Chapter Text
Shiro struggled to stand.
The planet was unlike any in his memory; there was nothing but rocks as far as the eye could see, as if the landscape were sculpted from black and grey mineral, and what little streams and rivers there were seemed etched into the stone. He managed to quench his thirst with relative speed, as he realised the trees and shrubbery – which grew forth from the rocks – were located solely by the water sources. Shiro followed them as far as he dared.
The Black Lion was hidden well enough beneath the cliff-face, but the whole universe was searching for it – along with his team – and there was no knowing just how far the wormhole had sent him from Zarkon. He suppressed a shudder and drew in a deep breath. No, it would not do to think about those dangers when his priority needed to be survival, and there was no knowing whether the Black Lion would stay loyal to him, not after it found its original Paladin. Shiro needed to find the others. He needed to find shelter.
He walked for nearly an hour.
There was an apparent city ahead, built into the rock with a series of caves and strange outcropped buildings, and the local race milled about with aliens of all species, so that – even from this distance – he could see what looked like Galra walking alongside what should have been known enemies. It looked peaceful. He could hear the children laugh and scream in play, while adults bickered and haggled and gossiped, and he let his feet bring him closer, as exhaustion and frustration began to sink into his body. Everything ached.
Shiro felt blisters upon his feet. There was blood in his mouth, which provided the only moisture since the last river found, and his body was bruised all over, so that he regretted every movement of his joints. He needed to stay strong; somewhere – out there – his team needed him, so he would march on and find help. Shiro tripped over one of the rocks, despite how they gradually smoothed out and became a steady slope to the nearby city.
“Well, look what the lion dragged in,” said a voice.
Shiro felt his heart stop . . .
. . . ‘You put up an entertaining fight.’
Shiro barked out an uncharacteristic laugh. It felt sore upon his throat, which was hoarse from cries and screams, and – as he laughed – he felt droplets of blood fall upon his lips and chin, until he was forced to try and raise his arm to blot them away. The arm wouldn’t move. There was a searing pain from the stump; it burned like white-hot fire, until a sweat broke over his body and he nearly passed out, and the laughed became almost deranged.
‘You want an entertaining fight?’ Shiro asked with a gasp. ‘Fight me. I’ll take you on, Sendak. I’m not afraid of you; you’re a bully and a monster, fit for nothing except carrying out the commands of bullies and monsters in turn. I’d rather die than serve you.’
‘Funny, you think that I’m the monster.’
The room was dark, yet nothing like his cell, and he could smell the sterile soaps and disinfectants in the air, each as harsh as the next, while the bed underneath him was nothing more than a cold slab of metal. He felt the holes around the edges, likely there to drain the blood, and his heart raced with a sickening speed, until he grew woozy and dizzy and the vision of Sendak doubled and blurred. There was the sight of more metal in the distance, as a Druid touched the strange shape and the limb-like object gave a clench of a hand.
‘You – you wouldn’t dare,’ said Shiro. ‘I’m not – I’m not like you!’
‘No, but you will be. We will have this in common. Won’t that be fun?’
Shiro soon began to scream as the procedure began; laughter echoed about the room from the Galra commander, while soothing words were uttered by a female voice, and soon he passed out from the pain, with only the memories of that face upon him. The last words he heard were ‘reward’, ‘gift’, and ‘weapon’ . . .
. . . Sendak was the last person he expected to see.
He stood not far behind Shiro, but sans his cybernetic arm. The purple fur looked well groomed and smooth, which indicated he likely had good shelter and clean water, while his Galra uniform had been replaced with a similarly patterned one-piece suit. That familiar yellow eye glared at him with something close to amusement, so that it crinkled at the corners and matched the pull of his lips, and the arm – loose by his right side – clenched and unclenched its fist as if in warning. Shiro wondered how he survived. Why this planet?
Shiro pulled himself into a kneeling position; he knew he couldn’t stand in time to avoid any blows or deliver any in turn, but he could sweep out his leg to take Sendak down, perhaps even pounce or dive should the need arise. He felt his heart race, while the air grew cold. The two suns in the sky seemed to set on either side of the horizon, leaving long shadows across the land and creating strange patterns on Sendak’s expression. It was now or never.
Sendak stood over him, ready to strike.
Shiro pounced.
* * *
“Is everyone okay?”
Allura held tight upon her shoulder. There was a deep ache in the joint, but it seemed to suffer no dislocation and was merely severely bruised. A quick pat down of her attire detected a few rips and stains, which were mostly located by cuts of various depths, but ultimately she felt fine within herself and her environment. It was easy enough to breathe, while damage to the castle – on a superficial glance – appeared minimal, and the atmosphere and gravity were safe enough for her to walk upon the surface without any concern for her life.
The planet looked familiar; it was mostly barren, but many holes could be seen leading into underground mines, and there were a few rocky protrusions about the landscape that caught the setting sun so perfectly that the thousands of crystals glittered about her. It was clear that Balmera began to flourish outside of Galra control, and she felt a huge sense of relief that at least one mission had proved a success. Allura looked around for her companions.
There were just three lions in sight, which caused a temporary panic to sink through her body, but she tried to think about what Coran or Shiro would advise, and she knew – just like those around her knew – the priority needed to be those that she could help. The Paladins’ Code was to help all living creatures, as such she would do what she must and then seek out those of their flock that were lost. It was difficult to still her beating heart, as her mouth ran dry and her sense of nervousness threatened to overtake her reason.
“Everyone, I need you to answer right now,” commanded Allura. “I beg you.”
Allura heard a groan from over by the green lion. It was impossible to hold back the sigh of relief, as her hand came to her chest and her body sagged, and – with wide blue eyes – she watched on as Pidge struggled to her feet and scratched awkwardly at her head. Those glasses were askew, while her hair was mussed, and there was a flush to her cheeks from the adrenaline and fear. Allura ran over to her, as she helped her to stand.
“I – I’m fine, Princess,” said Pidge.
“I can see that, but it would make me feel better should you let me help you.” Allura gave a warm smile, as her arm wrapped itself around her companion. “I can see only three of the lions, which means Shiro and Lance must have been sent elsewhere. I worry.”
“If their communicators still work, we should be able to trace them.”
"Yo, trace who?" Hunk's voice called. "Who’s missing?"
The two women looked across to Hunk and Keith; the latter bore a deep gash in his leg, which was wrapped tight with a bandage that looked to be from one of the med-kits, and Hunk supported his weight much as Allura did with Pidge. The Red Paladin was soon dropped onto an outcropping of rock, where he gave a groan and carefully elevated his leg onto a rock just to the side of him, so that – were they cushioned for comfort – it almost looked like an enjoyable place to sit and watch the world.
There was a sheen of sweat on Hunk’s brown skin, as he fell onto his knees and stared up at the sky with a wide and bright smile. He cocked his head to the side, closed his eyes, and began to laugh with such a childlike innocence that Allura smiled in turn, and soon he threw himself on the ground and appeared to hug the earth. Large hands clenched at dirt and rock, until the laughter turned into an incoherent and gentle kind of mumbling.
“Ah, solid ground! I could kiss it!”
“Well,” said Pidge, “I know it’s great to be back –”
“You know what? I don’t care! I’m going to kiss it.” Hunk began to kiss the earth, with loud smacking and melodramatic noises. “So – so – so happy to be back! Ew, yuck, I think something was touching this before me. It’s wet. Why is it wet?”
Allura gave a laugh behind her hand, as Hunk eventually stood up and started to swat at his tongue, and Pidge – with a roll of her eyes – sat down and began to pull out the portable computing system to begin the attempt to trace their comrades. It caused Allura to feel a stab of guilt, as she realised that Coran was missing alongside Lance and Shiro, and to feel even an iota of humour felt disrespectful of their predicament. Allura raised a hand to her breast and walked over to Keith and Hunk, whereby she sat next to Keith and looked to his leg.
“So – er – where are Coran, Shiro and Lance?” Hunk asked.
“We think they went through a different wormhole,” explained Allura. “Pidge is working on tracking their locations now, but it may take some time and will require a lot of energy. I think we all need to take some time to recover and formulate a plan, but we’re lucky enough to land on a planet free from Galra rule, which is something to which we ought to be thankful.”
“Hmm, well, not that I want you to think I’m slacking off or anything, as I’m totally not, but maybe I should go speak to Shay?” Hunk leaned back with finger upon his lips. “I’m not sure how much her people have in way of technology, but maybe they know something.”
“It’s a big planet,” said Pidge. “It could be they just landed elsewhere.”
“Right? I’m going to go check it out. I’ll be right back.”
Hunk gave a mock salute and ran off towards the mines; he moved with great speed, enough that Allura was sure his urgency stemmed from a need to help his team-mates, and Pidge – meanwhile – looked lost in her task, as she pulled up multiple screens and images, desperate to find something that could lead them to the others. The air felt cold, as night drew near and the sun began its descent, and Allura let out an exhale of breath and drew her limbs close.
The gash on Keith’s leg looked clean beneath the bandage, while the bleeding had long stopped, and Allura forced a smile to reassure the younger man. He appeared as stoic as ever, as his light eyes gazed out over the distance, but there was no forgetting the screams of rage and the almost primal way he fought just moments previous against Zarkon, and Allura wondered what triggered his temper and brought him from serenity into brutality at a seeming drop of a hat. Allura sat beside him and let the silence wash over them.
It was almost nice to listen simply to his deep breaths. He provided a calming influence over her, while she was reminded of their heart-to-hearts in the past, and – although she respected all those in her charge equally – she would admit to herself that she held him closest in her heart. The sounds of Pidge clicking upon keys and screens echoed about the air, while a soft breeze blew across the planet, and soon they would need to rest. Allura said:
“We need a plan, if we are to move forward.”
“What’s the point?” Keith asked. “We lost, Princess.”
“We only lost the battle, not the war.” Allura pointed a finger as if to the sky. “Voltron may be our best chance at defeating Zarkon, but we can only do that once we bring forth the Paladins together once more. I know so much has been asked of you already, Keith, but I pray that you can trust me when I say: we can win this war. I know what it is like to lose your family, your homeland, to have such responsibility thrust upon you –”
“That’s just it! I never had a family, Princess. I never had a father to play catch, a mother to tuck me in, and finally I thought maybe – just maybe – I had a family with everyone . . . Pidge wanted to leave, Hunk wanted to leave, and Lance plain out hates me. What kind of family just abandons its members on a whim? Why shouldn’t I want to run, too?”
“Well, they say bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to face one’s fears.” There was a huff of breath from Keith, even as Allura placed a hand upon his shoulder. “Pidge and Hunk returned to us; they were there for us and are here for us now. We are family.”
“And what about Shiro? I failed him and now he’s -!”
Allura tightened her grip upon his shoulder. It was easy to forget the pain that Keith must have endured as an orphan, while sometimes she questioned whether it was more painful to have never had something compared to losing something, and yet all she knew was that pain was pain and that Keith suffered. There was a chill in the air, as the setting sun cast long shadows about them, and it emphasised the lines on Keith’s face and made his skin look all the darker, until she felt a deep stab within her breast with sympathy.
“You fought well, perhaps even saving us all,” said Allura.
“I fought like a Galra! That’s not a good thing, Princess!” Keith slammed a fist down upon the rock beneath him, which caused her to wince at the knowledge the Balmera suffered at the blow. “What if Shiro does come back? How can we form Voltron to defeat Zarkon, when the black lion will just choose Zarkon over Shiro every time?”
“We will think of something, Keith. I know we will. Our first priority needs to be finding Shiro, Coran, and Lance. Once we find them, we will know that the lions are safe from Zarkon’s control, and we will be able to solve such problems together . . . as a team.”
There was a grunt from Keith, who looked so close to breaking point. It was easy to read him as temperamental and with great anger, but Allura saw in him the passion and absolute loyalty, which – when tempered and controlled – could make him a leader to rival Shiro. Allura saw the way he tried to focus: eyes stared blankly ahead, while hands clenched at his sides, and his emotions switched with a hair-trigger temper. It was possible that he was over-stimulated, overwhelmed and unable to process so many emotions. She gave a smile.
“Princess?” Keith said.
Allura felt his muscles relax underneath her hand, as she stroked lightly with her thumb across the white material of his suit, and – as he drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding under the action – she knew that there was likely much conflict from within him, understandable given their circumstance. The breeze rubbed against his brown hair, enough to give it a sense of life and movement, and it was difficult not to hold back a smile as she leaned a little closer to him.
“Thank you,” he continued. “I appreciate your kindness.”
“Any time. I simply hope the others are okay.”
Keith said nothing in his silence.