Forgotten

Chapter 9: Dawn

"I'm going in," Lance shoved himself off a large boulder he was lounging on. Shiro stopped the eager young man with a glare.

"We need a plan; And we currently don't have one."

Lance threw his hands up, "Then what have we been doing the past thirty minutes?!"

Pidge didn't look up from her beeping. . . whatever the heck it was. Tracking iPad with antenna. TrackPad. Yeah, her TrackPad. "I've been scoping out the place."

Hunk looked up from his dirt drawing, "Please tell me you didn't hack into another satellite."

Pidge just smirked. Poor Hunk looked like he'd taken second place in the Olympics by half a second and Shiro, ever the disappointed dad, looked up at the dark foliage above him and rolled his eyes.

"It's taken you thirty minutes to figure out the layout of one stupid warehouse?" Lance kicked his previous chair.

Pidge adjusted her glasses, "Might I remind you this warehouse has been converted to a hideout for poachers?"

The Voltron clan waited for ten more minutes before Pidge spoke up again, "I've completed the layout. Sending the blueprints to your phones now."

Each one of the compatriot's dinged within two seconds of each other. Lance blazed through the message. He finished before the others. Eventually each of them had gone over the schematics of the place.

While Lance was waiting for his partners to finish reading, he had concocted a plan to get Keith out of that hell hole.

"Guys, I have a plan."

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Keith somehow had been able to drift off into a fitful sleep in his tiny prison. It was short of a miracle that the merman's mind allowed him some sleep. However, his insufficient sleep was promptly interrupted by a large fist almost ripping out his hair.

The merman shrieked in surprise as he was dragged up and over the top of the tank. Keith collided with the concrete floor rather awkwardly as the man was none to gentle. The merman's tail twisted in an unnatural way as he hit the floor and skinned his palms as well as his face as he fell. It was completely understandable that Keith let out a wail of pain. However, the Galra crony only let grotesque chuckle and kicked the merman in the ribs.

Keith could have sworn he heard bones groan under the pressure, then give up and snap. The merman only let a small whine escape his lips as he draped his arm across his chest. The man the proceeded to drag Keith out of his metal chamber by his tail, leaving streaks of water in his wake.

The man showed no signs of exertion as he towed the thrashing merman to another room in the endless warehouse. Eventually, the man let go of his death grip on Keith's tail and watched it flop to the floor.

The merman looked up from his tail to a figure with a pressed suit on, standing half covered in the shadows. It gave the figure a menacing aura.

Keith's glare didn't move from the figure as it turned to face him.

The merman snarled as Lotor smirked, "Let's begin shall we?"

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Lance peered around the corner; eyes sweeping across the other hall searching for any enemies. The man whispered into his mic. "Are the cameras cut, Pidge?"

"Yep."

When Lance had explained his plan to the crew, they had uncovered several holes that could send them into a downward spiral that they would never recover from. Shiro, and Pidge had covered those gaping holes with plaster and found a way to get around the wall. One specific detail of Lance's plan required some sort of inconspicuous communication.

Let's just say everyone was stumped; until Pidge pulled out some extremely convenient ear pieces. Like who the heck just carries around headsets everywhere they go? Regardless, the Voltron crew didn't as any questions (except Lance) and geared up. Eventually, they all snuck to their given destinations.

So here Lance once, hiding from an entire building filled with his enemies and puzzling over Pidge's convenient supplies.

Shiro's voice rang through Lance's ear, knocking him out of his thoughts, "Lance, you still there?"

"Yes."

The hallway he was currently scoping out was completely empty, so naturally he made to slip down it. Lance made it about halfway through it when he heard an ear shattering howl.

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      White exploded across his vision; the fireworks cracking their way around his conscious. He tried to fight back. He really did. But the weight holding his hands above his head as well as pinning his tail to the ground crushed him into the concrete floor prevented him for escaping the obliterating pain. 

      A howl ripped its way out of Keith's throat as the knife slipping under one of his scales twisted ; causing the excruciating pain to spread all across his body. It consumed every thought, breath, and movement. Keith's body completely seized; the only movements he was allowed were the jolts racing across his muscles. Keith slammed his eyes shut, trying to block out everything. 

      Blood poured past the knife, staining it a bitter, scarlet red. It dripped from Keith's waist and splattered across the hard ground. At some point one of the Galra swiped his foot across the small puddle. Now, the blood was smeared; it looked like the perfect prop to put in a horror movie. 

Except. . .  

      this was real. This was no fantasy someone dreamed up. His pain was real; so real that sometimes it felt like Keith could reach out and touch it. He still had days when he didn't have the will to get up from his bed of seaweed. Sometimes he didn't eat, because he was too disgusted by himself for feeling they way he did. Occasionally, he took in every insult, joking or otherwise, and wallowed in it; bringing his self worth down notch by notch. And sometimes, he got so irritable, that he would snap and anything. 

But. . .

      Somehow the Voltron clan was able to drag him from his dark and desperate state. Lance made him want to play. To enjoy the water he had, the friends, the sunlight, and (mostly) fresh air. Hunk made him want to savor every morsel of food placed in front of him. Listen to the language of cooking. The spices used, the fruits, vegetables, and meat combined together to create something beautiful. Pidge always grabbed Keith's self-worth evaluator and snapped it in half saying, "You never lose your worth. No matter what you go through, who you are, or where you come from. No matter what anyone says, you have someone to lean on, someone to confide in, and someone to share your burdens with. Your feelings are always, always valid, so don't be afraid to shout them from the rooftops." 

      And Shiro; somehow his councils always helped the most. Shiro always sat silent when Keith found the courage to talk about his feelings, knowing that Keith just needed to talk about it. Shiro knew when to give advice only when asked and when to just sit and listen.

      The merman was hit with another wave of anguish as his scale was popped away from his tail. Keith opened his eyes and glared at the closest man with new-found resolve; his eye glowed a bright violet. He had something-- no he had everything to fight for. He had his friends at Voltron, his family back at home, and he was going to make it back to them. How he was going to get back? He had no idea, but there was nothing going to stop him. Consequences had been thrown out the window. 

      He was about to bare his teeth and growl when--

"You're all dead."

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Chapter 9 is done!

Guys! I'm fr dying rn!!!! I can't even believe that I'm currently ranked #5 in klance!! What???? Thank you all so freaking much!! I can't even right now!! On another note...Thank you all for 1k reads! Only last week did we only have 400 reads. This couldn't have been done without ya'll. I know this chapter has taken a really long time to be put out. I just knew what I wanted to do . . . I just had no idea how to write it legibly. So sorry 'bout that. Stay Sweet!

Word Count: 1397