The team had been traveling for some time now and were planning on settling on a planet close by for a few days to get their strength back, since they hadn't seen the galra for a while, they decided to take the chance to rest up while they could.
" Pidge will you go tell the others to stop their training session and come up here? " Coran asked. The ginger man was currently busy checking over the castle systems, ready to land the castle with Allura's help. Pidge headed off to the training room only to find Shiro and Keith there, which to be honest didn't surprise her the slightest.
" Only you guys here...? " She asked, carefully approaching the two sparing paladins. As soon as they noticed she was there they abruptly stopped, both leaning over to catch their breath.
" Yeah only us here, Hunk went to make food, and Lance... He's probably asleep in his room or something. " Shiro said. He went over to grab a drink for the two, handing one to Keith as he came back. Keith slowly drank the water meanwhile Shiro drank all of it in one go.
" Whoa take it easy Shiro, we don't want you to die! " Pidge worried, trying to grab the drink from the black paladin's hand. He of course just held it out of her reach and she quickly gave up.
" Anyways I just came to tell you that we are landing soon, so get ready. " Pidge explained. She glared at the two and left the training room, immediately hearing the two went back to sparing as soon as she left the room.
" Ugh, those two are impossible. " She thought, heading to the kitchen to tell Hunk the news aswell. After that she went to go find Lance, finding him asleep in his room just like Shiro predicted.
" What we're...landing?! " Lance mumbled, only half listening to the news Pidge was telling him. She soon gave up with the blue paladin and headed back to the bridge where Coran was moving back and forth between the hundreds of control panels the castle had.
" You need any help...? " She asked, leaning over one of the controls to see if she could understand the altean language spread across the panel.
" Pidge, would you be so kind and stay here while I go check on the central energy chamber in the basement? "Coran asked, and she agreed. As Coran left, Pidge continued looking over the panels with an interest in actually understanding some of it but she struggled greatly. Suddenly there popped up a warning sign, causing the castle's alarms to start blaring, and Pidge didn't know what it meant, or what to do.
" CORAN COME QUICKLY! " She yelled over the comms to get the ginger mans attention. Moments later Coran ran through the doors to the bridge, approaching the control panels with a very worried expression.
" What's happening?! " Pidge asked, getting out of Coran's way as whatever was happening seemed serious.
" The balmeran crystal is out of life force, we need to land immediately! " Coran yelled. He called Allura to come quickly and as soon as she came to the bridge she started from the looks of it...heal the crystal? Not long after the rest of the team understood something serious had happened and also came to the bridge, all with the same confused expressions.
" Allura, you can thank the crystal after we've landed, right now I need your help steering the castle, or we'll crash! " Coran commanded. The princess stopped thanking the crystal and ran up to her post. After some intense shaking everyone found their places and Coran and Allura could finally set a course to the closest planet in their range to crash land on.
" Brace for impact, this might get really shaky! " Coran yelled, struggling to keep himself steady on his feet. The paladins all helped by running off to their lions, trying to steady the castle from outside.
" On three start pushing back! One...Two...Three! " Shiro ordered, then all the paladins did their best to steady the castle until they safely landed on the planet's rocky surface. Once the paladins had landed their lions in the hangars again, they went back to meet Coran and Allura by the bridge.
" Is everyone alright?! " Allura was quick to run up and check up on the paladins, worried they might have gotten injured trying to do what they just did.
" No princess we are fine, what about you? Are you and Coran okay? " Shiro came up to Allura when she suddenly stumbled forward right into his arms.
" Oh, I'm sorry... " She excused herself, awkwardly trying to stand back on her feet.
" You must have used a lot of your energy to do what you just did. How about you go rest while we sort out finding a new Balmeran crystal...? " Shiro suggested, but Allura wasn't convinced, and neither was Coran for that matter.
" You are aware we can't do much without the crystal, you can't even access your lions and soon we'll be out of power completely so it will be hopeless. " Coran explained. The paladins could see the two alteans worn out and start losing hope when they hadn't even been trying, so they decided they had to fix this as soon as possible.
" While the castle still has power and we still can access our lions, how about Allura, Hunk, and Pidge go retrieve a new crystal so we can fix this? " Shiro suggested. Everyone agreed and with that said, the three of them quickly gathered their things and headed to the hangars, grabbed the lions, and set a course to get a new crystal. Allura got a chance to rest up on their way there because she would need new energy to get the balmera to give them a new crystal...
After Hunk, Pidge and Allura left to get the crystal Coran was quick to get everything in order so that when if the power went out completely they would be ready.
" Paladins come with me to the central energy chamber, there is a backup generator we can use until the princess and the others come back with the crystal. " Coran said, motioning for the paladins to follow him. As they entered the energy chamber the lights were slowly flickering meaning they were running out of time before all the lights would go off, and when that happened they would be in trouble.
" It's over here... " Coran said, leading them over to a very big box surrounded by glowing cables of all sorts. Coran seemed to know what needed to be done, so the paladins only had to help if the ginger man asked them to. After some fumbling with the wires, Coran seemed satisfied and asked the paladins to finally come to help him.
" I need you to hold this up so I can access the backup generator behind this mess of cables... " Coran explained, pointing to a larger mess of cables on the floor. The paladins agreed and held the cables up and Coran disappeared behind it all. After a few minutes, he came back and they all let go of the cables and headed back to the bridge so Coran could turn the backup generator on.
"Let's just hope this worked... " Coran mumbled, pressing a bigger button on one of the control panels. As he pressed the button it let out a noise, then the flickering lights in the room stopped and went back to its normal level of lighting.
" You did it! Great job Coran! " Shiro cheered, patting the ginger man on the back. As they were now done they only had to wait for the others to come back with the crystal so they could get off the planet, as this was not the planet Coran had in mind for their so-called vacation.
Lance went back to his room to rest meanwhile, Shiro and Keith went back to their sparring session. Coran on the other hand didn't go back to his control panels, instead, he ran around the castle stressing about unnecessary things like if the backup generator had enough power, which it in fact had.
They continued doing their separate things until around dinner time.
Back with Keith and Shiro the two of them had been sparring for around two hours straight, but none of them wanted to stop, even though both of them had no fight left, and were trying to catch their breaths in between their tackles. With the last of Shiro's strength though, he tackled Keith down on the floor, and then they both finally decided it was definitely enough sparring for now. The two paladins headed to the kitchen to find Lance and Coran cooking, well it was mostly Lance and Coran was just taking mental notes, hovering around the pots and pans in amazement.
" I didn't know you could cook? " Keith questioned, as he sat down by the table together with Shiro.
" Of course I can cook mullet, I have four siblings and I've picked up a few things from Hunk! " Lance chuckled. After a few minutes, Lance added the finishing touches and placed the food on the table, figuring the team seemed to like his cooking since everyone was eating with a good appetite.
" You and Hunk should definitely actually cook together sometime, this is delicious! " Coran explained, causing a satisfying smirk to form on the blue paladin's face.
" Hunk and then having four siblings seemed to have paid off... " Shiro chuckled, and they continued to eat. Once they were done they headed to the lounge to just chill a bit before heading to bed.
" Anyone up for a movie or something? " Lance suddenly asked. They agreed on a movie shortly after and everyone except Keith cuddled up on the sofa, since he wasn't the type of person to cuddle. As they were watching the movie though, Keith suddenly noticed his breathing had changed some way through the movie, which was odd because he had no reason to do so.
The more he thought about it the harder it was for him to breathe like he normally would, and as the movie continued Keith started becoming more aware of this.
As the movie rolled up to the credits Keith slowly stood up, deciding he might just be able to walk the odd feeling off, but as he stood up he was only able to take a few steps before stumbling over. He was greeted with black spots swimming in front of his eyes, and then he started getting really dizzy.
" Keith? " Shiro had noticed the red paladin's weird behavior and gone up to check on him, seeing the dizzy expression on his face.
" I just need to go to...sleep or something. " Keith mumbled, slowly making his way to his room. Shiro was joined by Coran and Lance as the three of them were now looking as Keith made his way to his room.
" He must really be tired...he's walking like a sack of potatoes... " Lance said. Not long after Keith had left the rest of them went to bed as well, but Shiro on the other hand was a bit worried and wanted to double-check that Keith was okay first.
He made his way to the raven's room with a careful approach.
" Keith... Are you awake? " Shiro whispered as he entered the red paladin's room. Keith's room was dark and he seemed to be asleep, but the closer Shiro got to Keith's bed he suddenly heard ragged breaths coming from under the covers.
" Keith...? " Shiro asked getting more worried the closer he got to the red paladin. Once Shiro was basically leaning over the boy he heard Keith's breathing was very unusual, not like it should be for someone who was asleep. He gently pulled the blanket off Keith revealing him asleep, but his breathing was so odd...
" Is he having a nightmare...? " Shiro thought, sitting down on the edge of the bed to try to understand what was going on. Without warning, Keith suddenly shot up and had the worst coughing fit Shiro had ever seen. The red paladin continued coughing like he almost couldn't breathe.
" Keith, what's going on?! " Shiro quickly grabbed onto the red paladin in panic, trying to get him to calm down. Keith tried to speak and that's when Shiro realized...
He was actually having trouble breathing.
" Coran! We have an emergency! Get to the infirmary as quickly as you can! " Shiro yelled over the comms, picking Keith up in his arm and making his way to the infirmary himself. As he got to the infirmary Coran was already there, and as soon as Keith was placed down on one of the gurneys, the ginger man quickly saw the problem.
" Quick get the oxegyn mask! " Coran yelled, and Shiro who knew where it was spun around and grabbed it as fast as possible, placing it on Keith's face before he turned it on. As the fresh air was making its way into Keith's lungs, Coran and Shiro could see the red paladin was slowly regaining control of his ragged breathing. Moments went by when Keith suddenly took the mask off and sat up on the gurney, but both Coran and Shiro who were very worried after what just had happened, gently got Keith to lie back down with some resistance.
" What happened, and why am I in the infirmary...? " Keith asked, suddenly realizing where he was. Shiro sighed and explained what happened after he entered Keith's room earlier.
" Were you having a nightmare? " Shiro asked, just to be sure it wasn't what he thought. Keith shook his head and explained his side of the story from earlier.
" We were just watching the movie when I noticed I started breathing really weird, then when I stood up I got dizzy and went to go sleep it off. Now I suddenly wake up to find myself in the infirmary with breathing problems? " Keith asked. Coran nodded and went over to the red paladin with a stethoscope, asking him to pull up his shirt.
" I don't want to do this right now, it's probably just a one-time thing, I want to go back to my room. " Keith complained, refusing to let Coran poke and prod him for answers.
" Do you want to die in your sleep, no way I'm letting you go until we find the answer to this problem. " Coran said, clicking a button to lock the infirmary doors. By now Keith was aware the two of them weren't gonna let this go that easily, so he had to find a way out of this quickly if he wanted to get out of there.
" What if I just go back to sleep and any of you just…stay with me? You would just have to wake me up if I start breathing weirdly again... Please I don't want to be in here. " Keith sighed. After some debating Coran agreed and decided he would stay in the infirmary in case he was needed again, while Shiro took Keith back to his room to keep an eye on him while he slept.
" Goodnight... " Keith mumbled, drifting off to sleep. Shiro on the other hand watched him like a hawk, ready in case he heard Keith's breathing change the slightest.
An hour went by and Keith was sound asleep and Shiro was starting to think, this might just have been a one-time thing when suddenly Keith started stirring in his sleep. Shiro was quick to check the red paladins breathing and it didn't take long to figure out Keith was having trouble with his breathing again. Without a second thought, Shiro scooped him up in his arms again, making his way back to the infirmary.
Coran was jolted awake when the infirmary doors suddenly burst open, but he quickly got the breathing machine ready once Keith was placed down on the gurney once more.
" What's happening to him? " Shiro asked worriedlym then he started pacing around the room. Meanwhile, Coran took the opportunity to examine Keith while he still was asleep, only to find his breathing was the only thing wrong.
" I don't know Shiro but it's not good, and until we've found our answer he's gonna need that oxegyn mask at all times... " Coran announced.
" How about you go rest and I'll take care of him until he wakes up tomorrow...? " Coran suggested. Shiro agreed and went to finally get some rest himself. Coran on the other hand started trying to find the answer to Keith's very weird sickness.
The next morning Keith woke up back in the infirmary, meaning something must have happened after he fell asleep.
" Hello...? " Keith said out loud to anyone in the room. He was soon greeted by Coran walking over to his side, immediately checking his vitals.
" Were you up all night trying to find an answer? " Keith asked, realizing the bags under the ginger man's eyes. He nodded and went back to his computer when Keith finally decided to sit up to see the situation he was in.
" Okay... Still have the damn oxegyn mask on. " Keith thought, taking it off because it was annoying. Moments after taking it off Shiro had made his way into the infirmary, and the first thing he did was walk over to the red paladin and try to replace the mask on Keith's face.
" Shiro, get your hands off me! " Keith squirmed, trying to avoid getting the mask back on his face with struggle. Finally, Shiro succeeded in his task and Keith quickly noticed that both Coran and Shiro, were not going to take this as lightly as he had thought.
" Try that one more time, and there will be consequences. " Shiro addressed, staring down at the red paladin with an angered expression. Keith just rolled his eyes and focused on what Coran was doing instead. The ginger man was still by the computer and trying to find an answer.
" How long am I gonna have to stay here? " Keith questioned, hearing his question was answered by an annoyed sigh from Coran. He looked over at Keith with a face of apology, then he turned the computer screen around. It was hard to see from the distance but one thing he could see clearly... The planet they were stuck on was not galra friendly, and that is probably what caused his breathing problems...
" Ugh...great. I'm stuck inside the castle until the others come back. " Keith groaned, flopping back down on the gurney in annoyance.
" Actually Keith, you're stuck in the infirmary specifically. After we crashed it seems somewhere in the castle there is an air leak, and until we've found it and fixed it, you can absolutely not leave the infirmary. " Coran explained.
Seconds later the infirmary doors opened and Lance walked in, stopping midway confused.
" Lance close the doors! " Coran ordered sharply. Out of sudden shock, Lance quickly closed the doors and stared the ginger man in the eyes with confusion.
" Sorry lad, I didn't mean to snap at you but we have a situation... " Coran explained, motioning over to where Keith was sitting on one of the infirmary gurneys. This only confused Lance more, and Coran had to explain all that had happened the past night.
"There's an air leak in the castle? " Lance asked dumbfoundedly. The blue paladin went over to check the information on the computer, then went over to Shiro and just stood there trying to process everything that was happening.
" Well now what...? " Lance asked. Coran sighed and said what they all knew he'd say.
" Without the balmeran crystal, the castle won't fly anywhere, so until the others come back…Keith's stuck in here. " Coran explained. For a few moments, he was just met by dead silence from the red paladin.
" And I'm guessing I can't take this off until we leave and the castle is decontaminated from the air...? " Keith asked, pointing to the oxegyn mask on his face. Coran shook his head and Keith felt defeated.
" On the other hand though whilst you are stuck in here, I need to get some tests done to double-check the air you already breathed in, hasn't damaged you in any way. " Coran said, getting up to start gathering supplies. Keith was immediately set on edge, ready to try and bolt out of there if he had to.
Shiro who already knew how Keith would react about this got behind Keith just in case. Shiro motioned for Lance to come over and be close by as well, which surprised the blue paladin. He didn't know Keith could be problematic about simple things like whatever Coran was about to do.
" Alright just a few things really, first things first. I need to draw some blood, then I wanna X-ray your chest. " Coran explained. Within seconds Keith ripped the oxegyn mask off, bolting off to the edge of the room, even though he knew the doors were locked.
" Keith, it's just a blood draw come on! " Lance insisted. The raven could see how both Shiro and Lance started cornering him to the other edge of the room, then without hesitation, Shiro bolted forward and tried grabbing the red paladin with fail.
" Shiro you know I hate needles, why would you let Coran do this to me with 1000-year-old equipment no less!? " Keith questioned, running around the room trying to avoid both Shiro and Lance closing in on him.
" Keith please just give it up already, this needs to be done no matter what! Save us the trouble of needing to chase you down!" Shiro fussed, once again trying to grab onto Keith. This time he successfully got a hold of him and with the help of Lance they dragged him back to the gurney and held him down, while Coran tried doing the blood draw.
Of course, Keith really didn't want this to be done and continued struggling the whole time making Coran's job impossible.
" Fine...You give me no choice Keith... " Coran said, grabbing a pair of restraints from under the gurney. He handed the restraints to Shiro who helped tie Keith down to the gurney, while Lance continued holding the red paladin down until they were done.
" What! No, let me go, this is unfair! It's not funny, please Shiro you cant do this to me! " Keith yelled, trying to get out the restraints holding him down, to no avail.
" Can we please just do this now and get it over with? " Lance asked, and Coran restarted the blood draw, this time successfully since Keith couldn't move.
" Ow! " Keith cried out as the needle was got inserted into his arm. He horrifyingly watched his blood get sucked up in the weird altean device, and it was gut-wrenching to look at.
" There we go, now I'll just give you a quick x-ray before we're done. " Coran said, walking over to grab a portable x-ray from the edge of the infirmary. He brought it over and placed a plate over Keith's chest and pressed the button.
There was a sudden electric buzz, then a sudden scream emerged from the raven's direction.
" AHHH! WHAT THE FUCK?! " Keith suddenly jerked in pain. As soon as Coran had pressed the button he'd felt a painful electric shock spread over his chest, right where the x-ray had snapped a picture.
" What happened? " Coran asked, quickly removing the x-ray plate from Keith's chest.
" What the fuck was that!? X-rays are not supposed to hurt like that! " Keith argued. Coran stood dumbfounded when Shiro came over and explained that Earth's x-rays worked a bit differently.
" I'm sorry Keith, I didn't know altean x-rays did that to half breeds like yourself... " Coran mumbled apologetically. Anyways now it was over and the ginger man could finally see if the planet's air had done any damage to Keith's body.
After some digging the result showed the air hadn't done any damage yet, but if Keith wasn't careful that could easily change.
" Keith... '' Shiro growled, motioning towards the oxygen mask that currently wasn't on Keith's face, since he took it off earlier trying to escape. The red paladin rolled his eyes and placed the mask back on his face with annoyance.
He was sick of the infirmary and he'd only been there a few hours.
" Can I leave if I continue to have the mask on...? " Keith questioned. Coran just chuckled and looked at the red paladin with amusement.
" No, you're safest in here where the air hasn't gotten to yet. If you leave you will only be putting yourself at risk, mask or no mask. " Coran argued. This said, Keith was defeated and promptly banged his head back down on the gurney in annoyance.
" Anyways, while we wait we can at least start trying to find the air leak. You two start searching and I'll see if I can find anything on the castle's monitors. " Coran said, motioning for Lance and Shiro to get out and start searching. They couldn't do anything anyway to help Keith while the air was still leaking into the castle.
" What do we do if or when we find the leak? Do we try and patch it up? " Lance asked. Coran nodded and the two paladins finally left to start searching. Coran went back to the computer and started scanning the castle for any area that might be so damaged it was causing the air leak.
" Coran, what am I supposed to do while you guys search? Can you at least let me go of these restraints? " Keith questioned, causing the ginger man to face Keith again. He went over and check the raven's vitals before deciding he was stable enough to be let out for now. He proceeded to untie the restraints that were holding the red paladin down, then slowly but steadily helped him sit up on the gurney.
" You can move around, but keep that on and stay in here. I'm serious Keith, it's for your own good and we are doing everything we can to fix this. The least you can do is to not cause more problems. " Coran sighed, walking back to the computer. Keith slowly stood up and took a few steps, feeling a dizzy spell forming. Without warning, he fell down on the floor, causing Coran to immediately rush to his side.
" Keith what happened?! " He questioned, pulling the raven up from the floor. He started leading Keith back to the gurney, gently placing him back on it. He checked his vitals again, but this time something was definitely wrong...
But what was different this time?
" Stood up... Dizzy spell washed over me and I was... Floor... " Keith mumbled. Coran could see the raven was so out of it he was slurring, and that wasn't a good sign. Coran quickly ran over and grabbed the last resort the infirmary could offer Keith. Coran picked it up and ran back to the raven, placing the machine on the bed so he could solve the first step...
Getting the raven to cooperate since Coran had no backup in case Keith decided to start fighting back.
" Keith, it's gotten to a point where some mere clean oxegyn can't help you anymore, I'm afraid the air has already made its way in here...so I have a last resort until the other paladins come back. " Coran explained. Keith weakly lifted his head and saw the pained expression on Coran's face... He knew from just that, he was not gonna like what the ginger man had planned.
" Keith I really hate to do this, but you're gonna have to cooperate with me. Can you do that for me? " Coran asked, picking up the machine, hiding it from Keith's view for the moment. The raven nodded and Coran proceeded to start by taking the oxegyn mask off Keith's face.
" I'm sorry Keith but this is gonna be really uncomfortable... I need to wrap this around your head, and you need this device by your mouth. " Coran explained, seeing Keith start trying to wriggle his way off the gurney, knowing he didn't want to deal with uncomfortable. Coran was quick to do what he said, proceeding to wrap the device around Keith's head and adjust the device to the raven's mouth.
While he was doing this, Keith was weakly trying to fight back but was unable to since he was losing all the strength left in his body. Once Coran was done, Keith had gone limp and just had to accept the new device wrapped around his head, feeling the device was emitting some kind of gas into his lungs. The gas was making his dizziness go away, but at the same time, it seemed it was also making him unable to move.
Wonderful... The prize he was paying to be able to breathe is to be paralyzed and confined to the gurney for even longer.
" Coran! We think we've found something! " Lance suddenly yelled over the comms. Coran was quick to pick up their location in the castle and tell them he was on the way. He went over to Keith and explained that he was just gonna go check on the other paladins and that he would be back in a few minutes. Keith was paralyzed so Coran didn't have to worry he would run off anywhere, then he left to go meet the other paladins.
As Coran got to Shiro and Lance's location, he could see for himself the giant hole in the castle's wall. It was from here the air was leaking in, so now all they had to do was fix it. He told Lance to get a few things on the bridge, meanwhile, he and Shiro started inspecting the hole.
They measured the hole to be bigger than themselves so they would need a lot of materials to fix it with. As the two were inspecting the hole Lance had come back with what they needed.
" Alright, grab the net and pin it on the top of the hole, then me and Lance will attach it to the bottom. " Coran explained, motioning for Shiro to climb up and pin the net on the top of the hole. Shiro swiftly hoisted himself up on the ladder they brought, attaching the net on the top of the hole.
Once he'd done so, Lance and Coran attached the net on the bottom, and help Shiro down from the ladder so they could fix the last few things.
" Okay now that the inner net is attached we need to attach the outer net, then we need to douse the nets in this solution to harden it. Once it hardens we have a temporary fix on the wall that will hold until we can fix it for real. " Coran explained, motioning for Shiro to climb back up and attach the outer net as well. The black paladin climbed back up and attached the net, then the other two repeated the action on the bottom of the net.
Once this was done, Coran went to grab the hardening solution from the bucket, handing it to Shiro since he was up on the ladder where he would have the best position the get everything in one go. Shiro adjusted the bucket and proceeded to splash the hardening solution over the two nets immediately seeing them start merging with each other. Shiro climbed down the ladder and the three of them stood in awe watching the solution hardening the two nets.
" There we go, it's done! Now we should go back to Keith... And don't be surprised when we enter the infirmary, It was getting worse and I did what I had to... " Coran explained, walking back to the infirmary with two confused paladins in tail. As they entered the infirmary Shiro saw the device that was around Keith's head and carefully approached the raven, quickly noticing Keith hadn't tried anything as they entered.
" Is he okay? That looks very...uncomfortable." Lance asked, also walking over to Keith's side. Coran nodded and went over to the two paladins and explained what he had to do earlier.
" He can at least breathe... " Shiro mumbled, seeming very relived that Coran had done what he did. Keith on the other hand was not pleased that he had this device wrapped around his head and that he couldn't move. The others might be grateful he wasn't dead at this point, but Keith was annoyed he had to be tortured just in order to breathe.
"Let's check with Allura and the others to see if they have a crystal yet... " Coran suggested, getting up to go to the castle's bridge. Lance followed after the altean, but Shiro decided to stay with Keith. He thought leaving the raven again was really mean, the least he could do when Keith was in this situation was keep him company and reassure he was there for him.
" Keith... You'll probably be allowed to take this off really soon now that we've fixed the air leak... Just hang in there buddy. " Shiro said, placing a reassuring hand on the raven's arm. Keith just looked away, not accepting the fact he would need the device on him even longer.
" Good news, the others are on their way back so until the new crystal is replaced, just know you won't have to be in here for much longer! " Coran addressed, entering the infirmary again. Keith felt relief knowing he could soon be let out of his nightmare, finally closing his eyes to rest while they waited.
He didn't get to rest for long before he felt himself get poked and prodded by Coran, and the worst thing was he couldn't do anything about it.
" Sorry to wake you lad, just need to check you over quickly before taking this off. One blink if it's okay for me to redo the tests now, and two blinks if you want me to wait until the crystal is replaced and I've taken off the device. " Coran asked, waiting for Keith to answer. Before Keith even got to answer Shiro stepped in.
" Coran, personally I would wait until the crystal is replaced and we've left the planet. We still haven't decontamited the castle and I think we should do that when we're off the planet, not while we still are here, it's too risky. " Shiro argued. Coran thought about it for a moment and nodded, agreeing with the fact that leaving the planet probably was their first priority.
" Sorry Keith, but once we've left the planet we don't risk the air coming back into the castle and we can easily decontaminate it and help you. Allura and the others are here in a few hours, so until then just...hang in there. " Coran explained apologetically. Keith just responded with an eye roll and accepted it was only a few more hours until this nightmare could end. The only bad thing was, he would need to endure those tests again, and whatever came after that.
Knowing Coran and Shiro, they probably had something in store.
After a few hours Coran, Shiro, and Lance had prepared for the other's return. Lance had mostly gone around and done nothing, while Coran and Shiro had tried figuring out the best course of action once the crystal was replaced.
" So... Allura replaces the crystal, then we can finally get off the planet. Once we're off the planet we can decontaminate the castle and us, then we help Keith once we know it's safe for him to get the device off? " Shiro asked. Coran nodded. Before they could continue talking the comms activated and Allura's voice spoke.
" Coran open the hangar doors, were outside. " She ordered, causing Coran to excitedly rushed over to the control panel and open the hangar doors, letting the team in. Once done, Shiro and Coran ran down to the hangar to greet the others and help get the crystal back in place.
" Allura, Pidge, and Hunk were so glad you made it back safely! " Shiro cheered as he and Coran entered the hangar, seeing the other three get out of their lions. Allura ran up and hugged Coran and then Shiro. Pidge and Hunk casually walked up behind them and hugged them as well, then they turned around to deal with the crystal.
" I can transport it with my magic, but you all need to help hold it up on the sides until we get back to the bridge, it's quite heavy. " Allura explained. She proceeded to start levitating the giant crystal, and the others did what they were told by holding it up on the sides.
They slowly made their way to the bridge, and as the crystal got closer to the fuel source, it started levitating on its own and then snapped back in place. Once it did the castle rumbled aggressively for a few seconds, then it calmed down, causing a reboot in the castle systems.
" There we go, the new crystal is in place! " Allura smiled. She then proceeded to walk to her post on the bridge and start their journey of the planet, so they finally could decontaminate themselves and the castle, then go help Keith. The castle lifted and Coran quickly set a course to another planet, this time double checking if it was galra friendly before finalizing the decision whether going there was a good idea or not.
" Well, we're out of range now so Allura, if you don't mind... Set the castle on autopilot and everyone come with me to get decontaminated. " Coran ordered, leaving the bridge. Allura did what she was told and she and the other followed Coran. They walked to a room where none of them had been before but Coran seemed to know what he was doing, so they just followed him.
" Okay, everyone in here, and I'll go start the decontamination process. " Coran ordered, motioning for everyone to enter a smaller room in the big room. They all entered, watching Coran go over and press a button. He quickly ran into the room as well, letting the door close behind him. They waited for a few seconds before hearing a few noises, then suddenly there was a mist that started emitting from the room's ceiling.
" Coran... It's supposed to do that right...? " Hunk questioned, not liking the mist that was sticking onto his body. Coran calmed the yellow paladin down and told everyone to stay still, and let the mist do its job. After what seemed like forever the process was done and the door finally opened, letting the group out.
" Now before we can help Keith, the rest of the castle needs to be decontaminated as well. Go and tell him what's going on, I'll be with you in a minute. " Coran said, shooing the paladins and princess out of the room. Once they were on their way back to the infirmary, Coran pressed the button to start decontaminating the rest of the castle as well.
When the paladins entered the infirmary Allura was shocked Keith had the device around his head, since she knew the extent of its purpose. The gas that was emitting was a healing gas made from the Juniberry flowers from Altea. She felt relieved that they were able to help Keith, but at the same time, feeling the flower's presence made her miss Altea very much.
" Hey Keith, the crystal is back in place and we're all decontaminated. Coran is just decontaminating the rest of the castle and then he'll come here so we can finally help you since now it's safe to do so. " Shiro explained, walking up to the raven's bedside. He just heard an annoyed grunt from the boy, but it made Shiro worry less now that Keith knew he would be okay.
" There we go, we've been decontaminated, and the castle is gonna start any minute now so all we can do until it's done is wait. The good thing too is Keith will be decontaminated in the process so he doesn't need to go to the room we were in earlier. " Coran explained, entering the infirmary with a satisfied grin. He proceeded to sit down and wait for the mist to start in the infirmary, and so the others did the same thing.
After a few minutes, the mist had made its way into the infirmary, and Keith who hadn't been decontamited earlier had to go through what the others went through before. He felt the mist stick onto him and he felt his clothes become wet and stick to his body... Very uncomfortable, but worth it if it meant he would have the device taken off soon.
A few minutes passed and the mist started to fade out, then Coran went over and started preparing a few things for the test he had to redo.
" Keith, you already know it was uncomfortable to get the device on right... Well, it's gonna be even more uncomfortable to take it off... Just a heads up. " Coran said, slowly starting to take the device off. As the ginger man was doing this, Keith could feel his lungs completely give up and he started coughing, trying to catch his breath. Before he knew it the device was off and was instead replaced with the oxegyn mask from earlier. He just accepted it and let Coran continue doing what he needed to do. As the device was now off, he could finally move again so he proceeded to sit up on the gurney.
" This is just temporary until you're ready to try and breathe on your own... Just tell me when so I'm ready to help you in case something goes wrong. " Coran explained, crouching down to face the red paladin. Keith sat for a few minutes breathing with the mask on, feeling his weak lungs start to regain their strength. Once Keith felt ready he motioned for Coran he was ready, slowly taking the mask off, taking a few breaths on his own.
" I...think it's fine now... " Keith said, hearing the hoarseness in his voice as he spoke. Damn, he must really be out of it if even his voice was giving up on him. Coran chuckled but was relieved that Keith was okay. He then proceeded to gather the redo test supplies and came back to face Keith.
Ths time before Coran inserted the needle in the raven's arm, he look him in the eyes to seek approval. Keith was too tired, too weak to disagree, and just nodded letting the ginger man do what he had to. He winced as the needle was stabbed into his vein but it was soon over and Coran seemed satisfied, so it wasn't half bad.
" Now the x-ray... Sorry, it's gonna hurt again... " Coran looked at the red paladin with a pained expression. Keith just accepted defeat and layed down on the gurney, letting the ginger man adjust the x-ray the way he needed to. Keith felt the heavy metal plate being placed on his chest and was ready for a few seconds of pain. Coran counted down, pressed the button and they all heard the electric buzz, then...
" AH! " Keith yelled, feeling the same pain from earlier hit his chest again. He grabbed his chest, slowly starting to rub the pain away but he was tired and just wanted to go sleep. Before he knew it, Lance had come and taken over, proceeding to rub his chest gently.
" I have four siblings remember... " Lance whispered, continuing to rub Keith's chest. Keith just layed there feeling the chest pain start to fade away, then when he finally had enough he sat up. Lance accepted it was enough and went back to the others.
" How are you feeling, can you stand up? " Coran came over and check the raven's vitals, then helped him off the gurney. Keith weakly stood up, then immediately stumbled over. Coran was quick to catch him and help him back on his feet.
" Food... " Keith mumbled, starting to make his way to the kitchen. Coran and the others quietly followed him, and once in the kitchen Hunk quickly whipped something up and gave it to Keith. He sat eating in silence, then Shiro followed him to his room and waited until he fell asleep. Before Shiro left he checked Keith's breathing, then he left the raven to his well-deserved sleep.
As Shiro came back to the others, he told everyone to let Keith sleep until he was ready to wake up the next day. That said the rest of the paladins proceeded to go to their rooms as well, whilst Coran and Allura sat for a while discussing her journey to get the new crystal.
They weren't up for long though, and soon everyone were asleep and kept sleeping until morning the next day.
The next morning everyone woke and started going on about their day just as normal. Shiro sat in the lounge sofa and patiently waited for Keith to wake up, Pidge and Hunk were both figuring out the best way to fix the hole with Coran... And Allura was in her room doing something, Shiro couldn't remember but she said she didn't want to be disturbed, so everyone accepted that and left her alone.
Whilst Shiro was sitting there waiting he suddenly heard footsteps from behind him, spinning around to see Allura.
She held a bouquet of juniberry flowers in her hands, which interested Shiro quite a bit. He motioned for her to come to sit down with him and explain the reason for the flowers.
" Well... The flowers were used for healing purposes back on Altea, and so it made me think to now when Keith needed them...I was thinking we could plant more of these in the field room... " Allura suggested. Shiro was honestly not surprised by the idea, but then he caught on to her real intention, the reason behind her idea.
"That's a great idea Allura, but are you sure that's the only reason you want to do this? " Shiro asked. He noticed Allura stopped looking at him, so he figured he must have been right...
She misses Altea, what else could this be about.
" Allura there's nothing wrong with missing your home... It's the same for us paladins, we miss Earth just as much... Just not as much because we know we can go back to it when we want... You can't really do that... " Shiro said, now looking away as well, feeling guilt arise within him.
" Don't worry Allura, when all this is over you can come back to Earth with us if you want... But a starter is planting those flowers, so you... Better get started right? " Shiro hesitated, seeing her upset reaction fade away. She thanked him quietly and then left, leaving him to continue waiting for the red paladin to wake up.
Not long after Allura had left Shiro once more heard footsteps approach him, this time seeing a very tired, grumpy Keith walk up to him on the sofa.
" Hey sleepyhead, sleep well tonight? " Shiro asked, scooting over to let Keith sit down where he wanted to. The raven just groaned in response, then he fell back to sleep right there on the sofa. Shiro just chuckled and left Keith there, now that he knew the red paladin was in eyes view in case something happened. He walked into the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for Keith, then he went back to the lounge. As he entered the lounge again he saw Keith had woken up again and was aimlessly just sitting there on the sofa. Shiro proceeded to walk up to the red paladin and hand him the food, seeing the raven tiredly sit there and eat it.
" Keith, mind eating a bit more than this... You haven't eaten so much the past few days so I would like you to at least finish this section... " Shiro questioned, sectioning off a bit of the food on the plate for the raven to eat. Keith slowly nodded and finished the section of food in a few minutes, then he suddenly started eating the rest of the food as well.
" Not hungry huh? " Shiro chuckled, grabbing the plate from Keith's hands. He went back to the kitchen and left the plate, then went back to the lounge to get Keith up and running.
" Keith, Coran asked for you to come to the infirmary for a last check-up, mind coming with me for that? " Shiro asked, helping the grumpy raven up from the sofa. Keith followed Shiro to the infirmary where Coran was already sitting by the gurney, waiting for Keith to sit down. The red paladin grumpily walked over and sat down, letting Coran check what he had to. It was too early in the morning for him to argue, he honestly just wanted to go back to sleep or to go and spar.
He already knew sparring was out of the picture until Coran would give him the clear that he was fully healed, so Keith decided that going back to sleep was the second best option.
" Keith, you are getting better with every hour but I just listened to your lungs and... Well let's say there are a few things that could be done to get them fully back on track... " Coran explained. He then proceed to grab what looked like a nebulizer from the supply cabinet next to the gurney.
" This is something similar to one of your earth nebulizers, and it's basically the same as the device you had on yesterday... Just this one is more gentle and more.. well optional... " Coran explained, handing the small box to him. The box had a small mask attached to it, probably where the medicine emitted from.
"It's fairly simple to use, so you put this in on your mouth and then press this button. This will emit the same juniberry gas that the other device had and it will in time strengthen your lungs back to its normal strength you had before. " Coran continued explaining. Keith looked at the box with disgust but knew that if he wanted to be able to spar again, his lungs would have to be better first otherwise he would be in trouble with... Basically everyone.
" Okay, three times a day for the next... Month at least. " Coran said, getting up from his seat. Keith proceeded to get up as well and was greeted by Coran standing in his way.
" Try it, you did just eat breakfast so mealtimes are a great way to keep track of when you need to take a dose. " Coran said, waiting for Keith to use the nebulizer for the first time. The raven just rolled his eyes but did what he was told, placing the mask on his face, then he pressed the button Coran showed him. He waited for a few seconds when the gas started emitting from the mask, entering his lungs. Keith felt a sudden tightness in his chest that he didn't feel earlier, but it was leaving.
Great, he could breathe a tiny bit better now than two minutes ago...
" There, can I go now? " Keith asked once the first dose of the juniberry gas was done. Coran nodded and Shiro followed Keith back to his room, making sure the raven brought the nebulizer with him from the infirmary since he knew Keith needed it with him now.
" Call me when it's lunch, I'm gonna be asleep so just wake me up or something... " Keith mumbled, flopping down on his bed. Shiro knew Keith was gonna be asleep until lunch anyway, so he just left him to it. Shiro proceeded to go back to the lounge where the rest of the paladins had gathered now. Allura sat there discussing the idea she and Shiro had been discussing earlier about planting Juniberries, and they all thought it sounded like a good idea.
"Let's get to it then, come on! " Allura stood up from the sofa and started making her way to the field room. Shiro and the others patiently followed and started helping her plant dozens of flowers in the field room. Once they were done time had really flown by quickly and it was already lunchtime, so as Hunk and the others went to start cooking lunch, Shiro made his way back to wake the red paladin up.
" Keith it's time to wake up buddy, the others are preparing lunch so when you're ready come out and eat with us... And don't forget the nebulizer, I'm keeping an eye on you regarding that. " Shiro said, taking his leave. Shiro and the others didn't have to wait long before Keith sluggishly made his way to the table as well, sitting down to just stare at the food.
" Here you go... " Hunk said, gently pushing a plate of food in front of Keith. The raven responded by taking a small bite, not really hungry. Though once he'd taken a bite of Hunks food his appetite returned to him and he finished his plate in a matter of minutes, even requesting a second plate. The others sat in awe sitting there watching Keith finally eat with a good appetite, it just made them happy to see him eat again.
" I'm leaving now, thanks for the food Hunk... " Keith said, getting up from his seat. As he passed Shiro the raven could see the look he was making and Keith just nodded, knowing both Shiro and Coran wanted to check he was gonna take a new dose of medicine with the nebulizer. Keith went to his room and grabbed the box, then made his way to the lounge where Shiro and Coran sat, basically waiting for him.
" Thats totally not weird... " Keith thought, proceeding to sit down on the sofa with the two.
" Can I watch you guys spar later, I literally have nothing else to do... " Keith suddenly asked. Shiro nodded and patiently waited for Keith to start the nebulizer. The raven placed the mask on his face like he'd done earlier, then pressed the button soon feeling the gas enter his lungs again. He sat there for a few minutes waiting until the dose was finished, then he placed the box in his lap, proceeding to take a few breaths of just...air.
" Anyways, I'll call the others to the training room so meet us there when you're ready. " Shiro ordered, making his way back to the kitchen to tell the others, whilst Keith made his way to the training room. On the way he decided to put the nebulizer in a bag, he would just hide it somewhere in the training room while he was watching the others spar. He really didn't want to be questioned regarding the odd medicine box he was forced to have with him.
As he entered the training room he quickly placed his bag under the bench, then placed his jacket over it so it wasn't that incredibly obvious. He patiently sat and waited for a few minutes until the others finally made their way into the room aswell, surprised to see Keith there.
" Literally had nothing better to do since I'm not allowed to train yet, so I'll just sit here...watching I guess. " Keith said, slumping down further on the floor in misery. As the others started sparring Keith felt almost jealous that he couldn't train as well, then he thought of a stupid idea.
" Shiro! " Keith yelled, sitting up from his awkward position on the floor. The black paladin stopped sparring with Pidge, quickly making his way to where Keith was. He crouched down and instantly knew what Keith was gonna ask.
"It's still no Keith, why can you not just accept our decision? " Shiro sighed, staring the raven in his eyes. Keith wasn't gonna give up that easily though.
" Shiro please, Isn't there any possible way I can at least train lightly with anyone... I'm missing out and I can't just sit here and watch, I'm itching all over to train! " Keith snapped. Shiro heard the jealously in the raven's voice and thought real hard about it for a minute.
" Well, you are choosing to sit here and watch us, even though you know you aren't allowed to train yourself... But you know what, let me talk to Coran quickly, I think I have an idea. " Shiro said, walking further away from Keith to go talk to Coran over the comms. After a minute or so Shiro made his way back to Keith, crouched down and grinned.
" Do you have the nebulizer with you? " Shiro asked and Keith nodded, hinting that the box was under his jacket next to him. Shiro grabbed his jacket, revealing the box to the other paladins. Keith was quickly embarrassed and tried to grab the box from Shiro's hands, but the black paladin was persistent and didn't let the raven get what he wanted.
" The deal for you to be allowed to train with us lightly... Is an extra dose of juniberry gas right before, right here and now. " Shiro explained, handing the box back to Keith who quickly hid it behind his back in embarrassment. The fuss between the two had caught the other's attention, so they stopped training and made their way to where the two were sitting.
" What's going on, is something wrong? " Pidge asked, quickly noticing Keith was desperately trying to hide something behind his back but she didn't question it. She already knew from his face that he was embarrassed about something, so she wasn't gonna lean in on it since Shiro had that covered already.
" Great now everyone are here, thanks for that Shiro... " Keith groaned, getting up from where he was sitting, still hiding the box behind his back. Shiro just gave him a look and Keith finally decided to give up.
" Fine, if it means I can train with you guys again... " Keith sighed, going over to the bench to take another dose of the juniberry medicine. Before he could even do anything he was questioned from left and right by the others, and he sighed in embarrassment.
" This is obligatory for me to get fully back on track... And apparently in order for me to be able to light train with you guys... Coran and Shiro are forcing me to take another dose. " Keith explained, finally placing the mask on his face and turning the machine on like he'd done earlier in the lounge. The others watched in awe which made Keith uncomfortable, and so Shiro just shooed the others away until Keith was done. When the dose was done, Keith embarrassingly came over to the others with Shiro and they could start training...
Since Keith wasn't allowed to stress his lungs so much just yet, everyone took it quite easy on him but just that was hard for him for the moment, but Keith managed anyway. He always managed, even if it was hard on him like this nightmare he'd just gone through which by the way... Coran learned from his mistake as from now on he would always double-check these things before they landed on a planet in the near future...
And if it ever were to happen again, Keith knew they had lots of new juniberry flowers on the way so he wouldn't have to worry that much...
But Coran would be in trouble if it happened again, that was for sure.
THE END