Voltron's Mechanic (Keith x OC)

13) The Belly of the Weblum

I walked into the bridge, seeing Lance run around excitedly while he explained some sort of plan.

"First, we infect Zarkon's ship with a virus. Then, we make an extra large wormhole and lure Zarkon inside of it, zapping him a bajillion light years away. Then, when he pops out on the other side all like, 'oh, why doesn't my ship work?' Voltron kicks his butt! Pew, pew, pew! Womp, womp, womp! Huh! Hiyah! 'I'll form the head!' That's what you say, Shiro. Yeah, yeah. Yeah! We won for all time!"

"Is Lance on a sugar high?" I asked.

"Wow, so this is it," Hunk said.

"I guess the only question is, when do we strike?" Pidge asked.

"As soon as we build a teludav big enough to wormhole Zarkon's ship," Coran explained.

"Oh, man. The teludav again? Does that mean we need more scaultrite?" Hunk asked.

"That's just one of the many things we'll need," Allura said.

"Am I, uh... am I sensing a trip back to the space mall here?"

"I'm afraid not," Coran said. "This is gonna take a lot more scaultrite than we can find in any Unilu shop. For this plan to succeed, we're gonna need to split up. We all have a task to do. Keith, Hunk, you'll be in charge of getting the scaultrite. If any one of us fails, the entire plan fails"

He continued explaining what everyone else would be doing but didn't mention my name.

"What about me? Aren't I needed to help with the teludav?"

"Aris, I want to speak with you for a second in private," Allura said. She led me away from everyone else. "Aris, the team needs you. You're... you're the heart of the team"

"I'm not the heart of the team. You are. But I think I am the heart of Voltron"

She looked confused. "The heart of Voltron?"

"My mom told me a story when I was young, about the heart of Voltron. I only just remembered it. The heart could fly each of the lions because they had a deep bond with Voltron, not the singular lions. They were the heart. Now I think it's become me"

"Why do you think that?"

"I've piloted the Red Lion before, without having to gain its trust, because I already have its trust. I assume it'd be the same with all the others. They're all one. They're Voltron. If all of Voltron trusts me, just like all the Paladins trust you, then I'm it's heart. Does that make sense?"

"Strangely enough, yes"

"We're both just as important in this as the Paladins and Coran"

She hugged me then smiled when she moved away. "Thank you. Now, you should go with Hunk and Keith, make sure they actually do what they're supposed to do"

"Gotcha"

I went inside the Yellow Lion where Keith and Hunk had already boarded. Keith leaned against the controls on one side, and I leaned against the ones on the other.

"Why does Allura get to take a leisurely visit to the Balmera while we have to fly into the belly of a giant space worm to get scaultrite?" Hunk asked.

"You heard Coran. Building a huge teludav isn't easy. Everyone has a job to do and this is ours," Keith told him.

"But I always get the worst jobs. Go to a Galra occupied planet to get my lion. Go to a Galra occupied Balmera to get a crystal. Go into a belly of a beast with the only Galra alien team member"