Chapter Text
Aang runs through the dense swamp following the little girl he heard playing with a winged boar.
"Hey wait up!" Aang calls to the girl in the fancy dress. He didn't get a good look at her though, but could tell she was young.
Then as soon as Aang reached the top of the hill he saw someone at the bottom dressed in blue. At first he thought it was Sokka, but then the person turned around and Aang saw them with more clarity than the other girl.
It was a guy who looked around Sokka's age, but probably a bit older. They wore this strange blue and white armour with light coco skin and big blue eyes with short light brown hair. He was on one knee petting this blue and red spirit looking animals that resembled a tiger-dillo but without the back armour.
"Excuse me! Hey sir can you help me? I'm lost," Aang calls over rushing to them.
The boy turns his head, but not too Aang. He runs off and the Tiger dillo things looks at Aang directly. Aang stopped in his tracks as he looks at the animals with bright gold eyes before the blue one turns to water and splashes into the swamp water while the red one growls briefly before they turn to fire and burn up in almost a instant.
Aang blinks at this shocked when he hears laughter. He turns his head and he sees the first girl again with the boy both of them laughing with each other and their animals.
"Hey! Come back here!" Aang shouts to them using his air bending to jump up in the air and follows them.
Running right into Katara and Sokka, but when he looks around the two people he saw, the boar, and the lions were gone.
But he swore he still felt a presence.
Later
Flying through space was something that could be either loved or hated.
Loving the chance to just drift for a bit and not do anything but relax. Even put the ship on Auto pilot and take a nap.
Or you could annoy your space trip buddy.
"Bored, I am booooored. I am the most bored boredity person in all the galaxy!" Lance sung obnoxiously loud upside down in his pilots chair through the com system his feet above him.
"Boredity is not a word," Keith said obviously annoyed from his own lion flying besides Lance's.
"Well what else was I supposed to rhyme with galaxy?" Lance shot back.
"Gallery, canopy, fatality," Keith lists. "Oh what do you know drop out. Blue and Red you're on my side right girls?" Lance asks the lions sitting up.
"Don't pull the lions into this," Keith said with an eye roll. "Are you just jealous Red liked me as her Paladin more than you mullet? Kept the seat warm for you," Lance said teasingly.
"Haha, I still don't get why Red was so easy on you. I got sucked into space for her to like me and I didn't bash her into a Galra cruiser the first time flying," Keith said.
"I didn't bash her I grazed her and she forgave me. Also that was so funny when you found her. "We are bonding! Iiiiii ammmmm your pallllaaaaaahhhhhdin!" Lance laughs hysterically at his Keith impression.
"What!? I never said that! Who snitched it was Red wasn't it?" Keith said his cheeks tinted pink.
"The suits have audio recordings Keith," Lance said wiping a stray tear.
Actually it was Red, but Lance isn't throwing the lion under the space bus.
"Why did I ask you of all people on this mission?" Keith asks annoyed leaning on an arm rest.
"Shiro's on his honeymoon, Hunk's competing for Galactic Chef emperor supreme, Pidge is working on that creepy looking Pinocchio robot, and I'm guessing Coran called you about my freak out? And Veronica definitely had Axca snitch to you at the least," Lance states with an eye roll.
Keith sighs genuine worry in his voice coming through.
"Lance your sister is worried about you. Everyone is," Keith said. "Then why haven't they come or even talked to me? Why are we going on a stupid fake mission?" Lance asks his mouth curled into a smile, but voice bitter. "Because you've been pushing them away! You need help Lance and that's coming from me," Keith said.
Lance scoffs. "I'm helping myself just fine Keith I don't need anyone's help. I'm alright and the fact you and everyone else around me treats me like I'm an egg shell is rather insulting," Lance said inspecting his nails.
Keith sighs closing his eyes. "Lance this mission isn't.... Well I made it sound more important than it is, but it's not fake! Earth is at the edge of the explored known universe. Earth spent ten thousand years unaware of the Galra empire and we need to know what else is out there in case so we're just looking around planets for signs of intelligent, evolving life, or even another galactic empire terrorizing this side of space. Besides everyone else thinks you need to be given space. I know you needed to get dragged out of bed instead of moping around and smashing mirrors," Keith said.
"If my math is right I got 98 years of bad luck," Lance mused humorously. "Lance," Keith frowns at the deflection.
"Well how would you like it! You may not be totally human, but you still have human dna and you were born half Galra! I was born all human and now according to Coran and every other doctor in the universe I'm fucking Altean! I even have Altean powers that Coran made me train with!" Lance shouts at Keith through the coms speeding Blue up to go ahead of Keith.
"Lance!" Keith pushes red forward getting in front of Blue since he was in the faster lion.
"Lance," Keith said again unnaturally soft.
Lance's hands go up to his ears tracing the round human outline, but very aware of what was underneath.
"I'm sorry Keith I just.... It's still hard for me to even think of my full reflection right now," Lance said softly looking down.
Keith is quiet for a moment before he asks. "Do you want to turn around?" Keith asks.
Lance surprisingly shakes his head. "Nah you're right I do need to get out besides back in our original lions? Feels like old times," Lance said and Keith actually smiles. "Honestly I know we were in war, but I miss how simple stuff used to be. The Galra? So hard to deal with and I'm including the blade. Seriously! I know they've known only combat for the past ten thousand years, but there solution to every dispute is a fight to the death! and since Mom and Kolivan have been elected as the Galra leaders most of the population is calling me their new prince! I am not a prince!" Keith exclaims obviously just done.
"Looks like you needed the break in routine as much as me Prince McMullet of the Galra," Lance said in a posh voice to mock Keith.
"Do not make me board blue and cut your tongue out," Keith threatens, but was obviously joking.
Lance laughs. "Please Mullet. If you wanted too we both know you would have ages ago," Lance said. "That's just because Shiro was around. No one to protect you now Lance," Keith said trying to sound threatening, but his smile made it fall short.
"You know I think that would be a lot less threatening if I didn't have that image of you with a baby dummy in your mouth," Lance muses.
"OH WOULD YOU LET THAT MEMORY DIE!"
Their entire trip for the next two hours as they travelled light years in minutes went on and on. Exchanging memories and playful insults, reminiscing on who they had lost, talking about what they had been doing, until suddenly the lions both took a sharp right without either of them making it happen.
"WOW Blue! A little warning!" Lance complains glancing out at the Red Lion. "What's going on?" Keith asks.
Lance looks at the cock pit and feels something from both the lions.
"Hey Keith did you feel that?" Lance asks. "Yeah.... What could make the lions so curious?" Keith asks Lance. "Maybe they found a planet made of yarn?" Lance suggests.
"Lance be... actually no you're being totally serious right now," Keith sighs but then noticed they were coming into view of a G-type main sequence star. When it came to finding planets that had an abundance of flourishing life it was always found orbiting one of those stars.
"Oooooh! Finally a new galaxy! We've been out here for ages!" Lance complains.
"We've been traveling for only two days. Most of that was skipped since we wormholed past all the confirmed areas that show no signs of life or else we would have been traveling for two months," Keith corrects.
"How long did we tell the others we'd be gone?" Lance asks. "I told them depended on if we found anything or what it was like," Keith explains.
The two entered the solar system passing by a few planets using their lions to scan the surfaces from a safe distance. "Okay so far we have three lifeless rock planets, one giant rainbow gas planet, two lifeless ice planets, one ice planet at the edge of the solar system with beast weird yeti ice creatures that show no signs of intelligence, and a astroid belt," Lance lists through each planet writing it all down in a folder.
"A couple of those rock planets have the right conditions to be turned into colonies for planets destroyed by weblums. What area are we entering now?" Keith asks.
"The goldilocks area. This system is pretty similar to earths system. According to scans there's only one more planet to check out," Lance said. "Affirmative," Keith said.
Lance then smirks and declares.
"RACE YA!" And sped off. "Oh your on!" Feeling like they were rookies again the two have fun racing each other to the planet.
But in the end Keith obviously won and they got there just outside the system, far enough they wouldn't be seen by the naked eye of anyone on the planet. The planet from the naked eye looked a lot like earth, but with different areas. It was smaller than earth, but not too noticeably and rotated at the same angle. The top and bottom of the planet showed large masses of ice with a noteworthy amount of water present to classify it having a ocean, the largest area of land covered about thirty nine percent of the globe, with a cluster of islands to the west of the land mass seemingly creating one big land mass surrounded by islands. It had a single moon orbiting it.
"Ugh! I knew I should have chosen to pilot red," Lance complains. "Why didn't you? I was happy to take Black with me," Keith offers. "Blue has been feeling as lonely as me she wanted to get out," Lance answers.
Rolling his eyes Keith starts the scans and imaging of the planets surface. When they came back his eyes widened. "Lance! Check the screens you would not believe this!" Keith said unusually excited.
Confused Lance does as told and his jaw drops.
"No way! Keith! They look and act human!" Lance exclaims.
Right now they were observing the planet on a space zoom up camera Pidge upgraded the lions with. It was so they could detect enemy ships ahead, but could also be used for spying on planets.
The images they were seeing of people in a market area moving, making trades, and all looked to be identical to a human. The scans were saying the same thing.
"There is large amounts of activity. It says some have higher energy levels than humans, but it might mean nothing. Alteans with no special abilities have the same thing and-Lance where are you going?" Keith asks noticing the blue lion moving towards the planet.
"Keith it's an alien world with lifeforms identical to humans! We gotta go down and check it out in person!" Lance said with an excitement Keith hasn't heard since the early days of Voltron.
"Lance," Keith began.
"Please Keith! We've discovered a planet that appears to be in a pre industrial stage with intelligent occupants that appear identical to humans! Not even Balmeran planets have civilizations identical to one another. From planet to planet we've visited none of them have had aliens even remotely close to one another besides some small features here and there. Keith we have a unique opportunity to blend in with a an alien civilization and really get immersed into it! Come on Keith we cannot pass up this opportunity. We'll never get it again," Lance begs him.
"Lance no we cannot," Keith began.
"Keeeeeiiiiiitttttthhhhh pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeee," Lance draws out needlessly long like a toddler whining for a toy.
"Lance," Keith rubs his forehead tired.
"Come on the lions drew us here unless they meant the yeti planet and just think about it! It's not like this mission had any real importance, specific rules, and stuff. It said observe foreign unexplored planet life at our discretion. Besides we never get to just visit alien planets with the whole paladin of Voltron thing. Here we would blend in! Keith please. Think of it like a vacation just the two of us with no one to pull us away for some diplomatic reason like shaking your hand or blinking in the leaders direction. It would just be us secret aliens like in the movies and again it would be like a vacation! I betcha you need one after being in Galra meetings and," Lance was rambling but Keith had tuned it out at this point.
Him, Lance, on a planet together. No distractions, no one to pull them away, none of their friends around either to get between them at the worst moments.
"Okay Lance fine," Keith said trying not to sound too excited.
Lance startled his eyes wide. "Wait really mullet!?" Lance asks excited. "What can I say you appealed to my nature for a proper real break, but let's just wait until night and find somewhere to hide our lions on the planet since we don't have a shuttle to take us down there," Keith explains.
"YES! Thank you Keith this will be awesome!" Lance cheers.
Keith smiles warmly hearing that. He loved to hear that sound.
Later
"Come on Mullet keep up," Lance encourages Keith very smug as they travelled through the ocean in their lions.
The blue lion Lance was having fun as Blue was practically made for the water whereas Red was more suited for hot temperature planets and did not do good in the water.
"I'm trying!" Keith growls. "You know I can just," Lance began to offer. "You are not dragging Red!" Keith snaps and Lance groans rolling his eyes.
It took them awhile, but they managed to reach the shore of the largest piece of landmass.
They left the lions underwater and used their suits to travel to land. After that they put their suits in a special container that went back to their lions.
"Remember to keep calm. Can't go Galra with these people," Lance whispers. Recently the paladins had learned that Keith's Galra heritage is coming through more often. When talking to Axca she explained how for half breeds such as Ezor have a Galra parent, but they don't resemble their Galra heritage like Keith isn't uncommon and unlikely to get any Galra features later in life depending on the species. However if they got really mad or in this sort of battle frenzy state than they can go into a term Hunk labeled "Galra Mode" where they turn purple, eyes go yellow and glow, teeth sharpen, and sometimes even grow a tail.
This was discovered when some old Galra guy tried to assinate Shiro during a peace negotiation with Keith present. Keith went full on Galra making the guy pay.
Keith rolls his eyes but nods. The two wore simplest robes possible. When visiting alien planets they found that universally wearing the plainest thing possible was best with maybe a bit of dirt. Better to look like a hobo than stick out like a sore thumb
They had purposely come to the shore of the market they had been spying on and had waited until near sunrise. They saw some stores opening, specifically they saw a clothing store opening which was happily convenient.
Walking up to the merchant Lance asks the salesman. "Hey do you accept gold as payment?" Lance asks taking out a small piece of gold for the man. The two had brought gold and various other materials for money spending and through spying in their lions they noticed this planet seemed to deal in gold and silver.
The man took the piece and bit into it. Inspecting it he grins and nods. "Yep! Come on it. I got earth nation, water nation, fire nation, and even air nation. Whatever's your fancy," He said as he leads his two newest customers into his stall.
Keith and Lance exit wearing the clothes of this planet and look each other over.
Keith wore dark red pants with flexible sock like shoes, a shirt with a prominent V neck showing a peak of his muscles, dark gold highlights with a dark red almost black fabric belt tied tightly around his waist and leather strapped arm bands that went from his wrist to half way up the lower part of his arms that had fire images on them.
Lance on the other hand went for a different approach dressed in dark brown loose leather pants with leather fur topped, dark blue waist coat with fur lining around his waist and legs, light blue sleeveless shirt with black fingerless gloves and leather arm bands similar to Keith's only Lance had his painted in blue and white triangles and went further up to his arms stopping just before his shoulders, a removable coat that matched his waist one was around his shoulders and to top it off he had a headband on that had light blue and white pattern on it using seashells and little side beads on each side. They each had their own packs that held their bayards in them.
"You know I'm pretty sure that coat is supposed to have a undershirt," Lance points out to Keith. "And I'm pretty sure that headband is meant for girls," Keith said. "Are you jealous I'm stealing your thing," Lance grins flexing his fingerless gloves.
Keith rolls his eyes and storms off ahead. Lance follows walking by his side.
"Let's split up. We'll ask some people about current world events just so we're aware of anyone we should know," Keith said. "Hmm you're right Keith. Anyway if I know you you're going to do it in a way that doesn't help the whole blending in thing. Here watch me," Lance said and walks over to a stall.
Keith crosses his arms and glares waiting for the moment he needs to bail Lance out.
"Hey my good fellows whatcha got here today?" Lance asks going up to a market stall that had fruit and veggie looking stuff.
The Vendor, a nice looking middle aged man, happily explains what he has and to be honest Lance wanted to try some of it. Still he sticks to the mission and took note of the stuff the Vendor seemed to have the least of.
"Hmm only two cummberquats left? You got anymore in the back?" Lance asks. The Vendor shakes their head. "Do you know when you'll get some more?" Lance questions.
"Unfortunately I might not. Have you heard the latest war news?" The man asks. Lance leans in curiously.A war huh? "No what's up?" He questions.
"The fire nation has recently taken Omashu and a few small earth kingdom towns that are popular stops to Ba sing se. The farmers town where I get my produce was among them," The Vendor explains.
Lance frowns at this. "What? The fire nation attacked a farmers town? Why would they attack some farmers town it doesn't have soldiers or anything else," Lance explains.
The Vendor frowns and his kind face grows dark. "The same reason they do anything. To hurt, burn, steal, and kill," the man answers pulling up his sleeve revealing nasty burn scars. "I'm pretty unlikely to get any more produce after I sell this batch or it rots," the Vendor said dejectedly.
Lance frowns sympathetically and opens his bag taking out five pieces of gold. He handed them over to the Vendor. "I can't do anything about getting you more produce to sell, but keep this. I don't need anything," Lance said.
The Vendor looks surprised before he takes the gold. "Thank you," he said.
Lance nods and left going back to Keith who was brooding nearby.
"Okay so apparently this place, wherever we are specifically, is at War with the Fire Nation which I'm guessing means that people and nationalities are all separated into their own nations of their elements which means they all have their own cultures based around a element of nature," Lance explains and smiles a little.
"This country is at war with trigger happy fire people. Why are you smiling?" Keith asks. "Well one I think we've finally found people you'll fit in with. Two IDK we're going to be on a planet long enough to learn about their people and culture without the whole Voltron thing getting in the way. It's kinda exciting don't you think?" Lance asks.
Keith only rolls his eyes and got off the wall. "Let's just keep looking around and get more info on this whole war with the fire nation thing," Keith said.
"Okay but let me do the talking since I'm the people person," Lance said. "I'm a people person!" Keith states aggressively.
Lance gives him a raised eyebrow and Keith looks away annoyed.
They continue on and Keith does manage to try and talk to some people, but everyone treated him rudely or threatened him. Keith wanted to fight them, but Lance literally had to drag him off so they didn't cause a market riot with people in a market on a new planet. They didn't buy any food as they already had rations, but Lance did buy himself a bow and a few arrows.
"Do you even know how to use those?" Keith asks Lance judgingly. "Well snipers always going to be my first choice, but I know the basics of archery. My parents wanted to make sure I understood the consequences of shooting something before they gave me a hunting gun," Lance explains as he tested the tensile strength of the string. "Besides you got your sword and I can't use my weapon," Lance states.
Soon enough they had reached the end of the market in a private area where Keith and Lance decided to take a moment and talk.
"Okay so first let's compile what we know about this place," Lance said.
"One there's a war between the Fire Nation and the Earth Nation. The Fire Nation is winning right now and they have more technologies," Keith explains. "And what about this Avatar dude we keep hearing? What are they supposed to be a god?" Lance asks. "Maybe more of a religious figure?" Keith suggests. "Yeah that's what a god is," Lance said annoyed.
"What I mean is someone who's I don't know a pope person or something?" Keith asks very unfamiliar with Religion.
"Okay not a bad theory..... so what do we do now?" Lance asks. "What do you mean? Let's get our lions and do the same thing we did to Zarkon to the leader of the fire nation," Keith states.
Lance slaps his forehead. "Keith this place is like Neo Edo Japan or something. If we fly in on our super techs lions and just blast some dictator yeah the dude will be dead, but that could be worse! Some worse dude could take their place or send the nation into chaos and yeah while what they're doing isn't good there has to be some innocent people in that country just trying to get by. If we're going to kill a leader we need to be prepared. We can't have another prince Lotor situation we need to think about who's going to take over after," Lance explains.
Keith frowns but has to admit Lance is right. "Why aren't you this smart when we're in strategy or political meetings?" Keith asks.
Lance shrugs. "Well I am, but no one listened to me or Allura talked over me. It's whatever though I prefer talking to the people over the stuffy sometimes snooty leaders," Lance shrugs modestly.
"I still think we should do my plan," Keith said. "Do you want to get treated like a god again when you fly a giant lion to whoever the fire dictator is and kill them? They'll either make you a god or the new leader and we both know you hate both," Lance grins.
Keith rolls his eyes. "If I remember right you adored being treated as a god at the last planet with those mouse looking people," Keith said. Lance shrugs unashamed smirking. "The best part was when I was declared god of beauty," he said and Keith rolls his eyes.
"Here how about we do some travelling and learning a bit more. See what the goals are, what started the war, how long it's been happening, why people are fighting, all that stuff," Keith explains.
"Sounds good. Let's find some transport animals or," Lance states. "We are not throwing our money away. We're walking," Keith said.
"Keith no please do not make us walk," Lance begs, but Keith was adamant. "At least let us find someone to hitch ride with," Lance begs.
They didn't and it wasn't until they had walked two miles did Keith say they should make camp.
"Alrighty then!" Lance stretches. "You got the tent I'll go hunt for food," Lance said.
"Why hunt for food we got plenty of rations?" Keith asks. "Because we should save them for emergencies if we can and two I want to brush off on my archery skills," Lance states proudly showing off the bow.
"Lance," Keith began. "You'll get a break from me," Lance said and then Keith practically pushed him into the woods.
"If you die I'll tell the team it was bravely," Keith calls to him supportively.
Lance rolls his eyes. "I'll grab some fire wood too," he calls and got an affirmative call back.
Lance moves in a straight line sometimes pausing to make subtle arrows with tree branches he could follow back, and eventually came across a tree he could climb. He climbs the tree and once he got near the top he found a stable branch and sat there taking out the bow and arrow.
"Okay Lance let's see if you still remember how to not hit your gorgeous face with the string," Lance said to himself taking out an arrow.
He hasn't used a bow and arrow since he was eight. During summers his dad would take him and his brothers out on hunting trips. His dad would always use a hunting gun and Lance wanted to use one too.
His dad signed him up for archery and when he was thirteen Lance shot a rabbit with an arrow during a hunting trip. His dad made him pull out the arrow which spouted blood everywhere and had this big speech about life and respecting the responsibility of the weapon in his hands. It was honestly a pretty good lesson and Lance gets it. It's a lot easier/safer to deal with a kid that has a bow and arrow with no idea how to use it than it is if you handed an over excited eight year old a gun with no concept of death or consequences. Lance definitely would have shot someone.
Lance looks down and knotches the arrow looking for something to shoot and keeping a look out. It wasn't quite sunset yet so he has no idea if there's anyone else nearby until later when they start making campfires.
Lance then finally spots something.
It was a little white furred animal with bat wings, but looked just like a lemur only a few trees over close to the ground.
Lance grins and aims. He waits a few minutes for the Lemur to still before he lets his arrow fly.
And like the universe was against him that was the exact moment a kid came out of nowhere getting in the way of his aim.
Thankfully though the kid seemed to see the arrow from the corner of his eye or something and dodged it super fast jumping into the air and hovering there for a moment.
His head then turns and he spotted Lance in the tree.
Before Lance could yell a sorry to the kid they swung their arms out. A sudden strong wind coming from nowhere suddenly hit Lance so strong that it knocked him out of the tree branch.
Lance screamed as he fell out of the tree his fall getting slowed by the tree branches he hit on the way before he finally lands on the ground hard. He lets out a scream of pain and touches his head pulling it away to find scarlet blood.
He hears unfamiliar voices, but he can't keep awake as the sadly familiar feeling of blacking out takes over his senses.
All he can do is hope Keith heard him scream.
Meanwhile
Keith runs through the forest looking around desperately for Lance. He had heard him shout, but it had been far and distant making it hard to hear. The only reason Keith even heard is because of his Galra genetics. However he was no hunter or tracker.
"Lance! Lance! Lance where the quiznack are you!?" Keith shouts. Lance wasn't responding to his communicator and considering this planet was at war with people who could throw rock and fire with their minds he really hopes Lance didn't get captured or something by them. Suddenly Keith picks up the scent of smoke.
"Lance!" Keith runs through some brush and then comes to a screeching halt.
In front of him he had run right into a burning village. His eyes widened and he backs away looking around. Knowing his friends luck Lance was probably somewhere here.
"Lance! Lance where are you!?" Keith yells running into the burning village. He looks around desperately when he hears an explosion.
He runs to the source of it and found all the villagers huddled into a circle of woman and children. Separately the men, and some woman and children, were in chains and being dragged into these metal tank looking trucks by people dressed in red and brown leather and metal armour. The helmets completely blocked their faces and they were patrolling the area, but Keith was quick ducking into some burned debris.
"Is this all of the earth benders?" One of the soldiers ask their helmet missing the face plate that concealed the rest of the soldiers. He had a finely trimmed sharp beard with gold eyes. If he were on earth Keith would assume the man of being Japanese descent like Shiro as that's the closest comparison he has to their appearance.
"We believe so sir," A soldier confirms.
"Please! Please give me my little girl back please!" A woman begs the soldiers tears cascading down her face. The captain kicks the woman back into the group as she sobs.
"Looks like someone needs to learn a lesson about who's making the demands here. After all you should be thankful. You're about to serve the fire nation in the mines," The captain grins as the woman sobs.
"Listen well you earth kingdom scum! Your Avatar cannot save you! We are the fire nation and our firelord burns bright!" The soldiers cheer while the innocents cower and cry.
Keith growls and takes out his blade of Marmora. Call him stupid, but he's not standing by and letting this happen.
He waits until everyone's back's were turned, he saw which guard had the keys, and then he strikes.
In one swift movement he pounces on the soldier that had the keys on his belt. Using the hilt of his sword he hits the soldier's helmet hard enough it cracked and the soldier crumbles to the ground.
Grabbing the keys Keith keeps running forward with the keys.
He saw nearby the soldiers quickly closing the doors of the tank, but Keith was faster. He throws his sword and it hits one of the soldiers right in the shoulder.
The soldier yells out in pain and Keith removes his blade quickly roundhouse kicking the soldier down.
Keith felt the heat and ducks down avoiding a direct fire blast. He barrel rolls moving back to his feet and sprinting.
Keith slid to a stop as all the firebenders surrounded him in what seems to be attack positions. "Burn that traitor alive!" The captain shouts.
Keith looks for a weak opening, but he didn't find one as their positioning was tight and Keith was cornered.
Okay this was really stupid.
All the soldiers punch their fists out at him. He feels the heat, but the fire never hit him as all around him four tall thick walls of rock stuck out of the ground shielding him.
Keith's eyes widened checking his hands. He hadn't thrown the keys back to the captured benders so that had to mean.
He hears a scream and quickly Keith took out his bayard shifting it into a weapon identical to Pidge's. He embedded it just below the opening above that now showed the night sky. It pulled Keith up and he managed to climb the rest of the way out. The soldiers had seemed to forget about him for that moment as the Captain had dragged out a woman. She was obviously pregnant, if it was anything like a human pregnancy then she looked to be about her second trimester.
The woman sobs as the village fights against the firebenders, but they shot fire at them and they fall back cowering in fear.
"Oh you think you can make a fool of us by hiding earth bender scum!?" They threw the woman to the ground, but she uses her bending to soften the fall to not hurt her stomach.
"Please, he was a child. One of your own. Don't you even show mercy for one of your own?" The woman cries. "This is our mercy," the captain states coldly moving to probably kill the woman via burning alive, but he doesn't get that far.
The Captain screamed at suddenly being knocked to the ground as the sobbing woman looks over at her saviour her eyes widening in shock and everyone gasping.
Standing above the captain mauling at them was something not human.
Their skin was an unnatural purple hue, their hair the same with their ears pointed and fury at the tips, their finger nails grown sharp like claws, their eyes pupil and irisless with just yellow eyes, canines sharpen, and a tail had appeared from out under their under shirt.
"HOW DARE YOU! DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH THAT WOMAN OR ANY OF THESE PEOPLE AGAIN YOU COWARDLY SCUM!" The once boy now thing yells in an animalistic voice.
The captain was missing their eye and they shout.
"Kill it! Kill the thing!" The soldier had been shocked at first, but at the order quickly shot their fire.
The thing however was faster. They moved so quickly that the soldiers ended up hitting their own captain who screamed in pain.
Next the beast took out each of the soldiers. He mostly did that by positioning himself in a way that when he dodged the stray shots hit the other soldiers. Some fire nation soldiers ran out of fear and the rest of them were quickly dispatched by the fighter. By the time he was done the entire battalion laid defeated and burned around the beast.
Everyone looks at the person who heaves in a deep breath and turns their gaze on the pregnant woman who saved them.
She flinches back scared when they approach sobbing terrified. Desperately they begin to pray while holding her stomach.
"Their heart beat is strong," the woman looks up at them.
"What?" She whispers. "Your baby. I can hear their heartbeat. It's strong," they said and smiled without showing their teeth. They had blood on their finger tips so they put the keys down besides the woman on the grass.
"Are you a spirit?" A child from the villagers calls out asking.
The thing looks at them then down at themselves as if just realizing what they were before they nodded.
"Uh yeah.... Yeah I'm a spirit. I'm looking for someone. Have any of you seen my friend Lance? He's a water tribe boy," Keith said.
"Like the one with the Avatar? They went that way just before dusk," another child points in the direction.
No adult had the time to correct the child and tell the spirit that the water tribe boy with the avatar was named Sokka. The next moment the spirit was gone running faster than any of them could run in the direction the child pointed.
This just left the villagers, the defeated fire nation soldiers, and their burning buildings.
Quickly someone released all the earth benders who hugged their families in reliefs before the children ask what they would do now. The adults look at the fire nation soldiers.
"Go and try to find what you can sweethearts. We'll get all of these mean ash makers out of our village. It's time we head to Ba Sing Se," the lead villager said to their child. The children all leave with a few adults following to make sure they were okay while the rest of the village looked to the ash makers.
When the children returned they were told the soldiers ran away.
They didn't know about the newly made graves they walked upon.