It has a happy ending I promise! Warning for character death(s) and suicide mention.
Here the galra had gotten a paladin in their custody and interrogated them but it didn’t work. The rest of the team rescue him and they are no more closer to beating Voltron but they know the conventional methods work. This leads to new interrogation methods and experiments. They do take time but become ready once Lotor takes over. Once they have success they set a trap for the team and get a paladin. They were aiming for the green paladin as the smartest but ended up with the blue one who jumped in. They are initially displease but see this as a way to test out if there are any differences because of the lion bond.
This new method was inspired by Sendaks notes of the castle. They upload Lances memory into a ship but something goes wrong. He has some awareness and fights back but is ultimately uploaded. He knows they are after his memories and "deletes" them. Eventually they are left with an ai that knows nothing but may yet have it uses. They put all the info of the blue paladin under wraps and utilize this new ai. They give him some new name and corrupt him.
Lotor grows fond of his new "pet" and decides to keep him close instead of using him out in battle. The paladins have info about a new weapon and board the ship with plans on hijacking it. The "ai" senses it and lets Lotor know. Lotor leaves to handle it and tells the ai to remain there and send updates. Ai lance having his core personality get curious and goes to "greet" one of them.
He can see all the paladins on board and follows the yellow one. Something about him pulls (i need to make him a fake name) ai Lance initially he wants to control the weapons and attack Hunk but decides to pop up in front of him. Hunk is startled and amazed to see Lance. He softly utters his name wondering what kind of dream this was. Lance ai responds with a snappy "you don’t tell the enemy your weapon" as he readies the lasers in the area Hunk starts shaking and asks him why he doesn't remember his name. Lance ai get confused and thinks its a ploy to stall for back up but hunk persists and starts shouting as his eyes start shining with unshed tears.
He shoots his lasers but makes them non fatal. Hunk saw them coming but refused to move or even use his bayard/shield. Shortly after the team shows up and pull hunk out. They don't see ai Lance since he went back into the system but was spying on them.
He hears the green one start talking about Lance and realizes he wasn't stalling. Realizing there is more to the story he hacks Hunks helmet/armor and follows them. He needs answers. This encounter has left him with so many possibilities making his core feel infected. Or more like able to acknowledge the infection in his core. Hunk is placed into the healing pods and aiLance remains nearby. He wants to explore the castle but knows all his answers can be found in the yellow one.
Pidge being paranoid ever since the Sendak corruption and Lance disappearance starts her daily routine of running a background scan as she works on her projects. She finds corrupt data in the med bay and goes rushing and calls for back up using the special code meaning possible hostile in med bay and is the first one there. AiLance is distracted looking at Hunk and doesn’t notice the new presence until he hears THAT name again. Pidge knows it’s a trap but cant helps the hurt at seeing Lances image. She shouts at him to get away from Hunk and the ai just tilts his head. Pidge just wants to cry under a blanket because that tilt is such a Lance thing and gets her bayard ready.
She shouts her final warning when he starts speaking. It’s a barely a whisper but she’s not sure if she heard right. His eyebrows furl in confusion as he asks "why do I see you and think four eyed grimlin? Why do I know your number 5? Why do think of games when I see you?!” With every statement he starts getting more frantic until hes shouting "why does the infection in my core feel better when he is near!?" The crew come in as he shouts the last one. All are frozen at what they see. Confused because Lance is an ai, but Coran and Allura know whats happening.
Coran pushes through the pain but will do his best to help out not just a paladin of Voltron but Lance. He is able to calm him down with the promise of Hunk waking up in just a few tocks. The hostility in the air is still there but not as prevalent as it was earlier. Shiro wants to ask him what he remembers but knows that might cause an outburst. Hunk is finally out and after the initial drowsiness goes away sees aiLance walking/floating/idk how he moves to Hunk. Though he know he is not in his body, he reaches out to Hunk. Hunk reaches out to him with those big hands that aiLance somehow knowas are soft and warm. But when they touch all he feels is cold and the rage sets in because he knows he was someone before they made him into what he is now. His ai coloring that were previously shades of light blues and blue eyes turns into shades of purple with red eyes.
He disappears and Pidge can tell with her equipment that the castle is still clean. Meanwhile Allura and Coran are trying to figure out how to tell them that lance wont be coming back to them. Meanwhile Lotor back on the ship is trying to figure out how they took his ai. He thinks the paladins took him and plans on getting him back. He visits the room where his body is frozen. He did it frequently until Haggar reminds him about the obsession that took down his father. AiLance in the meantime is jumping from ship to ship looking at files.
His anger at the galra and druids makes him start his own attacks at his "creators" killing them one by one. Lotor thinking it’s the paladins starts an all out search. Eventually aiLance is back at the ship that created him and appears in front of Lotor. Lotor can tell something is wrong. He tries stalling for time but Lance strikes before he can do anything. He knows he won’t be able to go back into his body now. He knows why the paladins information wasn't complete. Why the loaded pod was inaccessible to him all this time. He shouts those things as he launches his attack on them but is ultimately knocked out by Haggar.
She knew this was bound to happen and made contingency plans. Lotor is placed in their med bay while Haggar decides to fix aiLance knowing how much Lotor liked him. Back in the castle Coran and Allura just straight up tell them that the best they can do is recover Lances body and hope the ai can be locked into a storage device. The crew is heart broken but Hunk is devastated. He knows how much pain aiLance is in. He knows there isn’t much that can be done but refuses to settle. He doesn't just want to recover his boyfriends body, he wants the ship that took him too and the vile beings that did that to him.
Everyone is on board and hopeful. Perhaps if they have the technology that corrupted lance they could reverse the effects. After quick and careful planning they are ready to board but ar shocked at what they see. While the ship is still functional it may as well have been scrap metal. They didn't even need to use the evasive manoeuvres or attack plans they created.
Haggar is in the middle of "fixing" the ai when a druid comes in speaking of Voltron. Knowing what/who they were after she sends one with special orders down to the pod with the body. Allura and Pidge knew Haggar was going to pull some shady shit are glad for their plans. Before boarding the figured out 2 possible places his body would be hidden in and send 2 teams while Hunk and Keith distracted the one in charge.
Their plan works but Haggar was able to make it so that the corruption would eventually delete aoLance. The ship is on its way down now that lance was subdued by Haggar. Hunk is able to upload him into his helmet/armor so they return the ship with both body and ai. They work fast to fix the corruption but don’t think they will be fast enough. AiLance isn’t purple with red eyes anymore, but he isn’t his normal blue. He is just white and his eyes are barely blue.
He doesn't remember much but knows these people are important. His damaged core tells him so. He smiles sweetly at them as his eyes start losing what little color they had. His core knows he can’t touch but he can’t help but reach for the yellow one. Just as their hands get close he disappears into fragments of light.
Pidge buries her head into Keith’s side as he holds her. Shiro holds back his tears as he places his hand on Hunks shoulder. Coran, Allura, and the mice stay at the edges but their grief is no less. Hunk holds his stretched hand out for a few seconds before bringing it up to hold the one at his shoulder. He knows it isn’t Lances, they aren’t as soft yet hold just as much strength. but he just needs to hold a hand to anchor him.
They just want to sleep but know they need to eat. Coran and the mice help them while Allura gives them time. They still need to find out what exactly happened on that ship and their allies have begun to send messages. They all sleep in giant cuddles with Hunk in the middle.
Coran keeps an eye on them while Allura goes through the messages. It seems her fathers wish has come to fruition, but at quite the cost. Somehow all the galra bases scattered throughout the explored universe have been turned into tombs. All galra and galra employed gladiators were found dead. The prisoners claimed the lights turned of and shouts of pain was all they heard for a while. When it became silent, their cells opened up with a trail of lights lead them to the escape pods. The pods were programmed to a liberated planet with varying destinations so as to not overwhelm the resources.
She knows she should be haply that the prisoners are now free but the carnage left in its wake makes her feel hollow. She wants to be glad they are wiped out like they did her people, but she knows they couldn't all be evil and mourns for those they couldn't rescue. Most of all she mourns for Lance, for all the pain he was put through, and for all his corruption made him do. She knows he wouldn’t have done all that but is a victim of circumstances.
She feels guilty for forcing him into the role of paladin as she finally lets her tears out. After their brief period of mourning they go back to work. With the universe free of galra and druid influence they begin reuniting prisoners with their families and rebuilding planets. It’s one of these planets that provides them a gift they thought impossible. Among the prisoners was a being of great power. His planet was destroyed by Zarkon long ago because of their power. In an attempt to "harvest" that power Zarkon ordered all but 2 children to be killed. He would make them do his bidding by threatening the other one until his friend grew tired of such machinations and put an end to it with her life. Now that there was no way to motivate the being so Zarkon had him locked away.
AiLance freed him during his rage but the being sensed him and still senses him. He felt the pain the ai was in and knew he had to aid him upon being free. Though his race was usually prideful, this one just wanted to repay the debt and find a quiet place to live out the rest of his life. Coran freaks out when he sees him remembering Zarkon had one in his army before they were put to sleep. He calls out a warning to Hunk but the being then bows to Hunk. Coran is flabbergasted and Hunk is trying to make the guy get up. The being then asks about Lance and everyone is sadly telling him how he died.
It was too painful to send him back home so they just kept his frozen body with the far off hope of healing him someday. He looks at them confused and tells them that although the pain had lessened he still senses it in Lance. They are confused until he points to Hunk. Hunk had taken to carrying the device that held lance when the got out of the ship. They also used a marriage ceremony they found at a flea market since they knew their job was dangerous but couldn't wait until they got back home. It was place holder for when they could get back home and have their wedding with their family and friends present. Turns out that ceremony was from his culture and a very powerful and selective one at that.
It only works on couples that are completely devoted to each other. Very few of the couplings that try the ceremony end up receiving the blessing granted making them doubt each other and separate. The ceremony bonded a couple so that no matter what separated them, they would always be connected. That’s why Lance despite dispelling into lights was still hovering around Hunk. The device that held him only amplified Lances presence and the fact that his body was frozen makes it possible to bring Lance back.
The being warned them this never happened before or attempted, but they were willing to try. It works and Lance is brought back. He was in a coma state for some time before he was able to stay awake long enough to understand what was happening.
He has to learn to walk again but is so happy to be back with the team. They give him this sense of peace he hasn't had in a while. He also pushes back the memories from his time as an ai. He knows he did bad things, the memories are there, but he doesn't want them to know the details. HunK and Pidge are the most clingy with Coran being a mother hen. Keith and Shiro are like a mix of body guards that spoil him and give reminders for his recovery. Allura though knows he needs to talk to someone.
She knows he isn't ready but left him the offer of talking to her if things get to be too much. The mice can always be found showing him tricks or napping with him. After a particularly bad nightmare Lance wanders the halls. He bumps into Shiro who just came out of the training room and go for some space coco. Lance doesn't intend to start talking but seeing Shiro so calm he starts aasking how? How do you live with yourself after everything you've done? Shiro looks at him to collect his thoughts before answering.
He knows their situations despite being similar are different. He knows he did some things but it was all to survive and one day earn redemption. To live on to make sure others don’t suffer as he did and to look around because while he did some things, he has brought so much good. He is not saying that is an excuse to pardon his actions, but he understands where lance is coming from. Lance ultimately starts crying and Shiro just holds him until he falls asleep.
Hunk is at the door with his own tears. He knew Lance needed to share and wished Lance would share with him, but knew he needed support from another survivor. Shiro hands him off to Hunk as they both walk back to the big cuddle pile in the common area where Pidge and Keith are awake. They have a half empty tray of snacks that Coran made them. Allura turned some music on for them and the mice are resting on Pidges hair and shoulders. One little brave one is sleeping on Keith's shoulder.
Seeing Hunk come in with Lance they start turning everything off and going back to the cuddles. They put Lance in the middle with Pidge and Hunk at his sides. Keith and Shiro are on the outsides a little far away but no less attentive To Lance. Keith has his knife and bayard at the ready while shiro sleeps in an uncomfortable position that is easily to go into attacking. They all sleep and for once Lance wakes up before them. He wakes up feeling to hot and then sees why.
During their entire time together everyone had been hovering and close yet kept some space to not over crowd him. Now after his little breakthrough they need to show Lance they know and don’t care. They just miss him that much and he can see it in how they sleep so close to him. He feels the love and just starts crying and everyone starts waking up panicked at his tears and just group hug him when he starts thanking them for saving him and staying with him even after everything. They just hug it out and tell him how he is such a vital part. They can't stand up for long without a leg and just want him to be happy. They know it wont be that fast or easy but they are all there for him.
They fall asleep like that when Allura comes in to check on them. She looks at them fondly as she covers them in blankets. They accidentally sleep in but they needed the down time. Lance starts communicating more with Shiro and Allura and starts feeling more like himself. Hunk and Pidge are great supports and Keith surprises them. He can tell when lance needs some space and just hauls him off to Blue. He hops in and they both go to some nice part of the planet they're on and just silently take in the view. It comforts Lance to be near Blue and with Keith there he feels comfortable enough to let his guard down.
He is also touched at Keith going with him in is lion as that speaks of trust in his skills to pilot for the both of them. They come back to the castle mellow and filled with soft smiles. With time and his support Lance is better. His isn't the same boy from Cuba, but he isn't much of a boy anymore. He is happy for the person he has become and the people his surrounded with.
Though the galra have been defeated they still have planets to help. With Shiro and Lance they are able to help the prisoners from gladiator rings and Keith helps other half galras come into their heritage. Hunk and Pidge are setting up communication hubs so they can keep in touch with the newly freed planets while Coran and Allura are making the connection with diplomatic visits. They are all happy to move on and can't wait to tell their family back home their adventures. They also have a wedding to look forward to.
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