Season 7, Episode 11: Trial by Fire

Sorry it's been a thousand years - I've been apartment hunting by myself, and now packing, and taking extra shifts so that I can pay for the move because now I'm going to be living on my own, PLUS I'm helping host a seminar about LGBT experiences and respectfulness, so I'm just too wiped right now to focus on writing.

However, my girlfriend got me in a writing mood, and I've had this sitting in my drafts for a while, just needed to proofread, so I figured now was a good time to update again.

Hopefully once my life settles down a little (probably mid-March time, I'm moving my whole life at the end of February, which is going to be a crazy month) I'll be able to set a regular schedule once again. In the meantime, thanks for sticking around and enjoying what I am able to give you. I really appreciate it.

Anyway, reviews, since I haven't done those in a bit:

Percy-Jackson2004: Bruh I feel you on that, me every time I read a multi-chaptered fic

FallinForAGuy: I won't. Because honestly? Season 8 was really fucking good. Sure, there'll be some grief about Allura, and about Lance's ending, but overall I genuinely liked the final season. It was well written, tied up most loose ends (most being the key word), and the only reason a lot of people hated it was bc it didn't turn out EXACTLY how they wanted it to. I've said it before in my authors notes, but if you have hate against the show, I don't want to hear it. This is a fun fic, I started writing it with the intention for it to be (mostly) chill and a fun au. (This isn't solely directed at you btw, Guy, I just needed to put that out there).

KG Yamaguchi: I love being able to write Alfor into a little more of a goofy, easily irritated father figure instead of just a pillar of strength like we saw him in the show. For Allura to turn out as sweet and fun as she is, her father had to have a nutty side.

Onwards I go.

"I'm detecting movement from the Zaiforge Canon's," Veronica reported, squinting down at her screen.

Iverson moved up behind her. "Where are they headed?"

Without warning, her monitor went dark. Veronica blinked at it, and then threw her hands out. "Fuck if I know!"

"Tech!" Alfor whined.

"On it, sir!"

Keith groaned, eyes fluttering as he focused on his surroundings. A barren cell, no furniture, little lighting. He grunted, pushing himself up off the floor and into a standing position. For a second, he wavered, and then he turned towards the door and slammed his fists into the metal.

With a creak, the door fell outwards and hit the floor with a smashing sound, leaving Keith standing there looking sheepish. "Uh…I escaped?"

"He said he'd leave Earth if he had the lions, but he lied to me," Sanda said, hugging her knees closer to her chest. "This is all my fault."

"Yeah, no shit," Hunk muttered.

"Hunk!"

"More fighters, incoming!" James shouted, turning his ship. "Kinkade, you've got two on your six!"

Kinkade yanked at his controls, effectively ripping them out of the set. He paused, holding the dangling sticks in the air. "Um…my bad?"

Alfor threw his clipboard on the floor. "What, is this whole set made of PLAYDOH today?"

"That's it!" Coran cried. "Why didn't I think of this before, of course!" He reached into his shirt and pulled out a glowing blue crystal attached to a string. "Black holes, infinite mass! It was always right here."

Shiro's mouth fell a little, and then he smiled. "Commander Holt. You're going to want to see this."

"Cut! Perfect, guys."

Coran twisted in his seat, holding up the crystal. "Do I also get to tackle Shiro, like Allura?"

Shiro smirked. "You can try, old man."

"I will crush you, kid."

"How long can we hold them off?" James demanded.

Ina frowned, looking down. "With the additional fighters and fire power…twelve minutes."

"Fuck."

"James!"

"Veronica, monitor the radars," Shiro ordered. "Let us know what you see. Commander Iverson, I need you on weapons. And Coran…get the helm."

Coran stared at Shiro and then set his fist over his chest. "Yes, Captain!"

Shiro's eyebrows lifted as he looked around and found everyone looking to him, ready and waiting. Glanced back at Sam. "The bridge is yours, Shiro."

"I could use a sandwich."

Alfor slowly handed his clipboard to Bradley and slid off his chair. The cast all turned to glance at him, and he held up a hand. "I…am taking ten. So I don't murder each and every single one of you."

Shiro bit back a laugh. "Sir-"

"I will kill you off, Shiro. I will rewrite the whole script. Don't test me."

His smile grew. "Yes sir."

"Guys, I have a thought," Hunk said. "Remember how we were able to call the lions to us when we were on Earth? Well why can't we do that now? They might be able to break us out."

"Calling the lions to us and having the lions break us out are two totally different things," Pidge reminded him.

"I'm not saying it'll be easy! I'm not even saying that it's possible, but we have to at least be willing to try. Think of our families. Think of Earth."

Keith frowned down at the floor. "Shiro said we're capable of more than we realize. Maybe it's worth a shot. Y'all – fuck."

"You were doing so good," Alfor muttered into his hands. "So good."

"Country hick," Lance teased.

"Let's take out Sendak's ship!"

"Wait!" Pidge squawked. "We're still on that ship! Well…our bodies are."

Shiro blinked rapidly, and then grinned. "Amazing. We got ourselves some fucking breathing room. Let's make it count."

"P. G. PG. Why is that so hard for you guys?"

Sanda took a deep breath. Held it in for a moment, let it out. And then charged. She whipped around the corner, flung the blaster at the Galra firing on her. It spun, and smacked him in the shoulder. He yelped and grabbed at his arm.

Sanda stopped, clapping both hands to her mouth. "Oh my god I'm sorry, you were supposed to duck away from it."

"Damn, you have some arm, woman."

"Do…what I couldn't…" Sanda croaked. "Save…Earth."

She groaned, shutting her eyes and going limp in Keith's arms. He set her down carefully, and then stood, twisting around. "We will."

A pause, and then behind him, Pidge bit back a snicker. Followed by Allura, and then Lance and Hunk, and then Keith busted out laughing himself and all hope was lost. The group started cackling, leaving Alfor to stare at them in befuddlement. "Did I miss something?" he managed.

"What is it," Allura wheezed, "with Keith and dropping dead and unconscious people on the floor…and then standing up to make some useless statement to the camera?"

Bradley's clipboard was covering his mouth as Alfor turned to look at him. "You find this funny, Bradley?"

"Very much so, yes sir."

Alfor's lips twitched. "You're all just lucky we got the shot."

Behind the Scenes

There was a tap on Lance's dressing room door, and he looked up to find Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge there, all of them looking confused. He smiled at them, Keith's hand tight in his and Allura firm on his other side. "Come in, guys."

They entered, Shiro swinging the door shut behind them. "Is everything okay?" he asked, taking the couch seat next to Allura. Hunk sat in the chair on Keith's other side, and Pidge settled on the floor. "Usually you don't ask to speak to all of us privately."

Lance rubbed his hand over his knee. "Yeah, well…this is kind of private. I don't need this getting out to the media, or even other cast members and staff."

Pidge frowned. "Even Coran?"

"I love Coran," Lance promised. "But he can be…loud, sometimes. I need this to stay between us for now. And Alfor."

"You're not like, dying, right?" Hunk asked.

Lance snorted. "No, no, it's nothing bad. Just…Veronica…is my sister. Like in real life. And she doesn't know it."

Dead silence, as the other three processed this. Keith's thumb smoothed over Lance's knuckles. Pidge spoke first. "Wait, wait, like…I'm so confused, is she a half-sister? Full? How did you find out?"

"You said once your mom had a miscarriage," Hunk noted. His brows were furrowed as he counted on his fingers. "Veronica's a couple years older than us, and older than your brother." He looked up, eyebrows lifted. "She lied, didn't she?"

"On the nose as always, my friend," Lance chuckled, dry. "She and my dad couldn't afford to raise her then, and they didn't have the mental or physical energy either. I confirmed it with her a couple weeks ago."

Shiro leaned over Allura and put a hand on Lance's knee, squeezing. "That's great news," he said, genuine. "I'm glad you told us."

Lance smiled. "Yeah, well…Hunk's little scripted speech might have gotten to me today. I wanted to tell you guys, I just…didn't know how."

Pidge eyed Keith and Allura. "I assume you both already knew?" she asked, though it wasn't really a question.

They nodded. "I was there when he found out," Allura explained.

"And I'm dating him," Keith said with a shrug.

Lance held up his hands. "But you guys are my family, and I needed to tell you. I'll tell Coran and everyone else too, when it comes time, but I…she needs to know. I just don't know how to tell her. She's either gonna be really happy or pissed. I don't know which I'd rather have."

"We're here for you no matter what, buddy," Hunk promised.

Lance's smile was soft, and he leaned his head on Keith's shoulder. "I know. Thank you."