Long time no see! I'm sorry for the long long delay. i had a lot going on, I got the Covid, I had to work as an essential worker, and I never had any time nor energy to write. Anyways, here is the next chapter. I'm sorry if it's a bit shorter than the previous!

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, like the stampeding of horse hooves against the floor. Her breath came out in rapid shallow pants. Where was she? Was she running? From who? Blinking, she glanced around, and her caramel brown eyes widened. She knew this neighborhood… The brick walls with ivy leaking out over the tops… The pot hole in the road that still hadn't been filled. Her feet carried her closer, as her eyes searched for a sign of danger. No black sedans, no henchmen… She stopped in front of her home. Her nose wrinkled in confusion. Wait, seriously how did she get here?

He grinned in the kiss, and licked into her open mouth. His tongue traced the roof of her pallet.

She aggressively melded her mouth against his and growled against his mouth.

Pidge sloppily tangled her tongue with his. Snarls escaped her lips as she made out with him.

Her hand tangled more in his hair, and she angrily bit at his lips before trying to dominate the kiss.

She shook her head. What the hell was that? Why couldn't she remember? Pidge absentmindedly touched her lips. Did she? No. There was no way. With a grumble she opened the door to her home. Once in, she closed the door. "Mom?" She cautiously walked past the hallway and staircase. She popped her head into the kitchen. There was no one there. "Wait… My mom was in the hospital…" Of course, she wouldn't be home. What was going on?

A creak upstairs shook her out of her thoughts. Her breath hitched. There should be no one here? She reached down to turn on her shoes… Her breath caught in her throat. She was barefoot. "Ok… no need to panic. I'll just use my…" Her eyes trailed to her wrist, "watch…." There was no watch present. Pidge took a shuddering breath, and instead grabbed a frying pan from the sink. "Ok… I got this." She quietly made her way out of the kitchen, and slowly ascended the old wooden stair case. She had just made it to the final step, when the wood creaked loudly. Fuck!

"Katie? Is that you dear?" Her mother's voice echoed out of the bedroom.

Her defensive stance faltered, and she lowered the frying pan. "Mom? But? I thought you were at the hospital." Pidge entered the room to find her mother not present. "What the quiznak?"

She exited her mother's bedroom with a sigh. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she leaned against the door frame. She had to be hearing things. She must be hallucinating. Working way too hard… Maybe Keith was right, and god wasn't that a scary thought? With a small chuckle, she made her way to her bedroom. Which was a mess… Just the way she left it. Groaning she entered and began tidying up. Grabbing her notebooks, she approached her desk and paused. Her hand reached out as she traced the beautiful gold leaf and flower hairclips. "Where did these come from? I don't own anything like…"

Golden leaved lingered in her hair, and within the buns were golden flowers.

She gasped and dropped it to the floor.

Pidge lowered the aim mechanism on her watch and sneered. "Lights out asshole."

"Oh, my quiznak…" She remembered now! Pidge paced in her room. "I was kidnapped by Lotor…. I was in Hong Kong! But how am I here? I'm so confused!"

A loud bang echoed in the house, and she jumped.

Pidge quickly ran downstairs and gasped as the smell of iron assaulted her nose. Bring her hand up to her face she covered it and her body began trembling. "N-no…." She took a shaky step forward and bumped into the wooden door frame.

Light illuminated the kitchen, and she wretched, her body dry heaving.

A sea of blood shone in the moonlight, and in it lay bodies….

With a shuddering breath, she wadded into the room. The blood squelching and soaking her bare feet and legs. Biting back the urge to re vomit, her eyes spotted something that made her freeze. The familiar ugly green jacket with an orange stripe could only belong to one person…. She clenched her eyes shut and took shuddering breaths to calm herself. She opened her eyes again, and flinched. His throat had been slashed open… His lifeless blue eyes gazing at nothing…. She screamed, and ran to the entrance of the dinning room. Her leg hit something, and she stumbled and quickly grabbed the edge of the dining room table. She almost fell into the blood. With a shudder she squinted her eyes, the moonlight had faded leaving her in pitch black darkness. She could vaguely make out what she had stumbled into. It was large like a log, round and…

"O-Oh god no!" She sobbed and quickly tried to climb onto the table. The blood rippled around her, and she cried hysterically when she finally managed to climb on the table. Snot dribbled down her nose, and she quickly wiped it away, and cringed when she smeared blood on her face. She slowly started rocking herself back and forth on the table. "Oh god… Oh god…" Her gaze never left the once yellow shirt. "H-hunk, oh my god… I'm so sorry. Oh my god!" She was in hysterics. She clenched her eyes shut and gripped at her hair, not caring if she was getting blood in it. Her body rocked frantically on the wood, and it creaked ominously.

"Pidge! Where are you! Pidge?!"

Her head shot up towards the familiar voice. "K-Keith! I-I'm coming! K-Keith help!" She screamed, as she vaulted off the table. Blood splashed around her and she clenched her eyes shut again as she quickly waded through it. Her hand felt the grain of wood, and she opened her eyes. She had made it out of the kitchen.

"Pidge!" His voice echoed.

He was by the stair case! She bolted towards his voice. "Keith!" As she skidded by the stairs her eyes widened in relief as she saw him alive and only slightly injured. Pidge bolted into his open arms, and she sobbed hysterically. "L-Lance and Hunk! K-Keith! Th-they're dead! Blood! S-So much blood! W-We need to get out!" Her fingers dug into this shirt.

Keith hugged her tight. "I know Pidge. I'm so glad you're alright! I was knocked out… and…" He shivered and held her closer.

Pidge buried her face into his chest, and inhaled his scent. Anything to block out the strong iron building in her nostrils. Something warm dripped onto her head. She blinked and flinched when she felt it again on her face. "K-Keith..." She gasped when she was squeezed tightly. "C-can't b-breathe!"

Keith loomed over her. "…fault…"

She looked up him at and screamed.

"It's all your fault…." Blood dripped out from his mouth and onto her. A gurgle echoed from his throat. The same throat that had a blade sticking through it. "You…," Another mouthful of blood poured out of his mouth and onto her hair. "Because… of you…"

Pidge screamed and struggled within his hold. "Let me go! Keith! Keith!" She pounded at his chest in fear. She let out a startled yelp when the pressure was gone, and Keith fell back with a thud. "K-Keith?"

He lay still, blood pooling out around him. His violet eyes landed on her, and he smiled. "K…a….t..i…e.." He gurgled out her name as his eyes rolled up to the back of his head.

Pidge dropped to the floor next to him "No..No... no! God damnit Keith! This is not funny!" She frantically shook him, and when he did not move, she screamed in anguish. She let her head fall against his chest as she sobbed onto him.

"Tsk~ Tsk Tsk~"

Her head shot up, and she frantically scooted back, eyes wide on the shadow with glinting blades. "Look what you made me do Katie…" The figure took a step forward, and that was all she needed.

Pidge bolted to her room upstairs. She would have to jump out of the window to escape. Her exit was blocked by the murderer. Once inside her room, she slammed the door shut and locked it. Thinking quickly, she began pushing her dresser against the door. She had finished just in time.

The door knob jiggled.

"Really now my dear… You should know by now that I always get what I want. ~"

She shuddered, and backed up to the window. With a grunt she threw the window open, and met the swinging corpse of her hanged mother.

The corpse swung, and finally stilled. Her mom's eyes were wide open with terror, popping out of her sockets. Her hands frozen at the noose around her now broken neck.

Pidge fell to the ground and let out an anguished scream. "NO! NO! NO! MOM!" Her fists pounded against the floor in anger. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?! SICK BASTARD!" Tears fell to her floor. Her vision was hazy. Why… Why?... She couldn't breathe. The walls were closing in around her. Her breath came out in short pants. She couldn't breathe…. She… had... to... get…out….

Gentle hands placed themselves on her back, and rubbed in a soothing motion. One arm wrapped around her waist as it pulled her to sit on her rear, and flush against a chest. "Shhh… Breathe… That's it love… In… out…"

She found herself following the instructions. Her mind was screaming at her to move. That she was in danger, but her body wasn't following her commands. More tears streamed down her red stained cheeks. Her body laid weightlessly against them as her breathing slowly came down from its panic. Her vision was still hazy.

"There we go darling~ Nice and relaxed..." His hands pat her head, slicking back the blood-stained hair out of her face. Lips touched her neck and gently trailed down to her shoulder. Soft kisses laid in place.

Her body jolted at the action, and she found herself being held tighter. "L-Let m-m-me g-go! You bastard!" She snarled weakly, and struggled weakly. She could feel his lips morph into a smirk on her neck.

"There's the Katie I know and desire~" He grasped her chin and tilted her whole head up. He removed his lips from her neck and leaned over her.

Pidge's eyes widened through the haze, and her breathe stuck in her throat once again. No… No… No! This isn't possible! Silver locks draped around her as she found herself staring into familiar yellow orbs. "L-Lotor…." The pressure on her chin grew.

Lotor smiled wickedly. "Who else could it be darling?" Blood was splattered on him and his hair. It was fresh…

Pidge's heart thudded rapidly in her chest. "Y-you killed…." Her breathing picking up again, as tears cascaded down her cheeks. "W-why?"'

He smiled softly, and released her chin. He leaned to the side, still keeping his hold on her, and wiped away her tears. "Really? You have to ask me why? I thought you were smarter than that my little bird." He mocked as he continued to gently stroke her cheeks. "You know why."

Her body trembled. It was because she escaped? No that couldn't be! This wouldn't warrant such brutality!

Lotor kissed her cheeks with a grin. "You're mine Katie." He pulled her closer and ignored her struggling. "This is your fault darling. ~ If only you didn't run away from me…", he brought his lips to her ear, "they would still be alive."

Pidge wheezed as his words echoed in her ears. Her fault… This was all her fault…. No… her mom… Lance… Hunk… Keith… "N-No…" She pushed weakly at him. Her body giving up.

Lotor grinned and grabbed her hands. He planted a kiss to her knuckle. "Oh yes love! This is your reality now… Accept it, my beloved little bird."

Pidge jolted when something clamped to her wrists. Handcuffs? Her ankles felt heavy. Shackles? Her eyes widened when Lotor tilted her chin up again.

"You. Are. Mine." He roughly planted a demanding kiss on her.

Pain filled her, making her cry out into the kiss.

A loud bang echoed…

Pidge shot up screaming, her body flailing everywhere. Pain! So much pain!

"SHIT! Nyma! Beezer help me hold her down!"

Hands pushed her body down.

"Pidge! Honey please you're al-OUCH! My hair!"

Her heart thundered in her chest, her breathing erratic and pained.

"Pidge! Calm down! Pidge can you hear me! Its me! Its Rolo!"

Ro…lo…? That sounded familiar… But where? Her flailing slowly deceased. Rolo… her pen pal… She made it to his house after… after she got shot! Her body lay still as she tried to regain her breath. "R-Rolo?" She asked weakly.

White hair filled her vision. "Shh, calm yourself, in and out… Yes, Pidge its me." Hands gently placed themselves in her own. "You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

Tears leaked from her eyes. "R-Rolo… I… S-so much blood! D-death!" She shuddered.

Hands gently pat her head and ran fingers through her hair. "It was just a nightmare Pidge. Sweetie, you're safe… You gave us quite a scare!"

She blinked and glanced up. She'd recognize that gold and pink streaked hair anywhere. "N-nyma…" Pidge coughed, and let out a whimper of pain when the action jarred her abdomen.

Nyma moved, and very slowly helped her sit up. "Easy hun…"

Rolo handed Nyma a paper cup filled with water.

"Here, that's it, nice and slow. Small sips." She held the cup up to Pidge's lips

Cold…It felt so nice… Pidge greedily drank the contents of the cup. Her throat felt so raw and dry. She let out a content sigh as Nyma pulled the cup away. "T-thank you…" She glanced down at her form. She was in a really big light blue shirt with what she assumed to be boxer briefs on. Her whole chest down to her stomach was covered in bandaged. "W-What happened?" She croaked.

Nyma and Rolo shared looks. "Well… We're not too entirely sure ourselves… Rolo called me and Beezer in a panic telling us to rush over here."

She blinked. "Beezer is here?"

A grunt made her look up and around. Oh… he was by her IV bag poking a needle in her line… Wait? IV? She gazed around in confusion. Her eyes widened in a panic. "H-hospital?! I-I can't!
She winced as her abdomen pulled.

Beezer approached and fixed her pillows. He gently lied her back and smiled. He patted her head with his giant oversized hand. "Pidge, you know what I do for a living."

Her brow furrowed and it clicked. "Underground doctor… but if I'm not at a hospital where?"

"My place. Remember? You came to me ass late in the night, woke me up and just collapsed on my floor staining it with your blood… ".

Nyma smacked his head. "Have some tact moron!" She snarled, and smacked his head some more.

Rolo winced, and let out a startled yelp. "Ow! Nyma! You crazy bit- Yeowch!" He fell off his chair, as Nyma continued to beat him. "Oh shit- Ow! Not the heels! Nyma!"

"Calling me a bitch? Oh, I don't think so Rolo! Take that! And that!" She stomped on his waist.

Pidge's lips twitched upward at the familiar scene she had seen in her skype calls. A rumble built up in her throat as she let out a snort. She grunted when a large hand was placed over her head, and tussled her already messy hair. She peaked upward through her bangs at a smiling Beezer.

"Ignore those two idiots." He grunted and sat down in the chair that Rolo had been previously inhabiting. In his hand were a pencil and a note pad. He pulled back his hand from her head, and leaned back into the chair. "How are you feeling?" He asked over the arguing behind him. "Don't hold back on me. Remember I'm a doctor, and need to act accordingly to my patient's pain." His lips twitched into a small encouraging smile.

Pidge sighed and tried to not wince as she laid back against the pillows. "Honestly?" Her voice croaked. "I feel like death… but not too much pain…" Her eyes trailed to the IV fluid bag next to her. "But that could be because you gave me pain killers when I woke up…"

The sound of paper and pencil meeting echoed in the room, followed by a hum.

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. "How…. How bad", she swallowed as her voice cracked once again. "How bad were my wounds?" She clenched her sheets till her hands were white and trembling.

Beezer sighed and placed his pencil and paper down. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and leaned on his hands. His lips turned down, as his eyes turned sharp. "…."

She bit her lip. "That… that bad?"

He sighed. "Multiple small cuts all around your body, a scalp laceration, followed by a concussion, multiple bruises and contusions, a split lip," He paused and looked her directly in the eyes, "A shattered rib, following a punctured lung, and of course blood loss caused by all of the above from this." He grabbed a bag and roughly dropped it in her lap.

Pidge's eyes trailed to the bag, and she swallowed. Her throat felt incredibly dry. The plastic crinkled as she lifted the zip block bag, and opened it. Her heart monitor increased in noise as her heart rate slowly rose. Her fingers sunk into the bag and pulled out the cylindrical smooth object. "O-Oh."

Beezer leaned back into his chair angrily. "Oh, is right Pidge… I had to pull a bullet out of you!"

The arguing in the background faded into silence, as Beezer yelled at her.

Let it be known that Beezer rarely yelled or lost his temper. The moment this Jamaican veteran lost his cool, was a sight to be truly afraid of.

Pidge flinched back and tried to make herself seem as small as possible.

"Just what the hell happened?! What did you get into?" He slammed his fist onto the table.

The bang, making the basins rattle and the tools clink.

Pidge inhaled and glanced away, refusing to make eye contact with the war veteran. She bit her lip. "Nothing?"

Rolo approached and pat Beezer on the shoulder, hoping he'd calm down a smidge. Seeing Beezer's veins bulge made him glance at Nyma for help.

Nyma, being the sensible woman of the trio, approached Pidge, and sat at the foot of her bed. "Sweetie, we're just concerned. You really gave us a scare… We lost you once in the operation, and well… Beezer brought you back… We don't want to lose a fellow outcast."

Pidge clenched her sheets. "…I died?"

Beezer grunted. "A full minute before I was able to bring you back." He sighed, and his muscles relaxed.

"…Shit…" Her body trembled as tears ran down her face. Her hands clenched into fists, angrily tried to rub the tears away, but it was pointless. Her nightmare of death, and her realization that she left the world finally sinking in. "Shit… SHIT!" She sobbed. "Fucking…. Stupid! I should have just let him die! Then I wouldn't be in this—FUCK! BUT NO! I had to save him and now I'm stuck with the stupid", she took a shuddering sob, and was unable to finish her sentence.

Rolo stuttered, and hovered over her, unsure of what to do. "uhhh crud! Don't cry! Nyma help me out here!"

Beezer stood and quickly injected a sedative into Pidge's IV line.

Nyma quickly leaned over the bed and brought her into a sloppy embrace. Men. They couldn't do anything right. "Shhh… It's ok sweetie just relax. You're alive. You're ok." She gently stroked her head.

Her eyes started to feel heavy, and the world once again swayed. She felt oddly calm.

Nyma waited till her breathing evened out before releasing her. Gently she laid Pidge back onto her pillow and tucked her in.

"….Galra….."

Nyma stiffened from tucking Pidge in and her gaze turned to Rolo, who had gone pale. "…We're gonna need a drink." She rushed off to the cabinet.

Rolo slumped onto the floor with a groan. "Please tell me she didn't say what I think she said… Beezer?" He looked hopefully at the doctor.

Beezer took the bottle Nyma handed him and chugged it all in one go.

"Well fuck."

Looks like they had some research to do before Pidge woke up again.

Thace groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The beginnings of a migraine tickling his frontal lobe. He took a deep breath and released it. Nothing was going his way today. What with the cleaning of that hotel room, Ms. Holt's escape, his task of finding her, and now this new little mission Lotor assigned him. With nothing but the smallest of bread crumbs to go off of. Lovely. He stalked to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. His hands searched blindly for a glass and as quickly as he found one, it was up to his lips full.

With a grunt, Thace slammed the shot back, and plopped onto his love seat chair. His computer once again back on his lap as he dug around the little information he had about these inventions. To his knowledge it was only the watch, and a strong inkling that another item on Ms. Holt was the cause of her ridiculous strength. His fingers danced across the keyboard. No definite leads on who could have possibly created the watch. He had too little information. With a frustrated snarl, he pushed the data away and resumed his main mission objective. Finding Ms. Holt. He played back the phone log he had discovered while poking around the phone line recordings. She had made a long-distance call to America… two in fact. Both to her original home land connection. His brows furrowed in concentration as he re listened to the phone call. Nothing obvious… However, if Ms. Holt did escape the country as she had hinted at in these phone calls… The results would be disastrous. Especially if she told the truth to her rather perceptive friend. He exhaled in frustration. Not that her friend would be able to touch the Galra. Regardless, it would be an issue… one he hoped he didn't have to execute personally.

A ping made his eyes glance to his email browser. The mile report from the cab company had just come back. With a grin he opened the email and quickly skimmed through the report. Aha! Bingo. He pulled up Google maps and set the starting coordinates of the hotel to roughly 50 miles end point. With this, and Morvok's forced testimony of Ms. Holt's plans… He roughly predicted the trajectory of her possible location. The Sham Shui Po district…. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Of course, she would pick a difficult location. This district was huge. He leaned back with a sigh, arm draping behind the couch. It was a start. Certainly, a better lead and starting point than his other side mission. He pulled his arm back from around the couch and dug it into his pocket. Once he had located his phone, he pulled it out and searched through his contacts. Without a word he brought the phone to his ear and waited for the call to connect.

"It's me," he growled in annoyance at the chipper tune on the other end. "You know damn well who I am. Neither Lotor or myself are in the mood for your cheap boring games Ezor." He groaned and wondered why Lotor's Generals, a fancy name for intelligence network, had to be so childish. "I have a mission for you. I sent you the data already. Lotor wants her found as soon as possible. Have our agents scout the district thoroughly. Tell those slum dogs, any information on her will be rewarded handsomely."

Hi brow twitched and a snarl escaped his lips. "Ezor," he hissed, "Just do your damn job!" He quickly hung up the call and flung his phone onto the table. Leaning forward he buried his head into his hands and let out a frustrated yell. Why? Why him? Why did he have to be the one to deal with those immature brats. He ran his hands up and down his face before grabbing the bottle of Jack. With a grunt, he downed a few sips and slammed it back onto the table.

He didn't get paid enough for this shit.