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Chapter Text

"NO!" the Paladins screamed almost in synchronization as they all ran towards their fallen member. One stayed with the fallen paladin as the others attacked the Galran soldiers with such ferocity that the battle ended almost as soon as it began. But, not soon enough.
It had happened so fast. The attack on the Castle. The warning siren. Then the blood. So much blood. They just weren't prepared. No one knew the Galra would appear to try and take the Black lion, again. No one expected an attack so soon, but there was. The Castle was stormed by hundreds of Galran soldiers. There was nothing they could do. Haggar had disabled access to the hangars, leaving the Paladins all alone.

...

"I'll ready a cryopod!" Coran shouted. But Allura knew the pods could not save an injury so severe.
"Please. Please stay with us," that's all that was heard in the now deathly quiet
Castle.
"I'm sorry," Allura said with watery eyes. "I fear it's too late".
There was no angry screaming or denial. Just an empty silence for they knew one of them had fallen.

...

The next few weeks had been hell for the Paladins. Unable to form Voltron, Zarkon continued to destroy the universe. No one had it in them to continue fighting.
For this particular paladin, albeit quietly, kept the team together and was the glue of Voltron. The Paladins were not the only ones suffering. The dead paladin's lion's roars could be heard throughout the whole castle. Her particle barrier had been put up, not allowing anyone to enter. No one was worthy to pilot her again. Not after Pidge, not after Katie Holt.
Time of death: 2:03 AM.

Chapter Text

Lance POV

Wow. How did this happen? Getting stuck on a hostile planet with Mr. Hot-Head Mullet was the last thing he needs right now. Seriously can't I ever catch a break? The mission's simple really. Step 1: Go to Galra infested planet. Step 2: Sneak around Galra base and plant listening device while the others create a diversion. Step 3: Get the hell out as fast as possible. We split up and of course I get stuck with Keith. I begin to think Shiro is personally messing with me- trying to get back at me for being late to training probably.

"Ready?" Shiro asks.

"Yeah. Is Keith ready?" I sarcastically asked.

"What are you trying to suggest, Lance?" Keith responded with an equal amount of sarcasm, sparking the third argument between Keith and me today. Ugh, Keith gets on my nerves with his stupid mullet, hot-head attitude, and perfect pilot skills (don't tell him I said that).

"Guys!" Shiro shouted, "Can we please focus? Thank you. Pidge, Hunk, have you in the location of the Galra base mainframe?"

"Good to go. The mainframe should be down long enough to give Keith and Lance the opportunity to slip in undetected," Pidge stated obviously proud of herself.

"Ok. Keith, Lance, you've got exactly ten minutes before the mainframe is up and running again so make sure to stay on task." Shiro was right. This mission could put us ten steps ahead of what Zarkon is planning, but I can't help but call out Keith.

"I am the master of focus," I said, "Not sure I can say the same for Mr. Mullet over here though."

"I have more room in my brain for focusing, for your information." Keith argued. Yeah, make that four arguments between Keith and me today.

Sighing, "Okay you guys. Your time starts now. Pidge, Hunk, and I will keep the Galra busy. Make sure to get out of there before your time is up. The place will be storming with Galra before you know it," Shiro stated in his leadership-y voice.

Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge headed towards to sky to fight off the Galra. Keith and I snuck up on the base from behind, making sure to check for Galra scouts. Coast clear.

"Let's go!" Keith whispered. For once I didn't argue with him. It was much easier to get to the control room without the security cameras calling us out. Thank you Pidge! Surprisingly we didn't run into any guards on the way to the control room. It was really easy. Too easy. It gave me a bad feeling, but I choose to ignore it. The mission was more important. We headed towards to control room and disabled to drone standing guard.

"Ok. We're in. How do we plant the listening device?" Keith asks Allura using the comms. Something is seriously wrong. Even with the mainframe out, the Galra should be able to sense we're here. It's not like they're completely incompetent without it.

"There should be a place directly under the keyboard where all of the wires are. The bug can be placed with the wires and the Galra will not notice." Using the information given to us by Allura, Keith places the bug without any complications.

"Okay. You've got 5 more minutes before the mainframe is back up," Shiro told us over the comms.

"Come on Keith, we should leave. I'm starting to get a really bad feeling about this mission." Not that he'd listen, but I thought it'd be worth a shot.

"What are you talking about? We already finished," Keith says while giving me that 'are you serious look'. And I thought the red paladin was supposed to be known for relying on instinct. "Whatever. Shiro, we're on our way back to our lions. How's it going out there?" Keith asked over the comms.

"Surprisingly quiet out here. We only ran into a couple of fighter jets. Not that I'm complaining," Shiro replied.

"Yeah, yeah. We're leaving." And that's where it all went to hell.

"Hey guys…" Pidge states nervously, "I'm picking up a bunch of alien ships coming out of nowhere. It's like they set a trap…oh quiznak."

"I told you this whole thing felt fishy," I said directing that statement to Keith.

"Hey! I never said you were wrong. Whatever," Keith said defensively. Crap. Out of nowhere, we could hear Galra soldiers approaching from all directions. There was no way Keith and I were gonna make it out of there. One minute before we were totally screwed. With the mainframe back up, we'd be easier to detect and fight off since the ion canon would be working.

"Lance, time to go," Keith practically shouted at me, already headed out the door.

"Right behind you!" All the sudden, Galran drones surrounded us from all sides. "Keith! Behind you!" Right in the nick of time, Keith swung around, slicing the drones in half with his bayard.

"I'll take the left you take the right?" Huh, who knew Keith could be funny in dire situations. I thought that was my shtick.

We destroyed those Galra like it was nothing. Working together for the first time really since we joined Voltron. I'd use my blaster to shoot down Galra down the hall while Keith used his sword to slice-and-dice at a close range. But this is where it really went to hell. The last Galra was taken out and I could hear Keith breathing hard in the back, just assuming he was tired from fighting off hundreds of Galra.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked over the comms.

"I'm good. Headed back to the Castle now," Shiro stated over the comms.

"Hunk and I are okay. A little bruised but nothing that can't be healed with time," Pidge responded.

"Awesome. I'm all good in here. Took down the Galra like a boss. You should've seen us. Keith and I were like the dynamic duo. Right Keith? No response. "Keith?" I turned around and noticed Keith hadn't moved since we defeated all the Galra. Now that I think about it, he's the only one who never responded…"Keith, you okay buddy?"

Still no response. I look down and notice a pool of blood forming underneath him. "Keith! Shiro we have a problem: Keith's been hit. Hurry! We're next to the control room." Crap, crap, crap! I ran towards Keith with lightning speed.

Keith collapsed on the floor right in time for me to catch him, "Keith, hey buddy, you okay? Please be okay." There was a large hole smack in the middle of Keith's chest from a Galra blaster. Dammit!

"Keith! Hey, hey, hey. Stay awake okay? Shiro's on his way and we'll be back in the Castle in no time." Keith was looking paler by every passing second. He was so deathly still, too still.

"K-Keith, open your eyes. J-Just open your eyes. I know we haven't been the best of friends but um…I've never actually hated you, you know? Heh, this stupid rivalry thing. I was just jealous. You had such a perfect life at the Garrison. You were talented, everyone was jealous of your piloting skills, and you had Shiro. I just didn't know how to handle someone who could show me up without trying. Please come back. Please?"

He still hadn't moved. I could hear a faint pulse which gave me hope. I could hear the team shouting through the comms telling us they were on the way but I wasn't paying attention. I just brushed my hands through his bangs until I could see his forehead. The blood coming from his head wound made his pitch-black hair stick out from his pale skin more than usual. Wow, I never noticed how naturally beautiful Keith was. Sure I always kind of had a little thing for him, more of a fantasy since I knew he'd never notice me, but now I realize how serious this "crush" has become.

"L-Lance," Kieth said barely above a whisper taking short shallow breaths.

"Keith! Y-You're okay!"

"Didn't think you could g-get rid of me that easy did you?" I could see how much he struggled to keep his eyes open. His breathing becoming more labored as he continued talking.

"Lance. I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" Seriously? He was apologizing now? He had nothing to be sorry for.

"I-I know you don't like me. I know that you hated me, ever since the Garrison. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to come off as arrogant or ungrateful. Cause Honestly? Being in Voltron with you has made my life infinitely better. I-I'm sorry that we always argued over stupid things. I'm sorry I made you hate me, because I never hated you, the opposite actually. I just, I don't know how to handle emotions." What? Keith thought I hated him. What another minute, Keith likes me?

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Keith, I-I never hated you. I was just jealous. I didn't know how to handle competition. But I never hated you." Keith looked up at me, on the verge of crying. I could tell that was the last thing he ever expected me to say. Dammit! Where's Shiro? He doesn't look good. He's bleeding out too fast. The pool of blood kept expanding, soaking Keith head-to-toe with red.
Ironic, huh? Red, the color that represents fire and passion and determination was the color separating my friend, and maybe something more, from reality.

"W-We made a good team," Keith said almost completely delirious from blood loss. N! This couldn't be how it ended. There was too much left unsaid.

"Keith! Please, please don't leave me. I-I can't—I don't want to do this without you." We were both in tears now. The salt water mixing with Keith's blood made a morbid pattern on the floor of the Galran ship.

"Please Keith. C'mon buddy, don't give up. Fight dammit! You can't give up? C'mon where's the stubborn hot head I know? Keith? K-Keith?" No response. No. this couldn't be happening. But it was, there was no light left in his eyes. The team never made it, whether they got held up or lost, it doesn't matter. Keith was gone and no kind of mystical healing pod can bring him back. Nothing can bring Keith Kogane, Red Paladin of Voltron, the best pilot the Garrison's ever seen, back to me.

Chapter Text

Hunk's POV

"So Hunk," Lance said, "you ready for another day of training? Not like I need training though, being as awesome as I am."

I laughed, clearly amused by Lance's 24/7 humor.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a sec. Lemme change into my armor first. Should we wait for the others? Ooh! We could do one of those 'fun' training exercises with the spheres and stuff," I said excitedly.

"Fun? Yeah right. Those spheres beat the crap out of me. It's all Keith's fault too you know? Stupid mullet-head can't cover me." Lance could say whatever he wanted, but Hunk knew why Lance had this so-called rivalry.

"So…" I debated on whether or not he should change the subject or try to dig it out of Lance. "Weren't you gonna get your suit on?"

"Right! Heh, I'll go—do that, now," Lance said shaking his head.

Man, I can't believe we're here, in space, fighting creepy purple aliens. It was just a year ago that Lance and I were basically flunking at the Garrison. To be fair, the puking was not of my own volition. But the Garrison was great. I mean, it's where I met my best bud. I miss it sometimes. Waking up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast (which is automatically better than space goo), take classes taught by professors who secretly hated us, then spending the night gossiping about Iverson and what he does in his free time. It was the best.

"Hunk!" Lance called from down the hallway, "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah! Be right there!" I yelled back. We arrived at the training room, surprisingly Keith wasn't there. He normally spends most of his free time training.

"Huh, weird that Keith isn't in here. That over-achiever usually loves to be all work and no play. 'Oh no Lance. I'm so cool that I train practically 24/7 so I can try and be so much better than you'," Lance said mimicking Keith.

"Disappointed?" I said. "Pfft, no! Why would I care what that weirdo is up to—START TRAINING LEVEL 2!" Lance yelled to the Altean system.

He sure was quick to change the subject. Lace and I continued at this for about thirty more minutes before deciding to call it quits.

"Hey I'm gonna make some lunch. You hungry? I found this weird ingredient on the last planet we were on. It actually tastes kind of like that quote-on-quote dessert at the Garrison." That was the best analogy I could come up with.

"W-w-wait, that 'pudding'?! If you could even call it that. I'm pretty sure it had mold and moved by itself…definitely worse than the space goo." Lance said shivering as he recalled the Garrison food.

"Yeah! It tastes a little better. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't move by itself. That was so funny though!"

"Totally! Remember when we pranked Pidge?" Lance said enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah! She was so pissed! I didn't know it was possible for Pidge to look so contorted. Didn't we put the dessert in her shampoo bottle or something?"

"Yeah, and her hair smelled like moldy fish for a week. Best prank ever." We both started laughing so hard we almost fell off the couch. It's nice I'm not the only one who misses the Garrison. It wasn't the best but if it wasn't for the Garrison, I never would've met Lance or Pidge, or even known about Keith for that matter.

"Hey Lance?" I asked.

"Yeah Hunk?" "Are you happy? I mean, are you ok being in space and all? I know it sounds great, but sometimes I just really miss the Garrison. I even am missing Iverson." I hope he doesn't think I'm crazy or something.

"Yeah I see where you're coming from. I mean, I guess. I miss my family more than anything else though. I miss my abuela's hugs when I'd come home for break. I miss the way my little brothers and sisters used to play in the backyard during the summer. I especially miss my mama's home cooked Thanksgiving meals with all of my family. But you know, there are some ups to being in space too. We get to defend the universe in awesome lions. I bet if Iverson saw us now-"

"He'd probably report us for being insubordinate," I pipe in.

"Ha, yeah. Probably. Well at least now Keith has to spend at least some time with me. I'm pretty sure I was invisible to him at the Garrison—I mean, not like I care what mullet-head thinks!" Gotcha I think to myself.

"Keith huh? Yeah I could see that happening. What, with how much you talk about him."

"Pfft, I'd turn myself into the evil Galra leader, Zarkon himself before ever admitting feelings—that do NOT exist—for Keith.

"Ok…whatever makes you feel better," I said in a sing-song-y voice. Wow, I think Pidge is starting to rub off on me. Lance cleared his throat,

"uh, I feel great! What about a mullet? That's right, nothing. Nope. Zilch. Nada." We continued talking about Earth (and the occasional reference to Lance's not-so-secret crush) and all the fun times we had. I totally forgot about lunch and just enjoyed reminiscing about the past.

"PALADINS! Get to your lions now!" Allura's voice beamed us out of our nostalgic thoughts.

"Do you think it's Zarkon?" I asked Lance while we ran towards the hangars.

"Who else would it be? I bet it's just a few Galra outpost ships though." I hope Lance is right. But boy, could he of been more wrong. All of us hadn't even existed the hangar before Haggar blasted us with her dark magic. Voltron was forced to split apart, giving Haggar the upper hand.

"Guys?!" Lance yelled over the comms, "what the hell are we gonna do?! Zarkon brought the whole freakin empire this time."

"Guys," Shiro said much calmer but still battle ready, "Yes, Haggar is here, but Zarkon isn't. He must've sent her on a different ship. We can do this, okay? Everyone just stay focused. Hunk and Lance, you guys take out the smaller ships. Pidge and Keith, Cover them. Then we can figure out what to do about Haggar."

Everyone immediately began getting to work. That was good. At least Shiro gave us a semi-plan. Lance and I were almost done taking out the smaller ships. Thanks to Pidge and Keith, we didn't get hit much. Shiro was focused on keeping Haggar occupied so we could clear the air. When all was going good, Haggar came with another blast of dark magic Lance and I barely avoided.

"Um guys?! I don't think we can handle this! It's like she knows what we're gonna do. Like she knew our plan before we even started." I said, starting to worry about this 'simple' take down mission.

"Ok. Princess, how close are we to worm holing?" "Just a few more ticks," Allura replied. We can hold out for a few more ticks right? Wrong. Out of nowhere, Haggar's magic came straight towards Lance. Without thinking I slammed by hands on the controls and used Yellow's force to push Blue out of the line of fire. All I could feel was burning throughout my whole body.

"HUNK!" I heard all my teammates scream. But I didn't hear much after that. At least Lance was ok. As long as he's ok.

"Grab Hunk! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Shiro yelled over the comms.

"Ready to wormhole," said Coran. Before I knew it, we worm holed galaxies away from Haggar's reach, for now

"-Waking up…can't tell" "Check the monitor—not yet" Ugh. How long was I out? I heard muffled voices coming from outside the pod right before it spit me out. Luckily Shiro caught me before I hit the ground.

"Hey buddy. How are you feeling? You got hit pretty hard," Shiro said concerned.

"Um, I feel good, all things considered. I must have been out a long time.

I could tell something wasn't right though. Shiro had more bags under his eyes than usual. Pidge's eyes were red from, crying? My injuries couldn't have possibly been that bad. Even Keith looked sympathetic and like he was mourning. But mourning what exactly.

"Let's get you something to eat. You've been in the healing pod for about four days now," Allura said calmingly.

Wait a minute… "H-hey. Where's Lance? Is he ok?" Suddenly everyone's faces became longer.

"I don't think he remembers," I heard Keith whisper to Shiro.

"Hey Hunk? What exactly do you remember about the battle?"

"Not much if I'm being honest. Haggar was there. She fired dark magic at Lance but I pushed him out of the way just in the nick-of-time."

Why was everyone looking at him so weirdly?

"Hunk. I-I'm sorry. That's not what happened. It must have been you mind trying to cope while in stasis." Shiro said looking even worse for the wear. No...There's no way.

"What do you mean, Shiro? What do you mean 'trying to cope while in stasis? " Shiro looked like he was unable to continue. Instead, Pidge stepped forward.

"He means that um…what happened during the battle was so traumatizing for you, that in order to heal properly, the pods manipulated your memories to help the healing process go by faster."

"So you're telling me everything I thought I knew was actually the pod's way of helping me heal? So I never had that training session with Lance? We never talked about the Garrison and his family? None of it was real?"

"I'm afraid not. The battle began while everyone was still sleeping," Coran stated.

"So what really happened then?" I asked curiously. I still didn't understand why everyone looked so depressed. Where was Lance anyway? Was he showering, eating? Allura stepped forward.

"Haggar's visit came as a surprise to all of us. You all barely made it out of the hangars before she started attacking. Haggar did fire a blast of dark magic at Lance but um…" I could tell she was struggling to continue,

"b-but um…you were unable to make it in time to redirect the blast. It was by no means your fault. The Galra fighter ships attacked the yellow lion, rendering you unable to help Lance." She was on the verge of tears now.

"I'm sorry, I can't," Allura said as the tears began to fall freely.

Keith began to speak up, "the blast hit Lance directly. Luckily, Allura and Coran were able to wormhole us away before more damage could be done. When we uh, went to check on Lance, the inside of his lion was destroyed. We um…found him,"

Keith cleared his throat, clearly trying hard not to lose his composure, "we found his thrown out of his seat which burns from Haggar's dark magic littered across his body. I-I'm sorry. He was gone before we arrived. I know how much—"

"Stop. Just stop," I said barely above a whisper, "you mean to tell me Lance is gone? He's GONE?! And none of you tried to do anything?!" I was yelling now. How could they all be standing here talking to me when the past few days they could of at least tried to save Lance?!

"I'm so so sorry Hunk. We know you were closest to him. I'm sorry, but the healing pods couldn't possibly have saved him. There was just too much damage. I can't even begin to understand what you are going through," Allura replied softly.

This can't be happening. No way is Lance, my upbeat friend gone. He's that one guy who you could always count on to be there for you. No matter how much he joked around, you always knew he'd be serious when it counted.

"No. You're right. You can't. Did you know what Lance thought about? What he wanted to accomplish? Because I do. He always told me about how he missed Earth, how he missed his family, even the Garrison. He told me about how much he looked up to Shiro and tried his best because he was afraid Shiro would never believe in him. He told me—after I kept bothering him—about his secret crush on Keith but he didn't want anyone to know because he thought people would make fun of him. He constantly talked about become the best sharpshooter he could possibly be so we would want to be around him cause he always felt like a seventh wheel. Lance was the best of all of us. The most caring, kind, and loyal.

And how do you repay him? By not even trying to save him. No one looked me in the eye. I could tell they were all starting to think they could have done more to try and save Lance. But it was too late. No matter what they thought now, nothing would bring Lance back. Nothing would bring Lance back to us or to his mother, his grandmother, his sisters and brothers. Any chance he had of ever reuniting with his loved ones was taken away. And there was nothing I did—nothing anyone did—to stop it. So that was fun, huh?

Sorry if it was confusing. To summarize. The first part of this chapter was Hunk's dream within the healing pod (everything was a dream up until when he comes out of the pod). He comes out of the pod only to discover his best friend is gone and no one could do anything. 

Chapter Text

Third Person POV

What was it like to have been alive for over 10,000 years? Albeit most of those were spend in cryo-freeze. What was it like to of had your whole planet destroyed and you weren't there to see the end but to see the future? These were the questions that pressed Coran's mind while doing maintenence on the Castle bridge.

Coran: the most trusted advisor to the late King Alfor and current Princess Allura. How he had seen Allura grow from a wee child to the wonderful strong leader she is today. Coran continued to ponder all that has happened and all that's been lost when a blip on the surveillance catches his attention. He clicks on the camera to the main hallway only to see Sendak approaching the bridge. How did he manage to get in the Castle undetected??

"PALADINS!" Coran shouts over the speakerphone while blasting the alarms. "THE CASTLE HAS BEEN BREACHED. I REPEAT, THE CASTLE HAS BEEN BREACHED. INTRUDER HEADING TOWARDS THE BRIDGE." He worked quickly to lockdown the castle to prevent the intruder from escaping.

Shiro was the first to hear the alarm--hastily putting on his armour--and ran towards the bridge, Galra arm glowing a steady purple.

"Coran, what's your status," Shiro yelled over his comms.

"Terrible news Shiro, the intruder is Sendak. I don't know how he managed to breach the ship!" Coran exclaimed. "We're on our way to you now," Shiro stated as he saw his fellow Paladins and Allura catch up with him in the hallway.

" It may be too late for that I'm afraid," Coran barely whispered as Sendak blocked the doorway to the bridge.

" I'm sorry, Paladins. Keep Allura safe, she means everything to me--as she did to Alfor," Coran states calmly over the comms and shouting of his team members.

"Well," Sendak growled, "you must be Coran, royal advisor, pilot of the Castle."

"And you must be Sendak. I do believe I've had the 'pleasure' of meeting you before," Coran snarked. "How did you manage to get onto the ship without our knowledge?" Coran questioned.

"Easy really. But I think I'll let you die wondering how you failed. Seems better that way, no?"

Coran began to sweat but kept a calm exterior as he locked the doors to the bridge--preventing Sendak from reaching the Paladins. He could hear his teammates shouting to open it. He couldn't let their efforts be for nothing.

While he hadn't known the Earthlings for long, he's grown rather attached to them.

Shiro: his leadership and dad-like insticts (as the paladins refer to) have kept the team together through many rough patches.

Lance: the goofball. But also the one always willing to lend a hand--even if it causes him to get stuck in a corrupted cryo-pod.

Pidge: the tech genius who stayed up late with him to help update the Castle and always falls asleep on the computer.

Keith: while he has a bad temper, he's secretly a softie who always pays attention when Coran had anything to say that wasn't being heard--always sounded like he was speaking from experience.

Hunk: Such a bright spirit and avid learner. He always enjoyed to look through the Altean library to learn about their ancient ways.

And of course Allura: a daughter to him, but legally a goddaughter. The brightest light in his life. He promised Alfor he would keep her safe. Coran hopes to be accomplishing that--sadly he knows it's up to the paladins to watch over her once he is gone.

...

"--watch it!...over here!...don't let him--away" The Paladins burst through the door just in time to see Sendak throw Coran against the wall using his Galra tech arm.

The sickening crunch of the advisor's neck was enough to haunt the paladins dreams for an eternity. 

Shouting in disbelief and anger, the Paladins charged Sendak while Allura rushed to Coran's aid--subconsciously knowing he was gone.

Right before their eyes, Sendak disappeared into thin air before they could land a punch. While how he escaped wasn't known, they theorized Haggar has something to do with it.

...

As Coran had helped Alfor with the lions, they could feel the loss. The entire Castle shook as the lions roared to honour the fallen soldier.

The death of Coran effected the team greatly. No one really knew how much he meant to them before it was too late.

Unbeknownst to the universe, that was the day Voltron gave up in the fight--the loss dragging them down and dissolving any fight left, and hope for the universe.

So I wrote this in one sitting. Please excuse the typos--I'm sure there are some.

Chapter Text

Voltron had received a tip that a Galra ship contained important information on Honvera's whereabouts.

Everything had been going smoothly—Pidge used her cloaking device to gain access to a maintenance hatch outside the control room while Hunk stayed in the castle to disable the security camera on the Galra ship.

Keith, Shiro, and Lance infiltrated the control room and began to download the encrypted files.

“I’m going to do quick scan of the floor to make sure no sentries come inside” Shiro said while walking towards the door.

“Okay, time for the ol’ razzle dazzle” Lance whispers as he inserted the drive into the mainframe and pulled up the files on the ship “almost got it.” he skimmed through what must have been hundreds of files. 'Project Kuron' What is that? Lance thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a pacing Keith.

"Could you go any slower?" Keith said impatiently.

"You know maybe if I had some help and about 200 less files to skim through" Lance's eyes landed on the correct file and he quickly got to work copying the file on the drive. "Damn, 15GB, it's gotta be heavy stuff with a file that big.'

While waiting for the drive to download, Keith paced up and down the control room as an extra precaution should an enemy appear.

“Okay, got it! Let’s get out of—“ a shot whizzed past Lance’s ear.

“What the hell was that??” he exclaimed looking towards Keith who whipped his head to look at the door at the guards approaching quickly.

“10 o’ clock, we got company. They must have slipped past Shiro—let’s move”

"Hold on...a few more seconds...got it!"

Keith bolted out of the control room followed by Lance and 3 guards in pursuit. Avoiding shots, Keith called Pidge over the comm. system, “we need an extraction, now! Damnit, where’s Shiro”

“I’m right behind you” Shiro shouted while running up behind the duo. “Did you get the drive?”

“yeah, barely” Keith answered out of breath.

“Green lion standing by at the west entrance” Pidge responded moments later.

“Shit” Keith exclaimed as a laser skimmed his bayard. “We can’t outrun them”

Lance whipped out his bayard and began taking shots at the quickly approaching guards. Shiro battled his own—using calculated moves to take out his opponents. Keith finished taking out one guard and watched him drop to the ground.

“Little help here Samurai” Lance shouts in Keith’s direction while being pinned down in hand to hand combat with one of the guards. Keith rushes over—using his bayard—drives it through the guard on top of Lance.

“Thanks” Lance replies. Keith notices the guard at the end of the hall lining up the shot—

“Lance!” —and pulls him out of the way—the laser grazing his arm.

Shiro gestures to the two of them “c’mon, Pidge is waiting, we gotta go”

The three of them make it safely onto the Green Lion, giving Lance time to check his arm.

“Are you okay?? I’m sorry, I should have seen him sooner,” Keith says while wrapping his arm.

“Yeah, It would take more than a graze to take me down,” Lance responds with finger guns “it’s a nasty gash, but after a varga in the pod, I’m sure it’ll be good as new”

Keith let go of a breath he’s been holding for a while. “You did good out there, in the control room I mean—you handled yourself well. Who knew Lance McClain new his way around a computer"

"Well I'll have you know I've been taking lessons with Pidge to become, wait for it, a tech master" Lance retorts.

Keith chuckles, "yeah, I'd love to see that"

"Oh just you wait"

Their banter continued all the way to the hangar. Once they land, Shiro grabs Keith and pulls him off the floor.

“What the hell Keith. Lance is injured because of you. I was going to wait till we were alone, to save face. But this is absolutely unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry, we didn’t see him until the last second”

“No excuses, you need to be more careful. Lance could have gotten seriously injured”

“Yes, but he didn’t”

“yeah, I didn’t” Lance chimed him. Shiro seemed so off lately. He could have sworn he saw his eyes glow for a moment. And Shiro should have noticed the guards coming down the hall. Lance brushed off his suspicions quickly—not wanting to dwell.

Shiro sighed, “you’re right. Just pay more attention next time. We can’t afford mistakes like these with all we have at stake.”

Keith shrunk into himself, “I understand.”

Chapter Text

*The next day*

God, Shiro is right. Keith thought to himself. All I do is mess up, and Lance almost paid the price for my stupidity. He deserves someone better who can have his back—not a screw up like me.

Keith stopped pacing in his room and glanced at his pillow. Hesitantly, he took the blade out from underneath it and unwrapped the cloth hiding the symbol.

Is it worth it? Trying harder...every time I do, I’m left with more questions than answers--Lance, The Blade, and now Shiro. How can the team rely on me if my own mom didn’t trust me enough to stay by my side.

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Lance finished up some food goo after spending his well needed varga in the pod. He wandered aimlessly down the halls thinking about what Shiro said earlier. Aren’t Shiro and Keith like brothers? It doesn’t make any sense. He’s not the type to snap at anyone like that—especially Keith. Come to think of it, Shiro has been acting strange lately—aside from what happened today. He’s been spending less down time with the team, more blunt and dismissive during briefings than a his typical leader self...and it all started once we got him back...

A sound brings Lance out of his thoughts. Like any sane person wandering the dark halls of the Castle, he searches for the source. It sounded like sobbing? He comes across Keith’s door and pressed his ear against it.

He hears a audible but quiet voice on the other side, “what’s the point...he won’t care about me after this. I’ve messed up too badly. And Lance, Lance won’t ever want to talk to me again—after all, it’s my fault he spent time in the pod. It’s better this way...” better this way, what did he mean? Looks like he was going to figure out soon enough, the motion sensor on the door's panel kicked in and Lance who was leaning on the door, stumbled into Keith’s room.

Immensely embarrassed, Lance's eyes make their way to the ceiling while he frantically waves his hands and starts spouting apologies, “uhh, this isn’t what it looks like, I uh, was just wandering down the halls, not eavesdropping...” he begins to say but trails off when he sees what he walked into.

There sat Keith on his bed—looking at a very embarrassed Lance—holding his blade which was currently pressing into his pale forearm. Lance looked at Keith with a mix of horror, understanding, and pity.

“Keith...I-I don’t...why?”

“...It’s none of your business Lance, just leave, okay” blood began to drip onto the cold and sterile floor.

Lance cautiously walks over to Keith’s side—afraid any rash movements would set him off like a ticking time bomb.

“It is my business when my friend decides to do this, without considering asking for help first. We’re here for you, we always are.”

“It’s just a matter of time...” Keith stops speaking and his eyes drift off to the corner of the room.

“A matter of time until what?” Lance tries to keep the conversation going.

“A matter of time until you all realize you don’t need me anymore, let alone want me. I know you all will. I just...I didn’t expect Shiro—“

“Hey. Shiro was wrong. Something is of with him lately. But that’s on him, not you. Nothing he said was true. None of it was your fault. I’m fine. We’re all okay. I’m sorry if we don’t seem like we care, but we do, we care so much. I care so much. And I promise, we’ll do so much more to let you know we care so it gets through that thick mullet of yours” He lets out a light chuckle.

Keith lifts up his head and looks at Lance, “I’m sorry...”

“You never need to apologize. Do you um...wanna talk about it?” Lance said softly, looking back at Keith--not really expecting a yes.

"yeah, that-that'd be nice"

“Great, let's talk while I get you get cleaned up. Then maybe we can find some food in the kitchen. I know where Hunk hides his stash of fancy food from other planets” to which Keith perked up a little and the two of them headed to the bathroom.

Pathetic. He’s weak. He must go. Shiro thought while observing the ordeal through the Castle’s security feed. I will make sure of it.

Chapter Text

Lance and Keith talked for what seemed like vargas but was really only one. He walked Keith back to his room and offered to keep him company--to which Keith politely declined. Keith entered the dark room and flipped on the lights only to be greeted by Shiro sitting nonchalantly on his bed.

"Jesus Shiro, you scared me"

“Hello Keith” Shiro said flatly while sitting on Keith's bed.

"How could you even think to do something like that?"

"Like what...?" Keith cautiously asked. I thought he was past the accident on the mission. "How many times do I have to say it. I'm sorry for screwing up the other day. I know how bad it could've been...more than any one" he solemnly whispers--thinking back to what could have happened only moments ago had Lance not been there.

"No. That is not what I'm talking about," Shiro pulled Keith's blade out from under his pillow--examining it closely, like it held some deep secret he couldn't wait to expose, "you think I wouldn't notice?"

Sighing, Keith takes a seat next to Shiro, "How-how did you find out?"

Shiro ignores the question, "Why would you do something like this?"

Keith moves his body to face Shiro, but avoids his gaze.

"You know why..."

Chapter Text

Allura stood on the bridge looking at planets of possible allies. If the Coalition was to succeed, they would need more allies than they have. It’s so much to handle, thinking about the Universe—how everything could go wrong if she took one wrong step—not to mention the evident stress it was putting on the paladins.

After the mission a quintant ago, she had noticed rising tension between Shiro and Keith. More so just Shiro. It is not like him to yell at anyone, mistake or no mistake, especially Keith. Anyone would be blind if they didn’t notice how close the two of them were.

“Oh hello,” Allura said looking at the space mice, “why no I haven’t, why do you ask? Shiro and Keith? Well I wouldn’t want to spy...”

the space mice jump up and down in an attempt to sway her decision

“Well all right, I suppose it couldn’t hurt. I am just checking on my team of course”

Allura pulls up the security cameras and tunes into Keith’s room. The space mice gossip and told her how Shiro came to talk to Keith. Normally she wouldn’t dare to invade their privacy. But after hearing from Lance how Shiro reacted today, she decided it best if she check up on the two of them.

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"You know why..."

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said after the mission. But you need to be more observant. Plus, I thought you had gotten past this phase Keith. You need to think more about others—how this could affect them? You can’t keep making rash decisions like this”

Shiro continued, not noticing how Keith’s eyes had begun to water

“It’s effecting the team and more importantly, you’re hurting Voltron”

Keith snapped his head up at Shiro

“You don’t think I know that? It’s all I think about—how I’m a burden to the team, how they don’t need me, how they’d be safer without me” he shouted. “how they’d be better off if I died...And the one person in the whole world that I thought would understand, doesn't give a shit. You only care because otherwise we couldn't form Voltron. What was the point of checking up on me in the first place...” Keith paused for a moment. How did he know to come check up on me? How did he know about the knife?

“I checked up on you because I can tell you're going to tear the team apart. And the Team doesn’t want you dead...”

Keith glanced hopefully at his brother

“...but I do”

Shiro lunged at Keith—taking him by surprise and wraps his metal hand around Keith’s throat. Keith frantically tries to gain purchase and starts clawing at the sheets.

“Wha-at are yo-u d-doing” Keith chokes out while gasping for air.

“What you failed to”

Keith’s eyes widen

“You’re worthless. You don’t do anything right. You can’t even kill yourself because you’re weak. You know it, the team knows it, your parents knew it too—that’s why they abandoned you”

Keith stops struggling and looks into Shiro’s eyes, he swears they’re glowing, but before he can process it, the grip on his neck tightens.

“Why are you fighting me Keith, I thought you wanted this” he grunts, obviously annoyed by the resistance.

“Shiro...ple-e-ase...stop”

Keith can feel the darkness consuming him—his struggle against Shiro grows weaker. It’s true. He wanted to die. But Lance...after his conversation with Lance, it doesn’t seem fair to leave him alone. Not with all the things left unsaid. He thought that maybe he'd be okay if the team was around to help Lance--if Shiro was around. But not anymore.

“Shiro” he calls out desperately “Please...you’re my brother...I-I love you”

Shiro pauses for a moment before pulling Keith’s face inches away from his whispering, “If you really loved me, you would’ve killed yourself when you had the chance” his Galra arm begins to charge just enough to begin to burn Keith’s neck.

Keith lets out a silent scream before falling completely still.

Chapter Text

“...but I do”

After hearing this from the cameras, Allura gasped. She quickly uses the coms system and alerts the rest of the paladins of the situation—making sure to only send her message to Pidge, Lance, and Hunk’s rooms.

“Paladins, we have an emergency. Shiro is not himself, I’m afraid he is going to hurt Keith. Please, we must hurry to Keith’s chambers at once!”

Without wasting anytime, Allura and the Paladins arrive at Keith’s door.

“Damnit,” Lance exclaimed. “I knew something was off with Shiro. I should have said something.”

Allura puts her hand on the motion sensor to open the door. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next.

Shiro was on top of Keith, using his Galra arm to choke him out. It was evident Keith was in a loosing battle.

It was quiet, but she could hear Shiro whispering, “If you really loved me, you would’ve killed yourself when you had the chance” before Keith’s face morphs into one of pain and he stops moving all together.

“Shiro!” Allura shouted, “What has gotten into you??” She yanks Shiro off of Keith, while Pidge and Hunk do their best to contain him.

“It had to be done, he was a vermin amongst us. She will be delighted to know I’ve succeeded” Shiro smiles wickedly. Before Allura and process what he said, Lance knocks him upside the head with his blaster. Pidge and Hunk use space handcuffs and Secure him by the door.

Allura begins seething and trying to hold back tears. There’s have no time to deal with her emotions now, not with Keith’s life on the line.

“Keith!” Lance rushed over to Keith, “he’s not breathing...”

“I cannot feel his quintessence anymore...” Allura falls to her knees in anguish.

“No, it-it’s not possible. Not Keith. He can’t just be gone. It’s Lance and Keith: Neck and Neck... he can’t just...nononono, there’s gotta be a away,” Lance tries to lift Keith off the bed and fails miserably. Hunk joins him and puts a hand on his shoulder while Pidge—still in shock, falls to the floor.

“I am afraid not, the pods...the pods cannot heal what is already gone” Allura looks at Keith, “It was my job, my job to protect all of you, I have failed. I failed him and you and the team. I—“ she breaks out into sobbing.

Lance with Hunk’s help, lies Keith onto the floor.

Taking a glance at Keith’s lifeless form, he looses his composure. Was it worth it? no...but you finally got what you wanted...

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“Well done my Champion. Voltron will never recover after the dear loss of their black paladin.” Haggar turns off the psychic link between Shiro and her—leaving the Paladins with the mess she created, and one they cannot fix.