Chapter Text
War was everything for this country. For most of his life that was all he knew. He rose through the ranks, from a simple foot soldier to a general, and then rose even higher than that. He attended war council meetings with the emperor and his sons.
The war that took up most of his life was finally over. And he wanted no part of the military.
Shiro leveled his gaze at his emperor. Zarkon was glaring at him.
“You wish to leave the Empire.” It wasn’t a question, nor was he repeating Shiro’s request for clarification. Shiro had not risen the ranks out of pure luck, he had worked to get there.
And now he was throwing it all away. For what? For peace? To rest? Shiro didn’t quite know the answer to that, but he was tired and wanted no more.
His dragon, Shion, stood regally behind him, sizing up the monster that backed the emperor. They were eyeing each other and Shiro could feel her unease. They had seen what happened to those who wished to leave the Empire, and it resulted in death. Death for the dragon, or both of them through the dragon’s rider. Shiro had no wish to end Shion’s life, but they had agreed that neither of them had wanted to continue living as a military general and to continue bathing their hands in the blood of innocents.
Zarkon narrowed his gaze. “And why do you wish to do so? You are a decorated war general, your life would be a living comfort compared to that of a foot soldier.”
“I’m well aware, Emperor, but this was a life I was forced into, not one that I wanted.” Shiro appeared calm, but he was tense. He was hoping that Zarkon would make an exception for him, but that seemed to be Shiro hoping for too much.
“You know what happens to those who leave, Takashi.” Zarkon’s eyes flicked from him to Shion and back.
Shiro swallowed and nodded. “I’m well aware, my Lord.”
Zarkon thinned his lips. Clearly, it wasn't an easy decision for either of them, but here standing in front of the council and the royal family, Shiro could only pray for the best outcome.
“Call the executioner.”
The nobles in the room erupted into a storm of words, protesting Shiro’s or Shion’s death. His relations with all of them were stellar, they had no reason to wish him dead. The oldest two princes looked unmoved by this. It was the youngest who stepped forward.
“Father, I believe that this should be my decision.”
Shiro’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at the youngest prince. No, this was not how this was supposed to plan out.
“And why is that, my son?” Zarkon looked slightly amused, enough so that he was willing to entertain his son’s request.
“General Shirogane is the lead general for my section of the military. Whether he is allowed to leave the military or not should be my decision.” The prince stood tall, ignoring the sneers from the second prince next to him.
“Oh?” The emperor waited for the prince to continue.
“I hold full responsibility for my men, and General Shirogane is no different from the others.”
Zarkon tapped his fingers on his throne for a moment before he spoke, “And what is your decision regarding the general?”
The prince squared his shoulders. “He will remain as a general until he is no longer able to fulfill his position, however long that will take.”
The court was quiet, waiting on Zarkon’s answer. Shiro stared at the prince, trying to figure out why now he would speak out against his father. Shiro was lowborn and simply a gifted soldier. Nothing more, and certainly nothing that warranted this type of attention from the royal family.
Zarkon nodded. “The general is yours, Keith. Make sure he does not shirk his duties for the sake of a discharge.”
Keith’s shoulders relaxed slightly and he bowed to the emperor before turning and striding towards Shiro. “With me, General.”
“Yes, my prince.”
Shiro turned and followed Keith, dismissing Shion to leave the throne room through the open ceiling.
The two of them strode out of the throne room and made their way to Keith’s chambers. As soon as the door was shut, Shiro wasted no time in interrogating Keith.
“What do you think you’re doing? I cannot remain here, Keith, he will find out what we have done sooner or later.”
Keith walked over to a small table, set with a pitcher of wine and glasses. He poured himself one. “And you will not be here once he does.” He raised the glass to his lips and took a sip.
Shiro stared at him dumbfounded. “And how is that going to be possible. Shion and I had accepted our fates when we requested to retire. You just told the whole court that I will still be a lead general of the Empire’s army.”
"And you will be, Shiro, until it is safe for you and Shion to leave.” Keith set down his drink and crossed his arms. “Now is a terrible time to try and leave the army, especially after we ordered the Blades to release all those slaves not a mere week ago. Your request already looks suspicious.”
And it had been that guilt that had forced Shiro to face the court today. Most of those slaves hadn't made it out, and listening to their screams of pain still haunted him. Afterward, many of the soldiers that had been in charge of that camp were publicly executed for their supposed insubordination and treason. Shiro shuddered at how he had to remain emotionless in front of his men. He cared for them and watching them die was more of a punishment than being scolded by the Emperor.
“Keith, what are you planning?”
“You are going to bide your time. Thace and the Blades have agreed that once the time is right, you will be killed. And Shion.”
“How is that any different that was going to happen today?”
Keith laughed. "For such a high-ranking official Shiro, you can be quite dense.”
Shiro damn near pouted in front of the prince, his longtime friend. Despite the near ten-year difference between the two of them, it did nothing to stop their friendship. When Keith had been placed over Shiro, he had taken it upon himself to mentor the boy before Zarkon filled his head with hate for the Alteans, a country full of people that did not deserve the hyper-fixation Zarkon had on them.
Keith had grown quickly under his wing, he and Amheug forming a bond that should have been frowned upon in the Galra Empire considering how close they were, but that never detracted from them completing their assignments. Zarkon was a harsh and jealous ruler, always coveting what he did not already have.
“So what am I to do then.”
"Go home. I'll take care of it. You'll know when it's time when the fire changes color." Keith gave him a gentle smile. "You don't have to worry anymore, Shiro. You’ll be free soon. Take Shion and go home.”
Shiro bowed his head and left. Keith was purposely not telling him what his plan was to keep him safe, that much he knew. He hypothesized what exactly the third prince could be planning as he strode through the corridors of the palace. When the fire changes color? Fire technically burns a multitude of colors. Will he be free? Keith was everything but cryptic, though he proved Shiro wrong yet again.
Shion landed in the courtyard before him, her bright purple eyes level with him as he approached her.
The hatchling and Amheug gave you more questions than answers, she mused.
He gave her a brief look, rolling his eyes, and leaping into the saddle. “You could say that.”
She rumbled with laughter and took off, gliding easily through the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took nearly a month after Shiro's meeting with the court for everything to finally happen. The Galra Empire was in a difficult situation with its citizen's rioting about the raised taxes that Zarkon imposed. Someone had to pay for the war, and it certainly wasn't going to be the royal court.
The ties that he and Keith had with the assassins’ guild, the Blades of Marmora, came to be their biggest resource. The Blades were able to corral the people naturally to attack the military base that Shiro stayed at when he was not needed at the court.
Shiro had been out on a scout mission with a small squadron of his men when they came back and found his base aflame. Dragons swarmed everywhere, their wings unintentionally fanning the fires. To the untrained eye, one couldn't tell the difference between a normal flame and an assassin's. Near the coals of each blaze, they burned with a slight purple tint, marking it as an unnatural fire, and who it belonged to. This was the signal that Keith had told him to watch for a month ago.
He immediately stepped into command and began to order his men about, telling them to evacuate who they could, more to fetch water (though he knew that the Marmora fire wouldn't stop burning till there was nothing left) and yet another group to start creating a ring around the base where the fire couldn't burn.
Even with all his instruction, chaos was everywhere. And Shiro took advantage of that.
His heart was kind; he stayed until he knew that no one else was going to be hurt in this massive fire, the citizens or his men.
He gave one last order to take a final sweep of the base before they abandoned it. Shiro went in with them.
That was the last of his men heard of him. Part of the base collapsed and it wasn't until a few days later when the coals had cooled enough for one to even walk near them that they found two bodies, one dragon, and one human.
General Takashi Shirogane and his dragon, Shion, were announced dead upon discovery.
~~2 Months Later~~
Shiro and Shion were keeping a low profile in an outskirts town, near the hills that saw no war and therefore wouldn't know him or his dragon. It was there that he heard word of how the third crown prince had been imprisoned for treason and the Blades of Marmora had left the empire of mere days before Keith had been arrested. Even without being a member of the Empire's military, he knew that Zarkon would be feeling the loss of one of his most promised generals, his son, and the loss of most revered assassins’ guild either the Empire or Altea had seen in the past century.
Shiro could feel a deep-seated guilt claw its way into his gut. He never wished for Keith to take the fall on his behalf. But Keith was the most stubborn out of all the princes, and the one most likely to put his life on the line for those he cared about. That couldn’t be said for the crown prince Prorok, or the middle child Lotor.
Shion nudged his shoulder and rumbled down at him.
Shiro reached up and rubbed her snout. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he will be fine. He won’t give in that easily.”
And Zarkon could still kill him for being bullheaded.
~~2 Years Later~~
Hunk wiped the grease from his hands onto his smock. The metal contraption before him was honestly a mess of parts and he was just fiddling to pass the time. The war was over and he didn’t need to fill all his hours building and designing new war machines.
He never wanted that in the first place. Hunk was a tinkerer, he fixed things, took them apart, found the problem and put them back together again. All the while Topaz kept the forge hot and him company. Since his father’s passing, Hunk had been on his own. His mother had died during childbirth and his father had raised him in the smithy. Topaz had been a birthday gift when he turned fifteen. Three years later, during the middle of the war, his father was gone. Next thing he knew, he was hosting a funeral and then being ordered to fulfill his father's position.
The war hadn’t been all bad, Hunk had made one friend, but that didn’t stop the unease he felt when machines of destruction were needed.
He remembered the archer with the water dragon, a brilliant smile and always had a joke on hand to keep him from getting too depressed about his work. Hunk never saw him often, but he had been as old as he was. Still, the archer had seen years of war that Hunk hadn't, it was clear in the way his eyes would dim if he thought no one was looking, or the fierceness in his voice when he told Hunk not to die on him during an unexpected raid. If Hunk remembered correctly, the archer had a team of his own that weren't quite recognized by military officials but was used none the less.
Everyone called him Blue, or Archer, depending on whether he was with his dragon or not. Hunk was particularly fond of the memory where he and the archer designed a new bow and many different types of arrows to go with. The archer had been armed to the brim, weapons everywhere, by the time he and Hunk were done with everything.
Topaz nudged his shoulder and huffed in the direction of the machine.
Hunk laughed, hands planted on his hips. "Yeah, I know, it doesn't look like much, bud, but it'll make brewing tea way faster than over the fire."
You don’t even drink tea. Topaz rolled his eyes.
“Weeelllll, maybe I want to drink tea, but I just don’t have the time to brew it.”
You’re making it for the captain. His dragon spat a small jet of flame at the forge, relighting the embers.
“Okay, yeah I am. Shiro needs his tea or else he gets unpleasant. And I’ve never seen him unpleasant, but I would like to keep it that way.”
Speaking of Shiro, the man in question strode into Hunks forge, a light smile on his face.
“Hello, Hunk,” he greeted warmly, patting Topaz on the head before offering it to Hunk.
Hunk heard Shion rumble a greeting outside, far too large to fit inside the royal smithy.
“G’day, Shiro, I’m almost done with the tea brewer for you.” Hunk grasped Shiro’s forearm and squeezed gently.
Shiro looked more haggard than he had before, having only seen him a few days ago.
“You resting enough? You look like you could use a week’s worth of rest.”
"You could say that, but a good night's rest is going to have to wait for the time being." He stopped to look at the tea brewer but made no comment about it.
Hunk turned away and began to put his tools away, polishing them with a rag he kept in his belt. “Must be the Galra rebels again, then. You and her highness trying to plan different trade routes?”
“Something like that.”
Hunk hummed and scrubbed at a spot of grease on his wrench. "Sounds, like you could use some help. Advisor Coran should be more than able."
“Actually, we need someone more like you to help us with this.”
Hunk froze. He knew that Shiro wouldn’t ask him something like this, but he may have been ordered by the princess to do so.
“Look, I know the country really appreciated me filling in for my father until the war was over, but I really don’t feel like being in another.”
Shiro softened slightly. “Hunk, you know I wouldn’t ask you such a thing-”
“I know that, Shiro, I do, but I like it here in my forge, away from everything and left to my own devices. I even get to make my own things. Building war machines was my father’s calling. And me? Well, I like to just fix things.”
Shiro looked apologetic and clearly, this was a hard thing for him to ask of Hunk. "I meant no disrespect, Hunk. The princess and I were extending an invitation to join us on a council specifically for protecting the country from the Empire should it decide to attack again."
Hunk gave him an indifferent shrug. “I know you mean well, and I love Altea, but right now? I just want to focus on what I can do for the regular people, not just the soldiers.”
“I understand.” Shiro turned towards the door. He smiled at Hunk over his shoulder. “The brewer is looking fantastic by the way, I can’t wait to have the first cup of tea it makes.”
And with that, the captain of the royal guard left.
~~3 Months Later~~
Lance reclined back till he was lying down. His feet were secured in the straps and his bow was sturdy enough to not mind his weight on it. Not that he weighed much in the first place, but it was the principle of the thing. Blue knew he was going to do this, gliding along smoothly in the air. Lance did this nearly every time they were in the air.
He and Blue have been the dynamic duo for going on ten years now. Granted, Lance was one of the oldest people to ever receive a dragon, most getting theirs when they were fourteen or fifteen. He had gotten – well, more like found – Blue when he was sixteen. He came from a small river town, aptly named Rivertown. It was funny; Altea had cities named Arus, referencing how far it was nestled in the mountains, sounding all poetic, and then it had towns named after its most dominating feature: a river. Lance laughed a little at that realization every time he had, but it still didn’t change that fact that he was a small river town boy who had a good eye and made a name for himself.
Of course, it wouldn’t bode well for anyone in Rivertown to know that the Blue Archer lived most of his life there before joining the military. Especially when he had made enemies over the years, can’t have them going after his family.
Lance watched the clouds float by as Blue soared over the valley. It was hard for him to believe that the war was over and that he had become the number one hitman for hire in the whole country. His mother would throw a fit if she knew. Lance shuddered at the thought of his mother finding out he was technically a man for hire, and not a respectable soldier anymore. She was so proud that he had joined the military with Blue, when really he did it to make sure they would survive. Most of his pay from the war and his jobs now went back to his family. He has four siblings and his father was always out fishing and selling what he caught. It wasn't enough for a family of six. Seven if you counted Blue, and he ate more than all of them combined.
Blue rumbled underneath of him at that.
"Don't worry, bud, I meant nothing by it," Lance laughed.
You make it sound like it was my fault for you rescuing me.
"Think of it more as giving me a purpose, Blue. I was destined to become a fisherman like Pa before you. Now I'm technically a war hero!"
You're an assassin, hardly a war hero, Blue chided playfully.
Lance slapped his dragon's shoulder. "Uh huh, still a decorated war vet."
You wouldn't have survived if I wasn’t there.
"Wouldn't have been in the war anyways without you"
And there it is again. Blue banked to the side, curving to follow the river towards the capital city.
"Awww c’mon Blue, you know l love you!" He could practically feel Blue roll his eyes. He picked that habit up from Lance whenever he listened to targets plead for their lives. He didn't particularly like killing up close, mostly choosing to strike from a distance, but sometimes he had to actually gather information from them. Most of them deserved it, trafficking slaves into the Empire or blatantly ignoring the law and keeping some for themselves. Murderers and other psychopaths like that were pretty common too.
Lance sat up and leaned down against Blue’s neck as they circled their way into their valley. Lance bought a small cabin in the foothills off of a hunter only a month after the war had ended. It had been too soon for him to travel back to Rivertown and visit his family, too many people knew of him and his sapphire dragon. He even had a reward on his head within the Galra Empire. It probably still existed despite the war being over for going on two and a half years now.
The closer the two them got to his little cabin in the woods, the more Lance felt apprehensive about going home. Something wasn’t right.
A dark dragon rose up from the woods, circling once before disappearing over the next hill.
“You know what to do, Blue,” he muttered, patting his dragon’s neck.
Blue huffed and rolled into a steep dive. He landed silently in the clearing surrounding Lance’s home before leaping back into the air again, Lance already on the ground. His bow already knocked with an arrow as he crept towards his cabin.
The door had been left open, even though he was certain he locked it before he left.
A dragon’s roar echoed over the hills and Lance quickly stepped into the house, drawing his bow and leveling it at the person who invaded his living space.
It was impossible for him to be here.
“You’re supposed to be dead, General.”
The general glanced over his shoulder before turning back to his map of Altea. “You were just at the Altean court for a meeting with the royal advisor, yes?”
“What of it?” Lance eyed the royal guard insignia on his pauldron: a dragon with its wings outstretched, but his eyes flicked back to the general’s face as he turned around.
The scar was unmistakable, and the white forelock sealed the deal. General Takashi Shirogane wasn’t as dead as the world made him out to be.
He eyed Lance, seeming to not care about the arrow that could pierce through his plate armor at this range.
“You have been to the court enough times in the last year to know that the royal guard has changed hands,” the general stated calmly. “This should be of no surprise.”
“Simply because I visit to receive assignments does not mean that I am privy to the going-ons of the castle, General.”
Lance’s mind was running a mile a minute. How was this man, this legend, standing in front of him, living and breathing when he should have been burnt to a crisp? His military had been burned to the ground during a riot. He and his dragon had been found in the rubble. How was he here?
The general tsked. “That’s a shame, the gossip there is quite entertaining. Especially for someone with a name like yourself, Blue Archer.”
Lance narrowed his eyes. “Those things have nothing to do with me, and I have no reason to be there any longer than to get the information I need.”
He remembered how his squadron had been removed from the army. They were all given an honorary discharge and compensation for their duties, but that was all the Altea had offered them after they had laid their lives on the line many times over.
The general was still calm, moving about Lance’s cabin as if he had been here for hours already.
“That seems like you would rather continue as a man for hire rather than being publicly recognized for your efforts.”
“I was in an underground unit for the army, not being recognized is part of the job description.”
“Mm, the Blades were like that as well. You would have fit in with them if you were born Galra.”
Lance sneered. “I am Altean. And what you and your country have done to this country has been more than enough for the next decade.”
“Oh, I am well aware, Lance McClain. And that brings us to the reason why I have come here.”
His shoulder muscles were starting to burn from having his bow drawn for so long, but he held firm. “Why have you come here.”
“To ask for your help.” The general said it so simply that Lance thought it was a joke.
“Hah! Why would you need my help? Do you need help slinking back to your country like the Galran dog that you are?”
“You misunderstand.”
General Shirogane fixed him with a burning look. Lance met his gaze, his own fire in his eyes. He joined the military to provide for his family, to protect them from the war that had been raging so brutally in the plains that every citizen of Altea was worried it would travel to them. Rivertown had been spared, residing far to the north and on the tail end of the mountains. It was hard to reach, but that hadn’t stopped Lance from worrying. And he knew that his calling was to be more than a fisherman. But none of that meant a damned thing if one of the highest ranking generals from the Empire was standing in his living room
“What am I misunderstanding, General?” he asked slowly.
“Altea needs your help to take down the Galra Empire once and for all.”
Lance lowered his bow and fixed the general with an incredulous stare. "You need my what to what now?"
“McClain, you did not reach your status on mere strength alone. Use that head of yours and think.”
He waved his arrow around, bow hanging at his side and muscles relaxed. “No, I heard you. Take down the Galra Empire. That’s all well and good, but what are you even thinking? You can’t just take down the Empire with a hitman and a supposedly dead general? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
The man before him looked deadly serious, not hint of a joke in those dark gray eyes. Lance stared back at them for a moment, wondering in what possible circle did he cross to bring General Shirogane to his home and request his assistance. Was the man mad?
Two thumps shook the ground and through a window over Shirogane’s shoulder, he saw blue scales pass than black. His eyes flitted back to the general. The man stood firm, his presence dominating the room.
With a sigh, he stashed his arrow away and slipped his bow over his head. “This can’t be solely your idea. Someone had to put you up to it.”
The first crack in the impassive mask appeared: a small smile. “You’re right. It was the princess’ idea to recruit you.”
Lance rolled his eyes and stepped around the general to the fireplace and quickly lit it, fixing the water pot over it for tea.
“Okay, so it was her Highness’ idea. Great. But that still doesn’t explain how you are standing here, living and breathing in my cabin out in the middle of nowhere, when you should be ashes on the wind.”
Shirogane huffed. “If it had been my idea, I would agree.”
Lance raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder. “Your point?”
“With all the knowledge you gained by fighting for your country, what do you think would have happened if there hadn’t been any interference in my leave?”
The archer rolled his eyes and focused back on the pot. He wouldn’t be here being what the general was saying, just like Lance had assumed. Fine then. “You care for mint or green tea?”
The general relaxed and smiled at Lance. “Mint, if you have enough.”
~~1 Week Later~~
Shiro immediately picked up on the fact that Lance had led his own team while a part of the Altean army. He questioned many of Shiro’s decisions despite Shiro having almost fifteen years more experience. It never deterred Lance or his dragon for that matter. Blue was a rare water dragon, a breed Shiro had never seen before. He was sleek and agile, standing two feet taller than a regular horse and about a foot taller than Lance himself at the shoulder with roughly a twelve-foot wingspan. Comparatively, Shion was much larger, a good three to four feet taller than Blue and a twenty-foot spread, but the size difference meant nothing to the small dragon. From what Shiro had observed, water dragons were a mischievous and fun loving breed, but for a dragon like Shion, they were too much to handle. Even if he meant well.
If anything, Shion was more perturbed by the new additions to the castle and therefore the guard. Shiro could hear her constantly grumbling about what the blue dragon and his rider were doing. In hindsight, it was nothing more than casual entertainment for the two of them, but Shiro and Shion were left to adjust to Lance and Blue becoming a part of their routines.
Currently, they were flying into the royal city commons. Lance was talking with Blue about something random, whatever it was getting under Shion’s scales.
“Easy, Shion, they’re just excited.”
And speaking of wartime trysts is excitement? she asked as they landed.
Shiro patted her neck and slid off her shoulder. “Just don’t eat either of them.”
Not even a nibble?
“We can go hunting later, for right now, leave them be.” He strode off down the main street. He heard Lance say farewell to Blue and within seconds he was there right next to Shiro.
Lance had his hands clasped behind his back as he leaned forward to get a good look at him. “So, who’s this inventor we are getting? Something Holt right?”
Shiro walked casually, a hand on his belt. His sword was strapped to his back like normal whereas Lance looked to be unarmed, but he had a few knives hidden on his person just in case. “If you have been listening to her Highness, you would know exactly who we are visiting today, Lance.”
The slighter man leaned away from Shiro, looking at the vendors they passed as they made their way through the streets. "You would have a hard time listening if you had Blue talking your ears off."
“Shion may have mentioned it.”
Lance huffed and was quiet for all but a minute before he was talking again. "Seriously, who is it we are meeting. We're part of a team, right? Shouldn't we communicate?"
Shiro rolled his eyes. Again, he couldn’t really fault Lance for not remembering the name of the person they were searching for. The bond between rider and dragon was important, and when a dragon wanted its rider’s attention, the rider had no choice in the matter.
“Her name is Katherine Holt. The locals say she goes by Pidge, but she’s a brilliant inventor, just like her father and her brother.”
“No mother?”
“Died in childbirth. Sam Holt raised both of his children through the wares of his shop. All three of them used to create things for the people in the city. As of late, Katherine has been preoccupied with other matters to continue her family’s work.”
Lance hummed. His blue eyes flitted around, marking every face they passed. In the past week, he had told Shiro how it was a habit from being an assassin of sorts for two years when the captain had asked if he was distracted.
“She’s the only one left, I take it.”
“Correct. Her father and brother were killed in one of Sendak’s raids.”
Both of them fell silent at the mention of the ruthless Galra general. Shiro had been forced to work with him on the occasional battle, and the man was someone he would like to be burnt to ash, despite being a fellow countryman.
They turned a few corners, walking off of the main street now. The buildings were notably closer to each other than the ones closer to the castle, everyone living on top of each other. The streets were dirty, sewage lining the gutters. It reeked. Shiro fought to keep his expression neutral, he would not judge the people living in this mess. Most of them were here because they couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.
He cast a glance at his partner. Lance looked unmoved by this. He walked with a purpose, edging into the lead just slightly. Shiro was used to this small behavior from the other man. After leading for so many years, it was hard to defer to another. Lance meant nothing by this, but he was more attuned to the surroundings that Shiro would ever be. The captain was also a much larger man than Lance, making it hard for him to see everything if he was walking behind him.
Shiro tapped Lance on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow him down another alleyway. They were getting close. More strange gadgets were appearing in windows and over doorways. The people around them looked like they were used to such things, their small dragons fidgeting with them on occasion.
Both men were looking for the source of all of these machines, but were unable to discern where they were coming from before a tawny head of hair appeared out of one home covered in them. She was small, she didn't even make it to Lance's shoulder, and her dragon was just like her in size. It was wrapped around her shoulder, riding them as if it were a cat.
The young girl was fixing one of the gadgets, tearing it apart with a practiced ease. Lance glanced at Shiro, cocking an eyebrow towards her. Shiro nodded and stepped forward.
“Excuse me, Lady Holt?”
“If it’s anything about the machines being a nuisance to the people, I don’t want to hear it.”
That response took Shiro back and made him pause. How often had she been addressed like this because of her work?
Lance stepped forward and eyed what she was working on, her dragon letting out a warning hiss. “We are here on business from the royal castle, not just a routine guard questioning.”
The youngest and only Holt stopped what she was doing and looked up at Lance. Her eyes were a bright hazel, shining with intelligence. She took in Lance’s appearance and went back to working.
“And I’m sure that a hitman such as yourself would be better off in sewers than here at my shop.”
Lance reeled back with shock. “How the hell-?”
She gave him a critical look. “You have a knife in your boot, another in your belt, and probably another strapped to the inside of your wrist. Only the guards carry weapons in this part of town-” she cast a glance at Shiro. “-And you’re certainly not the captain of the guard, either.”
“I- what?”
Katie Holt narrowed her eyes at him. “Am I wrong?”
Lance clammed up. “No, you- you are correct but-”
“Then you can leave, I have no business with you.”
The archer turned to Shiro and gestured between them, demanding he step in. In truth, Shiro was enjoying watching Lance fumble as being analyzed so accurately.
“Lady Holt,” he began.
“It’s Pidge.”
“Right, Pidge, I apologize if my comrade has offended you in any way,” Lance made an indignant noise, but Shiro continued over him. “He and I are here on the behalf of her Highness, Princess Allura.”
“Oh, this ought to be rich.” Pidge’s dragon curled around her shoulders, looking at Shiro with golden eyes. It really was more cat than dragon in its behavior.
“The princess has taken an interest in your designs and believes that you would be a great addition to her private council.”
Pidge was still messing with the machine before her, completely absorbed in it. Her dragon chirped and she looked up at both of them.
“Private council for what?”
“Undermining the Galra Empire.”
Pidge didn’t say anything for a moment, taking in the both of them. Lance had his hands planted on his hips, and Shiro was still standing at ease with his hands clasped behind his back. Both of them were waiting for her response.
She turned back to her machine and began to put it back together, in a slightly different configuration. “What exactly does this council do?”
"Well, we are still recruiting so, as of this moment, nothing. We need more people than a ‘hitman' and an ex-general to take down the empire," Lance explained.
Pidge nodded. “That it would. Why me?”
“That would be…” Lance looked to Shiro for the answer; he really needed to get Blue to be quiet during meetings.
“Because of your rapport with people and what you have done for them. We are both aware that you father and brother were killed in a camp raid led by General Sendak. Your attendance at this council would be much appreciated.”
Pidge blinked and her dragon leaned close to her ear. She tilted her head, listening. Both men watched as her eyes lit up with a dangerous fire.
“I’m assuming one of your dragons can carry more than one person?” she asked.
Lance jerked a thumb at Shiro. “His can, Blue is a bit small for more than one.”
Pidge immediately stopped working. “Wait here for just a moment.”
She ran inside and not five minutes later she was walking back out, flipping the sign on her door to “Closed” and locking the door. She turned to them, a bright smile on her face. It was a complete turnaround to the stoic mask she had on before.
“My answer is yes, but I’ll require my own quarters where I can continue building my designs.”
Both men blinked.
"You wouldn't mind sharing the forge, would you? The smith is accommodating and he will lend a helping hand if you need.” Shiro hoped that wouldn’t change her answer.
Pidge walked passed them and made for the city center. “As long as he doesn’t touch my equipment without my permission, that should work out.”
Shiro and Lance followed behind her. Her dragon kept a watchful eye on them, occasionally looking back towards its master to say something before returning its gold stare to them.
Shion’s agitation was palpable when they walked into the courtyard, Blue was dancing around her, thoroughly enjoying himself as children chased him. Lance grinned and sprinted to catch and scoop one of the children onto Blue’s back.
Their peals of laughter echoed around them. Many of the children were jumping around Lance demanding to get a ride on Blue. Shiro watched, a smile ghosting his face. Lance was many things it seemed: a charismatic leader, much like Shiro, and a light-hearted soul, jaded from experience. Blue sprayed some of the children with water, causing more laughter and squeals to echo around.
Pidge watched Lance and Blue play. “He doesn’t seem like the typical hitman that you would find in the city. What’s his story?”
Shiro shrugged and motioned for her to follow him to Shion. His dragon looked relieved that he had returned. He smiled up at her. “As promised, we can go hunting tomorrow.”
Good, because he has been playing with the children and spitting water everywhere since you and the leggy-one disappeared. Shion rustled her wings, sounding more than ready to fly back to the castle and curl up in the courtyard.
Shiro laughed. His dragon knelt and he helped Pidge up onto her back. "Lance, say your farewells. We have to attend to the princess and inform her of our success."
“I’ll catch up! I’m a little preoccupied currently.”
He was. Lance had been pinned by his own dragon while the children climbed all over both of them. His hair was mussed, and parts of his clothing were drenched.
Shiro nodded and Shion leaped into the air, her massive wings buffeting everyone as they took to the sky. Blue was a fast flier, his size and sleek build granted him little air resistance. Much easier to slip through the air compared to Shion’s massive build.
And true to form, just as they were about to circle the castle, Blue and Lance zipped by them and landed in the courtyard.
“Told you I would catch up!” Lance called up to them.
“Is he always like this?” Pidge asked as Shion continued to circle.
“Unfortunately,” Shiro responded. Lance was many things, and it was going to take Shiro and Pidge a long time to truly figure out who he really was, if he ever let them.
A few seconds later, the three of them landed and Pidge was the first to slide off of Shion. She stepped away and looked around in awe of the castle courtyard. Flowers and trees lining the outer perimeter, creating a scenic pathway for those whose dragons were not in the courtyard to be able to get to their destinations without avoiding gigantic scaled beasts.
Blue was dancing around Lance as Shiro touched the ground, excited about getting to know another dragon. Lance and Blue were both very social, and it allowed him to connect to whomever he was working with more than Shiro did. Granted, he was still wary of Shiro, if only for his past, but Lance never went out of his way to avoid Shiro.
“Shiro!" Lance ran by him and jogged backward after he passed him. “I’m going out for a hunt. Need anything?”
“Shion and I will be going out tomorrow. She can use a break from you two.”
“Oh, Shiro, you wound us! Me and Blue are a delight and you know it.”
“Debatable,” Pidge muttered.
Shiro chuckled and turned away from Lance, heading towards the inner part of the castle.
~~Next Day~~
Lance grumbled and looked from his bow to his dragon and back again.
“I cannot believe – Blue! You broke it!! This was special made!”
He stared at his dragon, who at the very least had the audacity to look apologetic about ruining his prized weapon.
“Blue, I love you, I really do, but c’mon bud, did you have to drop me, though? I shot you an elk, bud!"
It wasn’t like it was intentional, you weren’t secured in the saddle and I had to dodge a tree. Blue looked away from Lance. He truly felt sorry and relieved that Lance hadn’t been hurt, but the bow was another story.
It was only held together by the string, its ironwood splintered and in pieces, each resting in Lance's hands. The bow had been designed and made by a friend of his from the war, one that he hadn't had the luxury of keeping in touch with afterward.
He piled all the pieces into one hand and ran the other through his hair. Lance was a little bruised and shaken up by the fall, and Blue was right about not being properly secured in the saddle, but he really wished that it would have been his arm instead of his bow that had broken.
“It’s okay, Blue, I’m just…”
You’re upset.
Blue stepped forward and nuzzled his chest. He was upset, there was no denying that, and he was glad his dragon understood that, but now he was out of a long ranged weapon. And that was his specialty, he capitalized on it while in the army. His team had commended him on that, and eventually, he had gathered his own little group of archers that could hit a target from a fast moving dragon in the air to another. Most archers stayed on the ground, airborne archers were a thing either country had yet to see till Lance came along.
But they had strictly been meant for war, and when that had ended, that was it. He and his team were giving retirement funds and shown the door.
Lance sighed and rubbed Blue’s cheek, earning a small rumble equivalent to purring in dragons. “Let’s go see if we can get a new one made by the smith,” he said with a gentle pat and stepped away from Blue.
He’d only been at the castle for a week at the most, but he knew the general layout. The staff was kind enough to point him in the right direction when he got lost, and after being turned around twice, Lance and his broken bow finally found themselves in the smithy.
The door was open and he stepped through, knocking and announcing himself. "Hello? I need a repair or even a replacement?"
A dark golden dragon chirruped and clacked its teeth from the forge, pointing its head towards the back where a broad man was cleaning his tools.
“If you need it by tonight, then you should have come a little earlier.”
Lance knew that voice, there was no way…
“Hunk?”
The smith turned around, eyes wide as he looked Lance over.
“Lance?”
“Hunk!”
“It really is you! I heard there was someone running around the castle flirting with everyone, it had to be you!”
“I can’t believe you’re the royal smith? You were supposed to come from a small town!”
Hunk laughed wholeheartedly, tossing his head back. “Right, just like you’re supposed to be a common fisherman. No one was going to believe that story, Lance, not since you were named the Blue Archer.”
Lance beamed. “Truth be told, I was supposed to be, but then Blue came along.”
Who would have thought that his long lost friend from the war would be here of all places? Lance was blown away, now he actually had someone to talk to. Shiro was all business and that was boring, even Blue thought so.
“Of course, blame it on your dragon.” Hunk crossed his arms and smirked, knowing all too well that Lance never meant anything by Blue being the reason why he was a war veteran.
Lance waved him off. “Pfft, Blue just put the whole thing in motion anyways. I told you I come from a poor but large family. We had to do something.”
“You may have mentioned it. But what are you doing here? The last I heard, you were a man for hire.”
Lance shrugged. “Still technically am, just getting paid by her Highness now, and recruiting people with the captain of the guard. Shiro, you know him right?”
Hunk motioned for his dragon to stoke the fire but kept his focus on Lance. "Recruiting? They have you on that now?"
“It wasn’t like I had much of a choice, I came back from payment pick up with Blue and Shiro and Shion were both at my cabin. Couldn’t exactly get them to leave. Shion’s twice the size of Blue, if not more. And Shiro wasn’t a war general for nothing. Have you seen how massive he is?”
“Lance, I’m the royal smith, Shiro visits for armor and weapons updates for his men,” Hunk deadpanned.
"Right, right," Lance laughed. "You do agree, though. Shiro is built like a mountain.”
Hunk joined him in laughing about the royal captain. “I still can’t believe they made you work with Shiro.”
It felt just like old times between them, talking in the forge about anything and everything. But if Lance remembered correctly, Hunk was nothing short of an engineering genius. He had no reason not to be asked about the team he and Shiro were building now.
“Of course. And you know I’m not here for the sake of it, Hunk. The princess wouldn’t be paying me just to hear a hitman out on council meetings.”
“Shiro may have mentioned it.”
“Then why haven’t I seen you at those meetings?”
Hunk leveled an apologetic stare at Lance, and Lance immediately knew why, even without Hunk saying it. He raised a hand and shook his head. “Don’t, you don’t need to say anything to me, but Shiro had a knack for explaining things poorly. Anything that isn’t a direct order is lost on him. So what did he tell you?"
The shattered bow that hung in Lance’s hand was all but forgotten know, his free hand was placed on his hip.
“He told me that the council he was putting together with her Highness was going to take down the Galra Empire, which sounded a lot like what Emperor Zarkon had said before declaring war on Altea.”
Lance nodded, of course, Shiro would put it that way. It was the most direct and he never beat around the bush to get what he wanted. The only saving grace he was with that was the politeness of accepting when he was told no. Which couldn’t be said for much of the rest of the Altean court.
“Figures as much,” he muttered before raising his voice for his friend to hear. “Look, Hunk, what Shiro said was not wrong, just blunt. And if you know him, you know that he is... tactfully blunt. And he knew you wanted a straight answer.”
Hunk eyed him but didn’t say anything to stop him from talking.
“But, what we are doing? We aren’t starting a war; we are trying to prevent another one. Altea doesn’t have the means to pull another army together, and neither does the Empire. Yet we continuously get reports that Zarkon is threatening to do so, despite the economic disaster it would cause for his country.”
“So,” Hunk took a deep breath before continuing, “You’re telling me, that war may break out if you and Shiro and whoever else you gather don’t do anything, correct?”
Lance nodded. “And I know you hate building war machines, so why not build little gadgets to make Galra lives a living hell while we take it down from the inside?”
Hunk looked apprehensive, not quite believing what Lance was saying. Take down the Empire from the inside? How was the going to be possible when Lance has a bounty on his head, and Shiro was an exiled war general?
“How is that going to even work, Lance? Neither you or Shiro would have any luck of infiltrating the Empire without being guaranteed of being killed on sight,” Hunk reasoned.
“And that, my friend, is why we need your genius.” Lance rewarded him with a crooked grin, one that he hadn’t seen since he was forced into retirement. “You and Pidge would be a huge advantage to us. The two of you together could get us in and out before the Empire even knew what hit them!”
“You and Shiro would still be at high risk of dying, despite my help, or this…Pidge person.”
“It would be higher without you, Hunk. We most certainly need you.”
Hunk studied Lance. His hunting gear was soiled like he had landed in a pile of mud. His cloak was torn at the edge, most likely from getting stuck on tree branches. But his eyes were bright with determination, the same determination that Hunk saw multiple times before Lance would disappear weeks on end while attempting to make a difference in the war. He knew Lance wouldn't take this big of risk if he didn't think he could do it. Lance wasn't shy about telling higher ranking officials that their plans were bound to get their men killed and cost them thousands of lives. Lance had yet to be wrong about something like this, on something this important. He put the country and his men first, his safety be damned at times. If it weren’t for his dragon or Hunk himself, Lance would have been one of the many lives sacrificed to the war.
In the time that it took for Hunk to come to terms with his response, Shiro walked in.
“Lance, are you done here? The princess requests and audience, you and Pidge are required.”
“I am to be there as well, Shiro.”
Shiro looked at Hunk, confused. “This doesn’t concern you, Hunk, you stated your feelings-”
Hunk held up a hand and stopped him from continuing. “I’ve changed my mind.” A quick look to see how truly exhausted Shiro looked from all of this solidified his decision. He shot a quick grin to his friend. “You look like you could use the help. Lance can be a child most of the time, and you need help with that.”
Lance smiled back and faked a broken heart, dramatically placing a hand on it.
“Hunk, you wound me…”