His Rival

Kilo Three India

While I've planned on holding off revealing my full list of dedications for this fic until I reach my epilogue, recent events have swayed me otherwise. So here it goes:

***I hereby dedicate this chapter that I've waited nearly 1,000 days to release and the rest of my season seven to all of those throughout the globe who are faced with seemingly impossible odds and preserve despite them.***

This especially goes to the valiant people of Ukraine and those protesting in Russia who have been in my heart, mind, and prayers these last several days. Just to be clear though, I'm not trying to make this all about me and neither am I doing it for clout. I'm simply aware of how many international readers I have from so many different countries and wish to express my support in any way I can.

Hello everyone, Jess here!  

I was extremely excited to write this chapter, so it's arrived a bit early! And it's much shorter than my last couple of chapters(38.1 pages/12,913 words), so it didn't take me nearly as long to write.

If you have any questions or comments about this chapter, let me know; I'd like to hear from you!             

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Hey (Y/n), how did training go?" Pidge asked, greeting you with a smile as you trudged back to your lion.

"It went well; surprisingly I wasn't blasted back fifty feet this time" you chortled in reply, finding relief against Sliver's cool grey armor as you laid back against it. You were still catching your breath as your heart pounded away in your chest from that workout. Every day, she was adding more and more challenges, testing both your reflexes and agility. Just today, she had transformed into her Galran form, throwing boulders your way that you had to shatter with your powers before they made impact.

"I watched you from inside that quintessence sphere, that cave wasn't even that wide the first time" she dismissed with a roll of her eyes. "You were just knocked back a bit, nothing to make a big fuss over." Of course, Pidge would be the one to slam the facts in your face. Technically you had been slammed into a wall, but she still had a point.

"Sorry, it's just that anytime my powers cause backlash like that it brings me back to that Olkarion explosion because I feel so out of control during those moments." Your shoulders sagged at that recollection, the chilling memories making you wrap your arms over your stomach as they filled it with bile. Her expression softened as she noticed your reaction, quick to chase out those fears.

"Which is why you've been practicing more, and from what I've seen and heard, that's becoming less and less of a thing of a thing to worry about because you're getting better at handling such large amounts of quintessence."

Your sudden sheepishness was enough to make her snicker, shaking her head slightly as he crossed her arms. "I still can't wrap my head around how the apologetic worrywart sitting in front of me is the same girl that intentionally set Macidus on fire and believes it's her destiny to become an assassin."

"I just know all too well how painful it can be to be on the receiving end of my abilities, so I don't want to experience that agony again, or even worse, inflict it on innocents. But if they've committed atrocities like the ones that Lotor, Haggar, and Macidus have, the universe would be better off if they were dead."

In just a fraction of a second, the overwhelming fountain of empathy inside of you had ran dry, pursing your lips as you stressed those convictions. "And if provided with enough quintessence, my abilities are a sure way to cause such destruction."