Time Will Tell (Keith Angst💔)

Part 3: Losing Nature

Keith stayed in his room for days, refusing to talk to anyone. Pidge, in the mean time, had found Matt and brought him back to the castle. Hunk had taken the task to clean Red, having gone silent for days. Scrubbing your best friend's blood from a space war machine is traumatizing.

Matt was now flying Red, and Keith finally agreed to leave his room. When he saw Red up and awake, he spent that afternoon laying against her leg, talking and grieving with her. Hunk joined him in the evening, eventually convincing him to have some food with the team. Keith poked at his food without interest, listening to the conversation. They'd gone on missions without Keith, mainly because he refused and said it was too dangerous. Matt was the most enthusiastic of them all, chatting happily.

The next morning, they set off for a mission, Keith finally coming along. All went well, though they couldn't form Voltron. The following months blurred past, and the team was able to bond very well. Keith was more open and active, spending his time with Hunk in the kitchen, then with Pidge, then training with Matt. Allura received a distress signal from a nearby planet, deciding to answer for the team. As they landed, the Galra ships fled, confusing them. When they walked out, they talked to the natives, who seemed to be rejoicing the lack of Galra. The others relaxed with the celebratory mood, but Keith kept an eye out. He heard a soft rumble from the horizon, looking to see a Galra cruiser rushing towards the village.

Keith round up the paladins, looking around. Where was Pidge? He heard a chuckle, swinging around to see Lotor holding Pidge at gunpoint. "Let her go!" Matt cried, running towards them. A guard fired at Matt's leg, making him cry out and crumble to the ground. He fought back tears, trying to stand. "Don't take another step, paladins." Lotor growled, squeezing Pidge's body to his. "I need Green's intellect. Let them go quietly and they'll be unharmed."

Matt looked to Keith for guidance, making the Black Paladin swallow nervously, taking a step forward. "Let her go, Lotor." "No, Black." Lotor growled, looking down at Pidge, grinning. "She'll make a great weapon for the Galra empire~" He smirked, starting to back away. Keith took another step, his Bayard in his hand. "Take me with you!" Matt cried, limping in Pidge's direction. "Please, don't separate our family."

Lotor licked his lips, looking from Pidge to Matt, shrugging. "Guards, take him." With that, he turned and left.

-----

Three years later, they found Pidge and Matt's bodies on a deserted moon. Their lions grieved their paladins, and it seemed like Red couldn't allow a new paladin. Keith had grown claws, his skin turning light purple in patches. He ignored it, hating it with all his other Galra features. The team was silent around each other, hardly speaking. Hunk, Keith, Allura, and Coran were all that was left.

The Green and Red paladins were gone.