Down Memory Lane - Voltron

Chapter 22 - Secret Passages?

Lance's POV

They barge into Keith's room, giving Lance a sense of déjà vu. Just last night, Lance did the same thing to bring Keith food. The boy had been faking sleep when he came in. Lance hadn't realized until Mullet pushed his face into his pillow after Lance pushed away his bangs. He didn't let on that he knew Keith was awake and instead waited until the boy was actually asleep to leave.

This time, though, the bed is empty. The lights are all off, and the paladins crowd into the small room. Hunk checks the bathroom, but the lights are off in there, too.

"He's probably hiding. Hunk, check the shower. Lance, check the bathroom cabinets. Pidge and Allura, check the security feed. I'll check under the bed," Shiro orders. Lance and Hunk head back into the bathroom and flip on the lights.

Hunk pushes aside the shower curtain and looks in, while Lance crouches and opens the sink cabinets. There is nothing but dust in the cabinets. Not even soaps or anything.

"Clear, he's not in the shower," Hunk calls, his voice echoing slightly from the tiled bathroom.

"Clear. His cabinets are completely empty," Lance tells everyone.

"I don't see him in any of the rooms anywhere," Pidge informs them, she and Allura staring at the screen in Pidge's arms.

"Clear, he's not under the bed," Shiro says, grunting as he stands up. "Where could he be? Pidge, you did say he came in here, right?"

"Yeah. The footage shows him entering his room, and he hasn't left," Pidge says, "And the cameras have not been tampered with."

"I bet he has a secret passage somewhere!" Lance exclaims. He thinks for a second. His own room is along the right wall, and the hallway is along the left and front wall, which leaves the far wall and the floor. Lance wanders to the wall in question and runs his hands over it, searching for cracks and telltale signs of a hidden door. He even pushes the dresser to the side to check behind it; nothing.

"Are you done, yet?" Pidge asks, mockingly.

"No! He has to be here somewhere, and I'm gonna find him," Lance exclaims.

Lance gets on his knees and begins searching the floor, Shiro moves when Lance gets close to the bed. There are cracks on the floor right beneath the bed. A secret passage!

"Aha! I found something," Lance gloats to everyone. He pushes down on the floor and is rewarded when a small section of the floor comes up. The others crowd around him, trying to grab a look. Lance is disappointed, it's not a secret passage. Instead there are a bunch of books sitting in the shallow compartment.

Even if there was a passage, the opening is too small for anyone, even Keith, to fit in. Lance sighs in disappointment and sits back on his legs.

Shiro grabs one of the books and opens it to the last non-blank page; it's a notebook, Lance realizes. Neat handwriting fills the lines, and Lance leans closer to read it.

Everyone is trying to be nice to me, but I know what's really happening. It's the same fucking thing that happens every fucking time. I can't tell them about my past; they've already seen it. Soon enough, they're going to start pitying me and being fake nice. They're supposed to be my friends, I am not a charity case, despite what everyone thinks.

That's the end of the passage, and Shiro finishes reading it at the same time as Lance. The others, who crowded around Shiro, read the passage, too. There are places where the pages look like they got wet; Keith must have been crying when he wrote this.

Everyone is silent, staring at the book. Lance glances at the other notebooks in the hidden compartment.

"These must be his diaries," Lance says, breaking the tense silence.

"He must have written down everything if he filled this many," Shiro says. Tears slip down the older man's face, and Lance feels his own eyes burn with tears. Lance hugs Shiro, and is joined by the others, forming a group hug in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, Keith isn't here.

"Guys, I found him!" Pidge exclaims, looking at her screen, "He's in the hangar. Looks like he's getting in the Black Lion."

"What? We have to stop him before he flies away," Lance exclaims, jumping to his feet. The others follow suit, and they all sprint towards the hangar.

"How did he get there?" Hunk pants. No one answers, no one knows the answer.

They make it to the hangar, and luckily the Black Lion is still sitting there. It doesn't look like it's turned on. Lance peeks over at Red, taking comfort from her closeness. She sits next to Black, ready to go if need be. Red speaks to him, giving him the feeling that Keith is indeed inside the Black Lion.

Lance leads everyone up the ramp and into the Black Lion. They check the pilot seat first, but it's empty. The lights flicker, running along the walls as though the Lion is pointing them somewhere.

They follow the light path, to the Lion's belly where lots of doors and closets line the sides. Suddenly, one of the doors slide open, the entrance lighting up from the inside beckoning them forward.

Keith appears in the door, an angry frown on his face.

"What are you doing?!?" he yells at the Lion before he notices them standing there. The boy stiffens for a second before turning and sprinting towards the ramp.