Kovirak watched from the training room's control booth as down below, Keith ducked and wove his way expertly inside the guard of one of the gladiator bots and cut it to pieces, spinning away to block another enemy's attack before the pieces of the first had even hit the ground.

His fighting style was unique, a one-of-a-kind patchwork of Garrison combat training, something else structured that was probably Altean, a handful of Galran moves she recognized as Marmoran techniques that she suspected he'd picked up during his Trials and Empire strategies he would have learned from the soldiers he fought, and, unlaying it all, the sort of structureless, rough-and-ready forms of someone who taught themselves to fight in order to survive. All in all, it was representative of Keith himself, and the journey he'd taken to get where he was now.

A journey she'd missed.

The last time she'd seen him, he'd been a tiny cub of barely three years, face blotchy from crying as he clung desperately to her fur despite Thomas's efforts to pry his fingers loose. Too young to truly understand what was happening, but somehow he'd known she was leaving and wouldn't be coming back. Breaking his hold and turning her back as she stepped out of their haven of love into the dark desert night had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. The only thing that gave her the strength to do it was the knowledge there were human soldiers out there, too close, who would kill her little Keith if he was lucky and put him in a cage for the rest of his life if he wasn't. So she'd left, and she'd fought, and she'd run, and later, as she piloted her jury-rigged ship with one hand and pressed bandages to stem the bleeding with the other, she'd cried for the fact that she would never see her son again.

And now here he was, sixteen years later, right in front of her eyes. On the verge of adulthood even before he'd been thrust into the front lines of an intergalactic war she'd hoped he would never see, and with strength in his soul and wariness in his eyes that spoke to all he'd endured. Guilt churned in her gut with the knowledge that just three years after she'd left him, he'd lost Thomas as well. Her kit had been all alone for years and she hadn't been there to protect him. She knew, knew, that he'd suffered, even if she hadn't let herself pry before he was willing to open up to her on his own, knew that he'd needed her all this time and she had let him down.

Let them both down. She was still adjusting to the fact that where she'd had one son before, she now had two, the other six years older than the one in front of her now. But those six years, part of a life that had taken a different course than Keith's now would, might as well have been a thousand for the difference in the way Kurogane looked at her. He avoided her when he could and ignored her when he couldn't. And after everything she'd done, all she could do was respect his choice and give him his space.

Down below, Keith gasped as one of the bots caught a lucky blow against his side. The simulation was gradually increasing in difficulty as he took out one opponent after another, and with five gladiators now ringing him he was starting to have trouble. Kovirak hesitated, glancing toward the emergency stop on the control panel. Surely he'd have the sense to stop the session if he couldn't handle it, no matter how irritable he'd been the last couple of days.

Metal shrieked against metal, grating on her ears, and her gaze darted back to the battle below just in time to see two bots crumpling and a third being cleaved in two by a familiar dark grey blade. Keith didn't pause, pursuing the remaining two who were now backpedalling away from him, and making short work of them with a sword in each hand. Three more dropped from the ceiling some distance behind him and he whirled, raising his Marmora sword to block blaster fire before charging in once more.

She couldn't keep her eyes off it, following the blue glow of the stone in the hilt and the flash of the keen edge. It was the only thing of herself that she'd been able to leave with him, a keepsake and at the same time a promise that from that day forward, everything she did would be for him first, and the Blades second.

Kovirak grimaced, re-crossing her arms restlessly. If she hadn't already given it to Keith, Kolivan would be ordering her stripped of it when he passed judgement on her. Beyond that...she couldn't even guess what his punishment might be for all her actions had cost. Whatever he chose she would accept. She deserved it. The only mercy she could hope for was that he might spare her life for Keith's sake. She'd promised, after all, and even for restitution she refused to break that word.

A loud crash down below refocused her attention back on the fight itself. The bots, four of them currently, were much faster now as the room increased the difficulty level. Keith had thrown one of them into another, but was struggling to press the advantage against the other two. A moment later, one got up inside his guard and sent him tumbling with a brutal fist to the ribs. He rolled, trying to get back to his feet, the gladiators chasing, and her eyes widened, hand reaching for the button-

"End training sequence!"

The bots froze, a blade inches from the visor of Keith's helmet, before sagging into inactivity. Keith rolled onto his back and lay there, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Kovirak felt the tension abruptly leaving her body, relief making her light-headed.

He was a talented fighter, but god, she couldn't stand the thought of seeing him hurt, paladin or not. At least now that she was here she had the opportunity to help keep him safe. And vrekt, she intended to do just that, Kolivan be damned.

00000000

"Are you sure about this?" Kurogane asked quietly, adjusting the cloth-wrapped bundle over his shoulder.

Picking his way carefully across the sand in the dim moonlight, Alejandro nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I love them but...this isn't for them. I think Blue will be willing. If she isn't though, then we'll talk."

Kurogane hummed and nodded, following alongside and glancing around. At this hour they were the only ones out and about, the beach stretching emptily to either side of them.

Alejandro felt Blue's welcoming purr in his head before he saw her, a dark silhouette against the stars, and smiled fondly. "Hey, beautiful." He whispered. "Think you could do us a little favour? I know I'm not Lance, but we need to take a little side trip before we leave Earth."

Tinged with a soft rejection of that self-dismissal, her mind brushed his and he opened to her, letting her read his intentions and purpose. Her response was immediate, water rushing around her legs as she stepped closer to shore and lowering her head for them to step inside. He felt her sorrow and understanding, and her eagerness to help.

"That's a yes, then." Kurogane laughed softly. "Thanks, Blue."

She growled a quiet response as they stepped into her airlock, the door hissing shut behind them. By the time they reached the cockpit she'd already launched, streaking directly upwards toward the stars. Leaving her to handle her own flying, Alejandro went to a one of the storage units in the back and pulled out two spare flight suits and helmets. Much like the ones Allura wore, simple and unarmored, they were intended as emergency back-ups if a Paladin was stuck in a hostile environment with their suit integrity compromised.

"Here." He tossed one to Kurogane, who caught it one handed and quickly started shucking off his clothes after setting down the long bundle with care, despite the fact they both knew it was far from fragile. Alejandro changed quickly as well. It wouldn't take long to get where they were going.

In fact, Blue's gentle mental nudge alerted him just as he was securing his helmet, and when he lifted his head his breath caught in his throat.

Outside, rocky icefields stretched to a horizon that was much, much closer than Earth's would have been. The brown-and-white face of a barren planet hung overhead, barely illuminated by a distant Sun, and partially eclipsed a particularly large moon. And off to one side, the low, blocky form of a spacecraft, standing alone and forgotten on the ice. The name painted on her nose wasn't visible from here, but he knew what it said anyway.

Persephone.

"It looks the same." He whispered. A few subjective weeks ago and six objective years in the future they had stood in this very same spot, in a Blue older and battered and alone, out of allies, out of friends, out of hope. Kerberos had remained unchanged across those years, unaffected by the war and death raging across the universe, and the very sameness of it set a curl of terror chilling in Alejandro's chest that maybe he'd dreamed the whole thing, they hadn't gone back in time at all, they were still stuck in a lost future with only death to look forward to-

Kurogane's hands turned his head forcefully away the view at the same time as Blue's furious snarl of denial cut off his train of thought, and he realized he was almost hyperventilating. He let his partner press their foreheads together with a clink of their helmets and forced himself to try to match the other's breathing until his own evened out. Once his heart was no longer racing out of control, he offered up a shaky smile. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Kurogane murmured, kissing his helmet over his forehead in soft reassurance. "Are you sure you're up for this? We don't have to. Or we can do it on Arus."

Alejandro shook his head violently in rejection of that. "No. No, it needs to be here, where it all started." He took a deep breath and shook out his limbs, forcing a weak smile. "I'll be okay, really."

The other didn't look convinced, but didn't push. He just sighed and turned away, scooping up the bundle again and heading for the airlock. Alejandro followed, resisting the urge to glance over his shoulder at the view screens.

"Where do we want to put it?" Kurogane asked, pausing at the bottom of the ramp and looking around. "By the Persephone? No." He dismissed the idea as soon as he'd said it. "Not there."

"No. That's Matt and Sam's." Alejandro bit his lip thoughtfully. "Um…" He studied their surroundings. Some distance beyond the bulk of the Persephone, a ridge of torn-up ice caught his eye. It took him a moment to realize what it was, and when he did certainty filled him and he pointed. Following his gesture, Kurogane nodded.

It took only moments to bound across the ice in Kerberos's minimal gravity. The ridge marked the edge of a long trench several meters deep, the ice and rock ripped away by a Galran tractor beam two years earlier. The moment their lives had all gone to hell, even if not all of them had been aware of it at the time. Kurogane leapt unhesitatingly from the edge of the great gouge in the landscape, and Alejandro followed. Getting out would be easy enough. Low gravity made for easy athletic feats.

Scanning the trench, he pointed again, towards the far end, away from the Persephone. Where the crew had been captured in the beam's pull. It was the most fitting place he could think of.

At their chosen site, they gathered rocks to secure the base. Then Kurogane unwrapped their cargo and put it in position. He held it straight while Alejandro used the rocks and an Olkari-made bonding agent to cement it permanently into place. The glue set quickly, and they stepped back to regard their work.

The object was a shaft two meters long and four inches across on each of its four sides. Made on the Long Wind's fabricator when they could beg a few minutes' use between the manufacturing of replacement hull plates and structural supports, the entire thing was a single, solid black diamond, strong enough to last millions of years undisturbed. The only thing that broke the smooth sheen of its sides was the bright glint of the coloured opals, green, yellow, and two sets of white, that formed words on each of its faces.

Takashi Shirogane

Hunk Garrett

Katlynn Holt

Princess Allura of Altea

Below each name, two dates rested. One in Earth's dating system, the other in the one used across the universe, aside from Allura's which were both in the latter. Birth, and death.

A memorial.

Alejandro's chest ached as he looked at it, his lungs thick and body heavy. They may have found a new family here, in this time's younger paladins, but they could never replace the brothers and sisters they'd lost. They'd fought so hard, given up their dreams, their childhoods, their lives, and in the end it had all been for nothing.

He should pray. That was what you did at graves, right? But every prayer he'd ever learned felt hollow and empty under the dim light of the deadly stars.

He felt Kurogane's hand brush his and laced their fingers, both gazing at their marker for their dead, each silent with their own thoughts.

They stayed that way for a long time.

00000000

Allura paced down the corridors, trying to ignore the way her footsteps echoed in the empty passageways. Once, it would have been impossible to go for more than a dobosh without seeing another person, no matter where you went in the Castle of Lions. But now…

She normally tried not to think about it. Tried to keep to the inhabited sections of the Castle where she could hear other voices, see signs that there were other people still there with here. But right now nearly everyone was gone. Lance, Alejandro, Kurogane, Hunk, and Shiro had all taken their respective families away from the Castle to spend time in their homes, and Matt and Pidge had gone with their mother to collect their possessions from their old home. And it left the Castle emptier than she had ever seen it. While it wasn't the first time they'd all been away from the ship, normally that happened during missions when she was needed on the command deck and had something to do. Something to distract her. She swallowed hard, increasing her pace slightly and trying not to glance at the endless doors that hid rooms unused for ten thousand cycles.

When she reached the large double-doors of the holoprojection chamber, though, she paused with her hand raised to knock. What was she doing? She was a Princess, not a child to be scared of an empty ship. And yet she couldn't shake the way her insides twisted at the silence, the feeling that she might turn a corner and stumble across her father or a servant or one of the old Paladins conflicting with the knowledge that she never would.

Allura took a deep breath. There was no one here to judge her for her nervousness. And how many times had the young paladins commented on the eeriness of the empty corridors? Swallowing again, she forced herself to rap her knuckles against the door.

A moment later it whirred open to reveal Coran's gentle smile, and she struggled to suppress a wave of relief that almost made her weak in the knees. He raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of her. "Princess. Everything alright?"

"I...yes. Yes. I'm sorry to interrupt." She couldn't quite suppress the faint embarrassed glow of her cheek markings. "I just thought you might like some company."

A thin excuse, and the searching look he gave her told her he wasn't fooled for a moment, but he twirled his moustache cheerfully and gestured for her to step into the room. "Of course! Can never have too many eyes and ears watching for useful information. Although I think we can skip this memory of the trade talks with the Elskroni. Rather tedious, and I don't believe they had much to offer beyond medicinal mud."

She laughed in spite of herself, relaxing in his familiar presence. "Yes, I suppose we can afford to spare ourselves that one. Have you found anything more interesting in the last couple of rotations?" She asked as she stepped into the room, glancing over the frozen projections of a conference table and diplomats.

"Nothing that we don't already know, I'm afraid." With a sigh, Coran labelled and filed the memory and dismissed the projection, and Allura found herself trying not to tense as the walls of the room appeared once more, painful memories lurking at the back of her mind before she pushed them forcefully away. But Coran must have caught the movement, because he frowned over at her, his hands stilling on the control panel. "Allura, you know you can be honest about how you're feeling, don't you? You don't have to be the composed Princess every moment of every day."

The comment hit so close to her thoughts from a few minutes earlier that she faltered, caught off-guard. Rather than answer immediately, she folded her arms across her stomach and turned away. "I'm the leader here, Coran, I need to set a good example, a strong example for the Paladins and for our allies. If they were to see me falter…"

He sighed, moving closer and putting a hand on her shoulder. "If you falter, the paladins will not judge you. You are not a machine. You are a person, with feelings and fears just as they are. In fact," Coran chuckled and shook his head. "If you ask me, it might bring you closer to them if you let them see your weaknesses. After all, you've seen the way they care for and support each other. They'll do the same for you if you let them."

She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. She knew what he was talking about. They all compensated for each other's weaknesses-Keith's recklessness, Pidge's drive to find her family, Shiro's trauma-and steadied each other through their pain-Lance's homesickness, Hunk's guilt whenever they had to kill-and that was what allowed them to rise each day and continue the fight. They would have fallen apart long ago otherwise.

"Admitting fear is not a weakness, Allura." Coran continued, his firm gaze locked on hers. "Nor is living your life when you can. Even Alfor allowed himself that. Behind closed doors, he wasn't the King of Altea, he wasn't the Yellow Paladin, he was merely Alfor, beloved husband of Linnata and myself. Free to laugh and complain and be free of judging eyes."

"I know." Allura gave a weak laugh, wiping at her eyes. "I remember when I was little, he always looked so annoyed whenever someone knocked at the door to our quarters. It took a long time for me to realize he was someone important outside those rooms." She thought for a moment. "Or that I was, for that matter."

Coran nodded approvingly, giving her a fond smile. "Exactly. Now let the Castle be your quarters, and the paladins the family who will accept you as you are, with all your flaws and foibles, little flower. I can say with certainty that they will."

Heaving a sigh, she let herself lean in against him and accepted the comforting embrace he wrapped around her. "...I suppose I could try." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry for interrupting your work. The emptiness of the Castle was getting to me."

"Not to worry. I always have time to spare for my daughter."

00000000

He'd felt the tension in the air all day.

It had been building ever since he woke up this morning, as Mama and Mom helped him finish packing the things he wanted to take back to the Castle with him-clothes, keepsakes, pictures, and two large crates of herbs and spices-and he taught them to use the communicators they were each leaving with their families so they could keep in touch, and with the day drawing to a close, Hunk knew it was sure to come to a head soon. Today was his last day here. In the morning he'd be returning to the Castle of Lions, and a few days after that, back to space. Back to the war.

He swallowed hard, trying not to let his hands shake as he diced vegetables. It was hard to say which he was dreading more. The inevitable confrontation, or going back to the fight.

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump and he looked up to see his Mama's soft smile. She tilted her head wordlessly toward his cutting board and he nodded, scooping them into the offered pan before moving to check on the pork slow-frying at the back of the stove. It was a familiar rhythm, the two of them working together in easy silence to make dinner, and it eased the tightness in his chest a little.

When they sat down to eat, though, the tension was back, the three of them dancing around the elephant in the room as they talked about nothing while Asoese chattered on, oblivious to the atmosphere. Hunk talked to her gratefully, relieved by the normality.

It lasted until she went to bed.

When he came back downstairs from tucking her in and kissing her goodnight, Mom was leaning against the back of the couch, arms folded across her chest. The grim expression on her face was enough to send anxiety spiking through his veins.

"I don't want you going back." Flat. Blunt. She never used that tone unless she was upset.

Hunk sighed, pressing his palms together and taking a deep breath. He didn't want to do this. He was tired, scared, and he just wanted to part from his family with happy memories to hold him together. "Mom. Please. We talked about this. You know I have to."

"No. I refuse to believe that my son, that children, fighting on the front lines, is the only possible option against the Galra!" Fetuilelagi snapped back. "The universe has survived against them for ten thousand years so far, they can afford a few more months to find someone else!"

This again. "They really can't, Mom." He said wearily. "It could take years. Years that we don't have. I mean, Allura could pilot one of the Lions in a pinch, but she wouldn't fit as well, and when you're in battle every moment counts. We're way better off with me as Yellow's Paladin." He couldn't quite keep the pleading note out of his voice, wordlessly begging her to just let the matter drop.

The comment about Allura, though, was the wrong thing to admit, as Fetuilelagi's eyes narrowed dangerously and her clenched fists shook. "Let her do it." She growled. "If you love us, you'll let her do it, and stay home where it's safe instead of risking your life because you think you want to be a hero!"

Ever since they'd started fighting against the Galra, his sleep had been troubled. Sometimes nightmares woke him screaming, other times fears plagued his mind until he gave up on rest and sought the distraction of his workbench or the comfort of his Lion. Lately, though, they'd gotten more frightening and more frequent. Images conjured from Alejandro and Kurogane's descriptions of their pasts, and memories of the horrifying scenes from Trepan Kev playing out in a thousand scenarios that all ended with Pidge dying. And after their desperate battle a week ago? Every single night had held nightmares that made him afraid to go to sleep.

And now, to hear an accusation like that from one of the people he cared about most, someone he was trying to protect by putting himself through this hell? While something deep inside him reminded him that she was just scared for him, just didn't want to lose him, didn't want to admit to the fact that none of them had any choice in this, the fact that she could even consider the possibility that he would choose something like this was the last straw on top of the load he was already carrying and afraid to acknowledge even to himself.

Something inside him snapped.

"Do you think I want this?!" His voice went strident as he gestured to himself. His mom was brought up short by the outburst, mouth hanging open and eyes wide. He didn't care. He kept going, words bubbling up out of him like a burst water main.

"Do you think I like risking my life every day to kill people who are just doing their jobs, just because we're on opposite sides of this?! Knowing that one wrong move means me or someone I care about ends up hurt or dying or dead? Because no! I fucking hate it!"

His eyes were burning, tears spilling down onto his cheeks. He was distantly aware that his Mama had rushed in from the kitchen, alerted by the yelling, that Asoese was calling from the top of the stairs in confusion, but all he could see was his mom's wide brown eyes and the shock and horror on her face. "I don't want to do this! I don't! I wish I could just go upstairs and crawl into my bed and never leave it again! But I can't!"

His lungs heaved, fighting him as he sucked in a harsh breath. His hands shook, his pulse roared in his ears.

"Because you guys are a target now! Earth is a target! It doesn't matter if I don't want to fight, because Haggar doesn't care! I have to keep fighting and killing and winning because if I don't she'll come to earth and kill you!"

Images flashed across his mind. Asoese in prisoner purple, thin and ragged. La'ei sprawled in her own blood under a soldier's gun. Fetuilelagi warped by metal and quintessence, leering at him with glowing yellow eyes over the barrel of his gun. His gut twisted and he gagged, trying not to be sick.

"I c-can't, I can't let her, I won't let her hurt you…" He choked painfully. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. His whole body was shaking.

Long arms wrapped around him, pulling him close, and a gentle hand stroked his hair as he broke down sobbing and clutching at whoever was holding him. His emotions were a tangled knot in his chest, suffocating him and making him nauseous and making the world tilt. All he could do was let the tears tumble out along with disjointed, half-formed thoughts and words and promises.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before his tears ran dry and he sagged against his parents, empty and drained and feeling like he'd been pounded flat and hung out to dry. His chest still ached, but in a sore way instead of a tight one, and his throat and face felt raw.

Someone tilted his chin up and a tissue dried his cheeks with delicate care. His Mama's concerned face, her own cheeks streaked with tears, peered at him as she worked before she hugged him tightly again. "I'm sorry, baby." She whispered.

Another strong arm was wrapped around his back, his Mom hugging him with one arm and whispering a pained apology through tears, while the other clutched a distressed Asoese to her side. Fetuilelagi opened her mouth, searched for words, and closed it again when she found none. There was nothing to be said. It wouldn't change what had to happen tomorrow, or the day after, or the rest of the war.

Hunk closed his eyes and leaned against them, trying to feel as safe and secure and protected from everything as he used to when he was younger and had no idea how bad the universe could be.