Chapter 1: Nightmares and Reunions

She's back. Lance stared into those eyes, glowing with hatred and vengeance. Honerva. He tried to reach for his bayard but found himself unable to move. His body had betrayed him- and now he was going to die.

"But first," she hissed, that awful whisper grated on his ears "You can watch as everyone you love is destroyed."

Around Lance, his family and friends screamed and writhed on the ground as Honerva tortured them, tendrils of pure darkness arcing from her hands. Her face melted and morphed and suddenly she was Zarkon, laughing, then Sendak, smiling, then Lotor, burned and melting away as he screamed in unison with his loved ones. They faded but their cries echoed in Lance's ears as Lotor burned into the figure of the one who haunted his dreams, the one he missed more than anything. His heart surged- Allura. But her face was twisted with hurt and betrayal.

"How dare you!" She shrieked "You killed me, Lance! You let me die!" He reached for her, but was still frozen in place, unable to move or speak as she cried and screamed. "There was another way! You wanted me to die- This is your fault! Your fault! YOUR FAULT LANCE. I COULD HAVE LIVED BUT YOU LET ME DIE LANCE HOW COULD YOU I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME LANCE-"

Lance surged up in bed, cold sweat pasted his hair to his forehead, nausea roiled in his stomach. Trembling overtook him as he clapped his hands over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face. Breathe. Breathe. Shakily he removed his hand from his mouth and took a breath. It's over. Another breath. You're safe. In and out. You're on Earth. Indeed, the walls of his room felt claustrophobic suddenly with that realization. He rubbed his face with a sigh.

"Same old, same old." he murmured. "That all you got?"

Lance picked up his phone from the nightstand next to his bed. It illuminated, showing him the time. 3:16. Lance took a deep breath and swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching. At least it was something.

For years he had dealt with these nightmares- they'd started when he was still away from home, fighting in space and unsure of his place in the universe. Back then, he'd been able to throw himself into battling with Voltron and forget about his fears. Now, though he loved his family, working with them was never going to be what he needed, but Lance had nowhere else to go. It had been six months since the celebration of Allura's sacrifice, Lance had never felt so alone in the world, and of course he rarely had a full night's sleep.

A soft whine sounded from behind his closed door. Lance opened it, letting his dog, Felix hop up on the bed. His father had picked up Felix about eight months ago on the side of the road. He had been small, golden, fluffy, and alone. Lance's heart went out to him immediately, and now Felix rarely left his side.

"Hey boy." Lance cooed softly. "You always know just what I need, don't you?" Felix nudged his hand with his cool nose, grunting. Lance smiled and shushed him. Felix had grown into a huge fluffy dog who had a constant need for attention that Lance was always happy to give.

"Wanna go for a walk, Felix? Come on boy."

Outside, Lance tilted his head back and looked at the stars. Wondering if Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and Keith missed him as much as he missed them.

"Doubt it." He sighed, wishing that Keith would also be coming home tomorrow. Ever since the dinner they had shared on Altea in celebration of Allura, Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro had been traversing the universe in the Atlas. Hunk was a delegate for Earth in the Galaxy Alliance, Shiro was captaining the Atlas, and Pidge had gone to meet with the Olkari, as their planet was restored when Allura gave her life to reverse the destruction Honerva had wreaked. Keith was working with the Blades of Marmora to establish peace among the Galra- and mentioned something about transitioning the Blades into a more peaceful organization, disaster relief or something. He would probably be gone for at least a few more months, maybe even a year. Lance had given up trying to predict that guy. Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge at least, were scheduled to return that very day, and according to Iverson, they would arrive right on schedule.

Lance called Felix back inside and went back to his room, picking up a small object from his desk. It looked like a regular black cell phone, though smaller and thinner than they had been in decades. It was a communicator that Pidge had made specially for the team, something that would allow them to keep in contact with each other across the galaxies. They were secret, and to be used "only for emergencies", but they generally were used to make sure everyone was okay at least once a week. Lance had yet to use his, they all knew he was fine on Earth, but now, with everyone except Keith coming back… Lance opened the menu and typed a quick message to Keith, not expecting a response.

L: Can't believe everyone except for my best bud will be in town tomorrow! Better make it back soon.

The more he thought about it, the sadder Lance became that Keith wouldn't be home. He hadn't seen his friend for longer than a couple hours in almost a year and a half. The dinner for Allura barely counted, he left right after. Lance lay back on his bed, content to allow himself this in-between time of the morning to wallow. Keith was his best friend! They never spoke on the communicators or otherwise and Lance had missed him- missed all of that part of his family dearly. Of course he was delighted the others were coming home, but throughout all of their adventures, Keith had become Lance's confidant and strength. Even though he wanted to kill the guy for being so stubborn and hotheaded sometimes, Keith was a great friend and leader. Lance wanted to talk to him. To ask if he had nightmares sometimes too. To ask him if he missed the simplicity of life before finding the Blue Lion. Ask if he would stay on Earth for a while when he stopped by.

At least he had the others to look forward to.