Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Allura we're not going to make it! Please make a wormhole now!" Shiro yelled with a panicked voice.

Attacking Zarkon's main command system was probably not the brightest idea they've ever had. But they had to give it a shot, it was wide open. Allura has always pushed the paladins to their limit, and this opportunity would only make them stronger, giving them more experience and agility. Not to mention the fact that this was also their opportunity to put an end to Zarkon and his empire, it was a chance they had  to take. There was only one small factor that Allura forgot to consider, something that she never even stopped to think about. 

They weren't ready.

They've only been paladins for a few months. When the former paladins have been flying for years, and even they couldn't beat Zarkon. And here they were, attempting to take on Zarkon's main control Center, when they struggled to even battle one small fleet of these guys. Now they had to be forced to fight thousands of them. Who would've guessed this plan would backfire? Nope no one.

"Hello! Allura you there?! Everyone's kinda needing your help right now!" Hunk was trying his best to shoot the ships that were chasing his tail, but wasn't succeeding.

"These bastards won't stop, will they?! Well I'm sure to give them a taste!" Lance yelled with confidence, shooting the ships with beams of ice and getting farther away from the team.

"We'll try to get them away from the castle! So princess please! The Wormhole!" Keith yelled while attempting to block out Galras shooting the castle.

"I'm on it!" Allura said already placing her hands on the castle's main controls, her heart beating and drops of sweat forming on her forehead. How could she have let this happen? How couldn't she have seen? Looking out she realized that the particle barrier was breaking, and with the pace they're going in, they are not going to make it. With the castle getting harsh hits and putting her efforts all on the wormhole, there might not be enough energy to even create one. Outside the paladins were trying their best fighting off the thousands of fleets that charged at them with tough blasts, damaging their lions with every hit. Flashes of red, yellow, green, purple, and blue filled Allura and Coran's eyes, it wasn't a pleasant sight. Coran tried his best to hold the particle barrier and reboot the only few defense systems they had left. Nearly all of them have been damaged now. Leaving only two blasters and the barrier. 

"Allura please! Our lions can't take much more!" Pidge yelled through the coms, fear and panic in her voice.

Allura heard the pained screams and yells for help coming from the others, and felt so much guilt in her heart she felt as if she would've fainted on the spot. She felt her arms and legs go limp and kneeled to the floor. She clenched her heart tightly and kept her head down. Coran hesitated to let his hands go of the system for one second, fearing that the next blast would finish them off, but he did anyway and ran to help Allura up.

"Princess you have to start the wormhole! Don't give up now!" Coran said, his arms around her. "Your father wouldn't have quit! and neither will you!" 

And with that Allura stood. Forcing her arms on the panel once again, determination running through her veins. She urged Coran back to his station and stood firm. The princess focused every bit of her energy on the panels, shut her eyes tight and hoped for the best.

The wormhole opened.

"Paladins quick! I don't think I have enough energy to hold it open!" Allura said, trying to keep her voice stable and block all the noise coming from the outside.

Without a second thought, the paladins quit what they were doing and rushed to the flickering portal. Hunk was the first to enter, letting out a sigh of relief once he was in. Pidge was next, then Keith, Shiro, and the castle. Lance was the only one who hasn't yet entered and tried to fight off the fleet attempting to go through the wormhole.

"Is that everyone?" Allura grunted, hands shaking, struggling to keep the portal open,for just a bit longer, hoping that all the paladins have entered safely through the wormhole.

"Wait! Where's lance?" Hunk asked.

"I'm coming! Hold on!" Lance's voice was filled with static and couldn't be heard clearly, but Allura understood and held her hands firm.

There was a long fleet of ships not far behind, and Lance tried his best to at least blast away the ones coming close to the wormhole. 

He was getting close, but the portal kept flickering on, making Lance almost lose hope that he'll ever make it.

"Lance hurry! I can't hold it much longer!" she yelled.

Blue rushed to the wormhole, while Lance's heart beat quickly griping his hands tighter on the control handles. Looking up ahead he saw the wormhole nearly close making his face turn pale with fear. He forced the controls further, accelerating his speed and holding it there, wishing that he could just make it through. He was so close.

Please make it, please make it, please make it!  He chanted to himself, shutting his eyes tight and griped the controls even tighter. 

Suddenly, Lance opened his eyes only to be greeted by purple flashing lights infecting Blue's hologram. He felt Blue scream in anguish and caught him off guard, his hands shaked and he froze not knowing what to do.

"What?! Whats going on?!" He yelled letting go of the controls. Then he heard a voice coming through the coms, no wait...

It was in his head? He couldn't tell. It was raspy and hoarse, sending chills up his spine.

Oh no you don't

Lance shaked his head and tried to ignore the voice and the lights and grabbed the handles once again, trying to keep his panic at a low level, and forced the controls further.

"C'mon blue we can do this! Push through!" He struggled to keep his panic. 

"Lance! What's going on? Where is he Allura?!" Shiro yelled, but Lance couldn't hear him all he was paying attention to was the wormhole that suddenly flashed away and to replace it was a dark empty space and galra fleets to fill that emptiness in. Lance felt his stomach drop, and softened his grip on the controls, looking blankly out at the thousands of alien ships that now surrounded him and Blue.

The wormhole closed.

Meanwhile the others were safely on the other side of the wormhole. On the other side of the Universe. Millions of miles away from Lance.

Allura opened the Castle hangars, making everyone rush inside. Once they we're all in the main control room, Hunk immediately went to his small seat and turned on the main communications. His voice shaky and hands trembling, he yelled into the coms,

"Lance?! Hello? why isn't he responding? Where is he? Allura what happened?" Hunk babbled, on the verge of crying, worrying what happened to his friend.

Shiro looked at the princess with concern and stepped towards her, but then stopped at the sudden comment she had to make.

"I-I don't know. I held it open, the wormhole shouldn't have closed that early. I had it, I-I had it..." Allura also babbled, trying not to imagine the terrible trouble that Lance was in right now. Why did it close? She could've held it a few more minutes.  She thought it through, recalling the situation that had just happened earlier. Only Allura could've closed the wormhole. And everyone knows that, no one else could've. Unless, unless... She looked at the ground for a long moment and felt her heart jump to her throat.

Keith stared at her for a moment then, 

"Princess we have to go back, we can't leave Lance there!" Keith said, also trying not to imagine how much damage they've done to him now. It's only been about half an hour. But that could just be enough time for...something to happen to Lance.

Keith cursed under his breath and dug his nails into his palm. The thought of something happening to Lance scared him, a lot. He kept his head down and shuddered.

Please be ok, please be ok...

"What if they damaged Blue? What if they captured him? What if-" Pidge rambled, feeling the lump that formed in her throat, and tried to hold it back.

"Why didn't he make it? He could be hurt! Blue can handle those ships right? He'll be ok right?" Hunk babbled out, tears running down his cheeks.

"Alright everyone calm down!" Shiro said, obvious that he was also trying to hide the extreme worry in his voice,"Lance is tough, and I think we all know that what he did back there we are all grateful for, he saved us, he kept the Galra ships away enough for us to escape. I know that he will pull through, hell I'm sure that he's probably flying away from those fleets right now. Right Allura?"

There was a small moment of silence and then Allura spoke up again. Not really paying attention to what reassurance Shiro had just given to the team and spilled what she had to say. 

"It was the witch, that blasted witch! She closed the wormhole, before he could enter!" Allura grunted, balling her fists, and slamming the panels loud enough for the others to hear. "I could've held it, but that witch, that witch..." She repeated, letting her shoulders sag. Her eyes blurred with the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.

"Its all my fault, I shouldn't have made you paladins go on this mission. What was I thinking? You weren't properly trained for this yet, I didn't think of the consequences. I'm so sorry." She felt the warm trail of tears that slowly fell down her cheeks, and fell to the floor, Coran held his hand to Allura's shoulder gently squeezed. 

"No, princess it wasn't your fault," Shiro said softly, shaking his head "You saw an opportunity to stop Zarkon, and we respect that, even I would have said that It was the perfect time to attack. It was my fault for not staying behind and making sure everyone went through, I should've stayed, it should've been me...."

There was a long dreadful moment of silence while everyone looked at Shiro with concern, then Allura spoke up again, her voice strong,

"We're going back.."

Chapter Text

"Bring the paladin over to me." Zarkon's voice was dark, rough and demanding.

 Two Galra soldiers held Lance forcefully by his upperarms, shoving him closer to Zarkon and the witch just beside him. He stood up off his throne and walked over to the small boy.

 After the Wormhole had closed, they had pulled Blue inside of the main ship, ripping Lance away from her and threw him into a cold dark prison cell.

There he waited, recalling just moments ago he was safe, in the Castle. Hunk cooking his delicious alien food, Pidge fiddling with some new robots she had made, Shiro keeping watch over them giving them a warm smile.

 Allura laughing as Coran told her some old Altean jokes that only they could understand, Shiro blushing as he heard her gentle laugh.

Keith in the training room, trying his best to get past level 3. Lance teasing him, saying that he could do better than him. Then having a long argument with Keith, until finally being pulled back by Shiro. Even though he and Keith had their differences..

He always had that soft look in his eyes that Lance found very...endearing? 

He was happy with his current life, minus the homesickness he felt he enjoyed his life in space, with his team with his family.

Everything was fine, until the alarm blared.

Then all of a sudden he was in a tight painful grasp by two Galra soldiers, his hands cuffed behind his back, him and Blue, the only thing he had close to his team, captured by Zarkon's army, yet still wondering why he wanted to talk to him.

The soldiers pushed him forward. He tried resisting, shifting slighly in the galra's cold metal hands. But they wouldn't even budge.

"Quiznak" Lance mumbled.

He looked up, a glimmer of hatred and rage in Lance's blue irises, and he dared to glare them at Zarkon, who in response glared at him with his cold, purple, lifeless eyes.

Finally the soldiers stopped, throwing Lance away from their hands

They bowed and stepped back as Zarkon stepped forward.

Lance stood there, not knowing what to do and just trembled in Zarkon's gaze. But only trembled even more at the same raspy voice he had heard in his head just hours ago, speak to him again.

"Bow to Zarkon Emperor of the known universe." Haggar said.

But Lance didn't move, instead he just stood there, keeping his head up and refused to bow to this... thing in front of him.

"Like I would bow to this guy," Lance pouted. Brows furrowed with anger.

He called himself an emperor? He was a monstrous snail. Destroying everything in his path, only thinks he exits for obtaining ultimate power over everything. Not like any emperor he would've imagined.

Lance imagined what distress Zarkon had given throughout the galaxies. Pain, suffering, loss, depression, sadness, the list went on. He imagined the countless lives he's brutally murdered, the innocent families that were torn apart from each other. Lance furrowed his brows and shut his eyes.

He imagined the Galra invading his home back on earth, his family being forcefully thrown into the Galra ships. His little siblings screaming for help from his mother, who was being pulled away from them.

 He imagined his aunts and uncles, his cousins grandparents all begging for mercy, while being separated away, and never seeing each other ever again. Lance drowned in his thoughts about his family..

He heard the witch yell at him again, this time louder, making him flinch, and snap back into reality.

"I SAID to bow dow-" she was stopped by Zarkon who held his hand up to signal her to shut her mouth.

"But my Lord, this boy has disresp-" she was interrupted again, this time by his slow speaking.

"I will handle this" Zarkon said slowly putting his hand down.

He heard the witch grumble in response.

Zarkon stood there, strong and firm as he stared down at Lance giving him his silent death stare. In response Lance scoffed, and kept his head looking up.

He was acting childish. Zarkon smirked and stepped closer to the boy until they were only inches apart. Lance stepped back but still kept his head up high. A cold drop of sweat running down his forehead.

Zarkon kneeled down until they were at equal height and looked Lance in the eye. He brought his cold purple fingers up to his chin and pulled it up slighlty so that Lance could focus on his fearful gaze.

"You're braver than I expected Blue Paladin." Zarkon smirked "Most would beg for mercy at my presence..."

Lance gulped and fliched away from his grip. He took two more steps back and tried his best to sound "brave" as Zarkon called it.

"What? Like I would cower in fear over you? No thanks." Lance said his voice shaky.

Even though he may be acting as of this situation was no big deal,

He was terrified.

"Do you know, who I am boy?" 

"Well just who do you think I am? A fucking idiot?" 

"Then you must know why you're here..?"

With that Lance looked at the floor for a long and slow moment. Thinking of any possibilities on why he wanted to see him of all people. 

Of course he was the blue paladin, but that's not what he really needs is it? All he wanted was the blue lion, it would be one more step to Voltron.Why would he need Lance? 

He was useless in Zarkon's hands, there is no need at all. Lance's head continues to race with thoughts until...

Realization hit him. Making Lance sneer and stomp at Zarkon and be pulled back again by the same harsh grip that had just let go of him earlier.

"Did you really think I would've just spill the beans like that?! That I would've just easily told you my friends weaknesses and strengths?" Lance was yelling now, he didn't care if he was yelling at the universe's most feared being, he had to let everything out. 

"Did you really think with just a simple question I would've told you everything?! Huh? Is that it?" The soldiers pulled him back.

"That just because you're this so called Zarkon emperor of the FUCKING universe that it would already be enough for me to tell you?!"

Zarkon gave Lance his most uncharming grin, and he immediately knew what it meant, and then growled at him again.

"Well no sir! It's gonna take a shitload more than just questions and torture to get answers from ME!" Lance couldn't keep it in, he had to get everything out.

"IF YOU WANT TO HURT MY FRIENDS YOURE GONNA HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME!!" His voice echoed throughout the room and just silence answered him. There. He made his point.

His breathing slowly relaxed and so did the galra's grasp.

Even though Zarkon could kill him without a second thought, Lance didn't care, no one was going to get to his friends, not if he could do something about it. 

But Zarkon wouldn't take a hint, and urged forward, still kneeling.

"You could be holding some very useful information about Voltron and the Castle's whereabouts," Zarkon said in a darkening tone, "I'll get it out of you one way or another." 

Lance ignored the two Galra soldiers holding his arms and spit in front of Zarkon's heels.

"Never..." 

"Hmm..." Zarkon said, his eyes squinting at Lance, who was looking up at the ceiling head turned away from the emperor. He stood up and looked at Haggar, he nodded toward Lance in a hateful glare.

"Take him to the interrogation room" he commanded. Walking back towards his tall black throne.

"Interroga....?" Lance questioned, 

The witch grinned and flashed away.

Lance squealed at the sight of the witch who has suddenly appeared right in front of him.

"Come with me," 

  "Have you found a way in yet?" Pidge asked, walking over to Allura who was typing away on the hologram in front of her.

"Actually yes!" She beamed, moving her finger and thumb to enhance a small part of the purple ship, she then pointed to a small entrance at the bottom.

"There is a very weak and unguarded spot here in the eastern part of the ship" 

Hunk and Shiro soon joined her side, looking over the large hologram in front of them. 

"Wait but I can only see Blue's coordinates, where's Lance?" Hunk asked peeking over Shiro's shoulder. 

"I dont know...we implanted a tracking device in the armor, it should be here in one of the prison cells, but I dont..." Allura drifted off, a tinge of worry in her voice.

"Maybe they switched Lance in those Galra prison rags right? That's probably it!" Pidge argued

"But that still wouldn't explain why we can't find the armor, they have large storage rooms filled of what the prisoners had once owned. They keep it for research and investigation." Coran chimed in keeping his gaze upon the screen in front of him

The room grew quiet, but Allura continued on Coran's statement.

"Even if they were to take off the armor, the tracking signal should be flashing here at the storage facility," she inhaled softly

"But I don't see anything."

Hunk shoved his way through Shiro and Pidge to face Allura, who had her eyes fixed on the hologram. 

"Wait wait, so does that mean that they destroyed Lance's armor? Did they make him change his clothes? Is there any other way to track him down?" Shiro placed a hand on Hunks shoulder.

"Don't worry, the Galra's technology is far more advanced than ours, I'm sure they just found an easy way to cover Lance's tracking device through the walls somehow." Shiro's voice was reassuring.

"I'm sure we'll find a way track down lance once we're inside." 

Everyone sighed with relief, all heads turned at Shiro giving him an understanding look and nodded.

"Well then," Pidge said smiling "please continue Allura." 

Allura nodded and turned her gaze back to the screen.

"I'm going to need a distraction, to lure the only two soldiers away from the entrance, then I'll need another one of you to go the opposite direction. From there it's all patience and skill to get to Blue then to find Lance, Keith I need you to....Keith?"

They all turned only to see Coran who shrugged and pointed out to the main door. 

Keith was leaning against the doorway turned away from the room. His arms folded across his chest. Allura looked at Shiro and have him a pleading look.

"I'll go talk to him.." Shiro said walking over to Keith. 

Allura grinned and continued to tap her fingers on the bright blue hologram speaking to Hunk and Pidge who looked at Keith with concern.

"Hey you alright kiddo?" Shiro asked putting a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder.

Keith sighed and let himself relax in Shiro's small hold.

"I just--Im...," He took a deep breath,

"They have him Shiro..who knows what kind of trouble he could be in right now, they could've hurt him, the could've.."

Shiro gently squeezed his shoulder and turned Keith so he could face him.

"Hey, you know as well as I do that he can take care of himself right?" Shiro said now put both his hands on Keith's shoulders. 

"Well yeah but what if they conducted experiments on him? What if Zarkon wanted more to entertain himself and threw him in the arena?" 

Shiro's jaw clenched.

"What if Haggar got into his mind? What if they took Lance's knowledge away from him about Voltron, What if they....?!" He swallowed to keep away the lump forming in his throat.

"Shiro what if they killed him?"

Shiro's eyes widened and gently shook Keith,

"Keith why would you think that?" 

"Think about it, Allura said she put a tracking device on Lance armor. Well why is it that we can only see Blue's coordinates but not Lance?" 

Keith's hands shook.

"You said that we wouldn't be able to track him down because their fancy tech can cover down all that, but we can still see Blue's signal. Wouldn't the Galra be able to cover that too?" 

Shiro softly tightened his grip on Keith's shoulders, disturbed by his very possible scenario that the red paladin was inclining.

"What if they destroyed the armor, and ... Lance along with it?" He brought the question up again. 

"What if they killed him Shiro?"

Keith felt hIs head sag and stared at his feet, he felt his eyes begin to burn and let a small pearl of sadness roll down his cheek.

Shiro put his human hand up Keith's face, and wiped away the tear with his thumb.

"Keith look at me.." 

He did as he was asked and expected to find disappointment in his eyes, but instead found care and understanding in Shiro's sliver-grey pupils. 

"I'm-I'm just worried about him Shiro."  Keith's voice wavered.

"Keith I know that Lance will be alright, we're all worried about him, but in order for us to save him I need everyone to pull their own weight," Shiro said putting both of his hands on Keith's face. 

".. can you do that for me?" 

Keith let out a shakey exhale and nodded.

Shiro let out a sigh and embraced Keith in his arms. Keith sniffed and let Shiro comfort him. 

"I promise we'll get him back. I need you to promise me that you'll be strong through all this, ok?" Shiro said softly his face buried in  Keith's hair.

Keith nodded again in Shiro's chest, and let out a small hiccup. Shiro chuckled and pulled back searching the red paladin's eyes. 

"Now c'mon let's go save Lance.."

Keith smiled back and they both walked back to the others.

Chapter Text

"I think it's time to go to bed team.." Shiro said softly, getting up from his seat and handing his plate over to Coran thanking him.

"About time," Hunk got up impatiently and walked over to the sink placing his plate still filled with his favorite space goo, he didn't even touch his "I wasn't hungry anyway.."

Everyone silently watched as he walked out the door and heard it swoosh then click behind him. Keith glanced at the door with a concerned look then turned to look at Shiro, who sighed and closed his eyes mentally cringing at his behavior. It wasn't his fault.

Pidge went back to poking the jello like fluid on her plate with a fork and kicked her legs back and forth gently under the table. She had a frustrated expression stuck on her face, her brows furrowed.

Keith had never seen her like this ever since that day when she had wanted  to find her family and drop out of the team about four months ago. When he had yelled at her for even thinking so.

But even then he's never actually seen the green paladin so distraught, not like this, it almost pained him to see Pidge like this. 

Allura sat at the other end of the table her eyes shut, one of her hands on her lap slightly clenched and the other on a small glass cup of tea that steamed steadily, warmth tingling her fingers. The mice sat on her shoulders looking at her worryingly.

She took one more sip before opening her tired eyes and looking at Coran "I'll be going to bed too.. I'm sure we all need rest for tomorrow." She tried to smile but instead gave a weak grin.

"Or course princess, would you like me to walk you to your room?" Coran offered. Allura shook her head gently.

"No it's fine," she looked at everyone with a warm grin obviously too tired to smile fully "Sleep well paladins, tomorrow's the big day.."

They all wished her a good night's rest before she walked out the door and suddenly there was silence. Terrible silence. The only noise to hear were their own breathing and the shuffling of fabric of Pidge swinging her legs.

It's been fifteen days since the attack, since the incident. 

These past two weeks have been dreadfully agonizing. Allura was trying her best to figure out a good plan to get Blue and Lance out of the Galra ship they called hell. But still having no luck at all locating him in the ship. Blue's coordinates stood out easily on the map, but for Lance? Nothing.

 Coran had been rebooting and repairing every damn system by himself. The Galra really did damage them to a point where they were on the edge of unfixable. 

The paladins have been training day in and day out, pushing themselves to their very limit until they can barley stand. In fact Hunk had even passed out twice on the training deck, his eyes fluttering close as he attempted to call out 'start training level 16'. No one in the castle even had a good two hours rest of sleep. This was all too much for them. The pain, exhaustion, sickness..

But if it meant being prepared to find and save Blue and her paladin, then it's worth it.

Shiro took both Pidge and Keith's plate and put them in the sink. He looked over at both of them and urged them to go to bed. Pidge shook her head.

"I can't, it's my turn today..," Pidge said yawning. Keith glanced at Shiro then her.

"Y'know I can go today, you don-"

They all startled as they heard the scraping of the chair on the floor as she stood up suddenly and started for the exit. They heard her sniff as she walked fast out the door.

"No it's fine I'll do it.." were the last words they heard as they heard the door swoosh and click once again. Keith looked at Coran and Shiro telling them good night before he ran after the green paladin. Shiro cringed at listening to same damn swoosh for the fourth time.

Coran stood next to the sink putting the dishes in the dishwasher and pressed a few buttons. It started to whir and hum softly. He sighed deeply and turned to face Shiro who sat there silently.

"It surely is quiet and dull without him isn't it?" He spoke under his breath, making the whisper almost inaudible.

Shiro didn't answer at first instead just took Coran's words and let them soak in his thoughts. These past two weeks really have been a grey colorless blur..

"Yea, it is," Shiro whispered.

                                 ~

Pidge sat in her small chair of the main control room she clicked a few buttons and then a bright white hologram of the castle flashed to life in front of her. She yawned and put her small hands under her glasses and rubbed at her eyes, she was tired. 

Keith stood at the doorway, shoulder leaning against the side.

"I'm not that tired Pidge," Keith said, the smaller girl startled, sqeaking at the sudden noise, then collected herself "I could fill in today." 

Pidge sighed deeply and turned her head around to face him. She blinked slowly. Her eyelids drooping and failing to stay up.

"Look Keith I'm fine," she lied "I can do this, you should be in bed right now." She lazily turned her gaze back to the white castle hologram.

Keith ignored her last comment and strolled over to her seat then stopped right behind the small metal chair only seeing her bright honey colored ruffled hair from the top.

"Pidge you can barley keep your eyes open let alone do this all night," Keith argued. "I'll be on patrol tonight, now you go get some rest, you need the strength." 

Pidge didn't answer. Keith frowned and thought she was ignoring him so he continued.

"Pidge I'm serious now come and go to bed." Keith said, his voice slightly more rough. She still didn't answer.

"Pidge?" He grew a bit nervous and moved closer only to see Pidge nervously holding the bottom of her seat and and shivering slightly. 

She had her eyes fixed on the ground, sniffling and letting out small hiccups. It was painfully obvious to Keith that she was holding in a sob.

"Keith? Maybe you're right..." her voice wavered and she brought up one hand to wipe away a tear that dropped onto one lense of her glasses.

Keith's brows furrowed. He was right? About what?

"Maybe they did...kill him.." she breathed out. The tone was so small, almost as if she was whispering to herself.

Keith's eyes widened the faintest bit. Had she heard their whole conversation? How long have these dreadful thoughts been nagging at her? Had she lost all hope for Lance?

"I mean think about it. For two fucking weeks Allura had been giving everything she had to find Lance's exact coordinates," she didn't have the courage to look up at Keith, embarrassment filling up inside her for being so weak ", but look at her luck! The map is empty."

Oh god. These concerning thoughts have been gripping at the poor girl all these days. Thoughts that Keith brought upon her.

Keith felt some guilt rising in his chest. He gulped and kneeled down in front of the small paladin. He tried his very best to ease her and rested his hand on her shoulder. 

"No, no Pidge don't think that..," he attempted to soothe. "Look I wasn't thinking straight that day I was just.."

He hesitated. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say what he wanted to next. Keith didn't want to worry her even more just because he was..

"..scared." It managed to escape his lips. No matter how much he wanted to hold that word back. Keith was strong. Not a softie, he was supposed to be a defender of the universe. He wasn't supposed to be vulnerable over situations like this. He was supposed to be there for his friend. He tightened his grip on Pidge's shoulder and took a deep breath.

Now suck it up. 

"B-but that was before, now I know that I was just thinking stupidly that day." He heard her hiccup again, he calmed his voice a little. 

"He'll be fine, all of this was just... an accident. By this time tomorrow everything will be back to normal." 

There was a small temporary moment of silence. The castle still continued to hum softly and the room faintly glowed with the light of the blue stars outside. A Lance kind of blue. A blue that Pidge missed.

Although to Keith it felt like centuries that the silence lasted, until finally he heard Pidge let out a shuddering exhale.

"I remember this one time back at the garrison..," she began saying. ",there were these two guys bullying me. They made fun of my height and my voice and my hair, it went on for weeks."

Keith didn't say anything and let her tell her memory.

"One day I decided to stand up for myself," she paused, "I ended up with a black eye."

Keith shut his eyes softly and cringed.

"I tried to hide it. I didn't want to worry Hunk and Lance. I would stay away from them when we ate and faced the other way. But Lance somehow found out and.. He urged me to tell him who these guys were." She chuckled lightly ",he got in so much trouble."

Finally Pidge gave herself the courage to look up at Keith with her glimmering hazel eyes. 

"I just miss him.." She struggled to keep away the lump that iched at her throat.

Keith opened his mouth but no words came out. He wanted to say the same, that he too missed the annoying blue paladin. His stupid ocean eyes, his bad puns, and his dumb laugh..

"Pidge I-," 

Well I guess the heartwarming moment would have to wait. Why? The damn alarm started blaring. The red lights infected the room, flashing off and on almost blinding them.

It threw Keith off guard and he stood up immediately. Pidge brought up the hologram again and scanned the perimiter, wiping the wet drops that stinged her cheeks.

"There's three Galra ships surrounding us!!" Pidge confirmed. She enhanced the hologram to show the three ships that were right out their window. "Contact the others!"

Keith ran up to the front control dashboard and switched on the main communications.

"You guys might wanna see this!" Keith called out.

Not long after the others ran into the room wearing their armor. Coran sprinted up to the dashboard where Keith stood and Allura ran to the two control panels and turned on two screens that gleamed red.

"What happened?!" Shiro called out going over to Pidge.

"There's a huge-"

Pidge was interrupted by a hard hit that the castle had just received. Causing the floors to shake violently and rumble deeply. Hunk fell off his feet and squimered back up.

"What's happening?" Hunk cried out holding his head as he ducked and covered.

The rumbling slowly ceased and the lights continued to light the room.

"There are Galra ships surrounding and attacking us!" Coran shouted out, bringing up his hands into the dashboard once more.

"Bringing up the particle barrier!" Allura cried out through the distress. The blue force field appearing around them.

"Alright everyone let's get to the lions!" Shiro demanded and instantly the paladins ran to their stations, letting the doors close behind them and take them down to Voltron. 

Keith stood unstable. Not able to hear his own breathing because of the fear that pounded in his head and chest. A drop of sweat running down his forehead. His mind raced with emotions as he watched the rooms go up and up as he went down.

"Everything will be ok..." he whispered.

The room was  dark.

The air was  suffocating.

Every sharp inhale he took was an immediate regret. The intoxicating air filled his fragile lungs and caused him to hunch over in pain. His forehead touching the red hot floor. 

Lance coughed and gagged out, the dry and firey air rushed into his eyes and into his heavy armor. His small body being tightened within every minute.

He gasped for air but his chestplate refused to give him any comfort. He tried to remove it but putting his hands on it caused a burn to sting his hand painfully. 

The burning firey air went into his eyes causing them to feel saggy and broiling. Again he tried to breath in at least any type of refreshing air but coughed out the acidic fire that crippled his lungs and made his chest blaze in agonizing pain.

So he coughed and hacked, trying to get rid of the stinging pain that infected his lungs.

He cried at first, but even that brought scorching suffering to his eyes. Of what used to be tears now felt like drops of magma that pricked and sizzled his cheeks. 

"Heeelp!!" Lance cried out desperately, now on his knees, in hope of someone. ANYONE, to help him get out of this hell. 

"Please! Anyone! Heeelp please!" His screams echoed throughout the small dark room. Lance could only see it's edges that beamed purple.

He let out short pained whimpers that escaped his dry lips. Each breath weakening him by the second. He let the raging hot tears fall down his injured cheeks.

Suddenly the same voice rushed into Lance's head. The same fucking voice that just keeps nagging at him again and again. The voice that just won't leave him alone.

You truly are idiotic blue paladin.

Haggar gripped hard at Lance's mind. She gripped too hard and won't let go. 

Lance didn't respond instead he continued to whimper and gasp. The pain continued to scorch his frail body.

You brought this upon yourself. All this suffering ..

Lance shut his eyes. He tried to ignore her. Yes of course he brought this upon himself, he did this for them.

But still, it hurts.

Badly.

This can all stop, YOU can make this all stop.

Lance cringed. He knew what she was getting at. He didn't need another word from her to tell him what she really meant.

Lance tried his best to stand up. Bringing up his crippled knees and put his extreme heavy weight on his small feet. They won't cope for long.

"I- I won't say anything!" He breathed out. His real voice was gone now, the firey atmosphere has burned it to ashes.

"This...this torture won't do anything.." He gulped softly.

Do you really think the you consider yourself as a paladin of Voltron?

Lance's eyes widened. Him, a paladin? Well duh. He was the one to first bond with any of the lions. His lion. Blue.

He was the one who brought the team together in the first place. He was the one to feel a real connection with not just his lion but his friends. He was the one to hold the team up, he keeps thier balance, and is ALWAYS there for his team.

So yes, he considered himself a strong, fearless paladin of Voltron.

"I'm n..not listening to you," he slurred.

You're weak. Those paladins don't need you. They don't WANT you. All you ever do is drag them down.

"N-no! You're lying!" He choked out. He managed to still keep standing, although his knees would give up any second. He won't let her lies blind him.

Stay strong. She's just saying things.

You get in their way. Voltron would have been way stronger and graceful without your help. 

"Not listening!" He covered his ears to get rid of the noise. Haggar's voice still finding is way through into Lance's mind.

Do you really think a weak Earthling like you could really be a defender of the universe?!

You disgust me.

You disgust THEM.

Not just the paladins and Allura, but your FAMILY, back on earth..

His knees finally gave up. Bringing him back down to touch the oven like surface, burning his shaking hands. 

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He yelled louder than he thought he could've. At least it made the witch shut her mouth, because she stayed silent. 

                              .  .  .

Suddenly a fresh cool breeze swept through the room. The floors cooled off, no longer burning his skin.

Lance took a long deep inhale. Grateful for the refreshing gust of wind that healed his eyes and lungs. Bringing comfort to his frail body that still was hung heavy by his armor.

He was grateful for his tears that ran down his cheeks like cool drops of a chilled waterfall, and he let them soothe his tinged face.

His breathing was laboured, but was calmly aliveting. 

He closed his eyes gently. Letting his delicate eyelids to surround itself to the soothing atmosphere. 

When he opened his eyes the room started to shift. The ceiling extending, the walls brightening and changing color. The room transforming it's shape to more of a bedroom. No a living room? 

Why was it vaguely familiar? 

Finally the transformation run it's full course, Lance gasped softly and stood up slowly. His jaw dropped to see the new place he was in.

"Im... home?" He faintly whispered. Walking around the domestic household that he grew up in. One large couch on one side of the room, and a fairly large TV on the other. A coffetable in the middle of the space, with the same tabletop his sister had knit for it. 

The same stain was on the red rug. From when his little brother had spilled his orange juice a long time ago. Everyone sharing a laugh.

The same mark was on the wall. The one from when he bumped his head there when he was a kid. When his dad had scolded him for not playing too rough with his siblings, all while wrapping a comforting bandage around his head.

A small grin grew steadily on his face, but soon disappeared.

Haggar.. 

He knew she was behind this. This wasn't real. He had to stay focused. He stepped backwards from the room and sccidentaly bumped into something.

"Lance? Mi hìjo?," a soft voice came up from behind him. 

Lance's eyes widened. Was it..?

He turned around to see his mom standing worryingly behind him. Her curly brown hair in a lazy ponytail hanging over her shoulder. Her hands over her chest heaving slowly up and down. An apron across her waist just like she would always wear when she was cooking family dinners.

She had the same expression from when at times he had problems and would come to her for advice or reassurance. Receiving hugs and kisses to make him feel better. 

She, his mom, was here standing right in front of him.

"Mamá?" 

                               .  .  .

Chapter Text

 There she was, her eyes soft and caring, the same ocean pastel blue colored orbs that Lance had always remembered and loved. Lance would always look up at those eyes, and just with a glance he felt his mother's care and warmth entering inside him. Her breathing slow was and heavy, hands both clutching onto her chest tightly to keep her heart from shattering at the sight of her son that stood there ..in pain.. in need. 

 She hesitated a moment, as if letting go of her chest would cause her heart to drop, but then she reached out with one hand, slowly moving upwards to softly caress his cheek, wiping away a small blue pearl that slipped down with her thumb.

Her touch.. fuck, how i missed her touch.. 

 Lance let out a whispered shudder, feeling her soothing hand with his own, and lets another pearl drop. He gulped in a lump in his throat, refusing to cry in front of his mother and shook a bit in her small comforting hold. Lance opened his mouth, but all that came out was a soft squeak, he was interrupted by his mothers voice.

"Lance,hijo... ¿eres realmente tú?" she asked in a small tone.

Lance, son... is that really you?...

 Lance felt his eyes widen he faintest bit, allowing more tears to escape and gently plop to the floor.  

Her voice... Oh god her voice...

 He nodded ferociously, his face scrunching to a small saddened expression, choking out a sob that itched at his throat. He let out another, then another no longer holding it in he started bawling, wrapping his frail arms around his mothers neck, sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder... just like he always did.. when he was smaller.

"Yes, yes its me.. oh god its me.." His voice was muffled, and shaking terribly, he felt his shoulders tremble and kept his hold on his mom.

Her eyes widened, finally letting go of her chest... letting go of her heart to let it shatter at the sound of her sons loud sobs, to wrap her own arms around his son, Lance..  She let her small hands tightly clutch on to her sons jacket, the jacket he was given at the age of five.. a Christmas present from his uncle Felipe. They all laughed and smiled with happiness, watching as the young boy ran around the room excitedly with an over-sized jacket, his laughs causing the room to be filled with warmth. The young boy, smiling and laughing... She heard his laughs echo away.. replaced by his wails and sobs, still grasping tightly onto his mother, and she held him tight as well, not daring to pull away.

Lance let himself be held, he let himself be comforted and soothed by his mothers arms, the warmth of the hug giving small kisses to his heart.

Her hugs.. the ones i missed the most.. the hugs.. my moms hugs...

Lance's eyes let out a cascade of pearls, causing a dark wet stain to appear on his mom's clothes. He continued to tremble and cry, letting all emotion he had out of his system.

 It seemed like an eternity.. an eternity that he wished never ended, but like all things, it had to. He pulled away slightly, instantly feeling cold air in between the gap he left, wanting to close it again but he didn't. 

She looked at him, her lips curling into a weak smile. 

"Oh Lance, Dónde has estado? Where have you been?  Te extrañe mucho. I missed you so much... I was worried sick.. They came to our house, telling us that there's been an accident.." she said weakly, her hand instinctively going up to caress his cheek again, her thumb wiping away the last of his tears.

Lance let out a soft shudder, gulping, his eyes half closed from how puffy and red they now are. He held her mother's hand in his own, shutting his eyes for a moment then opening them again.

"I've.. been busy.. saving the universe. I'm sorry i left so suddenly." his voice was much weaker than he thought it was, the explanation was as well. He wished he could tell her more, his adventures and missions. But for some reason, something nagged at him, telling him to... wake up..? 

His mother smiles softly, looking at him with care and love, then the expression falls slowly with concern, making Lance tilt his head slightly with confusement. Lance's mother nervously bites her lip "You have to get out of here lance.." she says in a worried tone, gently stroking her thumb across Lance's soft cheek.

Lance looks at her, swallowing hard "W.. what do you mean?" he says, wanting to stay in her comfort for just at least a little bit longer "C-can't i stay a little longer mama? Please?" he asks, his voice going down to a weak whisper 

She shakes her head softly and speaks as calmest as she ever could "I'm sorry Lance.. but they need you, your team they- they're in trouble.." he says, looking at him as she gently removes her hand from his cheek

Lance felt a soft shudder chill up his spine. How did she know about his team? Was this even her mother? Is his team really in trouble? "M-mom how do you-"

"I just know Lance.. Blue sent me now to tell you, oh hijo por favor..please you must help them.. Pidge, Keith.. they're all in danger." she says with a deep tone of worry in her voice. 

Lance feels his heart start to beat faster, he shakes his head at first, refusing to believe it "No.. how do you know? That cant be true it.. oh god.." he whispers out and pulls away from her a moment out of fear. His team was in danger, Keith and Pidge were in danger. What was he going to do? How is Blue speaking to him?

His mother gently reaches out when he pulls away, once again cupping his face in her cheeks "You have to wake up! you have to save them!" she raises her voice a bit. dread starting to fill up in every vessel of Lances blue and red veins. "I.. I.." he squeaks, hearing his heart pound in his head.

He gently starts to hyperventilate. Fear is starting to rush into his body, replacing the comfort that had recently been softened upon him now being crushed to pieces by the fear for his friends being in trouble. 

"Please Lance, despierta! Wake up!" And with those words he suddenly feels his head fall heavy in his mothers hands, his eyelids drooping as he takes shakey short breaths. Trying to reach out to the blurry and darkening vision of his mother.

"M-Mama.." he whispers, feeling his breath sigh away into the air as his eyes close calmly into darkness. 

~

It was constant blasts, left and right, every time they tried to push them away they were greeted by their beaming violet lasers that beat down on the Voltron lions with no escape. Nearly leaving them torn and broken. 

Shiro, who's forehead drips with the mixture of tense sweat and blood, yells angrily as he pushes hard at his controls "There are way too many of them!" he shouts and pants heavily. The other paladins try and call out for Shiro, needing his reassurance to get through this harsh battle. It wasn't just four Galran ships that found them. Haggar had used her nasty black magic to lead Zarkon to them. 

After the interrogation failed she moved to another plan, it involved losing more power and strength, but Zarkon commanded it Now with hundreds of fleets at every angle. With a quiet frustrated grunt, Shiro tries to bring comfort to his team "I know this looks bad, but we have to get ourselves out of this! We have each other's back, we can do this!" 

Keith hesitates, unsure about even escaping the place alive and with all their limbs attached, they needed Voltron. Without it they were dead meat, they need the blue lion, they need Lance, they need a plan.. They need help. "Alright Shiro.." his voice is a bit hoarse, but he manages to slip it out through his dry cracked lips with a small trail of dark red leaking and dropping down to the floor of the cockpit. 

"We have to get out of here!" Hunk yells out desperately, his left arm curled up on his lap while the other turned the controls, it was broken from how much he had been thrown to the side at every blast. Then there was another, the small ships surrounding him and crashing into him whenever his guard was down even by a second. The yellow lion wasn't so safe and secure as he had hoped it would. His heart races in panic and fear.

Pidge whimpers, having hit the side of her head multiple times, crimson trails lightly trickling down the small girl's lips and right nostril. She pants heavily as she turns her lion quickly. managing to hit a couple more ships with her green blasters "I-I don't know how much longer we can take these guys! They can blast us at every side!" she calls out, constantly pulling her controls back to avoid any deadly beam of purple light that rushes at her every angle, there was no way to escape.

Allura tries to give them the best cover that she could, putting up the particle barrier that coran had just spent weeks trying to fix. It was still weak, because with every hit it took, small pieces of it shatters and more and more of their protection to nothing. She takes a deep breath, now anger instead of worry filling her veins, "It cannot end here!" she yells, keeping her hands on the panels as she activates the castle's largest canon, destroying ships by the hundreds with a small swerve when she turns the firing canon at even a small angle. It leaves a long trail of bright explosions that continue to appear with every shit that even touches the canon's light.

It seems like they had a bit of hope, a small strand that's floating around in the large vastness of space, and every paladin trying to reach out and at least have a small touch of it against the tip of their fingers. They almost had it, Hope, but they worry that it would slip away by the rush of the explosions that surround them. Snapping back into the horrible reality of that with every minute they waste thinking about false hope, leads them a second closer at death's door.

Haggar was one sneaky bitch, she really did things in ways that no one else would understand, and now that they have ways to find them at every dark hidden corner of the universe. Can they even win this war? 

Shiro's white tuft of hair stays plastered over his damp forehead, his chest heaving greatly with worry and exhaustion, they were dreadfully tired and in deep pain, but the outbursts of loud booms snap their eyes open again. 

"This isn't going to work.. It cant end here, no.." he turns around, another beam, but he manages to pull up, the blast striking at another fleet that explodes away into oblivion. 

Well that's a couple hundred gone. The larger ones were worse and harder to take down, the galran cruisers always had large canons that can take them down with one shot. The good thing is that with a large weapon like that, they move terribly slow. They can use it in advantage, but it's too late now. Way too late, with how slow their lions are now moving, the canons find it's way to the paladins.

There was another burst of explosion, then another, and with every one Keith grows more agitated than he already was, blood dripping down the side of his head, his helmet broken and shattered pieces of the glass surround his seat "Shiro! What do we do?! They have us surroun-"

And with another sudden explosion Keith goes blank, the world suddenly becomes quiet. The ring in his ears grows higher and higher, his eyes half lidded. His vision going blurry and his heart beat booming in his ears along with his weak laboured breathing. The booms outside become vague and the deadly explosions now look like puffs of warm light.

Puff puff... puff puff..

He could faintly hear Shiro's muffled and slightly staticed calls through his helmet. "Keith!! Keith can you hear me?!"

He faintly picks up his muffled calls, but his lips only move and no sound escapes his dry lips.

"Sh..shiro.." he manages to rasp. He has to stay awake, he has to. For Lance. He's in trouble, he can't go under, not right now, the team needs him.. Lance needs him. 

Through his hazy vision he can see another purple light, but it wasn't a blast, it started pulling their lions into Zarkon's ship.

The stand of hope slips away from keith's bloodied hands, he faintly touched the tip for just a moment. But it faintly drifted away into the dark emptiness of space, now impossible to reach. There it goes..

Come on Keith, come on stay awake.. stay awake! L..Lance needs us,, Lance needs ..y-you.. 

But the last few seconds of his words his eyelids flutter shut and his lion, now grey and unmoving, is pulled in by the gravitational force into the ship, only torture awaited them in that godforsaken place. Letting the darkness surround him and close all around his body, the last thing he hears is the echoes of his team's desperate calls for help, and a final sigh that breezes out of keith's lips. There he goes.. 

~

Lance gasps, his eyes snapping open, one moment he was in comfort of his mother's arms and the second he was back in a dark damp cell that surrounds his frail body with  the feeling of freezing sharp knives stabbing at his face and body. 

But hey, it was better than that torture heat room. 

He looks around a moment and swallows hard, shivering to attain warmth from at least himself, trying to move his hands but they stay chained together with the heavy metal cuffs that stay tight around his small weak wrists. He stares down at them a moment, the metal tinted a strange soft purple, a purple that he remembers.. his mind begins racing with thoughts until he gasps again, the thought shooting right through his brain like a wave crashing into the sharp rocks onto a rocky shore. 

The team..

His mother had told him, they were in trouble, but what could he do? He was helpless, chained in the same color of keith's beautiful purple eyes. He can feel his heart start to pound as he looks up at the large thick doors that he had no escape from. Staring down at lance like a flea on its property. 

He rushes up to the door, his chains rattling as he slams his cuffs at the dark metal. "Hey!! Let me out! My team's in trouble!" he shouts desperately "Please! They could be hurt!" 

There was no answer, a distant clank there and the echo of some chain rattles over there, muffled by the large doors. But that was it, he was all alone.

 He tries again, hoping that somebody-anybody can hear his loud slams and yells from the darkness of the dungeon "Help!! Please!! Let me out of here! My team is in trouble!" he cries, tears once again forming at the ducts of his eyes. He hears no answer.

The tears continue to pile up at his eyes and a small lump forms at his throat "Please! Th-they could be h-hurt!" he squeaks out, his breathing now growing shakey. 

With a small blink the wet drops that had built up now drip down his cheeks, his vision blurred from his worried tears. "Please.. please.." he whispers, his heart sinking and his knees hitting the floor. 

Where are they now..? Please don't be hurt..

His thoughts stay on his team and he thinks about what Haggar had told him during the interrogation.

They don't need you, they don't want you..

He tries to swallow the thought down, then more of her words flood into his head

All you ever do is drag them down..

A faint whimper escapes his lips, his eyes shutting tight and his heart begins to numb, making the terrible mistake of starting to believe what Haggar had told them, and the pleas that blue had given him start to drift out the other ear.

What have they done for him? Maybe she was right,, they don't need him.. They've never listened to him, ignoring his ideas. 

 Well maybe they don't need him.. they can manage on their own..

~  

After a small while of his thoughts he hears a few faint clanks, coming closer and closer. They sounded like footsteps, multiple footsteps. 

Click clack click clack

The sound of the heels hitting the floor with every step comes closer to his door and he grows nervous, backing away from the door in a panic and pants shakily, scrambling back until he couldn't anymore, his back hitting the back wall of the cell. 

The footsteps fade away, the cell quiet with Lance's nervous shakey pants. Another rattle, another click, another sudden frenzy of Lance's heartbeat. 

Boom

The sound make Lance flinch and whimper, huddling his body close up against the wall as he sees the large thick door slowly move upwards, revealing the hideous witch that stood before him, and some druids with large heavy cloaks by their sides.

Haggar grinned, her thin dry lips making Lance shudder "It seems like we didn't need you to find them.. but we do have one more use for you.." she rasps

Lance watched her, letting the words sink in, yet the last of her words only touch his ear but drift away "Where are they? They are'nt hurt are they?" he says and weakly stands up. He could'nt stand the fact or the image of his friends being tortured.

Haggar's grin fell, which was good, she looked hideous when she smiled "Why would you care? They never cared about you did they? So dont you care about them"

Lance gulps, his heart numbed at her words. It physically hurt..

"W-what the hell do you want?" He mutters arrestingly, looking down at the rusted violet chains. He didn't see Haggar grin, he didn't want to see her at all. He was giving himself in..

Haggar looks over at her sides, nodding a bit at her druids to let them grab onto Lance, who whimpered at the sudden touch "We'll be using you... To kill the Voltron Paladins.." She says coldly

Lance widened his blue eyes, looking at Haggar in disbelief and shock "No.. No I won't do that no.." Of course he doesn't belong with them, not anymore. He doesn't trust them, he doesn't even think that he loves them anymore. But he would never kill them

Haggar couldn't take no for an answer, stepping towards Lance with an evil glare in her eye "You WILL kill them.. No one was asking you.. I commanded you.." She rasps with her broken and cracked voice,.

She slowly pulls her hand up, fingers at all different angles, and slowly begins to let her hand glow .. She was doing a spell

Lance shivered, looking at her and braces himself for the worst, shutting his eyes tight as his heart pounds, trying to squirm away from the druid's hold but they grip him like their very lives depended on it, then suddenly, the worst came.

It was a sharp small pain at first, the calm before the storm. It was ringing in lances head, making him gasp a bit, it came so quick. Then the pain grew deeper, making him whine and pant, trying to squirm again from the two stone like creatures beside him, but the pain continued. If felt like a sharp, no not a.. Millions of sharp knives impaling into his brain, twisting and tipping at lance's poor mind. He screamed. LOUDLY. He tried squirming away from Haggar's control, faint tears forming at his eyes from the angony of the sharp blades tearing his mind apart.

He kept his eyes shut, sobbing out as he turns his head from side to side, trying to shake away the stinging control that Haggar was trying to tale over. Lances veins turn a faint black, he was losing..

He tries desperately to tear the strings that the witch is impaling in his brain, but they grip him tightly, unable to let go.

Then, he gives in.. His panting slowly calming down to deep inhales and soft exhales, the pain soothing away from Haggars grip. He relaxes in the druids stone hold, yet his eyes stay closed a couple more moments.

Haggar slowly pulls her hand down and looks at Lance with a smirk, her hand glow fading away until it was only her ugly dry palms and sharp claw like nails.

Lance turned his head to face his master, taking a few more deep breaths before opening his weak pink eyelids, revealing that his blue color was gone, replaced by the dark foul color of an evil violet. The same smirk that Haggar had grinned now stretching over Lances soft lips.

The puppet strings held tight at Lance, needing a miracle to break him free. His voice was even tied tight from his normal heavenly melody. Instead now a dark rasp.

"Prepared for duty your highness.."

Chapter Text

A sudden gasp escaped Keith's rasped lips. 

His chest heaves with heavy breaths, trying to blink away the small rays of purple light that peeked through the small window of his cell door. 

He can hear his own heartbeat in his head along with the short inhales and exhales.

Bump-Bump, Bump-bump.. Bump-bump, bump-bump

Where am I..?

It's all he could think of at the moment, his black hair drooping over his tired half lidded eyes. He tries closing them, letting the black darkness close around him, yet the purple light hits at his eyelids, disturbing his thoughts. He moves back a bit, again trying to think. 

The memories flood into his mind all at once, at first the alarms.. the alarms.. then Pidge.. His eyes open again widely. The attacks.. All he could remember was the endless fight of explosion after explosion, yell after yell, cry after cry.. The muffled echoed cries touch his ears, recalling Pidge's worried calls. Shiro's pained cries and Hunk's panicked yells.. But where was he?

Cmon think, what came after? Think Keith think.. 

The beam.. 

He can remember now, it was the Galran ship.. It had brought them in along with..

The others.. where are the others?

He starts to panic and stands up on his shaking legs, "Shiro!-" he yelps, trying to run to the small window of his large black cell, but heavy dark chains clink and clang as they keep Keith from reaching the small window.  He takes a hurried glance back at his arms pressed together by the large metal cuffs tight around his wrists. Then slowly glances down at the rest of his skinny weakened frail body, covered in galran prison rags, the sable suit itching his white skin and the faded violet shirt, torn and ripped at its edges loose over his heaving chest

"No.. nonono.. no!" he tries budging his wrists away from the tight, fastened rings of dark ebony around his small weakened and pale wrists.

His fragile arms try doing what couldn't be done, stretching out to try and get himself free from the chains of bondage keeping him from even reaching the door.Why was he so weak? How long has he been here? 

"Pidge?! Hunk! Shiro! Allura..! Anyone??" his desperate pleas only mock him as echoes ringing in this dark room. He keeps calling and calling for anyone at all to hear his rasped voice. But nothing calls him back.

Finally with a defeated cry he lets his knees loose and drop to the floor, panting heavily with the same quick heartbeat thumping in his head,  what was going on? Where is everyone? He let himself weakly lean back against the wall and rests head back, the silence so loud it annoyed his ears. Hearing the shift of fabric when he would stretch his legs to be a little more comfortable. There he lay, a million thoughts rushing through his head, worry, fear, regret. It presses down on him as if the tight chains around his wrists and the cold sharp air in this dungeon wasn't enough to bring him great displeasure.

Hours pass and Keith gets more and more agitated, some half hours he spends trying to break the cuffs from his hands, letting out loud frustrated cries and grunts as the rattles and bangs echo the halls along with his yells. 

-

"Keith..?" the voice was so small and fragile, but it made Keith shoot his head straight up and look all around the cell for the source of the small voice. He couldn't tell who it was. But it sounded familiar.. small, scared, wavy but slightly high pitched. Oh my god it was-

"Pidge?! Pidge is that you?!" he calls out, begging that he heard an answer, only that same silence that had companied him for all these dreadful hours talk to him back. But he pushes it away, "Pidge, Pidge can you hear me? I'm right here!" he says

Pidge lays fragile and weak in the room just beside her, picking her heavy head up and coughs, hearing faint clinks and rattles from the same chains as Keith wrapped around her smaller wrists, sitting all the way up on her knees with a wince and takes a shuddering breath, hearing Keith's familiar voice and whimpers in relief "Keith! I-I'm here!" she calls out. shifting so she leaned against the wall.

A large wave of heavy heavy relief washes over Keith as he shuts his eyes and bumps his forehead against the wall towards Pidge's cell. "Oh Thank god.. Pidge you're ok.." he whispers and leans up a bit "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" he asks, god if anything happened to her.. he wouldn't know what he would do..

Pidge pants softly, still weak and tired, looking down at herself for injuries and whimpers, most of the pain inflicted in her head, some dried blood on the side of her head and on the floor where she had slept, she lets the ringing inside her head fade away before speaking "Just some injuries on my head.. but other than that I'm fine. What about you? How long have we been out?"

Keith swallows hard, feeling the dry lump that creeped down his throat, extremely thirsty and hungry "Hours.. Hours and Hours.. I thought I was alone here" he says with a warm grateful tone.

"I'm here too!" Hunk's grunted voice emerges from another side of the hall, sitting himself up and groans, "God what happened? I can barely feel my legs.." he says and glances down at his legs, seeing the suit slightly ripped and torn and bruises from the constant crashing and blasts of the galena ships tossing him around the cockpit. "Oh great.." he mutters

Keith's eyes widen in surprise at the sound of Hunk's voice and leans his head up from the wall "Hunk! You're here too!" he says softly and chokes out a small relieved laugh but his smile slowly falls and frowns with concern "W-where's shiro?" he asks urgently and tone suddenly dipped in fret.

Pidge struggles at first to stand up but manages to wiggle herself up and glance at the small window at the door of her cell "Shiro?" she calls out. Wanting to hear his comforting voice as well. "Shiro it's us! Are you there?" she tries again. 

Hunk tries as well, all three paladins calling out for Shiro like a panicked lost child looking for their mother. 

One, two, three seconds pass but it feels like more than an eternity had dragged them. worry pressing their hearts. 

Then, with faint groans and quiet rattles of the chains that also bonded his wrists together, Shiro picks his head up from the ground and sits himself up to his knees. The black tarp of their paladin armor ripped at his knees and his left elbow. If they ever got out of this then they're going to have to talk with Allura and about this armory. There was dark and hardened drops of crimson on the floor and on some scratches on his tough skin of his knees and cheekbone, "Here.." he whispers. as if the mere sound of his deeply comforting voice lifted them all from redemption "I'm right here.."

Keith closes his eyes and leans his head back slightly to let out a loud sigh of relief, hearing the same from the other paladins through the breathy echoes of the small cell windows. He can feel his chest lighten and his heart calm in such heavy heavy calmness that soothes his tense nerves, just to have their presence close and safe. Like having a hard boulder lifted from your body "Thank God.. Shiro.." he lets out a breathy chuckle and sits up on his heels then stands up on weak legs."Are you guys all ok? Are you hurt?" he says worryingly. He hears Hunk scoff in response.

"We're on a galran ship, we're all hurt and our lions are god knows where.." Hunk groans, "My legs feel like crap-Keith we are possibly in the worst situation ever- no we are NOT ok!" he panics, worried if they'll even make it out dead or alive. 

PIdge makes a small whine in agreement, her voice so full of broken wavy words and frightened snivels, "Hunk's right, what about Allura? Coran? The castle?! Our lions might be hidden away or already destroyed, we don't have our armor and we're starving!" she exclaims and gulps down a sob that crept up her throat

Keith slightly widens his eyes, and so does Shiro. Pidge's and Hunk's frightened words and their states ripping his heart into millions of pieces and makes their chest numb, Shiro tries to reassure the breaking moral of his team, "Pidge.. Hunk.. Look I know things seem bad but-"

"What about lance..?" it was barely a whisper. so quiet you can scarcely feel the small breathy tone in your ears, her skin going pale from the absolute fear of the thought she let dawn upon over her head. But it was loud enough to make them go quiet.They let the thought sink down along with their hearts to drop into their stomachs. It was quiet a little longer, awkward shuffling of fabric from the time they took to readjust how they sat.  The thought of their teammate, it hurt them. It hurt them so bad to not have that dumb cuban boy beside them as well, waking up to hear his voiced make small remarks to make them groan but smile. Missing his lively attitude that would help lift the heavy feeling of dread from their shoulders, they sat in silence as worry for Lance overtook them, but it tore down Keith most of all.

He wanted to hear his laughter, that heavenly sound was enough to make his whole month. He wanted to see his eyes, the same eyes he'd glance at and make his cheek flush and blush. the eyes that would also calm him when his anger and agitated emotions from making him do something crazy, and his touch.. 

Oh god his touch

He missed that most of all, the feeling of his arms wrapped around him making him feel like he was floating among the clouds, and christ he hated that feeling, he hated the dumb cliche sounds of calming oceans and ponds that babbled down soft streams, but thats how lance made hm feel, but lance was the kind of guy that would make him love it. there he sat along with everyone else letting the silence and dread carry him. If anything happened to Lance, he would throw more than a riot, he would blast those who hurt him so hard that it would make the Big Bang seem like a little pop in the enemy's eyes. But no matter how much they tore and broke Lance, Keith would still love him, he'd hold him and make sure he felt safe.

He loves him.

As the silence passed for a couple more seconds they hear Pidge speak again, almost forgetting what her voice had sounded like. 

"We're stuck here.. in cells, while Lance is still out there..?' she got tired of fear, she decide to throw in some hope into her thoughts. "What.. what if he's on this ship??" a glimmer of hope taps her, a small spark catching a small flame then roaring into a large forest fire, "He has to be here! Last time we faced the glara it was Zarkon's ship we fought.."

Hunk follows suit. His eyes widening at the thought, knowing there could be the slightest possibility that their friend could be aboard the ship, but that's all they needed, just the smallest possibility, "They could have trapped him in a cell too.." he smiles, feeling the hope tap him as well "He could still be here!"

"Lance.." Keith whispers his name, the thought of seeing him again fueling his will and motivation to not let himself lose his faith. "If he's still here, then his lion is too, we can contact Allura from there and take lance home. We have a chance of getting out of here safe!"

Pidge giggles, the excitement of seeing Lance again and escaping making her adrenaline run, she turns towards the sound of Keith's voice and makes a teasing grin "Then you can get all smoochy smoochy on him" she says, then imitating exaggerated sounds of kissing with her lips. With that comment Keiths cheeks and nose turns red, letting out a growl of annoyance at her tease and the sound of the rest of the team laughing in amusement, he leans his head back against the wall but he can't help but crack a small smile.

She's right.

With their moral at the highest that it could be, Shiro lets his smile turn into a small smirk of determination. "Alright paladins, lets make a plan" 

-

-

-

-

Being bloodthirsty has its perks. You can get so much more work done. Having a conscious can hold you back, but without it, with the free will to kill with no remorse is so refreshing. No more answering to the desperate prayers and cries of mothers with children, taking control over entire planets without one thought of "This is wrong" or "I can't harm an innocent creature" keeping his savage side under bondage. You were free. 

But in this case, Lance was swallowed by the darkness that Haggar had poisoned him with, he was long long gone. Though the true Lance stayed under thick black chains drowning in the deepest darkest well of his mind. Only one of two things could save him now, death or an impossible miracle. But on the surface, in Lance's corrupted purple eyes, he was free, more free than he had ever been before. 

Lance had new words to live by "Everybody dies, all hearts are broken, but no way in hell am I going to be broken", he wasn't going to let anyone break him, not like the team did, never again. 

There he stands beside the smaller witch beside him, standing before the rat himself in his big throne hall, emperor Zarkon. Lance glances down at the witch and smirks, god he was so full of himself at the moment he can just snap her neck now, kill the emperor and rule this entire retched empire himself. 

But a downside of this poison, he had to follow the dumb bitch's every command

"The spell was successful sire, we have a new solider in our ranks," Haggar rasps, her eyes staying hidden in darkness, though they mainly glowed "and quite possibly the best we've had yet." she smirks. Lance had been in their solider ranks for a couple weeks now though she had never once bothered to tell the emperor until now, and he had done so much in so little time.

Zarkon's eyes squinted, his eyes searching up and down Lance in his new galran solider armor. When Zarkon stands suddenly the room steps back s little, Lance lifts his head a bit higher and every guard beside him adjusting the guns in their hands. He takes slow but loud steps towards him and stops just a couple inches away "If the spell has worked he has turned our loyalty to us as well I presume?" his voice always itches Lances ears, no matter controlled or not. 

Haggar bows down her head respectfully and in agreement "I've given him many orders, new stronger missions every day" she rasps "he does them all without fail" 

Zarkon lets out an impressed hum, though he doesn't take his gaze off from the boy, "I see" he says, turning over towards his throne and walks back, taking out a large dark but beautifully crafted luxite galran blade beside the arm of the chair, then walking back to the boy, standing before him and gestures towards his hand "Give me your hand boy" he demands

Lance looks at the blade, quiet at first, then looking at Zarkon and extends his hand out slowly, eager to touch it. The way it shined the light from the room into his eyes making his heart run a little faster and now more desperate to hold it.

Zarkon gives lance the handle for him to hold and weld in his hand "This blade was forged by the witch herself, those who wield it become stronger and in every way," he says lowly, "If you truly belong to us now, I ask you to do one more task" he says 

Lance holds the handle tight in his hand, his fingers running across the smooth clean edges of the blade and smirks, the power he felt so addicting in his veins, coursing through every artery, through every nerve, making him powerful, his purple eyes seemed to glimmer whilst wielding the warriors sword. More bloodthirsty and darker than ever. With this thing in his hand, not even a miracle can cure him. 

He looks up at Zarkon with a determined glare and stands up straight "Whatever it is my lord, I'll do it with no hesitation." he promises, though he could never predict what the filthy reptile would say next. 

"We have the paladins of Voltron locked in these very cells" he says

Lance blinks, the memories flooding, the well merely cracking at the thought of his friends, but the poison blinded his sympathy "Oh? And let me guess-"

"I want you to slaughter them one by one, let them bled and die alone in their cells" he sneers. the hatred in his voice hinting at every word he forces out out of his cracked dry lips, as of he forces his inner demon inside to look like the high class elite emperor he is. But it doesn't work. the words hitting lance, making the well only break some more but his mind still locked way.

He smirks, as if the command was a simple math problem "That's it?," his eyebrow raises "I've butchered four planets and I have over seven seas of blood on my hands, I have broken into countless rebel codes and you want me to slaughter the paladins of Voltron?" though the darkness that covers his mind doesn't notice that he stalls for time, time for him to reconsider. Not even realizing deep inside the true Lance controls the smallest bit of remorse, the smallest bit of humanity he had left. The smallest bit of him 

reconsider

please reconsider

Zarkon only sneers at his cocky attitude "Don't think full of yourself child" he says "the paladins have even slipped through even my hands, it's not an easy task, but I trust you'll do it just nicely" he says

Lance swallows hard, glancing down at the blade, the mere predictions of thoughts of his friends screams and cries echoing in his ears over and over again making lance almost break free from the chains but oh, not enough not merely enough. He looks up at Zarkon with a smirk and holds the blade tight in his fist "I won't let you down.."

Chapter Text

The stars outside the massive windows of Zarkon's main hall seemed to glimmer, red nebulas that reflected lances bloodthirsty eyes tainted the sky like a frustrated stroke of mixed paint colored scarlet and deep but bright mahogany. It also matched the dark crimson of splotched blood on cold metal walls that his mind rewinds over and over again in his head, the thought of his blade slicing straight through the beating heart of his friends making him gulp, but his emotions hide, in the well.

Although the fear helps Lance start to climb.

He takes slow steps at first making his way down the large hallways of the ship, staring down at the power forged blade and ignoring the cries and pleading bangs of the cell doors. One calling for help, another calling for food, and the rest pleading to escape the eternal pits of hell. Though these screams only escape the other ear, meaning absolutely nothing to the Cuban boy. But those dreadful noises matched his own, it matched the horrible feeling of strings in his spine. 

Those movements weren't his. Not the real Lance at least, every step he took felt like a flaming sword plunging into his skin. Being mind and body controlled isn't very fun, oh but it's a waterpark for the evil spirit holding the puppet strings inside of you and pulling on every nerve and vein in your body with sharp strings of flame. He needs to cut the strings now before it'll rip him into pieces with no trace of lance left. And with every step he took, he got closer to throwing away the paladins.

... The paladins.. his.. Friends..?

He can feel his pupils slightly sting from them only managing to flicker to his normal soft blue eyes as if almost breaking free from the depths of the wet dark void of the well, one string cut. But the evilness inside of him only clutch onto the broken string and tie it around his neck, his steps only pausing, but they continue again, shaking his head and snarls. Another bloodthirsty snarl. And his eager steps down towards the main holding dungeon of the paladins became that much quicker. 

No!

God... no

The corrupted devil speaks from within him.

"They aren't my friends.." even the soft breaths of his whispers slipping through his soft lips sounding like a demon had clutched his very being. "They see me as a pest.. a worthless pest!" the anger only drags lance under the water, "And I'll kill them, ill have so much fun doing it too"

 He continues his gaze on the blade as if it were his entire future and fate in his hands, and it was. He got to decide how brutally to kill these humans he used to call friends. He can practically smell the scent of their blood on his hands and their cries in his head. Absolutely Refreshing. 

His eyes escape the gaze of the blade as he turns his vision upwards again, seeing a large door going up to the ceiling with one small bar window in the middle, the main doors to the bottom dungeon. He goes to the side where the galran hand scanners were, placing his palm there and watches the light run through his skin up and down, making him smirk with eagerness.

Ready to prove himself strongest to the emperor. The door clicks, processing the key and suddenly booms. 

here we go

Lance waited with the handle of the sword held tightly in his fist. Watching ahead with dead silent eyes. Somethings wrong...

It's pitch black in here. Taking a couple steps through he steps onto some crumbled metal,  he blinks gently and looks at it with squinted eyes. He bends down sitting on his knees and gently picks up the piece of metal, inspecting it with suspecting eyes then sees the 2 pieces of the curved part of metal connected to 3 links of chains and a broken rip at the end of it. It was the cuffs that they had broken off their wrists.

With widening eyes he looks up, seeing the doors of the paladin's cells still shut, he rushes over to one of the doors. The torn ripped pieces of their galran prison rags scattered all over the dark floors and the scanning panels of the hand security holograms burned and destroyed. 

Lance takes a couple of panicked pants and opens the door himself with a heavy grunt followed by a pained yell, holding onto the slight slip of open door at the bottom and lifts up with his inhuman strength, managing to shove the door barely open and then fully shove it up to the ceiling. With heavy huffs he lets his gaze fall upon the empty cell, more ligaments of metal and prison rags thrown all over the room.  The thought processes in his head as his expression turns from determined to a soul-shaking rage. 

He looks up at the ceiling when the alarms suddenly blare with the robotic voice repeating that the paladins have escaped their cells, roaming around the ships.

Those absolute b a s t a r d s 

They're not getting a foot off this ship, not until I'm done with them.

He takes out a heavy shot of his blade to one of the guards beside him with an angry yell in a moment of fury, ignoring the screams of anguish that stung his ears. Watching the other two shaken soldiers try to bend down and save the gushing wound of their guard peer, only to be stopped by Lance's loud demanding voice 

'Leave him!" he shouts, causing the other soldiers to shoot their heads straight up and stand with their gun blasters held tight in his arms close to their chests "Get the left flanks to start searching this entire sector. If you don't find them... I'll rip you all in half." he growls and turns towards the halls as he shoves past the two. Then with slipping on a black smooth helmet with a slight horned tip up in the back, he gets his sword ready to fight.

His mind scorching in heavy flames with melting chains. Absolute fury and rage burning as blood through every vein in his body, eyes practically glowing with the hell about to be unleashed. Haggar's control was keeping back a raging hound on the verge of breaking its chains. The thought of killing them now seeming to cool down most of the wildfire that charred his very mind.

Oh he's going to kill, and he'll do it with no remorse, nothing can hold him back.

He's Free.

~

"I don't have any readings coming from this area here.." Shiro says with a sharp sigh of frustration and glances up from the holograms on his wrist to the worried face of Keith, Having split up from the team to cover more ground.

"Well then let's check the sector above us! The guards are mainly searching the other side of this thing, it's gonna take them a while to get here." Keith says urgently, his heart racing just to see Lances face once more. Just wanting to see him, wanting to see his smile when they open the doors of his cell. Already managing to hear his heavenly voice giggle "You found me! What took you so damn long? It's cold in here."

Just the thought of that amazing melody of Lance's voice causing his heart to skip a beat. We have to find him, He has to find him. He has to make sure that he's safe. He has to take Lance's life into his own hands, he guards him now, he always has. Whatever it takes to get him, whatever it took, whatever cost it priced he has his very soul to pay. 

The two make their way down the dark yet gleaming violet halls and check every damn empty cell. With every door that goes up and every empty room they see, Keith's heart drops more and more down into his stomach. They open another cell in which Keith lets out a heavy whined grunt of frustration 

"Keith?" Shiro murmurs softly and looks over at him with worry that glimmered in his expression. 

"I know we've just started but we've checked three halls of this stupid fucking dungeon, Lance isn't here.. is he?" Keith tries to control the wavering in his throat and takes a deep swallow to keep down the painful lump that itched his throat. To that response, Shiro shook his head. 

"No, no he has to be here, just stay positive, maybe pidge and Hunk had found him already. Let's check in." He says, pulling up the hologram only to blink in surprise when his screen flashes with blasts of galran blasts. Hearing yells, panicked squeaks and grunts of his friends trying to fight back the soldiers that fought them back.

"Pidge?? Hunk? What's going on?" Keith asks nervously, with so much activity his heart races. 

"We've been spotted! There's too many of them pouring into the right sectors! We're go-AH!" Pidge squeaks, another blast hitting too close to home, ducking their heads to protect themselves from the purple rays that shot through the air "We're going to have to retreat to the lions! You two are responsible now! I scanned all over this quadrant and there are NO signs of Lance here!, We-" she says, the swarm of soldiers being too much for the two to handle. The hologram glitches to static before she could finish, the grey and black dots raging the screen. 

The two stare at the blinking screen for a couple moments, letting the words sink into their heads, their chests, their minds. Shiro feels his chest pound heavily, fear infiltrating like hot heavy helium in a balloon, anxious that it would pop any second.

"We have to move now..The lions are that way maybe we'll-" Shiro says as he stands up, nervously putting down the hologram to leave the ship but pauses when Keith grabs his forearm. Eyes glancing over the worried boy. 

"No no we can't leave now, we haven't even searched the rest of the ship!" Keith panics

"Pidge and Hunk were attacked! We have to make sure that they're ok!" Shiro snaps back, the thing on his mind now being able to save the rest of his team. But again Keith persisted. 

"But Lance could be here somewhere! We have to keep looking for him." 

"You said yourself, Keith, he might not be here at all! Why the sudden change?" he raises his voice to a tone that Keith had never heard before, heart pounding. Keith stayed quiet at his comment, not wanting to leave the perfect opportunity to find Lance. Not wanting to leave him, not wanting to give up, he can't give up.

"You go help Pidge and Hunk.." he comes to a conclusion, voice quiet with the fear of knowing the risks he took taking this dangerous path alone, he knew the same fate awaited him if he took this path.

If he stayed he knew very well there might not be a way to come back, death can swallow him whole or worse. He can suffer Lance's fate. Being captured and forgotten in the middle of nowhere with billions of hot balls of gas sleeping peacefully in nothingness. Keith spoke with a tone covered in fear to respond Shiro widened his eyes and spoke softly

"Keith-"

The noise isn't what startled them, it was the sight, the flash of the sudden explosion that emerged from the shut door behind Keith. Causing the two to duck their heads and let grunts escape their teeth, first instinct was to bring their weapons out. It's always the weapons, no matter what will startle them. In war it's never hands they reach for, never someone. Their hands will always reach for weapons. 

Blinking eyes didn't help with the grey parched fogginess of the smoke in the hall that blinded his vision, heavy pants deafening his ears as he looks up towards a black tall lean and rather a thin silhouette of a man with broad shoulders. The black figure pointed forward towards Keith and Shiro, his stance showing the power he held in his voice.

"Get them!" the voice was echoed and distorted with another familiar voice just behind like a demon mocking someone's soul. Though his eyes widen at the sound of the voice being held. The voice sounding like it was in chains, heavy in bondage captured by the second voice that puppeted the familiar person.

Soldiers silhouettes pour into the room and dust into view when they get closer, guns aiming towards the two and immediately shooting their purple rays of death.   

"Shiro go!" Keith exclaimed as his sword was held close and tight in his hand. His other hand moves up and creates a heavy bound shield to protect himself, moving his legs back as he keeps his battle stance ready. Though Shiro stands still and firms beside Keith. 

"No! I can't leave you here!" He shouts as his arm makes a loud tech boom into life and glows burning. Keith slices the robotic slaves in half and sneers as he keeps the purple rays from harming Shiro.

"I'm not asking! Just go! Go now!" he shouts, keeping the shield held up. Shiro turns his gaze to Keith with some worry yet sorrow and fear pumping his veins and every artery in his body. Keith takes another down with three heavy swings of his sword, then another with a heavy turn then a slammed kick against its face, his boot strong enough to crush a luxite helmet with a single blow. Although Shiro stays ground, his arm ready to slice through steel.

"No! You can't handle this by yourse-"

"Yes I can!" he moves quickly, arms using all potential energy with the force of gravity held down on his sword to jump at the upcoming soldiers. Using anything on his person as a weapon, his shield moving up along with the force of his arm and knocks two more down with a heavy thud followed by the sound of electrical sparks sprouting from the crushed heads of the guards. With slow heavy pants, Keith gently moves up, his shield dissolving down with a flash so he can run his firm hand through his damp hair. Leaving Shiro speechless and jaw opened. 

"Keith.. I can't just- behind you!" Shiro shouts when he sees the black figure that had ordered the soldiers rush with a glowing blade and with Keith widening his eyes he sees his time to strike and slashes his sword towards the red paladin. 

The clash stings their ears, the loud noise charring and the sounds of gritted teeth and strained grunts echoed the clash. Keith stayed leaned back but still standing, his sword crashed together with the glowing blade of the black masked figure, eyes wide and his hand shaking.

He was strong, too strong. And the familiar stance of his body made his eyes wide and stare into the darkness of the helmet covering his face. He stays still yet shaking, both their arms straining to be kept held up.

"Guess we meet again don't we? After what felt like so long" the masked man grunts, pushing the sword back. 

The voice made Keiths eyes expand, hearing the rasp that hid behind the first layer of beauty but also hearing the sound of a scream from the back of his head, begging to be free. Shiro looks up at the scene, his eyes widening and his arm glowing. Running forward to get the masked man away from his friend. 

"No stop!" Keith shouts through his strained groans, still pushing the sword back. Shiro skims to a stop and looks at Keith with an almost angry expression that foiled his brows down.

"Are you crazy?? I can't just-" Keith grunts as he manages to push the man back, a strained yell escaping him as he does so. Looking back towards Shiro, Keith takes a heavy stance in case the masked man charged once again, his expression stern.

"You head out! Pidge and Hunk need you more than they need me, and I won't leave Lance behind, I still have to find him when none of you will! So go!" he shouts, causing Shiro to watch with glimmering eyes shining in dread but sneers and growls to himself in heavy frustration and worry. Though the masked man paused at his words, purple eyes narrow towards the red paladin.

"We'll be waiting for you! Don't be late!" he says, as if the reassuring lie in his head that told he would be ok was being masked as the truth, then running back and disappearing into the dark hall of the sector just beside them. 

Keith takes heavy pants and looks over at the masked man fixing the grip of his blade in his hand and twisting it to the other hand, tossing from side to side then takes slow loud clacking steps around him. 

"Who are you?" Keith asks, the answer slipping off the tip of his tongue. The masked man only chuckled sarcastically in response.

"As if you would care, but now that we're here, now that you're at risk, you suddenly care don't you?" he mocks lowly, eyes narrow and his head slightly tilted to the side. Keith swallows hard to make sure his throat was clear, wanting to his the nervous anxious feeling in his voice. 

"I asked who you were, not if I cared.." he mutters, watching him closely, watching him take slow menacing steps around him with his poisoning glowing blade dragged at his side. The man scoffs and looks down at the scraped marble metal floor and the over at Keith. "I came to look for someone.. his name is Lance.." Keith sounded a little more desperate, his chest shivering. 

"That ol crone? Why would anyone ever want him? Why would anyone care?" he says and his grip begins to tighten on his blade handle, "He was nothing more than a weakling who thought that his friends would come and save the day" He gripped the sword a little tighter "He wondered every day when his friends would come.. if they could save him from this hell!" The truth spoke through every letter he forced out, being trapped in his own mind screaming for Keith, for Shiro, for anyone. He wasn't himself, not anymore, they were too late. 

Keith moves back slightly with one foot stepping with a shaking movement and feels his chest drop heavy down into his stomach at that hideous word "was". Repeating in his head over and over again until it found it's way to his lips.

"W-was..?" All he could manage was a weak whisper but stands firm, alter at this man's every move. "What are you talking about? What do you mean 'was'?" he begins to shout, getting into a battle stance as he pants heavily in frustration. The confusion making him anxious "Who are you??" 

the man turns his head towards Keith, though what showed was a black emotionless mask, he could see the look of anger and insanity that peered through the void. The look of demonic freedom poisoning the conscious of the soul trapped behind the darkness.

"I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet.." he says lowly and walks closer and closer towards Keith. His boots clicking and clicking on the battlefield.  In response, Keith takes a couple steps back and aims his sword up into a battle position. held forward in front of him with his legs put back. "You've been doing such a good job so far.. all you have to do is fit the last puzzle piece together."

Keith moves back, his eyes wide and grasping the handle tighter and takes heavier breaths. The man pauses his steps and hides the demonic voice that gripped his mind, creating the illusion of the voice, of that same heavenly voice that Keith can recognize. 

That same voice that makes Keith's ears hum in pleasure and feels as if he's floating among the clouds. He's always despited that feeling of tranquil heaven, being in an empty alley with nothing but him and the warmth of Lance's hand spreading from his fingertips up his arm to his heart. Complete relief flowing through his whole body was a sensation he absolutely hated. But one small glance over at Lance, the feeling of watching his soul smile and glimmer his contentment into extraordinary spirits, that's all it took for him to open his beaten heart to anything the world had to offer.

"Cmon.. you can't have forgotten me so quick," that same voice spoke to Keith now, that same voice "after all, we had a bonding moment didn't we samurai?" it muffled due to the black helmet clouding his beautiful melody.

Keith widens his eyes at the sound of the familiar voice, his heart pounding so loud in his ears. 

No, that can't be...

It can't be...

"Lance?" he whispers, barely letting the breath out of his lips. Shock striking through the glimmer of the cosmetic galaxy colors of his irises.

Lance slowly takes off his helmet, revealing the dark evil colors of his controlled eyes and heavy bags under his eyes, the echoed sound of the distorted voice behind his own slowly coming into the speech. 

"Didja miss me?" he asks, taunting the image of the angel Keith new, leaving him in wide-eyed silence, and making Lance's expression stern more into a look of frustration and acceptance "Didn't think you would"

The sight of his deviled eyes seemed to offend Keith, it offended the way he's seen the beautiful oasis seas of Lance's true eyes. The sight of his unnatural grin making him shiver in his suit, grasping his heavy sword tight in his hands. He couldn't see the Lance he knew, he couldn't see the very ocean celestial boy he had fallen in love with. The way he walked the way he spoke, the way he breathed. It all made his heart crush into millions of little unfixable pieces that scatter across the floor. 

I'm too late 

Keith failed to save him, he came with a mission but failed it so horribly.

"No.." his voice slightly rises from a breathy shaky sigh to a high whisper. "Lance, please... please, you..." he uses his cracked speech, shaken enough to let his words hide in the back of his brain, not knowing what to do or say. Letting the moment fully sink in. 

"Oh save it," Lance sneers, looking at him as he tosses the black helmet on the floor "Don't pretend you care, especially not now. You'll only be wasting my precious time, my time can only be used so wisely" he picks up the handle of his glowing blade, watching Keith's every motionless move as he takes more steps around him 

"What makes you think I-?" Keith sputters

"I said save it!" he shouts, the anger in his vitality seeming to almost snap, his purple eyes surging in power. "I can't hear any more of your stupid fucking lies." his voice seemed to calm, seeming sure of his words. 

Keith watched him, looking at his eyes, seeing someone scream from the inside, the struggle of his words making hope spark in his chest.

There's still time... 

I can save him...

"Lance I would never lie to you.." he says, wanting to keep his weapon pointed down, away from Lance. Determined to save him, not wanting him to stay stuck inside the hellish mindscape of control. 

That damn witch. He knew that this magic evil-doing was the work of that infamous wretched being. Her magic can kill the strongest creatures and even take away the life of an entire planet with the very tips of her fingers. He knew he had to fight much harder than he ever has before. 

Lance laughed in an almost heartbroken retort as he turned his heavy violet gaze to the floor "I've heard that lie before." his voice almost whispered and drift off to be later forgotten in the humid ponderous weight that seemed to pull them down.

"I'm so used to thinking that I would be able to put my trust in you," he says "When I first got here... I was sure that you would come and save me before anything happened to me.." he sounded softer, yet his voice sounding like it was dipped in betrayal

"I was wrong, so blind to see what you truly were.." Lance sneers, his fists tightening. "No one has ever cared about me! You all see me as a pest! A replaceable paladin that you all think you can use and abuse!" The words come out so fast, eyes seeming to glimmer in angry tears. 

"Lance stop! Just stop this! We've never thought you were useless, you were always cheerful and happy and we miss that from you, the real you..," Keith almost commanded, eyes strong and sober " I know this isn't you.. but I know you're in there somewhere. Please, you just have to listen to me.." 

"Nothing you can do or say will save me now Keith." The demonic side of his voice again hid to create the illusion of Lance's true melody. His stance changed, chest pumping up with his hand  "I counted on you, I counted on all of you. But you left me alone, all of you have always left me alone."

"You came for Blue.. and only blue... but that was your biggest mistake because you won't make it out of here alive.." Lance rasps lowly

Keith blinks, his breathing so hard it causes his chest to vibrate. The sight of his heartbroken state making him tremble.

"Now I know I can't trust any of you... never again" Lance sneers lowly with the demonic voice pushing more forward, making Keith's eyes expand in alert. Lance grabs his blade tight in his hands and with a sudden pounce swiftly off of the ground, he charges at Keith with a loud yell, both long swords of dark and light shooting up and clashing together, the force of impact causing a gust of wind to emerge across the great hall. 

With heavy low grunts, Keith keeps himself leaned back, the strength that Lance emitted being stronger than any other opponent he's ever fought. The lights seemed to dim around them, the feeling of Lance's piercing eyes shooting straight through his skull making his hands tremble.

"Lance please!" he begs but the Cuban soldier moves quickly, pulling the sword back and strikes again. Their weapons move rapidly, eyes wide as their every combat move moves swiftly and quickly with the humid air that breezes past their sweating faces.

Keith moves quicker, his hands finding their way to move quickly to the left to block an attack and dodge to the left to strike a blow. But lance was stronger, his attacks missing and throws down his sword with a loud shout of frustration. He moves quickly towards Keith, finding his most distracted seconds and uses them against him. Striking harsh blows to his chest and his face. Kicking twice with a turn and a ponderous blow to his chin. Keith stumbles back and pants, but having no time to breathe as Lance rushes at him again. and so does Keith.

Keith tries to act quicker but is struck so forcefully to his upper chest and collarbone he is sent flying back and slides his body a couple times hitting across the floor. His coughs shake his throat as he looks up as rapid as he could but gasps when he spots Lance once again pounce up from the floor, jumping much higher than last time. Keith moves quickly to the side and feels the quakes of Lance's harsh landing to the floor, panting heavily and stands up quickly, his shield springing to life. Grunts muffled in his ears when Lance strikes at the shield again and again.

Lance shoves the obstacle away from between them. He rushes forward and combats Keith with harsh but professional moves, his hands punching his face again and again until Keith grabs his rough metal-like fist, shoving him away and grasps onto his own cheek. Keith feels the black bruise begin to form under his eye and pants heavily, taking a glance up at Lance and takes out his shield once again when Lance charges at him again. Grunting at Lance's heavy aggression, the strength and pain too much for him to handle. 

"Lance stop!" he yells, though the sounds of his cries do nothing. The harsh movements that Lance makes cause Keith to fall back once again, hitting the wall with a hard wheeze then looks up at Lance and gasps out when his throat is locked by the hard grip of Lance's fist. The back of the red paladin's head slams against the metal wall, grasping onto lance's wrist weakly with hard coughs for air. "P-Please I-"

"No.." his voice was lower than before, eyes practically flaming with the toughness of his claws digging deep into Keith's throat "I won't ever stop! I won't stop until the last beat of your heart echoes through this hall and vibrates my hands.." he sneers lowly, watching as Keith squirmed and gasped heavily for some air.

Keith's eyes shut tightly, eyes swelling at the force of lance's tight grip, tears rolling down his cheeks as he practically sobs for air, rasping in little to no slims of air as his chest lowers. When his eyes slightly opened he can see the black melting dots that began to blind his vision, mouth opening but no air nor noise comes out, the loud pounding in his head pondering his ears and nose and his swollen lips. 

"L.. lance.." he opened his eyes halfway, tears dripping and a drop of blood beginning to trickle down his nose and on his lip and then finally down to his chin. Lance remained bloodthirsty, eyes narrow towards him as he sneers. 

That single red drop of Keith's life drips onto Lance's pale hand. Keith manages to hear the gasping that he lets escape when Lance feels the tiny drop fall onto his hand, his grip ultimately loosening on Keiths purple bruised throat and lets his body limp to the floor. It was another crack in the well, another crack to his true freedom from this demonic slavery, the way he saw Keith squirm and beg for his life causing his heart to feel, then another crack. Lance watches Keith drop to the floor, the sounds of his gusts for air making his hands tremble. The slightest moment of sanity peeking through his purple eyes that flicker to his blue pleading ones. 

"K... Keith?" it was just a whisper, but the fear that projects through every second of that whisper shake Keith's heart. The demonic voice is absolutely absent. 

Keith takes a heavy sharp inhale of air, coughing out heavily to get it out faster and takes heavy huffs in. He falls to his knees then his hands, looking down at the floor as he let some more of his drops plip onto the floor. One, then two and three drops of crimson staining the scraped metal floor. He looks up at Lance slowly and widens his eyes when he sees his blue eyes for a fraction of a second. 

"Lance.. p-please.." he begs again, his eyes half closed and slowly sits himself up. "Y-You have to remember.. you.. you have to snap out of this!" 

"No.. no!" Lance yells, the distorted voice fading back in again, causing Keith's heart to drop. Lance grits his teeth as some fangs peek through his teeth "You can't take away this freedom from me! I get to choose who I kill and who is worthy to be by my side." he snarls 

Lance grabs hold of Keith's collar of his paladin suit, staring into the fear of his orchid irises. He slowly drags the red paladin up the wall, watching him with a deep evil smirk and chuckles lowly"You really thought you could rip my righteous independence from me.. to bring me back to that hell of a castle!" he yells "That place is a prison! but here... here I can be whatever I like.. and no one can hold me back, no one.."

Keith whimpers, managing to kick him away with a weak grunt, his foot crashing against his chest. Causing him to fall back down to the floor, weakly rolling to the side and starts to crawl away, his body broken and weak with the harm that Lance had inflicted. 

Lance cries out when he's kicked away, falling on his back with a hard grunt. He slowly sits back up and watches Keith with a low snarl. 

"You know I'm gone Keith.." he says. though with a call of Keith's name he calls for help "And you know what's about to happen.."

Lance takes a glance over at his blade shimmering on the floor, reaching over and lets his fingers curl around the handle of his blade. He stands up slowly from the floor, his boots clicking against the ground. He watches Keith slowly crawl slowly against the floor, some blood staining in jarred stretched crimson smear stretching from where he laid. He gets closer and closer towards the struggling boy, his blade eager to steal the light from someone's eyes. 

Keith takes one final stretch before completely falling onto the floor. His wheezes heavy, feeling his own chest scream for air. 

The words that lance let loose brought hope to Keith's eyes, panting with shallow breaths then suddenly crying out with a silent scream when lance digs his heel in his back. shoving him to the wall and drags him up once more to his shaking limp feet, Letting him falter against the wall.

"A shame really, the team won't ever know what happened to you.." his voice deepened, slowly letting his hand pull back, the tip of the sword aiming towards Keith's chest.

"you know what's about to happen."

It rings in his ears louder and louder until it blocks out all sound from reality. "I know what's going to happen". His heart grew heavy at first, yet it glowed with delight and relief, he knew what was going to happen.

But no no not to him, he was going to save Lance. He promised to cut those strings at any cost. This he was willing to pay. 

~

Lance saw this as revenge the first couple moments, time and space seeming to slow to savor every second. The demon watches the sight of fear in Keith's eyes just as the speed quickens again. The sensation of his soul causing another large shatter of the well.  He watches the red paladin's dread pour out like tears spilling from his eyes. 

Lance's internal quintessence screamed, taking over his own head and heart as his begs from within come just too late. His body not being able to stop the motion of his arms.

He pushes the blade suddenly through Keith's chest, letting it break through the plate of his armor and let the sound of metal piercing flesh breeze the halls.

Keith lets his eyes widen and takes in a sudden large gasp. The sight of Lance's eyes, those purple radiating eyes, he saw them soften. 

Keith watched them transform when the final clip of the puppet string was ripped away from Lance's mind. He watched the red bloodthirsty soul that mixed with his blue eyes pour away like the final twist of water flowing down the drain. The jarring purple lets go of the red, letting the blue break free from bondage.

But as the red poured away from Lance, the red of blood from Keith's punctured heart syncs the same motion.

For Keith, this was salvation. Watching Lance slowly come to was the most relief that his heart had ever felt. Watching him come back to him made his pained parted lips shakily curl into a warm smile. 

For an eternity of seconds, they stayed motionless. Keith's shallow breathing grew slower and slower as Lance's grew only faster and faster. 

"K... Keith?" his voice squeaked. The demonic presence of control shredded away. The beautiful heartwarming melody of Lance's heavenly voice soothing Keith's paling ears.

Keith stayed shaking, his half-lidded eyes gazed in joy and dread towards the angel that whispered his name.

"H-hey there... sharpshooter..." he whispers, his smile seeming to shake with heartbreaking effort. His wheezes quiet and grief-strikening "T-Took you a ... a while didn't it?"

His smile seemed to falter, as if seeming like so much effort to let the ends of his dried lips curl. 

 Lance trembled, his eyes wide and glassy with tears piling up and up. With a soft blink he opens the door to one soft pearl of sadness to roll down his cheek. 

"N-no.." he whispers, the sight of the blood on his shivering hands make his heart drop in his chest. "Oh god no! what have I..?"

Keith blinks slowly, the glowing blade stuck in his chest, feeling as if the long sword was seeming to go deeper and deeper though Lance stays motionless. 

"I-I... no I.." Lance stutters, another tear dripping down the other cheek, letting go of the blade handle and watches as Keith slowly drags down to the floor, leaving a large smear of blood streaking the wall. He hears the sound of Keith's hard grunt, causing Lance to flinch back to reality. 

"Keith!" Lance cries, grabbing him from under his armpits to help him to the floor, not wanting to take the blade out, knowing he would leave too soon if he did. 

Lance let's out a parched sob, gently cradling Keith's limp broken body close to his own 

"No..no no!" Lance seemed to pant, feeling his heart rip into unfixable shreds. Desperately, Lance puts his hand to Keith's cheek, the sight of his paling face all that he could see, ignoring the heavy burden of the armor he wore or the sight of the crushed battle grounds around him

Keith rasped, his eyes gently closing and opening with such struggle, yet he let's another smile calm the pain 

"It's ok Lance" Keith whispers, he smiles up at Lance yet it only comes as a shaking blur with the tears that flocked in his eyes.

"It's not!" Lance yells, the tears not seeming to stop, not slowing down at all. Another sob escapes his swollen lips, cradling Keith closer.  

What have I done? Oh god no..

This isn't ok. none of this is. 

"Oh god, oh god, " He panted, looking down at the blade sticking out of his chest and frantically moves his hand around to find a way to stop what he had done, the sight jarring to look at. Lance kept Keith closer. He wasn't supposed to be rescued like this, not like this. 

"n-no please..! maybe I can.." Though he finds nothing to do, nothing to say, nothing to help. 

He was supposed to be rescued another way, he was supposed to be brought back by the whole team, he was supposed to see Keith smile when he opened the cell doors and relieved him from his chains. He was supposed to watch him roll his eyes and hide a smile at his corny jokes and teases. Or when he annoyed him the whole way back to the castle, wanting to listen to his angry retorts to the stupid puns he'll say. 

He wasn't supposed to save him like this, he wasn't supposed to smile while his chest gushed red down his perfect white armor.

He was supposed to tell Keith he loved him, but not like this.

Not with a huge blade impaled through his chest and slicing the side of Keith's heart. 

Why did it have to be like this? 

"Hey... hey it's ok Lance.." Keith rasps, gently reaching his pale hand up to Lance's cheek, letting his shaking thumb wipe away the continuous tears that just still fell and fell over Keith's thumb.

"W-Why would you say that?! How could you say that Keith?!" Lance sobbed loudly. He starts to hiccup through his cries, watching the life seep out of him with every gush of blood tat continued to flow away drop by drop.

 Lance can hear faded echoes of his wrist band comm, hearing Shiro's fading voice call out for Keith, hearing the faint noise of his reassurance that he'll be there soon. though he let's them echo away as he listens to the horrible sounds of Keith's short breathing. 

Keith rasps, his eyes gently gazing up at Lance's pained face, even when he cried he looked so beautiful. He didn't want to see him cry, he wanted to see him smile. 

"I.. I love you Lance.." he manages to whisper, his chest heavily rising and falling 

Lance's eyes widened, his heart nearly stopping at the feeling of his words. He takes a pause from his cries, looking down at Keith to make sure he had heard what he said. But Keith's violet eyes say it all. He loved him, he loved everything about this dumb mullet. He loved the way he smiled, the way he got angry. He loved the way he would force in his laughter when he would tell him a stupid joke. 

He wanted to say it now, knowing deep inside it was too late. But he wanted to tell him there was no need to say it now, he could tell him tomorrow. He could tel him the next morning when he limps out of the healing pod. 

But deep inside of his unwanted feeling she knew he wasn't going to breath to see the sunrise. 

"I love you too.." he chokes out between his heavy sobs "I love you s-so much Keith.. I'm so sorry." He wants to say everything, everything he loved about him, how he felt. But time was cruel, and his cries made it difficult to form the words. 

Keith's eyes seems to droop and the sound of his breaths shortened, making a loud cry escape from Lance. Cradling him closer as if the motion was going to help him stay.

"L-looks like.. the tables turned haven't they?" Keith's eyes seemed to look away, his sight fading in.

Lance can't help himself to smile. he couldn't smile "Sh-shut up" he whispers, Keith's body lightening. 

He slowly moves in closer, gazing down at his parched lips and shuts his eyes calmly, pressing a gentle kiss to Keith's lips, who in return tries to return what he could.

He savors every last second, moving himself closer than normal, knowing it would be the first and last kiss that he would ever have.

When Lance pulls away and opens his puffed glimmering eyes, he takes all of the couple seconds to realize that his chest has stopped rising.

His heart-breaking scream can be heard throughout the entire universe, quieting the whole world. 

Keith promised to bring Lance back, at any cost, and he did. 

Lance would live for Love. 

Keith would die for it. 

Chapter Text

Darkness isn't much of something frightening ..

That's what Keith thought.

It was something peaceful, the silence and your thoughts wrapping like a warm blanket around the vast hollowness of your mind.

But being alone in darkness, that's something that brings the most heaviest horrifying feeling that he could ever let shoot through his chest.

Everything was closing in tighter in his own head. making him want to scream whilst flying into nowhere, into abandonment.

His scream was quiet, like the noise was absorbed into bubbles of despair and floating away for no one to hear. 

He was drowning in nothing, no sound.

It was dreadful, but it didn't last very long.

One bubble of his cries reach up and up until it pops, letting a faint glow of light emerge from above. It dims softly, changing from a calming light to a heavenly blue.

He loved that hue of blue. it made his eyes soften and his breathing much much quieter. 

Blue was the only color that could pour like cold water all over his body to cool his rashness down. 

Blue was the only color that eased the raging flames inside not only his heart but in his head. 

Blue was the only color that made his lips smile, it made his muscles relax.

Blue made him happy.

"When do you think you'll wake up?" Lance asks as he curls his knees up close to his chin, pulling them closer.

Pidge leaned her head against Lance's shoulder, looking out through the window of the main lounge. Watching the stars outside dance quietly across the empty void in front of them. The rest of the team fallen asleep in a huge sleepy pile of blankets just beside the couch. But the two lone paladins sit awake to watch the stars.

"i don't know.. soon.." Pidge mutters quietly and nuzzles herself more close against Lance

"Aren't you the smart one here?" the cuban boy murmurs quietly with a slight smile. In response Pidge giggles quietly and sighs 

"I'm sure he'll be healed by tomorrow morning.. I'm glad Allura managed to save him before he was too far gone.." she says quietly, which Lance only swallowed hard.

"Yeah.."

"I'm just glad both of you are ok.."

Lance clenched his jaw, looking down at the floor then at his feet and kicks at nothing.

"Lance?.." Pidge gently picks her head up to look at the face of regret and remorse on Lance's face "What's wrong?"

Lance sighs deeply, shifting a bit to make himself comfortable from the cold ghost kissing his shoulder.

"Nothing it's just.. Why me?" He felt a hard tremble shoot straight up his spine and bones

Pidge gulped "I... I don't understand..?"

"Why did he save me?" his voice so soft it was carried away by the smallest non-existent breeze "I hurt him, and he stayed there.. just waiting until I woke up with blue eyes.."

Pidge blinked, looking from Lance with concern frowning her lips "Lance-"

"no you don't understand...! I was gone, I was far from gone and he stayed! I beat him, hurt him, made him choke and bleed and-" he grasps himself, holding onto the blue sleeve of his shirt so tightly his nails dig into his palms through the fabric "he d-died for me.. Why would he do that? I'm just so useless I- I am nothing to this team and-"

Pidge felt her cheeks blush from a slight fume of anger that sparked at his words "Lance!" she retorts, and watches as lance finches at the sudden shout that pulled him back from the hole he was falling under. Only then did she calm her gaze and let her eyes glimmer with care. 

"None of this was your fault.." she begins "We were all willing to go into his same position for you. These past few weeks has been hell without you Lance. We couldn't form Voltron, our missions failed but most of all we.. we missed you, I missed you and oh god Keith missed you the most!"

Lance feels his quick breaths catch the air, pulling back and slowly tranquilizing "B-but-"

"You're the only one on this team who can make us laugh until our brains are leaking out of our noses", she scrunches her nose at her own comment "Well not the best analogy but you know what I mean.. We may have treated you like nonsense and... god I'm so sorry, we all are and we promise to never do that again, we'll treat you like you deserve to be. but know it was never our intention to hurt you...

Without you Lance, we were all literally captured and taken by Zarkon's fleet. We had fights, we were lost without you and we couldn't sleep at all" she puts her hand to his shoulder calmly "Keith did what he had to to bring us our blue paladin back to us.. It doesn't matter what you do, He'll love you, we'll love you. You're one of us. You're family." 

Lance's blue eyes expand, feeling tears pool and blur his vision of the green paladin below him  "P-Pidge.." he let's a sad smile break open from it's veil and chokes to a quiet sob "I'm sorry I-" he let's his hand cover his mouth to muffle his cries, his heart mending with soft needle and thread. The warmth was soothing his mind, body and spirit. 

Pidge shakes her head and wraps her small arms around him gently as she let's her warmth nuzzle his shoulder once again "Don't be sorry you dumbass, that may have been sappy but, it's sappy for a reason.."

Shiro groaned and shifted in his sleeping position, causing the others to flinch in a dazed groan at the sudden disturbance.

he looked up to see the two figures close with arms closed around each other. One sniffling and whimpering and the other rubbing his back

"Lance? what's going on?" he yawns and slowly sits up, making his way over with soft shuffles

Hunk and allure wake up as well, Allura being first than Hunk as she raises her head from his belly. She sits up, hearing the others and makes her way over 

"Guys? It's too early.." she groans and hears Hunk mumble in agreement, rolling himself up and shifts his way over 

"Why are we all the way over here now?" he babbles

Lance blushes in embarrassment, still hiccuping and crying like a baby. Though not caring at all, letting his tears flow.

Pidge giggles as she picks her head up once more to face them "I'm just helping Lance out.."

Shiro smiles and wraps his large arms around the both and looks at Lance 

"We're glad you're back buddy, this place just had horrible changes without you" he says tiredly 

"I couldn't put myself to sleep, knowing one of my paladins was out there, we were deadly worried for you" Allura adds, cuddling herself in the pile as well.

"I'm glad I have my best friend back.. and that we can form Voltron again, I hated our last battle.." Hunk comments with left a small quiet giggled scoff from everyone

Lance continued to cry with all the warmth that surrounded him, letting his body curl up in between as he sobs. Letting out months of bottled emotion all before them. They take all his brokenness, helping heal his scars. 

"I hate sunsets.." Keith mumbles, his head leaned against Lance.

His hand found it's way towards Lance's, slipping his fingers and letting them entertwine softly 

"Really? Well I love them, the way the sun closes it's eyes and rests for the night makes my heart want to sleep." Lance says, holding Keith's hand close as the two boys say at the edge of a cliff, watching the orange dim ball of light slowly burrow into the horizon 

Keith smiles and closes his eyes a moment and takes a big deep breath of air "But when I hold your hand,, when I feel you, I can see how beautiful it is, I can feel purpose and reason... I feel love... "

Lance smiles softly but feels his hand droop heavy from the weight of something in his grip, he takes a glance over to his left, his heart dropping when his eyes lay upon the the glowing blade dripping in red blood. Feeling his eyes widen. 

"No..." Lance whispers, face going pale

A nightmare.. get me out of this nightmare ! 

Keith smiles, blood slightly dripping from his mouth and from the growing rose blossom of blood bloomed across his chest "it's ok Lance.. This blood is for you.."

Lance watches the crimson waterfall spill "No! Keith! N-No!!" he screams and tries to cover the wound, cradling his limp dying body as the light of the sun closed it's eyes and finally went to sleep. 

"it's ok Lance.. It's ok.." his breath echoes as lance's scream of anguish follow right after 

"It's ok.."

"N-no.." Lance woke up in a cold sweat and a gasp. His eyes shot open as he takes heavy pants, looking at the window. Stars still shining. 

he takes a glance around him, seeing the rest of the team asleep so late in the morning. 

With careful movements he shuffles his way out of the pile with a slight smile, watching them shift and rest in peace. 

The nightmare shot through his head again, the sight of blood blaring his vision. Lance whimpers and rubs at his eyes, letting the memory of the horrid dream fade away. 

He took slow quiet steps around them, letting them sleep until the end of their dreams kiss their eyes open. Lance watched his feet take him outside of the room and down the halls alone, grasping his own arms to keep himself from shivering.

He didn't even think about it, his brain usually drags his feet where it needs to go, but this time it was his heart that pulled him along the long quiet halls of the castle. His footsteps strolled into the infirmary, eyes glared down at first.

Lance can hear the soft machine humming before him, humming around the red paladin's ears as it mended every wound that bent his skin. He was scared to see the scars that were left, the scars that HE left there. 

Taking a heavy gulp of courage, Lance let his head rise and look up at his red paladin. HIs heart dropped in his chest, several scars scattered across his cheek, healing bruises tainting his right eye. 

He moved forward, looking up at his face. 

peaceful.. 

he thought, seeing him with the expression as calm as a moonlit lake. Taking another step forward, Lance pressed his hand to the glass of the healing pod. He let the cool feeling of his watery blue soul connect with the fires of Keith's sleeping heart.

"I'm sorry.." Lance whispers "I didn't want to hurt you.. but I'm grateful that you saved me.." 

He looked up again, noticing the slight tinge of blush that caressed Keith's cheeks. 

"Kei-?" Lance yelped suddenly, the pod stopping its humming to let out a loud hiss. Letting cool dry mist to shoot through the bottom of the glass door and slide upwards.

As soon as the door hit the top of the pod, Keith's body limped forward, a small grunted whine escaping his lips. Lance moved forward quickly with a gasp, catching him in his arms before he could fall to the floor. Keith's body stayed forward into Lance, his chest across Lance's arms and his head buried into the warm crook of his elbow.

Lance felt his cheeks redden, staying still just for the smallest of moments as he smells Keith's soft shiny mullet. 

Sweet and warm..

He let the scent distract him for too long, feeling Keith stir slowly in his arms as one of his soft warm hands clutch onto lance's arm. Keith leans his head up, his weight almost dragging lance down closer when he meets Lance's blue eyes. 

Another frenzy of Lance's rapid heart took over all sound from his throat, opening his mouth to say anything but still and quiet as they gaze at each other, faces only inches apart.

"Lance.." Keith murmurs softly, his voice was coming to, having been slightly rasped the first few seconds. 

"Keith..? Are you ok?" he whispers, wanting to keep the tired man as comfortable as possible.

Keith smiled. He smiled like an absolute idiot. Then let soft giggles vibrate his chest, closing his eyes as he does so.

Lance reddened more, a mixture of anger and admiration pumping his heart

"What's so funny?? You nearly died and you think laughing is appropriate?" lance retorts, glaring at Keith as he continued to chuckle and laugh heavenly in Lances arms 

"No no it's not that.." he says as he let's his purple eyes open and look up at lance "It's just.. you're cradling me in your arms.."

Lance widened his eyes, the anger that took over his cheeks now replaced with the red of fluster and embarrassment "Sh-shut up!" he grumbles, helping him. stand up to his feet to be leaned against his shoulder.

Keith whipped slightly at the aching sore in his chest, eyes tightly shut and leaned against Lance gratefully. 

"Where is everyone?" Keith asks

"Sleeping, come on lets get you to your room.." Lance says quietly and helps him move his feet 

They make their way down the halls slowly and with tranquil ease, Lance being patient with every shuffling step Keith took.

Lance takes a glance down at Keith, his eyes glimmering to see his chest rising and falling, fully breathing and eyes full of life.

"You're an idiot you know.." Lance mumbles, breaking the silence that stood like a brick wall between them.

"thanks lance" Keith murmurs 

"No I mean it.."

"I know lance, you always-" 

"Would you just shut up for a second and listen??" Lance sighs out sharply, making Keith stop and look at Lance with a worried gaze "Look.. I'm glad you saved me.. and I'm glad you're ok but-"

He took another hard swallow "But I hate what you did, I hate that you.. let me put that blade in front of you" 

Keith looked up at Lance, seeing the pain in his eyes, seeing the way his eyes glimmered with the memories of his nightmare. 

"Lance," he starts, walking a bit easily on his own now, "I know that it hurt you to see that, but you don't know what I felt when I saw you take off that helmet. I felt like.. I failed-"

"I know exactly how that feels like! I literally had to watch you die!" Lance snaps back quickly, Keith having described the very moment when he held his bleeding body in his arms. 

Keith felt his eyes widen, looking down at the floor again as silence overtook them both. Letting himself hurt with guilt.

But he couldn't let himself drown in that silence, he didn't want Lance not knowing what he felt. 

"You would have done the same thing for me," his tone softens to a vulnerable whimper "I know how selfless you are, how much you want to put yourself first."

Lance felt his muscles relax, his gaze not falling on keith but staring up ahead down the dim hall. 

"And I know how much you put up with when you breath, how much you hate it." A red flushed his cheeks softly, not needing to look at lance to read what he felt "but when you make fun of me, when you see me, i can see relief, ease. I see tolerance.."

Lance blinks and takes a slow pause and shakes his head briefly and looks down at the smaller man "Keith what are you saying?" he understood the hint, what he felt about him, how his heart longs for him. Though he still has a vague tone. 

Keith furrows his brows softly and takes a soft swallow, letting his violet red gaze fall into Lances. "If you can live for me Lance, let me die for you."

"If you can live for me. let me die for you"

Those words repeated in his head all day. All. Fucking. Day.

Keith spent the day hours sleeping peacefully, the others occasionally came in to ask for updates, if he was ok. Lance stayed in his room, watching him sleep, he would occasionally glance at the soft features of his face, but his gaze mostly fell to his chest, praying to god it would always rise and fall. Their bodies were so close, any closer they would combine into one, but they already are.  

He panicked whenever Keith yawned, he would always take in a sharp breath and pause from his breathing, but it scared him, it scared him so much. 

"... let me die for you."

He understood it now, what he did back there on that ship. He didn't just give up his life for him, he loved him. 

Lance gently put his hand on his cheek, slowly taking off the small strands of black hair from his face so he could see the scar on his skin, it proves he's alive. 

He shouldn't be, but he is. 

He could see the understanding in his closed eyes, he was red, for him. 

-Lance's POV- 

"I hate you." was the first thing I said when I saw him come to. The sight of his fluttering eyes could never have been more beautiful. 

"What now?" Keith mumbled from his soft lips, hie smile practically glowed. It glowed and almost blinded me, everything about him was beautiful. 

"I said that I hate you and your stupid mullet." My tone grew a little harsher, but I gave it a playful vibe as well, I need him to know that I hate him. God I hate him. 

Keith smiled, this dumb idiot smiled. How can one smile with a phrase like that? 

"I know, I hate you too."Keith murmurs softly with that dumb voice of his. It's so stupid. 

He shifted so his body was facing me, I could see the scar on his chest, but I shoved the memory away. I didn't want that memory, but as much as I wanted to forget that day, I needed the memory. It just proved he was alive with me now. 

Why did the phrase sound soft coming from him? It shouldn't be,  

"But," his voice always seemed to pull me back into reality, one word and I was back in his arms, safe. "I love you more than I hate you."

My heart pounded, I knew what that phrase meant. The honor to hold every emotion Keith had, and give it all to me? He's my universe I hold close and i swear to god i'm never going to fucking let go.

"I love you too," I whispered. 

I've always needed to say that, it was something so heavy inside that I just couldn't hold anymore. 

I couldn't hold it anymore.