[Belligerent prisoners apparently isn't too uncommon, as the second guard seems largely unbothered by Lance's sudden movements, ready to toss him back to the side, but what they aren't ready for is the opening Lance's outburst gives Allura. Her arms may be bound, but her feet are free, and they definitely aren't expecting her to come towards them, which she does, shouldering the first guard with enough strength that she can hear his breath get knocked from out of his lungs. (Or whatever breathing apparatus lizard-men use).
The next few moments are utter pandemonium, filled with the shouts of prisoners and guards alike. The next thing Allura knows, she hits the ground hard, a guard's knee digging into her back until it's hard to breath. Next to her is Lance, in very much the same situation, as nearly half a dozen of the guards scramble to collect their prisoners.]
Lance...!
[Her voice comes out as a croak, the breath knocked from her lungs. The look she tries to give him is one of grim determination, hoping that maybe it will help him have courage — maybe this is the thing they're meant to see — but her heart is hammering so hard in her chest, she's not sure if the look on her face is anything except fear.]
[Right, so his attempt to tackle one of the guards didn't quite go as planned. He takes a hard elbow to the gut, crumpling as he goes down. Still he can't stay down, so as soon as Lance catches his breath again, he attempts to get back on his feet to help Allura in any way possible.
She's never really needed his help in physical combat before, and some overly optimistic part of him wants to believe that this is still true. Grass is green, the sky is blue, Allura can thrash just about anyone with her hands tied behind her back. But overwhelmingly it becomes obvious this isn't the case, and his second attempt to help is made all the more desperate for it. He attempts to jump one of the guards, hoping to choke it or something with the chains on his wrist, but the guards are even more alert this time around, and he finds himself thrown to the ground, gasping for air and stinging just about everywhere.
He turns when she calls his name, smiling through a wince.]
It's gonna be okay.
[That's the truth of it, isn't it? "Just a simulation" and all, but it still feels like a blatant lie as he says it. He wishes it didn't.
The next instant, the guards yank at the chains binding his wrist, forcing him up to his knees. A spear is pointed at the small of his back: the message is clear enough: get up and walk. He never takes his eyes off Allura during this, his whole body turning to lead as he watches the guards do the same to her.]
It's gonna be okay.
[He repeats the words with as much conviction as he can muster, for the both of them. Gingerly, he gets up on his feet, and the two of them are marched out the door. Where they're being taken is a little unclear, but you don't need much of an imagination when the stench of blood and decay gets stronger as they walk down a darkened hallway.]
[Maybe it should be a point of pride that it took so many of the lizard-men to take them down, that they felt the need to re-bind her arms — behind her back, wrist to opposite elbow — to keep her from getting leverage. Maybe later she'd think to feel anything except for the cold dread curling in her stomach right now. It's only a simulation, but the feeling isn't too different from when she'd been captured and on her way to see Zarkon oh so long ago.
And just the same, she walked with her chin high and her eyes hard, somehow still regal despite the grime of their cell smeared on her clothes nor the bruise already forming from where her head hit the floor. The only flicker in her expression comes from when her eyes meet with Lance's and she's equal parts scared for him and selfishly glad that they're in this together. Maybe this is what they're meant to see from the memory after all...?
The hallway opens into a large room, and it's immediately obvious what has been going on in here. The floor of the room is more red than anything else — blood pooling and spattering and telling a gruesome tale of the fate of the other prisoners. Some of which were still present, so to speak, their bodies discarded at the edge of the room, blank eyed and with their throats slashed—
Allura's vision turns white, as finally panic starts to bubble up over her resolve, visions of the young boy in Olympia, his life cut short by a blade to the throat, and for a second she swears she can see his face among the victims. Ancients, not again. Please not again.]
i think i closed this tab like 3 times cuz i got too sad lmao
[The execution room is a ghastly sight, and not one that even the metallic stench that's thick enough to make him gag as he's marched towards it, truly prepares Lance. They've fought a challenging war together for months, liberated planets that've been turned into little more than labor camps for the Galra and even the worst they'd seen still doesn't come as close to being as viscerally nauseating. The humidity from the too-pale bodies alone makes the room fetid with the early stages of decay and congealed blood bathing the floor It sticks to the bottom of Lance's feet, squelching under his weight as the guards march them through the doorway. One wide eyed look at the lifeless bodies to Allura is all it takes before it all falls into place with ice cold clarity.]
No.
[Nobody's talking to him, nobody's said a word, but Lance shouts it anyway because simulation or not, he is not about to watch them do this to Allura. Without another moment of hesitation, Lance whirls around and aims an elbow at the guard behind him. The attack doesn't connect; their executioners are simply too prepared for last minute outbursts like these. But that doesn't stop Lance from attempting a second strike as he aims a desperate kick.]
You don't need both of us, let her go!
[Their captors guffaw and a third guard delivers a swift blow to the side of Lance's head that sends him reeling towards the wall. He slowly slumps forward, tasting blood that isn't his own when his face hits the ground. Again, he's yanked up by the chains, grimacing as he's dragged off towards the center of the room.
His head feels heavy, but Lance raises it enough to catch Allura's eye. Spitting out blood, he attempts to shout to her: Run, please run, but his voice comes out hoarse, scratchy.]
[It's about the same time that Lance begins to fight back that Allura does in kind, throwing all of her weight into it, even managing to knock on guard off of it's feet. But they're just too ready, and by the time Lance catches her eye, Allura is shoved face-down into the grime, pinned down by three of the guards, in blood that isn't hers. She hardly notices the way her hair hanging in her face is stained red, panic settling deep in her chest in a way that it never did, even when she was deep in the holds of the Galra command ship. Her chest is heaving and she's screaming-]
Stop the simulation! Stop- Please! Don't do this-
[It's a desperate attempt, but it doesn't stop. They're still there and ice chills her to her bones when Lance reaches the center of the room, where the glint of a serrated knife catches her eye, even in the darkened chambers. There's a dizzying sense of utter helplessness, and she doesn't realize that tears are streaming down her face until they lock eyes,]
[The next couple of seconds pass in a blurry haze. The guards are swift and efficient, wasting no time as the push Lance down on his knees before a steel drain in the center of the room. It's anyone's guess just how many prisoners have been processed this way that the drain is overflowing with half coagulated blood. If Lance had taken even a second to look down at it, he'd see that there's movement beneath the grates from the maggots that are burrowing into their meal, but he doesn't take his eyes off Allura.
He watches as the guards hold her down on the ground in silent horror, blinking back tears when her pleas fill the execution chamber. Thoughts like it's just a simulation, it's not real, we'll be fine, she'll be fine fail so utterly to provide any sort of comfort or relief because the fact of the matter is that they still had to experience all of this in some way.
She had to experience this, and he hates the fact that he's utterly powerless to stop any of it from happening. He grits his teeth, trying hard not to cry. The only thing he can still do for Allura is to go out like a true paladin, not like a scared farm boy from Cuba.]
Allura, it's - it's okay.
[His voice is shaky -- even shakier when a guard pulls his head up to expose his neck.]
Don't watch, ok? Run if y--
[He never finishes that sentence. The guard slashes his neck with a serrated blade, severing both carotids. Even Lance seems stunned by the spray of his blood at first, then he sways. The guard releases his hair and tosses him to the side.
In his mind, at least, Lance is still saying things to her as the room gets darker and darker. It's okay, it'll be okay. They'll stop the simulation now.... but all his words are nothing more than incomprehensible gurgling caught in the back of his throat.]
[The next moments are like a blur, figuratively and literally. She can feel her blood turn to ice in her veins when the blade finds Lance’s throat, and her voice in her own head is just a mantra of no, no, no, no, please, anything but this-
But she’s powerless. Just like so many times before. Powerless to save her people, powerless to stop this from happening. Her vision swims as Lance’s form drops to the floor, and she’s numb, staring at him, even as she can feel herself picked up off of the ground, dragged to the center of the room. It’s not until there’s fingers in her hair, dragging her head back, that her eyes finally focus on a pair of reptilian eyes.
There’s a scream as she fights back with everything she has, vengeance burning in her eyes, but it ends the same way. With a flash of a blade, and a white hot pain, epithets dying on her lips as the color drains from her face.
It’s only moments later that her eyes flash open, and it’s no longer the execution chamber, but the cell. And his face.]
Lance-! [Her voice cracks and there’s already tears at the edge of her vision. The chains behind her back rattle as she instinctively goes to try and wrap her arms around him, but all she manages is to lean her shoulder into him, face against his shoulder.] I'm sorry- I couldn't-
[Give her a moment, she'll start breaking chains in a tick.]
[Lance doesn't know what exactly he was expecting after getting his throat slashed open in a simulation. In the best case scenario, he thought it'd mean waking back up in the real world where he could then hopefully turn the damn thing off before Allura had to go through anything similar, but in actuality it's more like respawning at the last save point in the world's most depressing video game. He startles in the cell, earning himself several dead-eyed looks from his fellow prisoners.]
Allura!
[Likewise he immediately turns towards her, and attempts to give her a hug... but turns out chains are incredibly good at thwarting these kinds of attempts. He settles for pressing his cheek against her shoulder, panic slowly receding.]
Allura, I'm so glad you're okay.
[Visibly anyway. Or at least as close as to okay as they can possibly be in this horrid situation. God knows he's going to have nightmares about this for a while.]
We can't let this keep happening so we have to get out of here. I- I think I know how. You think you can like... free one of my hands?
[It only takes her a moment to kick her brain back into gear — it would be so easy to get wrapped up in the trauma of what just happened, but determination is a much stronger driving force, and as Lance speaks, her eyes narrow, and she gives a firm nod.
They will not go through this again. She cannot lose him a second time.]
Just give me a tick- I think I can-
[Though her hands are bound behind her back, the will to live (and an Altean's sheer physical strength) is more than a match for the old fashioned chains. With her eyes squeezed shut, she pulls her arms away from each other with all of the strength she can muster. They cannot chance another mistake. Sure enough, there's the sound of metal-on-metal as suddenly one of the links in the center snaps so suddenly she almost topples right back into Lance.
Mission accomplished, except now the other prisoners are starting up quite the stir. They won't have long before someone comes to check on them.]
Give me your hand
[And she'll make quick work of the chains binding Lance as well, leaving them free of their tethers.]
[Under a different set of circumstances Lance would be watching Allura snap chains like they're made out paper in slack jawed awe, but there's just a little adrenaline in his system for this, and the other prisoners staring at them has him feeling nervous.]
Thanks, Allura. I think if we can bust the door down, we should be able to just walk on out of here using those invisibility powers. I can turn you invisible, too, as long as you hold onto my hand.
[,small>Tense, he holds his hand out to her.]
Dunno where we might be able to escape to, but any place is better than this dump, right?
[That’s right, she nearly forgot about Lance’s new powers. In the tense of the situation and just by wont of knowing him for so long without them. She doesn't question his plan, nodding as she climbs to her feet.]
I can take care of the door.
[He stretches out his hand, and she takes it. Despite the fire in her eyes, and the tension pulled at her brows, there’s a tremble in her hand that becomes obvious when she places it in his, amped up on adrenaline and fear in equal amounts. After a moment, she shifts their hands so that their fingers are laced — to calm her nerves and to make sure that they wouldn’t be easily pulled apart.]
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this is already terrible
The next few moments are utter pandemonium, filled with the shouts of prisoners and guards alike. The next thing Allura knows, she hits the ground hard, a guard's knee digging into her back until it's hard to breath. Next to her is Lance, in very much the same situation, as nearly half a dozen of the guards scramble to collect their prisoners.]
Lance...!
[Her voice comes out as a croak, the breath knocked from her lungs. The look she tries to give him is one of grim determination, hoping that maybe it will help him have courage — maybe this is the thing they're meant to see — but her heart is hammering so hard in her chest, she's not sure if the look on her face is anything except fear.]
You say, as if not delighted.
She's never really needed his help in physical combat before, and some overly optimistic part of him wants to believe that this is still true. Grass is green, the sky is blue, Allura can thrash just about anyone with her hands tied behind her back. But overwhelmingly it becomes obvious this isn't the case, and his second attempt to help is made all the more desperate for it. He attempts to jump one of the guards, hoping to choke it or something with the chains on his wrist, but the guards are even more alert this time around, and he finds himself thrown to the ground, gasping for air and stinging just about everywhere.
He turns when she calls his name, smiling through a wince.]
It's gonna be okay.
[That's the truth of it, isn't it? "Just a simulation" and all, but it still feels like a blatant lie as he says it. He wishes it didn't.
The next instant, the guards yank at the chains binding his wrist, forcing him up to his knees. A spear is pointed at the small of his back: the message is clear enough: get up and walk. He never takes his eyes off Allura during this, his whole body turning to lead as he watches the guards do the same to her.]
It's gonna be okay.
[He repeats the words with as much conviction as he can muster, for the both of them. Gingerly, he gets up on his feet, and the two of them are marched out the door. Where they're being taken is a little unclear, but you don't need much of an imagination when the stench of blood and decay gets stronger as they walk down a darkened hallway.]
no subject
And just the same, she walked with her chin high and her eyes hard, somehow still regal despite the grime of their cell smeared on her clothes nor the bruise already forming from where her head hit the floor. The only flicker in her expression comes from when her eyes meet with Lance's and she's equal parts scared for him and selfishly glad that they're in this together. Maybe this is what they're meant to see from the memory after all...?
The hallway opens into a large room, and it's immediately obvious what has been going on in here. The floor of the room is more red than anything else — blood pooling and spattering and telling a gruesome tale of the fate of the other prisoners. Some of which were still present, so to speak, their bodies discarded at the edge of the room, blank eyed and with their throats slashed—
Allura's vision turns white, as finally panic starts to bubble up over her resolve, visions of the young boy in Olympia, his life cut short by a blade to the throat, and for a second she swears she can see his face among the victims. Ancients, not again. Please not again.]
i think i closed this tab like 3 times cuz i got too sad lmao
No.
[Nobody's talking to him, nobody's said a word, but Lance shouts it anyway because simulation or not, he is not about to watch them do this to Allura. Without another moment of hesitation, Lance whirls around and aims an elbow at the guard behind him. The attack doesn't connect; their executioners are simply too prepared for last minute outbursts like these. But that doesn't stop Lance from attempting a second strike as he aims a desperate kick.]
You don't need both of us, let her go!
[Their captors guffaw and a third guard delivers a swift blow to the side of Lance's head that sends him reeling towards the wall. He slowly slumps forward, tasting blood that isn't his own when his face hits the ground. Again, he's yanked up by the chains, grimacing as he's dragged off towards the center of the room.
His head feels heavy, but Lance raises it enough to catch Allura's eye. Spitting out blood, he attempts to shout to her: Run, please run, but his voice comes out hoarse, scratchy.]
this thread is upsetting
Stop the simulation! Stop- Please! Don't do this-
[It's a desperate attempt, but it doesn't stop. They're still there and ice chills her to her bones when Lance reaches the center of the room, where the glint of a serrated knife catches her eye, even in the darkened chambers. There's a dizzying sense of utter helplessness, and she doesn't realize that tears are streaming down her face until they lock eyes,]
Lance-! If you hurt him I swear-
max upsetting ._.
He watches as the guards hold her down on the ground in silent horror, blinking back tears when her pleas fill the execution chamber. Thoughts like it's just a simulation, it's not real, we'll be fine, she'll be fine fail so utterly to provide any sort of comfort or relief because the fact of the matter is that they still had to experience all of this in some way.
She had to experience this, and he hates the fact that he's utterly powerless to stop any of it from happening. He grits his teeth, trying hard not to cry. The only thing he can still do for Allura is to go out like a true paladin, not like a scared farm boy from Cuba.]
Allura, it's - it's okay.
[His voice is shaky -- even shakier when a guard pulls his head up to expose his neck.]
Don't watch, ok? Run if y--
[He never finishes that sentence. The guard slashes his neck with a serrated blade, severing both carotids. Even Lance seems stunned by the spray of his blood at first, then he sways. The guard releases his hair and tosses him to the side.
In his mind, at least, Lance is still saying things to her as the room gets darker and darker. It's okay, it'll be okay. They'll stop the simulation now.... but all his words are nothing more than incomprehensible gurgling caught in the back of his throat.]
no subject
But she’s powerless. Just like so many times before. Powerless to save her people, powerless to stop this from happening. Her vision swims as Lance’s form drops to the floor, and she’s numb, staring at him, even as she can feel herself picked up off of the ground, dragged to the center of the room. It’s not until there’s fingers in her hair, dragging her head back, that her eyes finally focus on a pair of reptilian eyes.
There’s a scream as she fights back with everything she has, vengeance burning in her eyes, but it ends the same way. With a flash of a blade, and a white hot pain, epithets dying on her lips as the color drains from her face.
It’s only moments later that her eyes flash open, and it’s no longer the execution chamber, but the cell. And his face.]
Lance-! [Her voice cracks and there’s already tears at the edge of her vision. The chains behind her back rattle as she instinctively goes to try and wrap her arms around him, but all she manages is to lean her shoulder into him, face against his shoulder.] I'm sorry- I couldn't-
[Give her a moment, she'll start breaking chains in a tick.]
no subject
Allura!
[Likewise he immediately turns towards her, and attempts to give her a hug... but turns out chains are incredibly good at thwarting these kinds of attempts. He settles for pressing his cheek against her shoulder, panic slowly receding.]
Allura, I'm so glad you're okay.
[Visibly anyway. Or at least as close as to okay as they can possibly be in this horrid situation. God knows he's going to have nightmares about this for a while.]
We can't let this keep happening so we have to get out of here. I- I think I know how. You think you can like... free one of my hands?
no subject
They will not go through this again. She cannot lose him a second time.]
Just give me a tick- I think I can-
[Though her hands are bound behind her back, the will to live (and an Altean's sheer physical strength) is more than a match for the old fashioned chains. With her eyes squeezed shut, she pulls her arms away from each other with all of the strength she can muster. They cannot chance another mistake. Sure enough, there's the sound of metal-on-metal as suddenly one of the links in the center snaps so suddenly she almost topples right back into Lance.
Mission accomplished, except now the other prisoners are starting up quite the stir. They won't have long before someone comes to check on them.]
Give me your hand
[And she'll make quick work of the chains binding Lance as well, leaving them free of their tethers.]
no subject
Thanks, Allura. I think if we can bust the door down, we should be able to just walk on out of here using those invisibility powers. I can turn you invisible, too, as long as you hold onto my hand.
[,small>Tense, he holds his hand out to her.]
Dunno where we might be able to escape to, but any place is better than this dump, right?
no subject
I can take care of the door.
[He stretches out his hand, and she takes it. Despite the fire in her eyes, and the tension pulled at her brows, there’s a tremble in her hand that becomes obvious when she places it in his, amped up on adrenaline and fear in equal amounts. After a moment, she shifts their hands so that their fingers are laced — to calm her nerves and to make sure that they wouldn’t be easily pulled apart.]
They won’t capture us again. I swear it.