**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
Sam and Colleen Holt were the first to rush forward as the car hatches opened. Pidge practically flew as she leapt from the vehicle into her mother's open arms. "Mom!"
Colleen sank to her knees, hugging her daughter tightly as tears dripped from her eyes. "Oh! Oh, Katie, I'm so glad you're home!"
Lance's family was next. "Lance!" One of his sisters, a woman wearing glasses and a Garrison officer's uniform had called out to get his attention. Two young children sprinted towards him, breaking away from their parents as they screamed, "Uncle Lance!"
His eyes lit up upon seeing his niece and nephew. Tears flowed and a giant grin spread across his face. "Hey!" he beamed, running to meet them. He fell to his knees as they glomped him, followed by the rest of his family as they wrapped him in one big embrace.
Mari watched them through the window, a small smile tugging at her lips. It was good to see them so happy, finally reunited with their families. Coran and Shiro exited their vehicle, followed by Scarlett, Romelle, and Allura as the two gentlemen helped them down.
"You ready?" Shiro asked, holding out his hand to help her step out.
Mari pressed her lips into a thin line before taking a deep breath to steel herself. "Yeah," she decided, before taking his hand and hopping out onto the concrete. When they rounded the vehicle to face the crowd, Keith and Kosmo were waiting for them. She cast them a tight smile when a thready gasp suddenly filled the air.
"Takashi! Mariko!"
Her heart froze at the sound of the voice, and she turned to see an older couple making their way towards them. A man with broad shoulders and graying hair leaned heavily on a cane, keeping the weight off his left leg, while in his other arm, he cradled a black cat. His gray eyes were tired but alight with joy. The woman next to him was wrapped in a shawl and held his arm, supporting him in their gradual trek. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, the dark gray now streaked with white. Her eyes shimmered with tears and her lower lip trembled. Their parents, Taiki and Mai Shirogane, and their cat Kage, were alive and safe.
The tension left Shiro's shoulders upon seeing them, his expression softening and threatening to crack. Their parents closed the distance between them, pulling their children close in a tight hug after so many years of separation. Their mother's thin frame trembled as she clung to them, squeezing the air out of their lungs.
"Oh, my babies, my precious babies…" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion as she cried. "You're back, you're finally back."
"Welcome home," their father croaked, and Mari let out a shaky breath as she took in his familiar warmth.
"We're home," Shiro murmured, his voice thin and quivering with joy. "It's good to be back."
Mai sniffled, pressing the tears from her cheeks as she pulled away. "Oh my goodness…This is such a miracle," she beamed. "Let me get a better look at you two…Oh, Takashi, your poor arm! And your hair! Oh, and that scar on your face…" Her smile faded as she delicately cupped his face in her hands, turning it side-to-side to inspect it. "What about the disease? Do you need medical attention?"
"No, Mom," Shiro kindly assured her. "I'm all better now."
"Oh, bless space medicine," Mai breathed, and Shiro gave her a tiny smile. Of course he wouldn't be telling her an evil space witch had cured him and taken his arm just to toy with him, clone him, and turn him into a super weapon. She whirled on Mari next, throwing any regard for personal space to the wind as she patted her down, fretting, "Mariko, please don't tell me you have any missing limbs! Are all your organs in place? You're not sick, are you?"
Mari squirmed and sidestepped her touch, holding up her hands to ward off any more prodding. "I'm fine, Mom," she said, wisely deciding not to mention the spinal cord implant that kept her upright and walking.
Mai didn't seem convinced, but oddly enough, she didn't argue with her daughter. She clasped her hands together, unable to take her eyes off her children. Kage yawned and stretched in Taiki's arms, prompting Mari to divert the attention away from her.
"Aw, Kage," she grinned, rubbing the old cat between the ears. "Hey there, buddy. You made it."
Kage closed his eyes at the familiar touch and purred, content to be receiving pets right after a nap. Behind her, Kosmo growled quietly, but the feline was unperturbed by the cosmic creature's jealousy.
"Dad, what happened to your leg?" Shiro asked, glancing down at his cane. "Are you okay?"
"It got hurt when the invasion began," their father shrugged, as if it were nothing. Then addressing his daughter he said, "If it weren't for your friends, I probably would've lost it. We wouldn't have made it to the Garrison without them."
As if on cue, a blur of orange blindsided Mari, tackling her to the ground with a loud 'OOF'. A pair of muscular arms wrapped around her torso and a fluffy blonde head nuzzled into her neck.
"You hot and reckless bitch!" the woman growled. "You scared us half to death disappearing on us like that!"
Mari wheezed and tried to break free, but the woman only squeezed her tighter. She uselessly patted her back, half trying to console her and half trying to push her off. "Hey…I can't…breathe!"
"You're suffocating her, Maggie," a second voice scolded, and Jia's soft smile popped into Mari's vision as she promptly yanked Magdalena off of her.
Groaning, she sat up and scowled at the duo. Clad in the orange uniforms of senior cadets, they looked undeniably older, yet they were just as Mari had remembered them: Magdalena, loud and bubbly and strong, and Jia, blunt and ever the calm and collected one. Her heart swelled and she couldn't help but give in and grin at them.
"It's great to see you guys again," she chuckled, and she accepted Keith's hand as he silently helped to pull her up off the ground. She hugged her old friends and they wrapped their arms around her in turn.
"We're glad you're in one piece," Jia murmured into her shoulder. "Commander Holt said you and Shiro were alive and well when he returned, but…Well, it was hard to believe. None of his video evidence showed you."
"I'll kill the man who kidnapped you into space," Maggie sniffled, the hostility in her voice overflowing, and Keith stiffened under her scrutinizing glare.
"No one kidnapped me into space," Mari sighed with a roll of her eyes. She pulled away from them and granted them an appreciative nod. "Thanks for helping my parents while I was gone."
"It wasn't just us," Jia said, tucking a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. "Aaren did most of the work. He brought them here with other resistance members."
Mari stared at her, eyes wide. "What?"
"He never got to graduate or anything cuz the invasion shut down his school, but he's become a pretty reliable medic for the Garrison forces," Maggie nodded. "He brought our parents and a buncha other doctors with him here."
"So he's here right now, too," Mari murmured, her heart sinking, but whether it was in relief or dread, she couldn't tell.
Before they could converse any further, Commander Iverson approached their group. He nodded to Mai and Taiki before addressing Shiro.
"Officer Shirogane," he greeted, stiff and formal. "It's great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarantine."
"Ah, so you're the one who strapped Shiro to a table," Coran piped up, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest as he sidled next to the rigid military man. "I heard about that."
"You were just following orders, as any good soldier would," Shiro said, quick to diffuse any growing tensions between the Altean advisor and the officer. He smiled as he added, "It's great to see you, too." Then gesturing to the rest of their crew, he added, "Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies. Meet Allura, Romelle, and Coran. And this is Scarlett. She's a Utearen inventor who's been aiding the Voltron Coalition."
Allura, Scarlett, and Romelle smiled in greeting while Coran pinched his mustache. "The honor is mine," Iverson grinned in response. "Your technology has been instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth."
"Oh, yes. Pop-Pop was quite the genius," Coran preened.
"Ohmygoshrealaliens!" Maggie whispered not-so-quietly as she gazed at them in awe.
Jia turned to Scarlett, who happened to be the closest to them. "Sam mentioned you in his report. Can you really read minds?"
Scarlett nodded, her antenna glowing brighter in her nervousness. "I can."
Maggie squealed and clasped the startled Utearen's hands. "Read mine! What am I thinking about right now?"
Scarlett blinked, new thoughts flowing into her brain from the human woman. "I-I don't think I should say this out loud…" she admitted slowly, and Mari could only imagine what sort of inappropriate thoughts Maggie had conjured up. Her brow furrowed as she wondered, "What's a cucumber?"
"Heehee! This is so exciting!" Maggie gushed. She glanced at the others to provide context. "I was thinking about how many cucumbers someone could shove up their – "
"Cadet!" Iverson barked, instantly silencing her. "Watch your language!"
Maggie yelped and obediently released Scarlett. She and Jia stood at attention and clasped their hands behind their backs, but there was no suppressing their grins as they continued to stare at their friend and her off-world allies.
"Yes, sorry, sir!" they chorused, and he sighed before turning to Keith.
"And you, Cadet."
Keith dutifully saluted him. "Yes, sir."
Iverson's hardened expression softened as he looked at Voltron's leader. "I…owe you an apology as well," he admitted. "I've heard about all you've done. I was wrong about you. It's an honor and privilege to see you again."
"Thank you, sir," Keith said, granting him a small and appreciative smile. "I guess I wasn't exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you a bit of an apology too."
He held out his hand to the commanding officer and Iverson took it, their past conflicts forgiven. Kosmo curiously sniffed at the older human, and Iverson's face lit up at the sight of the wolf.
"Ah, and who's this little fella?" he asked, and Kosmo stepped forward, permitting him to give the good pets.
"Oh, Kosmo likes you," Coran cooed, watching at Iverson happily obliged, carefully caressing the cosmic wolf. "But be careful. If you touch him, he could zap you to a different universe. Seriously."
Iverson paled. He cleared his throat and casually straightened, leaving Kosmo to trot over to inspect Kage. Lingering by his vehicle at the edge of the group, James had been quietly watching them all the while. As Keith cast a look his way, he tugged his helmet off and shot the paladin a scowl before marching off towards the building, leaving them be in their reunion.
"He's still like that," Keith muttered.
"What's his problem? You have beef with him?" Mari wondered, and his frown deepened as James disappeared out of sight.
"Sorta."
Nearly as soon as James entered the main building, another young man wearing a white hazmat suit emerged. Behind the clear plastic mask of his hood, Mari could make out his ruffled brown hair and narrowed eyes. Her stomach pooled with dread as he approached their group.
"Speaking of beef…" Jia hummed.
"Aaren, you are so late to the welcoming party," Maggie muttered, glaring at her younger brother.
He shot her an irritated look, but ignored her as he addressed Iverson. "Preparations for the decontamination process are ready, sir."
Shiro frowned and raised an uneasy eyebrow. "Decontamination?"
"The admiral insists on it," Iverson sighed, as if he disagreed with the decision but could do nothing about it.
"It's nothing dire, sir," Aaren promised, turning to Shiro. "We don't have time to waste quarantining you. The best we can do is a shower and new clothes while we sterilize your…" – he gestured vaguely to his paladin attire – "...outfits."
"It's armor," Mari didn't miss a beat in correcting him.
Aaren stared at her, long and hard, drinking in her appearance before he slowly nodded. "Right. Armor." His gaze briefly flicked to Keith, who was watching him like a hawk. A tight smile tugged at the corners of Aaren's lips as he said, "Welcome back to Earth, Mari."
The decontamination team was quick to herd the new arrivals away from their families and friends and into one of the Garrison's communal showers. Separated from the boys, Mari, Allura, Pidge, Scarlett, and Romelle shed their clothes and armor to be cleaned and thoroughly scrubbed themselves down.
"Your friends are weird," Scarlett noted once they'd been left alone.
"They're like that," Mari hummed as she scrubbed her face. "I'm glad they're all safe."
"I'm relieved your parents reacted well to your return," Allura said, rinsing the shampoo from her long hair. "I must admit, I was bracing myself in case your mother began to scold you."
"You're not the only one," Mari chuckled dryly. "I'm surprised she reacted so well."
"I feel so bad for Hunk," Pidge pouted, rubbing her eyes as several stray water droplets trickled into them. "We have to find out where his family is."
Besides Keith, he had been the only one who's family wasn't here at the Garrison. Hunk had been so excited to see them again, but they were still out there somewhere, at the mercy of Sendak's forces.
"Absolutely," Mari agreed without even a hint of hesitation.
"Of course!" Allura exclaimed, and Scarlett nodded, the lot of them collectively refusing to let one of their teammates suffer.
When they hopped out of the showers and dried off, five sets of clean Garrison cadet uniforms awaited them. They tugged on the dark slacks, boots, and the orange and tan tops before snapping the belts around their waists.
"Ugh…I did not miss this ugly uniform," Mari grumbled, inspecting herself in the mirror.
Pidge's face scrunched up as she stared at her own reflection. "Same here," she said, pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. She glanced at Allura, Romelle, and Scarlett and added, "It doesn't suit you guys at all."
The colors of the academy's clothing seemed to suck the vibrant life out of the three off-world women. Allura gave her a sheepish smile in silent agreement and Scarlett cringed as she ran her hands over the strange fabric.
"I like it," Romelle confessed, smiling to herself as she tied her hair up in a bun as opposed to her original pigtails. "It's snuggly."
"'Snuggly' is not the word I would've chosen," Scarlett muttered.
Stepping out of the steamy room, the boys were waiting for them in the hall. They had also been given cadet uniforms to wear, including Coran.
Lance's eyes sparkled as he grinned at them. "You guys are rocking the uniform," he complimented.
Pidge glowered at him. "Don't lie."
"I'm not!" he insisted. "I'm being a hundred percent serious."
"Thank you, Lance," Allura said, humoring him with a sweet smile.
Mari scanned their group, taking note of their missing member. "Where's Takashi?"
"Iverson had to show him something," Keith said. "We're supposed to head to the conference room for debriefing."
She grimaced. "Lovely. We get to face all the hardheads now." She placed her hands on her hips, already steeling herself for battle. He continued to stare at her, and she scowled at him. "What?"
"Nothing. I just…I never did see you as a cadet."
He was right. With her late admittance into the Garrison, she had been put in a lower class than him, Lance, and Hunk. Then with her sudden removal from the Garrison, she'd never even passed them in the halls, let alone study alongside them.
"You didn't miss much," she shrugged, watching as Lance began to lead the way down the hall. "Cadet life never really suited me anyway."
A smile tugged at Keith's lips. "That makes two of us," he said, gently nudging her in the ribs, and she nudged him back before they made their way through the facility.
Junior cadets, officers, and refugees alike murmured and gawked as they passed, words of Voltron being exchanged amongst them. The paladins were already celebrities here. They were the chosen heroes who had traveled to worlds beyond their wildest imagination, only to return to Earth to liberate everyone from the alien invaders. Whether they could actually do it or not remained unknown to the onlookers, the doubt reflected in their eyes as they watched the group of young heroes walk by.
As they rounded a corner, Iverson emerged from the memorial room. He was soon followed by Shiro, who was now wearing the gray garb of an officer, the right sleeve having been rolled up to accommodate his lack of limb. His expression was pained, his jaw set and his eyes swimming with sorrow. The others stopped upon seeing them, their concern for their leader spiking.
"What's wrong?" Keith asked, his brow furrowed in worry.
Shiro took a shaky breath. "Adam," he said, his voice quivering and thick with grief. "He…He was killed in action."
Keith's eyes widened and Mari's heart skipped a beat as the shock ran through her. Ex-fiance or not, Adam had been a good man. A great pilot. And a family friend. Sendak had once again taken away something – someone, that had been dear to them. How many more lives would he take before this was all over? When would it all end?
"Takashi…I'm so sorry," she whispered, unsure of what else to say. She swallowed past the growing lump in her throat before enveloping him in a hug, offering what little comfort she could. He wrapped his arm around her, trembling as he returned the embrace.
They stood like that for a few moments and only separated when Iverson's watch beeped. His gaze was sympathetic as he looked at them. "He and our other pilots gave Earth a fighting chance. Their sacrifice will not be in vain," he said, quiet and certain. "It's time for our debriefing now."
Shiro inhaled slowly, struggling to steady himself. Then he nodded, putting on a brave face as they prepared to confront the urgent task that had been presented to them: saving Earth from Sendak and his army.
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