Keith could barely manage to track the time it took to leave the base and arrive at the Castle. Moments both slow and swift riddled his mind, making him feel slightly dizzy. Pidge's hand had slackened considerably, and her breathing was shallow and scratchy. Her wound had begun to slowly close up, only leaking a little as the small body shifted from side to side. She made close to no sound, appearing to be simply resting in Keith's arms. It was far too peaceful. A metallic creak, groan, and thump jerked Keith from his own little devastating world, signaling that the Blue Lion has landed in her hangar. Sure enough, Lance sprang from his seat directly after giving his control console a grateful pat.

"Alright, buddy, need any help?"

The Blue Paladin asked, hovering nervously over Keith, hands outstretched the slightest as if wanting to assist but not quite sure if he should. Shaking his head firmly, Keith leaned his shoulders against the wall and scooted up, eyebrows knitting together with effort. Despite having received an obvious signal for "no", Lance instantly hopped forwards and assisted the other conscious Paladin into a standing position. Normally, Keith would have protested, or shot Lance yet another glare, but this one time he was remarkably grateful. His arms trembled yet still felt stiff, since he dare not shake his youngest teammate. Legs wobbling slightly, Keith took a step forwards.

"Coming out now." Lance's voice crackled through the coms, sounding tired and slightly weak. A response echoed through, but it was only a blur to Keith. His frame was outlined in clear exhaustion, his eyes blank as he quietly followed after his teammate.

Not a moment after the group stepped out of the Blue Lion, four figures rushed up. To no one's surprise, Shiro was the first to step forwards and speak.

"Glad to have you back, team. Let's get this going, we have no time to waste." The Black Paladin's speech was like honey to the battered team's ears. Shiro was in charge now, and everything would be fine.

Right?

"Keith, I'm going to have to take Pidge from you, okay?" Shiro spoke gently, worriedly, placing one hand on Keith's shoulder and the other on one of the Green Paladin's legs.

"No, no.. I have.. I've got.. got to.." Keith stumbled over his words, bleariness and slight confusion etching through his face. He was unfocused and in shock, causing him to slur his speech and see everything so terribly simple. He'd let her down once before- never again. He wouldn't leave her again. He couldn't let go of Pidge. Or, more like wouldn't. Unconsciously tightening his grip on Pidge, the dazed Paladin only stared at Shiro.

"Keith." The firmness in Shiro's voice caused the Red Paladin to take a vaguely defensive step back.

"Keith, you've done everything that you could. You helped her. Now it's our turn."

"Shiro's right, man." Keith's eyes sharply shifted to the side as Hunk spoke up, his arms wrapped around his chest and eyes lit with weariness. Keith opened his mouth in an attempt to protest, but near instantly recognized Allura's gentle grip on his shoulder. Well, he was unfortunately outnumbered. Nodding numbly, Keith unwillingly held out Pidge, who at this point had fallen still save for the uneven rise of her chest. Almost right away, Shiro lifted the weight from Keith's arms. Now unsteady at the lack of extra pounds, the Red Paladin felt slightly dizzy and swayed on his feet. Thankfully, the Princess steadied him, wrapping an arm protectively around his shoulders.

"You don't seem like you're on the best of shapes either, Paladin. Come. Let us take care; you and your teammates are safe now," Allura soothed, guiding him out of the Blue Lion's hangar. Lance, Hunk, and Coran followed close behind- Lance explaining the previous situation in shaky details, Hunk listening seriously, and Coran peering at an Altean device which had picked up Lance's statistics to check if he needed medical attention as well. Thankfully, he didn't. Keith, however, was a different story.

After finally reaching the infirmary, Shiro had cautiously loaded Pidge into a healing pod, furrowing his brow as it whirred shut with a whoosh of air. He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest, letting out a sigh that sounded suspiciously close to the pod's faint hiss. The Green Paladin's eyes were peacefully shut, though she looked anything but so. Her skin was deathly pale, and the clothes she'd been wearing underneath her armor were torn and stained around her abdominal wound. Keith stared blankly at Pidge, ignoring the bustling movement around him. She looked so frail, so vulnerable. The tiny little tech gremlin who could take down an an enemy twice her size with her bare hands, defeated by the single shot of a laser. The Red Paladin was barely able to refocus as someone gently patted him on the back.

"Hey, man. Shiro wants you in a pod, too. Can't say I disagree. No offense, but you look terrible." Lance said hesitatingly, peering at his teammate through narrowed eyes. Keith didn't respond, purely because he could barely comprehend what the other was saying. After an awkward tick, something clicked.

"Wait- what? No. No, I can't- I can't leave like before. I got- gotta stay, got to stay and make sure.."

Keith trailed off, his protest faltering as a crushing wave of exhaustion hit his system. Immediately sensing victory, Lance waved Hunk over to help transport Keith to his respective pod. It wasn't like he would be able to walk alone, anyways.

"Hang on, don't— don't! I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'll be fine, I'm fine, just-" the Red Paladin stuttered dazedly, his tone increasing as the actions registered in his mind.

Pod = unconsciousness, unconsciousness = inability to stay with Pidge.

Not good.

"Buddy, you'll be all good soon- promise. Just do this? For us?" Hunk tried, quickly moving to stabilize a now struggling Keith.

"No, I'm telling you. I can't just sit in there and do nothing, I have to do something, not just nothing, and I have to stay because I have.. have to watch-..."

The Paladin's attempts at refusing help were cut off short as he was successfully stuffed into the pod. Exchanging a half-hearted high-five, Hunk and Lance turned to the rest of the silent team.

"Lance, go get some rest. If either of these two are finished soon, we'll call you back." Shiro ordered, sounding irregularly tired.

"Sir yes sir." The Blue Paladin responded, giving Hunk an affectionate slap on the shoulder before turning heel, swaying only the slightest, and heading through an automatic door opening a long hallways that began to lead towards the bedrooms. Silence reigned on the area for a moment, more deafening than any other noise. Hunk tried to repress a yawn, but failed miserably. Shiro raised an eyebrow.

"I know I didn't do, like, anything today, but I'm still tired, man." Hunk explained, holding his hands up in defeat.

"I'll just... go make sure Lance doesn't get so exhausted he decides to lie down and sleep in the hallway, yeah?"

Not waiting for a reply, the Yellow Paladin raised a hand to his forehead in a mock salute, swallowed down another yawn, and scooted of towards the exit.

Now with half of the younger Paladins hopefully on their way to their rooms, Shiro cast a not-too-subtle side glance at the two stationed Alteans.

Allura returned his look with a tilted head.

"Princess, I can watch them both and make sure everything runs smoothly. I don't think I'll be able to sleep, anyway. What better to do than keep out an eye?"

Shiro explained, unfolding his arms and not breaking his calm gaze from Allura.

She only stared back, copying his still raised eyebrow.

"Allura, maybe it is a good idea to get some rest," Coran provided helpfully, lifting his finger to prove a point. "Today was not an easy day. We have to be ready for what tomorrow may bring!"

Allura let out a dejected sigh, her tough shell dropping almost as quickly as her eyes to the floor.

"Oh, all right, Coran. You win." She lamented with a groan. However, not immoderately. She did take a single hesitant step towards Shiro.

"Are you sure you'll be fine staying here? The healing pod chamber can get cold once the Castle is in night mode, which could begin at any current moment," she asked, a small frown forming on her face. Shiro reflected the opposite, giving her instead a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure, Allura. I'll be fine. Go get some rest; I'll see you in the morning." He replied with a nod. The Altean knitted her brows slightly, but offered a small grin in return.

"If you say so. Good night, Shiro."

Allura patted his shoulder a couple times before turning heel and exiting the dimly lit corridor. Following not far behind was Coran, his biometric scanner still in hand.

"Farewell, Shiro."

"Night, Coran."