Chapter Text
Keith watched from his spot on the bed as Shiro paced the floor with Pidge, each practically burning tracks into the floor. Lance lay sprawled on the guest ottoman with a concerned and slightly confused expression, while Hunk stared worriedly between Keith and Kosmo. The latter whom currently drooling into the pillow in sleep.
Krolia brushed her hand over Keith’s blue fur soothingly as Keith laid his head in her lap. Now that his team knew what was going on, he hardly had the energy to stay awake. Of course Pidge had figured it out, how could he ever doubt that she would?
Keith took a deep breath as he nestled further into his mother’s lap. Just because his body wasn’t his own didn’t change the fact that everything from his head to his bones ached. While he knew something had hospitalized he and Kosmo in the first place, he was too tired to care.
“Keith? You alright buddy?” Hunk voiced his concern from across the room.
“He’s tired.” Krolia said. “I am sure his body still needs recuperating.”
“I mean, yeah I’d be hella tired if I got hit with a druid blast like that.” Lance mentioned with a shiver. “It...looked pretty bad.” He glanced hesitantly between Keith and Kosmo with something akin to guilt, then turned away.
“Lance, I already told you, it wasn’t your fault.” Hunk set a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Keith wondered what could possibly make Lance feel so guilty, until the memory suddenly flooded into Keith’s mind.
Keith had been the leader of the team assigned to rid a group of galran thugs that had taken control of a small rural desert planet, nearby where the ATLAS was currently stationed. However, what no one expected was that the thugs had a rogue druid amongst their ranks.
Thankfully Kosmo had been at his side, giving the druid a run for his money as they evaded the blasts of dark lightning and clashed swords, teleporting to and fro between the ragged buildings of the ghost town.
The last thing he remembered was an explosion somewhere in the distance, a flash in the corner of his eye and something colliding into his side.
Pidge suddenly stopped her pacing. “Lance, you saw what happened?”
Lance nodded and Pidge opened her gauntlet that she kept under her sleeve, pulling up the holo-screen and typing a few commands. “I’m pulling up your helmet cam footage…I have a theory.”
The team inched forward for a view of the screen as Pidge opened the recorded footage. Keith noticed Pidge glance his way, before moving closer and angling it for his benefit.
Thank the universe for Pidge. Once he was back in his own body, he’d make sure to tell her how grateful he was.
If he’d ever get back in his own body.
Keith shook his head to suppress the thought and eyed the screen. Focus.
The team watched as Pidge fast-forwards through the video, stopping at the point Keith and the druid teleport into view of Lance’s sniper nest. There’s a scuffle, clashing of swords, before Lance manages to land a shot to the druid’s back, knocking them face first into the ground. As their body lay unmoving, Keith glances up and gives Lance a nod of thanks. Suddenly, the camera pans away as they both react to a visible explosion in the distance. The camera pans back to Keith, whose attention is in the same direction.
What Keith doesn’t see is the druid lifting an arm from the ground, black sparks emanating from their fingertips.
The camera jostles as Lance jumps up, supposedly shouting Keith’s name, but it’s not quick enough. Lightning shoots forward right at the moment Kosmo barrels himself into Keith.
The blue flash and the black magic strike at the exact same instant.
The image is surreal, Keith and Kosmo are trapped within the sparks, flickering in and out like a glitch effect. There’s no sound in the video, but their screams can be heard all the same.
By the time both have slumped through the ground, Lance has already shot a hole through the druid’s chest.
Pidge pauses the video and lets out a shaky breath. “Well, now we know what happened.”
“You think it has to do with the druid magic?” Shiro asked.
“It’s got to be.” Pidge taps her chin. “But I think it also has to do with Kosmo’s…teleportation magic?” Pidge shrugged. “I don’t know what else to call it. But whatever it is, it obviously didn’t react well to the druid’s lightning.” She turned to look between Keith and Kosmo. “It’s the most probable theory.”
Lance’s face suddenly lights up as he snaps his fingers. “Allura! If it’s got something to do with magic, she’ll know what to do.”
Shiro nodded. “She was able to move me from the Black Lion back into this body. While I don’t know the specifics, I’m sure she could figure out a way to switch them back.”
Hunk nodded, determination set in his brow. “I’ll go get her.” He said, before turning and jogging out of the room down the hall.
Shiro moved to sit by Krolia, meeting Keith’s eyes with an uncertain expression. “Is…is this alright with you? I know you can’t exactly respond but…”
Keith moved a paw to rest on Shiro’s hand. He may not have his words, but instead tries to convey as much confidence as he could into his expression, if he had any expression at all. He trusted Allura with his life. There was no way she would let him or Kosmo down.
Shiro let out a breath of relief, then moved to scratch Keith behind the ears with a smile. “Alright then. We’ll wait for Allura and get you two back to your own selves as soon as possible.”
Keith let out a yowl of agreement then stood to his feet. Now that they had a plan, his exhaustion didn’t seem to stop the surge of anticipation at being back in his own body.
“Someone’s excited.” Lance smirked. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh guys, what do you think would happen if I just threw a ball down the hall right now? You think Keith would fetch it?”
Keith wanted nothing more than to groan in annoyance, but he had to settle for a slight growl instead. Lance lifted his hands in surrender instantly.
“Kidding, kidding.”
Keith internally smirked. Now this I could get used to.
“Actually, that’s a hypothesis I wouldn’t mind testing—”
Unfortunately, Keith didn’t get to hear the end of Pidge’s remark. One moment, he felt the familiar sensation of needing to sneeze. The next, there was a flash of light as the world seemed to blank out around him.
Keith yelped as the world suddenly reappeared around him, and he landed awkwardly and painfully on a hard surface. He heard the exclamation of various people around him, none of which sounded like whom he was just with.
“Kosmo?”
Keith scrambled for purchase on the slick floor (curse these paws) and turned to see one of the ATLAS crew staring at him.
“Uh, you okay buddy?” Curtis asked, attention stolen from his communications pane.
Keith turned to see the rest of the crew’s surprised faces.
Did he just teleport onto the control deck?
Oh quiznak.
Oh…oh no no no no.
Keith started to panic. How in the hell was he supposed to deal with this? How could he have forgotten? His wolf was a cosmic wolf with teleportation powers. What was supposed to do, hold in all his sneezes? What if he can’t control it? What if it happens again?
What if I teleport off the ship?
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Curtis said, reaching to pet the fur on his head. Keith then realized he had begun whining and padding around in circles. “Keith’s safe, he’s still in recovery.”
“Uh, Colleen?” Sam Holt said into one of the communicators. “I found your runaway…yeah he’s in the control deck.”
Now, as much as the rational side of Keith’s brain said otherwise, the impulsive side wanted nothing more than to get out of there, so instead of staying put, he bolted towards the door.
And crashed face first into a large body the instant the door opened.
“OOof!”
Keith blinked the stars away to see Shiro toppled over on the floor. He heard footsteps of the crew quickly approaching their downed captain.
“Captain! Are you okay?” Curtis crouched over Shiro, helping him sit up.
“Keith!” Shiro exclaimed in relief, grasping Keith tightly to his chest, as if he could bolt at any instant. “Thank goodness we found you.”
Unfortunately, Keith couldn’t take comfort in the embrace as it would not stop him from teleporting again accidentally. A wave of panic shot through him of the idea of taking Shiro with him.
“Keith, stop wriggling, you’re too big for me to carry.”
“Uh…” Curtis looked between the two curiously, setting a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Babe?” He whispered with a frighteningly concerned smile. “Are you…okay?”
“Huh?” Shiro said, before realization hit and a bright red blush ran up his cheeks. “Oh, I mean…uh…Kosmo! Yeah, uh…why…did I say Keith? Haha…”
As much as Keith wanted to revel in his brother’s embarassment, the last thing he wanted was to do was accidentally zap him into a vaccum to die. Keith jumped out of his arms and bolted down the hallway. In his haste he decided it better to look for Allura than go back to the medbay and wait. He didn’t know how long it would be before he teleported again, and dreaded it happening.
As he turned a corner, his paws slipped on the tile and he slammed into a wall. Crew members gasped as he shook it off.
Thankfully, he caught sight of Allura down the hall next to Hunk. Keith bounded forward, eager to reach the princess until he felt the familiar tickling sensation in his nose.
No no no no…
As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop it.
A flash of light, and the world was gone.