Hey everyone!

I know that it's been forever and I'm super sorry, but I've officially gotten in all my college applications (hopefully)! I'm really hoping to get into Studio School's Screen Acting program down in LA so please keep your fingers crossed for me! They said they should be letting me know around Christmas-New Year's. AHHHHHHHHHHH.

Anyway, I've also been sick so that's partly why this is so late too. I've literally gone through two tissue boxes, two toilet paper roles, and tons of the little packages all within the last few days, so yeah. My brain wasn't really in a place to write.

That being said, I am still sorry for the long wait! I'd like to say it won't happen again, but I can't make promises. Either way though, I will never abandon a story. You can count on that!

Anyway, on with the stuff you actually care about!

As usual, I've replied to reviews in DMs. You guys are seriously too sweet!

Warnings:
Paralysis
Muscle Spasms
Suffocation
Needles
...Blood? Maybe? It'd just barely be mentioned though.

Man that list just keeps getting longer and longer... I really should stop hurting my poor children...

Psh! Like that would happen.

On with the story!

Edit: This chapter has been revised.


T

he first thing Pidge noticed when she woke up was the bandages wrapped tightly around her ankle and head.

The next thing she noticed was that she couldn't move anything below her neck.

A rush of panic swarmed through her and she suddenly felt as though she was suffocating, unable to even pull at the hem of her shirt - something she instinctively did when she found herself struggling to breath. And she had had far too much experience with that.

Tilting her head back against the wall, she reminded herself that freaking out wouldn't help. She wasn't suffocating and she needed to get it together. She had to be ready.

But... ready for what? A rescue? Who knew if Allura and Coran even knew what galaxy they were in. And the paladins clearly weren't in a place to be able to escape. Besides, the others probably didn't even know where she was.

Things really weren't looking good.

Speaking of which, Pidge angled her head to watch the paladins in the other room. She was relieved to see the helmet was gone and Keith seemed to be moving normally, perhaps a bit more stiffly, but Lance still seemed pretty out of it. At least he was conscious and sitting up though. It was more than he had been doing yesterday.

Or an hour ago. Or a week ago.

Pidge really hated being trapped like this. And she had just been getting into a better sleep schedule.

She tried to snort at that thought, but it felt awkward without having control over her diaphragm. The reminder caused her heart to quicken a bit more, but she quickly shut down the thoughts. She couldn't deal with that right now.

Apparently, the world agreed with her because at that moment one guard walked in, food and water in his hands. Pidge wondered if she should be offended that he didn't think he needed back up, but Pidge didn't see anything that would prove him wrong so she just settled with glaring at him. She wanted to struggle against her bonds but quickly remembered that the thing keeping her trapped wasn't physical and that she couldn't struggle anyway. "What did you guys do to me?" She demanded, hoping it came out as angry rather than scared.

The Galra didn't seem too interested, giving a small shrug. "Probably something in your last dose." His words were casual and he came over to sit next to her as if they were friends at school. Pidge wanted to scoot away, extremely uncomfortable with his closeness but was frustratingly reminded that her body wasn't responding right now.

The guard set the food and water next to him, pulling out a sandwich of his own. Regardless of her previous convictions, her stomach let out a loud growl. Pidge ignored it, hoping it wasn't as obvious as it felt. But based of the Galra's raised eyebrow, it definitely was.

He didn't comment though. Just took another bite, taking the time to savor the taste. A few moments passed, silent except for the sounds of him quietly chewing. Regardless of the uneasiness of the situation, Pidge soon found herself zoning out until the guard's voice startled her back to attention. "I heard you were refusing to eat." He said calmly, his tone disturbingly casual.

Pidge didn't look at him, hoping the lack of food in her sight may help ease the hunger in her stomach. "And I'm not going to until the others get better rations." She tried to copy the plainness in his voice, but her distrust clearly shined through.

The guard took another bite, chewing thoughtfully as if actually considering her words. He swallowed and turned to her for the first time since he sat down. "The thing is, you're not the one in control here.

If she was able to, Pidge would have shuddered at the threat in his friendly voice. She would have prefered the taunting guards from earlier to this. She forced herself to ignore him though.

"But I enjoy watching you think you are."

Pidge whipped her head over at that, her danger bells going off too loudly to allow herself to keep looking away. But the guard hadn't changed his posture at all.

He finished off his sandwich, brushing crumbs off his uniform before continuing. "But I enjoy watching you think you are."

Okay, Pidge was beyond the point of creeped out here. She wanted to be nowhere near this guy but even as he pulled out another needle, she couldn't even lean away. Noticing that the colour was different than the others, her stomach started protesting for an entirely new reason.

The guard still didn't react though. He just sat there, looking at the syringe like it was an interesting puzzle her was solving. "So, I'm going to let you pick. Are you going to let us feed you? Or do we need to add some more injections to your prescription?"

Pidge stared at him, his face only a foot or so away from hers. His expression didn't bare any malice that she could find, but his words definitely did. The thought of this guard spoon-feeding her sent an involuntary shiver up her spine. There was no way Pidge was gonna let that happen. Determined to stick to her decision, she set her jaw and glared into his eyes. "Not until the others get larger rations."

The guard stared back, a playful loftiness in his gaze. They stayed like that for a moment, neither speaking nor blinking before the guard finally sighed. His expression turned to a smug smile, mixed with a touch of pity, and he started going through his supplies again. "Alright then."

But it wasn't the needle that he pulled out. No, it was a remote. Pidge's eyes widened in horror as she quickly whipped her head around toward the others. To her massive relief, there were no guards or helmets in sight.

Letting out the breath she had been holding, she faced back towards the guard, who had gathered everything together and was now standing in front of her. "What is that?" She demanded, feeling much more confident now that she knew her friends weren't going to be shocked. That being said, she still wasn't eager to know the answer.

The Galra's voice was back with it's casual tone, but the words made Pidge's heart flutter. "Incentive." He said simply, pushing the button.

Pidge tried to curl up, block her head, do anything to protect herself from the attack she knew was coming, but of course, her body wouldn't obey. Couldn't obey.

But nothing happened.

Pidge glanced up, ready to brag that their tech was broken, but the guard didn't seem disturbed. There was no confusion, no frustration, just pitying smugness as he gazed off to her right.

Wait.

For the second time, Pidge jerked her head in the direction of her friends. The sudden motion made her dizzy and she wondered briefly if her head injury was worse than she'd thought.

But then her focus cleared and she could see the growing panic on the paladins' faces as they looked up to the vent that had been opened.

"No..." Pidge said, certain that a poison would be released at any second and she would be forced to watch as her friends died slowly. Perhaps while growing boils or their skin turning green.

But nothing seemed to come out of the vent. Instead, it almost seemed to be sucking in.

"What are you doing?" Pidge demanded, tearing her eyes away only for a second before turning back. But the answer became obvious as she watched the paladins' hands go to their throats, trying to get air in their lungs.

They were suffocating.

"No!" Pidge said again, this time more desperate. "No, please! You're going to kill him."

The guard just gave her a sad smile, nodding as he watched the other room.

Pidge tried to move, tried to fight. She wanted to strangle him, but her body wouldn't cooperate. She could even pull herself closer to the wall dividing her from the others. All she could do was stare in horror, screaming as Lance slid down the wall, having lost all strength to prop himself up. Pidge's screams quickly turned sobs as she saw Keith's muscles start spasming as he, too, fell to the ground, his eyes squeezed tight at the pain. Shiro was the next to go, his arm stretched out to Keith as consciousness left him. Propped up on one arm, Hunk had tears streaming down his face as he watched his friends. Pidge could see the exact moment where he gave up, quickly succumbing as well.

Pidge couldn't even tell what she was screaming at this point. The hand on her shoulder was the only thing keeping her from face planting. Distantly, she could feel a needle picking her arm, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she watched her friend's final moments. There was nothing she could do.

Unless.

The foggy memory of green came to her mind.

Yesterday, when Keith was being electrocuted and Pidge had injured herself, the moment before she had slipped unconscious there had been a flash of green. A flash of Green.

Pidge tried to focus, knowing this was her last chance. 'Green?" She thought cautiously. There was no response. 'C'mon girl. We need your help!' Again, there was nothing. Where she normally could feel her connection with Green was just a black void. Taking a heaving breath, one she was painfully aware her friends weren't taking right now, she opened her eyes to steady herself. Horrified, she saw that Keith's body had stopped shaking. She could already be too late. "Please!" Pidge screamed, whether to the guard or to Green, she didn't care. Just somebody - anybody. "You have to save them!" She sobbed. She knew that there was no use, but there was nothing else she could do. She was useless.

Suddenly, a roar filled her head and a glimmer of green passed over her vision. There was still something blocking the connection, but it was getting stronger. She could hear the guard gasp beside her, his fingers releasing the button and dropping the remote. All calm confidence was gone as the room's lights began to change shades around her.

Pidge let out a wet laugh of relief as she realised what this meant. She could feel Green. Her friends could breathe again. As soon as her connection broke through whatever this barrier was, they would be saved.

But then something was jabbed into her arm.

Pidge turned to see the Galra pushing a dark liquid into her eyes with a crazed smile on his face. "Not quite!" He shouted, voice wobbling and hands shaking. As soon as the injection was in her bloodstream, Pidge could feel her grip on Green slipping. No! She had to hold on. She had to stay...

The guard ripped the needle from her arm and let her limp body fall to the ground.


I know! I know! That's a really rude cliffhanger and this is, what, the fifth time Pidge has gone unconscious? Anyway, I hope it kept your guys' attention and that you enjoyed it! We're starting to really get into stuff now.

While I'm not positive chapters with split up exactly, there will probably be around two chapters and an epilogue left. We're approaching the endgame guys!

That being said, I think I may end up writing a few scenes and/or chapters from the other paladins perspectives. Give you Keith- and Lance-lovers a bit more comfort with the hurt! There may also be a side story that has a connection with this one but really would just be an outsider POV of some of Sam's days sciencing for the Galra.

Okie so I think that's all for this one! I love to read reviews and generally see that people are enjoying my stories, but so does everyone, so no pressure!

Remember, you guys are fantastic! Have a great holiday season and help others to do the same!

-Sakarrie (: