I miss you James

A new way of things

Keith POV

I can't believe them! They just want to forget Shiro? Shiro, who saved our lives? Shiro, who made us smile? Shiro, my brother? They think they can just move on and replace him? What the hell is wrong with them?

All of these thoughts soared through my mind as I fought the bot, metal hitting metal. It was Shiro! Shiro! Best pilot the Galaxy Garrison has ever seen!

And Allura said it herself! Paladins aren't just lying around, waiting for their turn in a lion! It could take years to find a new paladin, and we didn't have that kind of time. I just want to get this war over with so I can go home! So I can get back to James and to Adam! To my boyfriend who loves me! To Kinkade, and Ina, and Rizavi and Veronica and my friends and family and I just wanted to go home! I didn't sign up for a war! I didn't ask for my entire life to be uprooted, to be told my childhood was a lie, to lose my brother, who apparently isn't even really my brother, all over again! I didn't ask for this! I didn't want this! I didn't ask for this!

"Keith, none of us asked for this." Hunk's voice said. I jumped, barely missing the bot's next strike. I stabbed it before turning to him. "What?" "You said you didn't ask for this." Fuck. I had been saying that out loud. "None of us did. None of us wanted to be ripped away from our lives and thrown into this war. But it happened. We just have to go with it."

"But I don't want to! Why us? Why not some other group of kids?" Hunk shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because of the Kerberos mission. Maybe because we know each other. Maybe because the universe decided 10,000 years of war is long enough. I don't know why we're here, but for now, we just have to go with it, and win this war."

"Why do we even have to fight it?" I growled. "We didn't even know aliens actually existed until they abducted Shiro and the Holts! They might not have made it to Earth for another 10,000 years!" "I know. But now, there's the risk of them attacking Earth. And we don't want that to happen. Believe me, there's nothing I want more than to be back home. But we have to do this. We have to be Voltron and protect the universe. We're the only ones who can. And maybe- maybe you're right. Maybe Shiro is out there. I mean, we thought he was dead once before, and he wasn't. Maybe he's alive now. And if he is, we'll find him. But finding him and the Holts is a task for latter. We can find them and get them back to Earth, safely, once we end and win this war." Hunk said. "You promise?" He nodded. "I promise." He smiled softly and nodded towards the door. "Now come on. You need to eat something. Allura wants us to meet by the lions in an hour." I nodded and followed, shutting off the simulator.

Allura POV 

"Greetings paladins." I said. They all gave muttered greetings, all clearly still down about Shiro's death. I was too. We had lost a good friend and excellent leader when he disappeared. "As you know, Shiro is-" I almost said dead, but Hunk shot me a quick look that said I shouldn't. "absent. And we need someone to fly the black lion. We cannot form Voltron without it." "How are we gonna find another paladin? Like you said, we don't exactly have a bunch of extras hanging around." Lance says. "Correct. But maybe one of us could pilot it." The others gave me looks of shock. "I know. It's a little.. unorthodox, but it's what we can do. Each of will step into the black lion. If it responds, you are to be it's new paladin. If that is the case, someone else will take your lion. Understood?" They each nodded, and I offered a small smile. When I had told Coran about the idea, he'd wanted to be a paladin, but I'd talked him out of it, telling him how hopeless we would be without him since he's the only one with an extensive knowledge of our history, as well as the only one who could fix the Castle. In reality, I just really didn't want him to be out on the front lines like that. Coran is amazing as, many things but he is not a fighter. "Good. Pidge, you're first." They took a deep breath before heading into the lion. After several minutes, they came out, a look of disappointment on their face. Same with Hunk and Lance. I stepped into the lion and settled into the pilot's seat. I took a deep breath as it slid forward, and rested my hands on the controls. "Please." I whispered. "Please. Let me lead them. Let me make my father proud." I waited, but the lion didn't move. I took a deep, shuddering breath as I stood, composing myself. I could cry about it later. "Well, Keith, your turn." I said when I exited. He looked at the lion uncertainly before heading into the cockpit. A few moments later, it roared to life. "No no no NO!" We heard Keith say from inside. He trudged out of the cockpit, head down and hands in his pockets. "This is great! You're the black paladin!" Hunk said.

Keith growled. "I don't want to be the Black paladin! I want Shiro to come back! I just want to go home!"

3rd POV

Silence fell over the room. Allura inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. "Keith, we all want Shiro back. But he's gone. He gave his life for us, and in protection of the universe. Now, it's up to us to honor his memory and help save thousands of other lives in the universe, and protect all of it's inhabitants. Those out here, and those back on Earth. The sooner we defeat the Galra, the sooner we can restore peace to the universe, and the sooner you can all go home." She said calmly.
"Defeating the Empire is not my priority. Getting back home is." Lance's eyes narrowed. "Look Keith, we all want to get back home. But the best way to do that is to defeat the Galra." Pidge nodded "Yeah, we all have family we want to get back to. My mom already lost Matt and my dad, I can't imagine how she feels now." "You think I don't know that? You think I don't know there's people back home? I KNOW! But that's why we should go home. We need to prepare Earth for when the Empire invades."

"No, we need to protect the rest of the universe from the Galra. If we defeat them here, they can't attack Earth." Lance says. The three start arguing as Hunk and Coran try and calm them down. "ENOUGH!" Allura yells, posture stiffening. Everyone's heads whip towards her, and she inhales deeply before continuing in a cool, measured tone. "This is my castle, and those are my father's lions. I will decide what we do. And we are going to defeat the Galra. They've ravaged the galaxy for thousands of years and it's our duty to stop it. I will not let them destroy another civilization!" Keith open his mouth to protests, but she holds a finger up and shots him a glare. "After we have defeated the Galra, you are all free to do as you please. I will escort you home myself, but only after the universe is safe."

"Look Princess, I'm not your solider. I don't have to fight in this war." Keith starts. "And who's to say we can beat the Empire? Zarkon is dead, but they're still attacking. We're still being hunted. Planets are still being destroyed, people are being killed. It might never end." "I know that." Allura says with an eye roll. "But the Galra-"

"Will you stop saying the Galra? It's the Empire, not the Galra. It's part of them, not all." "They've been building this empire for centuries, it will take time to dismantle it. We have to be here for that." Allura huffs. "We might not live that long! Unlike you, humans don't live for hundreds of years. We're lucky to get 90. I don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting a war I never wanted to be a part of!" "Well your people started it! If it weren't for the Galra, there wouldn't BE A WAR IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Allura yells. "WE WEREN'T EVEN ALIVE FOR THAT! YOU EXPECT US TO FIGHT YOUR BATTLES FOR NOTHING!" Keith retorts.

"IT'S NOT FOR NOTHING! Think of all the people we've saved, the planets that remain unharmed." "What about the people we've lost? Ulaz is dead. So in Antok. And the Olkari? Shiro's missing and all you're worried about it fighting this never-ending war."

"Hey, that's ENOUGH!" Hunk interjects. "Looks, we all miss Shiro, and we all want to stop the Empire. But we can't do that if we're fighting each other, so why don't we all take a deep breath, ok?" He turns to Keith. "I can't imagine how much you're hurting right now, but that's why you need to help us. So the Empire can't make other people hurt like this. Allura-" "Do not lecture me Hunk." he interrupts. "We're not your soliders. We're a team. We work together and make decisions as a group, not by bossing each other around." Hunk turns so he's addressing the group. "We can win this, but only if we work together. And we have to win. For Shiro." He finishes.

Silence descends upon the room as they absorb his words. Hunk looks expectantly at Keith, who sighs. "Fine. I'll do it for Shiro. But after we beat the Empire I'm going home." He says before storming out.