herdingspacecats | The Champion

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The Champion

The Champion has returned.

He has a mission this time. He isn't merely for sport, fighting for entertainment. He's a soldier now, an assassin, designed to fight and to destroy Voltron. Enhanced further with Galra witchcraft and a hint of quintessence, whatever past the Champion has no longer exists. His life as a human, as a paladin, as a fighter pilot on Earth, it's all gone, replaced by the need to serve and fulfill his existence. He is a weapon and nothing more.

A few well-placed rumors ensure that Voltron will come to him. It's not his plan, of course. The Champion is no general. He is valued for his strength and the appearance that apparently is so tantalizing to Voltron, and nothing more. They will try to trick him, he's told. They will tell him he is one of them, that since he is human he must also be a paladin, but it is a lie. Killing them is his objective.

They are weak when they leave their lions. The Champion waits, watching the paladins foolishly land and exit. How stupid of them. They're defenseless without the Lions, and he knows this fight will go quickly.

He straightens from his hiding place. They come for him, crying out a name that means nothing to him. He does not smile. He does not move.

He waits.

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Once Matt went down, he was certain he was done for, and activated a beacon on his wrist to indicate to his deputies to get the hell out of there. He just hopes that there wasn't a fleet waiting.

So, when he wakes up, chained to a bed, he's a bit surprised, before the headache hits him and he winces. "Stars, you hit like a truck." He can't seem to open his eyes just yet. Everything is bright and everything hurts. "So, is there a reason I'm not a puddle on the floor of my base?"

He sighs, shifting just a bit and wincing. Ugh. Everything hurts.

He's let his hair down, a wild mane falling down over his shoulders. He's been considering Matt, trying to remember how he knows him. There's something familiar about him, some reason why he needs to keep the commander safe, but he can't for the life of him remember what exactly it is.

It must be some command he was given at some point, he's sure. What else could it be?

"You tell me." His voice is even and steady.

Matt's eyes fly open, and he just stares. Even with the longer hair, he'd know that voice and face anywhere. Swallowing, he finds his voice, a bit weak, a lot surprised, and more than a bit worried.

"Takashi? Is... that you? What in the stars has happened to you?"

Takashi. It sounds familiar, enough to confuse the Champion even more, but his expression is guarded and closed off. Whoever Takashi is, the name is important to him somehow and it's bothering him.

He brushes off the questions, instead asking a few of his own. "Who are you?"

"That's not funny, Takashi. Not funny at all. If you wanted to rafish me, you don't have to chain me to the bed and pretend not to know me." He's trying to make a joke, but his expression is pure hurt. He's been beaten many times, but this just hurts beyond anything else that could have been done to him.

His guarded expression slips for a moment, showing his genuine confusion. Something is not right about this. It's tugging at the back of his mind insistently, and he pushes his hair back behind his ears.

"You know me." That much is obvious. "How do you know me? Why do I feel like I know you?"

No. This isn't happening. This isn't possible. Matt swallows, trying to keep a lid on his emotions. "You do know me. I don't know what they did to you, but you know me. We came to space together with my dad." He possibly shouldn't have let that slip, but he's desperate at the moment. "We went to school together, and we're... er, we were best friends." And some more, but he's not even sure what to do with that right now.

He pauses. "Who do you think you are?"

Came...to space?? He's all the more confused. Is Matt trying to trick him, perhaps? He had been told Voltron would lie to him, but this is not Voltron, and if it was a lie, why is it resonating with him, like it's something he already knew but just forgot?

Either way, this commander clearly doesn't need to be restrained. The Champion busies himself with getting him out of those cuffs, taking that time to think of a response.

"I'm not anyone. I'm the Champion."

"Everyone is someone." Matt rubs his wrists a bit, sitting up. He takes a breath, stuffing his emotions down even more.

"Do you remember how you became the Champion? Do you remember your first victory?"

It's an intriguing question, and frankly, he hadn't even thought about it. He knew that he had earned it, but the actual details of that first victory and defeating the previous Champion... It's not just fuzzy, it's downright missing. As far as he can remember, he's always been the Champion.

There's a long pause before he answers. "No."

"You and I had been captured by the Galra Empire and made into slaves. We were sent to the Gladiator Arena." He keeps rubbing his wrists. "I was chosen to go first, but you..." He takes a breath. "You pushed me out of the way and slashed my knee, and then went out and defeated the whoever it was out there." He rolls up his right pant leg to show him a nasty scar just under his knee. "You saved me, Takashi. You saved me and they took you away."

As Matt talks, something strange is happening to the Champion. He's...remembering. Just little bits and pieces, images flashing in his mind's eye. That scar, telling Matt to be safe nd to find Dr. Holt...

He spits out a curse and hunches forward, pressing both hands to his temples. His breathing is ragged, fingers digging into his skin as though trying to rip it away.

"I...I remember." His voice is halting and shaky. He doesn't understand what is happening here, but...Matt...

"You remember now? I've been trying to find you for so long, Takashi. Please. Let me help you remember who you are."

Tentatively, he reaches out his hands and gently puts them on Shiro's arms. "Talk to me. Tell me what you remember, and I'll help put the pieces together."

He jumps at the touch, eyes widening and a sharp gasp escaping him. Whatever it is that Matt has done to him, he's clearly struggling with it.

"I don't...I remember you. Hurting you, and you looked so scared." He licks his lips, shaking his head. "It's like trying to hold water in your hands. I can't keep it for long."

"I was scared. We were so close and had been for quite a while, and then you turned on me." He sighs, pulling his hands back and putting them in his lap. "And then you told me to take care of Dad, and got pulled away, looking a bit scared yourself."

He closes his eyes. "It was worse thinking you'd actually turned on me than the actual wound, really."

He shakes his head slowly, looking confused and swallowing hard. He remembers that, knows what Matt is talking about.

And then the name comes to him. "Matt." It comes out softly, an exhale, almost a whisper.

"...What happened to me?"

"You remember me now?" Matt's face lights up, and he reaches out to take Shiro's hand.

"I don't know what they did to you, but we're going to find a way to get you better, ok? I promise. Can you tell me what you do remember and we can go from there?"

He wants so badly to crawl in his lap and hug him tightly, but he holds back for now.

That smile tugs at his heartstrings in a way that he's not familiar with, and Shiro swallows, looking away. This is all a lot to handle at once and he's still not entirely sure what's happening.

"It's hard to think about." He chews his lip. "I can't hold on to it."

"That's aright. Hold on to me, ok? I'm not leaving. I'm staying with you no matter what." He takes a breath. "Although, I'm not sure where to go. I don't know what's safe. I could try to contact my people, but it might be better if people think I'm dead."

He nods slowly. "I certainly can't go back. This ship...we need to ditch it. They can track it, I'm sure."

He leans forward to rub at his temples again. All of this change and stress...he's got a terrible headache.

"Ok. So we need to figure out where we can find another ship. I'm thinking we could try to disappear into the next fairly populated planet that we find."

Matt reaches out and cups Shiro's cheek. "Have you been with them the entire time?" Somehow, it's so odd, thinking that it's now him and Shiro together against the entire universe. Matt actually doesn't think he minds.

He starts slightly at the touch, still unused to it, but it feels...good. Matt's hand isn't exactly soft, but he leans into it all the same, closing his eyes and letting out a soft exhale. This feels familiar. He's sure they've done this before.

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Alright. We'll go slow, ok?" Matt takes a breath, moving just a bit. "Can... Can I hug you? I really miss that."

A million things are racing through his head at the moment, trying to figure out what the next step should be.

A hug. That sounds...like it might actually be nice. Shiro chews his bottom lip again for a moment before giving Matt a jerky nod.

"Yeah. Just uh...no sudden moves, please."

"Of course." Carefully, Matt gets up, and reaches out, wrapping his arms around Shiro and hugging tightly. Slowly, he climbs into his friend's lap, ready to leave if necessary.

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