"Hey guys, what's going on?" Lance asked seeing corans scowl in front of the three as Allura was just as confused.

Suddenly a galra and Keith stood behind him with a blaster and a blade in hand for attack. Lotor immediately put lance behind him in defense not knowing what was going on.

"Allura, Lance, step away from Lotor," Keith held his sword.

"No," lance stepped in front of Lotor, Allura grabbed Lances hand nodding with him.

"Tell us what's happening here," Allura protected the galra with the Cuban.

"Lotor is a monster!" A new voice snarled and Lotor turned to see but his eyes widen seeing a familiar altean with them.

"And has been harvesting altean quintessence for generations!" The new blond altean cried out with vengeance in her eyes.

"An altean!" Allura gasped as lance was in shock seeing her as well, he looked at Lotor wide eyes not knowing what to do.

"You killed my brother, and thousands of others," her voice broke a little but her rage in her eyes did not leave.

"Let's just talk about this for a moment," lance put his hands up.

"Lotor has been lying to us, to you, the whole time!" Pidge snarled grabbing her bayard. "He's a murderer, just like his father!"

"Don't," lance warned her.

"You know nothing about what you speak," Lotor defended with a glare.

"What are they talking about?" Allura looked at lance then Lotor with distress. Her eyes where broken as lance took a step back knowing her wrath.

"Princess listen to me," Lotor told her gently catching her attention.

"I've dedicated my life to preserve altean culture, to save our species, now that we have unlocked the quintessence field all of your people, who would have been hunted long ago and slaughtered if it had not been for my intervention, they can live in peace," he explained to her calmly.

"Some lives were lost, yes... but it was never for nothing, it was sacrifice, for their love ones to live on," he put a his hand on her shoulder desperately.

"Allura, do not let this ruin everything we've worked for, think of what we've experienced from oriande, the quintessence field, our success," he told her as Allura could feel her rage bubbling in the lost of her people, those who she thought were long gone. She thought she was alone but Lotor had them all along.

With a grunt Allura grabbed his wrist and arm and tossed Lotor over her shoulder and slammed him against the ground, tumbling away unconscious when his head hit first against the ground.

"No!" Lance screamed reaching for Allura as it was to late to stop her.

"Lance don't let your feelings get in the way!" Keith told him sternly.

"Then what are you doing?!" Lance snarled but suddenly the alarms went off and coran pulled up a screen.

"The hangars being breeched!" Coran cried out as lance ran to Lotor while they were all distracted, hoping he'd wake up soon.

"That's going to be a nasty concussion dummy," lance pursed his lips kneeling next to him touching Lotors face to turn his head.

He glanced over his shoulder looking at the screen but his eyes widen and heart dropped. It was axca and ezor... they were okay.

"It's Lotors generals, your stealing the ships? You knew?" Hunk looked at lance hurt.

"I thought they disappeared months ago!" Lance snarled at the accusation.

Suddenly shiro dropped to his knees with a grunted pained cry as he held his head.

"Shiro..?" Keith gulped next to him as lance stood protecting Lotor as he glared at the Paladins.

Shiro whimpered with sweat running down his face as he trembled holding his head. Familiar whispers echoed his head.

"Narti..." lance breathed remembering the last time those whispers sent chills up his spine. He felt sick as he watched shiro with fear. That was impossible...

"Lance step away from Lotor, Allura and I will secure Lotor," Hunk said holding his blaster as coran was at shiros side.

"Your not touching him," lance unsheathed Lotors sword from his boyfriends holster and held it tightly in one hand, getting ready to fight.

"Lance your not the enemy!" Keith barked.

"If he is then yes I am," lance glared at him.

"He's a monster!" The blond altean cried.

"Pidge, krolia, Stop the generals, Lance we don't have time for this!" Keith commanded.

Suddenly they heard a snarl and corans scream as he was thrown across the room from the black Paladin.

"Shiro?" Allura gulped as everyone was surprised.

"Shiro what are you-" lance was cut off as he ducked shiros fist only seeing pink and purple eyes that were full of murder. He put up the sword to block shiros robotic hand and pushed it down but gasped when a foot slammed into his side and sent him flying to the ground rolling.

"Lance!" Allura gasped but jumped to the side when shiro formed the black bayard and threw it at her head as it impales the metal behind her but as soon as she turned to defend herself again it was to late.

———

Shiro walked through the doors with Lotor over his shoulder as the galra ships attacked the hangar with krolia and pidge as Keith's wolf was with them. He ran past them to an altean pod as the ships were already gone.

"Shiros gone mad! He's escaping with Lotor! Stop him before he leaves the ship!" Allura called over the speakers as pidge saw him running past her.

She ran after them and formed her bayard to be aimed, her glare was focused on her leader who had the eyes of a whole new man with Lotor in the seat next to him. This was her only shot to stop him.

But shiro looked up at her like a stranger and closed the pod up to take off, pidge felt her guard fall in shock not knowing who that man was, this wasn't shiro.

She growled to herself but went to help krolia from ezors attack from her ship as keith ran in.

"What do we do?" She asked worried.

"We have to stay focused," Keith frowned at the situation as he saw they were left with nothing, no galra ships, no Lotor, no shiro.

-

Lance woke up slowly on his side but gasped sitting up seeing Lotor was gone.

"Hunk can you still pilot your lion?" He heard over the speakers as he saw he was alone with the Paladins.

Was he a prisoner now or just abandoned?

"Lance can you?" He heard after from Keith's voice.

He looked at the others with wide eyes. He didn't know what to do, not because his prince was gone but because he didn't know where he stood. As a paladin or a general. Against his empire or with those he considered friends at a time.

"Why not," lance grunted standing up but saw Lotors sword at him feet. He grabbed it and held it in both hands as he looked at Allura.

"We take down shiro, and get Lotor back," he glared at her as Allura did not have any empathy in her own eyes.

"Then lets go, if we're going to fight Lotors ship we'll need voltron," Keith explained.

"Who's going to pilot the black lion?" Hunk asked as he helped up coran.

"I will," Keith told them without hesitation.