A/N: Hi everyone! Here is the second chapter.

There is something important I forgot to mention earlier: this fic contains A LOT of made-up science. I have no idea how the cryopods work, nor how quintessence works; the creatros didn't really explain those things in the series (yet). So I just wrote whatever felt right for the story I had in mine. That is what we fanfiction writers do. :P

The chance to put Lance's powers to the test came about a week later during training. The paladins were taking turns in sparring with the gladiator bots, and while Pidge managed to hold her own for a while, it took one misjudged step for the gladiator to send her tumbling to the ground. Unfortunately she landed straight on her right arm, with such impact that the others could practically here the joint crack from where they watched. She screamed in agony and curled on the floor.

"Pidge!" the others were instantly by her side (but not before Allura deactivated the gladiator so it wouldn't try to finish the job), and Shiro reached out to her gingerly. "Pidge, are you okay?"

"Do I look like I'm okay?" Pidge groaned, squinting her eyes shut as tears of pains started to shimmer at the edges. "For the love of..." she hissed a sequence of curse words which would have probably made Shiro tell her off if she wasn't in so much pain.

"We need to check your arm, see if anything's broken," Coran said and tried to touch Pidge's arm plate in order to take it off, but Pidge only yelped and rolled away from him, clutching the injured arm protectively with her good one.

"Judging by her reaction, it's definitely broken," Keith said grimly. "We need to take her to the med bay. Maybe she needs to spend some time in a pod. It won't take long if it's only a broken arm, right?"

"Um, guys?" Lance said suddenly, stepping forward. "We don't need the med bay. We have a human cryopod right here, remember?" he pointed at himself, grinning.

Keith's shoulders dropped. "Oh, right. I forgot."

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god, Lance is finally going to do the magic thing!" Hunk squeaked, clapping his hands in anticipation.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, step aside and prepare to be amazed," Lance knelt in front of Pidge, rubbing his hands together. "Pidge, I think I'm going to need to remove your armor for this to work."

"And I think I'll totally throw up if you do that," Pidge moaned, not even bothering to lift her head. "Can't your magic go through armor?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Lance said. He placed both his palms on Pidge's armor, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his face scrunched in concentration. Everybody in the room held their breaths for five, ten, fifteen seconds, but nothing happened. Lance opened his eyes and removed his hands. "Sorry pal, this isn't working," he said, sounding genuinely sorry. "Come on, Pidge, I know it's going to hurt real bad, but it'll only last two seconds, and then you'll feel just like new. I promise."

Pidge opened one eye to peek at him, then signed in defeat, dropping her left arm to the ground. "Just get this over with."

Lance smiled and patted her knee in comfort. "Shiro, can you hold her for a moment?"

Shiro nodded and moved to Pidge's other side, gently but firmly pressing her shoulder and waist to ground her to the floor. Lance reached out and grabbed her right arm plate, yanked it off in a quick, smooth movement, and let it clatter on the floor.

"Ah!" Pidge yelled and tried to scoot away, but Shiro held her tight. "Shh, it's okay," he soothed. "Lance is going to help you now."

Pidge didn't reply, just let out a weak whine and looked at Lance tiredly.

Lance placed his hands as gently as he could on Pidge's wrist, barely touching it. The wrist was twisted in a very wrong angle and already started to swell; it was definitely broken. Lance took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, and soon the blue glow they were all waiting for appeared under his palms, growing bigger and bigger until it enveloped her entire lower arm like a halo, from the tips of her fingers to her elbow.

"Holy shit," Hunk whispered, completely mesmerized. The others stayed silent, although judging from their expressions they were thinking exactly the same thing.

The ball of light suddenly glowed so hard that it nearly hurt their eyes, and then dimmed slightly. Pidge opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking a lot more alert of her surroundings than before. "Hey, I think it's working!" she called. "It hurts less and less with every passing second... holy shit, Lance, you've actually just repaired my bones!"

"Not finished yet," Lance said through gritted teeth. His palms were still planted firmly on Pidge's wrist, but his arms started to shake, and a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead and above his upper lip.

Pidge's eyes widened. "Whoa, dude, are you okay? Y-you can stop now, I'm good. Honetsly."

"Give me a sec..." Lance took another steadying breath and moved his palms across Pidge's wrist, making sure that every part of it was back to its proper place. With each movement the ball of light grew weaker and smaller until it finally faded away, and Pidge rose to a sitting position, pulling her arm carefully from Lance's grip and flexing it in all directions.

"Yep, that's totally healed up," She said with a huge smile. "Wow, Lance, thank you, I don't know what I'd do if - Lance!"

The blue paladin pitched dangerously to the side, his eyes rolling back in their sockets, and he nearly face-planted the floor if it weren't for Keith who leapt forward and caught him by the shoulders.

"Lance!" Keith called, cradling Lance's head in his lap. "Lance, can you hear me?"

"Ahh..." Lance grimaced without opening his eyes. "R'loud..."

"What?" Keith looked up at his teammates, who seemed just as terrified and confused as he did.

"Y'r too loud... m'head hurts..." Lance slurred, going entirely limp in Keith's arms. At the same time, something dark and sticky dripped from his nose, forming a thin line across his lips and chin.

Hunk gasped in terror. Shiro was by Keith's side so quickly no one even saw how he got there, and gently took Lance away from him, passing him to his own arms. "We need to take him to the med bay now," he said, his voice steady and serious as always, although a hint of fear was evident in his eyes. Lance's head lolled to the side when Shiro stood up, and he didn't even stir as the older boy ran with him through the castle's corridors, the others following suit.

-X-

"His quintessence levels have dropped," Coran said with a frown as he examined the chart which floated in front of him. Lance was lying motionlessly on one of the beds at the med bay. The nosebleed had stopped by the time they got there, but he was still unconscious. His usually tanned skin was nearly as pale as the bedsheets, and his features were slack and lifeless save for the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

"What do you mean, 'dropped'? Can this even happen?" Hunk blurted, eyeing Lance anxiously.

"Well, normally, no," Allura said. "But once you use it the way Lance did to heal Pidge's arm, it only makes sense it will dwindle. Quintessence is not an unlimited source, especially when you pass it directly from your body to another person."

"Lance passed me some of his quintessence?" Pidge asked, her voice small and shaky. She was still clutching her wrist even though it was already healed.

"Like a blood donation," Keith murmured. He was standing the closest to Lance's bed, clenching and flexing his hands nervously, as if he wanted to touch Lance and at the same keep a distance from him.

"But wait, this isn't the first time Lance is doing the healing thing!" Hunk persisted. "Back then he cured my thumb and Keith's gash, and he was totally fine!"

"Those were mild injuries, they hardly required any quintessence," Coran noted. "Broken bones, on the other hand, are way more complex."

"Okay, so how do we get Lance's quintessence levels back to normal?" Shiro asked.

"If he needs someone else's quintessence, I have no problem to give him some of mine," Hunk said quickly. "I'm weighing as twice as he does, I bet I can handle it better than - "

"That is very kind of you, Hunk, but luckily it won't be necessarily," Allura cut him off gently. "According to the charts, the quintessence drop wasn't on a critical level; he still have more than enough to heal his body naturally, and it shouldn't even take too long. I believe he will be back to himself after a few vargas of rest."

"Or we can put him in a pod and then it'll take even less," Coran suggested while everyone released long sighs of relief. "You know, recharge his batteries."

"'m not a battery..." a raspy voice suddenly made them all jump in their places. Lance was shifting on his bed, opening his eyes slowly and then shutting them again, wincing at the bright lights of the med bay. "Quiznak."

"Lance!" Hunk called through a choked sob, grabbing his friend's hand and squeezing it between his large palms. "How are you feeling?! You scared the shit out of me, you idiot, don't ever do that again!"

"I'll do whatever you want after you turn off those lights," Lance muttered.

Allura waved one hand in the air and the lights instantly dimmed. Lance opened his eyes again, looking a bit more alert. He craned his neck to look at his friends, and his gaze lingered on Pidge. "Is your arm better?"

Pidge flinched and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Of course it's better," she said quietly. "You nearly killed yourself making it better."

"Oh." Lance didn't seem too shaken by this statement. Perhaps he was still not fully conscious. "I'm... sorry?"

"What did you feel when you were healing Pidge, Lance?" Allura asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lance scrunched his forehead. "Um... at first it was okay, but then I started to feel kinda dizzy... like when your blood pressure suddenly drops? And I also got this killing headache all of a sudden." He struggled to rise to a sitting position, but plopped back down with a grimace. "Still got it."

"Well, the good news is that you are going to be okay after you get some rest," Coran said. "The... less good news is that all of these symptoms are a direct consequence of you using your healing powers and transferring your quintessence out of your body into Pidge's."

"And that is why the best thing for you is to not use it ever again," Allura said, earning stunned gazes from everyone else. Although they all had this thought in mind shortly after Lance collapsed, nobody dared to voice it out loud.

Lance looked stunned as well. He tried to sit up again, ignoring Hunk's protests and pulling himself up with effort until he managed to make eye contact with Allura. "You can't be serious," he panted. "I mean, yeah, I'm a little banged up right now, but it's probably something I can learn to control with time - "

"You may be right, but I'm afraid we don't have the privilege to test this possibility," Allura said, her voice stern. "Learning to control quintessence manipulation takes years of practice and we don't have that time, what with all the war against Zarkon and our constant need to form Voltron. Especially when you take into account all the risks involved!"

"You mean, the risks of people getting hurt because I have the ability to help them but I'm not using it?" Lance was practically yelling right now, swaying in his place so that Hunk had to support him to prevent him from falling back.

"So what, you prefer to get hurt yourself instead?" Keith yelled back at him. He seemed to be startled by his own reaction, as he bit his lip and turned to stare at the wall before continuing. "Lance, I don't think you understand what just happened. One moment you were fine and then you just..." his voice died down for a moment. "You were more than 'a little banged up', okay? And if that's what happens when you treat a broken arm, well, I don't even want to think how much quintessence you'll have to waste on more serious wounds."

"Number Four is absolutely right," Coran said, sending Keith an encouraging look. "Lance, this time you only got a nosebleed and a headache; but other incidents can result in much, much worse. As we explained before you woke up, quintessence is not an unlimited source. It should be cherished and protected, not passed around recklessly."

Lance's shoulders dropped in defeat and he leaned a bit more heavily against Hunk, lookind down at his lap. "I didn't mean to be reckless. I only wanted to help," he said, his voice barely audible.

"We know," Allura said softly. She seemed regretful about the harsh tone she used before. "We are not mad at you, Lance. None of us really knew what was the influence of this new ability on your body. But now that we know, we must be cautious. Your will to help others at the expense of your own wellbeing is a noble quality, and I would expect no less from a paladin of Voltron; but you are a valuable asset to the team and to the entire universe, and I would be an unworthy leader if I risked any of my paladins' health."

Lance was lost in thought for a few moments. Then he caught Allura's gaze again, a flame of determination in his eyes. "Fine. I promise I won't use my powers on minor, or even medium injuries; but what if someone gets hurt bad, like, real bad, and we're in the middle of a battle and can't get to the castle right away? You can't expect me to stand back and watch someone die and do nothing about it."

"Lance - " Shiro started, but Lance raised his hand to silence him. "Oh come on, Shiro, you know I'm right. And if I'm not, well, you're welcome to look me in the eye and say that you wouldn't do the exact same thing if you had the option."

Shiro's lips locked in a thin line, and he watched Lance intently. Eventually he sighed, looking ten years older all of a sudden. "I guess there's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?"

"Nope," Lance said.

"Shiro, this is unacceptable," Allura flared. "You can't ask a fellow paladin to willingly sacrifice himself like this!"

"I'm not asking him that, Allura, but I also can't ask him to act against his own judgment," Shiro retorted. "I trust Lance to use his powers only when he is absolutely confident that there is no other way. I hate to see him suffer as much as any of us does, but I also can't deny the fact that he has received a gift that can save life. Expecting him to simply ignore it... well, that's an order I cannot give and he cannot follow, so the best thing for us to do will be to at least reach some sort of compromise."

Allura opened her mouth to keep arguing, but no words came out. Eventually she shook her head and crossed her arms, looking dissatisfied. "Fine. Then it's settled. But Lance, please, please be careful. We cannot afford to lose you for nothing."

"Don't worry, princess, you won't get rid of me so easily," Lance smirked, some of the color returning to his cheeks. He looked at the rest of his friends, seeking their confirmation. "Hey Pidge, you okay there?"

Pidge, who kept silent and hidden behind Shiro this entire time, watched Lance with wide, glistening eyes. Then she let out a broken sob and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. "It was all my fault!" she cried. "I - I was acting like a baby and d-didn't let Coran check my arm s-so you had to step in and then you almost - you almost - " she sobbed harder, hugging Lance even tighter as if she was afraid he was going to disappear.

Lance stared down at her shaking figure, completely overwhelmed. He was pretty sure it was the first time he saw Pidge cry like this. His expression softened and he wrapped his arms around her, patting her back. "Hey, it's okay," he muttered. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"But you were hurting..." Pidge wept into his chest.

"Yeah, but I'm not hurting anymore, right? And at the end everything turned out for the best - you got your arm fixed, and I found out that I shouldn't fix people's arms anymore, so we're all good now."

Pidge detached herself from Lance's chest and glared at him, her face puffy and wet. "If you ever do something like that again, I swear to god that if the quintessence loss doesn't kill you, I'll kill you myself."

Lance laughed weakly. "Trust me, you're way more scary than quintessence loss, I wouldn't even dream to mess with you."

Pidge laughed back, though it was more like another sob, and punched Lance in the shoulder before stepping aside, wiping her eyes.

"Well, Lance," Coran cleared his throat after making sure this bonding moment was over, "You still need to regain your energy. Would you like to jump in a cryopod for a while, or would you prefer to go lie in your own bed? A pod will be quicker, for your information."

Lance shrugged. "I think my bed will do. I'm not a big fan of cryo, if I don't have to."

"Very well," Coran said. "Although I would like someone to escort you to your room and make sure you get there safely."

"I'll do it!" Hunk called, patting Lance on the shoulder. "Can you walk? Do you want me to give you a piggyback ride? I don't mind, honestly."

Lance smiled gratefully at his friend. On a normal day he would never refuse a piggyback ride from Hunk, but everyone was still looking at him as if he was going to drop dead at any second, so he figured he'd better show them that he was fine, even if his legs still felt a bit wobbly. "Nah, I can walk. Thanks bud," he said and climbed off the bed, letting Hunk drape an arm around his waist to keep him upright. All he wanted now was to plop into his bed and sleep. He could worry about everything later.