Chapter Text
"KEITH! SHIRO!" Keith could hear Lance shouting out as he and Red were pulled away from everyone.
Alarms were blaring loudly as Red continued downward. Keith tried to steer Red, but it was no use. They were growing closer to the surface of somewhere, and out of the corner of his eye, he got a glimpse of the Black Lion.
Shiro.
"Come on. Come on. Come on!" He shouted as he tried to land as best as he could, but nothing was working. "Come on Red," Keith pushed forward on the controls. Everything goes black as the Red Lion hits the ground.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Keith tried opening his eyes, but his eyelids felt like sand, and the ringing in his ears pierced his skull. He groaned as he tested his sore body. Keith blinked his eyes open, gazing into the blurry space as his eyes adjusted.
Keith sat upward and coughed a few times, aggravating his splitting headache. He glanced around, taking in any damage to his Lion.
"You okay, Red?" Keith asked as he moved the controls with no response.
"Okay, we'll fix you up. That battle was a rough one," Keith said. He slowly got up and out of his Lion to observe the surrounding plains. He glanced around the area, looking up at the bright sky.
"Where are we?" Keith voiced as he looked around the desert. He inhaled, a sharp pain flowed through his chest. He shut his eyes for a second, tensing against the pain before slowly relaxing.
"Probably bruised a rib or two," he said to no one.
Suddenly, Keith's eyes widened with realization and he gasped, "Shiro." The Black Lion hadn't landed near him.
Keith quickly turned around, looking off into the distance where he remembered the Black Lion falling.
"Shiro!" Keith said, shouting into his com system.
Shiro groaned in pain, opening his eyes slowly. Everything was still; they had stopped falling. He moved around and pain radiated throughout his whole body. His side throbbed with heat as a warm liquid dripped down from the ugly, glowing wound he'd sustained in the fight. The white-haired paladin sat for a moment, hand to his side, breathing steadily. With one final deep breath, he forced his way to the top of his Lion and looked around; he could only see stone and hear static from his helmet.
"Keith, are you there? Keith?" Shiro called into his headset as he made his way slowly down his Lion. His only response was static.
"Damn it! I gotta get to higher ground," he said to himself.
Shiro sighed and closed his eyes tightly; he was hoping that Keith was alright. The boy was like a little brother to him. He groaned as more pain flowed through him with each step he took. The static sound wasn't helping his nerves at all. His chest felt tight with worry, but he kept moving forward.
I have to find Keith.
Keith was panting as he continued to move forward. He was out of breath, his chest was still aching along with his head, and he was feeling a little bit dizzy but shook it off. He needed to focus. The only thing that mattered right now was finding Shiro. The paladin was Keith's role model, his hero.
Keith bent forward, pressing his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"Shiro, can you hear me?" Keith asked but was only met with static. He balled his hands into fists and drew in a deep breath before running forward in hopes of finding Shiro in one piece.
The static was the only sound over the thumping of his heart as it fought against his chest.
"Shiro?" he called out again only to grow more anxious at the lack of response.
"Shiro, are you there? Come on. Come on, answer me," he pleaded. "Shiro?"
Shiro was slowly making his way up a stone path, gripping tightly onto his glowing wound. He glanced down at it again and sighed, visions of the attack flashed in his mind as he hesitated.
Shiro turned around and glanced back at his Black Lion.
"I'll be back for you, I just gotta find Keith first," he promised to his Lion. He thought he saw it nod.
"Sh-Shiro, are you...there?... Answer me!" Shiro's eyes widened as he heard Keith's voice break through the static. He let out a sigh of relief at the voice on the line.
"Keith. I'm here," Shiro replied as he listened for a response, but he didn't hear anything, just silence. "Keith," he said and took a step forward, but pain shot through his side, causing him to stumble against the wall he was clinging to.
"Shiro, it's Keith," came Keith's voice over the com.
His eyes were held tightly shut as pain continued to burn through him. The paladin slowly slid down the wall, pressing his back against it.
"Shiro?" called out Keith's voice and Shiro could tell that he was panicking slightly, he knew he needed to try and calm the kid down. He bit his bottom lip for a moment, trying to breathe through the pain. He steadied his breathing for a moment, trying to mask the burning in his side from the younger paladin. Shiro heard his name again and knew he had to say something soon, so Shiro inhaled sharply, which hurt, but he had to push his pain to the side and reassure Keith that he was alright, even if he wasn't.
"Keith. Keith, I'm here," he said, voice wavering, "I'm okay." Shiro gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. His head was now starting to hurt badly. He could hear Keith sigh loudly and chuckle on the other end, which put a smile upon his face.
"Shiro, you made it," Keith says in response. Shiro can tell by his voice that Keith is smiling, no longer worried about his friend and mentor.
Shiro nodded his head even though Keith couldn't see it and slowly removed his hands from his wound. He knew that he needed to keep talking to keep Keith calm. He wasn't thinking clearly when he blurted out, "It takes more than a glowing alien wound, a fall from the upper atmosphere, and crashing into a hardpan surface at what I'm guessing is about 25 meters per second square, to get rid of me." He leaned his head back, eyelids heavy and sweat dripping from his forehead.
After he rested for a tiny second, he sat up.
"How are you?" He asked Keith and listened closely to see if he could tell if he was injured or lying to him.
"Not good." Keith's voice came over the coms, and Shiro felt his chest tighten with worry; it wasn't like Keith to just admit that he was hurt.
"My Lion's busted." Shiro heard Keith's voice and sighed, hoping that was all that was troubling the young teen.
"Wait, what wound?" Keith questioned, Shiro shook his head, he was hoping Keith missed it. He should have known better than that, Keith was smart and little to nothing got past him. He mentally slapped himself for being careless.
"It's nothing," he replied before wincing in pain at the memory of the battle, loud enough for Keith to hear over the coms.
"Hang on! I'm coming!" Keith shouted. Shiro nodded his head and then glanced over to the Black Lion. His sights landed on a pack of purple, saber-toothed quadrupeds with blood-red eyes. The creatures emitted a low growl, stalking around the Lion.
"On second thought, you'd better hurry," Shiro whispered through the coms. Keith's chest tightened with worry as his movements quickened involuntarily.
"Shiro, what happened?" Keith asked as he could hear Shiro's breathing become uneven. There was a deafening pause before the older man replied.
"There are several creatures," Shiro's voice came through the com, quiet and strained as if it was taking too much energy just to speak. Keith pushed himself to move faster, against the protests of his aching ribs.
Shiro attempted to walk slowly away from the beasts but was soon encircled.
"Uh-oh," Shiro heard the voice through his helmet, followed by gasps and grunts as Keith dodged and ran from erupting geysers. He heard a scream as the younger boy rolled over the side of a ravine. Shiro didn't have time to be concerned as the creatures stalked closer, snarling in a low pitch. He looked around for a place to hide, noticing a hole in the wall large enough for him, but too small for the lizard-like creatures to follow. He just hoped it was deep enough.
Shiro jumped off the edge and slid painfully down towards the hole with the creatures right behind him. Each step sent shocks of pain through his side, but he couldn't feel them through the panic.
He dove into the hole as the creatures rammed into it, causing the structure to collapse around him, putting a layer of rocks between him and the clawed monsters.
Shiro laid there for a moment, trying to catch his breath as he remembered the scream through the coms.
"Keith, are you okay? What happened?" He called, allowing his worry to lace through his voice. He could hear Keith grunting before he answered him.
"Minor delay, but I'm on my way," the red paladin replied, hanging by the sword he'd managed to jam into the side of the ravine, "how are you?"
Shiro could hear the worry in Keith's voice.
"I'm alright, but I'm trapped in a cave, and some nasty-looking creatures have me cornered." He stared at the red eyes peering through the cracks as the beings attempted to claw their way through the rock.
"Stay put. I'm on my way," Keith responded, gazing upon the wide ravine before him, "I just have to… figure this out."
Keith took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "Patience yields focus," he whispered, turning back with an idea. Shiro smiled as he heard this, he wasn't sure if Keith meant for him to hear it or not, but he felt some weight lift off his chest.
"That really stayed with you, didn't it?" Shiro asked rhetorically, recalling when he had first said the phrase to the younger paladin.
"You've given me some good advice," Keith replied, kicking the ground with his heel, watching as a column of water burst from the rock. "If it wasn't for you, my life would have been a lot different."
Shiro laid his head back against the rock. "Yeah. You wouldn't have crashed a flying Lion on an alien planet and be stuck with little hope of rescue… so, you're welcome," he laughed dryly, gripping the glowing cut in his side. He coughs harshly into his hand, struggling to get his breath back.
"Stay with me Shiro," Keith commanded. The younger paladin extended his sword and sliced into the ground beneath him, using the blast of water to propel himself to the other side. He laughed in disbelief as he soared across the ravine, but the joy was soon replaced with fear as the rock beneath him disintegrated. He screamed as he fell towards the wall, engaging his jetpack just in time to fly up to the edge.
"Keith? Keith!" Shiro called worriedly. Keith panted as he got to his feet, "Hang on. I'm on my way." He started up once again toward Shiro. The other man spoke next, "Good, because these guys just started digging." Keith could hear the rumbles across the com system and pushed his pack to maximum power. Shiro sat as the creatures scratched and clawed toward him.
"Shiro, I have a visual on the Black Lion," he called into his helmet, seeing the blue icon on his screen. He hears Shiro scream over the coms as the black paladin is yanked from the cave by his ankles and flung into the center of a circle of the beasts. Shiro jumps away and rolls, coming back with his glowing arm to slice the tusk off one of the lizard-monsters. He hesitated after the landing, groaning in pain and curling into his side, which gave the beast a chance to strike. He's thrown down a drop-off, rolling awkwardly and losing his helmet. He's on the ground, groaning in pain, but there's no time to grab his helmet as he hobbles away from his pursuers.
"Shiro, what happened?" Keith called anxiously over the line as he flew at max speed toward the trench. He lands in front of the Black Lion, looking over to see Shiro being cornered. The black paladin trips, landing hard and curling in on himself.
Out of nowhere, a piercing whistle rips through the air, causing both paladins to wince and cover their ears. Keith looks up, noticing the beasts wailing and shaking their heads. He takes the chance to run to Shiro's side, placing himself between the paladin and the monsters. The whistling ends, leaving behind a nearly-just-as-piercing ringing in the men's ears.
Keith saw a flash above his head, as a short, tanned girl with dark red hair landed in front of him. The beasts start coming back from the stun of the high pitched sound, growling lowly at the humans in front of them. The girl holds four long sticks, carved into spears. With two in each hand, the tips burst into flames as she threw them toward the pack. One of the beasts yelps as it gets stabbed in the side, another is hit in the leg, the others land in the gaps between the creatures, catching fully on fire and breaking up the group.
She brings her hands to her mouth and lets out that piercing whistle once more. The beasts writhe again at the sound and smack into each other in an attempt to escape the sound. The sound stops, and the creatures flee the scene. The girl turned to face a stunned Keith. She barely came up to his chest in height but was muscular and defined. She was clothed in what looks like animal furs, creating a makeshift skirt and wrap around her chest.
Keith was so fixated on the scene he just witnessed that he almost forgot the injured man lying behind him. The red paladin was brought back to his senses by a groan; he turned and kneeled next to his mentor. Keith gingerly rolled him onto his back, the older paladin groaning and shifting in pain. Shiro silently eyed the girl who just saved his life.
"Thank you," he started once she had returned his eye contact, "you saved me. I wouldn't have won a fight with those things." The girl didn't say anything, Keith wasn't even sure if she understood. Shiro wasn't sure which to be more surprised by, that this girl didn't speak English, or that every other alien species they had ever encountered did, in fact, speak an Earth language.
The girl seemed to recognize their confusion, along with the expressions of pain that Shiro let slip. She kneeled down next to Keith, seeming to examine Shiro's wound. Keith eyed her curiously, she didn't look over 10, but that could just be her height, he thought. The girl turned to face him, miming the act of taking off a shirt, then pointing to Shiro. Keith understood that she wanted him to take off his armor, but didn't know what she thought she was going to do about it. Keith decided to go along with it since he knew he sure as hell didn't know what to do about the bleeding and glowing gash in Shiro's side.
The girl stood up as Keith helped Shiro into a sitting position. Seemingly satisfied that her instructions had been understood, she walked away, looking at the cavern walls. She found a spot and ran her hands over it before hitting the spot with her left elbow. When it didn't break, she hit it again. Two heavy blows later, she stood back as water gushed out of the cracks she made. Keith was surprised when he looked up and saw her washing her hands in the water, the steaming water. But the girl returned with her hands only a little red, though it was hard to tell because of her dark skin.
Keith shuffled toward Shiro's head to give her room as she knelt by the gnarly gash. Her hands started to glow faintly blue before she shoved them into the wound.