I am not sure who I feel the worst for in this story, but I do blame my dear friend Ali for inspiring this idea with a picture or at least inspiring me to get off my butt and write it. I'm going to give all the warnings off the bat. Warnings for Sensory Deprivation, Piano Wire Torture and Stabbing, Mentions of Blood, Electric Shocks, Waterboarding Torture Technique, and a lot of Psychological/Mental Torture of different types. If any of those things are triggering for you, please do not read on. However, if you're desensitised like me, come on in and enjoy the ride of suffering! This is also for NeoMiniTails 'Soundtrack of My Life Challenge' and the album is from We are the Fallen called Tear the World Down. The first song is 'Bury Me Alive'. Also, a huge shout-out to 'Crystalleris' for betaing this chapter.
1. No Way Out
How had things ended up like this?
How was Lotor even alive?
How had he survived the quintessence field?
These were the questions whirling through Allura's mind as she struggled against the binds that weighed her down, the metal hard and cold against her wrist. Her wrists did not mould to allow her to escape. Was her magic being blocked somehow? Lotor's looming figure hovered over her, his eyes drinking her in as his lips curved into a leering smirk.
She could smell rancid scents all about her, a reminder of the scents she smelled for those few days before the chamber put her and Coran into a deep sleep. The smell of knowing death was just around the corner, and the back of her mind taking her back to the first time she came across a dead body. The red that painted the walls was surely not there because Lotor had personally decided to decorate her prison. Her stomach churned and her throat was beginning to choke up, but she forced the bile down her throat.
She could no longer hear the others. The painful cries or the sounds of bodies being scraped against the floor roughly. There was absolute silence. At this stage, she was unsure of whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Had Lotor knocked the others out? What was he planning to do with them?
"What did you think would happen, Princess?" Lotor said, tone as calm as always but his eyes felt as if they were as sharp as steel right now. Even now, even after how everything it ended, his gaze pierced through her very soul as if he could see right through her. At one time, she may have foolishly thought it to be romantic for a man to see right through her. His one look could make her heart race and make her fall weak to her knees. But those days were over. Now, a fire burned inside her though, an untamed flame that was raging to come out.
How dare he make her look like as if she were the one at fault when he was the one who had done all those terrible things?
Hurt all those Alteans for his own personal gain?
"What should have happened," Allura spat, ignoring the tiny voice inside of her that told her that she should probably stay quiet. She wasn't the bad guy here – he was. And there was no way in hell she would keep quiet when she had not done anything wrong. It did not matter that she was in a position of weakness because like hell, was she going to just surrender when she was not at fault. She began to struggle more against the handcuffs, but the chain cut into her skin, ripping through flesh and the liquid trickled down her wrist. Quiznack! That was not supposed to happen. The metallic stench rose to such heights, her blood mixed with the actual metal of the handcuffs making her nose reek. She needed to get out of here.
"Are you certain you want to say that?" Lotor asked, stepping a little bit closer to her. "You're at my mercy right now and I can do whatever I want to you." His hands came to grip her shoulders, bringing his face in close to her. "It doesn't have to be like this, Allura. I still care about you."
The grip around her was so tight that her throat choked up, lips feeling dry, the words and protests dying at her lips. Other than Lotor's voice speaking, everything else was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Her friend's faces appeared in the back of her mind, and she could feel them encouraging her to fight. She knew she had to fight but the words would not come out. It was like her voice was not supporting her. Well, if her voice wasn't going to support her, she was going to use other things. As her gaze fell to her blood that fell on the ground with a splat, something ripped inside her and she yanked herself free from his grip even as the chain cut in deeper. She had survived worse than this – she couldn't die here; she wouldn't die here. Coran was probably trying his hardest to save all of them. But will he get here soon enough? She knew he wouldn't give up on them, but Lotor would not make it easy for him to find them.
I don't care about you, Lotor. I'd die before surrendering to you.
Lotor sighed. "Well, you cannot claim I did not offer to spare your life, Princess. I will see to it personally that you suffer along with the rest of your friends as your incompetent excuse of a leader is the reason you are in this situation."
"Don't you dare blame Keith for your shortcomings!" Allura snapped, somehow finding her voice at the insult to her friend. It didn't matter that the last thing they had done was argue because of her trusting Lotor, he was still her friend, and he was the reason Lotor had been unable to misuse them anymore. "No one forced you to make the choices that you did. He's only a lousy leader to you because he revealed your truly monstruous nature to us."
Lotor bristled at that and struck her across the face causing her to stumble due to the handcuffs. "That's enough out of you. I gave you as much of a chance as you deserved but no more chances." He pulled away from her and walked over to a corner where a box appeared. That had definitely not been there before, and he pulled out a cloth. Before she could even open her mouth to protest, the cloth was forcibly wrapped around her mouth and tied at the back. Only muffled sounds escaped her lips now, her eyes widening. She had been kidnapped once before but the most that had happened to her was being handcuffed by Zarkon's allies. This was different. She could no longer speak, not because her voice would not support her but because her ability to speak – to scream, to protest had been stopped in her throat. It felt as if her power was lessening by the tic.
Another cloth was tied around her eyes, causing darkness to befall her. Her heart raced as she attempted to bite into the cloth, but she could not reach her hands up to untie the blindfold or the gag. A heavy metal was placed against both her ears feeling as if it were squeezing her head together and a choking sensation filled inside of her but due to the gag, she was unable to spit it out.
What was happening?
Why was this happening?
All the rage – the untamed flame flickered to that of a barely lit candle inside of her. The candle was not nearly enough to break through the darkness was seeping into every bone in her body. Her head spun from the loud banging resounding in her ears, and she could feel herself begin to tremble, having no realm of control. The reality was slamming into her mind and soul the more she stood there. Lotor had set the stage here and it was one that would destroy the very ground they were standing on. Lotor's cold hand touched her cheek, causing her to flinch.
"This is just the beginning, Allura," Lotor's voice was hard and filled with ice, which sent a chill down her spine, despite it being somewhat drowned out due to the loud sounds and hissing noises but it was clear enough, piercing through her very skin. "For you and for Team Voltron. I hope you enjoy your stay."
Allura's muffled protests did nothing other than Lotor pulling his hand away and the silence and overwhelming darkness that followed was maybe the single hope that he had left but at this point, she wasn't sure if she wanted that. If she could barely fight back against Lotor with all the strength she possessed, would her friends really fare any better? She wished there was some way of reaching them but all she could see ahead was a dark road, where even a small speck of light would be hard to see.
Keith kicked against the wall due to being handcuffed and winced. That probably had not been the best idea but what was he supposed to do? The room he was in was dark but not overly so but had nothing in it. The window had barricades on it, preventing any light from coming in and the room felt congested, almost stale at times. He stepped in something, realising it was water when it seeped into his armour. But none of this mattered. He was trapped in this room, and he had no idea where Lotor had taken his friends, especially Allura. He couldn't seem to banish the image from his mind of Allura being dragged off, right after he had…he had…he shivered a small bit at the thought.
"You're the one who got us all closer to Lotor because of your feelings."
He had accused her – blamed her when she was the one who had been the victim in all of that. She hadn't known about the clone – none of them had. It wasn't anybody's fault but his. No one had forced him to walk away but he had caused all of this. He had made this happen. Why did Shiro want me to be leader? I messed everything up. If Lotor hurts them because of me…
"You know, I did not think it would be quite so simple to capture all of you," A familiar voice said as Lotor stepped inside of the room and stared at him.
"Let them go, Lotor," Keith said firmly as he stepped forward towards him. "I'm the one who told them the person you really are. Allura had nothing to do with this."
"Hm?" Lotor glanced his way but did not reply for a moment. Was he considering it? It had always been hard to tell with him and his face gave away nothing. It was completely blank as he peered. It was different to when he was in the quintessence field where all he desired was to rip them all apart for the power.
"It was all your fault?" Lotor questioned as if asking a genuine question as a smirk slowly filled his face that made a cold chill envelop Keith's heart as he stepped closer to him, but he didn't move back. He would take anything if it meant Lotor would spare Allura and his other friends. Still, his body subconsciously tensed the closer the other got to him. Despite mentally preparing himself for the worst, he did wince a bit when Lotor struck at him causing him to fall, losing balance because his hands were tied.
"Do not keep any fantasy that I don't know you and the Princess are responsible for this situation," Lotor said, ice flickering in his eyes now. "Allura and I were happy together before you came and ruined everything. You don't believe that can go unpunished, can you?"
"Then punish me," Keith said again. Maybe he was pushing it by continuing to speak but if he could keep Lotor's attention focused on him, then maybe this could work. "If I'm the one who messed things up, it's not Allura's fault. It's not Pidge, Hunk or Lance's fault either. I convinced them you were wrong. I convinced Romelle to bring the truth out to the others – she was hesitant to, but I told her I would support her if she brought the truth out because I felt Allura deserved to know." He could feel his friends almost glaring at him for that and Allura's glare was especially murderous, but he pushed it down. He could focus on them later.
"You talk well," Lotor admitted. The smirk was back now but his eyes were still ice cold. "But this time, I'm not here to talk."
Keith opened his mouth to protest again but instead a sharp gasp escaped his lips, feeling a liquid begin to drip from his stomach and he looked down, seeing that Lotor had stabbed the sharp end of a barbed wire into his stomach. How had he not seen that coming? Was Lotor going to kill him before going after the rest of his friends? It didn't feel like his style. He stumbled into the ground, groaning a little as his back hit the cold surface of the floor.
"Don't worry," Lotor said calmly. "I won't kill you yet. It won't be that easy." He put the barbed wire down, attaching a certain piece of metal to the handcuffs. "This will heal you once your body gets close to death and start the process all over again." He leaned in close to his face. "I had your friends in the palm of my hand. If you had not returned, I would be the leader of Voltron. Allura would still be mine."
It hurt to talk, it stung as the piano wire dug even deeper, but Keith did not care in this moment.
"You'd…you'd never be their leader," Keith rasped out. "And Allura's never belonged to you!" He didn't know why he felt the need to address this part in particular, but he felt a sharp burn run through, making his body feel as if it were very hot all of a sudden. This could be because of the wound and the blood pouring out but something inside his head told him it wasn't. Lotor had no right to even utter Allura's name after what he had done to her.
Lotor chuckled. "If we were in another situation, I would admire your bravery for speaking up whilst in such a compromising position but right now, your actions are foolish. Haven't you done enough by dragging your team into this situation? You would not be here, had you just stayed away."
Keith felt the wind knocked from him as his breathing weakened, but he did not allow for his eyes to close as he stared at Lotor. That was true, wasn't it? Lotor had done this because he had revealed the truth to them – because they had turned on him even though Keith had no real evidence other than Romelle's words. But the Paladins had not known Romelle. They had trusted her because she had come with him – ok, well, maybe Allura and Coran also trusted her because she was Altean and Lotor had never mentioned anything about other Alteans being there.
Shiro, you wanted me to lead Voltron. But a leader protects their team, right? So why can't I protect them when they need me to? If Lotor hurts them, it's because I told them the truth. They were safe before that. But were they, really? Yeah, that was what Shiro would say. Sure, Lotor had not revealed his true colours to them before he had come back but how long were these things going to remain a secret?
"What?" Lotor mocked. "Are you out of words? Or is the pain making it too hard to speak? I didn't think you were this weak. It's almost not even a challenge."
Keith didn't know what got into him as a small chuckle escaped his lips and it was almost like he was a cadet at the Garrison, dealing with those stronger than him. "I think you're the one afraid to fight me, Lotor," Keith rasped out, not knowing where this strength had come from. "You never deserved Allura. I would tell…I would tell her the truth about you all over again because she deserves better than you." He chuckled again, coughing weakly at the exertion this caused his body, the sweat feeling salty against his lips.
"Who does she deserve, you?" Lotor said almost casually. "I could have given her everything."
"Everything but honesty," Keith shot back. It was not a smart idea to talk back to someone who was more powerful and in a better position but at the same time, making Lotor mad might just distract him from the others. Still, Lotor's casual words about who Allura deserved made something stir in his heart. Could he really offer her more than anyone else? Why was he even thinking that? The pain must be getting to him – yeah, that was it. The pain was distorting his thoughts. He grunted as he felt a kick to his ribs.
"I did what I had to preserve the greater good," Lotor said simply, a scowl forming his face. "You and Romelle should have stayed out of it. Everything was going perfectly."
"My team aren't your toys," was all Keith said before he felt his strength begin to give way. He saw Lotor's lips moving but he could not make out the words. He knew Lotor didn't want to kill him but as the wire dug in deeper, the last fleeting thought that left his mind was whether the half-Galran Prince had truly thought that all the way through. I have to protect them.
Deeper and deeper Pidge felt as if she was sinking, stomach churning as her nose wrinkled. It was as if she were in a room filled with paint, one in which the paint was still wet in many ways. Sounds felt as if they were not reaching her ears completely, but a scream escaped her lips as electric shocks wracked both her mind and body. She began squirming and thrashing against her restraints, not caring as it cut into her arms. She had to get out of here. Another scream left her lips as the shocks increased, almost not hearing it as Lotor's voice cut through the air. His tone was cutting but she could not make out the words due to her own screams. But it did mean her sound was not blocked somehow if she could hear his voice – the room she was held captive in may just be too silent, which was why she could not hear anything. It was the only thing that had any logic to it.
How had he even survived the quintessence field? How had it not drained him of energy? The electric shocks stopped momentarily, and Pidge's body fell into a somewhat relaxed state, although there was still the constant shaking from the aftermath of the attack.
"No one here will make an exchange for you, Pidge," Lotor said. "Your father, your brother, where are they now? The ones for whom you were willing to throw a potential ally away?"
"You're…not…my ally," Pidge gasped out, but talking was a bad idea right now, given her state. Her body ached and her throat felt as if someone had scratched it mercilessly so abusing that caused her to begin coughing excessively into some sort of metallic surface. Where was she anyway? In some kind of chamber or something? It must be tightly locked from every angle because she could not find much room for movement to be honest.
"We could have been allies," Lotor reminded her simply. No, they couldn't have. He had never been one of them, no matter what anyone said. "Your friends trusted me, did they not? Well, other than your pathetic leader, of course. But what has he been able to do for you, anyway?"
He saved us from you. He came back to protect us. Pidge wanted to say these words, she truly did but another round of shocks overtook her entire being. She closed her eyes, trying to bite down on her lip to muffle her own screams. Her arms and legs felt as if they were trapped in one place – she needed to move, she needed to survive. If she succumbed to the darkness attempting to overtake her, there was no way the others would be able to survive if she went down. Lotor was intelligent – they needed to outsmart him but what could she do? She couldn't move nor see, and the shocks were making things worse by the tic. In all their adventures as Team Voltron, she was certain things had never been as dire as they were in this moment. Given Lotor's cockiness though, he most likely had the others trapped too – so who could save them? Coran wasn't that great of a fighter but maybe her partner could do something to help.
'Green' The pain of the shocks was making it hard for her to focus but if she could find a way to contact her lion – Lotor had most likely made sure that the lions couldn't help but they weren't just powerful because of the strength Voltron had but also because of the bonds they had with each other and with their lions. 'I know you're hurting, Green. But…I need your help. We have to save everyone'
Green could get her out of this. As long as the two of them were together, they could help the others and themselves. Still, silence greeted her, and her heart clenched into her stomach. Had Lotor won? If she couldn't reach Green, nothing else came to her mind. Her father's face flashed before her mind – she had promised her that they would see each other again – would she be able to keep that promise? If she died here, if her friends didn't survive this, what would happen to the universe? Will Voltron go down again like it had previously in history? No, no they couldn't. They had a good leader – they had each other, even in this situation and they still cared. Keith and Allura's argument flashed before her, but she pushed that down. At least, she thought they still cared.
'I hear you, Pidge' Green spoke, causing Pidge's heart to jump, the small flicker of light in her heart glowing slightly. 'We're all trapped here and are still not at full strength, but we can try.'
'Allura said that the bond between a Paladin and their lion couldn't be explained by logic' Pidge spoke back to her partner. 'I know we can do this, Green. I don't know how much longer I can hang on.' Another scream escaped her, and she was unable to stop it this time. She could feel a liquid around her lower leg but couldn't tell what that could possibly be right now.
'Pidge!' Green sounded a little panicked now. 'I heard you scream. What happened?'
'Lotor…he did something' Pidge managed, head spinning, feeling as if her body had been being hit with the shocks for hours, although it couldn't have been that long. 'I can feel constant electric shocks. I think my leg is bleeding but I don't know for sure. This is why I need you to help me. I can't help the others without your help. I need you' If the other Paladins had listened to her, this may not have happened but that didn't matter now. They were in this together. They had all screwed up but as long as they were together, they could fix it.
'I'll do my best, Pidge, I promise' Green assured her, not sounding any less anxious but that was okay. As long as Green was there to help, things would somehow work out.
Lance knew how to swim but was he really drowning? He could feel himself going deeper into the water, but it felt as if he couldn't break free long enough to swim. He knew Lotor was not the one in the room because he wouldn't want to kill them. He had read the half-Galran prince well enough to know it wouldn't satisfy him. But he could feel the water filling his lungs. He couldn't breathe. How had he ended up in water? He tried to swim out of wherever he was, but he couldn't move either. What was going on? Just as sudden as it came, it stopped. He didn't know why but he could breathe again, and he coughed, seeing Lotor step inside of the room. Sounds were still somewhat coming in blocked, but he tried to open his eyes, the water causing his eyes to still sting, his nostrils screaming in pain as he tried to regain his surroundings.
"Earthlings have rather interesting methods for their prisoners," Lotor said, tilting his head to the side and looking at him. "I'm surprised the planet has not collapsed on itself yet."
Lance coughed, trying to shake the water out of his eyes. "You…you won't get Voltron like this. So, what do you want? Revenge?" It took a lot of strength to get him to talk but he would not give Lotor the satisfaction that he was in pain. He was fine. They had plenty of smart people in the group. They would definitely be able to find them a way out of this. He just had to hang in there a little longer.
"You're just as misunderstood in the team as I am, Lance," Lotor said simply. "How would you feel if those you thought you could trust turned their backs on you? After all, what evidence did Keith really give you to prove that I had done those things?"
"He doesn't need to give us evidence," Lance managed to say, forcing a little bit of strength in his voice. "It's Keith. He couldn't tell a lie even if his own life depended on it. Besides, even if he could, he wouldn't lie to us. Friends don't do that to each other. Not that you would know." He couldn't help but let the last part slip out, squirming slightly against the ropes that held him down. He probably had tons of rope burns from how much he had struggled already.
Lotor chuckled. "I considered all of you my…allies as well. Just because he was your ally first makes him more truthful than me?"
"You did admit to your own crimes," Lance pointed out, surprised at his own logic but it wasn't even logic. It was what he had seen – what they had seen. "You didn't even try to deny it."
"I did not agree to his accusations at all," Lotor denied. "I agreed that there were certain things I needed to do to discover the mysteries of quintessence and I do deeply regret those things as well."
Lance tried to shake his head, but a shiver ran down his spine. "Nothing is more important than a life. Taking someone's life…you should have known, Lotor. Allura would never look twice at a person who would take even a single life. It's not an excuse." He scowled.
"So, do you feel your situation now is better?" Lotor asked him. "You're trapped here. You would have died had I not come in when I had."
"And you're going to blame Keith for you torturing us?" Lance scowled now, even though it hurt to do so. "That's pathetic, Lotor, even for you."
"You may not agree with my methods, Lance," Lotor pointed out to him. "But Keith did choose to leave you all. He abandoned you to join the Blade of Marmora. Your friend Shiro was replaced by a clone. When Keith wasn't there for you, I was the one who protected your team. I can understand what it is like to be abandoned, Lance. Keith was wrong for doing that to you. He's the real reason you are in this mess. If he had never left, this alliance may have never even been formed."
Lance fell quiet at that. He knew the last person he should be listening to was Lotor, but his words did contain some truth. Keith had left – okay, he had left thinking that they were with the real Shiro, but it still wasn't an excuse. He had left and maybe if he hadn't, Lotor would not have been able to do what he did. Keith had definitely made his choice – and they had not been a part of it then.
"He also chose to come back," Lance managed to say. "He didn't have to do that either." He knew the words sounded lame, even to him but it was what he said to convince himself. Keith had left but when they had really needed him, he had come back too. He had protected them from Lotor – at least in the moment, but would they have needed protection from Lotor if he hadn't left in the first place? He considered Keith his friend but did the other think the same about him? Did he feel the same about any of them? His mind whirled slightly. Why was he letting Lotor put doubts in his mind like this? Lotor would want them to fight – to have disarray between them but even if that was his purpose, were his words completely wrong?
"He came back to preserve Voltron," Lotor informed him. "He viewed me as a threat and if the Paladins of Voltron perished, he may not survive either."
"That's not true," Lance said immediately. Keith could be a lot of things but selfish was not one of them – especially selfishness for the sake of his own survival. Before Lotor could reply, a scream cut through the air, and he began squirming again. That sounded like Pidge's voice! She was in trouble, and he was stuck here. Dangit. What had they gotten themselves into?
"You hear those screams, don't you?" Lotor asked calmly. "You're in this situation because of your leader. It's not even about leadership though, is it? I mean, I would say a leader does not abandon their team but to put it in your words, friends don't abandon each other, do they? Can you still call him a friend?"
Pidge, hang on. He closed his eyes, trying to block out Lotor's words. It didn't matter if he was right or wrong. Lotor was still the enemy more than Keith was. Wait, Keith wasn't the enemy – why had he even thought that? Quit letting Lotor mess with you, Lance. Keith isn't the enemy here, even if…even if maybe he didn't consider them friends either. Could he not hear Pidge's screams? Could Keith not feel the pain that everyone was in right now? Did they matter to him?
"Let her go," Lance finally said, trying to manage his breathing, which was slowly getting back to normal even though it was taking its time. "I don't know a lot, especially about Keith, he's not the most expressive but I consider him my friend." He wasn't entirely sure if he did right now, thinking about everything but he sure as hell would not let Lotor know that no matter how many questions his brain was throwing at him. "And Pidge is definitely my friend." This, he knew for sure.
"Hm?" Lotor tilted his head to the side to observe Lance. "What is in that for me?"
"If…if you let Pidge go," Lance began. "I'll listen to you. About Keith and the others too." Idiot! Is that really the best idea right now? He knew it wasn't, but anyone could be the Red Paladin – he wasn't special and if Lotor manipulating him would spare some of the others, it wasn't a big loss. He didn't really contribute as much as the others did, after all.
"Is that so?" Lotor hummed almost as if pondering it. "I suppose I have nothing to lose by bringing the Green Paladin to you, but her restraints will not be undone."
Lance sighed in relief. "I can live with that." Sorry, Pidge, this was the best I can do.