A/N: And here's the second chapter, as promised. Two chapters in one day. Y'all're spoiled. XD I had fun writing this, especially the last bit. I dropped a pretty huge hint as to how Lance and Allura's siblings died.

If you want to see a tame version of what kind of deaths they experienced, watch Hercule Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia which can be found on Netflix or at this link: www. you tube (dot com, forward slash) watch?v =K56Wv _dBF1w (without spaces). The death occurs at 1:00:48-1:01:43 in the YouTube video. Side note, David Suchet is my one and only Poirot.

ALSO, I have fanart now! Yay. Here's the link: triscribe. tumblr (dot com, forward slash) image / 151546412229

Chapter summary: In which Sendak suspects 'Katie,' Hunk and Coran make contact, and Lance refuses to submit to the nightmarish reality.

26: Liquefy Stone

Haxus returned not two tecks later breathing hard. "Commander Sendak," he called, running into the crystal chamber. "The paladin wasn't anywhere near the main engine room. I believe he may be traveling through the air vents."

Sendak released Lance's face and stood, narrowing his one golden eye at his second in command. "I see." He glanced at the few vents along the ceiling of the room suspiciously. "Check for any communications originating from within the Castle," he ordered. "It's unlikely the paladin knows the entire vent system by memory."

Lance snorted, earning him a glare. "What?" the prince taunted. "I sneezed."

Sendak bared his teeth. Restraining himself was becoming a battle of self-control he did not wish to devote his valuable mental control towards. Not with a saboteur aboard. Haxus ignored the Altean's display in favor of obeying his commander's order. He approached the control panel he'd vacated tecks ago and began a search of any communication signals by hand.

"Sir," Haxus exclaimed. "I found one." A few quick keystrokes and a female voice Lance knew intimately well rang over the room's speakers.

"There's not much time before they get the ship up and running again," the woman said. "I need you to shut off the particle barrier so we can get inside."

"On it," a younger voice Lance knew belonged to Pidge. "What do I do Katie?"

Katie?

"The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull," 'Katie' explained urgently.

"She's telling the intruder how to dismantle our defenses," Haxus growled angrily.

"Yes," Sendak said, studying the Altean prince's face closely. He'd noticed the distinct pallor that had stolen the life from the Altean's complexion when the woman began speaking. "But she's also giving us the exact location of our spy," he said.

Lance looked up at Sendak and met his glare with one of his own. The Galra snorted. The edge from the Altean's glare was nowhere near as sharp as it had been. Most interesting.

"Sentries," he ordered the robot foot soldiers standing by the crystal chamber's entrance. "Find the particle barrier generator and kill the paladin when he shows himself."

As the robots left in a synchronized march, Sendak continued. "In the meantime, Haxus," he said, "repair the engine. The emperor is expecting us to bring him Voltron and the little prince. It would be rude of us to make him wait."

"Vrepit sa, sir," Haxus said, and began typing away, making repairs as quickly as he could from up here.

"I take it this 'Katie' is someone you hold dear," Sendak said, taking note of the way the prince flinched. He smiled. "I promise to extend the best of Galran hospitality to her when we find her."

The Altean glared. "I'll kill you before you get the chance," he growled.

Sendak laughed. "Well, well," he said. "It has a bite, after all. Too bad it can't sink its fangs in. For that, I promise to dispatch her myself, in front of you of course. Wouldn't want to deprive you of a farewell, now would we?"

Lance felt his heart sink in his chest, wriggling his wrist against the restraints. The movements sent pangs of stinging pain up his spine, but it was tolerable. If he could get out of here and protect Allura, he would. It was his duty. But more importantly, she was his sister. He had to protect her. He couldn't stand the thought of watching her suffer the safe horrific fate of their siblings.

He'd die first.

"Unidentified vessel. Identify yourself and declare your destination and purpose here."

"Well," Coran said, shrugging. "I guess it was too much to hope our arrival would be completely missed."

He descended the pod through the Balmera's atmosphere a little quicker.

"Unidentified craft. Respond now or be shot down."

"Um, Coran, maybe we should answer them," Hunk said. "You know, so we don't die."

Coran sighed and opened a channel. "Um, hello. No offense meant," he began, ignoring the way the yellow paladin covered his face with his hand. "We don't intend to land. Just passing through."

"Unidentified craft. Land now and prepare to be boarded."

"Whoops," Coran chirped, his humor unsullied by the Galra's intimidation. "Whelp, it was worth a try."

"Coran," Hunk said. "Please don't."

"Hold on."

The Altean pulled back on the controls, pulling the pod up short just as an enormous Galra vessel materialized through the clouds directly above them. Coran pressed two buttons and tipped the nose of the pod down before adding power. The pod blasted into a wobbly, inelegant loop that spit it out facing the way they'd come. Hunk clung to the armrests of his chair and prayed he wouldn't cover the pod's interior with vomit as Coran sped across the Balmera's surface towards a huge, cavernous pit.

"The poor creature," Coran mourned. "The Galra have turned it into a mining colony. There's not a crystal in sight. For such a gentle creature like a Balmera to meet such a cruel fate…" He shook his head, oblivious to his companion's discomfort. "This is truly unforgivable."

Hunk was mildly confused by the way the Altean referred to the Balmera. "You're talking about it like it's alive," he said, swallowing a burp. "I thought the Balmera was a planet."

"Oh no, not at all," Coran said, tipping the pod's nose down into the nearest mining pit to avoid the Galra vessel currently chasing them and gaining on them. "The Balmera are living creatures. They're petrified but alive. They naturally produce the crystals we use to power our technology. The process of harvesting a crystal is a delicate thing. The Balmera willingly gives us one of its crystals and, in exchange, we give them some of our life force to heal the wound left behind."

He sighed dreamily as he dove the craft, all while Hunk screamed in terror next to him. "Ah yes," he reminisced. "I remember when my grandfather came here to harvest crystals to build the Castle of Lions. I came with him a few times when he harvested some of the smaller crystals. It was an experience to remember."

Hunk kept screaming and they kept going down. "Huh, strange," Coran said thoughtfully. "I wonder why we haven't seen the bottom yet."

"You wonder?!" Hunk cried. "You mean you didn't know how deep this thing was before you dropped us down here? What is wrong with you?"

"What?" Coran said, turning to the yellow paladin with an expression of honest confusion. "You didn't want us to be captured now, did you?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then this was the best thing to do," Coran said, waving his hands.

"Don't let go of the controls!"

"Besides," Coran continued seriously, "this sight breaks my heart. This is just beyond cruel. The Galra should pay dearly for what they've done to this magnificent creature."

"Just land this thing and I'll throw up all over them if we find them," Hunk said, looking very green.

"Oh, you would do that?" Coran cried excitedly. "That would be a sight to see. You must do that."

Hunk could only flash the advisor an 'OK' sign with his hand and focus on controlling his breathing. Eventually, the Altean pulled the pod up and landed it gently on the ground. When Coran raised the particle shield acting as the cockpit roof, Hunk immediately unbuckled himself and threw himself to the Balmera's solid surface.

"Ground," he cheered. "Solid ground. Bless you." He sniffed tearfully. "I love you."

"Your human habits are very confusing," Coran said, stepping out of the pod next to Hunk. He tilted his head and watched as the yellow paladin literally kissed the ground. "Very confusing indeed."

Footsteps echoed through one of the earthen tunnels near where the Altean and paladin had landed. Hunk tensed and sat up, drawing his bayard and activating it. "Don't come any closer," Hunk called to whoever or whatever approached them. "I have a giant gun and I'm not sure how to use it."

"That's…not very encouraging," Coran said, eyeing the yellow paladin in disappointment.

Glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness and Hunk tightened his grip on his bayard, but didn't fire right away. He was glad he'd waited. The people who emerged from the darkness were not what he was expecting.

"Hey," Hunk said, lowering his weapon, "you're not Galra."

"Nor are you," the being on the left said in a distinctly female voice.

The being on the right looked up when a whirring sound wafted down the cavern they stood in. Hunk followed the being's gaze and saw a Galra-made ship descending towards them, sending beams of red light in a circular pattern.

"A patrol!" the being declared. "Shay, we must take leave of these creatures now."

"No!" Hunk cried. "Wait. Don't leave us here."

"Yes," Coran said. "If the Galra find us they're torture us."

"Or kill us," Hunk added.

"Or keep us as pets to play with how they please," Coran sad, wriggling his finger in a creepy fashion. Hunk stared at the Altean in horror.

"They'd do that?" he gasped.

"Not our problem, Hairy Lip," the male creature said.

"Wait," the female, Shay, said. "All these years only Galra have ever been seen here. I cannot turn my back on the skylings."

The male grimaced, eventually caving under the female's pleading gaze. "Vex," he muttered in annoyance. "Grab a side," he ordered the others.

Hunk hesitated until he realized the creatures were literally going to pick up and carry the pod into one of the side tunnels. He immediately, deactivated his bayard and helped the creatures lift the pod. When Coran added his surprising strength to the mix, they were able to move the pod into a tunnel and around a corner so it was hidden from the patrol's view.

"Thanks for that," the yellow paladin said gratefully. "I'm Hunk and this is Coran."

"I am Shay," the female said. "This one," she said, gesturing to the male next to her, "is my brother Rax. How did you fall to us?"

"We're actually looking for something," Hunk said. "You guys might be the help we need."

"We're looking for a battleship class crystal," Coran said.

Shay straightened, her yellow eyes growing wide. Her brother, however, narrowed his eyes in distaste. "Of course you are," he growled. "You come to take as they all do. To take and give nothing back."

"Actually," Coran said, "if we can get the crystal back to our friends, we plan to return and offer the energy exchange required."

"Your words are nothing," Rax said, turning on his heel and leaving. "We will not help you."

Shay watched her brother leave, glancing back at Hunk and Coran with worry. "Come with me," she said eventually. "The elder shall decide your fate. If your words be as true as you say, then I pray favor shall befall you and this one."

Hunk smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I mean it."

"Why do you seek the crystals of the Balmera?" the wizened elder Shay introduced them to asked.

Coran opened his mouth to reply, but Hunk answered faster. "My friend needs help," he said. "He was wounded defending his sister from an explosion the Galra set. If he doesn't get the medical attention he needs, then… Actually," Hunk said, bowing his head, "I'm not sure what'll happen if he doesn't get into one of the healing pods. He could be fine and I'm just worrying, or he could die."

"The young man in question is the prince," Coran said, picking up where the yellow paladin left off. "He is, in every way that matters, my nephew. Please, he and his sister are the last of their family line. If they die, then there will be no one left."

"Not to mention, we'd be down a paladin," Hunk mumbled. "I left him behind once and he got captured. I can't let that happen again. Please," he pleaded, "help me."

The elder gazed at him over the fire. When she looked away, Hunk felt as if her decision had been made but he didn't say anything. Instead, he waited for her to speak.

"You say you will complete the energy exchange just as those of old did to heal the Balmera of her wounds," the elder said. It hadn't been a question and Hunk didn't move to answer, neither did Coran. "None have completed such an exchange for years long passed."

"No," a larger being Hunk had begun referring to as Balmerans in his mind said gravely. "They have not. We feel the Balmera's pain, but we labor on as we must. At least we have family." He gazed at the Balmerans sitting around the fire with the elder with the fondness of a parent.

Hunk's heart ached as he thought of his own parents. Did they know what happened to him? Did the Garrison report him dead just like they'd done with Shiro and the rest of the Kerberos mission? Would he ever get to see his family again? Would he ever get to leave a ho'okupu for Pele with his family again?

"I understand," Hunk said slowly, bowing his head. "I do. I haven't seen my family in a long time. Now I probably won't see them for even longer. But," he raised his head and gazed directly at the elder, "if I go to them now, then the Galra will probably take over my home planet and everything I know and love will be destroyed. So I'll do what I have to to protect them."

The elder held Hunk's gaze unblinkingly. Her yellow eyes were ageless and bright, a stark contrast to her aged body. Hunk knew to respect those who had seen and heard more than he had.

"The Galra have not set foot upon your home?" the elder asked in surprise.

Hunk nodded. "Not yet," he said. "But if we don't fight them they will. It's only a matter of time."

"Fight?" Shay gasped, pressing a hand over her flat chest. She dropped her gaze and placed her other hand on the ground. The area around her hand began to glow and a sound Hunk knew was the Balmera's moaning voice filled his ears. "We cannot fight," Shay said.

"You don't have to," Hunk said gently. "I think you should, but it's not my choice. I think every race in the universe deserves to be free. If they won't or can't fight for that, then I'll do it for them."

"You speak as one who has lived more periods than you appear to have lived," the elder said astutely.

Hunk shrugged self-consciously. "I don't know about that," he said awkwardly, running a hand through his black hair. "My country values freedom. It's something we often take for granted. My family trained me not to think that way."

"Your family is wise," the Balmera father said, offering Hunk a smile.

The yellow paladin returned the smile. "Yeah," he said sadly. "Yeah they are. I can't be with them right now, but I can think about them and fight for them."

"Um," Shay said softly. "What is 'free'?"

Hunk blinked in surprise and stared at Shay in shock. "You… You don't know what freedom is?" Shay shook her head and Hunk something ache in his chest. "Then I'll fight to make sure you experience it one day," he swore.

He missed how the elder looked at him, but Coran didn't.

"Move your smegs," Sendak shouted at the sentries on the view screen. "How can you be outwitted and outmaneuvered by one paladin?"

Lance grinned. "Because a robot's no match for a brain," he said. "Or half a robot in your case."

Sendak snarled at the prince. The despicable Altean had the audacity to smirk at him and it infuriated the Galra. It took too much concentration to keep his temper in check.

"Haxus," he said, keeping his glare on the prisoner as he spoke, "when will you be finished with the repairs to the engine?"

"I've done all I can from here, sir," Haxus said, straightening his stance. "I need to make a few more adjustments from the engine room itself. Then we should be ready to launch on your command."

"Good," Sendak said. "See to it then. When you get there, call the bridge. That's where we'll be." He grinned. "I see no reason why we shouldn't observe our victory from the room with the best view."

The Altean glared at Sendak as Haxus left, but it was without bite. Sendak chuckled. Soon, he promised himself. The moment they made it into space, Sendak would begin exacting his well-deserved vengeance on the prince. He would make the rebellious Altean submit before turning him over to Zarkon. He doubted the emperor would mind if the prince's will was broken when he received him.

He grabbed the prince with his Druid-enhanced arm and yanked him to his feet. The Altean screamed as the metal irritated the wounds on his back and his arms wriggled in a useless attempt to free himself. It was but a tease compared to what Sendak would enjoy once they got off this retched planet.

"What's the matter?" he asked the struggling Altean. "No fangs to match your bark?"

The prince ignored him, but it didn't bother Sendak. "Perhaps your little friend would enjoy hearing your voice," he wondered, digging one of his metal fingers into the prince's back.

"Quiznack you," the prince snapped in a strained voice.

Sendak snarled and dropped the Altean back to the ground, watching as the prince staggered awkwardly on his feet.

"You have quite the bark for a pacifist berry-muncher," he commented. "According to the stories, your siblings didn't put up nearly as much of a fight as you." The prince bowed his head and slumped against the wall, gasping but otherwise silent. "It is unfortunate that I couldn't watch your species crumble into the ashes where you belong. I'm told it was quite the sight to behold."

The Altean lifted his head and glared at Sendak with a fury the Galra could actually admire. The commander laughed. "I like those eyes of yours," he said. "I wonder what they would look like under the effects of muriatic acid."

The color drained from the prince's face entirely.

"Did they scream as they died?" Sendak asked. The prince remained silent, his eyes wide and unseeing, breathing hard, lost in his own mind as the Galra commander closed in. "What a symphony. A pity I couldn't have been there to hear it." He drew a metal finger along the Altean's deathly pale face and leered at his prisoner. "It must haunt your dreams at night," he murmured just loud enough for the prince to hear. "Do you blame yourself for out-living them? For watching their eyes liquefy and their skin dissolve in front of you? Did you try to save them or did you flee from them, leaving them to their fates? How is it that you survived and they didn't? You who was born to die."

Sendak's smile grew as he watched the prince's form begin to shake. He brushed the tears spilling over the Altean's cheeks in a mockery of affection.

"I think you stayed," he said softly, watching the Altean's pupils shrink to mere pinpricks in a sea of dark blue. "I think you stayed to watch them die. Did you enjoy it? Were you relieved it was them and not you suffering, dying? Did you do the same to your sister when she died while in stasis? Did you stare at her dead body in those pods of yours? Was it withered beyond recognition or was it perfectly preserved from the moment of death? Is it still there? Did you keep it to remind you of the others you watched die? You're even sicker than I am," he chuckled in amusement.

Sendak had expected a response, but not the kind he received.

The prince's pupils grew, swallowing the irises an instant before the Altean slammed his forehead into Sendak's, bit a furred ear, and jammed his knee into Sendak's vulnerable crotch. Sendak roared in pained fury, reeling back from the unexpected assault.

"You filthy monstrosity," he thundered, slashing at the prince with his Druid-enhance arm in fury.

He was pleased to hear the gratifying sound of the Altean's shriek of surprise followed by a grunt of pain as the prince was thrown to the floor by the blow. Sendak stood, pulling his arm back to its usual length, the humming purple energy connecting it to his shoulder obeying his mental command. He stalked up to the Altean lying limp on the floor, twitching in pain.

The prince opened his eyes and met Sendak glare for glare. Despite himself, Sendak was pleased. The boy still had fight in him. That meant he would have more time to break him efficiently. He kicked the Altean over so he lay on his back, pinning his bound arms beneath him. It must be uncomfortable, especially considering his preexisting wounds. Pity.

Sendak reached down with his enhanced arm and made to grab the prisoner's body when he noticed something he'd missed before. The prince's clothes were torn by Sendak's enhanced claws leaving thin streaks of blood behind. The cuts weren't deep. They probably wouldn't even scar. However, they weren't what Sendak noticed.

The torn cloth had fallen away from the Altean's neck revealing a distinct bruise any Galra would recognize on sight. He traced his metal claw down the prince's neck and pressed against the bruise.

"So," he purred, watching the Altean's face once again drain of its color, "that's how you convinced the halfbreed to help you escape. You had him mate you." He dug his claw just deep enough to break the skin. "You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you Altean," he said. "You knew he wouldn't be able to resist his mate. Did you leave him to die after you escaped?"

The prince said nothing.

"Disgusting," Sendak cursed. "Your promiscuous race was a blot on the universe. I bet you don't even know the meaning of loyalty."

The Altean remained silent.

Sendak huffed and clamped his metal hand around the prince's body, hauling him up. "You disgust me," he said. "But the emperor wants you alive so I shall deliver you to him alive. But if you think you'll be in one piece when you finally leave my care, you're gravely mistaken."

Silence answered him, but Sendak didn't care. He carried the Altean to the bridge. He had more important things to deal with than a member of an extinct race who should've stayed dead.