SO VOLTRON SEASON SEVEN CAME OUT TODAY , I WATCHED IT ALL AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE ALL THE FEELS. EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO WATCH IT ASAP.
In honor of this occasion, here is a chapter. This chapter is the last part in setting up the stage, think of it like the last introductory part of the story and the next chapters will go back to the main plot of Voltron, with this revelation and other changes. Bare in mind this is meant to be a canon like story, so definitely will see a lot of in show dialogues with things added or taken out.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy.
Summary: Allura has been hiding a secret from the Paladins, something painful from her past forced her to remain quiet. However that all changes when she finds a beloved object of someone she held dear. A simple pendant that hangs around the Blue Paladin's neck. Altean!Lance
Chapter Six
When Lance stepped inside Casimir's room, his chest felt heavy with something he couldn't quite place. The room was large, much larger than his own room at the Garrison or in Cuba was. The bed was on the far right, while various items were scattered all throughout the room, weapons, toys, books, technology Lance didn't recognize and several pieces of clothing.
He had been a bit apprehensive about coming here, it was like looking at someone else's life and not his own. In a manner of speaking, that was true. Whoever Casimir was, he and Lance were not the same. As he looked around the room he expected some pain to find him, but luckily no headache or stomach pain came to him. He took it as a small victory, however he momentarily forgot that as he looked at Allura.
His older sister.
The first name to pop into his head was Veronica, the older sister he knew and loved. He remembered his younger and older brothers, his younger sisters, his nieces and nephews, his grandparents, aunts and uncles. His family on earth was rather large and there was so much there, how could they really not be his like he thought?
Allura brought her hand to her mouth, sorrow filling her at the sight. She hadn't entered this room since before the argument with Casimir, that was thousands of years ago. There was nothing she missed more than her family, though she was truly grateful to have her brother back, she wished things would have different.
The princess looked to her brother to see him watching her with a curious and regretful look. She tried to push the sadness aside for his sake, it wasn't his fault and she would never blame for that. If the blame had to fall to someone, it had to fall to her.
"You were always so messy," Allura commented with a smile, "You knew where everything was, but no one else could find anything in the chaos."
Lance offered her a weak grin, "Good to see some things haven't changed. My rooms on earth are just as messy."
Allura smirked, her eyes a bit brighter than before, "Not surprised. Mother was like that as well."
Lance glanced away then, he could see blurred images of what he assumed were his birth parents. He had seen them before, a man and woman with his skin tone and Allura's white hair. Though if he focused enough their image would become more vivid allowing him to notice any minor details.
The woman for instance, her skin was lighter than that of her husbands and daughters. It was the same shade as Lance's was. Her eyes were more like Allura than his, his King Alfor's however were closer to his own. He clenched his hands into fists, he hated this.
Lance released a sigh, he could feel the beginnings of a headache, "Let's get to work."
For roughly an hour, Lance and Allura had worked together with comfortable silence and some conversation. If Lance had a question about anything, she was more than willing to answer which made Lance want to smile despite the ache it caused.
Her eagerness to connect with her long lost brother was palpable at best, it hurt Lance to know he couldn't give her the reunion she wanted. It was out of his control, he knew that, but it still bothered him.
Lance had been digging through the pile of items on his old desk when he spotted it. At first it was just a shine in his periphery vision, but something inside of him caused him to investigate further until he found the source of the glint he saw. He pulled the item from under the pages to see it was a knife of kind.
Carefully Lance unwrapped the blade that had been hidden by gauze. His eyes studied the sharp blade, a dagger he realized after a few moments of observing it. The handle was a royal blue color with what he assumed was his name carved into it. It brought a wry smile to his face.
When he turned the dagger over to look at it's other side, he noticed an inscription on the blade itself written in a language he didn't recognize. However, he knew what the inscription said despite not knowing the language.
Killing stroke.
Lance hissed softly as the words rang in his ears, the deep voice that said them causing his temples to throb. Black spots swarmed around his vision, sharp pains pierced his skull as he released a cry of surprise. The ground swayed beneath his feet and he was gone before he hit the ground. The dagger clattering on the floor.
"Paladins, we need to talk," Shiro said as he entered the lounge where Hunk, Pidge and Keith were doing various things.
Pidge looked up first, "What's up Shiro?"
The Black Paladin answered, "It's about Lance."
"What about him," Hunk asked, his tone concerned and a little fearful, "Is he alright? Did something happen?"
"As far as I know, he seems fine," replied Shiro, though he didn't sound to sure.
Keith spoke then, "He's not fine. You guys have all seen how he's been acting."
"Keith has a point," Pidge said with a frown, her eyes downcast, "He hasn't been himself since he learned about his Altean heritage."
"Would you be able to act the same in his shoes," Hunk questioned, though it was more rhetorical than anything.
The obvious answer was no. It was a lot to process.
Shiro nodded at Hunk, "He's right. We're his team. We need to be there for him as much as we can, even if it means giving him space. Keith, don't antagonize him as much. Pidge keep the snarky comments to a minimum. Hunk, don't be as overbearing. I will be stepping back on critiquing him in training as well. Can we all manage that?"
The group nodded without protest. Though Keith wasn't sure changing the dynamic with Lance would be the best thing to do, he knew what Shiro was trying to say. While it was important to keep some things the same for Lance, it was better not to keep it exactly the same so he wouldn't be overwhelmed.
Keith hated to admit it, he really hated to admit it, but he was really concerned about the blue Paladin. It took all of his strength not to constantly go after Lance to check on him, to not try and get him to talk about how he was really doing.
It would have been strange and out of character for Keith to do that, he knew it to and Lance probably couldn't take another thing right now. Keith briefly recalled his thoughts about his blade, it had the same mark as the one Ulaz carried.
His father had given him this blade, had told him it was from his mother. That she left for him to have, he never went anywhere without. It was the only thing he had of her as far Keith knew. Though his dad did mention on occasion the similarities between Keith and his mother, but they were few and dare between.
If it were possible for Lance to an Altean, that an Altean made it this far away from the fight before, could it be possible the Galra came? Keith knew it was, but there wasn't any record of the Galra here. Must have been a small group or single person who came and left the blade. Either his mother found it or she was Galra.
"Paladins," Allura shrieked through the communications of the castle, "Coran! It's Lance, something's wrong!"
All the Paladins jumped to their feet.
Shiro called out to her, "What happened? Where are you and Lance?"
"The Observing hall, Pidge should know where that is," Allura shouted, her tone growing frantic, "I can't carry him all the way down to the medbay. Get Coran to prep the area!"
Keith spoke then, his tone serious, "We're on it. Hunk, Shiro, you two go find Coran and get him to the medbay as soon as possible. Pidge and I will get Allura and Lance."
Shiro gave Keith a knowing look, but it was gone as quickly as it arrived causing a curious feeling to build in the Red Paladin. However now wasn't the time. Keith followed closely after Pidge who lead him to the upper floors of the castle, a place he had neglected to visit or learn of it's paths despite the week's he had been here.
After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, Keith and Pidge found Allura on the floor holding Lance's upper body in her arms. Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks as she could only stare at the unconscious, shivering teen.
"Allura, what happened to Lance," Keith asked as he and Pidge made their way to stand in front of her.
Her tears gaze caused a pulse of panic to rush through the veins of the green and red Paladins as they looked down at the Altean siblings.
"I don't know," Allura said clearly despite her distrust appearance, "We were looking through some of his things, in Casimir's room. It was going just fine when he picked up Casimir's dagger, then he just froze and cried out like he was in pain… He just collapsed and started shivering when I called out for you all."
Lance released a shuddering breath. His eyes opened barely, but it didn't look like he was seeing the Paladins and Allura. If anything he appeared to be in haze before his eyes closed again, shivers wracking his body.
Pidge put her hand on his forehead, "He's burning up. That's saying something considering Altean have a colder body temperature than humans. I doubt he would be warmer on average."
Allura visibly swallowed, "Another concern."
"Let's get him downstairs," Keith said sharply, "There's no time to waste."
Keith bent down as Allura and Pidge lifted Lance onto Keith's back. Luckily Lance was close enough to consciousness to wrap his arms around Keith's neck and rest his head on Keith's shoulder. Once Keith thought he was secure enough, he took off running trying to ignore the feeling of Lance's shallow breaths against his neck.
"You're going to be fine," Keith said out loud, hoping Lance could hear him, "You're okay, you're okay."
"Worried," came the labored and ever so quiet reply.
If not for the hot breath Keith had felt against his neck, he wouldn't have believed Lance had spoken at all. He picked up the pace with Pidge and Allura a few steps behind.
Keith burst through the doors of the medbay to find Coran and Hunk furiously working on several machines in front of them. A bed was placed near them, a dome was hanging on the side closest to Keith as he entered. He assumed it would cover Lance once he laid down and the scan would begin.
The black Paladin spoke when he saw Keith enter with Lance, "They're almost ready, set him down here."
Keith nodded mutely as he walked over to the bed. With some aid from Shiro, they were able to get Lance to release his hold on Keith and set him down. Lance took a harsh breath as he laid tense on the somewhat comfortable medically bed.
"This examining table hasn't been used in quite awhile, but it is similar to the pods upstairs," explained Coran as he the dome moved to cover Lance, "However this one is a bit better at finding any details that may be causing a problem."
Hunk added, "It will be able to figure out what happened to him in a matter of minutes."
Allura nodded, her expression stoic as she said, "Good, we need an answer as soon as possible."
*Lance's dream*
Lance stood in what he recognized as the training room of the castle where he and the Paladins would run through drills for hours on end. A minute ago he had been in Casimir's room. Why was he here in the training room?
Abruptly he saw a training bot with a long sword come to attack him, only it wasn't going after him at all. The attack was blocked by a purple long sword that was being wielded by child with stark white hair wearing a fitted white shirt and larger purple pants. Lance jumped back in surprise, he could only stare at the boy in fear and shock.
The boy shoved at the bot with all his strength giving him a moment to attack the bot and cut off his head with a single swing. Lance could only blink, he had hardly been able to keep track of the boy's movements. How had he managed to do that so quickly?
He landed in a side lunge position, he smiled triumphantly, "Aw yeah, take that you quiznaking bot!"
The familiar hiss of the doors opening filled Lance's ears.
"My prince," said the familiar voice of Coran, "You have a visitor."
Lance turned around to see Coran standing in the doorway, he looked a little younger than Lance remembered. His face was mostly the same, but his facial hair was less prominent. Thought his outfit was unchanged.
The boy came to stand beside Lance and spoke in a voice to similar to his own, "Good to see you Coran. Who has come to see me?"
The visitor in question made himself known as he came to stand beside Coran. It was the Galra dictator, Zarkon. Even though he appeared younger and not as evil or terrifying as Lance recalled from the one encounter he had with the tyrant before.
Lance stepped back in fear, he was defenseless without a weapon with a younger Coran and a child. However much to his surprise, the boy beside him looked happy.
"Zarkon," shouted the boy happily, "This is a wonderful surprise! What are you doing here?"
"I have something to give you Casimir,," said the broad shouldered Galra as he stepped into the training circle.
That name was all it took for Lance to realize he was having a flashback in the third person. He had no idea that would be possible, especially since he was certain most people if not all couldn't remember things like this. Maybe it was a dream or maybe Alteans were able to see their memories in the third person. Either way, it was strange, but it made sense as to why he was here suddenly.
He shook his head furiously, with whatever strength he had he forced the memory away. For a moment he was blinded by bright light until he saw he was no longer in the training room.
He was being held by someone, their arms were small and hands gentle on him as he laid there. It was incredibly cold, he could tell he was shaking because of the temperature. He heard voices, but couldn't make out who they were.
Zarkon held in his hands a closed box that appeared to be made of wood as far as Lance could tell. The boy, Casimir, walked forward to stand directly in front of Zarkon with a beaming smile. In any case, Lance could almost describe the expression as proud.
Lance struggled to get his slight panic under control as he remained here. There was nothing for him to do, but stand in his place and observe. But this was not what he wanted to do, he had to get out of here, he had to get out of here now.
Lance forced the memory away again, the pain in his skull increasing enough for his eyes to water with tears he wouldn't shed. It was then he heard a muffled voice, it was Keith's.
"You're going to be fine," Keith said, "You're okay, you're okay."
"Worried," Lance forced the word out with his last bit of strength before the memory claimed him again.
Lance now stood before Zarkon and beside his younger self. He took this moment to study the prince to find that he looked the same as he had at the age of ten. The only difference was the blue sickle markings, obvious white hair and the fact that the prince appeared to have a more toned body. Lance assumed it had to do with all the training Casimir probably did.
The blue Paladin looked back at Zarkon to see he had opened the wooden box to reveal a dagger. The dagger Lance had been holding before he collapsed in Casimir's room. However the handle of this dagger was red with the name Zarkon carved into it.
"A dagger," Casimir questioned as he lifted the blade, "While I do not want to seem ungrateful, why a dagger? I'm better versed with a sword or blasters."
Zarkon nodded with a knowing look, "You are a skilled warrior Casimir. One of the best I have ever had the honor of teaching."
Casimir smirked, "You flatter me."
"However," Zarkon continued with a smirk of his own, "It is important that you build up your weakest skills to be an equal to your strongest ones."
Casimir held the blade in his smaller hands delicately, "It has a Galra inscription on it."
"What does it say," Zarkon questioned, prompting Casimir to speak.
"Killing stroke, or thrust in some translations I assume," said Casimir, he lifted his blue eyes to look at Zarkon, "Vrepit sa, your favorite salute."
"It is my favorite indeed, it is also one used often in our military salutes," stated Zarkon simply.
Casimir asked in a confused tone, "Why give me this Zarkon?"
Zarkon got down onto one knee so he could be at eye level with the young Altean Prince, "Because this blade was mine. It was given to me by my mentor many years ago and it was given to him by his mentor many years before and so forth. I am now continuing the tradition with you."
"But I am not one of your people," Casimir said with a frown, "I remember you told me of the traditions, it must be held through your kin. I cannot accept this."
"It is not a rule at all, it simply is not often done," explained Zarkon, "It does not matter who that person is as long as the one gifting them them believes them to be a worthy carrier of it."
Casimir stared down at the blade, he gripped the handle tightly, "You believe me worthy of it?"
Zarkon places his large hand onto the small shoulder of Casimir as he said, "The most worthy person I have ever met. This blade is now yours and I intend to teach you have to properly use it along with many other things I feel you are now ready for."
Casimir stood straighter, "I will make you proud. You will not regret gifting me this blade, I promise you that."
"You continue to bring pride to not only myself, but your family as well," Zarkon said, he pulled out royal blue wrapping tape for the handle, "Remove my tape and keep it with you as token, tie this blue one around the handle and carve your name into it."
Casimir nodded mutely.
Zarkon stood to his full height then he spoke with a small smile, "I will see you again in the coming weeks. Until then, I want you to practice with it on your own. Find a grip and style that suits you. Should you need anything, you know how to access the systems."
Casimir could only smile as he said, "Of course. Will you send me more of your strategies?"
"I will," Zarkon said simply, he turned away and started to walk out as he called, "Remember to keep them in a safe place."
Casimir nodded, he knew the perfect spot.
Lance's eyes snapped open in shock, he sat up abruptly but hit his head against the dome that was still over him. Panic filled him for a moment as he fell back onto the bed, but he relaxed slightly when he saw Shiro and Coran.
His chest was throbbing, he brought a hand to it hoping to ease the pressure, but to no avail. The ringing in his ears was loud and insistent, luckily after a few moments it began to fade allowing him to hear Shiro.
"Lance stay down," Shiro instructed firmly, "You're in an examining chamber. You passed out a little over twenty minutes ago."
Lance nodded stiffly, "I remember collapsing. I had a pretty intense flashback."
Shiro replied with a wary grin, "Must have been quite the memory. You gave us all quite the scare. You were shivering and had a fever of 104, but are now down to a 94 degrees."
"Lower than average," commented Lance as he winced, his head still pounding, though less than earlier.
"What was the memory you saw," Shiro decided ask while Coran continued to work on the monitors.
Lance shifted on the bed uncomfortably, "It, it was Zarkon again."
"Did he hurt you," Shiro asked concerned, the thought of the titan near the blue Paladin making him angry.
Lance shook his head, he answered hesitantly, "No. no he didn't hurt me, he gave me something. He gave me a dagger and I think some of strategies."
Shiro raise an eyebrow, "Why would he do that?"
"Because Casimir was like his apprentice," Coran said as he faced the Paladins, "Many decaphobes ago, long before Zarkon and the Paladins, the Galra would have masters of a trade. They would then take on an apprentice and teach them all they knew, then give them a weapon or item of some kind. For Zarkon, a dagger was passed down."
"Why was Cas-I his apprentice," Lance asked curiously.
Coran sighed, "You were a great warrior and magician despite your young age. Zarkon saw real potential in you, he believed that the instructors you had were holding you back and in a way they were right. Under Zarkon and some help from his wife, you became a true force to be reckoned with."
Lance wasn't sure how to respond to any of that. He opted to stay silent as the glass dome over him moved away. Shiro helped him sit up on the bed, the blue Paladins relaxed a sharp sigh as he sat up. Even though Lance usually liked being the center of attention, this was not at all what he liked. He preferred to be the guy who made everyone laugh or the most interesting person in the room.
Being the most wounded was not what he had in mind, being the one who was the center of everyone's concern was not what he wanted. Though he had to admit it was nice to know that his teammates were worried about him, it meant they did really care about him.
"He said in the flashback about some plans he had, I wrote them down and I know where they are," Lance said, he took a laborer breath, "They might help us."
Shiro rested a hand on Lance's shoulder, "That can wait for a few minutes. Coran did a scan on you to see what may have caused you to pass out and why you're in pain."
Lance swallowed, he had feeling he wouldn't like the answer, "Coran, what did the scan say?"
It did not go unnoticed by Lance or Shiro that the Royal Advisor's entire body went rigid at the question. The scan results themselves hadn't been awful, but they were far from a good thing as far as the Paladins were concerned.
Shiro glanced to the side to see Allura had joined them, Pidge, Hunk and Keith were not with her. He assumed she must have sent them away as to not overwhelm Lance when he awoke. Quietly, Allura came to Shiro's side and if Lance noticed her, he didn't show it.
"We already knew King Alfor had deaged you to an infant and initially we assumed that because of the age regression, the memories were buried into your subconscious," Coran explained, his tone remorseful, "However it appears that was not the case."
Lance raised an eyebrow, "Why does it matter where the memories were?"
Coran visibly swallowed before answering, "King Alfor blocked your memories first then deaged you to an infant. This is important because now your Altean memories are directly connected to your original state of existence. Because of these blocked memories, you cannot access your magic."
Lance nodded slowly, "Okay, what does that mean for my pain or collapsing?"
"This means that with every few memories you recover, the magic he used will be undown which results in your magic own coming back. Blocked magic is harmless to Alteans and will usually cause minimal issues to someone affected by it. Human DNA is another story," Coran explained with a heavy voice.
"Another story, why," Lance asked in worry and surprise.
"Without your heritage from earth, the memories would return on their own as would the magic in you," Allura started, a bit uneasy, "Your own magic is resurfacing and fighting off the magic father used through the blocked memories, but your human side is rejecting it which is why you are in pain."
"What happens when I unblock all the memories," Lance asked softly, his heart pounding in his chest, "Won't the magic just come back? Besides the pain, why do you look so concerned?"
Coran inhaled sharply before answering him, "I cannot say for certain. What I believe will happen is when all the memories are unlocked, all of your magic will be released and you will return to your original state. And by returning to your original age, I believe in earth years you were thirteen or maybe a bit younger, your human DNA will… be destroyed."
Lance's eyes widened at those words, "What? So I'll get magic, become a thirteen year old and lose my earth dna? Are you sure? How do you know?"
"I tested a strand of white hair, it's more identical to Casimir's than your own because it doesn't have as many earth chromosomes," frowned Coran as he leaned back, "We don't know for sure. It will take time to know for certain whether or not you will deage. You could remain the same age and just lose your human DNA, but right now we don't know."
"We'll figures it out, don't worry Lance," Allura said trying to be reassuring as she grabbed Lance's hand.
He jerked his hand away, "Don't worry. How can I not worry? Can this revelation keep getting worse?! Is there a way to stop this?"
Coran shook his head, "There isn't a way to stop it, one way or another the magic King Alfor used will wear off. Your deaging and growing on earth were apart of that."
"What about the pain he's in," Shiro asked, Lance had forgotten he was there, "Is there anything you can do to help him on that front? Anyway to avoid him going into a state like this again?"
"This intense of a flashback was caused by a familiar object that held some significance to you," said Coran simply, "should they become more severe without prompting, Allura will have to reaffirm the mental block to avoid that scenario. There isn't a way to stop this, one way or another, King Alfor's magic will wear off now that it has started."
Lance clenched his jaw, he wasn't sure what to say or do with this information. He wasn't prepared for any of this, he didn't know what to do. If he uncovered all his memories he would become a little more than a child and lose the only real connection he had to his family on earth.
The DNA strands he had were a combination of Altean and earth DNA, the chromosomes came from his mom and Dad on earth. He just knew it and it was the only thing he could cling to that connected him to them besides the memories they all shared. He couldn't lose that, he just couldn't.
"I need some time," Lance finally said, "To think about all this."