Chapter Text
It took more than a few days.
By the time Coran said he should be able to walk again, albeit slowly, with minimal pain, his knee was still throbbing in pain whenever he moved. The bandages were doing nothing to help- nothing that he knew of, of course- except for digging into the broken bone. All of his bandages had been replaced, thankfully, but most of his body still hurt. He could breathe mostly fine, with a small amount of pain, and he could move his arm now... He still didn’t know what happened to his hand.
He looked like a mummy.
Coran helped him out of the bed, Hunk nearby in case he fell, and steadied him on his good leg. He gently lowered the other one onto the ground, straightening it out and bending it so he could move it bet-
Keith bit back a scream, biting his tongue hard enough to draw blood. He jerked his leg away from Coran, sending himself toppling to his other side, straight into Hunk’s waiting arms.
”I knew it was too soon,” he muttered, gently maneuvering Keith back into the bed, careful to avoid his knee. With a sigh, Keith sank into the bed, pain slowly disappearing.
”I’m very sorry, m’boy!” Coran exclaimed, and thank God, his concussion was gone, pulling the ends of his moustache with a tight frown. “Normally bones heal within the span of a few days-“
”For humans it’s normally months,” Hunk says, taking a seat by Keith’s bed. He’s picking at his headband, again, dark circles covering his eyes. He taps his foot anxiously, then abruptly gets up. “I’m going to go check on Lance. I’ll be back later,” Hunk left the room with a sympathetic smile and a small wave, door sliding shut behind him.
”Terribly sorry, number 4,” Coran rubbed his forehead, his true, old, age shining through his cracks. “I thought-“
”It’s okay, Coran,” Keith assured him, sending him a small smile.
Coran smiled back, turning around to grab something from a bin. “Shiro stopped by the space mall earlier today- Met some of the citizens from planet Aljeri- they’re very nice people, once you get to know them,” Coran sighed wistfully, fingers stilling. He smiled, most likely reminiscing his days on Altea. Keith liked Coran’s stories. They brought out a side of Coran he enjoyed, and took his mind off of... All of this. “Altea was one of their allies for the longest time- 600 years, if I remember correctly. One of our best allies, too,” he frowned slightly, tugging on his moustache. A nervous habit, Keith thinks. “I had a friend there. I am uncertain on whether or not he is still alive, of course, it’s been 1000 decapheebs,after all,” Keith had no idea what decapheebs meant, and couldn’t decipher what it meant by the wording. “Ten thousand years,” Coran flashed him a bright, tired grin, digging back into the box. Keith thanked him, unsure of whether or not Coran heard it.
Coran came back up from the box with a grunt and a needle, along with a jar of a green liquid. He placed the jar on the table beside Keith’s bed and unscrewed, dipping the syringe in. “Anyways, her name was Jarangio. She was a white alien, a doctor for her people- one of the best, too. She came to me one night saying that her people, the Aljerians, were capturing random people at the swap meet and bringing them to a prison on their home planet.
”They did it merely for experimentation, and would always get their consent first, at the swap- Space mall. They would never draw enough blood to harm them badly, just enough for samples, maybe a few scans, then they'd be on their way back home," Coran grabbed a rag-thing, swabbing his arm to cleanse the area he would put the needle in. "They did that for about three months, until they got a new leader."
"How'd the first one die?" Keith asked, voice mildly slurred.
Coran gave a mild shrug, accompanied by a sad smile. "She thinks his son killed him. His son, the new leader, or Latrino," it sounded like Spanish. Keith deflated. He missed Lance. "decided to change some of their laws. He led them into a ruthless war against another planet, Sarcvoi, I think, and took their people captive. They tortured them, examined them- All of that," Coran grabbed the needle, hovering over Keith's bicep. "It was a downward spiral after that. All of the Aljerian's became bloodthirsty and ruthless, kidnapping people from the swap meets. The previous Red and Blue Paladins," Coran frowned, staring at the needle in thought. "We managed to snag them back at least four months later, only because my friend sent us a signal, and managed to get them free. The Red Paladin was very... traumatized, for lack of better words, when he got back. He spent most of his time with the Blue Paladin- they were like inseparable brothers for the longest time. I havn't heard from my friend, Jarangio, since then. I doubt she's still alive," he jabbed the needle into his arm, his vein, a bright, searing pain shooting through his arm.
Everything blacked out for a few seconds, and when he came back to, Hunk was back, and Coran was missing.
"H...Hunk?" he rasped, throat dry, as if it was sandpaper.
"Hey there!" Hunk called cheerfully, perking up from where he was playing a game on the tablet.
Keith's eyelids drooped, blurring his sight. "Where'd C'ran go?"
Hunk's face twisted, turning off the tablet and placing it on the table beside his bed. "He left a few minutes ago, to, uh... check on Shiro!"
Frowning, Keith played with the hem of the white blanket. "That's a lie."
"That is a lie," Hunk confirmed, settling a hand on his knee. Keith flinched, bracing himself, but... nothing came. "How are you feeling?"
"Um," Keith swallowed harshly, watching the hand on his leg trace little circles onto his knee. "I don't... feel it. My knee."
Hunk grinned. "Great! As long as you don't move it too much, you shouldn't be able to feel it."
Keith sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back into the pillows. He missed Lance.
"Hey, man-"
An alarm burst throughout the infirmary.
Keith flinched, aggravating his knee into stinging, just as Allura's voice echoed around the room.
"Paladins, the Castle has been placed into lockdown! We are unsure of how or why-"
The noises fizzled out, along with the lights.
Keith did not like the dark.
"Keith?" Hunk asked, chair scraping against the floor. "Keith, buddy, I need you to breathe," Hunk set a hand on his shoulder, and even though he couldn't see it, he knew Hunk was seconds away from slapping air into him.
"I'm fine, it's fine," he answered, taking a deep breath. "I don't-"
A pair of blueish, glowing, yellow orbs appeared in the corner of the room.
"Hi, Keith, Hunk."
Keith blanched.
that's Lance is has to be Lance why are his eyes yellow he isn't fully Galra what's going on
"Lance-" Hunk seemed to come to the same revelation as Keith did, taking a protective stance over him. Keith could make out a vague outline of Hunk, thanks to the brief light his eyes illuminated. "Step the fuck back-"
Lance laughed.
Then there was the sound of a gun firing.