Intro

If you’re not a Voltron fan, this story might be hard to follow. I have, ahem, stripped it down to the bare necessities and won’t go into all of the blather about saving the universe. Here’s what you need to know: Voltron is a huge robot comprised of five separate spaceships, or Lions (because, well, because they look like lions), each controlled by a human pilot. The main purpose of this giant robot is to fight the evil Galra Empire. When they are not fighting baddies, the Voltron team relaxes on a giant spaceship they call the Castle of Lions.

My eyes glaze over when the guys are shooting their laser guns at enemies because for me the best part of the series is the relationships that develop between the characters. I’m specifically touched by the team’s leader, Shiro, who was taken hostage by the Galra and escapes but not before sustaining a lot of physical and emotional damage. His struggle to overcome this past is a beautiful part of the series as is the special relationship he develops with the younger Keith (who, depending on which team you ship with, either looks up to Shiro as a big brother or has a simmering crush on him.)

I’ve kept the cast of characters short so I can focus on the plot of this story. Here’s the list:

Shiro (below) – the leader of Voltron, captain (or Paladin) of the biggest spaceship, the Black Lion which makes up the head and body of the giant robot. He is stern, calm, and noble. Probably in his late twenties but he has white hair due to his abuse at the hands of the Galra. Critical plot point: The Galra removed his right arm and replaced it with a robotic one.

Keith (below, right) – the Paladin of the Red Lion which is the right arm of the Voltron robot. He’s young, fiery, passionate, impetuous but also loyal and kind. Probably in his late teens.

Lance (below, left) – Keith’s rival and Paladin of the Blue Lion which forms one of the legs of Voltron. He is a smartass, overly confident, and brash but also courageous and self-sacrificing. Like Keith, he’s probably in his late teens.

Chapter 1

Keith could not sleep.

He had never gotten used to sleeping on a spaceship, even after Princess Allura had modulated the ambient climate to mimic the daylight cycles of Earth. Most nights, he would lie in his little alcove, listening to music and waiting for hours to drift into slumber. In the months (God, had it been months already?) since he’d been selected by the Red Lion and joined the team that made up Voltron, he had yet to get a restful night’s sleep.

Tonight was worse than usual and he simply could not fall asleep. Finally, he gave up trying and paced the empty halls of the vessel, prowling like a ghost and waiting for his body to grow tired enough to lie down. He was making his tenth pass by the crew’s sleeping quarters when he heard the whoosh of a door and turned a corner to see Shiro exiting his room. Keith almost called out when he saw that his friend, leader, and mentor was dressed in his white and black armor.

What the fuck is he up to? And why is he suited up? Keith wondered, going instantly into stealth mode and creeping along behind the tall, muscular man. Shiro’s gait was unmistakable even in the dim light of the ship. He always walked erect with his shoulders squared and his steps precise, clicking out a staccato rhythm that Keith would never forget. Shiro carried his helmet under his arm and, if Keith strained, he could hear him whistling. It was a melody that Keith recognized but couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He’s heading to the lions! Keith realized when he saw Shiro enter an elevator and wave his hand over the lower portion of the panel. The hallway filled momentarily with a soft, blue light before the door opened and the man stepped inside. In a second, the door had closed and he’d disappeared.

Keith broke out into a sprint, determined not to let Shiro get too far ahead of him. He was crossing an intersecting hallway when he collided with someone and toppled to the floor.

“Oof!” Lance groaned, landing on his back underneath Keith. His eyes went glassy for a moment before his shook his head and focused on Keith’s face. “Yo, Mullet Top!” he teased, “What’re you doing out here?”

“I was following Shiro,” Keith started to say before he realized that Lance was clad in a very revealing blue leather harness. A blue, studded dog collar was fastened his neck and the leash was still attached, lying on the floor beside him. “Lance,” he breathed, “What the fuck are you wearing?”

Lance stared at him before wagging a finger. “Don’t you mean ‘What the quiznak are you wearing?’”

“No,” Keith stated, unable to keep the condescension out of his voice. “We’re both adults here, Lance. We can use grown-up words. Now, what the fuck are you wearing?”

Lance’s lips tightened into a line briefly before curling into a smug smile. Looking down at himself, he replied airly,. “Allura and I were, well, you know–”

“Stop!” Keith interrupted, holding up a hand. “I don’t wanna know!”

He was pushing himself off of his friend when Lance cocked his head, his face breaking into a sly smile. “I should be the one asking you the same question, Ninja Mullet. Is this what you wear to bed every night?”

Keith grimaced, refusing to be baited and refusing to look down at himself. He straightened gracefully, continuing to the elevators and replying over his shoulder, “Yeah. Yeah, I do. These were a birthday gift from Shiro.”

“He got you fuzzy, footie pajamas for your birthday?” Lance pressed, voice full of incredulity as he scrambled to his feet and followed after him. “And what’s the flap for in back? Is that so he can…?”

“LANCE!” Keith yelled, inadvertently reaching back to cover his butt and the telltale flap in back. “SHUT THE FUCK UP! I don’t have time for this. Shiro just went down to the lions and he’s suited in his armor. I’ve got to make sure he’s Ok. Just go back to Allura and leave me the fuck alone!”

“No,” Lance protested, darting around him and waving his hand over the elevator panel before Keith could reach it. “I’m going with you. If Dad’s going to his lion, this is important. We gotta follow him.”

“Lance…” Keith warned, balling his hand into a fist. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Whoa, buddy! Hold on!” Lance cajoled, taking Keith’s fist in his hand and unbunching his fingers. “We’re a team right? What if Dad’s in trouble? What if the Galra are controlling him again? What if–”

“Alright, alright,” Keith sighed, unconsciously looking down at Lance’s mostly naked body and then wishing he hadn’t. “But we’ve gotta get moving! He could already be in his lion by now!”

The door whooshed open and they rushed inside, Keith steadfastly refusing to look over at Lance and Lance making a big show of inching closer to Keith. When he reached out and tried to take his hand, though, Keith spanked him hard on his bare ass.

“Ow! That felt good!” Lance crowed. “You could teach Allura a thing or two!”

“SHUT UP, LANCE!”

The door swung open at that moment and they stepped out onto the Lion Deck just in time to see Shiro jumping into the loading chute of the Black Lion.

“Fucking shit!” Keith exclaimed, running down the gangplank. “He’s gonna fucking take off! Where is he going?”

He could hear the slap of Lance’s bare feet behind him. A moment later, he turned to see the mostly naked boy launching himself through the air, leash still trailing behind him, as he aimed his body for the loading chute of his Blue Lion. 

“Woohoo!” he called gleefully out behind him. “Let’s go get him!”

Keith stared after him, hesitating. Should he follow Shiro (and Lance) or go get the others? He looked down at his red, fuzzy pajamas in consternation; he was hardly dressed for a space flight. And his bayard was in his locker with his armor. Then again, he reasoned, it wasn’t like Lance was in much better shape. Finally, he took a deep breath and made up his mind, skidding down the hangar and jumping into the Red Lion’s chute. With practiced ease, he grabbed the zip line handle and hurtled downward.

Shiro needed him.

He knew it!

***

Chapter 2

“Shiro! Shiro!” he called on the comm-link as his lion blasted out of the hangar. Far in the distance, he could see the dim outline of the Black Lion and, behind it, Lance’s Blue Lion. “Where are you going?”

There was no answer.

>>He’s turned off his receiver.<< It was Lance. >>Hurry up, Mullet Head! I think he’s getting ready to do a space jump!<<

Keith accelerated, relishing the speed and power of his lion as it came awake, ready for his command. The mystical bond he shared with the machine creature never got old. He swore he could feel it purring as he grasped the controls. It rocketed into space, closing the distance with the Black Lion. But would it be fast enough?

He was beginning to think he had a chance of catching up when a magenta swirl appeared ahead of them, rapidly opening into a tunnel of black space before Shiro’s lion. Keith’s stomach sank and it wasn’t just the effects of rapid acceleration; he knew all too well who had created that portal into deep space.

>>WTF? That’s a Galra wormhole!<< Lance cried. >>He is being controlled by those bastards!<<

“Looks like it,” Keith muttered, gunning his lion up to full speed and trying once again to reach Shiro on the comm. The link, however, remained dead. “Shit!” he shouted. “We’ve got to stop him before he goes through!”

>>Preparing blasters!<<

“Wait, Lance! Don’t–”

A brilliant beam of blue light shot through the darkness, emanating from the Blue Lion. Lance was too late, though, the Black Lion was already disappearing into the glowing purple vortex. As Keith watched in grim horror, the wormhole began to close. The Galra were stealing Shiro from him again!

>>I’m going after him. You coming with?<<

Panicking, Keith yelled, “I’m too far behind! I’ll never make it!”

>>Don’t worry, little guy. I got ya.<<

Keith watched in confusion as the Blue Lion swooped into the closing portal behind Shiro’s ship. Just before the wormhole disappeared, though, a luminous lasso of sapphire light looped out and, with lightning speed, wrapped itself around Keith’s ship. There was a disorienting lurch as it yanked tight and then the Red Lion rocketed forward, only just squeaking inside the wormhole before it swirled shut.

He was in!

***

“How did you do that?” he gasped after the wormhole had disgorged them on the other side. His head was spinning and he felt nauseous. Ahead, he was vaguely aware of a huge, white star surrounded by a nimbus of reddish light. Off to the side was a smaller, blue star. The two appeared to be in orbit around each other. A binary solar system, he thought. Cool.

>>A little something Blue and I figured out a while ago.<< Lance announced smugly. >>You make it through Ok, buddy?<<

“Uh, yeah, I think so,” Keith said, rubbing his temples. He was coated in a sweat and his lion’s holographic instrument panel was flashing red. “I’m gonna reset my lion’s systems and hope for the best.” He initiated the procedure call, more of a mental than physical process as his mind melded with the ship. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “In the meantime,” he continued, somewhat absently. “Do you know where we are?”

>>Sirius System. About a quarter parsec from the nearest planet.<<

Keith’s eyes snapped open. “What? You can’t be serious–” he started to say but was interrupted by Lance’s snicker. He groaned, realizing he’d walked right into the most obvious pun in the universe. Rolling his eyes, he continued, “But Sirius is one of the closest systems to Earth! If the Galra have an outpost here…”

>>Yeah, I know.<< Lance muttered. >>We’re in deep shit. Looks like Dad’s lion is heading for the moon of a local gas giant. I’m sending you the coordinates.<<

The Red Lion’s display flickered and turned blue right then and Keith grabbed the controls, gunning forward in hot pursuit of Lance and the disappearing Shiro. Within a few seconds, they were closing in on the moon, a verdant dot next to a Jupiter-sized planet awash in swirling storms and electromagnetic flashes.

>>He’s heading for the dark side of that green moon.<< Lance called out. >>And–Whoa!–would you look at that?<<

Still playing catch-up, Keith’s lion didn’t have a clear view of the moon. A few moments later, though, he gasped as his long range sensors locked onto Shiro’s ship. His friend and mentor was already in orbit around the moon and, as Keith watched in consternation, a magenta flash arced through the atmosphere and locked on the Black Lion, pulling it down toward the surface.

“Fuck! They’ve got him!” he cried. “C’mon, Lance! We gotta stop ‘em!”

>>Hold on, Keith!<< Lance called out. >>My sensors are picking up an anomaly. Er, make that multiple anomalies.<<

Growling in frustration–Shiro was in trouble! Shiro needed him!–Keith forced himself to wait until his lion completed a scan the moon’s surface. It was an Earthlike world, more than ninety percent water. It’s climate was tropical, hot even by Earth standards, and it was teeming with life. There was a large, central continent mostly underwater except for a long, broad archipelago of mountainous islands. Shiro’s ship was heading directly to a location near the center of the island chain.

>>Holy fuck!<< Lance exclaimed. >>According to Blue, the anomalies all share the same source. It matches the signature of a colony transport vessel from Earth that disappeared more than twenty years ago. Apparently, it broke apart in the upper atmosphere and scattered in four, huge sections. That means–<<

“How’d it get here?” Keith interrupted. “There is no way a ship could’ve made it from Earth to the Sirius system twenty years ago without–”

>>The ‘help’ of the Galra!<< Lance finished for him.

Keith’s neck prickled. “The Galra stole a whole colony of Earthlings and transported them here? I don’t have a good feeling about this…”

>>Me, neither.<< Lance’s voice was uncharacteristically sober. >>And now they have Shiro.<<

“Not if I can help it!”

>>Keith, wait!<< 

Keith ignored him. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: Stopping the Galra from kidnapping Shiro. He leaned back in his seat and engaged boosters. Instantly, he was hurtling toward the surface. A fiery aura surrounded the Red Lion as he entered the atmosphere; this was followed shortly by a deafening sonic boom. Keith clenched his jaw and locked onto the Black Lion.

The Red Lion was plummeting so swiftly that he only barely registered the moon’s darkened surface of deep, emerald water interspersed with emerald islands. The suns’ presence was felt more than seen as faint glow on the distant horizon.

And then, almost too suddenly, Shiro’s lion was directly before him and he pulled up sharply. He gasped when he saw that the magenta-hued beam that had locked onto the man’s ship was emanating from inside a vast, walled city. A city made entirely of an obsidian-like rock.

A black city.

It was darkly beautiful and sinister at the same time, limned in the crepuscular light of the suns. Keith suppressed a shiver.

>>Listen, Mullet Top<< Lance’s voice crackled in his ear, >>before you go rampaging in there, would you–<<

Keith ignored him, shouting, “I’m going in!” If he hurried, there was still time to save Shiro!

Revving the lion back up, he completed the descent and was preparing to gun it when there was a loud >>SNAP!<< followed by a series of electrical bursts. The Red Lion’s cabin filled with smoke and the engines failed. Keith reached out with his mind but the lion had gone dark; there was only emptiness. The ship faltered before initiating a nosedive toward the darkened waters below.

He was going to crash!

>>Keith! Keith!<< Lance’s voice shrilled in his ear. >>My lion’s going down! It’s all–<<

Silence.

Keith didn’t have time to worry about Lance. He had his own problems as he stared down at the fast-approaching ocean waters. His ears popped and he was opening his mouth to scream when the lion slammed into the water. Water poured inside as he frantically tried to eject. The lion was heavy, though, and sinking quickly. When the footie of his PJs caught on the escape hatch, he inhaled water. He kicked his foot but the damned pajamas were stuck fast. Why didn’t I change into my armor? he thought dimly, berating himself for his impulsivity. 

Too much water.

He coughed, inhaling more, and panicked when his lungs filled up. In less than a minute, he blacked out. 

His last thought was, ‘I’ve failed Shiro again.’

***

Chapter 3

Keith awoke lying on his back on a slimy rock surface as waves lapped nearby. Everything was stained scarlet and violet in the slanting rays of the twin suns. He tried to breathe and coughed. 

Something was over his mouth! 

Something warm and soft. Something that felt like…lips? 

He opened his eyes to discover he was being smothered by Lance’s warm mouth. Freaking out, he shoved the paladin away. Lance slid backward, catching himself on his palms as he skidded across the slippery rock.

“What the fuck, dude?!” Keith demanded, wiping his mouth and coughing up salty water as he struggled to sit up on his elbows.

He was just able to spot Lance’s wounded expression in the dim light before his friend recovered and replied in his usual smartass tone, “Uh, you’re welcome for just saving your life, Mullet Top,” he sneered. “If I hadn’t swum down there, pulled your ass out of your lion and resuscitated you, you’d be dreaming with the fishes–our whatever the fuck bizarre creatures those were down there.”

Keith blinked. “You…saved me?”

Lance gave him a hangdog grin. “Uh, yeah. And, for what it’s worth, your lips are almost as soft as Princess Allura’s. Not that I was thinking about her while I was giving you mouth-to-mouth, mind you.”

Keith’s cheeks colored and he looked away. He was acutely aware that fellow paladin was still wearing his tiny, blue leather harness and nothing else. 

And that wasn’t the worst of it. 

No, there was more. 

Or less, rather.

His neck flushed as he became aware of the telltale sensation of his bare ass on wet rock and he grimaced in embarrassment. He was naked! 

Lance noticed at the same moment and his face broke into a wide grin. Letting out a low whistle, he teased, “Oh, wow. Did Shiro buy that for you, too? It’s red and black, I see. Just like your lions. Does he wear a matching one?”

Keith blinked at him dumbly, thinking, ‘Huh?’ 

Then, ever so slowly, a sick understanding dawned on him and he lowered his head, giving a small start. While it was true that his red, fuzzy pajamas were missing, he wasn’t completely naked, either. No, not entirely. One article of clothing did remain on his body: His lucky jockstrap. It was the same one he’d been wearing (under his clothes) the first time he rescued Shiro back on Earth. Since then, the jock had had special meaning for him and he wore it almost all the time. No one—except for Lance now—had ever seen him in it, though. His cheeks colored and he shifted position to conceal his crotch. He couldn’t believe he was trapped with Lance on a strange moon millions of light years away from the Castle of Lions—wearing only a jockstrap.

While he was distracted by these spiraling thoughts, Lance had scooted closer. Keith didn’t see his hand shoot out until he’d already snatched the waistband of his jockstrap and yanked it down, exposing his bare crotch—along with his shriveled equipment—to the moist, evening air.

“Awww, look at your lil’ guy! He’s so cute!” Lance crowed, letting go of the elastic with a snap.

Keith yelped, both from pain and outrage, sputtering, “You– You– You– How dare you!”

Lance settled back on his haunches, goading, “Do you shave yourself down there or have your balls just not dropped yet?”

Keith reared up, lifting his fists and shouting, “Lance, I’m gonna—“

He never finished. Lance surprised him by dodging around his fists and flinging him over his shoulder. Before Keith could react, he was bumping along on Lance’s back as his friend careened over the wet rocks. He skidded to a halt under the fronds of a fern-like plant and, tossing the still-angry Keith down, slapped a grimy hand over his mouth before he could make a sound. Keith stared murderously up at him but Lance ignored him, holding his index finger to his lips as he listened intently. Gradually, Keith became aware of a low whir that built steadily until there was no mistaking what it was.

It’s a ship, Lance mouthed, unnecessarily. We need to get away from here.

He lowered his hand from Keith’s mouth and hauled him away, dodging through the undergrowth of a humid, dripping forest of fern-like plants. Lance seemed to possess not only keen night vision but also incredible strength because he hauled Keith around with ease, vaulting over fallen trunks without tripping or getting slapped in the face by low-hanging fronds. Only when they were deep inside the fern forest—and far from the shores of the emerald ocean where the Red Lion lay submerged—did he stop.

Keith blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust. It was hard enough seeing in the twilight of this bizarre moon when they were out in the open but, enshrouded in this misty forest, he was nearly blind. He could barely see Lance’s pale form before him. He stared in silence as his friend caught his breath. Finally, Lance took one last deep breath and let out a long, slow exhale. He straightened and, even though it was dark, Keith could tell he was looking at him.

“Listen, Keith,” he said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. “I’m sorry about back there. I…don’t know what came over me.”

“I’m not little, Ok?” Keith protested, adding indignantly, “I’m a grower, not a shower. And I was just underwater! There’s, you know, shrinkage.” 

Only after he’d said it did he realize how lame this sounded. Lance, however, didn’t laugh or even pull a face. Instead, he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed, saying, “I know. And I’m not much bigger myself. None of us measure up to Shiro in that department.”

Keith gaped. “Shiro? You mean you’ve–?”

It was too dark to see Lance’s face but his tone was eloquent. “Well, of course! I am the one who pulled him out of his armor that one time when he was injured…”

“You’re terrible.”

Lance sighed. “Oh, don’t tell me that you haven’t been tempted, Mullet Top! I see the way you look at him.” He paused before adding, “And the way he looks at you.”

Keith’s heart froze in his chest. “He—He looks at…me?”

Before Lance could answer, they were interrupted by the swift approach of another aircraft. It must have passed very close by because the fronds all around them whipped back and forth in a frenzy. The roar was deafening but it quickly faded as the ship disappeared.

“They know we’re here,” Lance whispered. “We have to keep moving.”

“Where?” Keith demanded, his heart still doing a funny twisty dance at the thought of Shiro…looking at him. “Where do we go?”

“To that weird, black city,” Lance pronounced as if it were a stupid question. “That’s where Shiro is.”

“Uh, Ok, but do you know where it is?”

Lance puffed out his (thin) chest. “Do you know who you’re talking to? Of course, I do!” He pointed to Keith’s left, saying, “Straight that way.”

If this was indeed the direction of the black city, Keith was impressed. One thought nagged him, though. “What about the lions, Lance? What if they find ‘em?”

Lance shrugged. “Let ‘em find ‘em! What good will it do them? The lions only obey us paladins, remember?”

“It’s the Galra, Lance!” Keith protested. “We can’t let them get to the lions! You know that Zarkon is the former Black Paladin. If he gets his hands on—“

“Zip it, Keith!” Lance hissed. “I know all that! There’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to hope that they are sunk so far down that they can’t reach ‘em.”

With that, he turned and marched off in the supposed direction of the black city.

***

“…and Hunk’s dick is stout but not very long, kind of like him.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Lance, I really don’t wanna—“

Ignoring him, his friend continued, “And, of course, Pidge doesn’t have a dick because she’s a girl.”

“Obvi.” 

Keith couldn’t believe they were having this discussion but there was no stopping Lance’s babbling.

“Did you know that Coran’s dick looks just like a tulip. It’s petals open up when he’s—“

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Lance, shut up!” Keith shouted, holding up his hands. “Why are you so obsessed with everyone’s penis anyway? I thought you were straight.”

Lance stopped in his tracks and Keith had to scramble not to run into him. They were making their way through the fern-like forest but the going was slow and Lance’s constant banter wasn’t making it any easier.

“Tell you what, Space Emo,” Lance said, turning around to place his hands on Keith’s shoulders and staring fixedly at his face. “Let’s have it out right here and now. Are you a homo?”

Keith’s mouth fell open. “I, uh, I mean, I—“

“I knew it!” Lance crowed. “I knew you were a homo the first time I saw you! It was the long hair and those big, blue eyes. Oh, and that pretentious leather jacket. Homo all the way.”

“Fuck off,” Keith spat, trying to shake Lance’s hands off of him. “It’s none of your business.”

“Aw, come on, Princess,” Lance teased. “There’s nothing wrong with being gay. I’m an out and proud bisexual myself.”

“Lance, fuck y—“ Keith started to shout but stopped abruptly before asking in a low voice, “Wait, did you just say you’re bisexual?”

It was dark but Keith could see his friend nod. “Yep, bi as fuck, I like to say,” he quipped, “because I’ll fuck, well, just about anything or anyone. Once at least.”

Keith was dumbstruck. The topic of sex and sexual attraction had never come up between them. Lance had always been so over-the-top with his flirtation with Allura and practically every other female alien that came their way. He’d never seen any indication that Lance was attracted to guys.

“I…I can’t believe this is happening,” he murmured dazedly, looking down at himself in his little jockstrap before letting his gaze travel to Lance’s body encased in the revealing harness. “This has got to be a dream.”

“Ah,” Lance breathed, “so you’ve been dreaming about this then?”

Keith’s cheeks colored. “Well, no, not exactly. I mean, no! No, I haven’t!”

A slow smile touched Lance’s face and he wet his lips with his tongue. Keith felt his skin prickle as he allowed himself to look at his friend—really look at him—for the first time. He was surprised that he’d never done so before. I’ve been too busy worrying about saving the universe and, of course, not dying, he thought sheepishly. And then there’s the small detail that I’ve always hated him! In Keith’s world, there had never been anyone more important or dear than Shiro.

Lance, he realized as he surveyed his shadowy form, wasn’t all that bad looking. He was slender and dark-skinned with pleasant brown eyes and a sardonic smile that had softened into something more vulnerable and tentative at that moment. This softer side did wonders for his likeability and Keith wished that the Blue Paladin allowed himself to drop his smartass facade more often. Even so, he wasn’t Keith’s type; he was too thin and wiry. Keith much preferred Shiro’s broad muscularity. The way his armor hugged every ridge and curve and…protrusion. He cleared his throat, feeling himself getting turned on.  Shiro…

Lance mistook Keith’s pause, though, for something else entirely and had pushed him against the scaly trunk of a tree fern and planted his lips over Keith’s mouth before he could stop him. Moaning theatrically, he probed Keith’s mouth with his tongue, caressing his teeth before he began wrestling for dominance. Keith fought back, though, when Lance tried to pin him down and started grinding his crotch against his own.

“LANCE, STOP!” he shouted, throwing the amorous paladin to the ground. He stomped on his chest with his bare foot when Lance tried to scramble to his feet. “WTF, dude?”

Lance gasped for air, writhing beneath his foot. When he calmed down, he stared up at him with a mixture of surprise and reproach. “Aw, Princess,” he teased as the wry expression of perpetual amusement returned to his face, “your eyes went all Galra there for a second. It was super sexy!” 

Keith blinked, unconsciously taking a step backward and Lance took the opportunity to push himself to his feet. Before Keith could react, Lance was on him again, pawing at his jockstrap, trying to tear it off. He had to fight hard to beat him back and stay clothed. Well, partially clothed anyway.

“Lance!” he yelled. “I said stop! What is wrong with you? You’re going to get us captured if you keep this up. We need to focus on rescuing Shiro and getting out of here!”

He caught Lance about the waist and subdued him by shoving him over a fallen log and pressing his knee against his back. Lance struggled for a moment before going limp. He was breathing hard and it took him awhile to catch his breath. When he finally did, his voice was barely a whisper. “C’mon, Keith,” he pleaded. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to get you alone to myself. Do you have any idea how hard it is watching the man I want more than anyone else pine away for Shiro?”

“Lance,” Keith warned, eyes narrowing. “I’m not in the mood for games. I’m going to let you go now but only if you promise you to behave.”

Lance ignored him, demanding, “What does Shiro have that I don’t? I mean, I’m just as good looking–more so if you ask Princess Allura. I’m a strong leader and every bit as good a fighter. Is it the missing arm thing? His ‘wounded warrior’ persona? His big dick?”

Keith wasn’t buying this act for a moment. He knew Lance too well, knew that the Blue Paladin was incapable of being sincere about anything. There was no way that he had a crush on Keith! No way. He was goading him, hoping that Keith would fall for his bullshit. This was just another one of his twisted jokes.

Lifting his foot off the prone paladin, he stomped away through the undergrowth, cursing under his breath and muttering, “You don’t know how to be serious for more than a–” 

He was so worked up that he didn’t notice the net descending from the above until it was too late. The fiery magenta mesh covered him, delivering an ionic charge that overwhelmed his nervous system. His cry of alarm died in his throat.

He was captured.

Chapter 4

Keith was bound by the wrists and ankles when he awoke in a darkened room. His restraints glowed bright magenta, giving him barely enough light to see. Someone moaned next to him and he immediately knew it was Lance; no one could be more melodramatic when in pain. He rolled his eyes and tried to look around but couldn’t see much. The place was stiflingly hot and humid, making him glad that he was mostly naked. He would have been sweating unbearably if he’d been in his paladin armor.

He heard voices and it took a moment for the universal translator app implanted in his ear canal to decipher the meaning. He didn’t need the translator, though, to know who his captors were; he would recognize that guttural drawl anywhere.

They were Galra.

“…wasn’t difficult capturing them,” a reedy, spectral voice was saying behind them. “They were bickering so loudly our drones picked them up from overhead.”

Keith groaned. It was a Druid. They’d been captured by Galra Druids! Unfortunately, that probably also meant–

“You have redeemed yourself–slightly,” a creaky voice replied, confirming Keith’s worst fears. The mere sound of it was enough to fill him with terror. It could only be one person: Haggar, the witch queen of the Galra and consort to Emperor Zarkon himself. He bit down on his tongue, stifling the groan that threatened to escape from his lips. Lance wasn’t nearly as stoic, he wailed piteously beside him and Keith could feel his body trembling with fear. 

Still addressing her Druid minion, the witch cackled, “Bringing me the Red and Blue Paladins partially makes up for your failure to capture the Black Paladin and his Lion.”

There was an audible gulp–both from the Druid and from Lance–but Keith’s mind was reeling from the impact of this revelation. Black Paladin? he thought. So, the Galra failed to capture Shiro? His brow furrowed as he processed this news. He’d seen Shiro’s Lion caught in a tractor beam. At the time, he’d assumed it was the Galra but now he had his doubts. Had someone else taken Shiro and, if so, where was he? He wracked his brain, trying remember everything he’d seen before crashing into the emerald sea. After a few moments, he remembered.

The black city!

Shiro and his Lion had been taken into the strange, vast, dark city. If the city wasn’t under Galra control, that meant that Shiro might be safe. He might be held by allies or at least aliens who were less hostile than the Galra. The aliens might even be hostile to the Galra. For the first time since he’d landed on this crazy moon, Keith felt hopeful. He had to get to Shiro!

While he was busy thinking, the witch queen had turned toward them, crowing, “Ah, the mighty Red and Blue Paladins! Not so imposing now, are you?“ Before either Lance or Keith could respond, she addressed her Druid, ordering, “I only have use for the Red boy. You can take the whiny one away.”

“Hey!” Lance complained, outrage momentarily overpowering his fear. “I’m not whiny! You wanna see whiny? Just try giving him,” he nodded over toward Keith, “a kiss!”

Despite their dire situation, Keith had to suppress a snort. His amusement died, though, when he heard the rustling of Haggar’s long robe as she walked around them, coming to halt before him. Her glowing yellow eyes narrowed as she gazed up at him. Her ugly, shriveled, grey-skinned face was mostly shadowed by the cowl of her ratty cloak but he could see her feral eyes flashing. He winced and tried to pull away but his bonds held him securely.

“A kiss, you say?” she teased, voice cracking with malice. “I have rather more painful things in mind for him. I am certain he will whine quite loudly when I begin…preparing…him.” Keith blanched as she lifted a taloned finger up to his chin and stroked him before turning away to bark at her Druid, “What are you waiting for? I said take the Blue Paladin away! Go and leave me be. I have work to do!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lance’s body yanked down from the rack as the Druid hauled him away. His friend resisted but he was forced to comply after a brilliant flare of purple light seared through his chest. Lance screamed, “Leave Keith alone, Witch! If you do anything to him, I swear I’ll kill you!”

Haggar, unmoved by his threats, merely smirked to herself as she waited for the Druid to remove him. The Blue Paladin’s protests faded away gradually, dying entirely when the heavy, iron door slammed shut behind them.

Keith was alone with Haggar.

“Let’s have a little light, shall we?” the witch asked in an arid tone. “I need to have a look at you before I begin.”

Keith struggled against his glowing bonds, receiving a nasty shock as a reward. He screamed and slumped down, all of the fight draining out of him. “Why,” he gasped, raising his head and staring at the witch through the lank strands of hair hanging over his face. “Why don’t you just kill me?”

Haggar ignored the question, turning her back to him and snapping her bony fingers. Instantly, purple fire erupted from a row of sconces hanging on the walls of the prison cell. Keith set his jaw as he took in the surroundings. The cell was filled with all manner of hideous-looking implements of torture. Among other things, there were what appeared to be an electric chair, a table lined with flaming purple spikes, and a long rack of sharp knives of various lengths and shapes.

The floor was stained black with dried blood.

“Alfor,” the witch pronounced, startling Keith. Why would Haggar speak the name of Princess Allura’s dead father, he wondered. Why call for the former king of the Alteans?

“Alfor,” Haggar repeated. “Show yourself.”

“Are you crazy?” Keith demanded. “He’s not here. Zarkon killed him over ten thousand years ago!”

Haggar observed him for a moment, a half smile on her angular, gray face. “Ah, but there’s where you’re wrong, cub. He’s been here all along. Inside you, more specifically. I am surprised you cannot feel him.”

Keith blinked. “Inside me? That’s–”

Before he could finish, the witch lifted a clawed hand and, opening her fingers, aimed her palm directly at his chest. A supernova of magenta energy erupted outward, slamming into him. Keith screamed, feeling his insides incinerate. His skin and hair caught fire filling the air with a horrendous stench as his entire body was consumed with pain on a level he’d never known possible. He screamed and screamed and screamed and yet still the witch continued to fry him with her eldritch fire. Finally, just when he felt his life draining away, taking his sanity along with it, something…happened.

If his eyeballs hadn’t already been charred to ash, he would have noticed the emergence of a soft, blue light bubbling up like springwater from his immolated skin. Soon, his entire, scorched body was bathed in the protective shield of a gentle, healing aura. He sagged against his bonds, exhaling in relief. His charred skin flaked off, regrowing pink and supple again. His hair regrew, his eyelids reformed, even the fabric of his lucky jockstrap coalesced from the chalky remains welded to his hips and crotch. Within seconds, he was whole and complete again. He inhaled sharply, realizing that not only was he healed but also felt better–more alive!–than ever.

In a state of wonder (as well as lingering shock), he watched as the blue nimbus surrounding him grew stronger, gradually consuming the witch’s magenta flames. Finally, it was Haggar who screamed as she found herself smothered by the preternatural fire. 

The fire didn’t harm her, though. 

Keith gaped as he watched the witch transform before his eyes from the hideous, wrinkled crone into a tall woman–an Altean woman–with long, grey hair, fine features, and pointed ears. Instead of feral yellow, her eyes were now a soft gold. Rather than grey, her skin was a healthy brown. Far from ugly, one could almost say that she was comely. When her transformation was complete, the blue light died away, leaving Haggar looking both shaken and displeased.

“Honerva,” a rich, sonorous, and very male voice pronounced. Alfor, Keith realized dimly. It was Alfor’s voice. He recognized it immediately from Princess Allura’s simulation. But how?!

“Don’t call me that! That is not my name any longer!” Haggar spat, seemingly unsurprised by the dead king’s pronouncement. Keith noticed that even her voice had changed. It was softer, melodic. Human. Or, was that Altean?

“Still scheming after all these centuries,” the disembodied voice continued. “I find that…disappointing.”

Haggar spun around, looking for the speaker but there was no one present. Keith shook the hair away from his eyes, but he couldn’t see anyone, either. The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

“Why do you do it?” the voice pressed. “Why? What do you hope to achieve?”

Haggar pushed a strand of her flyaway hair behind a long ear, scowling furiously. “I don’t need to explain myself to you, Alfor! You already know what I want.”

There was a pause followed by a sigh. “Galactic domination. Quintessence. Power. Control. The annihilation of Voltron. It never changes. I had hoped that you of all people would have realized how futile and childish this is. You are Altean, not Galra. You should know our true purpose.”

“I should?” Haggar challenged, shoulders drawing together. She looked, Keith realized, uncharacteristically shaken. It was as if the revealing of her true form left her feeling exposed and vulnerable. “And what is that purpose, Alfor? Be direct. I don’t have time for games.”

“You have had nothing but time, Honerva,” came the reply. “Ten thousand years, to be exact. And yet you’ve squandered every moment. I know why you’re here and what you’re hoping to do but I can assure it will not work. You will never succeed in capturing the Paladins and the Lions are out of your reach. You have missed the point entirely.”

“I don’t need your Paladins to get the Lions,” Haggar rejoined. “I already have my own Paladins. They will bring the Lions to me.”

“Oh, you do?” Alfor’s voice sounded amused. “Well, then, why not just kill this boy? I won’t stop you this time.”

Keith’s head snapped up at this, his pulse racing. Surely, Alfor didn’t mean this! The witch had very nearly succeeded in frying him to death just moments ago!

Haggar’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”

Alfor didn’t respond for a long time and, when he did, his voice sounded distant and grew fainter with each word, finally trailing off entirely: “He doesn’t need my protection any longer, Honerva. You just told me that in not so many words. I shall be going now.”

***

“That man always was too pompous for his own good,” Haggar muttered as she freed Keith from his bonds.

He collapsed onto the stone floor, rubbing his wrists. He was completely confused–and traumatized–by everything that he just transpired. His poor, beleaguered brain couldn’t handle  it. Alfor’s…spirit?…had been watching over him and he’d never known it? Haggar was really an Altean named Honerva? He vaguely remembered Allura saying as much but he hadn’t believed her. 

As the sensation slowly returned to his limbs, he looked up at the witch, asking, “Why are you releasing me?”

Haggar stared down at him, her thin, Altean eyebrows drawing together in vexation. The markings under her eyes flared pink as she pronounced, “I am releasing you because he is right, of course! As much as I would like to, I can’t kill you. If I were to kill you now, I would never get the Lions. It takes a Paladin to kill a Paladin.”

He blinked, mouth hanging open. Finally, he managed to croak, “I don’t understand.”

The witch exhaled in disgust, hissing, “You don’t understand anything, cub! And yet somehow you continue to thwart me! Curse Alfor! This time I will prove him wrong!”

With that, she swept out of the room, her long robe swooshing along behind her. A moment later, two androids with fiery, magenta eyes entered and, picking him up by the arms and legs, hauled him out of the cell and down a long hallway where they deposited him into a holding cell.

***

Keith picked himself up off the floor of the dank cell and looked around. It was dark and smelled of sweat. The air was humid and hot. He wiped perspiration and hair away from his face, settling down on his haunches and sighing. How many times had he been captured by the Galra over the past couple of years? This was getting to be tedious. 

He forced himself to take a few, deep breaths. His head was spinning and he could barely focus. Everything that had just happened was a blur. A magenta-hued, nightmarish blur. He shivered, feeling his tenuous grasp on reality unravel. He was about to lose it when he remembered his mission. His goal.

Shiro. 

He needed to find Shiro!

“Ah, Space Emo,” a familiar voice whispered nearby, startling him out of his revery. “You’ve come back to cuddle with me!”

Keith stiffened. When Lance tried to grope him, he resisted, shouting, “Hey! Get the fuck away from me! I already told you I’m not into you!”

“You don’t have to be mean,” his friend replied, hurt. “I was just happy to see you alive and whole after your interrogation. What happened anyway? Did that witch hurt you?”

Despite himself, Keith shuddered. “Ugh, I can’t talk about that right now. Let’s just say I’m still in one piece.” When Lance tried to fondle him again, he shoved his hands away, growling, “Lance! Enough! How can you think about sex at a time like this?”

“We’re hot and sweaty and nearly naked together in the dark,” Lance pointed out. “In a prison cell, I might add. How can I think of anything else?”

Keith exhaled in disgust, exclaiming, “You’re impossible!” When this was met with silence, he realized that he’d hurt his friend’s feelings. As much as Lance aggravated him, he was still a good and loyal friend and….Keith needed friends. Now more than ever. His voice softened as he coaxed, “Hey, Lance, I might like you better if you could be serious every once in a while.”

There was a long pause as Lance contemplated his answer. When he spoke, his voice was level, candid. Very un-Lance-like. “You know, you’re right, Keith,” he admitted. “I do use humor too often as a shield.”

This uncharacteristically introspective answer caught Keith off guard and he weighed his reply, trying to decide if Lance was being serious or if this was just another setup for a joke. Finally, he decided to take his friend at face value, replying, “Yes, you do. But I get it. I do the same thing with my moods. I…I guess I don’t like getting too close to people.”

In response, Lance scooted closer to him. Keith didn’t resist this time when he placed a companionable arm over his shoulders. “You know what, Keith?” Lance asked as they sat there, sweaty thighs and shoulders pressed against each other in the dark.

“What?”

“Let’s make a deal.”

Keith turned to look Lance in the eyes but it was too dark in the cell to see his friend. He cleared his throat, asking tentatively, “What sort of deal?”

“Let’s agree to be real with each other from now on,” Lance said before hurriedly adding, “Just while we’re stuck on this moon, though. I don’t think I can keep it up for longer than that!”

Keith laughed, nodding his head. “Yeah, let’s do that. It’s a deal.”

“Good,” Lance replied happily. “No more hiding behind moods for you and no more hiding behind jokes for me.”

***

Keith guessed that they spent the equivalent of a night in the cell before a pair of androids opened the door and ushered them outside. Pointing lasers at their backs, they forced the two paladins to march down the hallway and out into a broad courtyard lit by purplish light.

Strangely, it was still twilight outside; the violet and scarlet rays were slanting at exactly the same angle as the ‘night’ before. Did the suns never set–or rise–here? He’d never heard of such a thing but guessed it must be possible. The only other explanation was that they were emerging exactly one moon rotation after they’d been taken into the citadel but that seemed unlikely. Very unlikely. 

He blinked and looked around, quickly realizing he would have to ponder the mystery of the never-setting suns later. The citadel rising around them was vast and enormous, its Galra architecture unmistakable. As vast and enormous as it was, though, the citadel was dwarfed by the huge wall of shiny, black rock towering above it.

He gasped when he remembered seeing the wall before. It had to be the outer wall of the black city he’d spotted from his Red Lion just before crashing into the ocean. Shiro and the Black Lion were inside those walls, he realized. And that’s where I’m going, he vowed as the androids made them halt before a retinue of Galra soldiers. I’m going to rescue Shiro.

“Holy fuck!” Lance breathed and Keith turned.

There were a hundred or so Galra soldiers lined up, clutching rifles and looking menacing in shiny body armor. This in itself wasn’t unusual. Keith had seen more Galra soldiers than he cared to admit. The big, gray-skinned brutes were omnipresent throughout the universe. What gave him pause were the enormous…things..lurking behind them. 

He squinted, skin prickling when he realized that the creatures made the hulking Galra look tiny in comparison. Bodies rippling with muscles underneath dense, colorful fur, the vaguely humanoid beasts sported distinctly non-humanoid heads. Are they feline or canine or ursine? Keith wondered, ogling them. He couldn’t tell; they looked like they could be all three.

As he and Lance stood there uncertainly, the great beast-things lifted their muzzles and sniffed the air, letting loose a loud roar that reverberated through Keith’s sternum. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his skin broke out in gooseflesh.

His reaction wasn’t one of fear, though; it was recognition.

He knew that roar well.

It was the roar that his Red Lion made in the heat of battle.

The roar that all of the Lions made.

It was the roar of a Voltron Lion.

***

“Paladins of Voltron,” Haggar cried from atop a high observation deck. Keith reluctantly tore his gaze away from the bizarre beast-things and looked up to see that the witch had resumed her traditional, withered Galra form. She was surrounded by two of her Druids, clad in grey robes and wearing faceless masks with pulsing yellow eye slits. “Paladins of Voltron,” she repeated, her abrasive voice rising over the roaring of the beasts, “meet your successors!”

“What the fuck does she mean by that?” Lance whispered next to him, jabbing him in the ribs.

“Ow!” Keith complained, rubbing his side. His skin still felt tender after being burned off and then regrowing. “I’m not sure but she said something last night about it taking a Paladin to kill a Paladin.” 

Keith narrowed his eyes, setting his amazement aside long enough to study the creatures. On closer inspection, they appeared to be a cross between a human and a lion. A very large human and a very large lion. They towered more than eight feet tall and their bodies were laden with mound upon mound of muscle. They were impressive, to say the least. But there was something more…

“Wait,” he said, holding up his hand and pointing. “There are five of them. And their fur is colored just like–”

“The Lions!” Lance exclaimed. “Holy shit, dude! She means to replace us with those fucking brutes!”

“Replace,” Keith muttered. “You mean ‘kill’. That’s what she meant when she said it takes a Paladin to kill a Paladin. Haggar must believe that the power to control Voltron will pass along to those…beasts…when they kill us.”

Chapter 5

When the Galra soldiers parted before the huge, snarling beastmen, Lance thrust himself in front of Keith, pushing out his thin chest and adopting a menacing stance. Keith would have found this endearing if he hadn’t been busy reaching for his bayard. He grunted in frustration, though, when his fist closed upon empty air, reminding him for the thousandth time that he’d left the weapon and his armor back on the Castle of Lions. He mentally kicked himself for being so impulsive. When would he ever learn to remember Shiro’s motto? The Black Palladin’s words echoed reprovingly inside his skull even as the beasts prepared to lunge at: Patience yields focus. 

He set his jaw and squared his feet, preparing to do his best to survive even though he was essentially naked and weaponless. Would Alfor intervene again to save his life or was he on his own this time?

Strangely, the beastmen didn’t attack.

After the Galra parted, two of them–the russet-colored one and the bluish gray one–strode forth solemnly, approaching the startled Keith and Lance in an almost deferential manner.

Keith’s mouth fell open when the enormous red beast knelt before him and growled softly, “Come, Red Brother, let us prepare you for sacred combat.”

Keith was so taken aback that he didn’t realize until afterward that his universal translator had stayed mute inside his ear while the red lion-man spoke. The strange creature was speaking in English!

He stared at the proffered paw, vaguely aware that the blue lion-man had also offered his great paw to a flabbergasted Lance. Finally, he shook himself and reached out, placing his much smaller palm inside the lion’s paw. The pads of it’s ‘hand’ were bare and supple like a cat’s and each ‘finger’ was tipped with a magnificently sharp talon. He gaped at it as the beast’s claws folded around his hand. A frisson of…something…passed through his body at the touch and Keith gasped. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. Rather, it was strangely familiar. Friendly, even. His brow furrowed as he gazed up into the beast’s penetrating eyes.

Red Lion-Man, as Keith mentally referred to him, possessed a shaggy, chestnut mane and a wide face. His muzzle was shorter than an actual lion’s which Keith reasoned allowed him to speak in a human manner. The inside of his mouth, however, was filled a decidedly non-human set of fangs and almost nothing else about his face could be described as human, including the bristly whiskers on either side of his flattened, flared nose.

His wide, brown eyes beheld Keith, dancing with such aliveness and tenderness (?) that Keith was momentarily disarmed. Around his great, muscular neck, dangled a red diamond pendant, its facets dancing with refracted purple light. Keith’s eyes were lowering to study it when he heard a deep, contented purring and looked up to see the lion-man smiling at him. (For someone who has just told me to prepare for combat, he seems awfully friendly, Keith thought in wonder. What is going on here? Something doesn’t add up…)

The lion man exhaled, bathing his face in a fine mist imbued with its musky scent. Keith shivered. There was something appealing about the beast’s odor. Something earthy and…well, carnal. Despite himself, he felt a telltale stiffening in the pouch of his lucky jockstrap and his cheeks colored. As distracting as this was, he also realized that his attraction to the creature wasn’t purely sexual. There was more to it than that. He had the strangest feeling that he knew this huge beastman somehow. But that was impossible, right? He’d never seen anything like him before!

Next to him, Lance was similarly affected. Well, Keith didn’t know if his fellow paladin was turned on by Blue Lion-Man but, much like Keith, he was rendered effectively speechless. He was about to comment on it when Red Lion-Man straightened. Keith did a double take, eyes goggling.

Up to that moment, he’d been so blown away by the sight of the enormous lion-men he hadn’t noticed that, apart from their dense fur, they were quite naked. Now that Red Lion-Man was standing before him and Keith’s head was basically level with his crotch, though, there was no mistaking it.

The lions were hung!

Keith’s color deepend as he beheld the male magnificence of his lion brother. The beast’s hulking cock was mostly retracted inside a furry sheath but enough of his huge, moist, pink head with its gaping piss slit was peeking out to leave Keith dumbstruck. And then there were those heavy, pendulous balls swaying almost at eye level.

He looked away uncomfortably. 

Inside the moist confines of his jockstrap, his little, shaved dick was standing so fiercely erect it hurt. He looked down at it in consternation, relieved for the first time in his life that his dick was so insignificant; the casual observer would never have guessed that he was stiff as a board.

“Jesus fuckin’ Kee-rist!” Lance swore next to him and Keith looked over to see his friend’s eyeballs locked on the Blue Lion-Man’s giant endowment. “That thing puts even Shiro’s honker to shame!”

If the two lion-men noticed the scrutiny of their, er, equipment, they didn’t show it. Instead, they tugged on Lance and Keith’s hands, leading them across the immense courtyard and through a towering archway. Keith followed, entranced almost as much by the muscular backside of the lion-man as he’d been by the stupendous organ in front.

Beyond the arch was a rocky path leading up a craggy cliffside. The black rock was washed scarlet and violet in the dim twilight of the apparently always- (and never-) setting suns, lending an otherworldly beauty to the place. Overhead loomed the moon’s huge gas giant planet, glowing a ghostly blue and white. Far below, Keith could hear the crash of waves and he tore his gaze away from the lion’s ass (complete with a stunning, tufted tail) long enough to admire the view of the ocean. In the distance, he spotted several nearby islands. Strange, undulating creatures drifted in the wind, emitting occasional squawks and caws. Beneath his bare feet, the rock was slippery, covered in humidity like everything else on this sultry moon. He was glad of the steadying force of his lion-man friend. The clacking of the beasts’ claws on rock was audible over the surf and calling bird-things.

Lance was uncharacteristically mute. Keith glanced over and saw his friend staring up almost reverentially at his blue lion-man, eyes following every flex and bulge of the feline paladin’s furry muscles. He smiled to himself; it wasn’t often that Lance was awed into silence.

“Can I ask a question?” Keith called out, pitching his voice loud enough to reach the giant beastman’s distant ears.

“Yes,” came the sonorous reply. “And you don’t need to shout. I have excellent hearing.”

“Oh, sorry!” Keith chirped, feeling like a little kid next to the towering brute. “Who are you?”

For some reason, the lion-man laughed. “My name is Hassan Malik.”

Keith stopped in his tracks and Red Lion-Man, apparently née Hassan Malik, looked back at him, questioningly. “Uh, come again?” Keith asked. “Did you just say your name is Hassan?”

Hassan the Lion nodded.

Lance started to say something but Keith held up his hand, silencing him. Turning back to Hassan, he demanded, “But…that’s a name from Earth!” 

Blue Lion-Man laughed again and Keith felt his ears grow warm. He didn’t like being made fun of under normal circumstances but, after everything he’d been through recently, he was in no mood. He took a deep breath, preparing to launch into an angry tirade when he noticed that his universal translator was silent in his ear. It wasn’t translating.

Then he got it.

Both he and Lance put the pieces of the puzzle together at the same moment. Keith let out a long breath as Lance jumped up and down beside him, exclaiming, “You’re from Earth, aren’t you?! You were on the spaceship that broke apart over this moon years ago!”

Hassan nodded but refused to comment further. He tugged on Keith’s hand, urging, “Come! Come to the temple and all will be revealed, Brother Paladins!”

Temple? Mind reeling, Keith allowed himself to be pulled up the increasingly steep cliff face. Beside him, Lance harrumphed but ultimately gave in and followed along as well. The breeze picked up the higher they went and the air was redolent with salt and lush humidity. The sunset became ever more rarified, turning the droplets of moisture in the red lion-man’s fur into scintillating diamonds. Keith was momentarily dazzled and he felt his heart pound in his chest. He was overcome by the sheer mystery of everything on this moon. It felt like a world apart. A world of fantasy…

“And here it is,” Hassan announced as they came around a final curve in the path. “The Temple of Paladins.”

Keith and Lance froze at the sight of the immense pyramid rising up before them.  Located on the highest point of the island, the temple was constructed entirely of flawlessly clear crystal, so precisely refined that it caught every ray of light from the twin suns, concentrating and focusing it so that the corners of the base glowed radiant red, blue, green, and yellow. Keith stared transfixed before its symmetrical beauty, face awash with color in the glowing light as Lance gasped beside him. He was so awed that it took him awhile to realize that something was off. Literally off. The capstone of the pyramid was missing. There was only a flattened surface in the place where he guessed there should have been a miniature black crystal pyramid.

“See, Brother?” Hassan was saying as he lifted a great arm and pointed out toward the ocean. “See? The red corner of the temple points to my home, the Red City.”

Keith tore his gaze away from the missing apex of the pyramid long enough to follow the lion-man’s pointed claw. Far in the distance, in perfect alignment with the red corner of the pyramid, was a red glow on the horizon. He squinted and could just make out the outline of an island. The red glow was coming from that island. He turned and saw that the blue lion-man was showing Lance the same thing. In the distance, there was a blue glow arising from another island. Like the red city, this blue city was in perfect alignment with the blue corner of the pyramid. The same was true of the yellow and green cities.

“Woah,” Keith breathed, feeling both impressed and confused. His mind was whirring as he raced to figure out the perplexing mystery of the temple and cities. Finally, he gave up. There was just too much he didn’t understand. He needed help. Turning to Hassan, he said, “I have so many questions. Will you answer them?”

The red lion-man nodded. “We will answer a few now. The rest will become clear soon enough.”

Keith took a breath and was preparing to speak when Lance jumped in, “Where the fuck did you guys come from anyway? You can’t really be from Earth because we don’t have…” His voice trailed off and Keith could tell that his friend was struggling to find words that wouldn’t offend their hosts. Finally, he gave up and said simply, “Well, let’s just saw that we don’t have anyone who looks like you there.”

Hassan looked over to his blue furred friend who shrugged and raised his paws in the air. “Fine,” the red lion-man rumbled, “I will start. This is Paladin Meir, Jacob Meir, by the way.”

The blue lion-man, Jacob, inclined his head and Lance slicked his hair back, saying, “Hey, there! How ya doin’? I’m Paladin Lance. Lance McClain.”

Keith rolled his eyes, saying simply, “And I’m Keith.” Not waiting for Jacob to reply, he looked back to Hassan.

“We were part of a secret NASA mission to colonize Mars on the eve of World War III,” Hassan began, his deep voice tinged with an emotion that Keith didn’t recognize. “The hope was that if human life was destroyed on Earth as a result of the war, we might continue on Mars. We never made it to that planet, though. We were en route when a strange, purple gateway opened and swallowed our ship, depositing us in the Sirius System.”

NASA? Keith wondered before remembering that he’d learned about the defunct space agency while a cadet at the Galaxy Garrison. It had been an agency of the United States government before that country was dissolved under the peace treaty that ended the world war. 

“Um, that purple gateway,” Lance interjected, leaning back on his left leg and crossing his arms. “You know that was the Galra, right? The Galra hijacked your ship and brought you here.”

Hassan’s brow furrowed. “You mean the Light-Bringers?” He shook his head as Keith stifled incredulity at hearing the Galra referred to as ‘Light-Bringers.’ “No,” the lion-man continued, flicking his tail, “the Light-Bringers were not responsible. The gateway was a leftover from the previous inhabitants of this moon. They were the same people who built these shining cities and this temple.” 

“But, how–?” Keith started to say before Jacob cut him off.

“Listen, Brother Paladin. Listen to Hassan,” he soothed in a voice that was even deeper and more melodic than Hassan’s. The mere sound of it was enough to send a thrill down Keith’s spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lance shiver.

Hassan nodded, continuing, “After we emerged from the purple gateway and found ourselves in this new solar system, our ship broke apart in the upper atmosphere of this moon. Many died before we could evacuate and the rest of us would have perished if the Light-Bringers–the ones you call the Galra–had not saved us. They had an outpost on this world where their scientists were analyzing the ruins of these jeweled cities. These same scientists helped us and eventually succeeded in elevating us beyond our wildest dreams.” He paused to open his big, muscular arms to encompass his massive, furred body. “Through us, they re-established the Holy Lineage of Lions. And they recreated the original, ancient Paladins of Voltron.”

“Wait, what–?” Lance protested, looking like he’d just swallowed something unpleasant. 

“The original Paladins of Voltron came from this world,” Jacob clarified. He turned and Keith noticed that he wore a jeweled pendant similar to Hassan’s. Jacob’s pendant contained a blue diamond, though. “It was the first Black Paladin who gifted the plans for Voltron to King Alfor more than ten thousand years ago.”

“Ya gotta be kidding!” Lance scoffed. “There’s no way! Alfor built Voltron himself from that weird trans-reality comet thingy!”

“He built it but the Black Paladin showed him how,” Jacob insisted.

However incredible this story of the origin of Voltron might be, Keith was stuck on something else entirely. He was dying to know the answer to an even bigger question. Squaring his shoulders, he turned to face Hassan, staring up at him resolutely as he asked, “You said that you came from Earth, right?”

Hassan nodded.

“Which means you were once human.”

Hassan nodded again.

“Then what happened to you?” Keith pressed. “How exactly did the Galra ‘elevate’ you?”

“Good one, Keith!” Lance whispered, nudging him in the ribs and earning a pained grunt in response.

“That,” Hassan murmured ominously, “is why we have brought you to the Temple of the Paladins so that you may be elevated, too.”

***

Chapter 6

Hassan’s announcement was met with stunned silence from Keith and a loud whoop from Lance. Keith turned to his friend in disbelief, shouting, “Lance! What the fuck? Why are you cheering?”

His fellow paladin stopped jumping up and down long enough to fix him with a look of incredulity. “Because, Space Emo,” he explained patronizingly as if the reason for his glee was patently obvious, “I’m gonna turn into a giant lion-man with a huge schlong just like these guys! Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Um, I don’t,” Keith stated flatly. “I don’t want that at all.”

“Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice,” Hassan interrupted, reaching out to place a commanding paw on Keith’s shoulder. “The ritual combat to determine a true paladin among rivals demands that we be equally matched.” He paused to look down on Keith and Lance, the expression on his face eloquent. “Clearly, in your present meager forms you are no match for Jacob or me. It would not be a fair contest.”

“But why does there have to be a contest at all!” Keith demanded, pushing Hassan’s paw off of him. “Why do we need to fight? Can’t we both be paladins? Can’t we share?”

“No, we can’t!” Lance shouted.

Keith looked over to him in surprise.

“Blue,” Lance explained, referring to his Lion, “won’t take anyone but me. There’s no way she would share me. Besides,” he added, jerking his over to Jacob, “there’s not room for two paladins inside her, especially not when one of ‘em is as big as this brute!”

“Your friend is right,” Jacob said, nodding his shaggy head. “A Voltron Lion will never accept two paladins. We must fight to decide.”

Keith shook his head angrily, shouting, “No! You don’t get it! We didn’t fight anyone to become paladins! Our Lions chose us!” He stopped, chest heaving and eyes wild. Jabbing his finger at his chest, he concluded, “The Red Lion chose me. He would never take you as his paladin!”

“Is that so?” Hassan challenged, lifting a paw to his necklace and clasping the red diamond gingerly between two claws. The gem flared briefly scarlet at his touch before going dim. His golden brown eyes narrowed as he stared down at Keith, commanding, “Watch this.”

Keith was preparing to reply when he heard a distant hum. Gradually, the hum grew in volume until it thundered around them, echoing off the cliffs and the pyramid. Lance’s mouth fell open and Keith had to cover his ears, his skin prickling with foreboding. He didn’t need to turn around to know what was approaching. A sick pit opened in his stomach as a familiar, immense shadow fell across them, blocking out the light of the setting suns. The cliff shook beneath their feet with the impact of the landing. He looked up to see Hassan beaming proudly next to him, eyes flashing with triumph. Keith’s shoulders slumped.

He knew that his lion–the Red Lion–was seated behind him.

It had obeyed the call of a stranger.

Hassan had succeeded in summoning a Lion of Voltron.

***

“H-h-how?” Keith finally managed to gasp. 

He standing there, rigid with disbelief, unable to look behind him. He couldn’t bear the sight of the Red Lion–his lion!–betraying him. He felt hollowed out inside. Even more than Shiro, Red had been the bedrock of his world for the past two years. His Lion was the one, solid foundation for him to rest upon. When all else failed, he had always known that Red would be there for him. The Red Lion might be moody and possess a somewhat twisted sense of humor but it had always been loyal. It had never let him down.

Until now.

“I already told you how,” Hassan was saying. “Through us, our Light-Bringers–the Galra–have restored the ancient lineage of Paladins of Voltron. The history of the Paladins stretches back millennia to a time before Voltron existed in corporeal form. Through our elevation, we have learned the secrets of the Lions. We have learned how to communicate with them…and how to control them.”

“But–”

“He called your Lion!” Lance whined next to him, staring fearfully over Keith’s shoulder at the looming, sentient spacecraft. “I can’t believe it! Red obeyed him!”

“As the Blue Lion obeys me,” Jacob growled behind them. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw him reach up to grasp his blue diamond pendant in much the same way that Hassan had done. Almost immediately, they heard the distant hum of the Blue Lion as it answered Jacob’s summons. The hum grew in intensity until it was almost ear-splitting. And then, just like the Red Lion before it, the enormous blue craft descended from the sky above them.

Lance whirled around as Blue thumped down adjacent to the glowing azure corner of the pyramid, her yellow eyes glowing. She was still dripping with ocean water after being submerged overnight. “Hey!” Lance shouted, waving his arms angrily at the craft. “What are you doing! He’s not your paladin! I am!”

The Blue Lion dipped its enormous, mechanical head before lifting it again and emitting an ear-splitting roar. A moment later the Red Lion followed suit and the two lion-men responded in kind, lifting their muzzles and roaring ferociously. Lance and Keith were left standing there, looking down at the ground and feeling distinctly excluded.

“Now you see,” Jacob said as the echoes of their collective roar reverberated over the cliffs and out onto the ocean waters. “Now you see why we must settle who is the rightful paladin once and for all.” He turned and, placing a heavy paw on Lance’s shoulder, steered him toward the temple.

“Come,” Hassan ordered, urging Keith toward the glowing red corner of the temple. “It is time to be elevated.”

Keith hung his head, following along behind. He refused to look up as he passed between the hulking forelegs of his beloved Red Lion. He didn’t need to. He knew that its eyes were on Hassan and not him.

***

The ‘Ceremony of Elevation,’ as Hassan called it, passed in a blur. Keith was too disconsolate to pay attention. He was beyond caring what might happen to him by that point. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore now that Red had rejected him.

He did as he was instructed after the lion-man led him down a hidden walkway and through a subterranean entrance at the red corner of the pyramid. Heart aching with the sting of betrayal, he was only vaguely aware of Hassan’s intonations. He knelt when he was instructed to kneel and stood when told to do so. At the end, the lion-man bade him approach a high altar bearing a luminous red star at its apex. He stumbled forward, head lowered and the mist of tears in his eyes.

“Look up,” Hassan commanded. “Behold the glory of the Red Sun! Behold your renewal! Your new self!”

Keith raised his head and was instantly blinded by a pulse of ruby light. He fell backward and would have toppled to the floor if Hassan hadn’t caught him. Eyes blinking rapidly, he stared into blood-drenched nothingness until darkness closed about him and he descended into unconsciousness.

His elevation had begun.

***

Keith awoke lying on a bare mattress in a bare room. The place was airless and hot, just like everywhere else on that sweltering moon. Violet and scarlet light filtered through a narrow, glassless window to his right. West, he thought, having learned by then that the suns were always to the west. The window is facing west…

He groaned and rolled over onto his back, wiping his long, sweaty hair out of his eyes and feeling nauseous. It took him a moment to realize that he was completely naked. 

Someone had removed his lucky jockstrap! 

Quivering with outrage, he cupped his little package protectively in his hands. He had never–Well, not until Lance had stolen a peek a day ago–let anyone see him naked since he hit puberty. He gritted his teeth at the thought. No, he’d been careful to keep himself clothed in front of other boys as soon as he’d realized, to his undying dismay, that his dick refused to keep pace with the growth of the rest of him. Even as his limbs and torso had stretched to just over six feet in length, his cock had remained stuck at the size of a twelve year-old boy’s. He shaved himself down there, sure, but it was mostly because his unshorn pubes had the embarrassing habit of hiding his little man altogether. 

From the time he’d learned that his mother was Galra, he’d wondered if her genetic material had somehow cursed him in the manhood department. Certainly, his (fully human) father had been amply endowed. The sight of his dad’s long, fat cock–glimpsed when he was a little boy in the shower–was forever burned into his memory. 

He’d never seen a naked Galra male before and and had to admit he was curious about their anatomy. Yeah, he was curious. Not as cock-obsessed as Lance perhaps but definitely curious. I’ll bet they have tiny dicks! he thought with a snort. That would explain why they feel like they have to dominate the universe. I’ll have to ask Lance if he’s ever gotten a close look at a Galra penis the next time I–

A guttural groan startled him out of these thoughts and he turned to find his fellow paladin lying naked and facedown on the mattress next to him.

Wait, is that really Lance?

Pulse pounding in his ears, he propped himself up on his elbows and examined his friend. When he spotted the tufts of hair sprouting from his shoulders and back, he gave a start. And then he noticed the muscles.

Holy shit! He’s really filling out!

Lance’s body was burgeoning with new muscles. Keith could have sworn that they were inflating before his eyes but that was impossible. Right?

No, not impossible at all.

As Keith stared, Lance’s arm muscles doubled and then tripled in size, swelling beyond the biggest, baddest human bodybuilder’s proportions in seconds. Keith watched with rapt attention as the arm closest to him lengthened, pushing down the mattress. Soon it was longer than Keith’s leg by a half a foot.

The paladin’s incredible muscle growth accelerated then and Keith’s mouth fell open as he watched his friend’s tiny, tight butt explode into a magnificent, blocky bubble. A guy could get lost in those ass cheeks, he thought, shifting uncomfortably as he felt his little nub awaken. Lance’s ass expanded and then expanded again. By the time his tailbone began to protrude, rising up like a thick boner from the cleft of his massive buttocks, Keith was beside himself and had to bite the inside of his cheek to distract himself from his throbbing cock.

The hair followed, growing dense and thick all over the paladin’s smooth-skinned body. Like Jacob, Lance soon sported a coat of luxurious blue-black hair from head to toe. The hair on his head pushed out and proliferated, forming a thick, black mane that cascaded down his shoulders and over his perfectly defined deltoids.

When his fingernails began to lengthen, forming wicked claws and his hands widened into huge paws, Keith knew that his transformation was nearing completion. From there, it was only a matter of time before his nose flattened and darkened and his jaws pushed out as his teeth grew into long, sharp fangs. There was an audible swish and Keith looked over to see his long, tasseled tail flicking back and forth on its own volition.

Lance McClain had been elevated.

***

“Grrrrr, rawr, arrrrrrrgh.”

“What was that, Lance?”

The Blue Paladin let out a decidedly feline mew as he rolled over onto his back. Keith lay on his side, head propped on his elbow, watching him. He’d shoved his tiny erection between his thighs to keep it hidden. It was dark in the room but he didn’t want to take any chances. If Lance knew he was turned on, Keith knew he would never live it down.

“Wha–?” Lance started to say but then stopped at the sound of the deep rumble coming from inside his chest. His eyes snapped open and he jumped up on the bed, staring down at his hugely inflated, hairy, lion-man body in surprise as he roared, “GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRR!”

“I’m sorry,” Keith teased. “I still didn’t get that.”

Lance glared down at him balefully. Even though his face was more leonine than human now, he was still recognizable. His rich, thick mane, feral yellow eyes, and toothy muzzle accentuated his uniqueness rather than erasing it. Maybe it was his trademark pointy chin? That, Keith noted with wry amusement, had been left unchanged.

“Grrrrr–I mean, fuck. Fuck!” Lance growled, lunging down and grabbing Keith by the shoulders. Before he could stop him, Lance had hauled him up off the bed and commenced shaking him until his teeth rattled. “FUCK!” he raged. “FUCK FUCK FUCK! LOOK AT ME!”

Prior to his change, Keith and Lance had been approximately the same height but now that he had grown into a lion-man, Lance towered close to nine feet tall. Keith’s feet dangled in midair, far, far away from the mattress. He was powerless to stop Lance’s onslaught, feeling like a ragdoll flopping haplessly in the wind.

“L-L-Lance,” he stammered. “Stop it! Retract your claws and put me down! You’re hurting me!”

Abruptly, Lance dropped him and Keith tumbled down onto the mattress. He lay there in a heap, massaging his arms and waiting for the room to stop spinning. Finally, he drew his knees up and hugged them, cocking his head up at his giant friend.

“I thought you wanted to be ‘elevated’?” he demanded. “You got all excited when they told us about it.”

Lance scowled, or at least tried to. His new face was less pliable than his human one and the effect was almost comical. Keith schooled his features, though, and pretended to be listening seriously. The Blue Paladin stood there, struggling master himself for a long while until he finally caved in and collapsed onto his tree trunk-sized knees next to Keith to bury his face in his paws. As Keith sat there, stunned, he heard muffled sobs.

Lance was crying?

Holy shit! Lance was crying!

Keith was reaching up to put his hand on his friend’s stupendously muscular arm when Lance yelled, “Ow! Motherfucker! These fucking claws! I just about poked my fucking eyeball out!”

Despite himself, Keith laughed. This, however, turned out to be the wrong thing to do.

“Oh, fuck you, Space Emo!” Lance hissed, lifting his paws away from his furry, tear-stained face. “Fuck you to hell!”

Keith blinked, finally getting that this wasn’t a laughing matter and that Lance really was upset by his changes. He consciously bit off the sharp retort on the tip of his tongue and his face softened as he coaxed, “Awww, Lance! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it!” When his hulking friend continued to glower at him, he scooted closer to him on the mattress, saying, “C’mere. Lay one on me!” 

Before his friend could pull away, Keith stood up and wrapped his arms as best as he could around Lance’s massive shoulders, hugging him tightly. It was a disorienting experience, not just because he couldn’t remember hugging Lance before but also because standing next to the kneeling lion-man brought home the magnitude of his friend’s changes: Even kneeling, Lance was still a head taller!

He forced himself to ignore the head-spinning weirdness of the situation and focused on comforting his friend. He inhaled deeply, savoring Lance’s rich musk and smiling at the way his fur tickled his nose. “You’re still Lance,” he murmured into the thick fur, “Nothing can change that. And I’m still your friend. Nothing can change that, either.”

At first, Lance went rigid in his grasp but he gradually relaxed until Keith felt him begin to tremble. Soon the trembling had built into full-fledged shivering as Lance was overcome. Burying his furry face in Keith’s shoulder, he lost it and started wailing.

“W-W-W-What will Allura think when she sees me?” he sobbed, his tears running down Keith’s shoulder. “S-S-S-She’s gonna hate me!”

“Shhhhh, you know that’s not true, buddy,” Keith soothed. “She loves you. She would never turn on you just because you look different now.”

“Oh, Keith!” Lance cried in his funny guttural growl. “What if I never see Allura again? What if we die? What if those mean lion guys kill us?” 

When he starting digging his claws into his back, Keith stopped him, saying, “Oh, ouch! Careful with those things!” Lance eased up, whining apologetically, and Keith continued, “We will be fine. You know us, right? We’re the Paladins of Voltron–the real paladins! Nothing ever takes us down for long.”

“But our lions, Keith! Our lions turned against us!”

“Maybe,” he agreed. “But we’re not dead yet and that means there’s still hope.” Patting Lance on the back, he stepped away from him, urging, “Now let’s figure out what we’re gonna do. We probably don’t have long before they come for us again.”

Lance nodded and was sitting up when he stopped. “Hey, Mullet Top,” he asked, pausing look Keith up and down. “Why are you mostly still the same? You’re nearly as tiny and hairless as before!”

Keith was starting to shrug when he froze. “W-W-What do you mean by ‘mostly’?” he asked in a querulous voice, his chest tightening with premonition. He’d been so focused on Lance that he hadn’t given a thought to what might have happened to him.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Lance was saying. “You make a real cute kitten.”

“Kitten?” Keith demanded. “What the fuck–?”

Lance ignored him, continuing, “I mean, I’ll take the new ‘Pussycat Keith’ over the old ‘Sourpuss Keith’ any day but I am curious about something. Will you start purring if I scratch behind your ears? And do you like to lap up a saucer of warm milk before bedtime?”

Keith froze, fighting back the urge to punch Lance in the face. In the commotion, he’d forgotten to keep himself covered up and was standing there butt-naked in front of his friend. And his friend was devouring him with a gaze that could only be considered predatory. He took a tentative step backward, lowering his hands over his crotch. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized his erection had subsided. That’s something at least, he thought, feeling his shoulders relax. Now, what the fuck is Lance talking about? He’d better just be yanking my chain!

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and closed his eyes before lowering his head. He counted to ten before opening his eyes again and forced himself to examine himself.

He exhaled in relief.

Lance had been teasing him.

He looked exactly the same.

Still as skinny and hairless as ever. His arms and legs were slight and unchanged. He dropped his hands from his crotch and looked down. His little cock and smooth balls were just as small as before.

He was the same old Keith.

Then the thought struck him.

Why was he unchanged?

He’d gone through the ‘elevation’ ceremony that had resulted in Lance’s immense transformation and yet he himself was unchanged.

How could that be?

On second thought, he decided, he really didn’t care. He had never wanted to be transformed into a fucking beastman in the first place! He was glad he was the same. For maybe the first time in his life, he was even happy to see his tiny cock and waggled his hips, noticing with satisfaction that his little man remained unmoving no matter much he waggled. Ah, it felt good to be himself!

When he was done, he lifted his head and fixed Lance with a poisonous glare, spitting, “You’re such a fucker. And I was being nice, too. I thought you promised not to hide behind your stupid jokes while we’re here?”

Lance regarded him with a bushy, raised eyebrow. “I’m not ‘hiding’ anything, Kitten. I’ve never been more serious because this isn’t a joking matter. Why would I joke about this?” Very slowly, he reached out and took one of Keith’s ears between two claws and pinched.

“Ow!” Keith protested, reaching up to bat away the paw. His whole body went rigid, though, when his fingers touched his ear and he shouted, “Holy fucking shit! NO! NO! NO! NO!”

This time it was Lance’s turn to burst out laughing. He doubled over and roared, a pretty incredible sound in itself but Keith was too busy freaking out to notice. He clutched at his ears, massaging them all over, still unable to believe what he was feeling.

He had long, pointed, furry ears!

He had a pair of fucking pussycat ears!

And, no!

NO!

What were those things growing out from his nose?

Whiskers?

Whiskers!

He had whiskers, too?

Pussycat ears and whiskers!

He had fucking–

Wait.

What was that breeze?

He froze in place.

There it was again.

A breeze and something else. Something alien.

Feeling his whole world tilt precariously on its axis, he started to turn to look behind him. Dread filled his stomach and coursed through his veins. Cold, hard, implacable dread.

Dread.

Dread.

Dread.

Dread because he already knew on some level what he was going to find. He already knew because he could…feel…it back there. He could feel something where there should have been nothing. Where there should have been nothing…

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned, gritting his teeth. Teeth that were pointier than his teeth should have been. Yet another change. Yet another hateful, awful change. 

When his eyes landed on the long, russet tail poised over his left shoulder, flicking back and forth in perturbation, his tenuous grip on reality frayed to the breaking point and he lost it completely.

***

Chapter 7

Lance remained unmoved during Keith’s freakout. He continued standing on the mattress above him, waiting for him to collect himself. When Keith looked up, his furry friend was staring down impassively at him.

“Look at me!” Keith whined, holding his new, fluffy tail in his hand and wagging it in front of Lance in a bid to win sympathy. “I’ve turned into a fucking sex kitten!”

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Lance grunted.

“Oh, fuck you!”

“Listen, Keith,” Lance said, crossing his enormous, furred arms. “Don’t complain to me about how you look, Ok? You can pluck out your whiskers, tuck that tail into your pants, and keep your hair over your ears and no one will be any wiser. As long as you don’t show your teeth, you can pass for a human.” He dropped his paws and motioned down to himself, concluding, “While there is NOTHING I can do blend in if we ever make it back home to Earth. NOTHING.”

Keith looked down. “I guess you’re right about that.” He was about to say more when he noticed his fingernails; they had changed, too, and were now sharp and pointy. Not claws exactly but definitely not blunt like a human’s, either. He scowled, holding out his hand, grumbling, “Add having to wear to gloves to your list of things I need to do to look human. Shit!”

In answer, Lance arched an eyebrow and silently lifted a dinner plate-sized paw with its six-inch long claws and wiggled his ‘fingers’.

Keith swallowed. “Yeah, Ok. You win. I’ll quit complaining now.”

He took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet, stepping off the mattress. He was turning to see if the door to their room was locked when Lance stopped him. “Hey, Keith,” he murmured in a low voice. “Now that you’ve stepped back from the brink…”

Keith turned. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say thanks. You’re a good friend.” His great, feline face broke into a smile as he held out his paw. “You,” he swallowed before continuing, “I mean, I really appreciate how you’ve always got my back. I know I haven’t made it easy for you to like me.”

Keith smiled, taking Lance’s paw in his hand and allowing his friend to draw him in for a tight hug. They lingered like that for a while, Lance lowering his great head down and snuffling Keith’s hair. This was followed by a deep, contented rumble as the Blue Paladin began to pur. Keith giggled. When Lance’s paws slid down his back, though, and he began kneading his buttocks with his claws, Keith drew the line.

“Whoa, hey!” he complained. “That’s enough, buddy!”

Lance grunted in incoherent apology and his grip loosened. Keith had started to step away when his friend let out an anxious whine and inexplicably pulled him back against him. Keith squawked in protest, face was mashed against his friend’s sternum. Lance’s whole body was planted against him, though; he was trapped.

“Uh, Lance,” he objected in a voice muffled by his friend’s thick fur. “You can let go now.”

Lance didn’t reply right away and Keith realized that his breathing had become labored. He became alarmed and was struggling to free himself when Lance groaned, “I’m sorry, Keith! I’m really sorry but I can’t let you go right now. You’ll have to wait.”

“What? Why?” he demanded. “Just let loose!”

“I can’t!” Lance wailed. “I can’t!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Lance! Just let go of me!”

“Just wait!” his friend cried. “You gotta trust me on this!”

Fuming, Keith shoved violently away. He wasn’t strong enough, though; he remained captured in Lance’s smothering embrace. “Mmmpf, Lance!” he cried out. “I can’t fucking breathe!”

There was a long pause before his friend finally relented and dropped his arms. When Keith pushed away, he lowered his head, whining, “I’m sorry! It’s your fault!”

“My fault?!” Keith sputtered, unsure what he was more furious about–being held captive or being blamed for that captivity. “Why the fuck is it my f–”

He never finished.  He was interrupted by a loud slurp as…something…big and red and wet came rocketing out of Lance’s crotch. Keith felt a splash against his cheek and reflexively raised his hand to find a slimy liquid running down his face. At the same moment, he realized what it was that had ejected itself from Lance’s body and his cheeks flamed bright crimson.

“Oh, shit, Keith! I’m so sorry!” Lance yelled, scrambling to turn away. With his back to him, he continued miserably, “I wasn’t trying to hurt you or anything! It’s just that I started to get turned on!” He hung his head, shoulders slumping as he continued, “I was only holding you against me to keep, um, well, to keep it penned up. I had hoped it would, uh, go down but it just got worse the longer we hugged!”

Keith was too stunned to speak. He stood there, amazed by what he’d just seen. Even though he’d known on some level that every part of Lance–every part!–had been affected by his so-called elevation, he’d been too preoccupied with processing everything to dwell on his fellow palladin’s, er, naughty bits. Not any longer, though. No, Lance’s naughty bits had just made their presence known in a big way.

A really, really big way.

As he stood there, fish-mouthing, he gradually began aware that Lance was swearing at the top of his lungs.

“GODDAMNED SON OF A BITCH!” Lance roared. “OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! FUCK!”

Keith shook himself out of his stupor, asking, “What, Lance? What’s wrong?”

“ARRRRRRRGH!” his feline friend screamed. “THESE FUCKING CLAWS! I CAN’T EVEN FUCKING BEAT MY MEAT!” His massive shoulders slumped lower and, as Keith stared, Lance started trembling again. His big tail swished back and forth behind him, telegraphing his suffering eloquently.

“Can’t you,” Keith began delicately. “I mean, can’t you, you know, retract them?”

“I’m not a fucking housecat!” Lance snapped. “These fucking claws don’t retract!”

Keith sighed and gritted his teeth when he realized that his own tail was flicking nervously behind him. (He fucking hated having a tail!) With some effort, though, he pushed his annoyance aside and took a step forward, murmuring, “Hey, buddy, just let go of, er, it and take a few deep breaths. It’ll go down on its own.”

Still keeping his back firmly turned away from him, Lance protested, “But I don’t want it to go down now! Don’t you understand? I wanna get off!” A shudder passed through his body as he sobbed, “I’ve gotta get off! Damn you, Keith! This is your fault for being so fucking sexy! You were cute before but now–Shit!–the new you is fucking irresistible!”

This gave Keith pause. He stood there, trying to come up with a suitable reply. Finally, he swallowed, feeling like his tongue was swelling up in his throat, and croaked, “Uh, sorry, I guess. But isn’t that kinda like blaming a woman for wearing revealing clothes?”

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say because Lance whirled at him, his giant, glistening lion penis spewing an arc of precum across the room that nailed Keith in the face once again. Lance snarled, exposing his wickedly sharp fangs, as he prepared to launch into an angry diatribe but at the last moment he froze, eyes swiveling down his massive member and the coconut-sized balls swinging between his legs. Keith couldn’t help it; his eyes followed and soon both paladins shared a state of fascinated shock as they beheld the full glory of Lance’s mutated cock.

There was no denying it.

Lance’s cock and balls were mind-bogglingly huge.

And pink.

And weirdly shaped.

Rather than being blunt-tipped like a human penis, it tapered down at the end.

And there was something else.

Keith squinted at it as his brain tried to figure out what he was seeing. Finally, he gasped, “Wait, dude. Are those…spines? Your cock has spines?”

Lance shook himself, tearing his gaze away from his leaking member long enough to fix Keith with a look of bitter reproach. “Aw, thanks, Kitten. Thanks a lot for pointing that out. You know, I wasn’t freaking out enough and needed someone to come along and kick me.” He paused, and, glancing down at his member, added sarcastically, “And look. You’ve done it. You’ve succeeded in killing my erection. You’re the best. The. Best. Friend. Ever.”

It was true. Before their eyes, the bizarre, spiny organ began deflating and retracting back into its furry sheath. In a few moments, it had all but disappeared within. Only the tip was visible. And, of course, his hulking pair of fuzzy low-hangers.

Tail wrapped around his leg, Lance pursed his furry lips and fixed Keith with a withering glare. He was preparing to berate him further when they were interrupted by a knock at their door and Jacob the Lion Paladin entered without waiting for an invitation.

“Oh, good, you’re both up,” he started to say before his gaze landed on Keith. His furry eyebrows shot up in surprise and he stammered, “W-What’s wrong with you? Why didn’t your elevation work?”

Keith forgot about his modesty as he planted his hands on his hips, replying, “I guess it depends on what you mean by ‘working’.”

Jacob didn’t listen. He was already turning tail and departing, sputtering over his shoulder, “I’m going to get a doctor. Something’s gone wrong!”

***

Keith was seen by a team of leonine doctors and a high priest before the Galra were finally notified and he was taken to see one of their physicians. After years of successfully concealing his naked body from the prying eyes of strangers, now just about everyone took a turn ogling him. By the time they decided to have the Galra doctor examine him, he was shaking with indignation and humiliation from being poked and prodded and probed. No one was able to figure out why he had remained mostly human. 

He looked over his shoulder at Lance as they hauled him away to the Galra. His friend and fellow paladin watched him go with a forlorn and worried expression on his broad, fuzzy face. “Don’t worry, bud,” Keith called out as he tried to put on a brave face. “I’ll be fine.”

Lance lifted a paw in farewell as the Galra guards slammed the door closed behind them.

***

“Leave him with me and be gone,” the Galra doctor commanded as the guards deposited the still naked Keith in her laboratory. When the guards hesitated, she added, “And go directly to quarantine. He may be carrying a dangerous pathogen.”

The purplish grey-faced guards blanched nearly white and hastily departed, leaving the doctor watching with amusement.

“When all else fails,” she murmured under her breath, “fear usually works. Just ask Emperor Zarkon.”

“What was that?” Keith asked. His universal translator had managed to decipher only a few of her words.

“Oh, nothing!” she replied brightly, extending a broad hand. “My name is Dydek. Dr. Dydek, that is. I specialize in exobiology.”

Keith refused to take the offered hand. Crossing his arms, he demanded, “What? You’re not afraid that I’m carrying a ‘dangerous pathogen’?”

“Of course not!” Dr. Dydek replied, unperturbed by his reticence. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat, saying, “I already know why your elevation didn’t work properly. You’re half Galra.”

WTF? Keith wondered, mind reeling from this pronouncement, I’m…Galra?

He was so caught off guard and he only just barely managed to school his expression before stating flatly, “No, I’m not.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t already have your suspicions, Keith,” Dr. Dydek chided. “You’ve known for a long time that your mother isn’t human.”

This time Keith failed to maintain his composure. “What?” he challenged. “What did you say about my mother?”

The doctor observed him for a moment, a wry expression on her face. She was, he realized then, quite unusual for a Galra. Unusual because she was so…well, normal-looking. Round-faced and purple-complected, her thick, magenta hair was pushed back behind her pointed ears. Unlike most Galra, her yellowish eyes had pupils. She wasn’t ridiculously slim or overly muscled, another thing that set her apart from her kinswomen. She stood close to his height and possessed a less than robust build, not so different than an average woman from Earth. Even stranger, she wasn’t wearing any armor and didn’t appear to be armed. All of this was quite unusual for the Galra.

“I know who you are,” the doctor pronounced. “And I know who your mother is.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Dr. Dydek raised an eyebrow. “That’s fine. It makes no difference to me but I’m afraid it makes rather a lot of difference to you.”

Kevin’s jaw tightened. He was beginning to hate the doctor’s smug attitude. “I don’t give a fuck whether it does or not,” he spat. “Now, if you’re already so certain about why I didn’t transform, go tell everyone. I’m done with this conversation.”

With that, he turned his back on the doctor, doing his best to ignore her when she chuckled at him. “Keith,” she coaxed finally, “what I am trying to tell you is that I’m your ally. I am here to help you.”

He flicked his tail in annoyance, saying, “Why should I believe you?”

“Um, because your survival depends on it. If you will listen to me, I will tell you everything you need to know to win against the rival Red and Blue Paladins tomorrow.” When he continued to remain silent, she exhaled softly, adding, “And I will show you how to get to Shiro.”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Shiro’s name but outwardly he remained stoic. He did, however, turn around. Locking eyes with the doctor, he ordered, “Start talking.”

Dr. Dydek took a breath and leaned back on her leg, pondering how to begin. While he waited, Keith surveyed the room, noticing that he was in a fairly standard Galran laboratory. Stainless steel walls, cabinets covered in surgical implements, loads of the strange machines with glowing purple lights. An examination table sat in the middle of the room. On the wall were hooks with lab coats. Satisfied he’d seen everything he needed to see, he straightened, squaring his shoulders and staring straight ahead.

Dydek appeared amused by his behavior but didn’t comment on it. Instead, she reached into her pocket and withdrew something, holding it out to him.

He lowered his eyes to find that she held a familiar piece of red and black fabric. His lucky jockstrap!

“I had it cleaned,” she informed him, depositing it in his hand. He took it and stepped into it, feeding his tail through the waistband. When he was done, he was relieved to be wearing something again even if it was only a jockstrap. He looked back at the doctor and saw that she was holding out a lab coat for him. “It’s the best I can do for clothing, I’m afraid,” she said.

He shrugged it onto his shoulders, glad when he saw that it covered his ass. He looked at himself critically, realizing that, if he concentrated on keeping his tail down (thereby preventing the coat from lifting in back), he was mostly decent.

“Our time is short, Keith,” the doctor informed him after he was properly attired. “Haggar will expect my report soon but we have enough time for me to show you something. Will you follow me?”

As Keith watched impassively, Dr. Dydek opened a hidden door in the floor of her laboratory, explaining, “The thing I need to show you is down here.” When he hesitated, she winked, adding, “There are some secrets even Haggar doesn’t know about.”

She turned and stepped down, motioning for him to enter. He shrugged and padded after her, taking a few steps down the exposed stone steps and waiting as she closed the steel door above them. He still didn’t trust her but his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he wanted to see what she was hiding beneath her laboratory.

The stairs descended a long way, finally ending at the mouth of a wide cavern that was deliciously cool, a relief after the constant swelter of the surface. The rugged stone walls glowed with soft phosphorescence, illuminating the way ahead, and moisture dripped from stalactites overhead. Underfoot, the rock was smooth and well worn. The doctor set off down the tunnel at a brisk pace and he followed behind, savoring the respite from the heat.

It disturbed him more than he liked to admit that the doctor knew he wasn’t fully human. And claiming to know his mother, if untrue, was just cruel manipulation. He steeled himself inside, determined that he would not give anything away to Dr. Dydek. I’m only doing this for Shiro, he thought. I owe it to Shiro to find him.

The cavern branched about a quarter of a mile in and Dr. Dydek stopped, pointing to the right. “The gateway is through there.”

“What gateway?” he queried. For some reason, his heart was pounding in his chest.

“A hidden entrance to the Black City,” she explained calmly. “Let’s look at it together.”

Not waiting for his reply, she headed into the cavern. The passageway narrowed quickly and soon they came to halt. In the soft glow of the cave’s bioluminescence, Keith could see a smooth, featureless doorway. He was studying it when the doctor removed a glowing red crystal from her pocket. He stared down at it, recognizing it as identical to the one that Hassan wore around his neck, the crystal he’d used to call the Red Lion.

“This is the Red Gate, Keith,” Dr. Dydek explained. “Through my clandestine work, I’ve discovered five such gates under the Black City. Look what happens when I raise the crystal.”

She lifted her hand, holding forth the crystal. It flared bright ruby, flooding the passageway with a burst of light. Almost instantaneously, the doorway lit up and Keith gasped at the complex series of glyphs revealed. The gate was covered with them! He furrowed his brow, studying the writing but he soon realized it was completely alien. It did, however, resemble the glyphs on the cave where the Blue Lion had been hidden on Earth.

As he studied them, the doctor reached out and pushed in on the door. It didn’t budge.

“The same thing that always happens when I try,” she sighed, “but I’m not a Paladin of Voltron. Maybe it will work for you. Here,” she said, handing him the crystal. “You do it.” 

Taking it from her, Keith held it out. As with Dydek, the crystal glowed brightly and the mysterious glyphs etched onto the door responded in kind, shining in vermilion radiance. Beyond that, nothing happened and, when he reached out and pushed on the door, it remained sealed shut. He was exhaling in frustration when he heard something. Pricking his new, pointed ears, he listened intently. It was a voice. A very distant, ghostly voice. He strained, concentrating fiercely. Just when he was going to give up, he managed to decipher a few words:

“…not time yet, Keith…not time yet…”

Beside him, the doctor showed no indication of having heard and he decided to keep it to himself. Pretending to be demoralized, he handed it back to the doctor, sighing, “It’s not working for me, either.”

“Well, that’s disappointing!” Dydek exclaimed, taking the crystal. “I’d hoped that it might respond to you since you are a true paladin.” She stood there thinking for a few moments before shrugging. Then she turned and left the gateway behind, saying, “Come, there is more to discuss before we go back and we must do so in private.”

He stood there at the doorway for a few moments, trying to detect the voice again but there was only silence. Finally, he followed the doctor, wondering if it had been his imagination.

***

“I’ve done an extensive survey of the underground features on this moon,” Dydek explained as she led him back to the main passage. Rather than returning to her lab, though, she steered him down the passage in the opposite direction. “It appears that Leonids–that’s the name I’ve given the original inhabitants of this moon–built the majority of their cities underground, probably to escape the heat on the surface.” When Keith didn’t comment, she continued, “As far as I know, Haggar and her Druids have no idea that these caverns exist. I discovered them quite by accident and contrived to seal their entrances before my fellow Galra were any wiser.” 

After descending for a while, the path eventually led upward. When the air started to grow sultry again, he knew they were close to the surface. They emerged from the cave after climbing a long, crude staircase that opened onto a cliffside overlooking the ocean. In the distance, Keith could see the glowing crystal pyramid limned in the rosy violet rays of the twin suns. The Red and Blue Lions were still seated at their respective corners, their backs turned to him. He felt one of his long ears twitch in vexation at the sight and forced his attention away. He was still smarting over Red’s betrayal.

“Come, Keith,” Dydek urged, settling down on the cliff and letting her legs dangle over the side. “Sit with me awhile. I have more to tell you and not much time to do so.”

He opted to remain standing, crossing his arms as his coat billowed around him in the breeze. “Like what?” he demanded.

The doctor regarded him with a raised eyebrow. Seemingly undeterred by his attitude, she offered, “I can tell you, for instance, what the Galra are doing here.”

“I already know that,” he said flatly. “Just tell me how to get to Shiro.”

Dr. Dydek sighed, muttering, “You really are just like your mother! So stubborn!”

This third mention of his mother set him off. In a split second, Keith had his hands around the doctor’s throat. As she stared up at him with wide eyes, he blinked in surprise. How had he just done that? He’d never been able to move that fast before! Was this a side effect of his botched elevation?

He pushed this revelation aside, though, growling, “Don’t ever speak of my mother again. Got it?”

Dr. Dydek gurgled in reply and he released her. Reaching up to massage her throat, she cast an appraising look in his direction. “You’re a better warrior than I thought,” she said finally. “I think you might just stand a chance tomorrow.” 

He scowled at this but, when she patted the rock next to her, he consented to sit down, positioning his tail under his butt crack and feeding it between his legs. They stared out over the ocean together in silence for a time. The warm air rifling through his hair, Keith admired the view of the enormous red star and smaller violet one suspended on the horizon. Overhead, the raucous calls of the bizarre flying creatures filled the air.

“You already know that Shiro is in the Black City,” the doctor told him. “What you need to know is that the Galra have never succeeded in entering it.” She paused and looked over his shoulder and he followed her gaze. From their vantage point, they could see over the high wall surrounding the city. Inside were a myriad of spires and minarets. The place was enormous, much larger than he’d realized. And it was also completely dark. Unlike the shining red, blue, green, and yellow cities on the horizon, the Black City was clearly abandoned. 

“There is an invisible barrier around the city that is quite impenetrable. It’s as if the Leonids sealed it purposely before departing the moon forever,” Dydek explained. “The Galra have concentrated all of their firepower on it and yet it remains intact. Haggar and her Druids have focused their magic on it as well. So far, though, nothing. It remains a thorn in the witch’s side because she is convinced that the key to Voltron’s origin lies within.”

This jogged something in Keith’s memory. After a moment, a light went on his head and he exhaled sharply, saying, “The missing capstone of the pyramid! It’s locked away inside the Black City, isn’t it? That’s what she’s looking for!”

“You’re correct,” the doctor agreed, nodding. “She believes once the capstone is in place on the pyramid, the mystery of Voltron will be solved. However,” she added, turning to look over at the distant pyramid, “no one knows for sure if the capstone is inside the Black City or if it will indeed unlock the secret. And I, for one, do not intend to allow her to find out.”

Keith didn’t reply; he was only half-listening. He’d already lost interest in the pyramid and had gone back to studying the ruins of the Black City, searching it for any sign of Shiro. He could see nothing, however.

“This is why Haggar decided to lure Shiro and the Black Lion here,” the doctor continued, the mention of his beloved paladin’s name causing him to turn back to her. “She planned to have her chosen avatar, the elevated human she is calling the new Black Paladin, slay him and take control of his Lion. She hoped to use the new paladin and the Black Lion to then gain access to the city. As you know, however, things didn’t quite work out for her.”

Keith furrowed his brow upon hearing this. He’d been bothered by a nagging worry ever since meeting Dr. Dydek. Something about her didn’t make sense, didn’t add up, and he was tired of sidestepping the issue. Turning to fix her with a burning stare, he resolved finally to state his concern openly. “Why are you telling me this?” he demanded. “Why are you helping me?”

Dydek fixed him with her softly glowing golden gaze, her lips half-curved in a smile. “Because not all Galra are loyal to Zarkon, Keith. There are those of us–many of us, in fact–who long for the day when his empire crumbles and we can live our lives in freedom and in peace.”

Eyes narrowing, he pressed, “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything?”

Unexpectedly, she laughed. “I’m not telling you everything simply because there isn’t enough time, Keith!”

“Fine,” he said, realizing this was the best explanation he was likely to get. “Continue.”

She nodded, taking a breath. “For reasons none of us have been able to figure out yet, Haggar’s plan failed. She succeeded in luring Shiro here but…something…inside the Black City grabbed his Lion out of her clutches.”

“I know this already,” Keith stated in a bored tone. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

Dydek exhaled in frustration, protesting, “Would you let me finish?” When he nodded, she continued, “Haggar failed to get the Black Lion but her plan wasn’t a total failure because she captured you and the Blue Paladin. Now she is planning to use her pretenders to slay you tomorrow, thereby gaining control of your Lions.”

Keith scowled, looking across the cliff where the Red Lion sat with its back to him. “They already have control of our Lions,” he muttered. “I don’t see why they need to bother killing us.”

“Ah, but there’s where you’re wrong, Keith.”

He looked back to her. “I am? Are you telling me that I didn’t see Hassan call my Lion using his weird crystal?”

Dydek nodded. “Well, that’s what appeared to happen but you must realize by now that the Lions are far more than stupid machines, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “Obvi.”

“They are advanced beings.”

He nodded again, boredom returning.

“And as such they have been known to engage in acts of subterfuge on occasion.”

He wrinkled his brow, saying, “Huh?”

“They lie, Keith,” the doctor said bluntly. “This moon is the home of the civilization that called them into being millennia ago. The Lions know where they are and they know who they can trust. I believe your Lions obeyed the call in order to deceive both the false paladins and Haggar.”

“Because…”

“To lull them into complacency?” Dydek guessed, lifting her hands. “Maybe if they believe they are winning, they will let their guard down, allowing you to strike?”

Realizing he was holding his breath, Keith exhaled and stole another glance at his distant, beloved Lion, sighing, “I hope you’re right, doctor.”

Dydek patted his knee in reassurance, continuing, “It’s true that, among other things, the crystals are effective at calling the Lions but they don’t work over long distances and the Lions aren’t compelled to answer. If it were otherwise, they wouldn’t have needed to lure Shiro here; they could have simply called your Lions from across the galaxy.”

Keith sat there, absorbing this information. After a while, he shook himself and asked, “How do you know all of this?”

She was quiet a moment before musing, “Hmmm, it’s a bit complicated but I’ll try to simplify it as best I can. You see, Haggar spent years searching for this moon ever since she got wind of the fact King Alfor had procured the plans for Voltron here. She originally hoped to find the plans buried here somewhere but soon learned that they had never existed in physical reality; they appear to have been shared…magically…with the king.”

“Huh,” he commented. “More magic and Quintessence bullshit. Too bad Allura isn’t here. She loves stuff like this”

Dydek ignored him and resumed her explanation. “When Haggar realized that she couldn’t get what she wanted solely through science, she employed alchemy to augment her work. She knew the Quintessence Field is particularly strong here and reasoned that something about the biology of the original people had made them…susceptible…to its effects. She also suspected that they had figured out how to store their accumulated knowledge in the Field. If she could recreate their biology, she reasoned, she could use them to get the plans she wanted. Which is where I came in. You’ll recall that my field of study is exobiology; I study alien species like you.” 

He froze as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in his mind, his anger rising as they did so. Taking his long tail in his hand, he shook it at her, hissing, “Are you telling me that you’re the one who figured out how to turn us humans into cat people?”

If Dydek was bothered by his accusatory manner, she didn’t show it. “Yes and no,” she answered, holding up her hand to silence him when he tried to object. “The arrival of the human colony vessel was a happy accident. Up to that point, we had been stymied in our research. The climate on this moon is not conducive to preserving genetic material, meaning that all biological traces of the original population have long ago disappeared. We were about to abandon our research when the human ship appeared and commenced breaking apart in the atmosphere. It was we scientists who rescued them.”

“Really?” Keith asked skeptically. “Since when have the Galra ever acted selflessly?”

“We’re not all soldiers and warlords,” Dydek replied with a shrug. “Most of us are just like you. We help those in need.”

“Uh huh.”

The doctor smiled slyly at this before continuing, “Almost immediately after the humans set foot on the moon, they began to subtly change and these changes accelerated when they were in proximity to the pyramid,” she paused and nodded over to the glowing temple. “We deduced that there is something, well, special about human biology that, unlike the Galra, makes you particularly susceptible to the mutagenic forces at work on this moon.”

“Really?” he pressed. “You really believe that?”

Dydek lifted her palms in the air. “It’s the best hypothesis we have and it explains why you–a half-breed–were only partially transformed. It’s possible that the Leonids came to this moon by way of Earth and that humans and Leonids are distantly related. That might explain the presence of the wormhole in the Earth solar system that sucked in your colonist’s ship. It’s also possible that humans are just…well, let’s say genetically flexible. You,” she said pointing at him, “are yourself a product of a human and alien union. As far as I know, the Galra cannot breed with any other alien species, although there are rumors that we could mate with the Alteans.”

“Hmmm,” he conceded. “Maybe…”

“In any case, within weeks of the human colonists’ arrival, a new race was born,” Dydek concluded before adding, “Or rather an old race was reborn. We are almost certain that the elevated humans are identical in all respects to the original inhabitants. Haggar is finally within reach of her goal. Once her paladins have control of the Lions, she believes that they will be granted access to the Black City. Which is why you, my friend,” she said, patting him fondly on the shoulder, “have to prevent that outcome at all costs.”

He sighed, feeling overwhelmed by all of these revelations as well as by the magnitude of the battle ahead of him. He and Lance would never be able to defeat Hassan and Jacob! He was too small! For the first time, he found himself wishing that his elevation had been successful. At least then he might stand a chance!

The doctor seemed to intuit his thoughts as she leaned over and tousled his shaggy hair. “Don’t worry, Keith,” she soothed. “I might not be able to get you out of the fight tomorrow but I think I can help even the odds.”

He looked over at her questioningly, voice cracking as he demanded, “How?”

Dr. Dydek turned to stare out over the sea, face awash in the light of the ever-setting suns. She smiled as she pronounced, “You didn’t become the Red Paladin by accident, Keith. You were chosen because you are a gifted and courageous warrior.”

“Why don’t I find that very reassuring?” he muttered.

“Trust in yourself and your Lion, Keith,” the doctor said levelly. “Just because you’re playing Haggar’s game doesn’t mean that you have to play by her rules. I’ve got a theory about her hold over the Leonid paladins that I’d like to discuss with you…”

***

Chapter 8

Haggar ordered the combat to begin at the equivalent of morning the next day. The time on the moon, Keith learned, was marked not by the rising and setting of the suns (which would have been impossible anyway because they never set) but by the rotation of the smaller violet sun around the giant red one. Keith had no idea how anyone noticed the difference since the rotation was imperceptibly slow and he finally gave up trying to understand it altogether, knowing that the Galra would come for them when it was time.

The fight went ahead as scheduled despite Keith’s partial transformation. The fact that he remained small and weak was actually pleasing to Haggar. She made no attempt to hide her contempt for the entire ritual. If she could have commanded her Leonid paladins to murder Keith and Lance outright, she would have done so from the start. The Leonids, however, might be under her control but even that had its limits. They took their roles as guardians of the lost civilization seriously and insisted on playing by the ancient rules of combat. They were so adamant that they initially refused to fight Keith but changed their minds when Haggar threatened severe punishment in retaliation for their disobedience. 

It was with great reluctance, therefore, that Hassan and Jacob consented to participate. Keith and Lance were shut away in their room and told to fast in preparation for the fight. Neither one got much sleep that ‘night’.

***

A troop of soldiers escorted them in glowing handcuffs and shackles to the combat grounds of the massive citadel that the Galra had built in the shadow of the Black City. They were only freed from their restraints once the electrically-charged gates had clanged shut behind them. Keith looked up and saw the arena was enclosed in a magenta energy field. Armored drones circled in the air above. Clearly, Haggar was taking no chances; she’d sealed the place up tight, giving the paladins no opportunity to escape. 

Further adding to the security, troops of Galra soldiers stood guard on the sidelines along with a detachment of androids. They clutched their rifles and stared impassively back at Keith and Lance. Behind the particle barrier, the stands were filled with Leonids of all stripes and sizes. They were decked out in the colors of their respective prides blending into a rainbow of red, green, yellow, blue and black hues. Keith marveled at these enormous feline beasts who had once been humans. He didn’t quite know whether to be in awe or afraid of them and finally decided he felt both.

As he and Lance stood side-by-side in the sand, the would-be Yellow, Green, and Black Paladins marched through the open gate on the other side of the arena to the raucous cheering of the assembled crowd. When they parted and Jacob and Hassan emerged behind them the crowd roared. Literally, roared. The sound was deafening, especially now that Keith’s ears were so sensitive and he had to resist the urge to cringe as the thunder of the crowd’s approval washed over them.

He looked over at Lance and his friend nodded confidently, growling, “We got this, Keith. We got this.” 

Keith couldn’t help noticing that Lance looked magnificent, towering strong and proud beside him. Lance had really embraced his new lion-man form and stood with his chest puffed out, muscles popping beneath his blue-black fur. Like Keith, he was naked but, rather than seeming vulnerable and pathetic, he looked robust and strong. Keith looked down at his scrawny, hairless body and felt feeble in comparison (although the sight of his lucky jockstrap buoyed him somewhat. He felt closer to Shiro when he wore it.) He put on his game face, though, and set his jaw, returning Lance’s nod.

A movement above caught his eye and he looked up to see a platform hovering high above (and safely outside of the protective shield covering the arena.) On it stood the witch, Haggar, flanked by two of her Druids. Her face was hidden within the cowl of her robe but he could see the glow of her feral yellow eyes. The sight of her ignited a dormant fire inside him and he lifted his chin, fixing her with a resolute stare.

I can do this! he thought. I will do this!.

***

The Black Paladin, a hulking panther-man covered in midnight black fur and wearing a luminous pendant of black onyx around his neck, heralded the beginning of the fight. Stepping into the center of the arena, his deep voice boomed out, instantly winning the focused attention of everyone present. Even Keith, who was watching him with a gimlet eye, was awed. It was clear at that moment that Haggar’s chosen paladins were more than pretenders. There really was something to them beyond their massive size and ferocious strength; they had presence.

Like real paladins.

He was starting to quail inwardly when he thought of Shiro.

Shiro never balked when presented with impossible odds; he accepted the challenge calmly and gave it everything he had.

And he won.

If Shiro could it, so could he.

He would win this for Shiro.

***

“The ritual combat is hand-to-hand,” the Black Paladin shouted, extending his great paws and holding his arms out wide, “and to the death. No one leaves this arena until there is but one Blue Paladin and one Red Paladin left alive. Only then will we know who is fit to command the Lions. This is the will of Voltron. And this is the will of Voltron’s hallowed creators.”

Keith swallowed.

He’d never fought anyone to the death with only his hands before. He stared down at them, wiggling his fingers, noticing how slight they were. The tiny, sharp nails on his fingertips seemed little more than ornaments. Could he use them to rip apart another creature? And, if he did, what did that make him? Was this really the will of Voltron? It seemed like the Leonids were misinterpreting something, probably due to Haggar’s perverting influence.

If Dydek’s theory is correct and her confidence in me and the Lions isn’t misplaced, he reminded himself, no one will die today.

“Paladins,” the black lion-man ordered, “take your positions. Prepare for combat!”

The crowd in the stands stood up and roared again. It was an awesome sound, one that instilled both courage and fear. Keith was profoundly aware that he was an outsider here. He was the only human (well, mostly human) and that meant that he was at a disadvantage. He shivered despite the humidity and steeled himself. He might be small but he was determined. That was going to have to be enough.

Jacob and Hassan stepped forth, raising their giant arms and waving. A growl built deep in Lance’s barrel chest and he slapped Keith on the ass with his paw, making him jump.

“Here we go, buddy!” he shouted, sliding his ears back and pushing out his toothy jaw. “Let’s kick some furry ass!”

Keith nodded and crouched down as the Black Paladin raised his paw in the air. All of Keith’s attention narrowed down to a single point as he watched that black paw hover in the air and then slice down. Jacob and Hassan sprang forward, jumping much further than Keith would have guessed possible. In two leaps, they were nearly on top of them.

As fast as they were, though, they were no match for Keith.

Taking a deep breath, he sank down on his haunches and launched himself upward. Jacob and Hassan were powerful and fast but compared to Keith they might as well have been taking a leisurely stroll. The arena blurred as Keith sailed through the air, surprising Jacob as he landed on his shoulders. In one, quick movement, he ripped the jeweled pendant from his neck and then pushed off again, jumping over onto Hassan’s back. In a fraction of the second, the Red Paladin’s jewel belonged to him as well. He lifted his hand, displaying his trophies to Lance before springing into the air again.

He had moved so quickly that he left Jacob and Hassan reeling. When he dropped to the ground behind them, they were only just beginning to turn. He was already sinking down on his knees, though. Gathering everything he had, he propelled himself toward the Black Paladin. The giant panther-man had turned and was retreating toward the gate when Keith caught up to him. In a split second, Keith had torn his pendant off and was already speeding across the arena toward the Green and Yellow Paladins. They gaped at him, seeming to move in slow motion, as he scored their pendants as well. Not pausing to take a breath, he turned and tore off across the arena back toward Lance. Jacob and Hassan were still a good ten feet away from his fellow paladin when he somersaulted over them, landing in a crouch.  Lance smiled approvingly as Keith thrust the stolen pendants into his paw.

Let’s see if Dydek was right, he thought. Was Haggar controlling the Leonid paladins through these pendants?

It certainly seemed so. He looked over to see that Hassan and Jacob had halted in confusion. Behind them, the other Leonid paladins seemed equally confused. Keith smiled. Score one for the human! he thought. He didn’t have time to gloat, though. Already, he could see the Galra soldiers waking up to the fact that something was amiss. He had to act fast!

While the paladins milled about, Lance sank onto his knees and pretzeled his paws together, forming a step. Urging Keith to climb up, he asked, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be!” Keith called out, hopping on.

Lance sank down further, gathering all of his enormous reserves of strength for the push to send Keith airborne. When he exploded upward, Keith rocketed into the air, arcing high over the stands. It was a testament both to Lance’s enhanced muscles and Keith’s lithe, aerodynamic form that his trajectory put him on a collision course with the particle barrier.

Even the drones were slow to respond. Keith felt like his body had transmuted from matter into pure light as he clawed his way upward, working his arms and legs to gain every last inch of altitude. And when he was only a few feet away from frying himself against that barrier, he did as Dr. Dydek had instructed.

He roared.

Well, Ok, it was more of a yowl than a roar but he put everything he had into it. He didn’t care if he sounded like a screeching alley cat rather than a lion. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what he sounded like because he put heart and soul into that roar.

He called his Lion.

The Red Lion.

His constant and faithful friend.

***

He roared or yowled or whatever, the sound reverberating over the arena and leaving the audience in stunned silence. No one–not even Haggar and her Druids–had been prepared for this. Everyone was caught off guard by Keith’s unexpected maneuver and the speed with which he moved. 

It felt to him as if reality had split in two dimensions. There was the normal dimension in which time moved at the regular rate…and then there was another dimension in which time was vastly slowed down. And Keith–and the Lions–were the sole occupants of this second dimension. For them, the space between seconds felt like hours and there was more than enough time–practically an infinity of it!–to do what had to be done.

A preternatural calm settled over him as he realized this was the dimension that the Lions occupied all the time. It was a reality stripped bare of diversions and everything was precise and clear. It was both exactly like and completely different from his usual reality and he felt like a tourist, or maybe an interloper. He wished he had longer to savor the experience but, even in this ‘new’ version of reality, he could not afford to waste time.

From his high vantage point, he took in everything unfolding around him: Haggar and her Druids raising their arms in a desperate bid to blast him with concentrated Quintessence, the Galra soldiers fumbling for their rifles, the android army taking belated aim, the confused Leonid paladins staring up at him, the crowd agape beneath him, the drones swiveling to get him in their sights. And Lance watching with a proud and triumphant expression on his handsome, furry face.

He smiled.

His enemies were too late.

And he was too fast.

As his yowl echoed through the arena and out across the citadel, Keith felt his Lion respond. His perspective shifted and suddenly he was seeing through its eyes, knowing what it knew, and feeling what it felt. The Red Lion lifted its mechanical muzzle and roared in reply, lunging forward and speeding down toward the arena. Lance’s Blue Lion followed, loping easily beside it.

The Lions were on top of the particle barrier before Keith collided with it. Propelling themselves into the air, they pounced down and crushed it, extinguishing it in a flash–just in time for Keith to sail through. As the Lions sank down toward the combat grounds, Keith was only vaguely aware that the Blue Lion was freezing the Galra soldiers into a block of ice with a well-timed shot from his tail canon and Red was similarly melting the androids into a molten mess.

Mindful that the drones were preparing to shoot him down from the sky, Keith closed his eyes and concentrated. It was weird. He could feel the Quintessence Field pulsing all around him. Dr. Dydek had been right; the Field really was closer to physical reality on this moon and most especially around the Black City. He focused intently and did something he’d never attempted before: He reached into the Field with his mind. He was ‘looking’ for the thing he needed most right then and almost lost his concentration when he finally ‘saw’ it.

His bayard.

The Red Bayard was back in the armory on the Castle of Lions but here in this enhanced reality, it was right at hand.

He saw the weapon gleaming red and white, little more than a flared handle in its present form. When he reached out for it and grasped it across the millions of light years of space, though, it came alive just like the Lions had. And by the time he withdrew it from the aether, it had already transformed into a searing red grappling hook.

By then, Keith had reached the zenith of his arc across the arena and was starting to descend. He needed an extra boost to get to his destination and hurriedly aimed the hook upward.

He fired.

The molten red hook shot out, speeding toward Haggar’s floating platform. The witch barely had time to look down before it had sunk in. By then Keith had arrived. He sprang up on the platform, retracting the hook and tearing the bayard apart in his hands, turning it into two nets of liquid, ruby fire. Without hesitation, he tossed them at the two Druids on either side of Haggar, instantly engulfing them in twin, flaming prisons. The Druids howled imprecations but Keith knew they were effectively immobilized. And he also knew that they were unharmed and would remain unharmed provided they didn’t attempt to break out.

With the Druids out of the way, he turned…

…and was met with Haggar’s outstretched palm. 

An orb of malignant Quintessence spun dense and lethal in the air above it. It was enough to kill not only him but also–he knew from experience–everyone in the arena. He also knew that the witch would think nothing of using it.

“You’re clever,” the crone hissed as she flexed her gnarled fingers, causing the orb to expand alarmingly, “but you must have forgotten who I am. I have survived more than ten thousand years and countless attempts against my life and yet I am still here.” She wrinkled her lip and spat at him, adding, “And you will not be for much longer.”

Keith ducked out of the way of her spittle and smiled. Taking his time, he wiped the sweaty hair away from his face and flicked his tail before stating calmly, “You’re blind, arrogant and grandiose if you think killing you is what I had in mind.” He paused significantly before adding, “Honerva.” Haggar’s eyes flashed at the use of her Altean name but he continued before she could respond, saying, “This has nothing to do with you. It never did. That’s what you don’t understand about Voltron or the Lions. They are not about power or conquest or domination.”

“Don’t presume to lecture me!” the witch hissed, raising her hand and preparing to strike. “I am infinitely wiser and more experienced than you and I will never rest until I have destroyed you and everyone you love, including those Lions!”

In answer, Keith took a step back and opened his arms wide, inviting, “Go ahead. I’m not going to stop you. Look around you, though.” He jerked his head at her Druids cowering in terror beside her and then at the arena below. The Lions had incapacitated the Galra soldiers without any casualties. Red had just finished shooting down the last of the drones and Blue was lowering her immense head to nuzzle Lance who was laughing as he hugged her nose. In the stands, the Leonids appeared frozen in disbelief and, on the sand, the rival paladins were wandering around, bewildered. 

“You have lost here even if you destroy me,” Keith said, taking in the chaotic scene below. “The Lions are out of your reach and another Red Paladin will emerge to challenge you. Ultimately,” he concluded, turning back to fix Haggar with his piercing blue eyes, “you will lose and lose and lose again until you learn to change.”

Silence.

He could see the wheels turning frantically inside Haggar’s mind as she took in his words. She recovered quickly, though, as her usual sinister mien reasserted itself. Eyes narrowing she sneered, “Change!? You think I am the one who needs to change? You are an insolent whelp if you think that I will ever change! You know nothing of me!”

“Actually, I’m more of a kitten than a whelp,” Keith quipped, his ears pricking forward. Haggar scowled and he continued, “But you’re right. I do know very little about you but I think I know enough. I know, for example, there’s more to you than you reveal. I know you do not act purely out of evil.”

Just as he’d hoped, his words shook Haggar and she stepped away from him, hand lowering slightly. He watched as she struggled to master herself. Her illusory Galra visage flickered, revealing the clear-eyed Altean woman he’d glimpsed during her encounter with King Alfor’s ghost. As quickly as her facade crumbled, though, it reappeared. Her face split into a wild and wicked leer as she lifted her arms in the air, gathering power. Before her, the burning magenta orb expanded tenfold.

“You’re too late!” she screamed, preparing to annihilate him, “And you’re a fool!”

For some reason, Keith smiled. Rather than fear, he felt strangely at peace and all resistance drained away as he prepared to meet his end. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. If this was to be his fate, he accepted it. He would rather die at Haggar’s hands than debase himself through violence.

His final thoughts were of Shiro and how much he loved him. This was his only regret, he realized. He wished he’d been able to see Shiro one last time and tell him that. He wished Shiro had known…

The witch’s orb of destruction never reached him. 

Before it could expand far enough, there was a low rumble in the distance. Gathering in volume exponentially in a fraction of a second, the air shattered in the thunderclap of a sonic boom. Keith opened his eyes to behold the Black Lion–Shiro’s Lion–descending from the sky above. Instinctively, he stepped backward off the platform as the Lion’s mouth opened. 

Keith plummeted to the ground. The last thing he saw was a bolt of soft blue radiance shooting out of the Lion’s mouth and swallowing Haggar’s magenta orb.

***

“You Ok, Keith?”

It was Lance’s voice. 

He opened his eyes and beheld his friend’s worried lion face. In the background, he could see the Red and Blue Lions peering over Lance’s shoulders. All three were staring down at him with concern. He groaned and propped himself up on his elbows, looking around. Was it his imagination or did a look of relief pass across his Red Lion’s immense, robotic face?

“Ugh. I’m Ok, I guess,” he murmured, feeling his body. He was sore all over but was otherwise intact. “How’d I get down here in one piece?”

“Red caught you in his mouth,” Lance explained. “I’ve never seen him move so fast!” 

Keith sank back down onto the ground, feeling weak with gratitude. He stared up at his Lion, emotion welling up inside. As he lay there, the Lion nodded almost imperceptibly and Keith wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t believe he’d ever distrusted Red. He never would do so again.

It took him awhile but he finally pulled himself together enough to croak, “What happened?”

 “Well, let’s see,” Lance began, settling back on his haunches. “First, you stole Jacob’s blue crystal and then you hopped over onto Hassan and took his and then–”

Keith sighed in exasperation, interrupting him. “I already know that! I meant what happened to Haggar?”

Lance’s fuzzy brows went to together. “You don’t have to get snippy with me, Mullet Top! I was getting to that part!”

“Lance,” Keith growled between clenched teeth. “Just tell me. Where is she?”

“Black has her pinned up there,” Lance replied in an injured tone, jerking his chin upward. “She keeps trying to…teleport or something…but he won’t let her.”

He leaned away long enough for Keith spot the Black Lion poised in the stands above them. Looking like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse, its stern visage was focused on Haggar as her hapless Druids cowered on the floating platform. The Lion’s white and black metallic body was awash in the light of the suns and its eyes blazed fiery yellow. Keith shivered. He would not want to be in Haggar’s place right then.

Turning back to Lance, he asked, “Is Shiro in there? In the Black Lion, I mean.”

His friend looked down at him, smirking, “Why? Missing Daddy?”

“Lance,” Keith warned, “I’m not in the mood, Ok? Do you know if he’s in there?”

“Negative,” his furry friend replied before correcting himself, “I mean, I don’t really know but I don’t think he is. He would’ve, you know, jetted out of there and come down to us by now.” He paused and looked back at the Red and Blue Lions, now seated demurely on the sand behind them, their yellow eyes dimmed. “The Lions seem to have decided to take matters into their own hands, er, paws. Maybe they’re protecting their homeland?”

“Hmmm, maybe,” Keith admitted, realizing that he understood almost nothing about the immense, mystical robots. “I wonder where Shiro is?”

In answer, a woman cleared her throat beside them and Lance and Keith turned to see Dr. Dydek approaching. In her hand, she held out a glowing red crystal. “I believe he’s still inside the Black City,” she explained, offering the crystal to Keith, “but I will take the appearance of his Lion as a good sign. Perhaps you will be allowed to enter now?”

Keith reached out and accepted the crystal, asking, “Haggar won’t be able to control me through this like she did Jacob and Hassan, will she?”

The doctor shook her head. “No, she has never touched this crystal. It is one that I found hidden beneath the pyramid.”

Keith was struggling to stand when Lance stepped in front of him, turning toward the doctor. “Uh, hey, Keith,” he purred in an artificially deep voice, “aren’t you going to introduce me to your hot lady friend here?”

Keith rolled his eyes, thinking, Aaaaannnnnddd the old Lance is back! It was too bad; he’d started to like the new, sincere Lance. He sighed, pushing himself to his feet and dusting the sand off his sweaty ass cheeks, tail swishing behind him, saying, “Lance, this is Dr. Dydek and, Dr. Dydek, this is Lance.” Nodding to the doctor, he added, “And forgive me for foisting him off on you but I’ve gotta find Shiro.”

The doctor surveyed Lance with a bemused expression as he adopted a beefcake pose and flexed, asking, “Have you ever muscles like these on a Galra?”

Keith smirked to himself, shaking his head. Some things never changed…

***

Chapter 9

Keith padded through the cavern beneath the doctor’s laboratory in a state of semi shock. It was state that he’d grown accustomed to over the past couple of years with the nonstop fight against the Galra. What surprised him most after his encounter with Haggar, though, was the strange feeling in his chest. It felt…well, it felt almost liquid. Maybe it was the effects of nearly being annihilated but he felt permeable in a way he couldn’t remember experiencing before. Although strange, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. 

He pondered this feeling as he took in the quiet beauty of the softly-glowing cave. He was in no particular hurry. Lance and the Lions had everything under control on the surface. Haggar wasn’t going anywhere and the Galra forces had been pacified. Likewise, the Leonid population was no longer a threat as they and their paladins struggled to come to terms with the events in the arena. More than anything, he sensed he was on the cusp of something momentous and needed to prepare. Shiro would be waiting for him when he was ready.

He sat down on a rocky ledge overlooking a subterranean brook, dangling his feet in the cool water and smiling to himself. The smooth rock felt good on his bare ass and he was almost sad when he realized he’d have to start wearing more than just a jockstrap soon; he’d come to like being more or less naked. Small, eyeless creatures darted around his toes and a sinuous snake-like thing unraveled itself from a stalactite overhead. He absorbed it all in a state of wonder.

There is so much I do not know, he mused. It would take a million lifetimes to see and understand it all. He leaned back on his elbows, wiggling his nose and smiling when his whiskers tickled his cheeks. The tip of his tail landed in the water with a soft plash and he laughed. Maybe being half cat wasn’t so bad after all?

He lay there for a long time, waiting for the crazy thoughts to stop spinning in his head. When he felt sufficiently calm, he pushed himself to his feet and continued down the pathway, turning right at the fork that led to the Red Gate. The gateway was unchanged from the last time he’d seen it a day ago (was it only a day ago?) and, just like before, the glyphs etched onto the door burned red in the light the crystal when he lifted it off his chest.

He reached out and pushed, holding his breath.

The door didn’t budge.

He was swearing under his breath, wondering how he would ever get to Shiro, when he heard a spectral voice. He recognized it immediately as belonging to King Alfor.

“The door won’t open, Keith,” the spirit breathed. “Only the awakened may open this gate. That’s why Haggar and the Galra–as well as her Leonid paladins–have failed to gain entrance to the Black City.” There was a pause before the long-dead king of the Alteans continued, “You demonstrated today that you’re on the path but you have much yet to learn before you stir from your slumber.”

Keith sighed, crossing his arms. “Awakened? I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. How am I supposed to get to Shiro if I can’t open the gate? I know he is in the city.”

Alfor laughed, cajoling, “I said only the awakened may open the gate, Keith. I didn’t say that you couldn’t go through it.”

“Oh, whatever!” Keith huffed. “Does that mean you’re gonna open it for me?”

“Yes.”

There was a click and the door swung open, revealing a darkly glowing tunnel. A blast of cool air exhaled through the gateway, drying the sweat on his face. Keith stared at the tunnel, his frustration melting away and heart pounded in his chest. He was so overcome with excitement at the prospect of being reunited with Shiro that he almost forgot to thank Alfor. He remembered at the last moment, though, inclining his head and saying, “Thank you, King Alfor. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Actually, I do know what it means to you. And to Shiro. That’s an advantage of being a spirit,” the king replied in an amused tone. “You have kept each other waiting long enough. Go to him.” Keith was starting to leave when Alfor added, “When you see Allura again, please tell her I am proud of her and love her very much.”

***

The black tunnel appeared to be chiseled out of dark yet luminous obsidian and the rock surface was slick with condensation. He was glad that the pads of his feet had become slightly feline because they prevented him from slipping. He set out, going as rapidly as he could. It didn’t seem fast enough, though. He couldn’t wait to see Shiro again! Gradually, the tunnel ascended and the air became warmer. Soon he found himself standing before another gateway but, unlike the first, this one opened before he could reach out to touch it.

He peered through the doorway and froze.

On the other side stood a white lioness. She was immense, standing higher than the top of his head at her shoulders. She was regarding him with eyes of crystalline blue.

Keith.

He stopped at the voice in his head, the hair on his arms standing up and ears pricking forward. After a moment, though, he relaxed when he realized the creature was only an apparition. The air sparkled around the outline of the lioness’ body, highlighting her lush mane, arched back, and muscular frame. She was truly a gorgeous beast.

Instinctively, he knelt and bowed his head, lowering his tail between his legs in supplication. He didn’t know how he knew exactly but he was certain that he was in the presence of an ancient and powerful being. A being that was intimately connected to the Lions of Voltron.

Rise, Keith.

Without waiting for him to respond, the animal turned and padded onward. He looked around and saw that he was standing in the empty streets of the Black City, its gravity-defying towers rising high and magnificent around him. Even though the place had clearly been long abandoned, it remained pristine as if its inhabitants had only just departed. 

Wait.

What was that?

Hje froze. He could have sworn that he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. And there were sounds, too. Almost like people talking. His long, sensitive ears moved forward as he strained to hear. If he concentrated really hard, he could decipher…something. What was it?

There was the movement again.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he shivered. He felt like he was surrounded by ghosts. Or spirits. Or something.

The lioness had stopped perhaps ten paces ahead of him. She was staring back at him with a look of…knowing? Yes, she was watching him with what could only be described as a half smile on her face.

Keith shivered again, struck by a haunting realization.

Maybe the city wasn’t abandoned after all?

Maybe the people had never left?

Maybe he just couldn’t see them?

As incredible as that sounded, there was a ring of truth to it. Was that what Alfor meant by the term ‘awakened’? Did it mean that only those who were prepared, only those who had practiced, only those who were ready could enter the Black City and see it for what it really was?

Keith felt something brush against his arm and looked down. There was nothing. He squinted, he focused, he tried his best to silence his mind but there was still nothing. He knew it hadn’t been his imagination, though. He knew he’d felt something…

The lioness had turned away to continue up the hill. After a moment, he shook himself and followed, feeling unsettled. It was almost  like he’d entered a waking dream. A dream in which nothing was quite as it seemed. Was this magic?

He didn’t have time to decide. The lioness was stalking quickly away and he had to get moving before she was out of sight. He followed her through the city’s obsidian-paved streets as she led him on a labyrinthine tour of the place. The half-sights and half-sounds intensified along the way, tormenting him. Finally, he forced himself to ignore them and focus only following the lioness in front of him. There would be time later to puzzle on the mystery of this place. Right now, he needed to find Shiro.

He was certain of only one thing: Regardless of the twists and turns, the lioness was leading him ever higher. After a few blocks, Keith would have been utterly lost if not for the fact that the twin suns were behind him. Always being able to tell which direction is west is a bonus on this moon, he thought, for those of us who don’t have Lance’s unerring sense of direction!

Perhaps an hour later, the lioness stopped and looked back over her shoulder at him, flicking her tail. They were standing before the tallest tower in the city atop of the tallest hill. Keith looked up, eyes widening. Suspended in the air above the tower was a black crystal polyhedron. He smiled.

It was the missing capstone from the Temple of Paladins.

He was relieved that he finally knew where it was–and that it was safe from Haggar. The witch was clever but somehow he suspected even she would never gain access to the Black City. The capstone would remain forever out of her grasp.

The lioness was watching him closely when he turned and he could have sworn she winked. He grinned before looking beyond her to take in the view of the city from this height. Nothing could have quite prepared him for the sight. Beneath him, the city glowed a luminous black, rendered darkly transparent in the light of the setting suns. He blinked, convinced it was a trick of the light but the swirling, sparkling cityscape was still there when he opened his eyes. A waking dream, he thought. I am in a waking dream.

The lioness waited patiently beside him. When he finally looked over to her, she said in his mind, Shiro awaits you inside.

He turned and stared up at the immense tower with the shining capstone. Swallowing thickly, he felt his heart clench. Shiro! He didn’t bother to wipe the tears from his eyes as he stumbled through the archway. He was only marginally aware of the surroundings as he climbed a vast, spiral stairway. The air around him seemed to glitter with premonition and every footstep seemed to last an eternity.

He thought he had prepared himself for what lay beyond the smooth, black door when he reached the top of the spire. In the moments when he hadn’t been preoccupied with survival since arriving on this moon, he’d thought about what he would do when he finally found Shiro. In his mind’s eye, he always played this moment cool, sauntering over and disinterestedly asking Shiro if he was Ok. He’d decided that he would make Shiro ask for his attention. Fuck, he’d make him beg for it! He was a prize, after all! Now that Lance had confirmed Shiro’s affection for him, he knew he was on firm footing. He would make Shiro beg, dammit!

These grand plans fell apart, disintegrating into so much cosmic dust when he saw Shiro lying there on a raised platform, partially covered by a black sheet, naked from the waist up. His prosthetic arm had been removed, leaving him looking oddly vulnerable. The man’s creamy mocha skin was laced with innumerable scars…and bulging with incredible muscles. As far as Keith could tell, Shiro didn’t have an ounce of fat on his body. He lay there like a sleeping god, almost too divine for mortal form.

Taking a ragged breath, Keith stepped across the threshold and crept over to the sleeping paladin, pausing to gaze upon his beautiful face with its steely jaw, elegant eyebrows, and full lips. Shiro’s hair was a mess, his white forelock swept carelessly to the side.

He couldn’t have looked more perfect.

Sinking to his knees, he took Shiro’s broad, calloused hand in his own smaller, slighter one. The touch brought on a vivid flashback of another time he’d discovered Shiro laid out like this. It had been back on Earth on the night when this whole adventure had begun, the first time he’d seen Shiro after his mysterious disappearance on Pluto’s moon, Kerberos, two years prior. 

Fleeing the Galra, Shiro had stolen a ship and crashed-landed on Earth. Keith had found him captive inside an Galaxy Garrison base, lying unconscious on an examination table. Then, too, he’d lost his breath and his nerve as he stared down at Shiro, too stunned to believe he’d finally found him. He smiled when he remembered that he’d been wearing his lucky jockstrap then, too (along with rather a lot more clothing.) 

Back then, he’d paused with his hand in the air, conflicted. He’d known that he needed to get Shiro out of there as soon as possible but he also longed to fall into his arms, to smother him with kisses, to tell him exactly how much he’d missed him and how much he loved him. In the end, of course, he’d been interrupted by Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. His love had been left unprofessed and, since then, he’d had to content himself with lingering glances and fleeting touches, forever unable to find the right time to tell Shiro how he felt. Life had been too busy and the Galra threat too omnipresent.

There had never been enough time.

Until now.

“You know what,” Keith said out loud then, standing up straight as he made up his mind. “Fuck it! The fucking war can wait!” 

He leaned down over Shiro and lowered his head, pausing with his lips poised an inch from his friend’s mouth. His nose twitched as he inhaled Shiro’s rich scent. He smelled like clove, cinnamon, and iron. A man’s scent.

“Takashi Shirogane,” he pronounced, “I love you.”

Shaking with emotion, he caressed those lips with his own in an almost brotherly kiss. His heart skipped a beat when Shiro’s eyelids fluttered opened and he found himself staring deeply into those fathomless brown eyes.

“Keith.”

That voice! That voice! It sent thrills down his spine (and had a decidedly more carnal effect on his groin.) Shiro’s voice was both so masculine and tender at the same time that it was almost too much for him to bear. Knowing he would cry if he tried to talk, he lowered his head and kissed Shiro again.

And Shiro kissed him back.

This time the kiss was much more intimate. Shiro cupped the back of his head with his hand and pulled him in for a passionate, lingering kiss. His mouth was on fire and his tongue probed the depths of Keith in a way no man (not even Lance!) had ever done before. Shiro kept his gaze locked onto him the whole time, devouring Keith with his eyes in much the same way he was devouring him with his mouth.

Finally, he pulled back and lay there panting as he looked up at Keith with a glazed and happy expression, breathing, “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that!” Before Keith could reply to this, though, his cheeks colored and he stammered, “I-I-I mean, only since I escaped from the Galra, not since I first met you. Because you were only fourteen then and, you know, that would have been just creepy.”

Keith smiled, saying truthfully, “Well, I have wanted to do that since you first swaggered into my classroom. I saw you and I fell in love.”

Shiro’s eyes shone at this and he was in the midst of formulating a reply when his brow furrowed. Pushing Keith back slightly, he studied his face, eyes going round. “Keith,” he began hesitantly, “where am I and…what happened to you?” He reached out and pushed Keith’s thick hair aside, revealing one of his long, fluffy, pointed ears. Shiro’s brow lifted further when he slid his fingers down Keith’s cheek and his fingers touched his new whiskers. “Did you grow these recently,” he teased, “or have I just not noticed before?”

“Fuck you.”

This elicited a deep, hungry growl as Shiro closed his eyes and yanked Keith off of his feet, pulling him on top of him. He grunted with surprised delight when he realized Keith was nearly naked. Soon, his hands had found their way down to Keith’s ass, fingers sliding through the straps of his jock to cup his butt cheeks. Keith arched his back and lifted his tail, not wanting that appendage to cause further distractions. Right now, he wanted Shiro’s full attention.

As Shiro caressed his smooth ass cheeks, Keith worked the sheet down Shiro’s waist and over his powerful thighs, freezing in surprise when his touched fabric. He probed around, exploring delicately with his fingers, his face breaking into a silly grin when the touch confirmed his suspicions.

Shiro wasn’t naked under the sheet.

“No way! You’re wearing a jock, too?” he breathed in amazement, his little nub suddenly fiercely erect.

Still not quite able to believe what he was feeling, he lifted himself up far enough to gaze down upon Shiro’s crotch, his eyes goggling when he beheld it. Shiro’s jock was black and red, too. Just like his! Unlike Keith, though, Shiro really filled out the cup of the strap; his giant member was threatening to shred it to pieces at the moment.

Shiro flushed, turning away in embarrassment as he explained, “It’s the same jock I was wearing when you found me after I escaped from the Galra. I almost never take it off except to wash it.”

At the sound of Keith’s laughter, he looked down, finally registering the fact that their jockstraps were the same color. “Red and black,” he mused. “Like our Lions. We’re a team!”

Keith laughed again, the loudest and freest laugh he’d had in a long time. Shiro joined in, pulling him down and rolling him over until his broad, muscular bulk was pushing down pleasantly on top of him. Then he ground his hips against Keith’s crotch, his hulking member dueling against Keith’s little one, pulverizing it under a relentless onslaught.

Keith moaned in ecstasy the whole time, begging for Shiro to use him, to destroy him, to annihilate him, to…

Wait.

What?

“Hey!” he complained. “What’re you doing?”

Shiro looked up at him, a wicked smile on his face. “I’m taking off your jockstrap. What does it look like I’m doing? You think I’m gonna ‘use, destroy, and annihilate’ you with it on?” He snorted before answering his own question. “Hell, no!”

“Shiro,” Keith begged, reaching down to stay his hand. “Don’t! I’m not ready for this yet!”

Mouth quirking, Shiro pressed, “Really? But I thought you–”

“I said I’m not ready!” Keith snapped, scrambling away from Shiro’s questing fingers. He gathered himself up and cradled his knees in his arms, his tail winding protectively about him.

Shiro blinked at the sight of the tail but then shook his head, refraining from commenting on it. His beautiful face softened as he crept forward, leaning down on his elbow. Keith noticed then that the metallic port where his prosthetic arm was normally attached was glowing soft blue in the dim light of the room. 

“Hey, Keith,” he murmured, voice throaty with desire, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Ah, c’mon, Keith!” he coaxed. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

Keith lowered his head behind his knees. He looked back up, though, when Shiro reached out and touched his shoulder. When he saw the bare look of entreaty on the man’s face, his resolve weakened and he looked away. “It’s stupid,” he croaked, hating how his voice cracked.

“No, it’s not,” Shiro said. “Nothing you say is stupid, Keith.”

“Shiro?”

“Yes?” the gorgeous man replied, almond-shaped eyes crinkling with affection.

Keith took a deep breath before saying, “All I can say is that you’d better be a top.”

Shiro blinked, stammering, “A top? I guess I’ve never…” His voice trailed off as he understood the implied meaning of the statement and he exhaled, smile widening on his face. “Keith,” he said evenly, “You are perfect in every way. I love you, remember? Not your body.” He paused before adding hastily, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love your sexy body, too! Just not nearly as much as I love you.” 

This time when he reached out, Keith didn’t resist. He allowed Shiro to unwrap his arms from around his knees and part his legs. Shiro smiled when Keith’s fluffy tail curled protectively up over his crotch. He gently lifted it away, murmuring, “So beautiful. I love your tail, Keith.”

Keith flushed, admitting, “I’m…well, I guess I’m getting used to it.”

“How did–?” Shiro started to ask but Keith silenced him.

“Shhh,” he soothed. “Not now. I’ll explain everything later.”

Shiro nodded, inching forward and propping himself up on his arm until he was poised over Keith’s open legs and exposed crotch. He looked around the room then, cursing, “Shit! Where do you suppose my arm went? Seducing you with only one hand isn’t easy.”

Keith laughed. “Who’s seducing whom? Remember I kissed you first? And who cares about your arm anyway?” He leaned forward, offering, “Here, I’ll help,” as he shimmied out of his jockstrap.

Shiro’s eyes locked onto his crotch as Keith put his legs together and, lifting his hips, pulled off the jock. He never got it off entirely because Shiro lost it when his little, erect cocklet sprang free. A deep growl built in the back of the big man’s throat and he dove down, taking all of Keith in one deft gulp.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

Keith’s vision exploded as Shiro demonstrated his mastery of sucking cock. (Was there no end to the things that the man excelled at?) Somehow, he even managed to slide Keith’s foreskin back using only his tongue before he commenced taking him for a deliciously long joyride, culminating with an explosive orgasm that surprised Shiro with its intensity…and volume. As Keith lay back, panting, long hair lank with sweat, Shiro pushed himself upward, swallowing.

“You’ve been saving up for a while, I see” he commented drily, wiping his chin.

Keith started to laugh but then stopped, pushing up on his elbows. “I’ve been saving myself for you, Shiro,” he said, expression serious. “Only you.”

Shiro looked down. When he looked back up, his eyes were shining with tears. “Oh, Keith,” he exhaled, falling down into his arms.

He lay there for a long time, stubbly face pressed against Keith’s neck, his body shaking with pent up emotion as Keith held him, stroking his back and kissing his ear. After a while, Shiro grew still and Keith felt the telltale sensation of something big, fat, and long throbbing against his thigh.

“Shiro,” he began, urging the big man up. “Let me repay you. I’m not experienced but I’ve practiced a lot in my mind.” He paused before adding, “And I do mean a lot!”

Shiro smiled at this but wouldn’t budge no matter how much Keith pleaded. Finally, he lifted his head. He refused to meet Keith’s gaze, though, and looked to the side as he said, “Keith, you should know something about me.”

“What?” Keith teased. “Do you have a robotic penis, too?”

Inadvertently, Shiro laughed but then grew sober again. “No, no,” he assured. “It’s one hundred me. But that’s the problem: It is one hundred percent me. All me. I’ve had…complaints…about my size.”

Keith swallowed, feeling the…thing...pulsing against his thigh swell even bigger with these words. Shiro wasn’t lying, from the feel of things down there, he was truly gifted between the legs. “I’m sure I can open my mouth wide enough,” he offered tentatively. “We don’t have to–”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Shiro interrupted, face breaking into a sheepish grin. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, too, but, unlike you, I’m not a young man…” He paused then to flip his wipe his white forelock away from his eyes and Keith couldn’t help noticing the grey hairs around his temples.

“Shiro, what do–?” he began.

“What I’m trying to say is that I’ve only got one shot in my, ahem, ‘Zaiforge Cannon’,” Shiro explained euphemistically, eyes rolling upward in embarrassment, “before it has to recharge.” He pressed his burgeoning member against Keith’s nub, massaging it. “You’re ready for another go,” he continued, “but it will take me a few hours to, you know…”

Understanding finally dawning, Keith sighed, “Ah, Ok. I get it. You only got one shot and you don’t want to waste it on a blowjob?”

Shiro’s cheeks colored. “Well, I wasn’t gonna put it that way but, yeah, that’s the gist.”

Keith laughed, reaching up and hugging Shiro fiercely again, exclaiming, “And just when I thought I couldn’t love you more than I already do!”

They pressed together, sweaty bodies locking in a heated embrace, for a long time. Finally, though, Shiro couldn’t wait any longer and gently separated from him, asking levelly, “You’re sure about this, Keith? The last thing I want is to hurt you.”

Keith grinned. “Actually,” he confessed, “I was kinda hoping you would hurt me. A little at least.”

This took Shiro aback and he froze in Keith’s arms for a moment before relaxing. “Ah, I get it. You like pain, huh?”

“Yep.”

Shiro smiled, his eyes glinting devilishly. “Well, I can guarantee you will be sore. Very sore.”

“Yes, please!” Keith begged. “Make me sore!”

***

Shiro pushed himself onto his knees and smirked down at Keith. “Take it off,” he commanded, staring meaningfully down at his jockstrap. The flimsy piece of fabric was on the verge of ripping apart under the ferocious onslaught of his straining erection. Keith sat up and tenderly pulled the waistband downward. When Shiro’s immensity exploded outward, splattering his face with precum, he goggled, comparisons with Lance’s monstrosity inevitably filling his mind. He knew it was impossible but part of him wondered if Shiro wasn’t actually bigger. He shook his head, though, deciding that it was just a matter of perspective and scale. Lance was definitely bigger.

Still, by any measure, Shiro was huge.

“Glad to see you don’t have spines down there,” Keith commented. “I like pain but not that kind of pain.” When this was met with a confused expression, he added, “Forget about it. I’ll explain later. Right now, I want you to…” 

He rolled onto his back. Unfurling his tail and pulling his knees out wide, he swiveled his hips upward to expose his eager, virgin hole. Shiro grinned wolfishly at the sight. He spit a copious wad of saliva into his palm and, pausing to smooth back his foreskin, worked it up and down his fat shaft. His cock was so wide and thick that his hand couldn’t reach around it and he had to spit several times before he was completely lubed up.

“You’ll have to guide me in,” he whispered, leaning down to cover Keith’s mouth with a kiss. “Or you’ll need to sit on top of me. You choose.”

In answer, Keith reached down and, taking that mammoth, dripping organ in his hand, pulled it downward, aiming it directly at his hole. When the hot, blunt head was pressing against his most vulnerable spot, he looked at Shiro and nodded.

“You sure, Keith?” Shiro asked, voice thick and breath coming in gasps. “You don’t want me to loosen you up with a few fingers first?”

Keith shook his head, pushing his butt down against that giant pole. Shiro smiled and, lowering himself down, thrust inward. Keith grunted, realizing he’d been naive to believe his tight hole could accommodate such a behemoth his first time. He refused to give up, though. He’d waited too long for this moment and wasn’t going to let it pass!

Tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, he used his hands to pull his cheeks apart while pushing his butt harder against Shiro’s beast. There was an awful, beautiful moment when he met Shiro’s adoring gaze and felt himself give way. He cried out in pain, feeling like he was splitting in two. Rather than pulling back, though, Shiro slammed against him, the entire length of his monster cock shooting inside all at once. Keith screamed at the top of his lungs. 

Shiro didn’t let up.

No, he showed Keith no mercy. He began thrusting furiously, driving in deeper and deeper until Keith was on the verge of passing out from the heady cocktail of pain and ecstasy suffusing his body and his brain.

Through it all, one thought rang through his mind:

Shiro was inside him.

Takashi Shirogane was inside him!

Keith’s heart and his asshole finally belonged to Shiro.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

They lay on the strange pedestal for a long time afterward, looking up at the dark sky through the open top of the tower. The black polyhedron hovered in the air above them, catching the rays of the twin suns and radiating an eldritch light.

Shiro had lingered inside him after flooding him with cum and Keith was both delighted and little scandalized when the big man pulled out and turned him over, lapping his hole clean. When he was done, he smacked his lips and rose up over Keith, threatening to kiss him on the mouth. Keith yelled in protest and Shiro laughed, eyes full of devilish pride.

Still laughing, he lay down and Keith snuggled into the gap between his arm and torso, luxuriating in the sweaty, carnal scent of his man. Shiro was such a stud! He almost couldn’t believe this was happening. The whole experience felt like a dream. He had wanted him for so long. So long…

Floating in delirious, post-coital contentment, he filled Shiro in on events, beginning with their pursuit of the Black Lion through deep space. Shiro didn’t remember anything, saying that he only recalled going to sleep in his quarters on the Castle of Lions and waking up to Keith’s kiss.

“The Galra must have been controlling me through my arm,” he muttered. “Those bastards! I should have known I wasn’t free of them!”

Keith nodded. “It seems like it. I don’t know where your arm is but my guess is that whoever pulled your Lion into the Black City before the Galra could snag you must have removed it for your protection.”

“Hmmm, maybe,” Shiro conceded before prompting, “What happened with Haggar? How did you defeat her?”

Keith looked to the side. “Well, she’s not exactly defeated. What happened is this…” 

He detailed everything that had transpired, not omitting anything, as Shiro lay back, occasionally interrupting to ask a clarifying question. He grew increasingly quiet the longer Keith talked, though, and Keith finally stopped, looking askance at his new, beautiful lover.

“What’s wrong?” he queried. “Are you Ok?”

Shiro didn’t answer for a long time. Finally, he asked, “Tell me, Keith. What did you plan to do to Haggar when you confronted her in the arena? Did you plan to kill her?”

Keith shook his head. “No, not kill her.”

“What, then?” Shiro pressed. “She is beyond wicked. She’s showed that over and over.”

Keith was silent, thinking. After a while he said, “I saw a different side of her when Alfor revealed her Altean form. She was…well, I could see that there is more to her than I realized. And I felt hopeful.”

“Hmpf,” Shiro snorted. “She’s still an evil witch!”

“Maybe,” Keith agreed. “I don’t know. I do know, however, that she is not completely lost. I guess when I climbed onto her platform, I wanted to show her that. I wanted her to see that there is always another path. A path of forgiveness. And a path of hope.” He stopped then, asking, “Does that make sense?”

He turned and saw that Shiro was watching him, head propped on his elbow and eyes sparkling. As he stared at Keith, a single tear trickled out of the corner of his eye and down his cheek. Touched, Keith reached out and brushed it away. Shiro caught his hand and held it, pressing it against his face and kissing Keith’s fingers.

“You are…” Shiro started to say and then stopped. 

When he looked at Keith, his expression was soft at first but gradually shifted as the fire of desire rekindled in his eyes. Soon those beautiful eyes had turned feral as they raked over Keith’s naked body. Self-conscious, Keith started to pull his jockstrap back down from its perch around his knees but Shiro stopped him.

“Don’t,” he growled. “Your penis is perfect, just like the rest of you. Why hide it?”

Keith grimaced, complaining, “But I’m so small! I’m barely three inches long when I’m hard! And yours is so–”

“Stop!” Shrio commanded and Keith immediately fell silent. “After everything you’ve just told me, it’s clear that you’re one thousand times the man I am, Keith. Can’t you see that? I never could have done what you did. You amaze me.”

Keith looked away, embarrassed. “And I,” he began slowly, “could never have done any of it without you. If you weren’t–”

He never finished. He couldn’t. Shiro’s lips were too busy smothering his mouth. His voice died in his throat as Keith finally gave in and allowed himself to be ravaged.

It turned out that Shiro had more than one shot in his trusty ‘Zaiforge Cannon’ after all…

Epilogue

It was a long, sore walk for Keith back through the haunted Black City. Shiro hadn’t lied when he vowed that he would make his hole suffer. He grimaced, reaching back to rub his aching butt, as Shiro looked down at him in amusement.

“Hey, don’t give me that look!” he admonished, lifting his hands in the air.“You begged me!”

Keith smiled wanly. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know but…”

“Butt!” Shiro exclaimed, reaching down to massage Keith’s nubile ass cheeks, the servo motor in his mechanical hand clicking and whirring with the motion.

Shiro’s prosthetic arm had mysteriously reappeared outside their room along with his paladin armor. He had reattached the arm but decided not to suit up and instead slung the armor over his back. He said that he preferred to remain naked in solidarity with Keith but Keith suspected he really just wanted an excuse to strut. And who could blame him? Shiro looked magnificent mostly naked, his humongous bulge distending the pouch of his jock. Keith drank in the sight, so happy to finally have the Black Paladin to himself. After some kissing and fondling, they had strolled hand in hand out of the tower, proudly clad in their matching jockstraps.

Shiro’s playful antics with his butt soon morphed into something rather more adult and Keith had difficulty convincing him to wait until they were in private again.

“Why?” the big, sexy man demanded, looking around at the abandoned city. “We are in private! There’s no one here!”

Keith shivered, feeling the inexplicable presence of unseen eyes upon them. “Just trust me on this, Shiro,” he muttered, taking the man’s artificial hand in his own and tugging him onward, “We’re not really alone.”

Shiro started to object but then relented and allowed Keith to lead him down the hill to the subterranean gate. Somehow Keith had no problem finding it again even though he’d been lost in a daze when he’d followed the lioness to Shiro. Maybe he’d remembered more than he’d guessed?

***

Lance was just leaving the arena with the rival Leonid paladins, Jacob and Hassan, when they arrived. Even though Keith had tried to prepared him, Shiro’s eyebrows shot up at the sight of the vastly transformed Blue Paladin and Keith noted with sly amusement that color crept into his cheeks when his gaze landed on the ridiculously huge, fuzzy appendage swinging between Lance’s knees. 

Lance smirked, crossing his furry arms and staring down at him, obviously enjoying the experience of towering over Shiro. His eyes sparkled wickedly when he registered their matching jockstraps.

“You guys really are too precious, you know?” he drawled, lifting his head and sniffing the air delicately with his broad, flat nose before fixing them with a knowing look. “And, if I’m not mistaken, you finally did the ‘big nasty’, too. I’d recognize the scent of a freshly-fucked asshole anywhere.”

Keith looked down, cheeks flaming, but Shiro didn’t miss a beat. “Speaking of assholes,” he quipped, “Where are you going?”

Lance gave him with a sour look before puffing up again. “I’m gonna show these two pussycats who’s the biggest, baddest paladin of them all,” he bragged, reaching out to take Jacob and Hassan’s huge paws in his own. “We have a couple hours before Pidge and Hunk arrive and I’m not gonna waste the opportunity. Now, if you’ll excuse us…” he turned and the trio sauntered away, long tails waving salaciously behind them.

Shiro shook his head as he watched them go. After a moment, he squeezed Keith’s hand, murmuring, “Two hours, huh? That’s plenty of time to…” his voice trailed off as he leaned down and covered Keith’s mouth with his lips.

It took everything he had but somehow Keith managed to step away from him. “I want to, Shiro,” he said. “I really do but we have to deal with Haggar first.”

He turned and looked over his shoulder at the platform hovering behind them, giving a start when he spotted the strange, white lioness from the Black City. She was climbing the stands, heading toward the Black Lion and Haggar. As they watched, the Black Lion turned away from his watch over the witch and inclined his head reverentially to the lioness. The great, glowing cat nodded in return before leaping up onto the platform. There was a heart-stopping moment when the fiery nets surrounding the Druids disappeared, leaving Haggar and her minions free once again. The lioness acted swiftly, though, lifting her head and letting loose a thunderous roar. The Red, Blue, and Black Lions answered in kind, lifting their giant, mechanical heads in the air. Soon the arena reverberated with their fearsome roars, shaking the very foundations of the citadel. Keith and Shiro covered their ears with their hands and the watched in astonishment as a spinning, purple hole opened up behind Haggar and her minions. At that moment, the lioness fell silent and the hole descended, swallowing all three adversaries. They disappeared and the hole closed behind them in a flash.

Keith blinked and found himself staring into the lioness’ clear, blue eyes. Somehow, the great beast had teleported from the platform to a spot before him in the sand. He took a knee before her, lowering his head. Beside him, Shiro did the same. Her spectral voice echoed in their minds before she turned tail and disappeared.

Haggar is gone. She will not be back.

***

The arena was filled with Leonids two hours later when Hunk and Pidge arrived in the Yellow and Green Lions. The atmosphere was decidedly friendlier this time, though. For one, the Leonid paladins stood shoulder to shoulder with Lance, Keith, and Shiro. And Keith was more or less presentable again. Dydek had scrounged up suitable attire for him so he was no longer clad only in his jock. Shiro looked stunning as always in his paladin armor and Lance’s thick blue and black fur mostly covered his nakedness.

As the massive robotic spacecraft descended above them, the Red, Black, and Blue Lions–arrayed in a semicircle around the paladins–lifted their muzzles skyward and greeted their companions with a happy roar. A few moments later, the Yellow and Green Lions alighted on the sand next to them, closing the circle.

Pidge and Hunk emerged from their Lions to the cheering of the crowd. As if that wasn’t enough, all five Lions joined in, lifting their heads and adding their voices to the cacophony. Lance nudged Keith and soon he, Shiro, and the Leonid paladins were bellowing at the top of their lungs as well.

“Oh, wow,” Hunk murmured as he staggered awestruck down his Lion’s gangplank after the roaring had abated. “And I thought Sirius was the ‘dog star’. Why’re there so many lions here?” When his gaze landed on Lance, he froze and took an inadvertent step backward, stammering, “H-h-holy shit! Lance’s body is now almost as big as his ego!”

Pidge was impressed by something else entirely. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she gazed about in wonder, sputtering, “OMG! I’ve read about the ‘Peak of Eternal Light’ but never thought I’d experience it firsthand. I can’t believe it! What’re the odds of landing on the pole of a moon where the suns never set?”

Shiro, Keith, and Lance stepped forward to welcome their friends and were soon joined by the five Leonid paladins. Keith had just finished making introductions when he looked up and caught Shiro watching him, a carnal glint in his warm, brown eyes. He colored and was turning away when Hunt looked over at the Lions and flushed.

“Uh, hey, guys,” he queried, “Why is the Black Lion humping the Red Lion?”

***