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Trixl-45, a planet in the Yolan system, had finally been reconnected with the rest of the universe. According to Coran, there wasn't much to interest the Galra and so they'd ignored it while they invaded the planets surrounding it. With Galra ships coming and going, the people of Trixl-45 had been reluctant to send out messages and were soon forgotten, left to their own devices. Now that the Yolan system had been liberated, Allura had decided to go down to the planet on a diplomatic mission.
As they approached the planet, Lance squinted at the view. "What's that? That green stuff- Is that hedges? Wait, no, is that a maze?!"
"Indeed it is, lad," Coran piped up. He hit a button on his console and brought up the planet on the hologram. It showed it in pale blue 3-D. Half of it was covered in a hedge maze while the rest of it seemed normal. Lance could see mountainous areas, forested areas, farmland – and oceans.
"Oh, hey! They've got seas?" he said.
"We won't be going anywhere near them, I'm afraid," said Allura who smiled in apology. "The capital city is located close to the entrance of the maze." As she spoke, the hologram zoomed in, showing them a large, sprawling city which looked a lot like the cities on Earth, from what they could see of its aerial view. At its edge was a huge building that Lance presumed was the palace – not as big as the Castle but still larger than the other structures around it. "We're going to land here," Allura added, pointing to a space close to the palace but between that and the city rather than the flat space in front of the maze.
"Why don't we land there?" asked Shiro, pointing at the area. "I mean, we seem pretty close to the city there."
Allura and Coran looked at each other. "The leader of the Xlanians told us specifically to land there."
"Why?" asked Keith, suspiciously. Lance rolled his eyes.
"They... didn't say," Allura replied. "We can ask in a few doboshes, I suppose."
"So, do we need to do anything?" asked Hunk. "Like, do we need to do speeches or, like, show off our bayards." He mimed swinging around the large gun his bayard always turned into.
Lance grinned, leaping up from his chair. "We could have a shooting competition!" he exclaimed. Hunk grinned back at him. "I, of course, would be-"
"Don't be stupid," Keith interrupted him. "It's a diplomatic mission, not a funfair."
"And it wouldn't make us look friendly," Pidge pointed out, not bothering to look away from the hologram.
Deflating, Lance threw himself down in his seat. "Right," he mumbled, petulantly.
"There will be talks, of course, which you can be present for," Allura told them. "They might take some time. But, for the most part, this can be a chance to rest for a few quintants."
"A vacation?" said Shiro, smiling.
"Oh, man, really?!" Lance's excitement came back and he grinned at Allura.
She laughed. "Yes, really. But you should put on your armour in order to officially meet the Xlanians."
The Xlanians turned out to be a humanoid race with little antennae on top of their heads which acted as their ears. They moved around, much like a cat or dog's, swivelling towards each person who spoke. Lance watched them intently, wondering if you could work out their emotions by observing how they moved, until Hunk elbowed him and gave him a look. Besides that, their jawlines and joints seemed smoother than a human's, more rounded, almost as if their limbs were bendy. Their hair colours were just as varied as on Earth, though he had the feeling that some of the blues and purples and the vibrant reds were natural rather than dyed.
A group of four Xlanians met them at the Castle, smiling widely in welcome. "Princess Allura," said one wearing what looked like a laurel wreath. His voice sounded a little gargled and they soon found out that it was common among all the Xlanians.
"It is good to see you, Cronta Jialls," Allura replied, shaking the alien's hand. "I am so glad that you and your people are well."
"And I am glad you are, as well."
Turning, Allura then gestured to the rest of them. "These are the Paladins of Voltron."
Shiro stepped forward to shake the Cronta's hand. "I hope we can count on you in the fight against Zarkon."
"Of course, Black Paladin. We hope we can help you as much as you have helped us."
The Xlanians turned then and led them towards the palace. Now that they were on the ground, Lance could see the palace better. It was far taller than any of the other buildings in the city which consisted of tall blocks of apartments. The central bit was round and looked rather like the Sultan's palace in Aladdin. Since it was made of a smooth, white material, it resembled a pile of clouds trying to return to the purple sky. Attached to it were several round towers, made of grey bricks. Despite being at odds with the cloud-like part, they looked a lot like the towers from a fairytale castle. It even had plants growing up the side of them and the red tiles on the roof. Surrounding all of it were walls which looked like the battlements from medieval castles. Jutting out of it, facing towards the city, were a few grey blocks with small, square windows. It looked as though someone had poured cement into a square bucket and upturned it.
Lance glanced at Hunk. "Kinda looks like it was built by several people at once," he commented.
"It looks like the original structure was the cloud bit and the rest of it was added later," Pidge said from behind them.
"Hm. Looks pretty cool, though."
"It's so big," Hunk said. "What d'ya think goes on in there?"
"Massive parties," Lance answered immediately. "Maybe they've got loads of princesses. All in, like, gorgeous ballgowns who'll be super impressed by the armour." He flexed his arms, careful not to drop his helmet.
"Oh?" said Keith, in a tone that meant he was about to make a jibe. Lance spun on his heel to hide the fact that he'd flinched. Walking backwards, Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith who smirked back. "Will this be like the time you impressed Nyma?"
Ignoring the stab of hurt he felt at the memory, Lance mock gasped. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again?"
Keith's smirk turned into a small grin. Lance knew the Red Paladin was laughing at him. "Then how will we ever learn from your mistakes?" Keith joked. Lance knew it was a joke, knew it was harmless, but he still felt defeated.
"Told you he'd gained a sense of humour!" Hunk exclaimed, laughing as well. Pidge snorted into the back of her hand. Lance's heart sank.
Come .
Blinking, Lance turned around, looking for the source of the whisper. He found himself staring at the huge hedges that he could see ran far into the horizon. A large gap of darkness cut across it, directly across from the palace. Something about it intrigued Lance while also making him feel uneasy.
He turned to the others. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Pidge, glancing around.
"That voice."
"What voice?" asked Hunk, beginning to look unnerved.
"Are you trying to get out of being mocked?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.
" No ," said Lance, shortly. "I really heard something." He glanced towards the maze. "I think..." He shook his head. "Never mind. It was probably just the wind."
"What wind?" said Pidge.
" Pidge ," cried Lance, sending her a pained look. He was freaked out enough as it was without having Pidge dismiss his rationalisations.
Keith frowned, eyeing Lance. "What did it say?"
"It just said, 'come'," Lance told them, worriedly.
"Urgh, Lance!" cried Pidge, grimacing.
"What?!"
"Classy," muttered Keith, rolling his eyes.
"What? What are you talking about?" Lance said, waving his arms around and nearly losing hold of his helmet.
By that point, they were getting further behind the rest of the group and Keith urged them into going faster. Once they'd caught up with Allura and Shiro and were closer to the palace, the Xlanians began to tell them about its history. The four younger paladins hushed, though Lance was far too preoccupied by the voice to take in the information. He looked between the palace and the maze, his curiosity piqued. Why was the maze so far away from the buildings? And how did it cover an entire planet? How did they do the upkeep of the hedges? Did they have some super cool space gardeners or something?
He waited for a pause in the lecture to ask his question. "What's with the maze?"
All the Xlanians stilled, even the Cronta. They looked between each other, their antennae falling flat against their hair. It actually made them look kind of adorable. Finally, the Cronta spoke. "Do not go near the maze. For, if you enter, you will be lost."
"Um...?" said Lance, confused.
"Why?" asked Pidge. "What happens when you go in there? Isn't there some sort of map?"
"There has never been a map of the maze," Jialls told them. "It does not let us."
"It's alive?" asked Hunk, glancing nervously at the hedges.
"Not exactly..." Jialls looked at the other Xlanians, one of which shrugged a shoulder in a fluid motion. "It draws people in – and they never get back out. We don't know what it is exactly. Scientists have examined the outer edges but our instruments cannot tell us anything about it. All we know is that it has always been there and, if our people go in it, we will lose them forever. We never know if it is because they lose their way or if there are creatures in there."
"Well," said Lance after a brief pause. "That's reassuring."
"Stay away from it," Jialls warned him. The Xlanian stared at him so intently that Lance shrunk back, a little freaked out.
After a quiet pause, Shiro cleared his throat. "We'll make sure to stay well away from it. We're not here to sight-see, after all – we are here to meet your people."
"I thought it was a vacation," Lance muttered to himself. But he dutifully followed them into the palace through one of the round towers. Before he entered, he paused to give the maze one last glance, wondering just what was out there.
Follow .
Shuddering at the whispery voice, Lance hurried inside.
Once they'd navigated through polished corridors with what looked like fluorescent lights and climbed spiralling stone steps in the towers, they eventually came upon the throne room. Or a war room. Lance couldn't tell which it was as it had a massive chair at one end and a large table in the middle of the room. A lot of Xlanians were seated at it, waiting on them. Opposite them were empty seats. They all sat down and Allura and Shiro did their thing.
Lance listened as well as he could but his mind wandered, thinking of the maze. He had to shake his head slightly to clear it several times. Hunk began to give him concerned looks. Even Keith frowned at him, a worried wrinkle at his brow.
Finally, the day grew to a close. The Xlanians began to grow restless and Jialls brought the discussion to a close. He turned to the paladins and princess with a kind smile. "I am sorry that we have kept you so long. We will provide you with rooms so you don't need to find your way to your ship in the dark. Tomorrow, perhaps you would like to see the city?"
"Yes!" said Pidge excitedly. "I saw some high-tech buildings on the way down. I'd like to take a closer look – if that's okay."
"Of course."
"Are there restaurants?" Hunk asked. He relaxed in his chair, gaze distant. "Man, I'd love to chow down on some good food."
"Ah," said Jialls, his nose scrunching up and his antennae lowering slightly. "If you are going to split up and do different things, we should give you communicators."
"Oh, cool!" said Lance. "So we don't need to carry our helmets everywhere? Or wear our armour all day?"
"Not at all. Wait a moment." Jialls stood and leaned over his throne. Pushing a button, the side of it lowered to show row upon row of devices. They looked a lot like the Bluetooth hands-free earpieces from back on Earth, only a shining silver. Jialls handed them out and, when Lance hooked his over his ear, he realised that they were far more comfortable than the ones on Earth.
"Thank you very much," Allura said, looking rather pleased.
Pidge was examining hers. "What frequency do these operate at?" she asked, curiously.
Jialls indulged her question and they began to discuss the communicators which could apparently only be used on Trixl-45. However, Lance heard none of it. One of the other Xlanians had opened a door and he'd heard the swishing of the door. It caught his attention – and, while it had wandered away from the conversation, he heard a whisper.
Please .
They were shown to their rooms, ones which were bigger than their rooms on the Castle. Large windows opened out onto a communal balcony which wound around one of the lower parts of the cloud area. Lance's had a view of the maze – it made him feel both uneasy and the sudden urge to make his way there. He was quick to draw the curtains, ignoring the snatches of words he could hear. Nobody would believe him, after all.
Automatic lights came on after he'd plunged the room into darkness. They looked like flickering torches and shone on the contents of the room. A bigger bed, almost a double, something like silk sheets making it look all the more comfortable. In front of it, a low, round table sat with a massive fruit bowl – or something that Lance presumed was a fruit bowl. All the things in it were differently coloured from what Lance would have found on Earth but there leafy things and what looked like a bunch of grapes. A wardrobe opened up to reveal soft, warm clothes. All of them were blue and when he found a pair of pyjamas, Lance pulled them on and climbed into bed.
However, in the morning, Lance woke to more whispers. This time, he distinctly heard the word, Help. He sat bolt upright, staring at the curtains. Were these whispers coming from the maze? Were the people who had gone missing there over the years still there, wandering, helpless? His heart ached for them and he clambered out of bed to pull the curtains open. The sun was just rising above the maze, casting long shadows towards the palace. He chewed on his lip, wondering if Voltron could save them.
Help!
The voice sounded more urgent that time and Lance decided he needed to save them. But would the others agree? None of the Xlanians would let them go there. And would the others believe him? Keith definitely hadn't and Lance doubted he'd get Shiro's vote of confidence. Maybe if he got evidence that there were people needing saved...
Trying to remember the way out of the palace, Lance suddenly realised that he wouldn't be able to get outside without the Xlanians' help – even if he could, he doubted they'd be unaware that he'd left. He looked around the room and spotted his armour. Face lighting up, Lance hurried over and got himself sorted out. As he put it on, he spotted the fruit bowl and got an idea. Leaving his helmet on the bed, he picked up the bowl, dumped the bigger fruits onto the table and gathered up the little multicoloured berries. At the last moment, he remembered the communicators they had been given and Lance hooked it onto his ear.
With the bowl in one hand, Lance opened the window and stepped onto the balcony. He checked each way and found that the curtains to the rooms on either side (Pidge and Hunk's temporary rooms) were still closed. Satisfied that no-one would notice his absence for a while, Lance launched himself in the air, using his jetpack to fly over the gap between the cloud part of the palace and the battlements. He glanced around as he moved, making sure no-one saw him. It seemed that everyone was still asleep and the lower parts of the palace were still in darkness.
As quickly as he could, he made his way to the entrance to the maze. The blackness there still unnerved him but he could hear more voices, the whispers calling to him. Taking a breath, Lance nodded with determination – and stepped in, making sure to drop one of the little berries. Silence was immediate, the whispers ceasing as Lance began to make his way through the maze, remembering to leave a berry at each junction.
"Well, Paladins," said Allura at breakfast, attracting their attention. "Coran wants to do some work on the Castle and Jialls is insisting that he show Shiro and I the gardens they have in the city. I'm quite looking forward to it."
"So am I," Shiro agreed.
Keith rolled his eyes at them, catching Pidge's gaze when he'd finished. Pidge grinned at him and Keith suppressed a snort, returning his attention to his breakfast. It seemed to be some sort of soft cereal. The texture was odd but it still tasted good – he thought it tasted a lot like chocolate covered Cheerios.
"I'm looking for restaurants," Hunk told them, looking rather excited. "The food here has been so good already – did you see those fruit bowls in our rooms? They're so sweet. And sour. And the big pineapple-like thing was a bit bitter but still so good! I couldn't stop eating them – like, once you pop one delicious orange berry in your mouth, you can't stop!"
"Did you eat them all?" Keith asked, incredulously. He'd seen the fruit the night before and had tried one of the normal looking fruits. It had been the same colour and consistency of a grape but tasted sour. After that, he'd left them alone. Once he'd woken, he'd emerged from the room and been brought down to breakfast – where Hunk had piled his bowl high with various types of 'cereal'.
"Well, yeah. I was hungry!" Hunk defended himself.
"Anyway," said Pidge, loudly. "I'm gonna see what kind of tech is around." She paused for a moment, looking around for the first time since she'd sat down. Her computer had taken up most of her attention since she'd gotten there. "Where's Lance?"
"Still in bed, probably," said Hunk. "Why?"
"I was gonna ask him to come with me," Pidge replied. "Last time we wandered around an alien planet on our own, we got a video game. Maybe he'll help me find some other cool stuff!"
"Aww!" said Hunk, pouting. "I was gonna get him to come with me! I might need someone to order stuff so I can taste two meals at once."
"Oh, that's a shame," said Allura. "I was going to invite him to come with us. I thought he might like the change."
"So was I," said Keith, without thinking.
Everyone stilled. "Really?" asked Shiro, finally. "To do what?"
"Er... Doesn't matter, anyway, does it?" Keith hurried to say. "He's still in bed so he won't be doing any of that, will he?"
"That's true," said Hunk, slowly. "He's not been getting much sleep lately with everything that's been happening so maybe he's sleeping in. We should get him up at lunchtime, though, so he can eat, y'know?"
"Of course," said Allura. "So" – she clapped her hands together decisively – "we will all do our separate things and meet back here for lunch."
Something about the maze made Lance very uneasy. Nothing moved. There was no noise. The light shifted unnaturally and he couldn't tell how long he'd been in there.
Had it been a whole day? Was the sun setting? Had the others not noticed he'd gone? Lance shook his head. He didn't feel that tired so it couldn't have been too long. His stomach grumbled and he ate a few of the berries. At every junction, he placed the berry just inside, right in the middle of the path so that it would be easily spotted and obvious which way he had gone.
Half of his berries were gone when he turned a corner – and found himself face to face with a Xlanian. She wore a dress, her bright red hair tied back in a long braid. One of her antenna was missing and there was a large scratch across her face. "Please help me!" she cried, grabbing at Lance's arms.
"What?" he said, eyes wide. "What is it? What's keeping you here?"
The Xlanian's eyes widened, staring at something behind him. "No... No!" she cried and, suddenly, she let go of Lance. Turning, she ran, deeper into the maze.
"Wait-!" Lance began. He didn't get much further as, suddenly, thick vines of some sort shot out of the hedge, dragging her in, her screams deafening. Before he could bring his bayard up to shoot at them, the Xlanian was gone. He stared at the place where she had been, unable to move. Those horrible screams echoed in his ears.
And then he heard her voice again, whispering in his ear. You could have saved me. Why didn't you come sooner?
Lance whipped around, the berries dropping from his bowl. "Wha-? I didn't... I didn't get a chance!"
But the noises were gone and he was alone once again. Shaken, Lance began to slowly make his way onwards. He turned a few more junctions, his bayard now in one hand with the bowl in the other. The berries were running low when he turned a corner and saw...
"Mom!" Lance cried and, dropping the bowl and his bayard, rushed forward to scoop her into his arms.
"My little Lance," his mother murmured, despite being a whole foot shorter than him. He laughed to hear that, remembering the times he'd complained about it being inaccurate. Her arms wrapped around him, just as he remembered, and he felt like he'd finally gotten home.
Then he stilled. Pulling away, he stepped back. "Wait. Who... Who are you?"
"What do you mean?" asked his mom, rubbing the tears away from her eyes.
"You're not my mom. She's on Earth. She's safe. She can't be here."
"Oh, Lance, why would you say that?" She sounded sad and it tore at his heart to hear her sound like that.
Lance's frown deepened, suddenly angry. "Don't you dare use my mother against me!" he yelled.
That seemed to be a mistake. His mother's eyes suddenly hardened in the way they did when she was furious. "Don't you shout at me," she snapped, voice dangerously quiet.
Hesitating, Lance bit his lip. "I-!"
"And where are you, hm? Do you know how worried I've been?"
"Wait," whispered Lance, feeling the pang of hurt tighten his chest.
"Do you know how long we looked for you? They said you'd been abducted by some crazy person, by someone who lived in the desert. They found your phone in a little shack – and you weren't there." Tears began to fall down his mother's cheeks. "My lovely Lance, gone!"
"I'm sorry, Mama," Lance said, quietly. He reached out for her but the woman stepped back.
"And, after all that, you've flown off into space. Didn't give it a second's thought, did you?"
"I-I didn't know-"
"We were all set to be proud of you. A fighter pilot. Just like you'd wanted, even though you've always been good with the animals." Lance could see that she was getting angry again, her brow lowering. "You were supposed to take over from your father after your older brothers went off on their own. You said you wanted to!"
"When I was five!" Lance exclaimed. It felt like his mind was spinning. Hadn't he had this argument before? When he'd gone off to the Garrison, hadn't his mother tried to stop him?
"You told us you'd make us proud of you – how can we be proud of a cargo pilot who has abandoned us?!"
Lance gasped at the pain. His eyes were filling with tears and he wiped at them frantically. Once they were clear, he opened his mouth, ready to defend himself. But his mother was already rounding the corner, her navy shawl trailing behind her. Panicking, Lance shot off after her.
However, he couldn't catch up with her, even with his long legs. She kept taking off in a different direction, his eyes just catching a glimpse of her shawl before she was gone. He had gone quite far, his heavy breathing telling him that he'd been running for some time, when he turned left again and found himself facing Shiro.
"Wha-? Shiro!" Lance exclaimed, jogging up to him. "Did you come in, too?"
"Of course I did," said Shiro with a kind smile.
"Good, 'cause I think there are Xlan-"
"Of course, I had to," Shiro continued, his smile becoming an irritated frown. Surprised, Lance stepped backwards. "Why did you come in here, Lance?"
"What do you mean-?"
"We've had to come after you. I have no idea where Keith and the others are. We might never see them again."
"Wha-? No... I-I left a-" Lance turned to look for the berries he had been leaving – and realised that he didn't have the bowl or his bayard. There was also no trail and he had no way of knowing which direction he had come from. Growing worried, Lance tried to remember which direction he had come from and turned left, jogging along to the last junction, hoping to see the end of the trail.
Instead, he saw Pidge. She folded her arms. "Really?" she said, sounding unimpressed. "'Sharpshooter'? 'Tailor'? Do you really need to fish around for validation? And don't flatter yourself – you're not the best gunman in the universe. It's actually a statistical impossibility."
Lance stumbled backwards. He opened his mouth to protest – and gave up. Slumping, he peered up at her. She raised an eyebrow. Unable to come up with an answer, chest aching, Lance turned and ran.
"Is Lance still in bed?" asked Allura, frowning. "Honestly, that boy does nothing but sleep. That's not healthy."
"For Alteans, Princess," Coran pointed out. "Perhaps humans are different."
"Well, no..." said Hunk, hesitantly.
"I shall send someone to wake him," said Jialls, generously. He nodded to a Xlanian who scurried off, long brown hair fluttering in her wake.
"He's usually awake by now," Shiro murmured, sounding worried.
"You don't think... something's happened to him?" asked Pidge, looking upset.
Keith looked between them all, trying to work out what could have happened to Lance. Had the Galra sent someone onto the planet after all? Were the Xlanians working with them and taken Lance? Or... Remembering the day before, Keith spoke up. "He said he'd heard voices."
"What?" Shiro said, confused. "When?"
"When we were on our way here from the Castle," Pidge explained. "He said it had said 'come'. We... kinda ignored him."
"He heard voices?" said Jialls. Everyone looked to him and Keith narrowed his eyes when he saw the Xlanians's wide eyes. The leader looked to some of the servers, all of whom had frozen. A murmuring started up. "The maze," Jialls said.
"What do you mean, 'the maze'?" asked Allura, beginning to look panicked.
"The maze calls to those it takes," Jialls explained. "People often talk of the voices before they disappear, leaving barely a trace-"
With a bang, the doors opened and some Xlanians rushed into the room. One of them held Lance's helmet in their hands. Everyone stood, tense and ready for battle. Had someone hurt their team member?
"What is this?" asked Jialls, anxiously. "Where did you find this?"
"It was in the Blue Paladin's room," said the Xlanian. "His windows were open – they look out onto the maze."
"Oh, no," breathed Allura, falling back onto her chair. "How will we find him?"
"Can't the Blue Lion find him?" Keith demanded.
"Blue's calmer than Red," said Pidge. " She doesn't go burning down things when her Paladin goes missing. I don't think she'll go after him."
"Paladins," said the Xlanian, regaining their attention. "His communicator was gone, the one His Crontaness gave him. Maybe he will be able to hear you?"
"No-one has gone into the maze with a communicator before," Jialls protested. "There's no guarantee he'll hear you."
"We have to try," said Shiro, firmly. He lifted a hand and tapped at the earpiece. "Lance? Lance, can you hear me?"
We don't need you.
You're not as good-looking as you think you are.
Everyone out here thinks you're ugly.
Why do you make a joke of everything? Can't you see what they did to Shiro?
Everyone has a thing – being able to shoot huge targets isn't a thing.
The words seemed to encircle Lance, pulling him this way and that. He couldn't concentrate, had no idea where he was. There were only the hedges. Stumbling backwards and forwards, he wept, wishing he could get away from them. But the words seemed to bar his way, seemed to throw him into something else painful.
All he wanted was to go home, to curl up in his bed in the farmhouse and never come out again.
With that thought, he collapsed to his knees, body bent in defeat. What was the point in going all the way back to Earth when he could do the same thing here? Why did he need to escape when these were exactly his own thoughts? That made him stop, swaying as he straightened a little. His own thoughts...
These were exactly the same thoughts he had had before, he realised. And, each time, he had managed to beat them back. So why couldn't he do that now? He tried to remember what he always told himself at times when he felt low. Just as he had furrowed his brow, forcing the foggy feeling in his brain to dissipate, there came another voice. Shiro's voice.
"Lance? Lance, can you hear me?"
"Shiro?" Lance said, looking around. When he didn't see anything, he got to his feet. He could still hear the whispers but none of them sounded like anyone he knew any more. It didn't even sound like his own voice. Cautiously, he walked to the end of a hedge which formed into a large crossroads. The space in the middle had a bench – but no Shiro.
"Lance, if you can hear me, you need to press the button on your communicator."
Gasping, Lance quickly raised a hand and did as he was told. "Sh-Shiro?" he croaked, his voice wobbling.
There was a sigh of relief. "Lance. Where are you?"
"I-I don't know. There's a bench and hedges and-"
He doesn't really want to find you. He knows where you are – he's just pretending so he has an excuse when he doesn't come for you.
"Shut up!" Lance snapped at the voice. He faltered. "That's... That's not true!"
"Lance? Are you okay?"
Taking a deep breath, Lance concentrated. "I'm-I'm in the maze, Shiro. I'm so sorry, I thought there might be someone needing help..." He trailed off, aware that the excuse was pathetic.
"Do you remember which direction you started heading in once you got inside?" Shiro asked, his voice urgent. It sounded like he was breathing a little heavy, as if he was running.
"I... I don't know. I don't remember. There are... things in here. They keep- I can't-"
"Can you use your jetpack to get above the hedges?" Pidge asked.
He froze, blinking at he bench. "Oh," Lance said, feeling stupid. Looking up, he stared at the hedges. Somehow they looked far taller than they had when he had entered. "I'll... I'll try," he murmured and, without hesitating any further, he activated his jetpack – and didn't move. Lance blinked. "Umm..." He tried again, confused.
Can't even do something simple as that, can you?
Lance rolled his eyes at the voice. That comment hadn't even hurt. Then again... why couldn't he get the jetpack to work? He tried one more time before giving up – Just like always – and contacting the others. "I can't get it to work," he said.
There was a pause. "Sit tight, Lance," said Shiro. "We'll get to you as soon as possible."
"We might never see them again." The memory came back in such an intensity that Lance's lungs seemed to constrict. He struggled for breath for a moment.
"No!" Lance exclaimed when he could draw in enough oxygen. "Don't... Don't come in! You might get lost, too."
"We can't just leave you in there, Lance," said Shiro, firmly. "I don't know what's going on in there, but we're not leaving you behind."
"Please," said Lance. "I don't want anyone else to be lost in here. This place is huge and I'm nowhere near the exit-"
"Keith?!"
"Um... What?" said Lance, listening to a commotion through his communicator. Were they even listening to him any more?
The paladins were hovering around the entrance, listening to Lance's voice. It was such a relief that Keith had seen everyone relax as soon as he spoke. But, as he continued to speak, it was clear to all of them that something was messing with his mind. They exchanged worried glances as Lance revealed his jetpack wasn't working. Something was keeping him there.
Staring at the entrance, Keith did some quick thinking. Turning to Pidge, he said, "Take out your bayard."
"What?" said Pidge in surprise.
"Just do it." Once Pidge had materialised her bayard, Keith said, "Fire it at me, 'round my waist and then let the line loose."
"Wha-?"
"Pidge."
"Right," she said, blinking at Keith worriedly. "Just... Okay."
"Ready?" said Keith. Once she nodded, Keith turned around and began to run for the entrance to the maze. He felt Pidge's bayard curl around his waist and, for a moment, thought he was about to be pulled backwards. But she did as he'd asked and let him pull the line out further. Just as he plunged into the maze, Keith heard his name being called. Then a voice sounded in his ear.
"Keith! What are you doing?!" Shiro demanded.
"I'm going after him," Keith told him. He turned right, running along the path as fast as he could. Now that he was inside the maze, he could hear whispers about his parents and his heritage and the faith Shiro had in him being misplaced. He ignored all of them, ignored the pain that accompanied it – Keith was long since used to it – and stumbled to a stop, blinking down at the ground.
There was a berry sitting just inside a junction. Lance had laid a trail. Keith snorted. Of course Lance had – it was just the sort of thing he'd come up with. He stepped over it and ran the length of the path. At the other end, he found another berry and didn't hesitate to follow the trail.
"What's happening?" Lance demanded, growing concerned.
Why should they tell you?
"Keith's coming in for you," Hunk replied.
"What?!" Lance exclaimed. "Did you not hear-?"
"Don't worry," Pidge interjected. "We have a plan."
Lance staggered over to the bench and dropped down onto it. He put his head in his hands. "No..." he whispered, unable to believe that he'd dragged Keith into this. He'd made a complete mess of things.
"I'll find you, Lance," came Keith's voice. "I've found your trail."
Reaching up, Lance took hold of the communicator, tempted to rip it from his ear so that he could stop encouraging people to put themselves in danger for him. To be left behind. To stay here. Grimacing, Lance tried to push those voices away, aware that they weren't his own thoughts.
"You won't be able to find me," Lance told him. "I think I dropped the bowl..."
"I'll find you," Keith told him, firmly. "I won't leave this place without you, okay?"
Smiling weakly, Lance shook his head. "You-" he began.
A screeching noise behind Lance shocked him so much that he tried to jump away, falling forward and off the bench with a cry. He heard Keith start to say his name but he was cut off suddenly. Lance's heart stopped at that and scrambled across the ground, trying to find the communicator he had just lost. As he turned, searching frantically, he looked up to see that one of the hedges had suddenly formed a large serpent from its depths. Tentacles – or vines – waved around its head. His eyes widened.
"Keith?" he said. "Keith!"
No-one replied. Only one of the voices piped up. He's lost in here, too. Now he'll meet the same fate.
Keith is in danger, Lance thought sadly.
That was what broke through everything that was swirling around his head, all the voices encouraging him to give up. Lance didn't have the time to feel sorry for himself. He couldn't dwell on what he'd left on Earth, he couldn't worry about what he'd done or how he was perceived. None of that mattered if his friends were in danger. He had to find Keith and save him from something like this.
Although...
Lance realised that, even if he wanted to save Keith, he was in trouble right now. With another screech, the hedge creature reared up. Giving a yell, Lance leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the serpent's lunge. Rolling out of the way, he ended up in one of the paths leading off from the bench crossroads. Hoping it was one closest to the exit, he rushed down it, casting a glance over his shoulder. The serpent rounded the corner and swiftly followed him. Lance grimaced and turned his attention to where he was going.
Three junctions later, Lance slowed down and came to a stop. He tilted his head and listened. There were no voices, no screeching. Everything was silent except for his own heavy breathing and his pounding heart. He waited until it had died down before starting down the path again. How was he going to find Keith in here? How was Keith going to find him? Maybe it would be a good idea to stop...
Shaking his head, Lance clenched his fists. No. He had to keep going. What if Keith ended up like that Xlanian? He wasn't sure if it was an illusion or not. Had any of it been real? Wondering whether anything had been real, he was so preoccupied that he turned the corner and bumped into something. Crying out, he started to fall backwards only to have something grip his arm and pull him upright.
"Lance!" cried Keith. "Finally!"
"Eh?" said Lance, staring at him with wide eyes. Keith was wearing his usual red jacket. The end of Pidge's bayard was wrapped around him and he looked rather relieved. In one hand, he held Lance's bayard.
Keith held it out to him. "Here. You dropped this."
"Wha-? How the quiznack did you find me?!"
Shrugging, Keith lifted his hand more to encourage Lance to take the bayard. "Just lucky, I guess." His eyes darted to the side and he frowned.
"Don't listen to them," Lance said urgently' clearly, Keith was hearing the voices now that he was inside the maze.
"Right. Anyway, come on. Take your bayard. Let's go back."
Lance hesitated. "How do I know you're real?"
"What d'you mean?" asked Keith, frowning deeper.
"I've seen Shiro and Pidge and... and my mom in here. How do I know you're the real Keith?"
"Because I am," said Keith, rolling his eyes. "Come on. We shouldn't stay in here."
"You could just be leading me further into the maze. It could be-"
"Lance, you're an idiot," Keith told him. That seemed like something the maze would make Keith say and Lance began to doubt his own eyes. "But you need to come back with me," Keith continued, ignoring Lance's srtuggle. "We need you." Taken aback, Lance almost moved away from him, alarmed by the confession, but Keith grabbed his wrist.
"No, you do-"
"How else are we gonna form Voltron, huh? And-And Pidge wants you to help her find more games or whatever. What about Hunk? He needs a taste tester. Shiro needs you to-to bring him out of his bad memories with all the fun stuff you make us do. Allura needs you to reassure her when she's feeling down and Coran reminisces with you, doesn't he?" Keith looked at him intently. "Come back with me."
For a moment, Lance considered asking Keith what the Red Paladin needed him for. Then he decided to let it go. It was obvious this wasn't something from the maze – as far as he could tell, the maze made people feel horrible about themselves and despair so much that they kept wandering in there, forever. Relieved, he grinned at Keith and took his bayard, making it disappear. Then he grasped Keith's hand.
"Too right, you do! I'm the most important member of this team. You could even say I'm a-maze-ing."
"Yeah," said Keith, rolling his eyes. He pulled Lance into his chest and wrapped his arms around him, surprising Lance. "Whatever you say. Now, hold on tight. Pidge? Pull us in."
As soon as he spoke, the line behind him went taut. "Wait," Lance said. "We're not just gonna-" He cut himself off with a yell when, without warning, Keith was pulled backwards. Keith's hands were against his back and head and he curled himself around Lance as they were pulled through the maze, their heels dragging. Every time they turned a corner, they were slammed into the hedge. In the wake of their careening journey, things burst from the walls and floor, angry shapes which began to chase them. Lance cried out, wishing he had his bayard in hand but not wanting to let go in case he fell and really would be stuck in the maze forever.
It went on for some time, both of them yelling and groaning until, finally, they burst from the hedges into bright sunlight and wide spaces. Lance had a brief glimpse of the rest of his friends and the sight of Pidge looking alarmed before both he and Keith crashed into Pidge. They tumbled onwards, took out Hunk and soon arrived at Shiro's feet.
There was a short silence. A hand came into view and Lance took it, Shiro helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?" Shiro asked.
"I've had enough of mazes," Lance told him as he helped Pidge to her feet. He decided not to talk about what had gone on in the maze – for now, at least. "Can we never do that again?"
A pair of arms surrounded him, pulling him into a tight hug. "Yeah, man!" cried Hunk. "Never do that again. I was super worried!"
Lance smiled, even as he remembered what the maze had said. It had been lying. As he looked around at the relief on his friends' faces, he knew that they wanted him around. They probably needed him, too, just like Keith said. He gave Keith a smile and Keith shyly returned it. Lance didn't need Keith to tell him whether he needed or wanted him: his actions had told him all Lance needed to know.
Grateful to be back with his teammates, he let Shiro guide him away from the maze, listening to him admonish him for going off on his own. Glancing behind him one last time, Lance shuddered to see the maze unchanged, still looming over the planet's inhabitants. The voices, however, had gone and he hoped it would stay that way...