A/N: Hey guys!
I'm fully immersed in the Voltron fandom with a few fanfic ideas of my own! This one here is one of my favorites, so I really hope you like it just as much as I do!
Disclaimer: Dreamworks owns Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Summary: Haggar's magic lingers in Shiro's arm, and Pidge and Keith pay the price.
The story is set in the beginning of Season 2 after the team have found themselves again after the wormhole accident. This one will be a two-shot!
Also, please check out my other Voltron one-shot, "Nightmare"! But most of all, please, R&R, and enjoy!
XxX
Shiro considers himself lucky.
Lucky to still be alive.
Lucky Keith has found and rescued him in time.
Speaking of the lanky teen, Keith is currently leaning against the wall of the bridge as Shiro walks in, after having woken up from the cyropod and gotten changed. Allura works on the Castle's defenses after their trek through the wormhole. She doesn't turn around, but Shiro can still feel her smile as he walks in.
"Good to see you in top shape, Shiro."
He offers a small smile in return. "It's good to be back, Princess." He glances around, but only Keith lingers in the wide room, surely awaiting Shiro's return. "Where are the others?"
"Coran and Hunk are in the kitchen, I believe," Allura replies, lightly chuckling. "They are most likely fighting over who will cook dinner."
The Red Paladin steps forward. "I think Pidge and Lance are in the training deck. They asked for you."
Shiro rests a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Alright, then I guess you and I will join them." Before the duo leaves, however, the older calls out, "I suppose you will not need our assistance, Princess?"
"There is nothing I cannot fix for now," the Altean assures. "Now go; your team requires your assistance, Black Paladin."
Shiro shakes his head, fighting a smile. "I'm sure they do. I'll see you at dinner, then."
On their way to the training deck, Keith remains silent. While the boy usually keeps to himself, Shiro knows him enough to be able to tell he has something on his mind.
Keith eventually confirms Shiro's own thoughts when he randomly spouts, "How are you holding up, Shiro?"
The man cocks an eyebrow. "I'm fine."
"We both know that's bullshit. Those beasts did a number on you."
You don't have to remind me, Shiro mentally retaliates. Instead, he comforts the younger boy with, "I'm healed now." At Keith's own raised eyebrow, he adds, "That's all that matters."
The silence is awkward as they keep walking to the training deck. Then, "What about your arm?"
Shiro halts to a stop. "My...arm?" he asks, mildly confused. To be perfectly honest, he hasn't given it much thought, but as he flexes his muscles and wiggles his fingers, he feels odd.
He's not about to admit it, though.
"It's nothing," he settles on.
Keith scowls, but before he can insist, the duo hears a shrill battle cry.
Pidge.
All it takes is a few seconds before the fizzling of a training drone echoes, and Lance calls out, "End training sequence."
The door slides open and the duo steps in. Shiro takes in Pidge's surroundings, noticing a few drones either sliced in half or electrocuted beyond their limit. He smiles. "Nice job, Pidge."
"You were awesome!" Lance agrees, joining the group. "You should've seen her, man! She was all like, 'shling!' and 'yaaaaah!' and then, 'come back here, you little son of a bi—'"
"Yeah, yeah," Pidge interrupts with a soft pant, a slight blush gracing her cheeks at the praises. She giggles at Lance's excitement, nudging him when he is close enough. "It's your turn, Lance!"
He splutters, "B-But, I went earlier!"
Keith can't contain the smirk on his face. "Aw, are you scared? Did Pidge do better than you?"
"I'd like to see you beat her, Mullet!"
"Well, I'd like to see you oppose me."
"I will! Training drone, level 5!"
"Pfft, can't even beat me yourself, you gotta get a drone to prove yourself."
"Let's see who gets to it first!"
Shiro sighs. "Enough, Paladins. Can you stop your bickering for five seconds and work as a team for once?" But his smirk betrays how annoyed he truly is.
Next to him, Pidge rolls her eyes. "Yeah, guys. Can you two fuck already?"
Shiro's eyes widen out of their sockets, while Lance and Keith wheel around, not sure they've correctly heard their youngest teammate. The drone takes the opportunity to fire a shot at Lance, which the Red Paladin immediately notices. He summons his shield and holds it over the both of them, trying to fight his blush. Instead, he glares at the youngest, who merely grins in retaliation.
Shiro internally sighs. He loves his team, and although Pidge should watch her language, she is right; the two boys clearly have some sort of love-hate relationship going on, where they started as rivals but then it grew into something nobody could explain.
He feels the pain before he notices the glow.
With a grunt, he kneels down and clutches his metallic arm, the hand glowing a bright purple. He only faintly hears Keith call off the training sequence, squeezing his eyes shut as his arm fizzes with electricity.
Something is clearly wrong. He shouldn't have ignored it earlier.
Pidge steps back, her eyes wide. "Shiro?" she softly asks.
"Ngh...Pidge, stand back, I don't want to hurt you..."
Yet, his arm only seems to get worse.
The girl stubbornly leans by his side. "I-I have to examine it, it might be a virus of some sort...I'll contact Hunk so he can come check it ou—"
Pidge is sent flying toward the nearest wall, hitting her back with a loud yell.
Shiro stares in horror at the youngest Paladin as she struggles to get back up, one arm clutching her stomach.
Shiro hit her.
He hit Pidge.
He tries to gain control of his arm, but it seems like it has a mind of its own, stuck with a clenched fist.
While Lance runs to Pidge's aid, Keith runs to him. He panics. "N-No, Keith, stay away from me!"
But Keith is just as stubborn as the Green Paladin. "We have to get you to the med-bay now! Allura and Coran will help!"
"Pidge?" Lance worriedly asks, holding the girl's bicep as he helps her stand up. "Are you okay?"
She coughs despite herself. "I'm—I'll be fine, just...go get help."
He shakes his head. "I can't just leave you here!"
"Lance!" Keith barks, glaring at him as he cautiously approaches their leader. "Go get help, we'll be fine here!"
"But—"
"NOW!"
The anguish in his voice sends the Cuban running to the nearest person.
Unfortunately, while Keith has his attention to Lance, Shiro's hand decides it's the perfect time to strike.
He swings, nailing the teen on the shoulder. Keith falls on his side with a surprised shout, his hand clutching at his shoulder.
'No!" Shiro wails, trying so desperately to stop his arm from hurting his friends. The entire appendage glows a dangerous purple, one he will never be able to erase from his memory.
As if it had replaced Shiro's full functionality, he finds himself prowling towards Pidge in long, menacing strides. She attempts to back away, but her back is already pressed against the wall, giving her the support she needs to even stand as her arm remains wrapped around her stomach. Her eyes are fearfully staring back at her leader's, reflecting his own terror.
"No, no no no...Pidge, you have to leave, now!"
She whimpers. "I-I can't, I can't leave you here!"
He internally cusses her stubbornness out. "I'm just gonna keep hurting you! Leave," he pleads, closing the distance between himself and the small girl.
However, before he can get to her, a mass jumps on him from behind, wrapping their limbs around his built body. "Shiro, don't take one step further," Keith snaps, pulling against the Black Paladin in a meek effort to stop him. "Snap out of it!"
Shiro's body slowly tips backward, and he realizes one second too late what he's about to do. His warning isn't fast enough, for he crushes Keith under his full weight. The Red Paladin loudly grunts, breath sucked out of him from the blow. His limbs go limp, making him let go of Shiro to sprawl on the floor.
In the moment it takes for his breath to recover, Shiro is already grasping the collar of his vest and lifting him up, pressing him against the wall. A single tear streams down his face as he whispers, "I'm so sorry."
His arm throws the boy across the room, hard.
Keith's body creates a dent in the wall on impact, and he crumbles to the floor, blood coating the back of his head and staining the floor a crimson red.
Pidge remains frozen as Shiro's body advances toward her. Despite his pleas for his body to stop and stay away from her, his mechanical hand reaches out and wraps around her throat, lifting her up and bringing her closer to her leader.
Shiro brings his functional arm to clutch at his mechanical one, but it will not let go. He is helpless to watch the Green Paladin as she wheezes, trying to suck in air. She weakly hits the glowing hand and mewls as the metal seems to burn her, barely even managing to struggle.
She feels the energy draining out of her as the skin around her neck starts to blister at the heat. In a final attempt to stop Shiro, she rests her hand on top of his human one and musters her remaining energy to squeeze.
The man watches as her eyes close shut, tears freely flowing from her lids, only mirroring his.
A sudden, yellow blast is what makes him drop her, and through tears, he realizes that Hunk has fired at his arm, producing enough power to temporarily cripple it.
The Yellow Paladin's eyes are hard. "I'm sorry, Shiro," he begins, "but I had to stop you somehow."
Shiro can't bring himself to be mad. He can't be anything. Not when Keith is out cold, bleeding from a serious-looking head injury, and not when Pidge could be dead. "Do what you must," he murmurs, utterly defeated.
The last thing he hears before darkness takes over is, "get them to a cyropod, now!"