When Shiro heard a knock at his front door that evening, Keith was the last person he expected to see.
The god of justice looked him over. The boy was covered in dirt and scratches, had heavy bags under his eyes, and a tear stained face. But that wasn't what caught his attention. He was carrying Lance. And from what he could tell the boy wasn't moving.
"Shiro," Keith choked out a sob, "I messed up."
"What-... is Lance okay? What happened?" The older brother demanded, panic quickly coursing through him.
Keith shook his head. "He's dead. I… This is all my fault."
Shiro bit his lip, trying his best to keep his composure as he moved aside to let Keith in. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything that happened."
The two brothers sat in silence as Keith finished telling his story. Keith's voice had been shaking the whole time he told his tale. Whether it was from grief of losing his only two friends or fear of Shiro getting angry at him for what he had done, the older brother wasn't sure. Perhaps a mixture of both.
"I was just trying to protect him…" Keith reiterated for what felt to be the hundredth time, his head in his hands.
Shiro let out a sigh. "This is a lot to take in. I really wish you had told me sooner-"
"I told you I couldn't!" Keith interrupted, voice muffled slightly by his hands.
Shiro raised a hand to signal he wasn't finished speaking. "But I understand why you didn't. You did the right thing, Keith."
The younger boy lifted his head to stare sadly at Shiro. "How could it have been the right thing to do if it ended up getting Lance killed?"
"There's no way you could have known how Lance would react. Besides," Shiro gave Keith a reassuring smile, "there may be a way to get him back."
Keith's eyes widened in surprise. Could it really be true? There was a way to bring Lance back from the dead? "What are you talking about?"
"Remember that old scepter I gave you way back when you started ruling the Underworld?" He waited as a look of confusion followed by recognition flickered across Keith's face. "Do you still have it?"
"Yeah," Keith confirmed, still looking slightly confused, "I think I shoved it in the back of my closet."
Shiro would have chuckled at the thought of Keith tossing such a powerful item in a closet if the situation hadn't been so dire. "That scepter has enough power to bring a single person back from the dead."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" Keith demanded, standing up from where he sat.
"Because I didn't want you to waste it on just anyone," the older brother explained, "you were just starting out the new job and I didn't want you to use it on the first person you took pity on. I wanted you to save it in case something such as this ever happened."
"How do I do use it?"
Shiro had planned on making sure Keith was certain of the person he was going to use it on, but one look at the determination in his brother's eyes told him he knew the answer. Lance was important to Keith. They may not have been together for more than a couple weeks, but already Lance had grown on him, to the point where Keith hadn't even considered using the scepter on Ulaz, despite being his oldest friend. And Shiro knew then, that Lance was much more than just a friend to Keith. He filled a hole in his life that Ulaz had never been able to fill.
Shiro gave his half-brother a knowing smile. "I'm proud of you," he murmured more to himself than to Keith. The fellow god gave him a confused look, which Shiro waved off with a flick of his hand. "It's nothing. To use the scepter you have to have both the person's body and soul."
"His soul…?" Keith repeated, looking dejected. "There's no way we'd be able to get his soul back from Heaven."
"You shouldn't have to. You said he ate a pomegranate, right?" Shiro pointed out, "then he ate food of the Underworld. His soul should be bound to it now. So he can't reach Heaven and didn't lead a bad enough life to cross the Styx. In that case, he should have become a wandering spirit. All you have to do now is find him."
Lance awoke with a groan. Slowly, he raised himself into a sitting position and took in his surroundings.
Gray skies, dull trees, cries of the damned off in the distance, he was definitely still in the Underworld. But how did he end up there? Last thing he remembered was Keith carrying him as he ran towards the exit as he was dying, and then, nothingness. Just a sea of black.
However, now he felt fine. The intense pain and the numbness from before seemed to have vanished.
Lance moved to stand up, but froze when he realized that something was wrong. Much more than he had though.
Slowly, he raised a hand in front of his eyes and waved. He was see-through.
That's when everything clicked. No more pain, no more hunger, and being partially invisible? He hadn't survived the poisoning. He was dead.
The realization was accompanied by a wave of grief as he realized everything he loved was now gone forever. His family, his friends, even the world he grew up in; he'd never see any of them again.
He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Perhaps ghosts couldn't cry. Either way, it made him feel even worse, not having a way to let out his sorrows.
Eventually, he laid back down. He felt lost. He had no idea what to do. What purpose did a dead person even have? Was he just doomed to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere for the rest of eternity?
Then, he heard a voice. Far away, but easily recognizable. It was Keith's voice.
"Lance!" It called out, echoing through the area.
Lance sat up and scrambled to his feet. "Keith!" He shouted back, never having been so happy to hear the other boy as he began to run in the direction of the voice, "Keith! I'm over here!"
He pushed himself to run as fast as he could, and at one point, he nearly crashed into a tree only to phase right through it. After that, he stopped dodging them, instead choosing to just run straight through everything in his path.
Before he knew it, in front of him stood none other than the god of the Underworld himself, along with Red by his side. Keith stared in shock as Lance came to a quick halt in front of him.
"Keith, what's going on?" He instantly demanded, not even sparing time for a greeting, "I'm dead, aren't I?"
Keith pursed his lips and glanced away, looking for all the world like Lance was about to lash out at him. "Yeah… I'm sorry." He quickly looked back up to Lance, a spark in his eyes. "But I know how to get you back. Follow me."
Lance stood there in stunned silence for a moment before he snapped out of his stupor and began to follow alongside Keith and the lion.
"You can bring people back from the dead?" He questioned.
"Only once," Keith explained, "but yes, it's possible."
"And you're willing to use that one time on me…?"
Keith glanced at Lance from the corner of his eye as they walked. "Of course. You're… you're my friend." Something about the way Keith said it sounded strange. Almost a little sad. But Lance decided to brush it off. Who wouldn't be sad after their friend died? Even if it was possible to get them back.
A moment of silence passed between the two before Lance spoke up once more. "You said you were just trying to protect me…"
"You remember that?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry I doubted you." Lance replied, biting his lip in embarrassment.
Keith gave a sigh. "Don't worry about it. It's my fault for keeping everything a secret from you."
Lance looked over at Keith, a small almost playful smile on his lips, "But you said you have your reasons, right?"
"I did. But it's pointless now." Lance raised an eyebrow at the other boy, urging him to explain. "First let's get you fixed up. Then I'll explain everything."
