Lance came back to consciousness with a heavy head. He felt he was moving, rather being moved. He opened his eyes only seeing the ceiling. Two royal guards were dragging him by his feet, his upper body being pulled over the floor. They also took his bayard away. Great captured by an asshole king!

The guards came to a stop lifted Lance up and threw him onto the floor of a jailcell before leaving.

"So, they got you too huh?"

Lance looked up and saw Hunk throwing him a sympathetic smile, Pidge and Allura next to him. A few feet away was general Elluag, brooding along with only one of the two rebels he had brought along.

Lance sighed heavily before plunging his face into the floor in defeat. "How did this happen?" He asked with a muffled voice.

The three paladins looked at general Elluag. He avoided their gazes before answering. "My second in command betrayed us. They knew we were coming the whole time. I can't believe I was fooled like that. I'm sorry it's all my fault."

No one said anything for a few seconds, the Pidge noticed something looking out of the window of the cell. "The Atlas stopped firing."

They all looked outside to the severe lack of continuous fire flaring up against the shield of the capital. From the prison building they were in they could see the palace with the black lion still in front of it as well as the dome containing the shield generator.

"I guess Sioul told Shiro to stop firing or 'four of the five paladins are history'." Hunk guessed mocking the king's voice.

"Great! Just fucking great!" Lance started. "Now I even delivered him my friends and myself as hostages, right after telling him Keith is a hybrid so he actually can brainwash him! Can I fuck anything else up?"

"Lance …" Hunk said in calm voice but didn't know how to continue.

"DON'T 'Lance' ME!" The blue Paladin screamed, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm such a fucking loser! I should have never led this mission! Of course, it would fail! All I'm good four is comic relief and bumping up our numbers to five paladins!"

Everyone was silent for a moment unsure what to say or do. There was a sense of total defeat and despair with all of them.

Lance collapsed back onto the floor again. "And I couldn't even protect Keith… "He started sobbing.

Hunk hesitated for a moment thinking about what to do before he took Lance into a heartfelt embrace. "Listen bro. I'm feeling down too. But let's be honest we've made our way out of worse situations."

Pidge joined their hug. "Also, don't beat yourself up about this! I mean, your plan was pretty good and would have worked. The chances of the second in command of a centuries old rebellion choosing right this moment to betray said rebellion are infinitesimally small, not even the greatest tactician would take that into consideration."

"They are right Lance." Allura joined as well. "So how about you show us your genius once again? This is not over yet! Or are you happy with Keith getting brainwashed and married off to that creep while he keeps us as prisoners?"

Lance's mind immediately drew up the picture: Sioul lying on a chaise while Keith was caressing him with a lovestruck face and himself being forced to watch it all while holding a plate of grapes like some slave.

Nope!

Not going to happen!

None of it!

Lance's will to fight was reignited by his friend kind words and … just pure jealousy. H e was not going to let that guy win!

He closed his eyes and summoned his bayard back into his hand the way Keith did on Zethrid's ship.

"That's the spirit!" Hunk said, following Lance's example in getting his bayard back.

Pidge and Allura did the same. "So, what's the plan? We just storm right into the throne room without backup?" The green Paladin asked.

Lance went back over to the window at the black lion.

'Black, I know I'm not your Paladin but please, Keith needs us, let me pilot you, just this once.'

…

Black's eyes lit up. Lance felt it, he could control her just the way he did with red. The lion charged up a laser from its mouth and unleashed it onto the dome making the shield collapse.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Pidge commented.

The fire from the Atlas recommenced destroying military facilities all over the town.

The black lion flew deactivated again.

"Hunk, may I kindly ask?" Lance said gesturing at the cell's door.

"On it!" Hunk answered, activated his bayard and turned the entire wall int rubble.

"Come on guys!" Lance said. "Let's get Keith back!"

…

General Elluag and the other remaining rebel were left to stare in awe after them. "These Paladins of Voltron are incredible." The general said.

His companion agreed. "They sure are."

…

"Do you think they forgot about us?"

"Yes. Yes, they did."

"Are you done yet?" King Sioul yelled at his scientist. He and Keith were sitting on the two thrones in the throne room again, surrounded by some Ministers and a bunch other aristocracy and dozens of royal guards. The room was decorated opulently as Sioul planned to marry Keith right after brainwashing him.

"Almost done your majesty." The royal scientist said as he typed on his lapton on trolley table next to Keith's throne. He was busily recalibrating the mind remodulator for use on galra-human hybrids.

Sioul looked at Keith with an annoyed expression. His soon-to-be-husband just would not stop trying to bite through his handcuffs.

"Darling, could you stop that please!"

"No! Fuck you! Let my friends go! Let me go for that matter! And why do I have to wear this stupid outfit?" Keith yelled at him and went straight back to biting his restrainment.

"It's the traditional dress for –"

A loud explosion could be heard outside, through the windows Sioul and his guest watched in terror. The black Lion had awoken and destroyed their shield generator.

Sioul looked at Keith in shock. But the Paladin was equally surprised.

"Don't look at me. I'm being mind blocked."

Panic broke out in the crowd of Sioul's guests. One of the royal ministers holding something akin to a phone spoke up:" Your Majesty! I've just lost contact to the ministry of war, I think the enemy fire destroyed it! The last think I could gather was that all our altean arms were destroyed or disabled, the shield is beyond repair and the rebels are approaching the city from multiple positions!"

"Your really not helping, yelling that out, you know." Sioul deadpanned.

That was it! Most of his guest straight up ran to the exit in panic even some of the royal guards among them.

"Hey! Come back, you cowards!" The king yelled.

Keith threw him a dirty look. "Are you sure you of all people should use that word?"

"Shut it!"

"Why would we listen to you?" One of the fleeing guards asked. "You lost your means to protect or punish us and you're not that great of king either! I'm gonna surrender to the rebels, so I get out of this alive." He said while running of.

Only a group of three dozen of high-ranking government and military personal remained with Sioul and Keith.

Keith at this point was pretty sure his friends would show up any second now and kick some furrinan butt, so why not twist the knife? "Lemme guess, you're so high up the ranks the rebels would simply put you on trial or on the death row? Or do you think the cut right to the chase and simply use a guillotine?" He said smirking at the remaining loyalists.

In a sudden change of character from slimy to cruel Sioul started chocking Keith with one hand. "Shut up you bastard! I lost my kingdom because of you! I have it in mind to end you right here!"

Sioul tightened his grip. But then his enraged expression shifted to something more cunning.

"No. No, way better idea! Your cute ass got me into this but your dreamy amethyst eyes are going to get me out of it! Just one floor down is the entrance to the royal bunker. The actual bunker is way down in the ground with the strongest walls imaginable. Even with advanced weaponry it'll take day to break into it. We'll jus hide there and as soon as your friends see a livestream of you getting tortured, they'll be willing to negotiate our save passage out of this region of the galaxy."

He grabbed the chains between Keith's handcuffs and threw him into the arms of two of his remaining generals. He motined for everyone to follow him as he approached the main entrance of the throne room.

"Let's get going before-"

The Paladins of Voltron chose that exact moment to blow up the door and pose on it's remains.

"Going anywhere?" Lance asked slyly.

"Yeah," Hunk joined in. "Sorry about crashing your Par- Holy fuck what is Keith wearing?"

"The one day that I don't have my phone on me!" Pidge yelled.

Keith facepalmed, with both hand since he couldn't pull them apart, before butting in. "That's not really relevant right now! Hey-"

The two guards Sioul had assigned to him pulled him closer, knowing Keith was their only way out of this. All remaining loyalist drew some kind of weapon, nervously looking at their enemies.

"Oh, they want to fight us." Allura cooed mockingly. "You're gonna pay for kidnapping Keith."

"And trying to brainwash him!" Hunk said.

"And putting him in a bitchy chiton!" Pidge said.

"… actually, that last part I don't mi- "Lance couldn't finish his thought as he was interrupted by Sioul.

"Take care of them!" He shouted at his remaining followers, before joining Keith and his captors. "We're going ahead to the bunker, remember this is our only chance."

"Oh no!" Keith said angrily. "I'm done being the damsel in distress!" The he punched one of the furrinans holding him in the face with the shackles of his handcuffs and kicked the other one in his shinbone with his heel. The whole thing erupted into a wrestling match between the paladin and the two furrinans.

Sioul drew a little handgun from his robe and pointed it at Keith before noticing, "Wait no! I can't shoot him I need him." He looked around in terror searching for a solution.

The other Paladins charged at their enemies. "Guys you take the henchmen, I'll get Keith!" Lance yelled.

"In more than one way apparently." Pidge said while wiggling her eyebrows and uppercutting a guy that she vaguely remembered was the foreign minister.

Lance disregarded that comment and charged through the swarm of furrinans blocking the way, skillfully evading their attacks while dealing a few good blows himself but that wasn't his priority right now. Keith would be safe again and no army of furrinans or galra or humans for that matter could stand in his way.

Sioul saw the paladin approaching and tried to shoot him but he was to nervous and Lance to quick. Lance simply cut through his gun quickly as he passed the king and halted before the entangle mess of limbs that was Keith wrestling his captors.

The two furrinans looked at him in shock while Keith just grinned in happiness.

"You two might want to leave!" Lance said menacingly stroking his blade.

The two got the hint, let go of Keith and ran off. Lance helped Keith up and cut through his chain. "You alright there samurai?" He asked with an affectionate smile.

Keith returned his look. "Yes, thanks. But I think that title goes to you now."

"Nah. You'll always be our samurai. Besides, I'm more like a knight! Hey that would make you my princess that –"

"Finish that sentence and I'll gut you!" Keith threatened half serious half joking. He finally could get rid of hat stupid tiara shaped thing and then tried to pull of the ring-shaped mind blocker as well.

"Stupid! Thing!"

Wile Keith was busy with that, the paladins got reinforcements in form of general Elluag and his rebels storming the palace as well as Shiro and some personnel from the Atlas. "Keith!" he yelled, relieved that his little brother was safe.

Siouls remaining allies surrendered, while the former king cowered before general Elluag and stammered something along the lines of "Please don't kill me."

"Get this thing off me!" Keith yelled.

"Uhm," A voice came from behind the king's throne. "I could help with that." The royal scientist had been hiding there the entire time. He pushed a button on his laptop and the mind blocker simply fell off.

"Thanks!" Keith said. "Now then!"

He approached Sioul who was still cowering on the floor. He summoned his bayard to his hand and extended it. It looked different than usual, blunter somehow but bigger and with a lot of spikes everywhere. All in all it looked more like an instrument of torture.

The former King looked at him in utter terror before whimpering some incoherent apology. Keith disregarded that completely.

"You hit on me with horrible lines! You kidnap me! Threaten to torture me! Threaten to brainwash me! Imprison my friends! AND FOCE ME TO WEAR SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A THIRD CENTURY B.C: WHORE WOULD WEAR TO WORK?!"

…

"Uhm … I-I-I can explain."

Screams of horrid pain were heard throughout the entire capital.

A few hours later, back on the Atlas with Keith dressed normally again, they held their debriefing.

"Altogether, a very successful rescue mission!" Shiro said. "Congratulations, Lance you did great! All of you did." With that he dismissed the meeting.

Keith was about to leave to his room and retire to his bed, wanting to end this catastrophe of day. But then Lance came up to him, face flushed and hands fidgeting. Hunk and Oidge we're snickering behind him.

"Uhm, hey, Keith?"

"Oh, hey yeah Lance how's it going?" 'Play it cool Kogane' Keith shouted at himself in his head. 'He doesn't need to know your crushing on him! Also, how's it going? Real smooth, you literally spent the last hour sitting next to each other.'

"I was uhm wondering if maybe …" Lance didn't dare looking at Keith directly so he stared at his feet instead. "Would you go on a date with me?"

"No."

Lance was utterly devasted. Of course, Keith didn't want to – wait that didn't sound like Keith's voice.

He looked up and saw Shiro glaring at him in anger, he pressed Keith to his chest with his robot arm and held his mouth shut with his human one.

"No one dates my little brother, not even – ACK! Keith don't bite me!"

"Yes Lance, gladly!" Keith said, still being held by Shiro. "I would love to go on a date with you. Shiro let go of me!"

"Never!" His pseudo-brother shouted before throwing Keith over his shoulder and running of with him. "I'll protect you forever!"

Lance, Pidge and Hunk needed a second to comprehend what happened.

"Yeah," Pidge said "I don't think he took it well that Keith got kidnapped."

Hunk smiled sympathetically at Lance. "Man, seems your princess got kidnapped again!"

Lance sighed and scratched the back of his head before jogging after them. "Now I know what Mario and Link must feel like."