Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Against the bleak nothingness of dead space, two titans fell to many. The light shined one last time. There was only a sound of destruction, and then... nothing.

The five paladins were in shock and despair over what had just occurred. Friends, family, comrades, and loved ones were lost in front of their eyes. Atlas and Voltron were defeated. The forces of fate had won. The raven-haired man in red armor stood and looked at what had remained of his friends while hearing loud cries of anguish behind him. To his right, where a large man in yellow armor was kneeling to comfort the champion in tears. Over on his left side where two people, a man and woman in blue and green armor respectively holding each other in a tight embrace shedding tears. In the whimpering sounds of pain, only a few names could be heard.

"Dad...Matt..." Said Pidge.

"Veronica..." Said Lance.

"Coran and Romelle..." Said Hunk.

"Curtis..." Said Shiro.

While he knew his friends had just witnessed all of their loved ones perished right before their eyes, Keith had to get his team back to their objective. Gathering all of his strength and putting aside all of his pain, their leader turned around and finally spoke. "We can't give up now. Come on; we have to complete the ritual." He then moved towards the man he had considered a brother to lend him a hand. Shiro then lifted his head up to see the man in front of him. War had taken its toll on all of the paladins, and Keith was no exception. His hair had grown to the point he had to place it in a half bun, and his face now sported a barely trimmed beard. Fighting a new evil for five straight years didn't leave much time to groom oneself. Keith, with his hand still stretched out, offered the former Black paladin help in the form of assistance and words. "Shiro, the mission comes first."

Despite sounding cold, Shiro understood and agreed with Keith. If they continue with their objective and are successful, then mourning would not be necessary. Finally accepting his hand, Shiro was back on his feet with the help of his little brother. "Your right. We don't have much time left. We have to complete the ritual now before-" The paladin could not finish his sentence before being interrupted by a sound of thunder. All of those present then looked above them to see the bright existence of the Cradle of Creation be infected with a dark shroud that was slowly consuming the light. Like ink in water, the universe would soon be covered in absolute blackness. The five paladins looked on in fear at the fact that their mission was at an end. There was no more time left.

They ran. Ran as fast as their feet could carry them to the site of the ritual. At the site was a dark-skinned woman with long white hair adorned with armor just like the paladins except being pink in color. She was radiating a magenta aura around her body while her eyes were closed and her hands where claspt together, chanting a mystical mantra in her native language. She was standing in the middle of a large glowing circle with an intricate design. Within the circle were five smaller circles near the rims and evenly spaced out. This is where she would place her friends for what she was preparing to do. Such a ritual had never been attempted before due to the sacrifice that would have to be paid for it to work. However, desperation had driven them to this point. There was no stopping this; the princess had to see this to the end.

"ALLURA!" the altean had opened her eyes to see her paladins rush to her position. The sight of her friends had pained her still. Being a being that had ascended beyond the mortal plane, she did not age alongside the 'young heroes.' Allura hadn't the time to dwell on the consequences of the battle with Hornerva. She was now focused on finishing the one chance the universe; perhaps existence had left. The paladins had finally reached the princess and were ready to undergo the process of what she had prepared.

"They're gone, Allura. There's no more time left." Keith said to the princess without any hesitation. For a moment, sorrow had appeared on her face, then tears were shed. Allura had cried so many times at the loss of her parents, the original paladins, and even Lotor and his family. Now including what was left of life in the universe, it was a wonder how the wells in her eyes hadn't run dry due to the evil forces at hand. Sorrow had been replaced with a look of furious determination that was directed at the brave heroes before her.

"Their sacrifice will not be in vain! She will pay for her evil!" Allura said sternly as she began to position the paladins in the circle for the ritual to commence. She was about to remind the others about what was to happen to them when the roar had returned with the enveloping darkness becoming more and more massive with each noise. Slowly they all came to a terrible realization.

"It's too late... we won't be able to transfer all of us," Lance said. He felt sadness come to the surface again, now knowing that the last stand had little effect on the army of darkness. He then felt his hand being held by the Green paladin, which caused him to look at her directly in the eyes. Pidge had put on her bravest face with Lance to try to calm him. She couldn't let the Cuban sharpshooter feel defeated right now. Not when she had an idea, although not the most original but it was the only choice left.

"Not us." she then reluctantly turn away her view from Lance to Keith. "Him."

Keith didn't waste any time objecting to her proposal. "NO. We have to do this together! It's the only way!" he shouted. Keith and the others had planned this out for months on end, and there was no way he was going to deviate from the plan. It was tailor-made for all of them had to be a part of it.

"If we all go in, then what's going to happen when they finally break through?! There wouldn't be anyone left to defend Allura or our bodies! If it's just you, then we can defend both of you and Allura until it's done! Your galra DNA and your affiliation with the Blades makes you the most logical choice." Keith wanted to argue with the genius, but those arguments are rarely won. Then Hunk barged into the conversation to support his small friend.

"I agree with Pidge. You and Allura need time to get the ritual done, and we can buy some time. When you go back, you can bring not just us together, but the Galra as well. That and you can use your sensitivity with quintessence to get you out of binds." Hunk spoke to Keith with as much calm as he could in the situation they were all in. He was lucky that he was the voice of reason in the group. "Look, we can keep on arguing about this, or we can stall until it's done." he had said this in a much serious tone. He did this to let Keith know that this was not up for debate. With no more words said, the other four paladins had left the circle to get to their lions.

Keith quickly followed to try to convince his friends of the mistake that they were making. "Guys, I can't do this without you!" The group stopped and Shiro turned to face him with a face of seriousness and urgency.

"Keith, the ritual will only work if we're all alive. If they make it through and no one is there to hold them off, it's over!" Shiro knew that Keith knew how the ritual worked, what he didn't understand is why he was stopping them from holding off the enemy that had been tormenting them for years.

"They took down Atlas and Vehicle in a matter of minutes! What chance do you guys have in only FOUR lions?! You can't form Voltron!" Keith had said to make his point, hoping the others would be convinced of the futility of this endeavor. Alas, the Voltron Force was a noble bunch, which included being self-sacrificial.

"Maybe so, but we still have the original lions. They are way more powerful than either one of them, even when they are apart." Shiro wanted to try and convince his brother of the new plan but with no knowledge of how soon the army would enter the cradle, he only said one last sentence. "Keith,...this is the only option left."

Not wanting to waste any more time, the four continued to their lions. Keith couldn't believe what he was seeing. They were going to abandon him. They had planned to save existence but instead chose suicide. He knew that if they stayed here then they will die, and he would once more be alone. Keith then stopped and shouted at the others at the top of his lungs.

"I CAN'T BE ALONE AGAIN!"

The paladins had stopped in their tracks to look back at the Black paladin. Tears had begun to flow down his cheeks as he began to break down in front of his friends. Now realizing what he truly meant by wanting them to all go back together, they decided to hear out Keith. He then began to speak out in a shaky voice, "You're the only ones who know me. The only people who understand who I am. I can't go through that again. I can't lose you guys. I love you too much..." It was only a few moments, but it felt like eternity standing there looking at each other. "We were supposed to go through this together. All of us," The silence was broken by Shiro, who was also in tears, walking to Keith and hugging him as tight as he could. The older man held onto his brother for a brief moment before letting go of him to be face to face with Keith.

"We will always be there, Keith. Our bonds are ones that will span across all of time and space. No matter where or when you are, remember that. Remember that no matter what, we love you." Shiro then brought the two of them back into a hug. "I love you, little brother..." he said directly into Keith's ear, which causes him to hug Shiro harder. The two brothers were then joined by Hunk, followed by Lance and Pidge. Allura wanted nothing more than to join in, but she had to stay within the circle or else the ritual would break. This was, in some ways a reminder of how her sacrifice had caused her a life with the paladins and her people. She had cursed the vile being that had tricked her into believing that the only way to save the universe was to give herself up. Now she had a chance with Keith to reverse all of the damage done and give her the life she was meant to have.

Shiro was the first to depart from the hug so he could get to the Blue lion. With one more look into Keith's eyes, he ran to get in the air as fast as possible. The three had then broken off the hug to say their individual goodbyes. "Listen, um...Keith, when you go back to the past, could you maybe try to be nicer to me and everyone else? It would REALLY go a long way to build our teamwork better." Hunk had said to Keith hoping that they could be better friends sooner in the new timeline.

"Sure thing, buddy" Keith chuckled. "Just as long as you promise not to puke or fart so much. THAT would totally help our friendship." Hunk laughed loudly at the quip that the former edge lord had made. There was hope for him yet. With one last quick hug, Hunk then raced off to the Yellow lion. That then left Lance and Pidge. The sassy paladin decided to go first with her final goodbye to Keith.

"Listen, Keith, I'm going to give you some great advice so that you can get on my good side in the past. I'm ALWAYS right, even if I'm wrong, I'm right. Alright?" she gave him the smug smile that she was known to have whenever she was feeling proud of herself. He had always admired Pidge for her uncompromising attitude. They were alike so much that way. Keith then shifted his focus on Lance, who was himself smiling at Pidge's assertiveness.

"She's right, you know. Wouldn't be anywhere without her." that sentence earned him a loving smile from the Green paladin. A smile that Lance gave back to her.

"You're absolutely right..." Keith said to Lance as Pidge backs away a few feet so that the two men could have their farewell with each other. This was going to be interesting between them, given that their relationship, in the beginning, was not the best. Sure they're friends now but back then they couldn't stand each other. Whenever Keith travels back to the past, it will be their relationship that will need the most fixing right away. Not wanting to waste any more time, Lance placed his hand on Keith's shoulder began to speak.

"Keith, I...was a VERY different person back then. Just remember that I'll always be your wingman and that I ask that when you do go back, you need to be patient with me."

Keith scoffed and returned the shoulder hand. "You know me, Lance. Patience is not my strong suit." The two paladins shared one last laugh together before sharing a hug and departing from each other. Keith then watched as Lance walks towards Pidge who was now wearing a sad face. Lance reaches Pidge and gently lifts her chin with his hand to see her face. She has grown over the years they had spent together. Gone was her tawny hairdo and was replaced with a shorter pixie cut with a comb to the right side that almost looks like a mohawk at a certain angle. Her freckles had become more pronounced, and she still wore glasses that due to her age, now actually needs. Pidge looks up to Lance to take in his features as well. What was quickly apparent was the altean marks were now gone, symbolizing his closure with Allura's death. However, they were replaced with a scar that came over his right eye, which was closed shut. He had also grown an anchor goatee which was groomed perfectly along with a combed back undercut. Even in times of war, he wanted to look good. Pidge then broke the silence between the two of them.

"Listen, when he goes back, everything will be different. He'll be the only one who remembers anything about how the universe really was...that means...", Pidge couldn't find the strength to finish her sentence initially, but after tears began to fall from her face she looked away from the scarred Cuban to finish the rest, too heartbroken to say it looking at his face. "...We never happened..." She only had a few seconds of sorrow before the Red paladin used his hand to pull her face back to his. Lance, with a weak smile and tears in his eyes as well, spoke to the woman he loved.

"Kate...if I were the one who was going back...I'd chose you." That was what had sparked Pidge to suddenly grab Lance's face with both of her hands and brought him in for a hard kiss. The Cuban quickly returned the kiss with equal force, and neither of them was letting up. Keith looked at the two lovers and then towards the altean princess. Allura had a small smile and began to show small tears at the sight. It took a long time for Lance to get over Allura's demise, but he was able to find happiness again thanks to Pidge's visits to his farm on New Altea. Although she seemed happy with Lance and Pidge being together, Keith could sense a sadness in the princess that didn't come from the fact that the universe was ending. There was a matter of the heart she was thinking about, and he was sure to talk to her about it when they were finally alone.

The two paladins then broke this kiss, realizing they were wasting time and had to meet with Shiro and Hunk in defending the ritual. "So Pidgeon, you want to fight an evil Voltron and it's army of Robeasts for our final date?" Lance said with a characteristic grin.

Pidge returned the grin with her smug glance. "Hell yeah, Sharpshooter...Let's show that poser what real paladins can do!" They left without any more distractions for the final two. Keith and Allura were finally alone, and there was no time to waste.

"We cannot delay any longer. Step into the circle, quickly." Keith followed Allura's instructions and moved in place for the ritual could begin. When he was on the circle that he was designated to, he then laid down with his head pointing towards the center ring, which was filled with a light blue glow. Allura then knelt to Keith's head and then placed her hands on both sides. The two looked at each other in the eyes as they were perfectly aligned. Amethyst met Azure in a peaceful embrace within a chaotic existence. Nothing felt out of place in the circle of light as the blue energy began to envelop Keith.

"Allura, I need to know something," he asked while looking into the princess's eyes. "about Lance and-"

"Don't. I am happy for the both of them. I couldn't stand for him to wallow in torment over me." she then closed her eyes to shed a few small tears. "Besides, I now know I really didn't love him in that way. We only loved the idea of each other."

"You still deserve happiness, Allura. You will have the life you deserve. I promise." Allura looked into his eyes once more and felt a smile form on her face. Keith had become so noble over the years as a paladin and a blade. He was now a man that was not just a leader but could also make a great king. Only spending a few seconds on what could have been, she refocused on the task at hand. Keith was now enveloped in the blue light and began to feel like he was starting to be lifted from the ground. "Kosmo?..." he asked the princess, wondering how the preparation went for his cosmic canine.

"It was only an instant. He didn't feel anything...", she informed him with a slight sadness in her tone. There had been many sacrifices along the way to ensure that they would reach this point, but it did not negate the pain of having to tribute a friend as a means to succeed. Keith was taking this news the best he could. He couldn't dwell on the loss of his companion right now. The mission came first, mourning second.

"Clear your mind except for the day when it happened and stay as calm as possible. That way, you will be sent to that moment without any trouble." Allura instructed Keith, to which he obeyed. Back when they were planning this out, they had decided that they would travel back to the day before they found the Blue lion so they could launch their plan, but now it was only Keith that was taking the trip. "Remember, you won't have much time in the past. Although time is relative, whatever needs to be done must be done quickly. I do not believe we will be able to hold them off for too long." she tells him in a solemn tone. Keith then nods to show he understands.

"If all goes well, you'll be alive, and I won't have this stupid scar on my face." Keith tried to add some levity to the situation, but then again he wasn't Lance. Despite this Allura giggled at his comment and then did something he did not prepare for. Keith was astonished at the fact that the princess was leaning down to kiss him on the lips gently. He would expect a kiss goodbye between them would be on the cheek like last time or maybe on the forehead. But for her to kiss him like a lover was something he had not expected. However, he didn't fight it but instead let it happened. This was their last moment together, and Keith wouldn't ruin it for Allura. Finally breaking the kiss, Allura looked lovingly into Keith's eyes for one last time.

"Goodbye, my darling..." Keith was dumbfounded at what she had just said. She had never called him that whenever she was alive. Keith couldn't ask Allura what she meant before he felt his body pulsate with quintessence. Keith felt himself slip away like he was falling asleep, his eyes closing at the sight of Allura's smiling face. Suddenly he fell endlessly down a bright tunnel of light, moments of his life flashing before him as the light grew brighter. The blue had begun to turn into a blinding white flash that even with him closing his eyes in pain, still shined through to him. He ignored the pain and continued to keep his mind focused on the day he had chosen. The brightness had reached its fever pitch, and then he opened his eyes.

Chapter Text

There where many words Keith could use to describe the experience, but disoriented came the closest. It was as if he was ripped from a nightmare and had finally woken up to a peaceful morning. Springing upright in bed the moment the thought had come to him, Keith panicky looked around to see that he was no longer in the Cradle of Creation, but now in his bedroom back on earth. Keith was trying to control his breathing while doing his best not to get emotional over the home he had lost. Suddenly, an old melody erupted from his alarm clock on his nightstand. One that had greeted him as it did his father long ago.

You ain't nothing but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

You ain't nothing but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine

Keith only stared at the clock for only a brief moment before leaping out of bed to make a mad dash to his bathroom mirror down the hall. Nearly breaking the door off the hinges, Keith quickly flipped on the light switch to illuminate the lavatory. What he saw in the mirror left him completely speechless.

Well they said you was high-classed

Well, that was just a lie

Yeah they said you was high-classed

Well, that was just a lie

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine

He was no longer a man with a scarred face. Keith was a teenager once more, the age he was when he and the other paladins began their adventure. Looking the way he did further emphasized the ritual's success, but it still didn't leave the Galran hybrid unastonished. Keith then raised his hand to the side of his face where his scar was once was, or in this case, never will be. Not if he follows the plan right.

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

You ain't nothing but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine

Still, in a state of disbelief, he ran out of his home to see the truth for himself, and sure enough, he had found it. Looking at his desert home from the outside while the music still played with its chorus, Keith was moved to the verge of tears and became weak to the knees.

"...It worked..." he said in a near whisper and fell to his knees, giving a teary shout of triumph while raising his arms. "IT QUIZNACKING WORKED!" Keith was aside himself with joy and relief, knowing that the plan had worked. All the fighting and suffering that he and the entire universe had endured for five long years had finally paid off. He had cried out a thank you to Allura for completing the ritual when it finally dawned on him that it had worked. He was back in a time before all the madness and could not waste any more time being shocked. Quickly composing himself, he rose to his feet and re-entered his home.

Well they said you was high-classed

Well, that was just a lie

Yeah they said you was high-classed

Well, that was just a lie

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine

Finally suited up in his classic outfit, which he missed, he looked underneath his pillow for the last item to finish his look. Examining the unwrapped Luxite blade, Keith couldn't believe that long ago he thought he was nothing more but a human being. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever believed that his blood belonged to a warmongering species that craved nothing more but universal supremacy. Keith then focused on the glowing symbol on the blade's rain-guard. The Blade of Marmora was not going to be easily convinced about his true identity, let alone ally themselves with the Voltron Force. They are not yet the bold and noble warriors of the coalition, but still the cloak and dagger agents of shadow. Keith cursed his friends for not being here. They were supposed to help him make a strong alliance with the Blades early, but with just himself, Keith was not confident of getting them on their side any time soon. Hopefully, with an awakened blade by his side, it could go a long way to build such a form of trust. He was not sure if it could awaken without going through the trials, but Keith saw no other options other then the one he had. Closing his eyes and focusing on his memories of his past life, Keith hoped that the blade would respond.

"I know who I am..." there was only a few seconds of waiting until the dagger had shined an indigo glow, forming into a familiar blade. Letting loose a happy chuckle, Keith smiled at the fact that he was still considered worthy of being a Blade. Sheathing the dagger on his lower back, he ran back downstairs. Heading to the side of the garage next to the shack, he found his hoverbike he so desperately missed. Keith went full-throttle on the bike as he drove to the crash site early in preparation for what's to come. It was a shame he couldn't ride it as much as he would want to, but the mission came first. He couldn't mess this up. This was the night the team came together, and he had to make a good first impression. He couldn't be the lone wolf he once was. Now he had to be a leader for Allura, for the team, and the universe.

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit you ain't no friend of mine

The simulation had been a disaster for Lance Mcclain and his two friends. After getting a verbal shredding by Commander Iverson, the Cuban Hotshot decided to break the rules once again to create a bond between his team. But deep down, Lance was just wanting to be his reckless self outside of the restrictive environment of the Garrison School of Space Exploration.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Hunk Garrett replied behind Lance as they peeked around the corner of the hallway, waiting for the right time to move. As always he was dragged along with Lance's antics and was obviously tried with the constant uprootal of his peaceful lifestyle.

"You heard Commander Iverson. We need to bond as a team." Lance told his large friend. "We're going to grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls-"

"Look, I'm just saying this here, right now, on the record. This is a bad idea." Hunk countered as the lights went out, signaling the curfew in the strict and structured place. The two then sneaked across the hallways to find their small friend and blow the joint.

"You know, for someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure," Lance said to Hunk as they leaned up against a wall next to a window, trying not to be seen by the Garrison personnel inside the room.

"All of your little adventures end up with me in the principle's office." the Samoan boy quietly exclaimed to his troublemaking friend. Never the less, he followed him by crawling under the window and hiding in color-coordinated trash cans to hide from security. With the coast clear, Lance stylishly exits from the blue can followed by Hunk, who clumsily emerged from the yellow can. This fails and the large engineer falls flat on his face.

"I'm fine." He tells Lance sarcastically before being pulled out of the hallway by him. A door had opened for a small figure could walk out. This was Pidge Gunderson, a prodigy with many secrets. Over the past year, 'he' had infiltrated the Garrison in hopes to find the truth about the lost crew of the Kerberos mission, particularly Sam and Matt Holt. This obsession with the failed mission had caught the attention of 'his' two teammates, especially Lance Mcclain. There was something about the 'Talor' that intrigued the small genius. He had a personality that for some reason repelled most people, except for her. Katie Holt shrugged off the feelings of attraction towards the boy, determining that her feelings were just her hormones. She didn't have the luxury to engage in a crush. Pidge was on a mission to find her family, and she would do anything or go anywhere. Even across the universe.

She sneaks down the hallway, not knowing of the two behind her, confused about 'his' actions at night.

"Where's he going?" Lance questions as he watches the mysterious genius make her way to an unknown location. Not that he would ever admit it, but something about Pidge pulled Lance in. He didn't know if it was her intelligence, her sarcastic wit, her technobabble, or the cute face she made when she was focus on a task. Lance quickly wiped away the last thought and remembered about her obsession with Kerberos. From that moment, he put his plans on hold to investigate what his small teammate was up to.

Up upon the roof of the Garrison building, Pidge closed her eyes and opened her ears to focus on listing to the alien transmission she had intercepted repeatedly for weeks now. This was a possible lead to the missing Kerberos crew and she intended on listening to the transmission each and every night in hopes of finding their location. Her concentration was then broken by someone lifting her headphones to teasingly whisper in her ear.

"You come up here to rock out?" this shocked Pidge out of her sitting position as she discovered that Lance and Hunk had followed her to the roof. She now had to formulate an excuse to throw off her teammates about her intentions. Knowing Lance, he would go out of his way to tease the truth out of her. Her heart rate increased and sweat dared to leak from her skin at the presence of him. Stupid hormones.

"Oh, Lance, Hunk," she went back to her position and tried to look casual. "No, um, just looking at the stars."

"Where'd you get this stuff?" Lance asks as he inspects her equipment with his eyes. "It doesn't look like Garrison tech."

"I built it." Pidge said confidently as she made a cute, smug face. Once again, Lance was struggling not to find that face affecting his heart.

"You built all this?" Hunk asked as he snuck next to Pidge to examine the technology made by her.

She then slapped away Hunk's hand with the back of hers. "Stop it! With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system." She brags to Lance. He was impressed with the prodigy as always, crossing his arms and matching her smug look with his own.

"That right? All the way to Kerberos?" He asked Pidge, instantly making her tense enough to turn away. He knew how to get under people's skin, and it was a blessing and a curse to everyone. "You go ballistic every time the instructors bring it up." Lance exclaimed as Hunk once again sneaks around Pidge to inspect her tech. "What's your deal?"

Pidge then spots Hunk again and gives him an intense glare of rage. "Second warning, Hunk!" Not only was she frustrated with the cocky Cuban but also the heavy Samoan who kept on touching her private property. How she lets Lance touch her stuff and not him perplexed Hunk to no end.

"Look Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any more secrets." Lance sternly told Pidge.

"Fine," she slumps her shoulders and turns to face Lance with the truth. She had put on a serious face and tone. "The world as you know it is about to change." Behind her once again was a sneaking hand that belong to one Hunk Garret. "The Kerberos mission wasn't lost due to some malfunction or crew mistake." As soon as she laid that bit of earth-shattering news, Pidge instantly sensed her property being violated once again and turned back to angrily shout: "STOP TOUCHING MY EQUIPMENT!"

Hunk then laid on his side in defeat. He knew that his little friend had an unstoppable level of rage inside her when she was aggravated. She then continued her info-dumping to the two of them.

"So I've been scanning the system," she briefly paused and turned to the others. "and picking up alien radio chatter."

The two reacted in their own way matching their character. Hunk was obviously stunned and panicked by the news while Lance was skeptical and dealing out a sarcastic response. "So you're insane. Got it."

"I'm serious. They keep repeating one word," she then pulled out a doodled on notepad to show them both. "Voltron. And tonight, it's going crazier than I ever heard it."

"How crazy?" Lance questioned skeptically as he crossed his arms. Just then his question was answered by a sudden alarm blaring throughout the compound.

"Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice." Iverson's voice on the speaker system made Hunk stood in attention, fearing the worst about to come.

"What's going on?" he panicky questioned. Looking up to the night sky, Hunk found an incoming object that definitely didn't belong with the stars. "Is that a meteor?" he pointed as Lance and Pidge looked up to find what he was referring to. "A very, very big meteor?"

Pidge then pulled out her binoculars to get a closer look at the object falling from the sky and was aghast at what she saw. "It's a ship."

Lance immediately pulled the binoculars to his eyes with Pidge still attached to them. "Holy crow!" he exclaimed with shock and disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's not one of ours."

"No. It's one of theirs." No one could say anything else as they fearfully watched the alien craft moved closer and closer to the earth at blazing speed. Lance and Pidge ignored Hunk's question about alien life as the ship had finally crash-landed on the planet. More sounds erupted as the alarms blazed again, signaling the Garrison personnel to get into their vehicles and investigate the crash site. All three of the cadets witnessed the events that would lead them to a journey across all of space.

Pidge had packed her equipment and stood up to face Lance with a look of excitement. "We've got to see that ship!"

Lance returned her smile, loving that at least one of his friends shared his sense of adventure. The two turned to leave the roof, Lance shouting for Hunk to follow them.

"Oh, this is the worst team-building exercise ever." With reluctance, he moved to catch up with his team, not knowing that they were all following their path to destiny.

The night was upon them all as Keith crouched at the vantage point, waiting for Shiro's landing. The whole day was excruciating to get through but was worth it to put the finishing touches at his cabin and around the soon to be landing area. The scouting done on his bike let him find his way faster and plan out what needed to happen tonight. As Keith looked at the far off cliff that his friends would be arriving at soon, he wished he could stand beside them and talk to them, not about the future, but just talk. Not even a full day had passed, and he missed his them, missed the powerful bond they shared.

Keith's sad thoughts are swept away by a piercing sound striking his ear. His eyes broke from the cliff and looked to the sky to find a firey streak descending to the earth. The Black Paladin was almost in tears at the sight of his adopted brother returning home and remembered just in time to find cover. The impact shook the ground and fog of unearthed dust shrouded the desert land. Keith wanted nothing more than to rush to the crashed ship and save his brother, but his logic prevailed over his emotions. He had to be smart and play the waiting game for the plan to work. While there were events that needed to change, some had to follow through. In this case, Shiro's capture and interrogation. In some sick way, Shiro would understand this choice. They were all fighting a war, even if they didn't know it yet.

The trio had found a vantage point and began to survey the area, now under guard by the Garrison. Lance looks through the binoculars and spots the ship surrounded by soldiers and scientists doing their respective duty. "Whoa! What the heck is that thing?" he then looked to the right of the ship to find the entrance for the mobile lab. "And who the heck is she?"

"Lance!" Pidge says as she lays one of her trademark elbows on Lance's ribs. Once again, he was distracted by the opposite sex and the prodigy had to bring him down to earth. She told herself that she did this for logical reasons, not emotional ones. This boy was just as stupid as her hormones.

"Ow! Right, alien ship. Man, we'll never get past all of those guards to get a look."

"Aw, man," Hunk faked sounding disappointed. "Yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?" he asks his friends, hoping to get them to see the error of their ways. That wasn't going to happen tonight as Pidge used her computer skills to good use.

"Wait. They set up a camera and I grabbed its feed. Look!" the three gathered around the computer to see what was happening inside. Nothing could prepare them for what they had found.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Takashi Shirogane shouted as he was bound to a medical table, unable to move.

"Calm down, Shiro," Iverson told him. "We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests."

"You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds!" Shiro grunted as he tried and failed to escape his bonds. "Aliens are coming!"

"That's Shiro! The pilot of the Kerberos mission!" Lance said as he pointed to the screen. "That guy's my hero!"

"Guess he's not dead in space, after all." Hunk replied to his friend.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Pidge said with a pinch of sadness and confusion in her voice. Shiro was there but her family was not. Her heart filled with fear at the implications given.

"Do you know how long you've been gone?" Iverson questioned Shiro on the screen.

"I don't know. Months? Years? Look there's no time! Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron!"

"Voltron!" Pidge repeated Shiro as Lance and Hunk look at each other in surprise.

"Sir, take a look at this." One of the doctors had said. "It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prostectic." Shiro clenched his mechanical arm in fear, knowing what will now happen.

"Put him under until we know what that thing can do." Iverson ordered, thus prompting another doctor to begin placing a gas mask over Shiro's mouth.

"Don't put me under!" Shiro shouted and fought harder to escape. "No! There is no time!"

The three were in shock at what they were seeing, enraged by the actions the Garrison took upon one of their own. "They didn't ask about the rest of the crew," Pidge once again had a small sadness in her voice.

"What are they doing? He's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?" Lance said with casual anger.

"We have to get him out." Pidge responded with seriousness in her voice. Shiro was like family and she never abandoned the ones she loved.

"I hate to be the voice of reason, always," Hunk told the two as he stood up. "but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get passed the guards." He then pointed to the sentries to emphasize his point.

"That was before we were properly motivated." Lance replied to his cowardly friend. "We've just got to think. Could we tunnel in?"

"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs." Pidge offered to Lance.

"Or we dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary- little late-night snack." Hunk had suggested with a smile and hand gestures. Lance and Pidge were clearly not amused by Hunk's idea.

"No. What we need is a distraction." Little did Lance know that the distraction was already taken care of.

Not long after the landing, the Garrison arrived at the scene to investigate, and behind them the future paladins. While the situation played out as it did once before, Keith eagerly held a small device in his hand, patiently waiting to detonate the makeshift charges to distract the guards. His self imposed exile had given him plenty of time to pick up many unique skills, like how to make explosives out of household items. Keith's relationships with Pidge and Kolivan sharpened his ingenuity, which turned him into an expert in gorilla tactics. Looking down at the lab, Keith counted down the ticks til detonation with anticipation. Ten ticks til destiny had arrived, then five, and then none.

"I believe this is where I come in." With a push of a button, their fates were sealed. The battle has begun again.

"IS THAT THE ALIENS? IS THAT THE ALIENS? ARE THEY HERE? THEY GOT SO QUICK!" Hunk panicky question as the trio witnessed the chain of explosions behind the Garrison lab.

Pidge looks hard in the area to find the cause. Almost instantly, she spots a red hoverbike descending from above and rapidly moving to the structure. "No. Those explosions were a distraction for him." she points to the stranger in red. "The Garrison's headed towards the blast, and he's sneaking in on the other side."

Using her binoculars, Lance looks through and magnifies his vision, finding a hated figure from his past. Little does he know that his rival would be his closest friend in the coming times. "No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!" Lance says as he makes his way down the cliff.

"Who is it?" Hunk asks his friend, confused.

"KEITH!" Lance shouts angrily, not wanting his fragile ego to be smashed again by his own delusions.

"Who?" Pidge asks curiously, not knowing much about her two friend's pasts.

"Are you sure?" Hunk replies as he follows behind Lance.

"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!" Lance replies to Hunk with another shout. The two ignore Pidge's question about the identity of Keith as they all slide down the earthy way to go to the lab, none of them knowing of the true nature of the battle they will find ahead of them.

Keith wasted no time, driving full speed down the cliff to the entrance of the mobile lab. The hybrid doesn't wait for the bike to stop and jumps off to get inside and liberate his brother. Keith quickly puts on his bandana mask as he makes his way to the lab. It would be terrible if he made all this trip back in time to have it be derailed because of an oversight. Using his memories, Keith finds his way to the operating room, mentally preparing himself before opening the doors.

The three Garrison doctors didn't stand a chance against Keith for as soon as he was provided entrance, he quickly took them down. With no one else in his way, Keith moves to his brother's side and is instantly stunned. The condition of Shiro's body has always deep down made Keith feel angry that his family had undergone great suffering at the hands of the Galra, both physical and mental. Keith swore that he would save the two most damaged by the tragic chain of events, even if it cost him his life. Allura and Shiro deserved the very best of everything, and he was going to give it to them.

Keith then pulled down his mask and began to free Shiro with his luxite blade. "I promise you both. I'll keep you and Allura safe this time. I promise." With Shiro no longer bound to the table, Keith hoists him on his shoulder and turns to the door to find a beautiful sight.

"Nope. No, you-No, no, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro." a young Lance Mcclain disapprovingly says to Keith with a wave of his finger. Behind him at the doorway where Hunk and Pidge, both young as well and shocked at the situation in front of them. Keith was using every iota of willpower to stop himself from tearing up and hugging his friends right there. Even after preparing himself all day for this encounter, Keith felt like he would die of joy seeing his friends alive and well again. But he had to internally compose himself and make a good first impression for his teammates. Hunk and Pidge were easy, but the Cuban Hotshot would have to be the one with the most convincing. His eyes were locked on to Lance as he moved to place Shiro's other arm on his shoulder. Keith's gaze, unfortunately, held on for too long as Lance was now confused with the lack of response.

"What?" Lance answered with a annoyed tone. Keith broke out of his trance and returned to the world around him with a sincere smile.

"Nothing, "Keith replied normally. "It's good to see you again, Lance."

Briefly confused by the facial expression from his rival, Lance replied. "Whatever, jerk. Now if you could just step away, Shiro and I will-"

"No." Keith interrupted. He then turns his head to look at the other two and continues. "We're going to save Shiro together." Keith looks back at Lance with a soft look, hoping he could break through his cockiness. "I need you, Lance."

The lanky boy from Cuba was now even more perplexed. In all of the time he knew Keith, he was an angsty loner who wanted nothing to do with anything or anyone. Yet here he was asking him of all people for help. He, Lance Mcclain, his nemesis while he was a student at the Garrison. Whenever they got away from there, he was going to ask some questions.

"Uh, guys. I have to remind you all that we're out after curfew and broken into a secret Garrison facility near an alien spacecraft." Hunk nervously stated, wanting to leave and find some sense of normality. Unfortunately, life for the Samoan teen will never be the same again.

"Hunks' right." Pidge chimes in. "They'll have to be turning back soon, so we need to leave NOW." For one as small as her, she had a loud voice. Neither Keith or Lance could argue with the petite girl's logic. With an annoyed look, Lance huffed and gave a nod to Keith, signaling his cooperation.

"Alright. Let's go." Holding Shiro in their arms the soon to be heroes made haste to get away from the Garrison.

The front door of the cabin opened, letting the young adventurers carry the wary traveler inside for protection and rest. Keith and Lance went upstairs to lay Shiro to bed while Hunk and Pidge waited in the living room. They all needed to find some rest after the exhilarating chase between them and the Garrison. Crashing vehicles and near-suicidal jumps over canyons were things that didn't occur to the three cadets, yet the raven-haired loner was remarkably calm during the whole event. It was as if he did something like this all the time. Ironically, this was not far from the truth.

With his brother put to rest, Keith then decided to speak to Lance about the coming events and the need for unity between the two of them.

"He'll be out for a while, which means we have time to talk." Keith says to Lance, who is still reeling from the night's events. The existence of aliens, his idol being alive, and his rival now acting uncharacteristically nice. Something was off about the whole thing, and Lance wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Alright, for starters, what the heck is going on? How did you know about Shiro's landing? Who are you and what have you done to the real Keith?" he questioned as he moved closer and closer to intimidate the possible imposter. Keith found this both refreshing and exhausting at the same time. He feared that Lance, the way he was at this point, would be skeptical of him and his abilities. Now he had to find a way to calm his suspicion and create some sort of bond with him. Without it, the universe would have no chance.

"Look, this is going to sound strange, so hear me out," Keith began. "I've lived out here since the Garrison booted me. I don't know why, but I found myself drawn to this area. Something...ancient told me to search. I didn't know what until I found an outcropping of boulders with caves covered in these strange markings. All telling of a story about a blue lion. Each of them told of a coming event. The one that happened last night."

Lance was bewildered by what Keith said and after a few ticks of processing, he replied. "Soooo, you've lost your mind. Makes sense. Heck, it makes a lot more sense then what you just said."

'Quiznak, was he really that ignorant?' Keith thought to himself as he came up with a response. "Look, Lance. I know you don't think much about me, and I understand why." He huffed out a calm breath and continued. "I'm not the same person as I was before. Don't want to be that person anymore. My time out here made me reflect on things, about how I lived my life. Being alone made me realized how much I needed others around me. Friends. Someone like you, Lance."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Keith Kogane wanted to be his friend. The emo badass that always made him look and feel inferior was now wanting to bury the hatchet between them. He was either an imposter or insane. An insane imposter.

"So you're just expecting things to be cool between us? As if nothing happened?" Lance asked sarcastically while raising an eyebrow.

"No." Keith simply said. He then faced Lance and held out his hand, offering a chance to make things right. "But it's a start."

Lance looked to Keith's hand and then to his eyes. What he found was a sincerity that couldn't be possibly faked, a genuine devotion to making amends. Something happened at that moment that wasn't expected of the Cuban boy. He became the bigger man. Slowly taking his hand for a firm shake, the two have come to an understanding. Not exactly friendship, but something tangible. The making of true unity.

"So, Mullet. What do we do?" Lance asks Keith.

Keith had quite a long, hard road in front of him. But luckily he will have his friends beside him. "Let's head downstairs. We've got work to do."

Chapter Text

Takashi Shirogane had been tormented for over a year, and in that time, he had forgotten the feeling of comfort. Such things couldn't be maintained in the violent environment of the Galra Empire. Yet he felt at ease, well-rested and relaxed. Shiro hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time and almost didn't want to wake up. Sadly, his scared psyche refused to let the Champion rest. Horrible visions had racked Shiro's mind until he couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice calling him in the madness. The voice of a person he could always trust.

"Shiro? Shiro. Shiro, wake up!" and in an instant, he sat up in bed, panicking over his nightmarish visions. Shiro was in a cold sweat as he looked around him to find that he was no longer on a medical table, but in a rustic bedroom. He then felt a hand placed on his shoulder and turned to see his adopted younger brother next to him. Shiro couldn't believe his eyes.

"K-Keith?" He shakily spoked to his brother. He was astonished at how Keith had grown in the time he was away from Earth. There was something about the raven-haired boy that was different from the last time he saw him. There was no anger burning in his eyes, only patience.

"It's me, Shiro." Keith knew that his brother was hurting internally. Not only did he want to save Allura, but Shiro as well. With his knowledge of Kuron and the cloning facility, Keith swore that Zarkon and Honerva would not harm any of the people he loved again. Then there was the issue of leadership. Although Keith would never doubt his brother's abilities, he still worried that if he wasn't leading Voltron, then the plan would not follow through. The Black Paladin then wiped away the thought, knowing that his team will prevail over the evil they faced.

"Good to be back," Shiro said as he looked around the room. "Where are we?"

"My home. A lot has changed since you were gone." Keith then began to tell Shiro about his expulsion from the Garrison, his time in the desert, the cave markings, and the events of last night. Despite his trauma, he took the news very well. Shiro then, in turn, told Keith about his capture, his scattered memories, and Voltron. Now the two began to piece together their given information.

"So, these caves you found, could it lead to the weapon that the aliens are looking for?" Shiro asked Keith. All Keith could do was pretend that he didn't know more than that. The team would already have their hands full grasping the concept of fighting an alien empire. Keith knew that they couldn't possibly handle that he was a time traveler who came to the past to prevent a dark fate.

"Maybe. I have the others downstairs fixing up a device that will help us find Voltron." Keith then got off where he sat on the bed and moved towards the door. He then pointed to a stack of clothes at the edge of the bed. "Change into those and come down when you're ready."

Shiro nodded and got on his feet to change. Whatever came of the future, the two would watch each other's backs. They were family, after all. And soon, they would be a team unlike any other.

Now dressed in a black and grey outfit, Shiro made his way downstairs, finding Keith and three other teens working together. Keith was talking to a lanky boy as they examined a board covered in maps and photos of the caves talked about earlier. He then saw two people, a small person he swore looked familiar, and a husky guy at a table reading a book and working on a scanning device. Shiro took his time to witness the teamwork being used in front of him. From what he could gather, Keith had brought these people together and divided tasks to each of them. He was being a leader, and Shiro couldn't be more proud.

Keith then noticed Shiro on the stairway and beckoned him to meet the others. They all stopped at what they were doing and came over to meet the man they saved.

"Shiro, I want you to meet my friends," Keith told him. "They helped me saved you." He then used his hand to point to each of them when he said their name. "This is Lance, Hunk, and Pidge."

"Thank you all for your help," Shiro told the group. There was something about them that seemed like they would do great things together, Shiro thought. He held out his right hand to Lance, which he was reluctant to take. Due to its cybernetic nature, it was understandable. Not wanting to disrespect his hero, Lance eventually took Shiro's hand for a firm shake.

"S-Sir, its an honor," Lance spoke with a slight nervousness in his voice. They both released, and Shiro looked to the large boy next to Lance. His face screamed with discomfort as he remained unresponsive. The smaller one then steps in to shake his offered hand.

"Don't take it personally. He's nervous all the time," the prodigy informed Shiro. "So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?"

"I'm not sure. I remembered the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces." Shiro answered before he was interrupted by Hunk.

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for all of us? Where are they at this very moment?" He nervously asked.

"I can't really put it together," Shiro began to tell the group. "I remember the word "Voltron." It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do."

"We will," Keith told Shiro. He then turned to the brain trust and began speaking to them. "Hunk, Pidge. Tell him about what you're working on."

"Ok, so last night-" Hunk began.

"This morning." Pidge corrected.

"Morning? Really?" Hunk asked, stunned but continued. "Ok. Correction. This morning, Keith told us about the weird energy he's been feeling since living here, which by the way, not weird at all." He gestured to Keith, who shrugged at his friend's attempt not to offend him.

"It got me thinking about a way to detect the energy, so Pidge suggested that I use a series of numbers in his diary-OW!"

"Journal." Pidge corrected Hunk with another of her trademark elbow to the ribs.

"Journal. Anyway, I figured out that the sequence of numbers that the aliens are searching for looks a whole lot like a Fraunhofer line. It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element."

"Only this element doesn't exist on Earth," Pidge chimed into the explanation. "We think this might be Voltron."

"Exactly. So we both decided to build a sort of Voltron-Geiger counter to find whatever the aliens are looking for." Hunk concluded, leaving everyone impressed with his intelligence. Keith internally smiled at Hunk, knowing that although Pidge is usually described as the brains of the team, she wasn't the only one.

"Great thinking, man." Keith complimented.

"Hunk, you big, gassy genius!" Lance said.

"Don't just thank me. Thank Pidge, too. Without that journal of his, I'd be lost." Hunk told Lance, which made him turn to the small prodigy to give thanks.

"Thanks a lot, Pidge. Man, you're as smart as you are cute." The two froze with embarrassment over what Lance had said. It wasn't uncommon for Lance to flirt with girls, and from time to time, guys, but never with a skinny, little nerd like Pidge. She couldn't let her stupid schoolgirl crush get the best of her. Lance didn't know what was coming over him. Never has he saw Pidge as anything than just a friend, never as a love interest. Whatever was going on, he blamed Keith for this. They adverted their eyes away from each other, hiding their blushing.

"T-thanks, Lance. Glad I could help." Pidge studded, still flustered over the flirt given by the Cuban Casanova.

"Yeah, yeah." Lance tried to say cooly while scratching his head. Keith saw this and was happy about what this meant. They didn't want to admit it, but they were meant for each other. Keith wondered if he would one day find a love like that. He quickly wiped that thought away, knowing that the mission came first.

"Anyway," Hunk began in hopes of moving past the cute, awkward moment. "Where do we start, Keith?"

Keith turned to his board of scattered photos and pointed to the mountain range containing the Blue Lion, wanting to get to Arus as soon as possible. Allura had slept for long enough, and she needed him to wake her up.

The future Paladins had made their way to the outcropping using the Giger counter Hunk and Pidge devised. Following the two geniuses, they entered a cave covered with markings of the lions and wormholes. Keith was the only one to understand the true meaning of the depictions on the stone and was hoping that Lance's curiosity would once again strike so that he wouldn't have to blow his cover. Luckily he knew his cocky friend well, and before they knew it, the ground beneath them opened and slid them down to where the lion was kept.

They ignored their drenched state as everyone had laid their eyes upon the technological marvel before them. Keith acted surprised at seeing the Blue Lion, despite flying alongside it many times in his past life.

"Is this it? Is this the Voltron." Pidge asked Shiro.

"It must be." He replied. Keith took the initiative and moved towards the blue particle barrier surrounding the lion, prompting the others to follow.

"Does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?" Lance questioned his friends. Shiro replied with a no, but this didn't shake the sensation of the yellow eye targeting the boy from Cuba. "Yeah. The eyes are totally following me."

Keith had listened to Lance, which prompted him to help his friend bond with his lion. "I wonder how we get through this."

"Maybe you just have to knock." Lance took the bait and walked up to the barrier, tapping it twice with his knuckles. In a flash of blue light, the barrier disappeared, and the lion's radiating aura had seeped into the Paladin's minds, showing them all visions of the Legendary Defender. However, not all of their experiences were pleasant.

Within the Mindscape, Keith witnessed horror beyond imagining. Planets crumbled and imploded over the lack of Quintessence. Entire civilizations were mercilessly eradicated in an instant. Waves of drained, lifeless bodies flooded the stars as the coldness of space enveloped them. A dark knight stood atop of the mountains of the dead, not caring over those he was supposed to protect. The shining lights of the universe were snuffed by eternal darkness, leaving only a pair of massive, piercing green eyes. Their stare ripped into Keith's soul, threatening to wipe out the only hope the universe had left. An evil chuckle put immense fear into the heart of the Paladin, fear that was killing him bit by agonizing bit until finally, the vision was suddenly over. Keith then fell to the floor, unable to find the strength to stand after what he had seen. None of the others had noticed Keith's panic as they themselves were stunned at their own shared vision.

"Whoa. Uh, did anyone else just see that?" Lance asked his friends, hoping that he wasn't the only one who shared his experience. It was actually for the best if he didn't see everyone's vision.

"Voltron is a robot! Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!" Hunk yelled in excitement.

"And this thing is only part of it!" Pidge exclaimed. "I wonder where the rest of them are."

"This is what they're looking for." Just as he was done talking, Shiro and the others heard someone taking panicked breaths. They then turned to find Keith on the floor, looking like he had just had the worst nightmare imaginable. Ironically, this wasn't far from the truth.

"Keith, You alright?" Shiro asked, concerned for his adoptive brother. As he tried to gather his breath, Keith looked at his team and realized that he was starting to act suspiciously. 'Damn her. Damn her schemes' Keith thought to himself as he quickly collected himself and got off the ground.

"I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting to see that." Just then, the Blue Lion lowered its head, frightening both Hunk and Pidge as it did. Once the head met with the group, it's jaw opened to let them in. Lance eagerly took the invitation and walked right into the cockpit. The rest of the group followed behind and watched as Lance fidgeted with the controls. Pidge and Hunk were both astonished with the technology present while Keith was overjoyed on the inside for being in a Voltron Lion once again. He tried his best not to dwell on the horrific vision he had earlier, wanting to move forward with the bumpy ride ahead of them.

"Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, ya know, aware. We are inside some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now." Hunk said as his face squinted to have feline features. It was a rather odd sight, however brief it was. Suddenly a tingling sensation between Keith's head and neck struck. His sensitivity to Quintessence was always present to him but never addressed or utilized until recent years. The raven-haired hybrid had trained with Allura in his past life to better control and sharpen his unused ability in situations such as this. It was something that Keith should have gone to Allura with whenever she was alive. He would have his chance, but first, he detected that the feeling of connection was being established with his fellow paladin.

"Whoa. Did you guys just hear that?" Lance said.

"Hear what?" Keith asked, even though he knew the answer.

"I think it's talking to me." Lance then leaned forward the touch screen and began pressing buttons. Suddenly, the Lion started to move and gave out a powerful roar. Keith instantly began to hold on to the pilot seat, preparing for the rough flight.

"Ok. Got it. Now let's try this." With one last smirk, Lance propelled them all towards their destinies.

"Holy Crow! Is that really an alien ship?" Hunk asked as a Galra cruiser appeared in front of them. Keith bit his tongue as not to shout out the name of the race priming to attack them. It was moments like these that were going to tempt Keith into revealing the truth, but he had to stay strong and have faith in his team. Lance was doing his absolute best to dodge the indigo laser fire as all the others could do hold on and pray.

"Be careful, man! This isn't a simulator!" Pidge loudly told Lance, wanting to not die in the vacuum of space.

"Well, that's good! I always wreck the simulator!" Lance then moved in and returned fire with a powerful blue beam from the lion's mouth. A stream of explosions wrecked the side of the cruiser, prompting the Cuban Hotshot to be bolder with his next attack.

"Let's try this!" In a blue blur of speed, The right leg of Voltron used it savage claws to tear at the damaged side of the Galra ship, causing more explosive damage to the haul. Not wanting to endanger the inhabitants of their homeworld, Lance took the Blue Lion out into space, leading the Galra with them. The cosmic chase brings them to the edge of the solar system, next to Kerberos. Pidge barely let out her astonishment over their speed as a wormhole opened in front of them. Keith knew they had to enter to get to Arus.

"This may seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there," Lance said to his crew.

"Where does it go?" Pidge asked her pilot friend.

"I don't know. Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"

"Whatever's happening, the lion knows more then we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together." Keith didn't have to influence anything as the team had all unanimously agreed.

"Alright. I guess we're all skipping class tomorrow." Lance quipped as they entered, bringing Keith closer to the person he swore to save.

'Hold on, Allura. I'm coming for you.'

Keith could barely stop himself from falling into tears as he laid eyes on the planet Arus. Not even Hunk puking his guts out could break him away from the moment he was having. The Blue Lion then took over and was breaking through the atmosphere to reach the Castle of Lions, where the princess rested. Every second passing was an eternal torture for Keith as he gripped the chair with anticipation. His heart was begging to burst from his chest, and his lungs huffed with hard breaths. If he weren't the chosen Paladin for the Blue Lion, he would probably yank Lance off the controls and go full speed ahead.

Finally, the Castle came into view with it's large, shimmering magnificence. Keith's eyes had widened even bigger as he tapped his foot, ready to leave. His unnoticed begging was ceased as the Blue Lion landed, opening its jaw to allow it's occupants to exit. Keith didn't hesitate as he ran out of the ship to the Castles' doors, ignoring Shiro calling his name. With the lion's roar, the doors glowed and opened, revealing a dark and cold interior devoid of life. The doors then shut behind them as they then we're bathed in blue light with a voice telling them to hold still for identification.

Once that was over, the interior illuminated, revealing the Castle's beautiful architecture. Keith clenched his fist as he told himself to keep it together. His actions in the cave and outside were causing his friends to become suspicious of him. He moved with the others as they made their way into the alien structure, hiding his eagerness. While the group reacted to their surroundings with astonishment, Keith looked on with nostalgia. The Castle was just as much of a home to him as it was to Allura, and was just as heartbroken as she was when they had to destroy it.

'No. No more bad thoughts', Keith said to himself in his head. He was home with his family and nothing was going to stop him from saving them all. He then allowed himself to smile with glee, which didn't go unnoticed by Shiro.

"It's beautiful, isn't it."

Keith was brought back to reality by his older brother's comment. "Yeah, man. Very beautiful."

The raven-haired hybrid was overwhelmed with anxiousness upon reaching the central control room. This was it, the resting place of the princess. Keith composed himself as he prepared to catch Allura as soon as she woke up from her long slumber. The panel lit up, and two cryo pods rose from the ground, containing the last of the Royal Court of Altea. Upon seeing her body, Keith was utterly gobsmacked. He thought he could handle seeing Allura again, but her beauty rocked him to his core. Her stunning dress, her immaculate dark skin, and her long silver hair that flowed like sea foam. He almost forgot to keep her from falling as she opened her eyes and called out to her father. Keith had beat Lance to it this time around and caught the princess, holding her in his arms.

His eyes begged to let loose all of the tears stored in his body as he looked upon her alluring face. Unimaginable levels of happiness dwelled in Keith's heart as he was reunited with Allura. He didn't know what to do, as part of him deep down told Keith to plant a kiss on her like she did when he slipped away. Keith refrained from this as he didn't want to ruin his relationship with Allura. The former loner needed to not abandoned Allura as he did in his past life. She looked to him for comfort and confidence, but he disregarded her feelings for his own. For a long time, he blamed himself for her death and wanted another chance to make things right. This time, Allura was going to live a life of happiness and prosperity, and anyone who got in the way of that would face him and his blade. Allura's eyes fluttered open, locking her gaze with Keith's, prompting him to softly respond with a smile.

"Welcome back," Keith said, meaning both from her sleep and her death.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked him, looking around confusingly.

"I'm Keith, and you're in your castle," he told her calmly. Soon she would discover the fate of much of her race, so Keith had to be as gentle as possible with Allura.

"Your ears?" Allura inquired as she held onto his right ear.

"Hideous, I know," Keith told the princess with awareness. Now he had to lay her down gently. "Listen to me, Princess. What I'm going to tell you is going to be shocking, so-"

In an instant, Allura regained her strength and grabbed his ear tightly. Keith had no time to react as she forced him down on his knees, twisting his ear and arm. Now standing behind Keith, Allura tightened her grip with her Altean strength, causing her captive to gasp in pain.

"Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?" She angrily questioned Keith, who was grunting over the position he was in.

'Damn! I forgot how quiznacking strong she was!' Keith internally though as he fought against the pain.

"A giant blue lion brought us here! That's all we know!" Lance told the princess as she held Keith to the ground. In some way, he saw this as revenge for swiping the alien beauty from him. But now, Lance just wanted her to stop hurting his sort of friend.

"How do you have the Blue Lion? What happened to its paladin?" Allura then let Keith go as the cogs started to move in her head. "What are you doing here? Unless- How long has it been?"

"We don't know what you're talking about," Shiro responded. "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help."

"I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea. I've got to find out how long we've been asleep." Allura made her way to the control panel, placing her hands on both sides of the surface to activate it.

"Okay, that's how that works," Pidge said as she examines the alien technology. Meanwhile, another pod arose to reveal an awaking Coran, who then sprang forth to attack the group only to fumble and nearly fall.

'Oh, man. I almost forgot about Coran', Keith thought to himself as he watched him and Lance try to intimidate each other with their "fighting skills." He then turned his attention towards Allura, whose face showed complete sorrow over what she had discovered. Keith slowly moved towards her as she broke down. From this moment forward, he would be her shoulder to cry on.

"No...It can't be."

"What is it?" Coran asked Allura.

"I hoped this wasn't the case." Allura's voice broke with sadness as tears began to fall down her face. "We've been asleep for ten thousand years!"

The entire room was silent, save for the cries of the princess over the loss of the people. Keith instantly wrapped his arms around Allura, which she returned as she cried on his shoulder. Keith didn't dare utter a word as he held the heartbroken princess, wanting nothing more than to rid her of all of her misery.

"Planet Altea, my father, our entire civilization. They're all gone."

"I'm so sorry, Allura," Keith told her in her ear. He had suffered loss just like hers in his time, but it didn't negate the eternal pain felt by both of them. Coran wasn't taking the news well either, as he hanged his head in despair.

Keith allowed Allura to pull away for she can clean her face of tears. For a brief moment, the two shared a look into each other's eyes, both finding a drive to fight against the evils that befell the universe. This made the princess move from great sadness to unimaginable rage.

"This is Zarkon's fault!" Allura hissed, narrowing her eyes in rage over what the tyrant had done.

Shiro's mind briefly flashed with nightmarish memories at the mention of the name. "Zarkon?"

"He was the king of the Galra. A vile creature and an enemy to all free people!"

"I remember now. I was his prisoner."

"He's still alive? Impossible!"

"I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a superweapon called Voltron."

"He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him," Allura tells them all. "And that's exactly why we must find it before he does." With those words uttered, the journey began to find the only force powerful enough to face not only Zarkon but an even greater evil that has yet to arrive.