A/N: This is the first work of Quintessential series, which will tell the story of how the Paladins get their elemental powers.

He held his hand out, staring at the astral glow that shone gently like dancing fireflies. Without having to look at the mirror, he knew that his eyes shone the same glow – which he found out when he tested this out in front of a mirror, to be completely honest – blue, soft, otherworldly and yet not.

A tug from deep within him, and water appeared, flowing upwards and snaking along his arm in a stream. It was odd, how he could control this so easily by now, but considering he'd been practicing pretty much nonstop for about two months he probably shouldn't be too surprised. Like always, he idly wondered where the water came from, as it seemed a bit of a stretch to assume it appeared out of nowhere. As usual, he pushed the thought aside to marvel at the ability.

With a sigh, Lance let go of the control he held over the stream, and it dropped for a fraction of a tick before vanishing without trace.

"I should tell the others," he whispered to himself, like he did every morning since he got the ability, despite knowing that this day-cycle would probably end the way other day-cycles did. Namely, with him not saying anything about this.

The timing was just never right.

The Paladins had been trying hard, so hard, but things had been difficult. Everything was hard. Shiro had been missing for some time and there was no sign of him ever returning, no matter how hard the rest of the team had been trying.

But the universe didn't wait for certain individuals. Chaos reigned still, as ten thousand years of oppression and destruction laughed in their faces for their feeble attempt to fix it all.

There was no way those ten thousand years could be undone in so little time.

Two weeks into Shiro's disappearance, the team received a distress signal from a planet not too far away from where they were. Naturally, they rushed to help. It was a small planet, inhabited by humanoid aliens that looked solid yet liquid at the same time.

(Lance was trying to hard not to call them slime people. It was accurate, yes, but it made him feel as though they were low-tier monsters in a fantasy game. They were not low-tier monster in a fantasy game.)

They were lucky, to be completely honest. The Galra fleet that attacked the planet was a small one, and they would be able to defeat it without having to form Voltron. However, a few ships had managed to land on the planet, so Lance quickly announced that he was landing, too, to prevent disaster. Keith barely got to give him the go-ahead before he shot away.

The planet, as it turned out, was an… interesting one. It was equal parts land and water, the two elements working in tandem and creating water canals both on and under ground that Lance immediately used as his personal highway, making use of Blue's increased power and agility in water to spring attacks at the Galra soldiers and drones, easily laying waste on the enemies without damaging the city.

But then the decidedly small fleet whipped out a decidedly humongous laser cannon and aimed it to the shiny, sparkly earth-and-ice castle at the epicenter of the city. With no time to counter the shot the cannon sent, Lance was forced to take the brunt of the attack using Blue's body. Fortunately, it worked, and the damage on the city was decidedly minimal, and Blue managed to fire a shot into the cannon's muzzle and damaged it instantly. Unfortunately, the attack put Blue out of commission, so Lance had to go out and fought the Galra soldiers on his own, without Blue's comforting support buzzing at the back of his head and empowering his moves.

The battle passed in a blur of cries, screams, whizzing shots, laser blasts finding home on the Galra's temples, foreheads, chests, necks,… And suddenly he was keenly aware that there was no longer any Galra around, that his whole body was shaking with exhaustion and adrenaline crash, that the natives of the planet were approaching him carefully, showing placating gestures and coaxing him to lower his bayard.

"It's alright," one of them said, their voice an interesting mix between popping bubbles and soft whispers. "All the Galra are gone. It's alright."

Lance wasn't ashamed to say that he fell flat on his face as relief flooded through his veins.

The rest of the team then landed on the planet, and the aliens brought them to the castle, where Allura both berated and commended Lance on his actions in the whole operations. "To immediately notice how the Galra had gone to the planet on a moment's notice and immediately take action to counter it is something I'd feel very proud in," she had said, tone pleased yet exasperated at the same time. "However, Lance, please do remember to take your own safety into account as well."

Lance had nodded and hummed along, though most of the lecture went over his head. The exhaustion was hard to plow through. The aliens – the Neranese – provided them with food, water, and helped heal their relatively minor injuries. It was only hours later, after a period of rest, that Lance felt enough like himself again to actually pay attention to the Neranese and began flirting. He didn't see any features that really distinguished the male and female Neranese, so he went screw it and just flirted with absolutely everyone.

Including the prince. Oops?

But then said prince pulled him aside, wishing to speak with him privately. So… score?

The whole thing had a serious and heavy vibes permeating the atmosphere though, so Lance wasn't entirely sure if this was truly a good thing or not.

"I want to thank you personally," said the prince once they were alone. "You risked your Lion and your life to protect my people. It means a lot to us." His voice was the same bubble-popping-and-whispers that the Neranese sounded like, but his was a little smoother, less of bubbles popping and more of ocean foam subsiding, like the soft caress of the softest baby bird's feather.

Lance laughed softly and shook his head. "It's nothing, Your Highness. I'd hate to see you and the rest of the planet hurt. Besides, it isn't just me. All of my friends fought the battle too."

The prince hummed. "Nevertheless, it was you who personally fought down here, abandoning the safety your Lion provides to protect us, and made your last stand to defend the castle. Let me present you a gift in the name of my people, Paladin."

"I, ah. It's very generous of you, but really…" Lance squirmed, not wholly sure how to refuse.

"Please, Paladin. I insist." The prince gave what must have been a form of Neranese smile, and Lance crumbled. How could a race that was pretty much a human-shaped semi-translucent blob look so adorable?

The prince extended his hands and gestured for Lance's, so he put his hands in the prince's, silently marveling at how Neranese body felt like cool water yet solid enough to hold and left no wet trail behind.

"We would give the same gifts to the other Paladins, but only your quintessence is compatible to ours," the prince began as soft bluish glow began to envelope their hands. "We have heard of the stories of old, of Voltron the warrior that defended the universe, and the five lions and formed it. We have heard how each lion holds the quintessence of certain elements and how their paladins' mirrored theirs. We have heard of the Blue Lion, the Guardian of Water, and know that us Neranese share an affinity with the Blue Lion and its paladin, even long before we've seen them."

Lance stared at the prince quizzically, noticing that his eyes were a shade of blue-green that reminded him of the Earth's ocean, gleaming and sparkling brilliantly under the shine of the summer sun. "Um…"

The prince continued as though Lance never said anything. "With time, a paladin's bond with their Lion strengthens, and along with that the paladin would be able to reach deep into their quintessence and used the elements they are closest with as they wish. You, Blue Paladin… you are of water and ice, and you are very close to being able to use them. However, it would be difficult. I wish to give you a push – a boost, if you will – so you will be able to wield your powers safely and efficiently, and so you could be granted access of it a bit more quickly."

"Wait, hold on, time out!" Lance winced back, though he didn't pull his hands away. "What do you mean, safely and efficiently? Granted access? I don't understand, like, seventy percent of what you're telling me."

"You will be able to hold elemental powers, but for someone who does not know how to control it or is not familiar with it, it could be dangerous," the prince explained. "You will be able to wield it, but without knowledge over water and ice it could endanger you and the people around you. I am merely giving you the instinctual information my people has over water and ice so the danger would be minimalized." He gave that smile again. "It is a safety measure, if you will."

Lance wanted to ask more, but a sudden sharpness in the glow on their hands stopped him, as the words died and was replaced by a surprised gasp. The flow of light climbed up in abstract patterns, swirling and waving in a manner that reminded Lance of ocean waves, of river streams in meadows, of falling rain in hills, of whirlpools in a naval hurricane. The glow wrapped around him in a cocoon, filling his mind with the secrets of the sea and infusing his skin with the knowledge of how to wield it. Around him, it felt as though the flow had turned into the true Earthen ocean, swirling around him in a current that both made him feel safe and wary, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the view. He wanted to imprint the luminescent illusory sea into his mind, as he knew its beauty wasn't eternal, and it could be gone in a blink. It was ethereal, yes. Yet it was also ephemeral.

As quickly as it appeared, the light receded into itself, clinging to Lance's skin and seemingly sunk into him before vanishing completely. As it did, waves of exhaustion suddenly crashed into him, and Lance swayed a little before catching himself, blinking rapidly and shaking his head. "Whoa."

"I should have warned you of that. The transferal could result in extreme fatigue on the receiver's end," the prince said apologetically, staring at him in concern. When he spoke again, his voice held more pop, laced with worry. "Do you feel alright, Paladin?"

"I think I'm okay," Lance answered with a nod and immediately contradicted himself when he stumbled, feeling as though everything was suddenly upside-down. "Okay, I take that back."

"Perhaps it is best if you rest," the prince advised, gently leading him back to the room that had somehow transformed into the Paladins' and the Alteans' communal bedroom, as they dropped before they could be escorted into their private quarters.

"Probably, yeah," Lance's words were already slurring, and part of him was already halfway to the dreamland. If he had been more awake, he'd feel embarrassed that the prince of a planet he'd just helped save was pretty much carrying him to bed, but he was more interested in actually being asleep to care.

The next morning, he was the last to wake, and Allura was already speaking with the king and queen of the planet to work on possible alliance. The prince didn't talk to Lance again, too preoccupied by his own duties to spend time with the Paladins. At times, Lance would feel a tug deep within him, or a tingle on his fingertips. Nothing happened.

What the Neranese prince had given him slipped his mind.

When Lance realized that he really could control water and ice, his first reaction was to smile wide, wide, because maybe with this he could be more helpful in combat, maybe he wouldn't have to rely on long-ranged weapon so much, maybe he could actually do well in hand-to-hand combat.

The second reaction was, more or less, Holy Quiznak I need to tell the others but how.

He wanted to tell the others, very much so. Something like this could help so much in their battles, it could change the way they create plans since the advantages and disadvantages of the power could be game changing.

But should he really? Everyone was so focused on other things, and he wouldn't want to break their focus. There was so much they were doing. Liberating planets, making diplomatic connections, maintaining the connections, generally protecting the universe. Being on alert to look for Shiro and the Holts, jumping to action with each new hints and clues of their whereabouts were and coming back deflated when they couldn't find them yet. Him telling something like this could very easily break that focus, creating ripples in the calm routine and they'd have to seek a new pattern that fit his new variable into account.

It could take too long. It could put someone in danger.

He couldn't take that risk.

He should, though. The risk could be worth the results. He knew how powerful water and ice could be when used properly. It could potentially save so many, but only after he could use it properly.

With that in mind, Lance started to train. It was hard to control, at first. He tended to let loose too much energy that a snowflake ended up being a huge icicle, or too little that a flood ended up a measly trickle. But Lance was patient. He trained, again and again, over and over, until he could manipulate his quintessence as easily as he could breathe, until he could summon a tiny little drop of water or the angriest of blizzards as easily as he could smirk. A part of him knew immediately that without the Neranese prince's gift he wouldn't be able to do all this so easily, so quickly, and he mentally sent his thanks to the Neranese.

Then, and only then, did he feel comfortable enough to try telling the others.

His chance came in a strategic meeting as they planned their moves to free another colonized planet. It was yet another planet rich with water quintessence, its surface littered with marshes, puddles, and seas. The Galra had built a sort of base above the water level and had the natives of the planet work for them, mining minerals deep under the mud. The inhabitants' eel-like slick bodies could easily dig deep to mine the minerals, which was apparently one of the most important materials to build ion cannons.

"We need to sneak in, go to the control room, and make sure all the drones are incapacitated before we could proceed to the next phase," Allura had said. "This Galra base is a little outdated, given that the drones are still controlled from the control room, unlike the newer drones that work on autopilot. If we could put the drones out of the equation, we'd save so much trouble and energy freeing this planet."

Lance's eyes swept through the holographic maps that showed them the planet's surface. He could sense his eyes lighting up when he realized how much water was on the surface and how he could use it to his advantage. "Princess, if I may?" he cut in excitedly. "What about we just draw all drones out to the open instead, near the mud plains? It's closer to where we'd be landing, and it looks like it provides enough cover for us all to dart around. I mean, it'll save us the trouble of sneaking into the control room, considering the amount of security cameras it has, and there's only one officer in charge, so we could probably wipe them all out easily."

Allura sighed tiredly. "We have considered this, Lance. While it is a nice plan, it is not sound. There are too many Galra drones in the area, and you four fighting them all by yourselves would tire you out before the actual fight."

"No, no, the thing is I can probably wipe them all out by myself," Lance bounced on his heels excitedly. "So if the drones are out of commission – "

"Wait, hold on," Allura cut him off. "Are you saying that you would fight the Galra in the planet? All by yourself?" It was easy to catch the disbelief in Allura's voice.

Lance drew back a little. "Um, I know it sounds really far-fetched, but seriously, I can deal with all of them at once. Probably. Do you remember the Neranese? Well, the prince gave me – "

Allura held up a hand. "Lance, this is an important mission, and while I appreciate your bravery and confidence I cannot rely on probabilities to run it. And please, do try to be more serious. I understand that you like to play the hero and have your moment of glory, but at your current abilities facing off so many drones at once would be suicide."

Lance winced, but he wasn't willing to let this go just yet. "But Princess, really. I can face them all! I can now control – "

"Lance," Allura huffed in annoyance, and Lance stopped talking at once. "I don't want to lose another Paladin. We need a solid plan for this mission to be successful. Have I made myself clear?"

With a frown, Lance stepped back and nodded. It was easy to see that his input wasn't wanted. "Crystal, Princess," he said, even though he still wanted to argue with the plan.

"Good," Allura nodded and casted her gaze on the holographic maps once again. "Now, perhaps it would be best if Keith and Pidge could check the perimeter for us…"

Okay, so Allura didn't listen to him. That was fine, it was his own fault that he said something like that in the middle of important strategic meeting anyway. He'd be skeptical too if someone suddenly said they could wipe out a fleet of Galra drones. He should have picked a better time for it.

So he turned to his main man, Hunk. Hunk was an amazing listener. He could count on Hunk to hear him out and maybe help him relay the information to the rest of the team.

"Hunk, can I talk to you for just a second?" Lance had asked the Yellow Paladin a few days after the last mission with the eel-like aliens.

"Huh?" Hunk looked up from the batch of cookies that he was pulling out of the oven and met his eyes. "Yeah, sure, buddy. What's up?" he asked as he continued his motions to get the cookies out and started to cool them, looking like he was just half-listening. He'd been baking more of them lately – probably a coping mechanism from the stress they were all under.

It was a good thing that he did, though. These days, it was one of the only things that actually brought the rest of the team together, other than training, combat, and after training or after combat wind down, unlike the times when they all just hung out together in the lounge with Shiro.

"Well, you remember the strategic meeting a few days ago, right? When I said I could probably wipe out all the Galra drones?" Lance began nervously, fidgeting a little.

"Yeah?"

"Well, the thing is… the reason I said that was because I can kinda sorta control water and ice, and – "

His words were cut off when Pidge stumbled into the kitchen, glasses askew and a wild look in her eyes. No doubt she'd been messing around with more Altean tech, as was her usual activity which doubled in intensity since Shiro's disappearance. "I smell peanut butter cookies!" she declared, casting her gaze around, looking like a hungry animal. "Dibs!"

"Pidge, you can't eat them just yet," Hunk huffed, the importance of Lance's words swept over by the enthusiasm Pidge showed. "They're still too hot."

"Who's just called dibs on Hunk's cookies?" Keith's voice suddenly rang out as he dashed into the kitchen, all sweaty and messy, probably stopping his training because heard Pidge running about and wanted to know what was happening. "No one can call dibs on Hunk's cookies. First comes first served!"

Lance had long since realized that with all this commotion about cookies, he wouldn't be able to tell Hunk anything, so instead he decided to join the fray about the food. "Well, Mullet, if we go by that logic then I have the rights to eat Hunk's cookies, like, right now!" He reached for the cookies and was immediately slapped with Hunk's spatula, while the Red and Green Paladins rushed forward with shrieks of protest, practically fighting for the cookies. Not surprising, given Hunk's cookies were to die for.

It was only later, after the whole cookie fiasco was over and everything had been eaten that Lance remembered he didn't get to tell Hunk anything. He glanced over at his friend, but seeing that Hunk was tiredly tidying up the kitchen, Lance decided it wasn't the time to push his problems on his friend and opted to help him clean up so Hunk could rest soon. He could always tell him another time.

He never got to tell him, though.

The third time he tried to tell the team was when they were all lounging together after a gruesome practice session, resting. Keith had looked particularly worse off, with black circling his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep and mounting stress.

"Dude, you need to rest more," Hunk told Keith in distressed voice. "Your body can't hold it any longer. How much sleep do you get a day?"

"Enough," Keith replied, a little too quickly. At Hunk's glare, he sighed and admitted, "Not enough."

"You can't just go on without rest, Keith!" Hunk protested, the same distress in his voice. "Just… rest, will you?"

"I can't just go and rest when we still haven't gotten Shiro back yet," Keith shook his head, even though his voice went quieter with each word as exhaustion bled into his tone.

"We can't have you falling over from fatigue either, Keith," Pidge returned.

"I'm just trying to be better, okay?" Keith sighed. "Besides, Allura and I were talking a while ago, and she mentioned something about our bonds to our Lions not being strong enough to unlock the ability to manipulate the elemental quintessence we should be able to control."

Other times, Lance would have zeroed in on the Allura and I were talking part, but the elemental quintessence part piqued his interest. "Controlling quintessence?"

"Yeah, basically she said that if our bond with our Lions is strong enough we'll be able to use the elements they're associated with without having to be piloting them," Keith explained. "That could be useful. I really want to grill people's faces off. It's faster than hacking them with a sword."

"Yeah, that kind of ability sure would come in handy," Lance grinned. "Let's see how fast you'll be able to use yours, Keithy Boy."

Keith snorted. "I'm sure I'll master it before you do, Lance," he said almost playfully, a teasing edge in his voice, and a little… underestimating? Which was kind of insulting, to be completely honest, but it was an improvement from his previous fatigue-laden speech.

But he didn't let it get to him, because he knew he had the edge in this. The giddy excitement from victory filled Lance's lungs, and his grin grew wider. "Ha, joke's on you! I can do it really well already!"

"Yeah, right," Keith scoffed good-naturedly, and Lance knew he didn't mean to offend him because Keith literally didn't know, but it stung.

"No, seriously. I can – "

Maybe Lance just wasn't destined to tell the team. The first time, Allura cut him off because he was stupid enough to try to drop the info in the middle of a strategic meeting. The second time, it was it because of cookies. He was hoping for a third time's a charm kind of thing going on, but when was Lance ever that lucky? No, instead of being able to let the words out, he was cut off by the alarm suddenly blaring violently, indicating that a battle was up ahead. That fight was easily won, and when the other Paladins chose to go to their rooms to rest, Lance went to the training room to vent.

Training to vent. Ugh, Lance felt like Keith, and they were supposed to be, like, opposite of each other.

Nevertheless, Lance was frustrated that he was interrupted every time he wanted to say something that could be important to his friends, and he wanted to vent. So he did.

After he set so that twenty drones would attack him at once, Lance put a stance and readied himself. Quickly, one by one, the white Altean battle drones dropped and made their way towards him. He took a deep breath and concentrated, feeling that now-familiar tug deep within him. Soft blue glow immediately enveloped his hands, and he slashed at the air. Ice immediately formed, trapping several drones in its freezing clutch.

More came, and Lance stomped powerfully. More ice formed, starting from the point where his foot connected to the floor and quickly grew in size and sharpness to pierce the oncoming drones. He knew more were coming, and he snarled wordlessly, extending his hands and lifting it up like a puppeteer. Water appeared out of nowhere, filling the room in a swirling current much like a whirlpool with Lance standing perfectly dry in the middle of all of it. Mentally, he pushed, and all the drones hit the wall with enough force for him to hear them crack despite the dampening quality of water. Now convinced that he had defeated them all, Lance let his hands drop to his sides. The water sloshed, almost touching and drowning him before vanishing to thin air.

He stood there alone, surrounded by piles of dripping wet drones, staring at the water thinly layering the floor. He sighed, still feeling restless and wondering if he should have another go at this when a voice reached his ears.

"…Lance?"

Lance suck in a sharp breath, going rigid in record time. After a moment, he licked his lips and turned around, forcing a stiff smile on his face. "…Hi, Coran."

The Altean gazed around the room, mouth hanging open in surprise. "You… can manipulate the elemental quintessence already?"

Lance winced. "Um. Yes?"

Coran's eyes found his. "Do the others know about this?"

Lance felt his shoulders sag and shook his head. "Not yet."

Coran frowned. "Lance, my boy… you need to tell them."

"I'm going to!" Lance assured him instantly. "I've been wanting to. But things always come up, and the others are always focused on so many more important things. I don't want to bother them."

"I'm sure it wouldn't bother them, Lance," Coran assured. "In fact, what do you humans say? No time like the present? Let's tell them now!"

"Wait, Coran, don't!" Lance immediately latched to Coran's arm to keep him from dashing off. "They're all resting! Don't disturb them!" He let go of Coran and stepped back a little. "I'll tell them myself. In the morning, probably. Maybe. I dunno." Seeds of doubt suddenly sprung within him, and he was suddenly unsure of his decision. "I mean, I still don't want to make them all unfocused because of this announcement… and, you know, the whole unlocking new powers the closer you are to your Lion thing. I don't want to make the others feel like their bond is weak."

"But Lance, to be close enough to your Lion to be able to do this is could motivate the others to get to your level," Coran argued. "A little bit of competition could be what we need for this team to be better. You should know that. You declare Keith as your rival all the time!"

Lance laughed. "This isn't all me, Coran. I'm not… I didn't unlock this ability myself. It's more like it was given to me."

Confusion and curiosity immediately shone in Coran's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Lance blinked, considered, and ended up spilling everything to Coran even though he initially didn't want to. He was easily his second most trusted person in the ship, the first being Hunk, so he wasn't surprised to hear his words flowing easily, starting with the Neranese prince giving his the knowledge over water and ice thing, to how he trained as well as he could to the point that he could use water and ice as easily as summoning his bayard, to his frustration that the universe seemed to be against him telling the team.

Coran listened intently, nodding and humming in response but never once disrupting Lance's flow. At one point, he had moved to envelope Lance's hands in his, and the younger man nearly cried. When was the last time he even got comforted? When was the last time touches were a way to relay a message, something along the lines of I care for you and I want to help you however I can? Sure, he shared casual bumps and claps and nudges with the other Paladins, but never like this, and never as much as he hoped he could get. Ever since Shiro was gone, it all decreased to the point that Lance longed for it.

"Lance…" Coran began softly after Lance had finished talking, squeezing the Paladin's hands gently, "From what I understand, the ability is solely yours. It's not something the Neranese gave to you. The only thing they gave you was knowledge over water, and that helped, but this control? This ability to use the elements as you please? It's your own."

Lance gave a noncommittal noise, not agreeing yet not disagreeing, either.

Coran sighed. "Should I tell them in your place? It's best to tell them as quickly as possible, my boy. Maybe this could help."

Lance shook his head. "I appreciate it, Coran, but I have to tell them myself," he explained. "I hope tomorrow I'll be able to do it, but seriously, I need to tell them myself."

"I wouldn't mind helping a little," Coran offered. "I can herd them into the lounge and keep them from running away."

A small laugh escaped Lance's lips before he could stop it. "Coran, they're not sheep."

Confusion made its way into Coran's eyes. "Sheep?" he repeated.

"A kind of farm animal humans keep around," Lance explained vaguely. "Thanks a lot for the offer, Coran, but I'd rather tell them without having to lock them up in a room so they'd stay around and listen to me. I'm sure things will work out, one way or another."

Coran offered another smile, gave another squeeze, and finally left after he made sure Lance would rest. Apparently, he had checked on him after realizing he hadn't returned to his quarters to sleep like the rest of the team and was in the training room instead of his more usual spots, like the observation deck.

Lance had grinned as he watched the Altean go. Ah, Coran, the kind, understanding, generally pretty much awesome guy, rivaled only by his ridiculously pure bro Hunk. What did he do to deserve people like them in his life?

Lance had seriously considered telling the team the next morning, he really did. But again, fate seemed to choose that specific time to fuck with his life decisions, for just as he opened his mouth to announce what he could do, Pidge barged into the dining room.

"Pidge? What's wrong?" Hunk asked in confusion.

Pidge was panting, apparently having ran from wherever she had been bunkering in – she'd been harder and harder to find lately. She repositioned her askew glasses and took a deep breath, announcing urgently, "I know where Shiro is."

Chaos reigned immediately.

The Galra ship was large, larger than most ships they'd have to fight or infiltrate before. It wasn't particularly strange, since this ship was one of the prison ships, combined with the Druids' kind-of-laboratory-but-not-really.

And Shiro was there, no doubt being experimented on by creepy Druids. In fact, Lance wouldn't be surprised if Haggar herself was the one spearheading the experiment, given how she had declared the Champion as hers. Her little experiment, her best creation, her Champion. Which only emphasized the creepiness of the whole thing, and totally drove home how completely batshit insane and also incredibly, absolutely terrifying she could be. The nope nope factor she exuded from every orifice of her body was enough to drive a whole city running around like headless chickens, in Lance's opinion.

Before going into the prison, the team had discussed their plan of action and decided that the best way to find out where Shiro was kept was to bang a drone upside the head, drag it into some corner, and had Pidge hack into it to retrieve info. If that plan was a no-go, their plan B was to sneak into the control room, also to retrieve info. With intel successfully gathered, they'd have easier time busting Shiro out, as well as the other prisoners. If that was impossible to do, their plan was to, essentially, let all hell break loose. And by hell, Lance meant prisoners. But that plan was unfavorable because the idea of letting all hell break loose was to have absolute chaos everywhere, and if they couldn't find Shiro anywhere then chaos wouldn't have helped them.

But apparently fate didn't want to just fuck with Lance but all of the Voltron team, because that was exactly what happened. The best part was that they didn't even have Shiro yet when all hell broke loose.

"What the hell happened?" Keith's voice crackled through the comm, filled to the brim with confusion and maybe a touch of annoyance.

"Nooo idea," Hunk sounded helpless, and Lance could feel his trepidation from the Paladin bond shared by the team. "What do we do? The Galra is beginning to shoot things. I don't want to be shot!"

"From the security footage, it looks like someone decided they're through being a prisoner and kind of just attacked while being transported to the experimentation wing," Pidge's voice sounded calm, but Lance could detect a hint of nervousness and admiration underneath it. "You go, four-armed muscle man of an alien dude."

"Keith, what do we do?" Hunk asked again, and this time the pushing urgency in his voice spiked higher.

"Uhhh." As usual, Keith's initial answer was as eloquent as a fish gasping on land. "Try to direct as many of them as possible to an escape pod and have them go to the Castle? Is that alright, Allura?"

"That is absolutely fine," Allura answered.

"What about Shiro?" Lance interjected. "Shouldn't we try to find him?"

"I've been trying to hack into the database for a while, so I should find out where – got it!" Pidge yelled in triumph. "I know where he is. I'll send the data to you guys."

Immediately, the ship's blueprint data showed itself in the protective glass of Lance's helmet. He scanned the blueprint and sucked in a sharp breath. "I'm close to where he is. I should be able to get him."

"I'm close to him too," Keith announced. "I'll go with Lance to make sure we can all get back safely… and just in case Shiro can't really move around. Pidge and Hunk, try to get the prisoners to the pods."

"On it," Pidge answered at the same time as Hunk shouted, "Gotcha."

"Looks like we're doing this together, then, Mullet Man," Lance remarked as he flitted through the throng of prisoners to where Shiro was, absently noting Keith's position. "How's the traffic on your end?"

"If you mean the prisoners, it's kind of bad," Keith answered. "Lots of people running about aimlessly. Hey, you guys! I'm the Red Paladin of Voltron! I need you to go to the pods and head to the white spaceship you'll see outside. Go, now!"

Oh yeah, Lance was supposed to tell the prisoners too. He cleared his throat to grab the attention of several prisoners around him and bellowed, "Attention, ladies and gentlemen! Blue Paladin of Voltron speaking. If it's not too much trouble for you, I need you all to go to the pods and head to the white space castle-ship thing outside. We can help you out."

"How do we know if we could trust you?" a pink-skinned alien with three eyes and no nose asked warily.

Lance gasped dramatically. "Why, excuse you. Is the cool white and blue armor and the cool looking rifle-bayard not proof enough to you?" At the alien's glare, he shrugged. "Eh, alright, I know I don't have much of a proof aside from my words. But I assume people would want to get away from the Druids' experiments, and I can assure you that we in the castle can help you guys."

The alien's gaze on him lingered for a moment before they called out to the rest, "Escape pod, people. Now."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Lance grinned cheerily before continuing his trek to Shiro's cell.

Or. Not a cell. More like the Druid's experimentation wing, to be completely honest. When Lance walked past the door leading to it, he had to freeze in his steps for a moment, staring at the sight in front of him with awe and dread mixing into one.

The hall was lit with the purplish light that seemed to be a constant theme with all the Galra ships. Tubes about the same size as the healing pods, reaching to the ceiling, lined the walls like pillars in a castle. Each of the tubes was filled to the brim with clear liquid, and some of them had specimens in them – humanoid aliens, weird little things that could probably count as space insects, pieces of gems, reddish in color. Lance gulped as he glanced at them and walked past, unsure if he could rescue the people in the tubes, or even if he should.

The hall as well as the map he was following led him to another room, circular in shape, where another tube stood in the middle. It was bigger than the other tubes lining the wall of the room, and within it was a familiar face. Shiro.

Lance's breath caught. For a moment, he found himself unable to speak before he found his voice again and announced over the comm, "I found Shiro."

"I'm on my way. I'll get there in just a bit," Keith's voice carried over from the comm.

"Roger that. He's inside some kind of weird giant test tube. I'll look for a way to get him out."

When the comm link fell silent, Lance pursed his lips and stared at Shiro. The Black Paladin curled into himself like a fetus in the test tube, looking almost like he was peacefully asleep if not for the cables and wires that poked into his skin in various places. The cables and wires extended into the floor and the ceiling, going to who knew where. A frown made its way into Lance's face as he wondered if those would be hard to get rid of later.

In front of the test tube was a big table full of buttons, switches, and other things Lance wasn't sure what to call. The table reminded Lance of some kind of sound system control table, or that table in the old Disney movie – Inside Out? Lance didn't even know. At the very center of the table was a handprint reading machine, not unlike the ones needed to open the doors in the Galra ships, and Lance knew his best chance to get Shiro to safety was to wait until Keith came and had him open the tube for them.

It didn't take long until Keith came barging into the room, bayard gripped at the ready, staring at Shiro with horror in his eyes. Lance, who had long since deactivated his bayard, immediately waved Keith over. "I saw this fingerprint machine thingy here, so I figured the tube could open up if you put your hand on it."

Keith shook himself out of his shock and came over to Lance. "I… yeah. Yeah, sorry. Where is it again?"

"There," Lance pointed at the screen with clawed Galra hand on it.

Keith immediately went over and put his hand on the pad. The hopes that the tube would open up for them was lost when nothing happened.

Keith pursed his lips. "We need Pidge," he declared, and Lance nodded.

"Hey, Pidge? You there?" Lance asked over the comm link, hoping that the little tech gremlin was available to help them.

"Yeah, what is it?" Pidge's voice came over immediately.

"We found Shiro, but he's put in this weird testing tube machine thing, and we can't do anything to open it up. Can you do it from your end?" Keith's voice was thick with anxious need to get Shiro. He seemed seconds away from taking his sword to hack up the tube until it broke, but he reined himself back. They didn't know what was in the tube, what was the liquid that held Shiro afloat. They didn't know what it would do to them, and what it would do to Shiro.

"I need you to plug into the machine so I can work my magic, and then we'll see what I can do."

"Right," Keith nodded and started looking for a way in. Lance joined immediately, finding a way to plug in, as Pidge put it, the way she did when they infiltrated that hidden Galra base right before Allura was taken.

"Alright, I'm going to need some time on this because it turns out to be a pretty complex system," Pidge announced, "but I'll be as quick as I can."

"That's all I ask, Pidge," Keith nodded.

A few ticks passed, and Lance started tapping his foot on the floor to help with the jittery nervousness. As the constant tap-tap-tap became increasingly louder, Keith threw him annoyed look and hissed, "Would you stop that and be silent?"

"I can't help it, I'm too tense!" Lance hissed back.

"Try not to make too much noise, someone might hear – "

As if on cue, the door to the far left of them whizzed open. They both turned, bayard at the ready and high on alert, and both froze for a moment when they realized who was standing at the door.

It was Haggar. It was the head witch herself.

"This day keeps getting better and better," Lance muttered to himself.

"Shut up, don't jinx us all," Keith hissed once more.

"I see you are here to take my Champion," Haggar spoke aloud, and the two Paladins tensed up again. "You should know by now that I will not let anyone take what is mine."

Lance scrunched up his nose. Haggar was like, five percent Altean, five percent magic, ten percent evil, and eighty percent NOPE, and it was moments like this that drove that fact home. Saying Shiro was hers? Just nope.

"Shiro isn't yours," Keith denied heatedly at once, and Lance nodded approvingly by his side. Yes, yes, Keith, tell her. You go, man.

"I gave him everything that made him strong. He is as good as mine." And there was that nope again.

"He's still going to be strong even without you," Lance declared. "He's already strong even without that Galra arm. Stop saying he's yours, because he's not. Shiro belongs to no one but himself."

Haggar gave a bark of laughter that made Lance jolt despite himself. "He is marked. That arm is proof that he belongs to the Galra empire. Nothing you can do to take him will change that fact."

Keith's eyes narrowed. "We'll just have to see about that."

"I've got it!" Pidge's voice rang in the comm link, and Lance had never felt so much relief at hearing her voice. On cue, the mysterious liquid in the tube Shiro was in started to drain down, and then he was dangling by all the cables that stuck into his skin. Then they, too, one by one in quick succession detached, and all of a sudden Shiro was a crumpled heap at the floor of the tube. With a hiss, the tube opened, and both Keith and Lance were immediately at Shiro's sides, pulling him out of the offending machinery. They both frowned at the blood that oozed from each and every spot the cables had poked Shiro's body. Looked like he had to spend more time in the healing pod after this.

"So you would take my Champion after all?" Haggar's voice rang quietly in the room, and Lance could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand. There was something in Haggar's voice that hand changed, shifted somehow.

"He wasn't yours to begin with," Keith challenged the witch immediately.

"He is mine!" Purple lighting gathered in Haggar's fingers and struck everywhere as she threw her arms up before slashing them down. The other tubes started cracking and breaking with loud shattering noise, and the liquid inside flooded the room immediately. The aliens inside pulled at the cables before standing upright, eyes glowing ominous Galra yellow, growl hammering in their throats.

"Get me my Champion back," Haggar hissed, and each and every alien in the room growled in obedience.

Lance looked around to assess the situation. The aliens were at least eight feet tall each, all muscular and all bent to Haggar's will. He glanced at Keith, and they seemed to have reached the same conclusion. Both shared a quick nod, turned, and dashed away from the room as fast as they could.

The controlled aliens quickly roared and chased. Panic and instinct immediately took over, and both Lance and Keith dashed faster, dragging Shiro as fast as they could away from there. As they ran through the corridor lined by more test tubes, they burst much like the other tubes in the circular room as soon as the Paladins passed them, leaving a mess of flooding clear liquid and pieces of crystalline glass as well as crawling and fidgeting creatures that immediately tried to grab the three of them. Nope, just nope.

Not only that, Lance was acutely aware of how Shiro remained unresponsive even through the general chaos, and he was sure Keith was as well. It added more to the urgency of their situation, and Lance didn't like that.

"Guys!" a familiar voice called from ahead, and a smile bloomed in Lance's face.

"Hunk, Pidge!" he called back. "You little pieces of Earthling miracles!"

Hunk took out his bayard and shot, barely even aiming at the aliens chasing Lance, Keith, and Shiro and managing to take out a large number of them. He quickly turned to Shiro, froze for a moment, and clenched his jaws. "Let me carry him," he offered, deactivating his bayard. "I'm stronger than you, and we both need frontline fighters here."

Keith let Hunk take Shiro into his gentle hands and activated his own bayard. "Our first priority now would be getting back. Let's get back to our Lions."

"It's this way," Pidge pointed to a direction.

"I'll lead and slash away oncoming enemies, so direct me, Pidge," Keith ordered. "Lance, guard our backs?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Lance asked back, already sending shots after shots to disable the aliens that tried to get to them still, having already set his bayard's power level to hover somewhere above stun but definitely below kill.

"Uhhh, guys, I think we should do something before we move," Hunk spoke up, suddenly sounding nervous, "cause I don't think Shiro's breathing."

There was a pause for a split second before the four moved together, Hunk laying Shiro down on the floor and Pidge kneeling by them to offer assistance if needed and Lance and Keith providing cover for them by shooting and slashing at oncoming attacks. Lance stole glances at Hunk and Pidge trying to bring Shiro back, with Hunk pumping Shiro's chest desperately and Pidge trying to breathe life back into his lungs. So far, the two-person CPR didn't seem to help much.

Except it did. After a while, Shiro began frowning and coughing, hacking up the same clear liquid to the floor. But then he flopped back, gasping and rasping, eyes fluttering in a daze and looking half dead already. He kept losing blood, and his complexion looked more and more like white tissue paper than actual human skin.

Well, Shiro wasn't the only one in a bad shape. Both Lance and Keith were starting to feel overwhelmed by all the oncoming aliens. Under Haggar's control, they moved more like programmed robots that it was easy for the Paladins to disable them, but in their sheer numbers it was too exhausting to plow through everything.

"I will not let you take my Champion."

Lance groaned aloud and Keith cursed.

"See, you were totally jinxing us back then," Keith grumbled to Lance.

"Well I apologize profusely, Your Majesty the Mullet Man, but I don't think this is the time to discuss that," Lance retorted quickly.

Haggar walked to them, eyes glinting under the shadow of her hood, and Lance was reminded of the horror-thriller movies his younger sister seemed to love so much. He shuddered and aimed, setting his bayard to kill and shot. Haggar easily deflected the shot and narrowed her eyes.

"Give me back my Champion," she demanded. The aliens in the room stopped attacking, backing away.

"He's not yours!" Pidge snapped back without missing a beat. "Try to take him yourself!"

Haggar narrowed her eyes even further, and struck the air with more speed than it should be possible. Purple lighting shot up from her fingertips and struck Pidge, who screamed in both pain and surprise as the force pushed her to the side and slammed her to the wall. She coughed and tried to stand, but she was trembling, and even though Lance could see her fire was far from being snuffed he could also see that Haggar's attack did more damage than they'd like.

"He is going to be the most powerful weapon the Galra Empire has ever seen," Haggar hissed. "I will not have you steal away what is our property."

Anger surged through Lance's veins. How many times had Haggar said that Shiro was a property? A thing to be owned instead of a sentient being, a person, with wants and needs and desires of his own? His gaze flicked to Pidge for a moment, seeing her struggling to stand while clenching her bayard tightly that Lance was sure her fingers had turned white under the gloves. Haggar hurt her, and there was no doubt that she would hurt the rest of them, just like she already did Shiro.

Unforgivable.

"You told me to take him myself, and so I will," Haggar glared at Pidge, purple electricity crackling to life on her fingertips. "I shall take back what is rightfully mine!"

That did it.

As Haggar lifted her hands, both cloaked in power and ready to strike, the aliens around them roared in unison and rushed forward. Lance opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and screamed.

The now-familiar blue glow enveloped him in an instant. Water materialized into being from out of nowhere, rising in height and rushing into an angry whirlpool, splashing and raining on every Paladin who remained safe in the centerpiece of the flood, safe around the eye of the storm that was Lance. The Blue Paladin was still glowing the same color as his title as he controlled the water to push and bang the aliens to the wall. He retracted the water around them and they fell, already unconscious, to the floor. The water vanished, just like usual.

Lance turned his attention to Haggar, who he still held captive inside a separate portion of swirling water. He glared at her before walking over, reaching out, tapping the surface of the water with his index finger. Ice immediately formed as the water froze, and Lance could see Haggar's eyes widening within the prison. When it looked like she was trying to do something with her magic to break herself free, Lance willed the ice to spread faster. Not even five ticks later, Haggar was already completely encased in ice, like some sort of caveman preserved in a frozen display. Lance stepped back from her.

"Shiro!"

Lance whipped around and immediately saw his companions crowding Shiro, who was by now lying in his own pool of blood. Coldness that had nothing to do with the ice or his new powers spread through Lance like stubborn winter frost, and he rushed to them.

"What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?" Hunk blabbed in panic. "We need a healing pod now, but there isn't any around, what do we do?"

"He won't be able to survive to the ship," Pidge's voice was cracked, broken, despairing already.

"Shiro!" was all Keith could say, through the tears that was already streaming down his face. "Shiro! Shiro!"

Lance stared, unmoving, suddenly finding himself unable to breathe. They had tried so hard to get Shiro back, and they still lost him anyway? He stared at Shiro, lying still – too still – on the floor, with blood still oozing from his wounds and breathing too weak that Lance might just be imagining it. Pidge was right, he wouldn't survive all the way to the ship. Was there really nothing they could do? Was it all just for nothing?

My Paladin…

He jolted in surprise. Blue?

Yes, she answered, and Lance found himself momentarily stunned. He had known that he could communicate with Blue, but never this clear from this far away.

Blue, what can I do? Lance asked hopelessly, deciding to focus on the apparent strengthening of their bond later. Shiro's… is he gone?

I would not know, came Blue's answer, but it is true that his light is nothing more but a flicker by now. However, my Paladin… you can change that.

I can? Lance asked, stunned. How?

Water does more than attack, Blue answered. Water heals. Water washes away wounds and closes them. Water embraces and nurtures and nurses. Water strengthens. Heal him, my Paladin. You will know what to do.

Are you saying I'm a healer? Like Katara in The Last Airbender?

I know not of the human entertainment, my Paladin, but yes, essentially.

Lance looked at his hands for a moment and clenched them in determination. As Blue's voice retreated back to the dark corners of his mind, he let the power of his quintessence bubble up once more, summoning water into his hands. "Step back," he told his teammates, and they looked up at him in surprise before complying.

Lance took a deep breath. He put his hands on Shiro's chest while exhaling slowly. The water he had summoned immediately spread and blanketed Shiro's entire body, leaving only his face dry. It immediately changed color, crystal clear stained with blood red.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Lance closed his eyes and pressed lightly at Shiro's chest, not wholly sure what to do and letting the power surge up and do its work. The water immediately glowed ethereal blue.

He could hear Keith, Pidge, and Hunk gasp in surprise. He ignored them, instead wondering what to do, when he suddenly felt as though the water was a part of him, like extra limbs he didn't know he had. He immediately felt through the water, probing Shiro's wounds, feeling the blood sloshing into the glowing water.

Inhale, exhale. Blue was right. He knew what to do.

He took another deep breath and concentrated, willing the wounds to close. Slowly, the water coaxed Shiro's body to heal, feeding the energy it needed to survive in a slow but constant stream. Lance could feel Shiro's wounds closing, slowly, could feel his heart thumping with anxious and desperate will to live, could feel his breath deepening as his lungs struggled to take more air. Shiro's body worked to heal and live, each organ working in tandem with one another in an orchestra to bring Shiro back to life.

"You're healing him." Distantly, Lance could hear Keith speak, but his attention was absorbed in Shiro too much to realize those words were directed at him. Right then, there was only himself, Shiro, and the ocean and the streams and dripping dew for Lance.

And then, a gasp, prompting Lance to open his eyes and stare at Shiro expectantly. Shiro's eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times, staring dazedly into Lance's eyes before he gazed around in the same daze, seemingly unable to understand what was going on and where he was. Then his eyes fluttered closed again and his head lolled to the side, losing consciousness once more.

But that was fine. This was a good kind of unconscious. It was a healing sleep instead of a desperate battle for life. When he realized that, Lance sighed in relief, letting his hold over the water lessen at last. The water immediately sloshed away from Shiro, washing the pool of blood underneath him that somehow was intact, before vanishing into thin air once more. The buzz of energy from fighting and healing hadn't left Lance's fingertips, however… maybe because this was the first time he had used his quintessence in such manner?

"Lance… what…?"

Lance turned, suddenly aware that Keith, Pidge, and Hunk were still there, still staring at him in something he couldn't quite identify. He gulped, wondering how to explain everything, when the small but unmistakable sound of ice slowly chipping and breaking reached his ears.

He turned to check. The ice that encased Haggar was starting to break, slowly but surely, cracks as fine as silk threads slowly spiderwebbing out from the innermost part of the ice. Alarm rose in Lance's stomach and adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream once more as he jumped to his feet. "No time to explain. Haggar's breaking out; we need to go now."

Moving out was far easier than sneaking in, considering that the soldiers and drones they had to avoid when infiltrating were not functional anymore. They still found some stray prisoners that thankfully were not under Haggar's control and immediately had them follow the Paladins so they could escape the ship. After directing the prisoners to the pods, the Paladins rushed to the Green Lion, which they boarded to infiltrate the ship.

The tension inside the lion was thick. Keith, for the most part, paid more attention to Shiro, but both Pidge and Hunk kept stealing glances at Lance. Lance, however, was too focused on trying to keep Haggar imprisoned from afar, but maintaining the ice from such distance while Haggar was fighting back wasn't easy. Soon, he could feel the ice prison crumbling away.

"Haggar just broke out," he announced. "Might be best to get back quickly."

"On it," Pidge responded almost automatically. Soon, Green was safely docked in the hangar and the Paladins stumbled out of the lion's mouth, Hunk and Keith supporting Shiro while Pidge hovered between them and Lance, seemingly unable to decide where exactly she wanted to stand. They were quickly greeted by Coran and Allura, who both rushed to them.

"Paladins! What happened back there?" Allura demanded instantly.

"Get Shiro in the healing pod, please," Lance muttered instead as he felt his strength ebbing away. Strangely, the energy from controlling water rose instead, buzzing in his ears and filling him up.

"Lance?" Allura called, suddenly sounding wary and a little nervous. "What's going on with you?"

"Go take care of Shiro first, he still needs the healing pod," Lance panted desperately. He opened his mouth to say more, but his quitessence spiked suddenly, painfully, and he muffled a groan as it dropped as soon as it came. The contrast surprised him, and his knees buckled in shock. Before he fell flat on the floor, though, Pidge rushed in and caught him, grunting in effort to keep him upright as Hunk and Keith both called out in alarm and Coran and Allura ran to his side.

"Lance, your quintessence level is critical!" Allura nearly screamed in distress. "How does this happen? I couldn't make sense of anything all of you said while fighting Haggar. Did you master the elemental quintessence already?"

Lance wanted to answer, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do it coherently, not like this. He moaned instead and called, "Coran?"

"What is it, Lance?" Coran responded immediately, taking his weight over from Pidge.

"You can tell them if you want to," he whispered, his voice barely audible. His vision was swimming already, and darkness had begun to ebb from the edges of his vision. Was it supposed to do that?

"Tell us what?" Pidge demanded. "What exactly was that? How was Lance waterbending? What just happened?!"

Lance would have laughed, but he was just too tired to do anything. His eyes fluttered close.

He didn't hear his teammates crying out for him in distress. Didn't hear or feel the castle being rocked when the Galran ship began shooting them as Haggar finally regained control. Didn't feel it when Allura lifted his chin for a moment to check before dashing to the control room to open a wormhole to ensure their safe escape. He was already gone.

When Lance finally came to, it was as he came out of a healing pod and straight into the waiting arms of Shiro's. He blinked blearily and looked up to meet Shiro's eyes, confused, before memory caught up with him and a smile bloomed in his face.

"We got you back!" he exclaimed, gesturing to Shiro as the older man chuckled and released him.

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah, I heard it was all thanks to you. So thank you."

Lance shrugged despite their awkward position. "Eh, it was as much me as it was everyone else. Besides, you'd do the same too."

"Like hell? You basically saved all our lives!"

Lance blinked and looked around, finally realizing that the others were there too. "Good to see you too, Pidge," he gave her his patented finger guns. "And also Hunk and Keith and Coran and," he wiggled a brow, "the princess. Pretty as ever, I see."

Allura rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, but there was something akin of suppressed smile playing at her lips. "At least we know you're feeling better now," she sighed.

Hunk pried him off Shiro and put a blanket around his shoulders before pulling him into a hug. "Right now I don't even care about the flirting or the jokes. I'm just so so glad you're back. I'm gonna make you a lot of burritos as soon as we get the ingredients, just you wait."

"That's great, buddy, I can't wait," Lance grinned as he nuzzled into the embrace. Hunk's hugs were the best.

"You'll have to settle for food goo for now though," Keith said with a shrug.

"But before that!" Pidge shot to him, jumping up and basically dangling on Hunk's shoulder to meet Lance's eyes. "What was that on that ship? How did you do all those things? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I, uh," Lance drew back a little. "Coran didn't tell you guys?" He glanced at Coran questioningly as Pidge slid off Hunk's shoulder.

"I decided to let you tell them yourself," Coran explained. "I did tell about how I found out, but other than that, nothing."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Keith interjected, "since when were you able to deal with twenty level ten drones all by yourself? I mean, that new power is handy for that, but holy shit, Lance."

"Wait, those were level ten?" Lance repeated in disbelief.

"You didn't even realize?!"

"No!"

"Paladins!" Allura's voice rang above theirs, and they fell silent immediately. When she was satisfied with it, she gave a nod and focused on Lance. "Lance. I'd like to know why you didn't tell anyone before. This is big news! Elemental quitessence mastering is a proof that you're maturing as a paladin and that your bond with your Lion is even stronger than before."

Lance's face fell. "But… I did try to tell you."

Allura seemed entirely taken aback. "What?"

"I tried to tell you," Lance repeated. "I admit my timing was bad, but I did try. During that strategy meeting." There was a beat of silence. "I should have picked a better time, though. And I should've tried to tell you again. I'm sorry."

Allura frowned, still confused. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped herself suddenly, eyes widening. "Oh. Oh. Quiznak, you were trying to… oh."

A bitter smile made its way to Lance's face before he could control himself. "Yeah, that summed it up pretty nicely." There was a beat of tense silence, and Lance popped it immediately. "I mean, that's partly on me, since we were all tense for a mission that could potentially require Voltron, and Shiro was still gone, and who am I to just up and yell that I can deal with an entire region of Galra drones? Of course you didn't believe me. I wouldn't believe me either."

"Lance – " Allura interjected.

Lance didn't let her. "I know I sounded unreasonable, Princess, and I said it all just out of nowhere. Like you said, you couldn't let probabilities control the mission. You needed certainty. And I didn't sound certain back then, so that's just to be expected that you didn't believe me."

"Alright, I see your point," Keith chimed, "but what about the rest of us?"

"I tried to tell you too," Lance shrunk deeper into Hunk's hug. "I think you didn't realize I was serious."

Keith frowned, then his face went slack. "Ah."

"I kind of get it," Lance mumbled into Hunk's shirt. "I'm not particularly strong. I'm, like, average in everything. I joke around a lot. I flirt with anything that breathes. So, I kind of see why you didn't think I was serious. Besides, the alarm sounded right while I was talking, so it just got… brushed off."

"Wait, how many times in total have you tried to tell us?" Hunk asked seriously.

"Uh, three?" Lance answered reluctantly. "The other time everyone got distracted by your cookies, and I kind of just dropped it too because Hunk, my man, your cookies are awesome."

The look Hunk gave him clued Lance that it wasn't okay, none of it was okay. He licked his lips and sighed. "It's not your fault, guys, not really. My timing sucked."

"No," Keith shook his head. "We were wrong not to listen too."

"Yes, we shouldn't have treated you like that," Allura added. "I'm sorry, Lance. We're sorry. I hope you could forgive us."

Lance blinked. "Of course I forgive you guys," he answered without hesitation. "You weren't exactly wrong, either."

Allura stared, a stunned look in her eyes, before she broke into a smile. "How could you be so immature at times and suddenly speak like that? You forgive so easily, Lance."

Lance grinned. "I dunno. It's part of my charm, I guess."

"Oh, hey, Lance! Can you do that waterbending thing again?" Pidge spoke up as she jumped to dangle on Hunk's shoulder again, eyes sparkling. "I want to see how you do it!"

"Yeah, that was a wonder to look at!" Hunk agreed immediately. He shifted so he could support both Lance and Pidge better. "It was all glowey and beautiful."

"And if we can get how you do it, maybe we can try to do our own brand of bending too," Pidge added.

"Pidge, buddy, there's no fancy studying here," Lance shook his head in mock disappointment. "I can do this because I'm tight with my best girl. You just need to deepen your bond with the Green Lion!"

"Shut up and do it, Lance."

Lance laughed and complied. The familiar blue light wrapped around his fingers as he felt that tug deep within him. Water appeared immediately, flowing in the air like a long Chinese dragon dancing through the clouds, before shooting up and split into a rain that immediately froze over and fell as soft powdery snow. He glanced around and smiled proudly when he saw the rest of the team staring at the indoor snow in awe. There was a hint of smugness he felt at Keith's speechless, wonderstruck face.

"Oh, wow," Shiro breathed. "I was told that it was beautiful, but… wow." He turned to look directly at Lance. "How exactly did you get this power again? I think Coran mentioned something about you feeling like it was given to you?"

Lance returned his gaze and grinned, feeling warm and accepted for the first time in a long while. It finally felt like things were going to be okay, that everything would go back to normal.

The others stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to talk and tell his tale. His grin widened. He opened his mouth and began to speak.

A/N: This is my first Voltron story, so I hope I did okay. This is also an attempt to write langst, but apparently as much as I love reading langst writing it is a completely different matter. Also, this was inspired by a post in tumblr by lovelylangst:

lovelylangst. tumblr post /159627403439 /i-want-a-fic-idea-where-lance-gets-powers-of-some

This ended up being far longer than I thought, as I originally wanted this to be, idk, 5k or 6k words fic. So... sorry about the length? Also, lame ending is lame, because after writing about Lance passing out I just kind of. Ran out of juice. I hope it was okay though.

*edit: This story is now part of a series, Quintessential, like how I put at the notes up there. Next in line is Of Broken Bonds and Corrupted Core.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that. Have a great day!