"For the last time, I'm fine!"
Keith blinked, a little taken aback by the harsh tone Allura had used when she snapped at him. She caught his surprised stare, and guilt flashed across her face. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders, pinching one of her tense muscles between her fingers. "...I'm sorry, Keith, everyone... I'm just..." She trailed off, then looked at her feet, dropping her hand to her side. "...never mind. It's nothing."
Keith stiffened a little. He knew that excuse all too well... he was about to say something, but their resident Yellow Paladin got there first.
"Allura, you know... you can talk to us if something's bothering you, you know that, right?" He asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.
Keith understood where his uncertainty was coming from. A few weeks ago, after the Black Lion had taken Shiro back, and Red had shut him out, only accepting Keith... Lance had started to withdraw from the team. They had tried talking to him, only to be assured that he was fine, that he was finally getting to enjoy some downtime... bullshit, of course, and everyone knew it, but... what were they supposed to do? He wouldn't let them in, even Hunk, he'd turned him away more than a few times... they hadn't seen Lance in about a week, but sometimes that would happen, and when it did, there was no helping it... when Lance didn't want to be found, you couldn't find him.
Keith was snapped back into reality when Allura's voice broke into his musings.
"Well, it's just that... Blue's been... oh, how do I say this...?" She paused, touching her lip gently with her slender finger, then tapping her chin thoughtfully. "...distant? With me? Three days ago, I felt-through our bond, of course- very angry, and scared. I don't know what happened, but ever since, she's been... short with me. If we communicate, it's the bare minimum, and nothing more." Allura shrugged as the other Paladins looked at each other in wonder. This didn't usually happen. "Perhaps... maybe it's not connected, but there was something strange I noticed; a few wires here and there were out of place, in the castle, and some of my life energy seemed to have disappeared the last time I checked. I'm wondering if there's some minor malfunction in the castle that Blue noticed, and she's mad that I haven't been keeping up." She reasoned, although she sounded uncertain with her explanation.
Pidge cocked an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound right. The Lions haven't really cared about what happens on the ship until now, if what you're saying is true." She said, crossing her arms.
Hunk frowned. "But, if the Lions noticed that something was wrong, like-like an-an energy leak or something, then they might be worried about lowered security, like... how much of a disaster would it be if the systems holding the hangar doors shut suddenly failed? The Lions could be lost in space, and we might not even noticed until we needed them!" He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, because the last thing they needed to worry about was something they couldn't figure out.
There was a short silence, then Shiro sighed. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not going to be as bad as we think. I'll talk to Coran about checking up the castle's systems, and-"
"What are you going to be asking me about?"
The small group jumped a little, and their heads turned towards the bay doors, where Coran stood, an inquisitive look on his face.
Allura stepped forward, placing her helmet under her arm. "Just a bit worried about castle systems. You wouldn't happen to know if there was something wrong with anything, would you? The remaining life energy stored in the Castleship seemed to have disappeared last I checked... was something leaching from it, do you think?" Allura asked.
Coran raised his eyebrows and looked down. "...No, but that is worrisome, isn't it?" He frowned and looked back up again. "But, to my understanding, there was only a small amount left. I can't imagine it being vital to our worm-holing capabilities, or any other important functions." He said.
Keith frowned a little, seeing Coran looking a little paler than normal. He watched him closely as he continued to talk with Allura and Shiro, looking for other oddities. Other than the fact that he seemed a little less chipper than usual, and the occasional forced grin, nothing seemed out of the ordinary...
But Keith had learned that even a little bit "out of the ordinary" could mean that something was very wrong.
"-eith... Keith! Dude," Hunk's voice jolted him out of his mind again, and he blinked, looking up at the taller of the two. He and Pidge stood next to him, watching him with slight concern. "you up for some food? You look a little... lost." He finished after taking him in.
Keith's face heated up a little bit as his stomach growled, seemingly right on cue, and he reached out to gently slap a snickering Pidge upside her still-helmeted head.
"Y-yeah, fine, I guess..." He agreed, a bit embarrassed at apparently being hungry enough to completely zone out more than once. As they left the hangar, he shot Coran one more glance.
Whatever was up, he would get back to later, after he had gotten out of his armor and eaten something.
He didn't expect the red-headed man to startle so much at the question.
Or, maybe it wasn't so much the question, but the fact that Keith had not alerted the Altean to his presence beforehand.
Coran looked up from his place at one of the small control panels scattered throughout the Castleship, his eyes wide. "I-I'm sorry, Keith, could you repeat that, please?" He asked, turning back to the control panel. Keith noticed that he didn't go back to whatever he was working on before he had walked in.
Keith crossed his arms, trying to look slightly intimidating, but not exactly threatening. "I asked if you actually knew what happened to that life energy Allura was talking about before." He repeated, leaning "casually" against the door frame. He watched as Coran blinked. He waited patiently, and he felt a little apprehension when Coran sighed.
"...Keith, I do know where it went, but... it's really not my place to say where it went, or how it was used." He murmured finally, sounding a little defeated.
Keith's eyes widened slightly, taking in the scene in front of him. Coran was leaning against the control panel, his arms tense, his head drooping a little. Keith didn't think he'd ever seen the man look so... so...
Defeated.
Keith took a few steps forward and, pausing hesitantly, placed a hand awkwardly on Coran's shoulder. He bit the inside of his lip, then tried to sound as calm as possible when he next spoke.
"Coran, it's... I think it's important to know what happened, even if it's, uh... 'not your place to say'. It could be serious. If it's something that could affect Voltron, or the Castleship for that matter, we need to know." Keith couldn't figure out why there was a sinking feeling in his chest, or why his heart had started to speed up, just enough for Keith to notice.
Coran took in a deep breath and straightened up. "It... it does not affect Voltron, or the Castleship. The amount of life energy left wasn't enough to provide sufficient aid in the castle defense or offense, and it wasn't nearly enough to wormhole the whole ship in case of an emergency... why, if it were to be used, it would barely be enough to wormhole a small ship!" His laugh was forced, but that wasn't what made Keith so uneasy.
No, what made Keith's heart seem to stutter to a stop was the gaze Coran locked onto him. His dark blue eyes were intense, as though trying desperately to convey something to Keith, but he couldn't see what. It was like Coran wanted him to know, even if he said it wasn't his place.
Keith's heart began to slow down a little from its rapid pace, and he nodded. He returned Coran's knowing stare and backed away. "Well, thanks for telling me that, anyway. I'll try to find out where the energy went, just out of, uh... curiosity. It's good to know that it won't affect Voltron though, or any of our assets." He said, not turning away just yet.
Coran watched him for a moment, then turned back to the control panel with a sigh. "Yes... yes, I'm glad as well." He murmured.
Keith frowned, seeing the older man slump into his defeated position again. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he was fond of the older Altean, finding him to be an interesting person beneath the horrible jokes and odd trivia, and he didn't like to see him acting so out of character. He knew what-or, who, really-could cheer him up, but he hadn't seen him in a while.
He shrugged to himself. 'No harm in asking, even if he probably doesn't know.' He reasoned. He was backing away towards the door, and he stopped at the entrance, his hand on the metal frame.
"Hey, Coran, have you seen Lance at all? We haven't seen him in a while, and it's worrying me a little... Coran?" Keith asked, his tension returning to him like a raging bull as he watched Coran swiftly turn his head away from Keith, so that the younger couldn't see his face. "Coran- what's-"
"No, I-I haven't seen him in a few days... wish I could help you, Keith." Coran straightened his shoulders and went back to tapping on the control panel's holographic screen. Keith didn't miss the hand that went up to his face for a brief moment, as if to wipe something from his cheek, before it went back to work. "T-tell him to come see me if you find him."
Keith's heart pounded. He gripped the door frame until his knuckles went white, and his eyes stared into space.
The sinking feeling in his chest returned. His lungs felt like they were full of lead, his feet feeling like they were chained to the ground.
He fought against the heavy, trapping feeling and darted from the room, his footsteps pounding against the metal floors as he raced past the common area, past the kitchens, ignoring Hunk's startled call, past the Control Room.
Each footstep resounded as a heartbeat in his ears as he reached his destination. He skidded to a halt in front of the former Blue Paladin's door and barely paused to take in a few gasping breaths before he pounded his fist against the metal. "Lance! Lance, open up, tall-ass!" He slammed his fist against the door until his fist went numb. In a last resort attempt, he placed his hand on the access system, praying it hadn't been locked against the others, but knowing it probably had been.
The door slid open easily, and Keith felt the tears gathering in his throat rather than his eyes. He choked back a small noise that might have been 'Lance' as he took in the spotless, empty room. No clothes, no knickknacks or face products.
He didn't waste any time. He left the room, trying to bite back the tears that had made their way to his eyes as he bolted for the hangars. He heard Shiro call out to him, but he ignored him. He reached the hangars and headed for the escape pod bay, rather than the Lion's bay. One look told him everything he needed to know. An escape pod was missing, one that had been there not two weeks before when they had been documenting the Castleship's information.
Keith slid to the floor, his knees not willing to hold him up. The tears were gone, replaced by a hollow sense of shock that he didn't know what to do with.
"Keith! What in the world are you running around for?!" Shiro's voice reached his ears, but he couldn't bring himself to respond. "...Keith? What's...what's going on?" He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Keith ripped his eyes away from the empty space the pod had left when he... when Lance had...
His eyes met Shiro's concerned gaze, and it began to sink in.
"Lance- Shiro, he's-" His eyes swam, and before he realized it, there was water on his face, salty, hot water that he wished could just disappear, that he wished could be there for no reason, anything would be better than-than-
"...he's gone."