Keith didn't remember getting dragged to his cell. Or the collar they fit around his neck. Or even falling asleep in that cold room with tears dried on his cheeks. He didn't remember being dragged upright and pulled back to the torture chamber, passing out from agony as the Galran guards dragged him by his arms, the bullet in his shoulder spurting blood and pulsing like a heartbeat.

All he knew was that when he woke up, his makeshift bandages were gone, and he was back on the examination table.

Keith wanted to start crying again at the cold metal against his newly-scarred back. Because of him, because of his stupid fucking mistakes, he was never going home. He had promised himself he wouldn't screw up like he used to. That he wouldn't let himself get carried away by reckless decisions and pure adrenaline that made him make stupid mistakes. If he'd gone with Lance and Pidge back then, escaped with them rather than staying and fighting for the glory…

Maybe he wouldn't be in this situation.

Keith choked on a soundless sob.

He wanted to see Shiro. He wanted Shiro to embrace him in that comforting hug that just radiated safety and warmth. Never in his life - not even after he'd been pronounced dead at Kerberos - had Keith wanted to see his brother more.

The door slid open with a hiss. Keith turned his head, his new collar scraping and bumping against the metal under him, not even bothering to blink his tears away. He recognized his visitor, a sick feeling growing in his stomach. Laynek's hard, yellow eyes were gleaming at him with a sick sort of fascination, glee Keith had never seen before on a Galran's face stretching his mouth into a soulless grin.

"At last," he hissed. "You're done for."

A tiny, hopeful part of Keith wanted him to bare his teeth and fix Laynek with the hardest glare he could. Because he was not done for, he was not, he was not…

Wasn't he?

His escape attempt was his last chance and he'd overlooked everything. Lotor, the guards, even obstacles in his way. Now, he was paying the price for his incompetence.

He'd killed Galran soldiers to get what he wanted.

And he'd still lost.

Lotor had been playing him like a deck of cards, and instead of dealing out the devastating hand he had, Keith walked right into Lotor's trap.

Keith had placed down a queen. Lotor had given him a sly smile and set down the king.

Laynek hissed a horrible laugh as tears pooled into Keith's eyes once again. "Look at you. A Red Paladin so full of fire and fury...reduced to this. To nothing. No longer a Paladin of the mighty Voltron. Just a prisoner. A prisoner, sniveling in his own rags. "

He leaned forwards, claws wrapping around Keith's injured arm. Keith hissed in pain, trying to shift away, but found himself trapped as Laynek lifted his bound wrist off of the table with seemingly no effort at all. His claws grazed Keith's wound, sending pinpricks of pain up Keith's spine.

"This…" Laynek fixed Keith with a cold glare. "Is for the soldiers you killed. Weak they may have been...their fate should not have been sealed by a half breed."

Laynek's claws dug into Keith's partially-closed wound and ripped into it, tearing flesh away. Keith let out a high-pitched scream of pain, smashing his head back against the table so hard he saw stars. The collar clanged loudly. Laynek seemed amused by the noise, digging his claws into the wound and pulling the skin up and up. He tore apart Keith's elbow as Keith begged and pleaded for Laynek to stop but he didn't.

"Were you proud of this wound, Prisoner?" Laynek taunted. "Did you think it was a symbol of your strength? That you could overpower two Galran guards and manage to escape?"

"N-No…" Keith whimpered, hating how pathetic he sounded. How small his voice was.

"I think you're lying."

Keith screamed again as Laynek's claws tore grooves into his flesh. Blood slid over Laynek's hands, seeping from in between his fingers and drip, dripping onto the floor. Keith felt dizzy. Light-headed with blood loss and pain.

Laynek tore at Keith's flesh like it was nothing more than paper, shredding it in his iron grip in a ceaseless cycle of agony. Keith sobbed, the skin of his throat straining against the collar.

"Unfortunately, your right arm is off-limits," Laynek sneered, pausing in his ruthless ripping for a moment. "Haggar wants that arm for herself."

Keith's heart suddenly felt like it was pumping out ice because suddenly everything seemed very cold. Dread Keith didn't realize he could feel pooled into his gut and froze everything down to his toes. Haggar's gentle, horrible laugh echoed through his head, her lips trailing burning lines across his face.

The collar suddenly felt far too tight. He could hardly breathe with it on, as it was pressing painfully against the purple and yellow bruises mottled onto his throat. He tried not to think of Haggar - of her words - but it was no use.

"I have no need of you now, but I will soon."

His arm. Oh god, she still wanted his arm.

"I hope you will be as enticing of a pet as the Champion was."

No. God, please no.

Keith choked on his own fear as Laynek let out a bellowing laugh and dropped Keith's arm back onto the table. It hit the cold metal with a painful squelch that made Keith's own stomach rebel. The cuffs slid back mechanically, magnetism keeping him from moving. A trail of smeared blood marked the trail in some horrible imitation of the motion one would make to do a snow-angel. Except this wasn't beautiful and full of childish glee. This was full of copper and iron; crimson, revolting and tainted.

Failure, failure, failure.

My arm, my arm, my arm.

Keith chanted the words in his head like a mantra. He couldn't escape them, not the dread, not the inevitable loss of something as important to him as his arm.

He wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't lost. If he hadn't failed his escape attempt.

Maybe this was retribution. A way to atone for all the lives he'd taken, ultimately, for nothing. A way to show Keith that he was never getting out. That his fate was to stay here in the Galra's grasp, while his teammates went off to save the universe.

He'd rather die.

Keith sobbed again. Half in pain, half in fear.

He would rather die than get his arm sawed off. Rather die than to live with himself right now. With the weight of failure pressing in against his chest.

Laynek chuckled high above him. "Say your farewells to your arm, Prisoner. Perhaps then, you will be humbled."

Keith could only cry in response.

Five days.

It had been five days since Shiro had let his little brother down. Since he'd let Keith get captured.

And he'd hated every single moment of it.

They'd sent out a transmission to Lotor two days ago, now. There was still no response.

The Castle of Lions was falling apart. Allura seemed more and more exhausted, clearly not getting enough sleep. Coran as well, endlessly searching for a signal from Keith's armor. Pidge and Hunk had locked themselves in Pidge's workshop, trying endlessly to perfect their tracker. Allura had tried to pry the quintessence out of the Red Lion, but the attempt had left her exhausted and barely able to speak.

They hadn't tried it again.

Shiro hadn't seen Lance. Last he knew, Lance had tried to clean Keith's room of any space dust that had gathered, had broken down on the floor at the sight of the boy's knife on the table. After that, he'd hidden himself away in his room. Shiro didn't know if he came back out.

Shiro himself was falling apart all the same.

The nightmares had gotten worse. With no one to help him cope, with endless, horrible scenarios of what they could be doing to Keith running through his head, Shiro was restless. Terrified beyond belief and desperate to see Keith again. To make sure he was okay. That he was alive.

Shiro wouldn't be able to live with himself if Keith died out there. Alone and scared, tortured beyond the person he used to be.

God, Shiro was so, so scared.

Then, when Allura called him onto the bridge for a private meeting, Shiro found himself even more terrified. Afraid of another transmission where Keith would have even more bruises around his neck; bloody and injured beyond what Shiro could imagine.

God, what if they took his arm like they took mine-

The door to the bridge slid open, banishing the thought before Shiro could do it himself.

Allura was waiting for him, her expression pinched as she watched a transmission on a large holographic screen over and over again. The Galra on the screen had tumbling white hair and far-too perfect skin.

Lotor.

Shiro's heart leapt into his throat. "Did he reply?"

Allura gave a single, terse nod. "Yes."

Shiro all but scrambled to her side, looking for any sign of Keith over Lotor's shoulder, or any indication of where he was. Unfortunately, Lotor appeared to have thought this transmission through, as he was standing in a dark room with no distinguishable features aside from himself in frame.

Shiro swore under his breath.

"Can we trace it?" He asked.

"No," Allura said. She turned to look at Shiro. "I...want to show you his terms. But I must warn you...the things he speaks about - about Keith - they are-"

"I don't care," Shiro interrupted. "I just want to know how we can get him back."

Allura's frowned deepened, but nodded and didn't protest. She turned back to the screen and with the slightest inclination of her head, the transmission started over.

"Paladins of Voltron," Lotor's tone was too light. Too conversational for the topic at hand. It made the hairs rise on the back of Shiro's neck. "I'm pleased to hear you've accepted my terms. If all goes well, your Red Paladin will be returned to you, none the worse for wear."

"Liar," Shiro snarled under his breath. Allura tensed next to him.

"However," Lotor said. "I must warn you. He made an escape attempt earlier. He was subdued after a bit of a chase, and his punishment will be the removal of his right arm, for experimentation. Our witch has never had a half-breed's flesh to examine before."

Shiro felt like hurling.

Keith's arm. They wanted his arm.

Just like they wanted Shiro's.

God, why Keith? What had that poor kid done wrong?

Shiro wished he knew the answer.

"As for the terms of our alliance…" Lotor's grin stretched across his face. "We will meet in the Nayak System in three quintants. There, we will exchange the Lions of Voltron for the Red Paladin. However... broken he is."

Shiro took a furious step forward, forgetting Lotor could not hear him. "What did you do to him? What the hell did you do to him?!"

Allura placed her hand on his flesh arm, the touch grounding him. Shiro started and glanced back at her. Her jeweled eyes were wet with tears.

"I will see you there." Lotor grinned widely. "I look forward to meeting you all."

The screen cut out then, like an old TV being turned off. Anger simmered in Shiro's veins, white-hot and bubbling. He felt like screaming, throwing something, and sobbing uncontrollably all at the same time.

"That's too long," Shiro snarled. "We-I...that can't happen. We have to arrange sooner. Keith's already been gone five days, we can't make that a week, we can't-"

"Shiro," Allura's voice was strained. "I know. I know we can't but those are the terms. If we want Keith back, that is what we must abide by."

"Like hell we have to!"

Shiro couldn't remember the last time he'd been this angry. Has such a violent urge to beat the living daylights out of a certain Galran prince. The last time he'd been remotely close to this agitated was when Adam had landed himself into the hospital shoving a couple out of the way of an oncoming semi.

But Shiro hadn't been angry then.

Just very, very scared.

"I'm sorry," Allura's voice was small. "We...we have to. I don't know what else they're doing to him, but I...we now know they want his arm...Shiro I'm...I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Shiro said. "If anything it's...it's mine. I pulled away when there was still a chance for Keith to get out. I-"

"No," Allura said. "I agreed to that mission in the first place. None of this blame should fall on you. It should be I, for planning and going through with it."

Shiro bristled. "Allura-"

The door slid open. Both Shiro and Allura turned to see Coran, out of breath and holding an Altean communicator in his hand. He leaned against the doorframe, panting and his mustache unkempt and sticking up in weird directions.

"Coran?" Allura spoke. Her voice was congested. She was holding back tears. "What is the matter?"

"The coalition rebels, Princess," Coran held out the communicator, gasping for breath every other word. "They've got their eyes on a rather large Galran ship, hiding in the Nayak System."

Shiro's heart skipped a beat. Allura's eyes were just as wide as his.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Coran said.

"Lotor's terms," Shiro said, hardly daring to breathe as he looked at Allura. "He wants us to meet in the Nayak System. What if he's there already? Just orbiting? Waiting for us?"

"We could organize an assault," Allura breathed, reading Shiro's mind. "Have the coalition strike before we even get there to assemble a trade."

"Then we don't have to go undercover on a mission that might get more of us caught," Shiro breathed.

"Then…" Allura's eyes were shining with something Shiro hadn't seen in the castle in five days.

Hope.

"We get Keith back," Shiro said.

Allura flapped her hand at Coran. "Contact the rebels immediately. Tell them to attack that ship. I want them to know that prisoners are their top priority and to be on the lookout for Keith."

"Understood, Princess," Coran had regained some of his old swagger while Allura and Shiro had been speculating. He turned on his heel and hurried down the hallway, his footsteps clicking into silence.

Allura turned to Shiro, wearing her first genuine smile in five days. "We don't have to wait."

Shiro returned it, a weight feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "We don't have to wait." He affirmed.

Allura let out a half-sob half-laugh as she threw her arms around herself in some kind of self-hug. Shiro looked out the bridge window, at the stars blinking all around them and willed Keith silently to be strong. Just for a little while longer.

Hold on, buddy. Shiro thought, hands curling into fists. His prosthetic creaked. Help is on the way.

Yess a little bit of hope!

God knows they all need that after what they've been through. Unfortunately, Keith doesn't get that spark of hope because he doesn't know. Hopefully, they get there in time before Keith loses something he does not want to lose.

Thank you so much for reading! The continued love and support you guys give as this story keeps going gives me life. I really appreciate it. Truly!

Thank you! 3

Rehabilitated Sith: I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not lol

Angel of the Honey Bees: ! Aw that's so nice! I'm glad an update makes you so happy :D And this comment was super sweet and made me smile uncontrollably when I read it! Thank you thank you 3 As for poor Keith...he's in for even more suffering. I'm not done with him yet, that's for sure. Specifically with that Haggar and Keith situation. It'll just be a wild ride and will definitely be the hardest part for Keith to accept when he ever gets out. Thank you so so much for reading! Your reviews never fail to put a stupid big grin on my face!

Saany: Nope! I'm not done with Keith yet! Damn Lotor always getting in the way. He's a jackass, but he is a damn smart jackass. It will get better! But for right now it'll just be bad for a little bit. Poor Keith :(