Code: VLD-K-MC

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the featured media, the rights go to their respected owners.

Media: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Title: Kindling

Notable Sub-genres: [Keith Kogane/ Lance Mcclain] AU Avatar Universe

Rating: "M" for later crude language and mature themes including; Violence, War, Depression, PTSD, Racism/ Xenophobia.

Chapter: Multichapter

Status. In progress.

Lance's back hit the wall, his head rattled from the force but Fire Nation's armour blocked most of the blow. His arms are pinned behind his back though and the grooves in the gauntlets he was wearing make freeing them impossible with the pressure the guard was holding him down with.

His anxiety was almost paralysing as he looked into the dark eyes staring down at him. 'Water Tribe,' the guard breathes like he's seen a miracle; he might as well have with the South painted red. Benders specifically were targeted but so many had been killed or taken; his home was killed mostly with elders and young children without parents.

Lance's tongue was numb as he stared back at the guard. He had the standard Dadao, attached to his belt like every other soldier but he couldn't reach it, and even if he could wrench himself free, he wasn't good with the sword and it would take time to kill the guard, time and noise. Should Lance manage it, he'd draw the eye of the station that was looming above their position near the wall he'd been patrolling.

This guard - wasn't raising the alarm though, appeared shocked; maybe a sympathiser. It was enough for Lance to remain quiet, still. He'd been on his infiltrating mission for months now and bar bits and pieces of information he hadn't been able to pass anything important back to the resistance; nothing to explain the changes that had been occurring in Beta Traz.

The guard swallows and his grip tightens to a bruising degree. 'Are you with the Resistance?' he whispers right against Lance's ear, tone desperate. 'Are you here for him?'

Lance blinks in confusion. 'Him who?' he murmurs back because quiet was good, quiet was great; it was what would keep him alive.

'You don't know,' the guard summarises from Lance's response and that makes him tense all over again. Was that no good? Would that be enough to set the guard off? Did that make him useless? 'But, you are part of the Resistance.'

Lance takes a breath. A gamble. He nods.

The guard relaxes and gives a quiet thanks in his own language before switching back to Common. 'You - you have to get him out of here.'

Lance doesn't bother to argue, he wasn't in the position to. 'Who?' he demands instead. He'd heard of the Resistance having to save "traitors" or their families and if Lance had already been found, he had to get out. No one would thank him for taking pointless risks; they just didn't have enough active men to condone it unless absolutely necessary.

'The Avatar,' the guard says and Lance's insides freeze.

The Avatar.

The Avatar? Before the war, the Avatar had been murdered and then - the Air Nomads - they were viciously attacked, countless children killed and the new Avatar was presumed dead. Then the Water Tribe, - his home - until the Fire Nation had what they wanted; until they were next in the cycle and though there had been whispers, no one knew what had happened.

'He's -' Lance swallows the rest of the words, voice too loud. 'You know him. Because you know he's a him and he's here. They've been keeping the Avatar here?'

The Fire Nation didn't mess with people. Not Guards, not for a single, unrecognisable member of the Resistance. There was point to this. And the guard - those eyes, they sang with urgency. 'Yes. Yes. He's called Keith and he's been trapped in a cell like an animal and he's not going to last -'

'They've been keeping the Avatar in a cell?!' Lance exclaims in quiet outrage.

The guard is swallows thickly. 'This is Beta Traz.'

'Right.' Lance blinks. 'I'm…confused.'

'The Avatar is Fire Nation but they can't turn him to their cause. They can't kill him because then the cycle continues and they'll have to find them again.' The guard squeezes Lance but it is not painful. 'I can't get him out by myself, I've thought about it but - there's too many risks. But you're Resistance.'

'I…have a contact,' Lance admits with his heart in his throat. 'But we do this my way and if I get one hint -'

The guard lets Lance go and he instantly stumbles until he regains his footing. His arms unfold from behind him, the blood flowing again is almost painful and they are heave when he shakes them out. 'Your way,' the guard agrees before he takes off his helmet. The sudden human face gazing at Lance, Fire Nation sharp features and dark colours aside, it was terribly sincere. 'Your way, just - help me.'

Shakily, Lance takes a step back; needs the space, needs to gather his bearing. 'Name,' he breathes.

'Just…Shiro,' the guard - Shiro states, blinking glazed eyes. 'You -?'

'And how did you…' Lance gestures at himself, not quite willing to share. That, and his uniform was exact, worn properly. He'd studied how they behave and their language and he needed to know what he'd done wrong. To not leave, to fix this, so this didn't happen again. He didn't want to pull out - that'd be disastrous.

'Oh,' Shiro the Guard says. Lance thinks, vaguely that he's seen this guy around but then socialising wasn't the Fire Nation way, least it wasn't now. 'Oh, you've got obvious Water Tribe heritage but that - wasn't what gave you away. I noticed you when you arrived and...you flinch when someone bends, you grimace at meal times. And when the east side patrol past you tensed, reached for your weapon and - it was nothing but I've been…paranoid. I need someone to help because Keith…' Shiro the Guard takes another breath, like he's trying his best to relax but just can't. 'You might've just been another soldier, honestly.'

'Grasping at water.' Lance doesn't settle but it means he's not fully compromised. Shiro the Guard, without his helmet, looked desperate; unsteady, like he was seconds away from charging the prison himself. Lance could almost taste his urgency.

If this is all one elaborate ploy then he'll just have to be careful when he sends word to Pidge but - but this could mean…this could be the break that they've been waiting for. This was too big for Lance not to take seriously. 'Okay,' he breathes.

'Okay, prove it to me.'

Con/Textual Vomit: I blame this on all the fantastic Voltron Avatar-AU. I did not need to add to the number of stories I am working on XD. But here it is.

OZ