Allura stares out of the shuttle viewport at the battle still raging outside. The shuttle is once again behind Coalition lines, which are now slowly retreating back from the colony planet. Energyfire tears back and forth between the two groups, as ships on either side continue to fall. Her eyes scan back and forth across the scene, as if searching for something.
The Atlas surges back to life, engine reviving in a flash of blue energy.
"Atlas is back online!" Matt declares over the comm.
The Altas extends the blade from it's forearm and begins slashing apart encroaching galra ships.
"Are we ready for retreat, then?" Ryner asks.
"Not yet! We're still waiting on Shiro!" Matt replies.
"And Keith!" Lance says.
The Atlas lets loose an energy blast that destroys half a dozen galra ships.
Nearby, the robeasts that were affected by the pulse begin to surge back to life as well. One moves for the Atlas and is knocked back by an arm blast. More rise to take its place. Soon the Atlas is battling half-a-dozen of the machines.
Allura watches it all, silently searching.
There is a sudden flash of light outside the viewport. Keith and Kosmo appear clinging to the outside of the shuttle. Allura stumbles back, agast.
Another flash and they are both inside. Keith immediately collapses to the floor. Allura rushes down to his side, pulling off his helmet. Keith coughs, eyes distant.
"Keith! Are you alright!?"
He coughs again, holding his side. He gives a slight shake of his head.
"This is Princess Allura! I've got Keith!" Allura states over the comm.
"Took him long enough." Lance says, mockingly.
"What about Shiro?" Pidge asks.
Keith's eyes immediately widen before going dark. He stares at Allura for an eternal moment.
"No…" She whispers, seeing an answer in his eyes.
In spite of his wincing pain, Keith reaches one hand over to the other wrist, activating his comm.
"Shiro...is gone..." He takes a shuddering breath. "...dead."
"WHAT!?" Comes the collective response of Lance, Pidge and Hunk.
"Keith, what the hell are you talking about!?" Matt exclaims.
"Zarkon...Zarkon killed him. I saw it."
"That's not…" Matt stammers.
"He…he's gone?" Hunk says with disbelief.
"We've got to try going back!" Pidge says suddenly.
"Yeah!" Lance agrees. "Maybe there's a chance he-"
"I saw it!" Keith shouts. His eyes begin to well up.
"But we can't just-"
"-Lance." Allura cuts him off. "...now is the time to call the retreat. If we stay any longer the enemy will encircle us and we'll all be trapped."
The comm is silent for a moment.
"...lets move out." Lance finally says, voice without strength.
The whole of the Coalition forces move back. The Atlas lingers for a few moments, still holding back the robeasts.
"...Matt. We've got to go." Pidge says carefully.
For a moment, the Atlas continues to strike down robests. Finally a string of obscenities comes from the mecha's comm, followed by the Atlas turning back to join the retreat.
Inside the shuttle Allura lets out a breath, and slides to the floor beside Keith. Her eyes well up. Hesitantly, she reaches out to put a hand on Keith's shoulder. He flinches, so she pulls back and sits silently beside him. He stares off into nothing, and begins to cry.
It isn't long before she is crying too.
Zarkon watches a feed of the Coalition ships as they retreat, then disappear. The holographic display vanishes, and he is left staring at the wall. He turns, watching a pair of galra soldiers, wrap up the body of Takashi Shirogane. His lifeless eyes stare at the ceiling before the bag finally zips up over his head.
Zarkon turns away, leaving the room. He walks with a slight limp, hand covering the spot where his armor was pierced.
His path takes him down to the hangar, where the other Dark Paladins have already convened. Honerva and Sendak look equally impassive. Lotor, on the other hand, is pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. Raimon sits on the floor, staring down at the sword in his lap.
They all stand at attention when they notice Zarkon approach.
"That...was a disaster." He says.
"I agree." Lotor growls.
"Oh you do, do you?" Zarkon sneers. "Well you would know. After all, you had the simple task of making sure the prisoner didn't escape!"
Lotor's eyes burn. "And she wouldn't have if the dome had slayed closed! Last I checked, that was a job you decided to take upon yourself!"
"You will watch your tone with me boy!" Zarkon bellows in reply. "...and what you imply."
"Why!? You berate us for failure and perceived betrayal! Rage at any miniscule mistake! But when you allow an enemy paladin to creep inside our fortress, pry it wide open and-"
"One more word! And you will find out what real rage is!" Zarkon's hands curl into fists.
"Stop this." Honvera says coldly, stepping between the two. "There is very much at stake here, and time for squabbling is one thing we lack." Sendak steps up beside her.
"Do not lecture me, woman!" Zarkon sneers. "If my boy is looking for a violent lesson, I will not deprive him of it!"
"I believe I have at least learned a moment of consideration on your part. From both of you." She turns back to look pointedly at Lotor.
The Prince grits his teeth but says nothing and turns his gaze to the floor.
Zarkon is also silent for a moment. He gives curt gesture to continue.
"...good. You know what our true goal is. You know that all of this theatre of war, these games, are nothing. Just a way of reducing the uncertainties. The array has been completed. I've run and rerun the numbers. The odds are in our favor. The time is now. The very structure of this reality will soon be at your fingertips. Shall we not forgo the games to finish what we started? To ignore these children?"
"...the problem is that all these 'children' are threatening to throw a wrench in the whole star-burned thing." Lotor spat.
"Mind your tongue around your mother." Zarkon says distractedly. He appears to be thinking. "...very well. Honerva, go to the array and prepare it for the robeasts. Sendak, marshall all our forces, we're leaving this place behind and reallocating everything we have on defending the array. Lotor…"
He studies the Prince for a moment.
"...try to keep any more of your alteans from running away."
Lotor stares up at his father. "...only if you make sure not to let any more of those 'children' get the better of you."
The Emperor smiles. Lotor steps back, uneasy.
Zarkon's Black Lion flies into the hangar, carrying the other Black Lion in it's jaws. It drops the other Lion onto the floor with a deafening clang. The other Dark Paladins stare.
"Got the better of me, did he?" Zarkon chuckles as he turns to walk away.
He enters his lion and flies out of the bay.
Honerva lets out a breath. She turns to regard Lotor. "You know...your father's temper is legendary. But you certainly seem to have inherited that trait."
"I'm not like him!" Lotor's scarred eye twitches. He turns away. "...not like him…" He continues to mutter the statement as he walks away. Honerva stares after him.
"Mistress?"
"Hm?" She turns to face Sendak, who is standing beside the powerless Black Lion.
"What shall we do with this?"
"Leave it there, for the moment. We can take it with us when we leave. As long as those other paladins don't have it, they still can't use Voltron."
"Very well, Mistress. I shall see to our armies, then."
"As you were."
Both of them leave the Black Lion behind, dead and limp on the floor.
Admiral Sanda watches as three of the Lions of Voltron and one shuttle touch down onto the rocky ground. One by one the paladins file out of their lions.
Keith finally stumbled out of the shuttle, supported by Allura.
Sanda stepped forward to meet the downcast boy.
"...what happened?"
"...I see. So you succeeded in your mission of saving the Princess. But you lost a Lion in the process." Sanda says, addressing the paladins from within the briefing room.
"And Shiro." Keith says quietly, not looking up from the table.
"And Shiro." Sanda repeats. She says nothing for a moment.
"...without-" Allura's voice cracks. "-without the Black Lion, we still cannot form Voltron."
Sanda turns her back to them, to stare at the wall. "...so we're back where we started."
"No, we're not back where we started!" Keith shouts, slamming his fists down on the table. "We're much, much worse off! Because now Shiro is dead! " Keith's hands clench into fists. "And you really don't seem to give a damn~"
Sanda replies cooly, still not facing him. "Lieutenant Shirogane was a soldier. He knew what he was getting into. He wasn't the first one I've lost, and I suspect he will not be the last."
"He wasn't just a soldier!"
"Boy you will watch your tone. We are still within my base. I understand you are emotional right now, but we will lose this fight if we don't control our-"
"We'll lose!?" Keith exclames. "We already have lost! We threw everything we had at Zarkon, and even Shiro couldn't beat him!"
Keith stares down at the table for a moment, then storms out. He is quietly followed by the other paladins.
Matt along with a few of the other Coalition officials remain.
"...what?" Sanda says, half-turning to Matt. "Nothing to say?"
Matt stares at her for a moment before shaking his head.
"If...that's the way you wanna play it..." He mutters, before getting up and leaving the room.
Keith marches down the corridor, darkness in his eyes.
"Hey, Keith!" Lance calls after him.
Keith keeps walking.
"Keith!" Says Allura this time.
Still he doesn't reply. Lance runs up and catches hold of his arm. "Hey!"
Keith turns on him. "What?"
"Don't...don't you want to talk about this, man? Shiro just-"
"Shiro just died, Lance. And talking about it isn't going to bring him back.
"Yeah but we're a team, we should-"
"Team? Maybe to all of you, that's what Shiro was. A teammate. But for a long time, before I even knew my own mother, he was the only family I had. So if you don't mind-" He pulls his arm free of Lance's grasp. "-I'd like to be alone for a while."
Keith walks off and the other paladins are left staring.
"I...can't believe he's really gone." Hunk says after a moment.
"It's a war Hunk, it was...bound to happen…" Pidge swallows hard.
"It's easy to say that, and understand the idea." Allura says. "But actually losing someone is so much different. It feels like a hammer crushing your heart. It's a blow to the soul. And sometimes one that never fully heals..." She stares at the space where Keith used to stand.
Lance grits his teeth. "I know. That's why we should all be dealing with this together."
Hunk puts a hand on his arm. "It's Keith. This is just how he deals with stuff."
Lance doesn't reply for a moment. "...guess I just thought he was past leaving us all to fend for ourselves."
Without another word, Lance turns and walks away in the opposite direction.
Eventually, Hunk sighs. "I...think I could use a little time, too. He nods to the other two before walking off himself.
Allura still stares off in the direction Keith went.
"Hey," Pidge says. "We're all...still trying to process this. But how are you holding up, yourself? You were being held prisoner by Zarkon a few hours ago."
"...anything that happened to me is nothing compared to Shiro's death. There is...a great deal to discuss about my 'stay' with the Dark Paladins. But this is not the time. Now is the time for grief."
"If...you say so."
"Thank you for asking, Pidge."
She waves a dismissive hand, before walking off. After another moment of silence, Allura walks, in the direction Keith went.
The Castle of Lions rises above the craggy horizon, dwarfing the Garrison base. Coran stands in it's shadow, massaging his mustache.
"It's beautiful." Allura says, stepping up beside him.
"Thank you, Princess." Coran sighs. "I just wish we could appreciate it under better circumstances. Shiro was...well he was a true paladin. He won't be forgotten."
"Yes he will be." Allura agrees. "He was the man who always thought himself unworthy, but constantly proved otherwise…"
She stares up at the Castle for a moment. "...Keith came by this way, didn't he?"
"He did." Coran nods.
"Do you know where he was headed?"
Coran nods to the Castle. "He wanted to know if the training room was operational."
"And what did you tell him?"
"The truth. That it needs someone to test it out. He volunteered. And with the look on his face, I wasn't about to turn him down."
"Understandable."
"You want to go talk to him?"
Allura considers. After a moment, she shakes her head. "...no. I'll leave him be for the time being. As much I want to help Keith right now, I'm not ready. I've a bit more experience with death than the other Paladins. But that doesn't mean it hurts any less. I've got to grieve just as he does. Besides…" Alllura notes a figure moving up the castle steps. "...I think someone else is on the job."
Keith bashes his bayard against the gladiator bot's staff. He swings his blade in a downward arc, like a hammer against an anvil. The bot's legs buckle and it drops to the floor. Keith buries his bayard into the bot's chest. The bot's artificial muscles spasm, before it goes limp.
He stands in the middle of the Castle training room. The lighting is at a dim setting, leaving his face cast in deep shadows.
Keith rips his blade free and shouts, "Another!"
A hole opens up in the floor, and another gladiator bot rises up. Keith dashes towards it, blade tearing across in a horizontal arc. He clashes against the bot a few more times before taking out one of its legs. Off balance, he easily disarms the machine and separates it's head from its body.
Scowling, Keith kicks the limp bot.
"I think you got it." A voice says from behind.
Keith whirls around to find Krolia standing near the entrance. He lowers his bayard.
"I heard what happened." She says, eyes soft.
"Who hasn't?" Keith shrugs tiredly. "Another!"
"...do you want to talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about?
The floor opens up and yet another gladiator bot rises up from the floor. He charges after it. "...I went off to rescue Allura…" He says, his bayard locking against the bots staff. "...thought I was real smart by trapping Zarkon…" Keith forces the bot back, unleashing an onslaught of blows. "...only turns out I was the real one trapped!" The gladiator tries for a counter, but Keith knocks it aside and scores a hit on the bot's shoulder. "And because I was too stupid, too overconfident and too weak, Shiro had to come save me." Keith stabs his bayard through the bot's head. The bot spasms and Keith pulls the blade free, letting it slide to the floor.
"...and then Zarkon killed him. Shiro died...because I wasn't strong enough. Because I couldn't beat Zarkon myself."
Krolia steps up beside him. She doesn't say anything at first, just joining him in staring down at the defeated bot. He opens his mouth as if to call for another one.
"-do you know what the two saddest days of my life were?"
Keith closes his mouth and gives a half-shake of his head.
"The first was the day I had to leave you and your father behind." She gets a distant look. "It felt like I was leaving my heart behind. I never thought I'd ever feel so broken for the rest of my life. Until...until the day I found out your father died."
Keith finally looks at her.
"That...that was like my heart being crushed. I'd left all those years ago to keep the two of you safe. But in the end he died anyway, and you were left alone. I couldn't help thinking that I was wrong. That I should have stayed after all. And maybe if I had, your father would still be alive."
"Maybe-" Keith's voice cracks. "-maybe you should have."
Krolia shrugs. "But that would have meant putting you in danger. I'll never know what could have been. But I do know that I never was going to do anything that would risk your life. Even if...even if I knew I'd be leaving you all alone." A bittersweet smile touches her lips. "But you weren't alone were you? Not once Shiro found you. I was...so happy to find out that someone like him ended up looking after you. "
Keith scoffs. "...but maybe that was his big mistake. Taking me in. Maybe if he hadn't, he'd have found someone better to be his successor." Keith's grip on his bayard tightens. "Someone stronger."
"Even if I didn't know him very well, I could tell how you meant to him. And I'm sure that if he were here right now, he'd tell you that he didn't have a single regret. He saved you Keith, because he believed in you. And because he knew you could finish this."
"But how!?" Keith demands. "We've thrown everything we have at them, and each tiny victory, every small win comes at a huge cost! I couldn't even save Allura without losing Shiro and the Black Lion. We still can't even form Voltron. And even if we could form Voltron, I still don't think I could beat him."
"I don't know Keith. I don't have all the answers. But-
"-I...think I need some time to think." Keith cuts her off.
Krolia studies him. "...alright."
She steps closer, hesitantly at first, then pulls him into a hug. "...I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you back then. And I'm so sorry that this war has taken so much from you. But just don't forget that...I'm here now. And so are a lot of other people who care about you."
Keith hugs her back, not replying.
For a moment they stand there in silent embrace.
Then Krolia steps back, releasing him. She takes one more look at her son, before walking out of the room. Keith stares down for a moment, then raises his bayard, the black bayard, to study it.
"How am I supposed to do this without you, man?"
Pidge sits in the Holt family residence. She is on the couch, fidgeting with her hands. Matt lounges on another couch opposite her, eyes boring a hole in the floor. N-7 sits beside him, holding one of his arms.
Their parents are at the kitchen table, watching them with concerned expressions.
Pidge's fidgeting grows more frantic. Her breath accelerates. She grits her teeth.
"This is wrong!" She shouts suddenly, launching to her feet.
"Pidge!" Colleen exclaims.
"Shiro shouldn't have died! It just doesn't...doesn't make any sense." She says the words exhaustedly.
"Sometimes...these things don't make sense." Sam replies.
"But...If anyone deserved to live past all of this, it was him. After everything he pulled us through. All that he taught us. Every battle we won because of him. He deserved to live. It just...doesn't add up." She lets out a long sigh. "I don't think he even wanted to keep fighting. He gave up more than pretty much anyone, and just wanted to be able to leave it behind. But we wanted him out there." She looks down at her hand. "...hell, I'm the one that made him a new arm."
Sam chuckles. Pidge scowls.
"Sorry." Sam shakes his head. "But you're crazy if you think that Shiro was ever actually going to sit back while the rest of you fought. Sure, he thought he was unfit and came up with plenty of reasons why he should leave things to you kids. But even if you hadn't made him that arm, I doubt he would have been able to stand by forever. Sooner or later, he wouldn't have been able to help himself. That's just the kind of guy Shiro was."
...I know that." Pidge says reluctantly. "In my head. But it still feels so wrong. It's like an...equation that doesn't have a solution."
"Not every problem has a solution. I'm a lot older than you, Katie. Shiro's not the first person I've lost along the way. Death isn't something we scientists can fix. Sometimes all you can do is cry. And that's okay."
Pidge's shoulders slump and she sits back. "But that just feels so...useless."
"That's life, kiddo. It's not a math problem."
Pidge still looks unsatisfied, but she nods.
After a brief pause, Matt lets out a grunt.
"While sitting down and crying seems great and all…" he rises. "...I've got something to take care of."
"What's that?" Pidge asks.
N-7 also looks up with a curious tilt of her head.
"Don't worry. Let's just say I've gotta do something that Shiro would want me to do."
N-7 nods in apparent understanding. With that, Matt leaves.
Allura roams the halls of the garrison. She puts one foot in front of the other, as if the effort of walking is exhausting. Her path has no clear purpose. Her eyes are directed at the floor and have a distant light.
She almost runs into the door marking the end of the hallway. She hesitantly opens the door and peeks inside.
Inside is the mess hall, and at first glance it is empty. Allura is about to duck her head back out when something catches her eye.
"Hunk? Is that you back there?"
Sure enough, Hunk is behind the kitchen counter on the far side of the room, working on something.
"Hey Allura.
"What are you doing?"
"It's late enough that there aren't going to be any more meals served tonight, so I asked if I could use the kitchen. I spent some time with the family but…" He shakes his head. "They were doing their best to comfort me, but it got a little suffocating."
"I see. Well don't let me interrupt you."
"Actually, I could use someone to test-taste all this."
Allura hesitates, then after a moment, nods and walks over. Her eyes widen as he peeks over the counter.
"Stars above! How much did you make?
Before her are a plethora of cakes, cookies, muffins and other pastries and deserts of all kinds.
"A lot. Kinda been cooking nonstop."
He hands her a piece of cake. She takes a large bite.
"How is it?"
"Delicious as usual." Allura smiles weakly and takes a seat on the bench behind her. "...at least that much hasn't changed. You seem to be handling yourself well, in this most trying of time Hunk."
"Well if it looks that way, it's just because I'm keeping myself busy. To be honest, I'm about this far away from a breakdown. Losing Shiro is...awful. But I can't help thinking, does it end with him? Who else are we gonna lose before this is over?"
"Does...that mean you're having second thoughts again?"
"No." Hunk says immediately. "Even if I'm scared, even if I could die, I made my choice. I'm in this until the end."
Allura smiles at that.
"...so, any word on Keith?"
Allura shakes her head. "His mother spoke to him, but other than that, no one's seen much of him. Last I checked he was hanging around the canyon…"
Keith guns the engine on his hoverbike. He tears off down the ridge, kicking up a storm of dust in his wake. He rides deeper into the canyon, no regard for his own increasing speed. The two sides narrow and Keith makes the jump to the other side. His hoverbike bangs against the wall of the other side. He rides on.
He drives his bike back up to the top of the ridge, racing towards the cliff. Keith goes full throttle on the engine. It flies off the cliff, hovering in the air for a few quiet seconds. Then it dips back down, and Keith hugs his body against the bike. At the bottom, he can see the knife-shaped rock.
Keith hits the brakes.
The bike slows in the air, but not fast enough. The bottom of it smashes against the stone below. Keith's body is rocked and he struggles to hang on. The engine sputters and gives out. The hoverbike crashes down to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. Coughing, Keith tries to reignite the engine. It wines for a moment, before giving out again.
Growling, Keith jumps off the hoverbike to look beneath it. The vehicle's undercarriage is severely dented, and smoke is leaking out of cracks.
"DAMMIT!" Keith swears, kicking the bike. He kicks it again and again. Finally panting, he turns away, putting his back to the broken bike.
The knife-shaped rock lies in front of him. The same one that had served as the finish line for Shiro and his races. The bike broke down barely a dozen feet away from it.
Keith stares at it a moment, before shaking his head and turning back around again, to walk back up the canyon.
Sometime later, an exhausted Keith pulls himself up onto a ledge, to sit down and stare at the setting sun.
Admiral Sanda sits alone in her dark office. The only light on in the room is a small lamp on her desk. She stares down at the small disc in her hands.
Matt Holt kicks open her door.
Sanda leaps to her feet. "Holt! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
Matt's face remains expressionless as he sizes up the room, noting it's dark interior, observing everything except Sanda herself.
Her eyes harden. "If you do not explain yourself right now, I'll have you thrown off this base! I don't care how you rank in that Coalition I'll-"
"-you can fool all these other people, Sanda." Matt shakes his head. "Make them think you're this iron-hearted commander, who only cares about results. But there are two people who you could never fool. I'm one of 'em. The other is dead."
Sanda's expression loses some of its strength. "...you've got something to say, I take it?"
"Not much. Shiro was like a brother to me. And that cuts deep. But I know that despite how you might pretend that none of this hurts you, he was like a son to you. And I'm not about to let you sit in this dark room all alone, without talking about that."
Sanda swallows hard, staring down into her desk.
"Annnnd just in case you needed a little convincing, I heard that Shiro owed you a bottle of some of the hard stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have any scotch but…" Matt holds up a bottle of purple liquid that glows softly. "...I do have this galran ale. Tastes like jet fuel and gives you a mother of all headaches in the morning. In other words, it's good stuff."
"...I'm on duty." Sanda objects, without much strength.
Matt puts on a confused expression. "Really? Because I'm pretty sure you got off five minutes ago."
Sanda stares at him for several silent moments. "...shut the door."
Matt grins, shutting the door behind him. He sits down across Sanda while she pulls out two glasses.
Matt fills them both.
"Well why why the hell not!?"
Allura is walking down a hallway when she hears the exclamation. She quickens her pace and finds the source of the outburst from around a corner.
Lance is having what looks like a heated debate with Kolivan and a handful of other Blades.
"As I've told you," Kolivan says with just a hint of aggravation, "the logistics of one of our operatives stealing back the Black Lion is outlandish. It's reportedly being held in our enemy's most secure compound-"
"-Which we just broke into!"
"...yes, using methods that will not work twice, and in the process of which we lost the Lion in question."
"What is...going on here?" Allura asks, tentatively.
"Well I'm trying to get to the bottom of why these superspy space-ninjas, that Keith likes to spend so much time around, won't bother trying to get back the Black Lion!"
"None of our men can fly the Black LIon. it wont fit inside a fighter or shuttle. The few operatives we have still implanted would need to steal a cruiser full of hundreds of galra soldiers just to be able to carry the blasted thing!"
"I'm hearing a whole lot of excuses, and not a lot of solutions!"
"Lance." Allura says in a kind but firm tone. "I'm sure that Kolivan knows what he is talking about when he says that something isn't possible. The Blades aren't known to back down from a challenge."
"Rest assured, getting back the Black Lion is our top priority. But at this moment there's no clear way to do that. We'll find out what Keith wants to do once-"
"Once he's done sitting around moping, you mean!"
"Lance!" Allura scolds.
"What!? Last I checked we were still fighting a war!"
"We all need time to-"
"Time is the one thing we don't have!"
"Then what do you want us to do, Lance? Do you have any idea what to do about the current situation? Because we all know what kind of situation we're in. But shouting at people isn't going to make anything better."
He opens his mouth to speak, then seems to think better of it. He sighs.
"...sorry." He directs it at both Allura and Kolivan.
"It's alright."
"Think I'll...go to the shooting range. Clear my head."
"That's probably a good idea."
Lance starts to walk down the hallway, but stops halfway down, with his back still to Allura.
"...any word from our fearless leader yet?"
"Afraid not."
"Figures…"
"That man...was the greatest pilot to ever serve in the Garrison." Sanda remarked, with slightly slurred words.
"I'll drink to that." Matt says, downing the rest of his glass.
He pours himself some more, taking note of just how little liquid there is left in the bottle.
"You know he thought I'd be mad, the day he broke my record on reentry?"
Matt chuckled. "Were you?"
"Hell no. That was one of my proudest moments as an instructor. Of course...I couldn't let him know that. So I told him it was a little sloppy and put him on cleaning duty for the rest of the day."
"And you call me a piece of work."
"Oh he was fine. I just wanted to make sure he didn't get a big head. You gotta be careful with people as talented as Shiro. Otherwise they get overconfident and…"
"Turn out like me?"
"...yeah."
Both of them chuckled at that. Sanda's face quickly gets serious again.
"He should be in this chair right now. Always wanted him to take over."
"Shiro? Behind a desk? You'd have had a hell of a time keeping him out of a cockpit."
"Yeah. It was probably a pipe dream, anyway. I'm just so tired. Tired of seeing good men die. Tired of sitting in this damn chair."
"...then why do you still do it?" Matt asks.
"Because someone's got to." She shrugs. "And because my best idea for a successor went and got himself killed. I know I'm...a little hard on my pilots."
Matt scoffed,
"But that's because I expect great things from them. Was I really so bad to serve under? Did you really hate being my subordinate so much you never even considered coming back?"
Matt shakes his head studying his drink. "Sanda you're a good commander. Whatever barbs I throw at you, they're just because it's fun getting on your nerves. Ask Pidge, I do it to her all the time. The reason I didn't come back was because I knew I could do more good with the Coalition than I could down here. Serving in the Galaxy Garrison was an honor. But there's people that need me more now. More than just earth. And besides..." He laughs to himself. "...I'm impatient. Do you have any idea what it's like to go from our shuttles to starship with FTL drives? Who in their right mind would wanna go back after that jump?"
Sanda chuckles, then studies him for a moment. "...I want you piloting the Atlas. Permanently."
"You're letting the drink talk for you."
"I'm serious. It hurts to swallow my pride, this much but you are undoubtedly the man for the job. The coalition trusts you, and I trust you. You're perfect. Shiro said so himself."
"Now that's just cheating." Matt says, leaning back in his chair. He downs his drink again. "...fine. But don't think I'm gonna suddenly start saluting you again."
Sanda only smirks.
Her eyes fall on the small disc, sitting on her desk.
"You want some more?" Matt asked, indicating the bottle.
Sanda shakes her head. "No.I think I'll sober up. There's something I've been putting something off…"
Keith stares up at the stars, feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. He looks to be searching for something in the night sky. He doesn't find it.
The sound of footsteps prompts Keith to tear his gaze away from the stars.
"Have you been out here all night?" Allura asks, walking up to stand beside him.
He nods.
"You should get some sleep. You took a beating in that battle."
"Tried to. Didn't take."
Allura nods. "...do you mind if I sit here?"
"Depends. Are you going to try to tell me this isn't my fault?"
"I wasn't planning on saying anything, actually."
"Then have a seat."
She does so, folding her legs beneath her.
For some time they sit in silence. A cool breeze brushes against them. Crickets chirp in the distance. A comet cuts across the night sky.
After what seems like an eternity, Keith speaks.
"...you know what the worst part is?"
Allura blinks, caught off guard. "...what?"
"I...keep expecting him to come by and give one of his famous speeches. He'll tell me what I'm doing wrong, encourage me to trust in myself, and assure me that I'll do just fine. And then, everything will seem okay. Whatever misgivings I had before will just melt away..."
Allura says nothing, only staring at Keith as he talks.
"...but that's not going to happen. He's gone. I'll never get to hear one of those speeches again." He picks up a stone and tosses it over the side. "So maybe you can tell me what I'm supposed to do. Do I just push all this pain aside and try to forget it? Tell the other paladins that everything's going to be okay? That as long as we believe in each other, we'll overcome anything? I don't know if I can do that. I don't think I'm strong enough to just let go of what I'm feeling."
"...I wish I could tell you, Keith." Allura says. "I wish I knew what to say, to make this right. But sometimes there just aren't words. There's nothing I can say that'll make what's happened better. I know that better than anyone." Her eyes get distant.
It's Keith's turn to study her. "...does it get easier?"
"...yes. Eventually." She smiles weakly. "When altea was destroyed, I lost my father, my mother and everyone else I ever knew. It was just me and Coran when we went into cryo. Then, when I woke up there were five strange earthlings waiting for us. And I had no way of knowing they'd turn out to be the best friends I ever had. In the early days, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of everyone I'd lost. But you made it easier. All of you. You and Lance and Pidge and Hunk...and Shiro."
Keith looks caught between smiling and crying.
"So yes, Keith. It does get easier. Especially if you've got the right people to pick you back up again, after the fall."
Keith stares into Allura's eyes, and for what seems an eternity, neither says a word. Finally, he looks away.
"...you look tired Allura. You should get some sleep."
"...only if you do too."
"I will." He says. "I'm just gonna stay out another minute."
"Alright. Good night, Keith."
"Good night, Allura."
With that, Allura gets up and leaves. Keith doesn't stay much longer. He gets up, tosses another stone down into the canyon, and turns around to walk back to the base.
Keith is walking back down the garrison halls, when he nearly runs into Admiral Sanda.
"Keith." She says with some surprise. "You're still awake...good."
"What is it?" He sighs.
Sanda stares at him for a moment, as if deciding something. She holds something tight in one hand. Letting out a breath, she opens her hand, presenting it to Keith.
He looks down with curiosity, at the disc in her palm.
"What is it?"
"Do you know what a Last Word is, Keith?"
"It's...an Old Garrison tradition, right? When a pilot was going on an especially dangerous mission, they'd leave a message behind, just in case they didn't make it."
She nods, then indicates the disc. "This is Shiro's."
"You mean-"
"One last message he recorded, not long before the battle. To be seen in the event of his death. It's for you."
Keith's eyes widened.
"Go on then, take it."
Tentatively, Keith reaches down and picks up the disc. He turns it over in his hands, feeling it's weight.
Sanda looks down at her boots. "I'm sorry I held onto it so long. I suppose I felt like giving this to you meant it was real. Foolish, I know. But I guess I'm getting sentimental with age."
Keith looks at her as if seeing Sanda for the first time. "It's...alright. I understand wanting to hold onto the piece of him."
She nods slowly. "...well then. I'll leave you to it."
And with that Sanda vanishes back down the darkened corridor. Keith is left staring at the disc. He starts walking.
It doesn't take him to find a dark room with dozens of computers. He sits down at one, and turns it on.
Keith holds the disc up, staring at it. He lets out a long sigh and inserts the disc into the computer. For a moment nothing happens.
Then, Shiro's face appears on the screen.
"Hey, Keith." Shiro smiles. "If you're watching this...well, I'm dead."
Keith swallows hard.
"Sorry about that." Shiro gets a bashful expression. "Hope I at least went out like a champ. Doing something heroic, you know? Anyway, I made this video for you specifically, for a couple of reasons. Firstly because there's some things that I need to tell you from one leader to another. And secondly, because some of this might be hard to hear…."
Shiro takes a breath.
"...it's honestly a shock I lived as long as I did. This might be strange to hear, but for a while now it's seemed like I'm on borrowed time. And I'm not just talking about having my soul pulled out and stuffed into a clone body. Although that..that didn't help." Shiro shivers. "...no this goes back much farther. Sanda could tell you all sorts of stories about how I almost got myself killed pulling crazy maneuvers back in the Garrison. But if I had to pinpoint when I first started feeling this way, it'd be when Sam, Matt and I were taken by the galra. Fighting in the pits, not knowing if next day would be my last…" He shakes his head. "...I thought I was going to die there. By all accounts, I should have. But fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it had other plans. Somehow, impossibly I ended up back on earth. And I became the Black Paladin. I had the job just long enough to make sure you could all do it without me. If there's a reason I lived past everything I did, I think that's it. To make sure all of you were ready to face what came next."
He smiles and shakes his head. Keith's hands tighten as he struggles to keep any sense of composure.
"And, in spite of everything I just said, there's a part of me that really wishes I could have stayed in the Black Paladin, forever. Being a part of Voltron is the best thing that ever happened to me. And I cherish all the time I spent fighting in Voltron alongside you, Lance, Hunk and Pidge...but that's the hard part of being a mentor. Knowing that one day, you're going to have to step aside and let someone else take over. I know you've always wondered why I picked you to lead Voltron. It might seem kind of strange, since you always were such a loner. Well it was because out of everyone on that team, I knew you'd be able to take whatever the universe throws at you. No matter whatever grief or anger you're feeling right now, I know you can get past it. Because you're the toughest dang kid I ever met. Voltron's yours now, Keith. And if any part of you ever questions that, I'll tell you a secret that I think might make it a little easier:" Shiro grins. "Black was never really my color anyway."
Keith's eyes are wet, but for the first time since Shiro's death he cracks a smile.
Shiro takes a breath. "Keith, this is my last lesson to you. I know you better than anyone else. Which is why I know you're probably reacting to all by isolating yourself, and trying to shut the rest of the world out. That's not your fault. You're human. But you also aren't the only one that's going to be hurt by this. You've got a lot of people relying on you now. They need you Keith. And even if you don't want to admit it, you need them too. Take it from me, it hurts a lot more to hold onto this stuff inside, than it does to let it out. They care about you, so let them in. It takes five to form Voltron. "
Shiro sighs. "And now the hardest part. Goodbyes. Assuming I don't get a chance, tell everyone that these past few years were the time of my life. I'm proud of how far each and every one of them has come. Especially you." Shiro gets a distant smile. "Never got a chance to start a family of my own, but in a way that's what you all were, to me. A family. And if ever had gotten a chance to have a son...I'd have wanted him to be like you. Goodbye, Keith. It's been a hell of a ride."
The screen goes dark. The room goes silent.
"...look at that." Keith says, tears streaming down his face. "You had one last speech in you, after all."
He closes his eyes and sits back in the chair. "Thank you for everything, Shiro." He whispers. "And goodbye."
When his eyes open, they are filled with determination.
At the same time, millions of light-years away, inside the dome on the colony planet, the Black Lion's eyes flash.
Lance blasts his rifle at the shooting range targets. About half of his shots miss entirely. Curiously, the other half either hit or are near the bullseyes. Lance keeps firing regardless of whether he hits or not.
"You know I could make you a new stabilizing bracelet." Pidge says, approaching Lance from behind.
He half-turns to acknowledge her, then returns to facing the targets.
"It's fine. I'm sure you've got more important stuff to work on." Lance fires at another target, missing entirely.
Pidge cringes.
"...it was getting better." Lance explains. "Before...well you know."
He fires again. Another miss.
"...you know what ticks me off?"
"I've got a feeling you're about to tell me?"
"The fact that no one else around here seems to remember that we're fighting a war!" Another shot, another miss. "Shiro's dead, yeah. But that doesn't mean the bad guys are gonna stop working on their plan. We need the Black Lion back asap, or we aren't gonna be able to stop them. We don't have time to wait for Keith to get over the fact that Shiro's gone."
"Uh huh. And you are?"
"Huh?"
"You are over Shiro's death already?"
"I'm trying to be practical."
"No, I think you're trying to fix a problem, so you don't have to think about what happened. I know 'cause my head was in the same place yesterday."
"Oh yeah, and since when are you a master of psychology?"
"I'm not a master of psychology. Just a master of Lance being a doofus."
"Wow, so now I'm an idiot for trying to actually deal with the problem at hand?"
"I didn't mean…" Pidge sighs. "...I'm just saying I don't think you're thinking clearly, right now. None of us are. Some problems don't have solutions."
Lance hesitates. Then his eyes harden. "No...but I just thought of one for this one."
He deactivates his bayard and marches out of the room. Pidge's eyes widen.
"Lance?" She calls after him. "Oh quizank. Lance!"
She runs after him. Lance continues down the hallway, walking with a determined gait.
"Lance, what are you doing?" She says, running up next to him.
"We need the Black Lion, or we won't be able to form Voltorn. So then I'll just take Red and go get it."
Pidge blinks. Then stares. "You...you're serious."
"Sure am."
"Lance that's suicide!"
"Who says. Whatever anyone else around here believes, I'm actually a good pilot."
"It's not a matter of skill, it's a matter of being literally impossible! We barely broke into the place with an entire fleet at our back! It would be insane to try it by yourself!"
"And that's why they'll never see it coming." Lance quickens his pace, and Pidge has to struggle to keep up with the much longer-legged boy.
Some ways behind them, Hunk rounds a corner, looking curious.
"What's going on, guys?"
"Lance is trying to do something stupid!" Pidge calls over her shoulder.
"Uh oh."
Hunk starts to give chase as well.
Lance kicks open the exit door and strolls out.
It's raining outside. Clouds darken the sky, as their payload is released down to earth. The falling droplets beat against the four remaining lions, sitting in a row on the mud-covered ground. Lance moves towards Red.
Pidge and Hunk follow on his heels.
Pidge accesses her comm. "Allura you'd better get out here. Lance is about to take his lion and go after Black!"
"...wha..what!?" A groggy voice replies.
"Just hurry!"
Pidge catches Lance's sleeve. "Lance!"
He stops in his tracks, frozen.
"Just...give this a second." Desperation is thick in her voice.
"We don't need to lose anyone else, Lance." Hunk says. "Take a minute to calm down."
Lance doesn't reply.
"If you rush off like this…" Pidge has to take a moment to marshal her voice. "I...I don't want to lose you too."
"Yeah...well I don't want people to die either!" He pulls his arm free. "So I'm going after Black. Because that's the only way we have a chance of beating Zarkon!"
He starts walking towards Red again.
The door opens behind them and Allura stumbles back, looking disheveled.
"What is going on here!?"
"I'm going to do what needs to be done!" Lance calls back.
Allura looks to the other two for support, but they return helpless expressions.
"No one, is going anywhere..." A low but commanding voice says.
All turn to see Keith standing a few dozen feet to the side. He walks over, trudging through the mud.
"...not without thinking everything over, and coming up with a real plan for how to beat Zarkon."
He stops in front of Lance, blocking his path to the Red Lion.
"Well look who finally decided to show up!" Lance exclames.
"I haven't been around. I'm sorry. But I'm here now."
Lance's expression softens for a fraction of a second, before he shakes his head with anger. "Well, you're a little late. Now if you don't mind, I've got to go get the lion you left behind."
Lance tries to step around Keith, but he moves to block him again.
"It's being taken care of Lance. So please, stand down."
Lance scowls. "Maybe I don't want to follow the orders of a guy who only decides to be our leader when it's convenient for him!"
Keith winces at that.
Lance brushes past him, but Keith catches his arm.
"...let go." Lance's voice is ice.
"I'm not going to let yourself get killed, Lance."
Lance's eyes flash with anger.
He whirls around and punches Keith in the face.
The other paladins gasp. Keith stumbled back, looking shocked.
Even Lance looks down at his outstretched fist, as if not believing what he'd just done.
Then, Keith's eyes harden. "Fine, if it's a fight you want."
Keith whips a lightning-fast jab that takes Lance in the chin. Lance falls back, flood slipping under the wet ground. He goes down on one knee. Keith doesn't press, seeing if Lance will stay down. He doesn't. Eyes burning with rage, Lance launches himself at Keith.
"Keith!"
"Lance!"
Allura and Pidge yell respectively, moving to dash towards the boys. They are stopped by Hunk grabbing hold of both of them.
"Hunk what are you doing?" Pidge demands.
"We need to stop this madness!" Allura objects.
Hunk doesn't say anything at first, still watching the two boys swing punches at each other.
"Why are you fighting now, Keith? Don't you just want to run away like you always do!? Like when you left to be with the Blades!?"
"I never ran from anything, Lance! I only ever did what I thought was right for this team!"
"Well you were wrong!" Lance tackles Keith to the muddy ground.
"...no." Hunk finally says.
"No!?" the girls exclaim in unison.
"No." Hunk decides nodding to himself.
"They'll kill each other!" Allura says.
"No, no they wont. Even if they're a little emotional right now, they aren't that dumb. There's been a fire burning between those two since the moment they met. It's been cooling down lately, since they've both been acting more mature. But now with Shiro gone it's been reignited. Everything's raw, and they aren't holding back anything anymore. They need to work this out now, or they'll never be able to understand each other."
The girls look like they want to continue to object, but Hunk remains impassive. Reluctantly, they stop resisting, and watch their friends fight.
Keith is trying to pull Lance into a headlock, but he keeps twisting free, slicked by the mud.
"Why couldn't you just let me go, Keith!?" Lance says shoving his hand into Keith's face. "I was trying to save the day for once!"
"Because dammit Lance, you're acting like me!" Keith grabs Lance's wrist and uses it to twist his arm back, pushing Lance down into the mud.
"And what's that!?" Lance grunts.
"Like an idiot!"
"At least we can agree on that!" Lance manages to twist free of Keith's hold, and knees the other boy in the side. Keith rolls back and it's Lance's turn to try and pull off a headlock.
"Be honest…" Keith says, voice straining from Lance's arm against his windpipe. "You always h-hated me. N-never...could stand how much better I was." Keith elbows him in the gut once, twice, then three times. Lance's grip weakens and Keith breaks it entirely, before shifting around to try to swing at his face.
Lance catches his arm, and forces Keith back down to the ground.
"Hate you? Keith, I wanted to be you! You were so good it was stupid! All I ever wanted was to prove I could be as good as you were! And then you go and become the leader, and I actually believed in you! I had no idea you'd run away to the Blades the first time it got hard!"
Keith kicks Lance off him and lurches to his feet.
"I came back didn't I?"
"Yes, and that's the worst part! I actually thought you were different now! But without Shiro you just turned back into the same brooding loner from before!"
"Well I'm sorry my grieving was so inconvenient for you Lance! I wish I had the privilege of not having to care that Shiro's gone!"
"You aren't the only one that misses him!" Lance bellows, throwing a punch at Keith's head.
Keith sweeps Lance's legs, but the other boy drags too. They both hit the ground hard, breath leaving their bodies.
"I know Lance!" Keith shouts, panting. "...I know. And...I'm sorry."
Neither make a move towards the other. They both stay down, panting.
"...I'm not the best leader. Maybe not even a good one. But I'm trying, Lance. And I'm not going to stop trying, even if I keep screwing it up. It's why…" He laughs hysterically. "...it's why I'm lying here in the mud with you right now."
Lance doesn't say anything for a moment.
"...you know I thought bringing the Black Lion back would break you out of what you were going through….but you couldn't even let me have that could you?"
Keith chuckles at that. "...sorry to disappoint."
Lance shakes his head. "I really am an idiot aren't I? Did I really think I was going to go charge through the enemy's army and bring back Black? And I was mad at you for not handling Shiro's death well? Couldn't even give you a few days of peace."
"No, you were right. It probably wouldn't have come to this if I'd been open with all of you from the beginning."
"And miss this epic fight of ours?"
Both laugh, then wince. The droplets of rain start to fall away as the sky overhead begins to clear.
Seeing that the fight is over, Allura, Pidge and Hunk rush over.
"Are you alright!?" Allura asks, holding Keith's head. He nods and she helps him up to a sitting position.
Pidge also helps Lance up. Then she punches him in the side.
"Ow!"
"Idiot." She scolds.
"...fair enough." He sighs.
"You two get everything out you wanted to?" Hunk asks.
Both nod.
"Good...so I guess now we need to think of an actual plan to get the Black Lion back."
"Actually…" Keith says, looking up.
Lance squints up at a dark spot in the sky that is growing larger. His eyes widened.
Seconds later, the Black Lion smashes down into the stone just a few feet away.
"...how?"
"A trick I learned from Zarkon. If he can control his Lion without being inside so can we. But I only unlocked the ability...after I saw Shiro's Last Word."
Everyone is silent for a minute.
"...you know It's kind of funny," Lance finally says. "Shiro was always the one too keep us from being at each other's throats. Guess we kind of missed the point when we ended up fighting over him."
Keith cracks a smile. "He probably wouldn't be too surprised. We always did take too long to learn his lessons."
"Yeah, just think about how long it took us to form Voltron for the second time!" Hunk points out.
"Allura shouting at us sure didn't help." Pidge puts in with a coy smile.
"Oh I'm sorry!" Allura says in mock offense. "But it must have been awfully hard for them to connect with someone they didn't even know was a girl!"
"Most of them did, besides Lance over here."
They all laugh. Keith smiles.
"Do you guys remember when Shiro got so mad because…"
From a distance away, Krolia watches the group.
Coran steps up beside her. "They're more resilient than you might think, that lot."
Krolia smiles. "I was worried about Keith. He had to deal with so much alone and I wasn't there. I thought without Shiro he'd find himself alone again. But it looks like I was wrong. He's found himself a great family to rely on, after all."
With that, she turns on her heel, leaving the kids to talk and laugh and cry about their times with their fallen friend.
