An intermission-

Our Patience

Coran had been sure the Earth would be safe. Proof Positive.

He had considered himself well informed on the machinations of the prior monarch's strategy. From the moment Coran had concluded the strangers arriving in the blue lion were indeed earthlings he had felt assured. Despite all the horrible things that had happened in the ten thousand year interim, their arrival meant everything was going according to plan.

King Alfor had all but promised the planets' protection from coming conflict. He had taken measures to safeguard the home world for the next generation of paladins. Perhaps ten thousand years was long enough that such safeguards could fail.

And now that Coran knew with certainty those associated defenses were well out of play he would proceed as though nothing had changed when in fact everything had.

~\/~

Separation felt wrong, but it happened. Sent back to their quarters to clean up and sleep each paladin was left alone with their thoughts.

Keith had always been one to follow his instincts. It had never steered him wrong before. Instincts had been his greatest asset in flight school. Those same instincts had gotten him safely through the many trials of being a Voltron paladin. And most of all, gut instincts were the reason Shiro was safe and here. Leading the team.

Instincts.

Or at least that's what he thought they were.

So why had they been so wrong before, on the bridge. He had used potentially lethal force against the princess whose allegiance he was sworn to. He had deemed it beyond necessary to enter his lion, but for what purpose? He could not begin to imagine.

Coran made a quiet entrance, hoping not to startle the boy he spoke softly; "how is your wrist holding up?"

Coran had noticed it first when bandaging the boy's wrist.

The purple.

The truth.

It was leaking through.

Right there in the starkly lit med bay.

"How long has this been happening?" Coran whispered.

"It doesn't happen that often."

"Keep it covered." Had been the Altean's parting advice.

And now, again upon inspection the purple hue was receding under soft evening lights.

"Conceal it a few days more. Then things should be fine."

~\/~

Pidge had curled up in a ball. Away from prying eyes turtleneck pulled up to nose level. Lungs drew deep breaths. The fabric no longer smelled like her brother, it didn't even smell like home. So many washes, so many months in space had destroyed that sensory value.

The green paladin's current identity was largely inspired by her brother. Devotion had lovingly recreated the cherished attributes of Matt to reveal that layered within Katie was Pidge.

And now there was no act. Pidge was just Pidge.

Pidge on the battlefield, on deck, and on the search for the Holt family's missing pieces.

But that identity, that image. It had all been a part of those earth memories and was ripping at her very soul. The secrets, the connections, everything, everyone…

Everyone was dead. Her mother whom had only ever known her as Katie, her mother who must not have known what happened when her daughter disappeared, her mother who would have spent her last days mourning the complete loss of family. Her mother; the one who was supposed to be safe.

Her family. It was more torn apart than ever. She could feel the faith draining from her body. Would she ever find her brother and father? They hadn't been on earth. Was it so wrong to hope? Was it sick? Was it selfish? None of her teammates would ever have that chance; the chance to see their families alive again.

The door slid open, its hiss springing the paladin from her mind trap.

~\/~

Coran found Lance in a pitiful state. The young man had found writing supplies and was furiously scribbling away producing page after page of names. People on paper. People that he had known- People that were now dead.

"Alright. Up ye get." Coran announced hoisting Lance into the air by his arms. Lance made sounds of protest but Coran held firm "If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that this" he motioned to the haphazard papers littering the floor, "isn't healthy". Lance's hand lost purchase on the writing utensil and was led out of the room.

~\/~

Minutes later Lance was deposited into Hunk's waiting arms. The yellow paladin had not even made it back to his own room. He had somehow found shelter in a long forgotten alcove. Both boys slumped over in Hunk's makeshift haven.

Hunk was the only person on the ship, hell the only person who knew exactly who Lance had lost. The reverse was true for Hunk as well. Being longtime friends at the Academy meant they had met each other's families and even spent quality time with them.

Both could recall with vivid clarity that final shared family vacation. It had been the last days of summer before cadet training resumed. A cloudless sky and blue waters blessed the outing. Children of all ages played in the surf and adults lounged beneath umbrellas. The best of hours passed in bliss. Blue hues were soon painted over with pinks and purples that harbored a brilliant orange sunset. The combined families stayed the full day and well into the night. They played in the surf, grilled food, and told scary stories over a bonfire.

"Hunk, what if we forget them?"

"Sh-Sh."

Hunk couldn't think, the prospect was too horrifying to imagine.

~\/~

Botched job. The words were jarring in his mind.

Shiro raked his hands through his salt and pepper hair sitting in silence.

He had been working on filtering memories by detaching himself from them; instead sieving through for notable information.

Shirogane had stopped fretting over the implications of his patchy memory; ever since Pidge had brought up that subject on Arus.

That memory at least was still crystal clear in his mind. Pidge had sat idly with legs swinging over the edge. A gust of wind passed as they watched the starset on the horizon of Arus. It was nearly dark and Shiro had been satisfied with their earlier talk. They sat undisturbed. The comfortable silence was broken by a hesitant question. "When they anesthetized you… back on earth I mean, do you know what they used?"

Shiro had responded with a negative shake of his head.

"Even though we saw it happen through the hacked security feed we couldn't tell what they used. " Pidge stated apologetically. "Once we rescued you- we were in such a rush I didn't even think to check. We had no reason to assume…" She seemed reluctant to continue. "But now, I think maybe whatever they hit you with holds some of the blame for when y-you can't remember."

Pidge relayed that before the earth scientists put him under he had seemed possibly more coherent. Though panic and desperation to warn the garrison had certainly driven his dialogue, it was obvious he had a better understanding of the situation that night than when he woke from the anesthesia in the morning.

Shiro considered Pidge's suspicions and ranked them as a definite possibility. And unsettling though the idea was, it was an answer, a solution- so that the problem wouldn't keep him up at night. He had laid it to rest.

Until now. This memory was so tainted with emotion, its essence dripped off those terrible words. It was further mixed with and polluted by his current state of distress. He didn't know how he could possibly search for something useful in his broken memories. Not now.

His misery was interrupted thankfully by Coran.

~\/~

Coran returned to the deck shortly after attempting to feed the paladins. He listed off who had accepted and whom hadn't, then promising to keep track because these humans became weak quickly when not fed.

The princess had not followed his continuing commentary. Her own train of thought departed once Keith's name was mentioned. What had happened when she had tackled Keith to the deck? That strength was not something she had even remotely expected. He had never displayed such force against the gladiator in training. That day's display had to have been twice the average readout normally collected from him. But now that she knew- whatever the reason- he would not surprise her again.

Surprised…

Coran had not been surprised. How had he known she would need help? Just like her he could have evaluated the situation and deemed one Altean's strength enough to restrain a human. Coran had acted quickly and directly. Though she was grateful of her advisor's action she couldn't help but wonder, had he anticipated this? For all his goofy antics Coran was quite knowledgeable. Was there something she was missing?

"Ah, there he is now." Coran announced interrupting the princess's reverie.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Shiro, he said he wished to speak with you."

In her mind she couldn't help but dread what he had to say. The last time he had wanted to talk the result was less than pleasant.

It had been little over two weeks ago. The Paladins had been reunited for a few days, but the result of separation still weighed heavy on their hearts.

Allura had been so relieved. They had been able to retrieve the paladins in good health and good time. She hoped her father would be proud of the decisions she had made. She had managed to fix her mistakes- or so she thought.

When Shiro had asked to talk in private she had obliged. His demeanor was changed. She had not anticipated this lasting effect. Though he had long since vacated the medical pod, Shirogane Takashi was wounded.

Zarkon was the black paladin.

The resigned look on her face was all he needed to see.

"I am a soldier. I know that withholding information is standard practice. But I… I will never be able to face any of their families if they die in vain, for a simple lack of communication. Please. If there is anything that important.. If you can, please tell us."

His statement shook Allura to her core. She had failed. Already her link to the paladins was damaged. Her short time as a leader had procured an irreparable blunder.

Trust had been shattered.

But this time as Coran opened the door to Shiro all she could see was trepidation.

"I felt I should share this concern with you as soon as possible."

The once proud leader bowed his head in defeat.

"I fear we will be unable to form Voltron".

~\/~

The seated team framed a disjointed circle, meditation gear in place.

They attempted to form Voltron. Collectively their minds had been a scattered mess and the clumsily formed pieces collided in a wreck then dissolved. The turmoil was so complete that one could not even begin to isolate what conflict to work on first.

Resigned silence permeated the chamber.

The shattered hologram broke each paladin in its own special way. Heads were turned in shame. All reluctant to speak; to acknowledge the failure. To voice the problem would be to reveal the disgusting truth.

This is the kind of silence that burns your throat. It suffocates your breathing and seals the room. The vacuum shuts out air for conversation and stills all movement.

The black paladin let out a sigh. "I thought it was my fault."

Everyone's head snapped up.

"That's what hit me first. I'm the one that took an escape pod back to our planet."

Wary stares were pointed his way. Feelings of guilt crashed through the mind link, facilitated by the meditation gear.

"I felt like I led them there."

Keith was quick to dissent. "Shiro, they would have come anyways- the blue lion was there."

"I know." Shiro gave a small smile. "-but it certainly felt like it."

A forlorn Hunk spoke up "If anything it's all our faults because we formed-."

"It's not anyone's fault." Shiro interrupted. "That is what I came to realize." He wanted to give everyone that small piece of relief. "I want you all to say it. It's not our fault."

Like a rhyme each member stuttered out the statement piecemeal. Every little bit of grief and guilt was packed into those words.

And just like that the floor had opened for confessional.

Emotions poured through the mind link.

Keith's insecurity.

Lance's regrets.

Hunk's pain.

Pidge's guilt.

Everyone's grief.

Each thought and emotion was turned over gently and passed between them.

Perhaps an hour later the silence was broken.

"Guys, I felt the worst when I was alone." Hunk voiced.

The others murmured in agreement.

"Can we stick together please?"

~\/~

Two weeks before discovering the annihilated Earth, freshly retrieved paladins were all gathered on the bridge at Allura's behest. Shiro and Coran already stood by her side as the younger members entered. A hush fell over the cadets.

With a somber expression the princess addressed her knights. "I owe you all an explanation and an apology. I withheld information from you and we all paid the price."

Collectively the group twitched. Whether it was a grimace or shudder it was clear they knew what she was talking about.

"I did not do this with malicious intent. It was something I wasn't ready to talk about; that I feared you were not ready to hear."

"You needed to be a solid team- have an unbreakable trust- to form Voltron. Knowing that a betrayal happened in the past despite the mind link… would not have been helpful."

Her heart broke at the despondent demeanor of her paladins.

"Is there anything I can do to fix this?"

Anything. If there was anything she could do to make reparations, to heal the broken trust, she would do it.

The children exchanged glances.

It didn't matter who said it, the thought was on all their minds.

"Allura. Can we go to earth?"

A little over two weeks ago Shiro had expressed his concerns and Allura had done her best to remedy them.

Now they were here, stuck dead center, marked with pain. In the face of such a tragedy she knew her duty; keep the Paladins strong.

~\/~

That night the Paladins of Voltron dragged pillows and blankets to the lounge. Allura procured extra cushions for the floor before dismissing herself. The ring of furniture was soon filled with fluffy materials. Five pilots spread across the couches and made-up floor haphazardly.

Morning would find them all much closer than the night before.

To Allura they appeared remarkably like a pride of lions.

~\/~