Voltron: Lost Memories

Chapter 2:

"Awake"

…

I opened the eyes.

I was in space. I was piloting a ship and moving forward. There was nothing, but the stars. I don't know where I was going, or what my mission was, but I knew that I had a destination and it was my duty to get there.

Then I turned to the right, and noticed someone next to me. A dark and blurry figure. I knew it was human, but I couldn't recognize any features, I couldn't tell who it was, but I knew I was worried about that person. I had to protect that person, but also I felt the need to reach my destination. I looked forward, and looked at the figure. Again and again, because I didn't know what to do.

Suddenly the figure was gone. And that's when I realized what was that mattered most to me. I felt very empty, and concern for that person, and it was gone. Now I was traveling alone, towards the unknown.

…

I finally woke up. My eyes were able to open, although the light in the room blinded me for a moment. The strength in my arms had finally returned. I rubbed my swollen eyes and waited for them to adjust to the light. I felt my mouth dry and my tongue sticky. I was very thirsty. I was already tired of lying down, so I leaned on my hands to sit down. Doing so I felt a sharp pain in my left hand that made me scream. When I looked, it was just an IV, which should be administering medication. Despite the pain, I managed to lay my back on the pillow. Then he appeared in my mind.

"Lance!"

Altough my voice was still scratchy, and I needed water immediately, I said his name clearly. I remembered having always seen him by my side, I always heard him on my right, so I turned. But there was no one. I looked for him around the room but there were no signs of him, on anyone else. I was alone. And now I was confused. Before I woke up, when I was still weak, I remembered seeing him, hearing him, even feeling him. I looked at my hand, remembering his. And then I felt silly for what I was doing.

The room I was in had two doors. The biggest one, I imagine it was the entrance and exit of the room. At the other side, a thinner one. I thought it could be a closet, or maybe another room, or a bathroom, because that door opened and someone came out. I thought it could be Lance, but instead it was…

"Shiro…"

"Keith!"

His eyes lit up so much, and he smiled at me in such a way that I couldn't help but smile too. It was as if I hadn't seen him in a long time.

"Shiro!"

He walked towards my and hugged me very hard. I wondered when it would've been the last time he hugged me. At that moment I felt calm, briefly relieved.

"I'm so glad to see you awake!" He told me after he released me. "How do you feel?"

"I need water." I said, putting my hand on my throat.

"Sure!"

He quickly went to a small table, poured water from a jug into a glass and gave it to me. The sweetest and most refreshing glass of water of my entire life. I asked for another one. Although I had finally woken up, and I was sitting, and my arms and legs were already responding, my head hurt a little, and I still felt exhausted.

"Shiro…" I wanted to know many things. What time was it? Where were we? What had happened? What about Voltron? Lotor?, and many more questions that I could've asked. But when I saw Shiro carefully, when I studied his face, I could only ask him one question. "What happened to you?"

"Uh? What are you talking about?"

"Your- your hair. It's white." And not only that. Shiro looked older. Not old, of course, but he wasn't the way I remembered him. Nor did he wear his normal clothes, or the Black Paladin armor. It looked more like a uniform. "And, your- your arm." He still had a robotic prosthesis, but it was very different. Now it was magnetically attached to his shoulder. I got worried. "Shiro! What happened? Where-"

Anxiety made me get up, but trying it only made the IV hurt in my hand and a headache. Shiro came up to me quickly and put his hands on my shoulders. "Keith! It's okay. Stay calm. Nothing happens." He made me lay again on the pillow. In spite of everything he kept smiling. "I know you feel confused. But it's normal. Almost."

"What are you talking about?" Shiro lost his smile. And now he seemed worried.

"Well…" He thought a few seconds. "Do you have any idea where are you? Where were you before you woke up here?"

I thought of this place first. Again I looked around me. It was clear to me that it was not a common room. And it was not a hospital room either, not entirely. I didn't know where I was

"I'm sorry Shiro. I don't know this place."

A woman's voice caught our attention. "Yes you do."

When I saw her, it wasn't fear that I felt, but distrust. A Galra appeared by the main door. A female Galra. Memories of the war were present in my mind, and I felt a huge need to get up and fight. But when I saw her carefully, I realized that she wasn't like the rest of her race. She was more slender, her eyes were not quite yellow, and her armor… her armor… I knew her.

"Are you… are you… of the… the…" I tried to remember it. I knew the name. But the more I tried to remember my voice lost strength. And I despaired. Instead, she gave me a sympathetic look. She approached me.

"The Blade of Marmora."

"Yes!" I said with relief. "Exactly!"

She smiled at me. "I am a member of the Blade. My name is Krolia, do you remember who I am?"

There was something familiar about her, but I didn't know why. "I- I don't know."

She looked down, then looked at Shiro with a serious expression. "You have to tell him." Her voice became authoritative. I was surprised.

"Not yet," said Shiro, almost pleading. "He must understand it little by little, let the others come first."

"If you don't tell him, I'll tell him."

I didn't want to ask, but I did. "Tell me what?" Krolia looked at me. There was some compassion, and also courage in her eyes. It was familiar to me.

"Keith, I have to tell you that-"

Shiro interrupted her. "Krolia is your mother!"

I looked at Shiro. Then I looked at Krolia. My mind wasn't ready to hear that. At first I didn't believe it. It could not be. But when Krolia looked at me, something inside told me it was true. I cannot describe the joy, the confusion, and also the anger that I felt at that moment. "You… You're my-" Then something happened. My head hurt, and I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them I was in a ship, with Krolia in front of me, repeating exactly the same words. I blinked, and saw ourselves fighting together in a Galra base. I blinked, and remembered...

"Keith?" She said.

"It's not the first time we see each other, right?" I looked up. There was something on her face. She seemed to be a very strong Galra, but there was pain in her eyes.

"That's right, Keith. We had met before."

"Then why I can't-"

"It's what I wanted to tell you." Krolia looked at Shiro, almost annoyed. It was obvious that they disagreed in something. But if it was so important to worry, my mother, I felt I should know it too.

"Shiro," I looked at him, "what's going on?"

Instead, in Shiro I saw pain and fear, I had never seen Shiro so worried about something, or someone. Not even for me. It was as if someone had died or something… and then I thought about Lance. My pulse quickened, and I don't know why, and if something bad had happened to Lance? But… Why did Lance worried me so much?

Shiro pulled me out of my thoughts. He leaned towards me. He spoke slowly.

"Keith. I don't know how prepared you are to hear this, but… in your last mission you suffered an accident. A terrible one. You suffered damage to your legs, your ribs, and even your arm. But the most worrisome damage for all, was the one in your head. The impact was such, that-" Shiro cleared his throat. "We knew you were going to wake up, but there was- there is a high possibility that you would suffer a memory loss."

I was in shock. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't understand. I didn't want to believe it. I looked at my arms. I didn't notice any damage. I discovered myself and looked at my legs… and I couldn't believe I had scars, as if they'd had to operate on me. I couldn't believe it.

"But-," I didn't know what to say. "But I- But I remember you, Shiro! I recognized you!" I felt desperate. "I remember Voltron, I remember Lance- I remember the other Paladins-," my breath quickened. I've never felt so anxious. "I remember… I remember Krolia!"

"And that's a very good sign," she said calmly. "It means the damage isn't as deep as we feared."

"Deep!? Then what did you expect?"

They didn't answer me. The pain in my head did nothing but increase. And it started to hurt a lot. So much that I had to press with my hand on the temple.

"Keith! Are you okay?" Shiro asked, but I ignored his question.

"How long was I asleep?"

It was Krolia who answered me. "Almost eight weeks"

"What?" I looked at her incredulously. But I knew she was serious. Eight weeks… two months. "B-but the war! What happened to Voltron? And Lotor? What happened to Zarkon?"

"Keith." Shiro took me by the shoulders.

"What!?" I yelled. I felt a terrible desire to cry, but I didn't.

"Keith," he repeated. He sighed. "The war is over. We won." He tried to smile, but clearly he wasn't happy.

"What do you mean over?"

"Just that. The was finished. Zarkon, Lotor, Honerva. We beat them."

I couldn't believe it. It couldn't be posible. But then… "How long ago was that?"

I looked at Krolia. She, like me, was crossed arms with her eyes closed. It was our way of dealing with situations. She opened her eyes and looked at me. And without saying anything, I begged her to answer me.

"The war ended four years ago."

I felt dizzy, by breathing quickened. My heart was beating so hard that I thought it would hurt me. Shiro told me something else, but I only heard murmurs. Four years. I couldn't be. The headache became a sting.

And I was glad.

Because at the moment I felt it, the tiredness, the same tiredness took hold of my again. My body became weak again. And I couldn't stay awake any longer.

I still heard Shiro say my name before I became unconscious.

…

Four years.

…

How could it be possible?