The flying Paladin

Chapter 12

Hey so, all of your comments consist of something like "NO CLIFFHANGER!!!" I love you all so much that I've decided to leave you with......another cliffhanger. (hehehe)

I shoved my armor on robotically, my head not in it at all. All I could think about was how my secret was out. Everybody knew how horrible my childhood was. The gosh-diddelydarned device even said that he was hiding his animal! There was no way that they weren't going to sit down and have a long ass conversation about secrets.

I fucking hate interventions.

I snapped all of the clasps together and raced to the hangar where Blue was waiting for me. She sensed my unease and distress and purred comfortingly. "Thanks Blue," I whispered. She purred again and I sat down and got ready to take off.

"What's the situation, Shiro?" I asked through the comms.

"Are you sure you can fight?" Keith called, in what I'm sure was mock concern. There was no way he genuinely cared about my safety, right? "After all...I'm pretty sure you just went through a traumatic experience--"

"Can it mullet!" I snapped. "that shit happened like five years ago! I'm good! We should focus on the giant fucking battle cruisers in front of us, don't you think?"

"Lance is right," Shiro said. Ten bucks says there's a 'but' coming. "But--" there it is. "--don't think there won't be a discussion when we get back."

"Righto Space papi!" I said happily. I turned my head to the side to fight the grimace attempting to show through my facade. Fuck everything.

"Good," Shiro said. "Now, there are four battle cruisers, one has an ion cannon, and one has, from what I can see, something important. We're going to take pout the ion cannon and the other ships, then Lance, Keith and I will infiltrate the battle ship and find out what they're taking. Got it?"

"Yeah!" 

"...sure."

"Son of a bitch--Why don't I get to go?"

"Shut it Pidge."

"Make me Lance."

"Bitch."

"Hoe."

"Dick!"

"Pussy!"

"ENOUGH!!" Shiro yelled loudly, his signature dad voice effectively shutting us up. "Stop acting like children and get to work!"

"Uh...we are children?"

"PIDGE!!" we all screamed. Pidge only snickered before she shot the green lion forward and began to attack one of the ships. Hunk soon followed. I veered Blue left to focus on the ship with the ion cannon.

"Keith? I need you to melt the cannon and then I can freeze it over so I can cut it off the ship!" I said loudly, narrowly missing a drone.

"On it." I hear Keith say before I see the red lion open it's mouth and shoot out a fire beam. The ion cannon melts quickly, thank the lord, and I shoot it with ice to make it fragile. "Okay, I'm gonna ram it!"

"Be careful!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Keith snaps. Shiro sighs pointedly at out bickering. He's gonna lecture us later about team ethics. Keith rammed the red lion into the cannon and it shattered. I pulled Blue up to avoid the shards. 

"Good job you two," Shiro says. I smile, grateful for the praise. I ignore the blush creeping up on my skin from Shiro complementing me---no, Keith! He was talking about Keith!

I need to be more careful lest I want my heart broken...again. Sometimes my wishful thinking is going to get me killed. Damn, wishful thinking hurts worse than a bullet!

As if the universe were trying to prove me wrong, a blast from a drone hits Blue, toppling me onto my side. I groan and look down to see my armor had torn on the console. My head hit the floor with a loud thud and I gritted my teeth while I waited for the ringing to stop. "Mother trucker! That hurt like a butt cheek on a stick!" I cried. 

"....watch your profanity," someone, probably Pidge, said. I smiled and got up, a little bit dizzy, and sat back down in the chair. 

"Lance, are you okay?" Shiro asked.

"I'm good," I said, brushing off his concern like it didn't make me feel all warm and gooey inside. "Just a scratch."

"Alright," Shiro said. "But be careful. We need you."

Yeah. Voltron is pretty important I guess. I just ignore the stabbing pain of sadness in my chest and push through it. I make some kind of joke, ignoring the groans. I pull Blue out of the way of yet another drone and--damn! How many drones are there?!

"Alright, Lance? Keith? It's time to go in!" Shiro says. 

"On it!" I say. I land Blue carefully in an open hangar that Pidge had hacked into. Apparently while I was getting beat up by toy bots, Pidge hacked into the ships mainframe and gained total access for about fifteen minutes. That should be enough time for us to get in, find what we're looking for and get out. 

I get out of Blue and follow closely behind Keith and Shiro as we run. I keep my bayard on and prepared, ready for anything to attack us. 

Suddenly, bullets rain down on us. I pull up my shield and get closer to Keith and Shiro, forming a circle, much like training. I shoot at the drones coming near us, but not before one of them throws a grenade of some sort.

It explodes, sending Shiro, Keith and I flying. 

When I manage to gain my bearings I see that both Keith and Shiro's suits have been damaged. Keith's helmet is cracked but secure, and Shiro's front is singed with a large hole showcasing a burn. And both of their jet packs are cracking and smoking. They must have turned so that their backs would take the brunt of the force. 

Suddenly the hangar doors close and the doors on the outside open.

They've opened the airlock.

I scream as I try to hold onto anything. I wash with despair as Shiro and Keith scramble around trying to find something to hold onto. Suddenly a loud scraping noise draws my attention behind me.

"NOO!" I scream as the red, black and blue lion tumble out into space.

They've ejected out lions!

Suddenly the hangar doors begin closing. They're going to trap us in! I look back at Shiro and Keith, their faces matching in horror. I know what I have to do.

I take a deep breath, grab Keith and Shiro by the arm, and let my wings out.