When Katie appeared on the bridge, Allura ran to her side immediately. Lance let out a startled cry of confusion, and Shiro went as white as his name as Hunk and Coran looked at each other in both relief and concern.

"Katie!"

As Allura reached her, the Green Paladin's eyes shot open, and she looked wildly around her.

Allura threw her arms around the youngest Paladin even as Katie began to demand answers.

"What the fuck -"

But when Coran took a step towards them, obviously wanting to help, there was a scream of pain from the screen, and Katie realized what was happening.

Haggar was pissed, and she was taking it out on Keith.

Katie looked up in time to see Haggar grip Keith's face in one clawed hand and pull him forwards so they were eye-to-eye. She was hunched over, just like a witch from a fairy tale. He was on his knees, obviously trying not to look directly at Haggar as she screamed into his face, clearly incensed that one of the Paladins had made it out of her trap.

"What did you do?!"

Pidge saw- with sudden horror - that there were really, really deep claw marks on one side of Keith's face. Blood stained Haggar's fingers, and it looked like his other eye had almost been -

Pidge felt rage consume her, and even as Allura started cutting her wrists free, the Green Paladin bellowed at the screen.

"HEY! GET YOUR CLAWS OFF HIM, YOU UGLY OLD HAG!"

When he heard her voice, Pidge could have sworn that something in Keith's posture seemed to grow less tense, but then Haggar struck the other side of his face with her claws, and Katie saw Shiro's shoulders tighten as his adopted brother ground out a scream of pain and tried to get away from the witch by twisting his face to one side.

It didn't work. If anything, it made matters worse because her long, sharp claws only dug deeper into his flesh and she snarled in pure rage, tightening her grip and forcing him to face her again. Despite everything, Keith still refused to look her directly in the eyes. Instead, he kept his gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

That idiot - Haggar was going to kill him for defying her like that - that idiot- that stupid - brave - selfless - idiot -

Allura was saying something, low and quickly, and with a start, Pidge realized that Allura telling her about a plan.

"Get to your brother and father - help them track down Keith - we're trying to find him - quickly - come on -"

Katie got shakily to her feet, supported by Allura, but then Katie grabbed tight hold of Allura's arm.

"Haggar has to think I'm here too," she said, and Allura's eyes widened at the implication.

If Haggar thinks I'm working on something to get Keith back, we'll lose any chance we have.

From the screen, they both heard Haggar scream right into Keith's face again, and it was an awful sound, one of rage and hate and fury at having lost a second victim.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?! HOW DID YOU DO IT?!"

Pidge didn't hear Keith answer - typical, this was just typical of Keith - but then Allura was pushing her towards the door, keeping her out of sight of the viewscreen.

"Hurry," Allura urged Pidge, and then she and the hologram Pidge returned to the others.

Even as the real Pidge ran swiftly and soundlessly down the hall, she brought up what her hologram could see on her armor's wrist display.

She had to see what the hologram saw so that she keep the hologram active, have real-life responses, to make sure Haggar thought it was her, as much as possible.

It was the only way she could help buy time for this crazy plan.

Hunk shouted out in real anger as the witch shook Keith fiercely out of uncontrolled rage, and by his side, Lance swore as Haggar threw their friend back onto the floor. Allura winced as the Red Paladin skidded back a few inches when he landed, and Coran swore as the Royal Advisor saw Keith's face tighten in pain.

The worst part about this was that none of them could tell Keith they were coming for him, that they were going to do everything in their power to rescue him. No matter what the witch did, they couldn't reassure him or give any hint of their desperate plan away. All they could do was watch.

But now the witch was saying something about the price of defying the Galra Empire, and as Shiro saw his brother's shoulders tighten, as he saw Keith instinctively try to make himself as small a target as possible, he hated Haggar more than he ever had before.

Allura clenched her fists and wished, again, that they could get to Keith before Haggar hurt him, but they needed time. She watched as Keith rolled painfully onto his left side, and she couldn't keep herself from calling out his name, to let him know she was there, and that she would stay, no matter what happened.

He looked back up at them, his teeth clenched tight shut, and part of Allura hated herself for not being able to say or do anything to tell him that they were coming, they were coming to get him out of there -

He was so scared - but he wasn't begging them to come help him - gods above - he was exactlylike -

Then the corrupted quintessence hit Keith in the chest, and he bucked and jerked and convulsed, screaming in horrible pain. Allura wanted to turn away, to cover her ears or close her eyes, but she forced herself to stay in place, right where she was. From nearby, she heard the others screaming at Haggar to stop, but of course the witch did not listen.

It wasn't in Haggar's nature, to take pity on anyone who defied her.

As the torture continued, Katie, Matt, and Sam continued to compile theories and formulas and tracking methods, but none of them were unaffected by what they could hear and see over Katie's wrist display.

Samuel Holt snarled at the witch as he heard Keith continue to scream. Near the end, when Keith cried for Red, the witch just laughed.

She motioned for the lightning to cease, and just as it did, she came over and kicked Keith contemptuously in the ribs. He gagged and barely managed to roll onto his side before he started coughing up blood. His eyes were tight shut now, and he seemed about to pass out.

The witch taunted the Red Paladin again, but Keith stubbornly didn't say anything in reply. Sam saw that all his muscles were shaking - most likely an aftereffect of the lightning. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, no matter how hard he tried to.

Katie would have been like that too, if Keith hadn't -

With an effort, Sam stopped his mind from imagining horrible possibilities and returned to the business at hand - creating a two-use teleportation device that would allow Rayzor to get to the Red Paladin in time to save him.

Katie remained seated, tears streaming down her face as she watched Haggar hold out her hand and summon more black lightning. As the witch sent the second bolt of lighting at the Red Paladin, Katie turned her face away, and Matt came and wrapped both arms around her.

Samuel Holt had already known he hated Haggar. He hated her for having taken Shiro's arm, for having hurt both Shiro and Matt during endless interrogation sessions, but now he realized that he hated her for another reason entirely.

Sam hadn't been entirely sure what to think of Keith being part-Galra. He'd been friends with Keith's parents ever since Matt was in pre-school, but knowing their son shared blood with the witch who had tortured him for information was bound to make anyone a little uncertain of how they felt about the a person, no matter how well you had known him before.

But he and Matt had seen what had happened on the Druids' ship. They'd been patched into the transmission from the bridge, and Sam had lunged to his feet and headed for the door when Haggar had said she was going to take Katie away. Matt had been only a few steps behind him, but then -

Then the Red Paladin had broken free from his guards, and crossed the circle, and -

He'd gotten Katie out, even as Haggar turned back towards the two of them and reached out, intending to maim, to tear, to destroy.

Keith had managed to save Katie, and Sam wasn't sure that was the kind of debt he could ever fully repay.

All Sam's uncertainty, all his unease of Keith's heritage and what it could mean - it all vanished, forever, the instant his daughter appeared safe and sound on the bridge of the Altean castle.

It wasn't just one choice or moment that made you who you were. Not really.

It was countless choices, countless moments, day after day after day.

In the end, Haggar and Keith were of the same bloodline, but they were nothing alike.

The second round of lightning was worse.

It was worse for many reasons.

Keith tried to hold out at first, to withstand it, but this lightning was more concentrated, more focused, and as it hit Keith in the chest, it knocked him onto his back, and the purple light of the circle crackled over his body like it had a malicious will of its own.

Then he tried to get away from the witch's attack, but the dark purple light of the witch's circle pulsed and flickered, acting like a magnet, pulling him back onto the ground, focused on keeping him in place, completely unable to escape or even roll to one side to get further away from the witch.

At that, Keith's eyes flew fully open, and all the breath left his lungs in a harsh, soundless gasp. He thrashed from side to side, his mouth opening and closing silently at first, but after a few seconds that felt like hours, he arched his back, and as he did, he screamed.

It was an awful scream, one without any semblance of speech or rational thought, and Allura knew her friend was in agony. At the sound, Allura couldn't stop herself from crying out, and the others did as well, some of them calling their friend's name, some of them swearing at Haggar to stop hurting their friend.

All the while, Haggar never let up her attack, and if Keith could hear them, he gave no sign. The purple and black light continued to ripple over his body, hissing and crackling and arching out in miniature lightning bolts from him as his back spasmed again, his head tilted back as far as it could go, his eyes wide and staring and absolutely empty of anything but fear and pain as he kept screaming.

Even when Keith ran of breath, he still didn't stop trying to scream. His body simply bucked and convulsed even harder, his movements becoming sporadic, disjointed. It was only when his eyes began to roll back into his head that Haggar flicked her wrist and ended the lighting attack. Keith collapsed back onto the ground, his chest heaving in and out with broken, painful sobs, and he kept trying to blink tears out of his eyes.

Haggar said, very, very softly,

"Wouldn't you prefer the pain to cease, Paladin?"

Allura wished there were some way, any way at all, to tell Keith that the pain would cease, and soon, just as soon as Red and Rayzor and Aurelis found him, but she could not dare to take the chance.

The witch was clever, and ruthless, and vindictive. If she even suspected there was a rescue attempt in progress, she would slit Keith's throat that same instant and let him bleed to death in front of them.

Haggar had done so before, and Allura knew that the witch would have no qualms about doing it again.

As Hunk watched, he saw that although Keith was crying, he was trying not to let them see, so Hunk did the best he could to imitate his friend's example. The Yellow Paladin swallowed and blinked really fast because he could see that Keith knew his team was being forced to watch this, and he was determined not to beg his team to come save him. He wasn't going to play along with the witch's game.

Even though he had just spat blood - again - Keith was still trying not to show how much pain he was in. He lay on the ground, but as the witch asked her question, he kept his teeth clenched together and his face averted from her as much as he could, even though his entire body was still shaking from the aftereffects of the torture.

It wasn't just out of pride.

It wasn't just out of sheer stubbornness, or because he didn't want to give Haggar any more satisfaction than she already felt.

It was because he cared for his team, and he wasn't about to beg them to run into a certain death-trap in a useless attempt to save him.

Then Haggar looked back at Allura and smiled, and it was a mocking expression.

"It seems you chose well, Princess," Haggar said, and beside her, Allura saw Shiro's entire body tense in what she knew could only be barely controlled anger at what the witch said next.

"He is exactly like his predecessor."

Even as the witch said that Keith was exactly like the Red Paladin before him - the one who had died after days of torture for defying Zarkon's will - Matt leapt to his feet, his face set and flushed with both rage and elation. He held what looked like a small black watch in one hand, and he immediately took off running, guided by one of the mice to the hanger where the Red Lion waited. As he vanished around a corner, they heard him bring up their-Castle comms link, which had been secured for this very reason.

"Rayzor, it's Matt! I'm coming to Red's bay - now listen -"

Then Haggar motioned for one of her Druids to pull Keith get to his feet, and once that had been accomplished, she moved so that she stood directly in front of the Red Paladin.

Lance was clenching his fists so tightly, he wasn't sure he'd ever feel his fingers again. Keith didn't even seem able to keep his eyes open, let alone raise his face. What was Haggar trying to accomplish? She'd hurt him enough already, surely - surely she wasn't going to -

When Haggar told Keith to open his eyes, Hunk and Lance exchanged confused looks. Then, when Haggar repeated her command, Lance's face went white, and Hunk got it a second afterwards. He heard Allura let out a scared breath at almost the same time he did.

Oh no.

Nonononono.

From where the Royal Advisor stood near Shiro, Coran saw Shiro's arm begin to glow a dark, ominous hue, the kind it usually took on right before the Black Paladin went into battle.

"Haggar, leave him alone," Shiro said, but Haggar ignored him. She repeated her command for the third time, and as she did, she gripped tight hold of Keith's chin, forcing him to keep facing her.

Lance hated how his friend tried to wrench his face away, but what followed was even worse.

Haggar threatened to take Keith's eyes from him if he didn't look at her, and Coran saw the terror in Keith's face as his eyes shot open out of a desperate instinct to keep his sight.

Haggar nodded, as if she'd finally been able to confirm a theory she'd been mulling over, and then turned to face the screen once again, gesturing for the Druid holding Keith in place to follow her example.

When Keith tried to tell Shiro not to listen, the Druid holding Keith in place covered the Red Paladin's mouth with one large clawed hand, and when Keith tried to break away, the claws dug into the cuts on his face, causing Keith to cry out in pain and twist his shoulders from side to side as blood began to trickle down from between the Druid's clawed fingers.

Shiro snarled in anger as the Druid forced Keith to face them all again.

The Red Paladin could only look at them now, but he was clearly trying to tell them that he wasn't a damn hostage, and then the witch gave her ultimatum, just like Allura had thought she might.

Allura felt her own heart stand still for an instant in fear.

Please, please, please. I can't watch this happen to my friend. Please - please don't -

Keith snarled at the threat to his life and tried to shake his head again, to tell them not to listen, but then the Druid standing behind him hit his injured side, and Hunk almost threw up himself when he saw the Red Paladin's face go sheet-white in pain, and Lance muttered something about the witch that could have blistered paint off a wall.

Even as she gave the only answer she could to the witch's ultimatum, Allura had to fight against a roiling, churning sensation of fear that threatened to overwhelm her. Even just thinking about what the witch had planned for Keith made the Princess of Altea feel physically sick, and just for an instant, she remembered another face, another friend, who had died alone and in horrible pain for defying Zarkon and Haggar, a long, long time ago.

No. No, this is different.

We can still get him out of there before they kill him.

Rayzor just needs more time.

I have to buy him more time.

Then Haggar spoke again, and Allura knew the witch was trying to break the team in more ways than one.

"Oh, but Princess, I thought you and your little team cared for one another. Was I mistaken?"

At Allura's side, Shiro's arm glowed star-white, emanating heat and light and a humming, crackling sound that she had never heard before. The Black Paladin's face was set and cold, his eyes harsh and angry, and Allura was glad she and Shiro had a back-up plan in place. The only downside was that Keith had to be off the bridge of the witch's ship before they took action, or else it was entirely possible he could be caught in the crossfire.

Then the Druid holding Keith in place kicked one of the Red Paladin's legs out from under him, and Keith was slammed hard down onto his knees next to Haggar. It was both a threat and a statement, meant to show them all that unless they agreed to the witch's terms at once, their friend would die, and not quickly, cleanly, or soon.

Haggar would not grant him that mercy.

But in that moment, Keith was able to twist his face away from the Druid's claws, just for an instant, and he looked straight at them. His face was almost entirely smeared with blood, but his gaze was steady, and Allura knew he meant what he shouted next.

"GIVE HER HELL, TAKASHI!"

At her side, Shiro seemed to freeze into place, as if he had been turned to stone. Lance and Hunk were shouting now, and Pidge's hologram was just staring back at the Red Paladin as if she were seeing him for the last time. Then the Druid standing behind Keith struck him harshly across the face, and Coran snarled in fury as he heard the Red Paladin's nose break.

Allura couldn't keep from crying out as she saw him reel from the blow, unable to catch his balance because his hands were firmly cuffed behind his back, but then the Druid standing behind the Red Paladin unsheathed a knife and grabbed hold of Keith's hair, pulling him back into a kneeling position.

Dizzy but still defiant, Keith bared his teeth up at Haggar, but the Druid behind him drew the blade swiftly across the skin on one side of Keith's face, along his cheekbone, making a short but deep cut so that more blood welled up and ran swiftly down to join the fountain of blood that was pouring down from his broken nose.

When Keith jerked in surprise and pain, the Druid twisted his hold on Keith's hair and pulled his head back and to one side, bringing the edge of the sharp blade right up against Keith's throat. Blood from his injuries still pulsed down his throat and neck, and Coran saw that the lower half of the Red Paladin's face was now stained completely crimson.

"That's enough!" Shiro snarled, making as if to step forward, but Haggar made a bored gesture, and the Druid beside her angled the knife so it bit deeper into Keith's skin. The Red Paladin jerked again in startled pain, and Shiro snarled again at that, but he stayed where he was. Haggar turned her attention back towards her prisoner, and when she spoke, her voice was even, flat, and terrifyingly icy.

"That was your very last warning, Paladin. Defy me again at your extreme peril."

Keith's nose was still bleeding badly, but he seemed to be just as furious at the witch as he had been a moment before. His breaths were harsh and shallow, and Allura knew that he was in no condition to be putting up a fight.

Not that that had ever stopped him before…

Haggar had turned her attention back to the screen again, and she was smirking as she said, "You know, for all you proclaim to care for him, it seems to have it's limits," and Hunk felt his heart stutter in terror when Keith rolled his eyes at the witch's words, despite the knife at his neck and the fact that Haggar was going to punish him for that bit of defiance. The Yellow Paladin was glad Keith didn't believe the witch, but that didn't mean it was a good idea to openly diss the crazy magic lady who had just given you your 'final warning'.

Lance seemed to be on the same page as Hunk. His eyes were wide and scared, and he swallowed as Haggar's eyes went cold and hard. Coran snarled when the witch spoke to the Druid beside her, and for an instant, Pidge didn't really know why the Druid was putting the knife away.

She could still hear and see everything through her hologram, and she was reacting genuinely to the events on the main bridge, but it sometimes took a few seconds to realize the sheer scale of what was going on.

Then she saw what the Druid was doing, and she swore so vehemently, her brother and father jumped and looked over at her again. Rayzor and Aurelis had just left with the teleportation device in Red a few moments ago, and so all the Holts could do now was wait and watch - but Katie didn't want to watch this - she had never wanted to watch anything like this again -

Another Druid had come forward, holding a mask, and the Red Paladin was recoiling away from it, but Haggar was smiling that damn smile, because she knew - or guessed - that he -

"Hey! You don't have to do that!" the Holts heard Hunk snarl, but of course the Druid didn't listen. The Red Paladin tried to resist, but he was smaller, restrained, and physically outmatched by the Druid. It wasn't even close to an actual struggle.

"-no-"

Tears started streaming down Katie's cheeks as she watched her friend twist and thrash in a futile attempt to delay the inevitable, but no matter how hard Keith tried to avoid it, it only took the Druid a moment to get the mask over the lower half of his face, effectively gagging Keith even as he tried to fight back.

"Katie…you don't have to watch," Matt said, but Katie shook her head, once.

"I - I owe him this much - at least - at l-least - "

Sam looked at her, but she saw that he didn't quite understand, so she went on, her voice dull and halting as she watched the Druid callously continue securing the muzzle on her friend, like Keith was some sort of disobedient dog who needed to be punished.

"Haggar - Haggar caught me in the tunnels. He c-came in after me, and that's w-when she caught him - it's - it's m-my fault - that he's there - and - and - I - "

But as much Matt wanted to listen to her, he almost didn't register the words, because all his attention was on the screen.

Keith's eyes had just narrowed in stubborn defiance, and he tried one last time to twist free from the mask.

Matt saw the Red Paladin put all his remaining strength behind the motion, but then the Druid standing behind him yanked the strap behind Keith's head, hard, and Matt felt his own teeth bare into a snarl of fury as his friend's back arched painfully in reaction to the cruel gesture, and Keith's chin was forced up as high as it would go. The Red Paladin let out a stifled noise of pain that became a muffled scream of agony as the Druid standing behind him tightened the mask's straps with a savage jerk, causing the the mask to cut deep into his flesh.

It hadn't been a loud sound, but somehow, that only made it worse, especially because it hadn't been angry, or defiant, or any of the things Keith had wanted to be in front of his team, for their sake as well as his own.

Instead, it was afraid, and alone, and more like a sob than anything else.

It was a sign of Haggar's ability to break someone, getting them to cry out like that.

But then, she had always been very, very good at hurting people.

Even though Sam didn't say anything, his knuckles went white on the edge of the counter. He could tell that the boy was angry at having the mask forced on him, but Sam could see that it was more than just anger.

Keith was scared, too.

It was in the way he looked back at the team now, his body beginning to tremble, and Sam had seen enough pain in his year of captivity to know that Haggar had found a weak point in Keith's defenses, and from here on out, it was only going to get worse.

Sam tried to wrap an arm around his daughter's shoulder, but she shook her head, pushing herself back out of her chair.

"I - I have to get up there," she said. "I have to be near the bridge when - when we get him back - so I can - so I can pilot my defense drone. My hologram - it's only good for - standing in visually - it can't touch buttons or - or anything like that - "

She left the room quickly, taking the display screen with her, and for a few moments after she left, Matt and Sam just stared after her.

Then Matt threw himself into a rolling chair and began calling up star maps.

"I'm thinking once we have him, we should go somewhere hard to find," he said. "Really, really fucking hard to find - especially if you're a pyscho witch who likes to hurt someone when she's feeling all pissy because they threw a wrench into her plans- "

Without a word, Sam joined his son in locating the system Allura had told them of.

They had to get it right on the first try.

When the Druid tightened the mask for the final time, Keith's head was pulled as far back as it could go, and as it bit into his flesh, he let out a scream of pain that took every last ounce of his breath with it.

Coran hated that kind of sound, but he especially hated hearing it from someone brave and smart and kind like Keith.

This was what the witch did, she took someone good, someone who valued the lives of others, and she hurt them, she hurt them because she hated what they were, and if she couldn't make them into what she was, she took great pleasure in destroying them.

But instead of saying all that, Coran just clenched his fists and thought to himself the only thing he could think of that would keep him from trying to reach through the screen and tear Haggar to pieces with his bare hands.

The plan is already in motion - Keith won't have to go through much more of this before -

When Keith's head was finally allowed to fall forwards again, the lines of his face were tight with pain, and his eyes were hazy and afraid, and Lance looked towards Allura, because he didn't want to see Keith like this, alone and covered in blood and helpless - and - and frozen into place with fear -

Wait…

Lance's full attention snapped back to the screen.

Something was really, really wrong.

Keith was always moving, even if he was standing in one place. His fingers would twitch restlessly, or he would adjust his stance or move his head so that he could see or hear different things more clearly, but he was never absolutely still.

Not like this.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Keith's eyes were darting between the witch and his own team now, and he seemed to be trying to tell them something, something really, really important.

Lance felt his own eyes grow wider with worry. Keith's eyes had always been expressive, especially if you knew him, and Lance knew Keith well enough to tell that right now, his friend was terrified.

"It's such a shame that he didn't listen to me earlier," Haggar said. She glanced back down at the Red Paladin and when she spoke again, her tone was mocking. "But then, he only seems to learn from experience."

Keith suddenly tried to break away from the Druid who held him place, and his movements were disjointed, frantic. Meanwhile, Haggar smiled back at them all through the screen like she was waiting for the penny to drop, and in that frozen moment, Allura realized what was happening, why Keith was fighting so hard once again to get free.

One of Keith's eyes was bloodshot now…

Oh, gods.

The mask was on far too tight.

Sweat as well as blood started to run down Keith's face, and his attempts to break away from his captors grew more and more desperate with every passing second, his shoulders beginning to quiver from his useless efforts to breathe. Allura tried hard not to think about how scared Keith was, or how Shiro's shoulders were stiff and tight with both fear and fury on his brother's behalf.

Though it was the hardest thing she had ever done, Allura held out a hand to keep the others standing by her from getting any closer to the viewscreen, even as their friend began to thrash and buck, trying without success to do something, anything that would stop this mask from cutting off his air.

"Wait," Allura said under her breath, and when Hunk tried again to step forwards, to protest, she shot him a steady look as she went on to say, very quietly and evenly, "Reactions are what she wants. She'll - she'll keep him - like that - in pain - if we react. We - we must - not react - it's his only chance. Please, Hunk. Trust me."

Keith's efforts to break free from the Druid holding him were weaker and slower than before, though he still shook his head from side to side in short, frantic, useless attempts to loosen the mask.

"Watch closely," the witch said. "This is what happens to those who defy the Galra Empire."

Lance thought that he would have preferred a knife to the chest when Keith looked desperately back up at them in mute terror. Both of the Red Paladin's eyes were bloodshot now, and the mask was stained a deep, dark red. The witch looked between Keith and the others, and she smiled when none of them moved forward or said anything despite the Red Paladin's condition.

"My, my, my," the witch said, and her tone was poisonously sweet, maliciously mocking as the blood from Keith's injuries began to drip down from the mask onto the floor. "You and your group are more cold-hearted than I thought you were, Princess - and after all your talk of caring for him."

As she spoke, Keith's eyes lost their focus, and it was clear he couldn't see anything anymore. He finally ceased moving altogether, his muscles lacking the oxygen to make any motion possible. At that, Shiro bared his teeth at the witch, and when he spoke, he sounded completely unlike his usual self.

"Haggar," he said, " - enough."

The witch tilted her head again and looked at Shiro.

"Champion," she said, and she was smiling in genuine delight. "It's been so long since I've seen you like this-"

But Allura couldn't tear her gaze away from Keith. None of them could. He seemed to be fading away, right in front of them, and it every second seemed to stretch into hours.

Then Shiro was talking again, and his voice was cold.

"You've made your point, so -"

At that precise moment, Keith's eyes completely glazed over, and his head fell forwards onto his chest, and Shiro's voice faltered for a second, but he kept his words cold and harsh.

"- let him breathe. Now."

Haggar spoke sharply to the Druid holding Keith in place, and the mask was loosened just enough to allow the Red Paladin to breathe. At once, his head shot up again, and he coughed and gasped in air, his shoulders heaving, his eyes tight shut.

Even though the mask still prevented Keith from speaking, Coran ground his teeth at hearing the painful rasps for air as the boy struggled to catch his breath again. It sounded like if he'd been able to, Keith might have started to cry.

Coran didn't think any less of him for it.

Pain and fear did that to a person.

It didn't mean they were weak, even if Haggar thought it did.

Allura did her best to keep her face as impassive as possible. It was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, but she did her best to look cold and only focused on keeping her voice even and hard.

"What is it you wish to prove, witch?"

I have to buy time. I have to buy Red time to track down Keith.

Haggar looked back at Allura and raised an eyebrow.

"Princess, you surprise me."

The witch looked between the Alteans and the Paladins of Voltron, and an interested light entered her eyes.

"Oh, I see. You want to know if your Paladin's spirit is as strong as you thought it was."

Lance balled his hands into fists at his sides, and he growled, harshly,

"You know th-"

Then there was a hand on his shoulder, a voice in his ear. Low, quiet, but desperate all the same.

"Lance."

Coran was warning him not to say anything more. Any attempt to help could only make matters worse.

Keith's head still hung low on his chest, and he didn't seem to hear them clearly. His shoulders were still heaving as he gasped in air, but he wasn't looking up at them.

For an awful instant, Hunk thought that Keith didn't want to look at them because - because -

Then Haggar grabbed hold of Keith's hair and said, mockingly, "Red Paladin, I think they want to know if you've broken yet. Have you?"

As she asked the question, she twisted her grip, forcing Keith's head up so he looked at the screen once more.

He looked like hell. Red was smeared all over his face and across one eye, the one Haggar had almost put out. The left side of his body was stained a lighter red, but that was only because the blood from that injury had spread out over a wider area. And the mask - the mask was now dripping red, and Keith's throat and the front of his armor and the floor in front of his knees were spattered with spots of crimson.

As she forced the Red Paladin to look at them, Hunk felt a cold, clear anger flood through him that he had only felt twice before. Normally, he would have felt sick at the sight of this much blood, or at how Keith was still trying hard not to let them see just how much pain he was in.

Now…

Now Hunk only felt angry that the witch was treating Keith this way, that she was using him to taunt the Paladins and the Alteans.

Keith wasn't a thing.

He was a person.

He was their friend.

Haggar looked down at the Red Paladin contemptuously, and her next words made Lance wish he could tear Haggar into tiny little pieces, scatter the remains into a lake, and then turn the lake into mist.

"It is truly fitting for him to be called the Red Paladin, is it not? Especially now… but then, I do suppose it is only natural for red to signify blood."

Shiro's eyes burned silver in rage, and Keith saw, and he tried to turn his face away again. It was clear he hated being used like this, to taunt and hurt the people he cared for.

But when Keith tried to turn away, the witch's grip on his hair tightened, and when he tried again, the Druid standing behind him brought the knife back up to his neck and cut once, deeply, so that Keith cried out in pain and surprise and fear and tried to jerk to one side, to avoid the knife, but then it was pressed up against his carotid artery, and he froze into place, eyes wide and scared above the mask, staring back at his team, but completely unable to move or make a sound.

The Black Paladin felt his cybernetic arm continue to pulse and glow, and he willed it to wait. Just for a few moments longer, just until Keith was out of harm's way.

Then Haggar went on, her voice even once again.

"Princess, you really should be familiar with the price of defying the Galra Empire. I would suggest you consult your father on the subject…but then…he is long since dust."

Anger flared once again in Keith's eyes, but then the Druid standing behind him pressed the knife a little harder into Keith's neck, and Pidge saw her friend flinch and close his eyes for a brief second. He didn't make any noise this time, but it was a small, broken, frightened gesture all the same, and seeing them do that to her friend - to the person who had been willing to die for her - made. Pidge. Mad.

She had to grip the rail in the hallway outside to prevent herself from rushing in there and demanding that the Druids give Keith back before she sent a missile to their ship and turned them all to ash.

Not yet, she told herself. Not yet.

Just a little more time.

Just a little more.

Haggar smiled, shrugging a single shoulder, and just for an instant, it seemed a terrifyingly familiar gesture. In the same instant the thought flashed through Katie's mind, it was gone, because now the knife's blade was pressed right up against Keith's throat, and the Red Paladin's spine was absolutely rigid out of instinctual fear.

"Last chance, Princess. Surrender, or he dies."

Allura's voice was shaking, but she gave the same answer she had before.

Pidge opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

No.

No, that wasn't right.

They couldn't be out of time.

They had to save him.

They had to - but now Keith was looking back at them all - oh God -

It was the same look he'd given her on the bridge of Haggar's ship - it was the exact same one -

He was saying goodbye - he was saying goodbye - no - no - nonononononononononono -

The Druid readjusted his grip on the knife, and Haggar shrugged.

"Ah well," she said. "Such is the price of war."

Just then, Shiro stepped forward, radiating anger, fury, and rage, and told Haggar to stop playing games. Lance was really, really glad Shiro was only looking at Haggar, because as kind, as good, and as controlled as Shiro was, when he got angry, he had one scary rage face.

Like, it could burn holes through metal.

Maybe even literally.

But the witch's laugh was a horrible sound, and she only tightened her hold on Keith.

Shiro went on to tell her exactly what he planned to do if she didn't let Keith go, but the witch only laughed again.

Then she changed tactics. She placed her hand on Keith's head in an almost gentle manner, and that small, mocking gesture was just as unnerving to witness as everything that had come before.

In some ways, it was worse.

It was worse because Keith had never really been one to initiate physical contact, even around people he trusted. This seemingly intimate contact from someone who clearly intended him harm was a strike not only against his mind, but also his spirit.

And the people who actually cared about Keith couldn't do a damn thing to stop Haggar from baiting him this way.

Shiro knew the Red Paladin would have recoiled away from the witch if he could have, but with the knife digging into his neck, all Keith could do was flinch, his shoulders tensing as he turned his face to one side, as far away from her as he could.

This was what Haggar did.

She played mind games and tried to break you.

Shiro sincerely hoped he got the chance to use his Paladin's powers within the next few moments.

In the meantime, he had to buy time.

Haggar had never been able to resist an opportunity to gloat.

Maybe he could distract her from Keith, give her another target.

After all, he had survived her for a year.

And to be honest…if there hadn't been a rescue plan in operation, he still would have made the offer he was about to.

Because there was no way in Hell he was just going to stand by and watch Haggar do this to someone he cared about.

When Shiro offered to trade himself for Keith, Haggar's eyes glistened with delight. In contrast, Keith's already pale face went corpse white, and he shook his head violently from side to side.

When Haggar asked if Shiro was serious, he nodded. He didn't need to pretend he was telling the truth, because he was.

Then Keith snarled in frantic desperation and twisted free of Haggar's grip just long enough to meet Shiro's gaze, and his meaning was crystal clear.

Don't you fucking dare, Takashi -

But then the Druid standing behind Keith flipped the knife in its hand, raising it to strike, and Shiro's mind went blank in terror.

No.

That wasn't supposed to -

"No!"

But it was already too late.

The Druid plunged the knife deep into Keith's back, but at first, the Red Paladin didn't seem to realize the full extent of what had happened. If anything, he only seemed dazed.

When Keith saw the knife's hilt sticking out of his shoulder out of the corner of his eye, he only stared at it in confusion. Then he tried to move, and that was when the pain hit him. When he tried to move again, when he attempted to twist away from the knife, it was even worse.

He froze into place, his posture changing, becoming something frozen, small, and scared. He chanced a frightened look back towards Haggar, clearly afraid to know what she had done.

As Haggar spoke, Coran saw Keith's understanding begin to falter and fade away.

Even so, the Red Paladin clearly understood enough to look terrified when she said that she had a personal interest in him. As she leaned down to look into the Red Paladin's eyes once more, Coran and Allura exchanged desperate looks.

Haggar knew.

She had set this trap with the intention of snaring him, specifically, and she had succeeded.

Stars above, they had to get Keith back, now, or risk losing him forever.

Haggar leaned forwards one more time, reaching out a hand, but Keith recoiled away from her as if her hand was a red-hot poker, snarling wordlessly.

It was clear he didn't want her anywhere near him, not now, not ever, and that he desperately wished he could say as much.

Haggar's eyes went flat, and she said something that no one in the Altean castle could catch. Even as his team watched, Keith made an effort and managed to raise his eyes towards the screen long enough to meet their gaze.

"Well. Time presses," Haggar said, and even though he clearly was losing focus and awareness of what was going on around him, Pidge saw those words hurt Keith almost as badly as the knife had. Tears started to drip down his face, but he made no effort to hide them or keep them from falling.

"…no…" he said, and it didn't seem he knew he was saying it. It was barely more than a whisper, but everyone on both ships' bridges heard it all the same.

Haggar turned towards him, her motions sharp and jagged.

"What did you s-"

But Keith was still staring up at his team, and he didn't seem to hear her. His focus was entirely on them.

When Haggar spoke again, her tone was cold, and dismissive, and harsh.

"A foolish weakness. One that I will be sure to eradicate."

But Keith didn't look back at her, or even seem to hear her. He seemed to be trying to memorize the faces in front of him, before Haggar took him away from them forever.

Haggar snarled in annoyance, crossed the floor once again, gripped his chin, and wrenched his head to one side so they were once more eye to eye. When she spoke a third time, her voice was low and fierce.

"They are not your blood. You ar-"

But the Red Paladin's eyes, still glazed over in pain, had once more slid away from her own, were once again focused on something other than her. It wasn't out of anger or rebelliousness, as it had been before. This time…it was…

Longing.

Haggar stopped mid-word and followed his gaze with her own.

The Red Paladin was still looking back towards his team as best he could, and even though he couldn't say anything more, she could read the meaning in his eyes.

He didn't want to be separated from them.

They were his family.

Haggar looked between the Red Paladin - the one whose bloodline was one and the same as her own - and the other members of the team who had defied the might of the Galra Empire.

Haggar had known the Paladins of old. She had called them all 'friend' once, but what she saw now was…something different.

They cared for him, and he for them.

He would likely never be able to bond with his Lion again, but they still wanted him back.

They seemed willing to -

No.

Surely not.

No one would exchange places with a hostage.

That was absurd.

It had been a ruse on Champion's part, surely.

A way to appear strong and 'noble' in front of the other Paladins.

No one would ever come back to being experimented upon, not unless they truly desired power - in which case, why would they ever have left?

It made no sense.

It was - stupid.

They were all just stupid children.

Even Champion.

He was a fool, and he had clearly corrupted her own flesh and blood.

Well, given enough time, she could undo the damage he had done.

She was certain she could.

After all, she was incredibly talented.

With a sneer, Haggar released Keith's chin for the last time, making sure to leave some claw marks on his chin. His face was already a mess of blood - and that wouldn't change anytime soon.

There was much work to do.

She should begin immediately.

Turning to face the large screen again, where the foolish Paladins and the weak Alteans stood, she gave them her coldest, most sincere smile.

"I should thank you," she said, and upon seeing the confusion on their foolish, stupid faces, she elaborated, gesturing with studied carelessness at the Red Paladin, whose understanding was clearly beginning to fade.

"I have yet to experiment on someone with such - unique traits."

She truly smiled then, and the pleasure in her expression was genuine.

"However, I can guarantee you shall recognize him when your paths cross once more."

At that, the Yellow Paladin bristled and the Blue Paladin looked horrified. The Green Paladin bared her teeth in a snarl, and Champion stepped forwards, his eyes flat and angry and just like she remembered from when he had been hers in the arena. The Royal Advisor looked as if he would like to be sick, and the Princess stepped forwards to stand beside Champion. Haggar noticed (with only passing interest) that the two of them seemed to lead together, instead of one or the other.

Odd.

Still, this show of unified defiance was annoying.

Best to undo it as soon as possible.

Haggar turned once more to look critically at the Red Paladin.

"I think I'll leave his eyes," she said thoughtfully. "But in the service of the Galra Empire, he will have no need for a tongue."

She nodded to the Druid standing behind Red Paladin. As the Druid gripped the boy's head in both claws, the boy cried out and thrashed weakly from side to side, and he was crying now, and sound grated on Haggar's ears.

"- no - please - please -"

Pathetic.

He was exactly like his father - foolish, weak, and stupid.

He was no true kin of hers.

The Druid pressed one claw under the boy's chin. Keith clamped his teeth together, and as the claw pressed into his chin, the Red Paladin screamed in pain, but he kept his jaw clenched tight shut all the same.

"Stop it!" Champion shouted, and Haggar spared him a glance.

His face was ashen, and he was shaking again, and the sight revolted her.

He was weak, too.

Stupid, weak, pathetic.

Such weakness was an infection.

It was better to cut it off than to let it spread.

She smiled thinly at Champion.

"Then again," she said, and she took great pleasure in seeing the fear behind the fury in his expression, "Perhaps he doesn't need both eyes."

Champion and the others roared in fear and anger at that, but Haggar turned her head to the Druid that held the knife.

"Take his right eye," she said. "Leave the knife in its place."

The Druid nodded, drew its clawed finger away from Keith's chin, and reached instead towards Keith's right eye. Then there was a flash of light and fire all around them, and Haggar watched as the point of a sword appeared out of the Druid's chest.