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Chapter Three: A Stroke of Bad Luck

It was a pretty quiet day on the Altean ship; Coran was making some adjustments to the wormhole technology whilst Allura supervised just in case. Hunk was busy concocting something edible from the Altean food supplies as Lance and Pidge watched and nibbled on scraps like two naughty puppies. Keith was in his room reading and Shiro was on the main bridge, watching the stars from the main viewing area. The castle-ship wasn't moving as such but the feeling of drifting slowly was a constant, it never felt completely still.

The black paladin stretched his arms up over his head, his metal Galra arm had been aching for an hour or so and he guessed it was probably time for a little light training with it. It became stiff and a little clumsy if he didn't use it in a couple of days. As he turned to head towards the training deck, something in the vast expanse of space outside the castle caught Shiro's eye. What looked like a large grey cloud was slowly approaching the ship from the north. It shimmered and loomed ever closer like a small asteroid field maybe the size of a couple of football pitches. Except there were no asteroids enveloped in the gaseous cloud, only dark grey shards of something that sparkled now and then like pieces of metal. That's when Shiro realised that was exactly what it was. Somehow this huge cloud was filled with pieces of metal, shimmering in the lights of the castle.

A small beeping alerted the passengers that something was approaching and it only took a minute or so for the rest of them to join Shiro on the bridge.

"What is it?" Allura asked as she stepped beside the tall Earthling.

"It appears to be some sort of electrical storm," Coran interjected as his nimble fingers tapped away on the console in front of him, "It's approaching fast. Fascinating."

Pidge joined the Altean at the main console, on her tiptoes to see the screen more clearly.

"Looks like it's electromagnetic in origin," she turned to Allura, "It won't effect the ship right?"

Allura shook her head, "Not at all. There are precautions in place for such a thing. I think..."

Shiro couldn't help but hear the princess' last words and scratched at the spot where his Galra arm attached to his skin absently. Something about the weird storm that was approaching was making him nervous and he could have sworn that the metal in his right arm was tingling slightly.

"Ah," Coran ran his hand over his moustache as he did whenever there was a problem with no immediate solution.

"'Ah' what?" Keith asked from his seat.

"The electromagnetic force of this storm is a class A."

"And?" Lance this time.

"And the ship is only built to withstand storms of class B and below," Coran finished.

"So what'll happen when it hits?" Hunk asked, concern clear in his elevated voice.

Coran shrugged, "Nothing too serious. The cryo-pods will probably shut down to conserve power but that's about it. We might just get stuck in the storm for a day or two but it'll pass soon enough."

Through the large windows, the paladins could see the storm closer now. There was a thick grey mist-like substance swirling in circles and as it moved the metal inside it could be glimpsed now and then. It sparkled and shone as the bright lights of the Altean ship caught the smooth surfaces and Pidge noticed that it also produced some of its own electricity. What looked like white and blue lightning pierced the space around and amongst the cloud and a couple of forks even struck the ship, although not enough to do any damage. The passengers watched helplessly as the storm began to surround the ship, blocking the windows and therefore the stars that Shiro had been viewing. It was like they were being swallowed up by it.

"Do you have a question, Shiro?" Allura's voice startled the black paladin and he turned to look at her quizzically.

"Um… No?"

Shiro looked at the others with a half-smile as if to silently question Allura's sanity but to his confusion they looked just as bewildered as he did. Their raised eyebrows were not aimed at the Altean, however, but at their fearless leader.

"What?" Shiro asked, feeling his cheeks heat up from the ongoing stares.

Pidge was suddenly at his right side, pressing down on his Galra arm as though to push it into his side. He watched her, puzzled at first but then more concerned when she let go of his arm and it sprung back into the air, like he was raising it to wave or – as Allura had guessed – ask a question.

A bark of laughter escaped Lance's lips, "You're like an action figure!" he looked at Pidge, "Do it again!"

She repeated the process of pressing the arm down to his side and let go, once again watching as it sprung back up with enough force to whip her hair around her face. Lance doubled over laughing and Keith whacked him over the back of his head, a habit he'd picked up from Shiro, as he stepped over to his friend.

"Why is it doing that?"

Shiro pulled the arm down with his human hand and held it across his stomach. He could feel it trying to spring back up beneath his grip.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with this storm?"

"Most likely," Allura agreed, "It should go back to normal when the storm passes."

"It'll never go back to normal," Shiro bit his tongue, annoyed at his own words. He hadn't meant to speak them aloud, internally scolding himself for letting his true feelings slip out.

His friends pretended they hadn't heard as Pidge formed a makeshift sling to hold Shiro's arm to his chest. It would be far easier having it in that position for the duration of the storm, rather than pointing to the ceiling constantly.

"Hey," Lance spoke as he inspected whatever he'd just plucked from his ear, "Even if it doesn't go back to how it was, you could get a job directing traffic."

"Or landing planes!" Hunk added cheerfully.

"Guys!" Keith glowered at them, "You're not helping!"

"Or a really unique hat stand," Pidge concluded, gaining a giggle even from Keith.

"Wow, thanks for your concern." But Shiro smiled nonetheless.


Around lunchtime the paladins gathered in the dining area, along with Princess Allura. Coran was busy working on some electrical things that had shorted due to the surrounding storm and said he'd grab something to eat later. It was impossible to drag him away from something once he'd started it and so Hunk made him a kind of lunch box of goodies for when he'd finished. The rest sat at the long white table as the resident chef handed out plates piled with various shades of green space goo. As the months had passed it had certainly become more tolerable but what Lance wouldn't give for one of his mother's homemade dishes. Nevertheless they all dug in and there were empty plates all round after only a short while. Well, all except Shiro's.

The black paladin's Galra arm had started to ache dully about an hour after the storm had first arrived and now, another two hours later, it was throbbing painfully. The metal felt heavier and although the sensation of it tugging towards the ceiling had abated a little, another more intense feeling had taken over. Where his human arm ended and the mechanical arm began the scarred, mutilated flesh felt as though it was burning. It wasn't uncommon for it to ache a little, after all he was tugging around a heavy metal contraption all day every day, but it never hurt this badly. Shiro rolled his right shoulder and winced as the Galra metal seemed to pull and scratch against whatever was left of his right arm.

Of course Keith noticed the grimace that formed briefly on Shiro's face and his voice brought everyone's attention to it as he spoke across the table to his friend.

"Shiro? You okay?"

'Shut up, Keith' was what he wanted to reply with but Shiro instead forced a smile and nodded a little too enthusiastically.

"Peachy."

"Wow, you're a terrible liar, bossman," Lance scraped the last of his food goo off of his plate and pointed his fork in Shiro's direction, "Worse than Hunk, and he's terrible."

"I am not terrible!" Hunk protested as Lance shoved the goo into his mouth.

"Oh yeah?" Lance garbled through the goo, "Name one time you've lied successfully!"

A wry smile spread across the yellow paladin's face, "I convinced you that was edible didn't I?"

Lance stopped chewing suddenly, his cheek chipmunking the green goo. His dark eyes glanced at the others briefly and his eyebrows rose.

"It's not?!" he mumbled, aghast.

A burst of laughter erupted from Hunk and he clutched his sides as tears pooled in his eyes; seeing Lance's total horror was more than he could have asked for, plus it proved his point. Lance swallowed the goo and poked Hunk with his elbow, a proud grin on his face. Meanwhile, Keith's attention hadn't strayed from Shiro's pained expression, which only seemed to have intensified as the others had been fooling around. The black paladin had resorted to clutching his arm in its makeshift sling and was currently trying to squeeze the area where the Galra metal met his own flesh in an attempt to soothe the grinding sensation. It wasn't helping.

"Does it hurt?" Allura asked, compassion in her blue eyes.

Shiro shook his head, determined not to look weak or stupid in front of his team, "Nope. Just a bit uncomfortable."

Allura nodded, unconvinced.

Beside Shiro, on his right side, Pidge pushed her empty plate aside and 'accidentally' bumped her bony elbow into Shiro's Galra arm. She hadn't done it with much force but it was enough to elicit a yelp from the man as he almost fell off his chair into Lance's lap. Eyebrows rose and the green paladin adjusted her glasses as she leaned closer to Shiro, who was now sweating a little, the burning pain in his arm increasing every second.

"The electrical storm could be effecting the Galra tech. I'll have to do a few tests to find out though," Pidge's small hands hovered near Shiro's arm but she didn't touch it, aware that it was obviously painful, no matter what their fearless leader may want them to think.

At the mention of 'tests', Shiro had frozen. A lump of ice seemed to have encased his chest and he could feel his blood rushing through his veins faster than it should have been. Memories of the druids hovering over him, tugging and cutting away at his flesh burned his eyes and his breath became rapid until the entire room was spinning uncontrollably. It was only when Keith reached across the table and placed his hand on Shiro's left one that the motion stopped and he was able to focus again. Nothing was said between the two but the human contact was enough to ground Shiro once more, the pair's silent bond something that even Galra tech couldn't break.

Gingerly, so as not to rouse any more terrible memories, Pidge said in a gentle voice, "It won't take long and I'll make sure there's nothing invasive. Just some scans and stuff." She smiled warmly and Shiro brought his human hand over to ruffle her hair.

"Sure, Pidge, thanks."

The walk from the dining room to the laboratory seemed to take longer than usual; Pidge was busy pressing things on a tablet Coran had given to her and Shiro followed obediently, staring ahead but not really seeing anything. He did however hear something. Not-so-secretly the other three limbs of Voltron followed them down the corridor. He supposed they were trying to be sneaky about it but when Lance and Keith were involved in anything together, 'sneaky' went out the window. Shiro really didn't want an audience if he was to have tests taken but he also didn't want to turn them away. On more than one occasion he'd woken from a nightmare or a memory and almost hurt one of them, mistaking them for a Galra druid or a gladiator in the ring. And so in order to protect Pidge from one of his 'moments', Shiro allowed them to follow.

They arrived at the lab faster than he would have liked and Pidge quickly went into 'nurse mode' as she busied herself prepping various machines and instruments around the large silver room. Keith and the others weren't even trying to hide now, instead they stood in the corner of the room looking at different x-rays and screens that showed Altean anatomy. One of the screens held an image of a small boy, around Pidge's age, but he was badly burnt and looked unconscious. A pang of sorrow pierced Shiro's heart as he thought about all the Altean children and families that had been lost to the Galra empire. So much destruction for such an unworthy cause.

"Ready?"

Pidge's voice brought Shiro back to the present and he blinked at her for a moment, confused briefly.

Pidge patted the metal table in the centre of the room, "Lie down here and I'll take a look."

He did as he was told and perched his backside on the cold metal, shivering slightly but not because of the temperature.

"Lie back," Pidge commanded as she grabbed a small hand-held scanner.

"Your bedside manner could use a little work," Shiro complained as he lay back.

He didn't get a reply as Pidge unfastened the sling around his arm. Fortunately, the Galra arm remained at his side as she unwrapped it, no longer on an invisible spring. Whether that was a good sign or not, Shiro didn't know but he was thankful that he was no longer in 'Action Man' mode. He watched as she brought the scanner up to his right side, the little blue light pulsating softly as Pidge swept it slowly above his arm.

"Anything?" Shiro asked as a sliver of lightning snaked outside the large window.

Pidge shook her head, "Looks pretty normal. Well, normal for a Galra arm attached to a human guy. It's pretty interesting to be honest, I'd love to run some more tests, maybe some endurance stuff and-"

"Pidge!" Keith snapped, "Focus."

"Oh, right. Sorry," she shook her head as though to clear it and patted Shiro's arm gently, "Nothing's showing up on the scanner, it looks the same as usual."

It certainly didn't feel the same as usual. The scorching pain was getting worse and every time Shiro moved even a finger the metal felt like it was grinding painfully against his skin. He winced visibly as he sat back upright, a bead of sweat trickling down his pale face.

Outside the ship, another streak of blue lightning bleached the sky, momentarily turning the entire room white. The paladins watched as the intensity of the storm increased with each strike until suddenly an enormous BOOM rattled the lab as a bolt hit the main window and somehow snaked inside the room. Helpless, Pidge watched as the zig-zag of white energy bounced from wall to wall, scorching wherever it touched, which seemed to be anything made of metal. Keith shoved Lance out of the way as the lightning whizzed past his head, just missing him by inches, and Hunk ducked as it careened towards him. Pidge continued to watch, mesmorised by the quick and agile way it moved around the room, not like Earth lightning at all. It seemed more intense, more aware. The green paladin was so intrigued that she failed to notice a second bolt zooming towards her and was only alerted to its presence when Shiro yelled her name.

"PIDGE! Look out!"

Before she had time to react, her eyes were filled with an intense light as the electricity snaked in front of her face, missing by only an inch or so. Thankfully, Shiro had somehow launched himself at the smallest member of Voltron and pulled her forcefully aside, blocking the lightning with his own body. Oh no.

"Sh-Shiro?"

Pidge's wide eyes quickly scanned the leader's body for any sign of burns or damage. He seemed to be trembling slightly but looked otherwise unharmed. That was, except for his right arm. The Galra tech was glowing faintly but not its usual pinkish hue, more of a pale blue. Pidge could have sworn it was also humming very quietly but it could have been her imagination. Almost being fried to a crisp messed with the mind a little. Shiro didn't seem to have been injured by the lightning but he wasn't moving as the others gathered around them. He continued to tremble, his legs unstable as Keith guided him back to the table. As the black paladin got up onto it, trying to regain some sort of composure, his metal arm touched the steel of the table and two things happened: a blast of electricity zapped from his fingertips to the top of the Galra arm and singed the scarred skin above it and Shiro let out an almighty yelp of agony.

"Whoa!" Lance jumped back, "What the quiznak!"

Shiro looked almost transparent. Sweat trickled down his sunken cheeks and his eyes were dark and heavy. The trembling had intensified and he was panting, as though he'd just run a marathon. The lightning which had struck him only moments before had swept through his entire body like a wave of death but right now the only thing he could feel was his right arm. It continued to glow blue as he rested it on his lap, palm up and shaking violently. Tears pricked his eyes as the pain concentrated on the scarred flesh where Galra met human; it felt like fire and filled his consciousness to the point where he felt he would somehow overflow with pain and just explode into a charred cloud of ash. With his left hand, Shiro gripped the top of the Galra metal but quickly pulled it back as the heat from it almost burnt his good hand. The pain wasn't abating, in fact he felt it was getting worse with every second.

"The metal of the Galra arm must have conducted the electricity and concentrated it away from Shiro's human parts," Pidge said, mainly to herself as she grabbed the scanner again.

"Lucky," Hunk sighed, "I'm pretty sure it would have fried his heart otherwise."

"Or at least messed up his funky hair," Lance added.

On the table, Shiro continued to tremble and it was only when Pidge reached out her small hand to steady his Galra arm that he reacted. Forcefully, but not so much as to hurt her, Shiro shoved Pidge's hand away from the metal with his left arm and shook his head weakly.

"It's okay, I'm just going to scan it again," Pidge leaned closer once more but was again pushed back.

Gasping for breath, Shiro croaked, "Too… hot… burn..."

Confused, Pidge looked to the others for answers.

Lance shrugged and Keith placed his hand on Shiro's left shoulder.

"What? Pidge just wants to scan your arm again, it won't hurt." He felt self conscious talking to his oldest friend as though he was a child but Shiro didn't seem to be responding to anything other than his soothing tones.

Shiro shook his head, stronger this time, more determined, "No! It'll… burn!"

He shifted his right arm awkwardly and Keith suddenly realised what he was trying to convey. His dark eyes widened and a sickly feeling settled in his stomach. Had Shiro been burning this entire time? How was he still conscious? Why wasn't he howling in pain? It was then that the red paladin knew that Shiro had been trying to save the others from seeing his anguish. Even in the thralls of agony, their leader wanted to protect them.

"Don't touch the Galra tech," Keith held onto Pidge's arm to stop her advancing, "It's hot."

"Hot?" She blinked.

Keith nodded solemnly and Pidge turned back to look at Shiro. His eyes were glazed as he stared at his hand, frowning deeply. She could not only see his pain but there was a faint odour like pork and Pidge realised it was Shiro's flesh starting to burn. Her stomach rolled but she kept her calm façade.

"Is it burning right now?" Pidge asked quietly.

Slowly, Shiro's eyes rose to meet her own and he nodded.

Unknowingly to the paladins, the Alteans had joined them in the lab after hearing the commotion with the lightning and they stepped forwards now, worry marring their usual calm faces. Coran stood beside Hunk and Lance as Allura placed a gentle hand on Shiro's lap. He was thankful for the contact and tried to concentrate on her soft hand rather than the searing in his arm.

"Coran says that the storm may last at least another day," the princess spoke to Pidge but kept her eyes on Shiro, who shifted uncomfortably at the thought of another twenty-four hours of hell.

"But he's burning," Keith almost growled the words.

"The cryo-pods aren't online, I don't know what to suggest."

"We can't just leave him like this," Pidge spoke quietly, face turned away from Shiro's, "The metal is literally scorching his skin. In a couple of hours the human part of his right arm will be useless."

"I don't know-"

"...off," Shiro breathed, interrupting Allura.

All eyes turned to the black paladin.

"What?" Keith asked, although he thought he knew what Shiro had said, he just didn't want to believe it.

Shiro sat a little more upright, his face contorted with pain, "Take it… off."

"Take it off?!" Lance yelped.

"No!" Keith grabbed Shiro's arms and all too late remembered his Galra tech. Even through his fingerless gloves Keith could feel the intense heat radiating from it and he quickly pulled his hand back.

"You want us to chop your arm off?!" Lance's voice was high, panicked.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Hunk hiccuped and turned his face away.

"Guys..."

"I don't think we have the facilities, even the cryo-pods..." Allura trailed off, lost in thought.

"Lasers might work," Coran was stroking his moustache, "It'd have to be a clean cut."

"Guys..."

"We can't just lop it off!" Pidge was pacing back and forth, "He needs two arms to do… stuff!"

"Guys!"

Shiro's sudden burst of energy brought everyone's attention to the fading man and he panted harder, even speaking was becoming difficult.

"I don't… want you to chop my arm… off," he gasped and tried to focus his eyes to stop the room spinning, "Just take the Galra… part. Until the... storm passes."

"Oh..." Lance shrugged, "That makes more sense."

Pidge looked at Allura, "Is that possible?"

"I… I think so? Coran?"

"We certainly have the tools but I'm not sure my knowledge of Galra technology goes as far as amputations."

Shiro laughed weakly, "I believe in you, Coran… If anyone can do it… it's you."


Just twenty minutes later Shiro was lying back on the metal table in the medical chamber whilst Pidge, Allura and Coran milled around him like worker bees. Various lights pulsated and monitors beeped around the black paladin as wires snaked from his arms, neck and chest back to holographic screens and scanners. Usually this type of scenario would have panicked Shiro to the point of utter fear, memories of the druids clouding his vision, but at this moment in time the only thing clouding his mind was the unbearable torture that was his right arm.

The small metal table to his side was wobbling and rattling the instruments that lay atop it and it was only when Allura pressed down on his chest that Shiro realised it was his own body's tremors causing the mini earthquake.

"We're going to start now, Shiro," the princess pressed a small pen-like instrument to his left arm and he felt a tiny prick as the anaesthetic was injected. "You'll remain conscious throughout the procedure but you shouldn't feel… much."

Shiro forced a smile and thanked Allura through a raspy throat as Coran pulled a large metal contraption from the ceiling. It locked onto the Galra arm like a clamp and more, smaller arms started to unscrew and cut away at the connecting seam between flesh and metal. A pulling sensation was added to the burning as the machine continued but then, like a flash of lightning made of cotton wool rather than burning light, the pain suddenly stopped. Shiro sighed, assuming that the arm had been removed and swallowed thickly before slowly turning his head to look at what remained of his human arm.

The Galra arm was still attached.

The machine hadn't even managed to break the seam, it still whirred and buzzed as it worked to remove the alien technology. But the pain was gone. The only thing that remained was the soreness one would feel after a burn, not the actual sensation itself. Shiro's eyes slowly wandered to the large window to his left. He saw a nearby planet surrounded by a pale green haze and stars, so many stars. Hold on. Stars. Shiro could see the stars, the planet, the blue glow of the ship's engines. No storm, the cloud had disappeared just as swiftly as it had surrounded them.

"Wait..." his voice was quiet, weak, and neither Pidge nor the Alteans heard him over the grinding gears of the machine working on his arm.

He tried again but to no avail.

Finally, desperately trying to keep himself in one piece, Shiro did the only thing he thought he could to get their attention. He powered up his Galra arm. It took almost thirty seconds, much longer than usual, but it began to glow a faint pink and Shiro could feel it pulsating with power.

"I think something's effecting the tech," Coran said plainly as he pushed another button, "Probably just a reflex reaction of it being tampered with."

Silently, Shiro rolled his eyes and concentrated more energy into the arm. It now shone brightly and felt strong enough to actually move. He did just that, although he didn't have the power to raise the entire arm, a single finger would do. Patiently, he waited until Pidge was standing by his metal hand – the youngster being the only one in the room who would understand the gesture – and stuck up his middle finger. He saw Pidge's eyebrows raise a little and then a shadow of a smirk twitched at her pale lips before her eyes met her leader's, who then looked pointedly towards the window. Pidge's gaze followed Shiro's and she understood him immediately.

"Wait!" Pidge yanked the metal apparatus away from Shiro and placed her small frame between Coran and him, "Look!"

The Alteans saw the lack of storm outside the ship and Allura leaned over Shiro, careful not to touch his still-warm Galra arm.

"Shiro?"

Without realising he'd done so, Shiro had closed his eyes as relief washed over him and when he next opened them Allura was close enough to bring a slight blush to his cheeks. He cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled up at her.

"It's gone," he croaked.

"Yes," Allura nodded, "The storm seems to have dissipated faster than we anticipated."

Shiro shook his head, "Not the storm, the pain."

"Wonderful!" Coran patted Shiro's arm, which although no longer burning, still throbbed painfully, "Because I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to reattach this darn thing!"

"Yeah," Pidge added, obvious relief in her voice, "We were trying to think of what else we could replace it with! Hunk suggested a spork."

Allura helped Shiro sit upright and he smiled, "Thank God you didn't take it off!"

"Does it still hurt?" Pidge asked as she automatically touched Shiro's left hand with her own.

He shrugged, "Like a bitc-" he stopped himself mid-sentence and continued with a little more composure, "A little, yeah. But not as much as before."

"You'll be right as snow in no time!" Coran said in his sing-song tones.

"Rain," Pidge corrected him.

Coran looked out of the window, "In space? I don't think so, Number Five. Although we did just have a storm so I suppose anything is possible!"

Shiro and Pidge exchanged smirks as the others burst into the room, happy to be in the presence of a completely healthy leader once again.

((Thanks so much for the reviews so far! If anyone has any ideas or requests for chapters just let me know and I'll give it a go!))