Hunk glanced at his friend, unconscious and drained. His eyes had black rings and he didn't bother to try and keep his bangs from falling onto his face, successfully covering his eyes. "You think he'll be okay?" Hunk softly spoke, as if he was afraid of talking too loud. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular and the group knew full well of that.

"He'll be fine." Pidge offered, patting Hunk on the shoulder, not getting a response from the Yellow Paladin. Pidge was worried. Not just for her friend in the coma, but for her other friends who felt responsible. Hell, she felt the same way. She wanted to comfort them, be a type of support, but no words formed in her throat.

Shiro sighed, moving his white hair out of his face and eyes. If possible, it seemed like it had gotten even whiter than before, his skin paler as well. The man had already been through lots of stress and, frankly, he wasn't ready for more. He had tried to calm himself down by training in the training room but it hadn't worked and was forced to cope with the stress. He was the leader of the Paladins, he was supposed to keep them all safe and protect them. He failed. And now, he didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore.

Allura was silent, at a loss of words. She wasn't there to witness the incident first hand but she saw the consequences. She felt guilty since she had brought up the mission in the first place. Her yearn to defeat Zarkon once and for all got ahead of her need to keep the Paladins safe and alive. Allura wanted to say that it was alright and everything would be okay again but, honestly, she didn't know if that was even true or not.

Sitting beside the Altean princess was Coran. He had just returned to the room of the healing pods from the room of another Paladin. His face dropped and he bit his lip when he saw the teenager, still unconscious, floating in the healing pod that had once stored him for thousands of years.

Allura was the first to notice Coran and the only one to react to the new presence. She knew the answer to the question just by her friend's face but asked it anyway. "He hasn't come out yet?"

Pidge looked over at the two, hoping to hear some good news in this dreary day. She saw the look on the Altean man and instantly knew no good news was coming anytime soon.

"I'm afraid not. He won't even talk to me." Coran answered sadly, his statement loud enough for the whole group to hear. If even possible, the air got even more tense.

Hunk banged his fist on the table, surprising Pidge and Allura, whom were the closest to him. "Dammit!" He cursed, his breathing heavy and his chair on the other side of the room due to his sudden rise. "If I had gotten there a little earlier then this wouldn't have happened!" He groaned, his fist lingering over the wood surface.

"Hunk..." Pidge stood up, sadness in her eyes. She hadn't bothered to put on her glasses today, it didn't really matter since the team already knew her secret but she had kept up appearances for so long. Her hand rested on Hunk's and she felt her friend shaking. Whether it was in fear or worry or both, she did not know.

Tears started to form as guilt spread throughout the minds of the Paladins.

'It's all my fault' they all thought. They didn't expect a surprise ambush or an ambush at all.

'If only I had gotten there sooner' the statement floated around the air, creating a mood that no one should ever experience in their lifetime.

The 'if only' s made them feel worse but they couldn't help but think that way.

Deep within their minds, they probably knew it wasn't their fault. That they had no control over what happened. That they couldn't have stopped it.

But, he could have.

He was there, right there, facing off the Galra side by side with the fellow Paladin. He could have protected him. He should have protected him.

The incident replayed in his mind, over and over and over, slowing driving him mad.

Hidden from his other teammates, Keith lay on his bed in his locked room, replaying the events that had happened just earlier that day.

He cursed at himself for underestimating the enemy. It had nearly cost him his life and it might have just cost Lance his.