The creature they were fighting was huge. Larger than they had ever fought. The tops of its horns stretched well above Voltron's head. It was dragon like, but had the long, curling horns of a ram as well as the hind legs of a lion and leathery bats wings. It screeched and reared its massive head, wings stretching.

"It's gonna try to fly again!" Pidge cried. Voltron stepped back, massive shield forming and raising its sword.

"Everyone get ready to defend!" Shiro shouted.

"What do you think we're doing!?" Lance yelled back, slapping a few buttons. Keith growled but bit his tongue. The last thing they needed was more shouting. He swallowed as Voltron bent to one knee, hiding behind the shield. The massive creature beat its wings, dust flying in all directions. A few moments later, a beam of fire hit the shield. The force behind it drove Voltron back, leaving deep gouges in the grounds. There was another screech as the monster hit the ground again, head hanging low.

"I think it's getting tired" Keith pointed out. The others made sounds of agreement.

"If we strike now, we can finish it!" Hunk said, hope etched into his voice.

"Keith, we need your sword!" Shiro cried, Voltron getting to its feet and charging the being. The red lion raised the sword and swung.

But its hit didn't land. The dragon reared back its head and latched its mouth onto the Red Lion. Then, with unimaginable power, it pulled the Red Lion clean off of Voltron. It whipped its head around and threw the lion across the rocky landscape. Still being in its compacted form, it wasn't able to land and was smashed against a rocky outcropping. The last sound they heard before the communications went out was Keith's panicked screams. His screen in the other lions filled with static and everything went quiet.

"KEITH!" Shiro cried, face pale and mouth hanging slightly open. His heart hammered while he waited in vain for a response. His teeth pulled back in a snarl.

"Lance! Gun! Now!"

Voltron formed the massive gun and fired relentlessly and the tired creature. Finally, it fell. Silence fell among the battle field.

"Disassemble" Shiro hissed into the mic in his helmet. Voltron broke apart into the separate parts and the Black Lion darted forward. Before it even reached Keith, however, two more Galra ships landed between them. Shiro charged forward, undaunted and unresponsive to the shouts of his teammate. He had but one goal, and that was to get to Keith. Or, it was, until the yellow lion barreled into him, knocking him off course.

Lance flew in as well to aid Hunk in picking up the Black Lion and flying off. Shiro was shouting, but his lion itself was against him and refused to operate.

"No! We can't leave him! We need to get to Keith!" He yelled, tears building in the corners of his eyes as he hit the buttons that no longer worked for him.

They were back on the ship. He couldn't remember what had happened. His arms were tied behind his back, and his team stared at him with wide eyes. Lance was glaring, his right eye ringed with purple. Pidge had blood gushing out of his nose. Shiro had very vague memories of it. He blinked a few times, eyes stinging in the light. He swallowed, feeling how dry his throat was. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a dry croak. Allura crouched beside him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Don't try to speak. You need to drink water." She carefully lifted a glass and tipped it, allowing him to take a few long gulps. He finished off the glass and coughed before attempting to speak again.

"W-what happened?" he asked, mind foggy.

None of them were looking forward to reminding him. Finally, Pidge stepped forward.

"You remember the dragon we were fighting, right?" he asked, shoving his glasses further up his nose. Shiro's brows furrowed before he nodded.

"Well, we won, but... um.." he looked around for help. Shiro's confused expression cleared as he remembered. The fight. The loss of the red lion. Keiths screams. He paled, eyes wide.

"How long?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"Three da-" Allura answered, but was cut off as Shiro jerked forward, struggling against his bindings.

"Three days?" he hissed out of clenched teeth. His sudden burst of anger surprised them and they all took a step back. Allura dropped the glass and it shattered against the ground.

"Zarkon has had him for three days!? Do you know what could happen in three days!?" he bellowed. Coran stepped in front of Allura, glaring at Shiro and ready to protect her with his life if Shiro showed a sign of becoming a danger towards the princess.

Finally, Lance growled and he turned on his heel, glaring right back at Shiro.

"We're all worried about Keith, and you're acting like a child. Maybe, if you had thought about this logically, we could have tried to get him back already!"

"What part of this is logical?" Shiro shouted back. "Without Keith, we can't for Voltron! We can't fight! Without Keith, we aren't a team!" Shiro snarled, face red with rage.

Lance opened his mouth to fight back, but Allura stepped in.

"Shiro, had you continued the fight, we would have lost all of Voltron. You already couldn't form Voltron and you would have all been defeated. He is inside the Lion, which will put up its barriers." she continued on, cutting off Shiro when he opened his mouth to retaliate. "The same barriers that the Galra couldn't pierce for ten thousand years. There are supplies on that ship and Keith is smart. He's a survivor. He'll be fine until we can get to him."

Shiro sagged against his restraints, finally hanging his head. The tension in the room dropped slightly and Hunk stepped in.

"Okay, I think we all need time to cool down. Let's call it a night. We'll re-group in the morning to figure out where to go from here."

And like that, they all left. Allura and Coran walked off towards the main control room. Pidge made his way down to his workshop, and Lance stalked to his bedroom. Hunk stayed behind and cut Shiro's ropes before helping him up. Just before Shiro walked away, he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, we're all worried about him. I know why you feel like you need to charge in. Love does that, but please look at this through a clean lens."

Shiro opened his mouth to deny Hunks words, but he held up his hand.

"We know, Shiro. We've all known about you guys for a while, and we don't think any differently of you. I know you feel like the world is ending, but remember what Allura said. Keith is smart, and he's a survivor. He'll stay alive, and we'll get him back." Hunk then turned and walked away. Shiro stood still for another moment before slowly making his way to his room. He was unprepared for what was inside. It was exactly as he had left it, but everything was sharper. A few of Keith's shirts and a pair of his pants lay scattered on the floor. The blankets on his bed were askew. Slowly and numbly, he changed into a pair of sweat pants and crawled into bed, not bothering with a shirt. And lying there, in the dark and quiet with Keith's scent floating in the air, Shiro broke. He cried, sobs wracking his body. It felt like his heart had been torn out. He could only imagine what some of the men he had served with would say if they saw him now. He let out a bitter laugh which caught in his throat and turned into another wretched sob. And he fell asleep like that, drowning in misery and heart-ache.

A/N: So this is my first Voltron fic. I ship Shiro and Keith, but I also ship Lance and Keith, so I'm thinking about writing a Klance fic after I finish this. Poor Shiro doesn't deserve this. Let me know what you guys think! Please review! Thanks!