It's the eighth day of Keith Gen-Uary! I was so excited for this day.
Red
Keith was a regularly good pilot, but he's never flown an alien lion before. Attacking Sendak's cruiser was all under pure adrenaline and when he got Red for the first time, he was just playing around. He eased the red lion down into its hangar. He was starting to get the hang of it at least.
He finally landed with a metallic thump. He sighed and leaned back in the seat. He looked down at his armor. He was in an alien war. It was finally sinking in. Keith rubbed his face in his hands, resting his elbows against his knees. He was light years away from Earth and traveling the galaxy to bring forth peace. In a giant. Red. War machine. He didn't expect his life to take such a big leap.
He heard the strange metallic purr from Red and looked up startled. He noticed Shiro walking into the hangar through the windshield. Keith took a deep breath and got out the chair. As he walked out the lion's mouth, he couldn't help admiring the curves in the mechanics.
"Hey," Shiro said, stepping forward. He looked up at the lion with a more fond expression. "Land alright?"
Keith wordlessly nodded as he stepped out of the lion's maw. He folded his arms. "There are some... new works to the pedals, but I will get the hang of it. I flew it this long."
Shiro chuckled, "I guess you did." Red pulled up into a sitting position, its yellow eyes turning black. Keith didn't notice Shiro looking at him until he spoke. "Sorry to send you out on your own like that. Pidge and I found some prisoners though, and we were able to free them."
Keith shrugged, "I found the lion, didn't I?" Keith looked back up at the Red Lion. "No need to say sorry."
Shiro sighed, "The same with the Kerberos Mission. For leaving you alone on Earth."
"It's fine, Shiro," Keith said, tearing his gaze away from Red. "I found you too. Besides, now you have a prosthetic arm. You always wanted one didn't you?"
Shiro pouted at his arm, "Well... yeah. But I miss my old arm now. This one's uncomfortable." Keith yelped as the prosthetic arm started to glow a purple-pink. The light immediately shut off as Shiro jumped and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, just Pidge was there. Forgot."
"Dude, that thing can glow!" Keith said, inching closer to the arm. "How - How did you do that? Did they feed you - like - flashlights or something."
Shiro laughed, lighting it up again. "No. They decided I would look nice with a weapon glued onto me, I guess."
"Wait, wait, wait," Keith said, waving his hands in the sky. "It's a weapon? Like, can it cut through metal? Does it hurt when you light it up?" Keith internally cringed at his string of questions. "Was that too many questions at once?"
Shiro just laughed, "It is a weapon, I can cut through metal and no. It doesn't hurt when I light it up. I expected it would, but... not really. And to answer your last question, yes. That was too many questions at once but I was able to give answers."
Keith smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize," Shiro said as he patted Keith on the back. "Come on, join the rest of us in the dining hall. Hunk and Coran decided we needed to eat something after the battle." The two of them walked out of the hangar.
XXX
Keith kept tossing and turning. He couldn't sleep. Questions were running through his head. Alien faces and voices filled his head. He couldn't wrap his mind around all of this. His head slightly throbbed with the new information.
After what seemed like five hours, Keith sat up in bed and looked up at the ceiling. He sighed and leaned back against the wall.
He sat in silence for a while before he stepped out of bed. He quickly sheathed his blade and pulled on his boots before he exited his room. He looked around the unfamiliar halls and took a right. He didn't know where he was going, but he just needed a walk to clear his head.
His mind traveled back to the fight with Sendak, getting the Red Lion, finding Shiro again, meeting aliens called alteans, learning about war and piloting the red lion. All in one day. Keith envied Allura and Coran. He wanted to sleep for 10,00 years but he can't so much as lay down comfortably. As he studied the kitchen, he considered locking himself in a cryo-pod until morning. Maybe be would be able to rest for a little while. Someone will find him.
But he didn't know how to work with the things and if no one did find him, he will be frozen for quite a while.
He shuddered at the thought. He preferred the warm more than the cold. Keith left the kitchen, finding no use there anymore. He walked past a couple of closed doors, down some stairs and into storage closets.
He didn't recognize anything about the castle, so he felt uncomfortable walking alone. He held out his knife just in case something sprung at him. Keith walked for a while more before he stopped in front of a familiar door. He hesitantly scanned his hand and the doors opened up. He walked inside and, as he turned the corner, looked up at the Red Lion.
It didn't look back at him. Just like in the cruiser, it stayed frozen in place. The dark room made the red metal darker, resembling more of a black. Its eyes were empty and dark. The wind whistled softly around the room, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Keith walked toward the lion, but it didn't bow down. It stayed rooted to the spot. Keith touched a hesitant hand along the metal of the claws. He ran his hand along the lion's paw as he walked forward. The lion seemed to tower over him and Keith took in everything of the lion. The smooth red metal building the lion's chest, two doors were built in the middle.
From earlier quick lessons with the Alteans, Keith assumed that's the opening for the motors or whatever they were called.
Knowing fully well the lion won't hear him, he hoisted himself up on the lion's right claw and said, "Hi, Red." As expected, the lion didn't respond. Sitting silently, staring at the opposite wall with dark eyes. Keith wondered who previously piloted the red lion and how he was expected to do it. Allura said something about a connection, a bond between lion and paladin. Keith felt no bond with Red and it was pretty obvious Red felt no bond with Keith.
As he studied the lion more, he realized there were powers to these ships that they didn't even know of yet. He wondered how to unlock them and what they were. It bothered him how much he studied the blue lion's carvings but knew so little about Voltron. He let out a frustrated sigh and his head fell into his hands. "Why do so many things just not make sense?"
He sat there for a while, silence in the room calming. He laid down on the lion's paw, one leg dangling off the edge. He looked up at the underside of the lion's jaw. He held a staring contest with the metal for a while before closing his eyes. He threw an arm to cover his face.
He felt a shift under him and the creak of metal. He shot up, losing his balance slightly. He heard the faint glow of something being turned on. The lights in the room were still off. Keith looked up and nearly yelped as he came into contact with the red lion's yellow eyes. It craned its neck as to see Keith, the yellow lights in its eyes causing faint spotlights to fade onto Keith.
It let out the mechanical purr again as it studied Keith. "H-hey, Red," Keith repeated, slowly running his hand along the metal of the paw. The lion didn't respond, looking down at Keith with the purr running through its engines. Keith shifted off the foot of the lion and stepped back. The lion followed his action until it leaned its head down and opened its jaw.
Keith stared for a while before asking, "Is there danger?"
Red still didn't answer. Keith stepped into the lion's mouth and walked up into the cockpit. He sat down and the pilot chair slid toward the controls. As Keith grabbed hold of the pedals, the lion leaned its head up and jumped off the ground. The hangar doors automatically slid open. "Where are you taking me?" Keith asked as he saw the purple sky of Arusia.
His eyes burned a bit from the light from outside. He blinked a few times and scanned his surroundings. Red flew through the air, going nowhere in particular. After a couple of minutes of aimlessly flying, Red landed on a high rock.
Keith cocked up an eyebrow. "What... are we doing here?"
Go to the roof, something talked inside Keith's head. He blinked several times before getting off the chair. He walked up to the manhole in the head of the lion and pushed himself through the gap. He looked around, jumping slightly as the doors closed. Keith looked up and gasped.
The sun was rising, casting Arusia in orange light. The sky was blue melding with violet. Pink clouds dotted his view. Keith walked forward and sat down on the edge of Red's head. He looked at the view and remembered the sun rising over the desert. Sand dunes becoming bright yellows and heat rushing over his skin. The sunrise and set were one of Keith's favorite things back on Earth. And here it was again. Keith didn't see any remnants of their last battle in his line of vision. Just an orange glow over a beautiful field. The Castle of Lions glinted with the brightness of the sun.
"Thanks, Red."