Night Terrors

Lost Sleep

"Shiro!" a pained voice cried out in the darkness that engulfed the black paladin. The man frantically looked around as echoes of his name came from all directions.

"Matt? Commander Holt?!" his voice echoed around, the names carried a heavy weight on his shoulders. His former crewmembers voices taunted him, coming from everywhere

"Where were you?! You abandoned us!" A voice called out. Shiro tried to find the origin of the voices, but nothing but black surrounded him.

All of a sudden, he was back in the Galra prison arena, sword in hand. The roaring crowd deafened him, but he heard the grunting of a beast nearby. He tensed up as he darted around the pillar he was hiding behind, looking for the enemy with fear in his eyes.

Making contact with something, he looked up only to see Zarkon himself standing before him. The leader grinned cruelly and knocked Shiro down with the flat side of his curved blade. Thinking instinctively, he thrust his sword upwards and felt it slice through flesh.

Opening his eyes, he dropped his weapon as he stared up at Matt, who's chest had been penetrated by the sword which was now sticking out of his chest. He coughed up blood as he fell to his knees, looking the paladin in the eye with a blank expression.

Shiro grabbed his comrade and tried to pull the sword out of his chest as he whispered "No... No this... this can't be.." In shock. Looking down he saw his arm covered in blood, and the sword disappeared, Shiro's own right hand impaling his friend's torso.

Matt's body fell forward, his mouth landing near Shiro's ear. Pulling his arm out and holding his dying teammate, his eyes moistened with tears as they widened in shock as he heard Matt's dying breath utter

"You failed us."

Shiro woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. He gripped his bed sheets as he looked around the room frantically. His quick anxious breaths slowly calmed down. He was at the castle, safe. It was just another dream.

Closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead, he knew he couldn't go back to sleep. He barely got any, as nightmares like the one he just came out of tormented him.

He didn't tell the others because he was afraid that it would discourage them to see their leader like this. He sighed, opening his eyes and relaxing his shoulders. The burden he carried was none of their concern.

Standing up, Shiro walked out of his quarters and headed to the training room. He knew that the physical activity would distract him, but he also was well aware of the fact that it would be awfully suspicious if anyone found him. So he walked carefully down the hall being cautious as to not disturb the others from their rest.

As he passed the lab, he heard a small whimper which made his head snap to the left. He was still on edge from his dream, so he went to the entrance and peeked in warily. He sighed in relief when it was only Pidge, who had fallen asleep surrounded by Altean tablets.

He was about to leave when she started sobbing and saying "I'm sorry..." Over and over as her body shook. Looking at her made him realize that he might not be the only one who suffered from night terrors.

Making his way over to her as she continued to cry, his heart went out to the girl. It almost made him feel selfish, after all, Commander Holt and Matt were her families. But he knew that they both missed them, and he wanted to help her.

He sat down, taking her small body in his arms. Tears began to wet his shoulder as he rocked her while she continued sobbing. He rubbed her on the back and whispered reassuring words to her as she cried in his arms.

He didn't know how long he sat there while she sat in his arms. Slowly, her sobs turned to small hiccups and her torrents of tears to small drops. He picked her up carefully and made his way to her room, opening the door and laying her down safely covering her in the white sheets.

As he left, Shiro heard a mumbled "Thank you...", and a sad smile formed on his lips. They both knew the heartache of losing someone to the Galra, but he was determined that she wouldn't face this alone.