Published December 27, 2019

Takes place between "The Hunted" and "Hole in the Sky"

"Crosses Were Made for Paladins Too"

The Enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favor that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents - or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall. He wants each man, in the long run, to be able to recognize all creatures (even himself) as glorious and excellent things. He wants to kill their animal self-love as soon as possible; but it is His long-term policy, I fear, to restore to them a new kind of self-love - a charity and gratitude for all selves, including their own; when they have really learned to love their neighbors as themselves, they will be allowed to love themselves as their neighbors. ~ C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Lance was relaxing in the lounge when Keith came in and flopped backwards onto the next couch.

Remembering his promise to be more supportive, Lance ventured, "You okay, man?"

"I'm fine," Keith said shortly.

"Where were you? Not that I care—except, you know, it's good to know whether we'll be able to form Voltron if we're attacked or need to rescue someone."

"I was out in the Black Lion. I thought maybe if I searched in Black instead of Red, we'd be able to track Shiro better."

"Oh." Lance had to admit that was actually a pretty good idea. "Any luck?"

"No." Keith sighed, leaning back on the sofa. "I've done everything any of us could think of. We've sent every distress call. Every ally we have is looking for him. I don't know what else to do besides search and scan."

Lance shrugged one shoulder. "So keep searching and scanning. I mean, not so much that we're not still doing what Shiro would want us to do, but, you know. Moving on doesn't mean giving up."

"I guess."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Lance tried to steer the conversation in a more cheerful direction. "You've known him a long time, haven't you? How did you two meet?"

Different emotions skirted the edges of Keith's face. When he spoke, he sounded both nostalgic and sheepish. "When I was a kid, he visited my school. I stole his car, but then he bailed me out and invited me to visit the Garrison."

Lance tried not to gape. "Seriously? Man. Guess I should've tried that."

That got a little laugh out of Keith, but only for a moment. "I don't know why Shiro thought I was cut out for this," he said, sounding a little frustrated.

"For what? Being a paladin?"

"No, leading Voltron. He knows me better than anyone. He knows I'm not leader material." Keith looked directly at Lance. "You're the last person I'd expect to be okay with this. You said it yourself—you don't want me to be the leader."

"Yeah, well … the Black Lion chose you. Whatever it is that powers the lions, it thinks you have what it takes."

Their conversation made Lance think of something. Lately, when he prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary, he had been meditating on how the Apostles felt at different times during and after Jesus' ministry.

"Do you know much about Jesus?" Lance asked. Seeing the look of consternation on Keith's face made him laugh. "I'm not trying to convert you! I mean, like, factually, historically."

"Um … he lived a long time ago … people thought he was the son of God … um … I guess I don't know much else."

"But you know that he was killed?"

"Yeah. I've seen crosses."

"Did you know that Jesus knew he was going to die that way?"

Keith blinked once, then again. "No. I don't think I'd heard that."

"Well, he did."

"How?"

"I think God must've told him ahead of time. Or maybe he knew all along. I don't know for sure. But he tried to warn his friends about it, so they'd be, you know, prepared. It didn't work—they either didn't understand, or didn't believe him. And his best friend, Peter, went nuts when he talked about it. Every time Jesus predicted his death, Peter argued with him and said, 'Nothing's going to happen to you.'"

Keith's mouth dropped open slightly. "He—Jesus actually said that?"

Lance nodded. "He used fancier words, but that was the gist of it. Peter was kind of a hothead. But Jesus saw something in him, and he said he'd give him all this power when he set up his Church. But he also predicted that Peter would fail him. After Jesus was arrested, Peter tried to do recon and figure out what was happening, and when he was caught, he lied and said he didn't even know Jesus, so he wouldn't be arrested and killed too."

Keith folded his arms, looking disgusted by the idea of such disloyalty. "Doesn't sound like much of a friend."

"Yeah, well, only a few of his friends had the guts to stick around. His mother was one of them." Lance paused, wondering just how personal to get with this. "Can you imagine how all his friends and followers must've felt the day he died? I mean, you leave your home and your family to work for a guy, because he's a great teacher and just an awesome person, and you think he can save your people from the evil empire trying to oppress them; and then …"

Lance stopped, seeing Keith's expression darken to the point that he looked like he might cry.

He tried a different tack. "But—hear me out—it didn't stay that way. For Jesus' friends and disciples, it seemed like there was no hope left; but then Easter came two days later. You know what happened on Easter, right?"

"Jesus rose from the dead." Keith's tone made it sound like a question, as though he were remembering something he had heard long ago but did not fully believe.

"Yeah! And he kept showing up at different times and places. At first they thought he was a ghost, but he'd do normal stuff like cook and eat. Eventually, he went up to Heaven—"

"You mean he died again?"

"No, his body and soul both went to Heaven. Anyway, he told his disciples to go around the world and pass on everything he'd taught them. So that's what they did. Oh, and Peter—he became the first pope! He was totally different. Not only was he not afraid to die for Jesus, he was willing to suffer for him. When he was sentenced to death, they were going to crucify him, but he didn't want to die the same way Jesus had, so he asked them to crucify him upside down, which is apparently supposed to be even more painful."

Keith winced and breathed through his teeth, imagining such agony.

Lance nodded. "I know, right?"

"Why did people want to kill them?" Keith asked.

"Good question. Reasons vary. I guess, in general, people just didn't like what they had to say. Most of them got tortured and killed for their work, but they had the guts to keep going."

Keith seemed mystified. "How did they do that? How do you … find it in yourself?"

"I don't know." Lance leaned back on the sofa with his arms folded, looking up at the ceiling as he thought out loud. "It might've been easier for that first generation, because they knew Jesus while he was on Earth. It was probably harder for people after them, because they had to take all that stuff on faith—unless they saw him through something mystical, like visions or miracles."

"I guess that's like us becoming paladins."

Lance frowned and sat up straight to look at Keith. "How's that?"

"Allura and Coran knew the original paladins. We didn't know them, but Allura and Coran still trust us with their legacy."

Lance was amazed. He would not have expected Keith to come up with that kind of insight. "Yeah. I guess it is kind of like that."

They both sat in silence for a minute, until Keith spoke up again. "I never thought I'd say this, Lance … but you're not a bad right-hand man."

"Really? I mean, thanks." Allura was the only one who had spoken with Lance about what it meant to be the right hand of Voltron. "I don't suppose you have any advice on that, do you?"

The conversation went on for almost another hour, by far the longest time Lance had spent talking to Keith, or even being in the same room as him without arguing or antagonizing him in some way. It was strange, but probably the strangest thing about it was how natural it felt, as though they were always meant to become friends.

Disclaimer: The title of this chapter is based on the song "Crosses Were Made for Fishermen Too," from the musical Upside Down: A Musical Tale After the Christ by Steven Leslie Johnson, based on the Acts of the Apostles and Church tradition. You can find videos of the song and the full musical on YouTube.