A/N: Here is where the more adult themes start to show... mostly just violence. Italics indicate memories, flashbacks, or dreams.

Lotor stood defiantly before his father in the command room. The young half-breed was two heads shorter than the towering figure before him, yet the flame burning inside of the prince was much more formidable than any physical prowess he held. If only his father could see that. "I cannot do this. The ancient tomes can hold so much…" he said quietly but trailed off. Lotor's stone gaze wavered slightly as the rage slowly eclipsed his father's stoic face.

The hand came fast, Lotor had half anticipated it, bringing his hand up to partially block the blow. However, his father's gigantic gauntlet held more than enough power to knock the young prince down onto the floor. His father's monotone voice spoke condescendingly, "You will learn to let these relics perish or you will die. They are meaningless."

The monster's boots thudded past him to the bridge of the ship, leaving a bruised Lotor on the cold metal floor. As the blast door shut and the explosions began, Lotor screwed his eyes closed and held back the fury welling up inside of him.

XxX

Lotor's purple lids flicked open. He lay still in the dark for a moment, reigning in all of the emotions the memory had brought to bear. It was an old one; one he had not faced for many years. Strange. He shook the last remnants of the thoughts away and looked at the clock mounted to the wall. The night was nearly worn away.

He sat up, kicking his strong legs over the side of the bed and stretching. As he stood and wandered to the wash basin to tame his long white mane, he pondered the meaning of the dream. He remembered that day faintly, it was so long ago. The tomes he had been protecting from his father's love of mindless carnage had been a horde of ancient star maps. They had been sacred to a people group Lotor had long forgotten the name, another people wiped out by the Galran Empire. Lotor had been negotiating long before Zarkon had come to ruin the entire process. A flicker of that earlier anger returned to him… He had been so close to being able to access them…

Lotor placed the comb down and gripped the edge of the basin. He really needed to get a grip. He took a few cooling breaths before carefully pulling the pieces of his scattered thoughts together. It was an exercise he had learned in his youth. As his breathing regulated and his muscles relaxed he pulled the plans for today to the forefront of his mind. He supressed a smirk and lifted his head. He left his quarters quietly. He would return to the databanks before anyone got there.

As his boots clicked down the dim hallways, he planned his course of searching for today. He would begin where he had left off last night and get at least eight chapters done before breakfast. He was startled as he moved into the room and saw the princess' slender form hunched over a glittering holo map. He quickly clamped down on his surprise and said smoothly, "Good morning, princess."

Allura flashed him a sweet smile. "Good morning, Lotor." Her light voice picked up an eager tone. "I found this map in the data-pool. It is different than the others."

Lotor's interest piqued as he moved to her side, inhaling and ignoring the floral smell of her cologne. His bright yellow eyes scanned the indicated portion of the map. For a moment, he was unsure what she meant by "different" but then he saw it. On a tiny corner of the map there was an interesting change of star routes. "I see it," he said, running through the many galactic regions in that area of the universe.

"I have never come across this one. I wonder why it is different?" She mused with him.

Lotor stroked his chin and thought about it. The fact that maps was a seeming theme for today was not lost on him. Indeed, the correlation with his previous dream made the finding that much more enticing… Though, part of him dictated the swap to be a mistake, the other, hungry, testing part of him told him it was there for a reason. He spoke as a spark of suggestion came into his mind, "To hide something, perhaps?"

Allura's sapphire eyes brightened as she followed down his line of thought. "Maybe." She leaned down to scrutinise the map again. "They diverge from the original here."

His eyes tracked her finger as it moved down the twisting line marking the route. He marvelled how she noticed such a tiny spot on such a large map… Focus.

"Here it returns to the original route found on the other maps of this region," she continued. "I don't know anything in that sector of importance. Do you?" She looked up at him.

Lotor narrowed his eyes, wracking his brain. "No," he finally confessed. "It is feasible no one knows because this map maker hid it," he amended.

Allura nodded. "Do you think we should follow this lead?"

His brow furrowed as he weighed the importance of this finding. "Let us see if there are any other mentions of this region in your databanks," he replied confidently. He turned to the console on his right. It flowered to life, lighting the room with a distinct blue hue.

Allura gave a curt nod in acknowledgement. "Alright," she chirped.

He smiled knowing he was safe from her view. This could very well be of great importance…