"Pidge, it's not looking good." Coran mumbled. He stood behind her, not directly behind her but a good distance away. The others minus Hunk were gathered back over by the control panel watching Shiro's vitals rise and drop as if it was a bouncy ball.

With her back to the others, she gazed at the still form of Shiro. He was under a complete sedation thanks to the healing pods program. His suit had been blackened so much so it practically disintegrated as they removed it. Then there was the purple scarring matching the blast mark on his chest plate imprinted on his abdomen. The soft glow showed just how fresh his wounds were.

There's no way he should've survived this. Lance's intended quiet whisper to Keith had reached her ears anyway. She ignored it however and remained focused on getting Shiro into a pod.

Then there was the coding.

Shiro's heart had stopped multiple times. Even with the healing pods help. Whatever Haggar had been doing to Shiro seemed to be preventing the healing pod from doing its job. Fearing that he would code again Lance, Keith, Coran, and herself had all stayed in the med-bay. Hunk was preoccupied with Taj and they both slept in his room.

Pidge's vision blurred. She was no longer able to see Shiro. The sharp jawline. The soft black and white hair. The tuft falling perfectly over his forehead and eyes. The peaceful look upon his face as his sedated self slept. She raised a hand to her eyes breaking the barrier of tears that had blocked her vision. The tears spilled down her cheek, but they were quickly wiped away so that by the time she turned to the others she looked more angry then distraught.

"We need to find her," she spoke in a mumble. The others, however, seemed to catch what she said, or rather Keith did.

"But Shiro's our leader, we can't just attack without him."

"Believe me I would want nothing more than for Shiro to be by our sides but he's not able to." Pidge paused, taking the time to look back at the single healing pod in use. Her fear and love for the man in the pod overwhelmed her and she had to force herself to look away. She shoved the feelings down, locking them behind a door. There's no time for tears now. "But Allura chose me. She chose me to take over the coalition and sure that may have started a series of events to all go down hill, but I'm still here and you're still here. And as long as I'm still here I'm going to do whatever I can to stop Clove and whatever sick twisted plan she has for us."

The others looked at her with a blank expression on their faces. This was interestingly the first time that she had voiced something so personal in the presence of them. Lance seemed to be the only one that expression that hadn't changed. He offered her a small smile then nodding for her to continue.

A thought came to her then. A sudden realization that hadn't crossed her mind earlier. "Why do you think that Clove let us go?" She asked the room. No one responded at first.

"To break us?" Coran suggested. He shrugged as the eyes turned towards him, "You're guess is as good as mine."

"She knew that Shiro was our leader and without him she thought that she could get us to fall apart. She knew that he was a dead man walking when she let us go." Pidge became angrier as she continued speaking. "Damn it!" She threw her hands into her hair, "I knew something was off about them when they first came aboard this ship."

"Pidge we had no way of knowing-"

Pidge's head snapped towards Keith. "You! You told me that I had no proof that Shiro had been taken by them and then I ended up being right. Instead of containing them as a precaution you allowed them a chance to gain control of a situation. You are the one to blame. The one who caused Shiro to suddenly be on his deathbed!" She was shouting now. She threw an arm back towards Shiro's pod pointing, "This is all your fault!"

A hand was placed on her shoulder. It was Lance's. "Pidge-"

She shrugged him off, "You know what, forget it." She turned away from them and returned to stand in front of the pod.

"Don't take any of what she says personally," Lance mumbled to Keith, "She's hurting and she needs someone else to blame other than herself."

Keith nodded. He knew enough about love to know that when one person was threatened the other tends to act more reckless. "Aren't we all hurting?"

His question remained unanswered as Pidge approached once again. "I've got an idea." Her voice sounded determined but her eyes betrayed her strong front. Those hazel eyes of hers held pain and sadness, and an overwhelming amount of love and concern. The emotions battled against each other. Her eyes went from dark and distant to bright and watery with tears.


"Hang on."

Keith's voice came over the comms in a whisper. For a while the line went dead except for the small amount of static echoing in the paladin's ears.

"Clear."

The word sent the Paladins crawling from their hiding spots into the clearing of the small campsite. Since midnight they had been lying in wait for Clove to break away from her army. It had been about three in the morning before that opportunity arose.

Clove and exited the cruiser accompanied by a few sentries for protection. Besides a quick glance around they wasted no time disappearing into the forest.

The Paladins were close behind. Creeping through the brush. It wasn't long before they came across a campsite. Four tents each pitched around a small campfire was all the campsite was. No extensive technology, no weapons other than the pistols attached to Clove's hips and the blasters the sentries carried. The campsite was made for staying no more than a few hours at the most.

That was hours ago. Now it was pitch black. Besides the moon light and the campfire there was no other light for them to see more of the camp. They didn't need to. Clove and her sentries were around the fire. Minutes after having arrived at the site a fifth person arrived. Pidge immediately recognized him as the leader that had led the large group from earlier that had attempted to drown the other paladins in a sinkhole of mud. Hunk shifted next to her, the leaves crinkling softly from his movement.

Several more minutes passed before Pidge got the sense she was being watched. Flicking her gaze from the campsite and towards the trees across the clearing. Looking closely she managed to notice the soft blue glow of the paladin's armor. Keith must be holding that position waiting for her to decide what she wanted to do. This was her idea, her plan, and she was taking the lead.

She was still upset at him, but there was a small twinge of regret. She shouldn't have yelled at him. He had no fault in what had happened, but she couldn't bring herself to say that it was her fault.

Pidge shook her head. She could mull over this later. Right now she had a mission to focus on.

"Get ready to move," She whispered into the comms, "We take them by surprise, we have a better chance of overtaking them."

"It's five to four." Keith whispered back, "we need to take one of the sentries out."

"Lance do you think we could-"

"Already on it." Lance replied, cutting Pidge off.

She pressed her palm to the ground she tensed waiting for one of the bodies to fall. She would only have a few seconds to get out from the brush and locked onto a target for her to take down.

Seconds passed. And then a sentry dropped to the ground. His blaster dropped from his hand landing against the fire, the movement sent sparks swirling up into the night sky. Clove jumped to her feet, hands reaching for her pistols. She yelled to her sentries then to Tylar. At least that's what Pidge thought she heard.

Then she was running. Summoning her bayard she planted her foot on a log. She launched herself into the air bringing her arm back as she came down on Clove. Clove was ready for her. She crossed her pistols just as Pidge's arm came forward. The two weapons connected and for a split second Pidge admired Clove's fire in her eyes.

Pidge pushed away from Clove. Adjusting her footing she went for Clove again as if she were going to deliver a punch to the abdomen. At the last second she dropped to the ground placing her wait on her left foot. Extending her right she swept it towards Cloves legs. Surprised Clove dropped to the ground. One of her pistols dropped from her hand and Pidge scrambled to grab it. Tossing it into the fire she turned back to Clove. Her eyes widened as she saw Clove's foot flying towards her. Pidge dropped to the ground rolling away. She jumped to her feet and Clove came at her delivering a series of punches. Pidge couldn't block all of them and by the time she managed to break free she was gasping for air.

She wiped a hand across her mouth and nose wiping the blood from her face. Her helmet didn't protect everything. A shout from Keith to Lance drew her attention. Seeing that everything was okay she turned back towards Clove. Only Clove wasn't there. Instead Pidge only saw a feeling figure. Not bothering to think things through she took off after Clove.

Through brush and over fallen limbs Pidge followed Clove all the way to a cliff's edge. When she burst free from the foliage Clove was standing face towards her pistol raised.

"I knew it was you." Clove said. She turned her head to spit blood from her mouth. She wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her extended arm. "You're just too stubborn to know when to quit." She smiled, as a thought occurred to her, "How's Shiro? Still alive?"

Pidge gripped her bayard tighter her lips pressing into a thin line. She had to resist every urge in her body to keep herself from attacking right then and there.

"No answer? That's fine." She adjusted the grip on her weapon, "The others probably won't survive anyway. I've got more sentries on the way. And if you do manage to get out of this predicament you'll have the guilt of your friends' deaths on your shoulders."

"You won't win," Pidge said, finally daring to take a step forward.

"Oh I know I'll win," Clove placed the gun to her head, "Because nothing screams victory more than when my enemy runs towards the cliff edge as I plummet to the sea below with a bullet in my skull. Knowing that Justice will never be served for my actions is victory enough for me."

Clove had no time to react as Pidge shot her bayard at the arm the weapon was in, the lime green cord lighting up Clove's face as she looked from it to Pidge.

Pidge gave it a jerk and the unexpected movement sent the pistol over the edge of the cliff and into the sea below. Neither said anything until a faint splash was heard a hundred feet below.

"That was uncalled for," Clove grumbled, dropping her arm to her side.

"I'm not going to let you get away with this," Pidge took another step, lessening the distance between them.

"You could kill me. Get your own revenge for Shiro? You know you want to." She smiled as she looked Pidge up and down, "I saw the way you look at him. You love him. You would do anything for him."

The offer was tempting but she was better than that. Revenge was sweet yes but it can just as quickly turn bitter.

"You and I are different." Clove said, gesturing between the two of them, "In many ways."

Pidge didn't doubt that, but she entertained the idea anyway. "Go on."

"Well you think a couple steps ahead," Clove took a step back, "While I think five."

There was no time to react before Clove stepped off the cliff. Pidge choked on a scream as she was jerked over the edge and down to the sea below.


"Pidge!" Lance called. He swept his flashlight over the edge of the campsite. They couldn't have gone that far could they?

"Find anything?" Hunk asked, coming up beside him. Keith approached his other side glancing back behind him.

"No, you?" Hunk shook his head. "Keith?" Lance turned calling for the red paladin.

Keith seemed to be distracted. He hesitantly turned around to the group. "I think we need to get out of here."

"But Pidge-"

"We can come back for her. Besides she knows when to avoid a certain area. She's smart." Keith replied, "There's a whole group of Galra coming this way, more than we can fight between the three of us."

As much as he hated to leave his best friend he knew he had no choice. "Okay. Let's go."

Upon entering the castle the three made their way to the med bay. Hoping that in the time they had been gone there might be a change in Shiro's vitals. Only they weren't expecting the pod to be empty. Coran was working on cleaning the pod whistling to himself as he did.

"Coran." Keith asked, stepping forward, "Where's Shiro?" The dread built within the three as Coran glanced behind them.

"Right here," Shiro's voice sounded from behind them followed by a laugh from Taj. The three spun smiles lighting up their faces as they saw their leader. He was holding Taj holding a bowl filled with what looked like crackers, which Taj was thoroughly enjoying.

Shiro's face fell, however, when he noticed Pidge was missing. "Guys-"

"She ran off after Clove. By the time the fight was over she hadn't returned. We combed the area but we couldn't find her. There was a large group of Galra closing in on the location and we had no choice but to leave." Lance spoke. He glanced at the others who nodded in agreement. Then Keith spoke up.

"Shiro, we looked for her, we really did, but it was as if she had disappeared."