Everything happened so fast. Almost as fast as a tidal wave. Before he could even utter a word in protest, Keith found himself riding on the Blue Lion itself, along with his long lost best friend, originally presumed dead for over a year, and three strangers from the place from which he had been kicked out. Or, at the very least, they felt like strangers to him, despite somewhat remembering Lance, though it did take the need for the latter to spell it out for Keith in order to recognize him.

Even from within the beast, Keith could feel the same energy he felt numerous times in the desert. After all this time searching, he finally found what he had been looking for. While everybody was completely clueless as to where they were heading, Keith already had an idea. Even if he had yet to inform anyone.

He had been debating on whether or not to tell them what he already knew of the beast. Even that fight with the Galra ship didn't help with his decision making. It took every ounce of his willpower not to mutter the name of the aliens out loud upon spotting the ship. There was no mistaking it. The sinister purple glow was a dead giveaway.

Keith's voice was lost when the wormhole opened and they traveled inside, narrowly escaping the Galra ship and exiting through the other side. A planet similar to earth in appearance laid ahead. Keith kept steady at the sight, even when the fat boy, Hunk, puked right then and there. The lion flew at top speed towards the planet. Keith's heart pounded against his chest, harder and harder with every breath once the lion finally landed, now standing before a large, shimmering castle. His eyes widened and he tightened his grip onto the head of Lance's chair. When the lion's mouth opened, Keith was tempted to dash out, which he did. Out of all of them, he was the first to exit at top speed, coming to an abrupt halt once he stood before the castle's large doors.

Shiro called out his name, but his voice could not rival the intense pounding in Keith's chest. He tentatively rose a shaking hand, taking in deep breaths until the lion roared. The sound opened the doors automatically, the outlines glowing a bright neon blue. The interior of the castle was dark and cold, completely devoid of life. The doors closed shut once they had all entered. The ceiling lights switched on and a shimmering blue wave scanned their bodies for identification and the castle illuminated with a bright light. Keith inconspicuously pinched himself just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Thankfully, and much to his secret joy, he wasn't.

Keith's legs reacted to his curiosity and headed forward, nearly forgetting the company that came with him. Everyone else had moved at the same time he did, which made his eagerness go completely unnoticed. Not a single element of this large, captivating castle went by without a bell sounding off in Keith's memory. Everybody else gazed in curiosity, but Keith looked on with familiarity. He traced his fingers across the wall's surface, the cold metal brushing against his fingertips. He blinked and squinted numerous times just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. All thoughts of what he would tell the others were placed on hold, for right now he was too overwhelmed to even speak.

A wondrous smile formed across his lips and his eyes sparkled with a child-like wonder and tearful glee. Shiro was the first to notice his friend's stone-cold silence.

"Keith, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Keith blinked, Shiro's voice brought him back to reality. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just…this place is really beautiful."

That wasn't a lie. Indeed, the palace was beautiful, but there was yet so much more as to why Keith felt so overwhelmed and nostalgic over the place. Upon reaching what appeared to be the central control room. The control panel lit up and two pods rose from the floor, bringing in a chilling mist as they rose. Keith stood almost as frozen as the silhouettes of the people inside. One of the pods shimmered, revealing a stunning young woman wearing a blue, white and pink gown. Her skin was dark brown and her hair was that of stardust, long and flowing behind her like sea foam. She gasped and reached out her hand, calling out for her father before losing her footing. Lance, being the closest, managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Upon looking at her closely, Lance immediately blushed and smiled flirtatiously.

"Hello," he said, flashing her a toothy smile.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked, looking around, completely unfazed by his charms.

"I'm Lance. And you're right here in my arms," he said smoothly. The young woman finally caught wind of his attempts and her instincts kicked in. Before he even had time to respond, Lance was forced to his knees when the woman grabbed him by the ear, twisting him around, gripping his rounded ear tightly. He cried out in pain, tears already forming in his eyes.

"Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?"

"A giant blue lion brought us here, that's all we know!"

Upon hearing this, the woman released him. "The blue lion? So, that means…" her blue eyes, which had a pink dot in the center of her pupils, looked up at the rest of the unknown visitors. However, her gaze fell upon one young man in particular. His white and red jacket and mesmerizing eyes caused her heart to jump. Her body was still, the two of them staring directly at one another as if they had seen a ghost from the past.

The woman gently shoved Lance aside, never once taking her eyes off of Keith as the two stepped closer, like magnets being pulled together. Tears began to swell up in her eyes, but the vision of the man remained clear. She rose a tentative hand upwards to cup his face, her thumb gently stroking his cheek and the tips of her fingers being tickled by the strands of his dark, unkempt hair. A soft smile formed across Keith's lips as he stepped closer, reaching out both his hands to equally cup the woman's face, his thumb wiping away the single tear that escaped.

"Keith…is it really you?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"It's me, Allura," he said in that soft, caring tone he always used. As fast as lightning, the woman, wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into the crock of his neck. Keith wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, lifting her up from the ground and spinning around a few times before stopping. His chin rested on her shoulder, while his hand rose upwards from her waist to stroke her long silver locks. Allura gazed into Keith's eyes, still tearing up, but beaming all the same.

"You're here!"

"I told you I'd find you," he said. Allura cupped his neck and collided her lips with his, all the while holding tighter, fearing if either one of them let go the other would be lost forever. Their heads tilted, deepening the kiss. A kiss filled with so much passion and emotion.

Shiro, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge felt like their brains just blew a fuse. Keith was kissing, or pretty much "making-out" as Lance would place it, with some mysterious woman he apparently knew?

"Whoa! K-Keith?" Shiro didn't know if to just start asking as many questions as he could think of, or to simply chuckle with pride for his friend. He would most certainly do the latter if he knew more of what the heck was going on.

"Hey! I saw her first!" Lance exclaimed, already feeling his anger and jealousy rising up the charts.

Finally, the two love birds parted and turned to the others. While Allura looked at the strangers with an innocent look of curiosity, Keith chuckled nervously, his face as red as his jacket. "Um, guys, this is Princess Allura."

"Allura?" Shiro asked, having heard that name before. "Wait, Allura as in the girl you met online?"

"Well, yes and no," Keith confessed, one hand scratching the back of his neck, while the other was wrapped around Allura's waist, her hand on his chest. "It's kind of hard to explain." he turned to the silver-haired woman. "Allura, this is Shiro."

"Shiro? He's alive?" she asked, blinking in surprise.

"You know me?" Shiro asked in surprise.

"Keith's told me all about you."

"How do you even know Keith?!" Lance asked, more like shouted actually. "How-when-why? What is going on here?!"

Allura gasped. "He's right." her hand gently slid away from Keith and towards the control panel. "I've got to find out where we are, and how long we've been asleep." Allura approached the control panel, which immediately activated once she placed her hands on both sides of the surface.

"Okay, that's how that works," Pidge said, surprised and still rather perplexed by the situation.

A second cyro-pod opened up, revealing an older man with lighter skin and red hair and mustache. He also sported the same pointed ears as Allura, but his facial markings were blue instead of pink. Upon seeing Lance he lunged to attack, only to lose balance and nearly trip. Keith only arched an eyebrow at the strange man who tried to intimate Lance, and vice versa.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," Allura replied, sharing Keith's deadpan expression. Once she had finished reading the data on the screen, her heart sank. "No…it can't be."

"What is it?" Coran asked.

"I hoped this wasn't the case." Allura's voice cracked, likely because of the tears that began to form in her eyes. "We've been asleep for ten thousand years!"

Silence filled the room as hot tears rolled down the princess's cheeks. Keith's first reaction was to wrap a consoling arm around her, which Allura responded by hugging him, crying onto his shoulder. Keith didn't say a word but simply wrapped his arms around the weeping, heartbroken princess.

"I should have known this would happen." she wept, speaking mainly to Keith since he was the only one who knew of all of this. "Planet Altea, my father, our entire civilization…they're all gone."

"Allura, I'm so sorry," Keith whispered, feeling his own heart being torn as well. As someone who had lost people he loved, he understood her pain better than anyone. Coran lowered his head in despair, mourning the loss of his people.

Keith gently wiped away Allura's tears, but their arms remain wrapped around each other. They have waited this long to finally meet in person, even with this devastating, yet somewhat inevitable revelation Allura refused to forget the one good thing about all of this.

"Zarkon will pay for this!" Allura hissed, narrowing her eyes as tears continued to roll down her eyes.

Shiro gasped upon hearing the name and memories flashed in his mind. "Zarkon?"

"He was the king of the Galra. A vile creature. An enemy to all free people!"

"I remember now. I was his prisoner."

"What? He's still alive? Impossible!"

"I can't explain it but it's true. He's searching for a superweapon called Vol-"

"Voltron. We know." Keith finished for him, which surprised Shiro. "That's because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him."

"Wait, how do you know that?" Lance asked suspiciously while narrowing his eyes at Keith. "What's going on here? And how the heck do you know her?!"

Allura turned curiously to Keith. "You haven't told them?"

"I've been trying to, but I wasn't sure how they would handle it."

"Handle what?" Shiro asked, looking rather concerned. "Keith, what's going on?"

Keith breathed in and out, with one arm still around Allura's waist and her hand was placed right behind his shoulder blades as he addressed to the team.

"Alright."

(~)

The day ended as it always did. With Keith passing with flying colors and then retreating to his room. He was thankful he was assigned the few dorms that didn't require a roommate. Given what a nuisance several of the other Garrison students were made him far more grateful of the arrangement.

Before he could turn in for a good night's rest, someone grabbed him by the arm. "Great work back there, Keith."

"Thanks, Shiro."

"Hey, a few of the guys are having a little get together in the cafeteria. It's Friday, so you know what that means, don't you? Pizza night!"

"Thanks, but I already ate a big dinner and I'm really tired."

"Come on, it's the one night of the week where curfew is at midnight."

"I appreciate it, really, but you know I'm not much of a…crowd person. Besides, it's also football season and the last thing I want is folks blasting my ears off whenever a quarterback makes a touchdown."

Just as Keith was about to turn around, Shiro stopped him again. "Keith, I know it's hard for you to socialize, but it's not healthy for someone to constantly be alone all the time."

"I'm not alone, I've got you."

"Yes, but remember I'm not going to be around forever. You're a bright kid, Keith, that much is true. But don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while, okay?"

Keith turned his gaze to the floor. He never liked disappointing Shiro, who he admired like a big brother, and was someone he thrived to become one day, but he knew that "stepping out of his comfort zone" was not an easy task.

"I'll… think about it."

"Don't say "I'll think about it" and then not do anything."

"No, really. This time, I promise I'll try and meet someone else. You have my word." Keith crossed his heart as a visible sign of this promise, though in his head he was screaming "what have I gotten myself into?"

Shiro simply chuckled softly. "Alright. Well, I'll leave you to it. Goodnight."

"Night." Keith waved farewell and opened his door. Dropping his backpack he sighed and leaned against the now-closed metal door. He was too tired to even argue about the arrangement. He knew Shiro meant well, but sometimes he could be as overbearing as a mother. Well, at least he was thankful to have someone to look after him, who knows how his life would have been like if someone like Shiro hasn't swooped in.

Still, even with that blessing, Keith was still miles away from becoming what so many others expected him to be.

He brushed it all aside and simply prepared for bed. Once he turned off the lights it didn't take long for his to drift off to slumberland. His hand slid from the side of the bed, hanging over the mysterious blade Keith possessed, which laid on the floor. His fingers barely brushing the surface.

Once he opened his eyes, Keith felt a strange sensation. An odd mixture of heaviness and lightness all at the same time. The soft blades of grass tickled his nose and cheek, and much to his surprise. He still wore his pajamas, which were a pair of gray pants and a simple sleeveless black shirt.

He jolted upwards in shock to find that he was no longer in his bed, or even at the Garrison, but in a lush green field surrounded by the most beautiful violet flowers he had ever seen. The sky was a crystal clear blue, though more cyan than anything, with large fluffy clouds looming overhead. Despite the daytime atmosphere, there appeared to be no sun to be seen in the sky, which was peculiar. Then again, all things in a dream were peculiar.

Far off into the distance were miles and miles of large mountain ranges. The place felt so wide and large, it made Keith feel right at home. He loved the outdoors, mainly for its silence and beauty. It was one of the reasons why he would often run off to the desert on his bike and explore the caves or simply to sit by a lone rock and watch the small reptilian wildlife in its natural habitat, or gaze at the exotic flowers that grew in the heat.

His hands brushed the surface of the grass in between his fingers. He could even feel the individual blades of grass as if they were real. In fact, everything felt real.

"Am… am I dreaming?" he asked himself. He pinched his right arm, shocked to realize he did, in fact, feel some kind of pain. He tried again, this time pinching harder, and he literally yelped in pain at how hard he was pinching himself. He even went so much as to slap his face, really, really hard, which no doubt left a red mark right on his cheek. He wasn't dreaming.

"How is this possible?"

His free hand felt something metallic against his fingertips and realized his knife had made the journey with him. At least, if anything happened, he would have something to defend himself with.

Keith stood up, his bare feet touching the soft ground, and started looking around for any signs of light. He walked a few feet ahead, only to stop midway on top a very small floral hill. A gentle breeze made the rare flowers dance in the wind and slightly brush against his bangs.

Not too far ahead, he spotted another person, apparently petting some kind of dear-like animal, with unsettling black as tar eyes. Keith had never seen a dear like that before, but even stranger still was the person a few feet away from him. Keith hid behind a lone tree and peeked behind it. Pink flower petals fell gently from the tree branches and around the stranger.

It was a woman, no more than around Keith's age, probably a couple of years older, wearing a long flowing white and blue dress with a long cape, colored white and pink underneath it. Her hair was long and wavy like the ocean foam and her skin was dark brown. Around the corner of her eyes were pink markings. A buzzer feature, but even more bizarre still was her ears, which were pointed like that of the elves from fairytales. A pair of purple triangle-like earrings dangled from her ears, with no apparent connection between them. It was as if the earrings just levitated underneath her ears.

When she turned forward, the strange black-eyed deer still by her side and Keith hid deeper behind the tree as not to frighten her, or to make certain she wasn't a threat, he took notice of her eyes. From afar, they appeared as blue as the sky. While this was something he never admitted to anyone, even Shiro because of how embarrassing it sounded but…Keith was a total sucker for blue eyes. There was just something about the color that said so much about the individual. It may have sounded shallow to many, but something about this mysteriously strange woman's eyes just intrigued him.

His cover was blown the moment those eyes landed on the tree and the woman gasped. In a burst of sparkling blue particles, the woman vanished from sight. Keith took a step forward from the tree, looking at the now empty space in confusion. The deer remained still, unmoving as if it were now nothing but a stuffed statue.

Keith cried out in pain when his shoulder was tightly gripped and his entire body was thrown to the ground with a single throw. Keith landed hard on his back, he winced in pain. Instinctively, his hand reached for his knife, only to realize that his attack was now in possession of it.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" the mysterious white-haired woman asked, pointing Keith's own knife directly at his neck. Her blue eyes now burned with a fervid fire that Keith recognized many times from whenever he needed to defend himself in the past.

This woman was not someone Keith should underestimate.

(~)