Far From Home | Voltron

chapter twelve

|i really do need to work on my mile time|

I GLANCE AROUND at the eerie ship, it's purple glow striking fear into my gut. Electricity crackles down from the ceiling down onto large triangular shapes, and I'm guessing it's some kind of power generator or something.

Continuing into a hallway, the purple glow becomes more prominent. My breathing remains uneven as we slowly navigate our way through the ship. We slowly slink through the hallways, making sure we're quiet. As we turn a corner, Shiro stops, and he flinches, emitting a slight groan. 

"Shiro?" I question quietly, quickly walking over to him.

"I've been here before," Shiro says. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here."

"So that means your other crewmembers," Pidge concludes, walking over to him. "they might be held captive here! We...We gotta rescue them." 

"Pidge, we don't have time. We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus," Shiro says solemnly.

"Pidge, we have to move quickly," I supply, staring sadly at the enraged boy before me. 

"We can't just leave prisoners here!" Pidge argues. 

Shiro steps forward. "Look, no one understands that more than me, but in war, we have to make hard choices. Now let's get moving." 

I flinch as Pidge's voice rings out.

"No!" 

Pidge gazes down sadly. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos Mission with you."

"Commander Holt is your father?" Shiro asks.

My eyes widen as I realize something. Commander Holt had a daughter. I remember going on a play date or something years ago, with his daughter. The only other child they had was Matt - who went to Kerberos as well. That meant that - holy shit. 

Pidge was a girl. 

Pidge was a girl.

Freckled, red-haired, short, spitfire, nerdy, and adorable Pidge was a girl.

"Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close," Pidge shouts. "I won't!"

"I'm coming with you," Shiro declares, just as Pidge was turning to leave. 

"What?" Keith asked nervously. 

"Yeah, what?" I asked. "Splitting up is a bad idea - we've literally watched horror movies together. Do you really think this is a good idea?"

 "We'll be fine. Pidge, I remember where the prisoners are held. Keith, Mae, you go find the Red Lion. Protect each other, watch out for each other," Shiro says.

"By ourselves?" Keith questions, slightly worried. 

"Minor change of plans. You'll be fine," Shiro assures. "Just remember, patience yields focus." 

The phrase sends a pang of sadness straight through my heart. I missed hearing that. Of course, I had followed that motto ever since Shiro first told me that, when I was practicing my cello for the first time, but I had missed hearing him say that. It's kinda weird realizing just how much I missed him. 

"Run!" Shiro commands, dashing off in the opposite direction with Pidge.

"Be careful. Please, please be careful," I say, my voice trailing off.