It's a contented silence that settles over the three of them as Shiro, Keith, and Allura make their way through the jungle. The air is hot and muggy; the jungle floor, filled with rocks and roots, is cumbersome to traverse; and it's not particularly pretty, all drab browns and greens, the river cutting through dark and murky. But their spirits are still running high. It's not everyday that they can say their mission went off without a hitch, exactly according to plan.

The Galra had been developing a powerful bioweapon at a facility deep in a jungle on the planet Tryoph. It was originally supposed to be a team mission with all five paladins, but just before they were set to head out, they had received a distress signal from another planet, Rieb, just a few star systems over. The power generators were down across the small planet, and patients at the hospitals were dying. So Shiro had sent Hunk and Pidge to try to get the generators back up and running, with Lance there to keep an eye out and watch their backs as they worked. Shiro didn't think it was a trap, but he'd learned they could never be too careful.

So they'd adapted their plan, Allura joining Keith and Shiro in place of Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. It ended up working out brilliantly, with Allura in disguise to determine the bioweapon's location, Shiro gaining access to the weapon with his arm, and Keith creating a distraction while they disposed of it. Sure, Shiro's a bit sore and bruised after taking a couple hits, but he'll manage; the important thing is that the bioweapon has been destroyed and Allura and Keith are unharmed. They got in and out of the facility without being seen. Now it's just a matter of navigating through the jungle back to their pod, located out of sight of the facility and on terrain they could land on.

The jungle is loud, filled with rustling and the sounds of insects calling for their mates, but in the midst of it, there's a deep, unsettling noise that causes Shiro to stiffen. It's only there for a moment, and he's beginning to think he just imagined it, but then, without warning, he's lifted up and being held in mid-air - thick, ropy tentacles coming from the river are wrapped tightly around him. And then, just as fast, he's slammed into the ground with tremendous force, driving him headfirst into hard rock. His head and shoulder explode with pain and his vision goes black.

-v-V-v-

He's not unconscious for long, but when he comes to, he's greeted by the awful sensation of water filling his lungs.

He's drowning, and it's the most inconvenient time for a flashback, but it comes. All over again he's being tortured by the druids under the guise of interrogation, waterboarded. Darkness and bound limbs; water filling his nose and mouth; choking, gagging, acid burning his throat; excruciating pain; he can't breathe. They ask him something he doesn't know the answer to, and over and over again he drowns with no end in sight.

He involuntarily gasps when he snaps out of it, only to inhale more water. His lungs burn. His helmet's been shattered – that explains the water inside. He can't see well through the murky water and he's having trouble focusing, but he can see the dark, vine-like tentacles still wrapped around his body, and he's pretty sure the glowing red lights he sees are eyes.

He tries to focus his blurry vision, and he can make out two shapes in the cloudy water. He realizes with a start that it's Keith and Allura, also trapped underwater by the creature. He activates his Galra arm but his hand doesn't make contact with anything but his suit; his arms are pinned tightly to his sides. He tries in vain to break free, but struggling only makes it worse, using up the last of his precious oxygen.

His head is spinning, and trying not to inhale is getting near impossible. His vision is fading, but in his periphery, he can see one of the shapes getting closer. Faint turquoise lights against white, black, and red. Keith.

Keith's blurry form hacks away at the tentacles with his sword, dark green blood blooming in clouds around him. Shiro feels the strong grip around him slacken and fall away. He's free, but he starts to sink.

After the blow to his shoulder, he can barely move his right arm. Swimming is impossible. The metal prosthesis is dead weight, an anchor. It weighs him down in more ways than one, and now it physically drags him down into the depths.

He's sinking fast and sunlight is getting further and further away, but Keith doesn't follow. Keith? It's getting dark now, and the last thing he sees before his vision fades and his lungs fill with water once more is the image of Keith swimming away.

-v-V-v-

Shiro comes to, gagging and coughing up water. His lungs positively burn as they're met with air. Everything hurts. He gasps for breath with ragged inhales and choked exhales, retching as he expels water from his lungs.

There's noise buzzing in his pounding head, and eventually it starts to come into focus. Voices. Allura's and Keith's. He opens his eyes.

"Shiro? Oh, thank goodness!" Allura says, her crystal blue eyes brimming with tears.

"We almost lost you," Keith says. His voice sounds raw.

Shiro tries to speak, to reassure them, but he can't stop coughing for long enough to get any words out.

"Hush," Allura says softly. "Just focus on breathing."

Allura's touching his left arm and Keith's right beside her clutching his hand, and he's grateful, so grateful, that they're safe. "I'm glad you're okay," he rasps when he can finally catch his breath.

Keith snorts. "Us? You're the one who got attacked by that thing and nearly drowned."

He can't think straight, but that sounds right. That, and then he was sinking, and then… His voice is weak and hoarse when he speaks. "How… how did…"

"After that creature took you into the river, we went in after it," Allura says, the word creature spoken with utter disdain. "It had… far too many tentacles," she continues, disturbed, "and it managed to grab us too. But Keith was able to free himself with his bayard, and once he was able to, he cut away the tentacles that were holding onto you. When you started to sink, though, he came over to help me get free."

Keith grips his hand tighter. "I… I didn't want to leave you, but I had to. I couldn't get you to the surface by myself," he says, his eyes flickering to Shiro's heavy metal arm. He sounds remorseful.

"No, you… you did good," Shiro manages. He's proud of Keith for being able to stay pragmatic and use his head in this situation. It's more than he can say he did.

"You weren't breathing," Keith says, anxiety lingering in his voice. "Allura had to resuscitate you." There isn't much of Shiro that doesn't hurt, but he can make out the sharp pain of what's probably a cracked rib from the CPR.

"Thank you both. For saving me," Shiro says. He'd been very close to death, and he certainly wouldn't have made it without them.

He winces as he tries to sit up. He definitely has a concussion. He has a killer headache and he's really dizzy, the colours of the jungle swirling together in a confusing mess. But they need to get moving. That creature, or others like it, could attack again.

Shiro takes a few moments before standing up. As soon as he gets to his feet, though, the ground tilts and his stomach lurches, and he falls forward to his hands and knees and throws up. Pain reverberates through his shoulder as his open palm hits the ground, his sore throat burns as he expels the contents of his stomach, and his aching ribs and raw lungs hurt as he gasps for air.

He tries to sit back and Keith steadies him as he pants for breath, shaking. "I've got you," Keith says, holding on.

They wait for Shiro to catch his breath. "How are you feeling?" Allura asks after a few minutes, concerned.

Absolutely awful, he doesn't say. "I've… been better," he rasps out. "But I'll be fine. Let's get going." He leans on Keith and gets to his feet again; Keith holds him up when he sways.

"Allura," Keith says, looking at her for assistance, and she's at Shiro's side in an instant, supporting him. They drape Shiro's good arm across her shoulders – she's the stronger of the two. Keith stays diligently at Shiro's right side, his hand at his back, carefully avoiding his shoulder.

Walking is a lot harder than it should be, the world not making sense to his eyes and his balance completely thrown. He stumbles over protruding roots and jutting stone, but Allura holds tight and ensures he doesn't fall as they make their way back to the pod.

The more subdued members of Team Voltron stay quiet throughout their trek, and Shiro appreciates it. He doesn't want to have to speak or listen – his throat hurts and he can't think straight – and the sounds of the jungle are already far too much for his splitting headache.

It's a rough couple of hours. Twice he has to ask them to stop as he throws up again. It's stiflingly hot out and he's pretty sure he's dehydrated, making him even dizzier and more nauseated. It's a vicious cycle.

By the time they make it back to the pod, spots are dancing in his eyes and he's barely staying conscious. Keith takes the wheel, and as steady as Keith's flying is, the movement still makes his stomach roil. When they land in the hangar Allura helps him out of his seat, but he sways when he stands again, and this time his vision fades and he passes out.

-v-V-v-

When Shiro emerges from unconsciousness for the second time that day, he's freezing cold and exhausted. He falls forward out of the cryopod and into Keith's arms.

"Hey," Keith says softly.

"Hey," he returns, and he marvels that his throat doesn't hurt when he speaks.

"How're you feeling?" Keith asks.

"Much better," Shiro says, and it's the truth. His lungs don't burn, his shoulder doesn't throb, his ribs don't ache, and the pounding in his head has subsided. He's a bit lightheaded, but not like before.

He's completely drained, though, and it shows. Allura notes as much when she and Coran come over. "Go get some rest," Allura commands, and he's too tired not to comply. He nods.

"But before you do that, drink this!" Coran says, pressing a tall glass of… something… into his hands. "It's an oral rehydration solution," he explains. "You've got to restore your electrolytes; you're quite dehydrated."

Shiro hesitates, staring at the bright magenta contents of the glass. It's viscous and strangely opaque.

"It's delicious!" Coran says, waggling his eyebrows.

Shiro braces himself and downs the drink. It's decidedly not delicious, but he manages to keep it down.

"Thank you. All of you," he says, bidding them goodnight. He stops by the bathroom to rinse his mouth out, washing away the acid and the aftertaste of the pink solution. Then, not even bothering to change, he falls into bed and passes out.

-v-V-v-

Shiro wakes still feeling exhausted. He glances at his clock, set to Castle Time, and he realizes he's slept for over thirteen hours – more than thrice what he usually gets these days. Still, it feels like he hasn't slept at all.

He feels weak, so weak he can barely get out of bed. His head hurts. He aches all over and his limbs are like lead. When he's finally able to push himself up, he instantly feels nauseated as the room spins around him.

He's confused. This is wrong. He was feeling better before he went to bed - he was healed from the incident earlier. But no, this isn't the same, he recognizes as a pyrexic chill passes through him. His skin feels flushed and warm, too warm.

The water, he realizes. There could have been something in the water. The muddy, cloudy river water he'd ingested copious amounts of yesterday.

The cryopods were indiscriminate, built to heal all forms of life. All life including any microorganisms he'd swallowed. He wonders about all the things that might have been in that water, and the thought turns his stomach.

He should probably have Coran scan him. That's what a responsible leader would do. A responsible leader wouldn't hide just because medical equipment reminds him of… No. No, he'll do it. …Just after a short nap, he tells himself, and he falls back asleep.

-v-V-v-

Shiro wakes to the sound of knocking at his door. It's too loud; his head feels like it's being split open. He needs it to stop, so he pushes himself to his feet. He tries to blink away his double vision and force down the nausea as he staggers to the door.

"Shiro? It's mid-afternoon, and-" Allura pauses, taking in the sight of him. "Are you alright?"

"Mostly just tired," he says, and it's not a total lie – he feels the exhaustion more than anything else.

Her eyes rove over him and she doesn't look entirely convinced, but she lets it go. "You should really eat something," she says.

"Sure," he says, though he doesn't feel like eating and has no actual intention of doing so. "I'll head to the kitchen in a bit."

"Alright." She rests a hand on his arm, the metal one that doesn't betray his temperature. "Let me know if you need anything." He nods, thanking her. As soon as she leaves, he stumbles back to bed.

-v-V-v-

Shiro wakes later that evening, and as much as he wants to stay in bed, he can't ignore his need to use the bathroom any longer. The bathroom seems impossibly far away, and he needs to cling to the wall to get there. It takes an age and a half for him to get down the hallway, but he makes it there on unsteady legs.

On his way back to his room, though, his legs give out and he sinks to the floor – just as Keith rounds the corner.

"Shiro!" Keith is at his side in an instant. He wraps an arm around him, and feeling the heat radiating through his shirt, presses a hand to Shiro's too-warm forehead. His features shift into a scowl. "You told Allura you were just tired."

"I said mostly," Shiro says mildly, but Keith isn't impressed. He pulls Shiro to his feet, and then drags him in the opposite direction. Towards the med bay. "Come on. We're getting you checked out."

Shiro wants to protest, but he knows he should go, and he'd insist upon it if it were any of the other paladins, so he sighs and says, "Okay."

Keith helps him to the med bay and tells him to wait, sitting him on a table. Shiro rests his eyes, exhausted, and is nearly asleep by the time he comes back with Coran.

Coran guides him to some kind of scanner and Shiro is brought back to alertness, stiffening as Coran tells him to lie down on the cold, metal surface underneath. He doesn't want to be here, he really doesn't want to be here.

Coran senses his discomfort, so he distracts him as he completes the scan, updating him on Hunk, Lance, and Pidge's end. They've been enjoying themselves staying at the Rieban palace while they work on the power issue. Pidge and Hunk have determined the problem – there's a virus interfering with the generators' functioning that seems to have spread planet-wide. They're currently working on getting the generators back up and running. Once they're done with that, they're going to look into the source of the problem - it seems to have been intentionally installed, and they need to make sure that this won't happen again. Shiro's not sure he likes the idea of just the three of them snooping around – whoever's behind it could be dangerous. But Coran assures him that they're continually checking in with him, and besides, they're very capable. Shiro agrees. He has to have faith in them.

Soon, the scan is done, and the results show that the scanner has detected a parasite in Shiro's body. The thought makes Shiro's skin crawl – it's not as if bacteria or viruses are much better, they're just as capable of making him sick, but the idea of parasites invading his body is particularly disturbing. He's relieved to find, though, that the parasite isn't readily transmitted from person to person. It's not contagious; the others will be safe around him.

There isn't much data available on the organism, and there's nothing in the database about treatment. The physiology of the dominant species on Tryoph is quite similar to that of humans, though. "I'm gonna go back to Tryoph," Keith says. "I'll ask the locals for the cure."

"Even if they have one," Shiro points out, "they might not give it over so easily, and we don't know if it'll work on humans."

"Then we'll just have to ask nicely," Allura says, stepping into the doorway, "And we'll figure something out." She turns to Shiro. "Rest up, Shiro. Keith and I will be back before you know it."

Keith squeezes Shiro's shoulder, silently telling him to hang in there. Then he nods at Allura, and the two exchange a look of steely determination before heading out.