Chapter twenty-three: New Plan
Shiro walked with a ginger stride, his right hand to the wall with Keith supporting him on his left side.
"The battle with Zarkon was a rough one." Keith remarked softly, almost afraid to say so. "It's gonna take time for you to get better.. but we'll get there."
"I know." Shiro admitted disheartenedly. "It's just a part of me that has become my enemy, I suppose." Keith's eyes lightened at this.
"What is?" He asked a bit forwardly.
"The uselessness that comes with recovery." Shiro replied willingly, he tripped and nearly lost his footing, but Keith held onto him; even as his hand trembled on his shoulder. Shiro sighed when regaining his balance and the trembling ended.
"Don't worry.." Keith tried to reassure him. "You won't feel this way forever. You'll get better, we'll help you get there. I swear."
"I know you will." The Black Paladin and Keith's closest friend replied, meeting his gaze directly. "But the Black Lion is still missing." He went on, as they resumed walking.
"I know.. and I agree that we have to find it." Keith concurred, as they reached Shiro's room. "But not at the expense of you." He helped Shiro to sit down on his bed, and carefully removed his boots. Shiro grimaced as the boots freed his aching feet from the constricted pressure on them; both feeling sore and raw from all the physical action they had endured; masking what little healing had already begun to take place in them. Gingerly sliding back, Keith pull the blanket aside and covered him up once he was settled. Though he'd never admit it, Keith knew, he could still see the pain level in his friend's eyes; mainly by the discomforted shift he'd occasionally make.
"Hey Keith.." Shiro's voice murmured, after a seemingly infinite silence.
"Yeah?" The Red Paladin answered, his eyes interested. Shiro was silent for a moment, staring straight up at nothing, as though thinking on what he was going to say next.
"How long has it been since our battle with Zarkon?" His eyes suddenly turning Keith's way. At first Keith stared at him in a daze, but then softened it as not to look so surprised that Shiro would ask such a thing.
"A while." He replied finally, adding a sense of ease to his unsure tone. "Months maybe.." Shiro's eyes turned up to the ceiling again.. if he was disappointed he didn't want to show it. Yet Keith could read him like a book, almost feeling his emotions through the empty space that separated them. "It took us mere minutes to make the decision to put you on life support within the pod.. we almost lost you several times. I was afraid that.. everyone was giving up on you. So when.. Allura said there was nothing we could do for you… I panicked. The team was considering letting you go.. but I.. I couldn't do it."
"Because of what I told you.. isn't it." Shiro implied, his gaze unchanging as his eyes went half closed.
"Yeah.. I guess so." Keith shrugged, leaning back against the wall, crossing his arms and placing a foot up onto the wall behind him with a shrug. "I couldn't let them decide to let you go.. cause I wasn't ready to let you go."
"Well.." Shiro breathed half-heartedly. "I'm glad you didn't." Keith's bright eyes softened again.
"Yeah.. me too." He answered, almost mumbling these words as his gaze wandered away sheepishly.
"Something important happened back there." Shiro spoke up earning the young man's gaze once more. "Something significant.. I'm not sure why it's important or what specifically it is.. but it's important somehow." He turned his head slightly to him. "And I think I owe you my life too." His smile was clearly forced, but meaningfully so. Keith's heart flushed with a warmth, showing itself in his tender eyes, which frosted over with another fleeting thought that came back to him.
"But.. I'm also the one who almost got you killed multiple times.. or captured at the very least." His protest seemed in vain.. because Shiro's distant expression never changed, and he almost wondered his he'd heard him.
"What happened to me.. is not your fault." Came the confirmation he was expecting, as Shiro would always respond in this way, to which Keith could not find it in himself to believe him.
"How is it not.." Keith protested. "If I hadn't taken off with you in the first place.. Lotor would've never found us and made me lose you during the wormhole jump."
"I still don't blame you for it." Shiro's response almost shocked him. "I can see that you blame yourself enough, for what happened. But I know you had true intentions when you made such a rash choice." Shiro's glassy eyes slid closed a little further, becoming mere slits now.
"You'd never let me forget that." Keith confirmed, wishing he had the courage to smile, even slightly.
"Cause it'll never stop being true.." Shiro's statement slowly faded into silence as his eyes gave in to rest and his body relaxed completely. Keith remained where he was for a short time after this, to be sure he was really asleep. And when he restfully shifted his body away from him, he was certain that he was, from where he viewed it; just inside the open door, which he closed behind him and left him in his own brand of silence.
XXXX
The doors parted to show that Keith was standing there. The team not having noticed, as they were otherwise engaged at Pidge's Paladin seat. Keith found them near immediately and strode over to them. Lance was the first to look up and they finally realized his presence.
"Hey, you're back." The Blue Paladin remarked. "How's Shiro?" He followed up curiously.
"Sleeping for the moment." Keith returned simply, reaching easily. "But if Shiro's right.. we don't have a lot it of time before things begin to change. If, for any reason, they decide to move Sam.. it may take us forever to find him again."
"Right which means we need to play this smart." Pidge concurred, beginning to vigorously type again. "Ok.. according to this.. and the information that Shiro gave us everything checks out. Our suits will provide us with clean air, as long as we keep them on. The security systems are closely monitored and cameras and sensors lay everywhere. They're meant to trigger an alarm to signal the main control room about any intruders." The glare of the screen peeled off the surface of her glasses, as she looked up from it. "We can manually disable them as we go, but I'll need to build something first. Matt, Hunk, and I'll work on that, while on route to the base."
"And just how far away is this.. base." Lance reiterated, crossing his arms challengingly.
"According to the castle's records.. and the calculations on the distance of the coordinates.. It'll takes roughly two Quintants to get there." Coran spoke up in her place.
"There's a lead-gas nebula nearby that we can hide in until we attack." Pidge added. "And, again, our suits and the Lions will keep us protected from the poisonous effects of the lead."
"Wait.. lead-gas nebula?" Lance echoed. "That's a thing?"
"Apparently, it is out here." Pidge replied matter-of-factly, glancing back at him bluntly. "And it'll be the perfect hiding place until we're ready to infiltrate the Galra prison/base and free my dad."
"Pidge.. I need you to be aware.." Allura ventured meaningfully, coming forward. "Zarkon or the Galra may have already moved him to another location; unknowingly to us.. so be prepared for the instance that this is a possibility." Pidge's demeanor changed, but not to that of anything against the Altean Princess, but instead to something of disappointment or dread.
"I know." The Green Paladin answered quietly, her gaze falling.
"I don't want to take away the possibility of you finally finding your father, Pidge." The Princess told her, kneeling to her level. "I just don't want you to get hurt if something were to go wrong during this operation. After all, Shiro did say that it'll be even more difficult than Matt's rescue had been."
"I know.." Pidge repeated flatly. "But we're going to do everything we can to get my dad back.. and we shouldn't stop fighting until we do."
"Agreed." Allura concurred, squeezing her hand encouragingly.
"So who's gonna tell Shiro?" Lance asked.
"We don't have a solid plan in place yet.. and he needs to get some rest." Keith reminded him, only slightly blunt in his tone of voice. "If we wake him now we won't have all that much to tell him. And he needs to rest in order to be apart of this operation. He did just return from a rough journey, you know."
"Which is why I don't believe he should be apart of this at all." Allura stated openly, a tone of certainty and frustrated restraint in her tone. "But since we can't stop him from wanting to.. Keith's right in that he should be resting before we move forward too far."
"Actually we may need him after all.. He's got something we'll need, if we're going to get in and out of the base without being seen or detected." Pidge countered seriously. Allura just closed her eyes and dropped her chin.
"Whatever the case.." She said, looking toward the front of the bridge's helm. "We'll need to start heading that way. Coran nodded and turned to his control area.
"Once we're there we'll be able to get a better understanding of how the land works there." Keith added. "And figure out a strategy from there. That'll give Shiro plenty of time to rest, while Pidge and Hunk work with Matt in creating whatever.. thing they're needing to make."
"Right. So let's go get started on that." Pidge announced, looking to the two boys. Then they all exited together through the sliding doors behind them.
"Till then.." Keith began again looking to Lance and Allura. "We'll have to sit tight until we get there." Yet deep inside.. Keith's mind was at work in a very different way.
XXXX
Restful silence, drowned out by a busy mind. No peace seeming to find the Black Paladin where he lay. With movement his side stabbed at him, the sharpness of it forcing him away from the source; while still shifting off his side and onto his back. Shiro's sleep seemed overrun with anything other than peace and rest. Comfort seeming to come very slightly with the settlement from shifting positions. The ache of his body persisted.. he had it in his mind to take something for it.. but didn't dare move for fear of making it worse. His eyes remained closed under a thick sheet of his own skin, which kept them from seeing anything around him. Leaning to his left, he lay right on the burned area; and, seething at the intense sting, he immediately shifted off of it to wait for it to calm again. His insides flushed, sending a lightness to his face.. as though his head were to float right off his shoulders. His brow tightened.. the scar of his face only slightly wrinkled from the hard cringe he wore on his face. No form of comfort coming to him, as he lay there practically paralyzed by his own pain; and not possessing any means of calling for help without feeling more of it. So he just lay there.. as he found himself being dragged back into the warm blanket of darkness once more..
XXXX
"There doesn't seem to be any sign of the Balck Lion and we don't even have an inkling on where it could be." Lance complained, scanning the screens Coran had pulled up on the castle bridge. "I mean why would the Balck Lion just.. up and leave to find it's Paladin, without actually going to get it's paladin? Shiro was out there alone for weeks, if not, months by himself and the lion still didn't go rescue him?" He threw his hand in the air, sticking out from his body in disgust. "Sounds weird if you ask me."
"I don't know.. but Shiro's return has not been an easy one.." Allura reasoned, turning to him thoughtfully. "And we can all agree it's because of Zarkon."
"Zarkon?" Lance echoed, suggestively unconvinced as his arms crossed once more. "What'd he do? He's been out of action for months now.. just like Shiro was."
"Technically, Shiro still is out of action." Keith remarked bluntly. "But at least now he's conscious."
"Yeah-.. sure..right, whatever." Lance responded, waywardly brushing him off. "But Zarkon's been in this.. 'limbo' state ever since we beat him with that blazing.. sword.. Thingy…" His face slowly went blank with this statement. "Yeah, remind me how that happened again?"
"Shiro phased through Zarkon's monster and got his bayard back.." Keith recalled simply, a gentleness to his tone. "And used it to make the sword blaze."
"Riiight." Lance recalled, pointing a finger to him dramatically at the recollection. "So how are we able to assume that all this is Zarkon's fault?" He shrugged, placing his hands to his hips; as he scanned the Princess for an answer.
"Zarkon.. has been attacking Shiro through his mind." Allura reminded him. "His connection with the Black Lion is still there.. and I fear it can never be fully broken… but what Shiro has proven, is that it's possible to overcome the influence of a tyrant such as him. And we are just lucky that the lions have a way of helping us know when we need to rescue our own from themselves."
"But-.. Shiro's not crazy." Lance protested innocently. "And he's not helpless."
"He is in the hands of Zarkon. Zarkon has spent thousands of years honing his ability to connect with the Black Lion. Whereas Shiro's had mere pheobs to do it.. and yet has found a way to severely weaken Zarkon's bond with the Black Lion in the span of a mere afternoon."
"It's true that Shiro's a fighter.." Keith agreed thoughtfully. "But he's only doing it,.. by drawing upon a learned instinct.. Ever since he was taken by the Galra and they imprisoned him for a year; he's developed this fighting ability that's more drawn from a survival instinct than anything else. He's driven to survive rather than anything else, if the situation calls for it. That's why he's survived all of Zarkon's attacks."
"Shiro is a strong leader and a true warrior.. but he still has that inward struggle of all that has happened to him.." Allura added, lowering her gaze. "But his strength to keep going, despite it, has always remained true…"
"..He has a long way to go…" She continued after a pause. "But his healing is crucial if he is to lead Voltron once again." And they all gazed off toward the door.. thinking in unison on this true fact.
XXXX
Shiro's brow tensed.. his dreams soaring through his mind, as they often did. His panic was becoming more noticeable with every fidget of his body. A low hiss shot his eyes open, staring at the ceiling above in shock to feel a warm slimy sensation crawling up his right arm. Daring himself to look down the covers showed a small lump advancing up toward him and soon a sluggish head slithered up from under the sheets. The small blob of a slimy, charcoal hue had nothing to resemble eyes. Only a mouth that hissed with two sharp teeth, like buck teeth on the top and two smaller ones on the bottom; the remainder of its jaws lined with tiny needle point teeth and Shiro could barely see. Two clawed arms seemed to form out of the slug's narrow body, as it snarled again and leapt at his face. Sinking its teeth into Shiro's jaw, the Black Paladin immediately reached up to rip it off without a second thought. Throwing it against the wall immediately to his left, he slid out of bed smoothly; finding his previous injuries to have little hindrance on him in the moment. The creature snarled deeply and found the ability to launch itself at him once again. Shiro raised his left arm to protect his face, and the creature successfully dug its teeth into it through his clothes. The pain stung all the way up his arm in a pins and needles sort of way, when he realized a horrifying thing about the creature. This creature's body moved up and down in a sucking motion that almost made him feel dizzy, the subtle glow of it's veins cluing him in further. Lighting his hand instantly, he grabbed the creature and almost burned it away in his own hand; but as another wave came over him, he stumbled about for a second before dropping the creature and hitting the floor. A barely audible groan emanating from him where he landed.
Hey what's up, you guys?! How's it going! Another chapter coming in hot! I REALLY enjoyed writing this chapter, especially that last part. XD Anyway.. enjoy this new chapter, and, as always, lemme know what you think of it. And I'll see you next time. Thx!