The Difference Between You And Me [Voltron WA 2017]

Battlefield

All five lions slammed to the ground, beeping out warnings to the paladins inside.

"What the hell just happened?!" Keith yelled, but no response. All five paladins climbed out of their lions, all except Lance.

"Help!" He screamed. His bad leg had gotten pinned under the control console of his lion.

"Where's Lance?" Shiro asked as he jogged up to Hunk, Keith and Pidge.

"His leg - he must be stuck in his lion, there's no way he could climb out with that cut." Pidge answered, rushing to the blue lion. She popped open the hatch at the top and slipped in, yelping when she saw the small pool of blood around Lance's left leg.

"Pidge, help!" He breathed.

"It's, it's okay!" She said unconvincingly, lifting the metal that had shifted. Lance manually pulled his leg out and scooched across the floor.

"I don't think I'll be able to make it out like this." Lance said, looking up at the only exit. "I can't climb up there."

"I can get Shiro or Keith to come and loft you out! You can't just stay in here, Lance!"

"I'm just a burden to you guys now. It isn't like I'm going anywhere on this leg."

"What's taking so long?" Keith asked, peering in from above. He reached out both arms, and Lance grudgingly took hold of his hands and allowed himself to be pulled up. Pidge followed him, trying not to notice the blood smeared on her hands.

"Lance!" Hunk exclaimed, rushing to his injured friend. Keith gingerly set the blue paladin on the dusty, brown dirt. Lance winced but said nothing as Keith propped him up against the blue lion.

"What happened?" Shiro asked nervously.

"Haggar happened." Lance answered, turning his head away. "And now I'm dead weight."

"Don't talk like that. You're a part of the team, and some injury isn't going to change that. Just because we don't have a healing pod doesn't mean you're going to die - I won't let you."

"But I can't even shoot right now! The witch took our bayards."

"You can call them back, you know." Keith said, sitting next to Lance.

"What?" The blue paladin looked wearily at his friend.

"Place your hand at your side and think of it." Keith flung his Bayard over Shiro's lion, then had it in his hand a moment later. "See? Just focus, concentrate." Lance, too, was now holding his Bayard.

"Woah, awesome!" Pidge said, as she held hers up.

"We don't have time to stay and talk, unfortunately." Shiro said gravely, looking to the sky. "Look." The other four looked up to see Zarkon, Haggar, and dozen grab soldiers approaching on a floating metal platform.

"Get ready, guys." Keith said.

"Oh, uh, here's your helmet!" Pudge said suddenly, taking it off.

"Keep it - you may need it." Keith was watching the descending platform, tensing as it got close enough to make out each individual figure.

"This is it, guys. One way or another, this may be our last battle against Zarkon." Shiro said, activating his metal arm.

"Any plans?" Hunk asked.

"Cover Lance so he can cover us. He can't move, so he's going to be our sniper, so to speak." Shiro answered, still focusing on the platform.

"See you guys when this is over, then." Pidge whispered, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"See you, then." Keith answered, and all hell broke loose.

--

"Allura, you can't!" Coran yelled. "You could die - going out there is a death sentence!"

"The Lions are down and so are communications between the paladins. If we don't get to them soon, who knows what could happen?!" Allura countered, maneuvering the castle behind Earth's single moon. She gave Coran the look and rushed to the castle hangar for a pod.

"Princess...! Wait for me!" Coran yelled, reluctantly racing after her.

"There's too many of them!"

"Lance!" Many voices screamed over the comm, and Allura almost started crying as she started up the pod. Once Coran had entered, she fired off, leaving the castle behind.

"Paladins, come in!" She said, hoping desperately that they would answer.

"Allura! Can you get down here?" Hunk asked, followed by several screams and incoherent shouts.

"Coran and I are on our way in a pod. The castle was under fire too heavy to try and push through, but we've got some firepower on the pod."

"Hurry, please- KEITH!"

--

Keith had been shot in his sword arm by a galra, dropping his Bayard and falling to his knees.

"Keith, what happened?!" Allura asked over the comm.

"He was shot -"

"I can't fight anymore!" Keith interrupted. "Not like -"

Before Keith could finish, he was lifted into the air, courtesy of a tractor beam. "Keith!" Lance yelled, struggling to move out of the way as the beam swept him up as well.

"Why is that happening?!" Hunk asked, turning towards Shiro. In his moment of confusion, he didn't see the tractor beam heading for him. He was swept off the ground, fumbling for his Bayard while in the air.

"Hunk!" Lance yelled, disappearing through a hole on Zarkon's platform.

"Shiro, there's too many of them - what do we do?!" Pidge asked, frantically downing another galra.

"We keep fighting." Shiro answered as more drones climbed over the Lions to challenge the two paladins. "Until we can't fight any more."