The settlement had been silent when the Castle’s scanners picked it up—too silent for a place that should have been bustling with life. The air was heavy with dust, sunlight slanting through broken roofs as the Paladins moved in formation.

Shiro raised a hand, stopping the team. “Hold up. Did you hear that?”

Lance frowned. “Yeah… wasn’t loud. Like… a squeak?”

Pidge’s visor scanned the area, locking on to a faint heat signature. “There—small. Stationary. About five meters ahead.”

You followed Shiro into the shell of what had once been a home. Walls were cracked, furniture overturned, the faint smell of mold and decay lingering in the air. Shiro crouched by a half-broken storage compartment, his eyes narrowing.

The sound came again—a weak, muffled whimper.

He opened the hatch.

Inside was a toddler. Their small frame was so thin it made your stomach twist—skin pale, cheeks sunken, every movement weak. Their hair was knotted into stiff clumps, and their diaper sagged, full and long overflowing. Flies buzzed lazily around their face, landing on their arms without resistance.

Beside them lay a cracked drinking bottle, its liquid long since curdled into chunks. A chewed pacifier was buried among two limp, dirt-stained stuffed animals.

Keith took a sharp breath, stepping forward. “Quiznak… how long have they been here?”

Hunk’s face fell, his usual warmth replaced by something dark. “No food, no clean water… they’re lucky they’re even breathing.”

Shiro’s gaze went straight to you. “{user}, get them out—slowly. And be ready for them to be scared.”

You crouched, your armor creaking softly. The child flinched at first, but no sound came—they didn’t have the strength. You lifted them, feeling how impossibly light they were, their head resting against your chest with barely any resistance.

Behind you, Pidge’s voice trembled. “Forget the mission. This is our priority now.”