"We should pull them back immediately." Shiro orders, his hand pressed to the mute button. "That entire planet is unstable, it's not safe to have them there."
"Actually," Coran says, his eyes flicking over a scroll of data, "the planet is safe, for now. The low scale earthquakes that it has been experiencing show that we have at least five rotations before the volcanic activity begins."
"Should the rest of us go down?" Hunk asks anxiously. "If we took the full team we could dig the Wolkians out faster."
"I don't believe that will be necessary," Coran says. "Shiro, if you will?"
Hesitantly, Shiro releases the mute button.
"Pidge, do you copy?"
"What's up?"
"How we proceed will depend on what the situation looks like when you get to the level of the cave in, but I think that our best option is going to be a series of micro explosions. If the stones are heavy, like they have said, then I imagine they are large as well. If we can break them into smaller chunks, I believe our releasing of those trapped on the other side will be expedited."
"I also packed the mini tractor beam. Think Lance can use that to move some of the smaller rocks while we calculate the amount of explosives I'll need?"
Lance huffs heavily into the mic and Keith hears the annoyance in his tone when he says, "I qualified for the Garrison, too, Pidge. That means I took just as many fancy science classes as you."
"I'm not questioning your ability, dimwit, I'm asking Coran if moving some of the looser rocks would upset the stability of the already unstable cave in."
There was a pause, and Keith had to forcibly stop a nervous giggle from escaping him.
"Whatever, short stack, I'm totally capable of using the mini whatever."
"Sure, Lance."
When they finally make it down to the bottom of the long, winding tunnel, Lance can feel the sense of uncertain doom edging its way deeper into his skin. The trembling of the stones beneath them never abates and it feels like a parallel to the nerves shuddering hotly under his skin. He's trying to keep up his normal ramble and chatter, joking with Pidge and Hunk over the comm system, but he keeps lapsing into a quiet, tense silence that he knows is affecting his teammates.
Keith hasn't said anything to him since they left the hallway.
Lance tries to ignore the sting of that particular fact. In retrospect, he may not have thought his confession all the way through. He hadn't considered that maybe Keith wouldn't want to talk to him. The only thing on his brain had been making sure that Keith knew he was loved if Lance was going to die on this mission. He doesn't regret it, but he wishes that Keith would say something - anything - to him. Hearing his voice would help soothe his nerves.
"I don't think the mini tractor beam will work until we set off a couple of the micro explosions."
Lance jolts, yanked from his thoughts. Pidge eyes him with a knowing look on her face. "Ah, sorry. How can I help with the explosives?"
"I vote Lance not help with the explosives," Hunk's voice chirps over the intercom.
Lance scowls. "I didn't ask you, Hunk."
"Pidge, can you take a scan of the cave in? I can help with the calculations from here," Coran interrupts, and Pidge turns to the caved in tunnel. It's tall, almost 15 yards high, and the rocks that clog the opening are large. It looks like the Wolkians had attempted to shift the rocks at the top of the slide in and Lance purses his lips, considering.
"It would be easier to try to open up enough space at the top of the slide, don't ya think?" He says to Pidge. "Then the Wolkians on the other side could climb up and over and we won't need to move this entire pile of rocks."
"The only concern with that idea is triggering a further landslide." Coran chimes in. "But I agree. We would hopefully be able to mitigate the work if we start from the top."
Keith continues to watch silently as Pidge and Lance work together to set the explosives. He's wanted to speak up on several occasions, but every time he opens his mouth anxiety keeps him silent. How is he supposed to act now? Lance is… He said he was… Keith can't even think about it without feeling flustered.
The look in Lance's blue, blue eyes when he said, "Keith, I'm in love with you."
I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you, I'm in love with you.
He had spent so much easy time with Lance over the past months. He had opened himself up in ways that he hadn't thought he was capable of. He had felt awkward and anxious, but he had pushed through all of that in the face of Lance's open, honest sincerity and the genuine care he projected. Lance had accepted everything he put out in the open, listened to every dirty secret he had given. He had listened and he hadn't rejected Keith, hadn't pushed him away.
Kissing Lance had felt like flying: exhilarating and overwhelming and exactly, perfectly right. Even though he couldn't feel Lance's hand on his face with a glove in the way, he can still feel the place where Lance had touched his face like a brand. The soft brush of fingertips, the palm of his glove scooping Keith's jaw up to connect their kiss more firmly.
The memory sends shivers down his spine.
He has to stop thinking about this. It isn't going to happen. He already decided that it just can't. What he had said is true, they have responsibilities and the universe needs them to be focused on saving it. If Keith lets Lance distract him, lives could be lost. Even though Lance had looked at him like he was the only star in the entire sky, and the sincerity in his voice when he had said he loved him-
Stop. You have to stop thinking about this.
On the screen, he can see Lance scrambling up the wall of rock from Pidge's point of view. He clambers up nimbly, pulling himself along with strong arms.
One of those strong arms had been wrapped firmly around his waist, pulling him tight to Lance's chest.
Pathetic, he hisses inwardly, the frown on his face deepening.
"Keith?"
He doesn't flinch, but his heart jolts in surprise. Of course Shiro would notice how abnormally quiet he's being, of fucking course.
"Everything ok in there, kiddo?"
Keith scowls at him. Shiro's voice is low and concerned, and he knows Keith hates being called 'kiddo'. "I'm fine," he replies tersely. "Shouldn't we be focussed on Lance and Pidge?"
Shiro gives him a look, the 'I see through your bullshit' look. With a jerk of his head he signals Keith to follow, then walks to a more secluded corner of the room. Keith follows with a scowl, feeling sulky and angry that Shiro is calling him out like this.
"Oooh, someone's in trouble!" A voice that sounds suspiciously like Lance says in his head, but he angrily snuffs it out.
"What's going on in that big brain of yours? And don't try to pretend like it's nothing. I can tell you're upset." Shiro's voice is pitched low, his eyebrow raised in concern.
Keith levels his most intimidating glare at him, annoyed and frustrated that Shiro can read him like a book. He is trying not to think of what had happened with Lance and having a conversation about it isn't going to help him stop.
"I'm fine-" he starts, voice clipped, but Shiro cuts in before he can even start denying.
"Is this about Lance?"
Keith can't help it. He drops his glare immediately, feeling shame roil in his gut. Of course Shiro already knew. Of freaking course.
After a moment of Shiro just watching him, he speaks. "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it, but I can make an educated guess on what happened."
"I don't want to talk about it," Keith replies, and Shiro lets out a sigh.
"I talked to Lance about this a few weeks ago, you know." Keith's eyes snap up to his, and he feels hurt flash across his features. "No, don't look at me like that. I approached Lance about it and when he knew I wasn't going to back down until he talked, he spilled. I won't tell you what he said because that's between me and him, but I knew you'd struggle with this as soon as he told you."
"What, you think I'm so emotionally stunted I can't handle a stupid confession?" Keith snaps. "I'm not a child anymore, Shiro, you can't act like my big bad protector. I can handle myself."
Shiro lifts placating hands, holding them out in surrender. "You know that's not what I meant, Keith. I know you're not a child anymore and I'm not trying to treating you like one. You're important to me and I don't want to see you hurt, not by Lance and not by yourself."
Keith crosses his arms over his chest, shoulders hunching forward. "Whatever, ok? Look, Lance told me he was in love with me and when I told him that we had to be responsible for the safety of the universe and couldn't be distracted, he told me… he told me…"
Keith hesitates, the memory replaying in his mind. He can see the hurt in Lance's face, and it feels like a blade in his stomach. He can see the moment Lance had gathered himself, set himself, pressed forward. What a fucking Lance thing to do.
"You're still my best friend."
Can Keith handle that? Handle being that close to him, after tasting Lance's lips against his, after seeing the raw affection on his face? If he can't, what did that mean for them? Would they just stop talking to each other? The can't go their separate ways, they have Voltron connecting them, but would their friendship fade, just like that, a rift in the relationship they built?
How long would it take for them to be strangers?
The idea is a cold rock in his gut.
"He told me we could still be friends." he finishes, his voice a distressed murmur.
"You should think about what it would mean to miss a chance to be with someone you love." There is something wistful in Shiro's gaze that makes Keith's throat feel tight. "You never know what will happen in the future."
"But what if-" Keith starts, only to be interrupted.
"Shiro!" Allura calls, voice sharp.
"We'll talk more later, I promise," Shiro says, his demeanor changing as he straightens, the kindness in his voice shifting to the voice he uses in command. "What's going on?"
"There's been a shift in the planet's behavior. I'm afraid we have less time than we originally thought," Coran says, tapping away at the screen in front of him. His eyes rove over the scrolling data. "Pidge, do you read?"
"Copy, Coran. We're making progress, but the hole we made is only big enough to fit one Wolkian at a time. There are casualties, and the progress has been slow."
Keith follows behind Shiro as they move back towards the screens. Lance's helmet cam shows a close up image of one of the Wolkians as Lance helps them over the top of the rocks. As the image shifts as Lance steps out of the way, Keith can see that there are two other Wolkians balancing precariously there as well, each working with the mini tractor beams to widen the hole.
Pidge is at the bottom, helping direct placement of the rocks from the top. The group of Wolkians on the ground has thickened, and Keith is glad they made a lot of progress while he had been lost in his own thoughts. Each rock they move to the ground where Pidge stands guiding them widens the hole significantly.
"Give me an ETA, Pidge," Shiro orders, stepping closer to the monitors as Keith hangs back.
"I'm not sure. Lance?"
Lance's helmet cam shifts as he glances down Pidge, then slides back to the hole. With quick movements, he helps the next Wolkian over the edge, and then shuffles past them to peer into the other side. There are dim lights below, just enough to illuminate those who are left. There are five, but Keith can see that two are severely injured. A Wolkian about half the height of the rest was missing an arm, and one had a chunk the size of Keith's fist missing from it's head. His stomach turns in horror.
"I need twenty more minutes to get the rest out," Lance says, literally skidding down the tumble of rocks and sliding to the left of the next Wolkian making the ascent. "Can two of you help this one?" Keith hears him ask after he sticks the landing and walks over to the injured Wolkians. "Everything is stable enough to take more than one at a time, but you'll have to be careful getting them through the top." Lance's voice is cheerful and direct. "If you wanna hop on my back, I can get you up."
The one with the missing arm nods as Lance kneels before it. Lance is so tall and the Wolkian so much shorter that it's an easy fit. "Once we get these two out, I think we can start heading toward their ships."
Shiro presses the mute button and turns to Coran. "What do you got?"
Coran's lips are pursed as he reads the stream of data. "By my estimates, we have an hour in earth time before we see any volcanic activity, but the earth quakes have been ramping up ever since they set foot on the planet."
"We need to go down there!" Keith interrupts, stepping forward.
"By the time we go down, we won't be of any help." Allura replies. She waves a hand at Shiro, who releases the button. "Paladins, please direct the Wolkians that have already crossed to head to their ships. As soon as the last is over the barricade, you must return to your lions. The stability of the planet is becoming compromised quicker than we originally calculated."
Lance, who had continued the slow trek up with the Wolkian clinging to his back, pauses. "Roger dodger, Princess."
There's something in his voice that makes Keith's heart sink in his chest.
The Wolkian Lance carries is a lot lighter than they had looked.
Through the comms, he can hear Pidge speaking to the two Wolkians from earlier. "We have reason to believe that the renewal of your planet might be happening quicker than we had initially calculated. While Lance and I work on getting the rest of your kind out, can you take everyone else to the ships? We want to be ready to fly out when the…"
Pidge is suddenly cut off by a roar. The rocks beneath Lance's feet tremble violently. Heart hammering in his chest, he drops to one knee, keeping his hands tucked firmly under the legs of the Wolkian on his back. Smaller, looser rocks clatter down past them and Lance hears a moan of terror from his back. The arm wrapped around his chest tightens. "It's ok, just hold on. We'll ride it out, no worries." He says loudly, trying to convey calm even though he doesn't feel it.
The tremor lasts for several long seconds, and Lance swears he feels the unsteady ground beneath his feet bucking upwards. The large boulder beneath his feet holds and the tremor subsides, but his entire being shivers with adrenaline.
"Lance?" Pidge's voice reaches him through the ringing in his ears.
"I'm good, Pidgey," he replies shakily. "Everyone ok?" He looks up to note that the three above him also survived the shake.
"Everyone is good out here, Lance. ETA?"
"Five more minutes," Lance says, rising to his feet.
"Lance, be careful," Hunk says, and Lance can hear the worry thick in his voice.
Is Keith worrying about him?
Lance refocusses himself to the task at hand and climbs faster. He makes progress, but it was still slow going, especially with the added weight of the Wolkain on his back and the uneven ground. When they get to the top, the team waiting there slows them down as they carefully pass their companion through. He gives them ample space so that if he slips and falls he doesn't take them down with him. He and his burden are halfway down the other side when the next tremor hits. He takes a knee immediately, but the ground is definitely bucking now. The rocks that skid past them are much larger.
"Pidge, we have to bounce. It's getting a little rocky up in here."
"I swear to god, Lance…"
Lance laughs even though his heart is hammering in his chest. A particularly violent seize hits them and he can feel the perch he's on shift beneath his feet. Gritting his teeth, he tightens his grip. "Hold on tight, ok?"
The arm around his chest squeezes distinctively and Lance heaves a deep breath in. The rocks are tumbling down faster now. Quickly, he calculates his descent down and leaps.
Keith's heart is in his throat as he watches the stream of Lance's point of view. "Don't you dare…" he starts to say, but the words die in his throat as the shot goes airborne. He shifts his eyes to Pidge's view, focused on Lance, watching him in mid flight over the tumbling rocks.
In the background, above the roaring of his ears, he can hear his fellow paladins crying out in fear that echoes his own. What the actual living hell was Lance thinking? In a move that should not be graceful in the heavy gravity, Lance lands on a jutting rock further down and immediately launches himself forward again. It goes like that, him landing on more and more precariously small ledges before launching himself forward again, steadily making his way down. At one point, and Keith can't believe he's seeing this, Lance hits a rock looser than he had anticipated and it starts to slide forward. He bends his knees, redistributes his weight, and literally rides the rock the rest of the way down, hopping off and trotting up to Pidge.
"Did you just Tony Hawk your way down that last bit, or am I dreaming?" Pidge asks, and Keith can see the shit eating grin on Lance's face, even through his helmet.
"I know, it's ok." Lance reaches out to pat Pidge on the shoulder. "I'm literally the coolest person you know."
To Keith's right, Shiro is rubbing his temple in a slow, soothing motion. "Should I remind you that you are in imminent danger? You need to head for the ships, right now."
"On it, dad! We'll be back up in a jiff."
"Can you not? I swear to…" Shiro starts, but is abruptly cut off by a loud burst of static. The screens go dark.
After a moment of surprised silence, Coran begins furiously typing. "Our signals have been cut off. There seems to be an electrical storm brewing in the atmosphere of the planet that is affecting our signals. I'm attempting to reestablish a connection, but I'm afraid—"
"We need to go down there," Keith interrupts. "There is no way we can leave them down there when we have no open links to them." When he doesn't get an immediate response, he turns to Shiro. "We have to go down there!" he repeats, louder.
"If we go down there now, there will just be more of us without a link to the castle. They're almost out, we can't put more lives in danger." Shiro says, walking over to Coran and watching over his shoulder as he scrolls through information. "Keith, it's too dangerous."
"And it's not dangerous just leaving them down there?" Keith snaps. "They can't even communicate with us if something bad happens!"
"And if more of us go down there, we'll be in the same boat!" Shiro snaps back, giving Keith a warning glare.
"But they'll have back up," Keith argues, feeling his temper rising. "What if the Wolkian's ships won't start? We won't even kn—"
An alarm wails, red lights flashing.
"I'm afraid we won't be sending any backup for Lance and Pidge." Allura says into the stunned silence. "We have company."
The sound of static in Lance's ear should not be as surprising as it is. They had begun the trek to the Wolkian's spaceships and the extra pounds koala-ing to his back is making the journey difficult. Their guide is one of the originals who had greeted them, having sent the rest ahead to ready the ships for take off. The other injured had been carried across on the shoulders of one of the largest Wolkian for quick medical treatment, but the one on Lance's back had refused to let go when offered the same.
Lance doesn't know their name, but he feels strangely protective of them anyway.
"I think we've been cut off from the castle," Pidge says as they climb.
Their guide had directed them into a smaller tunnel to the far left of the cavern they had been in and the incline is steep. Every few feet, there are tumbles of rock that the Wolkian leading them pushes aside as best as they can, but the going is still rough. With the ground shaking violently constantly now, Lance has to fight to keep steady on his feet.
"Coran, Allura?" Pidge tries, one hand pressed to the side of her helmet like that would help steady the signal.
When no response comes, Lance bites his lip, fear gurgling in his stomach again. "I think we're flying solo, Pidgeotto."
"Don't call me pokemon names," Pidge says, pausing to catch her breath. She nearly loses her footing as a rock crashes down right in front of her. She stumbles back, slamming into Lance and almost sending them tumbling back down the incline. He catches her, barely, and steadies them before nudging her forward.
"You good?"
There is a breath of silence and then she says, shakily, "Yeah, I'm good."
They continue on. The rumbling of the earth subsides for a long moment and the quiet puts Lance on edge.
"Pidge, I think you should get up there and see if they need help with the ships. I think this tunnel is a straight shot up."
The Wolkian, who must have heard him, speaks up. The translator barely catches its voice, since its back is to them, so the words come in broken sentences. "That would...helpful...carry...back…" Lance squints at Pidge in front of him, hoping that she is catching more of it than he is. "Our ships...very...could use…"
"Lance," she cautions, once they are done speaking, "I don't know if splitting up is a good idea."
He grins, aiming for a casual tone when he speaks. "We're almost done here, Pidge, don't worry about it. I'm right behind you."
She hesitates, eyeing him. "What if something happens?"
He presses a hand to her shoulder. "It's gonna be ok, Pidge. I promise." He squeezes tight, then lets her go and motions towards the waiting Wolkian.
She pauses a moment longer and Lance can feel her eyes on his face as she studies him. Then she nods slowly and turns to scramble onto the Wolkian's back. They lumber off quickly, the Wolkian lengthening their stride to carry them up the incline at a much faster pace than Lance thought possible.
"Welp, just you and me now, friend!" he says to the Wolkian on his back. "They're gonna get the ships all ready for you, so you can get out of here as soon as I get you up."
For the first time since Lance had lifted them onto his back, they speak. "Thank you for all of your help, human Lance."
Lance grins to himself. The tremors in the earth have completely stopped and the stillness around them is deafening. "No problem, my dude." He continues to trudge upwards, legs burning. He never should have skipped all those leg days with Keith.
The tunnel around them begins to broaden and he hopes that they are coming to the end of the tunnel. It continues to open up, getting both taller and wider, and the ground is leveling off, but he still can't see any openings.
"They call me," the creature on his back says, but the remainder of the sentence doesn't translate in Lance's ear. Instead, there is a sound like rocks being tossed into water, followed by the sharp sound of stone on metal.
"I can't pronounce that," Lance tells them, "but it sounds really pretty."
What Lance thinks is a laugh echos in his ears, sharp like concrete breaking, and he grins. "It's nice to meet you," he continues. "Thanks for being so easy to carry."
"Thank you for carrying me."
They lapse back into silence and the tunnel splits open in front of them into the biggest cavern Lance has seen yet. It's not really a cave at all, as there is no roof. Above them is the sky, or what would be the sky if there weren't thick, dark clouds obscuring the view. They bubble like molten lava and purple veins of lightning crackle through them every few seconds. There is no noise from them, which is supremely unsettling.
"It has begun," the creature on his back says. "The renewal has begun."
Lance takes in a sharp breath. "Pidge," he starts, but has no time to finish. With a roar, the earth jumps to life with new energy. The ground seizes underneath him and he stumbles, falling to his knees before he can catch his balance. He tries to hang on to the Wolkian, but the next buck has him flying face first into the dirt and they go tumbling over his head onto the ground. He lands hard, the sharp sound of something breaking filling his ears.
He drags himself upwards and stumbles to his feet. There is a crack across the glass of his helmet; not very big, but he can already feel the natural heat of the planet seeping in across his cheek. Not good, he thinks, staggering over to where the Wolkian is kneeling. "We gotta get out of here, now," he says. He grabs their arm and hauls upwards, wrapping his arm around their waist.
A tremor that feels different from before sweeps under his feet and his eyes widen in horror. Ten feet in front of them, a jagged fissure ripples across the ground, growing wider as he watches. "Oh fuck, oh fuck," he curses stumbling forward with his companion. There is a deafening boom as purple light streaks across his vision and crashes into the earth before them.
He flies backwards and crashes into the wall, falling unconscious crumpled and unmoving on the ground before he knows what's happened.