Chapter fourteen

Keith stood there staring, Shiro still felt off to him. But why? He had barely even blinked an eye before he watched, in sheer horror, as the Black Paladin suddenly dropped to the floor.

"Shiro!!" Keith ran forward only to hit an invisible wall. It fluctuating like water when his palms touched its surface. He could see the other Paladins race to his aid, but could do nothing with them. He huffed and puffed, as though about to crack under the pressure. He took a couple staggering paces backwards.

"Why is this happening to me?!" Keith breathed, dangerously close to tears.

"Keith," his father said, stepping forward to place a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Believe me when I say I wish I knew. But maybe you are here for a reason. Do you have any idea why you might still be trapped here?" Keith's gaze fell to the floor, he just stared back at the soundless window into the waking world...

Another sensor went off in another room, the team wasted no time investigating. As they neared the other rooms, they could hear the sound of strained suffocating coughs from the first room they approached. Upon entering they saw a distressed Black Paladin, looking as though something was caught in his neck. His neck was tense and he stirred uncomfortably. He coughs were joined by strained wheezing, but yet he didn't seem to be awake. Or if he was... he was just barely conscious.

"The infection is creating fluid his lungs. We need to get him some oxygen and get that antidote done now." Allura cried, grabbing a mask and holding over his mouth. Lance helped Allura to tend to Shiro, while Hunk and Coran worked briskly to finish the large vile that held the yellow liquidy substance serving as the cure. A drop of a green liquid faded into the golden yellow substance, turning it more golden; and almost glowing.

"It's ready." Coran declared finally. Hunk handed Coran and Allura a syringe full of this stuff and took one for himself.

"I've measured out the right amount for each of them." The Yellow Paladin stated. "Coran, go do Pidge, I'll give mine to Keith, Allura you've got Shiro. Lance, help Allura. Shiro's a lot stronger than he looks."

"Believe me I know." Lance agreed, he'd seen, all too well, some of the things Shiro was capable of doing. Allura strained against the panicked, distressed Paladin, his strength slowly overpowering hers. Up until this moment, she had realized how strong Shiro actually was, and, frankly, it didn't feel so good to be used against her. Finally gaining some leverage, with the help of Lance, she stuck the needle into his left bicep.

Shiro lay there sweating and shivering at the same time. One wave of heat, one wave of cold, both alternating in the mostly agonizing way. He began to get this drowning feeling in his chest and struggled for breath; the air unwillingly to entered and exit his body. He'd try to inhale and would cough, try to exhale; same result. The cycle was quickly shattered by a violent burning sensation originating from one of his extremities, the burning sensation spread like wild fire. His skin felt as though it were drowned in acid burning away his skin layer by layer. He still felt cold, but his body was damp from sweating. His throat vibrated in a cry he, still, could not hear. The pressure on his chest and arms weight harder; the burning consuming his entire body, and then... the cool came. And his body relaxed, and his mind faded away into a slumber much like hibernation. A deep sleep he thought he'd never get, given his recent state of mind. But, then, his mind took over, and the roller coaster continued on again...

"Phew!!.. ok." Allura huffed, gently shifting her weight off of Shiro again. Her body ached from the struggle, her heart still pounded from the adrenaline rush. Lance stood across from her on Shiro's other side, also breathless. His left forearm was laid on the table; anchored on his elbow, with his right arm up at a 90 degree angle; palm to the table. Allura kept her elbows draped over Shiro's chest, as footsteps sounded behind her.

"Their both slowly starting to improve." Hunk reported, when Lance and Allura looked up at them; coming toward them. "How's Shiro?"

"His levels have risen a bit, but not much improvement otherwise." Allura sighed, gazing down at the motionless Shiro.

"Hey, come on, that doesn't mean anything." Lance reassured her. "Let's give it some time. He'll get better. It may just take a while, I mean, he was the sickest of them all." Allura pondered his words thoughtfully.

"You might be right, Lance." The Princess decided after a while. So they all stood there circled around the Black Paladin, watching, and waiting, for something to happen.

Shiro took a breath, then his eyes shot open and he abruptly sat up. His breaths came quickly, and slowed as his panic melted into confusion. He peered around the darkness, he heard no sound, saw no light, felt no pain. But he was here, wherever here was. He stood up and gazed directly out in front of him. A light in the distance materialized into a body, recognizing it he quickly ran to it until he was face to face with the Red Paladin.

"Keith, what's going on?" Shiro signed to him. "Where are we?" Keith stood there and Shiro waited for his answer. Slowly, as if, almost, in slow motion, Keith formed an answer.

"We are home." Shiro's pupils shrunk at this. Horror sinking it's fangs into him and poisoning him with terror and disbelief. He took a step back and Keith remained as he was.

"Don't be afraid, Shiro." Keith went on, keeping a hollow, blank stare. His dark blue eyes fixed on him and almost robot-like. Shiro stepped back another pace.

"Keith, what's wrong with you?" Shiro signed, his heart beginning to race. "We can't be home, this isn't Earth."

"I wasn't referring to that home." Keith returned, motioning in a one-note sort of way. Shiro's blood ran cold, 'was this it?' He thought. 'Was this the end for him? Was he truly dying? But what about Keith?' The one that stood before him couldn't be him, Shiro knew him too well. Suddenly a small flashing light on the floor seemed to be coming up to him. But before it reached him, it turned and rose a few feet away from him. The light looked much like a comet with its long sizzling tail, but it seemed to avoid him; like he was in one of the those cheap plastic snow globes with the friendly little snow cabin scenes with the fake snow. The light zipped around him til finally flew up and shattered this invisible bubble like glass, the head of the light met Shiro's forehead and burst into a glowing yellow substance. It was almost like liquid sunlight, and he was drenched in it. The light covered him completely, practically drowning him as the light consumed him...

Shiro's vision blurred back into the real world, the faces of the team being the first thing he saw. Pidge had just barely peeked around the door post beyond them; but no one had noticed yet. The relief he felt was immeasurable, he no longer felt any pain, except for the sting the cut on his forehead. He no longer felt distant or light-headed, and his vision wasn't split anymore. His hand found his forehead as he sat up slowly, his head thumping a little from the sudden activity. Allura's hand on his forearm getting his attention, and her gaze indicating that he shouldn't try to get up just yet. Sliding his legs to the side of the bed to let them dangle off the table, he braced his hands on the edge of the table and hung his head down. He then noticed the wires that had been inserted into his skin, and the small bandaid over the injection point; and realized what had happened. The team just stood there watching, waiting to see what Shiro would do next.

"He's looking better." Pidge's small voice broke their gaze.

"So do you." Allura commented, seeing the brightness of the Green Paladin's eyes, and the color slowly returning to her face. "But you should rest a little longer to be sure you're truly better."

"I know." Pidge admitted dropping her gaze. "I just had to be sure Shiro was alright... and Keith."

"Keith!" Shiro realized, thrusting his head up again, almost as if he'd heard them. Shiro slid down off the table, but his knees buckled under him and he nearly fell. Luckily Hunk and Lance were there to stop his fall, and they decided they'd help him to Keith's room to see him. As they all entered, Keith sighed weakly and shifted his head away from them. He'd been resting like this for hours, until they arrived. He still showed no signs of being awake. Shiro somehow managed to leave the support of the Blue and Yellow Paladins, to approach the quiet, wounded Red Paladin.

"Keith, I think it's time you return to them." His father told him. His hand firmly gripping his son's shoulder.

"But dad," Keith protested quickly. "How do I get back to them?" James wrapped his arm around Keith shoulders and turned him back toward the display of his friends standing by his motionless body.

"Feel their presence. Fight your way back to them. They need you, Keith." His father told him.

"But don't you need me?" Keith wondered looking over at his dad.

"I do want you here son, I do." James answered returning his glance. "But it's as you said. The Universe needs you,... your team needs you." Keith stared at him, his father just smirking at him. "Go, be great." Strangely enough, as James said this Keith could have sworn he'd heard Shiro's voice say it with him. The two men locked hands in a firm grip between them, and then his father drifted away from him; dissolving into the darkness of the void. Turning back to the the picture now in front of him, he focused on getting closer to them. As he did so the scene around him fluctuated into something, suddenly the scene totally changed; the picture of his friends had totally vanished. All he saw now was the one place he dreaded, the one place he thought he'd escaped. The place where all his nightmares were created, that horrible... "Galra ship?!" Keith turned around toward the sound of blaster being pointed at him, Galra sentries holding them. Haggar appeared at his right side and grabbed him by his shoulder. Keith instinctively pulled out his knife and swung, Haggar's cries echoed and she disappeared. Just then, he noticed the Paladins beyond where Haggar had been, Shiro on the ground with Allura and Pidge kneeling over him. Then a pinch in his left arm made him look down, then blackness consumed him once again...

"Shiro, are you alright?!" Allura cried, one hand on his left shoulder and one on his forearm. The man pulled himself up, the scarlet stripe running from his lower right side and extending up his left shoulder stung like the burning sun. The white of his tank top stained red by the long wound that remained. Hunk and Lance held the unconscious Keith in their grasp. His arms draped over their shoulders and his head hung low.

"Coran, help get Keith back into the pod, the infection's gone and he's had a rest. The pod will help him to heal more quickly now." The princess instructed. Coran nodded and obediently left, followed by Hunk and Lance with the decapitated Paladin.

"It's not his fault you know." Pidge's voice caused Allura to look from Shiro to the Green Paladin. "He was probably dreaming when he woke up, and was hallucinating. He didn't really mean to attack Shiro." Allura's eyes hit the floor once again.

"I know..." She trailed off. "But it doesn't make it any easier to watch." The Green Paladin followed suit looking down at Shiro again, silent as he was. He didn't even attempt to move, or do anything for that matter. He just waited, to see what they wanted to do with him next.

Finally, sorry guys I've been really struggling with what to do next. I have ideas on what to do, but I'm still figuring out how to get there. I still don't know how I'm gonna end it, but I hope you're still enjoying it! And I'll be back with the next chapter as soon as I can! Thx!!!