8I sighed.
"There's nothing out here, Coran." Keith announced over the comms.
"I'm sorry" Coran sympathetically said.
"We're coming home." Keith and I tried looking for Shiro, cause the two of us were still convinced that he was still alive. But every time we tried, we never could find him, leaving us heartbroken even more.
...
"Hey, you got anything so far?" I asked Pidge, who was staring intensely at the screen in front of her. As well as trying to find Shiro, I've also been helping Pidge try and find her father and brother, and she was helping me try and find my parents.
"Oh, you're back! Did you-"
"No." I sternly answered, clearly disappointed. "Got anything new to cheer me up?"
"I talked to some members of the desert tribe on Planet Kythra who have these same large feathered ears. They're not friendly to Zarkon, but they couldn't help me identify the person in the footage. So, that's a dead end. Now, these flappy, loosey, pant-thingies are traditionally worn by the Tando people. All I need to know is what's this mask thing that they all have on their faces?" Pidge queeried. I looked closer to the screen to observe the masks.
"Hm, no idea. But it appears to be the horrible blend of fashion. Ask Coran." I suggested.
"Okay, so, my brother was either taken by intergalactic non-fashion pirates, or... maybe the outer reaches of these galaxies are occupied by freedom fighters that are starting to work together against the Galra Empire."
"You know, for your small body, you got a big brain." I ruffled Pidge's hair, who quickly fixed it.
"Did you find anything about your parents?" Pidge asked.
"All I know is that they have gotta be stuck on one of Zarkon's huge, important ships. He would want to keep them there safe. Well, as safe as they can be."
"But wouldn't he want you to think that, and trick you by actually keeping them in one of the smaller, unknown ships."
"No, not from the clip I saw and what he's told me. Hey, what's that?" I point to the corner of the screen, where there is a play button.
"Oh, right! While you were gone, I had the system analyze the sound of the explosion from the prison break." Pidge plays the clip, and all I hear is gunshots. The system quickly scanned the clip, and something popped up onto the screen. "Huh. Nanothermite titanium-boron. Hey, maybe we can track that!"
"Good idea." I pulled a chair over, opened my laptop which I left right next to Pidge before I left.
I gotta just learn to move on from Shiro. He's gone, Harita. You gotta move on.
...
"They haven't figured out their flatbread situation yet, but what they do with those centipedes is just out of this world." Hunk complimented. Him and Lance just got back from their mission, with the BOM, and we were all sitting in the lounge area.
"And they're totally ready to join the fight against the Galra." Lance added.
"Nice!" Pidge cheered.
"We brought back a few of their leaders to join the coalition."
"That's splendid, excellent work!" Allura exclaimed.
"You know, I gotta say, this is what it's all about." I raised my left eyebrow at Lance. "Freeing the people, lovin' the ladies, then bombing down the road again looking for adventure, Voltron style."
"Which brings up a little issue. They all want to see Voltron, only we don't really have Voltron anymore." Hunk trailed off.
"We don't have Shiro anymore, either. Everyone seems to have forgotten that." Keith mumbled.
"Yeah, I'm going to agree with Keith on this one." I nodded.
"It may be difficult for us all to accept, but it is time to think about finding a new pilot for the Black LIon." Allura suggested. We all looked at her shocked.
"No! I'm gonna find him! Shiro is the one person who never gave up on me, I won't give up on him." Keith stormed off.
"I got him." I got up and ran after him. I followed him to the lion hangers. "Keith, wait." He stopped and turned around.
"What is it?" Keith mumbled.
"Okay, look. I get it you're trying to find him. WE are trying to find Shiro. And I know you don't want someone else to pilot the black lion. But think of this way, it's temporary, at least until we find- wait a minute."
"What?" Keith asked, confused.
"Shiro said that if something happened to him, you would become the pilot for black." I recalled. "You're just scared to accept it." Keith looked away. "Hey, look at me." He looked back towards my face. "This is only temporary, until we find Shiro. Once we do, everything will go back to normal, we'll go back to saving the universe like before, alright."
"Alright." Keith responded.
…
It was dinner time, and we were eating dinner with a bunch of other aliens. Us paladins were dressed in our armor while Allura and Coran were wearing fancy altean clothing.
"It is our honor to have you all here together." Allura politely said.
"I had the biggest bunker back on Puig, but it wasn't nearly this nice." One of the aliens complimented.
"Well, I spent the last decade sleeping in a spiny thistle thicket. You look wonderful though, Princess. I'm glad I put on my best tarp." The green dude added. Allura smiled. Hunk walked up towards us, wearing an apron and carrying a small tray.
"Welcome, everyone, welcome! I've prepared a few Earth canapes for our distinguished guests to enjoy while we talk galactic diplomacy." Hunk cheerfully said, as he placed the food on our plates. Kolivan stood up, literally towering his 7ft ass over ours.
"The Blade of Marmora has gathered this intelligence. As you can see, the Galra Empire is still the most massive ruling force the universe has ever seen. The sheer size of it is almost incomprehensible. It seems like it could rule another 10,000 years." A few of the aliens stopped eating, and looked shocked, and scared. Lance, Pidge, and I lean towards one another, frowning.
"Not the way I would have started this pep talk, but okay." Lance muttered.
"This shit really started out more depressing than my childhood." I added.
"However we are beginning to see an increase in rebel activity throughout the Empire." Kolivan continued. A holographic map lights up with various rebel locations.
"We have a strategy to bring these forces together, free more planets, grow our numbers and accumulate an army that can defeat the Galra in major battles, but without your help it will be impossible." Allura proposed.
"The forces will all fight behind Voltron, right?" One of the aliens asked.
"Yes, where is Voltron?" The Puig man asked.
"Th-the people you see before you are in the Paladins of Voltron. Together, they pilot the mighty lions that form the great warrior." Allura stutered.
"Excellent! Can they form Voltron now?"
"We can't form Voltron okay?! We can fly the lions, but Voltron is not happening!" Keith yelled, slamming the table. I glared at Keith, who noticed my warning, but didn't care. I didn't want these friendly creatures to be scared. As much as I am, I mean, can you blame me. I was a 17 year old, fighting in this war against random aliens. Anyways, I didn't want them to be too.
"What he means is that right now they can't do it but-" Allura tried to correct Keith, but it didn't help.
"But nothing. Shiro is gone. He was the Black Lion. And until we find him, there is no Voltron." Keith mumbled.
"The Lions are still a substantial fighting force and this castle is also a considerable weapon. the Blade of Marmora can lead you." Kolivan said.
"My people have been enslaved for centuries by soldiers who look exactly like you." The purple alien argued.
"Yes! Our people have heard the legend of Voltron, how he defeated Zarkon. That is what gave them hope. What are we supposed to tell them now?" Puig man asked.
"Tell them to stand up and fight for themselves! Voltron is gone!" Keith stormed out of the room. I groaned and hid my face in my hands. Lance patted my back, trying to cheer me up.
"Pizza roll? Pig in a blanket?" Hunk awkwardly asked.
"I'll have a pizza roll." Puig man said.
This is going to be horrible.
...
Once the aliens left, I quickly changed my clothes into my normal outfit, black hoodie with some gray ripped jeans. Once I finished, I met up with the other and we headed over to where Keith was. He was sitting in front of black, his back facing us. Lance looked at me, silently asking permission to go ahead. I nodded.
"Hey man… listen. We all miss Shiro. I remember what a thrill it was just to meet him for the first time when the two of us carried him out of that Garrison hospital." Pidge walked over to the two of them and sat down.
"I grew up with my dad and Matt telling me stories about him. He was a legend at our house."
"The guy taught me everything I know about being a pilot! Which isn't much. But that's more on me." Hunk sat next to them as well. I walked over, pushed Pidge out of the way, lightly, she took no offense by the way, and sat next to Keith, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.
"The two of us have been together with Shiro for a long time. We both know each other's struggles." I gave Keith a small, sad smile.
"You're not the only one hurting, man. We're all right there with you. But you know that he would be the first one to tell us that we have to move on." Lance sympathetically sighed.
"Keith, I know exactly how you feel. But our mission is bigger than any one individual. even those who are completely irreplaceable" Allura added.
"I know you're right. It's time to figure out how to reform Voltron." Keith finalized.
Yes, I know I am posting this a day earlier, but I don't really care.
Toodles,
HernameisBurrito