Canis Major | Keith Kogane

12

Everyone had self-assigned themselves jobs. Keith was to go to help the Arusian village with Allura, Hunk and Coran headed off to procure a new crystal from something called a 'Balmera,' and Shiro and Elle stayed at the castle to make sure Lance was okay and to check the perimeters of the castle. 

Elle secured her helmet on her head. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was worried about everyone, if they had made it to Arus then the Galra could be anywhere else. She worried especially for Keith and Allura. Those two were heading straight into the action without their lions.

Elle patrolled the hallways, searching for Shiro so he wouldn't have to hold up Lance all on his own. Maybe he would be fine? Shiro was a really buff man, Elle didn't think it could be much trouble carrying him around.

Elle passed by the entrance of the castle and saw Shiro crashing onto the floor. She rushed to his aid, oblivious to the flying robotic hand dashing forward.

"Get down!" Shiro yelled tackling Elle to the side. Shiro quickly got up and tossed a giant purple alien across the room with the help of his momentum. It was madness. Elle just barely had time to reach for her bayard before another robotic hand grabbed her right shoulder. Luckily for Elle, she was left-handed and gave the owner to the hand a strong knock to the jaw. Shaking off the sting of the punch from her armored hand, Elle reached for her bayard and took aim to her next target. 

Her attention was immediately drawn to a second purple alien holding a gun to Lance's head. She hadn't even noticed Lance until now. 

"Drop your weapon, or the blue one gets it," he said. Elle hesitated, resulting in a robotic sentry returning a jab to her stomach and disarming her bayard, discarding the weapon to the floor. The sentry then grabbed Elle's wrists and held them behind her back and placed a device that bound her wrists. The second pointed a gun at her and forced her to walk forward.

The second purple alien's attention had turned to Shiro fighting the owner of the disembodied hand. "Drop your weapon or they both get it," the purple Alien said firmly. The residual heat from the barrel of the laser gun pressed into Elle's back. These guys wouldn't hesitate to shoot. 

Shiro hesitated, which gave his opponent an opening to send him flying across the room. As Shiro landed at Elle's feet, her captivator struck her in the abdomen followed by a blow to the back of her head. Her cries of pain were heard through the communications. Keith and Allura's call to Elle and Shiro met no answer.

Breathing. She focused on breathing. A dull pang pounded within her head as if Big Ben were ringing deep inside it. Her focus shifted to a tall purple alien that looked like some imaginary creature she feared in her childhood.

A huge cybernetic arm that wasn't even connected to his body, a cybernetic monocle that looked like it could shoot lasers at you, and a monstrous height that towered over both her and Shiro. Shiro was already kneeling upright, sitting in front of Elle and Lance like a guardian.

"What do you want?" Shiro asked the Galra alien. 

"Your friend wanted to hear from you," the alien said back with a sneer in his voice. Elle felt a chill run down her spine, then her arms. She already knew what this Galra was capable of. She tripped over herself clumsily as they raised their arms and electricity coursed through their cybernetic arm. She couldn't get to Shiro in time. He screamed in pain and Elle looked away. 

"You can make it stop," they said through the communicator, "Turn yourself in. His suffering is in your hands. Or would you like to take on the responsibility of the girl's, too?" Elle heard Shiro's body fall to the floor as he took approached closer to Elle. Their robotic arm charging with electricity once again. 

Elle didn't even have time to brace for it. The electricity felt as if it burned through every fiber of her being, down to the bone. It was a white, hot, unimaginable pain that stung even after the electrocution had stopped. Elle's eyes weighed down with her body as she fell face first into the floor.

Loud noises and a gentle tap on her shoulder awoke Elle. Wearily, Elle forced her eyes open to see a comforting shade of green. In a blink, Pidge was ripped out of Elle's sight 

"Did you really think your little hologram trick would work on me?" the alien asked as Keith and Allura rushed into the room. The alien's grip on Pidge grew tighter as he commanded them to stay back. Lance suddenly shifted in his sleep. Elle immediately noticed he didn't have anything binding his arms. 

"Lance!" she whispered to him while she kicked his leg. His eyes opened lazily as he stirred once more. Elle used her leg to move his bayard closer to Lance. Almost instinctively, Lance knew what to do and shot at the Galra before falling weakly back to the clutches of unconsciousness. 

Shiro then stood up, charging at the Galra completely unarmed. With ease, he was sent flying back to where Elle and Lance were but the other Paladins rushed a flurry of attacks onto the enemy, eventually cornering him with his crystal. 

While everything was being taken care of, Pidge sliced off the handcuffs that uncomfortably bound Elle's wrists behind her back. Immediately upon freeing Elle, Elle wrapped Pidge in a proud hug. 

"I'm so proud of my Pidget spinner," she said tiredly. Pidge chuckled and went on to slice off Shiro's handcuffs. Gripping the ledge her back was against Elle pulled herself up, her body ached ever so slightly from the electrocution. 

"Hey, easy there," a voice said softly as they wrapped their arms around Elle. She turned her head to see a red Voltron 'V' flood her field of vision. Elle snaked her arm around Keith's torso and leaned her short stature against him for support.

"How many times are you going to put yourself in a situation where you need a day in the pod?" Keith asked jokingly.

"For the universe? At least twice a day."