My sad Lotor fiction Mua ha ha!

Lotor slammed back into his seat, his ship shaking around him. What was he thinking? Fighting Voltron was one thing but doing it in the quintessence field?! Even with the comet ore the energy seeped into everything. It felt like a virus; no, an addiction. He could feel a growing part of him wanting more of it. After years he was in the exact same spot as his parents!

And then she left. He could still hear her words, hot with anger at what he did. The hole inside him was back. No one believed him as a kid, scared and confused at this emptiness. He knows now it was from his parents' rejection. For his entire life he tried to fill it. But it wasn't until he met Allura. For their short time together, he was truly happy. Tears he held back for his entire life finally let loose as he imagined her now. Was she crying for him? Probably not all he'd done. He had so much he wanted to say to her: That he was sorry, that he cared. But how? Nothing he did would be able to counteract this quintessence overdose.

He had to try something though.

Pain immediately surged through him as he thrust his ship into action, pushing it to open up one last gate. Already most of the systems were shutting down, overwhelmed by the energy. But he had to try. A gasp seemed to shiver through the emptiness as the brilliance of the field turned to the familiar black of space. He could still feel the effects though. He'd taken so much from the field and now it was time to give back. His body shuddered as he reached for the controls. He'd kept a log on the ship as he was building it, and due to his mask of pride he included video. This time it wasn't for the masses though, just one Altean girl.

Would she even care? Would she listen? Lotor couldn't hide the smile as he imagined all the ways she'd react. He coughed, blinking tears out of his eyes. It was time to do something he was never: Weak. With a shudder running through his dying body, he pressed start.

######

The excitement from the battle was short lived, same with the return of Shiro and their arrival on the team's home planet. There was a long way to go before Earth would be a fully integrated part of the connected universe. That's where Allura came in. She'd traded her Altean armor and dresses for the garrison uniform and despite some hesitations; she'd been pretty well accepted on this new planet. So much had happened in a brief period of time that she was glad for the 'busy work' given to her.

An alarm interrupted her thoughts. She sighed, pressing the keys to open the comm link. "Allura" Matt's voice cut off anything she was going to say. His usually relaxed demeanor was replaced with a grim look. "You need to see this".

In the short time of their return, the Holts had quickly taken over one of the many computer labs. There was usually at least one member, surrounded by nearly a dozen displays and abandoned food containers, working at all times. If they weren't there, delirious from three days without rest, then that meant one was at the other office they were currently conquering. Lance liked to joke that they'd soon have a whole wing to themselves. They sadly took that as a challenge. Allura poked her head in the room, squinting at the change of light levels. "Quiznak guys turn the lights on!" she exclaimed. She paused as Pidge poked her head out from one of the desks. "Oh sorry" She stammered. The young girl looked unamused. "Matt?" she asked emotionlessly. Allura nodded. "Lower hanger" she tossed back before chugging the nearest drink and dropping down to whatever she was working on. The Altean couldn't help but smirk as she turned and made her way downstairs.

She doesn't know what she was expecting, but the remains of a ship weren't one of them. Matt and Shiro stood waiting in front of it. Both men looked up when she approached. "One of the freedom fighters found this a few days ago" the former said. No greeting, this must be important. "A lot of people wanted to have it destroyed but I figure the choice comes to you" "why me…" she stopped. She recognized this ship. It was beaten and worn down but she knew it almost as well as the castle. This is the very one she built with Prince Lotor: The one where they kissed, the one where he died. Her hand shot up to cover her face as tears threaten to fall. She barely breathed as a gentle hand rested on her shoulder. "What do you think?" Shiro's voice sounded distant. She choked in a breath "Can I go inside?"

She stood a ways away while they wrestled the door off. Thanks to years in space it had frozen and rusted shut. All too soon however, she heard the metal crash on the floor. Carefully she approached the looming hole in the side of the ship. Both men stood aside, tired and concerned. Gathering her courage, she stepped inside.

Dust gathered everywhere as the lights flickered dully. And there, sitting in the middle of it all, was his body. It was frozen due to the lack of heat in space but under that she could see the impact of their battle in the quintessence field. Blood spotted his armor and every feature seemed to stand out more: sharper cheekbones, whiter hair. It was almost horrifying. She carefully made her way over to the man she used to call an ally. In another life they would have grown up together, maybe even have gotten married. Instead she was the other's demise. Anger still hinted at the back of her mind as she came to stand behind him. He had done terrible things to so many people. Yet she couldn't help but remember the man under the mask: The young boy who wanted to be an explorer, who wanted to stop the madness of his kingdom.

She jumped back as a screen turned on suddenly. The light pointed out every detail of the abandoned ship. "quiznak" she gasped as a video feed of Lotor pulled up. He was coughing harshly, but she recognized the softness in his gaze. "Allura" he wheezed. Tears streamed down her face. She didn't look away. For what felt like hours she stood there, watching him give his last words. They weren't of power though, but of love. She could see the pain rippling through him, both physical and emotional. Finally the message clicked off. She said nothing as Shiro called for her; nothing as she walked out of the room. It wasn't until she stood on top of a hill, the smooth stone in front of her, that she knelt and placed her hand against his name and whispered "I forgive you". Tears dripped from her face as the white flowers slipped from her fingers "I love you".

And across time and space, perhaps in a different universe, surrounded by family and lost ones, Lotor smiled.