Notes: Hey guys, new story!
I'm gonna try to be as respectful as I can with the religious elements in this story, but just to let you know, I'm not Catholic or anything so most of the angel stuff in here I either got from Supernatural or completely made-up.
Title is from Angel With A Shotgun by the Cab. Kinda overused, but I thought that song really fit Lance, especially in this AU.
Lance's sandeled toes dangled through open air, and he giggled as wisps of cloud tickled the tips of his feet.
"Careful, brother!" Veronica chided as he lost focus and nearly crashed into a passing bird. Her long powerful wingspan propelled her gracefully through the air, and Lance had to work his small wings extra hard to keep up.
"Are we nearly there yet?" Lance whined, his back aching from so much exertion.
"Patience is a virtue, Lance. Good will come in time."
Lance scoffed, but knew better than to argue with his sister. She was older and wiser, and even though he didn't understand her odd sayings now, she said he would grow to appreciate them.
"There!" Veronica pointed a slender finger to the land below there was a large, oddly shaped building with an open dome for a roof. She grabbed at a passing cloud and it solidified, creating the perfect perch for the two angels to rest on, "That's where the human's observe the heavens."
Lance sat on the cloud, then stared at the building below, it didn't look like anything special to him, "Can't the humans just go see the heavens for themselves?"
Veronica laughed, "Not yet, little brother. Maybe someday, but not yet. For now they are bound to the planet they are born on, watching the stars from afar."
That seemed sad to Lance. It was strange to think that there were beings that couldn't just reach up and touch the sky for themselves, "Well, at least they can see their own star," he huffed.
Veronica shook her head and looked up to the sun, golden halos glowing in her amber eyes to match the one above her head, "No, Lance. The sun is much too bright for the human's eyes."
"What?" Lance glanced up to the sun himself and stared at the burning ball of fiery gas, his jaw slack with disbelief, "But it's so dim!" He had seen dozens of stars twice as bright as this one.
"To us, maybe, but we live in a world of light. The humans have to blindly stumble through the darkness of their own world."
"Why is it so dark?"
"Because the humans do not have the same grace we do."
Lance frowned. Did humans really not have grace? He thought all creatures had grace. "So if I lose my grace, I'll be like them?"
Veronica's eyes became stormy, her wings rustling dangerously, and Lance swallowed nervously. Maybe he'd finally asked one question too many.
"Lance, listen to me. You have much further to fall than any human. A fallen angel is cast to the darkest world imaginable, with no hope of escape."
Lance's eyes widened with fear. All the other angels had told him there was always hope. Was there really a situation bad enough that there wasn't any?
Veronica's expression softened as she saw the fear in the smaller angel's eyes, "Don't worry, Lance. You are a good angel, too smart to fall." She ruffled his hair and hugged him tightly, "Come now, little one. Let's go home."
Veronica had been wrong about a lot of things, first and foremost being that Lance was smart. Lance wasn't smart, he was an absolute idiot. After all, who else would volunteer to go on a mission to a planet of lava and sulfur? Not anyone with good sense, surely.
He should have just stayed behind in the castle and let Keith and Shiro handle it, but he'd been cooped up for weeks, and it was getting boring. Allura was planning missions and making connections with the planets of the coalition. Coran had castle maintenance to attend to when he wasn't helping Allura. Hunk and Pidge were always working on complicated technical mumbo jumbo that flew over Lance's head, and Keith and Shiro were always either training or going on the missions that only they seemed to go on anymore.
There was just no place for Lance to fit in among them. He felt useless, and it royally sucked.
Even in space, you're the odd one out, the outcast. You belong back in hell.
Lance shook his head, trying to ward off the dark thoughts, "Not today, Satan," he murmured, as he'd heard so many humans do. It seemed to apply to him so much more.
Keith turned to give him a confused glare, then turned back to focus on his flying.
When Shiro mentioned that they might need some long-ranged back up, Lance had jumped at the opportunity. Anything to get out of the castle and prove himself to the team. Allura had agreed, but decided that they should only take the Red Lion. It would be best suited to the planet's fiery surface.
"Remember, paladins," Coran's voice echoed through Red's cockpit, "We need these stones to re-calibrate the healing pods. Make sure you get at least ten of them!"
"Roger that!" Lance saluted, remembering the holographic image Coran had showed them of the volcanic stones back at the castle.
"But be careful of the lava pools! They're hotter than a spelbum in a warzap, and will melt your bones before you can say-"
"We get it, Coran!" Keith interrupted irritably, "Get the rocks, stay away from the lava."
"Woah, what's up with you today?" Lance asked. Keith was an impatient guy, sure, but he wasn't usually so snappy.
Keith scowled, "I just have a bad feeling about this mission."
Shiro frowned. He and Keith's eyes met like they did when they were having a silent conversation. A pang of jealousy tore through Lance's chest. What would he give to have someone trust him like that, to listen to his concerns without a second thought.
"Alright," Shiro finally said, "Let's get in and out fast. Be careful and stay close to each other. This should be a simple mission, but we don't know what kind of life might live here. Stay on your guard."
A rush of hot air hit them as Red's mouth opened. Lance could feel it's heat even with the temperature stabilizers in his suit. The ground below was a coppery red, just a few shades lighter than blood, and stepping on it revealed it to be some coarse, sand-like material.
Shiro set the pace, and Lance and Keith followed closely behind, both using their scanners to try and locate the mineral. Pidge had used a sample Coran had in the castle to program the scanners to set off an alarm when they came close. Lance didn't know what kind of alarm she had set, but knowing Pidge, it would probably be loud and annoying.
They passed a massive pool of lava, it's shiny, molten surface slowly oozing and bubbling across the ashy ground. Small bursts of flame rose around its edges. The fire and overwhelming stench of rotten eggs was starting to feel really familiar to Lance, and it wasn't a good familiar.
He shuddered and shifted uneasily. He felt like something was watching them, but looking around, it seemed they were alone.
"Lance? You okay, buddy?"
Lance jumped at Shiro's sudden question, and immediately regretted it as Shiro and Keith stared, "Sorry, what?"
The two glanced at each other, having yet another silent conversation before Keith spoke, "You've been really quiet. For you, I mean."
Lance shook his head and pasted on a smile, "Sorry, sorry, I'm good. This place is just a little creepy. It's kinda like hell."
Keith smirked, "You say that like you've been."
Oh, but he had.
Shiro looked around uneasily, tapping his metal fingers restlessly against his armored leg, "Maybe we should head back… if both of you feel off about this."
"No, no, no! It's okay, we can keep going!" There was no way Lance was going to let them abandon the mission because of him. He had to prove that he could handle himself. He couldn't stand being the useless one anymore.
Shiro raised an eyebrow, looking confused, if not a little concerned, "All right, if you say so. Keith, why don't you scan for traces of the mineral. See if you can find some nearby."
But Keith was no longer next to them. He had frozen a few feet back, and was still standing there, a blank expression on his face.
"Keith? What's wrong?" No response, "Keith!"
Shiro approached him slowly, and waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't blink.
"What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know," Shiro's eyes were wide with worry, "He's just stopped."
Lance swallowed roughly. The way Keith's eyes were glazed over- no. It couldn't be. Not all the way out in space.
"Hey, Keith buddy, you still in there?" Lance grabbed Keith's shoulders, shaking him roughly. Keith just swayed on his feet, still looking dead to the world.
"That's it, mission be damned, we're getting out of here." Shiro moved to grab Keith's unresponsive form, probably meaning to drape his small frame over his shoulder.
"Wait! Let me try something"
Shiro froze as Lance called out, then backed away as if to say 'be my guest'.
Lance chewed his lip nervously. He hadn't had to deal with this problem since they left earth, and if his suspicious were correct, they were in some seriously deep shit. He tightly gripped Keith's wrist in his own hand, his voice wavering as the single word left his lips.
"Christo."
Keith's body flinched violently, and his eyes flashed to a deep, pupil-less black.
"Well, fuck."
Notes: What did you think? Please leave a review if you liked it or if you have any suggestions! I am completely open to constructive criticism!
I'd really like to have the next chapter out by next Sunday, but I'm getting my wisdom teeth out this week and I don't know how that'll affect my writing, so don't count on anything. I have big plans for this, though.