The next morning somehow felt better like the ones before, she had a fluttering feeling inside of her and she was ready for this day. She was excited for this day.. Maisey had struggled for the past year now and for the first time she actually woke up with a genuine smile upon her face and a butterfly like feeling in her stomach. She wasn't sure what made this day different from others but she was glad to not feel a certain heavyness on her heart for once.
She did her usual morning routine while dancing to a song that had been stuck in her head before getting something to eat.
"Maisey and Pidge, please come down to the detainment room," Coran called.
She groaned but decided to finish her breakfeast, Coran could wait a few more ticks she was going to eat every last bit of her breakfast.
Pidge was already there when Maisey got there.
"Hi guys, what are we doing?" Maisey questioned when she noticed Sendak in a pod.
"We are trying to use Sendak's memories in order to gain more knowledge," Pidge answered as she was curiously looking at the Altean technology.
Maisey shared a confused look with Lance before he shrugged clearly not understanding much of it either.
She slowly made her way to the open spot between Lance and Keith as she tried to avoid eye contact with the red paladin. She was frightend for what she might face after that kiss on the cheek. Afraid of his response.
"Man, when I die I want all my knowledge to be stored in a big ship," Lance said with his arms folded and a proud smile on his face.
"The amount of knowledge in your head can be stored in a paper airplane," Keith replied uncaring and frowning.
"Oh well, the amount in your head...!" Lance screamed at Keith until he realised he did not have a comeback.
"Yes?" Keith scoffed.
"It's less than what I have!" Lance said proudly as he folded his arms.
"Oh, good one Lance!" Hunk said supportive.
Maisey pouted as she was wondering what the heck had just happened. That was one shitty comeback and it was about their knowledge..
"Let's just cut the crap," Maisey said as she walked forward to get a closer look at Sendak, she already despised this man, "I want to ask him a few questions."
"Like what?" Lance asked confused.
"Well, Shiro said that they were on his ship when they got captured," Maisey answered, "he also said that Avrigg was taken by an imposter, which means he might know the imposter that took her and what happened afterwards to her."
"You're right," Shiro said softly with a stern look focussed on Sendak's detained body.
"And I've been wondering," Maisey started as she looked at Shiro, "why did the imposter decide to save Avrigg? What made her more important to the imposter than the other members of the crew?"
"What are you implying?" Shiro asked as he saw her puzzled face, however she never answered.
"She's implying that the capture might have been just to get to Avrigg," Pidge answered for her.
"But that doesn't make any sense," Lance said.
"Yeah, why would they take Shiro and the others as well if it was just about her?" Keith questioned.
"It's just a theory," Maisey replied as she held up her hands in defense, "they might have been at the wrong place and time."
"Man, you sound like a police guy," Lance said and he scratched his head, "it's making my brain fuzzy."
"Like that's new," Keith scoffed.
"Can you shut up Mullet?!"
"Guys stop!" Hunk said.
Maisey sighed getting annoyed by their constant bickering, they were acting like little babies.
"Let's wait for this guy to.." Maisey's face fell, "share his memories with us?"
"How insane is that?" Lance laughed in disbelief.
"How do we know if it will work Coran?" Shiro asked.
"Well, we don't," Coran answered, "we just have to wait."
"Today we are honoring two of the most important people in my life, Takashi and Avrigg," Adam said as he spoke through the speaker at the Garrison, "and also Samual Holt and his son Matt Holt, they were taken too soon from us."
The hall was filled, she sat in the front with her mother. All she could wonder was about Avrigg's father, did her mother tell him about her death? And if he knew, would he care? Or did he never care at all?
Probably not, he left just like Maisey's dad left her. Their mother never really spoke about either of their father's, she was very secretive when they would bring the subject up. All she knew of Avrigg's father was that he was a brave man whatever the hell that meant. That was all her mother would ever say about Avrigg's father, seeing how she never said that about Maisey's it probably meant that her father was a coward.
"Takashi was the kind of man you just could not help but fall for, the first time we spoke he spilled chocolate milk all over my uniform, before that I never imagined him to be such a terrible and awkward flirt. But he was, however I wanted to get to know him, and eventually it got worse. He started using pick-up lines that he found online, I always frowned when he did that. It ended when his best friend told him to act differently, she eventually became my best friend as well, she managed to make all his clumsyness with words towards me dissappear and ask me on a date, and it was amazing. He was also stubborn, so stubborn that arguing did not work to keep him here on earth, with me. He was sick but he was convinced he had to be on that mission, which he really didn't. I love him, I always will and I hate the fact that I will never be able to tell him that myself," Adam sobbed and Maisey felt sorry for him, she looked at the chair on the end of the line, where Keith sat, he glared at the ground, his fists balded, his eyes filled with tears that he tried to fight. She felt sorry for him as well.
"Avrigg," Adam continued, "she had always been an odd one, and most saw that as a bad thing, but I always saw it as a quality. She was the type of friend everyone needed, she was selfless and so kind. She could talk for hours or sit in silence. I remember her sarcasm, that sometimes got her in trouble. I remember how she helped Takashi to date me, but being a disaster at getting herself a date. It was funny for sure. I also remember the time she brought me to her home, where I met her caring mother and curious sister, I can not imagine what you are going through, just know that you are not alone in this. Takashi and Avrigg are angels and angels can not stay on earth forever."
Maisey smiled as she made eye contact with Adam right before he moved on to the Holts.
"I'm gonna hit to the training deck," Keith said after a while of waiting.
"I'm gonna get some food, I'm hungry," Hunk said later.
"I'm gonna check what I can do about that Galra crystal," Pidge said.
Maisey and Shiro were the ones that kept their focus on Sendak, and only Sendak.
"Well, I have to reboot the entire Castle. It has taken quite a beat," Coran said as he straightend his back.
"Well, I'm gonna get me some lemonade or space juice," Lance said nonchalant.
"I'm staying," Maisey and Shiro said in unison.
"You, Lance, are going to help me," Coran said.
"What, why me?" Lance questioned.
"Because you're the only one left and your activity sounds least important," Coran replied.
"What? Did I say lay back with lemonade? I meant doing my homework!" Lance said.
"Too late!"
"Ugh, fine," Lance groaned as the two left.
Maisey sat down and leaned against the wall.
"What if you are right?" Shiro asked.
"Then I am very sorry that you, Sam Holt and Matt Holt got involved in that," Maisey answered, "but obviously I can't be right. That would mean that the imposter knew Avrigg and I highly doubt she met some Galra on her previous mission to Neptune."
"She has been on more missions than just that one," Shiro said as he clenched his jaw.
"I know, but those were all being recorded, the recorder died when they got to Neptune," Maisey answered.
"How do you know that?"
"The same way I found out about your capture," Maisey answered, "I hacked their system."
"You want to know what happened to that Earthling girl on Kerberos?" Sendak's voice echoed through her head, it woke her, she saw Shiro struggling with himself, he was sweating and clearly stressing.
"Yes, she got rescued by an imposter, my own captain betrayed me, he stole a fighter ship and took her with him," Sendak said as he laughed manicly, "then I blew them up with the ion canon."
"No!" Maisey cried out as she jumped up.
"It was a very satisfying moment, to watch that ship along with them dissolve into pieces," Sendak continued, "they were no longer a problem to me, and soon you and your Paladins won't be either!"
"STOP!" Shiro screamed as he punched the glass and it cracked.
"Shiro!" Maisey said but he pushed her roughly away causing her to fall harshly onto the ground.
Sendak had awokened with the most develish smile she had ever seen and Shiro shot him into space as he was breathing heavily.
Sendak's words kept on repeating inside her head, she was afraid that they might be true. It would explain why there was no trace of her anymore. She had been dead from the beginning.
Maisey started sobbing and hugged her legs tightly, hoping that the pain would go away. If her sister was dead... she'd have no family left.
"Maisey!" Lance said as he ran towards her, "what's wrong?"
"He.. he said she was dead," she stammered, "that he blew her and her saviour up."
Lance took her in a hug as she cried into his shoulder.
Until the alarms went off.
"Oh no, we're making a wormhole jump," Coran said.
They ran as fast as they could to the bridge where Allura was wormholing them to a star that was at the point of exploding.
"That star is about to explode," Pidge shouted.
"Allura, what are you doing?" Lance asked worried.
"We're going to Altea, my father is taking us," she answered with a smile upon her face.
"Allura-." Shiro said as he walked closer to her, but some kind of particle barrier appeard around her and Alfor's memories screamed at them, yet Allura did not cave.
"DO NOT COME NEAR MY DAUGHTER!" Alfor screamed outraged.
"Jeez," Maisey sighed softly with widened eyes.
"We have to keep the Castle away from that star," Pidge said.
"Paladins get in your lions and hold the Castle back!" Shiro said as the Paladins followed their leader right away.
Obviously trying to hold the Castle back hardly worked, but Coran somehow managed to get through to Allura.
"Paladins get back in here I am wormholing us out of here," Allura said through the communicator.
"How did you manage to get through the poisoned system Allura?" Maisey asked confused.
"I had to disconnect my father," she answered.
"I'm so sorry," Maisey said and the first thing she did when they got to the bridge after leaving the star was give Allura a big hug, she could use one.
"We are sorry about your father, princess," Shiro told Allura, she softly smiled.
"Thank you, but that wasn't my father. My father was a great man," Allura said, "and now we are going to stop Zarkon."
That night she was on the bridge, in her pyjamas, she wanted to have a nice view of the stars. Of course she had a view in her room, but she didn't feel like being there right now.
"Maisey, what are you doing up?" Allura asked when she walked onto the bridge.
"I could ask you the same," she said as she looked over her shoulder to see her, "I'm just.. thinking."
"I came to think as well, why did you?" Allura asked, "is it about Keith?"
"Keith?" She asked confused.
"Yes, I thought.. nevermind," Allura grinned, "what else is on your mind?"
"You know how the Castle was poisoned?" Maisey began, "well I don't know if Sendak's words are true or not, but somehow his words make sense.. even if I don't want them to."
"I'm afraid I do not quite understand you," Allura said softly as she seated herself beside Maisey. The girls took a big blanket around each other, it was nice to have Allura with her right now. She had no idea that she needed her, but now she knew that she did.
"My sister was saved from Sendak's ship by an imposter, the imposter took Avrigg in a fighter ship and tried to get away, according to Sendak he blew them up with an ion canon," Maisey sobbed into the girls arms, "and I hate that it makes sense why I haven't been able to find any trace of her, but still... I don't want to believe it."
"I understand," Allura continued, "but even if Sendak blew the fighter ship up, that doesn't mean he blew her up as well."
"What do you mean?" Maisey asked with a frowning face.
"She could have escaped," Allura suggested, "and I am sure she would have if she is anything like you. You have lost so much, yet you carry it with you and still decide to make people smile.. of course when you got into a fight with Lance the other day it wasn't fine, but you can not always keep smiling and pretending that everything is fine when it's not, sometimes you have to let it out. That's what I admire about you, Maisey, you have the drive to stay strong for others."
"You? Admire me?" Maisey asked confused, "I feel flattered, but I am no good. I left my best friend on Earth without even letting him know what I was up to, I kept a relationship a secret from him.. if someone is strong and worthy of admiration it's you Allura. You just decided to disconnect your own father for the sake of saving others. Not just us, but billions of lives, because if you didn't Voltron would have been blown up and then the universe couldn't be saved. And now here you are, listening to my problems when you have your own... give yourself some credit for your strength Allura, you deserve it."
Allura smiled grateful and the two girls didn't need to speak to know what was going on. They just sat there, on the bridge with a blanket around them watching the stars together. Embracing each other, because they could both use it.
It was peaceful.