Out Of Reach

12: Bubbles

Dark quintessence twisted and writhed as the paladins tried their best to root it out.

He could literally feel the energy draining out of him. If they didn't find a way to stop this here and now.

Lance reloaded his blaster before his Bayard came to his hand.

He shot at the wall of the sphere with brutal precision, hoping that targeting one spot continually might cause it to break.

But unlike last time or the times before when Lance had seen dark quintessence at work, where it had writhed away from energy from their Bayard's, it launched, adapting to the attack.

"We have to get out of this, we have to!" Hunk said sharply as Lance threw his shoulder into the side.

It didn't give.

It didn't move.

They were trapped.

Then the bubbles started moving.

Shrinking in fact.

Lance stared at their surroundings, his eyes wide as he tried to push the ever shrinking bubble like structure back with his feet.

"What do we do?!" Pidge shouted.

"I don't know!" Keith growled punching the wall but nothing gave.

"Someone think of something!" Lance said shakily as he kicked the wall harder.

"It's dark quintessence."

Keith's gaze shifted immediately to another captured figure. She wasn't trying to fight the bubble but rather allowed it the steadily shrink around her.

"Hag- Honerva." Hunk frowned.

"Mum?" Lotor gasped.

"It consumes you." Honerva continued. "I lost the fight with it a long time ago."

Keith looked around, at his team, his friends. "We're not ones to give up."

"You have no power here." Honerva explained shaking her head. "The dark quintessence controls all, it finds a host and consumes you, never to be recovered."

"No, not all of us." Keith said as he met Allura's gaze. "You can break us out of this."

"I think that's a bit of a stretch Keith." Allura mumbled growing at the bubble around her.

And Keith had to admit this was bigger then anything she had ever done before but he couldn't let his team give up.

This wasn't the end.

"Lance, please breathe." Hunk encouraged trying to reach through his bubble to reach Lance's but of course nothing moved.

"I can't!" Lance complained weakly hitting the wall as he screwed his eyes shut. "I can't."

"If we're going to do this, it's now or never." Shiro stated firmly.

"Allura please." Pidge said turning to her with big, fearful eyes. "Please."

"Right okay, I'm trying." Allura nodded placing her hands on the translucent walls that restricted them.

She closed her eyes and a bright light emanated from where her hands rested against the wall of her bubble.

At first there was nothing.

No sudden breakthrough, no cheers of excitement, only Lance's ragged breaths as they waited.

Then a crack.

Allura opened her eyes, they glowed white as she pushed against the wall, it shattered allowing her to step forwards.

"Lance first." Keith instructed firmly.

Allura nodded and approached Lance who's eyes snapped open to stare at her. She placed her hand on Lance's bubble and it gave way allowing Lance to lay on the floor stretched out taking deep ragged gasps of air.

She released Pidge next, then Hunk, lotor, Shiro, then Keith and finally Honerva.

"Thank you." Honerva nodded. "We need to rid this quintessence from the source."

"Do you know where the source is?" Keith asked as he held Allura up.

"Yes." Honerva nodded. "Princess, if you will let me, I can aid you."

Allura shot Keith a look, they stared at each other for a long moment before Keith nodded.

"Okay." Allura decided with her own nod before she stepped away with Honerva.

Lotor hesitated, hovering nearby his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"We're just trusting her now?" Hunk asked quietly as he rubbed Lance's back.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Keith reminded making Lance look up. "How are you feeling?"

"Flat." Lance grumbled. "I'll be okay in a bit."

Keith nodded. "Hunk stay with him, Pidge, Shiro with me."

"Where are the lions?" Shiro frowned.

"I can sense Green." Pidge admitted glancing around.

"They're here." Keith said closing his eyes. "They're with us to the end."

"So you think this is going to end in a fight?" Pidge asked gesturing to the sword in Keith's hand.

"It always does." Keith shrugged.

"I don't care what it ends in." Lance said as he shakily got to his feet. "I just want this to be over."

"It will be." Hunk nodded catching his arm. "But you need rest."

"I'll rest when this is over." Lance promised. "I'm not letting my team do all the hard work without me."

Shiro chuckled as Pidge smiled at him.

Keith sighed. "Alright then, looks like we've got a team, now we need a plan."

"We have one." Allura smiled. "Like last time, we need to destroy the center, where it first impacted the planet."

"No more shrinking bubbles right?" Lance asked with a heavy frown.

"Hopefully not." Honerva said as she walked past him. "This way paladins."

They trekked across the darkness which attempted to weave it's way around their ankles and drag them down into the-

Lance shook his head, hoping to dislodge that thought before it could grow any bigger.

They were nearly there. He could feel it.

But instead of there being a mass of dark quintessence, at the center there was a glowing purple orb.

It was levitating and Lance could feel a pull, like it had its own gravity.

"That's the centre?" Pidge frowned. "Of course it is."

"How do we stop that?" Hunk whispered.