The pair stared at each other as the tension in the room built, the air thick enough that it could rip the veil of darkness into shreds. Small pockets of lights in the ship's corners cast eerie shadows over Lance, his eyes deadlocked in a predatory gaze. Slav's eyes however, widened like saucers; his fear so potent that it broke into the atmosphere, mixing in with cool whispers of ice that crept along the floor boards. Neither of them spoke for a few nerve-wracking ticks, resulting in a significant startle in the alien upon hearing the paladin's voice, " I can't feel her anymore, " a manic tenor graced his next exhale, "I...I tried. I tried so hard and no matter what I did, or what I said...it's like she wasn't there anymore. Normally, it's like she's always there and this time...this time she wasn't. "

Slav stared at Lance, his blank face the epitome of dumb-founded confusion.

The boy's silver eyes searched around for nothing, whatever he was looking for was inside his head. Suddenly, the glowing iris's fixed instantly onto him, "I...I…" his words were not as sharp as his gaze and his breath trembled., "I need you to fix me," a fist at his side clenched repeatedly, "Please."

Slav's fear ever so slightened, his demeanor taking on something akin to pity. He found it wise to not respond to the reeling human in front of him. As a result, Lance took a step forwards out of the shadows, the light unmasking himself in the process.

All three of Slav's stomachs dropped.

The blue paladin's appearance had taken a drastic turn in a mere number of hours. The pools of silver were at the center of deep bruises and blood shot eyes, the mania and desperation in them shining brighter than ever. His hair was facing many directions, as if something had clawed and yanked the strands into a messy mixture of white and brown. The conservative highlights had been replaced by an icy explosion of white that had aggressively taken over half of Lance's head.

Slav flinched as the air took a slightly frostier turn as Lance's fear soon began to take control of him, "Slav, please, before it's too late . "

Slav was forced to voice his concerns over the other paladin's involvement which in turn, caused Lance to flinch, sending his mind and body spinning, "No no no no. They-they can't...they can't know just -" his eyes closed briefly, returning them to their ocean colored blue, "Just fix me. You can fix me, if anyone in this mother quiznaking universe can fix me it's you! "

The scream echoed in the small quarters, the two beings going toe to toe now. Tears were brimming at dark rimmed eyes, his teeth bared in anguish.

Each tick lasted a lifetime between them and Slav stared at him in sadness.

"...I can't," he answered.

"..."

The air in his chambers suddenly became very, very cold.

Lance stilled, the anguish on his face dissipating as his eyes hardened into a frosty white.

Slav yelped as ice bloomed around his feet and grew into large spiral patterns on the walls and ceiling. The urge to run made the alien realize he had been backed into a corner, his rising panic holding a scream captive in his own throat.

Lance's voice echoed, as if there were two of him speaking, "What if you had a little convincing?" He raised his hand, an icy fog pooling around his fingers.

The alien suddenly found himself rambling, his anxiety spitting out meaningless facts and calculations. This seemed to irritate the boy as his eyebrows quirked. When Slav's mad ramble fell to the druid witch his back was slammed into the wall so fast black spots graced his vision.

He choked, hungry for air as the hand pinning him began to deprive his lungs. The ice around his throat turned colder as Lance's grip tightened, "Tell me...the cure."

Slav screamed as it began to burn into his skin.

"I can't! There is no cure!"

His gaze never wavered, "I don't believe you."

Slav's legs scrambled for leverage against the wall, its icy layer digging into his spine, "It's true! I've checked every possible reality! There aren't any where you find-" he choked, "- a cure ."

The suspicion in Lance's glowing eyes held for a few seconds and then faded as confusion took its place. His hand slipped from the alien's throat and he took a quick step back.

He frowned as Slav lay on the ground coughing, "What? I don't," the blue in his eyes returned for only a brief second, "I don't understand. No...no, that can't -" the teenager's head spun, his breath hitched as it crystallized before him, "You're wrong. There has to be a-a cure for th-this. There is one I know it! "

Slav struggled to breath, his eyes shooting for the door, "Blue Pala-"

"You calculated wrong. There's-"

For all of Slav's cowardice, there was no fear in the known universe to make him lie to this boy. They made eye contact, "There is no cure in any reality."

"..."

"I'm sorry."

Lance just stared at a point well past Slav's head, his eyes wide.

' "I miss rain and splashing in puddles." '

Tears began to slip down his cheeks, raw terror shining through the trembles.

' "I know we're supposed to be brave paladins and defenders of the universe, but honestly? I just want to go home." '

He wasn't going home was he?

Lance's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, his realization tearing him apart until there was nothing left but pain and self-loathing, " S-s-o...I-I-I'm st-stuck like th-this? A-a as s-some kind of monster?

His fractured gaze searched the floor boards for answers only to fixate onto the alien before him.

Slav answered, "There are realities where you learn to become a paladin with this ability...as well as realities where you slaughter entire armies but...that's completely and 100% irrelevant," he tried to back track as he realized his mistake but it was too late.

Lance gnashed his teeth and asked viciously, "Is there even a ' 00000000000000000000 .whatever quiznacking percent' chance that someone can help me?"

Slav hesitated in that very moment and Lance latched onto it, "TELL ME!"

His roar quaked inside the four walls.

Slav's eyes closed, the silence deafening.

"There is one."

Before Lance can speak, Slav added, "-but I must warn you that it has a 99999999456799933% chance of it ending badly for everyone, possibly even a few fiery deaths."

Lance reached out in the void for Blue once more, only to feel any icy wall between them. He felt the coldness of space and the vast, dark, empty hole in the universe. He was alone. The boy would never could get used to that. He was always used to being around so many people and it was growing more likely by the minute that he would never see them again. Lance struggled to think straight, the only thing left was a blur of pain as his his world grew colder.

"I'll do whatever I have to do."

The entire ship was immediately woken by the Castle alarms. The paladins responded quickly as they were pulled from their sleep, breaking personal records. As they all collected in the main control room they all wore masks of sleep addled confusion and alarm, expecting some kind of intruder. Shiro walked into the room quickly, "What happened?"

Pidge was already on top of security feeds, disabling the alarms she answered, "The bay doors have opened!"

The team watched the security footage of Lance leaving in a pod, his appearance drastically changed.

Keith felt his own pulse quicken and Shiro stared at the feed, breathing one word, "Lance."