The big finale... but will everyone make it out alive?

"We're getting an incoming signal. That's... peculiar." Coran murmured, pressing some buttons until a video was projected. Lance stiffened up from where he was hiding behind Keith as he noticed Allura was on the screen. She was grinning widely as if she was proud of all of the destruction she had caused. Keith wrapped a protective arm around Lance, even though Allura couldn't get to him through a message.

"Hello, paladins. Remember me?" Allura's voice was cocky and full of pep. Coran shook his head in disappointment: he had hoped Allura would have mended her ways after she had been abandoned.

"Oh, cut to the chase. We don't need this right now, Allura. If you didn't know, we're currently in the middle of a battle to defend the universe." Shiro retorted, hands on his hips to add to his perceived level of authority. Allura threw her head back and barked out a laugh.

"I'm part of it, you rag." Lance started trembling at the familiar nickname. "I'm working with the Galra now and I'm here to tell you that we want the blue paladin back."

"You aren't going to take him again!" Keith yelled, voice much louder than he had anticipated.

"Well, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Keith. We can take him with your consent and no one gets hurt or... we can take him by force and we will make sure to damage your team as much as possible."

Keith let out an inhumane growl, stepping away from Lance to get closer to the screen. Raising a clenched fist, he snapped out, "We'll do it the hard way and, do you know why? Because we are loyal. We will protect each other, no matter what shit you put us through. We love each other unlike you who I'm sure has never experienced love. It almost makes me pity you, Allura."

"Okay, Keith. The Galra empire is larger than your tiny, pathetic team. We'll demolish you with ease."

To everyone's surprise, Coran stepped forward, nervously twiddling his moustache. "Allura, tell me something. Why are you working with the ones who destroyed our home planet? Our Altea? Don't you remember how beautiful it was? How proud the king was of it all?"

"Because Altea was corrupted. Peace never gets you anywhere. If you want something, you have to fight for it. My father was useless at that. This is all his fault." With that, Allura slammed her hand down on a button and ended the broadcast. Lance collapsed onto his knees, hugging them close to his chest as he sobbed softly.

"What has she done?" Coran whispered before turning away so the paladins couldn't see his tears. He stormed out of the room, only letting himself cry once he was safely locked inside his room.

"They're going to take me again..." Lance whispered into his knees, voice fragile.

"No, no, they're not." Keith bent down to hit height but kept his distance, like Shiro had told him to. "No one is ever going to take you again. I'm going to protect you, I promise."

"I- I don't want to go back."

"You won't have to, okay?" Lance just nodded. "Is it okay if I touch you?" When Lance gave his consent, Keith wrapped an arm around Lance's frail body, pulling him close to let him know he was safe.

"It just doesn't make sense," Shiro said, thinking aloud. "Why do they want Lance specifically?" Hunk and Pidge exchanged similar looks full of confusion, unable to answer the question.

Keith shook his head before snapping, "Because they think he's weak and easy to break. They've broken him before and they think it would be easy to do again but it won't be easy. We will protect Lance as much as we can because we love him." Lance hummed in response, unable to form a coherent verbal answer. "Lance isn't weak. He can fight. He's ready to take on the Galra again and I know it."

"I- I'm not. I'm still weak."

"No, Lance, you aren't. You're stronger than you think. You've come so far from where you were after you were captured. I'm proud of you and I know the others are too." Lance glanced up from his knees to look at the other paladins surrounding him. Shiro had a stern expression, the emotion clouding his eyes. Pidge was smiling softly, their own eyes shining beneath their glasses. Hunk was sobbing, apologising every so often as he wiped away the tears. It was clear that Lance was loved in the ship; he just needed to accept it and use it to his advantage.

"I-I'm strong..." He muttered. "I can take on the Galra."

"Yeah," Pride filled Keith's voice. "Yeah, you can."

"I'm just going to check on Coran," Shiro announced with furrowed eyebrows. "This must be hard for him too."

-

The sound of the alarm caused Lance and Keith to break apart. They had been in the middle of a training session with their weapons, both of them sweating profusely as they attempted to come out victorious. Lance's eyes widened and his hands moved to cover his ears but Keith grabbed his arm to stop him. "Lance?" He yelled over the ringing, eyebrows furrowed in sympathy.

"I- I'm not ready, Keith. I don't think-" Lance started, body tense. He pulled his arm out of Keith's grip and backed right up against the wall.

"Yes, you are ready. You can do this. I know you can."

"Keith, what if we lose the fight and it's all my fault?" Lance's wide, petrified eyes glanced upwards to meet Keith's, his breathing heavy as he was borderline hyperventilating.

"We won't." Keith grabbed Lance's arm, squeezing it softly as he pulled them both out of the training room. When they had to part, Keith pressed a quick kiss to Lance's cheek. "You can do this, okay? We can do this. This is your chance to get back at Gort. Channel that anger and use it in your favour."

As Keith took off towards Red, Lance stayed still for a moment. "I love you!" He ended up blurting out before his feet took him to Blue. He didn't hear Keith respond but he didn't need to: he knew Keith loved him too.

-

The battle was blazing, everyone using all of their strength to fight off the Galran sentries. Lance felt like he had reached his zen as he flew Blue, drifting to the side to attack at the ships. There were hundreds of them surrounding the lions but they knew they could handle it. It wasn't difficult to destroy the ships, meaning Lance was free from attack within a few doboshes. The others were too busy fighting off their own ships that they didn't notice when Blue got attacked out of nowhere. A large laser beam penetrated her, making Lance scream in pain. He buckled over in his seat, hands wrapped around his torso as light filled the lion. It wasn't long before the lion hit something and completely shut down. "K-Keith?" Lance choked out, trepidation filling his tone. "S-Shiro? Can anybody hear me?"

Tears were welling in his eyes but he refused to give up. He was stronger than that. He wrapped his mechanical hand around his bayard and stood up, ignoring the sharp pain running up his side. He stumbled to Blue's front, climbing out of the lion to examine his surroundings. It looked like he had collapsed on a barren planet. Luckily his armour was still intact, meaning the toxicity of the atmosphere wasn't much of a hindrance to him. Taking a few steps out, he looked around to see if there were any threats. It seemed he was alone until he heard his name being called. He turned around, eyes lying upon his two sworn enemies: Gort and Allura. He thought he was going to throw up just looking at them.

"Oh, sweetheart, look at yourself," Gort said, a large grin covering his face. Lance stiffened, stumbling backwards as his trembling hand still gripped the bayard. "They tried to fix you after everything I did to make you perfect..." The Galran soldier walked forward, so close to Lance that he could reach out and trace his cheek with his thumb. Lance flinched away from the touch. "Don't you want to come back with me? I'll make you a better soldier again."

Allura, who had up until that point stood in silence, also stepped forward and brought her hand through Lance's hair. All the paladin could do was stiffen up in response. "I think you should listen to Gort, love. The other paladins don't want you. You're a burden to them."

"I-I'm not anymore! I don't have as many panic atta-" Lance let out a whimper as Gort kicked his knee so he collapsed onto the ground. Both of his knees hit the sand of the planet's ground, making dust particles rise into the air.

"You'll never get better and you know it. You can't even look at swords without feeling sick. That will never go away and it will always hinder you from becoming the paladin Voltron want and need."

Everything was dancing around Lance, the world spinning around and around until Lance felt lightheaded. Gort and Allura's voices had merged together and he couldn't differentiate between them anymore. His breathing was irregular and he felt like he was on the verge of passing out. He was going to be captured again and he couldn't do anything about it. He was weak.

Then he remembered Shiro's strategies for dealing with PTSD. He told Lance how to breathe in a way that allowed him to slowly ground himself and breathe in a better, more regular pattern. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on inhaling and exhaling as opposed to Allura and Gort. It took a few long doboshes before he was able to take in his surroundings again. Gort and Allura were staring down at him but he still had his bayard in his hand.

Quick, he lifted the gun up and hit Gort on the head, causing him to stumble. That gave him enough time to stand up and dart backwards. He picked up into a run, trying to gain distance so that he could use his long-distance weapon. Sadly, Allura and Gort had a similar speed to him and he couldn't get far. He was beginning to panic again when he realised the distance he needed wasn't going to be able to be created.

Abandoning the gun, he clenched his mechanical arm into a fist. It began to glow a soft blue colour that matched his bayard which he didn't even know was possible. He swung and hit Allura right in the nose. She stumbled backwards, her hands flying up to cover her face. Her eyes glistened over in pain and her guard fell down enough for Lance to get that distance he needed. Ignoring Gort for a moment, he lifted up his bayard and sent a shot directed at Allura's chest. It hit her, causing her to collapse onto the floor, unconscious.

"You've grown up so much in such a short amount of time," Gort shouted, knowing full well the best way of getting to Lance was through words. Lance had the advantage in battle with a mechanical arm and a blaster. All Gort had were his words and a long, broadsword. "I'm proud of you, sweetheart."

"Shut the fuck up!" Lance screamed, clenching a mechanical fist again.

"You don't really want to hurt me, do you? You know what the punishment for that is. I'd get out my knife and trace your arms- sorry, arm, with it until your throat was hoarse from screaming... Then I would use that shock collar until you were begging me to stop. Tell me, what happened to the collar? It looked so pretty on you, sweetheart."

"S-Stop calling me that." The stammer was enough to alert Gort that he was getting to Lance. It pushed him forward and supplied him with the determination he needed to capture Lance as his own once again.

"Don't you like it? It suits you so much..." Gort raced forward and tackled Lance onto the ground. It caught the blue paladin off guard, meaning he easily dropped his bayard. It slid a few metres away from them both. "You just need to submit, sweetheart. I won't hurt you if you listen to me and you know it."

Lance struggled but Gort just grabbed Lance's wrists and pinned them above his head. Lance screamed in the Galran soldier's face but it didn't catch him off guard at all. Tears were streaming down his face as he tried to escape from the restraints that reminded him of being back on the Galran ship. He turned his head and let out a shaky breath, trying his hardest to remain grounded. If he panicked, Gort would win.

"That arm looks awfully beautiful on you, doesn't it? I bet Voltron enjoyed giving it to you. Maybe they secretly thanked me and Haggar for removing your human arm..."

"T-They wouldn't b-be grateful, you bastard!"

"You've got your confidence back, I see... We'll have to get rid of that again. We can't have you making silly retorts to everything anymore. You know how annoying that is. It just gets you punished." Gort reached for the sword on his back and pressed it up against Lance's left arm. Lance couldn't afford to move, in case Gort impaled him. "Maybe we could get rid of this arm too. Then you'd become even more beautiful."

"N-No- You wouldn't..."

"I would and we both know it. We could just skip over the pain if you just come with me back to my ship..."

"I- I won't-"

"I see..." Gort pressed the sword into Lance's skin as he screamed loudly. The barren planet meant it all went unheard by everyone besides themselves. Lance refused to give up, despite the blinding pain running through his body. "I'll stop this... all you need to do is come with me."

"P-Please!" He screeched, hoping for the pain to stop just long enough for him to form a plan. He couldn't think when a knife was being thrust into his arm.

"Please what, sweetheart? Use your words for me."

"I'll come... come with you."

Gort leaned forward as he pulled the sword away from Lance's arm, whispering, "That's my good boy." Lance's entire body stiffened up at the nickname but he didn't allow it to faze him for too long. As soon as Gort let his guard down to stand up, Lance kneed him in the crotch, hoping the Galras were just as sensitive there as humans. Gort let out a deep yelp, falling to the side and opening up an opportunity for Lance to roll to the side. He grabbed his bayard and ran backwards, holding up the weapon as he tried to aim. Gort was still on the ground, giving him a clean shot, right through his head. Purple blood spilled onto the ground as Lance breathed heavily, eyeing the two bodies. He had just killed his two enemies. All by himself.

Lance turned his head, nausea coursing through him. He thought he was going to throw up when his name was called from behind him. He swerved around to see Keith and Shiro running in his direction. Hunk and Pidge weren't far behind, just landing the green and yellow lions. Lance rushed into their arms before heaving out a loud sob into Keith's chest. "I- I killed them..." He muttered, voice muffled by Keith's armour.

When they retracted from the hug, Lance refused to look any of them in the eye. Shiro was rubbing his back and Keith was holding Lance's mechanical arm. Hunk was inspecting the wound on Lance's left arm, frowning as he did so.

"What happened?" Keith asked in a soft voice, hoping not to panic the blue paladin any more than needed.

"A-Allura was here with Gort when I crashed..." Lance murmured, hanging his head and staring down at the sand. Droplets of his blood had tainted the musty orange into a dark red. "They- They tried to take me again but- but I didn't want to go. I managed to shoot Allura but G-Gort pinned me down. I was so- so scared..."

"Hey, hey," Keith pulled Lance closer to him again, allowing the blue paladin to breathe in his musky scent. "It's okay. You're safe now. They're gone and they won't ever be able to hurt you again."

"Am I a-as bad as them? I killed them, Keith. Gort must have h-had a family and oh- oh..." Lance's sobs increased in volume whilst Keith whispered words of comfort to him.

"You're safe, Lance. I promise. They did bad things and they had killed people too but you are not like them. We both know you would never harm anyone innocent for fun. You only hurt people when it's necessary and when they've done bad things."

"B-But..."

"Lance, you've been through a lot. It's understandable that you blame yourself. Lots of people who experience trauma do. Trust me, I blame myself for... for the mission to Kerberos almost every day. I think about how I could have done things differently and protected Pidge's family but- but I didn't. I can't change things. Deep down, I know I couldn't have done anything. It's not my fault, just like this isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." Shiro's voice was smaller than Lance had ever heard it but it was soothing. He wiped away a tear with his mechanical arm.

"And you've probably protected loads of people by killing them," Hunk interjected with a small, hesitant smile. "I'm sure Allura and Gort would have gone on to torture more innocent people so you stopped them. You've saved people, Lance. You're amazing."

"Yeah, what Hunk said," Pidge chipped in. "You've been through so much and you've improved. You're so much better. You hardly have panic attacks anymore and that's impressive. I know how hard everything has been for you so I'm proud of you for making this far. We are all proud of you."

Lance sniffed, more tears welling in his eyes for a completely different reason. A pair of arms other than Keith's wrapped around him, following by two more pairs. He let out a soft cry as he buried his head further into Keith's chest and breathed in the smell of all of his friends. He knew he was safe with them. They would protect him until the end of time and he would protect them too. No matter what.

The end. Thank you for reading this book; I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)