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Lance woke up, sweating and shaking, to Keith stroking his damp hair gently. Nausea roiled in his stomach and Lance feared he might throw up.
“Shh, shhh, it’s okay,” Keith murmured, a tinge of desperation in his otherwise soothing tone. “It was just a dream. It’s not real. You’re okay.”
“It was just a dream,” Lance repeated, trying to calm himself down. “I’m okay.”
It was just a dream …
Except... it had been real once, and Lance wasn’t sure if he’d ever escape it.
After a moment, Lance sat up, heart rate and breathing a little steadier. He looked at Keith, feeling a twinge of guilt at seeing the anxiety on his face.
“Thanks,” he said softly, reaching up to gently cup Keith’s jaw.
Keith gave him a soft smile, uncertainty crossing his features. “If you want to talk about it…”
Lance swallowed heavily. He didn’t want to talk about his dream, the guilt he felt about killing his own team leader, but maybe opening up to Keith might alleviate some of Keith’s worries. Though admitting what he had done to save Keith might have the opposite effect.
He hesitated. “Yeah,” he said, relishing the relieved look on Keith’s face. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”
While Lance missed the cool ocean breezes and the sensation of wet sand between his toes, he knew Keith felt much more comfortable in the hot, arid desert. Lance had to admit, not having to disguise themselves every time they stepped outside was a major bonus.
Plus, there was something oddly familiar about the location. Despite the vast difference in landscape and environment, Lance somehow felt as if the desert held a piece of his home in it. The energy had drawn Lance straight in. He wondered if Keith had felt it too.
He leaned back on his hands, basking in the sun’s warm rays as he sat on the ground next to Keith, and snuck a glance at him out of the corner of his eye and smiled. Keith’s head was tilted back and his eyes were closed in bliss at the sun’s heat.
Lance leaned over to nudge Keith’s shoulder with his own. “Hey.”
Keith blinked once, twice, then turned to look at Lance questioningly. “What?”
Lance grinned. “Nothing. Just glad I’m here with you.”
A moment later, Lance broke out into peals of laughter, a warm fondness running through his entire body as Keith stammered and refused to look at Lance directly.
“Looks like we weren’t the only ones who had the idea to come see what that was about,” Lance breathed, referencing the impact that had struck in the desert only a short while ago.
The Garrison had mobilized quickly - there was already a structure set up to house whatever it was they had found inside the craft on site. Guards were set up everywhere, making it difficult to get close without being spotted, let alone discover what was inside.
“Alright,” Keith decided, the sudden sound of his voice making Lance jump. “I’ll create a distraction and you go in. I’ll come back with the hoverbike to pick you up.”
Lance nodded once. “Got it.”
It made sense - if things went south, Lance would at least be able to disguise himself as a human. But if Keith were caught, Lance was sure the security would be even higher than it was now.
Lance crept closer, making sure to stay well below the line of sight of the rocky outcroppings as he waited for Keith. He wasn’t sure just how long he would have to wait or what to expect, but knowing Keith he’d knew it’d be something flashy.
As he peered over the outcropping, he felt a twinge of worry. Where was Keith?
Even as the question crossed his mind, explosions rocked the desert. Lance huffed in amusement. Of course that was Keith.
He slid down the slope, intent on making it to the Garrison structure while the guards all rushed to the site of the explosions.
As he crossed the threshold, a couple of Garrison technicians rushed at him.
Lance took the fighting stance Keith had taught him in their sparring sessions. Luckily it didn’t seem as though either of the men had any close combat training, and Lance was swiftly able to render them unconscious.
“That was awesome!”
Lance whirled around at the unfamiliar voice, raising his fists in preparation of another attack.
He was greeted by two figures who looked to be around his age and who had raised their hands to show they weren’t a threat. Lance slowly lowered his fists.
“Who are you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. They obviously weren’t with the Garrison. They weren’t wearing the uniform, and it was clear they had also taken advantage of the explosions to sneak into the building.
“We should be asking you that question,” the smaller one said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I’ve never seen you around the Garrison before. Who are you?”
Lance opened his mouth to retort, but the girl strode straight past him and to a table somewhere behind him.
“Shiro, c’mon. Wake up,” she muttered as she attempted to shake awake the man strapped to the table. He didn’t respond.
“Alright. You, big guy,” Lance said pointing towards the boy still loitering by the doorway. He pointed at himself with an index finger, unsure if Lance was talking to him or not. Lance simply nodded and gestured for him to come closer.
“Help me carry him.” Lance used his head to gesture towards Shiro. The boy nodded and scurried closer to help Lance and the girl undo the thick straps holding him down.
As Lance and the boy shared the weight of the man between them, Lance could only hope the bike would be big enough for all of them.
Keith didn’t seem to think it would be. (“Seriously, Lance?”) The other two were freaking about Keith’s alien appearance in the background, voices raised and arms gesturing wildly towards Keith, but Lance and Keith both ignored them.
“I couldn’t just leave them there,” Lance protested, gesticulating wildly. He huffed. “We’ll argue about this later - we don’t have much time before the Garrison guards come back.”
“Alright, alright. Just… hold on,” Keith said, revving up the bike as the sight of Garrison vehicles came into view behind them.
“This is where you guys live?” Pidge asked when she saw their small shack.
Lance could feel Keith getting defensive behind him and attempted to lighten the mood. “Yeah, well, we tried living in a cave but the amenities weren’t that great.”
Something about their ship had felt cramped, which wasn’t aided by the fact that it had to be carefully hidden inside one of the many caves in the area. Plus it wasn’t as if the abandoned shack had any visitors. It was fair game as far as Keith and Lance saw it.
“Huh.” Pidge didn’t push further, instead taking a closer look at what little things Keith and Lance had lying around as they waited for Shiro to wake up from where he laid on their couch.
“Okay, but why aren’t you still freaking out?” Hunk asked, looking at Pidge incredulously. “Keith is an alien! A furry, fuzzy alien!”
Lance sniggered at the description even as Keith scowled. Rather than intimidating, Keith looked petulant with the added crossed arms. Lance suppressed his laughter and cleared his throat.
“Well, I mean, I’m an alien too, so…” He trailed off. When Pidge and Hunk turned to look at him, he let his human form drop. Pointed ears and blue facial markings revealed themselves.
Hunk’s eyes widened even further while Pidge breathed out a “whoa”.
Before Hunk and Pidge had a chance to voice the questions Lance could tell they were dying to ask, a small noise came from the couch as Shiro stirred awake.
“Hunk, you’re a genius!” Lance clapped a hand on his shoulder as they all stared at the art on the cave walls. “Fraunhofer lines? Absolute genius.”
There was something familiar about these paintings - they reminded him a little of older Altean styles, but these seemed a little more abstract, as if they had been mixed with another art style or possibly created by humans based on Altean art. Is this what had drawn Lance to this spot? Had he felt the influence of Altea even here on these walls?
He stepped forward and outstretched a hand to brush the cave walls, gently touching this small reminder of home. Bittersweet nostalgia filled him. Even if he’d never be able to return to Altea, at least he’d have some small piece of it with him on Earth.
As his hand made contact, he felt a surge of energy. Bright blue light shone from the cave paintings, illuminating the dark space with its bright glow.
Startled, Lance stepped backwards, away from the cave wall and towards the others. Something called to him, mentally tugging him downwards.
The ground underneath their feet cracked, and Lance’s stomach dropped a split second before they fell into the shallow water below.
He sat up, aching, and got to his feet. He could see the others slowly standing up next to him. He could sense Keith’s annoyance at getting his fur wet without even looking.
Lance stepped forward, the tugging sensation in his chest growing stronger with every step.
His eyes widened in shock. It was the Blue Lion.
His mind whirled - how had she gotten here? The last he knew, she had been on the front lines with the other lions. These cave paintings were ancient - she had to have been here for centuries, millennia even.
A sickening realization hit. He and Keith had been traveling at near light speeds for so long until they found Earth - how great had the time dilation been between them and Altea? And what had prompted the Paladins to hide away their lions on far distant planets? Had something happened to them as well?
He tried to ignore the worry building up in his mind as each new question prompted another. Lance stepped closer to Blue until he was face to face with the forcefield surrounding her.
He had never been so close to one of the lions before. Sure he’d seen them from a distance, either in battle or to boost morale among the troops, but this…
He gingerly raised a hand to tap on the forcefield. Keith’s fear and awe was palpable beside him, as was the humans’ curiosity. He could tell they were dying to ask questions.
When his fist made contact with the shield, he was flooded with images of the lions and of Voltron itself. The others were breathing heavily and Lance knew they had experienced it as well.
“So, that’s Voltron?” he heard Pidge ask in awe. “It’s incredible.”
“Yeah, it was,” Lance said, remembering one battle where he had seen it in action. The lions alone had been impressive, tearing through enemy ships like tissue paper. But when they formed Voltron… It had been an overwhelming victory - no normal ship was equipped to take it on and win.
He shook his head to clear away the memories; the forcefield had dropped and Blue seemed to be beckoning him inside.