Keith had his head slumped low, chin almost touching his chest and bangs hanging low to cover his eyes. He shuffled his feet along the metal floor. The Galra drones leading him suddenly tugged on the chain around his neck and he stumbled, barely catching himself. The sudden strain he'd put on his knee caused pain to shoot up his right leg. He bit back a whimper and sped up his pace slightly. The Galra drones who'd taken him down hadn't been kind. They'd reopened the gash on his side and added scrapes, cuts, and bruises all over his body. He was sure something was wrong with his knee, but he refused to acknowledge it. They walked down hall after hall, each lined with more and more drones. Everything looked the same, and Keith wasn't sure he'd be able to make it back to red. Not without her help, anyways. Finally, he was pulled around a corner to a new hall. It seemed... grander. High archs scraped the ceilings, draped in black, purple, and silver. Tall, black doors rose ahead of him. Dread started pooling in the pit of his stomach as he was dragged to them. The drone placed its hand on a scanner and the doors swung open. Inside was a large throne room. To the left and right, lining both walls, were windows opened to the expanse of space. All of the grand carpets were lined towards the center piece of the room. Zarkon sat upon a tall, dark throne, and the Witch stood behind him. Keith was dragged roughly up the steps to Zarkons throne and was stopped a few away from him. Zarkon made a flick of his wrist and the drones stepped back to the base of the stairs, kneeling.

Keith remained standing, locked in a stare off with Zarkon.

"kneel" he grumbled out, low but calm. Keith's gaze didn't waver.

"Kneel" Zarkon said again, this time with more force upon it. He reached forward and grabbed the chain hanging from Keith's neck, giving it a hard tug. Keith fell forward and, with his hands tied behind his back, wasn't able to stop his head from smacking into the chair. He felt a crack and blood gushed from his nose. It would've stained the carpet if it weren't already black.

"Thet's better" Zarkon growled, leaning back in his throne. Keith kept his face in the carpet, deciding it would be better for him to look at anything but Zarkon.

"The Red Paladin," Zarkon purred. "My age old enemy. Here I was thinking that I'd actually have to try to get a paladin, but no. That beast did it for me. I didn't even have to lift a finger."

Keith grit his teeth but remained on his knees. He couldn't lose control. Not now.

"Hmm, only if it were this easy to get my hands on my Champion again..." He trailed off. Keith tensed and shot up, eyes brimming with hatred. He cringed as his weight resettled on his injured knee but kept leaning back until his spine was straight and he glared into the yellow slits of Zarkon's eyes.

"He's not the Champion, and he's not yours" he hissed. Anger was lashing at his mind, begging to be released.

"You can remove the fighter from the colliseum, but you can't remove the colliseum from the fighter. He will always be the Champion, and he will always be mine. After all, who else would he belong to?" He leaned forward and gripped Keith's face, a claw digging into his cheek and scratching just deep enough for a small trickle of blood to come free. "You? Do you really think that you can contain him? 'heal him'? There isn't an inch of his mind we haven't seen" he stated, gesturing at the Witch, who flashed him a sickly smile.

Keith felt sick. He tore his face back with a violent whip of his head and Zarkon laughed, a deep and cruel sound.

"He will learn what it means to be a Galra in due time. He will learn to obey" He waved over another drone and before Keith could register what was happening, he was being shoved roughly back down. He felt a painful stap at the base of his neck and he groaned. It felt like liquid fire was being injected into his bloodstream. It coursed through his body and he reared back, a scream ripping itself from his throat. He stared at the ceiling as the pain began to subside and realized that he could now see everything in a sharp clarity. Moments later, he sunk back to the ground and blackness overwhelmed him.

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus! Let me know your thoughts. Thanks guys!