6. Fireworks – Imploding Reality
Characters: Shiro, Keith, Lance, Thace, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, Coran
Summary: Keith doesn't like remembering his childhood memories, and yet they come back to haunt him,
Pairings: None, though there is a bit of misunderstanding between Keith and Lance at one point.
Theories:
~ Shiro and Keith are blood related siblings.
~ Galra and Alteans are the same species. (The Alteans originally didn't have pointed ears, but the Galra did, and there was a lot of experimentation going on in the original version to other species, so why not their own?)
~ The Galra that saved them was the former red paladin.
~ The Galra that saved them was the brother of the blue paladin.
~ The blue paladin is Shiro and Keith's mother, a "tennyo", but not really.
Warnings: Quite a bit of cursing on Keith's part.
The color of the night sky reflected the deep, dark feelings of anxiety the young child felt. A hand not bigger than his own held on tightly, pulling him through the crowd of people at the festival. "Don't let go of my hand Akira."
Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times, his young mind over-sensualized by the activities going on around him. Briefly, his eyes closed, trying to block out some of the cacophonies, allowing an adult to bump into him, his hand slipping from the hand of his older brother. The crowd jostled the two apart, making his older brother cry out for him, only for the voice to get farther and farther away. Finally the five-year-old found himself bumped into a side area, all alone.
The child stood there, watching and waiting. "Shiro-nii?"
No answer came, and instead, rough sobs escaped Keith's mouth, his small hands attempting to brush the offending tears away. Someone's voice, however, managed to draw him away. "Why are you crying?"
Keith's eyes snapped open, startled to see a stranger kneeling in front of him. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."
"I'm not a stranger Akira." The person continued to kneel, their voice lowered.
"Keith. My name's Keith." The five-year-old took in the man's hands, the strange coloring and pointed nails making him shuffle one foot backward, his throat tightening.
"Really? I know for a fact that's not the name your mother and father gave you."
The boy shrunk back further, his small hands tucking behind his back. "That's Shiro-nii's father, not mine."
The person visibly flinched, one hand instinctively tugging their hood further down. "Your mother, she wouldn't have cheated on your father."
"How would you know?" The five-year-old noticed the man's posture changed and thought he found an opening.
"Because..."
Quickly, Keith dated past, only to find himself grabbed by the man, there hood falling back as they lifted him up into strong shoulders, one hand gently placing itself on the back of Keith's head. The child turned, his eyes widening at the sight of the oddly colored skin, but as well as the eyes glowing yellow."
"Youkai. Oni..." Keith choked the words out, but before he could yell, the man placed a hand over his mouth. Tears welled up in the child's eyes again, and yet the hand felt soft, safe, despite the callouses.
"Shush little one. Let's go find your brother." The man lifted him up onto his shoulders, pulling the hood back over his alien features. "Up there you won't get lost again." The man paused in his speech, then changed the subject "Did your mother ever tell you about a lion?"
"You're a stranger. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Keith's voice remained soft, wondering if he should call out. The man stuck to the shadows, remaining unnoticed. They finally arrived in a place where nobody else was, and just stood there just as the first firework went off.
"Don't worry. Your brother will find us here."
"How do you know?"
"Big brother's know these kinds of things."
Keith watched the lights, again not sure what to do, the smoke feeling his nostrils.
"Akira!"
The five-year-old turned his head to see Shiro hurtling out of the darkness. The man gently lifted Keith off his shoulders, pushing gently on the middle of the boy's back. Shiro quickly reached out, pulling Keith into his arms and away from the man. "I thought I lost you." The older boy glared at the man. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter. Not at this point."
Keith felt his brother tense up, only for the stranger to disappear into the dark night.
…
The red paladin found himself jarred away, the panic feeling rushing through his throat and chest, making it heard to breathe. Keith's hands were covered with sweat despite the fact they weren't on the controls for the red lion, and yet instantly they sprung forward, attempting to get the lion to do something beyond looking out at the strange green planet.
"Come on! Where is everybody?"
A snore coming through the com system made Keith stop, wondering why one of the other paladin's would be sleeping at a time like this. The flashing lights made his eyes snap shut, for some reason reminding him of the dregs of the dream he could barely remember. Keith's lip tightened, pushing the controls even more in hopes that he could bring some kind of control to everything, his head spinning.
The young paladin didn't hear the door to his lion open, nor did he see a person enter, and instead tried speaking again despite the dryness in his through from falling out of the wormhole and being unconscious for who knew how long.
"Enough." A hand reached out, touching the young paladin's shoulder lightly, making Keith's head turn to see the purple claws on his body, and then the purple face and glowing yellow eyes. A strangled sound came out of his mouth just as the man attempted to say something else. "Patience yields focus. Didn't your mother teach that you at least?"
Keith jerked away, falling from the cockseat onto the ground painfully before scuttling up against the wall. Keith opened his mouth to say something, only to find his mouth was way too dry, the last bit said when he tried to speak to whoever was snoring on the other end. His mouth opened and closed, his mind still panicking, his eyes snapping shut.
He heard a sound that seemed family, but which he couldn't place only for the man's hand too quickly grasp his chin, making Keith's arms flail out, only for the Galra man to hit his arms away, placing something containing fluids to the boy's lips. Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times as the cool liquid touched his dry tongue, and yet he attempted to not swallow. "It's not poison."
The man pulled the container back, supposedly taking a drink himself before pushing it to Keith's lips. Again the cool liquid covered his tongue, and this time, the teen swallowed, his eyes closing before his hands reached out to grab the container to guzzle the drink down.
"Slow down. If you don't..."
The red paladin felt a gurgle in his stomach, and a hand reached up to cover his mouth, only for everything to still come out splashing himself and possibly even the guy. He couldn't see well as the red lights continued to blink.
"... you'll get sick." The man grabbed Keith's arm, forcing him into a standing position. "Enough of that. Let's go."
"No." Keith felt unsure on his feet but knew not to go with some stranger. The man looked at him, one eyebrow raised up.
"You're coming with me."
"No, I'm not." The red paladin moved to sock the guy, only for the Galra to press him to the floor, allowing for a string of courses to come out of Keith's mouth.
"Your mother would not be pleased with such language."
The young teen felt his facial features twist up. "Don't you dare talk about my mother! You don't know her! I'm not a child either!"
The man softly thumped him on the back of the head, or what would have been a thump had the man used human strength. Instead, Keith saw a few flashes and almost passed out. "Quiznack. By all Altean accountings, you're still what, a toddler? Yes, and I actually do..." The Galra soldier paused, the tone portraying some kind of sadness Keith was sure was fake. "No, I knew her. she's gone."
Hot tears hit the corner of the red paladin's eyes, the unpleasant feeling resurfacing. Keith bit down on his tongue, before spitting out a few more curses and then choice words. "You! You're lying."
"Akira!"
A shiver ran down Keith's spine as the alien used his real name, something that reminded him that he didn't belong. The man lifted him up again, dragging him by the arm, and out of the lion into the sunlight. Keith blinked back, his eyes widening at the people gathered around him. His mouth opened, confusion on his face. "Wait..."
Around him, gathering close were what looked like both Alteans and Galra, their eyes curious, and yet all too superstitious, much like his family back home. His eyes snapped shut, and the man tugged his arm, forcing him to turn. Keith opened his eyes to see the blue lion was nearby, the shield still up. The Galra man let out a sigh, stepping forward to touch the shield.
Another shiver ran down the red paladin's spin as he saw the shield go down, and felt the Galra tug him onto Lance's ship, bile gathering in his throat. The man motioned for a Galra and Altean to accompany him, and they arrived in the cockpit to find Lance snoring away, his entire body slumped over in a rather strange position. The Galra's eyes narrowed. "Wonderful..."
A quick snap of the fingers made the two who came with tug Lance up, and Keith found himself pulled off the blue lion. "How the hell did you get on our lions?"
"Your lions?" One of the Alteans milling about spoke in a shrill voice. "Don't you dare..."
"Enough. Take the children to my lodgings." The man handed Keith over, only for him to stumble to his feet, his body quickly passing out.
…
Two dark eyes fluttered open, soft sheets under his thin frame, an arm wrapped around his waist. Keith's mouth twisted up, realizing someone was right behind him in the bed, and yet he didn't remember how he ended up in said situation. His fingers reached down to try to remove the arm, only for someone to mutter in his ear, their hot breath on his neck.
"No teddy bear!" The person said in Spanish. "I want to sleep some more!"
"Oh fuck." Keith felt his muscles tense up at the familiarity of the voice coming from behind and attempted to struggle free, only for the person in question to tighten his grip on the "teddy bear", nuzzling his face into Keith's neck. The smaller teen let out a yelp, his entire body jolting in an attempt to elbow Lance in the face, only to fail. Not knowing what Lance said did not help the situation either.
"Isn't it normal for cubs to snuggle with each other when they are young."
Keith stopped struggling, recognizing the voice as that of the Galra who removed him from the red lion. His head bent down, allowing him to see the man standing in the doorway. "I already told you I'm not a child!"
"I'll stop calling you a child when you're a hundred years old little one."
"I'll be dead before that!" Keith felt Lance move behind him, the blue paladin's knees coming up making his position rather uncomfortable.
"I don't see what the issue is. Your mother and I..."
"Fuck! I'm seriously going to kill you!"
Lance's face snuggled closer, his eyes batting open so that his eyelashes tickled the back of Keith's neck making him want to gag. The blue paladin let out a yelp, his arms releasing from around Keith's waist and arms. The red paladin felt a hard kick in his lower back which sent him onto the floor while Lance fell to the floor on the other side. "Keith! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
"What the hell am I doing?" Keith pulled himself up, his head still dizzy. "You're the one who grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go! What the hell was up with that!"
"Enough."
The blue paladin blinked a couple of times, then his finger pointed at the Galra. "What! What the fuck is this guy doing here?"
The Galra folded his arms. "I'm not happy to see you either."
Keith stood up, his body moving to take a swing at the man, only to find himself on his stomach, his arm pinned behind his back. The man leaned over, whispering. "Patience yields focus."
"Let go." The red paladin closed his eyes, tensing up before he gave into Shiro's lifelong mantra, but trying to be patient only brought a wave of negative feelings, as well as worries as to how his older brother was doing. Anxiety began to overwhelm him.
The Galra sighed, clicking his tongue before letting Keith go. "Scouts are out looking for the other paladins."
The man left, leaving the two in the room while Keith let his anger steam. After a few minutes, he kicked the door, finding that the man had locked the door. The red paladin then kicked the door a few more times, and Lance let out a rather annoyed sound. "Come on. It's not as if kicking the door will do anything. It's certainly not going going to get our stuff back."
"You wouldn't get it."
"Yeah. I don't think I want to get you."
Keith's teeth ground together, before plopping down on the ground in a sitting position.
"I'm also quite sure that's not going to solve anything either."
"Shut up."
"Geese, you're acting like a little kid."
"I am not!" The red paladin swallowed. "Alright, maybe a little."
"Seriously, what's gotten into you."
"I wake up to you hugging me like I'm some kind of teddy bear, and that Galra said..." Keith swallowed, his voice lowering. "He fucked my mother."
Lance was strangely silent, but then rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that really what he said?"
"I don't know."
"Good grief. So you're telling me you could have misunderstood something again?" Lance walked over to the door and began to poke. "That would certainly be like you, wouldn't it."
"Shut up. I said you wouldn't get it." Keith glared at the blue paladin. "Also, do you really think that will work?"
"Duh no."
"Okay."
The door suddenly opened, and Lance's eyes widened as a pretty Altean female stepped in with a Galra female carrying some food. "It worked. Wait... what are the Alteans doing with the Galra? Why the hell are their other Alteans still alive!"
"Nice one Lance." Keith's mind, however, managed to go a mile a minute, and quickly found himself darting past the two females realizing this was a chance to escape. The red paladin avoided eye contact, not wanting to see the look of disgust he'd seen earlier.
"So you're thinking what I was thinking. Sorry ladies!" Lance darted after him.
"You did not!"
"Did too!"
"Just admit you were far more focused on the opposite sex than what we needed to do."
"I'm always focused on the opposite sex. It's not as if I swing the other way. Where would you get the idea..."
Keith's jaw clenched, and his entire body swung around, his fist making contact with Lance's jaw. "You're an idiot!"
"You!" The blue paladin stood up, his fist coming up and making a few boxing jabs into the air. "Do you really want to do that now? Because..." Lance felt another punch to the jaw, his eyes blinking. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"That's a very good question." A purple blur came out of Keith's partial view, and suddenly he found himself flipped onto his back in a painful manner, the Galra glaring down at him from above. "What did I say about..."
"Shut it." A string of curses left Keith's mouth which caused the color to drain from Lance's mouth.
"Did you just..."
"Are you going to help me or not?"
"Not... I mean..."
A few Galra and Alteans gathered, staring down at them. One Altean who looked to be a female scholar stepped forward. "The boy certainly has a temper to match your own Sir Thace."
Keith felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at the man, swallowing. "I hate you." One eyebrow shot up, almost as if Thace were amused. "I hate the fact you're my father, and not... chichi."
The thought of calling anyone other than Shiro's father chichi made Keith's stomach curdle, his lips pushing together, dry from lack of anything to drink. Lance glanced around, taking in the fact Galra and Alteans were both there. "So... can I ask again why Galra and Alteans are together? I thought the only ones left were Coran and Allura."
An audible gasp escaped the lips of those around them. "The princess is alive as well?"
The scholar reached out to grab Lance's ear. "That is Princess Allura. Also, the Galra and the Alteans are one and the same, so to speak."
Keith felt anger boil in the pit of his stomach, the betrayal his entire existence already felt growing. His mind drifted quickly to the weapon in Zarkon's hand, resulting in a nasty taste at the back of his throat. His lips pushed together. "That's something Allura conveniently left out. She also conveniently left out where Shiro's banyard is as well."
"Allura is still a naive child."
Lance's eye twitched. "Wait. How come they didn't get a lecture about not calling Allura by her proper title?" The scholar pulled at his ear. "Ow! Ow! Got it. Keith's being taken care of by that monster."
Gasps escaped from the lips, and a few there backed away. The looks of dissatisfaction were majorly evident. Any thought as to why left as someone came hurrying forward. "Sir Thace, we've managed to find the black lion but are unable to see if the black paladin is inside as the shield is up."
The Galra stood up, grabbing Keith by the front of the clothing they'd put him in, dragging him up. "Come."
"I'm not going anywhere." A sickening feeling hit Keith in the stomach, his mind knowing something was wrong with Shiro.
The man grabbed his arm, jerking him away painfully. "Do you wish to help the black paladin or not? You're needed."
The red paladin's teeth ground together, but nothing came out of his mouth. Lance managed to somehow be far more cheerful than need be, particularly after getting socked twice in the jaw by Keith. "Wait. So you mean we're not enemies? You're trying to help us?" Keith continued to grind his teeth, not wanting to know what the intentions of the Galra were. He also attempted not to think about how his life was turned upside down. Lance, however, remained chipper as they left the rather large flying structure. "Eh, is this Galra Altean thing like Romulan and Volcan kind of?"
"What?" Keith felt his eye twitch.
"You know, the show."
"You're annoying." Thace glared at him as they headed out into the forested area. '
You're not needed either. Go back." The scholar piped up.
"You're annoying." Lance piped up, his facial features twisting up from his bruised pride.
They finally arrived at the black lion, with its shield up. Keith spoke. "Now what?"
"Yeah, now what?" Lance rubbed the back of his head. "We can't get in. Only Shiro can."
The red paladin turned to look at Thace, to let the Galra know how irritated he was with the man, only to find the man looking at him as if he were expecting something. "What?"
"That's why you're needed."
Keith's mouth opened. "Wait..."
"As I said, the other one isn't needed."
"I take offense at that!" Lance folded his arms. "Also, how come Keith's needed?"
"Because he can get the black lion to lower it's barrier. Go back."
"Yeah. No. What makes Keith so special."
"Yeah, I'm not special."
Thace stared at him. "No. You have a special bond with the black paladin the others doesn't."
"Hey! That is..."
"Shut up." The scholar pulled at Lance's ear, causing the blue paladin to let out a yelp.
"I don't get it." Keith swallowed, not at all sure what the Galra was getting at. The man roughly grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the barrier. Thace forced his hand up so it touched the shield. The red paladin turned his head, wishing to get to his older brother, but not liking the game being played with his mind. "I still don't..."
The shield started down, causing Lance to let out a sound of amazement, before proceeding to chew Keith out for how unfair the situation was. Thace let go of Keith's arm before heading in after Shiro. Fear jolted through his head. "This was some trick to get to Shiro."
Keith's reaction to speed up his step didn't prevent Thace from arriving in the cockpit first. The red paladin watched the man lean over a slumped black paladin. "Don't you..."
The young teen approached the two, only to find Thace gently touching Shiro's forehead with the back of his palm as the older paladin's voice labored. "He's got a fever. Looks like he's been touched by Haggar's claws. Help me get him up."
Keith swallowed, before helping to pull Shiro up. Yet again his older brother was a dead weight in his arms. When they got out, Shiro was taken by the few who followed. Thace pushed him back into the room along with Lance. The blue paladin took over the bed while Keith sat on the floor sulking. "I'll get you when they're done treating him."
"Well, this sucks."
"You don't even know the half of it," Keith muttered.
"Really? 'cause I get the fact we're without our weapons and uniforms." Lance held up one finger. "I get the fact we've no way to contact Allura." Another finger came up. "Oh, and Shiro's sick." The third finger came up soon followed by a fourth "Don't forget the fact you always get special treatment. And..." The last finger came up. "You're acting like a complete ass."
"Oh? You're forgetting the fact you sexually harassed me, and..."
"What the fuck Keith!" Lance's sudden use of curse words made the red paladin flinch. "Seriously! That is so not cool! Is that why! You are such an idiot! I told you I don't... oh. That's why you went off on me."
"I went off because you're an idiot!" Keith let out a deep breath. "Oh, never mind. I'm going to take a nap since there's nothing else to do. Maybe I'll come up with something."
…
The red paladin's eyes snapped open when he felt someone nudge his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Lance next to him. "That guy says Shiro's stable. They also made contact with Allura and the others. They're coming to pick us up."
Keith pushed himself up, following after Lance. The sunlight beat down on the top of their heads as the two followed the Altean scholar. The red paladin noticed Thace, and moved to punch the guy, only for the man to out maneuver him so that his arm was now pinned behind his back as the castle began it's decent. Keith's eyes widened, the feeling of betrayal eating away at his gut growing. He didn't know where the lions were outside of the black lion, but other things ended up bothering him.
The door opened, and Pidge hurried out followed closely by Hunk. The young female made to hug Keith, only to stop short at seeing the Galra holding onto his arm. The man, however, let go of Keith, giving the teen a soft push as an irritated sound left Thace's mouth. Allura stepped out, her facial features indicating a high level of worry, only to twist in horror at seeing Thace.
Coran came bounding out. "Now young Paladin's, it's a good thing we found... you."
The man's eyes blinked, staring at Thace as if he'd seen a ghost.
"You." Allura's throat tightened.
"Princess. It's been a very long time." Keith felt the anger boil up, twisting on his heels to storm off. Thace however somehow managed to be as quick as Shiro in grabbing his arm. "Don't you dare run off."
"We need to talk. Now." The Altean princess' voice remained tense.
"Yeah. We do." Keith snapped out, causing Allura to flinch.
Lance folded his arms. "What's your problem? They helped us out."
"Plenty."
Allura stared at Keith as if he'd grown a second head, making the betrayal he felt fester even more. Thace folded his arms, before actively popping him in the back of the head. "Seriously, why can't you behave?"
The red paladin felt his jaw drop, his throat tighten. "You're not my fucking father!"
"Keith!" Allura snapped.
Something about Allura's features screamed the same betrayal he felt, forcing Keith's eyes to the ground. He muttered. "I'm sorry. But seriously, why did you keep the fact Zarkon was the former black paladin from us Allura? Why did you keep the fact the Alteans and the Gaalra are the same as well?"
"Uh..." Hunk's attention shifted from staring in a confused manner at Thace, to staring at a confused manner at Keith and Allura. "Wait. What?"
"Yeah. There's this kind of Vulcan and Romulan thing going on." Lance piped up.
"Oh, that actually makes sense." Pidge pushed her glasses up, while Thace gave the green paladin a rather amused look.
Keith, however, found the comment irritating. "How does that make sense?"
"Dude? You've not heard of the Vulcan and Romulan?" Hunk's mouth formed into a pout. "You know, Star Trek?"
"Nope."
The yellow paladin sighed. "It's this fictional alien race that separated to two different planets and developed two very different cultures to each other. Thus they're seen as two different races. It doesn't though answer who this guy is."
"Him? He's the former red paladin." Coran blurted out.
"I'm going to be sick." Keith brushed by everyone. "I'll be in my room."
…
Keith finally came out when the sun began to set on the horizon. He found the other three paladin's sitting outside of the castle watching the sunset. "What's going on?"
"You would know if you actually stuck around?" Lance turned from where he sat to glare at Keith, making the red paladin feel even more alone.
"Where's Shiro?"
Pidge turned her head. "They moved him to his room. We're supposed to be letting him rest."
"You would know that..."
"Lance..." Hunk took a deep breath. "Coran and Allura took that Thace guy aside to interrogate him. That didn't make the people here pleased at all, but he told them it was alright."
"Him..." The red paladin ground his teeth together, wishing that he could punch the guy.
"Seriously, what's your problem with that guy?" Lance glared at Keith. "Oh wait. He cracked some kind of joke about your momma, and that pissed you off. You do realize that's a common jibe at people, right, and doesn't mean anything."
"Seriously! I told you before you wouldn't understand!"
"Understand?"
"Now, now young paladins. There is no need to be arguing. The Alteans we found are planning a really nice fireworks celebration for the princess." Coran pulled on his mustache. "No need to ruin that, now is there?"
"Coran..." Keith turned to the advisor.
"If you're going to ask about the Galra and the Alteans, we're of the same species, but different planets. The Galra also experimented on themselves, changing their physical structure for the sake of becoming more powerful. That's what the entire Galra empire is about. Alteans are about peace, the Galra, well, not."
"I was going to ask how the interrogations going."
"Going? We thought Thace would be co-operative, but he insists he wishes to talk to Takashi or Akira first. Problem is, no one knows who he's talking about."
Lance's mouth twisted up. "The name Takashi sounds familiar for some reason."
"Of course, it should." Pidge rolled her eyes. "That's Shiro's name."
"Huh..." Lance waved his hand. "No, no. You can't get Shiro from Takashi."
"That's because Shiro comes from his last name." Pidge grabbed ahold of the yellow paladin's arm. "Come on Hunk."
The blue paladin stared after them. "Still, doesn't explain who this Akira person is."
"No, it doesn't." Coran pulled at his mustache.
Keith rolled his eyes, before storming off. "Seriously. I'll go talk to him."
"Wait..." Lance's eyebrow twitched.
"Don't worry young paladin, I'll handle this." Coran hurried after Keith, and he was sure the blue paladin voiced something about being glad he wasn't the one dealing with the red paladin.
"Where is he?"
"I don't think this is a good idea, Keith."
"Coran!" Keith glared at the man, but then closed his eyes. "Patience yields focus. If they're still connected to the red lion..." The young paladin's eyes snapped open. "There!" The red paladin hurried over to the sitting room to find Thace sitting there, shackles having been placed on his arms. "You!"
"How many times do I have to tell you, patience yields focus. I'm surprised your mother didn't teach you that Akira."
Coran held up a hand, trying to intervene.
"It's not Akira! It's Keith!"
"That's the name your mother gave you."
The royal advisor stammered out something. "Well, he does seem to know the paladin mantra for some reason. That's how he found you. I'm not sure why you think his mother would have taught it to him."
Keith's eyes rolled back into his head. "Good grief! Shiro's the one who taught me that, and it's also the mantra of the Shirogane clan Coran."
"I am not following." The advisor's eyes widened in confusion.
Thace's facial features twisted up. "Do you remember anything about your mother?"
Coran began to pull at his hair as Keith let out a string of curses. The Galra let an eyebrow rise up. "Your mother would not approve."
"My..." Keith ground his teeth together. "You're not my father!"
"No, I'm not."
The pain which kept building up suddenly chocked at his throat, and he launched himself at the Galra, only to find strong arms holding him back. "Keith, stop!"
"You're supposed to be resting Shiro! Just! Let me at him!"
"Can't do that buddy." His older brother let out a sigh. "It's a good thing Pidge and Hunk thought to go and get me. What do you think you're doing?"
The red paladin choked, not believing that the one person who had never, ever betrayed him now suddenly was. "He! He's! He fucked ka-chan!"
What..." Shiro let out a deep sigh. "Keith, this isn't funny."
"He said so. He..." The red paladin glared at the man.
"I believe you and I have had a very major misunderstanding young cub."
"You!" Keith pointed at Thace. "You!"
"Keith, you've not lost it like this since middle school. Could you please calm down!"
"I have too lost it since middle school! I also have every reason not to be calm right now! You know very well what everyone says. Follow me?"
"No, I'm not following you." Shiro turned him around, placing his hands firmly on Keith's shoulders.
"Yes, you are! You're just avoiding the subject like you always do, just like you avoid doing the test. You know we're half, not full, so why do you keep up the pretense! I'm not a little kid anymore."
"Keith..."
"He..." The red paladin pointed at Thace. "He was there when we were kids. Or don't you remember the oni?"
"I remember. He's not an oni though."
"You!" Keith threw up his arms before storming off.
"Um..." The advisor lifted a finger up.
The last thing the red paladin heard was Shiro saying, "Coran, I need a favor."
…
Training seemed like the best way to calm down the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, only for the hurt Keith felt not to go away. He didn't notice Coran using the training simulator as a distraction until he felt his hair yanked.
"Got it!"
"Coran!" The training program thudded into him, knocking him to the ground as the advisor took off. "End training program!"
Keith hurried after the advisor, only to find the man was rather fast. "Got it! Got it!"
Coran arrived in the room where Allura was standing, her arms crossed while Pidge helped with something. Shiro leaned up against the wall, his eyes widening as Coran began doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing. "Coran! I told you to not let anyone else know about this!"
"Shiro!" Keith felt his throat tighten, the feeling of betrayal making his legs give out finally, the emotions proving too much. The black paladin grabbed his arm to steady him, only for Keith to brush his hand away. "I hate you!"
"You say that a lot of times, but you never actually mean it."
"Traitor!" Keith didn't notice what Coran was doing over at the computer, placing the hair he got onto a slide.
"Yeah. Coran, this isn't exactly something..."
"I'd like to know what's going on. It's bad enough Shiro's avoiding resting, but this..." Allura sighed. "But I think I don't want to know."
"Oh yeah?" Keith switched to Japanese, pleased that this didn't translate like English did. "I'll tell you what is going on. The stupid former red paladin creep's my father, and Takashi is being a complete douche right now because he's not admitting that we're only half brothers 'cause he still thinks it is alright to coddle me."
"Keith..."
Pidge's head darted up. "So, I didn't understand a word you were just saying there, but I know that you said something about Shiro."
"I'm really not finding this to be amusing." Allura narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not..."
Keith continued to rant in Japanese. "Well, you certainly haven't been taken this seriously."
"Keith..." Shiro's eye twitched.
"Baka!"
"Did you just..." A startled expression spread over Shiro's face.
"Baka, Takashi, baka!"
Shiro switched to Japanese at that point, grabbing the front of Keith's clothing. "Baka yourself! What the hell is wrong with you!"
"You've always avoided getting a DNA test despite the fact I clearly asked for one! You know me being your half-brother is true, aniki!"
Allura took a deep breath. "Do I need to ban whatever language you two are speaking in? This isn't funny!"
"Get it through your thick skull that I don't care if you're my half-brother or not, you're still my brother!"
Pidge took a deep breath. "Sorry princess, but I think they're in their own world right now."
"You're still avoiding it! You know it's true!"
"Hell no I don't! I just don't want you treating me differently just because it turns out we don't have the same father. Unlike you, I never believed..."
Keith felt a lurch in his stomach, but before Shiro could finish Coran spoke up. "Amazing! The black paladin and share the same mitochondrial DNA."
The black paladin let out a deep sigh. "Coran, I told you to keep this on the down-low."
The red paladin felt the color drained from his face, the betrayal growing. "Why? Why now of all times? And what's mitochondrial DNA?"
"At least they're speaking in a language I can understand now." Allura glared at the computer screen. "Why didn't the two of you say anything about being related sooner?"
"It's..." Pidge and Keith spoke at the same time, stopping when realizing that the other was trying to talk.
"What's even more amazing is they share mitochondrial DNA with the former blue and red paladins."
Keith gave the man a rather unamused look, only to catch the color draining from Shiro's face. The black paladin's voice cracked with strain. "Wait...
The red paladin felt a sinking feeling at the look of utter shock on Shiro's face, meaning there was something to what Coran just said that bothered the older paladin. Pidge's eyes widened, her fingers pushing up her glasses. "Mitochondrial DNA is a specific type of DNA which is passed on from a mother to their children."
"Um..." Keith's felt a sickening feeling, not liking the various scenarios popping into his head, but still not coming close to the truth.
Allura's eyes widened, and for a moment Keith thought there was a look of betrayal. She stepped forward to see the results while Shiro's jaw clenched, and his Galra arm went up in a half-hearted attempt to stop her from looking. "How is that even possible?"
The princess pulled up pictures of the two, and Keith froze noting how different the red paladin once looked from how he now looked. The other picture that showed up sent chills down his spine. He wanted to scream at Allura about how she had a picture of his mother with pointed ears and the Altean markings under her eyes, but the princess turned to Coran in a rather exuberant manner.
"Another one of the former paladin's is alive? I know that there are other Alteans here, and some that have turned against the Galra ideal, but her of all people? I never expected to meet again with someone else I knew as a child. Thace ended up a major disappointment, him turning like that, but her? She wouldn't. She'd be a great mentor to the young paladins, and..."
"Allura..." Shiro took a deep breath as Keith looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."
Coran looked up. "For what? There is no way you could have known that one of your ancestors was Altean."
"Wouldn't that though mean that the blue paladin died a long time ago, and there is no telling who has her families mitochondrial DNA?" Pidge folded her arms across her chest. Keith's body couldn't stop shaking from the shock.
"I..." The princess leaned forward. "No. This clearly says she's the mother of our two paladins here." Allura turned towards Shiro. "There is no way you could know that she was Altean. She was always good at the camouflage technique, so she would have blended into your planets people quite well. So you don't need to..."
"That's not what Shiro meant." Keith looked at the ground, the feeling of betrayal quickly being replaced with the feeling of betraying another.
"I'm sorry. Our parents died a long time ago when we were really young." The teen looked at the ground. "That said, I've got to admit I suspected something." Keith felt his blood freeze, the feeling of betrayal coming back. "I thought the rumors of her being a tennyo though were rumors just like Keith being my half-brother were. This is really a touchy subject for the two of us."
Pidge titled her head. "How come you guys didn't say anything about being related though?" Keith opened his mouth, only for the green paladin to hold up her hand. "Never mind. It's not important. It's probably not as simple as you two being brothers anyways."
The doors slid open, allowing Hunk and Lance to step in. The blue paladin's eyes drifted to the picture of the former female paladin. "Wow. Who's the hot chick?"
Keith felt a lurch in his stomach. Coran turned, blurting out, "the former blue paladin."
"Man! If she were here, I could certainly love to have a go at her."
The red paladin saw red. "Lance! I'm going to kill you!"
Lance blinked a couple of times, before dashing off. "Shiro! Help me!"
Shiro looked after the two, his face showing a major lack of amusement. "Sorry Lance, but I'm not in the mood to help you."
"Why the hell not!" Lance kept rounding the room, only to find himself twisting in a different direction.
Pidge sighed. "How would you like it if Keith hit on your mom?"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
Hunk's lip twisted up in thought. Allura sighed. "Don't strain yourself on this one Hunk. The former blue paladin is the mother of the current black and red paladins, but also the sister of the former red paladin."
Lance let out a yelp, before running out of the room. "How come I find out things last? Seriously, if I'd known..."
Whatever Lance said was lost as he and the red paladin left the room. The sound of fireworks came from outside the castle, indicating the celebration started.
