Chapter Text
The sky was dark and thunder rumbled across the sky, the blackness cut only by the headlights of cars as they sped along the rural freeway. Periodic crashes of lightning appeared almost purple as they cracked and fractured along the thunderheads. Lights of other cars and scattered homes flashed quickly past the rain-smeared window. Lance leaned as far as he could over his slumbering sister to watch the droplets race each other across the glass.
“Look Mamá! The big one’s gonna win I know it!” he giggled as quietly as his enthusiasm would allow so as not to wake his sleeping sibling, eyes tracking the flowing drops.
Lance’s mother smiled warmly, risking a small glance back to where her little son sat wedged between his older sister and brother and responded softly, “Perhaps mijo, but don’t discount the little ones, they can surprise you most when you least expect it.”
Lance flashed a grin back at his mother, “Just like me!” he cheered brightly.
Veronica groaned at Lance’s sudden spike in volume and elbowed her younger brother, trying to get him to settle down so she could drift off again. Lance squawked and pushed her back. Veronica’s complaint and their resulting shoving-match jarred Lance’s brother out of his own light sleep and elicited a long-suffering sigh from their mother. Their brother let out an annoyed exclamation and joined in the developing row with his siblings. Lance’s father turned back to them with a stern glare. He had just begun to reprimand them when a brilliant light suddenly flooded the car from ahead as a huge form barreled towards them in the pounding rain.
Lance screamed in terror, his brother’s arms instantly encasing him in a protective cage as Maria cried out, “Mamá!”
Glass shattered around them as Lance felt his body being pressed sharply on all sides. A concussive weight crashed across his skull and everything went black.
**********
Muffled voices reached Lance’s ears. He twitched, not sure where they were coming from, or what was going on. His head was a numb fog and his limbs felt impossibly heavy and itchy. His arms were wrapped in some unknown fabric, and he was having trouble opening his eyes.
“...Semi truck... damage to occipital cortex…” The voices became clearer as Lance came gradually out of his stupor, but they still didn’t make any sense to him, nor did he recognize the speakers.
“His condition is more stable but we won’t know for certain how he’s faring until he wakes up.”
“I understand.. thank you Doctor.” A voice responded wearily.
...¿Papá?
Lance tried to open his eyes, but there was something heavy blocking his efforts. Not to be deterred, Lance wiggled his eyebrows and nose, trying anything to shift the fabric so he could crack his eyes open. It was a few moments before his efforts were rewarded. But when he finally managed to crack one eye open and was still met with a searing blackness, not even the barest hint of light seeping through, Lance panicked.
“Madre, padre! Papá where are you?!” Lance twisted in agitation and hands abruptly surrounded him, pressing him gently back into the strange bed and speaking soothingly to him.
“Mamá, Papá! Dónde están, where are you, I can’t see you, I can’t see anything!” Lance sobbed in fright.
“Son, mijo it’s okay! It’s okay.” Lance stopped twisting as his father’s warm hands clasped his own, his voice soft and consoling.
“What’s going on?” Lance’s voice quivered but he felt braver with his father’s hands around his. “Where’s Mom, and Veronica and Luis and Rachel… why do I hurt so much, and why can’t I see?”
“Your mother and siblings are just fine sweetie. There was an accident but everyone’s alright. As for your eyes,” his father paused momentarily, somewhat hesitant, “you just have some bandages on because you hit your head pretty hard back there.” Lance’s father gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
A voice from Lance’s right spoke then, gently, “We’ll give you some more medication to help with the pain, and we’ll see how your eyes feel after we take the bandages off in a day, okay?”
Lance sniffed. He gripped his father’s hand a little tighter, but steeled himself, wanting to put on a brave face for his family. He was still unsure, but was willing to hope the darkness he’d seen when he opened his eye had just been his imagination. “Okay.”
*****
But when the bandages finally came off, to Lance’s utter horror he still couldn’t see. It was only the soothing of his mother that finally calmed him down. His siblings had briefly fled the room at his cries, unable to stand seeing their little brother so distraught. The doctors explained the situation to him and his family as Lance clung to his mother and father. He didn’t understand all of their words, but his blood went cold and he started to cry again as he realized one thing for certain. He was going to be stuck like this. The blackness was never going to leave.
**********
“Come on!” Lance hissed as he crept around the corner, maintaining close contact with the wall as he listened intently to their surroundings, one hand gripping his walking cane and the other resting on Hunk’s arm, “You’re supposed to be my eyes, what are you doing!”
Hunk gulped and clutched Lance’s arm a little harder, stepping past him to peer around the corner. “I’m not sure we should be doing this man. What if we get caught?”
“Pfftt you worry too much! Besides, after a reaming like the one you said Iverson gave you in the simulator, you could use a good night out! That’s why I snuck in here to see you after hearing your message.”
Lance continued to move confidently forward with Hunk at his side as they snuck through the halls, Lance pressing on Hunk’s arm whenever he heard the footsteps of the guards so Hunk could pull them out of sight.
“Tch, yeah sure had nothing to do with the fact that you probably just wanted a wingman to help you get some girls. We are so gonna get caught and I’m gonna end up in the principal’s office again!”
“You know for someone in a Space Exploration Program you don’t have much of a sense of adventure.”
They continued to argue in whispers as they snuck down the main hall, keeping an eye and ear out for any more of the Garrison’s guards. Lance’s head pricked up swiftly as he heard the telltale hiss of a door opening ahead of them. He tugged sharply at Hunk who quickly smothered a startled yelp and hastily yanked them down a side hallway.
The door hissed shut and they heard light footsteps run off in the opposite direction as Lance pushed against Hunk, forcing him to peer out and see who it was.
“Pidge?” Hunk hissed curiously, “Where’s he going?”
Lance shrugged. “Don’t know.” His face split into a mischievous grin, “But let’s find out!”
Hunk groaned, but Lance was already determinedly moving in the direction he’d heard Pidge run, so he quickly ran forward to catch up with his friend. Hunk wasn’t about to let Lance attempt to pursue Pidge on his own, something he knew Lance would certainly do without hesitation. Better to go along with his friend’s schemes and try to lessen the after-effects as much as possible.
It took longer than they’d expected and more twists and turns than they’d counted on, but they managed to not lose her as they trailed quietly behind. Man how can someone so short move so fast!? Lance Shh!! When they’d finally caught up with Pidge, she had already set up some odd contraption at the roof’s edge and was listening intently to something on a headset. Hunk whispered all of this to Lance who flashed him a sly grin and, after asking exactly where Pidge was relative to himself, proceeded to sneak up on her. When he thought he was close enough, Lance flicked his cane forward connecting with the backside of Pidge’s head. Pidge let out a shriek and whipped around startled while Lance burst out laughing.
“You come here to rock out?” Lance grinned as he looked down towards her.
Pidge let out a small breath, “Oh, Lance, Hunk. No, um, just looking at the stars.” She responded with a light shrug.
“Huh.” Lance tilted his head to the side with a slight frown, “That doesn’t sound like Garrison tech…”
Pidge flashed him a self-satisfied smirk, “I built it. With this thing I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system.” Pidge smacked Hunk’s hands away from her equipment as she spoke.
“That right, all the way to Kerberos?” Lance raised an eyebrow, crouching down to Pidge who huffed and turned away. “Hunk says you go ballistic every time the instructors bring it up. Heck, even I’ve been there for some of your meltdowns! What’s your deal?”
“Second warning Hunk!” Pidge glared at Hunk who stopped fiddling with the antennas, pointedly ignoring Lance’s question.
“Pidge come on. You and Hunk are on the same team you shouldn’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Uh, Lance leave me out of this please.”
Pidge narrowed her eyes at Lance, “Yeah well you’re not on my team why should I say anything to you?”
Lance’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly and there was a spark of something deeper underneath, a flash of pain. Pidge bit her lip, maybe she went too far... But Lance just took a deep breath, “Because I’m your friend Pidge. Maybe we can help you.”
Pidge sighed and looked away, contemplating. “Fine.” Determination flashed in her eyes as Pidge looked back up at them, “The world as you know it, is about to change. The Kerberos mission wasn’t lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake. So I’ve been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter.”
“Whoa, what?” Hunk sat up quickly, “Aliens?”
“Okay. So either you’re insane or you’re messing with us. Got it.”
“I’m serious, Lance. They keep repeating one word,” Pidge held up a notebook covered in crude drawings, tapping on the open page, “Voltron. And tonight it’s going crazier than I have ever heard it.”
“How crazy?” Before Pidge could respond, alarms started blaring across the roof and buildings.
Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice.
Hunk stood up looking as confused as Pidge and Lance, “What’s going on?” His gaze drifted up and his eyes widened as he gaped, pointing, “Is that a meteor?” Lance’s head jerked towards Hunk’s voice as Pidge followed his pointed finger. “A very, very big meteor?”
Pidge grabbed her goggles as Hunk moved around Lance towards her, “It’s a ship.”
Hunk grabbed the goggles, looking through while Lance made a frustrated sound. “Guys what is it, what’s going on?”
“Holy crow I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Lance there’s a ship coming towards us through the atmosphere and it’s not one of ours.”
“No,” Pidge grinned, eyes tracking the ship’s rapid, heated descent, “It’s one of theirs.”
Hunk’s eyes widened even more if possible, “So, wait. There really are aliens out there?”
There was a large flash of light and loud crash as the ship disappeared over some ridges in the distance, impacting with the ground on the other side. Garrison vehicles were already flooding out of the barrack’s gates and towards the crash site.
Pidge had gathered all of her equipment into her backpack as the ship vanished. She took off towards the door, looking back at Hunk and Lance, eyes bright, “We’ve got to see that ship!” Lance followed her without hesitation, walking stick trailing back and forth as he moved as quickly as he could after her.
“Hunk, come on!” Lance called out over his shoulder.
Hunk scurried after Lance to help him navigate the halls and follow Pidge faster and easier. “Oh, this is the worst night-out bonding time ever.”