Broken Wish
Trust or…

In the long run, he'd never been able to trust adults. Keith's mistrust honestly started when he was younger, when he found himself ripped away from his older brother after their parent's death, resulting in the removal of the one stable thing in his life.

Then, the branch family he'd found himself adopted into made it quite clear their expectations of him – there really were none, except there were, just not the type of expectations good parents should have of their children. He was there so that the heir to the Kogane branch could have an heir, but he was also expected to be the exact opposite of himself, a quiet child who caused no trouble what-so-ever. In other words, they expected him to be perfect.

Sometimes he got to spend time with his brother, yet he never felt like he belonged in the Shirogane family. Gossip which he didn't understand at the age of the four became clarified by over zealous classmates looking for an easy target for bullying, until he got into a few fights, resulting in his adoptive parents no longer turning a blind eye, yelling at him for the fights, then his grades dropping, until he finally became a hikikomori.

It didn't help the fact he honestly never understood how to properly socialize with people either, which was part of the reason the kids at school knew full well he would also be an easy target for their bullying. The teachers, of course, did nothing, as in Japanese society one focuses not the individual, but the group, so the interests of one child seemed to hold little interest. And yet deep down Keith also knew, had he still had the Shirogane family name, reactions would have been different.

No point in ever bringing up the fact Shiro was his brother either, as this resulted, particularly after Takashi Shirogane began to gain fame, in people, including adults, calling him a liar. Even some of the people in the family, including the branches, gossiped about the fact Keith was likely not a Shirogane, but simply Shiro's half-brother, the result of a scandalous affair his mother had, someone he struggled to remember.

The garrison also lied about Shiro. Actually, the garrison tried helping too much after Shiro's supposed death, acting like they knew what was best for him, and yet he also knew they saw him as Takashi Shirogane's problematic younger brother who caused trouble no matter where he went, his behavior baffling everyone, including the garrison psychiatrist, who told Keith that he could trust her.

However, there she was pulling Lance away, unwilling to listen to the fact Lance was actually welcome, even wanted there in that lonely room. Even Shiro wasn't listening, the one adult Keith normally trusted, and yet the red paladin knew exactly where his older brother was coming from. Shiro, despite what many people thought, was far from perfect, a switch flipping whenever he thought Keith would get hurt, not physically, but emotionally, particularly due to knowing how much emotional pain his younger brother already went through.

And yet Lance's being there was a welcome sight, unexpected to say the least. The blue paladin hadn't made fun of him, or mocked him, but instead showed genuine concern. Lance also showed a steadfast loyalty despite all of their differences, insisting he would not abandon Keith until the adults said otherwise, leaving Keith alone in the room, staring up at the ceiling, even more, unsure of what to do, as adults did some very strange things as far as he was concerned.

Thus, he found himself lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his room in the psych ward, when a paralyzing feeling swept over his body, his eyes the only thing that could move. His limbs couldn't move, and yet he saw someone come into the room, making him swallow, knowing full well his gut reaction would be to attack the person if he could move, for the person was alien in nature, mostly humanoid, but with pale skin the color of the moon, and eyes entirely black.

She came over, leaning over. "Well, haven't you been a problem?"

A shudder ran down Keith's spine, his mind panicking. "What does she want?"

"None of you should know that this isn't the real world, but should be happy and content, managing to bond with each other without all of those worries running through your head, and yet you are the most worried of all, the one whose supposed to lead Voltron. This is, after all, the world that all of you wished for."

"I didn't."

The female blinked a couple of times, her hand touching his arm gently, sending a wave of nausea through his body. At least he could speak, but for some reason, he knew that nobody would come to his rescue, let alone whether he would remember any of this. "This world, is it not a happy place for you? You have your older brother back, do you not?"

"I tasted what it was like to actually have friends." Keith closed his eyes, planning on keeping his mouth shut.

"That…" The woman seemed perplexed. "Except, you should have forgotten that. See, this is an alternate world where none of that happened, and…"

"Allura!"

"Keith? What is…" Keith opened his eyes so that Allura could see what he was dealing with. "Oh dear."

"Allura, this is the aliens that are doing this to us."

"Yes, but it's rather odd for them to step in this soon. Usually, when they step in, they release those from the alternate world, as they've succeeded, but she doesn't look happy, and…"

"How are you able to respond to the Altean Princess? I'm a bit surprised really, that you two have bonded like that, but even so, that shouldn't exist in this world, as this world is built on the premise that the Galra and Alteans do not exist." The female reached out to close Keith's eyes. "Anyways, you will most definitely not be remembering any of this."

Keith's eyes snapped open, the panic still there despite not remembering what happened. "Allura!"

"I'm here."

"What happened. I know something happened."

"I…" Allura's voice paused. "I am not sure if it is a good idea to explain. The aliens that are doing this, they've got rules in how they do things."

"It's bad enough that…" Keith's mind whirled, as his stomach began to lurch. He found himself lunging over the side of the medical bed, ending up on the floor, vomiting uncontrollably, the anxiety having built to his peak as he spewed his last meal onto the floor. This was yet another reason for him to end up stuck in her for good.

The medical staff rushed in, touching him. His normal reaction to fight back at such touch wasn't there, and they pulled him back up into the bed. One of the nurses piped up. "Do you think he's remembering what happened to him? You know, that night?"

"Shush. We're not supposed to talk about that."

Keith's eyes closed, his fingers twisting around the sheets, making his wrists hurt a little.