Don't Call My Name, Alejandro

by AmyR

Summary:

Getting dragged into space and wormholed a million light years away from 'home' was most definitely not on the plan, yet here he was, in space, in a mechanical lion, with two and a half aliens, and a gigantic secret.

Chapter 1: Alejandro McClain

Name: Alejandro McClain
Number: 0728-2000-005
Alias: Lancelot
Or, better known as, Lance.

One of the government most successful test subjects. A certified assassin.

Lance had been taken from his home when he was very young, 6 years old for the most. He had been part of a group of children that had been taken to become spies and assassins to do the governments dirty work. Via blackmail and multiple threats to his family, Alejandro McLain ceased to exist.

He had been on a mission, placed in the Galaxy Garrison, in which he was supposed to find out information on the infamous Kerberos Mission.

When he had received news of a UFO approaching the planet, he had made sure to be there.

Along the way, he had made friends, some by chance, some for a more strategic reason.

It wasn't by chance that he had ended up with Katie Holt, alias: Pidge Gunderson, as the technician. Her brother and father had been on the Kerberos mission, along with Takashi Shirogane. Out of everyone, she seemed the logical choice to go to for information on what might have happened.

Hunk had been a sweetheart that he had met along the way. There were no rules against making friends.

However, in all his years of training, how to handle hypothetical situations with aliens, and what not. He had never been trained on what to do if he ended up in space. How was he even supposed to report back to base from space.

Getting dragged into space and wormholed a million light years away from 'home' was most definitely not on the plan, yet here he was, in space, in a mechanical lion, with two and a half aliens, and a gigantic secret.

Chapter 2: Infiltrated

Alarms blared, all the lights flashing between red and blue.

"They've infiltrated the castle," Pidge whispered, clutching Lance's arm tightly.

The two stood hidden away in a little nook. The rest of the team had gone either to a diplomatic meeting (Allura, Shiro and Keith) or looking for new ingredients and stuff (Hunk and Coran). Normally, Lance would have jumped at a chance to go exploring, but Pidge had decided to remain in the castle, just in case.

He had been just about ready to head out when he got the most unsettling feeling in his stomach. Knowing that he couldn't persuade anyone to stay, he had opted to stay with Pidge.

Now, here they were, hiding in a Castleship that the Galra were once again infiltrating. Lance wasn't particularly worried. He knew he could at least put up a fight to whoever thought they were taking the castle, but Pidge looked terrified.
It probably had something to do with when it had been up to her to save him and Shiro.

The corridor he could glimpse into looked empty, so he turned to Pidge.

"Pidgey. I'm gonna go look around. See where they are. See if I can get my Bayard, okay?" He asked softly, kneeling down to eye level.

Her eyes widened, panic obvious on her face. She shook her head frantically, grip on his arm tightening to become painful.

"Lance. No please. Please don't leave me alone. Don't go. You'll get hurt!" She said, voice raising in pitch.

Lance slapped a hand over her mouth, and looked around in case anyone had heard that.

"Shh. It'll be okay Pidgey. I promise. I won't be more than a couple minutes," he whispered, stroking the side of her face tenderly and brushing away a tear.

She was absolutely terrified and it hurt Lance to leave her. But if he wanted to make sure she stayed alive he had to go and deal with the problem.

She swallowed thickly, not even trying to hide the tears.

She offered a watery smile and released his hand.

Lance grinned back at her, kissed her forehead briefly, and dashed out into the corridor.

•-•

Chapter 3: Human; Galra Anatomy

He stuck to the walls, using the flashing lights to his advantage. He moved with the shadows and dark corners completely undetected.

He made his way to their rooms, only encountered a few Galra, all of which he took down with ease.
Their anatomy was similar to that of a human, and there were 5 critical points to hit. Eyes, throat, solar plexus, groin and knees.
However, humans and Galra weren't exactly the same, and they always wore some sort of armour that made the task slightly difficult.

So Lance opted to simply sneak up and snap necks. In his many years of experience, the most effective method.

He retrieved his and Pidge's Bayard from their surprisingly untouched rooms, quickly pulling on his armour and carrying Pidge's.

Shoving on his helmet haphazardly, he took to the hallways again, this time moving extra carefully with the added weight of the clunky armour.

Through the comms he heard the faint voices of his fellow team members but it was drowned out in static. They had no idea what was going on in the castle, and Lance couldn't risk making any noise by alerting them.

When he finally made his way back to Pidge, he found her tucked into the nook, laptop balanced on her knees, trying to activate the Castles' defenses.

"Pidge," he whispered, causing the girl to startle.

"Lance!" She exclaimed, relief obvious in her voice.

She launched herself at him, laptop clattering to the ground. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, causing his crouched frame to waver as his center of gravity shifted.

"It's okay Pidgey," he whispered, petting her hair gently.
"Here," he said, holding out her armour that had been wrapped in a bedsheet.

She grinned and instantly started pulling it on over her clothes. Lance doubted that that was very comfortable, but they had other, more pressing matters to deal with.

"I'm gonna go look out. See where they are. Keep your comms on and try to signal the team. Stat as quiet as possible," he instructed, activating her Bayard.

Pidge looked like she was ready to fight him again.

"Lance. I can't do much with just this," she said, gesturing to her discarded laptop. "I need to go to the control room."

Lance's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her, but her determined gaze decided for him. He nodded sharply, and peeked put into the corridor again, this time with Pidge in tow.

•-•

Chapter 4: Maintenance Tunnel

"Shiro. Hunk. Keith. Coran. Allura. Can you guys hear us?" Pidge whispered, her voice barely audible over the comms even for Lance.

The duo moved in tandem, Lance at point with his gun at the ready. They had been sneaking around, slowly making their way closer and closer to the control room, where the amount of Galra soldiers present only increased. He had been taking them out one by one, whether with his gun or brute force. Pidge typed away at the holoscreen on her armour, trying in vain to get the comms working.

While they were able to hear snippets of the conversations from their other team members through the static, it seemed like they could not hear Lance and Pidge at all.

"Pidge. We can't go into the control room. Judging by the amount of Galra there are out here, inside is gonna be way worse. They are gonna be trying to take over the castle, stating with the crystal. I need you to tell me how you got in that time when Shiro and I were in trouble," Lance said,watching her face closely.

Her mouth twisted into a grimace as he said that, but she nodded determinedly anyways. She closed the screen and readied her Bayard, ducking into a dark hallway that Lance had never entered before.

"Maintenance tunnel," Pidge whispered as explanation before disappearing into the gloom.

They took a series of winding turns through the ever decreasing space, getting to the point where Lance had to duck or he would hit his head on the pipes that ran overhead. Time seemed to stretch as they walked blindly, guided by their flashlights alone before finally emerging on a ledge high above the room.

"There," Lance said, gesturing to the Glaran the stood at the helm, simply looking out into space.

He was unfamiliar to Lance and dressed in red and purple like all the rest of them, but this one radiated an air of power. Something Lance had been trained to pick up on, to notice who was in charge right away in order to not waste time with their underlings. This Galra was also the only one who stood completely still, simply observing, as every other Galra on the room moved about swiftly.

"What are they doing?" Pidge asked, eyes trained in the Galra that surrounded the balmeran crystal.

It glowed an unnatural pink colour, and Lance could see them chipping off tiny pieces and placing them into vials.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're taking those back for Haggar to experiment on," he said, pointing to the Galra wheeling away a tray of vials.

"I need to get down there," Pidge said, pointing to her seat. "I think they're using that machine to disrupt our comms, but I can patch both of us into a different frequency so we can hear each other. We'll need to destroy that to let the rest of the team know what's going on. Then I need to enable the castle's failsafe. I'm assuming that they bypassed the primary defenses and implanted a virus, hence why everything is pink. How are we getting down there?" She said, eyes trained on the ground below.

"You patch us in, I'm going back down. I'll start taking out who I can. I need you to duck into that tunnel. They don't know were here, so hopefully I can distract them and let you do what you need to," he said.

"You're gonna be bait?" Pidge asked, voice worried.

Lance grinned, bumping her shoulder with his.
"I'll be alright Pidgey. When this room clears out I need you to work fast."

She nodded before speaking again.
"How are you gonna get that General out of here. He doesn't look like he's too willing to move," she said, nodding towards the Galra.

Lance suddenly grinned, a grin that fringed on evil looking.
"Don't worry Pidge. I'll take care of them. You take care of us," he said, winking before disappearing into the tunnel.

Chapter 5: First Rule

Lance moved swiftly, towards Red's hangar. A place far enough away from the control room, but important enough to attract attention. He wasn't quiet about it either.

As he went he took out Galra left and right using his blaster. By the time he had reached the hanger, he was sure that the news of him had spread, as the amount of Galra appearing in front of him only increased.

There were teams of Galra by the sealed doors, a strange looking device planted in front of it.

The hangar, those were the most secure places in the Castleship, he was sure that the Galra wouldn't be able to breach it.

When he was right around the corner he slowed, transforming his Bayard into a sword. He could hear the thundering of feet as the Galra troops approached him quickly, but he would worry about that later. Right now, he had these guys.

He ran out, hacking and slashing wildly, moving purely based on instinct. At some point, Pidge's voice had echoed in his ear, telling him that they could communicate, but he hadn't been able to respond, just barely managing to dodge the blast the flew past his head.

He felled Galra by the dozen, but for every one he killed, another one sprang up.

"Pidge how're we looking over there?" He asked through gritted teeth, stabbing a soldier through the chest.

"It's really emptied out. Whatever you did really worked. The general is still here though," she reported, voice crackling over the speaker.

"OK. I'm on it," he managed out, swiping at their feet.

'Red,' he called out mentally. 'I need you to cause some chaos girl,' he whispered, hoping that she would listen.

A loud roar echoed through the hallways ,causing everyone to freeze before the sound of loud tearing was heard. The unmistakable sound of metal being shredded.

Red roared loudly and angrily again before the muffled explosion of her thrusters taking off were heard.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Lance attacked the Galra mercilessly, taking out a great deal before they even knew what was going on.

Panic erupted everywhere and the Galra rushed at him.

The numbers had dwindled significantly, and when Pidge had let him know that the general had finally left, he allowed a triumphant smirk onto his lips.

Just then, a searing pain burnt is way into his thigh, causing him to drop to one knee.

His shield instantly came up as he received a blow to the back of his head that left his ears ringing, even through his helmet. His Bayard was ripped away from him, leaving him his shield. Lance pushed his way onto his feet again, pulling out the knife had had tucked into his armour.

First rule he had had been taught; always be prepared. Second rule? Don't stop until you're dead.

Chapter 6: Too Many Friends

The last body fell lifelessly at his feet, the gun he had taken clattering to the ground next to it.

He staggered on his feet, nudging through the wreckage and bodies to find his Bayard, or his knife.

'Red?' He called out.

He heard the softest mewl on his mind, her assuring him the she was okay.

Using her own form of disjointed English and pictures, she told him how she and green had taken down the majority of the ships, and the fighters. The only one that remained was the main ship. Both lions were very banged up, especially Red whose paladin was not in good shape either.

'How is my paladin?' She asked, being uncharacteristically caring.

Red showed her love in her own way. Usually it being tough love. But now she felt the exhaustion and pain of the paladin, only multiplied by her own. She was worried for him. His body was not like hers. His was fragile, and while tougher and stronger than most humans, he was not invincible. She was trying to get him to realize that.

Lance grunted softly, wincing as the blast wound on his side smarted with each move he made.
The injury on his leg slowed his movements greatly and let out a lot of blood. Thankfully the blood was not from his Femoral artery. It had been a painful check, but he was now sure.

'Alive,' he responded simply.

"Pidge? How'd things go on your end?" He asked, abandoning his search for his belongings amongst the piles of corpses.

Whenever they inevitably had to clean those up, he would find them.

Her voice came though his helmet, accompanied by copious amounts of static and an annoying ringing. Obviously, that hit to the head really did some damage.

"I'm nearly done. The whole room is empty and my scanners show that it's clear in the nearby vicinity. What did you do Lance? Are you okay?" She asked, voice growing concerned.

Lance grunted, voice failing him momentarily.
"I'm okay. Took a couple hits, nothing I can't handle. I'm on my way to you," he informed her, his voice gravelly from all the yelling he had been doing.

She hummed softly through the comms and Lance started the long trek back to the control room.

His vision blurred before him at times, like a camera struggling to focus on an object. But he ignored it.
Nausea fought it's way to the top, threatening to make him drop to his knees and empty his stomach. But he pushed it back down.
Pain ripped through his leg with every step he took, feeling his strength waning with every move. But he kept going.

He had to get back to Pidge. Sure the Galra were gone now, but who says it's going to stay that way? He could not, would not leave his teammate vulnerable.

He had lost enough men.
Too many friends to risk one more.

•-•

Chapter 7: Pidge

Pidge watched, hidden away in the shadows as the room below her steadily emptied out. She had patched herself and Lance onto a new channel, where they could at least hear one another.

She watched as a Galra soldier timidly walked up to the General, building his confidence, only to tell him something that seemed to anger him.

The general barked out something that Pidge couldn't hear, but she immediately saw the results. Galra soldiers from all around the cavernous room dropped what they were doing and ran for the door, blasters at the ready.

She could hear the sounds of a battle through her comms from Lance, his shouts and yellls being drowned out by ceaseless gunfire.

God, she hoped he was okay.

"Pidge how're we looking over there?"
His voice echoed through her helmet, startling her momentarily. He sounded muffled, like his teeth were clenched, but she tried not to think about it.

"It's really emptied out. Whatever you did really worked. The general is still here though," She reported back, eyes scanning the mostly empty room below her.

The general at least look bothered now as he paced the deck hurriedly, hands clenched behind his back and teeth bared into a scowl.

"OK. I'm on it," Lance replied, voice tight with exertion and slightly distracted.

He was out there fighting for their lives and she was sitting here watching. The thought made her scowl angrily. She wanted nothing more but to get out there and help Lance but, she had her own instructions and her own job to do.

And so help me God, she was going to succeed.

•-•

The sounds of battle grew louder over her comms, but Pidge remained silent. It was the tugging at the back of her mind that caused her to sit up ramrod straight.
Green was doing something.
On her own.

Pidge would have been more worried if it wasn't for the fact that the Galran general let out a roar of unbridled fury and stormed from the room, accompanied by the rest of his soldiers.

"They're gone Lance!" Pidge exclaimed, beginning her careless descent into the room.

There was the sound of a chuckle from his end, but nothing more. Pidge didn't allow herself to dwell on the fact, feet hitting solid ground and she instantly scrambled over to the foreign device that stood proudly on the floor.

She had strayed yo make some progress when a sharp cry over her comms distracted her.

Lance!

"Lance!" She called, hands still and voice desperate.

She could hear his laboured breathing and soft grunts of pain, but other than that, made no sound to show he had heard her.

"He's gonna be okay," Pidge whispered softly to herself, busying herself once again.

Chapter 8: Defenses

Pidge had decided that she needed to activate the castles defenses first, as the device the Galra had erected was talking much too long to deal with first.

She worked her way swiftly through lines of code, her antivirus fighting hard against the Galran virus. It kept shutting down the defenses and systems, making progress difficult, but progress all the same.

"Pidge? How'd things go on your end?"

Lances voice crackled through her comms, strained and broken.

He sounded like he was in a lot of pain, and Pidge couldn't do anything to help, not yet at least. His voice almost seemed distant and unnaturally staticy. His comms seemed to be malfunctioning.

"I'm nearly done. The whole room is empty and my scanners show that it's clear in the nearby vicinity. What did you do Lance? Are you okay?"

Pidge questioned him. She knew that he would lie and say that he was fine, but she asked all the same.

He grunted softly, almost like he was clearing his throat
"I'm okay. Took a couple hits, nothing I can't handle. I'm on my way to you," Lance said, his voice hoarse and painful sounding.

Pidge knew it was from all the shouts and yells she had head over her comms, but said nothing. She chose instead, to hum softly as acknowledgement.

•-•

Chapter 9: What Happened?

When Lance arrived, battered and bruised and bleeding, Pidge had resumed her work on the device.

The castle had initiated shut down protocol, locking them into the room. At least they were safe.

As Pidge first glanced at Lance, her Bayard that she had been using to cut into the metal dropped from her hand.

He was soaked in blood, both Galra and his own she was sure. He had a blast wound on his thigh that caused him to limp and had various streaks of blood on the inside of his visor.

As he got to the room he collapsed to his knees, causing Pidge to rush towards him, screaming his name.

He pushed himself to his feet once again, refusing Pidge's help completely, and dropped into the nearest seat.

"What happened?" She whispered out, voice breaking slightly.

Lances waved a hand dismissively.

"I ran into some Galra. Don't worry, everything is fine. You just get us back into contact with the others and we'll be great," he said, voice adopting it's usual cheery and uncaring tone.

Pidge saw straight through it.

She didn't comment however, but dutifully went back to hacking away at the machine.

•-•

Chapter 10: They Were In Here

The first thing that came through the comms was a roar of pure rage from Keith.

Then a panicked yell from Hunk.

It sounded like they were fighting the battle Pidge couldn't.

"Guys?" Lance called, breaking their silence.

Instantly, voices flooded the comms, sounds of relief mixing in with those of anger.

"Where were you?" Keith demanded angrily.
"Are you guys alright?" Hunk inquired, voice sounding relieved.
"Lance! Pidge! Are you both okay?" Came Shiro's concerned voice.
"Lance! Pidge! I am so glad to hear from you!" Allura exclaimed.

"Lance, my boy. Are you and Pidge alright?" Came the frantic questioning from Coran.

"I'm fine!" Pidge answered hastily, seeing the look on Lances face.
"But Lance is injured."

Lance's face instantly morphs into a frown, not pleased with her honesty.

"It's not that bad, don't worry guys. But I don't know if I can come out to help you. Red is pretty banged up," he told them, grimacing from the effort it took.

"What?" Keith asked, voice incredulous.
"How on earth is red damaged? She was in the hangar this whole time. And you. You were both in the castle, and as far as we can tell, they haven't bothered with it," he exploded, rage clear on his voice.

"Keith!" Shiro interrupted sharply, causing the black paladin to fall silent.

"No Keith. They were in here," Pidge whispered softly.

•-•

Chapter 11: Focus

They had all fallen silent for a few moments before the questioning restarted.

"So where are they? Are they still in there?" Keith asked, voice harsh and annoyed due to confusion.

"Are there any Galra in the castle? Pidge, run a scan," Shiro demanded.

"I did. There's a few Galra spread out in the far reaches of the castle. We can take care of them. But otherwise, the castle is completely deserted," she reported back.

"Um guys. Can we just focus on the Galra out here and then interrogate Pidge and Lance later?" Hunk questioned.

"I don't understand. Why and how would they only manage to slip in a couple of soldiers. Would they have not stormed the castle and tried to take the crystal?" Allura asked, confusion clear on her voice, ignoring Hunk's plea completely.

"Yes. That does confuse me as well," Coran backed her up.

"You guys don't worry about that. We'll explain after. You guys take care out there and get back quickly. I prefer to leave this planet as soon as possible," Pidge insisted, effectively ending the conversation.

Silence reigned in the control room for a few moments as Pidge shoved all the pieces she had pried off the machine onto the floor.

She stood wearily, sharp eyes trained on Lance.

"You should stay here. I can take care of the remaining Galra," she said, eyeing his wounds.

Lance shot her a frown, message clear.

He was not going to let her wander off on her own. Sure, she was an extremely capable soldier, but he wasn't going to risk the life of someone as important as she.

Pidge sighed heavily, eyes flicking over his wounds once again before settling herself in front of the monitor again. In a couple minutes, she had managed to shut off the annoying alarm, getting the lights to settle on a dark blue, and opened the door to the control room.

•-•

Chapter 12: I Need Help

Lance limped behind Pidge, matching her short strides easily. A gun against his shoulder and more than ready to shoot the first thing that moved that wasn't either himself and Pidge.

They went to each Lion's hangar, traversing the corridors and rooms, searching and killing off all the remaining Galra.

It was a relatively easy task, but the act of walking the entire span of the castle had made Lance realize exactly how much pain he was in, and how much blood he had lost.

By the time they had made it to the medbay, Lance was seriously regretting his decision to accompany Pidge.

Pidge, of course, had instantly noticed when the taller paladin had started swaying on his feet, his strides growing sluggish.

As soon as Pidge had gotten Lance to sit onto the table she rushed toward the pods, scrambling to turn them on.
That proved a challenge as she could not read Altean and had never took the time to stay with Coran to learn how to operate them.

"Coran!" Pidge yelled into her comms, frantically running towards Lance.

"Number 5. Is everything alright?" The altean asked, worry edging into his voice.

The sounds of battle had stopped, and Pidge assumed that the members voltron were attempting to salvage the alliance with the species that resided on the planet.

"No! Lance is really hurt. I can't get him in a pod. Please! I need help!" She cried, voice breaking as Lance's frame tilted to the side.

"Understood. I'm on my way," he said, voice tight.

Pidge's hands worked at Lance's armour, pulling it off his limp body. She couldn't get the pods running, but she could sure as hell get Lance ready so he could get into the pod as soon as possible.

"Lance! Lance. Look at me Lance. Don't you dare close your eyes," the girl mumbled.

"A hundred thousand things to see," Lance mumbled out, voice barely audible.

He lifted his head slightly, mouth twisted into a barely-there smirk.

"Don't worry Pidgey. I've been through worse," he said with a grin.

He raised his arm out of reflex to salute her, but it dropped back onto the counter beside him with a clunk.

God was he tired.

He hadn't noticed how Pidge had frozen as he mumbled out those words.

When...? Why had Lance gone through worse?

•-•

Chapter 13: Why Weren't They Angry?

The soft hiss of air brought him back to the present. Brought him back to the numbing cold and the phantom pain.

His body lurched forward before his brain could properly grasp the situation, and he felt himself fall.

A feeling, if he thought about it, he was uncomfortably familiar with.

Sturdy arms came around him suddenly, catching him before he made contact with the floor.

"Lance?" A timid voice asked as he righted himself.

He cracked open his eyes, momentarily blinded by the florescent blue lighting.

He glanced around him, taking in the scene.

Hunk was stood close to his side. He had most likely been the one that caught him. Pidge, Coran, Allura and Shiro stood before him concern etched onto their faces.

Pidge took a hesitant step forward. She must have been the one to speak.

Lance glanced around the room and his eyes landed on who he had been looking for. Keith was stood a few steps apart from the group, arms crossed and his face set into a scowl.

"Lance? Are you alright, my boy?" Coran asked, stepping up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Lance's eyes darted to his face, studying the lines of worry that seemed to grow deeper with every passing moment.

"Lance?" Hunk asked, grasping Lance's upper arm tightly.

His attention instantly shifted to the yellow Paladin.

They all looked so concerned.

"Lance can you hear us?" Shiro asked, worry trailing into his voice.

'The rest of them hid it better,' he thought.

"Lance!" Shiro asked again, voice suddenly fringing on frantic.
He had taken a few steps towards the paladin and now grasped the Cuban by both shoulders like he was about to shake him.

Lance cocked his head slightly as he observed Shiro and nodded, once.

There was an audible sigh that could be heard around the room as he acknowledged them.

"How do you feel buddy?" Hunk asked, grip still tight on his arm.

Lance pursed his lips for a moment, running a quick self check.

He shrugged and nodded. He felt fine enough.

"Lance, why aren't you talking?" Pidge asked, brow furrowing in concern.

Lance paused for a minute before shrugging.
"What do you want me to say?" He asked.

As soon as the words left his lips Shiro's shoulders dropped in relief, and Keith's loud scoff could be clearly heard.

Lance's eyes flashed over to him, meeting his purple ones for a second before Keith dropped his gaze. It was for a brief second, but the absolute fury in them was unmistakable.
And Lance was unsurprised. That was how he had expected the entire team to react. Once they found the bodies of course.

Lance had been keeping secrets and lying to them. Why weren't they angry?

Chapter 14: He Was Finally Afraid

"Lance, how about we get you something to eat?" Hunk said, gently directing him towards the doorway.

He could feel the other close on his heels as he allowed himself to be moved. He did not know how this was going to pan out, so he had decided to simply see what happens.

He was guided to a seat at the head of the table, and a bowl of goo placed infront of him. The others took the seats on either side of him and crowed around, obviously impatient for answers.

Lance lifted his spoon to his mouth, ignoring the stares, and let the tasteless food goo slide down his throat.
He had tasted worse.

Silently, he set his spoon down on the edge of his bowl and lifted his eyes to the team. His face remained blank, and his eyes empty, giving away nothing.

"What do you want to know?" He asked after a moment of silence, voice sharp, cutting through the still air.

He watched the team all glance at each other, no one quite sure where to begin.

"Finish your food first Lance. We'll talk after," Shiro said, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder.

The black paladin looked like he was ready to strangle Lance, a glare which moved to Shiro as those words left his mouth.

Lance nodded, eyes flickering over everyone else, briefly, before he resumed eating.

•-•

The team sat in the lounge, Lance out of the cryosuit and back into his own clothes. Something he was rather grateful for.

He was seated at the center, everyone else huddled around with their eyes focused onto him.

Hunk and Pidge sat directly at his sides. If he was honest with himself, it was probably because they were the least afraid of him, and still had some sort of trust in him. Lance didn't know if to be grateful at them for being so loyal, or angry at them for being so foolish. Right now, he was a wild card. They didn't know if he was going to loose it and going to murder them like he did with the Galra. They thought with their hearts and that could get them killed one day.

Shiro, Allura and Coran sat opposite him, within arms reach, but far enough so that they would have sufficient time to react if Lance did anything. Or so they thought. A brilliant strategy really. Be close enough so he feels like they're there for him, but far enough to kill him if the need arisies. Something Lance had employed on many occasions. However, they had no idea how much practice Lance had with situations like there. Every method of interrogation had been practiced on him. From the comforting 'We're here for you' tactic, to straight up torture. He had learnt how to move in the blink of an eye, and kill in less than that. They were the ones who thought with their brains. They were the ones who would survive.

Then there was Keith. He stood on the outskirts, arms crossed angrily over his chest and eyes ablaze. A slight pang rang through Lance's heart as the thought of Keith never forgiving him crossed his mind. Out of all of them, Keith was the most willing to kill him. And at that point, Lance didn't know if he would stop him. Keith thought with his heart as well, but as a person who had been betrayed and abandoned numerous times in his life, his way was different. He built up walls and tried to play it off as if he didn't care. He would survive, simply because he never let himself close enough to get hurt. And when he did, he got angry.

For the first time in a great many years, Lance felt an inkling of nervousness.

The thought made him freeze, and a small smile to form on his lips. He had faced the world's worst enemies. Deadly aliens of all kinds, the most bloodthirsty and barbaric creatures in the universe, people who would not hesitate to kill him, and would take great pleasure in doing so. He had faced them head on with not a doubt in his mind and no fear in his heart.

Yet here he was, faced with the paladins of Voltron and an almost extinct species, and he was afraid.

People he had known for years at this point. People he knew could not kill him, whether of not they wanted to. People who he had come to love after so long. And he was finally afraid.

•-•

Chapter 15: He Would Be Alright

"What are you smiling for?" Keith asked gruffly.

Lance's eyes moved to him, his smile never fading.

"No good reason," he answered simply.

Keith's eyebrows furrowed, but he said no more, eyes remaining trained onto Lance.

At least he was looking at him now.

"Lance," Shiro asked, gaining his attention. "What happened?"

Lanced took a deep breath, his smile slipping off his face, unsure of where to start. He felt Hunk reassuredly patting his back.

"The beginning," the yellow paladin whispered.

That was something that had happened for years. As they had gotten closer, Hunk had developed the ability to read Lance like a book. He wouldn't be surprised if he found out that Hunk already knew about his secret.

Lance offered a small smile to Hunk, and nodded.

"I'm not who you think I am," he started.

There was a scoff from Keith, but he ignored it.

"My name isn't Lance. It's Alejandro. Lance is what they called me. I was born on Cuba but I didn't grow up there. I grew up in a secret training facility owned by the U.S government, created solely for producing soldiers and assassins. They took children from all over the globe. All from developing countries and LEDCs. Mostly from the Caribbean. Took them from their families and the homes and essentially killed them. Kids from Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Barbados. All under the age of 6, young enough so they wouldn't remember their parents, but old enough that they could survive without them."

"They removed all evidence of who you are. They took your name, your family, your home, everything. As far as the world knows, none of the children there exist beyond their id. That's a number you're assigned, and it's stamped into your arm. They train you to become killers, so you can go and do what they don't want anyone to know about. Sakine Cansiz, Benazir Bhutto, Martin Luther King, and hundreds more that people don't know about, or its unsolved. Throughout history it's been happening. And they train you to not get caught. And if you do, well they have measures in place for that too."

The team was silent, the low hum of the castle the only noise.

Lance had expected this. How else were you supposed to respond to someone telling you that they're an assassin trained by the government to eradicate people.

"So you're an assassin? A professional killer?" Pidge asked beside him, voice monotonous.

He nodded, his gaze focused straight ahead at the wall past Shiro's ear.

This was just like a debriefing if he thought about it. He was to report all that happened. Every strategy and tactical move, while the higher up sat silently and reviewed him critically, determining if he would die as he stepped out of the room, or on another mission.

"So how did you end up in the Garisson?" Keith asked, voice tight.

There it was. The question he was hoping he didn't have to answer.

"I was placed there on an assignment," he replied, voice clipped.

The silence was deafening.

"What?" Came Hunk's voice, cracking slightly.

Lance closed his eyes. There was no easy way to do this. He let his mind wander, imaging that he was talking to his commander. Or any other higher up that demanded a report. He spoke, voice devoid or emotion, and eyes unseeing.

"I was stationed in the Galaxy Garrison to collect information on Takashi Shirogane, Matthew Holt, Samuel Holt, and the Kerberos Mission. Katie Holt, alias Pidge Gunderson, daughter of Samuel Holt and sister of Matthew Holt was placed as my technician. Adam White, last known associate of Takashi Shirogane and instructor at the Galaxy Garrison was positioned as one of my teachers. Colleen Holt, wife and mother of Samuel and Matthew Holt respectively was labelled as a person of interest. Keith Kogane, adoptive brother of Takashi Shirogane was labelled a person of interest. I developed a relationship with these selected people in order to determine the whereabouts of the Kerberos team, and to obtain information on the existence of alien life."

The team sat silent. The empty look in Lance's eyes, terrifying. What he had just said, that he had been there just to find out about them, even more so. The way he had spoken as if he was reporting his progress. As if he couldn't even see them.

Shiro and Coran where the only ones who had any idea what was going through the boy's head. They had both been soldiers that had seen and done terrible things in war. They knew what it was like to go out and take a life, and then come back and just talk about it as if it were a story.

"And what about me? Why was I your engineer?" A soft voice asked.

Lance blinked once, then again. Eyes clearing and finding himself sitting in the Paladin lounge once again.

"What?" He asked, looking at Hunk.

"Why was I your engineer?" He asked again, voice slightly stronger.

Lance cocked his head in thought, seeming unsure.

"Honestly, I don't know. They told me about Pidgey. They told me about Mullet-head. But not you. I think I ended up with you completely by chance," he said.

"Oh," Hunk said, seeming unsure.

That is, before an enormous smile broke out onto his face. Lance furrowed his brow at his friend.

"I'm glad, because that means that you and I are actually friends. Not some assignment," Hunk said, a smile on his face.

Lance remained silent, but allowed a smile onto his lips.

He hadn't been sure if the team would even speak to him again, but here was Hunk, confirming that they were still bestfriends.

"Hey! Lance and I are actually friends. Right Lance?" Pidge asked suddenly, arms wrapping around his torso tightly.

He looked down at Pidge who now had her head nestled comfortably at his side, face tilted up to look at him. There was a grin on her face and absolutely no sign of distrust or fear.

"Yeah. Of course we are Pidgey," he responded softly, a smile gracing his lips, moving a hand to rest on her back in a sort-of hug.

•-•

Shiro observed the trio. They had been through a lot even before he had met them. He watched as a smile grew on Lance's face and his posture slowly relax. He watched the hardened soldier transform back into the boy he knew.
The careless, goofy teenager he knew.

"You know Lance. I would have liked if you had told us sooner," Shiro started, instantly regretting it as he saw the Cuban's spine go rigid again.
"Then at least we would have put you against a higher level gladiator. But now we know. No more slacking off for you young man," he said, waggling a finger at the boy in a patronizing manner.

The look on Lance's face made Shiro's heart drop.
He had said the wrong thing.
Now lance was never going to speak to him again.
He should have know better.
His and Lance's relationship wasn't that playful.
God damn it!

His internal meltdown was brought to a halt as Lance threw his head back and began to laugh.
A real laugh.

Shires shoulder sagged in relief as he released the breath he had been holding.
It was okay.

"But Shiroo," Lance whined playfully. "I don't wanna."

"Now now Lance. Training is an important part of being a paladin. We cannot let ourselves get lazy, now can we?" Came Allura's rather regal voice.

"I'm not saying that you guys have to stop training. I'm saying that I stop training," he clarified, a cheeky grin on his face. "I would actually love to get lazy if that's alright with you guys."

"Come now Lance. I still need help in the med bay. Especially if you're not going to be doing extra training. I can finally show you how to scrape out the goo dispenser" Coran suggested, his eyes twinkling and mustache twitching.

A horrified look came over Lance's face and he turned to the Princess.

"I changed my mind. I'll train however much you want. Just please. Not the goo dispenser," he all but wailed.

The team burst out into laughter, the last bit of tension dissipating from all of them. All except Keith who had remained silent throughout.

"It's been a long few days for you number 3. You should get some rest," Coran suggested.

Lance nodded, a yawn escaping him as if on cue.

"I'll go with him," Keith said, suddenly stepping forwards.

The paladins froze momentarily before glancing at Shiro. The had all noticed how Keith had been the only one who still seemed angry at Lance.

Shiro simply grinned at his little brother.
"Ok. Don't get lost," he teased.

•-•

Keith and Lance walked silently in step, the sounds of the castle muted by the long corridors. Their footsteps echoed against the metal flooring, everything bleached by the florescent lighting.

"How do you feel?" The black paladin asked, after a long stretch of silence.

Lance cocked his head, eyes on him.
"What?"

"How do you feel?" He repeated, face growing slightly red.

Lance grinned at his 'rival', tempted to tease him, but decided against it.

"I feel pretty good all things considered. What about you?" He asked.

Keith was silent for a moment, seeming to think about his answer before speaking.

"All things considered," he started, earning a grin from Lance. "Surprisingly good. A little shocked, but good. At least now I know who's the one that made it to level 73."

He was referring to the training levels with the gladiator. It recorded the highest levels and they could choose if to have their names displayed. Lance had his real one, at level 73, and his Lance one, at level 28. It had stirred up confusion amongst the team when an anonymous user was training with the gladiator and beating most of them combined. It had been assumed that it was Allura or Coran secretly practicing, not wanting to tell the team since this was something Altean children would do, not the Princess and the King's Royal Advisor. Therefore, neither of them had been broached on the subject.
Shiro, the best of them, had only made it to level 67. Keith, the training freak, was stuck on level 59, and Hunk, who blindly shot everything that moved until the sequence ended, was in third place at level 40. Pidge and Lance never made as much time for training as they probably should have, which resulted in them being left behind at around level 30.

Lance chuckled softly, the noise amplified by the quiet.
"True. That was me. Maybe I can train with you on some days, huh Mullet? You know, give you some tips. As the professional on board," Lance teased as they came to a stop outside his door.

It slid open with a soft woosh, and Lance turned to Keith, his back to his room.

He cocked his head.
"What do ya say Mullet?" He asked again.

Keith's violet eyes flickered between Lance's blue ones, seeming unsure if his offer was genuine.

After a few ticked of silence the corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile, and he nodded.

"Sure. I'd like that," he said softly.

Lance grinned in return and stepped back into his room. The door shut in front of him, cutting of Keith's smiling face. But his own grin lingered, a sense of lightness and ease overtaking him.
Things would be alright.
He had the team on his side, supporting him and caring for him.
He would be alright.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 4 of If you can't find it, write it.