Work Text:
They should have known something was going to go wrong as soon as the video call was over.
Some aliens from a nearby planet had called and asked for them to visit for a diplomatic meeting about forming an alliance. This wasn't odd in itself, as many other planets had contacted them for the same reason countless times before.
But these aliens were very particular, wanting the paladins to visit on a certain day because of a certain "annual tradition" occurring at the time. They spoke vaguely about this tradition of theirs and nobody even had a clue about what it was.
This meeting would have been fine if the paladins didn't already have plans that exact day. The Blade of Marmora had recently informed them of a prisoner transport ship heading in their direction. The Blade was to send some members over to aid them in the mission and, together, they would be able to carry it out quickly and relatively easily.
But these plans were for the same day that these aliens wanted to form their alliance.
Lance was suspicious that this wasn't a coincidental situation. Despite the others agreeing with him that this could be a trap, they came up with a plan.
Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk would go with the Blade to free the prisoners while Keith and Lance attended the meeting. Allura was the one to suggest it, commenting that the two of them had been greatly improving their diplomatic skills lately.
Lance was happy it was Keith who was going with him. One, because they were dating and Lance hated to admit it but he was still in that honeymoon stage of their relationship, excited that it would be a mission with just them.. And two, he knew Keith was going to be very vigilant of any strange activity. Lance trusted him to keep them both safe.
As the team parted ways a few days later, Keith and Lance took their lions down to the planet. The castle would be with the others for the freed prisoners to get on, so it really was just the two of them. If anything happened, it would be some time until they got backup.
When Lance and Keith were greeted upon their arrival, it was the afternoon on the planet. Some royal servants led them into the castle and into a large meeting room with high ceilings and a long table in the center, snacks set out across it. The two paladins sat in the seats that were pulled out for them by castle servants. The place had a similar design to the Altean castle ship, but with decor that made the place less bland. But he would never admit that to Allura or Coran.
A tall alien, who Lance assumed was a royal advisor, approached them. He was carrying a pitcher of some translucent purple liquid. "Please enjoy some refreshments while we await the elders. They should only be a few more dobashes." he said, pouring the liquid into their glasses before bowing and leaving the room.
Keith scowled in annoyance. “If they wanted us here so badly today, why do we have to wait for them?”
Lance brought a hand to where Keith was resting one of his on the table, rubbing circles into the back of Keith’s hand with his thumb. “I know this is really inconvenient, but try to be a little patient. You know we need this alliance.”
Keith sighed, but seemed to relax a little. “You’re right. I just hope this goes by fast once they get here.”
Lance hummed in agreement, taking in the room around him. Guards stood at the perimeter, and Lance swore he caught some of them glancing at him and Keith suspiciously. He started to feel uncomfortable at the thought of being watched. Lance picked up his glass and took a long sip before clearing his throat. It was an old habit he had of doing when things were too quiet.
"Lance? Are you okay?"
"Something just feels… off."
"What do you mean?" Keith asked, lowering his voice and slowly moving a hand to his armor where his bayard would form, if needed.
Before Lance could answer, his body was suddenly racked with violent coughs. Through his sudden struggle to breathe, he wasn’t able to warn Keith of the two guards sneaking up behind him. He watched as the aliens grabbed Keith, and the last thing he heard before falling unconscious was a scared voice calling his name.
When Lance woke up, the first thing he was able to comprehend through his foggy mind was a red light. He blinked slowly, trying to make sense of where he was and recall what had happened to him.
Then he remembered. The mission, the drink, Keith .
His eyes widened in realization and he attempted to sit up but found that he couldn't, strapped to a golden table. He looked up to the source of the red light and noticed that he was in some sort of observatory. The moon was red and its light was shining down on him through the glass of the ceiling.
It wasn't completely odd, considering everything else he'd been through during his time in space. But he started to panic more when the cold air hit him and he noticed his armor was no longer on him, nowhere to be seen. And neither was Keith. He was all alone, stripped down to his boxers, and terrified about what was going to happen to him.
He just wanted Keith.
Just then, a door to his left opened and in walked a group of three aliens in crimson robes, who Lance assumed were the elders. "Hey, tell me what's going on!" Lance shouted, craving answers for his predicament. “Where’s Keith?”
One of the aliens approached the table and looked down on Lance with a smile. “The red paladin will be fine. Now tell me, blue paladin, do you know what today is?” The tallest one in golden robes answered him. She continued at Lance's look of confusion. "It is the day of the Blood Moon, a day which a sacrifice must be made to ensure the safety of our planet and our people."
Lance was starting to get an idea of what was going to happen now, and he really didn't like it. "You're going to sacrifice me?" He asked, voice becoming small in terror.
The alien nodded. "The sacrifice of a warrior such as yourself will be very powerful. It will ensure our safety from all evils for many years to come. I can feel how powerful your soul is at this very moment." she explained.
Lance huffed angrily at her casual tone of voice, speaking to him as if he wasn’t tied down on a table beneath her. He felt so vulnerable like this and he hated it . Lance glanced at the moon, noticing its light growing brighter by the minute.
“You see, the Blood Moon rises once a year on our planet. On this day at midnight, the legend says we must make a sacrifice. When we do this, it gives the planet power to protect us. But using a paladin of Voltron as this year’s sacrifice… well, it will ensure our safety will be secure and last a long time.” She looked up to the moon, smile widening. “The red paladin will stay locked away here until the time comes in which we will require his sacrifice as well.”
Lance’s fear grew with each word, until anger boiled up inside of him at the end of her explanation. “You can’t sacrifice us! If you do that then Voltron will be down two paladins. We can protect you more than some fake, made-up legend.”
The alien shook her head with a sigh. “You will never understand.” She turned to the others and clasped her hands together. “It is time. Let us begin.” Lance watched in fear as one of the other aliens approached him with a fancy silver knife, the handle encrusted with diamonds.
"What are you doing?" Lance's voice wavered slightly.
The alien remained silent and, bringing the knife to Lance’s chest, cut a strange symbol over his heart. Lance screamed out in pain and begged for them to stop. Instead, the alien only continued to carve shapes across his abdomen, arms, and legs. The torture lasted for what felt like hours, although it was probably only ten minutes, until they came to a pause with the knife just above his neck. The alien stepped back and Lance was grateful for the few moments of peace he was given.
He felt ashamed of himself for not being able to find a way out of this, for being too weak. Lance knew he was losing too much blood and was terrified that he wouldn’t make it out of this alive. But he was even more scared for Keith’s safety than his own.
Where's Keith? I hope he's okay.
The first alien spoke up then. "The ritual is almost complete. Bring the oils." she announced. The other two carried over two glass bowls. One contained what looked to be the same purple liquid from before. The other was a bright red, matching the moon above them.
"Please… stop…" Lance tried begging one last time.
Pain exploded all over his body when the purple liquid was dumped over the symbols carved into him. It stung and Lance finally allowed the tears to escape his eyes as he sucked in sharp breaths. He could hear the aliens speaking but everything hurt too much to understand any of it. He watched through blurry eyes as the third alien stepped up to pour the second bowl onto him. He choked out a harsh sob as he registered the word “poison” and darkness started to tint the edges of his vision.
However, just before the poison was poured, Lance saw a flash of red race in front of him. He heard yelling… was that a fight going on? He closed his eyes, growing far too exhausted to keep them open any longer.
A few moments later, the room was quiet aside from the sound of footsteps rushing towards him.
“Lance? Come on, please be okay.”
Lance groggily blinked his eyes open, trying to register who was in front of him. “K-Keith?”
Keith smiled in relief, although his eyebrows were still knit together in worry. He gave Lance’s hand a squeeze before presenting some keys, which he probably stole from a guard, and unlocking Lance’s restraints.
Keith spoke up again as he helped Lance into his flight suit and armor. “I’ve already contacted the castle and they’re on their way now.”
Lance hummed in understanding, a feeling of shame growing inside of him. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get out of here myself. If only I was a better paladin-”
Keith pressed a quick kiss to his lips to silence him. “Hey, none of that. You’re still weak from whatever was in that drink you had earlier, and you were stuck to this table. I had the advantage of being in a cell with some dumb guards watching me. None of this is your fault, Lance. I mean it.”
Lance knew Keith was right, but still felt bad about the whole situation. I shouldn’t have had any of that drink in the first place. It’s my fault for drinking it.
Keith knew Lance well enough to know what he was thinking. But with the castle about to arrive, he decided to save this talk until after Lance was out of the healing pod. When Lance was better, Keith would make sure to address his boyfriend’s self-doubt.