Title is from Little Talks by Monsters and Men
This is from Voltron: Legendary Defender; Season 6 Episode 5
(:)
Metal screeched at Keith, his knife sliding down a few inches. As strong as it was, it couldn't hold them both up forever.
Keith glanced over at Shiro, dangling limply below him; all but dead. His prosthetic had been sliced off, and it was still sparking, flaring with what Keith assumed was Shiro's heartbeat. All too slow, and too sporadic. Uneven.
"Hold on, Shiro." Keith bit out with a low, keening whine, focusing all his expendable energy on harnessing his inhuman strength from his Galran side. "I-I'm going to get us both out of here, okay? Just watch. Just watch."
Shiro didn't respond, so Keith fixated his attention on dragging them up, bending his arms in an effort to pull himself and Shiro further up. The knife slipped a few more feet. It was evident that even if Keith somehow managed to pull himself up, his knife would be long gone by the time he even started to pull Shiro up, and without that handhold - or foothold depending on his vantage point - Keith doubted he could do that.
In the Quantum Abyss, with his mom, he honed his skills until he knew exactly what his limits were, and he had gotten used to accepting those limits. And pulling them both up without a blade to help? That wasn't something he could accomplish.
He could, in theory, summon the Black Bayard, but… he wasn't fast enough to drop his knife and then summon his sword in the split second before he slipped too far away from the circular catwalk. If Pidge's Bayard was… no, no, but it wasn't.
They had switched off with Bayards in training before, Keith with her katars, her with his sword, but he knew he wasn't skilled enough to summon the katars on his own.
His knife slipped once more, and Keith cast a desperate look at Shiro. Shiro had never given up on him.
Before they had even really met, when Keith had pretended not to listen to a thing out of Shiro's mouth, Shiro had still been there. He hadn't ignored Keith back.
He had given Keith good advise; even when it meant Keith became a better speeder racer then him; a better pilot. The thing he was supposed to be the best at didn't mean as much to him as Keith did.
The knife slipped again, and Keith pulled desperately, trying to heave them up again. One more slip, and they'd fall, they'd die, just like…
Just like the other Paladins. Hunk, Lance, Pidge, Allura, Romelle, Coran… Krolia.
Shiro had killed them. He had somehow murdered them, and now… Keith's family was gone. Surrogate and blood, they were dead. There was nothing left for him. Nothing left for Shiro. There was nothing more in life. What more could he do? He couldn't defeat Lotor or Haggar on his own; he wasn't sure if he even wanted to try. Without the Paladins, without the Voltron Force, there was nothing good left in the universe. Nothing else to fight for.
Shiro was his brother. He had been a strong pillar for him, but now…
An explosion rocked the cloning facility above them, causing Keith's blade to heave once more, and he and Shiro were in open air.
Keith clung tighter to Shiro, releasing another whine of pain and heartbreak. Shiro's face was enveloped in white light, gentle and beautiful, and it reminded Keith so much of what he used to be.
Keith closed his eyes, unwilling to watch Shiro's pale face careening closer towards the ground and oblivion with each passing tick.
Shiro never gave up on anything. He never gave up on Keith. No matter how many times Keith himself assured Shiro that he was a lost cause; no matter how much Keith insisted that he was worthless and weak. Even when Keith stated that Shiro didn't even know him…
"Keith, you can do this. I will never give up on you." Shiro told Keith, his eyes kind and soft as he spoke to the child. "But, more importantly, you can't give up on yourself."
Keith made a promise to himself on that day; he never would give up on himself, or on anyone. He'd never quit.
And he wouldn't quit now.
His eyes opened, with newfound determination. He would never quit. There was still so much to do.
He had to stop Lotor, so he could never harm another Altean again. For Allura, and Coran, and most of all, for Romelle, who informed them of what was happening.
He had to find Pidge's family, and explain everything to them. Tell them what happened, and be truthful. They deserved to have honesty given to them; especially after all the lies the Garrison had fed them and told about them.
Lance and Hunk? He would have to return to Earth; find family and friends alike and tell them their story. Tell them stories about their sons and brothers just like Hunk and Lance had told tales about their families.
Haggar would need to be killed; to avenge Shiro and everything she'd done to him; including mind control and all his trauma.
Keith wouldn't rest until all the tasks were complete; and he would complete them.
"Black," he called, throwing his mind out and digging for his bond with the head of Voltron, "please help me. We need to get to your sisters." (Keith highly doubted the Lions were destroyed in whatever Shiro's attack was.) "We need to reform Voltron; we need to protect the universe. Please, if you're there-"
Metal jaws appeared out of nowhere; closing around Keith and tossing him into nothingness.