Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a very brief mission. Rescue the Priestess of Altea and return her back to the land of the living. So why did it all go wrong?

Lancelot of the Bowmen, the highest ranking archer in Altea, was tasked to return the kidnapped priestess. A young human by the name of Katie Holt who preached the teachings of the  high deity Allura. She had been snatched on her journey home after a day of praying in the Altean temple and the obvious culprits were Takashi Shirogane and his army of demonic followers.

Shirogane and his following resided in the realm bellow Earth, known better as hell. Those who rejected Allura were denied passage to the heavens of Altea and were sent to Shirogane’s realm where they lived in an eternal hell.

The blue eyed angel was not prepared to take down an entire fleet of demonic demons waiting to tear into him and his miniscule fleet.

‘ Shit shit shit ,’ Lance thought to himself as he searched for an escape route. He wasn’t exactly prepared to fight any demons and having an unconscious human in his arms wouldn’t help his case. He had to find a way out as quick as possible because the amount of demons arriving at his “stealth mission” was increasing drastically and he would not allow for the tiny human to fall into their filthy hands once again.

The angels selected by Allura for the mission had formed a protective circle around him and the human as they awaited his orders. Their white wings beat furiously as they fought to keep the demons at bay, but they were tiring quickly and the circle was becoming smaller as they were pushed closer together.

“Lance, buddy! Please tell me you have a plan! I- I don’t know how much longer we can hold them off.” The frantic eyes of his best friend met his as he called out. Hunk had been chosen by Lance to accompany him as he and the tall angel worked best together.

“We need- we need to make a run for it Hunk! There is no way we can hold them off without risking the human’s life!” It was true, exposure to an angel’s true form, which would grant them enough fuel to fight back, would turn humans in sight to dust, similar to what happened in a neighbouring universe where half of the population had been disintegrated by an extremely powerful alien force.

‘ Prepare to shoot off in ten, meet up point is the city of Tier. Don’t look back.’ Lance ordered mentally to his force and watched them nod as they received his orders. He cast a brief blinding light into the area that would provide enough distraction for their escape. Just as he was prepared to take flight he heard a cry of pain from one of his own.

Lance inwardly cursed to himself as one of his younger angels had been caught unexpectedly.

‘ Allura, I hope this human is worth it. ’ Lance grit his teeth and plummeted straight down to his trapped companion. The young angel wasn’t doing so well as he was struggling to keep himself in the air while holding off the band of demons intent on his destruction.

Lance summoned his sword and with one hand around the priestess and the other grasping his sword he tore into black winged creatures.  By now the others must have reached Tier city, with the exception of him and his angel in training, Leo. While Lance wasn’t the most intelligent angel he knew they were quickly losing the battle. While he tried getting everyone out alive with minimal casualties, the inevitable was rapidly approaching and he would be faced with a choice.

Momentarily distracted, he did not see the dagger that slashed a gash across his cheek which led to the spilling of his white blood. The demon that dealt him a blow had him shocked as violet eyes met his own blue ones. The fallen angel Kogane, an angel who was rebellious by nature and who was often enamored with the human kind. His rebellious and disobedient personality had him cast out of the heavens with broken and bloodied wings.

“Lancelot.” Spat the pale ex-angel. His eyes shone with disgust and anger towards the blue eyed angel, memories from their previous encounters resurfacing.

“Kogane,” Lance spat back equally disgusted. Keith had been branded a traitor and his first named ‘Keith’ had been revoked when he fell.

“I’d love to chat and catch up but I really must be on my way.” Lance continued as he grabbed Leo by the arm and they quickly rocketed upwards into an attempt of escape. For a split second Lance smiled victoriously as they flapped their wings forward.

His smile disappeared as he was lurched backwards, an excruciating pain blooming in his wings. Leo’s eyes widened as he noticed the black spear which had pierced his master’s wings. The black staining the pure white wings was an ugly site as the injured wing flapped uselessly.

“Leo,” Lance gasped out in pain, “I need you to take the priestess, you must get to Tier by yourself.” He passed Pidge into the arms of the young panicked angel before another spear attached to a wire pierced Lance’s second wing. The brown haired angel cried in pain as he dropped a few inches down, his wings flapping in a desperate attempt to keep him up.

“Go! She must be returned safely Leo!” Lance grit his teeth as he granted Leo his bayard and shoved him forward as another arrow aimed for his wings instead pierced his forearm. A brief flash of relief ran through him as his student’s flying form disappeared into the distance. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had appeared when the spears tugged him downwards. Pain spiked throughout his body as he fought against his restraints.

He was too far away from heaven to leech off of Allura’s energy and the rapid amount of blood loss was catching up to him.

“Pathetic, I thought you’d  be a better fight.” Keith’s voice was the only warning Lance had before a blade sunk into his abodemen and sliced him through. With wide eyes, Lance cough out white before the blade was pulled out. A gurgled scream was the only thing that could escape Lance’s mouth as he dropped to his knees.

While being in an intolerable amount of pain he failed to notice a much darker and sinister figure approaching the scene. The silence that followed was deafening as both Keith and the present demons stood at sudden attention.

Cold fingers grasped at Lance’s chin before tugging him upwards, forcing him to face the devil himself. Steel grey eyes met his own as the face smirked at the angel’s state.

“Ah Lancelot I presume? It is quite a pleasure to finally meet the famous Archer of the Skies ,” Shirogane mocked the angel, grinning in malice as he noticed his glare. Hearing the mockful tone Lance spit a mixture of his blood and saliva at Shirogane’s face.

“Fuck...you.” He let out breathlessly as every action from breathing to blinking had him dizzy and nauseous. Shiro tsked at him as he stood and wiped the spit from his cheek, not once flinching. It was as if he was expecting such a reaction from the archer. His eyes met the angel’s, this time flashing red. Lance startled as the unexpected change of colour surprised him. Distracted by the crimson spheres Lance failed to notice the blow dealt at his temple and he fell with a thud, the excruciating pain fading away with unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Floating.

Through a dark abyss with no end.

With a sudden gasp Lance sat up quickly, doubling over as pain spiked throughout his body. He frantically glanced around, unaware of his surroundings.

Black drapes covered the...bed? Why was he in a bed? He attempted the tremendous feat of getting off the bed only to fall flat on his face, blankets tangled around his weakened legs. For the umpteenth time that day Lance winced in pain.

He felt the familiar taste of blood rise in his mouth, only for it to be swallowed back down.

"Ah, sleeping beauty has finally decided to awaken from her slumber." The voice was familiar and near yet the spinning going on in Lance's head stopped him from recalling exactly whose that intolerable sound belonged to.

A pair of black combat boots stopped right in front of his face, mere inches from his face. Lance glanced up and the blood that he had just swallowed threatened to resurface as he recognized his favourite fallen angel's face.
"K-Keith? What the hell are you doing here? Where am I?" Lance spoke up, mustering about as much emotion as he could in his weakened state.

The other slightly flinched as he heard his old title, for a second beginning to reminisce about his past life in the heavens. But alas, now was not the time as he had pressing matters at hand. Such as the broken angel laying at his feat.

Ignoring his questions Keith moved to lift the other onto the bed, unusually mindful of the countless wounds littering his body. Lance was befuddled at how he had been manhandled. He hadn't expected anything but the worse from Keith so his act of kindness was a little unnerving to say the least.

"Stay." Keith simply instructed as he left without a fleeting glance towards the confused and annoyed angel.

‘As if I have a choice.” He thought bitterly to himself. In the state he was in he could barely lift a finger without the constant reminder of the wounds that had been inflicted upon him.

The memories of his past endeavor flooded him all at once and in an instant he reached out telepathically towards his wingmates. Their companionship bond allowed them to communicate from long distances. However all he received in response to his calling was an emptiness that resonated in his being.

Before he could even begin to dwell in his current shortcomings the bedroom door slammed open. Lance’s eyes snapped to the door, his blue eyes meeting the stormy black of the so-called demon king.

To any other ordinary being his presence would become overbearing and create an air of instant submission. However Lance was no ordinary being. He had been personally blessed by Allura’s father and stood defiantly as Shirogane walked over to where he had been placed.

Amusement danced across Shiro’s face as he stared at the currently incapitated male occupying his bed space. He personally had treated Lance’s wounds and had proceeded to lay him in his own quarters. But his angel did not need to learn of that little fact.

“I see you are doing well.” Shiro simply stated as he took in the pale face and trembling body.

It was rather obvious that Lance was not doing well and Shiro himself knew of this fact. A certain fire graced his dark eyes as he took in the delicious sight of what the proud and handsome angel had become.

Noticing his look Lance frowned in disgust. Not only had the demon brought destruction and chaos to his peaceful life but he had also severely injured Lance. Leaving him with major injuries that he hadn’t sustained in quite some time.

“Cut the crap,” Lance snarled, “What the hell do you want?!” The fire returned to his eyes and he straightened himself up and refused to wince as his injuries burned in protest at the sudden movement.

“My, my, my. Don’t you have such a dirty mouth,” Shiro tsked as he leaned down towards Lance’s figure, “Little angels speaking foul words should be punished, don’t you think?” He smirked and before Lance could react he dove to catch Lance’s lips in a painful and filthy kiss.

Eyes wide open Lance struggled to move back however he was too late in realizing he had become trapped in a rough embrace between Shiro’s arms and the bed.

The kiss, if it could even be called that, was too painful. It was more of Shiro fighting to dominate while Lance was attempting to escape with no results. After a rather harsh nip from the dominating male Lance reacted and bit his tongue, the taste of demon blood burst onto his taste buds and he spit once released from the violent lip locking.

Shiro smiled coldly and wiped the stray blood from his face. He did like it when they fought back. It was always a fun challenge for him to conquer a rebellious angel. Take Keith for example, there was no way an angel could fall without the outer malicious influence Shiro provided.

Lance froze at the icy expression the other male doned. He was not an idiot. He knew of the power Shiro wielded and he was wary of his actions.

However his smile only grew. “Alright, I can admit I deserved that. But next time I won’t be as forgiving.” He chided the other male as if he were a child receiving discipline.

“I am sure you know who I am. Though I must introduce myself, Takashi Shirogane of Hell.” He smiled once again, continuing to unnerve Lance. He remained silent as Shiro looked at him expectantly. Probably awaiting for him to introduce himself. Something he definitely was not about to do.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Shrio spoke again, “Not into talking? That’ll work for now. Just your presence is enough for now.” The more he talked the more confused Lance became. This Shirogane was talking to him as if he hadn’t just imprisoned him after messing him like a rag doll.

“I do hope you enjoy your stay. Anything you require will be available at your will. Please make use of my servants and I shall return promptly.” As if saying goodbye for the time being Shiro waved and with a poof! disappeared into thin air.