Tidepool (A Klance Surfer AU)

The Final Battle to Freedom (Chapter 26)

I'm back with the final chapter! It's a lot longer than the last few have been, and may be a little cliche, but I'm proud of it and have been wanting to begin some more stories, so here you go! As always, thanks for reading, please leave a comment, and hope you enjoy!!

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The prisoners raced through the complex, freeing any others and searching for a way out while Lance used the water to hold off the Galra pursuing them.

Then, they saw it, the doorway to freedom, and just beyond that, the Arusians and a few other tribes armed and waiting with Galra bodies crumpled and littered around them. The plan worked.

Lance stayed behind to make sure that everyone made it out. Allura and Shiro were the last ones. He and Keith started for the doors before they slammed closed, and the lock tumblers drove home.

Lance whirled around, and Keith's knife was drawn and at the ready as they faced Lotor, Haggar, and the worst Galra ever, Zarkon.

"At last, the fight I was waiting for," Zarkon mused. "I must admit you are truly powerful, Oceania."

"Hate to break it to you," Lance smirked. "But you're not going to win."

"And you two aren't leaving this complex alive!" Haggar shrieked before summoning her lightning directly at the pair. Keith dove in front of Lance, his blade barely deflecting the attack. Had me miscalculated his actions at all, it could've been lethal.

"Lance get out of here," Keith growled over his shoulder. "I can buy you some time, the others need you--"

"And I need you, Keith!" Lance argued fiercely. "I'm not leaving you. You're the one that kidnapped me in the beginning, and I want to stick with you until the end."

"Lance..." Keith muttered before Keith tackled Lance, barely missing Haggar's magic as the Galra closed in. "I'm trying to protect you, damn it--!"

"No one asked you too," Lance countered, grabbing Keith's arm. "Besides, if you're protecting me..." Lance spotted Lotor prepare to swing his blade down onto Keith. Lance jerked his friend back-- "Then who's protecting you?!"

A water shield blocked Lotor's attack and forced him back. "I said I'm not leaving you, and I won't ever again--!"

Before Keith could blink, he pulled Lance closer, missing another magic strike as their lips crashed together. Lance felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as they held the kiss for a few seconds until finally pulling away for air. "You talk too much," Keith whispered. "Now, I'll take Lotor and Haggar. Can you take Zarkon?"

"Did you seriously just ask the Oceania that?" Lance smirked. "You wound me, dearest Keith."

"Good luck," Keith smiled. Lance nodded before they turned and lunged. If it wasn't for the water slowing Zarkon's punches, Lance would've been dead. Shiro probably could've taken him, but being smaller and having far less fighting experience was giving Zarkon the advantage.

Lance heard Keith gasp and turned, taking his eyes off Zarkon, which was a fatal mistake. Zarkon slammed into the lanky human, smashing him into the wall. A crater was left from the impact as Lance collapsed to the floor.

"--Lance--!" Keith gasped. Lance could barely look up as Lotor held the boy up in the air by his throat, squeezing the life out of the one the Oceania cared about most.

Shiro and Allura pounded on the doors, as they all watched the fight fearfully. "Lance!" Allura called, her voice muffled through the door. "Lance, please, get up!"

"Lance..."

"Lance!"

"LANCE!"

"This is the great Oceania," Zarkon mused, pulling Lance up by his throat. "The savior of the seas, but he is no match for me. Long live the Galra!"

"Vrepit sa!" Haggar and Lotor cheered.

I lost... I failed... Keith and the others... it's all my fault... I--

"Some Oceania you are, pathetic human," Lotor chimed in.

"NO!" Lance screamed, the water throwing Zarkon and the Galra back. His eyes glowed blue once more, the waters crashing more agitated than ever before. "I will never let you win."

Lance knocked Haggar and Lotor away and picked Keith up in his arms. "L--Lance...?" Keith coughed.

"Keith, thank you," Lance said, before carefully setting him outside. "Let me finish this. I love you--"

"Lance, no!" Keith rushed at him, but Lance closed himself in.

Lance screamed, the waters furiously encircling before Lance was blinded in light.

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[Thought I'd be cruel here, but I have too many stories I want to continue, so yeah...]

--

Keith slammed his shoulder into the door, trying with all his might to get to the one he loved. He and the others watched in horror as Lance erupted in light.

Keith didn't even have time to scream before they were all blown back by the building exploding.

When the ringing in his ears subsided and his blurred vision cleared, Keith saw all the rubble that had been the complex. No Zarkon, no Haggar, no Lotor, but most importantly...

No Lance.

"LANCE!" Keith cried, sliding to the foot of the wreckage and started digging through the debris. Tears dripped onto the rock and blinded him.

"No... no, please..." Keith whispered, curling into himself. "Y--You promised you wouldn't leave me... where'd you go, Lance...?"

Shiro rested a hand on his shoulder, Allura crying in Coran's arms a few feet behind them. All the others bowed their heads as the ocean itself seemed to sadden at the loss.

"He did it," Shiro muttered. "He protected us all."

"At what price?!" Keith snapped angrily. He lost half of himself. "I was supposed to protect him... what kind of friend am I?!"

He sensed someone sit beside him, putting a familiar hand around his shoulders. "Getting this worked up for me? I'm touched," the idiot human chuckled beside him.

Keith and the others all snapped up, staring at the Oceania in disbelief. Maybe it was a ghost, but Keith couldn't see through it--

"LANCE!" Keith threw his arms around the human, burying his face in Lance's chest and unable to stop the tears. Lance could only laugh and beam down at him, holding the mer tighter than he'd held anyone else.

"You idiot!" Keith screeched, slugging Lance as hard as he could. "Why in the hell would you scare me like that, you bastard?!"

Lance only laughed harder as the gently touched their foreheads together, "You know me, the dramatic hero--"

"How's this for dramatic?" Keith murmured before pulling Lance into another, deeper kiss. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's lower back, and Keith draped his arms around the human's neck, both deepening the affection.

Lance's watch buzzing abruptly ended the reunion. "What is it Pidge?" Lance grumbled with a sigh. "You sure have bad timing--"

"Did the plan work? Did we win?!" His friends on Altea demanded.

"Good question," Lance noted with a shrug. "I'm not sure if that did it, but you know what, if Zarkon dares to show his face again, he'll meet the same fate!" Everyone erupted in cheers as prisoners reunited with long lost friends and family.

"This is my part of home, Voltron, and Altea," Lance declared. "As long as I have you guys with me, I will do all I can to protect our home."