Chapter Text
For a moment, Keith thought he was drowning.
His lungs burned as he opened his mouth, gasping for air as he his head tilted up, a gurgling sound coming from the back of his throat. Keith had felt pain plenty of times before – he had even felt it when death loomed precariously at his side. Yet somehow, the sensation of drowning in a pit of darkness was worse than any gunshot wound.
“End training.”
The darkness lifted and Keith choked, spitting out nothing and inhaling air noisily as everything sprung back to life.
“Ten minutes. Not bad.” Kolivan noted, glancing down where Keith lay. His hands still twitched as tried to shake away the last of the panic, his head spinning.
“Thanks,” He rasped and managed to sit up. “Out of curiosity, what would good look like?” He asked weakly. Kolivan scoffed.
“Twenty minutes.” He answered and Keith groaned, allowing another member of the Blade to help him to his feet. Now that the lights were back on he could see that there were at least ten of them in the room. He had either been in so much pain he didn’t notice their entrance, or they had been too quiet for his ears to detect.
“You have galra blood within you,” Kolivan started and Keith raised an eyebrow at the rather obvious conclusion of the experiment – er, training “But it doesn’t make you quite as strong as we had hoped.”
“I’ll get stronger.” Keith shrugged. It wasn’t so much a promise as it was a simple fact. Even in the months he had been within the ranks of the blade his skills had improved tremendously and in ways he had never even thought of.
Kolivan said nothing, but a ghost of a smile tugged somewhere on his face. From behind him one of the other members tilted his head at him, no doubt filled with curiosity. Keith didn’t really keep track of who he had and hadn’t met before. He found it best to keep it that way with so many people dying and so many entering the rebellion.
“Get changed, we’ll meet for supper.” Kolivan dismissed and turned to the group before speaking in Galran. Keith nodded at his back. He hadn’t gotten around to learning Galran yet, which both a relief and a disappointment. On one hand, Keith was terrible at learning languages. He had proved that when he accidentally let slip he had taken three years of Spanish only to understand the phrase ‘Tú hables español?’ when Lance excitedly started rambling to him. He suspected Galran would be no different. On the other hand it would prove to be valuable to have some understanding of what Zarkon’s empire were saying or writing. For example, it would be nice to know when boxes were labeled as ‘explosives’ rather than ‘files’…As just one completely random example.
Trudging to his room he tore off his uniform in exchange for an identical one that already was laying on his bed. The Blade of Mamora’s quarters were similar to the Castle of Lions in its ability to provide almost anything for its occupants – especially when you had limited outfits. He had a few other things to wear – his old black t-shirt and jeans folded neatly in a drawer along with his jacket hanging in his closet. His old paladin armor was next to it, his helmet on the ground.
Within a few steps he picked it up, flicking on the comms as he sat on the edge of his bed.
“Hey guys,” He greeted and waited. Sometimes, if the team happened to be wearing their armor and had the comms opened up, they could talk to one another. Voltron was identified a trusted force by the Blade so they got passed the defenses fine. “Hello?” He tried again. No answer.
Fine. He would try again later. Not that it really mattered to him. It was typically Shiro and Allura who nudged him to keep in contact with the others. He didn’t mind being cut off that much. It made it easier to settle in when he wasn’t thinking about how Pidge was working on a new project or how Hunk insisted he had figured out the perfect cookie dough recipe with only space goo.
“I think you are supposed to miss those things,” Lance had once said to him over the comms. Keith had gotten back from one his first missions and wasn’t really sure how to proceed without a team to bug him. The other blade members just sort of…Left him alone. Keith still wasn’t sure what Lance had been doing on the comms so late when no one else was there. He had never asked. “It means you think they are worth missing.”
He really hated it when Lance went and said something smart.
Putting the helmet back down, Keith splashed some water on his face and began the trek down the dining pavilion with a small grimace. If Altean food was disgusting he would hate to see everyone’s reaction to what the Galra considered a delicacy.
“Keith.”
“Anton.” He greeted as the Galra removed his mask. Despite Keith insisting he had only saved him as part of a mission, Anton still seemed to find ways to repay him. Usually it was keeping other members from bothering him or making sure he was eating or sleeping enough (something Keith wondered if Shiro had actually put him up to at times). Now though, Anton’s face was scrunched with concern. His yellow eyes quickly flicked over him as a crease formed between his eyebrows.
“We’re skipping dinner,” He frowned “Kolivan said we’ve been summoned.”
“A new mission?”
“Not…Exactly.” Anton sighed and gestured for him to follow as he began to make his way through the maze of corridors. Keith lengthened his pace to keep up. He only came up to slightly above Anton’s elbow and his legs were practically twigs compared to his. Keith silently mulled over Kolivan’s request. They had just seen one another fifteen minutes ago. What could have changed within fifteen minutes?
Practically anything, he knew. A planet could have been destroyed, a hostage situation, lives lost – a number of awful things all had a chance to crawl out of space and into Keith’s reality.
What he hadn't expected was to see the Castle of Lions outside the base. Kolivan was navigating the two together, a click sounding as the ships melded together - forming some sort of door. Voltron needed their help? From the look of things, nobody was piloting the ship... Meaning Kolivan was orchestrating this visit.
"I received a call," The galra said, answering the silent question. "Voltron needs our help with a... An issue." He said and Keith wondered how much he knew about this issue and why he seemed to be taking the lead in this meeting if Voltron was the one asking for help. Of course, Kolivan was a huge proponent of Voltron. Most of the blades knew it was the weapon that would end the war and had unconditional support. Still...
Kolivan stepped away now that doors were fully formed and gestured Keith to follow. Right. He supposed there was no need for anybody to tell him what was happening. He walked over, readying himself to enter the ship.
“Keith,” Anton called from where he was at the controls. “Be careful.” He offered. He was still staring at the array of purple buttons, but his eyes weren’t moving as his hands gently trailed across them.
“Uh. Right. Thanks…You too.” He mumbled and wrenched open the door. It snapped closed the second he stepped through.
The light was blinding as they entered the room. Keith had forgotten the castleship's preference for white. It burned his eyes after months in the black and purple of the blades. Kolivan seemed similarly uncomfortable by the decor, raising his arm to shield his eyes as the doors zipped shut behind them with a click.
He had half expected Shiro to be there to greet them, but the entrance was empty. Their footsteps echoed with every step, leaving Keith to wonder if they had actually been requested at all. He wouldn't be surprised if this was Kolivan's idea of a training exercise. Maybe the others had agreed to play along and he would walk in to find everyone loudly and dramatically crying for help in ridiculously loose bindings. He inwardly sighed.
As it turned out, there was no faux mission. In fact, the castle remained empty even as they entered the bridge. Not even Coran in sight. Instead was a large screen - the one Coran and Allura had used during missions to track the lions. Curiously, he walked up, noting the blinking dots trailing every which way. They were out on a mission then. Interesting. Keith looked at Kolivan, silently asking for an explanation. Had this been a call for backup...?
He stepped forward, tracing Blue's route to see if it was doing any defensive maneuvers. When nothing seemed amiss there, he glanced at the others lions to see if any of them had... Had... Wait. He did an internal check again.
"Lance..." He groaned and crossed his arms. It would appear Voltron was a lion short. Red was nowhere on the screen - though one swift glance to the right confirmed that he was still in his hangar. Keith grimaced. Lance had been known to miss drills and even stumble in late on actual missions due to his love headphones and playing his music too loudly to hear the alarms. "I'm going to go get him." Keith told Kolivan with a sigh. The galra frowned at him, opening his mouth to perhaps tell him not to bother, but Keith was already gone. He wasn't sure what everyone was doing out there, but it was uncomfortable for him to think they wouldn't be able to form Voltron if there was a reason they needed to.
Lord knows Keith had dragged Lance out of his room enough times when he was black paladin. This was not a new trick for him. In fact, he almost felt like he had never left as he typed in the old code Coran had given him to override the locking system for their rooms. Lance's doors jolted open and Keith stepped in, ready to drag the idiot from bed upon being back in the castle for exactly five minutes.
Well...Except the bed was empty. Keith frowned, looking around to see Lance's usual tidy room in disarray. Had he just missed him...? Maybe Lance realized he was running late and ran out before Keith got here. He glanced over at the other end of the room, noting the bathroom door was opened a crack and pushed it in.
"Lance...?" He called, looking around. The lights were off - telling him the paladin wasn't taking another hour long shower - but Keith flicked it on just to be certain. Nothing. "Lance!" He tried, just for the Hell of it. He went to turn away, but paused as a reflection caught his eye. While the bedroom was certainly messy, it was nothing compared to... This.
The mirror was cracked - a spider web of broken glass peeling off the wall. Red droplets on the counter and staining a towel thrown in the corner told him someone had probably punched it. A bottle sat tipped over on the counter, the gold plastic reflecting in the shards of glass. Keith walked over a few fallen hair products to get it - the only object not desecrated in the bathroom. There was no label. Only a gold container with a white cap that made it look like someone had picked it off of the street to store something not-so-legal in. Part of him worried what sort of thing Lance might keep in here (please, please don't let it be space condoms). The other half considered it could be something he had picked up at another planet that could be of value (it must be if it was the only thing not destroyed). He flicked the cap off and looked inside.
...Glitter?
Honestly, what had he been expecting? Sighing, Keith poured a bit out on his hand, letting the small bits rub over his fingers. Lance would be someone who owned glitter. Keith honestly shouldn't be surprised. He scoffed and sniffed the bottle - it was even scented. It was...Strongly scented. Jesus. He coughed, inhaling half the bottle as he tried to ignore the pungent smell. Part of him was reminded of the cookies he and his dad used to make. It was a startling scent to say the least. Still coughing, he put the lid back on, wiping some of the glitter on his uniform.
"What are you doing in my room?"
For the love of -
"There you are!" Keith grumbled, spinning around. "What are you doing? What happened here?" He asked, gesturing to the mess. Lance was leaning against the door frame, watching Keith with one eyebrow raised high into his hairline. "You should be with the team."
"Calm your mullet," Lance snorted "The team is fine...And I just had a little accident on our last mission. I was going to clean it up when I noticed an intruder." He said, tilting his head. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to snoop through other people's stuff?" He asked and Keith crossed his arms. Shiro had told him that...Plenty of times.
"No." He said and Lance rolled his eyes.
"Well now you know," He said and gestured for Keith to leave. "Do you plan on spending the night with me or...?"
"Yeah, yeah." Keith muttered "I'm going. Why did you guys summon us over here?" He asked as Lance followed him out of the room, the doors snapping shut. "Is something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Lance asked and grinned "No, no. Everything is perfect. I don't think I've ever been so happy!" He said excitedly and clasped his hands together "And you're here! I didn't know you were coming!" He added brightly. Perhaps he realized this almost sounded like a compliment because he scowled. "And I need to pick on someone else's hair other than Shiro." Keith rolled his eyes. Of course. From the distance he could hear the lions landing in their hangars, the rumbling of the castle shifting as they were welcomed back. "Oh - I think I forgot something in my room." Lance frowned, patting his pockets. "I'll meet up with you guys in a second, okay?" He asked. Keith turned to ask him what he had forgotten, but the boy had already disappeared around the corner. Keith sighed.
By the time he got back, the others were all gathered around. He expected to be in the control room, but instead everyone was sat around the dining room table. Shiro was at the end, speaking quietly with Kolivan who sat to his left while Hunk sat to his right. Allura was on the other end, whispering to Pidge and Coran who were either side of her as well.
“Keith!” Pidge smiled at him - but it was weak with only a note of excitement. “Hey.” She greeted and Keith offered her a small wave. His eyes roamed around the table again before he took one of the open seats between Kolivan and Coran. Lance was still gone. Typical.
“I’m sorry this is so sudden,” Shiro started and Keith jolted slightly at his voice. Were they not waiting for Sir Lancelot to finish whatever he had gone back to do? He almost opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it closed when Shiro continued. “We should have told you sooner, but…” He shook his head “Things escalated faster than we thought we could control.”
“Lance has disappeared.” Allura said and Keith whipped his head around to look at her.
“What?” He demanded before he could stop himself. Disappeared? He had just seen him like...Ten seconds ago. Allura nodded, folding her fingers in front of her. She was in her usual uniform, but her hair was was free from its normal bun. Her eyes flicked from Keith to Shiro as she nodded.
“We should have told you sooner.” She said and Keith shook his head.
“What…? What are you talking about? Missing since when?” He asked, trying to process. Was this a joke? Silence filled the room before Hunk gave a bitter huff.
“A month.” He said and crossed his arms “An entire month. Thirty-one days, twelve hours, and….twenty-six minutes.” He added as he looked down at his watch.
“Hunk-” Allura started, but was cut off by the yellow paladin shaking his head.
“I told you we should have gone to the blade the minute we realized he was missing! I said something was wrong, but you didn’t believe me!” He snapped, and Keith blinked. He had never seen Hunk so upset at another person before. Allura nodded.
“You were right,” She said “He was just so upset I thought he only left to cool off and would-”
“No. No. He wouldn’t do that! Just because he’s piloting Red doesn’t make him Keith!” Hunk growled and Shiro interjected.
“We know, Hunk. This wasn’t Allura’s call – it was mine. We need to focus on getting Lance back.” He soothed and the yellow paladin scoffed, looking down at his hands as he glowered a hole through them. Allura bit her lip as she stared at him.
“I’m not understanding,” Keith interjected “I just saw Lance." He said and the entire table turned to him. Pidge's eyes widened and immediately everyone was shouting questions at him. When? Where? Was he okay? "I - he's here," Keith told them bewildered "In his room. I ran into him like ten minutes ago." He explained and there were more questions as people talked over one another. Hunk stood up, taking a few steps towards the exit, but stopped when Coran cleared his throat.
"I still don't see his heat signature in the castle," The Altean explained "I just rebooted the systems...I doubt they're wrong." He said quietly.
"But I just saw him!" Keith objected. Hunk left the room. "I was in his room and he yelled at me for going through his stuff - he said something about being really happy." He added, thinking of the strange comment. Not that Lance was happy - the guy was a fucking ray of sunshine. He just had never...Articulated like that before. Shiro and Allura exchanged wary glances before turning to Coran who pursed his lips.
"Perhaps...The castle has collected memories of Lance? Much like with Alfor?" He tried weakly. Nobody looked convinced. Keith didn't understand. He wasn't lying - and he definitely wasn't crazy. Before he could point this out, Hunk returned with his jaw set and gave a sharp shake of the head. What?
"You must be imagining things," The paladin told Keith as he sat back down at the table. "Let's get back to the briefing."
"But I literally just-"
"Well he's not here now, Keith!" Hunk hissed. He jerked back a little, surprised. Hunk never lashed out - and never at him. He was so caught off guard he didn't reply when the conversation moved forward. "We've already wasted enough time."
"To be clear," Kolivan spoke up "The child has been gone for a month and you were...?"
“We were looking for him of course!” Pidge piped up. Her eyes were red, enlarged by her glasses as she looked at him. “We’ve been looking for weeks. We just thought we would have found him by now.” Her voice trembled slightly over the last few words, but she bit her lip to stop anything else from coming out.
“When you say disappeared,” Kolivan started “Do you mean kidnapped or left?” He asked and Coran made a noise of frustration from Keith’s left.
“We don’t know. We have reasons to think both are likely… All the lions and pods – everything is accounted for except for one shuttle that wouldn’t make it very far. We might have even lost it during a battle, we can’t be sure number three even took it.” He started, rolling one end of his mustache between his fingers “But there’s also the fact Lance was…Very upset before he disappeared.” He added on and Kolivan rose an eyebrow.
“It would be best if you didn’t withhold anything.” He said and Pidge crossed her arms over her chest with a glower.
"We got in an argument before...Before it happened. He wanted to go take Red somewhere on his own. I told him he should go ask Shiro and he said it would only be a few hours and... I don't know. Something didn't feel right about it. He kept arguing with me and I told him if he left the room I was getting the team." She said, wringing her hands together "Anyways, it escalated and we said some unkind things to one another. Towards the end I forgot what we were even arguing about so when he left I didn't even think twice about it," She sighed, taking off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I knew I shouldn’t have let him just walk away, but I was so angry and-”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Shiro cut her off and Allura gave a reassuring smile. “Our biggest problem right now is that Red has no pilot-”
“That’s your biggest concern?” Hunk challenged “Forming Voltron?”
“Finding Lance is, Hunk.” Shiro responded easily “Red knows where Lance is at, but none of us have a connection with her.”
“Red doesn’t know! If he did he would have told us sooner!”
“And…That’s another reason we think he may have left,” Allura jumped back in. “Red hasn’t done anything about this.”
“Black didn’t-” Keith started, thinking back to Shiro’s disappearance, but was cut off by Allura.
“Blue told me.” She said “Blue has been…Agitated ever since Lance disappeared. It’s been getting worse. I can feel it through my bond – she still cares for him deeply. I couldn’t understand why she was getting so angry over it until she started showing me images of Red.” Allura explained “Red must know where he is and won’t say.”
“No offense, Allura, but your bond with Blue isn’t as strong as hers was with Lance.” Hunk clicked his tongue “Perhaps you’re reading the situation wrong.”
“We should still try,” Pidge murmured softly “Keith is here now. He could tap into his old link with her and ask.”
“And you also conveniently have a new pilot for Red.” Hunk snapped back. Keith swallowed, watching the conversation swerve and pivot like a crashing plane. He sometimes forgets who Hunk’s best friend is. He supposed given the yellow paladin’s protective nature it shouldn’t come as a surprise he is lashing out. Pidge, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling to keep her temper in check as red slowly rose to her cheeks. Their worry seemed to be cracking both of them in half.
“I want Lance back too.” She whispered hoarsely and Hunk’s fists unclenched slightly at that.
“We all do.” Shiro told them and turned to Kolivan and Keith. “That’s essentially why we’re here. Lance is missing and we need all the help we can get to find him.”
“Lance is…missing.” Keith repeated, still trying to wrap his mind around the previous encounter. It seemed like nobody was willing to listen to him. At any rate, he could play along until he found him again. “And you want me to ask Red if she knows where he is?” He asked slowly and Allura crossed her arms, lips thinning.
“I know he knows where Lance is. I can feel it. Blue is upset with him over it.” The princess said and Keith looked at the others who were staring at their hands rather than at him from table. Kolivan gave a sharp intake of breath.
“This has something to do with the quintessence, doesn’t it?” The galra asked. Keith paused at the question. The fact Kolivan agreed to meet so urgently over a missing paladin didn’t escape Keith’s attention. It didn’t strike him as something Kolivan would classify as a top priority, but whatever he was asking about seemed to connect something Keith hadn’t noticed yet.
“Quintessence?” Pidge asked slowly and Allura tilted her head slightly.
“I don’t follow.”
“It could be another reason he’s kidnapped.” Kolivan frowned “Surely one of you has noticed?” He asked and silence only filled the room. Keith saw Coran shrug slightly at Allura’s slight shake of the head. Shiro only stared blankly back. Kolivan sighed.
“Galras – or most anyways,” He said with a small glance at Keith “Can detect quintessence easily. We see it within planets, plants, other galras, aliens, or anything that is considered ‘life’.” He explained “Your paladin…He has a large amount of quintessence within him. A strong life force, I suppose.” He mused with a shrug. “I noticed during our last mission that it had changed. Weakened. I had figured the war was simply weighing on him, but...Most Galras would probably love to find a way to extract that out of him. Humans’ quintessence is different than others so they could use it for different things.”
“Quiznak,” Coran muttered “So what? You think he’s been taken by Zarkon himself?”
“I wouldn’t rule out that possibility.”
“For fu- Okay.” Pidge stood up and glared around the table. “I’ve been running the same program I used to find Matt. I’m updating it to get any signs of Lance. Kolivan, could I hook it up to some of the Marmora’s stuff?” She asked and Kolivan pursed his lips, but nodded.
“Have Anton assist you.” He said and Pidge only gave him a wave before pushing away from the table. Hunk stood up, muttering something about helping as he followed her out.
“Hunk?” Allura called back and the yellow paladin paused. “We’ll find him.”
There was a beat of silence in which Pidge glanced warily back between her friends before Hunk smiled back at her.
“I hope so.” He sighed and went through the door.
“Kolivan, could you and I talk more in depth about the quintessence part of this?” Shiro asked and Kolivan nodded before the black paladin turned to look at Keith. “You and Allura go talk to Blue and Red. Figure out as much as you can.” He said, pinning him with a hard look. Keith almost recoiled at it. Shiro’s gaze softened.
“I’m sorry.” He said and Keith swallowed. There was something that bothered him...Even if he was certain that Lance was simply playing a very dick-game of hide and seek somewhere in the castle there was the fact everyone had thought he was missing...
“A month?” He asked quietly “Shiro, we’ve spoke twice this month.”
They hadn’t told him. Why? Was it because of their ‘rivalry’? Because Keith wasn’t part of Voltron anymore? Why had nobody bothered to tell him? Did they not think he would care?
Did he care?
He wasn’t entirely sure. Even if he had gone crazy (he hadn't) and Lance really was missing...The shock of it all was still setting in. He felt like he had been chewing cotton and his stomach had twisted itself into an uncomfortable knot. Lance could be (maybe - he wasn't convinced) gone. What did that mean for him?
Keith would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. He thought about all of his teammates disappearing – usually dying, if he was honest. He had replayed Lance’s death often when he was on the team. It was like a non-stop movie every time they came back from a mission. If that one shot had been a little closer or the blast was just slightly bigger.
Poof. No more Lance. No more bad pickup lines or jabs about his hair. Nobody purposely goading him or doing things to annoy him. Keith had always figure it would happen sooner or later. He knew wars had causalities.
But now that it was (potentially) happening? He couldn’t seem to remember if he was supposed to feel relieved or sad or upset. He was just…shocked.
“You heard Hunk before,” Shiro told him “I didn’t want him to think I was more concerned with forming Voltron than finding Lance.”
“So that means I just didn’t get to know?”
“I’m so sorry, Keith.” Shiro sighed and he did look sorry. Sorry and tired. Keith wondered how many sleepless nights he spent searching and worrying. There was also the fact that not being able to form Voltron was a big concern. It was rare to go a month without a serious attack – time was ticking until would need Voltron. With or without Lance.
“Let’s talk about it later.” He sighed and stood up. Allura and Coran rose with him. Shiro only nodded and Kolivan clapped him on the back as the walked out towards the hangars.
“Keith?” Allura asked when they entered the hallway. He didn’t turn to look at her, but gave a low hum of acknowledgement as they made another turn towards the hangars. “Are you alright?”
“Yes.” He replied easily and felt a nudge as he got closer to Red. He knew he was here. A low purr sounded throughout the castle. “Hey, boy.” He murmured and Allura gave a soft smile.
“He’s missed you.”
“Apparently he doesn’t miss Lance.” He told her (because why would he miss Lance? He was right here). Allura’s smile disappeared. They had entered Red’s hangar. His eyes glowed as he looked down at the three of them, a warmth flooding Keith’s body.
“Hello sir Red.” Coran called with a wave “We’ve brought you an old friend!”
Red gave another purr and Keith walked forward to put a hand on his paw. From somewhere to his left a growl echoed throughout the metal chambers.
“That would be Blue.” Allura sighed “She’s angry.”
Keith felt a tug of annoyance from Red at that and the other lion growled right back. Blue roared from her hangar. Allura gritted her teeth at the sound, her hands flying to her temples.
“Princess!” Coran frowned and gripped her elbow as she stumbled a bit to the side. Keith turned to Red with a tilt of his head. Red mimicked the motion as he looked down at him.
“Why is Blue upset?” He asked him and immediately an image of Lance flickered in his mind. Keith nodded. “Do you know where he is?” He asked and Red’s head jerked back up. “Hey, everyone is worried about him. He’s your paladin, if you know something-”
Red growled and Keith felt a stab of hurt through their connection.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” He frowned up at him “I just want to know if you do know something – is he safe?”
Red pulled back, their link suddenly weakening. Keith almost fell at how suddenly he was gone. His mind desperately searched for him again, trying to find a way to tug the connection back.
“I get it. You don’t want to tell me anything.” He scowled and Red shot a wave of irritation through his mind. “But could you at least-”
Then he was gone. Keith stared. He felt a stab of betrayal at how promptly he receded from him, his glowing eyes dimming. He reached out again only to feel a wall between them. Behind him, Allura groaned.
“Did he tell you anything?” She asked, swaying slightly. Coran had either arm to her side, ready to catch her if she fell. Keith could hear Blue whining and grimaced. He wasn’t sure how match pain she was in, but if Blue was that upset then he would hate to be in her place. Maybe... Maybe Lance really was gone. For the lions to be acting like this... Is is possible he just imagined the entire interaction?
“He blocked me out.” He told her and shook his head “You’re right though, I think he knows something. I don’t know why he’s hiding it though.” He added and glanced over his shoulder at the lion. He experimentally poked one more time at their link, but was met with nothing.
Allura’s fists clenched by her sides as she looked up at Red, lips pursed.
“You allowed my father as your paladin,” She snapped up at her “Would you have treated him with such coldness?” She demanded and Red’s eyes snapped back open, glowing brightly as he gave a roar that might have passed as a scream of anger. Keith took a step back, dizzying at the force. For a moment, he felt Red’s anger coil at the bottom of his stomach along with something else – something rooted far deeper.
“Wha-” Keith murmured and looked back up at Red with his eyebrows coming together in confusion “You’re scared.” He frowned at him and the wall was suddenly there again. It was as if their connection had never existed.
Despite an hour of Keith attempting to reestablish a link with him, Red did not respond again. Allura went to talk to Blue only to come back looking tired and upset.
“She’s in so much pain.” Allura told him “I can’t even help her. I think she’s trying to find him, but…” Allura swallowed and looked down at her hands. “That would mean she would have to have her old connection with Lance again…Which would mean-”
“She would cut you off.” Keith finished “Will she?” He asked and Allura shook her head.
“No. Not without my permission.” She sighed “She cares deeply for me too and… She doesn’t want me hurt.”
“I think Red feels the same way… He’s scared for some reason. I just don’t know why. If he knew about Lance, wouldn’t he tell us if he was worried for him?” He asked and Allura gave a weak shrug.
“Perhaps Lance asked him to keep silent.” She offered as they walked back to the kitchen. Hunk had told them dinner was ready. Keith wondered if Kolivan would be eating with them. The image of the huge leader trying one of Hunk’s cookies made Keith smirk slightly. Allura tilted her head.
“Sorry, just…Thinking.” He said and she only nodded as they continued to walk in silence. “Do you think he’s protecting him?” Keith asked suddenly and Allura paused.
“Who? Red?”
“Yeah. Kolivan said something about Lance’s quintessence. What if Red was worried he was in danger or something. Maybe she’s keeping him safe somewhere.”
“He would be safest with him.” Allura frowned “With us.” She said and closed her eyes. "I'm going to go get changed..." She murmured and put a hand on Keith's arm "It is good to have you back." She added and he nodded, letting her go off towards her room. He stood in the empty hall for a moment, mind whirring in confusion.
"Very brooding," A voice chuckled "You look very serious, mullet."
Keith whirled around, heart screeching to halt as he looked to find Lance sitting crosslegged on the floor. The boy gave a bright wave, smiling at him.
"Where - where the fuck have you been?" He hissed. He knew it. He wasn't crazy. "Everyone is looking for you! They've been looking for a month!" He yelled, blinding anger now settling in. "You've just been hiding out here?! What the Hell is wrong with you?" He shouted and reached forward to grab him - and possibly kill him. Who the fuck did something like this? He was furious. Lance didn't bother to move. Nor did he need to. Keith's hand went right through him.
A pause.
This...Was unexpected. Slowly, Keith reached out to grab him again only for his hand to once more disappear into Lance's chest. Lance didn't seem surprised.
"Of course I'm not missing," Lance said as if this was something super casual "I'm right here. Safe. Happy." He said with a shrug. Keith tried to grab him again. "You...You aren't happy." He said slowly "I don't understand."
"What... What's going on..." Keith murmured, feeling his distress rise. He was crazy. He was actually insane. Panic began to rise. "What is this?!" He demanded. Lance pursed his lips.
"I'm here! And you're mad about it." He grumbled, crossing his arms. Keith stared.
"Why can't I touch you?"
"Ooh. Do you want to?"
"Lance," Keith growled "This. Is. Serious. Tell me what is happening now." He said and Lance rose an eyebrow. He was standing now, leaning against the wall without a care in the world. It made the whole thing more frustrating. The boy looked Keith up and down for a moment before sighing. "Are you a ghost?"
"No - I thought you didn't believe in ghosts?"
"A memory? Like Alfor?"
"Oh, God no."
"Are you real?" Maybe...Maybe something had happened and he just wasn't visible anymore. Maybe all Keith had to do was find the right magical quintessence potion to set things right again. The way Lance was looking at him though...There was something off. Sure, it was nice that Lance wasn't glaring or sneering at him, but... This didn't feel like Lance. At least not completely.
"...it depends," Lance said slowly "What do you mean by real?" He asked and Keith could have torn his hair out. Lance seemed to take a bit of pity on him because he smiled weakly and answered without prompting.
"You want to find me, don't you?" He asked and Keith stared. "I can help you! After all - who better to help find me...Than me?" He grinned, clapping his hands together. "It'll be fun! We can be like Sherlock and Watson...Except I'm Sherlock. Hands down." He added, scowling at Keith. "I have to be because-"
"Keith?"
He spun around again to find Allura standing down the hallway, looking baffled at finding him still just standing there. He waited (and hoped) she would react to Lance's presence, but...Nothing. He glanced over. Sure enough, Lance was still there. Allura just... Couldn't see him.
"Hi," He breathed out "I was just..."
"Yeah, I know." She sighed, walking over "It's...A lot to process."
"Something like that." He said and Lance chuckled from beside him.
"You'll feel better after dinner," She said with a smile "We'll find him, Keith."
Lance nodded in agreement. Keith tried to return to gesture, but could only follow his friend towards the dining room with Lance humming merrily behind him.
And for a moment... Keith thought he was drowning.