A TALE OF TERROR
A/N: Ok, so, I was reading an amazing fanfic called Bars Can't Hold Us, really good, totally worth reading, and something happens to Lance at the end that got me thinking, could I expand this? I decided yes. So here we go. I present to you, Ice Castles, a fanfic dedicated to Maychorian, a totally awesome writer!
"Keith I'm going to kill you!" Lance screamed shrilly.
All around him, bright flashes of light from plasma blasts burst like fireworks. Dangerous fireworks that is to say. Really killer fireworks.
Lance was directly in the middle of it, weaponless, armorless, and alone. It was all Keith's fault.
"Stop complaining Lance, I'm sure Shiro will be okay with us splitting up." Lance mimicked Keith as he ran, dodging blasts that burst fiery hot, and too close for comfort. "It's a peaceful planet Lance, stop being so paranoid, WELL WHO'S PARANOID NOW JACKASS?!" Lance screamed.
He knew Keith couldn't hear him. But yelling obscenities about Keith helped Lance release some of his stress. And he had a lot of stress right now.
Of course, dear reader, you are probably wondering how Lance, the cool-headed, funny, and sexy Paladin of Voltron, pilot of the (amazing) Blue Lion was doing here, surrounded by enemy fire, alone and defenseless.
Well blame Keith. Our hero's story begins in a pretty awesome way. Hot alien chicks, new food that wasn't food goo, and best of all, no galra. The only downside was Keith.
And now a violent alien race that reminded Lance of Oods from Doctor Who. Overall, not the best way his day could end.
Earlier That Morning
"Lance, please stop glaring at Keith and pay attention, Keith, the same goes for you."
"But Shiro, he-"
Shiro shot Keith a sharp glance, raising his right eyebrow as if taunting Keith to try and finish that sentence. Keith snapped his mouth closed.
The two of them had been arguing since yesterday, after a training exercise featuring Voltron went south. Keith blamed Lance for tripping them, Lance blamed Keith for not catching them before they crushed about a quarter of the Sacred Groves of Sancti.
Needless to say, their constant arguing over who's fault it was, had begun to drive the rest of the team apples and bananas. Which is why Shiro made the decision to pair the two of them up.
"Keith, Lance? You see this planet here?" Shiro pointed to a small planet which lay, floating on the interactive map.
Both nodded.
"It's called Periculum, our scanners show intelligent life on it. Allura and I both decided that you two should go down as diplomats, a show of peace, see if we can convince them to join the fight against Zarkon."
Lance spluttered, "Shiro, but-but Keith? Me I understand, I'm as diplomatic as they come, but Keith?"
Keith was also arguing, "Shiro, you can't possibly send me out with this idiot, he'll screw the whole mission up by doing something stupid like he always does!"
Shiro raised a hand, making a halt motion. "I know you two don't work well together, but that's why we decided to pair you two up. Your constant arguing is getting out of hand, and Allura and I both agree that you two need to bond more if we want to continue forming Voltron."
"But Keith and I argue all the time!" Lance whined, "And we've never had any problem forming Voltron."
"Up until now, yes, but the longer you continue your rivalry, the more strained your relationship will be with each other. And Voltron requires a team, not a group of pilots vying for first place in a made-up competition."
"But-but-"
"That's my final decision. Now, go get ready, no bayards, and no armor, wear your earpieces just in case, and under no circumstances split up, is that clear?"
"Yes Shiro…" Keith and Lance mumbled dejectedly.
That Afternoon
"Wow, nice place!" Lance said cheerfully, following the leader of the alien race, Psevdí Vasiliá.
"Thaaaannk yooouuu~" Psevdí Vasiliá warbled. The aliens in general were a pale lilac color, short, and chubby. They had tentacles for feet, and bulbous fish eyes. Their mouths were set in a permanent 'O', and they had pads like a gecko on each of their twenty-six appendages.
They were a peaceful bunch, hunter gatherer's. They lived in elegant jungle huts. It seemed weird to describe them that way, but that's what they were.
Bright neon plants blossomed all around, ten times larger than most earth flowers. It was hot and humid, but a cool fruity breeze blew softly, making the temperature bearable.
Lance had immediately felt right at home, having grown up in a hot and humid place himself. Keith meanwhile, found the air stifling and thick. It was hard to breath, and sweat had gathered in places sweat should never be.
He lingered behind the rest of the group, trying hard to get a full breath of oxygen. Lance, unaffected by the weather, was walking side by side with the leader up front, admiring the view and completely sucking up to Psevdí Vasiliá.
"I truly love your buildings here Psevdí, your people are amazing architects."
"Yoooouuuu prrrraaaaisse usss toooooo muuuuch Bluuuee Paaaladiiin~"
"I fear I do not praise you enough your majesty."
Psevdí grinned, well, as much as an 'O' mouthed alien can grin. "Iiiifff yooouuu liiike oouurrrr buuuiiildiiingsss Paaaaladiiiin, yooouuuu willll looovve theeee fooood eveeeen moooorre~"
"If it is as exquisite as the rest of your planet, I thoroughly look forward to enjoying your cuisine!"
Keith had no clue what a suck up Lance could be when he wanted to. Lance was earning them serious brownie points, and Keith was glad Lance was doing the talking and not him. Of course, he would never let Lance know that. Lance's ego was already big enough.
Finally, after miles of trekking uphill in unbearable heat, the group made it to the biggest hut, where Psevdí led them inside.
A small wooden table sat in the middle, and bowls of strange and vibrant fruits lay scattered across it. Keith's mouth watered at the sight. Food.
He moved forward to begin eating, but Lance grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Lance, what are you doing?" He whispered out the side of his mouth.
"I have a bad feeling about them, they're too friendly, too welcoming. Psevdí doesn't know who the galra are, I asked him. This place is a regular old paradise." Lance whispered back.
Keith frowned, "Earth hasn't heard of the galra either Lance, maybe this planet has been spared by the war, it's a biguniverse you know. Some are bound to be paradise."
"That's the thing Keith, you deal with weird intergalactic space tech and mystical powers for long enough, you learn that paradises are usually where you get killed."
Psevdí gave them both nervous glances, "Iiiiisssss eeeverrrrythiiing alriiiiggghht Paaaaladiiin'sss~?"
Lance turned away from Keith, smiling widely, "Of course your highness, my friend and I were just discussing how happy we are to be here."
Keith snorted and Lance glared at him, then snapped back to smiling.
Psevdí sighed in relief, "Iiii ammm glaaaad to heeaaarrr iiitt, nooow pleeeaaase, enjoooyyy sooooome ooooof oouuur fooood~"
Keith dove in without a second thought, starving from the long hike up here. Lance, on the other hand, restrained himself.
"Doooo yoooouuu nooooot wiiiissshhh toooooo taaaassssteeee ooouuuurr foooood~?" Psevdí asked.
"Oh no, it looks magnificent, I was only wondering if you were going to eat with us?" Lance smiled wider.
Psevdí chuckled, "Iiiiii aaaam afraaaid Iiii haaave soooome impooortaaant mattters toooo ateeeend tooooo, pleeeaaase, eaaat, aaaaand feeeel freeeee tooo eeeexplooooore theeeee reeeest offff theeeee plaaaaneeeet iffff yooouuu wiiiisssshhh. Myyyy haaaanddmaaaidens wooould beee glaaad tooo shoooow youuuu arrrouuund~" Psevdí gestured to three pretty alien girls, then left.
"Eaaat Paaaalaaadiiin, eaaat~" Pushed one of the handmaidens.
But Lance had been in a similar experience before, only with mermaids. He didn't trust the food. He bowed to the girls, "I'm sorry ladies, but I must ask you to leave, if only for a moment. I wish to speak to my friend here."
They looked at each other, then back at Lance in confusion. "Buuut Paaaaladiiin, weeee haaaave beeeen ooordeeered noooot tooo leeeaaave yooouuur siiiide."
Not to leave our side? Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all.
Lance changed his posture, becoming relaxed, he leaned forward towards the girls. He smiled coyly, and raised an eyebrow. Brushing what Lance figured was hair back behind the leader of three girls ear, he whispered seductively.
"Don't worry, I'm sure your king won't mind if you leave me alone with my friend for just a few ticks."
"J-juuuust a feeeww tiiiicks~?" She was blushing furiously.
"Just a few ticks, then, I'm all yours for the day."
Gone was the pale lilac, the girl had turned a bright shade of pink. She turned and pushed the other two girls out. "Juuuuust a feeeeww tiiicks~" She told Lance, although it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself that this was okay.
As soon as they left, Lance spun around and slapped a neon blue fruit, similar to an orange, out of Keith's hand.
"What the hell are you doing?" Lance snarled.
"Not eating apparently." Keith growled, reaching for more food.
Lance slapped his hand again, "Did you miss that whole conversation? I don't trust these guys, not one bit."
Keith rolled his eyes, "It's a peaceful planet Lance, stop being so paranoid."
"Paranoid? I'm being paranoid?"
"Yes."
"You're not paranoid enough Keith! What happened to shoot-first-ask-questions-later Keith?"
"What'd'ya mean?"
"You're usually waaay more paranoid than I am." Lance froze. Keith was always paranoid, so how come he wasn't paranoid right now? He had gone for the food without a second thought, as if he had been less paranoid before they reached the dining room. So when-?
"Paaaaladiiin, haaaaveee yoooouuu eaaateen yeeet~?" The three handmaidens had returned. Lance quickly picked up the half eaten blue fruit from where it had landed.
"Of course!" He said, showing them the bite marks. Lance worried for a second that Keith might inform the girls of his lie, but Keith was too busy stuffing his face.
The girls smiled, relieved, "Gooood~" the lead handmaiden warbled. She crawled over to Lance, looping a tentacle arm around the nook of his elbow. "Aaarrreee yoooouuu reeeaaady~?" She asked, blushingly.
"Um, ready for what?" Lance chuckled nervously.
She smiled, "Yooouuu saaaid yooouu weeerreee miiine fooor theeee reeest ooof theee daaaay, reeeemeeeemberrr~?"
Lance paled, "Oh yeah." Stupid stupid stupid, he chastised himself. "A-and what about Keith?"
"Heee wiiillll beeee goooiiing wiiiith uuuus." Giggled one of the other girls. They both strung their tentacles around Keith's arms, who smiled dreamily.
Now Lance knew for sure something was off. Keith never smiled. Especially not like that.
"Um, see, Keith and I aren't really supposed to separate you see-"
"Stop complaining Lance," Chided Keith, "I'm sure Shiro won't mind us splitting up."
Lance was going to kill Keith. So much for Shiro's 'Bonding Moment' plan.
Lance was pulled harshly by the arm, and dragged him away from Keith. Deeper and deeper they went into the forest, until they reached a clearing.
"Ummm...where did you take me?" Lance looked around, "Where are we?"
She smiled, but this time it was cold. Harsh and cruel. "I took you to meet the masters."
Lance's blood froze. Her voice had lost its' warbel, instead, it echoed sharply in his head.
"T-the masters?" Lance laughed nervously, "Um, I'm afraid Shiro had some rules for us, see, 1: Don't eat pizza with pineapple, 2: Don't follow strange girls into forests, and 3: Stay away from anyone with name 'master'. And I appear to be breaking two of those rules so we'd best head back to Keith huh?" Lance was talking faster now, turning around, he tried to make a dash for it.
Unfortunately, her voice wasn't the only thing that had changed. She was faster than a viper and stronger than a cobra. Her tentacles wrapped around Lance and held him in place before he could even get a few feet away from her.
Lance giggled in a high pitch tone, "N-now now, I'm all for hugging pretty ladies and such, but, uh," He licked his dry lips, "I-isn't it a little soon? I mean, we just and all so-"
"Silence." She hissed, "The masters, they come!"
Lance's lungs stopped working, his heart pound, fast and hard against his ribs. If the tentacled creeper hadn't been holding him in a death squeeze, Lance's jelly legs would have already betrayed him and dumped his body on to the ground.
An ominous tune began to flutter through the trees, a mist flowed across the ground, and seven tall beings seemed to grow from the trees, melting off of the bark.
They were slender, tall, and gangly. They had arms and legs, but the fingers seemed only half formed, stuck together by some kind of wet goo. Their skin was a dirty brown, and their eye's bulged, too large for their head. A thin membrane covered the eyes, giving them the eerie image of being open and closed at the same time. Their mouths were forged by a stretched out patch of skin, out of which octopus tentacles wiggled like they had a mind of their own.
It was like something out of a horror movie. They wore black robes, which fluttered in the wind as they floated over to Lance.
The sky had grown dark and stormy, and the air had done a complete 180°, switching from hot and humid, to cold and dry.
"Who have you brought us Kakó?" It's voice rang hollow in Lance's head.
He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't blink, couldn't do anything. He had heard of being paralyzed with fear before, but this was the first time he had actually experienced it.
Most of the villains Lance faced had always been predictable, or easy to understand. They wanted money, power, fame. They felt angry, jealous, spiteful. They had beating hearts, working lungs, analytical brains. They followed patterns, made choices, and were so easily identified as evil. And Lance had always had his friends to help him, and his bayard, and his lion.
Not today though. Not right this minute.
They didn't have beating hearts thumping loudly in the quiet forest. They didn't have stuttered gasps like Lance, or anticipated, bated breaths like Kakó. Lance couldn't read their mind, or see emotion on their face. He had no idea why they wanted him, or what their plan was. All he knew, was that the aura they gave off was incredibly old. And powerful.
And it scared the hell out of Lance.
"Masters, I have brought you a Skáfos, he was unaffected by your magic, he senses you."
Lance found his voice again, "Listen chica, I don't know what a Skáfos is or who the hell all these Slenderman wannabe's are, but I sure as hell know when it's time to run, so-" Lance bit down hard on the tentacle holding him, a sour taste, like rotting fruit filled his mouth.
Kakó cried out in pain and released him.
"Adiós perra!" Lance called out as he began running as fast as he could. He heard Kakó calling out, he looked behind him and saw a whole army of lilac aliens, all toting guns, chasing after him.
"No no noooo." Lance pushed himself to keep running, but he had no clue where he was, and trees blended with his surroundings, turning him this way and that.
Blood pounded in his ears, his lungs burned like fire, his legs had gone numb and tingly. Little cuts appeared on his skin where branches dug their fingers into him, as if to slow his escape. He could taste his own blood, metallic, tangy, mixing with the rotten taste of Kakó's blood.
Adrenaline helped to keep him moving. As did the growing panic that had lodged itself in his gut since the very beginning.
He remembered his earpiece, and reached up to turn it on, but was horrified to find only static filling his ears. He couldn't contact Shiro.
That left only Keith.
Great. The one time Lance actually needed him, and he was getting high off of whatever damn magic filled this planet.
Lance felt a wave of heat pass by his face as plasma blast after plasma blast narrowlessly missed him.
"AAARRRGGGHH, THIS IS ALL KEITH'S FAULT!" Lance shouted. To his surprise, it made his situation a little less stressful.
" Keith I'm going to kill you! " Lance screamed shrilly.
All around him, bright flashes of light from plasma blasts burst like fireworks. Dangerous
fireworks that is to say. Really killer fireworks.
Lance was directly in the middle of it, weaponless, armorless, and alone. It was all
Keith's fault.
" Stop complaining Lance, I'm sure Shiro will be okay with us splitting up. " Lance
mimicked Keith as he ran, dodging blasts that burst fiery hot, and too close for comfort. " It's a
peaceful planet Lance, stop being so paranoid, WELL WHO'S PARANOID NOW JACKASS?!"
Lance screamed.
Then, Lance saw it. The edge of the forest.
He was so close.
Just a little farther.
One of the strange tree aliens Lance had met popped into being right in front of Lance. He was going to fast, he couldn't stop.
The thing raised its' hand. A black cloud billowed out and enveloped Lance in cold, suffocating darkness. He tried to scream, but he couldn't make a sound.
He couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't hear, couldn't speak. The thing clenched its fist, and the black cloud and him evaporated.
Only a single, broken, blue earpiece, nestled in the ground, gave any proof that Lance had been there.
And for those who did not see the earpiece, crying out giving testimony to what had happened, well…
It was as if Lance had vanished into thin air, never to be found again.
A/N: Muwahahahahahahahahaaaaa…. I love cliffhangers so much. Let me know what you think of the story so far by commenting below or following me on AO3, , or my Tumblr account, nerdqueen395 (so creative I know). Anyway, be sure to check out Maychorian for some awesome fanfictions. I think she's only on AO3, so go read some of her stories while I write...CHAPTER 2: WHITE OUT