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[pidge_out]

 


Hey, it's Pidge. Can't answer right now-- Rover quit it! --so leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can.
Rover, what did I say--?!?!

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[marmoron]

[That's getting stark silence for a long moment. His eyes never leave hers, and though there's definitely something accusatory in the way he's looking at her, when he speaks his voice is level for now.]

Right. So I've got a few questions about that then. But before that I need you to clear something else up for me. When I first got here, Lance mentioned that some messed up things happen in the future. [A beat.] My future, anyway.

But Shiro told me that you guys told him that "nothing serious" happens. What are you guys trying to hide from him? This thing Griffin was talking about or something else?

[pidge_out]

[Pidge spends that beat of silence running her fingers over the feathers on the top of Rover's head, just keeping her gaze fixed on what she could see of his face as he relaxed into the touch. She doesn't move her gaze when Keith speaks up again either, her lips simply pulling into a small frown.]

Shiro's... from just a little bit ahead of you. Hunk was ahead of us first, and then Lance and I kind of caught up to him recently. And yeah, a lot happens in the time between us. Some of them are pretty messed up.

There are some things that... We just don't want to stress Shiro out here. [She finally glances up again, and while she does look genuinely sorry for having kept secrets from her team, she doesn't regret the decision she made.] He's actually happy here. If we tell him about what's waiting for him back home, he'll just stress about things that he can't do anything about.

[marmoron]

[The switch from annoyance to concern is practically instantaneous. Shoulders tensing, he's not entirely sure he wants to hear this himself, but he never wants to be blindsided the way Griffin had done to him today ever again. But more than the dread he's starting to feel about the fate of his best friend is suffocating.]

Ok. Why is Shiro not happy at home? What happened to him?

[pidge_out]

[The look in her eyes takes a turn for the more serious, leveling Keith with it.] If I tell you, he can't find out, okay? If he ends up actually wanting to hear more about what's ahead of you guys, with the war and the Galra, we'll tell him ourselves. But this part is-- It's complicated, and it'd be easier to just not tell him.

[marmoron]

Pidge. [Her name's snapped without meaning to.] Just tell me what happens.

[It isn't hard to guess what might've happened and given the way she's hedging, it's only starting to make his fear on this one a lot more tangible. They're in a war. Soldiers die in battlefields all the time. But not Shiro. Can't be true for Shiro.

The counterargument rises to the surface of Keith's thoughts, but there's only so many times he can repeat that to himself before it starts feeling more and more like denial. His fingers dig into his arms.]

[pidge_out]

[She kind of wishes she wasn't holding Rover in this moment. Because it's hard for her to say, and she's really appreciate having something she can squeeze without breaking or hurting. It had been hard the first time, when she'd yelled at Lance, and that must have been ages ago by now. The fact that it's passed or even that it all resolves itself for the better doesn't make it any easier to deal with, either.]

..Shiro died.

[And that's only the beginning.]

After defeating Zarkon, we ran to check on him in the Black Lion and he was gone. We thought we found him later, and he was with us for about a year, but... Apparently it wasn't him. The Galra-- They'd cloned him or something, and one day he just attacked us out of nowhere, and that's when we found out the truth.

[marmoron]

[Shiro died. It's exactly what he thought she might say, and it still feels like taking a suckerpunch to the gut. His eyes are wide, throat tight as he stares at her like he's waiting for a punchline to a sick joke.

Unfortunately what comes after is neither a punchline nor a panacea. Where blood had seemingly turned to ice in his veins, it's instantly replaced with something corrosive.]

That's -- [His voice is getting louder, the first word practically yelped before every ounce of disbelief collapses into outrage.] What're you -- [His mind's going a mile a minute, questions piling on top of each other in disorganized chaos.] What do you mean he died and the Galra fucking cloned him?!

[pidge_out]

[Honestly, Pidge kind of expected this. Out of everyone on the team, Keith was closest to Shiro. She'd never known all of the specifics or the details of their relationship, but she'd known enough. And this outburst is, well... It's only natural. And it makes her grimace slightly, shoulders tensing all over again.] We're not sure of all the details, okay? We just-- I think they must have cloned him while he was their prisoner and released one as a sleeper agent to spy on us for Haggar or something. When he was activated you were the one who fought him and- Then you said that the real Shiro's consciousness spoke to you from inside the Black Lion, and Allura used her powers to transfer him into the clone's body. [SHE TOLD YOU IT'S COMPLICATED, KEITH.]

[marmoron]

[The growing tension in her body language is obvious; Keith can tell he's making her viscerally uncomfortable, but he's never been the best with managing his temper and though he'd like to think he has a better handle on it, this is one of those times it's physically difficult to bring himself back in line.

It's not Pidge's fault. He knows, but the way he's unfolded his arms and his hands have formed fists at his sides gives off a different impression. He takes several deep breaths, though his posture remains wound up and taut.]

What was his consciousness doing in the Black Lion? Was he trapped in there for a year?!

[Never mind. Just fucking never mind. All of that's irrelevant white noise to him, what matters is--]

So does that mean we have Shiro back with us? Or is he-- [Gone. Forever. No longer the Shiro they started their journey with? His voice catches in his throat, and for the first time his expression cracks into clenched teeth and bitterness.]

[pidge_out]

[Pidge just shakes her head a little.] I told you, I don't know all the specific details. Just what you told us after you spoke with him. But he's not gone. Allura was successfully able to transfer his consciousness into the new body and... Like I said, it's complicated. But he is back with us. For real. [She draws in a quick breath - honestly she's not sure what else to say about Shiro's situation now - then levels a solemn gaze on Keith again.] We didn't tell him any of this. On top of everything we saw when we finally got back to Earth, we just... We decided it would be better for Shiro to just know that ultimately things eventually managed to work out. And that's the truth.

[marmoron]

[Keith takes a deep breath, then another. It does little to quell the desire the yell. Shiro dies, Shiro gets cloned and then more magic fuckery happens to bring Shiro back. That should come as a relief, and it does, but it's a tiny pinprick in a chasm of things that are wrong.]

Alright. [It's not alright, not really. But what else can he say about it?] Fine. I get why you didn't want to tell Shiro. Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were a team! That isn't -- shouldn't be how a team works.

[He unclenches his fists, eyes fixed on Pidge. He realizes he never pushed anyone for answers before, but he didn't think the same people who called themselves his friends would be hiding something of this magnitude from him.]

What else are you guys hiding?!

[pidge_out]

[The shout makes her flinch a little, averting her gaze for a second. He's right, after all. And honestly she's more than a little ashamed that this was something that they never got around to discussing at length.]

I wasn't sure if you wanted to know, that's all! The last time you were here, you- Shiro said not to tell you about the future. And you never asked, so I didn't say anything!

[Though to be perfectly fair to Keith, Pidge had never really found the opportunity to offer the information to him either. Another thing that she definitely feels some shame about.]

We're not hiding anything, Keith. Not on purpose. Anything else you want to know, you can ask me right now and I'll tell you. Just ask.

[marmoron]

Wait, Shiro told you....

[Of all the things that PIdge could've said in explanation, that was somehow the last thing he expected to hear. It's also more than a little hurtful. Shiro ... seriously thinks he can't handle the truth, huh. Keith deflates, shoulders slumping a little as he drops eye contact.

He stays quiet for a longer moment this time. Now that the immediate anger is gone, he doesn't know where that leaves him anymore. He bites the inside of his lip, no longer sure how to express anything. But when he looks back up at Pidge, he's.... sorry. He's sorry he yelled at her and is making her uncomfortable, but there's still too much he has to say before that.]

What's Shiro trying to keep me from finding out, Pidge?

[His tone's gone quiet, but a moment later he shakes his head.]

...Never mind, I'll ask him that one myself. [A beat.] ....if Griffin hadn't shown up... were you ever gonna tell me?

[pidge_out]

[Pidge quickly shakes her head again, determined to nip this misunderstanding in the bud.] It was only because you said you didn't want to know last time you were here. We were just following your own request. [She won't talk about how hard it had been, when he'd come from a time before meeting any of them. It had been confusing, really, trying to figure out how to even interact with someone who didn't want to know how they'd become friends. Somehow they'd all managed. It had become a reflex that she must've held onto ever since. At his next question, though, Pidge has to pause to think for a second.] ...If I knew that you wanted to know, I would've told you. I should've asked if you did, though. The fact that I never even offered it is on me, and I'm sorry about that.

[marmoron]

[At that, Keith scrubs at his forehead, breathing out.]

... to be honest at first I didn't wanna know. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole... being here before and not remembering a damn thing about it, y'know? Like what time spent here even means. What we're even doing here. Then you guys were all from the future and had all these memories I don't have and...

[He swallows, looking away.]

And you guys have been here for a long time. Longer than I've even known you back in our world. I didn't know how to act around any of you. Maybe I still don't. [Read: he definitely doesn't.] And it's like Lance keeps saying [A beat.] ...or used to keep saying, I don't even know what tense I should be using anymore.... I'm the lone wolf.

[A brief lapse into silence and then:]

I don't know where I'm going with that. Point is, I asked Shiro and he told me nothing serious happens so I figured I could ask when I'd figured out how I even fit in here. That's the reason I didn't ask for details. But it didn't even cross my mind that you guys had left Shiro out of this or that you'd hide something this big.

[He breathes out heavily. looking back up at Pidge to finally look her in the eye again.]

Look. I get why you didn't want to tell me right away. Not like there's anything I can do to stop any of this from happening when I get back. I know I won't remember. [And oh how bitter he sounds about that.] And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I apparently didn't give a rat's ass about you guys before. But we're a team now, right? Friends, supposedly? I want to know.

[pidge_out]

[Pidge watches him for a moment, her expression shifting into something more sympathetic. Because she does understand. It's just as confusing being from the future, and trying to skirt around subjects that the other hasn't experienced yet. If she didn't still have Rover napping in her lap, she'd be moving in for a hug or something; that's what Hunk would do and it's almost always helpful.] We are a team. And we're definitely friends. So I'm telling you now, I don't mind if you need to stop me in the middle of a sentence to clarify something, or if there's something you don't wanna hear. [She shifts slightly, looking down at where her fingers have started playing idly with a stray feather on Rover's head.] I'm... I'm not great at the social stuff either. You have to tell me if I've done something wrong or I won't get it. But I'll try harder from now on, too. [Then she goes quiet for a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek and smoothing that feather back down.] ..What did Griffin tell you?

[marmoron]

[It's a relief to hear Pidge affirm their friendship, especially after Lance's weird meltdown, though his own expression softens only a little. His interactions with Griffin were tense, even before they became Garrison cadets, but their particular dynamic had never come up with the paladins before and naively, Keith had thought that it might never come up. He leans against the wall, arms folded.]

He said that Sendak attacked Earth. That the Garrison may be one of the last strongholds on Earth.

[He frowns.]

That they waited for Voltron for three years and that we never came. [A beat.] Accused me and the rest of the team of not caring enough to bother saving our home planet. I already know that's not true, even without knowing what actually happened.

But why did it take three years....?

tl;dr, the end of S6 and the first half of S7 happened

[pidge_out]

[His answer has her nodding slowly. The usual sorts of things, then. It must've been hard to hear from Griffin, though; she knows there was some kind of history between him and Keith, though she never really heard the whole story. But hey, the cat's out of the bag now, and Pidge isn't about to go back on her promise to talk honestly about anything Keith wants to know.]

He made the same accusations at me, too. [Which makes her frown a little, her expression tinged with annoyance.]

It wasn't on purpose. We'd been fighting Lotor, right where the Galra homeworld used to be. Eons away from Earth. The fight got pretty crazy. Lotor kept popping in and out of the quintessence field, and we had to follow him into it and trap him there to stop him... And over the course of things we realized that a ton of holes had essentially been torn into the very fabric of reality. In order to fix it, we had to create a massive explosion... using the Castle of Lions.

[She pauses for a moment there, laying her hand gently over the top of Rover's head with another small, thoughtful frown. It's a strange feeling that tugs at her; that battle had simultaneously happened a long time ago and not. The timeline obviously doesn't add up, since she'd gone back and forth between the Pokémon World and home between the events she's explaining. Logically she knows that's just the way things are around here, but it still feels weird.

And talking about what had happened to the castle... Somehow she still feels that loss pretty acutely. It had been home for such a long time, and they'd rushed to get everything they called their own onto the lions that... Well, there hadn't exactly been time to say goodbye to it.]

What we did repaired the damage, but we knew something was wrong. We couldn't get in touch with anyone for some reason, but we knew to head back to Earth, hopinh that my dad had made progress on fusing Altean technology with ours. The lions needed to recharge so it was kind of slow going, but we did our best to hurry, and then... [She lets out a soft, tired sigh.] We found out that we'd all been missing for three years.

The explosion... It had to be the equivalent force of a black hole in order to fix the holes in the quintessence field. Which apparently must have been enough to throw us into the future in the blink of an eye. We-- We had no idea until Zethrid and Ezor caught us and asked about Lotor. So by the time we were able to reach Earth... [Pidge trails off there, her gaze having dropped toward the floor as she shakes her head again.] We came as fast as we could. As soon as we heard. It just... wasn't enough.

i'm laughing at the contrast here sorry

[marmoron]

[That... is a lot of information to take in, and as she speaks Keith grabs the nearest chair and takes a seat because he needs to process this sitting down. It's difficult to wrap his head around a lot of this, though he can't deny that it sounds exactly like the kind of bullshit they'd run into in outer space.]

Okay. I thought we were fighting Zarkon. Who the hell is Lotor?

ffffff don't be sorry :P

[pidge_out]

Oh- Right. [Pidge actually looks the tiniest bit embarrassed for a second. She'd clearly forgotten just how far back Keith was coming from.]

Lotor is Zarkon's son. Ironically he did help us beat Zarkon for good and was kind of... on our side for a while. But that ended up not lasting, obviously.

[She makes a face there. Sometimes she still kicks herself for cutting that guy even the slightest bit of slack.]

[marmoron]

[A blink.]

He has a son?!

[WHO LET THAT GUY BREED!!! What a horrid thought; Keith is just gonna facepalm for a second, then look right back up.]

That's so.... guess we should've seen that coming. Guy's been around for ten thousand years, he can't have just been obsessing over Voltron that entire time.

[Stated mildly, though he's repressing a Whole Body Shudder.]

[pidge_out]

[Pidge almost wants to laugh at that initial reaction. Because-- Well, it's all too familiar to her, really. She's pretty sure they all had their own mini crises to realizing that Zarkon had an actual family.]

Yeah... It's gross to think about, though. So we try not to.

[She'll give Keith a sympathetic smile, though. Sorry, buddy. The future is a strange place.]

[marmoron]

[At that, Keith lapses into another silence. There's just a lot to try and wrap his mind around and he doesn't really know where to start really trying to unpack things. Maybe he doesn't really want to while there's company around. Between everything that happens to Shiro, then their entire home planet it's all very quickly threatening to choke the air out of his lungs.

No wonder his mind had gone straight for the most inconsequential of the bombshells that'd just been dumped on his shoulders.

But he'd asked. he's not sure if he's any happier for knowing the truth, but he still thinks this is preferable to just leaving Griffin to tell him everything in grisly detail. Still... still. His hands clench and unclench, and he doesn't make eye contact with Pidge.]

Okay. I'm gonna forget that immediately.

[He pauses, clearing his throat. Part of him wants to leave immediately before the emotional weight of any of this seriously starts catching up to him, but there's just one last bit of clarification he needs and doesn't know if he'll get.]

Griffin said the Galra took over Earth. That they destroyed practically every major city. Turned the whole planet into a labor camp. I know you said we beat them back at the end of it.

[He grits his teeth, not wanting to say the next couple of words. But he forces them out in the flattest tone he can manage.]

Guessing that means my house is gone, too?

[It's the one thing he truly left behind on Earth. The only family he had at the time they left was Shiro, but still...that house is the only thing he really has left of his dad.]

[pidge_out]

[Pidge gives him the silence he needs to process all the information, returning her attention to Rover and the way his feathers fluff up with every inhale. Her ears are open, of course, ready to get right back to it when Keith is, so when he starts talking about Griffin and what he'd been told she's back to rapt attention.

That question, though, surprises her. It probably shouldn't, but it does.

There's a frown on her face now, her brow furrowing in thought as she racks her brain for information. Keith's house. The one out in the desert, where they'd all really first met. What had happened to it..?]

...I... I don't know. [That makes her frown deepen. Because she really, really hates not knowing things.] It was pretty far removed from the Garrison, though. I'd say that odds are good it's still out there and is mostly unaffected.

[She wishes she could say that with more certainty, but... Unfortunately this is the best she can do.]

[marmoron]

[Without necessarily meaning to, Keith slumps back against the wall, body heavier and heavier by the second. Uncertainty tastes like rot in his mouth, though an even bitterer part of him just wants to break down into dry laughs.]

Okay.

[It's not okay and everything about him, from the way his tone's gotten even flatter and his shoulders have gotten even stiffer plainly state the opposite. Frankly, he'd have more of a clue of how to feel if Pidge had just literally set him on fire, but the way things are now, he feels pulled in a hundred different directions with no clear path to catharsis. He'd yell, but the people he wants to yell at are inaccessible. He'd punch the wall, but he'd only end up hurting himself.

It's the kind of helpless anger he remembers feeling towards everyone and everything while watching them lower his father's coffin into the ground. Teeth grit, he swallows dryly.]

Okay. [He repeats it like hes trying to convince himself of that, but really it doesn't work. He peels himself back off the wall vertebrae by vertebrae.]