Don't Forget About Me (Previously, Keith Isn't Dead)

Chapter 12

The team had decided to wait for a day before going out to search for Keith. It was obvious some of the paladins needed the recovery time. 

Lance had spent the whole day in his room. He had let Hunk in for a few minutes but sent him out, claiming he was tired. The Cuban boy had so much on his mind, and it wasn't all about Keith. Something else had been bothering him lately, he couldn't help but notice that he was noticing more and more aliens. It was hard to distinguish genders sometimes, but Lance was a flirt, so he just went for it. The past few missions were Voltron stayed with the people they helped, Lance had flirted with a handful of aliens when his team wasn't looking. The aliens had all been guys, and Lance was surprisingly fine with it. He was pretty sure he was at least bi, and he was also certain of one other thing. 

He was most definitely in love with Keith.  

Lance figured it was the mixture of the fact that Keith came back for the first time in a while and the fact that he was separated from them mere days later. Lance just figured his feelings of intense worry and longing were just him wishing Keith was back, safe and sound. But Lance knew he liked liked Keith, especially after today.

Pushing his thoughts aside for the billionth time that week, Lance left his room, preparing to go and find his friend. 

*

Voltron met on the planet's surface. They decided to split up in order to cover more ground. Lance and Allura were assigned to fly around the perimeter and look for possible crash sites, Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro were assigned to fly closer to the ground and look for any possible shelters Keith could be in. They were also instructed to look for any locals and to ask them questions if they found any. 

"Lance, I will begin searching the west side of the planet, you can search to the east." Lance agreed and threw a warning out to his team before he started his search. "Careful of the spikes, they're really tall and the rocks look dangerous, just fly carefully guys." With that, Voltron began their search for Keith.

*

Thousands of miles underneath the very soil Voltron was searching, Keith was being restrained. He had the muzzle from his first operation strapped to his head once again, his hands were bound and the Dweller's around him had been especially rough with him today. Keith continued arguing through the muzzle. He yelled and screamed one word, "Clat!" He wanted to say goodbye, and he wanted to be able to remember his friend. But the Dweller's continued taking Keith farther and farther away from his old cell. He was so focused on seeing Clat one more time that he didn't realize where the Dweller's were taking him. 

Keith was shoved in a cage, his restraints were taken off and a new one was added. A thick metal chain was wrapped tightly to the center of the Cage's ceiling. Keith could only move two feet in any direction without being choked by the other end of the chain that was wrapped around his waist. Keith was enraged, he fought back as best he could, even though he knew it was pointless from past experiences. Once the Dweller's were satisfied with their work, they closed the doors to the room Keith's cage was in and left. Darkness covered the space like a thick blanket. 

Keith went to sit down, but the chain pulled at his midsection, preventing him from doing so. Keith was left in there with his thoughts for a while, He couldn't even hear the Dwellers outside his room. 

Keith began thinking about his past few weeks. They had been hell, to put it lightly. He began to asses his injuries in the dark, remembering what Clat had told him. "You have several wounds on your back and multiple on your head and torso. There are many cuts on your legs and your wrists are swollen and cut up in some places from restraints." Kieth figured he had a lot more now, and treated everything that hurt. Keith started to treat his wounds as best he could, following Clat's instructions by using his clothes as bandages for the open wounds. After everything wasn't bleeding, Keith let his mind wander, he had nothing better to do anyway, and he found in the past few weeks that he quite enjoyed thinking.

Keith thought about his team. Man, he missed everyone. Especially Shiro and Lance. All Keith wanted right now was for Shiro to find him and make him feel better, just like he always did. Keith let himself cry for a bit, it was pitiful. He had tried not to cry around the Dwellers, they were fascinated by it and it only scared Keith more. He let himself sob, thinking about all the good times he had with his friends. 

Then the floor started to shake with a great mechanical rumbling. 

*

Lance was flying slowly, looking for anything that could possibly point him in the right direction. He veered off to the left, avoiding a huge rock formation. Something caught his eye, and Lance landed Red as soon as he could. Flying down with his jetpack, Lance saw a small shard of metal sticking out of the purple sand. Brushing it away, he saw that it was part of a Galran fighter jet.

"Guys I found something! Come to the northeast section, Red's up on a cliff thing. Hurry!" 

The team was assembled in a few minutes, Lance had already begun sifting through the sand, looking for Keith. Hunk and Shiro helped him, while Allura and Pidge went out on foot, looking for possible places Keith would go. 

It took them thirty minutes to get the entire jet above the sand. There was nothing very valuable left inside, and the boys joined the girls in the search for Keith. 

Alura and Hunk took to the skies again because Coran had warned the paladins that Galra ships were passing by. 

*

The floor beneath Keith's feet began to rumble, and he held onto the chain as he was swung around the cage like a puppet on strings. He knew now that he was on a plane, and that he was the 'package'. With a newfound energy, Keith tried to yank himself free from the chain. He couldn't leave! Clat needed him and his friends were looking for him! Keith kicked and punched, and even screamed, but nothing worked. With one final kick, Keith swung back and hit the top of the cage. The breath was knocked out of him and he went limp.

*

The area around Keith's crash site began to shake. Shiro told everyone to get to their lions and continue their search from the sky. Lance brought Red into the air again and flew down to meet the rest of his team. 

Pidge looked up to see a large hole in one of the rocks, but it wasn't a natural cave. The walls had metal plating on the inside, and it almost looked like a runway. Pidge tried to warn Lance but it was too late, A large cargo jet flew out of the cave and collided with Red.

"Aaagh!" Lance groaned, shaking himself off, he was glad to see Red was okay, but whatever he hit was not. The front of the cargo jet was smashed in, and the back had been busted open. Lance's comms crackled to life. His friends were all talking at once.

Shiro was trying to give instructions, Hunk was asking if Lance could hear them, Pidge was talking about the cave opening and Allura was telling them they had to get out of there.

Lance had his eyes glued to the crates, boxes, and cage that had fallen out of the ship.

Lance's heart soared. He recognized that mullet anywhere.

"It's Keith!"

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