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As Color Fades Away
Chapter Twenty-Four
Keith and Shiro made excellent timing to the Galra base. They had left unnoticed out of Red's hangar, bypassing the encircled Black, Green and Yellow Lions, and went fullspeed, Keith easily maneuvering them about the floating debris.
It took fifteen minutes. That gave them forty-five more with Red's cloaking, which would be just enough for the return trip assuming they got Lance out in under half an hour.
Pidge had been instructed to stall for as long as possible, both in arriving to the base and during the negotiations. Shiro estimated that if the Red Lion had made it at full speed at fifteen minutes the others would take about twenty-five at max at a steady clip. It was going to be a tight timeline but it was doable.
As they drew closer, it became clear that the entire Galran fleet was not present. It made sense though, given the fact the Hodgkin quadrant was rather hard to navigate and bringing in the hundreds upon hundreds of ships would be a massive undertaking.
That didn't mean there still weren't a lot. Shiro estimated around twenty cruisers and thirty jets.
Plus the base.
It was a giant floating fortress, similar to the one they had rescued Allura from but not quite as large.
So far everything was going in their favor. Shiro hoped it would last.
They landed without incident on one of the smaller loading bays, picking one in which not a single Galra cruiser or soldier was spotted about as Red, as much as she tried, still landed with a resounding metal clank.
They had hoped to be able to land the Red Lion on one of the larger floating debris pieces and then jetpack over, but Pidge had said the cloaking would not cover the flames, which ruined the entire point. She had spent her time instead on making it so the two Paladins would be able to see one another through a specialized frequency to the cloaking, which was much more useful than a few moments of thrusters.
Entering the bay was no trouble either. The code Pidge had uploaded into Shiro's arm opened the door without issue and the Red Lion took that as her cue to leave and hide behind one of the many floating asteroids that surrounded the base and would return once Keith called for her. There was no sense in parking a Lion, even cloaked, on a Galra base where anyone could bump into her.
Shiro was starting to think maybe, just maybe, things were actually going to go their way for once. It seemed about time that the universe gave them a break and Shiro would take any sign he could.
The trouble started though as Keith pulled out the DNA scanner Hunk had programmed. It had synced fine with the control pad by the loading bay door, which Pidge assured them should pull up a basic schematic of the base as the Galrans had not yet seemed to catch onto the fact their base layouts were accessible from every access point. She had gone onto a full rant about their lack of security and how had a race that couldn't even change the rotation of their passcodes have taken over the universe and had only been quieted when Coran had forced a bowl of food goo upon her.
The scanner was designed to show a dot for every instance of Lance's signature and using the map they would navigate the base, find Lance, and then get out of there.
Hunk had cautioned it might pick up a couple other signatures – say Lance's bayard and armor since there was more than likely blood or skin cells on them – but they were anticipating a couple signatures at most. Nothing that two Paladins could not cover in about thirty dobashes.
"Uh, Shiro," Keith muttered. "We've got a problem."
"More than two signatures?" Shiro moving to peer over Keith's shoulder from where he was standing guard by the door that led from the hangar into the base. His eyes widened behind his visor. "That's… not good."
It was definitely more than two. Keith was having trouble counting exactly how many, as a bunch seemed to bleed together – and God was that an awful comparison, he winced – but there were easily thirty.
Thirty signatures of Lance scattered all about the ship. He hated to think of what that meant.
"What do we do?"
Keith was not comforted as Shiro's frown remained.
Twenty-nine flashed in the corner of his visor, the counter Pidge had installed for the cloaking. It had already been a full minute and they had made no progress.
Shiro's eyes narrowed after a few seconds as he traced the dots. "This here," he said, pointing at a long, continuous line, "we can probably ignore. See how it's traversing through the rooms?" Keith nodded. "It's likely a tunnel below them," Shiro continued. "Maybe Lance used it during his escape attempt and he was… bleeding," he winced, "and left it behind."
"Do Galran ships have tunnels?"
"No," Shiro said slowly, realization dawning on his face. "They do have vents though."
They both looked up to the ceiling, as if expecting Lance to come crashing down right then. Metal beams criss-crossing the hangar were the only thing visible here, and well over fifty feet up. If Lance had tried to fall out of a hangar vent he'd have been a splat on the floor.
Shiro shoved away the image.
"We ignore this entire line," Shiro said, tracing the line of red dots. "And we focus on locations that appear to be rooms rather than hallways. Let's go."
They exited the hangar a tick later and into an empty stretch of hallway.
There were no dots even in this section, so they hurried through the corridors, having to backtrack once to dodge a sentry squad that appeared to be doing patrol. Shiro had been firm about engagement; they were only to do so upon escaping. They were not going to alert anyone to their presence or all of this was for nothing.
By the time they reached the first dot location their counter had already dropped three dobashes and had to go through two security doors. Shiro sent a silent prayer to Pidge for her genius in pre-uploading several algorithms to his arm that so far had opened the doors without tripping an alarm. Shiro just hoped if anyone was watching the cameras they didn't give too much thought to a door opening and closing with no one visible.
The door they ended up in front of did not contain any Galran keypad and Shiro doubted that it would be holding a person with so little security, but he was not leaving a stone unturned.
Nor were they going to be reckless. It could very easily look like such for a reason and was a trap. He sent a silent nod to Keith, who drew his sword and shield and he himself activated his prosthetic again, the steady hum comforting even though the purple light, blending with all of the other colors on the base, was not.
Shiro pushed the door open and Keith immediately took a defensive stance for any oncoming attack. But all the door revealed was an apparent storage room and not a single Galran lying in wait. The two exchanged as they cautiously moved inside. Why would Lance's signature be here?
Shiro found the reason a tick later, directing Keith's attention to smears of red across the floor. Bloody footprints, long since dried. But why were they here?
Keith answered that question, pointing out an open vent near the ceiling. More blood at the base of the vent indicated Lance had likely jumped from the vent and then made his way to where the footprints ended.
"His escape attempt," Keith muttered, stomach clenching.
Lance had been so close to one of the loading bays. Just a few hallways away. There were a few shuttles parked there too. If he somehow had a way to open the security doors...
He could have made it. He could have actually escaped.
It made his attempt that much more bitter.
Shiro's helmet ticked down another minute and he turned away from the bloodied footprints, the shreds of cloth that told another story they did not have time for. "Come on," he ordered.
The next dot was not too far away and led them to a somewhat familiar room that contained a chair and recording equipment. Shiro would have slammed the door shut if he could on that horrible sight, but resisted in the name of silence.
Their next mark took nearly three dobashes to reach even with jogging and Shiro's earlier hope was flagging. There were just too many, even discounting the hallways, and they were much too spread out.
They weren't going to be able to reach them all, not in under half an hour.
Shiro gritted his teeth. He was not leaving without Lance.
The newest room had a keypad to enter and Shiro had a second of hope that this was it, that they had finally found Lance. His keypad had let off a quiet beep as he scanned his hand over it and the door hissed open into the ceiling.
The sharp scent of blood and burnt flesh greeted them.
Shiro felt his heart stutter. This was...
This was a torture chamber.
A blood-stained table took up the center of the room, restraints of various sizes attached on its sides. A tray of implements, sporting a dull red coat under the purple light, lined up next to it and a pile of soiled cloth — bandages, Shiro realized, hand-made from the uniforms they'd seen in the supply room — piled on another tray.
His head pulsed.
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the grisly sight.
Cruel laughter. A sharp prick. A hand smoothing back his hair. This hurts me more than it does you whispered into his ear. Pain. Pain pain pain. A flash of searing light, the snip of scissors, a sharp order of keep him awake and then more pain pain pain.
Shiro fell.
His armored knees hit the ground with a sharp clang and it snapped Keith out of his own stupor, horrified eyes fixated on the implements and wondering what they had done, where had they cut, what the fuck had they done to Lance?
"Shiro!" he dropped to his own knees, hand going to press on Shiro's shoulders as Shiro tilted forward.
Shiro didn't seem to be aware of him, his eyes wide open but not seeing, breath coming in harsh pants and misting up the bottom of his visor.
"Shiro, snap out of it," Keith shook his shoulder. Shiro's upper body swayed with the movement and he let out a choking noise but his eyes did not refocus.
Keith cursed. Shiro flinched. Keith cursed again, silently.
What did he do?
He'd never seen Shiro like this, flinching and afraid at the low whimper being drawn from his throat.
This was what Shiro had been trying to protect him from.
Keith scowled. Well fuck that.
Shiro still seemed to be aware of sounds and movements around him, even if he couldn't tell a friendly voice from whatever memory had trapped him. Keith threw his arms about Shiro's middle and squeezed, hugging him as tight as he could through the armored plates.
Shiro shook in his arms.
"You're not there, Shiro," Keith whispered, throat choked with tears. "You're okay. You're... you're safe. You're not there. Please... Please come back." Shiro's heart was still racing, his chest heaving. Keith tightened his hold, pressing his face into the crook between Shiro's shoulder and arm. "Shiro, please. You're okay. It's not real. I'm real. Me. Keith. I'm right here."
Shiro's breath hitched.
Keith had no idea what he was doing. He didn't comfort people. He didn't know how. He didn't know what to say, what to do.
He always made things worse.
But Shiro needed him. And so Keith was going to figure it out.
"That's right. Keith. I'm here. I've got you."
Shiro's shudders slowed.
"That's it Shiro, come on. I'm right here. You're okay. I'm here."
"K-Keith?"
"Right here. I'm right here Shiro."
Shiro let out a shuddering breath and blinked, scene refocusing. Keith was pressed up against him, the only thing holding him up, and was wrapped about him as tight as he could, helmeted head angled against his shoulder.
They were kneeling in a blood-covered laboratory.
Shiro's breath hitched again and his head ached.
"You're okay, you're okay," Keith murmured. "It's over. You're not there anymore."
If he wasn't there anymore then why... why was he here?
Lance.
That's right.
They were rescuing Lance.
And he...
He'd fallen right into a memory.
Pink darkened his cheeks as the barest recollections of desperate pleas coming from Keith and his own moan.
"Hey," Keith's voice was sharper and he'd picked his head up, face mask inches from Shiro's own. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Shiro whispered, swallowing thickly. "Yeah. I... I'm sor—"
"Don't apologize," Keith cut in. "Not for that."
Shiro gave a jerky nod.
Guilt pooled in his stomach still, growing worse as he pulled up the countdown for the cloaking.
Twelve minutes left. He'd wasted almost five.
They needed to get going.
"Where to?" he asked, pulling himself to his feet and then reaching down for Keith's hand, squeezing it tightly as he pulled the smaller boy to his feet. He kept his eyes averted from the table.
"Down a floor," Keith replied. "Stairs are to the west a few halls over."
The next level though proved to be the most hazardous yet. It also let them know they were on the right track.
Galrans patrolled the hall in pairs, a set just about every fifty yards. Sentries squads were patrolling as well, crossing by in teams of six or twelve at the main cross sections.
Shiro nudged Keith and cocked his head towards the scanner. How many? Keith held up two fingers and concentrated only breathing through his nose as a Galran team passed by within three feet of where he and Shiro were crouched.
It was a miracle none of the Galrans had seen the stairwell door open and for the first time Keith was grateful that most Galran doors retracted into the ceiling rather than swinging out.
With no further discussion, the two slipped from their spot and moved as quickly and carefully as they could down the corridor. They ended up turning down two side halls and the Galran patrols seemed thinned here with only one set of officers accompanied by a half dozen sentries. Whether this meant that they'd taken a wrong turn in getting to Lance, or the main hall was more protected than offshoots due to access points, they had no choice but to keep going as they followed the trail of dots.
They both waited crouched outside the door that the scanner had led them to, watching as their cloaking ticked away but unable to enter until the patrols had made it past them. Nearly a whole dobash later they were finally clear and Shiro quickly used his hand, as this door had a keypad, to let them in.
It seemed to be another storage room at first glance and Shiro frowned in confusion. Why would the scanner have led them here?
"Look," Keith whispered, pointing with his still drawn sword across the room. And Shiro saw it immediately. Encased within a clear storage locker was Lance's bayard and what was left of his armor, blood splatter covering both.
"We'll take the bayard," Shiro said after a moment's decision. The armor would be too bulky and likely too damaged to use, but it was dangerous to leave a bayard in Galran hands. And Shiro knew that Lance would be wanting his back. They crossed the room within seconds and a quick armored fist to the case had glass shattering and a blue bayard clutched in Shiro's hands that he dissolved into his own armor pocket in a soft flash of blue light.
A low cough sounded behind them then and both Paladins whirled in surprise, Shiro's arm already glowing and a shield springing to Keith's other hand. A Galran stood behind them, blending in near perfectly with the dim purple lighting next to the door and previously obscured by a set of lockers.
The figure moved off the wall towards them, yellow eyes glowing in the dark room and fangs flashing. "I have been expecting you, Paladins."
xxx
"Steady on Number Two," Coran called quietly over the comms. "Not too much closer or you'll hit the Pink Lion."
Hunk gulped and froze. He couldn't help it though. There were Galra ships everywhere and they were circling about the Lions like a swarm of bees, round and around and around and around and—
"Hunk, close your eyes before you puke," Pidge ordered, voice tight. "I can hear you about to do it."
Hunk did so.
Yellow gave him a mental nudge of comfort.
"Show offs," Pidge muttered, but she was thankful. Every minute the Galra spent in a delay like this the more time Keith and Shiro had to maneuver around the base without the Galra suspecting anything.
She would admit her stomach was doing knots too, but both Allura and Shiro had tasked her with being team leader for this part of the operation and she could not mess this up. Lance was counting on her.
Green flowed across her mind, projecting rapid strings of numbers and equations that all equaled out to a sum of five, Pidge's favorite number. It was her way of comforting her Paladin and Pidge patted a hand on the console. "Thanks, girl."
The Galra were starting to come together now in a stationary ring about the Lions. Hunk was on the far left with the hologramed Pink Lion between him and Pidge and then the Black Lion on Pidge's other side. She felt comforted by the large bulk and quiet power the Black Lion was projecting, even if Shiro was not inside. Shiro had told her Black would follow her lead and Pidge swallowed again.
She had this.
She had to because Lance needed her to.
A ping sounded on her dashboard; a relay transmission that was being sent to the Black Lion.
"Number Five, you're up," Coran said, voice steady. "Mend a leg."
Pidge let out a muffled snort, a smile being pulled to her lips despite the situation. She and Lance liked trying to teach the Alteans Earth phrases (or confusing them with them, it depended on the mood) and Coran adored them. When Lance had casually told Allura over breakfast one day to "break a leg" in regards to her upcoming meeting with a diplomat, Coran had been horrified.
They'd quickly explained it was an Earth version of "good luck" but Coran had not stood for it, and declared that such well wishes should be enacted with the proper positive terms. He has taken to telling them all to "mend a leg" in place of good luck. Just hearing it gave her the breath she needed.
Pidge reached out a hand and accepted it.
"Greetings, Black Paladin," a gravelly voice intoned over the comms, audio only.
Pidge sucked in a breath.
Talk like Shiro. Talk like a leader. Talk like Shiro.
"Bring us to Lance now."
Her voice came through as Shiro's deep chords but her face flushed.
Bring us to Lance now?
That was what she came up with?
"Pidge we're supposed to stall!" Hunk hissed.
"Sorry!" she hissed back. "I panicked!"
There was a chuckle over the line. "So hasty, Paladin. Before we do so I will lay out the rules for this trade."
Pidge let out a silent heave of relief. Good. More time.
"Commence," Pidge decided on, crossing out 'hurry up' and 'get on with it.' She liked this though; it made it sound as though she was the one giving the order and based on the sudden growl the Galran felt the same.
Good.
The Galran proceeded to list off the instructions; they were to fly in formation with the Galra ships — numbering sixteen in total — and any moves to leave the formation outside of slight paths to avoid the debris would result in open firing.
Any sudden movements towards the perimeter would result in open firing.
When they reached the base — approximately a twenty-five minute journey — and made any suspicious movement that would result in open firing.
A lot of things apparently resulted in open firing.
Emperor Zarkon would be waiting for them on a trade platform with their Blue Paladin. Once all parties had spoken the Black Lion would be surrendered to the Galra and the Black Paladin would be allowed to step out of the Lion and retrieve the Blue Paladin in person.
They would then be allowed to send a single Lion down to retrieve both Paladins and they were to leave within the dobash. Any lingering would result in open firing.
It didn't sound like there was a lot of time or room to stall.
Pidge had no choice but to agree though. As the Galrans well knew, they held all the cards.
Or, well, they thought they did.
"Are you finished now?" she asked, a touch of impatience to her tone. If this was real Shiro would be impatient as every minute was another of Lance spent in Galran custody. "We understand your terms, now bring us to the Blue Paladin."
All around them the Galra ships revved up and Pidge activated Green's thrusters, seeing the Black Lion do the same and she hit a few buttons to send such an image to the Pink Lion. If one looked too close they could see the barest hint of transparency in the flames — moving holograms like fire were hard — but Coran had assured her he would be completely fooled.
And despite the fact her retort, frustrated and tired, had been that a lot of things fooled Coran she had held her tongue. Because as goofy as Coran was he always came through, always knew what to say and she was beginning to wonder if a lot of the jokes and mannerisms were not necessarily who Coran entirely was but who he presented to set them at ease.
Like Lance.
"All right Hunk, here we go."
"I'm ready," came Hunk's response, sounding more even than before.
Pidge narrowed her eyes.
It was time to save Lance.
xxx
Shiro and Keith exchanged looks as the Galran approached them, arms spread wide. He did not appear to have any weapons actively on him, save a large rifle strapped across his back, but looks could be deceiving. They still had no idea if the Galran could actually see them or if he'd only learned of their appearance by the door opening and then Shiro breaking the locker.
They could easily take him out if that were the case.
Keith's hand tightened on his sword.
"Lower your weapons," the Galran ordered, yellow eyes narrowing as he gazed in their direction although not directly at them, proving that he could not actually see them.
"Like hell," Keith muttered, low enough that only Shiro could hear it.
Shiro though was frowning in confusion. He recognized this Galran. It was on the tip of his memory.
And although he could not explain it, something was telling him not to disable this enemy.
"Who are you?" Shiro asked instead and he felt Keith's eyes widen.
"Shiro, what the—" Keith hissed and Shiro spoke louder.
"How did you know we would come here?"
Because the Galrans wouldn't know they had a DNA scanner, they would not be expecting Paladins to pop up in a storage room. And if they had been they would have been guarding the front of the door, not hiding someone inside of it.
Something wasn't right.
The Galran chuckled, although it held no mirth. "The Galra Empire is not so foolish as you believe it to be. To leave a Paladin's bayard unattended? It is like drawing napalis to an apon."
Keith cursed under his breath. It didn't take a genius to understand the Galran expression. Reinforcements were probably already en route. They'd have to make a break for it and hope that Lance was in other signature on this floor. "Shiro, we've gotta go."
But Shiro was still standing there, shield undrawn and Keith wondered if he was caught up in some other memory because any other reason was beyond stupid as to why they were still standing here when their cloaking was going to expire soon and they had to find Lance goddamnit.
"Who are you?" Shiro repeated.
Something still was not right. And the fact the Galran had not once gone for his communicator, had not made any signal to other potential hidden parties, further added to it.
"I shall introduce myself if you will grant me the same," the Galran said. "But decide quickly. You do not have much time."
Shiro's frown grew.
That sounded... like a warning, not a threat.
"Turn off your cloaking," Shiro said quietly. Sensing Keith's protest he raised a hand. "We only have a few dobashes left. He already knows we're here. We need to conserve it."
Keith grit his teeth. This was insane.
But...
But he trusted Shiro.
And Shiro was seeing something he was not, could not, as the instincts Keith had come to rely on were screaming danger no matter what path they chose and he could not trust them.
"Only because it's you," Keith muttered.
A tick later both Paladins were visible although Keith did not lower his sword or shield and Shiro kept his arm activated.
"I see the Red and Black Paladins," the Galran said. "How curious that is, that you are here and yet your Lions are being piloted towards our base as we speak."
Keith swallowed. This was it. His hand trembled on a mixture of adrenaline and nerves on his sword. If he lunged fast enough he could take out the Galran before he made such a fact known, exposed the Paladins own attempted trick—
"You know who we are, now identify yourself," Shiro said evenly, breaking into his thoughts with a calmness that Keith was both envying and cursing.
"I am Lieutenant Yanden of the Third Battalion." The Galran offered a short bow and Keith felt his mouth drop.
What?
The Galran was bowing?
"Yanden," Shiro repeated, realization dawning. "You were at the Kri Za Kri."
He had been the sniper, the one who had chosen to showcase his own talent rather than his brutality. Shiro had not thought much on it then, but now, in this moment, it stood out like a sore thumb.
Shiro swallowed thickly, hope blossoming. "Are you with the Blades?" Like Ulaz had been. Did Lance have an ally here too?
"No. I support the Empire."
That was not what Shiro had been expecting and Keith let out a low growl next to him, feet shifting on the floor to a more lunging stance.
"However," Yanden continued, "I am here to assist you in retrieving the Blue Paladin."
And given what had just been said Shiro had not expected that turnaround either, even as he felt something unclench in his stomach.
His misgivings had been correct in all the right ways.
"Why?" suspicion colored Keith's tone and he had yet to lower his weapon whatsoever.
"The Blue Paladin spared my life when it was his to take. I am returning the favor."
"Not good enough," Keith snarled.
By that logic enemies times over owed them their lives, their assistance, and yet none had ever done so before. None would ever have gone against the entire Empire, against their mission if they so believed it, and willingly aided the enemy to return the favor.
Keith refused to believe so easily. Believing in people, in hoping, had gotten him in trouble before. He would not be so easily swayed.
The Galran sighed and suddenly he looked older, tired. "And yet I speak the truth. Your Blue Paladin could have easily killed many Galra, myself included, in his attempted escape, but he did not. That is noble. And admirable. Foolish too, but the Blue Paladin is a child and such naivety is to be expected."
Keith held his tongue at the backwards compliment. He had no quarter in which to be offended on behalf of Lance either; up until recently he too had thought Lance's more innocent, lighthearted manner showcased his naivety too.
He had been very wrong.
Yanden sighed again. "He is a child," he repeated. "I know you may think the Galra ruthless, Paladins, but we do have honor." Keith actively resisted the urge to snort and Shiro tensed up ever so. He had seen none of the so called honor when he had been in the arena.
"And what has happened to your Blue Paladin is not honorable. A child should never have been subjected to a Kri Za Kri no matter the circumstances, no matter his role. But more importantly," his eyes bore into Shiro's, "a child should not be left alone to that witch."
There was such venom in the Galran's tone that Keith felt a shiver down his spine.
"I have seen things I wish I had not born witness to," Yanden said. "They have given me these treasonous ideas, Paladins of Voltron, and yet I cannot look away now. It is my duty as a Galran to uphold our honor even if that means betraying my Emperor."
This Galran was going to commit treason. For Lance.
Shiro was floored and Keith's sword had dipped ever so.
There was a crackle on Yanden's communicator and he held up a clawed hand, listening to some message in the attached earpiece. He looked up at them solemnly when it had finished.
"The other Paladins have just arrived. You are running out of time if you wish to rescue your Blue Paladin. Choose. Will you accept my assistance or not?"
"Is Lance not being traded?" Shiro asked instead.
Yanden shook his head. "That Paladin is a decoy. The witch has your Blue Paladin locked in a cell and plans to keep him for her own. For what purpose I do not know, but..." he trailed off, a pained expression crossing his face. "But it is a fate that none deserve."
"We have to warn the others," Keith said lowly.
"No!" Yanden snarled as Keith reached up towards his helmet to open a channel with Pidge. "You cannot!"
Keith's eyes narrowed. This had been a trap. Yanden had been sent to delay them while—
"The entire base has been put into lockdown mode on outside communications," Yanden said, nearly tripping over his words. "No matter how cloaked your signal it will register. They will know that you are here. We will be overrun and you will be caught."
Keith's hand hovered.
"Where is Lance?" Shiro asked instead. "The real one?"
If the Galran's answer lined up with their scanner they would have their answer.
"On this floor, down two more hallways to the right," Yanden said quickly. "There is no time to delay. Choose now."
Keith held up the scanner to Shiro, pointing at the second dot on the floor.
It matched up the Galran's words.
But something was still off.
"Why the rush?" he asked. "Don't you want the trade to go through? Isn't getting the Black Lion what your emperor," Keith spat the word, "wants? Why help us get Lance and save the Black Lion?"
Next to him Shiro gave a sharp inhale.
But the look of surprise, of having his own trap foiled, was absent from the Galran's face.
"That witch has poisoned our Emperor's mind," he hissed. "To obtain the Black Lion through such deception is not the Galra way. I will not condone it."
Keith let out a huff, a mixture of a laugh and a snort.
No one here liked Haggar. The enemy of my enemy is my friend had never rang truer and the pure hate in which Yanden spoke of her could not be faked.
He gave a nod to Shiro. He would follow his lead, whatever it may be.
Shiro nodded back and turned to Yanden. "Take us to Lance."
xxx
"They're coming out," Hunk muttered over the comms, his voice mimicking what Pidge's stomach was feeling.
This was it.
They'd traveled for nearly twenty-five minutes, which according to Pidge's estimates meant that Shiro and Keith should have had about twenty at this point to navigate the base and find Lance. She had yet to receive any transmission from them though and given their current range to the base they should be able to reach out.
She tried not to think too hard on what the silence meant. She didn't dare reach out on her own either in case it came at a moment where they absolutely could not be distracted. She could never forgive herself if her impatience made further complications. They had around ten minutes worth of cloaking still. They had the scanner. They had to be almost there, they had to be okay.
Lance had to be okay.
Green flashed through scenarios then for her, codes and numbers translating into her friends and plans and she shuddered at the sheer amount of data. Sensing her Paladin's distress, Green rumbled softly and cut off the flow as Pidge massaged her head as best she could with the helmet on.
"Sorry girl," she murmured. "I'm just… I can't think of those outcomes. Not yet."
She instead focused her attention on the line of Galran soldiers exiting onto the platform, lining up in rows across from one another.
And then Zarkon appeared.
Pidge had only ever caught glimpses of him as he went toe-to-toe with the Red Lion during their rescue of Allura. He was just as massive as he had been then and she shook as his yellow gaze swept across the hovering Lions.
She swore he could see her.
But even he had nothing on the cloaked figure that trailed in his footsteps.
Haggar.
That... that bitch.
There was no sign of Lance.
"Greetings, Paladins of Voltron," Zarkon raised his arm, some distorted version of a wave. "Welcome."
"Where's Lance?" Pidge demanded, Shiro's voice echoing across the expanse of space. She resisted the strong urge to add "asshole" but muttered it below her breath on her own comm unit.
Hunk gave a sort of hysterical laugh and she let it bolster her.
"You are quite eager to turn over the Black Lion, Black Paladin," Zarkon said.
"Where. Is. Lance?" Pidge repeated through clenched teeth, ignoring the insinuation. She was going in on this as Shiro, leader, hero and not willing to leave anyone behind. He would not falter in the face of Zarkon's attempted tricks and so neither would she.
"Very well." Zarkon seemed more amused than affronted at her demand. He turned his head slightly towards the door that they had emerged from. "Bring forth the Blue Paladin."
The door opened agonizingly slow.
Pidge felt like she might stop breathing and she heard Hunk's harsh pants on the line.
A hulking Galran stepped out.
They recognized him immediately. It was the battalion commander who had played the role of torturer in the Kri Za Kri. And just like then he was appearing with a length of chain in hand that trailed off into the unknown.
They all knew who was attached to it.
He stepped out of the door, chain trailing behind him. But unlike the Kri Za Kri entrance there was no movement at the end of it.
And that was because the person on the end of it was not pulling back.
"Oh my God," whimpered Hunk as a familiar, beaten, broken body was dragged forward, a sick red smear left in its wake. "Lance..."
Author's Notes:
And our lovely Lieutenant Yanden has made his appearance! Everyone remember him? Say hi, Yanden! I know there were quite a few of you hoping he was going to pop in somewhere and he has indeed. He's highlighted on a point I've seen in several comments; no matter his strength and fortitude, Lance is still a child and even moreso to a race like the Galrans where I picture them having much longer lifespans than the average human. (I would love to know the actual canon ranges of the different species).
Also as some figured, this isn't a walk in the park. Shiros' got some pretty bad memories locked up in there and running through a ship tracking blood is in no way good for your mental health. Just because this is primarily Langst doesn't mean I can't abuse the others. Sorry, sweeties.
So what do we think? Which Lance is real? The one Hunk and Pidge are seeing or is there another one locked away somewhere? How do you think the rescue is going thus far? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Maybe we'll even check in with Lance next chapter, you know, it being his rescue and all :p
Big, big thanks to the lovely reviewers, who are: GryffindorkofOz, lillyroy321, dragoscilvio, Guest, QuestionablyCapableGhoul, Violinworld, Alexa, DoctorMerlinReid, WhiteWolf100101, wingedflower, The-Angst-Chronicles, BlueCookiesforRick, EmeraldFire512, LishaChan, stealingthestars, Guest, KarleighH, Arrowshaft, Jadegem02, Fireflame159, marvel1015, Guest, StrawberryFever3, Wolf of the Demise, vickydd, Cats and violin, Merlin's Knight, cookiebook322, Spacenerd7, faithel the bunny fairy, Oliviadbell, PaintedWings45, SonoSvegliato, Binario, Guest, Sirrius The Moonblade, luminoslight1313, lasagna, FanaticFangirl2602, JustADamFrenchFry and Stargirl720!
I likely won't be able to update this coming Tuesday due to a very full weekend, so look for an update next Friday! But if y'all are super awesome I will certainly try for Tuesday :) See you at the next chapter and please do drop a comment on your way out!