Klance Oneshots

Lance's Lion Castle: Part 18

Down below, Keith sat up on the ground amongst the debris of his half of the demolished house. Matt joined him as he sat crumpled on the ground, his actions coming back to him.

"Matt, what have I done? I dumped water on Hunk-" his voice broke.

Tears fell from his eyes as he realized he'd ruined everything. More tears fell as he sobbed, his worry for Lance and Pidge, and Hunk and Lotor growing with every second.

"Wha-What if I killed Lance too?" he cried, one hand gripping his tunic at his chest and the other yanking on his now shorter, purple tipped hair.

Matt yipped at Keith as he covered his face and cried. He sniffled and looked up to see the ring on his finger, the one Lance had given him, was glowing, leaving a light trail for him to follow. The ring was wiggling as he looked at it. Then the light disappeared.

"Is Lance still alive? Please- can you take me to him?" he asked the ring.

The silver band wiggled again and the light reappeared from the charm encased in it, leading him to a huge piece of debris against the cliff wall. Keith managed to move it and it fell away to reveal the front door. The light pointed at it and he opened it to reveal a pitch darkness on the other side.

Keith went in without hesitation, Matt hesitating before following him.

As he walked, Keith saw a blue light glowing from up ahead. It was blurry, but the closer he got to it, the larger and clearer it became until it was revealed to be a small room. There was a table with books, parchment, ink, and pens on it in front of a fireplace, a single chair pulled out from it. A candle with low wax rested on the table, unlit. Beside the chair was a small bed. It was a single room cottage.

Keith held his hand over the papers, and the light faded again, the ring still shaking.

Matt scratched at the door and Keith opened it. He was at the cottage Lance had shown him in the field of flowers. They watched as stars fell from the sky, and Keith noticed the ring was slowly getting thinner and tighter.

He looked up as another star fell towards the Earth and a small figure was illuminated in the light of its explosion.

"That's Lance!" Keith breathed.

Lance was much younger, his chocolate brown unruly curls all over the place as his brilliant blue eyes watched the falling star coming straight for him. Keith remembered the starry dancing figures around them back at the palace, and realized that this was where Lance lost his heart.

He leaped off the porch foundation and ran as fast as he could toward Lance, but paused a few yards away from the water. Stars fell around him and he saw tiny figures running as fast as they could before they vanished, a few drowning as they landed in the water. Keith suddenly felt himself sinking and yelped as he tried to get free of the mud.

Then, a brighter star flew through the sky and he saw Lance catch it. Sparks exploded around him as Lance held the star. When Keith looked closer, he could see Lance talking to it. The young wizard frowned a little and then nodded, determination lighting up his young, tanned features. Matt jumped off the porch and raced toward Keith as fast as he could through the long grass.

Keith was gripping his necklace so tightly that he didn't notice the ring getting thinner and tighter as its magic was depleting. His eyes were solely fixed on Lance, and the star, who he realized to be Hunk.

Then, Lance swallowed the star. The light vanished and he coughed. Keith stepped closer, then saw Hunk, as he had known him, appear out of Lance's chest in the wizard's hands. The ring on Keith's finger snapped and a black hole opened up underneath him, pulling him in. He looked back to Lance and Hunk, who were both fading as the hole was swallowing him.

"Lance! Hunk! It's me, Keith! I know how to help you now!"

Lance and Hunk looked up at him, their faces contorting as Keith sank down into the darkness.

"Find me in the future!" Keith shouted, his voice echoing in the empty void of darkness.

Matt jumped in after Keith, and the void disappeared, leaving young Lance and Hunk to wonder what had just happened.

Keith and Matt fell through the air, clouds on either side of them as they plummeted toward earth, but fell past it. Matt started walking away from earth and Keith followed him, tears floating in zero gravity as he walked and cried.

Matt yipped at him a few times and Keith sniffled.

"I'm sorry, I just can't seem to stop."

He sped up and the doorway appeared, blurry at first, but soon sharpening and they were through it. As soon as Keith stepped out of it, the door vanished. But Keith wasn't looking at the door. His eyes were on the massive pile of dark feathers barely moving a few yards away. He carefully made his way to the mass of feathers. Blood and grime dripped from them to the ground, joining the puddles that showed he had been there for a while. Keith gently brushed the feathers away from Lance's face.

Lance gave no sign he knew Keith was there. His eyes were unblinking… unseeing… and his face had more feathers growing out of it than before. He was beyond exhausted, using all of his focus and energy to keep breathing, which was only a slight movement.

"Lance… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait, and never this long…"

Keith gingerly cupped one of the tanned wizard's cold cheeks and gently pressed his lips to Lance's.

"I need you to take me to Hunk if you can," he said barely above a whisper as he pulled away, searching Lance's blue eyes.

Lance finally moved a little, one of his massive bird's legs moving into view with difficulty. Keith and Matt gingerly stepped onto Lance's clawed foot, Keith clinging to his leg and Matt huddled between Keith's feet as Lance slowly but surely took to the air, his massive wings flapping.