Well, it's technically midnight over here so it's not July 4th any longer, but happy day in which your neighbors set off a constant stream of fireworks all night long for those of you who, like me, have the misfortune to live in America in a state where people can legally buy fireworks. I say that, but mostly they've been pretty well behaved this year even though they launched a bunch in pouring rain last year! Go figure.
Anyways, here's the new chapter! Baby Keith time! He is small, shy, and precocious, a deadly combination. At least one paladin won't make it out alive... and I think we all know that paladin is Hunk. He's done for. Dead. Godspeed, you funky little paladin.
crimson
chapter five
youngling
"So how old do you think he is?"
"It's hard to say." Coran brushed a stray strand of Kyix's hair out of his face, before turning towards Lance. "He's small enough to be around three or four cycles old, but there's a distinct lack of baby fluff. I'd say he's around five or six, perhaps even seven, if I were to be generous."
"Wow," Hunk said, "-he does not look seven."
"He is rather small." Allura frowned, her lips set in a tight line.
She'd known that he was an ahlet, but she hadn't expected him to be quite so tiny. He'd barley weighed a thing as she carried him back to the village, and later, to the Castle of Lions. He'd remained unconscious the entire time- his sleep was fitful at first, but thankfully he soon calmed down.
She had naturally inquired about the rire, and about Kyix's condition, but the Caligians had not been able to tell her much. They avoided that area of the jungle, giving it and the rire a wide berth. All they could tell her was that it was also known as the life-drainer, and that it had appeared on their planet nearly a millennia ago. They'd never heard of something like what had happened to Kyix happening before.
With no other choice, she had brought him back to the Castle of Lions. She'd given the Caligian chief a transponder, with which to contact her in the event any further Galra showed up- or if he or anyone else recalled something important about the rire. After that, she had taken Kyix straight to Coran, having already briefed him on the situation. He already had the medical ward set up when they'd arrived, for which she was grateful.
As there was no chance of going back for a sample, they had to rely on the data that their armor had automatically taken. They had stripped Kyix of his armor, though she left Coran to the task of actually changing his clothes- form of a child or not, he still deserved some privacy. They were able to find a pair of children's clothes in the stores, nothing more than a simple loose fitting tunic and leggings in a pale red color.
"Well, the good news is that he appears to be in good health." Coran said. "I'm not detecting any obvious anomalies, other than the fact that he's much smaller than he should be."
Allura let out a breath of relief. It didn't solve the obvious problem, but it was a relief to hear that he wasn't sick. She couldn't help but blame herself. If only she'd been a tick faster switching his helmet over, then maybe they wouldn't be dealing with this right now.
"So any idea why he's so tiny now?" Lance asked.
"Not yet." Coran shook his head. "I reckon it has something to do with that toxin Allura detected, but until I can take a closer look at the data, I can't be sure."
"So... what now?" Pidge asked.
"I suppose there's not much we can do but wait for him to wake up." Allura said.
"Should we maybe keep an eye on him?" Hunk asked. "Like in shifts or something?"
Allura gave him a faint smile. "That is an excellent idea, Hunk. We cannot be sure how he will react when he regains consciousness. It is best that someone is here with him."
"I could always watch him." Coran suggested.
Allura shook her head. "If it is all the same to you, I would rather you get started on analyzing the data. The faster we can fix this, the better."
"If we can fix this." Pidge unhelpfully chimed in. True to form, she merely shrugged when she looked in her direction. "What? Keith got shrunk by a magical life draining space tree. I can't be the only one thinking that there might not be an easy fix for this."
Heaving a sigh, Allura's shoulders slumped. She hated to admit it, but she had a point. Perhaps if she were a fully trained alchemist, she might be able to do something, but as it was, she had no idea how to go about it. She would just have to hope that Coran would discover something useful- or that it would simply wear off on its own.
"We will fix this." Allura said firmly. "Somehow."
She knew that didn't exactly sound encouraging, but it was all she had at the moment.
"Why don't you get some rest, Allura?" Lance asked. "You had a pretty long day. I mean, we all did, but you especially. I don't mind taking the first shift."
Casting Lance a grateful smile, Allura nodded. "Thank you, Lance. But are you sure?"
"Hey, it's no problem." Lance said. "I've got tons of experience with children."
"It's not a child, Lance." Pidge said, rolling her eyes. "It's Keith."
"Who looks like a child right now." Lance insisted, to which no one could argue with. "Don't you and Hunk need to finish working on the red lion anyways?"
"Honestly, I think what I need right now is a shower." Hunk grimaced. "Don't get me wrong, the paladin armor is super great and all, but it is definitely not made for trekking through muggy jungles."
Allura crinkled her nose. She couldn't agree more, frankly.
"Alright," Allura began, looking towards Lance, "-in that case, we will leave Kyix to you, Lance. If he wakes up..."
"I'll be sure to tell you." Lance said. "Go and get some rest, Allura. You look exhausted."
Giving him a weak smile, Allura thanked him again. As she left, she could hear the remaining paladins work out a shift schedule, and in spite of everything, she couldn't help but smile to herself. To think that she'd had such doubts about them when they had first arrived on the Castle. Her concerns had clearly proven themselves to be misplaced. The paladins were far more reliable than she had initially anticipated.
It only meant that she would have to strive even harder to be the black paladin they deserved- at least until they managed to find Shiro.
She made her way to her chambers, pressing her hand against the access panel that lead inside. The mice peeked their heads out of her jewelry box- one of their favorite nesting places, for reasons she could not even begin to understand, considering it did not look even the least bit comfortable. She gave them a weak smile to let them know she was alright, before she quickly showered, hastily changing into her nightdress and all but plunging into her bed.
She must have been more exhausted than she thought, because she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She woke to the sound of an alarm.
Jolting awake, it took her several ticks to realize that it wasn't one of the ship's emergency alarms- but rather, it was the smaller, more personal one she kept by her bedside. Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she swung her legs off her bed, reaching for the slender device. Switching it on, she was met by Hunk's face, worry rapidly giving way to relief when she answered.
"Oh, Allura! Thank goodness, you're awake." Hunk said so quickly that his words nearly blended together. The translator could barely keep up, and she likely would have been at a total loss had she not been learning the paladins' native tongue, a peculiar language they referred to as English.
"Hunk?" Allura frowned. "Is something the matter?"
"Well, you know how you said we should let you know if Keith woke up?" Hunk asked.
"Yes." Allura said.
"Well, he woke up." Hunk told her. "Only he doesn't seem to remember any of us."
Allura narrowed her eyes, already getting to her feet. "I'm on my way."
Switching the device off, she set it down. Grabbing a pair of slippers, she made her way down to the medical ward, not even pausing to change out of her nightgown. Hunk looked even more relieved to see her in person, and she couldn't help but notice that Pidge was also present, peering nervously into the medical ward. They were both dressed in their day to day wear, so they must have taken Coran's offer for a chance to shower off.
Though the main door to the medical ward was open, there was a sheet of glass-like material in its place, blocking access to it. She recognized it as one of the Castle's emergency features, akin to a one-way mirror. Not only did it help confine whoever or whatever was in the medical ward, but it also allowed those outside of it to get a better look at whatever it was that was inside.
Even with it firmly in place, she could still make out the sound of something growling from inside. It wasn't hard to guess what- or rather, who, was making that noise.
"How long has he been like this?" Allura asked.
"Not long." Pidge said. "He just woke up maybe ten minutes ago."
"And he doesn't recognize you?" Allura asked. "Any of you?"
Hunk and Pidge just shook their heads. Frowning, Allura peered into the medical ward herself. Coran and Lance, the latter still in his paladin armor, were currently clustered around a table, from which the hissing sound was coming- or rather, from underneath it. She could just barely spot Kyix tucked all the way back into the corner, hissing and growling in a way that reminded her of a youngling trying to defend itself against intruders.
That was exactly what he was doing, she realized.
If what Hunk said was true, and he didn't remember them, then he was probably terrified. He might not even know where he was, much less how he had gotten here.
"Tell me what happened." Allura said. "All of it."
Hunk and Pidge exchanged a glance, before Hunk answered. "I came to take over for Lance when Keith woke up. He seemed pretty disorientated at first, so Lance tried talking to him, but all he did was freak out. I'm not sure if he even understood us."
Allura frowned, her brows knitting together. "Perhaps he doesn't."
"What do you mean?" Pidge asked.
"Kyix doesn't rely on the Castle's translator technology like the rest of us do. Or any translators at all, really." Allura explained. "If we assume that he's been set back mentally to his current physical age, he might not remember how to speak your language."
"I thought the translators worked for everyone?" Pidge asked.
"They do, but they work better if you have the nanobots that go along with it." Allura said. "He may very well be in too much of a panic to notice the translations."
"He does seem to be speaking Galran." Hunk said with a frown.
Allura blinked, looking up at him in surprise. "You speak it?"
"I mean, I've had Keith teach me a few words here and there, but mostly it's just the sound of it." Hunk said. "I don't think what I do know would be much help- it's mostly just the names of ingredients. You know, for markets and stuff."
"Ah." Allura said simply. "No, I suppose that wouldn't help very much at all."
Heaving a sigh, Allura glanced back inside. The situation hadn't improved at all- if anything, it seemed to have gotten worse, if Lance nursing his arm was anything to go by. A cornered youngling bereft of their parents would protect itself by any means, true to Galra form. Perhaps a familiar face might calm him down, but even if she contacted Kolivan and explained the situation, it still might take time for someone to arrive. It wasn't a matter of distance- if it was just that, she could shorten the trip with a wormhole.
No, the problem was if Kolivan had anyone to spare. The Blade of Marmora had been stretched thin after Zarkon's defeat, and it was quite possible that anyone who might be able to calm Kyix was away on a mission, including the Blade leader himself. Summoning his mother would also likewise be impossible, as she was currently on a deep cover mission, and they couldn't afford to jeopardize it over something like this.
Which left one option.
"Pidge, come with me." Allura said. "Hunk, I want you to stay here and monitor the situation. Let me know if anything changes."
"Why?" Hunk asked. "What are you going to do?"
"If we can't bring in a familiar face," Allura said, "-then we'll have to make do with the next best thing."
"Hunk, where's Allura? I thought you said you were going to call her."
Hunk flinched slightly at Lance's question, his frazzled tone not helped by the constant hissing coming from underneath the table. He made sure to give it a wide berth, not wanting to end up like Lance. He didn't have any armor to protect him, and while normally, he knew Keith would never hurt him, these weren't exactly normal circumstances.
"I did!" Hunk said. "She left with Pidge saying something about familiar faces."
"Well, I can most certainly say that our young red paladin could use one of those right about now." Coran said, also putting some distance between himself and Keith. "I tried speaking to him in both Galran and Common, but I'm afraid he's just too worked up."
The hissing died down a bit now that there weren't people hovering by his hiding place, but Hunk could still see him watching the three of them intently. The shadows cast by the table made his eyes faintly glow, an admittedly eerie effect for someone so small.
"I don't get it," Lance frowned, "-the kids at the nursery were cute. How come Keith's such a demon?"
"While I'm not sure what this demon is," Coran began, thoughtfully tugging on one end of his mustache, "-I can actually understand where Number Four is coming from. In all likelihood, he thinks we've kidnapped him."
"But we haven't!" Hunk protested. "We're his friends!"
"Yeah, well I don't think Keith knows that." Lance huffed.
"Aw, man." Hunk frowned. "And here I thought we really made some progress."
"Ah, don't take it personally, Number Two." Coran patted him on the shoulder. "The mind often has unique ways of protecting itself."
"So, what?" Lance asked. "Keith doesn't remember us because he thinks he's a kid again?"
"I think the term is youngling." Hunk said.
"Whatever." Lance rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter. The real question is how are we going to get Keith to trust us when he won't even come out from underneath that table?"
"I think I may have the answer to that."
Perking up at the sound of Allura's voice, Hunk turned on his heel. "Al-!"
He couldn't finish saying her name, the unspoken syllables hanging heavy on his tongue before he snapped his jaw shut. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lance do the same thing- only Coran seemed unfazed by the princess' appearance, merely arching his brows and muttering something about a clever idea underneath his breath.
"Is that-?" Hunk finally began, but didn't get a chance to finish. Pidge put a finger against her lips, somehow managing to shake her head and use it to point towards Keith's hiding place at the same time. In doing so, something finally clicked, and suddenly the absurd sight of a tall, purple Allura wearing Blade armor that she had almost definitely stolen from Keith's room made a lot more sense.
The next best thing, apparently, was a familiar uniform.
It must have worked, because when he glanced back towards Keith, he'd poked his head slightly out from underneath the table. It was kind of hard to tell, but he was pretty sure his gaze was fixed intently on Allura.
"Marmora?" He asked- and if he was going to be honest, Hunk had to fight the urge to squeal. When he wasn't being a hissing demon child, baby Keith was actually pretty darn cute, all fluffy hair and wide eyes, and his voice was no exception. It was so different from his usual slightly rough tone.
"Yes," Allura responded, in what he recognized as Galran, even before the translators kicked in, "-Marmora."
Frowning, Keith crawled slightly out from underneath the table, so that at least his torso was halfway out. He still looked like he'd dart back under its relative safety at a moment's notice, so Hunk was careful not to make any sudden moves. It kind of felt like everyone was holding their breath, trying not to spook him.
It kind of made it feel like they were dealing with a wild animal, as opposed to a child, but he supposed there was some overlap there. His nephew had been incredibly skittish as a toddler, jumping at every loud sound. Needless to say, he knew how to be quiet.
"Is it alright if I come closer?" Allura asked.
Keith bit his lip, eying the rest of them, before he gave her a curt nod of his head. Allura smiled, carefully closing the gap between the two of them. As she knelt down in front of the table, Keith backed up slightly, but didn't move to duck back underneath it.
"Show me your blade." Keith challenged, with all the seriousness his pre-pubescent voice could muster- which was actually a fair amount. Hunk was impressed.
Allura didn't even so much as flinch, drawing what he knew had to be Keith's knife. Keith eyed it with suspicion, but either didn't recognize it as his own, or didn't remember he even had one in the first place. The tension in the room was palpable, anxiously waiting to see if Keith would request that Allura awaken it- a feat which they knew she couldn't do.
"Okay," Keith nodded, "-I believe you."
Allura smiled, hiding her relief well as she sheathed the knife. "I am sure you must be very confused-"
"Who are these people?" Keith cut her off, jabbing a finger towards him and the rest of the paladins, before leveling a suspicious gaze on Coran. "Where am I? I shouldn't be here."
"It is understandable you might think that." Allura said. "You hit your head, so your memories might be a tad shaky."
Keith frowned, reaching up to touch his head. "It does feel kinda sore."
"These people are the paladins of Voltron." Allura told him. "And you are on the Castle of Lions, currently."
Keith blinked, then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "No they're not. They don't look anything like the stories Ulaz told me. And they talk funny."
"Hey!" Lance protested, earning him a jab from Pidge and a hushed reminder to shut up.
"They are the new paladins of Voltron." Allura told him. "Not the ones you might remember from the stories."
"Oh." Keith said, his lips twisting into a tight frown that looked downright adorable on his tiny face. "I thought the Voltron lions were destroyed."
"On the contrary," Allura said, "-all five are right here, on this ship."
Blinking, Keith looked up at her with wide eyes. "I'm on a ship? I thought I wasn't supposed to leave the med bay!"
Hunk frowned at that, exchanging a questioning glance with the other paladins. What did he mean by that? Had Keith been sick or something at this age? He thought Coran had said he was perfectly healthy.
"And that's exactly why you're here!" Coran chimed in, sensing that Allura was at just as much a loss as the rest of them. "For treatment!"
"Treatment?" Keith frowned, looking unconvinced. He didn't try to slink back underneath the table though, which was probably a good sign. "I thought there wasn't one. Mom said I had to wait it out."
"Ah, but we Alteans were known as quite the pioneers of medicine back in our heyday!" Coran said. "You won't find a better ship out there for medical treatment than the old Castle of Lions. That's why Kolivan left you in our care- under the watchful eyes of one of his Blades, of course."
Keith's head jerked up, his eyes wide. "Alteans? I thought you all blew up!"
"Oh, not all of us." Coran said, seemingly unfazed by Keith's lack of tact. "But I can certainly understand the confusion!"
"How about you come out, so we can catch you up to speed?" Allura asked, offering Keith her hand. "I am quite certain you have a number of questions, but it would be much simpler to answer them if you weren't hiding underneath a table."
Keith seemed to flush, momentarily ducking his head. He carefully took Allura's hand, and Hunk couldn't help but notice how tiny his claws were. It wasn't just his claws either- he barely even came up to past Allura's knees, though granted, she had made herself taller. He looked kind of on the scrawny side, with big eyes that blinked in the light of the med bay. Coran had already dimmed the lights, so it didn't take him long to adjust.
He looked like... well, like a tiny, cuter version of Keith, right down to the mullet. For all that Coran claimed he didn't have his baby fluff anymore- which, by the way, sounded like the most adorable thing- his hair was still pretty fluffy. Or his fur, Hunk guessed. It was easy to forget that what was on Keith's head wasn't hair, but fur.
"There, that's better." Allura said with a smile. "I am Alora. Kolivan selected me to be a liaison of sorts to the paladins, as well as to keep a watchful eye on you."
"Alora," Keith repeated, crinkling his nose, "-that's a funny name."
"It's a fairly archaic name, I will admit." Allura said. "How about we all introduce ourselves again? Would that make you feel a bit better?"
Keith nodded, staring up at them. He was slightly hidden behind Allura's leg, and Hunk felt like his heart was going to give out. He didn't know what to expect from a young Keith, but he definitely hadn't anticipated shy. While normally he wasn't exactly the most social guy, he'd always just chalked it up to awkwardness- he was the literal alien in their group.
It was obvious he wasn't going to introduce himself first, so always being a friendly guy, Hunk decided to step up, even if it was a little weird to introduce himself to someone who already knew his name. Taking a step forward, he froze in place as Keith hid himself more behind Allura. He held up his hands to indicate that he didn't mean any harm, but also didn't move any closer.
"The name's Hunk." Hunk introduced himself. "Hunk Garrett."
"Hunk is the yellow paladin of Voltron." Allura informed him. "He is a splendid engineer, and an even more splendid cook."
Keith frowned, staring at him almost critically. For a second, he was worried that Keith hadn't understood him, before he huffed. "He still talks funny."
"Okay, first off, it's not that we talk funny." Lance cut in, causing Keith to flinch. "We're just speaking a different language."
"Oh," Keith frowned, his brows knitting together, "-it still sounds funny. Is it Altean?"
"We're human, actually." Pidge said. "Not Altean."
"Hue-man?" Keith repeated, scrunching his face up. "I've never heard of huemans."
"It's human." Lance corrected. "And that's because we're from a super distant planet called Earth."
Keith just stared at him in disbelief, his nose scrunching up even further. "You named your planet after dirt?"
"I actually wonder about that myself, sometimes. Always seemed to be a peculiar choice." Coran mused, tugging on his mustache. "I'm Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, though you can just call me Coran."
Keith nodded, apparently dropping the subject of Earth entirely. "Are you a paladin?"
"Oh, I'm afraid not." Coran said. "I just help out around the Castle, deal with mechanical issues, supplies and things of that nature. A bit of a jack of all trades, you might say."
"And I'm Lance!" Lance cut in, sticking out his chest. "Lance McClain! Sharpshooter ninja extraordinaire, at your service."
"I'm Pidge, and I can assure you, Lance is none of those things." Pidge said dryly.
"Hey! Pidge!" Lance snapped, causing Keith to flinch and duck all the way behind Allura.
Allura glowered at Lance, before heaving a short sigh. "Lance and Pidge are the blue and green paladins respectively."
Peeking slightly out from behind Allura's legs, Keith squinted. It took him a second, but Hunk eventually realized he was scanning the room for more people. "Shouldn't there be more paladins? Where's the red and black ones?"
"Well," Allura began, her gaze darting towards the rest of them, "-the red paladin is away on a separate mission at the moment. As for the black paladin..."
"He went missing awhile back." Pidge jumped in. "Right now Alora's the black lion's temporary paladin."
Keith's memories must have been on the fritz, because he didn't even react to the mention of Shiro, even if they hadn't used his name. He just nodded in all seriousness, apparently unfazed by the unnatural way Pidge had emphasized Allura's fake name of choice.
"The black lion's letting a Galra pilot it?" Keith asked in amazement. "I thought after Zarkon, it wouldn't like us anymore."
Oof. That stung, but not as much as it stung Allura. It was a lie- Allura was Altean, not Galra, but they couldn't let Keith know that right now. Not unless they wanted him to start freaking out again. He was sure once they got an actual Blade he knew on the ship, they could apologize and come clean, but until then, they needed to keep up the act for just a little longer.
"The black lion is very forgiving." Allura said. "The red lion's paladin is Galra too, actually."
"Really?" Keith asked, perking up at that. "Are they a Blade too?"
"As a matter of fact, he is." Allura smiled, slightly more at ease with this subject.
That was apparently good enough for Keith. He'd apparently decided that they weren't dangerous, even if Lance was kind of loud. He slowly edged his way out from behind Allura, until he was standing in front of her. Shifting on his feet, he stared up at them, his voice almost hesitant when he finally spoke.
"I'm Kyix." He introduced himself. "Son of Krolia."
"A wonderful name! You must have quite the favor from your mother." Coran said, Keith's expression brightening at the praise. "Now, why don't you tell everyone how old you are, Kyix?"
"I'm six." Keith replied, holding up six fingers, his slight frown settling to become an almost permanent fixture on his face. "But I'll be seven in a few phoebs. I just look small."
"Six, huh?" Lance asked- much quieter this time. Clearly, Allura's glare had worked. "You know, I've got a nephew back home around the same age."
Keith tilted his head, staring up at him. "Why does that matter to me?"
At a loss, Lance glanced towards him. All Hunk could do was shrug his shoulders, leaving Lance to awkwardly turn back towards Keith. He might know how to deal with human kids, but he was at a total loss for how to deal with a Galra child. He wished he'd asked Naveera more questions, but in his defense, how was he supposed to know that their resident Galra teammate would shrink back down into the form of a child?
Although, with how weird the past several months had been... maybe he should have expected something like this to happen at some point.
"I thought," Lance began, "-I don't know, that another kid your age would make you happy?"
"But he's not here. You said so." Keith said, his expression a miniature version of his usual scowl. It was only slightly offset by the fact that he was still hovering as close to Allura as possible, even if he wasn't quite hiding behind her anymore.
Shy and precocious. Baby Keith was going to be the death of him.
"Okay, so you got me there." Lance said, holding up his hands in defeat.
Keith huffed slightly, looking pleased with his little victory. It wasn't an expression that lasted long, seeing as it was hard to remain dignified after having your stomach loudly growl. Turning a deep shade of purple, Keith ducked slightly behind Allura again, his gaze rooted to the floor.
"Sounds like somebody's hungry." Hunk said. "How about it, little guy? You want to come with me to the kitchen, get something to eat?"
Keith looked up at him, visibly torn. "I can't. I might get sick."
"Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that." Coran assured him. "Like I said, Altean medical technology is nothing to sneeze at!"
Keith looked towards Coran, his expression caught between doubt and hope. "I won't get sick?"
"You won't get sick, I promise." Coran said.
Frowning, Keith stared down at his feet, his eyes hidden behind his hair. It occurred to Hunk in that moment how little he actually knew about Keith's childhood. Sure, he knew a lot more about Keith- the real Keith- now than he did back at the Garrison, but he was starting to realize just how little that actually was.
"Okay," Keith finally said, looking up at Hunk, "-I'll come with you. But only if Alora comes."
"Of course." Allura was quick to assure him. "I'm actually feeling a bit peckish myself."
"Great!" Hunk clapped his hands, beaming. "I've got a recipe I've been dying to try out."
Who knew? Maybe this would be a chance to tackle Keith's broken taste buds. It wasn't every day one of your friends shrunk back down into child size. He wasn't sure what kind of impact it would have when he went back to his normal self, but he was going to make the most of it while he still had the chance.
That is- if he managed to survive the trip to the kitchen, which might prove to be just a bit of a challenge. Nothing could have prepared him for Keith holding Allura's hand, and even Allura herself appeared briefly overcome by the gesture.
Baby Keith, he swore, was absolutely going to be the death of him.
"So what do we do now?"
"I know what I'm going to do." Lance said. "I'm gonna hit the showers."
Making a show of crinkling her nose, Pidge grinned. "Gee, and here I thought you'd just continue to stink up the place."
"Wha- I do not stink!" Lance bristled, raising the volume again now that Keith was gone. "All I am is just a little sweaty."
"If you say so." Pidge shrugged, before totally ignoring Lance and looking towards Coran. "So? What now? You have some way to fix this, right?"
"I should be able to develop some sort of anti-toxin that should be able to reverse the effects of the rire's noxious gas." Coran said. "It's just a matter of finding the right ingredients and using the right amounts."
"That sounds easy." Lance shrugged. "And here I thought this might be like, actual work."
"Not that easy, I'm afraid." Coran said. "It will take me at least a quintant to come up with a list of ingredients for the anti-toxin, all of which I'll need to cross check against any known allergies that Kyix has. Which reminds me, we need to contact Kolivan. I'm somewhat concerned some of the things our Galra youngling has said."
"Like getting sick?" Pidge asked, her lips twisting in a frown. Honestly, that was bothering her too, even if she struggled to imagine a sick Keith.
"Indeed." Coran agreed, his expression turning grim. "Depending on the toxin his father used to poison him as an infant, it's possible it could have lasting impacts. It's even possible that Kyix's reaction to the rire's toxin is entirely because of said previous toxin."
Pidge grimaced. It was still hard to swallow the fact that Keith's father had gone so far as to poison him, but she knew he hadn't been lying about it. Maybe it was just because she was lucky enough to have such great parents, that she couldn't even imagine someone having a father that was willing to kill them. A parent's duty was to protect and nurture their child- not try and rob them of any future they might have before they could even so much as put up a fight.
But if there was anyone she was really mad at, it was Lotor. None of this would have happened without him, and even if he hadn't actively coerced Keith's father into doing what he did, he still had a role in it. He damn well had a hand in this, if what Allura said was true. She wasn't sure if he'd hoped just to take out the black paladin or what, but whatever he was plotting, she wasn't about to let him get away with it.
She'd protected him from Lotor once already. She'd protect him again, if need be.
She was Keith's family too.
"Let me help." Pidge said.
Coran blinked, then smiled. "Glad to have you on board, Number Five."
"I'll help too." Lance chimed in. "You know, after that shower. Unless it's urgent. It's... not urgent, is it?"
"It shouldn't be." Coran said. "I did detect slightly lower levels of what you humans would call white blood cells, but not to the degree that would be concerning. I wouldn't recommend taking Number Four out of the Castle though, at least not for the time being."
"Is something wrong with his immune system?" Pidge asked.
"It's hard to say." Coran said. "I suspect it would have been much worse when Kyix was actually the age he believes he is, but I'd have to confirm that with Kolivan first. I don't want to risk jumping to any conclusions."
Right. That made sense. She still couldn't wrap her head around the idea of a sickly Keith- it seemed so opposite to the Keith she knew. Then again, she hadn't even known he was Galra until like, a month or two ago, so there was apparently a lot about Keith she didn't know.
"So keep him in the Castle." Lance said. "Got it."
"We can discuss exact tasks a bit later on." Coran said. "Both when I have a more concrete plan in mind, and perhaps when the little one is sleeping, just to be on the safe side. Don't want to stress him out anymore than we already have."
"Not a fan." Lance muttered, rubbing his hand over where Keith's nubby claws had still managed to scratch up his armor. They'd buff out, but they'd done a surprising amount of damage for such tiny little things.
Unable to help herself, Pidge turned towards him with a faint smirk. "So what happened to you being good with kids?"
Glaring at her, Lance huffed, folding his arms in front of him. "I'm excellent with children. I can't help it if Baby Keith's a brat."
"I think you're just jealous that he's hanging all over Allura." Pidge teased.
"Wha- I am not!" Lance protested. "He's like six! I am so not jealous of a six year old."
"If you say so." Pidge said, arching her brows just to make sure he knew that she didn't buy it. Not that she actually cared about Lance's love life, but it was pretty fun to tease him. It reminded her a bit of that one time Matt had a crush on another boy in his class. She'd gotten so much mileage out of that one.
"You know what?" Lance asked, holding up his hands. "I'm just going to go."
Pidge just shrugged, watching as Lance stomped out. Once he was gone, she turned back towards Coran, pausing to adjust her glasses. "So... get in touch with Kolivan?"
"That would be the plan, yes." Coran nodded. "With any luck, maybe he can send us an actual Blade to help look after Kyix."
Yeah, probably a good idea, Pidge thought to herself. No offense to Allura- or Alora, she guessed- but she wasn't sure how long she could keep up the charade of being a Blade.
