The idea for this fic came while watching a stream and discussing langst-y ideas; tumblr user nightmares-of-purity has been helping me to clean up how I write it since I started, so a big round of applause for my great friend!
"Shiro!" Keith cried, panting, as he ran to the Black Lion. Lance and Pidge weren't far behind and Hunk, Allura, and Coran were only seconds slower, pounding footsteps echoing in the hangar bay while they approached. Black was mostly unresponsive, but was apparently aware enough to open her pilot doors; it was empty. The Black Bayard was stuck in the weapon's slot, but the rest of the cockpit was desolate and empty, devoid of even the lights Black should have on whenever there was life in the cockpit.
"He's gone," Lance breathed, shocked and terrified. Whatever he had been expecting, this was worse. If he had been hurt, they could fix him. If he was dead, then at least there would be a body. This was… nothing. Shiro was missing, and there was nothing any of them could do about it.
"How can he just be gone?!" Pidge demanded, shock and rage warring in her voice. "I-I mean, that's just not… not possible, right?!" Her voice cracked, but no one responded. "C-Coran? It… it's not possible, right?"
"I don't know," Coran said, voice hushed as he watched the empty cockpit with a broken expression. "I… I don't know, I'm sorry."
Hunk was silent, and Allura seemed too shocked to respond. Lance turned, planning on saying something to comfort her, when the princess whirled around soundlessly and left the room, shoulders trembling as she left. "Someone should… someone should go after her," Hunk murmured, still looking rather shell-shocked.
"Right. Right, I-…" Keith spoke up, then fell silent, turning from the cockpit of the Black Lion, unshed tears in his eyes and fear on his face warring with something else, though Lance couldn't pinpoint what it was. His footsteps didn't falter as he left the hangar, and Lance knew that despite that, he was struggling to keep going. Shiro's disappearance was sure to be a huge shock to Keith, since he knew that those two were close, almost brothers.
Before long, Pidge and Hunk had left, too, and Coran was left standing next to Lance, both equally lost. "I'm going to go check up on the others," Coran said quietly, squeezing Lance's shoulder before turning to go. "You should go get some rest, Lance. It's been a long day."
Lance nodded in response, but he stayed still, watching the Black Lion until he heard the door shut behind Coran. He sighed, straightening before stepping into the cockpit. "I know I'm not Shiro," he mumbled to Black, "but I'm gonna take the bayard out. I guess that it can't be that comfortable." Lance removed the weapon, putting it on the seat. "I…. I'm not your paladin. But I know that this has to be as hard for you as it is for the rest of us. I hope he's safe, girl. And I promise we're going to get him back." Lance didn't even know if Shiro was alive, but it was too much to think about not being able to get their leader back. He needed to say it aloud, just as much as he was sure Black liked to hear it. "We'll get him back, I promise." He pressed his forehead to the lion's jaw, sighing softly before he left the hangar.
The next day, or the next few hours that seemed to stretch on into a day at least, left them despondent. None of the paladins interacted with one another, nor they with either Altean. The first time they were all together in the same room, Allura spoke up. "I know that this is a difficult time for all of us," she began, looking towards Keith and sharing a look with the red paladin. "But we cannot let Shiro's disappearance become common knowledge. This means that, as unfortunate as it is, we must make… changes."
"What kind of changes," Pidge asked, brow furrowed as she rubbed at her sleep-circled eyes. "Like… piloting the Lions? Or… who pilots the lions?"
Allura hesitated, a frown tugging on her lips and furrowing her brows as she nodded. "After the wormhole collapsed," she started, twisting her hands nervously. "After the wormhole collapsed, Shiro came to me and admitted to a scare that he had. Being injured made him realize that any one of us could be… could no longer be able to assist in fighting the Galra. Including him. He told me that… should something happen to him, he wanted Keith to take his place in the Black Lion, and as the leader of Vol-"
"No! No way," Lance cried, standing abruptly and shaking his head. "No. Shiro doesn't get to do that, he's not here right now. Besides, if anyone should lead us while Shiro isn't here, it should be you, princess-"
"No, Lance." Allura's voice was stern, and her eyes glistened in the light. "This was… It was Shiro's decision. And there's no guarantee that the Black Lion would even accept me as a paladin. Instead, I will need to take over another lion. As the Blue Lion is the most accepting of a new paladin, you will move to the Red Lion until we find Shiro and I will take over as the Blue paladin," Allura said.
Lance stared at her, eyes hollow. Already standing, he shook his head, turning. "No. No way."
"Lance, you've got to admit that you're more like Keith than any of us," Pidge reasoned, sympathy in her voice – or was it merely pity that sounded like sympathy?
"More like- Are you kidding me?! The princess is more like Keith than I am," he protested, anger in his eyes, though they were empty of any real emotion. It was a hollow sort of anger, a resigned protest that he knew would make no difference.
"Lance, you are a paladin of Voltron. I expect you to be able to make sacrifices just like the rest-"
"Whatever," Lance said bitterly, taking his bayard off of his hip before tossing it to the table. "I'll just replace him again," he muttered under his breath, leaving the room and holding back tears. Was he destined to always be a screw-up? To always be runner-up, second best to Keith? Was he truly the seventh wheel he had fearfully admitted to thinking he was to that 'yupper' while trying to rescue Slav?
The fact that no one came after him to say anything seemed to hurt worse than being told that he wasn't allowed to stay in Blue. He knew that it had just been the other paladins and Allura in the dining hall, that Coran wasn't there and that of all of them, he would be the most likely to come after Lance for anything. But he had hoped that Hunk would care, at least. They had been best friends since they were kids. To know that he didn't care enough now… Well, Lance supposed he had seen it coming. Ever since they'd gotten to the Garrison, everyone was so much better than him. It wasn't surprising that Hunk would want to find another friend, a better friend – he supposed that Hunk was due for an upgrade.
Lance kept walking, brow furrowed as he traveled through the castle until he was in an area that he'd never been before. His echoing footsteps faltered in the empty hall, and dust swirled around his feet as he stepped a little further from the problems that were threatening to break the dam holding back a breakdown. He furrowed his brow, looking at the trail of footsteps bleeding off into the distance, only visible because of the thickening layer of dust on the floor. "How long have I been walking…?" Lance asked himself in a hushed voice, the whisper managing to sound like a scream in the still silence.
He wondered just how long it had been since someone entered this part of the hall; clearly it had been a long time, maybe since the time Allura and Coran were put into cryostasis. Maybe a little later, Lance reasoned internally, since there was clearly a shift in time from when the castle left Altea and ended up on Arus. It wasn't likely that only moments passed, or that only Alfor was left awake on the ship when it landed on the small planet.
Continuing to look around, Lance tried not to think about how bad things were going to get for a while. He could ignore that and explore for a bit, he supposed, but he would still have to go back. Instead, he simply found an empty-ish room, sitting down in a corner and hiding his face in his knees. He could spend a few minutes, right? There was nothing wrong with getting in a nap to try and rearrange his thoughts.
Despite his resolution to calm himself, guilt kept building, piling further and further on top of him until he stood with a pained grunt, walking through the halls until he was back in an area of the castle he recognized. Lance trailed through the empty areas of the castle, both relieved and saddened that there was no one around; it would be a hassle to explain running off, but it was depressing to realize that no one cared enough to look for him. Lance headed to his room – he couldn't bear to go to the hangar and see Blue, not now that he wasn't going to be her pilot anymore.
Though it hurt that no one bothered looking for him, Lance was relieved to find that he didn't run into anyone on the way to his room. It meant that Hunk wouldn't try to comfort him when he saw his raw, reddened eyes. It meant Pidge wouldn't complain about having to deal with a crybaby teammate. It meant that Allura and Keith couldn't lecture him about working as part of a team, since the priority was saving Shiro. Lance knew that, but Blue was one of the few things that he had left of Earth. It had hurt enough when he'd had to wash away the last of his family when his jacket grew too dirty to continue wearing it two weeks before. Leaving Blue was like forgetting who he was, the guardian spirit of water, the Blue Paladin of Voltron. Because leaving Blue meant that... well, he wasn't anything. He was just Lance, the screw-up, the annoying flirt... he wouldn't even be the sharpshooter anymore.
Lance curled up in his bed and tried not to cry. It was only lunchtime, he'd be expected to get up and go train soon, to try and connect with Red, but he didn't want to go, to show himself to the other paladins like this, let alone try to introduce himself to the hardest lion to get along with looking like this. Somehow, he summoned the energy to clean himself up, though he didn't bother with his skincare routine before straightening his shirt and making his way toward the hangar. He wasn't hungry enough to eat, anyway, even though it was about time to eat. If Hunk asked he'd just say that he would eat later.
The hangar was empty; either Allura hadn't come to talk with Blue yet or she already had and already left. He hoped it was the first – he wanted a chance to say goodbye to Blue before Allura could come in and do it for him. As such, he headed towards the lion, putting a hand on her metal paw as he took in a deep breath.
"Hey, Blue," he mumbled, pressing his forehead against her foreleg. "So... there's a whole lot of a mess going on right now, huh? All this with Shiro missing and... well, Shiro said he wants Keith to lead Voltron, which I think is complete bullshit. He's just biased because he and Keith are basically brothers, he doesn't even know any of the rest of us, except Pidge because she's Matt's brother." Blue seemed to purr in his mind in response; a comforting sound that Lance was pretty sure he wasn't imagining.
"So, since Keith is supposed to lead us now apparently, that means he's moving to the Black lion. I'm sure that Red isn't too happy with that, either, especially since they bonded so much over the last few weeks," he said morosely. "That means Allura has to pilot a lion. None of them want to admit that she's more like Keith than I am, so they all want me to pilot Red until we get Shiro back. Allura wants to pilot you because you're the most accepting of new paladins, apparently." He sighed, and Blue's purr in his mind had quieted to a low rumble, soft enough that he couldn't tell what she was feeling. "I feel a little bad, actually. I shouted at her – the princess, I mean. I shouldn't have," Lance mumbled. "It's not her fault that I'm all screwed up in the head. Besides, I'm sure you'll like her much better. She actually knows what she's doing," he added with a wry grin, though there was little amusement in the expression.
Sighing, Lance pulled away from Blue. "I guess I should try talking to Red now, huh? I promise I'll play nice," he joked humorlessly. "I know you'll like Allura, Blue, she's amazing. Badass, good in a fight, smart, pretty – just like you! – and she's an amazing leader. I honestly think she should be leading the team, but everyone's pretty insistent on going with Shiro's plan, so I'll... I'll see you later, girl." Lance leaned in once more, pressing his forehead to her leg in the semblance of a hug.
He stepped back, worrying at his lower lip as he moved towards Red, where she stood in her hangar. Lance wasn't quite sure how he should approach the lion – he knew that she liked to be impressed, that she was finicky and reckless and adventurous and confident. Lance was only a few of those things – one, really. Red was fire where Blue was ice, close-up and in-your-face where Blue was distance and control, reactive versus proactive. Hopefully she would understand that he was just trying to help, that he was doing everything he could.
Her shield was up, so Keith had already clearly come through. She was doing the Lions' version of pouting, refusing to talk to any of them. Black had finally moved from her supine position, so she had probably accepted Keith as her temporary paladin already. Lance looked back to Blue and rubbed at his eyes, though they were still dry, before turning back to Red. "Hey there, girl," he started nervously. Red remained still and silent, her forcefield still secure. "So... I take it that Keith already told you what's going down. And I want to say that I don't think this should be... how things are, either. Keith and I should stay where we belong, and Allura should pilot Black. But they're insistent – you and Keith and Allura have that in common. You're stubborn, and I mean that in the best way."
Red didn't respond in the slightest, so Lance moved to sit down just outside the forcefield, legs crossed as he looked up at the lion. "I know I'm not the paladin that you want, or the paladin that deserves you, let alone the paladin that you deserve. But if we want to have any chance at going back to how we're supposed to be, then we need to work together, because you and I are... well, against Allura and Keith we can't do much, since once they get something in their heads they're not that willing to listen to arguments, no matter how logical or reasonable they are," Lance pointed out. "I already tried that one. It didn't work. So maybe instead, we could learn how to work together. We're both stuck with how this is going to be, so let's make the most out of a bad situation?"
There was no growl or comforting purr in his mind, but there was a response – a small spot opened in Red's forcefield, right by where Lance sat. Standing quickly, he slipped inside, a small grin on his face as she closed it right behind him. "Thanks, girl." He approached, patting her leg lightly. "We should try bonding a bit, I think. I know you don't want to, because the thought doesn't appeal to me either, but who knows? Maybe it'll make forming Voltron easier when we're done, too. Hopefully, at least. I'm no swordsman, but I can learn for you."
Lance made his way up to the cockpit, settling not in the pilot's seat, but on the ground next to it. "You know, Red, you're very pretty. I say that not to sweet-talk you into bonding with me but because it's true," he said bluntly. "You and Blue work a lot differently, and I don't think like Keith. He's all... rash actions and split-second decisions. I prefer to hang back and plan, I'm not as up-front... There's a reason that my bayard formed a rifle," Lance said aloud, knowing Red was listening. "I don't even know if I'll be able to use your bayard."
The Red Lion seemed to chuff in response to Lance's words, making him grin. At least it was a response. "Alright, alright, I'll trust your judgement on that one. But do you think that we can at least try to make this work? The sooner we're able to work together, the sooner we get Shiro back and everything goes back to normal."
Red chuffed again, though the sound was decidedly more pleased this time. Her bayard lay on the seat of the cockpit, and she shone a light on it, signaling that Lance should take it. Smiling sheepishly, he stood to do so, taking the weapon with a grimace. It felt lighter than the blue one, though that may just be his mind playing tricks on him.
"Alright. This will be fine. I'll be fine," he said to himself, voice soft. He didn't want to admit, especially to Red, how afraid he was. "I'm going to go... try and get the hang of this, okay? Thank you for working with me, girl. I know it's hard."
Red purred softly at him, making Lance smile as he left the cockpit, glad to see the forcefield down already. He left the hangar, casting a sad glance towards Blue, before heading towards the training deck. He hoped that Keith wasn't there, but knowing the former red paladin's habits, he would be, trying to get in as much practice as possible with the black bayard.
Lance was proven correct – not only was Keith there, but Allura was on the deck as well, manifesting the blue bayard. It was less of a gun for the princess, more of a high-tech crossbow, but to each their own; Lance wasn't going to judge her when he didn't even know how the red bayard would manifest for him. He stayed silent as he made his way towards the wall, stripping off his jacket and baseball tee, leaving him in a muscle shirt and his jeans. Just the thought of trying to manifest the red bayard had anxiety churning in his belly, but Lance cleared his mind and closed his eyes, holding the bayard firmly and out from his body. He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, focusing on manifesting the weapon the bayard allowed him.
There was more of a flash of light this time than there had been with Blue's bayard; it was as though the weapon were taking longer to manifest because he wasn't meant to wield it. Lance didn't disagree with that thought, though he did his best not to think about that possibility. Once the form settled, Lance twisted the long weapon in his hands. It had formed something akin to a bo staff – he would never admit to knowing about it simply because of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles phase when he was younger. However, it was a bladed staff – both ends held wicked blades that looked like steel, glinting in the artificial lighting of the training deck.
Each blade curved at the end, coming to a deadly point at each end. The staff was taller than he was, and though the main length of it was in the darkly glistening metal of the blades, shining a bloody red interspersed with a silvery metal and black, a good portion of it was a handle that Lance could hold onto with one or both hands. It reminded him of the flags that his sisters had taught him how to twirl while they practiced their marching band routines at home. Smiling at the memory, Lance put his hands in place, starting to spin the staff and get a feel for it. It was one thing to twirl a giant flag, quite another to use a potentially deadly blade with ease.
The blade made a whistling sound as it cut through the air, spinning in a beautiful arc that painted the air red and white and black with the colors of the weapon formed by the bayard. He felt oddly at ease with the weight of it, and while it still felt foreign and strange in his hands, it was something he knew he could learn to work with. As Lance worked with the staff, he didn't notice Keith and Allura turning to look at him, shocked by not only the ease and grace with which he wielded the intimidating weapon, but the look on his face. There was none of the joy or excitement that had filled his features while he practiced with his rifle, none of the seriousness that kept his face solid while they trained as a group. Lance's face was simply blank, and to see the odd lack of emotion was startling to the new Black Paladin, and to the princess.
The pair watched as Lance cut intricate designs into the air with his bayard, half fearful that he would hurt himself and half in awe of the ease with which he hefted the weapon. When Lance stopped, he was panting with exertion, sweat dripping down his face. Allura looked between Keith and Lance, unsure what to do – she was unsure whether it was the right time to confront Lance about his earlier words and actions, about his disappearance, but for the time being she would let the subject drop. He was practicing with the red bayard, after all.
Turning, Lance spotted the two watching him, and the flush on his cheeks started to spread a little broader, making it clear he was embarrassed at the attention. The room was silent as Lance shifted the staff in his hands, tilted at an angle so that neither blade was digging into the metal floor or ceiling.
"That is an interesting weapon," Allura spoke first, breaking the silence. "What is it called?"
"I... I have no idea," Lance admitted sheepishly. "I'm not really a blade guy. All I know is that the staff part of it reminds me of the handle of a flag – you know, the kind that they have at the front of a marching band. My sisters did flag-twirling in high school and taught me," he explained, perking up as he got to talk about his family and, for once, no one was brushing him off in light of other things.
"The staff is called a bo staff," Keith spoke up, stepping a little closer. "The blades look kind of like... Like, a polearm. But those normally only have a blade on one side," he explained. "You'll have to be careful not to get cut with that, it'd be a nasty one."
"I'll do my best," Lance said dryly, still a little bitter about Keith's "Because Shiro Said So" leadership. "Blades and short-range weapons aren't really my thing."
Allura sighed with exasperation. "Lance – "
"Sorry. Don't... I didn't mean that." He sighed heavily, hands dropping as he adjusted his grip on the bayard. "I'm trying." Lance turned around, lifting the staff to start getting a feel for it once more. If Allura or Keith said anything further, he didn't notice, too engrossed in his training to pay attention to the sounds around him.
The next few days progressed in much the same way; eat, train, talk with Red, eat, train, sleep. He hardly spoke to the others in that time, apart from at meals, and even then he avoided any mention of what was going on with the team. He even managed to bond with Red enough that she let him fly her, which was good; he knew that Red and quite finicky. When the team formed Voltron for the first time, Lance had to pretend that it didn't hurt to feel Blue and not be able to sense her directly. Red's thoughts were soothing, but it was a heated soothing feeling, not the cool, gentle comfort that Lance wished for.
"Focus, Lance!" Keith's voice came over the com. "You need to concentrate on the task at hand."
"Sorry, sorry," Lance said in response, a pang going through his chest. He refocused, the team finishing the training and Lance sighing heavily when he was alone in Red's cockpit when they all returned to the castle.
"Come on, Lance," Hunk called up to him. "Coran helped me make lunch. We need a recharge meal."
"I'm coming," Lance called back, the Red armor feeling oddly heavy as he got up. "You did good today, Red. Sorry I keep getting distracted." Red seemed to purr in his mind.
"What was that, Lance?" Allura demanded when he got out of the cockpit, arms crossed and eyebrows twitching with irritation. "You can't be getting distracted! The Red Paladin is meant to be the fire of Voltron, the drive to keep going forward! Voltron cannot function if the Red Paladin is not focused on our goal."
Lance's eyes went wide, but he managed not to cringe in response. "I'm sorry, Princess, it won't happen again," Lance promised, swallowing thickly. "I – "
"Just... do better, Lance. Focus, don't get distracted. We need to be able to depend on you."
"Of course, Princess," Lance confirmed, voice low and solemn. He was watching the ground, fingers tight on his helmet as Allura left. He listened to the footsteps echoing as the princess left the room, and looked up once it was silent. He was alone – Lance took that moment to sigh, biting at his lip before casting a longing glance to Blue. "I'm sorry, girl. I'm trying."
He walked out, heading to the kitchen to find Hunk. As expected, his friend was already in there cooking up a storm. "Hey, Lance! Are you hungry? There's plenty to go around," Hunk said, noticing Lance's grim expression and hoping to cheer his friend up.
"Not really. I, uh, I'm gonna skip lunch and go train. I'll come and get some food goo when I get hungry, it's no big deal," Lance said with a small smile. "It smells really good in here, but I don't want to let the team down. If there's any left after the rest of the team gets to it, I'll definitely get some!"
"Lance, you should eat," Hunk said, frowning lightly. "At least have a bowl of this, okay? Here, this is done already, you get to be my taste-tester," he insisted, sitting Lance down and sliding a bowl in front of him. Lance gave him an easy smile, shaking his head in amusement.
"Alright. Thanks, Hunk. You're the best, buddy." Lance grinned as he picked up the bowl, humming at the flavor as he spooned it into his mouth. "Amazing as always, Hunk. I keep telling you – you could go head to head with mama and I'd be conflicted about who'd come up on top."
"You're such a dork, Lance," Hunk said, smiling back at Lance. "Finish the bowl, then you can go. Then at least Coran won't worry. You've been training a lot. I wouldn't mind hanging out a bit more often."
"Yeah, I can... I can try that. No worries, bud, I'll come and hang out sometime soon. I just... need to get more of a feel for Red." It was unfair that Allura and Keith both seemed to be having an easier time adjusting to their lions; part of it, he was sure, was that he and Red just weren't compatible. Part of it, too, was that they both missed their own other half. He simply didn't understand how Keith was able to bond with Black so easily when he had Red waiting for him. Still, he knew he needed to do better – be more like Keith.
"Alright. Thanks, Lance. Maybe tomorrow we can work on that recipe we were talking about before Shiro..." Hunk glanced over at his friend, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, we can do that," Lance agreed, smiling again. He stood when he was finished, moving to leave and heading to the training deck. He didn't want to interact with anyone, instead just losing himself in what he was doing. They wanted him to be more like Keith? He could do that. It didn't seem hard, after all – just be rash, train a lot, and be rather distant. Well... He was pretty sure he could do that. He could try, at least.
Lance trained, and he meditated, and he connected with Red, and all the while Blue and Allura seemed to bond nicely. Black and Keith, too, seemed to be having no problems. Still, he could be himself still, cheering and trying to make sure the rest of the team stayed optimistic. "Come on guys, we can do it!" and "Did you guys see that shot I just made? Awesome, right?!" often filled the comms when Lance got nervous or excited. One particular battle with a Galra ship had him cheering them all on more than usual; it wasn't until the end of it when things had calmed down when he heard it.
After most left their cockpits, Keith made a comment – muffled enough that Lance could tell that he'd already taken off his helmet. "Out of all the people in the universe, the Blue Lion had to pick the most annoying one." He heard Pidge's laugh, too – Hunk didn't laugh, which was something, but it still hurt. Putting his helmet aside, Lance patted Red's dashboard before leaving the cockpit, going straight to his room. He wasn't going to annoy them anymore.
Lance kept himself hidden away for as long as possible, only showing up to meals if he absolutely had to and overthinking Keith's words. Was he really that annoying? Allura's piloting proved that, even though Blue had chosen him, anyone could do just as well – maybe even better – piloting her, better than Lance had. Maybe she didn't even need him, when Shiro came back Allura could keep piloting Blue and Keith could go back to Red and then Lance wouldn't belong anywhere. Blue was probably happier with Allura, anyway.
It was easy, Lance found, to lock himself away and distance himself from the rest of the paladins. He didn't talk with Coran when he helped the Altean to clean out the cryopods, didn't bother Pidge while she worked, didn't ask Keith to help him train or flirt with Allura or even go to the kitchen to join Hunk while he cooked. He focused on training, thoughts constantly churning in his mind. Was he truly that seventh wheel? The odd one out? Allura seemed to tolerate him more now that he didn't even look in her direction, Pidge seemed less irritated now that he wasn't trying to prod her into eating or looking away from her computer screen for ten minutes. Things did seem like they were improving now that he was talking less – bothering everyone less.
Missions went more smoothly, too, when Lance started working more like Keith used to, being rash and going in without really thinking about it. Oh, sure, Allura and Keith would rant at him about it later, but it was what Keith would do – and wasn't that what everyone wanted from him in the first place? They were able to form Voltron more quickly without Lance talking to anyone, and hiding his feelings from the bond.
That reluctance to speak with anyone, though, was leading to some difficulties. Lance hardly spoke up over the coms, simply confirming orders and letting the others know where he was going to be while the lions were separate.
"Lance, I need you over here to cover me," Pidge insisted over comms, aggravation in her voice.
"I'm on my way," Lance said, lips in a firm line as he directed Red to move towards Pidge, tearing apart the drones between them and giving her cover as she did her thing. It was hectic and busy, and once Pidge's area was clear, he went to help Hunk and Allura. The two were managing things rather well, but Keith was on such a frenzy that there was no way Lance could go to back him up. Soon enough, the Galra were on retreat and Hunk and Pidge were sharing pleased cheering. Even Allura was congratulating them, not paying attention to see that a beam was coming towards them. Lance barely managed to put Red in the way of the blast, between it and Allura, and cried out in pain before everything went black.