She Chose You~[Shidge]

Killed by Hope

 "You're too late," Clove said, "Once I release this button you'll all be dead." Liam was standing just a few feet away from his mother. He had the same look as the Paladins.

The unsure feeling of whether or not to attack or talk it out. Pidge, Lance, and Keith shifted slightly. All hands by their sides waiting for the right moment to flick their wrists and summon their bayard.

Seconds went by that either group refused to move. If anything their lack of movement was preventing the inevitable. Pidge was glancing between Clove and Liam. The look of pure terror in Liam's face confirmed Pidge's growing suspicion that he had no knowledge of the entirety of the plan.

"You don't want to do this," Pidge said, taking a step forward. Her eyes were on Clove, but she was attempting to reach out to Liam. If she won him over then they would be halfway out of a deadly situation. Well, almost. "Work with us and we can help free you from the Galra's control."

"Tell that to the champion," Clove bit back, her grip on the dead man's switch tightening.

Pidge bit back a retort and continued her trek forward. She ignored Lance and Keith's whispered warnings telling her to come back to stand with them. "Oskana gave her life with the belief that we would rescue you, and I intend to keep that promise." Pidge flicked her eyes over to Liam. He had a look of longing in his eyes. "Just deactivate the bombs and we can talk this over."

"The moment of talking is over. The Galra are ready for action and for Voltron to be Destroyed." Clove no longer sounded like the caring mother that they had first come across, but instead a hardened warrior. She raised her hand above her head, the dead man's switch shifting slightly in her hand. "The new age of the Galra starts now. Vrepit Sa!"

Pidge, Lance, and Keith hardly had time to react to Clove's statement. Clove closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Then Liam was on top of her wrapping his hand around hers keeping the Dead man's switch secure. They toppled to the ground, Clove desperately trying to break free from her son's grip. Liam refused to let go.

"Stop it! This is not the right thing to do!" Liam shouted above his mother's frustrated cries.

While the two went through their scuffle on the floor, Lance pushed Pidge towards Keith. "Out the back door. If we don't go now we may never get out."

Keith gave one last glance over to the mother and son still fighting for control. Shaking his head he turned and headed back towards the back door.

The rain had picked up significantly, so much so that they couldn't make out the tree line in the distance. The ground beneath their feet was slick with mud. The three paladins held onto each other as they picked their way across the field stopping only once or twice to regain their balance.

Pidge's helmet was littered with rain drops and streaks of mud. Sight was severely limited to mere inches in front of them.

"How close do you think we are?" Keith yelled, over the wind. He raised an arm instinctively to protect his face from the pelting rain.

"I think just a little bit farther!" Pidge replied using her small frame to her advantage and shielding herself behind Keith.

A few minutes later the group of three stumbled into the forest the rain instantly lightening up. Only the clearing wasn't how Lance and Pidge left it. A group of sentries surrounded them with blasters trained on each paladin. Hunk, Coran and Taj were already surrounded with cuffs placed on their wrists and ankles.

"Don't try and put up a fight," Keith whispered, raising his hands slowly "If we run or try to fight none of us will survive."

"How'd they even find us?" Lance asked. He never got a response because at that moment three sentries grabbed them and placed cuffs on their wrists.

Pidge glared at every sentry they passed as they were led from the clearing towards a transport ship. Upon approaching the ramp Pidge stopped walking. Her eyes were trained on the dripping wet figure at the top of the ramp, a dead man's switch being fidgeted with.

A sentry shoved her from behind and Pidge started up the ramp. Just as she passed Clove. Clove spoke.

"As much as it pained me to kill him, he was too weak to carry the Galra's mission."

Pidge muffled a strangled cry as her stomach turned within her. Her attempt to rescue Liam from the Galra's control had only gotten him killed. Adjusting her wrists she closed her eyes and took a breath. How could Allura expect her to be a part of the coalition when she couldn't even save one person? She had lost Shiro to the Galra and now Liam. He was just starting his life and now he was gone.

The sentries paused in front of a cell sliding the door open. The group needed no prompting to enter and did so with no threats. The cell door slid shut on Hunk's heels with a clang. The sound sent Taj into tears and he buried himself into Hunk's chest. Pidge stopped in the middle of the cell, her eyes trained on the back corner of the cell, a rounded object taking shape in the low light.

Pidge could feel the others eyes on her as she crept father back into the cell. She knelt just before the object, the chains of her cuffs dragging against the metal flooring, creating a sharp clash of metal sending chills up everyone's spine.

"What is it?" Coran asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

Pidge picked up the object, her hands brushing the dust from it before bringing it into the light. Upon recognizing Shiro's helmet she dropped it from her hands. It hit the floor and rolled to the center of the cell. Not sure what to think she backed up to the wall of the cell sliding to a sitting position.

"We don't know anything yet," Hunk commented softly. He shifted a sniffling Taj in his arms.

"But we know enough," Pidge replied barely above a whisper. Shiro was back in the Galra's grasp and from the looks of things reliving hell.