"KEEEITH!"

The sound of the voice made Keith wince. He could feel the torrent of anger coming off of him in waves. He didn't want to turn around, but knew it would be worse if he didn't. Keith was suddenly thankful their were solid metal bars between them.

"Oh, he-ey...Shiro."

"What is-What the-KEITH! WHAT WERE-" Shiro was red in the face, shaking and spitting in his anger.

Keith smiled tentatively at him, ducking his head in shame.

"You! YOO-UU-" Shiro stopped for a large intake of breath.

"I know you're mad-and you have every right to be-but please just hear me out." Keith held up his hands in prayer.

"No! NO! I don't want to hear it! I should leave you to rot in this cell for a while…" Shiro trailed off, turning away from Keith.

Pidge took the opportunity to run up to him. She and Hunk had entered the room with Shiro, but had stayed pretty far back from him, not wanting to face the brunt his anger.

"Keith! What happened?" She whispered. "We lost track of you after-we waited here until we saw them bring you in."

"It was Lance…" Keith whispered back. "That-he's okay now."

Keith glanced behind him into the cell where Lance sat with his head in his hands, looking entirely ashamed of himself.

"That's good-wait what happened to your arms?"

Keith looked down at the scratches that covered him that had started to scab over. Trails of dried blood swirled down his arms all the way up to his shoulders.

"Did Lance do that to you?" Pidge asked, fear in her voice.

"No!" Keith said quickly before Lance could hear. "This was...something else. I'm fine."

Pidge nodded before hurrying away to follow Shiro who had left the room to go talk to one of the officers. Hunk grimaced at him and followed too.

And just like that he was alone with Lance again...well as alone as you could be with four other prisoners watching you. He nodded at them. They ignored him.

Keith sat back down next to Lance, letting out a huff of frustration. Lance took the opportunity to pat him on the shoulder and grab his hand again. They hadn't been alone to be able to talk since Keith got arrested. He could tell from the weariness in Lance's eyes that he blamed himself for everything that happened.

Keith didn't want to blame him though. He'd figure something out. He always did.

A half an hour passed by and Shiro was back at Keith's cell, this time flanked by an officer. Shiro patted the man on his shoulder saying. "Thanks Ulaz. I owe you one."

"Don't mention it." Ulaz said, unlocking the cell. "Kogane! You're out!"

Keith jumped to his feet and stepped carefully out of the cell. Shiro grabbed him by the shoulder and began to steer him out of the room. "You are in so much trouble. You're paying back every cent of damage-"

"Shiro, please I need to talk to you."

Shiro stiffened. "I told you that I don't want to hear it Keith. There are no excuses. You might have even cost me my job."

The breath whooshed out of Keith's lungs again. He hadn't thought about that. Lotor was Shiro's boss, if Shiro wasn't fired already it was only a matter of time. He stopped dead in the hallway. "Wait, Shiro, please! I really need to talk to you."

"We can wait until we're home."

"No." Keith stood his ground. He wasn't going to let up.

"Ulaz!" Shiro called, glaring at Keith as he said it. "Can I use a room or an office?"

"Sure, I'll see what I can get set up for you."

Shiro thanked him and pulled Keith into an empty office. Hunk and Pidge followed.

"You were a good cop Shiro, we always take care of our own." Ulaz said, closing the door behind them.

Shiro nodded at him before rounding on Keith. "Keith, do you know what Ulaz told me earlier?"

Keith shook his head, confused.

"He told me that the officer who picked you up noted that you had been distressed and talking to the air for several minutes before he got your attention."

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other, suddenly uncomfortable. Lance only frowned. Keith nodded his head slowly inviting Shiro to continue, he kept his expression as one with a statue.

"Keith, what is going on? You've had disciplinary issues in the past, but it's been years. I thought we had worked on this. Is this something else? I know that you went in and out of psychiatric hospitals for seeing things after your parents died. Does this have something to do with that? Did you start seeing things again without telling me? Keith, you can tell me these things. I can't help you unless I know. If-if I'm not doing a good enough job helping you as your brother than I need to make sure you're getting whatever help you need."

"No! Shiro, it's not that. I-"

"Keith, I don't want to have to send you someplace, but I need to do whatever's best for you. I made that promise, and I can't take care of you if you're going to be destroying other people's property. I need to know what's going on so I can help, Keith, please!"

Keith hadn't planned on telling Shiro everything. It had always been a risky gamble. But Shiro's plea got to Keith in a way only Shiro could. Shrio deserved to know the truth. Keith had kept it hidden for far too long.

"Okay. I'll tell you. But I need you to listen-really listen, and you can't interrupt until I'm finished...please..."

For the next half hour Keith detailed everything again. To his credit Shiro sat silently, patiently waiting for Keith to finish his tale. His facial expressions would change from looks of horror to sadness. On occasion he would glance and Hunk and Pidge, who would nod encouragingly at him.

When Keith got to the part about Lance, how he'd shown up, he paused.

"Pidge...you have the photos right?" He asked her.

Pidge pulled the camera out of her bag and tossed it to Shiro. He clicked through the photos silently, a frown appearing heavy on his face.

Keith continued on. "Hunk-his best friend died in a car accident...it was a hit and run, but it turned out to be Lotor who was driving the car that killed him."

Shiro asked his first question. "But how did you know?"

"It was-it was Lance, Hunk's friend. He showed up-actually he and Hunk used to live in our apartment, and Lance...still lives there…"

Shiro whipped his head up to look at Keith. "You mean-"

"Yeah. He's not a bad ghost though…" Keith added quickly. "He's nice and-and funny. The past couple weeks I've been trying to help Lance move on, but things have just been getting worse."

"So what you're telling me is that last night you weren't talking about college and were actually talking about breaking into Lotor's place?"

"Well, not his place, his garage, actually. We needed to get the evidence of a hit and run so that we could bring it to the police."

"Keith, you realize that they can't use any of these photos, right? Not if they were gotten through illegal means."

"I didn't know how else to get evidence."

"You should have come to me! I know about these things!"

"You wouldn't have believed me!"

All of a sudden Pidge had a sharp intake of breath behind them. "Wait a second...I just realized...Lance helped you beat me at Smash Brothers! Didn't he?"

Keith glared at her like she had two heads. "I mean...yeah...but now's not really the time-"

"I knew you cheated somehow…there was no way you could've beaten me by yourself..." Pidge muttered under her breath. She allowed Keith to continue without any more interruptions but she was shooting daggers at him with her eyes the entire time.

Shiro shook his head. "Okay, okay, it's pointless arguing with you after you already have these photos. We'll figure this out later. Just continue for now."

"Right, so then I made Lance upset and he ran up to Lotor's apartment and wrecked the place."

Shiro's eyebrows knitted together in irritation. "So you're trying to tell me…that you're blaming all this on a ghost? Are you kidding me? Is this all some sort of joke to you?"

Keith let out an exasperated sigh. "It's the truth!"

A crash from behind them made everyone turn. Lance had pushed the nameplate off of the desk in the corner. When he was sure everyone was looking at him he preceded to push a stack of papers off the desk as well. They fluttered to the floor, turning into a messy pile.

Shiro rubbed his face, suddenly looking tired. "You do realize no one else is going to believe that a ghost did this, right?"

"Yeah, I'm aware."

"You're gonna have to be the one to take a fall for what he did. And you're okay with that?"

"He feels really bad about it. But...I've done worse." Keith nodded, looking at Lance.

Shiro rubbed his face again. "Okay...I guess...I'll talk to the officers about Lotor and see what I can do."

Pidge and Hunk high fived behind Keith.

Shiro scowled at them. "I'm not saying it's going to work, all I can do is ask them to put the pressure on to gather evidence against him. Stop your cheering. You're all still in trouble as far as I'm concerned." He pointed at Hunk and Pidge. "You two as well for going along with this!"

Pidge and Hunk grinned uncomfortably.

"And Lance!" Shiro shot a glare toward the desk in the corner. "Don't get Keith in trouble again. He really doesn't need it."

Back at Keith's apartment Hunk and Pidge grilled him with questions about what happened after they had left. He answered them honestly until he started describing the chase. At that point he turned pink and refused to look at them or at Lance.

"It was-we talked, we worked it out." Keith said, awkwardly.

Pidge continued to look concerned though. "But Lance is still forgetting things?"

"He says all his memories feel foggy. So even if he remembers something, it's never quite all there."

"And he's becoming more of a poltergeist, right?"

"Well...yeah."

Pidge and Hunk frowned at each other.

It was Hunk who broke the silence. "That just means that we've got to help him pass on, right? The plan's still the same. We've got to do it before he loses everything."

"Yeah, but he's still not going to tell me anything. He said he doesn't completely remember anyway." Keith huffed wanting them to drop it. He was surprised by his own reaction. He did want Lance to pass on...right?

Keith felt a hand grasp him gently on the shoulder. "Keith…"

Keith turned his head to look at Lance. He didn't respond.

Pidge frowned again. "So what do we do? We can't exactly leave him like this."

Hunk nodded at her. "Yeah, we need some sort of guide. Like one of your books or something."

It was Keith's turn to frown. "If this exact situation was in any of those books, believe me I would know."

"Well what about any friends who can see ghosts?"

"It's not exactly like we travel in packs, Hunk."

"It was just a thought."

"Wha-wait! Hunk! You're a genius!" Keith smacked himself on the forehead. "Coran! He could see Lance!"

Pidge raised an eyebrow. "Wait, that funny guy with the mustache?"

"Yeah, he mentioned it to me when I was running out of the apartment building. I didn't have time right then to think about it since I was chasing down Lance. But he definitely mentioned seeing him, didn't even seem to realize he was a ghost."

Pidge and Hunk dropped their mouths open.

Keith was already shrugging his shoulders through his jacket as he stood. "Let's go."

It only took a short time to walk back to Allura's apartment building. The doorman opened the door quietly ushering them inside.

As soon as Coran saw Keith he jumped back from the desk. "You're not tricking me this time! I'm not gonna let you get my key!"

"No, Coran, calm down! I'm not trying to get your key."

He looked like a man who had too much coffee in the last 24 hours. Coran nearly vaulted over the desk to get away from Keith, but Hunk stood up, blocking one of the exits and Pidge and Lance blocked the other.

"This reminds me of that time I got cornered by a group of shoppers at a regional vacuum sale after I got the last Miele C2 Electro+. They tried to pry it out of my hands after mauling me, but I held fast. Little did they know that I was the winner of the city-wide monkey bar competition. Those twelve year olds didn't know what hit them, and those little old ladies weren't gonna get that vacuum out of my vice-like monkey-bar trained grip."

"Whhhaat?" Lance lost control of himself as he put his hands on his knees and started cackling.

"Ahahaha! A weak spot!" Coran ran around Pidge, intending to push Lance out of the way, but jumped back in surprise instead when his hands went right through. "Well that's not something that you see everyday!"

"Coran! Wait!" Keith yelled as he scrambled up on the desk instead. "I just want to talk-that's actually what I want to talk to you about!"

"Too late. For the homeland!" He jumped down off of the desk tackling Keith.

Keith scrambled to grab hold of him before he could run off. They were a mess of limbs until another voice spoke.

"Coran? Keith? What are you doing?" Allura looked at them quizzically, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows.

"Ah! Miss Allura!" Coran scrambled off Keith, coming to attention. "I was just throwing these troublemakers out. They may be your friends, but they remind me of the time when I was searching for a series of antique plates featuring corgis in summer dresses. I was at-"

"Yes, yes, Coran. I'm sorry they've caused so many problems for you. That was entirely my fault actually. I should be the one held responsible."

"Oh no, Allura, I don't blame you at all."

"Well, you honestly should. What are you three doing here, anyway?"

"Three? I could have sworn there were four of them." Coran pointed each of them out counting four on his fingers.

Allura just frowned when he pointed at Lance. "Coran there's no one there."

Keith just sighed, realizing he was going to have to explain this entire thing again to two more people. This day is getting longer and longer...

Coran just continued on, completely unfaded. "No, he's just one of those people who has those fancy phasing powers. We had one living on the sixth floor for a while before he moved out a year ago. I remember when-"

"Wait-what?!" Keith blurted.

"I would be able to tell you if you would all stop interrupting me."

Pidge stepped in before things could devolve into madness. "Okay, you're right. We all need a place to go and talk, because this is important. Allura, can we use your apartment again? Coran, when do you get off work?"

Allura said, "yes, of course," at the same time as Coran explained his schedule.

"Hmm...well I should have another person coming in for the evening rush in about thirty minutes. I can take a break then."

"Perfect! We'll all wait here, in the lobby until they come in, and then we'll go have a nice civil conversation at Allura's."

They all nodded at each other before Coran settled back behind the desk and the rest of them settled into the fluffy armchairs set around.

Keith tugged at Pidge's arm. "Why did you emphasize 'civil?' It's not like we're gonna get into a screaming match or anything."

"Well he did tackle you."

Keith nodded at her. "Good point."

They waited for what seemed like an eternity, Allura making polite conversation with Hunk, while Pidge read a magazine with Lance looking over her shoulders. Keith didn't know what to do with himself. Coran was watching him carefully, so he decided to just flop into a chair and rest his eyes for a moment. He felt Lance move over to him and begin to gently stroke his hair out of his eyes. The gently fluttering of his hair with the warmth of Lance's hand made Keith shiver, but not from any cold this time. Keith relaxed further into the chair, dropping the tension in his shoulders.

When Coran's shift finally had a break it took another hour to explain the entire situation to him and Allura. She gasped at all the right places and Coran continued to interrupt the conversation to digress into his own equally compelling tales.

"So...your friend, Lance...is he…" Allura pointed in the corner where Lance was standing over by a lamp.

"Yep." Keith nodded.

"And he's…"

"Yep."

Coran stroked his mustache. "Well I suppose ghosts do make more sense than mutant humans with phasing abilities. I can't remember where I came up with that theory...some movie perhaps? Maybe a picture book I read as a child? No idea. Guess we'll never know."

Lance rubbed his face, pulling at his cheeks in an exasperated expression at Coran's words.

"Right…uh..." Keith said, trying to break the tension.

Allura's voice was one of concern. "What can we do to help?"

"Well, I was hoping that maybe Coran could help. He-he can see Lance and I've never met anyone else who could see ghosts so I thought he might know of a way to maybe...I don't know...keep Lance from becoming...evil...or something…"

"An interesting thought." Coran was stroking his mustache again. "I suppose I've known a number of ghosts over the years. I'd talk to them for awhile and they'd eventually leave and I'd never see them again. I suppose that bit was what you call passing on."

"But what if they can't pass on?"

"Boys…" Coran looked from Keith to Lance in turn, a sad smile playing on his lips. "I know that you've come here asking for my help, but I think I'm going to have to tell you what you already know, and I know it's not going to be what you want me to tell you." Coran paused, letting each of his words sink in. "It doesn't sound to me like there is any other option. A ghost passing on is the natural order of things. Becoming a ghost is merely a chance for us to do one last thing on Earth right before moving on to whatever's next. It sounds to me like we're meant to take that chance...and then we're meant to leave."

"But Lance-"

Coran held up a hand to stop Keith from saying anything more. "If he can't remember exactly why he's here he should go talk to the people who he thinks he's here for."

Lance gasped quietly. "My family...but-"

Once again, Coran quieted him by holding up his palm. "Go to them and Keith can be your voice to say whatever last words you need to say."

Keith and Lance looked at each other, a slight frown playing on each of their lips.

"You should all take the opportunity beforehand to say your goodbyes. Make sure nothing is left unsaid. Make sure you all say exactly what you mean to each other."

Coran looked at each of them in turn, nodding to Pidge and to Hunk, before giving Keith long meaningful look. Keith turned away. He didn't see the look Coran shot Lance.

"Coran…" Allura said, gently butting into the conversation. "I know you said you didn't know they were ghosts before, but you seem so knowledgeable about this stuff. How can you-"

"Ah...Allura...I didn't realize it then...but I did the same thing for your father."

Allura grabbed at Coran's sleeve. "What? But he-"

"He asked me to tell you how much he cared about you and make sure I watched over you. I thought it was a dream before...but now I see…"

Allura's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her friend.

Hunk carefully stepped around them, so as not to disturb their moment. He spoke quietly, his voice almost breaking. "Keith...can I-will you...will you help me say goodbye to Lance?"

Pidge grabbed his arm, rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder. "I feel like we should all do that…"

Keith nodded. He gestured for the others to follow him into the other room so as to leave Allura and Coran in their moment.

Once alone the four of them sat close together in a circle. None of them spoke for a minute, not sure where to start or just what to say.

Pidge broke the silence first. "Lance...I didn't know you very well when you were alive, but you were always funny and friendly to me. I can tell you were a great friend and I wish you were alive so that I could prove that I'm the number one reigning champ when it comes to Smash Bros-"

"We beat you though!" Keith interrupted.

"Yeah, but only by working together. If it was just Lance or you on their own I would have creamed you."

"You didn't even beat your brother. I would definitely win in a fight." Lance said.

When Keith repeated this Pidge's face turned red, before she suddenly burst out laughing.

"Yeah, okay. You got me there." She wiped away a few tears in her eyes that may have been left there by more than just mirth. When she was done, her expression was somber. "I'll miss you, Lance. I really will."

Hunk grabbed her hand to comfort her. She punched him lightly on the shoulder, but he kept hold possibly for his own courage as well. "Lance…"

Hunk fell into silence, taking a deep breath to calm himself before starting again.

"Lance...you're my best friend. You got me through so much stuff...classes, sleepless nights over crushes, family hardships. I wish you were still alive...because I'll never feel like I can repay all the incredible things you did for me."

"Hunk…" Lance said, grabbing Hunk's other hand.

Hunk jumped slightly in surprise, suddenly able to feel Lance's hand on his.

"Hunk...you were the most amazing best friend a guy could ask for. I wish I could put into words just how much you mean to me...but no matter what I say everything feels like it will fall flat...you're just that incredible as a friend."

Keith repeated the words to Hunk.

"Lance, I'm gonna miss you. I don't know what I'll do without you by my side. Things haven't-I haven't been doing well these past few months...how will I-"

"Don't say that. I get it. I don't know where I'm going, but I don't want go without you. But you-" Lance grabbed Keith's hand. "You have two amazing friends right here who will help. They're not a replacement, but they are every bit as kind and meaningful as you are to me, so I know they'll help you through."

Lance looked at Keith, who blushed slightly before speaking his words.

"You're going to be okay." The way Lance said it was like he was trying to will the words come true just by speaking them. "I'm-I'm going to be okay."

"You will." Keith said, squeezing Lance's hand, and then because it fit the moment he grabbed Pidge's other hand too.

They sat in silence like that until the window behind them grew too dark for them to see each other properly.

A/N: Oh man...I was so close to not having anything for you all today. This chapter didn't quite end where I wanted it to, but it leaves a pretty good amount for the last chapter, so now I have to try and rush through that.

We're gonna make this happen kids! We've got this...also anyone else really want to know where to get some antique plates with corgi's in summer dresses? Because I'd love to know if those exist honestly.

See you all tomorrow! Happy early Halloween!