Lance Alone

Part 2 (Lance)

​Lance's backpack was heavy with supplies for his trip. He slipped into the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning to grab a few containers of food goo, and some leftovers from a meal Hunk cooked the last night. He wasn't sure how much he would need: who knew how long it would take to get home? He wasn't even sure where home was, only that he needed to go. Maybe he could help the humans better arm themselves against any attack from the Galra. He was going to help protect the people he cared the most about, which was the most important thing of all; better than constantly going head to head with an unbeatable force. Maybe then someone would see that he mattered. And Keith wouldn't be there to make fun of him anymore. Stupid Keith with his stupid mullet. He was always showing him up. Everyone treats him like the connection between Team Voltron and the Galra just because he's one of them. Every opportunity he got to be special and different, he took it.

Well, Lance didn't have to be born special to make a difference in the world. He stepped over Pidge sleeping in the hallway, curled up with her laptop in her lap. She didn't even budge when he passed. The bunks were quiet. No one was awake, and the Castle looked lonely and empty without them. Lance couldn't help but think about the time the castle was haunted... it made him walk a little faster on his way to the blue lion bay. He could hear Hunk snoring through the wall of his bunk, a sound he recognized from their time rooming together at the Garrison. It used to be annoying, but at least it told him his friend was there.

At last, he reached the blue lion's bay. The magnificent beast sat in wait, and purred when he entered. The sound filled the room and Lance's heart.

"Hey there Blue," he said, "I'm gonna miss you."

The Blue Lion bent down to let him in, expecting to go for a ride. Lance only shook his head. The Blue Lion was over ten thousand years old. It had been built with a purpose. Why, then, did it choose him as a pilot? When all the other paladins were there? What made him worthy? After all this time, he ever found out.

"No, you can't come with. I'm taking a pod," he said. The Blue Lion still waited for him. deep inside him, he could almost hear it asking--why not?

"It'll be too easy to find you. The Galra will see you and hunt you down. You'll only put us and the whole team in danger."

It still waited. He could hear it purr. Why couldn't it understand? He needed to go alone!

"They need you. They'll find you a new paladin and you'll forget all about me," his voice and be choked back tears. "Just let me go!"

The Blue Lion sat up and stopped purring. Then it sat up and returned to its waiting position. He was leaving in the middle of the night because he knew the others would try and stop him. He didn't want to say goodbye. But saying goodbye to Blue? He had no idea how hard that would be.

He threw his bag into the back of the speeder and put his helmet under his arm. He looked up at Blue one last time. "We had some good adventures, didn't we?" He asked. "I'm gonna miss you."

This is the right thing to do. He had to keep reminding himself. Wiping away a tear, he slipped on his helmet and took a seat in the pod, closing the top. He started up the engine and opened the pod bay doors with a push of a button. In the back of his mind, Blue was making a sound he had never heard before. Not a roar, or a growl, or a purr. It sounded like a whine. Like it was crying.

Lance was crying too.