Voltron Daemon AU

Ayo everyone! Birthday today, and I decided to give you all a gift with a new Voltron AU. This fic was heavily inspired from tumblr's x-i-l-verify's Daemon AU headcannons, with a few minor tweaks here and there.

This fic will actually be replacing my other Voltron fic, 'You, Me, and the Glass Between Us'. My reasoning behind the decision being it a classic case of when you plan bigger than you are actually able to write. And so I decided to essentially rewrite it as this fic. This fic will feature all of the same elements as my other fic, all the planned plot points and bunnies that I wanted for that fic included. I've just condensed it, cut out the fat, and now you'll be getting long, fast-paced, reasonable amount of chapters. I consider this to be of the benefit of both you and I.

Now, without further ado, I present you the first chapter of my Voltron Daemon AU, 'The Heart Wants',

Enjoy!

'Paladins, go!' Allura cried, and the defenders of the universe charged as one down the Green Lion's ramp. Rifle raised, Lance rushed to the nearest cover of crates before he began to return fire. There must of been more than twenty Galra sentries crammed into the airlock chamber, but at the rate that his teammates were tearing through them, he knew there wouldn't be for much longer.

'Above you!' Nuejia warned, and Lance spun to gun down the flanking sentry that was aiming for his back.

'Thanks gorgeous.' He grinned, giving a quick scratch under her chin, his white-wagtail daemon preening her plume with pride, before refocusing back on the fight.

Unsurprisingly, Keith and Shiro were at the forefront of the charge, taking the blunt of the assault and scattering the sentries for Allura, Pidge and Hunk to pick off. Their daemons, Keith's golden-eagle and Shiro's gigantic pyrenean mountain dog, along with Allura's lioness, were their own forces of nature as they tore apart sentries limb from limb. Such awe-inspiring displays always made Lance feel a ping of envy, thinking how it would be if Nuejia had taken a more aggressive form. If she were some kind of owl, or any bird with talons or great speed, then he'd be just as comfortable as Keith about unleashing her onto the battlefield, rather than keeping her close in the collar of his armour. Even Pidge's daemon, Vexenon—who hadn't settled yet—was able to get in on the fun, sprinting as a cheetah at the Green Paladin's feet.

As the last of sentries were put down, Nuejia gave a soft beck at his neck, 'You'd like me more if I was an eagle like Asperatia, wouldn't you?'

Lance shook his head, ignoring how his gut twisted when in his peripheral, he saw Keith's daemon snatch up his thrown knife from a sentry's chest and return it to his hand, 'What? Nuejia, I love you. I wouldn't change you for anything.'

'Even a dragon? There was a time when you were gunning for me to be a dragon.'

Lance gave her another scratch that made her puff up into a little ball of fluff, 'And I've never gotten over it,' He dramatically sighed and yelped when she stabbed him with her beak. 'I'm joking! I'm joking!'

'That, actually wasn't as many guards as I was expecting.' Hunk remarked and prodded the smoking head of a sentry with his gatling gun as everyone gathered around.

'Yeah, but I mean, this is a pretty big factory so they're probably just spread out,' Pidge said with a shrug and checked her wrist device, 'Even if I hadn't disabled the alarms in this area, it'd probably of taken them a while to get here.'

'Luckily that's not the case,' Shiro smiled before his expression turned serious, 'even so, everyone be on your guard from here on out. Stealth is imperative to this mission until we can find and destroy the empire's stash of quintessence they're got going here. If we do this, then the Galra controlled planets in this solar system will be cut off from their energy supplies, and we'll be one step closer to liberating them.'

'Is everyone in understanding of the plan?' Allura asked, and everyone nodded. 'Good. Then whilst Pidge sneaks into the control room, Hunk, Shiro and I will make our way to the main storage chamber. Keith and Lance, you will head to the production and refinery rooms so that they cannot resupply after we are done.'

'Got it,' Keith nodded and then looked to Lance before motioning for the door over his right shoulder. 'Coming?'

'Right next to you mullet,' Lance smirked, and set off at jog after him.

The hallway was dim, barely lit by the usual violet/purple the Galra used on anything. As Lance and Keith's footsteps padded down the hallway, they crouched down when they neared it's end corner. Shuffling with his back pressed against the wall, Lance peeked around to see what they were up against.

At the end of the hallway was a set of heavy-duty doors that Pidge had told them would lead to the production line of the factory, a red galra-hand scanner to the side. Only problem was, there were six sentries guarding the door alone, and the narrowness of the hallway meant that there wouldn't be much room to move. It'd be way too easy for one of the sentries to get lucky with a shot if they opened fire.

'How many?' Keith whispered.

'Six. But it's pretty tight in there.' Lance replied with a frown.

Keith cocked his head at him, Asperatia at his feet doing the same, 'You got a plan?'

Lance couldn't help the surprised lift of his brows. 'Actually, I do,' He grinned, and looked down to Nuejia balanced on his knee, 'Showtime Nuejia!'

Nuejia shook out her feathers with pride before she burst into a colourful chorus of lilt birdsong. There was the sound of robotic whirring, and then four sets of feet began to march toward them.

'Get ready.' Lance hissed before he fell back a distance and readied his gun. Keith tightened his grip around his knife, and when the sentries rounded the corner, he plunged it into the chest of the closest and Lance opened fire. Three head-shots, and before they clattered to the floor, Keith had already raced around the corner. Lance skidded forward in time to see Keith's Mamora blade bury itself into the forehead of one of the remaining sentries whilst Asperatia's talons raked into the other.

'Nice plan.' Keith smiled at him as Lance joined him at the door, the former Red Paladin touching his hand to the scanner to have the door grind open.

'I try.' Lance winked back at him, and Keith was thankful for the low light as heat flushed his cheeks. He cleared his throat at the knowing side look Asperatia shot him as she flew ahead to survey the new room.

The chamber appeared to be a small quintessence storage unit, lined by ceiling-to-floor glass cylinders of glowing purple that faintly hummed. One wall was a window looking down onto a production line, with more Galra sentries and drones overseeing the smelting cauldrons of bubbling white-hot metal. With her keen eyes, Asperatia deemed it safe to approach with a low caw.

There was a brief flash of light, and Keith glanced over his shoulder from checking the other door to see Lance with his bayard in it's sniper rifle form, the scope level to his eye.

'This is your eye in the sky reporting in. I count twenty-four sentries and ten drones in the smelting room.' He said and the comms channel crackled with static.

'Cool. Okay, Shiro, Hunk and Allura are outside waiting to breach. Eye in the sky, I'm gonna need you and Keith to move up to the quintessence refinery and take it out. It should be in the next hallway over.' Pidge replied and Keith could hear the soft bleeps of her fingertips dancing on her virtual keyboard.

'Got it. Thanks Pidge,' Lance confirmed and looked to Keith. 'Let's go.'

Keith nodded and stepped aside to let Lance go through the door first, giving a shy smile to Nuejia when she chirped at him and took flight alongside Asperatia; the white wagtail's wings fluttering hard to keep up with the smooth, broad strokes of the eagle; where Asperatia swooped and glided, Nuejia darted and dipped.

It made Keith's heart quicken whenever he saw their daemons act this way: the flights of fancy, the way Nuejia twisted in a playful display of aerial acrobats. Whilst Keith knew he sometimes struggled to express his feelings, Asperatia more than picked up his slack. If one were to watch closely enough, then they would notice how the times when Asperatia chose to groom her fine feathers, it would always be in the presence of Nuejia. She would leave her collected treasures and kills in places she knew Lance would find. Keith had once gotten an ear chewing when Lance had discovered a slug alien's corpse on his pillow.

'That was one time,' Asperatia bristled after she looped back around to fly alongside him. 'It wasn't as though you were going to make a move.'

'We are not talking about this now.' Keith hissed through his teeth, glancing forward to Lance who was, fortunately, too distracted conversing with his own daemon on his shoulder to listen in on their conversation.

Asperatia sent a throb of frustration through their bond, 'I want her, Keith. Can you not see how she dances for me? How beautifully she sings? She's perfect. It makes me want to—'

'Fine! Okay, just—sh! I'll talk to him, okay?' Keith sighed with a slump of his shoulders before he picked up the pace and caught up with Lance. 'Uh, hey.'

'Hey man,' Lance smiled back, his blue eyes twinkling as he planted a kiss on his daemon and threw her up into the air. 'What's up?'

'Was, um— so, the mission? You thinking—what, what are you thinking about the mission?' Keith asked and internally winced. God, that's what he was opening with? Why was he so bad at this? He didn't want to talk about the stupid mission, he wanted to get straight to the good bit. Teasing jabs, playful banter. That bit!

'Okay, I guess. Just ready for it to be over, you know?' Lance mused, and Keith wanted to pull his hair out. He wanted the mission to be over? They'd been paired for this mission. What did that mean? Did Lance not enjoy his company? Was he bored—was this conversation boring him? Was—

'Hunk was going on about making waffles before we left, and it's like all I've been able to think about.' Lance continued, oblivious to Keith's mental meltdown skidding to a stop, and how he sighed out with relief.

'Oh, right.'

'Hey, talking of food, what's like, the strangest thing you've ever eaten? I'm talking, 'chewed and swallowed' eaten. You can't of just held it in your mouth.' Lance asked with glint in his eye.

'Uh,' Keith scratched his nose as he thought back, 'I dunno. Maybe a gecko back on Earth?'

Lance's jaw dropped, 'You ate a lizard?!'

'Gecko. I'd ran out of food and the Garrison was on lockdown that day. I was desperate, okay?'

'Oh my god, Keith Kogane ate a quizacking lizard.'

'I caught it for him.' Asperatia smirked as she glided onto Keith's shoulder plate, and Lance's cheeks darkened, dipping his head so slightly.

'O-Oh—oh, cool, cool. Cool,' He stammered before sheepishly making eye contact. Keith didn't blame Lance for his surprise. While it wasn't taboo to address another person's daemon, like it was to touch them without permission, it wasn't exactly common. Directly interacting with another person's daemon was considered so what as an acute form of intimacy. 'So uh, Asperatia, do you mind if I ask a personal question?'

'Shoot sharpshooter.' She bat back, and Keith had never felt so betrayed. Where had that line been when she'd watched him make an idiot out of himself?

Lance gave an adorable nervous laugh, 'Okay, okay, so like, I've noticed how you and Keith can be far away from each other. Like, on different sides of the Castle far. How'd the heck you do it?'

'Honestly, I don't know. Our best guess is that it has something to do with Keith's galra heritage.' Asperatia explained before she raised her wings to groom her soft, inner feathers. The display made Nuejia perk up and endearingly wag her tail as her species namesake would have her.

'Man, no fair. You get a cool blade, and a long distance daemon thingy? That's cool enough to nearly make up for the mullet.' Lance smirked.

Keith rolled his eyes, 'Wow. Going back to my hair. How original. Learn some new lines.'

'Ironic coming from you.' Asperatia silently laughed in his head.

'Why? It's an oldie, but it's a goldie!' The Red Paladin teased, elbowing Keith in ribs as they came to the end of hallway. The mischievous blue glint in his eye killed off the angry words ready to fly from Keith's tongue, causing his brain to force a reboot.

'Let's—just focus on the mission. We have to destroy what's inside, right?'

'Right,' Lance nodded and grinned as Keith placed his palm over the door's scanner. 'Bet I can blow up more stuff than you.'

'I'll take that bet.' Keith chuckled as the doors swished open.

The only light in the refinery chamber came from the gigantic vials of yellow and purple quintessence. Ice trickled down Keith's spine as the memory of the last time he'd been in a similar room resurfaced to make the hand that had been burnt tingle. The shadows of the room loomed, seeming to almost breathe in and out. On his shoulder, Asperatia stiffly readied her wings for flight. Something was off about the room, they could both feel it.

'Dude, what are you waiting for?' Lance hissed and pointed to the control panel attached to the largest quintessence container. 'Let's turn up the heat and book it before things go boom.'

'Wait, Lance. I don't like this.' Keith frowned, goosebumps raised on the back of his neck. He strained his ears, listening for any movement, any hint of any kind that something was wrong like his gut was screaming at him was.

'What?'

'Something doesn't feel right. We should go back, get a new plan.'

'We're not getting a new plan! We've come this far, we can't turn back now.' Nuejia's musical voice cried, and Lance nodded with a set look.

'Yeah, Nuejia's right Keith. Everyone's counting on us. If you gotta bad feeling, then I trust you on that. If we move fast—'

But Keith stopped listening when the air crackled and the same mask and dark cloak he knew too well materialised behind Lance in a blink.

'Lance!' His warning came too late as the druid's claws gripped around the paladin's neck and threw him into the shelves stored with smaller vials of quintessence. Lance choked a strangled cry as he crumpled to the ground, limbs shaking as he struggled to raise.

'Keith!' Asperatia snapped him back to the moment and launched, swooping left as Keith was forced to dive right to avoid the arch of dark lightning sparking from the druid's fingertips. Up again, Keith drew his blade and charged, feinting to the side when the druid drew back for a second strike. Above, Asperatia's war screech was piercing as she banked hard back around and sank her talons to rip into fabric and flesh.

The druid gave a withered howl as it tried to shake itself free, it's writhing only causing the bloody gnash to carve in deeper. Asperatia released her deadly grip when the druid slashed at her, and Keith saw his chance. Knuckles white around his knife, he sprinted at his opponent, only to stumble to a halt when it vanished with a wisp of smoke.

'Rafters!' Asperatia shouted and Keith ducked at the quintessence vial whistling for his head. The druid shifted away when Asperatia plunged for another assault, and then suddenly stilled, staring down at Keith.

Keith pulled his lips back to bare his teeth at it, as he had seen the other Blades do when they fought unmasked. He braced himself to dodge when the druid raised it's crackling claws. Only, it wasn't him that it thrust its dark energy at.

Lance shrieked as the shelf above himself exploded and shards of glass and metal rained down upon him, his screams pitching when the spilt corrupted quintessence burnt through to his skin like acid.

'NO!' Keith roared and hurled his blade. The druid raised it's arm, anticipating the blow. But what it had not anticipated, was Asperatia to snatch the spinning blade out of the air, tilt sharp in a hairpin turn to cleave it's head from it's shoulders.

Neither paused to celebrate their victory as the druid's mask clattered to the floor with it's head, the body slumping down after, but instead raced to their now silent teammate's side.

'Lance! Lance, wake up! Lance!' Keith yelled as he fell to his knees, ignoring the hiss of the quintessence trying to dissolve through his armour as he pushed aside the debris covering his friend.

Where it wasn't dark red with his own blood—courtesy of the glass shards cutting into him—, Lance's skin was nauseatingly pale. Great patches of his flight suit had been burnt through to scorch everywhere that wasn't protected by his amour. Keith thanked the small miracle that Lance's helmet was sealed over to protect his face.

'Lance! Keith! What's happening?' Allura's voice popped with static over the comms, the sounds of explosions and battle faint in the background.

'It's Lance, he's—he's hurt. We were fighting a druid, and he dropped a load of corrupted quintessence on Lance. He's badly burnt.'

'Is he breathing?!'

Keith tried not to gag at the smell of burning flesh as he scooped Lance up, cradling him into his arms. His fingers shook as they searched for a pulse, and found it weak and sluggish. A metre away, Nuejia spastically twitched on her back, and Asperatia flocked to her; clipping her beak and whining as she gently nudged the smaller daemon.

'Yeah, yeah, he's breathing, but he's not conscious,' Keith answered, jolting Lance in his grip so that he could carry him bridal style. He returned his blade to his sheath, and snatched up Lance's deactivated bayed before he rose to his feet. 'What do I do?'

'Keith?'

'Shiro!'

'Keith, bring Lance to the loading bay. There's a monorail that runs supplies to a medical and research faculty nearby. We'll meet you there.' Shiro ordered, and Keith nodded to Asperatia, who carefully closed her talons around Nuejia before she took wing, flying close as he ran back the way they came.

'Keith,' A voice rasped, and Keith looked down to see Lance staring back, his gaze glassy and half-lidded. His tongue peeked out to try to wet his cracked lips, and his adams-apple bobbed as he thickly gulped, 'Keith.'

'I'm here, I'm here buddy. Just stay with me, okay? You gotta stay awake for me.' Keith panted, his legs burning as he pushed them harder. He'd escaped an exploding ship with a Blade twice his size on his shoulders, and yet, carrying Lance like this was a thousand times heavier.

'Hurts,' Lance moaned, his head flax as it bounced in the space between Keith's neck and shoulder. 'It hurts.'

'I know. I know, but you gotta stay awake. We're almost there, okay? Gonna get you fixed.'

'I'm sorry Keith. I lied,' Lance croaked, and Keith's head snapped down with wide eyes. No. Oh god—please don't tell him that he was starting to lose feeling. That meant—

'I lied. I did remember.'

Keith blinked furiously to clear the tears that stung his eyes, his chest feeling as though someone had sucker punched his heart. 'W-what?'

'The bonding moment. I remember it.'

A line creased between Keith's dark brows, 'But you said—'

'I lied, and I—' Keith's breath caught in his throat when Lance's eyes rolled up. No! They were so close! Just one more corridor!

'Lance!' Keith shook him, and received a delayed quivered exhale.

'Sorry.' Lance breathed out like it was his last, just as the loading bay doors slid open.

'SHIRO!' Keith felt the scream be ripped from his chest as it caved in on itself, hot tears breaking free down his face. His vision so blurred that he ran blind, skirting away when an unseen hand touched him.

'Lance!'

'Oh my god, Lance!'

Another hand, strong, grounding, familiar turned him by the shoulder, and Keith blinked his vision clear to see Shiro at his side. Behind him, Allura, Pidge, Hunk and their daemons gaped with horror, already aboard the monorail waiting.

'This way!' Shiro shouted, his daemon Miyuzuki bounding at his heels, half-dragging Keith to the carriage when his feet began to trip over themselves.

Asperatia dove inside ahead, immediately setting down the limp Nuejia as the other daemons leapt up to crowd around. The moment they all crossed the threshold, Hunk punched the engine and the monorail shot out of the bay, bursting free for the black and purple of the Galra base tunnels to be flooded with blinding white light from the blinding snowy world outside.

'Let me look at him.' Allura said, and Keith allowed her to pry Lance from him, only realising how badly he was convulsing now that Lances weight wasn't there to steady him.

'How did this happen?' Pidge paled, her hands hovering to reach out before she changed her mind and clutched them close. Vexenon rapidly shifted through a series of forms, and then settled on a raccoon so that he could cup Nuejia in his black little paws.

'Druid. Corrupted quintessence.' Keith shuddered as he slumped on his ass. He opened his arms and Asperatia crushed herself to his chest, both of them pressing as hard as they could against each other. Desperate for touch, affection to soothe the edge off their distress.

Shiro supported Lance's neck as he eased off his helmet and lifted an eyelid, inspecting the dilution of the pupil before he methodically snapped his fingers next to each ear. 'Lance? Lance, if you can hear me, could you move your finger? Can you do that for me?'

Everyone watched with baited breath for the slightest twitch. Lance didn't stir, his breaths coming out as tight wheezes.

'Okay, he's in a bad way, but we're going to a liberated hospital right? They'll help us.' Hunk paced back and forth, rubbing his hands together. His brown eyes darted between Lance and Nuejia where his bumblebee daemon, Kala'ina, nuzzled into her dishevelled plume.

'Yes, of course they will,' Allura reassured and laid Lance's body down, his head resting on Shiro's lap before she stood up and approached the console at the end of the carriage. When Asperatia hopped out of his lap to join the other daemons in fawning over Nuejia, Keith wiped a hand down his face and crawled to Lance's side.

Allura tapped at the console and then cleared her throat, 'This is Princess Allura with the paladins of Voltron. We have an emergency, the Red Paladin Lance has been gravely injured in battle and requires immediate medical treatment. We need your help!'

When there was no answer, Allura began to repeat the message, putting together that they were likely out of range for it to go through to the faculty on the other end.

'He's gonna be alright Keith.' Shiro muttered to Keith, Miyuzuki rubbing up against Asperatia who sorrowfully cooed as he did so.

Keith shivered and gave a curt nod, not trusting himself to keep it together if he opened his mouth. Had it just been the two of them, maybe— but it wasn't. They were on a mission, and above all, Lance needed him. He had to keep it together for his sake.

'Immediate medical treatment. We need your help!—'

'Say please.' A smooth voice cut through the channel that made everyone's blood instantly run cold. Keith felt himself instinctively move to crouch over Lance, hovering, and stared at the console as though it were going to bite, his hand gripping the handle of his sheathed knife.

'Lotor.' Allura choked and curled her shaking hands into fists.

'Princess Allura. It appears you have quite the dilemma on your hands. "Requires immediate medical treatment"? How perilous.'

'What are we gonna do now?' Pidge hissed, Vexenon transforming into a bobcat to bristle at the console.

Hunk's gaze dropped to Lance, and he winced at the charred blackness of his skin, 'I—Guys, he needs healing. A pod, anything.'

'Yeah, no quizack Hunk. I dunno if you put it together, Lotor is in control of the hospital.' Keith snapped.

'Keith,' Hunk looked at him with a weighted, sad stare, 'He needs treatment.'

Keith started to his feet, his lips pulled back to demand how Hunk still did not get it, when his jaw dropped; the pieces slotting together to make an image that made him want to vomit.

'No,' He growled, Asperatia rearing out her wings and joined him by hissing. 'No.'

'Look at him! If we don't, he'll die!'

'We'd be handing him over on a silver platter! If he doesn't go from the burns, Lotor will finish the job!'

'Not necessarily.' Allura lowly interjected, and Keith turned on her.

'Lotor is the enemy! You're asking us to trust the son of Zarkon with Lance's life! No!'

'As much as it kills me to say it Keith, Lance's best chance of surviving is with Lotor. If he doesn't get treatment within the next few hours, he's not gonna make it.' Pidge reluctantly argued, and Keith could feel the corners of the net closing in.

No.

'He'd be a prisoner.' Shiro sighed, his gaze clouded and downcast.

'He'd be alive.' Hunk countered, and the floor began to sway beneath Keith's feet.

No.

'THERE IS NOTHING TO GUARANTEE THAT HE WILL HEAL HIM!' Keith shrilled, voice cracking with hysteria. He shrank away when Shiro stood up to reach for him. 'I—I can't lose him. I can't—'

'Then you condemn him,' Allura spat, and she may as well as stabbed Keith in the gut. 'Lance will die because you. His blood, as well as the blood of countless others will be on your hands.'

The knife in his gut twisted, the threat transparent. If Keith refused to back down, if he became the reason behind Lance's death, the others would never forgive him. They would never accept him back as the Red Paladin. Red wouldn't accept him for killing her paladin. Keith would be shunned, exiled from the Blade of Mamora for destroying Voltron, maybe even executed.

Without Voltron, the Galra Empire would tear down the coalition, obliterate the rebel forces. Worlds would burn, galaxies enslaved. Thousands of innocent lives lost, and yet, a small part of Keith—the darkest, most selfish part of him—whispered that none of it would compare to the hell that would be losing Lance.

"You're choosing the lives of two people over the entire universe!"…The universe really had a sick sense of humour.

'Keith,' Shiro spoke up, and Keith wearily noted how he and Miyuzuki tensed to move, prepared for force if it came to it. 'Your answer.'

'I don't want him to die,' He rasped with a small shake of his head, unable to meet any of their eyes. 'I—I don't think I could take that.'

'Come here buddy,' Hunk sniffed and enveloped Keith in a crushing bearhug, 'I know. I know, and we're all with you. None of us like this, but if it means there's a chance for Lance, then—'

'We have to take it.' Keith finished with a whisper, and buried his head into Hunk's shoulder.

After a stretch of subdued silence, the console lit up again. 'Gracious, how emotional. Are you composed enough to continue our conversation now? I believe the princess had something rather important to ask of me.' Lotor hummed, and a hot spike of violation splintered through Keith. The purple bastard had heard every word.

'Yes,' Allura squared her jaw, 'Prince Lotor, if we turn Lance over to you, will you help us?'

'I am not a cruel man, princess. Unlike my father, I remember those that have done right by me. Your paladins once saved the life of one of my generals. And now, I will be happy to return the favour. I will waiting at the station to receive Lance, and then I will expect you to leave the way you came. I trust it is clear what will happen if there is any resistance to this.'

'Crystal.' Shiro gritted and the call cut.

His bones jelly, Keith pulled away from Hunk and slid down the wall, drawing his knees close and wrapping his arms around them. Powerless, pathetic, and thoroughly beaten to do anything but wait as the monorail raced across the icy wasteland to deliver the one he loved into the hands of his enemy.

Alright guys, that was the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Currently editing the second, and subsquently outlining the others. I estimate that there'll be about six or seven chapters total? Keep it short and sweet.

If you liked this start, please, please let me know what you thought. I adore hearing from you all. Do you like the length? Would you rather shorter chapters? Let me know.

Once again, thank you for reading, and as always, until next time folks!