Chapter Ten

Shiro found Allura in the control room, staring moodily at the projected stars. He'd been surprised and a little disappointed that she hadn't come to help with training. It would have been helpful since all he really knew of the druids were vague disturbing memories. He'd trained the other paladins to deal with mental and emotional manipulation using training he'd adapted slightly from the standard Garrison training. Keith had probably picked up on that, but he hadn't said anything.

"How'd your training with Lance go?" he asked, coming to stand next to Allura.

She sighed. "Not well. I'm afraid I lost my temper with him."

"Oh?"

"He seems to have convinced himself that he doesn't have the ability to manipulate quintessence. That he didn't really heal his lion. Which is making it impossible for him to learn how to do it on purpose." She folded her arms. "I tried to be patient, but there's so much riding on this that he doesn't seem to understand."

"He's just a kid," Shiro said. "A couple months ago he was just a reckless Garrison cadet whose only responsibility was trying not to fail his classes. Putting the fate of the entire universe on his shoulders was bound to have some negative effects."

"I know." Allura closed her eyes. "I fear I may have just made it worse."

"I'll go talk to him." Shiro put a hand on her shoulder. "And don't blame yourself. You have a lot riding on your shoulders too. But you don't have to do it alone."

She smiled. "Thank you, Shiro. I couldn't do this without you."

He nodded and left.


Lance was lying on his bed, trying to listen to his music and think about anything else besides how much of a failure he was. He wanted to just drown out the world, but the return of his normal energy was making it difficult for him to stay still. Part of him wanted to hide in his room while another part wanted to be anywhere else. He tapped the side of the bed along with the beat of the music and glared at the stars on his ceiling.

He thought he heard a knock at the door and pulled out his earbuds. "Yeah?" There was no response. Lance shrugged and was about to put his earbuds back in when he felt a shiver race along his spine. It felt like someone was watching him, but that was impossible. Unless there were hidden cameras or something . . . but why would there be hidden cameras? He shook his head. He was being ridiculous. No one wanted to sit around watching him sleep.

Blue paladin . . . Lance jumped. That was a voice. A creepy, scratchy kind of voice that belonged in a horror movie. And it was inside his head. It felt similar to the way the blue lion talked to him, except it was terrifying instead of comforting.

"Who's that?" he asked. "And what are you doing in my head?"

I am Haggar. And you are the weakest of the paladins.


Author's Note: I was going to make this a lot longer, but that just seemed like the perfect chapter ending. :) Sorry. I should be able to post the next chapter within the next couple of days though if that makes you feel better.