Don't Ask, I'll Never Tell

Control

"DON'T SHOOT!" Lance froze after he said it. He knew immediately that he screwed up. But what else could he do when his best friend pointed a gun at... what is Keith to him? Arch rival? Yeah, he would go with that. But none of that mattered at the moment.

There Lance was, standing with one foot on the lowest rung of the railing, arms held high to get Shiro and Hunk's attention. In doing so, however, he got the attention of every single person in the room. Thousands of pairs of glowing Galra eyes watched him with varied levels of anger from the interruption.

"Quiznak!" He exclaimed. He already stole their attention away from the fight so he figured that he might as well keep them distracted while he thought of something. "This is a really good fight and all but what does a guy have to do to get some popcorn around here? Am I right?" He laughed nervously. "No popcorn? Milk duds? M&M's?" There was an awkward silence as Lance stared into the crowd. "Jeez, what the heck do you guys even eat?"

"Seize him!" Zarkon commanded.

"Wait! Have I ever told you that I'm great at stand up?" The Galra soldiers paused with confusion.

"Please don't," Pidge complained from her crouched position in the shadows.

"Ah bop bop!" Lance made a talking gesture with his hand. "I've got this. Trust me." Did he have this? He hoped so.

Lance hopped down from the railing and stepped down the aisle. "Alright! Anyone have a microphone or am I just gonna have to shout over you people because don't think I won't!" His eyes scanned the crowd, rested momentarily on the two Keiths frozen in place watching him, then continued until he stared into the eyes of Zarkon himself. Lance didn't know what to do next. All he knew in the moment was that he was just stalling now.

"Someone, grab him!" Lance ducked as a Galra soldier sailed overhead.

Lance jumped to his feet again. A sudden idea formed in his head. "Really? You guys call yourself soldiers? Catch me if you can!" He leapt down the stairs two at a time. When he got to the fence separating the audience from the competitors, he gripped the side with one hand and hopped into the ring. The moment Lance hopped the fence, however, the Galra soldiers stopped pursuing him. Instead, they stood rooted to the spot to watch. Their faces gave Lance a growing sense of uneasiness. They almost seemed... eager; a bit too eager for his liking. Lance turned away from them to talk to Keith.

"Come on, buddy," he coaxed. "It's time to get out of here."

Keith started at Lance's voice and watched him with glowing yellow eyes. Lance froze. Keith was almost unrecognizable. His face was contorted to take on more catlike features with purple hairs framing his face. His smile appeared more as a snarl than anything else.

"Hey, Keith..." Lance crept forward cautiously. The Other Keith shook his head vigorously in silent warning for Lance not to take another step. "You in there, buddy?"

Keith snarled and lurched forward. Lance reeled back in surprise with his hands extended and his eyes closed. He expected to be torn to pieces on the spot but nothing happened. Curious, Lance opened his eyes to find the Other Keith struggling to hold the real Keith back. "He doesn't want to hurt you." The Other Keith warned. "Leave him here. Take the others and go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Lance argued with a quick shake of his head.

"I can see why he finds you irritating." The Other Keith deadpanned. "Don't you ever do what you're told?" He tightened his grip on the struggling Keith.

"I tried it a couple times."

The clone grunted with the effort of holding Keith back. "I'm going to need you to do as you're told now. For once in your life, just listen. Get out of here. Forget about Keith. Find someone else to pilot the Red lion. Keith and I share the same thoughts. I know it's what he wants. He doesn't want you all to die on his behalf! Don't  you understand?"

"I understand but I know what I have to do."

"Oh just stop trying to play the hero, Lance! You're no hero so don't pretend you are. There are some people who just can't be saved!"

Lance paused. "I know." He said quietly. "I wasn't trying to be. Keith, can you hear me?"

"His Galra state has been left untapped for almost the entirety of his life. Instinct has taken over the majority of his brain functions. Even if he can hear you, he can't comprehend you."

"Keith? Buddy? My man? Mullet? 'I cradled you in my arms?'"

The Other Keith raised an eyebrow.

"In the movies; when someone has amnesia, all you need to do is say things that are sedimental or familiar and they'll be just fine." Lance explained.

The Other Keith rolled his eyes. "One, you watch too many movies. And two, he doesn't have amnesia."

"It was worth a shot," Lance muttered.

One of the Galra pounded their fists against the fence. "Just kill each other already!"

Keith jolted and bucked the Other Keith off. He turned to watch them with gleaming eyes as he paced back and forth like a wild animal.

The Galra soldier who shouted just moments before cheered.

"Why is it ALWAYS killing with you people?! Can't you find a new hobby?" Lance demanded.

"Rip his throat out!" Another Galra shouted.

"Okay, dude. You need to chill."

"Like I said," the Other Keith interjected as Keith closed in. "I'll hold him off. Get out while you can."

Lance heard his words but couldn't comprehend what he was saying. He tuned him out. It wasn't too difficult as the Other Keith had the same nagging voice as his Keith. Lance scanned the perimeter before resting his eyes on the double doors where the gladiators were kept.

"Hey, Keith #2! I just got the most brilliant idea!"

"Quiznak." The Other Keith muttered.