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They had all been fighting a Robeast over Tajueer when everything went wrong. Lance lost control of his Lion. He was crashing towards the ground, but nobody was able to help, they were all busy trying to defend the planet; they had no way of knowing. Allura was using the Blue Lion’s powers to try and block its arm from crushing the city down below, Pidge and Hunk were trying to get all of the civilians out of the way. Only Keith saw as Lance dropped out of the sky. He had to keep fighting, he couldn’t do anything about it just then. People were dying. He had to concentrate.
The Red Lion was low on power, Lance had been giving the fight his all, the Lion responding to his will to fight with vigour. But that last hit from the Robeast sent them crashing down. The Lion has stopped responding, he couldn’t even redirect his fall. The planet was riddled with rivers of lava, and as he fell, that was all that Lance could see. Inside the Red Lion it was getting hotter and hotter, he couldn’t take it anymore. Despite his best efforts, Lance passed out.
Keith didn’t see where Lance fell, he just knew that he wasn’t responding anymore. He scanned the air and the surface of the planet but couldn’t find anything. Where was he?!
~~~~~
Keith had kept scanning the planet, but he still hadn’t seen any sign of Lance. They were gaining ground against the Robeast but it was slow going, but Keith—and the rest of the team—was starting to get worried. They needed Lance to help them if they wanted casualties so stay at a minimum.
All of a sudden, the team heard a crackle and Coran was speaking, “Paladins, I’ve managed to track the Red Lion’s last location. It was at ground level, 28 N and 81 W. Do you see him anywhere? Lance hasn’t responded to the Castle, and I can’t get a visual.”
Keith’s heart was racing, he kept scanning the ground below him, but he couldn’t see Lance anywhere. The coordinates that Coran had given them were wrong. They had to be wrong. There was a river of lava there. Those couldn’t be the right coordinates.
Keith knew logically that he should just get on with the mission, but he couldn’t. He needed to know where Lance was. He couldn’t get him out of his head. Lance was down there somewhere, and Keith couldn’t see him. Lance hadn’t even said anything for… well it had been too long since Keith heard from his boyfriend. It was getting hard for Keith to breathe, as he took a breath and it halted in his throat as if something were blocking it, he couldn’t catch his breath. His eyes darted around the Lion, trying to find something to help. There was nothing. He needed to get a grip. He couldn't have a panic attack during a fight.
He had to keep it together; had to keep going. Everyone was counting on him to lead them out of there. So he did. Keith gave the orders he was expected to give, but for the most part he was flying on autopilot. If he was asked about it later, he wouldn’t be able to recall what anyone had reported to him or what he’d replied with.
The four Paladins were able to finish off the Robeast, using coordinated attacks, but it would’ve been easier had they been able to form Voltron. Pidge, Hunk, and Allura were all grumbling a bit as they helped move the wreckage away from the civilians while Keith started scanning the entire planet for Lance as quickly as he could.
The others hadn’t known about them, at his request, and they sure as hell weren’t going to find out now. Not like this. Not after what just happened. So he put on his mask and kept going; kept going until he nearly couldn’t any longer. He just had to make it until he could get back to the Castle. Or at least be alone, without worry of the others hearing him over the coms. Then he’d be ok. He just had to hold on for a couple more hours.
The others had finished clearing the debris, and were getting ready to head back to the Castle of Lions. Keith still hadn’t found Lance. He didn’t know what to do. What else he could do. He had to go back to the Castle with the others. Everyone but Lance. Because Lance was nowhere to be found. Because Lance was, at this point, most assuredly dead.
~~~~~
Keith was back in the Castle of Lions with the team. But it felt empty as everyone retreated to their rooms, they all knew what must have happened to Lance. Keith didn’t think he could take being alone in his room that night, so after everyone was out of the hallways, he left his room. Instead, Keith went into Lance’s room and lay down on his bed, surrounded by a smell that could do nothing but fade.
And the only thing left to do was cry… so that’s what he did. He cried and cried until there was nothing left, until the sorrow was replaced by nothingness. And then he was empty. With nothing else to feel, shivers wracked his body. He remembered what it felt like to be held by Lance—to feel the heat from his body still wrapped around him—and found that he had more tears to spill. And spill they did as he lay on Lance’s bed wrapped in his lover’s favourite sweater. And he fell asleep, tears still streaming down his face.