full chapter title: If Your Cat is Hiding, Please Don't Corner it

Ok if Keith seems a bit ooc for this arc I was thinking of it like this: first off keep in mind this is set season 2-3ish with Shiro never disappearing, second Keith is proud of his strength that's obvious, but when he's drugged his body is useless, his limbs don't cooperate, what he can move he can't put any force behind, he can't even put two thoughts together for a decent plan, even his link to Red gets fuzzy which is why she can't go get him. And once he's sober again he can't handle it, that denial sets in that he can do better next time, he can protect himself, and he won't get caught again. Plus with the others hovering the 'hands' don't always happen, only when he's on his own. The rest are just lingering nightmares. And now that its gotten to the point of kidnapping and Lance being involved he just doesn't care anymore. And I know the science behind this drug is shit but I tried at least!

Twenty minutes. It took twenty minutes to locate where Lance was projecting from. Since Lance wasn't actively making a connection to them nor responding to Hunk's probing, his presence kept wavering. It didn't help that they had to navigate around walls, stairs, and hallways that prevented a straight path or led the wrong direction all together. But it only took another two for hot Galran metal to cut through the heavily enforced door hidden deep in the lower levels.

They could feel the cold instantly. Voices arguing and the sound of solid things being hit against each other.

Inside they found three Camians snarling at each other while chipping at a wall of ice that cut through the room. Two more lay unconscious near a large table lined with multiple restraints and ranting in the midst of it all was the male from the first night Revolus.

"You idiots were supposed to supposed to inebriate them properly! And now they're damaged! I can't return them in this state without the humans noticing! They're surprisingly more perceptive than I anticipated.. I'll have to come up with a contingency plan, and if you can't get them out of there I'm going to force the blame on you!"

Shiro would have punched his lights out, but Allura got there first. One smack and he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. The sudden silence drawing attention of the other three, putting up their paws in surrender in the face of a very pissed off Princess.

Instead the former Champion set to work on getting through the ice shield, hand melting through and cutting large blocks that Hunk helped him move.

It seemed like ages before he felt the give through to the other side, Shiro starting to worry about just how much this had drained Lance to make the wall this thick, let alone why he felt it necessary. He tried not to dwell on the fact that Lance still hasn't been able to make frost consciously, how it seemed that the only two times he had frozen something there was immediate threat... No sooner as his hand broke past the ice did something hard smack against it causing him to draw back.

Whoever was on the inside must have been tracking its light, no doubt that sound on their side was muffled beyond understanding through the shield. Still Shiro took a cautious look through the hole before moving again.

Behind the shield he could see the face of someone, feminine features prominently. "I take it your Rayla?"

She blinks in surprise before setting her face in a snarl, "Who wants to know?"

"Well, your father for one. And judging from this barrier I'd say you have one of my friends in there with you. If you'd let us we'll get you out and back to him."

She didn't move aside from a twitch at the mention of her father. "And how do I know it's not a trap? That rat just wants his toys back!"

Shiro barely had time to mull that over before another voice answered. "Shiro..?"

"Keith! Keith are you alright? We'll getcha out soon ok?"

"Shiro make him stop!"

"Who?"

"The ice! He won't stop Shiro! He can't take anymore!"

That got him moving again, Hunk and Allura joining in now with whatever they found to smack against the wall. At least Keith's plea was enough to stop the girl's protests.

Rayfa stood over an exhausted looking, glowy Lance with some metal object in her hands, likely what she had used to smack Shiro. The Blue paladin sat on the floor with his hands dug into the ice his eyes were glassy and unfocused as if he was still trying to keep it growing. Keith sat draped next to him, weakly trying to pull the others hands away, Lance's body was trembling in exertion.

Looking back at the Camians attempts to get through there was hardly a scratch yet the floor was littered in ice shards, like it would regrow as soon as they got any headway. But Shiro had managed to cut through easily. Was it just the shear heat his hand could make, or did the Quintessence Lance pour into the ice recognize his own on some level? Allowing him in where the others got repelled?

Sometimes Shiro questioned what the substance could be compared to back on Earth, mana from an RPG? Life essence? The Force even? Maybe they were all the same in the end. Different stories just used it different ways.

But it didn't matter right now, he had to get his boys taken care of..

Kriven was being led to somewhere else in the castle. Where, he wasn't sure yet, but he was being escorted by those masked guards of the Princess's so it couldn't be good.

What he didn't expect when they arrived, is for said guards to remove their masks and turn out to be Galra themselves, nor to end up in the castle's medbay to see his own cub in one of the bunks getting looked over by the paler Alteain who lightly stepped out of the way as he ran to embrace her.

After a few minutes Coran softly interrupted, filling the medic's duty of informing a legal guardian on their charges condition, asking for necessary history, allergies, and the like.

"I recommend that she stay here in the bay for at least two Quintents. For observation if nothing else." He finished after going over Rayla's chart. "But If our friend here says its alright you're free to stay with her." Coran pats the Galra's shoulder gently with a small smile. "Fatherhood is a precious gift, I'm glad we were able to return it to you."

Kolivan who had been watching from afar suddenly perked and glanced around the rest of the room as if remembering something, another bed was disturbed from recent use but no sign of its former occupant. Or plural thereof. "Coran, where are the cubs..?"

"Ah.. Well I'm afraid Lance has been less than corporative…" the ginger Altean moved closer to the other, murmuring quietly. "I theorize that whatever amount of the drug that managed to get into his system had an adverse reaction when he tapped into the Blue Lion's quintessence. Her power instead triggered an overdose of adrenaline to override its effects. His fight or flight instincts had been full blast since."

Coran motioned subtly over to the supply closet, it was only opened a hairsbreadth but Kolivan could still see a sliver of glowing ice blue on guard within. "Rather than continuing to upset him and risk himself or Keith further injury, I asked if he would prefer the team to try instead. He agreed as long as the rest of us steer clear of his bunker for now. I do have a few scanners set to alert for anything life threatening, but otherwise we have to wait."

It took a little over half a varga for the other three to come back. As soon as they had dropped the three off with Coran the team had been called for an immediate trial to process the events. The Princess was only allowed let them go from the hearing when Kolivan had got tired of waiting and arrived in the court room, offering to stay with her instead, but not before needing to press his worries over Lance's actions. It was the fact that Coran, of all people, hadn't been able to get through to him yet that made her relent to plea with the counsel.

Catnip. It was freaking catnip. Or something close to it originally. Revolus had apparently been a supporter and supplier of exotic pets. As in, the people kidnapped and sold as unethical slaves kind. He had been testing a new concoction to make his 'products' more cooperative. The result sounded like a date-rape drug that only targeted feline-like biology.

Just the implications made Shiro see red, not that Allura was happy either. Pidge and Hunk had spent the last hour copying the lab notes and collecting samples to analyze in case the formula turned dangerous. Along with his dealing records. Now the three remaining Paladins and the Princess were listening as Revolus was beseechingly trying to argue the benefits of his research for the war before the counsel.

"I know the choice in testing it on the Red Paladin was a poor one, but there's a whole group of Galra in your ship! Plenty of fodder to perfect it with! Once it works you can possibly use the mixture in a base to disab-ack!"

A snarl, a weight, and Shiro suddenly stood above him seething. The Canimus had been shoved hard into the floor, the force cracking fancy, marbleish the tiles under him.

"Listen to me and listen good." The Paladin growls with a deathly whisper, his eyes flickering between dark grey to sun gold. "There are two things I absolutely can not tolerate. One! Is someone bringing harm to my family. Two!" the grip on Revolus' shirt increased, pushing him further into the broken floor, the smell of burning skin, fur and cloth wafted as the fist lit to life. "is using prisoners as unwilling, disposable labrats!"

"Shiro!" Allura snapped in her firmest commanding tone, "As gladly as I would like to break this man apart, we need him alive for this testimony so the Alfas don't accuse us as well for murdering a noble."

The former Champion froze at the order, his arm cooling down again. The fight between 'doing the right thing' and his gladiator born 'kill to survive' instinct -that he thought he had gotten under control, but apparently had brand new triggers now- wared for several minutes.

"SHIRO! Stand down!" The Princess snaps again.

Finally, Shiro shoved him once more, a small grim part of him appreciating the feel of a rib cracking under his hand, leaning in close to the others muzzle and snarling in a deadly whisper, "If you ever, ever, come near me or my cubs again.. Third degree burns will be the least of your worries!" Luckily Shiro's attention turned elsewhere once Kolivan entered the room.

Kriven and Rayla had been settled into the side furthest from Lance's self-made lair. Coran had gone off to an attached side room to do something doctory. Kolivan had left a while ago but Antok had stayed, Lance could see him sitting far enough away to not feel threatened but close enough to where it felt the extra tall Galra was keeping an eye on him instead of the other two.

Kriven didn't seem put off by it, the look in his eyes when Antok took the spot was more understanding than anything. Maybe Pidge's jokes of the Blade leaders all but adopting Keith had a grain of truth to it? Speaking of, Keith was still asleep. Taking chance to look behind him briefly the Red Paladin was curled up on the pile of spare linins that had been hastily pulled off the shelves above, molded into some form of nest/bed thing.

Keith was still stuck in that half shift, but as long as Lance kept a hold on his hand, the only part that Keith was permitting to be touched at the moment, he seemed calm. What worried Lance was that he was still so drowsy. Rayla had been on the way to half sober when they were brought in, but Keith who had been dosed who knew how many times already, had also been slapped in the face with the same unknown substance until the struggle he put up faded into limp dazedness.

Lance had thought it would knock him out too, but for some reason after seeing Keith just so still, so vulnerable, so afraid and trembling, it just sent an electric charge of energy instead. And it wouldn't stop.

Lance had been far too wired to get any rest himself, there was a dull throb of tingling in his whole neck and head from the collar they slapped on him. He could see the bruises and cuts on his own skin, he was pretty sure he might have a few cracked ribs, his left arm felt far too heavy than it should, he couldn't move it either so it rested in his lap. But the adrenaline! He knew that staying this hyped up so long wasn't good, that his panic should have faded and left him exhausted instead of staying and needling into him still. Lance knew it could not be healthy for his body but he could also tell it wasn't stopping any time soon either.

At least he could still feel Blue. Maybe she was doing something to keep him from frying himself out? His heart should have jumped out of his chest and exploded by now but it felt like something was forcing it to slow down to halfway normal.

But other than that, all Lance could feel was a cold numbness to his injuries being over powered by the need to protect. He wanted to let Coran in, wanted to get them both patched up and see his teammates and talk and laugh, wanted to beg for Hunk's cooking because he was starving. But the fear kept him hidden away and it. Would. Not. LEAVE!

Lance's endless cycle of thoughts ground to a stop, head twisting around at near whiplash speed to look back outside then the whoosh of the medbay door opening tickled his ears. Shiro, Hunk and Pidge came in, the younger two looking all over the room nearly bolting over when they figured out where Lance was hiding.

Lance tensed up, body screaming to fight but Shiro caught them both by their collars, ('or scruff since it was a growing trend to grab us there like a naughty kitten' voiced a tiny amused part of Lance that wasn't panicking) dragging them over to Antok instead, the later placing a hand on each of them as if he already knew what to do. A simple questioning look from Shiro made the Galra shake his head slightly and had Shiro turning back to the closet.

The Black paladin didn't rush, he took his time walking nice and slow until easing to sit on the floor a few feet away from the door. Keeping his voice soft and calm Shiro reached and eased the door just wide enough to peer inside. "Hey guys, how you feeling?"

There was barely time to glance at Keith before the other moved to block him from view, the hand he had in Keith's pulling free in a need to defend himself, instead the surprisingly prehensile blue tail taking its place and wrapping around his wrist.

Lance looked terrible. Strained and exhausted but also like he chugged three gallons of coffee. Still in mystic primal mode with cougar like markings lining either side of his nose and along the lower rim of his eyes, additional spots here and there. Shiro could see small burns around the collar, signifying its function, blotches of skin darker than they should be. A few cuts that were well into crusting over. But all of it seemed to be ignored as the Blue Paladin put all his attention on becoming a wall between him and Keith.

It took a lot of effort to not let the hurt and worry show. Shiro fought to keep his expression open and relaxed for Lance's sake. "Those look pretty painful.. Think you would be willing to come out so we can fix you up?"

Even the suggestion sent trembles through the younger boy, the long ears pressed flat and teeth were grit and bared. Lance hugged his arms to himself as if to keep them from lashing out, claws twitching. He didn't want to hurt Shiro, but at the same time he couldn't let his defenses down.

"Lance. Lance listen to me. I know you're upset, I know you don't want to let Keith get taken away from you right now, but you have to let us look you two over alright?"

"N-Nn.. I ca't.." his voice rasped brokenly, he looked torn, caught between rushing over to their leader in relief or forcing him away. Lance's breaths were heavy, his tail tightened around Keith's wrist possessively, not noticing Shiro's voice had coaxed the other somewhat awake.

"Hey, its ok.. its just the stress talking, you know he hates being touched by strangers and after that you probably just don't want anyone near him, even us. That right?"

A strangled, half hoarse whimper was the only reply.

"Its fine, we understand. You're safe with us and you know it, but you're hurting and that scream of danger is still there. You getting doped up really isn't helping either. That feeling might stay around for a while but once the drug wears off it'll start to get a little better. I promise. Do you think it would help if it was just me or Hunk here for now?" Shiro's voice never lost its gentle tone, ever patient.

He was handling it so easily, Hunk thought, just reading right into Lance's emotions and giving them words as easily as he could talk to Black. Shiro had probably seen something like this before... Except there wasn't any safe hiding spots in that place…

In the end Lance gave in, it took more coaxing, Hunks sad puppy face and offering of magic hugs, and Keith finally reaching out past him to latch onto Shiro's fingers before Hunk coaxed Lance out into the open, starting up a conversation on nothing important just so Lance had something to focus on other than his fear. Though his eyes still watched each of them cautiously never resting in one place more than a few tics.

After Coran gave them instructions, Pidge was allowed close enough to use the more accurate handheld scanners, the info sent to the side room he disappeared in earlier. Shiro had pushed two beds together, making sure they could get looked over properly without anyone blocking their sight of each other and putting Lance in another fit. Keith had some bruises but nothing too bad, and had curled up against Shiro's chest, just needing to cling to that safety of an older brother and let himself breakdown, too tired and crummy feeling to care about the others in the room.

The friendly atmosphere, seeing Keith safe and getting taken care of, and his own slow patch job finally got Lance to relax a little. Still jittery but the exhaustion set in enough for Blue to stop nursing nerves from damage. Coran was reluctant to put them in cryo pods until they got the collars off.

Unfortunately, Lance couldn't wait that long. Even with the dial ever so slowly turning from outnumbered to protected, he'd still hiss and bear his teeth whenever one of them moved the wrong way. Lance sat on the right bed while Shiro sat and held Keith on the left. When Pidge approached to take a look at the lock on Keith's collar the Red paladin pressed into Shiro further but otherwise didn't move away.

Pidge easily enough ignored Lances low growls as they put their focus on it. Hunk kept catching his attention anyway while being swabbed with antiseptic. "Quit squirming ya big baby, its not that bad. Hey! No biting, or no desert take your pick!" Pidge knew there wasn't any real annoyance behind it, just Hunk going into mother hen mode. The banter and half-hearted threats an attempt to make things feel normal again.

Weird, Keith's didn't even seem to be activated. It had to serve some purpose though if they went through the trouble to put it on. Pidge was able to unlatch it easily enough from Keith, the latter pulling away from it as soon as possible.

It was the quiet "Uh oh.." that pulled their attention back to Hunk. Lance was still focused on the three of them, eyes darting from one to the other. He wasn't listening to Hunk who was examining cougar's left arm. In fact it didn't even seem like Lance knew he was touching it. Hunk then pulled a safety pin like object out of the first aid kit and poked his fingers with it. Then his palm, wrist, up the forearm and bicep and into his shoulder.

Lance didn't even twitch. Not until Hunk caught the barely visible burns peaking out from under his own collar. "Quiznack.."