x
As Color Fades Away
Chapter Nine
"That is enough, Commander," Haggar called over the intercom system as she watched on camera as the human went unconscious. "Cease immediately."
The Galran shot the camera a glare but released the now broken limb and stepped away from the table, arms crossed over his broad chest. Haggar resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Galrans. They were all the same; so quick to violence without any sort of elegance to it.
But she supposed at least the commander was an intriguing subject on his own. It was the reason she had selected him to assist her rather than ordering any of her Druids about. He would be the sword to her shield and compared to him she would appear as a balm to the captured Paladin, urging him to offer up his secrets lest she sic the Galran back on him.
That, and she would not lie and say it was indeed useful to be able to step back and observe the situation. Knowledge was power after all and sometimes the best vantage point was from a distance. The commander had just given her an opportunity to test a theory and, she smirked, she had been correct. As always.
She stepped back into the laboratory room, making her way towards the table. The Paladin was out cold, but even then he was whimpering quietly and his body continued to shake.
She regretfully unhooked the saliidda infused fluid bag and replaced it with a clear one with the ingredients needed to keep a human body functioning. She had to admit his sounds of distress were delightful, but too much saliidda could prove fatal and she had no desire to kill him just yet. Not only was it a toxin in that regard, but the reaction it had on the mind could overload it. She had seen it happen before and she could not afford for the boy's mind to shatter before she gleaned information for her lord.
"What sort of pathetic creature is this?" Theodek growled lowly as Haggar finished affixing the newest fluid bag. "One broken bone and he gives into the pain?"
"Calm yourself," Haggar turned to him. "You fool, do you not understand the effects of the saliidda?"
"It enhances pain," the Galran snapped back.
Haggar's eyes narrowed. "No. It enhances feeling by tricking the mind. Humans are weak, fragile creatures, Commander. The stress placed upon their hearts can cause the muscle to seize, killing them, and the trauma and pain his body thought it was under very nearly did so. You are fortunate he passed out before it could rupture."
"Weak," Theodek muttered, but he did not offer up another complaint.
"Your actions did provide me valuable information though," she continued, "despite your... brutish methods." She tapped her fingers against the air and a datapad appeared out of the space whole she had made for it. She hid a smirk as she sensed the Galran step back at the magic.
"I had suspected given his display in front of Emperor Zarkon that he would be resistant to my questions for information regarding the Paladins of Voltron," Haggar said. "And that was further compounded by his refusals during the recording. I will break him," she continued, "but I can see that his conviction is stronger than I anticipated and it is reflected in his mental walls, of which I have only been able to glean the barest of surface thoughts before they too are hidden from me." A small smile played over her lips. "I admit, he reminds me of my Shiro more than I had imagined so."
Theodek frowned at that. He like most of the Empire knew the one she spoke of as Champion, and that human had proved incredibly resilient and fearsome. This long-limbed, slender specimen looked nothing like the Champion and had already proven to Theodek that he was a coward and a liar and he would see him suffer for what he had done
"I have been monitoring all of his vitals since he was brought here," Haggar continued, reaching out and more gently than Theodek would have done and turning the human's head to the side and giving the briefest glimpse of a small, round disc embedded into the back of his neck. Theodek recognized it immediately; it was one of the probes the medical staff used on those injured in battle to keep track of changes before treatment could be administered.
It was actually a rather clever idea to use it as a way to keep tabs on the human.
"Humans are weak and thus I had to make certain he would not succumb to his elevated body temperature or dehydration before moving onwards to phase two," Haggar explained. "But as you know the probes can also scan for a variety of other things. Like a pulse." She grinned, showing teeth. "It has been quite entertaining to see what makes it spike and rest as it does. His rate indicates he has spent most of his time here in a state of unease and fear, but he does a remarkable job of trying to hide it.
"In fact," Haggar smiled, "I am not sure if I should be offended or delighted, Commander, as when I exited the room and you remained his heart rate spiked. You have quite the presence, hmm? I wonder what use I can make of you."
"I am only here to avenge my brother," Theodek growled, fists curling. He would not become one of her game pieces or pawns. He would put up with the Druid and show her the grudging respect that he knew his emperor expected of them all to show her and her kind, but he did not have to like her.
If he was honest the Druids were terrifying in their own right and he would likely never have placed himself in such a position save for his revenge.
"Yes, yes," Haggar waved her hand almost flippantly at him and Theodek bit back his snarl at the disrespect, but he knew what those hands were capable of and he would not test his limits of her abilities on him. He had no desire to be the recipient of a magic attack. The witch seemed too distracted to take affront though at the moment anyway, scrolling through her tablet and clearly enjoying hearing herself talk.
"His heart rate jumped yet again after your first little display," she said. "Moreso than anything I had done to him, which includes the recording room. Do you know what this means, Commander?"
Theodek grunted. He really did not care.
"It means that he fears fear most of all," Haggar looked up at him. "He was resistant to my line of questioning here as he knew what to expect to a degree and during the recording he also knew what would happen and why. But with you, Commander... You did not ask him a question or make a demand. You caused him pain for no reason save to inflict it."
Theodek bristled. He had a reason, a very good one. The whelp had killed his brother and then had the gall to insult his memory. How dare she belittle–
"At ease, Commander, I know of your reasons and I do not say this to take away from your reasons. But your method did not give the Blue Paladin the opportunity to protect anyone or anything. He has been a shield, Commander, attempting to protect his team this entire time. Such a thing I imagine gives him a modicum of comfort, of purpose, in all of this." She smiled then, a truly dark thing. "Your methods, however, do not give him that opportunity. They strip him away to his very core and he make him vulnerable."
Theodek thought he might like where this was going.
"This entire time he has put up a very good fight, a mental strength I had not expected. But at the very end of your session with him... I felt that wall break, just a bit. For he projected something to me that all living creatures of the universe desire and that even he, with all his conviction, cannot help but give into." She met Theodek's eyes. "Survival, Commander. He may desire to protect his team but at the end of the quintant the need to survive will surpass rational thought. He will break and you will be a key part of it. I daresay such a thing should appease you."
Theodek smiled, all teeth. Yes. Yes such a thing did indeed.
"We will need to move carefully," Haggar said, putting away her tablet back into a pocket of space. "He is resilient and his mind is quick and sharp. If he senses a pattern I have no doubts he will adapt. We must strike hot and quick and batter down his shield to the point he has nowhere left to hide. And then," she grinned, "he will have nothing left to protect."
She moved to the table and pressed the control to release the straps, leaving the Paladin unrestrained.
He did not so much as move.
"It is just as well," she said, flicking her hand at the human and sending him to float next to her. "We have just about two quintants before the Paladins reach us, assuming they travel at their fastest speed."
"Will that be enough time?" Theodek frowned. If this human was as strong as the witch seemed to think he was then two quintants was hardly a blink. Although... he had heard rumor and tales of the Druids reducing even the most battle-hardened soldiers to whimpering messes within the course of vargas sometimes.
"Yes." Her hand reached out and trailed down the side of the human's face, a strange look in her eyes that made Theodek shiver. "It is all the time I need."
xxx
Shiro, Keith and Allura made their way slowly to the kitchen following the transmission to meet up with the others, hearts heavy but filled with a newfound determination that finally they were going to be able to do something. Allura had put wormholing to the Hodgkin quadrant on hold for the moment so as to speak with the rest of Team Voltron first (and to eat something, she had admitted, as opening up such a portal was exhausting and she needed the boost).
Inside the kitchen Pidge was seated at the counter (the kitchen table still strewn with their lunch of bland space potatoes) while Hunk stirred a pot of something on the stove and Coran puttered around, pulling out cups and saucers for their tea. All three heads immediately turned though as the others entered, quiet, but not silent.
"Shiro—" Hunk began, voice cracking. Was Lance...?
"He's alive," Shiro interrupted, not allowing that train of thought to go on any longer and Hunk let out a low sob, clutching the counter in front of him. "And we're going to rescue him."
Hunk's lip wobbled and Pidge gave a short nod, some of the tension bleeding from her shoulders.
"How?" Pidge asked quietly, after a moment. "Are we going to... to do the trade?"
"No," Shiro said firmly and Hunk's eyes widened with a wash of betrayal. "But we will get him back. I promise." He turned to Allura, who had steered Keith to sit at the table, the boy still pale, and had joined him and was dutifully shoveling potatoes into her mouth. "How soon can we wormhole?"
She swallowed thickly, coughing politely into her hand despite the fact her cheeks had been stuffed a moment before, and gratefully accepted the cup of tea that Hunk came and offered her before slumping at the table next to Keith.
"In but a few dobashes. I merely need to input the coordinates we were given."
She paused then, eyes widening. "Oh. Did..." she looked to Shiro, horror etched in her face. "Did... did anyone take note of the coordinates?"
Shiro paled too. He had been so distracted, so horrified, by the torture Lance had gone through that he hadn't even thought to write them down or give them much of a thought minus his silent pleas for Lance to finish reciting them. Allura appeared to be of the same thought.
They were going to have to watch it again.
"Hodgkin quadrant sixth nebula," Keith offered up quietly, his gaze trained on his hands wrapped about the cup of tea Coran had thrust upon him. "Seventeen point six degrees north and two hundred and five point four degrees west."
"Keith..." Shiro whispered.
"Had to focus on something... something else."
"Thank you, Paladin," Allura murmured, reaching out a hand and placing it atop Keith's forearm.
Keith gave an uncomfortable roll of his shoulders and a nod.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Princess, but we cannot wormhole to the Hodgkin quadrant."
Every single head jerked to where Coran was standing at the counter, his datapad in hand and a frown dragging his moustache down.
"Why ever not?" Allura demanded, anger not directed at her advisor but her voice still sharp.
"It is impassable at that speed," Coran said quietly. "The Hodgkin quadrant is made up of very unstable planets and asteroids. To wormhole into that could prove fatal." He tapped the tablet. "We may be able to jump to the quadrant's second nebula but we would have to proceed carefully and at normal flight speed for the remainder of the journey. There is no other way around either; the coordinates are directly in the middle of the quadrant and no matter what direction we approach from we will encounter the same problem."
"And how long will this delay take?"
Coran's moustache drooped even more. "Nearly two and a half quintants, Princess," he whispered.
"Two and a half days?" Hunk repeated, stomach clenching. "But... but why?"
Why would the Galrans pick a location so impassable, one that would require Voltron to slowly pick their way across the universe?
Didn't Zarkon want the the Black Lion as soon as possible?
"Information," Pidge murmured. "Oh God..."
"Information?" Hunk parroted, voice rising. "What information? What are you talking about?"
"About us," Keith said, looking up to meet the dark honey gaze. "On Voltron. They'll use the time to interrogate Lance."
"What?" Hunk breathed. "What, no, they wouldn't..."
"They would," Shiro said, pressing his flesh hand to the bridge of his nose, feeling another headache incoming.
And given what they had just seen...
"They'll torture him," Pidge said, voice small. "They'll... they'll..." Her arms wrapped about her stomach. It would make what little she had seen from the transmission recording look like nothing.
It was going to get worse.
She thought she might be sick.
Allura's soft inhale at least broke her from conentrating on her queasy stomach, although given the newest look on the princess' face Pidge wasn't sure it was any better an outcome.
"What is it, Princess?" Shiro asked as Allura raised a hand to her mouth, shaking her head.
"He is the Blue Paladin," she breathed. "Oh..."
And despite the seriousness of the situation eyebrows quirked in confusion from the humans in the room, although Coran paled as much as his fellow Altean, because obviously yes, Lance was the Blue Paladin.
"Do you recall when you first came to the castle and I told you about the Lions and how they chose their Paladins?" Allura asked, receiving slow nods from the gathered Paladins. "I never was able to fully explain how the Blue Lion made her choice," she continued and they all remembered how Lance had cut in that the Blue Lion went for the most handsome and best pilot of the bunch.
"The Blue Lion favors a pilot who finds joy in the world around them," Allura continued quietly, wringing her hands. "Like her element of water, she seeks someone who is adaptable, quick on their feet and offers support to buoy others up." Her voice grew quieter. "Loyalty and compassion are at the core of the Blue Lion's quintessence and character; she will only accept a pilot who will put others first and whose love and heart no know bounds."
"What are you saying, Princess?" Shiro asked, although the way his insides were freezing he had an idea of where this was going.
"I... I do not think the Blue Paladin will say anything," Allura said quietly. "No matter the tactics used or the pain he suffers. It is in his very quintessence to protect others and I..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I fear that he would endure anything rather than endanger us. Even... even at the cost of his life."
"Don't say that," Hunk moaned in denial, even though he knew Allura spoke the truth. He'd seen Lance's self-sacrificial tendencies throughout his whole life and that had not changed even when the consequences became as deadly as they had up here in space.
Silence reigned in the room, a thick, tense ugly thing as each came to the same conclusion.
Lance would rather die than see them hurt.
"Then... then why ?"Pidge asked, breaking it. "Why Lance? He's the worst choice for... for that," she struggled to say the last word.
For torture. For interrogation.
Oh God she really was going to be sick.
"They likely had little choice," Coran said said, fingers steepled. "They needed to separate a Paladin from the pack, so to speak, a difficult feat when be it ground or air missions you all stay together in at least teams of two. Choosing an environment that would force a one-on-one situation I have to grudgingly admit was clever, and a water-based scenario would pose the least risk to their own soldiers as compared to something like a sun, for example, where only the Red Lion could traverse."
"It was all a trap," Shiro shook his head. "The abandoned ship, the data... all of it. And we walked right into it. I walked us right into it."
"This was a team decision, Paladin," Allura said, shooting him a look and Shiro thought back to their discussion aboard Blue. She sighed, sound heavy. "We were all played as fools."
"Maybe we can turn the tables though?" Pidge asked, straightening up, and a familiar, calculating gleam entering her eyes. "Make Zarkon and the Galra the fools?"
"I like that plan," Keith put in, a sharp look to his face.
"You've got an idea, Pidge?" Shiro asked, feeling the vice around his insides releasing ever so slightly. Pidge may be young but she was brilliant; moreso than even her brother and considering Matt was one of the smartest people Shiro knew that was saying something.
"They gave us those coordinates expecting us to take about two days," Pidge said. "So the logical solution is to go faster; launch a rescue mission when they're not expecting us and be gone before they even realize we were there."
"Assuming the castle could go any faster," Coran said, pulling at his moustache, "we would still be completely visible to the Galra. I have no doubt they will have scouts stationed in a perimeter around the coordinates to prevent anything of the sort."
"It can go faster," Pidge insisted. "Hunk, Coran, I'll need your help but if we were to divert power from shields to thrusters and reconfigure the propulsion system... it'll be like the supply pod. It can work. And I promise I've improved the design; this one won't have a chance to blow up." She hoped, she quietly added.
"And our visibility?" Shiro asked, hope growing as Pidge's eyes had yet to lose their gleam.
"I can't cloak the whole castle but Green is cloaked," Pidge said. "If I were to work with my design and use some of the spare Balmeran crystals I think – no, I know – I can increase the time. Maybe even to a whole half varga. We leave the castle on the outskirts, outside of the perimeter, and take Green in in stealth mode. They won't see us coming at all and with Shiro's arm I can hack us into the base like that," she snapped her fingers, "and then take control of the camera system. We'll find Lance and be out before Green's cloaking gives."
"You... you can do all of this?" Allura asked, trying not to show her skepticism but it was so much that even Altea's best engineers would be hard-pressed to design.
"Yes," Pidge said firmly. She looked to Hunk and then to Coran. "If you'll help me."
"Whatever you need, Number Five," Coran said while Hunk gave Pidge a firm nod and a whispered, "thank you."
"This plan is not without risk," Allura said slowly. "Much of it relies on being able to make it to the coordinates well within the given expectation. I think it would be wise to have a backup plan as well."
"What backup plan?" Keith asked, voice hot. "You honestly think Zarkon would actually let us leave after we turned over the Black Lion? There is no other plan, Princess. We either get Lance back this way or we're not getting him back at all."
"I concur," she said and Keith was drawn up short, clearly expecting her to disagree. "But it is unwise to not have contingencies in case matters do not go so smoothly. What if the Galra perimeter is wider than we thought and the castle is seen? What if the Green Lion's cloaking cannot hold out as long as we hope?" She sighed.
"They will be expecting something," Shiro said quietly. "They'd be foolish not to. They know that we know that this entire thing is just another trap."
Because despite Zarkon's apparent offer, the Black Lion for the Blue Paladin, they knew it was not likely he would hold up his end of the bargain. And even if he surprised them and did indeed honor it, the universe, as Allura had stated multiple times, could not afford for the Black Lion to fall into Zarkon's hands. It would all be over then and there would be no retrieving the Black Lion once she was in Galra control.
One slender human Paladin was a much easier rescue than a several thousand-ton mechanical Lion.
The easiest solution though would be to abandon the Paladin entirely. Paladins were indeed replaceable, Allura had seen several throughout the course of her life cycle through the Lions.
But...
But as she was slowly starting to see, these humans were not faceless soldiers. They were people and ones she found herself drawn to. The had been the ones to release her from cryo-stasis, to offer her a glimmer of hope from the horror she had just emerged from, to start to fill in the hole in hear heart left behind by the gaping loss of her father, her people and her home.
Her duty as princess may be to the universe, but her duty to this group of humans was more than that.
She would not abandon a single one. She would see the Blue Paladin rescued and would accept no other option.
"Yes," she nodded. "Which is why we shall do all we can to anticipate any obstacles. For now though our concentration should be on converting the castle to be able to traverse at the speed we need for this element of surprise."
She rose to her feet, brushing down the front of her dress. "Coran, you and the Yellow Paladin will assist the Green Paladin with her design for the thrusters and I expect an update within the next... four varga. Red and Black Paladins, with me to the bridge." She sensed the confusion from the Red Paladin and met his gaze with a quirk of a smile. "We have a rescue mission to plan, do we not?"
He met her gaze and nodded.
"All right then, Paladins, you have your orders," Shiro said. He looked around the room, meeting each set of eyes that reflected the same determination and hope he could feel in himself. "Let's bring Lance home."
xxx
When Lance awoke it was to silence and he forced himself to not move despite the sudden pain that was hammering into him.
He didn't want them to know he was awake.
He didn't know who might be watching.
After a couple minutes though by his count he fluttered his eyes open, carefully, remembering how he'd blinded himself last time. But he needn't have worried; he wasn't strapped down to a operating table in the lab but was back in his cell, the only light the dim purple scone.
He felt both an immediate sense of relief and a gut-clenching panic because he did not want to go through that panicked, dull haze of fever and thirst and hunger. His stomach pulsed at that reminder and he groaned low in his throat at the reminder that he still hadn't eaten anything since he'd been captured. He supposed he could be grateful for the fluids.
Even if the fluids had come attached to that poison.
He stretched his hand out, testing to see if it was still in effect as he went to tap his fingers against the floor and then–
Dios! He nearly screamed as he put the slightest bit of weight on the limb and how the quiznak had he forgotten the Galran had broken it? He stopped moving completely, chest rising rapidly up and down, and trying to blink back the tears.
He didn't think he could afford to waste any fluids. He had no idea when they would give him more.
And if they came attached to the saliidda...
He wasn't sure he wanted them.
Heart back under control, Lance more carefully moved, using his left hand only to push himself to sitting and the room giving a dizzy spin at the change of vertigo.
He must have been out for a while.
He really, really didn't want to look at what had been done to his right hand but, he swallowed thickly, he couldn't not know.
Lance flicked his eyes down to where his hand was resting on the floor next to him.
Oh Dios.
It was worse than he'd imagined.
The entire limb from his wrist up towards his elbow was turning black and blue and the wrist was twisted, clearly broken. His thumb and index finger were both bent at the joint in a way that a human finger was not meant to go and a sick black and blue as well.
He felt his stomach somersault at the sight and closed his mouth, swallowing several times against the acid taste of bile that was tickling his throat. He didn't want to puke.
Whimpering, Lance lifted his right arm as best he could and pulled the broken part of his limb into his lap and tucked it up against his stomach, broken fingers pressing against his bare flesh and he shuddered. At least though he'd discovered moving it around hadn't hurt beyond what he imagined so the saliidda was indeed out of his system.
Small things.
Putting his limb in his lap did little to alleviate any pain, but at least it was secure now and somehow... somehow made him feel a little safer, even though he knew it was stupid. He wasn't safe here, not in the slightest.
Still, he found himself scooting himself backwards as gently as he could so his back was against the determined south wall and away from the door, giving him a clear line of sight to anyone that came in. Although what he thought he was going to do when that happened he had no idea. He'd opted not to resist before and that had been when he had been mostly healthy, minus the still very painful wound on his chest. Now he had two days worth of hunger, thirst, exhaustion and a broken wrist and fingers to round it all out.
He knew it was going to get worse.
This was only the beginning of the interrogation... or, well, maybe it was just a torture session now.
That's what the Galran had made it into at least. Commander... Theodore? Lance frowned. That wasn't right, but he couldn't recall the full name. Son of Theoden though. His only son now because Lance had killed the other.
His stomach curled again, guilt and remorse and sickness and fear all rolled together at the reminder of what he had done.
And because he had killed that Galran... his brother wanted revenge. Lance understood, in a roundabout way, that need.
And yet...
Yet he didn't. Not at all.
Because he hadn't killed the Galran out of malice or hate. It had been a necessity.
Right?
Right, he told himself.
Doubt still lingered that there could have been another way. A better way.
A way that would have still left him captured. But at least maybe then this commander wouldn't be so... so angry.
Lance still felt bad for him, felt for the Galran's family he had hurt.
And he would admit he was more than a little terrified that despite what they had done to him he still could not find it in him to hate them. That would be the normal reaction, right? To hate and depise right back?
But it would just continue this circle of violence and Lance didn't want that. They wanted to bring peace to the universe but peace didn't have to mean killing all of the Galra... at least he hoped so. Once Zarkon fell – and Zarkon, he had already long ago concluded, had to die and he just prayed he was not the one tasked with that final blow but he would do it, he would, if the universe asked it of him – he hoped the Galra would surrender and they could all move forward.
He could go home.
Well...
That had been the hope.
Now...
Now he was never going to go home.
He was never going to leave this ship.
He was going to die here, tortured to death for information he could not, would not, ever give them.
Unless...
Unless he escaped.
He glanced down at his wrist and let out a low snort.
Right.
Lance tilted his head back against the cell wall and closed his eyes.
What did he do?
He could not count on a rescue; as amazing as his team was he knew they would not be a match for Zarkon's forces, not without Voltron. And without him, for now, there was no Voltron. He would never want them to endanger themselves to rescue him; not when if he'd been stronger, faster, better he could have stopped his capture in its tracks and this situation would be moot. But there was no point in going over what ifs – he had been captured and that was all there was to it.
He could not expect a trade either and he knew, he prayed, Allura would make sure such a thing did not happen. Because even if Zarkon benovenetly held up his end of that bargain there was no future left for the universe without the Black Lion. He would condemn them all. He would kill them all and for as brief as his life would be after before the Galra Empire claimed it he would be wracked with guilt.
So it was up to him.
He, the weak link of Team Voltron. He didn't have the combat and fighting abilities that Keith and Shiro had, nor Pidge and Hunk's smarts. He wasn't a hacker like Pidge, didn't have Hunk's strength, none of Keith's instinctual talent or Shiro's tactical advantages and leadership.
What did he have?
Lance pursed his lips.
He was quick, he gave himself, although he wasn't sure how fast he'd be capable of moving with his injuries. His leg strength was above average – years of fútbol and swimming contributing to that – and he did consider himself a pretty out of the box thinker and adaptable to situations.
Okay, those were all positives. What else?
He had three working limbs on the physical side although his dominant hand was definitely out of commission. His chest still hurt but it was no longer the stabbing agony; he wondered if in addition to the clean bandages they had indeed healed it up further. He didn't dare unwind the bandages to check. He wasn't dizzy, not really, and he was thinking clearly.
This was going to be the best state he'd find himself in for the remainder of his time here, that Lance was certain of.
It was now or never.
It was time to stop playing the role of prisoner and start being a Paladin of Voltron.
His eyes narrowed, left fist clenching at his side.
It was time to escape.
Author's Notes:
I think I scared some of you lovelies away with last chapter (at least I am guessing as such based on view/review numbers) xD I'd apologize, but I cannot. It only gets darker from here on out. Buckle in for the ride!
So glad so many of you liked Theodek! Phew! There's always that fear with original characters but looks like he's going to find a nice home here (I'm also glad I did change his name as Fordek just does not strike the same intense chord; it reminds me of yelling 'fore' on the golf course xD). On this chapter, we've checked in with all three of our "factions" so to speak and looks like things are going to get moving pretty quick. I wonder if Lance's escape will be successful :D What do y'all think?
As always the hugest of thank yous to the lovely reviewers. Shout out to: Alexa, LishaChan, fandomspotatoes, Jadegem02, Guest, ariatheguardianangel106, wingedflower, Bryler, KarleighH, The Striking Storms, Remi Rukh, Eeveecat1248, DoctorMerlinReid, deaththecripple, Guest, Ranger McCorkren, PaintedWings45, daryoo, cookiebook322, Ace.s, Swirly Rainbow, ThatOneBlondeNerd, vickydd, and StrawberryFever3.
Looking to move back to weekly Friday updates, so based on response keep an eye out for a chapter then! And if you're going to be at ACen this weekend, do stop by and say hello! I'm table C27 in the artist alley and we can all spaz about Voltron and Lance together.
Thanks again everyone! If you enjoyed the chapter/story please do drop a quick (or long, whatever you would like) comment below! Not that I don't always adore them, but this weekend has been a bit of a disappointment so far (ACen wise) so your lovely comments would really brighten it up. Thanks!