**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)

CHAPTER 26: TRUTH

It wasn't unusual for Galra soldiers to visit the colony, especially when supplies came in or new candidates were chosen to go to the second colony. But that didn't stop Romelle from wanting them to be extra cautious and avoid being seen at all costs. Making them briefly tug on her damp and dirty clothes, hiding their unusual attire from sight, she quickly led them along the outskirts of the Altean civilization towards her home.

As they went, Keith realized she really hadn't been kidding when she'd said the people of the colony worshiped Lotor. A massive statue in his likeness had been erected in the center of town atop a memorial of names, all of which belonged to those he had chosen to go to the second colony. Alteans milled about the structure, kneeling before it and setting out flowers while others closed their eyes, possibly to pray. Romelle didn't let them linger in the open for too long, rushing them to her house where it resided on the edge of the village. But the little he did manage to see disturbed Keith nonetheless.

Lotor may have been an emperor. He may have been strong and intelligent and capable of what most would've considered impossible. He may have saved an entire race of people from being hunted and driven to extinction. But he wasn't a god. No matter how many millennia he had lived through, he was still only a mortal, just like the rest of them. He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes. He made bad decisions. He was capable of lying and scheming. He could only do so much. But these Alteans were too enthralled with him to see that, undoubtedly wrapped around his finger and unquestioningly devoted to his every word.

It was strange and concerning that in all this time the colony had existed, Romelle had been the only one to question his decisions. It was even more concerning that Lotor hadn't told Allura and Coran that their race hadn't been completely wiped out, kept alive by his supposedly gracious hand.

After hiding them away in the back room of her house, Romelle quickly shooed away a few of her concerned friends when they came to the door looking for her. They waited until night had fallen and she could lock the entrance before they came out, making themselves comfortable in the main living area.

"I've been staying away from everyone ever since I found Bandor. I know they mean well, but I'm worried for them and for myself," she admitted, wringing her hands together. "I fear I may slip up about his death, and I…I'm scared about what they'll say, who they'll tell."

Some friends they are, Keith thought sourly to himself. They seemed to care about Romelle, but apparently not enough to acknowledge or comfort her lonely and grieving heart. She really was on her own in this place if she didn't trust confiding in anyone except them, two strangers from the outside world.

"If you really don't think any of them will believe you, then it's not worth telling them," he said, feeling rather defensive for her. "You made the right choice."

She shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing, but she didn't argue with him. Her shoulders sagged and she stared sadly at her boots, reminding him of a wilting flower.

"Given your brother's weakened state, he couldn't have piloted his ship for very long," Keith gently pressed onward with their mission. "The other colony has to be somewhere nearby."

"There is a moon orbiting this planet that could house a colony," Krolia said slowly, if not unsurely.

Keith considered it. They hadn't seen any apparent storage or production facilities in town during their quick dash to Romelle's house. There really was no other place they could look for the quintessence supply except that moon.

"Well…it's our only lead," he decided. "But how will we get there?"

A beat of silence passed before Romelle straighted. "I have an idea."

Behind her house was a small storage unit that had been used by her family. It was sort of like their personal garage, housing old furniture and boxes of miscellaneous tools, books, decorations, clothing, and machine parts. But most importantly, it held an Altean transport pod.

"These transports haven't been used in generations," Romelle said, opening the doors and revealing the old ship. "None of the Alteans in the colony would know how to fly one, even if we desired to."

Keith smiled at the ship, almost relieved to see it. The pod was small and quiet and discreet – it would be perfect for their journey to the moon.

"I think I got us covered there," he assured her.

She lifted a curious brow but didn't question him, watching as he activated the pod. It hummed to life, the windshield dematerializing and revealing the cockpit. He hopped into the pilot's seat, prompting Krolia to take the passenger's. The wolf teleported into the space behind them, and Romelle hesitated before following suit. She gripped the back of Keith's chair, nervous as the cockpit window manifested above and sealed them in.

"Are you sure you know how to fly one of these?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm a pilot," he answered.

"Yes, but…this technology is ancient," she reminded him.

Keith activated the displays, starting up the engine. It had been two years since he'd flown any sort of aircraft, but the skill and years of training were still there, ingrained into his very soul.

"Don't worry," he said, casting her a tiny smirk. "I've flown these things before."

Her brow pinched, confused. "You have?"

"Yep." He opened the domed roof of the storage unit, the unused bay doors creaking as they slid apart. "The Castle of Lions is full of them."

"The Castle of Lions?" she exclaimed. "The magical palace of King Alfor and Queen Melenor from the fairy tales?"

"It's not a fairy tale. It's real. I lived on it," he said. "Princess Allura flies it now."

"You've met Princess Allura? She lives?" Romelle gasped when Keith nodded, unable to contain her fascinated excitement. "Oh, I've always admired her! She isn't often mentioned in our stories of Altea, but I've always thought she was so brave for fighting alongside her father against Zarkon until the very end."

"Well, she's a big figure in the war now. She's a paladin and a leader of the Voltron Coalition," Keith said, gripping the controls. "Has Lotor really not told you any of this?"

Romelle shook her head. "None of it," she admitted, the keen interest draining from her eyes in an instant at the mention of him. "Voltron and Princess Allura's return, Zarkon's defeat…he hasn't informed us of any of it."

Krolia's eyes narrowed with concern and Keith frowned. All the recent changes and turned tides in the ten-thousand-year-long war against the Galra…Lotor had chosen not to mention them to the people he'd saved. Why he was still keeping the Alteans in the dark despite his alliance with Voltron was a mystery. Maybe he was just trying to protect them from Haggar and Sendak and the other rogue warlords who were still causing havoc within the empire. Keith wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, if only for the sake of their goal to achieve universal peace. But the more he thought about it, the more his unease grew.

Well. Whether Lotor was a good guy or a dangerous enemy, they'd find out soon enough.

Keith took them up into the air, peeling away from the surface and gliding towards the bay doors in the sky high above the colony. Romelle had pointed them out, saying that Lotor's ships always entered and exited through them. Upon detecting their approaching ship, the hatch slid open with ease, allowing them to slip out of the colony.

Having never seen the outside world, Romelle couldn't help but gawk in awe at the stars and the rusty-red planet that was her home. She didn't let her intrigue distract her though as she drew her attention to the largest of the gray and lifeless moons orbiting the planet, where Krolia was picking up more of the strange quintessence readings.

"There's something down there," she said, and as they began their descent, a Galra facility came into view, almost hidden amongst the dense clouds and craggy landscape.

"Is that the second colony?" Romelle wondered, squinting at it. "It looks very different from mine."

"It looks more like a standard Galra base. Without the heavy artillery," Keith said, noting the lack of ground cannons and how they weren't being shot out of the sky.

"Take us down," Krolia instructed, pointing out a flatter space to land.

Keith did as he was told and they disembarked. The air was chilly and damp with fog while the roaring winds whipped around them. But the atmosphere was breathable, thankfully, and they quickly made their way towards the base of the building. They crept through an empty entrance tunnel until they reached a set of heavy double doors. Keith wedged his knife in between them, and together he and Krolia pried them open, granting them access to the vast room beyond.

It was dark and eerily quiet inside, the only sounds the steady and faint humming of machinery and Romelle's anxious panting. Stacked in rows along the wall were large cylindrical containers that stretched down the walkway out of sight. They cautiously ventured into the room, on the lookout for any guards and a control board.

"The readings here are higher than I've ever seen them before," Krolia murmured, checking her screens. "Whatever's inside these units is the source of the quintessence strain we found."

Romelle paused in front of one of the containers and lifted a hand to the fogged-over glass. She wiped away the condensation, revealing a torso and then the face of an Altean man. His eyes were lifeless, his face thin and wrinkled and veiny, like a raisin. Multiple cables had been embedded in his body, draining him dry. She gasped and stumbled back, horrified.

"No! Petrulius!" she cried out, her voice shaking with an uncontainable terror. She hugged her arms to her chest, frantically glancing at the other containers filled with Alteans. "What's happening to them? These people were supposed to be headed to the colony!"

The rare and unusual readings of the strain of quintessence, how similar they were to Romelle's quintessence signature, the information Lotor had withheld from the other Alteans on the colony, this horror-show of an extraction facility…All at once it clicked into place. There was no second colony. And Lotor was not a friend of the Altean race.

"Lotor is harvesting their quintessence," Keith realized, a fresh wave of dread washing over him.

Romelle looked like she was going to be sick. "He's been doing this for generations," she whispered. "My brother, my parents, everyone…He's – He's a liar! A murderer! He's a complete monster!"

Her eyes welled with tears and she pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs. Rage and betrayal burned in Keith's core. Lotor had tricked them all. He was no better than his father, using people, lying to them, killing them to get what he wanted.

A new fear struck Keith then: that same monster was with his family now, with Shiro, Allura, Coran, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. He was a snake thriving off their kindness, their decision to trust him as an ally, and the power and protection they provided with Voltron. He wanted a steady supply of quintessence so desperately, he'd manipulated and murdered thousands of innocent Alteans, Allura's own people. And now, the princess was building him ships that could give him access to an endless supply of the stuff, ignorant of all the nightmarish things he was keeping from her.

Keith had to warn them. They couldn't let him gain access to the Quintessence Field. And he absolutely would not let Lotor use his friends anymore.

"We can't stay here," he decided, already moving for the exit. "We need to warn Allura and the others."

"But what about these people?" Romelle asked, a desperate light in her eyes. "What about everyone at the colony?"

"I'm afraid there's no saving the ones here," Krolia confessed, her expression grim as she stared at Petrulius' withered form. "They're on the verge of death. Even if we take them out of their units now, they will still die in dobashes."

Romelle bit her lip. She turned to Keith, pleading.

"We'll save the other Alteans, but we can't do it on our own. We need to warn the paladins and stop Lotor first," he said, firm but not unkind. When she didn't respond, he gently pressed, "Romelle, you need to come with us. It's not safe for you to go back to the colony. You're the only Altean who knows the truth. Allura will listen to your story."

Romelle hesitated a moment longer, absorbing their words. She took a deep breath, her brow furrowing and her jaw setting with determination.

"Lotor has torn my family apart. He killed my brother. He killed my parents and my friends," she stated finally, her hands falling to her sides. "And for that, I will never forgive him. I will do anything I can to help bring the truth to light."

Keith granted her an encouraging nod. She may have admired Allura, but Romelle contained an admirable bravery herself. She questioned the norm when no one else would and followed her instincts. She was putting her faith into people she barely knew, choosing to trust them with the hopes that they could help her. She was willing to venture into the unknown, leaving behind everything she knew to protect the people she loved from perishing. She was risking death by exposing and confronting Lotor, but she had chosen to do what she knew was right nevertheless.

"Thank you," he said, glad to have her on their side. "Let's get going."

Departing from the Quantum Abyss in their little Altean pod, Keith and Krolia contacted Kolivan to make a report on their findings. Apparently for the rest of the universe, only a few days had passed since Keith had left on his mission to extract Krolia from Ranveig's base. It was a little unnerving to discover this bit of information, but the Quantum Abyss was a place where the flow of space-time was unnatural. In a way, it was a good thing two years hadn't actually passed for the rest of the universe. It meant they still had time to stop Lotor before he completed his ships and could access the Quintessence Field.

They informed Kolivan of Lotor's Altean colony and the laboratory base he was using to siphon their quintessence. Then they gave him the coordinates for the hidden planet and moon so he could send out a recovery team.

"Do you know where Lotor is right now?" Keith asked.

"The last we heard, he departed for the remains of Daibazaal with the paladins," Kolivan replied. He was as stoic as ever despite finally learning the disturbing truth behind the source of the strange quintessence. "I'm sending you the coordinates now."

Their displays chirped and Keith input the information into the navigational systems, their maps locking onto the location of the destroyed Galran homeworld.

"We'll contact you with an update once we've detained Lotor," he said. His heart was racing with urgency as they headed for their new destination, where their friends and the enemy would be waiting for them.

"Affirmative," Kolivan replied. He hesitated before adding, "Good luck."

Keith gave him a small smile. "You too, sir," he said, and their transmission ended.

Without the luxury of a wormhole, it took them several days for them to reach the galaxy that once housed Altea and Daibazaal. They had to make a couple stops for supplies, naturally, doing their best to land in neutral or coalition territories. Despite the circumstances of their trip, Romelle and the wolf seemed to delight in getting to experience more of the universe, seeing new species of people, tasting new foods, hearing new dialectics. She commented that once this whole incident with Lotor was done and over and the Alteans had been saved, she'd love to explore different worlds and make lots of different friends, all without living in fear of the Galra. Keith hoped her dream would come true one day soon. With Voltron, he was positive it would.

Finally, they arrived. The fractured remains of Daibazaal laid before them, and as Keith zipped past the stray asteroids, bringing them ever closer, the Castle of Lions came into view. It hovered there, unmoving, but it was still very much active and intact. He let out a sigh of relief knowing that the Voltron team hadn't left the area yet.

Suddenly, his panel chirped with an incoming call from the Castle.

"Attention, Altean pod. Identify yourself."

It was Shiro. It had been so long since Keith had heard his voice. His actual voice, not the rage-fueled yelling of the Shiro in his visions. He activated their line, and the bridge of the Castle of Lions popped up on his screen. Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Coran were all there, looking exactly the same as when he'd last seen them two years ago. But there was no sign of Allura anywhere. Or Lotor.

"Shiro, it's Keith," he said, desperate to cut right to the chase.

Shiro's eyes widened, understandably shocked to see him. It had been a while since they'd met in person. Not since the Battle of Naxzela.

"Keith! A-Are you okay?" he couldn't help but stammer.

"Where have you been?" Pidge gasped, just as surprised.

"And how did you get your hands on that pod?" Coran piped up.

"Does he look bigger to you guys?" Lance wondered. "He's bigger, right? …No?"

Keith had almost forgotten he supposedly looked different than he had two years ago. But he didn't let Lance's question distract him. He couldn't afford to waste time right now explaining where he'd been.

"Where's Lotor?" he asked.

"He's in the Quintessence Field," Hunk answered.

"Oh, no," Keith groaned. Allura had finished his ships. Lotor was getting exactly what he wanted. They'd been too late.

No, no, it was too early to give up and give into despair. They could still stop him.

He circled around the Castle and entered the pod hangar. Two of Lotor's completed Sincline ships were housed there as well, he noted. As he landed their pod, the rest of the Voltron team was already standing there, waiting for him. Deactivating the cockpit windshield, he hopped out to meet them.

Shiro blinked at him, trying not to gape. "Keith, it's so good to see you," he managed, a new round of surprise washing over him now that he was seeing him up close and in person.

"Hold on," Lance said, suspicion in his gaze. He stepped forward and raised his hands in a stopping motion as Keith approached. "How do we know you're the real Keith and not his bigger, cooler, grizzled older brother?"

Keith's irritation flared. Lance's tendency to make little jokey comments in such serious situations definitely still got the better of him. "I don't have time for this, Lance!" he snapped, brushing past him.

Lance scowled, displeased with his reaction. "Hey everybody, Keith's back!" he dryly exclaimed.

Keith ignored him. "We need to stop Lotor. He's been lying to all of us!"

Shiro frowned at the accusation, unsure. "Lying about what?"

"Everything!" Romelle exclaimed, and Keith turned to see her, Krolia, and the wolf disembark. She stood there with her fists at her side, a nervous but insistent gleam in her eyes.

Coran inhaled sharply at the sight of her. He looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "You're – You're Altean!"

"And who's the Galran?" Lance wondered, his attention laser-focused on Krolia.

"Is that a wolf?" Hunk squeaked, nervously eyeing it.

"Where did you come from?" Coran asked.

They were asking so many questions, none of which Keith wanted to delve into answering at the moment. Not until he was sure they were all safe.

"I promise I'll explain everything once we get to Lotor," he began, but Pidge was quick to intervene.

"We can't get to him," she said. "He just entered the Quintessence Field with Allura."

That wasn't good. "We traveled through realities before. Can't we fly in there and attack?" he pressed, hoping he didn't sound like he was begging.

"She said Allura is with him," Lance adamantly reiterated. "We can't risk hurting her."

"Why are we even attacking?" Hunk wondered, his frustrated confusion starting to show in his tone.

"Look, Keith, everyone, calm down," Shiro struggled to reel in their growing tension and discontent. "When they return, we'll get this all sorted out."

Keith grit his teeth. Each second that passed was one more moment Lotor got away with his misdeeds. But they were right – if Allura was with him, they couldn't attack him recklessly. Besides, with the way the paladins were all looking at him right now, so perplexed and doubtful, he was sure they wouldn't even dare try to hurt a single hair on the emperor's head. They wouldn't understand or be on Keith's side until he told them exactly what was going on.

"Fine," he relented. "We'll explain everything."

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