Keith sat in his chair deep in thought as we drew closer to the Blade of Marmora hideout.
Ever since Shiro said that we would be going there, Keith has been on edge, worrying that if he went there and he found he wanted, it wouldn't be good.
"Coran..." Shiro said making Keith look up in attention, "how soon will we get to the Blade of Marmora's base?"
"Based on the coordinates that Ulaz gave us, we should be there within a few doboshes." Coran answered.
Pidge was excited I could tell, "I can't wait to see it!" She said, "I mean, they were able to fold space-time, and that was jist an outpost!"
Hunk smiled and rubbed his large belly, "Mm, the space taco. It left us too soon." His stomach grumbled at the thought of food.
I chuckled at his words, lightening the mood a little. Pidge however wasn't as amused.
"Well, sure, but my point is, imagine how amazing their home base will be!"
"Yeah, it could be any shape." hunk daydreamed, "Like a space jelly donut, or long, like a space éclair, or a space cheese blitz with cherry sauce on top. Maybe a little dusting of powdered sugar. That's the stars."
"Aww!" Lance whined, "Now I'm hungry for breakfast."
I laughed at their thoughts about the base.
"I think you're all just a little too excited about this." I said, "We still don't know how the rest of the Blade of Marmora will react to our arrival. We must be cautious."
"Zurine is right," Keith said annoyed by our comrades, "this is a serious mission. We need to focus."
"We need to focus." Lance mocked.
"The base is in range." Coran announced. Shiro said to take us in slowly, but as Coran and I could see, it wouldn't be easy.
"That might prove the tiniest bit of a challenge." Coran said.
As we moved closer to the base, we were faced with one of the universe's many miraculous phenomenons.
Standing in front of us was a star, but not just any star, a blue star. Surrounding the star were two large black holes trying to suck in the star.
"Is that a black hole?" Hunk asked.
"No, no, no, no, no." Coran replied, "It's two black holes and a giant blue star."
"That's not better."
"No kidding," Pidge said, "Just inside a black hole, the temperature is one millionth of a degree above absolute zero. But, just outside of that, it's hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius.."
"Not to mention that a blue star is three times larger than the sun and is hotter than any star." I added.
"Okay, so it's like when you try nuke a frozen burrito in the microwave, and it comes out all scorching hot on the outside, but it's still frozen in the middle, right?" Hunk said trying to conpare the black holes temperatures.
"Now, I'm hungry for lunch!" Lance complained. Keith lost his patience. He stood up abruptly and glared angrily at our friends.
"Guys, quiet!" He yelled before turning to Coran, "Corma, where's the base located?"
I looked at Keith with concern, he barely blew up at anyone. It was almost frightening.
Coran oulled up the location of the base on screen, "In between those three deadly celestial objects."
"The perfect defensive position." Pidge said.
"Or the perfect trap." Allura added.
"Yeah, I'm with Allura." Hunk agreed, "Maybe we shouldn't, like, go in there at all?"
"What are you talking about? We have to go in! This is the whole reason we came out here! There is no other option!" Keith yelled once again.
We stared at Keith in shock towards his outburst.
"Okay. Jeez. Cam down." Lance said.
Keith turned away, I placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning at his behavior.
"Keith," I said softly, "I agree with Lance. You need to have a calm and level head in this situation." He looked into my eyes for a tick before sighing and looking the other way.
Suddenly, the screen began beeping, taking the attention away from Keith and back to the base.
"Identify yourself." A female computer said, the words she spoke written in Galran.
Shiro turned to Coran, "Open a hailing frequency, Coran."
Coran did just that opening the correct frequency and letting Shiro speak.
"We are the Palidans of Voltron, sent here by Ulaz."
There was a moment of silence and a tense chill in the air.
"Three may enter. Come unarmed." Allura narrowed her eyes at the command.
"Why would they insist we come unarmed? Shiro, this doesn't feel right." Allura said.
"We've come too far to turn back now." Shiro said.
"They just sent us a route to the base, but we'll have to move quickly." Coran said as he uploaded the route, "Because of the solar flares, it's only open for another varga. Then it will be closed for two quintants."
"They're gonna close it for two years?" Hunk asked.
"Two days." Pidge corrected.
"So, any thoughts on who's gonna join you on this little mission?" Lance asked hoping to be chosen to tag along, "I'm thinking things might get a little hot, so you're gonna wamt someone who can stay cool."
"You're right," Shiro said before facing Keith and me, "Keith, Zurine, you're coming with me."
"What?!" Lance exclaimed, "Alright, Zurine I can understand because she's good at negotiations and talking things out, but Keith? He's a hothead! He's probably going to shoot first and ask questions later! And they're not ginna be able to answer his questions becauwe they'll all be dead!"
Lance, as he spoke, inched closer to Shiro's face until their noses almost touched.
Shiro gently pushed Lance away, "We haven't yet severed Zarkon's link to the Black Lion, so it has to stay here. And the Red lion can withstand the heat from that sun. Also, the White lion can aid in energy transfer and Zurine knows more about negotiating and this type of astronomical being. So yes, it'll be Keith and Zurine."
We turned our attention back to the screen, "The course to the base will be treacherous to say the least." Coran informed us, "You're walking a razor's edge between the gravitational pull of the black holes and the sun."
"If that's the case, we must be extremely careful. One false move, and we'll be either crushed into infinity by the holes, or burnt to a crisp by the sun." I said.
After we changed into our armor and left all our weapons on the ship, we entered the Red and White lions, setting course for the Blade of Marmora base.
As I followed the holographic path on screen, I had a conversation with my lion.
"White, do you think we can trust the Blade of Marmora?"
"That is up for you to decide, Zurine. Ulaz seemed like the type of person who, and did, sacrifice himself for a greater cause."
"Ulaz is a great man, I hope that the rest of the group is just as willing as him."
"Why do you say 'is'? Ulaz is no more."
"You're connected to me, white. You should know the answer to that question."
My lion purred, "yes, indeed I do understand the answer. If you say 'was' then his life would just be something in the past to be forgotten."
"But if I say 'is' then his memory will stay alive."
I smiled, but my smiled faded as the red lion tilted off course a little, being pulled into one of the black holes.
"White we need to help!" I shouted, thrusting the controls forward and flying towards the red lion.
The Red lion launched its thrusters full throttle evading the space debris that the black holes sucked in.
I flew right next to the red lion and helped push it along. Soon, we were back on track and made it through the base entry point.
"Thanks a lot Zurine!" Keith said. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
We looked out towards the blue star, and were amazed at the base. It was fashioned out of a large asteroid with multiple openings.
We landed right outside the entrance and walked out of our lions. As amazed as I was, nerves still crept into my system. I stopped and stared at the large base.
Keith noticed that I wasn't walking anymore, turning back he saw me staring and grabbed my hand.
Surprised, I looked down at my hand and then back up at Keith. He smiled warmly at me easing my nerves a little.
"You should take your own advice, Zurine." He said, "You need to be calm and level headed in this situation."
I smiled and nodded, the two of us ran to catch up with Shiro.
"There's nothing here. This place just looks like a plain asteroid." Keith said.
"I know," I said, "It's perfect for a secret base."
Suddenly, loud rumbling echoed from in front of us. The ground opened and two people were lifted out of the hole.
They were dressed the same as Ulaz with similar weapons latched onto their backs.
We followed them into the elevator chute and waited for our destination. After a few doboshes, we stopped. The doors opened to reveal a large hall with Blade of Marmora soldiers lined up on the sides.
At the end of the hall was a single man and above it all was the symbol for the Blade of Marmora.
We walked down the hall stopping in front of the man.
"I am Kolivan, leader of the Blade of Marmora." The man said.
"My name is Shiro and this is Keith and Princess Zurine. We are Palidans of Voltron." Shiro introduced.
It might have been my imagination, but I could've sworn that Kolivan and the other men flinched at the mention of my name.
"I know who you are." Kolivan said.
"Then you know we were sent by one of your own." Said Shiro.
"Ulaz was a fool to divulge this location to you." Kolivan said eith no such emotion, "He had a penchant for ignoring orders and following his impulses. That's what got him killed."
My anger grew little by little at Kolivan's words.
"He gave his life to save us!" Shiro said angrily, "What he did, brought us here today, and Voltron is ready to assist you. Are we welcome here or not?"
Kolivan stayed silent for a tick, but the tension in the air grew.
"You were told to come unarmed."
"You also told us to identify ourselves." Keith exclaimed, "The lions are about as close they come to an ID."
"If anything happens, believe me, you'll be happy to habe the red and white lions on your side." Shiro said.
"I imagine we would." Kolivan said, "However, I wasn't referring to your beasts."
In the blink of an eye, one of the men tackled Keith to the ground, while another restrained me as well.
"Keith! Zurine!" Shiro yelled, but was stopped by another soldier.
The man holding Keith down oulled out a knife belonging to the Blade of Marmora.
I gasped at the sight of the knife. Now I understand why they restrained Keith, but why restrain me when I had no weapon?
"He has one of our blades!" The man said, "Who did you steal this from?"
"I didn't! I've had it all my life!" Keith said.
"Lies!" The guard said.
"Can either of you corroborate your friend's statement? Does this blade truly belong to him?" Kolivan asked.
Shiro looked down, stuttering "I... I don't know."
"I do!" I shouted, "For how he's had the blade I'm not sure, but I know that that blade is his."
"How can you be so sure?" Kolivan shouted at me.
"Keith is a good person who never steal for himself. Not even pocket change that fell onto the floor."
"Shiro, you know me. Zurine is right, I promise that I didn't steal it. I've had this knife as long as I can remember." Keith said.
"We can't trust them." The guard said.
"I'm telling the truth." Keith replied, "I saw Ulaz had a knife like this. Tell me what it means."
"Our organization is built on secrecy and trust." Kolivan said, "You two should leave. Now."
The guard let Keith up, but he and Shiro turned towards me and then back to Kolivan.
"We came here to form an alliance, but obviously, we're not welcome. Release Zurine and we'll leave." Shiro said.
The guard holding me walked me closer to Kolivan. The leader lifted his hand up to my face and gently placed his hand on my helmet covered cheek.
"What are you doing?" Keith yelled, "Get your hands off of her!"
Kolivan removed his hand and looked back at Keith.
"This girl os the child of Sun and Moon. We cannot just let someone as powerful as this leave us. You two may leave, but she shall stay."
"No way!" Keith stayed put, "We're not leaving until you let Zurine go, and we get some answers. Somehow, one of your knives ended up with me on planet Earth. Tell me now and let go of Zurine."
"We have the right to stay silent. Leave now!" Kolivan said.
"Where did it come from? I have to know."
I froze in the guards arms as Kolivan told Keith the only way to gain his answers.
"You seek knowledge? There is only one way to attain knowledge here."
"How? I'll do it!" Keith pleaded.
"The trials of Marmora." I trembled at the name, "Shoupd you survive, yoy may keep the blade and its secrets will be revealed. We will even release the girl."
"Survive?" Shiro gasped, "Keith, this is crazy. It they're not going yo help us, let's just take Zurine back and get out of here."
"I know the part about Zurine, heck I love her too much to leave her here. But I have to do this. For me and for Zurine." Keith looked back towards me and Kolivan.
"Antok, give the boy the blade." The guard, Antok, returned the knife to Keith.
"Keith stop this." I begged, "I'll be okay, just go. I don't want you getting hurt."
Keith stared at the knife in his hand, "You've been getting hurt helping all of us too many times, Zurine. It's time I return to favor."
I held my breath, "These trials result in one if two things." Kolivan explained, "Knowledge or death."
They brought Shiro and I to an observation deck, while Keith readied for the trials.
A few minutes later, Keith came out without his armor, but instead dressed in a combat uniform with knife in hand.
A soldier emerged from the floor amd drew his sword.
"Surrender the blade. You cannot win." He said.
Keith growled and began his fight. Although Keith was skilled with a sword, the longer blade on his opponent was greater than his small knife.
As they fought, Keith cried out in pain as the sword cut his shoulder. But Keith didn't back down, standing strong as his knife was pointed towards his opponent.
"Come on, Keith." Shiro muttered.
Keith was kicked to the ground, quickly gathering his balance as the opponent rushed towards him.
Keith tried to stab the soldier, but the man swept his arm under Keith's and twisted it painfully.
He brought Keith down and positioned his swords next to Keith's neck.
"Surrender the blade and the pain will cease." The soldier said.
But Keith didn't give up the blade. The soldier released Keith and faced the door behind them.
"You are not meant to go through that door."
That's when something came to me. As Keith entered the next room and two soldiers rose from the floor, I realised that this was not just a trial for the blade.
It was a trial for secrets held within the Blade of Marmora.
"This is not a fair fight!" Shiro said bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Nor is taking in the Galra, yet that is the fight we face." Kolivan said.
I removed my helmet as Keith's screamed echoed in my ears. Each time he went through a door, the amount of opponents he faced increased by one.
"How long does this go on?" Shiro asked.
"Sometimes, the greatest challenge is knowing when to stop." Kolivan answered.
"Keith is not the type of person to guve up so easily." I said walking up next to Shiro.
"One way it another, this will end."
"Knwolwdge or death, right Kolivan?" I asked, anger dripping from my voice as the fights continued.
The leader of the Blade of Marmora turned towards me.
"You have a sharp mind, Child of Sun and Moon." He said.
I sighed and crossed my arms across my chest, "Tell me, Kolivan, just what secrets are hidden within the Blade. And what is your purpose for me?"
Kolivan chuckled at my questions, "A child who has many questions for a person she hardly knows. Heh, we need a mind like yours in the Blade of Marmora, not to mention your power over the sun and moon qualities."
"That answers one question," I said, "Now how about my other question pertaining to the blade."
"Hmm, that blade the boy holds is a symbol of trust in this organization. Unless the wielder is worthy of it, the blade must never be given to anyone." Kolivan explained.
I growled and looked back down at Keith. He held his right arm and breath heavilyas more opponents arrived.
Suddenly, Keith ran and threw the knife towards one of the openings in the floor.
The knife lodged itself into the crack stopping it from closing. While the others were focused on the knife, Keith ran towards the opening, dodging any soldiers who tried to stop him.
Keith slid past the soldiers and jumped into the sliding opening, disappearing beneath the floor.
I looked down at my ring, it was glowing softly.
"Shiro," I whispered to the black palidan, "Keith will not give up until he has his answers. I'm afraid that if he goes too far, it'll be terrible."
"We can't just pick him up and leave. Keith wouldn't let us" Shiro said. I sighed and looked back down at Keith.
Suddenly, Shiro and I were down there with him. My eyes widened at the sight.
I looked back down at my ring and saw it flashing in an irregular rhythm.
"Is that a hologram?" Shiro asked Kolivan.
"His suit has the ability to create a virtual landscape, reflecting its wearer's greatest hopes and fears." Kolivan explained, "And, at thus moment, your friend desperately wants to see you and the girl."
"Shiro," I grabbed his attention, "Keith is on the edge."
"How can you tell?" I showed him the flashing ring on my hand.
"This ruby is connected to Keith, it also let's me see into the minds of others I'm deeply connected to. Keith's mind is in turmoil, fighting just as mich as his body has."
"What is it wuth you and that thing?" The fake Shiro asked.
"It's the only connection I have to my past." Keith answered," It's my chance to know who I really am."
"You exactly who you are, a Palidan of Voltron. We're all the family you need."
"Please Keith," the fake me said grabbing his hand, "Give up the knife and let's go back."
Keith looked down at his feet and sighed, "Shiro, you're like a brother to me... And Zurine, I love you more than anyone else.... but I have to do this."
"You're choosing that knife over me?" The fake me had tears welling up in her eyes. Keith turned away.
"You don't have to do this. So, just give them the knife!"
"I can't do that!"
"Just give up the knife, Keith! You're only thinking about yourself, as usual! Don't you understand how this will hurt us, hurt Zurine?"
Keith turned away, "I've made my choice."
The fake Shiro and me glared at Keith.
"Then you've chosen to be alone."
"And you've chosen to let me go."
The two imposters turned and walked away, but Keith ran after them.
He collapsed and groaned in his sleep.
Suddenly, I became light headed. I held my head as the dizziness settled in. I barely heard Shiro calling for me and him catching me as I fell and my world turned white.
Mindscape~~~~~~
I opened my eyes to see myself in Keith's house. It was messier than I remembered.
"Zurine!" Keith exclaimed from my side. He quickly wrapped his arms around me and held my tight.
"How did you get here? What's going on?" He asked.
Before I could answer his questions, the ground shook and a loud boom erupted from outside.
"Keith..." A man's voice said from behind us. Keith gasped in disbelief at the voice.
We turned around and saw a man near a radio setting the station.
"Dad?" Keith asked in shock. I remembered seeing pictures of Keith's father when I went to Earth, but to hear his voice and see him like this was surpeising and overwhelming.
The man turned around and smiled at us, "You're home, son. And you've brought Zurine along too. Pleasure to meet you, Zurine."
Another loud crash erupted from outside, "What's going on outside?" Keith asked.
"Don't worry about that." Keith's dad said, "We'll be fine as long as we stay in here. Don't you want to catch up?"
"Of course I do." Keith's eyes softened and his father sighed.
"Son, so many years have passed. I have so much to tell you, and I can't wait to know more about Zurine."
Another loud rumble erupted.
"What is that?" Keith walked over to the covered windows. He pulled down the drapes and saw a large Galra ship attacking Earth.
The red lion stood atop a nearby cliff as the people below scream in terror.
"Dad, I-I'm sorry. We've gotta go. There's peoole that need us out there." Keith said rushed.
Keith's father held the knife in his hands, "Don't you want to know where you came from? Your mither gave it to me."
It all made sense now. My theory was correct. We looked back outside and saw the Galra ship edging closer to us and the screams of the people echoed louder.
"You've gotta tell me, Dad. I have to know. Where did the knife come from? What does it mean?" Keith pleaded with his father.
I looked back down at my ring and saw that it was shining dimly.
"Your mither is almost here." The man said, "She'll tell you everything."
The room illuminated with with light of explosions coming from outside.
"We can't wait around anymore. We have to go." Keith grabbed my hand and dragged me to the door with him.
As soon as Keith grabbed the doorknob, his father said, "If you go out that door, you'll never find out who you are."
Keith hesitated for a tick, he turned towards me with sadness in his eyes. I smiled softly and nodded.
Keith turned back towards his father, "Goodbye, Dad." As we exited the house, a hand grabbed my free hand.
I turned around to see Keith's dad with a sweet and sad smile on his face.
"Take care of my boy." He said.
I smiled and nodded, "He's done so much for me. It's the least I could do."
My world turned white again.
End~~~~
I opened my eyes to see Shiro rushing to my side.
"Zurine, you okay?" He asked worryingly. I nodded and stood up, looking at the ruby on my ring. It was shinging brightly. Keith was okay.
Suddenly, the base shook violently. A guard ran into the room.
"The Red Lion is attacking the base! It's trying to break through!"
"It has a link with Keith!" Shiro shouted, "It knows when he's in danger! It's coming for him!"
I ran down to where Keith was below.
As I ran, I reached out to the red lion, assuring that Keith would be okay. But the lion was enraged, worried for his Palidan.
Shiro and I arrived at Keith's side. Shiro picked Keith up and stood him straight.
"Keith, are you okay?" The black Palidan asked.
"Stop what you're doing?" Kolivan yelled.
"What are you talking about?" Keith weakly asked, "What's going on?"
"The Red Lion sensed your pain and is attacking the base." I answered.
"Call off your beast!"
"Move out of the way! We're leaving! All three of us!" Shiro yelled.
"You're not leaving with that blade, or the girl. The girl shall be an excellent ally for us. As for the blade, it does not belong to you. You've failed to awaken it!" Kolivan shouted.
The guard I recognized as Antok, rushed towards us with his sword in hand.
Shiro pushed Keith away and intercepted the sword.
"Wait!" Keith yelled, presenting the knife, "Just take the knife!"
I glanced towards Keith and smiled. He's made the right decision.
"It doesn't matter where I come from. I know who I am. We all need to work together to defeat Zarkon. If that means I give up this knife, fine. Take it."
Slowly, the emblem on the knife began to glow. In an instant, the blade shone brightly with an intense purple light.
When the light diminished, a New weapon was in its place. A beautiful sword was in Keith's hand, replacing the small knife from before.
"You've awoken the blade!" Kolivan gasped, "The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins."
Keith was shocked, but his face was relaxed.
We left the base with Kolivan and flew back to the castle. But mostly on mind, was how to explain that Keith was half Galran. Mostly to Allura.
When we arrived at the castle. We introduced Kolivan to Allura. He knelt down on one knee hand and bowed, removing his mask and hood.
"Princess Allura, it's good to see that the rumors are true. You're still alive after all these years." Kolivan said respectively.
"So is Zarkon." Allura said the name like it was poison on her tongue, "Can we consider you our ally in the fight against him?"
"Yes," Kolivan stood up, "But we have little time to discuss this. I just recieved word from our spy inside the Galran hierarchy. They have become aware of our presence, so the timetable for our plan has been moved up."
"How soon do we need to begun?" Shiro asked.
"Now."
I sighed and held Keith's hand, "Everyone," I said, "There's something you should know."
They all faced me anf Keith, he held my hand tighter as he spoke.
"Back in the base, I learned something about myself. I've had a blade just Ulaz carried for my entire life, and I've awoken it. The only I could've done that..... is if I had Galra blood inside me."
Everone had different reactions, some of them were surprised. Some were shocked by the news. Lance had an expression that said 'This is earth shattering'.
But Allura.... she had a sense of betrayal in her eyes and walked away without a word.
Keith felt a little saddened by her reaction. And I was disappointed by her reaction.
She was smarter than this. I'll need to have a talk with her later.
Keith and I walked to his room in silence.
"She hates me." Keith said, "Didn't you see the look her eye when I told her? She hates me now."
I sighed, "She's smarter than this. I'll talk to her later. Don't worry, she'll come around."
I wrapped my arms around him as he did the same to me. I lifted my head and looked straight into his dark eyes.
Then, his warm lips touched mine in a gentle kiss. It was only for a moment, but it was filled with so many feelings.
We parted and left to our own rooms. As I slept that night, Luna's soft purrs lulled me sleep, my dreams filled with visions of the future.
At some point in the night, I bolted from my sleep covered in sweat. It was nightmare, and the most vivid part of it all........
Was Keith's tears falling down his cheeks.