Ally Gone Astray

Chapter six

"Come on... You. Can do this..." Keith whispered to the lion. "I know... We've had our differences...." he slowly gripped the controls, "but I need you to work with me... Shiro is—"
"Hey, Keith!" Lance's voice came through their intercoms disrupting his focus.
"Lance! I'm in the middle of something important!" Keith grumbled.
"Y-yeah! Sorry! But we have a slight problem... Again."
The black haired boy fumed in annoyance. "What?!"
"My bayard...." Lance began, "I have no idea how to use it."
"How do you not know how to use your own bayard...?!" Keith threw his head back, taking deep breaths in an effort to stay calm.
"It's a sword! I've never actually used it in combat. Are you sure you want me to—"
"Nobody else would believe me. So yes, you're coming."
For a moment, there was no reply from the Paladin. Just slight static.
"Lance!"
"Sorry!" His voice was loud and clear. "I'm here. I mean. In my lion."
Keith nodded, slowly shutting his eyes. "Great. Feel the bond with your lion. I'll see you in the cognitive realm."
"Yeah, cool." He replied a little quieter. "Cognitive realm, eh? That's a nice—"
"Lance! Shut up and think!"
There was a small high pitched squeal from Lance, and then silence.
Keith cut the comms on his end. He could talk freely now.
"Alright... Listen to me... Shiro needs us... I need you to get me to him."
Black suddenly lit up, roaring with determination.
"That's it... Now... What do I have to do bond with you..."
"Keith! Keith it's me, Lance!" His voice came through to his mind. Just like Shiro's. "I think I'm in...."
"Bond with me! Now! Lance could be in danger too! I have to go!"
The Black Lion growled, throwing her head back, sending Keith flying into the ceiling.
"Stupid lion...." He groaned, shaking off the pain and climbing back into the pilot seat. "Look. I don't know what you're doing, but if you ever want to see Shiro again, you better bond with me!"
The lights in the cockpit turned off. Silence engulfed the room.
"Please... My friends are in danger..." Keith took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down. "Patience yields focus..."
Suddenly, he heard the lion's thoughts. They were faint and sporadic. None of it made sense... But they were her thoughts.
"What do I have to do to mend our bond....?" Keith asked calmly. "I'll do anything."
"Keith!"
He gasped, opening his eyes. "Where am I...?"
"Keith! Buddy! You made it!"
    He was surprisingly relieved to see Lance standing a few feet away from him. "Yeah... Guess so. But... How...?"
    Lance chuckled to himself, shrugging his shoulders. "I have no idea. But you bonded with you lion, didn't you?"
    "You mean my lion?" A familiar voice said.
    The two boys turned around slowly.
    Lance took a step forward, raising his bayard. "What've you done to our friend?!" He demanded.
    "Stop, Lance." Keith put his arm out, stopping his comrade. "This isn't Shiro... We don't know what he can do."
    "He's right, you know." A woman stepped out from behind 'Shiro'. "I thought a Paladin would figure out the truth behind my Project Kuron."
    Keith barred his teeth angrily. "Kuron? Is that what you call him?"
    "I prefer Shiro." The fake said smugly.
    "You're an impostor! You're not Shiro!" Lance yelled. "You don't deserve that name."
    Keith said nothing, but clearly agreed with what Lance had to say.
    "I'm sorry to hear that you don't like your new teammate. It took many tests to get him right. I thought he was perfect. What changed?" The witch asked them.
    Lance grimaced, insulted by her actions. "Well, for one, the real Shiro would never yell at his teammates. Nor would he betray us. He'd want nothing to do with Lotor."
    She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Keith grabbed his blade.
    "Don't you say a word, you coward! Hiding behind a mask all this time! Just come and face us. Or are you that powerless without your emperor? So powerless that you made a fake of your own."
    "Keith. I'd watch what you say." Kuron finally spoke. His eyes were yellow. Galran eyes. "If it weren't for you, I'd have completed my task. Bring Voltron back to the Galra. But I suppose after I take you two down, I'll gain control of both Black and Red."
    "You wish!" Keith tightened his grip on his blade. "We'd never give up our lions to the likes of you!"
    "Oh really....?" Haggar challenged. "Show them their leader."
    Kuron stepped aside, behind him was Shiro. The real Shiro.
    "Keith! Run! You can't fight—"
    "Quiet!" Haggar quickly silenced the Paladin with a shot of her dark magic.
    "Shiro!" Keith shouted as he watched his friend double over in agony, crying out as he fell to the floor.
    The witch turned back to the young boys. "Now do you see why you can't fight? One small hit from me would kill you both."
    Lance smirked slightly, activating his bayard. A red and white Altean Boradsword appeared in his hands. "Sorry Haggar... But you messed with the wrong people. You see, Keith here is one heck of a samurai. A thing known to us Earthlings to be both extremely dangerous and tremendously skilled. And I am just about the best guy in close and long range combat in the entire universe. So you—"
    "Enough rambling!" Kuron ordered. "Surrender the lions or we will he forced to kill you."
    "Screw this surrender or else bull crap!" Keith spat. "I'm done with these stupid Galran ways! We're taking you two down right here, right now!"
    Kuron smiled devilishly. "Fine. If that's how you want to play." He lifted Shiro's head by his forelock and pointed to Keith and Lance. "I want you to watch them die."
    "Lance! Keith!" Shiro called out to them, "Surrender the lions! This is my fight. Not yours!"
    The two exchanged looks and grinned back at one another.
    "Sorry, Shiro." Keith flipped his blade into the opposite hand. "I am part Galra. And if I've learned anything about my race, it's that we don't give up so easily."
    "You've made the wrong choice." Haggar narrowed her eyes, slowly lifting her arms to cast another spell. "Prepare to lose everything..."