Well, here we are, at the second to last chapter! It's been a long ride, but we're close to the end now... and what a ride it has been! From here, I'm not fully sure where I'll be going with this verse- though I do plan on touching on it again. I do have vague plans for an installment that will cover their liberation of the Balmera, though that should be much shorter than this fic! After that, I don't have anything too specific planned, but who knows? Maybe something will come to me in the future.

That said, thanks for reading! Look forward to the last chapter, and enjoy this one!

cosmic dust

chapter thirty four

paladins

"Now this will only take just a tick, Number Five, don't you worry!"

Keith grimaced- though whether it was because Coran had a needle, or because he'd been demoted down a number on the height ranking now that Shiro was here, he didn't know. Either way, he was starting to regret his decision to seek out Coran like he said he would.

Not that he'd had much of a choice in the matter. Pidge must have spread word that he was going to actually ask for help for once, though it hadn't gotten past Matt and Shiro. Still, that was more than enough for the three of them to unceremoniously haul him to the med bay, barely even two days after they had all fought off Sendak's invasion.

They didn't have to. He'd told them as much. He was going to get around to it- he was! He just... he wanted to wait a little bit, until everything was a bit calmer, that's all. He totally wasn't putting it off.

(He was.)

So here he was, in the med bay with Coran, under the watchful eyes of Shiro and the Holt siblings. Thace was there too- although Ulaz had left to report back to the Blade of Marmora's leader, Thace had stuck around, claiming that it was his job to keep an eye on him. He hadn't been able to talk to him about his mother yet but... well, he was going to get to that too.

Okay, so maybe he still had a problem. Fine. He'd admit it. That was the first step to recovery or some other nonsense, right?

He sighed, offering Coran his arm. His jacket was tied around his waist, and he'd stripped down to just his pants, his shirt discarded on the table next to him. Someone had dimmed the lights of the med bay a little, which made the usually bright room more manageable. He didn't know if that had been Coran or Thace, but whoever it was, he was grateful.

That said, he still couldn't help but be on high alert. He didn't like examination rooms- he never had, even before Haggar. Just because this one was friendly, it didn't do anything to help his nerves.

It must have shown on his face, because Shiro gently placed his human hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. He ducked his head, feeling a little embarrassed- it was like he was still a kid who needed to be comforted at the doctor's office by his brother, not an eighteen year old who had been through hell. He knew it just gave him good reason to be nervous in medical wards and around needles, but it still felt embarrassing.

"Just a prick!" Coran assured him, causing his cheeks to tint an even deeper red. "You won't feel a thing!"

"Is it that obvious?" Keith mumbled.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Keith." Shiro assured him. "After everything you've been through, a fear of needles is pretty understandable."

He wanted to say something to that, but he couldn't think what, so he just nodded instead. Coran took the chance to prick his arm with the needle, drawing out a sample of his blood. As he drew the needle out, he watched the tiny pinhole he'd made in his arm disappear, the amount of quintessence he'd plucked from his surroundings so minor, he was pretty sure nobody else had even noticed.

Allura probably would have, but she was elsewhere at the moment. He felt a little grateful for it- though he didn't doubt she'd eventually get around to doing a more thorough examination of her own. He both dreaded and anticipated it- since, no offense meant to Coran, but he had the feeling she'd be a little more helpful with the larger issue at hand.

But that wasn't what he was here for today.

"I just don't know why this is all necessary." Keith grumbled. "Can't you just give me something that will help me sleep?"

"I could." Coran agreed. "But we should probably have as much information on your... unique physiology as we can get. It could come in handy."

Keith just huffed, but he knew he was right. Sendak's EMP weapon was proof enough of that. Who knew what other kinds of weapons were out there that might effectively shut down his crystal-fused heart? That was an experience he didn't want to repeat any time soon.

"I still can't believe you have a Balmeran crystal in your heart." Pidge observed, making no effort to hide the fact that she was staring at the glowing runes etched into his chest. "That doesn't sound possible."

"Not in my heart," Keith mumbled, fighting the urge to hide the runes, "-as my heart."

"That sounds even less possible." Pidge said skeptically.

Keith just snorted. He couldn't argue with that. He only knew it was because he was the living proof of it.

"So... can we touch it?" Matt ventured, hand already starting to reach out.

"Not if you want to keep your quintessence, you don't." Thace said.

Matt instantly snatched his hand back, looking a bit sheepish. "Oh. Right."

"It wouldn't drain you that fast." Keith rolled his eyes. He might not know all the ins and outs of his own ability, but he knew himself well enough to know that much. "But... yeah. Probably not a good idea."

"Yeah, Matt," Pidge grinned, nudging her brother, "-no fondling Keith's chest."

Matt sputtered, and Keith felt himself turn a vivid shade of crimson. "I didn't'-!"

"Yeah," Pidge's grin just grew wider, like the imp she was, "-I'm sure you didn't."

"Pidge, cut it out." Shiro said sternly, before turning his attention back towards Coran. "Coran, are there any other tests you have to run after this one?"

"No, this was the last one." Coran said. "You can put your shirt back on now if you'd like, Number Five."

He didn't hesitate to take him up on that offer, tugging it on over his head. Even though everyone knew about the runes now, it didn't mean he liked leaving them on display. Pulling on his jacket, he adjusted the collar, watching the Altean out of the corner of his eye as he put the blood sample he'd taken into some kind of machine.

As if catching his gaze, Coran gave him a smile. "We use this to process our samples! Give it a good varga or two, and it should tell us everything we want to know."

Keith frowned. "Will it tell us why I can't sleep?"

"Probably not that." Coran admitted- he must have looked disappointed, because Coran hurried to add, "-but I do have a theory in regards to that! In fact, after speaking with Thace here, I'm almost positive that I'm correct."

Keith blinked, glancing over towards Thace. The Galra caught his eye, giving him a faint nod, one which he found himself returning unthinkingly.

"So... what is it?" Keith asked.

"To put it simply, I think your ability to drain quintessence has effectively rendered sleep as unnecessary." Coran said. "I'd need the princess to confirm it to be sure, but I think you're constantly drawing in a very low level amount of it- not enough to do any harm, mind you," he was quick to add, "-but just enough to give you a constant supply of energy."

Keith's frown deepened. "But I still feel tired."

"Well, yes." Coran said. "Your body doesn't need sleep, but your mind on the other hand..."

"It didn't quite get the memo?" Pidge finished.

"I'm not quite sure what a memo is, but I suppose so." Coran agreed.

Keith's face fell. "So... there's nothing you can do, in other words."

"Oh, I never said that!" Coran chirped, opening up a drawer. He pulled out an odd looking circlet from inside of it. Like everything else that was Altean, it was white and blue. "This was originally designed to be a meditation device, but I believe it might very well also be the answer to your problems."

"You're going to teach Keith to mediate?" Pidge asked skeptically.

Keith shot her a glare, which she simply shrugged off. He could definitely learn to meditate if he tried- nevermind the fact that Shiro had tried to teach him back on Earth, and he'd never taken to it. It wasn't that he couldn't- it was just that he didn't want to.

"Not quite." Coran said. "Although that is a suggestion! Have you ever considered-"

"Keith was never one for meditation." Shiro supplied, cutting Coran off.

Turning his glare towards Shiro now, Keith stared up at him in abject betrayal. Shiro just looked back down at him and literally shrugged. Right. Somehow he'd forgotten this part of him. Not only did distance make the heart grow fonder, but he guessed it caused it to gloss over certain otherwise glaring character flaws.

"Let's just hear what Coran has to say." Keith said, folding his arms in front of him, resisting the urge to sulk.

"Right. Well, like I was saying," Coran began, "-this device can be used to instill a sense of relaxation in its wearer. Exactly what Number Five's overworked brain needs!"

Keith frowned, his brows knitting together. "So... it'll make me relaxed?"

"That's about the long and the short of it!" Coran chirped, handing it to him. "I've set it so that it can function in your primitive Earth language. You can set the controls yourself, even put it on a timer! And of course, if you need to manually turn it off..."

He listened to Coran's explanations with only half an ear. Turning over the circlet in his hands, he stared at it. He'd been hoping for something that would actually help him sleep, but if what Coran said was true, then this might be the next best thing. Still, he couldn't help but be a little skeptical about its effectiveness. It, like everything else on the Castle, was over ten thousand years old.

"Of course, we could always try putting you in one of the healing pods." Coran mused. "Of course, there's a chance that might not work, and you might just end up frozen, unable to communicate or even move for the next several vargas."

"No." Keith said firmly. "No healing pods."

Somehow, even after everything he'd been through with Haggar, that still sounded like the most horrifying thing he'd ever heard of. No thanks.

"Ah well, suit yourself." Coran shrugged.

"Do you want to give the circlet a try?" Shiro asked.

Biting his lip, Keith stared down at it, running a clawed finger along its length. It was better than nothing, he guessed.

"Yeah." He finally said. "Guess I'll give it a shot. Just... not here."

Shiro gave him an understanding smile- and dimly, it occurred to him that he probably wasn't wild about being here himself. Looking up at him, Keith felt moved by the fact that he had decided to come anyways- he didn't have to, but he had. And sure, maybe part of that was just to make sure he didn't slip away when nobody was looking, but that was just a small part of the reason why he was here.

Moral support probably made up the rest.

Ducking his head, Keith used his bangs to conceal his tiny smile. He still didn't quite know what he had done to deserve this- but for once, he wasn't arguing with it.

"I think it should be... oh, another varga or two before Thace and I get any results." Coran told him. "So if you want to go and give it a try, now would be a good time."

"Yeah, sure." Keith nodded, hopping down off the table. "Just- when the results come in, will you-?"

"I'll come get you." Pidge told him. "You go meditate."

Keith arched a brow, not missing the hint of amusement in her voice. Matt's barely disguised smile didn't help matters.

"You know what?" Keith said. "Maybe I will."

Pidge just snorted, lightly punching his arm, before he made a show of stalking off- one that wouldn't fool anyone who really knew him. He paused briefly at the door to the med bay, his gaze flickering back towards Thace- before he shook his head, looking away.

He wasn't going anywhere. He could ask him about his mother later. After he'd gotten some long overdue rest- or the closest thing to it he could manage.

Circlet in hand, he left the med bay.

Shiro watched Keith leave with a sense of apprehension. Something about the sight of the doors sliding shut behind him left him with a feeling of dread, like he might never see him again... even though he knew he would. It was something that was happening a lot lately- he recognized it as a natural consequence of being reunited after so long.

Back when Keith had disappeared, he'd never thought that the last time he'd said goodbye to him would be the last. Not when it happened. It had been a day like any other, no reason to suspect that his little brother would suddenly- and quite literally- vanish off the face of the Earth.

But it hadn't been the last, Shiro told himself. Keith was here. Keith was alive. They both were.

Maybe neither of them was entirely whole- they had each had things taken from them by Haggar. He'd lost his right arm, and Keith had lost his ability to pass as human- and countless other things. But they were both alive.

He'd fight to keep it that way.

"Alright, Number One," Coran's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "-let's get a blood sample from you, seeing as you're here."

Shiro froze at that. Just like Keith, being in the med bay made him uneasy- and the thought of having a blood sample taken from him only made him more so. But he couldn't exactly drag Keith here and then chicken out when it came to his own examination. Still...

"I thought you had my medical information already." Shiro said. "From when I was in the healing pod."

"True, that does give us quite a bit of data." Coran remarked. "But not everything. A blood sample is much more effective!"

Shiro sighed, almost absently presenting Coran his right arm, before he remembered. Sticking out his left, he awkwardly shuffled on his feet, watching out of the corner of his eye as Coran prepared a needle. "Just make it quick."

Truthfully he'd never liked needles, even before Haggar. His condition meant that he spent way too much time in doctor's offices, hearing about how little time he had left, sometimes in whispers, and sometimes out loud. While he was glad that part of his life was behind him, he had to wonder if it was really worth the cost.

Being brainwashed and experimented on he could take. Being forced to take the lives of countless innocents? That he couldn't.

"Don't worry!" Coran assured him, much as he had with Keith. "Just a quick prick, and it's all done with."

"Need me to hold your hand?" Matt joked.

He shot him a look. "I'm still your superior officer, you know."

Matt just shrugged. "On Earth, maybe. But this is deep space. Anything goes."

Shiro just arched a brow. "No, I'm pretty sure that extends to space too."

"He's right," Pidge grinned, elbowing her brother, "-cadet."

"Oh no." Matt said, holding up his hands. "I graduated from the Garrison. I'm like a Private now or something."

Shiro just chuckled, feeling a sense of ease that he hadn't in a long time. There were still plenty of things left undone, but for once, he actually felt like things were going to work out. He was free of Haggar's brainwashing, Matt was safe, Keith was safe... and he was sure that they would find Commander Holt soon enough.

And he had a new mission.

Just as he thought that, he heard the black lion's rumble in the back of his head, at the same time Coran pricked him with the needle. It was a sharp reminder that he hadn't actually properly bonded with his lion yet- but then, in order to do that, they would have to wake it up. That was something that they hadn't quite gotten around to.

There had been other, more pressing matters on the agenda first. But he knew it was just on the horizon- and that was where he found himself at war. Part of him was excited, thrilled to have a chance to fight back against the Galra Empire, after everything they had done to him- everything they had made him do. But part of him...

...part of him was scared. Apprehensive, worried. What if he wasn't totally free of Haggar's influence? What if she was just biding her time, waiting for him to bond with the black lion before she took control of him again? What would happen if she did?

The black lion's soft purr seemed to indicate otherwise, but he couldn't shake the fear, gnawing at him, ever present. He didn't want to go back to being the Champion. He didn't want to be used by Haggar, by the Galra Empire, ever again. Above all, he didn't want to have to hurt the people he cared about ever again.

"All done!" Coran informed him. "We should have your results after Number Five's."

"Thanks, Coran." Shiro managed a small smile. "I should-"

The door slid open before he could finish that sentence, and for a second, he thought it might be Keith. But the person standing in the doorway very much was not the red paladin- but the yellow. Hunk Garrett, he'd learned his name was, once they'd had the chance to be properly introduced.

"Oh, uh," Hunk shifted on his feet, gaze darting nervously towards him, "-didn't expect the whole gang to be here."

"Just taking a few blood samples!" Coran informed him. "You know, if you'd like, I could-"

"Thanks, Coran, but no thanks." Hunk very firmly cut him off, not even needing him to finish that sentence. "I actually just came to see if you had any band-aids or anything. Paper cut."

Pidge looked at him skeptically. "We're in space. How did you get a paper cut?"

"I just did, okay." Hunk said. "It's not a big deal."

Shiro lightly snorted, but he didn't miss the slight way Hunk stiffened at the sound. The yellow paladin still seemed to be a regular case of nerves around him, which... he guessed he couldn't exactly blame him. It wasn't like he'd exactly known him before meeting him as the Champion, even if he had known of him.

Except... something told Shiro that maybe his nervousness and hesitation stemmed from something else. And his instincts weren't usually wrong.

"I've got just the thing for you here, Number Three!" Coran said.

He watched Coran and Hunk's exchange with mild interest. If he was right, then this probably wasn't something he should let fester. The faster he cleared the air with Hunk, the better- so once he was done, he'd talk to him.

When Hunk made a move to leave, Shiro took that as his cue. "Hunk? Any chance I could have a word with you?"

Hunk froze, growing stiffer than before. "Uh... sure? What do you need?"

"In private?" Shiro asked.

He swore Hunk paled, but he slowly nodded. "Sure, yeah... that's- that's fine."

"It's nothing serious, I promise." Shiro assured him, and he watched as Hunk let out a held breath at that. "Come on. I'll walk you back to your quarters."

Hunk nodded again, like he'd briefly forgotten how to talk. He let Shiro lead him out of the med bay, walking by his side almost robotically. He didn't leave the cadet hanging for long, giving him a soft smile- but also leaving him his space, just in case he was wrong.

"I know we don't know each other that well," Shiro began, "-but I want you to know that if you have anything on your mind, you can always talk to me about it."

Hunk looked up at him, his brows knitting together in befuddlement. Then slowly, understanding dawned across his features, the yellow paladin shuffling on his feet. "Is it... is it that obvious?"

"A little." Shiro admitted. "You're worried about shooting me, aren't you?"

Hunk nodded, staring down at his feet. "It was just- it was supposed to be a warning shot. I wasn't supposed to hit you."

"I'm glad you did." Shiro told him, causing Hunk's head to snap up in shock. "I actually want to thank you, Hunk. You stopped me from hurting anyone worse."

"I mean... yeah." Hunk agreed. "But I could have hurt you. I did hurt you."

"You did." Shiro acknowledged. He very distinctly remembered that bayard cannon of his packing a wallop- one of the few things he agreed with the Champion about. "But I was the Champion then. I wouldn't have stopped unless someone made me stop. And you did that, Hunk. We might not be having this conversation if it weren't for you."

Hunk looked like he didn't know what to say to that. He'd probably expected a lecture, not glowing praise. From what he had gathered from Keith, Hunk hadn't come with them expecting to be a paladin- he'd just gotten swept up in everything. He was suffering from a lack of self-confidence- but everything he'd seen of the yellow paladin indicated that he had no reason to feel inadequate.

The opposite, actually.

"I, uh... thanks?" Hunk hesitated. "I think? I still feel bad about shooting you, though."

"And that's okay." Shiro assured him. "I just wanted you to know that I'm not holding it against you."

Hunk exhaled, visibly relieved. "Okay. That's uh... that's good."

Shiro smiled. "I'll go ahead and let you go. Don't want to hold you up."

"Right." Hunk said. "I'll just..."

Making a motion to indicate leaving, Hunk ducked his head, doing just that. Shiro watched him go, until he'd ducked around a corner, out of sight. He was glad that he'd gotten through to him- the last thing he wanted was for that guilt to eat away at him. He knew what it was like to carry it- and he was still trying not to let it get to him.

It was... harder than he wanted to admit. But in a way- that was actually a good sign.

When he'd been the Champion... there hadn't been any of that. No guilt, no remorse, no regret- nothing. Haggar had totally wiped those emotions from him, turning him into a merciless solider of the Galra Empire. He could still remember what it felt like, having no qualms about anything that he did, right down to killing people who didn't even have the means to fight back.

It was going to take him a long time to come to terms with those memories, and even longer to deal with the repercussions that came with them. But at least now...

...at least now, he had the chance to do something good. To fight for the universe, instead of against it.

He wasn't going to fail to take it.

Honestly, he hadn't expected the circlet to work.

But before he knew it, two hours had passed in the blink of an eye. Pidge had come by to... wake him up, he guessed, if you could call it that, seeing as he hadn't actually been asleep. Just... relaxed. Calm. His mind went blank, only the occasional passing thought bothering him, and even then, not very much.

And he felt... better, actually. Less exhausted. He hadn't expected to.

Maybe Coran was right. Maybe his body had adjusted to the constant influx of quintessence that was apparently keeping him awake, but his mind just wasn't meant to run non-stop, twenty-four hours a day. He still would have liked to actually sleep, but this... this hadn't been bad. He felt like he could work with this.

"So," Pidge grinned, "-how'd your meditation go?"

Keith groaned, shooting her a look, but ultimately ignored her question. "Coran get the results?"

"Yup." Pidge told him. "Did you want to-?"

"No." Keith shook his head. "I don't... I'm not ready to see them yet."

He paused, tilting his head. "Unless he knows how to fix me."

"In that case, no." Pidge's smile dropped. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Keith told her. "I didn't think he would."

"Maybe you'll have more luck with Allura?" Pidge suggested. "I mean... if she's Altean, and if Haggar's Altean, maybe she can... I don't know. Reverse engineer the magic?"

Keith snorted, vaguely amused. "Reverse engineer the magic?"

Pidge elbowed him, shooting him a glare. "Shut up. It's bad enough that I have to accept that space magic is real, I don't need you taunting me about it."

"And here I thought we were family." Keith said, his own words surprising himself. "I thought that gave me taunting privileges."

Pidge crinkled her nose. "You're right, and I hate that you are."

Keith relaxed a little, secretly pleased that Pidge had accepted what he'd said without even so much as batting an eye at it. He was slowly starting to come around to the whole idea of having a family again- one that was bigger than any other family he'd ever had before.

Speaking of family...

"Where's Thace?" Keith asked. "I need to talk to him."

"Last I heard, he was still with Coran." Pidge told him, frowning slightly. "Is this about your mom?"

Keith nodded. "I need to know about her."

"Fair enough." Pidge told him. "Do you need me to come with you, or...?"

Keith shook his head. "No. This is something I need to do alone."

Pidge nodded. "Got it."

Hauling himself to his feet, Keith grabbed his jacket, tugging it back on. Pidge crinkled his nose at his boots, clearly biting back a comment about 'sleeping' with them on, but was quickly distracted by the fact that he'd just pulled out his knife from underneath his pillow, sheathing it behind his back.

She didn't even say anything to that. She just stared at him in disgust- a fond, familial kind of disgust, but disgust nonetheless. "Seriously, Keith?"

Keith just shrugged. "I grew up in the desert."

Pidge seemed to accept that, even though that didn't actually explain anything. He knew that, but she didn't- and it was a lot easier than explaining that he still didn't feel safe enough not to keep his knife close to him, or to not be prepared to go at any moment. Maybe they had given Haggar the slip, but who knew how long that would last?

As long as he was on this ship, as long as he carried a piece of her quintessence with him... there would always be a risk. He would always be a risk.

He would just have to come to terms with that.

He paused, just at the door, glancing back towards Pidge. It felt like everything had been resolved for him- or was getting there, but for Pidge...

"We'll find him, you know." Keith told her.

She didn't look up, just nodded. "I know."

He bit his lip, wanting to add something else, but again, he couldn't think of what. So he just reached out, ruffling her hair, like Shiro always did to him. Instead of protesting, she just leaned a bit into his side.

"I just miss him." Pidge muttered. "I feel like I can't really be happy about anything until we find him."

"I don't think he'd begrudge you." Keith said, uncertainly. He didn't actually know. He'd heard Pidge talk about him a lot, but he'd never actually met her father.

"He wouldn't." Pidge agreed. "But that doesn't change it."

Yeah, he got that. He got it, he just didn't know what to say to that- so instead, he mimicked Shiro again, giving Pidge's shoulder what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze, mindful of his claws.

She looked appreciative, at least, so he must have done it right- or close enough. "I'll be fine."

Keith just nodded, taking her at her word. They would find Pidge's father. Maybe while they freed planets and slowly tore apart the Galra Empire, or whatever it was that they were planning on doing, they'd find him, just like they had found Matt and Shiro. Only time would tell- and for once, they had that.

Slipping out of his quarters, he made his way down the hall, back towards the med bay where he hoped he would find Thace. If not, he hoped at least Coran would still be there, so he could maybe ask him where he went. If that didn't work, he was sure Allura would know- this was her Castle, after all.

What he didn't expect was to run into Lance- almost literally, since the blue paladin rather abruptly exited his room right in front of him. He barely had time to avoid colliding into him, stopping just mere inches away from his face. Scrambling back a bit, he was sure he looked just as shocked about the sudden encounter was Lance did, which was to say, very.

"I- sorry." Keith said quickly. He and Lance weren't exactly on good terms- he didn't want to risk making their already rocky relationship worse by literally running right into him. They would all have to work together if they had any hope of forming Voltron.

To his surprise, Lance brushed it off. "Eh, it's fine. I probably should have been watching where I was going."

Keith just blinked, a little surprised at his seeming indifference. He hadn't exactly spoken to Lance since they had destroyed Sendak's cruiser, but he seemed to recall him acting a little suspicious of him. Had it just been his imagination?

"Right," Keith said, already moving to duck past him, "-I should go."

"Hey, wait up a second." Lance said, a slight frown on his face. "Are you like... okay? I mean, with the whole crystal thing and everything."

Keith blinked, unconsciously glancing down towards his own chest. "Yeah. Fine."

Lance bit his lip a little, for once seeming to be at a loss for words. "Oh, uh... good. You were in pretty bad shape back there."

Keith shifted on his feet, waiting for Lance to say something else, but he didn't. The air between them was awkward at best- but just that. "Is there anything else?"

"What?" Lance blinked. "Oh, no, you're good."

Keith frowned, waiting for a second longer, before he nodded his head. He moved to leave, before he paused, glancing back towards Lance. "I... thanks for worrying about me, I guess?"

Lance, who clearly hadn't expected him to say anything else, just gave him a nervous laugh. "Hey, we're teammates now, right? That's what teammates do."

Teammates. Yeah, he guessed they were. It was strange- he wasn't as resistant to the idea now as he had been before. Maybe it was just because Shiro was here, or maybe... maybe he'd just warmed up to it. He hadn't tried his bayard again since using it against Sendak, too afraid that it wouldn't work again, but he was still starting to slowly warm up to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he was exactly where he was meant to be.

"Yeah," Keith agreed, "-teammates."

The sound of someone entering the bridge broke her out of her meditation. Looking up, Allura was slightly surprised to find it was Keith, and that furthermore, he was alone. She was accustomed to seeing him with either Pidge or Matt nearby- rarely was he ever alone, especially on the Castle.

If she didn't miss her guess, he seemed to be looking for her.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Allura inquired.

"I was looking for Thace?" Keith asked, sounding uncertain of himself. She didn't doubt that he was looking for Thace, but likely just felt awkward asking for help in finding him.

"I thought he was with Coran." Allura stated.

"He was." Keith said.

Allura frowned. There was still a small part of her that was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of having a Galra roam freely around the Castle. Thace, and by extension Ulaz, had proved themselves thus far to be nothing but trustworthy, but so too had Zarkon, once.

With that thought in mind, it was almost surprising that she found herself able to trust in them at all- but perhaps that was in part due to Keith. Having him around served as a reminder that not all Galra were bad- and while she had been deeply betrayed by them once, that there were still those among them that she could trust in. The red lion wouldn't have chosen anyone less.

"If you give me just a tick, I am quite certain I can find him." Allura said. "Do you need him for something?"

Keith shifted a bit on his feet. "I wanted to ask him about my mother."

Ah. That Allura understood. From what she gathered, Keith had been completely ignorant of his Galra heritage right up until he had been abducted by them. It had to have come as a shock, to be sure, especially since he came from a planet that by and large had no experience with alien life.

But she didn't say any of that. She just busied herself searching for Thace. It wasn't hard- aside from Keith, he was the only other Galra biorhythm on the ship. That said, she didn't expect to find him on the observation deck. She'd had Coran give him a tour, so it didn't surprise her that he knew where it was, it just... didn't seem to be a place that a Galra would have much interest in.

But then, she supposed that the Galra weren't always the intensely warlike race they had become after Zarkon had come back from the dead. Quintessence had changed them- turning what was once a culture of noble warriors into a race of bloodthirsty monsters.

Just perhaps not all of them.

"He appears to be on the observation deck." Allura informed him.

Keith gave her a weak smile. "Thanks."

Allura merely nodded, watching as the half-Galra left the way he came. She sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. She wished she could have said something more, but she found herself at a loss for words. Keith's situation was... complicated, and as much as she wished she could help him, fixing what Haggar had done to him was simply beyond her capability. If she were a properly trained Altean Alchemist, then perhaps, but otherwise...

It was part of why she had put off examining him herself, or even looking at the scant amount of data that Ulaz had been able to scrounge up about Haggar's experiments on him. She had her hands full just going over Shiro's data as it was. Thankfully, it seemed like his connection to the black lion was doing the trick- even if they had yet to fully awaken it. She could only imagine that once they did, the effect would only grow stronger.

She still couldn't believe that this was all the work of an Altean. Haggar- or rather, Honerva, if her suspicions were correct- had been doing some truly terrible things, if Keith and Shiro were any indication. She could only anticipate worse things to come.

She would do what she could to fix the damage that Haggar had done, but she could only hope that was enough. Without her father here to guide her... well, it was a small miracle that she had even gotten this far.

She paused, her gaze falling on the biorhythm scan of the Castle. She had yet to dismiss it- and part of her was almost glad that she hadn't.

It was no miracle that had allowed her to come this far. No, the reason that she had been able to find the Castle of Lions and reform Voltron against all odds was because of the very simple fact that she hadn't been alone. Just like fate had drawn the paladins to one another, so too had it drawn the paladins to her.

And it would be an awful shame to waste all the effort that it had put in.

Tomorrow, she thought, watching the biorhythms for a tick longer, before dismissing the scan. Tomorrow, they would awaken the black lion.

And with it, they would finally reform Voltron.