Chapter Text
The walls of this cell appeared to shrink with every rising day, they grew smaller as the Blue Paladin unfolded weaker. He lost a tally of how long he had been there, but at least there was a pattern. Today, they were tardy.
This caused Lance’s mind to wonder, maybe they were late because his teammates were finally there to liberate him from this nightmare that never seemed to cease, perhaps it was all over. He was free. If only it could've been so good if only he merited it.
He used his pointer finger to count the seconds that went by using the patterns of the patrolling soldiers that went past his cell. The Cuban must have been here long enough to store that information in his brain, his ‘interrogation’ time was halfway through the second rotation of their patrol.
There seemed to be six units that walked down the hallway he was kept per rotation. After the first rotation, Lance would receive an inadequate meal for breakfast that he would hack down before the tray made it into the enclosure. Three more units pass before the entrance opens uncovering three Galran troopers ready to take him to see The Witch.
He had just made it to the fourth unit of the second rotation, something must be up.
Lance found his feet being placed under him, forcing himself up from the floor and towards the door.
“C'mon guys. It's impolite to keep a date waiting.” He clamored to no one in particular since he could hear no one in his vicinity.
The Blue Paladin felt a twinge of hope spark in his chest, just maybe today would be the day.
Sitting in that cell for so long it was pretty much all he could think about. Getting out of here and never looking back, he swore to whatever was out there that once he escaped this dismal place he would pledge to himself and his teammates to be a better paladin, fighter, pilot, and friend. Lance would do whatever it took to make it out of here alive, not in one piece though.
The prosthetic he sported would continue to be a salty reminder of his tribulation for the remainder of his life, so he spent a duality of his juncture here grasping the fact that this would become a part of him. It was an easier hill to climb over than he might adhere here forever.
He stepped back from the door, slipping down to the floor with his back pressed up against the wall parallel to it. With a consumed sigh, he let his head rest on the wall behind him, his eyes pulled closed.
-
An orange mustache types vigorously on a suspended keyboard, his eyes flickering back and forth between the screen and the letters. He nibbled on his bottom lip as he worked anxiously, it had been seven months and he finally had found him.
The Altean’s eyes widened at the sight, and his breath caught in his throat as he scrambled for the com system.
Alarms sounded, alerting each paladin to reach the deck with haste.
His body buzzed with anxiety and hopeful thinking. He found him.
-
The male woke up to the feeling of being dragged, his legs stumbled to catch up with his active brain as he looked to the sides of him. “Little bit late are we boys?” The paladin quipped, hiding the fear behind a mask of playful and sarcastic remarks. Lance knew what was coming, it didn't make it any less horrid.
“Shut it D408. She has a special plan for you today.” He cringed at the name, each captured individual gets assigned an identification number once they hit five months post-capture, he was D408.
The Blue Paladin was dropped once they entered a room, he happened to be dropped into a strangely comfortable chair.
A strangely comfortable chair that had nail marks embedded in the arms, horrifying-looking stains, and straps. This was new. His interrogation usually consisted of bolts of electricity every time he refused to speak, Haggar must have been getting bored. Numbness crept in about a month ago, he couldn't find it in himself to scream anymore. He would only respond:
“Where did you take her?”
The sorceress never responded to his question, all he would receive was a shock. He assumed today would go the same, until now.
Lance looked up at her as they strapped him in. He was helpless to do anything but sit there and wish himself back at the castle, doing absolutely anything else.
“I have spent a very long time preparing for this moment, Blue Paladin” She croaked, stepping forward. As crazy as it sounds, Lance felt a bit of relief at the name, at least someone knew who he was, knew him for flying the blue lion amongst his teammates. Every time he heard the name D408 it stripped him of dignity, it made him feel like he was just a number, and he supposed that was the idea.
Lance stared at her with a monotone expression, it was insane how quickly you age and mature when stuck in a nightmarish hellscape of a prison for seven months with no hope, the only thing you had left being taken away from you a month prior. She was all he could think about in these moments he spent with The Witch.
“Where is she?”
The male felt like he had said these words a thousand times yet it never yielded results. At least he didn’t get electrocuted this time. That is always a plus.
She didn’t answer, instead looking up to the two Galran soldiers in confirmation that he was strapped in securely, they nodded in response. Lance looked from her to the two soldiers as they hurried out of the room by her cue; they clearly didn’t want to partake in whatever was about to transpire and neither did he.
All Haggar did was grab a syringe from a small table in front of her, swerving to the left of it as she stalked closer to him and white-hot fear leaped up his spine and constricted his throat, he had a hard time breathing. All The Witch did was smile.
-
Shiro and Allura had made it there first, followed by Hunk, Keith, and Pidge. Coran had already had a map of the base pulled up and enlarged for the others to see, he stared up at it and the small blue dot that blinked. There was his boy.
Shiro spoke, breaking Coran from his thoughts. “What is this?” He questioned the Altean.
Coran shot around to face the Paladins, an expression written on his face that they hadn’t seen before and, therefore couldn’t decipher before he spoke. “I found him.” That was all he could say before he watched each person in the room’s eyes widen. “What?” The carrot-top had not known who spoke since he already turned around and began explaining how he came to his discovery.
“I determined from when he was captured in the prisoner raid we did seven pheobs ago-'' He spoke, indicating somewhere on the map. “I was able to get into the Galran Prisoner Records with the decoder Pidge assembled and henceforth was able to track Lance to about-” He zoomed in with his fingers, pointing to the map once more. “-here, they checked his identification number, D408, approximately four quintants ago. And by the pattern I have noticed, we’ve got five more before Lance is on the move again.”
By the time Coran circled he could take notice of the cries of Hunk, now being comforted by Pidge who rubbed his back and helped him sit down as he grappled to fathom the information that his life-long best friend wasn’t dead. Keith stood there, stoic as usual but he sported a determined look on his face.
Keith had not been faring well since Lance had been taken, for he was the reason it had come to happen but currently was not the time to think about that, he was determined to bring Lance home now he had to focus.
Shiro crept forward, “How long ‘till we can get there?” He asked. Allura sauntered past him and to the center of the room, where the travel medallion stood, “I can get us a wormhole jump, we can get him out of there now.” She spoke quickly and with urgency.
Hunk had sobered up, the tears had stopped and now were replaced with sheer determination to bring his best friend back to them safely, Pidge alongside him.
“Alright Team, let's get our Lance back.”
-
His back arched as he screamed out in pain, it was a kind of scream he couldn't hear himself making. It was entirely too primal and visceral to be coming from him, Through his blurry vision he could see Haggar staring at him with her arms at her sides. Whatever she injected caused him to feel like lava replaced blood and ice replaced soul. His mind blanked with fury and his breathing came out in gasps, sandwiched in between his screams. Lance had been screaming so much it made him hungry, thirsty, exhausted. Yet every pulse that pounded sent another shock of searing pain to rip through his entire body in one incredibly loud sensation which caused him to draw out a scream.
This went on for what seemed to be hours, every time he felt like he could pass out another jolt sent him another wave of nauseating pain and energy that kept him awake enough to feel every moment of whatever was happening to his body.
He closed his eyes, seeking any sort of tranquility he could find. That’s when he saw her, her pigtails, brown hair, and bright yellow eyes. The innocence in how she spoke, the way she spoke of her parents and her home. He missed her desperately. Every time Lance closed his eyes he saw her staring, reaching out, and screaming as she was yanked from his arms. He regretted ever letting her go.
Just then, the pain subsided slowly, he opened his eyes and gaped ahead. That is when the wrath began to settle in, pure, unbridled, haunting rage. That’s when the restraints popped off and he bounded from his seat.
“Where is she!?” Lance growled, his voice coming out in harsh, primal tones as his breathing picked up.
“D101?” The Blue Paladin seemed to jostle at the sound of her voice, he furrowed his eyebrows at the cloaked woman. He seethed at the usage of her number, she had a name. She had an exquisite, conformed, lovely name.
“Her name is Akino. Tell me where she is or I’ll pry it out of you.” Lance footed forward as Haggar ambled back, he radiated a vicious energy that made the dark woman smile graciously. It worked. He could finally have his answer.
“Extermination block four, because of you,” Haggar spoke, in a tone less than humane.
All Lance saw was red. He knew you didn't make it out of there alive. Ever.
Overcrowding was an issue in these prisoner ships, hence the reasoning for respective ships created for one purpose, getting rid of the old prisoners to make room for the new ones.
“What?” The male contested, his nose flared in anger as he took another step forward.
“If it wasn't for you getting apprehended, that poor child could have lived.”
-
Each Paladin occupied their lion, soaring from the castle towards the ship. “Keith, you and Pidge go in and get Lance, Hunk and I will stay out here and keep watch. Let us know if anything occurs and you need backup.” Shiro instructed, and the Green and Red paladins consented before they divided up.
Keith scanned as Pidge hacked open a side door, covering for her as she did so. Once the entrance was open, a map was displayed inside their visors.
“I have given you a map of the ship along with Lance’s location. He is moving fairly quickly so be cautious.”
The two headed inside, closing off the door behind them quickly as they slipped through the entrance. This place wasn't as big as they initially thought it would have been, there were probably one hundred and fifty prisoners within this smaller base at maximum, what was weirder was the fact it was so quiet.
“Kinda quiet, don't you think?” Pidge questioned as if she had been reading the Red Paladin’s mind. “Yeah, It’s weird.” He rounded a corner, Pidge walking in front of him as she goggled at the map, Keith kept an eye out for anything that moved. “Why would they put a Paladin of Voltron in an unguarded location like this?” The male asked as Pidge rounded another corner, stopping dead in her tracks. “Maybe because all the guards are dead.” She answered him, staring ahead, The half-galran was about to question the depth of her answer when he too, turned the corner to see the dead Galran soldiers littering the halls, twisted and mutilated in horrific ways that made the hair stand up his neck. Who could have done this?
“Lance should be just up ahead.” Keith felt himself pick up momentum and he and Pidge practically ran down the hallway. The male hung a left where his eyes fell upon a tall, tan-skinned, lean male, who turned around to meet his gaze. Instead of the beautiful blue eyes he expected to see, he was met with a bloodthirsty look from the Blue Paladin. “Lance..” Was all he could say before the other lunged at him, pinning him on the wall by the throat with his forearm, Keith could feel a blade push against his sternum. Lance stared at him like he didn't even know who he was, huffing furiously with his jaw clenched so hard you’d think his teeth would shatter and bearing them at him animalistically. It terrified Keith half to death.
Just then, Pidge came up behind them, taking Lance with her bayard frantically letting Keith get the upper hand, letting a punch swing to knock Lance out cold. They both looked at each other with wide eyes and terrified expressions.
The red paladin picked up the lanky male, turning to the green paladin, and urged her forward to lead them out of there. “We got him, get a pod ready.”