Loving You to the Stars and Back // Keith x OC //

The Blades

43

Shiro and I boarded the Red Lion with Keith, who was already sitting in the pilot's chair. All I could think of as we were departing from the Castle of Lions was Coran's words before we left. He mentioned the course heading to the base would be treacherous, flying between the gravitational pull from the blackholes and the star. One wrong move and we could die before we even reach the Blade of Mamora.

"Keith, is everything okay?" Shiro asked, snapping me out of my thoughts as Keith piloted the lion.

"I'm fine," Keith replied with his focus straight ahead.

"You kind of blew up at everyone back there. You need to control your emotions if you're going to lead this group someday," Shiro replied as he stared down at Keith. I looked at Shiro in awe, wondering why he was saying that. For sure, I knew that Shiro was implying that Keith had the potential to lead the team, but why was he saying it so soon? It was like he was foreshadowing his own death.

Keith lets out a chuckle, "Lead the group?"

"When all three of us were stranded on that planet, I told you, if anything ever happens to me, I wanted you to lead Voltron." I was taken back to that memory, remembering the time we ended up being on this wasteland of a planet, only to be chased down be scary alien lizards. Shiro did mention that to Keith while we were making a fire.

"I thought you were just delirious with pain. Why you would make me the leader?" Keith asked.

I leaned forward and inched closer to Keith's cheek, "Why not? I think you would make a great leader." As much as I didn't like to think of Shiro leaving us behind, I believed that Keith would be a great candidate to take his place.

"I agree with Athena. I also know what you're capable of if you can learn some self-discipline," Shiro stated.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Keith sounded annoyed as he continued to follow the route that Coran had given us, "Nothing is going to happen to you."

Suddenly, Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder. "It's just in case. I need you to get focused. When you and Allura ran off, it put us all in jeopardy. It was good that Athena was able to pilot the Red Lion and retrieved you two." 

I remembered that moment as well, seeing how difficult it was for me to get a grasp of battling the Galra with Keith's lion, "If you're going to be a leader, you've got to get your head on straight," Shiro added on.

"I'm sorry," Keith apologizes. "I had a lot on my mind back then."

"I know. We all have."

Abruptly, the Red Lion shakes as the alarm blares loudly within the cockpit. I looked up to see that our visual aid was veering to the right as the Red Lion was being pulled towards the black hole.

"We're getting drawn in by one of the black holes!" Keith exclaims. I tightly held on Keith's chair as I felt the gravitational pull tug us towards the black hole.

"Get us out of here!" Shiro commands. Without a second to waste, Keith pulls one of his levers, engaging the Red Lion's thrusters to get us out of the pull. Keith maneuvers the lion away from one of the asteroids, using it to push off from so we could maintain distance from the gravity.

Thanks to Keith's quick thinking, we were able to get back on course heading to the base. "That was close," I said with a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Keith." Shiro praised.

Keith continued on to the Blade of Mamora's headquarters and landed the Red Lion on the surface. All three of us exited the lion, looking around for any signs of life. How I see it was that we were standing on a piece of rock. What if we were tricked?