Chapter Text
Keith watched the fragile show of reassurance shatter the moment the pod started up. Most of them—Hunk at the forefront—immediately turned towards him for answers, demanding an explanation to the scene they'd walked in on when Keith called them all to the med bay. Shiro was the only one who didn't budge, his feet planted in front of the pod as he pulled up a panel that read Lance's vitals. He wanted to go join and look at the readings, but Hunk was busy grabbing at his arms, talking a mile a minute.
“Tell me what happened.” Hunk pressed, his grip desperate. “How'd you find him? Where was he? Did he tell you anything else?”
“I don't know.” It was an honest answer, but Keith still squirmed under the group's unsatisfied expressions. “I mean, I don't know enough. I just stopped by the kitchen after I trained on my own to get some water and found Lance standing there. He had the knife in his hand, and...” Keith trailed off, the image still fresh behind his eyes. “I brought him here to get treated.”
Allura spoke up before anyone could start off on another tangent of questions, her eyes darting between Keith and the pod. She probably looked the most confused out of them all. “But why? What could possibly be keeping him up to that extent?”
“He said they weren't nightmares,” Keith added, directing his words at Shiro, even though the leader was still staring intently at the pod readings. He saw the way Shiro's shoulders stiffened, though, so he knew he was listening. “That was all I got out of him.”
Hunk stayed silent, the anger in his eyes slipping into one of defeat. Keith knew better than to feel wronged at Hunk's look; the anger hadn't been directed at him, but more towards the whole situation. Anger at not knowing what he could do to help one of his closest friends.
No one knew what to do.
Pidge stepped a bit closer, giving Keith's wrist a squeeze. It was meant to be reassuring, but Keith felt anything but. “So you're saying they're not nightmares.” She started carefully, and Keith could practically hear the gears starting to turn in her head, trying to put together the pieces of an impossible puzzle that was missing half its frame. “So it's some kind of physical thing that's forcing him to stay awake? He did say that he hurt every time he fell asleep.”
Hunk blew out a sigh, finally straightening up as his grip fell off of Keith's arms. “But that doesn't make sense.” He said, brow furrowed. “He wasn't injured before... what happened just now, was he? If it's bad enough that he needs to grab at a knife to stay awake, we're missing something big here. What do we—”
“Coran.”
Shiro's voice cut through the conversation, the urgency in his tone enough to stifle any lingering words. Keith was already moving towards Shiro, the others close at his heels, something tight prodding at his chest. Coran had already been the closest, and he was there looking over Shiro's shoulder by the time Keith got close enough to see what was happening. But even if he couldn't get a good look at the panel the both of them were staring at, the shrill beeping of an alarm was enough to tell him something was terribly wrong.
“What?” Coran muttered, his voice barely audible over the incessant noise. “I've never seen...”
“We need to stop the cycle,” Shiro said briskly, reaching for the panel and punching at a few buttons.
Keith strained to take a look at the screen, only getting a glimpse of some red numbers before Hunk's shoulder obscured his vision. His eyes immediately went towards the pod itself, something bitter lodged in his throat. Lance was still inside, his tired form still suspended in cryosleep. He didn't look any different from when the pod started up, which made it all the more distressing. Had it not been for the ear-piercing alarm or Shiro's vigilance over the readings, no one would have even been able to tell something was wrong.
He just looks like he's sleeping, Keith thought, even as the arguments around him grew louder. He wished that had been the case.
“What's going on?!” Hunk yelled, ignoring the panel completely and moving straight for the pod, one hand urgently pressed against the glass as if he planned to reach in and pull Lance out himself.
“Something's wrong,” was all Shiro said, stepping aside with a grunt as he let Coran handle the mechanisms of the panel. “His vitals spiked all of a sudden.”
Pidge nudged her way forward until she was next to Coran, gazing at the numbers in dismay. “We need to get him out. The pod's doing him more harm than good right now.”
Each added comment only ratcheted up the tension in the room, the air so thick with panic that it almost seemed to choke him. How terribly ironic, for a healing pod to hurt rather than help its patient. To add insult to injury, all he could do was stand there amidst the chaos, at a loss for what to do. There was nothing, no target for him to dash towards and strike down in his fury. He had no object or being to blame for causing his teammate's suffering and, therefore, no opportunity for him to obtain a cure. He wanted Lance out and safe. He wanted that stupid alarm to be quiet. He hated the sound.
Keith was completely out of his element.
Coran didn't argue at Pidge's words, pressing at a few more buttons before Keith heard the alarm die down as the pod door hissed open. Hunk was ready when Lance stumbled out, catching him before he bent down, letting them both kneel on the ground. Everyone had already gathered around the pair, eyes wide and breaths bated.
Lance woke up relatively quickly—or maybe he hadn't slept at all. He was trembling violently, harsh wheezes straining his frame, and Keith was pretty sure most of it wasn't from the cold. Hunk was quick to wrap his arms around Lance's body in an attempt to warm him up, rubbing large circles across his back.
“Lance, can you hear me?” Hunk's voice was abnormally loud in the absence of the shrieking siren that had blasted Keith's ears just moments ago. It seemed to echo off the walls, intensified amongst the sudden silence of the group. “You're out. You're out of the pod. Talk to me.”
“I c-can't sleep.” Lance whimpered, his voice almost shrill. He buried his face against Hunk's sweater, hands gripping at the fabric so hard it might tear. “I felt it. The moment I knew I was falling asleep, it came back. And I couldn't move, I couldn't wake up.” When Lance's voice broke at the last few words before he choked off into a sob, Keith almost felt like he was going to be sick.
He took it back. This sound was worse than any alarm.
Hunk looked up at the others, a particularly helpless look in his eyes. He had no idea clue on to do. Hell, no one did. But before anyone could offer any different ideas, or even some words of comfort—as futile as they might have sounded—something steeled in Hunk's expression, and Keith could only raise his eyebrows in surprise before Hunk looked down again.
“Listen to me,” Hunk had whispered the words, yet the words carried far enough for the group to hear. He shifted his grip, holding Lance by the shoulders now. “Lance, listen.”
Lance barely managed to respond, his gaze disoriented until they registered his friend just in front, and even then his panic only seemed to subside by a minute amount. He still looked seconds away from another panic attack, looking like he had no idea where he was, or what had happened. That in itself was unsettling, to say the least.
Hunk was undeterred, the grim determination etched on his face like it had never left in the first place. “We're gonna fix this. No matter what. I'm not gonna sleep until you can too.”
But Lance was already shaking his head, tears retracing the paths marked down his cheeks. It was a terrible sight, watching someone usually so upbeat look so broken down. Keith was quite certain he never wanted to see something like this again.
“You can't, you can't,” Lance mumbled, almost sounding delirious. “I don't know what this is, no one does—”
“Then we'll figure it out.” Hunk pressed. He got to his feet, cutting Lance off and helping them both up. “Stand up, we need to keep moving. It'll help you stay awake.” He leaned in then, close enough that Lance jerked back a bit at the sudden proximity. “Take some deep breaths for me, buddy. We're all here, and I'm sure we have enough brainpower to get to the bottom of this. You just focus on staying awake.”
Thankfully, Lance listened, giving a shaky nod before he ducked his head, hands clutched tightly at the front of his shirt. Each inhale and exhale was no less wobbly than the last, but it was a start. Hunk watched for a few seconds before he nodded, satisfied. He kept an arm around Lance's shoulder, a safeguard in case the other couldn't even maintain his own weight. Only then did Hunk finally turn his attention back towards the others, mild uncertainty lurking on his face.
“So...” Hunk said, blowing out a long breath. “Ideas?”
It was Shiro who spoke, a slight strain to his voice now. “For now, we help keep Lance awake. If the pods don't help, then we don't have many other options...” He trailed off, brows furrowing before a thought seemed to hit him. “Lance.” He gave a small grin when Lance responded, sluggishly raising his head after he let out another deep exhale. Everyone was trying their damned hardest to look as reassuring and confident in front of Lance as they could, from what Keith could tell. “Do you remember when this started? This pain-when-sleeping thing?”
Lance stared, almost in a daze, before he shook his head slowly. “I don't... remember. It feels like forever.”
“When did Lance mention pulling that all-nighter?” Pidge asked, finger tapping incessantly against her crossed arm. Keith could almost see the timeline orienting itself in her head. “He seemed fine before that morning, from what I remember.”
“Almost two quintents ago, I think.” Shiro mumbled, a concentrated expression on his face. “So that's around...”
“After our visit to the planet Xa'Qar.” Coran added stiffly. He'd pulled out his tablet, busy swiping through some files with a frown on his face. “But it seems that the Castle didn't detect any abnormalities on the planet prior to landing.” He glanced up from his readings. “Did anyone encounter anything strange during your time there?”
Allura and Shiro shook their heads; they'd been too busy caught up in negotiations to even see much of the planet. Keith hadn't seen anything off either, having stood near the leader's hut for the entirety of the negotiation period. He hadn't been interested in mingling with the citizens like Lance and others had. The planet itself was very tranquil, and the Xa'Qans didn't seem to prefer initiating conversation first, asides from the younglings. It had been so uneventful that Keith could hardly remember much of their visit in the first place.
He remembered the trees. He remembered the tough exterior of the hut against his back while he waited for the negotiations to end, his own form of exhaustion leaving him too worn out to waste energy on things that weren't urgent. He remembered Pidge and Hunk wandering off in one direction while Lance went in another, yet by the end, it was Lance and Hunk who returned together.
Both of them had seemed...
It hit him then, so sudden it was like an electric shock. Keith blinked, the memory now a vivid scene behind his eyes, filling him with a grim certainty. It had to be it. There was no other explanation. It was the only detail he could latch onto, the only thing that seemed to offer some foundation for them to work off of. His eyes immediately sought out Hunk, who caught his stare almost in an instant.
“You and Lance.” Keith blurted, making a wild motion with his hands. “Towards the end, you two came back all... weird. You even mentioned something being creepy.”
In the second it took to take in the statement, Hunk's expression flickered from confusion to surprise to horror, and Keith knew he'd gotten somewhere. But the look on Hunk's face was as if he'd seen a ghost, and suddenly, Keith wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what happened.
“Hunk.” Shiro stepped in, alarm creeping into his tone. “Explain. Now.”
It took a few seconds for Hunk to react, as if Keith's words had put some pieces of the impossible puzzle together in his head. He shook his head, almost in disbelief. “I... I almost forgot that happened,” Hunk whispered, a sudden pallor to his face. “There was this... What did they call her? Witch doctor?”
Pidge straightened up at that, a surprised noise escaping her mouth. “You guys actually met her? I thought the guide just said that to mess with us.”
Hunk shook his head. “She's real. And real creepy. She was so... angry about something.” She glanced over where Allura stood, a hesitant look on his face. “She didn't like that we were trying to form an alliance with Xa'Qar”.
Allura's brow furrowed at that, but she nodded, encouraging him to continue. There was a stiffness to her posture that appeared ever since they'd brought up Xa'Qar, and Keith could only wonder what went on during those negotiations. Nothing good, clearly.
“She was saying how we were bad people for wanting to protect them and stuff...” Hunk trailed off, his eyes widening before he went for Lance's hand. “She reached for his wrist. I don't know if she actually touched him, but it scared the quiznak out of both of us. I dragged him away before anything else happened.”
Lance had been quiet the entire exchange, staring blankly at the ground, only jumping when Hunk grabbed at his hand. He blinked a few times, as if just realizing where he was before he went still again, staring off at something only he could see. Keith hated the sight. It was so... off, so unlike Lance.
Hunk was vying for Lance's attention again, jostling him just a bit to shake him out of his trance. It took a few seconds before Lance actually managed to focus himself again, drowsily turning his head towards his friend. Every aspect of his actions seemed slow, like he didn't even have to energy to go faster than that.
“Lance, I know it might be hard to recall things right now, but just try, okay?” Hunk said, a tight smile on his face. “Remember that planet we visited? Xa'Qar? The one with those French Fry trees.” There a long moment before Lance nodded, a slight tilt of his head. Hunk nodded with him, encouraging. “Do you remember that one Xa'Qan we met? The one you said was the village doctor or something?”
Lance took a bit longer to answer that one, but then he nodded again, and Keith could swear he saw some light creeping back into the guy's eyes.
“Remember when she reached for you?” Hunk asked. Another nod. “Did anything happen? I couldn't tell if she actually reached you before you pulled away.”
A shudder ran through Lance's body at that, realization dawning slow on his expression. It was almost a mirror reflection of how Hunk reacted when Keith had brought the memory up in the first place. If anything, Lance started to look more coherent, his mind struggling to wake itself up and as it fought to retrace its memories.
“She... She shocked me,” Lance whispered, voice unsteady. “I felt it, even over my armor.” His breathing started to pick up its pace again, and he jerked his hand out of Hunk's hold, fingers crumpling at the fabric of his shirt. “Is that what this is? She—she did something, and now I'm—” He tapered off, ducking over as the need for oxygen took priority over his ability to speak.
Hunk scrambled to console him, bending down to straighten him back up. Everyone moved the instant Lance started to panic, but no one dared get too close for fear of overcrowding him. Keith bit back a curse, fingers digging into his palms as he forced himself to stay still. They were so close, so close to finally getting somewhere, and he wanted nothing more to jump into Red and fly to Xa'Qan himself for some answers. Uninvited or not, he wanted this to be over.
There was movement in the corner of his eye, and Keith caught Allura walk past him, bringing her to a stop just in front of Lance. She waited, letting Hunk help Lance calm down through back rubs and whispers once more. It wasn't as effective as last time, though, and Lance was still far off from a consolable state, the pure mental exhaustion pairing a bad combination with the sudden shock. They weren't even sure if it was the right answer. For all they knew, it could just be a terrible coincidence. But somehow, it didn't feel like it was. Keith didn't know how long Allura was willing to wait, but he was ticks away from parting from the group and heading towards Red's hangar himself. The sooner the better. They didn't have time to hypothesize anymore.
Luckily, Allura seemed to share his sentiments.
In one fluid motion, she reached forward, carefully grabbing at Lance's face with her hands, leaning in so close that their foreheads almost brushed. It was an action that left everyone stunned; even Hunk had angled himself away in an instinctive move to provide comfortable space between them.
Lance, clearly, was the most thrown off by the gesture, stiffening as he tried to pull away. Allura didn't budge, waiting until she knew she had Lance's attention before she reclined back, just a bit. If her plan had been to calm Lance down, it did the trick; the shock factor had been enough to leave him frozen, eyes wide and body tense with confusion. His breaths, which had been harsh and ragged, now left him in short puffs, body straining to adjust to the wild emotional rollercoaster it was being whipped through.
Allura listened until Lance's breathing evened out a bit more before she nodded, satisfied. “We will fix this. I swear it.” She paused for a moment, although it didn't seem like she was waiting for a response. Lance probably wouldn't have been able to respond anyways, still looking like he was processing the situation.
“You're incredibly strong, Lance. Do not forget that.” Allura said, her voice firm in its belief. Only then did she finally step back, lowering her arms and turning towards the rest of the group. Before anyone could speak, she was walking away, conviction in her steps as she looked towards Keith and the others.
“I trust you all will take care of Lance.” She said, grinning when they all nodded, the residues of their surprise having worn off. She headed for the med bay doors, a clear destination in mind as she walked. “Come, Coran. We set course for Xa'Qar immediately.”