Find Him, Promise Me

Part 2

... "Shiro?"

Shiro stood in front of them. The rest of the room was dark, only lit slightly by the opening in which Matt and Keith stood. He was in his normal clothing, and he looked just as he did before the battle with Zarkon.

"Shiro!" Matt cried. He went to throw his arms around him. Shiro let Matt hug him, but looked confused. Keith looked at him suspiciously. This was just too easy. And why isn't he talking?

"Shiro?" Keith said cautiously. "It's us. We are here to rescue you."

Shiro was surprised. "Who..who are you? And why is this guy hugging me?" He gestured down at Matt, who didn't look like he was letting go anytime soon.

No, Keith thought. He had to remember. He had to.

"It's us. I'm Keith, your..friend. And that's Matt, your boyfriend." Keith's voice cracked.

Shiro laughed, and pushed Matt off of him. Matt was startled. He was certain this was Shiro. He looked the same, felt the same. This was his Shiro. Then why was he acting so strange?

"How could you be my boyfriend? I don't love you," he snarled. Matt fell to his knees. "And you," Shiro pointed at Keith. "Why would I love a pathetic drop-out? Hmm?" He laughed.

"No..no..not again," Matt curled up into a ball. Keith charged, readying his sword. Shiro stood still. He made no effort to dodge Keith's blade. But yet... Keith couldn't bring himself to hurt "Shiro". Clearly this was another clone, or a hologram, and Keith knew he would have to kill him if he wanted to get to the real Shiro. But he couldn't bring himself to it.

Suddenly, "Shiro" froze, as if someone pressed a pause button. The door that lead them in close, and they were left in complete darkness, except for the light in Keith's armor.

"Looks like you found him. But can you kill him?" Lotor's voice echoed around them. From what Keith could tell, they were in a huge room. Lights suddenly turned on around them. Matt had gotten up, and had his staff ready. "Shiro" was still frozen. The room around them was made of metal, and it was if they were in a large box. They couldn't see the ceiling. Small vents lined the bottom so they could breathe.

"That is a clone, a failed experiment. He is Subject YX0223. He can't love, which is why we scrapped him." Lotor's voice continued to echo around them, but neither of them could identify the source of his voice. Where Subject YX0223 was standing, a platform dropped down, and pulled him under the floor. The hatch closed quickly, before either of them could intercept it.

Then, all around them, were screams. It was Shiro's voice, his screams. Keith and Matt were horrified. What were they doing to him?

"I can see that you're curious about the screams. Yes, that is Shiro's voice, but it isn't him. We are currently in the process of... 'renewing' Subject YX0223. A shame really. He would have made an excellent comedian. But, alas, we don't have the space." Lotor laughed, a loud, booming laugh, that filled the space. Both Keith and Matt were crying now, begging for it to stop. Lotor ignored them.

The walls on either side of them began to open, and hundreds of Shiros came stumbling out. Each looked exactly like their Shiro.