Hero // Klance

Ch. 13 - What is a Hero?

Cotton ball clouds floated lazily in the sky. The world looked like a commercial for allergy medicine, all bright contrast and people outside for no apparent reason. At home, there would be drama and conflict, but Lance didn't care about any of that right now. The fight was over. There would be time for mourning and time for getting yelled at by his mom. Now was the time to sit on a tree trunk with Keith's head on his shoulder while Krolia and Veronica definitely weren't talking about them.

"Do you really think that that's it?" He asked, partly to Keith, partly to everything and partly to nothing at all.

"Who knows?" He replied. "I hope so."

"Me too."

Hunk didn't stay for the party. He had hugged everyone and said goodbye, of course, and they'd exchanged contact information because they really had been good friends. But he'd been away from home for far too long already.

Now that they were safe, it was time to get back. He unlocked the back door with the key underneath the flowerpot and entered quietly.

The house smelled like empanadas and candle wax. His mom dropped the plate she was holding when she saw him, and Hunk gave an apologetic smile. When she ran towards him and squeezed him tightly, he was surprised.

He'd forgotten how amazing his mom's hugs were.

Allura's fingers were intertwined with Lotor's as they walked through the damaged woods.

Whispers and murmurs surrounded them like butterflies. The whole place was alive, though it looked broken at first glance. It filled her with hope.

"Do you think it's possible to get back inside the base?" Lotor asked tentatively.

Of course. He wanted to go somewhere more private, he was just too polite to say it that way.

"I haven't tried. It's possible that only the door was destroyed, so if we could find our way through the rubble then we should be able to." Lotor nodded happily, and they set off to examine it.

Sure enough, a path was easily cleared through the debris. The stairs were only a little bit worse for wear. They made their way down.

It was bright and abandoned. No one turned the lights off, and the generator must still be intact. That was good, it meant that they could still use the place. .

"It's so bright in here," Lotor commented airily. Allura nodded.

"We keep it as open as we can, in an effort to keep morale up."

"Does it work?"

"Somewhat. We kept security relatively loose to make up for the underground secrecy, but.. well.. you saw how that worked out."

"I think it was noble of you to keep your members in mind. The GALRA never did that, but it was infiltrated anyway."

She smiled. That was true. Perhaps it wasn't all her fault that they were located.

"And that infiltration led to the fall of my father. Which isn't a bad thing, but now all the troops I had meant to take control of are scattered and it's going to be such a pain to get them back together again."

By the time Allura had processed his words, the barrel of a pistol was aimed at her head.

"Unfortunately, you won't be there to oppose us this time. I'm going to put you in the same position we are, worse if I can. I really do like you though. You try so hard."

The bullet missed. He talked too much. She wouldn't be able to keep dodging forever, though. She reached for the holster on her belt, only to find it empty. Crap.

"When I'm in charge of everything, I'll be a hero. Everyone will have to think so."

He sounded like a child yelling at a parent from a treehouse, but there was no doubt he meant what he said. She had to stop him here.

The problem was how. With no weapons and no backup, she was backed into a corner and she knew it.

There had to be something she could do, but she could think. It was too damn bright.

She paused for half a second as an idea struck her, then she ran.

Bullets hit the walls around her as Lotor chased her down the corridors. Hasty decisions had never been good to her, but there weren't any choices left.

The only option left was losing, but if she could take the danger down with her maybe it would be worth it. It was pure luck she was still alive now. She prayed that it would hold.

Just long enough to make two more turns and fling open another door.

The gunshots stopped. There was a clank and a curse. He must be out of bullets. Turns out luck was holding out for her after all. Just not in the long run.

Inside the generator room it was hot and dry and smelled like burnt dust. She never worked in here and didn't know what anything did, but she would have to work fast now. Lotor was behind her now, brandishing a black steel blade he must have had hidden somewhere.

She reached for a pipe and tugged as hard as she could- which, admittedly, was really hard- and freed it from its position on the wall just quick enough to block Lotor's strike.

"What are you still fighting for?" He asked, mania lacing his words.

"Everyone," was her simple, honest answer.

She kept fighting for everyone who wouldn't have to face this conflict in the future.

She stopped fighting for them, too.

She pulled her body to the side, and the force behind Lotor's blade pushed it directly into the heart of the generator. There was a grating, metallic noise as it crumpled in on itself.

There was burning heat and a blinding light.

Then, a string of faces in her mind, each one grateful for its life. A memory took center stage- a younger Shiro telling the story of a giant warrior who saved innocents.

The last words that passed through her mind were her own.

Not every hero has to be Voltron. Sometimes it's enough to just do what you can.

Then there was nothing.

The End.

1030 words. I love Allura.