Tomorrow's plans had been solidified. Hunk and Keith would go to retrieve the scaultrite from the belly of the weblum while Shiro, Lance and Pidge went to Beta Traz to rescue the esteemed genius Slav. Allura would go to the Balmera to retrieve a crystal large enough to power the teleduv and Coran would meet with the Olkari to begin building it. The members of the Blades of Marmora would be staying in the castle to help implement the upcoming mission, much to Allura's distaste.
The Blades departed the bridge to go settle in for the night in the many rooms of the castle, leaving the team to discuss any small details. Shiro waited till the door slid shut behind the last of them before turning to Keith. The paladin was sitting a little slumped in his chair with his arms crossed, looking both pained and exhausted. He and Shiro hadn't slept in a good two days, and on top of that Keith had had to undergo ruthless trials to be accepted into the Blades of Marmora and get some answers. There was so doubt that he could use some time in a healing pod. But there was something important that needed to be done before that.
Shiro set his hand on Keith's shoulder, and his eyes flicked up to him. Shiro didn't have to say anything. He knew what he had to do. He couldn't keep it a secret.
"Hey guys…" He caught everyone's attention as they were walking towards the door, and he stood up. "Before you go…I need to tell you something…"
In response to their questioning stares and Lance's tired groan, he held out his blade and unwrapped the cloth around the hilt so that they could see the glowing purple symbol.
"Ever since I can remember, I've had this blade. I never knew where it was from or what the symbol meant. When we met Ulaz, I recognized the symbol and I started to wonder where I got this knife and who gave it to me. At the base of the Blade of Marmora I went through a series of trials. When I went through them, I found out that this blade came from my mother who I never knew. I managed to awaken it and according to Kolivan…that can only happen if I have Galra blood in me." His voice tapered off a little. He stole a brief glance at the others. He fully expected to see disgust and hatred from them. He had the blood of their enemy in him after all. But what he found on their faces was shock, disbelief and a little confusion. "I may be part Galra…but that doesn't matter to me. I know who I am. I'm the paladin of the red lion. My goal here isn't going to change."
"Doesn't matter?" Allura held an expression of hurt and betrayal. She scoffed at him. "You're telling me that you come from the race that killed my father? Who took away everything I ever knew? Because of the Galra, I cannot ever see Altea, or my family again, and you say it 'doesn't matter'?"
"Princess…" Coran took a step towards her with the intention to comfort and calm her, but she wasn't in any mood to be coddled by him. She took a step towards Keith as rage started to rise from the hurt.
"Already I've had to form an alliance with Galra, and accept these Blades of Marmora into my castle, not knowing if or when they may betray us, and you tell me now that I have a Galra as a paladin of Voltron?" Her voice rose in anger. How could they just expect her to trust these Galra? These monsters took everything from her. They didn't understand what she felt. They couldn't understand. "I cannot accept that."
"Princess, I'm not going to turn on you." This reaction had been what Keith had expected. He understood that she had every right to hate him. He couldn't change that he had descended from the ones who had killed her people and annihilated her entire planet. "I'm still a paladin of Voltron. I'm still going to defeat the Galra Empire and take down Zarkon. That's not going to change."
"How do you expect me to believe that? Galra are nothing but liars and killers. You hid your blade. You kept this from us." Allura hissed her words at him, narrowing her eyes. The very idea of having a Galra as a paladin of Voltron sickened her. And piloting her father's lion, no less! Clearly, trusting a Galra as a paladin hadn't gone well the first time. She wasn't going to make the same mistake.
"I didn't know." Keith's anger started to rear at her accusations. He didn't have any idea that his knife had anything to do with the Galra until they met Ulaz. He had never once lied to them. They knew him. They knew he wouldn't ever betray them. They knew he would do everything he could to defeat Zarkon. Why was she acting like he was suddenly a different person? "It's not like I wanted this. Six months ago I didn't even know aliens existed and now I'm finding out that I'm part alien? This is a lot for me to handle too."
"Do you expect me to feel sympathy for you?" Allura sneered. "The Galra had no sympathy for the Alteans when they wiped out our planet. They didn't care when they murdered my people and destroyed my home. Your people took everything from me! And you expect me to trust you? You expect me to feel sympathy for you? Your kind killed my father!"
"At least you knew yours!" Keith lashed out at her with his words, his anger bubbling over. "You got to have a family! You know your heritage! I never asked to be left in the dark about my own blood! I've spent my whole life trying to figure things out on my own. I can't change what the Galra have done and I can't change who my parents are. All I can do is fight Zarkon, and change things as they are now. Just let me do that. You don't have to trust me."
"You Galra don't deserve a family." Her words were venomous, and she could see how badly they stung him by the pain in his eyes.
"Princess." Coran warned her to stop.
She knew she had crossed a line, but she didn't care. She had pent up so much sadness and anger towards the Galra for so long now that it all came spilling out on Keith as a scapegoat. "Every Galra deserves their misfortune because of the blood in your veins. You have stolen thousands of families from others. I have every right to hate you. I have every right not to trust you. You took my family. Why should you have the luxury of knowing yours?"
She glared daggers at him, never breaking eye contact. She saw his breath hitch at her words, and watched hurt and sadness change to anger. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, but he didn't swing. He glared but he didn't swing, and she saw something she couldn't place amongst the anger in his eyes. He kept his mouth shut. She almost wanted him to retaliate. She wanted to lay into him and take out all the anger she'd kept bottled up, but deep down she knew it wouldn't fix anything. Taking it out on him wouldn't bring her father back.
Everyone was looking at her. They had sympathy in their eyes, but she had a feeling it wasn't for her. She had gone too far. Again, she didn't care to hold any empathy for a Galra. She balled her hands into fists and shoved past him, making her way towards the door. The words she spoke on her way out were laced with fury and anguish. "My father made the mistake of trusting a Galra. I will not make the same mistake."
Keith stared up at the red lion as she rested in her bay. He wanted nothing more than to board her and fly far away from here, but if he did…where would he go? He had no place on Earth. He had no one to go back to and nowhere to go. But he had a place here with red, as a paladin of Voltron. That was all he had. Would he being part Galra take that away…? Would she eventually reject him too?
It was only a matter of time, and he knew it. He'd always known it. Allura was only the first, but in time the others would come to hate him too. He could only stick around in one place for so long before it happened.
So why did it hurt so badly this time?
His entire life he'd dedicated himself to searching for something to give him a sense of reason. He'd thought that it was being a pilot at the Garrison. He'd truly enjoyed learning how to pilot ships, and had focused every ounce of energy on being the best. But then Shiro disappeared and he lost his focus and got expelled. He found himself lost again.
But now, he had something he wanted to be a part of more than anything before. Being a Paladin of Voltron and fighting the Galra…it was what he wanted. He could be a part of a team and save thousands…maybe millions of people. He finally had the closest thing to a family he'd ever had before. He finally had a purpose.
"You don't deserve this. You Galra deserve misfortune." Those words rattled his brain in torment. He knew Allura was right. This was all just too good to be true. He'd gotten attached and when it all ended it would tear him apart. He knew better. He had to end it before then. He had to leave.
He felt someone's cold hand on his shoulder and he knew immediately that it was Shiro. He squeezed Keith's shoulder slightly and stood beside him, following his gaze to the red lion. "Whatever it is you're thinking, stop."
"You don't know what I'm thinking." Keith crossed his arms and looked down to the floor.
"Yes, I do. I've known you a long time, Keith." Shiro looked down at him, and Keith avoided eye contact. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, but even if Shiro couldn't see his eyes, he was an open book. "We need you here."
"I'm Galra, Shiro." Keith's words came out a little louder than he wanted. "I'm the enemy. I shouldn't be here."
"Yes, you should." Shiro's stern gaze didn't falter. "You're a Paladin of Voltron. It doesn't matter what kind of ancestry you have. You know who you are, Keith. You said so yourself just earlier today. Have you forgotten that? You're the Red Paladin. Isn't that what you want to be?"
Keith bit his lip at that. He couldn't answer. He couldn't because he wanted it so badly, but he felt that if he spoke the words, he wouldn't have the strength to let it go.
Shiro sighed when Keith responded with silence. "Come on, Keith. I know this is what you want. Ever since we joined team Voltron, you've been happier than I've ever seen you. This team, this castle, Keith this is your home now. You have a family. You deserve this."
"No, I don't!" Keith snapped at him and his shout echoed across the bay. Immediately, he looked apologetic for yelling and took a step back, averting his eyes. "It's too good to be true, Shiro. I…I don't deserve any of this. Allura was right about everything. Maybe everything that's happened in my life is some kind of punishment for being Galra. Everyone I ever knew has left. My own mom didn't want me. You're the only one who stuck around, and I've already lost you once. If I stay here any longer, I won't…I won't be able to let go when everything falls apart. Allura already hates me. It's only a matter of time before it's everyone else."
"Keith." Shiro softened a bit and he was glad that Keith was slowly opening up. "Allura doesn't hate you. She just needs time. You have to understand that she was thrown into all this just as much as we were. Her planet was destroyed and she never got the chance to grieve. What she said to you was her venting feelings. She has a lot of pent up feelings about the Galra and that came out aimed at you. But you know she didn't mean them."
Keith couldn't agree to that. She chose her words in a way that would hurt him specifically, and it had worked. He stayed quiet, staring a hole in the ground, but he jumped a little when Shiro suddenly pulled him into a hug. He stiffened in his arms, taken aback by the embrace.
"No one is going to hate you and no one is going to kick you off of Voltron." Shiro squeezed him tight. "We need you here. You're a valuable member of our team. We can't just replace you so easily. You know that and we all know that. I've already lost my right arm once. Don't make me lose it again."
"But I'm Galra…" Keith's words got lost in Shiro's shoulder and he finally started to relax a little. He returned the hug slowly, taking in Shiro's words. It didn't ease his doubts really…it didn't happen that easily…but it reassured him a little.
Shiro chuckled a little and flexed the fingers on his robotic arm. "You're about as Galra as I am. That makes no difference. You're Keith, a Paladin of Voltron, and your blood doesn't matter. It doesn't change who you are, and what you want. You want this, don't you?"
It took a while, but Keith finally nodded and Shiro smiled. "Good. It's about time you get what you want."