Hello to the chapter I rewrote like, four times! Sometimes that just happens, and that's life. But anyways, I'm pretty pleased with the result. I was, at first, going to write out the alliance meeting itself but I just could not get it done in a way I liked so I just decided to move ahead- we'll be covering most of that stuff as it is anyways, and the plan formed is, of course, basically the same as the one in canon.

That said, please enjoy~!

maroon

chapter fourteen

kyix

"Youngling?"

The sound of Ilun's voice caused him to stir. Eyes flickering open, he let out a low groan, trying to place why his head was pounding. Even as he questioned it, the feeling steadily began to fade, leaving him with nothing more than a dull ache at the base of his spine.

"...Ilun?"

A faint smile graced the face of the Blade, from where she had stooped over him. Grunting, he rolled over on his back, momentarily drawing a blank as to why he had been lying on his stomach.

"You have slept for three vargas, youngling." Ilun supplied. "How do you feel?"

"Like I'm in a daze."

Letting out a faint snort, her lips quirked in a proper grin. "Give it time."

Groaning, Keith hauled himself up into a sitting posture. The cold air that was pumped through the medical ward chilled his bare skin, and he instinctively drew up on himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Then paused, staring down at his hands.

Oh.

Right.

Holding his hands out in front of him, all he could do was stare. He'd nearly forgotten the deep lavender hue of his own skin, having had it be that pale, sandy color for so long. The curve of his claws, the way his skin was rough.

The spattering of pale color along his right hand was new.

"It seems to be a side effect." Ilun noted, catching him looking at it. "It may fade to your natural color in time, but its possible the change in pigmentation may be permanent."

Frowning, Keith traced the pale color that dotted his right hand with the backside of one of his claws. It was nearly the same color his skin had been as a human, like a reminder. Balling his hand into a fist, he closed his eyes, taking in a long, deep breath.

Normal.

He was normal again.

Slowly but surely, the events of the past few vargas came back to him. He had brought the paladins to meet with Kolivan, where they had hashed out not only the terms of their alliance, but also their next course of action.

It still didn't feel real.

Opening his eyes, he pinched his arm, letting out a sharp hiss at the spike of pain it shot through him. Ilun, standing to his side, merely blinked.

"...pick up a few habits from Earth?"

Giving her a weak smile, Keith nodded. "They say that you can tell if something's a dream by pinching yourself."

Brow arching with interest, Ilun let out a low hum. "Curious. Does it work?"

"Don't know." Keith told her. "You'd have to ask one of the paladins. They might."

"I shall keep that in mind." Ilun said. "Care for some clothes?"

Blinking, Keith glanced down at his very unclothed state, modesty protected by a mere blanket. No wonder he'd caught a chill. He didn't exactly have any fur to protect him, at least, not where it actually counted, not like Ilun's fine coat. "...clothes would be nice, yeah."

"The medics say no armor, at least not for another quintant." Ilun instructed. "So I had the black paladin fetch these from your quarters on the Castle of Lions."

Blinking, Keith tilted his head. The shock of red jumped out at him at once, but it took him a moment to place them as the civilian clothing he had picked up on Earth. The colors looked different, less vibrant through his true eyes.

He'd nearly forgotten how muted colors had been for him.

But he also didn't remember red being this vivid.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he flew the red lion now. Or maybe it was just another side effect. He didn't know. Before him, his grandmother's devices had only been used twice- both before his time.

Frowning, Keith's nose crinkled. "Are you sure I can't just wear my...?"

"No." Ilun cut him off, setting the clothes in his lap. "No armor."

His frown deepened, one hand idly fingering the material of his leather jacket. It wasn't like he didn't like these clothes- he'd been the one to pick them out, but it just felt awkward. It wasn't like it was that uncommon for Blades to go without their armor in the safety of the main base, but it still didn't happen often.

More often than not, it was reserved for the injured or the sick. Hand straying to the base of his spine, he frowned, feeling the healing patch that had been placed over where the incision had been made. Now that he was back to normal, he should heal quickly- he recalled when he'd first had the process done to him, it hadn't healed for two solid movements, and even then, it had left a scar.

Human bodies were inconvenient.

"Fine," Keith said, "-no armor."

Satisfied with that, Ilun nodded her head. "Good. I shall wait for you outside."

Watching her go, Keith ran a hand through his hair. Being in the medical ward brought back a lot of memories- some of them fond, others, less so. Heaving a sigh, he swung his feet out of bed, hastily pulling on his clothes. He winced a little as the fabric brushed up against the healing patch- guess that was why he wasn't supposed to wear any armor.

Pulling on his gloves, he paused, staring down at his right hand. With the glove in place, he could barely see the speckling of pale, sandy color that marred it. Narrowing his eyes, he clenched his fist, feeling the bite of his own claws as he did so.

Yeah. That was how it should be.

Drawing in and letting out a long breath, he grabbed his belt, hissing a little as he looped it around his waist. Yeah, okay, that wasn't going to work.

Instead, he hung it over his arm, with the intention of depositing it back at his quarters. Tugging on his boots with one hand, he looked up, catching sight of his own reflection.

A Galra stared back at him.

It took him by surprise, almost. He'd gotten more used to his human reflection than he thought, so the sight of solid yellow eyes, no visible pupil in sight nearly came as a shock. Leaning in, he touched the corner of his eye, where a swoop of red stood out against the deep lavender of his skin.

Guess he didn't have his mother's eyes anymore.

Dropping his hand, he narrowed said eyes. He hadn't gotten many traits from his father, but his eyes were one of them. According to his mother, when he was first born, he had the trace outline of pupils, but he'd lost them due to the quintessence exposure necessary to save his life.

Closing his eyes, he heaved a sigh. Still, this was what he wanted- a return to how he was supposed to be. But now that it was actually here, all he could feel was apprehension.

He didn't know how the paladins would react. How Allura would react.

How the universe would take to having a Galra for a paladin.

Opening his eyes, he lifted his head. That was something he could worry about later. If the princess had decided that he could cease depending on his grandmother's device, then she probably had good reason for it. Maybe... maybe some part of her wanted to see the Galra be granted a second chance too.

He didn't know if that was actually true, but it would be nice.

He wasn't sure if they deserved it, though.

Turning on his heel, he cast one last look towards the medical ward. The furthest corner, with a view of the stars... that was where he had spent most of his early childhood. The thought stung, and he had to force himself to look away, faces that were no longer with him flashing through his mind's eye.

If everything went well, then their deaths would not be in vain.

Their plan was going to work. He'd make it work.

Exiting the medical ward, he found Ilun waiting for him. Giving her a faint smile, Keith felt his shoulders relax. Right- not everyone was gone. Ilun and Vrek were still here, and so was their child- one that he couldn't wait to meet. Kolivan and Antok, Regris, Naveera, Thace... and of course, his mother.

They were all still here.

Maybe being with the paladins had spoiled him.

"Kyix," Ilun's tone was soft, "-your thoughts are elsewhere."

"Just a lot to think about." Keith told her. "The paladins?"

"The black paladin and the Altean princess are still with Kolivan." Ilun informed him. "I believe Antok is showing the other three the base."

Now he did grin. "Antok's playing tour guide?"

"Antok is absolutely playing tour guide." Ilun reported. "Do not tell him I said this, but I believe he enjoys it."

Letting out a snort, Keith tried to picture it. Antok, detailing to the paladins how the Blades operated, down to the finest details- from training and communications, right on down to laundry. Yeah. He could see that.

"What will you do?" Ilun inquired. "Join them?"

Shaking his head, Keith's expression faltered. "Not yet. I was going to head back to my quarters. I haven't had the chance."

Giving him a knowing nod, Ilun ruffled his hair, ignoring his noise of protest. "Very well. Do not forget to come and visit me, youngling. I've still my own that I need show you."

"Wouldn't miss it."

Giving his hair another animated ruffle, Ilun departed. Watching her go, Keith felt himself sigh, half tempted to pinch himself again. Maybe Galra couldn't dream, but this sure felt like one.

Turning on his heel, he proceeded to his quarters. Pressing his hand against the access panel, it flashed green, granting him access. They were every bit as he had left them- the walls still covered in his possessed scribbling, obvious in the places where his mother had simply chosen to give up on removing them.

No sign of her having come back while he was gone.

The room was dark, dark enough that he might have had trouble navigating it as a human if he didn't already know the layout by heart. But he was no longer, so he didn't have the slightest bit of trouble. Its common area was more sunken than the room the paladins had been given, more intimate- it was meant for a family, not as a bunk.

There were only two sleeping holes, side by side. Normally, a parent shared theirs with their child until they were six cycles old, but that wasn't something he'd had the chance to experience- seeing as he'd spent that time in the medical ward. His immune system had been too weak to be out in the general public- no matter how isolated their main base was, there was still the chance that he might get sick.

It had taken deca-phoebs to get it working right again.

Tossing his belt into his sleeping hole, he flopped back in it- an action which he quickly regretted. Wincing, he sat up straight, lightly resting a hand over the base of his spine- okay, yeah, that stung. It had been even worse the first time around- he couldn't sit down for a full quintant.

Someone, probably Ilun, had gathered his armor, hanging it neatly. His blade rested in its place of honor, underneath where his mother's would be, were she here. Frowning, he tilted his head, looking towards the sleeping hole that would be hers. It was stripped bare, waiting for its owner to return.

He hadn't gotten a chance to ask Kolivan about her.

Ranveig's forces. It was a dangerous position.

But vital. Commander Ranveig was ruthless, so Zarkon had tasked him with expanding the Galra Empire. He was brutal enough to make Sendak look tame by comparison.

He hadn't asked Shiro about his mother either.

Chewing on his lip, Keith rose to his feet. Making his way across the room, he paused, grabbing his blade. It hummed underneath his fingers, almost seeming more alive now- and he felt the edges of his eyes crinkle.

Maybe it knew it was home.

Tucking it into his boot, Keith hesitated in front of the door. He didn't... actually know what he was going to do from here. Should he find Shiro and Allura?

No, they were probably busy. They had worked out a solid plan, but they still need to figure a lot of things out in order to make it work. Just building a teleduv of that size alone... well, it'd be a feat. One that would probably be impossible without the Olkari.

Should he go to the training rooms? No, the keeper probably had strict orders to throw him out on sight. He never did care for the meditation rooms, and he wasn't starving to the point where he couldn't ignore his hunger for another few vargas. Maybe find Regris? They could catch up. Or head to the nursery, to see Naveera? She might need a hand.

Or maybe he should stop avoiding the issue, and find Antok and the other paladins.

Heaving a sigh, he knew that was the best choice. Ducking back into his room, he grabbed one of the gauntlets from his Blade armor, fixing it over the sleeve of his jacket.

What was that one Earth phrase? Time to bite the ballet?

No, that definitely wasn't right.

Finding the paladins wasn't hard.

Sure, he had the advantage of knowing the base like the back of his hand- but he also had the advantage of contacting Antok and asking him directly where they were. Turned out, Ilun was right- Antok was having a good time playing tour guide.

He had been dismissed from the meeting right after Allura had granted her permission to have the chip removed. But by then, they had pretty much worked out all the major moving parts- any minor details probably would have been left to Kolivan, Allura, and Shiro.

The alliance meeting itself had stretched on, taking up nearly five vargas. Things had seemed a bit testy at first, especially with the princess, but in the end, she agreed to the alliance, on the condition that there was to be no further secretive communication between him and the Blade- all such communications had to go through her.

She did, however, make an allowance for anything personal.

He'd... kind of expected that part, at least. If there was one thing the princess knew too well, it was not being able to speak with those you cared about. In her case, it was because they were all, save Coran, long gone- but though the circumstances differed, he couldn't imagine her restricting personal communications just because of her own admittedly complicated feelings towards the Galra.

It probably was easier for her to hate them. She was right- a good bulk of the Galra had betrayed their once allies, though they had done so because of Zarkon's lies. Not all had fallen for them- some were simply angry, furious that Alfor had not given Daibazaal a chance though it had been Zarkon himself who had set the stage for its destruction, others merely wanted power.

He knew all too well what it was like to lose those he cared about. But the princess... the princess had experienced that on a level he never would. How could anyone? The only other person who might come close to understanding was Coran, but even he had the advantage of having far more life experience over the princess.

Which had just made her permission to remove the chip that much more of a shock.

Not that he was complaining- he definitely wasn't doing that. Just... it was unexpected.

He couldn't even dream, and he still felt the urge to pinch himself.

(He was ignoring that he already had.)

Rubbing his arm, Keith tried to push those thoughts aside. Maybe he hadn't been there for it, but he was pretty sure the other paladins had been dismissed not long after he had. Three vargas was a fair amount of time to spend showing them the base, so he wasn't too shocked to learn that Antok had nearly wrapped everything up, and had directed the paladins to the mess hall.

Where Hunk looked like he was having some kind of existential crisis.

A faint smile touching the edge of his lips, Keith picked them out from across the room. It was easy- they were the only humans here, and even if they weren't, their white paladin armor made them easy to pinpoint in a sea of dark Blade armor.

Yeah. Definitely not fit for stealth missions.

He caught Antok's eye, quickly lifting finger to his mouth and shaking his head. The large Galra quickly understood, acting as if he had not spotted him at all.

Edging his way across the room, he slowly crept towards where the paladins were sitting. Stopping to exchange greetings with the occasional Blade on the way, Keith eventually came up behind their table, his steps quiet.

"You know," he heard Hunk say, "-I never thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to understand why Keith liked the Garrison ration bars so much now."

"Ditto." Lance agreed.

"According to my scans, this is, at least, nutritionally balanced." Pidge remarked.

"Do your scans say that this is actually food?" Lance asked. "Because I have my doubts."

Frowning, Keith's brow furrowed. What were they even talking about? There was nothing wrong with the rations they were given. Sure, maybe compared to Earth food, they lacked visual appeal- simple strips of dried meat and fruit, but they had that kind of stuff on Earth too!

"And yet, you're eating it." Pidge observed.

"Hey, I'm hungry." Lance said. "Guess this explains why mullet could stomach Coran's paladin lunch, at least. Speaking of which- which one do you think is him?"

Perking up, Keith's ears twitched.

"I don't think any of them are Keith." Hunk stated. "Because I'm pretty sure that if he were here, he would come up and you know, say hey."

"Hey, Hunk."

"Yes, exactly like that, thank you Keith." Hunk said automatically, probably not even noticing. "I mean, Keith's still our-"

By the time Hunk stopped himself short, Pidge and Lance were already staring at him. Slowly turning his head, Hunk's eyes went wide. "Wha- Keith!?"

Folding his arms in front of him, Keith forced himself to smile. He didn't even have to look to know how awkward it was. "Hey."

None of his training had prepared him for the intense, wordless scrutiny he found himself under, the three paladins seeming to map every inch of his body with their eyes. He suddenly felt naked, exposed- and had to actively fight the urge to duck behind Antok, using him as a living shield.

He'd probably just step aside anyways, the big, looming asshole.

"You're uh," Hunk stammered, "-you're really purple huh?"

Blinking at the statement, Keith glanced down at himself, for some reason compelled to double check. "...yes?"

In spite of himself, he suddenly felt a surge of worry bud in his chest. They... hadn't exactly had a chance to actually talk, not since his revelation- and it occurred to him that he didn't know how they had taken it, not exactly. During the meeting, he had gotten the impression that everything was okay, but he wasn't exactly good at picking up on stuff like that.

He'd say it was just cultural differences, but he'd been accused of being a little dense even here on base. Clearly, that was just the way he was.

Whatever else they saw when they looked at his face, his apprehension must have shown. Instantly schooling his expression to be more neutral, it was too little, too late.

The paladins exchanged a silent glance with each other, and Keith felt his shoulders tense. They were communicating something with their eyes, but whatever it was, he couldn't tell. Gaze dropping, he suddenly caught himself wondering if this was such a good idea- he was already Voltron's weak link, what if he had only just made everything worse?

All because he had to be selfish. The universe didn't need a Galra paladin, no matter what he might want.

"So uh," Hunk began, "-this is the real you, huh?"

Blinking, Keith looked up. Hunk's smile was awkward, but probably no less so than his own had been earlier. "I- yeah."

"You know," Lance frowned, "-I kind of thought you'd be taller."

Crinkling his nose, Keith frowned. "Sorry?"

"I mean, you're Galra, right?" Lance asked. "But like... I'm taller than you."

Biting back a comment that it wasn't by much, Keith's frown deepened. "I'm aket."

The paladins blinked, and it occurred to him that both the nano tech that functioned as their universal translator, and their helmet's translators were both ten thousand years out of date. It wouldn't recognize a term that hadn't come into existence until well into Zarkon's second reign.

"Ahlet." Antok provided, using the old word.

Mouthing the word, Pidge frowned. "So you're... what? Short?"

Staring blankly at her, Pidge held his gaze for a long moment- before cracking a grin. "Yeah, I know. I'm a hell of a one to talk, right?"

"If you were Galra, you wouldn't even pass for a seven year old." Keith remarked.

Pidge squinted at him. "Are you calling me short?"

Blinking, Keith opened his mouth. But she had just-

"It's a joke, Keith." Pidge said lightly.

"Oh." Keith said. "I knew that."

"Please, like anyone would ever believe that." Lance rolled his eyes. "You'd think with all the time you spent on Earth, you'd pick up on jokes a little better."

Bristling, Keith's hair stood on end. "I pick up on jokes fine. Yours just aren't funny."

He didn't know what he'd done, but whatever it was, it had Pidge jolting to her feet, clambering onto the bench. Holding out her hands, she practically gleamed with excitement. "C'mere, lemme see your head."

"My... why do you want to see my head?" Keith asked.

"Just gimme." Pidge insisted, making grabby hands.

"Yeah, show her the mullet, mullet." Lance said.

Gaze flickering towards Antok, the Blade merely unhelpfully shrugged his shoulders. Looking back towards Pidge, he heaved a short sigh, taking a step towards her, ducking his head a bit so that she could get a better look. She wasted no time in digging her hands in, and he had to bite down to keep himself from making a yowl of surprise.

"Keith," Pidge managed to keep her voice level, "-is this fur?"

Oh. Oh, now he got it.

"...yes?" Keith told her. It was the only place on his body it actually grew. His mother had normal hair, but though his coloration came from her, the actual texture of it had come from his father.

"What?" Lance jolted up. "Okay, now this I have to see. C'mere, mullet."

Instead, Keith just took a step back, out of the range of Lance's spindly arms. "Nope. Not doing that."

Slowly holding up a hand, Hunk looked visibly nervous. "Can I touch it?"

Gaze flickering towards Lance, then back down at Hunk, Keith slowly nodded his head. Looking gleeful, Hunk sprung to his feet, ignoring Lance's pointed glare as he dug his hands into his hair.

This was... weird, he'd admit. But at least they were asking, he guessed.

"Oh man, it's so soft." Hunk said. "And two-toned! How does that even work?"

"It just grows like that." Keith stated. He'd honestly never thought about it. It was, though- a dark purple on the top, with a more pinkish tint on the bottom. "My mom has it too."

Hunk's hands froze, momentarily leaving him baffled. "Your mom? Is she like... is she here?"

Oh. Glancing up, Keith pulled his head away, shaking it out a bit. "No. Kolivan assigned her to a deep cover mission deca-phoebs ago."

Hunk's face fell at that. "Oh."

Tilting his head, it took him a moment to understand why. He had to remind himself that on Earth, it was normal to grow up with both parents around. "It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, but aren't you like, lonely?" Hunk asked. "I mean... I know I miss my mom."

"Well... yeah." Keith admitted. "Of course I miss her. But I don't see why I would be lonely."

"You say as if you did not sulk when you first heard Kolivan was sending her away." Antok chimed in, causing his hair to bristle once more.

"I didn't- I wasn't sulking!" Keith protested.

"You curled up in the corner of your sleeping hole and did not budge for a full quintant." Antok stated. "Your mother had to drag you out to get you to eat."

Narrowing his eyes, Keith glared at him. "It wasn't that bad."

"It was that bad." Antok stated.

Letting out a snort, Lance didn't even attempt to contain his laughter. "Wow. So much for your mysterious lone wolf image. I can't believe Keith was a sulky baby."

Turning on his heel, he glared at Lance, only dimly aware of the low growl he was making. Lance, on the other hand... Lance definitely noticed.

"Okay, geez, it was just a joke, calm down." Lance told him.

Ceasing his growling, Keith heaved a sigh. "Yeah, well it wasn't funny."

"See, this is what people mean when they say you have no sense of humor." Lance said. "Is that like, a Galra thing, or is that all just you?"

"I have been told I have a very keen sense of humor." Antok, the traitor, supplied.

"I think your sense of humor is just fine, Keith." Hunk assured him. "Or Kyix. It's Kyix, right? Oh man, we should really be calling you that now, shouldn't we?"

"Keith is fine." He told him. "I'm used to it."

Honestly, he really didn't mind it. He thought he would but... no. It was fine, actually. It made things feel normal in a way he was afraid that they wouldn't- and honestly, didn't understand how it was that they were.

He'd expected... he didn't know. Maybe not outright rejection, but at the very least, that they would keep their distance from him. And that would have been fine, so long as they could form Voltron at the end of the day.

But this... wasn't exactly bad.

"You know we're going to have to ask you like, a million questions." Pidge said.

Yeah, he was kind of prepared for that. "I'd be more surprised if you didn't."

"Youngling," Antok interjected, "-I assume I can leave the paladins in your care."

Blinking, Keith looked back towards him. "Yeah, sure. You should probably get back to Kolivan anyways."

"The yellow paladin is very compliant," Antok noted, "-but the green and blue are trouble. You should keep an eye on them."

Ignoring Lance's squawk of protest, Keith gave him a faint grin. "Yeah, I know."

Antok made a low humming noise, before he placed a light hand on his head. "Cause no trouble yourself either, youngling."

"I never cause trouble." Keith lied.

Letting out a chuckle, Antok merely stalked off. He watched him go, before turning on his heel, looking back towards the paladin- and instantly deciding he didn't like the look of the smile on Lance's face.

"Youngling, huh?" Lance asked.

Bristling, Keith narrowed his eyes. "I'm still older than you."

"Yeah, how old are you, actually?" Hunk interjected. "I mean... the Galra can live like, a really long time, can't they?"

"I'm eighteen." Keith said. "I didn't lie about my age."

And they only lived half as long as they did now because of quintessence. But that was something to discuss at a later date.

"Well don't just stand there." Pidge told him, already taking a seat. "Take a seat."

Tilting his head, Keith watched as both Lance and Hunk sat back down, before he looped around to the other side of the table, taking a seat.

"So," he began, glancing down at the ration strips on their plates, "-you guys gonna eat that?"

Without another word, all three paladins shoved their plates at him.