Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: Hi everyone, welcome to my first Voltron Book! Just want to put a WARNING here as this book will be a bit more gruesome in some aspects, so read at your own risk (Just a bit more bloody than usual so if you don't do well with that, then I wouldn't read this).

This book was originally supposed to be a oneshot however I felt it had more potential as a short story!

Some things to note about the timeline!

- This will take place after the end of the show and 10 years later! So everyone is an adult!

- During this time, Lance/Allura have created New Altea and are the leaders. 

- Hunk has opened his own worldwide restaurant with Shay. 

- Shiro and Adam have taken over the Garrison. 

- Keith has been working with his organization and occasionally the blade. 

- Pidge has been working in the Garrison labs and has been working with the blade a lot technology wise.

------------------------------------------------------------

Cast:

- Main Characters -

Katie "Pidge" Holt

"You know just because I'm shorter doesn't mean I can't kick your ass right?"

Keith Kogane

"The things that go on in your head Pidge are truly terrifying."

Lance McClain

"You guys heard that too right? RIGHT?!"

Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane

"I'm starting to think that putting you two on the same mission together was a bad idea."

Hunk Garrett

"Well...anyone want to try my new recipe?"

Allura

"Sometimes life goes wrong, but that's just what we need so we can move forward to a better place."

Adam W.

"I wish I could say the same about his cooking..."

Chapter Text

Her screams are forever engraved into my memories.

The once sassy little sister of the group became absolutely shattered. Trying her hardest to keep it together, it only ended in more pain. The helplessness & raw emotion as her wails echo from room to room ring in my head 24/7.

I can only think about how it's my fault that she had to go on this mission. If only I did something different then all of this could've been avoided.

However, what will haunt me for the rest of my life is the begging. Her pleads were soft & broken as if she was about to die. As If she had given up all hope. As if the only thing that mattered was getting me out.

She had fought her absolute hardest to keep the druids & sentinels away from me & to focus on her, but it had gone just the way she wanted. It ended with her getting the brunt force of it all which made her intentions clear.

She had no hope of getting herself out, only me.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

His shouting then silence is what confirmed it for me. Every time I had screamed, he would retaliate. His screams and pleads for them to stop had echoed lightly compared to my own. Every wail led to things crashing then silence. I was the cause of his pain.

Even though I knew that he could hear my shouts of agony, I had to keep their focus on me. I can't let someone I love get hurt. I've already done that once.

I'm not doing it again.

It crushed everything inside me to hear his pleads. I was the reason for his suffering. I've never had to listen to someone break down so easily. Every single second had shattered my heart.

I wanted to just hold him in my arms & tell him that everything was okay but I think we both know that it's the exact opposite. I tried everything in my power to get them to leave him & only focus on me, yet it only ended in more pain. More agony. More sorrow. More death. But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping him safe.

By now we at both knew one thing. Our Mission was an absolute disaster and trap from the start.

At this point I only had one goal.

Keep him/her safe & Don't Let Go.

Chapter Text

Keith's POV:

A sigh escapes my lips. After months of traveling across the universe with Kolivan & my Mom, Krolia, we finally have a chance to take a break. I lean my head against the ship's wall as I sink to the floor, letting out another breath with my eyes closed.

Cuts & bruises litter my body from the fight we managed to calm down on a small planet. It had taken some time to get them to stop fighting, but thankfully it hadn't escalated to anything too serious. We knew going in that the planet would involve a lot of violence but this place was something else.

Apparently some small galra general who still believed in Zarkon had a huge impact there & was the cause of the violence increase. The once peaceful and civil planet became a madhouse within weeks.

Our mission was to extract the reason for it. He was known for using some type of galra tech that is microscopic, but capable of controlling people's emotions quickly using something Pidge knows more about. Luckily, with the help of Pidge's system, we were able to find the small piece of tech but there was one tiny problem. Inside of a huge statue they had made for their victory against the galra, laid the small piece of tech.

Let's just say that the people were NOT happy that we destroyed their monument & it led to a lot of useless fighting. Of course we were able to take out a majority of the people causing all the ruckus but when it's only about 4-5 of us, it was a bit of a struggle to come out of it unharmed.

I shake my head to rid my thoughts as it seems that we had finally entered earth's side of the universe since our ship's communications went off immediately.

With a small huff, I make my way off the cool floor to the front of the ship with my Mom & Kolivan. Answering the call, a couple familiar faces pop up. In one box was Pidge in her lab with Matt as usual, Lance & Allura on his farm in New Altea, Hunk in some universes kitchen & finally Shiro & Adam on the Atlas.

"What's up with the group call?" I ask, confused as to why it's everyone & not just one of them.

Usually we all do a call once a month together at the end of the month, but it's currently the middle of the month which brings the confusion. Everyone on the call hums in agreement with my question wondering the same.

"Well I know this isn't our usual time for this but I just got word from one of the Garrison spies that's currently undercover. They said that a general is conducting some underground experiments under our noses & that Voltron needs to check things out," Shiro pauses for a second with a sigh, "However, this will require some searching since we don't know which base they're located in. We're going to need Pidge & Keith to complete this mission since the rest of us are quite far from earth at the moment."

The call is silent for a second as everyone takes in Shiro's words. I can sense Pidge's worry as she stands in her lab. The last time she was on a duo mission with the blade a year ago, she was almost killed. She played it off when we got to her because of the adrenaline, but we all knew she was not going to be the same.

Flashback (Keith's POV):

Drowning out Lance was one of the hardest things to do. It's easier to do on call but since were all in town and decided to meet up on the atlas, I know have to deal with his rambling in my ear that I can't mute.

"Keith when will you come to realize that I was the better pilot? Me & red were unstoppab-" Lance starts, but is interrupted when the atlas began to shake.

What is going on? Wha-

"Paladins, please come down to the bridge immediately!" Allura says in the comm, urgency booming in her voice.

Sharing a glance with Lance, we both run down to the bridge to find Shiro already there with Hunk on his heels.

"Princess, what's going on?" Shiro asks.

"I-I don't know. Everything was fine until a small galra ship appeared but they haven't fired or anything ye-"

An incoming call interrupts Allura as she stops & wearily answers it with a hello. The call takes a minute to fully portray the caller's image but when it does, my heart drops. A Galra commander stands in the front, smirking as wide as the first time we met him.

"Voltron, or should I say former Voltron paladins, this is Commander Sendak but you already know that. I'm coming to negotiate with you. You hold the blueprints to a certain weaponry which I require & I have something or should I say someone of yours. A certain pipsqueak who was running around on one of our bases," Sendak states, a smirk on his face as if he has won.

He steps to the side to show a slumped body tied to a chair. Her chestnut hair bloodied & matted hangs low as she doesn't even try to keep her head up. Cuts & blood litter her normally pristine stealth suit making her seem like a completely different person. The top part of the armor being completely torn off, leaving her in a ripped tank-top she always wears underneath. Scratches litter her arms as if somebody with claws had tried to shred her arms off piece by piece.

"Oh my go- is that Pidge?" Lance mutters, absolutely horrified at the sight.

A venomous glare shines on my face as the others just gape in shock. Hunk looks like he's going to pass out from all of the blood & the rest hold grimaces on their faces as Shiro blocks Hunk's vision when he goes pale. Before Shiro & Allura can talk, I storm up to the front of the group with a snarl as I look at Sendak.

"You're going to regret even coming close to her Sendak."

His laugh just echoes throughout the castle. Oh how I wish he was right in front of me so I could just knock the daylights out of him.

"Oh yeah? Well it's already too late for that. We had a long...conversation if you will, didn't we little lioness?" He asks, his smirk turning into a grin.

He grabs Pidge's chin harshly before forcing her head up to look at him. Her eyes are half-lidded with an absolute murderous look yet but there's fear hiding behind the facade. I've seen that face many times back when she was on missions. Back when we were all just teenagers fighting for the universe.

Sure there have been many missions where one of us had been captured just like this situation, but it's never been this dire in a long time. It's always been while all of us are out fighting, never on a simple recon.

She grins for a split second before biting his hand hard. Blood had been drawn but his hand instantly made its way across her face with a loud smack. Her head had whipped to the side from the impact, but she had just spit out some blood with a smile.

"That was petty Sendak. Just what kind of former general are you-" Another hit to the face.

Disgusted, Sendak turns back to the camera.

"Do we have a deal or not?"

"You have a deal, Sendak. However, we won't bring the plans until we know that she is still alive & this isn't a trick," Shiro replies instantly.

Sendak thinks on it for a minute before agreeing and ending the call. The room is silent as we all look at each other. She's never going to be the same after that.

''''mini time-skip brought to you by Kaltenecker's milkshakes''''

All I saw was red when we entered the vicinity Pidge was being held in. Blood was all over the room as if she had put up a fight but lost in the end. Tools and glass were scattered around the room as the lights overhead continued to flicker in and out.

Sitting in the middle of the room was Pidge's crumpled form in the chair. Instantly moving, I drop to my knees at her side to find she didn't even notice my presence. Frowning, I glance at Shiro as he has the same expression beside me. But the thing that throws me overboard is the blade that's jammed into her shoulder. That hadn't been there in the call. A growl escapes my lips as I realize exactly who's knife it was. Her so called partner, though a more fitting name would be traitor.

The others don't dare to come over, knowing how easily she could feel overwhelmed by the crowd.

"Pidge?" I whisper, slowly touching her hand.

Her whole body flinches at the touch as she looks at me with a dopey grin.

"I couldn't do it Keith," She exclaims, her smile wavering harshly, "I'm the reason he knew where to find you. HA, and to think that I was top of our class for these kind of drills."

No words were exchanged as me and Shiro cut her binds.

Her frail body collapses into Shiro as he takes her into his arms. Her whole body tenses in his arms and shakes as she whimpers.

"I'm so sorry Shiro. I'm so so so sorry. I tried to push through, but I just couldn't take it any more. I tried so hard but he," She sobs.

The way she held herself shows she tried to stay strong in front of us, but it was clear that the only thing keeping her awake was pure adrenaline. She's absolutely broken because of Sendak. Whatever he had done to her had broken through her strong, sassy persona.

Of course Pidge was never the type to be extroverted like Lance, but when you get her talking about her technology? She could go on for hours with sparkles around her the entire time.

Now she's like a glass ballerina that had finally cracked under the pressure. This was one of the first times in my life where I truly felt useless. Her face was something that would haunt my dreams for the rest of my days.

I had never seen her so...broken.

END OF FLASHBACK:

I can still remember hearing her screams & pleads at night after the incident. It had taken months for her to get back to normal but even then, she never left the atlas. Never talked to anyone except Allura & that was only a hand full of times. Every time one of us tried to talk to her, she'd flinch and apologize immediately before running away. After almost 3 months she had gone back in the field, but it wasn't the same at all.

Her sassy attitude & caring side had completely vanished. She tried to act normal with us, but I could see through the facade. It's as if she became a shell of the person she used to be after meeting Sendak again. Luckily, after a while of going on group missions, Pidge had reverted back to her normal self.

Or so she made us believe.

Shaking those thoughts away, I glanced at the screen to find Pidge had thought of the same thing as tears were pricking her eyes. She had wiped them away before anyone else could see them & just gave into her work persona.

"Can I count on the two of you to complete this mission when Keith returns?" Shiro asks.

Both of us reply with a yes. It's not the first time we've had a mission together so it should, theoretically, be easy to complete.

"Be careful you two. We won't be able to accompany you right away due to being so far but do not hesitate to call for backup if needed. I'm always willing to wormhole any of us to aid you," Allura says, the others agreeing.

"Yeah. I'm just hanging out in my lab most days so if you want some extra hands, I'm your man," Matt states.

Pidge laughs slightly, covering it up with a cough before saying, "Thanks guys. I appreciate everyone's willingness to help but I believe that Keith & I will have it all handled."

"Yeah I agree with Pidge," I add before saying, "We're about to land at the Garrison in about 20-ish minutes so we'll figure the rest of the plan then."

Everyone agrees before ending the call, leaving me with both parents staring at me. I try to get something out but they both beat me to it.

"What happened to resting? You're injured right now yet you take up a mission right after?! Do you want to get yourself killed Keith?" Mom asks.

"I'm not going to di-" "You never know Keith, Krolia's right."

I let out an annoyed groan at the two overbearing parents. Of course I love the two of them but sometimes they can be a bit much sometimes. I give them both an annoyed look as I sigh as I take a seat behind them.

"Look, I'm not leaving Pidge to do this mission alone. Let's just focus on landing at the Garrison then we can figure out all of this later okay?"

Silence fills the ship for a while before the two glance at each other & nod.

I can finally get some much needed silence before having to deal with everyone's bugging at the Garrison. Ever since we saved the world, all of us have constantly been pestered by fans at every step we take. Thankfully it's calmed down a bit on earth thanks to Matt and Pidge, but I'd still rather enjoy the few minutes of silence before everything.

If only I knew just how wrong this mission would go.

Chapter Text

Pidge's POV:

It was only me & Shiro left on the line. It seems he had caught my concerns through the group call & had decided to stay on when I didn't leave right away.

Adam seemed to get what was going on & backed away from the camera with a smile as he left Shiro in the room. Matt seemed to get the same message as he walked out talking about something along the lines of getting some new shipments in. I stayed silent for a second, going through all of the possible situations that could happen.

I had to be ready for anything.

"Katie? You're going to be fine. Both you & Keith," Shiro calls out softly.

I glance up at the screen with tears in my eyes as I struggle to find words. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Keith on this mission.

"I just have a bad feeling about this whole mission Shiro. This is a huge mission, even for me. If anything goes wrong, we won't have anybody for backup. We'd be severely outnumbered based on the information you gave me..." I trail off before whispering, "I can't lose anybody else Shiro."

"Hey. That was NOT your fault. You had no idea that the mission was going to fail. Do not blame yourself for the things that the mission made you endure. It was nobody's fault for that & you had no control over the situation," Shiro protests.

I knew he was right, yet I let myself believe he's wrong. It was supposed to be a simple recon to get one of our agents out of a Galra ship so that I could ease back into missions, but it had gone horribly. We not only were on the line with the kid the whole time but had to listen to everything that went wrong. Ear-splitting shrieks of pain, groans of agony, crackling bones, snapping bones, crying out for help, and then the silence. That day we lost both the agent we sent undercover, and the kid who insisted he was ready for his first mission.

His dream was fulfilled of finally getting to go, but at what cost?

That memory is forever engraved into my head and I'll carry that guilt till the day I die. It's always managed to haunt my dreams every night, so why not let it stay in my head a bit longer.

"But I had led him to his death Shiro," I break down, letting tears flow like a waterfall down my face. "And it was only a little bit after I got taken into custody by Sendak... I just can't take another mission like that Shiro."

"I know that it wasn't that recent but I haven't been a leader for a mission since then and...I'm scared. I'm scared that I am going to fail Keith as his co-partner," I add.

Shiro had a look of absolute heartbreak. He knows what it's like to lose a partner who you're responsible for in a mission. He had lost a young adult to a plane crash during a recon mission years ago and still blames himself for not getting to him quick enough.

"Not all of this should be on your shoulders Pidge. Both you and Keith need to trust each other fully or this mission could go wrong. It's tough to get back into that line of work but you are more than capable of doing it. Trust yourself."

Frustrated, I wipe my eyes furiously before saying a quick goodbye to Shiro before we get back on for the debrief in the mission room. Being a temporary teacher at the Garrison and having my own lab had its perks since I no longer had to run down to meetings all day long.

As soon as I had touched my seat, the door burst open with Matt leaning on the door as he pants heavily. Matt's hairband is fighting for its life as he slowly begins to breathe normally. I walk up to his struggling form and let out a chuckle as he doesn't even attempt to talk.

A cough soon pulls us from the doorway. We turn to see Kolivan & Krolia standing tall at the doorway watching with small smiles. My eyes instantly brightened at the two adults as I began to scramble to the adults in front of me. I soon collided with the two, hugging the life out of them as it had been way too long since I saw them.

Their mission with Keith ended up being around a year and a half & every minute was agonizing. Of course it's not much different from when everyone went there own way and I was out and about with the blade, but I like to think it was.

After gaining chuckles from the two adults, I look behind them to find my favorite emo. I let go of the adults & instantly bring Keith into my arms. His arms didn't hesitate to wrap around me, however he had gotten taller so my arms could only wrap around his upper back while his rested on my shoulders.

"Gosh Keith, quit growing will ya?" I blurt out.

His chest vibrates as he lets out a deep laugh, one I haven't heard in years. It fills my heart with happiness to know that he's finally starting to have some traits back instead of being so broody 24/7.

"It's been way too long emo. I might just have to kidnap you to have more time with you," I laugh as I pull away, "But it really is good to see you."

A small smile appears on his face as he nods his head in agreement with a small chuckle. Gawking noises appear behind me so I turn around to find Matt looking at me as if I'm a ghost. Confused, I turn to Keith with a raised eyebrow but he seems to have no idea what's going on either.

"Wh- whaaaatt? HE LAUGHS?! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH KEITH?!" Matt screams, hiding behind his chair.

All 4 of us deadpan at Matt. Has he really never heard Keith laugh?

"H-how ha-" I start but stop, absolutely flabbergasted.

The two don't answer but a ringtone suddenly rings throughout the room. Instantly knowing, all of us find our respective seats at the table before I press answer. All the former paladin's faces show up on the screen, each in their own boxes once again.

It seems that more people had joined the call as Coran, Romelle, & Shay joined their partners. Man I miss when everyone was still on earth or on the Atlas together.

Shaking my head, I let out a breath and continue to listen. Keith glances at me slightly, noticing that I had already been in wonderland. Before I can whisper that I'm fine, his hand grabs mine reassuringly as if he knows what I'm thinking.

I give his hand a squeeze back in response, finally listening as Lance begins to speak, his body language screaming professional. It still shocks me to see how he went from a loud, obnoxious fighter pilot to a highly respected leader of New Altea.

"I don't have a good feeling about this plan, Shiro. Sure, Pidge & Keith are two of our most skilled people fit for this mission, but there's just something that doesn't sit right with me," Lance says, worry etched on his face.

Although nobody says anything, it's clear that he's not the only one who feels that way. If we were caught or ambushed, we would have to somehow survive on our own for a while without the team's help.

"I agree Lance but we don't have any other choice. You all are out in space just like me with duties you can't leave for a mission while Pidge & Keith are able to. Does it mean I wish to send them without backup? Absolutely not. But if we want to take down whoever has started this, we need to do it now," Shiro stops with a sigh, "From what we know this is dealing with a former general from the Garrison. However, the question is which one? Many had left their position the minute aliens were announced to be a thing. Who better to have insight on that than our general herself."

I look up in surprise. Shiro was putting me on this mission because he believed I would know who we were dealing with?

"Shiro, I just became a general three weeks ago. Just because I am a general now doesn't mean that I know every single on-" Shiro cuts me off.

"I know. But I have a gut feeling that it's going to be one you know. I haven't told you but whoever this person is, they are sending out a message."

Confused, I glance back up at him through my glasses. What general would compromise their position to get out a message? That's one of the number one rules when learning undercov- Oh.

"They want us to know they're here. They want to be heard by us," I mutter, biting my lip.

What could they possibly want with us though? None of us have ever met a general face to face or caused any issues other than me...

"Exactly what I thought Pidge. My only thought was why would they want to be heard by us specifically?" Allura mentions, her usual smile grim with discomfort.

"Maybe during the battle with Zarkon they somehow got affected by it, leading to some kind of hatred towards us. I honestly can't think of a better reason for why. What was the message they sent?" Keith says, his hand never leaving mine as he speaks.

"Well...it's quite, uhm, gruesome if you may. Hunk I know for a fact you won't be able to handle this so I suggest you look away," Shiro hesitates, watching all of us wearily.

Hunk goes pale as he turns around, giving the phone to Shay so she can see for herself. I turn to Matt and mutter,

"You don't have to look if you don't want to. If Shiro said it's gruesome, I don't know how bad that could really be, especially when we're dealing with a former general."

He nod at my words wearily before glancing somewhere other than the camera. Poor guys never had the stomach for any type of blood. I glance at the adults in the room to see that they're capable of handling the image & they give me a firm nod. I give Shiro a nod of confirmation, once again putting on my work persona.

{IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH BLOOD AND GORY THINGS! PLEASE DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS CHAPTER! IT'S NOT TERRIBLE BUT IT'S NOT GREAT SO READ AT OWN RISK! THERE WILL BE A SUMMARY OF WHAT GOES ON AT THE VERY END IN THE A/N!}

But the minute he showed us the picture, that persona shattered. My whole face pales at the sight & I bring up a hand to my mouth to stop the oncoming bile.

Blood was splattered everywhere like splatter paint art. Not an inch of the floor was clear of blood, as puddles upon puddles shine in the dim, flickering light. Every body limb thought of was strewn around the once glossy white tile, staining it a dark crimson red. Handprints litter the ground and glass window behind it as if they were still fighting for their life as they were being ripped apart. Shattered glass liters the ground next to the charred body as the light panel hardly keeps itself attached to the ceiling.

Open wounds look as if they're still pouring out more and more blood as the limbs lay limp on the ground, tossed around like a chew toy.

The glass mirror directly behind the body seems to be the only thing intact, or at least in a somewhat good condition. Flame scorches rise up all around the body limbs, charring the grey walls. The marks however don't stop there as red marks lick up the arms and legs, meaning the person was burnt alive.

But the thing that drew my attention instantly was the words written out in blood on the glass. With smeared, messy handwriting wrote,

"You're next Sweetheart."

Bile rises to my throat. Whoever is doing this knows who I am & I know exactly who that is. But something tells me that they aren't working alone at all. And that's what scares me the most.

Sendak is back and is working with somebody.

But who?

Chapter Text

Pidge's POV:

It feels like I can't breathe. My ears begin to ring loudly as my heart begins to pound in my chest. Sendak wants me dead and is working with some unknown general. But the worst part about it all?

I recognize this hall.

I was dragged across that hall when I was brought to Sendak. I had witnessed the end result of my cadets failed mission up close and it will forever haunt my dreams.

Yet another innocent life was taken in the exact same place just because I simply continued to exist. It's all my fault that this person was brutally slaughtered yet I have no idea why. Just why did it have to be an innocent person? They didn't deserve what came to them.

A hand soon appears in front of my face, waving frantically. I blink a couple of times before glancing up to see it's Keith's hand waving frantically in my face along with Matt, both speaking words I can't understand.

My chest begins to heave harder at the fact that the ringing in my ears won't stop. Without warning, I push my chair out & run out of the room. There's no destination at this point, only the thought of, 'It's all my fault there dead'.

Matt's POV:

Against myself, I had looked. And that so happened to be the worst decision I've made in a long time. Going into an intergalactic war as a rebel definitely prepares you for most things that will most likely be brutal, but this was far different.

Most enjoy the instant kill for bloodshed but this was just dragged on. The whole picture made my stomach churn but the words written on the glass made my heart break. They were out for my little sister & most likely wouldn't stop until she or they are dead.

Everything about this situation is awful but I can't even begin to imagine how she's feeling. It's only been a couple years or so since the whole Sendak incident happened and she's still standing strong. How she has stayed so strong for everyone and kept up a smile is beyond me.

After Shiro took away the picture, me & Keith instantly realized something was wrong with Pidge. Her breathing was sporadic and she wasn't answering Keith when he started talking to her. Instantly, I'm out of my seat and by her side, trying my best to get her to focus on both of us rather than the image that's most likely burned into her head.

"Pidge? Pidge. Katie, can you hear me?" Keith calls out, gently shaking her arm.

Her eyes are just glazed over with tears as she continues to stare at the spot where the picture was. Before I can even get in any words, she shoots out of her chair and runs out of the room. Both of us stand there for a second before glancing at each other.

She's clearly not okay nor ready for this mission.

With a curt nod, the both of us take off running after her in hopes to find her in time. Knowing how anxious she gets when things like this happen, makes the situation of finding her even more dire.

Deciding to split up to search more ground, I take off to the west side of the building hoping she's outside. Bursting through the double doors, I find a curled up Pidge with her glasses resting on her head as she sits on the steps crying with her long hair dripping down her shoulders. I quickly click a button on my watch to notify Keith of my location before making my way next to her. She doesn't glance up or anything at the noise of me sitting next to her, but I don't mind that.

"You know, when I went into space with Shiro and Dad, I only had one goal in mind. Make new discoveries on Kerberos ," I started, staring out into the distance, "I never really understood that I should've been focusing on all the good that came out of it instead of the days that still haunt me."

Noticing that I finally have her attention, I continue.

"I had spent so much of my time in the cells wondering if I'd ever get to see anyone ever again. I had seen Shiro at his lowest point and I thought that he was going to give up on life itself at some points. Those memories still haunt my dreams of course, but the one thing that I never really looked back on? The few happy memories I had on the journey."

"We get to choose our destiny Katie. We get to decide what's remembered and what gets to be forgotten. Why live your life in fear of what could happen when you can live in the moment?"

It's silent for a couple minutes as she takes in my words. I keep quiet and enjoy the wind as it blows through. She carefully pulls down her glasses so that they rest on her nose and wipes away her excess tears. Before I know it, her arms are wrapped around me tightly as she whispers a small, "Thank you Matt. Really."

"I know I'm not the best at comforting people at all but it's the least I could do for you or at least try. Now Keith should be here any second huffing and puffing so don't freak out when he does," I laugh, watching as seconds later, a huffing Keith leans on the doors.

"Man, if I had known you were this close I wouldn't have looked so far away," He huffs, "But back to the mission. If you're not up for going we can always tell Shiro. I'm sure you being mentally ready for this is definitely more important than you going when you're not capable."

Pidge's arms let me go softly as she stands up and turns to Keith. Her eyes are glazed over with unshed tears but there's a fire burning with determination.

"I'm capable of going on this mission. You all have nothing to worry about. I'd never forgive myself if I let you go on this mission by yourself. I know I seem like a wreck and probably am at this point, but I cannot live with myself if I knew that I could have done something and chose to do nothing. Especially if it's helping you."

Walking up to the two, I place my hand on Pidge's arm and add, "I can always be your eyes during this mission. Things in the lab can wait."

Both look at me with a smile and nod their heads. Pidge takes a deep breath in and out before she begins to head back inside to the meeting. Walking behind her, I turn my head to Keith to see how he's feeling and he seems to be okay for the most part. So I guess the mission is still going on.

Walking back into the mission room we find everyone still on the line with concerned faces but the minute Kolivan notices us returning, he notifies the group. Sounds of relief are heard from everyone as we make our way into the camera.

"We all talked it over and everyone is ready for this mission Shiro," Keith starts before Pidge adds, "I just have one favor to ask all of you. Keep your mics on you while were completing this mission. I know that's a boring ask but this mission is not easy under any circumstances."

She takes a breath before adding, "This mission could go terribly at any second and I intend to stay alive for as long as I can. I know everything about this is screaming red flags at everyone but have a bit of faith in us, we got this....I think."

Everyone lets out a laugh at her ending statement before thinking about her words. Seconds later there's no hesitation in their voices as they all agree to keep them in during the whole mission.

A smile shows on everyone's face as Pidge and Keith begin to say their goodbye's to everyone on the call. These are not any of our strong suits in the slightest but it comes with the job.

Pidge's up in front of me soon with her arms spread out wide. Instantly, I'm in her arms squeezing the life out of her. The thought of her not being ready for this lingers in my head, but I know for a fact that she's the most qualified for anything thrown at her. She's overcome a lot of things that make her, well, her.

Keith's POV:

My mother glances to me with sadness in her eyes. She's never been one to express her feelings much but we both know what this mission could easily turn into.

A suicide mission.

Any mission that we take could easily turn into that but with the amount of risks present, it's just not ideal at all. The odds are working completely against us this time. We've been lucky enough to have all escaped death more than once during the war but this could instantly end that cycle. I trust Pidge with my entire being and so do my parents, but it always comes down to the variables given.

My mothers embrace snaps me out of my spiral and I'm instantly hugging back with the same intensity. Her hand reassuringly runs through my hair slowly and doesn't let me go. I can tell that she doesn't want me to do this but knows that I must.

"Be careful out there Keith. Me and Kolivan will try to stay as long as possible to be backup but it's most likely that will get called back out into the field while you're gone," She pauses with a long breath, "I trust the both of you to look after each other. I'm glad that your going and doing your own thing instead of devoting yourself to the blade."

I pull back from the embrace and give Krolia a smile with one last hug before turning to find Kolivan staring at me. The second I open my mouth, he has me in a soft embrace as he whispers,

"Take care of yourself kid." With a pat on the back he lets go of me and walks to stand next to my Mom.

I turn to the others in the room to find everyone has the bittersweet smiles on. I glance over to find Katie talking with Hunk and Lance, practically sparkling as she talks about her newest gadget she's gonna use on the mission. The more I see her talking, the more I realize just how much hasn't changed about her.

Pidge's POV:

A genuine smile reaches my face as I look at all of our allies. All of them have done the impossible and still fought with all of their strength, so I must do the same. War has had a horrible impact on all of the members of Voltron, but yet all of them have found peace in their lives. So why should I let some measly incident haunt my life?

Is it because it was different then the usual? I shake my head at those thoughts. What I went through was something nobody should ever have to endure and I'm glad that it was me and not one of my friends.

I'll gladly take whatever is thrown at me in place of them. Always. They've always looked out for me on the field so keeping this promise to myself is something that I will take to my grave if I must. But that doesn't mean I haven't had some close calls with death. Well any of us really.

Keith practically gave up his life for the world numerous times. Matt, Dad, and Shiro almost died trying to discover new life. Allura almost lost her life saving the entire universe with Honerva. Lance had died but was brought back to life as he saved the woman he loves. Hunk could've been killed on sight on the Balmera for just simply being there. Adam almost died in space while searching for Shiro.

And to think that some traumatic event is comparable to these....maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

The more I watch everyone say goodbye's, the more I realize everyone's just fighting for the people they love. Sure bad things have happened, but nobody has let it lead them astray.

So it's time to let go of my fears and be the warrior I was before. Be the paladin who I was and am.

Be the former Green Paladin that the people want to see. So if they want the Green Paladin, there going to get her full force.

Chapter Text

Pidge's POV:

As me and Keith are walking to the ship alone, I take notice of how quiet he is.

"You're awfully quiet. Usually you give some kind of pep talk, speech type thing when we do these missions," I laugh.

He turns to me and laughs lightly before slowing down to walk in step with me. As we continue to walk to the hangar, it occurs to me that we never established what were gonna be piloting.

"Do you know wh-" I start to ask but get cut off by a loud roar in the distance.

My eyes widen in shock at the sight. Landing right in front of us is the black lion. The same lion that had left when the war was ended.

Keith turns back to me with a smirk and gently lifts my gaping mouth back up from the ground. I look from him to the lion, trying to form a sentence but nothing comes out.

"Well Shiro thought that it would be better to take a more trustworthy ship than a normal fighter jet. Plus, we're both connected to black so he'll know if somethings wrong," Keith explains, walking up to black's paws, "You look like you've seen a ghost...C'mon it's not that crazy Pidge."

Slowly walking up, I find that Keith waits just a bit farther away from black than usual. Confused I go to ask whats up but he gestures for me to walk forward. With a raised eyebrow, I shrug and make my way to the front of the lion. He walks up next to me and seconds later the lion comes to life and brings her head down.

We walk into the lion and find the chairs and begin to get situated. Sure I've been in a lion before but every time I go into one, it's quite mesmerizing.

"You always have this look of awe when you get to ride in a lion," Keith chuckles, "It never fails with you."

Before I can even defend myself against the true statement, an incoming call comes through. Shiro soon shows up on the screen with a small smile. Of course it's Shiro.

"What can we do for you Admiral?" I tease as Keith begins to fly.

He scowls at the name but sighs and says, "Just checking to see how you guys are doing with black. I can't focus on my work without knowing that you two are fully prepared for this."

"We're okay Shiro, really. You'll most likely be the first to know if somethings wrong or any of the others will contact you. Have a bit of faith in our tiny, messed up fam. We're more than ready for this," I announce confidently, pointing to the direction we need to head. The location was all the way in the middle of a desert so all we could see for the rest of our trip was sand.

Keith nods his head in agreement and says, "We'll try to keep in touch as much as we can but for the most part will be off radio. Plus Pidge's picked up on your flying skills so we'll be fine."

Shiro nods his head and gives a goodbye and good luck before shutting off his comm.

"So how was your mission before coming home?" I ask, looking out the window. He glances to me for a second before muttering, "It was fine but the people were...interesting."

"What do you mean interesting? I mean I vaguely heard that the people were violent but.....oooohhhhh that's what you meant," I stay silent for a second before it hits me, "Wait did you get hurt? Please tell me you didn't get hurt and came on this mission with an injury?"

He stays silent while flying, not even glancing to me. Oh he totally has an injury and isn't telling me. I know we only have a 2 year difference, but I can't help but be worried towards him.

"KEITH KOGANE, you better answer me right now or I'm calling Shiro to take you back," I state, glaring at him.

He waits for a second debating his options before putting Black onto auto pilot. He sighs as he pulls down his suit below his shoulder to show his entire right shoulder bandaged up with gauze. I just stare in disbelief before my brain finally comprehends.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I screech.

Keith just stares at me weird, confused as to why I reacted that way. I take a deep breath before I go digging in my bag. Curious, Keith glances over my shoulder to see what I'm grabbing. However the minute I pull it out, a groan comes from him.

"Seriously Katie? My shoulder is perfectly fi- oowwwwww what the heck?!"

I give him a look as I release the pressure from his shoulder. "That's what I thought. Now take the gauze off so I can put this cream on. You're going to need it if you don't want to be in so much pain."

Reluctantly he sighs and pulls off the gauze quickly and puts his shoulder in front of me before turning away. As I glance at the shoulder, I grimace at the black bruise. The tolerance he has for pain is so high that it could rival Shiro's and that's concerning. Of course Keith has never been one to express his pain much but when he does, you know it's bad.

As I continue to put the cream on, I notice he has the same pout he does when he's annoyed on mission which causes me to let out a laugh. He glances at me questioningly, trying to figure out why I was laughing all of a sudden. "Your pout is just like we're on a mission with the team and Lance said something annoying." I say.

A smile appears on his face as he turns to hide it.

"Hey! I didn't say it was a bad thing Keith, no reason to hide that gorgeous smile of yours," I say teasingly, wrapping his shoulder.

He groans at my choice in words before muttering how embarrassing I am. I decide to let him have a break as I continue to make sure the wrap is secure. Keith seems to be thinking hard about something and curiosity gets the best of me so I go to ask, but his answer makes my blood run cold.

"Matt told me you seemed to recognize the building from the image. How do you know it?"

My breath hitches in my throat. I didn't think that he would have caught on to my recognition so easily, but I guess I've become an open book lately.

I hesitate on what to say, "Well, you remember the incident with Sendak. I've mentioned briefly about that mission but not enough of where exactly. The reason I'm mentioning that is because, the hallway was the same one where I saw my cadet's dead body and was unwillingly dragged...to Sendak."

Shock is brief on his face before the confusion hits.

"Also I know who we're up against. His writing is unforgettable. We're up against Sendak."

"That means that whoever is working with Sendak has inside sources. There's no way he could've known the exact hallway if he was in his room/office."

I nod my head at his words, "That's the problem Keith. That day was such a blur that I can't remember any faces other than the cadets lifeless eyes..."

I say before putting my chin on my hand. The more I try to think of reasons, the more this just doesn't make sense. It's so random but at the same time it's not.

He then continues to pilot with my guidance for directions before we finally see the building/entrance in the distance. But the minute we get closer, the more uneasy I begin to feel.

"Keith do you feel-" "Do you feel uneasy?" We both mutter.

I look to him to find he has the same expression and realize just what's happening.

"Keith I need you to let me pilot." He turns to me in confusion.

"Why? You don't need to until we depa-" "Now Keith."

He hesitates for a minute before getting up and switching places with me. Black hums for a second as Keith talks with her, soon making me flying her possible. My hands grip the handles harder as my gut begins to sink hard. Somethings coming for us.

I suddenly jerk us to the right hard as a missile narrowly misses us. Keith flies out of his seat with a groan as I send a quick apology as I dodge another one. He turns to look out the window once he's securely in the seat, glancing back and forth.

"I don't see a- ON YOUR RIGHT AND LEFT! GO GO GO" He shouts, gripping his armrests.

I jerk the handles to the left hard, putting my body into it as we just barely miss another one. I begin to say something to Keith but all that leaves my mouth was,

"Oh good hel-" My words get cut off by a missile hitting black on the left, sending us tumbling into the sand. I throw my arm out to hopefully keep Keith from slamming into the dashboard, but it was futile because we were both thrown harshly into the dashboard despite the small seatbelts on our laps.

I whip back up and tug on the controls, pulling us out of the way just in time from another missile landing just where we were. I glance to Keith briefly to see him keeping a look out.

"Keith see if the coms are working at all. We need to let the team know this was a set up from the beginning," I call out, jerking us once again away from the laser beams now being shot.

"I can't get a signal. Pidge, we're on our own," Keith mutters, turning to me with a knowing look.

We might not make it out of this alive.

But I shake away those thoughts and go to say something but a new weapon, a large boom bolt seems to have found us and explodes on the back. We jolt forward from the force of the blast before Black begins to flicker in and out of power. It takes just a couple of seconds before we begin to lose altitude.

"HOLD ON!" I shout, bracing for the worst.

The world begins to spin for a couple of seconds as we crash hard into the sand. Both of us are thrown out of our seats hard and crumple onto the ground. Blood drips down my forehead as I attempt to untangle myself from the broken seatbelt. Keith seems to be in the same situation as we both clamber to get out of our seats. Once I'm out of the seat, I try to get Black up and running but all I get is a spark from the dashboard as the lights flicker slightly before shutting off completely.

"You okay Keith?" I call out, searching my pockets for my flashlight.

Keith lets out a cough before muttering out a "fine". Finally finding my flashlight, I turn it on and see the damage done. Pieces of the back are bent inward at weird angels and the front glass is cracked. It seems Keith doesn't have many injuries which makes me sigh in relief.

"I'm so sorry you got dragged into this mess of a mission," I mutter, laying down on the ground for a second.

Keith begins to crawl over to me before laying down next to me. "There's no one else I'd rather be on a mission like this with."

"You really know how to flatter me. It's working but that could just be the fact that I can't think straight, but I'll accept the compliment for now," I laugh.

Silence fills the room before I start to hear a ticking noise. Sitting up, I close my eyes to try and focus on the noise to only hear it speed up....there's a bomb. Instantly I'm up and scrambling to put my body above Keith's. I cover his ears with my hands and hold my breath as the bomb finally stopped ticking.

White, hot pain flicks through my body for a split second before my ears begin to ring loudly. Light begins to fill the lion from the outside as bodies begin to come in. Before they get close, I get to my feet and push Keith behind me, only to hear a whoosh of air and a slight pain in the neck.

I glance to Keith to find that he had a blow dart in his neck and his eyes began to droop. His body drops to the ground as my world turns black.

So much for the promise of keeping him safe.

Chapter Text

Pidge's POV:

A groan escapes my lips as I take in my new surroundings. My head begins to pound hard as the bright overhead lights shine brightly down on me. Feeling wet & cold, I glance around to find the culprit.

Waking up to cold water is definitely something I hate. Blinking multiple times, I find myself cuffed to an examination table that's used in the labs. Looking to my right, I find some of my former in training lieutenants standing by the door talking but my hearing is all muffled. With half lidded eyes I watch them whisper to each other while looking at me but my body feels like it's being held down by a excruciating weight.

Man, I really hate backstabbers. Especially when it's done by lieutenants that I used to train.

Suspicious, I raise my guard as best as I can as I watch the lieutenants walk out of the room with no explanation whatsoever. I squint my eyes as I try to recall what happened when the last thing I remember is...ME & KEITH CRASHING!

I begin to pull at the restraints as hard as I possibly can but whatever they did, I feel incredibly weak. My chest begins to heave hard as I flop back down onto the table with a clang. Whatever drug they gave me clearly wasn't the right amount due to how hard it was to even move an inch. The burns from the bomb had burned my back pretty badly since it feels like my back is melting and burning like the depths of hell.

I turn my head from side to side only to see that this room is exactly like the room we found Shiro in all those years ago. That day had changed all of our lives. I had to clutch onto Shiro's body for dear life as Keith drove us all away from the camp on his small hoverbike. Looking back it gives a warm feeling, remembering the simple times in life.

Shaking my head, I try to recall why I'm in a random base of all places. The last thing I remember was me & Keith going on some type of mission together in the Black lion, yet we were shot down by someone instantly after launch. Everything else besides that is completely hazy.

I click my tongue annoyed at my situation before glancing towards the door. My head is screaming at me that something isn't right, yet I just can't place it. With a huff, I begin to struggle against the restraints harder only for a strong shock to go through my body.

A scream gets caught in my throat as I refuse to give satisfaction to anyone watching. My back arches as the shock sends a sharp, harrowing pain through my bones. A head-splitting ache appears causing me to try & move my head around to stop it. As the shock soon stops, I'm gulping for air desperately as my body sinks into the table.

Eyes glossed over, I glance over to see a blurry figure walking over to me. Once close enough, a hand pulls my face to look up at them. A glare is sharp on my face as I look into Admiral Sanda's grey eyes. Her features always held a monotone look yet now she holds one of horrid intentions. If I had to guess, she's gone corrupt since she's been missing but here she is, somehow still alive.

"S-sanda," I croak out. "What are you doing here at the *cough* old Garrison training base?"

Her voice rings throughout the small room as she laughs. Confusion & disgust must have been clear on my face since she just grips my face harder before cackling harder. Her nails pierce my cheeks as they cut into my skin. She quickly wipes a stray tear from her face before turning her full attention to me.

"You poor thing. If only you hadn't joined Voltron and those putrid Galra, you could have had everything here at the Garrison!" She raises her voice, "YOU COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL WITH ME! WE COULD HAVE RULED OVER THESE MINDLESS CHILDREN BUT YOU WENT OFF WITH SHIROGANE & THOSE IMBECILES!"

Before I can even get a word out, she covers my mouth with her hand as she begins to laugh again. A crazed look in her eyes shines brighter than anything I've ever seen, unintentionally making me squirm. Fortunately, she was too distracted to notice my discomfort to do anything about it. Her shoulders begin to tremble as her laugh gets more & more gut filled.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE COST ME?! I LOST EVERYTHING! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU & THOSE STUPID BRATS! BECAUSE OF YOU ALL, I HAD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH ZARKON & ALMOST LOST MY LIFE!" Her tense shoulders drop, "I lost everything. My cadets, my rank, my status, everything about my job that I loved. Gone. And it's all thanks to you. You were my most prized cadet and the only leverage I had over your dad and brother."

A deadly glare forms on my face as I watch this woman completely spiral over a job she lost long ago. How dare she say that about my team and family. With a deep breath, I pull away my face from her hand hard, causing her to jerk back in surprise.

"How dare you talk about my team like that. They are NOT brats you bi-," I state, venom dripping from my voice before she interrupts.

"Oh my, what fierce words you got there. It seems that you've grown attached to these teammates of yours. Well, that just makes this all so much easier for me. Boys, bring her to the room," Sanda says. "Oh & Katie? If I were you, I would've kept my emotions in check when I mentioned the cadets."

Confused, I watch her dazed as the men untie me from the restraints. Quickly I realize that if I'm here, then so is Keith. The minute the men unlock all of the restraints, I shove one into Sanda hard before knocking the other out with a metal tray nearby. Grabbing his gun, I rush out of the room with legs that feel as if they'll give out any second. A gunshot rings out as the first guard had fired his gun and finally went unconscious on the ground, piercing my side. I race out of the area, not bothering to take a look until I knew I wouldn't be shot at once again.

Finally getting a glance at my body, I notice that my blade outfit is gone & I'm now in some cloth hospital gown. Scratches & dried blood litter my body from the crash as bandages cover the bigger gashes. I already know my entire back is wrapped since the blistering skin is rubbing uncomfortably against the bandages.

It seems as though there's commotion going on down the hallway so I rush over, hoping that Keith is the reason for it. The minute I get closer, I hear a familiar yell making me smile internally before taking down some of the soldiers.

With a mix of shooting down soldiers & whacking them a baton, I turn to see Keith heaving over a pile of unconscious soldiers.

"KEITH!" I shout, taking out some of the last men in the hallway with a hard whack to the head.

His body turns around instantly before rushing towards me. His tall form wraps around my small one, hugging me tightly with his head buried in my shoulder. I can feel his heart pounding as his body shakes in my hold. Petting his hair for a second, I then pull back to see his worried eyes.

His body is covered in few scratches & has some gauze wrapped around his head. It seems as if they weren't successful with knocking him out so he still has his blade armor on. Lucky.

"You're so lucky you have your armor. I just have this pitiful gown to wear," I say in disgust, picking at the plain blue gown.

Keith lets out a laugh at my expression. "Well the thing is, the serum they used to knock us out on Black wasn't able to last all the way into the room. They haven't been able to get close to me since."

I begin to laugh but stop instantly. Sensing something off, I look to find a soldier pointing his gun to Keith. Without hesitation, I pull him behind me as I shield him from the bullet that rang out the next second. A gasp escapes my lips as I glance down to my stomach. Red begins to paint my gown as once again, a bullet went straight to the skin.

Man I really need to stop taking all the incoming bullets.

Adrenaline running high, I sprint towards the soldier before dearming & knocking them out. Huffing heavily, I turn to Keith who was just standing there in shock before he runs over to me. The closer he got, the more my vision went blurry. Numbness takes over as my body collapses, just as Keith grabs me in time.

"Hey, you'll be okay Ka-Pidge. You'll be okay. I don't know if my message was able to send to Shiro so we might have somebody coming but we'll mostly be on our own," Keith whispers, "How could you take that bullet for me? You didn't have anything to protect yourself with."

I just let out a chuckle.

"Because it's what I do. You're my teammate Keith. It's my job to keep an eye on you. Plus I told Shiro I would keep you safe no matter what and I intend to keep my word."

My eyes begin to droop little by little & my head soon drops to lay onto Keith's shoulder. He shakes my body as if trying to tell me to stay awake. Before I can say anything else, footsteps ring throughout the hallways.

She found us.

"Keith go, leave me behind," I whisper.

He looks at me as if I said the most ridiculous thing before shaking his head. Picking me up bridal style, he begins to run down the hallway, ignoring his own injuries. An unbearable pain suddenly shoots through my body, causing me to let out a shrill scream. The first bullet that I thought grazed my side had embedded itself and it feels like lava is entering my body.

"SURROUND THEM! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!" A woman screeches.

Before Keith can even begin to run, we become completely surrounded by multiple soldiers. Turning in circles, we glance to see just how many there are yet we already know where severely outnumbered. He tries his best to shield me in his arms but I signal for him to set me down. He reluctantly does so before putting his back to mine. He snakes one arm behind himself to hold me up before bringing out his Marmora blade. The small blade soon turns into a sword as he stares down the soldiers.

"Keith, just surrender. Since I'm down you won't make it out alive, you'll get overpowered in a seco-AAAAGGGGHHH" I say. Before I could even finish my sentence, an electric baton was shoved into my side causing me to let out a cry.

The force the time was so hard that my vision went completely black.

Keith's POV:

I listen to Katie as she tells me to surrender but the minute a soldier touched her, my vision went red. Slashing around, I manage to get a few away from her before I'm instantly overpowered & held to the ground by multiple soldiers.

A growl escapes my lips as the Admiral walks over to Katie's unconscious body, before I begin to thrash around.

"Don't TOUCH HER!" I yell, moving as much as I can.

All the soldiers then begin to put more force into restraining me to keep me immobile. The Admiral seemed to like my little 'performance' as she called it earlier, as she walks over to me with a wide grin.

"Who would've known that the stone cold emo boy would have such a strong bond with one of our most talented scientists? I certainly wouldn't have guessed. But I suppose it's all how it should be. Knock him out boys," She says, before walking over to Katie.

Before I can get a word out, a gun is butted into the back of my head causing my vision to go hazy. Struggling to stay conscious, my head soon drops to the ground before everything goes black.

The only thing on my mind is one thing...

Keep her safe.