Not a Participation Game

Rushed Reunion

"Lance is back," Pidge said when she noticed the Red Lion nearing the castle. It was still a ways away, but close enough that the castle sensed it.

Pidge looked over to Matt and said "You'd like him. He's just like you."

Matt smirked and said "Let me guess, he's super handsome and has big muscles?" He flexed jokingly.

Pidge rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. "You two are exactly the same."

Pidge had just gotten done showing Matt around the castle, and now they were both sitting in the lounge and talking. Hunk came in, holding a couple milkshakes.

"Thanks, Hunk," Matt said, taking the milkshakes and handing one to Pidge.

"How's Shiro, by the way?" Pidge asked. "Is he any better?"

Hunk winced. "Eh, not exactly." Shiro had gotten back from the gladiator fight before Pidge came back with Matt. Shiro wasn't able to find Keith or any information on him. He locked himself in his room, probably trying to come up with a new theory, and only came out to see Matt.

"Is he normally like this?" Matt asked.

"Oh no, never." Hunk responded.

Matt nodded. "That's what I thought. He wasn't like this before Kerberos. What exactly happened?"

Pidge and Hunk told him. Matt said he understood. He vaguely remembered Shiro mentioning Keith a few times. He knew they were close.

Then, Hunk noticed that the Red Lion was about to land in the hangar. "Oh, hey, Lance is here!" Hunk said, delighted.

"C'mon," Pidge said, setting her empty milkshake down and jumping over the side of the couch, "Let's go meet him. You two dorks will get along great."

The three of them went to the Red Lion's hangar and watched it land. However, instead of Lance running out of Red, it was Keith, wearing a Blade of Marmora outfit. He took off Lance's helmet and had the red bayard in his other hand.

"We have to–" Keith started to say, but he was interrupted when Pidge and Hunk tackled him with a hug. The three of them ended up on the ground, and Pidge and Hunk were crying. Keith knew there was no point of trying to get out of it. It was easiest just to accept their hug and let them calm down.

All of the sudden, Shiro and Allura joined. Matt had left to find them as soon as he saw Keith.

"Guys, I-" Keith started to say. He wasn't comfortable with this many people crowding him for so long. He was being crushed. "I'm running out of air," he got out.

Finally, everyone let go of Keith, each saying their version of "I thought you were dead, I'm glad you're back, what happened to your face and hair, etc." Keith pretended he was paying attention to all of them, but all he could think about was how much time he was wasting.

"So...where's this Lance guy?" Matt asked. "Pidge told me he was the one who piloted the Red Lion."

"He does," Keith explained, "but something happened on the mission he went on." Keith explained everything, excluding some very personal details that weren't important to the mission. "We have to get there before something happens to him."

Not long after, the Paladins were in their Lions, on their way to the Galran Hub. When they got there, there were no defenses. They could just walk right in, so they did.

"The place is completely abandoned," Pidge said after scanning it. "No life forms, there's not even any electricity. Lance isn't here anymore."

Keith wanted to punch the wall, but held back in case he had to use his hand to fight. "Pidge, can you hack this place and see where everyone went?" He asked.

"I'll see," Pidge responded.

Everyone made their way to the main control room, where they restored power to the main computer. Pidge was able to successfully access and decrypt the files that remained on the computer, scanning for anywhere Lance could be.

"You're not gonna like this," Pidge said, turning. "Lotor has Lance."