Pidge awoke, and it was like all the stars in the sky disappeared. She was also cold, and it felt as if someone took a shovel and wacked her in the skull. Repeatedly.
She blinked and started to stand up when she realized her hands were locked in metal handcuff-like contraption in front of her. She stayed seated and looked around her small cell as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
It was a small size, maybe 4x6, but Pidge figured that they had to make the cells big enough for the captives, but small enough for them not to escape. The air was stale and smelt strange, not a bad strange, just… unfamiliar.
As she twisted to look at the other side of the room, she realized that her clothes were itchy and uncomfortable. She looked down and was surprised to see herself in Galra clothing. Her glasses were gone, but luckily her underwear and breast bindings, at least as far as she could tell, were still intact.
Pidge worked her way onto her knees and then used her hands to push herself up, but almost fell as she was still a bit uneasy. She steadied herself against the wall and moved to where there was a sliver of light that she hadn't noticed before as she wasn't facing that direction.
Taking a deep breath of that strange air, she stumbled to the light.
It was a door!
Pidge noticed that the light was coming from a barred window. It was slightly above where her head was, so she stood on her tip toes and just barely saw the outside of her cell.
It was strange for Pidge being the one looking out, instead of in.
There were a few cells around her. Maybe four or five.
She listened carefully and heard whimpering from the cell adjacent from hers. It was muttering and something that sounded like a cry.
Pidge cleared her throat.
"Hello? Are you okay? Well, obviously not since you were captured, but are you hurt? Well, if you can understand me."
The being in the opposite cell became quiet, then she heard a swooshing noise.
Her brows furrowed, then she saw something large. Really, really large.
It had dark blue skin, if she could call it that. It was like a being made of water. Each movement rippled its skin. The only area on the alien that was solid-seeming was the area around its eyes. The area was black and if there were eyes, Pidge couldn't tell as there was Galra tech covering the part of the face that held eyes.
"Human?" The water alien spoke. Its voice was surprisingly gravely, but high pitched.
Pidge's eyes widened in surprise. She eagerly pressed herself against the door pulling herself up a bit higher with the bars.
"You can understand me? Good, that's good. Did you happen to see another-," Pidge stopped abruptly realizing that the being couldn't see.
"Human, must quiet. Quiet, quiet, quiet human. No speak, do not do it." The alien hushed, it's voice dropping in pitch at least three octaves.
Pidge, realizing that the alien was probably scared for her, became quiet. A few ticks later, Pidge heard a pair of footsteps. Several, actually.
She walked back from the door, frowning.
She heard them slow right before her cell and saw a swish of white hair and heard a few whirring noises then several clicks and her door swung open.
A vicious grin was plastered on a woman's face. Pidge winced at the large quantity of light but squinted at the woman standing before her. She had pale purple skin and white hair, mostly covered in a hood with glowing yellow eyes.
Pidge's expression hardened as she recognized the woman to be Zarkon's witch, Haggard. She pressed herself into the corner of the small room.
The witch laughed, menacingly motioned for her accomplices, who wore black cloaks and white scary masks on their faces, to grab her. Pidge tried to dodge, but as she was in a literal corner, she couldn't do much about that.
Haggard cackled as they lead her out of the cell, practically dragging her along the ground. There were many dobosh of silence before Haggard spoke.
"You are a small human. There were two, three, other humans. One looked similar to you. Larger and stronger. Would have made a terrible fighter though its own kind turned on it and became our champion. Shame that our champion escaped us. He would have had a glorious death." Haggard walked through a door after a long trip with many left and rights, that Pidge couldn't have possibly made it herself.
"Small human Paladin, we required information. What kind and how we get the information will be on you. Are you willing to cooperate? If not we have a specific… treatment that will surely have you spilling like blood out of a wound.
Pidge's eyes narrowed in defiance.
"Never." She smirked, strangely brave. But, then again, she had no idea what was to come.
They Paladins changed their clothes and went to the common room.
(That lounge-like area with the couches, where Pidge told everyone that she was a girl)
The other Paladins were frantic. Especially Shiro.
'Pidge is so small. Sure, she can hold her own against us and the Galra soldiers, but these are merciless people that want to live another day. Surviving on instincts. Instincts to kill. Most of them are huge monsters, no, not monsters, prisoners against each other, fighting one another until one falls. Sure, the bigger you are the harder you fall, but the smaller you are the harder the hit.' Shiro thought to himself. Shiro ducked his head, trying to listen to what Allura said, but only caught the end.
"- to us. Right, Shiro?" Allura looked at Shiro expectantly. Shiro's eyes widened and his vison blurred a little from the tears that were threatening to fall.
Shiro sniffed quietly, but it was caught by Keith and Lance who were strangely close. Keith glanced at Shiro before looking back at Lance, who was next to him, rubbing his shoulder, comforting him. Lance stared at Shiro with a strange look on his face before nodding once and leaning into Keith's touch.
"I-uh, wha- I mean, uh, yeah, sure. Yes, to what you just said." Shiro babbled, trying not to blush in embarrassment.
Allura smiled sadly at Shiro before standing up and walking towards the exit.
"Do not worry. Pidge is a lot tougher than you think."
Shiro nodded absently to what Allura said and buried his head in his hands before sighing and standing up.
Hunk looked towards Shiro and stood up as well.
"I'll be in the kitchen, if anyone needs me." Hunk mumbled before lumbering out. Shiro followed him out but turned towards the training room.
"This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so distracted with the ship. If I had fought harder. If I put Pidge on defense instead of offense. If… if I only-," Shiro stopped midsentence tears rolling down his face when he was looking at Pidge's door to her room.
Shiro's heart clenched in his chest as he doubled over as if in pain. He clutched his hands to his chest and scratched, almost like he was trying to scratch it out of his chest. Shiro's tears slipped out of his clenched shut eyes and he struggled to breathe. Trying to calm down and wondering why he was feeling like this. He's never felt this way before and the pain was unbearable.
As he was starting to stand he put his hand to the wall accidently on the palm scanner that opened the door. He expected the light to flash and the scanner reject his hand, but the door easily slid open.
Shiro was confused as he landed on his chest inside of Pidge's room. He lied there for a moment before taking a shaky breath and pulling himself to sit on his legs. The door closed behind him.
Shiro looked around at the messy room took a deep breath. Inside of his head he counted.
One. In.
Two. Out.
Three. In.
Four. Out.
Five. In….
Six. Out.
Shiro breathed in the familiar, yet foreign scent of Pidge's room. He stood up and wiped his face and stumbled over to the bed, flopping down, but quickly sitting up when he felt something poking him in the side.
It was a small book, almost like a journal. He picked it up and flipped through it, ignoring the voice in his head that told him not to.
It was a diary. Or at least some kind of journal of Pidge's.
Its pages were mostly filled up with equations and theories about her family. There were even descriptions about the planets that they visited and on the Galra. However, one particularly interesting page caught his eye.
It was about the ship and the people on it.
One about Allura. Her physical description, background, parents, friends, and more personal things about her. One on Hunk, Lance, Keith, and Coran. There was even one on the mice and Kaltenecker, their cow. Coran and Hunk's were much like Allura's, but Keith and Lance's had their names mashed up. Obviously like a couple. They had information about them as well, but mostly it was the two as a couple.
Shiro's eyes widened and flashed back to what happened in the common room when Keith comforted Lance. Then to other instances resulting in awkward moments between the two.
Shiro smiled sadly, thinking about Pidge observing them and sneaking looks and writing them down.
Shiro flipped the page and saw his name. Curious about what she had written about him he skimmed it and saw it was much more detailed than the others.
It had the basic knowledge, but also about little habits that he had or his fighting style. There were even a few messy sketches of him fighting, ordering people around, and relaxing.
Then he read a surprising thing. Their names smashed together.
Shidge. Kiro. Takatie. Katashi.
Pidge like Shiro.
Shiro had a little crush on Pidge since he was younger, but she was his best friend's little sister.
She wasn't that much younger than him though. She was about 14 and he was 19 or at least that's how old they were when he last saw her. He could be around 21 though considering that Pidge was in the Garrison program and you must be at least 16 to get in.
Shiro then blushed and thought of him and Pidge cuddling, kissing, and holding hands. He was instantly filled with sadness as he thought of how that wouldn't happen if she was killed.
Filled with determination (and a little sadness) he placed the book down and rushed out of her room.
His face hardened into a scowl and marched to control room, finding Coran and Allura discussing over the ship.
"Coran, Allura, we have to get Pidge back." Shiro said determinate. Allura turned around surprised and nodded.
"I was thinking about that, but I don't know how. I have no idea where Zarkon is or if he will give her back." Allura started.
"Well then, we'll just have to make him," Shiro turned to Coran who was still muttering on about the ship. "Coran, do you think we can contact Zarkon directly? He did it to us once, so how about we surprise him and contact him for once."
Allura made a sound of objection, but Coran answered before she could say something.
"I believe we can, but why would you want to?" Coran answered confused.
"I have a plan."
Pidge breathed heavily and hung her head.
"Do you have anything to say, Green Paladin?" The witch cackled. Pidge slowly lifted her head, shaking. She glared at the witch. She took a deep breath and tried to focus her gaze.
"Shiro will come to find me and when he does…," Pidge stopped there too take a deep breath not breaking her gaze. "You'll wish for death."
Haggard laughed menacingly. "You are the one that will wish for death, Tiny Paladin." Haggard then turned away and waved her hand.
Electricity made its way through Pidge's body and an ear-splitting scream made it past her lips. Tears rolled down her face as she wriggled before being plunged into darkness.