Chapter Text
“Thank you for getting the scaultrite, Hunk,” Allura smiled. “It should be more than enough for what we need to complete the teludav and execute the plan.”
Hunk liked Allura. Really, he did. She was a good leader, doing her best even though she had been through a lot. But he also knew that that was her shallow smile, political rather than sincere. False.
Sure, the words were real. But the smile was not, and it was because Keith was standing beside Hunk instead of hiding somewhere in the castle or just never returned or not existing or whatever Allura wished. He seemed resigned, unsurprised about her disregard of him, of the way she either ignored or verbally attacked him. She never did anything different anymore, not since they had all found out about Keith’s Galra heritage.
It was understandable that she was upset. Keith shared blood with the enemy, with the people who had destroyed Allura’s people and home. But Keith had been surprised too, she seemed to forget. He had thought himself as Human as the rest of the Paladins. They all had. And besides, they also now knew that not all Galra were evil, that they weren’t all Empire. The Blade of Marmora was proof of that. Demonizing an entire race of Humans wasn’t okay – doing so to an entire species wasn’t either.
Hunk couldn’t change Allura’s feelings. Hopefully she would do so on her own, sooner rather than later. He would try to keep the tenuous peace in the castle, but after the weblum he couldn’t just leave Keith on his own. “Keith helped too!” he said, keeping his tone bright while staunchly ignoring the dark look that passed over Allura’s face at the name and the way Keith sort of tried to hide behind him. “We made a great team. Also, I hope that’s enough scaultrite for ever, because I never want to go back into a planet-eating monster’s belly again. Once is enough for that kinda experience, you know? So if we do need to do that again, Keith and I will sit out and just coach or something. From a distance.”
And thank god for Lance – his buddy knew just what to do and jumped in to babble on about how maybe next time he and Allura could go on the daring adventure, they would make such a cool team, she should have seen him being the universe’s best sharpshooter at Beta Traz, on and on about anything while gently guiding her out of the room as they went back to the bridge. And then the room was empty except for Hunk and Keith, and the tension finally drained away.
Well. Most of it. Keith still looked uncomfortable. But he kind of always did now. Like he didn’t think he belonged here.
“Really, man, thanks,” Hunk said, “you saved my butt back there. I would have freaked out so much – well, so much more than I did – if I was on my own.”
Keith shrugged. “You did fine. Sorry for… backseat Lion-driving. I know you’re a Paladin and can pilot your own Lion without me trying to control everything.”
“Dude. I’m not a good pilot, I know that. I had never even really flown before we became Paladins. You were trying to help, and I appreciate that. Yellow and Red are different Lions and fly differently, and it’s hard to feel ok with watching how someone else works, even if it’s for something that wouldn’t work your own way. I know I can fly Yellow well enough for us to do what we need to do. You’re the ace pilot, not me.”
He grinned, playful, and was rewarded with a flicker of a smile back. “Our Lions have different jobs. Yellow and I are slow but tough, and beside you saved us with Red against that robeast! ‘Sorry I’m late’ my foot, you guys were right on time! And besides, you weren’t trying to be critical or controlling, coming at it from an angle of, like, negativity. You wanted to help, and you know a lot about flying. I understand it, and I’m glad I had you around.”
“Too bad not everyone feels that way,” Keith muttered. Then he blinked, looking startled, like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
But he had, and Hunk wasn’t going to let the topic slide. Keith kept trying to brush off Allura’s anger like it was normal to him, like he was so used to people hating him that it wasn’t even surprising anymore. Hunk would not allow that. “No. It’s not okay. Allura is hurt, and sure that makes sense, but she shouldn’t be taking it out on you! You didn’t even do anything!”
“I exist,” Keith snapped. “My blood – Galra blood – exists, even if I didn’t know it. The Galra took everything from her. And I’m just here. I’m Galra. I get it. It’s fine.”
“It is not fine. The Empire destroyed Altea, but not all Galra are Empire. We have two Blade members in the castle right now, and she’s not going after Antok like she is you.”
Keith snorted. After a second of imagining the Princess trying to yell or glare at the towering faceless Marmorite, impassive to seemingly everything in the world, Hunk did too. “Okay, maybe I understand why she’s not going after him. But that still doesn’t mean she should be acting the way she is toward you. It’s not okay, and she needs to understand that.”
Hunk paused for a second. “Okay, you’re Galra. Fine. I like Galra Keith! And I like regular Keith too!”
Keith sputtered. “I – what – I’m not two different Keiths! I’m just – I’m Keith!” But Hunk could see that he had gotten the joke, knew that Hunk was playing. Keith was Galra, and that was kind of weird. But he was also Human.
And most importantly, he was Hunk’s friend.
Keith’s willingness to let others be unkind to him was clearly much older than the Galra discovery. He hadn’t had many friends before, he’d told them that. He was more than a little prickly, sometimes even kind of scary. Hunk didn’t care. He would stay beside him and help him see that he was worth standing up for. No matter how long that took.
Lance had just finished passing Allura off to Coran, Shiro, and the Marmora members on the bridge. He’d managed – he hoped – to distract her from Keith for now, regaling her with (unasked for, but still cool) stories of their Beta Traz adventure (only slightly embellished) and anything he could think of that didn’t involve Galra or the Red Paladin in any way.
Don’t get him wrong – Keith could drive Lance nuts too. It was like the guy was deliberately annoying sometimes. Or, worse, he just ignored Lance. Lance was, like, the founder of the Keith Is Infuriating club. But Allura was taking it too far. Her words were cruel, and her glares could cut cosmoglass. And for her to switch from normal to… that, in just the few words it had taken for Keith to tell them he was apparently an alien (which maybe explained a lot about the guy, actually) …
Well. It didn’t exactly encourage trust in Allura. If she could turn on one of them so quickly, for something he had had no control over and hadn’t even known himself – who knew.
Lance understood her upset and fear and anger, at least a little, but despite how frustrating he could be Keith wasn’t an Empire soldier. He was weird, and annoying, and sometimes kind of mean, but he’d fought for all of them with everything he had. Lance didn’t give up loyalty easily, and although it made him a little uncomfortable to know that the other Paladin shared blood with the species that was their enemy… that wasn’t a reason for him to turn on Keith. He’d have to try a lot harder than that.
He was interrupted from his weird Keith-and-or-Allura-focused musings by Pidge. The tiny Paladin grabbed his arm and hauled him down a hallway, winding her way through passages until Lance was pretty sure they were both lost. Her face was set with determination and something edging on discomfort, but it was overridden by the full intention of whatever she was planning to do right now.
Holy quiznak, was Pidge going to murder him?
“Hey.” They had stopped in an empty storage room, with only Rover for company. Lance really hoped Pidge wasn’t going to murder him. “Pidge, uh, what are–”
Her next words were definitely not what he was expecting. “You’re important, stupid.”
What. Lance was very confused. “Huh? What are you talking about? Why are we he–”
“Just shut up and listen!” He did. And Pidge went on the weirdest disjointed tangent he’d ever heard – and that was saying a lot, when it was Pidge.
“Look. All that shit about being the fifth wheel or whatever has got to stop. Have you seen Voltron? The fifth wheel on a five-wheeled vehicle is pretty fucking important. Every single one of us matters. Voltron is us, all of us, and it doesn’t work if we’re missing someone. Anyone. So don’t even think that you’re somehow less important than the rest of us. You don’t get to be different or special or whatever like that. We’re all different, all special, and it all fits together. Puzzle pieces don’t all look the same, or if they do it’s a pretty shitty puzzle. You don’t build a machine out of all the same parts.
“I thought being a Paladin would be all you needed to be confident or whatever it is that people need. There’s no point doubting yourself, Lance. Blue chose you. She had all of Earth to pick from. Hell, Keith and I were actively looking for her but she said no fuck you I want that one. No idea why, really. Doesn’t matter. I don’t question giant magical robot lions. She had her reasons, and she sure as shit didn’t pick wrong. So don’t you dare challenge her.
“And, okay. The whole ‘sharpshooter’ thing. You know you have the best aim out of all of us, right? Like by a lot. It’s your thing, and… that’s cool. I can’t see shit, I’m more nearsighted than my dad, so the idea of a sharpshooter is actually kind of awesome. I know it’s like your clever nickname or whatever, but seriously. That’s cool.
“I mean, Jesus, Lance, we’re all very different Humans. And we have different skills. That’s the point of a team, at least so I’ve been told. Different roles, that’s what a team does. Can you imagine me as a diplomat? I would start three wars in a day, not make instant allies like you have done multiple times do not even open your mouth right now mister. You might as well have superpowers for all I’m concerned.”
The whole time she was going, Rover just beeped along in the background like this all made sense in Pidge-and-Rover land. Lance kind of felt a little like he’d been run over by a verbal train, but there was absolutely no stopping the five-foot-tall (literal) force of nature in front of him. So he just let it happen. In a way it was kind of nice, like standing in the surf and feeling the water rush around you, power embodied. And the words… well. Pidge didn’t say bullshit. She told you how things were. She certainly didn’t make stuff up just to make you feel better. This was a lot all at once and without the slightest bit of organization, but despite everything it meant a lot.
Eventually Pidge ran out of steam. This was clearly not a rehearsed rant, and she just blundered and stuttered to a stop, leaving the two standing in silence staring at each other.
And then Pidge turned around and took off. Before Lance could even move, she was gone, vanished into the depths of the castle. Knowing her, Lance probably wouldn’t see her for the reset of the day.
The whole thing was really weird and a little funny. Everyone knew Pidge was allergic to feelings. Watching her do it anyway had been impressive, like seeing his lactose-intolerant cousin drink a whole milkshake. But despite the awkwardness and bluntness and lack of organization, the words had been… something. They would stick with him for a while.
For now… shit. Lance had no idea where he was. Thank god for Rover. And later it could also go find Pidge, once she’d recovered from her overdose of Genuine Sincerity and Emotion. To be honest, Lance was reeling a little from it all too. He couldn’t do what she could do, that was obvious – nobody could. But he’d never thought that maybe that went both ways. He would have to find a way to thank her that wouldn’t set off another “allergic reaction” of feelings.
Maybe Rover could help.
It took a lot of guts to come clean with Shiro. Pidge was used to being sneaky, going behind people’s backs, doing whatever she needed to do without the approval of others. But… Shiro had such a disappointed dad stare. And this was something that maybe she should have let him in on, before. It mattered to him, too, almost as much as it did to her.
Maybe it was that that kept him from doing his “disappointed parental act.” He couldn’t do it because he was staring at the screen instead, at the little grainy frozen image of Matt, coughing and covered in dust and alive – and no longer a prisoner of the Empire.
“What does this mean?” Shiro’s voice was strained, and he coughed to clear his throat. “Will this help us find Matt? Who are those people?”
Pidge shrugged, not looking at him. “Some kind of rebel group. I’m looking into it. But for finding him–” she hesitated. “In a way, this might make it harder. He could be anywhere now. The video isn’t new. He’s not a prisoner anymore, which is… really good. But that also means I can’t track him through the Empire systems. Not that I was having much luck on that front, though, so I guess that’s fine.”
God, what was this? Her throat was tight, the words hard to squeeze through. She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking, blinked hard to clear her suddenly-blurry vision. She hadn’t cried over her family in so long. Not since getting into space, that was for sure. And what was wrong with her? Her brother wasn’t a prisoner of the evil intergalactic Empire anymore. That was a good thing. So why did she feel like she was on the verge of a meltdown?
Maybe Shiro noticed, or maybe he didn’t. He was good at playing it cool when he needed to. The Black Paladin – her brother’s best friend – put his arm around Pidge, and she let him lean against her, leaned back into his side a little too. “He’ll be alright. He’s still out there. We’ll find him, Katie.” Her own name felt like a ghost out here. But now, staring at Matt’s image, knowing he was alive somewhere, even if it wasn’t here with them, it felt right. “You won’t stop looking, and we’ve got your back. We’ll find him, and your dad too.
“Matt’s a survivor. It runs in the family.” He smiled, and she rolled her eyes at him but didn’t put much force into the headbutt she knocked against his shoulder. It was impossible to know if he was talking about the post-wormhole rift when Pidge had been alone in space, or Olkari where she had awakened incredible powers of nature under extreme duress, or all the times they had faced Zarkon and his forces as Voltron and on their own. Maybe even about the time between the Kerberos disaster and Shiro’s return, when she and Keith had nearly self-destructed before turning their rage and determination on the Garrison. Maybe it was all of those and more, everything.
“We’ll get them all back,” she murmured. It was a promise. She’d made a lot of them, different words all with the same purpose, but this was new solid information. Matt was still alive, free, and fighting just as hard as she was. As they all were. She was getting close, she knew it.
We’ll get them back. We’ll win the war.
And then…
She would just have to find out.
“Okay, please translate the Lance-ese: how the hell did you get two Slavs? And why was one of them a dog? Or were they really a dog, he wasn’t very clear. I thought there was only one prisoner in the entire planet, how the hell did Lance end up with the ‘wrong Slav?’”
Pidge snorted. “Dumbass. He found something called a Yupper that looks like if a grizzly and a Bernese mountain dog had a kid and only says ‘yup.’ So when he said, ‘Hi, are you Slav?’…”
Keith pressed his head back against the wall, huffing a laugh. “Oh my god.”
“Also, it turns out that it was the Warden’s pet, and he wasn’t exactly happy about us accidentally kidnapping her.”
“Jesus. Only Lance.”
Pidge just nodded. She was… Keith had no idea what she was actually doing, only that it had to do with the Final Plan and was simultaneously very important and very boring. Lance was helping Hunk with his part of the construction and Shiro was probably hiding from Slav – seriously, he had never seen his brother like he was around Slav. Shiro couldn’t fucking stand him, and it was hilarious to the rest of them. In any case, the others were busy and Keith was at once antsy and useless-feeling, so he had gone to find Pidge. Maybe he could help, or entertain so she could work better, or at the very least not feel alone and like he was going to crawl out of his skin.
Also, since Pidge and Allura were avoiding each other, he was very unlikely to run into the Princess in here. Another bonus.
Although everything had worked out, it had been strange to be separate. Since leaving Earth, the Paladins had rarely been apart from each other, and Keith usually ended up near Pidge one way or another. Sure, part of it was a protective instinct, although he also knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. They also just worked well together. In the end, they were usually together or not far from the other. Being on completely separate missions had felt really, really weird, despite how much he’d ended up liking being with Hunk.
So now they were catching each other up on the adventures they’d had while separate. Pidge’s had apparently involved dog-bear-monsters, …whatever Slav was, and a bunch of time in too much open space for Pidge’s comfort. Rover gave its opinions in the background, but Keith still didn’t understand binary so was left in the dark on the little robot’s personal considerations.
And Pidge had apparently had an extra mission, of her own design and without anyone else’s opinion or backup. The thought made Keith uncomfortable, except he knew he would have done the same. “I found my brother,” Pidge said. The rest – how and why and the risks she had put the main (actual) mission under – weren’t important, after those words. “He escaped. Rescued by some rebels.” Rover popped the video up on its little projector, and Keith stared at the tiny grainy figure of Matt Holt. He didn’t look great, but he did look alive.
“But now… I don’t know how to find him.” Pidge’s eyes hadn’t raised from the screen she was focused on, but he could recognize her anxiety as well as he could his own. “He’s not in the Empire systems anymore. He could be anywhere. Shiro says he’ll be fine, but–”
“You’ll figure it out.” Pidge stopped and turned to blink at him. Keith shrugged and glanced away. He was just telling the truth. “You’ve made it this far. And it’s not like the Empire’s prison databases were helping much anyway. Now he’s out, but that means that he’s free. Whoever he’s with is probably better than the Empire, too, so that ups his survival. Matt’s always been a friendly guy, he’ll make allies fast and they’ll help protect him.
“Besides…” he wasn’t quite sure he could say this, but there was a flicker of Katie in Pidge’s eyes and the words came out anyway. “Now maybe he can start looking too. He’ll probably be trying to find Shiro, since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know you’re out here, but I’m sure word has spread that the Paladins of Voltron are Human. Or – mostly Human.” Whoops. Hooray for diversity, I guess. “Also, you two look literally exactly alike. He’ll figure it out. It doesn’t have to be just a one-way thing anymore. Matt’s not in space jail anymore, he can look for you too.”
Pidge was looking like she clearly hadn’t thought of this. For such a smart person, she sure could miss things. That was what Keith was for, he guessed. “Shiro came back on his own,” he said. “We were looking, but he wasn’t just static. He found his own way home. We’ll keep working on Matt and your dad, but they exist too, and they’re trying to get back to you just as hard as you’re trying to find them. Your family is damn stubborn. None of you are going to give up until you’re all back together.”
Pidge sat frozen for anther moment, staring with eyes as wide and gold as her Lion’s. Then she jerked herself back to the computer and resumed typing with a fervor. Keith caught a muttered, “Goddamn feelings,” but thought it best not to push his luck. He was a little dizzy from all that himself. Some of Hunk must have rubbed off on him in the Yellow Lion, because that had been… a lot. But for all the emotion Pidge didn’t look upset, so maybe he’d done it right. Hunk would be proud.
Pidge’s story had been mostly success, but Keith had had a big failure in his and apparently now was the time for confession. Hopefully Allura would never hear about this, or they would probably be looking for a new Red Paladin. Keith went through the tale somewhat mechanically – he’d never been much good at storytelling – blundering through his talks with Hunk because how could he explain those feelings in words, definitely going into too much detail on the body functions of the weblum, and probably making a nuisance of himself but Pidge was used to Lance chattering away at all hours so probably didn’t even notice, and then he got to the part with the Galra soldier and suddenly she was paying very much attention.
“You–” Pidge stopped to rub at one eye hard. “Okay. Okay. Helping people, sure, that’s what we do as Paladins. Whatever. But, Keith – an Empire soldier?! Did you forget your last shred of self-preservation at the castle or something? That’s basically asking to get shot the second you turn around!”
“I wasn’t going to leave them to die,” Keith growled. “Nobody deserves that. Not even a Galra.”
Pidge pressed her face into her hands and made a long incomprehensible noise. “That’s – Keith.” She dropped her hands slowly, although she kept her eyes on the screen rather than look at him. “That’s not what I meant.”
“What, because I’m Galra now I might risk betraying the team for–”
“Jesus Keith shut up and listen to me.” Okay, now she was looking at him. Angry. “Keith, I don’t give a fuck about the Galra thing. You know that. Don’t turn that on me.
“It’s not that you helped a Galra. We know there are good Galra – there are two Blade members in the castle right now and another undercover in Zarkon’s own ship who’s gonna help us take him down for good. Galra are just people, like whoever else. We’ve had other aliens who were good and bad and everything in between. Humans too.” Iverson and the Garrison went unsaid. Not all Humans were their allies. “My goddamn problem is that that was an Empire soldier. It could have been a trap, or someone who thought they might get some bonus points by killing or capturing a Paladin. I’d feel the same if they had been a Balmeran or Olkari or Chazililai or whatever. Maybe they didn’t care and just wanted to survive, and would rely on and trust whatever help they got. Maybe they wanted to defect or whatever. Not the ideal situation for that, but whatever. But they were wearing an Empire crest, and that’s what I don’t like. Not that they were Galra.”
All the air went out of Keith and his bristling deflated entirely. “I know. You’re right. I’m sorry.” It wasn’t Pidge he was angry at, after all. Of everyone, she was one of his closest allies and friends, he shouldn’t be getting upset at her.
Pidge sighed. Her hands had returned to typing, but she wasn’t really focused on it. “I’m sorry, too. It takes a lot to actively reach out and help someone, especially a stranger. And in the end they didn’t turn on you, so I guess there’s that. I… I get why you did it.”
They had a lot of anger in their relationship. Much of it was in the past and had been directed outwards, away from themselves and each other. Not all, but enough that they had grown close. He wouldn’t do it again, and she wouldn’t hold it against him. They were both right, in a way.
This was bigger than universe vs Galra. The Marmorites were on their side, and Galra and mixed-species people were scattered all across the range. Just because Zarkon was Galra and many of his soldiers were too, didn’t mean all Galra were bad. Maybe Allura had forgotten that, but the rest of them couldn’t.
And, in the end… even an Empire crest on one’s body didn’t necessarily mean so much. Neither of them looked at the little bot, but Rover’s hovering hum was almost deafening in the quiet. Its new external layer was smooth and white, without the camouflage casing it used on undercover missions, but it too had once borne the symbol. Even those in the Empire might not always stay there. Voltron was the first real opposition to Zarkon with any power – maybe people who had followed him out of survival necessity could be inspired to leave the Empire behind. It was a big universe, but despite all his power Zarkon was not a god. He could be challenged, and he could be taken down.
And then… well. After, once everything was over, maybe it would be a good thing to have a part-Galra on the team. An example, a role model or something. He didn’t know. But it could be worth thinking about.
Although the discovery had shaken the entire team – none more than Keith – they had all adapted quite quickly, excepting Allura. Keith hadn’t even fully realized it until he was alone on the mission with Hunk. It could have gone much worse, really, but it had helped him realize that his team had his back. It was an unfamiliar feeling, so used to being on his own. But it was a good one, and Keith didn’t want to lose it ever.
He watched Pidge type, not a bit of it making sense to him but unbothered by that. He’d noticed that one of the screens was still running the Holt search that Pidge had created, looking for any information on her brother and father in the depths of the intergalactic internet. It rarely stopped.
But that screen sat to the side. Pidge’s focus right now was on the setup for this final plan, the way they were going to take Zarkon down for good. The End. Her family remained to be found, but she was working with her new family, too.
Neither of them had ever had this many people before. The rest of the team, friends on planets far and wide, the Blades. It was more than a little overwhelming, as far as Keith was concerned, but it also felt like the greatest treasure in the universe. The Empire was horrible and Voltron’s entire purpose at this point was defeating it, but… at least some good had come from this whole space misadventure.
A program chimed for attention and Pidge shifted to tap at that one instead. Rover hummed and hovered, drifting around as if to keep an eye on the rest of the tech, make sure every bit was doing its job like a little supervisor. Keith settled in, leaning against the wall and letting himself relax a little. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Does it always have to be about Zarkon?” Hunk complained as the others dissolved into laughter around him. “All I want right now is a calzone. And also to not be in battle against an intergalactic emperor, but I think that just goes without saying.”
Pidge huffed. “No kidding.” But soon he would be gone. Gone and good riddance, and then she could focus on tracking Matt and Dad down at last. Without everything else going on, she’d be able to find them so fast, she was sure. She was never going to let either of them go anywhere ever again. Also Mom would probably ground all three of them until the heat death of the universe.
Their lives would never be the same. Some – a lot – of that was bad, but there were some bright spots. If not for all this, Pidge would probably have spent her life disliking Keith, and him feeling the same way, when it turned out that he was actually pretty cool and they got along better than she ever had with anyone besides her brother. She would have definitely still have gone to the Garrison, but Katie’s time there would have been very different than Pidge’s was, and she might never have met Hunk or Lance. And all this space stuff… as bad as the whole Empire-war was, Pidge loved space. The adventure, the mystery, all the things just waiting to be discovered. She was learning languages! She flew a magical robot Lion, and they had a telepathic connection! It was all so surreal, and so incredible.
Once Zarkon fell, the universe would be theirs to explore. Pidge couldn’t wait.
Shiro was staring out into the stars, face an unreadable mix of emotions. “Once we defeat Zarkon,” he said, almost to himself, “the universe won’t need Voltron anymore.”
“We’ll be able to go back to Earth,” Lance said. Whenever he looked out the windows, it was like he was hoping to be able to find home, no matter how far away they were. He loved space too, Pidge knew, but there was a lot more waiting for him back on Earth than there was for Pidge or Keith. Although Pidge wouldn’t mind going home for a while either. She hadn’t found the space version of peanut butter cookies yet, so that was one thing Earth had going for it.
Lance’s world was home on Earth, but Pidge’s wasn’t, yet. “I can find my family.” First family, then Earth for a bit, then… everywhere.
Keith’s face was unreadable. He wasn’t looking out the window. Pidge was pretty sure he had been watching the rest of the team, until he realized she was watching him and then he stared at the floor. “Maybe I can look for mine,” he said, so quiet that Pidge might be the only one who heard.
It was a huge idea. Overwhelming – how would they find what they were looking for when they didn’t even know what, or who, they were looking for? Searching for some unknown connection in the wild that would exist after Zarkon’s fall, the first free universe in ten thousand years.
Well. Pidge had always loved a good mystery.
She didn’t even notice that it had been an automatic “they.” “We.” She wasn’t about to let Keith go adventuring off on his own without her, after all. They had always made a good team.
“This is it,” Shiro said, voice heavy with confidence and the full weight of the possible future. “As long as everything goes according to plan, we can’t fail.”
They were together. They would make it.
They would win.