"And that's it. Mars base's defense system is up and running." Matt's voice, despite the note of tiredness, showed how pleased he was at another successful installation.

"Well done, both of you." Shiro called back. "That's the last one. Everyone pack it up and head for home."

Matt's chuckle crackled over the coms. "We might be a little bit, I think they want to thank Keith again."

Pidge wasn't the only one to burst out laughing at that. Iverson had passed on a message from the research installation on Mars specifically requesting an opportunity to personally thank the Red Paladin for protecting them during the battle, and Shiro and Allura had seen no problem with assigning that particular shield installation to Matt and Keith so they could do just that. But on arrival Keith had found himself utterly besieged by people wanting to hug him and shake his hand, and had been so overwhelmed he'd almost run off to hide in Red. The comms had been open the whole time, and they'd all heard the chatter along with Keith's awkward protests and Matt's muffled snickering.

She felt Green's amusement in her head and patted the console in agreement. "Alright, girl, time to head back." Nudging the throttles, they launched easily from the landing pad outside the substation where they'd completed their own final installation of the day.

Behind her, Allura rested her arms on the back of the chair. "Alejandro, Kurogane, any updates from the Icebringers on the repair situation?"

Just that morning there'd been an unexpected hiccup in the repairs to the Lightning Strike. Something about some structural damage that had been hidden until they cut away other damaged parts in preparation to replace them. When they'd left for the day's scheduled installations, the engineers were still surveying the extent of the damage, but the ship's pack leader had been concerned about how much extra time would be needed for the additional repairs. The heavy sigh Alejandro heaved in response to Allura's question told Pidge that there was no good news to be had on that front.

"Nohwraalesh says it's gonna take an extra half-rotation to complete the repairs on the Lightning Strike and they can't take off until they do. They're amazed the ship even made it down in one piece with two of the main support ribs cracked from one end to the other. Sorry, Allura. Guess departure's getting pushed back a bit."

Pidge tilted her head back to gauge Allura's reaction. She knew the Princess was eager to get back to the fight, if only to stop the Empire and its leaders before they could do anymore damage. Even the others agreed they needed to move as quickly as possible, before the Weblum's Breath could be repaired and brought back to use against another vulnerable world.

Allura only sighed, though. "I was afraid of that. If it can't be helped, it can't be helped. It seems we have a few extra hours tomorrow morning for all of you to spend here."

Chatter broke out over the comms. It wasn't enough time for Hunk or Lance to go see their families again before they left, so ideas were being tossed back and forth about what to do with the spare time.

Then Lance's voice broke in with a suggestion. "I dunno about you guys, but I think it might be fun to go visit Blue's cave, for old time's sake. We never really got the chance to explore it the last time. And hey, maybe Allura or Coran can tell us what all those carvings on the walls mean!"

"I'd be absolutely delighted, my boy!" Judging by the volume of Coran's voice, the older Altean was leaning way too close to Lance's helmet in order to be heard, and Pidge winced. "It would be quite a treat to see the place where one of the Lions was hidden all this time!"

"If you're talking about the cave I think you're talking about, then count me in. Those carvings have been driving me insane trying to figure out what they meant." Ryou put in from Black's cockpit.

"You saw the cave, Ryou?" Pidge asked curiously.

"Sure did. The pictures and maps in the shack where Keith and Shiro used to hang out led us right to it. Although they didn't mention the carvings in the lower chamber. I'm guessing he didn't find it until you guys found the Blue Lion."

Hunk snorted, the Yellow Lion coming into view in the distance as Green curved away from the Lunar surface and started arching toward the blue planet below. "Um, no. We got to the cave, Lance touched the wall, the carvings lit up and the floor collapsed under us. And then we were in Blue's chamber and the rest is history."

"Alright, alright. Anyone who doesn't want to come along to see the cave tomorrow morning?" Shiro cut in. There was a chorus of disagreement, everyone apparently up for the excursion. "Then it's settled. We'll organize the supplies tonight and leave first thing in the morning."

000000

Shiro slowly surveyed the mixed crowd of aliens waiting in front of the Castle.

Then he turned and raised an eyebrow at Matt.

Matt's cheeks went bright red. "...I swear I only told Avenol where we were going. He asked if he could come along and I said I didn't see why not." He mumbled.

Shiro turned and directed a questioning look at Avenol instead.

"We all grew up with stories of Altea, and of Voltron." The Altean shrugged unrepentantly. "I knew plenty of people would jump at the chance to see where one of the lost Lions was hidden for so long."

Heaving a sigh, Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me you have supplies and cave diving equipment for all these people on those speeders back there."

Avenol looked offended at the mere insinuation that they hadn't come adequately prepared. "Of course we do! We even have several first aid kits!"

Well, it wasn't like there was any reason for them not to come. At worst they might have to take turns in the lower cavern, but Shiro remembered it being quite big, with plenty of space around Blue. He threw up his hands. "Fine! Load up, we need to get moving. I'd like to be in the shadows of the canyon before it gets too hot."

"Sir yes sir!" Avenol grinned and snapped off a perfect Earth-style salute-Shiro shot a sheepish Matt another look because really?-and jogged off toward the speeders, shouting instructions as he went.

Shiro heaved another sigh. This was going to be a long morning.

0000000

Altean speeders were not designed for large groups of people.

They'd taken two of them, but with five paladins, two time-travellers, two Alteans, one Galra, Matt, Colleen, and Ryou, there were still six or seven people in each one. Allura and Coran were the most familiar with the controls, so they were the ones driving. And Colleen and Ryou were the ones with the coordinates, so they got the front passengers seats to navigate. Matt needed a proper seat because of his leg, which was fair, so he and Shiro were in the rear seats of one of the speeders, and Alejandro and Kurogane didn't mind having to sit practically in each other's laps, so they'd ended up sitting in the little storage cabinet behind the seats. Hunk couldn't squeeze past the seats to the storage area so he got one of the seats in the other speeder, and neither could Kovirak so she got the other, and Pidge was the smallest so she ended up just sitting in Shiro's lap.

Which all meant that somehow Lance had ended up crammed into a cupboard with Keith, even though this whole trip had been his idea in the first place.

The tension in the small space was stifling. Or maybe that was just the lack of oxygen.

They still hadn't properly talked since that night in Lance's room. There just hadn't been an opportunity. But Lance had noticed that Keith had been quieter, more distant, and he stuck to Shiro like glue whenever possible, and he knew he needed to set the record straight as soon as possible. Might as well take advantage of the opportunity, even if this was going to be an awkward conversation to have when they were jammed hip to hip like this.

"Keith-" He started.

The speeder swerved sharply to the left, braking as it did so, and Lance found himself flung violent forward and sideways, just barely managing to get his arms up in time to prevent himself from cracking his skull on the wall of the storage space. His hands collided painfully with the hard metal and he yelped as he landed sprawled across Keith's legs.

"Shit, Lance, are you okay?" Keith's hands were surprisingly gentle as he helped him back up onto his knees. Lance groaned as he slumped back against the wall, cradling his right hand to his chest. "Your hand. Did you hurt it again?"

Thanks to the magic of alien medicine and Matt's extensive knowledge of which ones were safe for Humans, the wound in the back of Lance's hand from the desperate fight aboard the Weblum's Breath had been healing faster and cleaner than it would have otherwise. But it wasn't fully healed yet, and the area was still sensitive. He grimaced and examined it carefully. Some of his fingers were stiff, but that wasn't new and Matt had assured him that should lessen with exercise. "...Just bruised, I think." He said after a moment's consideration.

"That's a relief." Keith breathed, settling back against the wall again. "Last thing you need is to wreck it again."

Lance grimaced and nodded, flexing his fingers carefully a few times. They lapsed into awkward silence again, the only sound the hum of the speeder's engines and the muffled chatter of the others up front.

He took a deep breath. Okay. Let's try this again. "Keith," he said carefully, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I'm really sorry."

He couldn't see Keith's face from this angle, but sitting this close he could easily feel him stiffen. When he spoke his tone was guarded, wary, and Lance internally winced. "For what?"

"For being a huge idiot and a massive jerk." He answered honestly. Talking to his Mami had put things back in proper perspective, and he knew he'd blown things out of proportion. Hopefully being honest about that would earn back some of the trust he knew he'd lost.

Keith didn't respond to that, but he didn't move either, didn't pull away and close off.

Taking that as an invitation to continue, Lance kept going. "I overreacted to the whole Haggar thing. It was dumb of me to even think that any of you would think badly of me for that, and it was really awful of me to even assume that you would."

"Just a little." Keith muttered.

"I know." He grimaced again, picking at his sleeves. "And it was an especially dumb reason to reject you like I did."

The tension in the room seemed to thicken even further. Keith's arms folded tightly across his chest, his expression becoming even more guarded.

Lance ducked his head awkwardly, and hastily elaborated. "She's done so much to you and Shiro, and I know how important he is to you. I was worried I'd be a reminder of everything you almost lost because of her. First Kerberos, and the arena, and his arm, and then that whole thing on the Weblum's Breath, because there's no way that didn't mess him up and you almost lost him again, and that's without even getting into everything she did in the other timeline…" He trailed off uncertainly. The silence in the room was stifling.

Then, almost imperceptibly, he felt the tight coiling of Keith's muscles beside him ease just a little. "You...were worried about hurting me." He murmured slowly, a trace of disbelief in his voice.

He nodded vigorously, tucking his knees up to his chest. "Yeah. I mean, I know I hurt you by rejecting you, too, and I'm sorry. I just thought...I guess I thought that would hurt you less."

"It didn't."

Flinching at the sharpness in Keith's tone, Lance scrubbed his hands through his hair. "I know. I screwed up big time, and I can't apologize enough. And I don't expect you to forgive me, either. Not after a dumb mistake like that. You trusted me, and I hurt you, and it's gonna take a while to fix. Maybe I can't fix it at all. But...I'd really like to try, if you'll let me."

Another pause. Then, so softly he almost missed it: "Why?"

This was it. Moment of truth. Keith had laid himself bare to Lance before, made himself vulnerable, and ended up getting burned for it. So the best way Lance could think of to begin mending the trust he'd ruined was to lay himself bare in return. And if it didn't go so well, well, he had no one to blame but himself.

"Because," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I'm in love with you, too. I have been for a long time. I just...never said anything because I didn't think you'd feel the same way, and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Keith's head had snapped up and those dark eyes were staring at him in naked shock as Lance pressed onward. "It doesn't excuse what I did, and I understand if it's too late. But I thought you deserved to know that I do return your feelings, and if you do decide to give me another chance I promise I'll do my best not to screw up like that again. I swear, Keith, the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, and I only did it to try to keep you safe." He ran out of words then and leaned back against the wall again. That was it. He'd said what he needed to, and it was up to Keith what he wanted to do with it.

The silence that filled the room after his declaration was the heaviest one yet. Keith stared at him for a long time and Lance felt his cheeks burning under his unreadable gaze before the other teen turned away again, leaning against the wall.

Finally the quiet became too much to bear. "Aren't you going to say anything?" Lance whispered hoarsely. Good or bad, he needed an answer, so he could stop coiling himself up like a spring wound too tight.

Keith simply shook his head. Under them, the speeder glided to a stop and the increased chatter outside the little storage room told him they'd finally reached the caves. The red paladin uncoiled, reaching to push open the access panel. Then he paused, glancing back at Lance. "...I just need some time to think."

Lance could only nod mutely as Keith disappeared out into the daylight.

00000000

Kurogane groaned as he climbed out of the speeder. "We should see if any of the Icebringers want to switch with us on the way back. I don't think my head is straight on my neck anymore."

Laughing, Alejandro shook out his arms and stretched, several joints making popping sounds. "Might not be a bad idea. Although we've crammed ourselves into worse places before, remember?"

"Don't remind me." His partner grumbled. "It was more bearable when our lives depended on it."

"What, don't you like being squished up against me?" Alejandro teased, and grinned at the way the comment made the other's cheeks darken. He took a deep breath of fresh air and shaded his eyes to look up at the cliffs and the cloudless blue skies. "...I forgot how hot this place was." He admitted softly. The last several days had been a constant flow of sensation, refreshing memories that had faded with time and distance. Every time he turned around it seemed like there was something new that he should have known but had slipped away through the cracks.

Kurogane's hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him away from that train of thought, and Alejandro raised an eyebrow at the smirk on the other man's face. "What are you-"

"Hot like Mexico?" One dark eyebrow wiggled at him as Kurogane sang the line, and Alejandro burst out laughing as he shoved him away.

"Oh my god. We're in Arizona!" He choked out, smacking his partner's arm as he launched into the chorus. Since rediscovering that song (no doubt thanks to the rest of the McClain-Martinez family) he'd been teasing him with it at any opportunity.

"I'm not your babe, I'm not your babe, Fernando~!"

"I have been a terrible influence on you."

Kurogane kept singing playfully in his ear as they made their way over to join the crowd hovering by the entrance to the cave. Alejandro let him, lacing their fingers between them and unable to keep a broad smile off his face. Despite everything, the last ten days had left him feeling lighter than he had in years, and he was glad to see the man he loved feeling the same.

The crowd parted to let them through to where the rest of the Humans and Allura and Coran were already inside. The darkness of the cave was shockingly cool compared to the hot desert air outside, with a hint of moisture in the air from the wide hole in the floor that led down to the lower cavern where Blue had rested for ten thousand years. He could feel her touch in his mind, as curious about the carvings as anyone else here.

You don't know what they are? He pushed the thought towards her.

Her response was a firm denial, and an impression of a figure in an Altean flightsuit, patting her leg goodbye before climbing into the small flight pod he'd packed in her cargo hold. He'd gone out of her view, probably to prepare the entrance, and that was the last she'd seen of him. There had been purpose to his movements, but sorrow, too.

Alejandro let her feel his sympathy, her loss aching in the bond. She seemed oddly hesitant about the whole thing, and he couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk. Acalli may have become their enemy, but Fiorin had obviously been dear to her for all she'd only been bonded to him for a few years before they'd been pulled apart by the war. Instead he made his way to the wall and brushed his fingers over the dusty carvings.

A blue glow sprang to life under his fingertips and he jumped back in shock as it raced along the walls, tracing out the shape of the myriad carvings along the length of the cave. He heard startled exclamations from the others and a yelp of "It wasn't me this time, I swear!" from Lance.

"Uh, sorry, that was me." He called. Coran appeared beside him a moment later, studying the carvings.

"Fascinating! They must react to blue quintessence!" He stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "Which I suppose would make sense, since you would only want a potential paladin to be able to trigger the entrance. Although how would you know whether they were part of a viable set…"

Alejandro left him to his musing and headed further into the cave, Kurogane beside him. Lit up like this it was much easier to see the designs. They'd never gotten to take a proper look back then, before they found Blue and everything began.

Voltron Lions. Armored figures. Wormhole portals. Spaceships. Starmaps. Knowing what they did now, it was easy to recognize the things shown on the walls. Blue being brought to earth by her last paladin, left to wait for a new one, and finally the day the five of them arrived and ended up leaving Earth behind.

How did he know? He couldn't help wondering as he gazed at the five figures and the stars over their heads.

"...With the information he had available to him, Keith's interpretation was pretty much spot on." Ryou was saying, patting the teen on the shoulder approvingly. "With what you guys have told us, it's easy to understand this set of carvings. But I'm hoping you can shed some light on the ones down below, Allura. They're some kind of alien language, I think."

Allura nodded, hands clasped in front of her as she looked this way and that at the walls of the cave. "I'd be delighted. The last paladin of the Blue Lion was Altean, so that's most likely the language the carvings are in. I'll be able to tell you for certain once I've seen them."

"Well, we're just about done setting up the rappelling equipment." He gestured to a H'ress and a Balmeran who were setting up a set of anchored winches and sturdy cables. Alejandro was familiar with the design, an easy-to-use way of getting down caves and chutes and other steep, inaccessible places when jetpacks weren't available or an option.

Within a few minutes he was holding onto one of the cables with practiced ease as he descended into the dark shaft with a high-powered lantern in hand. The spray from the waterfall misted over him and he laughed as he heard Kurogane's disgruntled complaints from one side and Keith's irritated grunt from the other.

At the bottom, they clustered on the shore as they waited for the others to make their descent. No one wanted to miss out on hearing what the carvings said, and before long the spacious cavern was packed with aliens. Despite the crowding, though, they managed to keep a respectful space around the vast circle where Blue had once stood.

Setting up lights took more time. Whatever had caused Alejandro's touch to light up the carvings on the upper level didn't seem to be working down here, and the only illumination came from the high-powered lanterns they'd brought. It took a few Alteans shifting to much larger forms to properly illuminate the wall of carvings, off to one side of the circle in a place where they'd never have noticed it with Blue in front of it. As they waited, Alejandro examined the carvings curiously. It was definitely Altean, although the shifting shadows as the lights were moved around made it impossible to read.

Finally, though, everything was set up and Coran and Allura stepped forward to study the carvings, beginning with the pictographs at the bottom.

"These seem to be a recounting of the war and what happened with Blue." Coran said, moving from one image to the next. "The first represents the universe as it was, Alteans and Galra living in peace, and Voltron with her first five paladins and the apprentice paladins." He gestured to the groups of figures, first the larger ones, then the smaller. "And the second Zarkon's betrayal." His voice was sad as he ran his hand over the fallen figures of the red and green paladins and the yellow and black apprentices. "No doubt the purple figures on the Altean side represent the Blades, and the aqua ones on the Galran side the amvel nayeta who followed Acalli."

"This one is the Lions being sent into hiding." Allura indicated the fourth image. "The apprentices left first, which is why it depicts Yellow and Black as still staying together." There was a longing in her face as her fingers brushed over the yellow figure beside the two lions.

Coran nodded in agreement as he glanced at it before turning to the next ones. "These two depict the same part of the story from above. The Blue Lion awaiting a paladin, and the five of you finding your way to her."

"And finally, the five of you taking up the mantle of paladin and forming Voltron." Allura frowned at the final image. "...Aided by Coran and myself, to fight the Galra and Druids under Zarkon and Haggar."

"What about the third picture?" Alejandro frowned as he gazed at it. There was something tantalizingly familiar about it, the feeling he should know what that aura around the blue lion and her apprentice paladin meant.

Allura frowned as she studied the image, glancing sideways at Coran. The advisor seemed equally puzzled as he looked it over. "...I'm really not quite sure." He admitted after a long moment. "But perhaps the writing will shed some light on the matter. It may simply be a written recounting of the same information, for the sake of leaving a permanent record of the fall of Altea and why the Blue Lion was brought here."

Stepping back from the wall to where he could see the uppermost lines clearly, he cleared his throat. The room was silent, the clusters of aliens waiting in eager anticipation to hear what legacy the second blue paladin might have left, and with a last glance at his audience Coran began to read:

"To the Paladins who will come after me,

Let me begin by telling you how sorry I am. You do not know me, and you never will, but I know you, and I know that you are young, so very, very young to bear the burden which is now being placed upon your shoulders.

Please understand when I also tell you that we have no other choice.

In leaving, the traitors Zarkon and Acalli killed their sibling paladins and two of my own, putting Voltron permanently beyond our reach. Without it, we stand no chance against the Galra Empire. No one does. Altea has already fallen, and Zarkon has turned his sight outward for the glory and benefit of his people. Countless people will die, and there is nothing we can do.

With no other options left to us, King Alfor, the first Paladin of Yellow, came to me. He told me of an aspect of which I was previously unaware, the blue aspect of Chaos, and charged me with finding our way forward. As he explained it to me, for all its wildness, chaos can also be predictable. If you know the initial actions that will lead to the future you wish to create, you can give shape to that future. And so I was asked to find a future in which Voltron would once more be in the hands of Paladins who would stand against Zarkon. Where a new set of paladins will come together before he can stop them, unite the Lions before he can find them, and form Voltron to destroy him once and for all.

In the only such viable future I could find, those paladins are you.

I know that we are asking much of you. Asking you to step to the front lines of an ancient war you had no idea existed, asking you to sacrifice your childhoods and the lives you led before and a thousand other things that only war can take away. But you are our last hope, for which those of us who remain will sacrifice everything fate has asked of us in order to craft the future that will bring you to where we need you to be.

(I do not know which of us is sacrificing the most; Torlast of Red, who will die at the hands of Galran soldiers in two cycles' time to ensure that the Red Lion will be brought within your reach at Arus; Marmora of Green, who will spend her life as Fate's puppet counter to her nature and lying to her followers about the role they play in this war, that they will tear Zarkon down from the inside when they exist only to birth your Red Paladin and to one day return your Black Paladin to you; the Blue Lion, who will wait ten thousand lonely cycles before she can reach out to your Red Paladin to bind your set, granting the Black Paladin the aspects that will save his life and guiding you all to her when the time is right; or Alfor, who will send his husband and daughter away to wait for you, unable to tell them that they will awake in a world ten thousand cycles changed or that neither of them will ever see him again. Of all of us, simply being unable to act to save my people or my home seems perhaps the kindest of our fates. I only hope I can offer some comfort to Alfor when I rejoin him at Sh'raa H'ressnol to continue the work Fate requires of us.

For all that we ask of you, remember that you still have the freedom of choice, as we no longer do.)

I do not ask your forgiveness. Only your understanding, and that you will not abandon the fight if it still continues when you see this message, if you ever do. If we had a better option, we would not ask this of you. And once again, I am sorry that we do not.

May the stars guide your fight.

Fiorin Malteka Shon,

Second Paladin of Blue"