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Amidst the blaring alarms and urgent flashing lights in the castle, Keith felt a wave of frustration. Today was not the day for this.
For the past two days, he had tirelessly pursued any scrap of intel regarding Lotor's ship. Despite his efforts, each lead ended in a dead end, leaving him no closer to finding his mate, Lance. The Blade of Marmora had no leads, and despite Voltron's efforts to track them since their recent battle, Keith couldn't escape the looming sense of failure.
As the alarms blared through the castle, Keith felt the weight of failure pressing down on him. Despite his tireless efforts over the past two days to locate his mate, every hint ended in frustration, which was often accompanied by the wreckage of a broken training bot. His anger spilled over—directed at the Blade of Marmora, Voltron, and even himself. The persistent inability to find Lance left Keith wrestling with a profound sense of inadequacy, failing not only as the team's leader but also in his duty to someone he deeply cared about.
As an Alpha, he grappled with the haunting thought that he hadn't protected his mate, especially now that Lance was on the verge of going into heat. The blaring alarms and flashing lights seemed to mirror the discord within him, accentuating the echoing sense of failure that loomed over him.
The blaring alarms triggered something in Keith, causing a thread of his sanity to snap. He stared forward and saw red.
Keith's radio buzzed with voices of Pidge, Coran, Hunk, Shiro, and eventually the Princess, all chiming in to formulate a quick plan of action. Despite the chaotic discussion over the comms, Keith focused on his watch, spotting the intruder on the castle cameras. In a cold, determined tone, he opened the comms.
"This one's mine," he stated simply, closing the communication line even as he heard Shiro starting to protest. “Keith wait-,”
He grabbed his bayard from his waistband and unsheathed his sword. He ran in the direction of the intruder.
The audacity of it all cut through Keith like a knife. How dare they? How dare they snatch Lance from him and then have the gall to invade their castle? The mere thought of someone trying to tear Lance away left a burning ache in his chest. They had no right to share the same air, to exist in the same space as him. Every breath they took felt like an intrusion, a painful reminder of the person Keith cherished being forcibly taken away.
He sprinted down the hallway, heading straight to where he knew the intruder was lurking. His vision blurred with anger and a red haze clouded everything. The only anchor, the only thing preventing his mind from succumbing to full-on rage, was the singular thought of Lance. He needed Lance back.
Lance. They've taken Lance.
Lance, Lance, Lance.
They have Lance!
The moment Keith fixated on the intruder, his sword slashed through the air, colliding with theirs in a clash of sparks. A guttural snarl escaped Keith's lips as his features contorted with rage, revealing sharp teeth. With a primal growl, he surged forward, bringing his leg up in a swift kick aimed at the intruder's stomach.
The intruder evaded Keith's kick, executing a backward flip with agility. Unyielding, Keith pressed with the offense, meeting the intruder head-on. He advanced, thrusting his sword in a decisive stab. The intruder swiftly dodged by folding down and sweeping out a leg, causing Keith to stumble.
Swift recovery followed as the intruder got up and leaped, attempting a clean swipe at Keith's head. In a roll, Keith avoided the strike, rising to his feet. Seizing the moment, he used his back leg to deliver a forceful hit to the intruder's side ribs.
A guttural growl resonated as both combatants locked eyes. Keith's purple gaze clashed with the intruder's fiery gold. In that fleeting moment, Keith discerned a youthful spark in the intruder's eyes. Though the lower face remained masked, a scar on the left side hinted at a burn mark.
The intruder growled menacingly, drawing his sword and splitting it into two Dao swords. Smoke wisped from the man's mask, and for a split second, Keith felt an unsettling chill creeping down his spine.
"Where's Sokka?" the intruder barks at him, a raspy, harsh voice growling.
Keith narrows his eyes, glaring. "Who?"
"Where is he?!" The younger, smaller alpha demands as he charges forward. With both swords in hand, he attacks Keith from both sides.
Keith, fueled by anger and now confusion, parries each strike with precise momentum. Who is this intruder talking about? Sokka? Does he know Sokka? He isn’t able to think about it for long, as each strike becomes more and more ferocious.
The smaller alpha proves to be good, a bit too good for Keith’s comfort. He’s able to nick Keith’s arm, prompting a hiss of pain from the older alpha. The sting only awakes more anger within Keith, as he grows agitated.
Summoning a battle cry, Keith unleashes a retaliation, engaging the intruder in fierce clashes. Swinging away, dodging, and parrying, each movement feels like a mix of desperation and anger. The fight unfolds with intensity. Each swing, kick, and jab expresses both of their deep emotions.
Keith manages to slash the intruder on his side, eliciting a pained hiss from the other. The intruder's hand swiftly covers the wound, a dash of blood coating their fingers. As their eyes narrow, heat seems to radiate, making the room temperature rise even further.
The smaller alpha, in a dramatic move, drops his blades. His hands erupt into flames, and the air crackles with the intense heat. The fire flickering in his palms is both a mesmerizing and threatening display.
Keith's eyes widen at the unexpected turn, but he quickly ducks his head, narrowly avoiding the fiery onslaught. Fireballs are hurled towards him, leaving a trail of searing embers in their wake. The scorching heat adds a new layer to their already intense battle.
"WHERE IS SOKKA?" The other cries out, bending fire towards Keith.
Keith swiftly rolls out of the way, but his pant leg catches fire. He’s quick to stomp it out and throw a glare at his assailant. "I don't know who you're talking about!"
Footsteps approach rapidly. The rest of his team arrives. Hunk aims his blaster at the intruder, while the others get into fighting stances.
"Keith!" Shiro yells.
"Don't play dumb! Where is he?" The other yells, raising his palm to blast Keith, who is on the ground. Keith glares back defiantly.
"STOP!" Shiro commands, putting his hands up. "EVERYONE DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
“But-“ Pidge tries to say but gets cut off.
“Drop them!” Shiro demands, sharply looking at all his teammates.
Protests and mumbles filled the air, accompanied by the distinct clanging of weaponry. Keith's eyes widened as he observed the others following Shiro's command. Seizing the moment when the opposing alpha's attention shifted away, Keith moved in.
With a swift kick, he sent the other alpha crashing to the ground, causing the swords to clatter down beside them. Shiro's distant voice called out, urging Keith to stop, but he pressed on. Before the fallen alpha could rise, Keith held him down, looming over him, and forcefully yanked off his mask
As the mask revealed a pair of intense golden eyes, Keith was shocked to see who it was.
He’s seen his face before, but he can’t quite put a name to it. The alpha, this kid , really, has a very much recognizable face with a huge scar on the side of it. Keith squinks at him, thinking. The kid growls as he tries to push Keith off of him by force, but Keith has his wrist pinned down. He will give it to him, the kid has brute strength that almost revival his.
It finally clicks into place. Keith quirks his head to the side, glaring down at the younger one. “Fire nation!”
Shiro grabs Keith off of him as he makes his realization while Allura stands behind the kid to make sure he doesn’t try to do anything.
“Not just Fire Nation,” Pidge snorts. She opens her mouth to explain, but Hunk beats her to it.
“That’s Prince Zuko!” Hunk squeals, running to stand next to Keith. “ Thee prince Zuko, who’s with team Avatar!”
“Team who?” Keith questions, yanking himself out of Shiro's hold. He looks at the supposed prince, who’s been glaring at everyone in his path. Wow, and he thought Prince Lotor had no class.
“Awe, c’mon Keith! We told you about team avatar!” Pride groans rolling her eyes. “It’s a group of kids MY age with freaking superpowers. Zuko has insane fire powers. Actually, I think they call it fire bending.”
“Yeah! There are four of them! Zuko here bends fire, there’s an awesome water girl named Katara, and then there’s Toph who’s like a god of rocks. There’s also an avatar named Aang who bends all the elements, including air!” Hunk gushes, jumping into place. “Oh, this is so exciting!!”
Keith gives Hunk a sidelong glance, who's exchanging amused gestures with Pidge. Shiro sighs, hands on his hips.
"So, he's Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, playing with fire. What's he doing on this ship?" Shiro questions, eyeing the younger one on the ground, who returns his glare.
Coran emerges from behind Shiro, raising an eyebrow. "And who is this Sock lad he's talking about anyway?"
"Sokka," Zuko corrects venomously, fire escaping his mouth. Coran gasps and quickly hides behind Shiro. “His name is Sokka.”
Prince Zuko rises from the ground, indifferent to Allura's glare. He turns to face the princess. "I have no problem burning this place to the ground. If you think what I did right now was impressive, then you shouldn't be around me when I'm angry."
"Are you threatening us?" The princess glares at him, looking down.
"No, just stating," Zuko deadpans, brushing past her to retrieve his Dao swords. Keith places his hand on his own blade.
"If you're not with Prince Lotor, then I'll be going now. I'll find Sokka on my own and destroy anything in my path," Zuko growls, turning his head to glare at them all. His ends end up landing on the princess. “And that's not a threat but a fact.”
"Prince Lotor?" Keith scoffs, injecting disbelief. "You think we work with him?!"
Shiro attempts to place a hand on Keith to stop him, but Keith yanks away. He strides over to Zuko, glaring at him. "I'd rather kill myself than work with Lotor. In fact, the next time I see Lotor, he'll be dead by my blade!"
"Keith—" Shiro tries to interject, but his brother talks over him.
"He has my mate, my Lance taken from me! Lotor is a dead man walking, and his destiny will end on my terms! Do you know what it feels like to have your mate taken from you, Prince Zuko?" Keith growls, fixing a piercing gaze on the young alpha. He invaded his space, as he breathed down on him.
"It's damn emptiness," the Galran hisses, revealing canine teeth that hadn't been there before. Zuko's eyes widen as he observes Keith's eyes shifting into more animalistic pupils with a golden yellow hue. Dots of purple trace Keith's neck.
"Then we have that in common," Zuko states, refusing to back down from Keith's visible threat.
"Sokka might not be my mate, but he is somebody I deeply care for. Prince Lotor stole from both of us," he comments. Both of them lock eyes, assessing if either will falter.
Coran jumps in at that moment, squeezing himself between the boys. "Oh! Then we must work together, aye? Voltron and this Team Avatar! Lotor surely would be no match against us!"
"Coran—" Shiro starts, stepping over to them, intending to quiet the older man, but Allura captures his attention.
"Actually," Allura pauses, putting her hand to her chin in contemplation. "That's not a bad idea, Coran. Kolivan has mentioned Team Avatar before. They played a crucial role against the Galra and even took down the Fire Nation in a solar systematic war. We could use their power, especially the Avatar's."
"Yeah! Hey, Zuko was a challenge today. He almost kicked all of our asses. Imagine the power the Avatar would have!" Pidge comments, nodding in agreement.
Allura nods in agreement and then turns to the firebender. "If you would have us, Prince Zuko, we would love to work alongside you and your team."
Zuko shakes his head and scoffs. "It was never my team; Sokka is the one in charge of us. But yeah, I guess. He would want us to work together. I can give my team a call."
"Fantastic!" Allura claps her hands. "We have a communications room; I'll show you the way!"
"Oh my god, I might meet Toph Beifong," Hunk exclaims, covering his mouth with his hands. He turns to Pidge. "The rock god!"
"Goddess," Pidge corrects, pointing a finger at him. "I wonder if Toph could help us with some of the dents in the Lions. They can metal-bend, right? I wonder how that would work. Would the Lions allow Toph to bend their metal? Or is it their skin? Would it affect their quintessence? Or is it the equivalent of fixing acne?"
"Okay, wait," Shiro puts his hands up, scolding them. "Hold it, you two. No metal-bending the Lions. We'll figure that out later."
Keith drowns out the others, focusing on Zuko trailing behind Allura and Coran as they lead him into the communications room. Their eyes meet, and for once, there's no glaring.
They both nod to each other, and Keith follows suit. They've got work to do.