Everyone gaped at the image. It was Lance, unkempt and… sad. Lance was the bubbly, happy, jokester that kept them all sane, not whoever this was. But it was still Lance, just a side of himself he never trusted the paladins to see. Staring at the projection, Keith was shaking, almost imperceptibly. The black paladin's face was steeled against emotion, and only Shiro could see the pain, the worry, the longing in his violet eyes.

"Hey," the image said, the voice hollow and low. It was so unlike Lance to be this quiet and reserved. "You're probably wondering what this is. And why you found this in my room… I always leave it out while we're on a mission. Just the thought that… you know, thinking maybe if I leave tonight, I won't come back. So if anyone's watching this, it means I haven't put it away… which would only mean one thing… Something happened to me. Something… bad."

"This… this is…" Pidge choked. The video Lance sighed in the background.

"It's a death note," Shiro finished.

Sadly, Hunk added, "For us…"

"I mean, this is an intergalactic war," Lance continued. "A space war with giant sentient mechanical Lions, which makes it awesome, but it's still a war. And… people still die."

"Why would he record something like this?" Allura asked. The same hollow sadness that Lance spoke with was seeping into her voice. No one answered.

"I recorded a bunch of messages on here. Seven, to be exact." Lance held up his pinky finger. "This is video one. The rest go in this order. Two is Shiro, and three, Pidge." He counted the numbers off on his fingers. "Then Hunk is four, Coran and Allura are five, Six is for my family back home. To Mamá, and Marco and Luis and Veronica, Rachel, Papá… Everyone." Lance took a shuddering breath. "And seven…" His voice trailed off, and he slowly lowered his hands. "You'll… you'll know who you are." Keith felt like his chest was caught in a vice, but he still showed nothing. "Anyway, whoever's watching, you can switch to your video now." The video froze on the last frame, leaving the room as still as the image.

"So, what do we do?" Hunk asked. Though he spoke quietly, barely above a whisper, the tiny sound shattered the silence.

"Do… Do we watch them? Privately? Together?" Pidge followed.

"I say we each choose how to watch our own," Shiro offered. "I'll watch mine with all of you, but I won't force you to see it if you don't want."

No one moved.

"These are his last words to us… I want you all to hear mine, too." Hunk wouldn't look at any of them, instead focusing his gaze on the table.

"Same here," Pidge said with a nod.

"I am in agreement as well," Allura whispered.

"So am I." Coran's usually cheery voice was low and heavy.

Everyone looked to Keith. He was motionless for a long moment, then he gave a small nod and took the remaining seat. "Let's do it," he mumbled.

Allura flipped to the next video, starting with another still image of Lance. Everyone took a deep breath, waiting as Allura pressed play.

A/N: Happy new year! *faint sounds of air horns and party poppers in the background*

I know this one is short, but it was supposed to be the prologue in the first iteration of this story. I couldn't bring myself to scrap ot or make it longer, so... yeah, this is it for now. Sorry! I promise the next chapters will be longer, so please, bear with me for now. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.

Until next time...

-Ash

P.S. Yes, I am back in school, and yes, I am posting this while I'm supposed to be working.