Don't Ask, I'll Never Tell

Monster

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The shouts echoed throughout the corridor.

"Come on, Hunk! This way!" The two Paladins turned down a narrow hall until they came upon the vast arena below. "Get down!" Shiro warned as he kneeled to the ground and watched the battle unfold below. He turned away quickly with wild eyes.

"Shiro, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." He swallowed as the memories of his time in the arena flooded his mind. No. There's no time for this. Shiro leaned forward and pressed his fingers into his temples.

"Shiro..." Hunk tried to pat him on the shoulder only for Shiro to shy away.

"I'm fine, Hunk," he replied firmly. "I just... I need a bit of time to gather my bearings. That's all," he assured. But, inside, Shiro prayed for his heart to stop beating so fast. He willed his hands to be still. He just wanted all of this to be behind him altogether but, as leader, he knew that he couldn't run away when his team was in trouble. "Hunk, what's happening down there?" Shiro asked.

Hunk rose to a half crouch to watch the action below. "It looks like the next battle is starting." He observed. "They're sending in the next competitor now. Is that? Wait... does Keith have a twin?"

Shiro shook his head. "No, Pidge warned me about this." He rose to crouch beside Hunk. "The Galra cloned him."

"So that means that one of them is the real Keith and the other is an imposter. How do we know which is which?"

"We don't. But we need to figure it out soon or else the real Keith could be killed."

"...Right. No pressure." Hunk squeaked.

"Just calm down, Hunk. We can do this. Do you have your bayard?"

"Yeah, why?"

Shiro didn't answer. Instead, he watched Hunk with regretful eyes.

"Shiro, you can't mean..." Hunk's brows furrowed with worry.

Shiro patted the Yellow paladin's shoulder. "One of them will die, Hunk. When the time comes for one to give the finishing blow, we should decide for ourselves which Keith is the correct one."

"Okay, Shiro... As you wish." He reached for his bayard and rested it on the railing. His eyes peered down the length of the weapon as the two gladiators fought below.

___________________________

Keith dove to avoid a horizontal cut from the Other Keith.

"You're such a coward." The Other Keith goaded. "So weak. It's pathetic, really. No family... no friends." With every sentence, Keith either blocked the hits or ducked away completely.

"I'm not a coward!" Keith roared.

The Other Keith smirked. "Oh, aren't you? Running away when you think your team wouldn't accept you for what you are? I always know what you're thinking. After all, I'm you. And you're me."

"You're not me! You're a copy!" Keith launched forward only to be parried by the sinister clone.

"Feisty, aren't we?" The Other Keith teased before breaking away.

Keith scowled and made another dash forward. All of the pain from prior wounds were forgotten in his rage as he ran forward to hit the small gap where shoulder pad met breast plate.

The Other Keith dodged just in time for Keith to strike metal. He spun around and pressed the bayard against Keith's neck. Keith, in his attempt to move away from the blade was pushed into the ground with the Other Keith holding him down.

"I wonder what would happen if I just..." Keith grimaced and struggled to move away as a trail of blood trickled from his neck. The Other Keith paused over his jugular. "I could do it, you know. No one would miss you, would they? It would be so easy." The crowd's screams of excitement and bloodlust were almost deafening. "Do you hear that?" The Other Keith asked excitedly. "Even THEY want you dead."

Keith spun the blade in his hand and drove it into the back of the Other Keith's knee. The Other Keith howled in pain and stumbled back. He sent a string of curses Keith's way but Keith paid no heed. Instead, a new fury took over and Keith found himself on his feet, slashing at the Other Keith without remorse. He smiled when the Other Keith's eyes widened in shock.

The crowd was in a frenzy now. Their chants melded together as useless background noise. All Keith could hear over the sound of his own breathing was the beating of the Other Keith's heart. He wanted to silence that heart; to stop its continuous beating. He didn't know why, but a strong urge to dominate his opponent overtook him. He wanted to win. He wanted to destroy.

The Other Keith stumbled back and glanced up to where Zarkon sat as if waiting for a cue. Zarkon, however, remained as stoic and unmoving as ever. The Other Keith turned back to Keith with wild eyes and then back to Zarkon.

"I've done what you asked!" The Other Keith screamed. "Look at him! He's a monster!"

Keith lurched forward and pushed the Other Keith into the sand. His blade scraped against metal, trying to force the armor to pull away from the person encased within.

___________________________

"One of them is a Galra!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Shh! Not too loud," Shiro hissed. "At least now we know who the imposter is. Hunk, do you have a clear shot?"

Hunk nodded. His finger rested on the trigger.

"Then fire away."

Hunk tightened his grip on the bayard until his knuckles turned white. He aimed at the Galra Keith in the arena, his finger gradually closed in on the trigger. To prevent nerves from giving him an inaccurate shot, Hunk counted silently in his head.

"One..." He felt sweat dripping from his brow. "Two..." His heart beat quickened. "Thre--"

Then a voice rang out louder than the rest. "DON'T SHOOT!"