"You may not be interested in war, but war was interested in you."- Leon Trosky

The creatures were odd yet adorable at the same time.

They were relatively small, about knee high, and had skin tones in different earth hues. They spoke in garbles and grunts (somehow Allura and Coran understood them perfectly) and wore bright pastel clothing with beautiful swirling patterns that reminded of her of the local Native American tribes near her old home.

Bianca stood behind the crowd of natives with Keith and Lance as two of the aliens (though she rationalized that they were really the aliens) acted out Voltron fighting off the Galra on the top of the grand staircase. Allura stood off to the side with an amused, yet pleasant, smile on her face.

Bianca was uncertain how she felt about the princess. She had no time to really talk to the woman, and her first impression was rocky at best. Though, her first impression of all of them was rocky. If anything good were to come out of this bone chilling situation, it would be that she wanted to grow closer to everyone on the team.

Bianca forced herself to pay attention when the natives erupted in a loud applause for their actors.

Allura stepped forward with a forced smile that was supposed to be pleasant, though it turned into more of a grimace. "That was wonderful," she said to the actors.

The two natives beamed. A third native stepped forward to the princess. It wore a beautifully designed cloak with the colors of a summer sunset around its shoulders. It was much more rounder than the others. The chief, she assumed.

Allura handed him something she couldn't see. A device perhaps? "This will allow you to contact us at any time." She bowed to the chief, and it returned the formal gesture. "We are sad to go," Allura said, addressing the crowd. "But we thank you for letting us be here for so long."

The chief turned from Allura, raising the device in its hand. It opened its mouth and let out a loud, high pitched Hurrah! That the natives echoed, raising their own glasses full of drink. From somewhere inside the ship, lovely music began to play.

Bianca found the whole situation extremely amusing, but kept her face controlled. For such tiny creatures, they truly were fierce beings. But she couldn't help but find them familiar to something she had seen in a video game or read in a novel, it was all so surreal.

Hunk made his way over to where she, Keith, and Lance were huddled. A smile lit up the boy's face. He always seemed to have some sort of grin on his face, Bianca mused. It was something she found herself admiring about him, and welcomed gladly given their dire situation.

"We should totally come up with something like that," he said to the boys.

Lance quirked his eyebrow. "A what?"

"You know, a cheer," Hunk spread his hands as if saying duh.

"A cheer?" Bianca asked.

Lance tapped his finger on his chin, humming thoughtfully. "Okay, I can work with that." He grew quiet for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Bianca glanced at Keith. To her surprise, he met her eyes not with a scowl, but with confusion. Was that a faint glimmer of humor behind his dark eyes? She couldn't be sure and didn't dwell on it, sliding her eyes back to the pondering boy.

"Okay, I got it," Lance said. "How about I say 'Vol'," he swung his hand that wasn't holding his glass out like he was throwing the word, "and you say 'tron.'" He pulled his arm back to his chest, reeling the word back in.

"Voltron?" Keith asked innocently after a beat.

It took all of Bianca's inner strength and training to not burst into a laugh, and coughed into her fist to hide the smile threatening to give her away. Was he really that confused?

She kept her hand over her mouth for insurance.

Lance sighed. His dark brows scrunched as he contorted his face in a frown. "No, no, no. The cheer is literally just this: I say 'Vol.'" He paused, watching to see if Keith was following along. "And you say.." he trailed off, waiting for the other boy to answer.

"Voltron?" Keith tried again, slowly.

Bianca coughed again.

Lance sighed and rolled his eyes. "We'll work on it."

Keith and Hunk shared a look and Keith shrugged his lanky shoulders. The distaste Bianca held for the red paladin dissipated ever so slightly while watching him interact cluelessly. She reminded herself that he was still only eighteen. Eighteen and tossed into an intergalactic space war for the fate of their universe. Maybe she could try scratching away at his rough exterior in due time. He would definitely be a challenge for her, one she welcomed.

Lance took a sip of his drink and let out a pained noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a cat being strangled. His swallowed harshly, scrunching his eyes shut and puckering his lips. "Coran," he coughed to the man standing a few feet away from them. "What was in that thing?" He lifted his empty glass to the Altean.

Coran merely took a sip of his own drink but didn't have a violent reaction to what Bianca assumed was sour. "Nunvill, the nectar of the gods," he said calmly, swirling the liquid in his glass, as if he were describing a fine wine.

Lance gagged, "It tasted like hotdog water and feet."

Coran hummed. "I suppose it is rather potent for humans." And with that, he melted away in the crowd (though it was easy to spot him since all of the natives only reached his knees).

This time, Bianca couldn't help the small giggle that bubbled from her lips, barely muffled from her hand. She immediately regained her composure as soon as it came, though, and coughed a third time.

It felt good to laugh, even for a second.

The boys were not fooled by her attempt to hide her amusement. Lance groaned, crossing his arms, cup dangling from his long, thin fingers.

"I'm serious, that actually tasted like a football stadium," he said.

Bianca lowered her hand, finally in control of her expression. "A very specific description. Was it really that bad?"

Lance wiggled the cup in her direction. "Want to give it a try? I think there's some left,"

"I think I'll pass, but thank you." She peered at the empty cup. There were only a few drops left of the purple liquid at the bottom and around the rim.

"How bad could it be?" Hunk said, plucking up two cups from a native carrying a tray full of the drinks. He handed the other glass to Keith, who took it with a raised eyebrow. The yellow paladin raised the drink to his lips and took a careful whiff of the scent rising from the drink. He hummed to himself, eyes narrowed in thought. For a moment Bianca was certain he was going to change his mind, but he tilted his head back and downed the nectar in one swift gulp.

Bianca's jaw went slack. This boy had guts.

Hunk lowed the drink, his lips pressed in thought. The nurse and other two boys waited for his verdict with bated breath, watching him closely.

After a moment, Hunk shrugged. "Tastes like something my mom would make for a special occasion," he said.

Lance gagged again. "Dude, what the heck,"

"I mean, not exactly like it. Her drink would be a little less sour." He shrugged his broad shoulders again. "But kinda similar."

This sparked Bianca's interest. She remembered the first day Hunk came to see her for motion sickness medicine, one week after she began working at the Garrison. She had to review his medical history personal information before and after he came in. The memory was blurry at best, but she thought she recalled reading that he was Samoan?

Bianca turned to the boy, who was taking another sip of his second drink, but slower this time. "Hunk," she got his attention, "would the drink be something from Samoan culture?" She prayed she wasn't taking a stab in the dark.

Hunk's face lit up, eyes suddenly sharp and brows raised in excitement. "Yeah!" He said excitedly. "Oh man, I miss that food. It's so much better than food goo, no offense to the Alteans. But man, I could go for some Fa'ausi right now." The spark in his eye suddenly dimmed, as though he could envision the food he craved for.

"Maybe you could make some?" Bianca suggested quickly. She didn't mean to make him homesick. She should have kept her mouth shut. "I would love to see how it's made. There's a kitchen somewhere here, I remember Coran mentioning it to me." She would die for any food other than the food goo the princess made them eat. Dry-freezed oats had more flavor than that green ick, and it took a lot to make Bianca hate anything food related.

Hunk smiled softly. "I'll talk to Coran,"

A silence fell over the group. Bianca wished she hadn't brought up home. She looked over to the two boys, realizing with a jolt that Keith and slunk away. The stealth he possessed unnerved her, reminding her painfully of her team.

The sad looks that pulled on the Lance and Hunk's faces made her heart tug painfully and made her equally as homesick. She missed home, so much. Christmas would have been yesterday, if she was keeping her days straight. It would have been the most heartbreaking Christmas for her family since her Opa passed away three years ago. She wished with every molecule within her that she could contact her family and reassure them that she was safe.

Well, maybe safe was a relative term, but alive would be correct.

Lance swirled around his second glass of Nunvill. His brows were pulled together in a frown and he stared at the purple drink vehemently. "I guess we better get used to this space juice, huh? Who knows when we'll get back home,"

A shadow passed over Hunk's face. "If we ever get back home."

Bianca nuged Lance with her shoulder, trying to be playful and lift the dark spirits. She disliked seeing the flyboys so glum. "Hey, we'll get home." She tilted her head to Hunk. "And you'll be able to have your mom help you correct the Alteans on how to make some good nectar."

Her words didn't effect Hunk's mood. He still gazed at the drink sadly. "But Zarkon has been after getting control of the universe for over ten thousand years." He insisted. "How long will it take us to fix it? If we even survive."

Bianca pursed her lips.

"Ah, right," Lance murmured.

Hunk had picked up some sort of purple cubed food that had floated by on a tray. He studied the food with interest.

She was not going to let them dig themselves into a hole already. Not after how far they had already come.

"Come on, boys," she said. "You guys have already taken out a Galra cruiser and a giant robot. You beat them despite all odds and grew stronger because of it." The boys snapped their attention to her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to scold or hug them at the sight of their broken gazes. "With more practice, you guys will beat Zarkon and restore peace. And see lots of really cool planets along the way to have stories to tell your families," she added, hoping that little bit would lift them up ever so slightly.

Hunk studied his purple food squares again. After a beat, he said, "I wonder if there's a nacho planet." His face was totally serious.

That got Lance to crack a grin. "There's only one planet with Varadero Beach overlooking the ocean with pizza and my mom's hugs." He smiled at the thought.

Oh, Lance, Bianca thought sadly as the yearning thought made the boy sigh sadly and hang his head.

"I'm sorry, I think this Nunvill stuff is making me sick. I better go," he murmured, pushing past Bianca.

"Lance," Bianca began, but the boy was gone before she could continue. She sighed again as she watched his retreating back. She would give him some time, then go after him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make him upset," Hunk said from beside her.

She turned to the boy and shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Hunk. We're all homesick."

The boy nodded, chewing his lip in thought. "Do you have a family, Miss Bianca?"

"Just call me Bianca." she insisted gently. Yesterday she would have wanted the formality, but something inside of her had changed. Unnecessary formality wasn't needed right now. They didn't need a leader from her, they needed a friend. A fundamental key for a nurse: be loving and caring always, even when you didn't want to.

"Yes, I do have a family," she continued. "My parents, a little sister, and brother. I'm the oldest in my family. And a dog, Brett, back at my apartment." Her stomach twisted into knots as she spoke about them. "Do you have a big family?"

Hunk adjusted the yellow strip of cloth he had over his forehead with his thumb. "My parents and a few younger siblings. I see my cousins a lot too, so they're basically my brothers and sisters."

Bianca hummed. "I know we'll make it back," she repeated. "We will." It hurt to make a promise she was unsure of, but the hopeless shadow on his face hurt even more.

Hunk didn't look so sure, but nodded anyway.

They stood together, watching the crowd thrum and sway to the beautiful music being played over the ship's speakers.

Hunk's wrist beeped in alert of an oncoming message. He lifted it up and read the text that was sprawled on the hologram. His heavy brows furrowed. "Allura needs to talk to us. Come on," he lowered his wrist, pushing his way through the natives.

Bianca jogged to keep up with his fast pace, questions swirling around in her mind.

They really couldn't catch a break, could they?

She and Hunk found the princess with the paladins, minus Lance and Coran, huddled in one of the enormous hallways.

Something was wrong.

As they approached, she saw Shiro frowning heavily at Pidge, who as in the middle of their huddle, and Keith scowling at the girl.

"What's going on?" She asked as they drew near.

Allura was the one who spoke, "Pidge has an idea." Keith snorted.

Bianca raised her eyebrows at the girl, signaling her to continue. She took note of the rather full backpack Pidge had slung over her armored shoulders.

"Look," she said, adjusting her glasses with her pointer finger, "I have enough information from the Galra ship to possibly find them-the information did download after all." She turned her gaze to Bianca. "I'm going to transfer what I found on your friend to you."

Bianca tilted her chin up, narrowing her eyes. So she did find what she was looking for. And from the looks of it, she was going to search for them. "Pidge, we need you to stay here and help fight."

Pidge adjusted her backpack, face tight with determination. "You said so yourself, I'm willing to do anything for the ones I love."

Bianca shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's not what I had meant,"

Before Pidge could reply, Keith stalked over and towered above the smaller girl. "You can't just leave, we need you to form Voltron." He was barely keeping his voice steady. He was a simmering wildfire, threatening to catch anything and everything ablaze with his anger.

"You can't tell me what to do," Pidge shot back.

Keith's scowl darkened. "If you leave it'll leave us defenseless. It'll leave the whole universe defenseless. You're not the only one with a family. These natives have families who will suffer if you leave."

Despite sharp words, Bianca had to agree with him. She knew that burning desire to find the ones you love all too well, but sometimes you had to understand the greater good. And the greater good was not just her family, but all families. All families, all lives.

"Yeah," Hunk chimed in, "I have a family back on Earth. And I'm ready to be like, back home with them if that could happen."

Allura stepped forward, desperation written on her lovely face. "You want to leave too?"

Hunk turned to her. The way his mouth was pulled down and how sad his eyes looked reflected the homesickness everyone was feeling. "Well, yeah. Of course I do." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Look, this whole Voltron thing is wicked cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime fighting aliens in space."

The other side of Biacna agreed. It was all a freak force of nature that they were all pulled together in this. They were still kids.

Finally, whatever dam Keith had to keep his anger at bay broke. "You're putting the lives of two people over the rest of the lives in every single planet in the galaxy." His voice rose as he spoke and he loomed closer to Pidge, pushing her back.

Without thinking, Bianca shot her hand out and latched onto his arm, stopping him from moving.

Apparently, Shiro had the same idea and he too, kept the boy from pushing Pidge into the wall.

"Keith," he said, voice low and firm, "that's not how teams work. You can't force someone to be apart of it and expect things to go well. They have to want to be in it."

Keith turned away. His scowl shifted into something different-was that shame?

Shiro looked down at Pidge sadly. "If you want to go, we won't stop you. But please, think hard about what you're doing. What you're putting on everyone." A heaviness settled on his shoulders.

Silence fell over the group like a wave. It was so thick and strong it felt as though Bianca might drown under its weight.

Pidge had turned her hazel eyes to the ground, chewing on her lip in thought.

"Please, Pidge," Bianca tried softly. "Stay with us."

But the girl's mind was made up.

Bianca's heart sank when she saw Pidge's resolve.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But you'll have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion. Maybe Bianca can." And with that, she turned and disappeared though the docking bay's doors.

Panic seized the woman's heart.

"I can't believe it," Allura said, staring at the door Pidge disappeared though numbly. "The team is falling apart. How ever will we form Voltron now?"

She didn't turn and ask Bianca to pilot it, and for that the woman was grateful. She didn't know if she could ever pilot anything ever again. The mere thought of being behind the controls made her heart thud painfully and her hands go clammy.

No one knew what to say. It was if an atomic bomb had been dropped and they were staring at the aftermath.

And then, an explosion shook the castle.

Bianca was thrown back against the wall, her breath knocked out of her lungs sharply.

Shards of material fell from the rafters, pelting her skin in tiny bullets. The fluorescent lights flickered once, twice, then were off. Dust billowed from the ship material, causing her lungs seize and contract with each desperate heave for oxygen.

Screams of the natives echoed from the entry room, meeting her ears and sending panicked electricity through her system.

The bright fluorescent lights above flickered once, twice, then blink off completely, leaving them in total darkness.

"Is everyone okay?" she coughed, pushing herself from the wall. Her shoulder thrummed in pain, bruised most likely.

To her relief, she was greeted with a chorus of yes's. In the darkness, she could make out their figures standing up.

"Where did that explosion come from?" She asked. Her eyes scanned over Keith, who had been pushed to the wall with her. Other than the dust in his eyes that he was blinking away, he seemed to be fine.

"The energy room," Allura said, coughing the rest of the dirt from her mouth. Bianca's adjusting eyes saw her bright eyes widen. "Coran and Lance were in there."

Bianca's blood froze in her veins. "Lead the way."

The room was a total mess, but Bianca paid no mind.

Upon entering the large circular room, she spotted a form laying on its side.

She broke out into a jog, Shiro keeping up pace beside her.

The man reached the figure first (Coran, she could now see), and pulled on his shoulder onto his back.

"Don't." She ordered, but it was too late. She prayed the man didn't have any spinal damage or else this was going to get really bad, really fast.

She knelt beside Shiro, scanning the Altean for burns, listening to Shiro question the man.

"What happened?" Shiro asked.

Coran groaned, rolling his head and moving to sit up. "I don't know."

Bianca placed a firm hand on his chest to keep him from moving any further. "Do you feel like anything is broken?"

Coran shook his head. "I'm out of breath but everything seems to be in shape. I just need help sitting up."

Bianca motioned for Hunk. "Get behind him and brace your hand behind his shoulders, Shiro do the same. Put your other hand on his bicep but don't pull. Coran, let me keep your head steady, don't bow it. When you lift, use your legs and don't heave him up. There may be some sort of internal injury you're not aware of."

They moved as she ordered and did as best as they could to place their hands properly. She wedged herself in between them and held Coran's head steady over his spine. "Lift."

They did as she said as one and pulled him to his feat. Coran favored his right side and leaned heavily on Hunk. The man nodded in front of him, his breaths still uneven.

They turned and Allura gasped, but Bianca ignored it. She surgered forward, making sure she got to Lance's lying form before anyone else.

He lay on his side, eyes shut but chest rising and falling, seemingly unconscious. There was a gash on his hairline, glittering shards of glass embedded firmly in the flesh. A trail of crimson blood dripped from his sharp chin to the ground, already a large pool.

Shiro knelt beside her and his hands went to move the boy, but she grabbed them. What was with him and moving people?

"He needs to stay on his side," she said firmly, meeting Shiro's worried gaze. Her calm exterior held strong at the sight of his panicked face. She was the calm in the storm for the second time that day.

She turned away from him, ignoring the pang in her chest, and began checking his breathing, tilting his head back ever so slightly with two fingers. Hot, shallow breaths hit her thumb that hovered over his open mouth. She then moved to feel for his carotid artery at the base of his chin, nestled beside his trachea.

She held her breath as she searched for it. She moved her fingers around his neck, feeling the tendons and veins against the pads of her fingers.

Come on, Lance, work with me.

A soft flutter beat against her fingers.

She breathed out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. It was faint, but there.

Her ears picked up the raised voices of the others talking over one another but the words didn't stick to her brain. Her attention was fully on the unconscious boy in front of her.

She grabbed Shiro's armored arm, pulling it close to her face and taping on his wrist band to wake up the device.

Shocked at the sudden contact, he tried to pull his hand away, but she held firm. "I need a stopwatch." His tugging stilled at that and his arm relaxed in her hand.

She found the stopwatch function on his holopad and started it, counting Lance's pulse as she watched the time.

Her lips curled at how low it was. Not good.

She reached into her pocket for her retinoscope to-

Her heart stilled. She didn't have it. Why didn't she think to put it in her pocket that day? She always put her retinoscope in her front left pocket, but the one time she didn't was when she needed it most. And only time she put her stethoscope around her neck was when she would need it. Why? Why was she so unprepared?

A failure.

She turned her attention back to the group (the chief native had joined them), noticing the lull in their conversation. "He needs to get to the medical bay. Now. His pulse is weak." She sat back on her heels, her hips whining in protest.

Allura nodded. Her bright eyes seemingly clouded in the darkness unnerved Bianca. "You and Shiro get him to the medical bay. Nothing will be operating but there will be medicines. We'll go after the Galra."

Bianca gulped. She hadn't begun studying their pharmacology yet. But it didn't matter, she needed to do something to save him. He couldn't die, he wouldn't. No one was going to die under her care. Not again.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shiro begin to lift Lance like a ragdoll, the unconscious boy's neck lulled to the side. She whirled around, a hand reaching out to stop him. "Don't! he could have a neck injury,"

Shiro shot her a hard look. "We have to hurry." With that, he heaved Lance over his strong shoulders and turned to the door.

Shock froze Bianca. She stared at the empty space where he had been for a heartbeat. At the crimson pool of Lance's blood. She clenched her hands in a fist, nails biting into her palms. She rose quickly, a burning trail of lava simmering from her hips to her knees, but she ignored the common pain. She followed after him, heart racing in anger and hurt.

He had done it again, right after they had agreed to hear each other out.

She caught up to him, wincing at the painful position Lance was in. He was still out cold, which was a blessing on his end. She prayed he didn't have any neck or spinal injury, or else they just doomed him to paralysis.

Shiro cut his eyes to her, taking notice of the fumes she was breathing out. He looked straight ahead, his lips pursing. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Me too." She glanced at Lance again, but also at him. She took notice of the anguish in his dark eyes. The anguish that resided in the bones of him.

The anger didn't diminish in her muscles and a heavy blanket of hurt settled over her, turning her miserable equation into an unbearable one.

She prayed they would make it in time.

Panic flared from every fiber of her being. Every nerve was on edge, every muscle tensed painfully; the tendons in her neck tightened, even her bones were somehow quaking. But she stood firm beside Lance, mumbling prayers under her breath as she heard Shiro dueling with the Galra, Sendak.

The Galra had found them as they were passing through the foyer to the medical bay. And Shiro, being the brave, foolish lieutenant he was, was fighting them back from the castle. She had stayed behind to watch over Lance, and fight them herself if she was forced too.

Another roll of panic washed over her nervous system. She clenched her dog tags tightly before giving up one last prayer.

She heard Shiro cry out and carefully peaked around the corner, before stumbling back quickly to keep from being nailed with his flying body.

He crashed to the ground, rolling and sliding across the floor. After a beat he stirred, pushing up to his knees. Blood dropped from his temple.

Her heart leapt to her throat. She turned her back to Lance, hoping to keep them hidden in the darkness.

A shadow suddenly loomed over them and she knew it was over for them.

Then, something inside her brain snapped. Time seemed to slow down, the scene of fighting floating around her like they were in water.

Her heart calmed from its erratic speed and her muscles relaxed. Her brain formulated a method of defense, calculating the odds and coming to a conclusion.

Whirling with inhuman speed, she brought her leg up and back, roundhousing the first soldier.

Her aim wasn't perfect, but her heel did make contact with the alien's half exposed jaw. Bone cracked loudly. The soldier stumbled back, clutching his now shattered jaw and screaming loudly.

She didn't have a moment to be surprised at herself. Her body seemed to move on its own. The second soldier was withering on the ground a moment later, clutching a dislocated shoulder.

As she moved for the third one, something struck the base of her skull.

She fell, cracking her knees on the floor and falling to her side. She tried to push herself up, but it felt as though she were made of led. She struggled again, bracing her palms and pressing with all of her strength. A Galra soldier dragged Lance from the alcove from where he was lying, throwing him to the ground like he was just a sack of flour.

She tried a third time, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Black spots danced in her vision like pixies.

As darkness overtook her vision, realization struck her like a lightning bolt.

I'm about to die.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this one! It's been a hard one to write. Words aren't flowing lately, but I'm doing my best. Constructive criticism is totally welcome btw! This semester is gonna be a hard one, I hope you guys can be patient with me while waiting for updates. I'm trying to push along Bianca's and Shiro's relationship naturally, but I want her to be more than just a love interest so of course it's gonna take a bit. I DO know I want them together before season three. Also, there will be time skips since I don't wanna re-write the whole series and tbh, who wants to read that? I'll try to indicate that when it happens within the story, since I'm not totally sure how the timeline falls.

FanOfPiPercy: I am! But they'll be short ones. The next chapter actually has his POV in it :)

Maddykae: Thank you so much for reviewing! It made me smile seeing the notification in my mailbox.

Love you all, don't forget to review/follow!