Forgotten

Chapter 7: Twilight

It was dark as pitch.

The merman couldn't even see his own hand, not even four inches from his face. The sounds of water slapping against the sides of his container were the only sounds. His container. His container.

Panic boiled in his chest, and slithered through every inch of his body. Like an unquenchable forest fire. Keith's chests held an immense pressure. Pushing down and collapsing in on itself. His breaths began to come in short bursts, causing the pressure in his chest build. He was alone. Alone in this box.

He couldn't breath. There was no air for him. The walls crawled closer to Keith. Mocking him every inch they gained on him. The merman braced his arms on either side of him, pressing his trembling fingers against the cool metal plates; trying to hold back their advance. The action only served his panic, for the box became even smaller.

A devastating sob echoed from Keith's throat; tears blurring his already blank vision. He was alone. And no one was going to save him.

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Lance was going to save him. There was no other thought in his mind at that moment. When he had come to work finding his merman's door laying on the floor. Clearly blown open, searing panic took every action. He sprinted to the large pool, to find that Keith was no where to be found. But, the water had a distinct red tinge to it. Lance immediately went to the worst situation possible. Which, to be honest, was far from his prediction.

The man ran all over Voltron's centre, desperately searching for his friends. They could help. That sentence became a chant in his mind. Theycouldhelptheycouldhelptheycouldhelp. Eventually, Lance found Pidge in the back of the dolphins sector. "They...Oh Pidge.. he's... help!" Lance babbled. His face was tear stained, his eyes were red and puffy, and his breathing was uncontrolled.

The scientist took one look at Lance's face and knew something horrible had happened. "What?" she demanded.

"They took him, Pidge! They took him! I wa--"

A hard look crossed Pidge's face and she put her hand on Lance's shoulder, "Shut up and follow me."

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A large bang resounded through the metal prison, "Shut up!" a rough voice growled from the outside. Keith had begun to wail a few minutes ago. It was the only sound keeping the merman from losing all sense of everything around him. His screeches traveled right through the alloy, making his captors teeth grind.

The merman responded to the whack with a half-hearted hiss. The walls continued to close in on him, all the way until he felt he couldn't move without breaking something. But he only endured that for a few moments, because the walls reverted back to their original positions to torture him once more.

They could have been traveling for a few minutes, hours, or even days. Keith had no way of knowing; or even caring. He was to lost in his panic to register that the tank bumped up and down as he traveled. He was trapped. In a box. With no way out. Trapped. He was trapped. He was forgotten. There was no chance for him to be rescued now. How was that even possible?

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"How is that even possible!" screeched Hunk.

"They turned off the alarm system, but not the cameras?" Lance growled.

They were all silent for a moment. Then Pidge breathed, "They wanted us to know we took him."

Lance's heart broke in half and sank to the depths. It was all his fault. There was no way that this happened to Keith out of his carelessness. He should have been there; he should have protected Keith. "It's my fault." Lance mumbled.

Shiro, who had been silent during this exchange, spoke up, "But why would Galra want us know it was them? Lotor is more careful than this." He then crossed his arms.

      Absolute murder shone in Hunk's usually kind eyes, "Revenge. Ever since Lance denied his offer to join his gang, Lotor has been more persistent with his targets."

"My fault." Lance whispered again. "All my fault."

Pidge turned Lance, "This is not your fault in any way Lance. We will find him." She turned her attention back to the computer screen, displaying the security cameras footage. "Now, if I can find their vehicle..." the sound of fingerings slapping a keyboard filled the room.

Hunk leaned over her chair and asked, "What are you doing?"
Pidge sighed, " Lotor's vehicle had a lot of tech in it. Each piece of technology has its own unique signal. I'm amplifying the noise almost two hundred times the normal volume; that way I can record exactly what the signal sounds like. Once I get the sample I can track the vehicle by the techs signal pulses alone." After her extremely simplified explanation, she readjusted her glasses.

      The rest of the crew gave her very impressed looks. "Well done, Pidge" praises Shiro. Then there was complete silence as they waited impatiently for the computer to run its algorithm.

      The whirring is the computer was the only sound until, bling! Pidge glanced at the computer and said, "Got him."

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      "I got him." a muffled voice announced. Keith, meanwhile had long run out of tears. He now just resorted to curling on himself trembling to the point where his muscles became sore. The merman vaguely felt the cell being raised. He let out a pitiful whine.

      The men outside of Keith's cell slammed the metal. Surprised, the merman yelled as he nearly jumped out of his scales.  "Be silent!" one of them demanded.

      They lugged the large metal crate containing the merman up a small driveway and walked into a large run-down warehouse. The land-dwellers carried the cowering merman into the center of the large building and dropped him, none to gently.

      The action jarred Keith out of his ball. He was just about to return to his semi-quiet suffering, when the lid was pried off. Immediately, Keith felt the ever growing pressure in his chest release.

      The merman sat up from his laying position, breathing hard. And that was was when he came face to face with his challenger back at Voltron.

      This man had pure white hair that reached the middle of his back, and eyes the color of the darkest parts of the ocean. He had a strong nose, and his cheek bones looked as if they could cut bread. The challenger raised a perfectly groomed brow and smiled. His teeth were pearly white as well as straight. The smile was feline, it didn't reach the mans eyes at all.

      The challenger, despite what the rest of the land-dwellers wore in his company, wore a black suit, tailored specially for him. He wore a light purple tie, nothing was out of line.

      The challenger leaned in close to Keith, almost touching the merman's nose with his own.

"Welcome Pet. I am Lotor."

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Chapter 7!!! Yay! Thank you all for reading this chapter it means a ton. I won't be updating for a bit, I'm going on a vacation. But expect some chapters later this week. Stay Sweet!

Word Count: 1200