Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/8470924. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Voltron:_Legendary_Defender Relationship: Keith/Lance_(Voltron) Character: Lance_(Voltron), Lance's_Family_(Voltron), Keith_(Voltron), Shiro_ (Voltron), Hunk_(Voltron), Pidge_(Voltron) Series: Part 2 of Electric_Hearts Stats: Published: 2016-11-04 Completed: 2016-11-09 Chapters: 9/9 Words: 5008 ****** Headlock ****** by vibespiders Summary A few years later since the space ship disappeared, Lance became alone and still be a cargo pilot for the Galactic Garrison. Until one day, he saw someone that is so familiar to him... ***** A Robot? ***** "We're a different pair, do sometime out of step.  Throw a stranger an unexpected smile...with big intension. Still posted at your station Always on about the day it should have flied."  Headlock by Imogen Heap ===============================================================================   It's has been so many years since Keith left me at the day to fly to Mars. For time of his disappearance, everyone was sad to see him go. We all stand at his grave and everyone cried except me. I've never shed a tear because I wanted to be strong. However in the inside, I wanted to cry as much as I can but I can't." After so many years, my friends went on their own ways. Hunk became a spaceship engineer. Pidge was in computer science and hacking. Then me, I still kept my promise to my parents that I would be a cargo pilot. Until one day, I saw a crowd of people when I dropped off some supplies at the main campus of the Garrison.   ***** Photographs ***** After one week when Keith left, I got an email from him. It was a picture of North America. I thought to myself why he would send a picture like that without any captions but the earth was there and it was so beautiful to see it from space.   Another few days later, another picture was sent to me. It was the same picture and he was in smiling like he always does to make me feel happy. I scroll down and saw in the email,   "Do you like it!? I think those oceans on earth remind me of your eyes! As much that I don't feel reminded of being homesick. I want to let you see what I see. That is all I want to say. The reason why I've send you this email is that I love you! Once I get back, I am go to be with you!" I felt happy to hear those words from Keith. It really did warmed my heart to hear that. However, after that last email, I wasn't getting any emails from him. When I aske the Garrison about it. They told me nothing has happened.    Until the news came up on my T.V one day, and it was the spaceship disappeared due to pilot error. I was devasated to hear that but I kept going with my life. I just pretend like it never happened to me. After what happened, I became distant from my friends. Telling myself that Keith should've stayed home eith me.  After the funeral service, Hunk and Pidge wouldn't talk to me. They just continued with their lives. Then I became disconnect from the world and like my friends did, I continued with my life as being a cargo pilot.  One day, I was dropping off supplies to the main campus and saw a huge crowd. I finished the job for today and ran to the crowd of people. What I've saw was Keith standing on stage about his trip to Mars. I saw Keith with a smile on his face like I've never saw it before, "is that Keith?" "Keith Kogane, when did you returned from Mars?" One of the students said to him.  "Well, after we lost contact with Earth! We try our best to stay calm and survive the food that we had lasted us years before wr contacted earth again!" "Did you do stuff like the movie the Martian?"  "Like I said earlier, we had enough supply of food! Next!" I ran up to the mircrophone, "are you really, Keith Kogane!?" "What kind of question is that?"  "Don't you recognize me!"  I could hear the Garrison Security, "don't worry I can handle it!" Then came up to me and grabbed my arm.  "It's me!" I yelled, "Lance McClain, your friend!"  "Get out of here!" "Wait no! He's my friend!" As the Garrison took him out. The security stared at me, "why did you took me away!?" "It's the Garrison rules!" "What rules!?" "If Keith has people on his personal scale! We have to remove them from him! Got it!" "Fine! Loud and clear!" As the Garrison Security left me out on the alley way, I felt angry and put my hands in my pocket and started walking back to my ship.  "Hey!" I knew it was Keith's voice from above and I looked up and saw him going down the stairs of the side of the building to catch up with me, "you're Lance! Lance McClain!? Right!?" "Yeah!? I thought you knew that because were friends!"  "I guess so you can call it that but I don't even know you at all!"  I became surprised that Keith, my friend doesn't even know me at all. So I asked him about our other friends, "do you know Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge! They're our friends too!" "No, I don't actually!" Keith said, "I just felt like I woke up from a dream or something and felt like my trip to Mars was implanted memories!" "implanted?" I said, "memories?"  "Yeah, something like that! I don't really remember the time before that like the Garrison purposely did something to me!"  "There he is!" A man called out, "you won't get away so easy!"  "Well, I guess it is my turn to go now!" Keith said, "I'll see you again, someday!" "Yeah, see you!"  *** After a few weeks, I felt so tired at one time and decided to stay at a hotel. I slept for a moment until I heard the door knocking, "what? I didn't order room service?"  I look at the hole through the hole of the door and it was Keith. I put my back against the door and panic.  "I know that you are there, Lance!" Keith said, "just let me in!"  "Okay, just one second!" I unlock the deadbolt the held the door and opened it.  Keith quickly closed the door behind, "what is going on!?" "I want to run away!" "What!" I said, "what do you mean by that!"  "The Garrison police! Open up!"  "I guess we don't have a choice!" Keith picked me up and opened the door and dashed through the hallway. Keith saw the Garrison in front of them and decided to run to the staircase up to the roof. Keith kicked the door open and went to the edge of the roof. Keith still had me in his arms as the Garrison comes behind us, "Keith! This is not what you want!"  "Is it to become trapped?" Keith said, "to stay in the Garrison forever!" "Come Keith, stop this nonsense and do what you are told!"  "No!" Keith jumped over to the edge of the roof while holding me, "I am never coming back!" Keith tips himself over and we both fell off from the building with a nose in dive. I screamed so hard that I cry, "are you nuts, Keith!? Are you trying to kill us!"  "Maybe!" Keith flips his body so his feet hit the ground, "there! Wasn't that too hard!?"  I was in shock and still clinged onto Keith so tightly. I didn't want to let go of him because I thought we're still going down, "is it over?"  "Yes," Keith laughed, "You can let go now!" Keith put me down as he looked at the cars and taxis on the road. "Hey! Can I borrow your car for a second!?" Keith forceful took the guy out of the car and calls for me.  I run into the passenger seat and we both drive out from the city. I looked at Keith as I thought to myself if he was really Keith.  "Your face is telling me that if I'm actually real to you!?" Keith said. "What?"       ***** Do Think That I'm Real? (Bonus) ***** "I'm staying this because I feel that shouldn't exist!" Keith said, "everything that has happened to me! Was just a blurry image!" Keith stopped the car off the highway, "Somehow, you know me! I'm just wondering that you know something about my past!" "What do you mean?" I said, "you're Keith Kogane! You went up the height of the great, Takashi Shirogane that flew the spaceship into one of Pluto's moons, Kerberos!" "Keith Kogane?" Keith said, "I'm suppose to be a pilot that travels through space!?" "Yeah, you are!" I look down and noticed that I was still in my pajamas, "omg! I still in my sleep wear!?" "Sorry about that! I didn't let you change before we go!" Keith said as he looks at my pink pajamas with strange cats on them, "those cats! what are they?" "They're...lions!" I said, "you gave them to me as a joke on Christmas!" "I did?" Keith said, "then why are you wearing them!?" "I wore them ever since you've disappeared for that trip to Mars!" "Mars..." "Is there something wrong or you've just got amnesia!" "No I don't think it is that!" Keith said, "I know how to function properly but the Garrison. They done something with my memories and that is reason why I've forgot about you! You look very familiar but my memories are hazy!" Then I saw a glimpse of his right eye being a different colours for a moment like his pupils and iris change shape. Almost like a robot, "do you know anything like anything?" "Not sure but it almost felt like my mind is like being programmed like wires inside of my body!" ***** Memories ***** "But I do remember something," Keith said. "What is it?" "An explosion!" "That's it!" I said, "then how on earth did you came back home?" "I don't know exactly!" *** As Keith was inside of convenience store buying food, I decided to pump gas into the car. I click on the taps and then I put the nozzle and squeeze the handle into the gas tank. I thought about what Keith said to me earlier and maybe he is right. Maybe they've done something to his mind that the Garrison was too afraid to tell Keith. After I've finished pumping the gas into the tank and close it with the gas lid and hatch. I decided to look into the trunk to see if there was any extra clothing. I lift up the trunk and only to see nothing but a spare tire. I took a deep breath in. "Lance, look out!" Keith said as he drops the food and runs towards me. "There he is! Shoot him down!" "What?" I heard a loud bang and I saw Keith's arm being shredded but there was no blood but it was wires swinging in the air. "Come on!" Keith said as we both ran into the car and I took the driver seat and floor it out from the gas station. Lance looked at Keith's arm as wires dangling down, "you might be surprised about this! I am quite to you know!" "When did you knew?" "Since I've came into this world!" Keith said, "when I didn't have emotions set into my brain, they told me that have Keith Kogane's memories! When I became more and more aware about myself as being a robot! I decided to leave that place and find the only person who knew about me, which is you, Lance!" "Me?" I said, "why?" "Because in my hazy memories! You're the only person who was blocked in my mind! The Garrison probably knew that when they were building me! Taking every last step to make the perfect android without human emotions! But I am not!" At night we stopped by an old farm and sleep in the car together. I never thought that the Garrison would build something like that. An android without any emotions. Or they wanted to build an android that looks like Keith to fake that he died that day and tell the whole world that he did survive. "Keith, I want to ask you something!" "What is it?" Keith said as he had his chair reclined. "Did you actually survived that mission to Mars!" Keith got up, "Well, why did you think that I was created!?" Then I saw Keith cradle himself into a ball, "I think it is true that I've probably died that day! But I remember something else just now...However, I can't even explain about how I died! It is too hard for me to think about it!" "There! There!" I patted his shoulder, "it's okay!" ***** Nightcall ***** "After all, I was made like this," Keith said as he hold onto his disconnected arm, "I can feel pain and taste like a human!" "Then do you know!" I said to him as I lean in and kissed him on the lips, "how to kiss!?" "It's warm!" Keith said as the wires from his arm moved around me and pinch through parts of my skin, "your lips! But I need more data from you! Your memories about me are inside of you! I need them because I can't stop thinking about my host think all this time!" "Host?" "Yes, the real Keith!" Keith said, "the Garrison transfer his memories into mine! I felt when I got those memories for the first time! My wires that transfer from my old brain to this machine. It is the same method as I am doing to you right now!" Keith smiles at him, "I understand why the Garrison kept these memories of you away from me!" Keith got up and hugged me, "I loved you and I forgot about my promise to you! I'm sorry!" I started to cry, "don't be! You're here in my arms!" "But I died!" Keith said, "I didn't kept it! I want to cry but I can't! I am not program to do that!" "Oh Keith!" I said, "your tears are mine!" Then I saw in his eyes that it sparkled like that stars and pops out the sky of the stars, "what is that!?" "I guess this memory wasn't forced on me!" Keith said, "I can see the sun from this memory!" "The planets are so far away!" I said, "how on earth are you able to see the Earth from here!" "I was alone and hot that day!" Keith turned off the night sky. "What?" "Sorry! Those memories are not mine within me!" Keith said as he took of the wires of my body, "if the host wanted to keep this piece of memory within him! Why would the Garrison is forcefully trying in implant this!?" "Keith?" "Yes?" "May I ask you a question!?" "Okay!?" "What will happen if they don't need you anymore!?" "They probably deactivate me once all all of my memories are transferred!" "Why would they do that?" "Because I am just a prototype android!" Keith said, "once they gather up all information! They are going to do it because I am not important! The only people that they want to revive people who are more important than me because I'm just a test subject for the future." *** "Hey you!" "What!" I woke and saw these strange men in suits with flashlights. "Get out of the car! You're underrated for taking government technology secrets!" As I got handcuffed by then I saw Keith walking away from them. I wanted to be with him. As they took me up in a helicopter, the men were starting at me that they thought that I fell in love with a robot. We got into a facility and placed me into a seat. The head of the Garrison came up to me with many scientists beside him. "You know what he is!?" "Yes, I do!" I said. "Do you know why are you here?" "Because I stole government technology?" I said, "the machine had its own free will to do that on his own! He is the one who kidnapped me!" "That is true that our A.I was provoked by your actions but it is our duty to not have this humanoid to have memories of you because it would become a rebel like the other ones! This project was going very successful until you show up!" "Hey! I was delivering cargo! I just came there at the wrong place at the wrong time! You know, you should knew that I was coming to the main campus when Keith presented himself! Or you are too busy with your project that you forgotten that I was there and you didn't reschedule me!" ***** The Universe is so Cold (bonus) ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes "Where am I?" Keith said as he saw debris floating around him, "what is this place?" Keith looks around and saw the sun that shine so brightly toward him. He noticed that there is a crack in his spacesuit helmet and could feel the cold of space because the sun too far away from him. He felt like his fingers are stiff. Keith took out his camera and decided to take photograph of what he is seeing.  *Click* *Click*  *Click* "Lance?" Keith said, "are you seeing this?"  *Click* Keith started to cry in his suit as his body is becoming hard to move, "I'm sorry that I've didn't kept my promise to you! I didn't know how you felt before I left! I was too afraid to tell you my feelings for you! If I told you sooner, you should've just told me to stay with you and your Abuela! I would've been much happier! The only thing that I want from you, Lance...if I ever seeing you again is that I don't want to see you crying."  Keith took out the usb card from the camera and put it into his space helmet and swallowed it, "don't cry, Lance! Don't cry!" Keith slowly closes his eyes and took one deep breath in and became frozen solid.  *** Keith woke up on the surgery table with the lights on top of him. As the doctors move it away, Keith got up, "do you like your new arm? The government has made a decision to not trash you! That why we rebuild your arm of yours! You should be thankful!" "Where's Lance!?" Keith said.   Chapter End Notes This is Keith's part where Lance is talking with the Garrison. ***** Porcelain ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes "Lance stop!" I quickly got out of my seat and saw the guards rushing into me. I place my back to the wall and jumped on one guy and done a flip and took the keys cuffs in my teeth and gun in my hands. I raise up my arms and put the key through the key hole and unlock the cuffs, "stop him men!" I pull the trigger and hit on of the guy in the shoulder and blood spurting out from him, "Lance, stop! We're friends here!"  "Friends?" I said point my head down to the floor. I point the gun up to the leader of the Garrison, "if you haven't done this to Keith! He would stay here in this universe with me!" I yell at them as I cried to them.  "Then what are you to us!" he said, "you're just a delivery boy!" "I should've took him away when I had the chance and bring him to help me to take care of my Abuela!" I said, "we could've leave this place and never go back but what you done to him...you just created a robot!"  "We don't calls Keith like that anymore!" he said, "since he's almost humanlike, we just call him a bio humanoid!"  "You fuckers!" I said, "you assholes should've just die a long time ago!" Then I heard the glass shattering beside me and it was Keith. Keith gave a smile to me like the times he gave when he comes back for me, "Keith!?" "Lance!" Keith said as he runs up to me. He looks at me and wipes away my tear off from my face. Keith raise up his hand and put it on top of the gun that I was holding, "stop it, Lance! It's over!"  "What are you doing here!?"  "If I stay here! Would you destroy all of Lance's memories of me!?" Keith said, "only the project! Delete all the memories when he met me as android Keith not the memories of the real Keith!" "Why would I do that? This man should be killed!"  "Yes, I know!" Keith as he touched his neck to reveal a button on the side, "do you know this button and what it can do!?"  "Are you mad!? You'll destroy all the work about making and building bio humans!"  "Precisely!" Keith said, "if I press this! I'll be destroy along everyone in this room! But at least with Lance gone from this world. He will be reunited with the real Keith!"  "Keith what are you doing?" I whispered to him.  "Sorry it has to be this way, Lance!"  "Okay, we'll do it!" The leader said, "just get Lance ready for the memory wipe!"  "We'll do that!"  *** As I got on my white jumpsuit on. I walked into a room with Keith and saw group of doctors getting ready for me to get my memory wipe about this project of the androids. I was a bit nervous at first as I took one step into the room but Keith was behind me. He wanted to encourage me to go into the glass chamber. I walked next to the chamber and touched it. It lies horizontally like I was going to sleep. "You scared?"  "No, I'm not!" I said as I turned around to see Keith's face fill his tears. I thought to myself that androids can't cry, "you can cry?"  "Before I didn't know how to cry, Lance!" Keith said, "I remembered now! I remembered why I love you so much!"  "What?" I said, "what is it?"  "You were the one who is always looking out for me!" Keith said, "every time that I've saw your face every single day when we were at the Garrison school! You were the one there when I cried in my dorm with Hunk and you!" Keith gave me a big hug to me. So tightly that he doesn't want to let go of me.  "You were just sad, Keith!" I said, "I had to support you! In the end, We thought that we were together as a team"  "Are you ready?" one of the doctors said to us.  "Yes, just one more minute!" I said, "don't worry about forgetting about you! When you are always in my heart!"  "Yes!" Keith said, "thank you!" Keith slowly released his grasp on me and I slowly looked at the pod and try to go in. Suddenly, Keith took my arm and pulled my arm. My body move and I was back in his grasp and he kiss me on the lips. Then he secretly puts something in my pocket of my jumpsuit that I've didn't even noticed it. After one full minute, Keith lets go of out locking our lips together and smiles so gracefully. He touched my chin and heard his low voice, "do you know how to kiss?"  I started to blush at Keith and covered my mouth. I didn't move for a moment, so Keith picked up and placed me into the pod. I reached out to Keith but as soon I reached out the glass covered me and I touched the cold glass on top of me and started to cry, "Keith, I love you!"  "I love you, too!"  As flashes of light came into my pod as moments of the white light fade in and out. My memories of the last few days started to burn away from my mind. I looked up and lowered down my hand and closed my eyes. I felt tired. Visions of what I think that is real are fading away and everything became dark.  Until I saw just only Keith smiling so gracefully at me like I've never saw it before. Then he turned his back from me and ran away as light formed a path as Keith ran away from. "Keith wait! Let me come with you!" I started to open my eyes and noticed that I was sleeping in the lounge area of the main campus of the Galactic Garrison school. I got up and noticed that I was in a slender white suit, "wow! I really do have bad taste of fashion but I like it, anyways!" I said but I realized that I remember that I never had a suit like this before. I shrugged it out thought it was comfortable and breathable to move around and felt that I should wear suits like this more often instead of regular clothes. It almost feel like I'm back with the Garrison when I was younger but then I remembered Keith and thought that he could be here someday. I search through my pockets and saw my phone and wallet and the other side was a usb memory card in a plastic case with a note that says Keith's photos, "I've never had this before!" and I put the items back into my pocket. I started to walk out of the lounge area and started to walk back to my cargo ship. Then I saw Hunk at the coffee shop at the edge of the lounge area, "Hey, Hunk!"  "Lance!" Hunk said, "how's it going! It has been a long time!"  I ran up to him and smiled, "yeah, it has been! How are the other guys! Shiro and Pidge?"  "Oh, just doing some stuff!" Hunk said, "do you want to walk with me?"  "Okay, sure why not!"  As we both walked together in the hallway, "you usually don't do things like this now! Did something happened!?" "I don't know really," I said, "I had a dream of Keith and somehow I feel sad yet happy at the same time! Probably was a good dream about something!"  "Oh, I get it!" Hunk said, "is it because it's been like five years already?"  "Yeah, I want to remember Keith now as a person!" I said, "I moved on it with already just now! Maybe that dream that I've had was my way of telling myself that I've let go of the people that I've loved and moved on from it!"  "Are you still being a cargo pilot!?"  "I was thinking of quitting the job sooner or later," I said, "however, it is for my Abuela and Keith! I do it just for them!"  "Oh, I see!" Hunk said as he looked at his phone, "just so you know! We are hanging out at the pizza place when we are kids! Do you want to hang out?"  "Everyone?"  "Yes, Shiro, Pidge, and I," Hunk said, "all together!"  "Sure," I said as I smiled at my best friend, "I'll be there!"  "Great!" Hunk said, "that's great!"      Chapter End Notes This is the end of the Headlock main story. Epilogue part 1 and 2 will come soon. ***** Ending Part 1 ***** "Omg, really!" I said as I chuckled at Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro as they ate pizza together late at night at Big Rico's pizza, "that what happened to you while I was away?" "Yep, that really happen!" "You're joking!" I lightly punched Hunk on the shoulder. "It is great to have you around us again, Lance!" Pidge said, "we were starting to worry that you wouldn't hang out with us again!" "I just changed my mind at doing things!" I said, "I just want to stay with my friends!" As we laugh off the night away and said our goodbyes. Shiro pulled my arm and he bought me to the washrooms without saying a thing. I watched him as he washed his face in the sink. Shiro looked at the mirror and stared at me. Shiro took out a white cloth and wiped the water off his face, "as I thought, you've changed from the last time that I've saw you!" "I didn't remember that we met!" "We did, Lance!" Shiro said, "we hanged out together and had Menchie's!" I didn't know what he is talking about because I remembered about eating from there but it was all hazy. It was everything that Shiro said to me was like...       ṩẗäẗïċ   "I don't understand, Shiro!" I said to him, "I don't know what you are talking about?"    ***** Where is your mind? ***** Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes "That's not the deal!" Keith said, "you said that you're going to destroy only the project from his mind! Not my entire existence!" "Lance McClain started to forget after a few days!" Keith stares at the Garrison leader, "as long as I with hold anything about the project! Nobody couldn't stop me! The plans for this project is to make people come back from the dead!" The man patted Keith's shoulder, "you've done well kid to further my research of expanding ones' mind after death! depends how long we can transfer your mind back to your old body! We're going to erase all of your memories about any or even employing in the Garrison! Consider yourself lucky that one day you'll come back in your old body!" As the man walks away and laughs out of the room. Keith went to the cryro chamber pods. He could feel the cold on top of him but moisture doesn't affect him. He walks up to one of the pods and wipes that glass to see his own body frozen in ice. "Someday, Keith! You'll back there with Lance, no matter what! I promise you that I'll get you back to him without getting your memory taken away from you! All these memories in my head are yours not mine! I'll return it to you once you wake up one more time! There is one thing that the Garrison miscalculated!" Keith took out his camera, "even though Lance forgot his memories about me and by the time Lance gets back home at looks at his emails after seeing his friends again. The Garrison took away ever photograph that they've taken! Except for this camera! I took out the usb that was given to me after you swallowed it and secretly hid it away into Lance's pocket! I did all that I've can to protect Lance! Now I think it is up to the rest of him and his friends to rescued you! I'll promise you that you'll be saved! I promise!" End_of_Headlock Chapter End Notes As you can see that Headlock is over but what happens at the conversation with Shiro. Next time, part 3: "Waiting for you." Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!