Voltron: When Starlight Meets Fire

{Chapter 12 - A Stone That Knows the Way}

Hello guys! This is Pulsar. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you have any comments or suggestions, let me know!
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{Keith's POV}

Paralyzed. Unable to move, Keith stood there as if his feet were fused to the cold metal floor of the castle of lions. Each of Cori's racing footsteps felt like a sickle to the heart. Not just slicing its way into his chest, but twisting. Like a visceral pain growing stronger and stronger as the distance between them grew; she ran, echoing steps getting fainter and fainter, until they dwindled into A silence that seemed to press against him on all sides with the weight of all the words left dying on his tongue. Like a physical force. Pressing in- suffocating.

His mind warred against his heart. He should move, chase after her, explain-something. But instead, he just continued to stand there, replaying the confrontation in his head over and over again on repeat.

She doesn't understand. Or she didn't try to understand.

Keith stared into the darkness of the hallway that was dimly lit with cyan, tears stinging the corners of his eyes as he finally began to move. Not after her. But to the Red Lion's hangar to finish his assigned mission.

But even as he walked, a new emotion invited itself into the already swirling storm.

Resentment.

It was a double-edged sword, slicing both ways. On one end, it was directed at himself for always putting up walls. Shutting out everyone, even his own team. So high, that not even Cori with her captivating smarts and stubbornness could peak over them.

On the other end, it was directed at Cori. For running. For not trying to break down his walls with a sledgehammer. For not trying to understand.

She doesn't understand. The thought echoed. She didn't even try to understand. But even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had let something precious slip through his fingers.

But even as he entered the red lion and took off into the asteroid field, even in the increasing cacophony of his mind, there was one singular clear thought.

But did I ever give her a chance?

{Cori's POV}

In the same ship, she ran, a torrent of emotions drowning out all rational thought. Each frantic step was fueled by an overwhelming desperation to escape from the confrontation, from the pain that threatened to consume her. her burning heart hammered in her chest, and The halls of the castle of lions that blurred past loomed ahead, seeming to stretch on endlessly. hazily reaching the docking bay with her thoughts an incoherent mess, Cori strumbled towards one of the pods

Get away. Get away from here. Before- Before-

The pod's doors slid open at her approach, revealing its cyan-lit interior. Her legs gave way and she crumpled to her hands and knees as the door slid shut behind her, breath coming in ragged gasps as the stone fell out of her pocket, clattering against the floor.

Her tears were hot as they streamed down her face, some droplets splattering on the cold metal ground below.

Why was she crying? Each tear felt like it was a knife, slicing jaggedly into her heart. She never cried when she saw her mother in the quintessence factory. She never cried when she saw Drax's lifeless body crumple in front of her eyes. In that moment it felt like a dam of bottled up emotion broke. She didn't just cry. She fractured and then screamed-a raw sound that echoed the hurricane that threatened to destroy her. She broke.

Why did she run? The answer was just as clear as it was painful.

She ran away from the confrontation. From herself. From her own overpowering emotions-the Cori who cared too deeply. Who felt too much. The one she had to avoid, to avoid being hurt and exploited again by the universe that seemed so intent on ripping her to pieces. You couldn't get hurt if you let nobody in. Because if you let nobody in, then there would be nobody to lose. If you don't let yourself feel then you can't feel the pain.