5. Colony – Earth Colony

Characters: Keith, Pidge's Mom, Lance, Shiro

Summary: Keith and Lance find themselves dealing with Shiro's injury. Mrs. Holt took her dead husband's advice to do something great without the risk of fearing what would happen when her daughter disappeared as well and decided to go with the first Earth colony. All are in for a surprise.
Pairings: None

Theories: Shiro and Keith are blood related siblings.
Warnings: None, other than the fact I plan on reusing some of the tropes for a longer story later on with some changes so that I'll get a different story. I've got to finish Aniki first.

"Keith? Keith!"

The red paladin's eyes blinked open, his entire body tense from the wormhole throwing them out before looking up to see that Lance's lion had somehow managed to land in front of him.

"Keith!" The blue paladin got louder.

"Lance, don't yell. I can hear you."

"Then respond sooner." The blue paladin let out a sigh. "I don't know where everybody else is."

A sickening feeling hit Keith in the pit of his stomach, the anxious feeling he felt only occurring when he knew Shiro was in trouble. "Hold on. Shiro's nearby."

"No. If Shiro was nearby, he would answer."

"No. He's in trouble." Keith pushed himself away from the cockpit, heading out.

"Hold on, you should stay inside."

"I told you Shiro is in trouble!"

"How the hell would you know!"

"I just do!"

Keith started off in the direction he knew Shiro was in, hearing the sound of Lance's lion opening up. "Hold on. I'm coming with you." Keith ignored the blue paladin, heading instead to where he felt the black lion would be. Lance put his arms behind his head. "Man, you are completely loco, this whole sensing things stuff. I mean, there is no way..."

The blue paladin stopped short when they got far enough to see the black lion leaning slightly on its side against a few trees.

"Oh great. You were right again. How the hell are we going to go up there." Lance walked up, knocking on the shield around the black lion. "This isn't good you know."

Keith placed a hand on the shield, wishing the lion would let him through. His eyes snapped open in time to see the shield go down, and the mouth open up. He stepped forward, heading towards the door, only to hear Lance let out a yelp just as the barrier went up. He turned his head, quite sure he'd just learned a Spanish curse word. Lance glared at him.

"This isn't fair! Why is it when it comes to Shiro you get special treatment! You always got to hang out..."

"Can we talk about the invalidity of your insecurity issues later Lance? I need to get to Shiro."

Lance folded his arms, pouting as he did so. "Fine."

Keith let out a sigh and stepped onto the ship, knowing his worst fear was true without seeing Shiro on the floor of his lion. The red paladin walked over, bending over. Keith swallowed, noticing the scratch marks on Shiro's side. He carefully turned his brother over, touching his forehead to Shiro's, jolting back at the burning sensation. The teen swallowed.

"Shiro..." Keith patted the older paladin's cheek, hoping he would wake up so he could help him out.

His brother's eyes fluttered open, only for the young man to bolt up, backing into the wall in a panic, his voice letting out a sharp hiss of fear. "Who are you?"

Keith sat back, a frown on his face. "What?"

"Where..." Shiro's head darted around, calming suddenly. "I'm on the lion."

"Shiro..."

"Akira..."

"I don't like being called that."

"You're upset." Shiro's breath came in a sharp manner as he turned his head back, revealing a level of panic still in the older paladin's eyes. "I guess you never expected to see your big brother like this, huh?"

"That..." Keith swallowed, realizing a topic they'd avoided since they saw each other came up. "No. I think out of everybody, I know best that..." The red paladin found himself not wanting to finish that thought about how he knew all along something was off. Instead, he looked Shiro in the eye. "You didn't recognize me?"

Shiro's eyes widened. "No." The black paladin took a deep breath, his head beginning to droop, his eyes fluttering shut. "I thought it was a trick. How'd you get in?"

"You know how." Keith moved over, helping Shiro to his feet, hoping he wouldn't pass out before he got him to Lance. He walked out, his head down as he attempted to carry the weight. only to stop when the tip of an earth gun was shoved in his face. The teen looked up, wondering what move to make, only to find his arms bound behind him while others took Shiro from him. Lance was unconscious on the ground, making Keith wonder if Lance had even tried to fight, or if he simply failed.

Mrs. Holt decided to take her husband's advice; never put off doing something great just because of everything that could go wrong. Losing her husband, and now her daughter honestly made things a whole lot easier for her, as she found herself able to let go of things, but there was also the feeling she might find them out there when she headed to Earth's first colony with everyone else. She wasn't sure if the Commander being truthful this time belayed her hurt feelings, particularly knowing there were two other families out there that didn't know the truth about their own children.

They arrived on the planet thanks to the technology gained by examining the alien spacecraft young Takashi Shirogane. The fact "Shiro" was with the five put her at ease, particularly with what she knew from her husband about the young man's family situation. She'd tried making contact with his younger brother, only to find the boy avoiding her. Eventually, though she found out he got kicked out of cadet training, and no, the Garrison could not give her the address of a minor despite the fact she was honestly worried about him as she as not his legal guardian, and there would be trouble from the Shirogane family head if they did.

Thus she decided to get her own fresh start, to try and push away the painful memories of things she couldn't do and instead focus on what she could do. She found herself watering the colony's plants in the greenhouse when someone came by bringing her a message. "Mrs. Holt. Some of the officers assigned to us have found some of the missing cadets."

The woman dusted off her clothing, heading to the commanders office. The door swished open, and the commander looked up. "Sorry Mrs. Holt, your Katie isn't with them."

"Yes, but how are they doing? Which ones did you find? Can I talk to them? One of them might tell me how Katie's doing? Or are you going to be treating them as prisoners?"

"The only one available to talk to is Keith Kogane. He's livid we're not letting him see the other two, as they're being treated by the medical staff.

"Who are the other two though?" The man ignored her, so she changed the subject. "Can I speak to Keith then?"

"Yes. I can arrange that.

Perhaps you can talk some sense into that young man."

Mrs. Holt followed after the man, noting how his mouth creased into a frown. The soon arrived at the interrogation room and he took her into the observation area. "Are you still sure you want to talk to the kid?"

Keith sat in the chair, leaning back with a scowl on his face. The uniform itself wasn't one she'd seen before, but as she contemplated this the teen rocked back, letting the legs clatter. The teen stood up, walking over to the mirror, slamming his hand at the side. "Come on! Let me see Shiro already! Also, where the hell is Lance?"

Mrs. Holt turned to look at the commander, concern on her face. "You've not let him see his brother?" Her tone of voice tightened. "You do realize they're siblings?"

One of the commanders eyebrows jolted up, the corners of his mouth twisting up weakly. "I'm aware. It's in their files."

"Then why..."

The man took a deep breath. "While the medical staff did tell me that visitors for Takashi Shirogane were limited to medical staff and family, he's not yet cleared. They're still working on the kid. He's in critical condition"

"Does..." Mrs. Holt turned her head to look at the young teen.

"No. We've not been able to tell him his older brother is in critical condition. He doesn't trust us. Again, are you sure you want to try?"

The woman pushed her lips together, before pushing out of the room, and heading into the room where Keith now paced back and forth. The teen started, his hands behind his back at the sudden entrance. Keith opened his mouth to say something, only to stop short as her arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug, in the same manner, she would hug Matt or Katie, or even for that matter, Shiro when he'd come over. She could feel Keith's body tense up, his breath straining due to a stranger suddenly hugging him out of the blue.

"I know you don't know who I am, but I do know you. Can we sit and talk for a second?"

Keith's breath came in a tight manner, and when he pulled away she could see his eyes dilating, his mouth opening and closing. The teen headed over to his chair and sat down. "Why aren't you guys..." Keith paused the cogs in his mind thinking. "Who are you?"

"You know my daughter Katie."

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times, his voice lowering to a whisper as his confusion grew. "Who?"

"She..." Mrs. Holt reached out to touch Keith's hand, only for him to pull it away, sticking both into his pocket as he chewed his lip, the wariness in his eyes growing. "My husband and son were on the mission with your brother."

Realization dawned, and yet Keith didn't calm down. His voice remained quiet, the situation making him highly uncomfortable. "Shiro?" The teen looked to the side. "Didn't you try getting in contact with me? Do you blame Shiro for the mission failing like everyone else?"

Mrs. Holt worried her own lip then, knowing she needed to pick her words carefully. "I actually don't know the details of the mission. I do know, if there was a crash, it wouldn't be because of pilot error, but something outside of the control of the pilot, like a technical issue that none of them could have foreseen."

Keith leaned back, the situation remaining uncomfortable. "If you didn't blame me, why did you try to contact me. I mean..."

The teen stopped, not sure what to say. His hands, however, returned to the table, and she took them, feeling them tense up, almost as if he wished to pull them away. Her eyes closed. "Your brother let us in on your family situation."

"So?" Keith attempted to pull his hands away, but she tightened her grip allowing her to feel the callouses from his martial arts training.

"I was worried about how you were coping with, well, your brothers perceived death. I also wanted to let you know you could stop by anytime you wanted to."

Her eyes opened to see Keith still worrying his lip. "I don't deserve such kindness, particularly from a complete stranger."

"You're not a stranger, though. Takashi told us a lot about you. Plus, I think he'd disagree with you. He had quite a bit of praise for you."

"That's because..." Keith finally pulled his hands away, pushing their hands into his pocket only to change the subject. "Do you know why they're not letting me see Shiro? I am family, or did the family head..."

The teen stopped short, not finishing his thought. Mrs. Holt smiled at him, only for a sigh to escape her lips. "I'll take you to see him when the medical staff is finished. Is that alright with you?"

Keith didn't say anything but then folded his arms across his chest. "Last time I checked, Pidge was alright. Unless something happened when we got separated, Shiro's the only one..."

The teen's mouth snapped shut. Mrs. Holt stood up, patting his shoulder gently. "Let me go get you something to eat."

About half-an-hour later she came back, setting down a sandwich and a soda, watching Keith's eyes light up, his hands reaching out to take the food as if he'd not eaten in a long time. She watched him eat, a knock coming at the door when he almost finished. The commander opened the door. "You can take him to see Takashi Shirogane, Mrs. Holt, acting as his legal guardian. The medical staff though doesn't know when the young man will wake up."

Keith bolted up, knocking over the half drunk soda. Mrs. Holt reached out to grab his sleeve. "Slow down. We'll get there soon."

She walked with him to the room where they placed Shiro. She felt a sickening feeling seeing how pale the young man was, but also the other issues. One lock of hair had prematurely turned white, his right arm was replaced with a robotic arm, and a scar crossed his nose. She touched Keith's shoulder lightly, but the teen paid no mind, simply slipping in to sit by Shiro, breathing a sigh of relief as he did so.

Lance's head hurt. He didn't know where Shiro and Keith were. The first thing he tried to do was to sneak out of quarantine, only to find out they had already quarantined him for the needed amount of time. They still stuck him back into the room, his arms folding across his chest. "Come on. Let me see Shiro?" His first words caused some stares, so he said something else. "I know Shiro got hurt."

"Only medical staff and family are allowed to see him."

"Come on! Our team is family! What more do you need?"

"Sorry, but that doesn't fly."

Lance folded his arms. "Fine. What about Keith? Not that I'm fond of the guy, but he's better than nothing."

One of the medical staff held up a finger indicating he should wait for a bit but then came back. "Sorry, but you can't see him either."

The young man lets out a few choice curse words before sitting down on the medical bed they provided for him. For awhile he stayed still, but then got irritated that things were being kept from him. Lance snuck out of the room, his jaw tightening when he peeked around the corner almost getting caught. He almost found himself from flirting with a nurse to find out which room Shiro was in, but decided instead to try going room from room.

What he found first was Keith sitting in a chair, not causing him any great alarm. The taller teen stepped in to berate the red paladin for leaving him alone but then stopped short upon seeing the person in the bed, an oxygen mask – the black paladin.

"Hey!"

Keith's head turned slowly, his mouth indicating he wasn't at all amused to see the blue paladin there. "Not now Lance."

"They said Shiro could only have family as visitors! You snuck in before me!"

"I said not now!"

The glare Keith gave Lance reminded him of a look he received from the red paladin when they were both at the Garrison when he kept pushing for a chance to challenge Keith, almost as if the other teen thought he was an idiot. This didn't sit well. "Don't give me that look! I'm not an idiot!"

"Excuse me, but what are you doing in here?" A nurse came into the room, and he soon found himself hauled away, irritated that Keith was yet again getting favored. He found himself in a lounge area, sulking in the clothes he was given while a guard stood watching. The red paladin finally came in, but Lance turned his back on him, not seeing the look in Keith's eyes.

"Lance."

"Don't want to hear it."

"Yeah, but..."

"You said you didn't have time for me before when you were sneaking in to see Shiro. That was so not fair, that and them letting you stay! I've no reason to listen to you."

"But..."

"Not listening!" Lance stuck his fingers in his ears, closing his eyes so he didn't Keith approaching him.

Keith stepped around, pulling Lance's fingers away from his ears. "I thought you wanted to talk about your insecurity issues?"

One of Lance's eyes twitched before pulling away, heading over to plop on the couch, crossing his legs while sweeping his arms across the back seat. Keith took a seat nearby, waiting for the blue paladin to respond. "What do you want from me? Can't you tell I'm seriously pissed off with you."

"I'm aware of that. The irritation in your voice is evident." Keith remained silent for a few minutes but then piped up. "Why do you think I get special treatment from Shiro? I was quite sure he avoided playing favorites. He treats all four of us the same."

Lance let out a sigh of irritation, wondering why Keith didn't get what he was trying to say. "Seriously? I'm talking about when we were both at the Garrison before Shiro went on the mission. Now do you get it?"

A silence came instead of a response, but then the other teen finally answered. "No. I don't."

The blue paladin sat up, glaring at Keith. "Seriously? You don't know what I'm talking about?"

"No, I don't."

Lance stood up, walking over to the red paladin, grabbing the front of his shirt, forcing Keith to stand up. "You don't get it? You, you get to hang out with the legendary hero all the time, get all of his attention. He's your personal mentor. Everyone at the Garrison knew it. What though makes you so special Keith, that you get special attention from Shiro, even get to visit him when the only family is allowed."

Keith stared at Lance, then his eyes blinked as the realization hit. "Oh."

"Oh, what? How is that fair?"

"I thought you and everybody else knew."

"Knew what?"

"Shiro's my older brother."

Lance let go of Keith's shirt. "What?"

"I said Shiro is my older brother, my aniki." Keith sat down on the chair. "I don't get why you're so jealous." The blue paladin sat down, letting what Keith said sink in. "You're so lucky to have a family which cares about you. I only have Shiro."

"That's not possible."

"What isn't?"

"You and Shiro have different last names."

"I got adopted into a branch family when our parents died."

Lance's eyes blinked a couple of times. "What? I don't get any of that. Plus, didn't you say I was lucky to have a family which cares about me? You've got family other than Shiro."

Keith stared at him, only to rub the back of his head. "That doesn't mean they care."

Guilt sunk in, realizing setting in as well. "You mean the reason why you and Shiro hung out was because you're family."

"I thought that much was obvious. Living with Shiro wasn't all peachy either, you know. Getting disciplined by him is far from fun, particularly since..." Keith shut up, not saying anything more.

After a few minutes, Lance spoke up. "I'm sorry."

Keith blinked a couple of times. "Whatever for?"

"I didn't know. I didn't know a lot of things about you."

"It doesn't matter."

Two eyes finally opened up, a sickening feeling hitting the pit of his stomach, the memory of thinking Keith was an illusion not settling well. Shiro's eyes darted around, wondering where the red paladin got to, only for his eyes to snap shut, his tongue dry due to not drinking anything. He attempted to move, only for someone to place a hand on his shoulder.

Shiro's dark eyes widened, recognizing the person. "Mrs. Holt..."

"Are you feeling better?"

The black paladin pushed himself up. "I'm sorry." His eyes fell to his lap, realizing that his side was bandaged up. "Not only could I not bring back your husband and son, I believe I've lost your daughter as well."

A smile spread across her face as the woman patted his shoulder. "I trust you'll bring them back."

These words made Shiro feel like breaking into a million pieces. "I don't deserve..."

The young man brushed aside the thoughts of self-persecution. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The scouts for the Earth colony found you three boys out by the lions. The one called Lance ended up knocked out, but Keith," Mrs. Holt took a deep breath. "Your brother's been worried about you, but he's behaved for me. The medical team took you in, cleared your system of some kind of poison, or infection. They're not sure what, or if you'll relapse, so take it easy."

"I..."

"You'll do me no good Takashi Shirogane if you do not take care of yourself." The woman leaned back. "I got special permission to visit you since they've temporarily placed both of the cadets into my guardianship."

Shiro swallowed. "I'm aware Keith washed out of the Garrison Mrs. Holt. You don't need to hide that from me. It's one of the first things he told me."

"Did he tell you why?"

The black paladin took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I want to know. It's not that I feel Keith did anything I would be disappointed in, I just..."

"From what I understand he got kicked for three reasons. One, he skipped classes. Two, he got into fights. Three, he did stupid things with his piloting that put him in danger, which is what I believe you don't want to hear. If it's any consolation, he got into fights whenever someone bad mouthed you, and he did the stupid things he did because he wanted to prove you were a good pilot, not someone who messed up that mission."

Shiro took a deep breath, pushing himself up out of the bed. "Where are they?"

"You should rest. I sent Keith off to rest."

"I..." The black paladin looked at her, before pushing himself up. Somehow he knew where to go, and found Keith bickering with Lance over who knows what. "Guys..."

"Shiro!" Lance's cheerful voice made the black paladin's head hurt.

Keith, however, had a guilty look. Shiro walked over. "I thought Mrs. Holt told you to rest."

"Wait, that's Pidge's mom? How come she's a looker and Pidge isn't?"

The other two paladins let out a groan of annoyance before turning back to each other, only to find their ears grabbed. "Both of you, no, all three of you need to be resting. Then you can leave to go after the others like you want, to do whatever it is you need to do."

"Yeah, but..." Shiro opened his mouth to protest.

"Don't mind me. My husband always did say don't worry about the what ifs, but what great things one can do. Something tells me the three of you, along with the other two are doing something great. This isn't Earth, just a colony, so the commander has agreed to let you guys go, but only when they've determined you're fully rested."

"Yeah, but..." Shiro tried again.

"Look. There has been a message sent back to Earth. Do you two really want to have the chance of the Garrison getting involved? You both know what that means?"

Keith and Shiro looked at each other, and Lance's facial features twisted up.

"Oh, we'll rest up so we can get out of here."

"Definitely."

"Wait! What's going on!"