Chapter Text
Lance was currently leaning on a wall in a dark room. There were no doors that he could see, but there was a vent above him blowing cold air making him shiver. He huffed before sitting cross legged and staring at the figure in the corner. They hadn’t moved for a while and seemed to be in a state of meditation. He had tried to get their attention but all that resulted in was a hiss from them. He wasn’t quite fond of people apparently.
“Ugh I’m bored. Hey buddy do you have anything to do around here?” Lance asked the silent figure. They twitched for a moment and exhaled. Oh ok that’s a lot of air. Were they holding their breath? Lance was growing more and more concerned as the ticks passed and the figure seemed to not run out of breath.
It was almost a full three doboshes before the air finally stopped coming from the figure. There was minimal light but lance could see they were still breathing somehow. It was strange, even in the light the figure seemed to just blend into the shadows of the corner. He went to ask if they were alright when the figure held up a hand.
“Why do you persist in your attempts of speaking with me?” They asked. Their voice held no emotion as if they were soulless. They shifted around to face him and tilted their head in a questioning manner. Lance shuddered as bright green eyes shined from the darkness.
“I uh just wanted to talk or something. There isn’t anything to do here ya’know? These galra are just so boring.” He shrugged when the figure didn’t respond. They narrowed their eyes for a moment before snorting. Lance’s face contorted in confusion. “What are you laughing at?” He asked crossing his arms.
The figure laughed for a second before replying. “Surely you are kidding. The galra are rather boring yes but Haggar is a ‘very’ fun person. Especially when you refuse to answer her questions. That is why you’re here is it not?” They asked confidently before narrowing their eyes again. “Unless she has yet to see you. Ah that makes sense now. You a pilot of Voltron don’t even know where you are and yet you ignorantly sit here without knowing the consequences of your actions.”
Lance sat there silently staring at the floor. They were right of course, he didn’t know where he was. He knew he was caught by the galra but that was it. He had woken in the cell and never even bothered to question where he was exactly. He had only assumed that’d this was a normal holding cell. But if what the figure said had been a hint then he supposed this was Haggar’s ship. He shuddered when a vision of the witch crossed his mind. He did not want to be there anymore and he shook from the thought of her doing something to him. What if he was put into a fighting ring like Shiro? He’d never last a day. ‘God I wish I didn’t skip on hand to hand training’ he thought before lifting his head at a scratching noise.
The figure had moved and a lights shone on the floor. ‘Was that metal? Wait is this guy chained up?’ Lance followed the chain to the leg of the figure who immediately moved it from sight. But it was too late, lance had seen it. The scars and bruises covering it in blue and purple splotches. “Why are you here paladin?” The figure asked. It seemed to be a good distraction as Lance’s eyes widened at the thought. Why was he here?
Lance took a moment to recall the events leading up to this point. He lifted his head and settled his eyes on the green orbs in the corner of the room. “Well it all started when-“
Lance awoke with a throbbing pain in his head. He knew today was bound to be a bad day. Because as he looked in his mirror the normal glow of his skin had faded and instead radiated an aura of depression. It was rare that he went into a phase of depression. The last time had been at the garrison when the whole class blamed him when their field trip to and on site pilot station was canceled. He had ran back to his room only to cry when he found Hunk sitting there. He could always trust Hunk when he became like this. Hunk never asked questions till lance was done crying. He would hold out his arms and lance would accept the hug gratefully.
Lance sighed as he put on his regular clothes sat on his bed. He pulled a picture from his pocket. His family was there smiling happily at the camera. What would they say if they knew what he’d been through? Would they accept it and move on or would they reject him just like the people at the garrison? He didn’t know but he did know that he’d rather die in this war than have the galra take them from him.
He stood and placed the picture back in his pocket. Walking out the door and turning into the hallway he watched as shiro also emerged from his room. Shiro had been acting strange. And after that time in the astral plane he wasn’t about to let him out of his sight. Shiro perked up when he saw lance there. He waved a small wave before walking towards Lance. But instead Lance turned around and walked in the other direction. He told himself that it was because he was just hungry and not because he saw someone other than Shiro. It was strange, he looked like Shiro, acted like Shiro, and yet there was something different about him. His aura just seemed to give off a vibe that didn’t sit well with lance.
He entered the dining room to find Hunk had already set out the food goo. Hunk turned with a smile. Which then promptly fell as he saw the look on Lances face or rather lack thereof. Hunk nodded before motioning to one of the seats. Keith was already eating and getting ready to head to the training deck. It was one of the few times he wasn’t with the Blades. He wasn’t sure how to feel about them. He trusted them of course but they often did things he didn’t approve of. It wasn’t like he cared what Keith did, but he doesn’t want him to end up dead. Yet he didn’t say anything because he knew it would be meaningless. Keith wouldn’t listen to him anyways. It was at this point Red decided to bombard him with a cacophony of emotions. Most of which being anger. He huffed and quickly ate his goo before he would inevitably explode.
Keith stood up and grabbed his plate. “How did you do it?” Lance asked suddenly as Keith began to walk away. He looked back at Lance with a questioning look. “Red, she keeps sending me her emotions. How do you make them stop?” Lance asked looking down at his plate. Keith scrunched his face up in thought. “I didn’t.” He said and Lance looked up with a raised brow. “I didn’t stop her from making me feel them. She was actually silent for the most part.” He said concerned. Lance took the info in and looked at Keith with wide eyes. Why? Why did he have to endure all the burning feelings and Keith didn’t? What was different between them that Red had decided Lance would deal with the brunt of her emotions? Red had then suddenly sent him a soothing feeling. As if to apologize for worrying him. The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he sighed.
Shiro had walked in not long after Keith left. Pidge had also entered but was currently engaged in a serious debate with hunk of whether doing stealth upgrades on all of the lions would be good or not. Hunk was all for it but Pidge had deemed that the yellow and blue lions shouldn’t need it when they were essentially the tanks of Voltron. Lance sighed and pushed his plate of goo away. Hunk had given him more than normal apparently. Or was he just not hungry? “Hey Lance, can I talk to you?”
Shiro asked breaking Lance from his momentary trance. Lance looked up before shrugging and following Shiro into the hallway. ‘Dios what did I do this time?’ He thought when Shiro gave him the space dad look.
“Is there something wrong?” Shiro asked with a concerned look. Lance raised his brow. “You have been really quiet recently. And I’m pretty sure you’ve been avoiding me. Did I say something wrong?” That had Lance sputtering out words. He didn’t think Shiro would notice him distancing himself. “Of course not Shiro! I’m sorry I’ve just been thinking about stuff.” He looked at his hands for a moment. Shiro seemed to relax and release a breath of relief. “Do you want to talk about it?” Lance looked up and shook his head. “Nah it’s just home stuff. We’ve been through it before, I can handle it this time.” Shiro had a look of understanding and nodded. “Alright but if you need to talk I’m here for you.” Shiro said before walking away.
Lance slid down the wall and sat there with his head in his hands. Tears began to pour down his face. ‘That wasn’t shiro. It acted like him but it wasn’t him at all.’ He started to shake and ran his hands through his hair. He pulled on it then before a whimper came from his throat. That wasn’t Shiro, it couldn’t be, Shiro wouldn’t be that concerned. Plus he’d never even spoken to Shiro about home. He gasped and choked on air as he struggled to breath. A panic attack was slowly taking control. Red had noticed at some point and was trying her hardest to calm him down. But without a way to physically hold him she couldn’t do much. She was sending calming waves of energy to him but it only clashed with the fear in his mind and sent him over the edge. He blacked out on the floor where he laid in his own tears.
He woke up to the sight of Allura carding her hands through his hair. Hunk was at his side with a hand on his shoulder. The lights were bright and stung his eyes as they assaulted him. “Oh thank god you’re awake.” Hunk said as he stood over him. Allura helped him sit up and stabilized him when he almost fell back again. He looked at her and smiled in thanks. They had slowly developed a strong friendship after Allura had confronted him about his flirting problem. He had broken down in front of her as he told his story on how he was constantly criticized by his peers. They had made fun of him for being alone all the time and so he developed a facade that he would put on. A mask if you would. It hid his insecurities from others and in turn he would pretend to be someone people thought he was. She had let him cry on her shoulder for hours before carding her fingers in his hair and allowing him to sleep in her bed. Coran had been absolutely livid when he found him there. The issue was solved later on when Allura had pulled Coran aside to explain things. Coran had then started to be softer with Lance and would comfort him in time of need. It was appreciated for the most part but sometimes Lance would have to ask for space. Coran would understand of course and give him space but Lance had a feeling that he’d pushed Coran away when he wanted to help. He would feel bad and apologize later but Coran would just tell him not to apologize and just be happy. He was kinda like an uncle in a strange way. A really old uncle who happens to be an alien but an uncle nonetheless.
Hunk had moved in front of him and pulled him into a tight hug. “God don’t scare me like that dude! I nearly had a heart attack finding you on the floor like that.” He said brows scrunched in worry. A small smile showed on his face when Lance snorted. “Oh ha ha give the guy who helped you get here a heart attack. You sir are in trouble for worrying me. Now why don’t you tell us what’s up huh?” Hunk said enthusiastically. Lance wilted then and looked up with teary eyes. Allura gasped and pulled him into a side hug. “Lance what’s wrong? We can’t help you unless we know.” Allura said calmly while rubbing her hand up and down his back soothingly. He sniffles and opened his mouth “Its Shiro, he-“ he was never able to finish the sentence as the alarms blared to life. Hunk and Allura straightened up at the sound as Lance cringed from the loudness. “Sorry buddy we’ll have to finish this later. But. Promise to make you that cool space Hot chocolate I made the other day.” Hunk said with a small smile. Lance nodded before getting up to run to his hangar. He passed Keith on the way there. He looked confused as Lance ran by before understanding crossed his features.
Entering the hangar Red reared up as she settled in his mind. She made a chuffing noise when he sat in the seat and grabbed the handles. The hangar doors opened up and Red burst into the fray as a Galra cruiser passed by before exploding. Lance would never get used to seeing the Galra burn up in the flames of their cruisers. It just didn’t feel right to kill them but at the same time they would kill him if he didn’t. The coms connected and he heard Shiro and Coran explain what was happening. Apparently there was a Galra who had seen them from one of the trade planets they had stopped by and called them in. “Lance I need you to go with Pidge and scope out the ship, look for a weak spot.” Shiro said. Lance grunted an affirmative as he and Pidge moved around the battle and to the ship. “Looks like we can enter and destroy it from the inside.” Pidge sent the blueprints to lance who looked it over and nodded. “Why not destroy it from the outside?” He asked. “There appears to be a barrier protecting it from blasts. If we can get inside and destroy the core then we can call it a day.” They said matter of factly. Lance snorted before switching to group comms. “Would it be okay of I head inside and destroy this thing shiro?” Lance asked. He was actually hoping Shiro would say no. “If you think you’re up for the task then go ahead.” ‘Of course he would let me.’ Lance sighed and confirmed.
The inside of the ship was actually rather empty. ‘Guess they’ve got everyone outside helping to fight.’ He turned when he thought he saw a shadow. But shrugged and kept moving forward when nothing showed itself. It took a moment but he eventually found the reactor core. He placed a couple explosives and set them to go off in a few doboshes. If he was right then he should be out with twenty ticks left to get away. He turned and started to walk away when the feeling of being watched stopped him from moving forward. He looked around again, the paranoia consisted as he moved through the halls back to Red. Red seemed to also notice something wrong and growled in his head. Something was wrong but he needed to get out of there. He moved faster and faster until he was in a full on sprint. He found the exit and quickly jumped into Red who moved away immediately.
The feeling of being watched persisted even as he watched the ship explode. What was making him feel this way? Even Red was feeling antsy. Lance stopped fighting to pull back for a second and take in his surroundings. Everything seemed normal at first but as he scanned the field he caught something strange. One of the Galra cruisers was sitting still a light was emanating from the center. A purple crackle of lightning was then flying towards Shiro who was turned around. Time seemed to slow as Lance directed Red in front of the lighting and took the hit. He regretted it almost immediately as Red seemed to shut down completely. She wasn’t responding at all and the link between their minds seemed to sever. He felt empty for a moment then darkness overtook him.
That was before he awoke in his current cell with the shadowy figure who had listened intently as he told his tale. They shifted and moved into the light pulling down their hood.
Horns adorned their head as they rose to their full height. They were a dull crimson color and seemed to be covered in scales. Their mouth opened to reveal sharp teeth as they yawned and stretched. Their bones popped and creaked under the pressure. Their six arms stretched in different directions as their tail curled. They sounded old, much older than they looked as they sighed. “How did you get here?” Lance questioned them. “And uh what’s your name? My name is Lance by the way.” The person snorted and huffed. “My name is Ta’ruk (Tah-Rook) and my story is much longer.” Lance smiled at that ‘so they are old’ he thought. “You could always tell me the short version.” Lance suggested. Ta’ruk smiles a bit and shrugged sitting back down and began talking.
Ta’ruk was apparently from a planet of cold blooded aliens named Volcas who thrived in battle. They were in a time of peace when the Galra had taken over. Unfortunately for the Galra that had been what the Volcas wanted all along. They now had reason to fight and could let their instincts take hold. Many Galra were slaughtered in the war. The Volca were very battle oriented and by the time the Galra knew what was coming they were killed. That had stayed that way for a while until Haggar showed up the next time. She had killed an entire continent of Volcas before moving on and capturing the rest. They were turned into slaves, some worked while others were put into the ring for Galran entertainment. Ta’ruk was deemed fortunate by his people as he was taken to Haggar instead. He was like a pet to her in a way. At least that was what she had made it seem like. Behind closed doors he was tortured and hurt mercilessly. Haggar wanted information on something. Something that Ta’ruk refuses to talk about. Some sort of planet belonging to an ancient race. The whereabouts were unknown to anyone who was not allowed there. It was a planet that was filled with quintessence and the people there were like gods. They were immortal for the most part. They lived to be over five-thousand years at most. But more importantly the planet was in a place where time is much faster. The time was fast enough there that a person could live a full year there when it had only been two weeks out here. It was amazing. The species was so intelligent that they had far surpassed anyone out here. But alas they were secretive and would always be kept that way. Ta’ruk had then cut off his story as a door suddenly slid up to reveal a soldier who pointed at Ta’ruk and motion for him to come over. And then Ta’ruk was gone not to be seen for a while.