Chapter 18

A Traitor In Our Midst

The good thing about living in metal buildings, as it turned out, was that they conducted sound really, really well. Like right now for instance.

There were footsteps coming through the backdoor, the one that led to the kitchen. They were trying to be quiet, but they still woke Keith easily. When he opened his eyes, Shiro was staring back at him, already wide awake and alert. Their eyes met and Shiro raised a single finger to his lips. Keith let his eyelids droop shut again, one hand snaking underneath his pillow to wrap around the hilt of his knife.

He counted the footsteps as they approached, gauging their distance. Three… two… one…

A hand landed on his shoulder.

With a great burst of speed he sprang upwards, one hand gripping the back of the man's neck tightly and the other burying his knife in his throat up to the hilt. Familiar heat ran over his arms as the man choked and sputtered, making wet sounds as he tried to breathe. Keith pulled out the knife with an unpleasant squelch, and the man slumped to the ground.

The one who'd gone for Shiro wasn't down yet. He'd managed to graze his attackers throat with the razors in his knuckle duster and he was leaking blood on the metal floor, but he was still standing. Keith, coming from behind, ended that pretty quickly.

"Galra." Keith hissed into the night, kicking one of the bodies purple branded hands with bare toes. "How'd they get into the camp?"

"Doesn't matter." Shiro answered, already pulling on his boots. Keith dropped to his cot to copy him. "We need to get everyone awake."

Keith had just finished lacing up his boots when there were more footsteps, this time coming from the living room. These ones were soft and uncoordinated, not trying to be sneaky.

"Guys?" Yawned Lance as he entered the room, rubbing his eyes. "What's going o-" he cut himself off when his toes dipped into warm blood.

"Holy shit." he breathed, sleepiness forgotten as he stared at the two corpses on the floor, face going pale. "Holy shit, what-"

"Lance." Keith grabbed him by the shoulders, disregarding the red handprints he was probably pressing into the other boys shirt. "Galra got into the camp. We have to get everyone awake before more come, you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah I got it." Lance said, nodding frantically. "I got it."

There were more sleepy sounds as the rest of the house began to awaken, and within minutes they were all crouched on the living room floor, dressed and preparing their weapons.

Shiro handed his hunting rifle off to Keith, who pulled his pistol from his waistband and passed it to Pidge.

"Pidge." Shiro began quietly. "You go to the lab first and hold the fort. Matt and I will go to the armory to find more weapons, and then we'll meet you there."

Pidge nodded solemnly. Her grip on the pistol was a little awkward, but there was a determined glint in her eye. Shiro moved on.

"Lance, you get to your sniper nest. Take out anyone who tries to come into the camp."

"Roger that." Lance murmured in reply, flicking his switchblade back and forth between his fingers.

"Keith, Hunk, you two get everyone awake, Allura and Coran first. Kill any Galra you find."

Keith's only response was a slight narrowing of the eyes, but he wasn't the one Shiro was worried about.

"Listen you guys. This is gonna be bad. There's going to be blood. People are going to get hurt, people are going to die. People you know, people you don't. You're going to have to kill people. It sucks and it's traumatizing and it's awful but I need you guys to stay focused, ok? It's them or us."

He got nods all round. Some were shakier than others, but they were with him. It would have to be enough.

"Alright, let's move. Hunk, Keith, you two go out the front. The rest of us will take the back."

The first thing Keith noticed when he and Hunk exited the house was the front gate to the camp standing wide open.

"Wow, they just walked right in." Hunk whispered as they headed towards it.

"Who was supposed to be on watch tonight?" Keith hissed in irritation, glancing around them every other second to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.

"I don't know."

When they got to the gate Keith swung it shut, only to note angrily that whoever had opened it had also taken the chain and padlock they usually put on it at night.

"Someone let them in." he said to Hunk, who bit his lip nervously.

"Who?"

"Dunno. Come on, we need to get Allura and Coran."

As it turned out, the two Galra sent after Keith and Shiro weren't the only two who had made it inside Arus. They ducked from house to house, waking residents and warning them to either hide or prepare to fight based on how prepared they looked. They found Galra in no less than five of the houses. They were able to save some people, but other times they were too late, and the Galra ended up joining already cooling corpses on the floors.

When they made it to Allura's they found her already awake, pulling on her blue coat with a Galra body sprawled at her feet. She'd smashed the man's head in with a crowbar, and Hunk had to look away to keep his composure in the face of the mangled mess. Allura was unfazed.

"Galra." she snarled when Keith began explaining the situation. "In my camp. How dare they."

"Someone opened the gate for them and hid the lock." Keith said, then all of them jumped at the crack of a very loud rifle.

"That's Lance!" said Hunk, more than a little panicky. The rifle cracked again.

"More are coming." Keith adjusted his grip on the hunting rifle, adrenaline starting to make him twitch. "Come on Hunk, we've gotta get out there. The sound will wake up everybody else." He briefly turned back to Allura, like an afterthought. "Do you know where Coran is?"

"I'll get him." Allura answered, picking up the crowbar still sticky with blood. "He and I will join Shiro at the lab and send Pidge and Matt down to meet you."

"No, keep them there. There'll be plenty of defenders down here with the rest of the camp. Oh, and you should probably wake up Shay and get her in the infirmary for when people get hurt."

Allura didn't look too pleased at the prospect of following orders from Keith, but now wasn't exactly the time to argue about it, so she only nodded.

The sound of Lance's rifle was louder outside, and it was coming very quickly now. Keith could see why. There was a whole swarm of Galra headed for the unlocked gate; dozens of dirty, hungry looking men with purple brands. Lance was picking some of them off, but there were too many for him to handle alone.

Some of the other residents had begun piling furniture and scrap in front of the gate, while others hung back, the sound of their own weapons joining Lances as they shot down Galra trying to climb over the fence.

"That's not going to last long." Keith said. Hunk cocked his shotgun.

Keith hung back at first, using Shiro's hunting rifle to take shots at Galra trying to hop the fence. But he wasn't hitting much, so he went closer.

The battle was loud. The rapport of guns barely covered the yells and cries from people on both sides as they got hit. The scent of blood was heavy in the air, coating Keith's tongue and the back of his throat.

There were so many Galra. They just kept coming, eventually getting over the fence. First one or two, then more and more. They threw themselves against the gate until it started to creak inwards. Then it flew open, furniture and scrap being tossed aside as a wave of Galra swept inside.

Keith discarded the rifle and hefted his bat in his hands. The crack of Lance's rifle echoed over his head as he rushed into the fray.

The familiar buzz of adrenaline leaked into his veins, only enhanced by the scent of blood and the reverberations of the strikes running up his arms. The longer it went on, the more men he knocked to the ground, the more skulls he crushed, the more he found himself sinking into his old arena mindset. But this time, unlike all the other times before, he welcomed it.

He had no idea how long he'd been fighting before he finally threw himself to the side, ducking behind a building to catch his breath. He was breathing hard, coated with blood and sweat and dirt. Stitch burned in his side from overexertion, and he was more than sure he had numerous scrapes and cuts he just couldn't feel yet. If it wasn't for his gloves his bat would have long since slipped from his hands.

He slumped against the metal wall, brushing sticky strands of hair out of his eyes. From where he was sitting he could see several bodies, though he couldn't tell which side they belonged to and at this point his brain was a little too hazy to care. Just underneath the echoes of gunshots and screams, there was a soft thrumming.

Red Lion, Red Lion, Red Lion.

Keith shook his head firmly, trying to jostle the voices loose. He had to keep himself focused, get back out there. They couldn't let the Galra get to the vaccine.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up his bat and got to his trembling legs. But he hadn't taken a single step before there was a large shape looming over him. He whirled, bat at the ready, only for it to be blocked with a metal clang. He found himself staring at a familiar face, the man's one arm plated with scrap metal and blocking Keith's strike, a cruel smirk twisting his expression. The name bubbled from his lips with little prompting.

"Sendak."

His smirk widened into an evil grin that made Keith's stomach churn.

"Hello, little birdie. Long time no see."

Keith lifted his weapon, trying to dart around and get a shot at his back, but Sendak was unfairly fast for someone so big and laden down with metal and managed to block again.

"You can do better." Sendak taunted. Keith gritted his teeth and tried again.

This time when wood met steel, the bat splintered apart in Keith's hands.

He didn't flinch. He didn't pause. He let the useless piece of wood fall to the ground and pulled his knife, going for Sendak's throat.

His opponent danced away, ridiculously graceful, easily deflecting Keith's swipes with the metal plating on his arm. Sparks flew in the darkness, adding warmth to the cool light of the moon overhead.

He finally found a gap and managed to land a blow, a thin slice just over Sendak's collar bone. He gasped at the sting and Keith snarled. The grin slid off Sendak's face, replaced with irritation, and he deflected Keith's next attack before slamming his arm into his stomach.

Keith was knocked to the side, breath knocked out of him once by the arm and twice when his back crashed against the side of the building. They were isolated back here. The sounds of the battle around the main gate sounded distant and muffled. Keith was on his own. No one would come along to help him if he couldn't take Sendak down. The thought had him pushing off from the wall with renewed vigor, adrenaline singing in his veins. The thrum was back, louder now as he went for Sendak in a whirl of blades and fists.

Red Lion. Red Lion. Red Lion.

Something burned in his side when he tried to breathe. Probably a cracked rib. He didn't let it slow him down. Sendak was sweating now, hard pressed to keep Keith's wild attacks at bay. He got another cut through, then another, then another. That's when things really started to go downhill.

Sendak swung for him. Keith dodged to the side, but that was exactly what he was planning on. He came back quickly and caught Keith by the throat, his one hand squeezing tightly around his windpipe. Keith sputtered and kicked, but didn't let go of his knife.

Sendak threw him harshly to the ground and Keith felt the rocks scrape his skin through his jacket. His opponent stood over him, glowering menacingly as he brought his arm up.

"Thace isn't here to save you this time." he growled. Keith tensed, preparing to roll out of the way when he brought his arm down, but it never happened.

There was an ear shattering bang, and Sendak froze above him, jaw going slack. Something warm and wet splattered over Keith's face, the coppery tang in the air telling him exactly what it was. Sendak stood for a moment longer, intestines dripping to the ground from the massive hole in his gut. Then his body collapsed, slumping to the side and clanging into the building on its way down. Behind him stood Hunk, pale with a tight jaw, shotgun at the ready.

"Hunk." Keith choked out, throat still raw. "Holy shit-"

The larger boy rushed forward, extending a trembling hand for Keith to take.

"Keith, man, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Keith responded automatically, only to wince and clutch at his side once he was upright again.

"You're hurt. You've gotta go see Shay."

"It's not that bad, just a few cracked ribs-"

Hunk wrapped a large hand around his arm and began dragging him away from Sendak's body, not taking no for an answer. Left with no other options, Keith went, spitting gore out of his mouth as they went.

He eyed the battlefield as Hunk hustled him past it. The Galra were gaining ground due to their sheer numbers; they never seemed to stop.

"How are there so many of them?" Keith murmured to himself, astonished and a little scared. Hunk didn't answer, just tightened his grip and pulled Keith along a little faster.

It was much quieter back in the concrete building, though the gunshots still echoed through the structure, especially Lance's rifle directly above their heads. The hall to the infirmary was lined with injured defenders, all people Keith and Hunk recognized from their time in Arus. There was Lyla, bandages plastered across her cheekbone, and next to her was Florona with a gunshot wound in her right shoulder. Shay was rushing in and out of the small room, clearly overwhelmed with so many people to take care of. Some of the people were slumped up against the wall, far too still. Keith tried not to look at them.

Hunk flagged her down, and she rushed to them, mouth set in a firm line. There was no warmth in her gaze now, only focus.

"What's wrong?"

"Cracked ribs." Keith answered before Hunk could. Shay twisted her mouth unhappily.

"Go lay on one of the cots, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Keith brushed Hunk's hand off of his arm.

"Get back out there and help the others, I'll be fine."

Hunk's brown eyes were worried, but he obeyed.

Keith found himself in the room, laying on bloodstained sheets while he waited for Shay to return. His eyes felt heavy and the burning was only getting worse as the adrenaline leaked out of his system. He just wanted to sleep. He was about to do just that when a loud sound echoed down the corridor, twin bangs, as though someone had thrown the doors open. He tried to push himself upright, only to flop back down on the cot when his ribs shrieked at him.

For a moment everything seemed fine. Then someone in the hallway gasped and there was an even louder bang. This time Keith succeeded in sitting up, heart beating a million miles per second as he recognized the sound as a gunshot.

Shit. Shit they got through, they-

The hall outside the infirmary exploded into screams and more gunshots. He couldn't tell if there was a struggle or who was dying, there was just so much noise and he couldn't think. So he let instinct take over, rolling himself off the cot and scrambling to crouch behind the door. Despite the pain he kept his knife ready, poised to strike whoever came through the door.

There were more gunshots and screams. Then just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Heavy silence draped over him, interrupted only by the sound of several pairs of footsteps against the worn linoleum, heading for the room he was hidden in. He held his breath.

Three figures entered the room, one large frame flanked by two smaller ones. The two at either side were armed and were presumably the ones doing all of the shooting. Keith tightened his grip on his knife, took a breath to quiet the throb of pain in his side, and leapt out to strike.

They'd been expecting that. The figure he leapt for twisted easily out of his grasp, keeping hold of one of his wrists and using his own momentum to slam him up against the wall. Keith let out a hoarse shout at the impact against his broken bones, and the person holding him twisted him around to face them.

Keith found himself staring at Rolo.

His face immediately split into a snarl, but Rolo twisted his wrist until he was forced to drop his knife.

"Traitor." he hissed, anger nearly blinding him.

I knew I couldn't trust him.

"Yeah." Rolo said, expression unchanging and eyes dead. "I am."

The larger person stepped closer to them, and Keith's stomach plummeted through the floor. He'd only seen him once, right before all of the bullshit with Lotor, but he still remembered that cold glint in the eyes. It was colder than any razor.

Zarkon.

"You recognize me." Zarkon said. It was a simple statement, but his voice full of dominance and power and cruelty still sent shivers down Keith's spine. Rolo felt it and his eyes almost softened, but Keith bared his teeth and thrashed against him.

"And I recognize you, Red Lion."

The name sent something akin to electricity zipping through his limbs, and he fought so hard the other figure had to come help Rolo keep him pinned. It was Nyma.

"I've heard so much about you and your role in helping Allura engineer her vaccine." Zarkon's face finally shifted from its neutral expression, only to transform into a terrifying evil grin. "Let's go pay her a visit, shall we?"

Before Keith could do anything about it Zarkon had him by the back of his neck, yanking him from the wall and shoving him towards the door. Keith stumbled and tried to plant his feet, but he really didn't have any other choice. Zarkon's hand was huge and tough and undeniably strong. Just a little squeeze and a flick of his wrist and he could snap Keith's neck.

The hallway was nothing less than a bloodbath. Keith was used to blood and death, but he still felt his stomach churning at what he saw. There was Lyla, and there was Florona, their corpses slackly slumped against each other. His searching eyes found Shay sprawled underneath another body and his heart leapt into his throat- until he saw the ever so slight movement of her chest. She was playing dead. She was ok.

Zarkon pushed him towards the stairs as though he knew exactly how to get to Allura's lab.

He probably does, Keith thought bitterly, glaring at Nyma. Her face was stony and unchanging. He moved his gaze to Rolo, and he at least had the decency to look ashamed.

As soon as they got within sight of the lab doors, Keith started yelling.

"Shiro!" he screamed. "Lock the doors! Lock-"

Zarkon's other hand came up to squeeze around his throat, instantly cutting off his words and his air. Then he was shouldering through the unlocked lab doors, Keith forced in front and the traitors following behind.

Thanks to Keiths shouting, the others weren't completely unprepared. They were all on their feet when Zarkon entered, weapons ready and aimed at their new visitor. Matt, Pidge, Allura, and even Coran all had guns of various sizes. Shiro was the only one who didn't, but he still pushed his way to the front when he saw his brother.

"Keith-"

Zarkon squeezed tighter, forcing a choked sound out of Keith's throat. Shiro stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hello, Champion." Zarkon said, voice even and cool. He finally eased the pressure on Keith's windpipe, and air rushed into his lungs, making the room spin around him.

"Zarkon." Shiro and Allura said the name at the same time, and Keith felt the chuckle rumble in Zarkon's chest.

"Yes, that's right. Now tell your friends to lower their weapons, or the Red Lion dies."

Keith made desperate eyes at Shiro, willing them not to do it, but slowly all of their guns began to dip. Except for Pidge.

She stood off to the left, Keith's pistol still raised high. Her eyes glimmered.

"You too, Shortstack." Rolo said, voice quiet and sad. Pidge didn't move.

"No." she growled low in her throat. "You let him go."

Zarkon was unmoved. He simply turned to Nyma, who raised her own gun to her shoulder. Pidge still didn't budge.

There was a bang, a scream, and Pidge went down.

"Katie!" Matt threw himself to the floor beside his sister, letting his gun skitter away across the floor. Keith surged against Zarkon's grasp only to be yanked back with great prejudice. But she wasn't dead. She was on the floor, groaning in pain and clutching her arm. Nyma had just grazed her. Nyma hadn't killed Pidge.

Allura was glaring at her adversary with frosty eyes. She didn't bother asking what he wanted, she knew.

"Here's how this is going to go." Zarkon snarled. "You are going to turn over all of your vaccine supply as well as any notes you have. I will leave here with them and-" he squeezed Keith's throat, "With the Red Lion."

"Why?" asked Allura, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Why him?"

Keith didn't have to be looking at him to know he was grinning again as he pulled Keith back against him. Keith struggled, stomped on his foot, but he didn't care.

"He needs to be punished for killing my second in command."

"No." Shiro choked out, his fist clenching and unclenching at his side. "No, you can't take Keith."

"It's either that, or we take it by force and everyone in this camp dies. Your choice."

Allura took a step forward, chin held high. She was going to accept Zarkon's offer, and Keith was alright with that.

Don't let everyone die because of me.

"Allura!" Shiro grabbed onto her wrist and she whirled with a glare. Shiro looked desperate. "Allura, no, please, you can't, he's my brother-"

"It's the only way, Shiro." she responded, pulling her arm from his grasp. Matt looked up from where he'd been wrapping Pidge's arm with her scarf, alarm written all over his face.

"You can't let him have the vaccine!" he exclaimed, eyes wide and scared. Allura turned away from him resolutely.

Zarkon chuckled.

"Allura!" That was Pidge's voice, but Allura still didn't turn. She had ice in her gaze, and it took Keith a moment to recognize that her arm was moving. It took him another moment to realize she still had her gun in her hand.

She only got off a shot, just a single shot, but that was all she needed. Her aim was unwavering. For the second time that night Keith felt warm blood drip over him, and then he was being crushed to the floor under Zarkon's dead weight, fireworks exploding behind his eyelids when his ribs crashed into the tile and compressed under the weight of the corpse.

He couldn't see from where he was, but he heard more gunshots above his head and a thump as someone else hit the floor. He didn't see who it was, but he heard the anguished cry of a name.

"Nyma!"

The weight above him lifted. Someone rolled Zarkon off of him, and then he was being crushed again, this time into Shiro's chest.

"Ow, Shiro, ow, my ribs-"

Shiro released him from the embrace but kept his hand firmly on his shoulder. He was shaking. But Keith wasn't looking at him.

Rolo had dropped his weapon and was on his knees on the floor, cradling Nyma in his lap. Her stomach was a bloody mess, and tears leaked out of her eyes as she whimpered in pain.

"Nyma, baby, can you hear me?" Rolo was asking frantically as her hands grasped at his shirt. Her jaw was starting to go slack, eyelids closing. "Baby, no, baby, please, please don't do this to me, please baby please-"

He kept talking, pushing her hair off of her face and cupping her cheeks in his palms and trying to stop the bleeding. But Nyma was gone.

"Who shot her?" Keith found himself asking, voice seemingly far away.

"Coran." Shiro answered in a thick voice. "She tried to shoot Allura."

Keith remembered with a gasp and a jolt that made his ribs pang.

"Pidge!"

"I'm ok." Pidge croaked from her corner, propped up against Matt's chest. "I'm good. 'Tis but a flesh wound."

Keith could've choked on his relief, but at that moment the doors just behind him slammed open, and two shapes nearly tripped over him and Shiro and the body.

"Guys, they're retreating!" said Lance's voice, wobbly from adrenaline and relief. "They're leaving, they-"

He was cut off by Hunk's terrified exclamation.

"What happened?!"