#multiple bayard forms

The commotion died at Hunk’s announcement. Carefully, Hunk and Allura led Lance to the dining hall, setting a bowl of food goo at his place. Lance ate in silence while Hunk and Allura chatted quietly next to him, catching him up to speed on what had happened while he was in the pod. The itching had since gone away by the time Lance had finished his food. Lance was about to go change into his regular clothes from the pod suit when Allura called to him.

“Lance, before you go change, there is something you should be aware of.”

Lance paused and turned back around to Allura with a questioning look, waiting for her to continue.

“Whatever happened back there, it left some… permanent scarring. I know not how they came to be but Pidge, Coran, and I are looking into it.”

With a hesitant nod and a frown, Lance went to his room. Peeling off the pod suit, he gasped at the patterns now etched into his skin. Geometric veins and circled ends filled his arms, legs, and torso, reaching all the way to his neck and ending at his nape hairline. They were everywhere. And permanent.

Tracing the lines with his hand, Lance could feel himself tearing up. It was one thing to be mentally changed from a war away from home, but to have such a large reminder burned onto his skin? To be altered in such a big way? It stung more than any homesickness ever would. At least he hadn’t lost a limb like Shiro had. Lance doesn’t think he’d be able to handle losing an arm or leg, losing a piece of himself like that. Looking into his bathroom mirror, he breathed out in relief at finding no marks on his face. That would have been a real heartbreaker.

With a heavy sigh, Lance shrugged on his usual attire and headed back to the bridge for a full rundown of what happened, and to maybe share his side of the mission report. The others were already there awaiting his arrival. Upon seeing Lance, Pidge hopped up and ran over, tackling him in a hug then slapping his shoulder.

“You idiot! What the quiznak were you thinking? Taking on a Galra commander alone? With your broadsword? Were you trying to die?”

Lance put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. “I wasn’t trying to die, Pidge. I was trying to protect Allura. She was down and I was stuck with close-range fighting. I’m sorry I scared you all, but I won’t apologize for what I did. Which, by the way, what exactly happened? One minute I’m fighting the dual sworded guy, the next I’m waking up in a pod. And what’s up with the scars?”

There was a silence amongst the group before Allura spoke up.

“While I was down for a while, I was awake when you brought me back to the castle in Red. You… you did not look entirely yourself. You had this red and blue cast to your hair, with solid yellow eyes and fangs. It was strange. And your armor, well, you can see for yourself.”

Pidge butted in at Allura’s pause. “When I found the surveillance video, per Coran’s request, your armor was solid black with star-like dots in the coloured sections. And you were fighting strangely. Like, been a solider for 20 plus years strange. And your bayard…”

There were nervous glances passed between the crew, all avoiding Lance’s gaze. It was irritating.

“And what about my bayard?”

There was an awkward pause before Shiro broke it.

“You were switching bayard forms with a fluency none of us have ever seen, as well as using forms you’ve never had, including our forms.”

Oh, so it was way more than just some weird scarring. Lance had done the impossible, and woke up with no memory of it. Not to mention the eye thing sounded like possession. The security feed must have freaked them out quite a bit. Lance could only hope Lotor was kept out of this.

"Does Lotor know?"

Allura spoke immediately. "No. We decided to keep him out of the know for this. While we trust him not to do anything currently with the information, we do not trust that he may use it if he betrays us."

That put Lance at a little more ease. At least prince L'oréal didn't know of his sudden mastery of being a paladin. But there were still questions to be answered.

"What forms did my bayard take?"

Hunk decided to answer this time.

"You had your regular blaster, your sniper rifle, broadsword, our bayard forms like Pidge's katar and Allura's whip, and completely new forms. Dual pistols, dual smaller swords, a lance, and a shield. It was really weird, but impressive."

That was far too many bayard forms for Lance. He was the weak link, a seventh wheel, not a proficient fighter like Zarkon, who could use multiple bayard forms. So why had he? He would have to look at the footage later, as he still needed to know about the scars.

"And the burns? Any working theory on those?"

Shiro looked alarmed at Lance's words, opening his mouth to say something before Allura cut in.

"Pidge claims they are like lichtenberg scars, but their shape and flow remind me of quintessence veins, both of which should be impossible given the footage we have. You were not struck by electricity again, and you would have to have been overflowed with quintessence for those veins to appear. It is quite a concerning conundrum."

With a gasp of surprise, Pidge turned to Allura.

"What do you mean /struck by electricity again/?!"

Shiro nodded at Pidge's question. Coran looked horrified. Hunk kept looking between Allura and Lance for an explanation. Lance decided this wasn't needed right now.

"I was hit at the Omega Shield and Allura healed me. All good now. Can I see the footage? I want to see what happened for myself."

So

I went wayyyy further with that than intended and wow I really hate how nonchalant everyone was with Lance's death but ANYWAYS here you guys go. What happens when you get possessed by a lion of Voltron? You get an overdose of quintessence and trauma. Hooray!