Survivors (Keith x OC)

Chapter 29: Changing of the Guard

The desolation of Zarkon's ship left behind a massive debris field. The purple lion weaved through the floating debris, in a desperate attempt to find what she had lost.

"Come on. Please be out here." She thought to herself as she kept a close eye on her radar.

"Phoebe, I'm not seeing anything." Keith said in a saddened voice as he flew next to Phoebe in the red lion.

"I'm sorry." She whispered under her breath. Both the red lion and purple lion headed back to the Castle of Lions, putting their search to an end.

. . .

All of team Voltron gathered in the sitting room, Hunk and Lance talking about their mission on Planet Puig.

"They haven't quite figured out their flatbread situation yet, but what they do with those centipedes is just out of this world." Hunk went on, talking about food as usual.

"And they're totally reading to join the fight against the Galra." Lance added.

"We brought back a few of their leaders to join the coalition."

"That is splendid. Excellent work!" Allura praised the two paladins.

"I gotta say, this is what it's all about." Lance showed Phoebe a few selfies that he had taken with the locals, specifically the girls. She wasn't exactly amused. "Freeing the people, meeting the ladies, then bombing down the road again to the next adventure, Voltron style."

"Which brings up a little issue. They want to see Voltron, but we don't really have Voltron anymore." Hunk added.

"No, we don't have Shiro anymore. But I guess we all forgot about that." Phoebe interjected.

"It might be difficult for us to accept, but it is time to start thinking about looking for a new pilot for the black lion."

Everyone was shocked by the princess's proposition, but not as shocked as Keith.

"No, I'm going to find him. Shiro is the one person who didn't give up on me. I won't give up on him."

Keith stormed out of the room, leaving everyone speechless. Phoebe wanted to follow, go after him and comfort him, but she felt that it wouldn't do much good. She was feeling the same way as Keith, heartbroken about losing Shiro. She blamed herself for everything that happened, and she didn't know how to let go of the guilt.

. . .

The paladins, Allura, Coran, and the coalition of leaders from freed planets were all seated in the dining hall.

"It is our honor to have you all here, together." Allura greeted the group.

"I had the biggest bunker on Puig, but it wasn't nearly this nice." The leader of Puig said as he admired the castle.

"Welcome everyone, welcome! I prepared a few Earth canapes for us to enjoy while we discuss galactic diplomacy." Hunk said as he placed everyone's dishes Infront of them. Phoebe glanced at her bowl, at first feeling a wave of nostalgia from the food that reminded her of home. But then some other nostalgia hit, and her appetite quickly dissipated.

"The Blade of Marmora has gathered this intelligence." Kolivan stood up from his seat and displayed a holographic image, showing the systems in the galaxy. "As you can see, the Galra empire is still the most massive ruling force the universe has ever seen. The meer size of it is, almost incomprehensible. It seems like it could rule another 10,000 years."

Phoebe leaned over to Lance to whisper in his ear. "Well isn't this cheery. Not exactly how I would have started this discussion, but. . ."

"However, we are beginning to see signs of increased rebel activity within the empire."