I am quite partial to Lance, and may from now on set the reality portions of the fic in his perspective.

Chapter 6: Moving Forward

Lance was skeptical at first. The new paladin was alright, but she was definitely jumpy. It seemed that every little thing spooked her.

Nevertheless, she was the one Green had chosen, and he trusted the lions' judgement better than his own.

Her name was Nayo. She was an Olkari student. In fact, she was an apprentice to Reiner herself. The team had been excited to have another genius to rely on, but the girl's true colors quickly shone through the first time they encountered an alien ship.

"Aaah!" Lance's screen automatically showed Green's cockpit, where the girl was cowering behind her chair.

"Nayo?" Allura called. "Is everything alright."

"ALIENS. THERE'S ALIENS."

"Nayo…we're aliens too, you know…" Shiro said, somewhat confused.

"But how do I know if these guys are nice like you?"

"We're allies with the Galra, Nayo," Lance chastised. "Just because their ship is purple doesn't mean they're our enemy."

"Oh…right…"

"It just so happens," Shiro said, his voice softer, "that these guys are actually the people we came out here to meet. They may have information regarding the location of the witch Haggar."

Nayo squeaked, hiding further behind her seat at the mention of the witch.

Lance sighed. "This is gonna be an interesting process."

Since then, Nayo had not only warmed up to the team, but had put genuine effort into facing her fears and becoming more confident. And if anyone was a good confidence teacher, it was Lance.

Hunk walked into the lounge to find Lance and Nayo lying on the couches with orange facial masks on.

"Orange? Really?"

Lance sat up, grinning. "It was too hard to see the green with Nayo's complexion, so we went with orange instead!"

"And how exactly did you manage that?"

"Uh, food coloring. Duh."

Needless to say, the next few days brought about many laughs.

"I can't believe you used orange food coloring on a facial mask," Shiro said, shaking his head. "You should have really thought that through."

Lance looked in the mirror again. "I mean, it's not that bad. I already have a dark skin tone."

"I wasn't referring to you."

Nayo's orange face was definitely…unique. At first she was angry with Lance, but over the time that her face was discolored, she learned to laugh at herself more. In fact, her strange appearance actually boosted her self-esteem.

It wasn't an easy process, but at least the team was complete again.

Pidge sighed. It was getting harder and harder to push onward. Everything was discouraging. Everything hurt. She was sick of seeing people die, sick of feeling like she was trapped in the biggest cage in the universe.

There was a screen you could access from your menu that displayed the total number of deaths caused by the game and even listed the names. Pidge had long since disregarded it. Even the idea of the list made her sick to her stomach.

She'd been fighting in a war for over a year as a paladin. She'd seen destruction everywhere she went. But she also saw triumph. For every loss there was a victory.

But here?

Here you could only lose.

"Hey, you okay?"

Pidge looked up as Keith put his hand on her shoulder. She blinked a few times. She hadn't realized she'd been crying.

"Just…thinking."

"Too much thinking is bad for you."

"I know, but lately it seems that's all I ever do."

He sat on the bed next to her, taking her hand in his. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Keith spoke up again.

"Shyrik sent me a message. He's checking up on us, wondering how we're doing. He wants to know if we'll be joining him on the next raid."

Pidge shrugged. "Might as well."

Keith looked down at her, sadness in his eyes. He couldn't quite place when it was that she broke, but somewhere in the months they'd been trapped a light had gone out. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her smile.

Unlike Pidge, Keith was used to fighting a losing battle. Those four words could be used to sum up his entire life. He was used to losing everything.

He would do anything to reignite that fire.

"Hey," he said, smiling. "What if we take a day off?"

Pidge raised an eyebrow. "And do what?"

"Despite how horrible it is that we're here, this game is incredibly beautiful. A lot of detail was put into the world. Why don't we go explore it?"

Pidge gave an indignant snort. "What, like a date or something?"

Keith ignored the warmth in his cheeks and chuckled. "If that's what you want to call it, sure."

"No."

Keith was a bit taken aback by her sudden adamant response, though in retrospect, shouldn't have been all that surprised. "Why not?"

"We have too much to do. We're paladins. It's our duty to save the people trapped here."

"Stop saying that."

"Saying what?"

"'We're paladins.' You seem to have forgotten that I'm not a paladin anymore. And besides, here we're just the same as everyone else. We aren't some special heroes anymore. We're just normal people."

"Normal people who have been leading the fight against the Galra for over a year! They see leaders in us, Keith!"

"But we aren't the only leaders! Look at Shyrik. He's doing a much better job at leading than I ever could. He knows how to take charge and boost morale. Shyrik wasn't ever a soldier or anything. He was a retail worker.

"Normal people are a lot more than they seem, Pidge, and the opposite applies to us. We may be heroes, but we're still normal people. And normal people need to take a break every once in a while so they don't burn out.

"Look at yourself. You're exhausted. I'm exhausted. We're falling apart. Just like real bodies, these digital ones need rest. We can't always be on the front lines." Keith stood up, reaching a hand out to Pidge. "So please…take some time off with me?"

Pidge looked like she was about to say something, then stopped. "Even if I say no, you'll just drag me somewhere anyway, won't you."

Keith grinned. "You know me so well."

"Fine. What did you have in mind?"

Keith opened up his menu and navigated his way to his "saved screenshots" section. "Remember this area? We passed by it on our way to a boss room a month ago or so." Pidge shook her head, looking at the image curiously. "There's a trailhead leading into that forest. How about we go explore it?"

Pidge groaned. "Outside? I get a day off and you're making me spend it outside?"

Keith chuckled. "Yes, I am. Come on, you loved the forest on Olkarion. I'm sure this will be just like that."

It was not just like the forest on Olkarion.

Granted, the Olkari forest was filled with huts, buildings, and technological marvels that definitely don't occur in nature, but still.

Pidge wasn't sure how to feel about it all.

The path was narrow, and she ended up walking behind Keith. If there were any spectacular sights ahead of them, they were blocked by Keith's backside.

Not that she was opposed to that view.

She blinked a few times. Just how long had she been staring?

"You okay?" Keith called over his shoulder. "You've been kinda quiet."

Pidge shook her head. "You know very well that I'm not okay."

"Hey, at least you're still here. I was worried you'd run off while I wasn't looking."

"It's not like I could get far. You'd see that I was gone from your mini-map. Since you're faster than me, it'd only be a matter of time before you caught me."

They continued in silence for a while longer. Soon enough, the path began to widen, and Pidge was able to walk next to Keith. Squinting, she looked though the trees. "Hey, I think I see a clearing up ahead."

After walking a few more feet, they pushed through some foliage and stepped out into the clearing.

Pidge squinted, prepared for the onslaught of sunlight, but was taken aback by the shade in the area. The trees seemed to bend into the clearing, creating a canopy overhead. Unlike the surrounding forest, the grass here was neatly cut. It was a deep blue color, which paired well with the dark green leaves. Flowers of species Pidge didn't recognize formed a circle in the middle, surrounding a long, rectangular stone. The pale colors of the flower bed reminded her of Springtime back home. In fact, with the exception of the color of the grass, the whole area felt…nostalgic.

"Woah…" Keith breathed. Pidge looked up at him. His eyes seemed to sparkle with at the sight. A gentle breeze blew through his hair. Pidge felt her cheeks grow warm and looked away, instead choosing to observe how the same breeze caused a kaleidoscope effect with the shadows cast by the leaves. If there was one word Pidge would use to describe the area:

Magical.

This whole place felt like a small miracle. No, it was more than that. It was exactly what she needed. So perhaps, in that sense, it was the biggest miracle of all.

Tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She made no effort to hold them back, instead choosing to let them fall freely. She took a few tentative steps forward. As she approached the flower bed, the flowers seemed to bend out of her way, leaving her to step on empty grass as she approached the stone. Using the stone as a bench, she sat down, Keith sitting next to her.

Aside from the wind, the clearing was silent. There was no wildlife nearby to create a cacophony of noises. Instead, all seemed to be in harmony. All that was missing was a melody.

It took her a second to realize that the voice was hers. She'd begun singing subconsciously. The words were familiar to her. It was a song she'd heard many times growing up.

If you'd told Katie Holt she was a good singer, she would have brushed the compliment off. Sure, she sang in church choirs and even joined a school choir once, but she'd never had any formal vocal training nor did she spend time practicing to perfect her voice.

Pidge never sang. Nobody on team Voltron had ever heard her singing voice. There was no reason to sing, after all. Keith was caught completely off guard by the angelic voice ringing out next to him.

Read me a memory

Tell me a tale

Speak of wonderous adventures

Together we'll sail

Off to forests enchanted

And lands far away

Fairies and kings

And magical rings

My heart has wings

When I sit and your knee

And you read to me.

Keith knew that song. He had to learn it once when his class performed it for a musical assembly back in elementary school. He'd been so eager to impress his dad that he'd written down the words on his hand and up his arm so he could memorize it.

Those words had never left him.

He joined in on the second verse.

Years turn like pages

Soon I'll be grown

Maybe someday I'll read to

A child of my own

Though I may not remember

The stories we shared

I always knew

Through time spent with you

That you loved me too

For I sat at your knee

And you read to me

Pidge looked up at him, curiosity melting into joy as she started into the bridge. To both of their surprise, Keith came in, harmonizing.

Childhood like summer days

Dews on the grass

Soon will be yesterdays

Don't let it pass

'til you read me a memory

Tell me a tale

Speak of wonderous adventures

Together we'll sail

Off to forests enchanted

And lands far away

Fairies and kings

And magical rings

My hearts has wings

When I sit at your knee

And you

Read

To me

They sat there for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes. They both leaned in, and…

*Ding*

The moment was gone.

Keith blinked a few times before backing away and checking his notifications.

Shyrik.

"It was too bad you guys couldn't be here! The raid went super well! We ended up finding the level boss, if you can believe that! We took it down without a hitch! Just letting you guys know that we unlocked the next level. The first town is called Snowfall. Meet me at the tavern tonight so we can discuss everything in person!"

Pidge had received the same message. She sighed. "I guess we should head back, then. We wouldn't want to keep him waiting, after all."

Sadness crossed Keith's face, but he shook it off. "Yeah, you're right. We should get going."

I'm so mean sometimes. But hey, I can't progress things too quickly, now can I?

I need to make one thing clear: just because the series is ending doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing. That being said, we aren't too far from the end (I think…I've never been in the habit of planning ahead) so look forward to it!

AND I KNOW I SUCK FOR TAKING THIS LONG TO UPDATE I KEEP SAYING I'LL BE BETTER AND I DON'T AND I'M SORRY.

Anyway, how do you guys feel about the song? I don't know how well-known it is. It's one of my favorites from my childhood. It's called "Read Me a Memory" if you're curious and want to look it up.

I've always loved the idea of Keith being able to sing, as you can tell from "If I Could Tell Her." Learning to sing so he could impress his dad just felt right.

Thank you all for being patient! I look forward to seeing you for the next chapter!