Lance is being walked down the prison hallway. He knows he's failed, at least in the ways that matter. The one person he didn't want to let down, and he's left their life up to chance.

Lance glances to the side and sees Sendak and Haxus in their own prison cell. He shakes his head, his eyes narrowing. Lance slams up against his guards, throwing them off of him. He uses all the force he has inside of him, all the pent up rage, all the fear.

Once they hit the ground, Lance swings his arms around, while jumping up. They're still cuffed, but now he can reach through the cell, which he does. He grabs Haxus by the shirt collar and slams him into the cell bars, growling, "How did you know about him? Tell me, now!"

"It wasn't us!" Haxus groans, "It was the old man!"

"Old man?" Lance frowns a little, then he understands who Haxus means.

The guards finally get their shit back together and grab Lance. Lance fights them with renewed strength, "No, no! Wait! You don't understand! He's in trouble! Please!"

"Keith?" Zarkon asks, "Keith, what's going on up there?" Keith breathes harshly before slowly exiting his room.

"Are you alright?" Zarkon asks.

"I'm the lost price." Keith whispers.

Zarkon groans, "Please speak up, Keith. You know how I hate the mumbling."

"I am the lost prince. Aren't I?" Keith asks, his face serious, eyes narrowed, "Did I mumble, father? Or should I even call you that?"

Zarkon's eyes widen, then he laughs, but it's fake, "Oh, Keith. Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

Zarkon goes to hug Keith, but Keith shoves him away, "It was you! It was all you!"

"Everything I did was to protect you." Zarkon's eyes narrow, and he isn't even pretending he doesn't know what Keith is talking about now.

Keith snarls at him and shoves past him, walking down the stairs toward the main floor of the tower. He ignores Zarkon saying his name, "I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my powers?"

"Keith!" Zarkon nearly shouts.

"When I should have been hiding from you!" Keith turns to him, a glare on his face.

"Where will you go?" Zarkon questions, "He won't be there for you!"

Keith's heart stops beating then picks up double time, "What did you do to him?"

"That criminal?" A vicious smile appears in Zarkon's face, "Is to be hanged for his crimes."

Keith's jaw drops, and he's sure his heart isn't working right, "No!"

"Now, now, it's alright." Zarkon reaches out to gently touch Keith's hair, "All of this is as it should be."

Keith grabs Zarkon's wrist tightly, "No! You were wrong about the world. You were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!"

Zarkon finally manages to yank himself from Keith's grasp, and he stumbles backwards, colliding with the mirror. It shatters to pieces as it hits the ground.

Keith squares his shoulders and turns away from Zarkon, towards the window. If he's fast, maybe he can make it to Lance. If he explains who he is, and what happened, they'll let Lance go.

"You want me to be the bad guy?" Zarkon snarls from behind Keith, "Fine. Now I'm the bad guy."

Lance is still struggling against the guards, but he has no idea how he's going to get out of this one.

He glances over, and in a small alcove he sees a little unicorn. He does a double-take, to be sure it's real. It looks, well, it looks like the ones he remembers Lotor from the tavern having.

Suddenly the doors in the hallway slam closed. The guards whirl around, shocked. The commander stomps up to the door and pounds his fist against it, "What's this? Open up!"

The small window opens and Klaizap peers in, "What's the password?" "What?" The commander hisses.

"Nope!"

"Open this door!"

Klaizap laughs, "Not even close!"

"You have three seconds!" The commander shrieks.

"One!" The guard to Lances left vanishes up into the rafters. They both look up to see Hunk there, already tying him up.

"Two!" The second guard is pulled into the side door that opens suddenly. Lance blinks and realizes that now it's just him and the commander in the hallway.

"Three-" the commander turns around, and he too realizes that it is just him and Lance in the hall.

"What the-"

He's facing Lance so he doesn't see the door open and Thace step inside. The man holds up a frying pan, then smacks the commander on the back of the head with it.

He hits the ground and Lance grins at Thace, "Frying pans! Who knew right?"

The door behind them is broken down, and Thace drags Lance through the door to their right. They run down the hallway and past Kolivan, who stops the guards. Lance isn't quite sure what sort of mime things he's doing to distract them, but it seems to be working.

Thace leads him through the castle prison rooms with ease, and Lance should find that more concerning then he does. They burst out into the courtyard, and for a moment Lance thinks they're home free.

However, guards start spilling down the stairs and Lance shrieks a little, looking around for another way out of here.

Hunk comes up beside him and nudges his shoulder, "Head down."

Lance copies the movement, "Head down."

"Arms in." Hunk brings his elbows close to his body.

"Arms in."

"Knees apart."

"Knees apart." Lance frowns, "Knees apart? Why- why do I need to keep my knees apart?" Before he can get an answer from Hunk, a large weight lands on the back of the cart Lance didn't even realize he was standing on. Lance screams as he flies into the air, but somehow his body manages to stay in the position Hunk had placed him into.

Lance lands on Coran's back, all the way up on the top of the wall, his scream finally fizzling out as the horse neighs happily at him.

"Coran? You brought them here?"

The horse nods, he even looks smug about it.

"Thank you." The horse nods again, and Lance continues, "No really, thank you. I feel like this whole time we've just been misunderstanding each other and we're really just-" Coran gives him a bored expression and huffs.

"Yeah, you're right. We should go."

They burst forward just as the door behind them swings open and guards behind to spill onto the wall. Arrows fly past Lances's head, but Coran weaves them through expertly.

More guards are coming from the opposite side, but Coran doesn't slow down. In fact, the horse speeds up. "Coran," Lance warns, "Coran!"

Coran leaps from the wall and over the building beside the castle, sliding down the roof and landing on the ground below. Lance is shocked, but Coran instantly takes off running, tearing through the city. They get out to the bridge that connects the town with the forest, and Lance leans down to the speak to the horse, "Alright, buddy. Let's see how fast you can run."

Coran picks up speed and they sprint through the first, weaving between the trees, and leaping over anything blocking their path. Lance is surprised for a moment that he remembers the way, then realizes he isn't, of course he remembers. How could he ever forget?

They burst into the clearing and Lance stumbles from Coran's back, running to the tower. The sky is dark here, like its about to rain, "Keith! Keith!" He calls, "Let down your hair!"

There's no response, and Lance doesn't have his arrows, but he doesn't care. He grips onto the bricks, willing to climb the tower with his hands.

Suddenly he hears the window open, and Keith's brilliant silver hair flies from the window down to him. He smiles widely, Keith is okay!

Lance climbs up his hair, stronger than any rope, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Everything is going to be okay. Lance pulls himself through the window, knocking into the wall as he stumbles into the room, "Keith, I thought I'd never see you again-"

His eyes widen as he takes in the sight of Keith chained to the floor. A cloth is tied around his face tightly, gagging him. His eyes are rimmed with red, like he's been crying, and purple bruises mar the pale skin on his arms. He's struggling hard against the chain holding him down, eyes wide, desperately trying to speak to Lance.

Before Lance can understand what's happening, he feels the sharp tip of a blade slide into his side. He groans loudly as it digs in deep, and it's twisted once it's buried inside. Lance falls to the floor as it pulls back out, and he can feel blood instantly pour from the wound.

Lance can hear Keith screaming for him through his gag, and he covers the stab wound with his hands, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Now look what you've done, Keith." A dangerous voice says from above Lance, "Oh don't worry, son. Our secret will die with him."

Lance groans, the hand on his wound isn't helping much, blood is still pooling around him. He reaches out towards Keith, his vision already a little blurry.

"And as for us?" Zarkon laughs, moving to grab the chains holding Keith, "We are going where no one will ever find you again!"

Keith pulls against Zarkon, trying to get closer to Lance. He can save him, he can.

Zarkon is much stronger though, and he pulls Keith back towards the secret passage in the floor, Keith struggles, but is no match bound as he is.

Pidge try to hit Zarkon with her little hands.

Zarkon growls and swats her from his shoulder, knocking her across the room and onto the floor, where she titters weakly.

"Keith, really!" Zarkon yanks him closer, "Enough already! Stop fighting me!"

Keith struggles and manages to gain some distance, his gag falling off his face, "No! I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" Zarkon bares his teeth at Keith, pulling tighter on the chains.

"But," Keith breathes harshly, "If you let me save him, I will go with you."

"No." Lance gasps, reaching out again, bathed in the red of his own blood, "Keith, no."

"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape," Keith promises, he's desperate now. He doesn't know how much time Lance has left, "Just let me heal him, and you and I will be together. Forever. Just like you want! Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just let me heal him."

Zarkon narrows his eyes, then slowly nods his head. He binds Lance to to the staircase with the chains before letting Keith out of his.

Keith scrambles to get to him, "La-Lance!"

Lance coughs wetly, his hands pressed against his wound. Keith gently moves his hand aside and his heart flutters painfully at the sight of the injury.

"God. I am so sorry. Everything is going to be okay though." He grabs a handful of his hair and brings it toward Lance.

Lance gently pushes him back, "No, Keith."

"I promise!" Keith pleads, "You have to trust me, come on."

"No." Lance winces, looking up at him, "I can't let you do this."

Keith can feel the tears in his eyes, "And I can't let you die."

"But if you do this, then you will die."

Keith smiles weakly and gently presses his fingertips to Lances cheek, "Hey. It's going to be alright."

Lance stares up at him, and can't help but smile back, leaning slightly into Keith's touch.

Keith is about to start the song with Lance speaks, "Keith? Wait."

Keith looks back up at Lance. Lance smiles again, softly, and reaches up to gently brush Keith's hair from his face. There's blood on his hand, but Keith doesn't care. Lance gently runs his fingers through Keith's hair, then suddenly he grabs it in one bunch. Before Keith can realize what's happening, Lance brings his other hand up, and with a broke piece of mirror that has been left sitting on the floor, Lance slices through Keith's hair.

"Lance!?" Keith questions, startled. He reaches up and touches his hair, now shoulder length.

"What did you do?!"

"No!" Zarkon screams from the other side of the tower.

Keith clutches at the cut off part of his hair on the ground, watches as the silver strands start to fizzle to black.

"No!" Zarkon scoops up the hair too, but it's turning black much too rapidly, "What have you done?! What have you done?!"

Keith stares as Zarkon shrivels with age before him. His hair turns white and his skin wrinkles, his body shrinking in on itself. Zarkon screams and runs to the broken mirror on the ground.

"No! No!" Zarkon pulls the hood of his cloak over his face, screaming as he stands, in some kind of strange agony. Keith watches him in horror as he nears the window.

Pidge sees him getting closer, and once he's nearly there, she pull some of the hair making to knock him off balance.

Zarkon falls backwards, out the window, screaming. Keith isn't sure if he should reach for him or not. His screams stop before he even hits the forest floor.

Breathing hard, Keith finally looks away from the window and back at Lance, who has collapsed on the floor, his eyes closed.

Keith pulls his head into his lap, "No, no, no, no. Lance? Lance!" Lance coughs softly, his eyelids barely fluttering open.

"Look at me!" Keith begs, "I'm right here. Don't go, please stay with me."

Keith grabs Lance's hand and presses it to his now black hair, he's nearly crying, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine-" "Keith," Lance breathes softly, his hands coming up to cup Keith's cheek.

"What?" Keith looks down at him, fighting to keep the tears at bay.

Lance smiles, faintly, weakly, and whispers, "You were my new dream."

Keith is crying when he replies, "And you were mine."

Lance's eyes slip closed, and Keith stares at him as his chest stops rising, as his breath stops coming. Lance's hand slowly drops from Keith's face and hits the floor with a thud.

The tears fall freely now as Keith cradles his face, whispering softly, "Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design, save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

Keith presses his forehead against Lance's, a tear dropping down and falling on the other man's cheek. Keith lets his eyes close as he cries.

A bright light shines near him, and Keith's eyes open. He turns his head and looks down at Lance's side, where the wound is. A light, shining as bright as the sun, as bright as his hair once did, glows from the wound. Keith watches as it grows, consuming the room, spreading in all directions before opening up like a flower.

Slowly, the light dims, and as Keith watches it fade, Lance stirs in his arms, "Keith...?"

Keith gasps, "Lance?"

Lance squints up at him, breathing softly, "Did I ever tell you I have a thing for dark haired men?"

Keith laughs, his chest filling with happiness, "Lance!"

Keith throws himself into Lance's arms, and Lance catches him easily, wrapping his arms tightly around Keith's middle and holding him close, breathing him in. Keith laughs into his neck, more tears finding their way past his eyes.

Slowly they pull apart and look at one another. Lance is okay, and he's here, with Keith. He came all this way to be here, not for some crown, but for Keith himself. Keith smiles widely and grips onto the collar of Lance's jacket, pulling him in. Their lips meet easily, slotted together perfectly, just like they should be. Lance's hands pull Keith in closer, like he can't stand to have even an inch of space separating them.

They kiss, passionately, and Keith knows that they'll spend the rest of their lives doing everything else exactly like this.