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He tried to fight against it, to outrun it, but his lion didn't have enough power.

The light from the explosion had blinded them, and while the light had faded, the force of the mech self-destructing still pushed the lions towards Earth.

He tried to stop his descent, he really did. Except he just had to give in to the darkness. This wasn't even just his own tiredness, and hurt; the Black Lion's hurt seemed to seep into him too somehow, amplifying his own. He was also just so tired. Of everything. Just exhausted. He'd had very little rest now that he'd all but become Voltron's leader. When was the last time he'd actually had a day to relax?

He tried to fight it, do anything he could but he didn't have the energy. Or the will. And his head hurt, and his whole body was sore and there was just too much working against him, too much he couldn't do, hadn't been able to do in a while.

There was nothing he could do, and so he let the darkness consume him.

He'd passed out before he even reached the atmosphere.

He regained some form of consciousness not long after, but even then, he could barely register the ground coming very close very quickly.

His last thoughts were small and fast. Were the others okay? Where were they? He hoped none of them crashed anywhere dangerous.

As for himself?

All he saw was rust coloured dirt, the sensors all showing data in red, maybe screaming at him but it was too late because his world had already gone black.

The blast from the mech hit the Red Lion hard, making his world hazy.

His thoughts briefly went to Keith, hoping the paladin was okay. The Black Lion had been the closest from what he'd seen in the few seconds before he'd been almost blinded by the explosion. It seemed to have been hit pretty hard.

Not that his own lion hadn't been hit hard too, he thought, starting to focus on worrying about himself first.

Red was falling towards Earth, and falling fast. None of the controls were responding, no response from the lion at all in fact. There wasn't even any red holograms on the panels telling him to slow down. Red's power was completely gone.

There was nothing he could do.

In the time he had left, he tried to look around for any of the other lions but he couldn't see anything. Red was supposed to be the fastest but it didn't do anything. Didn't save him when it mattered.

Then suddenly, Red stopped falling.

All Lance could remember thinking in those seconds just before impact was if Allura was okay.

Her head hurt. And her thoughts were fuzzy, not making any real sense.

Then it all sharpened when she realised her predicament.

Blue was in free fall. All the lions were from what she could tell, and there was nothing she could do about it. About the others, or her own lion.

She'd managed not to pass out after the initial blast, which was good she supposed, but it seemed Blue hadn't avoided the repercussions if one look at her sensors filled with red were anything to go off of.

Keeping from panicking - or trying to at least - she placed her hands on the controls and closed her eyes. She tried to channel all her magic into the lion, feeling the magic flowing down her arms. It didn't take long for the air to feel electrified around her, magic everywhere.

But it wasn't enough. She was drained as it was, and so she watched, helpless. Blue was all she saw, the lion or the sky outside almost indistinguishable right before impact.

She passed out then, but not for long. A few seconds later, she woke up and everything moved slowly. The lion was still falling, but slower, as if it was sinking…. She could still only see blue, but not the lion, she realised quickly, and not the sky.

Water! She'd fallen into water, a nearby lake or something!

How was she to get out? She didn't really know how to swim, but if she did nothing then they'd keep sinking. Down… down… into the deep dark depths.

She straightened up.

No. She was not letting this happen. This would not be the end of her.

Her magic filled her once again, channeled back into the lion to fuel it. She closed her eyes, not needing to see to be able to feel the magic, the energy. She was tired but this was her last chance.

Electric air around her. Every ounce of her being, every drop of her magic and energy.

And suddenly she could see. Not with her eyes but her magic. She felt it as it filled each part of the lion, each wire, each crevice and corner.

She opened her eyes to pilot the lion, going up, up, until she broke through the surface and BLue shot out of the water.

Now, where was solid ground that she could land on? Somewhere not far hopefully, her energy drainng already. A map appeared beside her and she quickly searched it.

There! Land not too far from here! She can make it. Blue can make it.

She can see it with her own eyes now… so close… so tired… no…

Her eyelids fluttered. Almost… there….

Blue powered down and they were falling down again, but this time, she wasn't awake to even notice.

She woke up with a gasp.

What had happened? A question answered not a second later when it hit her.

The mech. Self-destructing. Voltron. Lions. Falling.

"Aaahhh!"

Free falling. She was free falling, too fast to be safe. If she didn't do anything, the lion would crash and at this rate, a crash like that would kill her. But one quick glance around her told her the lion's power was gone. It couldn't fly.

She reached as far as she could without falling from her seat, reaching for a control panel.

Gravity was a wonderful thing. Gravity was science. And Pidge loved science. Except when it worked against her, like now.

Frantically writing out lines of code on the small computer attached to the armour on her wrist, she tried to code something, hack into the system and restart it. Do something. Anything. Not be so helpless like always.

What? That wasn't right. She wasn't helpless. She'd gone across the literal universe to find her brother and save their dad, finally reuniting her family.

But this was different. Nothing was working. It wasn't responding at all.

She could see trees below her now, the lion heading right for the small forest. Quickly calculating something, taking into account the rate she was falling at and whatnot, she deduced she only had 7 seconds to do something.

6….

Rapid typing. Hoping this would work because she didn't need calculations to know she would die if it didn't.

5…

The screens lit up again and she couldn't waste time celebrating no matter how much she wanted to.

4…

Even if she could pilot the lion…

3…

There wasn't enough time to avoid a collision…

2…

Not enough energy either…

1…

Oh to heck with it. She pulled up on the controls as hard as she could.

0…

The impact was still strong. Not enough to kill her, but she was out, mini computer on her arm still open.

He didn't have to look outside or at his controls to know he was falling. His stomach told him the second it happened, rising up to his throat in an instant. Curse his stupid, weak stomach.

He fought to keep from throwing up, focusing instead on trying to slow or at least stop his descent. His very fast and out of control descent.

Great, now he was fighting panic too.

The controls in front of him were all red, warnings everywhere as if he didn't know how screwed he was.

The ground was approaching fast. He looked out and almost groaned because he saw an even worse problem. Because the ground coming up to meet him, was rust and gold, sand and rock, which was not ideal, but okay. The problem was that speckled among the rust and gold was spots of black, like ants. Ants who were actually people, and who he was headed right towards.

A thought struck him, making the situation even worse. That was probably the mining colony that the Galra had set up, and who did he know was in the mining colony? His parents! He couldn't risk them, he hadn't even gotten to say hi to them yet!

So he got to work. He was not letting anything happen to them. He was not letting his lion fall and kill or harm those people, whether they were family or not. Except he quickly found out it wasn't that easy because he didn't exactly know what to do. Yes he was an engineer, but these were not normal technologies.

Hmm… hadn't the topic been brought up a lot of them being connected with their lions. Being able to recharge them yourself? They had done it just a little while ago, but that was recharging Voltron with all of them. How exactly was he supposed to do it himself? Voltron had Allura as a paladin, an actual Altean. It was probably just her and she wasn't there with him right now.

Maybe he should try meditation. That always seems to be a good idea with spiritual stuff right? So he tried to meditate, but it was a little difficult to relax in an alien-tech lion that could fly but was currently falling to the earth.

"Come on…"

This wasn't working. He slammed his hands on the dashboard, frustrated at his cursed bad luck, and the stupid Galra, and the stupid universe, and his stupid weak stomach which still couldn't get over its motion sickness despite flying almost every day.

He blinked.

The hologram controls were no longer red, returning instead to their usual colour.

"Yes!" He wasted no time. Only a few more seconds until impact so he pulled the lion up and to the side as hard as he could.

"Come on… you can do this…." Whether he was talking to himself or the lion was unknown, but it didn't matter. The jolt of the impact was still felt everywhere on his body.

He groaned, his head hurting as the lion slid on the ground before settling. His vision blurred, and he only hoped he'd done it, that he'd saved those people before the darkness took him too.

He'd seen the blast first, had heard as the paladins realised the mech had a self-destruct protocol and watched as Keith led the lions to take it as far as they could, up and out of sight.

Not far enough that they didn't see the blast though.

The small explosion was misguiding, so small over the distance but equally as destructive. Any victory they'd felt about defeating the mech had been quickly dwarfed by the realisation of the potential cost the victory had come at. They all waited with bated breath in the Atlas, silence overtaking everyone as they watched five coloured lines lead away from the explosion.

One red line, one blue, one green, one yellow, one purple.

All headed in different directions like a star. For a second, everyone breathed a sigh because it meant the lions hadn't been destroyed. As long as the lions were okay, it was safe to bet that the paladins were, or would be too.

"Coran, see if you can get communications online." They couldn't check that the paladins were okay though, and it put him on edge.

Everyone unfroze when he spoke, and got to work immediately, checking all systems and giving updates.

"Power's completely out," someone supplied.

"Backup generator?"

"Trying."

Shiro was starting to get a bad feeling, one that latched onto him and made his breath quicker. They may have defeated the mech, but at what cost?

They all watched as the five coloured lines in the sky started to arc downwards, four little explosions where the lions met ground, one too far to see. The blue one from the looks of it. His heart stuttered seeing this, each cloud of dust from the impacts squeezing his heart harder.

He slammed a fist on the control panel as if it would help. This was a victory right? There was always a cost, he knew that, but it can't be this, it can't be them. He had to know they were okay. If they weren't… he didn't know what he'd do.

He should have been with them. Instead he was stuck here in a ship turned mech, with no power, utterly helpless. He hated feeling helpless. Especially when it came to people he cared for. His mind went to his time in the Galra's hands after Kerberos, but he shoved it away. He couldn't deal with that right now; there were more important things that needed his attention.

"Shiro… your arm." Coran's voice brought him back to reality, and the words took a little time to register in his brain but once they did, he looked down.

The same magic from before, that had allowed the ship to turn into a mech in the first place, had returned, covering his arm in wisps of blue. As soon as he saw it, he knew what to do.

Closing his eyes, he breathed out a slow breath, hand on the dashboard the whole time. He focused on the magic, the energy, and the ship around him. Trying to do what he had before, he put all his focus into powering the ship, willing the magic to cooperate.

The whole room was silent and he hated it. His mind started to spiral. What if silence was all he heard from Keith? What if they hadn't made it? What if…

He stopped himself. He knew from experience what thoughts like that would lead to and it was nothing good, so he couldn't think like that. Why was he so helpless?

A hum filled the silence, a high pitched whir just before a blast of energy made him open his eyes. He could see the shock in everyone's faces as they looked around them, their monitors slowly but surely flickering on.

The ship powered up. He did it.

He almost collapsed, the energy almost taking too much from him but he knew he couldn't falter now.

"Atlas to Voltron, can you hear me?"

He made sure his voice was loud and clear, not letting any of his emotions into his voice, but only static was returned. No panicking, don't panic.

"Paladins, this is Shiro. Do you copy? Keith? Anyone?"

"Allura?" Coran spoke up too, trying to contact his fellow Altean but to no avail.

"Keith?" Shiro tried again. It was taking everything not to shout, to keep his voice level and even. "Lance? Pidge? Hunk? Allura? Keith? Please respond."

Static. Painful, empty static to fill the room. The silence was almost better.

Suddenly, they got an incoming transmission. "Uggghhhh…"

"It's from the Red Lion," Coran informed him, an indecipherable look on his face as he met Shiro's eyes, one of hesitant hope.

"Lance? Lance do you copy?"

"M'here…" Lance's speech was slurred, and rough, but at least he was alive. He was alive.

"Hold on Lance, we're coming to get you. Just hold on."

"'Lura?" A hint of panic creeped into the younger paladin's voice, but it was still borderline unintelligible.

"What? Lance, please repeat that."

"Allura… the others…"

"We don't know yet. None of the others have responded back yet. But we'll keep trying, just hang on."

Lance didn't respond to that, but Shiro hoped he'd still heard and understood. Turning to his crew, Shiro tried to get more information on the state of the ship.

"Can we get engines up? Anything?"

"Generator's only at around 67% functionality."

"Is it enough?" Please let it be enough, because every second they wasted was one second too late.

"Maybe…"

Someone else spoke up. "If we cut off all non-essential and semi-essential-"

Shiro didn't let them finish. "Do it." Whatever he could do, he'd do. They weren't essential for a reason anyway, so whatever it was obviously wasn't important enough to get in between him and his team, his family.

Everyone was moving now, doing something or another. He stayed at the helm, watching over it all. He couldn't lose his control now. Lance was okay, which meant the others probably were too, which meant Keith would be okay. He just had to hold out hope.

He'd already lost so many people, Adam being one. He couldn't lose Keith too.

Soon, the mech was standing, and they had the locations of all the lions. If it were up to him, selfishly, he'd have gone to Keith first, but he stopped himself. It wasn't practical, and it was unfair. They knew for a fact that Lance was okay, or was at least conscious in some form. They'd told him they were coming, and Shiro would hold to that.

They'd get to all the lions, and all the paladins would be okay. They'd be okay.

He kept repeating it to himself as they headed towards the Red Lion's location.

They'd be okay. They'd be okay.

He'd be okay.

On their way to the red lion, they continued their efforts in contacting the others. Since no answer ever came through, they were left with the explanations of there being something wrong with the comms system and no transmissions were going through or being received, or the other worse option he didn't want to think about.

It didn't take long for them to get to Lance, all of the lions not actually landing too far apart. They quickly realised though that they had a bit of a problem, because as they saw the different locations of the paladins, it was obvious that the blue lion had landed in water.

Shiro had sent a couple jets to check that Blue wasn't submerged or in immediate danger, the Atlas on standby in case it was. They were ready to get Allura out fast if need be, and it was convenient that the body of water wasn't too far from Lance's position.

They'd passed by the yellow lion on the way here, noting that it had landed close to the mines and the colony there. For a short while, they'd been concerned since that was where the most civilians were but it seemed no one had gotten hurt. Either it had just been due to luck, or Hunk must have managed to do something in the last second. Shiro had considered checking on the yellow paladin, but seeing the crowd if people already gathering, he decided against it.

If Hunk needed help, then he was probably getting it from the people there so he wasn't a priority. The ones who were a priority were those paladins who didn't have a crowd of people nearby to help, aka all the others.

Red was in his eyesight now, a small machine on the ground in the distance. Just as it had come in sight, they'd had an incoming transmission from one of the fighter jets he'd sent to check on Allura.

"This is Rizavi, reporting in. We have visual on the blue lion."

"Good. What's its status? Is Allura okay?" The split second of silence between him speaking and Rizavi answering was enough for his mind to start spiralling, only stopping once he heard her voice again.

"We don't know about Allura, but the lion is only half-submerged. It's not completely on land, but it seems to be resting on a shallow edge of the water, so it's okay for now."

"Alright. See if you can get to Allura but otherwise just wait here in case anything happens. We'll be there soon."

"Copy that. Over and out."

The Atlas landed beside Red, the whole mech shuddering as it came to a rest on the ground.

Opening a channel, Shiro spoke. "Lance? Lance can you hear me?"

No answer. He must have passed out, Shiro told himself, refusing to even think about the alternative.

"Have a medic ready in the hangar," he said, already planning his next move.

"On it," someone answered, but he didn't see who.

"Let's get the red lion onto this ship," he ordered next, both of his hands on the railing to give them something to do instead of taking over and taking over completely as he felt like doing. Luckily, transporting the lion didn't take long and the second it was done, he announced the transformation sequence.

Turning the mech back into a ship was easier than he'd thought, and it happened smoothly, the change happening in a mere few seconds. As soon as the sequence was over, and everything was confirmed to be stable, Shiro quickly turned over control of the hull to Coran.

"Get us to Allura next," he issued another order to whoever was listening. It seemed Coran was as he looked up at Shiro with a raised eyebrow.

"Where are you going?"

"To check up on Lance." And without waiting any longer, he turned and left.

He walked quickly, just a little faster than his normal pace which was already pretty fast. Getting to the hangar took a matter of minutes, not long but he still wished he could move faster.

The main hangar was huge, the whole ship just generally a brilliant technology, but he didn't have time to marvel at it now. As great as it was, it was only an obstacle for him now; the red lion was in sight at the end of the hangar, laying in a powerless heap on the floor but he still had to walk the whole length of the large space to get to it.

As he drew near, he noticed the medic waiting nervously nearby. She looked young, and while Shiro didn't mean to underestimate her, he sincerely hoped that she wasn't the only medic on the ship for her own sake. She'd be overwhelmed quite quickly with all five paladins and possibly more people from the colony. Ideally, not all of the paladins would need medical attention so it wouldn't matter if there was only one or two medics, but he knew that was very wishful thinking.

When he finally reached the medic and the lion after what felt like forever, he told the medic to wait outside, deciding he'd go in himself to help Lance out if he needed it. The medic had just nodded and stood aside, fidgeting.

He stood in front of the lion, the thought only just occurring to him that he didn't actually know how to get in when the lion was unresponsive, but it seemed Red had him covered. The second he stood in front of the lion and faced it, the lion's mouth opened to reveal the tunnel entrance.

The temporary shock lasted for only a short while before he shook it off and remembered why he was here. He quickly moved towards it, not wasting any time.

Once he was inside, and out of earshot of the medic, he called out for the paladin.

"Lance!" He'd been hoping for an answer other than silence, but silence was all he got. The cockpit was just up ahead now, so he could see for himself why Lance wasn't answering.

"Lance! Lan-"

He entered the cockpit and the first thing he saw was the back of Lance's head. From the way the younger boy was slumped to the side, unmoving, told him that he was unconscious. Unconscious, he knew and not the worse alternative he'd been fearing because he could see the shallow but steady rise and fall of the paladin's chest.

Walking around the pilot's seat so he was facing the sharpshooter fully, he crouched down. "Lance, wake up. Talk to me, come on."

He gently hit the paladin's cheek to try and garner a response to no avail. Gently extracting Lance from his seat, the boy still did nothing, only slumping forward and forcing Shiro to carry his weight too. Carefully standing up with the unconscious paladin's arm over his shoulder, Lance finally stirred as Shiro made his way with him towards the door.

"Lance? You're safe, okay? I've got you. You'll be okay."

Though Lance's eyes never opened, Shiro knew he'd heard. And though Lance was awake, he still couldn't walk so it was much slower getting out of the lion but they eventually made it.

The medic Shiro had left outside now had a stretcher beside her, he noticed, along with another man on standby. He guessed the new guy was another medic which was good, helping Shiro relax just the slightest bit.

As soon as the man saw Shiro, he immediately ran over to help him with Lance and together the two carried him and placed the boy on the stretcher. After a quick conversation with the medics, Shiro was left to watch as they ran off, stretcher pulled along beside them.

"Shiro? You there?" His comms crackled with Coran's voice in his ear.

"Yeah, I'm here. What is it Coran?"

"We've reached the blue lion."

Good, that was good. One step closer to getting all the paladins onboard. One step closer to getting to Keith. "Okay, beam her up. Tell Rizavi and Kinkade to come back too. I'll stay here to receive Allura."

"Copy that."

He waited in the big hangar, all by himself, just waiting.

This was taking too long. Yes, they were one step closer by reaching Allura, but it was still going too slow for his liking. And especially after seeing what state Lance had been in, he couldn't help but be a little more concerned about the others, about Keith.

The selfish part of him still wanted to go to Keith first, to just get to him and then the others. That was the part of him that had lost too many people close to him. But the other paladins were close to him too and he couldn't bear to lose any of them either. As much as he cared for Keith, he cared about all of them. Besides, he knew Keith was strong, maybe even stronger than him. He could trust the hot-headed boy to be okay; history had shown that nothing could knock him down permanently.

It was then that the hangar doors opened, distracting him from his thoughts before his mind could spiral out of control.

Two jets flew in, disrupting the air around him. They'd barely landed before the blue lion followed, collapsing on the ground the second the beam holding it up switched off.

He quickly contacted Coran. "The blue lion is safe. Head to the next lion's location now."

"Heading to the Green Lion," Coran said, but Shiro could hear the hesitation before the older Altean added a quiet, "Make sure she's okay, please?"

"Allura will be just fine Coran. But I'll make sure, don't worry." He smiled softly despite the situation, understanding Coran's feelings. They likely weren't too different from his towards Keith.

He stopped himself before he could think about the red paladin in question for too long. That was a road that would lead to places he didn't want his mind going, so instead he focused on heading over to the blue lion, whose mouth had just opened like Lance's had.

As he jogged over, Rizavi and Kinkade appeared beside him.

"What can we do sir?"

So eager to do something, to help. They reminded him of himself when he was younger. But no time to dwell on that now.

"One of you go get a medic, and tell them that there's another who might need help," he ordered, referring to Allura. In response to his instructions, Kinkade nodded and immediately set off at a jog towards the doors.

He turned back to the other pilot. "Rizavi, you wait for Kinkade. If Allura is unconscious, then I might need help getting her out. Keep an ear open in case I call."

"Yes sir!" They shared a nod before he turned.

Finding his way to Blue's cockpit took even less time than it had with Lance.

"Allura?" He called out, not really expecting an answer but being pleasantly surprised when he heard a groan in response.

"Allura!" He ran to the pilot's seat, getting there just as her eyelids fluttered open the slightest bit.

"… Sh-ro?"

"Yeah, I'm here. You're safe."

"Did… w-win?" Her head flopped back, even speaking seeming to take a lot of effort and energy on her side.

"Yeah, it's destroyed. You guys did it. But you need medical attention, so I'm gonna help you out okay?"

Allura could barely nod, but she did and he helped her out of her seat. Without the support of a headrest, her head lolled, eyes closing again.

"Th… others?"

Her voice was a mere murmur, so quiet that he almost thought he'd imagined it.

"Hey, save your energy. Don't talk. And I don't know about the others. We only got to Lance and you so far, but Lance is fine. He's unconscious but he's with the medics. He'll be okay and so will you."

He thought he saw a small ghost of a smile on Allura's face at the mention of Lance's name, but her brow was still low with worry. She was losing consciousness by the second, Shiro half carrying her out at this point.

Once they were in sight though, Rizavi came over to help without him having to call out for her to. He also saw that Kinkade and two medics with stretchers had just entered the hangar too, on their way quickly. He appreciated the initiative of bringing two medics so they wouldn't have to ask a second time when the green lion came in.

Speaking of, the large doors behind them opened again, traction beam visible. They must have already gotten to the green lion.

Shiro made sure Allura was comfortable on the stretcher, the young Altean having lost consciousness at some point but otherwise seeming okay. He waited until one of the medics was wheeling her away before making his way over to the newly landed Green Lion.

"Coran," he started, opening a line but being cut off before he could even speak.

"Already en route to the black lion. It may take a little longer but only by a matter of a few doboshes."

"Thanks Coran."

"How's Allura?"

Shiro had already reached the green lion, in the process of entering the lion and making his way to the cockpit, talking while he jogged.

"She's okay. Weak and definitely in need of some rest but better than Lance I think. She's already with the medics."

Though he couldn't see Coran, he could imagine the relief on the ginger's face.

"Thank you," Coran said quietly, making the corner of Shiro's mouth twitch upwards. He thought the conversation was over, but Coran continued.

"And Shiro? Don't worry about Keith. We're almost there. He'll be okay."

Hearing it from someone else made him feel a little better, like his mind wasn't just making it up so he wouldn't panic.

"Thanks, Coran."

He neared the cockpit, able to see Pidge now with her mini computer still open on her arm, lines of code filling the screen as her hands remained loosely gripping the controls. She must have tried to regain control of the lion after they'd blasted apart, but it was hard to tell if she'd succeeded. It didn't matter anyway as long as she was okay.

"Pidge?"

There was no answer, so he gently scooped the small teen up. As he did, he got a response from her, the girl stirring and leaning closer to him. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make him relax the slightest bit.

The paladin looked so small and fragile in his arms, and it reminded him that she was the youngest of them all. It was easy to forget that sometimes, easy to forget she was still a child, that they all were - even Allura despite the fact she was technically thousands of years old. The realisation just hit him hard.

He himself had been the youngest at a lot of things, broken a lot of records just by being the youngest to do that thing. But this seemed different. All the paladins seemed so much older, forced to be so much older in a way he hadn't really been forced to be at their age. But young they were nonetheless, and it pained him to know that. How easy they all forgot that fact.

Coran's voice sounded in his ear once again as he was about halfway to the exit.

"We've reached the Black Lion. Beaming it up now."

"Copy that." His voice was calm, but his heart had started racing again. Coran's words had made him move quicker, still having to be careful with PIdge.

The second he was in sight of the door, and everyone else, Kinkade came up to help him and he passed the small paladin off to the younger pilot. He double checked that Kinkade could manage before their eyes met, Kinkade giving him an understanding look.

That was all it took for Shiro to rush off.

The lion had barely even been placed down, its mouth only just opening before he went inside. He could only control himself for as long as he was in sight of everyone else, and the second he turned a corner, the hangar behind him no longer visible, he ran.

Any exhaustion he had from the battle, from powering the ship twice was shoved aside. The few seconds he might have wasted could mean the difference between there being five paladins and four.

"Keith!"

There was no answer, but then again, he hadn't entirely been expecting one.

The black lion, unlike the other lions, was one he knew well. Even though it hadn't been meant for him in the end, it'd still been his for a period of time, holding his consciousness for almost as long too. It made the lion feel like his prison and his home at the same time.

Right now, the sheer size of the Lion was working against him. What was useful in battle now became an obstacle between him and the cockpit where Keith was. So far away…

Finally he made it and he could see the back of Keith's messy black hair. If it was under different circumstances, Shiro would have laughed, because it was no matter how much Keith grew, the hairstyle was still the same one from when the two had met. How long ago had that been now?

"Keith!"

He ran around the seat so he could see the younger boy's face, but the sight that he saw before him made his breath hitch.

Keith's eyes were closed, but what really scared Shiro was the drops of dark red against pale sking, the blood on the side of the paladin's head disappearing into his black hair.

Every bad thought went through Shiro's head in that moment, each one worse than the last. He'd seen Keith hurt before, but at least then he knew Keith would be okay because he was still awake. He'd still gotten up when he was knocked down.

What if this time was different though? What if this time he was too late? If this was it, and Keith was gone?

No. Keith wasn't dead. He just had to look closer to spot the small shallow breaths, the only movement at all coming from the paladin but the most important. He was alive for now but not for long if Shiro kept wasting time like this.

Moving quickly, Shiro picked the boy up, ignoring how Keith felt much lighter and heavier than he should at the same time.

Each time Shiro glanced down to check on the boy, his eyes inevitably flickered to the scar on Keith's cheek. The only physical scar their fight had left on him. Shiro still felt bad about it, even though he knew it hadn't really been him who'd done it, even though he'd talked about it with Keith and the boy had said he'd forgiven Shiro, said he knew Shiro would never attack him, never hurt him or want to hurt him. Even after all that, he still felt bad and the reminder of what he'd done was there every time he looked at Keith's face.

A face that seemed so peaceful now, with any trace of what he must have been feeling in those last few seconds before impact all lost to the realm of unconsciousness.

Suddenly, an unwelcome thought popped into Shiro's head. Unlike all the others, Keith hadn't stirred at all this whole time. No murmurs, or fluttering eyelids, or shifting in Shiro's arms. No indication at all that he was even alive except for that subtle rise and fall of his chest.

It only made him move faster.

The hangar was in sight now, the others standing with one of the medics who'd returned, another stretcher next to them. Shiro almost didn't want to set Keith down on it, to let him go, but he knew he had to. That didn't mean he left Keith's side though, walking out of the hangar with the medic, the younger paladin still passed out on the bed between them.

Shiro's full focus remained on Keith the whole way to the medbay.

Pidge had looked so young when she'd been in Shiro's arms, but now as he studied Keith's face, he realised it was the opposite with the boy in front of him. He realised how much older Keith was, how much he'd grown. When had that happened? When had he grown so far from that hot-headed pilot who didn't know what rules were to become the leader of Voltron, replacing Shiro himself in that position. He'd changed so much; they both had.

Where had the time gone? So much had happened in such little time, or maybe it had been a long time and it just felt short. Shiro had just been so busy he hadn't even noticed.

"Shiro, we need you back on the bridge," a voice in his ear spoke.

He hesitated, not wanting to leave Keith, but he knew he had to, for Keith to get the help he needed, and for everyone else who needed his help.

"On my way Coran."

He took one last look at Keith before the medic and him split up, going their separate ways. Making his way quickly back to the bridge, he tried his best to shove his worry about Keith aside.

As soon as he reclaimed his place at the helm, someone filled him in on the situation.

"We've just reached the Yellow Lion. Ready to land when you are."

"Find a spot where there are no people, but not too far from everyone else," Shiro answered, eyes taking in everything on the screen before him in seconds. "Have another medic ready in case Hunk needs it. Coran, Sam," he addressed the Altean in person with a small screen popping up with Sam's face filling the screen so he could listen, "you two are coming with me as soon as we land."

"Got it."

"Understood."

The Atlas descended slowly, eventually landing with a small thump in a place that fit his description. The second they touched the ground, Shiro handed over control of the bridge to someone else, Coran joining him as they left the room with Sam meeting them a few corridors down.

"Shiro, is Katie…?"

"She's okay, Sam. Unconscious like the others, but otherwise fine."

Sam nodded nonchalantly, but the relief on his face gave away exactly how worried he'd been. Shiro imagined the expression to be the same one Coran had worn when he'd updated the older Altean about Allura. He hoped he'd be able to have the same one soon once Keith was okay.

As the three men made their way to the exit, he sighed. He could already tell that this was going to be a long, stressful day for him. Oh well, what's one more day on top of the past few months?

When the Yellow Lion had crashed near them, landing mere meters away from the crowd, everyone had been stunned and no one had moved for a solid minute.

It wasn't just the fact that a huge mechanic lion had fallen from the sky after defeating a huge alien tech mech, essentially freeing the whole world from an alien invasion, but more just that it was a true miracle no one had been hurt from the lion's crash.

No one except the pilot perhaps, whoever they were.

"We have to help whoever's in there."

The lady who spoke stood with her husband, the two being the closest to the lion. The past few years had been hard for them, as they had for most people, but especially for these two because not only had they survived an alien invasion but they also hadn't seen their son in so long, not even knowing really where he was. But they hadn't given up, no matter what.

All the woman wanted was to see her boy again, her Hunk. She knew he was one of the pilots, one part of the thing they called Voltron as he himself had told them in a transmission that had been broadcasted by the Holts. She didn't know which lion he piloted exactly, but if there was any chance this was his, then she wasn't going to hesitate in trying to help him. And even if it wasn't him, then the pilot would still be one of Hunk's friends, one of the good guys, so they needed to help them regardless.

Pulling her husband along, the couple ran towards the large lion, stopping near its mouth.

"How do we…"

The Lion didn't let her finish before it answered, its jaw opening to reveal a small tunnel inside.

"Come on."

Her husband hesitated, but only for a second before he followed her into the lion's depths. They entered the tunnel, not really knowing where to go from there, but something pulled her along, a feeling she was sure her husband felt too.

He grabbed her hand and led them this time, not taking long at their fast pace to reach what they guessed was the cockpit. Once they reached it, they saw someone in the chair.

"Hello?" She called out, but there was no answer. The person didn't even move as they drew nearer, but it only took on good look at the back of their head for her to realise this wasn't some random person. This was someone she knew, and knew well even if she hadn't seem him for more than a year. She'd never forget him.

"Hunk?"

As soon as she said it, she knew she was right. Any shred of doubt left and she glanced at her husband beside her, getting more sure by the second. He let go of her hand and she ran.

Her suspicions were confirmed the second she rounded the chair; it was her son in the chair, undoubtedly him even with his eyes closed.

"Hunk? Can you hear me?" Her voice wavered as it filled the small space, but it still didn't elicit a response. At least not immediately. But after a few terrifying seconds, he stirred.

"… mom? Dad?" He could barely speak, his voice so quiet, but she'd heard and so had her husband who joined her on the other side of the chair.

"Yes, Hunk, it's me, I'm here son." She hugged him tight, not caring that he didn't hug her back and only leaned into her touch instead as her husband's arms wrapped around them both.

She couldn't help it as a tear leaked from her eye. Her son was home, he was okay - well not completely, but he was alive - and he was in her arms.

"I m's'd you," he mumbled, and for once, she didn't berate him for not speaking clearly.

"I missed you too," she whispered back. "More than you could ever know. Now let's get you out of here."

"M' fr'nds." His eyelids fluttered as he spoke, barely conscious yet still worrying about others. It was so typical of him that she had to smile.

"I don't know about them Hunk, but you're okay and that's all that matters right now."

She gently let him go, loosening her embrace so her husband could take over and lift their son out of his chair. Supporting him on one side while her husband took the other, Hunk still seemed very out of it, but then again she supposed he must have hit his head so it was to be expected he'd be a little… like this. He was somewhat awake though, which she took as a good sign, telling her that he'd be just fine once they got some medical help and he got some rest.

Then he'd be back to the energetic, loving boy she'd raised.

They made their way back to the Lion's mouth, everyone else waiting anxiously outside. As they moved closer towards the people, she had to tell them to move back.

"Give him space. Step back, please."

She spotted someplace to sit nearby and both parents headed over. Setting Hunk down gently, she sat down beside him to let him lean on her, holding him close. Her husband remained standing, trying to stop people from crowding them.

"Does anyone have water?" She asked the crowd. If they were gonna be there, they might as well be useful.

She saw a few people split off, likely to find the water she requested. Staying on the bench with her son, she stroked her boy's head the way she would when he was younger. It was still hard for her to believe he was here, after so long.

Someone broke away from the crowd, nearing with a bottle of water in hand. She took it with a grateful smile, lifting it to Hunk's lips.

"Drink. Tiny sips, come on."

Hunk stirred again and did as she asked, swallowing small sips of the water. As he did, shouts arose from the crowd.

"It's the Atlas!"

"Look!"

"The ship is coming here."

"Move away!"

"Step back!"

She got up, making sure Hunk wouldn't fall before she did so. Meeting her husband's eyes, he nodded and came back over to help carry Hunk.

They headed over to where the ship was landing, people moving out of the way this time without needing to be told, parting like a sea of fish to make a clear path for them to walk.

Once they were near the front, the ship set down on the ground, and the doors hissed open.

The doors opened slowly, revealing more people the wider the gap became.

It seemed that their arrival had attracted quite a crowd, but Shiro's eyes quickly focused on three people in particular. A large man and a woman holding a barely conscious Hunk up between them.

As a medic from the ship hurried to help the Yellow Paladin, taking the woman's spot in holding the boy up, Shiro took the time to study the two people who'd been with Hunk. He came to the conclusion quite fast that these must be Hunk's parents; similar features shared between the two and the Samoan paladin as well as the worry on the woman's face being akin to that of a mother's worry as she watched Hunk be placed on a stretcher and wheeled away.

For the next hour or so, everyone was wrapped up in something or another. More of the crew had joined Shiro, Sam, and Coran on the ground to help with moving those injured onto the ship, anyone with any sort of mediocre medical training rushing to the steadily growing infirmary to help in any way they can.

The Atlas had become a hub of activity, at the centre of any and all efforts to deal with the immediate aftermath of the fight and the Galran occupation. In the chaos, Shiro was too busy to check up on the paladins himself no matter how much he wanted to, but he had told the medics to inform him of any changes in the paladins' conditions and that made him feel the slightest bit better.

At one point while he was working, the medics had contacted him about the paladins, making his heart stutter in dread for a few seconds before they just told him the paladins had been moved to separate rooms for privacy. They also filled him in on the fact that apart from possible concussions, they'd all be okay. Most only had a few small cuts and bruises but that was too be expected so he didn't worry much. With some much needed rest, they'd all recover completely quite quickly.

He'd sighed in relief after they'd told him that, but it was premature since they weren't done. His chest tightened slightly when the medic continued talking, telling him that of all the paladins, they'd only really have to keep an eye on Keith. It seemed that the pilot of the black lion had hit his head harder than the others, as Shiro had already suspected thanks to the blood he'd seen on the boy's head, but the medic assured him there wasn't anything worse than that. He should be perfectly fine.

He should be perfectly fine. The words were on repeat in his head as he thanked the medic numbly and went back to helping wherever he was needed. Keith would be okay. They'd all be okay. He knew that and he was just worrying for nothing. They'd be fine.

He'd just been finishing up scouting the mines with a small team, searching for any remaining Galra who might be hiding when his earpiece had crackled. His mind had immediately gone to assuming the worst, thinking that maybe the medics were going to deliver bad news this time, tell him that something was wrong, with Keith or any of them.

Except the voice that spoke wasn't the medics. It was the person he'd left in charge of the bridge.

"Captain, we just picked up some ships on our radar entering the atmosphere."

"Are they Galra?" His heart raced for a different reason this time.

"No." He relaxed slightly, but he wasn't naive enough to relax completely. The person continued. "We're still trying to identify them… wait, we're being hailed."

He wasted no time. "I'm on my way back." Giving quick instructions to the rest of his team with him, he started at a quick pace towards the Atlas.

"It's Matt Holt!" The voice returned excitedly. "And, wait, more ships have entered the atmosphere."

Shiro started running towards the ship now, looking up to see small specks fill the blue sky with more appearing by the second.

"This is Krolia and Kolivan with the Blade of Marmora. Need help down there?"

"The Voltron Coalition has arrived. Where can we land?"

"How can we help?"

Overlapping voices filled the bridge, incoming transmissions as well as the crew's responses to them.

"We need medics. Is there anyone with medical training or equipment onboard?"

"This is the Atlas, thank you for coming. Land anywhere near the ship."

"This is Shiro, Captain of the Atlas and former Black Paladin of Voltron," Shiro addressed as many people at once as he could. "You're a little late to the party but we still need help with clean up. Land anywhere you can and get men on the ground. I'll get some of my crew to meet you and give directions. Thank you for coming. It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too Shiro." Matt's smiling face popped up on the screen, continuing to talk just as Shiro reclaimed his place at the helm. "More of our ships are on the way. I'll let them know where to land and what to do."

"That'd help a lot, thanks Matt."

With that, the young Holt's face disappeared only to be replaced by another.

"What happened down here?" Kolivan asked.

"A mech appeared," Shiro answered. "We don't know from where, or how, but Voltron and this ship only barely survived the fight."

"Where's Voltron now? Are they okay?" Krolia appeared beside Kolivan, concern on her face.

"The paladins are all in the infirmary. They're okay but unconscious and resting." The real question was answered through a shared look with Krolia who, once satisfied with whatever she saw, nodded.

"The Blade of Marmora will help however we can."

"Thank you." Shiro held Krolia's gaze for as long as they remained onscreen until they too were gone.

A wave of exhaustion hit him and he leaned heavily on the console. Veronica noticed, and spoke up.

"Shiro, maybe you should get some rest. With the extra help from the Blades and the Coalition, we can take it from here."

"Veronica…" He did want to sit down for a bit but he knew he couldn't. There was too much to be done and he couldn't put all that pressure on someone else.

"At the very least, go check up on Lance for me. And check up on Keith for yourself."

Shiro couldn't stop the small smile. She knew exactly what to say to get what she wanted.

"Okay. You're in charge for now. I'll be back in a bit and then you can go check up on Lance yourself."

"Yes sir! Thank you sir."

"Just don't let me come back to find this place in flames okay?"

"I'm only Lance's sister you know. I'm not him."

Shiro laughed softly at that as he left, making his way to the infirmary quickly before remembering that the paladins had been moved to the rooms in the hallway beside the infirmary and changing his course accordingly.

As he made his way to the end of the hall where Keith's room was, he passed by all the others. In the first one, he could see Colleen and Sam Holt siting next to Pidge, the former holding her daughter's hand while she chatted quietly with her husband.

He supposed he should fill them in on what's happening, so he knocked on the door to announce his presence before he spoke.

"Just thought you should know that the Voltron Coalition showed up, including Matt."

"Matthew?" Colleen's eyes widened at the mention of her son, but Sam was the one to ask where he was.

"He's outside with the rest of the ships, telling them where to land," Shiro answered.

"Thanks for letting us know Shiro. Colleen, you stay with Katie. I'll go get him."

"No. I'm coming with you. Katie isn't going anywhere right now and I haven't seen my son in years," Colleen argued. The couple shared a look before Sam gave in and nodded.

As the two stood up, Shiro nodded and smile politely, stepping aside so they could leave the room. He was about to leave too when Colleen turned back to him and spoke, waiting for Sam to be out of earshot before she did.

"Shiro? I.. just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" He was genuinely confused. He hadn't done anything really, not anything that warranted gratitude from her specifically.

"For keeping my family safe. Even on the Kerberos mission and after. Sam told me how you helped Matt after they were separated by the Galra. And being there for Katie too… thank you."

He smiled. "It's nothing." It wasn't nothing, not to her he knew, but what else could he have said? She smiled back at him before following her husband as Shiro also continued down the hallway.

Hunk's room was the one he passed by next, the large paladin's parents sitting by the bed. Not wanting to disturb them, he moved on.

The next room was Lance's, no family yet but Veronica would come soon, and once the rest of the McClain's showed up it would be almost crowded. As such, he let Lance enjoy the peace for now.

When he turned away from Lance to keep going, he bumped into Coran, who was heading out of Allura's room.

"Oh, hello Shiro."

"Hi Coran. Allura okay?"

"Yeah, she's resting. Must be exhausted so she deserves it. What about Keith?"

"I was just on my way to check up on him actually."

"Ah well I was headed back to the bridge."

"Oh about that, the Coalition and what's left of the Blade of Marmora has arrived. Just thought you should know."

"That's good. We could have used their help a few doboshes ago but they can still be of use."

"That's what I said," he chuckled, before remembering something. "If you're heading to the bridge, do you mind contacting Kolivan or Krolia nd letting them know to start salvaging what they can of the base? Now that most of the people have been dealt with, we should start building a shelter for them. This ship is only big enough for so many."

"Of course. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you. I won't be here long, but one more thing? I left Veronica in charge, so when you get there can you relieve her and let her know she can visit Lance now?"

"Got it." Coran nodded, before adding, "And Shiro? Take all the time you need. I can manage."

He just nodded in response. He trusted Coran, maybe even more than he trusted himself to be in charge but he couldn't stand by for long. This wasn't the best time to relax no matter how much a small part of him wanted to.

Coran walked off with a reassuring smile, Shiro watching as the Altean made his way down the hall and disappeared from sight around the corner.

Shiro turned away and kept going to the end of the hallway, hesitating before he entered through the doorway of the last room.

Keith lay there on the bed, almost completely still except for the same subtle rise and fall of his chest, the same as it'd been when Shiro had found him. There were some differences though, like the fact he looked the slightest bit better and he had a bandage wrapped around his head similar to most of the other paladins. Just like in the other rooms too, there was a monitor showing Keith's heartbeat as little mountains made of green lines on the screen.

His eyes kept flickering back to the monitor as he took a seat on the bed next to Keith, the screen reminding him that the boy was okay, that he was fine even if he was unconscious, even if Keith made no indication of even being aware of the older man sitting beside him, the mattress sinking slightly under his weight.

As Shiro studied Keith's face again, his thoughts from earlier resurfaced.

Keith really had grown so much; the boy before him not even really a boy anymore. He'd told Shiro about the time he and his newly reunited mom had spent in the Quantum Abyss. When he'd been telling his story, he hadn't given many details but Shiro knew it'd felt like two years to him. Been two years to him even if it'd only been a matter of weeks to everyone else.

Still, the time dilation meant the paladin had lived and aged two years more. Even apart from that though, the boyhad changed so much. He almost laughed remembering the introverted quiet little kid who hated everyone that Shiro had first met so long ago. That Keith was a world apart form the one laying next to him now.

The younger boy had asked Shiro countless times why he'd even chosen him. Why choose the boy no one like? Why care about him? Even his own parents had left him and yet Shiro had promised he never would. He'd never really had an answer to give Keith to these questions, but every time, he'd make that promise. That he'd never leave.

He'd unintentionally broken that promise too when he'd gone on the Kerberos mission. Keith had begged him not to go, and so had Adam, asking him not to leave them. He'd assured them that he'd be back, managed to convince them to let him go and of course that was the one time he hadn't come back.

He hated to think how Keith must have felt when he'd heard what had happened. It wasn't as if they hadn't talked about it, that Shiro hadn't brought it up before. They had talked about it once in the early days of forming Voltron, but he knew it still had effected Keith, maybe even continued to do so now. Even if Keith had said he'd forgiven the older man, even if they'd grown close again, even if Shiro had still scared Keith many times and Keith doing the same to him. Making the other think that maybe this was it and that was the last time they'd see each other.

Death was a common visitor in both their lives, more common than they'd like, taking others around them or threatening to take one of them themselves. Shiro had cheated death before and Keith had come close to needing to but neither had given in yet, and neither would anytime soon. Especially not now.

Shiro squeezed Keith's shoulder gently before getting up. Keith would be okay, he was sure of it. As much as he wanted to stay and make sure of it, he couldn't actually help with that. Keith needed him but not now, not as much as others did in this moment.

Making the choice, Shiro looked back one more time as he stood in the doorway, looking at the unconscious boy so peacefully laying there and not at the same time. He hated to leave Keith alone.

As if knowing what he was thinking, a flash of blue came from inside the room behind him.

"What the…" He turned to see a familiar blue wolf appear in the room, and he blinked. "Oh, um hi…"

The wolf glanced at him before proceeding to ignore Shiro in favour of walking over to Keith who it seemed to only notice now. Jumping onto its hind legs, the wolf stood up against the bed to lick Keith's face, whimpering when the boy didn't respond.

"Kosmo isn't it?" The wolf looked up at him, giving him the answer through that movement. "He… won't wake up. Not just yet."

Kosmo cocked his head, still looking at Shiro who tried to explain. "He's just recovering. He'll be fine.. I hope. But he needs lots of rest."

Shiro had to step forward when Kosmo started to paw at Keith's arm. "Hey, careful. You don't want to hurt him more do you?"

He suddenly felt ridiculous. He wasn't entirely sure if the wolf could really understand him. All he actually knew about this wolf was its name and that Keith had found it on the space whale, deciding to basically adopt it then and there.

It didn't matter if it could understand him or not though since it stopped anyway and started whimpering again.

"I know. I want him to wake up too," Shiro said, sitting down again. As he did, the wolf disappeared and reappeared behind him on the bed, finding a comfy spot next to Keith promptly laying down there.

Shiro held out his hand to stroke the wolf's head, waiting as the wolf sniffed his hand then laid its head down again once it deemed Shiro worthy of petting him. Which is what Shiro did for the next little bit, Kosmo occasionally whining and Shiro reassuring him - and himself - whenever he did.

After a while, he decided that he should probably go back now, to the bridge and to leading a whole recovery effort for the whole planet after an alien invasion. He sighed. Why was his life like this?

"Hey, I have to be somewhere else okay?" He addressed the wolf, who just looked up at him as he continued. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on him for me?"

There was a pause, then Kosmo lifted his head to nuzzle Keith's face, bringing a smile to Shiro's face.

"Good. If anything happens, come find me."

With that, he got up once again but this time, he got up feeling a little better about leaving Keith because now the boy wouldn't be alone. Yes, Shiro was leaving a wolf in charge of watching over an unconscious boy but Kosmo was not a normal wolf and Shiro's brain was tired of logic.

He walked back past the other rooms again, seeing that Romelle and the mice were keeping Allura company now, with Veronica in Lance's room seemingly talking to their parents over a communication device. Pieces of the conversation floated out of the room.

"Mom, if Lance needs rest, do you really think bringing everyone is a good idea?"

Moving on before Veronica could spot him, he saw that Hunk's parents were still with him in that room but the whole Holt family was together in Pidge's room now, all chatting softly with smiles on most faces.

It was nice seeing everyone with their families again, even if the paladins weren't able to enjoy it just yet seeing as they were unconscious.

Family was everything, something Shiro had learnt over and over again during his life, whether it was by blood or found. Found family was nice, but blood had been there first. The paladins were the only family Shiro had anymore. Allura only had Coran and now some others the same species as her, even Keith had reunited with his mom, but Shiro's blood family was long gone.

These guys were all he had, and that's why he fought so hard for them. That's why it'd hurt so much to lose even one of them. As he headed back to the bridge, he promised himself that he'd never let that happen. That he'd die before he'd see any of them dead.

"Coran," he started, entering the bridge, "how far did they get with the base?" Taking his place at the helm once again, he quickly took in any and all information on the screen as Coran answered.

"Well, they've almost cleared up all the debris."

"That was quick," he said, but from what he could see on the screen, it wasn't an exaggeration.

"Yes, well more ships arrived and it turns out Kolivan wasn't the leader of a rebel organisation for nothing. Paired with Krolia, the two are unstoppable."

"Good. Let's get to work on how we can rebuild the base into a shelter. Once we have a home base, we can move on to rebuilding the rest of the surrounding buildings."

"Copy that."

Time went by fast from then. He got to see in person what Coran had meant about Kolivan and Krolia making a good pair, and he hadn't been lying. They got work done efficiently and soon the base was good enough to house people.

Most who had previously been captured by the Galra and sent to work in the mines were moved from the ship to the base, leaving mainly essential people only on the ship. The paladins and their families were among the few civilians remaining on the Atlas by the end of it.

At one point, the Atlas was needed as a mech and Shiro issued a warning this time before transforming the ship. The mech wasn't needed for many jobs, but with the things it did help with, it helped a lot. After that, it stayed as a ship but the work was far from over.

Shiro was almost constantly on his feet, moving around though he spent most of his time at the ship's helm, occasionally going outside for some fresh air and to help where he could.

Krolia came onto the ship once things got a bit more settled, and Shiro let her to Keith's room where Kosmo sat, still watching over the boy dutifully. The Galran sat down next to the wolf and brushed her son's hair out of his face.

Since Shiro had decided to stay for a bit, he talked with Krolia about her son among other things. She thanked him again for being there for Keith, and Shiro hadn't known what to say to that except for filling her in on some of the things she might have missed in Keith's life. In return, she told him a few things about the short time they'd had together when Keith as a baby, much to Shiro's amusement and Keith's horror as he imagined would have been present if the boy was awake.

There was much more to talk about but not enough time and soon Shiro was called back to the bridge.

"Go, I'll keep an eye on him," Krolia had said when he'd told her he had to go. He knew she understood.

There was still so much to be done so he dove into the work, distracting himself. They managed to organise an address for Shiro to talk to the people and help smooth things over. He spent most of the time following that decision preparing for it and though there was still quite a while before he had to talk to pretty much the whole world, he needed every second to prepare himself, physically and mentally.

Less than an hour before he had to give his speech, he'd been told that Hunk had woken up. Too busy finalising his speech, he didn't have time to go check up on the paladin just then. Even if he had the time, he would have waited anyway to let the family have their privacy. They had been apart for a year or two after all.

Not long after, he'd been told that Pidge and Lance had woken up too. At that point, he needed a break from the speech to help soften his nerves anyway so he'd gone to check up on the paladins then. He'd already seen the large amount of people already gathering in anticipation of his speech and he wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.

As he entered the hallway of rooms where the paladins were, the first thing he noticed that had changed was the atmosphere. It felt… happier, lighter and full of overlapping voices and laughter coming from each of the rooms.

He smiled at the sight of Pidge being smothered by her mom, her voice muffled as she asked, "So… I'm not grounded right?"

"Of course you are, but we'll talk about that later. I'm just glad you're all home for now."

"How about we just focus on that then?" Pidge managed to get out. "Maybe for… forever?" The small girl spotted Shiro just then, her eyes begging for help but Shiro only smirked and mouthed 'sorry'. He knew better than to get in the way of Colleen Holt.

He passed by Hunk's room, seeing him animatedly telling his parents about their adventures before he moved on to Lance's room. The poor paladin was buried under the amount of family member hugging him at once, Shiro regretfully not helping him either. Two younger kids were running around the room and bouncing on the bed with Veronica standing to the side, laughing at the look on Lance's face before deciding to try her luck in helping her brother.

"Okay, that's enough, he needs to breathe."

"I'm his mother, I'll say when it's enough."

"Shiro… help…" Lance managed to rasp out, seeing Shiro by the door. The older paladin wasn't going to get involved in that either, not when Lance was still smiling despite it all. Deeming Lance to be pretty much okay, and in good hands regardless, Shiro moved on.

"Allura! You're awake!" He heard Romelle in the other room, and walked over to see Allura sitting up with bleary eyes.

"What.. what happened?"

"You did it! You fought off the mech and it exploded - boom! - and then all of the lions fell and…"

As Romelle explained - the mice acting each part out dramatically much to Allura's hesitant amusement - Shiro contacted Coran to let him know Allura was up. A few minutes later, the older Altean had appeared.

"Allura! You're okay!"

"Coran, please, that's too tight…" Allura's face was squished by Coran's embrace but the older man either hadn't heard or hadn't cared.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry… no please, let go."

The corridor was filled with so much happiness in that moment and it was a welcome contrast to the usual seriousness of everything. After a quick conversation with Allura to check she was okay, he moved on to the last room, the most important room right now to him and the seriousness returned.

Keith still lay on the bed, completely still. Kolivan stood in the corner now, having come in support of Krolia he guessed and maybe Keith, but that was the only change as Keith still hadn't woken up.

Krolia searched his gaze, him meeting her eyes. She could probably hear the others too, knew that they were all awake except her son. Kosmo nudged her hand as she stroked Keith's long hair from his forehead once again as if it would make him wake up, as if that was all that was keeping him under.

His eyes stayed closed.

Shiro stayed by the doorway, not really wanting to go in. He didn't know why but he just stayed where he was. Maybe he thought if he went in, he'd see close up that Keith wouldn't wake up, wasn't waking up. Maybe he didn't want to leave the happiness of the hallway, to give up his hope.

Whatever it was, by staying at the doorway, he could see some of the other people move in and out of the other rooms. Lance's room was almost overflowing, creating the most noise but he could still hear Allura and Coran talking. He couldn't hear each word, but he picked up on Keith's name, more than once actually and from different rooms too. All of the others probably figuring it out already.

A hush filled the hallway now, the voices a little quieter. Veronica peeked out from Lance's room and met Shiro's eyes, the question obvious. He gave a sad smile and shook his head as an answer, making her frown a little, concerned before she bit her lip and nodded. She gave him a reassuring smile, one he hoped he returned back. A while conversation without words.

She went back into her room, and he stayed still waiting on Keith, hoping he'd wake up. The other rooms were more subdued now that the initial joy from reuniting with family and the paladins waking up wore off a bit. Chatter still floated out from the rooms though, a shout coming from the furthest at some point.

"I'm grounded for how long?!"

"Katie! Keep your voice down…"

"Colleen, don't you think that's a little - "

"Stay out of it Sam! This is between a mother and her daughter…"

He smirked. That was exactly why he didn't get in between Pidge and her mom earlier. He hoped Pidge understood.

Glancing back at Keith, he saw that there was - predictably - still no change. His earpiece crackled and a voice came through.

"Shiro, there's ten minutes until the public address. We need you out here now."

He sighed. Somehow, some way, he'd been placed in charge and it was a curse and a blessing at the same time. A blessing for the obvious reasons but a curse because everyone needed his attention. They all looked to him even though the only one he wanted to look towards was Keith, hoping to see him looking back. Instead, he saw Krolia, their eyes meeting once again.

She'd noticed his apprehension about leaving, and she looked sad as she glanced back at Keith, the meaning evident. He wanted to be there when the boy woke up too, but that might not be possible. He was needed elsewhere, something she seemed to sense. She nodded, Kolivan just watching their exchange from his spot in the corner.

Shiro smiled gratefully and left, heading back past the full rooms of everyone else who watched as he passed by. Those who knew why he was leaving - like Veronica and some others like Hunk who'd likely been told by someone else - shouted encouragements out to him, 'good lucks' and 'I'll be watching' much to the confusion of others too busy with their families to really be bothered to ask anyway. He didn't mind. They deserved the time unburdened by duties.

He went out to where a small transport ship - the hovering equivalent of a car - was waiting to pick him up by the ship, carrying him through the crowds to where the lions stood together in a line having reconvened themselves once they were off the Atlas. The Black Lion stood tall in the middle, the lions' shadows hiding parts of the crowd.

Though he was no longer its paladin, his connection with the lion was still there, maybe from the time his consciousness spent in it or maybe because Keith was now the paladin and he had a connection with Keith. Whatever it was, the connection was still there nonetheless and through it, the lion gave him strength as he faced the crowd.

This wasn't his first time public speaking - he'd done it many times before when he'd broken a lot of records - but this felt different. As he looked out at all the people waiting for him to speak, ready to hang on to his every word, a variety of different species, familiar faces and unfamiliar, mostly unfamiliar, he took a deep breath.

Then he started his speech.

Krolia watched her son's face, studying it as if the more she memorised it, the easier it would be to spot when it changed, when it twitched or gave any indication that he'd wake up soon.

She shifted on the bed once again, restless in the uncomfortable positions but she refused to leave his side on the bed even if it meant she had to stop herself from slipping off the mattress every two seconds.

The wolf beside her also shifted when she did, adjusting according to her. She stroked its head once it settled down again, well aware of Kolivan's eyes on her movements, watching from his seat on the corner by the window.

Sounds of the other paladins with their families came from the other rooms and she was happy for them. She knew some were reuniting after years; her mind going to those two years she'd spent with Keith in the Quantum Abyss spent catching up on a lifetime she'd missed.

It was why she was so concerned about him now. Not that she let it show, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried. They'd only just been reunited, and though logically she knew he'd be okay and though she knew her son was strong - he was her son after all - she couldn't help but worry.

Worry was something she hadn't really been used to experiencing, the feeling being similar to what she'd felt for the Blades she'd trained but stronger. She supposed it was her maternal instincts, that this was what being a mother was; constantly worrying even beyond logic sometimes. It didn't help that Keith was in a constant state of danger, being a paladin of Voltron and not even just a paladin, but the half-Galran leader of Voltron. His constant state of danger was what told her that her worry was irrational.

She'd seen him in action, knew he could hold his own. She put herself in danger quite often too because of her job, so she knew that Keith would be okay. Yet none of it stopped her heart from wrenching when she saw her son laying there, so still.

He looked young and old at the same time, free and burdened, peaceful and distressed though his face never moved at all.

She kept brushing his hair away from his forehead, the long hair that he'd refused to let her mess with when they'd been on the space whale, the hair that she'd made a habit of ruffling, or threatening to cut it, or some other ridiculous thing that made his eyes widen most comically in horror.

The thought and memory made her smile. He only did those things when it was just the two of them, and she understood. Duty over everything else. To him, she was Krolia, a fellow if not higher up Blade. But those moments between just the two of them, when they could be mother and son were her favourite. When he called her 'mom', it always made her feel warm and happy.

She knew she'd hurt him by leaving when he was a baby, even if she hadn't really had a choice, so it was nice any time they could pretend it hadn't happened. Those moments were too few though, making her treasure it all the more when they happened. Otherwise as soon as anyone else entered the room, anything happened to remind him that they were not normal mother and son, it was like he flipped a switch and the Galra side was more dominant, the war side, the tactical only focused on duty.

Duty that had gotten him into this situation, into this bed with a bandage wrapped around his head.

Kolivan spoke, distracting her from her son's state and biding the time by discussing recent missions and other trivial things. Conversations that she didn't really pay attention to but indulged anyway. Anything to help her ignore how much longer Keith was unconscious for compared to the other paladins, help her ignore that he should have woken up long ago when the others had.

As she shifted on the bed again, her mind wandered to Shiro. She understood that he'd had to go, to talk to the people. She knew how much he cared for her son, could see it in his eyes, the way it seemed to physically hurt him to leave Keith so she wasn't mad in the least.

She could never understand how much he'd really done for Keith and he could never understand how grateful she was for it. Keith had talked about Shiro often on the space whale, talking about the man with so much respect and love. She'd had a feeling he wasn't telling her everything about his life but anything he hadn't said, she'd seen in those times when Keith had been asleep and the white flashes had come from the Abyss to show her his memories. Most of those memories had Shiro in them, and it was easy to see their relationship, stronger than anything she could ever hope to have with her son.

Shiro seemed nice enough too from what she'd seen. They'd had a few conversations, usually surrounding Keith, but from whatever else she'd picked up on, verbally or through her own observations, he genuinely cared about Keith and would never intentionally hurt the boy. That was better than she could say for herself.

It still ate at her, the way she'd left, even more now that she was reunited with her son. She'd known what leaving had entailed, what it mean all those years ago. She'd always intended to go back - or so she told herself - but it had gotten out of hand, one mission leading to another until she was too deep. Justify it all she wanted, telling herself notions of duty, of loyalty, but she knew she'd betrayed the greatest duty there was, the greatest loyalty she had and that was to Keith as his mother.

He said he'd forgiven her, but she knew that the damage she'd done couldn't be healed, not that fast and not that soon. She hadn't even forgiven herself, so could he? But they'd helped each other move past it for now over the two years spent together in the Abyss, and that was good enough.

She could hear sounds of Shiro's speech, words faint but there. She managed to catch bits and pieces of it, both her and Kolivan silent in favour of listening in. One of the paladins further down must have been watching the address, and she wished she could tell them to increase the volume but her heightened Galran senses would have to do.

It wasn't a long speech, but short was powerful and it was over quite quickly.

Just as it was being wrapped up, the afterwords from various other people who she didn't know replacing Shiro's voice, Kosmo - as they'd apparently named the wolf - perked up with his eyes towards Keith. Then it suddenly disappeared from it's spot laying down on the sheets, reappearing on the floor next to the bed instead.

The two Galra watched it in confusion until an answer dawned on them and they caught on quickly. This wolf was smarter than she gave it credit for, she thought, before turning her attention back to her son's face.

She watched his eyes blink open slowly, a smile coming to her face as relief flooded her. All of the dark places her mind had spiralled to while waiting disappeared in a poof like Kosmo had only moments ago, except these didn't reappear.

Keith blearily took in the room, gaze pausing on Kolivan in the corner, then her. He smiled a small tired smile back at her, but she treasured it. She'd missed too many smiled, contributed partly to his general lack of smiles by leaving, but now it was everything.

Before anyone could say or do anything though, Kosmo disappeared and reappeared again on the bed too fast for Krolia to stop him.

"Kosmo… stop…" Keith croaked, weak hands trying to push the wolf away from his face as the poor creature drooled everywhere, yipping happily.

Krolia laughed, pulling the wolf back to spare her son. He'd only just woken up after all, so she supposed it wasn't right to leave him to suffer just yet. Later maybe, for scaring her, but not now.

It took more strength than it should have to get the wolf to give her son some space, but she managed and now she could see Keith trying - unsuccessfully - to cover up his smile with a frown.

He tried to sit up, Krolia immediately going to help seeing his shaking arms. Kosmo teleported out of her grasp, but to the end of the bed to sit patiently by Keith's feet as she helped him into a comfier position leaning against the pillows and backboard behind him so he was now half-sitting up.

She could tell he was trying to hide how much it'd taken from him to just sit up, the simple action making his breath faster though he hid it well. Not that it hid anything from her; she was a well-trained spy and his mother after all so obviously she noticed, but she stayed quiet.

"What… happen'd?" The sentence ended in a cough, his dry throat preventing him from speaking further.

She had a glass of water ready and helped him drink it, which he did in small sips. Once half the water was gone, he decided he was done and leaned back, laying heavily on the pillows again. Kosmo made his way back up to Keith's side once the boy had settled, and surprisingly, the wolf managed to restrict himself to just nuzzling Keith's face.

As Keith rubbed the wolf's head in return, he spoke again, voice a little less hoarse.

"What happened with the mech? Did it work?"

"Yes, you did it. It exploded soon after leaving the atmosphere but you all were still too close when it happened. All five lions fell back to Earth, and Shiro brought you all here."

Concern filled his face as he asked another question. "The others… are they - "

"They're perfectly fine. You were the last to wake up."

Hearing that, he relaxed slightly before he looked back up, searching her eyes once he fully processed the second part of what she'd said. He wordlessly leaned forward - in his current state, it was better described as flopped forward, but the intention was the same - and she wordlessly hugged him.

He buried his face in her embrace and the two sat there silently, just enjoying the other's comfort. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kolivan leave, muttering something about telling Shiro. Keith must have heard Shiro's name and he leaned back.

"Shiro… he's…?"

"He's alright too," she started, not able to help the smile that came to her face at the pure concern her son had for others. "Though maybe he'll actually agree to get some rest now that you're up."

A frown came to Keith's face. "Of course he hasn't… never takes care of himself…" He muttered, and she had to laugh.

"Sounds like someone else I know."

His frown deepened and he glared at her, but the act of scorn was offset by the fact he was too tired to sit up on his own and ended up flopping back against the pillows instead.

"Rest while you can," she said, her smile fading a bit. "I know you won't after you get up, so save your energy now."

He just nodded in response, no frown or anything apart from that, the truest testament to how exhausted he really was. She brushed his hair out of his face with gentle fingers, him leaning into her touch so subtly that no one else would have noticed if they'd been watching but she cherished it.

"Someday you'll let me cut all this off so I can actually see your face." His frown returned at her words, but before he could protest, another voice filled the room.

"I've been trying for years, and as you can see, it didn't do much, but I'd like to see you try your best," it said, sounding out of breath.

She saw Keith's eyes look over her shoulder and watched as his whole demeanour change once he did, sitting up the slightest bit straighter.

"Shiro!" He smiled, and the older man returned it.

"You certainly took your time with your beauty sleep."

Keith's smile dropped into a frown as Shiro's widened into a grin seeing it while he continued. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, and I have a headache, but okay."

"You have a fever too," Krolia added, interjecting her observation from when she'd hugged him and brushed his hair from his face. She'd been checking for one when doing the latter as well as actually moving his hair out of the way, but it at least confirmed some of her fears.

Glancing at Shiro, she saw he too looked a bit concerned. "You're staying in bed for a little longer then. And keep drinking that water."

"I'm fine!" Keith protested. "I feel fine."

"You should listen to him you know," she said. "And if not him, then your own mother maybe?"

Keith glanced between the two adults in the room, pouting and sinking further into the pillows. Krolia and Shiro noticed, sharing a small smile and an amused look before Shiro sighed and spoke.

"I'll go tell the other paladins you're up. They've been waiting on you."

"I'll go Shiro." Krolia got up, and looked at him. "You can stay here with Keith; you need a break too."

Shiro raised a questioning eyebrow at her, only being answered with a reassuring nod. She moved towards the door, and he took her spot closer to the bed.

As she slipped past him and through the doorway, she could hear them already starting to talk behind her.

"How are you doing? Really?"

Keith gave Shiro a look, but answered anyway. "I'm okay Shiro, really. I'm sore, and everything I already said, but that's it."

The older man nodded and Keith studied him as he avoided the younger paladin's gaze.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Tired, but there's no time to rest." Shiro's voice was light and even, annoyingly so.

"Yes there is," Keith retorted. "You may be part robot, but that doesn't mean you're superhuman. Have you sat down at all in the past few hours?"

Usually, their roles were reversed, Shiro worrying about Keith when he was being questionable with his wellbeing, but ever so often Keith had to be the one to worry.

As to his question, Shiro looked offended when he answered. "Yes," he scoffed.

Keith narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not the one who fell thousands of feet and crash landed in a lion," Shiro fired back. "Focus on yourself first."

"I can't if I have to worry about you! I almost lost you multiple times, Shiro - actually did lose you once - so I'm not letting it happen again, okay?" He froze as soon as he finished - both of them did - as his words slowly sank in.

It seemed like it had just slipped out, surprising Keith himself but it was too late to take back.

The tension was broken by Kosmo nudging Keith's face, vying for his attention. The boy hesitated before giving it, rubbing in between the wolf's ears and underneath it's chin.

"I won't die from not sitting down for a few hours you know," Shiro said softly as he took a seat on the bed where Krolia had been.

Keith didn't even look at him, focusing on Kosmo when he answered.

"I know."

The words were spoken so quietly that Shiro wasn't sure if Keith had said anything at all, but whether Keith had spoken or not, Shiro kept talking.

"You know that you made me worry even more by taking your time waking up too, right? Your quick thinking may have saved a lot of people today, but that doesn't mean you just keep putting yourself in danger. Be just reckless enough, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Keith mumbled, and Shiro smirked.

"Me too," he said. "I guess I can take a break now since most of the things I needed to do are done anyway."

Keith met his eyes then, a moment of understanding shared between them before Keith smiled mischievously.

"So, captain of the Atlas huh?"

"Says the leader of Voltron." Shiro was quick to respond, but so was Keith.

"Yeah, but I'm only in charge of 4 people. You have a whole ship and crew at your command."

"And the whole population at this point it seems," Shiro added, slightly bitterly.

"You enjoying it?"

Instead of answer, Shiro just let out a long sigh, earning a laugh from Keith - a rare thing, one that Shiro could only wish happened more often.

"That bad huh?"

"There's a reason I haven't sat down in a while and that is the reason."

"You can get other people to do stuff for you though." It was a serious suggestion, and the conversation got a little heavier as Keith looked at him as if trying to find a reason why he was still tiring himself out when that was an option. He didn't know the answer himself so he tried to lighten up the mood again instead.

"I guess… Why, do you want something?"

"No…"

Shiro grabbed the chair from the corner and turned so he was facing Keith again.

"You want a statue isn't it?"

"What? No. No." Keith paused, curiosity in his eyes. "Can you actually do that though?"

"I mean, I suppose I could probably…"

"Okay, well I don't want one to be clear. Just don't let Lance hear or he would definitely ask for one."

Shiro laughed, something he could admit was rarer for him than he'd like too. "Right, he'd probably want some action figures too to go with a tv show."

Keith looked horrified at the thought and Shiro laughed again, the younger paladin eventually joining in too. Once their laughs faded, they just sat there enjoying the silence and peace together with Kosmo laying his head on Keith's lap, occasionally nudging the boy's hand to say he wanted to be pet.

After a while, they started another conversation, just talking about small things to pass the time. Keith yawned and it wasn't long before the yawns became more frequent and the paladin was fighting to stay awake, eyes closing for longer each time he blinked until they were closed longer than they were open.

"And so I was thinking-" Shiro was speaking, but a yawn cut him off. He blinked away the tiredness pulling at his consciousness and instead glanced over at Keith, who he quickly noticed was still again.

"Keith?" He asked softly, but there was no response. Panic tried to take over, but there was no need for it. Keith had only fallen asleep, the rise and fall of his chest obvious, so Shiro let him be.

He was deciding whether to get up or not when it hit him that Krolia was conspicuously absent. She'd only gone to tell the others that Keith was awake, so why had she been gone for almost twenty minutes now?

Maybe she'd just decided to go grab something to eat, his mind supplied as an explanation. She might have gone to do something else too, but whatever it was, Shiro made his decision to stay until she came back. He didn't want to leave Keith alone, and yes, Kosmo was there but the wolf was sleeping so pardon him if he didn't trust a sleeping wolf to watch over a sleeping, injured and sort of sick boy.

So in short, he'd just wait for Krolia. In the meantime, he shifted slightly in his chair to a comfier position, careful no to wake Keith with any noise. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes. He might as well enjoy his break while he had one.

The full extent of his exhaustion hit him then, as if it'd been building up just waiting for the moment when he was relaxed and had his guard down to strike. It wasn't long until it took over, a small part of Shiro wanting to fight it in case he was needed, or something happened.

But as much as that part fought to be heard, there was nothing he could do to fight the pull of sleep because of one simple reason.

He was just too tired.

When Krolia had told the other paladins that Keith was finally awake, she'd been half-expecting their reactions, but it still surprised her a little how much joy they had thier faces when they heard the news.

All of them had been in the same situation as him, all on bed rest yet still so worried about her son perhaps even more than they worried about themselves. It made her happy to know that her son had so many people who genuinely cared about him, especially when she knew how much he cared for them back.

They had a connection, all the paladins, one stronger than just Voltron. It was the same one that made them a family, a family she was glad her son was a part of and one he deserved.

In more than one room she went in, she had conversations with some of the people in there as well as just telling them the news. Coran chatted with her a bit when she dropped by the young Altean girl's room, and some of the other parents talked to her too.

She had to admit she was a little surprised at how welcoming they were, not even seeming to even see her race, her species. It was nice, to be considered one of them so easily.

After she'd gone to each room and told everyone - as well as having at least ten different unrelated conversations - she hesitated when going back to Keith's room.

She hadn't seen Shiro come out of the room, so they must still be talking, backing her decision of letting them be and letting them talk a little longer. She was a little hungry too now that she thought about it, so she decided to get something to eat, maybe getting something for Keith too.

It didn't take long to grab some food and she was back not long after, walking back past the full rooms where the paladins were mostly resting at this point.

When she reentered Keith's room, she had to rase an eyebrow as she hid a smile at the sight before her. She walked in quietly, gently placing the food down on the table while being careful not to wake the two sleeping in the room.

Keith was passed out, leaning against the pillow behind him as Shiro had seemingly given in to sleep too in the chair beside the boy's bed. Kosmo was also resting, his head on Keith's lap.

She tiptoed out the room, letting them rest. They needed it, and they deserved it too.

Before she left though, she stayed at the doorway, taking one last look to take in the sight of the two asleep next to each other. They all looked so peaceful, free of burdens, and it was something she wished she saw on their faces when they were awake. The sad truth was that it probably wouldn't happen any time soon, but awake or asleep, she let them relax while they still could.

Turning around, she thought about where to go now. In the end, she decided to rejoin Kolivan, who she'd found earlier in the kitchens. As she retraced her steps, her mind kept going back to Keith's room and what she'd seen there. And every time she thought of it, then or a few days later, it never failed to bring a smile on her face.

Her life wasn't great, and it seemed to be a trait she shared with her son, but that didn't mean there weren't any good moments. It just meant that when those moments came, far and few, they treasured them all the more, holding them all the closer to their hearts.

When she walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, that moment was still held close, and it made her smile, starting the cycle she hoped stayed forever of smiling because her heart was full of warmth and love which made her smile.