familiar
chapter twenty-eight
Shiro made quick work of the few soldiers in the control room.
"We only have a few minutes before the next patrol comes by. Watch the door."
Lance and Allura exchanged a look.
"Got it," Allura said, stepping outside. He stayed behind her before realizing there was also a spare set of armor. He threw it on and joined Allura, acting as guards.
"Okay, Pidge," he heard Shiro say. "I'm in. You can start the download."
"Good," Shiro said a minute later, responding to whatever Pidge had said. "Wait, Pidge—I think there's a problem. Pidge?"
There was the sound of footsteps from down the corridor. Lance hissed under his breath and stuck his head back into the control room.
"Uh, Shiro? Can you hurry it up?" he asked. "I mean, no rush, but we've got company."
"I'll distract him," Allura whispered. She jerked her head in Shiro's direction. "Go help him if you can."
Lance glanced down the hall. "You sure?"
"Go."
"What's going on?" Lance growled, his voice low as he stopped to stand next to Shiro. "We have to get out of here, Shiro. Allura can only buy so much time."
Shiro looked uneasy, shifting from side to side.
"Pidge?"
"Almost there. Just one more second, Shiro."
Lance gave the screen a dark look. "I don't know if we have another second."
"Where's Chief Commander Plytox?"
The demand floated through the room, the words barbed. Lance winced. Chief Commander Plytox was, in fact, on the ground out cold.
"Uh," Allura said, sounding nervous. "In there. Um, say hello, Plyrox."
Lance put a hand on Shiro's shoulder, signaling that he had it. He lowered his voice.
"It's Plytox!"
"Uh, sorry!" Allura called. "See?"
"Vrepit sa, sir!" The soldier quieted. "I get his name wrong all the time, too."
"We're safe," Lance murmured, keeping his voice low so the Galra wouldn't overhear them. "Not for long, though."
He looked back over his shoulder at Allura, who was draped against the doorframe as she distracted the Galra soldier who'd come. He couldn't hear much of what they were talking about, but he caught a few snatches of conversation, including "bloodthirstiness on a scale of one to ten" and figured Allura had it covered.
"Come on," Shiro muttered, voice strained.
An alarm blared, the screen suddenly turning a deep red.
"Befir," Lance yelled, snagging Plytox's blaster from the ground and aiming at the door.
"Fugitive prisoner 117-9875 detected. Remain where you are. Security alerted."
"Intruders!"
"Oh, no, you don't!" Allura yelled before either Lance or Shiro could move. She ran forward and rammed the soldier she'd been distracting into a column, effectively knocking him out.
"I was gonna shoot him," Lance said, looking at the gun in his hand, "but that works, too."
"I think we're in trouble," Shiro said. Alarms continued to blare, followed by the telltale sounds of an incoming squad.
"You think," Lance muttered as they burst forward down the hall.
"Let's get out of here!" Shiro cried. "Pidge, are you there?"
Apparently, the others were busy, too—there was no Green Lion to crash through the side of the ship again.
"Left," Allura yelled, and the three of them veered left, only to find themselves face-to-face with a patrol. Lance fired off a few rounds, taking out two sentries as Shiro rushed forward and took care of the others.
"Allura," Shiro called, taking a gun and tossing it in her direction.
"Other way," Lance said, a hysterical laugh bubbling in his throat as Allura held her newly-acquired weapon backwards. "Don't want to shoot that pretty face."
"Never held a gun before?" Shiro asked as they ducked into another hallway. "You fly a spaceship, and you can't hold a gun correctly?"
"Shut up, both of you," Allura huffed. They ran into another group, and the three of them worked together to take the sentries down. "I'm tense, alright?"
"The escape pods," Shiro panted, and they took another turn to avoid sentries.
"That's on the other," Lance said between breaths. "On the… other side of the ship, Shiro."
"It's our only way out," Shiro said. "The others aren't responding."
"Wonder if they fixed that hole from last time," Lance murmured, but he didn't argue as they changed courses.
"Pidge, are you there?" Shiro called. "Keith! Hunk! We need backup, and we need to get out of here now!"
Distantly, Lance remembered the Druid he'd fought and the rows and rows of tall, glowing canisters. He wondered what importance they carried, what information they'd managed to glean from this mission that he hadn't on the last.
"There!" Shiro shouted. "The escape pods!"
"Get down!" Allura roared.
Lance dropped to the ground without thinking. Laserfire peppered over their heads, and then he threw himself forward in the direction of the escape pods.
Lance backed up a few steps, firing back at the sentries. It wasn't any use—for every sentry he took down, another took its place. Allura was shooting, too, and though her aim wasn't as accurate as Lance's, she managed to take down a few.
"We'll never make it out," Lance whispered, face draining of color. "If we stop fighting, we'll be overrun."
"The pods!" Allura cried. "They're closing!"
Lance took another few steps back, but the fire they were under was too heavy. He stumbled as he was clipped in the shoulder, pain and warmth blooming where he'd been grazed.
"Allura," he said, voice thick. "I'll hold them off—"
"Absolutely not," Allura said. She glanced at Shiro. "You need to go."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You must! Both of you."
"Allura," Lance said again, pleading this time. "Allura, you can't… Zarkon—"
"Voltron needs you!"
"We need you more."
Another round of fire separated them; Lance dove to the left as Allura dragged Shiro to the right. Lance met Allura's gaze across the din, and her eyes flickered to Shiro before she turned back to him and nodded.
Then she gripped the back of Shiro's armor and tossed him into the closing escape pod. It shut behind him, and Lance caught him pounding on the glass
"Formulating navigation. All crew assume secure hyper-speed positions."
Allura shot him an alarmed look. "If the ship assumes hyper-speed, we won't be able to leave."
"The escape pods are gone," Lance said, "so it's not like we have much of a chance, anyway."
Allura pressed her back to his, and they kept the sentries at bay.
"Do you think we can ram through them?" Lance asked. His shoulder burned with pain, but he put it out of his mind and focused on shooting.
"After me," Allura said, a strand of hair falling in her face. Lance kept shooting, but he split his attention so he could follow Allura.
She charged forward, knocking a row of sentries down like they were nothing but bowling pins. Lance followed her, firing off a few rounds before they darted down the hall and away from the escape pods.
"This way," Allura called, and Lance ran after her. They were heading toward the exit that would lead out to the Galran base, where the others were hopefully waiting for them. Lance hoped nothing bad had happened to the team.
At least Shiro was safe—Shiro, the head of Voltron, able to lead the team to success.
Allura wrapped a hand around his wrist, and Lance twisted his hand so he could catch her fingers.
"Princess," he gasped as they turned. "If we're caught…"
"We won't be," Allura said, a determined glint in her eyes. "I won't let Zarkon touch you."
"If we're caught," Lance said again, voice low and soft, "I'm glad to have you by my side."
Allura ran her thumb over his wrist, brushing over his heartbeat.
"I won't let them touch you," she repeated. "Never again."
His eyes burned, and Lance awkwardly lifted his other hand to wipe at the tears that were blurring his vision.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Allura turned to face head. "Almost there."
Lance spotted light. There wasn't a ton, but the change from purple to a cooler blue was a sign that they were close to escaping. Once they were off the ship, they'd be able to regroup without the danger of being dragged and thrown at Zarkon's feet.
"Shut the doors!" a soldier yelled.
"No!" Lance cried.
"We're so close," Allura said.
"Capture them!"
"Do not let those two escape!"
"Come on!"
Lance gripped Allura's hand tighter, not daring to let go. They tore through the still-closing doors.
Allura's hand went taut, her fingers slipping.
"No," Lance growled, swinging around, but his arm was shaking as he raised his gun. They were too close for him to get a good shot; Allura's blaster was knocked from her hand.
"Lance!"
There was a soldier grabbing Allura's shoulders and another at her arm—
"No!"
Someone tore his gun from his grip and grabbed him, too, holding him back. He fought, struggling in a soldier's hold and reaching for Allura.
"Lance!"
"Allura!"
"I'll come for you," he yelled, managing to break free. "Allura!"
Allura was dragged backwards, and she stilled as she was surrounded. Lance caught a last glimpse of her face, still purple from her shift and darkened in shadow.
A blinding pain exploded across the left side of his head. Lance staggered forward, twisting in time to avoid the soldier's next blow. The world spun, but he managed to take the blaster back and fire.
There was no time to dwell on what he'd done as the soldier fell backwards, armor clattering. Lance turned back and found the ship gone, nothing more than a speck in the distance.
"Allura," he croaked, voice raw.
He had to find her, had to get her back. Allura was his princess, his teammate… and his friend.
The others, he reminded himself through a haze. Find the others.
He needed his team. Lance hid behind an empty box as guards opened fire, taking a moment to calm his racing heart and form a rough plan. He spotted the Green Lion in the distance, about to take off and leave him behind.
Lance took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.
He looked like a Galran soldier, another puppet of the Galra Empire. He could use it to his advantage, but his plan came with risks.
Lance stood up, straightening his shoulders. Then he strode out onto the landing bay.
"The fighter pods," he said, approaching another soldier. "Where are they? I have to follow the Green Lion."
"Leaving this station? Are you a fool?"
"They'll have my head if I let the paladins slip from my grasp," Lance said, hoping he would be believed.
"Come on," the other soldier said after a minute. "Hurry!"
After he was let into a pod, Lance turned to the Galra.
"Sorry about this," he said, voice grim.
"What—"
Lance surged forward, slamming into the Galra hard and sending him flying. Then he shut the fighter pod and shot off after the Green Lion—not to capture it, like he'd pretended, but to join them.
"C'mon, Pidge!" he shouted, though he knew she couldn't hear him.
The Green Lion banked to the left and then turned to face him, mouth opening. A glow formed in her mouth.
"Uh, it's just me," Lance yelped. "No shooting! I kind of don't want to die today, thanks."
Green's eyes gleamed.
"Pidge, please," he said, though the words were useless.
Then Green's mouth snapped shut, and she flew towards him, claws extended. Lance grunted as the fighter pod rocked back and forth in Green's grasp.
His heart was still thundering in his chest when they landed in the hangars. His pod was set down first before Green landed, but the others piled out with their bayards ready.
"Don't shoot!" he yelled, climbing out of the pod. "It's just me!"
"Galra—"
"Wait, that's Lance!"
Lance tore off his helmet and tossed it to the side. He groaned as he shifted back, bones shortening and fur prickling as it sank back into his skin as if it had never been there.
"Just me," he said, holding his hands up.
His arm flared with pain. Lance remembered the wound on his arm and found deep violet blood staining his stolen armor. The blow to his head probably wasn't helping, either, so Lance sank to the ground.
Shiro was the first to reach him. He wrapped a strong arm around Lance's back and gripped his other shoulder.
"You're hurt," he said.
Lance dimly remembered Allura and tried to climb back on his feet.
"Allura—" he gasped. "No time to worry about me…"
Coran stormed forward, his face drawn. "Allura? Where is she?"
"Coran," Shiro said pleadingly.
"'m sorry," Lance whispered, only then the realization of what had happened sinking in. "I'm sorry. I lost… I lost her."
Soon she would be in Zarkon's hands, light years away from her team.
The shrouds he'd burned his friends in flashed through his mind, each one the same color as their Lions and embroidered with symbols of fire, forest, and earth as well as countless stars.
Lance stood again, his head pounding. This time, with Shiro's help, he managed to stay upright.
"Have to find her," he said. "They're going to Zarkon."
"You lost her?" Coran demanded, blanching. When he saw that Lance was in no state to answer him, he turned to Shiro. "What happened? How could you leave her behind?"
"I had no choice," Shiro bellowed back, and his hands tightened on Lance. "She sacrificed herself and let me escape—she and Lance fought off the sentries, but I don't know what happened after that. I don't want her with Zarkon any more than you do!"
Hunk rushed forward, grabbing Lance.
"I've got him," he told Shiro. His hands were shaking, but he steered Lance out of the room.
"I'm sorry," Lance said again.
"It's not your fault," Hunk said kindly. He crouched down in front of Lance. "Can you…?"
Lance wrapped his arms around Hunk gratefully and let himself be lifted, Hunk's arms tucking under his knees. He rested his head on Hunk's shoulder and sighed into his neck.
"Don't worry, Lance," Hunk said. "We'll get her back."
"I should help," Lance said.
"You're hurt," Hunk continued softly. "We'll just put you in a pod for a little while so you don't pass out in the middle of battle, okay?"
"No longer than thirty minutes."
"An hour tops," Hunk said. "We'll get our plans together like we always do. You can trust us. Allura will be back in no time."
They reached the med bay, and Hunk wasted no time in getting Lance into one of the pods.
"Don't worry," Hunk said. "We're a team. You can count on us."
His short time in the pod was filled with restless dreams, pieces of nightmares that Lance ran away from. When he stumbled from the pod and into Hunk's waiting arms, he was gasping for air.
"You okay?"
"Fine," Lance said, straightening. He felt tired, but the pain in his head was gone. The wound in his arm had closed, too, which meant he was ready to go.
"She's on the ship heading for Zarkon's Central Command?" Hunk asked, and Lance nodded. They made their way back to the bridge.
"It's too dangerous for us to attack," Keith was yelling as they entered. "It's like delivering Voltron to Zarkon's doorstep!"
"It doesn't matter," Shiro said. "We need Allura back."
"Lance!" Pidge cried, spotting him. "You're alive, great."
Lance smiled wanly at her, the others turning at her words. He waved awkwardly but looked away quickly, not meeting Coran's eyes.
"Pidge, that scan done yet?"
"I've got it," Pidge said, spinning around and typing at her keyboard. "I've been cross-referencing and using the data from the ship. Should have coordinates and a visual soon."
"Good."
Lance found his voice. "Did you guys come up with a plan yet?"
"Working on it," Shiro explained. "We had a few—disagreements, but once we get the location, we'll be able to finish our plans."
"Disagreements…" Hunk murmured next to him. "I don't like it when we fight. Each other, I mean."
Lance squeezed Hunk's shoulder. "Me neither, buddy."
"Guys," Pidge called. A visual appeared on the screen. "Look at this."
Lance sucked in a sharp breath and heard the others do the same. Zarkon's Central Command was humongous. He pictured Zarkon in it, seated upon a throne made of the bones of those he'd killed, and Lance shuddered.
"The size of it…"
"We should just go in," Pidge said, turning her head so she could see their faces. "We've lost enough time already. The more time we wait, the more time Zarkon has to prepare for us."
"Uh, we could barely defeat the Robeast on the Balmera," Hunk reasoned. "And there was only one fleet. This… this could hold thousands."
"If we form Voltron—"
"Voltron doesn't stand a chance! I vote that we don't go on the mission at all. The stakes are too high."
"I'm not leaving the Princess with him!"
"Keith, are you serious? What if it was one of us? What if it was me? You wouldn't leave me, would you?" Hunk hesitated when Keith said nothing. "…Would you?"
Keith crossed his arms. "I don't like the idea, okay? But I'm thinking like a paladin."
"And a part of being a paladin is not leaving anyone behind. That's leaving Allura behind!"
"Guys, calm down."
"We need to focus."
Shiro's voice rang out, smothering the arguing. Lance sank back into himself, sending Keith a glare. He understood why Keith had said what he did, but there was no way they were letting Zarkon have Allura.
"We are not leaving anyone behind," Shiro said. "Everyone to your stations. If we're going to get Allura back—and we will—then we'll need a plan."
Lance slipped into his seat, gritting his teeth. He pictured Allura's face as the door closed and curled his hands into fists.
"I'm coming for you," he said softly, staring at Zarkon's base on his screen. "I'm coming."
