Love, Loss and Everything in Between. Klance AU

Chapter 17 - Replaceable

Happy pride month to anyone reading this!!

"You're making this difficult for yourself," The Galra spoke through gritted teeth, his knife buried deep into Lance's flesh. His usually beautiful tanned skin had been branded a horrific red. Hot tears were streaming down his cheeks but his jaw remained tense: he was not going to tell the Galra anything. "Just answer the damn question already! What are the weaknesses and strengths of all the paladins?"

Lance let out a piercing scream as the Galran slowly removed the knife. Still, Lance remained silent, despite knowing the answer. Hunk was tactfully smart but his close combat was lacking. Keith acted too much on impulse but anger was a fuel that could push him to victory even in the hardest of battles. Shiro was intelligent and a strong leader but suffered with his past. Sometimes he just needed to sit down and breathe, especially amongst the panic attacks he'd still receive every so often. Then there was Pidge. They were a genius and their size made it easy for them to dodge attacks in battles. Their weakness was their actual fighting skills which, with a lot of training, had the potential to improve.

"Here's an idea, blue paladin... If you don't speak, you'll never see your friends again."

"That's an empty threat!" Lance yelled between heavy breaths. Black spots danced in front of his vision but he blinked them away.

"Oh yeah? They're going to be here within the next quintant to get you. They just might never get to see you alive again."

Lance stiffened, face going pale. He didn't want to die. He was seventeen years old (maybe eighteen? They didn't know how much earth time had passed) and that was too young to die. He had so much more he wanted to experience. The Galra hovered the blade of the knife over the inside of Lance's wrist. "Even better, we give them a clone and you stay here. We could torture you each quintant, listening to your wonderful screams and never letting you die. You'd beg and beg for mercy but we won't ever stop."

"They're going to get me."

"That's almost cute. You think they care about you. You're easily replaceable. I bet they're celebrating right now."

"That's not true!"

Satisfied that he had hit a soft spot, the Galra grinned. He pulled the knife backwards before moving it to Lance's left arm that was yet to be impaled. The skin was a blank canvas, ready to be drawn all over to create a masterpiece. "You know it is true, blue paladin. They won't know that we're giving them a clone."

"Yes, they would!"

"This is a battle with the universe at jeopardy. One weak paladin is insignificant and they know it." Lance let out an inhumane growl that elicited a chuckle from the Galran soldier. "Have I told you my name yet?"

"I don't give a fuck!"

"I think it's only fair I tell you since I know you're Lance. I'm Gort and, trust me, I will never let you forget my name."

Lance's scream echoed around the room as the knife pierced his skin. Blood dribbled down his shoulder, forming a puddle at his feet. Gort stepped backwards, smiling at his creation. The letter G was carved into Lance's upper arm.

-

"Pidge, hold back." Shiro muttered as he stepped down the steps of the black lion. Standing in front of him was a pair of Galran shoulders, covered in purple armour and holding large blasters. Lance was stood in between them, staring ahead with an empty expression covering his face. The blue paladin was shoved forward and collapsed onto his knees in front of Shiro.

"Take him. Exit through the pod inside the lion but leave the black lion in our possession." The Galran guard commanded, eyeing Shiro closely as he wrapped a large hand around Lance's bicep to help him up onto his feet.

"I understand." Shiro nodded and wrapped an arm around Lance to help him walk. Lance was completely silent as he was pulled aboard the black lion but he didn't move towards the escape pod inside. He sat Lance on his lap- the only place that wouldn't have his weak body thrown everywhere as they moved- and thrust the controls forward.

"Pidge, retreat! I have Lance and the lion, we don't need you to come in!"

"On it, Shiro!" The green lion came into view in front of him as they both darted out of the Galran ship. Shiro was breathing heavily, half focused on Lance and half on escaping. Once they reached the castle, Shiro landed the lion and hugged Lance against himself.

He was bombarded with the other paladins, all concerned for Lance's wellbeing. Shiro ignored them in favour of getting Lance to the med bay where he was finally able to lay down. "Give him space." He ordered as everyone, once again, attempted to crowd the blue paladin. Lance was whining and had curled himself up into a tight ball on top of the bed. He didn't seem as injured as the paladins had prepared for but his face was still littered with bruises and there were cuts scattered up his arms. "Lance? Can you hear me? You're on the Castle of Lions and you're safe. No one is going to hurt you, alright? We need to get you in the escape pod."

Lance responded with a dragged out, "No." His eyes had a shine covering them and his jaw was constantly tense. His breathing was ragged and irregular, something Shiro recognised as happening to him during a panic attack. He waved the others back to give Lance more space. If it was a panic attack, space was key.

"Lance, you need to focus on my voice. You're okay. We've rescued you. It's Shiro and I promise I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I need you to calm down so we can make you feel better."

"Hurts..." Lance choked out, tears dribbling down his cheeks.

"I know, I know but we can make it better. We just need to get you into a pod. Is that okay with you?" A stiff nod was all Shiro anticipated in response so, when he received it, he tucked both of his arms beneath Lance's armpits and hoisted him up. The healing pod was open and ready so the effort required to put Lance inside it was minimal. When the door shut and Lance's eyes closed to create a facial expression of peace, the entire room let out a breath. As Shiro traced each injury on Lance's once pure body, he felt a hand slap against his back and make him jump.

"He's going to be okay. Whatever's wrong, the pod can heal it." Coran rubbed at the spot for a moment until Shiro's muscles loosened.

-

"Something's wrong." Coran murmured, flicking across the screen with his index finger. Pidge was leant over his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed in worry. "His... vitals..."

"What?" Keith turned around, hands clenched into fists. Shiro was beside him and grabbed Keith's wrist to stop him from doing something violent.

"It says he doesn't have a blood pressure and... and his heart isn't beating. That's impossible. We need to get him out. Right now." Coran jammed his hand down onto a button and the door flew open. Lance fell out but Shiro caught him in his arms and guided him over to the bed. Lance woke up quickly, sitting up and looking around, disorientated. "The pod must have malfunctioned..."

"I thought you said they didn't malfunction?" Keith argued, tracing his finger over Lance's cheek. Despite everything, it was still soft.

"They don't. It doesn't make sense." Coran headed over to Lance and scanned his body with his eyes. He drunk in each injury, down to the small bruise at the bottom of his shin. As Coran reached out and grabbed Lance's wrists, Lance jolted backwards.

"Don't touch him." Keith snapped, watching as tears welled up in Lance's eyes. Coran didn't let go, instead stroking the inside of the arm in search of a pulse. "You're scaring him!"

"He doesn't have a pulse. The pod wasn't malfunctioning."

"Quiznack..." Pidge mumbled in disbelief.

"What are you trying to say?"

"This isn't Lance. It must be a clone or something... They tricked us."