Emergency Voltron Reblog Spot

"Where’s Keith?" he asked, forcing a laugh as he jogged toward Kolivan, who was speaking in hushed tones to Shiro. "Where is he? He promised he’d be back before the mission debrief."

Kolivan’s head turned slowly, his eyes heavy with a truth that Lance didn’t want.

"Lance," Shiro whispered, his voice low and broken.

Lance’s breath hitched. "No," he said, his smile faltering as he stepped back, his chest tightening with dread. "No. Don’t. Don’t say it."

Shiro took a step forward. "The mission was compromised—"

"Don’t." Lance’s voice cracked, louder this time. "He’s coming back." His heart raced. "Keith always comes back." He always manages to..

Silence.

Kolivan bowed his head. "Keith gave his life to complete the mission. He… saved us all."

"No." The word left Lance’s mouth as a whisper, then again as a growl. "No! He’s not dead. He wouldn’t just—he’s Keith! He doesn’t die!" His hands balled into fists as he glared at Kolivan, chest heaving. "You’re lying! Where is he?"

The Blade of Marmora leader remained silent, his sorrow a quiet weight that said everything.

Lance felt his knees weaken. His mind spun in a blur of memories—Keith’s smirks, his sharp comebacks, the rare smiles when Lance finally got him to laugh. His eyes squeezed shut, as if willing himself to wake from this nightmare.

"I didn’t… I didn’t even say goodbye," he whispered. His voice trembled, breaking into pieces as tears slipped free. "I didn’t get to tell him… how much he mattered. How much I—"

The words hung in the air, unfinished and broken.

Shiro placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder. "He knew. Lance, I promise you—he knew.”

Lance pulled away, shaking his head violently. "It’s not enough!" he shouted. His fists slammed against the nearest wall, his knuckles splitting on impact. The pain barely registered. "I should’ve been there. I should’ve—"

"You couldn’t have stopped him," Shiro said softly. "Keith made his choice. He did what he always does—he makes rash decisions on his own.. He protects people.. He always puts others before himself.."

"I didn’t ask him to protect me!" Lance choked out, tears streaming freely now. "I didn’t want him to be a hero! I just wanted him to stay! I wanted—" His voice collapsed into a broken sob as he slid down the wall, burying his face in his hands.

The room felt too quiet. Even the sounds of the others on the ship, the other members of the Blade of Marmora, all their noises were drowned out. It was too cold. The kind of silence where Keith’s warmth used to live, where his fierce presence had always kept them steady. And now, there was only the hollow space where he used to be.

Lance gripped his chest, the ache unbearable. "He can’t be gone," he whispered. "I didn’t tell him I loved him. I never told him.”

Kolivan stepped forward, placing something in Lance’s trembling hand. A familiar black and purple knife. Keith’s Marmora blade.

Lance clenched it so tightly it cut into his skin, as if holding onto it would somehow pull Keith back.

The stars outside the Castle burned bright, but all Lance could feel was darkness.