I miss you James

What now?

Allura POV

I sighed when I left the hangar. Yes, it was a terrible thing that Shrio was gone, and we'd all miss him, but we didn't have the luxury of having time to properly mourn.  We had to free the rest of the universe from Zarkon's forces. Even though he was dead, the Galra Empire was still intact. I headed towards the bridge, hoping to find Coran or another rebel leader, to discuss plans for moving forward. Instead, I found Kolivan, sitting with his head in his hands. I approached him cautiously. Even though they had proved to be valuable allies, that didn't mean I had to trust them. 

"Kolivan, is something wrong?" I asked, sitting next to him. He looked at me, and his all-yellow eyes seemed sad. "Antok- Antok, he is-WAS my son. And that WITCH took him away." He spat. I gasped. Members of the Blade had families in there as well? And so many of them had lost their liveds in the fight against Zarkon. "I'm sorry." I muttered. "There was nothing anyone could've done. We knew the risks when I let him join." He said, shaking his head. "I should've never let him join." 'Well, what about his mother?" He shook his head. "Died in a raid. Senteries." "I'm so sorry. That must be so hard for you." Seeing Kolivan so broken up, so vurnerable, it was like I was talking to a different person. "It's okay Princess. This is what happens in war. But he put the mission above all else, which is the way of our people. At least his sacrifice wasn't in vain. We did stop the witch, and you and the paladins killed Zarkon. Hopefully now no more innocent blood will be shed." He said, a sad look on his face. Then he cleared his throat and stood. "Well, I must head back. Several of our operatives were injured, and I need to make sure that they're okay." I nodded and stood as well. "Of course. I hope they heal swiftly." He smiled softly. "Thanks you Princess. I hope you find your Black Paladin soon." And with that he left, his face back to the stoic, unmoving expression, so unlike the pain on it just moments before. 

I sighed and rubbed my temple. These Galra were so complicated. But he was right. We'd need a lot of luck to find a new Black Paladin.

_Time skip- next day_

I waited impatiently in the lounge for the paladins to arrive. I had alerted them to be here bright and early so we could discuss our current paladin situation. "Where are they?" I asked. Coran shrugged and twirled his mustache. "No idea. Probably still asleep. I did see number four training rather late last night. And Hunk and Pidge were baking." "Baking? Baking? they should all be training! Following Keith's example." I shook my head. How were they supposed to defend the universe if they couldn't fight? "Allura, Keith is not training for fun. He misses his brother, and is angry that he's gone. He's directing his energy towards the bot instead of actually dealing with his emotions." Coran said. "Yeah, that sounds like Keith."  Someone said, and I almost jumped. "Who's there?" Coran called out, a worried expression on his face. Previously, my father's AI had been corrupted and the Castle had gone rouge and started talking, nearly killing us. We weren't particularly fond of hearing voices. "Me." Pidge said, sitting up form one of the couches. "Oh! Pidge! I didn't see you there. apologies." I said, and she shrugged, throwing off her blanket. "It's okay. I was hidden. But yeah, that's what Keith does. He's not really a "talk about my feelings" kinda guy. Lance has an extensive face care regimen, and Hunk just likes sleeping in. I can wake them up it you want." I nodded. "Please." she smiled devilishly and tapped a few buttons on her phone.

Moments later, Hunk came running in, a frantic expression on his face. "Where is it? Where's the puppy?" He asked, looking around. "There isn't one. But that's the easiest way to wake you up." Pidge said with a smile, and Hunk frowned. "That's mean. You don't joke about puppies Pidge." She shrugged and sat. 

Lance soon came in, with a bright smile and a pep in his step. "Hey guys. Hey Princess." He said with a wink and finger guns. "How exactly did you wake him up?" I whispered to Pidge. "Got his phone to play "Hips Don't Lie." It's his favorite song, and he always has to sing along with it. Puts him in a good mood." I nodded and turned toward the door, expecting Keith to walk in. But he didn't. "Number five, would you happen to know where Keith is?" Coran asked. Pidge shook her head. "No. You can't track Keith." "Then go find him." Lance said. "It may be Mullet, but if we're having a team meeting we need to have him here." Hunk nodded. "Yeah, right. Wasn't he training? We could look there." "No, I passed it on my way here. He's not there." Lance said. "Is it possible that he's just in his room?" I suggested. "It's possible. Not likely, but possible." Pidge said. "Well should we go look for him? Make sure he's okay and all that?" Lance asked. "No, we can just text him." Hunk said, pulling out his phone. "Yeah, but I don't have is number." Hunk looked up in surprise. "Really? We're in space and have all known each other for years and you don't have his number?" "What?" Lance asked, throwing his hands in the air. "We weren't on the best terms back at the Garrison." Pidge scoffed. "That's an understatement, but okay. Hunk, is he responding to you?" He shook his head. "No. He might just be asleep."

Keith chose that moment to walk in, hands shoved deep in his pockets and shoulders slouched. "There you are number four! We were just starting to worry about you." "I'm fine." He snapped, then sighed. "Let's just get this over with." I raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Now, I know that we're still recovering from yester quintant, but we need to plan out how we're going to move forward. And the first part of that will be finding a new Black Paladin." I started. "What? No!" Keith yelled. "Shiro isn't dead!" "Keith, the cockpit was empty. He can't be alive." Hunk reasoned. "Yes he is!" Keith insisted. "And I'm going to find him!" "Keith, I want to believe as much as you do that Shiro is alive, but its not possible." I said. "I'm sorry, but he's gone." "No he isn't! We though he was gone before! We thought he was dead before, but he wasn't!" "Keith, please, it's not worth it." Lance said. "No! I'm not giving up on Shiro! He's the only family I have left!" Keith yelled. "Number four, we don't have time to go and look for him." Coran said, stepping forward and putting his hand on Keith's shoulder. "We have a duty to the universe." Keith wrenched himself away. "My duty is to those I care about! I can't believe you guys! You're acting like he doesn't matter! I'm going to find him. Just you wait." He growled before storming out. Lance sighed. "Well that went well."