Langst One-Shots

Logic

TRIGGER WARNING - mentions of suicide, major character death

Lance had always been good at puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, logic puzzles. He loved them, would work at them during his free time until he had none left, at which point he would spend all of his free time looking for more. His family was happy that he had something he was so passionate about, happy that he was happy.

Lance remembered this one time when he and Hunk had decided to have a contest to test Lance's skill. He was going to work on a 2000 piece jigsaw while Hunk worked on a 1000 piece. Despite his disadvantage, Lance still won by a long shot. Hunk was twenty seven minutes behind Lance when he finished. Nobody challenged Lance's odd talent after that.

He also remembered when Pidge, years later, was baffled when he came up with an answer to what seemed like an easy problem. She had been trying to get a universal translator up and running, and was having trouble with languages. She couldn't figure out how to manually put in every single English word until Lance explained that she didn't need to. If they programmed the translator like a human child, it would pick up the language as they spoke it.

Lance really was amazing at puzzles. He never bragged about it because he never needed it. In space, the only need for puzzles was in battle tactics, something that Lance secretly excelled in. Other than that, puzzles were nothing more than a fun passtime.

Or so he thought.

Lotor, of course, had different ideas. He didn't want to kill the paladins of  Voltron, at least, not all of them. He just wanted to mess with them, to bring them down so low that they would be forced into surrender. That all started with a simple puzzle.

All Lance had to do was choose. One of six options. One of six targets. One of six warriors. One of six friends.

"Kill one of them or I will kill all of them." Lotor had instructed. Eleven words that had ripped his world apart. What was he supposed to do?

Keith stared at him. You know what to do, his eyes seemed to say.

Hunk was staring at the floor. Lance didn't want to look at him. It seemed Hunk didn't want to be seen.

Pidge looked terrified. Lance could tell that she was trying not to show it, but that made it worse. He could read her like an open book. But was this book nearing its end?

Shiro was looking at him, worried, concerned, and sympathetic. He couldn't do anything but nod at Lance, as if to say, take me. Save the others and take me.

Allura was stiff, whether out of terror or out of anger Lance didn't know. She just stared at him, unsure what he would so.

Coran looked scared, not for himself, but instead for the blue paladin standing in the center of the ring of his friends. Please, don't make him do this, his eyes read. It was obvious that he didn't want Lance to be a killer, even in the horrible circumstances that they all found themselves in.

Lance had always been good at puzzles. He knew exactly what to do and why. Lotor had said to kill one of them, right? To kill a paladin.

Lance took a deep breath. "I've made my choice. I... I'm sorry, guys."

Everyone's eyes widened in terror and realization as he raised his Bayard to his chin with a trembling hand. He closed his eyes, let out one final sigh, and pulled the trigger.