Work Text
“Lance, come in! I need back up. Stop messing around!” Keith said while fighting some Galra ships.Pidge scoffs when she hears no reply from the Blue Paladin “Typical when we need you; you are nowhere to be found.” Pidge says while laughing angrily. “Come on, Lance quit joking around and make yourself useful.”“Buddy! You know I love you, but quit messing around! We have a fight to win. Not everything is about you bud, so stop been angry at us for not helping you earlier.” Hunk said sounding desperate and thinking why the hell Lance always acts like this.They were supposed to go to this Alien Planet called HXZ-21T7 of the Dalterion Belt that was sending a distress signal. Little they know was that before they were able to form Voltron, the team was split because the Galra where waiting on them. It was a trap, and the planet didn’t even need help and where working with the Galra and as always Lance was nowhere to be seen.“Goddamit Lance, where the fuck are you! I need some back up here. I can’t believe you, Lance!” Now Pidge was getting angry at him. He was on her last warning.“Pidge, language!” Shiro scolded her but was more angry at Lance that at her ”Lance, get your Lion here now. There is no time for you to mess around. Are you even listening to me! Lance!” Shiro was not meant to be in this kind of stress or situation, but Lance was getting on his last nerves. Why can his team member do as he says? He just had enough of it.Silence Static Silence Nothing, not even a word.“Is he that stupid that doesn’t know his comm is off or is this some kind of a joke to him! I can’t believe that Blue chose him as a Paladin!” Keith cut into the conversation. Typical Lance, always a joke to him, no wonder why he was not involved anymore in the decision-making. He was just a walking joke and a disaster waiting to happen.The team just had enough of his game. Ever since the last couple of missions, Lance was getting sloppy and restless, he was just dead weight. He could not even gave a reasonable decision when it was needed. He was just joking around like it was nothing, but it was getting on everyone's nerves, so they decided to omit him from the plans and call him when necessary. Just that one failed, yet again.Allura cut in when she heard the commotion between the Paladins, and she did not sound pleased “Where is Lance? Where is the Blue Lion? What is happening?””Well he is totally ignoring us, he even turns off the comm. I’m going to bet he got distracted by a pretty lady and is on the planet surface as we speak.” Pidge said laughing at Lance antics.“Calm down guys, as Pidge said, he probably just got distracted by something. Just leave him, I’m sure he’s just looking for attention. Come on guys we have the fight to win” Hunk said comfortingly.“Why don’t he ever listen to us” Shiro shouted, “We could already defeat them with Voltron.””If we lose this, it's your fault, Lance, so just show yourself already” Allura angrily reminded him ——————— When Allura mention that there was a distress signal coming from one of the planets in the Dalterion Balt, Lance just got this bad feeling about it. He was always in the library studying the stars and the maps because the team decided that he was not as important to be in the meetings of importance. He decided to brush it off, and it's not as if the team knew of his condition. A couple of movements back, he was cleaning the healing pods with Coran and accidentally got stuck, again, in one of the healing pods. It was only for a few ticks, not even Coran notice, but when he got out, he got some unnerving results. He has a tumor in his brain and says that it is growing very fast. So that why he spends his days in the library. And what he learned from the Dalterion Belt was not good, but the team decided to ignore him once again.When they got there, and before they could form Voltron, they were surrounded by Galra ships where their huge cannon shots been fired in their direction and had to slip up and Lance was left alone with 6 Galra ships surrounding him.“Guys, I need some back up here” Lance said“We are kind of busy here, Lance, can’t you see we are in a fight” Pidge retorted sarcastically and annoyed.“Guys, I’m surrounded. Can someone help me? Hunk, buddy?” He kind of now sounded a little desperate“Sorry, I’m busy here. Pidge come help me with this, can you!” Hunk answers and now he notices that he can’t see any of the other Lions“On my way, Hunk. Watch out on your left-” said Pidge”Thanks, Pidge” Hunk said with a happy ton.“So they help each other but leave me here to fend for myself” Lance mumbles under his breath“What was that, Lance? Couldn’t hear you?” Hunk asked.“I said I got this, don’t worry about me” Lance concurred that he was not getting any backup, so he decided to try and defend his little space. After a couple of hit and missed, he successfully defeated the six ships and was ready to join the rest of the team “Okay, guys I got them all-” As soon as those words left his mouth, one ship that appeared out of nowhere shot his cannon blast and hit the Blue Lion straight in the back and everything went black.Next thing he remembers, his teammates are yelling at him, but everything sounded distorted. When his vision clears out a bit, he could see the castle in the distance. It was so small, when did he start drifting into space. He could see that one of Blue’s legs was floating around them but still connected from the internal cables. The worst part was when he decided to look down and saw the huge gash across his belly and pretty sure those were his intestines sliding down his legs. It seems awful.His helmet was severely damaged, and he felt another gash going down from his temple diagonally to his nose. So that’s why he could not open his left eye. It was not looking good for Lance, and he tried to speak, but the words were not being produced. He probably damage his vocal cords, too.He was crying at this point, and his teammates have not been helpful. They were not saying nice things about him, and he could not even respond to them. The worst one so far was the words that left Hunk’s mouth ”Calm down guys, as Pidge said, he probably just got distracted by something. Just leave him, I’m sure he’s just looking for attention. Come on guys we have the fight to win.”
And that was the new breaking point. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks, he was also cold, and everything hurt, but little did he know was that words hurt more than his wounds. ——————— “Guys, I don’t like this” Keith finally talked after arriving at the castle. They won the battle without being able to form Voltron because of Lance, and they just got back to the castle and on their way to the lounge. Lance was still missing in action “Allura can you pinpoint the location of the Blue Lion, he usually the first one to come back to the castle after a battle is done” It was the first time none of them got hurt or poorly injured during a battle.“What can he be up to this time?” Allura sounded annoyed and sighed “Fine, let's go take a look, shall we”They all left the lounge and made their way to the bridge. While on the way, Pidge and Hunk were snickering about how Lance was totally getting punished and already making beats on the excuses he’ll give to them.Once on the bridge, the princess began to walk to the podium and open his connection to the Lions “Well he is not on the planet as you can see but over here. That doesn’t make any sense. Why is he all the way there? There is absolutely nothing and why are the Lions whimpering. I’m going to try to open back the communications” Allura said and noticed the communications were open all along. “Come in, Lance. What are you doing there? Get back here now!” Allura started talking angrily again and added: “And don’t ignore us; we know you were hearing us all along.” ——————— He was listening to Allura, and she sounded so pissed, but the words were not there, and the pain was starting to fade away. He was trying to open a video channel but it the button was too far, and the only thing he had been half of his helmet (now there are going to be pissed more for breaking it) and Blue was not responding. It was like she was fading away, or was it him that was drifting. He was going to try to throw his helmet, but it was a long shot. If he missed, he was doomed. So 50/50 chance so he throws it and BINGO it hit the button. Now all he can do was wait for them to respond and saved. He started drifting into nothingness, but faintly in the background he heard yelling again followed by screams until it went dark. ——————— “He is not answering, maybe take two of the Lions and get him back here; we need to have a serious discussion with him!” Before anyone could respond, the sound of an incoming call sounded behind them. “Finally! Lance what is the meaning of-” Allura trailed off as soon as she set eyes of the Blue Paladin. There was blood everywhere, and his face was disfigured, left eye missing and pretty sure those where his organs were poking out of him.Everyone had a paled expression upon seeing their teammate. Pidge began to scream and cry, and Hunk bolted out of the bridge with Shiro and Keith to go to their Lions and retrieve Lance, Coran left with tears running to the med bay to prepare a portable healing pod for when they came back.“Oh my god, t-that’s wh-wh-why he was not answering. Oh my god! L-Lance!” Pidge was on full crying mode on the floor of the bridge and Allura was in a similar state as her“A-All of th-those bad th-things w-we-we said a-a-about hi-him, oh god, I’m sorry Lance, please stay with us!” Allura said while taking Pidge to the hangers to wait on Lance.Not even ten dobashes later and the Blue Lion was delivered to her hanger. She was not looking good. Shiro and Coran where the ones to enter the Blue Lion to retrieve Lance and few ticks passed, and Lance was out of the Lion. It was even worse in person. Shiro was carrying his intestines and trying to put the back once Lance was in the transport pod. Everyone was silent, not. A single dry eye, even Keith was crying, until Coran spoke.“Lance here suffer a pretty bad blow. From the damages done to the Lion, I can say confidently that a cannon blast hit him. He has a collapsed lung, the visible gashes in his belly and face. The eye is damaged, and I don’t know if it’s going to have any sight after this, his vocal cords are completely damage, but this will be repaired with on problem, he has a crushed femur and a broken arm. Now this is strange, Lance has something in his brain that is foreign to us, but it looks like a mass and says it’s a Glioblastoma multiform-“ Coran was interrupted by Pidge at the name of that tumor.“Lance has brain cancer, how did we not notice this! It makes sense now, all the mistakes, his personality changes... how did we not know this?” Pidge was now crying even harder.“Well I don’t know if this mass can be removed, but it has to be after the healing of his physical wounds. So let's take him to the med bay, Shiro, Hunk, and Keith, help me with this please?” No one knew how Coran was this calm during this situation, but they all follow his orders.Once in the med bay and with Lance secured in the healing pod it's when they all became to decompress.“He tried to get help, but we just brushed him off, what kind of teammates are we. We were so cruel to him, he probably heard everything we said about him, and he could not even say a word back to us. So much for been defenders of the universe when we can’t even protect one of us.” Hunk said, and he was the most crushed because of what he said. For god sakes, he was his best friend, and he didn’t even help him.“He even told us that he didn’t have a good feeling about this planet, said that he read that the Galra controlled this planet and we didn’t give him a chance to explain. What have we done” Shiro was supposed to be their leader, the one to watch over all of them and he failed miserably?“I don’t think he’ll ever forgive us because of this. We have given him the cold shoulder for weeks. So much for being a team.” Keith said sadly “I even question Blue’s ability for choosing him as a Paladin.”“Guys, I just found something” Coran said while looking at the history of Lance times in the healing pods “So a couple of movements back, Lance was put in a healing pod but only lasted 5 ticks, so it could be an accident, but that’s when he found out of the mass in his brain. Says that he was researching ways to remove it and found none, but not to worry in his library log he found a way to do it, he needs someone to do it. Has Lance tried to talk to any of you, maybe sounded desperate when asking for help?”“Well, yeah he came to us a couple of movements ago when we were in the lounge discussing the next battle plan, but he didn’t say anything,” Shiro said while looking for answers in the fellow Paladins and it was Pidge the one who spoke“That’s because we cut him off as soon as he entered the door. He asked what we where doing but no one answer and then he said if he could talk to us, but we said we didn’t have time for his jokes and asked him to leave” she said while sobbing more at the realization that Lance wanted to tell them about his condition, but they just brushed them off.“Coran, how long is he going to be in there?” Hunk asked to try to change the conversation to what matters at this moment, what's in the past is in the history and they are a horrible team for what they had done.“It’s hard to say, the damages where very extensive and he lost a lot of blood. I may say no less than one movements” One week without Lance, one week for them to think about what they had done and thinks of a way to make it up to Lance.“Okay, everyone please go and change, Coran bring the cots out... we are all sleeping here, and we are going to talk about what have we done. We need to be strong for Lance, and we are going to be here for when he wakes up” Allura said, and everyone nodded and left the med bay to change and prepare for the week ahead.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Warmth, that was the first thing he felt. It was so warm. Why is it so warm in here. It feels like early morning at the beach when the sun just came out, and it starts to warm the world, it also felt like a mothers hug and fresh bake oven cookies. He could even hear the ocean and how the waves crash with the sand, also some kids playing nearby him- Wait that’s weird, why did he hear this? He knows these voices; he can’t remember who it was. It doesn’t sound like any of his teammates, and there are no other people with those voices in the ship. Unless was he back home? This sounded like he was back home, back in Cuba, again with his- Maybe it is time to open my eyes.
As Lance opened his eyes, he got to the conclusion that yes he indeed was at the beach, but not any beach. He was back home sitting under a palm tree in Varadero Beach, Cuba. Why was he here? When did he come back here? Was he dead? Is this real? He could hear the voices more clearly now, and everything looked so peaceful, so surreal. Maybe it was-
”Uncle Lance!” said two voices right by his side, and when Lance follows his sight to where they were, he comes face to face with Nadia and Silvio. How could he forget how they sound? Has it been so long since he heard them? “Why are you sitting here all alone?” Nadia says with a head tilt “Everyone is waiting for you, we are sitting over there. Come!”
As Lance begins to stand up, he starts to think when did he ever came back to Earth and how does he not have any recollection of anything. The last thing he remembers, he was piloting Blue and fighting some Galra that were attacking the castle, and he remembers been shot and blood and pain, hurtful words. When Lance looks down to his body, there is no wound, no blood and feels light. He looks up just in time to see his family all gather together close to the water.
“Look who we found, is Uncle Lance.” Silvio shouted, and all the heads turned in his direction
“Finally, Lance, what took you so long. We were calling you. Why were you not responding?” Veronica was the first person to talk, but she sounded different.
“I beat he got here late because he was flirting his those hot babes in the back there” Luis said in a mocking voice, kind of like Pidge said back in the fight
“Hush, stop making fun of your brother. Come, Lance, let's have a chat” This time it was his mother who spoke, she was smiling and opened her arms asking silently for him to come close to hug her.
“Mom, I miss you so much.”
“I miss you too, mi hijo. We all miss you so much, but you can’t stay here. You do not belong here. You need to wake up, hijo.”
“B-But, I want to stay here with you guys. I want to come home” Lance didn’t understand why he could not stay. He didn’t want to go back; he didn’t want to go back to been reprimanded and ignored by his teammates; he didn’t want to hear more hurtful word directed towards him. The only person who treated him the same and always said the kindest words were Coran, but he couldn’t see his teammates, he didn’t know if he could forgive them
“Pfft Lance, why can’t you ever listen-” Rachael started saying, she sounded like Shiro
“Rachael, stop teasing your brother” her mother scolded her before she could say anything more.”Hijo, you have to go back, this is not your place, this is not your time to go. You have the chance to start again, and complete the mission and save countless people. It‘ll not be a peaceful journey and the team at first will be broken. But you have to go, no matter how much it hurts, we will be waiting for you, in the real Earth. Just live; wake up.”
“Mom-” Lance could not finish his sentence. It was cold now and dark. He felt pain, but it was more like muscle soreness. His head hurt like hell, and his throat felt dry and tight. The coldness was soon replaced by warmth, and he felt someone against him. It was difficult to open his eyes, and his ears felt like there was cotton in them.
“-ance, can you-” That voice, it sounded familiar. Was this another dream, but why did felt pain. Dreams were painless
“-uddy, are you wit-” Another voice, think it is Hunk speaking. If this was a dream, it was not going to be a pleasant one.
———————
Eight quintants passed, today was the day Lance was getting out of the pod. It was a hard movement; they talked, they cried a lot more, they sleep all movement in the med bay for when there was something wrong with Lance. As the days passed, there were complications in Lance condition, like high fever, one time there was blood coming out of his nose, another quintant his heart stopped for a whole dobosh, and more tears were spilled, another quintant his body just started convulsing, but that the first four quintants. After that everything went fine, but only for good measure, they stayed alert.“Any tick guys. He should be waking up soon” Coran announced with a happy tone. After announcing this, everyone was already standing near the pod waiting for that hiss. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting“Uhhh Coran, how many ticks you-” and as Hunk started to speak, the pod made the hissing sound and the invisible barrier open. Shiro was the one to catch Lance and the first to speak“Lance, can you hear us? How are you feeling?” Shiro voice trembled but no answer came from the boy in his arms“Buddy, are you with us? Coran, what is happening? What is wrong!” Hunk sounded desperate. He just wanted his best bud back. He just wanted to hug him and tell him how sorry he was.“Well the chart says he is fine, the damage to his vocal cords was repaired, and his eye should be heal also, and there was no damage to his-” Coran was rambling but was interrupted by a voice that he taught he was never going to hear again“I-I’m tired” Lance first words, his voice sounded raw, and it hurt to talk “N-Need w-w-water.”“Oh Lance, thank god you are all right. We were so worried” Allura sighed and you could see the tension in everyone's shoulders drop after those few words. Everyone was happy to have Lance back; Pidge was crying and laughing, Hunk was crying, Keith was smiling with unshed tears in his eyes, Shiro was just relieved with the biggest smile he could give.“Okay, boy let's get you some food and water. Come on everyone, lets head to the dining room. Lance do you need help walking or are you okay?” Coran was just happy to see the boy back. He was like a son to him; he was always there when Coran just wanted to talk, and Lance just was fascinated with the stories he told about Altea and really about anything. He was just glad he alive and breathing.“Can you take me, Coran? I still feel a little out of balanced” Lance didn’t want Shiro to be the one to carry him.“As you wish, my boy” As soon as Lance was in Coran’s hand, the group left the med bay and headed to the dining room. The walk there was silent, only the sound of the castle engines and their feet hitting the ground were heard. After arriving in the dining room, Hunk bolted to the kitchen to get Lance something to drink and eat, Coran placed Lance in the seat at the head of the table and the rest of the group situated themselves in the other empty chairs. “Okay my boy, I’m going to help Hunk in the kitchen, be right back.”“Thanks, Coran” Lance answer, voice still raw. Coran nodded his way and bolted to the kitchen. After a couple of dobashes, the kitchen door open to a Hunk and Coran with tray table containing food and drinks for Lance. The team observes as Lance sat there looking at his food before picking up the spork and eating some. Allura was the first one to break the silence“Lance, we just wanted to say that we are sorry for what happen to you. We are deeply ashamed of the way we treated you. We want to know if you are feeling all right, does anything hurt? How do you feel?” She spoke calmly and when Lance looked at everyone they where all were nodding as a response to what she said.“I’m fine” Lance said coldly, and at his tone, everyone winced internally“Are you sure? Do you have any headaches, any muscles pain, any-” Pidge added just in case Lance wanted to change his answer “You know you could tell us if you feel anything and we are truly, deeply sorry.”“I’m fine; you guys don’t need to worry about me” Now Lance was getting a little pissed at them. Now they were worried about him, after movements ignoring him and giving him the cold shoulder. He knows that it is not the best way to face a situation, but he couldn’t take their pity now. You see, Lance tends to be a very passive person; anger was not something he liked or ever showed. He could not control it, and that was not a good thing — there where two events where it got the best of him, and he didn’t like any situation. The first one was when a friend was talking trash about his sister to his face, calling her bad names and just joking. Everyone started laughing and the next thing he knows, he is holding a book in his hands, and the guy is on the floor with a bloody nose. The next one was a fight with his sister that got out off-hand quickly. Since that day he promised that he would never get angry again. Guess he just broke that promise.“Lance, we know about the tumor in your brain. We know that you are not okay” Pidge added to the conversation. She still couldn’t say the words without crying a bit.“Guys, I’m fine. Just drop it.” Lance just wanted to eat in peace without all the question and false worries his teammates were giving him, he just had enough. They were getting on his last never, and if they ask one more time if he is fine, he is just going to blow up. He hopes no one would get in his way to try to calm him or it will get ugly.“You are not fine, Lance. We just want to help” Hunk pleaded with an unshed tear that threatens to escape his eyes. “It breaks our heart to see you like this, to see you-”“Nooo! No, stop! Enough! Stop crying, stop apologizing, stop everything! You don’t have the right to be sorry, and you don’t have the right to cry! I heard everything you guys said about me; I HEARD EVERY WORD! You guys hurt me, your own teammate, your friend. I don’t think I could ever forgive you guys for what you did! You left me all alone, unprotected. I had six ships firing at me, SIX FUCKING SHIPS! I thought we were a team. I thought you guys were supposed to have my back.” Lance was crying at this point, and this was the first time he got angry in front of his team, well can he still called them that. Maybe not Coran. Coran was always there for him. “The only person I could trust now is Coran, so just stop talking, stop!”“Lance we hear you, but please for the sake of Voltron-“ Allura started, but quickly Lance interrupted at the words that were falling from her mouth“Of course that’s all you care about. Voltron! What about me, eh? WHAT ABOUT ME? I almost die, Blue almost died! You think we can form Voltron after what they did to her! You think she will forgive you after you left us all alone! You know what I’m done, I need a break. Please, leave” Lance was tried, he just wanted to be home, be with his mother, he just needed one of his hugs.“Lance, please listen to us-” Shiro tried intervening in the conversation but to no avail“Can’t you guys follow a simple request. LEAVE!”“Okay guys, let’s just take a moment. Leave, I’ll take care of him, and we can talk maybe another time” Coran, who was standing behind Lance, stated and moved to guide everyone out of the room. Coran sighed “Lance, boy, are you alright?”“No, everything is not alright. They hurt me, Coran. You must have heard everything they said, it hurt so bad, and I was not able to respond to them. What kind of teammates say that kind of stuff to another. Why does it hurt so much?” Lance said does last words and broke down crying, head against the table with his forearms cross in front of his forehead. In a tick, Coran was there, by his side, with a hand on his back rubbing circles in a comforting way. They stayed like that for a couple of ticks until Lance straightened up and gave Coran a full sideways hug.“Oh Lance, I’m sorry this happen to you. If I could go back in time and fix everything, you know, I would, but that’s not the case. You just need to be strong, and maybe with time, I’m not saying that you have to, but maybe with time, you will learn to forgive them. They know they are wrong; know they hurt you. Just stay strong for me, okay boy?” Coran was the calmest member of the team. He always knew what to say and when to say it.“I know Coran, but I can’t. I can’t” Could he forgive his team for this. Maybe he could forgive but never forget. The trust was gone, people who he admired with all his heart, where now strangers. Could he trust them again with his life, with his heart, with his soul?“It okay boy, just take your time” Coran didn’t know what to do. He just hopes that hearts can be mended with time and trust regain. He just needed to be there for Lance and the rest of the team. It’s just going to be a long journey ahead...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It’s been five quintants since Lance woke up from the healing pod, five quintants were the team had been trying to talk to him but to no avail. Lance was mad at them, but more than that, he was disappointed. He used to look up to them, Shiro was his idol, the man he wanted to become when he grows up. Pidge was a genius, and she was only 15 years, she was the smartest person he'd known, and in his book that was to be on the top list of people he admires. Hunk has been his best friend for longer than he can remember, he loves that big guy. Keith, well apart from the fake rivalry that they have, he admires the dedication and the effort that he gives to every situation. Allura was to applaud for her bravery and for the connection she has with people. He respects all of them for their unique qualities, but can he be able to forgive them for this. Can they be ready to go back to the way they were before all this? Lance can’t seem to get the words they said to him out of his mind. When he wakes up, when he takes a bath, when he eats, when he sleeps, the words are there. He can’t seem to forget them. They said that they didn’t mean the words, but he knows that’s not the case.———————Yesterquintant Coran asked Lance to meet him in the library to continue his research for the procedure that needs to be done to remove the tumor in his brain. There was one book that contained all the necessary information to see iI this method is safe, but the translator in the book was broken, and he didn’t understand the language it was written on. Coran was more than delighted to help him with this task.As he made his way out of his room to his destination, as the door starts to open, Hunk was waiting for him on the hallway.“Hey, Lance, how are you today?” Hunk was nervous; he didn’t know where they stand on their friendship. He wanted his best friend back.“Fine” Lance answer coldly, and he hated it with all his heart. This was
Hunk, sweet, huggable, nicest guy he’d known, but the things he said. “I can’t talk right now Hunk.”“I know *sigh* just wanted to let you now that I’m sorry for the things I said, and I’m humiliated for the way I treated you, and to ask you if it’s okay if Pidge and I can help Blue in her repairs?” Hunk calmly spoke“Well, it’s not up to me, you have to ask her, but sure go ahead” Lance replied with an expressionless face and started walking away from Hunk.“Lance wait-” Hunk began to say but was interrupted.“Hunk, please not now. I don’t like to feel this way, but I need more time. Please give me this time.”“Okay, Lance. I’ll give you time. I love you, buddy, never forget that.” Hunk voiced tremble as he spoke this words and turned around to seek Blue’s permission for the repair, but stop when he heard the next words and a smile spread on his face and tears began to trail down his cheeks.“I love you too, bud,” Lance replied and continue on his journey to the library. He did love his best friend, he’ll always be his best friend, and it broke his heart that he could not trust him right away. Lance was emotionally hurt, and some say that to heal a person emotionally is to forget the past, accept what had happened and to give or accept forgiveness. He already accepted what had happened, and he cried every night because of it, but the other two things, it was a little harder than he taught.When he entered the library, Coran was standing looking through some books. “Don’t tell me you started without me?” Lance said to Coran as he turned around at the sound of the door opening.“Ah Lance, there you are, and no, I haven’t started. I was looking at some old books that I used to read. Ah, how I loved to read” Coran stated reminiscing.“What did you like to read?” Lance asked“Ah, just a little bit of everything. So, let’s get started. Do you remember the location of the book?,” Coran said as he started walking to the stalks of the books they have “Is it located under the medical or the science section?”“Um, It was under the medical section, and the subsection experiments and procedures,” he started walking to place holder where the books are located “Ah found it.”“Okay, good. First, we need to find more information about this mass you have in your brain. What are the symptoms, signs, if there are any side effects or other conditions that can result as a consequence to this one, but don’t worry, everything will be alright.” Coran said while picking up the book. They stayed in the library all morning reading about everything they had under Earth tumor classifications. Coran translated the book and explained that the procedure needs to be added to the healing pod system and that is going to take an approximate of one movement to take effect, as for the process itself takes six vargas to complete. Check-up after it is not necessary, but it can be performed.“Thanks, Coran, so in eight quintants I’ll be cured. That’s a relief,” Lance sighed as they finished up in the library “I have a question not related to this.”“Ask away my boy.”“When can I begin training again? I need to be strong and up to date with everyone else for when we go back to saving the universe.”“Oh, well whenever you want. You can start today, but the day of the procedure you can’t be physically exhausted, or there will be complications. Let’s say the day before don’t do any physical activity, okay?” Coran explained“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Thanks again, Coran.” Lance said with a smile on his face.“Any time, Lance. Well, I see you around, I’m going to get started with this,” he said as he started walking to the door of the library. Lance was left alone to think about every bit of information that Coran gave him. He taught that this was going to be harder than it was.———————Hunk entered the hangar where Blue lived. The majestic creature was laying on her side, and you could see where the cannon blast hit her. It was a miracle that both of them were alive; those blasts were too powerful.In the corner of the room, Pidge sat with the plans King Alfor used when he built the Lions. It was going to be a hard task, but there is no task that they can’t achieve.“Pidge, so I talk to Lance, well not really talk, but yeah, he told me that we can do it, but is up to Blue if she accepts the help. We have to ask her. Any ideas as to how?” Hunk commented on the brief conversation he had with Lance.“Wait, he talked to you, as in said words to you?” Pidge was ecstatic to hear this.“Yeah, we shared some words. He told me that we needed to give him time to process all of this. It’s progress compare to the other encounters we had these past few days.” He replied “So how are we going to communicate with her? Does it say anything on these plans?”“Well, no, but I thought maybe we could rig one of the mind-melding crowns and connect it with her server and see if we get a response.” Pidge was mumbling the idea as she taught of a way to do this. It was a great idea.“I like how you think, Pidge. Let’s lets do it.” They spend the rest of the morning working on this and trying but failing on each attempt. Every time they connected to the Lion, she would shut down, like if she was angry also.“Blue, please let us help you. We want to do this, not for the sake of Voltron and the universe; but because of Lance. I want to see him smile when he comes down here to see you, he will be so happy, so please, let us in,” Hunk was rambling now, but Blue seem to be fixed in the idea of refusing their help “Please Blue.”It hurts. Finally after attempt number 36 she answered.“Blue, tell me where it hurts?”
Everywhere
“Okay, Blue. Will fix you up, and you’ll be good as new. As we do this, is there anything you want us to add? You know like Green and her cloaking shield.” Pidge mentioned to her
Just fix, like cub
“Okay, Blue we’ll fix you.” Hunk said. They started the repairs as soon as they got her okay. As per the plans, it says that there was a room close to the hangers that contained all the types of equipment necessary in case one of the Lions suffers any injuries.
Fix leg, Back I can
“You can fix the burn by yourself,” Pidge asked confused when she heard the voice of Blue.
Yes, all can. Leg complicated
“Amazing, you all are amazing” Hunk complimented her. Blue purr inside their heads to the kind words they said about her.
Tell cub too
“Of course we will, he is amazing. We are ashamed for our behavior towards him, and I hope he can forgive us.” Hunk praised his best friend and received another purr.
Give time
“We will give him all the time he needs. Now let’s make you beautiful again” It was going to be hard work, but they would do anything for Lance and Blue.———————For the past few days, Shiro and Keith put all their pet up energy into training. Neither wanted to talk about what happened with Lance, and it was eating them up. Keith was no good with emotions and was not good with confrontations, that’s why when Lance burst up in anger, he didn’t know how to handle the situation.Shiro, on the other hand, detested not been able to help his teammate and it was killing him. He tried to talk to him since the incident but to no avail, and when he heard him talking with Hunk in the hallway earlier that morning, he almost lost it.“So, I heard this morning a brief conversation between Lance and Hunk,” Shiro informed to Keith who was staring at him with wide eyes.“Really? That’s progress, right?” Keith asked“Maybe progress to Hunk and Pidge, they are fixing Blue for him, well trying to at least.” Shiro state with a sad voice.“Good for them, I guess.” As soon as those words left his mouth, the door for the training deck open and Lance walked into the room, only to pause when he saw them inside.“Oh, sorry didn’t know you where here, I’ll leave you to it.” As Lance started walking back to the door, he stops once Shiro spoke to him.“Lance, it’s okay. Are you going to train? Did Coran give you the go?” Shiro was concerned for Lance health because for the accident he lost a lot of blood.“Yes,” Lance replied.“Oh, okay. Do you want to train with us?” Shiro asked hoping for a yes.“Um, sure why not,” Lance replied at the offer and went to the changing rooms to get into uniform. When he was out of earshot, Keith and Shiro looked at each other baffled at the answer they received. It was an improvement, and they were not going to overthink it.Lance return to the training grounds not looking at them and got into position. They started the training sequence and stayed in the training room for three vargas. Lance has never trained like this before, and every emotion and energy was put towards defeating the bots. Who knew that emotions could affect your hand in training.As the last simulation ended, Lance left the training deck without another word.“That was something else, Lance was pretty good in training, so focused,” Shiro commented on the performance Lance gave “According to the readings, he killed more bots than the both of us.”“That’s good right, for him?” Keith was impressed with the dedication and the performance that Lance showed.“Really good.” Shiro retorted. They left the training deck also and headed to the showers. Shiro was just happy that he could interact once more with Lance, even if there was no conversation.———————That night, as everyone settled in the dining room to eat dinner, Lance took his plate and decided to eat in Blue’s hanger so he could talk to her. He has not seen her since the incident, but she is always there with him when he has a nightmare or when everything is too much for him.When he entered the hanger, he received a wave of emotions directed at him, not only from Blue but from the others as well. This was the first time this has happened to him, and he wanted to ask so many questions“Blue, how are they communicating with me?”
My bond
“Woah, that’s incredible,” Lance was amazed at the abilities the Lions have, and he was excited to see what other things they could do. “How are you feeling, Blue?”
Tired, hurt. You here, good for me. Happy you here.
“I’m happy I am here too. I miss you, Blue; I miss flying with you” Lance whisper to her once he was near her muzzle and she purrs in his head, and all of the Lions decided to purr in his head to comfort him.
Hunk Pidge fixing me
“Well, that’s good news” Lance was happy that she was getting fixed.
Eat cub
“Okay, Blue. You rest and get better for me, okay. I love you” Lance told her as he sat near her to finish eating
Love you too
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Lance roamed the halls of the castle looking for his friends. He hasn’t seen them since earlier that morning, and he was getting worried, thinking that they went on a mission and left him alone. He searched the hangers, the training deck, the lounge, but no one was in sight. He looked for Hunk in the kitchen, for Pidge in her room, looked for the others in the bridge, but nothing.
“Where are you guys?” Lance whispered to himself while walking down one of the hallways. His feet came to a stop when he heard the voice of Shiro in one of the rooms down the hall. He started walking towards the door, but before opening, he heard Shiro talking about a mission. He decided to listen from the outside, thinking why was he not informed about this.
“So this mission requires stealth. We need to go in, find the information on the Galra shipments and get out. No engagement, get in and get out quickly. Pidge, you will hack their systems and get the information we need, and if you can, get more. Hunk, you will go with her and keep her safe. Keith and I will keep an eye on the perimeter and communicated with you if we see something out of the ordinary,” Lance kept listening from behind the door, as he heard they were planning a mission and didn’t even bother to include Lance in it. “Oh as for Lance,” at the mention of his name, he perked up and heard the others groan at the mention of his name, he just wanted to heard his involvement on this mission, he was excited to hear it, but what came next, broke his heart “We will send him to the far side of the planet on a false errand, tell him there is a distress signal that needs to be ‘find out’ what is wrong. If he comes with us, he’ll end up running everything or hold us back”. Shiro finished, and Lance was left with unshed tears, but he could not let his team see him weak, he needed to get in there and be a part of this.
“Yeah, he’ll probably set some alarms up, and we’ll end up getting hurt,” Pidge said while laughing and the others joined her.
Lance couldn’t take any more of this, so he decided to go in “He guys, here you are. How’s it going?” Lance asked looking as if he had not heard their entire conversation.
“Lance not now, we are planning a critical mission” Allura scold him.
“Oh, what is it? and was I ever getting involved in the planning?” Lance asked to see if what he heard was just his mind playing tricks on him.
“We just started, so shut up and pay attention” Keith answer angrily and everyone scoffed at Lance.
“Sorry,” Lance said and began to listen to what Shiro was going to say.
“Lance, we were saying before you rudely interrupted us,” Ouch, that one kind of hurt. “That we received a distress signal in this part of the planet,” Shiro pointed to an area, at the far side of a Galra command base. “Your job is to go there and find out what is going on, while we check the abandon Galra base to seek any information that we might find. Is that understood.” Shiro finished informing Lance.
It was true that his teammates didn’t want Lance to be a part of the mission, but he couldn’t say no to Shiro or call out his lie. He would probably get scolded or call him a liar. So he accepted his role in this. “Okay, cool. When is this mission taking place?” Lance asked, and he felt his throat getting tight, but he couldn’t seem weak in front of the others. He just had to wait till he's in his room.
Pidge rolled her eyes at Lance. “Tomorrow morning, so don’t be late and don’t mess up.”
“Now that we all have our mission, you are all dismissed.” At that, everyone left there room, without a single word given at Lance direction. As soon as the door closed, Lance let himself break.
———————Lance wakes up tired and numb. Last night dream was a hard one, and he remembers when that encounter happens, roughly one phoeb ago. He recalled that when the others left for their mission, Lance decided to stay back and train. Is not as if they would know that he was not there. Instead, he went to Coran and helped him clean the healing pods. That was the day he found out about the tumor.Lance looked at the clock, and it was still earlier in the morning, he still had a few vargas before they had to meet for breakfast, so he decided to close his eyes to get more sleep. He couldn’t be exhausted for the procedure later that day. Coran let him now that the download went quicker than expected and that he didn’t have to wait for eight quintants to get it and he gave his okay to have it done in the afternoon the next day. He closed his eyes and began drifting away in sleep.———————
When the team came back from the mission, Lance told a lie that the distress signal was from an old bot that was in the ruins of the perished city. Shiro congratulated him on a successful mission, and everyone parted ways.
Later that afternoon, he roamed the castle halls too, yet again, find his friend so he could tell him about what he found out that morning. He stumbles back into the hallway that he heard them the last time, and they were all there. He opened the door, and as soon as he opened his mouth he was shut up by Pidge
“Lance we don’t have time for whatever you just came here to say” Pidge rolled her eyes while scolding at his friend.
Lanced recoiled at the toned she was using and decided to blame all of their moods on the war. Everyone was stressed out, and Lance was their outlet.
“Sorry, but what I have to say is important, if you would just listen-” Lance started to explain but was cut off by Hunk this time.
“Lance, we don’t have time for your jokes, if you want to be here, stay quiet and listen to what we found in the base, if that is not the case, leave.” Hunk words were the ones that hurt the most because they were best friends, and he hated that with time, they had drifted away from each other.
Lance didn’t want to be in a room full of people that despised him, so he turns on his heels and walks away. As soon as the door closed he heard Allura said, “I thought he was never going to leave.”
Tears began rolling down his cheeks as he makes way to his new favorite part of the ship; they only place he found peace and refuge form his teammates, the library. He spends hours in there, scanning, reading, and translating every book and documents he saw on his tumor, on how to remove it and any information at all. He knew that, if he were back on Earth, this surgery was a risky one, but with the technology that the ship has, he found the strength to keep looking.
Hours passed, and Coran came through the door looking for him. “Lance, there you are my boy, dinner is ready, and we are waiting for you. Are you coming?” Coran asked with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, now that I think about it, I’m starving.” He set the book he was reading down and headed with Coran towards the dining room. When he entered, he could feel the tension and the glares directed towards him.
“Finally, took you pretty time, Lance. What couldn’t stay away from your reflection?” Pidge, as always, rolled her eyes at him. He noticed that she did that a lot, the rolling eyes. When had she started doing that? And when did she get started getting annoyed at everything he did?.
“I was actually in the lib-” He couldn’t finish his thought because he was rudely interrupted by Keith.
“I don’t care what you been up too. Sit so we could all eat, or are you going to let us starve!” Keith said sending daggers toward his way.
Lance look towards Coran, and the older guy just shrugged, and both decided to sit, and Lance decided not to say anything more.
————————Lance woke up to a knock on his door; it was Coran asking him if he was up and that breakfast would be ready in a couple of dobashes. Lance still feel tired and numb, but he let the older man know that he would be there soon. He got up and got ready for the day.In the dining room, the others were talking about the events of the day before.“So you three interacted with Lance, and he did not yell or got angry at any of you?,” Allura asked incredulously at the news she was receiving, and the others nodded their response. “That is certainly good news.”“Yeah, he even said that he loved me, but asked us for a little more time.” Hunk was smiling at the moment.They were interrupted when the door opens revealing Lance, and at his appearance, everyone dropped their smiles. He looks tired and emotionless like he didn’t sleep at all that night.“Lance, are you feeling alright? You look tired.” Allura asked concerned for his friend, thinking that he was ill or that the tumor was beginning to affect the paladin.“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Lance replied coldly, and the team recoiled at his response.“Lance, are you alright? I taught we bonded yesterday.” Hunk asked taken aback by Lance’s reaction“Yeah, I’m fine. Just dreamt of something that happens a while back, oh you all must remember. You were all there,” Lance said sarcastically and looked at the others with a smile on his face. “Do you remember a while back, let's say maybe a phoeb ago. You were all in your secret room talking about a mission, about an ‘abandoned Galra base’ and a ‘distress signal’ in the far end of the planet,” Lance air quoted some of the words and he could see the team holding there breath, like they knew what Lance was going to say. “Yeah, well, as a matter of fact, I heard everything you guys said, everything before I entered the room and how you were going to send me on a false errand, so I stayed out of your ways.”The team went all quiet and had the decency of looking guilty when they all look so set on leaving Lance out of it. “Oh guys, don’t feel bad now, after all, the mission was a success, right. Oh and Shiro, I never went to where the signal was emitted, I lied about it, but thanks to you guys I found out about the tumor. Speaking of the tumor, Coran at what time do you need me at the med bay?” Lance turned his gaze to Coran who was standing to the side, listening to what he had to say.“Well, um, in about three vargas, give or take,” Coran responded.“Cool, well I’m going to go. Coran, if you need me, I’ll be in Blue’s hanger eating.” And Lance took his food and left the dining room.Everyone was silent; nobody dared to say a word. Hunk was crying again; Pidge had her head down against the table, Shiro and Keith looked baffled.After a few dobashes, Hunk was the only one that dared to speak. “I taught we bonded.”———————“And where did you heard such a thing,” A commander of the Galra empire said to his lieutenant.“Commander Valkir said that that’s why they retreat for the fight on planet HXZ-21T7. The Blue Lion was severely damaged in the fight and Voltron hasn’t been seen since that day. We might say that the Lion was beyond repairs and that Voltron is no more.” The lieutenant replied.“Now that’s is great news. Do you have the whereabouts of the Castle of Lions? We are going after them and taking the rest of the Lions. Zarkon will be most pleased.”After checking their scanner for a couple of tics, the lieutenant responded. “They seem to be roaming outside of the Dalterion Belt on a planet called Urzilax.”“Good, let’s head to their location. Where to attack at full force” the commander said to his subjects“Yes, commander.”———————As Lance entered the hangar, he was overwhelmed with comfort purrs from all of the Lions. He loved this new feeling and the ability to feel all of them giving him love and comfort, but only Blue talk to him.
Hurt cub, what’s wrong
Lance walks up to her and puts his forehead against the cold metal of her jaw “I had a bad dream slash memory, and it was too much. Kind of burst out to the team” Lance felt terrible for the way he talked to the others. Yeah, he was still mad at them, but the way he acted, it looks and sounded a lot like how they treated him.
Need to forgive, need to heal
“Yeah, I know Blue. I’ll apologize after the procedure and try and talk to them, maybe listen as to what they have to say for the way they acted,” Lance replied with new determination “Blue you always know how to make me happy again, thank you.”
Always here for cub, love you cub
“I love you too, Blue.” Lance stayed there in her hanger until Coran came to him saying that it was time.Coran called everyone to the med bay as he finished the final touches in the program. As Lance was getting changed into the healing pod suit, Coran explained the procedure to the rest of the team.“Everything should go smoothly, and because your tumor is that big or has not affected any other areas, you should be ready in about two to three vargas. As for the rest of you, your job is to make sure that nothing disturbs the process. So be in your best behavior and prepare yourself to go out there if any Galra finds us here. Even a disturbance in the ship can cause Lance body to react, and he needs to be in total peace for it to work.” As Coran finished explaining the process, he received nods from the team as their response. “Good. Now Lance, are you ready?”“So ready,” he began walking to the pod, and before Coran could turn it on, Lance continued talking. “And guys,” everyone looks up at Lance. “We’ll talk when I get out, and please keep me alive.” Lance smiled and gave Coran the okay to start.After two vargas in the pod, Coran announced that Lance was to be out any tick. The group waited patiently by the pod, so they would be there to catch him as he got out. Tics passed, and finally, the pod opened, and Lance fell out, but before any of them could say anything, the castle alarms went off, and the castle took a hit.”Everyone to their Lions, Coran take care of Lance.” Allura was the one to take action first.”Yes, princess” Coran answered and watched as the others exit the med bay.”Coran, what happened?” Lance asked”You got lucky, young man. After you exit the pod, the castle alarms went off, but don’t worry the others will take care of this. You rest.” Coran responded.”No, I have to get out there; I need to help them.” Lance got out of Coran’s gripped and ran towards the hangers to get to Blue. Sure she wasn’t in tiptoe conditions, but the team needed them to fight against whoever was out there.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 5What was he thinking! Why did he tell Coran that he wanted to join the fight outside? Why did he think that he was ready to face that again, after everything that happened last time? He didn’t want to be in the way and get yelled at again; he didn’t want to be in that position ever still. If he went out there, he was going to be in their way and may cost them more than the win, and Blue was in no condition to fly anywhere, she was not ready to go out there either. When Lance got to the hanger, and saw and felt what Blue was feeling, he just stood there in front of her. Blue was scared, not only for her safety but for her paladins' sake too. She never wanted to see her cub like that again.
Cub, don’t
“It’s okay, Blue. I’m not going out there. It’s too much right now.” Lance said, was he ever going to be ready to go out there? Was he ever going to heal all the wounds that no one could see? Was he ever going to be mentally stable again to fight and save the universe?
Don’t sad. Happy cub.
“I’m scared, Blue. I don’t know if I’ll be ready anytime soon. I know that the universe needs Voltron to fight, and I want to be your pilot again, but what if I’m never ready to face that again.” Self-doubt, Lance always doubted his ability to overcome any circumstance. It was something that he hated about himself.
Cub special, don’t doubt you
“Thanks, Blue.” Lance decided to stay with Blue, neither were in conditions to fight, and he wanted to keep her safe the same way she wanted to keep him safe. He fell asleep with the sound of Blue purring in his mind.———————
Lance was sitting in a couch reading one of the many books he found research and information about his condition. He has grown to like this place; it was quiet and peaceful, and his teammates rarely went into the library, and when he got bored reading about what could kill him, if not treated, he spent hours learning and memorizing the constellations, planets, everything. He loved space and learning about all the possibilities out there and new cultures.
As Lance read more and more, he got frustrated because this was not helping him find anything useful. He stood up and went to the hologram to keep his search on the unknown universe. The last meeting they had, they were talking about a distress signal that the castle received from one of the planets in the Dalterion Belt, planet HXZ-21T7. Maybe he could prepare himself with history on the planet and its surroundings, and maybe his teammate would see his value in the team, perhaps they'll stop mistreating him.
”Search Planet HXZ-21T7 of the Dalterion Belt”
“Searching... Planet HXZ-21T7 of the Dalterion Belt. Located at the center of the Belt. Planet population: 79,678. Language: Warblestonian. Species: Warblestong. Would you wish to learn more about the planet?”
“Yes, download all information to my reading tablet.”
“Download initiated. Countdown two vargas.” Two vargas, well he could use some time to get bathed and eat something. It’s been five vargas since breakfast, and he was sure everyone else already ate.
Exiting the library, Lance headed in the direction of the kitchen. After a couple of seconds walking, he heard rumblings and voices from the training room.
”Keith you take its right side, Pidge attack it from the back, Hunk you take the left side. I’ll distract him from the front.” That was Shiro’s voice, are they training without him? No, they wouldn't go that low, right?
”Got it,” the other said at the same time.
Lance entered the training deck, and he concurs that the team is indeed training without him. He stands by the door, with an open mouth and teary eyes, thinking why the team doesn't want Lance joining them. First the mission, and now this. What else has he missed? He just stands there and watches as the ’team’ defeated the gladiator.
”Good job, team. Now that’s what I call teamwork.” Shiro said to the team, and they all smile at him, at his praise, but Lance knew that this was not teamwork. ”Now hit the showers, Coran said that lunch would be served in thirty dobashes.”
Shiro received nods from all, and they made their way to exit the training room, and nobody noticed Lance standing in the corner.
“Men, that was awesome, it would’ve taken more time if Lance was in there. Glad we didn't tell him.” Pidge said laughing
”Haha, yeah or one of us would have ended up in the med bay with injuries.” Hunk also laughed, and the others laughed with him.
”Paladins, that was some of the best works you have done to date. Congratulations.” Allura caught up to them. ”It was good that Lance was not here. Although I feel bad for him, he clearly needs the training and discipline you all have.”
”Whatever we don't need him here, he’ll just hold us back on our training,” Keith added. That was the last thing Lance heard before the voices disappeared down the hall. Did they always talk about Lance behind his back? And why does it hurt to listen to all of the things said?
Lance forced his feet to start walking and made his way to the kitchen. Once there, he saw Coran cooking something, one of the weird altean dishes.
”Lance, lunch is ready. Would you like a plate?” Coran was always happy. He liked him; he was like a weird space uncle.
”Sure. Do you mind if I take this to the library while I read a book I found?” Lance said while scratching the back of his head. His tone sounded deflated, and tears were threatening to scape.
”That’s no problem, boy, ” Coran set a plate apart for Lance, and began serving the meal, and gave it to him. ”There you go.”
”Thanks, I'll see you for dinner.”
”Enjoy,” Coran said with a smile. The first smile directed at him on this day.
As Lance settles back into the comfort of the library, he begins to let it all out, all the frustration, all the anger, the heartache he feels, and thinks about when it all went wrong. When have his teammates felt as if Lance was not part of them? When did they start to hate him, despise him, to think he is a nuisance? Was it because he jokes a lot to try an lighten the mood? Was it because they began to tire of him, and decided that he was not worth it? Or was it because he was useless? He has no real talent like the others; he is just a boy from Cuba, that dreamt of flying to the stars and learn from them. See, Shiro was born a natural leader, Pidge and Hunk where the smartest of them all, Keith was born to fight, and Allura was born to rule over kingdoms and bring peace over the universe. Yeah, Lance was a great shot, good with his gun, and a good pilot, but what else does he have to offer. Maybe his kind heart, but it seems the team decided to stomp all over it and leave it there to die.
Lance thoughts were interrupted by a beeping sound coming from his tablet.
“Download completed. Would you wish to read or to listen?”
Lance really didn’t want to read; he was mentally exhausted. “Listen.” Lance sat down and took the first bite of the now cold food. It was better than he imagines, he’ll have to thank Coran later for this.
“Planet HXZ-21T7 of the Dalterion Belt. Home planet to the Warblestong created over 2.7 billion years ago due to the explosion of a collapsing star. The sky has a yellow color, and there is no recollection of data stating there is any water on this planet. Species survive on meat-based diet and acidic liquids,” No water, no oceans; he already hated this planet. Since the team said that next day they were to wormhole to said planet, he had a bad feeling about it but said nothing to avoid any snarky responses. “The Warblestong tend to live underground, and their main trade work is quintessence,” Wait! Wasn’t that what Zarkon and the Galra are after, besides the destruction of Voltron and conquering worlds. “Over the last two thousand years, the Warblestong have reached an accord with the Galra Empire and have lived, since then, under their rule. Both species currently habituate the planet. Their main objective is gaining power and the destruction of Voltron. Warblestong species is extremely dangerous, approach with caution,” Well this is not good, not good at all. Lance has to tell his teammates; this could all be a trap. “The planet atmosphere is dangerous to the following species: Balmerans, Olkarians, Bi-Boh, Xeriost, Thrysten, Taujeerans, Merfolks, Alteans, and Humans. Warblestong is a predatory species. Would you like to listen to the history of the language and the culture?”
“No. Please print the information you said to me.” Lace rushed to the printing device, grabbed the paper, and left running to find the others. He sprinted to the dining area, and as soon as he enters the room, he could feel the tension directed towards him.
“What now, Lance. We are eating, can’t you see! This is more important than what you have to say.” Pidge said with a snark.
“Sorry, don’t get too defensive” Lance muttered under his breath and thanks Alfor no one caught it. “Sorry, I know you are all busy, but this is an emergency. I began doing research-” Lance began but was interrupted by Keith.
“Ughh, we don’t have time for your stupid games, Lance. Can you let us eat in peace for once.”
“This is important; it’s about the planet we are going tomorrow. If you read this-” Yet again, Lance was interrupted
“Lance, we already know all about that planet. And it’s nothing wrong, really. So if you leave, we can continue eating in peace and keep talking about real things.” Allura stated.
“But there is something wrong, where did you get the information that it was okay?”
“Well of you were listening when the distress signal was received, you would have listen about how they told us that the planet is overrun by the Galra and they need our help to free them. The planet itself is in pretty good conditions for us to go in, save them, and be home by dinner time.” Hunk added.
“Well I was never invited to listen to the signal,” Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “ But you have to listen to me-”
“Lance, that’s enough! If you are too scared to come with us tomorrow, you can stay, and Allura can take your place.” Shiro yelled.
‘Cub, not happening. Only you’ Lance felt awful at the words that left Shiro’s mouth and decided to drop the conversation, maybe talk some sense before the mission tomorrow.
“You can’t do that; Blue choose me. She told me she would not let Allura pilot her” Lance said with distress in his tone.
“Don’t be silly; the Lions can’t really talk or say anything. The only way is through the mind-melt helmets.” Allura replied laughingly.
“Well then. It's settled, tomorrow we’ll free the people of this planet, and you will join us, Lance.” Shiro said and went to take a bit of his food. “Great, now my food is cold. Thanks, Lance.”
“I’m just going to say one more thing, and I’ll leave. Keep your eyes open tomorrow; I got a feeling that this is not what you are all expecting.” Lance said and rushed out of the dining area, but not without listening to one last word for Pidge.
“What a wuss, Allura I wish you were the one to join us tomorrow.”
———————Lance woke up startled by the sound of the other Lions landing on the near hangers. He felt Blue worried about him, and he too felt the other Lions asking what was wrong with him. ”Blue, can you open up. I don't think I can see them right now.”
Yes, cub.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Lance spent the last few hours inside Blue’s cockpit. He just sat in her chair and cried his eyes out. His throat felt raw, his eyes stung, and his heart hurt like hell. Every few hours, someone will come and knock on the barrier or asked Blue to bring it down, but Lance told not to let anyone inside. He was not ready to face them; he couldn’t face them. He already knows what he has to do, what he is going to say. The last person who entered the hanger was Coran, and he knew that this was going to be harder than it was going to be.
“Lance, my boy. Please open up. Talk to me, don’t let everything bottled up. I’m here for you, always. Please, let me in, son.” Coran always spoked with a kind voice.
Cub, what do?
“Let him in Blue, I think is think I talk to him, but only him,” Lance replied, and tried to clean himself a bit.As soon as Lance gave the word, Blue lower the shield for Coran to enter, dropped her muzzle so he could come in, and then locked them both inside. Shield back up again.“Lance, are you alright. You’ve been here for the last five vargas. Do you want to talk about it.” Coran said while putting a hand on Lance back and rubbing circles in a comforting manner. “I can’t do this anymore Coran. Every time I close my eyes to sleep, I see every moment they were mean to me. Every event that leads to this. I can’t stay here and see their faces, I want to go home, and I want to forget this ever happen. I’m tired of this, and I can’t live like this anymore.”“Oh, Lance. I’m so sorry this happened to you. You have every right to feel what you are feeling, but so that you know, you are not useless. You are the bravest, the most kind, the one that always tries to lighten the mood and help everyone when they are down. You are my favorite paladin, and Blue made the right decision when she chose you, and we are so lucky to have you, but if you wish to go back home, I’ll grant that for you. If you wish to forget, I can erase your memories. It’s your choice, Lance, but have this in mind; she chose you because she saw the potential you could achieve. Don’t let them win; give them hell for what they did.”“Oh, Coran. No, as much as I would like that, I’m not doing it. This is my responsibility, and I will not let them bully me into leaving but thank you for your kind words and for been there for me. I really appreciated.”“I’ll do anything for you, my boy” Coran embraced Lance in a hug and stayed by his side for a couple of ticks until he calmed down a bit. “Don’t let them hurt you again, and I’m sorry I didn’t do something sooner.”“Coran, it’s not your fault and neither mine,” Lance said while wiping his eyes and cheeks still covered by tears. “Okay, Coran I think it is time to find the team. I have some things I have to say to them.”“Okay, I’ll go down ahead and assemble the team in the lounge area. You stay here for as long as you need, and when you are ready, we’ll be waiting for you” Coran stood up, smile at Lance “I’m proud of you my boy” and left to find the others.Lance stayed in Blue’s cockpit to calm his nerves and to receive encouragements from the other Lions that help him a lot in his process and his decision. Without Blue, Lance would still be a mess. After a couple of minutes, Lance made his way out of Blue and the hangers, the hallways were empty, only the sound of the engines life and the sound of his shoes hitting the floor on every step. He knew now what he had to do, he was not going to leave, and he was never going to stand there and do nothing while the others talk shit or made him think that he was beneath them. He is important, he is a paladin of Voltron, and he is going to help save the universe. He went down the hallway that leads to the lounge, and he could hear already that the others were talking about him. The first one to speak was Allura and Lance decided to stay outside to listen, not because he was afraid of going in there, but because he wanted to see if the team could really change their ways and the way they talk about Lance behind his back.“Where is he? We have other important things to do, and this has gone too far. I get it, we mistreated him, talk shit behind his back and almost got him killed, but I think he needs to get over it. He is jeopardizing our mission, and if he continues to act this way, we have to take extreme measures.” Allura spoke, and you could feel the venom dripping from her tone. Ever since they came her to space and anointed them, paladins of Voltron, she was jealous of the bond they all have with the Lions. Lance thinks it is because she wanted to be one since a child, but the Lions didn’t saw her worth as a paladin, they told Lance.“What are you talking about? He is our teammate; he is part of our space family. Sure we treated him bad, and I feel like shit for that. I wish I could go back, and right my wrongs, but was done is done, but let me tell you this, Princess,” Pidge spat the words like it burn her tongue. “And with all due respect, but you are acting like a spoiled little bitch.” Pidge live out to her name and her attitude; it took guts to call the princess a bitch.“We are not kicking Lance off this team, Allura.” Lance was impressed that Keith would step out for him. “But Pidge, I think she is right,” Oh, never mind. “He needs to let this all go, and we need to continue with our mission, which is more important.” “You know how he gets; he is a drama queen after all.” Hunk sounded nervous, but his words sounded sincere. Like he really meant it. “He’ll forget this ever happened and will be back to normal in no time. He’s already forgiven us, right? I know he can’t stay mad at us for too long, right?” “Okay, this is what we are going to do,” Shiro, always making this sound like a mission, a plan to defeat an enemy. “Hunk you can cook him something, anything he likes, and he’ll forgive you, Keith and I will give him hand-to-hand combat training, and he’ll be grateful like always-“ “La-“ Coran started but Lance motion to his mouth to the silence universal signal and motion to him to listen to the conversation in the other room. “Allura, you’ll be on standby in case Lance decides to go home, and please treat him with respect.” Lance heard Allura scoff and looked to his side and saw Coran look disappointed towards both Shiro and Allura. “Pidge, keep the work on Blue, and that’s the plan. Good?” He didn’t saw the other, but he could imagine them all nodding at him.As the conversation in the room died down a bit, Lance motion to Coran to take a couple of steps back so he could talk to him without the other hearing him. “Coran, I’ll like for you to announce that I’ll be there in a couple of ticks, but first I have a question for you. Is it normal for me to feel and listen to the other Lions? Since before the accident, when all of this started, I could feel the other Lions in my head, and they some times talked to me and encouraged me to go on. Is it normal? Can the other feel this too?” “Oh my, you can feel all of the Lions? That is incredible, that never happened to the old paladins. King Alfor once felt Black talk to him, but it was when Zarkon was betraying them and only that time. He said that whoever could feel and listen to all of the Lions, contains the heart of Voltron. You, my boy, are special and the Lions found you worthy enough to give you the most precious thing they have, the heart of Voltron. Without you, Voltron can’t be formed, and no other paladin can replace you now.” Coran explained, and Lance felt humbled for the situation. Even when he thought that he was not worthy and when the others berated them and called him useless, the Lions saw his potential and gave him something he will treasure and protect with his life.“That- That is amazing. I-I need to thank the Lions, for giving me this, for knowing that I’m enough.” Lance felt good now, and he accepted the situation, he accepted his life and his worth. Honestly, he didn’t need for the Lions to do this for him, but it opened his eyes to the truth. “Okay Coran, I’m ready.”“Okay.” Coran left his side with a smile plastered on his face and entered through the lounge doors.“Where is Lance?” Allura sounded annoyed, like always.Coran sighs. “He’ll be here in a moment.” As Coran finished speaking, the doors open again, and Lance walked in, looked at Coran and thank him for doing this. The others decided to sit and wait for Lance to speak. Allura looked uncomfortable and ready to burst. Lance sat on the opposite couch and motion for them to talk. “Okay, who wants to go first.”“Lance, I’m sorry for the way we treated you. I know that we misbehaved and treated you awful. Saying this, I think it’s time to go back to the mission, I think is time.” Allura spoke. Lance didn’t say anything and motion for the next one to talk.“Lance, I think I speak for the others-“ Shiro started but was interrupted by Pidge.“I speak for myself, thank you very much” Pidge announced, but Keith and Hunk didn’t say anything which meant that they were with Shiro on his apology.“Well I speak for us three, we are really sorry. If we knew that this was going to be the outcome, we would’ve done things differently. Sorry, Lance, deeply sorry.” Shiro finished with a sympathy smile on his face, and Hunk and Keith nodded as soon as Shiro finished.Lance motion to Pidge to speak now. “Lance, I know that anything we say now it looks worst than it is. I’m sorry this happen to you; I’m sorry for being a bad friend and teammate. I’m not going to tell you that I wish for this to be back to normal, because we both know that that will never happen. I will not tell you that I wish to go back and undo this because that’s bullshit, but I’ll tell you this. From this day on, I’ll protect you with all of my soul, body, and mind, I’ll be here if you need to talk if you need a shoulder to cry, and if you need to vent to someone, you can count on me. I accept whatever you give me, and I’ll accept the consequences for my actions. I wish you peace and happiness.” Pidge finished, and Lance could hear in her tone that she was sincere. The Green Lion agreed with Lance opinion on Pidge.“Pidge, thank you for those kind words. It means a lot to me, and I’ll forgive you-.” Lance said and was interrupted by Allura.“Oh, Lance this is wonderful, thanks for-“ “Not you, not Shiro, not Keith, not Hunk. Pidge, I forgive Pidge. What she said was the most sincere apology that I have ever hear, and Green agreed with me.” Pidge was crying at this moment when he said that her Lion approves of her and that Lance forgave her.” But for the rest of you, and Pidge the first part does not apply to you, but the rest is how I feel. I thought I was okay, with forgiving you guys, but the truth is that I can’t. You treated me like shit like I was not a part of this team for weeks. You all yelled at me for everything; I thought all of you were my friends. I admired and looked up to all of you. You were my heroes, but you all messed that up. I felt so alone, every time I tried to talk to any of you, you all just shut me out, call me names, talk behind my back like I wasn’t even there, like I was nothing. Voltron is about making people feel safe, wanted, and loved, making them feel free of submission and free to be whatever they want, but I guess you failed them all when you decided it was okay to bully one of yours. Do you think people will trust Voltron if they ever hear what happen to one of his paladins, to see how he was treated? Do you think I could forgive all of you for this, cause I-I don’t think I will ever be ready to forgive you? What kind of people will do this to another person? What were you trying to gain from this? I just can’t be, this is too much. Why did you guys hate me so much to do this to me? Why?” Lance was full on crying at this point, not only because he was sad, but because he was angry at them. How could they? “I gave my heart, body, soul, and trust into this vision. I still think that the universe should be free from the Galra, I still believe Voltron will save the universe, but I don’t think you had the right to treat me like you did. I trusted you, and as Coran said: ‘The paladin code demands you put your team members’ safety above your own.’ You were supposed to protect me, you were supposed to have my back, but instead of protecting it, all of you turned your back on me. I did my job, I protected you, and even then neither of you all thanked me, only berated me.”“We understand, Lance, and we are sorry. If you like us to take you back home, we can continue this without you. I can pilot Blue, and everything will be alright.” Allura sounded pleased with the words that left her mouth. The others looked towards her with sympathy, except for Pidge and Coran, they looked disgusted. “Oh, I was willing to go back home to Earth, make Coran erase any trace of this ever existing and forget every one of you, but I’m not.” At these words, Lance could see how Allura’s body deflated, and she looked disappointed. “I know I’m special, I know I’m not useless. I am a paladin of Voltron and Blue choose me, and I know that of all of us, I’m the most important part of this team, I am the most connected to my Lion, to all the Lions. They listen to me, and they were there when none of you were. I can feel every one of them in my mind giving me the courage to keep going and do what’s right. To save the universe from Zarkon, I will only stay for that fact. I will not forgive you, especially you Allura, but Voltron needs me, Blue needs me, and she’ll never let you pilot her, Allura or anyone else. I am the key to saving the universe, I am the heart of Voltron,” Allura looks shocked at those words; there was nothing she could do now. “And without me, you’ll just be a princess with no people but them to rule and you’ll be short a Lion, and you know what people think when they see only four of the Lions.” “From now on, I’ll tolerate all of you and will follow directions regarding any mission or regarding our training. But from this point on, if you want to gain my respect, my trust, and my forgiveness, you’ll have to work harder than simply apologize, or doing something forced to gain it or bribe me into it. You will not decide what I am supposed to be, and you will not decide my fate over me; you will not question anything I do that does not concern any mission. From now on, you’ll have to live with what all you did, and you have to deal with it.” Lance finished and stood up and left the lounge. He felt better after he said everything that was on his mind, and he felt good that he gets to stay and be what he was meant to be, a savior, a hero, a paladin of Voltron, a legendary defender.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
One month has passed since the events of the apologies. One month of the team dancing around Lance. One month of Allura trying to convince Lance of forgiving her. One month of the team trying to form Voltron and stay built for the whole period of the fight. One month for the team to really get their priorities straight. One month of Lance and Pidge strengthening their friendship, and the other watching from the sidelines.For Hunk, this is what it hurt the most. Watching his two closest friends hang out without them, but what can he say to fix this. Well, not fix this, but how could he tell Lance how sorry he was, how could he say to him that he was wrong in talking about him behind his back. How does someone apologize to one’s best friend, and how can their relationship go back to something similar than what they had back on Earth.It took one month for Hunk to gain the courage and approach him. Lance was in the common room, reading a book he found. Hunk doesn’t know about what, but he was here to apologize to him.“Lance, do you think we can talk for a second or tick, I really don’t know which one to choose her on space. Like I know that’s the space measurement of time, but we have been using seconds for 17 years and well ticks for one year. Sorry, I’m rambling,” Hunk stopped talking and took a deep breath in. “Sorry, I’ll just go-”“Yes,” Lance, answer. His face has a serious expression, and body language portraits security and something else he could not figure out what it was. As Hunk heard that answered, he looked down at the floor and was about to exit the room, Lance spoke again. “You can have a second, and I still can’t get used to ticks either.” Lance sent a genuine smile to him that it had Hunk loosen up a bit.“Thank Lance,” Hunk took a sit in the couch in front of Lance, and started fidgeting with his fingers. “So, the reason why I came here, and I know this is long overdue. Trust me, I been dancing around this conversation for movements now, and I just really want to say that I’m truly sorry for what happened to you and for the way I acted towards you,” Hunk looked at Lance in the eyes, and he felt a burning sensation at the back of his eyes. That’s when he felt wetness running down his cheeks, but he couldn’t let that ruin the chance for this chance he's got with him “I still don’t know why I acted that way towards you, and you have always been a kind person. I was, and I am a terrible friend. Nothing I did can be ever forgiven, and-”“Hunk, breath. I need you to breathe for me, okay.” Lance was watching the way Hunk was talking to him, and he knew a panic attack when he saw one. He hasn’t talked to him in a long time, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t care for him.“I-I ca-can’t-” Hunk was hyperventilating at this moment; he was so angry now. The only chance he got to apologize to Lance, and he ruins it with his anxiety and panic attacks. How could he be so stupid?“Hunk, I need you to look at me, focus on my eyes, and listen to only my voice. I know you can do that.” Lance was calm as he knelt in front of the boy. He gently took Hunk’s face with his hands, and position it so it would be easy for him to follow the instructions given. “That’s it Hunk. Focus on me. Now, I’m going to let go of your face, but keep it there, looking at me.” Lance retracted his hands and blindly reached for Hunk’s hands. “Can you tell me if you can feel my hands on yours?”“Y-Yes, I can feel them.”“Good. Now, can you tell me what else can you hear besides my voice?”“I-I can hear the engine from the ship. I can also hear the mice.”“That’s because they are here with us. Good. Now, do you smell anything in this room?” Lance notices that Hunk’s breath was calming down bit by bit.“I can smell your shampoo and your perfume.” Hunk said while he kept his nose twitching, looking for other scents. “I can smell the book. It smells old.”“Good. Now, can you look around me and tell me four things you see other than me.” At this, Lance decided to lean back so Hunk could have a better view of the room.“I can see the couch behind you and some pillows.” Hunk kept looking around the room, but everything seems out of focus. “Um, I can’t see anything else.”“Okay, well let’s try this. What am I wearing? And also the colors of the clothes.” Lance had to improvise a bit.“Um, you are wearing jeans, blue. You have a black shirt, v-neck.” Hunk said as he inspected Lance.“Good, those were the four things you saw. Now, I want you to drink this, and tell me what it tastes like.” Lance handed him his cup, containing space juice.Hunk took a sip from it, and quickly remembered the taste. “This is the space juice that Coran always makes us drink before and after training. It tastes like strawberry, banana shake with a hint of ginger, lemon, and turmeric.”“Good. Now tell me, how are you feeling?” Lance stepped back and sat where he was before.“Good, I think. Man, sorry for that. How did you know what to do?” Hunk asked.“My sister back home suffered a lot from this, and I found this technique so I could help her.”“Wow, that’s kind of you. You have always been kind. Look, I’m sorry I haven’t come to talk to you sooner. I am really sorry.”From the time when Hunk entered the common room until this moment, the Yellow Lion has been at the forefront of his mind. She has been watching the interaction, feeding Lance ideas, and giving him her opinion.
Blue Paladin, it seems that my cub is sincere. His words are real, and his actions seem noble. I love him with all my heart, and I’ll do anything for him to be happy. Give him a chance for him to redeem himself.
‘If I do this, will I get hurt again by him?’
You never know if you never try, but I don’t see any malice in his heart, only sorrow, and shame. Give my cub happiness again, Blue Paladin.
‘I trust in your words. I’ll give him what he deserves.’Hunk has been watching Lance, from the moment he closed his eyes it seemed that he was talking to someone. Maybe he was talking to Yellow. He appears at ease.“Hunk, I talked it over with your Lion, and she seems to root for you. I will forgive you, not because she asked me... but because I missed my best friend.” Lance gave a genuine smile, one that could light a thousand stars and bring light into the universe. Hunk started to sob. “Oh, Hunk please don’t cry.”“Dude, these are happy tears. I’m just happy I got my best friend back.” Hunk reached over and enveloped Lance in a bear hug. Lance just started laughing at the gesture.——————————————Keith, ever since Lance accident, has been pondering and beating himself up for letting this get this far. ‘How could I do this to him? How could I let myself treat another being the way I was treated as a child?’ He knew it was pointless on debating on the past, and that he should talk to Lance once and for all.He is not going to admit this out loud, but he missed the bickering, the petty fights, and the excellent teamwork he had with his fellow teammate. He missed the teasing from the others, the movie nights, he even missed spa nights. Can you believe that?Keith was currently trying to beat Level 10 in the training deck when suddenly he was thrown into the far back wall. Once he was on the floor, the gladiator came rushing towards him, and he braced himself for the impact. It never happened; he only heard someone say ‘End training sequence’ and footsteps running towards him.“Keith, are you okay? Do you need to go to the med bay? Should I call Shiro?” The voice was closed to him, but he couldn’t believe that it was directed at him. So, he opens his eyes more extensive than ever and looks at the other boy in the eyes. Lance was in a crouch position in front of him. Lance was talking to him, and Lance was worried about him.“L-Lance,” Keith said“Yes, that’s my name. At least we know that you don’t have any brain damage.” Lance began to look around his body to see if he could see blood due to the incident.“Lance, I-I,” Keith knew that it was now or never, that he needed to apologize to him. “Lance, I’m sorry.”“Why are you apologizing? You just got hurt.”“No! No, I’m fine, but I was talking to you. I’m sorry for what I have done to you. I knew it was not fair, I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was so blind, too focused on the missions, too focused on the cause, that I lost myself. I lost myself, and you paid the price. I can’t believe that I- we did that to you. I’m so so so sorry.”This was the first time that Keith ever apologized to Lance, ever. This was also the first time that Lance saw Keith cried, like really cried. Should he forgive him? Should he trust him again with his life, with his soul, with his mind?
Yes, Blue Paladin. I can sense that my cub was distressed with this situation. He was treated the way you were when he was a child. His mother disappeared, his dad died, and his uncle took him in. Let’s say, that lasted two months, they abandoned him.
“Lance, I know you are talking to Red cause I can feel it. Don’t let my past life affect your decision with my forgiveness. I’m not trying for you to take pity on me, judge me for me, for now. Judge me for my actions since we ever became paladins.”
His words seem genuine, and his heart portraits love and protection. If you decided to forgive him, there is not a thing my cub will do not do for you.
‘Thanks, Red.’“Keith, please don’t cry, of course, I forgive you, you knife boy.” Lance smiled at Keith and bent over to embrace him in a hug. He still could feel Keith shaking from the sobs, but when Keith hugged him back, that’s when Lance began to cry as well. “You are really cuddly, Keith.”“Stop crying, so I can stop crying,” Keith shouted to Lance.“Never, mullet. I think you need this more than you think.”“I know that Red told you about my uncle, and I’m glad you are not teasing me about it.”“Keith, I would never tease you because of your family or your childhood. I know what he did was wrong, and I’m sorry that happened to you, but you have us now, and we are never going to leave you, you got that!” Lance hugged him a little tighter.“That means a lot to me, Lance. Now, can you take me to the med bay, I think I broke some ribs.”Lance retreated from the hug and looked at Keith with wide eyes. “KEITH KOGANE, you should have told me that like 10 minutes ago. Come on; I’ll carry you.” Lance picked him up bridal style. “Now I can say that I cradle you in my arms.”“YOU REMEMBERED!” Keith shouted but began laughing instantly as the exited the training deck.—————————Shiro was on his way to the med bay, and he wanted to take a look at a bruised that appeared out of nowhere, and he was scared about that. He started thinking that his illness was coming back and that it was going to be too late for him. He needed to apologize to Lance today, just in case there is something wrong with him. He didn’t want to go from this universe without talking to him.The doors to the bay opened, and he still was looking at his bruise in his forearm and didn’t notice that he had a company inside.“Hello, Shiro,” Lance said to the room.“Lance, what are you doing here? Why is Keith in a pod?” Shiro rushed over to see why was Keith there.“He was training the gladiator and took a big hit. He has some broken ribs, and what seemed to be beginning of internal bleeding. Thank Alfor I was passing by the training deck. Why are you here?” Lance asked curiously.“Oh, well, I have a bruise that appeared out of nowhere, and I was scared my disease was coming back, so I came to check myself.”“Do you want any help?”“I don’t want to intrude-” Shiro started but was interrupted.“None sense. Let me help you.” Lance went to one of the cabinets that Coran explained to him, looking for a screen that when passed over the damaged structure, it would tell what's wrong in less than five ticks. “Here, sit on the bed please.”“Lance, why are you helping me?” Shiro sat on the bed and was looking at the floor. “I been nothing but mean to you, horrible to you, and you have always been nice. I’m sorry I was not the leader you think I was, and I’m sorry for all the things I did and said to you. I feel horrible, and if this is what I think it is, I don’t want to regret ever not spending my last days with the whole team, especially you, Lance. I miss you so much, and I’m so so sorry.”Again, this was the first time he saw Shiro cried, his leader crumble over the guilt for his actions.
Cub is healthy, but his mind is not. He, as well as the other, are ashamed by his actions. He will not say this, but he sees all of you as his children. I see hope, love, and protection from this one. If you decided to forgive him, he'd be forever in your debt.
“I missed you too, Space Dad. It hurt when you said those things, and it hurt more because you are my hero, my role model, our leader.” Lance walked to him and placed the device over him. “I forgive you, Shiro.”Shiro was surprised by the last words Lance said.“Y-you forgive me?” Shiro said, words breaking at the beginning of the statement.“Yes, Shiro. I forgive you; also, you are as healthy as you can be. You might have hit something, and you didn’t feel it.” Lance walked back to the shelves and stored the device.“Oh, thank Alfor. Also, Lance, thanks for forgiving me. Know that from this day on, and I’m in your debt.” Shiro said with a hand over his heart.“You welcome, Shiro. Care to wait with me for when Keith steps out of the pod.”“Yeah, sure.”—————————Allura was in the control room, looking at the video feeds of the events that happened in the last varga. First, she saw how Hunk went to the common room and started talking to Lance. At first, there seemed to be a problem, but then, Hunk hugged him. She could read lips, and she saw when Lance forgave Hunk.Second, she watches as Keith took his frustrations at the gladiator. When she saw him hit the wall, she winced and thought that one of her problems was going to be resolved with any issues. She waited for the gladiator to give the final blow, but it never came. What she saw was Lance running to the other boy. She then saw how they both became embraced in each other's arms, and how Lance also forgave another one of his teammates. The only one that was left was Shiro, and by the looks of it, this was not turning the way she had hoped for.Lastly, she saw when Shiro, as suspected, entered the med bay where Lance was standing by a pod. She saw the whole interaction between leader and teammate. She also saw the embrace, and how Lance forgave the last pawn in the game. From her perspective, this was not going to please her master.
‘My child, is everything going as planned?’ Said the voice of her master in her mind
“Haggar, there seems to be a problem. The Blue Paladin has forgiven all of the teammates, and I believe in a matter of days, Voltron will be again.”
‘Leave this to me. You have done well, Kara. Await for further instructions.’
“Yes, master,” Kara said to the room and left to her quarters. When the doors of the control room closed, Pidge emerged from the shadows. You see, Pidge suspected that Allura was not who they taught she was, and what happen explains everything.————————“Pidge, why did you asked us to meet you in your Lion?” Hunk said once everyone was there. Well, not everyone. “Where is Allura?”“That’s why I wanted to talk to you guys. Earlier I was in the control room, and I saw that she was spying on you, Lance.” Pidge pointed her finger at him, and everyone looked in the direction of it.“Me? Why me?”“I don’t know, maybe because you are the heart and you have more value than her now. But that’s not the point. I was there, and I heard her talking to Haggar.” Pidge saw the reaction on every person inside of her Lion, and all where the same, shocked, baffled.“What do you mean she was talking to Haggar? She is the enemy!” Coran asked loudly.“I think this is not Allura. I think this is a clone and the real Allura was left on Zarkon’s ship during the battle.” Pidge concluded.“That will make sense after that battle is when everything started to change in this ship,” Lance said as an afterthought, with his finger rubbing his chin. “But where could the real Allura be now.“Well, I made a tracking device that tracks pure Altean energy. Well, more like Altean royal blood.” Before anyone could ask how she did that, she stated. “Don’t ask me how I obtain Allura’s blood. I don’t want to remember that.”“Okay, and does it work?” Shiro asked.“Yes, and the sensors say she is not on this ship,” Pidge said, and just as Keith was going to speak, they heard slow clapping from the hangar. When they turned toward the front window, there she was, slowly clapping and with red eyes. Not read ‘I was crying my eyes out’ more like ‘I’m possess’ kind of eyes.“Pidge, I got to give it to you. You really are the smartest person I have ever met. Now is where you all, we must say goodbye. But not for you, Blue Paladin, she has great plans for you.”As she continues with her rambling, they all exited the Green Lion. Once outside, they all took a fighting stance and did a circle around her.“Who are you?” Shiro asked, activating his arm in the process.“Who am I? Well, I am Allura. Well, more like her body, but master calls me Kara.” Kara said casually.“Kara, I need to ask you to step out of our ship. If you resist, we will use force.” Keith added, sword at the ready.“Your ship, the one that is about to self-destruct in 10 dobashes,” Kara stated.“Pidge, Hunk, Coran, I need you to stop the self-destruct. We can handle her.” Lance turned his bayard into his sniper gun, as the ones mention exited the hangers. Shiro, Keith, and Lance surrounded Kara. Now it was time to see who will make the first move. But it never came, as soon as Kara began to ran towards Keith, she stopped. More like she froze in place.‘Paladins of Voltron. I see my man inside has been compromised. We will meet again, and Blue Paladin, I will have you.’ As soon as the voice stopped, blood came rushing from Kara’s mouth, nose, ears, and every hole in her body, and just like that, Kara was no more.
“Guys, we stopped to the self-destruct, did you stopped Kara.” Pidge voice came from the castle speakers.
“Well, more like Haggar killed her. Lance, Keith, help me with the body. We need to take it out of here.” Shiro grabbed Kara by the middle, as the other two took one of the devices in their pockets, and threw it at the blood. Five dobashes later, the blood was gone, and the body and said the equipment was securely stored in the hanger airlock.
“Coran is going to fly us to the location of Allura. Will be there in three vargas.” Hunk voice came this time.
“Copy that. Boys, let’s get to the hanger.——————————The signal leads them to a remote outpost, like a prison for high classified exceptional cases. They infiltrated the prison, only to see that said prison was made only for Allura. Here, they took the time to dig around her mind for how to corrupt and break the team. For them to do this, Allura was almost depleted of her quintessence. The Princess saw everything that had happened with Lance and the team, and she was ashamed of it. Of course, Haggar would do this to her, watch as she broke her team apart.Once back at the castle ship, and a round in the healing pods, Allura was on her way to the way she was. Not everything will be the same, but she was happy she was back in her home.The first person she saw after waking up was Lance. She asked for him to meet at the start deck; she wanted to apologize for Kara’s behavior.As soon as Lance entered the deck, she ran to him and hugged him. “Lance, I’m deeply sorry for what has been done to you. You are the kindest and bravest person I’ve known, and it troubled me to see what has been done to you. I’m so sorry about that.” Allura said.“I’m just glad that you are okay. It hurt to see you been like that, a person that I admire with all my heart treating me like garbage. I know now that it wasn’t you.”“Still, I saw everything, and I want to say sorry, and I’m just glad that you never gave up,” Allura said with hope and kindness in her eyes.“Of course, Princess, life is the most precious thing we received when we are born,” Lance said while stroking his fingers to collect some of the tears that escaped her eyes. “Now, we need to plan our next step. We know now what Haggar wants.”“You now that we will always protect you. She will never have you.” Allura said with anger now in her eyes.“No matter what she does, or what she says. We will be waiting for her, and we will be victorious.” Lance said, once again hugging Allura.No more than three dobashes of them hugging in the middle of the deck, the others entered and joined the hug.“What are we doing now? Well, now that we know she is after Lance.” Pidge asked the others.“We plan our next strategy, we wait for her next move, and if she comes will be ready for her. No one messes with my team. Be ready. This is only the beginning.”