“Keith!” Jira’s voice echoed in his ear, but Keith could no longer process what was happening. In a flash, Shiro sprinted towards him, arm extended and eyes burning with hate. Keith hit the ground and his head rang as he struggled to make sense of the situation. A weight kept him pinned down and panic rushed through him as he envisioned Shiro above him, ready to strike.

Keith focused his blurry vision to see Jira pushing herself off of him. She rolled onto the ground, clutching her shoulder, as Allura rushed to their aid. Though his head still pounded, Keith could see on Jira’s shoulder a severe burn mark that ran from her shoulder and up along her collarbone. .

“Are you alright?” Allura said frantically.

“I’m fine,” Jira said through gritted teeth. Keith gingerly moved to help her sit up, but she reeled away from him and shook her head. “He’s headed for the Black Lion.”

Allura shot up. “Everyone get to your lions. We have to stop him before he leaves Eioa.” She looked back to Lance who was still leaning against Hunk. “Can you walk?” She asked him and he nodded slowly. “Hunk help him get to the castle. Hurry!” She barked at Hunk, Lance, and Pidge and they took off. Chalna helped Jira sit up while Keith pulled himself to his feet, still in shock from what was happening. Allura grabbed his shoulder and looked at him, afraid yet determined.

“Keith,” She said firmly. “You need to get to the Black Lion.”

Keith shook his head. It had been too long since he had piloted it. “But I-”

“You have to,” Allura said fiercely, but her voice trembled.

Keith glanced at Jira who was leaning against her mom, her face contorted in pain. She gave him a pained, but reassuring smile. Keith nodded at Allura and sprinted towards the castle, his head still throbbing. Running through the castle to where the black lion was was surreal to him; he felt as though he were in a nightmare and expected to wake up at any moment. Shiro was okay… Everything was okay… It had to be.

By the time Keith reached the Black Lion, Shiro was already inside and the mouth was starting to close. In a desperate attempt, Keith leapt towards it, catching the edge as it clamped shut.

“Please!” He cried, beating his fists against the cold metal. “Please... I need to stop him.”

The lion’s eyes illuminated yellow and it purred to life. Keith stumbled backwards and rolled out of the way. The lion opened its mouth just enough for Keith to squeeze in.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Keith pulled himself to his feet and crept inside, not sure how to prepare for who awaited him inside.

****

Allura pulled the blue lion out of its hangar and took in her surroundings. Now that she was outside, she could see the Black Lion racing upwards into the sky. She held onto the controls with clammy hands and sweat dripped down her brow; this was not supposed to happen. How could they have been so reckless?

Her communications screen popped up and Pidge’s face appeared. “What’s the plan?! Where’s Keith?”

“With any luck, he’s in there Black Lion as well.”

“He’s in there with Shiro?” Hunk’s voice sounded. “What if Shiro tries to hurt him again?!”

“We need to stop Shiro from taking the lion to Zarkon.”

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“Allura, what is going on?” Pidge demanded.

“I-” Allura’s words scratched against her dry throat. How could she explain everything now?

Lance’s image replaced Pidge’s on the screen. “Allura, What do we need to do?”

Allura smiled at him gratefully before setting her focus back on the Black Lion. “That lion is not to leave the atmosphere. Do whatever you have to.”

Above them, the Black Lion began to dip down lower, losing some of its speed. Allura scrambled to patch into its communications, in hopes to figure out what was going on between Keith and Shiro. She successfully connected, and the cockpit of the black lion appeared on her screen, but neither Shiro or Keith were in the seat.

“... Keith?” Allura said hesitantly. From the screen she could see Keith fly into the control panel. Keith slumped to the floor weakly, and from behind the seat, Shiro approached him. Keith waited right until Shiro was ready to lunge, then jumped at the controls, grabbing and yanking them away from Shiro. Shiro tumbled over and the Black Lion took a sickening swan dive straight towards the jungle below.

“Watch out!” Lance warned, sending a cable shooting out from his lion. It caught onto a back leg of the Black Lion; Hunk did the same, and it started to slow the Black lion’s descent into the treeline. Allura kept her eyes glued to the screen, helpless as she watched Shiro pick Keith up by his arms and throw him back over the chair with inhuman strength. Allura lost sight of what was going on, but she could hear Keith begging for Shiro to stop.

“Shiro, please-” Keith gasped, before his words were cut off by what Allura had to assume was Shiro closing his hands around his neck. She fought back tears and she heard Keith struggle for breath. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They were supposed to save Shiro.

“Keith, hold on!” Allura yelled. She took a deep breath and flew at full speed into the head of the Black Lion.

****

Blood filling his mouth, Keith fought the urge to vomit as Shiro kicked him to the ground once more. He covered his head, preparing for the next blow.

“St-” A sharp pain vibrated through his chest with Shiro’s next ferocious punch. Keith gasped for air, only to feel metal fingers wrap around his throat. Shiro held him up by the neck and shoved him against the wall. Black started to outline Keith’s vision and he clawed desperately at Shiro’s arm. Yellow eyes filled his mind, bearing into him; a cruel reminder that his friend was gone. Angry and fearful tears fell down Keith’s face. He couldn’t fight Shiro. He just couldn’t bring himself to fight back. But as his sight started to dim, Keith knew he needed to make a choice. He needed to stop him before anyone else got hurt.

Keith held on to what he knew would be his last breath. “Shiro please-” he pleaded one last time. Shiro pulled Keith closer to him, relishing in his suffering, and Keith took advantage of their proximity. Grasping at the blade secured at the back of his pants, Keith grabbed it and slashed it across Shiro’s chest. Shiro cried out and dropped Keith to the ground. Green light gleamed brighter around Shiro and he activated his arm once more. He pounced down onto Keith, and Keith shoved the knife upwards, feeling the unmistakable warmth of blood as it stained his blade and hand.

Shiro inhaled sharply and looked down at his chest, wrapping his hand around the hilt of the blade. Keith’s body trembled in horror as he slid the blade out, and Shiro fell onto his back and clutched his chest.

Keith threw the blade away from him and leaned over Shiro, tears obstructing his vision. “... Shiro?” he said hoarsely. “... I’m sorry, I-”

Shiro’s breathing fell from fast and jagged to slow and weak. He closed his eyes and a faint smile played at his lips. Keith grabbed Shiro’s shoulders and shook him. “Don’t-” Keith pulled Shiro up so his head could rest in his lap, the rise and fall of his chest getting slower.

“Don’t-” Keith shook over him, his body paralyzed from shock and denial. “... please.” Keith held Shiro until his breathing stopped. He could feel the weight of the Black Lion as it plummeted to the ground, but he didn’t care. He could hear the other paladins call out to him, and his mind spun, but no coherent thoughts came to him. He was numb.

He closed his eyes, ready to crash into the ground. A blinding light penetrated the head of the lion, its colors shifting from a violent shade of green to violet, until it suddenly faded to black. The darkness was stifling, but Keith found himself feeling weightless in the dark. He waved his hand in front of him and felt for the chair behind him to get a sense of his surroundings, making sure not to let Shiro slip off his lap.

The Black Lion lurched forward on its own without warning, pushing Keith backwards. He held on to Shiro, and shut his eyes, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. The Black Lion slowed to a stop and landed softly. When Keith opened his eyes, his heart sank; he knew immediately that they were no longer on Eioa.