Marked For Death | klangst

Twenty-Five.

Keith woke with a start. His head was throbbing, wrist pulsing with pain. Every muscle in his body screamed at him as he struggled to stand up. But most of all, his heart hurt.

What happened to Lance down there? he asked himself. Wait... He looked around the lounge, taking in the horrific sight before him. His team, his friends, lay on the ground, mostly unconscious. He shot to his feet, ignoring the pain running through his bones, and limped to Shiro.

"Shiro, wake up." Keith shook his shoulders harshly. Groggily, Shiro opened his eyes, blinking rapidly, trying to take in Keith's worried expression.

"Keith? What... What's going on?" he asked.

"Something's happened to Lance," Keith replied dejectedly, looking at the others in the room. Shiro followed his gaze and shot up when he saw Pidge. "His eyes... They glowed white... I think something serious went wrong when he was on Grumga -- something so serious that he can't even remember what it is."

Shiro rushed to Pidge, gathering her up in his arms and carrying her to the couch, setting her down gently. He brushed several strands of hair away from her face and readjusted her crooked glasses. Sighing heavily, he stood up again and tended to Allura. Keith had already helped a dazed Coran to his feet, and as soon as he did so, Coran rushed to the princess in worry.

"Princess, please be alright," he urged her, his accent heavy with concern. He looked to Shiro and Keith. "Where is Lance now?"

The two paladins exchanged a look, but it was Keith who spoke up. "Hopefully, somewhere still here in the castle."

"Hopefully?" Coran asked, astonished.

"Yes, hopefully. Look, Coran, whoever that was... It wasn't Lance," Keith told him.

"It sure looked like Lance," Coran muttered.

"Okay, yeah, it was Lance, but it wasn't Lance," Keith insisted. "Something happened on Grumga, and we need to find him before he hurts someone else or he hurts himself."

"Keith, I agree with you, but he could be long gone from now. Whoever that was seemed pretty determined about something, whether that be about going somewhere, getting something, or finding someone," Shiro said cautiously, trying to get Allura to open her eyes. She was muttering something incoherently under her breath, but other than that, she was still out. "We need to proceed with caution."

"Shiro, Lance is in danger. I know it -- I can feel it. We have to find him," Keith persisted, unyielding.

"And we will -- when every one is actually conscious, though, preferably," Shiro maintained, firm on his position.

"No," Keith said blankly.

"Excuse me?" Shiro asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I said no. I already failed Lance once. I'm not doing it again," Keith vowed, already walking towards the doors. "I'm sorry, Shiro, but I have to do this."

***

When Lance came to, he was laying in front of the hangar doors. His mind was racing with thoughts, and those thoughts were bouncing around in his skull so much, it made his brain hurt. His temples ached and his muscles felt like putty. When he tried to get up, his joints screamed with pressure and strain and simply gave out after a couple of seconds. He groaned at the effort. He was sick and tired of his body failing him constantly. He just wanted this to be over and done with. He wanted to resume his normal life back on Earth where the only things he had to worry about was Iverson's temper and being tardy to morning drills.