They found one. Out of twenty one Galra ships shot down, one of their homing devices was salvageable. It was an odd little egg shaped thing and Shiro felt out of place as Pidge, Hunk, Coran and Allura sat around it and honestly to him it sounded like they were talking gibberish.

Keith sat off to the side of Shiro, looking as lost as Shiro felt. Shiro has some science knowledge, but even to the trip to Kerberos his intelligence was surpassed by the Holts. It was the same situation here. It had never bugged him before, but now he wished he could help in some way to at least help speed things along.

Apparently Keith was having the same thoughts, if the bouncing of his leg has anything to say about it. They were both intelligent people, just in specific things, they all had their strengths, it just do happened they needed Pidge's and Hunk's at the moment.

"If we-When we get him back..." Keith corrected, startling Shiro out of his thoughts and surprising him, it was rare for Keith to start a conversation if he was upset over something. He usually waited for Shiro to initiate. "How do I...What do I...?"

There was a pregnant pause and Shiro waited patiently for Keith to find the right words.

"What do I even say to him?"

The question was interesting, Shiro wasn't exactly sure what he meant but he at least knew Keith was referring to Lance. So he went with, "Whatever you feel like. Go with your gut." Keith was a gut orientated kind of guy, but it still sounded weird once he said it.

By the sigh that came out of Keith it apparently wasn't the answer he was looking for so Shiro waited for something else.

"How do I...apologize? How can I apologize for something like that? How do I even start? I can't make that up to him, if I'd been faster, if I'd dodged that shot I could have got him out of there, I wouldn't have hurt him. He wouldn't be there in the first place, how can I say sorry for that kind of thing? How could a word make a difference? How do I word it so it would make a difference?"

Ah, Shiro grimaced, that's what this was all about. Blame. Something Shiro himself was all too familiar with.

"Keith, it wasn't your fault. I'll repeat it however many times you need until you believe it. He's not going to need an apology, I think you know that. If you think it'll ease your guilt then just talk to him, he'll listen." Shiro said, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder for support, it seemed to satiate him for now, though Shiro could still feel Keith hesitant to accept the reassurance.

He knew that guilty feeling well, he was feeling it himself, Shiro would probably attempt an apology too, however futile it was.

But to apologize they'd need to get him back first.

The room fell silent, the other four's rather loud discussion suddenly ceasing.

"So? Did we figure it out?" Keith asked, beating Shiro to the punch as he stood up alert.

"Well..." Hunk trailed off.

"In order to magnify this to find the ship we'd have to use the crystal." Allura pointed above them to the large Balmera crystal they had replaced once what felt like forever ago.

"Okay? How do we start?" Keith didn't understand the somber feeling, if they'd figured it out then why weren't they moving. Hadn't they already known they were going to use the crystal in the first place?

"Unfortunately it's not that easy, my boy. This little device here uses sucks a lot of energy, and uses a very high frequency, so high in fact that it could very well end up...well...cracking the crystal." Coran said, hand twirling his mustache as he looked up at the crystal in thought.

"Cracking it? Would it be usable after?" Shiro asked, trying to resist sighing. They just couldn't catch a break it seemed.

"It's impossible to tell. We use this thing and the crystal will crack, I'm sure of it. If it holds after that then maybe we can jump once, maybe it'll hold up for another fifteen jumps, who knows. But if the crystal does break...then we are out of power." Pidge stood, frustrated look on her face again.

"So we could jump towards where Lance is and have no way of retreating even after we get him?" The question was more of a statement then a question but Shiro couldn't help but ask it.

"So worst case scenario, we jump to rescue him and we all get stuck, and captured too." Hunk said, shoulders sagging.

"Or we end up rescuing him and jumping away then losing power. Then the healing pods wouldn't work, and I bet he's going to need them. I don't think the Galra would have healed him as a prisoner." Keith muttered, voice unusually quiet.

"Well, we could always jump there, rescue him, and then jump to the nearest Balmera to get a new crystal in case it cracks. We are going to need a new one anyway." Pidge said.

There was a few nods around the room.

"That still leaves the chance it breaks on the first jump or even right after hooking up the device." Shiro said, knowing what he was implying. It could leave them all stranded or all captured and he was asking the team if they were prepared for that. Shiro was, even with the crappy luck they had been having lately. They couldn't just continue to do nothing.

"It's highly irresponsible but...I'm willing to risk it. We can jump a few tics away from the ship and then go from there." Allura said, looking around the room, head held high and sure. A chorus of agreement rang out and Pidge got to work connecting the device without further questioning. Shiro was proud to see a total lack of hesitation on anyone's part, they all wanted Lance back badly.

"Okay, but what happens if we lose power, would we be locked out of our lions again?" Keith asked.

"Pidge and I installed some nifty manual releases on the lions chambers after that fiasco." Coran explained. That was good, at least if it broke right away they'd still have access to their lions.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Pidge continued to work, Hunk pointing out a few things along the way to assist. Shiro ran through possible scenarios in his head. They had all been discussing the whole 'rescue Lance' part so dismissively. It could be a very difficult thing to do depending on where Lance was being held or how far out the ship was. It might be a few jumps away.

"Okay, its ready. I just have to connect this wire and it'll give us coordinates and from there, we can hopefully jump." Pidge said, sitting cross legged and looking around for any confirmations.

Allura looked towards Shiro, who nodded back in affirmation.

"Do it."

"Get to the back of the line." Lance whispered to Matt, pushing him away towards the back of the cell where the other prisoners were beginning to line up. Some murmuring about the word 'paladin' that Ratman had used. Yeah, Voltron and its paladins were a common source of hope to a lot of aliens now a days, Lance was sorry to disappoint them this time. He wasn't in much of a position to help.

Lance knew they needed time, but if he was going in first he might not have enough. If Matt was the last, or near the last to go in, then at least he might have a chance to be rescued.

Of course Matt opened his mouth to argue but before he could say anything he heard Ratman laugh, cruel and dark.

"No, I think this one here," Ratman grabbed a hold of Matt's arms, dragging him towards the exit, towering over him with a smile, "will be right behind you, vermin. So if you fail, he'll be next to die. His blood will be on your hands." With that Ratman gestured to the front of the now formed line.

Lance stayed back, not afraid to look like a coward if it bought them a few more seconds. They just needed time. His eyes searched the cell but there was nothing, nothing there to even go for Ratman's other eye with. It didn't take long for him to be hauled out, another soldier gripping his neck all too roughly and throwing him out into the hallway. He had to move, he at least tried to walk slowly.

Eventually they were all let go to walk on their own with less man-handling, guards only in the front and bringing up the rear, Lance leading the way behind Ratman. Feeling like he was leading everyone to their deaths.

If the rebels took too long he would be.

They walked by cells full of creatures on the way, through some doors and into another building. It felt like they were walking for a long time when the ceilings started to slope upwards. They were close to the dome. Close to the actual Arena now.

"Lance?" Matt's voice came out as a whisper, wavering.

"I know." Lance said back, not sure exactly what it was that he knew. He knew they were there. He knew he needed to buy time. He knew that him dying might actually be an option and soon. He knew that if he died that Matt would be next. He knew that if he died then Phyllana's sacrifice would be for nothing.

He knew he couldn't let that happen. He knew that some way, somehow, he'd have to beat whatever it was he'd be pitted against, with one arm, a chest full of who knows what kind of internal injuries, and a lion keeping him alive with quintessence.

He'd have to stay alive with his own power.

So, no pressure.

They stopped at small set of stairs that lead up to a see-through door. He could hear muffled screams and cheers coming from the lit up area past the door. Something massive was in the middle, green and lumpy skin moving slowly but powerfully on four legs. Four large pillars curved up from the ground from the corner of a lighter colored square, showing the corners of the Arena area, and right in the middle was the monster. Beyond that was massive stands, full of aliens, mostly purple Galra but Lance caught some colors of other species joining in on the fun.

And there, in front of the huge Godzilla-like monster was a small alien, gold in color, like the pretty ones Lance had seen on the Galra ship, sparkling like the Sun and shaking like a leaf, unable to move. The huge monster, Lance would just be calling it Godzilla for now, since it could stand on its back feet like it was bipedal and kinda looked like a lizard with the exception of its long snout like a dog, brimming with overflowing teeth.

The little alien, probably just a foot shorter than Lance didn't stand a chance. He didn't even look like he knew how to fight.

"Hey!" Lance shouted, unable to stop himself. This was wrong. The alien couldn't defend himself, the sword they gave him looking more like a toothpick to Godzilla than a threat.

The Galra standing guard at the door and Ratman ignored him.

"Hey! Stop this! I'll go in! I'll go in for him! Let him go!" Lance panicked, shoving at Ratman with his good hand, unable to even move him but desperate for someone to stop what was going on.

Ratman looked down at him in disdain, grabbing Lance's head in his hand and jerking him forwards up the stairs. He shoved his face against the glass so Lance could see the whole ordeal even better, Lance felt blood start to run from his nose again. He tried to push away from the glass but against Galra strength it wasn't possible. Distantly he heard Matt's protests behind him but they were helpless here, out-manned and out-muscled.

"This is his fate, as it is yours. Weaklings become nothing but a puddle on the floor." Ratman growled in his ear.

Lance had a first row seat to watch in horror as the monster brought a huge claw down on top of the little gold alien. He heard the thud, the cheering from the stands vibrating through the very floor and the huge monster lifted its limb again. Leaving nothing behind but blood and the sharp white contrast of some bones here and there. Lance felt his knees give out, Ratman let him fall.

No more gold. No more beautiful shimmer. Reduced to just...a puddle on the floor.

Lance closed his eyes, but still saw the image, now burned into his mind forever and felt so nauseous he had to swallow as his mouth began to water.

Without warning he was thrown back, down the few steps, Matt doing his best to catch him as he finally broke out of a guards grasp.

Lance ended up half in Matt's lap slumped on the floor together.

"-nce? Lance? Hey?" Matt's voice came through the ringing that Lance just realized was in his ears. There was hands on his face, shaking, terrified, trying to get him to look at him, trying to wipe the blood from his face just to be replaced with more.

"I'm okay." Came out automatically, unable to meet Matt's eyes for fear he'd see how much of a lie that was as he pushed Matt's hands away. Using a bit of his own strength to sit up and out of Matt's lap, but didn't move far from Matt's side on the ground. He wasn't okay. He wasn't sure he'd ever be at this point. People died so fast and so easily around him.

He'd have to go up against...against that thing. That thing, that Godzilla, that had probably already killed hundreds, if not thousands of innocent lives. Without his gun, without his lion, without Voltron.

Suddenly he felt very small.

He heard the Galrans talking, discussing the order of the prisoners now and Lance took in a breath.

"Matt, listen to me." Lance said, finally looking over at Matt, whose white face already looked seconds away from a full blown panic attack. Lance could relate to that.

"No, no we aren't doing this okay. No cliché goodbyes, not doing it. This isn't supposed to be goodbye. Where the hell are they Lance?" Matt shot back, voice getting fast and high, hands finding and tightening on Lance's shoulders. Sounding as panicked as Lance was feeling.

"Matt. I don't know. Okay? But listen to me. The druids. They're Alteans, brainwashed Alteans. They were taken from Altea against their will, you have to tell my team okay? You have to tell them to save them okay?" The words poured from his mouth, desperate to pass on the knowledge so they aren't kept prisoners forever. It was the least he could do at this point.

"W-What? No, Lance this is sounding like a goodby-"

"Tell them. Please. Tell them I'm sorry, okay? Tell them I tried my best." This was it, he could hear footsteps approaching them.

"No! Dammit, this can't be happening all over agai-"

He was pulled to his feet. Immediately he felt small hands grab onto him, trying desperately to pull him away from the Galra trying to take him.

"No! I'll go in! I'll go in first! Please!" Matt shouted, tears coming down his face and Lance couldn't help but think he looked so young, so much like Pidge in that moment. It made Lance glad that he was going first.

Another Galra ripped Matt from Lance, Ratman himself pulling Lance up the stairs, thrusting a sword to his chest with a "Entertain me, vermin, and we'll get you a nice new arm." and then he was shoved stumbling towards the now opened door towards the Arena.

He glanced back, heart pounding in his head and saw Matt still fighting to get out of the Galra grip, wide eyes staring back up at him.

"Tell them." Lance said, eerily calm for a moment, "I'm sorry."

The door swung shut on the horrible scream Matt let out and Lance turned to face his fate.

As soon as Pidge connected the wires there was sparks and the crystal lit up. A map display appeared, a bright yellow coordinate pinging off a world unfamiliar to them, but not too horribly far away, within one jump if Shiro's calculations were correct. It was a brief moment of relief.

Then the crystal cracked, the noise audible, making everyone flinch as a visible crack split up from the bottom of the crystal. Spidering along, small pieces actually falling to the ground and shattering into dust.

"Shut it off!" Allura yelled, seeing as the cracks kept sparking and spreading the longer the device was hooked up. Pidge started ripping out wires, trying to disconnect the thing properly but the crystal was still cracking. That was about the time Hunk stepped in, picked up the egg shaped device and ripped the entire thing out of the system Pidge had created.

It was quiet then, as everyone held their breath, Hunk still posed with the thing over his head. The power was still on and the coordinates were still up and showing on the map. Little pieces of the crystal continued to tinker to the ground, the only sound in the bridge.

After a moment everyone released a breath they had been holding.

"Okay, we have the coordinates. Now hopefully she holds up for a few jumps." Allura announced, voice a bit shaky.

No one had much to say as they plugged in the coordinates and prepared for a jump, everyone now seated for safety. Their anxiousness palatable in the air now. They had no idea what they were about to literally jump into. No idea what to expect, they had to be ready for anything. Possibly even ready for capture.

They were risking it all but no one seemed to even question it. Not if it was for one of them. Not if it was for Lance.

Allura initiated the jump, everyone holding their breath again, hoping the crystal would hold so they could jump away from whatever they encountered here.

The ship came to a halt, the planet still a little distance out but still very visible, looking similar to the size of Earth.

Shiro didn't hear the happy cheers from his teammates at how the crystal had held up. He didn't even notice the power was still on. His vision seemed to tunnel in on the planet in front of him. The horribly familiar planet. The worst planet Shiro had ever been on.

"No..." Escaped his lips. It was quiet but it was distraught enough for his team to hear him and turn.

He put his head in his shaking hands, closed his eyes at the unwanted memories. This was his worst fear, the worst place they could have brought Lance.

"Shiro?" Keith's hand on his shoulder didn't help to draw him out of the flashbacks now plaguing his mind.

The Arena. That was the planet the Arena was on. Shiro had no idea where in the Universe it was until now but he recognized it immediately.

His team waited for him for a moment to get his bearings. He took a unsteady breath and held it. Not Lance. Not there.

"That's the Arena." He managed to get out, throat already tight at the implications that came with that statement.

There was a moment of shocked silence before all hell irrupted. Mostly confusion, a lot of anger. It took a bit for everyone to calm down, Allura's voice talking over everyone's by the end.

"That makes no sense, why would they take a paladin there? Zarkon wanted paladins to be taken to him the last I heard, why would that change?" Allura wondered out loud, an angry look still coming through on her face.

"Who cares! Let's get him out of there! We are wasting time!" Keith shouted, shaking like Shiro.

Shiro had told Keith more details of what went on there than anyone else. He had a right to fear for Lance, Shiro was terrified.

Shiro was scared of even setting foot back on the planet himself.

"Wait a minute, aren't those rebel ships?" Pidge's voice cut through the tension, pointing as she brought up a screen.

Sure enough, there was a mass amount of ships approaching the planet, a lot looking homemade in certain aspects. They seemed ready for attack.

"Contact them!" Allura said, a new hope on her face.

Lance stayed calm for a whole five seconds after the door closed behind him. There was a short flat dark walkway out to the lit up area, most of the space taken up by the massive monster Lance was somehow supposed to face. He gripped the sword he was given in his left hand, it felt awkward and foreign to him. His right still sitting in its sling, uselessly.

This was so not good. This wasn't looking good. Lance needed a plan.

He didn't even have to kill it, he just had to buy some time until they got rescued. The thing hadn't even seen him yet, if it did it could corner him here, which was terrifying in and of itself, but it was still far away. Lance took the opportunity to take in as many details as he could before it noticed him.

Godzilla had four eyes, one set behind the other, so it probably had a real wide range of vision. Hiding in a possible blind spot might not be a possibility. It stood at a good twenty feet tall, probably able to reach the edges of the stands and crawl up into the audience if it wanted. These were creatures made by the Galra though, designed to kill specific target, aka him, so no one seemed worried. It had a long tail that implied an unfair reach past what it's arms could get at and long spikes up it and it's spine, so he should try to stay out of range of that. Somehow. Obviously he had to stay out of the reach of all its limbs, something easier said than done in such a small space. Those pillars were the only source of cover from this thing and Lance didn't think he could hide from this thing for long, judging by its snout it might have a good sense of smell too. The pillars had about five feet of space behind them before the sheer wall of the audience stands began. The only good thing about all this was that Lance hadn't seen the thing move very quickly, it seemed to malformed to be quick, instead moving with strong purposeful movements.

So hopefully, predictable and dodge-able movements.

Lance was not good enough with a sword to take this thing down, plus even if he could somehow gain those skills he didn't think it would help him, the skin looked way to thick to just hack away at, even at its underbelly.

So stabbing the thing to death wasn't an option either.

So he couldn't hide from it and couldn't use the sword to kill it then what the hell was he supposed to do?

Maybe he could he go all How to Train Your Dragon on it? Then use his new buddy to crawl out of the building, destroy the crowd. That idea was forgotten quickly.

He glanced over at the crowd, now beginning to boo at him, rude, as someone announced who he was. His eye caught onto smaller bodies, children, Galran, some of them that looked scared just being there.

The thought that everything, everyone, isn't always what they seem came to his thoughts. The Druids, aliens Lance had once been terrified of and assumed were all evil to their core were not what they seemed. Innocent in the grand scheme of things.

Not all Galra were bad, Keith was a great example of that, but even those raised in the Galra world were scared. Not all wanted to be there. Some were forced. Some were brainwashed. Some were terrified.

How was this war even fightable at this point? How were they supposed to help everyone? Even the enemy?

Lance took a step forward, torn between wanting to hide and unwilling to be caught in a corner when the thing did see him. It seemed distracted in the opposite direction for now, but its nose was sniffing away at the ground.

His family came to his mind suddenly, maybe because he was facing peril, and it made him want to collapse to his knees and cry. What would they think if they could see him now? Would they ever know what happened to him?

Would they bury an empty casket?

All these thoughts sparked a fire in him. He was scared out of his wits, but Shiro had done this kind of thing again and again and he was only a human.

An amazing human with some superb fighting skills, but still just a human.

Lance just had to use his brain to get out of this one, he just had to think his way out.

Walking out into the light the booing intensified but Lance couldn't hear it, his mind was going a million miles an hour, through possible situations. He stopped before the still drying mass of blood that not even ten minutes before had been a living breathing thing. They had cleaned up most of it, but the ground was still damp and red.

Without thinking Lance knelt down, dropping the sword and placed his hand on the dirt. It was still warm, like it still held life.

"I'm sorry." Lance whispered, the sound lost in the screams of the crowd.

He heard clicking of nails as Godzilla moved, Lance's head snapping up to see it's front set of eyes shift and focus in on him, the back ones not bothering to move at all.

And there stood Lance, who had finally came up with a plan.

Oh no, that's all I got for now. Thank you a ton to all those reading and reviewing. 3