So, final chapter, at last. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has interacted with this fic in any way, reading, favoriting, following, and especially leaving comments, I've been overwhelmed with the love and support you guys have laid on this fic and I appreciate every single one of you! I hope you enjoy!

"Lance!" Hunk calls, and Lance feels a smile stretch his face.

"Hunk! I'm over here!" He waves his arms over his head, trying to get his attention.

"Lance!" Pidge's voice comes from behind him.

"I'm here!" He calls back, turning to her.

"Lance!" Its Keith now, "Lance where are you?"

"I'm right here!" He shouts, he tries to walk towards the sound, but he doesn't actually think he's moving.

"Lance, answer us!" Shiro orders. "Where are you?"

"I'm here!"

"Lance! C'mon buddy, where are you?" Hunk's voice is farther away now.

"No, I'm over here guys!" Lance says.

"They know where you are." A voice says, "They just don't want to find you." He turns around and its Lotor standing there. "I told them about how useless you are, they don't want you back."

"Paladin, wake up!" Large hands shake his shoulders and Lance reflexively kicks, trying to hit whoever has a hold of him.

"Calm down." Lotor says, "its only me."

Lance is still breathing hard, but he stops trying to fight. There's sweat on his forehead, and his heart is going too fast. "I'm alright." he says, and Lotor lets him go. He swallows and tries to figure out just what the hell is wrong with him, nothing overtly terrifying had happened in the dream. No flashing lasers, no Zarkon standing before him.

"Are you well, Paladin?"

"Its Lance, and I'm fine. What time is it?" Lance asks.

Lotor pauses before answering, like he's debating pursuing the issue, but he lets it lie. "Lance. Its almost dawn, I think."

"Lets get moving." Lance nudges at Lotor, trying to get him to move out of the way. "I want to get clean this morning."

Lotor moves much faster after that.

"Not exactly a daisy yourself." Lance mutters at him.

Lotor sniffs disdainfully, and they walk to the lakeshore in silence. Lance hesitates at the shore, somehow, he'd forgotten to consider that they would have to bathe together. Which is ridiculous, because its not like there's stalls out here, hell, there aren't stalls in the castle. There hadn't been stalls in the garrison either, now that he thinks about it. What is with space and lack of privacy?

He tells himself to get over it, its not like he's going to accidentally catch an eyeful. He turns his back though, because he doesn't want Lotor to get an eyeful either. No matter what the rest of space thinks, some things are sacred.

He wades out until the waves are lapping at his belly button and stops. He can hear Lotor going farther out, but he doesn't want to leave the bottom. The water is cold, not enough to make his teeth chatter, but its going to be a quick bath.

Its awkward, hearing the water splashing from both of them washing and neither of them saying anything. He tries to decide if talking will make it even worse when Lotor says: "You said you would teach me the words of your songs today." As though Lance has forgotten.

A smile tugs at his lips. "I did, in fact, its a time honored tradition to sing while you bathe"

"You sing while you work, you sing while you bathe, when do you not sing?" Lotor asks.

"When we're talking." Lance says, "though, depending on how you think about it, rap is pretty much talking to a tune, so that may or may not count."

He tries to think up a simple song that he knows all the words to. "Here's one I learned in music class forever ago, its pretty easy so you should be able to pick it up:

"White coral bells, upon a silver stalk

Lillys of the valley deck my garden walk

Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring

That will only happen when the fairies sing."

"Music class?" Lotor asks. "You learn to sing?"

"We learn to sing, we sing to learn, we're a sing-y bunch. Aren't there other cultures that sing?"

"Not that much." Lotor says. "How do you learn by singing?"

"Its how I learned the alphabet." Lance says, "that's probably one of the first songs you learn. But I sang for you, and I taught you the words, now you've got to sing for me." He gestures in Lotor's direction. "The stage is yours."

"Tell me the words again." Lotor says.

Lance sings the song again, even though he's pretty sure Lotor is stalling. "C'mon, you can't be that bad, your voice isn't that gravelly."

By unspoken agreement, they both wade to shore at about the same time, water splashing around their legs. About halfway back, he thinks, Lance slips on a slimy rock and starts going down.

Lotor grabs him by the arm before he can do more than gasp and steadies him. "Thanks." Lance says, the thought of falling into the water and not being able to find the surface again flashing behind his eyelids. Lotor keeps his hand on Lance's arm. It should be ten million times more awkward than bathing three feet away from each other, but Lance doesn't ask him to let go.

Lotor guides him over to Lance's armor pile and then goes back to his own. "I haven't forgotten." Lance says while Lotor is buckling a strap for him. "I sang for you, and I gave you the words twice."

Lotor sighs, but he sings the song back to Lance. His voice is so quiet that Lance can barely hear him over the waves, but he still does it, so Lance decides not to tease him about it.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it." Okay, he'll tease him a little bit, he's only human.

"What are fairies?" Lotor asks, "and lillies for that matter."

"Oh, well, fairies are a sort of mythical creature." Lance says, Lotor seems to be leading them around the lake shore. Lance isn't sure if there's a real goal, or if they're just moving for the sake of keeping ahead of the Galra. "They're tiny little human-like creatures that are about five or six inches tall, nowadays, they're usually nature spirits. Lillies are a type of flower that I guess fairies hang around? They're shaped like bells, so that's the association."

"Your songs are not literal then? They have no greater meanings?" Lotor asks.

"Well, there's hymns and stuff, and sometimes artists have a message, but a lot of music is about emotions." Lance said. "There's tons of songs about love, about falling in love, out of love, coming together, breaking up. If its an emotion, someone's made a song for it."

"Fascinating." Lotor says.

"You're really into this stuff, huh?" Lance says.

"It is something of a hobby." Lotor says, "I could not engage in it often."

They both fall silent after that, because its the closest either of them has come to mentioning the war since the cave. Lance suddenly remembers that this is Lotor, like somehow he's forgotten that he's palling around with the son of his greatest enemy.

He suddenly finds himself remembering a line from a paper he'd had to do in second grade:

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

He thinks Abraham Lincoln said it, but it might have been Martin Luther King. They'd written a lot of papers in second grade.

"So," he says, even though the silence has gone on too long, "I sang you a song, cough up a story."

Tension in Lotor's arm that he hadn't even noticed drains away. "I believe I sang a song as well."

"That was my song." Lance counters, "It doesn't count."

Lotor laughs, quiet and low, but its still a laugh. He doesn't think he's heard Lotor laugh before. Lance opens his mouth, he isn't quite sure what he's going to say, and the words never leave his lips.

"There they are!"

It isn't Shiro's voice that rings out across the lake, or Hunk's, or Pidge's. Its undeniably a Galra voice.

"filius canis" Lotor curses, and he swings Lance into his arms and he runs.

Lance can hear the blasters sounding off behind them, at one point he thinks he feels the heat of a blast against his arm. Lotor doesn't hesitate, he weaves through the foliage. The sounds of pursuit fade a bit, but they're still too close for comfort when Lotor stops.

"What are you doing?" Lance asks.

"Stay here." Lotor says, "I can lead them off, but not while you're weighing me down." He sets Lance's feet on the ground, but Lance grabs his arm.

"That's not the deal." he says, because at some point, when he stopped paying attention, this stopped being about mutually assured destruction and it became mutually assured survival. "If they're getting you, they're getting me."

"You're insane." Lotor says.

"So are you if you think I'm going to let you sacrifice yourself for me." Lance snaps, because he knows the chances of Lotor escaping the net the Galra have cast around them. Even if this is the only patrol nearby, they'll have called in reinforcements and the lake is going to be surrounded in less than an hour.

Lotor is quiet, hesitating and Lance grips his arm even tighter. He can't see Lotor's face, but he tries to meet his eyes.

"Fine." Lotor snaps and he scoops Lance back up.

They run, leaves rustle, and Lotor's footsteps crunch through the undergrowth. Its not enough, it was never going to be enough. They're cornered in a clearing about a mile from the lake shore if Lance's estimate is right.

They trip Lotor somehow, and Lance is flung into the air. Instinct and training take over and he rolls up, his stick clenched tightly in his fist. He hears Lotor growl and the sound of something hissing into life. Gun? Cuffs? No way to tell.

"Well, well, well." the commander says, at least Lance thinks its the commander, it might be a sentry drone for all he knows. "The traitor and a paladin, looks like I'll be moving up in the world."

His footsteps crunch closer and Lance swings the stick with everything he's got. It whistles through the air harmlessly. He takes a step forwards and tries again.

"What is this?" The commander asks. "Fight me, boy."

Lance widens his stance, listening hard for the sound of the commander's footsteps. Something rustles to his right and he twists, trying to figure out how the commander got over there so quickly.

"No!" Lotor shouts, but its too late, the commander's fist slams into his jaw and sends him to the ground. Lance's stick falls out of his fingers and he just barely manages to catch himself before he eats dirt. He feels frantically for the stick, but all he can feel is leaves.

The commander laughs and kicks him in the stomach. Lance lands on his back, trying to catch his breath, his fingers twitch, still looking for his stick, even though he knows its useless now. The commander has already figured it out. He probably threw a rock or something and Lance fell for it hook line and sinker.

The commander's giant hand engulfs his chin, hoisting him up to his knees. He can feel the warm breath on his cheek, smell the stench of it. He knows the commander is looking at his eyes and he tries to focus on his face.

"Pathetic." The commander sneers. "After everything I'd heard about the Paladins of Voltron I was almost looking forward to facing a worthy opponent, just my luck to get the defective one."

Lance's lip curls and he spits in the commander's face. He doesn't have any clever words now, no tricks up his sleeve, just him and an enemy he can't even see. The commander slams him into the dirt, then steps away.

"Come then, Paladin, I'll give you a free shot." His footsteps crunch a short distance away and he can almost imagine the guy holding his arms out. He almost laughs, he's seen this scenario too many times back on the playground, the bully spreading his arms and sticking his chin out.

I won't even move, c'mon, give me your best shot.

He'd know it was a taunt back then too, but he still hadn't been able to resist. He balls his hand into a fist and lunges for the commander. A heavy blow catches him on the back of the neck and he's down again. He pulls himself to his hands and knees.

"Surely this isn't the best a Paladin can offer, come, boy, give me a real fight." The commander is laughing, he knows that Lance won't beat him, he knows that Lance is as good as captured, as good as dead, but he can't resist playing with his food.

Lance lunges again, this time the galra kicks him hard in the chest, enough to send him back a few feet. He feels his ribs creak with the force of the blow, and he thinks one cracks, from the way breathing is suddenly a lot more painful.

"Stop this." Lotor snarls, "if it is combat you desire, face me."

Another blow falls, but Lance doesn't feel it.

"You will be silent, traitor." The commander snarls. "This is between the Paladin and I. Boy, if you manage to hit me once I will release you."

Lance knows this is just part of the game, he knows how this plays out, but he still gets up. That's what being a Paladin is, he thinks, its knowing that your situation is hopeless, knowing that you're going to get beat into the dirt but getting up anyway. The thing that makes it different from the days back on the playground is that he knows that even if he gets beaten to a pulp, at least he's getting beaten next to his four closest friends.

Only you're not, you're alone. They're not coming for you. You should just give up.

Lance grits his teeth and stumbles to his feet. The commander laughs.

"Come on then."

He lurches in what he thinks is the right direction, but the world is spinning and maybe he hit his head a little harder than he thought. The commander doesn't even have to hit him this time, he trips and falls all on his own.

Footsteps crunch over to him and he hears the whine of a blaster charging. "Stay down," the commander says, "at some point this gets too pathetic even for me."

Stay down, Mclain, if you know what's good for you.

Lance gets his arms under himself and tries to lever his body up. He hadn't been too good at staying down back then either. The commander plants a boot on his back, he doesn't even have to push, just the weight of it is enough to send Lance back to the ground.

The cool barrel of the blaster presses against the back of his head. "Stay down." The commander says.

"Leave him!" Lotor commands, there's something desperate in his voice. Lance doesn't think he's ever heard that tone from Lotor either. First hesitating, then laughing, now this, its like they're on one of those bonding retreats. A smile twitches at his lips.

The commander nudges him onto his back with a boot, "I knew you were a traitor, Lotor, but really? Shameful that the son of the emperor could fall so far. Ah well, my gain, I suppose. Your father really is looking forward to seeing you again."

Lotor growls, low and furious. "Are you so much of a coward that you would rather taunt a blind foe than face me in combat?"

The commander ignores him. "Unfortunately for you, Paladin, the emperor doesn't care about seeing you. You can die here, on this planet. Pathetic and alone, just the way you started, I would assume." The blaster whines with charge.

Lance wants to close his eyes, even though it won't really make a difference, but he makes himself stare in the direction of the commander's voice, he hopes he's meeting his eyes, but he doesn't really have much hope of that.

"Face me!" Lotor snarls.

His snarl is drowned out by the most beautiful sound Lance has ever heard. The roar of an infuriated Lion. The heat of the blaster barrel is suddenly gone and a smile curls his lips. Even though it hurts, he makes himself grind out: "That's the problem with you playground bullies, you never consider what happens when the teacher shows up." A high, rusty cackle crawls out of his throat, "And you're about to get schooled!"

The commander snarls, and something hits the side of Lance's head. The world is lost in the roar of the Lion and the scream of blaster fire.

"Easy buddy." Hunk says. The lights are blindingly bright and Lance holds up an arm to ward them off.

"Hunk?" He murmurs.

"I'm here," Hunk says, "We're all here."

They are, he realizes, there are hands on his arms, his shoulders, touching him, making sure he's real, making sure he's okay. "You came." He says.

"We will always come." Allura says, and she wraps him in one of her Altean hugs that manages to be both gentle and bone crushingly strong.

Lance hugs her back she's watching him with her bright eyes, scanning his face for any hint that he isn't 100% okay. Then it hits him. He can see her. His hands tremble when they touch the skin of his eyelids and his vision blurs with tears. That's okay though, because he can see through them. He can see.

Allura takes his hands in hers. "You should be able to see just as well as you did before. Your vision would have come back on its own, given time, but an extra few hours in the pod never hurt anyone."

He hugs her again, and everyone piles in.

No, he realizes, not everyone.

"Where's Lotor?" He asks, and the smiles fade.

"Downstairs." Shiro says. "He said that he helped you but we weren't taking any chances."

"He did." Lance breathes, "Shiro you don't understand I would have died without him. Let him out."

"You trust him?" Hunk asks, looking like he thinks a few more hours in the pod might be for the best.

"With my life." Lance replies.

Look, I know Lance's line at the end of the fight was kind of cheesy, but its Lance, and he has a head injury, cut him some slack, lol.

Once again, thank you for reading!