[ So, this came out a bit longer than I planned. I meant to update last night, but sadly, I fell asleep. Enjoy! ]

***

"Shiro! Shiro!" Lance screamed through the forest, his voice raw and scratchy. He hiccuped, tears falling down his cheeks, and squeezed his eyes shut. He willed it all to go away, praying that it was just a terrible nightmare...

***

5 Hours Earlier

***

The princess had just called the Paladins for breakfast and settled down in her own seat. Coran sat next to her, and the five showed up, one after the other. Shiro was obviously first, having arrived mere ticks after the announcement, followed by Keith, slightly groggy Hunk and Pidge, and finally, almost twenty minutes later, a very shiny-faced Lance.

"Would you look at who finally decide to show up?" Keith asked, his words reeking of sarcasm. He rolled his eyes, then continued eating his breakfast goo.

Lance flipped his non-existent bangs, and replied with a cocky, "Well, at least I look better then you."

The red paladin slammed his hands to the table, angrily rising from his seat. If it was possible, smoke was already fuming from his ears, and it was still early in the day. Lance just irked him so much. If they kept this up, just the mere presence of Lance within a five mile radius around Keith would set him off.

Clicking into his 'space dad' mode, Shiro cleared his throat, then gave the two standing boys a warning glare. Both got the signal, but that didn't stop them from arguing under their breath as they took their seats. They did sit next to each other, so it was pretty easy, though still infuriating to both.

"Shut up, Lance. Nobody wants to hear it."

"Make me, Keith. But, you know I'm to amazing to shut up, so you won't."

"I swear, if you keep it up I'll-"

"Boys," Shiro threatened, and even Allura glanced away nervously at the tone, "Knock it off."

Pidge silently applauded Shiro, though she kept her eyes down. The arguing duo was beginning to really get to the black paladin, and sometimes even looking at Shiro while he dealt with the two could be a mistake. Unless, of course, you didn't mind the possibility of losing your head.

"Sheesh, we were just talking. Chill out, dad," Lance said, a tone of accusation in his words. Shiro had already taken a deep breath, and was about to begin his reprimanding/'working together' speech, before Allura intervened.

She spoke wearily, glancing at Shiro quickly before turning her full attention to Lance and Keith, "Shiro is right. Your bickering has begun to get out of hand, and is affecting your ability to work together. I understand you have your differences, but you must learn to keep both your tempers under control at all times."

Coran was about to add his thoughts, when Hunk interrupted hopefully, "Yeah, guys, let's just enjoy this... uh, meal as, like, a big, happy, lion robot family." A look crossed Coran's face that could be related to a pouting 5-year-old, and he grumpily stabbed his spoon into his remaining goo.

***

"We are going to be investigating a previously uninhabited planet, where Coran and I have received word is housing Galra information. You will fly in on your lions, each taking a separate building. The defenses there are weak and almost non-existent, so it should be a quick in and out. Coran and I will stay here on the castleship, monitoring from above," The Altean princess commanded, her hands expertly guiding to holographic map around the room. It zoomed in on a planet labeled Mothiah, which was much smaller than the planets surrounding it, "I'll send each the coordinates to you. Now, get to your lions!"

The five Paladins nodded, quickly making their way to their own.

Coran cleared his throat as they left, catching Allura's attention. She smiled, gesturing for him to come closer, "What is bothering you, Coran?"

"Well, Princess, I'm sure you've noticed Lance and Keith's constant fighting. Perhaps, it is becoming more than just a slight rivalry?" He sighed, looking down at the floor, "They may not be compatible anymore, as much as we may hope that isn't true."

Worry crossed Allura's face, and she looked out the viewing window of the bridge, to where the lions had emerged and begun flying towards the tiny planet. She placed her hands on the controls, guiding the castle behind them, "We must hope that they find a way to resolve their differences. At the moment, all we can do is pray that nothing goes wrong with during this mission."

Shiro was at the lead, dodging various asteroids and planets as the crew approached Mothiah. Allura's voice sounded over the intercom, "There are five buildings, each most likely holding different sets of information. Each of you take one, and attack at once."

A moment later, the lions had spread out across the planet, and Shiro counted down to their invasion.

"3... 2... 1, go!" He shouted then launched his lion into the building, forming a large hole. The other four followed suit and the race was on.

"Paladins, remember! In and out, then we're leaving!" The Princess said, activating the castle's defensive system and warding off the few puny Galran fighters that approached.

Coran tugged at his mustache, thinking hard. If if there really was information here, then Zarkon was doing a pretty bad job of defending it.

Meanwhile, Pidge had found the central control room, which was strangely, unguarded, and was attempting to download any information possible. She worked quickly, her hands flying across the keyboard, though nothing was downloading, "Weird. Nothing seems to be here, what about you guys?"

Pidge was answered by a few, 'same here's, before returning to her work.

She jerked away when a crash echoed through the previously empty room. Pidge was faced with six guards, who had caught the paladin by surprise and managed to knock her bayard out of her hand. While one retrieved her weapon, holding it carefully, another took her computer and disconnected it. The remaining four surrounded her, and suddenly everything clicked in place inside her head.

Why it was so easy to get in, why there was nothing to download, why this was all happening.

"It's a trap!" She screamed, hoping to alert the others in a vain attempt to save them, before one guard grabbed her, removing the helmet and in turn, any connection to her friends.

***

Shiro panicked when he heard the shriek, immediately removing his hand from the control panel. With his heart racing, he yanked the grate from the air vent, practically throwing himself inside. Sloppily, he set the grate back in place as seven guards crashed into the room.

They trashed the entire place, and Shiro had assumed they were looking for him. With one last look at them, he began pulling himself through the vents.

They were much to small, and so cramped that Shiro couldn't even crawl- he had to drag himself along with his arms, "These are much more suited for Pidge," he said out loud, wincing at the slight echo. The last thing he could afford right now
was to be caught.

***

When the sentriess rushed in, Hunk wasn't prepared at all. He had heard Pidge's warning, and was clumsily trying to pick his things up and shove the wires back into their original places. Alas, he was to clumsy, and the guards easily overpowered him, though he did put up a fight.

Hunk even managed to blast one of them with his bayard before it was snatched away.

"Guys, guys! We're all, uh, friends here, right?" He stuttered as they dragged him down the hall. They seemed to be going deeper underground, and the hallways stretched longer than the building had, "They're all connected... Together?" Hunk whispered to himself as he was mercilessly dragged along by the cuffs around his wrists.

The party passed several empty prison cells, until one specific one caught Hunk's eye. It was closed behind a think metal door, but there was small window in it. The paladin could just barely make out the tiny frame of... "Pidge! Pidge, are you okay?!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, but he knew Pidge wouldn't hear. Neither had their helmets anymore.

Fear set in as Hunk was thrown into a cell, a door similar to Pidge's locking him in. It was sound-proof, as not even the loud foot steps of the patrols could be heard through the cold wall.

He felt completely terrified- this wasn't supposed to happen. This mission was supposed to be quick and easy, Hunk and Pidge weren't supposed to be help captive, and who knew where the others were? Hunk certainly didn't.

***

Keith had bolted the moment he heard Pidge's shout, leaping out a window and earning himself a few cuts on his cheeks. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was running, running anywhere for cover. His eyes locked onto a forest-like area, perfect for hiding out.

Keith ran like the wind, fast as his legs would take him, hoping to reach the cover before being spotted.

"Hello? Paladins, come in!" Allura said, her voice comforting in Keith's ear, though it sounded rushed and anxious, "The castle is under attack, and the defenses will only last a few for moments. You must return to your lions, immi-" Allura's words were interrupted by her scream, and the comm began making static.

Keith suddenly felt like the weight of the universe had crashed onto his shoulders- what Zarkon could do, if he had finally caught the Princess and her castleship?

His feet gave out from under him when he finally reached on of the tree-like plants. Sobs caught in his throat, threatening to take over him. Silently Keith willed himself not to cry, not now. He leaned against the smooth trunk, covering his mouth as tears welled in his eyes.

The breakdown was cut short by the sound of foot steps trampling in the under growth, and Keith froze up, terror locking his muscles.

"Shiro, what do we do?" Lance's familiar voice said, though it's tone was different. The cocky attitude was replaced by hurt, and his voice cracked at the end.

Keith sighed, standing up and stepping around the tree to face his friends. Shiro and Lance stood before him, Lance sort of leaning against Shiro while he muttered little encouragements.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but am I glad to see you," Keith said quietly, removing his helmet. The constant static was distracting, and he fumbled to make it go away. Surprisingly, he could easily breathe this planet's air, but decided to stay on the safe side and put the helmet back on as soon as he silenced it.

Shiro smiled weakly, glad to know at least Keith was safe, too. His slight happiness was soon brought down- Pidge and Hunk were still in there, and it was quite possible they were both being held by the Galrans.

"How did you get out?" Keith asked, taking a cautious step towards his friends.

The tallest boy replied, "I climbed through the vents, and Lance, according to his story, beat up the six guards and made a run for it."

Lance began to speak, his words clogged by tears that leaked from
his blue eyes, "Keith, if I-" He was silenced by the sounds of blasters, and loud footsteps of sentries.

"Run," Shiro commanded, releasing Lance and pushing him towards Keith. He took a defensive pose, activating his robotic arm. The other two boys lingered, though began their escape when another shot was fired, this one just barely missing Keith's head.

They had just barely gotten out of range of the weapons when a blood-curdling shout rang into the trees, belonging to the man who Lance and Keith had just left behind.

"Shiro! Shiro!" Lance screamed through the forest, his voice raw and scratchy. He hiccuped, tears falling down his cheeks, and squeezed his eyes shut. He willed it all to go away, praying that it was just a terrible nightmare... Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Coran, and now Shiro, too.

Keith shook his friend vigorously, trying to snap Lance out of the sobbing state he had slipped into. The remaining sentries were approaching at an alarmingly fast pace, and there didn't seem to be anyway of escape.
Keith mustered up all of his courage, standing to fight them, sword already activated. They burst through the trees- two, three... five in all. Each carried a blaster, and appeared to move much faster than the ones the Paladins normally encountered.

"Fight me," was all he could say, before running at one, slicing at it with his sword. It attempted to dodge, though Keith was accurate enough to cut the thing in half.

The others went surprisingly easily, though while he was fighting the last two, one turned away and fired at Lance, who remained sitting against a tree. He was silently staring up at the trees, and you could see the fear and loss in his eyes. It hit him square in the stomach.

Lance looked down slowly, moving one shaky hand to touch the fresh wound. His entire body began shaking, and tears soaked his shirt with the fresh blood.

A new anger burning in him, Keith took out the final two sentries. He dropped his bayard and rushed to Lance's side, kneeling down next to him.

"K- Keith?" Lance whispered, looking up at the red paladin. "I'm.. I'm so sorry," He attempted to smile, the edges of his lips tugging up slightly before forming a painful grimace.

Keith lifted his upper body up, so that he was cradling Lance in his arms, "No, Lance. No, no, no. Don't leave me. I don't know what to do," Keith cried, unaware of the tears falling from his eyes until they formed wet dots on Lance's uniform, "We'll get you back to the castle, it'll be okay, Lance, no,"

"Don't cry, please don't cry," Lance begged, his voice strained. Keith squeezed his eyes shut, holding Lance closer until they melted into a single crying mess.

And Keith held him,

As Lance breathed,

His final breath.