Castle of Lions, 20 vargas prior...

Lance always stole a moment after dinner to visit Blue. He wasn't her Paladin anymore, but he missed her. It still felt like he needed to update her on the details of his life...just like old times.

Tonight he sat leaned up against her right paw, his legs crossed, telling her everything that was on his mind.

"Anyways, it's crazy to watch everything unfold. I think Shiro is starting to enjoy directing us from the Castle, but it really doesn't keep Keith from making stupid choices anyways. It's rough piloting the Red Lion. I'm always having to talk Keith down from flying right into a trap. Or like the other day! He was going to blast that village even though it was just Lotor and his generals there! He really needs to simmer down. You know you've got a problem if I'm the voice of reason. You know what I'm saying, Blue?"

Blue's eyes seemed to gleam in amusement. Lance knew she could see through his exaggerated tales, but it made him smile knowing she still seemed to enjoy them despite the fact he was no longer her Paladin.

"I miss the old days," Lance continued, rubbing his eyes. "I would love to be flying with you again...but...Allura does such an amazing job! She's so smart, and I know it's for the best. She's always blowing my mind."

He glanced up at Blue, who was emitting a low purr.

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. "She's out of my league, isn't she?"

Blue almost seemed to let out a snort of laughter.

"You don't think...you could put in a good word for me, do you?" he quipped, gazing up the the big robotic lion with a smile.

"A good word for what?" Allura' s voice made Lance jump, and he scrambled to his feet.

"Allura!" he gasped, spotting her entering Blue's hangar. "Hey! I was just asking Blue if she'd tell the Black Lion that I'd be a better pilot than Keith."

Allura smiled mischievously.

"Is that so?" she giggled. "If that were the case, Red probably would have booted you out by now. But if you want to keep your inquiry to Blue a secret, I can respect that."

She sauntered over and rubbed Blue's leg.

"I think she likes it when you visit her," Allura commented, staring up at the Blue Lion.

"Who wouldn't like a visit from me?" Lance joked, and Allura rolled her eyes.

She turned to Lance, and her face suddenly turned serious.

"Lance," she began. "Are you nervous about the mission tomorrow?"

He scuffed his feet and leaned against the other side of Blue's leg.

"I guess so," he shrugged, he didn't want to tell her about the growing dread he'd felt since Shiro had proposed the mission. "I mean, we're about to break back into Galra Central Command to sabotage Quintessence experiments. It's not exactly a small scale mission."

"I hope we're not making a big mistake," Allura murmured. "I'm not overly fond of entering Galra Central Command so often. There's just so much risk."

Lance smiled the best he could at her.

"It'll be okay. Besides, I'll be there to protect you," Lance chided, folding his arms.

"I'll need nothing of the sort," Allura snorted, giving Lance a shove. "You'd better rest up. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

"You do too," Lance pointed out.

"I know." she replied evenly. "I just wanted to do a quick scan of systems with Blue before tomorrow."

He nodded, and gave a tired smile.

"Of course," he murmured. "Good night Princess. I'll see you tomorrow. "

"Good night Lance."

Shiro had been strangely adamant about going into Central Command territory when he had proposed the plan a few days ago.

"They're planning something dangerous," he had said. "If we don't get over there soon, there will be no hope of us stopping them. You have to trust me on this."

Shiro had been having nightmares of his most recent time spent as a Galra prisoner, and had felt very strongly that his nightmares were not dreams, but flashbacks. Lance usually followed Shiro's keen intuition with confidence, but something felt off this time. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Lance passed Hunk and Pidge on the way back to his quarters. They were deep in conversation, most likely about the possibility of rescuing more prisoners during the mission. Perhaps this was the lucky mission. Maybe they'd finally find Matt, Pidge's missing brother.

"Hey Lance!" Keith's voice came from behind him, and he turned to see the dark haired Paladin walking briskly down the hall towards him.

"What's up?" Lance greeted.

"I was talking to Shiro," Keith began, "and I think Hunk and Pidge are going to need you for coverage during prisoner extraction more than we're going to need you for scoping out Haggar's Quintessence experiments."

"Okay," Lance agreed reluctantly. "You sure you guys won't need a sharp shooter? After all, Hunk gives pretty good coverage already. Wouldn't it be smarter for one of us to go with you?"

But Keith shook his head.

"I'd rather have more coverage for the prisoners. Besides, I think it'll be faster for Shiro, Allura, and me to just take care of it ourselves," Keith explained curtly.

Lance suppressed a groan. Would it kill Keith to think things through?

"Alright, whatever you say," Lance sighed, allowing a hint of sarcasm to creep into his tone. "But I still think it would be good for me or Hunk to go with the Quintessence crew, and one of you guys to come for prisoner extraction."

Keith frowned.

"I don't think it would be a good idea," he said sharply. "I want the prisoners to have the coverage. Besides, we'll have the Blade of Marmora there to help...and Shiro was very serious about keeping the Quintessence part of our mission as low-key as possible"

"I thought you were the leader of Voltron now! " Lance stammered. "Listen, Keith! This is a bad idea. Ever since Shiro first proposed this idea I've had this really horrible feeling in my gut. Tell me I'm not the only one that doesn't feel right about this, man!"

"Lance, you need to get a grip," Keith growled. "Shiro knows what he's doing. We're not going to to change plans just because you're a coward and don't want to go."

Keith stalked off before Lance could say anything else, and Lance let out the groan he'd been holding in. Why did he even bother? Did it not matter to him that Allura and Shiro would be going in without sharp shooter coverage?

His stomach turned nervously as he pictured Allura fighting off the hordes of Galra with no aerial coverage. He didn't doubt her skill in hand to hand combat, but it seemed like a stupid move sending the Quintessence team into action without him.

Lance arose early the next day, being sure to brush and feed Kaltenecker before heading to the dining hall for breakfast. Hunk and Pidge were already enjoying a hearty breakfast of Hunk's specialty pancakes and milk from Kaltenecker.

Lance pulled up a seat and settled in across from the two.

"Good morning," Hunk greeted.

"Morning!" Lance said, trying to be cheerful. "You guys ready to kick some Galra butt?"

Pidge and Hunk exchanged nervous looks, and Lance raised an eyebrow.

"You guys too, huh?"

"It just feels rushed," Pidge sighed, shaking her head. "I mean, we're just popping in to check in on Quintessence experiments with no firm plan? Something's off."

Hunk nodded, setting his fork down.

"I'm with Pidge on this one. I love extracting prisoners as much as the next guy, but going into Galra Central Command right now is too high risk in my opinion. Bad things happen every time we go back there," he explained.

"I know," Lance agreed, and he searched for words to try to convince them (and himself) that it was truly necessary. "Shiro seemed pretty convinced that Haggar was working on something that was going to end Voltron. I mean, he's been imprisoned by them multiple times now, and if he thinks something's up we should probably follow him."

Pidge looked back down at her food with a sigh, and Hunk shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I don't like it either, but Shiro and Keith are convinced that it's a good idea for the Quintessence group to go without a sharp shooter. I trust Shiro's experience, and I trust Keith's intuition. It'll be alright," Lance sighed.

They finished breakfast in silence, and Lance started towards the Red Lion's hangar. He carried his helmet under his arm, whistling to himself. He could spot Allura a little ways ahead, getting ready for transport to the Blue Lion's hangar.

"Hey Allura!" Lance called, and she turned and smiled.

"Hello Lance."

He stopped beside her.

"You ready?" he inquired.

"As ready as I can be," she chuckled.

"Listen," Lance started. " I know Shiro and Keith don't want a sharpshooter with the Quintessence group, but…"

"Lance, I know you're worried," Allura cut him off before he could say anything else.

She turned to him and clasped his hand in both of hers. She had a calm smile on her face, but she had a troubled look in her eyes.

"I just want you to worry about keeping Pidge and Hunk safe. They need you. Everything with be alright," she murmured. "I promise."

Lance nodded numbly, and she leaned forward suddenly and gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked up at her, surprised, but she merely smiled and walked away.

"I promise."

Those words still echoed in Lance's head now.

He tried to cling to the comfort of her voice. He tried to remember the clarity of her eyes, and the warmth of her hands.

Lance tried to cling to Allura's promise as his Bayard was kicked clean out of his hands...and as Ezor's knife plunged deep into his abdomen.

He gagged and stumbled backwards as Ezor giggled, and he shut his eyes in pain. Blood pounded in his ears, and his body seemed to shake uncontrollably. Lance knew he needed to get away. He needed to get to Allura. If things were going this poorly here, there was no doubt to him that it would be worse for Allura, Keith, and Shiro.

He forced his eyes open, and pivoted in an attempt to escape. He took one shuffling step only to be met by more pain. Lance's eyes locked with Lotor's, and he felt the knife jolt suddenly. Hot tears welled in his eyes.

He had failed.