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Chapter Text

The first thing that Lance noticed when he had woken was how strangely dark it was within the blue lion. His lion, usually so filled with life and colour, was dark. He glanced quickly at the control panel, hoping to garner any information to their whereabouts. There was nothing, only a blank screen.

"Hello? Anyone there?" he called.

Not even the sound of static replied to him. Everything was eerily silent.

The second thing he noticed was how absolutely battered his body felt, and how this pain didn't seem to extend to his ankle. In fact, he couldn't seem to feel his ankle at all. Slowly he looked down, mustering his courage as he did so.

His ankle was definitely broken, but Lance smiled in relief. He was just glad that his foot was still there. Besides, his last broken ankle was worse. He blamed the peach tree outside his abuela's house. He bent over and gently began to inspect the swollen appendage. This was fine, he could treat this.

For now he ignored the intense pain in his lower back. He would not be able to assess that injury just yet. He needed to focus on the things he could do.

Gently, Lance hauled himself to his feet, ignoring his body as it ached with fiery protest. He slowly limped over to the panel that hid his emergency supplies. He reached out to open it and groaned.

He couldn't open it without power.

Lance growled and dropped to the floor. How was he supposed to help himself if he didn't even have the most basic supplies? He was going to die in the middle of space in a stupid, robotic cat.

He immediately felt guilty. This was not Blue's fault.

"Sorry girl," He whispered, bringing up a hand to rest on one of the metal walls.

Lance sighed and dropped his hand back down to the floor. Blue couldn't hear him, and his connection to her had grown dim. He was alone out here, lost in the endless void of space.

His stomach grumbled, and he debated if he should even bother feeding himself. He was going to die anyway, what was the point?

His stomach growled at him once more, and Lance let himself fall back, staring up at Blue's ceiling. It was dented, quite obviously damaged from the faulty wormhole incident.

What had happened back there anyway? That Galran witch must have somehow corrupted the wormhole just as they were escaping. Lance let his eyes close for a moment, thinking, before he opened them again, still staring upward.

The damage needed to be fixed eventually- he couldn't let Blue suffer like this. He couldn't give up, he had to keep going. If not for himself, then for Blue.

Lance forced himself to stand, reaching out for his bayard. He lifted it hesitantly. A gun would not help him here, he needed something smaller, and a little sharp. Honestly what he wouldn't give for Keith's knife right about now. He stared at the panel, maybe he had something knife like on board? He ignored the warmth in his hand, only paying attention when a sharp stab of pain shot through his palm. He looked down at his bayard, gasping and holding it closer to his face, in order to see it better. Instead of a gun, there sat a small dagger, it's blade a little bloody from where he had gripped it wrong.

Perfect.

Gently, he stuck the blade in the small crevice above the panel. He wiggled it down, prising the panel from the wall and taking the small bag from its place. He didn't bother replacing the covering, instead tossing it to the side, where it clanged loudly on the metal wall. He smiled, revelling in the sudden noise. It was strangely soothing, something chaotic in the strange silence that surrounded him.

He set to work patching up his injuries. After applying a shoddy splint to his ankle, he put away his supplies, tucking the small bag under Blue's main console. He knew he should probably begin work on her, but for now he rested, drifting into a fitful sleep.

At first, Lance wasn't entirely sure what had woken him. He blinked and tried to block out the glow from the safety light beside his face.

The lights!

Lance sat up quickly, laughing with joy as he stared around at the now glowing cockpit.

"Blue! My girl, thank goodness!" He laughed, tears of happiness dripping down his face as he buried it in his hands. He felt Blue's wave of apology wash over him. She wasn't able to fly yet, but she was awake and that's all that mattered to the blue paladin. He wasn't alone, he had Blue.

Lance yelled in triumph once more when the comms came to life, Hunk's voice echoing through the cabin.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Lance jumped up, gasping as his ankle started to throb. He had forgotten about that.

"Hunk buddy! It's so good to hear from you!"

"Hello, anybody there?"

Lance felt his good mood deflate like a balloon.

Hunk couldn't hear him. Or he was being ignored.

Lance felt anger flash within him as he shut off the comms. If Hunk didn't want to talk to him then that was fine. He sat heavily in the pilot seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

But then his brain kicked in and he sighed before reaching up and switching the comms back on. Hunk would never ignore him.

"Guys, please! Lance? Shiro? Pidge? Keith? Please! Anyone?"

Lance brought his hands up to his mouth, trying to hold back sobs as he listened to Hunk's pleas and laboured breathing. He didn't fail to notice that it was him that Hunk called for first. He could do nothing to help.

Lance continued to listen to Hunk's panicked voice as it turned into gut wrenching sobs. At this point Lance couldn't bear it anymore, hiding his face and joining his friend in sorrow.

Chapter Text

"Hello? ... guys? Does anybody copy? Shiro? Allura? Anyone?"

Lance waited with bated breath, listening as Pidge called out to the rest of the team. She may not know it, but her voice was getting clearer to Lance, the static fading slowly as the distance between them closed. If Lance was correct in his suspicions, it meant that she was getting closer to Hunk. He tried his comms again, hoping that she would hear him.

"Pidge?" he started quietly, refusing to get his hopes up. "Do you read?"

"Ugh, stupid comms!" Pidge snapped, and Lance perked up, thinking she may have heard a flicker of his voice. A loud crash followed her words immediately after. Pidge must have thrown something in her anger.

"What was that?" Hunk's voice came through again, slightly panicked, "Can anyone hear me?"

"Hunk! Thank god!"

"Pidge!"

Lance smiled, a bittersweet feeling blooming in his chest and threatening to explode. He was glad they had found each other, but jealously washed over him as he listened to them talk. He only wished he could join in, but he knew it was no use.

But he guessed that the universe was just against him. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be found. 

Dejected, Lance fell back in his seat, slouching down as far as he could without pushing weight onto his injured leg. He let it roll back along its rail, away from the console, and sighed deeply.

Lance felt- rather than heard- Blue's assurances covering him like a soft blanket, safe and warm. 

Soaking in her calm, he exhaled, pushing the negative emotions to the back of his mind. He couldn't think about that now.

He slid out of his seat onto the floor, his injured leg spread out before him. It was a position that was rather reminiscent of a different paladin, and he nearly laughed at the memory. Instead, he levelled his breathing and closed his eyes, trying to connect with his lion. He delved into his mindscape, doing his best to reach out fully to Blue.

Her engines needed his attention. And her weapons system was offline.

He sighed before slowly getting to his feet and stretching his neck. He would start with the engines.

Lance gave a cheer as the engine roared to life. He could finally move! He ran quick diagnostics of Blue's other systems, taking note of which ones were working or not and listing them in level of importance before he let his hands rest on the familiar controls, ready to go.

But then he frowned, slowly taking his hands off again. He didn't have anywhere to go. He had no idea where he was, and Blue's navigation systems were still down.

He had no idea how to fix that.

He was lost in unfamiliar space with no contact to the other paladins or the Castle ship. And even without his Garrison training, Lance knew that when you were lost you didn't move from where you were. It could only lead to worse things.

A light flashed on the radar to Lance's left and he scrambled over to see what it was.

He had been wrong in his previous statement. He was meant to be found. Just not by a friendly face. Lance's smile faded as the unidentified vessel came into visual range. Two more blips of light followed onto the radar, and this time he didn't need to see them to know what they were.

"Girl, I know you're not up to your best, but we've gotta go," Lance said, checking over his systems one last time. Nothing had changed, but that didn't matter. He had the engines going, and for now, that would have to be enough. "Just work with me, okay?"

Blue's hum in his mind spurred Lance into action, and he immediately turned tail and kicked into gear.

The three Galra ships matched his speed and he suppressed a groan, pulling back in a sharp loop to avoid them. The team had trained and fought in these situations so many times it was second nature, but Lance still felt the adrenaline course through him as he took to evasive tactics.

And all those times he had done it before, he had a way to fight back. 

Lance did his best to dodge the Galra ships, pulling manoeuvres that would have him kicked out of the Garrison in a heartbeat. He was distracted for an instant of the thought of the Garrison. If they ever returned to Earth; he, Hunk and Pidge would probably be kicked out anyway, if not for the way they saved Shiro but for the way they took off with Keith and then Blue.

Lance shook his head, focusing back in on his situation. He couldn't afford to get distracted by thoughts like that. No self-pitying, or thinking of times long past. It was stupid.

He was stupid.

He pushed himself harder, ignoring his ankle as he felt it crack a little under the strain.

That would be painful when the adrenaline wore off. He turned sharply, narrowly avoiding a barrage of lasers from the closest Galra ship. All three of them were closing in, making it harder to move. Lance had a feeling he knew what the inevitable was. As much as he acted it up, Lance was scared for what would ever come if he was hit or captured. They had all seen how it affected Shiro.

He rolled Blue out of the way of another beam, slamming on the brakes and turning on a dime to head the other way.

Unfortunately, it turned him directly into the path of another ship. Purple light blinded him, and he tensed, bringing his shoulders up reflexively. There was no way he could avoid the strike, it was too close, too soon. He scrunched his eyes up, turning away, waiting for the blast to hit.

The deep thrum of the explosion resounded all around him, but Lance felt nothing.

Is that what dying felt like? Was he dead? It didn't feel like it, but then again, Lance had never died. He slowly opened one eye, peering out hesitantly to the view in front of him.

Another Galra ship was in between him and the one that had fired, acting as a shield.

His vision focused, and he took in the full appearance of the ship. It was an older, outdated desgin, worn around the edges and displaying scars from many previous fights. As he sat, dumbfounded by what just happened, the ship charged up its weapons and fired at the other Galra ships.

Lance was grateful, but completely confused.

A loud burst of static sounded and a surprisingly high pitched voice echoed through the comms.

"Blue Paladin of Voltron, we are from the Resistance. Let us take care of this fight."

Lance grew wide eyed. He was not aware of a resistance existing. Remembering Nyma and Rolo, Lance narrowed his eyes once more, this time out of distrust.

"Blue paladin, do you read?" 

Lance cursed his broken comms, groaning as the pain from his ankle burst through the wall of adrenaline. Gritting his teeth, Lance decided to once more try. Maybe they would work this time around.

"I- I--" he fought through his pain. His vision grew fuzzy, and he rapidly tried to blink it away.

"Paladin? Come in, do you copy? Paladin, are you alright?!"

No, Lance was not alright. But still nobody could hear him, so there was nothing he could do. The pain shooting through his ankle dulled as he started to loose consciousness, and he tried to fight it, not knowing what would happen when he was out. It was a losing battle for him, no matter if this 'resistance' was winning their own.

He blacked out.

When Lance awoke, he was still within his lion. He opened one bleary eye, immediately noticing the rocky terrain of the planet they were on. His first thought was of thankfulness, being on a planet rather than floating lost in space. His second thought was that the resistance's stolen Galra ship looked a lot worse in this light.

He leaned back in his seat to stare at Blue's ceiling. The patch job repairs he had done to Blue hadn't survived their landing- her engines were offline once more- and he could definitely see some new dents. He sighed.

He didn't have the energy to stand up.

"Hello? Blue Paladin, are you there?" 

It was the same voice as before, though slightly lower pitch. He withheld a groan,  letting his head drop again so he could look out again. 

"Look, we know you're injured- anybody would be after that crash! How are we supposed to help you with this dang force field in the way?"

There before Blue stood a very dirty and very disgruntled human, one hand to his ear, the other planted firmly on his hip as he looked up at the lion. He didn't wear a helmet, meaning the air on whatever planet this was was breathable, but also allowed Lance to see who it was. It was one human that Lance could recognise, if not from photos and news castings, then from his very own memories.

"I swear to whatever almighty powers there are, if you don't let down these shields...!"

Lances tired brain kicked into gear, and years of ingrained military code forced him to stand. He didn't even think. This man was his superior officer, he had to show him the proper respect.

Blue let down her shields at Lance's command, lowering down to the ground and opening her mouth to allow him access. He didn't even wait for her to settle fully before he started to make a beeline for the entrance.

Upon boarding, his eyes went wide, spotting the quite obviously human pilot stood in a perfect Garrison salute.

"At ease, cadet." He managed to order, watching as Lance dropped his salute. He still held himself at attention, though he was quite obviously injured, favouring his left side. The man walked up to Lance, steadying him as he began to sway a little. "Woah there kid, I said at ease."

Gently, he guided the cadet back into the pilot chair. Lance seemed a little out of it, and he figured that he was in more pain than what his let on.

"What's your name?"

Lance stared at him in shock, and he spotted both hope and surprise within them as well.

"Lance Alejandro Fuentes," he said slowly, still gaping at the man in front of him. "Are you really Matthew Holt? Pidge-- I- I mean Katie has been looking for you! So has Shiro! I've got to find the others, I've got to--" he trailed off and Matt watched as Lance looked sadly at his lion.

"I've got to fix Blue."

Matt placed a steadying hand on the Blue Paladin's shoulder. Lance noticed his hand trembled a tiny bit, but when he spoke, his voice was level.

"What did you say about my sister?" Matt asked "And Shiro? Is he alive? Did he escape?"

Lance stared at Matt, still not quite believing his luck. Of all he people to run into, it was one that they had been searching for since the start. He felt a smile begin to form, and Matt blinked in semi-confusion.

"I have so much to tell you."

Chapter Text

Lance sat at what he guessed was the base's kitchen table. If aliens - and Galra (on a warship!) - had a concept of kitchens. Then again, Alteans did, so what was stopping other species?

It was long, and he assumed so it was able to sit everybody on board with a few places leftover. Probably for meetings more than meals. Someone always had to be on duty, so it was rare that everyone sat down at the same time. Still, the size of the table reminded him of home, and how crowded it became when the whole family was together for a celebration.

Matt was standing at the kitchen bench, a few different jars of various substances surrounding him as he squinted at what looked like a handwritten recipe. As if Matt could sense his gaze, looked and smiled. He grabbed the plate and moved around the bench, sliding into the seat opposite Lance. Sitting on it was something that looked vaguely like the alien equivalent of a sandwich. There was definitely some sort of grainy looking slab folded in half, holding a green substance in between the sides. As close to a sandwich as you could get.

Lance suddenly was filled with longing for Hunk's cooking. Not that he wasn't grateful for what Matt had done for him, he just missed the big guy's talent.

"Here, I've been trying to recreate a few Earth things with space ingredients," he said, setting the plate down in front of Lance. "It's not much, but you need to eat."

Lance was wary for a few moments, but then his growling stomach reminded him how long it had been since he had last eaten. He gave a mental shrug and dove in, letting the flavour fill his mouth.

He didn't hold back a smile when he recognised the taste. Of course that was the first thing Matt tried to make. That right there was space peanut butter. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was recognisable, and that was enough.

"So uh... what do you think?" Matt said, again squinting at his recipe. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's edible and umm... somehow tastes like that? I mean, this recipe already existed, I just had to translate it."

Lance took another bite.

"Little bit too much of whatever you're using for peanuts." Lance decided, face scrunched in concentration.

"Ah, thank you."

He swallowed his mouthful before replying, "No problem, sir."

"Matt," he shook his head, though traces of a smile glimmered in his eyes. "I'm just Matt."

"Uh, sure si-- Matt."

"Lance, I don't have a rank here. Technically, as a Paladin of Voltron, you outrank me. I'm just a resistance fighter."

"Who commands an entire ship? Is there a fleet I don't know about?"

Matt grinned. "Nope, this is all this faction has. And no, I'm not in charge."

"Well, then why was it you that...?"

"I was sitting around being useless. Nobody else could get on the comms."

More than he would have liked, Lance related to what Matt said. He forced himself to chuckle lightly, leaning back in his seat and appearing relaxed.

"So..." he drawled, looking to Matt. "What do you wanna know?"

"Tell me about Katie," he replied immediately. "Is she okay?"

Lance took a deep breath and began to explain. He started, as one does, from the beginning. Matt laughed a little at what his little sister had managed to accomplish right under the nose of the Garrison. Lance tried to include everything he could remember, including Pidge's strange habit of turning enemy robots into pets. Matt found this quite amusing, smiling as Lance recounted the tale of Rover.

His smile didn't last forever. When Lance told him about the castle being attacked by Sendak, and Pidge being the only one able to take it back, Matt leaned forward, eyes flashing with worry and mouth set in a line. Lance confessed that he didn't know much about this time as he had been unconscious for most of it. But he did, however, see the aftermath. 

Pidge still hadn't found it within herself to go collect the remains of the tiny drone. Retrieving Rover meant laying eyes upon the dead body of Haxus.

And nobody on board the ship was quite ready to do that.

By the time he had finished, Matt was staring intently at his hands. Lance could see the internal struggle that he was going through. He could see the mixture of pride, fierce protectiveness and anger on his face. It was a while before he spoke, but when he did it was shaky and quiet.

"I'm proud of her..." he looked up to Lance, grateful to hear everything he had said. "But I still wish she was safe at home- with our mother."

Lance hesitantly reached out an arm, his internal need to make people happy fighting with his respect for his superior. In the end his heart won over his brain, and he placed a gentle hand on Matt's shoulder.

"If it helps, she's got three amazing teammates, and two sort-of immortal aliens with her. Oh- and a few space mice I suppose..." he said. In all honestly, Lance wasn't sure if they had all gotten back together yet, but he gave himself the benefit of the doubt.

Matt gave a shaky laugh and stood.

"Come on, let's get you to a medic," he said, gesturing for Lance to follow him.

"Yes s-- yeah." Lance stumbled over his words, before slowly limping out behind Matt.

"I am surprised that you are still awake, Paladin of Voltron."

Lance winced as the blue unicorn-looking creature reached out to prod at his ankle.

"It's not the worst injury I've had," he managed to quip, barely managing to hold back a yelp of pain. "And It's just Lance for now. I don't really feel like a paladin without Blue up and running."

It hurt him to say it, the words burning his tongue, but Lance wasn't lying. With Blue out of order, Lance was just that - Lance. A lost teenager with a broken ankle.

"Even so, Paladin Lance, you should not be moving about on that foot. You will need to avoid putting pressure on it at all if you ever want it to heal."

Lance gulped, he would rather not lose control of his ankle. He rather liked having both fully operational.

"Mr Holt, you are to look after him. I do not care how you do it, but Paladin Lance is not to use that foot until I give the okay"

Matt was staring at the ceiling, a thoughtful look on his face. He started, focusing back on the medic. "Uh, yeah, sure. But Kelaan, I've told you to call me Matt. Everyone does."

"Not everyone, obviously." Kelaan said dryly. Lance snickered at the face Matt made, only for Kelaan to poke his ankle again. He squeaked, nearly falling backwards. 

"Do not put pressure onto it, Paladin Lance." Kelaan repeated, blinking owlishly at him.

"Got it..." he said hastily, trying to regain his composure. It was hard with Matt standing a short way away laughing at his predicament.

Several hours later, Lance was seated in what he could only describe as a hover chair.

"God, I love alien technology!" Lance laughed as he zipped around the kitchen.

"I know, right?" Matt beamed at him, leaning back against the counter. "Our tech seems so ancient against it. Makes you wonder how they developed it." he stood up, narrowly avoiding getting run over by Lance.

"Watch it!" he scolded. Lance stuck his tongue out childishly, and Matt rolled his eyes, crossing over to the doorway.

"Hey, we gotta go fix your lion, it's pretty beat up."

"Blue's a she, not an it, you uncultured swine."

He hadn't meant to say that. It just sort of slipped out. Matt just smiled and shook his head.

"Of all the possible memes out there you go for 'uncultured swine'? What is this, 1990?"

"I'll have you know that that quote has its origins in 1995. I mean, the meme didn't become mainstream until, like, 2010." Lance corrected, raising an eyebrow and grinning. Sure, that was old by his abuela's standards, but he used to sit around with his siblings and cousins and watch it nearly every time they were all in the one room. It became a tradition over the years, where they'd marathon all the Toy Story films at least twice a year, with more individual viewings scattered throughout the middle. It had gotten to the point where all of his family could practically quote them by heart.

He paused at the thought, a pang of sadness spreading through him. Did they still watch them without him?

Matt took note of his sudden shift in mood, walking over and patting Lance gently on the back. "Come on kid, we've got work to do."

Chapter Text

"Anyone there?"

Lance straightened in surprise at the voice, hitting his head on the underside of the control panel as he rushed into a sitting position. He couldn't quite reach the comms from his place on the floor, and he didn't want to struggle in getting up again.

"Sir- I mean Matt!" Lance corrected himself hastily, waving over his friend. "Matt, get in here!" A mildly puffed Matt stepped into the cockpit, just as the comms crackled to life again.

"Hello? Does anybody hear me?"

Matt looked down to Lance, who tilted his head to the side in a 'go on' motion. He raised an eyebrow, aware of the malfunctioning communicator.

"I think I've fixed it," Lance said, pulling himself out from under the console. "Just try."

"Okay then," Matt shrugged, obviously still sceptical about it. "who is it?"

"Keith," Lance mumbled, fiddling around with the tools beside him. "Besides Shiro, he's the only paladin I hadn't heard yet. How -how far are we from where you found me?"

"About two systems... why?"

"Nothing." he didn't quite meet Matt's eyes. Matt understood regardless, flipping the switch to open the communications channel.

"Keith, can you hear us?" Matt asked, suddenly formal. "This is the Blue lion, do you copy?"

No reply. Matt leaned against the console, tapping his fingers lightly in a quiet rhythm. "Keith, can you hear us?" he repeated after a brief pause.

"Keith, come in!"

"Allura!" The comms filled with Keith's sigh of relief. "It's good to hear you! Have you found anyone else yet?"

"Not yet, but we have coordinates for Hunk and Pidge."

"What about Shiro?" Keith asked after a second of silence. "I thought the wormhole would've shot us out close to each other, but I'm not picking up his signal."

"I'm sorry, Keith. We've got nothing. Maybe his lion was damaged."

"... I've got visuals on the castle. I'm coming in."

Matt flicked the communicator off entirely, shutting out any more transmissions. Lance gave a weak smile, looking down at his hands again.

A warm hand rested on Lance's shoulder and he turned, the same sad smile reflected on Matt's face.

"Come on kid, back to work."

Dinner was always a very loud affair at the resistance base. It was Lance's favourite part of the day, when nearly everyone was able to come together and just relax. During dinner, missions were forgotten and people let loose. It was a mass of species, all speaking a mix of their own languages and basic.

The first dinner Lance was able to actually attend (being restricted by Matt for the first few days as he learnt the ropes) was chaotic, but that didn't off-put him. In fact, it made him feel nostalgic, missing home. A full table in a bright-lit setting was calming for him, no matter how much was going on around him.

He was particularly fond of the alien with reflective head... bobble... things. It kind of looked like the alien was wearing a disco ball as a hat, and Lance loved it.

And the disco ball alien- Lance couldn't pronounce their name, so he called them Vi- made the best jokes. Some didn't translate very well, but that didn't bother him.

Another favourite was the blue unicorn-ish medic, Kelaan. She was kind, if a little stern. Lance would never say it out loud, but he found her presence comforting, like his own mother. Kelaan had a tendency to give him treats whenever they passed each other in the hallways, a hush and wink of her owlish eyes as she pushed them into his hands.

Lance often found himself just sitting and listening to the conversations around the table. There was no need for him to fill the silence here. Silence barely existed in the ship. Even while working in the hangar, the comms blasted upbeat music to work to (on Matt's insistence. Nobody complained, they seemed to enjoy it as well.)

"So, Lance..."

Lance turned to face Muxis, the strong-built guy that sat next to him.

When he had first entered the ship, Matt gave him a quick run-down on things to be careful around and who to avoid. What Matt had failed to warn him about was the Galra.

He had flipped out, shouting both warnings and swears as he fumbled for his bayard before remembering that Matt had told him to leave it in Blue. No weapons on the ship unless authorised. Muxis just laughed, clapping Lance over the shoulder and explained that he had defected the empire. He was the one that stole the ship somehow, right out from underneath his superior's noses. The resistance held him in high regard, and he was one of the friendliest faces on the crew.

"What's your speciality?" Muxis asked. He looked over Lance for a moment, as if trying to work out his talent.

Lance paused in the middle of moving food about his plate. He'd never really thought about it. Keith was the fastest, the best pilot. Shiro was their leader. Hunk was the armour, the tough one who protected everyone else. Pidge was the techie, hacking the enemies' devices and data. Allura commanded them all, the driving force behind Voltron; and Coran was the all-around handyman. He didn't fit in with the rest of them. It was like a puzzle with one piece that didn't quite match. What was Lance's speciality?

"Well," he started, picking at his food again. He didn't look up at Muxis, in fear of the guy looking into his soul. "I suppose... I like shooting? My father used to take me out to the range when I was younger. I'd shoot at cans and things until the sun went down. He called me 'sharpshooter', but I don't think I was that good..."

Muxis roared with laughter, clapping him on the back. Lance nearly face-planted in his dinner at the roughness of guesture, but he enjoyed it all the same, giving him a smile. It had been a while since he had felt this sort of affection.

"Let's head out to the range next rotation," Muxis grinned. His fangs glimmered in the light, and Lance decided that no matter how friendly he was, he'd always be slightly scared of the guy. "You, me- and of course Matty over there."

Matt huffed and flipped the guy off, causing the other aliens to laugh at his expense.

The shooting range was actually huge.

It was in a shallow cave, close enough to the ship if they needed to get there in an emergency, but far enough away that the sound wouldn't reach there. The walls were covered in targets, even more strung up between them. There was a multitude of wooden boards, each with a classic red and white target on them. Each board was in the silhouette of an alien species, Lance being only able to identify a handful of them clearly.

Stalactites hung from the cave roof, though most of them had been shot down by now. Lance noticed a couple of target-painted drones flitting around and hiding behind them.

All in all, it was the best shooting range that Lance had ever been on, and he couldn't wait to get started.

Muxis was impressed with how well Lance got into the swing of things. He stood back, letting him have full freedom of the entire range. Lance was slightly miffed that he couldn't stand, restricting his movements, but that didn't affect his determination. If anything, it steadied his hand more, improving his aim.

"I think you've hit everything twice over, kid." Matt said after a hush fell over the range, the last shot's echoes fading out. Muxis was still standing by the edge, gun slung over his shoulder. His fangs were showing again.

"Let him have his fun, Matty," Muxis chuckled. Matt huffed at the nickname, but made no other movement. "He needs to let off some steam, being cooped up in the ship for days on end."

"Yeah!" Lance agreed, letting his bayard revert back into its dormant form. "Muxis, can we come back tomorrow?"

"I don't see why not," he shrugged, pulling his gun off his shoulder to hold it normally. "And please, call me Mux. Everyone does."

"Don't encourage him." Matt groaned. "His lion's still not up to working order. That's our priority."

"Please, sir?" Lance whined, turning to Matt. He didn't bother correcting himself, only grinning at his own tone of voice. "May I have some more?"

Matt tried not to smile, Lance could tell. But it burst over his face, followed by some weak laughter. "Lance, please," he said between laughs. "are the only references you ever make ancient?"

Muxis just stood there, slightly confused by the exchange. "Am I... uh... missing something?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. The pose really didn't suit his form, causing Lance to grin wider.

"Nope, nothing." he said, having to tear his eyes away from the big guy so he didn't break out laughing.

"Just a human thing.' Matt added, reaching up to pat Muxis' shoulder. He only reached partway up his arm, awkwardly standing on his toes to reach the last couple of inches.

"Soooooooo Mux? Can I come tomorrow?"

"We'll see." Muxis replied, starting to walk over and grab the rest of the gear they brought with them. "If Matty lightens up a little, I'm sure we can come without him next time, too."

"I'm not letting Lance out of my sight until he's healed."

"Then I guess you're coming to the range next rotation." Muxis hauled the gear onto his shoulder, starting to lead the way back to the ship. Without pausing in his movements, he bent down and scooped up Matt in his other arm.

"Wh- hey, Muxis!" Matt yelped, voice hiking up a pitch or two. "Mux! Put me down!"

Lance did nothing to help, cackling loudly as he started up his hover chair to follow.

It was starting to feel like another family.

Chapter Text

"Keith, come in!"

"Allura!" Keith sighed in relief, letting his shoulders drop from their tensed form. "It's good to hear you! Have you found anyone else yet?"

"Not yet, but we have coordinates for Hunk and Pidge."

Keith was cheered up by the thought that they were slowly coming back together after what had happened, but he hesitated at the mention of only two other paladins. "What about Shiro?" He asked "I thought the wormhole would've shot us out close to each other, but I'm not picking up his signal."

"I'm sorry, Keith." Allura's voice was full of sympathy. "We've got nothing. Maybe his lion was damaged."

Keith stared up at the ceiling of his cockpit, taking note of the damage. Shiro had been the one to carry him into the castle just before the wormhole tore them out again. If he hadn't been stupid and gone after Zarkon, they would have probably gotten away in one piece.

He looked down at the controls again, realising he still had the open comms with the castle. Staring out, he could just see it in the distance, a white haze in stark contrast with the black surrounding it.

"... I've got visuals on the castle," Keith said, hands gripping Red's controls. "I'm coming in." He frowned slightly, glancing down to the radar. The white dot of the castle was drawing closer as he urged Red onward, and he could see the yellow and green right on the edge, only just within range. The Black lion was nowhere to be found, and the twist in his gut tightened.

He had already lost Shiro once before now.

There was something nagging at the back of Keith's mind- this was his fault. He had been the one to attack Zarkon. Coran had warned him- they all had- and he had muted them. Blocked them out. He had been focused on destroying the Galra Empire for good. Wiping out the evil that had plagued the universe for centuries, ruining the lives of so many.

Keith had been the one to run ahead, the one to nearly ruin the entire operation.

With that hanging above his head, Keith was unable to shake the blame. Voltron was a team. He couldn't go in alone anymore. It's what got him kicked out of the Garrison. 'Disciplinary issues' meant his refusal to work with a team.

Something else flickered over the radar. Was that the Blue lion? Keith focused more, trying to catch it again. Blue flashed twice, on two completely different sides of the map. 

"Come on, don't break on me now!" he growled.

"Keith?" 

He looked up, startled at the sudden sound of Allura's voice. He was close enough in range for visuals to turn up, and Allura's eyes were flecked with concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah..." he frowned again, looking at the radar once more. The mysterious flashes had reminded him of the final paladin. "Do you have anything on Lance?"

 "I'm sorry. I cannot locate him at all."

"I thought I just saw..."

The blue light flickered, showing up in two different spots at once. Impossible, of course. Keith restrained himself from whacking the monitor as he'd do back on Earth. Red was a living being- well, he wasn't sure of the living part- and she wouldn't take to kindly to him hitting her.

"Saw what?"

"Are you sure you can't see Lance at all?"

Allura hesitated, biting her lip. "Well..." she said, trailing off. "It is more of I cannot get a clear view. I've tried, but his signal keeps jumping between systems."

"Yeah, that's happening here too."

"Something must be interfering with my ability to lock onto the quintessence of the Blue lion."

Keith didn't reply, flying into the hangar and landing a little rougher than he intended. He pulled off his helmet but didn't move from his seat, instead staring out into nothing.

The continual blue flickering annoyed Keith more than he would admit. It was somehow worse than nothing. As with Shiro, it meant that Lance was just out of his reach. He couldn't do anything about it, and it was his fault this had happened in the first place. 

The light was taunting, if anything. Keith glared at it, wishing he could just stare it away. Of course, that did nothing, and the light continued to blink in and out, erratic.

Keith's vision turned red for a moment, and he lashed out, hitting Red's console in anger. Immediately, he threw his hands up in a surrender, already feeling the remorse and regret. This was not Red's fault.

Sighing heavily, Keith got to his feet, tucking his helmet under his arm. He rested a hand against a wall, closing his eyes for a moment. "Sorry." he said quietly, touching his forehead lightly to the metal.

Keith glanced back only once as he left the hangar. Red had always been temperamental - Allura had said that when they first arrived. And once again, this was somewhat Keith's fault. Red would respond to him when this was all in the clear. "I'm sorry." he thought again, directing his apology towards the lion, hoping she would hear.

Red didn't reply.

"So where are Pidge and Hunk exactly?" Keith asked, leaning forwards in his seat. He had shut down his screen long ago, unable to stand the constant flickering. It maybe stopped by now, but he wasn't willing to turn it on again to check.

"A system over from here," Coran replied "It's lucky the wormhole shot everyone out so close to each other."

"Yeah..." Keith muttered, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Lucky."

"We'll find Shiro and Lance eventually," Allura said, noting his tone. "It will take time and patience, but we have been through worse."

"Much worse!" Coran input, twirling his moustache. "One time, I remember we had to rush into a battle with Zarkon unprepared, just to free the Princess from his evil grasp!"

"That's what got us into this mess in the first place!" Keith said through grit teeth. It was still an open wound.

"Ah... well, yes." Coran shifted. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

Keith huffed, turning his head away. "Let's just go get the others."

Allura nodded. "We are nearly in range of their comms. Do you want to do the honours?"

He shook his head, tongue heavy in his mouth. "You can do it." he said after a moment, realising Allura wanted an auditory cue.

"Hunk and Pidge, come in, do you hear us?"

"Who--"

"Allura!" Hunk nearly cried in relief. "We were wondering if you were in troubl--"

"Have you found anyone else?" Pidge butt in.

"We have Keith with us already," Allura replied, chuckling lightly at Hunk's tired sigh.

"Oh, thank God!" Hunk exclaimed. "What about Lance and Shiro?"

"We..." she glanced back to Keith, silently asking if it was alright to tell them. He nodded for her to continue. "We are unable to find them just yet."

"At all?" Pidge's screen flashed on, her face filling it for a moment as she turned it on. She leaned back in her seat again, at the same instant as Hunk's image pulled up. "Because I thought I saw Lance on my radar a moment ago..."

"Yeah!" Hunk agreed, face hopeful. "He must be nearby!"

"About that..." Allura frowned. "Keith?"

"We think the Blue lion's on the blink," he picked up where she left off. "Sort of like it's glitching out or something."

"Doesn't Allura have an internal locking system or something? Locked onto your life-force?"

"Yes, the Lion's quintessence is connected to me," Allura said. "But it is sort of like when I could not locate the Red lion."

Keith looked up at the mention of his lion, deep in thought. The two instances could be connected. Red's location was masked because she was--

Oh.

Once again, Keith felt the knot in his stomach tightening, this time tangling itself even more.

He hoped the reason Blue and Lance weren't able to be found was for a different reason entirely.

"We could probably put together something that might refine the process." Hunk offered. Pidge nodded eagerly. Keith could already see the theories and algorithms flying through Pidge's brain. 

"I'll see what I can do back on board." she said. "ETA in two."

"Right behind you." Hunk said, and both screens blinked out.

Arriving back on the castle, Hunk had shed his armour in favour of his usual clothing. Pidge, on the other hand, had been too distracted by the tasks at hand to even bother. She sat hunched over in her chair on the bridge, laptop balancing precariously on the armrest. Keith sat in much the same way, distracted only by the occasional discussions happening around him.

Hunk, as it seemed usual, was fretting over their missing teammates. It wasn't exactly helping the mood that covered the bridge, listing all the potential ways they could have gotten into trouble, but it did keep their minds on their current goal. They couldn't form Voltron with only three lions- especially seeing as the Black lion was missing.

"Hunk, could you take your stress and cook it out or something?" Pidge snapped after the next bout of panic that send Hunk on an endless tirade of dangers they could be facing. She calmed down immediately, rushing over to give him a light hug. "Sorry..." she mumbled. "I guess we're all a bit on edge."

"It's fine," Hunk replied, giving her a gentle pat on the head. "And you're right- maybe I do need to go to the kitchen. Take my mind off this."

That was something everyone else had. Hunk could simply go into the kitchen and make them all a meal- keep them going.Allura had the connection to the lions. She would be working hard at any given moment to search for Lance and Shiro. Pidge had her coding to get lost in. She'd be the first to know if something would help them with their task. Coran was dashing around as he always did, occasionally telling them bits and pieces of Altean history. His main job was to make sure everything was in working order, and it was something he did with pride. The castle had been pretty badly beaten up in the battle and subsequent wormhole incident, so he had plenty to do.

Keith had nothing.

Sometimes he missed his desert shack- a tiny place in the middle of nowhere that he had learned to call home. But after all that he and the others had been through, Keith wasn't sure he'd be able to go back to how it was back then. His friends- family- were all with him. There was nothing for him on Earth. 

Once, Keith would have liked to have nothing. It distracted him from the here and now. It left him alone with his thoughts, giving some precious time to think.

But at this very moment, Keith would have given anything to take his mind of his teammates, lost and alone in the darkness of space. He couldn't help but think of them hurt, captured or worse. Keith had no way to distract himself from the here and now, with nothing else to do.

Shiro and Lance were alone out there, with nothing but their own thoughts to keep them company.

And to think that once, long ago, he would have envied them.

Chapter Text

Resistance life was doing Lance a world of good. He was finding that even without the constant bonding exercises that Allura seemed so fond of, he was quickly forming meaningful relationships with everybody on board the resistance base.

Muxis was quickly becoming the father figure that Lance had tried to find within Shiro. It wasn't that Shiro hadn't tried to become what Lance needed- he had in fact done his best to mould himself into the figure that Lance needed in his life- but Lance could tell that in the process of doing so, Shiro had lost a little of himself.

It wasn't fair for him to ask that of the man who had already been through so much.

Muxis, on the other hand, needed no moulding. He slipped into the father figure role so naturally, and Lance found himself wondering if he was a father. With everything Muxis had left behind when he was branded a traitor, Lance didn't have the heart to ask.

Vi was also quickly becoming one of Lance's favourite people, and this was purely the fault of their young daughter. Like Vi, she had a very complicated name that was the goal of many on board the ship to correctly pronounce. However, if you were short on time, her daughter preferred Nea.

Lance, upon meeting the small child for the first time, was a little bewildered. The very first thing she had done upon spotting him had been to give him a massive grin that showed off her obviously still developing teeth. Nea had grabbed his arm, dragged him down the hallway and berated him for still being in his sleepwear, ignoring the fact that at that moment he had been in full paladin armour.

It was adorable, and Lance had spent the afternoon with her as she babbled on about various topics. It was cute. But whenever Lance attempted to ask her anything, she seemed to completely ignore him. He had asked Vi about it, and they had laughed loudly, giving him a reassuring pat on the knee.

"Don't take it personally," They had laughed, picking Nea up as she attempted to duck under the dining table. "She doesn't know what you're saying. Her ears are too underdeveloped for the translators."

Lance was still thinking about this when Muxis found him, tapping him on the shoulder and holding up one of the resistance's many long-range weapons.

"Figured we could try you out with this today, get you some experience with something other than your bayard."

As Lance got a feel for the new weapon, still restricted to his chair, he allowed his mind to wander. He, like Nea, knew the pains of not being able to understand those around you. Going through life as if it was a fast-paced film, explosions and activity happening everywhere. People talking in jumbled vowels, the subtitles turned off.

He'd already grown attached to Nea.

"Hey Sir--Matt... I said Matt..."

Matt rolled his eyes and turned to face the blue paladin. "What kid?"

"Does the base have a library? And don't call me kid."

"Why not?" Matt held back a smirk as he said it, obviously not planning to stop anytime soon.

"Because I'm taller than you!"

"And I'm older!"

"And I'm taller and older than both of you!" Muxis groaned, putting a hand on both of their shoulders, causing Matt who had been faced away to jump in surprise.

"What was the question again kid?" Matt asked, swatting Mux's hand away.

"Library. Do we have one?" Lance answered, stretching in his chair until his back gave a satisfying pop. It was Muxis who answered, as Matt was too busy shuddering at the echoing sound of Lance's spine snapping into place.

"Yeah, we do, it's on the other side of the base, in a separate building."

"It actually surrounds the pool." Matt chimed in. Lance was silent for a second, very confused.

"Who thought it was a good idea to put the pool in the library? Also why does a resistance base need a pool?"

"Didn't know that you young ones still watched old shows like Doctor Who, kid."

"Doctor what?"

"Doctor where?" Muxis added

"Doctor when!"

"Doctor why!"

"Oh my God, forget I ever said anything!" Matt groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Come on, let's take the book worm over here to the library."

"I resent that, for your information I am a beautiful book butterfly."

"Why is the butter flying? I thought you told Nea that the butter stayed in the tub?" Muxis said, turning to Matt for explanation. Said man just groaned again, dropping his head into his hands.

"We really need a better translating system, everything's taken so literally around here..." Matt decided.

"Now hurry up, you cripple, you've got a library to get to, and I've got a check-up with Kelaan" Matt said, motioning to his leg.

Lance smirked, zooming along on his hover chair, headed straight for Matt. He shrieked, making a move to jump out of the way.

He didn't need to, seeing as Lance pulled to a stop before he reached Matt. Lance laughed at Matt's expression, steering around him and continuing on his way.

The library was magnificent- digital and paper books lining the shelves, books out of other materials interspersed between them. Lance did wonder for a moment how everything stayed in place when they were flying, but his question was answered when he had to unchain a book from its place to read it. He turned around, looking for the language section.

He nearly had a heart attack when he realised he wasn't the only one in the room.

Chapter Text

Nea giggled as Lance jumped back in surprise, covering her mouth adorably as she did so. She then skipped happily over to a small pile of books that Lance had yet to notice before. They were stacked neatly, the book on top open and flipped upside down so that it kept the page. Nea grabbed it and turned it up the right way up, plonking herself on the floor and reading from where she had left off.

Lance figured that this was a good a place as any to start.

"Hello!" He smiled, standing in front of her. She smiled back and grabbed his arm, pulling him down to sit beside her. Lance grinned, peering over her shoulder at the book she was reading.

Nea spoke to him, and Lance tried to distinguish her actual words from those of the translator. He'd grown so accustomed to tuning out the natural language of aliens that it took some effort to begin with, but became easier as she rambled on.

What he could hear of Nea's native tongue was beautiful, her words sounding soft, yet musical. It actual reminded him of the way one might sound whilst speaking French.

It suited the adorable kid.

She held the book out to him, peering over the edge hopefully.

"Sorry, Nea. I can't read it," he said, shaking his head so that Nea could perhaps understand what he was trying to say.

Nea's musical tone was heard again and Lance again marvelled at the beauty of the sounds that came from her mouth. He nodded again at her question.

"I would love to learn."

Nea smiled brightly, overcome with happiness. Lance figured that this was the only time that someone on the ship actually made an effort to communicate with her. The thought saddened him immensely, but he kept his sadness to himself as Nea lead him over to a small shelf, tucked away in the corner of the library.

He had always loved learning languages, and if it made this incredibly lonely bundle of sunshine happy, who was he to refuse?

Hours later, Lance hovered beside the Blue lion, content. It was peaceful here. Matt called out from on top of Blue where he was attempting to fix her navigation systems.

"Oi, kid! Stop daydreaming and get back to work!"

Lance laughed, backing up a bit so that he might see Matt's face, reddened from the physical activity involved with climbing Blue in the first place. Not only that, but with a prosthetic leg? Lance deemed it quite impressive, causing Matt to encourage him to "shove it where the sun don't shine".

Lance cackled at this, because where was that exactly? They were in space. The sun didn't shine anywhere.

"Would love to Matt, but I've got a check-up with Kelaan. Have fun!"

Lance turned, scooting out the door and sending a mental "see ya later alligator" to Blue. She sent a weak hum in response, nothing more. It was enough to cause Lance to smile, and the expression was still on his face when he found his way to the medical bay.

Kelaan was... busy when he entered. There were five other people all squashed into the tiny medical bay, one person was even sitting on the lap of another. These two in particular were quite interesting to Lance. They looked almost human, but one of them had the tell-tale markings of an Altean, and the other had pointed ears.

He was so busy looking at them, that he failed to notice the other two occupants of the room.

"Well, well, well- if it isn't Lance!"

The words rang out in a half giggle, causing Lance's smile to be wiped from his face.

Nyma gave him a cheeky wave, just as Rolo grimaced and pulled down her hand from his seat behind her. Rolo pointedly avoided eye contact with Lance, instead pulling his boot back over his prosthetic limb.

"Rolo. Nyma." Lance acknowledged, holding back a growl as he did so.

"Before this turns into fighting, I wish to remind you that you are all resistance members, and as such on the same side." Kelaan said monotonously, not bothering to look up from her datapad where she was writing something down.

The smaller of the human/altean-like aliens smiled at him, eyeing his bandaged ankle. "Leg troubles?" She asked, moving off of the other girl's lap as Kelaan prodded her out of the way.

"Yeah." he replied, giving a brief nod.

"Join the club." Three voices said in unison- one from the pointy-eared girl as she motioned to her right leg, one from Rolo and a third from outside the door.

Lance started at this, twisting so he could see who it was behind him.

"Squad goals..." Matt muttered, shaking his head and turning to speak to Lance.

"Thought you might have gotten lost." he said, giving a small shrug. "Guess you got here alright."

Lance nodded, moving a little further away from Rolo and Nyma. Well, as far as he could in the limited space. Not much, but it was noticeable. Nyma pouted slightly at the action.

"Yeah, I got here okay." Lance said. "Being here nearly daily has ingrained the route in my head."

"Great, now if you'll excuse me I have to leave before--"

"Sit down, fluffy." The pointy-eared girl said. Lance tried his hardest not to snort at the nickname.

Rolo groaned, leaning back into his chair. "If we cant ditch the squad check-up, then you can't either."

Lance chuckled as the term "leggy squad" floated into his brain. He wondered for a second if he had said it aloud, but nobody reacted so he assumed he was in the clear.

"So, Lance..." Nyma laughed, hiding her mouth behind her hands. "How's Blue?"

Matt turned to stare between the two. "Wait, you guys know each other?"

"Oh yeah, we go way back!" Nyma said. Lance scoffed, turning away and sticking his nose in the air childishly.

"We met back when Nyma and I were mercenaries." Rolo said hesitantly.

It had only been what? Several months? Rolo made it sound like it was years ago, all in the past. Lance would continue to be bitter over the incident for a while yet.

Matt rubbed his temples, giving a quiet groan. He'd obviously dealt with several similar incidents. Lance wondered how many other members of the resistance Rolo and Nyma had managed to piss off before joining.

"Okay... what did you to do?" he said finally, after closing his eyes and seemingly counting to ten. Honestly, Lance couldn't blame him. Nyma and Rolo were... complicated. Cunning, was the word, he supposed.

"They stole my lion and chained me to a tree." Lance whined before either of the duo could reply, crossing his arms. He still refused to look at them.

Someone snickered.

"Olly, shh!" Pointy-eared girl scolded, slapping said girl on the arm. It only caused her to giggle more. Pointy-eared- he should probably learn her name- rolled her eyes. "It was probably traumatic for him!"

Lance didn't know whether to agree or not with those words. He had felt completely betrayed by Nyma for days afterwards, but it was a simple incident he got over easy enough. All things considering.

"Rosaline is right, Olina;" Kelaan said, turning to look at the girls. "You need to be more empathetic."

Both Rosaline and Olina began snickering now, the others in the room looking on in confusion. Lance figured it was an inside joke.

"Oh. Yeah," Olina said, pushing off from the counter and ducking in between Nyma and Kelaan to grab Rosaline's hand. "I'm Olly. This is Roy." she motioned to the other girl sitting on the counter, who gave a small wave with her free hand.

Olly giggled at the half-hearted movement. "You'll probably be seeing us around, soooo...."

Kelaan gave Roy the all clear, moving back so she could slide off the counter. She landed on her left leg, giving her right ankle a flick before she put it to the floor. Olly squeezed Roy's hand, bouncing ever-so-slightly on the spot as she waited. Kelaan gave them both a look, shooing them from the room. 

"I have no room as it is, don't waste space by standing around!"

Olly giggled again, dragging Roy from the room. "Byeeee~!" she sang, disappearing out of sight.

"Do those to ever go anywhere without each other?" Kelaan asked, receiving a resounding no from Matt, Rolo and Nyma. Lance chuckled at that. Obviously the two of them were inseparable.

Matt took the newly vacant seat on the counter, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think I've ever seen them apart, actually."

"Well," Kelaan sighed, shooting a pointed look at Nyma and Rolo. "At least they have the courtesy to only take up one chair..." 

Nyma smirked, standing up and moving herself to perch on Matt's lap.

"Get off." Matt groaned, giving her a gentle but firm shove. Nyma laughed, dropping to sit cross legged on the floor instead- using Lance's chair as a backrest.

He considered moving, but figured that would be petty. After all, they were on the same side.

Kelaan slowly worked her way through the room's occupants, dismissing Matt, Rolo, and Nyma when she had finished with each of them. Nyma apparently had a sore neck, which was why she hadn't been kicked out of the room with Roy and Olly.

"So busy today, all these people hurting themselves." Kelaan muttered, moving to gently prod at Lance's ankle. He didn't bother to point out that three of them were routine checks to make sure there were no new issues, and he bit his tongue to resist complaining about Nyma's "injury".

Upon inspecting Lance's ankle, Kelaan deemed it okay to walk again, strapping it up and helping him stand.

Almost immediately, Lance was back on a chair as his legs tingled, the lack of use giving him a major case of pins and needles. Kelaan moved to his side, fussing over him.

"What happened? Was there any pain?" she asked, placing a hand on his ankle again. She stared at his face as she prodded his leg again, as if looking for any facial cues to pain.

"No, no! I'm fine!" Lance protested "It's just something that happens if a limb isn't used for a while- classic case of pins and needles."

"That is not something I have come across before, Paladin Lance." she mused, typing something down on her datapad. "What did you call it?"

"Well um... most people call it pins and needles..." he said, already noting that the sensation was fading. "I'm sure there's a scientific name for it, but everyone just calls it that.  It's like... when blood flow is limited?" Lance shrugged. "You get it a lot if you sit on your foot or something."

Kelaan blinked at him owlishly- he was starting to find the action unnerving, actually- jotting the new information down.

"That will do for now, Paladin Lance." she nodded. "Now, should we perhaps try standing again?"

Lance was able to hobble halfway back to the dining room before he needed to take a break, the dull ache in his ankle blooming with every step. He wondered if Kelaan had any painkillers, but then couldn't be bothered going back to the medical bay to check. He had already gotten this far, it would be a shame to turn back now. He leaned on the wall, easing his weight over to his good leg so he could rest for a minute.

Next thing Lance knew, he was draped over a pair of broad shoulders.

"Oh Jesus-!" he yelped, stiffening for a moment. Upon realising who it was, Lance fell limp again, allowing himself to be carried. "Hello, Muxis." Lance groaned, resting his chin in his hand, staring in the direction they had come.

"Lance." Muxis chuckled, jostling him a tiny amount to carry him with less effort.

"Do I even weigh anything to you?" Lance asked, twisting as much as he could to look at Muxis. He still couldn't see his face from this angle so he gave up, dropping back onto his hand.

"Nope," Muxis said. "You're lighter than Matty, for starters- and he's scrawny."

Lance allowed himself a light laugh. "I'm nothing but leg." he said, pointing his unstrapped toe to prove a point. His words reminded him of the "squad" as Rolo had called it, a trio with prosthetic legs. Despite it all, Lance was glad to have all his limbs.

Muxis carried Lance in silence for a minute, before he voiced a question for him:

"So what's Jesus?"

Lance chuckled, shaking his head. That conversation was going to take a while.

Chapter Text

"Lan!"

Lance started in his place, the shouted greeting cutting unexpectedly through his focus. He nearly dropped the book he held in his hands- a small green covered thing that held a few basic words of ploteryin, the new language he was attempting to learn. Lance thought it sounded beautiful... with a bit of practice. He was still far from getting the words right, but he really did like hearing the words from the mouth of a native speaker, such as the child calling for his attention.

Adjusting his seat, Lance leant backwards in order to look under the table, smiling at the adorable kid that came into view. Nea smiled back at him, holding her arms out to him with a tiny pout. Lance patted his lap, inviting her to climb up, which she did, being careful to avoid his still injured leg. She was considerate like that, only adding to his love for the child.

"Hello, Nea." He said slowly, he wanted to get the pronunciation perfect. He could of said it faster, but there was no point in learning her language if he butchered it so much that it was unrecognisable.

Nea gasped in delight, wrapping her arms around the blue paladin and squeezing tight. Lance laughed, bending a little so that he might kiss her exposed forehead. It was something he had done for his younger siblings many times and felt it was natural.

Nea seemed to appreciate it, hugging him a bit tighter as she giggled into his chest, tears of happiness forming in her eyes.

Vi sent him an approving look from the opposite end of the table, where they were deliberating over a stack of data with Muxis. He supposed that even the resistance had paperwork to do, though he was unsure what it was for.

Lance looked to the door at the sound of footsteps, Matt stepping into the kitchen a moment later. Behind him a rather disgruntled looking Roy sauntered in, though was surprised him was that Olly wasn't right on her heels. Lance supposed she wasn’t too far off- she had little legs, after all.

Roy sat heavily at the table, head in hands as she glowered at the polished metal. Lance began to pity the table by how much she was glaring, and hoped he'd never be on the receiving end of it.

"I need alcohol." Roy muttered, slamming her face into the table with a loud thunk. Lance winced when it made contact. That was probably going to bruise later.

"Heya," Olly said cheerfully, appearing in the doorway. "We've got a mission."

"Ah, that explains it." Muxis laughed. He moved over to where the girl was standing, giving her a boost so she could clamber onto the countertop.

"Roy's underage," Matt warned. Olly just laughed, tossing a bottle down to Muxis, who caught it with practised ease. "She's--"

"Old enough to kill," Muxis interrupted, uncapping it and sliding it down to Roy. It bumped into her head, and she snatched it up, draining half of it in one go before continuing at a leisurely pace. "Old enough to drink."

"Oh, and Lance!" Olly piped up, her head in the fridge as she fished out something that looked like juice for herself. She kicked the fridge shut, giving him a huge smile. "You're coming with us!"

Lance tore his eyes from Roy, who looked like she was trying to drown herself in her alcohol.

"Wait, what?" he tilted his head to the side, staring at Olly. "Why?"

"Mux says you’re a damn good shot." Roy mumbled, bottle empty and her head once more on the table. "'nd I can't take out both targets at once."

Lance was wondering how much use he'd be on a mission if he wasn't up to full health yet. He still couldn't do most activities, and Kelaan still restricted his movements until his ankle was fully healed.

Nea tugged at his arm and he absently ran a hand down her back. She giggled quietly, leaning into the touch before falling silent again.

"Don’t worry about your ankle, Lance."

Lance turned to stare at Olly with wide eyes as she spoke. How had she known what he was thinking? Olly just smiled at him, shooting him a wink as she sat down next to Roy.

"We're going to be on recon for a while, before taking the shot. There's not going to be any running, and the shuttle will be nearby."

Roy moved so that Olly could grab her hand, sighing heavily. "Two targets..." she muttered "Really don' want to do this again..."

There was a story there, but Lance let the thought leave his mind. He would not pry, after all it was none of his damn business.

"When do we go?" He asked instead.

"Tomorrow. You don't need to pack or anything, it's only a quick job."

Lance nodded and stood, forgetting for a moment that he had a young alien child sitting on his lap. However, Nea payed no mind to his sudden uprising and merely moved herself so that she was positioned on Lance’s hip.

The position was familiar to the blue paladin from carrying his younger siblings and cousins, and he laughed, adjusting his hold on her a little as he took a few steps away from the table.

"Kelaan said not to put too much weight on your leg, kid." Matt pointed out, folding his arms as he watched Lance.

"It'll be fine," Muxis said, clapping Matt on the back. He didn't look too amused at the gesture, but didn't protest any further.

Lance grinned again, and Nea booped his nose with a finger. She chattered something, pointing to the door.

"Well, I'm gonna go now." Lance said, starting off. "Nea's not going to leave me alone, otherwise."

Lance carried Nea to the library, but she frowned as she was placed down beside her pile of books, taller than it had been last time.

"Be back. Promise." Lance said, taking a moment to remember the words in her language. Nea still looked sad, but dutifully picked up one of her many books, dropping to the ground and opening it to the first page. Lance smiled, giving her an affectionate pat on the head, being careful to avoid her disco ball thing. Apparently it was very sensitive.

He tried not to feel guilty when Nea looked up again, giving him a sad smile. But he had duties to attend to, and a mission.

Lance made his way to the hangar, where he was keeping his belongings within Blue. He had been allocated a room when he first joined the resistance, sharing a dorm a couple of other aliens, but Lance preferred it here. His dorm mates understood, and let him be. He really should get around to learning their names.

Sighing, Lance stared into Blue’s console. Despite his and Matt’s hard work, the communications system remained broken. He was beginning to suspect that a key element of it had been lost, either while floating in space, or in his less-than stellar-landing on this current planet.

Lance was a pilot, not an engineer. He wished he’d payed more attention in class, or asked Hunk for lessons sometime. Matt had expressed similar thoughts, mad at himself for not learning all he could from his father. But there was nothing they could do now. They just had to keep moving forward.

Lance changed into his flight suit, but left his armour behind. He was fighting for the resistance, and it would only bring trouble to them if the Galra found out that rebels were harbouring one of the Voltron paladins. He would use resistance armour, and a resistance weapon. It was safer for everyone, he thought, leaving his bayard in the seat.

"I’ll be back soon girl," Lance promised, patting a wall gently "then we can get to work on your navigation systems."

The blue lion pushed a wave of affection through their bond, and Lance smiled before leaving the hangar, only pausing to look back at the bay doors. He gave a small wave, before disappearing from sight.

The blue lion shifted slightly, moving her head to stare the way her paladin had left. She stayed that way, as if waiting for the promise to be kept.

Chapter Text

The next morning found Lance all suited up for his mission. His new armour glinted dully in the dim lights, its shine visible even in the low light level. He had strapped a gun to his back- it was small, collapsible, and easily hidden under his backpack, which was laden with all the supplies he would need for his first resistance mission.

All in all, it made for a rather impressive image, and Lance was definitely giving off the "don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-gut-you" impression.

Well at least he would have been, if he wasn't hunched in the med bay trying not to cry as Kelaan strapped two of the fingers on his left hand together, one of them broken from where he had smacked the kitchen table with it.

"Stop whining, Paladin Lance, you have had far worse injuries, I'm sure." Kelaan said, staring pointedly at his still wrapped ankle, before jabbing a needle of what Lance thought was probably pain killer of some kind into his arm. It was quite obvious that Kelaan did not approve of his assignment, but she didn't object in any way.

"I need my fingers for finger guns!" Lance sniffled, whimpering as Kelaan wrapped another layer of tape around them. Not to mention that he definitely needed his fingers to fire a real gun.

Lance was thankful that he'd smacked the table with his left hand. Shooting like this would have been extremely painful, and also inaccurate, which was probably a bad thing for an assassination mission.

Kelaan rolled her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips as she whacked him upside the head. Lance shrieked, attempting to stop his fall without further injuring his ankle. It didn't work, and Lance scowled up at Kelaan, who was doing her best to not laugh at him.

Lance grinned, grabbing her hand and allowing her to haul him to his feet.

"Careful now, or I'll become a full-time member of the leggy squad!" Lance joked, steadying himself with the wall.

"Leggy squad? Do you perhaps mean Rolo, Matthew and Rosaline?" Kelaan asked, amusement radiating from her eyes, and her horn, which was glowing a dull shade of yellow.

"Er well, I- um..." Lance stammered, trying to cover up his mistake.

"It is a fitting title." Kelaan mused, smiling gently as she stepped aside, arranging a few tools around her workspace. Lance's dismissal was clear, and he grinned, heading for the exit.

"Bye Kelaan, see you later!" Lance chuckled, stepping out the door.

"I should hope not!" She called back, causing Lance's grin to widen.

As the door closed, Kelaan's smile dropped into a frown. She stared down at the datapad in front of her, various notes highlighted in red.

Kelaan coughed, wiping a little fleck of purple substance from her mouth as she did so. She looked at the stain with disdain, clicking open a new file on the datapad with a sigh.

"Perhaps it is time for an apprentice."

Lance crawled forward on his stomach, keeping to the pink undergrowth as he moved to his position.

In the distance he could see Roy, who was in a similar position. She nodded at him before moving her attention below, where Olly stood weaponless, in plain sight of their target.

Lance switched on his communicator, keeping silent as he listened to what was going on below.

Olly was already disguised, having shifted her appearance a little to match the planet's inhabitants. Lance could see her face as she scrunched it up, as if she was concentrating.

All of a sudden, Olly burst into tears, falling to the floor. Lance saw a pained expression cross Roy's face, before it settled back into an expression of complete calm and she looked back down the scope of her rifle. They needed to focus.

Olly wailed louder, catching the attention of one of the nearby aliens.

Conveniently; the first target.

"What in the universe...?"

Their target stepped closer to Olly, and Lance watched Roy take aim.

He too, lifted his gun into position. It was different to his bayard, built more for long distance targets. He'd never used a sniper rifle before, but there was no time to ponder it now.

They had a mission.

Lance listened in as Olly spouted some story about being lost and how she couldn't find her father. The target watched on in barely concealed disgust.

Lance frowned at him. The man obviously hated children. Lance saw him glance back to the others on the street, unwittingly leading Lance straight to the second target, the one he was to get while Roy handled the first.

The second target was a man in something that Lance guessed was the alien equivalent of a suit. He wore something shiny around both wrists, some sort of jewel, and had a sneer on his face.

He was leader of an underground slave trading business. And now that his lackey had gotten his attention, he obviously had his eyes on Olly.

Roy had seen him too, and Lance nodded as she motioned first at herself and then at Olly. Continue as planned.

Lance's finger was on the trigger, a hair's breadth from shooting. He blinked slowly, before concentrating. Both eyes open.

He held steady, letting the target move into his sights.

Olly took a step back, acting the part of a scared child as the lackey made to grab her arm. There was a gun shot from Roy's position, and then a second, from his own weapon.

Both targets were dead, within tics of each other. Exactly as what they had planned.

Lance jumped to his feet, ready to complete the second part of the mission.

They may have taken out the main targets, but the boss still had plenty of men hidden throughout the crowd. It was a full crime ring, and even without a leader they were dangerous.

And Olly was right in the thick of it, weaponless.

Defenceless.

It was his job to get her out.

Lance sprinted into the crowd, his gun left behind. This way he could blend in, and Roy would grab his weapon as she headed back for the shuttle.

Besides, he still had a knife tucked carefully behind his belt, if the situation called for it.

"Aw heck!" Olly shrieked, running back towards Lance.

Roy swore. "If Olly's saying heck, it's bad." she said "Lance, get her out of there now!"

Lance didn't answer, instead ducking under a frazzled alien to reach the centre of the crowd, where Olly had disappeared.

He looked around desperately, a shriek of distress catching his attention as something small and yellow was dragged behind a building.

He ran after it.

As he skidded around he corner, Olly caught sight of him, smiling slightly as he vaulted over another alien to catch up.

Worry and fear was still prominent in her expression, but there was also small furls of something more twisting around her eyes, something that gave Lance the distinct impression that it wasn't her own.

Fearing for her safety, Lance urged himself faster, finally managing to catch up. He took a running start, adrenaline fuelling him as he barrelled into the man holding Olly, forcing him to the ground.

Hands found their way to his throat and Lance panicked, pulling out the knife and stabbing the man in the chest. The hands released him, and Lance tried not to think about what he'd just done as he grabbed Olly and began the sprint back to the ship.

This was not doing his ankle any favours. No running, huh? Lance decided that he probably shouldn't tell Kelaan about this.

"I've got Olly!" Lance panted as he pulled said girl along by the wrist, Olly doing her best to run in the strappy shoes she was wearing. They were adorable, but not exactly the most practical.

"Next time I'm wearing boots." She gasped, tripping over her own feet.

"Shuttle's as the drop zone!" Roy's voice was crackling with interference, and Lance assumed it was the sound of the shuttle's engine.

Beside him, Olly's tears were beginning to dry up. Her face returning to that of its normally cheery nature. She smiled up at him, tongue between her teeth in a cheeky grin.

"That went way better than last time!" Olly said, returning to her normal skin tone. She pulled the pigtails out of her hair, letting the waves cascade down her back, flying behind her as they ran for the shuttle. They were within visual range now, Roy leaning on the open door with her rifle resting across her shoulder.

"Don't jinx us," Roy groaned, stepping inside and flopping onto the seat. Lance and Olly ducked in after her, taking their own seats and levelling their breathing, the adrenaline waning.

"What? It did!" She turned bright eyes to her partner, who sighed in resignation.

Lance shook his head. It was again, none of his damn business. To him, the two would always be an enigma, indescribable to anyone but each other.

The sign of a really good team.

Chapter Text

A young girl opened her eyes to darkness. She blinked, once, trying to see if she could discern anything in the shadows.

Outside the pod, stars glimmered in the far depths of space, though it didn't do much with the lighting. Groaning in pain, she tried to roll over onto her stomach, hoping to pull herself to her feet.

Intense pain bloomed in her chest, and she gasped. The sharp inhale of breath only made the pain more severe and she nearly cried out, biting her lip and wincing.

She clenched her eyes shut, breath becoming shorter and shorter as time went by. She tasted blood from her lip, and dragged her fangs along the cut. It was something to distract her from the burning in her chest, though it did nearly nothing.

She slowed her breathing, trying to take a deep breath.

The action made it feel so much worse.

She curled up into herself as best she could, trying to find the position that caused the least amount of pain.

The pain wasn't subsiding, but she risked placing a hand over the spot. Fire burst through her side as she lifted her arm, causing her to immediately drop it again and try her other arm.

It was her arm that brought on the next wave of pain when she moved it, and she swore under her breath as she caught sight of the odd angle it was bent at.

Her arm was broken, and she suspected a rib or two as well, though there was no way of being certain yet.

Every movement hurt like hell, and she gave up after trying once more to find a more comfortable position.

She could do nothing but try to keep her breaths shallow and her movement to a minimum.

She clenched her one good hand into a fist, claws digging into her palm as she focused on keeping still.

The next time she came to, the pain was no less than it had been.

But the dim red lights of emergency power was on, so she considered it a plus.

From the corner of her eye, she could see a shadow in the corner. She refused to turn and look, knowing if she did, she would want to crawl over, regardless on the injuries she had sustained.

She had been warned for years that an event such as this would happen, and had spent nearly her entire life preparing.

Nothing could ever prepare someone for the reality of the situation, and it still hadn't settled in that this was actually happening.

She let her head roll back so she could take in her surroundings, the only lights on the console active being the oxygen supply and emergency reserves, both fading in and out gently, casting the occasional glow over her face.

It was enough to stay alive, but she didn't know for how long.

The girl sighed, before yelping as the breath made the pain in her chest flare up again. She coughed, and it swelled into an inferno.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was unable to lift her arms high enough to brush them away.

She stared at the ceiling of the pod, eyes watering and blurring her vision so it became nothing but a dull smudge in front of her.

She was tired, so tired.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she fell into a fitful sleep.

"I'm scared."

"I know sweetie, I know."

"Maman, where are we going?"

There was no reply, and the girl looked up to her mother.

"Maman?"

An explosion sounded in the distance, a deep thrum that shook the ship end to end. The girl stumbled as she tried to keep up with her mother's hurried pace.

There was another boom, closer this time. She stumbled again, unable to catch herself as she fell onto her arm.

There was a snap, and she immediately felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She refused to let them fall though, pulling herself back to her feet and holding her arm to her chest as she ran to catch up to her mother.

They burst out of the hallway into an open area on the ship, and the girl hissed in pain as she ran headlong into her mother's back, the woman having stopped in her tracks.

"Halt." A sentry stood before them, gun aimed at her mother's chest.

Slowly, they raised their hands above their heads. She could only raise one, still holding her broken one to her chest.

"Hands up." The sentry insisted, and she raised her chin in defiance.

The barrel of the gun was still trained on her mother. She glanced backwards at the girl, if only for a moment, an unspoken wish.

There was a purple flash, then darkness.

The girl woke up with a scream, flinging herself into an upright position. Immediately, pain shot through her chest and she groaned, slumping just enough to take the strain off it.

The nightmare was fading away, but some parts remained.

Her mother's glance, the silent plea.

She knew what the wish was.

Take care of your sister.

She refused to look to the darkened corner, bile threatening to form in her throat. Instead, she worked on getting to her feet.

Her ribs still hurt to hell and back, but without a healer, it would continue to be that way.

She inched forwards, pulling herself up one-handed, using the console as support. She stood on shaky legs, leaning on the controls as much as possible without aggravating her wounds or pressing any buttons. Even with the power out, she was worried that a touch could activate anything.

She let her eyes close for a moment, swaying in a short bout of wooziness. No, she wouldn't fall unconscious again. She was determined not to.

Steadying herself, the girl started to search the controls.

Only two things were on, due to the emergency power- oxygen, and the distress signal, currently inactive.

She stuck out her good arm, slamming it onto the distress signal, which let out a soft beep as it started up.

She let out a sigh of relief, before hissing at the pain again. She ought to have expected that.

Collapsing back onto the floor of the pod, the girl stared out at the distant stars.

There were too many of them to count, and yet she feared nobody would help.

She rolled onto her back letting her good arm flop over her eyes, long lashes brushing against it.

There was nothing more she could do, but hope.

Chapter Text

Lance straightened his back, sighing as the satisfying pop rang throughout the hold of the ship. Olly shuddered at the noise, but made no objections.

"I'll take over from autopilot." Lance said, ducking through to the front without waiting for a reply from either of the girls. He turned his attention to the controls, smiling as he did so and flicked it to manual, mentally psyching himself up for take-off as he allowed his thoughts to wander. 

Lance tried not to grin too much. The mission had been stressful, but successful. 

Behind him, Olly and Roy sat close together; Roy's hand never leaving Olly's. It was weird - Lance had picked up on Roy's unwillingness to have flesh-on-flesh contact with anyone else aboard the ship. But it was once again, none of his damn business. That seemed to be a recurring theme with those two.

Lance let a smile slip onto his face as the ship got further away from the surface.

Take off had always been one of the best parts of flying.

The jolt of static, and the rumble of the ship as it left the earth, the loss of solid ground felt in the way the ship suddenly seemed more mobile. The gentle drone as the land got further away, his problems shrinking with it. 

There was just something about the way the ship shuddered as it left the planet, the atmosphere giving a natural resistance as they burst through into freedom. 

He relished in the sudden jolt that occurred, moments before you found yourself gliding past millions of stars, each with their own history and story. The moment when you became small, and realised that everything else was so much bigger than you.

Lance loved this part the most.

He sighed, content for the moment, taking a second to relax. He turned in his seat to watch as Roy patched a call through to the base.

Although that relaxation came to a halt when the call timed out, prompting Roy to raise an eyebrow as she attempted to get through once more. 

Worry began to set in, and Lance shifted around to get a better view.

The communicator timed out again.

Olly frowned, sending a confused look to Roy. Lance shoved the ship into autopilot once more, joining the girls in the back. So much for flying.

"Maybe we should--" Olly was interrupted as the communicator sprang to life, beeping loudly as Roy scrambled to activate the video feed.

It crackled loudly, the sound of explosions cutting through anything else and causing the footage to flicker. Roy muttered a curse, thumping the receiver to clear the image, a fluffy mass of hair coming into view.

"Matt!" Lance called, just as the young man turned to face them, a cut bleeding on his cheek.

"Lance! I'm glad you guys are okay!" Matt half-yelled over the chaos, accompanied by the worrying sounds of panicked shouting, and something Lance could have sworn was a rather inappropriate word in Ploteryin.

Vi ran past behind Matt, weapon in hand and several dents in their armour. Lance felt his heart sink.

He hoped Nea was okay.  

"What's the situation?" Roy said before Lance could form the words he needed.

"The base is under attack, but we're handling it. They managed to break onto the lower levels, just sending an unending wave of sentries." Matt flinched as a laser bolt whizzed over his head, nearly singeing his hair.

"Unfortunately, there's a bigger problem that we can't deal with right now."

Another explosion rocked the ship, the feed momentarily turning to static. Matt was distracted for a moment, staring off to the side after something.

"What could be bigger than an attack at base!?" Lance said, his voice breaking just a little near the end. Matt pursed his lips, just as a smaller alien crashed into him and he flew out of sight with a yelp.

The smaller alien ran back the other way with a yell, weapon raised above her head.

Despite the current situation being rather dire, Lance found himself snorting. Olly hid a smile behind her hand, though her eyes were still bright with concern.

"We've got a distress call," Matt said, jumping up and brushing himself off, showing no indication that it had ever happened. "But the normal retrieval team is..." he paused, the silence filled with a loud crash. 

"Lllllllet's go with occupied." he completed, wincing at the sound.

Lance began to wonder if attacks on base were a regular occurrence, just looking at how casually Matt was holding up this conversation while his friends were running around risking their lives.

"You want us to sort it out?" Olly asked, reaching for Roy's hand again. Roy squeezed back, though she didn't look away from the screen as she did so.

"Oh, what a wonderful suggestion!" Vi yelled from somewhere just out of view, shrieking as Muxis bowled past, leading a large group of people. Lance was glad to spot Nea amongst them, riding one of the bigger ones' shoulders as she shouted a battle cry.

"Should your daughter be here?" Matt called.

"She's fine!" Vi yelled back.

"It's a war zone!"

"...Does it always get this chaotic?" Lance asked, almost to himself. Matt gave a wry grin.

"Nah, usually we're just locked in ship-to-ship combat."

"Do we have any other information?"

"... Nothing, but guys, be careful."

"I'm always careful, fluffy." Roy said, her expression dead serious.

Matt stayed silent, and Olly moved just a little closer to the screen, hand still gripping Roy's.

"Matt?" she said quietly. "You're hiding something."

Matt sighed, before raising his eyes to meet the camera.

"The signal is Galra in origin."

Lance's eyes widened in surprise. He turned to look at Roy and Olly to find they had much the same expression.

"So why are we responding?"

Olly flinched at Roy's words, and she took a deep breath, taking the edge off her voice before she spoke again.

"Why are we responding to the signal, then?"

"The signal is outdated, the likeliest explanation is that whoever set it off is using an old beacon."

Olly peered at Matt closely, trying to understand what he was saying.

"So whoever set it off may be a victim of the Galra?" she said. Roy still seemed sceptical.

"Exactly. And our policy is that we help everyone, no matter how much of a trap it may seem."

Muxis chose that moment to step up behind Matt, causing him to jump in surprise.

"It may be another case like mine," Muxis supplied. 

"Wait, I though you defected and stole a ship." Lance pointed out, jabbing at the screen.

"Eh, depends on how you look at it." Muxis said, nodding at them as he lifted his rifle. "We await your return to base."

"I've sent through the coordinates," Matt said, tapping something on his wrist comm. A moment later a ping sounded in the cockpit, signalling the data coming through. "Good luck, and be safe."

"You as well." Lance responded. He waited for the video to cut out before returning to the pilot seat, adjusting their course accordingly.

"Guess our mission isn't over." Roy muttered, running her free hand through her curly hair

Roy and Olly checked over their supplies, repacking bags and doing quick repairs on equipment as he flew.

Roy whispered a quick apology to Olly for earlier as they worked. Instead of questioning it, Lance reverted to his new phrase of choice when it came to the two.

It was none of his damn business. 

Chapter Text

Lance winced as the source of the distress beacon came into view. It was what he assumed was an escape pod – or, what used to be an escape pod, in any case. It was pretty beat up. Lance was afraid that one wrong move could make the whole thing fall apart, possibly killing anybody inside.

If they weren't already dead.

Lance pushed the thought from his mind. If even one person was alive, they needed to get them out.

"Roy, Olly, have either of you done a retrieval mission before?" Lance asked, hoping that one of the two would have some experience.

"I've been... the object of a retrieval mission?" Olly supplied after a moment, bringing her hand up to hold Roy's as the taller girl shuddered. He wondered what had happened between the two.

Probably none of his damn business.

"So not really." Lance said, and Olly shrugged. "I've done a few with Voltron..." he mused, casting his mind back to retrieving the Red Lion, and their botched (but ultimately still successful) adventure on the Balmera.

Not exactly the best possible preparation for this mission, he'd admit.

"We'll follow your lead, then." Olly said firmly.

Oh.

Great.

Lance gulped, but pushed his fear down.

They had a job to do.

"Right, either of you good with electronics?"

Olly nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

Lance motioned towards the pod that they could see out the window.

"Can you get me remote control of the pod? We can't open the doors up here so we need to get down to a planet."

It probably wasn't the plan most retrieval teams would go through with, but stuck in a simple shuttle, it was all they had.

Olly nodded, turning to the control panel and typing furiously, fingers flying across the keys. "Roy, can you patch us through to them?" she asked, not looking up from her screen.

Roy moved to her seat, trying to lock into the communications system.

"Attention escape vessel, this is ship three-Rahtil-four-nine coming in for rescue, do you read?"

They were met with static as they drew nearer to the ship. Roy raised an eyebrow, repeating the phrase.

Still nothing.

Not a good sign.

"I've got visuals inside the ship, bringing it up now." Olly said, brow furrowed in concentration as an image appeared before them.

Two bodies lay still on the floor of the ship, one – the smaller – was in the centre, directly in the view of the feed; the second tucked in a corner. Lance frowned. Surely, someone was alive? He didn't want to have come all this way only to find that they had failed. He squinted, leaning closer to the screen. Was it....?

There!

"The smaller one's breathing!" He exclaimed, moving forward to get a better view.

The bigger one was still, facing away and half-hidden. Lance felt his heart in his throat, and he swallowed thickly. He continued to watch, until her arm shifted to the side and--

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh quiznak.

"There's another one on board!" Lance cried out, pointing to the movement in the corner. "There's three of them."

"But I can only feel..." Olly trailed off, looking to Roy in a mild panic.

"Lance..." Roy hesitated, glancing between the two, as if she was contemplating telling him. "There's only two."

"What? No, I can see a third!"

"Lance." Roy said again, and he stared at her. "I'm sorry, but there's only two people in there."

Lance tried to hold back his heart, feeling as if they had already failed the mission.

"I-I've got controls." Olly said, voice on the brink of cracking.

"Keep..." Lance paused, building himself up again and shutting off the feed. "Keep it steady, get ready for atmosphere re-entry."

The team buckled themselves in their seats, Lance waiting for them to nod before moving.

"We're heading planet-side." Lance said, steering the ship into a slow descent. Hopefully the occupants of the pod would hear.

Flying the resistance craft was a little different than piloting Blue. Most ships didn't have their own legs, after all, so it was up to Lance entirely to land without a sentient robotic cat to do so instead.

He winced as they bumped along the ground, most certainly causing damage to the shuttle and scratching its paint job off. Lance pulled a face, knowing if this was how bad their landing was, the pod would be ten times worse. He just hoped the harsh jolts didn't injure them.

As soon as he had properly landed the ship, asking for Olly to quickly run the systems for a check (nothing in the dangerous range, they'd get home for repairs), Lance clicked off his seatbelt and turned to Roy.

"Still got the line open?"

"Of course."

"Attention escape vessel;" Lance called, leaning forwards in his seat as if that would do something for the situation. "Prepare for us to board."

With no reply but the usual static, all three occupants stood to make the walk to the pod.

"Air's thin, but breathable." Roy said, glancing at the display above their heads. Lance nodded, but let his visor slide down. After all, this was set to alien biology, it mightn't of been accurate for humans.

The door slid open, and Olly was out to door first, a yellow streak as she ducked past Lance. "Do you know first aid?" she yelled over her shoulder.

Lance groaned quietly. He knew he should have taken that course at the Garrison.

"Only the basics!" Roy huffed, her prosthetic slowing her down enough that she started to lag behind.

Olly glanced behind her for a moment, before turning on her heel and looping back around. With a swift movement, Roy was suddenly over Olly's shoulder fireman-style, the position seeming causal. Olly didn't show any sign of strain on her face, and Roy just looked bored over the whole ordeal.

Lance decided not to ask. They had more important things to worry about.

Olly grew paler as they got closer, strange look in her eyes returning. She blinked, and the moment was gone.

Upon boarding the ship, Roy removed herself from the other girl's shoulders, brushing herself off. "Forgot to charge before the mission..." She mumbled, flicking her prosthetic out and setting it down on the ground.

Together the two girls rushed to the alien in the centre of the floor, Lance rushing past towards the bigger one huddled in the corner. Female, Galra. Her eyes were closed, and she didn't respond to Lance brushing his hand against the back of hers.

He held a hand to her neck, praying to any god out there.

Chapter Text

Dead.

Roy had warned him, but it still came as a shock. Stupidly, Lance had given himself the benefit of the doubt. He closed his eyes, drawing in a long breath and letting it out again.

Lance wouldn't let the revelation slow him down - there was something else important at hand.

"Lance, this one's badly injured!" Olly called. "Broken arm, and I'm not sure yet, but we could be looking at two or three broken ribs."

Lance nodded to show he had heard, gently shifting the still slightly warm body - Lance tried not to shudder when he thought about what that meant - and rolling her out of the corner. Two small yellow eyes peered out at him.

"Hey," he whispered, holding a hand out. The yellow eyes flinched, and the little one ducked back down. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, we're here to help."

Seeing their fear, Lance reached up and pulled off his helmet. "See?"

They peered out curiously again, then a tail curled around Lance's wrist. He gave a small smile, reaching out his other hand to lift the child into his arms. They gripped onto Lance's arm tightly, head resting on his shoulder.

Lance felt the lump in his throat resurface, looking across the pod to where Roy and Olly were tending to the other alien - another Galra female.

Her eyes snapped open, and she flung an arm out to attack them.

Roy and Olly immediately held her down.

"Don't move, you're hurt!" Olly yelped, jumping forwards to help.

She struggled against the girls, breaking free after a long moment when Olly let out a shriek. She gave a short scream as the girl scrambled away, huddling in the corner.

"Olly!" Roy ignored the girl, reaching for Olly instead. She placed her hand on the back of Olly's neck, pulling her forwards to their foreheads touched.

Olly's eyes fluttered closed, and she calmed down instantly. "Thank you..." she whispered.

None of his damn business.

Lance turned to face the Galra girl, who glared back at him; though she broke off into a wince, clutching her arm to her chest.

The girl hissed at them, before skittering for the open door.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Roy growled, pulling back from Olly at just the right time to see her escape. She brought her hand down on the console, causing the doors to slide shut, locking in place.

She crashed into the door with her shoulder, slamming it in frustration with her good arm before turning to face the rest of the people in the pod.

“Let me go.” She said; voice dangerously low.

“You’re injured, just let us help y—”

“No! Let me go!” She punched the closed door again, the thud echoing through the pod. “I won’t go with you!”

“S-sis?” The little Galra child in Lance’s arms said quietly, lifting her head. Her tail flicked in the air, and her grip tightened on Lance.

“Mik!” Still pressed up against the door, the girl stared at the child. She seemed conflicted, before coming to a decision. “I’ll do anything you want, but please- don’t hurt my sister.”

“We won’t.” Lance promised, “We only want to help.”

The girl wrinkled her nose in suspicion, before giving a hefty sigh – which she broke off with a cry of pain. She slid to the floor, focus flicking between the others.

“What’s your name?” Olly asked

The girl closed her eyes, taking shallow breaths as she held her side. “… Rinnai.” She eventually answered, letting a leg slide out in front of her. She still was on edge, but it was a step up from before. “Mik and I… it’s just us.”

Lance noticed that she avoided looking over to where the Galra woman was.

“And maman!” Mik called out, using her tail to motion to the corner.

Her sister looked away. “Just us…” she said, almost to herself. “Mik, I am… so… sorry—” she let out a tiny sob, pressing a hand to her mouth.

Olly sniffled, stepping closer to Roy and grasping her hand.

“Therra, don’t cry.” Mik said, wriggling in Lance’s arms. He set her on the ground, and she immediately ran to her sister.

“Rinnai, huh?” Roy scowled, folding her arms.

The girl didn’t answer, holding Mik close to her on her good side. They just sat, holding each other as the older cried, the little one wrapping her tail around them in a comforting gesture.

“Rinnai- Therra- whatever your real name is,” Lance started as she calmed down, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “If you come back with us, we can heal your injuries.”

“H-how can I trust you?” she shot back, though the waver in her voice made it seem so much less threatening.

Lance paused, unsure how to answer. He opened his mouth to speak, only for a blaring alarm to cut him off.

“What is it?” he said instead, turning to Olly and Roy. Roy tapped at the half-working console.

“Two Galra fighters inbound,” Roy reported, before cursing and thumping the console. “I mean, I think it is, the tech’s on the frizz.”

“Th-they found us…” Therra whispered, eyes widening in horror. She pulled Mik closer, burying her face in the top of the child’s head. “They found us, they found us…”

“Olly, can you get them to our shuttle?” Lance asked, eyeing the flickering screen. Judging by the distance, they’d be here in a matter of doboshes. “We need to leave now!”

Mik let out a small cry, staring up at Lance with tear-filled eyes.

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay…” he soothed, slowly crouching down across from the two Galra.

“No, it’s not!” Therra shouted, before doubling over in pain. “It’s not okay… I promised maman, and…” she continued to mumble to herself, trying to curl up in the corner, still holding Mik close, the small one crying quietly.

“Olly, please,” Lance tried again.

“I promised maman, I promised that I would take care of Mik…”

“Nothing bad will happen to her, I promise,” Olly said calmly, kneeling down and slowly prising the crying Mik from her sister’s arms. “But we need to go, and I need to you to agree to this.”

Mik stopped crying, wrapping her tail around Olly’s arm. Therra watched them, doubt passing over her face before she set her jaw and nodded.

“Okay.”

“Roy, I’m going to need you to help Therra, walking’s going to be hard with those ribs.”

“Got it.”

“Lance, watch our back. We’ll be unable to fight back so it’s up to you to be our sharpshooter.”

“Right.” Lance pulled his weapon out, waiting for the girls to start out before he left. He cast one final glance to the body in the pod – Mik and Therra’s mother – and whispered a quiet goodbye to her, as well as a silent promise to protect her daughters.

They heard the fighters before they saw them, hidden in the cloud cover above. Lance paused, aiming upwards and watching out of the corner of his eye as the others kept moving. Therra struggled to keep up, clutching her ribs as they ran, Roy hanging back in her steps to make sure she didn’t injure herself further.

Olly turned, reaching to grab Roy’s hand. She whispered something, before transferring Mik to Roy’s arms and picking up Therra.

The girl gave a shout of pain as she was scooped up, but she didn’t object as they sped up, and Lance didn’t fail to catch the look Roy and Olly shared, Olly’s expression steeling.

Again, none of his damn business. He ought to get that phrase on a shirt or something.

The fighters screamed overhead, and Lance took aim. It was hard as they ran, but they didn’t have an option. Stopping meant becoming an easier target.

There was a blast, and without thinking Lance jumped, using his body as a shield for the girls. He vaguely heard Mik screaming, a resounding “No!” from Olly alongside.

The laser tore through his shoulder, leaving a hole in his armour and an intense pain in his arm. He clenched his eyes shut, forcing the tears back as he let loose his own volley of shots.

Without seeing, Lance knew he had hit his mark. The ground shook as the fighter crashed, a deep explosion forcing him to the ground again, smashing into his injured arm.

Lance didn’t give himself a moment to recover his wits, instead dragging himself to his feet and running again.

“Oh that hurt,” he groaned as he caught up to the others. “Oh, quiznak—” he stumbled as his ankle rolled, shooting pain up his leg. He winced, still not stopping.

He had made a promise; and his mami didn’t raise a boy that went back on his promises.

Lance was so distracted by his thoughts he didn’t notice Roy and Olly had stopped until he crashed into Roy. Mik gave a tiny laugh as he flailed about.

“Why have we stopped?” Lance asked, brow furrowing. “We can’t stop, the shuttle’s just over…”

“There.” Therra completed, using her head to motion forwards.

A small squadron of sentries stood in their path.

“Do we take the long way around?” Olly said nervously. Lance found himself nodding.

“Yeah, that’s probably best.”

He had told Therra that he would protect her sister; and he had told Blue that he would be back. And he intended to keep both promises.

And for once, the best way to do so was to retreat.

Lance took aim, letting the others get a head-start as he shot two of the sentries in the head and a third in the chest. The rest advanced.

"Run, run, run run runrunrun!" Lance panicked, urging the others forward. The drumbeat steps behind him grew louder – seeing as all members of their party was slowed down in some shape or form – and Lance stole a glance behind him to see the sentries had caught up.

Without thinking, Lance dropped his gun and flipped over a sentry. Mik shrieked in both fright and delight behind him as he grabbed the sentry mid-air, using his momentum to fling the robot behind him, taking out another three in its path.

“How’d you learn to do that?” Roy asked as Lance scooped up his gun again, sprinting ahead before shooting from the hip and blasting one of the final sentries.

He grinned. “Gymnastics classes.”

It had been a while since he had practiced, having to quit to pursue his education at the Garrison; but his younger self had practiced religiously. After all, gymnastics skills impressed all of the ladies.

Olly gave a whoop as the shuttle came in sight, and together they ran for the ship.

Lance took off as fast as he could, this time not pausing to relish in the experience. They still had dangers ahead, and the sooner they returned to base the better.

Chapter Text

By the time they had gotten back to the base, the battle was long over.

Roy and Olly hadn’t seemed all that surprised when Muxis had come into the med bay, gently taken Therra’s arm (her broken one now covered in a cast and held up in a sling), and guided her away as Kelaan filled in Lance, checking over the nasty bruise forming on his shoulder from where he was shot.

“Why’d he do that?” Lance asked, watching them disappear around a corner. “She’s still recovering.”

“Interrogation.”

Roy shrugged at Lance’s questioning, yet also horrified gaze. “It’s just normal procedure to verify the identity of everyone who comes into contact with our organisation.” she said.

“But what if they don’t want to—ahh, fingers still hurt, Kelaan!—don’t want to join?”

“We still have to do it, to make sure they don’t reveal our location to the Galra if they leave.” Olly supplied. “It’s the best option we have.”

“So how come I wasn’t interrogated?” Lance raised his eyebrows questioningly.

“You arrived in the Blue Lion of Voltron, of which you are the only possible pilot in the universe.” Kelaan said, not looking up from her work in retaping Lance’s fingers. “I’m pretty sure that’s identity verification enough.”

Lance was still unhappy with the situation Therra was in, but it was not his place to share his opinion.

Olly assured him that it was not in any way painful, Roy adding a muffled “to Therra.” to the end of Olly’s sentence as a look of disdain flittered across her features. Olly had gently slapped her arm, giving an assuring look to everyone before Roy got up and walked out of the med bay, Olly trailing behind her.

Again, it was none of his damn business, though Lance was confused as to what Roy had meant.

And as both Roy and Olly were apparently needed for the interrogation, along with Muxis, the only other resistance members with any sort of experience with children, and as Vi was nowhere to be found –

Lance was on babysitting duty.

Right now, it was probably the easiest job ever. Lance glanced over in the corner, where Mik was currently asleep, tail curled around herself.

He wondered if all Galra children slept as much as Mik seemed to.

Perhaps he should ask Muxis later.

Lance stretched, turning his mind back to more important thoughts.

The attack on base.

According to Matt, the fight had been long and difficult, but one of the older resistance members had returned from an extended mission.

He had quite literally barrelled through the enemy and taken out their commander, stealing supplies on the way out again. He lead the rest to victory, using nothing but his fists and strength, tearing through the enemy lines like they were nothing.

Revered in the resistance, somehow Lance had never heard of the guy before. He found out why soon enough, though.

“There’s someone you should meet.” Matt said, sticking a fluffy head around the corner. Lance looked up from where Mik lay, raising an eyebrow.

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.” Matt said with a roll of his eyes, pulling Lance over to meet someone new.

“But I have to look after Mik while—”

“She’s sleeping, it’ll be fine for a minute!”

Lance continued to grumble as he was dragged along, nearly crashing into Matt’s back when he stopped.

“Lance, this is Lahnce.”

Lahnce nodded politely in greeting. He was red, lizard-like in appearance, with four horns covering the back of his head. “He was actually a cell-mate with Shiro and I when we were first captured, but after…. y’know, the arena…. I was taken to someplace else.”

“You!” Lance yelled, pointing at Lahnce in shock. The man… alien… warrior turned to face him, golden eyes lit up in curiosity at his tone. “You!” he shouted again, jabbing his finger through the air.

“… Yes?”

“You!”

“Kid, you’re gaping.” Matt said, reaching up to close Lance’s jaw.

Lance made an unintelligible noise, flailing before he pointed at Lahnce again.

Lahnce raised a brow, looking down at Lance’s finger, which was currently aimed at the centre of his chest.

“What about me?”

“You—” he made the noise again, poking the guy.

“That’s not really answering anything, y’know.” Matt shook his head, grinning wryly.

“No.” Lahnce agreed. “Why do you seem so shocked?”

“Because— argh, I can’t put it in words!”

Lance knew the alien, having vague memories of him resting in a healing pod on the Castle. One of six prisoners that Shiro and Pidge helped free when they had gone on their first mission to retrieve the Red Lion.

“Don’t you remember me?”

“…No?”

“Really small universe,” Matt said, half-laughing. “How many resistance members do you know from encounters with Voltron?”

“Ah, Voltron!” Lahnce said in recognition. “Really did a good job in that raid, I’ve gotta say.”

“You never told me it was Voltron that freed you!” Matt yelped.

“Didn’t seem relevant.” He shrugged.

“How – how – how is that not relevant?!” Lance snickered as Matt stumbled over his words.

“I thought the crew would just be happy I was back.”

“Of course, but you could’ve told us Voltron helped you out – I mean, nobody really escapes from Zarkon without outside help.”

“… Champion.”

“He has a point.” Lance said, folding his arms and tilting his head to motion at Lahnce.

“We can’t be certain yet!” Matt argued. “I still stand by my theory that we might have help from the inside.” He leaned back on his good foot, pursing his lips. “There’s too many coincidences.”

Lance pondered on that for a moment. The barrier surrounding Zarkon’s ship had fallen at just the right moment, allowing for them to wormhole away (even if it had caused the disaster that split up the team). Maybe Shiro did have help escaping, and maybe there was somebody on the inside. They couldn’t rule out the possibility – especially when it was proved that not all Galra were sided with their emperor.

“As much as I’d love to continue to chat and throw around conspiracy theories with you—”

“Hey!” Matt complained.

Lance laughed before he continued. “— I’m still meant to be looking after Mik, and then I have a debrief.”

Lahnce nodded, changing topics as he engaged Matt in light conversations.

Once out of range, Lance gave a loud sigh. Resistance life was confusing enough, and now he had someone with a nearly identical name to watch out for. Personally, he was glad the guy was generally sent on longer missions, and he didn’t really have the mental energy to keep up with slight pronunciation variations.

Debriefing wasn’t for a while, if Lance was to be honest with himself, but he really didn’t feel up to talking with anyone for a while. He needed a bit of time alone.

Mik was still asleep when Lance got back, and he smiled at the tiny mound of purple fur curled up by one of Blue’s front paws, tucked just from sight.

Lance rubbed his temples, leaning back against Blue. It had been a while since they had been together, and Lance was going to milk their time together for all it was worth. He would allow himself one hour. One hour before he had to leave. One hour, and then he needed to go to the debriefing. One hour, and then he could take Mik to see Therra…

Whoops, Rinnai. He’d introduced her as Rinnai to the resistance, Roy and Olly agreeing on the way back that it was the best option, in case they ended up in a bad situation.

That right there was another headache in the making.

Kelaan had informed him that the Galra commander – captured by Lahnce – had cracked under pressure. Someone snorted at this point, laughing as he regaled the tale. Kelaan had walked in with a thermometer and the Galra had started begging for mercy.

He was probably the least threatening Galra Lance had ever heard of.

But he had given them crucial information – the Galra had been tracking them. The commander had no idea what it was, and had only been given the trail.

Matt was in half a frenzy, trying to figure out what on board the ship they could possibly be tracking, at the same time trying to keep everything running as usual as they tried to repair everything after the attack.

“I have no idea what they could have picked the signal up from – it’s never happened before!” he shouted to someone behind him as he ran past the hangar door. Lance watched him, before frowning.

He had a pretty good idea.

Lance sighed, reaching behind him to place his palm against Blue’s cool exterior. She covered him with a feeling of support, preparing him for the task that he knew he had to do.

He wanted Voltron to find him, he really did. But if the Galra could track the Red Lion, then they could just as well track the Blue Lion.

Lance couldn’t not risk another attack. It wasn’t a serious attack – nobody had died – but he would never forgive himself if something had happened.

How could he possibly look anyone in the eye, knowing that he had indirectly lead their enemy to them? How could he protect Nea and Mik, and all the other innocent lives on board if he was the reason they were in harm’s way in the first place?

He would never forgive himself if the Blue Lion lead to the fall of the resistance.

A tiny yawn came from nearby, and a fluffy purple head popped up to look at Lance. He smiled.

“Hey, Mik.” He said, scooping her up into his arms. She squealed with delight as he rested her on his hip, stepping back from Blue and waiting for her to lower her jaw to the ground so he could enter.

“Woah.” Mik whispered as he walked into the cockpit. Lance grinned.

“Pretty cool, huh?” the girl nodded, staring around, yellow eyes wide in wonder.

Lance, on the other hand, had eyes only for the console.

One measly button. One measly decision.

Voltron or the resistance. Tracker or no tracker. His desires or their protection.

His brow creased, and Lance closed his eyes tightly, reaching forwards and pressing the button.

“Come on, let’s go meet your sister.” He said flatly.

“Therra!” Mik cheered.

“Rinnai, we’re calling her Rinnai.” He corrected.

“Rinnai.” She repeated slowly, before wrinkling her nose. “Don’ like it.”

He chuckled dryly, leaving Blue behind without a backwards glance, the deed hanging heavy in his heart.

Galaxies away, Altean eyes sprang open as the Blue Lion’s connection faded to nothing.

Chapter Text

Pidge sat curled up in her chair on the bridge; dressed in only her jumpsuit- she had removed the armour plates long ago, but felt it was too cold to wear her usual shorts. She grumbled something under her breath, reaching underneath her glasses to rub at her eye.

“Any progress, number five?” Coran asked, pausing in his work to glance over. His hand still hovered by the holographic display, though Pidge couldn’t discern what was going on from where she sat.

“A little…” she shrugged after a moment, holding the laptop stable with her wrists. “I’m using both the castle and the Green Lion for the base coding, but it’s a little difficult, with the systems being so much more advanced than what we have on Earth.”

“Of course,” Coran nodded in understanding. “If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.”

Despite the exhaustion and stress Pidge was feeling, she gave a smile. “Thanks, Coran.”

He smiled back, the ends of his moustache twitching upwards.

The door to the bridge slid open with a whoosh, revealing Allura and Hunk. Hunk held a tray of food in his arms, making a beeline for Pidge before the doors had even fully opened.

“You didn’t come down for lunch.” He said, pulling the laptop out of her hands and replacing it with the tray. She made a whining noise, trying to feebly reach for the laptop again. “I’m not giving this back until you eat.”

“I’m trying to find Shiro and Lance, what’s so wrong about working while I eat?”

Hunk gave her a deadpan look. “You always get crumbs stuck in the keys, and it’s a horror to clean.”

Pidge grimaced, knowing he was right. “So,” she said, picking up the spork and twiddling it between her fingers “Do you have any ideas as to what may help lock onto the Lions?”

“You are using the Fraunhofer line, right?”

“Of course! It’s just that Green, Red and Yellow keep interfering with my work.” Pidge stabbed what seemed to be a vegetable, a pout forming on her lips. “And right now, I can’t figure out how to isolate the signals we’re looking for.”

Allura pulled her hair up into a bun as she made her way to the centre of the room. “I think I may be able to help there,” she said, giving a brief smile to Hunk and Pidge. “After all, I am able to lock my life force onto each Lion individually.”

“That might be what we’re looking for.” Hunk said.

“Mhmm…” Pidge shovelled food into her mouth, only just now realising how hungry she really was. “Hunk, while you’re currently holding the laptop, would you be able to check over the coding? I think I’m missing something.”

He chuckled. “It’s probably a semicolon.”

Pidge glared at him, though her heart wasn’t into it. “That was one time!”

“Twice.” He teased, walking to his own seat and dropping down, laptop on his knees.

“I was tired and emotional.” She rolled her eyes, poking at another vegetable.

The tension had drained considerably from the room, leaving them all in a comfortable silence, Hunk periodically tapping away at the keys. Allura and Coran conversed quietly, examining the galaxy map and highlighting potential points.

“Found it,” Hunk called, waving Pidge over. She jumped up, leaving the half-eaten tray of food by her seat as she rushed over.

“What was it?”

Hunk smirked. “You really wanna know?” Pidge hesitated for a moment, before she nodded.

“If I don’t find out, I’m going to keep making the mistake.”

“Okay, so you really wanna kn—”

“Just tell me already!” Pidge whacked him lightly on the shoulder, flopping over the back of his chair.

“A closing bracket.”

Pidge groaned loudly, burying her face in her arms. Hunk reached back to pat her elbow comfortingly. She peered up through her hair and caught his eye. “Don’t look so smug.”

“I’m not smug.” Hunk chuckled, turning back to the laptop and adding another line of code. “I’m just amazed that you didn’t spot it.”

“It’s been a long day,” she admitted. “I probably need a break.”

Hunk nodded. “Do you want me to keep working on this?” he asked, motioning to the screen.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Pidge said, pulling herself back to her feet and retreating to her seat. She sat sideways, knees hooked over the arm and flopped backwards, stretching her neck.

“Okay Allura,” Hunk said, giving a final once-over to the coding. “I want to see how this checks out.”

“Give me the signal when you’re ready,” she replied, raising her hands as the controls for the castle rose from the floor.

Hunk nodded, typing once more. “Lance, could you—” he broke off, looking horrified with himself. Pidge winced at his heartbroken look, pulling herself upright and swinging around in her seat, narrowly missing the tray of food.

“I’ll do it, Hunk,” she said quietly, getting to her feet. “Hook up the laptop to the main control panel?”

Hunk mashed his lips together in a line, nodding. Pidge did as she was asked, tossing the input ports towards Hunk. “We’ll find them.” She said, filled with more determination than before.

“Alright, Allura, we’re all good to go,” Hunk said, turning to give Allura a thumbs up. She stepped forwards, letting her eyes softly close as the blue holograms flickered to life around them.

The main door to the bridge slid open again, and the map disappeared as Allura opened her eyes.

“Keith!” Coran complained, tugging at his moustache as the system deactivated and the Princess turned to the sound.

“Have you found Lance?” Keith asked, moving straight for his chair. He sat down, pulling his shirt up and using it to wipe sweat off his face. “And Shiro?” he completed.

“Keith, your gay is showing,” Pidge muttered, before her eyes widened when she caught Keith’s expression. “Did I say that out loud?”

He pointedly ignored her, instead slouching down in his chair. “Have you found the Blue and Black Lions?” he corrected, running a hand through his hair and pushing it from his face, where it stuck up, slick with sweat.

“We were just about to test the system;” Hunk told him, attaching the ports to the laptop and wriggling them around when they didn’t connect immediately. He didn’t look up when he continued. “And you need to eat.”

“I—”

“Buh buh buh!” Hunk help up a finger. “Don’t start that with me, you’ve been on the training deck since early this morning, and you need to keep your energy up.”

“I’m fine.” He insisted. “Just get this going, the sooner we find Shiro and Lance the sooner we can reform Voltron.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, pushing her glasses up her nose. “That’s not our motivation,” she noted.

“The Lions are our priority,” Allura interjected “We find them, we find the paladins.”

“We find our friends.” Hunk stressed, before he looked up again. “Keith, I’m ordering you to eat, alright?”

Keith rolled his eyes, making his way over and grabbing the salad from Pidge’s tray. She didn’t object, crossing one leg over the other and sliding down further into her seat.

Allura let a small breath pass her lips, eyes falling closed again. One more, the holograms flickered and—

“How long do you think this will take?” Keith asked, receiving a glare from everyone else in the room.

“A lot faster if you let me concentrate.” She sighed, clasping her hands together.

Keith sulked, stabbing uselessly at his salad. Allura muttered a “thanks,” hands once more reaching for the controls. “But please, can everyone be quiet until I lock onto the Lion’s coordinates?”

“Right…”

“Sure,”

“No problem.”

“Roger.”

Allura allowed herself a roll of the eyes, biting her lip to try and hide the tiny smile forming. Instead, she closed her eyes again, clearing her mind of any thoughts except for finding the Black and Blue Lions.

Her eyes sprang open, and she stared ahead in shock. “Quiznak,” she said softly, and the others turned to look at her.

“Princess, are you okay?” Coran ran over, a hand reaching out to rest on her shoulder. She shook it off, still staring at nothing.

“Quiznak.” She said again, a little louder.

“Hunk, Allura said a bad word.” Pidge muttered.

“You do not understand the gravity of this situation,” Allura insisted, shaking her head. Her eyes still stayed open wide, eyebrows causing a crease in her forehead. “the Blue Lion’s connection… it’s gone.”

Chapter Text

A few hours later found Lance resting the back of his head against the cool metal of his Lion, trying his hardest not to cry.

“I’m sorry, guys…” he mumbled, voice hoarse. But he needed to have faith in his team - faith that they would still reunite, even with this new block between their paths.

He had to keep believing.

Lance dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, sliding down Blue’s side until he was resting on the ground. He didn’t have time to cry, there was work to be done.

A fluffy tail wrapped itself around his arm, and Lance started, nearly whacking his head into the metal behind him. The tail wound tighter, and Mik clambered over his knees, curling up against Lance’s chest without a moment’s hesitation.

As he held the child close, Lance sniffled. The action was echoed by the child in his arms a moment later, and he tried to give her a weak smile.

Mik was crying only because he was. A pure, innocent child with a heart of gold. A child trapped in a world that was too cruel. The lump in Lance’s throat grew, and he fought back another sniffle.

“Come on Mik,” Lance said, struggling to get to his feet without letting go of the girl “let’s go find your sister.”

Mik hooked her legs around Lance’s middle, arms and tail letting her hold on tighter.

Blue was silent, and Lance nearly broke down right there and then. She had never been silent – even when Lance knew she was angry with him.

Shifting Mik’s weight to his other side, he left the hangar, refusing to look back as the door closed behind him.

He had things to do.

He had made the right choice.

He had to make himself believe it.

Sighing, Lance followed a corridor aimlessly, every so often pausing so he could spin in a circle, causing Mik to squeal with laughter. It helped to lift his mood, and he held tight to her as he slid over a recently mopped patch.

Lance reached a corner, took a turn left, and immediately flattened himself to the wall as a stretcher barrelled down the corridor in the opposite direction.

“Vi!” Lance gasped, sprinting to catch up to the stretcher bearing an unconscious Vi, their normally bright and shiny disco-bobble droopy and clouded.

The brown splotches that covered their skin oozed, and it smelled like—

No.

Lance grabbed the side of the stretcher with one hand, his other holding Mik. The two aliens bearing the stretcher gave him a thankful look, and the smaller of the two let go, reaching to take Mik from Lance. She gripped Lance tighter for a moment before her whispered that it was fine, and transferred her to the other alien.

They slowed to a stop, knowing that such a small child had no right to see something such as this. He was once again reminded of the purity of the child. He hoped resistance life wouldn’t rob her of that.

“Thanks,” he gasped, using his legs to their advantage and speeding up.

“We have to get them to Kelaan!” The second alien said, swinging the stretcher around a corner. Lance set his jaw with new determination, sharing a look with the alien. It was one of his roommates Liliterthith, but Lance had already assigned him the name Lilith, despite the fact that it was a very feminine name.

Lances ankle rolled a little as they slid around the corner, but he ignored it, bursting through the med bay doors.

“Kelaan—”

“What in the—” Kelaan looked up, eyes widening the instant she spotted Vi.

“We found them in one of the unused parts of the ship, next to Perus.”

“And Perus?”

“Dead.”

“Put them on the operating bench, somebody find Nea!”

“Check the library!” Lance called over his shoulder. He made to leave before Kelaan flung an arm out, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

“Paladin, hold their shoulders down!” Kelaan ordered, already holding Vi’s head still.

Vi writhed, but Lance held strong, trying his best to keep them as still as possible.

“They’ve lost a lot of blood,” Kelaan said, turning just enough so she could reach for her tools. “Hold them still for me.”

Lance gulped, this was the reality of resistance life. This was what he was doing. One day, it could be him on the operating bench, fighting for his life.

It was terrifying.

Kelaan switched on a bright lamp, directing it downwards so she had better sight.

“Hold the skin together.” Kelaan instructed, and Lance forced down his gag reflex as brown sludge slid over his hands. No time to be squeamish. There was a life hanging in the balance. He had to close his eyes as Kelaan stitched the wound closed, feeling every tug of skin beneath his hands.

“You can look now, Paladin,” Kelaan said softly, cleaning her tools with quick precision and pulling more out.

She jabbed a needle into the soft part of Vi’s elbow, connecting them to what Lance assumed was a heart monitor. It beeped pitifully a few times, before dying out.

“Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, heart is located above the stomach to the right.” Kelaan ordered, rushing to grab a vial of green liquid.

“Cardio—what…? Oh! CPR!” Lance jumped to attention, trying not to grimace as he felt the internal organs move under his fingers, in a way that was not human at all. Lance reminded himself that Vi wasn’t human, so this was probably normal.

“How many compressions?” Lance asked quietly, trying not to think of the ache in his shoulders. He was probably doing them wrong, but it was the best he could manage.

“As many as it takes.” Kelaan replied, jabbing a needle filled with the green liquid into Vi’s neck.

“Rescue breaths?”

Her brow creased, and she blinked slowly. “What are those?”

He took that as a no, then.

Twenty compressions, thirty.

Forty.

Lance wasn’t sure he could hold out.

Fifty.

The heart monitor beeped to life again, and Lance sighed in relief, pushing back from the bench and letting his arms drop to his side.

Kelaan wiped sweat from her brow, leaving a brown streak over her face as she did so. Lance felt nauseous at the sight, running for the adjacent bathroom. He barely made it before he threw up.

Lance rinsed his mouth thoroughly, trying his hardest to get the sick taste from his mouth. It remained, but it would have to do. He stared at the mirror for a moment – a paler, shallower face stared back. Lance tried not to shudder, turning away and heading back into the main room again.

Personally, he was glad to see Kelaan had cleaned her face. She stood over Vi, taking their temperature and jotting the number down on the datapad.

“You did well Lance,” Kelaan said, giving him a half-smile as she passed the datapad to him. He read the details, noting that Vi’s temperature was a lot higher than an average human’s. He wondered if that was why Nea always felt warm. “We’ll make a medic out of you yet.”

Lance wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a medic, but at the same time, being able to save lives to make up for those he took was an interesting concept.

Perhaps he could make it work.

“Could you teach me?”

Kelaan reached over to grip Lance by the shoulder. She blinked her owlish eyes once, before her lips spread into a genuine smile.

“I was waiting for you to ask.”

Lance smiled as well, before he yelped and flung himself backwards as Nea skidded around the corner and shoved past him.

“Terla!” she cried.

Lance held an arm out to stop her from crashing into Vi, trying his best to hold her still. Nea shrieked as Lance picked her up, resting her on his hip.

“Terla!” she repeated, stretching out an arm for her… Lance hadn’t really thought about it, actually. He’d always mentally referred to Vi as Nea’s mother.

“Terla is safe.” Lance said, and Nea stuck out her lower lip.

“Good, sleep, better.” he attempted to explain in broken Ploteryin. Nea looked at him in confusion for a moment, trying to decipher his words. She nodded, before motioning to the floor.

Lance set her down gently, resting a hand on her back as she clutched at his leg. Nea slowly reached out and grabbed Vi’s hand, the size comparison reminding Lance of how young Nea actually was.

“I do not understand how nobody found them before now,” Kelaan said, almost to herself. “We have done several sweeps of the ship,this could have been prevented.”

For a moment, Lance considered covering Nea’s ears, before remembering that she couldn’t understand them anyway.

“Is there anything else I should know?” he asked quietly. Kelaan turned to him.

“Perus was one of our best fighters. It’s a miracle Vi is still with us.”

Lance’s stomach dropped, and he nodded slowly. “Right.”

“I should thank you, Paladin Lance. It is your actions that have helped us save them.”

Lance didn’t feel like he should be thanked. The words fell dead on his ears, and his tongue felt bitter in his mouth.

Though maybe that was the vomit from earlier.

“Vi will need constant supervision for a while,” Kelaan said. “Are you willing to take the first shift?”

“Of course.”

Lance dragged a chair to Vi’s side, settling himself down and pulling Nea into his lap.

After several hours, Nea fell asleep, her head resting on Lance’s shoulder.

Lance dared not move, fearing that if he woke her she’d start to cry. If Nea was going to cry, it would set Lance off, and he had already dealt with a lot of that today.

Instead, Lance focused on shifting his legs, the feelings of pins and needles making a guest appearance.

“…Lance…”

It was soft, broken slightly, but there was no doubt somebody had called his name. Lance whipped his head up to stare at Vi. They stared back, before a brief smile came over their face. They weakly held out a hand, which Lance took in his own and squeezed.

“Terla?” Nea whispered, rubbing at her eyes. She gasped, sliding from Lance’s lap and climbing onto the bench to curl up by Vi.

Vi squeezed Lance’s hand, trying to smile once more.

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Instead, he burst into silent, hysterical tears.

“Oh, Hun…” Vi said, slowly pushing themselves up into a half-sitting position. They winced at the movement, but still leaned over to pull Lance into a weak hug. Lance sniffled messily as he drew comfort from them, burying his face in their shoulder, though he still held back so he wouldn’t aggravate their wounds.

“Maybe we should keep the physical affection to a minimum.” Vi joked, though there was a hint of truth in their tone.

Lance tried to stop crying, he did. But the events of the day – his stress about his team, the action taken to protect the resistance, the man he had killed on their mission, not being able to save Mik and Therra’s mother, and now what had happened to Vi – it was all too much.

Vaguely, Lance heard Vi talking into some sort of device, but as too mentally distraught to understand what they had said.

They must have called for someone, because the door opened behind him and he heard footsteps as someone entered the room.

“Come on Kid, let’s get you to the kitchen.” Lance numbly complied as Matt pulled him to his feet, Muxis holding a hushed discussion with Vi in the corner. He heard something about Perus, as well as the Galra, but he tuned out the rest of the discussion.

It was at that moment Lance realised how much pain his ankle was in from rolling it earlier. He must have let out a gasp of pain, because Muxis looked his way for a moment before moving over to him and lifting him into his arms.

“We’ll work it out later.” He said over his shoulder to Vi, who nodded in return and pulled Nea close to their side.

Muxis carried Lance piggyback style to the kitchen, He and Matt walking side by side in silence. Matt said nothing when Lance hid his face, and Muxis ignored the the wetness soaking his shoulder.

It wasn’t the first breakdown aboard the ship, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Such was the nature of war, and the poor souls that fought to end it.

Chapter Text

Lance wasn’t sure how long he’d spent crying into the cool metal of the kitchen table, but at this moment he didn’t really care. This wasn’t supposed to happen anymore. He wasn’t supposed to get this upset anymore. He wished he’d brought his meds.

Something cool bumped against his arm and Lance looked up, hesitantly grabbing the bottle as he stared at Muxis in confusion. Matt turned to Muxis with a frown.

“Muxis I don’t think—”

“Old enough to have a mental breakdown at the kitchen table, old enough to drink.” Muxis informed gravely. The sentence elicited a weak chuckle from Lance, who uncapped the bottle and took a sip. It was strong, and he found he didn’t like it that much. He’d always been told that it was an acquired taste.

He didn’t know if he would ever drink enough of the stuff to start liking it. But then again, he’d never met and alcoholic who drank it for the taste.

Lance took another swig, suddenly understanding Roy a whole lot better.

He sighed, placing the bottle back on the table. Matt stole it, chucking it in the fridge with a disgusted expression.

“Kid, people don’t..." he gestured vaguely over his shoulder, before turning back around and resting the flats of his palms on the table. “Y'know... for no reason. So what’s up?”

“We left Vi alone,” Lance said, trying to avoid the topic. “I was meant to stay and—”

“Nea knows what to do if there’s any trouble.” Muxis interrupted, sliding into the seat opposite Lance. “Vi will be fine.”

Matt shrugged. “From what I heard, you’ve been a big help for them.”

Lance gave a tiny nod, slinking down in his chair.

“So come on, you can tell us what the problem is.”

Lance hesitated, dragging himself down further and avoiding looking up.

“Kid?”

“The Galra… they were tracking us through Blue.” He began quietly, tracing meaningless patterns in the tabletop. “S-she sends out waves automatically to locate the- the other Lions, and it’s what keeps Voltron connected to Allura.”

Matt leaned forwards, brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

Lance nodded, sliding down even further if that were possible. “Yeah. Umm… when we- when we first found the Red Lion, um, they had managed to find her first by using the signal. I- I think they- I think that’s what they were doing with Blue?”

Muxis nodded, seeming deep in thought. “Were?”

Lance took a shaky breath, grabbing his upper arms and shrinking in on himself. “I- I turned it off,” he said, angrily wiping away a tear that had started trailing down his cheek. He blinked, only causing several more to fall. “They can’t- they can’t find me n-now but—” he pressed his hands over his mouth, a sob escaping his throat.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Matt said, rounding the table so he stood next to Lance. He dropped a hand on Lance’s shoulder, giving him a comforting smile. Lance steadied himself, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“But now my team can’t find me- can’t find me either.” He completed, more tears sliding down his cheeks.

“We were too late to save Mik and Th—Rinnai’s mother, and- and I killed two people on the mission and the base- the base was attacked because of Blue- because of me. Vi nearly died because of me—”

“None of that was your fault.” Matt insisted. “Come on.” He looked over to Muxis, who nodded and pushed his chair back from the table.

Lance hid his head in his hands as the emotions overwhelmed him again, blocking out the sight of Matt and Muxis looking down pityingly at him.

An arm clasped his from either side, and Lance shrieked as he was lifted from his chair. “What are you doing?!” he yelped in a half-panic as he was set on the floor. Muxis didn’t let go of his arm, but Matt did, folding his over his chest.

“Wh-where are we going?” Lance asked, being half dragged out of the room.

“To see some people.” Muxis supplied, pausing to let Lance regain his footing and walk beside him.

The rounded a corner, and a small giggle sounded as Olly bumped into the trio. The giggles broke off as Olly looked to Lance, a frown making its way firmly onto her face. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, giving a tiny wince. “Because I could feel your depression from another room, It’s practically tangible.”

“Wh-what?” Lance stared at Olly in bewilderment, having no idea what she meant. “I’m… sorry?”

“Lance, look at Olly.” Muxis instructed, ignoring Lance’s retort of “already am”.

“And Roy.” Matt added as she came into sight, huffing slightly.

“What- what about them?”

“Would Olly still be here if you hadn’t killed those men?” Muxis nudged Lance, causing him to stumble in place. “Well?”

“N-no…?”

“Yes, maybe you were too late to save Rinnai and Mik’s mother;” Matt added, causing Lance to flinch at the reminder. “But you saved her daughters, and I’m sure she’d be eternally grateful for that.”

“Vi got hurt because of your Lion being tracked—” Muxis continued, pausing and glaring at Lance as if threatening him to even try blaming that on himself. “But Kelaan says you were a great help in patching them up.” He gave Lance a friendly nudge – more of a painful shove that nearly sent him to the floor, and Lance offered a weak smile in return.

“And we heard that Kelaan wants to train you!” Olly said brightly. Lance wondered how fast news travelled through the resistance.

Roy nodded. “You should try to learn as much as you possibly can.”

Matt took a big breath, rubbing his forehead as Lance stared down at his feet.

“Look kid, its war.” He started, running his hand back through his hair. “It’s impossible to not kill at least a few people.”

Lance flinched, but knew he was right.

“But for every life you take,” Matt continued, hand once more finding its way onto Lance’s shoulder. “Remember that you’re saving at least a dozen more.”

Lance straightened his back and set his jaw, turning on his heel and heading in the direction of the hangar.

Matt made to follow, but Muxis held him back, watching the Blue Paladin leave.

He needed some time alone, time to think.

Lance made it back to the hangar, running to Blue as she set her jaw on the floor for him to enter. He nearly started crying again as he felt her in his mind. He sat in the pilot’s chair, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs.

He let Blue’s calm wash over him, closing his eyes and blocking everything else out as he focussed on breathing.

They were right – of course they were – but that didn’t make his feelings invalid.

Lance had saved so many people already. He was doing the best he could.

He needed to keep believing that. He had to believe that he was doing good for the resistance.

He wasn’t sure what he would do if he stopped believing it.

Lance clenched his hands into fists, raising his head and staring out of Blue’s eyes, new determination running through his veins.

He was going to get stronger. He was going to save people. He was going to become a medic.

Lance would do all he could to help. He would save more lives than he took.

He would learn to heal.

Chapter Text

"Oi Matt, d'you wanna toss that balloon pump up here?"

The next day found a much calmer Lance sitting atop the Blue Lion in the early hours of the morning – well, what could be considered morning on Base. He leaned dangerously close to the edge, peering down at Matt, sifting through a box of tools. Matt had understandably opted to do the groundwork, leaving the climbing to the more able-bodied Lance.

"It's not a balloon pump kid!" Matt whined, running a hand over his tired face then through his hair. Lance supposed that was his fault. He had dragged Matt out of bed rather early so they could work on Blue in the quiet. "Balloon pumps don't fix dents."

Lance retorted in a childish manner, sticking out his tongue as Matt found the pump and tossed it upwards.

Lance reached out to catch the tool, only to yelp as it completely bypassed his hand and smacked him in the face. He covered his nose with a hand, eyes immediately beginning to water at the sudden pain. It was only a moment before his eyes widened again as the equipment started to slip down Blue's nose. It glinted evilly, leaving Lance to watch in horror.

"Nooooo!" he shrieked, diving for the pump as it slid closer to the edge, teetering for a moment before falling completely.

With a war cry, Lance launched himself off Blue, using one hand to grab the tool and the other to grab Blue's nose. He flicked the pump back up onto the top of Blue's head, before using both hands to raise himself into a pull up, much the same way one would pull themselves out of a swimming pool.

He grinned down at Matt, who was standing just below Lance, hands on his hips and a half-smile half-gape on his face. Lance cackled at the panic in his eyes, knowing Matt had moved to catch him if he fell.

Matt groaned, pinching his nose. "Kid, you're gonna give me a heart attack..."

"Admit it, you thought that was cool." Lance called down, wiggling his eyebrows. Matt pulled a face, before looking up again.

"Well..." he started, tapping his chin in mock thought. "I'll admit that it was-" he paused, smirk forming on his face.

"Yes?" Lance prompted, leaning forwards so he could hear Matt's words clearer.

"More dramatic than the Titanic." He completed, and Lance groaned loudly, falling backwards on top of Blue and staring at the hangar's ceiling.

"Also, your brace is slipping."

Lance stuck his leg in the air, noting that yes, his brace was indeed slipping down his foot.

Despite the bad roll he had done to his ankle before, Lance didn't have to wear a bandage anymore, replacing it with a shiny blue brace. He'd freaked out when he first saw it, scared it was a prosthetic before Kelaan had shown that it was made of a deceptively stretchy material.

Besides, blue was a pretty cool colour.

Lance reached up to readjust his brace, flexing his foot to make sure it was positioned correctly. He pushed up to sit again, reaching for the pump and tossing it into his other hand, slamming it down on the dent closest to him.

With some effort, he yanked it back, causing the dent to pull itself out with a satisfying thwock. Lance ran his hand over the patch to make sure it was smooth, whacking the pump down on a rough spot and pulling it up again.

The process was eerily similar to unblocking a clogged toilet, and Lance had done that way too much in his lifetime.

Lance shuddered, pushing down the terrible memories of his Abuela's toilet. That was nasty.

Feeling the spot again, Lance nodded and shuffled over to the next dent. He smashed pump down, causing a ding as metal hit metal.

This one was deeper than the last, and Lance strained to pull it out again, losing his balance as it came free with another loud thwock.

It was a repetitive process.

Ding. Thwock. Ding. Thwock. Ding. Thwock. Ding.

Very repetitive.

Thwock. Ding. Thwock. Ding. Thwock.

He was bored.

Ding. Thwock.

Very Bored.

"Hey Matt? I have a question."

Lance could practically hear Matt's eye roll. "What is it?"

"Do the translators work with other Earth languages, or just English?"

Matt let out a short bark of laughter. "The only reason the translators work with English is because of yours truly."

One more ding-thwock and Lance tossed the pump back down to Matt. He caught it deftly and dropped it into the box at his feet.

"Wait, really?" Lance blinked, getting to his feet and walking down to Blue's back, wandering in aimless patterns over her shoulders. "I mean, I know that the Lions translate for us because of our bond, but you had to do all that yourself? It wasn't already there?"

"Oh hell no, kid," Matt groaned. "Do you know how long I sat there inputting English into the system manually?"

"I thought it was a universal translator?" Lance questioned, slipping down Blue's leg, only to be flung off at the end as she raised her paw.  He shrieked as he flew through the air, only to land in Matt's waiting arms.

"My hero."

Matt huffed, dropping Lance in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

Lance tried not to laugh as Blue's happy purr filled his mind.

"It is a universal translator," Matt continued "by Galra definition."

"So a more accurate name would be known universal?" Lance supplied, crawling over to the toolbox and digging through to find something resembling a screwdriver.

Matt nodded, moving to work on something under Blue's raised paw.

"Toss over the...thing?" he asked, motioning to where a small tool lay, just out of reach. Lance laughed, kicking it in his direction before leaning against the Lion's side.

He wasn't really sure what Matt was doing, but Blue was yet to protest, so it couldn't be that bad. Besides, this was Matthew Holt, older brother to Pidge.

Anything Matt could do would only be an improvement.

"You know what I found when I was putting English in?" Matt said after a minute of silence punctuated by his tinkering.

"Mh?" Lance folded his arms, ready for a nerdy talk. What followed was far from it, and had Lance flail around as his weight caused him to topple to the side.

"English is derived from Galran."

"What?!" he yelped, voice cracking in shock.

"Well, not exactly..." Matt mused, continuing his work as if he had not just pulled the metaphorical rug out from Lance's feet. Lance could see him trying to hide his mirth in the corners of his mouth. "It's more of English having roots in Latin- but then Latin comes from an alien language that was built upon old Galran."

Lance face palmed. This was only more fuel for Pidge's conspiracy theories.

And Keith's for that matter.

You couldn't have a conspiracy board and not be a conspiracy theorist. That wasn't how it worked.

Lance shook his head, returning to his original train of thought. "So how long do you think it would take to put Spanish into the system?" Lance questioned, grabbing a bucket of water and dropping a sponge in, the water foaming up at the contact.

"With no base language like Galra, a long time." Matt said, walking out and dumping the tool in the box, wiping his hands on a rag. "I don't think you could do it."

Lance bit his lip as he grinned, shaking his head. "Is that a challenge, Matty boy?"

He didn't miss the glint in Matt's eyes. "You bet it is."

"Oh, you're on, sir." Lance said, grinning wickedly as he dumped the entire bucket of water on Matt's head, soap suds and foam flying everywhere.

He ran gleefully from the hangar, determined to get started immediately. Well, that and avoid Matt's wrath. Lance could already feel him coming up with a revenge plot.

But Lance was not going to lose this bet.

Chapter Text

He was totally going to lose this bet.

Lance gulped as he searched through the database, noting the many words from various languages that Lance would have to find a Spanish counterpart to. He was already finding that some words in Ploteryin needed a whole sentence to translate literally, and was beginning to notice the many flaws of the Spanish language. Putting an accent on a word could make give it an entirely different meaning, and if he stuffed up it could lead to some interesting translations. Some words didn’t even have counterparts, so Lance would have to find the closest meaning.

But Lance was determined.

If it meant he could start speaking Spanish again, then he would do it. Anything to feel a little closer to home.

That didn’t mean it wouldn’t be difficult, though.

Lance rubbed a hand down his face, heaving a sigh. He had never realised just how much went into a language – both in writing and speaking.

Lance entered the ‘new language’ command, searching through the databases existing languages for somewhere to start.

He smiled as he came across Ploteryin again. It was as good a place to start as any, he supposed.

Lance smiled as he entered “agua” into the system, matching it with the corresponding Ploteryin word, committing it to memory as he went.

He was determined to learn as much of Nea’s language as possible. If he could learn English in six months, why not Ploteryin?

He stayed until the late hours of the night, slowly adding his heart language into the database.

Lance waited impatiently outside of Kelaan’s door, wishing profusely that she would hurry and wake up. Lance didn’t doubt that he had a lot to learn, and he wanted to start immediately.

He wanted to be able to help more next time. And to do that, he needed to be trained.

Just as Lance was about to knock on Kelaan’s door (and hopefully wake her himself) it was flung open. Kelaan pushed past him, running to the bathroom that Lance himself had vomited in yesterday. The sounds he had made yesterday were repeating themselves from Kelaan, and Lance frowned.

Was Kelaan sick? Or pregnant? Did unicorn aliens get the same pregnancy side effects as humans? Did unicorn aliens even get pregnant?

Lance pushed down the tirade of questions to go grab a cloth from the med bay, passing by a sleeping Vi and Nea as he went.

Lance knocked on the door, entering when the muffled “come in” sounded from within.

“Ah, Paladin Lance. Thank you.” Kelaan said weakly, using the rag to first wipe the sweat from her brow, and then to wipe the dregs of vomit from her mouth. She made a mildly disgusted face, before tossing the cloth into the sink.

“Um- are you okay?” Lance asked hesitantly, rubbing his neck as he watched Kelaan compose herself.

“Nothing to worry about, Paladin Lance.” She assured him, hauling herself up from the bathroom floor. “Now I believe you came here for some training?”

“Oh! Uh, it can wait until later.” Lance said hastily, surprised at the way Kelaan seemed to be ignoring her apparent illness.

“I insist. I am well enough to teach you.” Kelaan said, marching from the room. Lance trailed behind her, confusion etched into his features.

“A-are- are you sure? What even was that? Are you okay?”

Kelaan’s stern features softened as she turned to look at him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“It is nothing for you to worry about right now Paladin. In the future you will know, but for now, I am perfectly capable of teaching.”

Lance nodded his head slowly, still unsure if he believed Kelaan or not. He followed her back into the med bay, where Kelaan handed him a datapad and began to examine Vi. She got to work, explaining what she was doing as she went and allowing Lance to record the results, periodically stopping so he would be able to keep up.

He was determined to get this, determined to make this work.

Lance paid rapt attention, focusing all his energy into Kelaan and the patients that came in throughout the day - Nyma (still complaining about a sore neck, though that didn’t save Lance from her teasing), Liliterthith for allergy medication and a few others he didn’t recognise from other parts of the ship.

Kelaan congratulated him, marvelling in the way the injured seem to relax in his presence, being comforted by his cheery personality and light-heartedness. Lance revelled in this praise, the words of encouragement only making him more determined.

He would get this.

Looking to Kelaan, he frowned as she rubbed her stomach.

He had to. For Kelaan, and everybody else.

Lance stood outside another closed door, once again impatiently waiting for it to open. This time, the door lead to the guest rooms, where Therra was currently being held. Olly had assured him that she was receiving good care, and that the only thing that really made her room a prison was that she wasn’t allowed out without an escort.

But Lance was still worried.

Olly had seemed to understand, giving him a quick pat on the elbow - the highest point she could reach easily, before walking inside, reaching for Roy’s hand as she did so.

The door slid shut behind them, leaving Lance in the silence.

Once again, he was alone, waiting.

Mik had fallen asleep several minutes ago, cradled comfortably in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, tail curled around his wrist, and every so often she would let out a quiet purr as she slept.

Muxis had informed him that all Galra cubs tended to sleep more than they were awake, and that this would only occur for a few months before the child reached their first maturity – something Matt had decided matched up to reaching five or six years of age in a human.

Apparently, they needed all the energy they could get.

Which also explained Mik’s appetite.

The door swung open, Roy stepping out first with a tired-looking Olly cradled in her arms.

Again, it was none of his damn business.

Olly groaned in what sounded like annoyance, and Roy pulled her a little closer.

“Rinnai’s free to do whatever, but she’ll need to see Kelaan for a check-up.” Roy said over her shoulder as she marched down the hall and through a door Lance hadn’t noticed before. It had stars drawn all over it, and Lance assumed it was their bedroom.

He wondered why they slept down here and not in the upper levels with everyone else.

Again, none of his damn business.

The door slid open again, and Therra stepped out, glancing around nervously for danger.

“Mik!” she cried, catching sight of her baby sister in Lance’s arms. She held out her free arm and Lance immediately handed her over, watching as Therra set the child on her hip.

The slight jostling woke Mik up, and she rubbed at her eyes, staring around.

“Ther—Rinnai!” Mik squeaked, throwing her arms around her older sister’s neck. Her tail did much the same around Therra’s free arm, tip flicking to and fro.

Lance smiled. The scene filled him with hope – perhaps that would be him one day.

Reunited with Voltron.

Chapter Text

Allura lay curled under her blankets, buried out of sight. She stared at the wall opposite her bed, unmoving. A wisp of hair fell over her eyes, but she didn’t attempt to move it away.

“Princess,” Coran said softly, standing by the door. He didn’t come in any further, keeping his distance as he spoke to her. “Princess, I know losing the connection to the Blue Lion is… worrying, but we cannot lose hope.”

Allura didn’t reply, pulling her blanket closer to her chin. She was fully aware she was sulking like a child, but the blow of losing a Lion of Voltron was great, and affected her deeply.

“Besides, we still have to find the Black Lion and Shiro.”

This time, she did turn her head, peering over her shoulder to Coran.

Had the wrinkles around his eyes always been that deep? Coran looked more tired than Allura had ever seen him, and she started to fear he was stretching himself thin.

“Y-yes…” she mumbled, “I suppose we do.” Her heart wasn’t in her words, hiding itself deep in her chest.

Blue had always been the most trusting of the Lions. She was the easiest to sense, and Allura was struggling to guess reasons as to why the connection was severed.

The worst scenario could only be the destruction of the Blue Lion. She refused to believe this to be the answer, but the dark though planted itself in her mind and refused to be tugged out.

“We’ll all be waiting for you on the bridge when you’re ready, Princess.” Coran said, turning on his heel and retreating down the corridor. Allura closed her eyes and listened as his steps faded.

His steps sounded so much like Lance’s.

Allura felt tears burn in the corners of her eyes and blinked, shaking them loose. One trapped itself in her eyelashes, the other slipping down her nose. She wiped at her face using her blankets, pulling her knees closer to her chest.

Something small crawled onto her shoulder, and Allura gasped quietly. “O-oh. It’s just you…” she said, weakly lifting a hand so she could pet the mouse. The other three popped up from the hiding spots, and she braved a smile for them.

“Some company would be nice.” She admitted, letting Chuchule nuzzle up to her cheek.

“I just don’t know what to do – Shiro and Lance are both out there-” she refused to believe Lance was dead. He was strong and determined, and wouldn’t let a situation like this get him down “-and I know what the universe needs right now is Voltron, but how do we deal with missing Paladins and Lions?”

She let out a breath as Chulatt slid down her arm and sat next to Chuchule, both looking up at her expectantly.

“I mean, as much as it pains me to say, it would be much easier if we still had the Lions. Sure, it would be hard to find new paladins to bond with the Lions, but it’s not impossible.”

Allura realised she was talking to mice, but she needed to let the words spill out of her, as if extracting poison. “The Black Lion is our priority, but I fear for the fate of the Blue Lion. What if it has fallen into Zarkon’s hands? What if he has both, but he felt he only needed the Black Lion and destroyed the Blue?”

Platt squeaked, tapping Allura’s nose. She closed her eyes and counted her breaths, calming herself as best she could.

“I know I should not worry about them – I’m sure that Shiro and Lance can handle themselves.”

The mice chattered, scattering as Allura sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She grimaced at the tangles, tugging a few out before setting her feet on the floor. She shivered as her bare feet touched the cold floor, standing on her toes as she moved quickly to where her slippers lay.

The mice squeaked again, and Allura looked back to her bed. They were standing on the edge, waving wildly at her. “Oh, you want to come as well?” she asked, making her way back over and holding out a hand. They scampered up her arm, coming to rest on her shoulders. Plachu squeaked pointing them onwards and Allura let out a quiet laugh.

It sounded dead on her ears, and the laughter petered out as quickly as it had begun. The mice looked at her in concern, and she smiled. “It’s nothing. I’m just caught in my own thoughts, that’s all.”

Allura left her bed unmade – something she hadn’t done since she was a child, long before the ten-thousand year reign of Zarkon and the Galra Empire had begun – and made her way slowly to the bridge. She didn’t care if she was still in her nightgown, or that her hair was a mess. It was Allura, showing who she was.

Besides, it was hardly like the Paladins looked any better. They were all worn through from this; tired, but unable to sleep.

The door slid open and Allura stepped onto the bridge, noting how frail everyone seemed. Pidge rested her chin in her hand, eyes drooping shut every so often. Coran tapped at his control panel, turning systems off an on again to no effect. Hunk paced back and forth, speaking to himself.

Keith was nowhere to be seen, and Allura realised he must have been on the training deck again. A small burst of sympathy tugged at her heartstrings. Of all the Paladins, he had taken their loss of Shiro and Lance the hardest.

Allura suspected he blamed himself for it. And deep down, she also felt the same. If she hadn’t insisted on infiltrating that Galra supply ship, she wouldn’t have been captured. The rest of the team wouldn’t have come to save her.

They would still be together.

Allura made her presence known, walking to the centre of the room. “I know it is difficult for us, with the loss of the Blue Lion…” she began, fidgeting slightly as everyone turned to look at her. “But we must keep our aim in sight – we are Voltron, and we must continue our fight.”

She raised her chin ever-so-slightly.

“We must not give up hope.”

Chapter Text

He’d only wanted a drink of water.

A measly glass of cool refreshing water after he’d woken parched from a nightmare.

That was all he had wanted.

Instead Lance had walked in to find Muxis dead to the world at the kitchen table, surrounded by empty bottles of what Lance could only assume was beer.

“Mux?”

He didn’t stir, and Lance placed a gentle hand to his wrist, noting his steady pulse.

Slowly, Lance filled his glass with water and sat down at the kitchen table. He couldn’t really leave him there alone, and it wasn’t like Lance would be able to fall asleep again, anyway.

Not after he’d watched half of the resistance fall, after Blue had given the location of base away.

The door slid open and Lance looked up as Matt stepped in, nose wrinkling at the smell of alcohol.

“What in the—” he broke off, catching sight of the odd duo. “…oh.”

Matt stared at Muxis for a moment, before bringing a hand up to run through his tangled hair.

“I wonder what happened this time.” he mused, peering into the assortment of bottles and scooping the empty ones up into his arms. He trudged to the bin and tossed them in, not caring for the crash they made.

“What was it last time?” Lance asked, setting his empty glass down and resting his arms on the table.

“He lost a good friend in a fight shortly before you arrived,” Matt said. He lifted the Galra’s head, retrieving the bottle poking out from underneath him. “Muxis saw it happen. Kind of blamed himself for it.”

Lance nodded. He knew the feeling all too well.

“You look tired, kid.” Matt noted, gaze flicking to the dark rings under Lance’s eyes. “Why are you up?”

“Why are you up?” Lance countered, dropping his head down onto his arms.

The silence that answered Lance was deafening. He lifted his head just enough to see, finding Matt had taken Lance’s glass and retreated to the bench again. He pulled his own one and and was about to fill it, before he paused and glanced back to the table.

He gave a muffled “fuck it” and left the glass on the bench, returning and dropping himself into a chair. He pulled one of the remaining bottles towards him, tilting his head back and taking a large swig. Lance blinked, pulling himself up again and sitting straighter in his chair.

“I thought you hated—”

“Muxis is an alcoholic and I don’t condone how he allows the younger members on this ship to drink,” Matt interrupted, nose wrinkling as he looked over to the hunkering Galra. “But that doesn’t answer my question. Why are you up?”

Lance found himself fiddling with the cuff of his jacket, refusing to meet Matt’s eyes.

“I just needed a drink, that’s all…” he muttered, folding and unfolding the cuff. He glanced up for a moment, to find Matt with a raised eyebrow.

“… Nightmare.” He said finally, and Matt’s gaze softened in understanding.

“Well, I could really do with a drinking buddy right about now, my usual one’s unconscious.” He jabbed a thumb at Muxis, sliding the bottle across the table.

Lance looked at him in confusion. “You were against this a couple of days ago.” He stated flatly.

“And right now, I’m not. Don’t question it.”

“Fluffy’s really letting himself go,” a voice called from the doorway, and Lance turned to find Roy leaning against the frame.

“How long have you been there?” Matt complained, lifting the bottle to his lips again.

“Long enough.” She replied, shifting her weight and walking into the room. Olly, as always, was with her, but for the first time Lance had ever seen her, she was behind Roy, looking miserable.

Roy reached past Lance’s shoulder and picked up the bottle, moving to a spare seat at the table. She made sure there was one next to her, and Olly sat down there, leaning over to rest her head on Roy’s shoulder.

“Was the interrogation that bad?” Matt wondered aloud.

“No shit.”

Lance jumped in his seat, staring over at Muxis who had been dead to the world only a few minutes ago. The others seemed unaffected, as if this was a regular occurrence.

“Sorry son, didn’t mean to scare you.” Muxis said, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing.

Roy shook her head in disbelief, grabbing her bottle and taking a sip.

It was silent at the table, although it wasn’t uncomfortable. They were merely waiting. For what, Lance wasn’t sure, but it didn’t really matter.

Muxis was the first to speak.

“Are you absolutely sure her real name was Therra?”

Lance blinked at the question, shooting a glance over to Olly and Roy. “How many people know?” he asked lowly.

Roy shrugged. “You, me, Olly, Mux and Fluffy here, plus Kelaan for safety reasons, Mik – obviously – and Vi. I think that’s it.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Muxis repeated, voice strained.

“Yes, I’m certain.” It was Olly’s first words since they had joined the table, and she said them so dull and flat that Lance almost didn’t recognise her voice.

It was silent again, the only sound being the clinking of glass as bottles made contact with the table.

Muxis broke the silence again.

“I think she might be mine.”

“Well, yeah, of course,” Lance said, raising an eyebrow as Muxis reached for another bottle. “She’s Galra.”

“Lance,” Matt said. “That’s not what he meant.”

“Pfft, what else can he—” Lance broke off, eyes widening as realisation hit him. “Oh.”

“Yes,” Muxis agreed. “Oh.”

“How can you be sure? Is Therra not like, a super common Galra name?”

“Only one I’ve ever heard of.” He gave a humourless laugh, dragging a bottle closer. It happened to be Matt’s who whacked him over the head and pulled it back towards him.

“What about her sister?” Roy said quietly, seeming to already know the answer.

Muxis frowned, and Roy held out her drink to him. He grabbed it, taking a swig before answering. “She’s the right age to be mine.”

Lance pursed his lips, distracted from the conversation. He recalled what Matt had said earlier, about Muxis being an alcoholic.

He seemed to have a history with alcoholic father figures, didn’t he?

The thought caused Lance’s heart to plummet. He couldn’t let history repeat itself. He didn’t want a repeat of last time. He had to help.

Lance pushed himself up from the bench, taking the bottles Muxis had claimed – plus Matt’s to prevent him from grabbing that one – and pouring both down the sink. He tried not to wince at the kicked puppy expression Muxis gave him as he did so.

“You can’t drown your problems in alcohol, it doesn’t work.” Lance said, trying to keep his head from spiralling down a dark path. He couldn’t afford for that to happen. Not here.

“Lance, your depression is tangible again.” Olly groaned, lifting her head from Roy’s shoulder and reaching out to grab a bottle out of the reach of Muxis. Lance mentally kicked himself for missing one, but didn’t make an attempt to grab it, instead dropping into his seat again.

Tangible?

No, it was none of his damn business. Just like his depression was none of Olly’s business. Lance was surprised by the sudden anger that was blossoming in his chest, but he didn’t push it down.

Olly’s tired face suddenly morphed into an expression of shock, the bottle in her hand smashing to the floor.

“Olly?” Roy turned to her companion, brow creased in concern.

Olly stared at her hands with wide eyes, and Lance’s anger turned to overwhelming concern and fear. What was wrong? Was she okay?

Olly fell from her chair, Roy too late to catch her. She made a thud as she hit the floor, thankfully away from the broken glass. Everyone at the table jumped up to help, shouting as a collective.

“Olly!”

Chapter Text

7445 groaned quietly, opening her eyes to the dim light radiating from the ugly lighting fixture that hung from the ceiling.

She frowned up at the light, shielding her eyes with her arm and sighing quietly. She normally didn't wake this early; not until the lights were off to allow natural light to stream in.

Dim voices sounded from around the corner, and 7445 stiffened.

She hastened to jump up from the floor, dragging whoever was closest with her. There were a few muffled shrieks as people were woken from slumber but they quickly heard the voices and formed their line, in their usual order.

This was the way it had always been, for as long as 7445 could remember.

She quickly jabbed the alien (who had some strange horn protruding from the centre of his forehead) next to her in the back, silently telling him to stand straighter. She was rather fond of 8564, or "Koadda" as he preferred to be called.

7445 didn't really get the fuss behind names. After all, she'd never had one.

She had always been 7445.

Three figures rounded the corner – two buyers, and the head handler, a man known to them only as "Boss". He was chattering away to the buyers as they approached the line, dressed in a sleazy suit.

7445 was pretty sure the suit had been made by the small meek boy with eight arms, currently cowering at the end of the line.

She tried to keep herself from snickering as Boss continued to speak. It would not do to get herself in trouble again. Not after last time.

"You will see that we have a large selection for your choosing," Boss spoke, gesturing behind him to the line of slaves he knew would be there. It was routine after all, and if they got it wrong they were punished severely.

"Yes, but quantity is not always a good indicator of quality." The man said, his imposing figure seemingly growing in the gloom. 7445 thought the man to be quite wise, if a little pompous, and was curious at the bioluminescence he was giving out faintly.

There was a small scuffle behind 7445, distracting her from the events unfolding in front of her. She opened her senses, reaching out to feel who it was. All the slaves were lined up with her, meaning it was none of them. So that meant... 7445 grinned, before she wiped the expression off her face to remain neutral in the presence of the buyers.

7445 had been wondering when the little street rat would show up again.

The street rat as 7445 knew her, having no idea of her name, had an uncanny knack for getting into all the places she wasn't supposed to be. One of those places being the underground slave business' base of operations.

The street rat also had an uncanny knack for hiding. Which came in handy for moments like these.

Turning her attention away from the girl, she focused instead on the family in front of her. Hanging back just a tiny amount was a woman, dressed a floor-length gown and heavy cloak.

She had a look on her face that indicated she would rather be anywhere but here, in the filthy hole the Boss liked to call the quarters. If her wrinkled nose was any hint as to her opinion, she didn't seem to approve of the business either. Her markings glowed brighter than that of the man, yet she had less, many of which being covered up by her cloak.

There was the man who had spoken to Boss, and was still fixed in a long debate with him over prices and quality. He was also wearing long robes, though they covered up less of him than what 7445 assumed was his wife.

A tiny sound, and 7445 found her eyes trained to a lump underneath the woman's cloak. Two eyes alight with fear stared back, the woman's skirts held tightly in her fists.

7445's heart broke for her, she looked so scared. 7445 glanced quickly at Boss, who was bringing the man to the start of the line, where their biggest and most burly members were placed.

She stuck her tongue out at the girl, noticing the way her fear seemed to shrink just a little, replaced by mild shock.

7445 made another face at the girl, crossing her eyes and smiling the cheesiest smile possible.

The girl paused for a moment, glancing up to her mother in apprehension before turning to 7445 and making the same face back.

7445 shifted a little, willing herself to replicate the small bioluminescent markings on the girl's cheeks. She made them flash different colours, grinning proudly at her feat.

The girl laughed softly, clapping a hand over her mouth so the small sound went unheard to her parents and Boss.

The fear that 7445 could sense radiating from the girl had dwindled, now down to levels that 7445 could handle without giving herself a headache.

The woman sniffed derisively, peering across to 1524 as if he was a squashed bug on the underside of her shoe.

"As I said, none of them will suit our needs at all!" she huffed, walking forwards to her husband's side, pulling her daughter with her. "We should go with a more well-known business, regardless of their price fixtures."

"But that would take far too long, and they would bleed us dry before we found what we were looking for." The man responded, not turning to face her, and instead stepping further down the line.

"They would have a finer selection."

"But fewer, meaning nothing of use." The man pointed out, before he turned to look down the the girl clutching at his wife's skirts.

"Honey, the one you choose is to be your new playmate—"

The girl shrank back into the shadows of the cloak, until her markings were the only thing visible.

"I object madam! My slaves are not—" Boss was cut off by a glare from the man; a silent promise that if he spoke one more word they would leave.

The girl looked terrified, staring out at the line, eyes darting from one face to the next.

Boss waved his hands, and the slaves bigger than the rejected 1524 stepped back.

The woman coaxed her daughter forwards, out into the open. She took a deep breath, markings pulsing as she exhaled. She stood as tall as she could, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. She still looked scared, but she refused to back down.

"Um—" she started quietly, before clearing her throat and trying again. "Only girls,"

Her mother made a chiding sound and she started, adding on a quick "please" to the end.

All of the males stepped back, leaving a small selection of female slaves, 7445 included.

"Only those that pass as our species." The man ordered, despite the exasperated sigh his wife gave at the statement.

7445 went to step back, but Boss gave her a look and set her foot down again, shifting her features slightly to match more closely those of the buyers, rolling her eyes as she did so.

Three aliens remained: 7445, 8564, and 2461.

She hoped that they would pick her. Anything was better than here.

The child moved immediately to stand in front of her. 7445 struggled to keep her face impassive.

"This one." She said firmly, going to point before bringing her hand down again and looking at the ground.

Boss glared at her for a moment, not happy to be selling what he described as a deficient product.

Shapeshifting was weird after all, and so were her abilities. Logically, 7445 classified in his mind as a broken product.

She didn't really think so, and apparently neither did her new buyer.

7445 tried not to flinch as the child grabbed her hand, sending jolts of electricity through the young girl's body.

She hadn't felt excitement on this level in a long time.

7445 let herself be dragged after the family, noting the street rat's departure as well. She would probably follow them for a while. The street rat was oddly considerate like that.

"What am I to call you?" 7445 asked the child, the first words spoken between them.

The girl made to open her mouth, but was cut off.

"Rosaline." The woman supplied, not even bothering to look at 7445.

"And what is your name?" Rosaline asked, still pulling her new playmate through the crowded street. 7445 noted that their markings faded out in the light, invisible in the daylight.

"Do not fraternise with the slave, honey." The man said.

7445 thought that was stupid, and continued to speak to her in hushed tones.

"I do not have one," she said, "you can call me 7445."

Rosaline frowned in confusion "but everybody needs a name!"

She looked around for inspiration, her eyes landing on a small stall her parents had walked past, neither of them sparing a glance. Olina's flowers.

"How about Olina? I can call you Olly for short!"

The newly named Olly nodded her head, loving the name.

Rosaline's happiness was contagious, spreading from the point that their hands connected all the way to Olina's very soul.

Olina.

She liked it.

Chapter Text

Lance moved to help Roy as she gently moved Olly into a sitting position, but was stopped as Roy flung out an arm.

“Don’t touch her.” She ordered, turning her bright eyes onto him. Lance frowned, but took a step back. Satisfied at the distance between them, Roy cradled Olly in her arms, pressing their foreheads together.

It was a familiar position to Lance, the pose identical to that of when they had attempted to subdue Therra in the pod. He had told himself it was none of his business, but now with Olly lying unresponsive in Roy’s arms it had become his business.

“Olly come on, fight for me Olina!” Roy muttered, free hand reaching down to hold Olly’s.

Lance noticed her face was carefully neutral, as if she was forcing herself to remain calm. Figuring it was important, Lance tried to do the same. Panicking would get them nowhere.

Olly’s eyes fluttered and she let out a whimper. She reached up weakly to place a hand on Roy’s cheek.

“Lance I need you to take off her jacket,” Roy said.

“R-right—”

“And be careful not to touch her skin!” Mild panic was seeping into Roy’s voice, and Olly shrieked, pulling her hands away from Roy.

“Shit! Olly, I’m sorry!”

Lance did as he was told, removing the jacket with as much care as possible. Roy Immediately moved one of her hands and held it over Olly’s heart.

Lance’s eyes caught on a mark stretching across Olly’s collarbone. It was an old scar, faded over years and years, leaving only pale lines, illuminated in the light. He wasn’t sure, but it looked kind of like numbers.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked, worry prominent in his voice.

Olly cried out and Roy turned towards him.

“Whatever you’re feeling right now, push it down. Block it out. If you can’t do that, get out, and move as far away as you can.”

No one moved, and Lance too forced himself to push down the tiny bit of panic that he could still feel. He made himself completely calm, slowing his breathing.

Olly seemed to move her hand towards him for a moment, before it dropped to her side again with a groan.

“That…” Roy furrowed her brow in brief confusion. “That’s- that’s good! Lance, hold her hand for me, okay?”

Lance frowned “But you said not to touch her skin.” He said.

“Whatever you’re feeling – or not feeling, whatever – keep it going.” Roy said, shuffling back to make room for Lance. “I think right now you’re better for this.”

Lance knelt down and grabbed Olly’s hand, squeezing it tight.

“Pilot… I need Pilot…” Roy muttered to herself. Lance watched her, wondering what she was going on about. She stood up, tapping her prosthetic limb on the ground nervously. “Lahnce came back the other day, right?” she looked to Matt, knowing that he kept track of these things.

“Yeah.” He confirmed.

“Mux, find Pilot for me, now.” She said, arranging the chairs and motioning for Lance to place Olly on them.

Muxis pulled a device from his pocket, flicking a switch on the side as he left the room.

Roy moved back to Olly, watching over her as Lance continued to hold Olly’s hands.

“That gets rid of our most unstable source.” She murmured, motioning to the door. “He’s no good drunk, I swear.”

Olly’s eyes fluttered open, and Lance watched as they took on a glassy quality.

“Shit, she’s still over stimulated…”

Lance tightened his grip, forcing calmness. He tried to imagine it flowing from him into Olly.

He had a feeling he’d already figured out what was happening.

“Olly look at me.” Roy said firmly. Lance had never heard her take that tone of voice with her before.

Olly’s eyes snapped up to meet hers, holding her gaze.

“Pilot’ll will be here soon, hold on.”

Immediately some of the glassiness in Olly’s eyes vanished, said girl attempting to pull away from Lance.

“No, no I’m fine-” She said, but as Lance’s hands left her own, she shrieked, clenching her eyes shut.

Roy darted forwards, resting their foreheads together and hushing her quietly.

“Please, I don’t want to” Olly whimpered. Roy tilted Olly’s chin a little so they were looking directly into each other’s eyes.

“That’s an order, Olina” Roy said softly.

Olly’s eyes widened, and her gaze flickered to her collarbone for a fraction of a moment.

“Yes, Miss Rosaline.” she whispered meekly.

Lance shared a brief look of confusion with Matt before Muxis burst through the door, a small alien that Lance could easily mistake for some sort of bug close behind him.

“Pilot!” Roy yelled, grabbing her hand and placing it over Olly’s eyes. It was still for a second before Pilot jolted in place, tipping backwards into Roy’s waiting arms.

The girl sighed deeply, breathing through her nose. Roy lowered her to the ground, where she sat, absolutely still.

Olly still writhed in place, in constant danger of falling off the crude bed made of chairs.

“Come on Olly, focus.” Roy hissed, moving to place her hand on the back of Olly’s neck once more. “Put your walls up. Block it out.”

There was silence as Olly’s laboured breathing echoed through the kitchen. Her face twitched a little. To Lance, it seemed like every other grimace that had decorated her face in the past couple of minutes. But he supposed Roy must have seen something more in it, and she grasped Olly’s hand and squeezed.

“That’s right Olly, just like that!”

Pilot stirred, sitting up straight and stretching her arms. She spotted Olly and pulled herself into a standing position, moving over to stand by her side.

“Hey, we’re good. You should be able to control it yourself now.” She whispered, stroking the girl’s hair as she did so. Lance noted the way she carefully avoided flesh on flesh contact, drawing back whenever she got close.

Maybe it was stronger with direct contact?

Lance remembered their last mission, the way Therra had grabbed Olly’s arm as she attempted to escape. Olly’s scream right after, and Roy abandoning Therra to help Olly instead.

Why was Roy able to help? What was it about her that could let her touch Olly without causing her pain?

Olly groaned, slowly pulling herself up to rest on her elbows.

She was pale-faced, but calm, watching everyone in the room in turn. Lance noticed that her gaze lingered on him, but didn’t point it out. Roy still kept a hand on her neck, and Pilot had picked Olly’s discarded jacket up off the floor, wrapping it around Olly’s shoulders.

“We’ll explain everything in a tic.” Roy assured, Pilot shooting her a look over the top of Olly’s head.

“I’m sorry” Olly said lowly, staring up at Pilot.

She shook her head at Olly’s words.

“It’s not your fault. Besides, I can deal.” Pilot said, moving to sit at the kitchen table. She was still watching Roy, though this time it was in mild disinterest.

Roy helped Olly sit up fully, careful that she didn’t list sideways off her chair. She took the second chair to herself, slouching back in it in exhaustion.

Slowly, Lance, Matt, and Muxis joined them at the table.

“It’s nice to see you, street rat.” Olly said, the slightest of laughs entering her voice. Pilot grinned and finger gunned her from across the table.

“Right back at ya, mood ring.”

Olly let out a full laugh this time, hopping off the chair and going around the table to give Pilot a hug.

The hug didn’t look like it would end any time soon, and Olly held out an arm. “C’mon Roy.” She said. Roy rolled her eyes, but got up all the same and joined in, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.

This was the most emotive Lance had ever seen Roy.

Some more minutes passed, Muxis finding it the perfect time to take a nap at the table. The hug ended, but all three girls still stayed close.

"You’re definitely going to want an explanation.” Roy said, pulling herself from the clump first and sitting at the table again.

Lance smiled as Olly moved to sit in Roy’s lap almost immediately, Pilot laughing as she hopped up onto the table and sat there.

“Should we wait for Mux to wake up?” Matt asked, jabbing a thumb at the Galra.

“Nah, he ‘ready knows.” Pilot shrugged. “Haven’t needed to do this for a while, so you don’t exactly know yet, fluffy.”

Matt huffed. “I tolerate Roy calling me that, but it doesn’t give you a free pass.”

Pilot stuck out her tongue, and Roy bit back a laugh. Olly giggled, the sound easing the tension from earlier.

It was an adorable scene, but it only added to Lance’s growing list of questions.

Chapter Text

"I can feel other peoples emotions and it hecking sucks." Olly said, folding her arms and slouching back into Roy's form.

Pilot gave Olly a incredulous look "That's not the way I would've started this conversation, but sure." she said, her words muffling as she buried her face in her hands.

"Oh zachesl, Olly you can't just say it like that!" Roy laughed. Lance realised that it was the first time he had heard the sound, and it was surprisingly high pitched when compared to Roy's usually devoid-of-all-emotion voice.

Olly made a face, scrunching her nose as she did so. "So, any questions?" she asked brightly, turning to the rest of the group in the room.

Yes, Lance had way to many to count.

"Yeah. What the fuck?" Matt managed to say before Lance even had the chance to open his mouth.

"Anybody other than Matt?" Olly amended, completely ignoring said boy's indignant face.

Lance had so many questions, and seeing as Muxis was still knocked out, that left only him to ask them.

"Yeah, how does that work? Can you feel everyone's emotions at all times? Can you feel mine? Is that what you meant by my depression being tangible? Can you not feel Roy's or something? What was all that with Pilot? Why didn't you want to do whatever it was? Why can Roy and Pilot touch you now but nobody was allowed to before? And most importantly: are you okay?"

Lance took a breath, not realising he had managed to say all that without a break. He felt his cheeks flush and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Uuuuum..." Olly began, pursing her lips as she thought over the questions. "Long story, sort of, yes, yes, long story, long story, long story, long story, and yeah. For now, in any case."

"So overall, just go for long story." Pilot said, staring pointedly back-and-forth between Olly and the table. Olly giggled, ducking out from under Roy's chin and moving to sit cross legged on it, leaning back on her hands. Pilot was quick to lie down, head resting in Olly's lap as Roy leaned forward to rest her arms and head on Pilot's stomach.

The positions looked well practised, and Lance assumed that the dog-pile happened a lot.

"Dog-pile."

The whispered words came from Matt, who stared glassily at the girls before him. Lance guessed it was something he used to do with Pidge when they were younger.

"No, nap pile." Pilot corrected chidingly, closing her eyes as if to emphasise her point, Roy doing the same.

"Well, it's almost a nap pile." Olly said, raising her eyebrows expectantly at Pilot. The alien cracked one eye open, looking back at her for a silent moment.

"Ughhhhhh fiiiiiiinnne." Pilot groaned, sitting up so Olly could readjust. Now Pilot's head lay across her stomach, and all three girls were sprawled across the table, Olly's feet resting on the back of the vacant chair next to Roy's.

It looked even more comfortable than before, even if the pile was in an odd spot.

Perhaps he could try this with team Voltron sometime.

"So anyway, we're all awake and not planning on going to bed any time soon, so we have plenty of time for this 'long story' of yours." Matt said, making quotation marks with his hands before folding his arms. He went to lean back on his seat, forgetting he had chosen one with no back and flailing for a moment to regain his balance. 

Lance chuckled, shaking his head and turning expectantly to the pile, waiting for them to begin.

"Okay. So I've always kind of had the ability to sense emotions? They get stronger with skin-on-skin contact, but I'm not really sure why..." Olly said, grinning upside down at Lance before letting her eyes fall shut.

"Kelaan said it's probably genetic, but without any blood relations to talk to, we can't really confirm that theory."

"Wait, no blood relations?"  Lance exclaimed, rising from his chair. "are you saying you don't have family?" 

"Lance, calm down." Muxis said, grabbing his arm. Lance shrieked, not knowing the Galra had woken back up.

"I said calm, son." Muxis repeated, gently pulling him back into his seat.

"Wha- but- I- Olly!"

"It's not actually that uncommon out in space." Olly supplied, shrugging her shoulders a little. 

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, who like Lance felt that not having a family was something to be a little more upset about.

"There's a lot of different cultures out there," Roy said, Pilot sounding her agreement. "Not all kids are brought up by their parents."

"Especially in the dodgier parts of space." Olly said.

"And even in the good parts," Pilot chimed in. "Sometimes people are just unlucky."

"So... your family. Are they dead?" Matt asked, voicing the question Lance was too afraid to say.

"To be completely honest, I don't know."

She must have caught Matt and Lance's looks, because she gave a quiet snort and forged on.

"My species are shape shifters, an ability we have from what I assume is birth. It's easy to lose a kid when they're normal, so when that kid can change their appearance at will..." she trailed off, not bothering to complete the sentence. They all got the connotations. 

"You didn't look for them?" Matt asked quietly.

"I guess in our species its probably the kid's job to keep track of the parents, right?" Olly gave a dry laugh, crossing her ankles. "I - obviously - wasn't very good at that, and being that young I just... didn't care?"

Pilot snorted. "Again, not the way I would've put it. But sure."

"I know it all from here, I'll just..." Muxis tipped back in his seat, letting his head fall back.

"Yeah, sleep it off Mux." Roy said, lifting her head and resting her chin on Pilot's stomach. Pilot made a noise and she mumbled an apology, dropping down again.

Matt rolled his eyes. "You snore when you sleep like that." he said, but Lance wondered if Muxis had even heard. He looked knocked right out again.

"Guess we know what kind of drunk he is." Lance commented, only to receive a flat look from Matt.

"What? It's better than him being loud or angry."

Matt tried to maintain his stare, but Lance could easily see the agreement in his expression. He eventually shrugged, reaching for his cup of water.

"So anyway, that's how I ended up in a slave ring." Olly said.

Matt choked on his water, and Lance reached over to thump him on the back.

"Olly, please." Roy groaned as Pilot tried her best to quiet her giggles.

"But how did you survive being a slave with all this empathy stuff?" Matt asked. He set his cup back on the table and pushed it away, hacking a couple more times.

"Actually, that's a good question" Roy mused, turning her head flat on the side to look at Olly. "All those negative emotions should have been overwhelming, to say the least."

"It was actually really easy, It's kind of hard to be effected by emotion if everybody just kind of feels..." Olly winced before she said the final word. "empty."

The silence that followed was tense.

It was only made worse when Matt's words where proven true and Muxis snored loudly.

"I was living on the street and got kinda lost and found some under-city catacombs?" Pilot picked up the story. "Literal underground slaving business. And so that's how I met Olly."

"Oh, I remember that!" Olly said, shooting into a sitting position, causing Pilot to roll off and smack her head on the table.

"And I'll remember that." Roy added with a smirk, leaning back in her chair and motioning to the moaning Pilot and the furiously apologising Olly. "But you need to stop getting distracted and tell the boys everything."

"Why can't you tell it, Roy?" Matt asked.

She sighed. "Does it sound like I've even entered the story?"

"Skip to that, then."

"Well, Roy's parents came looking for a slave," Olly said, smiling at the memory. She crossed her legs, hands resting on her ankles. "little baby Roy was just so cute and her markings glowed aqua and it was beautiful and her dress was--" 

"Not important, keep going with the actual story." Roy interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Right. So they bought me and I was Roy's playmate for a few years."

"My parents referred to her as my playmate but it was more or less my own personal slave." Roy mumbled bitterly.

"That's sick." Lance said, horrified with the new knowledge.

"Not quite, we're getting to that part." Olly said. Matt raised an eyebrow, but she didn't follow up, instead dropping her legs from the back of the chair and letting them hang off the edge of the table.

"Where was Pilot in all this?" Lance asked.

"Still on the streets." Pilot supplied.

"When I got out she just kind of... hung around." Olly said. "Followed me when I went with Roy's family, stayed hidden on their property for years without being caught once. For a while, everything was fine and dandy."

"But after that?" Lance added, regretting his decision to open his mouth when Olly shuddered.

"Roy got sick, and I couldn't fix it." She whispered, eyes wide with several emotions.

"I tried to go to the Mistress, but she- she told me that if there was something wrong with Roy th-then she would know. B-but she wasn't getting better."

Roy pulled foot up onto her chair, tucking her knee under her chin. "I used to get sick a lot as a child, but this was different." she said.

"So Olly stole from her Masters and sent me to buy medicine." Pilot said, "I guess they thought Olly had attempted to poison her, 'cause they took her back to the slave ring after they found out."

"I got better thanks to Olly, but then Pilot told me what had happened." Roy ducked her head, reaching up to run a thumb over a scar on her top lip. "I had an argument with my parents - well, prolonged fight. It lasted months, steadily getting worse." she looked up again, huffing at the memories.

"In the end, I just walked out. I guess it was a terrible choice because I had nothing and no idea where I was going to go. It's a good thing Pilot found me later on, crouched under a bridge."

"Roy said she planned on bustin' Olly out again, but by then the ring had moved out of the system."

The room lapsed into silence again, punctuated by Muxis' snores.

"Then how did you find her?" Matt asked.

Pilot gave a small smile. "I can answer that. Lahnce was on a mission to find the same slave ring 'cause apparently the boss was an info broker to the Galra and he needed to be taken out. So we ran into each other and with similar goals, it made sense to work together. You can probs guess how the rest of that goes."

"Object of a retrieval mission." Lance mused, and the trio nodded.

"After that, we couldn't go back to my home planet. Pilot had been in space and wasn't about to ground herself again, and there was no way Olly and I could go back to my parents."

"Lahnce offered to take us to join the resistance and we've been here ever since." Pilot grinned.

Matt let out a low whistle. "You weren't kidding about this being a long story." he said.

"So what was that thing with Pilot just before?" Lance asked. It was the only thing not adding up.

"Sometimes too many strong emotions can overload my system. The only way to stop it is to give the emotions to someone else, sort of like..." Olly paused, furrowing her brow. "I don't even know what."

"But even then it's not really giving them to someone else, its more or using them to release them, like the emotions are being discharged entirely."

"So a heatsink?" Matt said, stroking his chin. 

Pilot blinked. "Yeah. Like a heatsink." 

"Does it cause them pain?" Lance asked, stopping the nerd-fest before it began.

"The opposite, actually. It's a really good feeling, 'cause it also pulls away the recipient's negative buildup too. But it's like a drug - very addictive and easy to become dependant on."

"I'm sorry." Olly apologised.

Pilot reached over and punched her gently on the shoulder "I told you not to apologise for it mood ring." she said. "Besides, that's why I go with Lahnce most of the time."

"So how come Roy touching you doesn't effect you, Olly?" Matt asked.

"Roy's calm in most situations, something I'm pretty sure is for my benefit."

"And don't you dare start feeling guilty about it." Roy added.

"No promises."

"So," Olly started, and it was that moment that Muxis jolted awake, staring blearily around the table. She giggled quietly, shaking her head.

"Any more questions?" she said, sliding off the table and pushing Roy's leg back to the ground so she could reclaim her spot.

"Yeah, one more." Muxis said.

"Thought you knew it all." Matt quipped.

"Most all." he grunted, turning to Roy. "So how'd you lose your leg?"

Matt leaned forwards in his seat, eager to hear the answer. Lance would have been lying if he said he wasn't interested in finding out the story too.

Roy gave them a flat look.

"Painfully."

There were several thunks as heads hit the table in annoyance. 

None of their damn business.

Chapter Text

Coran glanced up from the data screen in his hand, looking around at the rest of Voltron, scattered through the bridge.

Pidge stared at her laptop screen, not really doing anything, whilst Keith really was doing nothing, slouched down in his chair. Allura concentrated with her eyes closed, focussing all her energy into finding their teammates.

Coran disliked the silence. He missed the squabbles that Keith and Lance had for no reason. He missed Shiro setting goals for everyone, and thinking up new ideas for team building. He missed Hunk and Lance laughing over some in-joke. He missed the team coming up with plans, bouncing ideas off one another. He missed Hunk calling everyone down to the dining room to try the new food he had whipped up.

He missed the way they all seemed a family, fighting within each other but willing to fight to protect them all one in the same.

Above all, Coran missed Lance.

He had taken a fast liking to the boy, a lighthearted young man who could brighten a room just by walking in. He wore his heart on his sleeve, never afraid to speak up if something was bothering him. Coran admired those things in people. If he was honest, he was closest to Lance of all the Paladins.

Coran shook himself out of his thoughts, realising he had typed a long line of letters on his datapad while he wasn't paying attention. He looked up again, glancing at the team once more.

Hunk was fidgeting, continually readjusting his headband. His brow was furrowed, and his jaw was tense- that much was clear, even from the other side of the room.

Heaving a sigh, Coran placed the data screen down on his console, pushing fully to his feet and walking over.

"How are you holding up, number 2?" He said, placing a hand on Hunk's shoulder. The teen stiffened for a moment before relaxing.

"Oh. Coran. Hey, yeah I'm... doing as well as everyone else, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shrugged. "What more is there to say?"

Coran gave him a half smile. "Well, Lance told me you and Pidge were his teammates back on Earth. How about instead of worrying yourself thin over our current problems, you tell me what that entailed?"

Hunk paused, looking up to Coran. "He told you that?"

"Lance likes having someone to talk to," Coran replied "And I think he likes having someone who has not heard his stories before."

"Yeah, that kinda does sound like him." A smile ghosted Hunk's face.

Coran sat on the ledge in front of Allura's controls. "'Scuse me Princess," he said lightly, twisting around so he could see Allura as she paused in her work. "I just haven't sat down in a while and Hunk here was going to tell me all about Earth."

Allura raised a singular brow.

"Don't you think it's time for a break?" Coran pressed on. "Everyone needs a rest, then we can get back on with renewed determination!"

Allura nodded. "Pidge," she said, turning to look at said paladin, who had flopped over her seat again. "Do you want to do some training with me? I'm sure we could work on our close-quarters fighting together."

Pidge nodded, scrambling to her feet and walking towards the door. Allura gave Coran a knowing look before she left.

Keith made to follow, before Pidge held a hand out, stopping him. "Oh no you don't, it's girls only. You've been hogging the training room and it's our turn."

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but the door had already slid shut behind them.

Hunk gave him a sympathetic look. "Come on over here Keith. You can hang with us."

"But--"

"Keith. Relax."

Keith trudged across the room and dropped down to sit by Hunk's chair. "How's it so easy for you to say?" he muttered, crossing one leg under the other.

"Because I've had anxiety my entire life," Hunk said, and Keith blinked, looking up at the other boy. Hunk returned it with a warm smile. "It helps that I've had a lot of practice over the years, right?"

"Uuuh yeah, of course."

"So believe me when I say you need to stop training for a little bit. It's not the best way to relieve stress."

"How'd you know?"

Hunk chuckled, flexing his arms. "How do you think I got these?"

The corner of Keith's mouth was upturned, and Coran have a subtle nod to Hunk.

Hunk continued, returning the nod with a sure smile. "And I'm sure you have plenty of stories about Shiro, right?"

"I - what?"

Coran smiled, reaching up to stroke his moustache. "Ah yes! You and Shiro are... Fraternally related?"

Keith blinked. "Uh, not quite."

"You aren't brothers?" Hunk asked.

"I mean, we're really close, but no, he isn't my real brother."

"Adopted?" Coran said.

"Not officially." Keith shrugged. "I guess it was too much paperwork or something. Either that or it just wasn't a bother. I don't mind."

"Interesting."

"Tell me about it," Hunk said. "Keith lived out alone in the middle of a desert when we met him."

"The only reason I was there was because I couldn't deal with the house when Shiro wasn't there. The silence was awkward."

"So what difference did the shack make?"

The way Hunk had said that made it not unkind, just a gentle push for information.

Keith paused, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes tracked the strips of light before he answered. "The silence was peaceful. And I was actually doing something about Shiro's disappearance. I wasn't hiding away in mourning or accepting he was dead."

"The Garrison released a statement that the Kerberos mission failed due to pilot error though."

Keith snorted. "And you believed that shit? Shiro is one of the greatest pilots I know. When he has the lives of others in his hands, there's no way he could possibly fail."

Coran took the lull in the conversation as a place to change topics, noting Keith was getting worked up. "Tell me about this Garrison of yours."

"Alright," Hunk said. "The Galaxy Garrison is a military school, with a focus on space travel and flight. Students get split into teams of three - a pilot, comms specialist and mechanic. Pidge, Lance and I were a team, and you can probably guess who had what job."

"And what about you, Keith?" Coran asked, turning to said boy.

He muttered something incomprehensible in return.

Hunk grimaced. "Um, how do I say this lightly... The only reason Lance and our team ended up in the fighter class instead of cargo is because Keith was kicked out."

"Is that what they're saying?" Keith said, a dry laugh escaping him. "I left of my own accord. I wasn't going to let an organisation trying to cover up what really happened to the Kerberos mission use my talents. I dropped out because I knew I was hiding something."

"Everyone was told it was because you had disciplinary issues." Hunk said quietly.

Keith's ears tinged pink. "... I was on my final warning before I was expelled for that." he mumbled. "I guess me storming out made it official."

The room fell silent, and Coran cleared his throat. "We should focus on the positives," he said, attempting a smile. "We got a little off topic there. Tell me about Lance."

Hunk glanced to Keith, silently asking if it was okay to divert away from what they had been talking about. He nodded, looking relieved for the change.

"Sometimes I feel like I've known Lance all my life. He has a big family, and because of that he's got a million stories to tell - there's one about ice cream, but I'm sure he could tell the story better than I can."

Keith looked confused for a second. "How is there a story about ice cream?"

At the same moment, Coran asked "What is ice cream?"

"Its a type of food that gets served cold. It comes in a lot of flavours, so you can always choose which one you want." Hunk explained.

"As for the story, well I dunno. As I said- big family. Lance has a mild hatred of that stuff to this day though."

"Are all of his stories about insignificant things?" Keith asked, frowning.

Coran smiled. "Sometimes it's the insignificant things that become most precious to us."

Chapter Text

"Hey Lance, come try this!"

Lance jolted awake from his light doze at the kitchen table, starting at the sudden loud voice that had pulled him from semi-consciousness.

"Saaame." Matt sighed, rubbing at tired eyes as he watched Lance fully wake. Lance glanced around, noting that there were a few extra faces at the table, most he couldn't recognize.

"La-ance~" Olly sang, skipping over to the table, both hands holding bowls of something.

Lance sat up straighter, watching her suspiciously. "When people say my name like that, its never a good sign." he whined, remembering all too well his siblings and Pidge making use of the tone.

Olly smiled, no evidence of the late night seeping into her expression. "This should wake you up!" she said, waving the bowls in front of Matt and Lance's faces.

Roy seemed to be in the same boat as Lance, leaning on the counter top over her own bowl. Lance squinted, eyes still blurry with sleep. The bowls were filled with a white substance, almost looking like--

"Ice cream," Matt said, taking both of the filled bowls from Olly's hands and holding one out to Lance.

Who immediately hissed and backed up as fast and as far as he could, the kitchen table not stopping him as he vaulted across it, crouching behind the door frame as the others stared in bewilderment. 

"Lance, what the hell?" Matt exclaimed, dropping the bowl onto the table and giving him a very confused look.

Lance backed up further in fear, just peeking in from the hall. He had vowed never to go near ice cream. Never again.

"He's... scared of it?" Olly said, tilting her head to the side. Her fringe fell a little over her eyes, a half-amused, half-confused expression showing from just underneath.

"If you'd seen the things I've seen, you would be as well. They turn into demons, Matt- demons! Mami said it would be fine, but she was wrong." he shook his head, feeling his stomach fill with dread. "Never again."

Matt gave him a deadpan look. "Lance, were you perchance a theatre kid?" 

He paused, blinking. "Yeah," he replied. "But this is unrelated! No ice cream! None!"

Matt chuckled, sliding the bowl back to Olly, who covered it and threw it into the fridge. Something crashed, and Lance shook his head, folding his arms and leaning on the door frame. Everyone was still eating their own bowl, so he refused to come in any further.

Something bumped into his shoulder, and Lance turned to glare at whoever it was.

"Woah man, what's got you in a mood?" Rolo asked, holding out his hand to steady Lance. 

Lance pulled away quickly. If Rolo was here, Nyma wasn't too far behind. He could already hear her infuriating giggles. His frown deepened in response, and Rolo shook his head.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter."

Nyma chose that moment to appear, smiling at Lance.

"Olia's sent through a mission for us." she announced, sliding past him and into the room.

Lance leaned over so he could see past her and address Matt.

"Olia?"

"Before you ask, not me." Olly said, barely looking up from the bowl she was sharing with Roy.

"Olia?" he said again.

"She's the captain of the fleet." Matt replied. "And yes, because of the similarities in names with Olina and Olia, everyone generally calls her Captain." 

"How is it I have never seen her?" Lance asked.

"Ah, I can explain..." Roy said, twisting around in her seat to speak. Olly, who had been leaning on Roy, slipped; nearly falling too the floor.

"Whoops, sorry Olly. So- captain knows you're here, but she hasn't come out to meet you because as far as we know, her species could cause some unfortunate effects in humans."

Lance raised an eyebrow at Matt, who gave him a half-hearted shrug and averted his gaze.

"I... what?" Lance held up a hand, silent for a few seconds. "What do you mean?"

Nyma giggled, spinning on her heel to face him.

"Matt had an allergic reaction to her, we think." she said, cocking her hip to the side and resting a hand on it. Her eyes glittered with amusement, and she barely hid another giggle before continuing. "He completely collapsed to the floor and started wheezing, unable to breathe properly. It only cleared up after she left."

"Can you not?" Matt groaned, burying his face in his hands, failing to hide the fact that it had darkened a few shades.

Pidge hadn't said anything about allergies, and despite her usually reserved nature, Pidge had said quite a lot about Matt. Lance knew his favourite colour for crying out loud (green, but not the bright kind). Within her rambles, Lance was sure he would remember if she said anything about allergies.

He would ask later.

Muxis grunted, thumping a fist on the table to gain everyone's attention. Roy actually shrieked, slamming her non-prosthetic knee on the underside of the bench. Olly winced.

"So what's the mission?" Muxis asked  

Everyone in the room broke off into their own agreements, remembering as one that Nyma had come in with the intent on informing them of a mission. Lance took this time to make his way back into the room, taking his seat next to Matt again.

"Recon." Nyma said when everyone had quietened down, only for a chorus of complaints to start up. "Woah, hold up, I haven't finished!"

Muxis huffed, slamming his fist on the table again.

"You gotta stop doing that, Mux."

"Not until everyone shuts up." He replied. "More details?"

Rolo shrugged. "There wasn't much, but apparently an old ring's started up again on Drypso, this time directly linked to the Empire - they're capturing slaves for the Galra exclusively, and targeting planets that have started rising up against Zarkon."

Lance couldn't help but marvel at the apparent perfect timing of Olly's story. 

"So who's going?" Olly asked, scraping at the bottom of her bowl.

"Ooh, here's the fun part." Nyma said, and Rolo rolled his eyes.

"Full base operation."

A chorus of groans rose up, and Lance sent Matt a questioning look.

"I'm sure the captain has her reasons." Roy said, though she didn't sound convinced.

Rolo made his way to the table, resting his palms flat on its surface before he spoke. "Yeah actually, she does." he said. 

Roy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "That's a first."

Nyma giggled, dropping into the seat closest to where Rolo was standing. "She said something about teams, but Rolo can probably tell it better than me."

"Thank you, Nyma," he said, the slightest tinge of annoyance seeping into his tone. "Report to the captain for your teams, but nearly everyone on ours is here, so I'll save you some of the trouble. I'm the pilot, Nyma is comms,"

Nyma waved, as if nobody knew who she was. Rolo paused for the briefest moment to shoot her an exasperated look before he continued. "Rinnai, although new to the resistance, is already on Recon One. Olia's heard she knows the city's layout, and wants to see if she holds to her words. First test for the rookie, really."

"Don't trust her just yet." somebody muttered, and Muxis growled, the noise deep in his throat. "Woah, Mux, its not because she's Galra." the alien said, holding his hands up in a surrender. "I'm just not sure we should trust a newbie with something this big."

"You know the capital of Drypso?" Muxis asked.

"N-no."

"Then don't complain."

"Can I continue?" Rolo asked. When nobody said anything, he nodded. "Olly is good at infiltration with her shape shifting skills--"

"And Roy because they're a package deal." Nyma added. 

"Vi is collating everything we find, Muxis handles the big guns in case things turn sideways and Lance, because Olia's curious about if you can do anything besides shoot. 

"Why aren't I piloting, then?" Lance asked, trying to squash whatever annoyance he was feeling about Rolo being the pilot down. He probably didn't do a very good job, judging by Olly's raised eyebrow. "I'm the right leg of Voltron, I pilot one of the Legendary Lions!"

"If you have a problem with it man, go talk to Olia. I'm just the messenger."

"Aww, are you jealous Lance?" Nyma giggled, reaching out to place her hand under his chin. Lance leaned back out of range just as Rolo rolled his eyes and pulled Nyma's hand back down. 

Nyma's smile seemed just a little less fake for a moment, piquing Lance's curiosity.

But as with Olly and Roy, it was none of his damn business. 

"I don't think you should go."

Lance crossed his arms over his chest, a sight which was ruined by the small alien child that had taken ownership of his left leg. 

"Nonsense Lance, I am perfectly fit for a recon mission." Vi said, laughing as Nea shifted, causing Lance to overbalance a little, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the edge of the bed to stop himself from falling.

"You're still injured!" Lance protested, waving his arms as if to emphasize his point. If he wasn't careful he would knock off Nea, who was steadily making her way up Lance's legs and to his torso. 

"I am fine, Lance. Do you see any injuries?" Vi said, shaking their head. Lance clenched his fists, feeling them tremble.

"No, but I certainly saw more of your blood than I ever wanted to." His voice shook as he stared at the floor, tears threatening to make an appearance. 

The bed creaked and Lance looked up as an armful of green alien wrapped itself around him in a hug, Vi's head bobble just tickling his chin. With Nea now on his back, it felt like being in an alien sandwich. 

"Oh, Lance." Vi said, rubbing his back reassuringly as the tears started to fall.

"There was so much of it." Lance whispered. "I - I held your side together as Kelaan stitched it." Lance whispered, voice muffled by pain as he relived the moment. "You- I think you died."

Vi hushed him quietly, continuing to rub his back soothingly.

"I don't want you to get hurt again Vi. Nea needs you." he broke off into a quiet sniffle. 

"I need you."

Vi broke the embrace first, guiding Lance back into the chair. They gently pulled Nea into their own lap. 

"I can't promise I won't get injured," They said, gently rocking Nea in their arms. Nea curled up, looking quite content to listen to only half the conversation.

"But I can promise that if I do, I will always fight to get back to you."

Lance leapt forward, engulfing both Nea and Vi in a hug.

"You just hugged me," They said, chuckling lightly, but returning it nonetheless.

"Do you promise you'll always come back?"

"I'll try."

It wasn't a promise, but for Lance it was enough.

Chapter Text

Lance groaned as he lugged a giant bag down the length of the hallway - it was probably heavier than he was, but Lance thought of himself as honourable, and he had said he would take it to their ship, so that was what he was going to do - with no help.

Well, maybe a little.

Matt was sweating profusely as he dragged along a crate, matching Lance's stride with some effort.

"Wait up for the people with little legs." He grunted, voice only just being heard over the sound of the crate's drags. Lance idly wondered how it wasn't damaging the floors.

"Do we really need all this gear for a recon mission?" Lance asked, feeling as if they had packed the kitchen sink into the bag just to make the task harder for him.

On that note, why were he and Matt, current members of the leggy squad, doing the heavy lifting?

"Knowing us, it won't be just recon. The captain likes being prepared." He heaved the crate again, before groaning. "I'm not even on Recon One, why am I helping?"

"Wait, you're not?" Apparently, the thought had never occurred to him that Matt was on a different team. "So what are you doing?"

"Comms on the command ship. Someone has to do it."

"isn't that the ship Olia's on?"

"She's willing to try again for the sake of the mission."

They reached the ship and Lance threw his bag on board with a deep sigh. Matt shoved the crate into the corner, flopping down on the floor immediately.

It was then that Lance saw the symbol on the side of the crate.

"Matt, you are aware that it has hover capabilities, right?" He said, crouching to examine the mark. He pressed it, and the crate buzzed to life, lifting itself up off the floor.

Matt merely flipped Lance off in reply, muffling his scream into the floor.

Lance chuckled, switching the crate off again and falling back against the side of the ship.

"So, Matt?" He asked, the words coming out a little heavy as he exhaled.

"Mmph?"

"Allergies?"

Matt didn't respond, hiding his face in his arms. It didn't work; as Lance could clearly see his face turning red again.

"Ooh, this sounds like a fun story!" Lance said, laughing as Matt spluttered.

"Olia, she-- she just... Y'know?" He rolled over onto his back, running a hand over his face. "She came to meet me and I--"

"And you...?" Lance prompted.

"She looks like a damn furry and I lost it, okay?" Matt said, sitting up and folding his arms.

Lance tried to hide his laughs, he really did. But a giggle escaped from between his mashed lips, and that was all it took to devolve into a shaking pile of laughter.

Matt's expression only made Lance laugh harder, bending to hold his knees as it shook his whole body.

"It's not- not that bad, is it? Is it?" Lance managed between laughs. As soon as he had said it, another wave started. "The- the- the entire time?"

"The crew thought maybe humans were allergic to her species, and I didn't bother to correct them." Matt mumbled, getting to his feet. "It's best if they don't know the real reason."

Lance fought to control his breathing. "Oh my god! I can't wait to tell--"

"You tell anyone and I will force feed you the bowl of ice cream sitting in the freezer." Matt said, his face awfully cheery as a placed an ever-so-gentle hand on Lance's shoulder.

Lance bit his lip to stop the laughter, grinning as Matt turned to head back to the kitchen.

He couldn't wait to tell Pidge.

"Prepare for take off." Rolo said, all members of Recon One moving to their positions.

But nobody stayed in those positions for long (aside from Lance, that is). As the ship began to rise, movement blossomed spontaneously from the crew. They moved as one unit, effortlessly guiding the ship through take off.

And Lance could not figure out exactly how they were doing it.

In the garrison, units moved smoothly via communication between members. Yet as they took off, no one uttered a single order or command. It was near silent in the ship, save for the machinery and Beezer's cyber-chatter from next to the pilot's seat.

Lance hesitated to liken it to a well-oiled machine, because of one fact- none of it seemed robotic in the slightest- it was all flowing, as natural as breathing. 

The take off crew moved together, occasionally bumping shoulders with other members as they made haste to the next task on their mind. Nyma in particular seemed good at weaving around and fiddling with different parts of the ship, stopping only to flash a smile at Lance standing in the middle of everything in awe, before moving to do something else.

It definitely wasn't robotic. There were too many unknown variables, unconnected circuits and shoddy codes not seeming to effect the group as a whole. The crew moved and shifted, flowing with each new task that was brought to their attention. The natural way in which Vi reached up to pull something above Olly's head down so she could reach it, the ease in which Nyma reached around Roy to hit a button on the console, the flow in which Therra and Muxis slid around each other in order to better achieve their tasks.

Therra was a natural. She had barely been a part of the resistance for a week, only just being cleared, and yet here she was, working alongside everyone as if she had been with them her entire life.

It came to Lance in a wave of inspiration, as he watched Olly simply pick up Roy and move her to the side so she had room to work, Roy not even looking up from the datapad in her hand. The team was like the ocean- ever changing and flowing in new directions. Responding effortlessly to change.

Yeah, Lance thought, noticing Vi stop midway through a task to do something else, Nyma quickly picking up the slack.

Like the ocean.

The ship stopped rumbling as they exited the atmosphere, and Rolo relaxed his grip on the controls, spinning his seat around to face the rest the team.

"Take off is the worst part of flying."

Lance resisted the urge to protest. It didn't matter anyway.

Rolo was perfectly entitled to his wrong opinion.

He must have muttered that out loud, because Olly giggled behind her hand; and Therra gave him a playful smack on the shoulder, almost sending him to his knees with the sheer force of it.

Her arm must be healing all right, then.

Everyone settled down back into their seats, Muxis leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.

"Right, we need a plan."

Was Lance the only one that thought it kind of silly that they didn't have a plan until the mission started?

"Our main objective is to find the slave ring, following up on as many leads as we can." Vi said, tapping thoughtfully on their chin, bobble moving slowly from side to side as they thought.

"Direct orders to not engage unless necessary." Rolo said over his shoulders, adjusting the ship's course slightly. "The Captain made special mention of you when she said that, Roy."

Roy huffed, rolling her eyes. In the dull light of the ship, her eyes were a more intense colour, almost as if they were glowing.

"Meaning infiltration would be the easiest move." Nyma added, looking pointedly at Olly. Roy shifted a little to block Olly from her gaze.

"No."

"What she means is, not so soon after an offload." Olly explained, peeking out from behind her partner. "My shapeshifting can be... unpredictable for a bit afterwards."

The crew fell silent again, the only plan they had sort of cobbled together now rejected.

"Is Olly able to pose as bait?"

Lance was surprised to hear the words fall from his own mouth. He had not intended to take part in the mission planning.

"Elaborate?" Therra said, leaning forward and resting on her elbows. Lance noted that she still favoured one side.

He didn't really want to elaborate, but he supposed now that he had spoken, he would have to explain.

"Olly can pose as a child from this planet - one living on the streets. The slave ring would consider it the perfect opportunity, a child that won't be missed."

"It's happened to me before." Olly shrugged.

"Okay, but then the slavers could get Olly, and we already established that that cannot happen." Vi said.

"Not if we took them out before they could take her." Therra mused.

"Do not engage unless necessary." Rolo reminded her.

"I think saving a team member from being captured counts as necessary." She replied smoothly without missing a beat.

Muxis laughed loudly, head thrown back. "I like the way you think."

"They will have scouts out watching, right?" Lance asked.

Vi nodded. "So if we tail them, we find their main base too."

"Exactly."

"That is actually a solid plan." Nyma giggled. To Lance, it sounded as if she was mocking them, but he chose to ignore that.

"We can't have Olly alone while out there." Roy insisted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"From what I know about Drypso, it is populated by two main species," Therra said. "Galra, of course, and them." She nodded her head in the direction of Vi. "You'd be able to blend in no problem."

Again, Lance stopped himself from protesting that Vi was meant to only collect information, stay out of the field.

But Vi had promised him. They would be fine.

"Rolo and I can be nearby as well, just in case things get hairy and we need a way out." Muxis said.

"I'll have the rooftops." Roy added.

Muxis seemed to remember something, turning to Therra.

"You gone through Keis yet?"

Therra raised an eyebrow at the question, drawing back a little and slouching in her seat. "... Y-Yeah, why?"

"We can use your nose for tracking. Lance should be able to keep up speed-wise, so he can go with you."

The rest of the crew began talking, waiting for Matt or Olia to send through any other information their team might have found. Their group had been gone a few days, circling their target destination, but the main job was down to Lance and his teammates.

Lance turned to Therra, who was still on her guard from the question Muxis had asked her.

"What the hell is Kiss?" He asked, leaning in and lowering his voice.

"Kies, iie sound" She responded, suddenly interested in a thread in her shirt. He got distracted for a moment, wondering why she wasn't in armour before remembering that none of them were. It was a recon mission, with a bit of infiltration thrown in. No combat, no armour.

"Kiies," Lance tried again, and she shrugged as if to say close enough.

Lance just waited, staring expectantly at Therra. She shifted a little, biting her lip.

Eventually, she cracked under his gaze. "Female Galra go through some changes in their body that heighten their senses."

Lance continued to stare at her, and she continued. "Biologically, it's for better ability in caring for offspring, because it lets us hear cries or smell out disease, things like that."

It had never before occurred to him that some species might have an alien equivalent of puberty.

"Oh."

"Oh." Therra agreed.

The rest of the trip was awkward for both of them.

Chapter Text

Everyone agreed that the plan was brilliant.

Which of course meant that everything went to shit. Very quickly.

Muxis and Therra struggled to hold back Roy, who was attempting to blast down the ship door and make a break for it.

Lance supposed that with everything that she and Olly had gone through, her actions were fairly justified.

"I don't know what happened!" Vi groaned, swaying on the spot. Rolo reached over to steady them, and Vi smiled weakly in thanks before wiping their mouth.

With a tiny grimace, Vi hid their hand behind their back, but not before Lance noticed.

And he'd seen enough of Vi's blood to recognise it anywhere.

"One dobosh she was there, and then... black." Vi continued as if nothing had happened.

Lance moved beside them, gently guiding Vi to the closest seat. He gave them a once over, noting the bruises forming on their lower torso.

Vi looked as if they was struggling to remain conscious, skin pale and blotchy in comparison to earlier that day. He pressed a deft hand to Vi's stomach, feeling how tense the muscles were, and inwardly swore.

Lance hated what he was going to do, especially after the conversation he had had with Vi before the mission. He stood up, turning to Muxis and speaking quietly.

"Internal bleeding, we need to get them to Kelaan."

Muxis nodded gravely.

"Nyma, Liliterthith, get the ship ready for take off."

"We're not leaving Olly!" Roy shouted, struggling in Muxis' grip. She managed to tear an arm free from Therra's, half falling to the floor in her struggle.

"Let me go!"

Muxis simply grabbed her other arm.

"Let me finish Roy." He said sternly, but Roy didn't seem to hear.

"Let me go, you traitor!"

"Roy!"

"No, I won't leave her-!"

"Roy, would you listen to me?"

"You're going to abandon Olly! You're a traitor! To both your own kind and to the resistance!"

Therra flinched back, ears flattening. If Roy's words hurt Muxis, he didn't reveal it, instead squaring his shoulders.

"Rosaline de Shikkali Ardelande!" Muxis roared, and the entire ship fell silent.

"We're not leaving anyone behind." Muxis said in a much quieter voice, one that stopped Roy in her tracks.

"Nyma, Liliterthith, get the ship ready for take off."

Roy opened her mouth to protest, but a solid glare from Muxis made her close it again.

"Everyone else, grab as many supplies as you can carry, we'll be staying to find Olly and finish our mission." Muxis completed, and released Roy.

Immediately, Roy slouched in exhaustion, breathing deeply through her nose and closing her eyes. She unclenched her fists, but the tension didn't leave her face.

In shock, Lance noticed tears catching on Roy's lashes, a couple shaking loose and sliding down her cheeks.

"Hey..." Lance reached out, placing a hand on Roy's shoulder, in the same instant Therra doing the same.

Roy seemed to calm a little more, reaching up to wipe at her eyes.

"We'll get her back." Lance promised, Therra nodding her agreement from Roy's other side.

And as usual, it was a promise he intended to keep.

Lance tried not to pay attention to the way his arm was curled around Roy's waist, dangerously close to her butt. As they walked closer to their destination he focused on keeping his hand where it was, hovering at an acceptable place just above her waist, not quite making contact.

They needed this to work.

Roy raised an eyebrow at him, and Lance sighed, pressing it into her back fully. If anything, her eyebrow went higher, before she shook her head and turned back to face ahead.

A skinny alien that looked remarkably like an oversized beetle led them through some underground caves, not bothering to glance back to check they were still following.

The caves were not built for someone of his size, and Lance found himself ducking his head as they walked, more and more as the caves narrowed. Finally the alien (Lance decided he was going to dub them "Buggy") stopped in front of a hole in the rock wall.

"In here, my friends."

Lance and Roy stepped through, glancing around as they did so.

The room was large, and Lance stretched to his full height, nearly sighing in relief. He helped Roy through the rest of the way, her long skirt (borrowed from a clothes line by the edge of town) proving to be more annoying than anything. It was too long for her, but she managed to pull it off with grace. She nodded in thanks, stretching in much the same way as Lance did when she made it into the main room.

"Our selection."

Buggy waved a hand at the line of slaves in front of them, and both Lance and Roy turned to look. Front and centre stood two aliens, taller than the rest, quite obviously more forward. If Lance had to guess, it was because Buggy was trying to sell them off more so than the others.

"As you can see, my friends, our selection is quite large."

Roy laughed gracefully, a sound Lance had never heard come from her mouth. He nearly gaped at her, before mentally slapping himself. That would blow their cover, and they were so close.

"Perhaps you could show us each product separately?" Roy requested politely.

Lance glanced at the slaves again, noting that their collarbones were branded with five digit numbers, aside from the centre two, with four numbers each.

Four digits.

Ah.

He understood now.

These aliens were the oldest, and Lance suspected that they had been here longest, and Buggy wanted them gone.

Lance scanned up and down the line, trying to pick out Olly among the large amount of slaves. He was beginning to wonder if she was even here.

He had to believe. For Roy.

Behind one of the center aliens stood a small figure. She seemed to be almost dead on her feat, holding onto one of the alien's arms to steady herself.

Lance could make out a large red patch on her collarbone, raw from where the brand had been burned into her skin.

He was unable to make out the numbers, but the freshness of the mark was all Lance needed to know. That slave was Olly.

Yet he had never seen her like this before.

Everything about her seemed just a little shaky, not quite there. Her hair was lighter, eyes more silver than their usual pink, and her skin seemed almost transparent. Lance was sure he could see light shining through her arms.

Roy was yet to spot her, judging by the way her eyes flickered around the room. But after a moment of watching her, Lance noticed that she seemed to focus on the same spot every so often.

So she knew, but she was hiding it.

Keep up the charade.

The big alien in the centre of the line saw Lance looking at Olly and a glare took over his features. Lance faltered for a second, before averting his gaze. The second of the two four-digits scowled, crossing his many pairs of arms.

Lance decided it would be best to stop looking, so he instead focussed on Roy.

Roy was walking up and down the line of slaves, inspecting each one carefully. She had a hand on her hip, close to the gun hidden underneath her skirt.

But her hands were shaking. She would never be able to make the shot.

"Are you looking for something specific, madam?" Buggy said, but she waved him off almost flippantly. "Of course. Let me know if you have any questions."

In the corner of his eye, Lance spotted Rolo and Therra, hiding in the shadows of the doorway. The many-armed four-digit's eyes flickered over to them and he opened his mouth to speak - to possibly warn the slaver.

Lance shook his head subtly, hoping his expression would save them from failure.

Four-digit narrowed his eyes but said nothing, moving a little further in front of Olly, in a way that seemed almost protective.

Lance moved over to Roy, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Sorry." He muttered under his breath, moving a little further so he could slip his hand closer to the gun.

Roy tensed, but Lance could still see the shake in her hand. "I'll handle it." He said as lowly as possible, transferring the gun to his jacket pocket, disguising every move.

"Lance..." Roy muttered.

"Don't. Distraction. Now."

She blinked, and as the words registered, she let out an overly scandalised gasp.

"Darling, not here!" She reprimanded, slapping at his shoulder. Lance brought on the cheesiest grin he could muster.

"Later, then." He said, throwing in a flirtatious wink as he pulled back. In the corner of his eye, Lance saw Olly drop, caught by the first four-digit before she hit the ground. Instantly, he went from calm to enraged, feeling the anger well up inside him, directed to the man who had done this to her.

Buggy turned away in disgust at Lance and Roy's actions, and Lance's hand went for the gun again.

He should've used his other hand, the one facing away from the line of slaves, because that was the first mistake.

A scream was all it took.

Lance squeezed the trigger, missing his mark as Buggy whirled around at the warning. The shot still made contact, but it only hit his side non-fatally.

"Kill them!" Buggy snarled, and Lance shot again, this time his aim true.

Buggy collapsed to the floor, and Lance grimaced. Maybe that was a mistake too, giving him a name.

Lance tried to remind himself that his actions were about to save a life - and many more. He lowered the gun, taking a deep breath and--

"Lance, watch out!"

He heard the sound of running feet and turned just in time to see Rolo dive in front of him as one of the younger slaves fired a clumsy shot, hitting Rolo square in the chest.

Lance didn't have time to react as Rolo fell to the floor in a pile.

He was unable to do anything but turn in horror in the direction of the blast.

A small alien with shaggy blonde fur covering her head had fallen to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. The weapon clattered to the floor beside her, and she covered her mouth with her hand, trying to muffle her sobs.

Lance wanted desperately to comfort her, but he had bigger things to worry about.

Like Rolo, who was convulsing on the floor at his feet.

Lance dropped to his knees, covering the wound and applying pressure as best he could as Therra set to work disarming the rest of the slaves, just in case any of them were loyal to their now-dead leader.

Lance doubted it, but he was sure none of them wanted the same fate as Rolo.

"We need to get back to base!" Therra shouted over the screams of the child who continued to sob on her knees.

The bigger four-digit stepped forward, cradling Olly in his arms.

Roy immediately skidded to his side and grabbed Olly's hand. "Thank you-"

"Koadda." The alien supplied, and Roy gave a weak smile.

"Thank you, Koadda."

"We need to get out of here." Therra said, kneeling by Lance's side.

"Well aware of that, thank you!" Lance snapped. "Roy, tear up your skirt, I need bandages!"

They wouldn't get out in time. Rolo was going to die.

Rolo was going to die because Lance had made a mistake, and hesitated.

Lance had missed his mark, and it was going to cost Rolo his life.

All because of Lance.

The roof shook, dirt falling loose and cascading to the ground in a shower.

A rumble filled the area as the cracks in the ceiling grew larger, daylight flooding in through the gaps.

No, it wasn't a rumble.

It was a roar.

In his panic, Lance had called for help, however indirectly.

And as always, she had come.

"Blue!" Lance cried, the mix of overwhelming emotions bursting from him in a slightly hysterical laugh. "Blue, my girl!"

His Lion had come to save them.

Chapter Text

Lance stepped out of the medical bay, wiping his forehead in an attempt to rid some of the sweat that was falling into his eyes. He'd been in there for the last thirty hours, bringing life back into Rolo's limp body more times than he could count. They had not been able to open his eyes again, and Kelaan had finally sent Lance away for some rest.

Reaching up to his temples and massaging them, Lance let out a heavy sigh. He had put considerable strain on his eyes, and the garrison hadn't managed to file the paperwork for laser surgery before he and the others had blasted off on their impromptu adventure.

Lance turned his head at the sound of footsteps, seeing no one and wondering if he had imagined it.

A tug at the hem of his shirt told him he had not.

Glancing down, Lance smiled as he scooped Mik into his arms.

"Hey little Mikimoo, are you okay?"

She nodded a little, before she began to shake her head, snuggling closer into Lance's arms and burying her face in his chest. He noted how matted her fur seemed to be, and stroked his fingers through it in an attempt to untangle it a little.

"My head hurts." She mumbled after a short silence.

Lance's hand ran over the back of her ears, and Mik let out a quiet purr. He wondered if perhaps Therra also liked this kind of touch.

Not without her clawing at him, in any case.

"So, why does your head hurt?" Lance asked, tugging through a particularly tough knot in her fur.

"The new people are loud," she gave a yawn, displaying tiny baby fangs, before she looked up at Lance again. "Someone's crying and they can't get her to stop."

"Lan!"

Lance turned at the sound of his approximate name, shifting Mik in his arms a little in order to make room for Nea, who was hurrying towards him. She jumped up, using his extended arm to launch herself upwards. She scaled Lance's torso, settling on his shoulders.

"Hello, Nea," Mik leaned back in Lance's arms to peer up at the other kid, who giggled and waved back.

"Come on girls, lets go help Matt and the others with the new people."

Nea cheered, and even though Mik was more somber and quiet, Lance reckoned he saw a smile flit over her face. 

Looking around at the small bunch of aliens and noting their sizes, Lance could easily see the the way they seemed to crowd around Koadda and the spider-like alien - the four-digits, as he had mentally referred to them.

Now that it was peaceful (mostly), without the imminent threat of being killed (once again, mostly), Lance could take the time to find any injuries or illnesses any of the freed slaves had sustained. All seemed well, aside from a small child with a persistent cough, so Lance moved further into the room.

The small blonde child from earlier was still crying, although it seemed she had run out of tears. She was still wailing loudly, Muxis trying to coax her out from under the table to no avail.

If Lance was right, Muxis was probably scaring her a little - after all, he was a big, intimidating Galra (even if he did have a dad bod)

Lance placed Mik on the floor before lifting Nea off his shoulders and setting her down too, dropping to the floor with his legs crossed. He had a clear view of the wailing girl from here, a short way from Muxis.

"Oh man, I hate it when someone is sad," Lance said clearly, Nea and Mik giggling as he shook his head theatrically. "It makes me sad!"

The wailing quietened down considerably, and Lance continued.

"When I'm sad, my Mami lets me help her make cookies." He smiled at the memories of his siblings and cousins. He particularly remembered one of his little cousins, who would always wrinkle his nose when he got flour on it.

"Then we would share them with the whole family, and we'd all sit together, and Mami would give me a hug. I like Mami's hugs, they are always nice and warm, and they make me feel safe. Nothing can touch me when I'm in one of mami's hugs."

Lance leant forward, turning to face the child, who was silent, staring wide-eyed up at him.

"I also like hugging Mami when it's raining. Then we wouldn't get cold."

He paused for a moment, heaving a dramatic sigh and lowering his shoulders as he breathed out.

"I haven't had a hug in a long time, I wish someone would--"

Lance didn't even finish the sentence, already finding his arms full of a little blonde child.

"Thanks you." Lance said, hugging her a little tighter. He waited for her to pull away, which took several minutes, but when she did, she gave a tiny smile, wiping her nose.

Lance never liked being the first to end a hug, you never knew how much someone needed one.

"Is Mr Rolo okay?" The child asked, and he paused, trying to work out how to word this right.

"He's sleeping, and he might be for a long time, but he is okay." Lance said. She nodded and wiped at her nose.

"My name is Lance, what is yours?" He asked. The child smiled shyly, wringing her hands as she answered.

"My name's Lotor, but Koadda and Clicky call me Lotty." She said, her eyes moving slowly to where Matt and Muxis were making silly faces at Nea and Mik.

Lance assumed that Clicky was the spider boy.

Lance tried not to laugh, gently pushing her off his lap and towards the other girls.

She hesitated for a moment, and Lance saw her bite her lip as she moved closer.

Mik and Nea moved over, letting the young girl into their little circle.

Lance smiled, he had a feeling that this Lotor was a much nicer person than the prince guy he'd heard about from Muxis. 

Lance whooped in joy as Blue burst from the ship's hangar. He hadn't flown with her freely in a long time, and it was exhilarating. He didn't realise how much he had missed this.

He put Blue into a nose dive, laughing as he felt the turbulence before pulling up and barrel rolling over the top of the base. He could feel Blue's happiness as well, a feeling that was visible in the way the lights pulsed with each new wave of joy.

It had been too long.

Lance settled back into his pilot chair, steering Blue towards his destination. They needed supplies for all the children, and apparently space had shopping malls.

He was a little skeptical, but hey - if they had kitchens and swimming pools, they probably had malls too.

Lance chuckled, wondering how team Voltron would react to the information. That chuckle turned to full laughter as he thought of the team's individual reactions.

He was having a hard time picturing Keith and Shiro in a shopping mall in general, let alone a space mall. He figured that Keith would be more of a homegrown sort of guy.

He did remember Keith saying something about his plants back home, complaining that they'd die without him there to water them.

Pidge, being the complete nerd she was, probably hung out in game shops and bookstores.

Hunk loved trying different places in the foodcourt - Lance smiled at the memory of Hunk looking around and picking one he hadn't had yet, and Lance giving him blind trust because Hunk knew what his best friend would like.

And Shiro? Lance just could not picture the beef cake in anything other than garrison uniform or the too tight clothes he always wore. Did that man own anything that wasn't a uniform or in any way formal? Did he ever go home and put on jeans or something?

Lance giggled at the sudden image if Shiro in a flowery apron.

He knew what he was buying him when they eventually got back home.

Lance adjusted their course, Blue giving a faint rumble that Lance had learnt was similar to a purr. He sighed, for the moment content as he rested in the chair.

"Space mall." He said under his breath, letting out a giggle. That would never not be funny to him.

Maybe the space mall would have cookies.

Chapter Text

Shiro woke in darkness.

Although he used to sleep with all light blocked out, it was getting harder these days. He much preferred the soft glow of the castle lights, or keeping his door open so he didn't feel so trapped.

Even closing his eyes was too dark sometimes, bringing flashes of horror he wished he still didn't recall.

So when Shiro woke in darkness, his first instinct was to search for a source of light.

It was strange, a silence in his mind. The absence of Black was unnerving, he had become so used to it over the course of the last few months.

His throat was too sore to make any noise, so he tried calling for her in his mind.

With no reply, Shiro guessed she was too damaged to respond in any way. There wasn't even a flicker of lights.

What had brought on this situation again? Shiro wracked his brain, casting it back to the last things he remembered.

Keith.

He had pulled Keith's lion back to the Castle, only for the wormhole to malfunction, pulling them in all separate directions.

In any case, Shiro was stranded with no power, and--

He bent over almost double, clutching at his side and hissing in pain.

The witch had struck him.

Shiro stared down, wincing as the movement caused pain in his neck.

He could see his wound, which alarmed Shiro for a second before he realised it was glowing.

Well, a voice in the back of his mind floated up, at least there is some light now.

Shiro must have snorted, because his throat started to burn.

No time for that. The more reasonable part of him said.

He needed to assess the damage - both to himself and to the Black Lion.

Shiro was mostly fine, despite the glaringly obvious wound in his side, which he continued to place pressure on with his hand. He ached all over, but that was normal for his situation.

In the dull glow of his side (the more delirious side of him was still giggling over the fact that it produced light), Shiro noted that the back panel of his prosthetic hand was dented. However, it didn't seem to impact on its manoeuvrability, so he supposed it would only need straightening out later.

Shiro made to stand up, relying heavily on his seat as a crutch. Almost immediately, he overbalanced and fell, head hitting the console on the way down.

The helmet took most of the blow, but Shiro groaned, lying on his back on the floor.

Another wave of pain caused him to gasp, shutting his eyes tight until it passed.

"Come on, Black," he managed to say, voice barely audible even to himself. "Just a little bit of power."

Still no reply.

His ears were ringing - no, wait. That was his helmet. Static and white noise filled the space around him, and Shiro frowned.

"Keith," he started, still lying on his back. "Are  you there?"

As expected, no reply.

Shiro sighed, pulling himself up to sit as best he could, propped up against the side of his chair. He took pressure off his wound for a moment to remove his helmet, letting it fall to his side as he winced at the burst of pain, hand quickly covering it again.

Shiro had never felt more alone. There was always someone - his family, his team, his enemies - nearby, a reason to keep fighting.

But now?

He let his eyes slide closed, chin dropping down onto his chest.

Only to jolt back up a second later.

No sleeping. No giving up. Takashi Shirogane was not one to give up. Not now, not ever.

He grabbed his helmet once more, single-handedly fixing it back on his head and reading the visor's scan of the Lion.

Minimal damage to structure. Minimal engine damage. Minimal weapons damage.

Nothing wrong, it seemed. So Shiro couldn't understand what was wrong with Black.

He listened into the static again, wondering if maybe the noise hid voices within.

It was worth another shot.

"Princess? Coran? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

Even with no reply, Shiro decided to leave his helmet on, just in case contact broke through the static.

Shiro hauled himself to his feet, determined to make his way to the hatch of his Lion. He knew there was a manual overdrive somewhere, but if she still wasn't responding to even that, he could exit by cutting through with his arm. He hoped it would never come to that.

He navigated the cockpit well enough with no light besides the small amount peeking from between his fingers (meaning, he only stumbled once or twice into the walls). Shiro ran his left hand down the wall, trying to find the switch. The tip of his index finger brushed against something, and Shiro shifted his right hand over his wound for a bit more light.

He chuckled darkly at the fact he was using an injury to his advantage, but quickly focussed back on track and located the switch. Clicking into place, the hatch opened and amber light flooded into the bay, causing Shiro to shield his eyes.

He squinted out, making out the shape of rocks forming a cliff face. He was in some form of cavern, the sun reaching down to Black as it set over the edge of the cliff above him.

Shiro guessed it was the high walls surrounding him that was blocking out signals, but there was no way to be sure until he made his way out and tested.

He looked around for a few minutes more, eyes making a path up the cliff in the easiest way without worsening his injury. There seemed to be a shallower path halfway up, only getting steeper near the lip.

He could manage, if he took it slow and steady.

Shiro went to jump out, only to remember at the last possible second that his jetpack had been broken.

Growling in frustration, Shiro stepped back, trying to think of how to leave his Lion whilst remaining (for the most part) unharmed.

After a moment of deliberation, Shiro realised this was probably the safest way, and rolled his eyes. Of course.

He jumped.

Rolling to lessen the impact, Shiro nearly stumbled and fell flat on his face, catching himself seconds beforehand. Dust flew up around him, and Shiro made his way out from underneath Black, pausing to rest on her leg.

There was a low growl from behind him, and Shiro made the mistake of twisting his body to see what it was. He cried out in pain and clutched at his side, biting his lip so he didn't shout again.

That was another mistake, as the moment he closed his eyes, some creature came out of the darkness and attacked, leaving Shiro with no time to defend himself.

Chapter Text

Flashing lights filled the Blue Lion's cockpit, causing Lance to turn towards the console so fast he lost his balance.

"Heck!" he yelped, stealing Olly's swear of choice as he tumbled to the ground. Thankfully, the small pile of soft toys that he had purchased at the space mall (which was, funnily enough, exactly as he had pictured it) broke his fall.

Standing up and kicking the toys back into a rough pile, Lance made his way to his seat, eyes darting over the console. The radar was picking up a blip nearby - a distress beacon.

The beacon pointed towards a planet nearby - not too far off his course. Lance paused for a moment, wondering if he should notify the Resistance first.

He cleared his thoughts instead, sitting down and taking control of Blue. It was a distress beacon. 

Someone needed help.

 Landing with practiced ease, Lance was out of his Lion before she had settled, using his jetpack to propel towards the beacon as fast as he could.

It occurred to him, as his foot caught in a crack in the ground and he stumbled, that maybe going in alone was a bad idea. He had no idea what he would be up against.

The thought was cut off as a geyser burst from the ground, causing Lance to scream and fall backwards.

Of course. The planet was trying to kill him.

Lance groaned, pulling himself to his feet and skirting around the geyser before continuing to the point displayed on his visor.

A piercing scream filled the air, followed by a roar, and Lance's legs burned as he continued to push himself, heart pounding as heavy as his feet.

He skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff, kicking pebbles down the ravine. His arms pinwheeled for a moment as his balance centred, and Lance breathed out a sigh of relief. Even if he could see the bottom, it wouldn't be fun to fall.

The sound of crashing water continued behind Lance, and he turned, barely managing to dodge another geyser as it burst underneath his feet.

A perfect trail following where Lance had run from, Blue standing beyond, watching. Her yellow eyes glinted through the spray of water, and Lance's jaw set, turning back to the ravine.

Down below, Lance could just make out the outline of a purple lizard-creature, tail swishing along the ground as it advanced towards its prey - whoever had set the beacon off.

He had no idea what this creature was, and for lack of a better name decided on Tim.

Tim the destroyer.

Yeah, that worked.

For the second time in minutes, Lance cleared his mind. No time to think of silly names for the creature about to move in for the kill.

He had to get down there and save them.

Lance's bayard morphed into his hand in a quick flash of light, taking the shape of the small knife.

And he jumped, using his jetpack to slow his decent just enough to avoid injury. Aiming for Tim's eyes, Lance threw his bayard as hard as he could.

Maybe the rifle would have been a better form, easier for rapid fire.

Tim writhed in pain, and Lance landed boots-first into its neck from above. He gripped the handle of his bayard, pushing off and using the jetpack again to put some distance between him and Tim, pulling the knife with him.

The pained scream rang out again, and Lance winced, feeling as if the noise was being blasted directly into his ears. For the love of everything in the universe, he hoped it wasn't actually that close.

Tim turned tail and fled, and Lance let his bayard morph into his trusty rifle, knowing it would be easier to keep Tim away if he tried again. 

He turned towards where the scream sounded from, cursing when he saw the second creature.

There was more than one Tim. Wonderful.

Taking aim, Lance flinched at the sound of the third scream, transmitted through his head set.

"Fuck!" He shrieked, firing a burst at the second Tim and jumping to the side, keeping his gun trained on the creature. 

It snarled, trying to attack, but Lance didn't give it the chance, firing again in its mouth.

With an unholy shriek, the creature fell to the ground, eyes already blank and dull.

Lance's foot connected with something on the ground, the sound of metal and stone scraping together causing him to look down.

Mangled and damaged as it was, the hunk of metal was identifiable as an arm. In horror, Lance slowly raised his head, scared for what he would see.

He already knew, deep down, but that didn't stop him from hoping it was someone he didn't know - so he couldn't blame himself for what happened - ignoring the looming shadow of the Black Lion above him.

Blood was the first thing he saw, spilling over the grey soil and stone, dyeing it a garish shade of red.

And Lance couldn't breathe.

"Sh--" he tried, but the rest of the word came out silent, leaving him gaping like a fish. 

He dropped to his knees at Shiro's side, ripping his helmet off and throwing it to the side. He stared at Shiro, bile forming in his throat as he did so.

The stump where his prosthetic arm had been connected bled freely, and from the looks of it, the galra has not intended for it to be removed. Lance immediately applied pressure to it, the blood staining his gloves. 

Deep breaths, one two. It wasn't going to help if he was panicking.

One, two, one, two.

"Shiro," Lance managed, ignoring the way his voice wavered. "Shiro hang on-!"

Shiro's eyes moved in and out of focus as he stared up at Lance, breathing ragged. "L-Lance...?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling the first aid kit off his belt one-handed and opening it. "You gotta stay with me."

"C-can't..." Shiro managed through gritted teeth "I- I can't--"

"Don't say that, you're going to get through this!"

"I can't feel- Lance, I can't... feel my leg."

"You- you can't?" Lance pulled back, staring down. He felt the bile rise in his throat again, but forced it down.

Shiro's leg, like his prosthetic arm, was twisted and mangled. Lance took a moment to thank whatever deity out there that it was at least still attached.

Although, taking another quick glance, Lance wasn't sure if it would stay that way.

He could worry about that later. Right now he had to stop the bleeding.

"Shiro, focus on me okay?" Lance said, leaning over so Shiro could make eye contact with him. "We need to stop the bleeding. I need you to put pressure on your arm so I can get the supplies out." 

Shiro looked confused for a moment, before catching sight of the red around him, following the trail to his stump. Sluggishly, he moved his good arm up, replacing Lance's hands when he pulled away.

The movement revealed another wound, one that Lance wasn't sure what to do with. It was glowing purple, almost like magic or something was keeping it open.

Pulling out the bandages - a design imbued with technology that Lance didn't quite understand - Lance quickly worked on Shiro's arm, letting the bandage fuse together in place.

"I can't- leg... Lance."

Lance could hear the risings of panic in Shiro's voice, and forced himself to remain calm for both of their sakes. "Just hold on, Shiro. I need to look at your side."

The wound in his side was easy enough to deal with, placing a dressing over the top and letting the technology do the rest for now.

"Right okay, can you--" Lance broke off at the sound of rocks clattering behind him, bayard forming in his hands as he turned to the creatures stalking closer.

Tim the destroyer was back, and he brought friends. Lance fired two warning shots above the creatures' heads, a weak smirk making its way onto his face as they screeched and scattered.

"That'll teach them to- Shiro?" 

The man had fallen unconscious, sweat beading his brow and blood streaked everywhere, so it was hard to tell what was hurt and what was simply covered in red. "Dammit Shiro..." Lance muttered, but didn't attempt to wake him.

He would if his condition worsened, but for now, he seemed okay. And it would be easier to assess Shiro's leg this way.

The light had been fading rapidly, and now on the dim cavern floor surrounded by cliffs it was hard for Lance to see anything.

A light shone from above, and Lance looked up, nodding in thanks to the Black Lion as she lit up.

Lance sighed, looking down to Shiro. "I know I shouldn't move him," he said, as if Black would hear and understand him. "But I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Lance gently lifted Shiro up a little, dragging him into the light. He felt gently along the length of Shiro's leg, heart sinking with each touch.

He needed to get back to base, and fast.

"Gimme a roar if something goes wrong, I need to go get Blue."

Lance once again sat in the pilot's seat of the Blue Lion, pausing as he looked up at Black in front of him.

He couldn't just leave Black here, someone would find her.

But maybe that was a good thing. 

He grabbed something out from under the dashboard, checking over Shiro's nest in the middle of the stuffed toys, hoping it was comfortable enough and would protect him from further harm, having rolled Shiro into the recovery position as best he could.

Shiro had been okay before, he would be okay for another minute.

Lance ducked out of his Lion, running to Black and praying she'd open.

Black allowed him in without protest.

Slipping into the cockpit, Lance reset the distress beacon so that it could only be picked up by two frequencies - that of the resistance, and that of Voltron.

He winced as he pictured team Voltron landing, to find a lion with no pilot, and a trail of blood nearby, but no sign of a body - alive or dead.

He didn't have time to leave a message, Shiro needed medical attention immediately.

Hopefully this would be enough.

Blue took off, and Lance watched as Black disappeared into the shadows. He hoped it was enough, and Voltron wouldn't worry too much.

Lance wiggled his toes, already missing what he had left behind.

But it was for the better, and besides - he was saving Shiro. That took priority over comfort.

Chapter Text

Lance stepped out of the medical bay, flicking his fringe away from his forehead in an attempt to shift some of the sweat and blood that caked his hair once more. He'd been in the medbay for a long time, and he and Kelaan had finally reached a point where Shiro was stable. Immediately after, Kelaan and had kicked Lance out for some rest.

This was all too familiar. 

Now all he needed was for-

Yup, there she was.

"You gotta stop waiting for me out here, Mikimoo." Lance scolded, even as a smile managed to stretch itself across his face. 

"You need a hug." She said, high-pitched voice firm as she stood, arms raised expectantly and tail swishing side to side.

Lance laughed, scooping the girl up and glancing down the hall. Wherever Mik was, Nea was not far behind. 

"Where's Nea?" He asked as he bounced Mik on his hip. 

Mik yelled something in ploteryin, shocking Lance at both the volume and the language. His grin stretched further as his stomach filled with deep pride and affection for the young Galra. 

Two voices, one familiar and one unfamiliar, responded. And Nea and tiny Lotor rounded the corner. 

"Hey girls," Lance said, dropping to his knees to hug Nea, briefly teaching Lotor to fist bump when she seemed uncomfortable doing the same. 

Together, they walked towards the kitchen, Nea holding the hand that Lance wasn't using to support Mik, Lotor keeping pace on his other side. 

"Is Mr Rolo getting better?" Lotor asked quietly, fidgeting nervously with her hands. 

Lance had almost forgotten about Rolo.

"He is doing better, but he still isn't awake." Lance replied. Lotor looked down at her feet, and Mik and Nea frowned, turning to look at each other. Lance swore he could practically see the silent conversation happening before him.

"Maybe we could visit." Mik said, Nea nodding along in agreement. 

"You think?" Lotor asked, hands moving to grip the edge of her shirt, which Lance noticed was starting to wear a little, despite Lotor only owning it for a few days. 

Perhaps Lotor needed some fidget toys.

"Yeah, maybe it will make him wake up faster!" Nea added in rapid ploteryin, Lance spotting the shiny new translator sitting just inside her ear. He decided to make a fuss over it later, and focus on the conversation at hand.

"I don't know..."

"Come on Lance, you tell Lotty! We should go visit!" 

Lance tried not to chuckle. For some reason, he doubted that Rolo would appreciate the kids visiting.

"Do you think Mr Rolo would like it if we visited?" The tiny alien asked. Lance smiled down at her.

"I think he would love it, Lotty."

Lotor smiled shyly back at him and they continued on towards the kitchen.

"Lance, might I have a word?" 

Lance looked up at Muxis' voice, smile quickly vanishing from his face when he saw the expression Muxis had.

"Um... yeah... sure..." Lance said quietly, waving for the girls to continue playing while he stood up. He trailed after Muxis to just outside the doorway, where the Galra turned to look at Lance, arms folded. He had a datapad tucked in one fist, beeping quietly.

"Care to explain?" he growled.

"I uhhh..." Lance faltered nervously. "Is this about me kind of ignoring my usual duties? Because Kelaan kind of kicked me out of the medbay, so--"

Muxis cut him off, shoving the datapad in his face. "About this." he said, and Lance took a moment to focus, drawing back so he could read the screen.

Blue Lion of Voltron Sighted in Ner-Toli system - that was all he could read before Muxis snatched it away again.

"Muxis, I was going to follow the routes but then--"

"No buts, you have put this whole faction in danger!" Muxis drew up to his full height, and Lance shrank back. "Ner-Toli is too close to where we are now, and if the Empire catches wind of it, they could trace it back to here!"

"There was a distress beacon, I couldn't just--"

"You should have taken a supply ship, not one of the most distinctive ships in the universe! There are no excuses to how dangerous that is!"

"Muxis, I--"

Muxis held up a hand, a snarl forming on his face. "I'm not finished Lance, let me speak."

Lance ducked his head, biting his lip.

"The Blue Lion is now grounded. And you - no leaving base, no missions until further notice."

"But--"

Muxis held his hand up again, eyes narrowing. "There are consequences for your actions, you need to know that. Voltron is a beacon of hope for those under the Empire's rule, but it is a dangerous weapon. You understand that, I hope."

Lance meekly nodded.

"One slip-up could cost the lives of millions. It could cost you the lives of friends - family."

Tears were burning in the corners of Lance's eyes, and he wiped his nose on the back of his hand. "If I- if I didn't," his voice was shaking, but he forced himself to try and steady it. "I-it would have cost the life of the Black Paladin."

Muxis softened for a moment, before he scowled again. "Paladins are replaceable."

Lance covered his mouth with his hand, tears slipping down his cheeks. He shook his head, hardening the longer he faced Muxis. He dropped his hand to his side, curling both hands into tight, shaking fists.

"What the fuck did you just say?" He snarled, glaring up at the man in front of him.

Muxis seemed to deflate a bit, realising that he had gone too far a split second too late. 

"Lance, I-"

Lance didn't let Muxis speak, throwing his fist into the taller man's face as hard as he physically could, his other hand following it up with a hit to the stomach. Muxis stumbled few steps back, hand moving to cover the place where Lance had hit him, blood leaking from an already swelling lip. 

Lance breathed heavily, chest heaving and tear tracks tracing paths over his face. No more tears were falling though - all his emotions had been replaced by anger the moment Muxis has said those words.

"Lance, son--"

"Shut up." He rasped, averting his gaze from the Galra. His hands hurt, and he knew he hadn't thrown his punches properly.

"Lance, please--"

"SHUT UP!" Lance yelled, the roar of his lion sounding moments later as she too felt his pain and anguish.

Muxis looked up in fear at the sound, eyes widening as dust fell from the ceiling, the whole base rumbling.

Lance took a deep breath, and another, forcing himself to look Muxis in the eye.

"Go see Kelaan." Lance closed his eyes, trying to regulate his breathing.

"Son I--"

"Don't call me that."

Muxis opened his mouth to speak, but Lance didn't give him the chance.

"Get out."

Muxis hesitated for a moment.

"NOW!"

Muxis didn't try again, turning and disappearing down the hallway. All too quickly, he was out of sight around a corner.

"Wow," a voice came from back in the kitchen. "Harsh."

Lance whirled around, spotting a red-flushed Roy seated at the table. She gave a lazy two-fingered salute, and Lance dejectedly turned to trudge into the room. His foot caught against something on the ground, and he looked down.

The datapad.

Lance stepped over it, bitter taste in his mouth as he dropped into the seat next to Roy.

He deflated a little, lowering himself into a chair and resting his head in his hands, hair falling over his face. He flicked a curl out of his vision with a sigh.

"It's getting pretty long isn't it?" Roy commented. 

Lance just grunted his agreement, looking up at the sound of the chair scraping against the floor. Roy held a knife blade-first, waving it teasingly in front of Lance.

"Are you sure that's safe?" he muttered, before Roy grinned.

"I know my way around a blade." she said, tossing it in the air and catching it by the handle to prove her point. "So, do you want that hair fixed or not?"

"Um, I gotta take the girls to-" He trailed off, realising that the girls were no longer in the room.

"I got rid of them when things started getting intense." Roy explained, moving to sit on Lance's lap so he couldn't move. 

Lance flushed a little, squirming under her. "Oi, I'm not going to do anything weird." she retorted, reaching behind her for a bottle and tossing it to him. He caught it, fumbling a little.

"Roy, you..."

"I know what I'm doing, alright?"

"You want to cut my hair." Lance said, setting the bottle back down on the table.

"I want to cut your hair." she affirmed, leaning back and raising an eyebrow. "Its a mess, and obviously it's annoying you."

"Okay, yes, maybe." Lance probably looked a mess - hair unruly, eyes red, tear tracks running down his face and a runny nose.

Then again, it wasn't the first time he had looked like this.

"So if I cut the front, do you want to keep the back?"

Lance was suddenly hit with the image of a very familiar mullet, and shook his head no. Roy chuckled.

"How about something like mine? It's very easy to manage." Roy suggested.

"How did you even decide on that style?" Lance stalled, attempting to gently push Roy off his lap. She didn't budge.

"Side got shaved because of shrapnel," she said, pointing to a set of pale scars hidden in her hair. "I decided I liked it. Now, are we doing this or not?" 

Lance sighed in resignation.

"If you mess this up, I have the right to shave your whole head."

Roy laughed, knife already slicing through Lance's hair.

"Sure thing, pretty boy. Now, which side do you want?"

Lance actually kind of liked his new haircut. It was longer than he used to wear it, but the shaved side felt different - exciting. Plus, he had to admit - it looked pretty good on him. 

Not to mention that the awe visible in the kids' eyes when they spotted the star shaved into the side of his head.

Lance resisted to urge to run his hand over the short part as he strode into the medbay and began setting up. He'd already checked most of the kids, but the older two had requested privacy for their check ups, and he saw no reason to deny them. After all, one was an alien spider, and if Lance were like him, he'd want privacy too.

"Alright Click, I think you're mostly healthy, just come back tomorrow and grab something for that infection." Lance advised, typing a reminder note down on his datapad. 

Click nodded, leaving the room quickly as Koadda stepped in.

"Hey Koadda, how you doing?" Lance said distractedly, opening a blank file on his datapad. 

"Do we have to do a check up?" Koadda said, shuffling nervously in place. 

"Well you obviously have something to hide, so now we definitely need to." Lance said, causing Koadda to laugh awkwardly. "Nothing leaves this room, I promise."

 Seemingly relieved with that, Koadda pulled his shirt over his head.

"Are the bumps normal?" Lance asked, noting the lumpiness of the boys skin.

"For an unlucky forty percent of my species." Koadda replied, shrugging as Lance raised his eyebrows in mild shock.

"Right, well, I'm going to get Kelaan." Lance said, setting the datapad to the side and standing up. "She's our other medic and is much more experienced than me." with that, he stepped out from behind the curtain.

Kelaan sat in between Rolo and Shiro, reading screen above Shiro's bed. She noted something down before lifting the sheets from Shiro's legs, wincing at the sight.

"It's no good, It'll have to go." She said to herself.

Lance decided to think about that statement later.

"Hey Kelaan, can you come check this out?"

Kelaan jumped in place, raising a hand to her heart in surprise but moving behind the curtain anyway.

"This is Koadda, he is Kogg-"

"Koggren," Kelaan finished, looking Koadda up and down. "He is like me." 

Lance sensed that there was a deeper meaning to those words.

"You too?" Koadda asked.

"It would seem we are both unlucky." Kelaan said.

Lance looked between them both, searching for an answer.

Kelaan motioned for Lance to sit as she lifted a part of her shirt to reveal identical bumps to that of Koadda's.

"It is common in our people for this disease to appear. It spreads from our blood, creating clots in the blood stream." Kelaan explained, lowering her shirt. "Though it only started to affect me later in life, for many it is much earlier."

"It can cause nausea, internal bleeding, swelling, and often makes it difficult to move around without pain," Koadda added. "It ultimately - unfortunately - leads to death." 

Lance looked between them both.

"It's curable, right?" He said, already knowing the answer before the words passed his lips.

"No cure has been discovered." Koadda said stiffly. Lance didn't understand how they were both so nonchalant about this.

"It is normal for our people, mothers do not expect their children to reach full maturity, it is a disease that effects just under half of our population." Kelaan continued, "It can be slowed, but not stopped."

Lance felt determination rise up within him.

"You said that a cure hasn't be discovered, does that mean its possible to find one?" He asked, already pulling up a blank file and jotting down everything he had already been told.

Kelaan frowned, ushering Koadda to pull his shirt on and return tomorrow. Slowly she turned to Lance, allowing herself to drop into the other unoccupied chair.

"I will not fault you for trying, Paladin Lance, but understand that by the time you discover a cure, both Koadda and I may not be alive to see it."

And with that she stood, leaving Lance to his thoughts. 

Chapter Text

Lance lifted the sheets from Shiro's leg, grimacing at the sight. It was still twisted and mauled, despite the best efforts of both he and Kelaan, the skin was yellowing, the blood vessels appearing darker and bolder on skin that stretched taught over misplaced bones. 

Kelaan was right, it would have to go. 

And soon.

Lance sighed, collapsing into a chair beside Shiro's bed and pressing his palms into his eyes, only relieving the pressure when galaxies began to spread across his vision. 

Lance looked over to Nyma, who lay fast asleep across Rolo's torso. She hadn't left his side in days. And for once she was not joined by Lotty.

He wasn't sure how he felt about the understanding that had formed between the two girls. But if they found comfort in each other, who was he to ruin it?

Besides, he had ruined enough today. He doubted the relationship between he and Muxis would ever be the same. 

Because Lance would never be able to forgive him entirely for his words. He couldn't. 

Lance reached over to adjust Nyma's head, the way it was positioned doing nothing for her ever present sore neck. Rolo grunted and Lance held his breath. 

Rolo's eyelids flickered, but then he stilled once more. Lance allowed himself a small smile, before turning back to Shiro and moving the blanket aside to get a proper look at what they would be dealing with.

"I see we have both come to the same conclusion, Paladin Lance." Kelaan sighed, causing Lance to swivel at an alarming rate to face her.

"Jeez Kelaan, make a noise or something." Lance groaned, running a hand across the star on the side of his head.

"My apologies. I did not realise that you were deep in thought."

Lance sighed, gently turning Shiro's leg so that he could see the underside. "It's fine," he said. "As long as I get a little warning next time."

"Of course."

Lance nodded his agreement.

"I just wish Shiro could've woken in time to ask his permission, he's already lost so much." Lance said lowly, bowing his head.

"I have already spoken to Olina about the situation, and once she has recovered she will begin work on a replacement prosthetics."

Lance nodded slowly, moving to grab the medic garb he had grown to know all too well. He tugged a mask down over his head, letting it sit around his neck. "I'll move him into theatre for you," he said, only for Kelaan to blink owlishly.

"Paladin Lance, you are going to be there to assist."

Lance was getting real sick of walking out of theatre with blood in his hair, although Roy had picked a good style.

At least now it would be easy to wash out. 

"Hey Kid, heard you decked Muxis. What's up with that?"

"Hey, Matt." Lance greeted, rolling his eyes. Matt chuckled, matching pace with Lance.

"So what poor sop did you have to operate on this time?" Matt asked, noting the red streaks through Lance's hair. He sighed. Maybe he should look into wearing a helmet to stop that from happening. Or maybe ask Roy if there was something more discreet.

It hit Lance rather suddenly that Matt didnt even know that Shiro was here.

"I mean, does it matter? I want to hear what Mux did to deserve you of all people to hit him."

Lance sucked in a breath between his teeth, debating over how much he should tell Matt. 

"Um, well there was a distress beacon so of course I went to help but I was in Blue and there's now reports floating around of a sighting of me? I don't regret it because if I didn't respond Shiro wouldn't be alive right now but then Muxis got mad at me for being reckless and said that Paladins are replaceable and I guess I just attacked him..." Lance trailed off awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I'd deck him in the face too," Matt laughed, shaking his head. 

He froze on the spot, before whirling around and sprinting back down the hallway to the medbay.

"Dude!" Lance yelped, grabbing onto his arm. "You can't just burst in, there's patients!"

Matt slowed his pace, flushing a little. "Yeah... sorry... but you did say Shiro, right?"

"Um, yeah," They were outside the doors once more, so Lance turned to look Matt dead in the eyes. "Be warned though, he looks a lot different to when you last saw him, and not in a good way."

"Whatever, no big deal, this is Shiro we're talking about."

Lance's shoulders slumped, but he led the way to Shiro's bed.

"On second thoughts, you weren't kidding," Matt said, eyes raking over the scar running across Shiro's nose. "

Lance peeked under the covers, discreetly checking the dressing on Shiro's leg. Apparently, he wasn't discrete enough. 

"What are you looking at?"

Matt pulled the sheet back, face paling as he took in what was left of Shiro's right side. He was silent for a minute, sinking into the chair beside the bed. He opened his mouth to say something, shook his head, and closed it again.

"Did you... have to take them both?"

"The Galra took his arm and replaced it with one capable of turning into a weapon." Lance said quietly.

"And his leg?"

"We- we couldn't save it." He placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, hoping it was some form of comfort.

"We're not sure how he'll react when he wakes up." Lance admitted, drawing back so he could readjust the sheets. "Losing his arm must have been traumatising, and now it's gone for a second time, so-" he sighed, letting the end of his sentence trail off in the air.

Matt nodded, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms.

"You're reacting to all this way better than I thought you would." Lance noted. "I kind of expected more anger and noise, maybe a few tears or heartfelt hugs. The whole shebang, y'know?"

A smile tugged at Matt's lips, and he looked up to Lance. "Come on kid, have more faith in me. I'm a tough guy. And besides-" he shrugged, lifting his own leg and letting it rest against the edge of Shiro's bed. His smile grew a little, though there was a tweak of sadness in his eyes.

"Now we match."

Chapter Text

Lance stood arms folded and shirtless in front of the pool, watching as the kids they had rescued splashed around.

It had escaped his notice before, all the previous times he had visited the library, but the pool was actually huge. Certainly big enough that the ex-swimmer in him was just a little excited - although he was trying his best not to let that show.

"Why did you force me out here anyway?" Lance asked with a groan, rolling his head back to stare at Therra. He's been tending to Rolo before she had ambushed him and pushed him towards the door, Kelaan only shooing them out when Lance complained.

"Because," said Therra, adjusting one of the straps on her swimsuit. "Being around the sick and injured all the time isn't healthy. And you've been cooped up in there for days now."

Lance was about to argue, but was interupted by loud whoop as Matt cannonballed into the pool, drenching Lance's lower half in the process.

He yelped and took a step back, Therra only laughing at him. She leaned in closer to Lance, but he took another step back to leave some distance between them.

"Get in." she ordered, a wicked grin planted on her face.

Lance took yet another step back.

"Not yet," he replied hastily, turning his back to the water. "It's been so long, I don't even know if I remember how to sw-- oof!"

Therra kicked him square in the stomach, causing him to stumble back and fall into the pool.

"Don't worry - it's instinctual!" she yelled over Lance's screeching as he resurfaced. "Or at least, I think it is!"

The nearby children laughed as Lance pouted, though that expression was quickly replaced with one of surprise as Mik used him as a stepping stone, tail swiping over Lance's face.

Therra laughed, plucking the child from the air and resting her on her hip. She began to adjust one of Mik's arm floaties, still sending that wicked grin in Lance's direction.

Lance pulled himself out of the water, flicking his hair to the side. It only succeeded in blinding him, causing Lance to yelp and flick it the other way.

He flushed at the sound of laughter, turning to poke his tongue out at some of the children, which caused them to burst into more gigging.

Three of them swam over to the edge, eyes peeking up over the surface but otherwise submerged. One had webbed fingers, whilst the other two were covered in scales. Water-based planets, Lance suspected.

"And who might you be?" Lance asked, sitting by the edge and letting his feet dangle in the water.

"Skisch." One of them replied, pointing to the one next to her.

"Skisch." the second said, before breaking off into giggles and ducking his head under water. the other two began laughing as well, thoroughly confusing Lance.

"What's so funny?" Lance asked, helping the third to stay above water, their laughter too heavy to swim properly.

"We're all Skisch." They said in the midst of the laughing. The Skisch next to them gingerly grabbed their arm to help stay afloat, but it took Lance's attention that he was very hesitant about it, though the little webbed-hand Skisch showed no discomfort over it.

"Your home planet?"

"No, silly!" the first scaly one said. "That's Paciatl."

"We're all Skisch!" the second repeated.

Lance tilted his head to the side, trying to work out what they meant.

"Is Skisch a popular name where you're from?"

Their chorus of affirmatives was all Lance needed to hear, and he chuckled, twisting around to catch sight of Therra.

She stood beside the pool, arms crossed as she kept an eye on her baby sister. Mik was floating happily in the water by Nea, whose head bobble seemed extremely buoyant. The two were chattering away with Lotor, the girl crouching by the edge and swishing her hands around the water.

Therra, on the other hand, was bone dry.

Lance found a grin spreading over his face, sliding into the water and motioning for Skisch, Skisch and Skisch to stay quiet. They covered their mouths, obviously knowing what Lance was about to do.

Lance moved silently underwater, creeping closer to where Therra was. She hadn't noticed, eyes still trained on Mik.

He launched himself out of the water, bringing as much of it with him as he could and creating an almighty splash, aiming to completely drench Therra.

Therra shrieked as the water hit her, slipping on the puddle now underfoot and landing on her butt. She glared at Lance, hair plastered to her face.

"Get in." he said mockingly, matching her voice and tone from earlier.

"Give her a break!" Matt laughed, grabbing the edge next to Lance and rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

"Th- Rinnai pushed me in!" Lance slunk deeper into the water, and Matt shook his head.

"You were practically asking for it."

"Still! Come on, you're wet anyway, what's the point in avoiding getting in?"

Therra sighed, crossing her legs and resting her chin in her hand. "You don't need to know my reasons."

"What if I got out and threw you in?"

"I might die." Therra shrugged.

"You might what?"

"Die, drown, whatever you want to refer to it as."

Lance's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I'm Galra." She reminded him. "We spend most of our lives in space, its not like we have a home planet."

This only confused Lance more.

"I'm not going to swim." Therra said finally, turning her head away and frowning.

"Is it because you can't?" Lance said. When she didn't reply, he shrugged. "Well, that's an easy fix."

"It's not like I can chuck on some floaties like Mik."

"I mean, you could." Matt drawled, Lance whacking him upside the head as he dragged himself out of the pool. There really wasn't a refined way to do so, and he found himself wriggling like a beached fish.

Mik, Lotty and Nea giggled, before they paddled over to the Skisch trio and started chattering away.

"Unlike you, I have some dignity;" she snorted, nose wrinkling as she watched Lance's struggle. He rolled, sitting up and staring at her. "And I'm not willing to lose it."

"Rinnai, there's no shame in not knowing how to swim."

She mumbled something that Lance didn't quite catch.

"Pardon?"

"I said, I'm not ashamed."

"Alright, alright," Lance frowned, getting to his feet and walking over to sit next to her. "But there's something you're not telling me."

"You're right." Therra dipped her fingers in the puddle surrounding them, tracing patterns on the dry ground. "And I'm not going to."

"Nice try, kid." Matt called, and Therra and Lance shot him matching glares. He held his hands up in a surrender, slipping down into the water again.

"Are you scared?" Lance asked, keeping his voice down. Therra froze for a second.

"No."

Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Look, can you stop pressuring me?" She drew a rough symbol with the water, before covering it with a handprint. "I'm fine being near the water, I'm fine being covered it it - clearly." she motioned to herself before continuing. "But it's my own personal reason as to why I won't swim."

"Are you against dipping your feet in?"

"... no."

"Let's do that, then."

Therra eyed him suspiciously, before pulling herself to her feet and making her way over to the water. "You're not going to pull me in, are you?" she said, turning back to where Lance still sat.

"Oh, god no!" Lance said. He scrambled to his feet, taking a couple steps back. "Though I will warn you - I'm going to make another splash."

Therra gave a short nod, before tilting her head to the side. "Sure - but what's God?"

Lance grinned, launching himself into a sprint and diving at the edge of the water.

"Lance- Lance! What's God?"

Lance shook the water out of his ears, swimming back to the edge and looking up at Therra. "Just an Earth thing. A religion - or faith, if you call it that. One of the most well-known, but there's a lot of them." he said.

She sighed, dropping down and resting her forearm on her knee, the other leg in the water. "You humans are so complicated. The Galra are meant to have one faith - and that is in the Emperor."

"Well, what about you?" Lance said, resting his cheek on his folded arms. "You're now against Zarkon - so what do you believe in?"

Therra was quiet for a minute, watching the children splash and play, squealing whenever a spray of water hit them.

"I don't know yet." she said lowly. "I guess I'm waiting for salvation."

"Those that believe in God often have the same views." Lance said, and Therra shifted to look at him.

"Well," she said, giving a wry smile. "Maybe I might just believe in this 'God' of yours, too."

Chapter Text

"So I've been thinking," Pidge huffed, ducking around Allura and firing the hook of her bayard at a drone. Allura moved in, swinging her staff in a wide arc. "When we get a Lion's signal, instead of splitting up, we should all go together."

"In the Castle?" Allura asked, activating her shield and protecting Pidge's back from a shot.

"Not quite, I was thinking maybe in the Red Lion."

They moved back to back, synchronised movements defeating drones at the same time.

"Red is faster-" Allura agreed, holding her shield up again. "-and time is of the essence when it comes to situations like this."

"Guys, a little help over here?"

"Sorry Hunk!" they said in unison, turning to where Hunk was; surrounded by drones. Pidge immediately shot out her bayard, knocking three from the air in one move, while Allura ran in and slid under, holding the shield above her head. She jabbed her staff, throwing the drone into the wall.

"Thanks," Hunk said, lifting his gun and firing a spray of bolts. He hit the last few drones around him, and all three of them dropped their shoulders in momentary rest. "So what were you speaking about?"

"They said that we should all take Red when we find Shiro and Lance." Keith called, slashing clean through several drones. He spun around, activating his shield and blocking as he charged at another set.

"And?" Hunk prompted, hefting up his gun again. "What's your opinion?" he shot down a drone sneaking up on Keith's six with startling accuracy, Keith pausing for the briefest moment to nod his thanks.

"I agree with Allura," he said simply, raising his shield as the drones went on the attack again. Pidge jumped into action, protecting Keith's back as best she could. "Red's the fastest Lion, and we don't know what will happen. I can handle it if we run into trouble."

"Yeah, I can see how that's a good thing, but what if we run into big trouble?"

Allura knocked another drone down in a fluid movement. "Hunk's right." she said. "It would be best to bring another Lion, to stay back as defence."

"The best Lion for the situation is the one with the most unlocked abilities, and that's Blue!" Keith grunted as Pidge missed a shot, the bolt knocking into his shoulder. "And Allura can't feel Blue anymore!"

"Yellow has armour, and Green has cloaking," Pidge shot back, shooting her bayard again. "If you need protection, I think Yellow would be best."

"Yeah, and the Castle can do it just fine! We only need Red!"

"Keith, stressing is not going to help you while we're training." Allura called over her shoulder. He didn't reply, instead throwing his full weight into another slash.

Allura sighed. "End training sequence."

"What was that for?" Keith yelled, stumbling as the drone he was aiming for disappeared.

"We should not be having this conversation whilst training." she said calmly, leaning on her staff and deactivating her shield.

"Yeah man, you're getting worked up about it." Hunk said, bayard reverting to its dormant form. "We all want to find Shiro and Lance, but judgement is really important for times like this."

"If you want to find them so bad, why aren't you doing it then?" Keith growled, bayard still active in his hand, although he let his shield phase out.

Allura bit her lip. "Keith..." she said quietly, but he cut her off.

"You haven't tried at all today to look for them, it's like you've given up!"

"Keith, calm down!" Pidge let her own bayard return to dormant form, hand on hip. "None of this is anybody's fault and sometimes we need to take breaks. We're humans - well, not all humans, Allura's Altean - and there's only so much we can do."

"We're missing nearly half our team and you say that?"

"I'm just saying that we need to take small steps."

"We're taking steps so small that we're not moving!" He turned on his heel, finally letting his bayard deactivate.

"I'll be in my room." he muttered. "Don't come for me until you have results." and with that, he left, the others watching his retreating back.

Allura closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "He's right." she said, looking between Hunk and Pidge. "I have not been trying hard enough."

"Don't say that, Allura," Hunk replied, resting his hand on Allura's shoulder.

"But it's true." she said miserably. "We do not know if Lance and Shiro are even alive, and yet I have ignored my duties as the Protector of the Lions."

"Keith's letting his emotions get in the way." Pidge said, crossing the room to join Hunk and Allura. "I think he blames himself for what split us up in the first place."

Hunk nodded. "It's affecting us all, but I don't think he realises that it affects us in different ways."

Allura gave the paladins a tiny smile. "Maybe so, but it only means that we need to try harder." She sighed, collapsing her staff and clipping it to her side, reaching up to remove her helmet. "We are a team, and we need to look out for each other."

Allura concentrated on the feeling of the Black Lion, tracing along the connection as best she could. It was faint; but sure enough, the head of Voltron was there.

She placed her hands on the Castle's controls, the star charts blowing up around her and filling the bridge. She closed her eyes tight, centering on Black.

Allura was not going to give up. It was her that said they should stay and fight with Voltron. It was her that fought against splitting up the Lions.

And now, they were split again, at her own undoing.

"Please..." she whispered, wanting nothing more than to bring the team back together again. They had become a new family to her, even in the short span of time they spent together. "Show me the Black Lion - Shiro - please."

"Allura! You found him!" Pidge cried, and Allura's eyes shot open. Pidge was grinning, pointing to a planet just above her head.

Hunk nodded, a smile forming on his own face. "The Black Lion looks damaged, but that seems to be from the crash. There's a distress beacon active, but-" he squinted at the beacon's signature. "- it seems edited somehow."

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Pidge said, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Like it's on a private frequency, I guess."

Allura tilted her head to the side. "Well, I suppose thats a good thing," she said, letting the map zoom in on the planet. "It means that Black is safe from being discovered by the Galra."

"It means Shiro's not in too much danger, right?" Hunk said, nodding to the planet's hologram. "If he was, he would have left it on all frequencies so anyone could come help."

Allura's lips curled at the corners. "Now let us hope that Lance is with him."

Chapter Text

Lance had forgotten the way that being around water seemed to have a peculiar effect on his bladder.

He sighed, rolling off of Blue's pilot seat (reclined to form a comfortable bed), reaching under her dash for his slippers. Left with only open air, Lance groaned. He would have to deal with the cold floor of the base.

He shuffled his way to the bathroom, blowing into his hands to warm them as he hurried through the hallways. The floor was freezing, and Lance stood on his toes to try and avoid it. He moved faster, trying to hide his shivers in the blanket over his shoulders and the quickening of his pace.

Lance almost sprinted past the training room if it weren't for the dim light coming from within. He skidded to a stop, wondering who could possibly be up this late and leaning back to peek around the door.

Muxis sat with his back against a wall, one hand fiddling with the military dog tags around his neck. His other hovered in front of a holoscreen, replaying some form of muted footage over and over. the light from the screen illuminated Muxis' face, revealing a still slightly swollen lip and a tired expression, corners of his mouth turned down.

Lance frowned, hesitantly taking a step into the room.

He might have been angry with Muxis, but as one of the team medics it was his duty to make sure everyone was getting enough sleep.

And Muxis most definitely wasn't.

If the Galra noticed Lance coming in, he didn't show it, eyes still trained on the screen in front of his face. The footage ended just as Lance made it to his side, sighing and opening his mouth to speak.

"Watch." Muxis said, not moving his eyes from the screen in front of him.

Lance raised his eyebrow, but moved closer in order to better see the screen as Muxis hit replay.

A slightly younger looking Muxis ran into view, followed by a lizard-looking alien. Both held a gun and both wore the resistance colours. Past Muxis yelled something, though the words were lost in the silence of the footage. They ran backwards, fighting off enemies obviously following on their heels.

He fired his gun at something out of view, just as another figure appeared, running from the opposite way that Muxis and Lizard Man had entered from.

Lizard Man turned to look, aiming his gun as the other figure spoke quickly into a device. The first shot missed, and Muxis yelled something again, before charging at the group that was following them. Lizard Man fired again, this time hitting his mark and doing a quick once over of his kill before he turned back to the group tailing them.

Lance watched Muxis jump to the side in order to dodge a strike, turning to yell a warning to his teammate.

Lance watched as said teammate turned to yell back.

Lance watched as Lizard Man fell to the floor, blood streaming from the hole in the side of his head.

Muxis hit replay again, and they watched as the scene played out, the ending just as jarring as it had been the first time.

"Every time I watch, I find something I could have done better." Muxis said, hitting replay once more. He breathed deeply through his nose, running a claw through the engraved symbols of his tags. "I see more mistakes than what seems possible."

It was silent in the room for another replay and a half, before Muxis grunted.

"I should have taken him out instead of leaving it for Njij to handle. If we took him out sooner, he wouldn't have contacted the commander."

He replayed the video again, letting his head fall back against the wall. He didn't take his eyes off the screen however, taking in every detail he could.

"I should have rolled instead of dodging there. Then I would have been able to disarm him."

He finally took his eyes off the screen and instead looked down at the tags in his hand.

"I had time to jump in front..." he said, dropping the tags. They fell down around his neck, swinging a little. "I should have done it."

Muxis gave a dry laugh. "Would you believe I have never been sober since that day?"

Before Lance could say anything, Muxis had switched to another recording.

Lance watched as Muxis, Vi, and another resistance member ran down one of the base hallways.

"Who is--"

"Perus." Muxis supplied, cutting Lance off before he could finish the question. "The day the base was attacked."

Lance watched as the group relaxed a bit, no enemies appearing in their field of vision. The trio tried to open comms, but when nothing happened they had a hurried conversation, and Muxis nodded, before turning and leaving off screen.

Perus and Vi stood in the middle of the hallway, lips moving in silent conversation, but were interrupted as something dropped from the ceiling, claws slashing through the neck of Perus, who fell hard onto his knees.

Vi immediately took to defence, using a staff that Lance had never seen them with in an attempt to ward off the beast. It effortlessly dodged around, slashing at their stomach and throwing them backwards into a wall.

Lance winced, turning his head away. knowing what had happened was one thing, but seeing it was entirety new. It made him feel squeamish.

Perus got to his feet, relying on the wall as he stood, murder in his eyes. He held one hand to his neck in an effort to stop the bleeding, the other aiming with his own weapon. 

The shot pierced the creature's hide, and Lance could almost imagine the inhumane screech the creature writhed with.

It fled, and Perus' weapon dropped out of his hand. He said something - perhaps only mouthed it - and collapsed on the floor in a pile.

Vi sluggishly crawled over to him, hand reaching out to check for vitals, but Lance could tell it was too late.

He watched Vi collapse, wounds bleeding onto the floor.

"We thought it was clear." Muxis said, clicking replay. Lance swallowed thickly, averting his gaze from the screen and trying to focus elsewhere. "Comms were jammed, and I went to help them on the bridge. I should have stayed."

Another recording started, this one a direct feed from Muxis' helmet.

Lance watched as Muxis crawled forward on a rooftop, eyes trained on Olly and Vi who stood together in a deserted market.

Lance recognised the terrain immediately. Drypso.

He watched as Muxis turned for a moment, and by the time he had turned back Vi was on the ground unconscious and Olly was gone.

"I lost focus to check on Roy. I should never have taken my eyes off them."

Muxis skipped to another video, and Lance was surprised to see himself. They were standing just outside the kitchen, the smile slowly dropping from his face.

Yesterday.

He watched their recent conversation play out again, he watched himself blow up.

He flinched as past him punched Muxis in the face.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you, I should have let you explain, I shouldn't have said what I did." Muxis took a deep breath before continuing, hand once again fiddling with the dog tags he wore. 

"You were protecting your teammates. I would have done the same. I did do the same." he tugged at one of his tags, pulling it from the chain and holding it up. A tiny chip sat hidden in the symbols, and Muxis clicked it on.

A tiny Galra baby appeared, small tuft of hair falling into her eyes as she smiled at the camera. The small blanket she held firmly within her grip was embroidered with the baby's name, though Lance didn't need to know Galra to know what it said.

Therra.

"I had a family to call my own. a beautiful wife and daughter." Muxis said, eyes trained on the baby Therra's face. "But when the chance came to run, I took it. I didn't think about them, and I didn't look back."

"Maybe you should have." Lance said quietly, shivering a tiny bit. He wasn't sure if it was at his words or the cold finally seeping through, drawing the blanket around his shoulders tighter.

"Maybe I should have." Muxis echoed, hand moving slightly as if to reach out for the baby in the picture. He stopped just short, sighing as he let his hand drop again. "But I can't change the fact that I chose this life over the one where I was a father."

Tiny foot steps echoed down the hall, accompanied by quiet sniffles. Lance was familiar with the sounds, and stiffened, turning to the doorway.

"You may be Therra's father, but you won't ever be her dad." he hissed, pulling himself to his feet.

Muxis' face displayed a range of emotions, unsure of what to settle on.

The sniffles sounded again, and Lance called out. "Mikimoo! In here!"

"What are you doing?" Muxis said through clenched teeth, hiding the photo and attaching the tag to his chain again.

"You missed your chance with Therra." Lance said "You're too late."

"So you keep reminding me."

"But it's not too late for her." Lance jerked his head to the door, before stalking off to the other exit and leaving Muxis to tend for his daughter.

Chapter Text

Nyma was mad at Lance for some reason that he couldn't figure out.

Every time he entered the medbay she would glare at him, holding her gaze even as he tended to Rolo. It had gotten to the point where Lotor had started to leave whenever he entered, finding it too awkward to stick around.

He wished he could do that too. But it would be pretty hard to tend to the patients from outside the room, and Nyma wasn't going to leave any time soon.

Lance sighed, trying to ignore Nyma's piercing gaze as he gave Rolo a quick bed bath. Satisfied with the work, and Rolo once again covered by the sheets; Lance threw the cloth into the laundry pile, pulling a new one from the clean set neatly folded on the small table between the beds.

He dunked it in the water, letting it soak as he turned to Shiro.

Lance winced as he removed the bandages covering the stumps of what used to be Shiro's right arm and leg, trying not to pull off any of the newly forming scabs that covered both.

If there was one thing Lance had overcome as a medic, it was his squeamishness around other peoples bodies.

He threw the bandages in the general direction of the dirty pile, already wringing out the cloth in his other hand.

It was almost silent for the next few minutes, aside from the occasional splash of water, or Nyma shifting in her seat. Lance half wished Kelaan would show up, just so he could make a conversation that wouldn't be met with a cold shoulder.

Lance wrapped Shiro's leg in fresh bandages, pulling the bed sheets back up to his waist and moving onto his arm; all the while trying to shake the feeling of Nyma burning holes in the back of his head. He gave one final wrap of the bandage, reaching for the clip, only to come up with open air.

Lance groaned, twisting around. Not on the table, not on the floor.

"Nyma?" Lance tried, finding no option but to turn to her, currently midway through adjusting Rolo's pillows. "Nyma?"

The only sign Nyma gave that she even heard him was a tensing of her shoulders.

"Could you get me a new bandage clip? I forgot to grab one."

Her gaze flicked to him for a second, before she continued what she was doing.

"Nyma, I'm serious," Lance said, some of his newly found 'medic voice' seeping into his tone. "I don't want to risk an infection."

Nyma pursed her lips, debating over it for a moment before she turned on her heel and flounced to the other side of the room.

"Thank you."

She returned to Rolo's bedside, ditching the clip at Lance's head from where she stood. He quickly raised a hand, catching it before it hit him and applying it with ease.

Lance frowned, looking over to Nyma. She turned her head away, pointedly glaring at the wall. "Right, this has to stop." he said, rounding the bed to stand on the same side as her.

She made no indication that she heard, and Lance sighed.

"Nyma--"

"I heard you the first time, paladin." she said, spitting the last word out in disgust.

Lance blinked owlishly, something he may or may not have picked up from Kelaan.

"What?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know." Nyma snapped. Lance took a step towards her.

"Look Nyma, I really--"

He was cut off as Nyma's fist smashed into the side of his face, knocking him to the floor. Lance gaped up at her, hand automatically rising to his cheek.

"Wh--"

"You know what you did!" She shouted, fist raised as if to punch him again. "You... you-"

Rolo groaned quietly, causing both of them to freeze, swivelling to face him.

Lance jumped up from the floor, aching face forgotten as he rushed to check on his patient, shouldering past Nyma.

She growled, making a move to hit him again, but stopped as Rolo's eyelids flickered.

"Rolo..." she breathed, moving closer.

He groaned again, opening one bleary eye. He shut it almost immediately again from the lights, and Lance grinned.

"Welcome back, man."

Rolo smiled tiredly back, though that was all.

"You're awake." Nyma whispered, and Lance noted the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah," Rolo rasped, voice almost gone from disuse. "No shit."

Lance had to laugh at that. Matt must have taught him the word at some point.

Nyma seemed frozen, a million different emotions racing through her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hands, somewhere between overwhelmed and relieved. She trembled all over, and Lance managed to swoop in and catch her before she fell, moving her to her usual chair.

"You're okay." Nyma swiped at her eyes with one hand, the other reaching for Rolo's.

"That's..." Rolo winced. "One word- for it." he managed. "Can't-"

"It's expected that you won't be able to do much, Rolo. You just woke up from a coma, so it'll take some time to recover fully." Lance said, only to receive a glare from Nyma. He shot her a confused look, before turning back to Rolo. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Rolo made a strange sound that Lance took for a laugh. "How long?"

"Were you out for? Uh, I'd say about--"

"It doesn't matter," Nyma interrupted, squeezing Rolo's hand. "You're okay."

Rolo opened his eyes a fraction, watching her. "I'm okay."

Lance felt a smile curl the corners of his mouth, and he turned to leave. "I'll leave you guys alone for a bit."

He paused at the doorway. "Don't know how long 'a bit' may be, because I'm sure Lotty will want to see you."

"Who's Lotty?"

Lance just chuckled, "Nyma'll fill you in."

"What's up with your face?"

Lance looked up as he entered the kitchen, smiling guiltily as Roy stared at him. Olly looked over at them, turning from the fridge that she had been rummaging through.

"You look like you've been decked." Roy smirked.

Lance flushed, unseen to the two girls.

But apparently not unfelt, because Olly burst into loud giggles.

"Roy-" she said, kicking the fridge shut and moving to stand next to her partner, arms full of food. "He was."

Roy sprang to her feet in disbelief, staring at Lance. He shrugged. "Long story."

"Here." Olly said, tossing an ice pack in his general direction.

He sat down at the table, pressing the cool brick to his cheek.

"Why'd you get that out?" Roy asked, giving Olly a weird look as she sank back into her seat.

"Dunno. I think it was stuck between the salad and whatever this is." she held up a container, and Roy sighed.

"Matt's." she said.

"Fair enough."

The door slid open behind them, all three of the kitchen's occupants turning to look.

Nyma stood, eyes downcast in the doorway, gripping onto her upper arms.

Olly looked between the Nyma and Lance a few times, realization sparking in her eyes. "Oh." she mouthed, before tugging at Roy's arm.

"Hey, we should go for a checkup with Kelaan." she said, pulling Roy to her feet.

"But we already did earlier this rotat--" she was cut off as Olly jabbed her elbow into Roy's stomach. Olly quickly threw Roy over her shoulder, giving Lance a wink as she moved out of sight, leaving him alone with Nyma.

Nyma moved further into the room, dragging her feet. She didn't say anything, letting the silence hang between them.

"Soooo..." Lance said, breaking the tension as soon as possible. He didn't want a replay of what happened in the medbay.

Nyma looked up, an unrecognisable emotion in her eye. Lance absently wondered if Olly would have been able to tell.

"How's Rolo?"

"Resting." Nyma said shortly, bringing her shoulders up. "Kelaan's keeping an eye on him so he doesn't slip away again."

"Ah. That's... good."

"Yeah."

Silence filled the space between them again, the tension building up. Lance cleared his throat, moving to stand.

"Well, I'm just gonna--"

"Lance," Nyma interrupted, voice quiet but clear. "I have to say something."

He held his breath, waiting for her to continue. She drew herself up to her full height, raising her chin.

"I don't like you very much."

Lance winced, he supposed he had already known that - after all, she had punched him earlier - but it still kind of hurt to hear.

"When we met the first time, you were too trusting, too naive. I hated your innocence, and the way you could trust so blindly because nothing on your sheltered world had broken that trust and taught you better."

Lance didn't see why that was a reason to hate him, but he remained silent.

"I have never known peace," she continued, the unrecognisable spark in her eyes growing. "I ran away from my home planet to escape punishment by our queen when I was just a child, and I never really found a place after that - I was a drifter. When I met Rolo, I had to work for his trust, I had to earn it. And through that partnership, I had something to fall back on." Nyma paused, locking eyes with Lance.

"Then you and Voltron showed up."

"I--"

"You blindly trusted us right from the start, and made it so easy to steal the Blue Lion. But I guess after everything, you managed to make Rolo second guess himself, because he changed. Rolo decided being a mercenary who took no sides wasn't what he wanted to be, and we found our way here. It took a while for them to trust us, especially given our recent history."

Nyma scowled, and Lance almost fell from his chair as she slammed her palms down onto the metal surface.

"And you just waltz right on in here, no training, no questions, and suddenly you're a trusted member of Resistance! You get sent out on missions you aren't ready for, you become friends with everyone, you become a leader almost instantaneously just because you're a Paladin of Voltron!"

"I didn't ask to--"

"It don't care!" Nyma shouted, slamming her palms down once more.

"It's people like you who mess stuff up. It's people like you who don't know how to react. And it's people like you that cause others to make sacrifices in their stead!"

Ah, he understood now.

"Nyma, I--"

"I. Am not. Finished." She hissed through clenched teeth.

Lance wisely decided to shut up.

"I don't like you very much." Nyma said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "But you did save Rolo's life - even if he was only ever in danger because of your mistakes to start with." she pulled back from the table, stepping away.

"And for that, I am grateful. Rolo's lucky to be alive, and he wanted me to thank you for him. So yeah. Thanks."

She turned away, making her way towards the door once more.

"I don't like you," she repeated, pausing at the exit, hand resting on the doorway. She didn't turn around to address him, instead speaking to the empty hallway in front of her. "But that doesn't mean I don't respect you."

Lance probably looked like a fish, constantly opening and closing his mouth. Nyma turned to look over her shoulder, face unreadable.

"Lance?" she said, and he winced at her tone.

"Yes?"

"Next time, take your own bullet."

Chapter Text

"Lotty, can you grab some of the wipes for me?" Lance asked, mind searching for a job he could get the girl to do that would not lead to injuries for her, or for the few patients he had today. He would need the wipes eventually, so it was probably best to get them before he forgot.

Lance turned back to his work as Lotty left the tiny medbay used for checkups and minor injuries, giving a reassuring smile to the child sniffling in front of him.

This particular species of alien had brittle, lightweight arms, which had once been used for flight. But as humans had adapted to walk on two legs, they had adapted to their surroundings, and no longer took to the sky on wings.

The poor kid had stepped on some metal, a spike breaking off in his foot.

He aimed with the tweezers, before whispering "close your eyes."

The kid did so, and Lance yanked the tweezers back as quickly as he could, pulling the metal shard with it. The kid shrieked, flinching back in pain.

"It hurts!" he cried. Lance crouched down so he was level with the kid's four eyes, a sympathetic look on his face.

"I know buddy," Lance said quietly, "But uh—" He floundered, trying to find something to take his mind off the pain. He hoped that kids universally were like those on Earth. "Do you want to see something really cool?

"Yeah?" the child responded hesitantly, shifting forwards to sit closer to Lance.

Lance smiled and pulled out a vial from the pocket of his scrubs. He'd gotten sick of washing blood from his clothes, and Kelaan had given him the scrubs for just this reason. They were a little small, but Lance didn't mind.

"This here," Lance said, holding up the vial and prepping the needle inside. "is going to make all the infections go away."

"R-really?"

"Yup." He smiled. "It makes your foot go all icky and gross for a bit while it kills all the bad things in your body."

Lance held back a sigh of relief as the child's eyes lit up.

"Will I have to wear a bandage?" He asked in excitement, leaning even closer.

Lance nodded seriously. "Of course. You might even have to use a special stick to walk with for a while so you don't hurt it again."

"Wow..." the kid breathed, and Lance pressed the vial to his ankle. It latched on, needle flicking out and injecting the contents into his bloodstream.

"And done. See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Lance asked, wrapping the boy's foot in a bandage. It morphed to his foot, just as Lotty came back with the wipes.

"Thank you, Lotty." Lance said, lifting the boy up from the bench and setting him gently on the floor, keeping his injured foot up.  "Would you be able to take Khi-ahn back to Click and Koadda? They can handle the rest from there."

Lotty nodded, immediately looping an arm under Khi-ahn's and helping him out of the room.

Lance grinned a little at their backs as they left, dropping the now empty vial into the waste bucket.

He left the tiny medbay, ducking across the hall into the bigger infirmary, the one where Lance spent most of his time - for good reason.

His two major patients, Shiro and Rolo, were stationed here, regardless of Rolo's complaints and annoyance at his slow recovery.

Lance was on his own today, having insisted that Kelaan took the day off. "How're you today, Rolo?" He asked, moving to Shiro's bed and checking the vitals running over the screens. He flicked one sideways, scanning over the graph for any problems.

"Good enough."

Lance smiled. "Well, in your language, that means better than ever." He said brightly, and Rolo gave a light huff.

"It means I would do better if that kid didn't keep pestering me."

Lance flicked the screen down, minimising it and turning to Rolo. "Lotty's trying her best, she's not too bad."

"Mr Rolo, Mr Rolo!"

Rolo visibly held back a groan.

Lotty burst into the infirmary, rushing to Rolo's bedside.

"Can I help you sit up, Mr Rolo?" She asked eagerly, hands pushing down on the bed in an attempt to make herself tall enough to see its occupant.

"I'm already sitting up kid." Rolo replied patiently, although Lance could see the telltale signs of annoyance on his face.

"Well, uh... can I help you lay down?" She tried.

"No thanks."

"I gotta help you do something!" Lotty insisted, a determined look on her face.

Lance was suddenly reminded of a scene in an old animated movie he saw once, and decided it was time to step in.

"Lotty, you could help Mr Rolo find his gernahash?" Lance said, smirking at Rolo's glare with his use of 'mr'.

Lotty nodded, "I've got it Mr Rolo, I'll find it in no time!" She said, little voice filled with determination.

And then she was gone, not even asking what a gernahash was. Lance was a little glad, because he didn't know what it was either.

"Thanks." Rolo grunted, and Lance stepped up, pulling the blankets away.

Lance pulled out the wipes, pulling back Rolo's blankets. Rolo's face darkened, and Lance shrugged.

"Dude, it's either this or you wear a diaper, and I already had to wash you when you were unconscious."

Rolo shuddered at that, and Lance got to work, replacing the bedpan with a clean one.

"I never really got to say thank you." Lance said quietly, scrubbing Rolo's legs down

"Oh man, did Nyma say something?" Rolo groaned, and his arm twitched. "Dammit, can't even face palm."

"Said would be one word for it." Lance mused, before cutting in with a "she's right though!" as Rolo started to protest.

"If it weren't for my mistakes you wouldn't be in this situation right now." Lance said, switching to Rolo's other leg with a new wipe.

"Hey, we all make mistakes," Rolo said. "It was my choice to jump in front, and I'm paying for it. But Nyma? She's..." he paused, searching for the right word. "Nyma, y'know?"

Lance laughed a little. "That's probably the only way to describe her." He said. "She may be protective and loyal, but—"

"She doesn't know when to stop and step back."

Lance gave a noise of agreement, and they slipped into silence.

"She has feelings for me," Rolo admitted quietly after a minute.

"Anyone could see that" Lance replied lightly, pulling out another clean wipe.  "You'd have to be pretty oblivious to not see it."

Rolo's smile was a tiny crease in the corner of his mouth, eyes dropping to his chest.

"She cares for you, more than anyone." Lance continued.

"I sometimes wish she didn't..." Rolo admitted. "we've been together for so long that I see her like a sister more than anything."

"I think she needs to hear that, from you."

"Maybe not now, but one day."

"Mr Rolo! What's a ger-ner-hah?"

Lance hastily shoved the blankets back over Rolo as Lotty ran in.

"Well um... er-" Lance stuttered.

"It's blue, and covered in feathers" Rolo cut in.

Lotty nodded, repeating the words "blue" and "feathers" under her breath as she ran from the room once more.

Lance smiled, turning to dump the wipes in the bin. He glanced quickly up at Shiro, doing a double take as he dropped everything in shock.

Shiro's eyes were wide open, staring directly at him.

Chapter Text

"Still nothing?"

Lance leaned over Shiro, trying not to grimace as the action caused him to lock eyes with Shiro's blank, unseeing ones.

"None..." He said, not even looking up as Matt entered the infirmary, moving straight to Lance's side.

"You should probably get some rest, Lotty," he said, resting a hand on the girl's head. Her tongue was poking out as she attempted to tie the string of Shiro's overlayer, fumbling with a simple knot Lance had taught her the day before.

"Al... most..." She said, standing on her tiptoes to see better. Matt made a move as if to help, by Lance stopped him with a wry grin.

Lance was watching carefully anyway, just to make sure it was properly done up. It would be embarrasing for everybody involved if it wasn't tied well enough. He doubted Olly would be able to concentrate and do her job if there was a naked buff dude in front of her.

(Not naked, he reminded himself. Shiro did have a thin suit on, not unlike the one Lance found himself in when he cane out of the Castle's pods.)

Then again, it was thin enough that it didn't leave much to the imagination.

Though he wasn't entirely sure that Olly was interested in human men.

... Or men, now that he really thought about it.

"Mux was wondering if you were up for going to the shooting range sometime." Matt said, pulling Lance out of his thoughts. "He said to tell you that it shouldn't be too awkward, and that it's not like you have to hold a conversation with him."

"I've got a lot on my plate right now, I don't exactly have time to play around, Matt." Lance replied, bringing up a screen next to Shiro's head.

Matt pursed his lips. "You need to take breaks, y'know."

"There!" Lotty said, giving a proud nod at her work and stepping back.

"Great job. Could you go fetch Olly for me?" Lance asked, tapping the screen to zoom in on a line of data.

"Sure thing!" Lotty chirped, and skipped out of the room. A second later, she stuck her head back through the door. "Don't go anywhere, Mr Rolo!" she said, and was gone again.

"I see what you mean by the 'mr' thing." Lance said, holding back a laugh as he minimised the screen.

"If I could move properly, I'd be giving you the finger." Rolo said, scowling. Matt leant over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got you." He said, following up with flipping off Lance.

"Why do you humans find that offensive, anyway?"

Lance grinned. "Depends on who's giving it, because it's usually in good humour."

Rolo rolled his eyes. "I'm never going to understand your strange culture."

"Eh, humans have a lot of cultures." Matt said, and Rolo scoffed. "I'm serious! Every country has its own distinct style and culture, you can't really expect every human to have the same ideals."

Rolo made an indistinct noise. "Well, you two're pretty similar, so I'll take a stab and say this guy's the same."

"Shiro's a great guy." Lance said in agreement, opening a new screen to fiddle with the bed's settings. "He was my hero for a long time before I met him."

Matt snickered, and Lance gasped theatrically. "What? Do you mock me for my life choices?"

"Nah, it's just funny to hear you refer to this disaster of a person as a hero."

"Yeah, well, he can't be worse than you." Lance said, and the bed slowly lifted so Shiro was somewhat sitting up. Matt readjusted his pillow and sheets, a half thoughtful look on his face.

"True, true..." He said, moving to the foot of the bed to fix the sheets there.

Rolo shuddered. "Could you maybe give him a visor or something? The dead-eye stare's a little creepy."

"Hmm?" Matt looked up at Shiro, before blanching. "Yeah, you're right. That's a bit scary. Can't be good for his eyes, either."

Not seeing any other options, Lance reached over and closed Shiro's eyes himself. He pulled his hand back quickly, grimacing. "That felt like I was closing the eyes of a corpse."

"If it's any consolation, it looked that way too."

"Matt, how is that consolation?"

He shrugged. "No idea. So Olly's coming to do some work?"

Lance nodded. "She's taking casts of Shiro's stumps and taking measurements, and designing a new arm and leg for him from scratch."

Matt gave a low whistle, pulling up the seat next to Shiro's bed and sitting down. "Snazzy."

"She's not going to build them before he's truly awake though, we're not even sure he'll want new prosthetics."

"I wanted a new leg to replace this hunk of junk but she said it was fine as long as maintenance was performed correctly." Rolo said, leg shifting slightly in an attempt to move it.

Matt chuckled. "Yeah well, I'm pretty sure yours was made from scraps."

Rolo was silent, and Matt's chuckles turned into full laughter. "Oh my god it was."

"... can you flip the finger to yourself?"

Lance made his way over to Rolo, grinning. "How 'bout we get those exercises done so you can do it yourself?" He said, reaching for Rolo's closer hand. "Also, you have one less finger than we do, so does it even count?"

"I reckon so." Matt said. Lance rolled his eyes.

"You just think it's hilarious to teach aliens swears and rude gestures."

"I'm right, aren't I?" He leaned back in his chair, propping his legs up on the edge of Shiro's bed and tucking his hands behind his head. "Besides, technically we're the aliens - there's only a maximum of..." He trailed off, doing some quick maths in his head. "Seven. Seven humans in space."

"And somehow three of them ended up here." Rolo drawled as Lance massaged the palm of his hand. "That's nearly an invasion."

"Maybe so."

Lance paused in his movements, turning to stare at Matt over his shoulder. In return, he gave a shit-eating grin.

"Matt... that meme died when my abuela was on the internet."

"It was never really a 'meme', it's more of an abstract reaction."

"I'm not even gonna ask."

"Good choice." Lance said, going back to his massaging. He gently pulled each finger in on Rolo's hand, holding them in a fist. "Okay, try to hold this for as long as you can." He said, releasing Rolo's hand.

He counted how long it took for Rolo's hand to loosen again, nodding in approval. "You've improved." Lance noted.

"Doesn't feel like it." Rolo muttered, looking away.

"Yeah, it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount," Lance said, curling in Rolo's thumb and holding it for a few seconds. "But it's still progress."

"I should be out in the field, or flying, or something."

"You should be resting and recovering." Lance stressed, moving to flex Rolo's wrist. "And I should probably apologise for not being able to do this with you enough."

"'S fine. Just draws out the recovery rate."

"And I know you want it to be faster, so I'm sorry that—"

"Don't worry about it, man. I know Kelaan's not up to her usual load of work, so you're stretched thin. I'm not going to be annoyed because you're busy with other things."

Matt leaned back so he was looking at Lance and Rolo upside down. "I'm amazed Kelaan was able to do all this and more alone," he said. "I mean, sure, we've picked up a lot more people since you arrived, but wow, she had a lot of work."

"Has." Lance corrected. "Has a lot of work. I'm only taking over her duties for a short time. Hopefully she'll be back to work in no time, and I can be back on missions soon."

Matt snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. "Oh yeah, about that - Captain said Muxis didn't actually have the right to pull you off active duty so—"

"Does that mean I'm not grounded?" Lance said hopefully. Matt sucked in a breath between his teeth.

"Oh no, you're officially grounded until further notice."

"Don't see why..." Lance muttered, rounding Rolo's bed to start with his other hand.

"Did you forget?" Matt sat up straight, turning in his chair to actually face Lance in partial shock. "You punched Muxis in the face."

Lance pulled a face. "He had it coming, with what he said."

"... Did I... miss something?" Rolo asked, lost in the conversation.

"It's..." Lance ran a hand over the star shaved into his hair. "A long story. It all happened while you were out."

"Does it have something to do with that dude?" He managed to jerk his head a little towards Shiro.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it's a mess, and -surprisingly - I have nothing to do with it."

"I find that hard to believe." Rolo replied, and Lance started to massage his hand.

"The point is, there's a lot going on and the medical side of it's kinda lacking staff right this moment." Lance said. "The duties keep piling up and at this rate, I'm going to have to look after Kelaan too."

The three of them lapsed into silence, Matt turning back to Shiro and pulling up a screen, Lance working his way around Rolo's hand.

"Hey kid," Matt said after a few minutes perusing the data in front of him. "Fix that posture, you're a cadet."

"Not anymore, sir." He shot back, and Matt turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "I mean, I technically dropped out."

"Guess you're right." Matt said eventually, nodding as if to say 'fair enough'. "But that hunched back isn't going to help you later in life, kid."

Lance sat up straighter, back popping a little into place as he did so. He let go of Rolo's hand so he could lean back, cracking the rest of his back with a satisfying sound.

Matt shuddered. "That's gross."

"You're the one who told me to sit up straight."

"I'm back!"

"Hey Lotty," Matt greeted, lifting a hand to wave at the girl.

"Mr Rolo didn't move, just like you asked." Lance said, and he shot a look to Rolo, who looked like he had a string of curses on the tip of his tongue. He curled in Rolo's fingers, holding them for a moment. "Same as last time, ready?"

He counted under his breath, Lotty watching everything with her seemingly endless enthusiasm.

"Can I do that?" She said, pointing to Rolo's hand. "Can I help Mr Rolo with his exercise?"

Lance blinked, before a wide grin spread over his face. Of course - why hadn't he thought of that before?

"You sure can, Lotty;" Lance grinned at Rolo's murderous look, moving to the side so that she could take his place. "Be gentle, alright?"

"Alright."

"So where's Olly?" Matt asked, and Lance finally realised that Lotty had come back alone.

"She's grumpy."

"About what?" Lance asked, picking up his datapad and flicking through his complied notes for Kelaan and Koadda.

"She said 'Pilot left without saying hi to me first'." Lotty traced her finger over Rolo's, her tiny hand fitting inside his palm. "And Roy said that Pilot had a mission, with Nyma and Vi and Lahnce, but you're Lance so I asked what she meant and she said 'no, not Lance, Lahnce' but that still made no sense so she said 'just tell them Olly with be there later, she's grumpy because a friend didn't say hi or bye'."

Matt hid a snicker in his hand.

"I also said that I was gonna come keep Rolo company so he doesn't murder the brat."

Lotty puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not a brat, and Mr Rolo wouldn't do that."

"Only 'cause I can't move." He muttered, and Matt's mirth grew.

"Oi, everyone's a brat at your age, I was no exception." Roy moved into the infirmary, dropping to sit on the end of Rolo's bed. "Olly's sulking because Pilot didn't even step foot in Base. Lahnce basically came in, grabbed Nyma and Vi, and they were gone again."

"So why are you here without her?" Matt asked, "This is the first time I've seen you apart by choice."

"I do it all the time." She waved a hand, dismissing his words. "Olly usually drags me everywhere, but when she's having some downtime I can wander."

In the dim light of the infirmary (Rolo's request, his eyes weren't still used to full brightness), Roy's eyes were brighter, almost glowing.

"That doesn't answer why you're here and she's not."

"Fluffy, I told you - she's sulking, and I wanted to come chat with Rolo, is that so hard to believe?"

"For you? Yeah."

Shaking his head, Lance tuned out the rest of the conversation, focusing on his reading instead.

Chapter Text

"Down there!" Pidge cried, indicating a ravine on the planet's surface, and Keith grunted.

"I see it." he said flatly "No need to point out the obvious."

"And there's no need for you to be so rude, yet here we are." She retorted.

"Guys, you been like this since we left the Castle, can you please stop?" Hunk complained, rolling his eyes. He and Allura were trailing behind in Yellow, having agreed that they should have another Lion.

"Hunk is right," Allura said, leaning closer to the screen. "We are here to save Shiro, not create a rift between us."

Keith huffed, urging Red on just a little faster. The movement didn't quite seem natural, causing Pidge to furrow her brow.

"Approach with caution, Paladins," Coran's voice sounded in her ear, and Pidge shook her head, focusing on him instead of Keith. "You don't know what you will find down there!"

"Yes we do." Keith said through grit teeth. "Shiro."

Pidge frowned again, hand gripping the back of Keith's seat. She stared at the side of his head for a moment, tapping her toe as she thought.

"So, uh Keith..." she said quietly, muting their channel so the others couldn't hear. He grunted in response, not even turning to glance at her. "What's the problem between you and Red?"

Keith tensed.

"Nothing." he muttered, clicking the channel open again. Pidge huffed, turning it off and glaring at him.

"Keith. You and Red aren't working as well as you normally do, so much so that Yellow is able to keep up with no effort."

"Maybe I'm just holding back so he can."

"Don't pull that with me Keith, I can tell something's up."

"Can we just open comms again? They're probably discussing something important."

"Don't avoid the question!" Pidge snapped, before she immediately softened. "Sorry. That's not helping."

Keith didn't reply for a while, instead focusing on the ravine ahead.

"... I got angry." He said quietly. "Remember when Lance's signal was glitching out?"

Pidge nodded. Of course she remembered, it wasn't like anything that was unfolding ahead of them was making her forget it.

"Well..." He still wasn't looking at Pidge. "I-" he gave a dry laugh. "It sounds so stupid now, like an argument that a kid would have in school."

"What is it?"

"I hit Red. I mean- I know it's not her fault, but I just got angry and the signal was jumpy and- and I-" he broke off. "I don't know, Red's been silent ever since."

"Did you apologise?" Pidge found it kind of funny that you could apologise to a gigantic robot cat and it would actually have an effect, but Keith just gave her an unreadable look.

"Didn't change anything."

"Well... Did you-"

Keith clicked the comms open, signifying the end of the conversation.

"--ysers seem to be all over the place, kinda like a minefield." Hunk was saying. "I've done a quick scan, and I think they're set off by pressure on the surface."

"So how do we land?" Pidge leaned into frame, already immediately switching to Paladin mode. The conversation she had had with Keith still lingered in her mind, but there were more important things ahead.

"Pretty sure the Lions are strong enough to withstand the water pressure. Not sure about us though."

Pidge hummed. "Well, if we get as close as possible to the gap without actually going down, then we should be fine, as long as we tread light. The jetpacks should have enough power to get us out again, and maybe stop us from putting our feet down too often."

"Should we split up?" Allura asked. "Pidge and Keith can continue towards the signal, whilst Hunk and I remain in Yellow and circle above. Just as an extra precaution, in case this is a trap."

Hunk shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever you guys decide, honestly. Like, I really wanna see Shiro but even that can be pushed back for everyone to get out safe."

Pidge didn't fail to notice the way Keith's grip tightened on Red's controls.

"Keith?" She said quietly. Keith once again avoided her gaze.

"You know how you said he probably wasn't in too much trouble?" He muttered, glaring at the signal blinking on his radar as if it was at fault.

Pidge blinked, not quite understanding. "Uuh, yeah?"

"Then why hasn't he replied? We're within range now, Shiro should be speaking to us by now."

"There's some elements deep in the planet's surface that can block signals;" she said, pointing to a rising level as they got closer and closer to the pinpoint of the Black Lion. "Down in that ravine, that's where the majority of it is. The Lion's signal is strong enough to get through, but maybe it's blocking comms and Shiro can't contact us because of it."

If anything, Keith's grip tightened more.

"Look, Keith-" Pidge sighed, wanting nothing more than to pinch the bridge of her nose - something she couldn't do whilst wearing her helmet. "I'm trying- really trying and-"

She took a deep breath. "Just... Don't get your hopes up, okay?" She said quietly, reaching out to squeeze Keith's shoulder. With once again no reply, Pidge turned back, heading for Red's underside hatch. 

"There's Black!" Pidge pointed to the giant beast, a grin making its way onto her face. She deactivated her bayard, allowing it to dissipate into her armour and sprinted forwards.

Somehow this all seemed too easy. The geysers were slow enough that they could dodge with little hassle; and even though there were several life forms on the radar, none of them had come out of hiding. Pidge had no idea if they were hostile or not, but kind of hoped it would stay that way.

"Pidge-" the tone in Keith's voice was unidentifiable, but it caused Pidge to freeze in her tracks. She turned to face him, an unasked question on her tongue.

She didn't even know what she wanted to ask, but the look on Keith's face was enough to make it die, leaving a quiet hiss of air to pass through her lips.

Don't get your hopes up. She had said that to him, mere minutes ago. And yet here she was, rock the weight of the whole Earth dropping in her gut.

Because there was blood.

So much blood.

"It-" Keith clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head.

"D- do-" Pidge pushed her fear down. It couldn't be. There was no way that it was-

"Shiro!"

Keith's voice sounded so broken, so scared.

"Shiro!" He yelled again, shoving past Pidge towards Black. She couldn't call out to get Keith to slow down, to stop.

Her legs were shaking too much to follow.

It was so much blood - everywhere. Dried pools and stains turning the rock a dark shade of brown-red.

Near the largest patch - midway between Pidge and Black - was a tangled mess of something metal. It should have been familiar, Pidge felt it tug in the back of her mind. Almost as if it were- had been-

Shiro's cybernetic arm.

It was too much blood. There was so much.

Pidge's legs gave way and she sank to the ground, gasping for breath. They were too late, they were too late.

There was so much blood.

Her vision was fuzzy, unfocusing and blurring as she tried to force air into her lungs.

"Pidge? Pidge, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Hunk's voice snapped her out of it, bringing her back to reality in an instant. The hurt was still there, still trying to drown everything else out, but for now it was an ache in the heart.

"Pidge?" He tried again, voice gentle and soft in Pidge's ear. She gulped, turning her face to the sky, where the Yellow Lion circled above.

"It-" the words were stuck in her throat.

Distantly, she heard Keith scream, and the sound of something hitting the ground with force. He yelled wordlessly again, kicking a rock in his anger, and it took a toll on Pidge to even look his way.

Keith collapsed on the ground, hands twisting into his hair. "He's gone."

Pidge's breath was squeezed out of her, and she gaped in half-desperate horror. "He can't- he-"

"Pidge? Keith's not answering, is something wrong?"

"Helmet-" she tried to explain, the words getting stuck in her throat. "Keith took- took off h-his helmet."

"Is it bad? Is he in trouble?"

Pidge shook her head in response, remembering too late that it was radio only. "N-no."

It hurt her to see her teammate in such a state. He was curled up on the ground by the Black Lion's feet, shoulders shaking silently as he cried.

Pidge found tears leaking from her own eyes. "We-" she cleared her throat to no avail. "He's not- he- he- he's not-" she broke off with a quiet sob, trying to stifle the sound. "He's gone."

The silence on the other end of the comms was worse than any questions the rest of the team could subject Pidge to.

Chapter Text

So,,,, art huh?

Introducing, the cast of Alone (pre chapter 10), in order of appearance!

Lance, Matt, Kelaan, Vi and Nea, Muxis, (okay, Beezer hasn't shown up), Nyma, Rolo, Roy, and Olly

Hopefully we can start integrating art into the chapters! :D
But until later, see ya! *salutes*

Chapter Text

Lance was getting real tired of being stuck at base.

This was just like in high school when he'd always be picked last for sports, despite being the tallest guy there. But the kids never picked him because he "looked weird".

Veronica ended up with detention for a week after squaring up against one of the kids who said that.

Though that certainly wasn't the reason in Lance's current case. It was pretty hard to "look weird" when everyone around you was either a giant spider, had a disco ball protruding from the top of their head, or was literally a giant chinchilla with questionable morals.

No, it definitely wasn't because of his looks.

Lance knew that he'd messed up, and that his house (base?) arrest was for the safety of the resistance.

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Lance grumbled under his breath a little, continuing to read through his notes. He needed to run some more tests on both Koadda and Kelaan; but in Kelaan's present state he'd be lucky to get her to even eat something today.

Lance sighed, flicking to the next note.

"What's up with you?" Matt asked from where he sat beside Rolo's bed, helping Lotty with the other man's exercises. Lance smiled at the sight - Lotty was becoming quite the little helper.

"Nothing," Lance said with a shrug, tucking his datapad under his arm and moving to adjust the sheets over Shiro's chest. "It's just hard being stuck here for so long."

Matt nodded, placing a hand on his chin. Lance chose to ignore the mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Ah, I see."

"What is up, people?!"

Everyone startled at the sound of Olly's voice. Lance whipped his head around, but couldn't see her anywhere.

Lotty ducked down to check under Rolo's bed.

"... Where even are you?" Matt asked; who, like Lance, was turning in a slow circle.

"What do you m--" Olly's voice sounded again. "Oh whoops, hang on a tic."

There was a shuffling sound, then a loud metallic thud that Lance was able to trace upwards, where Olly was hanging from the air vent.

"How did you even end up there?"

Olly grinned. "Magic. Now if you could help me down, that'd be great."

"It's your own fault for getting up there in the first place." Roy said from the doorway, startling all the occupants of the room. Lance thought that was odd after a moment, because of course Roy was there - she was never too far behind Olly, after all.

Behind them, a loud thud informed them that Olly had managed to find a way down, with the assistance of gravity.

"Ow." Olly mumbled, accepting the cold pack that Lotty had already pulled out, snapping to activate it.

Lance smiled slightly, pulling his datapad out from under his arm and bringing up the notes he had compiled on Koggren anatomy. Something was bugging him about the diagrams, but he hadn't been able to figure out exactly what it was yet. It seemed to be just out of reach, like the forgotten lyrics to a song.

"Research?" Roy asked, leaning in so she could read the datapad over his shoulder.

Lance nodded. "I'm trying to figure out something," he said, tapping a diagram to zoom in on it. "There's some discrepancies, but I can't place my finger on what those are."

"Maybe its dimorphism?" Olly said, wincing as she adjusted the cold pack a little.

Lance hummed, pulling up the second diagram and zooming in on the same place. "No, I don't think so..." he said after a pause. "I'll figure it out eventually, don't worry too m—"

He was once again interrupted by a loud thud, which was weird because Olly was already on the floor.

Staring at Shiro.

Who was also on the floor.

Dead silence filled the medbay as everyone stared.

"Did he just...?" Lance started, sentence trailing off unfinished, the ending hanging in the air in much the same way that Shiro wasn't.

Someone snorted.

"Olly, shh!" Roy scolded, but it only made her laugh harder. Which set off Matt. As Matt laughed, he dropped Rolo's arm, which then smacked him in the head on its way down to Rolo's side.

Which set off Lotty, who attempted to smother the giggles in her hands.

Within seconds they were all doubled over with laughter, though Roy was doing her best to stop and Rolo was trying to hide it by turning his face away.

Lance breathed heavily, wiping the tears from his eyes as he watched Olly struggle to her feet, nearly falling over laughing several times. She finally managed to get up, moving to Shiro's side, Lance doing the same so they could lift him back onto the bed.

"I recall the sound of him falling being louder." Lance said, only setting off a few more laughs from Olly, Lotty and Matt.

"Well, he is missing two limbs." Roy pointed out, yanking Olly back by her scarf as she attempted to poke Shiro's cheek a third time after no response to the other two.

"Yeah, true," Lance pulled up a holo screen to check for any changes in Shiro's state, before falling back with a sigh. "Plus, his old arm looked super heavy. No idea how he lugged it around all the time."

"Oooooh! I'm adding weight neutralization to his new ones!" Olly said, snapping her fingers and sprinting from the room.

Roy gave a wry grin. "I'll make sure she doesn't fall from any more air vents." She said, giving a mock salute before clumsily running after the other girl.

"This talk of prosthetics—"

"Prosthesis," Matt corrected.

"Whatever." Lance waved a hand in dismissal. "It's reminded me. If they're all so high tech—"

"Mostly. Rolo's is literally scrap metal."

Rolo began having what could only be called a sudden and harsh coughing fit.

"If they're all so high tech," Lance restarted, a little louder. "Then how come Roy limps? Is it not fitted right?"

Matt shrugged with one shoulder. "Roy's leg is fitted better than anyone on this ship. Olly wouldn't let her go around with a bad limb, lemme tell you."

"So...?"

"Roy never charges it."

"Ah." Lance said quietly, nodding. "External power source."

"Yup. Now excuse me, but I need to go find the surveillance footage of the last ten minutes." Matt said, walking quickly out of the med bay, in a way that reminded Lance of a soccer mum who was late for Pilates. Lance smiled, shaking his head.

"Well then Lotty, let's get back to work."

"Yes, sir!" She chirped happily.

Rolo shifted in his bed as Lotty clambered up next to him, feet tucked underneath herself. Lance didn't fail to see the look in Rolo's eye. He was growing to like the girl, but he still tried to hide it.

As Lotty started to run though Rolo's arm exercises once more, Lance turned back to his datapad. He tried to ignore the headache that had been building slowly over the last couple of days, pushing through for the sake of his work.

Though Lance also suspected he was a little feverish, and that wasn't a good thing, because most medicines on base weren't compatible with humans.

Something about useless organs that didn't like alien plants and drugs. Matt's words, not his. But if the Koggren diagrams Lance was still pouring over was anything to go by, most aliens didn't have any appendixes.

Lance rubbed his temples, scrunching his eyes shut.

Another loud thud brought his attention back to the present, eyes shooting open as he swivelled to the source of the sound.

"He fell down again." Lotty said.

Shiro was indeed on the ground again.

"Maybe you ought to put railings on that bed." Rolo grunted.

But Lance stopped listening,

Shiro's eyes had once again sprung open, and had fixed intently onto his own.

But something was different this time.

"Lance."

Chapter Text

"Shiro!" Lance yelped, sprinting across the room and sliding the last few feet on his knees to reach the other paladin. "Shiro, you- you're awake?"

"Apparently." He winced, and Lance noted the stiffening of his shoulders.

"You’ve been out for a while," Lance said, pulling Shiro into a semi-seated position, supporting his head on his thigh. "We had to keep you under for a bit, but then..." he trailed off. "Recovery won't be instantaneous."

Shiro winced again. "Where... you- Matt? I don't--" he broke off with a sharp intake of breath, entire body shuddering.

"Don't try to push yourself. Lotty, can you quickly grab me--" the girl was already by his side, holding out a vial. "Oh, thanks."

"No- don't put me under, I- no."

"Hey, hey, this isn't anaesthetic, don't worry." Lance said, checking the details of the vial. "I'm not going to do that to you. This is just some generic painkillers. Thought they'd be helpful."

The panic left Shiro's eyes, leaving him looking exhausted.

"So are you good for me to give them to you?"

Shiro was still for a moment, stiffening a little. "Ah, can't really... yes."

"So uh..." Lance started, prepping the needle. "We... how do I break this to you...?" he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, lining up the vial with the other. "We..."

"Amputated my leg?"

"You-"

Shiro tried to laugh, giving a dry wheeze. "I'm not... not blind, Lance. And I could-" he paused as Lance injected the painkillers. "I could hear sometimes."

"You could?"

Shiro made a noise of affirmation. "Matt- Matt's here?"

"Holy. Fuck."

A surprised laugh forced itself out of Lance as Matt dropped down next to him, ignoring the concept of personal space to both him and Shiro.

"The one time I'm out of the room and you- Lance, did you guys plan this? Is it a prank? Am I being filmed right now? The camera feeds showed him falling out of bed as soon as I got to them, but I wasn't sure if it was looping or something--"

"Matt," Lance said, voice light with amusement. "Matt, calm down."

"But- Shiro!"

"Hey, Matt," Shiro said, before frowning. "O-oh. My arm's gone."

"And so is my right to leave base." Matt quipped. Lance's brow furrowed. "Oh yeah- I just got suspended."

"Still playing catch up..." Shiro said. "Suspended?"

"Welcome Shiro," Matt said, dramatically sweeping his arm around the infirmary. "To the resistance."

"How did you get suspended?" Lance asked.

Matt grinned. "Can I blame Shiro?"

"Speaking of Shiro..." Lance said, stiff-arming Matt into the next bunk over so he could get a proper look at his stumps. They needed redressing.

"Lotty, can you grab me the--"

"She's way ahead of you." Rolo laughed, and Shiro turned his head to see who had spoken.

Matt, seeming to have recovered from his sudden relocation, hurriedly stepped between them. Lance wondered if it was because he recalled the less-than-warm greeting between him and Nyma and Rolo. Either way, Shiro tried to sit up so he could peer around Matt.

Lance pushed Shiro back down again with a forceful hand to his good shoulder. "If you could stay still so I can change your dressings, that would be great." He said.

Shiro obliged, Lance realising belatedly how easily Shiro could throw him off at full strength. Thank goodness for small miracles he didn't, Lance supposed.

But speaking of small miracles.

"Olly, you're back!" Lance said, gesturing for her to help him move Shiro back onto the bed.

"Zachesl, he fell down again?"

"Who—?" Shiro stopped midway through speaking as Olly lifted Shiro up from Lance's place on the floor and gently tossed him back onto the bed.

"Not the proper way to move patients," Lance chided, getting to his feet. Regardless, it was kind of funny to see the look of confusion on Shiro's face.

Matt frowned, crossing his arms over his chest childishly.

"Why didn't you ask me to help as soon as I got here?"

"Because you're, as I recall you humans saying, a twink." Rolo pointed out.

Matt scoffed, flipping Rolo the bird, which he gladly returned, albeit modified. After all, it was kind of hard to flip the bird when you only had four fingers.

"Rolo's right, fluffy," Roy said as she finally arrived, using her leg to kick the door open a little as she stepped inside. "These things slide too slow..." she muttered.

Lance hardly heard the latter comment, as he was trying to ignore his brain's response of 'somebody once told me'. He shook his head, getting back to work redressing Shiro's stumps.

"Somebody once told me—"

"Nope." Shiro said, snapping out of his mild daze as Matt started singing what Lance had been thinking. "Not doing that."

Lance couldn't help it - he began to laugh. All of the previous few weeks' doubt and worries released their grip on him for just a minute as he took in the absurdity of the situation around him.

He was grounded, and Matt was too for some reason or another; Shiro had just woken up, being in a better condition than Lance could ever ask for; and Matt was singing outdated memes.

Really outdated memes.

When Lance finally calmed himself down enough, he realised Olly was poking Shiro's forehead. Shiro was merely staring back at the tiny alien in confusion.

"My head's still a bit fuzzy, have we met?" Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

Olly giggled, poking him again. "I've been here a lot, but I think this is the first time while you're awake." Another poke. "I like your voice."

Shiro blinked.

"Shiro, this is Olly, our resident tech expert. She'll be working with you on your new arm and leg." Matt said, sliding into his usual seat by Shiro's bed. Roy sat on the arm, setting her feet on Matt's legs.

Both Lance and Olly caught the look of apprehension that flitted across Shiro's face.

"Only if you want to! No one's forcing you to have them, or both, or if you just want a leg, I understand if that's how you want it, no worries!" Olly said, quick to reassure.

Shiro's eyes flickered down at Matt and Roy's legs, and then across to Rolo in the other bed, then to the shiny blue brace still on Lance's ankle.

"Quite a common ailment in the base isn't it?" Lance laughed.

"We call it the 'leggy squad'." Rolo chimed in, chuckling at the embarrased glare Lance sent his way.

"Kelaan said she wouldnt tell anyone!" He whined, Olly doing her best to maintain composure while Matt chuckled at the name, quietly repeating "Leggy Squad" to himself under his breath.

"She lied." Rolo said, grin only widening when Lance flipped him off.

"Lance—" Shiro said sternly, the response almost automatic.

"Yes?" Lance innocently turned back to Shiro, shoving both hands into his jacket pockets.

"Ooooh, Shiro's a dad." Matt said in a stage whisper. Roy knocked her leg into his chest lightly, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes.

Olly cleared her throat, bringing the attention to her once more. "Back to the question, do you want my help or not?"

Shiro glanced at Lance, and then down at what was left of his right side. He looked back to Olly, who was waiting patiently for him to decide, and his expression hardened in determination.

"Let's do it."

Chapter Text

Lance stretched his legs out, relishing in the feeling of flying once again. He was going to enjoy this mission as much as humanly possible, simply because he didn't know when he would get another chance. He was still grounded, after all.

But Skisch, Skisch and Skisch had come from a water planet, and no other ship in the resistance was built for water travel. The Blue Lion was.

According to Matt in any case. Something about being able to withstand tonnes of pressure and being completely sealed, along with a...

Lance had stopped listening at that point, distracted by his jacket's zip breaking. But he had gotten the gist of it. The Blue Lion could go underwater.

Cons: Lance was the only one who could fly Blue

Pros: Lance was the only one who could fly Blue.

Olia had decided that having so many children on board was dangerous, and made it their priority to return them all home as soon as possible.

Pros: that included Lance's help, grounding be damned.

Cons: Olia had also decided that Lance needed an escort, simply so he didn't go 'off mission'. Which led to his current situation.

"I thought they'd need you back on base," Lance said, and Olly shrugged.

"Not really. I've hit a wall with Shiro's arm - see, they're a lot more complicated than legs, with fingers and all, and he didn't come with a reference. The Captain thought this might be a good way to clear my mind, think things out."

"That's... not actually why she's here," Roy said. "Olly's on this trip because I am. She's just the—"

"Buy one, get one free." Lance completed, and Roy smirked.

"Exactly." She whacked Olly's hand away from where it was creeping up on Blue's controls, smirk turning quickly into a frown. "Don't touch anything, you don't know what it could do."

"Well, duh!" Olly retorted, leaning against the wall and poking her tongue out. "That's why I'm touching them, to find out!"

"Roy's right, Olly," Lance grinned. "My girl's over ten thousand years old, I'm not even sure of all her abilities yet."

"Then why do they let you pilot her? Also, is it a human thing to assign gender to your ships?"

"No- I mean, yes, but Blue told me that herself. She speaks to me sometimes. And they don't let me pilot her, she chose me herself." Lance failed to hide his smugness, and Olly gasped in obvious interest.

"So there's an AI interface?"

Lance chuckled. "I guess she's an AI? I'm not sure, she was created by the Alteans, before the Galran Empire."

"Can we speak to Blue?" Skisch number one asked, popping up from behind Lance's seat. Her eyes were bright as she watched Blue's lights with wonder.

"Sorry, but no," Lance said, placing a gentle hand on her head. "She doesn't really speak out loud - more like feeds ideas into my brain. It's special, but nobody else can hear."

"So like a secret?" Her eyes were still wide, staring up at Lance and hanging on to his every word.

"Yeah," he replied. "Just like a secret."

A beep sounded through the cockpit, and Roy glanced down at her wrist, pressing a button. A holo-map appeared before her, several pieces flicking off as it zoomed in, circling around one particular planet. "Star chart says we're almost there," Roy said. "Should be the one right ahead."

"Looks like it." Lance said, shifting Blue's nose so she was in line with the blue planet in front of them. It was mostly frozen, something Lance could tell even from this far away.

"Skisch, do you want to head on back and tell the others to strap on in? Entering atmosphere is always really bumpy, so I don't want you to get hurt."

She nodded eagerly, running off. A light pulsed on Blue's controls, and Lance brought up the screen connected to it.

"Okay, so there's not really any clear shot into the water down there," he said, skimming over the details onscreen. "We're gonna have to break through some ice, but Blue's tough enough that she won't take damage. She's also detected where it's thinnest, so I guess we're aiming for there."

Behind him, Lance heard a huff. He rolled his eyes. If Nyma had something to say - which she hadn't, for the entire trip so far - then she could come up to Lance and actually say it.

"And down we go!" Lance whooped, putting Blue into a nose dive. Olly cheered, raising her arms above her head as if she were on a roller coaster. Roy grit her teeth, hand gripping the seat behind Lance's head.

Lance's grin widened, and he threw in a couple loops before levelling back into his planned route once more, the loud cheers of the Skisch sounding from behind him.

Roy whacked Lance upside the head. "Stick to the path next time." She grumbled.

Olly just giggled, cheeks flushed. "That was great!"

Despite the already fading pain in the back of Lance's head, he found himself still smiling. "That felt great!" He replied, making sure he was definitely on the correct route, giving way for adjustments. Roy shook her head, peering down at one of Blue's screens.

"Hitting atmosphere in three." She said "Two. One."

Blue rumbled as she hit, smooth under Lance's guidance. He kept the speed up so they could break through the ice ahead.

"Brace for impact." He said, turning back so he could check if everyone was doing so.

Nyma, unsurprisingly, hadn't moved since the start of the mission, arms folded as she glared at the floor so intensely it might've melted made out of any different metal. If Lance was being honest, he was a little bit worried about her. He shook his head, deciding to instead adopt his new apparent catchphrase.

None of his damn business.

Blue rumbled as they smashed through the ice, immediately submerging in the waters underneath. It sounded to Lance like a purr, and he sat still, letting her drift a little in the currents.

Something made him feel like she belonged in the water.

"Alright everyone," Lance said, rolling his seat back and turning around so he could see them all. "Helmets on, we're gonna head out."

Nyma didn't move.

Roy slipped her rebreather over her nose and mouth, before helping Olly with her helmet as she was too busy helping Skisch number two with his. As soon as she was done, Skisch turned to the first Skisch, helping her. The third Skisch just smiled, pointing to some gills in their neck.

"Nyma?" Lance said, frowning as Nyma stood, clipping her pistol and emergency pack to the belt around her waist. She didn't reply, instead heading towards Blue's jaw.

None of his damn business, as usual.

"Everyone out!" Olly chirped, herding the Skisch out behind Nyma. Roy smiled faintly, following.

"Aw, you softy." Lance whispered, helmet phasing into full visor form. He was actually pretty happy to be back in Paladin armour, deciding that since this wasn't a true mission, it'd be appropriate to wear.

"Heard that." Roy said over her shoulder. Lance simply chuckled.

As soon as the door sealed behind them, Blue opened her mouth to the watery expanse beyond. Olly shot out immediately, two of the Skisch following close by.

"Your excitement is rubbing off on her," Roy said to Lance, nudging Skisch number three forwards. "I'd reign it in just a little, so she doesn't do anything impulsive."

"Why do that when Nyma's already counteracting?" Lance said, watching as the woman swam a few metres ahead. She apparently could breathe underwater, which explained her actions earlier. "Did you know she could do that?"

"Do what?" Roy watched Nyma for a second, as she paused to let the rest of the group catch up. "Oh, nah, that's a new one."

Lance hummed, taking to watching the three Skisch.

He'd learnt from the oldest Skisch on the way there that the youngest Skisch was from a species that was considered nobility. Over centuries of life, their two species had developed something close to a symbiotic relationship. In return for food from the nobility, the other species helped to keep their home planet clean, and everyone safe.

The second Skisch lived closer to the surface, more amphibious than the other two by nature.

It was all very fascinating, and Lance was kind of sad he wouldn't get to spend more time with them and learn everything about them. It was his duty to get the three kids home, but that was it. He understood their haste.

If only he could go home.

Lance brushed that thought aside. No time to dwell on such insignificant feelings. He was startled out of his thoughts by a high pitched giggle. He turned quickly, but only caught a flash of colour. The giggle sounded again, this time from in front.

Nyma had stopped again, hand hovering over her pistol.

Another flash of colour in the corner of Lance's eye. They had all stopped moving now, forming a loose circle.

"Hello?" Lance called, scanning the waters around them. Only a giggle replied.

"Are you here to help us?" Olly asked, scooping up the youngest Skisch - who still struggled a little to swim - and placing them on Roy's back, effectively stopping Roy from rising up in the water. That part, Lance couldn't explain. Roy was apparently more buoyant than she looked, even with a hunk of metal attached to her leg at all times.

"We're looking for our families." Skisch number one said.

"Do you know where they are?" Skisch number two added.

Two figures swam out of the darkness, revealing themselves to be tailed beings, eyes alight with mirth.

"You're mermaids," Lance found himself blurting out. One of them laughed, voice musical. The other simply observed their group, attention darting from one person to the next. Her gaze lingered on the Skisch on Roy's back, before her expression lightened.

"Follow us," She said, waving as she led them on, her friend at her side.

Olly took the lead, the group having to move quickly to keep up. Lance paused, looking behind him.

"Nyma, are you coming?" He asked, frowning.

Her expression was stormy, concerned. "There's something..." she paused, shaking her head. "Nothing. I just have a bad feeling."

Nyma moved to catch up, cutting through the water with ease.

They swam in silence for a bit, before a glistening underwater city appeared before them, seemingly out of nowhere.

Though that was probably because one of the mermaids had moved a piece of kelp from their view. Lance personally preferred his first assumption.

The city was huge, the farthest reaches being blurred by the water currents, or fading into the darkness. It was lit up bright, including a massive castle, rising up in the water.

Everyone was silence, taking in the view before then in awe. To put it simply: it was beautiful.

Lance couldn't compare anything her had seen on his journeys to this. He had never seen anything like it. (And that was saying something, seeing as the whole reason he had seen most things was because of a messed up wormhole.)

"Welcome, to our village."

"If this is your village, I'd be a little scared to see your cities." Roy murmured.

They swam deeper into the buildings, following the mermaid guides. Lance tried not to feel self conscious under the gazes of everybody they passed.

"Where are we going?"

One of the mermaids simply smiled back at Lance. "You will see." She answered.

They arrived at the largest building, the walls towering above every other structure. It seemed to glow faintly, a feat that only seemed to make the place more majestic.

"The castle?"

The doors opened, and they entered, marvelling at the interior, which was just as beautiful as the outside.

"Queen Luxia is already aware of your arrival."

The mermaids left, and Nyma immediately grabbed Lance's arm.

"We have to leave." She said urgently, eyes already searching for the exit.

"Nyma, what are you—"

"We have to go." She said, and Lance could see something close to fear in her eyes. "Lance, we have to go. Now!"

Olly instinctively reached out to grasp Roy's hand.

"Calm down." Roy said, voice level. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't Paciatl, we have to go!" She spun around, frantic. "Please!"

But it was too late. The doors opened, and a mermaid who Lance could only assume was the Queen floated in front of them, a warm smile on her lips.

"Nyma my daughter, you have returned."

Chapter Text

"I can't believe I let that happen!" Nyma was ranting, swimming from wall to wall in the cave they were currently residing in. "I knew it was coming, and I still- ugh!"

Lance remained quiet, trying his best to gather the pieces of scattered memory that had led up to this point.

"Daughter?"

Nyma didn't even look in Lance's direction, eyes wide with fear as she stared up at the mermaid Queen.

"Nyma, what does she—"

"Don't."

Roy shrugged. "I'm as confused as you are."

"I welcome you all to our kingdom!" Queen Luxia said, sweeping her arms out. "Here, we are all safe and warm."

Nyma squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head.

It went fuzzy after that point, but Lance could remember some things with clarity.

A dinner.

Safe and warm.

A dance.

Safe and warm.

From what the three jellyfish-headed people speaking with Nyma were saying, they had been 'mind swished' (... brainwashed, going by context), something that was apparently happening to the entire mermaid population. Lance believed them, but at the same time, it sounded like a crazy conspiracy theory.

But they had rescued Lance and Nyma. He wasn't sure how, exactly, because they didn't seem the most competent of warriors. Then again, Lance probably wasn't the best to critique that, being taken out by - what was it?

Oh yeah. An octopus.

"Seriously though, thanks so much for saving us," Nyma said, finally stopping in her swim-pacing to face the jelly squad.

"No problem, Nyma," one of them replied. Lance was pretty sure her name was Plaxum. "It's what a team does."

"Yeah," the second one added. "They stick together." She sounded angry over something, but then again, her speech could have just sounded weird coming out from underneath a jellyfish.

Nyma sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for leaving without telling you guys-"

The second jelly huffed, folding her arms and turning away.

Swipe? No, that wasn't it.

"-But you know that it was safer with me gone."

"That's not the point!" ... Swindle? (No, that wasn't it either) shot back. "Our numbers were already low when you left, and you were our best fighting chance! We were in it together, but you only thought about yourself!"

"No, I—"

"Nyma, you leaving nearly doomed us," Plaxum said, darting in between the two and holding her hands out. "We're all that's left now."

"I'm sorry." She mumbled, head down. "I'm so sorry."

Plaxum drifted over to Nyma. "I know," she said softly.

Spurn (nope, not that) huffed. "If you were actually sorry, you wouldn't have left."

Was it Swine? He really hoped that wasn't her name. That would feel like he was insulting her whether he wanted to or not. Kind of like how his autocorrect occasionally changed Hunk's name to junk. That was one of the many reasons he had turned it off. Another being that it tended to disagree with the entire language of Spanish. You didn't just switch keyboards simply to type a single word, that's not how it worked.

Lance jolted, realising he had zoned out.

"I have it!" The last jelly called, rushing over with all four of his arms full of papers. Lance got distracted for a moment wondering how the paper worked underwater, but shook his head to clear it. "The plan to save us all!"

His name was even harder than—

"Swirn!" Lance cried, hitting his fist into his palm in triumph. "Your name is Swirn!"

It was silent for a few excruciating moments.

"Sorry, we were talking about something important, weren't we?"

Nyma groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Blumfump, what's the plan?" Plaxum asked, ignoring the sheepish grin Lance had plastered to his face.

"You-" he pointed to Lance with a rock. "-are going to act like you are still mind-swished."

"Shouldn't be a problem for him," Nyma snarked. "His head's already empty."

"Sneak past the guards, get to your mer-cat..." he moved the rock past one of his tentacles.

"Uh, Blue's a Lion--"

"Mer-cat!" Blumfump said with such intensity Lance just nodded vigorously in response. "Last night, we saw several of the Queen's guards take your mer-cat to the castle, so unless you get it, you're trapped here."

"Any time space travellers end up here, the Queen takes their ship so they can't escape;" Nyma said. "I've seen it all before."

"So you need to sneak past the guards to get to your mer-cat, and then snatch the Queen, we launch an attack on the castle, and free the people from her control!"

Lance frowned. "Is that it?"

"Of course! Add any more details and nobody remembers the plan!"

"Right... Is there a back way into the castle?"

Lance held tight to the little puffer fish Blumfump had given him, glancing to either side of the path. The door was right ahead, just as Nyma had said, but Lance didn't move right away. Nyma claimed there weren't any guard patrols past it, but Lance remained cautious.

After a minute with nothing, Lance slowly drifted to the door. He placed a hand on the door and pushed.

It didn't budge.

Lance frowned, readjusting his weight distribution and shoving full force into it. It still didn't move. Unsure of what to do next, now that the door was not opening, Lance leaned against it, staring out at the water in front of him.

He fell backwards with an ungraceful shriek, arms flailing.

"Maybe next time try pulling," Somebody said, and Lance landed on his butt, head whipping around to the source of the sound.

"Olly?" She waved. Lance spluttered. "B-but how? You should be mind-swished, or- or whatever, why- how?

"Turns out I'm just really hard to hypnotise." she said, picking Lance up and setting him back on his feet. "Come on, I know where everyone else is."

Lance made to follow, but stopped abruptly. "How can I trust you?"

"You're just gonna have to. Now come on, let's go beat up some mermaids!”

They ran through the halls, Olly ducking and weaving between guards and mermaids almost effortlessly. At one point, she shoved Lance into a wall, almost leaving a dent there. That was going to bruise.

They filled each other in as they went, taking turns to speak. Lance explained the basic plan, and Olly frowned, crease appearing between her brows.

"It's not the Queen," she said, something in her voice sounding certain. "I reckon its the Baku."

"The Baku?"

"The pink garden outside the castle. Apparently it provides food to the entire population. Anyway, the Queen sent someone down there, and they never came back."

"So what does sending someone there have to do with anything?" Lance asked. Olly put a finger to her lips, just as a mermaid swam down the hallway adjacent to where they were. She let out a breath.

"That was close..." she murmured. "But the Baku? I dunno. It's a little creepy, if you ask me. I can't help but feel like that garden is evil. And the way the Queen was talking about it, it sounded like she was sacrificing her people to it."

Lance tried not to think about what that meant, as they continued forwards and ducked around a corner.

"The kids are through there." Olly said, nodding to a doorway ahead of them. "I'm going to go after Roy."

"Wait," Lance grabbed Olly's arm, pulling her back. She raised an eyebrow.

"What are you so nervous about? I'll be safe."

He let go. "Is that a promise?"

"Sure. Go get the Skisch three and scope out the Baku. See if my suspicions are right."

Once Olly had disappeared around the corner, Lance made his way to the room she said the Skisch were in.

Immediately, he fell to the floor as something kicked his knees. Hard.

He was tackled by the Skisch, one kicking him as hard as she could, another sitting on his chest. The third circled around, predatory. "Hey-! Skisch, ow!" he fumbled with the pufferfish for a moment, aiming it so he could get the kids in one blast. He was about to squeeze, when Skisch number three swooped in and bit his hand.

"What was that for?!" Lance yelped, nearly dropping the pufferfish. He wriggled a little, aiming once again and not giving the kids another chance to retaliate before he hit them with a smelly cloud of pufferfish.

"Wh-what happened?" Skisch number one asked in the midst of coughing.

"I'll explain later," Lance said, lifting Skisch number three and setting them on his hip. "Right now, we have to get to Blue."

"Where's Blue?"

"Not too far from here, but we have to move fast, okay?"

They nodded, and Lance smiled softly. "Okay."

"Lance!" someone called as soon as he got outside. He looked up to see Plaxum waving from a short distance away. "We got the Queen!"

"You did?"

"She's claiming that it wasn't her mind-swishing everyone, a likely story." Plaxum swam a circle around Lance and the Skisch as she spoke. "She said it was the Baku?"

"Olly was right..." Lance breathed.

"What do we do?"

Lance was already swimming off when he heard Plaxum's question. "Get everyone to Blue as fast as you can!" he ordered sharply. "And yes - that includes the Queen!"

Chapter Text

"I-I don't - I don't understand." Hunk said quietly. It was the first thing anybody had said on their return to the Castle, and Keith didn't even look up at the sound of his voice. "I mean- I mean, if Shiro was... was gone, there'd be a body, right? He wouldn't just disappear like that, there... there's gotta be some explanation."

"At first I thought the blood might be someone else's, and Shiro had to fight them off," Pidge's voice lacked all its usual enthusiasm as she sat curled up in her seat, glasses pushed up into her hair. "So I analysed it, but..."

"He- he still could have survived though, right?"

Pidge shook her head, pulling her arms around her. "Not without grievous, or fatal injuries."

Keith squeezed his eyes shut against the tears threatening to make a reappearance. "Can we not talk about this?" He said, voice cracking more than he had intended.

He felt sick, pools of blood imprinted on the back of his eyelids. A mangled mass of metal. The Black Lion standing vigil over the scene, silent.

Keith stood abruptly, avoiding his teammates gaze by staring at his feet.

"Hey, where are you--"

"Room." He muttered, walking quickly. He stared at his feet all the while, knowing that Hunk and Pidge were sharing concerned glances.

As soon as the door to the bridge shut behind him, Keith slid to the floor, back against a wall. He rested his forehead against his knees, letting out a shaky breath.

This wasn't how it was meant to be.

A tear slid down Keith's nose, and he didn't make a move to brush it away. It would be too much energy that he didn't have. Instead, it dropped onto his jeans, immediately getting soaked up. Another followed soon after, and he moved to press his eyes into his knees.

"Keith?"

Keith stiffened at the sound of his name. "Yeah?" He winced at how rough his voice sounded, unseen by the princess.

There was the sound of rustling fabric as she sat down next to him. "How are you..." she audibly blanched. "Sorry, insensitive question. I... we are all worried for you."

Not like he didn't know that already.

"We have no way to find Lance or the Blue Lion, and now we have Black, but no Paladin."

Keith wondered how she could keep talking like they were only minor setbacks, but he still didn't bring his head up from his knees.

"I carry the burden of my entire home planet being destroyed." Allura said quietly, and Keith belatedly realised he had said that out loud. "But for the sake of the universe, I have to be strong. A princess of a place no longer on the star charts is not going to save them from the terrors of the Galra."

"Your strength isn't going to bring Shiro and Lance back either..." Keith mumbled bitterly.

"That is true," Allura said with a sigh. "But I don't think all hope is lost."

"We're missing our leader-" Keith's throat closed up, and he lifted his head, resting back against the wall.

The pools of blood still flashed behind his eyelids.

"We're missing-" he paused to clear his throat. "two teammates. Why don't you think this is hopeless?"

Instead of answering his question, Allura rested a hand on his shoulder. Keith couldn't be bothered brushing it off, staring at the ceiling and fighting back tears again.

"I wanted to tell everyone at once..." she said slowly.

"If it's about finding a new Paladin, I don't want to hear it."

Allura let out a surprised laugh at how sharp Keith's tone was. "Oh- oh no Keith, it's quite the opposite. It's kind of why I'm- well, why I'm not giving up just yet."

He finally turned to look at her, not missing the bright spark in her rainbow-flecked eyes. "What is it?"

"Maybe we should head back onto the bridge, so I can tell everyone at once."

Keith frowned. "I don't..." he trailed off, uncertain. "No."

He didn't miss the concern on Allura's face. "Alright. So, I was in the Black Lion, searching for any more clues about Shiro's..." she hesitated. "Disappearance."

Keith slouched again, chin resting on his knees as he wrapped his arms around them. "Unless you found—" he broke off, not wanting to say it. Unless you found a body.

"I found something wonderful, Keith," Allura squeezed his shoulder, the smile audible in her voice. "Something you will not believe."

Keith stared at her from the corner of his eyes, frown only deepening. "What do you mean?"

"I found evidence that Shiro—"

Keith finally pulled from Allura's grip with a harsh laugh. "If it was the Lions speaking to you, forgive me for doubting it."

"Pardon?" Allura leant into Keith's line of sight, brow creased. "What does that mean?"

Keith bit his tongue. "Nothing." He muttered after a moment, turning his face away.

Allura didn't need to know about Keith's failing connection with his Lion. It had only gotten worse after their encounter on the planet they were now orbiting.

Eventually she would figure it out.

Keith grimaced. "So what is this... evidence?" He asked flatly.

"Lance—"

"Lance isn't here," Keith snapped, slamming a fist into the wall next to him. "Shiro is gone, and you're avoiding the facts because of Lance? We don't even know if he's alive! We don't know, and Shiro's gone, and you're happy about something which just makes me feel worse!" He breathed in sharply through his nose, blinking back tears.

He just couldn't stop crying, could he?

"My brother is gone. Possibly dead." He had finally said the word, the sound of it ringing out like the crash of a gong. Avoiding it had left him with a sliver of hope, but he had to stop and be realistic. "And you're just acting like we can move on from that. You're acting like Lance can solve all our problems, but in case you didn't realise, Allura - he's missing too! We don't know if Lance is alive at this point, or if the Blue Lion hasn't been destroyed, because you don't have a connection to it either, and- and-"

"Keith." Allura said gently, voice cutting through Keith's building panic. He took a shuddering breath, burying his head in his knees again.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, and Allura's hand found his shoulder again.

"I understand why you're struggling with all of this," Allura said, thumb rubbing in slow circles. "But you have not let me speak. I have every right to believe that Lance and Shiro are safe - and together."

Keith didn't react, aside from a stiffening of his shoulders.

"I know you don't believe me, and I fully understand why," Allura continued after a pause where Keith didn't say anything. "But if you hear me out, it makes perfect sense."

Keith made a small noise for her to continue.

"So," she started, drawing her hand back and smoothing down her skirts. "This is only me theorising, before you say anything. But this all starts with the Witch Haggar. You know that she corrupted the wormhole, and it dropped us all out at different places."

Keith nodded against his legs.

"Well, something... odd... happened to Coran and I whilst the Castle was stuck in the wormhole stream. I never spoke about it before because it didn't affect us - that is, until now."

She cleared her throat, sounding a little embarrassed. "We were stuck in some form of time loop. I was, for the most part, unaffected, but Coran..." she cleared her throat again. "Regardless, we managed to escape the loop somehow, and exited the wormhole the exact instant we entered it - on the other side of the galaxy."

"How'd'you know it was the same time?" Keith muttered.

"The Castle picked up signals from the Galra Flagship," Allura said, like it was obvious. "So we were transported through time, though only a small amount. But that doesn't mean he others weren't displaced further. I do recall Pidge saying she had only just been shot out of the wormhole when she found Hunk, but he had already been there for nearly two quintants."

"And you think this has something to do with the Blue Lion's lost connection? Or Shiro not being with Black, his- his blood staining the ground?"

Allura sighed. "It may sound strange, but yes. A large enough time displacement could interfere with my connection to the Lions - though we have no way to know if that is true, because this is unlike anything we've had to deal with before."

Keith shifted a little. His hand ached from when he had hit the wall, and he was sure it would bruise. But that was the least of his concerns. "So what does that mean?"

"I checked Black for any more information, hoping perhaps it would reveal another piece of the puzzle, and I came across the data logs. The Black Lion had apparently only been seperate from the Castle for too short a time to be accurate. I double checked for errors, but no - time displacement was the only explanation. Which means that the reason I had struggled to find Black earlier was because Black was simply not there."

"And you think that's what's happened with Blue?"

"Almost certain." Allura said, determination clear in her tone. "But that's not why I think Shiro and Lance are together, because that's an even more obvious solution."

She drew back, placing something on the ground next to Keith. He didn't make any move to look, and Allura sighed, getting to her feet. "Well, I suppose I should talk this over with Pidge and Hunk." She said, and turned to head down the short way to the Bridge. She paused however, a falter in her steps. "And Keith?"

He didn't look up.

"Don't blame yourself."

And with that, she was gone, the door sliding shut behind her, leaving Keith alone in the hallway.

It took him several minutes to even out his breathing, forcing down the guilt and fear, and even longer to bring himself to lift his head. Allura had sounded too lighthearted for it all, with the news and theories she had thrown at him. Keith was still stuck in limbo, mind replaying her words over him finding Black empty, it's pilot gone. Shiro has left nothing behind but blood and dread in the air, but Allura made it sound quite to opposite.

His heart said one thing, his mind another. Keith felt sick again, stomach twisting sharply.

Time displacement. How long had Black been sitting there? Hours? Weeks? The longer Keith thought about it, the more he felt nauseous.

He hauled himself to his feet, leaning back against the cool metal of the wall. His foot knocked against something.

Allura had placed something by his feet, he recalled through he fog setting on his mind. Probably food.

He glanced down, only to freeze, staring.

Because his eyes must have been playing tricks on him.

Lion slippers.

But they weren't red. They weren't Keith's, nor were they Hunk's, or even Pidge's.

They weren't even Black.

They were blue.

Keith knew that Lance kept his jacket and slippers in Blue, simply in case he couldn't get to the Castle. (In hindsight, Keith realised that he was probably the smartest of them all for that, because not even Pidge kept some of her tech in her Lion.)

So for Lance to be missing, but his slippers to be here without him, Keith's mind was reeling.

Shiro and Lance are together. Obvious solution.

Lance had left his Blue Lion slippers in Black as a sign that he was safe, and that Shiro was safe too.

For some reason, Keith found himself crying again, although it wasn't because of anger or sorrow this time.

Relief.

"You idiot," Keith muttered, wiping at his eyes with the cuff of his jacket. "Why didn't you just leave a message?"

Chapter Text

"Nyma!" Lance shouted, waving wildly as he approached Blue.

"Lance! Do you have the Queen?"

"Change of plans." Lance stopped, holding the Skisch that had been clinging to his back out to Nyma. She blinked, but rested them on her own hip anyway.

"Then where's everyone else?" She said, eyes scanning the waters around them.

"I told them all to meet at Blue, so hopefully not too far off." Lance replied, ushering the other two Skisch forwards when Blue let down her particle barrier and opened her maw.

There were a few loud noises, mostly shouts and various yells. One of the Skisch swam out in curiosity, only to get caught by Lance and pulled back again. "Oh, no you don't. It's not safe out there."

She pouted, but nodded regardless.

Several minutes went by, all of them restless as the sounds grew only louder.

"Skisch, stay with Nyma and Blue." Lance said abruptly, after a particularly loud yell. Something wasn't right.

"Lance- what are you—?"

"I'm going to go help."

"But--"

Lance didn't hear the rest of Nyma's protest, already exiting Blue into the water once more.

The first thing that came to Lance's mind when he found his way back into the palace was that three (frankly, a few sandwiches short of a picnic) mermaids had managed to - somewhat successfully - stage a full-on coup. Sure, Lance had helped, but the amount of chaos surrounding him was almost admirable considering he had met the ones behind it.

The guards were all rushing in one direction, so Lance followed, ducking behind the corner closest to the entrance.

There was a yell, all too recognisable, causing Lance's gut to twist sharply. Dread filled him as he moved as fast as he could towards the sound, jetpack helping in his movements.

There was another yell - no, a scream. The twist in Lance's gut tightened tenfold, just as he rounded the corner.

Roy was directly in front of the door, back to Lance as she held her ground. Judging by her movements, she was still brainwashed.

But that wasn't what worried Lance.

Olly was trying her hardest to hold her ground, grimace pulling at her features.

Lance had to physically grip the doorway to stop himself from reeling.

Because the water surrounding Olly was pink, the colour being swept around by the currents.

Lance was frozen, staring in mute horror. Olly caught his eye after a moment and gave a brave smile, though pain shone through her expression. She winced sharply as she leapt out of the way of an attack from Roy.

Roy pressed up against the wall, like a cat ready to pounce.

"How about—" Olly shouted, before breaking off with an audible wince. "You help?"

Lance shook himself out of his shock, launching at Roy and intercepting her before she reached Olly, pinning her arms to her side. She struggled in his grip, but Lance didn't relent. Instead, he pulled out the pufferfish, squeezing it directly in her face.

Olly immediately relaxed, drifting down to the ground. The pink trailed after her.

"Olly!" Roy shrieked, struggling in Lance's grip. He let go after a moment, and Roy shot to Olly's side. "Shit, shit, shit."

She rested her hand on Olly's cheek for a second, before drawing back in horror. "What did I do?"

Olly shook her head weakly, giving Roy a smile. "Not too - not too much, actu- ll-ly." She got out between breaths. "You're better with your rifle."

Lance didn't smile. If anything, his frown deepened. "Olly-" he started, eyes fixated on the pink drifting through the water.

Roy let out an indescribable noise, somewhere between a sob, a gasp and a squeak, hands flying to Olly's side.

"Don't!" Lance shouted, slapping her hands away. "Don't remove it, you'll just make it worse."

Roy balled her hands into fists, glaring at Lance. "So what, we're just going to leave a- a- a-" she clamped her mouth shut, shaking her head. She looked sickly pale, the aqua markings glowing faintly on her skin doing nothing for her complexion.

Olly grimaced again. "Yeah, it's a- issa terr-" she hissed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "ible gift. Can I - can I get a refund?"

"How about we focus on fixing this up first?" Lance said, reaching for the emergency kit on his belt.

"How are you okay with this?" Roy snapped, causing Lance to momentarily pause in his actions.

"What do you mean?"

"I- I-" Roy turned her head away, obviously trying to hide tears. "That's my knife." She managed, voice barely above a whisper. "I did this."

Lance glanced down at the hilt protruding from Olly's side. It was indeed the same one he had seen Roy with before - it was even the same one that she had used to cut his hair. With nothing else really to say, Lance sighed.

"It's my job to heal people to the best of my ability." He said slowly, reaching for the medkit again and pulling out a bandage. "I don't really care about who caused it."

"But—"

"You were under mind control. It wasn't your fault."

"Also—" Olly added in, shuddering as Lance wrapped the bandage around the blade. "Your reaction is kind of overwhelming."

The bandage fused in place, Lance doing a mental stock-take of the supplies in Blue as it did so.

Not nearly enough. He had depleted his supplies with Shiro, and hadn't been out with Blue since, So was lacking in that front.

And he hadn't restocked because this was meant to be a quick in and out trip with no incidents. Lance mentally kicked himself over it. Since when had anything been quick and without incident?

Lance lifted Olly into his arms, taking extra care not to aggravate her wound.

"We need to get to Blue."

"She okay?" Nyma murmured as they reached Blue. She made sure Lance had the right of way, holding two Skisch back with her arms and the third with her leg. The mermaids all hung back as well, hesitant.

Then, Nyma's eyes caught on the blade protruding from Olly's abdomen.

"That doesn't look good." She managed, and Olly gave a weak snort.

"Rude." She managed. "'Sides, your- concern- blargh."

"It's okay!" Skisch number three quipped, ducking around Nyma's leg. "When we get back to base they can fix you!"

The other two Skisch nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Yeah!" Number one said.

"You can swear if you want to." Number two said.

"Nope, we've gotta drop you kids off first!" Lance said, setting Olly down as gently as he could.

Roy and Nyma both moved to argue, but Lance shut them down with a hard stare. "Besides, we can get help on Paciatl, it's waaaaaaaay closer!" He said brightly, voice certainly not matching his facial expression. But it was enough to fool the Skisch, and enough to get his message across to the others.

They wouldn't make it back in time.

"Pardon the intrusion," Blumfump said, sliding into Lance's view and effectively distracting him. "But are we required to go with you?"

Plaxum nodded. "Because right now everything's in disarray, and it would probably be best if we stayed. The queen's on our side, so I think we can handle it now."

"You sure?" Lance said. They nodded.

"We'll be careful." Swirn said. "You should as well."

"Thanks."

"It's nothing—"

"No, really," Lance cut in, smiling through his fear, exhaustion and overwhelming dread. "Thanks."

 The star charts had been outdated. Not by much, but enough that they had been on the wrong end of the system to Paciatl, a tiny blue planet home to the Skisch's true families.

Lance, Nyma and the Skisch piled out of Blue, along with Olly cradled in Roy's arms so Lance could move with the ease he needed to communicate with the planet's inhabitants.

They crowded around, displaying an array of weapons and shields, aimed at Lance in particular.

"Why are you here?" A woman asked, spear point nearly touching Lance's chest. He held his arms up in surrender.

"Mammi?" One of the Skisch said timidly, peering around Nyma. Immediately, the woman lowered her spear.

"Skisch'Io?"

"Mammi!" Skisch launched himself at the woman, arms wrapped around her in the fiercest hug Lance had ever seen (and growing up with his family, that was saying something).

They sank down to sit on the sand, still embracing one another.

"I'm so sorry we lost you," the woman murmured, rocking her child gently and blinking away her tears. "We'll never let you go again."

"Hey, Lance?"

"Mmm?" He hummed in response, too busy fixating on the children.

If the conversation had continued past that point, Lance didn't hear.

"Skisch?" Another voice called from the crowd, and they parted to reveal a young man, of a different species. Judging from the resemblance, Lance guessed he was from the first Skisch's kind - the ones who guarded everyone from danger.

"Ord!" Skisch shouted brightly, running for the man. They performed a dance of some sort, sweeping movements mirrored, before the man scooped up Skisch and rested her on his shoulder.

The smallest Skisch looked up at Lance and Nyma nervously, and Nyma nudged them forwards, towards the water's edge.

"Lance,"

"Hey, we're kind of-" he gestured vaguely at the scene still unfolding before them.

As soon as Skisch touched the water lapping onto the sand, a trail of bioluminescence spread outwards. A long, drawn out note sounded from under the waves, echoing over the cliffs surrounding them.

Skisch turned their head to Lance, a dopey grin spreading over their face. "Mama's coming!" They said, splashing in the shallows excitedly. "Mama's coming, mama's coming!"

The other two Skisch cheered, before rushing over as fast as their little legs could carry them and pulling the youngest into a group hug. "We'll see each other, all the time." Number one said firmly, not leaving any room to argue.

"Lance."

Lance smiled, before suddenly flailing so bad he nearly fell on his ass. "Oh shit, Olly!" He yelped.

Roy was not impressed, fixing him with a cold look. "Can we get some help, please?" She called out over the crowd. "Our teammate is badly hurt."

Skisch's Mammi stood up to her full height, eyes taking in Olly's condition.

"Of course," She said, motioning for them to follow into a cave hidden at the base of the cliffs. "Come quickly, we mustn't waste any time, for it is precious in these situations."

Chapter Text

Lance stood half frozen as he watched the healers flit around Olly. They hadn't started yet, simply assessing the situation and murmuring gently amongst themselves. He didn't want to intrude, but Lance itched to stand with them, take in everything he could and perhaps learn some new skills in the process.

They seemed to know what they were doing, at least. A hand ghosted over the top of the blade's hilt, before drawing back as they devolved into murmurs again.

"You want to know what they're doing." A voice startled Lance, and he jolted back to stare at the native beside him. He hadn't even noticed her come up.

She hadn't posed her words as a question, either, gaze somehow midway between intense and gentle.

"Is it- uh, is it that obvious?" Lance laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

She laughed, the sound also matching her eyes - genuine and sweet, but strong. "You may not have noticed, but you've been drifting closer."

She was right - Lance had started against the stone walls of the cave, close to the entrance. Now, he was half in the room, having slipped closer in his effort to hear the proceedings. He smiled guiltily. "Heh. Well, I'm training to be a medic, so it'd be great if I could learn a little here."

She was silent in response for a moment, eyes raking up and down his figure. Lance shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, feeling as if she was taking him apart and putting him back together again.

"I suppose you can learn about our secrets," she decided with a slight nod.

"Really?"

She laughed again. "Of course. Come closer so you can hear us," motioning with a sharp hand gesture for Lance to follow, she returned to the other healers surrounding Olly.

Lance hung back a step to remain out of the way, thankful for his long legs as he was able to peer over their shoulders.

"-Nitrous oxide toxic to species," one was in the middle of saying, hands either side of Olly's head.

"Her heart rate is steady, breathing shallow but even."

"Administering isoflurane. Continue to monitor heart rate for any fluctuations."

A needle to the inside of Olly's elbow, and Lance blinked. The healers worked as one, never getting in the way of each other. An image of the rebels doing much the same thing rose in his mind, and Lance bit back a smile.

"Isoflurane is a type of anaesthetic, right?" Lance asked quietly. The one that had approached Lance earlier nodded but didn't reply, already immersed in prepping another needle.

They continued to work, Lance catching roughly half of what was going on, not wanting to ask in case timing was important.

He still had a long way to go as a medic.

"Ready to administer fibrinogen." A healer said. Lance had no idea what that was.

"The knife has to be removed," the healer said, obviously taking note of Lance's confused look. "Fibrinogen is a blood clotting agent, which will make that task easier for us."

Lance was glad they were willing to tell him what each thing was. They could have been harming her for all he knew, and the thought didn't sit well. But he pushed that aside. They had just returned children home after being stolen by the Galra. If they had wanted to kill them, they would have done it out on the beach with the spears that had been pointed at their chests.

"Administering fibrinogen."

"I feel like I should ask your name," Lance said quietly, knowing he couldn't keep referring to her as 'the healer' in his mind, being surrounded by healers and technically being one himself.

She smiled, stepping out of the way so another healer could step in for her take. "Emileskile." She said, before moving back in, ripple in the water.

"Emileskile." Lance mouthed, trying to memorise the sounds she had made. Everything about her and the rest of her species was the same - strong and rough, yet somehow soft and gentle. Lance liked that.

The knife was removed before long, and Lance braced himself at the image forming in his brain of blood spurting everywhere. Instead, a slow ooze of thickened blood was all that appeared, barely moving past the wound site.

Lance decided he would never eat raspberry jelly again (If he ever saw one again, that was). The visual was too similar.

Emileskile stepped back, wiping her hands on a clean rag. "Here's the fun part," she said to Lance in a low voice, moving to stand next to him. Her work was seemingly done, and she smiled.

"What are they doing now?"

A small vial was injected into Olly's arm.

"Here on Paciatl grows a plant - a herb. Though it tastes delicious, we don't eat it. It's too rare and precious for that."

"Doesn't it grow on other planets?"

"Under very unique circumstances. It's sought out through the entire universe, but our dear planet is the only place that it grows natively."

Lance filed all this information away for later, keeping a careful eye on his teammate. "What's it called?"

"Wittbicahtrop."

"Bless you." Lance replied automatically, before pausing. "Wait, what?"

"The plant," Emileskile said with a touch of amusement in her voice. "We call it wittbicahtrop."

"Why? Who made that decision?" Lance demanded, momentarily forgetting his manners as he tried to register how the sounds fit together.

"Well, it was discovered and named after Wittwabaiicahatiatrocopert III," Emileskike replied. "It was later renamed for obvious reasons."

Lance just stared at her, trying to work out if she was joking or not. Her expression was flat, yet mirth shone in her eyes. But that had always been there, so Lance couldn't use that as a reference.

He gave up, instead turning just in time to witness the skin on Olly's abdomen grow back, appearing to shift and reform to cover the wound.

"Wh— How?" Lance yelped, before mumbling an apology at his volume and taking a couple steps back. "How?" He repeated in a much quieter tone. The possibilities of the technique were already bouncing around his skull, but he pushed them back. Not until he understood it, in any case.

"Wittbicahtrop."

Lance gave Emileskile an incredulous look. "The plant?"

She nodded.

"But- what?" Lance continued to stare, disbelief written clear on his features. "It's just a plant!"

"You never let me explain the properties that wittbicahtrop possesses," Emileskile said, amusement once again hidden in her words. In front of them, the healers has started to dress the wound - though there wasn't much of a wound left to dress though it was only fresh, it already looked weeks old, close to the end of healing fully.

"When boiled and injected in concentrated amounts, wittbicahtrop has a strange effect on the production of stem cells."

"I don't doubt that," Lance ended up saying, still transfixed on their abilities.  "I'm guessing it increases the amount of cells being produced, and the body basically heals at super speeds?"

"More or less." A nod from Emileskile. "I'm sure that's scientifically inaccurate, but you understand the fundamentals."

"Witt- whatever has the ability to increase the production of stem cells." Lance repeated.

"Wittbicahtrop, and that is correct."

"But only when boiled and injected in concentrated amounts."

"Correct again."

Lance's eyebrows were in his hairline at this point. "So who figured this out? What were they doing when they figured this out?"

"This property was discovered by none other than Wittwabaiicahatiatrocopert III," Emileskile said, just as the healers finished with Olly and began to move her into a smaller chamber. She made to follow, glancing over her shoulder at Lance.

"There was a mix up between his latest experiment and his cup of wittbaicahtrop tea."

Chapter Text

Lance stared intently at the dark grey stone of the wall in front of him, seemingly focussed on the cracks in the rock.

It started at approximately head height, and near the edge of the ceiling connected to a massive web of lines and fractures. It was like looking at a broken window, or the home of a trigger happy spider.

But Lance wasn't really looking at the wall. His intense gaze took in absolutely nothing, fixated in the centre of the spider-on-crack web but somewhere far away, trapped within the cogs and springs of his brain, whirring so loud surely everyone else could hear it.

Lance was thinking - or, he had been, until he got an unbidden thought of Pidge laughing. 'Lance can think?'

He frowned, shaking the image from his head and looking down to his hands.

Lance held a tiny vial, twirling it between his fingers. A tiny air bubble slipped from the bottom of the murky liquid and floated to the top as he watched.

The contents of this vial had saved Olly's life.

Increasing cell production rate ran the risk of increasing the rate of the virus' spread. He needed to somehow slow it down.

A lot of testing was going to have to be conducted.

"Y'know normally when you're waiting in a medbay with someone's life on the line, you notice when the person you're waiting for wakes up."

Lance started, gripping the vial tighter as it tried to slip through his fingers. Hastily he tucked it back in his pouch, keeping it from any further danger.

He'd been sitting in the same position for a long time, and as he shifted bones in his body moved, popping loudly as they snapped back into their original place. His whole body felt weirdly stiff.

The only word he could think of that kind of described it was crunchy, and as the bones in his neck ground together slightly he nodded to himself.

Yeah. Crunchy.

"You scared the heebie jeebies out of me!" Lance complained, taking in the paleness of Olly's face. He supposed it should be expected, with what she'd just gone through.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, heebie jeebies only appear when Zarkon's witch sends them to quash rebellion."

"I-" Lance paused, blinking. "What?"

"Heebie jeebies." Olly said, a little confused. Then again, that could have been Lance's own confusion mirrored on her face. "They can destroy an entire planet's population in one night."

"Olly, no- the- oh my god," Lance let out a short laugh. "The heebie jeebies is just an expression."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you humans are weird."

"So we've been told."

Olly giggled weakly. "Imagine believing the heebie jeebies can possess you," she murmured to herself, before looking around the room. "Hey, where's Roy?"

"She-" Lance stopped.

Where was Roy? He actually hadn't seen her since they had entered the caves. Why wasn't she sitting here with him, gnawing on her finger nails as they waited for her partner to wake from a serious operation.

"You know what? Good question" Lance brought his hand to his chin in thought, and Olly frowned.

"That's what I was afraid of..." she said softly, hands clenching.

"What do you mea—"

"Put this into perspective, Lance." Olly said, tone harsher than she probably intended. "Roy stabbed me. I nearly died. She blames herself. Zachesl, it's like you don't even know her."

The sneer dropped from her face almost immediately, and she sighed deeply. Lance could practically see the effort it was taking her to maintain her calm.

Nigh imperceptibly, Olly's fists tightened more, clenching the blanket between her fingers.

"Sorry, that was uncalled for"

In the distance, Lance could hear the angry yells of someone, echoing through the stone of the caves.

Maybe a medical facility wasn't the best place for an empath.

"So, can I get a shield stat?" He asked, Olly rolling her eyes once at his chosen terminology, as if her shields were a function on a ship rather than a delicate and taxing mental block.

"A solid fifteen percent." She said, deciding to humour him.

"Down to nothing but fifteen or fifteen from full?" Lance asked. In immediate hindsight, he could have figured that out himself.

"Take a guess," Olly said through a smile a little too sharp. Lance stood up abruptly, stone of his seat grating against the ground.

"Right, point taken. I'll go talk to the doctors."

Olly nodded, rolling over with her back to Lance. She brought her knees up so she was taking up barely half of the bed.

"If you see Roy, tell her to stop being a limp lump of fusi and get over here." She said flatly.

Lance nodded even though she couldn't see him and stepped out of the room, sliding the door shut with a slight snap.

Fusi. He assumed it was something like a cabbage.

Despite the size of the island, Lance was able to find Roy rather quickly.

She sat in the shadow of Blue, watching over the Skisch as they played together in the shallows. Roy swirled one finger through the sand, a repeated motion that left intersecting lines in the coarse grains of the beach.

She'd been doing it for quite a while, judging by the size of the drawing.

"Whatcha doing?" He asked sitting down by Roy's side. Her eyes snapped over to the footprints he had left behind him through her trails. "Sorry. No way through."

Roy huffed, swiping a hand over the part closest to her and erasing it. "Doesn't matter." She muttered.

Nyma sat up from her laying position a short ways off in the sunlight, and Lance realised that she was scantily clad in something similar to a bikini. It was a tad smaller than what was generally appropriate on Earth, though.

Lance decided to pay particular attention to her face.

"No idea what grumpy here is doing, but I'm working on my skin tone." Nyma said, and Lance could see the difference already, her skin seeming to be two or three shades darker than earlier.

"We call it tanning back on Earth." Lance said. "Everyone gets darker, but white people end up more tanned? I don't know if that's the reason we call it that, but yeah." Another thing to look up when he got home - the origins of the term tanning. He seemed to recall something about leather from his middle school history classes.

"We have something similar," Roy said, once more drawing in the sand. "But it only effects our markings. They get brighter in the dark after exposure to light."

Lance tried not to laugh at the description, which had essentially told him that Roy's markings were solar powered.

It was a strange concept to wrap his head around, but like many other alien abilities that he had experienced; such as multiple arms, empathetic abilities, and in some cases a large amount of unbelievable stupidity, he simply accepted it for what it was and moved on. Otherwise he might go insane out here, and he'd much rather get home mentally sound.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, only punctuated by Nyma rolling onto her front and resting her head on her arms.

"Olly was asking for you," Lance said eventually. Roy tensed up a little beside him, tongue darting out to run over the scar on her lip.

"Really?" She said casually, schooling her features. "What did she say?"

Lance smiled, giving her a soft, friendly blow to the shoulder.

"Something about you being a limp lump of fusi."

Roy visibly relaxed, shoulders lowering and brow smoothing out. "Guess I better get over there." She said, getting to her feet.

"She said that too."

Lance and Nyma watched her go, smiling at each other as her slow, controlled walk progressed into a full-out sprint.

Chapter Text

In Lance's opinion, saying goodbye to the Skisch was both a sad and joyful affair.

On the one hand; the children had been seperated from the families at young ages, been forced to be trained as slaves, watched their "master" get killed, and then spent several weeks in the heart of the resistance. The universe apparently decided it had thrown enough at them to last a lifetime, and was giving them a break.

But on the other hand; returning to their families meant they would be splitting up, each with their own people. Ord and Mammi had already planned a meet-up for the two bigger Skisch, but the smallest one's family hadn't arrived yet.

Lance was definitely going to miss them, but he couldn't compare his feelings to that of their families. His feeling was akin to when he found out his best friend's family was moving away when they were kids. But the Skisch were home. And that's all that mattered.

Lance had carried little Skisch out to a rock a short way out from the shore, where they lay on their tummy, playing with the water.

Lance was still waist-deep in the water, trying to memorise the feel of the ocean around him.

"Lance, look!" Skisch called, and he looked up. Skisch was pointing to the glow in the water, swirling in intricate patterns. It was beautiful, and Lance smiled. Skisch went back to swishing the water, almost shoulder deep now.

Suddenly, Lance was hit with a realisation that hadn't even occurred to him until now. How, if Skisch couldn't swim without help, were they taken by slavers?

Lance shook his head to banish the thought. It didn't matter. They were back, and their family was coming.

A long note bounced off the cliffs, significantly louder than the previous ones that had been periodically sung out. Skisch splashed excitedly.

A head broke the surface of the water, a little way from the rock Skisch was sitting on. The head was followed by around twenty more, song echoing all around.

Skisch squealed in delight, before singing their own note - a little shaky as they were bouncing about - and dove head-first at the closest figure.

"Thank you for returning them to us."

Lance startled, looking down. While his attention had been on Skisch's reunion with their mama, one of the figures had swum closer.

Immediately, half the beach's inhabitants bowed, the other half lowering their heads in respect.

"We cannot thank you enough." His eyes were glittering, reflecting the bioluminescent glow in the water around him.

"It was our pleasure," Lance said, bowing his own head. No more words were exchanged between them - there was nothing more to say.

The man nodded to the crowd behind Lance, before diving back into the water, trail of glowing blue light behind him.

"Bye!" Skisch shouted, waving from where they were strapped to their mama's back. "Bye!"

And they sunk below the waves.

The other two skisch continued to wave long after they had disappeared.

Lance joined everyone back on the beach, casting one last look behind him at the waves, glow already fading.

Skisch one and two tackled Lance into a hug, and he laughed, play wrestling in the sand.

"We're going to miss you," Skisch one said.

"A lot." Number two added.

"I'll miss you guys too," Lance said, combing his fingers through his hair to loosen the sand. The star Roy had shaved into the side was already growing out - he would have to ask her to touch it up.

One last hug, and the Skisch ran back to their families.

Now all that was left was for Lance to return to his.

Lance knocked on the door, to Olly's room, before brushing a bunch of sand off his arm.

"Come in," Olly responded, and Lance was pleased to note that she sounded significantly calmer than when he had left, some cheer slipping into her voice.

Lance stepped inside, closing the door gently behind him. "So," he started conversationally. "did we resolve that fusi issue?"

He reached his chair, spinning it around so that he could sit on it backwards. "Sorry," He said, wincing at the grating sound of stone on stone.

Nevertheless, Olly smiled at him, and Lance noticed her fingers intertwined with Roy's.

Roy's markings were a bright turquoise, casting a soft glow over the pair. She was right - they did get stronger with sunlight.

"Shield stat?"

"Find a better name for it. But we're at eighty-five"

"Wow," Lance gave a low whistle. "Big jump from this morning."

"What were we at this morning?" Roy asked, eyebrow quirking quizzically as she turned to look at Olly.

"A solid fifteen percent. And that's fifteen percent full, and not fifteen percent from full. Just thought I'd clarify." Lance said, chuckling slightly at the embarrassed blush spreading over Olly's cheeks. She had gained some colour, but something seemed odd.

"Ugh, shush" Olly said, although she had a fond smile, words containing no malice behind them. Maybe a little exasperation, but definitely no malice.

"The healers have cleared you, by the way." Lance said, folding his arms over the back of his chair and resting his chin on them. "They have the run-down and—" he broke off.

Roy gave him a mildly confused look "What?"

"Olly."

"Yeah, what's up?" She tilted her head to the side, pink eyes narrowed.

Lance motioned to his cheeks. When recognition didn't spark in her eyes, he gave a breathy laugh. "You don't have your markings."

Olly's eyes widened. "Oooooohhhhhhh. Hold on." She scrunched her nose up for a moment, before her usual Altean-like markings appeared under the corners of her eyes. "Should I go for pink?" She asked.

Roy squeezed the hand intertwined in hers. "I like yellow."

Olly grinned, before whipping her head around to look at Lance. "Wait, you were saying something important."

"Was I?" Lance wondered aloud. "I don't- oh yeah. You're clear to leave, so we can get going."

"I don't particularly feel like moving just yet." Roy said, before flopping backwards to lay on the bed. Olly squawked in surprise, hastily rearranging her legs so they wouldn't get squashed.

"Sorry." Roy said, making zero effort to move herself into a position that better suited them both.

It was a familiar scene, and Lance let himself bask in the familiarity of it all.

Just a small piece of normal in the endless mess that was being a defender of the universe.

Chapter Text

"Soooo..." Matt started as he fell in stride with Therra. She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't tell him to get lost.

Matt considered that a victory.

"So?" She prompted, impatient after he didn't continue.

"What've you been up to lately?"

Therra let out a grunt. "Why does it interest you?"

"I'm a curious man, you'll have to forgive me." Matt replied easily, stretching his arms above his head as they walked. "I like to know how everyone's been, especially now that I hardly leave the medbay."

"Why? It's not like you need to be by your friend's side all the time."

"But who would annoy Shiro if I wasn't there?"

"I'm sure somebody would pick up the slack."

"Are you jealous?" Matt asked after a pause, shit-eating grin making its way onto his face. Therra stared at him, mouth open.

"What? Why would I be?"

"You want what Shiro and I have," Matt shrugged, though the grin remained on his face. "Never leaving each other's sides, always having the others' back..."

"Like you do now?" She smirked. 

Matt brushed off her comment with a wave of his hand. "Irrelevant."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Shiro's asleep again, and I'm hungry," Matt explained at Therra's scepticism. "I'll grab a bite, and be back at his side when he wakes. He doesn't even need to know." 

Therra pursed her lips. "Or you could just check on him once a day. You shouldn't neglect your duties because he's your friend."

Matt chuckled. "You seriously haven't noticed? I don't exactly have much of a job on this base."

"Neither do I," Therra pointed out, chin held high. "But I still pull my weight."

"Rinnai, Rinnai," Matt shook his head, patting her shoulder. She pulled away with a scowl. "Humans will do anything to avoid actually doing work. It's in our blood. Besides, with Kelaan's illness and Lance away, somebody needs to check up on Rolo and Shiro."

"Lotor could."

"Lotty is a literal child," Matt said. "She can do the basics, like bandaids and feel-better kisses, but that's not going to save Shiro's ass if we get attacked again."

"Again?" Therra turned a little to look at Matt, and he nodded.

"Oh yeah, that's right - that was about the same time Lance saved you and your sister."

"We didn't need saving." Therra shot back in a huff.

"Suuuuuure you didn't. A broken arm, several ribs, maybe a few scrapes here and there." Matt listed, nodding to her ear. Therra scowled again.

"My ear's got nothing to do with this," she said, feeling the familiar nicks under her fingers.

"Where'd you get them, then?" Matt said curiously, peering at them. "They line up with your piercings on the other side, right? Did they tear—"

"It was just a couple cowards." She cut in sharply, eyes flashing. "Thought I'd be an easy target to pick on."

"And—"

"The conversation's over." Therra sped up, but Matt continued to match her pace.

"Why are you following me?" She demanded, stopping in her tracks. It took Matt a few more steps to realise, and he turned back to face her.

"As I said-" Matt shrugged. "I'm a curious man. So far, you're a mystery to the crew. I want to change that."

Therra didn't reply, shoving past him.

"At least tell me where you're going!"

"This is a Galra cruiser, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah?"

"So there's a sentry deck."

Matt jogged to catch up. "Yeah. Vi rewired them so they could be used as CQC targets, but that was before Mux set up the range."

Therra once more didn't reply, turning the corner into a room.

"Wouldn't you prefer to go out to the range?"

She simply reached into her boot and pulled out a knife. "Can't shoot at targets with a blade." She said, ignoring Matt's spluttering.

"Hang on - that didn't get taken from you when you first got here?"

"... no? Should it have been?"

Matt nodded, watching her with wide eyes. "No unauthorised weapons on Base. And seeing as when you arrived you... erm... yknow..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "We'd just fought off an attack from the Galran Empire..."

"And?"

"And so... wouldn't they have searched you for weapons?"

Therra smirked, a flash of fang visible for just a moment. "I recall a certain someone being ordered to do it, and only half-assing it."

Matt opened his mouth to object, thought better of it, and snapped it shut again.

Therra let out a small exhale of what may have been amusement, walking up to the terminal and setting her hand down on it. It lit up purple, a screen flickering to life.

"Seriously, you did a once-over and said 'my job here is done'." she snorted in derision. "You didn't even do anything."

Matt hummed, resting his hand on his chin. "Though that does sound like me," he started. "I'm going to have to say fake news."

"... what?"

Matt laughed, shaking his head. "You were injured, barely staying on your feet. I wanted to leave you with some dignity and fast-track you to medical."

"And interrogation?"

"Aw, it's not that bad. Everyone here's a big softie."

Therra stared back as way of her response.

"Okay, maybe we need to come up with a better term for it than 'interrogation'..."

"Maybe." She leaned back against the terminal, twirling her knife in her free hand. Matt's eyes followed the movement

"Cool weapon." He commented after a few seconds of silence. "Where'd you get it?"

Therra stiffened. "My mother."

"What's it made of? The metal doesn't seem to match what our weapons are composed of."

"What does all this matter to you?" She caught the blade, staring at it to avoid making eye contact with Matt.

"I'm a—"

"Curious man, so you've said." She interrupted him with a scowl, grip tightening on the handle of her knife. She didn't take her eyes off it. Matt took a step back, raising his hands in a surrender.

"This knife is the last thing I have of my mother - of my family - besides Mik." Therra said quietly, beginning to twirl the knife in her hand again, pulling herself to her feet once more. "And if you touch my weapon or my sister, I won't hesitate to tear you limb from limb."

Matt winced.

"Now excuse me," she turned back to the terminal, selecting a few options with ease. A line of sentry units activated and turned to face her.

Therra set her hand down again, knife glowing and taking a new form in her hand. "But I have a fight to win."

Matt stood frozen as Therra tore into the sentries, blade whirling. Her movements were fluid and easy, not a single moment's hesitation from one action to the next. She threw it into the head of one, before sliding between two sentries, yanking it out before the droid hit the floor and impaling it into the arm joint of another.

Before long, Therra was the only one standing in the middle of the room. 

Matt's jaw had dropped long ago.

She turned to face him, knife returning to it's smaller form in her hand. "You're still here?"

He nodded dumbly.

"Why?"

"No reason..." Matt blinked, shaking his head. "I just remembered I'm bi, so that's cool."

Chapter Text

It all started when Rolo had complained about being stuck in the infirmary for so long, glaring at his legs in a way that would have been funny if Lance didn't empathise with him so much.

After several weeks of physical therapy (courtesy of Lotty), Rolo was beginning to move again. But one leg was still fairly useless and the other...

The other was a hunk of metal.

It was easy to forget how many members of the Resistance had prosthetic legs. Lance swore the number was rising, even with the amount of low-risk missions that were happening - namely returning the children and other slaves to their homes, if they still had one to return to.

Off the top of his head, Lance could list Matt, Shiro, Roy, Rolo, and there was a new guy who had come in for a checkup a few days ago - Dallas? Either way, within the people he knew personally in their faction, that was a lot.

He would have to ask Olly about the proper way to perform maintenance and reattach them when needed. There hadn't been a Leggy Squad checkup since before Kelaan handed most of her duties to Lance.

"I hate being holed up in here." Rolo muttered for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last hour. It was really starting to grind on Lance's nerves.

"Yeah, well it's not like these cots are portable." Lance replied distractedly, flicking some data from the screen in front of him to the next one over.

"At least you get visitors." Shiro said. Matt fell into a harsh coughing fit.

"Excuse me? What am I?"

"You don't leave," Lance responded, kicking Matt in the back of his (good) knee to get him to move. "So you don't count as a visitor."

"By that logic, neither does Lotor," Rolo pointed out. Said child popped out from behind Rolo's head, smiling brightly.

"Nyma counts." Lance shrugged.

"She only comes in when you aren't here."

"She still visits, though."

Rolo pursed his lips. "Just once I'd like to be the visitor."

It was quiet for a moment, before Matt ruined it by sniggering. "Dude, that was the weirdest thing I've heard you say."

"Yeah, well I'm running low on social interactions at the moment. In case you haven't noticed, I've been stuck here."

Lance swatted the screen away in a poor approximation of slamming a laptop shut. "Right." He said, "I need to go get more bandages." And with that, he marched out the door.

"But the bandages are in—" Lotty started as he left.

And that was how Lance found himself tripping over the hover chair he had used when he first arrived on Base. He face-palmed, switching the chair on and letting it rise off the ground.

"Oh wow," Matt said, peering over Lance's shoulder. Lance jumped at his appearance. "I'd forgotten about that thing."

"How?" Lance grinned. "I nearly ran you over at every given opportunity."

"All a better reason to forget. But you planning on letting Rolo give it a spin?"

Lance nodded, starting to push the chair out of the tiny medbay he had met Kelaan in. "He's making me stir crazy, and I can leave at any time."

Lotty had her arms full of bandages once they got back to the main infirmary. "They were over that way," she said, jutting her chin forward to the other side of the room.

Nyma was leaning against the wall by Rolo's head, arms folded. When Lance came closer, she pulled a face, brushing past him. "I was hoping you'd left." She muttered.

"Bitch me too, the fuck."

Lance could hear Matt losing his shit behind him.

Nyma had nothing further to say, slipping out the door.

"You know," Rolo said as Lance moved the chair closer to his bed. After a pause, Lance gave it another shove. "She waits out there for you to leave every cycle."

"I've noticed." Lance said. "But it's better than her trying to burn holes into my brain at every given moment."

"For that to happen you'd need a brain." Rolo replied. Matt leaned across for a high-five (four, in Rolo's case?)

In one fluid motion, Lance pulled a flailing Rolo, bedding and all, onto the chair. "Give a little warning next time," He rasped.

Lance rolled his eyes. "I. Am. Going. To. Move. You."

Rolo gave him a flat look.

Lance responded by pulling the sheet out from under him and throwing it back onto the bed. "I want you back here twice a day for physio, but other than that, you're free to go nuts around the ship."

Rolo needed no further prompting, giving a mock salute as he sped out the door.

Lance went to grab his datapad off his belt to make note of what he had just said, but somehow only succeeded in knocking the pad to the floor. He started at it for a second.

"Why has god forsaken me."

"Saaaame." Matt said.

Lance went to pick up the datapad, kicking it under Shiro's bed instead.

"Saaaaaaaaaaammmeee."

Lance dropped to the floor and shimmied on his back to reach the datapad, half under the bed.

"You haven't actually looked this tired since I brought you in," Matt said, leaning over his knees to peer at Lance under the bed.

"Yeah well, life is a bitch, and the universe hates me." Lance finally located the datapad, shuffling back out from under the bed.

"Oh, worm."

"Language." Shiro said, though he didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Worm isn't a fucking bad word."

Shiro didn't respond outside of a sigh.

"So, kid," Matt started, and Lance decided to give up getting out from under the bed. "How's your ankle holding up?"

Lance stuck his leg in the air, showing off the appendage in question. The blue of his ever-present brace was visible even from his half hidden spot, and he wriggled his foot for good measure.

"Can I call that a mood?"

"Roy, perfect timing!" Lance called cheerfully, still wriggling his foot. He caught sight of Olly's legs before his foot got a fist bump, and chuckled. "Might wanna move so I can get up, though."

"You're picking up on my slang," Matt noted. "Should I maybe stop talking?"

"We all know that's impossible for you." Shiro replied.

Lance shuffled the rest of the way out from the bed, rolling onto his shoulderblades to gain enough momentum to launch to his feet. It was almost flawless, but then he ruined it with a massive yawn.

Olly still clapped, and he gave a small bow.

"Okay, serious Lance time." He said, taking note of the case Olly had slung over one shoulder. It was almost as big as her, and Lance had to stop himself from laughing at the fact, because he had literally just said it was serious Lance time. "Maybe I can finally get this place cleared out."

He motioned for Olly to put her case down, and she stepped forward to set it on the end of Shiro's bed. "Do you want to be alone for this?" She asked, looking to Shiro for confirmation.

"Please," he replied.

"Right, you heard the man," Lance said. "Everybody out."

Matt picked up Lotty and set her on his shoulders, and he and Roy stepped out. "Call if you need anything," Roy said, turning to look over her shoulder as she reached the door.

"I'll be fine," Olly assured her, giving a little shooing motion. Roy gave a tiny nod, disappearing around the corner.

Silence fell for the first time in what seemed forever. Lance had become so used to Matt's chatter and Rolo's complaining that it seemed strange to have neither of them.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Shiro said, and Olly clicked the latch on the case open.

"So you said no black or purple, and it was a bit of a challenge to pull off but I managed it." Olly said, sliding one of the prosthetics out of the case and unwrapping it from the fabric it had been rolled up in. She set it on the bed, allowing them to get a proper look.

The new prosthetic was a sleek navy blue, and when Olly activated it, the joints glowed orange for a brief moment before softening back to nothing.

"It's rebel uniform coloured." Lance noted with a barely contained laugh, effectively breaking the tense silence.

"Completely by coincidence, I promise," Olly defended. "It was the metal I had in stock, and I wanted to avoid silver because it's boring and everyone has silver."

"Not everyone." Lance felt the need to point out.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake, grey is totally a different colour." Olly rolled her eyes, pulling out the other prosthetic and matching them to the correct limb, making sure they measured up to Shiro's remaining organic limbs.

"I've made it so they're easily removed," Olly explained, demonstrating by pulling apart the arm at the port and reattaching it. "It's mag-lock tech, the same as what Roy's got."

"You designed it?"

"Roy already had her prosthetic when I met her," Olly said, lining up the foot and checking to see if they matched. She paused to throw a wink at Lance. "I just improved the design."

Shiro has barely said anything through this, and Lance turned to him. "So how are you feeling about all this?"

"Honestly? Pretty useless," Shiro admitted. "I'm meant to be the leader - for Kerberos, for Voltron, but it seems like you and Matt are really the ones taking the lead."

"Can't lead Voltron if I'm not with them." Lance quipped, trying to sound upbeat about it and failing.

Olly hummed, testing the mag-lock in the leg. "And Matt doesn't do anything but bother people because he doesn't think he's fit to be in charge. Now, Shiro - we have to attach the ports semi-permanently for these to work. You don't need to have the full limbs at the moment, that comes when you're ready, but it's best we get the first part done as soon as possible."

A flash of uncertainty crossed Shiro's face.

"It's a small procedure," Olly rushed to explain. "We have to numb the areas first, but there's no need to put you under."

It was a few minutes as Shiro mulled it over. "They're removable?"

"Almost entirely." Lance replied.

"Not weaponised?"

"Nope."

"I won't feel it?"

"You won't feel it."

"And you won't put me under?"

Lance set a firm hand on Shiro's shoulder. "We're not the Garrison. And we're definitely not the Galra. We won't do anything if you don't agree with it."

Another minute of silence in which Lance nearly found himself holding his breath more than once.

"Let's do this," Shiro said, tone one of upmost certainty. "I trust you."

That's all Lance needed to hear.

Chapter Text

Lance collapsed onto the old (rather funky smelling) mattress in the doctor's quarters with a loud groan. Technically it was Kelaan's room, but Lance had long since stopped sleeping in Blue, the distance far to great to make in an emergency.

And with no emergency as of current, Lance thought he deserved a rest. His feet ached, his blue-braced ankle in particular causing a load of grief. He fell backwards to lie down, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

He missed the Castle's automatic laundry system.

Lance reached down to loosen his brace, flexing the joint back and forth in an attempt to dull the ache. As he did so, he let his eyes wander to the photo he had stuck on the ceiling above the bed.

It was a selfie Pidge had taken of team Voltron just after they had completed their first successful mission, Arusians celebrating in the background. He hadn't realised at the time, but Pidge had her backpack on, intending to leave soon after. That plan had fallen through with the Galra attacking, obviously.

She had grown impatient with how long everyone was taking to get ready, and snapped the photo, glasses half obscuring her expression with the flash.

Allura was beside Pidge, soft smile as she ducked down to her height, white curls framing her face like a cloud. Hunk was just behind the pair, holding up a peace sign as he smiled sheepishly.

Lance himself had an arm slung around Keith, attempting to get a fistbump out of him. But Lance had forgotten that Keith had lived in the middle of nowhere for over a year and had to explain it. He was in the middle of doing so in the photo, Keith's lips pouted as he listened. Shiro was on Keith's other side, watching Lance with clear amusement on his face.

And Coran? Coran took up an entire corner of the shot, only one eye and half his moustache in frame. He had been marvelling at the primitive Earth device when Pidge took the photo, and Lance loved it so much he immediately asked for a copy. Pidge has given it to him as soon as he got out of the healing pod, and he had kept it in Blue ever since.

That was, until he had moved it to here. Lance let his eyes trace over every line and curve of the photo, the way Allura's hair fell, the way Hunk's dimples showed in the corners of his mouth. Coran's visible eye alight with curiosity, the Arusian pulling a face in the background, effectively photo-bombing them. The way Shiro folded his right arm over his left, head titled a smidge as he smiled. The way Keith's whole face shone with barely contained laughter.

That last bit didn't make sense.

Lance scrambled into a sitting position in an effort to get closer to the photo. Yep - Keith’s lips were pressed together, visibly holding back a laugh as Lance wildly gestured, a glimmer of mirth visible even from Lance's distance to the picture. He focussed on photo-Shiro, who also seemed amused at the events. If Lance recalled correctly, Shiro had begun to say something immediately after the photo was taken, but Keith had shushed him.

"That bastard..." Lance muttered, falling backwards again. Keith knew what a fist-bump was. He thought it was funny that Lance believed him. And Shiro had thought it was funny too. He'd have to bring it up later.

Shiro was currently resting, the minor operation to attach the ports for his new limbs successful. He had requested that Matt be there the entire time, and Lance was happy to allow it.

Matt had been vital in keeping Shiro calm right from the start, reassuring him that the needle Lance needed to inject him with was simply a numbing solution, and not going to put him under. Lance understood that even though he had promised, Shiro had been through a lot with the Galra with nobody as support, and the only way to keep his trust was to go through with his promises.

Not that Lance would ever want to break a promise.

He let his eyes slip shut with a weary sigh. Shiro would still have to go through some rehabilitation and training. Lance was sure that the Galra's version was to throw them into an arena and 'figure it out'. That wasn't going to fly here - not under Lance's care. He was going to be with Shiro every step of the way, and he was certain Matt would be as well.

"You sound exhausted, Paladin Lance."

Lance's eyes shot open, and he nearly fell off the bed in his effort to sit up.

"Kelaan!" He grinned, rushing over to help her with her bags. "You're back!"

Kelaan had taken advantage of a slight reprieve in her illness to visit her home planet, and potentially do more research on the disease. Having been with the Resistance for a few years, she had hoped they had made a breakthrough.

Though judging by the way Kelaan stood, face tired and shoulders bowed, she hadn't found all too much.

Lance's heart cracked, but he didn't let his smile falter. Instead, he placed Kelaan's bags at the foot of the bed and pulled a small vial out of his pocket. "So I've been doing some research," he started, holding the vial up. It held a tiny sample of the plant found on Paciatl - Lance had already forgotten the name - something he had gotten in return for bringing the Skisch home.

"Have you?" Kelaan had already stopped paying full attention, instead getting right into unpacking. Lance pressed on.

"This plant - whitt-wi- something - accelerates the production of cells by producing excess energy for growth, provided its been boiled first."

Kelaan nodded absently, attempting to undo a broken clasp. "That is most interesting."

Lance hummed, setting the vial gently down on the bed, taking note of where it was so he wouldn't flop on it later. "I'm hoping to maybe figure out what exactly causes these effects, and reverse engineer it to slow down growth."

He spun on his heel as he voiced all this, lost in the thoughts cluttering his head. "If we slow cell production down, we may have a chance to remove cancerous tumours before the body has a chance to make new ones. Of course, the disease is in the bloodstream and clots, so there are a lot of risks in trying anything, and it won't be a permanent soluti—" he broke off as Kelaan wrapped him in a tight embrace.

Lance froze for a moment, before returning the gesture, stooping down so he could rest his face on her shoulder. She shook slightly, breaths uneven as she gave a few sobs. "Thank you," she said quietly, and Lance had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from breaking down into tears as well. "Thank you."

They stayed like that for a while, Lance carving each and every detail in his mind so he wouldn't forget. This moment was precious - Kelaan was precious.

And Lance would try his hardest to keep her with him.

Chapter Text

Lance woke slowly.

His brain gently picked up steam as he did so, rolling ever so gently down the track, metaphorical wheels groaning as they accelerated.

His brain train had a lot of stations to visit, working through the night's build up of weird dreams and side thoughts to reach the town he had mentally dubbed as 'alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic'.

So Lance woke like that one line in Rachael's favourite romance novel: slowly, then all at once. His sleep-addled thoughts couldn't quite grapple the title of the book, but he assumed it didn't matter, instead letting the train continue chugging along towards the day.

This was aided by a series of gentle taps to the side of his face.

Lance felt his eyebrows twitch at the taps to his left cheek, refusing to open his eyes just yet. Instead, he turned over, smooshing his face into his pillow, thus thwarting the attacker.

Or so he thought!

The poking resumed on his other cheek, and Lance attempted to block to no avail, still refusing to open his eyes.

He swatted at his enemy, only managing to connect with thin air as they darted out of reach. The poking paused for the briefest of moments, before continuing, Lance's half-hearted blocks continually thwarted by the dexterity the attacker showed.

"Hnngh."

Lance wasn't quite sure what he had been trying to say, but the poking paused again, giving the brain train time to reach the station. He cracked open his eyes to the soft light flooding his room, squinting just a tad.

When he didn't move in a few seconds, he received another poke to the cheek.

"Stop poking, m'up." Lance managed to string a few words together, admittedly slurred. He moved to rub at his eyes, only to stop, arms trapped underneath something (assumingly, his attacker). He did the mental equivalent of a shrug in response to this, and lifted his leg up instead to rub an ankle over his face.

A muffled giggle sounded to his left, a shushing noise to his right, and Lance lifted his head up off his pillow to catch sight of Mik and Lotty wrapped around his arms, Nea half hanging off the edge of the bed.

"Wake up!" Nea giggled, Mik tugging his foot down from near his face and Lotty slipping Lance's shiny blue brace over his ankle. She leant back to admire her work, and Lance held back a laugh.

Lotty frowned, ripping the brace back off and transferring it to his other ankle.

"Gold star." he snickered as the girls moved off his arms to allow him to sit up. He tried to scoop up a wriggling Mik, only to do so a little too enthusiastically.

She careened out of his arms and into Nea, both of them tumbling off the bed and out of view.

"Oh, shit!" Lance yelped, scrambling to lean over the edge and help, only to find they were gone - somehow out the door.

"I'll help them!" Lotty cried, slipping to the floor and dashing towards the door and peering out. "Are you okay?"

Lance relaxed as he heard their affirmative giggles, running back into the room.

"You've got a scratch!" Lotty said, pointing to Nea's arm. Nea looked down blankly for a second.

"Oh."

"Sorry." Mik said meekly, staring down at her claws.

"It's little, no problem!"

"I can fix it!" Lotty pulled open a tiny medkit she insisted on carrying around, carefully selecting the alien equivalent of a shimmery pink bandaid. She expertly ripped off the back and smoothed it over Nea's cut. "There, pink goes with yellow-green." she said proudly as the edges fused to Nea's skin, giving it one last pat and snapping her medkit shut again.

"Did you... yeet a child?" Shiro called to him when Lance made his way into the medbay, followed by a gaggle of children. He was sitting up in his bed, Matt by his side reading something on a datapad.

"Past tense, he yote her." Matt said, not looking up. Shiro tilted his head to the side in mild confusion.

"I thought yote was the opposite of yeet."

"Nah, that's yoink." Matt absentmindedly reached over to pat Shiro's cheek, only adding more to his confusion.

Lotty skipped over to Shiro's bedside, checking over his new prosthetic ports. Nea and Mik followed, not quite as interested in them but still curious.

"Good to see Shiro up."

"Mr Rolo!" Lotty waved as said man entered the room, chair hovering in the unoccupied centre.

"I learnt a new word today!" Nea said proudly, puffing her chest out.

"Really now?" Rolo responded, not actually paying attention as he focused on trying to stop his chair from drifting to the side. It ended up trailing slow circles around the children, and Lance leant over to smack the power off.

"Yeah!" Nea somehow stood up even straighter, disco-bobble only adding to her height. "Shit!"

Matt made a sound akin to a duck being strangled, which was only emphasised by the fact that Rolo's chair crashed unceremoniously to the floor in the same moment.

"Lance." Shiro said sharply as Matt lost his composure beside him.

"Whoopsies." Lance deadpanned, ignoring Rolo as Lotty rushed over to help and instead taking her place at Shiro's bedside.

He gingerly rested a hand on Shiro's right shoulder lifting up the stump so he could examine the grafting of the port to his flesh and bone.

"You know it's not going to hurt me." Shiro said quietly, watching Lance as he moved his shoulder a millimetre at a time. His expression was midway between reassurance, amusement, confusion and apprehension, but his tone gave nothing away.

Matt's muffled laughter morphed into a groan, and he leant back to fall onto Shiro's other shoulder. "Just let the kid take care of you." he said, rolling his eyes as he let his hand holding the datapad drop into his lap. "He knows what he's doing, and he actually cares what you think, so stop being so scared about it all."

"I'm not scared." Shiro replied haltingly.

"Surprisingly, he's not." Olly called as she passed the doorway. "I'll be back in a bit, just gotta grab your limbs."

Lance sighed. "Look, I like, literally just woke up." he said, checking the scarring on Shiro's leg. "I yeeted--"

"Yote." Matt interjected.

"--A child, so I'm doing my best not to hurt you because apparently I don't know my own strength."

Matt lifted his head from Shiro's shoulder, considering his words for a moment before nodding. "Fair." he looked down at the datapad again, letting out another groan and dropping onto Shiro's shoulder once more.

"What's rustled your jimmies?" Shiro asked, smirking as Lance managed to turn a laugh into a violent hiccup at the chosen turn of phrase.

"It's the brief for a long term mission." Matt muttered, turning so he could hide his face in Shiro's shoulder. "It's not for a while, but the posting orders just came through."

Shiro reached up to brush a stray hair from Matt's face, who snorted. "Hey, don't go cheating on your boy back home."

Shiro paused, face unreadable for a second. "He's not my boy."

"Oh shit!" Matt bolted upright, turning to look at him.

"Shit!" Nea echoed in glee, and Lance violently hiccuped again.

"Shiro I... I didn't know. I'm sorry."

Shiro gave a tiny shrug in response. "He was mad I accepted the Kerberos mission. Thought it'd be too dangerous, especially with... y'know."

"Real shit?"

"Shit!"

Another hiccup.

"I understand what he meant, so I'm not mad." Shiro said, glancing down momentarily at his missing limbs. "But I we left before I had the chance to apologise and make it up to him."

"Wait, wait wait," Lance said, bringing his hands up. "Are you telling me that Takashi Shirogane, Earth's Mightiest Hero--"

"I think that title belongs to the Avengers?" Matt interjected. Lance ignored him.

"That the Takashi fucking Shirogane is gay, and I didn't know?"

The two other humans in the room fell into silence, before cracking up.

"I didn't really keep it hidden." Shiro said, as Matt jabbed him in the side.

"Kid, it's like, really freakin' obvious. The amount of times he got reprimanded at the Garrison for trying to sneak off with Adam is ridiculous."

"Wait, you were dating Waring?" Lance gaped at Shiro, before remembering how many times they used to interrupt each others' classes. Or how many times he rounded a corner to find them out of breath and grinning. Or how many times Iverson yelled at them to quit fraternising and get back to work. Or how many times-- "Actually, no, that sounds about right."

Matt snickered. "Oh yeah, it was more than dating. They were ~fiancés~" he sang the last word, very obviously having the time of his life teasing Shiro.

"What."

Shiro shook his head. "I don't think Adam--"

Matt smacked him on the arm. "Hey, you didn't talk to him for like, the week before Kerberos and lemme tell you, he moped the entire time. I thought it was just because he was gonna miss you, but you- goddamn you broke up?"

Shiro rested his head on top of Matt's with a bone-deep sigh. "No? Maybe? I'm not sure..."

"Well obviously you didn't want to, and Adam was like, so out of it for the week before Kerberos."

"They had to call in other instructors to run his classes it was that bad." Lance recalled, one particular incident sticking out in his mind where Waring had—

"Oh my god, he like, froze after saying "take a sheet" one time, because it sounded like Takashi, that's like, peak Sad Gay."

Matt held back a wheeze.

"Was it really that bad?" Shiro asked uncertainly.

"Shiro, he hadn't slept in a few days. He lost his glasses on top of his head. I watched as he poured hot water into the coffee container instead of his mug and just stared for half a minute trying to process it. Once, he bit into the report he was reading instead of his ration bar. It was kind of sad."

"Wow."

Matt nodded. "Mhmm. So first thing you're going to do when we get back on Earth is talk to your fiancé."

"It's been a while though," Shiro said, head still resting on top of Matt's. And that was true - Shiro had been out in space for a year before Voltron, and the Garrison had cut down Waring's class load in the months after the Kerberos mission was reported as missing. "The last thing he said to me was to not expect him to be there for me when I got back."

"Yeah, but you're going to talk to him anyway. Clear the air."

"Hopefully."

"Yo," Rolo called, and all three humans looked his way. He was on the ground, having slipped from his now deactivated chair, face smooshed unceremoniously into the floor. "Are you done being all introspective and shit?"

"Shit!"

Lance turned yet another laugh into a violent hiccup.

Lotty helped turn Rolo onto his back, handing him a cold pack to press to his cheek. He accepted it, staring up at the ceiling. "Honestly though, it's like every second conversation you guys have is reflective, and it's getting old."

Lance chuckled, shaking his head. Lotty diligently did a once-over of Rolo, before looking up at Lance. "I'm not strong enough to help Mr Rolo back into his hoverchair."

At this rate, Lotor ought to be getting a pay raise. Except Lance didn't have any money to pay her in the first place.

Also she was eight.

Was that child labour? They had literally freed her from slavers, was this illegal?

"No laws in space," Matt said, and Lance grimaced at the realisation that he had voiced his thoughts aloud. "Just a giant, gay, buff robot made out of smaller, less buff robots that also happen to be lions."

"No less gay," Shiro added, stretching a little. "A group of lions is a Pride, after all."

Matt smacked him on the shoulder. "Oh, I hate that."

"We're baaaaAAAAaaaack! Hey Rolo, need a hand?" Olly said as she appeared in the doorway, case slung over her shoulder.

"Please."

Olly smacked the case into Roy's chest, her arms instinctually coming up to hold it as the case's weight and Olly's force combined sent her to the floor with an "oof"

"Press F to pay respects." Matt called.

"F." Shiro said.

"Yeah, I don't understand that one." Olly said as she picked Rolo up, reactivating the chair with a foot and waiting for it to rise before setting Rolo down again. "Roy, when'd you get down there?"

"When you shoved two metal limbs into my chest with no warning, Olina."

Olly grinned. "Whoops. Pass the case here though, would you?"

Roy rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'll pass you the case with two metal limbs inside that knocked me to the ground, surely I can do that." She said, only managing to lift it a few centimetres from her chest.

"Roy, I know sarcasm is like, one of your only emotions," Olly started, stepping forwards to help her partner. "But you could've just said it's too heavy."

Lance pursed his lips. If the new arm and leg were too heavy, how was Shiro going to lift them?

Olly placed the case down on the empty bed next to Shiro's, Roy brushing herself off as she got to her feet. "Okay, serious Olly time."

"Wow, a direct callback to the last time you were in here."

Olly didn't respond, snapping open the latches on the case and revealing the sleek new arm and leg. 

"As I said before," she started, activating the arm as she lifted it up, Orange lights fading softly. "These are mag-lock, to its just a twist and lock to connect."

"Right." Shiro nodded, lifting his shoulder slightly so Olly could better access the port. "External power source?"

She hummed. "Yeah. But it's an improved design to Roy's, so it shouldn't run out of power. Charges kinetically."

"So the more you use it..." Matt mused.

"The more charge it has, yes." Olly completed.

"How come I don't have that?" Roy asked. Olly smirked.

"Yours charges automatically when disconnected." She said.

"So like... opposite to Shiro's?"

"Yeah."

Roy huffed, folding her arms. "It's inconvenient."

"Why don't you take it off to sleep?" Matt pointed out.

Roy and Olly exchanged a look.

"I don't--"

"It's more--"

"I just--"

"She tends to--"

"Crash." Both of them ended up saying together. Lance groaned, face-palming.

"Anyways, Shiro, ready?" Olly said, stepping forwards and holding the arm up.

"Yes." he affirmed, and in the blink of an eye the arm was twisted and locked into place.

Lance suddenly had the mental image of the blender they had had back at home, before someone (definitely not him) had broken it trying to make a smoothie.

... Did aliens have smoothies?

"Yeah, we've got smoothies." Roy said, and Lance made a face at the fact that he had voiced his thoughts aloud again.

"Wanna give it a try?"

"What, space smoothies?"

Olly gave Lance a flat look. "I couldn't more clearly be talking to Shiro."

Matt snorted.

Shiro flexed the hand, before curling his fingers into a fist. "Feels good," he commented, before going to lift his arm up and instead smacking himself in the face.

Matt's snorts turned into full blown laughter and he fell off the bed in his fits.

Lance managed a hiccup instead.

"Ah," Shiro said with a wince, carefully lifting his hand back up. Lotty snatched the cold pack out of Rolo's hand and gave it to Shiro. "Its a lot easier to move than my last one."

"Weight neutralisation." Olly stated, testing the fingers individually. "I'd hate to damage the remaining bone and muscle with a heavy prosthetic. Right, looks good. Ready for the leg?"

Shiro's leg was much more smoothly attached and ready to go, having less parts than the arm did. The twist and lock still reminded him of a blender though.

God, Lance could go for a smoothie right about now.

"Kid, you're not going to be able to get a smoothie on Base," Matt said, still on the floor, and Lance really needed to be more careful about his musings. "Unless..."

"Unless?"

Matt's grin, though he couldn't see it, was practically audible. That, and hinted on Olly's own face.

"Hold that thought."

Chapter Text

"Where the hell are you going to park a space shuttle?"

Shiro sighed, rubbing a hand across his scar. He paused, letting his fingers rest on the bridge of his nose.

"In the car park, Lance - where else?" He replied patiently, slight traces of sarcasm tainting his words - sarcasm that Lance had actually noticed, thank you very much.

So Lance smiled widely, tilting his head ever so slightly so he sat just inside Shiro's peripheral vision.

"Shiro," Lance said, doing his best to mimic the same exasperated sigh the older man had breathed before. "You may not have noticed, but we're about the size of the car park - also, sidenote; shouldn't it be called a shuttle park? Spaceship park?"

"Parking lot." Matt supplied, also leaning across.

"The point still stands, it's really small, and we're really big."

"Actually, that's only because it's really far away."

"Shut up Matt, you're blind." Lance huffed, turning to glare pointedly at Matt, flipping him the bird as he did so.

An action that was completely missed by said human, who was too busy picking at a strange stain on his sleeve to notice.

Lance kept his hand up for a few seconds, while Matt continued to mess with the stain. Lance rolled his eyes and lifted up his leg to readjust his brace. Shiro didn't say a word. Lance and then lifted his leg further to rest on Shiro's shoulder so he could hold it still. Shiro remained silent, entering the parking lot and slowly making his way through the rows to find an empty space.

"Hm?" Matt looked up, startled for a second. "Hey, my eyes are fine!"

Lance snickered at the delayed response, and Matt turned to look at him accusingly.

Only to stop, confusion written all over his face. "The hell are you doing." he said flatly.

Lance nearly snickered - from Matt's point of view, his position was probably reminiscent of a cat cleaning its lower areas. Instead, he leaned forward so his head was resting on his knee. "Readjusting my brace, squinty, what else?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "I told you, my eyes are fine." he said, and Lance shrugged one shoulder, not moving. "The Garrison fixed them before we left for Kerberos."

"First," Lance said, lazy grin making its way onto his face. "The fact that you have to bring that up is hilarious. Second, I distinctly remember you squinting at a screen like, my first day with the rebellion."

"That was because--"

"Ah, no, you don't get to say anything, I'm still talking." Lance butt back in, holding a finger up to shush Matt and dropping his leg back to the floor of the shuttle. "Third, I can practically hear you calling me a hypocrite."

"Wha--"

"I said no interruptions!"

"I'm just--"

"Shhh!"

"Saying--"

"Nope!"

"That I--"

"Stop it right there!"

"Don't know what you mean by that!" Matt shouted over the top of Lance.

"Kids, could you quiet down? I'm trying to find a parking space!"

Matt and Lance both turned to Shiro, matching shit-eating grins on their faces.

Shiro didn't even turn to them, instead breathing a very long-drawn out sigh.

"That wasn't even Teacher Mode Shiro." Matt said, barely containing his glee. "That was pure Dad energy."

"I regret agreeing to take you here."

"I mean, I can fly. Lance can fly. You really didn't need to come."

Shiro didn't respond, craning his neck forwards in a hopeful movement as he spotted what looked to be an empty space.

"Small ship." Lance said, and Shiro slumped back once more. "But back to my original point!"

"You had a point?" Matt snorted.

"Yes, in fact." Lance stuck his nose into the air dramatically. "Before you so rudely interrupted. Fourth - why did the Garrison fix your eyes? In my opinion, they should've fixed your brain."

"Can't fix what you don't have." Shiro quipped, once again scanning the area.

Matt reached over to slap Shiro's shoulder. "Thanks for stealing my joke."

"Terrible joke. Could've thought up a better one."

"Shut it, Old Man."

Shiro shrugged with one shoulder, turning the corner with a speed that wouldn't even have impressed a snail. "I'd like to see you try, though."

Matt sighed. "Fine. Feed me the line again."

Lance raised an eyebrow at him with a distinct silence.

"I know, it's dumb, just do it please."

"Why should I?"

"Lance, just humour him."

"Yeah, Lance - listen to Shiro."

"Matt, you're a dumbass." Shiro said.

Matt gave him a flat look. "And?" He said, before turning his attention back to Lance. "C'mon Lance, just say the line again."

"He's gonna be at this all day if you don't." Shiro said, still scanning the surroundings for a potential parking space.

Lance groaned. "Yeah, but now you've gone and said too much so I've forgotten what I've even said!"

"And you're a theatre kid?" Matt said, leaning over to flick Lance in the shoulder. "Tsk tsk."

"It's not like we have a script here to read from." Lance retorted.

"It was about brains." Shiro supplied helpfully.

"Thank you." Lance pulled his neck to the side with a resounding pop, causing Shiro and Matt to give him matching looks of disgust. "For the record, I still think this is dumb."

"Noted." Matt said, before making a shooing motion for Lance to hurry up and say it already.

Lance took a deep breath, dramatically placing one hand on his chest and draping the other across his forehead. "The Garrison fixed your eyes? If you ask me, they should have fixed your brain first."

Shiro gave a small snort at the delivery, turning another corner.

"Sold mine to the Unilu Swap Shop years ago." Matt said.

Lance stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"...what?"

He kept staring.

"Lance? That's a little unnerving."

"I went through that ordeal - that- that waste of my talent, for... for that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean—" Lance stuck out an arm and waved his hand about wildly. "That sucked! That was awful! The delivery was flat, the line was just bad in general, and the build up failed you entirely! Plus, now my head is stuck on loop for early twenty-first century memes because a couple syllables decided to sound remarkably similar!"

"Welcome to my brand of hell." Shiro muttered. "I was stuck with him all the way to Kerberos."

"Don't lie, you loved it."

"Y'know Matt, I still haven't tested the full strength of this arm." Shiro said calmly, voice layered thick with false cheeriness. Obviously the packed parking lot was taking a toll. "And I am not above smacking you upside the head."

"The vibest of checks." Matt said under his breath, nodding sagely.

A few seconds passed in relative silence. Lance's brain screaming 'uwu uwu uwu' at him rapid fire.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

The next sigh Shiro gave was the most tired one yet, a breath away from leaning over and smacking one of the boys. Lance scooched a tiny bit further away. "I'm parking, Matt."

"Are you? But there's no free spots—" he was cut off as Shiro leaned back and shoved Matt off to the side.

"Behind us, Matthew."

Matt muttered something too quiet for Lance to pick up on, so he turned to Shiro with the full intent on ribbing him some more if that were even possible.

"You reverse park?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Matt added from his side, rubbing at his shoulder - a new bruise, most likely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance asked in genuine confusion. Marco reverse parked every time, somehow never hitting anything, aside from that once incident where he drove over a screw and punctured a tire.

"It means-" Matt started, rolling his eyes. He followed through with the movement with his arm, still rubbing his shoulder. "That Shiro's a pretentious asshole."

Lance opened his mouth for a second, before closing it again when he realised he didn't have an argument ready. He wasn't sure how reverse parking and being a pretentious asshole were correlated, but he couldn't disagree that Marco somehow fit both parameters.

Shiro slowly manoeuvred the shuttle into the space, before pulling out halfway to realign and try again. "You don't have a license."

"Why would that matter? This is a shuttle, not a car!"

Shiro drove forwards to readjust again.

Lance glanced at Shiro's prostheses, then Matt's, then the Disabled parking right next to the doors of the space mall, almost the entire parking lot away. He decided to keep his mouth shut.

Shiro's hands tightened on the steering. "Matt, you don't have a say in my driving—"

He was cut off by a loud crunching noise, wincing.

"I think you hit something." Lance said quietly.

Shiro slammed his head down into the dashboard, causing the shuttle to emit a loud siren-horn. "I noticed." He groaned.

"Hey, at least it wasn't a Lion?" Lance tried helpfully.

Shiro did a full-body shudder, face still pressed into the dashboard. "I don't want to imagine trying to park Black."

"Then don't." Lance quipped, patting Shiro on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Well," Matt said after a beat. "Hope you're insured." He craned his neck to try and see what they had hit.

"Probably just a pole we didn't see." Lance said. "Or a space-trolley left in the spot. Y'know, classic parking problems. Whatever, I just want to go in, get my smoothie, and get back out. Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently, yes." Matt deadpanned. "Besides, I thought you needed more medical supplies."

"A man can multitask."

Shiro finally lifted his head, pushing his chunk of white hair out of his face. "Okay, Plan B." He said.

"And that is?" Matt and Lance asked at the same time.

"Running from space police if they notice what we've done."

"No police in space," Lance said with a grin. "just a giant, gay, buff robot made of smaller, less buff - but not less gay -lions."

"Be Gay Do Crimes." Matt added, before opening the door and stepping out. He let out a loud cackle. "Hey Shiro, sure you don't wanna find a different space?"

"Why?"

"You've made a pretty decent scratch on ol' bud over here."

Lance leaned out to see the massive scratch down the side of the neighbouring ship. He let out a low whistle. "Do we have a matching one?"

Matt was silent for a few seconds, ducking out of site. Lance had a feeling he was buffing said scratch out. "Nope!"

"So we can totally just say a different ship did that to them." Shiro said. "It's fine, this is fine, it's fine."

Something in Shiro's voice was telling Lance that he didn't, in fact, think it was fine. He decided not to comment on it.

"Okay, but what if they do think it's us?"

"That's when we set Plan B into motion." Shiro said, opening his door and making a move to step out.

What happened instead, was that a mechanism in the chair decided right that moment to snap, springing forward and throwing Shiro into the dashboard. Lance rushed over to help, Matt simply losing his shit.

"Don't make me come back there." Shiro warned as Lance pulled the seat back to allow him a safe exit from the shuttle.

"Yes, space dad." Matt managed to get out between laughs.

"And don't call me that." Shiro added as he rounded over to the other side to see the extent of the damage, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Matt and Lance exchanged twin grins behind Shiro's back.

"Okay, space dad."

"Whatever you say, space dad."

Chapter Text

"So time dilation?" Pidge said, leaning forwards in her seat. Hunk couldn't help but note the glimmer in her eyes. 

Allura nodded. "It seems so obvious, when you take everything into account."

"I could run some diagnostics, see if I can find any tell-tale signs of wormholes in this quadrant," Coran offered. "After all, if it works on Pitoai flaxirs, it may just work on the Blue Lion."

After seeing Pidge and Hunk's confused looks, he elaborated. "We alteans used to hunt flaxirs for the pure crystals they could create from their saliva."

"That clears everything up," Hunk mumbled sarcastically.

"I'm glad it does!" Coran said cheerfully, twirling his moustache. "But it will take a while to set up, so perhaps we should take a break for food first."

"Good idea, Coran," Allura smiled "I'm starving."

Pidge nodded. "Same. But Coran - you've got to tell me more about time dilation. I have so many questions!"

"I'll be happy to answer whatever I can!"

The two continued to chatter as they left the room, door sliding shut behind them. 

Hunk let out a sigh, sinking backwards in his seat. 

"Are you alright, Hunk?"

He started, having already forgotten Allura was still in the room . "Oh- y-yeah. I'm fine. It's just..." he trailed off uncertainly. 

"A lot to take in?" She mused. Hunk nodded.

"With the Black Lion, and now this- I'm just- a little overwhelmed, y'know?"

Allura hummed sympathetically. "I think we all need a rest." She said. "Start afresh with clear minds so we can focus on reforming our team."

"I hear ya." Hunk let out another hefty sigh, somehow sinking further in his seat. "It's just... hard, y'know? Everything's been happening at once, with no chance for a breather, and when we do have time for that, none of us can ease up because we're missing the member of our team who specialised in that."

Hunk let out a groan, running a hand over his face. "I'm just... tired. I miss Lance. And Shiro, of course, but I've known Lance for years and I- I-" he paused. "I've never gone this long without him." Hunk admitted in a small voice.

Allura didn't respond out loud, simply smoothing her dress over her thighs in a slow, deliberate motion.

"A-and it's hard." Hunk continued. "He always knows how to keep me calm and what to say at the right time. It- I- we- I don't know..."

"We'll find him." Allura said, determination lilting her tone. "I have no doubts that you will find out how."

Hunk let out a short, bitter laugh.

"W-what?" Allura stammered, "did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, you didn't-" Hunk started, shifting so he was leaning forwards in his seat, resting his forearms on his knees. "It's just- you keep saying that you believe in me- and the whole team, really - and like, I appreciate it, I really do—" he let out another short laugh, head dropping down. 

"But...?" Allura pressed gently.

"But why do you keep trying with me?"

"I- I'm afraid I do not understand."

"Allura, we both know Pidge is the smartest member of this team. She'll have it handled, as usual, and all I will be good for is double-checking her code for any missing brackets because all the integrating it into the Altean tech will already be handled by Coran!"

"So you're feeling inadequate?" Allura tilted her head to the side, frown on her lips. 

"I'm feeling useless!" Hunk burst out, hands making their way into his hair. "The rest of you have your tasks to keep you busy and they actually help! All I can do about it is cook, and I hate it!"

"You hate cooking?"

"Wh- no, no, I— I - it's just- that it's all I can do. I'm an engineer. Why is it that I turned into the team chef and Pidge ended up the tech expert? She's just a comms officer!"

Hunk's eyes widened, and he dropped his hands into his lap, staring at them. 

"That was really shitty of me to say." 

Allura didn't respond, and Hunk looked up after a moment's hesitation, scared of what expression he would find on Allura's face. He was only met with a carefully neutral look, eyes tinged only a small amount with sorrow. 

"I'm sorry we've been making you feel that way," Allura began, reaching out to grasp Hunk's hand with her own. It was smooth, unblemished and small in Hunk's, his own dwarfing hers and covered in old scars and callouses. "I didn't realise."

"Nobody ever really does," Hunk muttered, eyes still fixed on their joined hands. "Eventually people get sick of my anxiety-induced rambles and leave."

Allura crouched down so she could make eye contact with him, tucking her skirts behind her knees with her free hand. "Hunk, it may not mean much, but I promise we will remain at your side through it all. As long as I have your word you will do the same."

Hunk didn't answer, looking away from Allura's rainbow-flecked eyes. 

"Pardon?"

He flinched, a moment too late realising he'd said his thoughts out loud. 

"Nothing." He replied hastily, pulling his hand from Allura's and getting to his feet. "I'm going to go analyse the Lion's data. Figure out if that might gather where- when- Blue is."

He didn't care if Allura opened her mouth to protest, or that he'd said Blue instead of Lance. He didn't care if it seemed like he flipped between hopelessness and determination too fast. He didn't care that—

He cared too much.

Chapter Text

"So you got chased by the mall police?"

Lance finished taking a sip of his smoothie before holding up a finger accusingly. "Look, maybe we didn't do the best parking job, but that's entirely unrelated to Kaltenecker."

Therra laughed, stretching out against the table, very catlike in her movements. "I can't believe you nearly bought a- a what did you call it?"

"Cow." Lance snorted. "And if I got her I wouldn't have to worry about half the supplies for milkshakes and smoothies."

"Gross." Therra commented, wrinkling her nose. "Where would you keep it, anyway?"

"What sort of dumb question is that?" Lance shrugged with one shoulder, nursing his smoothie with his hands. "On Blue, of course."

Therra threw her head back with another laugh, fangs glinting in the light. "Something tells me that's a bad plan."

Lance grinned. "Maybe, but that's why I didn't get her, as much as I was tempted to."

"Rinnai."

Lance turned at the voice, straw halfway to his lips. 

A canine-like alien stood in the doorway, flanked by two large armoured people Lance had never seen before. 

Therra stood up abruptly, shoulders tense. "Y-yes, captain?"

So she was the esteemed Captain Olia. 

Yeah, Lance could see where Matt was coming from with the whole ‘furry’ thing. 

"Come with me."

Somehow, Therra stiffened even more. Her eyes slid over to Lance, pleading with him silently. 

He took a long sip of his smoothie. 

Her expression morphed into something more threatening, fangs peeking out as her upper lip curled. 

"Yes?" Lance said, quirking an eyebrow. 

Therra's eyes darted to the three figures in the doorway, then back to Lance. She raised her eyebrows in silent question. 

Lance raised a hand, waving at the Captain. "Can I come?"

"Pardon?" She replied, tilting her head to the side. She seemed taken aback, like Lance could break into hives or something at her mere presence. 

"As a Paladin of Voltron." He amended. "Would I be able to attend this meeting to represent Voltron? Those two behind you don't wear Rebel colours, so I'm assuming they're allies from a different organisation." He motioned to the two figures, clad in black and purple. They both had helmets on, faces entirely hidden. "So, it would make sense for me to represent Voltron as well."

"You would be correct." The shorter of the two said, stepping forward. They turned to the Captain, back straight and arms held by their side. "Captain Olia, I am willing to permit this Paladin council with us."

Therra's shoulders dropped the tiniest bit of tension. 

The Captain inclined her head. "Very well. Rinnai, Fuentes. With me."

"Thanks." Therra muttered as Lance stood up to walk by her side. 

"So long as I've still got my smoothie." Lance quipped, before taking an obnoxiously loud slurp. 

The taller of the two new guys turned to watch Lance for a few seconds in silence, before facing the front again.

"I take it he's the strong, silent type." Lance said to Therra. She nodded stiffly, grabbing one arm with the other hand. 

"You trying to lighten the mood is not helping." Therra said after an awkward silence. "... but thank you."

The Captain turned a corner, standing in front of a doorway and motioning for everyone to enter. They filed in, and she brought up the rear, letting the door slide shut behind them. It was dim, the only light being filtered in from the strips lining the floor and a holo table in the centre of the room.

"Spooky." Lance commented.

The taller of the two stared at him again, still not saying a word. 

The Captain cleared her throat. "To business," she said, and the other two nodded. "Oh, and Fuentes?"

"Yes?" Lance responded reflexively, idly wondering where she had gotten his surname from. Probably Matt. 

"It's nice to finally meet you."

Lance grinned around his straw, flashing a peace sign. 

"Therra." The shorter one started, and Lance really needed to think of a better name than 'the shorter one' because he was way taller than the Captain and--

His mind came to a record-scratch halt when he realised they hadn't referred to her as Rinnai. 

"Y-yes?" she said, wincing.

"You know Rinnai's--"

"We know." The shorter one said, and Lance got the strangest feeling he was raising an eyebrow with his deadpan tone.

"So you--"

"We know who she is, yes."

"You--"

"Did not have to be told by Captain Olia, no."

"But--"

"We are not here to harm her."

"If they were," The captain said, folding her arms. "I would not have let them board my ship."

"So--"

"Are you done with questions?" She said, half in exasperation. She leaned back against the holo table, as if daring Lance to keep talking.

"Shutting up now."

The shorter one nodded sharply, pulling down his hood. His visor phased away, and Lance found himself staring at a Galran man, white braid of hair curled around his neck and scar crossing one eye. 

Therra elbowed Lance in the side, and he looked away, closing his mouth.

"My name is Kolivan," The galra said, inclining his head to them. "My companion is called Antok. And we are here on behalf of the Blade of Marmora."

"The whosit-what now?"

The Captain pushed off the holo table, turning around to activate it. A purple symbol - vaguely familiar to Lance -hovered in front of their faces. "Our allies, the Blade of Marmora, are a faction of spies and rebels, all Galran in blood. We work with them whenever our goals align and paths cross."

"What does this have to do with me?" Therra asked. 

"Your knife."

Lance startled for a moment before realising the new voice belonged to Antok.

"What knife?" Therra raised her chin as she said it, trying to appear more intimidating. 

Antok's tail lashed. 

"The Luxite blade in your possession." Kolivan said, indicating the blade he wore strapped to his hip. This one, too, had the purple symbol, and Lance wracked his brains to recall where he had seen it before. 

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Therra," The Captain started sternly. "I allowed Kolivan to access the security tapes to confirm, we are all aware you have it with you."

"I'm unarmed." She insisted. 

Faster than Lance could react, Antok was across the room, knocking Therra off balance and twisting her arm behind her back. He reached into her boot and pulled out a small knife, the same symbol again emblazoned on the hilt. 

Therra wriggled, trying to escape from Antok's grasp. "Give that back!"

That's where Lance had seen the symbol - Therra had drawn it in the water next to the pool.

The final piece clicked into place. 

"You've had that on you the entire time?" Lance squawked. 

Captain Olia watched the series of events with a flat expression, not even moving when Antok had made his move. 

"You said you wouldn't harm her." She said calmly as Antok held up the knife. 

"I haven't." He responded, before looking closer at the blade. "Kolivan." He said, and held it out to him. 

Kolivan took it in his own hands, holding it in the light from the holo table to see it properly. He looked up at Therra, a glint of recognition in his eyes. "Where is Nirra?" 

Therra flinched at the name, and Lance paused for a second to figure out why. 

Ah. 

Her mother. 

"Dead." Lance said for her. "We retrieved Therra from a damaged escape pod. She was dead before we got there."

The expression on Therra's face was unreadable, too many emotions mixed into one.

"My condolences." Kolivan said. "We try to keep tabs on all our agents, past and present, but Nirra dropped from our radar a while ago. Thank you for this closure."

Lance nodded. "So are you here to retrieve it?"

Kolivan hesitated. "Not exactly. Antok, you can let her go."

Antok released his grip on Therra's arm and she grimaced, stretching it out in front of her. Lance nearly reached out to check up on it - it had been broken not too long ago, after all - but stopped when he saw her scowl. 

"So what?" She asked after a moment, flexing her fingers. Her claws shot out and she raised an eyebrow as she stared down Kolivan. "If you aren't taking it, do I get it back?"

"She's got spunk, I warned you." The Captain said, wry smile half hidden in the darkness of the room. 

Kolivan held the knife out towards Therra. "I will permit you to keep this on one condition." He began, pulling it out of reach before she could close her hand around the hilt. "You become a Blade, working in correspondence with us and the Resistance."

"She will have to learn how to Awaken it," Antok said, tail flicking behind him. 

Kolivan shook his head. "Viewing the security footage earlier proves she is already capable of that. I will admit, your skill level is high for someone with no formal training."

Therra finally got a hold on her knife, flicking it into a backhand grip. "Maman taught me when I was younger."

"Nirra was among our best." Kolivan replied. "So will you join us?"

Therra cast a sidelong look at Lance, before leaning down and tucking her knife back into her boot. "Something tells me I don't actually have a choice."

"I'll take care of things back here." Lance said, hoping she caught on to ‘things’ being Mik. 

"You better." She muttered. 

Lance caught on to that meaning ’if not, I will make your insides outsides.’

"Well, I suggest you pack your things." Captain Olia said. "The Blades never stick around very long."

Antok nodded at that, setting a hand on Therra's shoulder, much to her visible discomfort. He steered her from the room, presumably to say farewells and pick up the small amount of possessions she had come into ownership of since joining the Rebels. 

"Aw, poop." Lance said, looking down at his hands. "I forgot about my smoothie."

"It was a ... pleasure... meeting a Paladin of Voltron." Kolivan said. Lance was reminded of how his teachers used to say that he was a pleasure to have in class in the exact same way. 

He decided to ignore that in favour of taking a massive slurp of his smoothie, which at this point had lost any form of chill it had. 

"Speaking of Voltron," The Captain spoke up, causing smoothie to go down the wrong pipe and Lance to start coughing violently. "Have heard any word on their whereabouts?"

Kolivan shook his head. "The last Blade to come into any form of contact with Voltron was Thace." He said. "But since then, it has been silent." 

"Let us know immediately if you find them." She said, deactivating the holo table. 

Kolivan bowed his head. "Of course." And with that, he pulled up his hood, letting his helmet phase back on and hide his face once more as he made to leave. 

"How is Muxis?" He asked, pausing at the doorway. 

"Same as ever." The Captain said, half shooing Lance towards the door too. "Are you thinking about repeating your offer?"

"No," Kolivan said. "He's better suited to your... lack of organisation."

Lance glanced back towards the Captain, expecting an offended look on her face. Instead, she nodded in understanding, not even trying to hide her amusement. 

"No alcohol?"

Lance wanted to protest, tell her that Muxis had actually been trying - he wasn't perfect, though, but trying. 

"Who's Thace?" He asked instead. 

"One of our spies." Kolivan answered, turning to leave once more. "A Lieutenant on Zarkon's command ship."

"Oh." Lance said. "Wait- he's the one that let the shields down!"

"Yes."

And without a further word, he stepped outside. 

"Fun guy." Lance commented. 

Captain Olia fell into step beside Lance. "The Blade of Marmora tend to keep to themselves. It's how they've stayed operating and hidden for centuries."

Lance let out a low whistle. "Centuries, huh?"

The Captain made to respond, only to be interrupted by her commlink buzzing. 

"Cap, we've let Holt know about his deployment. Refueling and departing when crew ready."

"Deployment?" Lance echoed. "You're sending Matt away? For how long? Will he stay in contact? Is it a mission? Stakeout? Infiltration? Who's he going with? Was that Lahnce? Were you going to tell me this or let me know when he was already gone? Will I get to say goodbye?"

"Peace," Captain Olia said, holding her hand up. "Holt is going to be working at one of our listening outposts in a remote system. The deployment is only for a few phoebs, and he won't be alone. Two other rebels are already set up, in frequent contact with us. We were going to do a routine supply run for them, but last correspondence with them was a request for a third member for their team."

Lance worried his lip, mulling over her words. 

"And yes, Lahnce Qua'Ro is the one making the run." She finished, a smile in her voice. she stopped in front of a door, motioning for Lance to stop as well. "Shirogane and Holt are already inside. You have five doboshes before Holt's departure."

"Thank you." Lance said, and waved bye. He watched until she went around the corner, then turned to the door, and kicked it open. 

"Matt, holy fuck!"

Matt jumped, cursing under his breath. Shiro chuckled. 

"When were you going to tell me you were deployed?" Lance said, pointing accusingly at Matt. He shrugged, slinging a satchel over his shoulder. 

"The order only just came through, Kid." He said. "We never really get much prep around here, if you haven't noticed yet."

"But... that's not enough time to pack."

Matt let out a dry chuckle, mag-locking a staff to his hip. "Don't have much to pack in the first place."

"Oh yeah..." Lance trailed off, wincing as he was reminded how Kerberos went down. 

"Eh, no use crying over it now." He said, checking a few things on his wrist computer. "And if I need anything, we have routine supply runs. I'm sure if you ask nicely, you'll be able to make care packages or some shit."

"It won't be the same..."

"Aww," Matt reached over, pinching Lance's cheek. "Are you going to miss me?"

Lance spluttered, pushing Matt off him. "No," he got out, holding him off at arm's reach. The situation reminded him of Christmas with his family, his endless supply of aunts and uncles crowding around for hugs and kisses, talking about how big he had grown and how handsome he was. 

Lance pushed down the pang in his chest in favour of jabbing a thumb at Shiro. "He's gonna miss you a bunch, though."

"Don't use me as an excuse." Shiro said, zipping up a backpack and holding it out for Matt to take. "But I do expect weekly calls."

Matt went back to checking his wrist computer, hooking one arm through a backpack strap. "I mean, I have to send weekly reports to the captain, so that'll happen anyway."

"Sir, with all due respect;" Lance started, just to watch Matt's face when he said it. "I think we take priority."

"We humans have to stick together, after all." Shiro agreed.

"Ship eight-Kerdin-three-three will be departing from dock seven in three doboshes." A voice crackled over the comms. "Crew, please begin the boarding process." 

"Well, that's my cue." Matt said, deactivating his wrist computer and looking up. "I'll keep in touch."

"You'd better." Lance said.

Matt nodded, before holding his hand out to Shiro for a handshake. Shiro rolled his eyes, pulling him in for a hug instead.

Lance didn't miss the reddening of Matt's ears as he buried his face in Shiro's neck. "See you." he mumbled.

Shiro extended an arm and pulled Lance into the hug, causing him to let out a yelp. "Gimme some warning next time." Lance wheezed as he found himself getting crushed. In response the two just hugged tighter.

"See you when you get back." Shiro said when he released them. Matt grinned, nodding and dashing out the door.

"And keep up with your leg maintenance!" Lance shouted behind him, leaning around the corner to keep him in sight.

Matt flipped him the bird over his shoulder.

And then he was gone.

Chapter Text

Lance's eyes caught on a spot peeking out from under Kelaan's scarf, wincing at the size of the tumour. It was darker than the usual ones, and he averted his gaze, blinking back the itching behind his eyes.

Instead, he watched as Lotty ran Rolo through his exercises in the corner while he waited for his leg checkup.

"Sorry this is taking so long." Roy said, leaning back on the bench and resting on her hands as Kelaan brought up a holographic screen of Roy's leg.

"Nonsense, Rosaline," Kelaan replied, zooming in on the knee, moving it to sit next to the real one in comparison. She frowned slightly, brow furrowing. "You have been putting too much strain on the knee joint. See here?" She indicated to the panel's bottom edge. "The alloy has thinned out, and if you're not careful, a hairline crack will start to form."

Roy pursed her lips. "I don't have time to get Olly to replace it." She said. Kelaan didn't respond, tapping a note down on her datapad.

"Don't have time?" Lance spoke up, tilting his head to the side. "What's that mean?"

"It means I'm being sent out on a long-term mission, Lance."

"What?"

Roy hummed an affirmative. "The Captain thinks something's building, and wants as many of us out in the field as possible," she explained, shivering when Kelaan poked around the scarred tissue attached to her leg port.

"Makes sense." Lance nodded, turning to watch Lotty again. She was currently doing something with Rolo's hand which was distinctly not part of his exercises, but he was letting her play anyway. His soft spot for her was becoming more and more obvious. "So where's Olly?"

Roy was silent for a moment. "She's... staying on Base."

Lance whirled around, eyes wide. "What?"

Roy ran her tongue over the scar on her lip. "Well, with everyone being sent out..." she started, shoulders drawing in. "The Captain can't afford to send all her engineers into the field. Not when the base is a bucket of bolts held together by prayers and a literal ton of scrap."

The logic was sound, unfortunately. But splitting the pair for an extended period would have negative effects. That was obvious just by what Lance had seen since joining the Resistance.

But he couldn't argue with the Captain's decisions. Not when he had been space grounded not too long ago for doing that.

"Right. So when are you leaving?"

Roy have a wry smile, shoulders still tense. "As soon as I'm cleared by Medical."

So immediately.

"...oh." Was the only thing Lance could say.

It felt like everyone he cared about was leaving, ripped out from underneath him.

The price of war, he supposed.

But it still felt unfair.

Kelaan flicked a panel shut on Roy's leg, holoscreens flicking off. "All done," she said. "You won't have routine checkups while in the field, so take care of your prosthetic."

Roy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I will."

She slid off the bench to the floor, flicking out her foot before setting it on the ground.

Kelaan sighed. "That's what is creating the strain on your joints, Rosaline."

Lance stifled a laugh behind his hand.

Kelaan tapped her datapad, and a moment later a light blinked on Roy's wrist. "That's your clearance," she said, before the light flashed a second time, “and extra leg maintenance instructions."

Roy brought up her wrist comm, frowning. "You know Olly designed this, right? I know what my leg needs."

"Yet you don't take it off to charge," Kelaan replied, unfazed.

Lance shook his head, smiling. Roy shut her screen back down, turning to face him.

"Well... guess this is it." She said.

"Guess it is."

Roy stuck out a hand, and Lance stared at it for a second. "Isn't this one of your human customs?" She prompted.

"I mean- yes- but—" Lance stepped past her hand, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Ew, affection." She joked, but hugged him back all the same.

They broke apart, and Roy nodded. "See you around sometime."

She stepped out of the room, and Lance followed, standing in the doorway as he watched her walk down the hall.

"Stay safe!" He called out.

Roy threw back a mock two-fingered salute, walking backwards for a few steps before turning again and disappearing around a bend.

Everyone left the same way, he supposed. It was either poetic or pathetic, and Lance couldn't differentiate the two.

Kelaan reached up to give Lance a gentle pat on the shoulder, and he sighed, turning to re-enter the medbay.

He had work to do.

Lance smacked the holo projector off, rubbing angrily at his eyes. Equations and notes floated behind his eyelids, and he let out a groan, thunking his head on the table in front of him.

After a minute or so, he rolled over to rest on his cheek, staring at the vial of wittbicahtrop he had brought into the library with him to do research.

The little plant was proving to be harder to decipher than what he originally thought it would be.

Lance sat up straight again, blinking away the sudden headrush before he focused on the short pile of books in front of him.

(Could he refer to them all as books? Only one or two were actual books with pages, though there was a scroll made of a paper-like substance.)

He gently tugged out the scroll, untying the cord wrapped around it and rolling it out on the table. It was a beautiful deep black, the ink glowing a soft blue in a language Lance couldn't read.

That didn't matter, thankfully. He slid a translator tile over the top, projecting the words into english, so all he had to do was translate the grammar and a few phrases that had no direct translation.

Easy work, if he was running on more sleep. As it was, Lance read slowly, getting stuck in a few places and losing his place between lines. He sighed angrily, rubbing at his eye before checking the time.

Two hours had passed, and Lance had barely managed to complete a few paragraphs.

It was late - or early - but that hardly mattered anymore, after so long in space. Lance stifled a yawn, rerolling the scroll and pushing it back into the pile.

"You should get some sleep."

Lance yelped, whirling around fast enough for his neck to crack. Shiro winced at the sound, and Lance huffed out and embarrassed laugh.

"Sorry—" they both started at once, before Shiro gestured to Lance to go first, light in his arm flaring orange.

"Yeah, I lost track of time," Lance said, turning back to the table to neaten his workspace. "Been trying to figure out some stuff for Kelaan."

"Any breakthroughs?"  Shiro asked, straightening the book pile.

Lance sighed. "Not yet. But I'm close- I can feel it."

Shiro nodded, the white of his hair falling into his eyes. It had gotten longer, shaved sides a soft fuzz - but it was nothing compared to Lance's curly mop. He absentmindedly brought his own hand up to run through his hair, realising with a start that the shaved pattern had grown out.

Roy hadn't had the chance to fix it before she left, Lance realised with a twinge.

"So what brings you to the library?" He said, and Shiro smirked.

"I was here for the pool, actually."

"You swim at night?" Lance quirked an eyebrow, and Shiro chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, but the thought has occurred to me before. I just come here and sit when I can't sleep. I was going to do that tonight... before I saw someone overworking themselves."

"I told you, I was close !" Lance whined. "I've figured out something similar to what I want, and—" Shiro held up a hand to shush Lance.

"Tomorrow," he said, using the same hand to reach over and ruffle Lance's hair. "Tomorrow you can rubber duck to me. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for if you're explaining it to someone else."

Lance took a deep breath through his nose, sighing out an agreement. "Alright."

"Good," Shiro nodded, "now come on, let's get some rest."

Lance trailed Shiro out of the library, every step amplifying his exhaustion. He hadn't realised how much it had been weighing on him until Shiro paused halfway down a hallway, waiting patiently for Lance to catch up. He yawned as he fell back into step with the other paladin, rounding a corner to the medbay.

"Do you think they'll find us?" Lance asked quietly into the silence that followed the hiss of the medbay door closing behind them.

In the strip lighting lining the edges of the room, the shadows under Shiro's eyes were more prominent. He hummed quietly, settling down on his bed and sinking down into his pillow. "Who? The Galra, or Voltron?"

Lance shook his head, small smile slipping into his face. "Yes," he said, and Shiro rolled his eyes.

He sat down in the seat next to Shiro's bed, pulling his feet up onto it and resting his chin on his knees.

Shiro shifted in his pillows, staring up at the dark ceiling and absent mindedly tapping the fingers of his left hand against the metal bicep of his right, drumming out a steady but unfamiliar beat.

"I think they have the same chance," Shiro said finally. "Space is big. The Galra may have an advantage in sheer numbers, but we have Pidge and Hunk on our side."

"And Keith," Lance pointed out. "He found you once, he'll find you again."

A tired smile flitted over Shiro's face. "Yeah," he said, "and Keith."

They were silent after that, Lance drifting off to sleep in his chair to the sound of Shiro's soft drumming.

Chapter Text

So, as you know, this fic is titled Alone. Which is fine and dandy! 

But also entirely incorrect. 

It suited the fic when it was first updating - yknow, back when it was 2-3 chapters long lol. But now at this monolithic size (89k words!!), we feel as if it's time for a ✨rebrand✨

That's where we turn to you! We are open to any and all suggestions!

Thank you for your continued support, even after all these long years!! It means a L O T to us, and it's been a wonderful journey ❤️

This sounds like a goodbye I promise it's not this fic WILL be finished I swear on my life

Buuuut speaking of life !! It’s been hectic. We started writing this fic at the tender age of 16, and being high schoolers with nothing better to do in class than write fic, this was updated a Lot during that time. But now as Adults (wow! 21!) there is a lot of other stuff to focus on. Like rent and grocery shopping and uni and all in all things that can’t be ignored in favour of a Special Blue Boy

Hence the once-every-six-months update (if that) schedule. (Who knows when the next one is released? Not me!)

That being said, Newest chapter is a two paragraph edit away from being complete! Keep ur eyes and ears open! : )

Love y'all v muchly, bye bye uwu kisses

Chapter Text

"Are you telling me we're out of fucking space peanut butter?"

Lance slammed the cupboard closed, whirling around to face the table, yelping as he smashed his foot into the bench that was definitely not there earlier.

Shiro and Vi winced in sympathy, Muxis doing his best to keep his face neutral as Lance hopped his way over to the table, only to bump into it and fall, smashing his face against the cold metal on his way down.

"You okay?" Nea stared down at Lance standing above his head so her face was upside down to him.

Lance sighed, playfully swatting her head bobble out of the way so he could sit up.

"Absoutely peachy," he sighed, rubbing at his forehead with one hand and his stubbed toes with the other, glaring at a random space he estimated to be halfway between the two offending pieces of furniture.

"Why are we catching fish?"

"I don't know, maybe—" Lance broke off, slowly lowering his hand as he turned to face Vi, eyebrows rising into his hairline. "What?"

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'why are we catching fish'?"

Vi raised their eyebrows back at Lance. "You said... absolutely... catching fish."

"Absolutely.... peachy."

"Catching fish."

".... peachy."

"Fish."

"Peachy?"

"That's what I said! Fish!"

"I think your translator is broken." Muxis chimed in, scooping Nea into his arms, the child letting out a squeak of glee.

Lance sighed. "I'll look into it. Might just be a mistranslated word, not the babelfish itself."

"Okay, that time you definitely said fish." Muxis said, letting Nea swing from his bicep. There was a noise from under the table, and Lance only caught sight of a pair of round yellow eyes before Mik launched herself at Muxis' other arm, tail lashing as her feet dangled in the air.

"Babelfish?" Shiro asked.

"Y'know... Hitchhiker's Guide," Lance said, and when Shiro didn't respond, he continued. "Look, I didn't want to say translator and mistranslation in the one sentence. Sometimes you've gotta switch it up a bit."

Outside of a nigh imperceptible headshake, Shiro didn't react any further.

"Sometimes..." Lance muttered to himself.

The kitchen lulled into a heavy silence, outside of the giggling of the two girls swinging from Muxis' arms.

"Sooo..." Shiro started out slowly, tapping out an uneven rhythm on the table and floor with his prosthetics. "What were you saying about space... peanut butter, was it?"

Lance huffed. "Yeah, Matt makes it. I'm assuming he took the last of it with him, along with his recipe, the greedy little quizna—"

"Announcement from the Captain!" Olly called cheerfully, leaning through the doorway, one arm braced either side. "She said the rest of use shouldn't expect any missions."

"We know how this works," Muxis said, as Mik pulled herself up to somehow sit on his shoulders. Nea cheered. "Home team, last line of defence if we get attacked."

"More or less the ship can't even function with a smaller crew than what we have now." Rolo said, slightly out of breath from trying to keep up with Olly, a position usually held by Roy. But she was gone now, Rolo filling her space. Lance held back a frown. It wasn't Rolo's fault Roy had been assigned a different post.

Lotty, who had been holding Rolo's hand, caught sight of the other two girls playing around and climbing on Muxis and looked up to Rolo in silent permission. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead." She nodded, dropping his hand and sprinting over to Muxis to wrap around his leg.

"I guess that's true," Vi said, and Lance's brain lagged for a second before he remembered what they were replying to, "everyone left specialises in different fields."

"Essential workers..." Lance mumbled under his breath.

"Got it in one!" Olly said cheerfully, and Lance idly wondered if her chipper attitude was in some part influenced by the children playing.

"I'm still kind of new to this," Shiro said, still tapping his uneven rhythms, "who does what?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Olly grinned. Rolo rolled his eyes, but she ignored him, hopping up to sit on the bench before continuing, "You're going to be part of our Core, which means you're our best line of defence if we get attacked."

"Core also includes me, Liliterthith, and Lance." Muxis added, as Mik wrapped her tail around his eyes like a blindfold. He gently pulled it down, and she giggled a little, wriggling it back out of his grip.

"Lance actually does double duty," Olly cut back in. "He's also on Medical with Kelaan, and Lotty's being trained in it as well."

Lotty looked up at her name, smiling shyly and nodding before attempting to scale Muxis' leg. Lance was momentarily distracted trying to work out when Muxis had discovered what patience was.

"I'm on comms," Vi said, "Matt was my second, but now that he's out in the field, it's just me and anyone who happens to be in the vicinity at the time." They smiled, leaning back a little in their chair.

"Terla, Terla!" Nea called, hooking her legs over Muxis' arm and swinging upside-down, "I can help!"

"Yeah!" Mik added, "Me too! I wanna help!"

"Looks like you've got some trainees," Muxis chuckled, once again moving to pull Mik's tail away from his eyes.

"Provided someone teaches them some self defence as well so they can keep out of danger," Vi nodded, "I'll be happy to."

"I can train them in my spare time!" Olly said, "I've got experience knowing how to fight when you're smaller than all your opponents."

"Anything else we haven't covered?" Vi asked, tilting their head to the side, disco-bobble catching the light.

"Pilots," Rolo said, leaning against the bench top. "In an emergency, the people that can handle that is myself, Lance and you, Shiro, if my recollection of the... ah... incident. Is anything to go by."

"I dunno..." Nyma's voice sounded from behind Lance, making him squawk in surprise. He hadn't seen her come into the room.

Nyma stared at him in bemusement. "Feels like we're missing out without that hotshot red pilot of yours."

Lance tried to laugh good-naturedly at the mention of Keith, especially because it seemed like Nyma was at least attempting to be civil with him right now. That was an improvement, right?

The laugh came out as a weak huff, however, and he ducked his head, trying to mask his falling expression.

"Honestly, having all of Voltron would give us an advantage," Shiro said, "but having one Lion will have to be enough for now."

Lance pulled his legs up under his chin, fiddling with the ever-present blue brace on his ankle. He hadn't flown Blue in a little while, still under strict orders and a lot of stress. He had too many duties here to go for a ride, but that didn't stop the guilt from gnawing away.

Would Blue reject him if he took too long? Would their bond weaken? Would Lance stop being a Paladin?

Who was he kidding, Lance hadn't been a Paladin for a long time. Not since the wormhole spit him out and Hunk and Pidge couldn't find him.

Not since the Resistance found him and Lance had cast aside his Paladin armour for the darker Resistance colours. Not since he tucked away his beyard for a regular rifle. Not since—

He cut his own thought off.

This wasn't constructive thinking. Spiralling wouldn't get him anywhere.

But even so...

"—nce? Lance!"

He jolted back to the conversation at hand, staring up at the rest of the group in the kitchen.

"Huh? What?"

"You alright, s- Lance?" Muxis asked, crouching down so Mik, Lotty and Nea could get back on the ground. "You spaced for a moment there."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Lance replied hastily. "Did you need me for something?"

Olly chuckled guiltily from in the kitchen, various jars and containers now scattered over the bench tops. "Kind of? Do you know where Matt keeps the butter-thing? Beena?"

"Peanut," Lance said, "and no, sorry. Think he took the last of it with him."

Olly pouted. "Guess I'll make a new batch."

She turned to the fridge, tapping the front so a holoscreen popped up, and she started to search for the recipe. "How do you spell it?" she asked, and Lance was hit by a sudden memory, groaning.

"He handwrote it."

"Oh paper?"

Lance nodded.

The smile on Olly's face was somehow both sweet and threatening. "He better not have taken that with him."

A chill passed through the room.

"Right," Shiro said, smacking his thighs as he got to his feet in a move that was so dad-like Lance was thrown for a second. "Thank you for the explanation. We all have our tasks to do, so let's get to it."

And with that, the group split off to head to their various jobs around the ship.

Lance should've headed to the medbay. He was always needed there.

But instead, he turned down a different corridor, towards the hangar.

He had to pay someone a visit.

Chapter Text

Lance stared blankly at the opposite wall.

He was certain he had misheard, because the words being said to him didn't make sense. They did not belong in the same sentence, could not belong together.

He did not want them to.

"Are you sure?"

Muxis frowned, and Lance noticed that his hair seemed to stand on end, much like that of a startled cat.

It would have been funny in another situation, but Lance didn't have it in him to laugh.

"Unfortunately, I am"

Captain Olia looked pained, the datapad in her hand in danger of burning to ashes under her glare.

Lance cursed under his breath, surely this was a joke? Surely the captain would soon break into a smile and laugh at their dumfounded expressions. Surely?

Lance returned to staring at the wall.

Olia was not joking.

It had been too quiet lately. He should have realised something would happen soon.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

A scrap of paper caught his attention, the light breeze flowing from the vents disturbing it just enough to warrant his gaze.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

He was distantly aware of a slamming door as Olly staled from the kitchen, and the light sniffling of the three young children sat at the far end of the table. Faces distraught as they witnessed their first taste of war.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

"Do we have a last known location for-"

Lance stopped listening.

He briefly felt something heavy land on his shoulder, with it the message to come and find its owner later.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

The words seemed intent on burning themselves into his brain, the rustling of paper only temporarily rousing him from the phrase repeating itself over and over.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

He stood, dimly noting that he was now alone in the kitchen.

He made his way to the cabinets, reaching up to grab the scrap of paper from the very top shelf.

It was clearly old and well used, crinkled in a way that showed its age.

Lance laughed quietly as he read its contents. The recipe for peanut butter they had been trying to locate for ages.

Matt dead and Roy missing.

He stopped laughing.

His hands balled into fists without his permission, paper crumpling.

How many more people had to die like this?

How many people did he have to lose until the universe decided to give them a break?

How long did this war have to last until whatever god out there decided enough was enough?

Or would the fighting continue until there was nothing left, until all that remained of them and their enemy alike was the crumbling planets and civilisations that got caught in the cross fire.

His fists tensed again, the peanut butter recipe crushed further in his grip.

No.

He didn't want this anymore. He had never wanted this. Too many people had died. Too many families torn apart.

He placed the paper on the table, the hand written lettering catching his attention. He had not noticed it before, but Matt and Pidge had similar handwriting.

Gently he pressed the paper flat, brushing his thumb over the wrinkles until the recipe was once again legible. He should take care of this after all. It was the last piece of Matthew Holt after all.

And if nothing else, he was sure that Pidge would want it.

Matthew dead and Roy missing.

He glanced over to where the trio of young girls had previously been sitting. a grim expression decorating his face.

He would not let anyone else die. Not if he could help it.

As always, he had so much work to do.