Lance trudged to Coran's room a few varga after the two talked, face products and clothing in one basket and some headphones and an eye mask in the other. The advisor smiled warmly, welcoming the boy into his room where a cot was already set up. Lance set his stuff down quietly and dropped onto the cot made for him. It was surprisingly comfortable, the boy noted, laying down and hugging Hunk's jacket close like a teddy bear. Lance closed his eyes, tearing up and not wanting to worry the ginger man with him he buried his face in the jacket and sighed. Coran sat on the edge of the cot and gently placed a hand on Lance's shoulder to get his attention.
"Don't worry. Hunk should be out of the pod in less than a quintant, if not sooner! I can see that you're exhausted, so I'm going to read a book on my bed and let you rest. Don't be afraid to wake me up, dear boy, and please ask for help when you need it." Lance nodded, barely pulling his face away from the jacket before hiding back in it again. Coran smiled quietly and went to go do as he said, humming softly to himself. Lance relaxed and soon enough, the grip of sleep slowly took him over.
A full night's sleep later, Coran was gently waking the boy up, talking about how Hunk would be out very soon, and Lance shot out of bed like a rocket, feeling better than he had in weeks. He and Coran ran to the medical bay and waited for the yellow paladin to emerge from the healing pod. The rest of the team soon arrived, everyone giving Lance the opportunity to first hug Hunk, and when the boy stumbled out of the pod that's exactly what Lance did. He didn't let go even when the larger boy tried to move to hug the others, and everyone soon realized Lance was crying. Shiro gave Hunk a look and nodded at the expression he received, herding everyone else out of the room with the promise that they would see Hunk later. After everyone filed out, Hunk gently pried Lance away and smiled softly.
"I'm okay now, Lance. Why are you upset?" Lance sniffled and met Hunk's eyes with a sniffle.
"I... I relapsed. I was stupid and I went back on all the progress I'd made!" The boy dissolved into another fit of sobs, clutching Hunk's shirt like a lifeline. He hugged Lance close, tearing up a little himself and sighing sadly.
"Oh, Lance... I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you..." the blue paladin sniffled and didn't respond, so Hunk took it as a signal to keep talking. "But I am here for you now, and I'm not planning on leaving any time soon. Do you wanna go back to my room and cuddle and playvideo games? I know that contact helps you ground yourself, and I haven't been able to give that to you." Hunk paused for a moment, coming to a realization. "Did you get help when you started feeling bad? Please don't tell me you suffered alone!" Lance shook his head and look up at Hunk, still hugging the other boy.
"No... Coran found out. I don't know how he saw through my façade, but that man is more observant than we realize. He let me stay the night on a cot in his room, and I was actually able to sleep for once. So don't worry. He knows. Actually, he was the one who bandaged me up, so that's nice, I guess..." Lance trailed off and he let go of Hunk, looking down ashamedly. Hunk set a hand on his shoulder, drawing Lance's gaze.
"I'm glad you had help. Now that I'm back, though, what can I do for you?" He asked seriously.
"I think I'm gonna take you up on the offer to cuddle." Hunk smiled and walked with Lance to his room, where he got dressed in the bathroom and then met the blue paladin in the common room for some well- needed bro bonding time.

Meanwhile, Allura was with Pidge, gently brushing the mats from the sleeping girl's hair. She sighed,
fighting with one particularly stubborn tangle, finally getting through it and moving on to the next mat. It was impressive how fast Pidge's hair grew while in captivity, but Allura figured it made sense due to the polluted quintessence being sent straight into her veins while in the Galra's hands. Now that evil energy was being flushed out of the girl's system with a mixture of general, Allura's and the Green Lion's own quintessence through a piece of her power crystal in a necklace. Green suggested the idea herself, showing Coran and Allura how to access the crystal. Lance, after a few hours of thinking, figured out how to remove a part of the crystal without hurting Green, actually being able to communicate with her via a computer and by conversing with Matt. He also created a design for the shard's casing and Allura admitted it was quite beautiful, with a quaint spiral vine holding it to the chain. Allura finished brushing Pidge's hair and gently started to braid sections of it in intricate patterns as she thought. Keith had started hiding in his room for hours on end, only to exit with his gloveless hands covered in paint or with bits of colorful fuzz littering his shirt. Allura was suspicious, but Shiro had given her a knowing smile when she asked him about it and told her to just let Keith do that which he planned. She thought maybe it was just his coping mechanism until the red paladin himself entered the room with a lumpy mass of knitted wool and a small painting. He saw allura and hesitated until she turned back to braiding Pidge's hair, paying the boy no heed. Keith set the painting on the table and unfolded the wool to reveal a sweater with a green lion pattern as the focus and the other lions on the sleeves. There was the red and black lions on one and the blue and yellow lions on the other, and allura thought it was a very cute and thoughtful gift from Keith. Wordlessly, she helped Keith put the sweater on a very asleep Pidge, smiling softly at the red paladin and going back to braiding the girl's hair. Keith eventually sat next to Allura, gently taking Pidge's hand in a moment of vulnerability. The Princess knew better than to comment on his behavior, so she started humming to herself instead, reaching over to a nearby table and braiding gold thread into the sleeping green paladin's hair. Keith smiled softly and reached to grab the bundle of thread, handing one to Allura each time she started a new braid. The two became a team, Allura braiding and Keith handing her the accessories and humming when The Princess stopped. As the braiding session came to a close, she finally spoke, whispering so as to not break the mood.
"How is your arm?" She didn't move her focus, allowing Keith time to think.
"It's better. Still a little sore, but better." He paused for a few moments. "Thank you for talking sense into me. I'm sorry I was so stupid."
"Thank you for the apology, Keith." Allura finally looked up to meet the boy's eyes after she finished securing the last braid. "I'm sorry I didn't offer help to you sooner. Is there anything I can do for you?" Keith thought for a moment before slowly leaning into Allura's shoulder, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in an awkward hug. Feeling like she should fix the awkwardness, the girl turned to face Keith and pulled him into a proper hug, not commenting as she heard the boy sniffle and felt him shudder with quiet cries. She rubbed soothing circles into his back and after a little while of sitting like that, he stood and wiped his face. He nodded at Allura and whispered a genuine thanks before leaving to think about the past few days' events. Allura watched him leave before turning to the painting he had left for Pidge. It was a full team photo, including Matt, Krolia, Kolivan, and even Pidge's parents Sam and Colleen. It was gorgeous, beautiful enough to be hung in Altea's royal court, and Allura smiled softly. She'd have to talk to Keith about his skills later, but for now, she just sat in thought as she monitored Pidge's state. Soon enough, Matt entered the room quietly, absentmindedly scratching at the unkempt scruff on his chin as he plopped in a seat next to his sister's bed, giving a nod and a light hum of greeting as he did so. Allura smiled softly and patted his shoulder as she left, heading to her room where she started looking through her closet for her jewelry crafting kit. This was a skill many female Alteans learned as young children, meaning that no two accessories were the same. Allura sat on the floor of her spacious room and laid out the craft supplies around her, working on making a pair of bracelets with deep Altean meaning behind them. The style Allura used was reserved for a member of the royal family who was the youngest sibling of his or her close family group as a symbol of love and protection from the older siblings. Allura even wove different words from different metals together to form shimmering patterns of juniberry flowers and Altean tunes for protection and healing. It took the princess a few varga to make the pair of cuffs, but when she was finished they were the most beautiful pieces of jewelry the girl had ever made, and she knew Pidge would appreciate the meaning behind them. After this Allura finally looked at the clock to see that it was quite late into the castle's day cycle, and she quickly cleaned up her room and headed down to the dining hall for dinner, only to be the last one there, save for Pidge's monitor, who was Hunk at the moment. Lance had moved seats to sit next to Coran in his best friend's absence, but nobody commented on the fact that the advisor and the blue paladin had grown so close so quickly. Allura set the bracelets, now in a delicate box, on the table and went to get food. Coran opened the box and let out a small gasp of surprise, immediately recognizing the jewelry and its significance. He closed the container after a moment and sat back in his chair, thinking intently on the past and how much Team Voltron has grown. Allura reentered the room and sat in her place at the head of the table, eating quickly in silence. Shiro was the first to ask the obvious question.
"So... what's in the box?" Allura looked up and finished her bite of food goo before answering.
"It's a gift for Pidge. They're bracelets I made as a gift of deep Altean significance. They're called munilu cuffs and they symbolize the protection and love of an older sibling, used in the royal family of Altea. I thought Pidge would appreciate the meaning behind them, and making them kept my hands busy, so I'm glad I had this idea." The rest of the team nodded before returning to their food quietly, each thinking of the significance of the bracelets and what they can do for Pidge when she wakes up, or even how they can give her comfort as she sleeps. In the meantime, Allura finished her food and hurried off to Pidge's temporary room to deliver her gift. She entered the room and nodded to Hunk, who held Pidge's hand in his own. He smiled and sat up at the princess' arrival, smiling as he saw Allura place the bracelets on Pidge's arms. The cuffs were fitting yet loose enough to keep one from thinking they were restraints, gorgeous designs glinting in the bright white lights of the hospital ward.
"They're beautiful, Allura. Did you make them yourself?" Hunk asked, eyes wide as he admired the craftsmanship of the jewelry.
"Yes, actually. They represent dedication of one or many older siblings to the youngest. These types of patterns are used in the royal family, and I believe they are most fitting in this moment. There is a legend that if the youngest member of the royal family is in trouble, they can call upon their older siblings to protect them through the bracelets. I don't know if this is true or not, but Pidge needs as much aid she can get." Hunk nodded. The room was quiet for a while after that. After a while, Allura left, walking past Matt as he headed to his shift. The two nodded to each other in silence. Matt went into Pidge's temporary room, taking Hunk's place at her side as his shift started. He sighed and absentmindedly scratched at the stubble on his chin as he settled in for a long rotation.

After his shift, Matt trudged to his room, feet dragging behind him. During the time he was in the med bay, Coran entered and ran some tests, deeming it appropriate that he place Pidge into a medicated coma to maximize her healing rate. Matt held his sister's hand until she fell asleep before seeing his shift come to an end. Shiro had practically shoved him out of the room with the orders "get some rest!" and now he found himself at his door. He punched the code into the panel and flopped onto his bed, barely able to remove his shoes before he fell asleep.
He was then startled by the castle's intercom blaring at full volume.
"Paladins, please report to the bridge immediately! It is of the utmost importance!" Allura's voice suddenly rang out across the castle's speakers. He jumped out of bed and dashed to the bridge only a few seconds behind Shiro.
"What is it, princess?" The man asked, always the first to arrive. Allura looked up at the Paladins as they entered the room, a look of hope on her face.
"We've found Pidge!" She exclaimed. Matt froze before bolting to the green lion frantically, throwing on his resistance armor in casual denial of his position and heading to the lion's hangar, shaking off a feeling of dejavú as he ran.
"Matt!" Shiro called to no avail. "Matthew Daniel Holt! You come back here this instant or so help me I will kick your ass!" Matt stopped short, startled at Shiro's harsh words. The older man just sighed and put a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "You didn't hear the full report. She's on a meteor near Sentaria and the prison she's in is heavily guarded. She... She's been visited by different generals many times. I'd brace myself. I'd offer to let you stay behind, but the green lion is the only one with a cloak and I know you'd want to go save your sister anyway."
"You're damn right, Shiro. I'm not leaving without my little sister, even if it means I have to kill every soldier on that base first." Matt spoke quietly, his voice shaky and full of rage. Shiro nodded curtly and turned to go to his lion.
Matt entered his lion and shot off towards the base like a bullet, far ahead of everyone else. He couldn't listen to much of the radio chatter over the roaring thoughts in his head of 'found Katie save Katie hurryhurryhurry' and he entered the base without a hitch, the Galra unaware of the intrusion.
"I'm in, guys. Time to kick some purple ass!" Lance laughed at Matt's remark and followed Shiro as the team set towards the base. Matt sighed in relief and sat back on his haunches, wiping his brow. The coding was more advanced than normal, and he was definitely out of practice. Team Voltron had been avoiding as many conflicts as possible since Katie had been captured, focusing on finding their lost family member, and it was coming back to haunt them. He stood and waited for the rumble of explosions and the blare of alarms to sound before heading to the prisoner's ward. Fear twisted in his stomach at what he may find as he neared Pidge's cell.
"Stop right there, rebel!" A Galra soldier called from behind Matt, gun raised. Matt stopped and turned around before activating his bayard to reveal a spear, almost feeling bad for the soldier as he fell to the ground. Almost. Matt turned back to the cell door and opened it quickly, switching off his microphone as he did so. What met his eyes was an image beyond that out of a nightmare.
"K-Katie..?" He choked out, staring at the crumpled and bloody mess of a girl in front of him. Her torso was bare, revealing whip marks and red, angry Lichtenberg scars littering her back. Her undersuit was ripped off at the waist, torn and ragged from overuse. It was only after he stared for a moment that Matt noticed the cuts on Pidge's arms. He rushed to her side as he stabbed the lock controls with his spear to lock the door, a string of curses from mixed languages leaving his lips. He felt for a pulse and frantically started working to save Pidge when he felt almost nothing, removing his cloak and trying to staunch the bleeding. He watched as the world seemed to slow down. Pidge's chest rose, stopped, then fell, over and over again until it didn't any more. Matt choked back a sob and started chest compressions, moving to rescue breaths when that didn't work and finally resorting to shocking her chest with his electric bayard, not noticing Shiro enter the room. He had no idea how many times he tried to save his sister before he was stopped, the black paladin grabbing his bayard and pulling it out of his grasp. The man's face was stern and disappointed, almost on the verge of anger when he spoke.
"This was your fault."

And then Matt was falling.

AAAAAA I AM SO SORRY FOR THE SPORADIC UPDATES MY DEARS AAAAAAA

Feel free to correct any mistakes and all that jazz! I'll try to get chapter eight up ASAP!!