Hey guys!
Have I mentioned how amazing you guys are? Cause holy flip you guys are so incredibly awesome! Over 50 alerts and over 25 reviews and faves. Honestly, I can't tell you how special it makes me feel to check my email and see a notification from you guys amidst all the nasty college spam. It's so great to see that other people are actually enjoying my random obsession with these characters. Seriously makes my day. Y'all better realise how fantabulous are, but just in case, I'm gonna keep shouting it at you. (:

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So, for those of you who read the pre-chapter thing, the poll is now closed and Keith won! So prepare cause your boy is gonna sufferrrr.

I need to stop torturing my children...

Here's the next chapter!

WARNINGS:
Electrocution
Fever
Small Injuries
Needles
I may mention blood? I don't remember. It'd just be in passing if I did.


Pidge sat in her cell, waiting for the guards to bring the others more food, but nobody came. Instead, she watched as her family tried to make Lance as comfortable as possible. He currently was sleeping, which Pidge figured was good. No reason for him to be awake and feeling the pain when there's nothing they can do about it. Besides, rest would help his body heal, or at least begin the process.

Seeing Lance looking so pale sent a surge of fury through her. He hadn't attacked or anything. Knowing him, he probably made a snarky remark or something, but definitely nothing to warrant this torture. Even in unconsciousness, Pidge could see beads of sweat on Lance's forehead. He was getting worse.

And suddenly it hit her. They had stabbed Lance as a sort of precaution. By injuring his leg, they made it impossible for him to walk, thus impeding any escape attempts. Sure, someone could carry him, but it would definitely slow them down.

She wanted to punch something. Preferably the guard that did that to him.

A new idea came to Pidge's mind. Was that why they had separated her from the others? Was it another barrier in their potential escape? Surely if they could torture Lance without the others being able to do anything, they would be able to give her an injection without difficulty.

But then why let her see the others? Why wrap her injured wrist?

Pidge groaned. This was getting her nowhere. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

A sudden wave of emotion rolled over Pidge. Covering her face, she allowed herself a moment of panic before swallowing it down. She had to stay alert. Otherwise, who knows what could happen?

After getting control of herself, she slowly pried her hands away from her face and her gaze found the food that had been left for her. She couldn't help it as her stomach growled and she quickly looked away, refusing to even consider eating. Not until her friends did.

Speaking of which, the others were now sitting in a circle, their eyes closed. Pidge couldn't quite tell if Lance was awake or not. He was leaning against the wall and his hand twitched occasionally, but that could also just be from a fever-induced fitful sleep.

The other paladins seemed to be concentrating, their faces almost peaceful.

They were trying to connect with their lions! Pidge could have smacked herself. Why hadn't she tried that yet? She had a billion-ton, technologically advanced war robot and Pidge hadn't even tried to contact her! In her defense, she had been rather busy, but she still felt like an idiot.

Mirroring the other paladins positions, Pidge closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Suddenly, she found herself grateful for Coran's mental training exercises. Before, she never could calm her racing thoughts.

It was still difficult, however and Pidge constantly had to push away stray thoughts and images that fought to interfere. Finally though, the distractions faded away and Pidge prepared herself for the warmth and comfort that always flowed through her connection with Green.

But there was nothing there.

Pidge frowned, forcing herself to concentrate harder, but there was nothing. The place she always could feel Green's presence was empty.

The discovery sent another wave of panic through her and her eyes bolted open. Why couldn't she feel Green?

Quickly looking at the others, Pidge felt a little of the anxiety fade away. While they didn't look nearly as alarmed, they did look frustrated. They probably were having trouble too.

Pidge considered trying again like the others seemed to be doing, but it felt useless. There was nothing there.

Glancing around the room, Pidge noticed that the edges of the ceiling were glowing a bit. At first she had passed it off as a strange alien lighting design, but it seemed to be a darker shade than the other cell.

Pidge rubbed her temple. She was seriously overthinking this. The facts were that they obviously couldn't contact the lions, probably from some type of interference the cells were designed with. It could be the lights, but honestly, there was nothing Pidge could do about it if it was, so she decided it really wasn't worth dwelling on.

Although it was unsettling that there was no sense of Green at all. Usually she could at least feel her bond if she looked for it, even when it was suppressed by something.

She didn't have time to consider that further though, as, in that moment, the door to the other cell swung open. It clearly had startled the paladins and they quickly prepared to fight if necessary.

The guards that entered were not carrying food.

They were carrying guns. But that wasn't what worried her. So far, the guns had only been used to keep the paladins in check. No, what worried her was the headset the last Galra held.

What were they going to do to them? Were they going to try to extract information directly from the paladins' minds? The thought of them doing something on a psychological level was terrifying. At least they knew the cryopods could heal physical wounds.

Pidge held her breath in anticipation. As much as she hated it, she knew that all she could do was watch.

Once each paladin had a gun on them, the guard with the headset walked forward. All of the paladins' eyes were on the device, their expressions a variety of suspicion and fear. Keith seemed to shout something, but the guard just smiled back, walking forward and motioning to the guard that had his gun on Keith.

The guard quickly stowed the gun in his belt, pulling Keith's arms back in a single-handed grip. The other hand fisted in his hair, holding his head still.

All of the paladins' mouths were moving now, including Lance. He seemed slightly out of it, but the protectiveness in his expression was as clear as day.

Unfortunately, none of that did anything to stop the guard from forcing the helmet onto Keith's head.

Everyone stopped protesting, seeming to be holding their breath and Pidge found herself doing the same.

Nothing happened.

She watched confusion flicker across the paladins' faces, but the guard soon started talking. He raised his hand, revealing a remote-like device in his hands. She couldn't make out the details on it but she could guess what it was for.

As if in demonstration, the guard flicked the switch up a notch.

The results were immediate. A blue light traveled through the helmet and Keith began to spasm, eyes squeezed shut and mouth open in what she knew was a cry of pain.

They were electrocuting him.

The guard glanced in her direction and she realized he had specifically picked Keith because he was facing her direction. They wanted her to see the pain they were causing.

They wanted her to see the pain she was causing.

Because Pidge had no doubt that they were doing this as some sort of punishment for her not eating. She had been trying to help her friends, but all she had done was make it worse. They hadn't even questioned them or anything before activating the helmet.

At least they had stopped for now. Pidge could see her fury and worry reflected in the other paladins. She wondered if the guards realized how dead they'd be if they didn't have their guns. Probably, seeing as they hadn't entered without them yet.

When she turned her attention back to the main guard, Pidge noticed his mouth was moving. He was waving around the remote in grand gestures, a twisted grin on his face. She didn't miss it when he glanced at her cell again.

She wished he could see the glare she was sending him, but since he hadn't looked directly at her, she assumed he couldn't. He turned back to the paladins, face more serious now as he gestured to Keith and back at the remote.

Pidge couldn't tell what he had said, but from the way the other paladins' faces went pale, she could assume it was a threat. And by Keith's increased struggling, she could assume it was a bad one. For all of them.

The guard holding Keith's hair gave it a yank, cutting off whatever he was saying.

Pidge bit her lip in frustration. The guard was speaking again, holding his finger over the switch.

There was a moment where nobody's mouth moved. Shiro, Keith, and Lance were glaring at the guard and Hunk was watching Keith, eyebrows knit in concern and something else... guilt? Pidge wasn't sure.

The guard was waiting expectantly so she supposed she had been wrong. They were being questioned after all. And watching the angry but determined looks on the team's faces, she had an idea of what was going to happen next.

Pidge hated being right almost as much as she hated watching Keith writhe in pain. The guard had made a show of flicking the switch to the second level and Shiro threw his body forward, his mouth open in a yell, but it only led to the gun being pushed further into his face, the end glowing slightly.

Fear suddenly gripped her, and before she knew it, she was on her feet, anxiously waiting for what would happen next.

Thankfully, Keith's writhing stopped and the gun ceased it's glow. Before she could let out a sigh of relief, though the gun was being pushed against his head. Pidge didn't need to hear the words to know what the guard was saying.

Shiro just glared up at the Galra and Pidge could only hope that he wouldn't try anything. She was desperate to help Keith too but she didn't want Shiro getting himself killed in the process.

Speaking of Keith, he hadn't opened his eyes. He clearly was still conscious, but she could see slight spasms going through him still. With her terror escalating even higher, she realized he couldn't take much more of this without doing permanent damage.

Unfortunately, the guard seemed to realize that too and the gleam in his eye sent shivers down her spine.

He didn't care.

Not in the sense that he didn't care about Keith's pain. That was obvious enough. No, what had stopped Pidge's heart was a different realization.

He didn't care if Keith died.

The revelation sent Pidge's mind reeling. They had clearly cared if Pidge lived and, while she understood that she was important in their experiment, she had always assumed the others still had some sort of immunity. Surely the commanders had made it clear that they weren't to be killed?

But she saw no hesitation in the guard's eyes as he flicked the switch to the first level. His mouth kept moving, regardless of Keith's screams. When none of the paladins opened their mouths, he flicked it to the second notch. Keith's back arched in pain, instinctually trying to get away, but it was useless. Pidge found herself aching to get closer. To bang on the walls. To do something. But with her feet chained to the wall, she couldn't even do that.

The main guard spoke again, this time for only a couple ticks, but while the paladins' eyes were pleading and desperate, none of them opened their mouths to answer. After it became clear that they weren't going to say anything, the guard just shrugged his shoulders.

And Pidge saw it. Pidge saw the exact moment that the guard decided to push the electricity to the final notch. The notch that would be lethal.

"NO!" Pidge screamed, racing forward, desperation overtaking logic. This couldn't happen. She had to do something!

But in her attempt to reach Keith, she had completely forgotten about the chains on her ankles. It stopped her feet, bring her head racing to the ground with a loud crack. Mind still on Keith, she ignored the pounding in her ankle and head. She looked up, terrified of what she'd see but it wasn't what she was expecting.

Keith had stopped spasming and the guards were running out of the room, not even bothering to grab the headset.

A wave of confusion waved over her, but she couldn't get her brain to focus on figuring out what happened. Now that she wasn't terrified for Keith's life, she was acutely aware of her head screaming and her vision swimming.

She allowed herself to collapse to the ground, adrenaline leaving as quickly as it came. The pain was enveloping her, and she reached out to the only comfort she could. A dim flash of green entered her mind and she finally felt safe to rest.

The last thing Pidge saw was the guard from the other cell entering in panic, syringe in hand.

She was unconscious before she could even feel the needle.


Whoooooop stuff is getting intense!

I'm really excited to see what you guys think. I have everything planned out from here on so we're getting closer to the endgame. Assuming I end the chapters when I intend to, there will be three more chapters and an epilogue. (:

I also was wondering if anyone was interested in seeing some of the plot from the paladin's point of view? It's been an idea I've been playing with so I'd love to get your guys' input!

Anyway, thank you all for reading! If you want to be a fantastic, glowing, exuberant unicorn, please leave a review, fave, or alert!

JK you're all fantastic, glowing, exuberant unicorns just for reading, but if you do have the time, I love feedback!

Til next time you wonderful unicorns!

-Sakarrie :)