5. Fragile

Hunk had managed to regain consciousness and get Yellow back up and running. His head was still spinning from everything that had happened. Shiro, of all people? None of this made any sense. Shiro was their friend, he had always been their friend then how had this happened? Why had he abandoned them and more of all, attacked them like this? Was someone controlling him? There was no one physically there but with all the magic he had seen while in space, that didn't necessarily mean anything. Someone could have still been there. He did not have long to think about it though because he caught sight of the Blue Lion, quickly turning on his comms.

"Allura, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Hunk asked and there was static at first but then a voice came through.

"Yes, Hunk, I'm alright but…" Allura's voice broke a little and at first he thought it was just a bad connection, but it hesitated on each word. Had something happened? Had she been hurt? It took a lot to shake Allura, after all.

"What happened?" Hunk asked her. "Did someone hurt you?" There was silence on the other end, and it took everything in him not to ask her to park her lion somewhere so he could go over and make sure she was okay. But they had to keep going. They were not out of danger yet and if someone had hurt Allura, they definitely were not.

"I'm not sure of the answer to that," Allura finally answered. "But what I do know is Lotor is not on our side. Maybe he never was."

"Why? What did he do?" Hunk asked, heart sinking. "Allura, did he try to…?"

"I went with him," Allura's voice broke a little. "He said it wasn't kidnapping because he convinced me that we were going to find shelter and I went with him. I passed out from my injuries, and he took me with him."

Hunk scowled at that. "That is kidnapping. It's kidnapping by trickery." Sure, kidnapping by trickery would be a lot harder to prove in court but it wasn't like they had to prove it to anyone. Well, he might have to prove it to Allura that he wasn't responsible for this. She seemed rather shaken by what had happened after all.

"Allura," Hunk said softly. "What Lotor did would still be considered kidnapping. He tricked you and misled you."

"Yes, he tricked all of us," Allura admitted softly. "I thought he was good; we all did but he was just…he just wanted me. What he wanted from me, I don't know. I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Then don't," Hunk said softly. "I really want to give you a hug, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to stop right now, so we should keep going." He really wished this was not the case because Allura looked like she could use the comfort but given they had two betrayals within the last few hours alone, it was likely better for them to be around people they could trust. How could he let this happen? Allura had once called him the leg of Voltron, that he could lift the others up when they felt down. He didn't know which was more shocking – Shiro attacking them or Lotor tricking Allura to kidnap her but at the same time, the similarities between the two of them were almost too uncanny to ignore. Both Shiro and Lotor were natural leaders, being able to get people to follow them just because they were that good at talking the talk.

Shiro had always been kind though and his kindness had seemed genuine. Even at times, when Hunk didn't understand why or struggled with piloting, his friend had always been there to guide him. Like a mentor, like a friend he could always turn to when there was doubt, Shiro had shown nothing but kindness. Granted, when he had returned, he had been a bit more short-tempered, but they didn't know where Shiro had been in the time he was missing or if he was even alive. Could it be that someone could be controlling him? Haggar did call him her strongest weapon once and he had heard that himself so had she finally succeeded in making him that?

"Hunk, are you alright?" Allura's voice cut through. "I said we should probably get moving. I believe I can sense the Green Lion close by, so maybe we can meet up with Pidge."

"Yeah, sure, though are you okay enough to pilot?" Hunk asked, knowing she had been through a lot.

"Lotor healed some of my injuries, there is a bit of pain still since given what he wanted with me, I doubt he would want me fully able," Allura said softly and Hunk had to stop himself from flinching a little, but he continued to focus on her, letting her continue.

"But I think I can hold out till we meet up with Pidge," Allura finished.

"Okay, let's go," Hunk said softly. Not that he had much of a choice in the matter. "Lead the way." He knew the others might be injured too; he was a little sore himself, but no permanent damage was caused. Lotor was another one – sure, it had been obvious he had a crush on Allura but crushes normally respected other's wishes. Maybe I'm too used to the way Lance crushes on half the female population. He'll flirt but he'll never cross boundaries, like try to kiss or touch them or anything.

But that was not all Lotor had taken advantage of. He had taken advantage of all of them, of the friendship between them and it was still a lot to wrap his mind around. How had things become like this? He had never even been able to tell that these were Lotor's true intentions all along. That he only became friends with them because he wanted to exploit the bonds between them – to test them and the fact that he had managed to do so – were their bonds really that strong? Could anyone really break through them? How had he managed to slip past Hunk's radar so easily? Looks could be deceiving but he had been able to tell when it came to Nyma and Rolo, then why not Lotor? Because Lotor had been nicer, better with words, sweeter at talking even if that didn't make him kind. He had been civil, saving Keith's life, helping them free planets and being so helpful.

This was really not the time. Hunk always called him emotional but now he had to tap into his logical side because emotions would get him nowhere. If Allura was like this, there was no telling what could have happened to Pidge or Lance or whether Keith had been targeted in the Blades as well. They had not heard from him in a while after all.

"Hunk, look, there is another pod with Pidge and is that Keith in it? It looks like a Blade so it's either a really short Galra or it's Keith," Allura said, and Hunk blinked, looking in a little closer. A part of Hunk hoped it was Keith because if it was their friend than they would be able to be with someone else they trusted. Though could they really trust Keith? He squashed down the nagging voice that filtered through his mind for a moment. Of course he could trust Keith. But wasn't he the one who had left them with Shiro? Would Shiro have been able to hurt them this much had Keith still been there? Would Lotor have been able to become a part of their team if Keith had been the leader of Voltron? He found his own speed slowing down as these thoughts clouded his mind. He needed to not go there but so much had happened in the span of a couple of hours that he was a little lost on where they would go from here.

It did appear to be Keith as he removed his Blade mask once they all landed, and Hunk sighed. He needed to be welcoming – Keith likely didn't even know what had happened. It wasn't his fault – well, at least not completely. He had never wanted to be the leader of Voltron anyway. It was something that been forced onto him but that had not been their fault. Black was the one who had chosen him after all.

"Hunk, are you alright?" Keith's voice cut into his downward spiral of thoughts. "You don't look so good. Both you and Allura don't actually. Pidge told me that Shiro attacked."

Hunk shook his head. "No, not really. I'm not okay. How can I be? Lotor tried to hurt Allura, Keith. He kidnapped her by tricking her. And Shiro attacked us. I know it's not your fault, man but…" He hesitated, trailing off as Keith's face fell and he almost wished he had not said anything because while this was a lot to take in, he knew it was no one's fault because how could Keith have known? Maybe Shiro had done something to make Keith feel that way and this had been their plan all along. Pidge was looking between Keith and Hunk and normally, he would say something to ease the tension but instead he turned to wrap an arm around Allura, who flinched away from him, eyes a little wide. Crap. That was a bad idea. Keith's uncertainty disappeared from his face and whatever emotions he may have been feeling were hard to tell right now. He wanted to comfort Allura but seeing Keith step toward her, he decided to move toward Pidge instead since she looked a little unsteady on her feet, wrapping an arm around her.

"Hey, you ok?" Hunk asked his friend, knowing right now, it was not easy for any of them.