Hey guys... So how long has it been? 8 months? Yeah? Oops. So this is Silver here updating since apparently Rainbow decided to leave out fanfiction once more from her updating spree. Since this Corona is quarantining everyone, we figured we might as well entertain people a little. So this is a rather short chapter... Hey, don't worry though. There'll be a special update coming soon ;)


"What happened?" Shiro grabbed Keith by the shoulders and held him there as he stared directly into his eyes, his own filled with a swirl of fear and anxiety.

"It's… complicated." Keith averted his eyes. "I'll explain when everyone's in the lounge."

"Hey…?" Lance had stumbled all the way over to where they were, a red flush beginning to appear in his cheeks again. "Shiro? Keith? Why are you…" Lance's words trailed off as he noticed their position and Shiro's distressed stance.

"Lance? What are you doing here?" Shiro asked, letting go of Keith. He stepped away from Keith, noticing the hand-shaped indents in Keith's clothes, and looked down, guiltily at how tightly he had grasped him.

"I…" Lance's eyes darted between the two of them, still not completely sure of what was going on. "Robin wanted… you guys… in the lounge."

Keith rubbed his arm almost absentmindedly, missing Shiro's wince. "Okay."

Lance's suspicious gaze didn't leave them as he waited for them to start moving to the lounge to limp alongside them.

"Sorry, Keith," Shiro whispered. Keith stopped rubbing his arm when he realized Shiro's gaze was locked on it, his dark eyes brimming with feelings of shame.

"It's okay," Keith said back quietly. "It isn't as bad as it looks."

"What are you two whispering about?" Lance asked loudly, popping his head between the two of them as best as he could, some of his normal cheeky energy back.

"Nothing that concerns you," Keith bantered back but without any bite to his words. He was grateful for Lance's usual antics. It had been so long since Lance had done anything except thrash on his bed that he had even begun to miss the inconsiderate remarks Lance sometimes stupidly sprouted out.

"Sheesh, you don't have to be so cold, Keith," Lance said, slinging his arm around Keith's shoulder.

Shiro, having suddenly realized why they were heading back to the lounge, stopped abruptly, causing Keith and Lance to bump into his back. Shiro turned to Lance apologetically. "Lance, maybe it's better for you to go back to your room… you should be resting."

"But I feel so much better!"

"But you could relapse at any time and it's best for you to keep your strength up," Shiro said gently, directing Lance back to his room where Pidge was already on the bed, doing something on her computer. Matt sat next to her, discussing technical things with her in an effort to make both of them feel better and normal. He looked up at the new arrivals, leaving with an apology to Pidge at Shiro's pointed look over the Blue Paladin's head.

"But-"

"Rest, Lance," Shiro said sternly before shutting the door and even hesitantly locking it. Lance, hearing the click of the door lock, hobbled over to the door and frantically began banging on it.

"Shiro? Shiro!" Lance yelled desperately. Pidge looked up in confusion as Lance continued slamming his fists against the door with the limited strength he had. "Shiro, what the quiznak?! Open the door! Shiro!"

Hearing no response and also out of strength, Lance slumped against the door, pressing his forehead to it, his body shaking. Pidge wasn't sure if he was sobbing or his body was quivering from the sudden surge of energy that left him depleted.

"Lance?" Pidge threw her precious laptop to the side uncaringly and walked over to him in concern. "Lance, what's going on?"

"Shiro locked us in," Lance said, voice hard. He sniffled, unsure if it was from his current state of sadness or a symptom of the poison.

"What? Why?" Pidge asked in disbelief, going to the doorknob and checking herself to see if it was locked. It was.

"They're having some sort of conversation they don't want us to hear," Lance said bitterly, his head resting on the arm hugging his knees.

"What- I'm going to go eavesdrop," Pidge announced, confidently striding over to their bed. "I'll record and bring it back to you."

"Uh… how are you going to eavesdrop? The doors are-" he was cut off as Pidge took a screwdriver she pulled out of nowhere and climbed onto the bed, beginning to unscrew the screws holding the air vent.

"The air vents," Pidge stated casually, as if it was a normal occurrence.

"I see," Lance said, not completely surprised at her admission. "I should have known."

"Yeah. So give me a boost." Pidge gestured for him to climb on the bed. He did so, getting on all fours as Pidge used him as a boost to clamber up to the vents. She paused before entering, making sure to angle her head away, so she didn't just shout into the air vent that she was going to sneak out of her room. "Oh, and if Shiro or someone comes to check up on us, use that device over there to play my voice."

"... What?" Lance asked dumbly. "Use what to do what?" He stared at the device Pidge pointed to incredulously. "Wait… so that device has your voice?"

"Yeah… how do you think I spent so long in the air vents? Every time Shiro came to check up on me, I had Rover 2.0 press the button and a recording of my voice would say something."

"... You… what?" Lance repeated, still unable to comprehend just how intelligent the short gremlin in front of him was. "You recorded yourself to play- didn't Shiro realize that it was a recording?"

"Eventually. But I have different recordings. And only use it if he asks for me," Pidge instructed. Lance nodded, still a bit shocked.

"Okay…"

"You are able to do it, right?" Pidge asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean Rover 2.0 could do it and he was a triangular pyramid. You have fingers so you have the automatic advantage."

"O-of course I can do it!" Lance sputtered, offended. "Now go before you miss the entire conversation!"

"Okay," Pidge said, "all you have to do is press the 'on' button."

"I get it! Now go, you're heavy!" Lance grunted, his back straining from the effort of keeping Pidge's weight up. Pidge hopped into the vent and crawled through.

Lance straightened and limped over to the device, all the while grumbling saltily to himself. "Of course I can press the on button. Rover can do it. So I should be able to with my fingers."

He turned the device in his hand and jumped as he accidentally hit the on button and Pidge's voice blasted out, "Hey, Shiro! I'm right here!"

Lance fumbled with the device, trying to turn it off and smacked the off button, throwing the device on the bed. "Oh quiznak," he muttered, his hand pressed against his heaving chest, trying to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest.


Pidge was army-crawling through the air vents towards the loud noises coming from one side of the Tower. She finally came to a stop at the correct air vent, peering through it to see everyone in the lounge, huddled around the table and Robin pacing in front of it, yelling at Keith. She quickly turned on her laptop and pressed the recording button just as Robin's yelling reached the height of its volume.

"Keith! Are you stupid?!" Robin shouted, his eyes narrowed, while stomping around.

"It's the only choice I have!" Keith yelled back, his entire body tense. "Otherwise Pidge and Lance will die!" Matt visibly tensed from his position on the couch, staring at his lap. It was hard to tell that he had been chatting so enthusiastically with Pidge not even ten minutes prior.

Pidge's eyes narrowed. So the reason that they were excluding her and Lance was because they were talking about them.

"You're accepting an apprenticeship from Slade!"

Pidge's eyebrows furrowed. Who the hell is Slade and why's Keith becoming his apprentice? It hit her not even a moment later that Slade was the evil guy Robin kept mentioning—this universe's Zarkon. Pidge's eyes widened and her heart leaped into her throat as all the blood in her face drained.

"I have to! Pidge and Lance will die otherwise! And I refuse to let my family die!" At this point, Keith's face had begun to redden and he got up, slamming his hands on the table.

Pidge felt a warm fuzzy feeling at Keith's referral to them as family but she was still mortified to be the cause of Keith recklessly apprenticing under some lunatic.

"Slade is dangerous! I've been his apprentice before and I know what it's like!" Robin grabbed the collar of Keith's jacket and pulled him closer to him over the table.

"Well then you know the reason I have to do it!" Keith's voice quieted down and he swallowed heavily. "You know what it's like to do something in order to keep your loved ones safe."

Robin's eyes softened and he released Keith. His entire body seemed to just fold into itself as he sat back down on the couch. "Yeah… I understand the feeling all too well."

Not being able to handle any more of this, Pidge slammed her laptop shut and hurriedly scurried back to Lance, tears forming in her eyes. She burst out into the room and scared Lance as she tumbled onto the bed, almost sobbing.

"Pidge, what the quiznak?!" Lance shrieked, jumping back. He then noticed the tears and his heart almost stopped. "Wha- what's wrong, Pidge?" Lance whispered, drawing Pidge into a hug. "Shh, don't cry. It's okay."

"Lance-" Pidge's voice was choked up and she let out a quiet sob as she buried her face into Lance's shirt. "It- they were-"

"Shh," Lance said soothingly, "tell me about it later. First, let out all your tears."

Pidge's body, wracked with sobs, wrapped around Lance and melted into his embrace as he stroked her hair and whispered comforting words into her ear. She bunched up his shirt in her fists as she held onto him tightly.

After a moment, she pulled away, her face red and puffy as she wiped away the tears and snot covering her face.

"So," Lance said calmly, examining Pidge's face for signs of any more tears, "what made you cry so much?"

"I… just listen." Pidge pressed the play button on her laptop and the recorded conversation flowed out of the speakers and into Lance's ears, seeping into his brain and the darker parts of his mind, making itself at home there.

"Who the quiznak is Slade?" Lance asked, his mouth dry as a bad taste crept into his mouth.

"He's… the Titans' main enemy…I'm assuming…" Pidge said quietly, her eyes dropping to the bed sheets.

"Keith is…" Lance said numbly, his hands that were stroking Pidge's head falling into his lap.

"For us," Pidge finished glumly.

"We… we're the reason he's putting himself in danger?" Lance said, eyes dropping. "It's our fault?"

Pidge wanted to but she couldn't find the words to comfort Lance, because she too, believed it was their fault.

"No…" Lance muttered in horror. "Keith can't accept an apprenticeship to Slade for us! I'm not worth it… I'm not important enough for him to sacrifice his life for… He's more useful to Voltron than I am… he should let me die." With every muttered phrase, his hands gripped his head tighter and tighter as if trying to gouge into his skull.

Pidge gaped at him before shaking him violently. "That's not true!" she shrieked, continuously jostling him to dislodge his hands from his head. A small voice reminded her of how gentle he was with her when he tried to comfort her, but she shoved that voice away and continued roughly shaking Lance's shoulders.

"We all need you!" She wasn't quite sure if he had attempted to respond or not but she was determined to get the fact that he was needed into his thick skull. "Not only can we not form Voltron without you but you're also my brother!" Pidge said desperately, stopping her rough treatment of him. "I… I won't be able to handle it if you're gone." Pidge laid her head against Lance's shoulder, her tears coming back with a vengeance. "I already had to lose Matt and Shiro and even Keith. Don't make me lose you too."

"Pidge-"

"No!" Pidge yelled, silencing whatever self-deprecating phrase he was about to sprout out. "You're one of the most important people here! Yeah, I'm the child genius and Keith and Shiro are the perfect pilots and Hunk is the cook but you're the heart of our team!" Pidge took a deep breath in order to keep her tears from pouring. "You make everyone laugh with your dumb humor and you're the only one that can make stupid jokes in serious situations and you're the only one who can hate Lotor with me!"

Despite himself, Lance let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, no one else can listen to you rant about Lotor and agree enthusiastically."

Pidge nodded. "Exactly. So you can't die. I forbid it. In fact, you have to pinky swear you will not say bad things about yourself and you will not sacrifice yourself because you don't think you're worth it."

Lance smiled softly and linked pinkies with her, pulling her in close for a hug. "Thanks, Pidge."

"Only returning the favor, Lance," Pidge responded, hugging him tightly.


"So do we agree?" Robin asked, looking at Keith.

"Yeah."

"Good idea, Hunk," Shiro praised, patting the blushing boy on the back.

"So Keith will be a double spy?" Robin asked, looking around for any sign of disagreement. When he found none, he nodded. "I guess it's final."


"Keith!" Pidge yelled, stumbling up to him angrily. Keith watched her in slight amusement and worry as she attempted to stomp but ended up tripping over herself. He steadied her by the shoulders and went to make a light hearted comment about her balance and how he was glad that she was finally out and about, but was unable to as she aggressively shrugged his hands off.

After Shiro had unlocked the door, Lance and Pidge refused to talk to anyone for an hour and finally, it appeared the Pidge was ready to talk to people again. Although Keith didn't really think that she simply wanted to 'talk'.

"Keith-" she looked around and saw everyone staring at her. "Come with me."

She attempted to drag him away as she pulled on his arm but Keith didn't move. He started walking in the direction of her pull in order to make her feel better. Hunk and Shiro exchanged looks and decided to follow them to see what Pidge was so fired up about.

Once they had reached a quiet hallway, Pidge rounded on Keith and shoved her finger into his chest. "You- you decided to become Slade's apprentice?!"

Keith blinked in surprise, nearly stumbling with how quickly he was forced to stop. "How did you-"

"Air vents," Pidge said dismissively, hardening her gaze into a glare a second later. "Don't try and change the subject. Why did you decide to do it?"

"Pidge, maybe you should-" Shiro tried to intervene, stepping forward with an outstretched hand.

"No!" Pidge slapped his hand away and remained angrily staring at a frozen Keith. "You broke your promise to me!"

Keith remembered exactly what she was talking about and realized why she was so angry. "Technically, I never promised," he countered, Pidge beginning to provoke his ire.

"You said you wouldn't be an idiot!" Pidge's continuous jabs started lessening and Pidge sniffled. She pulled away, her glare melting away with the sudden brimming of tears that made her honey colored eyes glisten alarmingly.

"I'm not being an idiot-"

"You're going to work for Slade…" Pidge looked to the side, blinking away her tears so Keith wouldn't see her cry. "I'd say that classifies as idiocy." She tried to add a bitter bite to her words, although her voice cracking lessened the effect.

"I'm doing this for you and Lance!" Keith yelled, his fists clenching. A small voice in his head advised him to back off as Pidge had only just revealed herself after a very long hour and snapping at her wasn't the best choice. Yet he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. He was under too much stress with his forced decision and having Pidge shove more guilt on his shoulders only made it worse.

"You're putting yourself at risk of dying for us?" Pidge retorted. "Just for a small chance of a cure?"

He felt his metaphorical hackles rise, the bubbling anger clogging his throat with too many words to be said at once. He could feel himself pushed to the breaking point, and before he could bite his tongue, to stop himself from jumping over that line, the words broke free. "Yes, I would, Pidge! I considered you as a sister!" Keith's fury didn't die even as Pidge's irate expression melted into shame. "Or should I just let you die?"

Pidge's shame turned back into anger and she spat back, "Maybe you should, seeing as you no longer consider me family!" Her voice raised an octave too high and cracked, her rage mixed with sudden crushing despair slicing through her previously even volume.

Before Keith could respond, Pidge turned on her heel and left. Keith's heart dropped to his feet and he cradled his head in his hands. "What have I done?" he whispered, the tension in his shoulders melting away like butter.

Matt, having just arrived, grimaced. He knew firsthand how long Pidge held grudges for. Despite her short height, she sure had a long memory.

"It'll be fine, Keith," Hunk said hesitantly, stepping forward to make himself known. "I'm sure Pidge will forgive you."


She didn't. In fact, for the next few days, she refused to even look at him, much less speak to him. No matter how hard he tried to talk to her, Lance would interrupt and draw his attention away so Pidge could make a speedy escape back to her room. It left Keith with a hollow feeling in his chest, only deepening when he couldn't seem to fill it. He knew he had to apologize, but she wouldn't give him a chance! He spotted her down the hall and felt a sense of hope flutter when he noticed Lance wasn't anywhere nearby. He moved to talk to her, her name on the tip of his tongue, but she noticed too soon, and was gone again.

He ran a gloved hand through his bangs, letting out a sigh as Hunk appeared behind him. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder that Keith begrudgingly accepted.

"You were saying?" Keith grumbled to Hunk after Pidge escaped from him once again. "Where's the forgiveness you preached about?"

"Um… deep, deep, deep inside?" Hunk said sheepishly. He offered a small smile in hope of easing the boy's tension, although it was in vain.

"Hey, Keith," Lance said, popping up behind the Red Paladin and scaring him, an unreadable expression on his face, "quit bugging Pidge."

"I- I need to-" Keith turned and fumbled with what to say, hoping to get Lance to help him instead of act as the wedge between them. Though, he knew that it was just wishful thinking; Lance would always lean towards comforting the member who needed it most. In this scenario, Pidge was worse off than Keith in a number of ways.

"You need to quit hounding her," Lance said, his face an uncharacteristic mask of stone. "She's hurt and needs time to heal."

"But-"

"Did you not think of how your actions might have affected us?" Lance interrupted quietly, his face melting with various degrees of emotion, drawing light to what this was truly about. "I'm not completely sure about Pidge, but your actions… made me feel terrible," Lance said vaguely, averting his eyes.

Keith flinched. "I… I didn't mean-"

"Lance, that's enough," Shiro said sternly, stepping forward as he noticed Keith's expression breaking down more and more. "Keith is doing this for both yours and Pidge's sake. Don't put the blame on him."

Adam came up from behind Shiro and pierced Lance with a hard look, frowning. "Lance, you're being unreasonable."

Lance's eyes went wide before he quickly covered that up with a laugh. His laugh resonated within their bones as the fakeness burned their very soul. He plastered a large smile on his face. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Keith! I know this is hard!" With the same large smile stuck on his face, Lance walked away quickly, not giving them a chance to respond. They all noticed how his posture seemed to slump halfway down the hall, his arms moving to hug himself with hunched shoulders as he shuffled back to his room.

"I feel like we just made a huge mistake," Shiro muttered, guilt pooling in his gut and instant regret rearing its ugly head to slap Shiro in the face.

Keith sighed. "Obviously all those bonding times you tortured us with have done nothing."

He walked away down the hall, going in the opposite direction of Lance. He'd try again later. He'd just have to hope that his chance to prove he meant none of what he said would come soon.