Chapter 7 - The Prisoner

I'm sitting in a Galra ship.

Shit.

I sit in the room, and while trying to think up an escape plan, I have a major realization. I won't be there for Keith when he has his panic attacks. I won't be there when he wakes up. I won't be there to kiss and hug him and tell him how much I missed him. That's when my real panic starts. It's not when I realize that I'm sitting in an enemy combatant ship, no. It's when I realize that Keith was right. I left him and I don't know how to get back. A scratched, painful cry rips its way out of my throat. The sound reverberates on the metal walls, making someone in the cell next to me punch the wall and tell me to "shut the hell up."

My wailing turns into hyperventilation, and I start to black out, but a touch on my shoulder pulls me out of my attack. I turn to find a familiar, tall alien, with glowing yellow eyes.

"Shay?"

"Lance?"

"What are you doing here?" She asks, obviously concerned. A Galra ship is nowhere for a Paladin of Voltron to be. I tell her everything. I start from when we find Shiro, and how elated we all were to have him back. I tell her about the party, and how Shiro had been acting slightly strange. I talk about the meeting, and Keith's panic attack/mental breakdown afterwards. Then, I tell her about how we find the rebel base and the real Shiro appears. I tell her tearfully about Keith getting impaled, and I talk in detail about my sprinting through the ship. I cry while I tell her about the end of the battle, and how Shiro and I saved us. I wipe my eyes as I talk about sitting in front of the healing pod for days on end, but having to battle the two Galra cruisers. I tell her about how we were winning, getting ready to form Voltron as I get hit by three incoming missles. I tell her that I don't really know what happened after that, but I woke up here. She comforts me, and I spill everything. I ask her questions she wouldn't know the answers to. She's supportive and consoling through the whole thing.

Once I'm finished with my tangent, I ask her what made her get captured. She lets out a shaky sigh before starting.

-Shay POV (flashback to "Re-Birth")-

The regeneration of our Balmera was a beautiful sight. Not only that, but my generation had never been above ground before. Only my grandmother was old enough to remember the outside world, and even then, she wouldn't tell us. So the beauty of the healing ceremony, plus the majesty of the cloudy, blue sky was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Of course, Princess Allura had to give energy to our entire planet, so when she collapsed, it was not a surprise. I rushed over to her side nonetheless, because it must've taken all of her life force to give us our home back. Shiro carried her back to the ship, where he also decided to rest up from the huge battle. Lance went next, claiming he needed some beauty sleep. After Lance was Pidge. I don't think they actually went in to go to sleep, though, they probably went to do something techy. Keith stayed out for as long as he could, and I felt like he did a good job. Hunk later explained to me that Keith had major social anxiety and had walls up. Coran spent all of his time talking to my people, so Hunk found a moment to drag me away.

We reached a spot where we sat underneath a crystal that was tilted slightly so it gave off some shade. Hunk took my hand in his and told me that he liked me. I told him I liked him too, of course I would, he just saved my planet, but he said that I didn't understand. I turned to look at him, confused. He dropped my hand and instead grabbed my face, pressing his lips to mine. oh, that's what he meant. Before I knew it, I was kissing back. We each conveyed the love that we had for each other, until my mother walked by. "Shay! What are you doi- oh. Hello, Hunk. It's nice seeing you again." "Oh, hi, Mrs. Shay's mom, uh, likewise," he answered, his face bright red. With that, he looked at me, stood up, muttered a "See ya around, Shay," before walking away. "He's quite a catch, keep him," my mom said, turning away. I felt a blush creep to my cheeks, and I sat there, grinning like a lovesick idiot.

While Princess Allura was asleep, my people decided to host a celebration in honor of the Paladins and the Princess. They saved and healed our planet, and we needed an excuse to throw a party anyway. I was in charge of the music, Rax was on the decorations with my dad, Grandma did the cooking, and Mom got all of the tables and things we needed. It was a put together quickly, but it was a fun party. We didn't know when the princess was going to wake up, so we were all ready to spring into action as soon as the news was delivered. That's exactly what we did. Hunk came running towards me one day, panting and out of breath. I bit back a giggle. He told me that Allura was awake, and so I swiftly used the Balmera to carry the message to my family, whom all jumped up and started gathering the supplies.

That evening, the paladins and the Alteans came out of the castle in their casual clothes, letting my people gather around them. I ushered my family to the front, where we first addressed the group of rebels, then the whole village. "We thank you for you invitation, and though we don't know much about Balmeran customs, I do know that we are going to have a splendid time," said Allura, holding her hands up in a very diplomatic way. This commenced the celebration. My grandmother, though many decapheobs old, does know her way around modern snacks and drinks. Somehow, she got her hands on some ancient alcohol that was banned by the Galra. Seeing as it was only a few days after we had been freed, the only way she could've had that is if she had smuggled it in from somewhere. Anyway, everyone got a taste of the alcohol, and we danced until the morning sun rose.

By the time mid-morning came, the rebels had to leave. It was a very sad occasion, one in which I cried, because I didn't want Hunk -or any of the paladins- to leave so soon. Unfortunately, that's what had to be. As soon as they left, I collapsed on the ground in a depressed heap. Only about 30 ticks later, though an entire fleet of battle cruisers appeared out of nowhere. Apparently they had been waiting for Voltron to leave. They re-enslaved my people and started to imprison my family, but I came out and told them it was only me that went with the paladins. I took all the blame for all of my people, and I was captured, brought into a galra ship, and tortured. I was then thrown into a cell where I'd spend my lonesome nights crying, missing my family. Then, one day, another figure was tossed in with me. I kept my distance to see what this alien was going to do. He screamed, a horrible lonely, sad scream. I had to know who it was. It was Lance.

-Hunk POV-

My best buddy is gone. Vanished. While I wasn't looking, he got sucked up into the ship. Now he's being held captive, being tortured, maybe even dead. Keith is almost ready to come out of the pod, and when Lance isn't here, he's gonna have a cow. Kaltenecker, to be exact. Ok but for real, he's gonna completely flip. Lance is his only voice of reason, and he could do some bad things if Lance isn't here. We've gotta get my best friend back.

A/N

Ok so it's late and I didn't wanna keep writing cause that's enough to keep you occupied for a week so uh yeah.

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