Word Count: 1,555
The metal wouldn't budge.
It- it wouldn't budge.
No matter how hard Keith attempted to pull at the restraints biting into his wrists and ankles, the heavy weight bobbing up and down beside him, chains clinking as it was carried with him, he couldn't break free.
They were almost to the cliff now, just over the heads of the aliens moving him, he could see the empty, starry night air starting to swallow the horizon the closer and closer they neared to the rocky outcropping.
He- he was scared.
He was honestly, truthfully scared.
But he should probably back up and try to explain his situation first.
Although he doubted anyone would listen anyway.
But he'd try.
Because he cared that at least someone knew before he died.
The smallest sound of a whimper escaped him, and he clamped his jaw shut as his right foot jerked in the aliens' hold.
It- it hurt.
But, he was getting off-topic again.
He'd- he'd try to explain now.
It started like any other attempt to gain allies in their fight against the Galra. The castle was currently resting within a nearby system, Keith was sent to the neighboring planet below to try and convince them to join the rallying forces of the Voltron Coalition under Coran's repeated insistence that he'd be more than welcome to land in his street clothes since the local population were supposed to be tame and gentle beings.
Yeah right.
Gentle his ass.
The town had been highly fortified when Keith arrived, and he realized too late they had actually embedded spikes into the ground around the village to prevent the entrance of newcomers, hidden to the naked eye, under the mounds of dirt and rocks that already dotted the planet's terrain.
Of course, the keyword in this is too late.
He'd stepped on a three-inch high protruding barb with all of his weight, the thing sharp enough to tear through his foot to the other side. He'd cried in surprise then, immediately tripping as the rest of his body hit the ground, jostling his already bloodied foot even more and Keith screamed, the sound tearing at his throat as his shout echoed into the village in front of him, the thick soles of his boots doing little to nothing to stop it.
The cat-like beings came out shortly after with spears and knives and a murderous gleam in their identical green eyes, cat tails twitching, ears doing much of the same, circling around his prone body and harshly chirping at him in a language he couldn't understand while pointing the deadly weapons in his direction.
What- what was going on?
His foot hurt.
He'd tried, dammit, he tried to explain why he was there, that he was trying to form an alliance, but they either couldn't understand or refused to, and after a few minutes of useless chirping because he couldn't understand, they'd bound his ankles and wrists. One of the beings scurried off and came back with what appeared to be a weight of some kind a moment later, securing the length of chain attached to it, to the shackles around Keith's ankles before they collectively gathered him up and began marching him to... somewhere.
He'd realized after several minutes of walking just where that somewhere was.
Off a cliff.
Off a damn cliff.
And Keith had no doubt, judging from the weight fastened to his ankles, the rocky outcropping ended in water.
They were going to fucking drown him.
Drown him.
Just for trespassing?
For trying to form an alliance?
Why was this even happening? These people were supposed to be peaceful.
In one final attempt before they reached the edge, Keith threw his weight into it, jerking and twisting out of the multiple hands holding him, teeth held in a grimace as his foot throbbed and it hurt. Claws dug into him then, holding him even more firmly into place and Keith sucked in a breath at that, the tiny needles pricking into his skin staying put until they finally reached the end of the worn path Keith just now realized was there.
His stray glimpse over the edge gave him an eyeful of ocean waves, the water crashing against the rocks several, several feet below him, the full moon rising above the water almost making the whole scene appear serene.
At least until he realized just why they were here in the first place.
Oh no.
No.
No, no, no, he was not going to go down like this-
He gasped as he was finally put down, his punctured foot throbbing as he landed on it, and it took everything he had not to scream as white-hot pain laced up his leg, leaving him to hobble on one bound foot, some miracle magic keeping him from falling flat on his face as Keith continued to look out over the water in shock.
"You have trespassed on our land, outsider, a feat punishable by death."
He startled at the deep voice behind him, turning around to come face to face with one of the multiple cat people staring up at him with beady green eyes.
Keith's mouth flopped open and closed as he searched for the right words to say something, anything that could possibly get him out of this mess.
This was a misunderstanding.
"I- please, I'm a Paladin of Voltron, I'm only here to try and make an alliance with you and your people, I swear."
The cat that had spoken, shook his head slowly at his words, "We do not know of Voltron, nor do we know of your kind, we only know of the cruelty and hatred of the Galra, and we are not willing to take any chances with you, not after all the pain and suffering they have caused us."
So, that's why. The Galra had gotten here before he did, dammit, he tried to hide another grimace as his foot gave another painful throb, blood slowly dripping down his foot.
"But, I- I'm a paladin," he croaked, "I can take you to my lion, you can see that I'm not a threat."
Yeah, totally not a threat, here he came unarmed to apparently a very hostile planet with nothing but his street clothes against an entire crowd of cat people who apparently wanted to kill him just for landing on their planet.
This was the last time Keith ever took advice from Coran, from now on, even if it was to a gala, he'd go in full armor with his bayard.
He wasn't going to take any more chances.
Not after this.
If he survived this that is.
"We are not willing to take any chances with you," the being repeated his earlier statement, bowing it's furry head to him, "but if you truly are who you speak, we can only deeply apologize for what we are to do." With that, the mass of cat creatures pushed forward, heads bowed, paws pushed out, claws extended, forcing Keith closer and closer to the rocky outcropping and the roaring, tearing waves below.
Amethyst eyes widened.
Oh, God.
He- he was actually going to-
Keith never got to finish the thought.
With the sudden rush of air speeding through his hair he was falling, being drug down by the weight at his ankles, only taking a moment to inhale a breath of air before he hit the water, the little time he'd managed to grasp bubbling away from him as his injured foot lit up like a Christmas tree and Keith screamed, water trickling into his lungs as the weight chained to his cuffed ankles continued to drag him downward, the light from the moon slowly growing dimmer the deeper he sunk, his hair floating helplessly in the water, trailing with him as he went down. The punctures where the beings had clawed him releasing rust-colored whisps into the water, the blood from his foot doing the same as he went down.
Deeper.
Deeper.
He- he couldn't breathe.
His foot was screaming, and Keith's brain dimly supplied that there must've been saltwater in this ocean.
Fucking saltwater.
He couldn't breathe.
Despite all of his pleading, and attempting to break through, to make them understand he was no harm to them, he-
He was still going to die anyway.
The light around him was growing dim, the pain in his foot growing so loud, it began to grow numb-
He- he hoped someone would find his body at least.
Bring it back to the paladins.
Tell them it wasn't their fault because they didn't know any better.
His lungs were screaming at him by this point, begging for air he couldn't give because he was surrounded by the clawing, cold depths of water. Keith was just barely holding on to consciousness as the weight finally hit the bottom with a cloud of sand, the thing still scraping along the ocean floor as he was drug deeper into the depths.
He- he couldn't breathe.
Pinching his eyes closed, he finally unlocked his lips, unable to hold it in for any longer, feeling the icy coldness seep into him, rushing into lungs that still begged for air.
He choked.
He gagged.
He sunk.
Keith's last dim thought he had was realizing just how peaceful it was down here.