The Garla prison ship was falling apart.

Metal walls were caving in. Explosions shook through the sublevel. The comms gave way to soldiers' commands, the status of their activation long forgotten. Prisoners rushed out of their cells, screaming in equal parts fear and relief as they stampeded their way to freedom.

Chaos was inescapable.

Pidge was at the heart of the sublevel directing ex-prisoners to the safest escape route to the castle. It was a daunting task for someone who could get lost so easily in the crowd, but she personally volunteered to do it. If her family happened to be aboard this ship with Shiro, she wanted to be one of the first to be there.

After what seemed like an eternity, Pidge saw a familiar tuft of white hair at the end of the line of prisoners.

"Shiro!" she called out as she ran towards him.

He turned to the source of his name and lit up the moment he saw her face. Pidge could swear she saw tears forming in his eyes.

A few seconds later they were giving each other the tightest hug imaginable.

"You got my signal," Shiro said.

"Of course we did," Pidge said. "We flew here as soon as we tracked down your coordinates."

"You have no idea how glad I am to see another familiar face."

A blast rocked the end of the hall.

"Come on, we have to get out of here. We wanted to lead a safe rescue, but things got a little complicated," Pidge said.

"What's going on out th- you know what, first things first. I need your help to carry my friend over here outside," he said, nodding towards a weak figure leaning on the wall.

They weren't wearing the standard prison uniform like the rest, instead donning an orange and grey suit. A dark helmet obscured their face from view. A gloved hand clutched their left side, likely to stop an injury from bleeding.

"Can they walk?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't know how long he can keep it up," Shiro responded.

Pidge nodded and proceeded to placing herself under his free arm. Shiro gently wrapped his arm around the other's right, his prosthetic free to defend the trio if necessary.

The Green Lion was anxiously waiting for their pilots outside, ready to storm in if things became worse than they already were. Luckily, it didn't take long for them to make their way outside.

"Lay him down, I installed a pull-out cot on one of Green's walls," said Pidge when they climbed inside.

From there the rest became routine. She turned on the comms, activated her lion's flight systems, and prepared or take off.

As soon as the connection came through, the rest of the team's yelling filled the small space.

"-still coming," Keith said.

"Then stop them!" Lance shouted.

Another boom was heard in the distance.

"The Taujeer have just informed me that all of the prisoners are aboard their ark," Allura said. "They're ready for takeoff, as long as we can keep the airs clear."

"On it," Hunk said.

"Guys, I'm back online. And I've got Shiro with me," Pidge said.

It was as if if Pidge had just injected life into the entire team. The comms were suddenly filled with overwhelming love and concerned questions from everyone.

"Glad to see you guys too," Shiro said. "I'll catch you all up once we're back at the castle. There's someone I want you to meet."

As if in cue, a loud moan escaped the other prisoner's lips.

"Well, maybe after we patch him up."

I'm back, and boy are you guys in for a wild ride!

I'm going to upload the first two chapters to start getting a sense of everyone's responses, but rest assured that this fic is going to be my child for the next few (insert amount of time I'll be inspired to keep this going).

I know this seems like a really short introduction, but I'll be dividing chapters up at the wil of the plot. I'll be much more detailed when necessary ;)

In the meantime, stay timed for more!