(( Oh Lance ;-; poor bby.))

Hours, literal hours had passed by the time Lance could breathe right again. And even then his respirations were questionable. After the gunshots, after the slamming around and the screaming, he'd been petrified. At only the age of thirteen, he was able to fit under his bed, where he'd taken refuge after the door was kicked in.

It was past sunrise by the time he dared to squeeze out from beneath the bed, despite the murderers having long fled the scene. The cops didn't show up until then, mainly because the neighborhood was no stranger to gunshots. Response time was often delayed, and everyone knew that all too well. There were too many crimes and not enough law enforcement to help.

In his pajamas, out of tears, and ailed with fear, Lance stood to his feet. His breath shook with every step his bare feet took, and with every creak of the floorboards they created. Red and blue lights were flashing outside the house, and the sirens were still blaring. He figured they'd just come, but it wasn't to save him.

Nobody could've done that.

" Mamá?" Lance asked, a large lump forming in his throat as he croaked out the question. He came out from the hallway, where he was met with a gruesome scene a few feet away. He gasped and put a hand over his mouth, seeing his sister, Veronica, first. She was dead, shot and having her face flat atop the dining room table. Then there was his older brother, Marco, who was shot against the wall. He was full of holes and had clearly slid down into his sitting, half lying position. Blood was splattered and dragged down the wall, having been smeared by his back.

His eyes darted around the room, where he saw his pregnant mother dead on the floor. There was a broken plate beside her body, which must've been the dinner they were supposed to eat. Lance's father was by the door that was all but kicked in, having a bullet wound to the head.

Blood was like a lake on the floor, and Lance's feet were painted with it as he knelt by his mom.

" ¡Policía! ¡Abre la puerta!" Was yelled from the Cuban police officers at the other door of the house, the back door. Lance was too out of it to listen and open the door. Meanwhile, other officers had circled around to see that one of the doors was already inside the house, laying flat and stomped down.

The scene was stormed as Lance stayed by his mother. He was asked questions in Spanish while other officers rushed around to search for survivors. His shoulders were shook as he zoned out, and he couldn't help but cry and sniffle.

They were gone. His whole family had been massacred and left with no regard, like they'd never even mattered to anyone. Lance wished he wouldn't have been spared in that moment, because after all... bleeding out would've been exponentially better than seeing them like that.

...

" Lance, hey!" Keith said, running his hand through Lance's hair before cupping his cheeks. " Listen to me. You have to breathe, Babe..." He told him, and Lance realized he was having a panic attack. His breathing was erratic and tears were rushing from his eyes as he remembered everything.

Seeing her body like that, how it had been left for them to find, it was too similar to what had already happened to him once before. The old, coagulated blood wasn't helping matters. The stench, that same odor of it had slapped him right in the face.

Lance found himself staring into Keith's indigo eyes as he seemed to come back in touch. The small jingling noise of Keith's bracelet beside his ear, and the soft surface of his boyfriend's palms cupping his face, they helped.

Keith leaned his forehead to Lance's as everyone rushed off to see who was calling for help. He stayed with the taller boy, doing everything he could to keep him from spiralling. Never in a million years would Keith have expected that kind of reaction from Lance. Especially given the fact that Lance had literally shot Kinkade and James for him. They hadn't even known Allura, so that ruled out any connection to her.

No matter what caused it, Keith was going to give his all until Lance was better. He'd never seen him break down and bawl like that since he'd opened up about his family, or probably when Keith was injured. But Keith didn't remember that part obviously.

" H-how..." Lance stuttered and wrapped his arms around Keith. He pulled him into a shaky hug and curled up by him on the tile floor. " How could someone kill their own fianceé?" He buried his face in Keith's neck.

Keith was silent for a moment. He couldn't even wrap his head around the idea. He would've had a full on mental breakdown if Lance ever died, let alone if he was the one to orchestrate it! Lotor was fucking despicable.

" I don't know..." The shorter boy murmured while raking his fingers through Lance's brunette hair. " Maybe she was trying to turn him in."

Lance grit his teeth and held Keith to himself protectively, taking a deep breath and trying his very hardest to get a grip. He'd never let Keith's blood spill like that, never let Lotor hurt him again. Even if in that moment he was weak and debilitated from the memories, Lance swore to himself that he'd protect him.

Keith was used to Lance being the strong one, the one who put everyone else before himself. It was eye opening to see him like that, and it ignited a fire in Keith's gut. Lotor's fault. Lotor had made not just Allura-who he didn't even like, but felt sympathy for- but Lance, too, suffer because of this.

He had to pay.

...

Upstairs, Shiro, Matt, and Adam were rushing around in search of the cries for help. Hunk and Shay had helped Pidge to the bathroom, seeing as she was sick from the scene they'd been greeted with.

The sound of a shower could be heard running from one of the upper level bathrooms, and Shiro had his gun drawn as they went deeper into the mansion's winding halls.

Lotor was sick. Absolutely fucking insane! Who could just murder their fianceé?! And don't even get him started on the rest of it. Having her strung up in the mansion as a warning? That was so wrong that Shiro couldn't even understand it, and he couldn't even call the cops!

" It's coming from in there!" Matt exclaimed, keeping his gun pointed at the bathroom door. Shiro looked over his shoulder at both of them, silently telling them to wait until he could check it out and make sure they were safe.

Even though Matt was the one with the gun, Adam stepped in front of him protectively. Matt was smaller than he was, and he felt the need to stand in front of anything that might've been coming for him.

And with that, Shiro went to turn the handle. It was locked from the inside, and there was still someone inside. Shiro, given his good nature and concern, was obviously upset at this.

" Hello?! Are you hurt?!" He called in, hoping the person could hear over the shower. It sounded like a youngish girl, judging from the voice. She couldn't have been much older than twenty.

There was coughing from the inside.

" I-I don't know!"

Shiro looked back at the others, and Adam nodded toward the door handle.

" Get back from the door! I'm busting the lock!" Shiro called, waiting a few seconds before aiming for the handle. He shot a couple times until it fell to the floor and he could duck inside.

There was a blonde girl who'd been taped and bound to the shower wall, all the while icy cold water was spraying down on her. Lotor had done this, too?! Shiro looked her over, seeing that she was shivering and probably on the verge of hypothermia.

He knelt down by the shower and began tearing away at the tape. It must've been something waterproof like Flextape.

" A-Are you Sh-Shiro?" The girl asked. Shiro nodded as Matt and Adam followed him in.

" Who are you?" Shiro questioned, ripping some more tape away. Matt went to turn off the water.

" Holy shit, it's freezing!" He exclaimed, then turned to Adam. " Go find a heat blanket and dry clothes for her! We might need a hospital if she doesn't warm up soon."

" R-Romelle..."

" Hey, she's that girl!" Adam said. " The one who came to see us with Allura."

Shiro didn't know what to make of all of this, but he did know one thing for certain. This girl was traumatized. Her fingertips and lips had turned blue from the frigid temperatures of the water, and her hair was a matted and soaked mess. There was some discoloration on her cheeks, seeming like bruising that had aged a day. It indicated to Shiro that Lotor had not only put her in the shower, but beaten her as well.

After Adam went to fetch everything, Shiro lifted the sopping wet girl out of the shower. Water dripped all over the place and she violently shivered as she stood there. Matt grabbed a towel and handed it to her, and he and Shiro exchanged a very concerned look.

" Can you tell me what happened?" Shiro asked Romelle, trying to be gentle. She didn't seem hardened enough to be a member of a gang or anything like that, and he wasn't trying to make her feel any worse.

" He killed her..." Romelle choked up. She was too cold to hyperventilate, and Shiro realized maybe it was too soon to ask her about the events that had come to pass. He sighed and let Matt take her to a room, where they rendezvoused with Adam, who'd found a robe and a heat blanket.

Shiro walked from the bathroom, being met with Hunk coming up the stairs. He'd left Shay with Pidge, and was careful to avoid the awful scene on the stairs.

" What's going on?" He asked the leader anxiously.

" Lotor took her friend... left her here... and she's been being tortured. The shower was on the cold setting and beating down on her for a day at least." Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. He really couldn't take it anymore. The terror had to end.

Hunk gasped.

" I'm calling a family meeting. Matt and Adam are down the hall with her, so see if you can help them with anything." Shiro told him, then began walking down the steps. He'd have to see to getting the body properly taken care of, and giving her a burial. As much as it weighed on his conscience, they wouldn't be able to call her parents. They would've gone to the cops for sure, and they couldn't risk it. Not when there had been crime on both sides, such as Lance killing Kinkade and Pidge stabbing one of her attackers. The lines between self defense and murder were blurred when things got so complicated, and Shiro couldn't allow himself or his company to become implicated.

Hell, it would've been a headline on the news for weeks if he did.

...

Shiro made many phone calls, left voicemails, and texted the family's most distant members. He had to use everyone they had.

They were finally going to do what Shiro had been putting off for so long. He hated the idea of it, loathed the sight of blood on his hands, but it couldn't be helped. Lotor had to die so everyone else could live.

Lance and Keith were sitting in the conference room together, waiting for everyone else. Kosmo laid by their feet, and Keith pet him solemnly.

Allura was dead. Though he hadn't liked her much, it showed just how far Lotor was willing to go to keep his secrets. Who was next? It had almost been Pidge, but they were all foolish if they thought it would end there. No one was safe.

Lance kept an arm around Keith, pulling him snugly to himself. He knew Shiro was most likely going to send the family out on assignment, and he wanted to savor every second he had with his boyfriend until then.

" Everything will be okay..." Keith whispered, leaning on Lance.

Pidge came in along with Shiro and the others. She was walking slow, clearly overexerting herself until she collapsed into a chair. Behind Shiro, Hunk, Adam, and Matt were helping a blonde girl. Shay was coming in the other way with another blanket for her, and headlights were beginning to shine on the front of the mansion.

Keith looked at everyone, perking up. It was Romelle. Lance held him more, nervously pulling Keith onto his lap.

" Not this reality!" Was wailed from the front door. " Oh nooo!"

Shiro's eyebrow twitched as he took his position at the front of the room. He didn't think anyone had the patience for Slav right then.

Nyma and Rolo, along with other members like Thace and Kolivan began taking their seats.

After a period of adjustment, everyone had gotten settled. Romelle was in a chair, wrapped in blankets and with a towel in her hair. She was still shivering from the trauma she'd suffered.

" Everyone. This is it." Shiro spoke seriously. " We're taking him out."

This made surprise ripple through the sea of faces he stood before.

" Shiro... are you sure?" Matt asked him worriedly. He'd never seen that look in Shiro's eyes before, and it was quite troubling if he was being honest.

" Yes." Shiro told them all. And Lance felt something shatter inside of himself. He didn't know if he could handle putting Keith in danger again. Before he could say anything to Shiro, though, the leader went on to explain. " This needs to be a group effort. We need to work together to get a couple of us in undetected, and not give him a chance to call his members. If he does, it'll be a bloody battle and we can't get a clean shot."

Adam gulped before standing up, swallowing back every ounce of fear he felt.

" Shiro. I have an idea." He cleared his throat.

Everyone turned to him, waiting for Adam to elaborate.

" I can go back in. If I can convince Lotor that I was really his spy all along, I can stay there and let you guys in."

" No. There has to be another way." Shiro shook his head.

" There's not. He keeps a guard by every door, and they go through the halls in shifts at all hours of the night." Adam adjusted his glasses and sweated from nervousness. He was terrified, but if it would help lead to Lotor's death, he was going to try anything. He trusted Shiro. " I can wear a wire, and you can keep an eye on everything. If you want to be smart about this and not go in guns blazing, then this is the best way to do it."

" Shiro, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but Adam's right." Pidge spoke up.

Shiro's eyes beaded as he looked over to him and thought about everything that could go wrong. Matt also didn't look comfortable with it, but there were mixed reactions from everyone else.

" If you vote for Adam going in undercover raise your hand." Shiro said, staring down.

Pidge, Slav, Thace, Kolivan, Nyma, Rolo, and Keith raised their hands out of all their members. It was a majority.

So then it was settled. Adam hoped he'd made the right call.

(( I have successfully evaded you all by hiding mwhaha. I've gotten so many messages about Allura... but... Loves, you haven't seen anything yet.))