"With the death of Zarkon and Honvera, many Alteans left Altea to attend the funeral. When Zarkon rose again and said that the loss of Daibazaal was to be placed firmly on Alfor's shoulders, the Galran population, hungry for blood after a humungous and painful loss, were not the only people to turn against the Alteans for their actions. Alteans who heard from Zarkons side of the story, the ones who learned from Honerva or has similar teachings and were studying similar things to her were outraged that Alfor could ever do such a thing and commit such action against what was their own. They were only too happy to help Zarkon with his quest to take down Alfor and take the Lions for their own, but more in a research sort of way rather than a committing self genocide sort of way. So, when Altea was wiped off of the map, there were Alteans already off planet, and not just the ones who had fled in fear but the ones who stood and watched, and these ones swore themselves to Zarkon, Haggar, and their research."

"But not all of them, I take it?"

"I've been told that every Altean that served was happy and content with what they had, while those who did not serve fled with their lives. But, as the years passed and the Galran Empire only grew, some started to doubt, and some started to run, especially after hearing of those who managed to flee from Altea moments before it's destruction. After a while, there was a rumour going around that there was a safe haven for traitorous druids and peaceful evacuees, the name 'druid' coming about when it was decided that no one was to know the race of Zarkon's magic users for their own safety against Galrans who wanted more Altean Blood on their hands, a safe haven that not even Haggar herself could get to. Some did not want to risk it, but some found themselves desperate enough to take the chance. As time went on, the people who tried to run increased, but so did the number of those who got caught."

"What happened to those who got caught?"

"I was never told, but I've been told that they would have been sent to my Grandfather. HE refused outright to tell me or my siblings what he would have to do when he was sent someone who tried to desert the Empire."

-=-

"Leave me be, Black Paladin," Allura huffed as she walked into the control room with her human shadow, the podiums rising and the screens lighting up to her presence like they have done every other time in the past and how they will continue to do so as long as the castle will stand. It was still strange for the machinery to do so, however, without people around them to man the extra computers. Coran was still trying to come up with a way to properly code the Paladins to be able to interact with all of the computers that the castle had available outside of the Lions, and had gained the Green Paladin's interest and help with it.

It would seem that the Blue Paladin would be able to use the technology without having to wait for his DNA to be logged into the system, and for some reason, that line of thought did not sit right with her, nor did his words, spoken with a confidence that she had almost missed from her mother.

"Altea is dead. Your titles are dead. You are dead to them, as you seem to be nothing without the words you use to show your once power over people. They will only follow Haggar, and she will forever strike more fear into them than you ever would to the empire."

She hated how much the words said had affected her, hated how her emotions and thoughts seemed to rise up quickly and almost spew out of her mouth, about how wrong he was and how the Alteans would follow that of who was right to rule, but she was for once glad that the words had gotten stuck in her throat. Her father had often said to her that her emotions were something similar to a two-sided knife, where she was very good at using it to get people what she wanted, but she was just as quick to stab herself with it at the same time.

It was times like these that she wished that she had her father with her, her real living breathing father rather the program that was made to intimidate a man that could never be expressed in two simple characters inside a machine.

"You're not in the right state of mind to be left alone right now," Allura twisted herself away from the screens to face the Black Paladin, feeling her face fill with blood at the fact that she had forgotten about her little shadow, though his words did ring true if she had been able to forget about his presence, despite not wanting it to be true.

"My state of mind is nothing for you to be concerned about," Allura replied, looking back at the screen and following the vector along the map, making sure that everything was going smoothly as possible before they got to the Balmera. It would still take a good while to get there, the new crystal was not fully set up yet (one of the many downsides to only having two people who knew how to run a ship, and none of them properly informed with small details like how to replace a crystal when it had been blown up and replaced with the horror that was the crystal that the Galrans replaced it with), meaning that they would not be able to open a wormhole at the chance of leaving them completely defenseless when they came into enemy territory.

"In fact, you should worry more about the state of your team, how on earth are you planning to form Voltron with a liar in your mist, a traitor to boot. We should consider taking him off of Voltron altogether really," Allura stated, but it seemed that the human did not like this information at all.

"Lance is no traitor, a liar, maybe-"

"We have- had a saying back on Altea: 'He who tells no truths is he who feels no pain.' I'm not expecting you humans to understand it, but it physically hurts Alteans to lie, the grander the lie, the more intense the pain. For him to lie like that, well, there's no thinking of what he could do or what he would become."

"He was raised to hide among human, and I don't know if you've gathered yet, but us humans lie, we lie and cheat and misdirect, to an extent that it's thought that we lie at least once during a 10 minute conversation," Allura felt her stomach drop at this new fact. Did they lie that often? Most worrying indeed. Was anything they had said to her the truth or was every word uttered a lie?

"You said that the Blue Lion's pilot was someone who was adaptable, and you don't get more adaptable as going against biology to fit in with a different species so they don't find out and kill you for who you are," Shiro argued, but Allura shook her head again.

"He must have confounded the Lion, I mean, look at what he did to the Galran, and that was just with a two minute period under stress. Imagine what he could have done to the Blue Lion with all the phoebs to convince her to pick him as the pilot. How long until he decides that we're next? In fact, it was you who told us to be wary of him once he was released from the pod!" She accused. The human took in a deep sigh, before slowly letting it out.

"My wariness towards Lance comes more from my background with druids rather than my lack of knowledge like yours does," He touch his arm at this point, but Allura cared not for it and instead frowned at the way he worded it. How dare he assume she was ignorant! But before she could interrogate him on the backhand, he continued.

"The things that he- that any of them can do is still unclear. Sure, he never mentioned his background, one that lands his ancestors supporting and helping the Empire expand, but he distracted Sendak, he was able to fly Blue and form Voltron with us, and that is not something you can throw away lightly," Shiro explained, but Allura rolled her eyes at his optimism.

"Voltron was betrayed once, by a Paladin himself. My body will be one with the 'Verse again before I let something akin to that happen again," She swore, going back the screen and editing the course slightly, making sure that a sector was completely avoided. Moments later, she heard the door slid close, leaving her to ponder her thoughts alone.

She only hoped that the Black Paladin would listen to her words. She will not let the past repeat itself.

-=-

"All of my grandparents used to work for the Galran Empire, in some way or another. I was never told anything specific, I was too young to know and when I was old enough I had already left to go to the Garrison- It's the human version of space school I guess. Anyway, I was never really told, but looking back on what my grandfather talked about, he was more on the torture part of the job while I'm sure that my Abuela was on the research. I don't know how it happened, but they escaped the empire, probably looking for that Altean safe haven that everyone keeps hearing about. They never found it, but they found the Blade of Marmora instead."

"The Blade of Marmora? May I ask what that is?"

"The Blade of Marmora is a Galran rebel group. It's the one that's lasted the longest so far, mainly because of the way that they hide in the shadows and secretly sabotage the Empire's efforts rather than fight them outright like we will be doing."

"I take it that Allura knows not of this information, nor the rest of the group."

"Well, if they have, they haven't heard it from me."

-=-

"So, what do we do? Our best friend is an alien and we were never told about it!" Keith stared at Hunk, knowing that his blank face was probably confusing the Yellow Paladin, but this time his lack of facial expressions, a trait he knew freaked a lot of people out, worked in his favour, because what were they supposed to do exactly?

"What is there to say? It's not like we actually asked what his species was, we didn't even ask what his ethnicity was, so it's not like he actually lied to us. Its also not surprising that he didn't tell us at the Garrison, after all, there was no reason to trust us then," Pidge thought aloud, making Keith sigh silently and roll his eyes. Hunk frowned before sitting at the table across from Pidge, and Keith turned around to fully sit crossed legged on the table to face the rest of the group. Shiro was always talking about bonding with the rest of the group, so this seemed like something that could make a good start, even if the circumstances weren't the best that it could have been.

"He could have told us when we got to space though. He could have told us in the Lion, could have told us when we found the castle, or the princess, really, there were a lot of opportunities for him to go 'Hey guys! I'm an alien with the ability to do magic!'" Hunk moaned, causing Keith to roll his eyes that the dramatic reenactment Hunk was putting on of Lance saying he was Altean.unk

"For some reason, I get the impression that Lance would not be impressed with you saying magic," Keith muttered, calling the other two's attention on to him. Pidge frowned at his words.

"How did you know about the Blue Lion anyway? I would understand if it was the Red Lion, after all, it'syourLion, but the Blue Lion is Lance's Lion, and he said that he knew about her long before Kerberos it seems." Keith pondered on Pidge's words for a moment, before shrugging.

"I… Still don't know. She's been calling me before I can remember, I've always had the Blue Lion in the back of my mine, calling to go and see her. It's a lot different in the way that Red speaks, because while my Lion can press ideas into my head, something that I know the rst of you can do with your Lions, Blue was just… Calling. Maybe she was calling to Lance and since I was the closest Paladin I could hear her too?" Keith rambled, knowing that his excuse that the end to explain what happened was not the right answer, something about it felt off. Since finding the Blue Lion, he could still feel her slightly. Not as powerful as Red, but there was some sort of bond between Keith and the Blue Lion, and it confused him to no end.

"That's strange, but I'm not sure if that's cor-" Pidge started, but Hunk interrupted her.

"Is Lance going to be kicked off of the team? Allura didn't seem to like the idea of him saying those things to her, and she hates the Galra and anyone who works with them," Pidge frowned at Hunk words, as rushed as they were.

"I mean, does she even have that power? I know the castle is hers but the Lions-"

"But she has that bond thing with the Lions! Maybe they have to listen to her-"

"Lance isn't being kicked off the team," Keith stated, talking loudly over the bickering, jumping off of the table and walking towards the door. There was no point staying here. He could get some training in.

"And what makes you say that?" Pidge asked, seemingly confused over Keith sudden confidence.

"Because I am not going to be on a team without Lance. Allura might think she can replace one Paladin, but she would be stumped to find two."

-=-

"So what happened after your Grandparents joined the Blade of Marmora?"

"Abuela continued her research, and I believed that everyone else began to help her, since more people means that more things could be accomplished, though I'm not too sure what exactly her research was other than the fact that she had a breakthrough just after I joined the Garrison, and was working herself to the bone according to my sisters. Nonetheless, they found out how dangerous the quintessence that the Empire uses is, how it can damage someone's personal quintessence and how that is a huge reason as to why we have adapted the way we have; our quintessence is more merged than yours would be to make it less likely that we would be completely corrupted by the harvested quintessence, my sister cannot even control any quintessence due to her core being mixed with too many colours. My Abuela said I was probably the first in too many generations to have a core as pure as mine is."

"Ah, that does explain the symptoms that you experienced."

"Come again?"

"The Black Paladin told us that the Galran general injected you with some of this corrupt quintessence, and how it woke you up and were able to move about as if you had never been in an explosion merely an hour before."

"It was still painful to move about, but it was almost like it had been pushed to the side, but afterward it hurt more than it did before. It doesn't explain what you mean by 'symptoms' though…"

"Yes, well, you're not the first Altean to have been injected with quintessence, some of the research that Honvera's team did was see the effects of quintessence on the body, and they experimented on themselves, despite Alfor's commands to do no such thing. Ah, what they did for science; they found that the quintessence made them confident, they seemed to forget their boundaries and made many great discoveries through it, but for a price. They found that after it was gone they were quicker to tire, quicker to anger. It was actually Somile, one of the researchers, that linked the extremity of the drop, from how high to how low, with the purity of the person's core. I wouldn't be surprised if you felt low for the next couple of days."

"I guess that makes sense? Anyway, before too long, they found a weird signal. They get permission to follow said signal and boom! They find the Lion. They put some protections around the Lion – they called it old magic, and they made it so that only all five Paladins could open the chamber up and go to the Blue Lion. They lived on Terra, popped out a couple of generations, and here we are!"

"Here you are indeed Number Three."

-=-

Shiro turned another corner, each step away from the princess filled him with slightly more reief than the last, and the conversation kept poking at his mind, bugging him in ways he knew that would never leave him until he got answers, answers that he really didn't want to be fining that this moment in time, not with what he had just learned, not with how Allura and Lance had been so passive aggressive with each other during their conversation, not while the rest of the team seemingly knew nothing about what was going on.

There was more that patience could bring other than focus.

He quickly walked past the open dining room, where the rest of the Paladins were talking loudly about Lance, meaning that Lance was clearly not in the room. No, bother. The boy probably went to lie down for a bit, not surprising since everything he just went through – Shiro knew that everything that the Galra did to him made him feel like closing his eyes forever when he was in the shed with Keith when he first arrived back on Earth, and that feeling hasn't left just because he was back in space and how leading a group of teenagers against a man who completely destroyed (but save din some disgusting way) his life.

But with Lance now sharing what he did, it seemed that it wasn't just his life he had affected.

As he was walking, he wondered what he was going to be saying to Lance when he next saw him. Not questions, no. He wasn't ready to hear any answers about the Empire as a whole, and anything else, anything about his family or how he grew up or even what he saw in Sendak's mind (he had seen enough sci-fi film with Matt to know what Lance was doing with his intense staring) seemed personal, something that Shiro felt that he wasn't entitled to know, even if he was supposed to be the leader of Voltron.

No, he was entitled to his secrets, just like everyone else in the group had their own secrets. Pidge had yet to tell anyone that she was a girl, Shiro refused to talk about what the Galra did to him except for the general things, Keith, well, Keith didn't share much to even Shiro, so who knows what he was hiding, and Hunk… Shiro got the impression that the Yellow Paladin had nothing to hide, nothing big or life-changing and something like that was almost like breathing fresh air when comparing to the rest of the group.

But Lance clearly had the biggest secrets, the secrets that were dangerous and could get people killed, innocent or otherwise. Not only that, but watching him work, watching him stare into the depths of the Galran mind and soul- it scared Shiro. It scared him because he remembered it, remembered the way that the boring eyes cared nor for his pain and dove in like a kid in a paddling pool, gleefully going backward and forwards and seeing how many things were hidden away in the mind. Not only that, but Shiro remembered how it felt to feel the emotion of the other while they played with him, remembered how it felt for them to pull out of his mind at the same speed that they entered, the invisible whiplash staying with him for days.

Shiro wasn't ready for answers, not the answers that he would be looking for, but he trusted Lance. Allura didn't understand, and her words about a Paladin betraying Voltron made no sense because there was no describable feeling that Shiro could find to explain the bond between each of the Paladins, let alone the Paladin and their Lion. Despite Lance's past, Lance's species, Lance's experiences or abilities, he was the Paladin of the Blue Lion.

And that was enough.

-=-

A.N. Hey guys, I haven't given up with this I promise, though please do leave a comment for encouragement. Thank you for your patience.