Chapter Text
The booming rumbles of enemy fire quaked the ground, enticing Keith and Shiro to run faster. They had come to this giant cave in search of something called the shield medallion, the planet locals were known to be peaceful people, and refused to let their allies know that they kept a very powerful war tool within their palace walls. In fear it would jeopardize their alliances, the people hid the shield medallion deep within the biggest cave system on their planet. “The Maw”, they called it. While it had taken hours, Keith and Shiro successfully found it as the other paladins were working on keeping the Galra at bay. Thankfully, they left to retrieve it long before the Galra attacked. Even despite this, the tide of the battle was changing for the worse, protecting the people of Druna and themselves became a daunting task. The medallion was needed now more than ever, its function acted as a catalyst connecting to an intertwining system that ran through Druna’s core, activating an unbreakable shield around the entire planet.
“I hope everyone’s doing alright.” Shiro mumbled, watching the map carefully on his gauntlet. After what felt like an eternity, the two were finally almost out of the cave running at top speed. Keith was keeping a close eye on the shield medallion, holding it tight in his arms. It looked like a giant, triangular blue rock, with writing and other intricate designs carved into its brilliantly shiny surface. How could this thing be a piece of technology anyways? “I’m sure they’re fine, Shiro. Even though the fire sounds pretty heavy out there, we’ll be joining them soon.” Keith spoke calmly, causing Shiro to sigh and frown. “Yeah, you are probably right. I just hate when the comms don’t work, we’ve got to get them upgraded or something.” Shiro politely responded, keeping his eyes ahead towards the exit. ‘The Maw’ had tons of blue crystals and gems exposed for all to see; they were considered sacred and forbidden to mine. The only reason they were still here was because of their next to nothing value. These crystals were especially visible at the entrance of the cave, and as the name suggests, it was as wide as the mouth of a whale.
BOOM
Suddenly, a Galran fighter jet crashed right by the entrance, causing a much more powerful tremor to erupt, shaking the cave as it was now unstable. Crystals and boulders began to fall from the cave’s ceiling, posing an obvious threat. Shiro anxiously watched the exit, and the falling debris, he and Keith narrowly dodging each one. Another loud boom, and now the entire ceiling was coming down at a rapid speed, forcing Shiro and Keith to stop running and stare in horror, there was no way they could make that. “Keith, make sure your visor is up and brace for impact!” Shiro hastily instructed, knowing they were both too close and would be knocked back when the ceiling hit the ground. Keith nodded, activating his visor and shield, changing his stance and bracing for impact. In the next moment, too many things happened at once, the ceiling collided with the ground, initiating a powerful knock-back gust of wind and dirt. The force was too strong to withstand, immediately sending both Keith and Shiro flying off somewhere. Neither one of them laid awake…
Keith slowly blinked his eyes open some time later, noticing that all he could see around him was dirt and sand particles clouding the air. He allowed himself a moment to breathe, patiently waiting for the ringing in his ears to go away. At last, the ringing eventually subsided after a final deep breath, briefly recalling what happened seemingly just minutes before. The next thing that caught his attention, is a sharp pain in his right ankle, hissing when he tried to move it. Now, the dust started to clear and he saw that his ankle had been crushed by a boulder about the size of his arm, he groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes. Ow. Keith carefully examined the boulder trying to determine the best way to get it off his leg, it was definitely too heavy to just lift. He sat up, and narrowed his eyes, suppose he could just…roll it off? Yeah, whatever, he’s going with that. Using what he had left of his strength, he made quick work pushing the boulder off of his leg, holding back a scream. As soon as it was off, he let his shoulders droop, catching his now shaky breath, pressing his eyes closed. Upon opening them to get a look at his ankle- he froze.
Ah, it wasn’t that bad, just looked a little beat up, the paladin armor clearly damaged- but he could swear there was something else he was missing. What was-
Oh-
“Shiro?!” Keith called panically, eyes widening in the hopes it would help him see better. He silently pleaded that Shiro wasn’t hurt too bad, knowing that would quickly diminish their chances of escaping. Although after hearing no sort of response, his heart sank further into his stomach. Before rushing an attempt to stand, Keith took a closer look at his ankle- okay, so maybe it was a lot worse than he had originally thought… it was completely twisted, bloody and bruised, but he couldn’t sit here and do nothing but call out into the cloud- he knew he had to get up. So he steadied his breath, and prepared himself for even more pain. Keith looked diligently within arm’s reach to see if there was something he could lean his weight on. Thankfully enough, there was another, much bigger boulder beside him. Without wasting a second more, Keith used his arms to slowly pull himself onto his feet with a grunt. His stomach churned, his body revolting against the action begging him stop stop and stay down.
That was the last thing he was going to do, so he held his breath to try and keep his heart from racing. At last, Keith was standing, gripping the boulder the best he could as it provided some relief for his mangled ankle- but now what? He still couldn’t see a thing, and he was sure finding Shiro in this mess would be anything but easy. Despite this, he still looked around, seeing nothing but this stupid dirt cloud, boulders, and a subtle blue glow from ways away.
…
A blue glow…? Keith’s eyes widened with hope, moving himself as fast as his body would let him towards the light (not that kind of light). The closer he got, the farther he moved out of the dust cloud, until finally, he could see where the light was coming from, part of Shiro’s suit. Shiro in question, was lying unconscious on his back, right arm completely crushed beneath a large boulder, as worrying as that was, that wasn’t what caught Keith’s attention. There was what seemed to be a sharp, miniature stalactite that pierced Shiro’s visor, immediately causing Keith to fear the worst. He hastily, but carefully lowered himself to the ground, right next to Shiro, getting a closer look at where the stalactite had impacted. Although he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it was just the visor itself that was damaged.
“Keith? You alright?” Shiro spoke softly, Keith smiled slightly upon seeing that Shiro was awake- but no, he was not alright. Shiro then seemed to notice the stalactite dangerously close to his eye, “Yikes, that could’ve been bad.” Shiro sheepishly smiled, struggling for a moment to sit up then using his left hand to try and take his helmet off. Keith didn’t hesitate to help, very slowly taking Shiro’s helmet off, the stalactite just barely grazing his skin, producing a bit of blood. Without any major damage, the helmet was off, and Keith put it aside. “Thanks, bud.” Shiro patted Keith’s shoulder with his free hand, being oddly calm for someone who’s arm has been completely crushed. He quickly frowned though, eyes drawn to Keith’s mangled ankle. “I’m guessing you also got crushed. Is it broken?” Shiro asked innocently, earning an eye roll from Keith. “Yes, it’s broken! Now can we please find a way to get this rock off you?!” Keith argued, now was not the time to be worried about his stupid ankle.
Shiro nodded simply, the only thing Keith could think of trying was to use all of their strength to push the boulder off, just like he did before. “Okay, on 3 we both push that way. 1…2…3-!” Keith grunted, and pushed with as much strength as he could, the boulder hardly moving, but it started to give. A few more minutes of pushing and struggle, it finally rolled off, revealing Shiro’s definitely destroyed prosthetic. Keith held in his gasp and wince, while Shiro didn’t look at the damage. “Is it as bad as it feels?” Shiro questioned, a clear hint of worry in his voice, Keith looked over his arm, assessing if it was salvageable. From Keith’s point of view, Shiro’s prosthetic is heavily dented and there were even some plates bent, revealing some strange glowing wires. “Well…yeah, but I bet Pidge, Hunk and Coran can repair it. It’s still in one piece.” Keith answered honestly, pausing for a moment as Shiro glanced at his arm himself. “Okay, not that bad… glad this thing can take one heck of a beating. The armor seemed to have helped too.” Shiro sighed, but his frown deepened, even while his arm had been unveiled he couldn’t move it. A part of him worried, his prosthetic had never taken such a beating before, and if it couldn’t be repaired…then, was what she said true? He stopped his wandering mind, and instead turned his attention back to Keith’s ankle, which was clearly worse for wear, but there was something else they were missing. “The shield medallion. Did you see it anywhere?” Shiro commented, looking around not seeing anything blue and triangular anywhere. Keith shook his head, “Stay there, let me see if I can find it. In the meantime, you tend to that ankle of yours.” Shiro stood, allowing his prosthetic to stay limp, he used his left hand to grab the small emergency roll of bandages from the small pouch on the belt of the paladin armor. He handed it to Keith, and walked towards the rubble where the entrance was.
Keith wanted to help, but he wasn’t exactly in any condition to be walking on his own. Instead he listened to Shiro, and began bandaging his ankle, which was much easier said than done. Somehow this was just as painful to do as walking. Keith was starting to suspect that maybe it was more than one bone he broke... As he was doing this, he occasionally glanced in the direction Shiro walked off in, hearing boulders being pushed around. He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, the one thing they came in this cave for was now lost, and potentially broken. What could they tell the locals? That is, if they could even escape from this cave. No doubt their suits have shut down, meaning they no longer had access to the map of the charted places in this cave, and knowing the fact that the cave hadn’t been completely explored yet was a bit unsettling to say the least. Perhaps there was another exit somewhere, but without the map, that made this task much more complicated. Having finished bandaging his leg, Keith sighed at it, his ankle had twisted in the opposite direction. He wondered if it was a good idea to try twisting it back, but without an x-ray he could do more damage than help. “Found it!” Shiro called, walking back a moment later with the shield medallion, he was clearly struggling to hold the thing as he tucked it under his chin for extra stability. Of course he was struggling, not only was the thing big and bulky, but it was also quite heavy.
“How’s your leg?” Shiro smiled lightly, setting the shield medallion down, and sitting next to Keith who shrugged. “S’fine… now how are we going to get out of here without the map?” Keith responded quickly, he didn’t want to be in this cave any longer, it made his heart race. The last thing he wanted to be was trapped, but here he was. “The only option we have is to go deeper into the cave in the hopes we find something, we can’t sit around and wait for a rescue, those people need this medallion.” Shiro reasoned, staring at the now collapsed entrance and then to the medallion. He felt a sense of urgency, especially upon hearing the sound of muffled fire still going on outside, he and Keith had to consider how much time they were unconscious for eventually. Shiro sat in silent thought for a moment, looking further down the cave in curiosity before ultimately standing back up a moment later holding the medallion the same way as he did before. “Let’s get moving, but I want you to be honest with me. Can you walk?” Shiro asked, genuinely concerned, it was his little brother after all. Keith considered for a moment, “Kinda, but I’d need help. Let me hold the medallion.” Keith nodded, and held his arms open, there was no use in lying to Shiro about his condition. Shiro hesitantly handed the medallion to Keith carefully, then helped Keith up to his feet. While Keith held the medallion, Shiro slung his arm around Keith’s waist and the two began walking forward slowly, purposefully leaving Shiro’s damaged helmet behind in case someone decided to dig through the caved-in entrance.
It was very frustrating, knowing the exit was right there, and knowing that neither of them could do nothing to help their fellow teammates in battle at the moment. Instead, they got stuck in a cave, without a map, full of uncharted routes with
Alfor
knows what lurking in the shadows. The only thing that wasn’t remotely bad, was the giant blue crystals that lined the walls. They had a bit of a bioluminescent blue glow to them, dimly lighting the cave. Without a single clue of which way to go, Shiro trusted his instincts more than anything else, keeping deathly silent while leading the way. He didn’t feel the need to speak, the subtle sense of danger having him watch every nook and cranny there was. Keith, on the other hand, focused on not losing the shield medallion this time, its shiny surface being strangely comforting. Although, something else was pressing at his mind, and it wasn’t his ankle, but Shiro’s arm.
“Does it hurt? Your arm, I mean.” Keith swiftly broke the silence, feeling the cave’s walls recede as they seemed like they were closing in. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and like the pain in his ankle- one he tried to ignore. “...yes. It does. I guess it’s because of how badly it’s damaged, but it’s not excruciatingly so.” Shiro sighed, answering honestly. Keith didn’t expect such a response, now that he knew that Shiro could feel pain in his prosthetic when damaged made sense and no sense at the same time. How could a piece of technology entice pain…? Unless, it was programmed to do so? But- when Shiro finally let Pidge take a closer look at it, she saw it was simply just a prosthetic that ran on Shiro’s quintessence. Was it really possible that it was more than that, or that Shiro knew something he didn’t want to tell? “You know, if your ankle is hurting too much, we can always take a break, you don’t have to push yourself.” Shiro softly asked, catching Keith’s winces as he continued to limp heavily. “I’m fine, honestly. I’m more concerned about getting out of here.” Keith didn’t meet Shiro’s eyes, in fear if he stopped watching the walls they would crush him. Shiro seemed to nod silently in response, clearly having his own thoughts on his mind.
Now, along the walls the crystals started to decrease in number, bringing them further, and further into the cave system. As expected, the two had reached the intersection point of 3 different paths, only one of which they were familiar with. “Should we take the same path as before?” Shiro paid a glance to Keith, who thought for a moment. If only his mind would shut up, answering his own brother would be easier. “...These other paths are uncharted right? Then our best bet might be taking the same path.” Keith managed to choke up a steady response, finding a moment of peace within himself. He didn’t want to admit the anxiety he felt, as it would do more harm than good. He didn’t want to let it be real by verbalizing his feelings.
Shiro agreed to Keith’s proposition, and simply kept moving down the path, not feeling too confident about finding a way out. As uncertain as the matter is, continuing to move gave them a chance to escape without rescue. He made sure to keep a very close eye on Keith, knowing he’s not too keen on admitting when he needs a break. Inwardly, Shiro blamed himself for that, having guessed Keith got that stubbornness from him. Although he couldn’t help but smile at all of the memories they’ve made together- from stealing his car, accidentally gifting him knives for Christmas, to standing up for him no matter what. Keith was the little brother he never had, and he promised to always take care of him. Even if that meant giving up his life. Something ahead caught Shiro’s attention, snapping him out of his thoughts and causing him to stop walking. The cave is quite dark now, but only to a point where neither Keith or Shiro could see 10 feet in front of them.
From its appearance, there seemed to be some sort of figure, or creature hunched behind the corner down the path. Not being able to make much of it out, it looked mostly humanoid. “You see that..?” Shiro whispered carefully, quiet enough in the hopes that whatever that thing is couldn’t hear him. “Uhh, yeah. I don’t think the locals mentioned anything about there being life down here.” Keith whispered back, standing deathly still. After a few moments, the creature completely moved behind the corner, seemingly vanishing into the darkness. Shiro gently lowered Keith to the ground and quickly went to inspect the corner, and to his surprise, the thing was gone. Looking at the walls beside him, even at the ceiling, it was clear that there was no place that thing could’ve hid. Another mere seconds of staring passed before ultimately, Shiro sighed and made his way back to Keith. “Let me guess, it disappeared?” Keith tilted his head, expression nonchalant and clearly tired. “Yup, do you want to turn back?” Shiro sighed again, kneeling down to meet Keith at eye level. “No. I’d rather take my chances with whatever that thing was than hike through uncharted caves.” Keith shrugged, desiring nothing more than to get out of this stupid cave. Not only that, he could tell Shiro knew something was off with him, and it wasn’t worth mentioning.
So, Shiro helped Keith back up, and they continued to walk forward. This time with much more caution than before, not knowing if that creature was a threat to them or not. It wasn’t like they were in an condition to fight either, what chance would they have if it was hostile? The cave snaked for hours, and hours, taking at least 3 to get where the medallion was hidden. Nothing but walls of solid stone, ground of packed dirt, and a ceiling of which was not visible anymore thanks to the poor lighting. While the silence was deafening, the echoes of anxiety were loud, so loud, that it made the very air thicken. With the absence of simple bugs, or the slightest sign of life- the eeriness of the cave system really started to become apparent. What if there were more creatures down here, anyways? Worse than that, what if there were more species? Aside from all of Keith’s inner turmoil, walking for almost an hour had started to really take a toll on him. His breathing was labored, as sweat started to drip from his forehead, he just couldn’t hide it from Shiro any longer, as keeping it in only caused more energy to drain from his body.
“Okay, you need a break buddy.” Shiro furrowed his brows, not allowing himself to move any farther in concern for Keith. Who in question, was too exhausted to muster up a comeback as Shiro once again slowly lowered Keith to the ground, sitting adjacent from him. Shiro watched in worry, unhappy the only thing he could do to help was just so wait as Keith struggled to regain his breath. After a few moments of anticipation, finally Keith was able to breath easily again, the throbbing pain in his chest settling. Although, his vision was blurred, and head severely fatigued from the lack of air in his lungs. Gosh, would his mind ever shut up?! The only thing visible is Shiro sitting in front of him, but he couldn’t hear the few words he seemed to speak. Shiro looked worried, which wasn’t much of a surprise, but all that was registering in his brain was that Shiro stood up, and sprinted farther down the path. Without being able to think straight, pure panic and confusion rushed into Keith’s already foggy mind, everything was starting close in on him again. His body shook, overwhelmed with all of the thoughts that begun to swirl and attack his conscious. The walls…the walls… the walls were suffocating him.
Keith curled in on himself, unable to contain his terror, it was being squeezed out of him. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening, what was he feeling?? Oh, how he wanted to beg not to be alone, but he is, and who could he beg to? All he could feel was pain; in his chest, in his leg, in his head, and all over. He hastily dug his gloved, trembling hands into the dirt, in a feeble attempt to keep his senses in tact, but it wasn’t working . It wasn’t working!!
How could someone be suffocating and drowning at the same time…? He doesn’t remember a time he’s ever felt so trapped .