**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)


With her rebel transponder activated and Ellosh informed of their coming, Mari spent the next couple days testing out the Kintsugi while Scarlett and Mitsubishi packed their things. As promised, the ship was fast and agile, almost more than Mari was prepared to handle. The blasters were sharp and precise and she was sure they could blow a Galra fighter to bits no problem. It took her hours and hours of practice until she got a good feel for the Kintsugi's speed. When she finally felt comfortable and confident with the controls, she prepared to begin packing up her things as well.

It was a task that didn't take her long. She didn't have many personal belongings up here in space, save for her phone, earbuds, clothes, toiletries, the Putaverunt Crystal, her transponder, her staff, and the Quintessence Rings. With her packed bag ready and sitting next to the door, she was good to leave for Vurelle tomorrow morning. She stared at her empty room and an inescapable sadness filled her chest. This was it. She was really doing this. Now all she had left to do was tell Keith she was leaving and say her goodbyes.

Mari hadn't seen him at all in the last few days. Whether he was on a really long mission with the Blades or he had come and gone from the Castle when she had been out practicing, she didn't know. But she was determined to see him before she left. She wouldn't go without seeing him one last time.

Scooping up her bag, she headed down to the Castle's hangar. The Kintsugi was right where she'd left it just a few hours ago, parked amongst the Altean pods. She tossed her pack up and climbed inside before stowing it in one of the storage holds, quietly taking note of how half of them were now stuffed with Scarlett and Mitsubishi's tech. When she emerged and hopped back onto the floor, Keith was waiting for her.

"You got your ship," he said, taking in the Kintsugi in all its glory. He was donned in his Marmoran garb once again, a duffel slung over his shoulder. "How do you like it?"

"She works like a charm," Mari smiled, patting the side of the ship lovingly. "I assume you knew about this project too?"

He shrugged. "I may have test flown it a couple times."

Mari rolled her eyes. Of course he did.

An awkward beat of silence passed between them before Keith spoke again. "I heard from the others that you made up your mind," he said, slowly and carefully as if he were treading on a minefield. "About becoming a rebel officer."

Mari nodded, her smile fading. "I did. I'm doing it."

Keith's face fell, although he quickly tried to hide it. "Oh. Well…I'm sure you'll do great." There was no enthusiasm in his voice as he held out a hand. "Good luck out there."

She stared at his outstretched hand but didn't take it. "You're saying goodbye now?" she asked, a rising feeling of dread pooling in her stomach. "I'm not leaving until tomorrow though."

"I know, but…I'm leaving," he said, his expression tightening. "Right now."

It felt like she'd been punched in the gut. "What?" she wheezed, and his hand dropped to his side in defeat.

"The Blades have discovered an entire network of hidden supply lines that have been transporting that new form of quintessence. It could lead us right to Lotor," he said, his words rushed as if he had just explained this to someone else. "Kolivan is setting up a mission to infiltrate the supply line and I want to be a part of it."

"But you can't just leave. What about Voltron?"

"Shiro flew the Black Lion today. While I was gone and the others needed help." He frowned, pain flaring in his eyes as he quietly added, "Voltron…doesn't need me anymore."

Mari's mind was reeling. Shiro flew the Black Lion today? It had opened up to him again? She must've missed that when she was out in the Kintsugi. But now Keith was leaving. This was his chance to escape and he wasn't even hesitating to take it. It made her mad just as much as it worried her that he had wasted no time trying to get off of Olkarion now that he was freed from his Voltron responsibilities.

"What did the others say?" she asked. There was no way they'd let him go this easily, right? "Did you tell them?"

Keith nodded, unable to meet her gaze. "Shiro supports my decision. They all do."

She couldn't believe it. Did they not try fighting him about this? She knew they were irritated with how much he'd been absent lately — she'd be lying if she said she wasn't annoyed with him too. But to just let their leader go this easily? No one was supposed to be replaceable on their team, not Shiro, not Keith, not anyone.

Her hands curled into fists. She wanted to punch something. "How long will you be gone?" she asked, her question a whisper.

"I don't know. It could be months," he confessed.

"I don't want you to go."

Keith looked at her, surprise briefly flashing across his face before he masked it with headstrong defiance. "I have to. I need to. There's no use staying around here now," he said, gesturing to the Castle vaguely. "That's why you're leaving too, right? We both have something we need to do."

Nothing's meant to stay the same. His words haunted her, reminding her that he was, once again, right. The paladins had changed. Voltron's mission had changed. The two of them couldn't stand by and pretend things were like the old days when they first arrived on Arus. They couldn't watch the universe crumble around them. Keith needed to find his place amongst the Blades to help Voltron stop Lotor. And she needed to find her place in the world to help the coalition.

Mari's heart clenched painfully when she realized she couldn't argue with him. She pressed her lips together in frustrated determination, her mind made up. She would shove these heavy feelings away. For now, she had to focus on what she could do for herself and for her teammates.

Unclipping the chain around her neck, she slid the Quintessence Rings into her palm."Since we're both leaving the Castle and we don't know when we'll see each other next…I want you to take one," she said, sad but sure.

Keith glanced at her, hesitant. "I thought you were going to give one to Shiro."

She grimaced as she recalled her brother's reaction to the rings. "He doesn't want it. He made himself very clear about that," she said, bitter and curt.

He stared at them long and hard, the rings seeming to grow heavier beneath his gaze. All they symbolized and what was being implied by Mari offering him one hung thickly in the air between them.

"Mari…I…" Confliction flooded his eyes, preventing him from properly communicating what he wanted to say.

I can't.

She sighed, her stubbornness getting the best of her. "You said you wanted to keep tabs on me once. Well, now I want to keep tabs on you," she said, refusing to yield. "You don't have to wear it on missions or anything…but some reassurance once in a while would be nice."

Keith didn't say anything. An embarrassed heat rose to her cheeks and her attention shifted to the floor.

"It's just for my peace of mind. You're…a very dear friend to me, Keith. Maybe even more than that. I don't really know yet," she continued, struggling to keep her voice calm and even. "I know I'm being pushy and annoying right now, but no matter what you think of me, please just do me a favor and take one. It doesn't have to mean anything to you. Just…" She paused, taking a steadying breath as she forced herself to look back up at him "Just please promise me that you won't die. That when this whole war is all said and done, you'll come back to us alive."

Their eyes locked and a tense moment of silence passed between them. Then two.

Finally, Keith relented. He took a deep breath and straightened, his expression seeming to reset as he stuffed down all the feelings he didn't quite understand. "Okay," he said, his tone soft but more certain than it was before. "I promise I won't die." He took one of the rings from her and clutched it in his hand. "That's what this will mean."

A wave of relief washed over Mari. She knew something as simple as a ring couldn't protect him, but now she had his word. And that was good enough for her. "Okay," she said, her fingers curling around the other ring. "Then I promise not to die either."

She held out her fist and he bumped it gratefully, both still a little too emotionally raw to engage in any other sort of physical farewell contact.

"I'll see you later, Mari," Keith said, his eyes burning brighter as he prepared to board an Altean pod. "And…I'll think about it."

"I'll see you later, Keith," she said, granting him a small smile. She watched him toss his bag into the cockpit before he hopped into the pilot's seat. "Wait, you'll think about what?"

There was a pause. "What you mean to me. And how I feel about you," Keith replied, smirking when her eyes widened. "And maybe I'll give you an answer when I'm ready."

Without another word, the cockpit window materialized over him and the pod whirled to life. Then it streaked out of the hangar, leaving her and the Castle of Lions far behind.


The next morning, after teary goodbyes were exchanged over the breakfast table with the paladins and Coran, Mari, Scarlett, and Mitsubishi settled into the Kintsugi and departed for Vurelle. As they pulled further and further away from the Castle and the friends they were leaving, Olkarion became a tiny dot in the distance until it disappeared completely from sight.

The trip to Vurelle was a quiet one, save for Zyron's chirps as he flitted around the back of the cockpit. In a new ship with nowhere to turn back to and two young passengers sitting behind her, Mari was admittedly nervous. Her hands never loosened on her control sticks, her eyes fixated on the glowing navigation screens of her dash. It wasn't until the dusty planet that was their destination came into view that she felt herself begin to relax. Settling into the reality of their situation and focusing on the here and now, she smoothly descended into Vurelle's atmosphere. They landed in the port, now filled with rebel cargo ships and a few independent fighter ships. When they hopped out into the scorching heat, Ellosh, Treble, and Te-freya were waiting for them.

"Mitsu!" Treble gushed, glomping him the moment his boots touched the ground.

Ellosh placed a hand on his head, her smile full of love as she greeted her son. "Welcome home, my dear."

Mitsubishi leaned into her touch, his hair shifting to yellow. "It's good to be back."

"Welcome back to Vurelle, Mari," Te-freya greeted her. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

She held out a hand and the human girl shook it, a small smile gracing her features. "I am too. Thank you for giving me the chance."

Te-freya returned her smile, the tips of her feathery ears twitching in her happiness. "Let's get started then, shall we?"

Leading the way, she and Ellosh gave the trio a tour of the recovering planet. The marketplace was back in business, selling wonderful-smelling food and other legal goods with not a pirate or shady dealer in sight. Vurelleans and refugees of countless different species milled about, carrying boxes of supplies and chatting aimlessly with one another. As they approached the palace, Mari was glad to see it had been fully repaired of the damage caused by the explosion and the aerial battle with the Red Lion. Not too far from it was a bustling construction site where machinery clanged and drills whirred as builders worked on the aboveground structure that would be the rebel's main base of operations.

While the palace would remain the center of Vurelle's social and governmental affairs, the base would be the planet's direct connection to Voltron and all their allies in the coalition, the Blade of Marmora and the other rebels included. The building would hold supplies — food, medical, clothing, artillery, machinery — and it would provide lodging for refugees. There would be a training room and a workshop for those who wished to join the coalition and become an active fighter or engineer. An exterior line of cannon defense would protect Vurelle's skies from attacking ships while fighters were scrambled. New tunnels would be dug underneath the facility as emergency escape routes that would lead to a hangar with evacuation ships. Finally, the central command room would be where Mari supervised the base. Communication with their allies would be conducted here, as well as the interception of any suspicious transmissions from enemy forces. There was a lot to do before it was all completed, but Te-freya and Ellosh predicted the work would be done in the next month or two.

"The sacred arena ground has also been fully restored," Ellosh was saying as they made their way into the palace's communication room. "Once the base construction is finished, we will restart our mating rituals."

"There are already a ton of couples preparing to do it," Treble pitched in with a little skip in her step. "It's so exciting! I can't wait to see it!"

Mari nearly tripped over her own feet at the statement and Scarlett's face scrunched up in dismay. Mitsubishi's hair turned an embarrassed pink and even Te-freya looked mildly surprised, if not amused. Ellosh didn't seem the least bit fazed though as she kindly reminded Treble, "No, no, little one. I've told you before, you are not ready to witness or participate in such a thing. You must wait until you are older and have found your most precious person."

Treble pouted as if she had been expecting this answer. "Aww…but you and Korlis are gonna go. I don't wanna be left with Mitsu while you guys have all the fun."

"Do you even know what kind of 'fun' they're gonna be having?" Scarlett murmured under her breath, but the Flouwan girl didn't seem to have heard her.

"Treble, you wanna have a baby sibling don't you?" Mitsubishi asked, the pink color deepening, but his discomfort went unnoticed as her eyes lit up.

"Yeah! A baby!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up excitedly. "I wanna be a big sis!"

"Then you have to be patient and not interfere with the rituals," he instructed.

"Mhm! Okay, I promise I won't!" she said, bobbing her head up and down vigorously. "I'll be a good girl and wait until I'm older."

Mitsubishi sighed in relief, his hair fading to brown, and Mari turned to the Vurellean queen. "Are you gonna try for a baby?" she asked carefully, hoping she wasn't prying.

Ellosh didn't seem to mind as she nodded, open and honest. "Treble and Mitsubishi will always be my beloved children. I will love them with all my heart until the day I die," she explained, her voice filled with pride. Her eyes brimmed with a nervous hope as she glanced at Mari. "But this ritual, this tradition, is so important to me and so many others. We haven't been able to participate in it for years. But now we can. A new generation of Vurelleans will be born. They will live in a world where there is no Empire — only love and culture and an abundance of understanding amongst people of every background. And it will be all thanks to you and the paladins."

Mari shrugged, suddenly sheepish beneath Ellosh's appreciative gaze. "You're giving me too much credit, Your Majesty," she said with a shake of her head. "The only useful thing I did was bring Voltron here. And even then, I still put my friends in danger."

"Nonsense. You were the one who encouraged us to take the risk and fight. You defied Anka and destroyed her gladiator system," Ellosh reminded her, adamant that she not forget her own heroics on Vurelle. "You saved the future of Voltron, the future of the universe."

Mari hummed, refusing to agree or disagree with her. Ellosh smiled, soft and understanding as she took the human's hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm excited to see what the future has in store for us. I feel we have a while to go until this war is over, but at least we are taking one step closer to its end," she expressed, her tone wistful yet optimistic. "I hope we will all find the happy ending we desire."

It was a romantic wish, just like the ones sought out by heroes in fairy tales. With violence and chaos and unease as the constant companions of war, it almost seemed impossible that such an ending was in sight for any of them. Someone would always get hurt along the way. People would die, never to find a happy end. But for some reason, when Ellosh said it, so confident and composed and determined, it made Mari want to work for such an ending, for as many members of the coalition as possible. For her friends. For herself.

"Thank you, Ellosh," she said, squeezing the queen's hand back. "I really hope so too."

When they entered the comms room, one of Te-freya's subordinates was waiting for her, a middle-aged Puigian with dark blue horns and facial markings.

"Ma'am, we just got an emergency call from Kraydah's moon," he said, his rasping voice dripping with urgency. "The base has been compromised. They're evacuating before Galra forces arrive. Te-osh is there right now!"

Te-freya's eyes widened in shock. It had been months since she'd heard anything about her sister's whereabouts. She wasted no time diving into leader mode as she took action. "Bozi, gather your squad and come with me. We're leaving for Kraydah's moon immediately to help them," she ordered, and Bozi obediently ran from the room to find his crew. "Mari, stay here and contact the Green Paladin. Tell her to meet us there. This may be our chance to determine where her family is."

Mari's heart raced at the command. "On it," she said, already moving towards the central control panel and display system to contact the Castle. Behind her, Te-freya cast her a small smile of approval before hurrying out of the room to head for the moon and her sister.

Seconds later, Pidge's face popped up on screen. She sat in her chair on the bridge, looking mildly surprised to see it was Mari calling her. She grinned nonetheless as she teased, "Hey! It's only been a few vargas. Missing us already?"

As much as Mari would've loved to come up with a sassy retort, she couldn't afford to waste such precious time. "Pidge! They found Te-osh!" she blurted, straight to the point. "She's at the base on Kraydah's moon. They're evacuating right now, so you've gotta hurry before the Galra arrive!"

Pidge's jaw dropped for a tick before she quickly snapped it shut. A spark of furious hope ignited in her eyes and her jaw set with determination. "I'm there!" she confirmed, and she leapt from her seat, promptly ending the call.

A beat of silence passed before Scarlett let out a wry chuckle. "Wow. We haven't even been here a whole day yet and we're already making progress," she grinned. "Good job, team!"


As the sun fell, Ellosh escorted Mari, Scarlett, and Mitsubishi to their rooms in the palace. And after bidding them each goodnight, she left them to retire for the night.

Much like how she'd left her bedroom on the Castle of Lions, Mari's temporary lodging on Vurelle was simple and devoid of decorative belongings. There was a cushioned bed with a stone frame sitting against the wall with a trunk placed at the foot. A door to the left led to a small bathroom, and a window in the far wall gave her a fantastic view of the night sky and it overlooked the now quiet marketplace below.

Setting her bag on top of the trunk, Mari changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth before moving towards the window. She sat against the sill, replaying the day's events in her head while absentmindedly tracing her finger along the swirling designs that had been carved into the rock who knows how many centuries ago. Te-freya and her crew had yet to return from the moon. They hadn't heard from Pidge or any of the other paladins since she'd called either. She could only hope they were all okay.

Restless, Mari crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself for warmth. The ring around her neck clinked softly at the movement and she stared at it for a moment. Taking off the chain, she removed the Quintessence Ring and held it in her palm before hesitantly sliding it onto her right ring finger. The band was unexpectedly flexible as it adjusted to fit her finger comfortably, the metal glinting with the light from her room. A tick passed and then two. Then the thin band carved around the center of the ring began to glow the steady and soft blue of pure quintessence. She smiled and a comforting warmth bloomed in her chest knowing that somewhere out there, its twin was also being worn by its owner.

As she pulled her gaze up to the twinkling stars above, thinking about the countless miles that separated her from her most important people, she sighed. "Goodnight, everyone."


**Check out my tumblr to see some cool art: pufftheninja