Author's Note: This story takes place after the war with Honerva and it's an alternate universe where Allura survived. That's pretty much the only difference. FYI, there are Allurance and Kacxa ships, but no Klance for this one, they're just portrayed as very close friends. Hope you enjoy it! Feel free to leave reviews so I can know what I should improve on.

It had been five years since the war with Honerva. Now that their reality had been saved and the Galra threat was over, the paladins went their separate ways and each had a new calling of their own. Pidge worked with her father and Matt to continue developing technological advancements for Earth and other planets. Hunk, along with Ramelle, Shay, and others helped resolve diplomatic matters through culinary means. Shiro and the MFE pilots worked at the Garrison to train the next generation of space explorers. Lance and Allura were married and ruled the new Altea together, and within the last year, Allura had given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Irrimva. Keith rejoined the Blade of Marmora and also enlisted Acxa, as well. Together, they worked to protect the galaxy from minor threats, like pirates, and also helped with humanitarian efforts.

Without threats like Zarkon, Lotor, Sendak, or Honerva, the universe had lived peacefully during the last few years. That is, until Kolivan, the leader of the Blade of Marmora, called for Keith to rendezvous at one of the Marmoran bases to discuss an important matter. Keith was a little surprised; normally Kolivan wouldn't request to meet in person unless it was for something more dire. There hadn't been any serious threats in years, but Keith knew he had to be prepared for anything.

After arriving at the Marmoran base, Keith carefully landed his lion and quickly made his way inside. A large group of Blades had gathered in the main room, awaiting Kolivan's presence. As he peered through the crowd, Keith eventually made eye contact with his mother, Krolia, and smiled while lifting a hand in greeting. Instead of returning the smile, Krolia had a look of concern etched on her face. She beckoned Keith away from the crowd and toward a small room off to the side. Confused, Keith lowered his arm and followed her. As he came up to the side room, Krolia stepped to the side and Keith's eyes widened in shock at what, or rather, who he saw. It was Acxa. Normally he would be happy to see her, but not in this state. She was lying on a stretcher and had bandages wrapped around her torso. There were also a few burns on her face and she looked paler than usual.

Keith hurried forward and knelt down next to the stretcher, gently taking Acxa's hand in his. "Are you alright? What happened?" he asked, with a voice mixed with worry and a thirst for revenge.

"That's actually the reason why I called you here," someone said. Keith looked to his left and saw Kolivan there, leaning against the wall. The tall Galra shifted his weight away from the wall and stepped forward. "Due to reports of suspicious activity near the planet Rybax, I sent Acxa and Threxk to scout the area."

Threxk. He was a well-known member of the Blade of Marmora and Keith had even been on a few missions with him. Keith looked around the room and noticed that Threxk wasn't there. "So, where's Threxk then?" he asked.

"He's dead," Acxa said. She sat up a little so she could talk easier, but judging by the bandages around her middle, she had likely broken several ribs, making it difficult for her to breathe and speak. "We were attacked by… a squadron of Galra cruisers and he was… shot down," she explained between breaths. "My ship was damaged… in the fight but… I managed to crash land on… a nearby planet. Members of the Coalition were there… and they transported me here after… tending to my injuries."

After she finished speaking, Acxa slumped against her pillow, exhausted and weak. Seeing her hurt like this filled Keith with anger. He released Acxa's hand and stood up, facing his mother and Kolivan. "We have to find out what those Galra are up to and put a stop to it."

Kolivan nodded. "We're already making preparations. Since we are unsure of the size of this threat, I suggest you recruit the other paladins of Voltron to assist us. If these Galra were able to take down two of our highly trained pilots with such ease, I think we'll need all the help we can get."

Keith nodded and then Krolia spoke up. "Kolivan and I will inform the other Blades of the situation while you rally the paladins. It's been a few decaphebes, so let's hope they're up for this."

After finally getting the baby to settle down, Lance carefully set his daughter down in her cradle and tucked the blanket around her. He loved watching her in such a peaceful state; her soft, brown hair resembled his own and she also had his rounded ears, but she had inherited some Altean traits, as well, including Allura's sparkling blue eyes; and instead of pink Altean marks, Irrimva's were sky blue, which Lance thought to be rather amusing since both her parents had piloted the Blue Lion.

Lance leaned against the cradle and gazed at the sunset through the open window. Thinking about the Lions made Lance miss the old days; back when the team was still together. Of course, they still had little reunions every now and then, but he still missed seeing his friends. Everyone was so busy with their new callings; everyone except him. Sure, as the prince consort, he helped Allura where he was needed, but he still felt like he didn't really have a place. It reminded him of the times during the war when he felt like the seventh wheel when all the other paladins had a special role that they played. However, Lance did remember feeling more accepted after he earned the title of "Sharpshooter" and when the Red Lion chose him to be Keith's right-hand man. Yeah, those were the good old days for sure.

"I never thought I'd be so jealous of a sunset before," a voice teased.

Lance half-turned to see Allura standing in the doorway, a sly smile on her face. "What's to be jealous about?" he asked with mock innocence. "I was just gazing at the next most beautiful thing I could find, after you and Irrimva, of course."

Allura laughed softly as she walked into the room. "It is a rather lovely sunset, but I will admit that Earth's sunsets are far superior to any I've ever seen, even Altea's."

Lance sighed at the mention of his home planet. That was another thing he missed dearly. Allura seemed to notice and she walked up behind her husband and gently hugged him from behind. "You miss Earth, don't you?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah, I miss my family, and the team."

"As do I," Allura agreed, "but I'm glad I get to be with this family. You, me, and our daughter."

Lance shifted around and pulled Allura close. "Couldn't have said it better myself." They stood like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other's embrace, and then they heard a soft knock on the door from one of the guardsmen.

"Pardon the disturbance, your majesties, but you have a visitor requesting an audience with you."

Lance walked Allura to the door, opened it for her, and gestured for her to go ahead. "Go on, it's probably for you. I'll stay here."

"Actually, the visitor has requested to see both of you for an important matter," the guard said.

Lance lifted an eyebrow in surprise; normally any guests they received had come to see Allura specifically. It wasn't often that he himself encountered many visitors. "Well, does this 'visitor' have a name?" he asked curiously.

The guard nodded. "The visitor announced himself as Keith, paladin of the Black Lion."

Keith turned around to the sound of the large, white double doors of the palace opening up and couldn't help but smile when he saw Lance and Allura striding toward him. As they came within reach, Lance held out his hand and after Keith gripped it, he pulled him into a guy hug. "And here I was thinking I'd gotten used to not seeing you and that stupid mullet of yours," Lance teased.

Keith chuckled as they came out of the hug. "Hey, at least I keep it tied back now. Does that help?"

"I suppose so," Lance said with a smirk.

Allura laughed as she stepped forward and embraced Keith. "It looks like some things never change. It's good to see you, Keith," she said as she released him. "How have you been?"

"Yeah, how're things with you and Acxa?" Lance inquired.

Keith's face fell at the mention of Acxa. "Well, Acxa is part of the reason why I'm here."

"Oh? Is she alright?" Allura asked.

Keith shook his head. "She and her partner, Threxk, were shot down by Galra while on a scouting mission. Threxk didn't make it, and Axca was hurt pretty bad," he explained. "She should be able to recover, but those hostile Galra are still out there and who knows what they could be planning. Kolivan wants to assemble the Blades and Voltron to stop them before things get out of hand."

Lance and Allura stared at Keith in shock. For years, things had been going so well, and now this? Now the Galra were rebelling? This could be the start of another war, and Lance wasn't going to let that happen. Plus, he had been itching for some excitement and this could be his chance to actually contribute to something.

"Count me in," he said boldly.

Allura looked at her husband with a worried expression. "Are you sure about this, Lance? It's been decaphebes since we've been involved in a fight like this. Believe me, I want to help, but I'm not sure if—"

"Allura," Lance cut in, "you have nothing to worry about. I've kept up on my training and trust me, I'm ready for this. And so are you. Besides, we can't turn down a call for help."

Allura took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right." Then she turned to Keith. "Of course we'll help. Have you already notified Hunk and Pidge?"

Keith nodded. "I've already contacted them and they're on board, as well.

"Alright!" Lance whooped. "Team Voltron reunion, here we come!"

Two quintants later, the paladins of Voltron and Blade of Marmora had gathered at a base on the planet Girin to discuss the battle plans for their attack on the mysterious Galra fleet located just outside of the planet Rybax. Keith had discarded his Blade of Marmora suit for his paladin armor and stood next to Kolivan and Krolia who began to issue orders and battle tactics to all the warriors.

"Five teams of Blades will infiltrate each of the largest ships in the fleet and remain hidden while Voltron uses their cloaking technology to sneak past the fleet and begin searching the planet for a base of some sort," Krolia instructed. "We can assume that they must be after something valuable on Rybax, and that they have a base of operations."

Then Kolivan spoke up. "After Voltron finds their leader and discovers their plan, we will decide from there what course of action to take. The five teams of Blades need to be ready to disable the Galra's communication network and prepare to take down the ships from the inside if necessary. While awaiting further command, the remaining Blades will prepare for an airstrike if it comes to that. Until we find out more, this is the best plan we have. Make your preparations; we leave in one varga."

While the Blades dispersed, Keith turned to the other paladins. "I want to thank each of you for agreeing to help. It's been a while since we've faced a potential threat like this, but there's no one I'd rather have by my side. It's good to have you back."

Lance casually put an arm around Keith and Hunk's shoulders. "It's good to be back. It's been forever since we've been on a mission together. I think even the Lions are tired of just sitting around."

As if in agreement, the Red Lion gave a short roar, causing everyone to chuckle in amusement.

"It really is good to see all of you again," Allura said. "Once we've finished with the mission, we should visit our friends and families on Earth."

"Yeah, I'd love to show you guys the new advancements we've made to Earth's teleduv technology," Pidge said excitedly.

"And my cooking crew and I can whip up a feast for all of us," Hunk added.

"We'll have to make sure we invite Shiro and Coran, as well," Allura said. "Speaking of those two, where are they? Is the Atlas not joining us?"

Keith shook his head. "With this new Galra threat, we figured we should leave Earth with some form of protection while we're gone. Besides, we can always call the Coalition for backup if needed. Now let's get to our lions; we have a mission to complete."

Once the paladins and the Blades came within range of Rybax, the paladins formed Voltron, went into camouflage mode, and proceeded to sneak past the Galra fleet while the five teams of Blades infiltrated the largest ships. After silently drifting past the fleet, Voltron entered Rybax's atmosphere and landed behind a large outcrop. The planet was mostly volcanic and there didn't seem to be any inhabitants. It made Keith wonder what the Galra could possibly want with Rybax.

After making sure no one had spotted them, Voltron disbanded and the individual lions remained hidden behind the outcrop while the paladins made their way across the charred terrain and toward the Galra base that they had flown past. The base was near the summit of one of the larger mountains and there were multiple sentries surrounding the perimeter. As the group crept closer, they could see security cameras mounted on the walls of the base.

"How're we supposed to take out the guards without being spotted by those cameras?" Hunk whispered.

"Already on it," Pidge said as she typed away on her screen. "I think I can hack into the cameras and rewire them to show previous footage instead of current footage. So the guards inside will basically just be seeing a recording on their end, but I'm guessing we'll only have about six dobashes before the cameras default back to their current setting. After that, the Galra will know we're here."

"That'll give us enough time to get inside," Keith said, "but if we want to find their leader quickly, we'll have to split up. Hunk, Pidge, and Allura, you take this entrance; Lance and I will take the west one on the other side of the base. Don't attack until we're in position."

After everyone nodded their understanding, Keith and Lance hurried over to the opposite entrance —remaining concealed behind the volcanic rock formations— and scoped out the area. There were seven robot sentries; an easy target for two seasoned paladins of Voltron.

"We're in position," Keith said, speaking into his comm. "Ready when you are, Pidge."

"Alright," she said. "You have six dobashes starting… now!"

In unison, Lance and Keith jumped out from their hiding spot and rushed forward, arming themselves with their bayards. Lance sniped two guards and then dove to the side as two more began shooting at him. Keith slashed one sentry and kicked it into another one, sending them both crashing to the ground. Then he spun around and lunged toward the two that were firing at Lance. Keith plunged his sword through the back of one sentry and then swiveled it around and used the protruding end of his blade to pierce through the second robot. As he pulled his sword out of the two sentries, Keith did a quick count and realized that they had only taken out six guards, which meant there was still one more! Keith whirled around to see the seventh sentry raise its gun to fire a shot at him; he knew he didn't have time to dodge it.

BLAM!

Keith automatically closed his eyes and tensed up at the sound of the blaster going off, but after a few seconds, it registered in his mind that he wasn't in any pain. He opened his eyes and saw the robot on the ground, sparks and smoke spewing from its chest. Keith turned around and saw Lance behind him, lowering his gun.

"Guess that's one you owe me," the blue paladin said with a smug look.

Keith sighed in relief as his sword returned to its bayard form. "Classic Lance; always have to be the hero," he said with a chuckle.

Lance laughed in return. "Someone has to be there to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

Keith rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. The two of them had come a long way since they first became paladins of Voltron. Back then, they were constantly at each other's throats with their petty arguments, but over time, they came to recognize each other's strengths. Keith still remembered the times when Lance supported and encouraged him despite their "rivalry". Along with Shiro, Lance was like a brother to him. He didn't know if Lance thought of him in the same way, but if nothing else, they would always be good friends.

"Lance, Keith, we've entered the base," Allura reported via comm. "What is your status?"

"We just finished off the sentries and we're about to go in," said Keith. He stepped up to the door and placed his hand on the console. The blank screen glowed purple and the door slid open. Being half Galra allowed him to interact with Galra tech, which often came in handy during times like this.

After making sure the coast was clear, the two friends entered the base and discreetly made their way down the halls, looking for some indication of where the Galra leader might be.

"Pidge, how long until the cameras revert back to normal?" Keith asked.

"We have about two and a half dobashes," the green paladin replied.

"Quiznak!" Lance cursed under his breath. "That's not very much time. Maybe we should—"

Lance was cut off by the sudden tumult of a blaring alarm. "Double Quiznak," he groaned. "They must know we're here!"

Before anyone could respond, the voice of one of the Galra generals rang across the intercom system. "All units report to your battle stations! Enemy ships have been spotted and are attempting to escape."

Keith felt his heart skip a beat. "Krolia! Kolivan!" he called. "What's going on?"

There was a slight delay before Krolia answered in a muffled voice. "One of the five… was captured… discovered the location of our fleet. We're sending… fighter pilots but… outnumbered. Have you… Galra leader yet?"

"Negative," Keith replied. "You're cutting in and out but I think we got the message. I'll send Hunk, Lance, Allura, and Pidge to provide additional air support while I continue looking for the leader."

"What? Keith now's not the time to try and go it alone," Lance said sternly. "You'll need back up."

"Lance, we don't have time to argue," Keith said stubbornly.

"You're right; we don't, so let's go. I've got your back."

Keith finally sighed in defeat. "Fine, everyone else get to your lions."

"You two be careful, alright?" Allura said.

"We'll be fine, Allura," Lance assured her. "Don't worry, with how we took out those guards earlier, this leader guy doesn't stand a chance against the two of us."

While Allura, Pidge, and Hunk hurried back to their lions, Lance and Keith continued searching the base. They had to constantly dive around corners to avoid the troops who were heading to their fighter ships. At one point, Lance nearly collided into the back of a robot guard but Keith pulled him away just in time.

After a few more turns with no luck, Lance slumped against the wall in defeat. "Gosh, how big is this base? All these hallways and doors look the same to me," he said dejectedly.

Keith was about to answer when the same voice from earlier echoed from the intercom system. "Intruder alert! The paladins of Voltron have infiltrated the base. They came in from the east and west entrances. Lord Narzok has ordered units two, five, and nine to search the building and eliminate them."

"Sounds like they finally discovered the false camera footage," Lance said. "I thought they would've found it sooner."

"They must've been too busy preparing for battle to notice until now," Keith said. "We have to hurry. Who knows how long before they—"

Keith stopped as a squad of Galra troops emerged from around the corner. "We've found two of the intruders!" the lead guard shouted into his communicator. "They're located at the—"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, Lance whipped out his bayard and shot the communicator out of his hand. Then Keith rushed forward with his sword and began disarming the guards one by one as Lance fired away with his blaster. Within seconds, the squad of Galra soldiers was down, but another group suddenly appeared and began attacking. This squad was larger, consisting of about thirteen soldiers, and the two paladins were quickly overwhelmed.

As they crouched behind their shields, Lance turned to Keith, shouting over the chaos. "We have to get out of here! There's too many."

Keith gritted his teeth in frustration. Lance was right; they would never be able to defeat these soldiers on their own. He glanced behind him and saw a hallway leading away from their attackers. "Alright," he yelled, "on my mark, we'll go down that hall and find a place to regroup." Lance nodded and the two of them stood up, shields still out, and slowly backed their way toward the vacant hallway. When they came in line with the hall, Keith shouted once more over the pandemonium. "Ready… now!"

The two paladins leaped behind the wall of the hallway and booked it away from the hail of laser bullets. They made a few turns and finally shoved their way through a side door after Keith opened it. As they caught their breath, Lance was about to say something, but Keith shushed him when he heard a voice begin speaking.

"As you can see Lord Narzok, the apparatus is nearly complete. We just have a few more tests to run and then we will be ready to move forward with the plan."

Keith and Lance glanced at each other and then simultaneously inched forward to get a closer look. There were two Galra standing in the center of the room. One wore the attire of a scientist and the other had to be this "Lord Narzok" judging by his armor. He was tall but appeared to be of a slighter build compared to most Galra.

"Excellent," Narzok replied. "With the use of this device, we'll be able to cripple Voltron's Coalition, and the Blade of Marmora will be no more."

Keith felt a jolt of fear course through his body. He made eye contact with Lance and saw that he shared a similar expression of shock. What was this mystery device? And how could it do so much damage to Voltron's allies? Keith decided that he wasn't going to wait around to find out. With no guards in the room, this was the perfect opportunity to strike. With lightning speed, Keith armed himself with his sword, lunged out from his hiding place, and rushed toward the Galra leader. He heard Lance call for him to stop, but he had already revealed himself; might as well take advantage of this moment.

Just as Keith thrust his blade toward Narzok, the tall Galra unsheathed a long sword and intercepted the blow, the sound of the two blades reverberating through the room.

"Ah, you must be Keith, paladin of the Black Lion," Narzok sneered. "I figured Voltron and the Blade of Marmora would be here soon enough, especially after I wiped out those two scouts you sent prying around my base." Keith felt the anger swell up even more. He lashed out with his blade once again but Narzok easily parried it. "As much as I'd love to kill you myself," the Galra warlord said, "I have other pressing matters to attend to."

"You're not going anywhere!" Keith growled.

Narzok merely laughed. "If you're anything like the hero you pretend to be, then I know you wouldn't risk the life of your blue friend down there just to take me down." Keith automatically glanced in Lance's direction; a squad of Galra soldiers had just appeared, all of whom were aiming their blasters directly at him.

"I'll just let myself out while you rescue your friend," Narzok said as he pressed a button on a panel beside him. The platform beneath him began to rise from the ground and up toward the ceiling where an aperture opened up to allow his escape. Keith instinctively wanted to go after him, but he couldn't just abandon Lance. He turned around to aid his friend in the fight against the soldiers, but the blue paladin waved him back.

"Go!" he yelled. "You can't let Narzok get away! I'll handle these guys."

"Lance there's too many—"

"There's no time! I'll be fine; just go!"

Keith took one last look at Lance as he whipped out his blaster and shield to fend off the soldiers, and then he raced toward the ascending platform and hoisted himself up. Narzok quickly swung his sword at Keith in an attempt to knock him off the platform, but he managed to roll out of the way just in time.

"I guess I was wrong about you, Paladin," Narzok conceded. "It would seem that you are in fact willing to abandon your friend just to stop me."

"Like any paladin of Voltron, he can hold his own," Keith retorted.

"Then let's see how long you last against me."

Without warning, the Galra warrior charged forward and rammed his shoulder into Keith, sending him sprawling through the air and landing hard on his side. As Keith pulled himself to his feet, he quickly took in his surroundings. The platform had taken them to the roof of the base, and he could see that the building was near the edge of a cliff. Before Keith could observe any other details of his whereabouts, Narzok advanced forward and began to strike out with his blade, one rapid move after another. Keith deflected each blow, but only barely. Narzok was a formidable opponent and Keith wasn't sure if he'd be able to defeat him.

I hope Lance is doing better than I am, he thought to himself.

Lance cursed as a bullet grazed his armor. That was too close. After Keith left to pursue Narzok, Lance had managed to break through the swarm of Galra soldiers after shooting down five or six of them, but the other six were in quick pursuit of him.

Ugh! I don't have time for this! Lance thought to himself. I need to find Keith so we can defeat Narzok and get out of here. He fired blindly behind him before rushing down a side hallway.

"Keith, where are you?" he radioed.

There was a slight delay before Keith answered. "I'm on the—"

The rest of Keith's words were drowned out as Lance was suddenly thrown forward by the force of an explosion. One of the Galra soldiers had caught up to him and had thrown the bomb. Luckily, Lance's armor had protected him, but his ears still rang from the thunder-like boom from the explosion. As he wearily pulled himself to his feet, he tried to radio Keith again, but then he realized that his helmet was gone. It must have fallen off of his head during the blast. As he searched frantically for his helmet, he could hear Keith trying to contact him.

"Lance? Are you there?" he asked in a worried tone, but before Lance could find his helmet and respond, two Galra soldiers emerged from the smoke produced by the detonated bomb.

"Stop right there, Paladin!" one of them shouted.

Lance instinctively went to draw out his blaster, but along with his helmet, it had been separated from him due to the explosion. With nothing left to do, he raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got me." The two soldiers moved forward, one of them with his blaster trained on Lance and the other pulling out a pair of handcuffs. As they came within reach and prepared to cuff him, Lance couldn't help but chuckle. "You two must be new, right?"

The soldiers looked at each other in confusion. "Well, yes… but how do you know that?" one of them asked suspiciously.

"Because you should know by now to never underestimate a paladin of Voltron."

Before the soldiers could react, Lance swung his fist up and bashed it into the guard with the handcuffs, then while the soldier was stunned, Lance grabbed him by the arm, swung him around, and threw him into the second guard, sending them both crashing to the floor in a heap. As they tried to untangle themselves, Lance grabbed the handcuffs and locked them around the soldiers' wrists, then he grabbed another pair from the guard's belt and did the same to the other side, leaving the two soldiers stuck back-to-back and unable to break free.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Lance said while dusting off his hands, "I'd best be on my way, but first, I'll take that." He reached down and pulled out the pack of explosives that the soldier had used to nearly blow him up. "These could come in handy."

After stowing the explosives away on his belt, Lance looked around for a moment and then spotted his bayard about fifteen feet away, but as he went to pick it up, he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way. More guards had arrived.

"Man, how many times do I have to say 'quiznak' in one day?" he muttered to himself. There was no time to search for his helmet, which meant he wouldn't be able to contact Keith or anyone for that matter, but he'd have to make do. Without wasting another tick, Lance sprinted out of there and turned down another side hallway. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dead end. Lance was about to run back the other way when he noticed a ventilation shaft embedded into the wall. He quickly ran toward the shaft, blasted the bolts off with his gun, and hauled himself inside. He had no idea where the tunnels would lead him, but with any luck, he'd be able to find out where Keith was and help him take down Narzok.

After about ten dobashes of wandering aimlessly through the vents, Lance stopped when he heard voices below him. "We have orders from Lord Narzok to begin the sequence once the apparatus is ready. How much longer until it is finished?"

"It should only take a few more dobashes," a second voice answered. "If this works, Lord Narzok will have complete control over every rogue Galra. With a force as powerful as that, no one will be able to stop him from taking over as emperor."

Lance was barely able to stop himself from gasping in surprise. Narzok's device was going to enslave the minds of all Galra! This meant that Kolivan, Krolia, and all members of the Blade of Marmora would be forced to turn against them. Lance knew he had to find Keith and fast. They had to shut down the device before it was activated; if they didn't, all would be lost.

Keith grunted as he parried another sword thrust from Narzok. The Galra warlord didn't even seem tired despite the fact that they had been dueling for a considerable amount of time, but if Narzok was threatening the Coalition and the Blade of Marmora, then Keith had to stop him here and now before he tried to escape again.

"I must admit that you have been a rather daunting opponent," Narzok acknowledged as he sidestepped to avoid a jab from Keith. "In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would suspect you've been trained by the Galra, judging by your swordsmanship."

"Cut the flattery, Narzok," Keith spat. "It's time to end this."

Narzok flashed an evil smile. "As you wish."

The two combatants prepared to charge each other but paused when they heard the crash of something metal hitting the ground. Both looked toward the sound and saw Lance climbing out of a vent in the wall. As the blue paladin touched down on the ground, Narzok used the distraction to throw his sword at Keith. With little time to react, Keith barely managed to lift his own sword in time to block it, but the impact sent his bayard flying out of his hand. Before Keith could retrieve his weapon, Narzok was upon him and raised a dagger above his head to deliver the killing blow, but the knife never hit home. Keith had taken his Blade of Marmora sword and used it to knock the blade out of Narzok's hands. Now weaponless, the Galra warlord raised his hands in defeat as Keith held his sword under Narzok's chin.

"Ah, so it would appear that you were not only trained by Galra, but you retain Galra blood in your veins," Narzok observed. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to wield that sword."

"Glad you know your facts, Narzok," Keith snapped as Lance hurried over to them. "Now call off your army. It's over."

"And tell your scientists to shut down your fancy device," Lance ordered. "There's no way we're going to let you control every Galra in the known universe."

Keith raised his eyebrows in surprise. So that was what Narzok was planning; to use his machine to mind control the Galra to obey him and do his bidding. Keith had no idea how Narzok had figured out how to do this, but that didn't matter now. "You heard him. Shut it down!"

"Oh, but I was hoping you'd at least stick around so you could have your own front-row seats to a demonstration of my power," Narzok said, the evil smile returning. Then he turned his head toward his shoulder and spoke into a hidden communicator. "Begin sequence now."

"No!" Keith shouted. "He raised his sword, aiming to incapacitate Narzok, but he suddenly felt a wave of pain surge through his body. He cried out as he fell to his hands and knees, the pain centering itself in his head.

"Keith! Are you okay?" Lance asked, but Keith could barely hear him. He could feel something trying to take control; it was making his head foggy, and he was losing the strength to fight it. He knew he had to warn Lance; he had to tell him to get away from him, but he could only manage to say one word before he was forced to surrender to the inescapable darkness: "Run."

No. There was no way Lance was going to leave his friend behind. Especially not when he was like this. Of all the things in the world, feeling helpless was one of the things that Lance hated the most. And right now, he felt completely helpless as he watched Keith writhe in pain from the mysterious powers of Narzok's device. Lance had hoped that it wouldn't affect Keith since he was only half Galra, but that didn't seem to be the case. He looked over at Narzok with hatred; he was the one behind all of this. Lance had to take him down before he forced the enslaved Galra to do something terrible.

The blue paladin stood up and faced the Galra warlord. "Shut it down, Narzok!" he bellowed as he pulled out his blaster.

Narzok simply laughed. "Now why would I do that? As I said, I wanted to show you a demonstration of my power, and you haven't even seen the best part."

Lance felt a chill run down his spine at the ominous tone of Narzok's words. What did he mean by "the best part"? Then Lance heard movement behind him and he turned to see Keith rising to his feet. As the red paladin raised his head, Lance felt another cold chill run through his body. Keith's eyes were a dark purple, and they seemed to emit a portentous aura.

"Keith? Is that still you in there?"

When Keith didn't respond, Narzok stepped forward. "I'm afraid your friend is no more," he said. "He is under my control, and if I were you, I would heed his advice… and run."

With inhuman speed, Keith sprinted forward with his Blade of Marmora sword and swung it toward Lance's head. The blue paladin barely managed to duck out of the way. "Keith! It's me, Lance!" But Keith didn't seem to hear him. He lunged forward once again and aimed another slice at Lance's head, but he sidestepped out of the way and pointed his blaster at Keith.

"Don't make me do this, Keith," he begged. "I don't want to fight you."

But for the third time, Keith ignored him and charged forward, this time emitting a loud yell while swinging his sword in an uppercut stroke. Lance fired two shots but Keith dodged them with ease and was nearly upon him. Since he was now too close to use his blaster, Lance transformed his bayard into his secondary weapon: the Altean broadsword. He had just enough time to intercept Keith's blade, but the red paladin was quick and used the hilt of his sword to jab Lance in the jaw. Lance stumbled backward but hastily regained his feet, for he knew that Keith would use any distraction to gain the upper hand in this fight.

This time, instead of dashing forward, Keith slowly walked toward Lance and reached his hand to the side of him. A tick or two later, Keith's bayard appeared in his hand and now the mind-enslaved half breed wielded two dangerous weapons. Lance gulped as he watched his friend ambulate closer with that bloodthirsty look in his eyes. How was he supposed to survive this fight? Keith was dangerous enough with just one sword, but with two, Lance knew he wouldn't stand a chance. His best bet was to try and get through to Keith; he knew the real Keith must be fighting to regain control, so all he had to do was meet him halfway.

"Keith, we both know this isn't you. You're way too stubborn to let anyone control your mind like this. You have to fight it."

Off to the side, Narzok let out another laugh. "You're a fool if you think you can free him with petty words. He may be a half breed, but that still gives me complete control over his mind. Your efforts are pointless."

Lance ignored the Galra warlord and refocused his attention on Keith. He opened his mouth to speak, but Keith darted forward and began to lash out with both swords. Lance did his best to dodge or deflect the blows, but Keith was too fast and managed to land a cut on his thigh. Lance's armor prevented the blade from going too deep, but it was still a considerable wound that could have cost him his life if he wasn't more careful.

"Keith, listen to me!" Lance cried as Keith continued his onslaught. "I know you can beat this. We've faced much worse and always managed to pull through. I won't give up on you!"

Lance gasped in pain as Keith sliced through his side and then kicked him to the ground. This wound seemed to be worse than the one on his leg; Lance knew he had to end this fast. As the red paladin advanced forward, Lance shifted himself onto his knees while clutching his side. He finally looked up to see Keith, his friend, standing above him, preparing the final blow.

"Keith," he said quietly, "I know you. You're the leader of Voltron, a member of the Blade of Marmora, but above all that, you're my friend; one of my best friends." Something seemed to falter in Keith's eyes, so Lance kept going. "You're one of the strongest people I know, and I know that you'd never hurt me or anyone that you care about. None of this is your fault; just know that if this is the end for me, I'll always think of you as my brother."

At last, something seemed to click, and Keith stumbled backward while dropping both swords. He clutched his head in his hands and grunted in pain, sweat pouring down his face, but as Keith looked up, Lance could tell by the look in his eyes that he had finally gotten through to him. Keith was back.

Keith huffed for breath as the fogginess in his mind began to dissipate. The last thing he remembered was when he and Lance were telling Narzok to surrender, and then… nothing. He looked over at Lance and saw that he appeared just as exhausted as he was."Wh-what happened?" Keith stammered.

Lance slowly stood up and then offered a hand to Keith. "Narzok activated his device and you were forced to fight me," he said as he pulled Keith to his feet.

Keith's eyes widened in shock. "What? You mean I… I did this to you?" he asked, gesturing toward Lance's injuries.

Lance tried to shrug it off but ended up wincing in pain as he gripped his side again. "It's not your fault, Keith, and don't worry; I'll be okay."

"But… why don't I remember any of this?"

"It must be a side effect from the mind control," Lance said.

Before Keith could ask any more questions, Narzok let out a loud snarl. "No! This cannot be! No Galra can break free from my power!"

Keith felt the rage build up inside him. This was Narzok's doing; he was the reason why Lance had been hurt, and he was going to pay for it. Keith armed himself with both his swords and rushed toward the Galra warrior. Narzok pulled out his own sword that he had retrieved from his previous fight with Keith and raced forward with an angry growl. The two warriors' weapons clashed loudly and the fight was on; both opponents on the offensive and refusing to hold back; however, Keith felt himself begin to tire rather quickly. This wasn't normal for him. Fighting off the mind-controlling powers of Narzok must be depleting his strength.

It wasn't long before Keith was forced to go on the defensive, but even that wasn't enough. Narzok thrust his sword forward and knocked Keith's bayard out of his hand, sending it flying across the rooftop. Luckily, he still had his Blade of Marmora sword, but while he had been distracted from the loss of his bayard, Narzok used the opportunity to kick Keith to the ground, his sword sailing out of his hand as he rolled off the roof and down a slightly declining slope that led to the edge of a cliffside. Keith was barely able to stop himself from falling off the cliff and into the hazardous lava pit below, but the igneous rock he was on suddenly began to crumble from his weight and he felt himself begin to fall. Thinking fast, he leaped forward and managed to grab hold of a more stable handhold, but as he attempted to pull himself out of harm's way, he looked up to see Narzok standing above him.

"It would seem that your time has come to an end, Paladin," the warlord declared. "Normally, I like to savor the deaths of my enemies, but I have a new empire to rule, so let's get this over with."

Keith felt his heartbeat racing in his chest. So this was it. This was the end for him; dying at the hands of another Galra villain. He would never see his friends or his mother again, never get to have a future with Acxa, and he would no longer be a paladin of Voltron. Keith closed his eyes as Narzok raised his sword above his head, waiting for his death to come, like that time he nearly rammed his ship into the particle barrier of the Galra warship, but just when he thought his time was up, he heard the sound of a gunshot and a grunt of annoyance from Narzok.

"You want him, you go through me first," Lance said boldly.

Narzok turned around and faced the blue paladin. "You've got some nerve if you think you can possibly beat me."

Lance simply laughed. "If you're as tough as you say you are, then let's see what you got."

Keith knew that Lance was just trying to distract Narzok to allow him enough time to get to safety, but Lance wouldn't last long in his condition. Keith had to get up there and fast. From his current position, he couldn't see what was going on, but he could hear Narzok charging forward and Lance firing away with his blaster. Lance might be able to keep Narzok off balance by shooting him, but Keith knew that the warlord's Galra armor was tough enough to withstand the bullets, meaning that Lance would be out of options in a matter of ticks.

With determination, Keith pulled himself up and was able to obtain a firmer grip on the volcanic rock, but as he put more weight on it, the rock began to crumble once more and he fell a few feet before he caught himself on another handhold. He grunted in frustration as he began his ascent once more, this time making sure that the rocks were stable before he put too much weight on them. Keith heard Lance fire a few more shots, and then he heard the clang of two swords clashing together. Lance must've switched to his Altean broadsword for close combat.

Finally, Keith reached a point where he could see over the top of the cliff he was dangling from. He saw Lance dive to the side as Narzok swiped his sword at him; then the blue paladin dashed forward and aimed a thrust at the Galra warlord's chest, but it was easily parried. As Lance pulled back, he clutched his side where Keith had injured him, blood still oozing from the wound. Keith could see the sweat on Lance's brow and he was breathing heavily from exhaustion. He wouldn't last much longer.

Narzok seemed to notice this as well; the tall Galra rushed forward and jabbed his sword at Lance's injured thigh. Lance only managed to partially deflect the blow, leaving another crippling gash in his leg. As he dropped to one knee, he quickly transformed his bayard back to his blaster and fired a few more shots to keep his opponent at bay, but it had little effect. Narzok, deciding that the fight had gone on long enough, marched through the hail of bullets, using his arm to cover his face. Lance wearily rose to his feet and backed up as he continued to fire away, but Narzok was soon upon him. The Galra warrior seized Lance by the throat and lifted him into the air. Lance pulled out his Altean broadsword once more and lashed out in a final attempt to defend himself, but Narzok simply batted the sword away.

Seeing that his friend was about to die, Keith heaved himself up over the edge of the cliff and sprang to his feet. "Narzok!" he shouted. "Let him go! Your fight is with me."

Narzok turned to the side, the evil smile returning. "Oh, but don't you know that the best way to cripple your enemies is by destroying the ones they care about?"

From that point, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Knowing what Narzok was about to do, Keith launched himself forward, running as hard as he ever remembered, but it was too late. Keith would be forever haunted by the sound that came next; the sickening crunch of a sword piercing through armor… paladin armor.

"NO!" Keith cried, watching helplessly as Lance's sword slowly slid out of his hand. Narzok pulled his sword out of the blue paladin's abdomen and threw him to the side. Then the Galra warlord turned and advanced toward Keith. The red paladin was in complete shock. He had been through many battles, but never before had he witnessed the death of one of his closest friends.

Narzok laughed at the traumatized look on Keith's face. "Let it sink in, Paladin. Now that I command all Galra, it's only a matter of time before every single person you care about is annihilated."

"Too bad you won't be around to see it through, Narzok," a voice uttered weakly.

Keith's eyes widened in surprise as he looked past Narzok to see Lance propped up on one elbow. His friend was alive! But before he or Narzok could respond, Lance pulled out a small device and Keith could hear the sound of something charging up. He looked over at Narzok and saw a black patch on his armor begin to glow an ominous red color. It was an explosive.

"Say hi to Zarkon for me," Lance said as he hovered his thumb over the button.

Realizing what the blue paladin was about to do, Narzok screamed out in anger and attempted to pull the device off of his armor, but Lance quickly pressed the button on the detonator while Keith dove for cover.

Keith pressed his hands over his ears to block out the deafening roar of the explosion, but it did little to prevent the ringing in his ears. He glanced behind him and saw Narzok being thrown over the edge of the cliff by the force of the blast. He heard the warlord bellow in rage before he was swallowed up in the lava pit below, and just like that, it was over.

Keith slowly pulled himself to his knees. He could feel the traces of Narzok's mind control diminishing and his strength returning. They had won, but not without a cost. Keith scrambled to his feet and searched through the smoke and dust for his friend. At last, he spotted him, lying on his back with one hand over the stab wound in his stomach.

"Lance!" Keith cried as he rushed over and dropped to his knees. He slipped a hand behind the blue paladin's head and gently lifted it off the hard ground. Lance was breathing heavily and a thin line of blood trickled from his mouth.

"Guess that's two you owe me now, huh?" Lance said while attempting to smile. Then he let out a few coughs and began to shiver. "Man, for a volcanic planet… it sure is cold here."

Keith knew that wasn't a good sign. He placed his free hand on top of Lance's hand that was covering up his injury and carefully shifted it over. He was barely able to stop himself from gasping in fear. Despite the protection from his armor, Lance's wound was bad. Blood continued to seep from it, and Lance had also lost a considerable amount of blood from the injuries Keith himself had inflicted upon him while under Narzok's control.

"It's bad isn't it?" Lance guessed.

Keith huffed in frustration, trying to hide the panic that was building up inside him. "What were you thinking?" he asked sharply. "Taking on Narzok by yourself when you were already hurt?"

"Like I said before, someone has to… make sure you don't get yourself killed," Lance replied.

Normally Keith would've rolled his eyes in annoyance, but he was too focused on the matter at hand to waste time for that. "Come on," he said while gingerly wrapping Lance's arm around his shoulders and preparing to hoist him up. "We've got to get you to a cryopod."

Lance slowly shook his head while wincing in pain. "We both know we'll… never make it to one in time."

Fear began to creep up Keith's spine. "Yes we will! I'm not giving up on you. I'll call the Black Lion to come get us. It should be here in just a few minutes.

"I don't think I have… a few minutes, Keith," Lance said with sadness in his voice. Keith opened his mouth to object but Lance quickly cut in. "Keith, it's gonna be okay," he said gently. Then he gave a weak chuckle. "Allura is so gonna kill me for this… and don't even get me started on everyone else… Just promise me you'll tell them, alright?"

"No," Keith said firmly. "You can tell them yourself 'cause we're gonna make it out of here," he said while trying to lift Lance up once more.

Lance chuckled again which only resulted in a painful cough. "Classic Keith, always have to be the hero… but all jokes aside, we both know… I won't make it. I saw it in your eyes when you looked at my wound… this is it for me."

Keith could feel the tears building up, but he pushed them back and finally set Lance back on the ground. There was no way he'd be able to walk in his condition anyway. As he rested his hand behind his friend's head once more, he noticed that Lance's breathing was beginning to slow down. This wasn't good.

"Hey, you gotta stay with me, okay?" Keith said, trying to keep his voice strong. Lance attempted to reply but only managed a weak cough. Keith felt the panic increase as his friend's eyes began to droop. "Lance! You have to stay awake! Please! You have a family; a wife and daughter waiting for you to return home to them. You can't abandon them. They need you! We all do."

Lance slowly opened his eyes and rested a shaky hand on Keith's shoulder. "Just tell them." Then his eyes closed shut once more, and this time… they didn't open up again.

"Lance!" Keith cried as the blue paladin's body went limp in his arms. "No, no, no, you can't do this! Please! Open your eyes!" He waited desperately for a response, a cough, anything, but there was nothing. The only thing he could feel was the earth beginning to rumble and groan. The explosion must've destabilized the volcanic rock. He had to get out of there, but he refused to leave his friend behind.

Keith hooked his arms underneath Lance's and began to drag him away from the cliff, but he hadn't gone very far when the ground began to shake, crumble, and split apart all around him. He watched helplessly as the section of rock in front of him collapsed into the lava below, blocking his path back to the base. Before he could do anything else, the ground beneath him gave way and the next thing he knew, he and Lance were plummeting down toward the lava pit. For the second time that day, Keith believed that this was it; he was going to die, but just as he was about to be consumed in the river of molten rock, the Black Lion swooped in, opened its jaws, and scooped up the red paladin. It attempted to catch Lance as well, but the blue paladin's body was lost in the swarm of crumbling igneous rock.

"No! We have to go back for him!" Keith shouted. He ran to his seat and tried to steer the lion back toward the lava, but he could feel the Black Lion telling him that it was no use. Lance was gone. He was gone even before he had fallen into the lava, and there was nothing Keith could do to bring him back.

Keith was beyond shocked; he had never watched someone he cared about die in his arms like that. He wanted to scream in anger and pain, he wanted to curl up and cry, he wanted to run away and isolate himself from everything he knew, but he refused to let himself do any of that. He had to remain strong, for the team, and for Lance.

As he struggled to control his emotions, the Black Lion took over and flew them out of Rybax's orbit. It looked like the other paladins and the Blade of Marmora had managed to defeat Narzok's fleet, judging by the retreating ships that he passed on the way out. The Black Lion then allowed Keith to pilot it and he slowly made his way toward the other paladins, already dreading the terrible news he'd be forced to tell them.

Pidge was the first to spot him. "Hey look, it's Keith!" she said excitedly. "Keith, can you hear us? We've been trying to get a hold of you and Lance for a while now. We figured the volcanic atmosphere from Rybax was interfering with our comms, but according to my scans, everything seems to be working now."

When Keith didn't respond right away, Allura spoke up in a concerned voice. "Keith? Is everything alright? Where's Lance?"

Keith didn't know what to say. He barely had time to process everything for himself. How was he supposed to tell them? Knowing that he had to say something, he opened his mouth to reply but stopped as Hunk radioed in.

"There he is!" he said, pointing his lion to the east. Keith's heart nearly stopped in his chest. No, it couldn't be. He turned to the side and saw the Red Lion gliding toward them. A small part of Keith thought that maybe, just maybe, Lance was inside, waiting to make a witty remark, but deep down, he knew that that wasn't true. The Red Lion's spirit had taken control to fly it back to be with the other lions. It was the only explanation.

"Guys… that… that's not Lance," Keith said quietly.

"What do you mean? Of course it is," Hunk said. "No one else can fly the Red Lion."

Sensing that something was wrong, Allura spoke up again, attempting to contact Lance. "Lance? Are you there?" When there was no reply, Keith could tell that Allura was getting really worried. "Keith, what's going on?" she asked.

Sweat trickled down Keith's brow. "I'll tell you once we've landed."

"No, you'll tell me what's going on this instant!" Allura demanded as she projected her screen onto his.

Keith closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. "Lance… Lance is… gone."

There was a moment of silence that felt like millennia, and then Allura slowly asked, "What do you mean 'gone'? Where is he?"

When Keith remained silent, Allura steered her lion around and sped off toward Rybax, but Keith quickly intercepted her. "Allura…"

"Get out of my way, Keith," Allura said in a dangerous but shaky voice. Then Pidge flew her lion over to them.

"I think he's telling the truth, Allura," she sniffed. "I'm not picking up his vitals on my scanners."

"Wh-what are you saying?" Allura asked, her voice trembling.

"Allura," Keith said, sadness evident in his voice, "he wanted me to tell you…"

"No… please no," Allura whispered.

"… he loved you."

The flight back to the planet Girin seemed to take a lifetime as Keith recalled the events that had befallen him and Lance. He told them how he was forced to fight Lance but that the blue paladin had somehow gotten through to him and freed him from Narzok's control. Then he explained how Lance had saved his life by taking on Narzok alone, which ultimately led to his demise. When Keith finally ended his report, they continued their journey in strained silence, each of them grieving the loss of their beloved friend.

Once they landed at the rendezvous point, Keith watched as Allura slowly walked over to the Red Lion and stood before it, fists closed at her side, and tears streaming down her cheeks. She seemed to be waiting for something, perhaps for Lance to reveal himself and say that it was all a prank, but the Red Lion remained still and lifeless. Seeing Allura mourn her husband's death felt like a sword plunging through Keith's soul. He quietly walked over to his friend and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Allura… I—"

"Save your breath!" she spat as she angrily shrugged his hand off her shoulder and turned to face him. "I knew I never should have trusted a Galra. None of this would've happened if it weren't for you. If you hadn't been there, Narzok wouldn't have been able to control you and force you to hurt Lance, and then maybe he would have had the strength he needed to defeat Narzok!" She paused for a moment, looking back at the Red Lion, and then she turned her gaze back to Keith, a fiery look in her eyes. "I don't care what your excuse is, just know that you're the reason why Irrimva will grow up without ever knowing her father." Then she stormed off without another word.

Allura's words stung like acid. Keith had already had his fair share of blame, mostly coming from himself, and now Allura and probably everyone else held him accountable for Lance's death, too. Some leader of Voltron he turned out to be. He couldn't even protect his team, his friends, his family. They meant more to him than anything in the entire universe, and now he had let them down. Keith could feel the guilt building up inside him and he felt like he might just break down from the weight of it all, but right now, he didn't even feel worthy enough to do that. He owed it to Lance to remain strong, but really, he just felt numb.

Funeral services were held two quintants later. There was quite a gathering; Lance's family was there, of course, then there was Hunk and his family, Pidge and the Holt family, Shiro, Coran, General Iverson along with the MFE pilots and other garrison members, Kolivan, Krolia, Acxa, and other members of the Blade of Marmora were there, dozens of Coalition representatives attended, as well, including Shay, Slav, and Ramelle, and many of the Alteans were also present, most of them wearing pink to honor the fallen hero. From what Allura could tell, the only person missing was Keith.

That coward, she thought to herself. Who doesn't attend the funeral of one of their best friends? When this is over, I'm going to find him and give him a piece of my mind! Allura's thoughts were interrupted as Shiro stood up to say a few words. As the former leader of Voltron, it seemed fitting that he gave a short speech to honor the blue paladin.

"Over the last few years of leading Voltron, and now the Atlas crew, I never had time to wonder what I would do, how I would feel, if I had lost one of my comrades," Shiro began. "I guess I figured that in times of war, death happens and I'd have to get used to it and move on, but never did I consider that I would lose one of my closest friends, especially during a time when the Galra threat was supposedly over. There aren't enough words to describe the amazing person that Lance was. He was brave, trustworthy, resourceful, and dependable, to name a few, but above all, he was selfless. He always put the needs of others before his own, despite the times when he felt insecure and even unworthy to be a paladin."

Allura perked up at that last part: "unworthy to be a paladin", it reminded her of how Keith must feel right now. The thought almost made her feel sorry for him, but she pushed it away as she noticed that Shiro was still talking.

"…that Lance sometimes blamed himself for things that weren't his fault, which goes to show just how much he cared about the people closest to him."

The more Allura paid attention to Shiro's words, the more they seemed to relate to Keith. She began to realize that what had happened really wasn't Keith's fault. Tears began to leak from her eyes as Allura recalled the horrible things she had said to Keith. She had to find him and apologize.

As Allura turned to leave, she heard the final remarks of Shiro's speech. "And because of Lance's dedication and sacrifice, we will always remember him as not just a paladin of Voltron, but as a hero."

Before she left, Allura gave Shiro a smile and nodded her head in thanks, then she scanned the crowd and headed over to where Krolia and Acxa were. As she approached them, Krolia stepped forward and laid a hand on Allura's shoulder.

"I just wanted to offer my deepest condolences for your loss. I too know what it is like to lose a husband."

"Thank you, Krolia," Allura said softly. "Have either of you seen Keith by any chance?"

"He came to see me after I had recovered from the cryopod healing process," Acxa said, "but I haven't seen him since. I thought for sure he'd be here."

"Keith deals with grief in his own way," Krolia said. "My guess is that he still blames himself for what happened and he doesn't feel like he deserves to be here."

Allura felt herself tense up at Krolia's words. If she hadn't been so fractious with him… maybe he would allow himself to be comforted by his friends and family. Instead, he had hidden himself away in shame. She needed to find him and make things right.

"Do you know where I might find him?"

Both Galra women remained silent as they tried to think of where Keith might be, then Allura perked up as an idea crossed her mind. "Actually, I think I know where he is."

Keith rested his head against the wall of the Red Lion's hangar. When he had sought out a place of seclusion, he wasn't sure that Red would let him in, since he was no longer its paladin, but surprisingly, he was granted access. That probably meant that he was now supposed to be the paladin of the Red Lion once more, but that didn't matter because he planned to step down and leave Voltron altogether. How could he trust himself to lead or even be a part of Voltron after what happened? This would be better for everyone.

As he sat there in the darkness, he thought he heard a voice call out his name. Had he imagined it? He waited a few more seconds and then he heard it again. How did anyone know he was here? He listened to the voice once more and realized that it was Allura.

"Keith? Please, I know you're in there," she called. "Everyone's wondering where you've been. We must have courage, and believe me, I'm trying to, just know I'm here for you. Please open up." Keith remained where he was, hoping that Allura would just go away if he didn't respond, but she continued her plea, her voice beginning to tremble as she fought back her tears. "I was wrong to blame you like that, Keith. I know it's not your fault, and I know that he'd want you to remember that it's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done."

Keith could feel tears of his own forming. Allura's words were heartfelt and true; she wouldn't be there otherwise. Finally, deciding that he couldn't hide there any longer, he stood up, pressed the button on the wall beside him, and made his descent down the ramp as the doors opened up. At first, he averted his gaze, not trusting himself to be able to meet Allura's eyes and keep his composure, but at last, he gave in and met her gaze. Tears were brimming in her eyes, but she had a warm smile on her face. She stepped forward and pulled Keith into a hug. Keith hesitated at first, but as he slowly returned the embrace, Allura spoke softly once more.

"You know, he loved you like a brother."

Suddenly, the memory of Keith's fight against Lance came back. It seemed to fast forward to the part when Lance had said, "I'll always think of you as my brother." Now that he knew that his best friend, his brother, had considered him to be a brother, as well, Keith finally gave in to the grief and sunk to his knees as he began to weep. Allura dropped to her knees along with him and they held each other, both of them crying into the others' shoulders, but for the first time since Lance's death, Keith felt a small flicker of peace. Allura had forgiven him, and now, maybe he could start to forgive himself. It was the beginning of a journey that could take who knows how long, but it was a start, and that was good enough for him.