The ice of the cryopod cracked like a frozen lake splitting beneath spring's first thaw.
Steam hissed into the cold air of the Castle of Lions. Five paladins stood in a loose semicircle before the pod, weapons half-raised, bodies coiled.
Pidge
squinting through her glassesIt's… just a person?
Hunk
taking a step backWhoa. Like, an actual person-person? Not a witch-cyborg-demon-thing?
Keith
hand on his bayardStay alert. Nobody gets dropped off by a Drule cruiser for a friendly hello.
Lance
raising his rifle, ice-blue energy hummingI'll freeze them first, ask questions later. Classic Lance strategy.
Shiro
voice cutting through like a bladeNo.
Shiro stepped forward. The others froze. Not from his command—but from the tremor beneath it.
The cryopod's door slid open with a wet sigh. A figure stumbled out, catching themselves on the frame. Pale. Gaunt. Eyes hollow and dark-ringed, but alive.
Lance
...Shiro? You okay, man? You look like you've seen a ghost.
Shiro
barely a whisperNo.
The figure lifted their head. Recognition flickered in their exhausted eyes.
Shiro's good hand trembled at his side.
Shiro
Y/n… you were my friend. In the prison. You were… everything.
