Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lance knew something was wrong.

Not the kind of bad feeling you get when you forget something, like forgetting to get the milk, only to be scolded by your abuela; or the sense that something as trivial yet equally unpleasant experience would happen.

No, this was more than that.

The sense of a heavyweight in his stomach. A strong and sharp sparking, guided by the feeling of dread, worry and anticipation. Mix and merged into one feeling.

It wasn't unusual for Lance to feel this sense of dread nowadays.

Ever since he left Earth months ago, he felt it. The sense of heavy, explainable dread washing over him like water. An unease he couldn't describe. The feeling strengthened when the found Allura's castle, finding the princess and her father's, the King of Altea, adviser named Coran and discovering a fallen civilisation and a war with the Galra Empire the plagued the entire universe for the past 10,000 years.

He felt it again in their first battle against the Galra and once again when Sendak took over the entire castle. The emotion continued to follow him into every battle, every scouting mission. A simple...thing that was just there, a reminder of what could come.

Eventually, it had slowly but surely became something that he listened to. A feeling he now took comfort in.

Especially now.

The plan was simple. Hide in one of your average planets that was swarming with gas and electrical storms and scan for Allura's quintessence signature. Then form Voltron, do some dramatic fighting (like in those Mecha animes he used to watch back on earth) and quickly infiltrate the Galra ship. And, hopefully, retrieve Allura. Quick and Simple right?

How wrong they were.

As though they somehow sensed their arrival, they had an entire fleet of Galran ship waiting ahead, a wall, impenetrable, existing solely to protect the stronghold that was Zarkon's ship. His heart sank, and that feeling only grow powerful and he just knew. He knew the worst was yet to come. Even so, he could feel the lions strengthen tenfold, sparking and merging in his mind as they flew straight to the enemy ahead.

They slashed and destroyed every ship and platoon that was in the way, determination thrumming through his and the rest of the Paladins bond. He could feel Blue presence, brimming with confidence but the sense of worry, ever present during the entire offence. They pulled through, leaving only a trail of destruction behind them; without much effort.

That was the first sign that something wasn't right, But Lance tried ignored it, trying to stop his confidence from wavering as they headed straight towards Zarkon's warship. As though some other worldly god had hear him, he freezes in his pilot seat, as he watched the sickly purple fluorescent barrier appear above them, slowly making there way around the entire base.

He stared, gazing as it closed and connected from either side, becoming one large sphere shaped wall, destroying what little hope left of escaping. There was no way in. Or in their case, no way out.

They were trapped.

And that, lead Lance to where he was now. Panting heavily as he quickly dodges the half a dozen fighters that were shooting at him.

He should have listened...

He and the rest of the paladins spreaded out and charged at the fleet of Galran ships and fighters that swarmed them, attacking them from all sides. The sound of exploded ships and blasters with the static coming from his comms, along with the sound of heavy breaths and Blues roars were all he could hear, as he dodged and attacked the cruisers that were blasting at him in every direction.

Even in the hollowness and emptiness of space, swarms of blast surrounded the entire area, shots coming from left right and centre. He continued on attacking, ignoring the bright explosion that came from the ships of his now fallen foes.

He watched as Hunk and Pidge headed straight for the battleships, clawing, slashing and blasting every single battleship around them.

As they went on the offensive, Lance decided to go on the defensive, shooting- and sometimes freezing- any ships that came towards the two paladins as they destroyed the ships that slowly surrounded them. There flew in and out, maneuvering around the debris that was scattered all over the place. He glanced quickly to his side, to see Hunk slamming a battleship, and colliding it with the two other ships beside it, successfully destroying all three ships

Suddenly something hit him- a fighter? Maybe debris? He didn't know- and he grunted at the impact, jerking forward in his seat when Blue was thrown to the side by the impact.

Just as he regained his footing, three cruisers came flying towards him, firing. Before the blast could hit, he barrel rolled to the side and rushed towards the. He blasted them with a frozen beam, effectively freezing them over.

As the trio continued on with their attack, destroying every ship and cruisers the could, he glanced around to see the two other paladins continued to attack and be attacked by several more ships. He could hear Blue's roar loudly as they sliced every fighter that came their way, their determined to defend his friends back pushing them forward.

But no matter how many ships they sliced, smashed, froze or shot, more and more came. Lance curses under his breath.

Damn, why were there still so many. Even if they destroy more and more ships, they just keep on coming!

"There's no end to these guys!"

Lance couldn't help but agree. It was never ending!

Suddenly a group of fighters headed straight for hunk from behind. But before he call out to his friend, a sudden beam of light struck the fighter, instantly destroying them, nothing more than space debris.

He turns his head in awe and saw the Castle, charging forward with determined ferocity, blasting every enemy in its way.

"Coran attack!" he hears the orange haired Altean call out.

"Ha ha! I've waited 10,000 years for this" Coran shouts, giggling gleefully as the castle blasted any ships in front of him.

Lance grins. He could feels Blue amusement prick against his mind, purring at Coran's childish antics, while in the face of an impossible battle.

He heard Hunk sigh into his headset.

"Thanks Coran"

"Well I can't leave you boys to have all the fun. I'm still young enough to fight, ya know! Did I ever tell you guys about the time I-"

Lance ignored Coran's babbling when a fighter ship flew by him and Blue, heading straight for Pidge.

"Pidge, look out! On your left!"

Immediately, Pidge turns and finds the ship that was bulletin towards them and blasted at the cruiser, blasting it to bits.

Lance lets out a sigh of relief and hear Pidge do the same. That was close. Too close

"Thanks Lance"

"No problem, Pidgeo"

"Lance, not the time" Pidge groans and Lance just laughs.

"What do we do now guys?" , Hunk's voice crackled through the comms."Our plan is really working out as- well, planned".

"I'm going for the black lion, you go get the princess now" Shiro's voice boomed through his comms, their leaders breath harsh against the headset

"I've identified Allura's exact location. I'm uploading the coordinates now." Coran notified. He watches as the sudden dot that shone brightly on Blue's panel, presumably. Lance smiles. Finally, some good news.

"In the meantime, I'll provide covering fire from out here. Alone....against an entire fleet. So yeah do you mind hurrying" , he heard the Altean squeak.

"My jet packs damaged. I'll need to go through the ship" Shiro replies, the sounds of crackling and screeching heard through his helmet.

Lance nods and dodges yet another blast from a ship before heading straight to the rest of the paladins. "Ok guys, let go and save a princess" he chimed. From his side, he glances and noticed Keith flying to the other direction that lead to the centre of Zarkon's ship.

"Keith? Uh, the princess saving is this way", Lance remarked.

"You guys get the princess without me"

"What? We gotta stick together! What are you doing?!" he yells, indignantly at the dark haired boy.

"Whatever I can"

"Keith!", his only response was silence before he heard the comm turn off.

"Mierda" ,  Lance cursed. That stupid mullet moron. Going on his own, leaving everyone behind once again. With an entire armada that's trying to kill them.

Classic Keith.

But it wasn't time for that right now, they have a lion to get back and a princess to save. He turns Blue around and followed Hunk and Pidge, flying there way to where Allura was suppose to be. They flew straight down the farthest leg ( Lance knew they weren't legs but he didn't know what else to call them) of Zarkon ship to see the Allura's signature half way down the ship.

They continued following her signature till they were right in front of where the princess was supposedly was held.

"This is it. The Princess is in this part of the ship"

"How do we get in?" he asked. They floated in front of the metallic ship in silence, thinking. Until Pidge decides to speak up.

"Maybe I can try hacking one of their cargo bays"

"We don't have the time!"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Without warning, another fighter flanked his left and hit Lance growls when Blue get hit, the cockpit tremble slightly from the attack. He could here Blue yelp in pain as Lance growls.

"Lance!" he heard Pidge yell through the comms, her voice laced in worry.

"I'm fine" he grits out, jerking forward slightly in his seat.

He glanced around, trying to find the bastard that hit him but couldn't find the little brat through the several swarms of fighters that were flying around. He turned back to Blue when he heard Blue let out another whine.

"Blue? Beautiful, you okay?" he asked, concerned. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when he feels her presence warm him.

Fine. My Paladin , Blue assured.

Lance smiles before he stops to think. Hunk was right, there wasn't any time to hack the cargo bay. Time they didn't have. Then he heard suggest that he could Yellow to slam into the wall of the the ship but Lance shook his head.

He knew those ships were ventilated with air and a small tear in itself would cause a violent outrush of air, creating a strong vacuum which could lead them to pulling Allura through it. And with the impact from their strongest lion would be catastrophic. No, that wasn't a good idea.

Suddenly a thought came to mind. What if he used Blue's ice to weaken the walls and to decrease the effects of the vacuum.

Well, it was a plan at least.

"Guys, I have an idea. Cover me!"

He made his way exactly where he would be right in front of where Allura's cell should be and blasted a heavy layer of ice onto the ship before shooting at the wall. He slammed Blues head straight for it, which, thankfully, worked and they slammed into the inside of the ship, plugging in the suction and vacuum.

He grinned at Hunks cheer and couldn’t help the slight snicker that escaped him when he heard Pidge yell at Hunk. “ Celebrate when weren’t being shot at stop celebrating “ she yelled, just as Lance got out his bayard and headed straight to Blue's mouth. Blue sent him an image from her of a half a dozen soldiers that stood, tense, around him and Blue, guns armed and pointed, ready for them. Probably, there guarding the princess' cell.

My Paladin. Be Careful , she begged.

Lance smiled before replying. "I will, Blue. You're talking to the best- and most handsome- fighter pilot in the Garrison. Skill is my middle name" he boasted, dramatically. His smile grew bigger when he felt her amusement roll through him like waves.

Once he reached the entrance of Blue's mouth, he quickly activated his bayard and held his rifle tightly in his hands. He took a deep breath before he he readied himself for Blue open her mouth.

As soon as she opened her metallic jaw, Lance immediately shoot the Galran androids that had surround around Blue's head. As few shots flew past, Lance quickly went to cover, hiding behind one of Blue's metallic fangs. He kept shooting under the protection of Blue’s jaw, and was finally able to hit the final two soldiers, who now lay on the ground like a rag doll.

As soon as they were all down, he jumped out of Blue's mouth and looked around for any more enemies. Seeing no more soldiers coming his way, his slightly relaxed his shoulder and headed straight for, what he guessed was, Allura's prison cell.

He went straight to the doors control panel. Using one of the unconscious Galra drones that was lying on floor, he pressed the scanner that, he hoped, would open the door. He couldn't help the sigh that escaped him when the door opened from the ground up and disappearing.

He carefully steps into the dark, dingy cell and looks around hoping to see . Seeing a curled up, yet so familiar, figure in the farthest corner, he couldn't help let out a tiny cry of joy that came from him.

"Allura!" he called out. God, he was happy to see her again.

"Lance!" she yells, surprised to him here of all places. He quickly placed a hand on her shoulder and looks her over, glad to see no obvious injuries. He quickly stands up and stretches out a hand for her, which she gladly takes.

"Don't worry, princess. We're gonna get you out of here"

Allura shook her head, and turned back to him with a face of worry. "What you doing here?! Tell me you didn't bring Voltron straight to Zarkon's central command"

Lance shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Em well- the thing is-"

She suddenly gasped, interrupting Lance from his rambling.

"Where's the Black Lion?", her voice trembled, worry etched in her tone.

Without warning, she went silent, her concentration solely on her communicator that rested on her ear like an earring. He watches in concern as her face slowly pales, her eyes widened in fear and worry.

"We have to save Shiro! "

Before Lance could even comprehend her words, she stood up and swiftly bolted out of the room.

"Eh, Allura!" he called out, running after the princess as she ran down the hallway. Well....shit, Lance thought to himself. He raced after her, hoping that he could get her before they ran into any of the soldiers he knew were lurking around.

While he was running he could hear static in his helmet before he could hear Hunks voice booming through the other side.

"Lance, did you get her?"

Hunk asked, his voice barely heard by the sound of fighting surround him.

"Yeah, but there's a change in plans. Looks like Shiro's in trouble" He said. He didn’t wait for a response and raced after the princess.

He rushed through the halls, his bayard in hand, careful to not draw any attention from any guards that could be around. He was slowly rushed forward as the princess veered left, her steps filling with more and more determination as she charged on.

But just as they turned a corner, Lance stiffens, finding them face to face with a group of sentries patrolling their way. Allura freezes.

Just before one of the sentries could notice her, Lance pulled her in, both taking cover behind one of the walls. She yelps in surprise when he grabbed her, the noise alerting one of the Galran sentry. When the sentry mechanically walked to where the sound came from, Lance pulls her behind him.

"Hide behind me" he hissed.

She stares for a moment before doing as he said, nodding before quietly hiding behind him. They stayed there in silence, their shoulders tense and breaths quietened, as they heard the clanking of footsteps come closer and closer. Lance watched in silence, his bayard in hand, ready, his gaze solely on the sentry that came into their view. The sentry looked around for a moment, searching for the cause of the sound he heard earlier till it turned around and went back to their position. Lance let out a small relief. That was close.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, indignantly.

"Allura-"

"Lance we don't have time for this! We must save Shiro. He needs our help!"

He knew the princess was a very stubborn and determined person from the moment she came out of that cryopod. The look of fiery determination and willpower burning in her eyes. But he also knew she could get blinded by that fire and can lead her to be reckless and even more stubborn than usual. Good thing his sister was the same, so he knows what to do when his sister got like this.

Stubborn Princess , he heard Blue rumble. He couldn't help but internally laugh at that. Lance turned back to Allura.

"Look, I wanna help Shiro as much as you do. But we wouldn't doing ourselves any favours if we just charge in and alert every single soldier here" he says, his voice stern but gentle; or at least he hoped it was.

They both looked at each other in silence before Allura's shoulder slumped. She closed her eyes, before releasing a small sigh from her lips.

"You're right" she began. "Storming around recklessly won't help us save Shiro."

She bowed her head, her eyes trained to the floor. "I apologise."

He smiled slightly. "It's fine. No need to get sentimental on me.” He gently rested his against her shoulder. "Let me take the lead okay. We don't wanna get that pretty face hurt now do we?"

Allura roll her eyes before turning back to him, surprised by the seriousness hidden behind the light and flirty expression. She stared at him for a moment before she nodded firmly.

They nodded to each other. Carefully, they made their way down the hall of the ships, sneaking up to any sentries that were guarding one of the rooms, closest to them and quickly destroying them. They continued making their way down the hallway, till they heard the sound of fighting and a very familiar cry of pain from the end of the hallway that lead straight to the hangar.

Not surprisingly, the hangar was barren, no ships inside the room. The only thing in the room were to figures, standing straight in the middle of the room. A swarm of cloaked white haired druids. Even though Lance hasn't never meet the druid personally, he knew who was before them. The druid responsible for Shiro’s arm, the woman known to be the leader of the druids and Zarkons right hand woman.

Haggar..

The entire group of Haggars were surrounding something. At first Lance couldn’t recognise what was in the centre of the multiple Haggars, until he noticed a very familiar figure and certain black paladin armour. Shiro was in the centre of the swarm, crouched and on his knees. From far away, he could still tell that the paladin was breathing and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

“Shiro!” Alura yelled. They watched in terror as the group of Haggars got closer and closer to their leader, their hands holding a violet coloured orb that swam in their palms.

"Now Champion your time is over" he heard Haggar, her voice scratchy and dripping venomous. Your typical evil villain, he mused, before mentally shaked his head. It wasn't time for this. Shiro needed their help.He looked through the swarm of Haggar's that surrounded Shiro, scanning for some kind of difference between all of them. Some kind of clue.

"Dammit, which one's the real one" he hissed.

But unlike him, the princess seemed to trained her eyes on a specific illusion, her eyes intense with heavy concentration, before frantically pointing at the illusion on the right, the one that was slowly making their way to their black paladin.

"Lance, there. Fire!"

Lance immediately acted. He took a quick deep breath, carefully aiming at the Haggar -or the Haggar that Allura thinks is the real Haggar but honestly they all look the same to him- before pulling the trigger. Just before bullet could hit, Haggar turns and evaporates into a burst of dark cloud, reappearing on the other side of the hanger, her illusions gone -washing away into the air.

So she can teleport, he thought.

Great

Haggar snarls, her glowing orbs gazing at him and Allura in rage. She didn’t noticed Shiro stand up and slash his glowing Galran arm towards her. Quickly, she puts a shield up, protecting her from the attack. Lance watched as Shiro falls to the ground, his legs buckling against the weight. Immediately, Lance took action.

He shot again, and snarled when he only hit thin air as she teleported away again. Her sardonic laughter filling the room as she disappears.

Once they were sure they wouldn’t see the druid again, Allura rushed over to Shiro. "We've gotta get out of here". She gently picks up Shiro, trying her best to not worsen his injuries. Shiro grunts as she slowly and carefully rose to her feet. "Shiro" he said, his voice dripping with concern. Shiro scrunches up his nose as he lets a hiss of pain.

"I'm alright" he panted out.

Lance and Allura exchanged a look.

"Well this could be worse" he muttered. Suddenly, an alarm blared through the entire hanger, red lights flickering around the room.

"...I take that back. Now it's worse"

"Let's get out of here." He yells before bursting down the hallway, Allura and Shiro in front of him. It wasn't long before an entire patrol of Galran sentries and a few soldiers came from behind, blasting straight at them as they continued to make their way back to Blue.Behind him. he hear the roars of orders from soldiers and guns firing.

“Capture them!”

“Do not let them escape!”

"Right!" Allura yelled, and they quickly turned the corner. As she and Shiro continued on, Lance  fired at the sentries, protecting them from the onslaught of shots that flew by them. He was able to take out three of them before they the cut the corner.

Blasts of laser-fire continued to pass by them as they ran and ran, getting slowly closer and closer to Blue.

They turned another corner. Lance noted Shiro's breathes getting heavier and shallower, his frosted tips stuck on his sweaty forehead. His eyebrows furrowed together at the intense pain Lance knows he's feeling. He took his eyes of Shiro, taking a brief glance at the hallway. He recognised the hallway.

It was the hallway where he found Allura. Which means there almost back to Blue. Almost there, he thought. He could her Blue encouraging hums graze against his mind.

Without warning, they were caught of guard by a group a soldiers that cut in front of them, raising their blaster and aimed at them. No, not them. But at Allura .

“Fire!” a soldier yelled.

"ALLURA!"

But he could even think, his body moved. Before they could pull the trigger Lance ran to Allura and Shiro shielding them from the swarm of shots that passed. Suddenly he felt an intense, flaming pain coming from his left leg. He screams in pain.

"Lance!" he hear his name called out. He couldn't tell who called it. Was it Allura?

Was it Shiro?

Maybe it was Blue. He didn't know.

His focus was on the sharp burning pain that was coming from left leg. He could the burning of the bullet the injured muscle in his leg, pulsing against the flow of blow leaking from the wound.

The pain wasn't unbearable, nothing compared to that time he saved Coran when that bomb exploded. But it still hurts. A lot.

Quiznak, he cursed. He rose his gaze from his injured to Allura and Shiro. Allura was in front of him, her hands gracing over his upper arm and shoulder. The first thing he noticed was the worry etched into the hue of her eyes. She was calling his name but he was distracted by the figure behind her slumped but slashing the soldier that got close enough. It only took him a second to realise it was Shiro. His leader was panting heavily, worn out and in pain, his hand still resting against his injury, his grip tight.

He looked back at the princess, scanning her entire body for any bullet size wounds. He lets out a sigh of relief. Thank God, the princess didn't get hit.

"I'm okay. I'm okay" he grits out. He ignored the pain in his leg as he stood up. He will deal the wound later. For now, escaping was more important. He carefully stands and ignore his muscles as the scream in pain or the sensation of his blood oozing out of his leg.

He stumbles a bit but slowly regains his balance. He breathes through the pain as he grabs his bayard that laid on the ground, picking it up before activating it. He ignores Allura for a moment as he he aims his blaster at the sentries that were attacking Shiro, before shooting them down with ease.

Shiro turns to him in surprise before his legs give out and kneels on the ground, wincing in pain. Allura immediately go to him, shouldering him. Once she secures Shiro, she turns to Lance in concern.

Lance gives her a strained small that looked more like a wince if anything. His smile fell when he hears shouts and the clattering sounds of footsteps coming from behind them.

“There!”

Lance turns his head, his eyes trained on the Galra soldier and group of sentries that stood there. The same group that was following them moments ago, he realised. They must’ve lost them for a second.

But not anymore.

“Guys, now's a good time to run!” he yells before he and Allura ran to Blue. They ran and ran until Lance could see the broken sentry on the floor ahead and Blue’s very familiar head, sticking through the walls of the hallway.

His knee buckle and stumbles for a moment before he regains his balance and runs straight to Blue. “Blue!” he yells. Immediately the lion opens her mouth. Lance waited for Shiro and Allura to step into her metallic mouth before he hops in himself.

Quickly, he made his way to Blue’s cockpit and didn’t pay attention as her doors opened to him, welcomingly. He steps into the cockpit, his hobbling straight to his seat.

Lance slide in Blue’s seat before grasping the controls and pulls them towards him. Blue pulls her head back and quickly flies back for distance, causing Allura and Shiro yelp at the force of it.

“What now Shiro” he asks, his eye directed solely on the battlefield before him. He continues dodging oncoming fighters, barrel rolling and diving away from any oncoming fire.

"We need to get back the Black. Lance, can you see if the Blue lion's scanner can pick up Blacks location" Shiro asked. Lance turned to Blue's control panel and looked at the scanner on panels far right. He was glad to see a familiar purple dot pulsing on the screen.

Shiro leans closer to the screens, a look of relief when he see’s a very familiar back dot pulse on the screen. “That’s not to far from our location” he hears his leader silently mutter. “Okay Lance. Lead the way”

Suddenly static sparked through the comms. Lance was surprised to hear Coran’s voice drum through his and Shiro’s helmet. “ Shiro. Keith went to fight Zarkon! I can’t connect to his comm!”

Shiro tenses before he pressed his hand against the comm on his helmet. “Keith, do you copy?” he said, but was only responded by quiet static. “Keith? Do you copy?” he repeats.

Silence

Lance looks over his seat for a second, watching Shiro in worry. He could see the fear and worry plastered on his face. “Keith!” he yells.

Silence

Allura rests a comforting hand on Shiro. The fear quickly disappears and the strength and fiery determination Lance knows, takes its place. “Alright team. Getting Allura and the Black Lion back is our first priority. Black location isn't far from Keith's so I’ll go and get Keith.” Shiro turns his attention to his comm’s.

“Pidge, Hunk, I want you two to continue fighting but stay on the defensive till me and Keith are away from the ship. Lance, get the princess back to the castle and Princess, be ready to open up a wormhole."

Lance nods and hears Hunk and Pidge reply in agreement. “Yes sir.” He turns Blue around and headed straight towards Blacks location. He stepped on Blue’s boosters and they burst ahead, speeding straight through the ships and debris that passed them. Lance could feels Blue determination to help her pack thrum through their connection as the flew their way to Black and Red.

Don’t worry Blue, we’ll get them back, he assured, or at least hope he did, through their bond. Lance wasn’t sure if Blue got his message. He knew that he and Blue are the bestest buds and are good, great even, but he knew that their connection was still at their new stage. Just as he was about to try to try again he feels Blue growl in determination, grateful paladins assurance.

As they made their way closer to the Black Lion, He could their bond brimming with strength and determination. They flew and glided past the ongoing battle around them and Lance glanced at the screen, watching as they were getting closer and closer to Black. Once the reached the area, Lance pulls the control, stopping Blue, leaving them hovering in space.

This was it.

He looked around the place, his anxiety slowly building up when he couldn’t see the Black Lion anywhere. Then suddenly Allura perked up.

“There!” she points at the surface of a part of the battleship where the black lion lay, its body dangled and stiff like puppet.

“Lance” Shiro calls, trailing off, but he didn’t have to say anything more. Lance brings them down and floated just beside the lion. He glances behind him and watched as Shiro left, his strides strong and powerful. Even as he clutched his injured side, he looked strong, like a soldier. He guessed he just forgot that he technically was. They all were.

He meets Alluras as she watched their leader walk to Blues hanger, before quickly turning back to the front. He pressed his finger on the hanger button, listening silently as he discreetly hears the doors of the hangar carefully open underneath him.

Him and Allura watched as Shiro out of Blue, jumping straight down near the Black lion. Just as he reaches the surface he tumbles, bending his knees and roll into a crouch. Shiro stands up before turn back to them.

“Go!” Shiro waves them off. Lance immediately takes action, and pulls his controls, swerving Blue before flying off. He dodged any fighter that came their way and shoot or slashed any that came too close to dodge. He could hear Allura grunts of discomfort as she held her hand on the top of his seat, grip tight as she tries to keep herself balanced. As they finally reached closer to the Castle, Lance pressed his comm.

“Coran, I’m bringing the princess to you. Can you open the hanger?”

“Already on it, my boy” Coran said. Their a second of silence before Coran continues. “Is she well? She isn’t hurt, is she?” he asked, his voice filled with worried and skittish.

“I'm fine Coran” Allura assured as she stood beside Lance, her usually stern demeanour gone and replaced by a soft gentle expression.

“Thank Alfor” He heard Coran whisper, relief etched in his words. He speaks up again, his voice stern and strong. “Don’t even think doing something so reckless again, you hear me? You scared me to death young lady”

Lance glances at Allura and watched as she dropped her head in shame. “I'm sorry Coran” she whispers. He could the moment he loses the tension and relaxes once again when Coran replies with a soft, “It’s alright my dear. I’m just glad we got you back” . She looks up at the screen, a soft smile on lips.

As they got closer and he tells Allura to get to the opening of Blue’s mouth. She nods before leaving the cockpit, the sound of the door opening and closing behind him.

When they reached the Castle, he gazed at the particle barrier that quickly dissolved around the Castle before it reformed as they flew straight to where the hanger would be on the back of the Castle. The white and glowing blue exterior of the hanger blurred past them in a flurry of colour.

Once he was sure he was close enough inside of the hangar, he clenched Blue’s control into his chest, stopping Blue, setting her down on the floor of the hangar.

He dropped open Blues mouth as Allura safely hopped out of the Lion. She turned to him and Blue as she nodded toward him.

“Keep them safe Lance” she says, before she turns away and runs off, straight to the control room of the ship. He playfully salutes to her before going straight back to Hunk and Pidge.

Blue raised her head before they both flew straight out the hangar, accelerating more and more as they tried to make back to their team. He looked at familiar Green and Yellow dots glowing dimly on the screen beside him. They were close. Lance noticed that they seemed to be at the center of the battle, a cluster of red dots surrounding them.

That doesn't look good. He speed up, rushing past the flurry of debris and ships scraps. Once he reached the center of the battle, he could see the Green and Yellow Lion’s back and back, surrounded around a fleet of fighter that circled around them. But even with the swarm of fighter attacking them, the Lion’s still stood strong.

He burst through the Fighter blasting them in one shoot, each exploding the other fighter around, like a row of dominoes, one setting of the other. He shot down the ships, and watched as the ship explodes into pieces. He turns Blue towards the Green Lion.

“Took you long enough”

" Aw, Miss me?" he teases.

"As if " , Pidge scoffed, playfully.

He heard Hunk let out a sigh-full chuckle. “So guys, ready to kick some more Galra butt?”. Pidge huff's lightly into her comm. “Born ready.”

They dispersed, flying straight towards the clatter of armadas that circled them. They slashed and clawed every ship in sight. Lance dodges the blast and lasers that flew past him. He dodged every attack and attack them once they were out of sight, freezing them with Blue’s Ice blast. Lance panted. His blood continuing to trickle down his thigh, he could feel every pulse as the blood flowed out of his body and onto his armor and undersuit.

“Lance, buddy, you okay?”

He lets out a small playful chuckle, trying his best to hide the pain he was feeling in his voice.

“Yeah buddy. I'm good” he looks around, gazing at the destroyed ships in front of him. “Can’t say much about those ships though” he adds. He wipes off a layer of sweat that formed on the side of his temples.

He caught a glimpse of the Black and Red lion rising to the air and let out a relieved sigh. Through the comms, Shiro voice stood out, strong and firm. “I got ya buddy! Alright guys let's get out of here”

“Finally!”

His mouth curls up at the sound of Hunk’s whooping as they flew straight to the Castle. Lance grip loosens on the control, his adrenaline slowly subsiding. He felt worn out and tired. But still, he couldn’t to agree with Hunk, his heart bubbling in relief and excitement.

“Alright Paladins. Time to get out of here” Allura’s voice rung out. Lance watched from the cockpit as the Castle charged out, glowing in brilliant blue and silver quintessence. No matter how many times he saw it he couldn’t help but look in awe.

Then it happened.

He felt it again.

That feeling.

Lance freezes. No. It can’t happen. Not now. They just got Allura back. They did their mission and were just about to leave, partially unscaved. Nothing can happen now. It can’t.

And really? Again? The Universe is just not with them today.

He watched in horror when the bright light surrounding the castle, evaporated and disappeared. “Allura?” he whispered, too quiet for people to hear. “Hello? What’s going on here. I don't see a wormhole” Hunk voice rang through his headset

“The Galra barrier is jamming our ability to create one!”

Fleets of ships flew towards the group of lions, and Lance looked at the paladins in worry. He could they were all tired and worn out beyond belief. They’ve never fought a battle for this long or as big and huge as this one. And what's worse Shiro is injured and the Red lion is unresponsive, leaving three, technically two if you don’t count Shiro, that were functioning. Still, Lance readied himself and got Blue into position.

Well…

Shit

Suddenly, the barrier flickered. It flickered and flickered before it went down, dispersing into the void of space.

How did-

His thoughts were interrupted by the team cheers, his lip twitching at the sound of Pidge’s whooping loudly through the comms. “What happened? Coran?”

“Does it matter? Wormhole!”

“Allura?” Shiro asked. They heard only silence before they saw the Castle light up once again, charging up before forming a wormhole ahead of them.

Hunk cheered in joy. “Oh thank Altea. I don’t know about you guys but I don't wanna stay here any longer. Can we leave now. Please?”

That wasn’t just pure luck right? The barrier couldn’t had just shut down . He knew better. He can't shake off the feeling that someone was helping them. But who? And more importantly, Why?

Deep in thought, Lance only heard a slight crackle, before he could realize what was going on. And in a blink of an eye, a large bolt of violet electricity flashed past them, that came from Zarkons ship.

He watched in horror as it struck directly at the wormhole. Like static is sparked and crackled randomly at the gate of the wormhole before the beautiful aquatic blue of the wormhole exterior swirled and deepened into a sickening violet. Even though the wormhole looked completely harmless, Lance knew differently.

“What was that ?!” He shrieked.

“Let’s go” Shiro’s voice boomed through his comms. Doe’s Shiro not see the- Oh he don't know, purple evil looking wormhole in front of them ?!

Lance took a moment before shaking his head, ignoring the feeling deeply rooted in his stomach. He flew straight ahead, trailing behind the rest of his team. He didn’t know why he was hesitant beside hearing a voice inside his mind, screaming to him to not go in. He ignored the voice and followed his team into the swirling violet black hole.

The usual serene feeling of warmth and energy that Lance would feel as he merged through the entrance of the wormhole change to a dark and overwhelming tang of just wrong , tingling and prickling through his entire body, from his toes to the unease in his gut.

Once Lance got inside, he knew something was wrong. He looked around at the wormhole and his eyes widen at the sight. It didn’t feel right.

The walls of the wormhole flickered like sparks, a wave of darkness swirling inside it’s energy walls. The structure that was once light and strong was now a fragile wave that slithered like worms on the surface of the walls. And what was once a calming and light pull of force became an intense and unwelcoming force, so powerful, that pulled and pushed, tangled in its own pressure. Lance pales.

This wasn’t good..

"Coran, what's happening?!" Shiro shouted, his voice clipping and distorted through his comm. He grunts at the force of the pull of the gravitational pull of the wormhole. Something was wrong.

"The integrity of the wormhole is being compromised. It's breaking down"

"What does that mean?" he shrieks, his voice shaking as Blue blue’s core rattles in worry.

"It means that we have no control over where we're heading"

This was bad.

Lance stomach drops, the intense, searing pain coming from his wounded leg numbed; overpowered by the wave of anxiety and fear that he was feeling. Blue purred softly in his mind, trying to ease her paladins fear. But Lance knew she was just as unnerved and worried as he was.

He heard Pidge scream as Green and Black spirals out of the Castle’s open hanger, disappearing past the layers of the corrupted wormhole.

“Pidge!”

“Shiro!”

“Coran!” Allura screams. “The controls have malfunctioned. There not responding!” Coran shouts, his voice shaking and panicked.

Next was Keith and Hunk. They screamed as their were violently pulled out, thrown through the wormhole just like Pidge and Shiro, their lions Lion nowhere in sight. “Hunk!” he screamed.

“Keith!”

He was alone...

“ Anyone !”

He was the only one left. Lance panics. He doesn’t know what happened to the friends. What happened to them?

What was going to happen to him?

Suddenly, Lance was jerked violently to the side. He grunted. He felt his entire pull into the swirling purple abyss. Blue shuddered at the force of the wormhole, her light flickering out and the purring of her engine sputtering and clanking as she was pulled of the Castle.

Lance freezes in fear. Blue rattled as they closer and closer to the flowing stream of the wormhole. His breaths shorten and looked around the cockpit, for anything to stop the impending . He can’t go. He can’t . He’s still needs fight the Empire. He still need to save Earth.

He still needs to see his family again.

But he couldn’t do anything as they grazes against the wormhole. He clenches his eyes shut as the force of the pull hits him. His felt heavy and grounded but pulled in every direction. It was too much. Lance could feel his consciousness dimming.

His vision narrowed and darkened by every second as they merged with the streamed of the wormhole. All he could do was apologise to his family. For not getting back to them. His conscious, then, strayed away to the deeps of his mind.

And the last thing he registered was Blue’s deafening roar before they fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

Darkness

That all Lance knew.

A cold pitch of darkness enveloped him, wrapping around him in warmth, comforting . How can something be warm and cold? Lance didn’t know. All he knew was that he was here and nothing else.

He felt numb. Like he was floating. Was he floating? He had no clue. All he could feel was the weirdly somehow warm and cold darkness that surrounded him. He could hear nothing, see nothing and feel nothing. No hot and searing pain pulsing through his body. No exhaustion. No fear or joy.

Nothing..

He felt the dark nothingness twirl around him. It wrapped around him and was engulfing him into a larger abyss. He didn’t like it.

It wasn’t right. He doesn’t know what isn’t right but he just know something isn't. He wasn’t suppose to be here. He was suppose to be somewhere else. Where, he doesn’t know either. But he doesn’t care. He has to go there. He needs to be there.

“No”

Then came a light. A small peck of light shone dimly in the vast abyss, shining a pure and blinding glow. The light then grow bigger and bigger, filling the dark surrounding with pure light.

So blinding.

It was so bright. Too bright. He careful reaches out to it. It was so bright yet so familiar

Then he felt the pull of the Light enveloped and engulf him. He opens his eyes and stared in awe. All he could see was a beautiful veil of colour swarm. It danced around him in a soft trepid beat, almost like fluid, and as gentle as it flowed softly around him. Not the blinding the white light from before but one that was beautiful and aquatic in nature. The colour that reminds him of home, of his family. The colour that represent him and him alone.

Then it hit him, his mind sparkling in that colour, dancing in its shade like the waves of the ocean. It was so...

Blue

Then suddenly he was pulled from the swarm of blue that surrounded him and was pushed into a blinding white light, the blinding white became lighter and lighter and expanded around him. Then he opened his eyes.

He was somewhere else. He blinked, his eyes still blurry. He couldn’t tell where he was. All he knew he was sitting and the where was was oddly familiar to him, put he couldn’t piece together where he was. But man was this seat comfy.

How long was he out? And why was he even unconscious. How long has it been. Hours? Days? Weeks? Months?!

…..Ok he knew months was a bit a stretch but the rational side of his head was out of commision right now. At least that's what his splitting headache suggest anyways.

He tried to move his head to look around but winces a the sharp pulsing behind his helmet. Wait helmet?

Oh yeah his helmet. He looked through his cracked visor, trying to focus his vision on his surroundings.

Then he recognised where he was….

He was in Blue’s cockpit.

“Blue?” he called out softly.

At the sound of Blues soft rumble, Lance relaxes his body at the cloak of comfort she sends to him, basking himself in her warmth.

“Hey beautiful” he sighs softly.

He felt his mind focusing more and more, his surrounding became less hazy, and more focused. He could feel the numbing sensation slowly disappear and could feel the feeling in his body return.

Lance sighed.

Then the pain came.

A wave of intense pain pulsed through his body, causing him to scream in pain. The more and more he woke, the pain sharpening and intensified more and more. He grits his teeth, fighting the urge to scream out.  

Oh God, Oh God, Oh God-

He trembled in his seat. His body twitched now and again from the pain circling around inside his body. He lets out a small whimper, the pain coming in painfully unbearable waves. He tries to let out a breath, that came out short and shaky.

Ok Lance calm down. He can deal with this. Just deep breaths, he thinks.

He tries to breath in, ignoring the uncomfortable probing of his ribs, obviously broken and injured, and holds its but quickly releasing it. He did it once more and then again and again. He continued the process till he could feel the pain to lessen to a more bearable way, unlike the scream worthy and “makes even tough guys cry like babies” pain from earlier.

He could feel his entire body, loosen and relax slightly in an effort to stop the waves of pain flushing through him.

“I’m okay” he gulps outs, his eyes clenched shut. “I’m okay”

Thats right, he’s not alone. He has Blue. And he can do this. He can deal with this. He wasn’t alone.

“Okay” he whispered. “Okay”

He lets out a shaky breath before opening his eyes -when did he close them?- and carefully looked down to the his left leg. His vision squirmed for a moment before he squinted and focussed again. What he saw sent his heart to stomach. Lance paled.

He still had his paladin uniform on, his white leg guard cracked and shattered in some places but still holding together like the rest of his armor. The boots of his lower armor cracked and had a gaping hole of the back right side of his lower thigh to his ankle. What skin was seen was bruised and swollen. His gaze went to his undersuit. It was ripped from the thigh and his knee, torn to the bottom of his leg guard. Small cuts and scratches littered along the tears, like a decorative piece. Then there was the most noticeable thing. His bullet wound.

Where a simple, neat bullet hole was now a soft, mushed and larger hole, a slight dip where the wound once was. The flesh surrounding the lump hole was plumped and a tinged in a dark purple, almost navy, black colour. The rest was large and swollen, and red from the obvious infection. His veins dusted in a dark stain of black blue, darkening the closer it was to the injury, while flakes of skin dusted around the black of his undersuit, small and sparse.

The blood that was once flowing out his wound was caked and crusted around the edges of the bullet hole. Pores of puss decorated and floated on the inner rings of the bullet holes, plumped and bubbling enough to burst and ooze out of the wound. The butterscotch yellow tang mixing with the flowing scarlet red of his blood.

Oh God

His chest felt tight. Too tight. Tightening and tightening to the point where he couldn’t breath. Oh shit.

That was definitely infected. Was it suppose to be that lumpy. Oh Quiznak he might get sick. This was bad. So bad. Not even close to the scale of okay.

How long was he unconscious for. Hours? Days? He doesn’t think a few hours would cause his leg look like a prop from any horror movie. Dammit, he cursed, his breathes slowly quickening. The pain was definitely not helping the situation.

Then Blue pushed through his mind  forcefully and swarmed gently against their bond. Her warm blue circling and dancing in their bond as she purrs encouragingly to him. He tries to ease panic and turns to his and Blue’s bond.

You can do it...My Paladin

He was scared. Quiznak, he was so scared. What was he going to do. What if someone attacks them?

Protect , Blue promises.

But he can’t fight. He can’t even walk . What was he going to do. How was he gonna to eat. To drink. And his leg. What if the infection gets worse. Oh God what if he dies here. He can’t die. He has too see his family again. He has to save them. He has to get back Voltron. Oh Quiznack he was so scared. What was he going to do. What was he going t-

Paladin!

Blue roars, freezing Lance and his thoughts. His mind goes eerily blank, his earlier panicked disappear in an instant. He slowly tears his gaze from his infection leg and looks around the cockpit. His fear etched and stoned on his face.

My Paladin. Protect

Her voice rumbles gently, soft and filled with such emotions. Lance gulps. He didn’t understa-

I..Protect

…

...

Oh

Lance eyes widen and turns straight to the very front of Blue’s cockpit. Oh, he thought. He stared and stared at the control panel in shock. His mouth gaped open at the realization. Earlier he didn’t understand what Blue was trying to say. But know he knows. Now he understood.

‘I’ll protect you’

Lance feels the tears fall against his cheek before he realised he was crying. He looked, eyes wide, at his lap. He couldn’t speak. His emotions bubbled at the serenity in her voice. The power of her promise, so strong and serene, he felt his body tremble. Lance swallowed the lump in throat. He looks up again.

Lance smiles.

“Thanks beautiful”

His smile falls though as he tries to remember why he was here in the first place. Then it clicked. The rescue. The infiltration of Zarkon’s central command. Then the fights, Saving Allura and Shiro and the escape.

The wormhole

Oh stars, his team. Immediately, he opened his mouth, his voice shaky and weak.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me?”

Silence..

“Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?”

“Allura?”

Static...

“Shiro?”

More static...

“Pidge? Hunk?”

Nothing...

“Keith?”

There was no reply. Great the comms weren’t working. “Guess that means it's just you and me for now, Blue.” God, he hoped they were okay. Wherever they were.

Actually, know that he thinks about it...

“Where are we?” he muttered to himself

Suddenly the screen from his right light up, a flurry of words rolled through the screen in, thankfully, English. He mentally thanks the lion before he looks at the information displayed on the screen.

There was no name or identification of the planet and was labeled as Unknown. Oh the planet seem mainly habitable and there's some life on the planet. That's good. The planet seemed relatively safe too.

Oh. He can breathe here…..that's good to know. At least now he doesn’t have to worry about saving oxygen huh.

He turns back to the front of the control panel. “How are you doing Blue?” he asked. He could hear Blue whine in pain before the lights and panels flickered briefly before stabilizing again. Then a diagram of Blue popped up on the main screen, some of her body shaded in a dangerous red, warning and attention sign blaring close to each red area.

That's not good. He looks at the screens in concern, the sweat on his forehead glisten against the blue of the screens. He could see some damage on her side and her left back leg, the damage bad but fixable.

God he wish Pidge was here right now.

Then something caught his attention. He noticed the most of the damage was on the left side and one of the blasters engine seemed to be slightly busted.

So they can’t just fly back back to the Castle

Great

Even if they could, where would they go? He had no clue where they could be. Heck, they could be on the other side of the Universe for all he knows. He tries to ignore the fear that settled into his gut and mentally shakes it off. He had think.

He needed a plan.

Food and medicine was the most important for him right now. He needs to a source of water too, knowing he would need water more than food, food only being a second priority.

He already had Blue to coop himself in so he didn't have to worry about shelter. His biggest concern right now was his leg. Food and water wouldn’t matter if he dies from the infection in his leg. He needed herbs. Or medicine preferable.

“Blue, do we still have any of those healy cubes Coran gave us?”

When they first started out as Paladins, Coran gave them these oddly blue glowing cube. He told him and the other paladins that it was a good idea to keep these in their lions, as a precaution. Just in case they needed to treat any injuries during a mission and didn’t have a healing pod available to them.

A screen popped up, displaying their supplies and yup no more healy cubes. He must’ve used them all up on the last mission. Lance sighed. “Great” he drawled out.

Herbs on this planet it is then…

He looked over his other supplies and notice he had no more bottled water left either.

Fantastic

Just amazing. He guessed he just had to hope this planet has drinkable water.

Another thing he had think about was the damage on Blue. Before he could get back to team he needs to find something to help fix Blue. He knew that each could long term heal damage done to themselves but Lance had to be realistic here.

He knew Blue wasn’t the best lion when it came to self repair and he knew it took very long periods of time for a lion alone to repair any damage done to them. Time they didn’t have.

The only thing they could do was for Lance to find things that would help repair the most important damage on Blue with the guidance of Blue. But that means he would need to bet tools and other things that would he would need to fix her up. Meaning he had to go and find a place where any friendly aliens would be happen to have those tools.

Lance sighs, swiping the sweat on his temples with the back of his hand, the action causing the dull ache in his muscle to rise up.

But right now he needed to find something that could help his leg before did anything else. Then he would get some food and when he has that, he will try and explore and hopefully find a village or town that could help him.

Well….he had some kind of plan now.

This shouldn’t be too hard.

Hopefully…

“What do you say Blue. Ready for some exploring?” he tries to sound bright and happy, but it comes out shaky and weak. Lance can’t help but cringe slightly at the sound of his voice.

However, either Blue didn’t noticed and pretend to not notice and responded a worried purr before she whines in pain. Lance reaches out to the front panel, ignoring the pain that sparked on his ribs as his hand trembled, rubbing it against the cool metal comfortingly, hoping to comfort Blue in some way.

“Don't worry, girl. I'm gonna do everything to get us out of here.” he whispered. “I promise.”

He smiled at the soft purr that grazed his mind. Such love and faith emitted from her rumbles. Okay, Okay. He could do this. He can do this.

Slowly and carefully, he gripped one of the armrest as he tried to raise himself from the seat. The calm but seething pain flared up like a fire, strong and intense.

He winces, stiffening. He could hear Blue’s encouraging rumbles, cheering him on. He ignores the flare of pain from his leg as he tried to stand again, stumbling for a moment before finally getting onto his feet. He leaned against his pilot chair, afraid that his knees would buckle at any moment, his face drenched in sweat.

Dammit.

This might be harder than he thought.

He needed something. Something that could support his leg. A brace maybe? But Lance doubted Blue would have any braces in her cockpit. Her sullen rumble agreement only made it more likely. “Guess I’ll just have to make one from scratch then” he mumbles.

Good thing he was good at art then.

So what he need. Something strong enough the keep his leg straight and supported. But what could he use? Suddenly Blue came into his mind, her presence bubbling with an idea. Without warning, on the side of his seat popped out a large drawer, causing Lance to yelp in surprise. Hanging on the edge of the drawer were two thin white metal plates.

….

That would help.

But why were they even in there? Were they the previous blue paladins? He shrugged. Guess he’ll never know.

He thanked blue before he leaned over his the pilot seat, his hand stilled gripped tightly on the armrest, and he grabs the metal plates and placed them on either side of his injured leg.

He ignored the sight of his leg as he check the metal plates, seeing (and hoping) that the were the right fit.

Now something that could use keep the plates secure. A fabric. Maybe a cloth?

Wait...

Lance hobbles to the far corner of the Blue’s control panel, where there were a few drawers and compartments. The opened the middle center drawer and saw it.

Resting in the compartment was a green cloth. He remembered he would always leave the cloth here after he would use it to clean the inside of Blue. He would use it whenever he had a day off in the Castle and wasn’t training with the others. He loves to pamper his beautiful girl after all.

“Bingo.” he muttered.

He grabbed the piece of cloth from the compartment and tore the cloth in half. He hesitantly crouched down as he carefully wrapped the two pieces of cloth around his leg, keeping the plates in place. Once he finished tying the cloths in place, he straightened back up

And Voila, that's how you make a temporary leg brace. Lance couldn’t help but praise himself.

“Now to see if it works”

Hesitantly he stretched out his injured foot out and let it it hover for a moment. He took a breath before stepped away from the pilot seat. He placed the sole of his foot on the floor, pressing heavily with the weight of his body.

Lance opened his clenched eyes- when did he even close them- and was surprised by the lack of pain sparking through his leg. He pressed more forcefully and watched as they brace stayed in place. Excitement bubble through Lance.

Phase 1: Standing, complete. Now to Phase 2….. Walking .

“Okay, Okay. Time to shine Lancey” he mumbled.

He could hear Blue cheer him on from the sideline, encouraging him to keep going. And before he knew it he had taking his first few steps, shaking slightly but still standing on his two feet. Sure he wasn’t exactly waking and more like hobbling but hobbling was better than not walking at all. He walked towards the door the exited the Blue’s cockpit hesitantly.

“Alright” he huffs out.

Now to part two of Surviving with Blue plan. “Ready Blue?”. And before he knew it, Blue lower her head and opened her mouth. The dimly lit cavern of her mouth dark, as a bright light shone from her mouth, almost taunting Lance to come closer to it.

Well...Here goes nothing

He steps out of Blue’s mouth.

The first thing he noticed was the blinding light from the sun that shone his eyes. He covers his hand over his face, hooding his eyes from the sun’s brightness. Once his eyes finally adjusted, he look around, surprised by the sight before him.

Well that was new

He was in a forest. The trees that clustered around him were strong, standing tall and higher than any trees on earth. The leaves larger than oak leaves but smaller than a palm leaves, somewhere between them, drenched in various colours of purple, reds and greens. The cool breeze rustled the leaves making an odd clattering sound as they rubbed against one another, similar to the sound of metal clashing against more metal.

The ground was soft and earthy under the soils of his shoes, the earth as brown and the grass as green just like back on earth, the grass was maybe less saturated in colour but close enough.

Above him, the sun shone brightly, basking the planet with warmth and light. It was surprisingly similar to the sun back on earth if not a little more red in its rays. Across the other side of the horizon stood the shadow of two moons. The skies were filled with no clouds, the azure skyline wide and open.

Be Careful, Blue whined out. Lance smiled. “I’m always careful” he jokes and he could feel Blue give him an eye roll in the back of his mind. Blue gives him a mocking grumble. “I can feel you rolling your eyes, Blue. Your sass is exactly what I need right now”

He hears Blue rumble a small laugh.

She sent him an innocent purr, like she was pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about. Lance chuckles breathlessly. “Yeah yah. I’ll it go this time. Next you won't be as lucky”

Hesitantly, he pushed himself off Blue’s paw and staggers for a moment, his feet tumbling under his own weight. Once he gained some kind of balance again, he took another step. Then another and another. He hobbled to the front of Blue, The blue lion longer looming over him, as it lay ragged on the ground. He looked at Blue and couldn’t help the gasp that left his lips.

He looked up a Blues metallic head, half off her face, scorched with marks and scratches. Her back, from Lance could tell was riddled with dents and tears. One of blasters were damaged and smoking slighting. Probably from the collision/fall.

“Oh Blue” he muttered. He hears her whine again, trying her best to reassure her paladin. He stares at her damaged body a little longer before shaking his head. He shouldn’t just look and do nothing. He can help her more finding a village and getting them help. He turned back to the forest ahead of him.

“Well here goes nothing”

Just as he starts to set out in the definitely not scary forest, He hears Blue rumble again, incoherent this time, but Lance knew what she was going to say. “Yeah, Yeah. I’ll be careful” he says and he could feel Blue scowling behind him.

“I'll be back before you know it” he says, trying to give her the biggest smile he could. She didn’t respond and Lance took that as his moment to hobble to the front of the canopy of trees ahead.

Just as he reaches through the entrance between the trees, he looks around the forest. He limped on forward, keeping an watchful eye for any wild animals or Galrans nearby. He knew there wasn’t really much of a chance that a Galra would be here or they would founded him and Blue long before he woke up. But better be safe than sorry right?

When he finally he finally entered into the deeps of the forest, Lance stopped and thinks. Where should he look first. The tree roots maybe? Or should he just go wherever?

Feeling panic build up in his chest Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay Lance, remember what Callighan taught you”

***

It had been a few months since Lance joined the Garrison and he could say they were the best few months of his teenage life, minus the tests and homework of course. Him and Hunk finally reached their dream school and were even able to room each other, which of course was the best thing ever. The Garrison was just as amazing and overwhelming that Lance always dreamed it to be. It was both amazing and downright terrifying.

Right now he was outside on the ground of the Garrison, with Hunk and the rest of their class. “Eh Sir? When would we actually need to use this. I mean it not like this will be useful when we’re in space?”

Lance turned around and see freaking Will Harrison.

Will Harrison, son of John Harrison, the creator of Harrison Corp, one of the world's largest corporations. But Will, cocky and arrogant in all his glory, flaunted his father money and liked hurting people as a hobby. Your basic high school bully.

Rumour has it that Harrison only got in because of his money and connection which honestly wouldn’t surprise Lance one bit. Of course it was Harrison.

I mean, who else was stupid enough to question Callighan.

Matthew Callighan

But here at the Garrison he was just Callighan or Sergeant Callighan. One of the most feared teachers and superiors in the Garrison, beside Commander Iverson of course. He was generally a nice person but if you got on his bad side, your were in for the worst mistake of your life.

“Oh oh” He heard Hunk mutter. Oh oh was right. One thing he learned in the first few months here was never ever question Callighan. Especially his teachings.

“Well if your crashed landed on a planet that was suitable and similar to our own and you had no food left or water, what will you do? Rot away and cry for your mother?” Callighan berated. The students snickered around Harrison silently, trying their best to keep quiet.

“This knowledge will give you to work with while you're starving on an unknown planet or crashed off course here on Earth . And maybe this would be the thing that saves your life. So yes Harrison you do “actually need and this. In space or not.”

He watched as Harrison tense up and flushed with embarrassment. The rest of the student were grinning or snickering behind their sleeves.

“Now anyone else want to question my teaching with more unnecessary stupid questions?” Callighan asked, scanning around the silent students. When no one answered him he straighten his back and gave a small smile. “Good now can anyone tell me what are-”

***

Just as the memory began to fade away, Lance blinked out of the memory, his mind slowly coming back to reality. He remember that day. And all the Callighan taught them during that 2 hour class.

Thats right. He knows basic survival 101. It wasn’t hard then and it wasn’t gonna be hard now. “You can do this” he repeated, the words almost like a mantra to him.

“You can do this”

He opened his eyes and he felt his confidence rise up in him. But where to start? Suddenly he remembered his earlier question about searching through the tree roots enter his mind.

It’s a start at least.

He limped on forward, moving towards the closest tree that was just a few steps ahead of him. “Might as well start off easy”

Lance looks down through the winding roots of the tree’s that surrounded him. He circled around them, eyeing out for any kind of thing that he thought could help or catch his eye.

That's when he saw it. Beside a root, stood a long lanky plant, that could only resembled a garden weed, but the stems was an usually colour of peachy red. The leaves veins were a sickly blue, almost like it was glowing.

He stepped closer to the plant in question and looked at it more closely, his eyes squinted as he surveyed the plant in front of him and for anything strange…..or well stranger .

“The first that you should look for when you're trying to distinguish between a poisonous and a edible it how it looks. Thorns, spines, hairs or three leaved leaves. Those are the most visible characteristic of a poisonous non-edible plant.”

Lance looks at the roots. Thorns, none. Spines? None he can see. Three-leaved? Check. Lance sighed. If only it was that easy. But Lady Luck just wasn’t on his side today.

“Guess I still gotta look around”

He looked around him carefully, seeing more of the same plants around him. Maybe if he checked near the bushes he could find  something.

Without some kinda a plan, he staggered around looking and peeking through any surrounding bushes near him. After a 30 minutes or so, by Lance guess, he couldn’t find anything.

Nothing.

Geez, he wish Blue was close enough to help him. Im mean she is a 10,000 year old sentient robot lion so Lance wouldn't be surprised if she knew about botany or plants. Maybe he should’ve asked her before he left. Nice thinking Lance, he berated.

He sighed. He noticed one extra bush and contemplated. Maybe just one more then give up? He nodded to himself.

But just as he thought this was a no show, something from the corner of his eye catches his line of sight. A small weed like plant, that stood with a long but strong stem, orange petals blooming on the top. It was decorated with a view green leaves, each leaf ending with a small golden  bulb.

He hobbled over, his hand still hovering against the braced leg, cautiously. As he got closer he noticed that were more of the same plant growing beside it. With a small wince, he crouches down in front of the flurry of plants. In the flurry were the same pink budded, dandelion shaped plants, their stem an acidic citrus yellow. From where Lance stood they looked pretty harmless.

“Maybe?” he murmured. Checking them out wouldn’t hurt he guessed. Slowly he leaned down, wincing at the pain flaring up through his chest. Oh yeah.

Ribs.

Gotcha.

He slowed down, carefully this time. He leaned closer over the group of plan and reached out to one of the plants, picking it of its stem.

“When you find any plants that don’t look like it kill you instantly, check for any discoloration on the leaves or the saps. It you notice any discolouration or milkiness the throw it away. Unless you want to eat something poisonous. Your choice”

He twirled the plant in his hand, letting it rest against his open palm. He rolled the plant

“Another thing to keep an eye out for is the scent of almonds in the woody parts or the leaves of the plants. The sweet scent of Almond means it's has cyanide in the plant”

Lance brought the plant towards his nose and sniffed. No almond smell. There also wasn't any visible discolouration in the leaves. No spines, fine hairs or thorns. Also no immediate irritation on his skin. Lance smiled.

Bingo

“Jackpot”

He picked the plants surrounded it, taking as much as he thought he needed. With a huge bundle in his hand, Lance stopped, praying that this was enough for at least a few days.

Next step, find some water. Lance rose to his feet, this time paying some effort on his possibly broken ribs. When he got he continued gripping the plants and stuffed them into his belt, let them conventionally hang on his waist. Once he was sure they wouldn’t slip out, he looked around the heavily shrouded forest.

Suddenly, Lance hears a loud rustle from behind him and tenses. Hesitantly, he turned around activating his bayard that was still stored in his armor. He gripped it tightly as he watches his surrounding. He hear the rustle becoming louder and more frantic.

Suddenly a figure burst through the bushes beside him catching Lance off by surprise. If anyone told that Lance had shrieked like a girl in that moment, he would deny it forever.

In front of him was a small creature. It looked arounded, not really taking notice to him, it's small pebbled nose twitched and it looked around with their bright pink eyes. It had a small and spiky tail on it’s hind, stained in a greenish golden colour, just like the rest of the creatures skin.

Lance tilted his head. If you take out the weird colour fur and the pinky glowing eyes it kinda looked like a rabbit.”It’s kinda cute” he muttered to himself. Well if you ignored the giant sabertooth fangs.

He watched as the small creature scurried through the bushes in front of him, a soft rustle before silence again. Lance blinked.

…...Well that happened.

Lance shoulder slouched, his heart finally coming down. He took a deep breath until he heard it. He heard a sound. Something like a splash.

Like water.

Lance straightened up, hope bubbling inside him. “Calm down, Lance. Don’t get your hopes up”, he whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated. It didn’t sound too far away.

“There” he yelled.

Immediately, he turns his head to the direction where he heard the sound came from. As he limped on, the sound became louder and louder. It was coming from the same direction where that weird rabbit that wasn’t actually a rabbit ran off to.

Instantly he staggers through the bush and looked at the scenery before him in glee. In front of him was a large lake, it's ever blue water glistening in the reflection of the sunlight. What looked like lily pads were floating on the outskirt of the lake, their lilac hue contrast with the azure blue of the water.

Lance fell to his knee and cupped some water in his trembling hands before pouring it into his opened mouth and relished of the water in his mouth. Oh Dios, this was so good. When was the last he drank anything?

Too long , his mind offered.

He continued scoping water into the palms of his hands , gulping the amazing cool liquid. He didn’t care that he was soaking his gloved hands, which he knows he’ll be whining about later. All he could think about was the refreshing sensation of cool water running through his dry throat.

Once he had enough, Lance tried swipe the back of his hand against his wetted lips. He was so glad that he was finally able to get some water around her but something struck in his mind.

He needed to bring some back with him. But there was one problem….

He had nothing to store the water with.

Lance groans, he just had to forgot that little detail, didn’t he? How on Earth did he forget about that of all things. Heck he didn’t even bring anything to store the plants he got. He really should plan this stuff out more.

Okay, okay. So he needed to store it but how?

“Come on Lance, think”

He could always go back to Blue and see if she had anything that he could use. A bottle maybe?. Or maybe even a bucket.

…

…

Yeeeeeeah no, he doubts Blue would have a random bucket in her.

Lance rub his hand against his head absently and was caught off guard by the unexpected feel of the helmet. Oh yeah. He completely forgot about the helmet.

…..Again.

That's when Lance got an idea. “Maybe..?” He trails of as he raises his hand and slowly takes off his helmet, cautious of any head injuries that could graze against the helmet. Once the helmet was off his head, he could feel the breeze rustle through his strands of hair. It felt so good. Lance hummed at the sensation.

Why didn't he think off doing this earlier?

Nevermind. He went back to business. With the helmet on hand he scooped the helmet into the lake and let the water rushed in the cavern of the helmet, before lifting the helmet and beamed at the sight of the water nestled calmly in his helmet.

“Tada!”

Now he had something to store the water with. Surely it wasn’t the greatest thing and it was kinda disgusting considering that he was wearing it earlier and was probably sweaty but-

“Its sure better than than nothing” he mumbles. Blue was gonna laugh at him for this. Speaking of Blue..

“Time to get back to Blue”

Carefully, he stood up. With one hand holding his “food” and the other a water filled helmet. Pidge was definitely going to laugh at him when he tells her about this. But hey…

Maybe things weren't as bad

***

Ok so maybe things weren't that bad.

They were terrible.

It’s been over two days since he woke up. Once he found enough edible plants to eat and water that he found in a nearby lake on his way back to Blue, he hobbled back to Blue and had her check her database about the stuff he found, which thankfully, were identified as non-poisonous. Seeing as he didn’t find any sign of a village while he was looking around, they both decided to try the next day.

Since their wasn’t really anywhere to sleep in Blue beside the pilot seat, Lance decided that he would sleep outside, right beside her. At first Blue refused but after a lot of begging on Lances part she relented.

With that he setted up a fire with broken sticks that were lying around and using his blaster to start the flame, hoping it would keep him warm for the entire night. Since he didn’t have anything to use as a pot except his water-filled helmet, Lance grudgingly had to eat his “food” raw. Which was the worst thing he’s tasted. Even worse than Coran’s famed Paladin Lunch.

Once he finished eating, he used the rest of the water he had to soak his injure and clean the wound, hoping it would lessen. At the time, he hoped that this was enough to help with his leg.

It wasn't..

Which leads him to where he is now, sitting in front of the burned out campfire two days later with an even more infected leg and a high fever.

Lady Luck really hates him right now..

He’ll just get some more water to cool the fever down and keep the infection at bay,he thought. Then rest for a while before looking for some kind of village or town.

Not to hard…..he hoped.

As soon as he tried to stand up, a intense wave of pain washed over him, causing him to fall back down. Lance clenched his leg as splinters of pain pricked the entire limb, his knuckles whiten at the intensity of his grip. And oh god it was hot. Too hot.

Blue roars filled his mind, her worried whine grazing against his mind. He tries to control his breathing taking slow and deliberate breaths, hoping it would lessen the pain. He hears Blue whine again, causing Lance to distract himself from the pain. Lance bit his lip.

“I’m fine Blue” he said, his voice scratchy. He grunted as he tried to get on his feet once, this time succeeding. He fumbles over his feet but finally gets some balance. Lance let out a small breath out.He could hear Blue scoff at him. He could practically hear the unvoiced disagreement in her voice. “Blue-” he starts before he winces in pain. Yeah maybe it wasn’t time to debate with your big sentient lion partner.

Blue gives him the equivalent of an a deadpanned look, pointing out exactly what she meant. “Ok maybe not fine. But I will be once I get some more water and have a little more beauty sleep. Okay girl?”

There was silence before Blue rumbles to him, begrudging but resigned. Lance smiles. “Thanks beautiful.” Blue rolls her non-existent eyes.

Thank...When youngling...Better

Her voice was slightly distorted, fragmented but he heard enough. He tried to pretend not to notice and faked a smile, for both their sake.

“Hey I’m not a “youngling”! I’m a very mature adult” he pouted, crossing his arms like a child and happy when he hear rumble in amusement for his antics. His smile falls as he draws attention back to his leg. With stares at it for a moment before dropping his gaze towards the ground.

Shaking his head, he grabbed his helmet from the floor, ignoring the lightness in his head. With a grunt, he rose up and felt the blood rush through his head, pulsing painfully through his temples. He just continued ignoring it.

Maybe he did have a concussion. Lance mentally shrugs. He would deal with that later, he thought. For now he had more important things to deal with. Besides he wasn’t that bad, he could make do till he returned back.

But just as he lifted his foot, he felt the entire world turn to its side, gravity pulling him down to the ground. He didn’t notice was falling until he felt the rough soil underneath him and the dirt smudges against his cheek.

His entire froze up and he couldn’t help but whimper at the burning sensation coursing through his entire body. His body screamed in pain, his blood sizzling under his skin. It was unbearable. But at the same time, he was cold, icy shivers contracting his entire being. How could be so cold yet so unbearably warm?

And he didn't know it was for better or for worse but-

He couldn’t feel his leg.

He lay on the ground paralyzed, his body too tired to move by will alone. But his mind screamed in fear but he couldn’t concentrate on his thought.

Oh no, no, no, no, no-

This was bad. This was really bad.

Blue, his mind tried to call out but his consciousness slurred and slowly falling from his grasp.

His eyelids felt inhumanly heavy and watched in terror as a veil darkness narrowed through his vision. He could hear Blues cries of terror as the he continued to slip closer to the darkness.

Oh no

Then…

Darkness

Chapter Text

Blue was worried.

It wasn’t unusual for her to be worried. Especially after losing so much in the past 10,000 years. Losing Altea. Losing her precious Paladin. Being separated by the rest of the lions, her pack . And sitting alone in that desert for ten thousand years, her hope of never finding a way back to her pack dimmed decade after decade. Slowly disappearing as the stream of tie stretched on. Her fear of never finding a paladin grew. In her final year, all hope had left her and she believed no one would come.

Until she meet him.

When she felt the cluster of presence enter the cave, curiosity and hope pulsed through her system. She felt something pull to her. Telling her to see them. She didn’t understand at first but let them in either way.

She watched as the group of Earthlings came crashing down through the water tunnels (Blue almost laughed as a few screamed like they just saw a Hobbleglob, she tried her best not to chuckle at the imagery). Through the group, all diverse and unique in their own ways, she saw him.

He wasn’t Blaytz. Not the warrior ahe once was or even ocean dweller like he was. A simple Earthling. Or that's what most would see. But Blue saw different. Yes, he wasn’t Blaytz but he was something unique. His spirit strong and powerful as the ocean abut calm and composed as the winds.

Even there in the array of colour of quintessence, stood his beautiful, brilliant blue. And the bluest eyes she had ever seen, ones that reminded her of her homelands oceans. Even in the fantastical group before her, all amazing and unique. Smart, strong and all worthy of the title of Paladin. To be not her paladin.

Except him. No one compared to him.

The moment she laid her eyes upon the mocha skinned boy she knew.

She found him.

Her Paladin.

The first time they flew together in that desert, her heart soared once again, just like all those centuries ago. She could feel the boy's excitement collide with her own, thrumming stronger and stronger. Flying together as one. Being free as water in a stream.

She felt alive.

That flight became one of many. And in many battles…

But each battle or hardship, they both conquered them all, together. Their bond continued to grow stronger and stronger. They took comfort in one another. Lance with homesickness and Blue with her grief on Altea and the previous Paladins. Even with so much expectations of what a her Paladin must be and the other fellow Paladins flourishing in their titles, Lance never stop trying. He was never pressured by Blue’s previous paladin and his greatness. He was just happy to have her.

And she was just the same.

She knew her small Paladin never felt fit to be a Paladin and was insecure of his position on the team. Blue only wished he could see how amazing he was. But whenever she tried to speak with her Paladin he would shrug it off, hiding the pain behind that smile.

Sometimes Blue hated those smiles...

But they still worked together, mingling in each other's mind, in pure, perfect sync. Stronger than any bond Blue has ever felt. Even more than hers and Blaytz.

Even with the raging war that surrounded them, Blue felt like they could take on the universe together and her precious paladin will never suffer as long as she was there to protect him.

That is, until the Princess was kidnapped.

She recalled the sense of anxiety that drummed between the Paladins and the Lions as they tried to find the princess. The wave of fear and determination mingling together as they fought past warship after warship. The absolute terror her and the other lions felt as Black separated from them, dispersing them all to fight alone.

Or the immense fear she felt when she hear the sound of the bullet as it hit her paladin.

She knew her Paladin was unwell but all she could do was watched as his condition worsened by the day.

Continuously, he tried to reassure her, assuring it wasn't as it looked. But Blue knew better. She knew he wasn’t getting better. It was worse than it was before. Her worry only growing stronger as she heard the slight whimpers and winces as he sleep. His face drenched in sweat.

She tried to place her faith with her Paladin, hoping he would find away to heal himself. But when he woke up, his face sickly paler than before and the heavy bags that hung under his eyes, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Still, he tried to keep face and prayed to her Blaytz to help her small paladin get through this. But the second she watched her paladin fall to the ground, lying there, unmoving, she lost all hope. The minute she saw his body collide onto the earthy beneath, fear gripped her entire being.

She felt like it was ten thousand years again. Watching her paladin once again get worse and worse. And her not able to even help them and was forced to watch as her small paladin continued to lay on the ground, his mind slowly falling deep into unconsciousness. And Blue couldn’t help the fear of never seeing him awake again.

She didn’t know what to do. What she could do. At times like this, she wished she was able to leave this metallic body of her and hel her sweet paladin. She cursed her body. Watching her paladin as he lay there, in cold and in pain-

She couldn’t another paladin. Not again,.

Not like this.

Not him...

And in that moment, she did the only thing she could do.

She roared

***

Ceri woke up, gasping. She shot upright from her bed, panting heavily as looked frantically around the bed with a cold sweat.

Her heart drummed heavily against her chest as she looked around to see nothing in her room. Her shoulder sagged in relief. She looked down to her hand which clenched tightly on her duvet.

Was that all a dream?

“What a weird dream” she whispers, rubbing the corner of her eyes absently.

It wasn’t like any night terrors she’s ever had before. It was different. It wasn’t causing her to be afraid but rather...overwhelmed. Curious even.

All she remembered was that screeching roar.

But what was roaring at her? And why wasn’t she afraid of it. She knew this tight knot in her chest wasn’t for the creature or it’s roar.

But the meaning behind the roar.

It almost sounded like...it was grieving. Mourning..

Ceri shook her head, trying those banish her thoughts from her mind. “It was just a weird dream nothing more” he muttered to herself. She looked out of the window in front of her. It was morning, the daylight shining through the glass of the window.

She sighed. Just another day. Sluggishly, she swung her foot over to the edge of her bed. She yawned as she stretched her arms over head, satisfied at the pulling sensation in her muscle as she did so.

Then, a voice boomed from downstairs, interrupting her from the action. “Ceri, get out of bed. Breakfast is ready!” her father's baritone voice resounded from the wooden floor, low and strong as usual.

“I'm coming” Ceri yelled back. She walked over the edge of her bed, where her clothes hung on the bedpost. She grabbed her favorite blouse. It was long sleeve that ended at just below her knees. The front was tied up with a small thread that crossed the top part of the blouse. It was bright blue, embroidered with a white and green on the sleeves and edges of the top. She also wore her dark brown trouser.

Once she was done getting dressed she left her room and sluggishly down the stairs. From there she could smell the soft scent of their breakfast. She smiled slightly at the sound of her father humming from the kitchen. When she reached the door to the kitchen, she pushed it open, ignoring the loud creaking as it swung open.

The kitchen was relatively small, just like the rest of the rooms in the cabin. The walls and floors made only from different kinds of wood that Ceri didn’t even bother to remember. It was wood….and more wood. Wood was just wood. Nothing fantastic. At least to her anyways.

Beside wood flooring, wooden tables and wooden...everything, the room was decorated with small frames and photos and a few junky looking antics. Even if it was small, it was homey. And bright.

Across the room was her  father, his back facing her as he messed around with the pots and plates, scuffling them to different spots on the counter or throwing them in the cleaner. His giant broad shoulder were hunches forwards as he messes with the stove fire, picking at the burnt wood with a small metal poker.

When her father finally notices her, he looks up from the fire and smiles brightly, his eyes crinkling at the ends.

“Good morning”

“Mornin- ” Ceri mumbled back but was cut off by a yawn.

Her father smiles. “I see that Elpa seemed compelled to keep you away from the waking world” her father teases, his eyes turned back to their breakfast. She yawned. She could smell the sweet smell of thurg meat and Willowfigs herb soup fill the room. Her stomach rumbles lightly at the smell.

“I can’t help it if the mother of dreams and night likes me so much” she counters. Her father laughs, a soft rumble that came from his chest. “Well I’m sure you keep her company long enough that she had gotten bored by your silly antics in her world” he joked.

“Ha ha. Your just full of humour today. Something good happen?” she asked, making her way across the wooden table to her seat.

“As a matter of fact, yes” her father hummed. He placed their breakfast onto the wooden plates beside them before grabbing them and walking towards the dining table.  “Lofo and Xara found some new scraps out on the outskirts, near the galra base. Their planning to make something, I don’t know yet, but they asked for my engineering assistance.” he puffs out his chest in pride.

Ceri laughs grabbing the plate that her father handed to her. “That’s great!” she says. “But I can't help but wonder what they're up to. They always end up getting the Galra troops into their mess” she takes a bite of breakfast, moaning at the delicious taste of thurg meat in her mouth.

“But I’m glad you finally got some work again. It’s great business that they came to you. I know you can do what they need you to do”

When Ceri finishes wolfing down the last bit of meat on her plate, she looks up to see her father smiling softly.

“Thank you, darling”

Ceri smiles back. “Just telling the truth, Papa”

They sat down, eating the rest of their meal in a peaceful, comfortable silence, neither one wanting to break the quiet peace they have. Once Ceri finished eating her dinner, she took a sip of water from her cup before placing it down and grabbing her plate.

She stood up from the chair, ignoring the soft screech of the legs as it moved back against the wooden flooring. She placed her plate onto the counter before, Ceri left the room, smiling softly as she glanced at her father looking at his tablet with such concentration as she walked out of kitchen. She walked towards the front and grabbed her worn out shoes, slowly putting them on.

“I'm leaving Papa.!” she called out. She opens the door, one hand on the handle and the other grabbed the basket that lay against the entrance wall. “Oh? What for?” she heard him call out from the kitchen.

”I have to get those herbs for dinner tonight remember? Unless you want to have thurgan stew again for the fourth night” Ceri reminded him. She looked behind her and saw her father come through the door.

“Do you have your basket with you then?”

“Yes Papa” she replies, lifting the basket in her hand. “And your knife?” he continues. She rolls her eyes.

“ Yes Papa” she answered in a terse tone. They stood in silence before she hears her father sigh, his hand resting into his forehead.

“ Ceri- ”

“Papa, I know what you're going to say but do you really think I need a -” she starts but was cut of by her father's hardened gaze.

“Ceri we’ve been over this” he says sternly. “I know you don’t think you need that knife but what happens if you were attacked out there” He softened his gaze and places his hands on her shoulders. ”Those Galra soldiers are still out there patrolling ever since the incident and Gods knows what they might do. Especially with what's been going on lately in the village” he trails off, leaving them both in silence. Not wanted to say more about that.

Living under the Galran empire, they understood that life wouldn’t be easy but they made through it. Especially for such a small planet like theirs. Still, it didn’t mean that they didn’t have to deal with many tragedies through their reign. Her father smiled again and broke the silence.

“But Goddess knows that I will feel better knowing you had it with you” he muttered, his voice soft and honest. Ceri’s shoulders sag and she nods mutely. “Fine. I’ll bring it if it makes you feel better” she relents. Her father grins

“Now I shouldn’t keep you. Can’t make that Salcs soup you love so much without those mushrooms”. Her father kissed her forehead. “Be Careful”. Ceri smiles.

”I will Papa”

She rushes out the door, the soft breeze grazing against her face. She waves back to her father as she headed out. “I won't be long!” she yelled before bolting through the forest.

The forest was quiet, just like any other time she came here. The only noise heard was the soft rustles of the embar tree and the scurry of the wildlife around her. She always loved the forest. The peace and serenity calming her mind. It's the only place where can just breathe.

Especially with everything happen right now.

She closed her eyes and took in everything. The fresh air, the soft scent of grass and mossy bark filling her lungs. She took a deep breath. She opened her eyes, feeling regenerated.

“Now where to look first” she mumbled. Then she remembered. There was slight open field where lots salc mushrooms tend to grow, just around the edge of the forest. That’s a good place to start.

Humming lightly, she made her way to through the heavy veiled forest, quietly taking in the peace of the woodland. Absently she swerved through the canopy of trees, not once having to look around and tell where she was. Here, she could guide herself through the forest blindfolded, knowing every inch of this forest like the back of her hand.

Finally, she reached the canopy of trees that circled around the open field. She looked at the tree’s around her eyeing the roots with heavy focus. “Aha” she whispered, triumphantly. She reaches down to the tree across from her and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of salc mushroom, cluster around its roots. They were so many, even for a whole day's worth.

Ceri leaned down as she picked the mushrooms below the root, carefully placing them in her wicker basket. When she thought she had enough , she let an affirm hum before getting back on her feet.

Absently, she looked at the open field ahead of her and pondered. Maybe she should go out and see if she get some herbs too. If she remembered right there was some dreva roots that grew in the grassy plains.

Without a second thought, she made her way out of the canopy of the trees and into the open area, the sun's rays momentarily blinding her before her eyes adjusted. Ceri looked around, scanning the ground for any kind of herbs and caught the sight of some dreva roots a little ahead of her. She hopped her way towards the herbs, humming slightly in delight.

Lazily, she dropped down to her knees and pinched of the dreva herbs from their stem. Slowly, she puts them in her basket with the rest of what she got, satisfaction thrumming through her. She can’t wait to use this for dinner tonight. Her Papa will love it too.

She doesn’t bother getting up on her feet, too busy enjoying the sun's ray’s basked her as she sat there. Ceri looks up to the clear azure blue sky, admiring the beautiful day it was. She closes her eyes, enjoying the soft sensation of the wind brushing lazily past her, her hair wafting slighting in it’s breeze.

For a moment she just felt like she the whole world just stopped for a moment. She just wanted to lay down on the long grass and just relaxes. But her da was waiting for her, she probably shouldn’t let him wait too long.

Without one finally inhale, she opened her eyes and reaches for her basket before getting up from the ground.

Just as she rose up onto the balls of her feet, she notices the odd smell of….. burnt wood? That wasn’t right. Why didn’t she notice it earlier? But she couldn’t deny the scent, too familiar to think it was anything else.

Something didn’t feel right. She tenses. She clenched her eyes, begging her heart to stay quiet in her chest. Hesitantly she looked around and froze.

She didn’t noticed she dropped her basket till she heard it smack against the ground, but didn’t care as she looked up in awe. In front of her stood a looming figure, shadowing against the brightness of the sunlit sky.

In one word, it was huge…

It’s yellow acidic eyes, glowing dimly in the sun's shade. It reminded her of the Galran but they didn’t hold the same vicious or evil that theirs does. Instead they were soft and powerful but serene . And calming. Just like an ocean.

The figures metal body reflected against the sun's rays, it’s silver and blue skin shone brightly. She noticed some scratches and black marks tinting some of the creature's body but they were unnoticed by the strange sight before her.

How she didn’t noticed it first, she’ll never know.

It was so….big

It was huge. Gigantic even. It loomed over her, its giant head resting heavily in front of her. And so Blue as the ocean waves. It was beautiful and absolutely terrifying. But she felt safe with it oddly enough.

It looked just like the story of Voltron had described them to be. Large. Powerful. Alive.

Oh Goddess, this was exactly what she thought it was. Her favorite lion from the tales since she was a youngling.

The Blue Lion...

“Sweet Kalifi” she said. Thank the goddess that her father wasn’t her to scowl her for her words. This was amazing. By Elpa’s word, this had to be a dream right. The story of Voltron was just a tale.

This couldn’t be the Blue lion from that story. But the image fits. There was no way this blue lion shaped ship wasn't the legendary Blue Lion.

Ceri couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She couldn’t tear her gaze from it if she even tried. Her shoulders and jaw slack in awe as she just continues to gaze at the ship in astonishment.

However she was drawn from the sight at the sound of a low groan. She turned her gaze where she saw a something underneath the large robotic figure. She tenses. Hesitantly, she grabs the knife from her sachet, the black wrapped handle and grey blue blade, shining against the sun. She takes a step towards the figure, her hand held tightly against the blade. She stepped closer and closer until she gotta a better view of the figure.

She took in the boy's features, aweing at the soft caramel skin and his dark mocha hair that slightly curled against his skin. As she looked closer she noticed the soft prickles of frickles dusted under his cheeks and on the bridge of his nose.

She tilted her head curiously. She never seen his kind of species before. Though she hasn’t since many variety of species here but she was sure she’s never even heard of this kind of species before?

She couldn’t help but relish at the boy’s soft and unusual mocha coloured skin, it’s skin soft and smooth. No scales or horns, or even any markings.

From the looks of it, it seems pretty….harmless. Frail even.

And why did he look so pale ? Was that normal for his species? Curiously, she looks around him, inspecting his face and body with simple curiosity.

That's when she saw the blood.

Surrounding his leg was a pool blood, oozing through the bandage. Cuts both deep and shallow scattered over his lower body. And what were those metal plates on his leg?

Oh Goddess’, he was injured. Immediately she dropped the knife in her hands and crouched down beside the boy. Without her realising, her hand reached out towards him, cupping the side of his face. He felt herself panic at the strong heat he was emitted through his mocha brown skin. It was too warm, even Ceri knew this wasn’t right. She flinches in surprise when she her the boy moan in pain.

Ceri gulped.

He needed help.

But she didn’t know what to do…

Then she felt something click in her mind. “But Papa does” she whispers to herself. She needed her father's help. Hesitantly she retracted her hand from his cheek. She rose to her feet, rolling to the balls of her heels and turns around, just about to run back but stops and looks at the boy once more.

She looks at him with concern before close her head, remembering that she needed to act fast. “Don’t worry” she starts, knowing he couldn’t hear her but she couldn’t help but feel the need to reassure him.

“Help is on the way”

***

Arkus couldn’t help the small grunt that escaped his mouth as he fidgeted with the circuit cube before him. “Come on you quiznaking-

Zap

He couldn’t help but curse under his breathe as another electric charge jolted through his body, the entire cube sparking up like it was pitying him. Arkus pinched his nose.

Lofo really outdone himself this time.

This communicator is a mess. What does Lofo even hope he can do. He’s an engineer. Not a miracle worker. Arkus sighed heavily, leaning heavily against the wooden chair.as he tries to dislodge the knots building up in his temples from the stress.

Or maybe it was from the shocks. In the long it didn’t matter.

“Papa, Papa!”

Arkus smiled, his eyes still trained on the object in front of him. “You're back early. Couldn't find anything?” he shouted out to her.

He turned around the minute his daughter burst into the room and all the lightness left him. He gazed at his daughter, her hand resting heavily against the open door, her basket gone and nowhere to be seen. She looked down, panting hard like she ran here, her pastel green hair that was brushed and groomed was now disheveled.

Something wasn’t right.

“Ceri what is it” he pressed. He watched as she raise her head and gathered her breath.

“A bo-boy...in the..f-forest” she pants out. Arkus freezes. He places down his tools and stands up from his seat, rushing towards his daughter. Arkus rushed towards Ceri, his hands gripped tightly against her shoulders.

“Who? Did he hurt you?” he asked.

“No!” she shrieked. She took another breath before speaking up again.

“Papa, he’s hurt. He’s need help a-and I can’t lift him. I-it’s really bad and I- ” she rambled, trailing off. She was shivering.

Arkus looks at her, thinking. What was a boy doing in a forest?

Arkus mentally shook his thought away, he knew he didn't have time to question. He raised one of his hands and cupped his daughter’s cheek. He watched as she slowly raises her head, their eyes finally connecting. He could she the fear in her eyes. But not of the boy, but for him.

It was times like these that Arkus couldn’t but think she was just like her mother.

“Show me where he is” he says, gently. Ceri looked at her father, the fear in her eyes dimming slightly, before she nodded. He loosen his grip on her and watched as she bolted out of the room, Arkus immediately following behind her.

He followed behind his daughter as she rushed through the forest, not once stopping. She didn’t even look around, so familiar to the layout, she past every bush and tree with casual recognition. When she turned right, so did he. He watched behind her as she led them out of the canopy of trees and there he found himself in an open part of the forest.

He looked at the open grassland in slight awe. He never even knew this place existed. It was beautiful. No wonder her daughter loved going to the forest if she was blessed with simple sights like theses.

Heck, even Arkus would wanted to tag along next time.

He tore his gaze from the place and was brought back by his daughter tugging at his sleeve. He looked down and saw that she was looking straight ahead. Arkus followed his gaze and he could feel his eye widen at the sight. A large metallic creature lay on its side, looming over them with its huge body. What even was that? Was it a ship? He didn’t know.

He was pulled back from his thought when he hears a small groan from underneath it and watched as his daughter rushed towards the sound. Arkus immediately followed and was taken by surprise at the sight before him.

In front of him lay a boy. He was an unusual shade of mocha brown and his hair was just as dark. What he could imagine as once vibrant and luscious was dirt covered and matted on the boys forehead. He could tell this boy was definitely not his kind or any he has seen before.

The looked over the boy and noticed the small hand made brace on one of his legs. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the boy didn’t land with that ship like this. From the looks of it, the boy had woken up and roamed around till his injuries got the better of him.

He scanned over the braced leg and noticed the blood matted cloth covering the injury. Carefully he untied the cloth and went pale at the sight before him. The majority of the leg was covered with a dark undersuit but their was large tearings that gave him enough view that twisted his inside.

Through the tearing he could he see the mocha skin, darken to a sickly blue and black colour, patches of discolored all the calf of the leg. Surrounding it was a crisps and flakes of dried skin and blood that matted on his upper ankle and lower calf.

Underneath the cloth was the worst part of it all.

On his leg was a large and gaping hole, the surrounding ring of flesh was mushed with the mingle of butterscotch yellow pus and white oozing pores, bubbling and swollen.

The wound hung like a lump of flesh, sludged and lumped unevenly across the skin. Around the open hole in the leg, the skin that surrounded was a sickly mixture of black and navy, the color dancing over the entire skin in large uneven patches, only small fractures of mocha skin coming through.

Arkus gulped at the sight. He could feel the bile rise to is throat. What he guess was a simple injury morphed into a goreish nightmare.

He could hear his daughter gasp and didn’t have to look up to see the tears dancing in her eyes. “Oh Kalifi” she whispered, her voice quiet and shaken.

Even with it’s extreme state, he knew those kind of wounds. They weren't from a fall and certainly not just from a crash. Those were battle wounds. This boy was fighting something or someone. And from the looks of it. Something with weapons.

Galra, his mind hissed.

He also noticed the boy was wearing some kind of armor. Was he fighting the Galra's? He never seen that kind of armor before. Was he a rebel?

And with such injuries, how was the boy even breathing. Or better yet, how was he even alive …

“Papa , he’s just a teenager” she whispers. She looks up at her father, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. “What could do something to cause this to a teenager?” she asked. But Arkus couldn’t answer. He too wished he knew. But he knew this boy was more than just a teenager. If the armor and injuries prove that.

“I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t know”

He watched as his daughter looked down at the injured boy again before wiping the unshed tears in her eyes. She looked back, her eyes filled with determination. “Okay what do we do?” she asked, her intentions solely on the injured boy before her. Her need to help him flashing strongly in her eyes.

He never dealt with such extreme injuries. He didn’t even know what he could do. What he can do. All he knew was that this was bad. Very bad.

The needed a healer. And quickly .

“Ceri go get Healer Aielin. Now!”

“But what about the boy” she asked, worryingly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring him back to the cabin. But while I do that I need you to get the healer. Can you do that?”

She looked at him but nodding, her eyes flared up with determination. She rose up to her feet and turned around just about to run ahead but froze. She turned her gaze to her father once more before running off, straight through the canopy of the forest.

Arkus turned back to the wounded boy,. Carefully he scooped the kid into his arms, one arm holding up his back and the other holding under his knees. He stops a moment when he hears the kid let out a small whimper and slows down his movements. When he finally gets him resting against his chest, Arus rose to his foot and quickly made his way back to his home, but slow and careful enough to not injure the boy more.

With strong arms, he rushes through the forest, paying close attention to the swaying boy in his arms. He marched on forward till their cabin comes to his view.

When he reached to the front of their home, he notices the half open door, swaying slightly in the breeze. They probably forgot to close when they ran out, he mused absently.

Carefully he used his shoulder to push the rest the door open as he slowly fitted him and the boy through the door. Inside, he made his way up the stairs, the boy still laying limp in his arms as he reached the spare room.

He glanced at the boy as his breaths became quicker than before, his forehead drenched in sweat. He looked around the room and noticed the cloth that was folded on the drawer across the other side of the room. Quietly, he stood up and grabbed the piece of cloth before returning to the boys side. Crouching down, he used the cloth and lightly dabbed the boy's forehead, almost flinching at the strong heat radiating from his skin alone.

Behind him he could hear the door swing open as he laid the cloth softly on the bed. “Papa! I brought them!” Ceri panted. Behind her was the villagers healer, Aielin, her soft navy blue trench coat, waving softly as she stepped past Ceri and into the room. Aielin crossed her arms.

“Arkus, what in Kalifi’s name happened! When Ceri burst in the med I thought you were hu-”

But Aieilin started but froze at the sight of the boy. “Holy Gods, what the hell happen?” Aielin whispered before turning to Arkus, giving him a hard look.

Arkus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, hoping it would relieve the knots in his mind. “We don’t know. Ceri found him like this in the forest way eastward.” he states. Aielin looks at him for a moment not saying a word before looking at the boy in question.

“Ceri, can you get some warm water. In a bowl preferable. Some towels or cloths please.” Aielin asked, her eyes still on the injured mocha-skinned boy. Ceri nods and bolts out of the room, not closing the door behind her. Ailin turns towards him, her face stern and professional.

Just as she's about to open her mouth a shrill scream came from behind him. He tore his gaze and turned towards the boy that was once lying peacefully on the bed was now writhing on the bed.

In his hysteria the boy tried grabbed for his leg and flailed on his back in agony. He screamed again, causing Aielin’s assistant approached the boy.

Aielin walked towards him, finally seeing the full extent of his injuries. “Sweet Elpa, why didn’t you tell me he had these kind of injuries!” she snapped. Arkus flinches in surprise at the intense vulgar in her voice. The boy screamed again, his voice blood curdling as he flailed more.

“Dammit hold him down !” the healer yelled. Arkus immediately grabbed the boy's wrists as he flailed around in his grip. His eyes were slightly open, Arkus could see the beautiful blue orbs that he could imagine them once bright and shining, his eyes conveying bubbling excitement and mischief. Ones that Arkus couldn’t help but be slightly mesmerized at. After all he never meet someone with eyes that were like the ocean. But now they were shadowed with unconsciousness.

The boy grunted as he continued to moving around in disillusioned hysteria. He watched as the kid groaned and whined as he tried to escaped his grip, whining like a wounded animal. He held the boy till he finally calmed down, completely tired out from his struggles and Arkus couldn’t help and let out a small sigh of relief.

“Quick get the armour off ! We need to check his wounds” she ordered.

“But-” he starts but Ailien interrupts him. “We can’t do anything if we don’t know the full extent of his injuries. So just do what I say Ark” she cuts off, her voice stern and screamed “this isn’t a debate”. At these moments Arkus can remember just who terrifying Ailien could be.

Without any resistance and the sudden need to not get on Aielin’s bad side, the healer's assistant steps towards the boy in questions and with careful hands begins to take of the boys cracked armour. Arkus helps him first take of the armour gauntlets before taking off the armour of the uninjured leg, with careful precision. Gently the assistant goes to take of the boys breastplate and tenses slightly as the boy groans softly at the weight of his hand.

The assistant turned to Arkus and asks in a soft voice, “Could you help me take of the chest piece. I need not worsen his condition any further “ he asked and Arkus immediately reaches for the other side of the armour. “What do you need me to do” he asked , his tone strong and filled with determination.

“Could you slightly raise both his arms so I maneuver the armour off of him” the assistant replies. Arkus nods as he hesitantly grabs the boy's arms and slowly lifts them up as the assistant worms the chestpiece over his head. Arkus couldn’t help but feel his stomach tighten as the boys breaths began to shorten, panting heavily as they continue to undress him.

When the boy lets out a small mewl of pain, Arkus felt the need to comfort the boy. Boy …By the gods he was just a child.

No boy should go through this.

Behind him he could sense Aielin looking over him, finally looking at the true extent of the boy's wounds. He turns his head and notices the healer crouching down to the side of the bed just like him, her eyes darkening as she inspects the boy.

“My Gods” he heard her whisper, knowing he wasn’t meant to hear it. Aielin looked up to her assistant who was watching back intently. Their eyes connect, conveying something to one another through their gaze but Arkus couldn’t tell what.

“He has a few minor cuts and bruises on his body, mainly surrounding his lower and upper legs and lower torso” she explained, her hand slightly to the visible cuts on his boys body. She narrowed her eyes, magenta hues ,inquisitive and focused, as she looked over the boy slowly.

“From the looks the bruises on his chest, he has broken at least 4 ribs, three on his left and one on his right.” She lifted her hand and let it hover before she forcefully open on of the boys lids. Arkus couldn’t tell what she was looking for but could she found what she was looking for when she hums quietly.

“And as I thought, he also a concussion, probably from a high or a potential crash” as she paused to raise her finger under her chin, a habit Arkus knew she would do when she was thinking. Arkus couldn’t help but think back to the large mysterious ship that lay limp and broken beside him. He could remember the large cavern underneath the beastly ship- probably made from the collision he guessed- and the tears and scorch marks that littered its metal “body”.

“What’s our biggest concern is his leg.” she admits, pausing for a moment before continuing.

“The wound and penetration of the skin and muscle with its small entry point suggest a bullet wound of some kind. And considering the slight scorch marking on the inner wound, it was a blaster of some kind or at least something hot enough to be a laser shot” she continues on. She looks at the boy before closing her eyes, releasing a heavy sigh.

“It wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it wasn’t severely infected. The infection itself has progressed, completely damaging the wound and the leg itself. With the presence of heavy inflammation on around the suggest this is long term and the wound isn’t getting oxygenated enough for the wound to continue it’s healing process.”

“From the hand made structure, the boy created a brace so he be mobile even with the severe injury he had.” Aielin explained. Arkus watches as she lets out a small chuckle.

“ I have to admit, making a hand made brace with materials he had on hand. Pretty smart” she admitted, looking at the boy with soft interest, a small small gracing her lips. But Arkus gazed at her as the smile immediately disappears as she continued on with the boy's condition, her stoic and stern facade returning back in a flash.

“The wound has disintegrated from its normal form and has lactated beyond recognition. Meaning this isn’t a new wound.” she then gestures to his leg, her hand waving over it as she continued speaking, calm and formal.

“Then see these veins. The capillaries have burst causing internal damage to the muscles and is stopping natural blood flow. Lucky for him some were still intact, which is why he’s still standing. At least for now” she said as her assistant slowly grabbed the boy hand made brace and gently took it of the boys leg. Arkus tore his gaze away from the injured leg as the boy lets out a small whimper.

Immediately the female healer reaches out and places her hand onto the boys forehead and Arkus watched in amazement as the boy relaxes again, becoming lact and limp. Well, he guessed, Aielin wasn’t considered the best doctor in the village for no reason after all.

“So then what can we do?” Arkus asks as Aielin slowly retracts her hand from the boy. She stood up, placing her hands in the pocket of her coat.

“The leg is too damaged to let it healing natural and with medicine alone. Also performing an normal surgeries would be useless right now.” She pauses, taking a heavy and burdened sigh as she crossed her arms. She looks at the boy with the most solemn expression Arkus had ever seen, before she turns her gaze towards him

“However there is one option left” she whispered. Arkus looks up at her in anticipation. The boy might actually have a chance, he thought to himself in relief. In his relief, he didn't notice her eerie silence until she turned to him, her eyes filled with heavy guilt but determination.

“The only thing we can do now is amputate the leg”

And with her words Arkus felt his breath leave his entire body. “What?” he repeated.

He turned to the boy, taking in peaceful look on his face as he continued to sleep in blissful rest, unaware of what's going on with. From where Arkus was, it almost look like a young child sleeping before him. Which was exactly wrong. He was young enough to be a child.

Goddess’, he could be the same age as his daughter. And here he was, laying on his bed in immense pain and losing every breath of life in him as time continued on.

And that only made Arkus feel worse. What should he do, he thought. It wasn’t fair to the boy to have such extreme injuries. He doesn’t deserve to lose his leg.

But he doesn’t deserve to die either...

Forgive me, he prayed to the boy.

“Okay” he whispered. Aielin looked at him for a moment before giving him a look of understanding. “ We need to do this quick. The quicker the better chance we can save him in time” she tells him.

He saw Aielin gesture to her assistant as he walks out of the room for a moment, probably heating up one of his spare axes as we speak. That thought alone only made the reality of the situation crash down on him.

A spark of a thought came into mind and he turns to the healer in worry.

“Wait what about the pain-reliever?” he asked frantically as the healer in question was organising a pack of bandages on to the bedside table swiftly.

“Arkus we don’t have time. By the time it kicks in, we’ll lose him. And that's if I had any. You know the Galra’s scrapped all the more stronger medicine from us” she hissed, whispering to her assistant to hold the hurt boys arms. Her assistant nodded and walks towards him just as Aielin pulled out some bandages and bottled jars.

“Now do you have a spare axe or blade I can used to perform the procedure” she asked, her voice almost innocent, like their wasn’t any weight behind her words. Arkus turned to her, feeling a droplet of sweat run down his forehead. He gulped, his mouth suddenly dry, before speaking.

“We have an axe right down downstairs, beside the back door.” he answered. Aielin nodded and waved over to her assistant. She whispered to him, instructing him to get the axe. The helper nodded before

“We’ll need to heat up the axe so the cut is clean and smooth. Will that be alright?” she asked. Arkus felt his blood run cold at the thought but nodded anyways.

Suddenly the door creaked open and Arkus turned his gaze to see Ceri standing there with a giant basin of water and towels held under her arms.

“I got the water and towels. I wasn’t sure how many you needed” she said nervously. Aielins helper walked over and thank her, grabbing the large basin and placing beside the bed. Ceri went and gave the towels to Aielin, the healer turning to her and smiling gently. “Thank you little one.” she thanked as she took the towels from her.

Ceri smiled back but was wiped off when she heard the boy groan again. She gazed at the boy in worry and Arkus couldn’t help but feel the need to comfort her. Before he could even act on the thought the healer rested her hand on his daughter. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be just fine”

Ceri turned to her in surprise and he watched as the doctor’s eyes softened. “I’ll make sure of it”

Ceri looks at her for a moment before giving her a small but grateful smile. “Thank you Healer Aielin”

Arkus turned his attention to the assistant as he came back into the room, Arkus never once noticing him ever leaving, with a large slab of wood on hand. He watched as he stepped towards the bed and carefully- and eloquently - placed the slab just under the injured leg.

Right where it would have to be cut of, he realised, with unwanted clarity.

“Ceri wait outside”

“But Papa-”

“Now Ceri!” he yelled. He turned to his daughter and watched as she tensed. “I don’t want you to see this.” He didn’t know he said it out loud. The room stretched in silence before a soft whisper came from behind him.

“Okay” Ceri said softly. He didn’t turn around around as she walked out of the room, hearing the closing the door behind him. He closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. When he opens them again he notices Aielin looking at him with a silent but clear gaze.

“What?” he bites out, slightly glaring at her. But Aielin continues to look back at him, head on. “Is it wrong for me to not want to give my own child more night terrors or tragedies” he growls out but Ailien just continued to watch him eyefully.

He turned his head away, his eyes solely resting on the boy in front of him and whispers, softly,“She has enough tragedies weighing on her shoulder. I'm not about to make another one”

Aielin eyes soften, her stoic facade disappearing for a moment. “We need to get ready. Ourka, the axe please?” she asked the assistan- Ourka. Ourka nodded and leaves the room to retrieved the heating up axe. Arkus watches as he left the room silently before turning his gaze back to female healer.

“Don’t worry, he’s already unconscious, he won't even remember this even happening. Now hold him down ” Arkus gulped before tightening his hold on the boys arms and shoulders while Aielin gives a short curt nod as the helper grabbed the boy's other leg and his upper torso, making sure he was immobile as possible.

“Whatever you he does, whether he screams, cries or flails around. Don't let go of him. ”

Arkus felt his heart clench at the though but gave a strong but curt nod.

“Ready?” they all nodded as Aielin slowly raised the axe, the light of the axe glowing from its heat.

“Three” Arkus took a deep breath.

“Two” he gripped the boy's shoulder and chest, taking in how solemn the boy looked one last time.

“One”

Arkus would never forgot the slice of sound as the axe fell down, meeting its mark.

Or the blood curdling scream that came after.

He watched in terror as the boy flung forward , pushing against his weight as he lets out a ear screeching scream. He scream and screamed till Arkus heard his voice become hoarse, And even still he continued to scream.

The boy flailed and struggled against his grip and Arkus had to grunt as he tried to keep him in place. But he continued to struggle his arms flails in the air before they meet his chest. The boy gripped his shirt like a lifeline, pulling to in but also pushing him away.

And as the boy continued to grip him tightly he felt his heart sank out the sound of his broken sobs and cries.

“Mama! Mama. Duele- Duele mucho-AHHH” Arkus couldn’t understand the boy's words, the words slurred and spoken through a completely different tongue than his own, but he hear the painful cries and fear from his words. Arkus had to swallow the bile rising in his throat.

Hearing the boy beg, he could felt dirty as he restrained the boy. He watched as the boy couldn’t to scream, his voice strained and hoarse beyond belief.

“ Don't let him move!” Aielin yelled as she poured of a bottle of liquid all over the leg before grabbing her needle and beginning to stitch up the remaining skin leftover. He glanced over and watched as her bloody hands stitched him up with such quick precision before he feels the boy beneath him struggle under his weight once again.

“Dondo esta….por favour hagolo parar….Mama! Papa!” the half conscious boy continued to scream out. He flinch at the words but still pinned the boy down as he flailed aimlessly around the bed.

“H-hazlo parar..-por favor hazlo parar…...P-por favor alguien me-....ayude!” he chokes out, his voice strangled his words slurring more and more by the second.

He watched as the boys eyes become hooded, and unfocused, finally catching a glimpse of his blue eyes before they rolled back under his eyelids and the boy finally fell fully unconscious. He heard Aielin sigh in relief.

“Bandages”she whispered, Ourka bolted from his position and grabs the bandages which lay neatly folded beside him. He places them in her hand and watched intently as she wraps the surrounding wounds and his ribs but not the leg itself.

Arkus couldn’t help but absently wonder why and as those Aielin could read his very thoughts she answers. “We need to let the wound be oxygenated for a bit before bandaging it. And it's best to leave the remaining limb to be less tenderised for at least less than than a varga.”

“But what if he bleeds out? What do we do then?” he asked, as he watched Aielin stand up, himself soon following.

“Dont worry. The heat of the axe was strong enough to cauterise the majority of the wound, which also means that he didn’t lose too much blood either. He’s going to survive, thankfully” she said and she took one of the fresh towels that wasn’t covered in the boy's blood and used it to wipe her soaked hands.

She kept her gaze towards the boy as her assistant grabbed the hot basin of water and dipped in one of the bloody towels, the water’s once clear appearance muddled with the murky red of his blood, and place one of them around the amputated leg, soaking in all the mangled blood and grazes that surrounds it.

Aielin was suddenly drawn back from his trance as she reached out as lay her hand on his shoulder softly. “You did good Arkus” she spoke. But no good enough , he felt a voice whisper behind him. Arkus ignores the voice however and tries to gives her a small smile that looked strained.

“Now lets leave the boy be. I’ll have Ourka keep watch of him while he rests” she said, before lightly patting his back in comfort. She smiled at him for a second before she turns to leave the room. Arkus turned to look at the boy one last time and was glad to see the peaceful look that dwelled on his face.

He just hope the boy would make it.....

Chapter Text

Its official. Out of all the missions and crappy situations she’s ever been in.

This has to be the worst of them yet...

The mission was a success and where just about to wormhole jump. That’s when everything went wrong. She knew that weird lightning did something to the wormhole but she was to relieved with getting out of there to realise the potential risk it brought.

She remembered her anxiety as the wall of the wormhole changed from its beautiful and calm sea of blue to a sickly mixture of purple, sparking like electricity. She honestly felt no better fear then when the Green Lion was flung from the Hanger and was pulled towards the violent pulling force of the tainted interior.

She could recall her wishing that this wasn’t the end. That she still had to find Matt and her Dad. And return to Earth, her mom waiting with open arms. And as she felt her and Green crash against the wormhole walls, she felt her fear spike and clench her eyes shut as the fell through the walls, the pure surprise and relief as she came from the other side alive , gave her a sense of gratefulness to any superior entity this galaxy believed in.

Until she was thrown strongly towards a cluster of space debris.

Which led her to where she was now. Crash landed on what was like a trash nebula of some kind.

To say the crash landing was terrible would be an understatement.

And what's worse…...the Green Lion wasn’t responding.

So Pidge wasn't having a good day.

With the lack of information about where she had landed and the knowledge that she had no communications till - or if- the Green Lion was back online again, didn’t leave much to ignore the pool of anxiety that bubbled in her stomach.

She scanned over the black screen for the millionth time that hour, silently hoping this time they would light up again. But they didn’t, just the other times she wished them to. She couldn’t help but let out a drawled out sigh in frustration.

“Okay Pidge stay calm. Remember what Matt taught you, ‘ When you're lost in space the best thing to do is to stay put and wait for people to find you’ ” she told herself, her heart tightened at the thought of her brother. God, she missed her brother. She shook her head, banishing her thoughts. She didn’t have time for that. “This could be fun” she tells herself, straightening her back, her hands resting between her crossed legs.

“No one to annoy me” she sighed out. She felt her mind drift, old memories of all the time Hunk and Lance would come find her in what the duo would like to call “The Techno-hermit Cave” and drag her out from any projects she was working on. Or even when Coran came to occasion chat or rather she would type out some coding as he would tell her tales of the “Old days”. That is until Allura personally came to drag him out of her hair, with some assignment or duty in mind. Or even the times Shiro would nag and scold him about not sleeping or missing an occasional meal or two.

Hell, even Keith came in just so he can have a place to himself to think or just have someone there while he did all his angsty mullet haired stuff, like clean his weapons (aka his knife and bayard).

As she thought of her team she felt the pit of worry in her stomach deepen at the thought of them out there.

Did they even make it out alright? Did they get stranded just like she did?

Wherever they are she just hopes their okay.

She shook her head quickly, physically trying to banish her thoughts. What was she thinking. Of course they were okay. They always are. There wasn’t any reason for them not to be.

Well except beside the tear in the spacial gravitational pull of the malfunctioning black hole.

Pidges sighs heavily, lightly tapping her knee with her index finger absently.

Going outside wouldn’t hurt right? Maybe she could occupy herself with finding some scraps of metal that was lying around and make junk versions of the team. Maybe even a mini junk Voltron. But only if she was bored enough.

Which seems exactly where she is right now. Bored

And with nothing to do but wait.

And what if one of them landed her with her?

She froze at the absent thought. What if they close enough for her to find them? Or even have a functioning Lion that could send a signal out to Allura and Coran.

If they made it out safely through the wormhole that is , a voice quipped in the silence.

Dammit she can’t just sit here and do nothing while her friends could possible be out there, looking for her and the others. She needs to find a way of this junk pile. Or look to see if anyone crashed along with her. Patience wasn’t her thing afterall.

Sorry Matt, she thought. She looks over to her bayard that was placed, locked in, into the key-like compartment  before taking it out, placing it into the palms of her hands. She closes her eyes for a moment and grips her bayard tightly.  

But I can't just wait around while the others try to find me.

“Okay” she mumbled to herself. She let her bayard dissolve into the armors interdimensional storage unit before standing up from her seat and walking out of the cockpit, not once looking back. But instead of going through the mouth of the Lion, she went to the crown of the head where there was a small panel that lead her out of the Lion, the passage created for the precaution where the Lion in question was no longer functioning

She tapped the small button on the side which caused the panel to slowly open up just above her head. She grunted disgruntled as she quickly climbed out of the panel. From there, on the top of the Lion, she could really see where she had landed.

“ Huh” she mumbled under her breath as she scanned around her surroundings. “Looks like their really is no gravity here huh”. She must be far enough away from the surrounding planets orbital fields, preventing any sort of gravitation to this condensed spot and location. Probably the reason why this nebula is crowded with junk like it is.

She couldn’t but wonder if the others had landed someone similar to this place or if they found themselves on a planet that was filled with life.

She took in the view for one last time before turning her gaze to the Green lion, the once powerful, and stagnate presence, sitting there now in front of her, large and devoid of the life and presence it once had, it's large paws holding it up from its now lifeless weight. She couldn’t help but feel the sense of wrongness that surrounds her sight.

She wasn’t ashamed to admitted that she wasn’t the most closest to their lion. Two that rely solely on knowledge and intelligence, they lacked the art of “bonding” and weren’t the best at connecting with others. They were more like allies or even a partnership of common interest. With the Green Lion, Pidge can find her family and for the Green Lion would have a paladin and pilot to be used in this war.

They had a good understanding between one another.

But now…

Pidge looked at her Lion, who stood still like a frozen statue, the light in its eyes blackened and dimmed. She’s never seen her Lion like this before. This empty .

Lifeless.

Worry tightened her chest. She didn’t know why but she knew that she hated seeing her lion like this and silently she made a promise to herself to never let Green end up like this ever again.

When Green was back she’s gonna try to be the most sociable person in the universe. Even more than Coran or Lance, if that was even possible. Quietly, she rested her hand onto one of Green’s limp paws.

“Rest up, girl. I’ll find a way to get us out of here” she whispered, sighing as she got no response in return. Now, she turned around, her gaze focused on the junk pile before her.

Where to start….

She looked at her wrist hoping to see the screen light up, functionally and actually have something to work with. But-

Nothing…

She tapped the screen hoping it could do something but nothing. She sighs.

Great.

Now she wasn’t just crash landed on a space nebula of some kind that was on the other side of the universe with a lion thats offline, no way of this place and with no map.

She groaned in exasperation. There wasn’t much she could do except look around, scout the area. With what actual area there was. At least it's a start. But what then. She floating was around in a trash nebula with a offline Lion and nothing to do except wander around, she could be lucky enough to find something that could help her get off this thing.

….Yeah she doubted that would happen.

Maybe she should try the comms again, see if they work. If she wasn’t lucky enough to connect to her team she had some probable chance of connecting to a nearby ship that could help her. Of course there also the chance that she might contact a scouting Galran ship designated to this part of the system as well.

But if that happens she could ambush them and uses there channels to try and connect to the castle, maybe gets some useful information while she was at it.

Or it could just not connect to anything and she would have spend her time wandering around. Maybe make that junk team that she thought of earlier.

Wouldn’t hurt to try, she guessed….

She raised her hands towards her helmet, activating her comms once again. She felt disheartened by the quiet sound of static filling her ears. Still, she opened her mouth, ready to test out the comms, until she heard a crackling sound that clipped through her helmet.

“An-...one t-there?”

Wait that voice, it couldn’t be…

“Shiro?” she called out. “Pidge?” he called back, questioningly. It really was him!

“Shiro!”

She could Shiro sigh in relief through the comms, a soft exhale through the constant pants of breaths. “ Good to finally hear someone's voice in this dump” he joked. “Good to hear from you too, Shiro” she answered, causing him to release a small breathless laugh in response.

“What even is this place?” she heard him murmur, quiet and probably only for himself to hear if it wasn’t for the comms picking it up.

“What do you remember?” she asked.

“I don't know. I just remember falling through the wormhole and then crashing here.” he explained. So the same as her then.

She glanced around the nebula, looking for the Black Lion in question. “But I didn’t see the Black Lion” she hears Shiro grunt softly like he was pushing against something, a soft clatter of metal echoing through the comms.

“Yeah, when we fell through the wormhole, we collided and crashed through one of the holes and I can’t get my lion out. The Black Lion was damaged by the impact of the fall and it isn’t working”

So exactly the same position as her then. Except the you know, Lion trapped in a hole part. But the majority of it is the same.

“What about the Green Lion, is it still operable” he asked, sucking in sharp and shallow breaths as he spoke. Why was he panting? “No, their offline too. Guess we’re both stuck here then” she replied, silence static stretching out through the comms, no more words spoken.

She looks around, scanning over her surroundings for a familiar black figure but nothing. “Do you know where you are exactly. Like specific ‘landmarks’ that might hint me to where you might be?” she asked.

“T-Theres…” he stutters before starting over again. “There's a large dish in front of me. It looks….like some kind of satellite. About twenty -twenty five?- inches give or take in length” he said, the comms crackling slightly. She looked around and noticed two distinct satellite dishes, two that fit exactly wait Shiro described. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, a little bit ahead of the dish there's this….I don’t know. A wing of some kind. It’s tall curled and battered. It looks kind of bronzed and rusty”

A bronze looking wing? She scowled as she scanned her surroundings. “A curled broken wing” she muttered to herself, trying to remind her what she was looking for her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask Shiro for more details, something caught her eyes. She squinted her eyes as she looked at the object and realised it was the wing that she was looking for. She smiled.

Bingo

“It isn’t too far away from me. I could get there in ten minutes. Five tops” he grunted out. She nodded absently as looked for the clearest route to the satellite dish. “Okay, I see it. It isn’t too far away from me, probably take five minutes to get there too”.

“So, how are holding up?” she asked, trying to pass the time as she made her way towards her destination. “You don’t sound as excited as you would be falling through a wormhole and crashing into a giant space junk pile”

“Well, it takes more than a glowing alien wound, a fall from here and crashing into this cluster debris at what i'm guessing was 25 metres per second squared to get rid of me. How are you? ” he commented on in a casually sarcastic tone, that caused her to grin in response. Pidge makes her way towards the large tower like structure, her fluffy companions following right behind her, chirping and beeping occasionally.

“The Green Lion isn’t responding to me, so I’ll scout out and find you okay? From the looks of it your Lion isn’t to far from where we are” she reported as she looked around the aimless debris and junk that floated around. Then she blinked. Wait..did she hear that right?

“What do you mean wound? Are you okay?” she asked, as she hopped past piles of junk, keeping a careful eye so she doesn't trip. She maneuvered around the larger clusters of junk around her as she continued to get closer and closer to the broken wing, which means she was almost at the tower.

“ Define Okay ” she heard Shiro mutter under his breath, probably wasn’t supposed to hear him. Well that doesn’t sound too good. If Shiro of all people is being brief and sarcastic, that mean things weren't so good.

Not that Shiro didn’t have sense of humour. Hell, Pidge could remember a time where Shiro was just as goofy and jokefull as her brother whenever she saw them together. Even now, during training she would hear Shiro shot a joke here and there to relax the team. But even Pidge noticed that Shiro doesn’t joke as often as he used to. And when he does, it was to calm a tense situation or used to cover up how he felt or if he was severely tired or hurt.

Like now…

Though he wasn’t being funny but sarcastic. That's new. So that could mean he’s either mildly okay and actually not too injured or he was very injured and could be covering it up with sarcasm too instead of just simple humor. Then again he coul-

Ugh Pidge. Rambling.

Suddenly she heard a large clatter of metal echo from beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts. Was someone her? She turned around then flinch when she heard the same clatter come from behind her. There it was again. That couldn’t be just coincidence.

She twisted her body around, facing the hooded metal hole where , she presumed, the sound came from. She activated her senser on her armor leg, waving her hand across it and taking in the feeling of her bayard appearing in the palm of her hand.

“Who’s there?!” she shrieked, raising her bayard out in front of her, feeling the bayard slowly take its form in her clenched hand; ready to attack. She watched anxiously as the hooded cave began to lit up, small glowing eyes dimmed eerily in the shadows, her nerves speaking higher and higher as more eyes glowed bey the second till the entire cave filled with glowing eyes.

She watched nervously and keep her bayard on hand, ready for them if they attacked, Whatever they were. Slowly, they floated towards her, their doey eyes filled with blank curiosity that Pidge couldn’t help but quietly ‘aw’ at.

They didn’t look so bad. Maybe there were actually friendly, she thought. She looked at the small and innocent looking creatures in front of her, floating there calmly, bleeping and gurgling from time to time. Without a second's thought, she drops his bayard to her side, still activated just in cause.

Suddenly in a flurry, the fluffy creature bleeping in a high pitch tone somewhat excitedly- or what Pidge guessed as excitement- and flew towards her, floating bubbly around her while some just floated just above her shoulder.

Pidge couldn’t help but coo at the sight.

“Awww Hey little guy. Aw, you guys are so cute. Too cute to be found in a dump like this. Are you the only guys living here?” she questioned absently, smiling as the bleep and blink in response.

“Eh Pidge, What’s going on?” she yelped in surprise as Shiro’s filtered through her helmet. Shit , she forgot to turn of the comms. “Eh nothing” she stammered out. “I just came across the locals, that's all” she replied, her eyes locked onto the group of fluffy space furballs that floated around her. She watched hesitantly as some drew closer to her, as if they were curious.

“I hope my rough landing didn’t disturb your day. I’ll only be here for a short amount of time. I'm just waiting for my friends to find me.”

Friends…

“Anyways we were separated during a wormhole jump but one of them landed here with me and I have to find him”

The fluffy created that Pidge dubbed as- the Fluffies- let out a questioning blurb, which she took as curiosity. The huddled around her, floating aimlessly as they continues beeping and gurgling.

Quiznak, their so fucking adorable.

“Want to come help me find him?” She asked, knowing they wouldn’t be able to reply. But even so, the gurgle to her happily and she couldn’t but smile as the floated around her bubbly and excitingly, some circling around her constantly.

“Pidge?” she heard Shiro worry voice come through the comms, his voice filled with concern. “I'm fine, I just found some our friendly neighbours”

“ Neighbours?” he asked questioningly. She looked up at the junk pile in front of her. Maybe she should fly over it? It doesn’t look too high. She crouched down before activating her blasters. Pidge tries to keep balance as she flew over the top of the pile before floating back down. “Yeah but their harmless” she grunts out as she lands conveniently on top of the pile. Well that wasn’t too bad.

“Be careful though okay? We don’t know what else could be lurking around here” Pidge rolls her eyes. “I know. I’ll be careful” she promises, stopping for a moment before she skids down the junk pile , almost face planting once or twice in the process.

She looked around again to make sure she was still on track. Not too far to go now, he thought to herself. Just through small walled area in front of her and she would be there. She glanced behind her too see the flurry of space fluffies slide down the junk pile while a few just floated over it in mild satisfaction.

She waited for a moment as they all gathered around her once again before making their way into the walled off area. She strolled through the pathway, looking around the place absently, the furry creatures behind her bleep and coo bubbly, as they continue to float around her.

Suddenly she heard a sudden clatter of metal coming from ahead of her, immediately she held her bayard in her palms tightly, cautious but careful to no jump the gun. Maybe it was just some floating metal crashing into one another, she though. Then, Pidge heard another clatter of metal, louder this time, immediately tensing up in anticipation. She held her breath and listened.

Yeah that doesn’t sound like just metal crashing into each other. Maybe it could be just more of these fluffy caterpillars flying around.

Damn it, she wished her map would work. She wouldn’t be so goddamn antsy if she knew what she was dealing with here.

Pidge stood there for a moment, before slowly and cautiously taking a step forward, right towards the wide corner where she heard the sound come from.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she violently turned the corner, her bayard activated and in front her as she stood on the offensive battle stance. Ready to attack, but she stopped as she saw Shiro ahead, his head down as he leaned heavily against the surrounding walls.

“Shiro!” she yelled, waving her hands in the air, grabbing his attention. Quickly, Shiro turned his gaze to her, finally noticing her presence. “Pidge!” he breathes out, a small smile gracing his lips before he curls inward into his chest, hissing in pain.

Immediately, she ran towards him, watching intently as he tried to stay on his shaky feet. He continued to lean against the wall as he pants into himself, his breaths shallow and uneven as his one hand steadies him onto the wall while the other clutches his side tightly. For a moment Pidge thought she saw a glow coming through his fingers but ignores it as she reaches to Shiro’s side, her bayard long unactivated as she lay her palm softly on his shoulder.

“Holy shit Shiro” she mumbled out, ignoring the his quiet but curt “Language” from him. Before Shiro could stagger on his feet and buckle under his own weight again, Pidge grabbed Shiro arm and slung it on to her shoulder as she supported his size. Which was hard considering she’s only fifteen, tiny and has literally no upper body strength while Shiro was a fucking bulky ass rock of a man and over half her weight. Still she managed somehow.

“I’m okay, I’m okay” he mumbled, his voice slurred and slow.

She feel worry consume her the second she watched Shiros eyes roll slightly back before dropping closed. “ Shiro! ” The sudden energy and life in his body disappeared from him, along with his consciousness so it seems, she mused. This was bad.  “Come on stay awake. Stay with me Shiro”

Suddenly he lets out of a small but sharp exhale of breath before slumping heavily against Pidge, her own body almost buckling under his weight as she yelps in surprise .

Well.

Shit…

***

It been a few hours since they landed on this nebula.

When Shiro had fallen unconscious, Pidge didn’t know what to do, until the Fluffy creatures drew her attention, nudging her shoulders before floating a head of her, waiting for her to follow. She complied, slinging Shiro around her before carefully -and kinda grunting- followed behind as they lead the way.

After much dragging and a lot more turns that Pidge wish weren’t there, she found her and the group of fluffies in front of the cave where she first found them. Immediately she walked into the cave and left Shiro into the corner of the cave as she waited for him to wake up.

Not long after, Shiro woke up again and was in more pain. Her thoughts of the past hours were drawn away from the sound of Shiro groan in pain.

She looked at Shiro in worry, taking notice to how pale he looked. He looks so tired, it seemed so out of place, like an expression that should never even exist on his face. She couldn’t help but wonder if Shiro looked the same when he was in captivity from the Galra. Fighting in those coliseums. Tired.

Defenceless.

In pain?

The very thought of him like that left a tight knot in her stomach. She can’t bear to see her brothers best friend, her leader and her friend, in such pain. Like it was something that just didn’t fit and shouldn’t fit.

She and the other won’t let it fit. Not on their watch.

Shiro noticed her gaze and gives her a small smile, trying to reassure her but only makes her more worried and the wince it causes.

“It’s okay, Katie. Really, it isn’t as bad as it looks”

Pidge tried to ignore the urge to roll her eyes at Shiro. Okay, her ass. They were god knows where, with no clue where the others are and Shiro is injured. Okay isn’t close to describing this.

She stepped towards Shiro and crouched down beside him. From a closer view, she could see just how much of “okay” Shiro was. The sweat-drenched frosted tips plastered on his forehead, the pale look from his skin. The ragged breaths.

And the flash of pain in his eyes.

“Let me see” Pidge mumbled. Gently she rested her hand on top of Shiro’s clenched one, silently asking for permission. When Shiro relaxes his grip, Pidge slowly held it in her hand, moving it away from the wound, letting it rest limply on his thigh. She hears Shiro let out a loud hiss, but keeps her eyes on the wound. When she finally sees the wound, she felt her stomach drop.

If she was completely honest, this had to be the weirdest wound she ever saw. And the most vile.

The wound was plastered over his entire lower side, pulsing slightly as the ever glowing shade of lilac surrounded the entire wound. The sickly shade spread out like its was lightning, the ends sharp and zig zagging like the end of a thunderbolt. It was sparse and uncontrollable, stretching all around Shiro's torso. There was rapid and noticeable discolouration surrounding the glowing wound, a few bruising blemishes danced around the existing wound.

There was also visible signs of swelling, contorted by the layer of….something, distorted how much swelling there was present, only noticeable by the uneven bumps that stuck out of his side and upper hip. The sickeningly illuminescent violet mingling with his wine red blood, mixing in the bloody puddle beside him. Fuck, it looked even bigger than before.

Shit, what the hell is this wound?

Shiro blinked, owlishly. If Pidge wasn’t so worried and stressed than usual she would have made a snarky comment about his face. But even she knew it wasn’t time for that, even if she really wanted to comment on it.

Sacrifices for the greater good, she guessed.

Carefully, she reached towards the small sachet that she added to her belt just before the mission and took out a small cube, the box dimming in a low fluorescent neon blue. She pressed against one side of the cube and watched as the top of the cube slide to the side, revealing a soft and smooth goo inside, its sickly acidic yellow tang contrasting against the navy blue interior.

Softly, she scooped a large bit of the goo onto the tips of her fingers and turned to towards Shiro before gently placing the slick substance directly onto his glowing wound. She tried not to flinch as Shiro hissing vehemently and continued to spread the goo around the surrounding injury., scooping some more goo from the cube when she needed to.

Once she was done she quickly went stood up and told Shiro to wait there as she went back to her Lion to get the remaining bandages she had left. Once she finally returned she wrapped his wound tightly around his torso, making sure it was tight enough to keep together but not enough to cause any discomfort.

“Your good at this” she heard Shiro whisper above her as she knots the bandage together. His words absent and almost dazed as he spoke, almost saying the words as though it was a statement or something deeper. Like a child who just observed something they didn’t notice before.

“Yeah, my Mom liked to teach me basic first aid when I had nothing else to do. She would always say it was stupid for a nurse like her to not teach her kids at least some first aid.” she replied, smiling slightly.

She couldn’t help but reminisce at the thought of her mother, memories of all the afternoons with her mom in the living room, learning how to bandage someone with a sprained leg or to make slings. Ever since they came to space, Pidge has been using her skills to help or fix anyone that was mildly injured to the point that going into one of the healing pods would be a waste. If she wasn’t decoding an Galra info the got from recon missions or searching for her family, that us. Still, the last thing she expected it to be so handy out here in space.

She focused back onto the task at hand, knowing full well what would happen if she continued that train of thought and purposely ignore the slight tug of her heart at the thought of her mother alone. She mental shook her head stubbornly.

Dammit, she cursed. This wasn’t helping. Finally shed tied the last knot in success and quickly snapped he hands back to rest on her lap.

“ And done! Better?” she asked, looking up to older man in front of her. Shiro gazed down at the neatly wrapped bandage with a small smile. “Yeah….thanks Pidge” he spoke out softly. Pidge replied with a small tilted grin.

“Thank me when we get out of here” she replied, slowly getting back onto her feet. She turned to her gauntlet, watching absently as her screen pops up. She reads over the screen, looking at lack of frequencies displayed. Pidge’s sighs out in frustration. Still no form of communication.

She guessed they really would have to wait here.

“Hey” she heard a soft whisper and looks up to see Shiro looking at her softly, a small encouraging smile in place of his earlier crunched up and pained expression. She watched absently as Shiro looked at her, a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead to his bottom jawline. “They’ll come” he said, his straining chords suddenly soothed by the strength of his words.

She looked into his eyes, gazing intently at the sudden fire that builded in iris, determination, confident and faith fueling its spark. He was so confident that they would come, believing that they were alright, safe and well and alive.

It was so strong even Pidge could almost believe his words.

He was right. They will come. All she has to do is have a little faith in her friends. She turned her gaze to the group of ‘Fluffies’, and watched as they they clustered together in some line, their markings glowing more brightly than before as the turn their gaze outside of the small metallic cave. Curiously, she followed their gaze, wondering what caused them to act this way.

“Pidge? What’s going on?” Shiro asked, concern dripping from his voice as she looked out of the cave in silence. Shiro couldn’t see what she was looking at at the angle he was but couldn’t help but think something was wrong. She turned to him, confusion etched into his expression as she grinned at him wildly.

“It’s the Green Lion! She’s rebooting!” she yelled back. She watched in awe as the Lions eyes that were dark abyss glew in its usual temperate amber, glowing brighter than Pidge hever saw. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief at seeing Green return back to her, unscaved and the same as always. Even without a strong bond, Pidge couldn’t help but feel glad to feel Green’s bond and presence once more.

“Hey you're working again! Welcome Back!” she cheered, flailing her hands in the air as the Green Lion to move onto its feet, a soft purr emitted from its metallic body.

She ignored Shiro’s grunt of surprise as she rushed out of the hooded cave and bolted towards the Green Lion. Without warning, she used her back pack to accelerate through the condensed nebula at a faster rate, drawing closer and closer to her Lion, not noticing some of the furballs trailing behind her.

2 seconds….

That's all it took for her to start her jet pack, fly a few feet, then get her foot caught on a large cable wire and fling herself smack down onto the ground.

….

Great..

“Pidge!” Shiro called out, his eyes drawn to his fallen teammate as she lay flat against the pile of junk underneath her. “Im fine” she grunted.”I just tripped on some rusty….”

Satellite...

Pidge you genius.

“That’s it!” she yelled, raising her hands up into the air- space! - in happiness. Shiro yelps in surprise at her sudden burst of energy before crunching his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Eh-wha..?” he stumbles out.

She turned towards him, knowing full well her eyes would be gleaming with determination. “I think I know a way to contact the castle”

She turns back to the broken satellite and parts, gesturing her hands towards them. “If I get the right parts that could be still used and linked them to the Green Lion, I could send I strong enough signal that Allura and Coran could get” she explained.

Shiro looked at her for a moment, taking in the confidence in her voice, before letting his lips curled upwards slightly. “Pidge...you're a genius”

Pidge couldn’t help but smile back shyly at the praise. She’s used to people calling her a genius, whether out of scorn or in admiration. But hearing Shiro call her a genius warms her heart and can’t help but remind her of every Matt would say the same thing, giving her the exact same feeling in her chest.

It was...nice.

Awkward as hell….but nice.

“I know” she agreed, playfully, which only made Shiro smile widen. She raised her hand under her chin as she thought deeply. This shouldn’t be too hard. They had all the materials right in front of them after all. Speaking of materials.

“We’ll need to get a big enough satellite disk or various small disks that aren’t broken enough” Pidge muttered.

“Then I’ll help you get the materials you need” Shiro pants out. She watched as he grabbed  the wall he was lying against and rushed towards in worry as he tries to push himself up only to fall back down.

“Like hell you are. You’re going to sit here and rest “

“Bu-”

“No. You're going to stay there and no hurting yourself, got it?”

“Besides, I’m sure these little guys won’t mind lending a hand” she said, grinning widely as the continued to bleep excitingly. “Now rest up. I don’t wanna have to deal with Keith's “protective emo brother” phase” she smirks and can’t help but let it grow at the sound of Shiro’s soft chuckle. “Fine” with a sigh, he relents and Pidge couldn’t help but feel victorious.

“Hang in there, o’ gracious leader. I'm gonna make sure Allura and Coran get her before you keel over okay? When they come they’ll fix you right up. So just hold out a little longer okay?” she watched as Shiro turned his gaze to her before give a small wince of a smile before nodding. She gave him a her large grin before turning her gaze away, her mind drumming with anticipation.

She looked at the Green Lion, taking in the sight of the once lifeless machine, drum with energy and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight and the soft purr she could hear the lion emit.

“Lets get started”

***

“Okay then I put this here and connect this wire with this one” she mumbled to her herself unconsciously, her mind running constantly as she focused solely on the task in front of her. Her hands fumbled as she connected each wire together with another.

With the help of the furry space caterpillars, it didn’t take long to gather enough materials to use to build the satellite. After a few hours of searching and scavenging through the entire nebula, they were finally able to get enough materials and wires to actually built this thing. With her tools, the ones that she secretly smuggled into the Green Lion when Coran wouldn’t catch her taking, she was able to put it all together with short amount of time.

She was a quick worker after all….

Plus she may have got extremely focused into her work and may or may not fell over some metal plates from time to time.

As she continued working on making the satellite, Shiro and the group of fluffies gathered all the material, organizing it so she wouldn’t have to go looking for them. But secretly, she knew it was just a way for Shiro to do something while he waited and try to be helpfull without worsening his injuries. But for his sake, she would it go this time, pretend she didn’t notice.

Or at least try to.

As did the finished connecting the finally pieces together, Shiro lay a few feet behind her, his hand still resting on his wound, occasionally she would take a small glance at her leader, making sure he was still conscious and couldn’t help but feel her mouth twitched as he gazed, dazedly, at the fluffies that circled in front him, playing with one another. Some had settled down, laying around the crooks of Shiro's legs or a few slowly gathering around him.

When she finished the last piece of the circuit, she glanced over once again and watched silently as one of of the caterpillars got up and quietly and sneakily -or at least tried to be- onto his lap, snuggled together in the crooks of his crossed legs. It silently gurgled as Shiro hesitantly and rather cautiously, lay his hand onto the fluffy creature, his eyes wide and amazed as the creature bleeped in delight.

“These guys sure are friendly” Shiro muttered and one of them bleeped in response. Pidge couldn’t help but snort at the sight. Shiro turns to her a little flustered, a small embarrassed blush dusting his pale cheeks as he quickly places his hand back down to his side again. The fluffy creature in front coes slightly, beeping and gurgling sadly before slowly floating up to him, grazing its furry cheeks against Shiro shoulder.

She watched in amusement as Shiro looks at the creature conflict, like he didn’t know whether to maintain his pride as leader or to give in to the cute creature in front of him. But after a few moments, Shiro eyes sharpened, his mind made up as he lay his hand down onto the space caterpillar once again. Pidge laughed lightly as the fluffy fluttered, satisfied and content laying there as Shiro began petting him once again.

“That ought to do it” she hummed in approval, happy with it finally all coming together. She placed the final panel to cover up the last of the connected wires and circuits, screwing it in place. She turned to the panel in front her, her fingers typing vigorously across the screen. “Now lets see if we can get a hold of the Castle”

She then pressed the activation and floated back as she watched the entire satellite charge up, the entire thing slowly immersing itself in an acrylic blue glow of energy until it lights flickers momentarily before all the glow disappears, dimming quickly and the drumming sound of the satellite is cut off. She rushed to the panel, trying to maintain whatever energy left in it keeping it going but it all shuts down.

She slammed her hand against the panel. “No, No! Come one, what's wrong?!” she typed against the panel furiously as she tried to revive it but the tower continued to only let out a low buzzing sound but going silent once again. She tried and tried but it just keep building up with energy only to die out again.

“Dammit, we need to get out of here and get Shiro some help” she yelled out. “Pidge” Shiro whispers softly but before he could continue, she turned to him in a flurry of frustration. “No Shiro, this needs to work. It has to. We need to find our friends”

They can’t just sit here while their friends were in danger. She can’t just wait anymore. Not like with Matt and her father. She just can’t. Not again.

“Come on!”

Suddenly, she briefly saw a certain bright neon orbs shine brightly and dangerously as the Green Lion rage into life, and lets out a loud bellowing roar that, one that shakes the entire nebula as the metal clatters against one another from the sound of its roar. Then without warning, the satellite lights up, a bright luminescent ivy green energy courses through the machine, sending out a large wave of echoes ahead.

“Yes!!” she cheered, relief and pure excitement bubbled up inside her. She turned to her lion, listening to the soft purr of contentment from the being, and at that Pidge couldn’t be smile in return.

“Thanks girl” she whisper and couldn’t help but be surprised at the distorted but soft ‘your welcome’ she received back in return. Beside her she can hear the fluffy caterpillars flew around her, beeping and gurgling in excitement. She laughed as they bounced around her in delight.

“You did it” Shiro said, his voice soft but not taking away the happiness and pride in his words. They watched as the satellite continued to send waves out towards. They did it.

Now all they have to do now is wait.

….

Then in a blink of an eye, she saw a wormhole door appear in above them, tearing through space, it’s familiar aqua blue energy swirling into each other as a even more familiar spacecraft bursted through the veil of the wormhole, its pearl white exterior shining brightly around its rusty and slowly corroding surrounding. Pidge blinked.

Well….

That was faster than she expected.

“ We made it!” Allura’s and Corans voice boomed through her helmet, as the spaceship hovered above them quietly. She could help but feel the tension that built up inside her since crashing into this nebula evaporate into thin air at the sound of Allura’s voice.

She did it. The were actually here.

She turned to Shiro as he blinked at the spacecraft owlishly before his face relaxes into an expression of pur relief and happiness. “Pidge! Shiro! Thank the stars you're alright”   Allura’s voice boomed through her helmet. Shiro looks up at the spacecraft and smiles.

“Good to you too, princess. Coran, How are you two holding up?”

“Great my boy. Fantastic even! especially with all that crazy wick whacking that just happened” she heard him say, easily able to imagine the orange haired Altean fiddling with his moustache as he spoke. Geez it was great to hear her crazy space uncles voice again. She almost missed his antics.

Almost...

“That's right. Pidge, you saved us. We were stuck in a time loops” Allura explained causing Pidge to arch her eyebrow in question. A time loop?

“Yes! You got us out with this giant trash pile” Corans voice suddenly boomed through the comms.Pidge turned creation, her heart swelling up with pride. “It’s a makeshift communications link that sends out the Green Lions energy. Its similar to the energy that guided the Blue Lion home. Or at least that was the theory I used to build this with” she explained.

“Pidge your a genius”

“Thank you Pidge” Allura praised, her voice filled with utter gratitude that it made Pidge squirm a bit at the praise.

“I know” she remarks before continuing. “But we have bigger problems to deal with. Shiros injured and-” she begins but is cut off by the princess’ voice. “Shiro? He’s with you? Are the others with here too?”

“No it's just us two. We check the comms and everything. But forget that, Shiro’s wound has worsened and he needs medical attention as soon as possible”

Pidge bounced over to Shiro would still lay against the wall, too weak to get up on his own. Carefully she helped him rise to his feet before hooking herself under his arm, supporting his weight as he stood up with shaken feet. He let out a loud hiss before finally relaxing against Pidge.

“Preparing a crypod now” Coran reported. Pidge smiled. “Thanks Coran”

“Now let’s go save the other Paladins”

Chapter Text

Pat

….

Pat, Pat

….

….

Pat

The first thing he feels were the nudges as he slowly began to wake up. Lance could feel himself groan, noticing the soft patter of something pushing against his chest. What was that?

Pat, pat, pat

And why can’t it just let him sleep. Wait why was he asleep. And when? He was too tired to think.He scrunches up his face before lazily lying to his side, his face resting heavily into his pillow. It was quiet again and he lets out a sigh of relief, thinking whatever was petting him had finally giving up until he hears a soft scuffling coming from behind him.

Pat, pat...

“Fine Fine, I’m up. I’m up….” he mutters groggily. Blearily, he slowly opens his eyes and finds himself looking into large chocolate doe eyes that stared back at his, unblinking. “Wha?” he manages to blurt out as he flinches back in surprise. He gently rubs his eyes with the nooks of his hands, wiping away the sleep in his eyes and looks at the small, lean and fluffy thing that was crouched in front of him. Or well more like on top of him. Was that-

“Mimi?” he looks at the persian white cat in confusion, the cat meowing softly as they gazed at one another.

Wait how was Mimi here with him in space? He was pretty sure he would know if his house cat was in the Blue lion. (She never was one for travel, if his past scratches and trauma said anything). He looked around the room he was in and noticed the familiar faded out wallpaper that surrounded the room. It can’t be…

That's when it all click, the world held his breath as it all slide into place.

He knew where he was.

He was home.

Immediately he sprung from the covers of his bed, the weight of the bed creaks under him, straining under his weight. He swung his leg over the edge of his bed before standing up, lightly stepping towards his closed door that was decorated in stickers that Benji decided to stick up one day while Lance was out helping Tio Max in the garage.

He grazed his fingers softly against them before opening the door, ignoring the soft creak in protest. He stepped out of the room, taking in his surroundings.

Everything just like he remembered, the soft creaky wooden panels under his feet as he walks through the narrow teal coloured walled hallway, the picture frames of childhood memories plastered all over the walls, as he walked down the stair, taking in each and every one of them. Or the soft scent of warm pastries and bread that filled his nose, vanilla icing, dusted flour and grains, mingling into a swarm of aromas.

It was all the same.

“Lance? Come on slowpoke, we need get down stairs before Ella and Benji eat everything!” a voice echoed behind him. “Karmen?” He turns around expecting to see his sisters crooked smile and shining azure blue eye that would glint with mischief, but there was no one there. He called out to her again but was met with silence.

He frowned. Did he just imagine that?

Suddenly, he heard a familiar laugh coming from the kitchen and the soft patter of children footsteps. He followed the sounds, making his way towards the kitchen. The laughter grew louder as he got closer and closer to the kitchen.

“Hello?”

The second he walked in, the sounds suddenly began disappearing, a lingering laugh echoing inside of the kitchen but he found no one was there.

“Aunt Mia? Benji? Ella, are you there?” he called out, but nothing happened. That was strange. It was never quiet at home, a constant place of rowdiness and noise, it was one of the things he both loved and hated about his family.

Where was everyone...

“Lance?”

He turned around and felt his breath catch in his throat. He gazed with slowly tearing eyes as his mother stood across the other side of the room, her hand leaning against the open door frame, her artic blue eyes wide. She looked at him, in disbelief, like a ghost from the past. She blinked as her hands shook as they clutched her mouth to silence the sudden sobs that shook her entire body.

“Mama…” he whispered.

“Lance!”

She rushed towards him, wrapping her hands around tightly, embracing him as she mumbled incoherently into his shoulder, one of her hands petting his hair gently like she was making sure he wasn’t just an illusion. He hugged her just as tightly, let his eyes prick with unshed tears.

He rested his head in the crook of her neck, smiling.

”I’m home Mama”

They stay like that for a long time, taking in each others comfort until his Mama gently parted from him. When their eyes meet, she looked at him, scowling. “ Don't you dare scare me like that ever again! Understand mijo? We thought you were gone. The Garrison told us that you were missing b-but how. What happened, mi estrella?”

Lance sighed, raking his fingers softly through his bangs. “ It’s kind if a long story...” he trailed off, looking away until his Mama’s hand draws him back to her gaze.

“Tell me everything”

So he did.

He told her everything. From finding Shiro, to meeting Blue, flying into space for the first time, being teleported to Arus and finding Coran and Allura, finding out about Voltron and the Galra and becoming paladins. He even told her about the different planets him and the paladins saved and saving the Balmera, he didn’t hold anything back. He told her everything he could remember. And through it all she listened intently, her hand cupped over his own as he gestured wildly while he spoke, laughing at times when she heard his silly antics while he was away in space.

“My boy, a hero. Your younger brother would love to hear this” Lance chuckled at the thought of Benji, he could imagine the young boy pouted indignantly at him, whining out how unfair it was that Lance became a paladin and he didn’t while hiding his excitement and wonder for Lance as he tells them his stories.”Yes he would, wouldn't he” God he missed his brother.

“So what happened next?”

Lance opened his mouth but he faltered.

What was he doing?

But as he tries to remember his father's favourite large grandfather clock pinged and clinged across the room. His mother turns to watch the clock, Lance gaze following her own.

8 o’clock

“It's time" he heard his mother whisper, something different lacing her words. He couldn’t figure out what it was. “What's wrong Mama” he heard himself ask, surprised by the sound of his own voice. Why was he surprised? He didn’t know. But was there a reason?

His mother looked at her hands that rested on her lap, worry and concern tingling the surface of his skin at her silence. When she looked up raised her hand towards him, resting her palm against his cheek. He watched as her eyes flashed with pain and sadness as she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

“Mama?” he asked but she continued to look at him in silence.

“Todo estará bien, mi estrella” she whispered to him softly, her accent stringing itself along her words as she spoke. Everything will be okay? Wasn’t already okay. He was home afterall.

What wasn’t okay?

“Mama?” he whispered, his voice confused and uncertain.

His mother smiles to him, her lips curling as her eyes wrinkle at the gesture that could only be described as soft and serene. It was just like his Mama. He always loved his Mama smiles.

But..it wasn’t the same. It didn’t look peaceful.

Something was wrong….

Suddenly the floor began to shake beneath him, the entire room vibrated with the clatter of hung photos banging against the sun yellow walls. He watched, panicked, as the blank void creeped through the wall, devouring all the colours that surrounded it. What was happening.

“Lance” she calls out, drawing his attention back to her, the sweep of colour fading out faster into the void of whiteness that was slowly engulfing them. He looks at her one last time as the light continues to creep in, engraving itself on her skin, as she was slowly swallowed into the vast white. She looks at him with her eyes shining in resigned comfort as her smile morphed into one of melancholy and sadness.

“You need to wake up Mijo”

***

Bright. That's the first thing Lance registers.

(Deja vu much?)

It was like the world suddenly came crashing into his subconscious, everything was alive, overwhelming his senses. Like an explosion of his consciousness was causing him to gasp for air he knew he didn’t need.

For a moment his keeps his eyes closed, letting the world finally stop and be more bearable to him. With a slow stuttering breath, he peaks through one of his eyes, thinned and squinted but enough to take notices of the blurred shapes that surrounded his vision.

Too bright. Lance winces, quickly shutting his eyes again.

Dammit was why everything so bright. And fuzzy, he noted. Everything was fuzzy, like reality suddenly became unfocused or just muffled, his surroundings not taken focus. Why was it so fuzzy. And pulsing. It felt like the world was drumming underneath him like a steady heartbeat. If it was the ground that is. Or that could just be the pulsing head beating against his skull.

Yeah that's probably it.

……

…….

Why was head pulsing again?

Did he eat something funny last night? Then again he wouldn’t what could have happened to him when he ate those weird ass plants.

Plants…

Oh yeah. Crash-landed and injured. Got it. Fun times. That explains the pulsing ache that swarmed his entire body. That also means-

That was a just dream.

He wasn’t back home or sitting down with his mother as she cradled him.

It wasn’t real.

He forcibly pushes down the sudden pain and sadness building inside him as he tries to open his eyes again, but this time slowly, wincing slightly at the sudden brightness that attacked him but this time he kept them open as his eyes slowly adjusted. As the world finally decided to focus for him, he was meet with a sand coloured ceiling, chapped and aged but sturdy above him.

Did he pass out, most likely. And now that he thought about it wasn’t he outside. Almost definitely. Immediately he tensed at that thought, his muscles screaming in retaliation. Carefully he looks around, finally taking in his surroundings.

The room was quiet, the only sound heard was the soft scratchy rustle of the leaves outside in the forest and the wheezing sound of the breeze that came through the open window beside him. The room was small but comfortable, small ornaments hung over the walls of the room. In the corner of the room where the door stood, he noticed his paladin armour laying against the wall, scratched up and tinted slightly. Whoever put him here must of taking over his armour.

He wasn’t on a bed like he thought was on, no, or at least ones like on earth or in the castle. His body was draped with soft handmade red blankets, bright golden embroidery edging on the center of it.  

What was this place...

Dammit Blue was going to be so pissed. Then a thought struck him, like a cold veil was suddenly draped over him. Blue…

She wasn’t here. Sure he doubted his Lion would be in here in this room with him , but that wasn’t the problem.

He couldn’t feel her...

Oh Quiznak, Blue . He can't hear her. Was she ok?

He tries to lift himself up from the body but as soon as he raise himself he felt a piercing stabbing pain bloom and radiate his chest, causing him to groan in pain.

“Ow, ow, ow ”

Oh yeah that was definitely broken. Ow.

He really needs to stop doing that….

He takes a moment to regain the ability to breathe without the feeling of a sledgehammer pressing painfully against his chest. The pressure lessens as he relaxes his shoulder, it doesn’t disappear but at least he didn’t feel like their were knifes pricking against his lungs.

Ok Getting up and find out where in the universe you are: Take 2...

But when he tried to move his legs as he pulls himself up he felt a sudden overwhelming tinge that caused him to yelp in surprise. He felt his breath stutter as the unfamiliar sensation began to dim slightly before fading away. He takes a deep breath, blinking in surprise.

What was that?

He grabbed the blanket that draped over waist to the ends of his feet, and pauses as a sudden sensation washes over him, a sense of utter wrongness and fear gripping his throat. He gulped trying to shake the feeling away. Why was he feeling like that. There wasn’t anything wrong so there was no need for his body to react like that. ( Right?)

But the second he finally throws the blanket off of him, he finally understood why.

He stopped, freezing as his brain finally caught up with him. His entire body freezes, a cold sweat breaking into his skin.  

There wasn't anything above the knee. There wasn't even a knee.

It was... gone.

His chest tighten more and more and he could feel the air leave his lungs. There was nothing there.

There was NOTHING there.

Where was his leg?!

He grabbed his chest tightly try as it became harder to breathe. He continued gazing at the bandaged stump that was his leg. He wanted to look away, pretend it was just a dream. But he couldn’t. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the limbless stump.

He couldn’t pretend it was a dream.

It was real…

His leg was gone, his leg was gone, his leg was gone-

He stares at his stump that was once of his leg, his vision shadowing, the same thought repeating over and over again, like a cursed mantra. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t feel anything.

And -

Oh shit, he couldn’t breathe.

He wraps his other arm around his torso, gripping his shirt tightly. He closed his eyes as he tries to center his breathing, just like the exercises Hunk taught him in the Garrison.

Breathe in for five seconds. Hold for 7 and out for 8.

Five, then seven….then eight.

He wheezes through his breaths, trying his best to focus on the inside but as his vision swam he felt his control slipping. He felt like he was underwater, the surface was above, not even a few inches above him. It was so close, so close. But he couldn’t reach it.

His mind flashed with images of his leg, tormenting him as tries to regain control. Oh god his leg. It's not there .

Suddenly he hears the door creak open. He whips his head to the person that stood from the door. The person before him was a young girl. Her skin was pigmented in a beautiful yellow and greens, the outer shade unique greenish turquoise and the inner part a beautiful sun-kiss golden yellow that lay in the inner parts of her cheeks.

She had small freckled shaped markings across her nose and neck with some large markings on her forehead and temples. She wore a relatively simple light blue blouse, marked in small golden white stitchings.

She stood there frozen, her mouth open and her eyes wide in surprise. Obviously she wasn’t expecting him to be awake or conscious. Lance couldn’t really tell. But she shakes it off, rushing towards him. Even with his vision progressively blurred more and more he could feel her hand pressed against his shoulders.

She yells out something but Lance couldn’t make out what she said. But far away from him, even with the overwhelm drumming in his ears, he could hear a heavy footsteps rushing closer and closer to them.

He heard the door creak again as the heavy footstep stop for a moment. Or he thinks they have, but he wasn’t sure from the loud drumming in his ears. He didn’t know how long she was gone but as she does the room seemed to narrow into him, the walls pushing closer and closer to him and air became thinner. He wheezed out a stutter short breath, his throat stinging in protest. Oh god he was going to pass out.

Breathe for 5

Hold for 7

Out for 8

Oh hell he was going to be sick. With a quick glance he noticed a small bucket laying at the edge of the bed and quickly grabs the edge of it before retching inside it. He lets everything out of his stomach, his throat screaming in protest as the acid vomit escapes his mouth until he didn’t have anything to throw up and dry heaves into the bucket. And through it all, he didn’t notice her coming back into the room again.

And he definitely didn’t notice when she came back with someone taking the lead, who slowly came to approach him.

He flinched, caught by surprise at the persons sudden appearance. He struggles to raise his gaze to the new figure that kneeled in front of him. He looks at him, his lips moved with a constant grace of words but he couldn’t tell what the alien was saying.Was he even speaking at al-

Oh Quiznak, he felt like he was drowning.

His vision began to spotting black as he world continued to blur and reality lose it’s entire focus, he couldn’t think. Was he thinking. All he could feel was the crushing weigh against his lungs, making them burn as they tried to supply him with air. His hands clench against his bandaged chest, trying to relieve the burning pain inside his chest.

He was caught off guard by the sudden hand that rested on his back shoulder. He tried to focus on it as it rubbed gently against his shoulder blade in comfort but he couldn’t. He can’t.

Oh god his leg feels empty.

Even as his mind became more and more muddled as time passed on, all he could concentrate on was the constant questions that fired past his mind. What happened? How could this happen? Why?

Why, why, why, WH-

“It’s okay” he hears and he felt his mind still, frozen at the sound of the voice in front of him.

“ Just breathe” and he does. Or tries to. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing, ignoring the rapid drumming of his heart beating against his broken rib cage. Breathe in for five, hold for seven, out for eight.

Breathe for five, hold for seven, out for eight.

Breathe for five…

Hold for seven…

And out for eight….

“Hey kid. That's it, it’s okay. Just keep breathing”

In. Out

In.

Out.

In...

Out...

He doesn’t know how long he keeps the world from spinning and try to get his breathing back to normal but as time continued on, he felt the tightness in his chest ease up and slowly regain his control over his breathing. The world slowly stopped spinning and he could feel his body started to finally relax.

“Better son?” he heard the figure before him speak, their voice low and deep for laced with unfamiliar comfort and ease. It was a voice that left Lance wanting to curl up at the sound of it and ease into the words.

Now that he focus, he took in the person in front of him. It was an older man, definitely not human but more humanoid than all the aliens he has seen so far. Just like the girl from earlier his skin blended in a green shade, a deep emerald compared to her brilliant turquoise, while his inner shade was the exact same shade of sun-kissed marmalade yellow. However he between the edges were a pale shade of burgundy that ran through his cheek marks and chin. His short cyan green locks were ruffled back, pulled back slightly, some of it resting on the front of his face as he looked at him with deep concerned golden flecked maroon eyes.

When the man was assured that Lance was better, he rose from his knelt down crouch and stands on his feet, giving him more space to gather his breath. “Good to see you up so soon. Guess that means you’re feeling better enough to join us in the land of the living?” the older man asked as Lance cups his shaking hands with one another. He looks up and watched as the man turned his back on him, grabbing the vomit infested bucket and throwing it in what Lance guessed was a back room, which causes Lance to feel a little guilty.

It only took a second, before he returns with the bucket no longer in hand. He swipes his hands together absently as he speaks up again, “Sorry about the clatter from earlier though, I was just about finishing up the meal. You hungry?”

He blinks at the man owlishly before his stomach gurgled loudly the second the word ‘meal’  and ‘hungry’ was uttered, causing Lance to blush in embarassed. The man chuckled slightly. “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes’ then. I’ll be right back”

Lance fiddled with the edge of his blanket, slightly flustered and as the older man left the room again. Alone once again, he finally took in the room and gazes around the relatively medium sized room absently. Unlike the last time, he finally notice how alive the room actually was, the single room packed with a small table that was littered with different mechanical pieces, of what Lance wouldn’t know (though he see a few bolt looking things that he guessed were, well, bolts ). In the corner he could see small woven baskets, each filled with different herbs, wheat and what Lance suspected were mushrooms. It was homey.

He was pulled away from his thoughts when the man from before came quietly stepped back into the room, but this time he held a small wooden bowl of golden brown soup. When he reaches the edge of the bed he stood there calmly. “Here, something to fill that empty stomach of yours. At least till dinner is ready ” the man said, holding out a wooden bowl towards him.

Hesitantly, Lance takes it from his hands, let it rest on his lap. “Thank you, Sir” he whispered, his throat still dry and hoarse but making sure he was loud enough to be heard and to still be polite.

His Mama never raised an ill-mannered child after all.

The older smiled, his mouth curling up slightly. “No need for formality, boy. Arkus will do just fine” the ma- Arkus sends him a small grin and Lance smiles in response, giving a small, soft nod.

Arkus suddenly turn his gaze away from him as he makes his way to an old simple carved wooden chair that stood across the room. He gently grabbed the stool before dragging it closer to the edge of the bed -man-made cot? (Or would it be called alien-made?)- before letting himself sit, his back leaning softly against the chairs back, a soft creaking fill the room as he does so.

“Are you comfortable there? Originally we had you upstairs in the spare room but we thought it would be easier for you to rest down here instead, closer to things you might need and where we could keep a better eye on you” the older man explained he waved his arms around as he spoke. Lance blinks at him, flustered by everything that was happening. One minute he was being help from passing out and now he was giving food and exchange curtasys with stranger that saved him and was housing him in his home.

“Ah….I-it’s okay. Thank you” he assured. He looked down at the bowl of soup in his hand and raising it to his mouth, gulping slowly as he appreciates the sudden warmth that went down his stinging throat and warming his stomach.

“Carefully, don’t take that in too quickly. It's been awhile since you had any decent food I take it “ he listened and slowly down his gulps. Once he was finished, he closed his eyes as he dropped the bowl back in his lap, satisfied until he heard the man speak up again.

“So, do you happen to have a name, boy?” the older man asked abruptly causing Lance to twitch in surprise. He turns his gaze back to Arkus, the more than half empty bowl nestled on his palms and lap.

“Uh,Y-yes. It’s Lance” Arkus looks at him for a moment humming slightly in response. “Lance huh. Unusual name” the older man mused. Lance scratches his head, oddly embarrassed. “Uh yeah. My mom was a huge fan of old names”

“Do all parents name their kids after weapons, where you come from?” he asked curiously causing Lance to look at him confused. “No. Uh, just my family I guess” though he did have a point know that he thinks about it.

“Well Lance, it's nice to meet, even with the….unusual circumstances” he smiles which Lance couldn’t help but return. “It’s nice to meet you too”

Across the room they hear the door creak open again and Lance watched as the girl from before come into the room quietly, her hands wrapped around some unusual bottles and bandages. “I got the bandages you asked for” she said, her voice was soft and quiet. “Thanks darling” he smiled before realising something.

“Oh this here-” he gestures to the young girl, pulling her into a small and warm side hug ”-is my daughter, Ceri” he looks down at her, as she shuffled on her feet, fidgeting nervous at the sudden attention. Lance couldn’t help but be reminded of how shy Hunk was when they first met. “Hi...” he heard her mumbled under her breath, he barely caught it but he smiled back, hoping to get her relax more.

“Hi” he watches as she looks at him flustered like she wasn’t expecting to hear her let alone reply. She turns her gaze to feet again, scuffling her sandals lightly against the wooden floor, like a nervous habit.

“Seeing as your ship didn’t look like it was in the best condition and from the crater in the forest I'm guessing you didn’t land here voluntarily and you’re probably where you are” Lance looks at Arkus before nodding.

“This is the planet K2-51 or at least to the Galras it is, when they had taken ownership of it. But for eons this place and to the people of this planet it’s the Planet Areun.” Arkus began. “When they Galras began invading 10,000 years ago, our home was one of the planets that were prepared. With our rich ore mines, we were able to fend of most of their attacks and became a safe haven for refugees who ran from their captured planets.” he looked out to the window, in a heavy daze, like he was lost in his story as he spoke, his voice steady but strong as he continued on.

“Areun held out for over 10,000 years but as the Galra empire grew stronger, it became harder to fight back and protect our planet. And finally, twenty Deca-phoebs ago, the Galras captured our planet” he watched as Arkus closed his eyes, pausing for a moment before continuing on.

“At first it was all okay, they let us live more freely compared to other planets they took, taking things from our mines and taking our rations but it was better than most would get. But five years ago, they decided to build a fortified headquarters here, a watchtower and a place where could produce more weapons from the metals and ores they found in our mines.” Lance felt his chest tightened as Arkus. He understood where this was going, it wasn’t the first Galra captive planet he had been and he had heard the stories from the different refugees they meet off planet.

“They started to take people from the village, demanding the peoples submission and force them to work for them. It wasn’t long before there was an outbreak and the fighting began. We had no hope and they killed anyone who would oppose them. Now they would take a few people each month and take them back to the tower and their families never see them again. No one knows what happens to them except that they are forces to slave over the tower and build their weapons and armor. Only a lucky few have stayed long enough to not be selected”

Lance looks down at his bowl as they all sat in silence, letting the words linger in the atmosphere until Ceri decides to break it.

“Are you a Voltron Paladin?” Ceri blurts out, causing Lance to look up from his food, blinking. She squeaked, covering her mouth with the palm of her hands, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He raised his brow questioningly. Did he hear that right?

“What?” he asked. She shuffles her feet, looking down for a moment before raising her gaze again. “Are you a Voltron Paladin?” Arkus sighs, his shoulder shagging in the process. “Ceri you know that Voltron is-” he starts but is cut off by Ceri rolling her eyes, “A story. Yeah yeah, I know. But you can’t ignore the giant ship in the forest!”

Before Arkus could open his mouth, Ceri turns back to Lance, her eyes glistening with childish curiosity and awe.

“Did Altea really exist? Are the Alteans still alive. What are the other Paladins like? Are they like you? Or is the Green Lion an Olkari. And was the Yellow Lion a cute Kamen ” she rambled out, her ramblings and rattling becoming questions to a guessing of the paladins species, the progression of the conversation causing Lance’s tired mind trouble keeping up.

He was genuinely surprised at the drastic change in the young girl, her once shy and timid personality vanishing into thin air, like it never existed in the first place. Too say Lance was amused was an understatement.

He watched quietly as she rattled of more and more questions, her hands gesturing widely, in spurst of energy as her father pinched his nose, sighing heavily in the background.

“What’s it like to fly the Blue Lion? Are they sentient like the stories say they are? Can you talk to it? What’s it like to form Voltron. How do you even form Vol-”

“ Ceri!!”

“What! You can’t tell me that there's no way he isn’t a Paladin. Not after we just saw that ship, that was shaped like a freaking laephin, just like the stories themselves.”

Laephin?

Wait wasn’t the time to think about that (Though he will bring it up on a later date).

“Ceri, I have told you that Voltron is only a myth. A childhood story parents tells their kids. Just forgotten “history” thats all. It’s just a story now to tell children” Ceri scowled at him, her amber blue eyes scrunched up in frustration.

This is giving him some weird Atlantis vibes right now, he thought absently, musing at the parallels.

Brain …..not the time.

“Then what about, oh I don’t know’ giant metal ship that looks exactly like the ones from the ‘myths’. And what about that armour he was wearing? You know, the one with the giant blue ‘V’ plastered on the center of it. Unless you think that it’s a sudden change in fashion sense for the Galras. Maybe they were think, oh, let's have our new uniforms to have “Vrept sa” painted on them, but take out the rept sa . That would be nice”

Okay he should really stop this.

“Woah hey! Yes I'm a Paladin, how did you know?” he said causing them to both turn their heads in his direction. Arkus looked at him skeptically as Ceri turned to him so quickly he though absently that she could have broken her neck if she wasnt quicker. She looked at him in disbelief, her mouth opened wide like a gaping fish, standing there frozen before she suddenly rushed to his side, sitting down in the chair Arkus was sitting in before she came in.

“So the stories about you guys fighting the Galra’s are true. A-And that you saved the Balmera, is that true too?!” she squealed out, her eyes glimmering brightly with wonder. He shrugged slightly before nodding, “ Yeah it’s true. All of it”

Suddenly she squealed loudly, excitement and wonder radiating from her body. She smacked her hands against her cheeks as her eyes widen in awe.

“Wow, holy Olpa I’m talking to a Paladin of Voltron!” she mumbles to herself. She opens her mouth, about to say something before Arkus cuts in, dragging another chair closer to their little circle. Ceri looks at her father but stays silent as her father continued to stare intensely at him. Lance tries to not squirm under his gaze until Arkus brings his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinches it softly out of habit.

“Okay then, if you say you are what you say you are boy-” he started, earning a scowling glare from his daughter which he impressively ignored, “-then why are you here of all places?”

“I was separated from my team and crash landed here after one of Blue’s engines got damaged and we were forced to land here” he explained.

“Your team” asked skeptically. Lances nods “Yeah, my team. We got separated and I’ve lost contact when we fled from battle”

“Mind telling me about this team and this battle you young ones had”

So he told them.

He told him about finding Blue and becoming a planet. He told them a bit about his planet to and the Garrison. He also told them about his team and friends and their lives as a Paladin and about Voltron itself. He tells them about fighting the Galras, saving the Balmera and destroying Galras hubs and headquarters. Then he told them about the Allura capture and going to Zarkon’s main headquarters in order to rescue her.

He didn’t know how long he talked for, but through the whole thing Ceri and her father kept their gaze on him, hanging off every word he uttered, just simply listening to him as he continued to recount the recent experiences.

“And then the last thing I remembered was this intense pain and feeling like the world just decided to flip. It couldn’t keep my eyes open and I passed out in that forest, which Im guessing is when you guys found me, bandaged me up and had to.....” he trails off as they all glance at his leg, the room filling with heavy silence.

No one spoke, the silence slowly began to stretch out until Arkus stands up, his chair creaking in protest behind him, drawing Lance's attention off his leg (or lack of one) and towards the man before him. “I think dinner should be just about ready” he states, his hands resting on either side of his hip, not once drawing attention back to the conversation, which Lance was grateful. Arkus turned his gaze back to Lance

“You hungry enough to eat some more, son?” he asked. “Yes, I think so” Arkus nodded and raise from his seat and took his leave as the two sat in silence.

But that also gave Lance time to think…..what now?

He lost... that. Even now it was hard to stomach the reality in front of him. Even with his leg gone, he felt like it was still there. Just hidden.

Invisible.

But it wasn’t. And now he can’t do anything have to constantly remind himself of that. (Is this what Shiro felt everyday ?)

Right now, he knew his friends were looking for him but what can he do. He can’t even walk. He can’t even fly .

Lance pauses for a moment, freezing up at that thought. He can’t fly…

If he can’t fly, then what's going to happen to Blue. Could he even be able to fly her again? Or even go on missions?

And his dream-

He can’t be a pilot anymore.

…..

For once, ever since walking into this, he was glad that his family wasn’t here to see him.

He couldn’t bear the thought of their faces once they saw him, one leg less of the boy they seen, and no longer able to be the pilot he always dreamed to be.

What was he going to? What could he do?

He could try and learn to live without his leg and, with time, find a way to still pilot Blue, even with the lack of maneuverability he would have. He knew his team would encourage him to do so.

But this wasn’t some some participation game; making sure everyone has a fair and equal shot in the game. This was a war. And they needed their best soldiers on the frontline. If he tried to fight like this he would just put everyone in more danger. And he can't do that. He won't. But he also couldn’t just sit by and do nothing either, not while his teammates, his friends, risk their lives saving the universe.

Is that why he couldn’t hear Blue anymore? Did she realised the exact same thoughts he had and cut their bond early so she could find a new and better Blue Paladin.

No, this was Blue he was talking about here. She wouldn’t. She’s too…. Blue to do that.

Would she?

“Son?”

He twitches in surprise, drawn away from his thoughts by the sound of Arkus voice. He looks up and sees the older man look at him worried before wiping it away. He watched Ceri and Arkus share a look before he lifts the filled bowls in his hands in gesture. “Ready for seconds?” he asked which gave him a sudden choruses of nods from the other two.

He gave them a warm soup-filled bowl which they both gladly took before Arkus got another one for himself. As they eat, the talked, talking from simple and fairly light things and things about each other. He would ask questions about Arkus and Ceri’s life and the people they were, and he found out Arkus was a retired engineer but now works as a lumberjack and does odd jobs around the village but still occasions does a engineer job here and there.

As they talked, listening to their stories, Arkus was gently taking off his old bandages that tugged at his chest and shoulders before reapplying them with fresh one. It was oddly refreshing, like airing out his skin even if the bandages were a bit tight.

He doesn’t know how long they all talked but as the time continued on, he could feel his entire body becoming heavier by the minute, tiredness and exhaustion finally settling back into his body. Lance tries to keep his eyes open but the continued to drooped tiredly, trying to stay awake as he listened to Arkus and Ceri talk. However Arkus seemed to noticed and stands up, taking the bowls and plates in the room and taking them out of the room and into, what Lance guessed was, the kitchen before coming back in and leans slightly against the head of the table, his arms crossed slightly.

“Tired?” he asked but it seemed like he already knew the answer. Lance didn’t even bother to hide it any longer and hesitantly nod, exhaustion hitting him harder than before. Arkus mouth quirked up slightly.

“We’ll leave you be then, we shouldn't’ keep you up, your still healing after all. Get some sleep okay?” Lance nods in agreement causing Arkus to smile back. “Good night “ he mumbled. He felt his eyes droop as they quietly made their way out of the room and finally let sleep take him. And hey-

Maybe things will get better

Chapter Text

It's been a few days since he had woken up.

While he was staying here he found out a lot about his saviours and the people they were. That Arkus was once a engineer, and a good one at that, working on ship crafts and different kinds of machinery, before the Galra took over but now he was some sort of odd jobs man who mainly worked on fixing broken bits and parts. While Ceri made wicker baskets and small trinkets to sell around the small town, if she wasn’t out in the forest, collecting materials or herbs for food.

Or that they moved away into the depths of the woods because it was too painful to stay in the same town and walk the same streets that roamed with soldiers that wouldn’t hesitate to hurt his daughter or take Arkus away from her.

He also found out just how injured he was, even if he had an idea of how bad it was himself. Two still very sore broken ribs and three fractured ones, moderate concussion, no internal bleeding, intense bruising on his right forearm, torso, chest and legs and an infected leg, or well, what used to be an infected leg.

They never talk about his leg, or rather they lack of it. Like a silent agreement between the two to never bring it up. Ceri was the only one to ever ask him and with hesitance and Lance could never find it in him to answer. They never spoke about it, what really happened and how Lance woke up, alive and awake and with his leg missing, but Lance wasn’t an idiot, he knew the basic ‘how’s’ , the ‘who’s’ and the ‘why’s’.

It wasn’t until one day Arkus was rebandaging his leg did they really talk about it.

“Im sorry” Arkus muttered, causing Lance to turn his gaze from the window to the man sitting beside him. It was a force of habit, to look out the window. In the beginning, it was because he was afraid of seeing the undeniable stump that was his leg scarred into his memory like it was taunting him, hissing at his failures and his fear of the future. But now, he’s not sure he can lie about it being anything different.

He looked at the man confused, as Arkus continued to tie bandage together in silences.

Arkus moved his hands back to his lap, quietly and takes a deep breath before looking at him with an expression he couldn’t read. “I’m sorry” he repeated, this time louder. Okay, was it just him or did Lance have no clue what this way about. Confused, Lance opens his mouth and ask him for what but Arkus speaks up.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t save your leg…”

And Lance felt the world freeze at the words.

Lance couldn't help but tense at the mention of his leg, like a forbidden word that should never be uttered. Like He Who must Not be Named in fear of what could happen if the very word is spoken. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. They both sat there, looking at each other in silence until Arkus breaks it. He watched as they older man looked down at his palms, like he was ashamed to even meet his gaze directly. “We had to work quick. When we found you out in the forest, you were already hanging on for dear life” he strings his fingers through his hair, a habit Lance noticed he would do when he was tired or upset.

“When the healer came, it was already to too late to save your leg, too far infected and causing to much damage to the rest of your body.” Lance swallowed, feeling his hands twitching against his blanket as Arkus continued on.

“There was only one choice in the end. Your leg was beyond saying, but your chance of living if we amputated doubled. We took the risk” and finally Arkus raises his head, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “And i’m sorry that you never had the choice. I’m sorry we had to pick it for you.” Arkus clenched his fist against his pants, gripping it like his life depended on it. Lance was shaking now, letting Arkus speak as he sat there, shocked and slightly overwhelmed.

“I’m sorry we took your leg”

It was the first time in his life that he was actually speechless.

He just looked at the man before him with wide eyes, gaping slightly in- surprise? Shock? He didn’t know. He just knew that he was completely thrown off and had no idea how to even begin to comprehend his words.

Arkus thinks he might hold a grudge against what he had done, what he chose to do and-oh fuck, he needed to clear this up quick. “Wait did you think I’m mad at you for what you did?” he stumbled out, stuttering on empty words before he got it out. Arkus remained silent.

“Arkus” he starts but falters, the words drying up in his mouth.  

He didn’t know what to say. He know he wasn’t mad at Arkus or the choices his had to make to save his life. He understood that it was a difficult decision and he picked the right one. He just did what anyone would do. Sure he lost something he can never get back and it was hard but it saved his life. So no, Lance wasn’t at all spiteful or fell any kind of hate towards the man in front of him.

He honestly didn’t know what to do, how to comfort the man before him, the same one was willing to take in a injured stranger, no idea of who there or what they’ve done to lead them there in that forest injured and alone, and heal him without a second's thought. Gratitude and acceptance that couldn’t be described by words. So he let his heart decided for him.

And really there was only one thing he would do.

Before he realised he was doing it, Lance leaned forward, his arms stretched out and gently wrapping around Arkus back, before pulling him into his chest. For a moment he could feel the older man tense under his arms and Lance worried that this wasn’t the best idea. But before he could let go of him and apologize, Arkus suddenly relaxes against him and lean into the hug as he suddenly wrapped his arms behind him.

He held the older man hoping this would convey everything, or just…. enough. To utter the ‘ I forgive you’s ‘ through the action alone.

And if Arkus’ eyes looked a bit wet then Lance didn’t notice.

But apologies never stopped the constant nightmares that consumed him. Dreams where he would find himself chained to the dark floor, completely and utter nothingness surrounds him, fear consuming his entire being, terror filling his lungs and watched in horror as his leg melted off his body, disintegrating into a slush of mashed muscles skin and bone. And all he could do was scream as he watched.

Until he woke up in the midst of midnight and the dual moons hung brightly on the starried sky, shaken and alone.

Through that time he also got closer with Ceri. At first she would still shy from talking to him, too nervous or flustered to start a conversation, but as soon as he told her about flying with Blue she would instantly light up and transform into the bubbly spit-fire from before. It didn’t mean she would suddenly be chatty as she was when they first met, no it took a while before she was confident even to start a conversation let alone look at him as she spoke.

But slowly- and gradually - she got out of her shell on her own without Lance having to coax her out it. She was a great talker, full of bouncing energy and ready to talk about anything and everything, which didn’t surprise him. And his quiet days became less quiet as time went on. Something that Lance loved.

They talked about everything. From their home and family to their lives, and even food. She would constantly probe him with questions about Voltron and the Paladins, curiosity pushing her to know everything he did and watched as her eyes brightened more and more as she learned more.

He would tell her stories of how he found Blue (even if he already told her, briefly, when they first met) and the different planets they saved so far, exploring space and the stars, galaxies they never heard of before or knew that existed. And as he did, she would just sit their, her legs crossed from her ankles and her hands gripping the stool as she listened to every word, enwrapped and filled with wonder.

She told him her own stories too, some from her life here on Areun and funny stories about Arkus that caused him to wail in laughter. But mainly…..she talked about her mother.

She would tell him about her favourite flowers were a flower called Austraeni that would grow near the lakes here, and that she taught her how to make woven baskets. She told him that her mother was the one that actually told her about the story of Voltron, Defenders of the Universe, and how at night she would tell her stories about each and every legend and tales she heard when she was a little girl. She also told him about her death five years ago, exactly around the time the village retaliated against.

Contrary to belief, he wasn’t stupid. He understood what happened, it wasn’t hard to piece it all together. He understood that war can cause casualties and that the wrong blood can be shed, more so for the innocents.

At times like that, he would sit there quietly as Ceri would let it all out, words tumbled out of her like waves and the minute she was finished and lowered her head in silent grief, he would hug her in comfort. But she would always bounce back, not letting the grief outweigh her and lets herself concentrated on not what she lost but what she now had.

But she was comforting, a presence for Lance speak to and just take comfort in.

Just like Blue.

Blue still hasn’t talked to him, her once constantly presence behind his mind dulled. It was silent. It was weird, being alone, not once feeling her constant and peaceful presence in the back of his mind. It was just like before he met her. Just him in his own mind. His own presences. He doesn’t know how he lived like this before. It was like learning how to walk then forced to go back to crawling.

And he wasn’t afraid to admit that it terrified him.

Even though Ceri would check on the sentient being whenever she went out into the forest, per Lance’s request and probably for her own curiosity too even if she wouldn’t admit it, and tell him that Blue didn’t seem to be awake or even functioning , Lance can’t help but feel like it could be something more.

But maybe that's his doubt, unadulterated fear and low self esteem talking.

It only felt worse when it felt like the entire world was ready to just collapse around him, just barely hanging on, just ready to snap and crack under him and with the pure sense unknown of Lance should do, what he can do, with his no Lion, no Voltron, no team and no leg.

So yeah his doubt wasn’t helping either situations. But more than that he was terrified.

And he doesn’t know what he can do...

“Oh yes, Aielin should be coming tomorrow to check up on and see how your doing” Arkus said, his voice rumbling slightly under his tongue as he finishes re-applying another bandage onto Lance’s slowly healing injuries. Lance looks at him, his head tilted slightly before nodding back absently.

It wasn’t surprising after all, but he honestly didn’t know what to expect once he sees Aielin. There really wasn’t much she could say then what they already knew. But then again she is the healer afterall. And one thing Lance has learned since he woke up is what she says goes .

He could remember the first time he meet the young, stern healer. He had only woken up a few hours before and was talking to Ceri after she came to check up on him. They were chatting as usual until they heard a loud knocking against the front door. They looked at each other confused, having no clue who would be calling over here of all places until they heard Arkus make a large clatter in the back room where he was working and watched as he rushed to the door in a flurry.

Ceri snickers under her hand, beside him, grinning widely at her father's sudden clumsiness. At the sound of the door creaking open, they lean over, peeking through the window in hope of getting a glimpse at whoever was there. Lance heard a low murmur of words coming from Arkus but it was too quiet and muffled for him to understand. Then, suddenly, there was a sound of shuffling footsteps that came closer and closer to their room.

For a second, Lance felt a spike of panic, worried that it was could be a Galra soldier who was patrolling the outskirts of the forest, the one Ceri told him about before.

But before he could panic though, the sounds of footsteps stopped and the door was pushed open to reveal a figure, a woman he realised, standing in the crooks of the doorway. She stepped into the room silently, Arkus slowly trickling behind her as she finally focus’ her gaze on Lance, her eyes conveying something he couldn’t figure out.

Lance was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of a calm but oddly soft voice, one that came of as calculating and held a sense of unspoken authority. “I see you are doing better then when I last saw you, Lance is it?” she asked, her face stoic, not revealing anything but still giving a warm sense of comfort in a way Lance couldn’t explain.

Thrown out of the loop by her sudden appearance, all he could do was nod dumbly. She looked at him for a moment before finally smiling down at him. Then she turned her gaze to Ceri and asked her how she was which the young girl replied back a small “yes I am”, politely.

”Now,” Ailein begins, setting downa small leather worn case onto the table that stood in the center of the room, “Before we check on the how well your injuries have been healing, first thing first” she trailed off and he watched as her sickly sweet smile darkens, her eyes dangerously narrow.

Without so much as a warning, she stomps towards Arkus and violently jabs her finger against his chest. “Arkus”, she growled, smiling at him with too much teeth, “Why in Kalafi’s name didn’t tell me that he was awake!” she yelled, causing the large and well-held man to tense and shrink under her powerful gaze. It was like watching a kid who did something wrong get scolded by his mother. He tried not to grin at the thought and from Ceri’s soft and barely restrained snort, he knew she was thinking the same thing.

After much scolding on Aielin’s part, she finally examined Lance, checking his current condition and on his progress so far while getting a bit more of his backstory. The healer never asked him anything that wasn't injury or medical related and for some reason, Lance was grateful for that. Aiein was stern but gentle all the same. Her silver eyes scanned his injuries with calculated calmness, completely focused on her work.

She kind off reminded him of Allura at times, the focus and unspoken sense of authority she possessed as she gave out orders. And going into passionate tangents about Voltron and being Defenders of the Universe, like it wasn’t terrifying or pressure building enough. Or as he put it simple….Allura’s “Voltron Mode”.

“When?” he asked, curious. “Sometime in the morning, I presume. Ailein always prefers to deal with anything when it's only the beginning of the day” he muttered the last part to himself, causing Lance to smile at the slightly sullen look Arkus gave.

He really can’t deal with Aielin, can he.

Lance shakes his head, amused. He opens his mouth, ready to tease him for his obvious fear of the woman until a loud bang to the front door interrupts him. He both turn at the sound, tensing as someone rustles loudly through the halls.

“Papa!” both of them turn in surprise at the sound of Ceri’s panicked voice as she swung into the room. Immediately Arkus dropped the bandages on the ground as he rose from his seat and rushes towards his daughter who leaned slightly against the wooden door frame, gasping for air. Without stern but gentle hands, he grabbed her shoulders, his gripped tightening slightly against her shirt.

“Ceri whats wrong”

Lance looked at Ceri in worry. She looked shaken and terrified and Lance couldn’t help but fear what caused her to look that would. What happened?

“Guards….I-I saw guards-” she gulps a large breath, trying her best to steady her breathing again. Lance notices Arkus grip tighten again before eventually relaxing again as he spoke up.

“What guards Ceri? Who did you see?”

“T-two Galra soldiers...from Laxx group. T-they were in the forest...and I-I saw them making their way here” she stumbles out, tension radiating from her body as she spoke. Anxiety pools inside Lance stomach as he watched Arkus freeze. They were coming here, but why? Did they know Lance was here? Have they found Blue?

Lance couldn’t help but feel barely controlled panic drum throughout his entire body, like a violent wave. His heart raced in his chest. Finally, Arkus lets go of his daughter stepping backwards and towards the window. He takes a small glances, making sure to look out for the soldiers that will inevitably come. Then he looks over at his daughter with fierce determination that caught Lance slightly off guard, something he has never seen on the older man face.

“Ceri grab Lance and get to the cellar”

“But Pa-”

“Now!”

Ceri hesitated for a moment, her face pained and unsure, completely torn on what to do, until she looks at her father one more time and Arkus eyes soften. Quietly he stepped towards her, placing his palm against the back of her head and gently pecks her forehead. When she looks at him again as he smiles to her softly. “Go” he whispered

Lance watched the scene in silence, torn by what to do. He knew if they found him, they could hurt Ceri and Arkus for taking an enemy refuge in their own home and he can’t let that happen, no matter what, but dammit he should be able to something. Lance clenched the blanket tightly in frustration. He was a Paladin for god's sake. He shouldn’t be in the way like he was now.

Ceri’s slowly steps looks at her father in conflicted until she steps away from him, her face morphs with  determination and nods to him. Without a seconds thought and like a person with a mission, she crouched under the creak of Lance upper arm before swinging the rest of his arm around the crook of her neck. She rose eachother up from the bed, the bed frame creaking loudly against the sudden loss of weight.

They both stagger for a moment before regain some kind of balance. Without Ceri once glance back, she carries eachother out of the room. Before they turn a corner, Lance glances back to Arkus and watches as Arkus subtly nods to him before he loses sight of him. They quickly hobbled through the kitchen and out into the hallway and Lance bites his lower lip, ignoring the screams of protest from his stumped leg every time he moved.

The cellar wasn’t was like an underground basement or storage room but a small hidden room that hid under the staircase that lowered down under the floorboards. He didn’t say a word as Ceri lowered both of them into the cellar, slithering through the small opening in front of them. They both shimmied into the corner of the hidden space before Ceri reaches out for the slab that hide the entire space and Lance couldn’t help but look back to where the room Arkus came out from, a glimpse of a sad smile gracing his lips before the slab was in place.

He looks at the now covered opening stricken and slowly turns his gaze to his side, where Ceri quietly scuffled beside him and making sure they were safe. Or at least will be. Through all this, Ceri body was filled trembling tension that washed out of her like waves. He’s never seen Ceri like this. So stiff and cautious.

So terrified…

He couldn’t do anything to reassure her or tell her that everything was going to be okay because to be honest, Lance wasn’t so sure himself. But there is one thing he could do. Gently, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and before she knew it, she was pulled into his side. She was caught by surprise but soon she slightly relaxed the tension that vibrated from her. But only just a bit.

But it was enough.

Without warning, a loud bang is heard outside the cellar and in the hallway. A knock, Lance realised. He gulped, trying to soften the sudden dryness in his throat.

They were here...

He held his breath as he heard Arkus make his way over to the front of the hallway and with a small second of silence, Lance heard the door creaked open.

“Ah! Arkus, what a surprise!” A low and sickly sweet that left Lance’s stomach twist with nausea echoed from the front of the doorway through the hollow hallway. Beside him, he could feel Ceri’s shuffle closer and away from the voice, like it compelled her to run away. Lance just held onto her tighter.

“Plamix, Knogr”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Arkus residence. I told you we would find it eventually” he heard one of the soldiers tell the other. Lance briefly looks over to Ceri beside him, who clung to her knees into her chest, her knuckles paling from her tight grip against her legs. She was shaking slightly, soft tremors shaking the fabric of clothing she wore and Lance felt the sudden need to comfort her. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t risk the chance of making any noise.

God he felt so useless.

He should be out there protecting Arkus and Ceri, not in here, hiding away. Before he continue deeper into his darkening thoughts, he was drawn back by the sound of Arkus speaking up.

“What can I do for you two”

There was heavy shuffling of feet that creak against the aged wooden floor in protest and the door creak slightly in absent, probably left open by Arkus so their ‘guests’ could leave at anytime, the sooner the better though.

“How have you been? People say they haven’t seen you around lately” the same voice remarked but it felt like it held more meaning underneath. Tension filled the air and no one spoke up, or leat Lance didn’t hear anyone until he hears the familiar sound of Arkus voice.

“What do you want”, and suddenly all pleasantries were gone. They both laughed until suddenly they kick Arkus against the wall, causing Lance to flinch in surprise. He heard the man tumble to the floor at the force of the attack. What were doing?! Arkus was a civilian.

“Shut up. You don’t speak until we ask you to. Filthy piece of shit” another voice spoke up, it was heavy, grovelling with a deep rumble that resembled a mixture of a growl and a sneer. Bet that  guys great at parties. He heard more shuffling before the sound of a heavy thud resounds besides them. “Now” the voice from before begins before there's more thumps of footsteps and a sudden heavy creak from the floor, like he suddenly crouched down.

“Where is the Paladin” the voice from earlier spoke up and Lance couldn’t help but freeze at the  word. They were really looking for him. Oh god those that mean that they found Blue, is that why she wouldn’t- or couldn’t- talk? Did they capture her? Was she oka-

“Paladin?”

“Don’t be smart with us. Tell us where the Paladin is.”

“I don’t know what your talking about” he heard Arkus cough out, his voice steady and firm which only enraged the soldiers even more. He hears one of them sneer, Knogor, before he hears Arkus grunt again, loudly this time.

Lance knew things were going bad and he felt the sudden urge to get out of this cellar and rush to Arkus aid but he stopped himself, just barely.

“Well a little bird told us that you found someone injured in the middle of the forest and gave them aid at your home”, the soldier stated, like it was casual conversation,“That same little birdie told me that they were wearing a particularly familiar kind of armour to a certain group”

Arkus remained silent as the soldier continued to speak until there was a sudden loud bang and a soft grunt that causes Ceri to flinch beside him. Still, Arkus doesn’t even speak up but soldier does.“So let me ask one last time” his suddenly sickly sweet voice lowers and is suddenly filled with pure malevolence.

“Where”

Kick

“Is”

Kick

“The”

Crash

“Paladin”

The room goes quiet again and all Lance could only hear the sound of ragged gasps of breath. “Still silent?” the growly one hissed but Arkus still doesn’t utter a word. He heard a long dragged out sigh coming from the other soldier.

“I wonder if your daughter would be more open to talking than you are. What’s her name again? Ceri?” a voice slithered through the cracks of silence. Lance felt Ceri tense at the sound of her name, her breaths quickened slightly at his words. Lance gripped her tightly trying to give her the slightest of comforts through all of this. Those bastards .

“By Olpa’s name, you stayed the hell away from my-” He hears one of the guards kicking him causing Arkus to choke on his breath and groan, cutting off his words. Ceri flinches in his arms at the sound, the sound of her father in pain making her grip Lances forearm tightly.

“What was that? Do you mind repeating that for us” the other guard let out a loud snicker. The wooden floor creaks underneath the Galran soldiers feet as the move away from the stairs and, what Lance guessed, closer to Arkus.

There was another loud thump and something hit the floor with a large bang. Then it was silent…

He heard the same soldier from before sigh dramatically as more shuffle was made throughout the hallway.

“Guess we’ll just have to take you back to the compound and have express just how loyal you are to the Galra”” the clear but twisted voice said, breaking the silence. Beside him Ceri shook violently and as sound as she heard those words, her eyes widen and a torn sob escapes her lips. Instantly Lance raised his hand, covering her mouth, as she looked at him panicked. The hallway goes silent again and Lance cursed silently to himself, praying that they didn’t hear her.

“Did you hear that?”

Lance turns her head towards the wall of the cellar, Ceri leaning right beside him, twitching violently as she tried to controlled her ragged sobs. He held his breath as he heard the footsteps creak closer to them, twitching slightly with every step that came closer until it suddenly stopped right in front of them. He could feel the small bead of sweat trickle down his forehead as he waited in anticipation.

“Probably those damn mutts in the forest, disgusting little shits” The lighter, more clear voice scoffs in disdain. “Come on” he begins, “Let’s gets this bastard back to the base”

Lance felt both their shoulders sag in relief. That was close call.

“What about his daughter” the more grovely soldier asked which causes the other to laugh maliciously. “Leave her, she can’t be any use to us anyway. She’ll probably die here without her dearest Papa to protect her” he snorts, like it was the funniest thing in the world. He heard them walk down the hallway and the soldier from before laughs in agreement, something that makes Lances want to shoot them right there.

Even with his track record of killing on drones and not living breathing soldiers, he’s really considering breaking it.

He hear the footstep echo further and further away until the final creak of the front door as it moved by the presence of the two soldiers. Then, Lance could finally breathe.

As soon as they were gone, Lance took his palm away from Ceri’s mouth. Finally, he turned his gaze to the younger girl and felt his heart at the sight. She was shaking violently, her hands clutched to her chest as her eyes puffed red with tears that streamed down her chest with ease.

“Papa..” she whispered, “He’s..” she started but her sobs broke her ability to speak. She wailed and cried, her body convulsing at the sheer intensity of her pain. It was look a punch in the gut, to see like this. Torn and pained and so small.

Without much of a thought, he wrapped his arms around the fragile girl, letting her head rest wetly against the creak of his neck. Se froze for a moment before her sobs escaped her, muffled slightly into his shirt and he could feel his clothes become quickly drenched but he didn’t care. He couldn’t reassure her and tell her that everything was okay. This shouldn’t have happened.

All he could do was whisper constant apologies as she continued to cry into him.

This shouldn’t have happened...

He didn’t know how long they sat there like this, still hidden within the confines of the cellar, but they stayed there, wrapped around each other and he waited as Ceri’s torn wailed became quiet hiccuping sobs. Even then, he didn’t move. They sat there in silence as he continue to gently soothed Ceri as she finally fallen silent.

He continued to hold her in a daze, too wrapped up in the need to comfort her from her pain and the powerful darkening thought of not been able to help- to do something, to save him instead of hiding away like he couldn’t do anything more than just hide- looming over him, threatening to consume him completely. But instantly he was pulled away from the sound of Ceri’s soft voice.

“Please” she croaked out, her voice strained and raspy from her cries. Her hand clenched against the front of her shirt, twisting the fabric between her fingers.

“Please save him”

And Lance felt his chest tighten at her words. He didn’t know to do, what he could do. He was just Lance, the jokester, the flirt, the goofball. Not the Pilot of the Blue Lion or one of the Paladins of Voltron.

Just Lance.

But….-he looked down at the girl in his arm, the one that just had her father taken away by soldiers who didn’t even bat an eye at what they were doing, at the people that were suffering in their hands. Was this what Hunk felt like when he first went to the Balmera? The sudden realisation at what being a Paladin really meant and what they had to stop. He didn’t know….

He did know one thing though..

He wasn’t going to let them get away with this.

“We’ll get him back, okay,” she looked up at him, her tears shining and puffing from tears and Lance looks at her for a moment, squeezing her shoulder and speaks, “We’ll get your dad back”

Ceri gazes at him, the tears slowing but never stopping. She raises her free hand into her chest, hugging herself for reassurance. “But how” she rasped out, still clutching Lance with all the strength she had. And wasn’t that the question of the day.

How?

But this time, Lance knew the answer.

He turned to the closed slab of the cellar and with a moment of hesitation, he pulled it open, the dim room lightening up at the sudden daylight. Without a word he swivelled out of the small opening, Ceri following suit. She stayed quiet but Lance could see her scrunched up brows as she looked on, confused. He couldn’t help but smile a little at the sight.

Then without a moment thought he raised his arm slightly towards her as he softly spoke up.“....Help me up?” he asked.

Ceri looked at him confused but did as he asked and carefully tugged Lance on his fee- foot, his foot, and lets him lean against her for balance. Lance leans forward and Ceri takes the hint and takes a step forward.

They reached to the front of the doorway and finally Ceri decides to speak up. “Lance…..where are we going” he didn’t look over to her tear stained face, his eyes gazing straight to the depts of the forest in front of them. They stood there for a moment, waiting and finally he found it in himself to speak up.

“To see a friend”

And Lance didn’t have to say more for Ceri to understand what he meant. And without another word, they stepped into the vast woodlands and never once looked back. When they were sure there was no one roaming in the forest, they slowly made their way through the woven trees and earthy grounds silently. Slowly and carefully, they made it closer to their destination and after much walking (or jumping in Lance’s case), they were met with the sight of a familiar grassy plain.

He rose his free above him, covering the penetrating rays of the sun from his eyes. He looked around the open land, taking in the familiar scene before him until he looked across the plain.

That's when he saw her.

She was left exactly the same way she was before, laying on her side like a slumbering wild cat in a midsummer haze. Lazily sleeping.

If only she was.

She was still as scratched up as she was before, the scars and scorch marks stood out in the daylight. Small dents decorated her body but still he lay there. Quite, silent.

Lifeless.

He scanned the grassy plain and saw a long wooden stick in the clustered wood pile Lance had gathered when he first landed here. Without a second thought he leaned away from Ceri, ignoring her confused call and reaches down to grab the wooden staff, careful to not fall over in the process. He wobbles for a moment before rising back up, gripping the staff tightly.

“Lance what are you-” Ceri begins but Lance doesn’t hear the rest, his attention solely on long wooden staff that he held. He placed the tip of the stick against the uneven surface of the earth, gripping it tightly as he tested the weight, making sure it would snap under his own.

And with a large inhale, he takes his first shaky step.

And holy shit was it hard.

He bites a grunt of pain as his stump burns. When he finally takes the steps, he takes another breath before repeating. He ignored his body screaming in protest and push onwards. He can do this.

He can do this

His grip tightens against the temporary walking stick and with another deep breath he takes another leap. He nearly trips this time, his leg wobbling under his weight for a moment before he caught himself. “Lance!” Ceri rushes over to him, her hands outstretched ready to support him but he raise his hand.

“It’s okay. I’m okay”

Ceri looks at him worried but lets her hands fall back down and takes a small step back, but not far enough for her not to catch Lance if he did fall. He takes a few more breaths, regaining some balance before hoisting himself up and take another stumbling step. But he doesn’t stop.

He hobbled and stepped and hobbled and stepped until he was right in front of Blue. He looked up to her dim blackened eyes and wished that they glow alive once again.

“Hey Beautiful” he whispered, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips.

There no response, her once constant warming presence and echoes of her purrs gone. It was silent. She was silent. And it broke something inside him to see.

“Blue..” he started but falters, the words escaping him. What could he say? That he wanted to fly with her again. That they needed helped. That he missed her and her obsencent purring. Even so, he still couldn’t find the words to tell her.

He drawn out from his thought at the sound of Ceri’s soft rustling behind him. He turned back and watched as Ceri looked at him, her eyes still puffy and her tear track gracing her cheek like a beauty mark. That's right. He wasn’t just here or himself. He was here to save a innocent man from the Galra. To reunite families and to save everyone controlled by the Galran Empire. To stop the Galras.

And to give a daughter back her father.

Afterall, it was his job as a Paladin to help others.

And so with clear determination, he turned to Blue and spoke.

“Hey beautiful, I know your tired and maybe don’t want to see me again….but we need you help”, his hands shook and gently he raised his palm against the cold surface of her head, “ I need your help. I understand if you don’t want me as your paladin and I’m okay with you not wanting a legless pilot,” he swallowed, letting out a small shaky breath that only strengthened his resolve, “but please, let me be you pilot just one last time.”

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her cold metal surface. “Please Blue” he whispered.

Let me be your paladin again

….

Silly Paladin

Lance’s eyes shoot open at the sound of a familiar voice. It was soft, almost distant but even if he was in a crowded room, he could hear it clear as day. He could never forget that voice.

Suddenly he saw Blues black orbs began to glow brightly with a familiar amber gold. Without warning, he felt the Lion jolt to live, the soft scratch of metal grazing against each other as she moved her metallic paws. Behind him, hear hears Ceri yelp in surprise before the sound of shuffling feet echoes as she stumbles backwards. Lance stepped back, or well hobbled, gripping his ‘staff’ and watched in wonder as his Lion came to life, rising up onto her feet, pulsing with power and life.

Always mine. My Paladin

She rumbled, purring with affection.

No one else

Lance couldn’t help but grin, his heart soaring at her words. And if his vision became slightly misted with unshed tears from her voice, then Lance didn’t notice.

“Thanks Blue” he whispered, his grin growing as Blue purred comfortingly in response. He took his hand away from her paw, letting it rest beside him before turning to Ceri, who finally turned her gaze away from the Lion and towards him, looking completely lost and flabbergasted at the same time.

“Lets go”

Chapter Text

If Lance wasn’t so goddamn happy seeing Blue or completely focussed on trying to save Arkus, he would have burst in laughter at the sight of Ceri’s face as she looked at the both of them completely dumbfounded, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging low, like gaping like a fish.

She looked at the mechanical lion in front of them, glancing between the two like she wasn’t sure what just happened or if this is all just a dream. A really vivid dream with mecha lions and a one legged teenager.

…...Well when he puts it like that he would probably think the same thing.

Okay, okay, he let out a small exhale. Serious now. Saving people from Galra and get Arkus out of wherever the hell those Galran soldiers brought him. Gotcha.

It’s Paladin time.

He could feel Blue roll her eyes at him which only his smile widen. Through all of this, Ceri still looked at Blue in a shocked daze and trying her best to recollect herself but failing miserably. Lance watched as she opened and closed her mouth, the words gone the minute she tries to speak.

Blue continued to rumble behind him, the sound vibrating into the earth and through the breeze, as she lowered back into a slight crouch, her head almost touching the ground and her amber eyes meet Lance’s owns. For a moment, he thought he saw a slight twinkle of movement in the usually blank orbs until she opened her mouth, ready to fly with her paladin. And Lance couldn’t even deny that he didn’t feel the same.

Finally, behind him, Ceri spoke.

“Oh...my...Gods” Ceri muttered. She swallowed, staring owlishly at the large jaws that laid open in front of them. He turned back to Blue, glancing up at her glowing embers that almost looked like they were twinkling with emotion, something close to amusement, but Lance shook it off. He was probably just imagining it.

Lance turned back to the girl before he quirked a brow at her, as he waited for her to join him. Ceri straightened, remembering suddenly where they were and why they were here in the first place and exactly where they were going. She moved closer to Lance, hovering slightly beside him just in case he would fall and trip. They entered the open mouth, staggering through and slowly making their way into the base of the throat to a heavily cladded doorway that lead to the cockpit.

Automatically, the door rose towards the ceiling, disappearing from sight and they peaked into the cockpit. It was dark, not even a dull hue glow to be seen on the walls of the room. It sems so….cold and empty. Lifeless .

Until they took a step inside.

Finally, the cockpit lit up as soon as they both stepped in and without warning, Ceri paled, her eyes widening in aghast shock. He looked at her, confused. I mean he knows that Blue looks epic inside and out but it wouldn’t cause her to react like that. It wasn’t until he focused his gaze into the room as he entered, did he realise why.

It was a wreck.

“Is that…” she trailed off, scanning the splatter of blood that decorated the windows and screens until he eyes trailed down to the large pool of dried darkened blood that stained the floor, beside the lone pilot seat. Lance followed her gaze and felt a tug of nausea at the sight of his blood plastered inside Blue’s cockpit, flashes of memories threaten to consume him. He never realised it was this bad, that he lost that amount of blood, that amount of damage . He felt his hands shake at the sight. He shaked his head, forcefully banishing his thought and nodded towards Ceri. He didn’t notice her face paling even further.

Blue purred at him, a wave of concern and worry flooded through his mind. He tried to reassure her but it didn’t stop the trickles of comfort pushes towards him.  “Im good, girl” he muttered, patting the wall slightly but her need to comfort him didn’t falter a bit and Lance couldn’t find it in himself to tell her to stop.

I’m okay

He’s okay and Blue is okay. Sure a little banged up but they’d make it through it. They made it out of bad situations before and this wasn’t any different. Their fine. Nothing could go wrong.

Except everything.

I’m okay….

When he checked that all the screens were working properly, he glanced over to Ceri who was still focused on the sight of blood around them. He touched the center screen gently and watched in ease as it lit up in a dull hue blue, activating the rest of the screens around him, holograms popping up and forming around him, littered with numbers and symbols that Lance still fails to interpret to this day.

Carefully, he turned back slightly and raised his hand unto the surface of the arm of his pilot seat and slowly leaned down and into the seat, finally letting the strain from standing ease out of his body like a tidal wave. He was shaken out of his ease a he heard a slightly choking sound behind him. He peaked over and noticed Ceri staring gobsmacked at the front of them, her gaze trailing over the series of holograms and the pedals and the lone steering hands that stood out in the center of it all.

“You can fly this thing?!” Ceri shrieked, looking at the series of glowing screens that surrounded them with a slightly dumbfounded expression. The entire room vibrated slightly as Blue rumbles at her words, annoyed at being considered ‘a thing’, wanting to prove the young child otherwise. Ceri makes a choked sound of surprise.

“You know she didn’t mean it beautiful” he teased but Blue still scoffed in response. He glances over at Ceri and watched as she gazed around the walls with shocked awe, completely unable to comprehend what happened in the last few seconds. Quickly, she came back to herself and turned her gaze down to where her hand rested on his seat and fidgets slightly, shifting from one foot to another.

“Eh….sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you” she muttered, unsure on how to react to the sentient being she was in. Then, she heard the lion rumble again, this time with soft and smooth tremors. Beside her, she hears Lance laugh and turns to him in confusion. Lance grins at her expressions, still amused by Blues preening and explains, “She said she forgives you”, hearing the amusement dancing in his own voice.

Ceri raise her eyes in surprise before giving him a small and shy smile until her gaze begins to trail off to the center of the ceiling, as though she wanted to make sure Blue would see it it too. And from the sound of Blue’s soft and sweet huff that trickled through their bond, she definitely did.

“This is both amazing and terrifying” he heard Ceri mumble and Lance arched an eyebrow at her, playfully but he didn’t disagree. Afterall, she wasn’t wrong. His beautiful Blue is amazing. And no one can tell him otherwise.

But still kinda scary when she wanted to be. Especially towards her enemies.

Lance reached out in front of him, expecting to graze against the steering handles in front of him but he was met with empty air. He was confused until he looked up. And noticed he was no way near the front of the cockpit. He was still in the center of the room.

He was too far away.

“Eh, Blue? ” he turned his gaze up slightly, a small awkward smile twitching on his lips, “A little help?” Immediately the chair sprung to life, moving gracefully forward to the front of the cockpit and Ceri jumps back in surprise. Once she had shaken of her surprise, she let out a small drawling whine that made Lance turn to her, caught off guard.

“Please tell me there no more surprise. I don’t want any more surprises”

Lance gave her an apologetic look, which faltered at the persistent grin that continued to make it way onto his lips. Before he could reassure her, promising her that there was no more- at least the only one Lance could think off- he saw the screen light up with the rest of the room, the low humming increasing as holograms flickered around the room, like they were dancing playfully around the cockpit but still ever stagnate at the same time. During all this, he could feel Blue, sending him an equivalent of a cheeky grin and Lance rolled his eyes at her antics.

Lance snickers and Blue purred back playfully. “Cheeky” he reached out and gently wrapped his hands over the steering handles, gripping and flexing the tension rising the tips of your fingers. He could feel the energy pulsing through him, expanding more and more as the cockpit lit itself up brighter than before and the room rumbled slightly as Blue rose back to her feet, standing tall and proud. “What-?” Ceri fumbled as she looked around the room, confused, wondering what was happening.

“Hold on”

“To wha- Ah! ” she began but choked on her words as soon as Lance push the lever forward, sending them flying into the air and she screamed. She reached for the arm and top padding of his seat, clenching it for dear life, screaming as they blasted higher into the sky but Lance couldn’t find it in himself to be worried and laughed out loud like there was no are in the world.

And they flying, flying higher and higher and the skies were theres to explore once again. In the back of his mind, he could hear Blue rumbling in laughter, feeling the exact same excitement that drummed inside him, pulsing through his body and all he could do was whoop in pure delight. They reached up higher, pushing themselves till they could graze against the clouds, skimming onto the surface layer, and they evened out.

He tried to get back on track, focusing on the task at hand and let Blue glide through the skies, he let his eyes finally drift from the endless boy to the surface of the earth, flurries of tree and green surrounded the land, anything that looked like the thousand of cold and dimly glowing bases that he saw, pinned around hundreds of other planets.

He broke his gaze and glanced up at Blue’s screens, a map stood in the center of the screens beside but he couldn’t see anything as it continuously fizzled in and out of existence, static buzzing through the centre of the map. No good then. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Ceri’s pointed finger came to view beside him, pointing down through the screens.

“There it is!”

He looked down and saw that the swarm of forest vanished and there was large open land and at the center of it stood a very familiar looking facility cascaded with heavily fortified iron clad walls. The Galra base.

There were here.

And if he had to put it in one word, it would be huge ...

Lance eyed the base, scanning the entire place and his mind absorbed the information laid out in front of him like a moth to a flame. Most people would think that Lance was the obvious but no, how wrong they were. Watching, observing and strategising is everything a sharpshooter needs to be capable. And he was Voltrons sharpshooter.

A lot of security. No easy entry point, except the front entrance, which he could tell from here was pretty guarded by a group of droids. They would probably have to enter through one of the entrances. Which meant they couldn’t go in full blast then. But then again he wasn’t a certain impulsive mullethead...

There weren’t any easy escape routes visible from here without alerting every Galra there. They could exit through the same way they come in through but that was too much of a risk, they’d probably have a few platoons ready for them. Only possible emergency escape is through the top of the tower, where he could jump from. And that’s only if his blasters weren't as damaged like the other parts of his armour. So not the best idea.

He glanced at the four large towers that stood as a forefront of the main base. Surrounded them, were atillaries of canons and watch soldiers guarded the walls. His eyes narrowed in deep thought. Maybe if they took down the main towers, he could get them defenseless long enough to actually blast his way through. Lance frowned, no that wouldn’t work, too many unknown variables and he would still have to deal with an entire fleet of soldiers and droids all by himself. Plus he wasn’t sure Blue could handle that much damage right now either.

She was already in a bad condition, he doesn’t want make it worse.

He heard Blue snort, drawing him out his thoughts, her rumbles coming out defensive and curt as though she was scoffing at his thoughts.

Don’t underestimate….Paladin, she rumbled indignantly, Still….can fight

If Blue could, Lance would think she would be turning away at him with her chest puffed out in confidence. Lance couldn’t help but smile at the image. “I know, beautiful, you can deal with anything that's thrown your way but I don’t want get you hurt more than I already have"

Would Hurt NEVER

“I know, I know but still” Blue eased up, but he could still feel her resistance to it all, even as she - very reluctantly - agreed with his plan. Or well, part of a plan at least.

Now come on Lance think .

He couldn’t go in full force, that would just be a suicide mission and they would make things way more difficult. And factoring their injuries, they had to be smart about this. So blasting through doesn’t sound like the best idea right now. Maybe create a distraction for them to getting into the base with relative ease. In the back of his mind, he heard Blue rumble with agreement. And he felt himself smile. Maybe going full blast would work. Well more like half blast but you get the point.

Guess the mullet emo’s way wasn’t such a bad way.

He was glad no one was around to hear him or would never admitted it then. He would rather hide away from the world than ever admit that.

Wait. Hide away from the world…..

Pidge’s camouflaging. That’s right how could even forget that. He completely forgot that Pidge added that addition to the rest of the Lions once she made sure it worked. He always had it, ready to use but he never felt he needed it.

Until now…

Which meant they could go undetected, but only for a few seconds. But enough time, if they draw their attention somewhere else. So yes to the distraction then. That could work. It could actually work, if they play it right. Suddenly, he was drawn back back from his thoughts at the sound of Ceri's voice.

“So what's the plan?”

He glanced over at Ceri who watched the base below them with intense focus he never saw before, her jaw clenched tightly and her body brimming with tension. He paused for a moment and looked at her for a moment, noticing the steel harden that outweighed the slight shakiness of fear that was still present in her voice as she spoke.

“We’re going to shoot down the front towers and use that as a distraction, all the platoons will be called to the front, acting as a defensive support, that when we draw back, pretending we’re hiding in the forest. It would keep their attention drawn as me and Blue swoop out at the last minute using our Hogwarts level invisible cloak and fly to the back of the base, where none of the Galra’s will be, since they’ll be too busy, guarding the fronts. That when I go into the base, get to the central hub and find out where your father and the other captives are and I’ll grab one of the fighters here to fly them out of there”

He said, not once looking back to her as he spoke, his eyes focused solely on the towering base below them, but he could feel her nod beside him. He noticed the subtle lack of “we” or “you and me” in that sentence and he knew she noticed too the second she froze in place before whipping her head towards him, her eyes widening in belief.

“Oh no you are not leaving me here”

“Cer-”

“No!” she yelled, effectively silencing him,“I am not going to hide away while you’re out there. You might be a Paladin but you aren’t invincible either”, and she took a quick glance at his bandaged stump and Lance felt a lump rise in his throat. His fingers twitched at the sudden urge to touch his stumped leg but he ignore it, keeping his finger curled around the steering handles.

“That is my Papa in there, my only family and my village. We take care of our own, so we will and I can’t just sit back and watch you go in there and kill yourself without me there with you. I won’t. With or without your permission, I’m going. So deal with it, Blue boy, because you’re stuck with me.”

“Besides”, her glare eased and she grinned towards him smugly, “You can’t exactly just hop your way through the entire base without some quality help from me” she added, her grin turning from smug to pure devilish.

Lance pouted and paused. She did have a point, if this was few days ago, he wouldn’t even consider bringing her along and would have gone guns blazing through the base, confidently (or at least willingly) and with just his bayard in hand and the comfort of knowing that his team were there with him as he snuck through the base  like the amazing, crazy ninja sharpshooter he was.

But now….

Once again, his gaze dropped to his leg and he couldn’t ignore the intense urge to wrap his palm protectively at the base of the stump. This isn’t a few days ago. He had no team, he was alone in the big bad universe with no idea where he was and where they were and he wasn’t the same person a few days ago (well physically at least). This was now.

“Fine” he sighed out and Ceri beams at him. He raise his gaze, completely serious as he continued, “But you’re going to be by my side at all time and when I say hide, you hide okay?” he pushed, making sure she now just how serious he was. She nodded, her eyes softening in the process.

“Okay”

He nodded back, somewhat satisfied. He turned back to the front, his eyes twinkling as they trained onto the base before them, anxious adrenaline drumming and pulsing through his veins. He gripped tightly against the handles, flexing his fingers absently, itching to move. He smiled, looking up slightly as he spoke.

“Ready Blue?”

Always

And Lance grinned.

With a sudden surge of energy, he pushed forward the lever and Blue dived head first towards the base, nose driving forcefully closer and closer to the earth. They kept going, dipping down until Lance abruptly pulled the lever back to his chest, surging Blue up, barely skimming the roof of the surrounding towers.

All it took was one blast from Blue before all hell broke loose.

As soon as the blast hit the tower, it collapsed easily to the ground. Just as he pulled up, he shots at the last tower in front of him, watching in pleasure as it crumbled before him, reduced to a mess of rumble and broken machinery. Suddenly, the whole entire base roared with sudden energy. Alarms blared loudly around the entire place, soldiers and droids rushed in flurry around the base, scurrying to the front of the base, where the damaged towers crumpled slowly from the attack, with blasters in hand, taking the full offensive for any attack.

An attack that will never come.

At least for now anyways.

Phase 1, completed , he thought grinning to himself.

Ceri cheered wildly beside him, whooping loudly. Her cries wavering slightly as they dive in once again, quicker than before as they swerved the ongoing bullets blasted towards them. He moved the steering gears, making Blue level out before he pressed the corner screen on his right, camouflaging Blue with the rest of the scenery behind them, completely invisible.

He heard the flurry of soldiers become more frantic, uproar of words and sounds that Lance couldn’t distinguish but could hear the distress and frustration that was laced with it. And man if Lance didn’t feel so smug for providing that.

As fast as Blue could, the quickly flew down to the back of the base, seeing no soldier in sight, swooping right behind the main tower, right where some of the fighters were located. Just as they began to glide down, the camouflage began to flicker slightly until it violently fizzled away like dust. Just as the last bit of the cloaking disappears, Blue lands gracefully onto the flat ground, soft and silent like a cat. Just as she does, she leans her head down to the surface, crouching down in the process.

They felt Blue open her jaws wide from underneath them and Lance pulled himself from his pilot seat, Ceri holding him up, silently aiding and supporting him, completely ready to ignore Lance’s expecting protests. They shuffled to the opening and quickly left the confines of Blue’s iron clad jaws. As soon as they stepped out, he heard the soft hum of Blue shield as it materialized around her, encasing her in a dome of azure blue.

It was quiet, in a discomforting way, a way that made Lance twitch in discomfort, like a calm before the storm. Which wasn’t exactly wrong, Lance mused. “You think we’re all clear?” He turned his gaze to Ceri beside him, who clutched against him tightly but still just as gentle as before as she gazed around the empty backway with cautious and distrust, like she felt the exact same apprehension Lance was feeling. “Yeah, we’re all clear” he nodded. Immediately, they set off to the front entrance of the the main tower, determination drumming inside them like electricity. Just as they were at the end of the platform, a whisper of sound met his ears.

Safe…

He stopped for a second before turning back to Blue, who sat there, quiet and cold, but he could feel the fear and anxiety coursing underneath her exterior. Lance smiled up to her.

I will…

And with that, he turned back and spoke up.  

“Let’s go”

Ceri didn’t hesitate as she hobbled both of them as they turned the edge of the towers wall, Blue in all her glory, veiled in her azure blue finally disappeared from their sight. They snuck tightly against the walls, carefully huddling behind the giant crates of weapons and supply that lay around the place, making sure to go unnoticed by the guards that could pass them by. They were tense, eyes scanning intensely around them, cautious and ready for anything.

During all this, Lance bit his lip, ignoring the waves of throbbing pain of his leg. He needed to focus. He can’t stop, not until this was finished.

Not until he fixes his mistake.

Until didn’t take long until they finally saw the front entrance of the base. They huddled behind the large crates in front of them as Lance peeked out slightly scanning the area. It was guarded, three sentries stood watch, completely motionless, their lifeless hands held their guns low and stiff as they looked blankly out of the front of the base, quiet and completely if the two’s presence.

“Okay” he muttered. Okay. Three droids, that's not so bad. Could be worse, like six or ten or eighteen. But considering his recent….. condition, three droids would be hard to take down without drawing everyone's attention. He had to be quick. Even with his new limitations, he could still shoot down the first two sentries, no problem, the real issue is the third and last one. Lance would be busy finishing the other two and he wouldn’t be fast enough to stop the third.

He’d just have to try his luck.

Please don’t mess up, a voice in his mind whispered.

He took a small breath, steadying himself as he activating his bayard, the tension leaving his shoulder slightly at the feel of the blasters weight. He heard a small gasp from Ceri followed by a breathless whisper of, “Wow”, before drawing her attention back to the guarded doors.

“Well how we gonna get pass them?”

“You stay here"

“ Wha-" but Lance didn’t hear the rest as he rolled forward, landed up onto his knee and drawing the sentries attention. Before they could do anything, Lance shot two of the sentries, quick and fast, into the dead center of their chests, not even glancing at them as they dropped to the ground broken and lifeless as he turns his focus to the last droid. Just as he raised his blast again, he noticed the last sentry guard had moved to the keypad beside the doors, reaching for something. Lance had been in enough Galran bases to know what that was.

A distress alarm.

No-

Bang

Lance blinks, watching completely shell shocked as he watches the drone froze, his hand inches away from the alarm before it quickly falls to the ground, dropping like a heavy weight. Behind it, was Ceri, holding one of the other guards blaster at the butt of the gun. She panted breathlessly, her eyes trained on the broken droid underneath her and finally she lowered the gun from over her head.

When did she even get there?

“Phew that was close" she mumbled to herself before raising her eyes toward Lance, who was still kneeling on the floor, staring at her dumbly. Ceri quirked a brow. “What?” she asked, “You just gonna stand there and look pretty. Come on" she said and turned back to the bodies before grabbing their hands and dragging them across the ground.

Note to self: Add Ceri to future plan making.

Slowly, Lance snaps back to himself and rests his palm against the wall beside him before carefully pushes himself up from the ground, making sure he doesn’t fall, and onto his feet, eh, foot. It takes all of Lance's concentration to not fumble under his own weight, that constant sense of wrongness sticking with him like a hissing whispers into his ears.

Man it was hard to balance on one leg.

He didn’t noticed Ceri dragged the two of the three guards until he looked up and saw second guard disappear behind a clutter of boxes where they were hiding. Just as she came around in front of boxes, she made her way to the final droid, grabbing one of its dangling arms before she hesitates. His only warning was seeing her eyes twinkle with something that just screamed dangerous and reckless before she rose her foot and pressed it heavily onto the drones chest. And with a grin, she pressed down her leg and pulled at the arm towards her. She grunted in effort but continued to pull more and more of the arm towards her as she bent backwards onto herself. Under her breath he could her whisper “Come on, come on, come oooon" repeatedly like a mantra. Lance watched until he scrunched up his nose in confusion.

“What are you-”

Without warning, the arm broke off from the body and Ceri tumbled backwards, nearly falling over but steadies herself just in time. With a hum of triumph, she winked and smiled, raising the arm which jangles at the motion.

“For good luck”

Then, glancing away from Lance, she gripped the broken arm and practically hopped over the body towards the entrance keypad. She casually raised the arm and placed the limp palm against the scanner doors and after a few seconds the doors readily opened.

She grinned and looked back at Lance again, a satisfied but mischievous glint in her eyes as she waved the lifeless arm in her hand.“Like I said, ‘For luck’"

Lance stared at her owlishly before cracking a small smile as her grin widened by the second. She let her grin drop as she raised an eyebrow. “Well?” she asked, waiting. She nudged her head to the opened entrance with unspoken words. Lance nodded back and Ceri stepped forward, ready at side to steady him and Lance silently lets himself lean against her, keeping his blaster activated as they turn to face the entrance door. Before they began to hobble their way through the open doors, Ceri gaze drop, lowering her arm which still gripped

However, just as she was about to drop the broken of arm, she hesitated staring blankly at the artificial limb.

“Actually you know what, I’m keeping you, droid arm”

Lance didn’t bother to say anything otherwise, just leaving the questions rummaging in his mind be. He watched as Ceri untied the band around her waist tying the arm on the the side of her waist. “There you go” she mumbled, seemingly satisfied with her work. And with that, they made there way through the open door.

Apprehension pulsed through his veins as the anxiety set a heavy weight in his stomach but he forced himself to take a step and maneuver around the quiet hallways with caution.

Usually in the Galra bases he had gone to the surveillance or main room was near the centre of the base. Better keep going forward then , he thought to himself. He stumbled forwards, leaning not to heavily on Ceri who let him guide them wherever they needed to o with controlled ease. They continued like this for a while, letting the dimly lit corridors guide them somewhere, anywhere, that could help them find the others.

“Why is it so….quiet. Shouldn’t have we heard someone by now?” she muttered, never letting her cautious and sharp gaze away from the empty hallways that surrounds them.

“I don’t know” he whispered back, unsure. Did they really draw that much attention outside? Or were they just lucky enough to

Guess I’ll find out sooner or later….

Just as they turned a corner, Lance saw a glimpse of a group of soldiers, Galran and drone, coming their way. Without so much as a thought, he pulled them both back behind the wall the hid against and swiftly but gently he pushes Ceri closer to the wall. As she opens her mouth, Lance presses his finger on his lips, silencing her.

She stares for a moment, panic shun in her eyes before she nodded and she quietly hiding behind him. He narrowed in on the sound, focusing only on the clanking of their footsteps rhythmic and stiff against the ironclad floors echoing louder in the eerie silence of the hallways. They stayed there in silence, their shoulders tense and breaths quietened, as they heard the clanking of footsteps come closer and closer.

Suddenly a troop of sentries came into view, marching lifeless past them, unaware of them and their presence, just mindlessly walking onwards to their destination. Lance watched in silence, his bayard in hand, ready, his gaze solely on the sentry that came into their view. But they continue to march on past them and were nearly past the edge of the pathway. They were gonna make it, he thought.

Until one of the droids pauses.

He stilled, the air caughting in his throat. He silenced his stiff breathes as his heartbeat began to drum wildly against his chest, but washed away by the sound of the blood rushing to his head.

Panic filled his heart. Did he hear them? Did he know they were there? Is he gonna call for the others?

They stood in the shadows, waiting for the droids next move. Lance tightened his grip against the handle of his blaster, ready for anything that might happen. They continued to lurk through the shadows until the drone finally moved.

And walked past to. The watched withheld breaths as the drone continued to make its way down the hallway. As it turned a corner, the immediately relaxed and both let out a breath of relief.

That….was close.

Lance shoulders sag and let the tension slowly seep out from his body. Oh god he thought his heart was going to explode. That was way too close for comfort. Need to be more careful, he couldn’t be this reckless, not when it isn’t just his safety on the line. At that thought, he drew his eyes back to the young girl. She had her eyes closed, her body leaned limply against the wall just as her hand lay heavily against her chest. Relief morphed her face before she opened her eyes connecting their gaze.

“You okay" he asked, like a soft whisper. She nodded, giving him a small but tentative smile. “I’m good”. Lance couldn’t help give one in return. He glanced back to the open halls where the Galran sentry was, making sure they were in the clear.

Okay , he thought.

Okay.

Once he was sure, he let up, easing away from Ceri and letting her maneuver out of his protective shielding. “Come on, we should keep moving" he urged, nudging his head in the direction the were going. Ceri paused, smiling once again as her eyes narrowed once again, brimming with determination before giving him a quick and jerked nod. And slowly and even more cautiously than before, they left their hiding spot, coming back into clear view and strenuously hobbled there way down through the dimly lit corridors.

“Do you know which way we’re going?"

“Nope”

“Nope?” she repeated, with a tone that screamed incredulously and equally deadpanned.

“Yup”

“So we’re actually just winging this? Do you even have a plan?” she asked. Lance nodded. “Yeah I do. It's called Operation: Save Everyone from Evil Purple Cat People"

“I see a lot of holes in this plan already”

“Its part of the charm of it" he fired back, even in a tense situation they were in, he could feel a smile creeping into his face. As Ceri looked onward with a blank expression, he could still the sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

“Uh huh. So no back up plan for that genius, unbreakable plan?”

“Okay backup plan then: Operation Hope for the best and don’t die”

Ceri turned back to him, giving him a deadpan look before turning her gaze back to the empty hallway. “Well that was helpful, thanks for motivational input” she muttered dryly.

He withholds a snort and opens his mouth, about to utter the words, “I aim to please" or something along the lines but he froze at the sound of familiar footstep coming their way.

Immediately, Lance reached out for Ceri, guiding her behind him, away from trouble as she feel silent, cautious eyes glancing around her, trying to pinpoint where the footsteps are coming from.

They were drones, they footstep were to slow, not synchronic but different, sparse in motion. Too alive to be a sentry droid.

“Do you think the Commander will be angry at us”

A low gravel voice rumbled through the desolate corridors. The Galran was big, by the sound of his footsteps and for a moment he thought he had missed the others words until he was caught off guard by a sniveling snort.

“Why would he? We retrieved the culprit and he’s captured and in our hands now"

“But we didn’t bring back the rebel. Wasn’t that the main purpose of our mission?”

Footsteps came closer...

“Yes you are right. We were task to find the rebel scum", he spits out venomously, like the person existence completely disgusted him,” and we still will continue the search. But as we do that, we can gather enough information from that villager aid us in our assignment. The Commander would be pleased to know that we apprehend someone who may lead us straight to them”

The footsteps began to slow down to pace, the quick stomps become soft pattern against the metallic grounds.

Lance felt his skin go cold. He knew those voices. Once he just heard hours prior.

They were the same ones that were in Arkus’ home.

“It’s them” Ceri whispered, realising the same thing as him. Her eyes clouded as the tension from their last encounter set within her. Before Lance reach out and console her, the footsteps came closer and closer to their direction. Their voices became louder and clearer which each passing step. He didn’t peak out, worried it would get them seen if he done so. He couldn’t risk it.

The footsteps stop.

“Identify yourself” a low distorted and mechanical voice rung through the silence. Lance tensed. More sentries. “Lieutenant Plamix and Private Knognr” Lance heard Plamix say. There was a beat of silence, a small sound of distance whirling filled the absence before he heard a soft clanking of metal.

“Confirmed, you may proceed”

Not far from them, he could hear the whirling sound of a door opening.

“I hope he’ll see it that way" the deep, gravelly- Knognr, his mind supplied- muttered under his breath but loud enough for him and the other soldier to hear. But the other Galran didn't say anything, whether it was because he was tired of convincing his partner otherwise or even he couldn’t help but agree, Lance didn’t know.

And with that, the footsteps continued till they were silenced by of the door closing. “We can’t let them go!” Ceri hissed under her breath, “Their the only ones who know where my dad is". Lance raised up both his hands, easing her down. “I know and we won't. But we can’t just go in gun blazing" he whispered back. At his own words, Lance couldn’t help but glance back at the broken arm that hung on her waist and pause, “Or well gun and robot arm blazing” he rephrased. Ceri looked at him like she was ignoring the urge to roll her eyes and instead scrunched her nose and furrowed her brows slightly as she thought.

After a beat of silent, she spoke up.

“What if we fought the guards and sneaked through the doors?” She suggested, leaning in close so he could hear her whispers. Lance shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment.

“If we took out the guards then they could alert the others inside. And even if we did, opening the doors might caught their attention. It’s too much of a risk. There has to be something else. Something ” he drawn up his thumb across his lip as he pondered.

Come on Lance, think. You didn't get into the Garrison just from charisma.

He didn’t pay attention to Ceri’s antics, too rapt up in the fumbling trickling if scrapped, incomplete plans that raced through his mind until she made a small noise that almost sounded like an ‘aha’. He looked over at her and noticed the small, almost victorious smile forming on her face.

“Well why don’t we take the easy way then?” she said. Noticing his confused stare, she rose her finger and pointed up to the bottom part of the wall and Lance followed her gaze before he noticed the medium sized vent that was behind her. That….might actually work. Lance grinned.

“I knew it was a good idea to bring you along" he teased and Ceri rolled her eyes dramatically. “Now you say it's your idea. I sense some blasphemy in your words” she huffed. Lance smiles before lowering himself carefully onto his knee’s- knee , tentatively leaning against his activated bayard, Ceri doing the same. He scooted closer to the closed vent and silently reached for the thick bars before yanking them away, causing the rest of the panel to come off.

He slide the panel beside the opened vent, leaning against the wall before taking a glance of the vent inside. It was surprisingly big for a vent, enough so that Lance might not have to squirm uncomfortably through it.

Lance-1, Space Vents-0

He fell to all fours - or three, depending on how literal you are - and finally deactivated his bayard, leaving in its usual slumber form and he began to crawl through the entrance of vent. He hear Ceri follow behind him and he continued through the tight air space, making sure not that make any loud clunks or sounds in the process. It began to steep up, rising up to a ceiling level which Lance struggled through with only one leg to support him but somehow he manage to reach the top.

After turning a small corner, it didn’t take long to reach the next panel. It was just above the rest the room, giving them the perfectview to see everything. He moved a few inches ahead, letting Ceri huddle closer in as they finally peaked through the slits of the vents.

It took a while for Lance's eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room but as soon as they did he realise just exactly they were. This was it. The main room, the centre of it all. They found it (with a little help of course).

Large screens stood across the wall opposite them, a few drones and officers perch between each and every screen, surveying for anything and everything. Schematics, statistics, radio signals and scanner filtered through various screen.

He turned his gaze to the left side of the room, zoning in the the stiff patter of footstep that made there way to the center of the room. He didn’t need to look to know who it was, but he did so anyways.

And boy was he finally able to put a face to the voice. Knognr, like Lance guessed, was bigger and broader, just like Hunk, except a few inches taller. His jaw was thick and bulky as the rest of his face was trapped in a permanent scowl. His eyes were a slightly duller amber than most other Galras, emitting a more golden bronze sheen then acidic yellow. Beside him was Plamix. He was shorter than Knognr looked like any other Galran soldier, Lance has faced, the only difference was that he leaner than most and not as broad. But still, he hung himself with the exact same confidence as any other Galran. Lance narrowed his gaze and notices Plamix’s narrow jaw and light pigment skin on one side of his face. A scar, probably. They were wearing the typical armour of a Galran soldier, dark violet plating shune against the purple lighting of the room.

The both looked onward, stiffly making their way to the centre of the room and Lance and Ceri’s eyes followed.

In the near center of the room, a few steps from the large throne-like chair, stood a figure.

The figure was tall, broader but still lean than any other Galra Lance had seen. His cheekbone stood out, curving out and down into a narrow jaw. His skin was the typically shade of purple for the Galra and his eyes glowed eerily a tangy acid yellow that stood out against the lilac and deep purple lighten of the screens in front of him. Lance noticed his uniform is different than any other Galran uniform he had seen. He had the usual armor where their symbol in the center of his breastplate, glowing bright and proud but his collar rose up to the crook of his jaw, edging dangerously against it and rising to the back of his head, stopping at his ears. It was tough, similar to his armor, but fanned out slightly, giving it a soft-like pillow shape before smoothing off in thin edges.

His looming presence and more ‘otherworldly' wear screamed authority .

The two galran officers made their way to the center of the room, a few feet away from the other Galran. Lance watched silently as they stopped before bowing slightly in respect.

“Commander Trix” they uttered, surprisingly in a soft and respectively way, as though he was their benevolent king and they, his loyal knights. But even in their adoration, Lance noticed the shrivel undertone of fear in their voice.

Suddenly the figure spoke.

“Lieutenant Plamix and Private Knogr, Report”

“Sir” one of them stepped forward slightly, the other shuffling slightly behind him, and at the sound of his voice he knew instantly it was Plamix speaking. “We couldn’t find the location of the rebel”, the commander growled dangerously at that, causing both of then to flinch in fear but Plamix continued on, “But we had found a possible safe heaven he may have used to hide from us and heal.”

The Commander peaked up at that, his glare becoming less intense. ”Go on" he urged, the utter power and command slithered into his voice was powerful. Plamix nodded stiffly. “ A small cabin out in the outskirt of the village, in the midst of the forest and not too far from the energy signals location" he answered. Energy signal, Lance thought to himself. What energy signal?

Blue, a voice whispered. It made sense.

They must have caught her ‘energy signature’ the minute the broke through the atmosphere and crashed. Lance suddenly remembered. All the defense, the readiness the Galran had the minute they would strike them, facing them head on. The always ready preparation…..

Was that how they were always ready for them when they would plan an attack?

Lance swallowed at the thought, it all made so much sense now. He needed to tell the others as soon as he gets back. Quietly, he mentally stores the information in his mind before drawing his attention back to the conversation.

Commander Trix hummed. “Ah the mechanic. Or he used to be, so i’ve heard. His home, huh?” he asked, already knowing the answer. He leaned back, his elbow peeked up lazily against his armchair, his closed palm supporting his cheek. “Yes Commander" they both answered. He drew his attention back to the officers in front of him, staring blanking as though their entire presence bored him. “And?” the galran asked, waiting.

“He is is not speaking, sir. He won’t provide us any information on the rebel or where he located the rebel and his aircraft.” the commander stared at them blankly, only arching his lilac brow with mild interest.

“Have you sent him to the Mines then?”

“Yes sir, just after we and the other soldiers interrogated him"

The Commander leaning further back in his chair, looking seemly satisfied. “At least a few days in there would break him enough to give us that information.” he mused, casually. The two Galrans grinned in response, their fangs puncturing through curling lips in a twisted and sadistic manner. He felt Ceri shudder beside him and he instinctively bumped his shoulder against hers, in hopes of comforting her in some way. After a second, she bumped back, letting him know that she was okay, or well, as okay as she can be. Lance didn’t believe her but still he reluctantly drawn his attention back to the conversation.

“Yes sir”

““Ah" he voiced, acknowledging their words with the littlest effort. He leaned back into his chair, his intense stare drilling deep into the two soldier. Even this far away from him, Lance could feel the dangerous scent that lingers around him like a coiled serpent, waiting to be tempered. “Remind me Officer, has the signature been identified yet?”

Plamix shook his head.

“No sir, it has not. The technicians have never seen anything like it.”

That's my Blue alright, Lance couldn’t help but think with pride.

Even as far away as he way, Lance could see the bright gleam in his eyes and watched quietly as he stood up, rising from his throne.

“And was it the same signature we saw attack to front gates?”

“We believe so”

“Interesting…”

They stood their in silences, waiting for the Galran commander to utter something. Even this far away, Lance could see the trickle of cold sweat forming and they slightly concealed fear that stood behind their eyes. Finally he turned back to the two glarn officers, Lance could feel his glowing yellow eyes boring deep into them, holding something dark and intense within them.“That is all. Standby in the technicians room. Report to me as soon as you found more about this attack.” he said before the two nodded stiffly.

Bingo

“Yes sir. Vrepit Sa” they both said, slamming their palm into the surface of their armour, like a salute, something Lance quickly took notice off.

After watching the conversation ended, Plamix and Knognr turned and made their way out of the room just as Trix took their departure with absence care.

The Commander move from his spot, only turning his head to the cluster of screen in beside of him. “Report to me as soon as you find anything about the attack and what attacked" he ordered the drones and

“Yes sir” a mixture of mechanic article and real voices replied back.

Aaaaaand that's where they leave.

“We gotta go” he said and Ceri nodded back in agreement. Quietly, they crawled there way back out, quiet and carefully and Lance felt grateful to be back in more open air, at least enough to stretch his arms. They quickly stood up and Ceri placed back the panel onto the vent.

Lance looked around making sure no one has seen them.

“Do you think they already left?”

Lance peaked his head out for a second, checking if the two soldier left the other way. But he was meet with the approaching figures of Plamix and Knognr coming closer and closer in their direction.

Lance’s eyes widen.

Oh oh

Instantly he flinches back behind the coverage of the wall and places an arm arm Ceri, causing Ceri to instinctively tense up. They stick to the wall frozen as the two Galran soldiers made there way past them, not batting an eye in their direction. They look at eachother, not daring to move a limb until they saw them disappear past the corner and they sag in relief.

“.....Nevermind”

“ Weee should probably go before we lose them"

“Uh huh" Ceri nodded. They stood there for a second before slithering near the walls cornering the same they had.

It didn't take long to finally catch up to them. And with that they slowly trickled behind them, like a second shadow, silent and steady, letting themselves be mask by the shadows of the walls. Through all this, the two Galran soldier talked to one another, words blurred in a mingle of sound as Lance only paid attention to their movement, paying no mind to their conversation.

Left.

Straight.

Right.

Left.

Straight on then Left.

Right.

Straight then Right again.

Left.

Holy Quiznak, how big is this base. It’s like a freaking maze. With each turn, they look around with cautious eyes, glancing around intensely and making sure no one saw them. They all must be gone to guard the front gates. Still, they silence only left him more on edge, like a slowly apprehension of being caught speeding up his heartbeat to the point that that's all he hears through his ears, the raging pulsing rhythm.

Just as they turned another corner- and Lance was just about to drown in his maze misery- they stopped at the end if the corridor in front of a closed doorway. Finally, he thought, mumbling it under his breath.

They hid behind the edge of the wall, peeking over from the side to see what they were doing. The two soldiers stood in front of a closed doorway and Lance noticed there was no droids standing guard this time. Lance watched as Knognr raised his large and bulky palm and pressed it against the keypad, letting it linger there until the doorway opened. He couldn’t see what was inside over past their lingering forms but he could tell something was off.

“Where are the technician’s?” Knognr asked, his growling undertone laced with confusion. Plamix looked around just as confused but that confusion swiftly changed to rage.

“There probably gone to the Commander to report. Why isn’t supervising the camera’s?! Don’t they realise that we need someone on watch, especially after an attack. Who’s throat do I have to slice.” he growled, his eyes narrowing in rage.

Lance blinked looking over at Ceri inquisitively, earning the same look in return. The techy’s weren’t there? They drew their attention back to the other two. “We can’t find anything without the bloody tech’s. And we don’t have a drone here. What are we gonna do if we can’t find out what happened during the attack?”

They heard Plamix scoff loudly before turning back and walking off to the right, disappearing past them, Knognr following suit. Soon after the door shut once again.

Lance peaked over again, making sure no one was in sight.

“All clear"

Quietly, they make their way to the once opened door. Ceri fiddled with her belt, letting it loosen as she gladly grabbed her droid arm. In her grip, she smiled at Lance, waving the robot hand slightly.

“May I have the honour?” she asked in a joking matter. Lance gives a dramatic bows, leaving an open hand out in encouragement.

“Gladly”

Ceri placed the hand onto the keypad, watching as the purple glow transformed into an azure blue and the door open in front of them. They look inside and their eyes widen.

“Wow”

“Yup”

The room was a relative size. It was brighter than any of the other rooms, highly lit screen plastered across the opposite wall. Various images and symbols were scattered across each screen like a clustered mirage. On the left of the room was a large container of sort. It was big and bulky, with a small compartment door and hand print pad beside it. In front of it however were a pair of tables, each accumulated with clusters of machines and tools with a bright glowing orb like thing in the center. They hobbled inside, urged to get a better look.

On the other side of the room was another large screen, one filled with various schematics and equations in a mix. They looked like readings or like they were scanning something. It must be Blue’s energy signals. Lance hobbled forward, side walling across the room just as Ceri’s went towards the large screen.

Energy substance: unknown/unrecognisable.

Sighters report to seeing a large blue ship landing past the woods. Footage shows similar images. Location of the crash was uncontaminated and ship was not in the vicinity. No energy residue from the ship or crash site.

Lance felt panic rise from his chest. The found where Blue was. But she wasn’t….there?

“That doesn’t make sense” he mumbled to himself.

That’s when it hit him, the cloaking device. That's it! They probably only scurried the site briefly in their search and she must have had enough energy to set off Pidge cloaking device for as long as she could, till they left. Lance heart swelled with pride.

“That’s my girl”

He notices a small note on the corner of the screen. Curious, he leaned forward to see.

Balmaren Crystals: Negative, no similar emitting.

Possible New Substance used within the Rebels organisation .

Rebels, he keeps hearing that word. Was that just a name they have for Voltron or is they really others out there, fighting Zarkon just like them. But wouldn’t have they have made themselves known to them already if they actually had allies?

Still, he had to tell Allura about this.

If he ever gets to see her again.

Suddenly Lance heard the door open just as he reached out and quickly turned to the wall. Plamix stepped into the room alone, tension filling his entire being as he mumble some Galran words under his breath.

Finally he looked around the room and finally noticed Ceri standing in the center of the room, frozen. He paused and looked at Ceri in surprise. He continued to stare at her with a wide wild look, completely frozen on the spot, reflecting the exact same shock that Ceri was emitting.

Oh crap.

It didn’t take long before the surprise began to disapotated and a evil glint sparked in his narrowing eyes. “You”, Plamix hissed.

Double crap.

“You little bitch, trying to save her dearest daddy are you? You’re not getting away this time”

He stepped forward, making his way to a pale, wide eyed Ceri who continued stepping backwards every step he took.He raised his hand, sword gripped tightly in his palms.

Before he could reach her, Lance rushed at his side and shot at his outstretched hand. Plamix grunted in surprised pain, turning his eye to Lance.

“Wha-” suddenly Ceri came from behind and before Plamix could do anything, she hit him full force with the droid arm, knocking him instantly to the ground, unconscious. Ceri huffed.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now”

Lance huffed in amusement, shaking his head. He had to admit, it was kind of satisfying to witness. Revenge has never been more sweet. If you can really get to called getting to hit the jerk alien officer that took your dad to an evil boss lair so he wouldn’t get them caught. Yup, thats sounds about right. Ceri looked over his shoulder, making sure no one else had seen them. Like their luck was that bad.

Maybe….

Probably.

“We should probably hurry up before the other one comes"

“Good idea”

Lance hobbles around the unconscious Galran on the floor, sliding expertly across the walls till he reached the main computer. His leg shook under the pressure. It was strain beyond reason, but Lance ignored it, not letting it get in the way. Ceri seemed to noticed and looked around the room, searching for something before her eyes brightened. She walked across the other room and Lance was caught by surprise as she rolled forward towards them a…..stool?

…..Is he missing something or?

“Uhhhh”

“Here" she said, pushing the stool in front of him. “Now be a good boy and sit"

“What?”

Okay he was confused. What did this have to do with anything that was happening. She tapped the stoll before rolling her eyes up.

“Sit down Lance"

“But what does this have to do with-"

“Sit. Now ”

Lance didn’t bother to argue, whether it was because he was too tired to or too afraid to go against Ceri and her glaring, he didn’t know. Gingerly, he leaned down, against the stool, his muscle screaming in protest before finally, finally easing.

Oh that was nice. He didn’t realise how privileged he was to be able to sit before all this. Such luxury. He will never take sitting for granted. Ever again.

Obviously Ceri noticed the utter pleasure in his face and snickers besides him. She crossed her arm, seemingly proud of herself as she raised a slight eyebrow at him in amusement.

“Better?”

“Definitely better”

Ceri snorts as her corner of her mouths twitches and Lance couldn't help but do the same. Finally he drew his attention to the screen, noticing something off. Each word was in a stern cursive that were bulky in style. What the hell? He didn’t understand any if this.

That is until he realised the problem.

It was all in Galran.

Oooooooh Great.

He’s doesn’t know galran. He’s only been in space for a month and they didn’t really go over “Galra language 101’. Even in the Balmera, he and Keith just guessed and just tried not to set of an alarm. And that was just a keypad. But this, this was real, authentic, bonafide Galran. This was always the part that Pidge could do, not him.

God he wished he had Google Translate right about now.

He turned to Ceri, giving her a small and skittish laugh. “Do you by any chance, know how this works" he asked.

Please say yes, Please say yes, Please say yes.

But Ceri raised and shrugged her shoulder in a ‘ I don't know anything’ manner. “Not a clue” she replied. Lance sighed  dejectedly. Great, now they both don’t know. Why couldn’t this be in English, his mind whined. Guess it was his job to figure this out.

He looked across the constant flurry of words that were shown on the screen, surprised that he could recognise the occasional galran word. Then again it was kind off hard not too, with all the missions they have done so far, even when there wasn’t much.

Okay. He took a deep breath. Okay.

He can do this.

He pressed his fingers against the keypad in a slow hesitant pressure slowly building up into rhythmic pace. His fingers skied across the keypad, pressing anything he remotely recognised from before.

The screens lit up with new words, and he pressed one, which expanded into a series of sections of split screen that each displayed different views of the base.

“Bingo” he whispered to himself. Pidge would be proud. Or tell him it was just dumb luck, which would be true. The screens lit up with different tabs of information, a small map of the the entire base was displayed in one of the corners as footage of the base was in front of them, camera’s shooting at different angles.

Lance scanned through the screen, skimming through each bit of footage in front of them.

“Come one, come on, it has to be here” he mumbled under his breath.

“There!” Ceri pointed at the far corner of the screen. Lance turned his gaze to the screen she was pointing at. On the screen, showed a large rocky clearing, sandstone to darkening rocks and stones stuck out like rigs. It was dark, a few glowing lavender lights filled the hudded and heavy shadows of the place. Lance never seen a place like this. It almost looks like-

“The Mines” Ceri whispered, it was so quiet and barely there to be heard but Lance was close enough to hear her. Her face contorted, fear and pain maimed her expression as she continued to stare at the screen in silence. Lance looked at her with concern, glancing back and forth from the screen to her subtly. Finally, she broke her gaze, drawn down to the ground, her eyes hidden away by her hair. He heard her swallow as she seemed to gather herself at the sight in front of her.

“We’ll get them out"

Ceri didn’t say anything back. “Do you see a way to get in?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly at her restraint to not to cry at the sight before them.Lance continued to look at her for a moment before going back to the screens, hoping at least to answer that.

There was a few soldier standing watch at the front of the place. He noticed in the distance where another pair of soldiers, who walked through the

He typed on the keypad, searching for the exact location of the camera, hoping it would tell him where it was. Within seconds, a map of the base popped up on the screen, red dots glowing where each camera was. Except for one lone amber yellow dot.

They weren’t too far away, he noticed. But they were still soldiers guarding the place and it seems heavily fortified. Probably for the prisoners to make sure none would try to fight back, Lance thought.

He typed against the keypad and watched as the screen zeroed in on the cameras only in those area.

And what he saw made him pale at the sight.

“My Gods" she whispered, completely torn by the sight before her. And Lance couldn't help but agree.

Hundreds of villagers aligned every cavern and jagged walls in the Mines. They were all chained from the feet to the hands, which connected to a larger chain that connected the center wall, which locked their chains keeping them from escape. Looking closer, he noticed some chains that connected under their hairline. Lance stilled at the sight.

Collars…

Even in Lance’s internalisation, they continued to mine, smacking their pickaxes against the jagged stone walls in a hypnotic and rhythmic pace as what little life they had in them was wisping away with each hit.

It was just like Galmera, Lance couldn’t help but notice.

Beside him, he heard Ceri take a slight step back, like being farther away from the sight would make it better.

“How" she whispered, her hands clutching the fabric against her chest. She sounded torn, filled with spoken anguish. “How could they do something like this.”

Lance wanted to console her but he couldn’t find any answers to her questions. All he could do was look down, away from the cruel scene in front of them as he answer honestly.

“I don’t know….”

He rose his gaze again, determination and rage filling his entire being. Lance reached out and placed a palm against her trembling shoulders. “But we will get them out. All of them”

Ceri looked up a him with wide glossy eyes before giving him the faintest of a smile.

“Okay"

Lance returned a twitch of a smile before hesitantly letting Ceri untangle herself from his hold. He turned back to the screens. He watched as the the miners continued to work weakly. Lance combed through his hair with his finger as he bit his lip in frustration.

“This doesn’t make sense. Why wasn’t there more of an, I don’t know, an uproar about this? Why didn’t the rest of the village continue fighting?”

Ceri shook her head. “No, we couldn’t. The idea of fighting when we’ve already lost, we just couldn’t do it again. Besides, no one was able to gather enough people to start another riot. Not after what happened last time.”

“What about the leader of your village? Or cheif? Or maybe a mayor? Why don't they do anything to stop it" he questioned. They had to have someone take the lead and protect them. Right?

Ceri dropped her head, shaking it with a firm ‘no'. “She was killed after the attack, they made the entire village watched as they murdered her in cold blood. It was suppose to teach us a lesson they said, so no one would take up the mantle” she explained with a soft voice.

“It didn’t stop the others though. Whenever someone would try to organise something, whether its an attack or some kind of diverging to steal back the supplies or even town meetings, they would be taken to the Mines, just like the rest of them” She took a small glance at the screen before looking back down. Her arms slowly wrapped around her, like a blanket, some kind of comfort over the cold words she spoke.

“The more we fought, the more we lost. Besides how can we fight, we just a small village. And with small villages like this, our survival become more important than our dignity.” she explained, her soft voice slowly trailing out into silence.

“But now we have you" she whispered. She looked up to him with a soft smile, the anguish from before disappearing into the air. “And maybe this time, we can”

Lance felt his chest tighten. Her words stricken him like sharp glass, his heart clenching at the hope and faith echoing in her voice. She sounds so sure. How could she sound so sure that he was that missing piece, their hero who fights for them and wins. Saving them.

When he’s just….

His arm clenched tightly against the top of his limb.

Is this what Hunk had felt when he went to the Balmera. When he talk to Shay and was stricken by the sight and world in front of him. Her sudden sense of courage and hope transforming his own, pushing him forward to save them all. That much faith and surety. Was it really the same?

“ Cause this is what it means to be a Paladin.”

A paladins duty huh.

“I don’t know what good I could do for you" he joked, covering up the building frustration and sadness inside his heart. But Ceri just smiled sympathetically, and that just made Lance chest feel tighter.

“More than you realise, Blue boy” she uttered, in a teasing manner. Lance swallowed at that, not able to find the words to respond. And Ceri seemed to understand that too as she gave him another smile before looking back towards the door.

“Now that we know where they are, we should probably go before Knognr comes back"

Lance mentally shook his head. That's right, there's no time for this, he’ll deal with it later. They need him right now.

“Or if Sleeping Beauty here wakes up" he pointed beside him, where a unconscious Plamix lay. Ceri looked up at him aghast. She placed a hand over her chest in offense as she gasped dramatically. “Come on, did you see how hard I hit him. He’s gonna be out for a loooong time” She bragged as she wove under his arm, holding him in place. Lance rolled his eyes.

“Lets just go”

And with that Ceri huddled his arm over her shoulder and they left the room, their minds on one destination.

Next stop: The Mines.

Chapter Text

It was quiet as they finally exited the base. After much sneaking around and slithering past every guard or soldier that came their way, they finally reached the front entrance they came through. The second they set one foot out into the open world, they both immediately leaned against the wall, completely slack as they let out a huge, dramatic sigh of relief.

“That was too close" Ceri said, as they both caught their breath. Or tried too. Lance made a shaky noise of agreement. So many close calls. He leaned his head up against the wall, resting his hand over his heart, listening as the high drumming eventually began to sway.

Too many close calls….

The first thing they noticed was the silence. It was quiet, as though it was build up to something, whatever it was. Panic and unease fluttered in Lance gut, the silence picking at him in a slow and agonising pace. But he ignored it, blaring anxious emotion that swirled through his mind, every bad scenario that flashed into his vision and swallowing it down, concentrating on the mission ahead.

“Okay where to now?” Ceri asked, scanning around the base, the movement just as skittish and flustered as his own, almost as though the silent was getting to her too.

He thought for a moment, thinking back to the map from before and pointed to left of them, to one of the far sides of the base. “This way” he said. Ceri looked in the direction he was pointing towards, wary lines traced her expression. She sighed before pulling him along with her as they made their way across the base.

As they made their to the Mines, they kept an ear out for any sounds of voices of footprints coming their way. Which, Lance noticed, was a lot . With each step they made, the more ducking they had to do. Soldiers and droids trotted past them constantly, without of moment of stillness.

And the closer they came to the Mines, the more soldiers they came across.

“They must have realised that whatever attacked them was gone.” Ceri mused. Lance nodded. Well that's sure going to make it easier, Lance thought to himself, sarcastically. Like it wasn’t hard to begin with.

Lance thugged his shoulder forward, signalling Ceri to move. Without a word, Ceri moved on, partially carrying Lance as they sneaked behind anything and everything they could. They continued making their way around the structured tower. After minutes of walking and hobbling against the walls of the building, they notices they were at the end, close enough to where Blue was.

Lance turned the corner and saw something flash in his peripheral. Curious, he looked over  and noticed an open door. He looked around, checking if anyone was around and let out a breath of relief when he saw there was no one and drew his eyes back to the open room. It looked like an ordinary room but it was dark, hidden in the shadow. But even in the darkness, he noticed there was something inside.He squinted his eyes, trying to see what was hidden in the shadowed room. When he realised what was hidden in the room, his eyes immediately widened.

Wait was that-

“Lance, Come on!”

Lance turned his head to Ceri so quick he thought he might get whiplash. She was looking a him in confusion, her body was tense, her shoulder stiff to the point as his arm draped over them lankly. She gave him a look of confusion with eyes that showed fear. He squeezed her shoulder, which encouraged Ceri to keep going.

Even in the flurry of panic and tension that surrounded them, they pushed onwards, slowly but eventually making getting closer and closer to the entrance. But still, they remains cautious, ready for any that came their way. Or well, some of it anyways.

Finally, after much sneaking around, they reached a more secluded part of the base. It was an open space, exactly like where they hid Blue. He looked around, noticing the lack of soldiers in sight. Huh, he thought. That’s odd. He thought they would be more soldiers guarding the Mines. Maybe they just all are out on post, standing watch on the walls.

In the emptiness, it was easy to notice the two guards that stood on guard against the what looked like the entrance.

Well at least they didn’t all leave their post, he thought to himself. Then pause. Wait no that isn’t a good thing, at least for them it’s not. It’s actually bad for them. Lance mentally shakes his head, consciously trying to draw away from his rambling thoughts. He shuffled on his leg, getting into a more movable position. He turns his head back, not able to see anything else this low.

“I’m going to look out. You stay down okay?” he ordered. Ceri nodded before lowering herself further down. Just as he peaked over the crates to watched to soldiers that were guarding the opening, a bright light flickered underneath him, causing him look down instinctively. What was tha-

His eyes widened.

“Lance?” he heard Ceri call his name beside in confusion, noticing the sudden silence that loomed over him. Slowly, she peaked over, spying on the guards before she noticed that Lance wasn’t actually looking at them. He was looking down. She followed his gaze, curiosity getting the better of herself.“What is i-” she stopped, her breath catching in her throat. She looked up at Lance, giving him the same wide eyed expression, before turning hard like stone. Lance spoke up, his voice slightly breathless.

“Are these-”

“Minerals from the Mines”

Ceri nodded. Lance looked back down into the open crate. Piles of amber gold ore filed the entire crevice of the crate, blue and pink flakes speckled across the almost crystalized stones, shine beautifully against its natural gold sheen. Her face was blank, as she looked at every piece of stone in the opened crate, her eyes holding an unyielding tension that Lance couldn’t decipher if he tried to.

So focused on what they had found, Lance was drawn back by the sound of shuffling coming there way. “Get down” Lance hissed. Ceri complied, letting herself be hidden behind a cluster of open crates.

The footsteps came closer but he were muffled, almost muted by the sound that followed. It was screeching against the pavement, rustling as it move closer to where they hid.

“I’m surprised we got so much today.”

“Yeah I thought we would have emptied the place already”

“Well the longer we get the ore, the longer those villagers get to live”

“What do you mean?” the other one asked, confused.

“Didn’t you know? The commander ordered us to kill them all as soon as we get everything we can from the mines. Did you really think he would let them go after we’re finished?”

“Let’s just hope that isn’t that soon. We still need more of this Kajsa ore.”

The other Galran muttered under their breath. Lance hear a curt snort, sounding both disbelieving and disgusted, probably at the other’s softness, Lance realised.

“Let’s hope”

He heard them move, shuffling for a moment before walking away from the crates, their footsteps echoing farther and farther away from them until they heard nothing but silence and the sound of their own breathing.

Finally, Lance let out a exhale, letting some of the tension disappear.

“We need to get them out of here. We have to”

He looked over at Ceri who clutched the surface of her top, fisting the fabric into her palm as her downcast eyes flared with unspeakable emotion. Anger and desperation marred her features. She didn’t raise her gaze, her eyes staring solefully to the ground, almost as though she gazing beyond it. Lance watched as she got more and more riled up. Seeing her so angry, so furious he felt his mind flash to Keith. He looked just like her, the frustration, the deep rooted hatred that was set ablaze in her iris. He needed to calm her down.

So he did what what he’s always done.

Softly, he laid his hand against her shoulder, and waited. He knew Ceri felt his hand and she clear headed enough to know it was him. He sat there quietly, keeping his palm against her shoulder as he waited for her to move.

Finally, he looked up, blue meeting canary gold.

“We will get them out of there. Everyone. We’ll get them all out of here” he whispered, a strong underlying defiance laced his words, catching him off guard. He knew he wasn’t just saying this to ease her mind but because he had to. He had to try. No matter what. And for someone reason, it sounded like he wasn’t just saying that to her.

At his words, her eyes flickered, the uncontrollable flame that engulfed her dimmed and he could feel her finally calm down. The grip on her shirt loosened as her hair fell onto her face, covering her face from the world. She sat there silent before raised her hand down to Lance, that still rested on top of her shoulders. She let it cup his own and squeezed it tightly. Thank you , the action screamed and Lance just squeezed back.

No problem.

They sat there for a moment, letting themselves just regain some balance when Ceri peered behind them, gazing beyond the crates. “That must be it. It has to be. Why else would they be stocking all on the ore here” she whispered.

“Well, only one way to find out” Lance said.

Lance peaked over the crates, surveying the area. The soldier from earlier had already left, disappearing from his sight. His eyes trailed back to the the entrance, where the two guards from before still stood, blocking their way to the trapped villagers. He needed to get them out of the way.

But these weren’t droid or machines, they were real Galran soldier. Real people. Alive. He couldn’t just shoot them, kill them. Even after all that's happened, all they’ve been through, he still couldn’t take that step. So he did the next best thing.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself as he raised his gun, leaning it directly on top of the crates and with an exhale, he fired. He shoot both the soldiers, one after the other with tactical precision, aiming right at the center of their chest. Rather than shooting straight through the arming, piercing their bodies, the blast forced them back, pushing them violently back against the walls and falling unconscious.

Immediately, Ceri rose from behind the crate, her eyes scanning either side of them, making sure no one had seen what happened and just as Lance began to rise up, leaning against the open crate, she bolted past him, swiftly, as she ran towards the unconscious guards. The second she reached the two unconscious beings laying on the ground, she crouched down, checking for a heartbeat.  She paused before looking down in a satisfied manner and rose up, grabbing each of the guards arms before she began to once again drag away the evidence .

She grunted.

“At least they're not made out of metal this time”

Lance smiled, chuckling to himself. He kept his bayard activated and used it as a crutch to hobble safely towards her direction, watching as she successfully brought both of the guards behind. Once they were sure were sure they were hidden, they made their way to the entrance of the Mines.

“It's not going to take long until somebody notices them gone"

“Better be quick then" Ceri smirked, anticipation laced in her voice. Now theres the Ceri he knew, he mused. With a quick smirk, he stepped forward and without hesitation, they headed straight into the depths of the Mines. They stepped under the archway, letting it loom over them like a shadow figure, watching them as the continued into the Mine itself.

Only with a few steps, did they began to delve deeper  and deep to the heart of the place. They walked along side the high walls, letting themselves be hidden by the natural shadows of it’s high stature. Tension filled the two, nerves drumming in their veins, pulsing at a rapid rate as the watched their surroundings. But they didn’t stop. He kept walking, forcing their way through the path, ready for what could come.

But nothing came.

It was bare, no one in sight. And silent, Lance noticed. He looked around as his eyes trailed the auburn jagged rocks, grooving out of the sides of the wall. He narrowed his eyes and looked closer, curious. The grooves and curves stood out even in the shadow of the place. He could see the unnatural shapes it showed, like they were created by something. He followed the jagged curbs, his eyes trailing forward on the path and notices the farther they went, the deeper the marks were.

He raised his hand, curious about the sight in front of him. He wasn’t much of a geologist or whatever would know this kind of stuff, but he could tell that they were old.

Whatever ore they had find, they must have already mined out a long time ago, till they had to go deeper in to find more.

“Find anything?”

At the sound of Ceri’s voice, Lance lowered his hand back to his side and glanced back to her. She was looking around the place, her head held high as her eyes gazed around the deserted area, almost like she was searching from something that had an inch of life. Even though he knew she wouldn’t see it, Lance shook his head.

“No, nothing” he said and Ceri sighed, her voice utterly dejected.

“I guess we’ll have to go further in before we find anythi-” Suddenly Ceri stopped. Lance froze. “What?” he whispered before Ceri aggressively shushed him, raising a finger as a sign of silence. And he did. She looked around, her shoulders tense as she scours the entire area at a calculated pace.

“Did you hear that?”

Ceri peered over to the side, concentrating on something. Lance looked at her before he paused and listened. He stood there, waiting for whatever caught her attention when he heard a slight thump. No he didn’t hear it. He felt it.

Under his feet, he could a soft, noticeable pulse beating through the ground. It was like the earth itself was beating, like the blood in their veins. But it wasn’t steady. Lance looked down with a frown. It was random, unsteady. Almost like there was no pace.

Or there coming from many than one source.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Ceri nodded before turning her attention the the path in front of them.

“We’re getting close”

“Better not waste anymore time then” he breathed out, practically sighing the words out as his breaths hitched in protest. He was getting tired, he knew it was obvious. He could feel the soft sheen of sweat plastering his skin as his body sagged, still trying to keep itself up. His injuries were getting to him, he could feel the flare of pain in his chest burn more and more with every step he took. But he ignored it. He will deal with it later; as soon as they found Arkus, he’ll rest for a bit.

He felt a soft patter of a finger against his shoulder, a silent question.

‘ Can you keep going’

Obviously Ceri had notices his struggling as much as he did. Too observant for her own good, he thought to himself, his lips quirking at the thought. With a small grateful smile, he patted her back, “ I’m good”

Ceri looked at him for a moment, thinking before hesitantly guiding them further down the path. They continued to follow the trail that, they hoped, lead them closer to where the villagers were taken to. They walked in silence, to distracted by their heavy thoughts, thoughts of finding the others consuming them. So they let the silence stretch between, neither feeling ready to break and they only sound heard was the soft patter of feet against the sandy ground beneath them.

Were they getting closer. Were they even going the right direction, he didn't know. Frantic anxious thoughts began to build in his mind, growing louder and louder in the silence. No, he mentally shook his head. Of course they were going the right way, why wouldn't they. Afterall they were using Ceri as their personal gps. Or one of those scanners he’s seen use on Varadero beach in blind hope of finding a few nickels or hundred year old treasure.

…

Yeah that doesn't really make sense but it doesn't have. Afterall all the situation doesn't really call for comedy. No he can't think like that.

That's right, he needed to look at the positive. He hasn't lost his other leg yet so that's pretty good. Right? At least nothing has gone wrong yet right?

He was wrong. Of course he was wrong. How did he know this? Well as soon as they turned the a bend in the caven, they were forced to stop because of the sight in front of them.

There was two tunnels.

Well……

He really needs to stop jinx things or they’ll never get anywhere.

He look at the tunnel, glancing between each one like one of them would tell him which was the right way. Finally, he turned back to Ceri who looked as lost as he did.

“Which way?”

She looked at him, startled, like she had forgotten he was even there then looked away thinking. She stood there for a moment, quiet. She looked down towards the ground, her face hidden behind under the hundred of strands of hair that followed. But even with looking at her, he could that she was listening, hearing out for any signs of life that would help them.

Suddenly, she tugged his body, twitching it towards the right tunnel.

“This way”

With a nod, Lance follows, letting her lead them both into the mouth of the tunnel, her attention taken by the dark burrow in front of them, determination and resolution consuming her being. She brought them through the tunnel, following the winding trail like she was being drawn in by something, a moth to a flame. It didn’t take before before they walked out of the tunnel. They were once met again with the sight of a turning corner.

That's when he heard it.

The sound of banging, metal clanking against metal and the rattle of chains filed his hears. As they turned a corner, Lance felt his eyes widen. Countless of Aruenians covered the walls, everyone of them were scarred, bruised and ragged as they cut down every stone that was in front of them. The sound of continuous clanking vibrated throughout the entire place.

Their collars shun on their necks, like a permanent brand, tying them as servants to the Galran empire. Their heads were held down low, submissive and defeated. Flinches sprung from their battered bodies the closer the guards came to them but they continued to work, crawling into themselves in hopes to not get their attention.

The sight left bile in his throat.

Ceri shook beside him, her shaken hand raised towards her mouth hoping that it would silence her cries as her eyes darkened with anguish. Then, with a shaken exhale she whispers a soft, “Do you see him?”

“No, there’s too much of a crowd. I can’t see him”

Ceri nods at him silently, purposely training his eyes on him only, avoiding the sight in front of them. Lance heart tugged at the sight. He tried to distract by drawing her attention towards the patrolling guards in front. “We need to get them away or we’ll never get the others” he muttered.

“Knock them out and hope for the best” Ceri asked, a small twitch of the lip making itself known. “I like your thinking. You’re finally catching on” he teased, before getting serious once again. Ceri glanced over the side of the corner and watched as the guards came closer to them. That was when she looked back and asked “I get the left one and you get the right one?”, gesturing over to the soldiers, sounding innocent in the process. Lance immediately played along and braced his hand over his hand and gave her the biggest fake grateful looking in the history of grateful looks. “You know my so well” he whispered, pretending to sniffle. Ceri snorted too loud before trying to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. Immediately, the footsteps stopped.

Oh uh.

”Did you hear that?” The footsteps began to shuffle again, this time come closer and closer. Well, that happened, Lance thought, before glancing over to Ceri who gave him a shrug and awkward smile, mouthing a small “Opps ” in response.

“Well better now then never”

Immediately Ceri sprung to her feet, catching the two guards off guard (Hehe, unintended but definitely now intended pun). Before they could react, she used their surprise to grab her droid arm, secured on her hip and with a yell, hit them across their head, effectively knocking one of them out. As one of the guards fell to the ground, the other raised its gun, redying to shot when Lance rushes over the the guard and bashing his blaster against the Glarn’s temple. Once he was sure they were both unconscious and not waking up anytime soon, he glances over to see Ceri, who was waving her droid arm in pride, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

Maybe he should try using a droid arm next time. Maybe make it part of Paladin 101 necessities. Yeah he could definitely convinced Coran to do that. His mouth twitched at the thought.

He clumsy crouches to the two unconscious soldiers, wincing as the pain flared in his leg in protest at the sudden movement. Dammit, it was getting harder to ignore the pain now, he curse the himself. But once again, he ignored it, peering at the unconscious bodies in front of him. Careful not to wake them up, he slides his hands over their pockets hoping to find what he was looking for. On the second guard, her idled his hand across his hips, when he felt a similar shape under his palm. Found it, he grinned.

Immediately his slide his hand, around the key, effectively pulling it off it Galra’s body.  “Got it” he yelled, waving keys to the miners chains in victory.

“Uhh Lance?” Ceri voice called out. Lance looks up to her who was looking at something else. Slowly, he followed his gaze before he found himself looking at the crowd of Aruenians that surrounded them, their eyes wide in pure shock and awe, their mouth gaped open as the blinked at them, not daring to kill the silence

“Uh” he uttered, looking at the crowd around them, intelligibly.

“Right, we should probably-”

Their eyes drifted to the guards, resting at the heel of their feet, knocked out and unconsciousness, unaware of what was going on around them.

“We...should probably hide them now”

“Good idea. I’ll deal with the crowd” with a mutual nod of agreement they began to start to work.

But a small whisper of a voice stopped them.

“Ceri?”

Immediately, they turned around and crowd mumbled around them as the looked at the man in front of them with relief.

Ceri’s eye began to tear up as she bit her lip, trying her best to not let them spill over. She opened her mouth, speaking in silent whispers that she tried to speak. Then a wobbled and breathless voice pushed through the silence.

“Papa?”

“Ceri?!” he yelled, running towards her just as Ceri rushed towards him.

“Papa!”

They sprinted to one another, desperate to be with closer to the other. As soon as Ceri was close enough,just a few steps away from each other, she jumped, landig perfectly in Arkus’ stretched out arm that wrapped around her back, pulling her in. He fell to his knees, clutching on another tightly as the sense of joy and relief of finding each other overwhelmed her and just took comfort of each others warmth.

“Oh my baby girl” he whispered, curling his head into her shoulder and Lance noticed the slight shaking in his hands as they held her tightly. Ceri nuzzled her head into his chest, hidden away from the world as she finally lets go . Tremors vibrated of her body at the tears that Lance knows where spilling out of her.

He looked at them, a soft smile reaching his lips. He was so happy to see them back together, like they always should have been. He didn’t utter a word, letting them have some time together. He didn’t have the heart too interfere right now.

They deserve this...

“I was so worried that they got you” Arkus whispered, as he reached for her head, cradling it with his palm. They sat there, kneeling against the ground, just letting themselves feel their other presence until Arkus froze. He pulled back looking at her in confusion. “Wait”, he started, his nose scrunched up before his eyes widened, “Why do you have a Galran arm?!”

Ceri looked at him, confused, sniffling for a moment before she looked down, following his gaze to the broken arm that was strapped to her waist, “Oh that?” she asked before turning back to him. “It’s a long story" she shrugged.

“Well then, tell me later. After you tell me how you got here. You didn’t get caught did you?!”

“No, no, I didn’t. Dad, look-" she cupped the side of his cheek gently, noticing the terror growing in his voice and lifted his head without restraint as their eyes met. “-I’m fine okay? See.” She lowered her hand to the base of his neck and shoulder, never once breaking contact.

“I’m okay”

He stared back as she smiled towards him, the wild panic and terror that filled his iris’ began to dwindle. He reached out to her, cupping the side of her cheek with his palm. He slid his thumb against the golden teal skin before he returned a small smile. Gently, he kissed the top of her forehead causing Ceri to grin back in response.

And suddenly the moment was gone.

“Lance” Arkus spoke up. Slowly he turned to Lance, his expression hard and immediately Lance tensed. Oh oh. He knew that voice, that was the voice he heard from his own father, one that promised a talk. Out of pure instinct, he stood up straight and held his breath, waiting for the older man to speak. Oh god, Arkus was going to kill hi-

“I would be reprimanding you for taking my daughter with you but I know Ceri and you probably had no choice in the matter”

Lance blinked. Wait what?

Lance looked at him, shock marred his features. Did he hear that right. He wasn’t going to yell at him? For not leaving his daughter behind? For not keeping her safe from all of this? Just like he said he would?

As though he could hear Lance’s thoughts, Arkus gave him a small knowing smile. “I understand that even if you didn’t need her, she would have come along anyway. Alone. I’m just glad you’ve been keeping her with you and protecting her. I know how stubborn she can be” he chuckled.

Lance let his shoulder sag in relief and couldn’t help but smile, chuckling to himself. Stubborn doesn’t even describe how...well stubborn she is.

“Hey!” she yelled, pouting and Arkus smiled, gentle and soft. Lance chuckled, happy to see them together again. But the moment was broke when he heard a small shuffle of feet from behind him, drawing him back to his surroundings. Lance looked around and sat still as he finally noticed the group circled around them. He looked at every person, taking in their appearance.

Everyone was worn down, their colourful skin, paled and greyed, bags under their dull eyes and their bones poked out against their skin with distinct curve and bumps like they haven’t eaten in months . They were rags that barely fitted against their skeletal bodies, torn and stained with dirt and speckles of blood. They look lifeless, completely drained from energy that they once had.

He was shaken to the core at the sight. He could feel the sadness, their loss, their pain, every emotion speaking through their glassy eyes. He wanted to look away, to not get devoured by the look in their eyes. But he couldn’t look away.

“Now” a voice strung out behind him, effectively drawing his attention away from the other miners. “What are you both doing here? Didn’t you realise how dangerous it was coming here!”

“Of course we did. But getting you and the others out of here seemed a little more importantly" he replied, feeling Ceri hum in agreement behind him. Taking out the key he had stolen from the soldier earlier, he unlocked the chains on his legs, feeling a tinge of satisfaction at the sound of them falling to the ground. He reaches for the collar when Arkus stops him.

“Don’t” he said, stopping Lance. Lance looked at him, confused before Arkus elaborated. “It's activated by the Commander of the base, so we can’t leave the base’s perimeters or we’d be electrocuted. If you take it off, he’ll know.” Arkus explained. He cursed under his breath. That bastard. How dare he. Lance felt a bubble.of rage rise inside him at the explanation but he swallowed it down, promising himself to not let the Commander get away from him. Hesitantly Lance lowered his hand. He turned to the others and began unlocking each and every cuff, carefully avoiding their collars. Ceri followed his actions, taking off each and every restraint that still hung of their limbs like it was part of them.

It didn’t take long to get everyone's cuffs and links off. Everyone looked at their hands, softly rubbing the deep markings etched into their skin, their soulless eyes brightening at the sight, no cuffs in sight. He reached over to the last person, an older man. He was the oldest in the group, his hair silver, weighing to the ages of his shoulder. Like all the Areunians, he had a different variety of skin tones compare to Ceri and Arkus. Unlike Ceri’s, the older mans skin was engulfed in a deep blue shade, a shade of bronze consuming and mingling around it.

It was dulled, almost graying in colour, but his green eyes still held a brightness that the others didn’t. He gently reached for the man, crouching to the ground, unlocking the cuffs on his feet first before rising up again, holding his hands as he unlocked the cuffs on his hands.

“Thank you” the older man said, rubbing his wrists with thin, shaking hands. His voice was dry and husky, croaking on every syllable like he hadn’t drank in days. He probably hadn’t. Lance heart wrenched at the thought. He mentally shook away at the thought and smiled to him softly.

“But how?“ Arkus voice rung out, following Lance’s previous statement. He rubbed his wrist where they were stained with purple bruises. Lance glanced over to him before drawing his gaze down to the ground in thought. “How exactly” he muttered, hoping no one heard him. But of course. Ceri did. “Wait”, Ceri spoke up before whipping her head towards him so quickly that Lance thought she could have broken it.

“You don’t know” Ceri screeched out, incredulously. Lance leaned back, blinking before shrugging his hands in the air. “I didn't think this far okay!”

“Didn’t think this far! Have you thought of anything we’ve done since we got here! Like an actual plan”

“Well...”

“I thought you had a plan!”

“Well I obviously don't now do I?!”

“Well then help me think of something then!”

“Like you can do any better”

“Hey what's that supposed to mean. I’ll have you know that I’m the good part of this duo”

“The good par-” He sputtered. She did not just go there,” There wouldn’t even be a duo without me in it so Hah! ” he pointed at her, smugness seeping through his expressions. Ceri looked at him, looking just as indignantly as he did before and opened her mouth, ready to spit out another insult.

That's when a voice cut her off.

“ Alright”

They whipped around and sawing Arkus glaring at them, his arm crossed in a way that screamed ‘no business’ and they both gulped nervously. “Enough. Fighting isn’t going to do any good”

They hung the head low in shame, muttering quiet ‘yes sir’s and ‘sorry sir’s under the breath, but loud enough for Arkus to hear them. “Now if you two don’t have a plan then we better think of one now”

Ceri scrunched her nose as the three of them pondered. It didn’t take long before Ceri eyes brightened and she turned to Lance. “What about the hanger? If we can get into the hanger, we could loot one of their ships and just….fly out of here?” she asked. Arkus looked at her, his eyes lit up as the rest of the group perked up, listening into her every word. They all turned their gaze back to Lance. He looked at, shaking his head darkly.

“No, that wouldn’t work. The hanger is on the other side of this base. And moving a large of a group, we’d get noticed straight away. “

“What if we divided them into smaller more movable groups. We can move them in spurts, less attention then going all in one.” Arkus suggested. The crowd mumbles behind him, agreeing with his idea. Lance sighs.

“There wouldn’t be a point. We’d still be drawing huge attention and everyone is too weak and malnourished to fight them off. Even if we could, that place is a hot spot for large groups. They’re be too many of them.”

Ceri glances over to him.

“Okay” she nods, resounding in his logic. “Okay. But why don’t you hack into their systems like before? Why can’t you do the same thing?” she, receiving a small strained and fragile smile from him in return.

“I wish, but this isn’t an easy ‘guess the Galran symbol’ and press pretty buttons and hope for the best. Sure the doors are, keypad locked, which is the easy part but hanger door is a different story, we would have to sneak into the watchtower and open it from there. That part would be easy if we didn’t have an entire group of people to hide and protect.”

“Even if we could get in there, soldier would be swarming the place, left right and center. We wouldn’t even be able to take one step inside without them knowing.”

“What if one of us went in then. We could sneak into the watch room, hijack the ship and fly it over here.” Arkus suggested.

“Sure, if running is the best idea. Still wouldn’t help anything, each ship is identified by a specific serial number and can be found and located by using the number. They’d know who stole it, when it left and where it went.”

“You don’t think we should run” he asked, and Lance knew, he could tell it was a statement, seeing exactly what Lance was suggesting. Still, he nodded. “Running won’t do anything except kill time.”

In front of him, he hears one of the villagers in the crowd scoff. He raised his head, seeing a ebony haired man, gazing venomously at him, distrust marring his feature.

“Well what do you know! Why the hell do you get the decide how we make it out!” the

“Yeah, you’ve no right kid!” another screamed. Some of the crowd yelled in agreement as the other stayed silent, listening in to their cries of frustrations. Arkus didn’t silence them. He looked at Lance, watching as they boy rose his head up, his head held high and stared at the crowd with an unflinching gaze. Fire lit in his eyes with a fiery passion, in a way Arkus has never seen before.

Lance stared at the crowd, his gaze unflinching as he finally spoke.

“Because it my job to protect every single one of you.” The crowd murmured in confusion but Lance interrupted, silencing them immediately. “When Blue brought here into space, I realised just how much life was in this universe, people and families, pain and suffering. But you were all suffering, put through so much pain and loss because of a tyrant who is an ass by the way.And Since I came into this world, it’s been my job to ease all this and stop it for good”

“If we are going to survive this, we need to stop them completely. Running away would be useless. Not when they have a fresh supply back in the village.” the village froze at the thought, ”More people will suffer. Your families will suffer. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to drag any more innocent people to be hurt.”

The crowd stood silent. Heavy silence filled the area, stretching outwards as time passed on. They all looked at him, watching him him as his gaze never wavered.

“I’m doing this to save them from a life of anguish, from a life without all of you in it and to let you guys get back to your families where you belong. And more importantly? I’m doing this to end this all and to never let this happen to any of you or anyone else again.” he turned back to the crowd, his eyes settling on the man who spoke up earlier.

“So will you let me help you?”

The crowd feel silent. No one spoke up, letting there silence speak for them. “Okay then”, Akus spoke up, grabbing Lance attention away from the crowd,” what do you suggest we do then?” he asked crossing his arms.

“That we end this for good”

“And by end this you mean?”

That's when Lance smirked at him cheekily, his eyes sparkled with       and said, “If we can’t run….why don’t make them run instead”

Arkus stared at him, his expression not once hinting at his thought but Lance was quick enough to see the small twitch of his lips to know.

“And how do you suggest that we do that?”

Lance paused at that. How would they? He knew

Then he remembered….

***

It was an ordinary day in the Palace of Lion. Or at least it was for Lance. After their amazing and heroic victory against the….well whatever that thing the Galrans set after them, they decided to just take a break from training and was allowed a day of just resting and peace. But considering that there wasn’t really much to even do, to put it simply, Lance was bored. And by bored he meant, mind numbing, school worthy level of boredom with a side of boring bordering boredom.

So he was having a fun day.

He spent the day as he usual did, he greeted the team at breakfast, stuffed himself with Hunk’s delicious food then went over to the hangers and washed Blue, all the while telling her stories about Earth and his family. But now, well, he had nothing else to do. So he did the next best thing.

He went to the Palace kitchen. Except apparently, the door decided it wasn’t a good idea and the next thing he knew, he smacked into the door, head first. He stumbled back, grunting in pain that assaulted him.

“Ugh stupid door, you were working yesterday” Lance mumbled bitterly, rubbing against the sore spot of his head. Scowling, he walked through the door, this time with more caution and suspicion than before.

Inside, he saw Hunk and Pidge. The smaller of the two was sitting on one of the stools that surrounded the counter table in front of her. She was leaning over the counter, weighing onto her elbows as support as she talked to Hunk. The larger of the two, Hunk was standing across from her, his back turned to her as he worked of the other counter in front of him. He was slicing up something, probably the food they received from the Balmerans before they departed. Lance couldn’t help but smile at the sight before he began walking towards them.

As he reached closer to the duo, he could hear Pidge speaking just as Hunk listened inas he continued to work. “Oh that reminds me, I really need your input on this code I’m trying to make”

“I don’t know what good I’ll be, I don’t know anything about coding except the basics we had to learn in my engineer classes.” Hunk shrugged, placing a batch of freshly cut….fruit? -That was fruit right?- into the bowl beside him. “I know, I know but I just want your opinion on what algorithm-” she began, just about to go on a rant but Lance stepped closer towards the duo, catching Hunks attention. He looked and noticed his friend coming there way.

“Lance!” Hunk interrupted, cutting off Pidge mid sentence. He grinned at him with a wide smile that trailed along the lines of dorky and sweet as he wave him over to them. “Hey Hunk” he greeted, smiling back. He went of to Hunk and bumped his fist against Hunks, like always, ignoring Pidges scowl at both of them.

He sat down on the the end corner of the kitchen table, right beside Pidge. “Ready for testing time?” Hulk asked. Lance grinned and put up two fingers.

“Two words. Hell. Yes” Hunk shook his head as he chuckled, amused by his best friends antics just as Pidge groaned beside him. “Come on, Lance I was just about to tell Hunk about the new code I was trying to create!” She complained and Lance arched a eyebrow.

“Okay I’ll bite, what is it?”

Pidges scowl fell as her eye lit up, causing Lance to smile back. It’s one thing to see Pidge working and completely focussed what she was doing, the world ringing out around her, unfocussed as she was completely in her element but it’s another thing to see her willingly geek out in front of them, talking a mile a minute, with even a seconds break, half of the stuff going over his head. Still it was great to see her this way. Excited, passionate, like a teenage her should be. It always eases Lance mind, seeing her this way, grateful that all of...well…. this and still have it not change her.

Still the same person Lance and Hunk met at the Garrison.

“It a code I’m currently to hack into each of Zarkons ships and access the Control Op through an outside source, like the Castles mainframe.” she elaborated.

Lance raised an eyebrow.

“Control op?”

“Yeah, Do you remember when we on Balmera, after the battle? Well while you guys were organising and caring for the Balmerans and Allura, I went to their main control room, usually where they store information on shipments, supplies, trade routes and….prisoner records” she trailed off for a moment, looking at the ground with a somber look and Lance felt his gut tightened, knowing exactly why.

Matt…

“Did you…” he asked but he couldn’t find help but fall silent. At his words, she was pull from her thoughts and drew her eyes back to him before shaking her head in defeat.

“No, I didn’t find anything. Or well anything we didn’t already know” she answered. Beside her, Hunk laid a large hand against her in comfort. Pidge wasn’t the most physical person out there. He would remember times back in the Garrison, when Pidge would shy away from any kind of contact from them, be it physical or social. Whenever they had lunch together, she would distance herself from them, making sure they weren’t close enough to her but she wasn’t far away enough to catch their attention (even if they always did).

Of course, with Lance and Hunk continuing pursuit to get her to feel comfortable around them, she eventually began to relax over time. Even more so, when she revealed herself to them. But even then, Pidge still didn’t like to be overwhelmed by others, so they never pushed, only doing small displays of affection until she was ready.

Pidge looked up at Hunk, giving him a small smile of gratitude which Hunk returned.

“But what I did find was an encryption, one I’ve seen before, on the ship that took the Red Lion. So I looked into it. And I found out what it was” she paused. Lance leaned closer, curious, his attention completely focused on her words. “It’s a control mechanism for every android on the base”

Hunk stopped what he was doing and whipped his head around. “Wait they weren’t individually programed.”

Lance look between them, curiosity pulling him to listen. Pidge shook her head. “I thought so too.” she said, before she narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. “The theory is that probably, in order to organise that amount of droids in each each and base, I think they use a universal control system that relays each order or mission they recieve, organising them into sectors and repeat the order back without disrupting any other androids. And possible, to be monitored as well and recording any and every they see.” she explained. She drummed his fingers against the surface of the table absently as she raised her other hand, letting it rest under the weight of her chin, her thumb lazily grazing over her jaw as spoke.

“So if I can get into the system, I can get into the coding. Which means we’ll-"

“-crush their ranks in half in seconds.“ Lance finished with wide eyes. He glanced at Hunk who looked back at him with same expression. They turned back to Pidge, their jaws completely slack.

“Exactly” Pidge grinned before she fidgets with her glasses and drops her smile and quickly becomes scowls, his brows crunched up in frustration. “But I’ve been trying to find a way to hack into the system from the outside but I haven’t found an encryption that could worm through the system without going each and every code on the ships. The only way it would work is if I can’t link to the ship close enough to the Control center and disable it from there.”

“So we could only use this so many times”

“Well look at you, figuring things out all by yourself”

Lance rolled his eyes and glared at her mockingly. “Hey, I may not be a tech nerd like you but I’m not an idiot. How did you think I got into the Garrison”

“Well I hope it wasn’t with that “charm” of yours”

“Hey!” he yelled, pouting at her as her grin widened. Hunk slide into the center of the table.

“Yeah Pidge, calm down. Of course he didn’t use his charm to get in” Hunk chided and Pidge look at him as he placed the food he was preparing onto various plates. Lance smiled, closing his eyes as he leaned back, enough to almost to fall of his stool, but he kept his balance.

“Thank you Hunk. Knew I could count on you”

Hunk didn’t look at him, his eyes still on the work before him.

“He obviously got in for his nicknaming skills.” he continued and Lance sputtered. Beside him, he heard Pidge snicker at Hunks words and he glared. “Okay I take that back, you are the worst. Both of you. And the Tailor is a good name!”

“Sure Lance” Hunk chuckled.

“Okay Lance" Pidge repeated. Lance looked at them before cross his arms defensively, muttering some choice words under his breath.

“Language!”

“Oh Come on, Shiro isn’t here to call me out on it. Beside, Pidge cursed all the time!”

“Hey, I’m in my rebellious phase so I get a free pass” Pidge shrugged as she grinned at him smugly. Lance whipped his head towards her, giving her a look of disbelief.

“Since when?”

“Since forever”

Lance groaned, flopping down onto the table dramatically. “That not even fair “ he whined. Both of them ignored him, used to his antics. “Anyways” Pidge drawled out, changing the subject as Lance whined beside her, which she easily ignored. She looked at Hunk. “Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted” she paused and glared menacingly at Lance before drawing her attention back towards Hunk who looked at her curiously, “ I just want your help in devising a right algorty sequence that couldn’t decrypt the firewalls fast enough and-”

“Piiiiiidge, you know I don’t understand when you guys have nerd talk.” Lance whined out, dragging his head back dramatically. “Then don’t listen” she replied back, dryly.

“Why are we friends again?”

“We’re friends?” she asked and Lance looked at her slack jawed. Beside him he could hear Hunk snort under his hand, trying his best to smother the sound but had failed. Lance took a quick glance at him, glaring and Hunk raised his hand up in surrender before looking back at Pidge, giving her a deadpan look.

“Oh har har” he said as Pidge grinned at him smugly. Suddenly Hunk came back into view, but this time with a large bowl of colourful food -or well what Lance thought was food- and placed it in the center of the table. The food was oddly shaped, from pyramids to almost spiky shapes, each piece stood out against the rest, display a flurry of madness. Still Lance could feel his stomach began to rumble, his desire to eating rising at the sweet honeyed scent of food in front of him.

“Can we at least wait after we taste test the new food we got” he asked. Pidge sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before speaking up again.

“Fine”

“Love you Pidgeo” he cooed, in a teasingly loving tone.

“I told you not to call me that”

“Sure thing, Pidgeru” he said in a singing tone. Pidge groaned, sinking her head against the kitchen table as Hunk grins at their antics.

“I hate you”

***

“The control op” he whispered. Arkus looked up, meeting his words with confusion.

“The what?”

“The control Op!” he said, elated. He waved his hands as he spoke in excitement. “Every base has a manuel control setting that is used to send out every signal to every droid on the base. If I can get to the main control Op then-”

“We shut down all the drones” Arkus mumbled, realisation dawning in his eyes.

“And cutting their platoons in half” Ceri yelled, reaching to the same conclusion. Lance nodded, smiling.

“If someone shut the control signal, we can get out, with a better chance.”

“And we can get the into the hangar easily and draw them to flee” Arkus added, following the trail of thoughts they left behind.

“And get everyone out of here!” Ceri rose up to her feet in excitement. The crowd mumble, excited whispers surrounded the trio. Lance could hear parts of the jumbled words, every word jumbled in the mass of the hundred other. Slivers of sentence still passed through the hysteria and sounds but only one he could hear as light a day.

“We can go home”

Everyone went silent at the words. Home. His heart thrilled at the words, soothed by the hope that etched every word. He gazed, mesmerized as the lifeless people filled with something alive , burning in their eyes like a flame in the dark. Uplifted and hopeful.

This could work, he thought. They could get them all out now, they had a plan, something to keep them going. A way out.

He looked around the crowd, his heart rising like hot air in a balloon. This could work...

“But wait”

Lance turned to Ceri as she looked down with narrowed brows. “How did we know where the main control room is?” she asked, looking back up at the other two, glancing between one and the other. Lance paused at that. Where would it it be. Pidge never really specified where she went when she was at the Blamera base.

God if only Pidge was here. She would know.

His eyes clouded with deep thought. The group of villagers followed their gaze, staring solefully at the four guard towers tower that loomed over them in the corners of the base. “It can’t be any of the guard towers, too close for an enemy to infiltrate and destroy. It also isn’t high enough and too small to be a control operation. It’s too much of a weak point to be there.” Arkus articulated, his mind humming at each and every second, thinking. That was true. It needed to be somewhere high but it couldn’t be surrounding the walls of the base.

He looked around the fort, thinking. It needed to be somewhere high enough that disperse the signals to every part of the base, somewhere where only the highest of ranks could go. He looked around when something caught his attention. He looked up, raising his head high as something snagged at him in the back of his mind.

A high place….

Realisation struck.

“The top of the tower”

At his whisper, Ceri and Arkus glanced up at the tower. They looked at, contemplating before, slowly, their eyes began to light up with the same realisation. “It fits” Arkus muttered.

“It’s this bases main place of function, the heart of the camp. It’s at the center of everything!” Lance perked up, waving his hands in the air as he spoke. “And like Papa said, none of the other guard towers would have been tall enough to get a strong signal. So that means it would be have to be-”

“- The main tower ” they all said, simultaneously.  Arkus looked doing, reevaluating all of what they said before turning back to Lance.

“Are you sure?” Lance nodded back.

“Positive. There’s nothing else that fits the bill except up there” he explained.

“We only have one chance at this”

Lance looked at him in silence before nodding once again. One chance. This wasn’t a game where you could hit restart. This was real life. He had peoples lives at stake, one mess up and they’ll get hurt. And he can’t let that happen. He will get them, back to their families, get them safe and unhurt and let Arkus be home with Ceri where they both belong and he will stop all this from happening ever again.

One shot…

“I know”

“But” Ceri started, looking around to all the villagers here, “What about the collars?”

Lance paused at that. He looked around, eyeing the metallic rings that encased their neck, branding them. He completely forgot about that. He looked over at Arkus who looked back at him with the same deep expression. They both looked at each other, thinking.

“Do you anything about these collars?”

“ll I know is that the Commander of this base has a remote system that's attached to his arm brace. I think it links him up to the main tower system” Arkus added. “Saed would know more about this, he’s been here the longest”

Lance followed his gaze and was surprised to be meet with the sight of a similar figure. It was the older man from before. “As you have said Arkus, I have been here the longest but even so, I have only ever seen a coller being taken off once. They would keep them on the bodies of the dead, as a form of identification.” he explained. At his words, Lance had to swallow the bile rising in his throat and tried to destroy the images of the piles of corpses, still collared like animals, even in their passing. “The only time I’ve ever seen it happen was a years ago. One of the best miners here collapse suddenly during their work. During this time, they hadn’t taken as many, the young were not older enough to be able to endure all his yet so they remained with what they could get until then. All I know, is that they don't keep the keys on hand. Instead the use their coms to inform the Commander of the situation and after a few minutes, it would suddenly come off, like it was nothing.”

“Then it should be up there in the tower, right where all the main systems are. We can probably then turn them off manually. I’ll need to do that before I turn off the droids.” he said, mumbling the last part to himself. The older man nodded, “Yes I believe it so”

Arkus nodded,”Good, now we have a location. So the question now is, how we all get there”

“We won’t” Lance said, immediately catching every off guard, “But I will”. Arkus eyes widened,”Lance it’s too dangerous to-”

“I’ve already know my way around the base. I can get there more easily than the rest of you. A big group will be noticed instantly but they won’t suspect one person to go alone. If one of us gets found, the other can do their job and change the tides. “

“What about your…” Arkus trailed down to the stump of a leg, filling in the rest of his sentence. Lance smiled to him, reassuringly.

“I’ll manage”

Arkus looked at him for a moment before let out a deep sigh. “I won’t be able convince you will I” At that Lance chuckled and shook his head. “Nope”

“Come on, lets go before more of them come back" he said, standing up. But the minute he try to move, he was engulfed by a wave of intense pain. He gasped, breathless and fell to his knee again. He fisted the ground, the dry dirt crudely digging under his palm and nails. He felt his entire body scream in hellish fury, tingling sensations fluttering under and through his skin just as his leg began to burn to the point that he thought he would scream.

He slowly ran his other hand down the painful stump but the minute the pressure of his palm touched the bandaged limb, the pain flared up like it burning everything within, his muscles, his blood, his bones, it left him breathless and the world turned white around him

He heard his name called out, but it drowned out in the white noise that rang around him. He tried to control his panicked breathing, his rapid breaths were consciously slowed down. His lungs burned in protest but he continued to take deeper breaths with each few seconds.

With each passing second, the ringing began to quiet and the pain began to die down. It still hurt, boy does it hurt, but it wasn’t a pain that could tilt his entire world and leave him in tears. No, this was manageable.

Would still prefer no pain in general but this was still better than full pain. Like his sister would say, don’t look at a gifted horse in its mouth.

……

If that made any sense.

Eventually the ringing disappeared and surroundings began to fuse back into place. He flinches in surprise as he feels the hands that resting on each of his shoulders squeeze against him gently.

When did that get there?

“ Lance ?”

He slowly raised his head and noticed Arkus and Ceri, leaning close to him, worry and concern etched on their faces. Lance realised he was crouching on the ground, a sole weak hand keeping him up, shaking under the pressure as  his other gripped against his undersuit. He could feel the sweat drip down from his forehead to the bottom of his jawline.

He glanced around, hearing the whisper

“You pulled your stitches didn’t you” it wasn’t a question. Lance whipped his gaze back to Ceri, who looked at him with frustrating clarity. Unable to lie to her, Lance nodded in shame, he felt scolded and chastised in a way only his mother could do.

Or Allura, she’s gotten pretty good at that too. And Shiro. They were like his Space parents, just without the actual parenting.

Space Parents, huh.

Gotta tell Hunk that one later. Maybe even Keith will find it funny.

Lance shook his head. “I’m fine” Slowly, taking a deep breath, he tried to rise to his feet - foot, its foot now not feet- again, grunting as he began to rise up and using his blaster (when did he even activate it?) as a crutch. He tries to take a step but yelps as his knee gives out for a moment, making him tumble to the ground. Before he could fall, Arkus grabbed him from the side, holding him upright.

“Lance you shouldn’t even be walking” Arkus scolded and from his peripheral he could see Ceri nodding in agreement. “You need to rest” the older man uttered but Lance vehemently shook his head. “I’ll rest the minute we’re out of here, okay? But now we’ve got bigger things to worry about”

“Lance” Arkus warned. Ceri continued to look at him worried, her gaze switching between him and her father. Finally having the energy, he looked up at Arkus and wasn’t surprised by the concern that stood brightly in his eyes. Lance smiled, hoping to ease some of their worry.

“Really, I’ll be fine” he reassured.

“We need to go soon or we’ll be found” he said, trying his best to draw their attention away from him. They looked at him, hesitant but Arkus then sighed, relenting to the change of topic.

“Your right. Sauy, Ba’un, can you hide the soldiers behind one of the carts?”

Two of the Aruenians in front of the crowd looked at him, surprised at being addressed before solidifying their gaze. They both simultaneously nodded and quickly rushed towards the soldiers to drag them away. Arkus looked around the Mines before following his gaze down to the walls they worked on.

“And some of you bring your picks. We might need them”

“Actually”, Lance cutted in,” I have a better idea, but we need to get to the left of the tower” at his words, Arkus raised his eyebrows at him questioningly but all he gave back was a grin.  “Then lead the way, Paladin”

***

If Lance thought he could have sneaked out over 50 to 80 people through a high security base, he would have straight up laughed at himself and called himself the next Steve Rogers. Yet here he was, sneaking through the outer walls of the base, with a large group behind him and not once caught by a patrolling soldier.

Either he has the best lucky in the world (Which is completely unlikely) or he really is the next Steve Rogers.

He should probably change his title to the Paladin of Avengers. Or Paladins of Marvel? No,no,no wait. The “Punk” Paladin. Yeah, Yeah, that works.

…..

Okay maybe not but you get the point.

Somehow, everything was going just as planned, no issues in sight. Because of that, It didn’t take longer to get where he wanted.

But of course, there were going to be some slight hiccups.

As soon as they reached the hallway, Lance stopped, noticing the door was closed and shut. He hobbled closer , hoping it would still open automatically but nothing happened.

See? Not the best luck.

“Dammit, it’s locked” he cursed to himself. He stepped back, searching for a way to open the keypad situated beside the locked doors. With an elated hum, he whips his head towards Ceri. She watches inn barely hidden confusion as he hobbled towards her, a small smile plastered on his face. He stares at her, never once breaking eye contact.

“May I?” he asked, pointing down at her droid arm. She looked down before gingerly taking it off her waist, holding it in the palm of her hand. Immediately, her eyes brighten, understanding dawns on her face.

“You shall” She said, holding it out to him, a small smirk gracing her lips. Lance grinned at her as he graciously takes the arm from  her hands and raised it up against the keypad and watched with victory as the droid arm is scanned.

And with a dull hum, the panel doors open up, revealing the contents of the room. The group step into the room in silence, completely slack jawed at what they see. Curious, Ceri steps in last and looks around. He second he looks around the room, she lets out a gasp which echoed across the room as large and wide eyes scanned over the room.

“Is that-?” Arkus asks, quietly trailing of in his awe.

Lance nodded before smirking in pleasure. The main armory.

Bingo.

The group looked around the heavily stored armory in unrestrained awe. Every shelf was filled with various sorts of weapons, from blasters to simple hand guns. The littered the dimly lit walls like an exhibition out on display. After a minute of ogling at the sight before him, Arkus turned to the grinning boy.

“How did you know where it was?”

“When we were on our way to the Mines, I saw one of the panels across from us were left opened. I was kind of curious so I had tried to see what was inside and noticed the files of guns in the center of the room. I figure they were in a rush to protect the base from the attack that one of them must have forgotten to lock it up. Well until now” he shrugged.

The two Aruenians looked at him, dumbstruck. They glanced to one another, completely incredulous. A sense of silence began to stretch out between them before it was destroyed by Arkus’ sigh. He shook his head before raising his head towards the blue Paladin, his gaze dead on. Suddenly, he smiled, letting out a small wry chuckle.

“You really full of your wonder, boy”

And Lance couldn’t help but grin at that. The group began to slowly disperse, eyeing the weapons in front of them before tentatively taking them in hand. Soon, everyone was holding a blaster in their hands, inspecting the piece of machinery in slight hesitating wonder.

Just as Arkus was skimming through the files of weapons and stopped at the sight of a small pile of handguns. He grabbed on of the small blasters into his hand and inspected it, tilting it around in his hand and he gaze at it, thoughtfully. After a few moments, he looked at it, satisfied before turning to the side and stretched it out in front of his daughter. Ceri looked at him, flusters by the sudden action before looking up at him in confusion.

“Here” he said, keeping the gun out in reaching range.

“What?”

“Take it”

Ceri looks down at the gun held out in front of her before looking to him. “You want me to have a gun” she stated, repeating his thoughts aloud. Arkus sighed.

“Ceri please-”

“No way” she said, shaking her head.

“Ceri-”

He started but Ceri wouldn’t let him continue. “I don’t wanna shoot a gun. Why would I want a gun. I haven’t needed one so far” she stepped back as though being that close to the weapon made her disgusted.

“I can't even shoot a gun! Why would you think I know how to shoot a gun! I mean, your my dad so you know I can’t. Why do you think I brought this-", she rose the dented arm lifelessly in the air, “-with me?”

Lance looked at her and froze. She didn’t know how to use a gun, let alone fight? And he just went in with her without giving her any real weapon to defend herself with if they got seperated. Dios, he was a terrible protector. Allura would be so pissed if she saw this.

Some Paladin he was. Lance shook banishing the thought before it go further. No, he didn’t have time to be self-deprecating. He needs to a Paladin right now. Someone they can rely on, especially now. And Paladins help others in need.

He swallowed the guilt that stilled lingered in him. Not the time. He drew his attention back to the small family.

Slowly he walks over to the family. Arkus looks at him surprised as he grabs the blaster in his outstretched hand before turning away from him. He steps over to Ceri, looking away from her confused gaze. Ceri jolts as she feels the blaster be placed his her palm, Lance carefully and gently encasing his hands over her, molding them into holding the gun in her hands. He then speaks up, with a surprising soft and quiet voice Ceri Ceri heard him speak before. It was heavy, filled with a depth she couldn’t dive into but gentle and kind.

“Make sure you have two fingers in the ring so you have a steady movement to hit the trigger.” he curls her fingers into the base of the trigger, gentle enough to set it off. Suddenly guides her hand outward, outstretched and upright, aligning her airs into a straight and clear line.

“Keep your shoulder tense and keep the gun level to your shoulder, or a little below, when you shoot. It’s easier to aim to you keep your elbows locked and your arms straight, it helps with the force of the shot” he reaches for her arm and guides it out of the stance, bringing it quietly over to the hood of the gun. Ceri watches the action, her eyes trailing over the piece her hand laid against. Lance placed his hand on top of hers. “Whenever you lose ammo, grab this”, he pointed at the where both their hands lay. “And pull it back” he says, cupping Ceri’s hand as he uses it to pull back the slides until it makes an audible click, swinging snappishly back into place. “Like that”

He looked down at Ceri, watching as she inspected the gun in her hands in awe, before nervously nodding. She looked down at the gun, tilting it around in her hand before glancing back up at Lance. Lance smiled, “Got it?”

She blinked at him, dumbstruck, before dipping her her in a quick nod. “Got it”

“If you get stuck in a sticky situation, take the gun and do everything I told you. But only if there's no other choice. Okay?”

She looked at him surprised, a look of fear trace her face at the mention of using before softening at his words. She smiled back at him, grateful.

“Okay”

“Thank you” Arkus whispered and Lance smiled at him before patting his back in reassurance.

“Lance I need to asked you for a favour”

“Sure”

Arkus looked down at the floor for a moment, not willing to speak for a few second, like he was struggling to let the words out. Finally his shoulder sagged in resignation before he looked up at Lance and spoke up.

“I want you to take Ceri with you"

Ceri swung round at the two surprised at her father's words.

“But Papa-"

“You need her help to get around and if we end up having to fight our way through them all, I don’t want her to be in the middle of all that bloodshed. Not as her parent. Even with everything that could go on up there", he gestured his head towards the tower ahead of them,” she would still be safer with you. Not here with us.”

“But Papa, I can fight and protect mysel-"

“I know you can. But this isn’t anything like what we’ve dealt with before. We don’t know what will happen from now on. And I can’t stand the thought of you being out there, fighting to survive and getting hurt”

“So as a request from a simple father, please bring her with you"

“Okay”

“Lance…” Ceri muttered, a sense of anguish filling her voice. But she didn’t say anything more, relenting at her father's request. “Come on then” she said, stepping towards the doorway before stopping, giving Lance the opportunity to use her as a crutch once again, “We better get moving then if we don’t wanna get caught” Lance nodded in agreement and quickly made his way over to Ceri before tentatively lugging his arm over her shoulder in support.

“Thank you” he whispered which caused Ceri to smile softly back. As the began to make there way out of the room, Arkus voice echoed through the room.

“And Lance?"

At the sound of his voice, Lance stopped, turning his head slight to glance at the older man. The Aruenian didn’t say anything for a few moments until he gave the boy a small, intelligible smile.

“Keep her and yourself safe”

Lance looked at him for a moment before he gave a small dip of his head in promise. And with that they left the room and began their way to the control room.

Chapter Text

HEY, HOWS LIFE? GOOD, GOOD

Soooooo, I have a problem...

Long story short (and trust me, you really want the short version), I havent been writing this chapter like I usually do, which is writting it on my computer docs, annd having be uaing my phones notes to writw this. But just a few days before I was going to publish it, my phone completely shut down. Coildn't use it for days.

Luckly I got it fixed, but at a price. Everything from my contacts, photos and apps where all gone. Everything. Which also meant......my notes too.

So that means everything I wrote was gone.

Zilch, nothing, nada, vanished, GONE.

E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G

....

....

So note to self: Never ever write on my phone ever again.

BUT HAVE NO FEAR, I have been dedicating my night, aka my free time, on rewriting Alllll of it again. Im about 2/3 in so hopeful I will get it done soon.

Anyways, I just thought you guys, my reader, should at least know the greif im feeling. (RIP Chapter 8, you will be forever missed.)

Still, I hope to get this out as soon as I can but until then I hope you have a great day/night/evening

Sincerly,

       The Moron