AN: Here we go! Oo boy.

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Keith felt his eye twitch with Hunk's brilliant explanation of the future of utensils.

"So let me get this straight," Lance slowly intoned as he visualized Hunk's idea. "You think the next evolution of the spork will be the same head but the handle as a knife?"

"And/or chopsticks," Hunk added. "It can come out like a swiss army knife."

Pidge's typing was the only sound for a couple of seconds.

"Hunk," Lance gravely started. "That's -"

"Stupid," Keith muttered.

"A-mazing!" Lance exclaimed over Keith. "Wow! Why hasn't anyone thought of it sooner?!"

"I know right?!"

Keith closed his eyes as the two continued along the same lines. I need to go. He'll catch The Stupid if he stayed around any longer. He breathed in long to control himself from saying anything mean and then breathed out. He opened his eyes in time to see the cloaked figure coming out of the ship.

"Who's that?"

Pidge paused in trying to hack the sentry. She switched screens and pulled up a video feed of outside. Keith leaned over as she zoomed in. There was some weird white mask on the guy's face. It made him even more wary.

"I don't know but he reeks of 'bad news.' "

Keith frowned. "I'm gonna check him out."

"Shiro and Allura should be back soon," Pidge warned. "We need to stay together."

"I won't be long."

Lance and Hunk turned towards the doorway as Keith walked to it.

"Oh no you don't Mr. Lone Star," Lance stood up to cross his arms. "You're not going anywhere."

Keith pressed the door to open.

"Don't you dare go through that door buster!"

The door closed. Pidge and Hunk looked at Lance.

"Hunk, dock him a week's worth of dessert!" Lance declared with gusto. "And add an additional week for every ten minutes he's not here!"

"He's not five."

"I'll treat him like he acts!"

Pidge rubbed her eyes underneath her glasses. This family's logic drove her crazy sometimes.

The alarms were still going off.

It made Shiro's focus hone in. While he took satisfaction in playful banter he knew this wasn't the time for it. He was making turns without having to think about it. The layout of this part of the ship was familiar to him. The hangar would be the perfect exit.

"Pidge, we're coming out hot. We'll need to leave as soon as we meet up."

"Ah ok."

Allura frowned, having heard her tone through her earrings. "What's the matter?"

"...Keith's not with us."

They shared a quick glance.

"Get him first," Allura calmly instructed. "Then come for us."

"On it. I've been keeping track of him through his suit."

"That's my girl," Shiro half smiled.

Allura felt her lips twitch upwards. While Shiro's bond with the three males was more brotherly, the bond between the Black Paladin and the Green Paladin was almost paternal. She could see how much Pidge turned to Shiro when she had her rare moments of insecurity. He was always gentle with them, being mindful that his right arm didn't squeeze too hard in an embrace.

He caught her admiring stare. "...Save that for later."

"What exactly?"

He didn't say anything. But that smoking look in his eyes was enough to make her shiver. She had never wanted to touch someone as much as she did right now. And it wasn't the urge to merely hold hands. She gripped the laser gun tightly in an effort to keep her hands from doing what they wanted to.

They rounded a corner.

Shiro lifted his hand up to halt her. They turned to go back but there were sentries behind them as well. Then he did something unexpected. He stepped aside. He's deferring to me. She felt exhilarated with that fact. She confidently aimed and shot. Both of them blinked as the sentries in front of them were still standing.

"What -"

Shiro looked behind them as a sentry fell down with a hole in its chest.

"Oh quiznak," she quietly groaned.

He quickly turned forward as the sentries in front came for them. He took them down easily as she embarrassedly tossed a fallen sentry to collide with the ones behind them.

"I thought you traveled the universe," he blurted out in disbelief as he turned back to her, "You kept talking about your father and the paladins of old," he didn't notice her cheeks growing dark as he fixed her hold on the gun, "you even scolded us for not being able to fight the Gladiator. How could you be holding the blaster backwards?"

"I'm tense," she bit out in a higher pitch. "We can't all be as collected as you."

He stared at her intently. "...You've only trained," he slowly murmured as the pieces came together. "You've never actually fought, have you?"

Her purple skin further darkened around her cheeks. Some lasers missed them. She quickly grabbed his hand and ran. He let her pull him for a moment before taking the lead. Seems I've hit a sore spot. He didn't think she'd take it like that.

"The pods should be up ahead."

Even over the comms Pidge, Lance, and Hunk could hear Keith's panic.

"Pidge, I need an extraction!"

"We're already coming over," Lance huffed as they reached the Green Lion. "You're the one that wandered away from -"

Keith yelled out in pain. Blood was draining from their faces. The Red Paladin hardly ever yelled out like that. He'd hiss or grunt but not do...that. They could hear something like electricity messing with the comms. All Pidge could think of was Sendak electrifying Shiro over the comms for a very long time...

She carelessly dropped her laptop on the floor of the Green Lion's cockpit.

"Hang on Keith!"

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

Earlier they were flirting, consenting to the promise of an evening of mutual attraction and longing with the barest of words, then running faster half in haste for their evening and half in stress for the blaring alarm on the Galra ship.

She was struggling to keep the hangar doors closed. Despite the situation he was honestly very impressed. There had to be at least five sentries trying to pull the doors apart. One sentry alone had the strength of two people. He willed his glowing hand to melt the doors faster.

"We won't make it," she gasped out.

Shiro refused to away from his task. "Just hold the doors a little longer."

Allura's arms burned with the effort. She knew she could hold out but her strength wasn't what was running out. Behind them her sharp ears could hear the doors of the pod starting to close. The voice over the ship's comms was giving a countdown for the hyper jump but in Galran. She knew he didn't know what they were saying. She did. She knew exactly how little time they had.

This was an instance in which his pep talk couldn't overcome the truth.

In the span of three ticks he felt her fingers stroke the back of his neck before he found himself flying in the air. He yelled out in disorientation. Spots were before his eyes as he slammed into the pod's pilot chair. He blinked hard. He could see the pod doors closing. He heard more than saw the hangar doors split open. The sentries were coming. She stood facing him, letting them come.

"No!"

He could still see her. He didn't know if that was comforting or not. Fight, damn it. He looked through the window as he tried prying the door open. it wasn't going to budge. He knew that deep in his gut. Reassure me of that much. She merely smiled at him. He felt an aching agony as he realized why she wasn't even turning to fight.

She's using herself as bait...

"Allura," he rasped out.

The pod shot out into space as the ship made the hyper jump.

The sentries wasted no time.

Allura's hands and feet were cuffed. Then they made her walk.

Her surrounding was familiar. She'd seen these hallways before, ten thousand deca-phoebs ago with Coran and her father. Though there had been banners and pictures on the walls. The Galra were not much for decorating but they at least had those things. Now it was all metal and that sickly purple light.

She shifted back into her regular state. The Galra armor engulfed her. She was certain she looked ridiculous but it hardly mattered to her. She had a feeling where she was being taken. She wanted to face him as an Altean. Rub it in his face that she was still standing in spite of him. They were in the center of the empire, after all.

The very place Shiro wanted to locate but also avoid.

The sentries halted. She took a slow, calming breath while they opened the large court doors. A blaster pressed into her back. She frowned but moved. This was unavoidable. If it hadn't been now she would have eventually come face to face with him another quintant. So why bother fighting the quiznaking sentry and earn herself an unnecessary injury? She kept her eyes down, looking at the plain design of the path to the throne. The sentries next to her stopped. She halted as well, feeling her heartbeat in her ears.

"Princess Allura," a deep voice rumbled out into the grand hall.

She made the mistake of looking up. Her calming breaths earlier was quickly becoming useless. There was a roaring in her ears as she stared at her father's murderer and her entire culture. Her nails dug into her palms. Her legs trembled as the great figure stood up from his ghastly throne. Her feet shifted. She could hear the metal binding her feet starting to crack.

Then the beast dared to speak again. "Alfor's precious daughter."

"...A monster like you," the metal around her ankles broke, "isn't allowed to say my father's name!"

His mouth twitched in amusement. All the lessons of diplomacy fell away. Her patience with this finally snapped. She yelled out as she ran. Her blood was rushing with seething anger. She didn't even realize that the witch was in the room as well. A cold darkness surrounded her, halting her in her tracks. Allura gritted her teeth. Her feet managed to move two steps.

It made Zarkon chuckle.

"You're more of a fighter than your esteemed father."

The metal around her wrists started to bend. "Every inch of me despises you," she hissed out. "Voltron will - " Then she found herself floating up in the air. Her hands automatically went to her throat. Her feet kicked out as an invisible hand choked her. A cloaked figure came up to her, watching her with a curious tilt of her head.

"You carry the quintessence of my champion."

Allura's eyes would have widened if they weren't already. The choking already made her eyes unnaturally round. That voice. She had briefly heard it in Shiro's memories. It had been a fleeting recollection but filled with apprehension and tension.

There was one night that had left Shiro in a cold sweat.

He held her close and muttered the name 'Haggar.' 'She's the head of the druids,' he had relented before falling quiet again. She couldn't bring herself to press for more information. And now she was here, in front of the head of those that experimented on him. Gave him that metal arm that helped them but haunted his memories.

She tried to glare. It only brought a smile on the witch's face.

"There's the fire of a fighter in you."

Zarkon could tell what was going through the witch's mind. He hummed at the idea before nodding his consent. Haggar released her. Allura coughed loudly as she tried to get air in. The sentries hauled her onto her feet.

"Take her to the pit," Haggar slowly drawled.

Allura felt an icy dread fill her heart. She pulled an arm free. She kicked and yelled as more sentries came to contain her. Haggar tutted as she calmly drifted over to them.

"You'll get your chance to fight," Haggar crooned as she placed her hand on Allura's forehead, "Princess Allura."

The witch took her crown. Allura immediately tried to snatch it back.

Something sharply hit the back of her head, knocking her out.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

Shiro didn't bother hiding from Coran's glare.

"She sacrificed herself for me."

The paladins collectively held their breaths. Anger and grief flooded the royal advisor's face. He walked up to Shiro, got as close to him as he could. Shiro waited for a punch. He'd take it though he knew that punishment wouldn't nearly cover the cost of his failure.

"I trusted you," Coran's voice trembled with thick emotion, "She trusted you."

Getting stabbed in the stomach several times would have felt better than this. Shiro closed his eyes as he took the well deserved blame.

"We'll get her back," he quietly said.

Coran let out a mirthless laugh. "We'll be lucky to get her corpse."

Shiro's brows furrowed. "We'll get her alive Coran." He fisted his hands as he felt his courage grow. "No matter what."

The Altean's face was blank. "You really do know how to talk."

Shiro's eyes narrowed fiercely. Before he could respond, Hunk cut in.

"Uh guys, what's happening to our screen?"

All eyes looked up to the large screen. The symbol of the Galra flashed. Pidge immediately went to her chair and pulled up her screens.

"The Galra are sending out a feed to all networks."

"Can you accept it without giving away our location?"

"Yeah...just let me get this set up." Pidge typed away as fast as she could. "Ok, I'm opening it."

The paladins frowned at the dirt floor.

"Ok..." Lance scratched his head. "Maybe it was an accident?"

Shiro stayed quiet until the feed zoomed out more. Keith saw as the blood drained from Shiro's face.

"You recognize it?" the red paladin quietly asked.

"...It's the Gladiator pit. But why would they -?"

Someone was pushed out, falling into the dirt. As the figure stood up the members of the castle stood stock still in collective shock.

"Oh gods," Shiro choked out.

He lost all feeling as he took in the sight of Allura wearing the clothing of a prisoner.

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AN: And we're diverting from canon. The idea came to me in the middle of traffic and wouldn't let go. But seriously, Zarkon has the daughter of his enemy. Why wouldn't he exploit this opportunity?