"Ezor, Acxa, set course for the coordinates I'm sending you," Lotor told the two girls in the separate ship.

"We're are we going?" Ezor asked.

"Just do as I say," he said sternly was a scowl and Ezor turned off the communication to Lotor.

"Ezor what are you doing?" Acxa asked confused.

"Securing communications to make sure Lotor can't hear us, Lance and I already talked," she said seriously.

"What do you mean talked?" Acxa narrowed her eyes.

"We just talked, I spoke to him first, now you... Zarkon called Lotor a criminal, he's on the run, as his generals that means-" "we must trust Lotor,"

"Lance said that too, and what about Narti, why did everyone suddenly forget about her?" Ezor huffed.

"She trusted him, you saw where that got her,"

"Enough. Lotor will protect us," Acxa said sternly.

--

"So where are we really going?" Lance asked softly as he made the communications secured as well to speak with Lotor.

"Why do you question me?" Lotor looked at him with stone eyes.

"I don't question you, I'd like to know where I'm going," Lance snapped back.

"I trust you Lotor, I'm not the enemy, don't treat me like I've betrayed you," Lance sighed looking away and Lotors eyes widen remembering Narti.

"You are a general, you follow my commands," Lotor drew blood on his lip from pushing his fang on it to hard.

"Yea, like I'm nothing more than just a general, right?" Lance glared at him.

"That's not what I mean," Lotor told him.

"That's what it sounded like, sir," Lance said tiredly. "Never mind, communications are back on, coordinates are set,"

"Lance wait-" "don't, I don't want to hear it right now," Lance swiped his hand to get rid of the screen of Lotor as he growled a little in irritation.

--

"Sir were approaching the coordinates but my scanners don't detect anything," Zethrid said after hours passed.

"They're not suppose to," Lotor told her and her eyes widen.

"Lotor was is this?" Ezor asked staring ahead.

There, it was a destroyed planet as rocks and crumbles surrounded the atmosphere as it was almost dusty looking, and old. Lance narrowed his eyes looking at the planet as he looked at Lotors calmed face.

"Is this..." He trailed off.

"The ruins of Daibazaal," Lotor looked at the planet with sarrow. The galra's home planet.

"Lotor..." Lance softened as he could see Lotors face full of dread and sadness, the planet he could've called home but never stepped foot on it.

"What is that?" Ezor gasped in awe as she saw a tech mech one that was had blue lights and was larger.

"Zarkon believed that Alfors plan to blow up Daibazaal and destroy the rift between the realities actually worked, no one comprehended that the experiments of my mother, Honerva, could never be undone," Lotor explained and Lance remembered the nights he caught Lotor studying his mothers text books and journals.

"I had a secret team construct the inter reality gate on the rift, where her work began," he told them calmly as everyone listened.

"Just as Voltron was able to, I will pilot is through the rift and we will harvest the unlimited quintessence that exists in the layer between realities,"

"I never doubted you Lotor," Acxa said with a small smile in relief.

"So we can just fly right through this thing to another reality?" Ezor asked.

"I've not yet had a chance to test the gate, my plans have been accelerated by our recent turn of events," Lotor answered.

"But if my calculations that I've had some help with are correct, they are due to two minds looking at the situation," Lotor nodded and Lance looked away knowing he was the one that helped, he pointed out the small flaws from his perspective, he was smart but just not as smart.

"By infusing our ships with concentrated quintessence we should be ably to pierce the barrier between realities," he powered the ship as quintessences surrounded the comet fighter, glowing light blue for to protect them while entering the reality gate.

"Sir this is all the concentrated quintessence we have left," Zethrid warned as Lance looked at the screen as well.

"And I will use it to reap and untold amount more," Lotor said flatly staring straight ahead. Lance flinched at the sound of statics reaching them as they got closer and closer to the gate and soon entered to another reality.

In a flash of white blinding light as they passed through and Zethrid looked back confused as Lance did as well holding onto his controls.

"Did it work?" Lance raised an eye brow.

Lotor stayed silent with his eyes closed and slowly opened them with his lips slightly parted. No...

-

Lotor stood on a broken astroid where they landed for now as he looked up at the gate with his arms crossed. Lance stood with the generals looking at Lotor while they where all silent.

"Told you so, all Lotors plans failed," Ezor said casually and Lance sent her a look.

"So the reality gate didn't work, so what?" He crossed his arms.

"He's gonna turn on us as soon as it's in his best interest," Zethrid stated.

"Listen to yourselves, Lotor wouldn't do that to us," Lance stepped away with his hands clenched.

"Lance, I know it's hard to face, but he will once we're no longer useful to him," Ezor said softly.

"Just... J-just let me talk to him, he's gotten us this far, let me talk to him," Lance sighed looking away. Acxa nodded as the two other women huffed looking down.

Lance made his way to Lotor as he saw his back to him. Lance sucked in a small breath. Lotor wouldn't do that to them... that was the one thing he continued to reassure lance was to not throw him away, that he wouldn't abandon him when he showed he wasn't valuable anymore. He couldn't believe Lotor would do that.

Lance inhaled deeply once more and placed his hand on Lotors shoulder making him look over at Lance.

Lotor looked down at him as Lance looked up with a stern yet worried look to tell him he wasn't backing down.

"If you wish to scowl at my failures then I would rather have you not," Lotor looked away.

"That's not why I'm here," Lance told him taking his hand back.

Lotor stayed silent with his head turned away.

"Can you tell me what's going on? I don't care about what's going on out there, I want to know what's going on in here," Lance motioned to his heart with tired blue eyes. Silence.

"You know I trust you right? I'm loyal and will stay with you as long as you stay with me, you know that right?" Lance asked biting his lip.

"Even if I can't do anything for you?"

Silence.

"Will you at least look at me? Look at me and feed me a lie, telling me we're going to be alright, that we're going to be okay, if I hear it from you then I'll believe it," Lance felt his throat become raw as tears started to form. Lotor didn't even glance his way. His arms stayed crossed and his head stayed to the side like a stranger.

"Lotor look at me! Please, don't do this to me now, not now! Your the best thing that space has offered me yet, don't throw me out," Lance grabbed his arm as he pursed his lips in an angry line with tears threatening.

"Just look at me please..." He whispered as his grip tightened on Lotor who closed his eyes.

"I know I'm not much to offer in this world or life, I know I won't ever be, but I just need an answer Lotor, just say something!" He raised his voice again as a tear ran down his face slowly as his eyes where angry.

Silence.

"Sure, we're damage, we're in a bad spot, we're pretty fucked," he took a deep breath. "But I won't leave you now, ill stay if I'm what you choose," he released Lotors arm and looked at him for a moment longer.

"So? What's your choice?" Lance gulped as another tear rolled down.

"Do you really think I'm going to be able to protect you? I can't do a damn thing anymore!" Lotor rasped as he looked at Lance.

"I don't care about that! You don't need an empire to have power!" Lance cried out.

"I have that empire after me to be killed! You've been a paladin of Voltron and you'd be killed even if you didn't work for me!"

"I don't care!"

They looked at each other with frustration as Lance scrunched up his nose in rage as Lotor narrowed his eyes.

"I don't care if I die Lotor, I've seen death more than once, but you, I'd die for you Lotor, hundreds and hundreds of times," Lance pointed at him.

"Don't say that," Lotor pleaded in a growl.

"Well I would because I love you dammit, because I can count on you when I thought I couldn't with anyone else, I trust you because youe had so many times to kill me and you haven't,"

"I've never loved anyone like I've loved you," lance told him in a quiet kind voice.

"You could've killed me, even when I was just a prisoner," he looked at him softly.

"you where never my prisoner,"

"you could've killed me when I was weak,"

"I saw who you really are,"

"Exactly, now who am I now? Have I changed?" Lance crossed his arms glaring and Lotor took a breath.

"Lance... I..." Lotor trailed off. He looked at Lance again with his midnight blue eyes, a small smile formed on his face and a humorless chuckle bubbled up as he covered his face with a hand. Lance was taken back from it but didn't move.

"Your right," Lotor shook his head. "We are truly damaged," he looked up at Lance with tears falling down his lilac face and Lance softened up with worry on his face.

"Your so right that we are damaged but, I choose you, I will always choose you, but I don't want to hurt you or loose you... My love, please forgive me," Lotor closed his eyes tightly, Lance looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yea," Lance smiled and hugged Lotor from behind as he pressed his head against his back. Lotor grasped his hands together as he bowed his head down for his lover.

"Don't do that ever again, I'm always going to listen dum dum," lance turned Lotor around as the galra smiled gently down at him.

"I'm sorry my love," he leaned down to kiss his forehead but their helmets clanked together and they stood there with wide eyes looking at each other while Lotor turned a reddish purple in embarrassment.

"When we find somewhere safe, I'd like to rearrange that forehead kiss," Lance let go smirking crossing his arms.

"Anything for you my love," Lotor agreed as he turned back to the gate.

"You thinking of what to do now?" Lance asked and he nodded.

"I'll figure out something," he sighed.

---

The three women generals watched the couple as Ezor frowned.

"We have to strike first," Zethrid spoke up.

"If we turn him over to galra headquarters now, maybe they'll show us mercy," Ezor offered with her hands on her hips.

"But what about Lance?" Zethrid asked. "They'll kill him for being a paladin once,"

"We'll make sure they don't find him, Lance is one of us," she nodded.

"We gotta take him down, it's our only chance," Zethrid looked at them determined.

Acxa thought for a moment as she kept silent but made a move to start walking ahead as she made her way to the two men.

Lotor and Lance looked behind them as they saw Acxa walk up to them.

"For Narti," she held her gun up.

Bang