The final chapter has arrived! I hope this ties up loose ends for all of you. Stick around to the end! This is definitely not the end for my involvement in the VLD fandom.

"And...there!"

Matt watched as Pidge popped open another cell door. Ever since the two of them had come out of the pods they'd been working tirelessly to free the remaining rebels trapped underground. Allura, Coran, and Hunk were doing the same, the rumbling above them another telltale sign of the trio working together to clear more debris off of the foundations of the rebel base to search for more prisoners. Pidge opened the door and out poured several rebels, a few of which Matt recognized. He felt his heart twist in his chest painfully.

So many people had survived. Was it too much to wish Mira and Uua could have been one of them?

He shook his head. There was no point in dwelling on wishes that would never come to pass. He had to focus on what he could do here, now. And that was saving everyone lucky enough to get through the invasion relatively unscathed.

He knelt to focus better on the lock he was picking with one of Pidge's hairpins. He could hear a distant murmur of the other rebels slowing registering what was going on. He felt his heart go out for them. Not too long ago, he had also been imprisoned in one of these cells, wondering what his fate would be with Laynek's toe pounding bruises into his skin.

He shuddered. He was sure that memory - like most of the other terrible ones - would never go away.

The lock clicked and Matt straightened up to open the door. He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to everyone gathered and they all padded out and towards the stairs. He watched them go, his shoulders slumping.

Pidge set her hand on his shoulder, startling him. He glanced over at her and tried to reassure her with a look but she could see right through him. As always.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, turning away to pick the lock of the last door of this basement. Matt's shoulders slumped.

"It's...been a long day," he admitted quietly.

"It's been a long two weeks," Pidge said.

"A long year."

Pidge huffed out a weak laugh. "Yeah. Exactly." Under her expert lockpicking, the door creaked open. The last group of rebels went charging up the stairs. Matt could hear them cheering as they reached the surface.

"Hey, Pigeon?" Matt called. He didn't have to turn to see the way her nose wrinkled at the old nickname. But, he also knew that she could tell it wasn't the time to threaten him teasingly for calling her it.

"Yeah?" She said instead.

"How...how do you move on?" Matt said in a hoarse whisper. "How do you accept that things are different now and will never be the same again?"

Pidge heaved out a sigh. At first, Matt thought it was annoyed until she took both of his hands in her own and guided him to sit down across from her. Her expression was serious, forehead creased in concern.

"You don't," she said quietly. "You just...get used to it. The irregular just becomes regular. And eventually, forget what it was like before."

"Like with Keith," Matt said. Pidge nodded.

"We're trying to get everything back to normal, but we all know they never will be," she said. "Things are different now."

"So…" Matt licked his lips. There was a lump building in his throat that was starting to hurt. "So it never stops hurting?"

"No," Pidge shook her head. "You just make room for it. But that doesn't mean that the pain isn't in vain. It'll help you keep those memories alive. It'll help you continue to try and do good for what you lost. The pain doesn't have to hurt all the time."

Matt shook his head in disbelief. "When did you get to be so wise?"

"Around the same time you started growing out your hair," Pidge quipped. She was smiling now. It was hesitant but warmed Matt's heart all the same.

"I knew I needed a haircut," he said.

"Nah," Pidge tugged on one of the long strands of auburn. "You just need to put it up in a ponytail so you don't look like a drowned rat all the time."

Matt snorted. "As if you're any better with your hair."

"I dunno, maybe I liked the 'rat's nest' style you were rockin' back home," Pidge said. Matt shook his head.

"How could you?" he said teasingly. "That was the epitome of style."

Pidge opened her mouth to respond but she never got the chance to. Their earpieces crackled to life and simultaneously, they pressed their hands to their ears to hear Coran's orders a bit better.

"Break time, everyone!" He chirped. "Keith should be getting out of his pod at any second now and besides, I've got a few rebels who know to lockpick on some of the other cells. Come on now! I've got leftover sandwiches!"

The comms crackled again and went silent. Pidge made a face.

"I'm scared to know what's in those sandwiches," she said. "Coran's not known for his cooking."

"Maybe it'll just be leftovers from yesterday," Matt said, trying to ease his little sister's fears. He held out his hand for her to take and gave her a smile. "Now then, shall we go greet your other brother or are we just gonna let him wake up alone?"

Pidge snorted and took his hand, allowing him to haul her to her feet. "Of course not. What are we, animals?"

Matt smirked at her. "I sure hope so."

Pidge punched his arm lightly. "Not in that way."

When Keith tumbled out of the pod, it was Matt who caught him.

He blinked several times, shuddering to chase off the last of the cold from the pod, and lifted his head to look at Matt. Allura and Pidge were standing behind him, all three of them looking far better then they had when Keith had seen them last. Pidge's broken arm had mended, as had Matt's fingers, and Allura no longer looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

"Hey," Matt said with a tired smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Good to be here," Keith croaked. He winced, rubbing at it with his good hand. The perks of being strangled and then not using it for a day, he supposed.

Coran popped up from where he was monitoring Lance's vitals and gave Keith a pleasant smile. He nodded to the clean clothes that someone (probably Pidge) had dumped in a pile on the table. He ducked out of the room and into the bathroom to change, marveling once again at the pods' incredible work. Where his wounds had been were now tiny white scars across his forehead and in his hand. Keith brushed his prosthetic thumb against the puckered line across his palm and shut his eyes, exhaling slowly.

Everything was okay now. Laynek and Haggar couldn't hurt him and, more importantly, his family, anymore. He let his shoulders lose their tension and he pressed the metal thumb harder to the tiny line.

Everything was okay.

He turned and left the bathroom, making his way back to the infirmary. Hunk had entered while he'd been out and he gave Keith a warm smile, clapping him gently on the shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better," Keith said honestly. "You?"

"I'm fine," Hunk glanced at Lance's pod. "Just...waiting and doing what I can, I guess."

"Doing what you can," Pidge snorted. "You pretty much single-handedly cleared all the debris so we could get down to the basement before Matt, Allura, and I were out."

"Indeed," Allura nodded. "You did well in finding as many entrances to the cells as you could." Hunk looked away, his cheeks flushing a dull shade of red. Keith stiffened. He'd completely forgotten about the rest of the captured rebels, held captive under tons of rocks and metal poles. He turned an alarmed gaze to Matt who smiled and nodded reassuringly.

"They're fine," he said. "Pidge and I got most of them out. We're just trying to get the rest of the ships working so we can join the rebels that managed to escape in a different star system."

"Makes sense," Keith murmured. "Zaaf isn't exactly safe anymore."

"We were thinking Olkarion as our next base of operations," Matt said. "The Commander was saying something about the Olkari reaching out and offering their assistance. Something about the least they could do after what we'd done."

"So are you going with them?" Allura asked. Matt nodded.

"I am," he affirmed. "As much as I'd love to stick around here with you guys, there's not much I can do to combat the Galra from here. I'll be more help to the cause with the others."

"Be careful," Keith told him.

Matt reached out, his closed fist regarding Keith's. "I will."

Gently, Keith bumped his fist against Matt's. Then, he grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him in for a hug. Matt stiffened in surprise but relaxed to wrap his arms around Keith in return. Keith shut his eyes, relishing in the comfort. Matt was just as much a part of the family as the rest. There was no way he wasn't, given what they had been through.

"Thank you," Keith murmured.

"Of course," Matt said. "And...thank you in return for taking care of Pidge." Keith pulled away with a coy smile sent Pidge's way.

"Wasn't hard," he said. "She mostly took care of herself." He half-expected Pidge to offer some snarky remark in return, but instead, she only smiled. Keith returned it.

"Alright!" Coran clapped his hands together and rubbed them together eagerly. "Who's ready for food?"

Keith's stomach growled and he found himself nodding eagerly with Allura. Matt and Pidge looked far less enticed, however. They exchanged uneasy glances and Hunk huffed out a laugh from where he was standing by Lance's pod.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "They're yesterday's sandwiches." Matt and Pidge's shoulders visibly lost some of their tension.

"Are you up for helping us after we're doing eating?" Pidge asked as Coran picked up a platter of sandwiches off of a table in the corner and began handing them out. Keith dug into his and hummed as the familiar taste of Hunk's delicious sandwiches hit his tongue.

"I think so," he said once he'd swallowed. "I don't see why not. I wanted to search the forest anyways. Just to see if I could find anything."

"Good idea," Matt hummed. "I'll help. Pidge are you…?"

"I'll continue the jailbreak," she said. "You guys go do what you gotta."

"The Red and Black Lions are also coming online," Allura added with a smile. "Before long we'll have all of Voltron ready to assist in the evacuation and relocation."

Keith breathed out a sigh of relief. Red's presence had been subdued in the back of his head ever since the battle with Haggar. He was glad whatever her magic had done was not permanent on his took another bite out of his sandwich and hummed under his breath, reaching out through their link. He felt her respond in kind, a warm rush of love and relief flooding him. He smiled.

"Good to hear," he murmured.

"No kidding," Pidge said. She popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth and jumped off of the table she was sitting on. "Alright, I'm heading back out."

Hunk, polishing off his last bite as well, wiped crumbs off his fingers. "I'll come with you."

Matt reached behind him to tie his hair up into a ponytail. It suited him, Keith realized, as he turned to face Keith with his hands on his hips.

"Shall we?" He asked with a smile that still didn't quite reach his eyes but it was one that was far, far better than any of the ones he'd faked yesterday.

"Yeah," Keith said. He licked a stray crumb off of his prosthetic palm. "Let's go."

He thought he saw Coran and Hunk exchange uneasy looks on his way out.

He wasn't sure why.

The ash crunched softly underneath Keith's boots as he walked. He couldn't help but whistle softly under his breath. The lush rainforest that had been so prominent when he'd first arrived at Zaaf was no more. In its place were nothing more than smoldering remains. Tree trunks blackened with soot and sticking up with their edges jagged surrounded them.

Keith wasn't quite sure what he was looking for out here. A lone survivor, maybe. Someone covered in soot and ash and unaware that the invasion had passed.

But somehow, they found something so much worse.

As they rounded a particularly thick trunk, Keith suddenly became aware that the entire clearing felt and looked like it had been blown apart by some huge explosion. He could see a silver piece of shrapnel embedded in the blackened bark of a tree to his left. At his side, Matt inhaled sharply and broke into a run. He kicked up ash in his wake and Keith could do nothing except follow.

Matt stopped at the edge of a crater. He froze, unmoving as he stared inside. Keith jogged up beside him to ask what was wrong, but all his words got caught in his throat when he saw what was inside.

It was the shredded remains of a rebel jet. Keith recognized the insignia on one of the wings of the ship that had been ripped clean off. He felt dread sink into his stomach upon seeing it. He didn't know why.

Without hesitating, Matt skidded down into the crater. Unsteadily, he ran to the jet and put both hands on the wing. He bowed his head over it, pressing his forehead to the insignia, his whole body trembling. Unsure of what else to do, Keith followed him down the slope to stand beside Matt at the wreckage of the ship.

"Matt?" He called carefully.

Matt turned around. Tears were sparkling in his eyes. "This...this is where Uua…" he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Keith didn't want him to. He already understood, with a horrible pain pressing in his heart.

"Oh," he whispered. He felt sick. He'd never known the details behind Uua's death but now that he did…

A part of him wished it had been kept a secret.

He wondered how Uua had felt in his final moments, hurtling to the ground. Scared, perhaps? Or maybe he'd accepted his fate and welcomed death with open arms. Maybe his body was still under there, charred and mauled beyond recognition but still there. He didn't want to look.

They stood there for what felt like ages. Ash brushed at their clothes from the gentle breeze that blew it out of position. Neither of them spoke. There wasn't anything to say, after all.

Eventually, though, Matt raised his head and brushed at his eyes with his sleeve. He turned to Keith with a less than convincing smile and nodded once. Keith didn't press - didn't ask Matt anything - as they climbed out of the crater.

He also pretended not to notice Matt's shoulders tremble with a suppressed sob when Keith passed him the piece of shrapnel he'd found embedded in the tree.

"Keith, may we speak to you?"

Keith paused, his fork halfway to his lips. He sat in the infirmary, his red blanket around his shoulders and half-leaning against Shiro's pod. Hunk and Coran were standing in front of him, looking pensive. He raised an eyebrow.

"Sure."

They sank down across from him, both with plates of their own in their laps. They exchanged nervous glances before speaking, their green steak forgotten.

"Before we begin, we must make sure you're prepared to hear this," Coran said. "It may be...unpleasant. Can you handle something else on top of everything already going on?"

Keith looked up to the top of Shiro's pod and thought about his older brother sleeping inside. He mulled Coran's words over in his head and realized he wasn't as stressed out as he thought he was. Lance and Shiro were healing and both would be out within the next two days. The relocation was going smoothly and even Red's presence had grown even stronger.

He looked at Coran and Hunk. "Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"You sure?" Hunk frowned.

"I'm sure."

Hunk and Coran exchanged looks before explaining everything that had gone down in the Castle's prison cells. Somehow, Keith wasn't too surprised that Lotor had an ulterior motive the entire time. He was as clever as he was ruthless so the surprise wasn't in the fact that he'd used Keith for his own personal gain. The real surprise was in his wish for redemption.

"We wanted to ask for your opinion first before we made any decisions," Coran admitted. "After all, Lotor was the man who single-handedly destroyed your vision of self-worth."

Keith fell silent. He chased the Altean version of a pea around his plate with his fork and frowned, thinking. Lotor had done despicable things in the name of experimentation. It also didn't help that he'd compared Keiths' version of pride in his abilities to Zarkon and a part of Keith would like nothing more than to eject Lotor into space and be done with him for good.

But another part of him hesitated. Wondered if Lotor truly just wanted redemption. He had to confirm the prince's intentions for himself. He lifted his chin to look at Coran and Hunk. They were both fidgeting uncomfortably.

"I want to talk to Lotor," he said.

Hunk's head shot up, mouth gaping open in surprise. "What?"

"I want to talk to him," Keith insisted. "Then, we'll all talk about what we want to do with him together. We're a team."

Coran paused for a moment and then his lips lifted into a smile. He tugged gently at his mustache, nodding approvingly.

"Well said," he remarked. "Now, we cannot let such wonderful food go to waste!" With gusto, he lifted his fork and knife and dug in, humming in appreciation with every bite. Hunk shook his head but was smiling anyway. He looked at Keith.

"You've really grown," he said.

"I have?"

"Yeah," Hunk stabbed his steak. "Ordinarily, you would have refused to see Lotor and if you even went, you probably would have beat him to a pulp. But now...you just want to talk and make sure his intentions are true. I just wish…" he sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. His eyes darted to Lance's pod and back. "I just wish it was under less terrible circumstances."

Keith thought about the table and the Galra leering over him and cold laughter filled his ears. He shuddered.

"Me too."

Lotor was sitting in his cell, a plate left forgotten by the door for someone to come pick it up. He didn't react at Keith's footsteps, not until they stopped right next to him. Then, he turned his head and jumped, clearly surprised by who had come to visit.

Keith stooped to pick up Lotor's plate, of which he'd practically cleaned of any food. Keith didn't blame him. Hunk's cooking was superb.

"I suppose you're here because you have reached your verdict?" Lotor's voice was sharp and it made Keith flinch. He tried not to think about how his old scars burned with phantom pain and straightened up to make himself look taller.

"No," he said. "I heard about what happened and I came to confirm it myself."

"Then you already know all you need," Lotor leaned his head against the wall of his cell and shut his eyes. "I used you to try and learn how I could break my father in the same way."

"And you still want to atone," Keith said. "You want redemption."

Lotor opened his eyes. He turned his head to face Keith, his white hair falling in greasy tresses around his face.

"More than anything," he said.

And Keith believed him.

When Shiro came out of the pod, Keith was right there waiting for him.

He caught Shiro in his arms, (stumbling a little as he did so, as Shiro was much higher and heavier than he was) wrapping a blanket around his shoulders to keep him from shivering. Shiro's eyes blinked open and he looked around the room in pure confusion. Keith didn't blame him. Last Shiro knew, everything had gone to shit. Now he was falling out of a pod, surrounded by smiles and warm wishes.

"I'll explain everything over dinner," Keith murmured into his older brother's ear. "Okay?"

Shiro nodded. His expression softened as he met Keith's eyes. "Okay."

He kept his word as everyone gathered around Lance's pod and caught Shiro up to speed on everything that had happened. From Haggar's death to the slow reconstruction of several pods to get the freed rebels off of Zaaf and to Olkarion. Shiro listened silently as Keith talked and didn't once interject to make a comment. Though, the proud smiles he sent at both Matt and Allura spoke more than words ever would.

Shiro's laugh echoed over the runway.

Keith looked up to see what was so amusing, a heavy box in his arms that he was loading onto a ship, and found Shiro standing with Matt. Both of them were grinning from ear-to-ear, clearly just glad to be with each other. Matt looked tiny, almost scrawny, next to Shiro, but Keith found himself smiling anyways. All he could think of were those days at the Garrison where Shiro and Matt were a duo never seen without the other.

It was good to see that some things - no matter the distance and the experiences - didn't change.

Then, Hunk came charging down the Castle ramp, relief in his expression and a wide smile splitting his face. Keith set down his box to let another rebel pick up where he left off as Hunk called the Paladins over.

"It's Lance," Hunk said with a broad grin. "He's about to get out of the pod."

Keith couldn't remember the last time he'd run to the infirmary so quickly.

When Lance came out of the pod in all of his lanky glory, Keith could have choked on his relief. He'd been so afraid, watching Haggar split his back apart and all the blood that practically exploded from it. He'd thought Lance was going to die.

And now, Lance was stirring weakly in Hunk's arms, swathed in a blanket and murmuring under his breath in Spanish. Slowly, he blinked awake and took note of every member of his family watching him. Then, he began to smile.

"Hey," he said weakly.

The tides broke. Everyone surged forward to wrap their arms around some part of Lance and each other in a giant tangle of arms. It was the biggest and best group hug Keith had ever been a part of and he couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from his throat. He looked over at Lance in all of his tired, healed glory and returned the sleepy smile Lance was giving him.

From Keith's other side, Pidge gasped. "God damn."

"What?" Keith asked her, turning his head to look at her fully. Instead of responding, she pointed at Lance's back. Keith followed her gaze.

There had been no time to change Lance into a pod suit. He would have bled out otherwise, so he'd gone in still dressed in his shredded Paladin armor. However, that put where his terrible wound had once been on full display. But instead of blood and split skin, there were scars. Ropes of skin all emerging from one point at the center of Lance's spine and spidering up like splintered glass all around his back. To both his shoulders, his sides, and either side of his hips.

"What is it?" Lance sounded urgent. He was desperately craning his neck to get a look at what had captivated everyone's attention.

Lance's new scar was a disgusting reminder of what they'd been through, but Keith couldn't let Lance think of it like that. He wouldn't allow it. He met Lance's ocean-blue eyes and put his hand exactly where Haggar's had been.

"Nothing," he said. "Just a kickass scar, is all."

Lance laughed, loud and bright. It made the whole room feel less dark.

"A kickass scar," Lance said with a grin. "Nice."

And it was.

Funerals were held the day after.

Keith stood with the team to honor the fallen - those with bodies and those without. Those that knew some of the people who had perished delivered eulogies. Matt gave two: one for Uua (for which a body was never recovered, not even from the wreckage of the ship) and one for Mira. He stuttered and cried through them, but it was heartfelt nonetheless.

When Matt rejoined the team, Shiro flung an arm over his best friend's shoulders and Pidge burrowed her way into Matt's side to hug him as tightly as she could. Matt smiled through the tears in his eyes and thanked them quietly.

Everyone poured a little bit of ash and dirt onto the graves. Hunk had suggested it. It was a tradition that Keith was only vaguely familiar with, but it felt good to do it nonetheless. His own personal way of honoring the fallen.

After the funerals, everyone retired to the Castle, where Coran had set up temporary homes for the refugees in the unused floors. The Paladins and Matt, meanwhile, met up to discuss, finally, their decision for the man still being held in the underbelly of the Castle.

"I think…" Keith pursed his lips. "I think Lotor really does want to atone for what he did."

"Does he?" Allura narrowed her eyes. "Or is this just another ploy to trick us."

"I don't think so," Keith pressed. "The look in his eyes...I don't think he was lying about wanting to atone."

"Me neither," Hunk chimed in.

"But we still have to be careful," Shiro reminded them. "Lotor is cunning and has many skills. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them is acting."

Keith fell silent. He couldn't find a rebuttal for that.

Across the table, Matt shifted uncomfortably beside Pidge. He tightened his ponytail and leaned forward, hooking his legs around his chair to scoot in.

"Then why not leave him with us?" Matt asked.

Hunk choked on his sip of Popping Soda. "Wait, what?"

Matt raised his hands. "I know, I know, it sounds crazy. But if Lotor wants to atone, why not let him try? Besides, if he's with me and the other rebels, we won't give him a chance to do anything universe-ending."

Keith bit his lip. With Matt phrasing it like that, the solution sounded laughably easy. Lotor would be under constant surveillance, he'd get his chance to do good for the universe and finally be able to reach atonement like he wanted. But a simple glance around the table was all he needed to know that not everyone was sold on the idea.

"What if he tries something?" Pidge asked, worried. "Like, what if he's going to massacre the rest of the rebels and escape to go and take the throne of the Galra Empire again?"

"He won't," Matt reassured her. "He can't kill all of us and besides, I'll stop him before he even has the chance to try."

"I'm sorry, Matt, but I am in agreement with Pidge," Allura said. "Lotor is a cunning man. Deceiving you would be laughably simple for him."

Everyone murmured to each other, looking concerned. While Keith knew that Lotor's ability to pretend was unparalleled, they were still forgetting something important.

"Guys," he said softly. "Why not trust Matt?"

Heads swiveled to him. Pidge scowled.

"What are you talking about? Of course we trust him!" She exclaimed.

"I know, but not like that," Keith said quickly. "More of...trust him to be able to take care of Lotor kind of thing. We don't have any other solutions readily available and letting the rebels deal with Lotor would be a better alternative to doing it ourselves."

"He has a point," Shiro murmured. "Besides, Matt's capable. He has been a big brother for fifteen years."

Matt snorted. "Exactly. If I could deal with Pidge's teenage angst I can deal with a snobby Galran prince."

"Matt!" Pidge went red. Lance snorted with a laugh and he had to hide it behind his hand before Pidge shot him a glare.

"I see," Allura sighed. "Then are we in agreement?"

"I'd say so," Lance leaned forward, tracing circles around the rim of his cup. "I don't see anyone disagreeing."

Allura nodded. "Then Matt, we shall entrust the care of Lotor and his rehabilitation to you."

"I won't let you down," Matt promised. Shiro gave him a smile.

"I know you won't," he said.

Everything was ready to go by the next day. All the supplies had been loaded onto the few ships that had survived the carnage and the Lions were all in their hangars. Keith stood on the bridge with the others, watching the image of Zaaf on Coran's screen fade away. The ships full of supplies followed close behind them as they rocketed off into space.

Allura opened up a wormhole and made sure everyone was inside before closing it. Pidge hummed softly beside Matt when she saw the familiar landscape of Olkarion appear before them. The planet was as gorgeous as Keith remembered.

Ryner greeted them when they landed, gladly welcoming the rest of the rebels onto the planet. There was a grand celebration that night - one Keith only attended half of before getting overwhelmed and heading off to find some peace and quiet. He found it on the roof of the main building of the city, overlooking the lights and the party below. He sat, letting his legs dangle over the edge, humming softly under his breath with the music.

Shiro joined him a little while later. He gave Keith a smile and sat next to him, wrapping an arm over his shoulders and tucking him into his side. Keith sighed, relaxing into his brother.

One by one, the other Paladins joined him. Together, they relished in each other's company as they sat and overlooked the grand party below them. Everything was peaceful. Perfect. Keith wouldn't have changed it for the world. He closed his eyes, tilting his head up to feel the breeze a bit better.

"Thank you," he said.

"For?" Shiro asked next to him.

"Everything," Keith whispered. He turned to look at everyone, spread out over the rooftop and looking at him. "For saving me. For helping me learn what it was like to have a family."

Lance's expression softened. "Of course, Keith."

"This whole ordeal was nothing short of a nightmare," Allura said. "But we have come out on top. Just as we always have."

"And we'll continue to come out on top!" Pidge said confidently. "We're going to save the universe!"

"Damn straight!" Lance laughed.

"We'll save it for everyone who died to get us this far," Hunk said.

"And for those that perished long before we could even all come together," Coran added.

Keith looked back to the moon. It was so close to the horizon he could make out the hundreds of craters peppering the surface. It was an incredible sight to behold.

He was so lucky, he realized. To be able to meet such incredible people and become a part of the world that had captivated his parents so. He'd lost so much and suffered through far more than he ever should have, but he'd still come out on top. And that was only thanks to the family who'd gotten him this far to begin with.

He lifted his prosthetic arm to splay his fingers against the moon. "Let's go save the universe."

"Yeah," Shiro murmured at his side. "Let's."

Keith lowered his arm to look around him one more time. Tomorrow, they would set off on their endless quest to purge evil from the universe and keep it safe. But tonight, they were together. Tonight, they were healing.

And that was more than enough.

Over 301 pages, a year since I've started writing this, and 150,000+ words later, we've reached the end. Thank you all for going on this incredible journey with me and inspiring me to keep going until the very end. This wouldn't have been possible for each and every one of you, and I can't help but thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all for the reviews, the follows, the favs, and most of all the overwhelming support I've gotten since I started this.

So, honestly, thank you. Thank you so much. I hope this ending was satisfactory enough to meet your expectations!

And, now, it's my pleasure to announce the next big thing now that Sun has reached its conclusion. If you're into Detective AUs, near-death experiences, and serial killers, Dead Man Walking might just be for you. I'll spend the rest of the weekend tying up loose ends on that story and I'll be posting the first chapter on Monday! I hope to see some of you guys there!

Thank you all so much for reading. If you've got lingering questions about Sun or if you just want a bit more information on the new project, feel free to drop in on my tumblr (under the same username!) and ask me!

Once again, thank you all so much for helping me turn this fic into what it is today. I hope you all enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for your endless support!

I'll see you guys around!

Esellyn: kjdf I mean, given what the bastard's done, I don't blame you whatsoever. Maybe Matt threatens to do that on off-days when he's in a really bad mood and Lotor's giving him a lot of shit

Angel of the Honey Bees: AAaAAAa thank you so much! Everyone really has come so far from where they used to be and I'm so proud of them for being able to open up to each other about their experiences despite their differences. Lance jumping in to save Keith and Shiro was something I had planned for a while, but just never knew how to execute it. Oh, you can get a million fuck yeahs for Matt. There was no way in hell he was going to allow anything to happen to his remaining family, especially after losing everything in the span of a mere three days. I loved the idea that despite being a different person, Keith still had that remaining drive to protect those he held dear. I was reading a fic at some point and there was a line about how "a tree withered away to nothing, but if the tree left behind a seed, did it even really matter if it didn't grow into the exact same tree?" or something along those lines, and it really resonated with me since that was - essentially - what was going on with Keith. Everyone else is so damn selfless when it comes to their family and I absolutely love them for it. Mira and Uua did deserve better! They're probably watching over Matt with huge grins though, just as proud of him as we are. Thank you so, so much for all of your support. Your long reviews that made me grin non-stop for the rest of the day, your constant support, just...everything. It really helped me get through the rougher patches of writing Sun and I'm actually so proud of the final product here. So, honestly, thank you for reading and supporting this fic. It really helped me keep going and I'm so glad that you were along for the ride up to the end. I'll hopefully see you around!