*written for the Kidgezine: Kaleidoscope, which specialized in Fantasy AUs*
My Kind of Crazy
"Trust us, Miss Holt."
"Be patient, Miss Holt."
"We're doing all we can, Miss Holt."
"Katie! Don't kick the Commander!"
But Katie had kicked the Commander. She'd kicked him hard, and then run away, blinking back tears.
How could these people expect her to trust them, when everyone knew what a threat these Galra mercenaries were?! Her father and brother had been kidnapped! In broad daylight! In a village that was supposed to be under protection!
And now, the Princess and all her advisors and commanders and what-nots in pretty, puffed-up clothes wanted her to understand that it was "just too dangerous" to go after them right now?! The Galra had grown so arrogant, they'd taken over a castle less than a day's ride from Princess Allura's kingdom!
She had to do something.
Which was why, come first light, she'd found herself on the road heading towards the Galra fortress with nothing but a saddlebag full of untested tech and the family's one remaining horse. She'd break in, find her family, and break them all back out.
The alternative was intolerable: never seeing her father or Matt again; her father who praised and encouraged her studies when other fathers might've insisted on fancy dresses and embroidery lessons for their teenage daughters.
And Matt. Silly, overprotective Matt. Her beloved older brother who spouted puns and jokes at a moment's notice, who worked with her to develop her own inventions like an equal, and whose panicked expression would haunt her forever when he'd thrown her into the closet and run out as bait to keep the Galra from finding her during that raid.
She needed them back. She needed to throw herself in their arms and reassure herself that they were alright. She needed to beat Matt silly for being a self-sacrificing idiot. She wouldn't allow herself to fail. Mom and the Princess could keep their planning, she was actually going to do something.
That afternoon, Katie regretted doing something. She was not suited for riding all day. Her body was used to sitting in the study or the workshop, bent over her latest project. Not continuous movement on a horse! She'd already stopped more times than she wanted to count and had eaten almost all her rations. Plus, she had no idea how to sneak up on an enemy base, which had just come into view.
Oh, if only she had some blueprints or a map of the place….
Either the Galra or the former lord of this place had been seriously neglectful, Katie thought to herself. The forest came almost right up to the castle walls. Still, that made it easier for her to sneak up to try to find a way in.
She carefully tied her horse some distance away and made sure he had food and water he could get to. She also left her pack with him, except for her bayard, which she slipped into her belt. No sense in taking chances. She just needed a plan first, then she could work on all the little details.
She pumped herself up and slipped through the trees.
…And soon discovered yet another problem. She could get close enough to see the guards patrolling the castle walls, but she couldn't get any good details. What were the guards armed with? How many were there in all? How many were in range of that entrance over there? Oh, if only she dared climbing a tree… but these trees were all too young to hold her weight.
There! An enormous red rock sat just under a copse of trees. It would be a perfect vantage point, and she'd still have cover. She crept over to it, mindful to remain as quiet as possible (those guards were pretty close, she should've brought something to see long-distances with) and scrambled up the ridges and bumps.
"Okay, now I just need to see if there's any gaps in the shifts that I can work around," she muttered to herself, trying find a good spot on the rock to continue spying from. "The Galra aren't that clever, there's gotta be a way to sneak in…."
Wow, this thing was warm. Must be the sun. And it was—she could swear it was vibrating. Was there an earthquake? Or maybe a large wagon was rumbling nearby.
Oh man, she hoped it wasn't an earthquake. She'd probably scream if she fell off this thing, it was higher than she thought. Then the guards really would notice her.
Resolute, she jammed her bayard in between two of the ridges in front of her, hoping to get a good grip on the rock.
"Ouch, that hurts!" a deep voice roared beneath her.
Katie watched in horror as a large head swung up to glare at her. The face was long and red, with horns on either side of glowing, feline eyes, and ridges that went all the way down its neck... oh. These weren't crevices in a rock, they were joints!
Oh crap. This isn't a rock. It's a dragon.
A very, very angry dragon.
Smoke billowed out of its nostrils, and Katie couldn't help it. She screamed.
The dragon's eyes went wide, and to Katie's surprise, the head swung up towards the direction of the guards she'd just been spying on.
Had he been spying too?
But it was too late to wonder, the guards had spotted them. The dragon turned back towards her with a furious expression.
I'm about two seconds away from being eaten! Katie frantically scrambled back, hoping to jump down and get away before—
The dragon snatched her in one of its foreclaws, spread its wings, and leapt into the sky.
Now, normally Katie figured she was pretty brave. The bravest girl in her village if she wanted to be specific. However, right now, watching the world drop away beneath her, she felt absolutely no shame in screaming her head off.
"AHHHH! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE! OH MY GOD, I'M GONNA DIE!"
The ground was getting further and further away, the dragon's claws were solid and obviously very sharp around her middle (she dared not struggle too much), and—
"Good for you! Could you die a little quieter, please?"
—apparently, she'd found a sarcastic dragon.
"You can talk?!" Katie exclaimed, gasping for air as they went even higher.
"Yeah, no kidding. Hold on!" the dragon called. Katie screamed again as they stooped into a dive. The ground was coming up waaay too fast.
"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!" she shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut.
The dragon had the audacity to laugh as it pulled out of its dive, just barely brushing the tops of the trees. "You sure?!" it rumbled. "It's still a long way to fall, and the ground's pretty hard around here."
Katie opened her eyes and looked around. Sure enough, they were now on the far side of a mountain she'd spotted in the distance earlier. Wow, that had taken no time at all! And yes, the ground was covered in trees and sharp, pointy rocks. To her dismay, she realized the dragon was coming in for a landing at the edge of a cave.
A cave that was probably its home.
Home meant… suppertime! Oh no!
She struggled a bit more, but it was useless. The dragon's grip on her was like iron as he ambled into the cave, folding his giant wings to get into the entrance. The cave widened up into a giant chamber. She gaped at the large collection of old but shiny machinery lying around. Not jewels or gold, machinery!
However, when the dragon finally released her, she dropped down and bounced on a surprisingly comfortable bed. Katie looked around. Honestly, it looked like a combination of her father's workshop and her brother's room. And why would a dragon need a tiny human-sized bed, much less two? There was no way he could fit on this thing!
Still, she kept a firm grip on her bayard as the dragon settled down in front of her.
"What?" it asked, actually raising an eyebrow. How did it do that with horns?
"Don't you dare try to eat me!" she said, trying to appear fierce and hoping it couldn't see her shaking. "You'll regret it!"
"Why would I try to eat you?" the dragon asked, rolling its eyes. "I just went through the trouble of saving you from the Galra. Besides," it added, bringing its head down so it was level with hers, "no offense, but you'd barely make much of a snack." It blew a bunch of smoke at her, which Katie quickly waved away, coughing.
"Then why did you—"
"I brought you here because I heard you muttering to yourself about sneaking into the fortress," the dragon explained, raising its head again and doing a very good job of being intimidating. "I want to know why, and more importantly, what intel you have on the Galra. So, spill."
Katie blinked at it. "You… want information on the Galra?"
"That is what I just said, yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'll barbeque you if you don't!" it snarled. Katie yelped and wheeled back, automatically firing her bayard in the beast's direction.
It howled as the electrified wire wrapped around its forearm. Snarling, it tried to shake her off, but her favorite invention held tight.
"TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!" it finally shrieked.
Katie obeyed, careful to put one of the shinier motorbikes between her and the dragon first. "I told you you'd regret it!" she said, feigning bravery.
"I regret saving you, that's what I regret," it muttered, shaking its forelimb with irritation. It glared at her. "Fine. No more threats. We obviously both hate the Galra, so let's work with that. Truce?"
"Fine. Truce," Katie agreed, staying behind her makeshift shield.
"I'm Keith," the dragon said.
Now it was Katie's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Keith?" she said. "That doesn't sound very dragon-like. I thought you were all named Balthazar or Myvak or something."
"I'm a fae creature, human," he sneered at her. "Obviously I'm not giving you my true name."
"Oh." Katie had forgotten all about that. Tell a fae your true name, and it gave them power over you. She was gonna have to give him a nickname too….
"I'm Pidge," she said quickly, going for her brother's old nickname for her. He smirked at her, but said nothing about her choice of name.
"So, why are you trying to get into the Galra fortress, Pidge?" Keith asked carefully, settling himself down.
"They kidnapped my father and brother," she explained. "I'm here to get them back."
"Ah, a suicide mission. I love suicide missions."
"Funny, wyrm. What about you?" she shot back.
He narrowed his eyes at the ancient slur but answered her just the same. "My brother was also captured. And like you, I intend to free him."
Pidge gaped at him because, one, it seemed he hadn't been kidding about loving suicide missions, and two, HOW POWERFUL WERE THE GALRA THAT THEY COULD CAPTURE AND HOLD A QUIZNAKING DRAGON?
Ok, so she was actually going to die—No! No, she just needed to think of a plan! She could do this! And now she had a dragon on her side! She could absolutely do this!
"All right," she said, trying to focus. "Our main goal is to actually get into the fortress. Once we're in, I should be able to navigate down to the dungeons; the Galra are stupid, so they aren't gonna have a maze or anything, we'll just need to take out the guards—"
"Easy," Keith scoffed.
"For you, maybe," Pidge pointed out. "But your real problem is how you're going to get into the keep. Once we make it inside, I'll have to be on my own. There's no way you're fitting in a hallway—"
"Actually," he coughed, looking sheepish. "I can change my form to that of a human."
Katie thought her mind had already been blown. Apparently not.
"You can WHAT?" she exclaimed. "When were you going to share that little tidbit?!"
"Uh, right now?" he said shrugging.
Well, that changed EVERYTHING!
"Can you fight as a human?" she asked eagerly.
"Duh."
She ignored his eye roll in favor of getting more information. What was his favorite weapon? A sword. Was he any good? I wouldn't use it otherwise! How long did it take to transform?
At that, Keith blinked at her and closed his eyes. "Time me."
His body somehow blurred and Pidge watched in astonishment as he seemed to fold into himself, his body emitting a soft, red glow. A few seconds later, a young man with long, black hair stood up where the dragon had been.
Pidge very nearly dropped her bayard; the man was gorgeous! She'd never considered herself shallow, or even given the boys in the village a second glance (even the few who dared to try to court her), but right now, she was finding it hard to breathe! There was just something about him that drew her eye to the shape of his jaw, the broadness of his shoulders, the way he was cocking his head at her, confused…!
"Pidge?"
"WHAT?" she squawked, her voice breaking. Mortified, she cleared her throat. "Did you need something?"
"What time did you get?" he asked.
"Umm…" I totally forgot to time you and now I can't speak right because my brain keeps derailing on beautiful your face is….
"Pidge? Are you okay?" he asked, now looking concerned.
Nope. Nope. I'm having an internal breakdown because NOW is NOT a good time for my hormones to finally kick in—and what does it say about me when the guy I like isn't even the same species?
"Is there something on my face?"
Yes, there's actually a really cool scar on your cheek and I could never understand why boys thought their scars looked cool and tried to show them off, but it's really working for you—OH GOD, YOU NEED AN ANSWER!
"No!" she sputtered. "I was just, uh, surprised, is all!"
Now Keith scowled at her. "Look," he said testily, "if you've got a problem with me, just spit it out already!"
"No! No I don't!" she said quickly, wondering why he was suddenly so defensive. "I was just surprised… that your hair isn't red!" she said, making up a believable lie. "You know, because you're a red dragon?"
He scoffed. "Can we just focus on the task at hand?"
"Yes!" she agreed. Absolutely, yes. Plans. Focus on the plans and not the pretty dragon, Pidge.
Once she got focused, it was amazingly easy to work with Keith. He had a rough map of the outside of the fortress and they began bouncing ideas off each other like they invaded enemy strongholds every day.
They could sneak in through the sewers, Pidge suggested, but Keith immediately nixed that idea. Not only were they gross and hard to access, but he'd already tried it. They were filled with traps. Apparently the Galra weren't completely stupid.
When he learned she had gadgets and machinery, Keith's eyes gleamed, and he suggested gathering it all up and even raiding his own 'treasure' so they could pose as travelling merchants. Pidge considered it, but really? The Galra were savages. They'd be just as likely to simply kill the travelers and take their wares. Keith pouted, but had to agree. Pidge made a mental note to gift him with something shiny when this all was over.
They argued over a few other ideas, but together, they managed to debunk every single plan. Finally, Keith threw his hands in the air.
"There has to be some way!" he exclaimed. "It's not like we can just charge the front gate!"
"We'd need an army," Pidge agreed. "Or…." A stray thought latched onto that image projector she'd invented last year. Matt had loved it, but Dad hadn't really seen any practical use for it.
"Or?" Keith looked at her hopefully.
"The illusion of one?" she suggested.
He slumped. "My magic isn't that good," he said.
Pidge blinked. "You have illusion magic?"
"Well, yeah," he said, shrugging. "Dragons have all kinds of magic. Why, what do you have?"
Pidge grinned, an idea slowly forming. "I may have a way," she said slowly, "to create the illusion of an army. How do you feel about explosions?"
Keith's grin turned wicked. "Keep talking my language."
By the time they were ready to go to sleep, they had a solid plan. Keith allowed her to use the second bed, which made Katie wonder again, what had the Galra done in order to capture a dragon? It had taken Keith only a few minutes to fly back and grab her horse and supplies, so he was clearly holding back when it came to the fortress. Not that she could blame him; the Galra were the type to simply kill all their prisoners if they thought it would benefit them. Sneaking in was the only way to make sure everyone stayed alive.
Of course, now that she had all her gear, the idea of sleeping when there was so much to do…. Yeah, she might not use that bed. However, a little after midnight found her with a dragon glaring over her shoulder and tersely suggesting that she get some sleep. Pidge meekly went to bed.
The next morning however, she woke up to find Keith going through her inventions, careful not to activate them, but with the curiosity of someone who genuinely loved electronics.
They spent the whole day working on their creation. It was easily one of the best days of Pidge's life. Keith was fun when he wasn't grumpy, he was easy to work with, and his magics added a whole new element to her creations that she'd never explored before.
There were still limitations, of course. They realized early on that they couldn't actually maintain the illusion of an army for very long. They could, however, use all their resources to create one super-powered fighting machine which, accompanied by explosions and other distractions at all the right intervals, would give the impression of an army. With any luck, it might even do some actual damage!
By sunset, they were ready to deploy Voltron.
"Really? Voltron?" Keith said, standing guard while Pidge rigged the last of their explosives in the fields to the west of the Galra fortress. (That way, the setting sun would work in their favor.) "You wanna call it Voltron?"
"Hey, I didn't complain when you insisted that we make its hands and feet out of cat heads."
"They're lions," he corrected. "And why wouldn't we make it's hands and feet out of lion heads? We wanted it to look monstrous, right? Well, each of those things has a pair of eyes that'll glow in the dark once we really get going. It's like something out of a nightmare!"
"I doubt the Galra will care," Pidge said, connecting the last of the wires for the explosions in this location, "they'll be too busy trying not to die! Okay, that's the last one! We're ready!"
They headed for the Northern gate, which Keith had estimated was the closest to the prisoner cells. Hopefully, the Galra would be too focused on the "attacker" to notice two small humans sneaking in. As soon as they were in position, Pidge gave Keith the signal. Closing his eyes, he used whatever freaky dragon magic he had to remotely activate their invention.
Sure enough, every single guard's head turned at the barrage of explosions just beyond the wall, and the image of a giant, metal man rising above the treeline.
"Attack! We're under attack!"
"It's enormous! Is it a giant?!"
"IT'S GOT SO MANY GLOWING EYES!"
"To arms! To arms!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, IT'S MADE OF LIONS!"
Keith threw Pidge a triumphant smirk as they darted inside. She rolled her eyes back at him but couldn't help her wide grin as they worked together flawlessly to disable the few guards who hadn't left their posts. They darted through the hallways, ignoring the explosions and screaming coming from the outside. She and Keith were focused on one thing; getting to the dungeons and freeing the prisoners.
Well, finding the dungeons wasn't hard. There were A LOT of them. The problem was finding the right people! Keith kept slashing locks with his sword whenever they came upon an occupied cell, but it was really slowing them down! They needed to find their families! Illusions (even ones enhanced by very real explosions) didn't last forever!
Finally, Keith paused at one of the cells and then frantically slashed the lock.
"Shiro!" he cried, rushing into the cell. Pidge followed, feeling the blood drain out of her face when she saw the state Keith's brother was in. He'd been beaten and chained against the wall, and was currently missing an arm. She grabbed the medical kit she'd brought along. Here she'd hoped she wouldn't have to use it. She came up to them just as Keith cut him free, catching him in his arms.
Watching them hug each other, murmuring reassurances, and seeing Keith's grateful look when she handed him the medical kit, Pidge had to reevaluate every legend or rumor she'd ever heard about dragons being cold, unfeeling monsters. These two obviously cared a great deal about each other.
"Do you need any help?" she called softly, not wanting to startle them.
Keith shook his head but gave her another grateful smile. "I got it." Beside him, Shiro looked surprised, as though he'd just noticed her.
"Keith, who's this?" he asked, looking at his brother curiously.
"Pidge. She helped me get in here."
"Yeah, and since it looks like you've got this handled, I'll just be on my way," she said, backing out of the cell.
Instantly, the two men were focused on her.
"Wait, what?" Keith exclaimed.
"Hold on a minute!" Shiro said, trying to stand.
"You found your family," Pidge said to Keith, confused as to why he would protest. "I still need to find mine."
"We can go together," Keith insisted.
Pidge hesitated, and gave a pointed glance at Shiro. "Don't you want to get him to safety? I mean, no offense, but he doesn't look like he's ready to take on more armed guards."
"I may be disarmed," Shiro replied, chuckling a bit at his own bad joke, "but I can still handle myself. Besides, you came here to help Keith, so it's only right that we help you in return."
Pidge was surprised, she hadn't really expected Keith to stick with her once he'd gotten his brother. Dragons were supposedly very goal-oriented, and not known for being loyal. She really needed to update Dad's books when she got home!
"Okay, if you're sure," she said, leading the way out of the cell.
"Pidge!" Keith suddenly yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her backwards. Pidge felt her heart leap into her throat when a sword swiped through the air of where she'd just been. Keith snarled and pulled her behind him, Shiro immediately taking a flanking position on his left.
A huge Galra mercenary stepped into the cell room with him. He looked dirty and mean, and his left arm looked like a prosthetic. With a start, Katie recognized her father's work. So that was what they'd needed him for….
"Sendak," Shiro hissed, getting into a fighting position.
"Well, well, well," Sendak drawled. "What with all this commotion, I had a feeling something was wrong with my favorite prisoner!" He grinned at the two brothers, obviously ignoring Pidge as she cowered behind them. "I may not need you to test out my new prothesis anymore, Shiro, but please don't think I'm even close to being done with you!"
"Say what you want, Sendak," Shiro said tauntingly. "But I won't need a five of my lackeys holding you down when I take your other arm!"
"You will pay for your—!"
Whatever this guy had been about to say, Pidge didn't know or care. She darted out from behind Keith's arm and shot Sendak with her bayard. His stupid monologue turned into a loud shriek as electricity flowed through him. To her surprise, the charge wasn't enough to knock him out however, and he grabbed the wire and jerked it forward. Rather than be taken with it, she let the weapon go in favor of stepping behind Keith again. The two brothers darted forward as Sendak raised his sword.
Sendak was tall and strong, and surprisingly quick for someone his size, but he was obviously no match for Keith and Shiro. They worked together flawlessly, even with Shiro's injuries. While Shiro worked to incapacitate his sword arm and whatever strange things his prosthetic could do, Keith ruthlessly went for the head. The next thing Pidge knew, Sendak was unconscious, bleeding on the ground with a gash across his eye, and Shiro was casually wrenching the prosthetic arm off.
"Arm for an arm," he said jokingly, catching her grossed-out look.
"You dragons are kinda literal with your metaphors, aren't ya," she said dryly.
"Yes, we are!" Shiro laughed. "I like her, Keith! She can keep up with my bad humor!"
"You've got nothing on my brother's puns," she informed him, retrieving her bayard and watching Keith.
"He's still breathing," Keith said, still focused on Sendak and frowning.
"I don't think he's getting up anytime soon," Pidge said, really wanting to get a move on. Their illusion wouldn't last much longer; the explosions outside had already started getting further and further apart. Keith looked up at her and nodded, grinning at his brother's little 'trophy' as they ran out of the room, wary of anymore guards.
"Your brother, huh?" Shiro said to Pidge. "I take it you were referring to Sam and Matt Holt? You look just like them."
"Yes!" she exclaimed eagerly. "You know where they are?!"
"This way."
With Shiro leading them, it took only a few minutes to find the workshop her family had been stationed in. Pidge noticed the unswept floor and the thatched roof with disdain; hardly ideal conditions for working on delicate projects! No wonder the Galra were considered so primitive!
Of course, in the next instant, the rest of her worries were washed away.
"KATIE!" she heard her father cry. Pidge bit back a cry as he sprang out of one of the darkened corners and swept her into his arms, Matt following right after. "Oh, thank the gods," he babbled. "When we heard we were being attacked we were certain that they'd come to kill us immediately, but instead, you're here—oh, of course you're here, my clever little girl—"
"Dad!" Pidge sobbed.
"Umm, Pidge," she heard Keith say uncertainly, "I hate to break up your reunion, but…."
He trailed off, but Pidge got the message. It was way too quiet outside. Their illusion had worn off! Time to get out of here!
"Oh my, sweetie, who are these nice young men?" Sam asked, looking at Keith and Shiro with interest.
"No time, Dad," she said, grabbing his hand.
"NO," a booming voice growled from the door. "THERE'S REALLY NO TIME AT ALL!"
Pidge gasped as they all spun towards the door. Sendak stood in the doorway, still bloody and missing an arm, but somehow looking even scarier than he had before. She could swear his eyes were glowing! What dark magic was this?! The others seemed to have the same thoughts as Keith and Shiro took up defensive positions again.
"How many times do I have to kill you, Sendak?!" Shiro snarled.
"At least once more, it would seem!" the Galra bellowed, charging into the room and barreling right into the two brothers.
"Run!" Keith yelled to Pidge as he just barely blocked a powerful swing with his sword.
"To where?!" she yelled back. They were caught in the middle of the Galra fortress, and Sendak was blocking the only exit! Then she screamed as Sendak's next swing caught across Keith's chest, sending him flying backwards. Immediately she rushed to help her friend while Shiro screamed with rage and beat back their attacker.
What was going on here? Sendak seemed more powerful than he had been before, and now he was missing an ar—she stared at the prosthesis that Shiro was using to beat Sendak back. Her father's work. She'd recognized it immediately. And she wouldn't put it past her father to have built something into it that made the user slower and weaker….
"Is there anything in here we can use to help them?" she asked her father and brother desperately, cradling Keith's head in her lap as she wrapped his wound.
"No, we booby-trapped them all," Matt said, confirming her earlier eureka.
"C'mon, honey, we weren't going to give the Galra anything good," Sam added.
Great. Just great. And while she appreciated the sentiment (and probably would've done the same thing in their place), she could really use a weapon that wouldn't blow up in their faces right now!
"EYE FOR AN EYE!" Sendak was sneering, advancing on them. Pidge belatedly realized that Shiro had been thrown across the far wall. And now, the huge, unstoppable Galra giant looked like something out of her nightmares, and was reaching for Keith, intending to hurt him even more—
Not on her watch!
She pulled out her bayard and shot it at him, aiming for the opening where his prosthesis would go. Sendak bellowed in pain. Somehow, Keith woke up just in time to shoot out his leg and trip the big guy, sending him backwards.
"Keith! Are you alright?" Pidge cried.
"I'll be fine once we get out of here," he said, holding his chest and grimacing. Pidge looked around. She could hear yelling coming from all over the keep, and no doubt they'd be found soon. Even if they weren't found here, Shiro and Keith were in no shape to fight their way back out! Oh, but there had to be a way!
Well, the thought came to her, as Shiro hauled Sendak away from his brother, if they couldn't go down and out of the fortress… they could always go up. Her eyes flew to the thatched roof.
"Keith," she said, stopping him from joining the fight with a hand to his arm. "Can you transform right now?"
"Now?!" he said incredulously. "I'll take up the whole room!"
"Yeah, but remember what I said about you dragons and your metaphors?" she said with a grin. She pointed up. "Where there's smoke…."
Keith looked and smirked at her. "You're my kind of crazy, Pidge."
A moment later, his form started to glow that hazy red, and Pidge quickly shielded her face as fire roared to life from Keith's dragon form. Shiro and Sendak were both yelling something and still fighting, but Keith quickly took care of the Galra pest with a flick of his tail. Pidge had dragged her shell-shocked brother and father under Keith's wings for protection from the falling, burning roof, and Shiro quickly joined them.
"Are you gonna be able to carry us all at once?!" he yelled at his brother over the roar of the fire and the shouting coming from outside that was suddenly much louder.
"Not for long," Keith said, glaring at Sendak's fallen form and shooting a fireball at him for good measure. "Get on!"
"Wouldn't it be better for you to transform too?" Pidge said to Shiro.
He gaped at her. "What? I'm not a dragon!"
WHAT? But then—HOW? Oh, this would've been good to know earlier!
"Nevermind it, we just have to get clear of the walls," Keith said, not looking at either of them.
Pidge agreed, but they were definitely coming back to this later! She grabbed her father and started pushing him onto Keith's back. Fortunately, Matt caught on and quickly started helping her. Still, it took too much time to get them both on Keith's back. By the time they were situated, Sendak was back, now maimed, blinded, and slightly smoking, but yelling and waving his sword as furiously as before.
Shiro turned to engage him again, but Keith grabbed him in one claw, Pidge in the other, and yelled at the Holts to hang on. The next thing she knew, Pidge was soaring through the air again.
This time, however, was very different. Instead of day, it was night, and instead of her being the only one screaming, it seemed like the whole world had gone crazy!
Galra were everywhere, screaming and calling out orders. Their illusion of Voltron was definitely gone, but fires from the explosions in the nearby fields were still alight.
And, surprise, surprise, though, Princess Allura's forces were attacking! Pidge gasped as she recognized the sigil on the banners. They had only made an illusion of an army attacking, now there was a real one! She could almost laugh! The Galra must be so confused!
"Was it all an illusion?"
"Are we actually being attacked?"
"Is this arrow sticking out of my chest real?"
The Galra fortress was falling for real!
Instead, she was more focused on Keith's heavy breathing as he struggled to flap his wings hard enough to carry them over the battlefield.
"Keith, land!" she called up to him, once they were out of range of the fortress. "You need to land before you pass out!"
She wasn't sure if he heard her or he was just exhausted, but he fell to the ground, transforming back into a human as soon as he hit the dirt. Her father and Matt tumbled to the ground, and Shiro was already kneeling by Keith, trying to re-wrap his injuries.
"Here," Sam Holt said, taking Pidge's medkit. "I may not be a doctor, but I can help with this." He worked on Keith and Shiro while Matt and Pidge stood guard. Obviously, flying a dragon out of a fortress was bound to catch someone's attention; they hadn't exactly been subtle. Shouts kept getting closer and closer, until Sam finally declared them fit enough to get back to Keith's cave.
"We need to leave," he said to Matt and Pidge. "If Allura's forces came this far to rescue us, they won't think twice about getting rid of a dragon too."
"I won't let them hurt Keith!" Pidge said, clutching her bayard. "You and Matt go meet up with them then, Dad. I need to make sure Keith and Shiro get home all right."
"But, Katie—"
"No buts. I'll meet up with you later, okay? Tell Mom I'm fine!"
Her father and brother still looked uncertain, but Pidge wasn't budging. Finally, Matt gave in and handed her a little knife. "For extra protection," he said with a wink. Then he and their father headed out to meet the soldiers who were still calling for them in the darkness. Pidge headed back to her friends.
Shiro looked surprised to see her. "You aren't going with them?"
She scoffed at him. "You two wouldn't last the night if I left you all alone," she said, helping Keith get to his feet. He was still breathing heavily, and wincing far more than he wanted her to see.
"You came back?" he panted, looking at her wildly.
"We got into this together, we're going to get out of it together," she told him firmly. To her surprised, he slumped against her, burying his face in her hair.
"Thank you, Pidge."
"I'm still gonna need you to try and walk upright, big guy!" she laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shiro giving them the strangest smile, but she ignored it.
It took most of the night to get back to Keith's mountain, and even then, he had to transform long enough to get them up to the cave. (He'd planted traps to make it inaccessible from the ground, he'd explained, and he wasn't awake enough to point them all out.)
By the time they got back to the cave they were all exhausted. Pidge managed to clean and bandage them up as best she could, then had to threaten them both with her bayard to make sure they got in their beds. (Both of them were stubborn enough to offer to let her sleep instead, but she wasn't the one who'd been badly injured.) Once they were both out (it didn't take long) she made herself a little nest out of scraps and Keith's little machinery hoard and fell asleep.
She woke up slowly to the sound of Shiro chuckling. She was warm and comfy, though, so she didn't think anything of it until she heard,
"Convenient that she's already inserted herself into your hoard, isn't it?"
"Shut up, Shiro!" Keith spat, also trying to keep his voice low. "She doesn't understand what it means and you know it!"
"Aww, you know you want to keep her!" Shiro was laughing again.
Wait, they were both up?!
Pidge sat up, suddenly very awake, greeted by the sight of Keith's red, human face, pointedly looking away from Shiro.
"Well, hi," Shiro said cheerfully. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Yes," Pidge said, indicating her makeshift bed. "I used to fall asleep in my workshop at home all the time, so I slept fine." Shiro looked surprised again, and Keith was an even darker red by now, so she decided to change the subject. "I was looking through some of this stuff, and well, Shiro needs a new arm, right? And he just happened to steal that one from Sendak. It's my father's design, so I might be able to tweak it enough to let you actually use it."
Ah, now she'd caught their interest. Shiro insisted she tell them more over breakfast. It was scary how easily she got along with both of them; how calm she felt when usually interacting with people made her nervous.
She didn't really want to leave this place.
"So, you're not a dragon?" she asked Shiro, remembering her resolve to bring this up.
"Oh, uh, no," he coughed. "I'm human."
"But then…." She made motions between them. Shiro glanced at Keith, who sighed.
"I'm half-dragon," he explained. "It's why I can change forms."
"So, why'd you let me believe that Shiro was actually a dragon?" she asked, confused as to why he wouldn't meet her eye.
Shiro cleared his throat. "Half-dragons aren't really… accepted by most of the fae," he explained. "They're generally looked down on."
"Why?" Pidge asked, flabbergasted. "You're awesome."
Keith gaped at her, blushing again. "You—you really don't mind?" he asked. "That I'm half-human?"
"Why would I mind? I happen to like being human," Pidge said.
Shiro beamed at her. "I say we keep her," he said to Keith.
"You are NOT helping!" Keith snarled back.
"Actually," Pidge said, biting her lip. "I was gonna ask you about that. I mean, obviously Princess Allura won—at least I hope she won, it definitely looked like she won that battle—but I'm pretty sure the Galra aren't gone for good. Especially that Sendak fellow, he just kept coming back!"
"Like a cockroach that needs to be squashed," Keith agreed darkly.
"So, obviously, we've made a pretty powerful enemy today, one who knows our names, faces, and the general area we live in. We could all probably use some allies," she said, hinting hopefully. "Or maybe even… friends?"
"Yeah, sure Katie, just friends," a new voice chimed in. Keith and Shiro were instantly on their feet, but Pidge could only gape at the newcomer. Matt was carelessly swinging a rope as he sauntered into a dragon's cave.
"How'd you get in here?!" Keith demanded, looking outraged.
"Hey, don't get me wrong, you've got some good traps," Matt said, holding up his hands to show he wasn't a threat. "But they're no match for a Holt. Speaking of, baby sister, how long are you planning to stay with the nice dragon-man you've been making googoo eyes at?"
"I have not—!" Pidge gasped, outraged
"Keith's been sneaking glances too!" Shiro chimed in.
"SHIRO!" Keith growled.
Both of their brothers ignored the scandalized pair in favor of introducing themselves and promptly starting to take bets on how long it would take the two to get together.
"No, you don't understand, Shiro," Matt drawled, while Pidge struggled not to strangle the brother she'd fought so hard to save. "Katie's never even looked at another guy in the village. I give them a month, tops."
"No, I get it," Shiro countered. "Keith's always claimed he wasn't interested either. But you should've seen the way he was looking at her this morning! And he's very possessive of his hoard. I'd say two weeks."
"Oh, really?!"
"Were you really watching me this morning?" Pidge quietly asked Keith as they both stepped away from their loud older brothers.
"What?! No! Of course not! That'd be creepy!" Keith exclaimed, pointedly not looking at her. "You were just—I mean—there was—I was just checking to make sure you hadn't broken anything!"
Pidge was pretty sure they were both blushing quite a lot at this point. And honestly, he was right. She should feel creeped out. Right? So why…
"Do you really see me as part of your hoard?" she asked, wondering why she wasn't running for the hills at the thought. He was a big scary monster, right? She shouldn't want to be part of—she shook the thought away.
"No, of course not!" Keith said again. "You're not just some thing I can collect, you're worth more than tha—" He froze before he could finish that statement, glancing at her with wide eyes.
Pidge smiled at the feeling of warmth bursting in her chest.
Keith, meanwhile, was still stammering. "It's not that I—I mean—well, what I meant to say was—ugh, look, I'm not good with words, okay?"
"Okay," Pidge said, slipping her hand into his. Keith blinked at their joined hands and then glanced at her.
"Really?"
"My kind of crazy, right?" she said, feeling happier at the thought of being his than any idea of romance that had ever crossed her mind before. "And I enjoy being with you. Let's just take it from there." She gave his hand a squeeze.
Keith looked like she'd offered him the moon.
"Okay," he said, smiling back and relaxing.
"Oi! Shiro! They're already holding hands! I'm moving my bet up to a week!" Matt called.
Shiro whistled at them. "Taking it kind of fast, aren't you, Keith? I think I'm gonna give them three days until their first kiss, Matt!"
Keith and Pidge glared at their siblings.
"They're not gonna stop, are they," Pidge grumbled.
"Nope," Keith agreed. He pondered for a moment "You know," he mused, "there's only one way to make sure neither of our brothers wins a bet based on our love life."
Pidge looked up at him, confused. She gasped as Keith suddenly pulled her close, bent down and gave her a quick peck. Shiro and Matt made identical, outraged noises.
"No fair!"
"That doesn't count!"
Pidge agreed. She hadn't even been able to react! She grabbed Keith's collar and pulled him back down for a much better, much longer, much more passionate kiss.
END.