Rating: T(violence)
Characters: Lance, Keith, Pidge/Katie H., Hunk, Shiro, Allura, Coran, Matt H., new aliens (like a lot), Galra
Additional Tags: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt Hunk (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), or is it Shiro? Who knows, Allura (Voltron), Original Galran Character(s), Coran (Voltron), Matt Holt, Original Alien Character(s), Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, POV Keith (Voltron), POV Pidge | Katie Holt POV Hunk (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Whump, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Alternate Season/Series 04, Hurt Lance (Voltron), BAMF Keith (Voltron), BAMF Lance (Voltron), Team as Family, Platonic Relationships, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
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Chapter 2: Storming the Castle
Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic
-W.H. Auden
He was definitely not prepared for this mission. When Hunk had come in earlier to wake him, Lance could've sworn his head had just hit the pillow. Guess he had pulled a pretty Pidge move in getting caught up in a project all night. How could that little gremlin do this willingly on a regular basis? Ah damn, he wasn't paying attention again. Lance quickly rubbed his eyes and brought his focus back to the room instead of his internal musing. He tentatively took another sip of the space coffee he had been given upon entering the control room by Pidge. While he had been grateful, because anything would help, the suspicious green color was just throwing him off. He needed to be more alert for the mission though. They were just getting to review the vital portions of the mission as Lance was tuning back in.
"… So at this point we'd have drawn their attention away with a seemingly natural disaster from the elements and have snuck inside. Hunk will stay in Yellow and Allura in Blue, upgrading the damage done if necessary, and remaining unseen as long as possible. They'll also be needed later to have their lions ready to evacuate the prisoners," Shiro was saying.
Allura nodded at Shiro before adding, "Yes and remember, the Zuiry'kt are a proud warrior race that excel in battle strategy and fighting. They are very honor bond, so rescuing some of their officers is crucial to helping Voltron form a strong alliance."
"Real proud and stubborn, those lot," Coran interjected with a twirl of his mustache. "All about dying a glorious death. Will fight for what they believe in tougher than a wruihl during flvhmio season!"
"… Right," Shiro agreed with a slightly puzzled tone. "Anyway the Princess is right. Making sure we free the captives is our top priority. That's why we'll be breaking off into two teams. Pidge and I to command to lower all the defenses and open the cells, while Keith and Lance get to the prisoners and make sure they leave before starting a full blown riot. We can't have the entire base bearing down on us, even with the help of any warriors who would jump into the fray. We don't know if there are others being held or who may be injured."
Honestly, Lance would rather just pick off all the sentries while they were making their way through the work camp. It would make the whole sneaking in thing easier if there was no one left to hide from. He bet Keith would agree with him, but wouldn't go against Shiro. The place was huge and highly guarded so it really was the best plan but still, he could dream.
Speaking of a certain mullet, Keith kept glancing his direction every few tics and it was starting to irritate him. "What Keith," he hissed, too tired to keep any semblance of his usual upbeat attitude.
Keith fully turned to him and quipped, "Do you remember the general layout we went over the other day? Also, are you even listening right now?" Sheesh no trust. Must be because he wasn't interrupting or being lively as usual, or that he had totally been spacing out for a good five minutes earlier. Eh whatever he was tired. He knew that Keith was still trying to be a leader for the team, seeing as he was piloting Black at the moment, but he really didn't need the sass. All eyes were now directed towards the two Paladins, since Keith had decided to oh so subtly responded to Lance.
"If you must know, Keith, yes I was paying attention," Lance retorted while placing a hand on his hip. The Blue and Red paladin raised his other hand, careful not to spill the remaining space coffee, in a half-hearted dramatic gesture and continued. "Me and you, ninja our way through, kick ass if we need to, free the peeps, and high-tail it back to Green, Yellow, and Baby Blue while the Gremlin locks the remaining guards in their own base so everyone can load up, with enough time for another lion to come if necessary. Boom done, briefing over."
"Well it's lacking a few details, but I guess we did just go over this not too long ago. Alright team, to your stations. Let's do this," Shiro concluded. Lacking a few details indeed. Keith wasn't fully happy with Lance's report. He noticed how Lance failed to mention how exactly they were going to get through the base. Looks like it was up to him to navigate, again. Not that he minded too much anyway because then Lance could cover his back. His shooting still was impressive no matter how inflated his talk was. Keith wasn't dumb; he knew talent when he saw it. He just didn't think Lance's ego needed the additional praise to go to his head.
Also he could tell that the lack of sleep was really bugging him. That space coffee could only do so much. He would know, seeing as he had snuck some before when he would be the only one up for light training in the morning. He couldn't do it all the time or else Pidge would start to notice. Keith really didn't want to have to explain himself; it'd be so troublesome and awkward. Like he really needed help in that department, he darkly joked to himself. Picking up his helmet just as the castle exited the wormhole, Keith started in the direction of the Green lion's hanger with all of the other Paladins minus Hunk.
"See you on the flip side buddy!" Lance called out joyfully to Hunk with a wave, "Have fun destroying a mountain!"
"Have fun storming the castle," Hunk called back with a backwards hand raise. Pidge pushed up her glasses with a snort while Shiro gave a tiny smile. Lance smiled like a madman, "HA! I'll be sure to best a giant while I'm at it!"
"Lance," Keith deadpanned, "We're supposed to avoid the Galra, remember? You literally just said we have to ninja our way through the base not even ten dobashes ago."
Unimpressed eyes met his. "I was making a reference Keith. Obviously any actual giant Galra we may come across we hide or run like hell from."
Keith was equally unimpressed. If Lance had enough energy to joke and try to rile him up then he'd be fine for the mission. Why was he even concerned? "I know it was a reference, just make a better one."
Lance rolled his eyes and pointed a finger at him. He looked ready to dish out more sass when Pidge interrupted. "I am not dealing with this the whole ride there, and you two are going to be a two man team in less than a varga. Knock it off."
Pidge was right, as usual. Keith figured that the additional sass was most likely from sleep deprivation, but that didn't make Lance any less annoying. They were going to be stuck together for this mission and with Lance being in a mood he was going to have to keep his cool. He grimaced at the thought before he could stop it. He hoped this wouldn't be a long mission.
On board the Green lion things were too quiet. Shiro looked calm, like the silence wasn't deafening, while Pidge kept fidgeting in her chair. Keith was beginning to feel unsettled himself. This was not how they usually went into battle, and the unfamiliar situation was making Keith start to feel jittery himself. He started to shift on his feet and look out at their surroundings to keep himself occupied.
"Alright someone has to talk 'cause I'm starting to get creeped out," came Hunk's voice over the comms.
"Well our usual background chatter is being quiet today. Its weirding me out, too," Pidge added.
"Hey! You always said I was distracting you from going over the plan again," Lance protested.
"I got used to it – she shrugged and rolled her shoulder – and it was kinda' nice actually. Going over things too many times just leads to panic. At least, that's what Matt tells me when I'm studying…"
Seeing the conversation going south real quick with Shiro putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, Keith quickly redirected the conversation. "Yeah you are being extra quiet today, Lance. Why were you up so late? You never did tell me after I asked this morning."
The Blue and Red paladin stiffened, then relaxed so fast that Keith almost believed he was seeing things. A forced grin and strained, tired eyes meet his. A tight chuckle trickled out while Lance sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh right that. I was just up working on the game system. Thought it would be a nice surprise after the mission to be able to relax and play, ya know?" Lance was still meeting his gaze, but Keith wasn't totally buying it. Something was off but he couldn't tell what.
The others, though, were not looking directly at Lance like Keith was. They didn't see the slight sag in his shoulders with relief when Hunk exclaimed with excitement over the comms. Didn't notice how he redirected his attention to the floor when Pidge started going back and forth with Hunk about what still needed to be done. Keith twisted his lips to the side, trying to think of what to say next. He had just been thinking about crossing the cockpit to the Blue paladin to ask what was up when Shiro butted in.
"Alright team, we're entering the planet's atmosphere. Hunk, Allura, time to splinter off."
"Got it. We'll just be going to cause a 'natural' disaster now," Hunk lamented. Keith could tell that Hunk really wasn't looking forward to purposefully drawing all the attention to himself. He could relate to that. He knew it was necessary for the mission, but Keith didn't want to put him in anymore danger than necessary. Keith nodded to himself in determination; he would finish this mission quickly.
It seemed he wasn't the only one who shared his sentiment. From his vantage point at the back of the cockpit, he could see Shiro was watching the Yellow and Blue lions fly off, and Keith didn't miss Pidge glancing back and forth while steering. The only thing missing was a cheerful comment from Lance. Flipping his gaze to Lance, it didn't look like any cheeky comment would be coming. Lance's eyes were downcast and leaden. His whole demeanor screamed exhaustion. Yeah, definitely making this a fast mission.
Sneaking down to the back of the base was simple enough with the cloaking of the Green lion. The exterior resembled a prison compound, with controlled lifts to the quarry and fields above. The base itself was set deep at the bottom of a ravine, in a ledge that overlooked an abyss. Tall guard towers stretched up and out of the desolate ledge, overlooking the expanse below and looming over the cells trapped in their shadows.
Regardless of how advanced the technology the Altean scanners could only pierce so far into the pit. For all Keith knew, it went completely through to the core. He had seen so many strange things in space that it wouldn't even surprise him at this point; even though according to earth science it shouldn't be possible.
From the dust cloud forming in the distance, Hunk had begun his distraction. After a quick confirmation over the comms from Hunk that yes, the Galra's attention was unquestionably directed towards him, Pidge hacked into the system to open a backdoor. Once inside the four split off. The pairs making their way down the dark gray hallways, dimly lit with a familiar repulsive purple. Lance and Keith went in the opposite direction of Pidge and Shiro, deeper into the compound as opposed to the highest control tower.
"It smells down here."
"Shut up, Lance." This was the third stupid comment in less than ten minutes by the Blue and Red Paladin. "We're almost there, we-he glances down at his wrist device- we only have two more hallways until we reach the cells. Do you want us to get caught," Keith hissed behind him.
A slight pout spouted on what was visible on Lance's face below his visor. "Yes Keith. I obviously want us to get caught so we get locked down here in this dark, smelly prison. We haven't even ran into anything but cameras thanks to Hunk and Allura directing all the attention at them. Seriously though, you don't think it reeks?"
"That could change at any time. We don't want to put Hunk or the princess in any prolonged danger so let's keep moving." Keith continued down the hall, Pidges navigation unit see was live streaming showing the door just up ahead, trusting Lance to follow him. The slight sigh and grumble told him Lance was doing just that, so he kept moving, eyes scanning the increasingly darkened halls.
Lance was right though. It really did smell foul down here. The Zuiry'kt were very honor bound according to Allura, and had strong sense of kinship. Dying for each other was the standard and very respected in their culture. That's what it smelled like down here; everyone was dying for one another. That and coupled with the dark, cold atmosphere, Keith felt on edge and stiff from holding tension too long. Even if they had only been creeping along for a bit less than half a varga.
Being so on edge did pay off. Faint, metallic footsteps could be heard rounding one of the last hallways Keith and Lance needed to cover before reaching the holding cells. Keith quickly ducked behind an open archway, reaching back to mom-belt Lance into doing the same. Lance, joking aside, was just as on edge as Keith and so was already jumping back alongside Keith, prepping his bayard. He whips out his Blue blaster and holds it steady, looking over the Red and Black Paladin's shoulder.
The rhythmatic stomping becomes louder and echoes down towards the pair as the sentries approach. A full squadron, set to remain guard while the rest investigate Hunk, comes into view. There are at least ten sentries in total. Not a totally unreasonable number for two skilled Paladins, but not a size that Lance would engage if he had to. Alas, that decision was made for him the moment Keith went sprinting head first into the patrolling unit.
"Keith! – He jumped out from behind the archway – I thought we were trying to be stealthy," Lance called out. He began to lay down cover fire regardless as he followed Keith from a reasonable distance into the horde.
"Element of surprise! Best get rid of them now," Keith clipped. Okay yeah, getting rid of the bots before freeing the probably injured, sacrifice themselves, fight-to-the-death type aliens was probably a good thing, Lance thought. He doubted that the rash Red and Black Paladin had actually been thinking that when he started hacking and slashing, but whatever works.
The cold tension he had built was not doing himself any favors though. His fingers felt stiff with each pull of the trigger and his arms heavy. From what he could see, Keith had shrugged off his uncomfortableness in the few tics it took to reach his first opponent and was fairing much better than he. That didn't mean he was doing absolutely fantastic either. Some of the bots Keith had simply hacked through to disable and move on were beginning to gather their bearings and turn to corner the Red Paladin. Not to mention the element of surprise was officially gone.
Lance's frozen fingers fumbled to catch up to his frantic actions. He needed to cover not only himself, those metal arms were reaching a bit too close into his bubble, but definitely Keith's dumb ass actions. Seriously, if he wasn't so busy trying to not get hit himself while chasing after Keith he'd be yelling at for how reckless this plan was and making him worry. Not easy being a sharpshooter when the best he could do was run and shoot with stiff fingers.
He wasn't catching up to Keith though. Too many of the stumbling sentries were in the way. Keith was just slashing through too many without them remaining disabled anymore. They were quickly outnumbering him; Keith just didn't know it yet.
"KEITH!" Lance called out again. Screw the distance he needed to safely shoot or use bayard properly. Lance raced through the surging bots, bludgeoning them out of his way with the side of his laser. He jumped into the fray and started to be grabbed from every direction. Metal grasps, stinging from the cold, bit into his arms and torso in an attempt to restrain him. Lance struggled to break free, losing his sight of Keith and then closing his eyes, quickly overwhelmed. Whirring and clanking suffocated his senses.
A slight gasp broke through the mechanical havoc. The sharp intake snapping Lance back to his surroundings. He didn't realize his finger had found its way to the trigger, and had been steadily pulling the last few tics. Where was Keith? Breath. Focus. The hands dropped and sparks lit the dark halls as the last of mechanical bodies dropped. Ocean Blue eyes panned the halls, searching for the feint glow of his fellow paladin's armor. A groan to his right drew his direction to the ground where red and white armor could be seen amongst littered metal scraps. Clearing a way to Keith, Lance found him lying on his side, struggling to stand while clutching his shoulder. Small tendrils of smoke escaped between his clasped hand. A burn mark, angrily displayed on his upper shoulder blade, close to his collar bone, came to light as Keith continued to shift about.
"Oh man. Dios, Keith! Quiznack. I'm so sorry man. I was trying to warn you and then there were more getting up and you were going to get overwhelmed and then I-"
"Lance," Keith interjected, "I'm fine. Ow." He was peeling himself off the floor only to shift and attempt to role his shoulders. Keith finally turned around to face Lance, who was relieved to note that although the entry wound did not look too good, the armor seemed to have absorbed most of the shot with only a small mark noticeable above Keith's left armpit. "Just be careful when charging right into battle, Sharpshooter."
"Hey who was it that originally blew our cover, Keith!" Lance through his arms up in an exasperated fashion. I was just trying to cover you, Hot-Head," Lance retorted, not really throwing any heat behind his words. "I may have been neglecting proper weapon safety, but I'm not the one who decided to risk my personal safety originally!" He could feel the worry and guilt swimming in his eyes as he tried to keep his lip in a tight line to mock agitation. Keith could feign being fine pretty good, but Lance had younger siblings and knew he was faking it. Keith's hand immediately returning to his shoulder after trying to stretch out his arms wasn't helping his case either.
Keith let out a deflated sigh, picking up his discarded bayard and testing the weight with one hand rather than two. Seeming satisfied he began trudging down the halls. "Come on, it's just one little laser blast. Halls are empty now, so let's go."
Grumbling about stubborn, bull-headed mullets, Lance begrudgingly followed. The prisoner cells came into view fast after the next bend.
"Lance do you read?" cut through on his comms. Pidge.
"Yeah we're here. Just dealing with some bots. Keith got hit and thinks he's fine, but don't believe him for one minute!"
"I'm fine, guys," Keith cut in before any further questions could be asked. "We're at the cells now. Pidge, can you get us in?"
There was a pause in which Lance knew Pidge was debating asking for more information. He could almost see her reluctant eye roll before the doors slid open without another word. Keith quickly snaked his way in, Lance close behind.
The aliens were not quite what he had expected, but then again they never were. Burly and mean seemed the most appropriate way to describe them. Even amongst what he was guessing were females and children, the corded muscles were easily visible against ruddy skin. The sharp features a perfect match for the wicked, black speckled eyes. Lance's instincts were on edge, a primal warning that joking his way into their hearts was not the way to go here.
Keith must've felt the same way, as he kept his bayard out, but lowered the tip of the blade to the floor. "My name is Keith – he gestured to Lance – and this is Lance. We're Paladins of Voltron here to get you out."
An older alien stepped forward. "We heard the song of battle in the halls," he called out. "We accept your spirit, Paladins of Voltron. Let us leave to seek a glorious death by our own means."
Man, Coran was not kidding about the 'glorious death' stuff. As the last of the prisoners were assisted to leaving the cells, Lance felt a little grateful for the fight earlier. He wouldn't have wanted to know what would've happened had they had not been accepted.
"… Out through the back door again. Lance? Hey, are you even listening? Wait are you bleeding?" He jumped at the hand on his arm. Damn he had spaced out again. Bleeding? What bleeding? Drawing attention to the injury caused the slight stinging he had been ignoring into focus. Hoping up his right hand he noticed the blood stained portion of his glove, quickly expanding as it flowed down his wrist.
Clarity came just as quick. "Oh yeah my cut from yesterday. This morning. Whatever. Must've reopened it shooting. It's not bad, you saw it earlier," he pointed out.
"Yeah well neither is mine but I'm not openly bleeding" Keith remarked. They were leading the way back, well mostly Keith, and just passing the garbage from earlier.
The stressed sound of Hunk over the coms interrupted the quiet conversation. "Um, guys? I don't think our cover is working anymore!" Lance was just about to ask Shiro what that meant for them when his senses were over powered with white. His eyes squeezed tight as he was knocked off his feet. Flat on his back he took a mental inventory of possible injuries while trying to gather his bearings. Not finding anything serious, Lance dejectedly rose to his feet. Shaking his head to clear it, he lazily thought that that answered his question to Shiro. Rapidly blinking Lance took in the situation. Red gas engulfed the halls, the Zuiry'kt were howling, Keith was on his back clutching his injury from earlier.
As the haze dissipated the Zuiry'kt remained agitated and, if possible, more tense than Lance thought anything was capable. The ringing was just starting to fade from his ears as he tried to help Keith up, again. It was then that he became aware of three important sounds: His team calling out to them over the coms, alarms glaring in the distance, and the advancing whir of mechanical feet. He should've known that those were not the last sentries they'd run into.
Spiro's voice cut through with his warning. "Guys! Can you hear me? We have to go, now! Pidge had to start the lock down in order to keep most of the Galra officers and backup out from where you are now. The countdown is started. Get the Zuiry'kt to the lions as fast as you can!"
"I'll keep you updated on time, just focus on getting out," Pidges voice rang out. Lance had successfully, sort of, deadlifted Keith as he replied.
"Yeah we copy. Thanks Pidge," Lance croaked. Now they just had to get out, with a bunch of adrenaline filled aliens. Those aliens who were whipped into a frenzy at hearing the sentries and had shot down the hall to engage the enemy. All within a time limit. Ah quiznack
AN:
Now the real fun begins. Sorry this took so long to post, but with season five coming out I need my time of panic. No spoilers please! The plan is to try to post every other week at most. Feel free to scream at me, with me, or both below in the comments. Thanks for reading!