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Chapter Text

Prince Lotor, son of Emperor Zarkon of the Galra empire, had been watching the paladins of Voltron for a while. And he had finally decided to bring his plan into action.

"Send a message to Princess Allura," he spoke into the large screen in front of him.

-

Princess Allura, Coran and the paladins of Voltron had not been rather active in recent times. After the defeat of Zarkon, the paladins had spent some time finding Shiro, (who had simply been lost into the depths of space) before they retreated to the Castle Of Lions, and decided to spend some time both recovering, and bonding with their lions and each other.

And it was another day, Lance still remained in bed, Keith was busy on the training deck, Shiro was out with the black lion, Pidge and Allura were working on the computers in the ship and Hunk was attempting to teach Coran some Earth cooking.

Suddenly, the largest screen in the main deck began to flash static.

"Princess, what is that?" Pidge turned to Allura with concern as lights started to flash.

Allura did not wait to respond, and was already shouting into the speaker that would transmit her voice all around the castle, "PALADINS RETURN TO THE MAIN DECK AT ONCE!"

As the paladins ran through the halls, wondering what was going on, the static on the main screen switched to the blurred face of what appeared to be a Galra soldier.

"Pidge have you tracked where these signals are coming from?"

Pidge typed swiftly on a keyboard, "We seem to be receiving some kind of message from another ship."

Almost as soon as all of the paladins had gathered in the room, the blurred image flashed suddenly and switched to a much clearer image.

"Princess what's going on?" Shiro shouted just before all of the chaos died down, lights and alarms settled and the face upon the screen was finally clear.

"Princess Allura, my dear, what a pleasure to see you again."

Never in her wildest nightmares would Allura have guessed that she would be seeing Lotor again in her lifetime.

"Prince Lotor," she whispered under her breath, in shock.

"Who is that?" Hunk and Keith asked in sync to no one in particular.

"Well, let me make this short and sweet , I, Prince Lotor, have returned to take my father's place. And I thought I would give you paladins a slight warning before I meet you in person."

"What are you saying, you fiend?" Coran spoke up in anger, since the princess was speechless.

"I'm saying that my soldiers are flying this ship right to your location and I'm about to blow a hole in your ship and come to greet you all."

And with that, the static returned and alarms began to shriek once more.

"I'm getting sights of a ship, it's gaining on us rather quickly," Pidge checked the coordinates on their screen.

Shiro placed a gentle hand on Allura's shoulder, "Who is that, Princess?".

She shook her head and took a deep breath, "That, is Prince Lotor, the son of Zarkon".

The paladins looked upon her in shock, they had no idea that Zarkon had any relations.

"It is true. Lotor has been in hiding for thousands of years, no one thought that he would ever return. He spent a small amount of time working with his father, but he was more focused on the princess's heart more than anything else," Coran spoke since the princess was still in shock.

The ship suddenly shook and the team fell to the ground as more lights blared. There was a loud bang, alike an explosion, "The ship has been hit!" Pidge shouted amongst all of the noise.

On the other side of the castle, Lotor jumped out of his own ship, through the hole that he had created in the side of the castle. He had angled it perfectly so that the hole was positioned in the air lock of the ship, so that no real damage was caused and it could still fly.

"None of you follow me, I will call you when you are needed," he ordered his guards without even looking back, and he hit the button to open the air lock before striding down the corridor, towards the main deck.

The paladins regained their balance, Shiro helping Allura up off the ground. She had finally gotten over the initial shock of seeing the villainous Galra alive and well, and was now experiencing extreme anger at the damage that had been caused to her castle.

"I never thought that I would see him again, after so long," Allura muttered under her breath.

The seven stood there for a few moments, before the door suddenly slid open and a dark figure stepped onto the deck. His long white hair swayed at his sides, armour glistened astonishingly, and his perfectly chisled face formed a snarky smile.

"The prince enters!" his arms rose above his head, as if he was welcoming an applause.

"You came unguarded?" Shiro asked, his robotic arm lighting up as he prepared to fight the foolish prince.

"Why yes, none of you would dare to cross me, would you?"

Shiro was the only one with a weapon in that moment, (since his weapon was his hand) therefore he decided to do the honours and run at Lotor.

"Ooh, we have a feisty one," Lotor said with a grin.

Shiro pulled his arm up, aiming for the prince's neck, but Lotor had already taken a step backwards, and grabbed Shiro's arm as he fell forwards, forcing him onto his knees before he turned his body and kicked him harshly on the back, leaving him flying forward onto the ground, defeated.

"Anyone else?" Lotor left the paladin to recover himself as he stepped away and welcomed any other competitors.

Keith gritted his teeth, he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the Galra without a weapon, but he so hated seeing Shiro defeated. Shiro himself stood up, accepting defeat and not attempting to leap at the prince again, although he began to construct a plan of attack in his head, if it was needed.

"Lotor, what do you want? You have damaged my ship and fought one of my paladins, without saying a word," Allura spoke angrily.

"Oh Princess do calm down, after all these years you greet me like that ?"

"I repeat, what. do. you. want," she said, through gritted teeth.

" I want someone. "

"You won't take the princess, you villain!" Coran spoke up from the princess's side.

"Oh really? I'm not sure you have a say in it, old man."

At this point, the paladins were confused. This Galra, supposed son of Zarkon, had sauntered in, just to speak his sass, completely unguarded. And now he was announcing that he wanted the princess? And none of them were fighting back? It certainly was an unusual event.

"I want the one with the piercing blue eyes and perfect dark skin," he had a seductive yet scary tone to his voice, sounding exactly like a storybook villain.

Everyone in the room turned to Allura, "you can't take me Lotor."

The prince smirked and secretly brought his band round to his hip, pressing a hidden button on his armour.

"Oh no, not you princess. "

She looked at him with a mix of confusion and irritation.

"I meant long legs, in the back," he pointed with a long purple finger to Lance, stood silently at the back of the group, his face full of bewilderment.

Almost straight after he announced this, a swarm of Galra guards stormed onto the deck and two grabbed Lance by the arms, pulling him away from the scene while he struggled intensely.

"NO LANCE!" Hunk (the precious soul) screamed at his best friend, before he was tackled to the ground by one of the guards.

The final scene was one that Lotor would look back on and chuckle at. The paladins each lay on the ground, after being halted in their struggles by the guards, while Lance screamed and kicked as he was dragged away.

"Knock him out," the prince spoke, his face stone serious for the first time.

A final scream left the tan boy's mouth, before all he saw was black.

Chapter Text

Lance whimpered as he awoke on a stone cold metal floor. He rubbed his head while moaning, opening his eyes to see a dark room before he suddenly remembered what happened a few hours earlier. His heart began to race as he stood up and shivered, since he was only wearing his blue jeans - no jacket, no shirt, and no shoes.

As his eyes adjusted to the small fraction of light that was leaking in through the window panel in the door, he scoped his surroundings. He was stood in the centre of a considerably large room, with just a small bed against the back wall. It reminded him of those cells that he had seen on crappy American prison documentaries back on Earth. The metal door was firmly locked, but as he stepped closer, he realised that he could see clearly out of the tiny window pane at the top (if he stood on his tip toes). Outside of the door, were two Galra soldiers, both with their backs turned away, as if they were guarding him - once again, alike a prison. He took a few deep breaths and tried to remain calm. 'What would Hunk do?', 'What would Shiro do?', 'What would Keith do?', 'What would Pidge do?', he went through the list of his team-mates in his head, attempting to get into their mindsets (of which he considered to be superior to his own) and form a plan. In the end, he decided to go with Hunk's option.

"Hello?" he knocked on the window and shouted out at the two armoured Galra outside.

One of them turned their head slightly towards the door, however the helmet that they wore prevented Lance from being able to tell if they heard him. They stood without movement for a few seconds before one lifted up his arm and spoke into the mechanics on his armour, "He is awake sire."

Lance took a swift breath in, as he realised that he would now single-handedly have to come face-to-face with the strange Galra prince that kidnapped him in the first place. 'At least I might be able to get some answers', he thought to himself, attempting to gain Pidge's mindset.

It was only a few seconds before Lotor himself swayed around a corner, and became visible to Lance, heading straight for him. The boy let himself down off his tip toes and took a few steps backward, bracing himself for the Galra's entrance.

"Lance, I hear you're awake!" Lotor announced in a sing-song voice whilst the door opened.

The prince entered with his usual model-like walk, a smirk plastered on his face. He placed his hand on the wall next to the door and pressed a small button, making the lights turn on.

"Ahh, hello my dear, it's good to see you. Alone now, of course!"

He clapped his hands and the few guards that had followed him left the room and closed the door behind them.

"Why exactly am I here?" Lance attempted to seem mature, but his stomach was churning. This Galra was nothing like his father! He was so sarcastic and happy (and handsome) yet that made him so terrifying and villainous at the same time.

"Oh because I adore you, Lance, and I just didn't want to see you around those other toxic paladins ."

"What are you talking about."

"Well, I'll let you in on a secret my dear Lance," he walked forward, the sound of his heels meeting the ground, breaking the silence, "I've been watching Team Voltron ever since my father was defeated and I was summoned. Of course, I was planning to take the princess, but I soon decided that you were the one that I wanted."

"Why w..would you want me?"

Lotor chuckled at Lance's stutter and grabbed his chin firmly, bringing it close to his own face.

"Because you are simply adorable. And I have a thing for adorable creatures," he narrowed his eyes and gave Lance a seductive look, glancing down at his bare chest.

"Wha-what is that supposed to mean?"

"Enough questions," the prince chuckled again as he let go of Lance's face, "I simply thought that you might appreciate a safer environment. One where you weren't feeling...pressured to be as good as everyone else."

Lance skipped a beat. His head was starting to cloud with emotions ; confusion as to why Lotor kidnapped him ; anger because the prince was acting so strange and was making absolutely no sense in his explanations ; sadness because he knew deep down, exactly what he meant, he knew that he felt threatened by the other paladins, and he knew that he desperately wanted a break from all of his insecurities. But this wasn't the answer, he tried to tell himself while Lotor smiled at him and paced the room.

"I..I, don't understand what you are saying."

"All I am saying, is that from my observations, you are not very happy with your place in Team Voltron. Is a Galra not allowed to help fix that?" he pouted and put his hands under his chin, playing the innocent. He discreetly glanced again at Lance's perfect tan skin - especially on his uncovered top-half. Lotor praised himself for deciding to request that his guards were to remove all of the boy's clothing apart from his bottom-half. He didn't want to go too far too soon, but what harm was there in him having at least a little bit of fun in his plan.

Lance took a deep breath and smiled, not knowing how to react to this whole ordeal of events, but sensing some kind of strange truth in the prince's words.

Lotor smiled back, "Good boy. Well then, clothes are on the bed and I will have a guard escort you to the main hall when you are ready. I've had your hand print logged into the ship, so you can open any rooms, including your own, by placing your hand on the plate next to the door," he motioned to a black rectangle of metal on the wall, to the right of the door, that Lance had not noticed earlier.

"You're just letting me go wherever I want?"

"Of course! You, my dear, are my guest. Certainly not my prisoner," he smiled again before placing his own hand on the wall, "I shall see you later, kitten."

Lance tried to ignore Lotor's pet names, and stepped hesitantly towards the bed once the Galra had left the room.

Atop of the fabric of the bed, was a silky blue outfit that made Lance flush a deep red. The top was a lacy blue cropped piece with a low neck and embellished with purple. He shakily put the top aside and reached for the legwear. The thin skirt was, at least, considerably long, yet there was a slice right down the side of the shimmery blue fabric that would show the side of Lance's leg.

He continued to blush deeply, but decided that this was better than nothing. Lance grasped the thin fabric and pulled it onto his body slowly, shaking slightly the whole time. In any other situation he would have downright refused to wear the costume, yet this was Lotor , and however nice he had been so far, Lance wouldn't dare defy him. He had a strange scary aura about him that terrified the boy senseless. Although it completely confused him at the same time.

Once he had got changed, Lance looked down at himself.

To his surprise, he had to admit that it looked...quite fetching.

In fact, it was as if the costume had been made for him.

-

In the castle of lions, havoc was erupting.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US ABOUT LOTOR BEFORE?" Keith bellowed at Allura across the room.

"Keith, do not speak to the princess like that! We weren't aware that he was still alive!" Coran responded for her.

"Besides, since when do I need to tell you everything?" Allura spoke up herself with narrowed eyes.

"Are we going to be able to get him back? How are we going to find their ship? Oh man, he's my best friend, what am I supposed to do without him?" Hunk stressed at the side lines of the heated argument, not exactly helping the situation.

Pidge sat on their computer, tapping away rapidly, muttering to themself about hidden coordinates and Altean nonsense.

"Team, we need to stop arguing, and form a plan to get Lance back. Without him we can't form Voltron. What if Lotor attacks again, the lions might not be much use on their own," Shiro spoke loudly in his clear and calm voice.

"IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT? Lance is stuck, alone, with the son of Zarkon, and all you care about is forming Voltron?" Keith screamed at Shiro, not caring anymore about his respect for the older man.

"Keith, calm down. I was simply saying that-"

"THAT WHAT SHIRO? DO YOU ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT LANCE AT ALL?"

"KEITH STOP," Shiro shouted back at the dark haired boy. It was one of the only times that Shiro would ever raise his voice and lose his cool, "of course I care about Lance, we all do, but arguing and shouting isn't going to get us anywhere. I was simply trying to add reason to why we should calm down as soon as possible. I wasn't trying to upset you."

"I thought that you and Lance, like, hated each other anyway? Wha-what's going on here?" Hunk asked in his usual cartoon-style expression.

"I do hate him. In fact I'm glad to be rid of him."

And with that, Keith stormed out of the main deck and headed to his room, determination buzzing in his head.

"The boy'll calm down soon, he's got a hot temper that one," Coran announced, once again stating the obvious in the most inhuman and unsentimental way possible.

"...Coran's right. We need to think up a plan, and fast, before something happens to Lance," Shiro spoke up again, already calm from his sudden outspurt earlier.

"I'm trying to locate any nearby ships and Galra life but I haven't found anything yet," Pidge said, speaking for the first time, yet still with their head close to the screen, not turning away.

"Good job Pidge, the rest of us, let's put our heads together and form a plan of action," Shiro gathered the group together and began relaying ideas.

-

Meanwhile, in his room, Keith sat on his bed with his mind churning.

"I'll find you Lance."

Chapter Text

Two Galra guards lead Lance along the corridors of the ship. He had no idea where he was going, although he was more worried about covering up his body than anything else. He certainly wasn't one to be insecure about his body, however he wasn't sure of Lotor's intentions - or any of the other Galra there, for that matter.

He was swiftly accompanied to a large door, which was opened by one of the guards in the same way that his own door was. Lance had very briefly considered trying to knock out the two Galra and escape, but they would almost definitely beat him even with their eyes closed. Their huge muscular builds and constant bitter expressions were enough to deter him from trying at least.

They unlocked the huge door then turned around and each stood at opposite sides of the opening.

Lance took that as a speechless invitation to enter the room, and tentatively stepped into the room. he was surprised to see Prince Lotor seated at the head of a long and grand table, covered with foods of every colour and shape.

The prince smiled when he saw the boy enter, "Ahh, welcome Lance," he stood up from his seat and glode around the table to take Lance's arm in his and walk him back around to his seat.

"What is this?" the anxious boy asked hesitantly.

"Oh my kitten, I assumed that you would be hungry after all of the events today?"

"I suppose I am.."

"Galra don't generally eat, however I still have chefs that can create the most perfect delicacies from around the universe! I am a prince, after all," he winked at Lance with a smirk.

The boy smiled slightly in return, still uncertain about the whole situation.

"And I must say, you look rather dashing in that outfit my dear," Lotor let go of his grasp on Lance's arm as he pulled out a chair for him, directly next to his own.

"Thanks," he murmured under his breath.

They both took their seats and the prince began to select some food from the banquet before them.

"Go ahead and eat Lance, I am sure that humans need to eat more than we."

"Yes," Lance responded, as he questioningly took something that looked somewhat comparable to chicken.

He had to admit, that although he wouldn't dare inquire as to what the meat was, it tasted much better than the space goo that Coran frequently prepared.

He gradually began to eat quicker, as he realised how hungry he actually was. The food was completely different to what he was used to on Earth, however it wasn't bad - and certainly a large improvement to what he was served in the Castle Of Lions.

"Enjoying the food, kitten?"

"Uh, it's better than what Coran normally gives us, I suppose.."

"Ah, lovely," Lotor responded, pleased that he was able to satisfy his pet.

Lance continued to eat, still at a slow pace as he didn't want to seem like he was enjoying himself.

"So, Lance. Why don't you tell me a little about your role in Voltron? How exactly did a human become a paladin of the most powerful weapon in the universe?"

Lance hesitated before he responded. He wasn't sure if he should tell the Galra anything. He thought about what Shiro would do - most likely hide as much information as possible from the enemy. But, what harm could there be in telling the prince a little about himself? Besides, he didn't want to anger him and put himself in danger.

"Well...me and the other paladins found the blue lion after Shiro escaped from your father's capture. Blue took us to Arus, where we found the princess and Coran...I'm the blue paladin but I haven't ever really found out what that means. Everyone seems to have a set role apart from me in Voltron. It's fine though because I have blue and my friends.."

Lotor looked at Lance for a moment, as if he was evaluating what he had just said, "You are a strange creature Lance. You act with confidence and yet inside, everything is eating you up."

"That's not true," he responded, raising his voice.

"But it is, isn't it kitten? You don't know who you are, you want to mean something to Voltron. But the truth, is that the other paladins will never let you do that."

"What?"

"I know more than you might think, Lance. You don't have to feel this way. Trust me. I can help you."

"You don't know anything. You're just using me, trying to manipulate me. I know what you are doing," Lance was almost shouting now, on the verge of tears.

"Calm yourself my dear, I have hardly said anything. Although, this is what I mean. You spend so much time building a barrier around yourself to prevent yourself being hurt, that when someone speaks the truth, you can't face it."

The truth that Lotor was speaking, made Lance upset. It was true, he didn't want to face the truth. He didn't want to look the prince in the eye, knowing that he knew how he felt about himself.

"This, is why I took you away from Voltron," the Galra stood up from his chair and moved around the table to sit directly next to Lance and take his hands in his own, "because you don't need to be around the others that make you feel so bad about yourself. You can stay here with me, where I will be truthful and help you to get through everything."

"No," Lance looked Lotor in the eye with a stern gaze, but he didn't remove his hands from the latter's.

"And why is that, kitten?"

"Because you're the bad guy, you're Galra, you're the son of Zarkon. I shouldn't be trusting you. You shouldn't know so much about me and you shouldn't be so kind to me. I should be a part of Voltron, they can't form without me."

"Are you sure? I thought that your friend was half-Galra?"

"Keith.."

"Yes. So if you can trust him, why can't you trust me?"

Lance sat in silence after that comment.

"And really, they don't need you to form Voltron. They just tell you that because you were 'chosen' and because they know that you are talented. They could just get another paladin - one lesser than you, though of course. Why would you want to form Voltron with toxic people after all?"

"Toxic? No, they're my friends. Me and Hunk have been friends forever, at least. He wouldn't betray me."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Think about how he treats the other paladins compared to you. And how do they treat him compared to you?"

"Well, he is the nice guy of the group. He's sweet and everyone loves him. No one can get annoyed with Hunk. Not like they get annoyed with me...all the time...constantly. We have become more distant since we moved from Earth..."

"Don't worry kitten, everything is fine."

"No it's not. No it's not. No it's not. Here I am, holding hands with the enemy, son of Zarkon," Lance swiftly pulled his hands away, "while I leave behind the rest of the team, and all I can think about is myself!"

Tears were starting to flow down his face, as everything clouded in his mind.

He stood up suddenly, thin fabric swaying around his waist.

"I'm leaving."

Lotor sat as the boy left, a small smirk on his face while he rolled in the delight of his plan unravelling perfectly.

-

Keith hauled the bag that he had packed, onto his shoulder. He hoped that he had remembered everything that he would need.

With a final inward breath, he opened the door from his bedroom and prepared to stealthy head to the escape pods.

Instead, however, he was met with Shiro standing directly outside of his door.

"And what exactly are you planning to do with that?" he asked while pointing to the bag on Keith's back.

"Nothing, none of your business."

"Actually, I do think that it's my business, if you are planning to leave. We have already lost one member of the team and we can't afford to lose another."

"I'm not going anywhere, these are just my things for going to the training deck."

Keith attempted to walk around Shiro, but was grabbed by the shoulder before he could carry on.

"I know that you care about Lance. I know how much, in fact. But you just can't do this alone. Allow us to form a suitable plan and then we will be able to safely rescue him. It's the best way to ensure his and our safety."

"I'm not going to rescue Lance, why would I?  As I said before, I hate him."

"But you don't, do you Keith? Look, I can tell when someone has feeli-"

"Stop. Just stop. I don't care what you think is going on between us, because it's not true. I don't care for Lance at. all."

He shrugged off Shiro's hand and stalked away down the corridors.

Shiro knew fully what Keith was planning. And he had known his feelings for Lance for a long time. But, Keith was his own man, and he could do as he pleases. After all, it would be a good lesson to him once he realised his own mistake. Shiro wasn't about to give Keith a kindergarten lesson on responsibility, after all.

He just hoped that Keith wouldn't get hurt in this whole mess.

-

Lance sat alone on his bed in his room in Lotor's ship, head in hands. He thought about everything that had just happened with Lotor. His mind was buzzing and it was unclear as to what he truthfully wanted.

He knew deep down that Lotor was just manipulating him, but his words had so much truth, and he knew so much about the way that Lance felt. He couldn't just ignore that.

He knew that on the nights that he cried himself to sleep, he would wish for an escape from the life in Team Voltron that he never asked for in the first place. Maybe this was his chance.

But then, he thought about the pet names that the prince called him, and the way that he tried to get close to him constantly - holding his chin, and his hands, and looking into his eyes. He felt uncomfortable with that, but at the same time, he just wanted to curl up in the Galra's arms, because he wanted to believe that this was all out of affection.

He thought about the way that he felt, the seventh wheel in the team, unwanted and unnecessary. The princess used to be the paladin of the blue lion - why couldn't she do so again? He was unneeded, replaceable.

He realised that tears were pouring out of his eyes again, dripping down his arms and pooling on his knees.

He didn't want to feel like this.

He remembered what Lotor told him.

'He didn't have to feel like this'.

Maybe he didn't.

He considered returning to the Castle Of Lions. But he knew that he would just go back to feeling the same, and he didn't want that.

He could stay with Lotor, maybe even persuade him to return him back to Earth if he wasn't needed any longer for Voltron.

But maybe the prince didn't actually care about him? Maybe he was just using him, as he had originally suspected.

He manoeuvered his body so that he was lying on his side, tears still falling down his face.

He closed his eyes but was fully aware that he wouldn't get a minute of sleep that night.

Chapter Text

With Shiro's words ringing in his ears, Keith stalked his way to the escape pods. He only felt anger - although he knew, deep down, there was another feeling. One that he wasn't used to.

He ignored it, and instead, gave in to his anger.

He stopped suddenly in his tracks as he evaluated his options. Then, he took a deep breath and turned a corner, starting to run. He ran through the corridors of the castle, hoping upon hope that he wouldn't race into anyone. 

Eventually, he reached the main deck. He sighed a breath of relief as he saw that the other paladins must have relocated to another room of the castle - and they were not in fact, in the main deck. He continued running, and did not stop until he had reached the red lion.

"Hey, girl. We're just going to go on a little trip," he whispered as he took his seat in his lion.

He knew that taking the red lion was the wrong thing to do. But he was too angered to think clearly. The other paladins wouldn't be able to form Voltron, but, they would survive. Lance was the one that may not be surviving. At that very minute.

With the thought of dying Lance in his mind, Keith set off.

-

Prince Lotor headed down the hallways of his ship in high spirits. He was achieving exactly what he wanted - in fact, it was going better than he had ever wanted.

He turned a corner and entered a large room with a singular chair and a large screen. He took the seat and pressed a few buttons on the large spread in front of him.

"Permission to speak to Haggar," he spoke clearly into the screen.

Static was shown for a few seconds, before the face of the witch herself appeared.

"My prince, what is it?" she regarded him with a bow of her head.

"Haggar, I have succeeded in capturing the blue paladin."

"You have stolen the blue paladin of Voltron? What were you thinking?"

"Ha! Do not doubt me, witch. I have concocted a perfect plan that will allow me to take Voltron. Lance is the key."

"What makes you think that capturing this 'Lance' will allow you to succeed in something that your father couldn't achieve in thousands of years?"

"He trusts me, Haggar. He's a puny human with insecurities and worries. It won't take me long to seduce him."

"Seduce him?"

"I will get information from him. Vital information that will lead us to Voltron. He will tell me their weaknesses, and how to get to the lions."

"You fool! They will come for you and kill you just like your father!"

"Not if  I threaten to kill their precious teammate before they can get to me. Humans are sentimental creatures, you know. And don't forget your place, witch. I am your prince, don't assume that I will fail."

"Yes, my prince," she checked herself reluctantly.

"Lance will listen to me, he will. He's quite an adorable creature, I must say."

"Adorable, my prince?"

"Quite so, Haggar, quite so."

"You are not falling for a human are you, my prince?"

"Don't speak nonsense! I am simply using and manipulating the child, to gain information and make him lead me to victory."

"You seem rather close to him."

"All part of my plan."

"Of course."

"I want you to ready an army of the best soldiers you can find. They will assist me to capture Voltron, once I am ready."

"Very well, my prince."

"I will not fail our empire."

"I should hope not, sire."

"Vrepit sa."

"Vrepit sa."

Lotor sat back in his chair and smirked to himself.

Him? Liking a human?

What was that witch thinking?

But still, Haggar's words rung in his ears while he sat there in silence.

Surely, it could not be true?

-

Shiro returned to the other paladins, who had vacated from the main deck to the recreation room. They were gathered together, each looking worried.

"Shiro, where is Keith?" Allura exclaimed, standing up from her seat.

"He went to find Lance."

"WHAT?" Allura screamed, fuming.

"I tried to convince him otherwise, but when he has his mind set on something, there's no turning him back."

Allura swiftly turned around and hurried back towards the main deck - almost burning holes in the ground, she was so heated.

"Princess wait!" Coran shouted after her and collected himself for a second before following.

The three paladins sat in silence for a few further seconds. Shiro expressionless, with Hunk and Pidge looking increasingly worried.

"What is he thinking?" Hunk muttered under his breath.

It was true, Keith's plan was almost certain to fail. But, the paladins did have unspoken hope, deep down, that maybe he would find and save Lance. But Keith had no idea of where in the galaxy Lotor was, he would only be able to find him out of pure luck. And even then, the prince had an entire army of Galra by his side - Keith had no chance of success, it was clear to them.

But still, they kept hope deep inside of them.

-

Once she reached the main deck, Allura immediately slammed a few buttons and brought up a large scale image of the escape pods.

"All of the escape pods are there, so where is he?" she exclaimed, a mix of anger and worry settling on her face.

The paladins followed Coran onto the deck and exchanged further distressed looks.

"Maybe he changed his mind and is still here?" Hunk exclaimed, always the optimist.

They all truly knew what Keith had done, and Allura silently pressed another button.

The screen sprang to life once more, but this time, it was communicating with the red lion.

"KEITH WHAT THE QUIZNAK ARE YOU THINKING?" Allura was overcome with fury once more.

"I'm going to find Lance."

Allura wasn't hearing any of it, "WHY WOULD YOU TAKE THE RED LION? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FORM VOLTRON?"

"You weren't doing anything about Lance, our friend, being kidnapped. We wouldn't have been able to form voltron in the first quiznaking place. Who knows what state he could be in right now, HE COULD BE DEAD. And all of you are just sitting around being petty about me taking MY OWN LION SOMEWHERE."

"Don't speak to the princess like that Keith, she's telling the truth," Coran responded defensively.

Allura held her head in her hands and evaluated her options. Keith was completely unaffected by the exchange, and was preparing to cut off the communication.

Shiro stepped forward befire he could, "Keith, we have already lost Lance, and losing you would be just as bad. We can't all afford to be ruthless. There's no way of finding Lotor's ship anyway, just send us your coordinates and we will set off to find him together, after we have made a plan that is sure to work."

"I will find him. I'm not sending you my coordinates."

"Pidge, get coordinates for the red lion."

"Already on it princess," Pidge responded, tapping away at their keypad.

"I know that I'm in danger. But this is the only way," Keith sighed.

"Guys, the red lion is moving too fast, I can't get locked on the coordinates. By the time we have transported to one set of coordinates, the lion would already be too far away," Pidge announced, disappointed with the results. 

"Keith. Calm down, please. You're in shock and can't process anything properly. Just slow down and think about how dangerous this is!" Shiro was finally starting to lose his cool as he realised the seriousness of the situation.

"KEITH STOP AND LET US TRACK YOU, YOU ARE ACTING SELFISHLESSLY," Allura screamed into the screen, making Keith wince.

"I'm not. I'm doing what's right. I know how dangerous this is for me, but you are all safe and Lance is not. I'm not just going to sit around while he could be in mortal danger."

Shiro exchanged multiple looks with the others, before he turned back to Keith.

"Be safe Keith."

"I will Shiro, I'll come back with him, I promise."

"SHIRO YOU ARE LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"Yes. He's obviously not going to change his mind, I have already tried to convince him twice."

Hunk placed his hand on Allura's shoulder, "just let him go, he'll realise if he has made a mistake eventually."

"He has made a mistake. I can't believe you Keith, I knew that I couldn't trust any Galra."

Keith let out a disappointed sigh before closing the communication between the red lion and the castle.

"That wasn't needed Allura," Shiro murmured, disheartened with her.

She let out one last breath of indignation, and stalked away to her quarters.

-

Lance awoke to a sharp pain in his lower back, and he immediately sat up to find that he had been lying in his bed, a pool of tears still soaked into his pillow. He had been asleep for around an hour, in a strange position that ended up wounding his back. 

He groaned deeply and stretched his back - only to find that it caused him more pain - so took a walk around the room to stretch his cramps and wake himself up. Intense exhaustion rushed through his body, but his mind was preventing him from getting long enough periods of sleep and he couldn't even concentrate on how tired he was.

Taking a deep breath, Lance decided that the only way to clear his head would be to battle his fear face on, and take a walk through the ship (and maybe it would help his back too).

With thoughts still rushing though his head, he realised how desperate he was to escape the small room that he had been trapped in all night, and he virtually sprinted to the door, where he placed his hand and stepped out.

Two Galra guards still remained outside of his door, but they paid no mind as he speed walked out of there and into the open corridor.

His legs finally moved of their own accord, as he strolled through the ship and stared around at the blank metal walls, decorated occasionally with a boring tapestry or simple dim lamp. He would have imagined that Lotor's ship would have been more eccentric, alike the Prince's personality. Although, Lance supposed, the Galra prince probably would have been given the ship only recently, since he had only returned to the empire since his father died. Presumably he hadn't yet had the chance to decorate.

Lance couldn't believe that he was thinking about his captor's decorating techniques. He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head, trying to focus on thinking about something important, although he hated the idea.

"Well, it looks like my kitten has escaped."

The human boy took another deep breath before turning around to face the voice that came from behind him.

"You said that I could leave whenever I wanted, actually."

"Oh, feeling bold today are we?"

Lotor laughed to himself, taking slow steps towards Lance.

"I'm joking! You can leave whenever you want sweetie," he said with his smirk.

"I can leave?"

"Yes, you can leave your room whenever you like."

"No, can I leave this ship? Leave you?"

Lance wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore, but sleep deprivation was making him feel daring, and evermore irritated by the Prince's teasing. He decided on the spot that the best thing to do would be to ask the Galra himself what his options were.

"And why would you want to leave? I thought you understood me when we had our little talk last night," Lotor continued to take steps toward Lance until they were too close for comfort.

Suddenly, all of Lance's memories from the previous night came flooding back, and he swiftly awoke from his half-asleep state.

"I..I don't know what I want. But I want to know if you will let me leave."

Lotor's expression briskly darkened, as he aggressively grabbed Lance by the chin and pulled his face close to his own.

"You are not leaving here any time soon. You are my pet and you want to stay here, you just can't think clearly," he spoke in a menacing but clear tone, which ran right through Lance's body.

He couldn't muster any words, so he simply sobbed quietly and watched as the Prince let him go gradually.

"Remember that kitten, you aren't leaving here whether you like it or not. In fact, I will make you like it."

Lotor smirked once more, before stalking back in the direction he came, a mix of emotions bubbling in his chest.

Meanwhile, Lance fell to the ground in a limp heap, making inconcievable murmuring sounds while he made an attempt to think straight. 

He truly didn't know what to think anymore.

Chapter Text

Lance had eventually managed to drag himself back to his room, and had been laying down on the bed for the past few hours. He had no energy at all, since he was so emotionally drained. 

Suddenly, the door to his room slid open.

"Ah, Lance I found you."

The boy immediately sat himself up on the bed, and dragged his fingers through his hair, avoiding eye contact with Lotor.

"I would like to...apologise about earlier, kitten," he sat beside lance on the bed, and forced him to make eye contact, "this whole..situation, is causing me problems too, and I got heated. I'm sorry."

Lance sat in awe of the prince. The Galra prince who had been acting so strangely ever since he met him, changing emotion at every opportunity. He had just apologised to him.

Tears filled the boy's eyes once more, "I just want to go home."

"I know, I know. Me too," the prince looked off at one of the empty walls, his eyes glassy, "but we can't always have exactly what we want kitten, it's just not possible."

Lance silently wept, tears streaming down his face and dampening the bedsheets. 

"I want to make it up to you, I want to prove to you that I am serious about caring for you," Lotor whispered, turning to look at the human boy again.

"...Okay."

The prince took Lance's hand and stood him up. Without warning, he pulled him into a brief but firm hug.

"After you," Lotor opened the door for Lance and watched him step out.

As soon as he was out of sight, just for a second, Lotor smirked devilishly, glad that it had worked. His body was filled with conflicting emotions, including guilt for tricking Lance. But he was doing as he had planned, and it was going oh so well.

-

Lotor lead Lance to a room in the opposite side of ship, where the boy had never been before. 

"I'm convinced that you will enjoy this kitten," the prince remarked at the same time as opening the door to the room.

Lance took an inward breath, as he took his first look into the room. Inside, was a glistening blue pool, small, but perfect for 2. The water was much cleaner and seemed more magical than on Earth. Around the pool were towels, bowls with face masks inside, and bottles of nail polish. The room was decorated with towering green plants, with leaves creating areas of shade which contrasted with the mystical shadows from the water.

"This is my, sort of, relaxation zone. I don't allow any of my guards in here, so it's just you and me."

Lotor smiled and beckoned for Lance to follow him into the room. He took off his large armoured boots and glanced at the boy who was still hovering in the doorway.

"Come here kitten, do you not want to go in the pool my dear?"

Lance didn't respond and just stood there, his brain not functioning properly. He eventually managed to move his legs and walk towards the prince, without saying a word.

"Ah, there we go. There's a change of clothes over there," Lotor motioned to the other side of the room. "I'll turn my back if you promise to do the same," he gave Lance a childish smirk and turned his body away.

The boy slowly walked to the other side of the room to find a small set of blue swimming trunks, matching his current outfit. At least this was considerably better than the embarrassing costume that he had on at that moment. 

Hastily, he dragged his current outfit off and pulled the trunks up his legs - he constantly checked behind his shoulder but Lotor never even took a peek once. Maybe the prince was being sincere.

"I'm done," Lance spoke up shakily. He had no idea why he was so out of character. So quiet and anxious. (He was just coming to terms with the fact that he had just been kidnapped by a seductive alien prince, so maybe it had something to do with that.)

"Oh my kitten they suit you very much." The prince had somehow got changed into a longer set of black trunks himself, which matched his usual armour. They showed off his perfectly chiselled chest and toned legs, and Lance forgot where he was for a stunning moment. 

"Right, come on my dear Lance," Lotor announced whilst lowering himself into the pool gracefully.

Lance cautiously stepped into the shallow pool. It was rather like a hot tub, except, not as hot. In fact it was the perfect cool temperature that just reminded him of the sea at home. He sighed wistfully before snapping back into reality.

He noticed that Lotor was staring at him, rather too much.

"Uhhh.."

"Oh, sorry kitten, you just look rather ravishing in that outfit. As you always do, of course."

Lance blushed slightly and wondered what was going on with the prince. Why was he being so nice?

"Why are you...being so..." he hesitantly spoke, whilst Lotor reached behind him to grab the face mask, "nice"

The prince smiled and turned back towards Lance, "because it's you that I'm being nice to. I like you Lance. You're good, for a human."

He moved delicately through the water towards the boy, bowl in hand.

"May I?"

Lance nodded without thinking properly. Lotor was rather close to him.

The Galra softly took some of the green mixture and spread it slowly on Lance's cheek. The boy held his breath as he realised how...romantic this was. Lotor was incredibly close to him, and his half-naked body was causing him to constantly flush pink.

"Is that okay?" the prince asked gently after he had finished applying the mask, moving away to look at Lance fully.

"Yes," Lance responded. The face mask was strangely warm and relaxing (much better than the ones he somehow managed to throw together back in the castle of lions).

"Will you do it on me? I'm sure you're more experienced than I am."

Lance silently nodded and took the bowl from Lotor's hands. He scooped a small portion of the mixture with his fingers and leaned in closer to the Galra. Hesitantly, he spread it on the side of his face. Lotor kept his eyes locked with the boy's the entire time, making sure to make it as sensual as possible.

When he had finished, the silence was finally broken, "Thank you kitten, you did a perfect job." 

Lotor took the bowl from Lance and set it aside. He then manoeuvered himself to sit beside Lance at the side of the pool. 

"I want what's best for you Lance."

"Why me?"

"What do you mean kitten?"

"Why me, out of all the paladins? We are all having a bad time, dealing with leaving our families and living in space. Why did you choose me?"

"Because you deserve it."

"No I don't."

Lotor turned to Lance, and took his hands in his own.

"Yes you do."

Lance sat in silence, but didn't take back his hands.

"Lance, the other paladins, are toxic. You can't be around them. That is what I saw. You were the only one with real problems. The only one who needed a better life, who deserved it."

"But you are the son of Zarkon. Surely you want Voltron for yourself? You're the leader of an entire race, why would you care about a puny human?"

"Because that 'puny human' meant a whole lot to me. Maybe I fell in love with that 'puny human'."

Lance looked up at Lotor, his eyes glazy. He was even more confused than he was before...what did he mean? Surely Lotor couldn't have...fallen in love...

"what...do you mean?"

"Ah it doesn't matter kitten," Lotor quickly regretted saying anything. This boy just made his emotions spiral out of control.

"No but wha-"

"I said, it doesn't matter," the prince harshly grasped Lance's hands and dug his long fingernails into his skin.

"Oh-okay..."

Lotor replaced the scowl on his face with his usual mischievous smirk, let go of Lance's hands and reached behind him for the bottle of silver nail polish.

"The best varnish that the universe has to offer, I'm sure you will be delighted to know," he said whilst examining the bottle.

He grasped Lance's hand again and smiled at him, "oh come on, don't look so down."

-

Keith had been flying in the deep empty depths of space for what seemed like an eternity. Allura's words still rung in his ears, making him push on further.

He had convinced himself that he was going in the right direction. He didn't really believe in all that 'fate' and 'destiny' nonsense, yet for some reason he just knew that it was his fate to find Lotor's ship. Something deep inside of him was causing him to go the way that he was going, and he had nothing else to go off. So he carried on.

"C'mon Lance, where are you?"

The chance of finding one ship, in all of space, was an unlikely one. Especially at the rate that Keith was going, with the way that he was doing it.

This is why he almost jumped out of his seat when a quiet 'bleep' sounded in his lion.

"What is it girl?" he murmured under his breath.

He checked his controls, and scanned his eyes over his radar screen.

He did a double take.

"A ship...?"

Keith stared at what his radar was picking up. Not far away, was a gigantic ship.

"It couldn't be..."

He shook his head. Out of all the ships in all of the universe, why would this one be Lotor's? Yet something inside of him told him to carry on towards it. So he did.

He flew at full speed, constantly following his radar towards the ship.

After only a few minutes off flying, he pulled up outside.

"How..."

It was Lotor's ship.

-

After a while of quiet conversation, Lotor and Lance's nails were done.

Lance had to admit...they looked great.

"Well, there we go kitten."

"Thanks."

"You know, we could do this more often. Everyday if you want."

Lance looked at Lotor with thought. His emotions were all over the place, and he couldn't string anything together.

"Just...don't go back to them Lance."

"What?"

"Don't go back to Voltron."

"But...what if I want to see my friends?"

"They aren't your friends."

"Yes they are."

"NO THEY AREN'T."

Lance sunk down further into the water and whimpered. Whenever he tried to have a normal conversation with Lotor, he just got overly protective and angered. Maybe he was just being protective. But he was so aggressive about it. But maybe that showed that he cared. Oh - he just didn't know.

"Look kitten, you could stay here and we can do this whenever you want. You can have all the food you want, all the nail polish you want, all the outfits you want. You can be happy and just relax."

"But, maybe responsibilities are important. That's what my mamá always told me."

"Maybe she was wrong."

Lance stared down at the water which rippled alongside the lift and fall of his chest as he breathed. His mother, wrong? Never.

"Earth is different to here kitten. And you aren't on Earth anymore."

Lotor had enough of coaxing in Lance, and accidentally mistaking his plan for romantic feelings for the boy. He needed to get some kind of information out of him.

"I know I'm not on Earth, but that wasn't my choice was it?"

"I don't know. Was it?"

"No! Blue just took us into space with no warning. And here I am, a paladin of voltron, sitting in a pool shirtless with the prince of the most notorious race in the galaxy."

"So you, just became a paladin?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"The lions just...chose us? The princess just said that we would fit the roles, so..."

Lance just talked, without thinking about what he was saying. Everything was overflowing in his mind and he had no choice but to let it out.

"But how did you learn to fly?"

"Well, I was in training back on Earth, so I knew what to do to an extent. We practised forming Voltron back on Arus."

"Arus, the planet Arus?"

"Yeah."

"So where do you keep the lions when they aren't on a planet of their own?"

"Why are you so interested all of a sudden?" Lance turned to look directly at Lotor, staring into his eyes. 

"Well, of course I'm interested kitten, and I always will be interest-"

"-are you just...trying to get information out of me?"

"No, no, of course not."

"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ME?"

Lotor's expression darkened at Lance raising his voice.

"You had better change your tone with me, kitten. Remember who the strongest is here."

The prince's mouth twitched into a sickening smile as he stared down at Lance.

"Kitten, of course I care about you. In fact, I love you. I want you fOREVER OF COURSE. HOW COULD YOU THINK ANYTHING ELSE? OF COURSE I WANT A HUMAN ON MY SHIP, SLEEPING IN MY QUARTERS, MESSING WITH MY EMOTIONS."

Lance cowered in the corner of the pool, tears streaming down his face for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"I'm sorry."

-

Keith flew the red lion onto the roof of the ship, hoping that he wouldn't be spotted. Surprisingly, he hadn't seen any guards or any sort of security system for that matter. Lotor was certainly different to his father.

He started a call to the castle of lions and took a deep breath, hoping that Allura would actually give him time to speak.

"Keith?" Shiro answered the call, his face appearing on the hologram screen in the lion.

Keith noticed that Allura was sulking on a chair in the back of the main deck.

"Shiro, I have located Lotor's ship."

"What? How?"

"I...I don't know."

"We will all go in together if you send us your coordinates."

"I'm sorry. I'll send them once I've found Lance."

"Keith please. You've proven yourself now, but you need more people to help you! This isn't a one-man job."

"You still don't get it do you? This isn't about 'proving myself' to you. This is about saving Lance without wasting time."

"Keith..."

"Don't track me."

"O...okay. Stay safe, don't do anything stupid."

"That's what I'm all about Shiro," he cracked a small smile.

Keith shut off the call and took a deep breath, putting on his helmet and grabbing his bayard.

He jumped out of the lion and jogged across the flat roof, aiming for an open deck which he had seen while flying towards the ship.

He jumped down onto it, to be met by 2 Galra soldiers.

"I'm coming Lance."

Chapter Text

The two Galra soldiers shouted at Keith and ran at him with large swords.

"I'm coming Lance," he murmured under his breath whilst he swung out his bayard and ran towards the Galra.

With just a few fell swoops, the soldiers were on the ground, dead. Keith rubbed the side of his cheek and noticed a sharp pain. He pulled his hand away to see a trickle of blood running down his wrist.

"Quiznak," he whispered. He had been hit. Although, only a little. His adrenaline was giving him much more strength than usual.

He started off running down the corridors, not caring about being seen anymore. 

"LANCE, LANCE WHERE ARE YOU?"

Three Galra robot guards sighted him down a corridor and ran at him at full speed. He returned the favour and fought them all at once. He beat them considerably easily, but received a few more bruises and cuts for his collection.

"LANCE," he carried on sprinting blindly through the ship, through corridors and rooms alike.

Yet again, two bulkier Galra guards saw him, and he prepared to fight. 

One tripped him easily and he fell onto his right arm, breaking it instantly. Adrenaline running through his veins, he didn't even feel pain and got himself stood up immediately.

Angered, he ran towards the Galra and stabbed them both with his sword. Their bodies dropped to the ground whilst Keith wiped his brow.

And he was off again, running and running. He fought more than 20 more Galra, both robots and not. 

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

Was that...Lance?

He listened carefully in the silent corridor, bodies piled up behind him.

"PLEASE LOTOR, LISTEN TO ME," a quiet but raised voice could be heard.

That was Lance alright.

Keith ran faster than he had ever gone before, in the direction of the voice.

Two fully armoured guards stood in front of a locked door. Keith was convinced that Lance was in there.

"Let me in that room."

"Or what?" the tallest guard smirked and looked down at Keith like a measly ant.

He didn't care, and grabbed his sword tighter. He ran and swung at the Galra's head, but he ducked and grasped Keith's ankle, pulling him over straight onto it.

"QUIZNAK"

Okay.

He felt that one break.

With a broken arm and a broken ankle, Keith arose from the ground, limping and holding his arm.

He swung again at the Galra who's back was turned, and sliced his head. He swore in pain whilst his head bled. 

Keith kicked him in the back of his legs, causing him to fall forward and swear again. He grasped his sword by two hands and plunged it into the back of the guard's neck. Blood splashed over the human's face, but he wiped it up and looked up at the other Galra (who seemed rather shaken by his colleague being killed).

"Let me in that room."

-

Lotor held Lance by the chin harshly, his nails digging into his skin.

"Kitten, sorry doesn't cut it I'm afraid."

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Lance screamed, floods of tears falling down his face, mixing with the water of the pool.

"BECAUSE ALL I WANTED WAS SOMEONE TO SEDUCE INTO GIVING ME VOLTRON'S SECRETS, AND YOU MADE ME HAVE FEELING FOR YOU!" 

"WHY IS THAT MY FAULT?"

"SHUT UP."

Lotor clamped Lance's mouth shut with his hand.

"Now kitten, you are going to tell me where the lions are, and you are going to convince your friends to pass over Voltron. If you do that, I'll let you have whatever you want."

Lotor had finally lost his mind.

Lance whimpered as the prince's fingernails drew blood.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Keith limped in. His body was covered in blood and bruises, his hair matted and his arm and ankle broken.

Lotor saw him enter from the corner of his eye and smirked even more. 'Perfect,' he thought to himself.

Lance however, did not see Keith because he was too preoccupied by his fear of Lotor, and the blood that was currently trickling down his face.

The prince looked directly into Lance's eyes and loosened his grip on his face. He then pushed his face towards the other's, and kissed him. Lance almost immediately pushed Lotor away, moving the Galra's body to reveal Keith, who was stood behind him in the doorway.

Keith stood in shock for a few moments. He had come in to see Lotor and Lance, both shirtless, kissing in a pool.

Fury then raced through his body. He tried to run at Lotor, but just fell into the pool (which proceeded to turn completely red with blood).

Lotor stepped out, dragging the screaming Lance by the arm. He swiftly - almost magically - managed to get himself redressed into his armour, whilst still grasping Lance.

Keith dragged himself out of the water, his broken limbs searing with pain.

"Keith, you came," Lance whispered, in between moans and screams in protest to Lotor.

"Lotor, give me Lance."

Ignoring him, the prince put on his usual act, "Well isn't this just a lovely scene! The jealous third wheel decides to come and pull the two lovers apart eh?"

"You two aren't lovers."

"Oh? And you would know would you, red paladin?"

"Keith, I'm sorry for not escaping. I..I.."

"Kitten, please! Why would you want to 'escape'? This is what I spoke of earlier, these toxic paladins are just trying to drag you back to your old life of torment!"

"Lance please. We all love you..."

"Ha! Love is not given by people like you, red paladin."

"...I love you Lance."

"Keith...I love y-"

"HOW DARE YOU."

Lance and Keith stood in awe of Lotor whilst his fury became untamable. 

"HOW DARE YOU COME INTO MY SHIP AND ANNOUNCE YOUR 'LOVE' FOR MY PET. LANCE IS MINE AND YOU WON'T HAVE HIM!"

Lance couldn't muster the energy to struggle against Lotor's grip, nevermind speak at this point.

"Lotor...you don't love him. You just want him for your own gain."

Keith gripped his bayard harder than ever. He took a sharp breath in and prepared himself.

"I'm the one that loves Lance."

Chapter Text

Keith ran furiously at Lotor, bayard in hand.

"You don't love him red, you know nothing about love. You know nothing about Lance!"

Lotor let go of the boy and let him sink to the floor almost lifelessly. He then swung a sword out from his armour and charged back towards Keith.

The two battled, limbs flying everywhere and their bodies appearing as a mass blur of colour under the dim light of the room. Keith's eyes began to water in a confusion of anger, pain and sadness amidst the madness and Lotor smirked at his weakness.

"Do you see this Lance? He is weak, undeserving of you, he can't even face a fight without tearing up."

"I'm not weak," Keith struggled to speak under the stress of it all. His broken limbs were pulsing and becoming increasingly painful as his adrenaline wore off, and his mind was buzzing with all emotions imaginable whilst he attempted to focus on the fight and beating Lotor. Whatever that took.

He lunged at Lotor with as much force as he could muster, but was dodged easily - the prince didn't even seem to have broken a sweat yet.

"Kitten, this can all stop if you just tell him yourself. You trust me, not those paladins anymore."

"Don't tell him how he feels Lotor, you don't have the control here."

"Really, red? We can't fight forever you know, eventually you will surrender or I will kill you. There is no other outcome. You might as well just give up and go back to those other petty human paladins like yourself."

"Lotor, Keith, please," Lance managed to murmur from on the ground.

"You humans never do anything right, I find my kitten, the most perfect being of all, and none of you can stop running after him. You're just like my father, all of you. NONE OF YOU ARE ANY BETTER, YOU CAN'T STOP FOR A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT WHO IS REALLY THE BAD GUY."

Keith paused for a moment, staring into Lotor's glossy eyes. He looked like he was going to cry?

"Lotor..." Lance almost whispered.

Lotor took the opening to launch himself at Keith with his sword, and he barely managed to dodge it.

"KEITH," Lance screamed, tears still streaming out of his eyes like ribbons.

"I'm okay...I'm okay."

"Red, you really need to watch yourself," Lotor launched at him again.

Keith jumped out of the way, landing in a pile on the floor. Pain shot through his leg and he screamed deeply.

"KEI-"

Lotor grabbed Lance by the arm and pulled him into a standing position forcefully. His eyes blazed with fury and a little sadness, and his pointed teeth bared together.

"Lance, listen to me," he locked eyes with him as Keith attempted to stand up again, "you can't just reject me now, think about everything that I have told you, it's all true."

"Lotor...I love Keith, I really do."

The prince's face dropped, and a single tear ran down his face.

"Of course."

Keith finally managed to return to standing, limping heavily on his leg however.

"Lotor, you're mad."

"Am I?" his eyes seemed to have turned an even brighter yellow, and his facial expression was manic as if he wanted to kill a thousand men.

"Please, let Lance go..."

"I have one question for you, red paladin," he avoided the question ungracefully, "Do you truly love Lance?"
"Yes."

"Will you ever stop this," his voice started to raise, but Keith kept his composure.

"No, I will keep fighting until I return Lance back home, with Voltron."

"You know I will defeat you and your 'Voltron'.."

"No, you won't. We will always win against the likes of you Lotor. Now give me Lance."

Lotor's fury rose and he tightened his grip on Lance's arm. The boy leant lifelessly against Lotor and stared at Keith, a slight look of satisfaction on his face.

"TELL ME ONE LAST TIME RED PALADIN, WILL YOU LEAVE LANCE AND ME ALONE?"

"Never."

Keith began to step towards Lotor, but he silenced him before he could continue.

"Fine."

Lotor plunged his sword into Lance's chest, and with one last tear from his eye, he dropped to the ground. Both Lotor and Lance were speechless.

"Nononono..no.." Lotor murmured under his breath. He couldn't comprehend what he had just done. He killed his only hope.

Keith screamed nothing and everything all at once, and charged towards the Prince with all of his might, and plunged his own sword into his back.

The two bodies lay in front of Keith, his own blade covered with the incredibly dark red blood of the Galra.

"I'm so sorry Lance..."

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably as he fell to his knees. Lance was gone, and it was all his fault. Pain shot through his entire body and he thought he was going to die right then and there.

It was like time had stopped, as if everything in his life had melted away and this was all that mattered. He could hear his own heart thundering in his chest and he really had no idea what to do with himself.

He glanced to the left of him, and through the tears he sighted Lotor's blade. He could kill himself with the same blade that had slain his love.

No.

This wouldn't be what Lance would want. He could kill himself later for all he cared, but for now he needed to let his friends see Lance for the last time. He needed to have a proper burial alongside his loved ones, not be left on a Galra ship next to the two people who caused his own death.

He yanked himself up on to his feet and hoisted up Lance bridal style. His blood stained Keith's clothes almost instantly, not that he cared one bit.

"It's okay Lance."

He swiftly sent his coordinates off to the other paladins using his armour's tech and began to leave the room. He took one last look at Lotor's corpse and sighed. His hair was sprawled out elegantly on the floor and his blood only seemed to taint his clothes like a splash of colour to a painting. He was too perfect, he only ruined himself.

The steps Keith next took were hard ones. His entire body ached agonisingly and he was starting to lose conciousness. Yet he continued, for Lance's sake.

-

Eventually Keith met with the same deck that he had entered through. This is where he sent the coordinates to, and as expected he sighted the Castle through his cloudy vision.

"KEITH," he heard Shiro shout out, as the ship lowered itself down to his level.

"You found him!" Hunk cried out, hopeful.

The paladins all ran out of the ship, down the ramp like a flurry of wild animals. Until they saw him.

Keith dropped to his knees and gently lay down Lance's body.

"I'm so sorry..." he manage to gasp before coughing up a fountain of blood.

Black.