Chapter Text
“Die.”
Before Keith could muster a response, Shiro let out an animalistic yell and lunged. Keith lifted his bayard and blocked the black sword, but grunted when a swift kick sent him tumbling. He landed directly into the middle of the Kral Zera’s combat field, surrounded by the attending commanders.
Keith! Keith! his mother called, but Keith ignored her as he pushed his feet underneath him.
Keith’s stomach plummeted as Shiro strode toward him in a measured, robotic stride, stopping just feet away. His neutral expression tormented Keith, but an old, nasty voice cut through his defenses.
“He bears the bayard of the Red Paladin,” Haggar declared.
Shocked gasps accompanied her announcement, but Keith focused upon Shiro, hands lifted to his chest height.
“Shiro, it’s going to be okay. I’m here to help you.”
Shiro remained silent, and Keith swallowed hard, gloves straining as he tightened his fist about his bayard.
The universe returned, shattering the private moment Keith pretended to have in the middle of the empire’s crowning moment. The commanders kept their distance, though a circle formed about Shiro and him. The Kral Zera remained unlit, Sendak the uncrowned emperor, but his harsh voice echoed across the landscape with the same commanding temper as Zarkon’s.
“Champion, you are my Black Paladin and the start of a new age for Voltron. Will this boy serve you well?”
“Yes,” Shiro said, emotionless, “but he will not serve you.”
Keith positioned himself in order to see both Shiro and Sendak, and the emperor’s face tensed, though his lips smoothed in what could almost pass as an amused smile. “Then I shall leave the method up to you, Paladin – ”
Haggar’s head snapped up, eyes blazing under her dark hood. “Sire! Wait. I can use the boy to – ”
Sendak lowered his gaze to grin at Keith. “Kill the Red Paladin and bring his bayard to me.”
Keith pivoted just in time to see a flash of purple, and then he combated, bringing his Marmoran blade to bear. Shiro swung, purple blade clashing with Keith’s. Momentum sent Keith sprawling backwards, but he switched grips as Shiro rushed toward him.
A loud explosion rumbled under their feet. Keith crouched, hand pressed against the rock ground as plombs of smoke fluttered about the platform. From the main temple, two Blades raced through the exit in time to beat the fire that rushed after them.
Krolia and Kolivan.
A swipe by the Black Bayard stole Keith’s attention, and he flipped backwards onto the balls of his feet. He only managed to gain his stance before Shiro’s bayard shifted into a chain sword. Keith ducked out of the way of the attack as Red roared in the back of his mind.
Accepting another blow by Shiro’s bayard, Keith fell to the ground and swiped a leg. Shiro jumped over the attack and glided into an effortless thrust. Sparks danced across their blades.
Keith’s scar on his wrist blazed.
Blades clashed with the commanders, led by Kolivan and Krolia. Flames licked the edge of the platform, and their energy simmered under Keith’s surface, driving him to fight. To never surrender. To win.
“Shiro! I know this isn’t you,” he pleaded.
Shiro said nothing, though his eyes burned. His teeth gnashed. With a grunt, he shifted his bayard into a larger sword. As Keith flipped, Shiro’s bayard sliced through his hood, slicing off a few locks of hair.
Their dance continued. The similar steps reminded Keith of their first meeting, but this time, Shiro didn’t pull his punches; Keith ached. A kick to his hip, an elbow to the gut, Shiro landed blows. Keith returned them with a nick of Shiro’s forearm and a slash across Shiro’s thigh.
Fire surged through Keith’s veins, and in the back of his mind, Red thrummed. She lost her previous paladin. She wouldn’t lose her new one. Though Keith saw through her eyes – space, purple fire, the Kral Zera – Shiro brought him back to the fight with a frustrated growl and a thrust of the Black Bayard.
“Shiro! Listen to me!”
Shiro’s bayard glowed a vibrant purple and shifted into a mace. Keith’s eyes shot wide, and he ducked the swipe before it took off his head.
“Whatever they did to you, we can reverse it.”
Shiro shifted the bayard again, this time into a broadsword. Keith parried his swipe and kneed Shiro in the stomach.
Red’s position flashed before Keith’s eyes. She would be there in a moment, and Keith still had no way of getting Shiro into Red. Maybe he could knock Shiro unconscious and drag him in.
As Shiro found his footing, Keith spoke in a low plea. “Shiro, we’re going to get through this together. We just need to get off Feyviv, and then – ”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
The icy tone froze Keith in his place, and when Shiro turned, gone was his emotionless mask. Now he wore a malevolent grin, one born from the Galra Empire itself. The bayard shimmered in its resting form, but instead of the smooth curves of Keith’s bayard, Shiro’s shifted until it had two glowing horns.
Keith willed his blade to sleep and held up both hands in a surrender position.
“I’m not leaving without you.”
Shiro stepped closer, eyebrows falling as his eyes narrowed. “Look around you, Keith. Every commander in the Galra Empire is here, every warlord and every druid. You think your mother and Kolivan and the Blades ever stood a chance? They will be slaughtered. The empire is all powerful, and you are just an infection to be bled out.”
Keith refused to look away from Shiro’s gray and purple eyes, but his mother and Kolivan’s breathless shouts echoed in his ears. They wouldn’t last much longer.
As Shiro neared, his blade extended, this time into a long, slender sword, similar to Keith’s Marmora weapon.
Keith held his ground, the fire from Red tingling under his skin. “I promised I’d save you. I’m going to do that.”
Shiro raised his blade. “Just give up, Keith. You can’t win against me.”
Keith glared up at Shiro, searching those shadowed eyes for some recognition of the man he loved. Shiro couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t. His mate survived the arena, Sendak’s command, Zarkon. He wouldn’t surrender now.
A ferocious roar quaked Keith’s very being, but it also shook the foundations of the crumbling Kral Zera. Red tore through a battlecruiser and soared toward Keith.
A shimmer of magenta light. Agony ripped through Keith. He must have screamed, though he couldn’t remember much. When he awoke on the ground, Red lay not too far away, amber eyes fading to gray.
No…
Haggar stood before Red, her hands glowing with siphoning powers. Keith sought his connection with Red, only to feel nothing but an empty void.
A shadow cast over him. A boot scraped the ground. The dull hum of power, and Keith managed to roll out of the way, even as the sword descended. He stumbled to his feet, Red’s fire no longer searing in his veins, no longer a constant energy ready to be released. Instead, his limbs hung heavy and his mind clouded, his grip loose about his blade.
“Now, Champion,” Haggar commanded, looming by Red’s snout. “Finish him.”
Explosions sieged the Kral Zera. Commanders clashed on the ground and in the sky. Blades fought and fell. Red lay helpless and drained, ready to be carded off by Haggar. And Shiro, his mate, the new Black Paladin, stood ready to the secure the universe for the Galra Empire by blood and by blade.
Thace’s words echoed through Keith’s head.
Savage. Ruthless. A fight with the Champion is sure to end in death.
Keith wasn’t fighting Shiro. Keith was fighting the Champion. He had to reach Shiro.
His mate rushed forward, Black Bayard shimmering a deep indigo against the Feyviv night sky. His irises glowed a venomous purple, tainting the usual calming gray. Shiro’s angered cry rendered Keith weak, and he gave into the feeling, sinking to his knees. He dropped his Marmoran blade to his side and raised his chin.
Shiro’s sword stopped just under the curve. The cool sensation of the cosmos and the weight of the universe sent shivers running down Keith’s spine.
“Shiro…please…” he pleaded, fingers limp and heavy. He wouldn’t reach for his Marmoran blade again, not against his mate. He thought Shiro understood. He explained it to Shiro – his Galran bond to a mate, but perhaps Shiro didn’t understand the depth of his feeling.
“I love you.”
Emotions ran like water across Shiro’s face. His teeth grit. The purple in his eyes receded, almost blending into Shiro’s usually stormy gray.
“There’s nothing left, Keith.”
It sounded like a plea, and Keith’s shaking hands cupped Shiro’s cheeks. Tears shimmered in Shiro’s eyes.
“Fight,” Keith demanded. “I won’t give up on you.”
The expression upon Shiro’s face was clearly his now, pained and struggling and helpless. The sword beneath Keith’s chin trembled. Keith held on, fingers pressed against Shiro’s cheeks, thumbs brushing away the frustrated tears. This, here, now – this was worth fighting for, and Keith would die to win the battle.
Shiro closed his eyes and reopened them, fighting against something Keith couldn’t see. Sweat mixed with tears, and heavy gasps pounded Keith’s ears. Keith refused to break eye contact, refused to give Shiro any respite, until reflex tore them apart.
A loud growl sounded behind him. Keith looked over his shoulder to see Sendak. The commander’s purple fur was charred in certain places, his breastplate cracked, his flesh arm bleeding.
“A kit will not heed my accession to the throne,” Sendak huffed. “I have your lion. I have your mate, and now, I will have your life. My victory will be sealed by your death!”
With a resounding howl, Sendak lunged, arm blaster charging for a final blow. Keith sucked in a sharp inhale, but before he blew it out, he found the wind knocked out of him. His shoulder slammed hard against the ground, and in a flash of violet, the loud hum of Sendak’s blaster ceased. Keith turned to see Shiro’s rigid back, shoulders rising and falling with violent heaves. He stood over Sendak’s fallen and bloodied form, a thick pool of dark liquid seeping out from underneath the commander’s cooling body. The Black Bayard’s sword shimmered in Shiro’s right hand.
As Keith managed to work his way onto his knees, Shiro glanced over his shoulder. The dusty gray retook his eyes, calm and soothing and grounding Keith. He smiled as a tiny grin crossed Shiro’s face, but then pain stole the momentary gift. The Black Bayard fell from his right hand as his arm began to glow a vicious, malevolent magenta.
Shiro collapsed to the ground, pressing his right palm into the ground as its light brightened and intensified.
Keith glanced over his shoulder at Haggar, whose magenta-tipped fingers glowed. She’d been the one to hurt Shiro. She took his arm and replaced it the metal one, and she must have been there when Shiro killed Zarkon.
Keith didn’t think. He sprang to his feet, one hand gripping his Marmoran blade and the other bringing the Red Bayard to bear.
One slice freed Shiro of the arm. Before he even could see the reaction, he pivoted, ready to thrust his Marmora blade through the lunging Haggar’s chest.
His mother beat him to it.
Krolia pulled her blade from Haggar’s crumpled body, and in a blast of white light, the witch disappeared.
Keith let out a relieved sigh and turned to see Shiro, unconscious but breathing, held firmly against Kolivan’s side.
A flash of purple light spread across the landscape, signaling the start of a new era for the Galra Empire. Lotor held a torch, standing before the alter and the now kneeling Archivist. The battle still raged above, though ships plummeted toward the surface to greet their fallen commanders.
“We need to go now,” Kolivan yelled and gave the order for all remaining Blades to retreat.
Keith glanced back at the idle Red Lion, and though she remained silent in his mind, her being still burned under his skin.
He wouldn’t leave without Shiro, and he couldn’t leave without his lion.
Before he voiced his claim, the Red Bayard in his hand began to glow a bright, fiery red. On the ground, the Black Bayard followed suit, its own violet color mixing with Keith’s.
Red’s eyes flashed to life, an amber, happy color, and then one leg after another, Red gathered her feet underneath her. She met Keith’s eyes, smiling and kind, and then let out a ferocious roar of pride and relief.
Her giddy nature vibrated in Keith, and he couldn’t hide away his smile.
The moment he sat down in the pilot’s chair, Red’s cockpit lit up and her excited nature pranced upon his shoulders. Keith placed his hands upon the controls, and without another thought, Red rocketed toward the sky. She avoided the falling battleships and sent off a few covering blasts. Once she hit open space, she let loose, blasting into hyperdrive and heading off in the direction they came.
“Where are you taking us?” Krolia asked, gripping the back of Red’s chair.
A mental picture flashed through Keith’s mind, followed by a deeper, more solemn message. “Arus,” he relayed. “It’s Red’s home, and there’s someone she wants Shiro to see.”
Keith hesitated at the opening the massive hanger, fighting the urge to leave. Shiro stood before interior monolithic doors on the opposite side, his hands and his forehead pressed against the smooth metal. It was a private moment, and Keith felt an intruder, despite Red’s presence at the foot of the stairs. She’d entered the hanger that first night and refused to leave.
Once Shiro had awoken, he managed a weak but tired smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Red was welcome in Black’s hanger, he said, as were all the lions, so when Shiro pressed his back to the hanger doors and slid down to sit, Keith went to join him.
Shiro tipped his head back, hand upon his knee, and Keith seized the opportunity to grab it. He ducked his head to hide his smile when Shiro squeezed in return.
“…Black did what he thought was right,” Shiro muttered, eyes closed, expression pained. “Honerva was pregnant, and the baby…the doctors said he wasn’t going to make it. Zarkon asked for Black’s help, and the rift seemed like the only way to save Lotor.”
Everyone in the Galra Empire knew its roots – how Zarkon had braved the rift that tore apart Daibazaal to bring unlimited quintessence to the empire. Alfor had betrayed Zarkon and closed the rift by destroying the Galran home world – after claiming the king, queen, and their unborn child had died.
“And they had,” Shiro explained, “but something unnatural brought them back to life. The person Black chose as his paladin was gone, though Zarkon lived.”
Keith heard a rumble in the back of his mind, a cool sensation brushing against his back. “So Black asked you to kill Zarkon?”
Shiro nodded. “To bring relief to the person who might still be trapped in that husk, but I can’t meet Black until all the lions are gathered. And perhaps that’s for the best.”
Keith tightened his grip upon Shiro’s hand. “You are not Zarkon.”
Shiro let out of a humorless laugh. “That doesn’t change the fact that Black has terrible taste in paladins.”
“Shiro – ”
Tugging back his hand, Shiro drew his knees close to his chest. Keith tried to keep the rejection from climbing up his throat.
“I’m a monster, Keith,” Shiro muttered. “What happens if I can’t control myself again? What happens if Haggar – ”
“Haggar’s dead,” Keith said without remorse. “My mother took care of her, and you took care of Sendak. Lotor has now ascended to the throne.”
“But that doesn’t change what I did.” Shiro’s eyes glistened. “I tried to kill you.”
Keith reclaimed Shiro’s hand between his own and cradled it like the prize it was. “You saved me, Shiro.”
Shiro’s right bicep moved, as if it wanted to reach out to touch Keith, but without the Galra’s extension, he sat back with a grimace.
“Keith, just because I ended Sendak – it doesn’t absolve me of my sins. It doesn’t mean that Kolivan and Krolia aren’t right. I’m savage, ruthless. I’m not worthy of the Black Lion…or you.”
Keith gripped Shiro’s fingers tighter. “I think you should trust the Black Lion and me to make that decision for ourselves.”
“Keith – ”
“No, Shiro, no.” Keith huddled close to Shiro until their knees touched. “You refused to turn me in when we first met.”
Shiro rolled his eyes. “I wanted you.”
“And yet you didn’t have me for pheobs and didn’t even try until I asked you. You accepted a blast at point-blank rang for my pack mate, and you went on a suicide mission because my mom, dad, and a large mystical lion asked you to.” When Shiro looked away, Keith cupped his cheek to bring Shiro’s eyes back to his own. “Hey, what happened – it wasn’t your fault.”
“I can’t – I don’t – It doesn’t matter,” Shiro finally settled on. “They broke me, Keith.”
“If that were true, then I wouldn’t be here right now. You would have killed me on Feyviv.”
“Because you saved me.”
“We saved each other, Shiro.”
Keith lifted Shiro’s arm and wrapped it about his shoulders, allowing him to huddle against Shiro’s side. He kept his fingers folded with Shiro’s and closed his eyes as Shiro’s heartbeat thudded in his ears.
“No one should want to follow me.”
“I’d follow you anywhere.”
“You don’t know any better.”
“Maybe I know best.” A deep, rich rumble sliced through Keith’s thoughts. The Black Lion. “Or maybe second-best,” he amended.
Shiro took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Keith tugged on Shiro’s fingers when they loosened but refused to relinquish the hand so soon after reclaiming it. “You know, Kolivan isn’t infallible. He has Antok and my mom and others to rely upon, including me.”
A thoughtful noise ticked in the back of Shiro’s throat, but Keith ignored him.
“You called to me, when Red came from me at the base. I heard you.”
“…I…thought of you…” Shiro murmured, eyebrows knitted, gaze unfocused. “Right after I killed Zarkon. Haggar – she was furious. I could feel her magic in the throne room, and then…” Shiro looked away, but Keith pulled him back with a gentle tug. “…she said she’d take my mate like I took hers. But I – I couldn’t let her. I wouldn’t. But she attacked. My mark burned. My body felt like it was fire. Black fought her. Red, too, and she said she’d protect you. Red said she would make sure you were safe.”
“She did.”
Shiro scowled. “She brought you right to me, to Haggar. How is that keeping you safe?”
Red’s head lifted, eyes glowing and bitter, but Shiro refused to back down.
Neither would Keith. “Red knew you would never hurt me.” He waited for a moment, then pushed onto his knees to take Shiro’s glistening cheeks in his hands. “There is no safer place for me than at your side. The Kral Zera proved that.”
“I didn’t do anything but hurt you.”
“You saved me from Sendak. You saved the universe from Zarkon, and now, we’re going to defend it – together.”
Shiro’s hands slid up Keith’s forearm and slid back down in a soothing, calming rhythm. Keith hated the waiting, but he’d searched for Shiro for phoebs. He could wait another few dobashes for Shiro’s lips to twist, and his first real smile since they parted peek through.
“Yes. We are always stronger together. Thank you, for never giving up on me.”
Keith looked up and pressed a chaste kiss to Shiro’s lips. “Thank you, for coming back to me.”
Shiro teased one of Keith’s locks and pushed it behind his ear. “I’ll always come back to you, for as long as you’ll have me.”
Silence fell upon the hanger, though Red lowered her head with a tolerant huff and Black purred in the back of their minds. Keith wanted to give Shiro the time he needed, though his patience began to wear thin.
A loud sigh lifted up Keith’s gaze, and he watched Shiro blow out another breath.
“In order to free Black, we’re going to need the rest of the lions.”
The tension broke then in a blinding flash of violet, and when Keith opened his eyes, he watched as the Black Bayard rose from its position on Shiro’s other side. It floated in mid-air, shimmering and sparkling with pure quintessence. It grew and shifted, coming to attach itself to the end of Shiro’s bicep and form an arm.
Shiro looked down it, shocked and wonderous. A delighted, giddy smile grew upon his face, and then he reached out to cup Keith’s face with both hands. The action surprised a smile out of Keith, who willingly went into Shiro’s hold and accepted the heated, celebratory kiss.
“I missed this,” Shiro whispered.
“I missed you,” Keith replied, which earned him another embrace.
“Same here.” A pregnant pause. “I love you, too.”
Keith closed his eyes and lowered his forehead, pressing into Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro’s new arm came up to the back of his head as Keith said, “I wasn’t leaving there without you.”
“I know,” Shiro admitted, and Keith raised his head at Shiro’s weary tone. Shiro’s eyes were anything but gentle. “Never, ever surrender again – to me or to anyone. You fight, Keith. You fight until you win.”
“But I did surrender, Shiro. A long time ago, on Arus.” He pressed his forehead into Shiro’s as Shiro’s eyes widened. “To you. Haggar, Sendak, the entire Galra Empire can’t change that. Nothing can change that.”
Shiro’s hold was unyielding as the tears slid down his cheeks, and then he pulled Keith close until Keith was all but in his lap. “Scent-mark me?”
Keith smiled and pulled off his gloves. Once he finished, he grabbed hold of both Shiro’s hands. “Where to?”
Shiro looked uncomfortable for a moment before he threaded his fingers with Keith’s. “The Blue Lion – Haggar used me to locate it. It’s on Earth.”
Cherry blossoms, lattes, macaroni and cheese. “You’re going home?”
“We’re going home,” Shiro laughed. “Hey, I met your parents. Now it’s your turn.”
The End