I wrote this in like five hours. You're welcome!

Allura backed up in a desperate attempt to distance herself from her shock. Keith was trembling from head to toe, eyes shining in the dark. She whispered, "You're my cousin."

"No! No, Allura, I'm galra! I-I can't be altean," Keith denied while standing directly beside living proof someone could be both.

Lotor hadn't said a word, but she could see the wheels turning in his mind. He gasped and breathed, "Oh no... Krolia."

Allura gasped as well and covered her mouth with both hands. She shook her head unable to keep from crying any longer. "Why did this happen?"

Shiro wrapped an arm around her and asked, "What does this mean? What did Krolia do?"

"No! No, she- she would have told me! You're wrong!" Keith held his head in his hands trying to block them out.

A sick feeling was building in her gut like she'd been punched in the stomach. She reached a shaking hand toward Keith. "Take hold... Please. We'll go inside and... and figure this out. Please, Keith. Let us help you." Keith was beyond distraught. Eyes wide, she wasn't even sure he'd heard her. She grabbed his wrists and insisted, "Please come with us. Keith, you're scaring me."

Then the moment she feared happened. Something broke inside him and she screamed when his pain struck her core. Allura fell to the ground where Shiro was immediately on her. She looked up to see Keith struggle out of Lotor's grip. He was a cornered animal fighting for survival. Keith shoved Lotor and darted out of the garage.

Allura screamed over her pain that only faded as Keith grew more distant, "Go after him, Shiro!"

Shiro hesitated. What was wrong with him? Allura pushed to her feet and it seemed to jar him into action. He raced out sliding in the loose gravel. Lotor put an arm under Allura's and supported her as she limped outside. Keith was already so far away, but Shiro's longer stride was making up the difference.

"What's that?!"

Allura looked where Lotor pointed. The darkness revealed the blue lion running to meet Keith. Allura answered, "It's my lion! I can't connect to her! What's she doing?"

Keith tripped and fell. The blue lion slowed and leaned down to his level where he rolled. Keith knelt, staring into her eyes. Shiro gestured and Allura knew he shouted Keith's name even if she couldn't hear it. Keith turned back, but then the blue lion bent forward, gently taking him in her mouth with the delicacy of a mother carrying her cub. She stood and watched Shiro as he screamed at her waving his arms, then turned and loped away. Shiro didn't stop.

Allura gasped, "I- I can't feel Keith!"

A lion roared. She covered her mouth in terror. Shiro lay on his back collapsed on the ground. The black lion stood above him. It growled a threat she knew it was capable of fulfilling. Then she saw the others by their glowing eyes. Yellow stood to his full height while Green was ready to pounce. Red paced wildly lashing its tail. All their eyes were locked on the paladin of the black lion. Then by some unheard command, they turned and followed Blue with Red in the lead. Black was the last to leave. Something passed between it and Shiro, then the lions were shadows in the night.

Allura's knees gave out and the gravel bit into her legs. Lotor put a hand on her shoulder, but someone shouted before he could speak. She looked up as Lance screamed again, "Keith!"

His eyes landed on them and he was as dangerous as the lion he piloted. His lips pulled into a snarl baring his teeth and he crossed to them in a second. He grabbed Lotor's shirt and threw him into the wall of the garage. Lotor grunted and bounced off, but Lance pinned him to the wall with a forearm beneath Lotor's jaw. "Princess, are you okay?"

"I- I'm alright. Lance, the lions..."

"I know. I felt it too." Glaring at Lotor, he growled, "We'll deal with it later. Where's Keith? What have you done to him?"

Lotor said evenly through his teeth, "I did nothing."

"Lotor, I swear to God, if you're lying-"

Allura wrapped an arm around Lance's chest and forced him back. "It's true."

Hunk and Pidge entered the scene. Pidge was pale and Hunk was shaking. Allura looked at Lance again. He was breathing hard, each breath ragged in his throat. Had he run through that pain? He growled, "Keith... It felt like he was dying. Where. Is. He."

"The lions... they took him," Shiro panted as he jogged back. He bent over his knees and shook his head. "The black lion... blocked me out. It wouldn't respond."

Pidge looked on the verge of tears. "Green won't listen to me either. Hunk?"

Hunk shook his head before wrapping Pidge in his arms with his chin on her head. He closed his eyes, but it wasn't clear if he was comforting her or himself. Kolivan dropped from a second story balcony shirtless with his sword drawn. Krolia landed a second later in her underwear holding her pistol.

"Clear." He and Krolia lowered their weapons, but didn't relax. He noted who was present and asked, "Where's Keith?" He stalked toward Lotor with lethal precision. "Where is my boy?"

Shiro stopped Kolivan's advance with a hand on his bicep. "The lions. He's with the lions. He showed us his dad and..."

Krolia took a step back and her terrified eyes went to her lover. "Oh God. Kolivan..."

Lotor lifted his chin and stood tall. "So it's true. You and that altean... He's my cousin and you said nothing. How could you do that to him? To us?"

She flinched at the disgust in his voice and defended, "I- I tried! You can't imagine how much I-"

"I asked her to stay silent... nephew," Talias said slowly as she gracefully descended the front stairs in her nightgown she wore like the finest eveningwear.

"You as well?" Lotor clenched a shaking fist. "I had to beg you to save his life and now you're telling me you knew he was of our blood?" He shut his eyes as if looking at her might kill him. "If I lose Keith, I will never forgive you for this."

Silence hung heavy in the air. Then Krolia lifted her chin and went into the garage. Lance met Allura's eyes and they followed. Krolia was straddling Keith's bike. She tapped the screen, eyes narrowed. Allura asked, "Are you going after him?"

Krolia answered, "This bike is in tune with Azurine's quintessence. I've tracked them to a field a few hours away."

"Azurine?" Lance asked.

"Yes, though you two call her Blue. She and Keith share a profound bond through her previous paladin, his father, Alphonse. She is protecting him... just like you do, Lance." Krolia glanced away from Lance's wide eyes to whip the bike around 180 degrees. "Why do you think she chose you, boy? All of you are bound through Keith. He's the one who brought you all together."

She revved the engine and left the garage. Talias asked wide eyed and panicked, "What are you doing?"

Krolia double checked her map and answered, "I'm going to get my son back."

"No! Krolia, those lions-" Talias looked to Kolivan. "Please, don't let her do this! She's going to get herself killed!"

Kolivan showed no emotion. "Every blade is willing to die for their mission."

Krolia nodded. "Thank you, my heart." Then she gunned the engines and sped off into the night.

There was a small disturbance. Allura turned in time to see Talias faint and Lance manage to catch her. Lotor walked away from the house. Kolivan glared after him, then lifted Talias into his arms. "Come, children. There is nothing more we can do now."

Allura hugged herself and walked dejectedly up the stairs. Lance wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his side. She leaned into him. He pressed his cheek to her hair. They were all desperate for any comfort.

Servants had gathered in the main hall. Coran and Matt were doing their best to keep everyone calm, but seeing Talias unconscious in the arms of Kolivan did not help matters. They started speaking at once, growing in volume. Kolivan silenced them with a look and said, "Speak to no one of this. The guests are to remain ignorant. Your lady will be right with sleep." He looked at the paladins. "We should all try to get some sleep."

Coran went to Kolivan as he carried Talias up the stairs toward the residential wing. Lance tugged on Allura, guiding her forward. Matt and the paladins walked to the room Allura shared with Pidge. Shiro stood near the window, arms folded, deep in thought. Allura let Lance take her to the couch where he sat and pulled her against his chest. Silent tears once again fell. She had a cousin. Family. He'd been with her all along. She and Coran weren't alone.

Keith felt Blue come to a stop and slowly made his way to the cockpit. She was laid out on her side on the beach of a lake. A quick look showed the other lions were there as well. He gently brushed the controls. "Where have you taken me, girl."

She purred against his mind. It was so bizarre to be this close to her. She'd never shown any signs until now that her bond was as strong as his was to Red and Black. Then Yellow and Green were purring as well and he had to brace himself on the dashboard. The lions were all right there. But the others were gone for the first time since he'd left Earth. The silence was eerie. "Whoa, Blue, what's going on?"

She moved the pilot's seat back for him. His throat and eyes were scratchy from crying and he was simply too tired to protest. Raising an eyebrow, he sat down. Blue slowly slid him forward and caressed his mind, telling him to relax. She tipped the seat back until he was pretty much laying down and Keith closed his eyes as the voices of the lions put him at peace.

He sighed and gave up fighting. It was like a lucid dream, but he knew he was seeing through her eyes. Only, it wasn't her eyes. She purred louder as what she had seen through the eyes of her paladin replayed in his mind.

He stumbled out of the lower deck into the cabin. The screens were dark giving him a view of his reflection. Keith noted the white hair cropped around his ears and the markings beneath his eyes. The alien clothing he instantly recognized as altean armor. He clicked a few buttons on the dashboard and asked, "Why have you awoken me, Azurine?"

Keith would have gasped had he not been locked in this memory. The voice of his father... He thought he'd never hear anything new in that voice. Alphonse's reflection disappeared as Blue's radar began to blip. A ship was visible beyond the caves Blue was hidden in and a smaller dot was making its way inside.

Alphonse cursed and reached for his bayard, but it was gone. Cursing again, he returned to the hold and opened another cryopod. Inside was an altean broadsword kept undamaged by time. He dropped to the cave floor and hid behind Blue's leg. She lowered her particle barrier and he questioned her. Then there was a noise. He looked to the only cave entrance and waited.

Minutes passed in tense silence broken only by the fall of shale and the occasional drip of water. Then a hooded figure emerged from the shadows. Alphonse waited as they approached the lion. One hand was clasped to their chest, the other outstretched. Alphonse took a deep breath and left cover with a battle cry.

The impostor screamed and fell backward. Alphonse was about to end their life when a baby's piercing cry echoed in the cave. He stayed his blade out of shock. The hood of the figure had fallen and he saw her clutching her baby in her arms, protecting him with her life.

"Krolia? Is... Is it really you?"

The woman raised her eyes to his face and tears began to fall into her hair. "Alphonse, my love, at last I've found you."

Alphonse went down on one knee and helped her up. She looked down at the babe in her arms when he stirred. His hair was black with her purple streaks throughout. His pale violet skin was unblemished. Krolia looked back at Alphonse and threw her arm around him before wailing.

Keith watched as his father comforted his mother before leading them both aboard the blue lion. He sat Krolia in the pilot's chair and gently took her baby. She protested slightly, but he eased her worries as the baby fell asleep in his arms. Krolia was tired. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her face was sallow. She was underweight. Alphonse asked, "How long?"

Krolia covered her face. "Ten thousand years. Ten thousand years and that monster is still alive. Alphonse, the empire, it has consumed more than we ever could have imagined. Altea is gone... and Zarkon is desperate for Voltron. He already has Rosaria, your brother's lion. Honerva... she's going by Haggar now. I don't think she even knows who she once was."

"Krolia, beloved, this child? Is he..."

Krolia looked at the ceiling with shimmering eyes and rolled her lips nodding. "He is your son. We conceived him before we went into cryosleep. I ran away as soon as I realized I was pregnant. It's been nearly five deca-phoebs. He is weak, my love. Your father's condition... every cycle I fear will be his last."

Alphonse looked at the small child in his arms. His son. "Wha- what did you name him?"

Krolia smiled fondly. "I named him after your mother. Keitaran."

Alphonse laughed and Keith could tell he was crying. "Keitaran. He's beautiful... like you, Krolia. I- I don't know what to do. If Altea is gone, then the cure..." Krolia buried her face in her hands and wept. Alphonse looked at Blue's dashboard. "No. Azurine, it..."

"What is she saying?" Krolia asked.

Alphonse stuttered, "She says to expose him to her quintessence. But that... Krolia it would kill him, or worse..."

"Azurine wouldn't hurt him. She wouldn't hurt you. You trust her, don't you?"

"Yes, but I would rather he died naturally then become corrupt the way your brother-"

Krolia reached forward and put a finger to his lips. "Beloved, master of my heart, I trust her as much as I trust you. Alphonse, please... I cannot lose our son. We've lost so much already."

Alphonse kissed her and put their foreheads together. "Alright. I will let her heal him." After a long moment, he took their baby outside and watched as Blue crouched down to his level. Her purr echoed around the chamber. Alphonse whispered, "Do it, Azurine."

He held the baby at arms length and the blue lion gently pressed her chin to his forehead. Light gathered around Alphonse before absorbing into the child in his arms. Blue purred even louder, chuffing as she would to her cub. Alphonse looked to the baby. Keitaran's color had deepened and his breathing was more level. Alphonse silently wept and clutched the baby to his chest. "Thank you, old friend. Thank you."

When he returned to the cabin, Krolia was asleep in the pilot's chair. He kissed her hair and went to the living quarters. Not much had survived the time shift. Sighing, he went to Krolia and used her hooded cape to secure Keitaran to his back then lifted her into his arms to return to her ship. Blue let them leave and he made his way from the cave to see how the world where he had hidden his lion had changed.

Keith gently woke up as Blue separated her memory from the present. The horizon was beginning to light up. His cheeks were wet again. He put his face in his hands as the enormity he'd witnessed settled on him. There was no way to deny the truth. His father was the altean prince and his mother the galra princess. His true name was Keitaran. His breathing stuttered between his teeth.

The screen blipped and Keith looked between his fingers to see the image of his father in his uncamouflaged state sitting in the cockpit. His hands were folded on the dashboard. Keith lowered his hands and hit the play button. The image began to move. He sat across from his father, even if he wasn't completely present.

Alphonse sighed and wiped his brow. He began, "I hate that I have to do this Azurine, but there really isn't an option." He ran his hands down his face and leaned forward. "Keith, my son, I hope Azurine never shows you what I'm about to say. If you're watching this, then the worst has happened. I am no longer with you.

"My name is Alphonse and I am a prince of Altea, a planet far away across the universe that was destroyed by an empire known as the galra. They are led by the monster known as Zarkon, your uncle. The man inside is long dead. Your mother, Princess Krolia, concieved you ten thousand years ago before I put us into a sleep. We'd hoped to outlast the emperor, but he has found a way to prolong his life indefinitely.

"Your mother is a warrior, a spy among the enemy. She had to return or the emperor's soldiers would have come searching for her. She loves you, Keitaran. That's... that's what she named you. My mother's name." He covered his face as his eyes watered. "Azurine, I don't know if I can do this." He choked on sobs and tears dripped from his chin. After a couple minutes, he cleared his throat and lowered his hands.

Sniffing he continued, "To find this message, you must have discovered the secrets in my research. If you didn't find my research first, it's because the galra empire has come for her and she has taken you from this planet. If that is the case, do not be afraid. I've told Azurine to watch over you. She is my closest friend and will protect you until you find the other paladins and their lions. Yes, Keith. There are others. She will bring you to the castle, the ship that can locate the others. No one except the one able to fly the castle knows where all of the lions are. That was our contingency plan, my brother, King Alfor and I." Alphonse then went into more information Keith already knew, but he couldn't shut it off. He didn't want to. Keith pulled his knees to his chest and listened as his father's message continued into the next hour. Blue paused the video feed when there was a blip on Blue's radar.

Krolia narrowed her eyes against the sunrise. Looking once again to the radar, she confirmed that she was close. So where were the lions? She crested the hill and slammed on the brakes. The five lions of Voltron were waiting for her. She prayed to whatever deities were listening and put the bike to its fullest.

The green and yellow lions rose to meet her. The green went into a crouch and she knew it meant to pounce. When it finally launched itself, she hit the brakes once again and spun the tail so she drove underneath it. The green crashed into yellow and she couldn't look back. The blue lion was laying on her side on the beach, silently judging her. The black lion sat near her tail, but it was the red lion that terrified her.

She stood before Azurine, legs ready to respond with an attack. She was focused on Krolia as she approached. Her claws retracted and extended. Krolia braked and slid to a halt as the lion roared. Krolia shouted back, "You cannot stop me, Rosaria! Give me back my son!"

The red lion roared even louder back and swiped at her. Krolia swiveled the bike and screamed, "I know I was wrong to leave him! I should never have abandoned him, but I'm trying to fix this! Please!" Her voice was ragged with emotion.

Rosaria was a wall as if she wasn't capable of emotion like Krolia knew she was. She looked ready to kill Krolia, but then the black lion huffed and she looked at him. Rosaria stood tall and sat beside Azurine's head. Then the green and yellow lions circled up behind Krolia. She watched Azurine in nervous expectation.

Gathering her courage, Krolia turned off the engine and walked toward Azurine. The lioness gazed down at her. There was a time she would have been able to read those golden eyes, but fear had destroyed her rational side. Azurine seemed to blink and she opened her mouth. A small figure walked down the ramp and blinked in the morning light.

Krolia breathed, "Keith," and started running. She shouted hoarsely, "Keith!"

He saw her and gasped before he too was running. They met in the sand of the beach, each crying unable to form words. Krolia fell to her knees and Keith dropped with her. She kissed his cheeks and hair simply holding him in relief. "Keith, my son, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Keith sobbed against her chest. "I'm sorry I ran again. Mother..."

Krolia turned his face up and asked, "What did you call me?"

Keith's trembling lips repeated, "Mother, I know everything. The lion, Azurine, she showed me. My father... Oh god, I'm sorry."

Krolia held Keith's face in her hands and kissed his forehead. "Keith, my beautiful baby boy, I will never leave you again. I promise." It was then that she realized the lions were purring and she saw all but the blue lion stand up and leave. "What are they doing?"

Keith watched them go after the red lion touched her chin to his forehead. "They're returning to the dock. They've opened the bonds to the paladins again. The others know. They know I'm safe with you and Azurine."

Krolia laughed, a hysterical moment of relief, and kissed Keith's hair again. They sat on the beach as the sunrise became the dawn of a new morning. She held him to her chest as though he would disappear if she wasn't touching him. Krolia mumbled, "It's fitting that she'd bring you here."

"Hmm?"

Krolia pushed Keith's hair off his forehead as she gently stroked his hair. "Your father loved this lake."

"Alphonse... will you tell me about him?"

Krolia smiled lovingly at the boy in her arms. "Of course, sweet boy. Of course."