The New Paladin

32: Energy

"So Shay's not there, the Galran defenses are better than we thought and this planet is a ticking time bomb." Keith recapped as he sliced through a sentry. "Shiro? What are we doing?"

"Hunk, go find Shay, Keith, help him. Allura, get the Balmerans inside."

"Problem, they don't want to leave." Hunk explained making the other paladins freeze.

"What?" Pidge asked.

Lance gave a heavy sigh before he pulled back on his controls. "Hunk, you have to tell them what will happen if they-"

"They know." Hunk replied gently. "They can talk to the planet, remember?"

"But is the planet expecting them to die with it? They have a chance to honour their planet by living on and-ah!"

A blast hit the blue lion sending it rocketing backwards. It crashed into the Balmera and didn't move.

"Lance!" Shiro called, with no reply he scowled. "Hunk, do something before this place collapses, Pidge, up here with me. Allura, now."

"How can things go so wrong?" Pidge asked with a scowl as she appeared on Shiro's screen. "This plan was fool proof."

"No, we were unprepared." Keith growled. "We need better intell, we don't know what we're up against."

"I can't believe those words just came out of your mouth." Pidge teased as her lion launched high into the air.

Shiro sighed. "Alright guys, we need to get our heads in the game. I know it's been a while and we're down a paladin but we can do this."

"Yeah, we always figure it out." Keith growled, as the red lion went diving past.

"Have you heard from Lance yet?" Hunk asked. "We're close to Shay's location but I'm not sure how well it will be guarded."

Shiro narrowly dodged a blast. "You're going to have to just deal with it Hunk, I haven't got time."

"Okay." Hunk gave a nervous sigh.

"Lance still isn't responding." Coran added.

Shiro glanced to where the blue lion had crashed. "The Galra are surrounding him."

"We need to help him." Pidge said as the green lion swerved past some fighters, she smashed then using the green lions tail.

"I think he's okay." Shiro frowned.

"What makes you say that?" Allura asked as she ran towards the tunnel entrance.

"Well..." Shiro started watching the Galran's around the blue lion begin to fall. "He seems to have things in hand."

"Really?" Hunk asked.

"I'm not honestly sure." Shiro frowned. "But he's awake."

"Good." Keith replied.

~~~

Lance could see the red, green and black lions all in the air. He felt bad for not being able to dodge that blast.

He felt bad that he couldn't get the blue lion to wake up.

He felt bad that he didn't have the experience that they needed.

He felt bad that he was representing the paladins when he was so awful.

Someone else could become the blue paladin right?

Lance shook his head as he headed towards the mineshaft. The others had talked about how he belonged, he had to trust their judgement.

He had to trust their trust in him.

He had to have faith that he could do this.

He knelt at the edge and looked through the scope. He soon found several Galran's in Hunk's way, he opened fire taking them down swiftly.

A shadow overcast over him and he glitched looking up to see a Galran fighter racing towards him.

Panic kept into his chest as he lifted his blaster, he opened fire thinking this was over when the blue lion raced past catching the fighter in her mouth.

Lance stared at her as she swirled around the mineshaft. Her eyes glimmered as he met her gaze, she purred in his chest.

"Okay." Lance nodded to himself.

He turned back to his scope and continued to take down as many Galran's as possible.

He noticed how Allura stopped mid run.

"What are you doing?" He asked to no one since his helmet was somewhere crackling static at him.

Hunk was then with her too. Talking too fast, hands flying as they communicated something important clearly.

Lance took down two Galran's getting closer to them.

The green lion raced over head and roared as she took down yet another of the surface cannons.

Blue then landed behind him she opened her mouth as she leaned down.

"Guess I'm in the air again." Lance sighed as he climbed the ramp. The second he was inside his ears were flooded with shouts and anxious communication.

"Okay, someone want to clue me in on what's going on." Lance requested.

"Why weren't you responding?" Pidge asked immediately.

"Cause the blue lion was down and my helmet isn't working." Lance explained with a shrug.

"Great." Pidge grumbled.

"The Galra are sending in a giant robot."

"That's not good." Lance admitted slowly. "Is it going to be the same one?"

"Probably not, but we need Voltron."

"Paladins, I have a way to stablise the planet." Allura informed as Hunk joined them in the air.

"You do?" Lance asked not liking the sound of that.

"I'm going to transfer energy from the castle to the planet."

"Isn't that like, I don't know, really dangerous?" Lance asked as he joined the others.

"It is." Coran agreed. "We'll think of something else."

"We do not have time to think up another plan."

"Allura's right." Hunk admitted. "I don't want her to put herself in danger but right now the Balmera is dying and were about to have a battle on top of its growing pain."

"Then it seems like the only option." Shiro replied. "Keep us updated Allura."

"I will." She promised.

The foreseen capsule crashed into the Balmera and Lance winced, he could imagine that didn't help the situation.

He hovered next to Hunk.

"Please be a tiny robot, please be a tiny robot."

"Yeah, Lance the Galra do a lot for show, this isn't going to be small." Pidge said making Lance pout.

The capsule opened and two long arms shot out, a pointed head with a glowing eye and wow it was tall.

Lance slowly sank in his chair. "I hate this." He grumbled to himself.

"Alright team, keep that things attention off the castle and the Balmera, we need to get it away from them at all costs."

"Voltorn or no Voltron?" Lance asked as Blue growled around him.

"Not yet, we'll form Voltron if we need to."

"Alright, let's do this thing!" Lance cheered.