a lot since they arrived. (Or at least, Pidge couldn't remember Keith being so broody during their time on the Castle of Lions.) It was like there was something weighing him down – dragging him down – but if he wouldn't open up and talk to her, then what could she do? She couldn't force him to talk and trying would only result in him closing himself off.

She glanced at Shiro, wondering if he had any advice, but he looked just as lost as she felt.

It was something she would have to figure out on her own.

Too bad they didn't share the type of bond Shiro mentioned. That would have made it much easier to understand what was going on with Keith. He sounded okay when he suggested the Lions the night before, so what changed? Was it because he couldn't communicate with Red or Black? She was in the same boat with her inability to reach Green, so she understood that it was discouraging, but maybe there was something beyond that. Maybe It was a bunch of little somethings all piling up and adding up over time until it became too much.

"Sorry, Shiro," she apologized as she pulled on her hood. "We'll have to try this again later. Thanks for helping us."

Pidge saw him nod before she turned and left, finding her way back to their room and hoping she'd find him there. Luck was on her side, as he was sitting on his bed when she walked inside. She approached slowly, giving him ample time to ask to be alone, but he didn't move as she sat next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Keith?"

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's been a stressful few days. I'm surprised I haven't broken down yet. I've been told I get mean," Pidge said, only half joking. "We'll take a break and then we can try something else. I'm not willing to rule out the Lions yet, are you?"

Keith weakly shrugged. "I don't think it'll work for me."

"Why not?" Pidge asked gently.

"None of them came to help the last time I was in trouble." Keith took a deep, shuddering breath, the simple statement draining him more than he thought it would. "I... When Naxzla happened... you guys were so far from the command ship. I had to try and do something. None of our attacks were working. I... I was desperate." He looked at Pidge and there was something pleading in his gaze. "I knew if I could take out the barrier, Matt and the others would have a chance. I thought... I thought my ship would be enough."

Pidge went cold.

Keith hadn't really-!

"That thing Shiro was talking about with the bond, I've felt it. Or I think I have," Keith continued. "The other times Red came in to save me, there was this weird feeling. Like... I don't know. An emotion that wasn't my own. But that didn't happen then. I didn't feel anything."

Pidge wasn't aware of the tears spilling down her face as she scooted closer to Keith and stretched her arm across his shoulders, giving him an awkward hug.

"Sorry, Pidge," he apologized again.

With some hesitance, he shifted to wrap an arm around her waist, reciprocating her hug.