Chapter Text
ONE YEAR LATER
With the return of the planet Daibazaal, the Galra Empire is at crossroads.
The steps of destiny, he remembered the Archivist’s words from the first ever Kral Zera he witnessed after the death of Zarkon.
Keith was standing atop those steps in his red and white Paladin armor, flanked by Krolia and Kolivan and his wolf proudly watching his back. The sacred pink flames burnt steadily despite the perpetual strong gusts of wind on planet Feyiv.
But, today, neither were the steps to be ascended nor the Kral Zera to be lit. With the passing of Lotor and the end of his short reign, marking the end of the ten thousand years old war as well, the history of the Galra Empire turned a new page when monarchy was finally abolished and replaced by democracy.
For too long, the people of this extraordinary civilization have been manipulated by a dictatorship that places a misguided sense of self-preservation above all else.
When the Galra came to know from the rapidly altering starcharts after the fall of Oriande that along with Altea and Olkarion, Daibazaal too had been revived, they were overjoyed.
After the war was declared over by Kolivan, they immediately started to work together in complete harmony, putting aside and hopefully, completely eliminating all their past internal animosity. The coming months were hectic; what with building their new dwellings and making their planet habitable with the fresh resources found.
It was a tragic, unfortunate series of events that led us down this dark, never-ending path of power and greed.
And, finally, the dependency on Quintessence ceased with the reemergence of the Galran home planet. The various systems were recalibrated and in many cases, totally obliterated so as to avoid any use of Quintessence as a fuel. The research on the same, however revolutionary it might have been, was banned by a mutual agreement between Altea and Daibazaal, the pioneers in the technology, in order to avoid further bloodshed in the name of this cause.
But now... we, the citizens of the Galra Empire, have an opportunity to make right all of the injustices set into motion by our forefathers by joining the Galactic Coalition and ushering in a new era of peace across the Universe.
From the huge cheer that rippled through the gathered Galra citizens, Keith guessed he had invoked the feelings of hope and inspiration as he imagined. He had practiced his lines a hundred times before his test audience.
Namely, his wolf, who was two times his size now, and who was happy whatever be the words or however he might deliver it, his only reply was: Well done, boss. You are the man!
Kolivan and his mother, both of them had a quiet exultation in their impassive faces and cold eyes which comforted Keith to some extent. My speech must have been passable.
His eyes searched the crowds for the third of his test audience and in turn, were greeted by a lot of familiar faces.
Warlord Lahn had his usual scowl on his face, but from the almost indiscernible twinkle in his solid gold eyes, Keith guessed he was not really disappointed with how things had worked out. His contribution to the unification of the Galra troops and abolition of monarchy for equal rights to all the citizens was commendable.
Standing beside the hearth of the Kral Zera was a pokerfaced Commander Gnov. Over the months, Keith had come to a cordial agreement with her regarding the kick to her face being purely an act of self-defense and not from any kind of malice directed towards her. With her vast experience having worked closely with Zarkon as his topmost advisor and with the inner circle of his commanders, she proved herself to be an indispensable part of the future Galra advisory committee.
Next to her, Warlord Morvok revolved on his usual hoverpad, straightening to his height as much as he could. He was shaking his clasped fists above his head. Tears of joy flooded down his face as he cheered for him. Keith didn’t know how to react to such an excited Galra warrior, so he just offered an awkward wave. Immediately, the crowds went wild.
Then, he spotted her. Either by fate or her choice, she was standing in the very place from where she had shot down Gnov’s weapon and saved his life years ago, surrounded by a smug Zethrid with her arms folded just to flex her muscles, Ezor grinning widely as though she had all sorts of mischief planned for later, the motherly Syra and fierce as ever Ilun. Vrek, the warden from Beta Traz prison and a few other Blades were enthusiastically pumping their fists.
Acxa smiled at him, this time her eyes shining proudly. I am glad we both made it out alive to soak in this historic moment.
He returned her smile and once again, the crowds went wild.
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
“Woah! Wait, are those Altean markings?”
Lance swatted away his fingers. His skin glowed cyan in the form of the most striking features of the Alteans: crescent shaped markings beneath the eyes. “Yes, and stop poking my face!”
Hunk peered closer and squashed his cheeks to check whether they were painted. “How did you get these?”
“Alu-la hay they—me,” He managed to splurt out.
“Allura gave them to you?” What! How? Permanent Altean skin paint? Her usual magical alchemic voodoo? Or, did she happen to discover his secret Altean lineage, unknown for years like mine? But he knows both his parents! “How?”
Hunk scratched at his markings and checked his nails. “It isn’t blue paint?”
“No.” Lance pushed off Hunk, scowling in pain. “Hunk, stop that! You guys are such...torture, ugh!”
“Well, you didn’t answer the question.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Romantically, I guess?”
“Romantically?” Keith cleared his throat. Lance and Allura had finally started dating a few weeks ago, after months of flirting and everyone from Allura’s mice to Lance’s Kaltenecker coming together to say, ‘You guys like each other. Just confess already!’ Heck, I am better in the romance department than the renowned lover boy of Voltron. “You know what? I don’t need any details.”
He chuckled. “What about you? How is Acxa? Did she come over to Altea today?”
“Yep. She is here.” Keith stepped out on the path leading from the Altean Training School where they had found Lance to the small hill alongside the newly constructed Castle, where the evening banquet was to be held. “By the way, I can’t still wrap my head around the fact you are teaching Altean kids. What exactly are you teaching? The art of flirting?”
“Oh, bingo. That’s for free, however.” He threw his arms across both their necks forcing them to lug him along. “To put it simply, the kids gifted with Altean alchemy are tutored by Allura and the others like her. Those who are not, have other disciplines to choose from. Mine is basic till advanced pilot classes. After all, I’m the coolest slash the best pilot of our bunch.”
Keith rolled his eyes. “Ah, I see.”
A kid of about twelve with dark hair and violet eyes passed by and waved happily at them. As soon as he entered the school premises, a flock of giggling girls swooped down from nowhere as if he were their favorite celebrity crush.
“He is one of my pupils.” Lance wiped away a fake tear from his eye. “Reminds me of the days of my prime. Girls used to flock around me jus’ like that.”
“Missing the old days, loverboy Lance? You aren’t regretting having to settle for one girl, are you?”
Lance stopped in his tracks. “Hunk, what are you talking about?! I love Allura, okay?” Keith could see he was visibly hurt. “Like I actually, truly fell and still am falling for her. I can’t imagine being with anyone else. But ‘cause wooing is an art, I don’t want it to die with me. I’m passing it on to the newer generations. Passing it on, okay?”
Hunk held up his hands in apology when a familiar voice spoke up behind them. “Perhaps, you should visit Daibazaal one of these days and offer to teach the art of wooing to the Galra boys as well. They are such monumental blockheads when it comes to romance and stuff.”
“Acxa!” Hunk squeezed her life out in one of his rib-cracking bearhugs. “It’s so good to see you. We missed you so—oh much!”
Whereas, Lance didn’t even bat an eyelid to retort, “Ha-ha, possibly because they have no one but Keith to learn from.”
Keith forced himself to smile at his insult. He won’t give up even a single chance to make fun of me, will he?
The banquet was cozy. Allura hadn’t bothered to wear her uncomfortable royal attire nor spent vargas trying to put up her hair in a perfect bun. Clad in her royal nightgown, she was as relaxed as she could be, for the invitees were not formal guests, Coalition representatives or any of her own people requesting her assistance. Just some of my closest friends.
The night was cool and filled with loud whoops and giggles. Coran and Lance were having a speed eating contest— how many buns can they gobble down in two doboshes? Hunk and Rian was egging on Lance, while Merla and Romelle were on team Coran. Tavo was acting as the tickkeeper. My second father and my boyfriend, sigh!
On the other side of the table, a wolf’s snout would pop up to inhale from Keith’s or Krolia’s plates whenever they turned away to talk to someone or watch something interesting. Allura was surprised at how much Keith had changed. He was no longer the insecure guy who had run away from them after he was selected as the new Black Paladin. Now, not only was he taller and bigger, he also oozed confidence and a sense of quiet dignity.
She knew some part of his newfound confidence stemmed from Acxa too. There was a time Allura used to heavily distrust her. She had shamelessly gone to the extent of convincing Keith about the same. But that was all in the past. The two girls were good friends now.
After Lotor almost killed her, Allura did everything in her power to bring her back from the brink. She visited her often in the hospital in the following phoeebs she took to recover fully, and later, when Acxa was moved to their new home which she shared with Keith, Krolia and their wolf.
Pidge was busy gushing about some new, shiny tech toy she had developed to Acxa while the mice swallowed the food right from her bowl. She and her family successfully rebuilt what her father had started, just as she had expected. Olkarion had been named as the Northern Hub for all alien technology. While Matt and she were working closely with the Olkari, Admiral Holt helped transition Earth as the Southern Hub and also, stabilized the teludav technology compatible with Earth standards.
It wasn’t like any other banquet Allura had attended. Super chaotic, but somehow, it felt just right. It felt like home.
Coran won the contest. Obviously. Lance was left all but choking over the buns he had stuffed in his mouth.
“The filet of bandrillo, spiced with the seasoning from the plains of planet Mabo,” Hunk was explaining about the various items laid on the banquet table. “Alongside pilaf of long-grain forlongian brill from the vast fields of Antidoll.”
Lance tried to wash his throat down with a glass of cider, but the poor guy choked again. “Accompanied by a cider made from the petals of the juniberry flower.”
Allura smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Hunk, for arranging today’s wonderful banquet and all the exquisite delicacies.”
“Princess, it is our utmost honor at Vrepit Sals’ to be working so closely with Altea.” Hunk bowed with a dramatic flourish of his hand. “We are doing what we can in bringing together the Universe, one meal at a time. Though I suspect our next undertaking will be from Daibazaal.”
Keith looked up from his plate. “And why is that?”
“You know, the much awaited celebrity wedding on Daibazaal. The day when Acxa and you get married.”
It was now Acxa’s turn to choke over her food. Though Keith didn’t seem as affected as her, he glared at Hunk, making some wild eye gestures, all of which he just ignored.
Allura bit back her grin. “Speaking of which, how are things going on Daibazaal?”
Krolia was trying hard to suppress her amusement on watching their antics too but she managed to answer. “We're calling for an election to select the Galran representative for the Galactic Coalition. So that's a step in the right direction.”
“I am sure Kolivan or you will be elected, Mom. Or, maybe Lahn? He is also a popular candidate.”
“Let me guess. They asked you to be their leader and you said no?”
Keith shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Classic Keith.”
Everyone started to cackle at the exchange between the two boys. Allura was smiling as well, when she suddenly remembered a certain someone who was being sorely missed with them on this day.
Hunk put her thoughts into words. “Man, how I wish Shiro was here with us too.” Keith nodded slowly, a forlorn smile spreading over his face.
“Shiro would be proud of you, Keith.” Allura rose from her seat. “Let’s raise a toast to him, to the Paladins of Old, and to the countless others who sacrificed their lives for this day to come. To family!”
“To family!”
Acxa lay on her bed in her assigned room aboard the new Castle of Altea. The night was warm, and she realized she won’t be able to sleep anytime soon. She was about to take off her shirt when there was a knock on the door. Who is it?
Her hand automatically stuffed her gun in her belt before walking up to open the door. Who could it be? “Keith! What are you doing here?”
He craned his neck to check the corridor for any passersby. What is he doing in the ladies’ quarters? It is past midnight now. He didn’t seem to have slept at all. His hair was messy as always and he was wearing his indigo and maroon jacket, black shirt, jeans and hiking boots he wore for the banquet. He tugged at her hand. “Come with me.”
“Where to?”
“Didn’t you say if I am to lead, you will follow me anywhere?”
Touché. “Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean sneaking out in the middle of the night.”
He raised his eyebrow in the way that never failed to make her heart skip a beat. She sighed in resignation. “Okay, wait. Let me get my jacket.”
Wherever Keith was taking her was far too deep into the woods. Not that she was scared, but she randomly wondered if he knew the way back to the Castle. Just then, he reached out to grasp her claws again. “It’s a bit steep, so be careful. Step exactly on where I do.”
“Right, but aren’t you going to tell me what this is all about?”
In the darkness of the night, Acxa felt him shaking his head. “Nope. You’ll see.”
The moon rose overhead and she could discern her surroundings better. They were climbing a cliff; twigs brushing in their faces, rhythmic chirping of insects under the damp leaves and giant shadows dancing with the night breeze and the stars.
Keith abruptly stopped in his track. She would have crashed into his back, but he must have anticipated her movements for he grabbed her shoulders and steadied her. “Okay, now, close your eyes.”
“Wh—what? Why?”
He groaned as though he had expected her to say exactly that. “Uh! Just close those eyes so I can say ta-da.”
Acxa was utterly confused. “What? What...ta-da?”
He covered his face with his hands. After a count of three, he lifted his head.
“Come along,” he sighed, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. Slowly, he pushed aside the curtain of foliage before them.
Looking at her slack jawed expression, Keith was gratified. Though his initial plan failed, at least she was as stunned as him, the first time he laid his eyes on this place.
The last time he visited Altea, Acxa had not accompanied him. She was still in her recovery phase and been advised not to travel or even move around too much. It was then he had come to know from Coran of one of the natural wonders on planet Altea. The entire hill is one huge boulder of pink and teal limestone. The only plant that thrives on it is the silvery moonlace. It blooms with the full moon and withers away as dawn approaches.
“Wow!”
The limestone hill was only one part of the magnificent mountain range. On the opposite side, purple waterfall plunged down and meandered through the forests in the valley. Keith wondered what kind of exotic animals might be living down there.
He stepped next to her. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Wow!” she repeated as if she could articulate no further. For a long time, they just stood there in their own thought bubbles, basking in the exquisite beauty of their surroundings and in the comfortable silence.
Finally, he ventured, “What are you thinking?”
“Huh?” Her eyes twinkled like fine sapphires. “Nothing. Or perhaps, a lot of things all together.”
He snorted and flopped down on the ground, stretching his legs out in front of him. She followed suit. “You are right, you know,” she said presently. “Kolivan or Krolia will be the elected representatives for the Galactic Coalition.”
Isn’t this moment supposed to be romantic? Why is she talking about Galran politics now? “Um, did you want to stand in for the elections as well? You could suggest your name as a candidate too. You’ll get four votes for sure.”
“Ha-ha, no. I was just thinking...if Kolivan is elected to the Galactic Coalition, the Blade of Marmora will be dissolved, won’t it?”
“Oh.” He had already discussed the matter with Kolivan. The Universe has now reached a juncture we, the Galra, no longer need a secret underground rebel organization. The dictatorship that plagued our Empire for so long has been rooted out completely. Now, we have to remain united and work together if we are to rebuild our planet to the past days of glory. “I suppose. Mom collected all the blades from Macidus’ lair. I really don’t want the memories of their sacrifice to die with them. Perhaps, we can do something to revive the Blade of Marmora...?”
“It’s a pity I lost my blade during the Battle of Oriande.”
Keith was about to blurt out, hey, you didn’t lose your blade! It’s with me! when he remembered the blunder he had unknowingly committed a year ago. Apparently, in Galran culture, handing over a knife to a girl in open palms was same as proposing to her. Or, so Krolia had told him. How can I forget why I brought her here in the first place? Why am I so pathetic?
He pulled out her blade from his pocket. Handle this delicately, Keith. Don’t blow this. “Actually, I have your blade. I retrieved it before we left Oriande.”
She wheeled around to face him, her eyes wide in surprise. This is not good, this is not good! “You had my blade all this while? Why didn’t you return it to me?”
His pulse was already racing either from nervousness or from their close proximity. He leaned away from her face. “I—I...I, uh,” he cleared his throat. My voice just has to embarrassingly crack now?! “Well, Mom told me something about this gesture. She said—you know, something about handing over girls to knives, uh, no. No, the other way around.”
Her eyes went from surprise to confusion to slow realization. She shifted away from him, chewing on her lips. In the moonlight, Keith caught her lips upturn slightly. “You are laughing at me! You knew about this, didn’t you?”
Her smile grew coyer. “Maybe.”
That means...? “Then, when you accepted the blade two years ago...?”
She didn’t reply right away. But when she did, she took his breath away as always. She turned and simply picked up the blade from his palms. “I knew what it implied, then. So as I do, now. Keith, how many ever times you might ask me, my answer is yes. I am prepared to fight by your side, for now and forever. I will follow you into the abyss if you ask me.”
He was flabbergasted. That is it? She accepted my proposal just like that? This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen? I had prepared so much! “Why? What’s wrong?”
“That was supposed to be my line. I was supposed to hand over the blade like this, in open palms and propose to you on one knee, like I have seen guys doing in those godawful romantic movies.”
The expression on his face must have been pretty good, for Acxa burst into laughter. “You look like you swallowed a lemon with a spoonful of salt,” she gasped. You don’t even know what a lemon tastes like! “Keith, there is no need. You and I, we don’t need words. From the beginning, from the day we met, we never needed those...”
Six years ago, if anyone had told him that he was going to fly in a mechanical space lion, he would have laughed in their face. Added to that, the big reveal that his mom belonged to one of the warrior alien species from the opposite end of the Universe. He had always wondered if all of this was really happening or he was just making up everything in his head. Perhaps, when his dream ended, he would wake up back in his lonely desert shack.
In that case, I want my dream to never come to an end. “Acxa?”
“...like I lost my horn, you got this marking. We both have suffered something permanent—” She stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked up. “Hmm?”
“Just shut up and kiss me.”