Part 2 Altean!Lance
(I know I said I would do a Broadsword shot but I felt like I should do this first, sorry for making those who wanted that wait a bit longer than planned!)
(Ps-Also I am American so this is just something for here on out: I DO NOT USE THE METRIC SYSTEM AND I AM SORRY FOR BASICALLY EVERYONE WHO DOESNT LIVE IN AMERICA)
Everything was utter chaos. Kropi roared in outrage, smoke overtook Lance's lungs, and the fiery debris was what the room was reduced to.
Lance squirmed into the smoke in front of him, seeing the outline of the creature that was previously on a rampage. The creature that almost killed his friends.
With a growl he surged forward, sword still glowing strongly even with the smoke. In the back of his mind he realized that he should gather his friends and make their escape now that they had an exit. But the hate he felt towards this monster was almost palpable, blinding Lance to anything other than the monster.
Before he could get closer enough Kropi let out another ear-splitting roar. It jumped into the air and sprinted towards the origin of the smoke; a giant, gaping hole in the wall.
Lance watched that spot until he could only barely hear the creatures claws scraping on the metal floor of the corridors beyond. He took deep, filling breaths, the sword that was in his hand suddenly evaporating. The blue glow receded from the room until all that was left to see by were the still-smoldering embers of the explosion.
Everything was muffled to his ears, but as he sat there panting he could have sworn someone was calling his name. His vision started to swim, and his knees gave out, sending him to the floor with a dull 'thunk'.
He hurt. Lance's cheeks hurt, his hands hurt, his ears hurt, and everywhere else was aching like he went ten rounds with the Gladiator bot. His focus was fading at best, and the smoke was now starting to overwhelm him.
His next breath caught in his throat, and he started coughing, falling to his hands. The coughing continued, and Lance felt small hands on his shoulders, pushing him up to sit on his knees once more.
While Lance was hacking his lungs out he registered that it was Pidge in front of him, her dull voice screaming in his ears. Through hazy vision he saw the worry in her eyes, and the way her mouth moved at a rapid pace. He felt the Green Paladin give him a shake, jostling his vision even more.
Lance let out a low moan (at least he thought it was a moan, he felt his mouth open), closing his eyes as his vision became even more messed up.
He felt Pidge give both his shoulders a squeeze that he felt even through his armour. And then, finally, pieces of her speech started to get through to her muddled brain.
"Lan...ease...ed...get out!" her voice was frantic, her head now swiveling towards where Keith had crawled over to where Hunk was leaning against the wall. Everything became sharp again as more adrenaline coursed through his body at the sight of the blood.
"Lance, snap out of it! We need to go and we can't carry you!" Pidge was screaming, shaking him once again.
"I...I'm fine." Lance whispered, getting to his feet with the help of Pidge. He was definitely shaky, but they needed to get out.
The puddle around Hunk's form became even more pronounced as Lance trudged closer, Pidge staying beside him, worried eyes making sure Lance would stay on his feet.
Keith looked up at their approached, giving Lance a look he couldn't quite decipher. What the heck was the mullet thinking about now?
Then Lance remember the hit he had taken. With a wince Lance directed his gaze towards Keith's right arm, which he cradled to his chest. The blood running down the Red Paladin's face was also cause for concern.
Lance wrote off the weird look as a symptom of the concussion Keith likely had, and moved to kneel next to Hunk.
The Yellow Paladin wasn't unconscious, which Lance supposed was a good thing over all. In the moment though, the only thing it was accomplishing was making Hunk live through the brunt of the pain.
Up close the wound looked much worse. Now Lance could see the three jagged lines that cut straight through Hunk's chest piece. They were each about an inch wide and a foot and a half long. And they were still oozing blood, even with the pressure both Hunk and Keith had put on the wounds.
"Hunk, we're gonna get you up, okay?" Pidge stated, gesturing for Keith and Lance to get on either side of Hunk. Both complied, Lance a little more wobbly than he would have liked.
But that didn't matter. They needed to get out and get back to the Castle so Hunk could get into a crypod.
"You ready, Hunkalicious?" Lance teased, hoping to get a reaction other than the pain filled grimace that seemed permanently attached to his face.
Both Lance and Keith wound one of their arms under his arms and behind Hunk's back, their hands barely touching.
He was rewarded with a small smirk and a tiny huff of laughter. Hunk's eyes pried open a sliver, and through the pain Lance could see a glimmer of mirth.
"Sure thing...Lancelot." Hunk replied, making Lance grin at Hunk in return.
It had become a tradition to use those nicknames for each other back on Earth when one of them knew the other was stressed out.
Even before the Garrison and all the work required there, the nicknames were something so dear to them. Something that only they could call each other. They special names.
With everything that has gone on lately, it felt nice to fall back on a tradition.
But he needed to focus. Lance shook his head a bit and looked at Hunk with a more serious face.
"Alright, we're going to try to lift you up, buddy. Try to help us as much as you can. Think that's possible?" Lance asked, being given a slight nod in answer as Hunk clenched his eyes tight.
This was going to hurt. "Okay. Lift on three." Lance glanced at Keith, who nodded, his features stony and eyes filled with determination. "One, two...three!"
Lance heaved with everything he could, grimacing at the muffled scream from Hunk's lips. When they had him standing his entire weight leaned on them. It almost made Lance's knees buckle, but he held strong, knowing they might not be able to get Hunk back up again if he went down.
He heard Keith let out a grunt from Hunk's other side, but he held strong as well. Pidge appeared in front of them, her eyes flitting over Keith then Hunk, before lingering on Lance for a moment longer than necessary.
What was with all the looks he was getting? He was completely fine. Sure, Lance was sore and some parts of his body hurt, but that was normal after a battle, wasn't it?
"Come on, this way!" Pidge exclaimed, walking forward at a slow pace to go with the three men out if the room. They entered the smoke, and Lance coughed again, hearing Pidge and Hunk do the same.
Of course Keith didn't. It would be a blow to his pride if Keith coughed.
As they approached the door, the crackling of flames becoming louder, Lance realized they had no idea where this 'rescue' had come from. They also had no idea what lay beyond the wall. Walking out could mean being faced with a dozen sentries, and they would be weaponless.
"Pidge." he tried to warn, but she was already stepping out into the adorning corridor. Lance heard her gasp, and both Keith and Lance quickened their pace as much as they could.
When they guided Hunk to step over the small part of wall that wasn't blown away, Lance's eyes widened.
Sentries were scattered through the hallway. Some were torn apart by the creature, if the claw marks were anything to go by. Others, however, had limbs that looked sawed off, or with gaping holes through their chests.
Pidge was already setting her sights down the corridor to the left, eyes narrowed. Lance followed suit, listening for any sign of movement.
There. Faint footfalls of someone. Not a sentry, as there is no metallic echo. So it must be an Officer.
And just like before, they stood no chance against an officer without their weapons. And looking to the right showed a complete dead-end. It was most likely Officer Exoran, coming to see the damage done. That would be just their luck.
The footsteps proceeded closer, and as they did Lance noticed how light they were. Definitely not the heavy footsteps of a seven-foot Galran Officer.
Lance felt hope bloom in his chest, and when the figure turned the corner Lance almost sagged in relief.
"Shiro!" Pidge exclaimed, jogging to their leader while Keith, Hunk and Lance remained at the fasted pace they could (just a step below walking).
"Guys!" the Black Paladin yelled when he saw them, jogging towards them as well.
At first glance Shiro looked completely fine. And even better, he held all of their bayards on his belt, along with their helmets. But when Lance looked closer he could see the man was running on empty.
Shiro must have broken away from Exoran and fought off the sentries, found their gear then placed some sort of bomb on the wall. All by himself. And then when it actually blew up he must have had to run away from Kropi.
Lance didn't blame Shiro for looking like the walking dead, armour burnt in a few places near his chest and eyes wild with adrenaline. Their leader was totally getting pampered when they got back to the castle.
The Blue Paladin saw Shiro graze over everyone, mouth pulled down in worry when his sights landed on Keith and Hunk. When he turned his head to Lance, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open a bit.
"Lance...what-" he started to say, before Pidge surged forward and grabbed his arm.
"We can all talk about it when we're safe at the Castle. Right now, we need to get Hunk into a pod!"
Shiro's face hardened and with one last glance back (Seriously, what was with all the weird expressions directed at him? Was there something on his face or what?) they all surged forward at a snail's pace, Shiro handing Pidge her Bayard.
Eventually, they made it to the hangar. Shiro and Pidge made a surprisingly effective team, Pidge disarming any sentries from long-range while Shiro charged forward Galra-arm first.
Lance felt a pleasant tingle at the base of his head, and all the tension in his body relaxed as the Lions came into view. Surprisingly, they were under no protection other than the typical sentries. It was a wonder how the Galra controlled most of the universe.
"Hunk can come on Black with me" Shiro announced once they were all in front of their Lions. They all nodded, Lance and Keith quickly (and carefully) depositing Hunk into Blacks cockpit.
Shiro handed them all their helmets and gave them the word to move out, before more sentries arrived.
Lance welcomed the warming presence Blue sent through his mind. She lowered her head and he jumped in, heading straight to the Captains Chair, as he liked to call it.
He sat down and the Blue Lion powered up immediately, sliding the controls into his waiting hands.
"Miss me, Beautiful?" he asked, the rumbling purr echoing through the cockpit answer enough. "Sorry for the long wait, Baby Blue. Had to kick some but first."
The Blue Lion roared, and as Lance saw his teammates blasting out into space, the Yellow Lion in Blacks claws, a smile crept onto his face.
"We're okay now." he announced, after the rest of Voltron in flying away from the Galran starship. "We all got out, and soon everything will go back to normal, like none of this ever happened."
OoOoOoO
"Paladin's, you have returned!"
Lance jerked upright at the sound of Allura's voice, having fallen asleep shortly after they were a safe distance away from the Galra.
"We though you would have been killed within the varga!" Coran's ever cheerful voice chimed in through the headset. Lance rolled his eyes.
"Way to have faith in us, Coran." Lance replied sarcastically. He heard Pidge snicker, and counted it as a victory.
The Blue Paladin looked out the window and sure enough the Castle of Lions was slowly getting larger. They were almost to their home away from home, where they could take much-needed naps.
Lance yawned, stretching out his arms and hearing faint pops from his elbows. Even with the small snooze time, he was still unbelievably tired.
Yet he didn't quite know why. They might have just gotten done with escaping a Galran starship, but even the more life threatening battles hadn't worn him out like this. This ache felt more mental than physical, and Lance could strongly say he much preferred the physical kind.
"Not a problem, Number 3!" Coran answered jovially.
"All of us aren't okay, Princess." Shiro interjected, and Lance's stomach twisted guiltily as he had completely forgotten about Hunk's state. "Hunk will need a Cryopod as soon as we dock, and Keith will need to get look at as well."
"Right away, Number 1. I'll calibrate one immediately." the elder Altean's voice was serious now, sending Lance for a bit of whiplash at how quickly his tone changed. Keith grumbled out an 'I'm fine' that everyone ignored, knowing it would be no use arguing with the Red Paladin now.
There was a beat of silence as the Castle opened for each of the Lions, the five Lions of Voltron going into their respective hangars.
"Is anyone else in need of medical attention?" Allura's lilting voice came over the comm's, and their was an almost palpable awkwardness now that made no sense to Lance. No one else was hurt, right? Or was he just that unobservant?
"They're not...hurt, exactly." Pidge answered, her voice hesitant. "But...um..."
"You'll need to have a look at Lance when we land." Keith interrupted, ignoring the annoyed huff from Pidge's line.
Now Lance was extremely confused. There was nothing wrong with him, other than the unusual bought of lethargy. But that wasn't anything to be worried about.
"I'm completely fine, guys." Lance insisted. "There is nothing wrong with me. Just same ole Lancey Lance."
He could practically hear Keith's eye roll as Blue descended into her hangar, setting down onto the floor with a large thud.
"I beg to differ." Pidge mumbled sassily. But as she spoke again, her tone changed to something a bit more cautious. "Have you looked in a mirror?"
Lance was getting a bit irritated at all the questions and accusations being thrown his way. He didn't want to keep going around the subject that everyone seemed reluctant to talk about. If they noticed something wrong with Lance, just tell him straight out.
That was the only quality he liked about Keith, the brash way he stated problems. No sugar-coating it.
Like his friends seemed to be doing now.
"What is wrong with Lance? Has be been disfigured?" Lance choked, horrified at the mere idea of his beautiful face being ruined. Especially in front of the Princess.
"No, he's not injured at all. He just has some...features that he...didn't have before" Shiro answered, tone hesitant.
Lance groaned, smacking his head against the dash-board as Blue lowered her head to let him out. "Guys, just tell me already, cause I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"I shall go see about Lance's predicament." Allura announced, her line going silent as she no doubt made her way to the Blue Lions hangar.
"Lance, you really have no idea what happened back there? What happened to you?" Pidge asked incredulously.
"Of course I do! We got thrown in that cell, Kropi attacked us, Hunk got hurt, Keith got hurt, and then when I went to attack it the wall exploded! How could I not remember all that?!" Lance exclaimed getting out of the Captains Chair and walking down the ramp.
He emerged in the hangar and took off his helmet, running a hand through his hair.
"You don't remember fighting Kropi? At all?" Keith announced, his voice softer now that his helmet was off.
"No, I don't. I was going to fight it and then the wall exploded and here we are now. Is everyone happy now?" Lance said into the helmet, before muting the communications and placing it down on a nearby crate.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair once again. Why the heck was nobody believing him? They were all there, they knew what happened too!
His bangs flopped back down onto his forehead and his brow furrowed at his hair. Was the exhaustion making him see things, or was his hair lighter than it used to be?
The comments about his appearance from Pidge's came back to him, and he froze. Maybe Pidge was on to something.
Slowly, he walked over to a work station that Hunk and Coran worked at when Blue needed repairs, seeking out a reflective metal tray. Lance found his hands shaking as he reached out to it, grasping both sides.
He shook his head and took a deep breath. They were probably just messing with him, and there was nothing to worry about.
Lifting the tray up in front of his face, his breath caught in his throat. Lance's eyes widened comically, and the grip he had on the tray vanished, sending it clattering to the floor.
No. It wasn't possible. He couldn't possibly be...how was this...
His ears were not pointed. He did not have light blue frosted tips. And his eyes were not larger, and they did not seem to glow an iridescent blue. Lance's mind was just playing tricks on him.
Lance's mind was racing, thinking about all possible explanations and possibilities on what this could mean when he heard the soft sliding of the door behind him.
"Lance, are you-" she cut off with a gasp, seeing Lance's hair and pointed ears.
The Blue Paladin slowly turned around to face Allura, eyes wide and on the verge of panicking. When he caught sight of Allura, he saw that she wasn't fairing much better either.
"A-Allura...I..." Lance tried to come up with something to say, but for once he couldn't find anything to say to the Princess. Not even one of his cheesy pick-up lines.
She had her hands covering her mouth, and wetness to her eyes as she stared at Lance's face. She took a step forward, and then another, and before he knew it she was standing in front of him, tearfully looking up into his face.
"Lance..." she whispered. She brought her hands away from her mouth, and her left one went to rest on Lance's right cheek. Under any other circumstances Lance would have blushed like a ripe tomato ready to burst at the action. But he could only find the warmth of her hand grounding after what he just saw. About what he looked like.
"I can see why the others were distressed..." Allura trailed, never breaking eye contact. She took a deep breath, and lowered her hand. Gaining as much composure as she could, Allura clasped her hands in front of her and cleared her throat. "We must have Coran run a full diagnostic. Come, we shall head to the medical bay this instant."
Lance could only nod, following Allura out of Blue's hangar and into the spotless, white hallway.
If this test showed what he thought it might...then that would mean his whole life had been a lie. He had lived his life as though completely human when in reality he could be...he could be...
Lance could be an Altean.
It was a completely ridiculous notion, and if he hadn't seen his appearance for himself he would have scoffed at whoever suggested it. There had been no clues or signals to prepare him for a revelation such as this.
But Lance saw his reflection. He saw that there were no marks beneath his eyes like Allura or Coran. That must mean this must just be some sort of side effect from something in the room Kropi was being held at, right?
Lance hoped so. He didn't think he would be able to fully process the other option.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't know they had reached the medical bay until Allura was touching her hand to the pad to open the door. Lance braced himself as she briskly walked in and immediately set her sights on Coran.
The elder Altean looked to be making some last minutes adjustments to the pod Hunk was in, and Lance let out a small breath of relief that his friend was safe, at least.
Shiro was tending to Keith on one of the cushioned cots, bandaging his head with a layer of gauze. Pidge says next to Keith on the cot, hovering some sort of scanner over Keith's right arm, most likely looking for the breaks in his arm.
Allura and Lance closed in on Coran, and Lance could feel Keith and Pidge's eyes on them the entire way.
"Coran, could you spare a moment." she asked as calmly as she could. Lance saw her shoulders shaking a bit, and loathed that it was him that made her feel this way.
"Of course, Princess. Just give me a tick-there we are! Hunk is all set, and should be out in about five varga." Coran responded, spinning around with a bright smile on his face. "Now, what may I help..."
The elder Altean trailed off as he looked at Lance, eyes going wide in surprise in alarm. Before he could make a comment, Allura spoke up.
"I wish to run a full diagnostic on Lance, if you will. Your assistance would be much appreciated." Coran stood still for a moment longer, eyes trailing all over Lance's new features before closing his eyes and shaking his head.
He opened his eyes again and gave Lance a small smile, gabbing him gently by his upper arm. "As you wish, Princess." Coran said softly, leading Lance over to another Crypod.
The pod opened with a gentle hiss, and Lance needed no persuasion to step inside. He took a deep breath looking at Allura's still astonished eyes and Coran's back as he closed the pod and tapped on the many control.
A blue light suddenly washed over his body, going down to his feet and then back up to his face. It repeated the process one more time before there was a small beep, and the lid opened once more.
Lance jumped out, immediately looking over at Coran to confirm all of their suspicions. No one spoke, all the sound in the room coming from the elder Altean's gloved fingers swiping across the glass pad.
The screen flashed white for a moment, and from where Lance was still standing in front of the pod, he could see a silhouette of a human on the screen.
Coran's fingers stopped, staring at the screen. He looked to be reading the Altean script shown on the pad over and over again. Lance felt his stomach curl at what that could mean.
Then he turned, mustache drooping more than it was before. He cast a gaze towards Allura, giving a slight nod. She covered her mouth again, turning towards Lance with a tear slipping out of the corner of her right eye.
Lance could feel his hands shaking. His breaths were getting faster, more shallow, the longer Coran went without speaking.
But when he did, he really wished he would have just kept his mustache shut.
"Well, my boy," he started, his own eyes shining in the bright lights of the medbay, "it seems that while you are indeed human, there is about half of your genetic code that is also...Altean."
Lance stopped breathing all together. His thoughts all stopped, and his vision whited out as he crashed to the floor with muffled calls of his name following him into oblivion.
Um...guess I'm making a part 3? I wanted to wrap it up here, but that obviously didn't happen. And if you have any questions about the whole Altean Lance thing let me know! I'm trying to make this entire thing as canon as possible so things might get a little confusing.
And also holy crap I just realized Voltron is ending in almost 10 days WHAT THE HECK WHERE DID ALL THE TIME GO.
~Atatami