Chapter Eleven:
"Hello and welcome back to Voltron Watch! Your ultimate authority on all things Voltron!" Lani said, grinning at the camera on her phone. "I hope you all are getting used to seeing me and Tali in the same location in these videos, because it's going to be happening a lot more often now! This is also a very special update, because it will be one of the last Tali and I do on Earth for a while!"
"Lani and I, along with Shinji Shirogane, are accompanying Team Voltron into space onboard the Castle of the Lions." Tali said. "We'll be documenting the fight against the Galra Empire and sending regular updates on our Paladins to our viewers here on Earth. So stay tuned and be on the lookout for updates and exclusive interviews with the Paladins of Voltron."
"Until next time, when we meet amongst the stars!" Lani said, flashing a peace sign at the camera before ending the video.
"When we meet amongst the stars?" Tali said, arching a brow at Lani. "What's up with that?"
"Oh come, we needed a new outro." Lani said. "It's cute."
"It's a little cheesy." Tali said.
"It's catchy." Lani said with a pout.
"We need to introduce you to 'When I say Vol, you say Tron'," Hunk said as he approached the two. "That's one of Lance's that finally caught on."
"Finally?" Lani questioned.
"It took Keith a while." Hunk said. "Long story. Anyways, you two ready to go? It's time for the last 'see you laters'."
"It's now or never, isn't it?" Tali said with a sigh. "I'll be right there."
There were final hugs and kisses exchanged, hair ruffles, lots and lots of tears, promises to Skype and e-mail and keep in touch.
And, finally, Team Voltron with their three new crew members boarded the Castle of the Lions.
Pidge slid into their seat, the holographic computer panels coming to life before their eyes. The whole ship began to come alive and hum beneath Allura's fingertips.
"Initializing launch." Allura said.
"On to the next exciting adventure." Shiro said.
"Space. The final frontier. To boldly go where no man, woman or non-binary gender-fluid person has gone before." Hunk said with a grin.
And the Castle lifted into the air, into the atmosphere, past the moon, past the space stations, past Kerberos where the story began.
"And like Alice, we go down the rabbit-hole." Lani breathed as her eyes widened, watching the large, multicolored swirl open up before them.
"Technically a wormhole, but close enough." Lance commented as Allura guided the Castle through.
"Initializing scanners for distress signals." Coran said, pressing some buttons.
"Do you have a particular destination in mind?" Tali asked.
"Not usually. We're slowly starting to gain a reputation, so we're picking up on more and more distress signals as the news of Voltron spreads." Shiro explained, rising from his seat. "Then we do our best to help those calling for help first, and then we try and make alliances on planets that haven't been invaded by the Galra and evaluate which planets to liberate."
"What do you usually do while the scanners run, then?" Shinji asked.
"That's usually when we do any repairs or maintenance work on the Lions or the Castle that is needed, or analyze data, or research the planets we're going to." Shiro said. "But, most of the time, we hit the training deck. Which is where we are headed now."
Lance, Hunk and Pidge all simultaneously groaned. As usual, Keith was the only one who looked remotely excited about the prospect of hours sparring with gladiators and other training devices.
"Aw, come on, Shiro…" Lance whined, pouting and employing the use of sad puppy eyes. "One more day? Please? Pretty please?"
"Nope. The puppy eyes are not going to work this time. We've already gone nearly a week without the training deck." Shiro said
Keith playfully bumped his shoulder against Lance's.
"What? You afraid I'll kick your butt for the millionth time?" He said with a grin.
"Psh, please. If anyone should be afraid of getting their butt kicked on the training deck, it's you." Lance retorted with a smirk.
"Can I record you guys training?" Lani asked, eyes going wide with excitement.
"Yeah, as long as you promise to not show the entire internet us getting beat up by the gladiators when they're apparently set at a level that an Altean child can defeat." Pidge said.
"No problem, I figured any videos we make in space are going to require a lot of editing." Lani said. "Very few live-streams. But that does bring forth something I've been meaning to ask: are there any lines that need to be drawn when it comes to what's in the videos and what's not? I mean, if we do Q and A sessions for a video, I'd give you all a list of the questions in advance, but do you not want us to film battles or the diplomatic stuff or anything like that?"
The Paladins and two Alteans shared a glance.
"Yeah, we've got a few things." Hunk said.
"But it's all things that, while you're on board, you should probably know." Shiro said.
Lani pulled out a small notebook and pink glitter pen while Tali and Shinji looked a bit concerned.
"Alright," Lani said, pen poised and waiting. "What should we know and our viewers shouldn't?"
"Keith and I are dating." Lance said bluntly, wrapping an arm around Keith's shoulders as he turned red from the sudden announcement.
"What?" Tali, Shinji and Lani said at the same time, Lani with much more exuberance than the other two.
"Yeah, but I haven't come out to my family as bisexual yet, so Keith's been awesome and letting us keep our relationship a secret from them until I get a chance to tell them." Lance said.
"Why do you tell me nothing, Kwan?" Tali demanded in an irritated tone of voice, but a smile on her face. "Congrats."
"How long have you been together?" Lani asked.
"Only a couple of weeks," Keith said. "But, well, we inadvertently started dating because of another thing you all should know, and it's about me. I'm apparently half-Galra."
This was met with silence.
"But you look like a normal human." Lani said, tilting her head some and studying Keith.
"Yeah, until he gets really mad and does the purple furry version of going 'Incredible Hulk' on us." Hunk said.
"But the ears make it really hard to take him seriously when he 'goes Galra'," Lance said. "They are so cute. And fluffy."
"And you're a weirdo." Keith snapped, elbowing Lance lightly in the side.
"I'm your weirdo." Lance retorted, pressing a kiss to Keith's forehead while the shorter teen rolled his eyes.
"Wait, does this mean that this wasn't the first time Zarkon's sent Galra to Earth?" Tali asked.
"We do not know the whole story, but I imagine if Zarkon did send Galra troops with the intention to invade Earth eighteen years ago, the planet would be conquered and we would not be having this discussion." Allura said.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Shinji asked, his eyes narrowed as he studied Keith.
"We know we can because we do." Pidge snapped irritably. "He's our friend and a Paladin of Voltron."
"Yeah, and apparently half of the same species that's hell bent on destroying the universe and was largely succeeding up until now." Shinji pointed out.
"And if we automatically assume that every Galra is born evil and cruel and capable of nothing but, then we're no better than they are." Shiro said.
"Other than Keith, have you actually met a Galra who isn't necessarily supporting Zarkon?" Shinji asked.
"Well, not yet." Shiro admitted.
"So how do you know they exist?" Shinji pressed, arching an eyebrow.
Pidge felt their hands clench when Keith reached over and put a hand on their shoulder. To Pidge's surprise, he looked pretty calm.
"Look, I know there's going to be some doubts, especially when I'm in Galra form. But Red was held by the Galra for who knows how long, and she still trusted me enough to choose me as her Paladin." Keith said. He grinned. "And Red has a lot of plans to make Zarkon and all his cronies her personal chew toys."
"I would venture a guess that the Galra half of you did persuade the Red Lion to choose you, Keith." Coran said.
"What, seriously?" Hunk said as they all turned to Coran, who had his back to them, working at the control panels.
"But, why?" Keith asked.
"The Red Lion's Original Paladin was a Galra as well. No one was too surprised when the Red Lion chose her, once it was known what the Red Lion values in a Paladin." Coran said. "The best of the Galra soldiers were not only very skilled, but heavily rely on their own instincts; they are difficult to keep in line for it."
"So there was another Galra Paladin other than… Black's?" Lance asked, biting his lip some.
None of the current Paladins felt at all comfortable with the idea that Zarkon once held the same position as Shiro, once shared the same bond with the Original Paladins that their team shared. So while they knew they had to acknowledge that Black's first pilot was a tyrannical dictator and that he was Galra, no one ever associated Black's Original Paladin with Zarkon out-loud.
"Yes. But the other three were Alteans." Allura said with a small smile. "My father was the Original Yellow Paladin."
"I thought your dad just created the Lions." Pidge said, brow furrowing as they looked at Allura.
"No one created the Lions. Well, their souls anyway." Coran said, turning around at last. "Their bodies, their armor and weapons… It was a fusion of Altean Life Force energy and Galran magic. But the Lions weren't the only collaboration. For example, your suits of armor are Altean made."
"Oh, that explains a lot." Hunk said, realizing that the Alteans shape-shifting abilities would require clothing that accommodated those powers. Similarly, the suits of armor adapted to each of the new Paladins and their differing heights and body types.
Coran nodded before continuing,
"But your bayards, to contrast, are Galra made."
"I never realized that the Alteans and Galra were so close before Zarkon took over." Shiro said, while the other four Paladins quickly brought their bayards to hand, staring at them with wide eyes.
"They weren't. Not for eons." Coran said, turning back around to the controls. The sadness in his voice was rather evident. "The Lions, Voltron and the Paladins were to be a symbol of peace throughout the galaxy. A celebration of the truce between Altea and Galra. To bring together two rival cultures, and bond them together forever. Now, unless any of you have anything else to add to Miss Lani's list in this very moment, I suggest you hit the ol' training deck. Never know when we'll pick up a signal, and you don't want to be rusty when we do."
The Paladins nodded.
"I'll oversee the control room, and start the set up process." Allura said. She smiled at Lani. "You'll be able to get the best footage—and be in a much safer position—from there."
"We'll get our helmets and meet you there in a few ticks." Shiro said.
"What's a tick?" Tali asked as she followed Allura and Lani out of the room.
"A time slice just a bit longer than a second, from what we have determined following multiple experiments." Allura said
"So, then are minutes longer? How many ticks in a minute? Do you have minutes? How about hours? How does it work?" Lani asked, her voice and questions echoing down the halls as the three women walked further away. Shinji disappeared after them, but turned down a different hallway, going who knows where.
Pidge glanced at the other Paladins, then at Coran. They were glad to see that they all seemed to share the same questions for the man Lance had once affectionately described as their 'wacky space uncle'.
"The Original Red Paladin…" Keith said in a low voice. "What was her name?"
"Ryla." Coran answered. "Affectionately referred to as 'Ry' by the Black, Yellow and Blue Paladins. Only the Green Paladin ever called her 'La-La' and lived to tell the tale. Well, the Green Paladin and Allura."
"Why don't we talk more about the Original Paladins?" Shiro asked. "You talk about them collectively as a team, but you and Allura have never talked about them individually. We understand why we don't discuss… Black's first pilot… But the others? We didn't even know Alfor was a Paladin until just now."
"Allura was young enough when their team broke apart that I doubt she has many memories of the Original Paladins when they were assembled. I doubt she saw Voltron ever assembled other than on a few special occasions before… before they could no longer do so." Coran said.
"What happened to them?" Pidge asked quietly. "What happened that broke them apart?"
"Yeah, if they had a bond like we do now… What happened?" Hunk asked.
"It's not important." Coran said. "What is important is your team now. Your mission, your bond."
"Yeah, but how do we make sure we don't make the same mistake they did?" Lance asked.
"You won't, Number Three. I know you won't." Coran said.
"Yeah, we've all got these really strong bonds with each other and the Lions now, but what will we do if—" Lance said, but Coran cut him off.
"I was not speaking of the team as a whole, Lance. I was talking about you specifically." Coran said, turning around to face the wide-eyed Paladins.
"You are all much better Paladins than the Original pilots. Have a much stronger bond with each other and with your Lions." He paused, then said, "I have—had—the utmost respect for the Original Paladins. With one exception. You, Lance, are thousands upon thousands of times better than the Original Blue Paladin. You will not make the same mistakes he did. I know it."
"Wait, are you saying that it was the Original Blue Paladin's fault that the first Team Voltron broke apart?" Lance asked.
"Each Paladin, each Lion, makes up a vital piece of Voltron. When one is weak, the others fall." Coran said. "The Blue Lion's original pilot… He learned this lesson the hard way. But you… You boys and Pidge will not. You're all made of much tougher stuff. Any time you find a weakness, you reinforce it, make it stronger. The Original Paladins did not know how to do that."
Coran turned back to the control panel again.
"Now get going or the Princess will start to worry." He said, dismissing them.
Silently, the Paladins left the room.
"What. The. Quiznak?" Hunk whispered as they walked. "What was all… that?"
"Coran really did not like the first Blue Paladin, from the sounds of it." Pidge said. "He basically pinned the entire blame on that guy. But, that can't be the entire story, right?"
"I doubt it." Shiro said with a frown.
"Yeah, but I don't think Coran's going to tell us the entire story. He really didn't seem to like our questions just now." Keith said.
"He answered them." Lance pointed out, his own voice flat and despondent.
"Yeah, but in a round-about way." Pidge said. "Which is also weird. Coran loves to tell us stories and every minute detail."
"Then we'll just ask Allura." Shiro said. "After we train."
The other Paladins agreed and followed to the training deck, all of them hoping that the physical exertion would serve as a distraction.