Langst One-Shots

Langst Seven - Just Three

Lance knew he wasn't perfect. He knew he wasn't the best paladin. He thought he had it together, though. He hadn't been that much of a "sad" kid. His life so far has been great. Everything was going good for him - his playful rivalry with Keith was strong as ever, his lion was more bonded to him than ever before, and the rest of Team Voltron was starting to warm up to him and realize that he was just a teen. He was going steady.

So how was it that three words from the universe's biggest fuck-face managed to destroy that? How was that possible?

Three words. Just three. That was all it took for Lance to lose hope.

"Lance is dead." Lotor had laughed. Keith had screamed and stabbed the prince. Lotor was dead, Lance was alive, and Team Voltron was mourning halfway across the Galaxy.

The only plus side was that Lance wouldn't get yelled at anymore. The downside was that he was trapped in a high security cell in the middle of the biggest and most deadly empire in the goddamn universe. As one could imagine, he was freaking out.

Though, he had to wonder: who was running the empire? Who was in charge now that Zarkon and Lotor were dead?

Perhaps he'd never know. He hadn't seen anything but the inside of his cell for almost two weeks. He was starving and wondered how he hadn't already died of thirst, but he decided not to question it. If only he could get out...

But the door was shut. Locked. Probably never to be opened again, if not for Haggar.

Just when Lance was accepting his inevitable death, the space witch paid him a visit. Oddly enough, she was bound in chains. She stared at him and smiled. Not a nice, warm smile, but a cunning grin not far off from one a snake might wear.

"Well, well." She whispered. "What an interesting development."

"What the hell do you mean?" Lance choked out. He had hardly spoken since his imprisonment and that had affected his voice almost as much as the lack of water.

"You'll see, if you live that long." She taunted quietly. "There's nothing in here, just as I told you." She yelled bitterly. But her smile didn't falter. Something was up. Something was definitely up.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Nobody special." She sneered, still with that horrible grin. She then walked out of the cell, and the door began to slide shut behind her. But Lance was no fool. Just before the door reached the wall, Lance stuck his foot in the gap. He gasped in pain as the door tried to close on him, but it eventually opened itself again, letting him run out.

Lance had no idea where to go. The two way mirror in his cell where he watched Lotor's death had been long since​ painted over, so he had no idea what had been done with the ship. He was prepared for anything.

He was not prepared for the massive amounts of aliens on the ship. They all seemed free and happy, not wearing prisoner garb like Lance.

Still, though, nobody paid him a second glance. Despite his odd outfit and nearly starved look, he blended in fine with the rest of the people.

He made his way down the hallway carefully, with no sign of Haggar or any other guards. In fact, the only Galra he saw were civilians​, or they seemed to be. They were all dressed in "normal" clothes, not armor. He knew that those were the ones who would recognize his clothes and know something was off. But if he could find some sort of communication device, then he could contact Team Voltron, or Shay, or even Nyma and Rolo - anybody who could tell him what had happened in the last month that he had been in isolation.

He walked towards what appeared to be the center of the ship, where there were less people and more guards. Only a few of them even acknowledged his existence, and those that did just gave him scared expressions. Almost like they had seen a ghost.

He made his way to a room guarded by six aliens of assorted colors and size. Inside the room, he could hear someone talking - was that Keith?!

Lance pushed through the guards and swung the door open. The door led to a large room filled with people, watching someone onstage. Keith. The doors had made a loud bang as they opened, and it attracted the attention of most of the audience. They turned to Lance and gasped. Hushed whispers filled the room. Keith fell silent.

"L-Lance?" He whispered.

"Keith?" Lance asked hoarsely. Hope filled his eyes, and he and Keith ran towards each other.

"But... You died! I watched you get shot and dragged away, and then Lotor... He said..." Keith grabbed Lance and pulled him into a hug.

"What happened? Where is everyone else?"

"They went home. They're heroes. You are a hero."

"I'm also not-" Lance gasped as something hot and painful shot through his back. He faintly heard a voice say "Vrepit Sa!" and then some gunshots, and a thunk, but he wasn't focusing on that. He was focusing on Keith, Keith's face, Keith's panic stricken eyes, his soft hair and perfectly round lips...

He then heard three words. Just three. They were full of bitterness. Despair.

"Lance is dead."