8-24-16 Edit: Response to Guest review

...Well, at the very least, I can assure you that you're not screaming into the void. I do read all the reviews and yours definitely made me think.

I've added that this fic is nonbinary!Pidge in the summary. I'm sorry that you're sad about my using they/them pronouns for Pidge in this fic, and I can see where you're coming from. I might start using she/her pronouns for Pidge in a different story, since you do bring up a point. However, if reading nonbinary Pidge really upsets you, please feel free to leave and read something else. There's even a tag called "Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt" on AO3, which should be helpful.

As for my reasons for using they/them pronouns, I didn't write Pidge as nonbinary because Pidge isn't "feminine enough". I don't believe there's any requirement on how feminine someone is before they're accepted as a girl. I simply wrote Pidge as nonbinary because I thought it would be an interesting way to present the character.

Have a good day, and I wish you luck on finding other fics more to your taste.

The ironic thing was, they hadn't even been looking for them when they found them.

"I'm in the ventilation system now," Pidge reported. "Have you found the prisoners?"

Total silence. That… was never a good sign.

Hunk's voice came in over the communicators, nervous. "Uh, guys? We got a problem."

"What is it?" Shiro asked. He sounded almost resigned, probably having gotten used to every mission having complications of some sort. All they could hope for was that the complications were closer to the 'oh these building schematics are slightly off' variety rather than the 'oh no they've got a superweapon that's going to destroy the planet in the next hour'.

(Somewhat offhand, Pidge wondered what it said about their lives that they were so used to the latter sort of complications rather than the former.)

Hunk cleared his throat. "The prisoners aren't here."

Another beat of silence. Then, all in unison: "Wait, what?"

"Hunk, what are you talking about?" Pidge turned a corner and shuffled over a grate, noting that they were close to the hangar. Which was where they were supposed to meet Hunk with the prisoners so that they could escape before Allura and Coran blew the base from orbit, with Shiro, Lance, and Keith keeping the Galra fleet distracted in the meantime. Unfortunately, that wouldn't work if they couldn't find the prisoners to escape with.

"All the cells are empty and the guards are unconscious. I think they escaped on their own." Hunk sounded puzzled, but hopeful. "I'm tracking them down now. Wait a second– Pidge, where are you?"

"Um…" they checked their holographic map, "almost on top of the hangar. Why?"

"Well," Hunk said, dry, "if we were prisoners on a planet where the only land is made up of floating islands and we were trying to escape, where would we go?"

"Point taken," Pidge conceded. "Right, I'm going to run a scan." They tapped the controls of their map. A few seconds later, it lit up with glowing dots to indicate biological lifeforms. "There's a lot of people clustered in what I'm fairly sure is a really big storage room, not too far from my position. Looks like about the right number to be our missing prisoners."

"Okay, team. Change of plans. We don't know how long ago the prisoners escaped, but we probably don't have much time before it's discovered. Pidge, you find them and get them to the hangar. Hunk, catch up as fast as you can," Shiro ordered.

"Got it," Pidge affirmed, Hunk echoing them half a beat later. Changing course, they crawled through the vents until they reached one that was set high in the wall of the storage room. As they peered through the grate, they took a mental headcount of the various species that were crowded together. There weren't so many that they wouldn't fit in the two lions that were planetside, thank goodness, but still enough that there wouldn't be much extra room.

Pidge looked around, surveying the area for a better escape route than the narrow door. It would be preferable to having a larger exit considering the amount of people; they didn't want to get bottlenecked and trapped if–

Two of the prisoners had taken charge and were explaining what sounded like an escape plan, climbing on top of some boxes to make themselves heard. Pidge felt their heart just about stop in their chest, breath catching in their throat, and if they hadn't already been kneeling their legs would have given out from the shock.

"Guys," they whispered, trembling and barely able to believe it, "I found them. And– Shiro, I found them. Dad and Matt are here!"

"What?!" Shiro sounded as shocked as Pidge. "Weren't they transferred? I thought they were supposed to be in a completely different solar system by now!"

"That's what the records said, but it looks like they were wrong," Pidge replied, and something very much like elation rose bright and hot in their chest. Without any further delay, they turned around and kicked out the grate, sliding out to land in a crouch in one practiced movement.

The prisoners, caught off-guard, stumbled back in a panic. Sam and Matt Holt, on the other hand, leapt in front of them with stolen Galra weapons pointed right at Pidge, fear evident in their faces but no less determined in spite of it.

"Who are you?" Matt demanded, and he was older and more worn and dirtier than Pidge remembered but oh, he was alive! Pidge could have looked at him all day, drinking in the sight of their brother with a starvation born of long desperation. Their father, too, both of them missing their glasses and wearing tattered prisoner's clothes but they were there!

"Answer us," their father added, forceful, and Pidge rather abruptly realized that they'd been staring for too long. And that it was highly unlikely that either their father or their brother would recognize them, given that Pidge was wearing their Paladin armor.

"Wait," Pidge managed, and pulled off their helmet. "Dad, Matt– it's me!"

The two froze. The other prisoners muttered, shifting uneasily.

Matt reacted first. "Katie?" he asked in disbelief, lowering his weapon. "Is that you? What are you doing here? What are you wearing?"

Their father wasn't far behind. "Wait, Katie? How did you get here? What were you doing in the vents? And what happened to your hair?"

"I was looking for you," Pidge choked out, and couldn't hold themselves back anymore. Two staggering steps and they were flinging themselves at their father and brother, hugging them as tightly and fiercely as they could. "Oh my God, you're alive!"

The other two dropped their weapons, catching Pidge and holding them close. The three collapsed in a heap of limbs, joyful and giddy and breathless with an almost overpowering sense of relief. It had been so long, far too long, but finally they were all together. Pidge had found them; it had taken years of searching and fighting but they had found them!

The other prisoners had backed off to give them some space, but now one of them stepped forward and cleared their throat. "Um," they said, "not to be disrespectful, but… who exactly are you?"

The three Holts untangled themselves, scrambling to their feet. "This is my other child, Katie," the eldest Holt announced proudly, keeping an arm around Pidge's shoulders.

Pidge retrieved their helmet, then turned to face the room. "You might know me better as a Paladin of Voltron, pilot of the Green Lion," they added as they put their helmet back on.

Some of the prisoners let out exclamations of shock. Others simply looked confused. Throughout the years that Team Voltron had been fighting the Galra Empire, gaining allies along the way, their reputation had spread. Whispers of Voltron and Green Lion wove throughout the crowd, interspersed with mutterings of Paladin and the occasional We should have recognized the armor. The two older Holts, who had clearly heard of Voltron before, gaped.

"Wait," Matt sputtered, "you're a Paladin of Voltron? What?"

"It's a long story," Pidge laughed, unable to fight the grin that refused to leave their face. "I'll tell you guys later. But for now, we should probably get out of here."

Through their helmet, Pidge could hear the excited exclamations of the rest of the team. "Hey, guys," they said, "Hunk, where are you? We're ready to get out of here."

There was a burst of overlapping congratulations before Hunk was able to make himself heard over the rest. "I'm right outside the hangar. Where are you?"

"Storage room. You probably went right by us," Pidge replied. "I–"

Alarms blared. Hunk swore. Pidge cursed. The other three Paladins, realizing that something was wrong, broke out in worried chatter.

"Pidge, Hunk! What's happening down there?" Shiro barked.

"Alarms. They know we're here," Pidge hissed.

Shiro growled, loud enough to be heard over the comms. "Then get to your lions and get out, both of you. No point in bothering with stealth; blast your way out if you have to."

"Got it," Pidge and Hunk chorused.

A moment later, the door to the storage room slammed open, Hunk appearing with bayard drawn. "Come on, everyone! To the hangar!"

Well, no time to worry about a bigger exit. Pidge took the lead, running out the door with everyone else behind and Hunk guarding their backs. Pidge didn't hesitate when Galra soldiers poured into the halls, only leapt into action with an ease born from years of experience. Their bayard flashed neon green, short-circuiting robots and wrapping around the legs of others to yank them off their feet. Hunk covered the ones who tried to sneak up from behind, mowing them down into scattered parts and twisted metal.

From outside, twin roars sounded. The entire building shook. The prisoners cried out in fear. But the Paladins–

They grinned, because the Paladins had called and their lions had answered.

The hangar doors burst open. The heads of the green and yellow lions pushed through side by side, jaws opening and ramps dropping. Pidge dashed up into Green, the other two Holts on their heels. Half the prisoners followed, Hunk directing the other half into Yellow. Within minutes, both pilots were at the controls and the prisoners were all safely aboard.

The lions rose to their paws, almost scraping the hangar's ceiling, and whirled for the exit. Green was faster, slipping through the doors just before the Galra managed to get them closed. But Yellow was stronger, bursting straight through with a metallic shriek. Three more bounding steps and they took to the air, the other three lions visible as darting shapes in the distance.

"We're clear!" Hunk cried as they exited the atmosphere, the Castle of Lions in sight. Red dove past them, fire blazing from her jaws, and Keith whooped as the small horde of pursuers was decimated.

"Good job," Shiro said amidst the background of Allura blasting the planet's Galra base to smithereens. "Team, regroup at the Castle."

"You got it," Lance cheerfully replied, Blue scraping icy claws along a massive battleship. Kicking off, one last blast shot through the ship's engine and sent the whole thing exploding into pieces.

Matt, who had made his way to the cockpit while his father stayed in the hold with the others, stared. "Holy–"

"Hold on," Pidge grunted, throwing Green into a spiraling dive. Matt yelped and almost fell over, managing to grab onto the back of Pidge's seat at the last second. "Matt! Are you okay?"

"Fine," Matt groaned. "Since when were you a pilot?"

"Since I was chosen by Green," Pidge told him. "Long story, explain later– Hunk, watch your tail!" Pidge shot a few fighters off of Yellow, who wasn't quite nimble enough to avoid them.

"Thanks, Pidge," Hunk replied over their helmets.

The five lions flew to the castle, landing smoothly in their bays while Allura created a wormhole. The Castle, once loaded with its cargo, shot through– and the rest of the Galra fleet was left behind.

"Good job, everyone," Shiro said, tone warm. "Now, let's get to the entrance hall. I'm sure some of the people we rescued will need the healing pods."

The other Paladins chorused agreements. Pidge let out a relieved sigh before standing, while Matt had to consciously unclench his fingers from Pidge's seat.

"I can't believe that just happened," Matt breathed, shell-shocked.

Pidge grinned. "You get used to it eventually."

From the hold, their father ventured out to poke his head into the cockpit. "Uh, Katie?" he asked, "not to interrupt anything, but… how exactly do we get out of this thing?"

It was several hours and a tearful reunion between Shiro and the elder Holts later before things finally settled down. Matt and his father had agreed to go into the healing pods for a cycle or two, joining the rest of the prisoners to aid in their recovery. Pidge was on cloud nine, Shiro much the same, and their combined happiness seemed to be contagious.

Pidge took to spending whatever free time they had with the pods, leaning against either Matt's or their father's while they tinkered with whatever project they had at the moment. Shiro didn't quite do the same, though he came close, instead finding ways to poke his head in at semi-regular intervals to check on things. He claimed he wasn't hovering, but, well, nobody believed him.

It was a quiet couple of days as the Castle drifted through uninhabited space, cloaked against Galra detection. There wasn't much to do besides train and relax, as they couldn't start sending the freed prisoners back to their homes until they were out of the pods. Everyone welcomed the respite, a much-needed break from the busy job of defending the universe. Maintenance was done on both the castle and the lions, many training bots were defeated, and guest rooms were prepared for when the healing pods opened up.

Which, naturally, happened in the middle of the night cycle when even Pidge was asleep.

Meaning that Matt, still disoriented, stumbled out of the pod, promptly tripped over the mass of blankets and electronic parts at his feet, and fell flat on his face. Pidge woke up when Matt tripped over them, letting out an undignified yelp, and proceeded to scatter blankets and parts everywhere as the two tried to untangle themselves.

Everyone else alternately skidded into the room after being alerted by the castle's systems, or was in the process of regaining coherent thought after emerging from their own pods. Those of Team Voltron lowered their guards when they realized that it was only Pidge and Matt, not any sort of real trouble, while the newly-healed others regarded the scene with a mixture of bafflement and amusement. Sam Holt clapped a hand over his face and let out a rather helpless laugh, reminded of all the times the same thing had occurred back on Earth.

(Neither of the Holt siblings were morning people, and Pidge had a tendency to stay up far too late then proceed to fall asleep in the oddest places. Matt would end up discovering them the next day, still half-asleep himself, and if he didn't watch where he stepped…

Well. Their parents had gotten used to waking up to the sound of startled yells.)

"It's like nothing's changed," he remarked to Shiro, who watched with fond exasperation.

Lance, upon realizing that there was nothing to fight, yawned and sagged against Hunk. "No offense, guys, but couldn't you have waited until morning?"

Keith snorted. "Wow, Lance. So considerate."

"Oh, says you–"

"Boys," Allura sighed, "now is not the time."

"Sorry, Allura," they muttered in eerie unison, sheepish.

The doors slid open. Coran bustled in, one arm holding a large stack of blankets while the other balanced a tray of mugs. "I brought blankets and warm hyackenug!" he announced, but stopped short when he laid eyes on the scene. "What's all the commotion about?"

While Shiro quietly explained and the others spread out to help with the usual pod-induced disorientation and grogginess, Pidge kicked their way free of the blankets. Miraculously not stepping on any of the small metal parts strewn about, they fumbled for their glasses and automatically steadied Matt at the same time. Pidge's hair was sticking up every which way and their clothes were rumpled, their drowsy appearance making them seem even younger than they already were.

Of course, all that fell away as awareness snapped into place, Pidge lighting up with excitement. "Matt, Dad! You're out!"

Coran swept past, handing each of the elder Holts a blanket and a mug of hyackenug with a cheerful grin as he made rounds around the room. "Here you go! It's a traditional Altean drink; warms the body right up!"

Matt stared down at it. A bubble rose to the surface, releasing a burst of grass-colored steam as it burst. The drink itself was dark green, thick and almost soup-like in consistency.

"It's good," Pidge encouraged him. "It may not look like it, but it's pretty good. Kind of like hot chocolate, but green."

Anyone who cared to watch could pinpoint the exact moment when Matt's internal commentary probably changed from doubtful to 'screw it, I may as well give this a try'. There was a flash of trepidation as he raised the mug to his lips and took a cautious sip, but then–

Anyone who cared to watch would have been able to tell the instant it hit his tongue, too.

"This tastes… really good," Matt said with something approaching wonder, looking down at the mug in awe. "Wow."

Lance snickered as he passed by. "Yeah, it's one of the few things that Coran can actually make super well. Normally, his cooking needs a lot of work, but stuff like this? It comes out tasting like heaven. Hunk still can't figure it out and it's been, like, years."

The other freed prisoners, who… had actually been watching the Holts for cues, which was interesting, took that as the signal to try their own drinks. Somehow it tasted good to every single one of the various different species, despite their wildly differing methods of taste. Coran claimed that it was his family's secret recipe, while Lance wholeheartedly proclaimed it space magic.

Pidge leaned against Matt with a happy sigh, one arm reaching out to wrap around their father's arm. Pidge looked utterly content, having finally found their missing family after years of searching. Shiro was pulled into their little group a second later, and if anybody noticed how he pressed himself a little closer to Matt than was strictly necessary, they were polite enough not to comment on it. Pidge hadn't been the only one looking for the Holts, after all; Shiro had considered it almost as much his responsibility as it had been Pidge's.

Watching the scene, the others in the room couldn't help but smile.

"Hey," Lance realized, chuckling, "I think Team Voltron just got two new members."

Allura let out a quiet laugh. "Mm, it looks like it. I've already had two spare bedrooms made up for them. We could use another couple of engineers on board."

Hunk, in particular, was exceedingly pleased by that.

(Many cycles later, after the freed prisoners recovered enough to be sent back to their homes or to other refugee havens:

"You know," Matt said with a wide grin, looking up at Green, "after all this is over, when we go back home… the Garrison is going to go nuts."

Pidge grinned back, showing off teeth in a lion's smile. "Good," they replied, fierce and vicious. "They deserve it. We're going to land Voltron right in their front yard, too public to cover it up. Iverson's reaction is going to be hilarious."

And that was another vow that the Paladins made sure to keep.

Iverson's reaction was, indeed, hilarious.)