x

In the Name of Love

Chapter Two

xxx

The florist brought Lance to one of the locked rooms, humming below his breath. Lance closed his eyes so he didn't have to look, feeling tears dripping down his cheeks.

He still couldn't believe this was the end.

Another futile tug on the thorned vines that kept his hands bound behind him only sent the spikes in deeper and fresh blood dripping down his arms. Still, he tried. He could do nothing else and his whimpers of pain were muffled behind the gag.

They were as useless as all his attempts were.

He was hauled into the room and dragged towards a large sandbox on the ground. The sand inside was stained various shades of green and Lance faintly realized that must blood from the previous victims. The Jeyclids were pretty green all around, made sense their blood was too.

But the sandbox was the least of his concerns for looming above it was a giant, giant plant. That, he swallowed thickly, must be Aulie.

Aulie was nearly all dark purple vines that slithered towards them at their approach. It looked like the florist hadn't been entirely lying when he said he had plants capable of movement. At the center of the vine mass was a large bloom, purple and green that almost looked like a starburst with various shades of purples bleeding into the green edges. It was pretty, all things considered.

"Aulie, I brought you a present," the florist said eagerly, dropping Lance into the sand pit with a dull thud and going to the plant. It slithered vines about his shoulders and over his head and the Jeyclid leaned into it, petting his hands over it and crooning.

Lance thrashed helplessly in the sand, trying to do anything other than lie here and wait for impending death. But he had barely managed to shift a couple inches before the florist was back and clucking his tongue.

"Now, now, struggling is pointless. This will be much less painful if you merely let Aulie do as she pleases."

The alien proceeded to push Lance back to his start position and then went over to the side of the box where a coil of regular rope was tied and brought it back. He threaded the rope between Lance's bound ankles and tied it into a tight knot over his left. Lance moaned as it dug the spikes even further in, his jeans no longer offering any deterrent.

A rope from the other side of the sandbox was brought over and the action repeated on his right leg although not fully tied. Before he did that the shopkeeper slice through the thorny brambles and pulled the entire length off without seemingly sticking himself once. Then he secured Lance's right foot, leaving his legs stretched and tied to the opposite corners of the box.

It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going. He was going to be tied spread-eagle at the four corners. When the Jeyclid knelt down next to him so as to free Lance's bound hands from behind his head, Lance jerked his torso up and slammed the crown of his head like a battering ram at his captor, screaming behind his gag as the push off the ground had sank the thorns through his wrist.

It was for nothing.

The hit besides making the Jeyclid grunt didn't seem to phase him and instead he shifted to grip Lance by his hair. "Now that was not nice," he said, giving him a shake and Lance felt more tears prick his eyes as his hair was pulled.

Without warning his head was slammed to the ground and the sand did little to cushion it. The Jeyclid repeated the action two more times and Lance felt his vision going in and out, wavering between falling unconscious and remaining awake. He almost wished he could get knocked out but his body was stubborn.

Not stubborn enough though to prevent his captor from removing his now freely bleeding hands from the vines and into the new rope restraints, the coarse cords sliding over the weeping wounds and stretching his limbs tight.

"There, all done." The florist wiped his hands on his apron, smearing red streaks of Lance's blood over the white. He reached down and patted Lance on the head and all Lance could do was try and shift it away without any success.

"This will be a bit painful," the Jeyclid told him. "I would offer you some herbs to dull the sensation but Aulie doesn't like the taste of them. But it won't be too long. Just about a week for her to fully harvest you."

A week.

Lance's struggles resumed with renewed vigor although all that did was dig the rope deeper into his already abused limbs and there was no give whatsoever on the strain.

"She tends to consume the intestines first and save the heart for last," the florist continued. "But you are a new species to her. She may wish to sample around so I'm afraid I cannot tell you where she may start her feeding. Your blood," he rubbed his fingers together, "has a unique scent to it and she may wish to start there. She seems quite taken with it already."

For while the florist was talking his plant had stretched long creepers out to the bloodied vine restraints and was lifting them up into her mass with all the tender care of a mother to her newborn. Lance could feel acid bile rising in his mouth but it had no where to go and so he choked it back down.

He tried to lock eyes with the florist one last time, to try and reason somehow, but the alien had eyes only for his plant.

Lance's shoulders shook.

He really was going to die.

This was it.

He closed his eyes, picturing his family. Mamá. Papá. His siblings. Abuela. Hunk. Pidge. The rest of his space family.

Dios por favor. This could not be how it ended.

Hot tears slipped past his closed eyes, tracing high cheekbones to plop silently into the sand.

He wished he'd had a chance to say goodbye. To leave a note. Some closure.

Dios he didn't want to die.

"I will be in the greenhouse preparing some orders for pick-up tomorrow but I'll be certain to stop by and see how you both are doing before I retire for the evening," the Jeyclid spoke again, cutting into Lance's grief. He opened his eyes to try one last time, find one shred of mercy.

He found none.

The florist left the sandbox then and went back to the main part of the plant and patted one of the larger vines. "Enjoy your meal, Aulie. I'll see you soon, precious." He placed a kiss to the vine and without a backwards glance left the room, door swinging shut behind him.

Lance tilted his head backwards to look at the plant, which was flowing out of the dark space behind the sandbox and hauling its bulk towards him, vines slithering with a hiss through the sand. He wasn't honestly sure if he wanted to see what it was going to do or close his eyes and try to pretend this was not happening.

He jerked as a tendril touched his arm and it was joined by another on his other side. A smaller one came down and brushed against his cheek, rolling itself against a tear track. Lance moaned low in his throat.

The ones on his arms were sliding up and down it, some of the vines touching on the bloodied marks on his shirt and the holes stabbed into his wrists while others were angling towards his torso, skimming inside his armpit and he was too scared to be ticklish.

One slipped down the collar of his shirt and he whimpered as made its way down his chest, brushing against the small penetrations from the vine that had wrapped there, before continuing to his stomach where it dug its end into his navel and Lance gasped.

More were joining that one now, going under his shirt from top and bottom and writhing over his chest and stomach. Lance twitched but didn't go anywhere. The movement though seemed to excite them as suddenly they were rippling with even more enthusiasm and there was the sound of fabric ripping as they popped up through his shirt and pushed all of the fabric covering his torso aside.

The majority of the vines twining about him seemed to center there but a few more slipped down, wrapping around his legs while another prodded around the waistband of his jeans. And despite himself Lance felt his face flame as it managed to slip under and he felt it slide along his hip before snaking down along his outer thigh before coming back up and sliding now under his shorts.

Dios, he was going to be molested by a plant. Somehow that was even scarier than the prospect of dying and Lance renewed his struggles as it touched against his inner thigh and made to climb higher.

And then everything stopped.

The writhing, the twining, the moving. It came to a grinding halt as a long, thin and so dark it was almost black, vine appeared and pressed itself against Lance's face. He closed his eyes as it brushed at them, feeling it disturb his lashes.

It seemed to caress his cheek then and he shuddered, before it slipped further down. The other vines parted to let it move by unobtrusively and Lance let out a shallow breath as all of the other ones actually retreated, only the ropes now and this new, leader-like vine on him.

It landed on his stomach, circling his navel almost curiously. It lifted away then, hovering over him like some executioner's axe. Lance wanted to close his eyes but the fear of the unknown was greater.

His stomach was taut and his breath coming in shallow little pants that were swallowed up by the gag to the point where there were dark spots dancing in his vision from the lack of oxygen getting through.

What was it waiting for? For him to pass out or maybe—

Lance screamed, head smashing back and his body angling up as the plant speared itself straight into his stomach, impaling him as surely as any spear.

And then it moved, rippling beneath his flesh.

Lance could only scream again as it burrowed in deeper, writhing about in his stomach.

Oh Dios. Dios Dios Dios.

It seemed to be looking for something and Lance distantly remembered the florist saying something about intestines. As if summoned the vine moved even lower inside him, a trail of fire in its wake and he was crying now, tossing his head back and forth as though that would somehow relieve the pain.

It did not.

It was only getting worse as the plant shifted his insides around in its quest for whatever it was trying to eat first.

Let him die.

Dios, let him die.

He choked behind his gag as the vine pressed down, a pinpointed pressure of agony. It stopped moving then and Lance trembled, heart racing as the worst of the pain stopped with it.

And then pulsing, burning, stabbing torment.

The plant had dug itself into something inside of him and while it wasn't moving anymore he could feel something was and from the corner of his eye he could see the dark vine quivering. He stared at it with glassy eyes, waiting for the pain to become so much he could find peace in unconsciousness.

It did not come.

Instead, he saw the tiniest bulge in the thin vine, inching its way down like a snake ingesting a rat.

There was something inside the vine that had been inside of him.

The lump moved with agonizing slowness down the vine and all he could do was watch it as it made its way to the main body of the plant with the flower, which had perched itself just to the side past his shoulder.

A few minutes later the piece disappeared into the large body of the other vines.

And then the same shooting agony swept through him as it happened again.

Lance sobbed. He was literally going to be eaten alive piece by piece.

Death could not come soon enough.

xxx

"Something is bothering me."

"Is it the florist guy? Please tell me it's the florist guy. I was getting this really weird vibe from him but I thought it was just me and—"

"Yes, Hunk, it's the florist," Pidge cut in. Hunk let out a huge breath next to her. She tapped her finger on the datapad. "I think we should go back."

"Why? What feeling did you get?" Hunk asked, even as he already was turning about and ushering them back the block they had walked.

"For being closed he sure did answer the door pretty quick," Pidge said. "It's like he was right there, in the front room although I didn't see any signs of him working on restocking or something."

"And that thump?" Hunk shuddered. "Like, moving plants can totally be a thing. Definitely not the weirdest thing we've seen. But nothing up front was moving. It was all cut flowers and stuff."

Pidge nodded. "Exactly. And even if it was coming from the back storeroom… I dunno, it seemed closer than that."

Hunk gulped. "You… you don't think that thump was Lance, do you?"

Pidge rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. "I don't know. I just… Something was off about him. Did you see how long he looked at Lance's picture? He took the pad out of my hand, Hunk. No one else did that."

"So what, the florist kidnapped Lance to…?"

"Grind him up and use him as topsoil, maybe feed him to a man-eating plant."

Hunk turned positively green and looked at Pidge in horror. "What?"

Pidge grimaced as her own words registered back at her. "Ugh. Ignore that. I'm… I'm sure Lance is fine. He's probably not even there, probably at some bar or arcade or something and freaking us all out for no reason."

"Lance isn't like that, Pidge," Hunk said quietly. "I know he can be a goofball and immature but… he wouldn't worry us like this."

"I know, I know. You're right. I just…" Pidge hugged her arms about herself. "I just don't want anything bad to have happened Hunk. I'd rather he gets a curfew and dressing down from Allura and Shiro then… then something worse." She looked up at him, honey eyes glimmering with a faint sheen. "We're supposed to be safe here, Hunk."

"Come here," Hunk extended his arms and Pidge went straight into them. Hunk closed around her in a gentle embrace. "Everything is going to be all right. We'll find Lance, okay? He's going to be fine."

Hunk really hoped so at least. There was a churning in his gut that had nothing to do with the need to puke from Pidge's speculation that something really was wrong. It'd been there for a while now, ever since they got back from the museum and discovered Lance had been gone all day on an errand for Coran.

Shiro and Allura had been informed that Lance hadn't returned, but there was little the two of them could do as talks had moved into the dinner hour and they could not leave, not this close to closing negotiations. Coran had stayed behind in case Lance returned to the castle and Pidge and Hunk had taken to the streets to track down Lance.

Most stores were closed at this hour save for the restaurants and night-life, but they'd knocked gone everywhere they could and Hunk's unease had been building with every "no" they got. This really wasn't like Lance. Not even when they'd been on Earth had Lance ever wandered off without telling someone and he checked in if he was going to be out later than planned (Hunk was not sorry for being a mother hen, he was not).

They had even gone to the police station where they made a brief report, but it didn't sound like anyone was going to be actively looking for Lance. The officer they'd spoken with had seemed preoccupied and apologized several times that the department's resources were being stretched thin due to a serial killer whose newest victim had just turned up that afternoon.

Hunk had paled but the officer had been quick to assure them that he doubted their friend had gotten mixed up in that business as the killer so far was targeting only female Jeyclids and one female Ubaxian. It had reassured Hunk then but now? Now he was thinking the universe hated them and Lance had someone gotten himself mixed up.

Maybe, he worried his lip as he and Pidge picked up their pace back to the flower shop, Lance had seen something and had intervened. He could have been kidnapped too for his troubles, or… or…

Hunk refused to believe he was dead, lying in some dark alley all alone. No. Lance was not dead.

He was going to be fine.

They reached the shop but this time all of the windows were dark. Pidge pressed her face up against it but stepped back a second later with a shake of her head. "Can't see anything."

"Do we knock?" Hunk asked, but Pidge shook her head. He sighed. "I had a feeling."

Pidge scowled though as she looked at the door. It was so un-advanced that it was a good old eye and lock combination rather than a keypad.

"Well fuck that," she muttered, eyes scouring the area and landing on the decorated rock beds that stretched along the sidewalks.

"Uh, Pidge—?"

"Give me your vest," she interrupted. "Need something to muffle the noise."

Hunk shrugged it off even as he moaned in distress. This was illegal, breaking and entering. Even if they did suspect that something nefarious was going on, what if it wasn't? Then they just broke down a door for no reason and—

"We'll pay for the damages," Pidge interrupted his thought stream. "If it really is just a florist shop. If Lance is in here though…" her eyes narrowed. "A door is the least of things about to break."

Hunk gulped. Pidge was scary.

"Should we maybe go get the police? Or our bayards?" Hunk asked.

"I'm going in now," Pidge said, putting her pilfered rock into the vest and wrapping it about her hand. She smashed it into the front glass door with a dull crackle and then reached in and flipped the lock. The sharp tinkling of glass sounded as she pulled the door open and more of the pane fell out. "You coming?"

Hunk swallowed and nodded. He wasn't letting Pidge go by herself, absolutely not.

They entered the darkened shop but as they moved the overhead lights flickered on and Pidge cursed. "Hurry, hurry," she hissed even as she peeked behind every table. She glanced behind her where Hunk was stationary by one of the front displays. "Hunk!"

"Pidge." His voice was hollow and she hated how her heart seemed to leap into her throat. "Bl-blood."

She hurried back to where Hunk was standing frozen, praying maybe it was just some plant goop and Hunk's brain was playing tricks on him.

But no. That was definitely red blood splatter. It looked like it had been cleaned up, parts of the floor shining brightly in places as though recently washed, but this small section had fallen by the wayside as it was flung instead against the table legs.

Like it had been ripped from the body.

"Just… just a little bit," she shivered. "It… it could be…"

"It's Lance's." Hunk sounded resolute in this even as fear shook his voice. He turned on his heel abruptly for the back door of the shop. "Come on."

Now it was Pidge's turn to creep more tentatively behind as they entered into a hallway that had numerous doors lining it. Hunk strode over to the first one and yanked it open, revealing a broom closet. He shut it gently and moved to the next one, pausing a bit more here. A good thing, Pidge thought, as they didn't want to open the door and come face to face with a murderous florist, who clearly had means of hurting people.

She shivered again.

Hunk eased this one open, revealing an empty storeroom. The next one revealed a cooler. They stepped carefully into the blue-lit room.

"Hunk!" Pidge crossed quickly over to where there were a bunch of downed plants covering one of the tables. Some were crushed as though something had stepped on them while others had fallen to the floor.

"He was here," Hunk said grimly. "Look everywhere."

They ducked beneath every table and shelf with no luck. Pidge did find a few garden shovels though on the back wall and some spades and she and Hunk armed themselves with the tools. It was better than nothing.

They exited that room and the next one was locked. Pidge frowned at it, jiggling the doorknob without success.

"Skip it and come back?" Hunk asked.

"People lock things when they have something to hide," she said. "No. We're going in. I just need a bobbypin or something."

"What about some wire?" Hunk asked. "The ribbons in the storeroom had armature. We could dismantle it."

Pidge knocked a fist against Hunk's broad shoulder. "Excellent work." She hurried into the storeroom and grabbed one of the wide-band ribbons while Hunk remained in the hall. When she returned he had his ear pressed to the door with a frown tugging on his lips. "What is it?"

"I think I hear something," he said. "Can't make it out though."

"Just give me a tick and we'll find out." Pidge stripped the gaudy plaid away and took her new piece of wire and jammed it into the keyhole, tongue sticking out as she shifted it around. A few moments later there was a soft click and she grinned in success.

It fell away though as her hand twisted on the knob and Hunk gave her a nod to push it fully open.

This room had lights on, but they were a dull yellow gleam. There was definitely the sound of something, although even with the door open it was muffled. Their view of the room was blocked by a large shelf right next to the door so they inched cautiously out from behind it, garden tools at the ready for whatever they found.

They were not ready for what they found.

Lance was tied down in a giant sandbox, bare-chested with blood saturating his wrists and ankles. And above him was a giant, huge purple plant made up mostly of vines that were twined loosely about Lance's limbs. One the vines though was angled down and was inside Lance's stomach.

The noise they were hearing was Lance apparently screaming, his head pressed all the way back and exposing his jugular that a few stray tendrils had wrapped about. As they stood in frozen horror the thin vine that was piercing into Lance's stomach gave a shudder and a bulge appeared in it that trekked across it.

"Holy fuck," Pidge whispered and her words broke the trance.

"Lance!" Hunk screamed, charging forward. He swore the plant turned to look at him, a large, purple and green flower angling in his direction, and then all of a sudden vines were racing towards him and there was a definite muffled scream from Lance as the one inside him ripped free with a shower of blood.

Hunk met the plant with his two spades, slashing at the stabbing vines. He hacked off one larger one and the plant shuddered, before attacking with a renewed vigor. Hunk realized quickly that while large the vines didn't seem capable of doing anything other than twining about him the almost black one was different. That one sliced a thin line along his cheek that had nearly been through his head.

"Holy cheeseballs!" Hunk dunked under it and sliced furiously at the vines trying to wrap around his wrist. "Pidge! I could use some help!"

But the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Hunk helped as the black vine came in for another pass and he barely managed to repel it with the spade. It shook itself, dazed, but not cut.

"Pidge!" Hunk yelped as more vines were managing to wrap themselves about his limbs now. "Pidge!" His voice was bordering just slightly on hysteria as his arms were pinned to his sides. "Pi—!" And now a vine had wrapped about his head and over his mouth.

"I'm coming!" Pidge appeared in his peripheral carrying a bucket of… fertilizer? She hefted it in up and it flew in an arc, splattering against the large flower and main part of the plant. The vines charged at her then but Pidge was already wielding her own dual gardening tools and she swiped the two against each other, generating a spark and it landed on the substance she had thrown.

Fire immediately engulfed the spot and spread out rapidly. The vines holding Hunk dropped away immediately as they rushed to try and pat out the flames, but Pidge was there again, throwing more fertilizer and the fire latched onto it with gusto.

Hunk wasted no more time and dived into the sandbox, slicing at the ropes holding his right foot while Pidge sawed at the left, the plant continuing to burn in the background. As soon as it finally snapped he practically threw himself at Lance.

Lance's eyes were scrunched closed but tears were still streaming down his face. Hunk let out a sob as he grabbed Lance's wrist and began hacking at the rope tied there.

"It's okay, it's okay," he chanted as the rope frayed. "I've got you, it's okay."

Lance didn't give any indication that he heard him.

The rope finally undid and Pidge's gave way a second later. Hunk wasted no time scooping Lance into his arms, hating that the action pulled a muffled groan but he didn't have time to be gentle, and jumping to his feet. He could still feel Lance trembling and he clutched him a little tighter.

"Go!" he shouted as Pidge cast a glance from his face to Lance's, who had buried it into the crook of Hunk's arms.

She nodded and pivoted, leading the way.

They tore out of the room and back into the door-filled hallway and then into the shop front. The shopkeeper either hadn't heard them – and the room they had been in did seem soundproofed – or hadn't made it down, but they encountered no obstacles as they fled out the front door and into the darkened street.

The roadway was empty, this part of the city entirely closed down for the evening. The castle was still a good fifteen minute run and opposite the police station and hospital.

"St-stop," Hunk panted after they'd made it a few minutes away from the flower shop. Lance was trembling worse in his arms, squirming now too and Hunk was afraid he was going to drop him. Pidge skidded to a halt as Hunk lowered Lance to the sidewalk. Lance immediately curled on his side, hands going to his lower stomach and made a muffled keening noise that shattered Hunk's heart.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay," Hunk tried, even though he had no idea if it actually was. That plant had been doing something inside Lance's stomach after all. He could have internal damage and he really needed to get into a pod but Lance was shaking and scared and the last thing he needed was to be stuffed into a cryo pod in this state. He hadn't come outright and said it, but Hunk had noticed how his best friend had developed an aversion to small spaces, including cryo pods, after the castle tried to kill them.

Pidge crouched down next to them and placed two small hands on Lance's upper arm over what remained of his shirt sleeve. "Lance?" she whispered, voice small. "It's us. Please. We need to get you to the castle."

"He's got a gag," Hunk muttered, inching his way around Lance to get a better view of his face that he'd turned away. Tears were still tracking down his cheeks. "Oh, Lance," he murmured. "Here, let me get this off."

The gag was some sort of leaf that seemed to be stuck on with its own natural adhesive. Hunk winced as he dug his finger under one edge of it, feeling the resistance and Lance moaned as it pulled. "Sorry, hermano, just a tick." Hunk yanked on it, figuring it was going to suck regardless and Lance gasped as it cleared, revealing bloody lips.

His face scrunched up a moment later and Hunk had a lot of experience with that look. He just managed to turn Lance more to the side and lift his head before Lance was vomiting, shaking and crying as he did so. Hunk could only hold him and Pidge shifted to run her hands through his hair as he expelled another round. Hunk was alarmed to see blood in the mixture.

When Lance moved to dry heaving Hunk went to sit him up, but Lance let out a strangled scream and Hunk froze. Something warm touched his hand that was resting on the ground next to Lance and he realized it was a gush of blood from Lance's stomach.

Hunk barely turned in time to puke himself and Pidge caught Lance's head before it could hit the ground and then lowered him back down.

"Lance, hey, hey," she tapped the side of his face, avoiding the reddened skin around his mouth. "Come on, Lance. Open your eyes. It's us. Pidge and Hunk."

Those seemed to be the magic words as ocean eyes flew open, reddened with tears and pinpricked with fear. They latched immediately onto Pidge's own and she held that scared gaze even though all she wanted to do was turn and cry herself because Lance should not ever look like that.

"P-Pidge?" he rasped, voice barely there.

"That's my name," she mustered up a smile.

"Right here too, hermano," Hunk said, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"H-Hunk?" Lance's gaze roved to Hunk's.

His face crumpled a second later and he let out another sob that shook his entire body.

"I… I th-thought… I… I…"

"Shh," Hunk murmured, running his own hand through Lance's hair. "It's okay. It's over now."

"I…" Lance broke off with a groan, trying to curl in himself.

"We've gotta get you to the castle," Hunk said. "I'm gonna pick you up again, okay?"

"H-hurts."

"I know, I know," Hunk comforted, sliding one hand beneath Lance's shoulder's and the other at the crook of his legs. The stomach wound gave another trickle as Hunk slightly compressed his legs and Lance went pale beneath his tan.

"I'll run ahead," Pidge said, standing as the two rose. "Have Coran start a pod." She reached over and picked up Lance's dangling hand, blood staining his fingers, and tucked it up against his chest after giving it a little squeeze. "See you soon."

She took off in a dead sprint while Hunk moved quickly but not at the pace he had been as every step seemed to be hurting Lance.

"Th-thought I was gonna d-die," Lance mumbled into Hunk's chest, still shaking. "S-saw you. In the win-d-dow."

Hunk froze midstep. "The window?" he repeated. "That… that thump was you?"

He felt Lance nod.

"Oh, Lance," he cuddled him a little closer as Lance shivered. Hunk wished he had a blanket or something to offer but his vest was covered in shattered glass in his cargo pocket and at this point it was inconducive to put Lance down so he could shrug out of his own.

"You came b-back?" Lance coughed then and Hunk felt something wet and warm dribble into his shirt.

Blood.

"Something seemed fishy," Hunk said.

"Gracias."

"I wish we'd gotten their sooner," Hunk shrugged off the thanks. "I'm so sorry, Lance. But we'll get you in a pod and everthing will be all right."

Lance made a little mumble.

"I think we killed the plant," Hunk said as the castle came into sight, all of the floodlights on, anything to say to keep Lance awake and talking.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. Pidge set it on fire."

Lance made a sound between a sob and a laugh then and Hunk felt more dampness soak into his shirt. "G-good riddance."

The door to the castle opened without prompting – Pidge, Hunk was sure – and he raced as quick as he could to the infirmary. Coran and Pidge were there, the Altean holding a cryosuit at the ready.

Lance seemed to have calmed somewhat at the familiar presence of the castle and he was mostly silent as Coran and Hunk helped him out of his shoes and bloodstained pants and the tattered remains of his shirt and into the white suit. His abdomen, Hunk realized, not his stomach, continued to let out a steady stream of blood.

"We'll have you feeling better in a jiffy, Number Three," Coran said cheerfully although Hunk could see the steel in those jeweled eyes. "Nothing to worry about, all right?"

"Th-thanks, Coran," Lance managed as Hunk lifted him off the exam table and over to the pod.

"Pidge?" he called out as Hunk settled him into the narrow space and he tried not to focus on the tight compartment and the pain standing caused as his insides seemed to be shifting around.

She jerked her head up from where she'd stationed herself by the door, not ready to leave but giving Lance privacy as he changed. She looked so worried and scared and Lance hated that he had caused that. He didn't like that look on anyone, but especially Pidge.

"Nice job. With the f-fire."

A tentative smile lifted on her face and most of the fear disappeared. "It seemed like a fitting end. Now," she ground a fist into her palm, "we go for the florist."

Lance let out a short laugh that he immediately regretted as his insides lit themselves on fire and it turned into a cry he couldn't bite back.

"S-sounds like a pl-plan," he choked out over their concerned cries of his name. "Tell me… all about it l-later?"

"You got it," Pidge nodded.

Lance managed a wavery smile at that and then Hunk was giving his hands one last squeeze and the door to the pod was sliding closed. A moment later it filled with frost and Lance was lost to sight.

"Number Five, can you contact the authorities please?" Coran said, once he was certain the pod had activated properly. "Relay what has happened. I will contact Princess Allura and Number One and update them to the situation. Number Two, I request you take a shower and decontaminate yourself." Hunk glanced down and felt his stomach heave as the entire front of his shirt was splotched with blood.

Oh God, how much had Lance lost?

Coran placed a hand on Hunk's shoulder. "He will be all right. You and Number Five did an excellent job."

"He could have died," Pidge whispered, coming over to their huddle and both men drew her in to the circle. "He could have actually died."

"But he did not," Coran said quietly but firmly. "Let us focus on that, hmm?" The advisor gave them another minute to stand there before he clapped his hands. "Hop to it, Paladins. When you're done you may of course return to keep Number Three company."

The next few varga passed by in a blur. The authorities were contacted and went to the flower shop along with Pidge, who was not going to rest until she saw the bastard who had done this to Lance in custody. They'd found him crying next to the burnt remains of his plant and he had offered no resistance as officers cuffed him and led him out. They had retrieved sand from the box and said the blood that had soaked in would likely show matches to the now seven other victims.

Justice in Jeyliva was done via the courts but victims or family members of the victims if they were unable to speak for themselves were allowed to be a part of the proceedings. One of the officers told Pidge quietly he had no doubt that he would receive the death penalty for the murders. Pidge had given a sharp smile at the news.

The initial scan on the cryo pod revealed that in addition to the puncture wounds, one of which had come dangerously close to severing the main artery, the worst wound was that part of Lance's small intestine had been literally eaten, leaving gaping holes along about a foot-length section. Because the material was actually missing the cryo pod could not simply heal it as though it had merely been cut and of course the pod could not regenerate the missing flesh.

Fortunately though it looked like there would not be any real lasting damage as the intestine had merely shrunk in on itself (Coran thought the whole thing was fascinating as apparently Alteans did not have intestines) and was absorbing itself accordion style to make up for the damage. Coran estimated that based on the scans Lance would suffer no long-term problems.

He was going to be in the pod for another day though and Hunk was already frantically baking to make all of Lance's favorites for when he was out.

Their roles in apprehending the serial killer did have one other unexpected consequence: the holdout southern country of Ubax had been swayed to join the Alliance. The Ubaxians had wanted to hold a grand celebration in their honor but Allura had politely declined as Lance would not be present for it and she, as well as the rest of them, had had quite enough of the planet for now.

Lance still had over half a day to go in the pod, but Pidge and Hunk had staked out the infirmary so they would be there when Lance awoke and were plowing through a tray of cookies Hunk had brought down.

"It was too close."

Hunk lifted his head at Pidge's quiet words. "What?"

"It was too close. If Lance hadn't escaped to the front, hadn't managed to alert us to something and given us that off feeling…" Pidge shook her head, recalling the testimony the florist had relayed to officers, sparing no detail, sobbing that he had done it for his child, all of the murders had been for a plant. Pidge had never been so disgusted in her life.

Hunk scooted over and draped an arm about her shoulders. "I know. We got lucky. Really lucky." He closed his eyes and tugged her closer.

"The crazy things people do in the name of love," Pidge muttered.

"Like battling a man-eating plant without any real weapon to save a member of our family?" Hunk asked, giving her a little nudge.

A little smile turned up her lips and she turned her gaze to the pod, where Lance was floating and looking at peace.

In the name of love, huh?

"Yeah," she murmured. "Something like that."

Author's Notes:

So this sort of got away from me a bit. I was hoping to wrap this up in under 3k words, but hah, it's cool, take 6,500. Nothing quite like making the second chapter longer than the original finished one. Hahahaaaaah. As a reminder, this second part is not a commission, but me being the Disney-girl I am and needing both a happy ending and closure to the commissioned piece (chapter one).

Anyways, happy ending, check. Lance has been rescued (after being tortured and nearly traumatized by Aulie) and our florist has been brought to justice. All in a day's work.

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