Winter Tree (Voltron: Legendary Defender Fanfic/ONC )

Hidden Truth

"Hide."

The memory of the Galra attack on the space colony swam around in Keith's mind while his head pounded. He couldn't remember all the details of that day such as the sound of his mother's voice let alone what she looked like. He couldn't remember the sound of his father's voice either, but at least remembered what the man looked like from the pictures.

He did remember the one order telling him to hide in the place she put him, but also the gentle hands which did so. He remembered waiting for her to return while lodged in the place she hid him but heard the sounds from outside his hiding spot of fighting going on, and he also remembered the fear he felt while waiting for her to return.

Instead, he saw the face of a purple monster he would later identify as Galra peeking in at him as he screamed, and this memory flashed through his head.

Keith's eyes snapped open. A deep breath escaped from his lungs as his eyes stared in front of him in panic. An ache throbbed in his head while his eyes closed tightly from the pain while a groan escaped from between his lips. He'd never expect Sven – or Shiro as he was called here – to slug any version of himself unless he'd managed to seriously tick him off.

"What did I do?" Keith wiggled against his restraints which kept him seated. He was in the interrogation of what he assumed was the Atlas as damage from the craft was evident.

"You called her a bitch, that's what." Shiro sat down across from him. This version of Sven's dark hair was now white, but his right arm was missing and replaced by a mechanical arm. There was a scar across his nose.

Keith narrowed his eyes at Shiro while he attempted maneuvering the bonds. The bonds felt like wire pulled from some of the ship's inner workings, but Shiro was in fact always good at figuring out solutions for pinch situations. There were only a small handful of people who could easily get the better of them, and his brother was always one of them. This version was no different, yet he didn't want to say anything to do with this one right now.

"She's in the room with us."

Keith took in a deep breath but fought to control his temper. He'd gone a long time without actually losing his temper as Sven taught him a long time ago not to let what others did make him lose his control, yet this honestly took the cake. He'd lost his twin blades when the wolf teleported him, but for some reason, Shiro hadn't removed the hidden blade and he let it slip out so he could cut the wire. "She's what?"

Shiro leaned back and folded his arms. "I see you and she hasn't worked through things like our Keith has. That's a real shame."

Of course, Keith never expected his own older brother who always looked out for him to be the person who managed to piss him off. He felt his restraints start to give as the blade cut through. "Why the hell should I work things through with the Galra who killed our parents?"

He watched Shiro's eyes widen slightly. "Wait." The man stopped crossing his arms and leaned back, but his voice tightened as if in surprise. "You hate the Galra more than Allura does."

Keith ground his teeth together. "I get it. She didn't kill them in this universe, and they died some other way, didn't they?" He watched Shiro glance behind him, but he guessed she was standing behind him and that was who Shiro was looking at. "Don't you dare! Get her out of the room!"

"Why..."

"What do you think I'll do if I get lose?" Keith watched Shiro's eyes widen in horror upon realizing what Keith was talking about. "How long do you think it will take me to get out? And not me that you personally know now, but an older me with more experience?"

Keith's wrists came loose and he stood up from where he stood at the same time Shiro did. He spun around and looked murderously at the female Galra. Shiro's voice strained while the Galra female's eyes widened. "Stop!"

He, in fact, didn't follow through with his attempt to kill the female Galra, but the reason wasn't because of Shiro's words. Instead, he heard a different voice in the back of his head, one he'd not heard in years yet instantly recognized.

"Keith. Stop" Hearing the voice in his head made the blade drop from his hand and he physically stumbled. He startled, even more, when the female Galra stepped forward and reached out for him. He didn't expect the female Galra to pull him into her arms, yet her touch was in fact gentle. He found himself frozen in shock, but the voice continued. "Keith..."

"Get out of my head."

"Keith, you need to calm..."

"I said get out of my head!" Keith pushed away from the female Galra and backed away from her shaking his head.

Shiro watched him carefully, but then looked at the female Galra. "What just happened?"

The Galra opened her mouth to say something, but Keith spoke quicker. "She was in my head! Only Allura's allowed in there! And how dare you use my mother's voice, you monster!"

Shiro sighed. "I am absolutely confused. What exactly is going on with you and Allura – your Allura in this world."

"They're bonded." The voice the Galra used was definitely that of his mother.

Keith heard Shiro's voice strain. "Is that some kind of Galra thing I should know about?"

"Galra!" Keith turned and looked at Shiro in horror. He pointed at the female Galra who opened her mouth to answer again only for him to quickly interrupt. "She is not our mother."

"Oh yes, she is."

"No, she's not! Our mother isn't Galra! She's Altean!" Keith watched Shiro's facial features contort in confusion.

Shiro cleared his voice. "Um, no. She's Galra." He turned and looked at the female. "And this bonding thing? Is our Keith going to go through this Galra thing?"

Keith pointed his finger at the Galra female. "You. You aren't Altean."

"He's right Krolia. You aren't Altean" Shiro glanced at Keith. "Why do you think our mother is Altean?"

"Not all Altean-Galra hybrids look like Lotor." Krolia took a deep breath. "Perhaps this will help?"

Keith froze upon seeing the purple color leave Krolia's face but swallowed at recognizing a face he'd thought he'd never remembered. His eyes drifted towards the ground. He wasn't looking forward to Allura reading his mind later on.