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.
He paused once he had made it to the crest, panting, fingers curling into the ground, he remained hunched over until he could finally muster the energy it took to get back to his feet.
But that was before he looked up.
Standing not five feet in front of him was a hulking figure, clothed in armor from head to toe, their face covered by a thick mask most likely to keep themselves from breathing in the toxic fumes of the planet's atmosphere; they looked down at him with (what he could only guess) a deep scowl.
Keith -obviously having no such luxury of breathing non-tainted air at the moment –bit back another cough, forcing himself to be as still as possible, still crouched on the ground, staring up at the new arrival with a careful gaze. Friend or foe, Keith had no clue what this guy wanted. He looked over the still figure again to be sure he didn't miss anything that would've given them away as an enemy, just as they reached up to their helmet, unbuckling the straps holding the metal mask into place.
The thing fell to the ground with a hard metal clang to reveal-
His eyes widened as he took in the familiar features, burn scars marring nearly the entire left side of her face, her left eye, once a fiery yellow, now a dull, milky white, the hybrid's expression murderous.
"Zethrid?" It didn't make any sense. That meant it was her pirate crew hunting them down, the exact same reverse tractor beam holding the Voltron lions captive that the team was rushing to get back to.
But, it couldn't be possible; Keith saw her and the other pirate with her die in that explosion-
"You took Ezor from me!"
Keith only had a moment to move before her fists came slamming down on the ground where he had only been moments ago. He rolled as far as he could from her grasp, dust, and debris flying from the impact as she lunged. His hand reached for the Marmoran knife at his back, the metal enlarging into the familiar sword shape in a matter of seconds as adrenaline spiked into his system.
His breathing quickened and he held back another deep-throated cough as his lungs stuttered for breath.
He had to keep moving.
He ducked as a fist swung over his head, lashing out with his sword only to be met with empty air, and she swung out a second time, her bare fist connecting with a rocky outcropping at his back, sending more rubble and earth flying and Keith winced as a sharp edge scraped along his back and side.
He tried meeting her enraged swing with another swipe of his sword, the metal instead hitting her armored forearm sending sparks flying into the air.
She stepped backward for only a moment and he took the momentary surprise at his hit for all he had, helplessly swinging again, startling as she caught his wrist and he struggled to keep his grip on his sword as she forcefully brought a knee up into his stomach sending him flying.
Keith couldn't hold in his shout of pain as he fell through the air and landed roughly on his side skidding to a stop on the hard earth, he forced himself back on to unsteady feet, choking on the harsh air in his lungs, he coughed into his hand again, not bothering to look at the sticky wetness that coated his palm before wiping it away.
He had to keep moving.
He narrowly missed Zethrid's next enraged swing, and Keith ducked as she aimed a kick at his head, realizing too late the opportunity she took to land a fist in his face, and Keith swore he heard something break as pain ignited along his nose and he yelled, the noise covered by Zethrid's enraged cry.
Blood was dripping over his lips now as he stumbled down a steep outcropping of rock, ducking out of the way and diving to the side just as she barreled head-first into a rocky ledge, volcanic dust flying everywhere.
Keith coughed again, a sharp sting stabbing in his lungs and he barely managed to keep himself upright from the pain, a whimper ran past his lips, and his bit his lip hard enough to taste blood to keep another sound from coming out.
He couldn't keep this up, warm blood was running down his back now, his right side much in the same shape, he couldn't get the dry taste of copper out of his mouth, his lungs were aching so bad it hurt to draw breath, his limbs were shaking by this point Keith was surprised he was even able to stand at all and Zethrid just kept coming. She showed absolutely no signs of slowing down, and he had a sneaking suspicion she wasn't going to stop coming after him until he was dead.
He didn't- no, he knew why Zethrid was angry, he'd killed one of her crew members, one of her own, but that was all he knew.
He swore that was all he knew.
If being on team Voltron taught him anything it was that your team was your family.
But to him, to her, there seemed to be more to it than just that.
A dark growl sounded beside him and his eyes widened in shock when he realized he had gone too far into thought for too long, there was no warning as she barreled into him, her fist slamming into his jaw, sending sparks of pain racing through his skull. He saw black spots clouding his vision as he went down, rolling over and over until his body finally skid to a stop, the rock under him hot and uncomfortable, and Keith didn't have to open his eyes to know there were now red streaks painting the ground.
He had to keep moving.
He- he had to get up.
But Keith could see Zethrid winding up for another hit, and, as much as his heart was racing at this point to get up on his feet and fight, he couldn't get up.
He had to keep moving.
He- he couldn't keep moving.
He choked on more blood as he coughed, the crimson from his nose forming a macabre halo on the ground under him
He could only watch as Zethrid launched herself into the air, fists above her head, the look in her eyes beyond anything he'd ever seen.
And when she came down with a loud cry Keith screamed, the sound tearing at his throat as his ribs shattered under her fists, his raw voice echoing off the rocky walls around them as the black dots surrounding his vision temporarily whited out before growing into even larger splotches.
Some part of his mind not in agony registered he still had his sword clutched in one hand, and his grip tightened on the handle, fingers shaking.
By some miracle- he made it to his feet, stumbling backward till the heat at his back from the mouth of the volcano became too much to bear.
He couldn't get the air he needed from his lungs, and every miniscule move he made sent waves of agony cascading through him.
"I don't know- what you think I did," the words came out, raw and scratchy, and Keith squeezed his eyes shut as blood dribbled over his chin. He couldn't breathe.
"You took everything, and now my face will be the last one you see," with one final yell, she charged, and with one final yell of his own, Keith raised his sword in some attempt to shield himself from the inevitable. Her grasp was hard as her hand caught his, not missing a beat as she squeezed until his wrist shattered and Keith screamed again, the sword clattering from his grasp as he was then roughly grabbed by the neck and hoisted into the air.
He could feel each of her clawed fingers slowly closing in. His own fingers scrabbling uselessly against her wrist as the pressure increased and the black dots crowded in, he couldn't breathe.
The heat at his back felt like his skin was boiling, his legs dangled uselessly off the ground above the cliff as he waited for the unavoidable, at the hands of an enraged hybrid.
He- he was actually going to die here.
Keith was just barely conscious when the pressure around his throat suddenly released, and he could feel nothing but relief as he was forcefully shoved against her chest, one of her large arms just barely brushing against his broken ribs as the whine of a gun sounded in his ears. Then, there were voices, soft ones, he couldn't make any of them out, only whimpered and then screamed again as the steady pressure against his chest tightened a minute later, the fog in his head receding just enough for him to hear- Axca? Wait, was- was he being rescued? Was the Atlas here?
Then- then there was a bright flash, and the pressure was suddenly gone from his chest, he stumbled backward as two blurry figures rushed towards him, and he fell to his knees, eyes squeezed shut, preparing himself for the pain when he hit the ground-
-Only for a strong arm to wrap around his waist, gently laying him down on the earth instead.
He coughed, more blood cascading past his lips that had nothing to do with his broken nose.
There was some sort of voice trying to speak to him, and Keith tried focusing on the sound instead of the throbbing pain in his chest, it took a minute, but it slowly crystallized into something he could hear "-eith? Keith, open your eyes and look at me, please, you have to hold on. A medic is getting here as fast as they can, but you have to stay with me." Shiro. That was Shiro.
"Z-" he coughed, not helping the scream that followed as his lungs and ribs ignited on fire again, blood ran down his cheek painting his skin red. "Z-ethrid." His voice was nothing but a low whine at his point, but he had to warn Shiro, he had to get out of here before he got hurt too.
"Zethrid's fine, she's okay, Axca's taking her back to the Atlas, Keith, just tell me what hurts, please, I need to know if I can move you or not."
He'd have to, there wasn't a choice, they didn't have time to wait for a medical team, he knew that much. Keith coughed again, another glob of blood sliding past his lips as he forced himself to keep his eyes open, holding back another scream as his ribs jarred painfully from the action.
Shiro was talking again, he could no longer make out what the man was saying anymore, but the pain in his chest was slowly starting to fade, along with the screaming of his lungs to get air. To breathe.
Keith could feel his head loll to the side, he no longer had control of his muscles, but he could feel hands grab him, roughly shaking him as if they could get him to hold on just a little longer. Shiro's voice was completely gone now as his eyes slipped closed, the rocky, dusty terrain fading away as Keith sank into a feeling of pure bliss as darkness enveloped him.
He knew no more.
...
Brought to you by AryaBell5 who suggested a deadly twist on the Zethrid-volcano episode that had to include Keith getting badly injured in some way, almost as soon as I read it I absolutely fell in love with the idea, and I don't think anyone can deny that there are some really entertaining elements in that fight to twist and play around with, I'll admit, I had fun with it.
I hope you like!!!