VOLTRON ONE-SHOTS

Keith - Don't Hold Back

Word Count: 2,562

Within walking a few yards, it didn't take long for Keith to realize just how toxic the planet air really was.

In under a handful of minutes after ditching his suit and taking out one of the hunters along his trek to get as far away from the rest of the paladins as he could acquire, he was already trying to hack up a lung, or at least that was what his body was trying to do, he, on the other hand, had other plans, plans that included not getting caught.

Keith held in another fit, shoving a fist in his mouth to keep them from being heard, the quieter he was the better chance they all had with Lance and the others getting to their lions and contacting the Atlas before he was caught, which he figured wouldn't be far from now. Everything was silent and, from Keith had learned from being in space, silence reeking through the air with a bunch of bounty hunters (most likely) on their tails, was far from a good sign.

He stumbled over another clump of rocks in his way, coughing into his hand; he pulled his fingers away to see small flecks of blood dotting his fingertips.

That probably wasn't a good sign.

He had to keep moving.

The rugged landscape was slowly growing steeper the closer he got to the mouth of the volcano, the temperature itself crawling higher with every step in that direction, and Keith hoped once those hunters caught up to him (just in case) he'd be able to use the rocky, dangerous and frankly unpredictable terrain to his advantage.

The sheath of his knife dug into his side as he pulled himself up a rocky ledge. The strength needed to finally hoist himself up had him rolling over in a coughing fit he couldn't hold down leaving him sprawled on his back on the hard earth, body shaking with each hacking cough that found its way up his throat.

It might've been a few seconds, maybe a few minutes before he could finally inhale air again, and even then it was more of a wheeze that had his chest throbbing with every breath, tears pricked the edges of his eyes at the crushing pain in his lungs.

He needed to get off this planet.

He had to keep moving.

Somehow finding the energy to stand, he drug himself to shaky feet again, bending over to get what little breath he could to keep going, before finally shuffling his feet back into some sort of walk. Sweat traced its way down the side of his face, dripping onto the black fabric of his armor's undersuit. He coughed into his fist again, more blood coming up.

He wiped it on his pants.

Keith looked around himself once more, the planet's structure gave him minimal view of his surroundings, but from what he could take, he was still alone.

He forced himself to go faster.

Pushing against protesting muscles, he strained himself into a light jog, passing jagged rocks and steep cliffs; all the while sweat pouring down his back as the temperature continued to rise making his skin feel like it was boiling. At one point he just barely caught a glimpse of the same Galra cruiser that had lured them there in the first place. The reverse tractor beam was still in position over the lions, but that sight was quickly obscured by more rocks as he pushed onward.

He had to keep moving.

He had to keep his team safe.

When he met the next rocky outcrop, he was more prepared than last time for the strain that came with pulling himself up, but he still couldn't hold back the grimace it took to haul himself to the top and even more so the pain that grew in his lungs while he fought for breath.