Lotor rushed through another tunnel. This was the last one. His hands shook and for the first time in centuries, he stood on the brink of delirium. There was no sign of her. He could sense something was wrong. The voice was gone, replaced with a painful regret. Or perhaps closer to feeling like he would very soon need to do something he would regret.

If this was love, he did not want it. He had no recollection of holding someone's thoughts so dear the way he held hers. An irrational, completely unreasonable, inclination to care about them just because they were hers.

"Allura!" He called through another dark hallway.

A spark of inspiration hit him, and he turned on his heel, sprinting back the way he came. The chamber was still thrumming with his unique mixture of quintessence. The haunting wind was no longer audible. Good.

Lotor passed back the way they came. Vaulting over thick roots and pushing through brush. The sky was quickly darkening, and the air smelled thick with moisture. A cool breeze cut through his sweaty flightsuit. A heavy presence was settling over Lotor's shoulders and he quickened his pace.

The prince skidded to a halt when her lion came into view between a break in the foliage. "Blue!" He ran the rest of the way before skidding to a halt in front of the massive beast. Rain began to sprinkle over the earth.

He did not dare attempt to enter the lion. "Where is she?" At least she had not left him here. A nauseating feeling was worming its way into his stomach. "Where did she go? Please," he paused knowing the lion would see through any lie he told it. "I need to speak with her. I need to know she is alright."

Silence.

Frustration mounted inside of him. "Are you not supposed to protect your paladin?" He snarled. "Well?!" He clenched his fists. "Fine." Lotor turned vehemently. "I will find her on my own… When I manufacture my own ship, I will remember your stubbornness," he added under his breath.

The vow was followed instantly by an uncharacteristic scream of surprise as Lotor was picked up in the robeast's metal jaws.

XxX

Allura strained against the mental onrush of dark energy. Something had happened and she was still unsure where exactly she was.

The last thing she remembered before she found herself in this pseudo-reality, Lotor was inspecting the large generator near the back of the communications center. She had been walking near one of the terminals. A sudden flicker of gold light had startled her then blackness had overcome her sight.

Now, she stood in a parody world that resembled the planet she and Lotor had previously explored. Oversized wintering trees towered over her. A gawdy blue sky was now being quickly overtaken by sodden grey clouds in disturbing shapes. She imagined this was how the world would look if she ever tried hardcore drugs… A wave of fluorescent purple lightning bolts rained from the bastioning storm.

Allura gracefully pirouetted and rolled from one of the forked tongues before deftly evading another with a lunge forward. She somersaulted to her feet. A chorus of whimpering howls was rising on the fast-moving breeze. "Well that is not good," she stated dryly.

The princess ran a hand through her pale locks, taking the moment of respite to think. She looked to each direction in turn before deciding to head away from the storm and skirting to the right of the howling. She truly hoped Lotor was in this with her… somewhere…

XxX

A series of deep grunts echoed up from the aft section of Blue. They were followed by several clatters and a Galran curse.

Lotor gripped the manifold as Blue took another wild turn. He grit his teeth together as a toolkit that had been knocked loose smashed into his shoulder. "I truly hope you don't fly this way with the princess," Lotor called mockingly.

He forced himself to his feet and took a couple quick steps closer to the cockpit before the lion threw him into the ceiling. His claws found a grate and Lotor kept himself from losing ground at the expense of his gloves.

He almost thought he heard an irritated growl.

"I won't scratch your interior if you…"

Thud.

"Won't…"

Crash.

"Fly like a maniac!" Lotor snapped. His white mane tangled as the lion went into another wild manoeuvre. "Really!"

There was another moment of respite which Lotor took quick advantage off, launching himself off the bulkhead and gripping the pilot's seat for dear life. He pulled himself against inertia and found himself in the seat just before the lion roared loudly and threw him against the hastily placed restraints.

Lotor hissed as his thumb caught under the fabric but waited till the beast had taken another pause before righting himself. "I just want to help!" He angrily blew a stray lock out of his eyes before adding disdainfully, "Last time I actually try."

Blue aggressively threw the prince against the restraints, knocking the breath from the half breed. Lotor seethed. "My apologies." He wiped a line of blood from his mouth.

She started to spin and Lotor sank his claws into the armrests when the restraints popped out of the sockets. "I mean it," he ground. Outside, the surface was fast approaching.

She growled. He felt his stomach go to his head and his heart hit his feet. Inertia slammed him into the ceiling again. He found purchase wrapping his long arms around a console. She continued her acrobatics.

He growled with matched ferocity, "Stop."

She actually listened. However, he couldn't convince his ego that it was his doing entirely, and it cut him. "You are not making this easier," he accused half-heartedly after several breaths.

A question was raised.

Lotor's eyebrows knit together. "I want to help." Thinking was becoming more difficult. It could have been the shaking he had taken or… "Blue, I think I care deeply for her."

The lion roared and flipped into a vertical ascent towards the sky. He landed squarely in the pilot's seat with a jarring smack. He felt her gearing for another tremendous wave of movement. "Yes! All right. Fine! I love her!"

Thud.

"Isn't that enough?!"