Oh look, the next chapter is here! Hopefully maybe I'll be able to finish the next chapter of maroon before I leave on vacation, but no promises. Which, as I mentioned on my previous update of anomalous point, I am doing. From Monday to Saturday next week, I'll be on vacation! So obviously, fanfic will not really be a priority during that time period.

cosmic dust

chapter twenty two

champion

She watched, impassive, as the lions and the rebel ships alike slipped through their net, making their escape through a wormhole. The Altean princess' work, no doubt.

It did not matter. Her goal today was never the lions. Those would come, in time. They had been searching the universe for them for ten thousand years- impatient though he could be, her lord could afford to wait a little longer.

No. All that mattered was what she had sent the Champion to do.

"High priestess," the druid's voice caused her to turn her head, but not much else, "-the Champion has returned."

"And was he successful?"

"He was unable to capture either of the requested individuals." The druid informed her. "However, he was able to capture one of the rebels. We believe that she may be of use to us."

Narrowing her eyes, Haggar frowned. It had been her initial plan to capture the Earthlings- either of the two siblings would have worked. The black market dealer that she had tracked down had informed them that in addition to the Altean princess, and the Earthling he already kept in his company, that he had managed to find yet another Earthling to serve as part of his crew.

She did not need a description of them to know who they were. Including the prototype, there were only five this far out in space. It was not hard to guess that he was their missing prisoner. The footage she had recovered from the ship on which the Altean princess' pod had been transported on only served to prove that.

As well as the fact that he appeared to be family to the small Earthling the prototype had brought back to space with him.

Either way, she had hedged her bets that one of them would be involved with the retrieval.

"Bring them to me."

The druid bowed, wordlessly leaving her side. She was aware that one of the two humans who had been captured alongside Champion had been freed from one of their work camps by rebels, so perhaps she could still make use of this rebel they had captured. Humans, she had learned, all shared the same weakness- they cared.

She had wiped such weaknesses from the Champion.

With him, she would not only be able to seize the missing prototype, but also the lions with it. Once he was secure in her hands, she would then use him against his supposed allies, eliminating the budding threat of Voltron, once and for all.

How amusing it was, that her experiment had been chosen by the red lion as its paladin. Perhaps it had taken pity on him.

With the finished product already in development, perhaps there was no need to reclaim the prototype. It was why she had, thus far, allowed him to do as he pleased, even with the red lion at his side. However, now that the cards were as such, she would fully make use of him- he, alongside the Champion, would become a weapon of the Galra Empire.

How fitting, given their once bond.

She'd nearly laughed, once she had realized it. It had been so unexpected, that out of all the Earthlings they could have captured, the one that they had managed to snare was none other than the halfbreed's brother. Perhaps not by blood, but that did not change the fact that the man possessed just as much potential as did his younger sibling.

"High priestess."

The Champion's voice was cold, devoid of emotion. It had been a liability, so she had stripped it from him. It had not been an easy task, as he had fought her at every turn, but in the end, she had time as her ally.

And time always won.

"Champion," Haggar turned to face him fully, "-did you complete your mission?"

"No," he told her, "-there was an interference."

Directing her gaze downwards, she studied the interference in question. A rebel, based on her attire, from the borderlands, at that. Based on her ears, she was likely from planet Kythra, a member of one of the desert tribes.

Ranveig's territory.

She was not conscious, but in spite of the fact that she was seeping blood from a wound on her lower left leg, she appeared alive. Based on the footage from the work camp that the Earthling had escaped from, it had been a Kythraian that had assisted in his escape. She would be willing to bet that they were one and the same.

Good. She could use this.

"We can still use her." Haggar said. "Our plans have not changed."

The Champion merely stared straight forward, unblinking. "How shall we contact them?"

"Leave that to me." Haggar told him. "Take the prisoner to be treated. She's no good to us dead."

Raising his right hand over his heart, the Champion bowed his head. "Vrepit sa."

Hoisting the rebel over his shoulder, the Champion departed her presence. She had seen in him potential, even before he had been thrown into the arena, and under her guidance, that potential had blossomed. While perhaps splitting her attention between the Champion and the prototype had allowed the latter to escape, in the end, she had been able to produce a weapon greater than any the Galra Empire had known.

The perfect soldier.

She had desired to make the prototype into such at first, but that was before she had discovered his sensitivity to quintessence. That changed everything.

It was to her great regret that she had been unable to catch the spy that had allowed him to escape. Lieutenant Thace, Commander Prorok's right hand- it did not surprise her in the least that a spy had managed to slip in under his command. He had always been careless, clinging to status he had earned from his ancestors, and not through his own works.

He had since been taken care of.

Turning on her heel, she gazed out onto the vast abyss of space. Thanks to the princess' wormhole, she now knew where she would be able to find her.

And that she had the Castle of Lions with her.

She would allow them time- time to debrief, for confusion to spread. The bond that the prototype and the missing prisoner alike shared with the Champion would create a rift, and in the center of that rift, she would make contact, offering a trade.

The Altean princess, she suspected, would not take it.

But it was not her that she was hoping to ensnare.

Half-Galra though he might be, he still possessed the same weakness that every human had. Caring. And his bond with the Champion was strong.

She would exploit that.

He had to tell them.

It was with a cold, sinking feeling that he realized this. As Hunk carefully brought the yellow lion in for a landing in its hangar, Matt felt a cold lump start to form in his throat.

He had to tell them about Shiro. They needed to know.

He had to tell Keith about Shiro.

Sensing his nerves, Hunk glanced back towards him. "Hey, uh, you okay?"

"I- yeah, I'll be fine." Matt lied. "Just thinking about how to break the news."

"...so I'm guessing that was Takashi Shirogane after all, huh." Hunk said.

Closing his eyes, he tried to rid himself of the image that seemed to have burned itself into his retinas. Of Shiro, with that cold look in his eyes. Shiro, trying to kill them- trying to kill him.

Of Te-Osh's blood, a vivid red like a human's, spattered against the floor of the cave like paint. Her snapped and broken staff.

She had to be alive, he told himself. There was no point in dragging off a corpse. Clutching at his chest, he drew in a deep breath, using it to steady himself. He could do this. Whatever was going on with Shiro, there was no way he was doing any of this by choice.

Not with that kind of look in his eyes.

"Yeah," Matt said, slowly opening his eyes, "-that was him."

"That's uh... yeah, that's bad." Hunk said. "I- should we tell the others?"

"We're going to have to." Matt told him, a tight frown on his lips. "I'll do it. I knew Shiro, so it should be me."

No sense pushing his responsibility onto a cadet, even if he wasn't actually all that much older than him.

"Oh yeah, guess you did." Hunk frowned. "Do you think he's-?"

"I don't know." Matt admitted, furrowing his brow. "I don't know what the Galra Empire is capable of. Maybe they brainwashed him. All I know is that there's no way Shiro would ever join them, not of his own free will. There has to be something going on here."

Knowing that didn't make it any easier.

If Shiro really was brainwashed, could they even break him out of it? He didn't even know how they had done it, or even if it was brainwashing. What if they'd done something even worse? What if they'd like... reprogrammed his whole brain or something like that?

Which, technically, he guessed was still brainwashing but like... a whole different level of brainwashing.

"Hey, I believe you." Hunk said. "I mean, I never met the guy, but he kind of doesn't seem like the type to go off and join an evil alien empire."

Shoulders slumping, Matt cast him a grateful smile. Staring out of the yellow lion's cockpit, he noticed that there was already a crowd starting to gather outside of it- including Keith.

God, Keith.

What was he... what was he going to tell Keith?

Shiro was like a brother to him. It was bad enough that they had taken him too, but now they had brainwashed him, experimented on him, from the looks of that right arm of his. The only one capable of making something like that was Zarkon's witch, and if what he'd heard from Pidge was true, then Keith knew all too well what it was like to have Haggar's full attention.

Given the choice, he'd tell Keith first, in private.

But he didn't think they had that choice.

"Trust me," Matt said, "-he's not."

Nodding his head, Hunk pulled off his helmet, letting out a long sigh. It had been a long day for him too, he sensed. A week ago, he'd just been a normal cadet, and now here he was, paladin of an ancient semi-sentient weapon, one that he didn't even know how to pilot at first.

He had to admit, he'd done pretty well in spite of that.

Maybe if he'd just listened to Hunk's gut, they wouldn't be in this situation right now. The whole thing had been a trap, and they'd walked right into it.

Even worse, he got the sinking feeling that maybe Te-Osh hadn't been Shiro's target. If she had been taken, he could only think of one reason- and that was that she was going to be used as a hostage. The cruiser brigade had just been there so they'd be forced to retreat, they'd never been the main plan.

He got the awful feeling that they were dealing with Haggar.

"So... you ready to go out there?" Hunk asked. "Or are you going to need a few minutes?"

It was a tempting offer, but no. The faster he got this over with, the better.

Like ripping off a band-aid, Shiro had once told him, though he couldn't recall why it had come up. It'd hurt either way, so best to just get it over with.

"I'm fine." Matt told him. "Let's go."

Heading down the yellow lion's ramp, he caught himself holding his breath. He could almost feel Keith's eyes on him, piercing right through him. He'd never actually thought they were creepy before, but now?

Now they kind of were.

Exhaling, he squared his shoulders. He had to do this. One way or another, this wasn't something that they could ignore. Shiro was out there, being used, and if there was anything he could do to save him, then he'd do it, in a heartbeat.

Shiro had saved him once. If it hadn't been for him, he probably would have died in the arena. Slaughtered, his skull bashed in by a monster more than three times his size. The scar on his knee was testament to that.

He owed it to him to try and help him now.

"Matt," it was Allura who spoke first, scanning their small party in confusion, "-where is Te-Osh? Was she not with you?"

Right. Allura didn't know yet.

"It was a trap." Matt informed her, in no uncertain terms. "I don't know how, but the Galra knew we were coming. Te-Osh... she sacrificed herself to save us. So that we could have a chance to get the yellow lion."

"We tried to go back for her." Hunk hurriedly supplied. "But she was just... gone."

"Gone?" Pidge asked. "How could she just disappear?"

"She didn't just disappear."

Keith's curt tone drew everyone's attention to him, and for once, he didn't falter at it. Narrowing his eyes, the half-Galra leveled his gaze with him. "I heard you. You said Shiro's name."

"Wait, Shiro?" Lance interjected. "Like, pilot of the Kerberos mission Shiro? That Shiro?"

"Why would there even be any other Shiro out here?" Keith snapped.

"Geez, don't get your panties in a twist." Lance frowned. "It was just a question."

Glowering at Lance, Keith made a low growl. It was enough to cause Lance to flinch, slowly edging away from the half-Galra. Usually he'd say that Keith's bark was worse than his bite, but under the circumstances... yeah, that was probably a good call.

Looking up towards him, Pidge frowned. "Matt?"

Realizing that there was no easy or kind way to say this, Matt just let out a long sigh, bracing himself for the impact his words were bound to have. "Yeah. I did. He was there."

Silence fell over the yellow lion's hangar then, a tense hush that put him on edge. Chancing a glance in Keith's direction, he found his face to be unreadable- not that he'd expected anything else. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this hadn't been how he'd wanted their reunion to go.

"Wha- why would he be there?" Lance blurted out, confused. "Hunk?"

"I don't know." Hunk was quick to admit. "All I know is that something was seriously wrong."

"Wait," brows furrowing together, he watched as his sister put the limited information she had been given together, piece by piece, "-are you saying it was Shiro who captured Te-Osh?"

And there it was, out in the open.

"Yeah." Matt told her. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Like Hunk said, I think something was wrong with him. He didn't... he wasn't the normal Shiro. I'm not even sure if he knew who I was."

"And he had this like, freaky metal arm." Hunk added. "Shot laser beams."

"Yes, thank you, Hunk." Matt said. "That too."

There was a crack in Keith's mask, his brows furrowing in thought. Visceral horror came next, plain as day even in his alien eyes, followed by something else he couldn't quite place, like something had dawned on him. If possible, he would have said that he'd gotten even paler.

"I wasn't the only one."

"Keith?" Pidge looked up at him, frowning.

"I wasn't the only one." Keith repeated. "Haggar, she had... she had someone else that she was experimenting on. I never knew who, I just knew that she'd started splitting her attention."

Oh. That was guilt.

"Hold on a tick," Allura cut in, "-what do you mean, experimented on? And who is Haggar?"

Flinching, Keith's eyes darted up towards the Altean princess, fear momentarily taking the place of the guilt and the horror. "I-"

"Look, it doesn't matter what Haggar did to Keith." Pidge cut in. "What matters is what she did to Shiro."

Frowning, Allura's gaze lingered on Keith for a moment longer, before she turned it towards Pidge. "I suppose. But that still does not answer my previous question. Who is this Haggar?"

"Zarkon's witch?" Matt offered. "Creepy lady with blue skin and white hair? Always wearing a robe?"

"I am afraid I am not familiar with her." Allura said simply.

Holding up her arm, Pidge tapped her gauntlet, bringing up a holoscreen. In spite of himself, Matt couldn't help but briefly be impressed by the fact that they appeared to have some sort of in armor computer, but it wasn't a thought that he lingered on long. Bringing up a holographic image of Haggar, he didn't miss the way Keith went still.

"This is Haggar." Pidge said.

Leaning in close, Coran's gave his mustache a thoughtful stroke. "Why, those look like Galran funeral robes."

"Okay, didn't know that." Pidge remarked. "Are you saying all this time, she's been walking around dressed as a dead person? Because that's super creepy."

"Okay, I am definitely missing something here." Lance cut in. "Shiro? Experiments? Creepy zombie witch lady? Will someone please explain what's going on?"

"I wish I knew." Allura admitted, her gaze once more briefly flickering towards Keith. "But perhaps Keith here can fill us in."

He didn't even know it was possible for Keith to get any tenser than he already was, but he managed. "Look- I don't know what she did to Shiro. I didn't- I didn't even know he was there."

Maybe it was the obvious pain in those words, but it was enough to cause Allura to back down, instead letting out a long breath. "Whatever the case, we should not keep our guests waiting for much longer. But we must explain to them why Te-Osh did not return from the mission, as well as consider our options as to what we should do next."

"I'll tell them." Matt said. "I know them."

Nodding her head, Allura's frown didn't fade. "That would help. They should have landed in the main hangar by now. Paladins," and he didn't miss the way her gaze briefly lingered on Keith- nor did Keith, "-you have all had a rough battle. Take this as your chance to relax, and change out of your armor."

There was a clear air of hesitation in the room, not a surprise, given how tense everyone was. Changing out of their armor was probably the last thing on their minds.

Hunk ended up taking the lead. "Yeah, we'll do that." He said. "Do you want us to join you in the main hangar, or...?"

"The bridge." Allura told him. "Whatever is going on here, we cannot simply abandon Te-Osh. That is not how Voltron does things."

He didn't get the feeling that the princess was berating any of them for leaving her behind- under those circumstances, there was nothing they could have done. But it still stung.

Especially since he wouldn't be here right now without Te-Osh.

Leaving them with instructions to reconvene on the bridge in half a varga, Allura departed, Coran flanking her side. Casting a quick glance towards Pidge and Keith, Matt hurried to catch up. He was a little worried about Keith's mental state, but when it came down to it, his sister knew him better than he did- so he'd just leave him to her.

He really should have remembered rule number of the rebellion- that things never went as planned. Still, this... this was a lot more deviance from the plan than he could have ever expected.

One thing was clear- they had to get Te-Osh back. Her and Shiro.

He got the feeling the latter would be a lot more challenging.

"So uh, do you-"

Keith didn't even give Hunk a chance to finish his question. He seriously wasn't in the mood to answer it. Ignoring Pidge's protest he stalked off, leaving the group behind him.

Shiro.

Shiro had been there.

He hadn't heard things. He should have- he knew he should have gone down to the planet, to check things out. Why hadn't he? Shiro had been there, and now he'd slipped through his fingers.

Gritting his teeth, he felt his claws dig into his armor. He probably looked every bit the fearsome Galra that people pegged him as, but right now, he didn't care.

It wasn't that he was angry at any of the paladins, or even Allura. No, he was angry at himself. Shiro had been there, on Central Command, the entire time, and he hadn't even known. He'd even been grateful that Haggar wasn't paying as much attention to him lately. It was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

Sure, fine, maybe he didn't have any proof- but just based off what Matt had told them, he knew it had to be true. Otherwise there would be no reason why Shiro would ever work with the Galra Empire. He wasn't- he wasn't like that.

No, if he was working with them, it wasn't out of his own free will.

He didn't stop walking until he'd reached his quarters. It was only once he was safe inside that he actually felt himself breathe.

Yanking off his helmet, he tossed it aside, hitting the wall with a loud thud. Sinking down onto his bed, he dug his hands into his hair, his claws pressing into his scalp. This was his fault. He'd left Shiro behind.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Keith jerked his hands away from his head. What was he even doing here? Playing paladin? Pretending to be some kind of hero? He'd abandoned his brother, his only family, left him to the same fucking fate he'd endured for four years. What kind of defender of the universe did that?

Sure, maybe he hadn't known, but as far as he was concerned, that wasn't an excuse. Shiro should be the one who was freed, not him. He had- he had people who cared about him, who loved him, and he...

Drawing in a long, shaky breath, Keith forced that line of thinking aside. No. He knew he had people who cared about him. Shiro had never given up on him, even after everyone else thought he was dead. He owed it to him to do the same- whatever Haggar had done to him, there had to be some way to undo it.

There had to be.

He tried not to think about how he hadn't found any way to undo what she'd done to him.

Forcing himself to his feet, he began the process of shedding his armor. He really didn't want to face the princess now, not after he'd blurted out the fact that he'd been experimented on like that. She was already suspicious of him- the fact that she'd apparently accepted him as a paladin didn't change that fact.

It was only based out of necessity anyways.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to combat that thought. Positive thinking, he reminded himself. If his talks with Pidge had proved anything, it was that he didn't... really have the best grasp when it came to how other people felt about him. He felt negatively about himself, so it was only natural to assume that everyone else did too.

Granted, everyone else didn't know how fucked up he was, but now he'd just thrown that out there, like a huge idiot. Sure, maybe he hadn't given any specifics, but it wouldn't be hard to guess. All it would take was one mistake, and they'd-

But if he ever wanted to be anything more than the monster Haggar had turned him into, then he had to at least try to do the right thing. And right now, that was swallowing his fears, and heading to the bridge.

Discarding the last of his armor, he changed back into his casual wear. He didn't even really need armor. He'd gotten by just fine without it when he'd been raiding Galra ships with Pidge, and it just felt wrong on him.

On the other hand, if he got too badly hurt... yeah, he'd rather avoid that.

Pausing for a moment, his hand hovered over his heart. Narrowing his eyes, he traced the scars that lined it, chewing on his lip. Haggar had been on one of those cruisers, and while he liked to entertain the idea that she had been on one of the ones that he'd shot down with Red's railgun, he doubted he was that lucky.

He was never that lucky.

Yanking his shirt back on, he grabbed his knife, tucking it in place on his belt. Thoughts drifting back to the Lieutenant that had helped him escape, he briefly wondered what had become of him after that- if he'd been caught, or if he had gotten away.

And why him? Why not Shiro?

Realistically, he knew why. The research the witch had been doing on him was dangerous, he could understand that much. He'd be the first to admit that in spite of it being done to him, he didn't know much in regards to what she had been hoping to accomplish- only that he was the first step to replicating it on a much larger scale.

Compared to that, Shiro was just another prisoner.

But maybe... maybe if there had been one Galra there willing to help him escape, maybe there were others. If there were, and if they could figure out a way to get into contact with them, maybe they could find a way to save Shiro.

Provided there was a way.

Grunting at the negative thought, Keith pressed his hand against the door panel- and nearly jumped out of his skin as Pidge manifested in his line of vision.

A very annoyed Pidge.

"You shut the door on my face."

Blinking, he glanced over towards the door panel, then back towards Pidge. Had she followed him? Of course she had followed him, what was he thinking. "I... didn't know you were there?"

Frowning, Pidge locked eyes with him. "What do you even have those big ass ears for then?"

One hand straying to his ear, Keith frowned. It wasn't like he'd asked for ears like this. Just adjusting to the new range of hearing had been a nightmare. "I was just- just thinking."

Heaving a sigh, Pidge's shoulders slumped. "You want to talk about it?"

"...is no an option?" Keith ventured.

Arching a brow, Pidge cast an assessing look up in his direction. She hadn't changed out of her paladin armor at all, so he guessed she'd just been standing there this whole time. He was surprised she didn't just barge right in.

"Only if we talk later." Pidge concluded.

Chewing on his lip, Keith just nodded his head. Maybe... maybe talking to someone else would help, if only to just get out of his own head. It wasn't exactly the best place to be. Just... not yet. He wasn't ready yet.

"Good." Giving him a curt nod of her own, Pidge proceeded to make a slight face. "Now if you don't mind, I'm dying to get out of this armor. Do you think it's supposed to make us sweat like this?"

Unable to keep it back, he let out a faint laugh. "I think maybe that's just you."

Making a noise of disgust, Pidge crinkled her nose. "Ugh. Great."

It didn't last, though. Her expression softening, she raised her fist, tapping it lightly against his chest. "We'll get him back."

"We don't even know what's wrong with him." Keith stated.

"We'll figure it out." Pidge told him. "And we'll bring him home. He's family, right?"

Feeling something in his shoulders ease, Keith breathed out. Right. He didn't have to do this alone.

"Yeah," he said, uncertain what kind of expression he was even making, just that it was probably one he hadn't made in a long time, "-family."

"...so was that weird to you too?"

"Uh, do you mean Shiro being brainwashed or Keith?" Hunk asked. "Because both were pretty weird."

"I meant Keith." Pulling off his helmet, Lance frowned. "Was it just me, or did it sound like he knew Shiro?"

"Well, they were both prisoners of the Galra," Hunk said, "-so maybe they met in prison?"

Considering it, Lance's brow furrowed in thought. That sounded okay, at least, on the surface- but it had also kind of sounded like he hadn't even known that Shiro was being held in the same place he had been. "It kind of sounded like more than that to me. He got pretty upset."

Granted, this was Keith they were talking about. Maybe it was just the whole alien thing, but he was pretty sure the guy got his social skills from like, the bargain bin of a clearance store. He didn't know what it was about the dude, but there was just something about him that was hard to get along with.

Maybe it was just the name.

Or maybe it was the fact that he was, actually, a better pilot than him. He'd admit it- maybe not out loud, to Keith's face, but he'd admit it. Still, seriously, what were the odds of there being two guys named Keith out there who could kick his butt at flying?

"I guess." Hunk frowned. "But I mean... I kind of get it. It's upsetting."

"The whole Shiro being brainwashed thing?" Lance asked. "Tell me about it. The guy's my idol. I don't want to fight him, brainwashed or not!"

"You should have seen it, Lance." Hunk told him. "Sure, it's not like I've ever met the guy before, although I guess now technically I have, but I'm not sure if it really counts, given the whole-"

"Hunk."

Blinking, Hunk stopped himself short. "Oh, uh, right. Sorry."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Lance said. "But seriously, what do you think's up with Keith?"

"I don't know." Hunk admitted. "He's a complicated guy."

"I think he's just grumpy." Lance said. "Like, would it kill him to smile?"

"He smiles." Hunk told him. "Sure, maybe not a lot, but he totally does."

"Look, all I'm saying is that I get some weird vibes from the dude." Lance told him. "It's not just me either. Blue does too. And then there's the whole weird thing with his bayard."

"Aw, he can't be that bad." Hunk said. "I mean, the red lion chose him, right?"

Frowning, Lance narrowed his eyes. "Hey, whose side are you on?"

Holding up his hands, Hunk gave him a weak smile. "All I'm saying is that we barely know the dude. I think maybe you should just give him a chance."

It wasn't like Hunk didn't have a point. Weird vibes or not, it was true that they barely knew the guy. Granted, his impression thus far of him wasn't great, but it wasn't like he'd done anything appallingly horrible either- aside from fashion crimes, that was. Maybe Hunk was right, maybe he should give him a chance.

Or maybe Allura was right. What had he meant by being experimented on? Those words never carried positive implications, especially not when they involved ten thousand year old evil alien empires.

"Look, all I'm saying is that the guy is keeping secrets." Lance told him. "And I don't like it."

"Well yeah, but again, we did just meet." Hunk pointed out. "Maybe he just needs time to get used to us?"

Okay, fine. That was a good point, he'd admit it.

"Yeah, I guess." Lance admitted. "But hey- at least you got your lion, right? How's it feel, being a pilot?"

"Uh, nerve racking?" Hunk said. "Pretty sure my lion is like, the ground lion, which is fitting because if I had to choose, I'd like, never want to actually leave it."

"You know, my tutorial offer still stands." Lance told him. "Lance McClain's School of Flight is open for business. Free of charge for good buddies."

"Hm, tempting." Hunk admitted. "But I think for now, we should stick to figuring out what to do next. We can't just leave Te-Osh in the hands of the Galra Empire."

Yeah, that was true too.

"You know it's not your fault though, right?" Lance asked. "What happened to her?"

Hunk's expression was strained, like he couldn't quite decide between being honest and frowning, or pretending to smile. "I know, it's just... I feel like I could have done more. Maybe if we had been a little faster in getting the yellow lion then maybe none of this would have happened."

"Hey, you did what you could." Lance told him. "That's what counts."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess." Hunk said, having apparently settled on frowning.

Chewing on his lip, he tried to think of something more to say, but just drew a blank. Comforting people... he was kind of a mixed bag when it came to it. Sometimes he was really good at it, but other times... well, other times, he just couldn't think of what to say, and anything he did think of just sounded fake.

Now was one of those times.

Thankfully, he knew just what to do when it came to Hunk- and that was keep that big brain of his occupied.

"So," he began, trying not to let his own smile look too strained, "-you ready to go catch up with the princess?"

Looking up at him, Hunk gave him a slow nod of his head. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

That'd have to do.

She tried not to act too much like she was staring.

She tried to convince herself that she didn't mean it, but she knew that wasn't true. Right from the start, she had known that there was something off about Keith's quintessence, but for him to go so far as to confirm her suspicions was... well, she hadn't expected it, to say the least.

Even if it was clear he hadn't quite meant to say that.

Experimented on.

Those words could mean any number of things. It didn't necessarily have to be anything sinister. Keith was a hybrid, the only one of his kind, from the sound of it. Perhaps this Haggar had simply been curious about his physiology and had decided to obtain her answers in the most invasive of manners.

Perhaps not.

Haggar... even just from the still image that Pidge had shown her, there was something about her that put her ill at ease. She wasn't sure what it was, not exactly. Perhaps it was simply her choice of attire.

But as she had found, things were rarely that simple.

Keith caught her eye, then tried to pretend that he hadn't. Perhaps he might have fooled one of the humans, but not so for her. Clearly, whatever this witch had done to him, it was more than just poking and prodding him until she found out how he ticked.

Regardless, now that everyone had gathered, it was time to begin the meeting.

"Paladins," she began, using one hand to indicate the rebel that had come back with her to the bridge, "-this is Captain Olia. She will be assisting us with the matter of Te-Osh's rescue."

"Wish we could have met in better circumstances," Olia began, "-but still, always pleased to meet the paladins of Voltron."

"I'm just sorry we had to leave Te-Osh behind like that." Pidge said. "I kind of liked her. And she did save Matt, so..."

"It'll take more than just this to do her in." Olia said. "She's a tough one."

"I suppose the main problem is that we do not even know where to begin looking." Allura mused. "She could have been taken to any one of the cruisers orbiting the planet, and from there, who knows where they went next."

"We may not have to look."

Blinking, she turned her gaze towards Keith. He wasn't quite looking at her- or anyone, really, for that matter. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... think about it." Keith said. "Why capture her when they could have just killed her? It doesn't make any sense."

"He's got a point." Pidge agreed.

"So what, you're saying that they're going to use her as a hostage?" Lance asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time the Galra Empire's tried a trick like that." Olia noted.

"Maybe they want to trade for the lions?" Pidge suggested.

That... seemed reasonable enough. It was not a trade she would make, no matter how much she wanted to ensure Te-Osh's safety.

"We can't trade them the lions." Matt stated. "Te-Osh wouldn't want that."

"Well yeah, no doubt about that." Pidge agreed. "But I can't think of anything else they would want to ask for, except for maybe Allura."

That was also a possibility. And yet... somehow it still looked as if there was something on Keith's mind. Something that he was debating saying out loud. Brow furrowing, she opened her mouth to ask, before he cut her off, causing her to lose her chance to speak.

"Look, either way, point is, they'll contact us." Keith said. "When they do, we can have Pidge trace the call. She's done it before, she can do it again."

"I could have Rover run a trace." Pidge suggested. "He's a Galra drone I reprogrammed, so he should be able to do it."

"I am not sure about this." Allura frowned. She was certain that Keith was correct, but even so. "I do not like the idea of simply sitting around and waiting."

"Neither do I." Keith admitted. "But we don't have much of a choice."

"Keith's right." Matt said. "We've got no idea where to start looking. At least this will give us some kind of an idea."

Heaving a sigh, Allura nodded her head. "Very well. I suppose that is our best course of action."

"So what, do we just sit around on the bridge and wait?" Hunk asked. "Because not to undermine the situation here, but my stomach's telling me that we've all missed lunch."

Yes, that was an awfully good point as well. While she suspected that Alteans could go for far longer without food than humans, it could not be ignored that there were four members of her crew that were human.

She wasn't quite sure where Keith fell, when it came to his appetite. He never turned down a meal, but she'd never exactly seen him seek out food on his own, either. But then again, it wasn't as if she had been watching him very closely. Pidge would likely know better than she did.

"Pidge, Matt, I would like for you to remain on the bridge if at all possible." Allura instructed. "I would like to begin the trace as soon as they contact us."

"Got it." Pidge said.

"Guess I'll go get Rover, then." Keith said- and before she could even say anything, he left.

He'd done it on purpose, she realized. Huffing slightly, she merely accepted it. Now was hardly the time to be stirring up tensions, not when they would all need to work together if they had any hope of rescuing Te-Osh.

Not to mention this Shiro. She did not know him at all, but from the sound of it, he seemed rather important to Matt- and perhaps he would be able to give them a clue as to the whereabouts of Pidge's father.

But perhaps most strangely of all, was that he seemed rather important to Keith as well.