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Keith could barely make out Lance’s frantic words over the harsh alarms blaring in his ears.
The cramped room was haphazardly flashing a deep red; the overhead lights repeatedly washed over the grey metal tiles and briefly painted their faces in the crimson color like a temporary stain.
Keith’s eyes worriedly flicked toward the commotion outside their tiny airlock.
The two exhausted paladins were horribly outnumbered by the sheer amount of Galran soldiers lurking just behind a thick glass wall.
They had just barely made it into the small room and successfully sealed the airlock before the multitude of guards viciously slammed their fists against the barrier.
Whatever safety they were experiencing would be short-lived and they had to think fast.
Their current situation called for desperate measures.
A rather colossal-sized commander suddenly lunged himself at the barrier, harshly retracting only to repeat the violent movement as more soldiers joined in. A sickening crack resonated from the dense clear wall.
Guess it wasn’t dense enough. Keith thought bitterly.
Lance let out a low pained moan as he clutched his head. Keith turned around suddenly, being taken aback by the unpleasant noise.
The blue paladin unexpectedly stumbled back and began to sway ever so slightly while pulling off his helmet. The movement seeming to throw off his balance and general equilibrium.
Keith quickly studied Lance’s face through his cracked red visor, noting the bruised cheek and split lip that was graced upon him from the Galra during their hasty retreat into this hell hole of a room.
His eyes narrowed as they trailed downwards toward his bashed in chestplate. What an unusual contrast the flashing red lights created on his white paladin armor.
The dark hue reminded Keith of blood.
As the room briefly faded back to grey, Keith’s eyes widened in horror.
The dark hue is blood.
“Oh my god- Lance!” Keith leapt forward just in time to catch the blue paladin as he folded in on himself.
All of Lance’s weight came falling down on Keith as the taller boy’s knees buckled under him. Keith sharply inhaled as he tightly wrapped his arms around Lance’s torso and desperately tried to prevent them from both hitting the ground.
The red paladin firmly planted his feet and hoisted Lance up, failing to realize the puddle of blood pooling around the blue paladin’s frame.
Keith let out a distressed yelp as his feet slipped in the warm substance and they both came crashing down to the cold metal floor.
Lance released a pained cry as Keith’s elbow harshly jabbed him in his injured side during the fall.
“Sorry! Sorry-” Keith worriedly sat up and carefully pulled Lance with him. He propped Lance’s body up against the grey wall, earning a groan of protest from the latter.
“S’hurts…” Lance bit out as he squeezed his eyes shut. His usual upbeat face was contorted in a gut-twisting pain.
“I know I know just- hang on okay? Just- just don’t die.” Keith had always been horrible at comforting someone and struggled to keep up a conversation. He had to make sure Lance stayed awake.
Keith tried to reach the others through the comms but was only met with crackling static.
“Shit!” Keith spit out in frustration. He must have busted his helmet during the ambush.
Keith scrambled to pull out his knife. He reached into his utility belt and ungracefully yanked out a small roll of cloth bandage as various other items were pulled with it and clambered against the floor.
Keith didn’t care. He didn’t have time to worry about the mess.
He barely had time to worry about Lance as the Galras’ violent thumping against the clear barrier increased in frequency.
The red paladin fumbled with the bandage roll a few times, accidentally dropping it in his haste and chasing after the cloth as it unraveled itself across the room.
He let out a curse when he finally appeared back into Lance’s field of vision and noticed the unfocused haze glossing over his half-lidded eyes.
“Hey!” Keith snapped. “Are you with me?”
“Mmf” Was all Lance let out as he let Keith tend to his wound. His head kept lolling forward which pissed Keith off more than anything.
“Lance! I swear to god if you die on me I’m going to kill you!” Keith angrily barked out.
“M’sorry…” Lance drew out in a dizzy slur.
This wasn’t good. Keith was panicking.
He wasn’t mad at Lance, but he sure as hell was terrified of Lance dying. The mere thought made his blood run cold and left him fueled on pure adrenaline.
Fear was always a good motivating factor.
Keith’s hands were shaking as he tried to bandage Lance the best he could. There was just so much blood. It kept slowly gushing out and soaking the bandage, turning the alabaster cloth a sickening dark rust color.
Keith let out a shaky laugh at their current situation.
What deity had he pissed off this morning to deserve this?
“There…” Keith let out as he used the rest of the bandage. “..Good as- ..new…” Keith tried to joke but the last syllable got caught in his throat as his airways tightened.
Lance tilted his head downwards at his makeshift bandage and tiredly observed how his blood was already seeping through at an alarming rate.
“Heh… sharp work... samurai...” Lance mumbled out halfheartedly; a small smile graced his lips.
Keith felt like he was the one dying.
“Hey! Hey Lance! Don’t you dare pass out on me!” Keith’s tone was frantic; his usual gruff voice raising an octave as he desperately shook Lance.
Keith anxiously furrowed his brows as he stared down at a delirious Lance. He was at a complete loss of what to do.
Another ear splitting crack sliced through the air as the Galra got closer and closer to shattering the only barrier standing between them.
The clock was ticking.
They both needed help. Immediately.
Unfortunately both of their lions were all the way back at the castle. They had taken a small pod instead because the original mission had been simple: collect rock samples from a nearby asteroid.
Shit hit the ceiling when a nearby Galra fighter ship ambushed them and traveled at lightspeed to a head spacecraft, which just so happened to be millions miles away from the others. The rest of the group were without a doubt trying to locate them, but who knows how long it will take for help to arrive?
It was supposed to be an easy mission, almost like a well-deserved break without any intended conflict, and yet here they are...
Keith let out another curse fly past his lips.
“Whas’ wron?” Lance struggled to breathe out as his vision was fading. His head suddenly fell forward as his eyes slid closed.
“Lance? Nonono- no Lance stay with me-” Keith yanked on the back of his head harshly. He felt bad about it, but words alone wouldn’t register with Lance anymore.
“Mmm-” Lance whined out in protest.
“Sorry.” Keith exhaled as he leaned over to scoop up Lance’s still intact blue helmet and replaced his red one with it. He prayed that Lance’s comms weren’t busted too.
“Is anyone there? This is Keith speaking.” Keith held his breath in hopes that the others would answer.
A tick of silence went by.
Then two..
Then another....
Ten more…..
Keith wanted to cry.
The silence stretched out. All that could be heard was the blaring alarm and frightening cracks of glass just a few feet away as the Galra pounded against the deteriorating barrier. Their muffled roars growing louder by the second.
“Shiro? Hunk? Pidge? Allura?Coran?isanyonetherepleasehelpus!” His words started coming out in a rush as he felt desperate tears prick at his eyes and burn his face. The hot streaks of misery rolled down his cheeks and collected at his chin.
No one was going to help them. They were both alone and it was up to Keith to save them.
“N’ anser?” Lance weakly asked the best he could.
“No answer.” Keith shaikly confirmed.
“Fugk.”
Keith’s lip quivered. He nervously bit at the flesh to try and make it stop.
“Fuck is right.”
Lance seemed to be silently contemplating something as his brows pulled together in concentration.
Keith glanced over at the cracked glass and tiredly eyed the soldiers. It was only a matter of time until-
“Keef…” Lance suddenly drew out in a shuddery breath. Keith carefully leaned down toward Lance’s face in an attempt to hear the raspy whisper. “Save ur’sef…”
He looked taken aback. “What? Lance no! I’m not going to leave you here!”
Lance held Keith’s desperate look with pleading eyes.
“S’ere’s only... h’one… helmet... p’leaz…”
Lance was right. Keith’s helmet was cracked and would do him no good in outer space, but that doesn’t mean he’s about to steal Lance’s and leave him behind.
“Keef… lisen..” Lance’s breathing was irregular and weak; his words slurring together.
“Y’u godda go… m’ nuh gon’ na may kit...”
Keith couldn’t stop the frenzied tears from spilling from their confines, and only half registered the stray ones falling onto Lance’s face.
“Keef-”
“NO!” Keith desperately shouted as he cried above Lance’s depleting lifeform.
“I’m not going to leave you! I’ll fight every last one of them if I have to! We’re in this together Lance!”
Lance gazed up at Keith with a fond wonderment warming his eyes. He shakily reached up with whatever strength he had left and placed his palm against the side of Keith’s tear-stained cheek.
Keith could lean into Lance’s hand for only a moment before Lance in one final movement clicked Keith’s visor shut and slammed his fist against the hatch’s release button by his side as he breathed out two last words.
“Live on.”
It all happened so fast.
Keith could only incoherently scream at Lance as they were swiftly sucked out into space.
Time slowed down for a single moment, allowing Keith to briefly focus on a recognizable shade of blue. His eyes locked onto Lance’s like a lifeline, desperately reaching out and wanting to stay with him. Lance’s face was solemn and his eyes revealed zero traces of regret. His expression softened as he gazed at Keith; a single tear escaping as he smiled for Keith one last time. Unspoken words lingered in the air.
It was all too much.
Keith more than ever wanted to reach out and comfort Lance. He wanted to sit down and talk to him about what he was feeling. He wanted to hear his lively voice crack silly jokes until their sides were aching from laughter. He wanted to reassure Lance that he’s important to the team, that he’s important to him. He wanted to tell Lance that he was valid and that he matters more than he could ever know.
Too many thoughts flickered through Keith’s mind in that short instant, and none of them could be properly voiced before time resumed its curse and Lance passed by Keith’s vision in a blurry blue haze.
The Galra abruptly followed, the glass easily breaking under the sheer force of the suction.
None of the Galra had the proper helmets on for voyaging outside and Keith could only watch in horror as he spiraled backwards how they all quickly suffocated and froze to space’s unforgiving temperatures. Hundreds of lifeless bodies clustered together and decorated the open area like tiny burned out stars, and somewhere in that heap was Lance meeting the same bitter fate.
Keith’s body was being harshly propelled backwards at high speeds and wouldn’t stop spinning until he remembered to activate his suit’s thrusters.
He gradually steadied himself, not really sure what was ‘down’ and what was ‘up’ anymore.
Keith dejectedly peered off into the black empty space, still in shock of what had happened and closing his eyes hoping that Lance would be there when he opened them. He wasn’t.
He was far away from the Galra ship now; the once large mass now just a small illuminated speck off in the distance. Everything was pitch black. He was in a part of space where there was nothing but a black void for thousands of miles.
Keith’s small V’s on his armor casted off a faint glow and was the only thing reassuring him that he hadn’t been completely consumed by emptiness.
He felt as if the darkness had swallowed him; a simple speck floating helplessly in vast space.
A red paladin of Voltron wearing a blue helmet.
Keith knew Lance was gone, and he couldn’t even see him amongst the body count.
He was so utterly broken and pissed at Lance.
“YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” Keith cried out into the void.
“You stupid fucking-” Keith broke down into uncontrollable sobs; his entire body wracking in each choppy inhale. He curled in on himself. Now a small miniscule ball floating aimlessly through the cold expanse.
Why Lance?
He cried his throat raw, silently hoping that the darkness would swallow him up and end his misery.
Pathetic. He thought. Lance sacrificed himself and saved his life, and here he is wanting to throw it all away.
Absolutely pathetic. Keith hated himself.
I wasn’t worth it Lance…
Keith clenched his teeth together and shut his eyes so tight that black spots speckled his vision.
I’m so sorry…
Keith wasn’t sure how much timed had passed until the others had finally shown up while being led by the red and blue lions.
It didn’t matter though.
Keith was already dead inside.