A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2019 goes swimmingly for you guys! I decided that Lance will not be the black paladin in this fic. That will be a separate story that is currently under outlining and edits. Thank you for all the support, you Paladins are the best. At first I was worried this chapter was a bit rushed, but the missing pieces here will be revisited next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Allura has been hiding a secret from the Paladins, something painful from her past forced her to remain quiet. However that all changes when she finds a beloved object of someone she held dear. A simple pendant that hangs around the Blue Paladin's neck. Altean!Lance

Chapter Ten

When Lance woke up, his head throbbed with pain. The floor beneath him was cold, metal. He jolted up to see he was in a cell and not in the blue lion fighting the crazy beast. His eyes widened as the memories came flooding in from before he blacked out. Flying, he was flying Blue, he had been with Voltron and then fighting off Galra when somehow how they got inside Blue.

He shut his eyes, he brought his fingers to right temple to feel dried blood. All images were pouring in, mixed and muddled together. He couldn't figure out what happened exactly, but he knew one thing for sure, he needed to get out of here. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, trying to ignore the ache from his temple and the pit in his stomach as reality settled in. He had been captured by the Galra, had no way to contact the others, nor could he feel blue.

His heart clenched as fear started coursing through his veins. Dread started to cloud his mind, but he remembered Allura speaking to him before and finding him when he ran away. Though he had never tried to contact her, he hoped that she would hear him when he screamed her name in his mind.

Allura! Allura, can you hear me? Please answer!

"The prisoner is awake." That was a voice from outside, a guard Lance assumed.

"Alert Zarkon and Haggar."

Lance swallowed thickly at that. Facing Zarkon or Haggar was not something he wanted to do, he had to find a way out of here. After looking around for any other possible escape routes, he came up empty handed and slightly panicked. If he was going to get out of here he would have to wait until they opened the door.

It was lucky his hands were not cuffed and neither were his ankles, this meant he could run and fight. Once he found a ship he could fly away or a communication center, he could send a signal to the others if Allura couldn't hear his call. The cell door opened abruptly cutting off his train of thoughts. Two Galra soldiers towered above him.

"Let's go prisoner," said the taller one.

Lance looked offended, "Who you calling prisoner?"

Before they could respond, he attacked them. Even though he didn't remember learning any of these moves as he dodged their attacks and threw punches of his own, he wouldn't question it. After a few hits, he managed to escape them and ran away through the halls. Dark halls with low red or purple lights that were not helping his headache as he ran. If he had to fight his way out of here he would.

He skidded to a stop, something came to mind he hadn't considered before. What if he wasn't the only who was captured? He searched his memory to see if maybe some else had been captured, but it gave him no information about the others. Part of him cursed himself for not thinking to find the others, what if they were nearby and he just left them? Guilt gnawed at his stomach, he had to go back.

"The Blue Paladin has escaped," shouted a guard who spotted him, "Stop him."

Lance sighed, "Oh well that's just great."

He took off running down another hallway, he called out to the others hoping they would respond. Tried using the comms, only to hear static. He shouted for them. They never answered. A sharp right later and he found himself in front of several guards, each with some type of weapon. His bayard was gone, he had no weapon and was virtually defenseless. He put his fists up anyway.

"Blue Paladin, you are to come with us," said the guard standing at the front.

Lance hissed, "No way am I going to Zarkon or the witch Haggar!"

"And here I thought you might be pleased to see me."

Lance's entire body froze in place, the voice was too clear to be a memory. He knew if he turned around, Zarkon would be standing not too far away. He did not want to face him, but he couldn't stay like this forever. Steeling himself, Lance found whatever courage he had left and turned around to face the Emperor of the Galra. He did not look like the memory, but Lance already knew that based off of seeing him before. However seeing him this close was not comforting in the least.

"I am not afraid of you," Lance declared, his tone cold.

Zarkon replied flatly, "I would be disappointed if you were. I should have known you were alive Casimir. I would have come for you sooner."

"Don't call me that," Lance shouted, a burst of anger coming from him, "You have no right to call me that."

"It's your name," said Zarkon, "Guards, leave us. I need to speak with the Altran Prince alone."

Though the guards looked hesitant, they said Vrepit sa in unison before departing. Lance would have liked to take this chance to escape, but he forced himself to stay in his spot as Zarkon walked closer to him. Zarkon knowing his identity didn't faze him, ever since Lance felt like someone was watching he had a feeling Zarkon knew he was alive. Maybe he should have told Allura this, but he reminded himself she only would have worried further. This man was not the one from his faded memories.

"Are the others here," Lance asked though he did not expect Zarkon to answer, "What have you done with them?"

Zarkon shook his head, "You are the only one here. Though I imagine they are searching for you."

"What do you want," Lance asked next, his hands clenched into fists.

"You might be able to help me," commented Zarkon with a knowing look.

Lance growled, he shook his head, "I would never help you."

Zarkon responded smoothly, "You were eager to help as a child. Perhaps at that time you were more willing to listen. Haggar!"

Lance felt a cold grip engulf his body as he was forced to his knees. He struggled against the hold, but it was no use. An invisible force was in control now, his heart pounding harder and harder as his fear continued to rise.

"Take him to the chamber, you know what to do," said Zarkon looking down at Lance.

Blue eyes glared up at him, defiance written across his face as he kneeled before the Galra. Zarkon knew this rebellious act would not last long, after Haggar was done with him, he would see things from his point of view.

"Torture me all you want," shouted Lance, one last act of defiance before the darkness overcame him, "But I will never, ever, help you!"

"We'll see," was all Zarkon said.

Spots clouded his vision, he called out to Blue.

Allura was without a doubt an absolute wreck on the inside at the capture of her brother, on the outside she remained as stoic as she could despite the terror she felt. She would not and could not lose him, not again. With the plan coming to halt in order for the Blue Paladin to be rescued, she had a terrible feeling. There was no telling what horrors Lance would be subjected to.

She wanted to question why the Galra took Lance and none of the other paladins. Zarkon had been after the Black Lion for ages, why not take it and Shiro as well? The only thing that made sense about it was that Zarkon knew his identity. The Blade of Marmora seemed to know his identity without introduction, but could that mean one of them had revealed this information to Zarkon. Stars, she hoped not.

"We're going to find him and take Zarkon down," Shiro said to her confidently, "I promise, we will bring Lance home."

To her credit, Allura did not look as terrified as she was, but the others knew how afraid she was. Believing he was dead for so long, having him back for a short while only to have him ripped away from her again. None of them could really understand what she was feeling right now. Of course they were all worried about Lance and wanted to get him back, but it was different attachments and feelings.

Hunk and Pidge wanted their friend back, Shiro wanted his mentee back and Keith, well Keith just wanted him back. Besides the Alteans, Keith seemed to be taking the loss of Lance the worst. All he cared about at this moment was finding Lance and bringing him back to the castle, bring him home where he was safe.

Allura nodded to Shiro, "I hope you're ri-"

Allura! Allura can you hear me? Please answer!

A startled cry escaped her. Allura whipped her head around, the terror she felt from Lance jolting through her. She could feel him, could feel is panic and uncertainty, the desperation was consuming her. Just as soon as she felt him, she lost him.

Shiro places his hands on her upper arms, "Princess?"

"Lance," she whispered softly, "I-I heard him. He called out to me, but I lost him. I lost him."

She tried to focus on his fading presence, she called on him as best she could, but he was gone. No trace of his essence could be found now. Pain stabbed her heart at the thought she had lost him forever. Losing him was not something she wanted to ever happen again. She had to find him.

Shiro looked as helpless as he felt. When the beast had been destroyed, the Galra sent their fighters after them. There were far too many for Voltron, Shiro thought they would have a better chance if they split up. And it worked. Only until the Blue Lion was quickly overwhelmed and then Lance was gone. Shiro blamed himself. If he had kept Voltron in formation, Lance likely wouldn't have been taken.

"We're going to find him, he still has armor and Pidge is working on getting back in touch with it," Shiro said, he hoped he sounded reassuring and confident.

Allura sighed, but said nothing in return.

The Blue Lion came alive moments later, it's roar echoing throughout the castle. When Lance had been taken, the lion shut down as if all the power had been drained. Allura and Shiro rushed to the hangar, Keith, Pidge and Hunk were already there, watching as the lion stood at it's full height. Taking in a 'breath' before the lion roared with all the power it had left, the other lions following a beat after each other.

This was not a weird spectacle for the paladins to see, but now they needed to see what exactly the lions were trying to tell them. Keith stared up at Blue with a frown, then an image flashed through his find. It was Lance kneeling on the floor, Haggar behind him using her magic to subdue him as Zarkon towered over him.

The image quickly faded away, but Keith understood what Blue and now the other lions were trying to say.

Keith was the first to understand, "They know where Lance is. We need to get to our lions and go."

Shiro nodded, "Everyone to your lions, we'll follow Blue. She'll get us to our missing paladin."

"We don't have a plan to get him," Pidge pointed out with a frown.

"Who cares, Lance is out there and we are just sitting here," Keith snapped angrily.

Pidge wasn't bothered by his outburst as she said, "I'm worried about Lance to, but if we're going to get him back here, we need a plan."

Allura spoke next, "She's right. Paladins... make a plan on the way as you follow the Blue Lion. We have some locations of the Empire's fleet not too far away, a wormhole won't be necessary I hope."

"No, I'm not getting hints to the wormhole," Shiro agreed, "Once we're all in our lions, we'll come with a plan on the go. If the plan fails, we'll improvise."

Hunk suppressed a groan, he muttered, "I hate improvising."

"There's no time to wait, let's go," Keith said.

Once all the paladins were in their lions, Blue led them out of the castle. Allura wanted desperately to come, even tried to ride with Shiro, but it was decided she would stay with the castle. Of course she wanted to argue, but there was no time. If they needed an emergency exit, she would get the wormhole ready.

It made her feel helpless to be stuck here though, but she would do her job and be ready for when the Paladins needed aid. She clenched her jaw as she watched the lions disappear from her sight. They had to bring him back, they had to. Otherwise she would never forgive them or herself for allowing this happen.

When Zarkon's fleet came in their screens, Blue stopped so as not to get into the proximity of their censors. The lions hovered behind the Blue lion, their paladins speaking.

"So we have a plan now," Hunk asked anxiously, "Because just aimlessly going in there is not a good idea and I'm not a fan of bad ideas."

Keith spoke through the comms, "Relax Hunk. We'll get through this, get Lance and be back in no time to execute the plan to take down the empire once and for all."

Shiro said, "Listen up paladins. Pidge is currently is hacking into their systems to see where they are holding the prisoners. Once we know where he is, we can go in and come out. Keith, Hunk I want you to stay out here and be our defense while Pidge and I get inside to find Lance."

"You two can't cover all that ground if they decide to move in," Keith argued, "Hunk should stay out here as our defense, the three of us can cover more ground and find him faster."

"Don't leave me alone," Hunk shouted, his face panicked.

Shiro ignored Hunk and replied, "Keith, Red is the fastest and if we need a quick evac, your lion is our best bet while Hunk keeps attention elsewhere. You're staying out here."

Keith wanted to argue, he wanted to protest and shout and say he was going with them, but he swallowed those words. He grunted a fine and leaned back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. He refused to get in the way of helping Lance.

Pidge found a path to the ship so that they could get closer without being seen, so far she hadn't pinpointed where Lance was. She assumed this meant that his being prisoner was being kept a secret, she hoped that they didn't have the wrong ship. The red, yellow, black and blue lions stayed further away while green went forward. Pidge had cloaking technology working for her lion that the others had yet to receive. Shiro rode with her in silence until she spoke.

"I'm worried Shiro, the last thing I said to Lance was harsh," Pidge grimaced at the memory, "What if that was the last thing I said to him?"

Shiro placed his hand on her shoulder, "We're going to get Lance back. Stay focused in the moment, not the past or the possible future."

Pidge inhaled sharply, she nodded.

Getting inside without being detected was easier than either the paladins would have thought. Pidge continued her hacking as they remained in the hangar, Shiro kept a look out until finally she picked up on chatter.

A voice said through the static, "I heard the prisoner almost escaped. Who is it?"

"The Blue paladin I think. He should be with Haggar now."

Shiro's skin paled at that, he glanced a Pidge, "Where is Haggar on this ship?"

Pidge typed on her arm keypad, her eyes squinting behind her glasses until she found what she was looking for. "Here, I found her and the quickest path to her," Pidge said, she looked at Shiro with a determined expression.

Shiro nodded, "Let's go."

Pidge didn't show it, but she felt fear grip her heart at the thought of Lance being at the hands of a witch. She raced down the hall with Shiro by her side. They had to get to Lance soon and without being caught. Lucky the Galra seemed unaware of their presence and they wanted to keep it that way. Following the map she dug up was easy enough, but they weren't sure they were in the right area until a horrible sound filled the hall. It was low and muffled and at first, but as they followed it the sound only increased in volume. The sound of screaming forced the green and black paladin to stop.

The cry sounded just like-

"Lance," Pidge said, "We have to hurry."

"Come on," Shiro said running in the direction of the screams.

Shiro would be lying if he said he wasn't terrified for blue paladin. It was his fault that Lance got captured, he had to do something to make this right. He would make this right and would not let Lance be hurt anymore.

They stopped outside the door, luckily no guards were present which they thought was strange. However Shiro assumed it must be because Haggar didn't need guards, though it was weird her Druid's weren't out here. Unless they were inside with her helping to torture the blue paladin.

"What do we do Shiro," Pidge whispered, another scream piercing their hearts.

Shiro swallowed, he activated the comms, "Keith, Hunk. We need a distraction now. We need to get Haggar away from here, we can't take her on our own especially if she decides to use Lance as leverage for us to surrender."

Keith replied, "We're on it."

It hardly took a minute, but the sounds of explosions and alarms filled the once mostly quiet hall. Shiro and Pidge moved away from the door out of sight so they would not be seen. They hoped Haggar would leave, pleaded with the universe for her to leave. To their relief, the double doors opened after a second round of explosions. The witch walked out away from their hiding spot. Not wasting a second, Shiro and Pidge raced inside the room just before the door closed behind them.

In the center of the room was none other than the blue paladin, he looked up weakly, but no expression passed over his face. He tried to push himself up, but only managed to roll over slightly and fall off the examination table he had been lying on with a harsh thud.

Shiro and Pidge made it to his fallen form in an instant, his limp body giving on the impression he could have been dead if not for the shallow breaths he took. Shiro pulled him into his arms, he felt much lighter than he had before. However what caught their attention more than anything else was his appearance. His once tall stature was not shorter, he could have been the same height as Pidge now if Shiro was judging proportions correctly. His hair was more white than brown and clear blue sickle marks could be seen on his face.

Pidge stared at Lance horrified, "Lance, stay with us."

His eyes opened slightly, confusion on his face with a small bit of fear. Lance, this girl called him Lance. He wasn't sure who that was at first, but then remembered it was his name. No, that couldn't have been his name... This was his friend, from school. Garret right?

Recognition washed over him, but he felt so unsure, "You're, you're Pidge right?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Pidge said incredulously, she wanted that to be a joke.

She wanted him to be joking, his expression told her he was not kidding around for once. He barely recognized her and that sent even more fear into Pidge than before. How could he not be sure who she was? He had been gone for less than three hours, what had they done to him?

Shiro frowned, "It's going to be okay Lance. We're going to get you out of here."

He blinked, "Lance, that's my name isn't it?"

Shiro tried not to show his fear at that comment, he smiled reassuringly, "Yeah buddy. Your name is Lance. And you remember me, Shiro."

Lance nodded slowly, "Yeah…. Shiro. A pilot, one of the best."

Shiro radioed the others, "We found Lance, but he doesn't look good. Haggar did something to him. Hunk, radio Allura and Coran."

"On it."

Lance's eyes lit up, he knew Allura and Coran for sure, "I know them… Allura, she's important and Coran, he's a friend."

Shiro nodded, "Yes. You do know them, you know all of us. I promise, you'll be okay."

Lance's eyelids fell, his breathing remained shallow and he was back asleep, his face slightly scrunched.

Shiro pulled Lance into his arms and with Pidge leading the way, they ran as far and as fast as they could.

By the time they made it back to the green lion, Lance had woken up again with a massive headache, but could recall basic information. He remembered everyone, even though he sounded uncertain when he said their names. His appearance was the most concerning part of this mess though his muddled memory was definitely something the other paladins were worried about.

Lance was bothered by his now short stature, but he was more concerned about the memories from his past as Casimir that seemed to overtaking the ones as Lance.