"Hold up!" Lance exclaimed, pulling back on the stick. Red paused, groaning in frustration. "Yeah, I know but we should think this through. We don't have any backup, so we should be more careful."
A low growl vibrated from Red's throat.
"Or we could charge?" Lance furrowed his brows. "Somehow I don't think it would be the best idea. What?"
Red growled louder this time, her gears whirred urgently.
Lance cocked his head. "You know where he is right now? Like... exact location on the ship?"
Red huffed as if to say that it was blatantly obvious.
"Okay, fine. Have it your way." Lance shifted gears and the two rocketed forward, pounding into the side of the ship. Red raked her claws against the side with surging energy.
___________________________
BANG!
Haggar paused. "What, in Zarkon's name--"
BANG!
Keith blinked dazedly. "R-Red?"
"Who's Red?" The soldier asked.
BANG!
"She's my lion..." he smiled weakly. "She's here... she found me."
SCREEEEEECH! Metal shrieked against metal.
"GUARDS! GUARDS!" Haggar screamed.
The soldier braced herself for another ground shaking hit. "Okay, change of plans, then. I'm taking you to your lion."
"How...? Y-you can't fight well with me weighing you down."
She shot him a confident smile. "I may not be able to fight at my full potential, but I can fight just fine, little one."
Keith couldn't help but notice the hint of excitement in her tone.
The soldier turned and lurched forward, extending the sword in her right hand as far as it would go while keeping the second sword close to her side for defense. She made eye contact with Haggar for a brief moment for rushing toward her, slicing at her in a whirlwind of motion.
As Haggar ducked out of the way, Keith noticed a silver glint at her waist. "My dagger!"
The soldier ducked under the blow of a Galra soldier who had come to Haggar's aid and elbowed the second one hard in the knee, throwing them to the floor. Keith bit back a cry of pain as the movement jostled his injured leg. "What did you say?" She asked.
"Haggar has it. It's at her waist, left side."
The soldier straightened up and looked to Haggar for a split second before deflecting another hit. "I see it." She spun around to catch a blade between her crossed swords. "We'd better hurry before the blasters come."
There was a deafening roar as the Red lion pushed it's way onto the ship, batting away Galra soldiers left and right with its front paws.
The soldier paused for just a moment to stare in awe at the magnificent mechanical beast before her. A heavy weight threw them to the ground. Keith screeched in pain, his vision becoming blurry. The mask fell away from the soldier's face.
"I've waited many years for this, Krolia!" Haggar shouted to the soldier. "You're not getting away that easy! Not this time! You need to pay for your crimes!"
The soldier rolled away to avoid the glowing energy that shot from Haggar's fingers. She hopped to her feet and stood between Haggar, with the remaining Galra soldiers, and Keith.
"You had everything! You were a prodigy! Zarkon's best soldier!"
A blast of glowing light shot out from Haggar's hand, almost hitting Keith before the soldier named Krolia deflected it with the flat of her blade.
"You threw your life away! And for what? A simpleminded, weak human!"
"Hold your tongue!" Krolia shouted back bitterly, pointing her sword at Haggar's neck.
What? Keith cocked his head. Was she... Who he thought she was?
Red squeezed her way down the corridor, tossing Galra soldier's left and right as if they were only minor inconveniences before crouching over Keith. She let out a low growl, warning the soldiers to back off. A few were smart enough to do so. Others, however, did not heed the warning and were shot back with a blast from her thrashing tail.
"You think you could get away with your crimes? That you could hide away what is rightfully ours?" Haggar's gaze darted to Keith. "We always take back what belongs to us."
"He doesn't belong to you!" The soldier launched forward just as an orb of light rose from Haggar's hands. There was a low whistling sound that rose in pitch as the power increased.
"NO! DON'T!" Keith shouted.
A blue light shot at Haggar and sent her flying back, taking three soldiers down with her. Krolia stumbled forward in surprise, but appeared to be unharmed.
Krolia and Keith both whipped their heads around to find Lance kneeling atop the Red lion's head, blaster balanced on his right knee. "Thought you could use a hand!" Lance called out.
"Lance!" In Keith's excitement, he stumbled forward and instantly regretted it. The pain was blinding. Fuzzy spots of light obstructed his vision. The floor was so cold. Why was everything cold? He shivered.
"KEITH?" Lance hopped down from the Red lion. "Keith, KEITH!" Lance's voice rose in panic as he ran to his side. "Can you hear me?! Quiznak! Keith you're-- you're bleeding everywhere! Where is it coming from? No, it doesn't matter! We need to get you to a healing pod now!"
Keith shivered again. "Lance. I'm cold." He said weakly.
"I know, sweetheart." Lance slid one arm under Keith's healthy knee and another behind his back, lifting him up carefully so as not to put any stress on his injured leg. Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's neck and pressed his face into his chest. "You'll be okay, Keith. I promise. Everything will be okay." Lance listened to the battle that raged on in front of the Red lion who guarded the two Paladins carefully.
"K-Krolia. We can't... leave...her." Keith said quietly.
"And we won't. We just need to get you to safety first, darling."
Keith blinked slowly.
"No, no. Don't close your eyes. I know you're tired, but don't fall asleep."
The Red lion turned to them and opened her mouth for Lance to step inside. Almost immediately afterward, the Red lion clamped her mouth shut.
___________________________
Lance scoured the supplies, turning cabinets and storage containers upside down to find something-- anything-- that would help. At long last, he found a first aid kit and a medium sized, red blanket. He tucked the first aid kit under his arm as he returned to wrap the blanket carefully around Keith's shoulders. Keith pulled the blanket tighter around himself and closed his eyes.
"Hey," Lance shook Keith's shoulder lightly. "Stay awake, remember?" Keith blinked his eyes open. Lance tried to hide his worry behind a gentle smile. "I love you." He pressed a kiss to Keith's clammy forehead. Keith hummed quietly in reply.
"Let me see your leg." Lance pulled the blanket away. The wound was covered by tight black pants. Lance turned to the first aid kit to take out a small pair of scissors. "I'm sorry about this." Lance pinched the fabric between his thumb and forefinger as he cut into his pants just below the knee. When he was finished, he peeled away the pant leg to reveal a sickening sight. Lance's stomach lurched. Dried blood bordered the edges of a deep, jagged cut that ran straight to the bone. Fresh blood oozed from the wound without showing any signs of stopping. Lance swallowed. "Okay. Let's see... um... we have to stop the bleeding. Lean back, Please." Lance cradled Keith's head in one hand while the other supported his back, helping him get into a more comfortable position. Lance dug into the contents of the first aid kit to find rolled up gauze bandages. He turned to Keith. "This might hurt a bit," he warned.
Keith nodded. "S'okay," he mumbled.
Lance wrapped the gauze tightly just above the wound to cut off the majority of the blood flow. Keith grimaced but didn't complain. "You okay?"
"Just... peachy. How're you?" He breathed.
Lance brushed his fingers through Keith's hair. "Better now that I have you. I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"Promise?"
Lance leaned in to steal a kiss. "Darling, I couldn't leave you if I tried. Not now, not ever." He hugged Keith gently. Keith smiled and pressed his nose into the crook of Lance's neck.
A growl vibrated under their feet. "Red..."
"I've got it, darling. Whatever you do, don't close your eyes." He kissed Keith one more time before hopping into the pilot's seat. "Hey Red, what's--" Red shot to her feet. "Red... What are you--"
The Red lion barreled through the increasing number of Galra soldiers.
"Okay, we're moving now." Lance said, stating the obvious.
"We can't... not yet."
Click click Red paused, scanning the area before finding her target. In one swift motion, she scooped Krolia up in her mouth and began to pick up speed.
"Did we get her?" Lance asked.
Red rumbled proudly in reply.
"Nice! Okay, let's get out of here."
Red continued, gradually picking up speed until her feet no longer touched the ground and she was soaring away with the stars.
___________________________
"Our most valuable prisoner has escaped. And with the help of a traitorous soldier who should have been long dead. We must report this to emperor Zarkon!" One of the soldiers declared.
Haggar rounded on them. "NO! Emperor Zarkon will know nothing of this!" She hissed.
"But--"
Haggar glared at the soldier who wisely fell silent. "I knew that there would be complications. Little did I know how severe those complications would be." She inhaled deeply. "Tell me, what lies at the heart of an army? What prevents it from succumbing to chaos?"
"I... I don't know... a leader?" The soldier said cautiously.
Haggar grinned. "Correct. An army with no leader will fall into chaos. Get rid of the leader and you can send an entire army to their knees, begging for mercy. This is far from over."