Chapter 7
Keith stood absolutely still for a moment trying to process what he should do next. Shiro surely remembered being rescued right? Well, the shock and every other trauma he may have experienced escaping may have altered his memory a bit, but he had to have remembered something.
He had disappeared for over a month and most of the Blade believed that he had died escaping once Ulaz left him to get out on his own. Ulaz had been very adamant about it the entire time, claiming that Shiro was stronger than the others and would help them. That Shiro was calculating and strong and always found a way to defeat all of the Druid beasts Haggar sent after him, and live to tell the tale. It was a skill many of the Blade members lacked. The Beasts were cunning and overpowered.
But Takashi Shirogane always found a way to win.
That was all Ulaz had needed to believe that Takashi would be their savior.
Ulaz's daughter had been on guard duty that morning along with five other Blades. They had been patrolling the temporary base that had been set up on the outskirts of a forgotten solar system that housed a few heavily forested planets.
Keith was only five.
Kolivan and Thace had been called out to investigate the area and see if it was even worth setting up a permanent base that would hopefully be able to house some members of the Blade who needed to hack into Galran databases without being disturbed. It was a tedious business and they needed a more stable environment to work in that wasn't in the ships or in galactic areas that screwed with the signals.
Keith had been begging them for weeks to take him on a mission with them. He had been expecting something with action and adventure. Neither Kolivan nor Thace wanted to take him anywhere, but due to his constant prodding he managed to worm his way into this mission.
He had been exploring the base on his own at the time; the others scouted the planet's immediate surroundings. He had made it into the canteen and was trying to convince the heavily armed 'lunch lady' to make him a snack when he heard the first sounds of gunfire. It cracked through the air and resonated in his bones.
The lady quickly scooped Keith up into her arms and pulled him behind the counter where she deposited him and told him to stay put.
Keith had thought to himself, "It's probably just practice shots." But was quickly told otherwise by the piercing screams of a nearby Blade. Keith's heart pounded loudly and he peeked his head over the counter to try to see what was going on. There was only a small doorway that he could see out of, but it was more than enough for him catch a glimpse of the situation.
There was screaming now coming from all directions as Blade members poured out of the buildings to the front of the camp. Swords and guns were drawn equally and all were being used with deadly precision.
Or at least, what should have been deadly precision.
The monster that everyone was fighting was at least thirty feet tall and glowing purple. It was shaped like a spider; with multiple legs and a few sets of glowing eyes. And on its back was what looked like a larger version of the Blade's blaster guns.
Every shot that the soldiers shot and every slice the soldiers made had hardly any effect. They bounced off harmlessly and sometimes ricocheted back at them, causing entire offensive lines to drop to the ground. The spider simply stomped around, crushing Blades beneath its feet as if they were bugs to be squashed.
The Blade was losing and the spider hadn't even uses the enormous gun fused into its back. All Keith could do was watch as all of his friends- family - died in the wake of this massive creature.
Keith ducked back down behind the counter and pushed himself into a nook to hide. The stomping came closer but he just closed his eyes and tried not to breathe too loudly.
The spider sounded like it was just outside of the doorway now, Keith cowered further into his hiding place. Suddenly there was a hand on his arm, pulling him out. Keith screamed and his eyes shot open. He was about to lash out at the unknown attacked but recognized her before he could do any harm.
"Shella told me you were in here. We need to go now." She said. Her hair was cut short and choppy and it fell into her eyes when she looked down. This was Ulaz's daughter.
Keith nodded and clung to her hand fiercely as she led them out the back door away from the fighting.
"Once everyone is clear we can use the big guns and grenades. It will be okay." She said. Keith couldn't tell if she was trying to convince him or herself. They had just gotten through the doors of the canteen when a terrible squealing sound rippled through the air followed by a horrendous explosion that shook the floor and forced them to the ground. The buildings around them groaned and bent but steadied once the shaking stopped.
Keith was so afraid that he was crying. He was going to die.
"Come on, Keith," she grit through clenched teeth and pulled herself up. Keith saw something blossoming on her side but she turned away before he could figure out what it was and hauled him to his feet.
They pushed through two more buildings before Ulaz's daughter deemed it safe enough for Keith. She turned to him and told him, "Now you stay in this sector and don't come out unless the building starts collapsing. I have to go help the others." Keith cried out for her not to go, that he was afraid. Afraid that he would die here alone. She turned back to him and gripped him in a vise like hug. He tugged at the back of her shirt with his stubby toddler fingers as if it would make her stay and cried into her shoulder. "I'm afraid of that too." She whispered.
Keith's hands moved further as she stood up and they brushed over a thick damp spot with some object protruding from the middle of it on her uniform. She tried to hide the cringe but Keith could feel her tense up.
"We all have to face death, Keith. And sometimes we dance with it long enough for it to forget why it came in the first place, but I've never been a very good dancer, Keith." She smiled sadly and kissed his forehead before turning away quickly to prevent Keith from seeing her cry. She left as fast as her injury would allow.
Keith had never really gotten to know Ulaz's daughter very well, but she was almost like a distant big sister who would sometimes bring him a snack before dinner or show him how to do things that might have gotten them into trouble had their parents found out. There weren't many young Blades around, so they had to stick together, right? He was close enough to feel as if a small part of himself was lost in her when she left him in the hallway and ran out to her last battle.
Keith sprinted over to a window to watch the chaos unfold from two sectors away. There were bodies everywhere. Blood, burn marks, crumbling and toppling buildings. The peaceful camp he had been in not twenty minutes ago was gone and replaced heartlessly with a raging war zone.
He searched the patches of fighting Blade members for Ulaz's daughter. He spotted her away from the others clutching her side as she ran full speed at the monster. Keith watched in horror as the monster's giant gun began to pulsate and glow, the high keening noise from earlier permeating the air.
She kept running.
The monster was seconds from firing when he saw her jump up and grab onto one of its legs, with a speed he had never before seen she scaled the monster and was holding onto its torso. There was a small movement on her part as she pushed her arm in front of the barrel of the gun and then a distinct violet explosion took out the both of them. The violet of a Blade grenade.
"Jestice!" He screamed her name.
…
After her funeral Keith told himself that he would do whatever he could to protect the rest of his family from Zarkon and his druids.
…
Ulaz took the death of his only daughter hard. He became distant and unresponsive for quite some time, but the Blade needed him. Kolivan assigned him a watcher's job. Ulaz followed the order blindly and recklessly moved about the Galran base.
He made some dangerous choices in the time that he was there.
Kolivan had been about to resign him for the safety of the Blade, when Ulaz witnessed Takashi's first fight.
That was when everything changed.
He found hope, and told the others just as much. Before the Blade could consult with him he was freeing Shiro.
Kolivan had been furious and recalled him back to headquarters where he was to run the intelligence central, away from all other Galran soldiers.
Ever since he had been searching for Shiro.
"You're Takashi Shirogane?" Keith asked, even though he knew the answer.
Shiro narrowed his eyes at him and his face donned an uneasy expression as his brows drew together and his mouth drew into a tight line.
"Yes… did one of them tell you my whole name?" He gestured to Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. Keith swallowed. His voice was so commanding and demanded respect, without even trying.
"No. You are known by the Blade of Marmora." Keith answered, almost nervously. He took a breath and got a hold of himself. "Some among the Blade believe that you will be the one to lead us to victory against Zarkon."
Shiro seemed taken aback by this, while the others just seemed confused as Keith threw the information in their faces.
"But… Okay, Keith, I don't even know who the Blade of Marmora is. Have you been watching me?" He took a step closer and the height difference between them became more pronounced.
"No. The day you escaped… It was with the Blade's help." Keith answered as strongly as he could, making it appear as if he wasn't frightened by this legend of a man.
"The day…" Shiro took a step back and Keith let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "The day…" Keith saw something flash in his eyes as Shiro grimaced and brought a hand to his head.
"Ulaz. He was the one that helped you escape. He gave you a chip that would help you get back in contact with us if you survived." Keith said, hoping that he was jogging his memory. Shiro looked to his druid arm as if suddenly remembering what it held.
"I remember." He whispered.
The others looked utterly confused as they look to each other for answers. Lance looked to Keith though. Shiro seemed to realize the confusion the others were feeling and turned to them.
"I guess that we have a valid reason to trust him now. That is, as long as he is how he says he is. Ulaz helped me escape that day that I got back to earth. It's a long story, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without him." Shiro glanced at Keith. "So, does that mean that you can get in touch with Ulaz and lead us to the Blade?"
Keith shook his head. "Allura said that comms were down and it's pretty difficult to get in touch without being close by or having a direct or isolated line of communication. I don't even know where we are right now, so it might be easier if we examined the chip Ulaz gave you."
Shiro looked at pidge. "Do you think you could run a diagnostic on my arm and find the chip?"
Pidge looked uncertain. "I can try, but it is druid tech, some it might take some time."
"We will have plenty of that while the castle gets back in order." Lance said from the side.
"Well, I guess we should get started then. It's not like I had anything better to do." She said sarcastically.
"You guys were giving Keith the tour?" Shiro asked. They nodded. "Go ahead and finish up. Pidge and I will get started in the tech room. You can meet us there after." With that Shiro turned and started down the hall. Pidge waved goodbye before following after him, saying something about needing to get her gear.
Keith caught Lance's eye and said, "Well, I guess we should get going."
…
Nothing really caught his eye as he toured around. Nothing except the training room, which was huge. Keith could already tell that if he was going to be here for a while that he would be spending much of that while in here.
After the tour they went to the tech room like Shiro had asked them. Pidge told them that it was going to take at least another twenty minutes. They sat in an awkward circle around Shiro and prepared themselves to wait it out, but those plans were dashed a mere two minutes in.
"Paladin's! Get to your lions! There is a battle ship pursuing us!" Allura's voice crackled over the speakers. The three paladins that he lions look to each other with wide, fearful eyes. Keith could tell that they had never faced something so monstrous.
"Let's go!" Shiro's voice broke them out of their trance. They looked at him doubtfully but nodded anyways and headed off. Shiro looked to Keith, he had his druid arm hooked up to a large computer.
"Help me lug this thing to the command room." He commanded. Keith nodded and got on the other side.
...
Hey guys! So if you think that I should format the flashbacks differently tell me!
Thanks you guys!
