Marked For Death | klangst

Fifteen.

A whole Spicolian Movement passed before the light cannon was being mounted to the ship's hull, ready to be fired. Through those seven quintants, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran worked tirelessly on the prototype, while the others were taking turns looking for Lance on the ground. In short, they always came back empty handed and broken hearted.

The Blue Lion never reactivated, either. Every now and then, Keith would poke his head into the hangar to see if the mechanical beast had altered its position at all, but it was frozen in that same begging position. And every time, Keith would walk away with angry tears in his eyes, the little hope that he had fading fleetingly from his mind.

It was Shiro's turn to visit Grumga's terrain once again, so Keith was in his room, sitting on his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting heavily on them. His lean arms were wrapped around his shins in an uncomfortable embrace, but he didn't care about comfort - not while Lance was MIA; not when he was presumably...

Keith shook his head. He wasn't going to think like that. "Stop that now," he scolded himself, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. "We're gonna find him."

The castle's intercoms rustled to life, and Allura's voice echoed in his room. "Keith, come to the main deck. There's something you need to be here for."

He unfolded his limbs and sprang out of bed with unfathomable speed. It was something to do with Lance, he just knew it. He sprinted through the winding hallways, ignoring the flaring pain in his chest from lack of breath and the dull ache of his muscles screaming for air. He had a drive pushing him along, and that drive was Lance's wellbeing.

Minutes later, he bounded onto the main deck where the other Paladins, Coran, and Allura stood patiently waiting for him. He noticed that Pidge and Coran both looked a bit apprehensive, and that Hunk looked nauseated. Keith already didn't like what he saw.

"That was quick," Allura noted, blinking wondrously at him.

"My lion's known for her speed," Keith decided to answer. "Maybe some of that skill is starting to rub off. But never mind that now. What's going on?"

"Pidge and Hunk got the light cannon operational!" Coran announced excitedly, the apprehensiveness fading from his face.

Keith's eyes went wide with elation and optimism. "For real?" he asked to make sure his mind wasn't playing a terrible joke on him.

"It's true," Hunk said miserably, covering his mouth and clutching his stomach. "About an hour ago, before we readjusted the last part into place, the light mechanism spazzed out and practically blinded me for a whole two minutes!" His grip on his stomach grew tighter as his voice raised. "Now, I'm feeling like I did when we fist rode these lions -- all sick and nauseated."

Keith frowned at him. "But it's all good now? It'll disrupt the electromagnetic mist? We'll be able to see the land from up here?"

"That's not all," Pidge answered him excitedly, practically bouncing on her feet. "If we clear enough of that mist at a time, the lions will be able to set foot on the ground." The excitement on her face died moments later. "I just wish Lance's lion wasn't decommissioned. If she was still working, their bond would've been strong enough that Blue could just lead us to him, but that's not an option right now, so the next best thing to do is to try to pick up any traces of Altean energy from his suit. Only the ship can do that, but Allura'll send the data to every one of our lions. Hopefully, we'll be able to trace enough of that energy to get definite coordinates and lower our window of search," she finished proudly, her eyes shining from behind her glasses.

Keith moved his eyes to her, a broad smile growing on his face. "Pidge, that's incredible!"

"Well, it really is just science... That's what is really incredible," she told him as her way of accepting a compliment.

All Keith could do was laugh. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get suited up and into our lions!"

Pidge and Shiro cheered, their fists raised in the air in a whooping motion, while Hunk smiled weakly. "Hooray..." he moaned, his face paling.

"Hunk, are going to be alright to do this?" Allura asked him, genuinely concerned.

"Nope, nope. Don't even think like that," Hunk replied instantly, shakily standing. "We have been closer to finding Lance than we have been in the past week and a half. There's no way I'm missing a chance to get my best friend back."

"Then, let's go," Shiro ordered, a smile covering his face.

***

The Paladins got into their armor and settled into their lions minutes later. They knew the stakes were high, but they were willing to do whatever it took to get their friend back.

"Princess, we're all set down here," Shiro said from within the Black Lion.

"Same here for me and Red," Keith answered.

"My lion's all good to go, too, Allura," Pidge told her.

As they were waiting for a word of approval from Hunk, they heard a highly viscous liquid splash into a container of some sorts. The other Paladins cringed at the sound, swallowing bile of their own.

"Uh, Hunk?" Shiro asked cautiously, his voice tinged with distaste.

It was silent for a moment before Hunk answered in a throaty voice. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" the Black Paladin asked him in worry.

"I actually think I just needed to get that out of my system," Hunk answered, some life returning to his voice. "I feel better already."

Shiro smiled. "That's good. So, are you all set, then?"

"Yep," Hunk confirmed, his normal self fully returned.

"Excellent," Allura told the four of them. "I'm going to open the hangar doors now, but do not enter the planet's atmosphere yet. We haven't fired the cannon yet."

"Understood, Princess," Shiro replied. The four waited for the hatches to open, and when they did, they flew out carefully -- slowly -- to assure that they were far from Grumga's atmosphere.

"Firing light cannon in three... two... one," Coran announced, and from the top of the castle, a bolt of piercing white light shot towards the planet. Even from within their lions, they could feel the pure energy from the shot.

They watched as the light hit the planet's electromagnetic field. They watched as it pierced through the mist, leaving a clear trail in its wake. No new mist curled into the area previously cleared. The Paladins cheered joyously. Their luck was changing.

"Pidge, Hunk... You both did a heck of a job with that thing," Shiro praised them, a broad smile covering half of his face. They didn't answer, but both the Green and Yellow Paladins were smiling the same smile.

"Let me just fire a few more shots -- to clear a safe way for the lions," Coran told everyone before shooting off several more beams of light. Everyone knew this time, though, to look away. "Okay!" Coran declared in delight. "That should be enough for the lions to land safely."

"Allura, are you picking up any traces of the energy in Lance's suit yet?" Keith asked, tapping his foot on the metal in his lion.

The Paladins could hear her frown. "Not yet, I'm afraid. Coran, pilot the ship a tad closer. Perhaps that will make a difference."

As Coran steered the castle closer to Grumga, Allura gasped. "Paladins! Grow me wings and call me a Wazblay, but there is a blip on our radar. It's very small and weak, meaning that the energy in his suit has been fading, but it is there. I'm linking your lions in as I speak."

Sure enough, in front of everyone's eyes, a radar appeared, and in the right uppermost corner, a blue dot faded in and out of view. On the middle of the radar, four other dots blinked, each one coordinating with their suits.

Shiro took a deep breath. "This is the closest we have been to getting Lance back. So let's go and get him," he said authoritatively, his hand tightening over the gears in his lion. "C'mon team!"

And the four lions -- black, red, yellow, and green -- flew down to the surface, all determined to find the last fifth of their team and one of their deepest friends.