Keith POV

It felt like a sensation of falling: a strange weight rushing towards me, crushing my rib cage. The image of Lance, the image of the figure in black, merged together like a strobing light in my mind as my world slowly came back in blinding technicolour. I suddenly came too, bolting up to kneel, ready to fight.

That thing was alive. It was in Lance.

My fingers danced in the air where my bayard should have been holstered. Damn it. Okay, stay calm. Plan your next move. That's what Shiro would say.

Shaking recent memories from conscious thought, I stood and regarded the empty make-shift infirmary. What did I have to work with...? Leaning against the monitor on the floor sat the blue bayard like a shining beacon. It wasn't the perfect scenario but at least I had a weapon to defend myself with.

When did that thing infect McClain? Had it followed us from the planet or had it seeped into him during their battle? I was beyond angry at myself for not thinking clearly; I had been so desperate to save him. When we originally rushed Lance to the Castle to be healed the thought of us bringing back anything dangerous alongside hadn't crossed my mind. We hadn't scanned for any unwanted visitors. We hadn't checked the Lions or hangar bays. All of the usual security procedures had been tossed aside as we'd all been completely distracted with thoughts of Lance.

I'm such a fool…

Pressed against the wall I looked out into the corridor from the doorway, checking both paths bayard raised, finger centimetres from the trigger. As stealthily as I could, I started down the left side of the corridor, making my way slowly towards the control room where I could look at the security feed to track Lance down and warn the others.

Zzz-zzzz-zz

I stopped stock still as the lights flickered as an electrical buzz echoed around me. The lights continued to flash for a further few seconds before the corridor was engulfed in shadow. A dark green bathed the edging of the corridor as emergency power kicked in. I needed to get to the bridge fast. Cursing under my breath I sprinted towards the head of the Castle, skidding around the corners-

Coran! I checked my surroundings for imminent attack before dashing to the older Altean's side, crumpled in a heap just outside the bridge. A nasty purple bruise was spreading across his forehead, but otherwise he was thankfully unharmed.

Straining my hearing, I couldn't hear anything on the other side of the doors. It was burst in or burst in. I counted five ticks before pressing the keypad, launching myself into the room in a diving roll, bayard crackling with energy as I scouted round the dimly lit room for movement. Nothing.

Keeping myself on edge, I activated the security feed on the main screen, thanking the stars that the security line was one of the only parts of the Castle that continued to work in emergency mode. The Castle was in such bad shape all the usual parts probably wouldn't have enough power to even try to kick-start. Well, not without Pidge's help. Luckily that thing with it's claws in Lance didn't know that. Hell, Lance himself probably didn't even know that, so even if their minds were conencted… I shook the thought from my head. That wasn't something I wanted to think about. And it certainly wouldn't help me fight the quiznaking thing.

I combed through the different floors, the different rooms- Where is he?! Two symbols flashed in red at the corner of the screen. I navigated to the camera covering the training deck to see Shiro crashing on the doors, trying to get out. A similar story was playing out in the Cryo-Pod room: Pidge was tearing down the wall panels in a bid to override the doors to allow her to escape. I felt a bud of relief: they were both stuck but otherwise unharmed. Hunk… I scrolled through the cameras-

There.

My body froze as I spotted Hunk in the shuttle bay, trapped in the airlock. Breath caught in my throat as I watched him bashing his fists against the glass, face screwed up in a strange mixture of fear and hurt. Not far from him, ignoring the angry blue and white sparks flying from the broken panelling, Lance pulled meticulously at the wiring, in an attempt to what I suspected was to short-circuit the emergency power to leave us truly dead in the water.

The metal of the bayard cracked in my grip. Anger, frustration, hatred, permeated every fibre of my being.

Before it had properly registered I was sprinting out of the control room and down through the Castle: I didn't have a plan, but Lance needed to be taken down. I slowed as I approached the shuttle bay, moving as quietly as I could. Crouching, I watched McClain from the safety of the corridor corner.

"Lance? Lance! What the quiznack is going on?!" Hunk yelled, tears on his eyes. "Dude, seriously!"

His eyes were black, completely filled from lid to lid. His hands and forearms were midnight-coated. Down his muscled back, jagged black swirls patterned his dark skin. If I blinked I swore the swirls pulsed and grew thicker, spreading. I watched him with my teeth on edge as he continued to pull the sparking wires from the broken panel, his expression so neutral it was frightening. In an instant he paused and I thought he'd clocked me edging closer. A sinister smile crept his face as he laid eyes on a red blinking light buried in the shredded wiring of the wall panel. I didn't know what it was but it was bad news if that creature wanted it.

Without much choice, I shot just above the panel and rushed towards him. He caught my arm easily and twisted me round. My elbow ached at the motion, but I managed to place a firm grip on his forearm. Straining my muscles I twisted him over me, sending him crashing to the ground a few feet away.

I watched as his body seemed to shiver before, slowly, he lifted his head. His eyes were his own ocean blue, his face contorting into a confused and pain-filled grimace. My heart sank. He was still Lance. But… he wasn't completely. I couldn't fight to kill; Lance couldn't take much more.

Keeping my eyes locked with his, I took a few steps back until I was at the airlock panel. As I neared the panel to release Hunk, his eyes were swallowed with darkness again. Lance ran at me, activating my red bayard into a sword. Mirroring his aggressiveness I parried, using with the sides of my gun as he sliced and threw his sword towards me with all of his weight.

Usually consciously acknowledging that the Cuban was stronger than me would aggravate me no end, but this was a life or death situation. He was fighting – being made to fight – to maim, hurt or worse. I was a better skilled fighter but his strength, when he wanted to use it, on top of his gymnast-like flexibility, made him a difficult match on a normal day. This thing was aiding him, bolstering his strength. The only way to take him down was to fight with everything I had, which would break him in the process...

I pushed him back long enough to allow me to activate the door to the airlock, releasing Hunk. To give Hunk a chance I slammed the side of the gun to the side of Lance's head, sending him stumbling back. Blood trickled from his forehead, bleeding into the growing black across his skin.

"Dude, is that Lance? He looks like Lance but he's not-" Hunk babbled.

"Go," I roared. "Free Shiro from the training deck – he'll know what to do!"

Www-cchhh

The ground smoked from the shot, a hand-width from Lance's left foot.

"We can't hurt him, Keith! It's L-"

"Hunk! Go!"

I sent another warning shot just shy of Lance as he tried and failed to stand.

Without further argument, Hunk rushed down the corridor. I listened to his heavy footsteps until they were but echoes and a safe distance away. The entire time I'd kept my back to him, scared to look at his face – I know if I'd caught the worry in Hunk's eyes my fight with Lance would become a million times harder. He'd make me question if fighting was the right way forwards. But I knew it was. He hadn't fought the creature in its raw form back on that dust planet. I knew what it was capable of. It wouldn't listen to reason.

"I didn't destroy you last time. I won't be making the same mistake again!"

With a growl, he launched himself towards me. I dodged the sword, kicking into his legs, sending him sprawling. He recovered near instantly, using the momentum to backwards roll to crouch, sword ready, for the next round. For a split second his eyes were his own again. My heart tightened as he yelled out in pain and gripped at his chest with his free hand.

"L-Lance?"

"Kei-"

Black spread over his lips, bleeding across his skin to envelop his chin before crawling down his neck. The darkness swallowed his words. Was it deliberate? Did the creature want me to know Lance was still in there, that I was hurting him too?

In a low, raspy voice, he finally spoke: "It was easier to take you all down than first anticipated." The tone was a mixture of Lance and another deeper voice that sounded like claws on sandpaper. He coughed. A small smattering of blood hit the floor. "Destroying you from the inside out. Much like this body you're so fond of."

I watched in horror as black swirled across the skin of his chest, covering his rib cage with ornate black brush-like strokes. The black… I remembered his hands and how he'd pulled the wiring from the panel earlier. A normal person would have been burnt. The hairs on my arms stood on edge at the thought - the shadows covering Lance's skin were acting almost like a buffer, absorbing the pain and damage.

"Who sent you?! Why are you here?!"

"Does it matter?"

"Why Lance? Why not fight us in your true form?!" I shot back venomously.

Lance smiled. "The Black Paladin was my original target. His mind is so broken a pinprick would have moulded him into a perfect vessel." I gritted my teeth to stem my reaction. "But this one was just as easy to take down once drawn away from the pack. So many thoughts and feelings. Should he, shouldn't he. There's a lot on this one's mind to distract him from danger."

I hoped Shiro was free and was on his way. I couldn't do this by myself. Not with Lance.

He ran at me, the darkness of his eyes pouring across his face. As I parried the sword to the side, I didn't clock his fist coming towards me until it was too late. I stumbled back, falling to the ground, pain exploding over my face. The blue bayard clattered to the ground, sliding across the floor away from me. Blinking wildly, I grabbed at the wall to help me stand-

Swinnn-

The blade of the red sword sliced into the wall inches from my head. Before I could react, Lance's hand was at my throat, slamming my head back against the cool steel of the corridor wall. I growled and pushed back, trying to hold him off or push him off balance, but I was heavily pinned down. Lance grunted as he tried and failed to pull the blade firmly lodged in the wall.

"Lance! I know you're in there! Help me and fight back!"

I gasped desperately as Lance's right hand joined its twin at my throat, his fingers tightening, clamping down hard on my windpipe.

"It is too easy to break you, Paladin. All I had to do was make the first move and you were putty in this one's hands. How pathetic."

Suddenly the grip on my throat weakened and Lance's blue eyes shone from the black. The black swirling over his skin twisted back and forth, to and from his eyes, as he fought to reclaim control. He sat back slightly but he couldn't remove his shaking hands from my neck.

"K-Keith," he stuttered, blood oozing from the sides of his mouth. "You have to k-kill me to get him o-out-"

Before tears could flow, darkness consumed him again and his grip started to tighten. Wanting nothing but not to hurt him further, I kicked into him and, with a roar halfway between Lance and the sandpaper-y creature's, he stumbled backwards. Black dots threatened my vision as I bolted up and after him, hitting into him, sending him flailing backwards. With an angry yell I punched the panel, closing the airlock doors.

Gritting his teeth he slammed his blackened fists against the glass over and over again.

"You can't kill me, Red Paladin! You care too much about the Blue one!"

Against every fibre of my being, I slammed the eject button.