Notes: I read this Kla///nce fic a while ago where Keith was in a similar situation to the one he's in in this fic, but in the other fic it was really romanticized and it was pretty gross, so I wrote this as a response, not to the author, just for myself. But it fit with today's prompt more or less so I figured I'd post it.

Trigger Warning for slavery, implied past non-con, and non-descriptive electric shock torture. Please don't read if this will trigger you.

Lotor and his generals hadn't done it for fame or attention. They had done it because it was the right thing to do, and because regardless of how insignificant the planet they had freed was, freeing any planet from Galra rule was a huge 'quiznack you' to the Empire.

But even though they hadn't done it for the glory, the planet they had freed was grateful. Once they had freed their king, he declared that a feast would be thrown in their honor.

The food was surprisingly good for a planet mostly stripped of its resources. They dined with the nobles of the planet, all of whom were grateful to have their titles back now that Zarkon didn't rule them.

The only problem was how everyone kept talking about how awful the Galra were, as if it hadn't been Galra hybrids to save them. Lotor wondered if any of them even knew. He supposed be and his generals didn't look very Galra, but usually people could still tell.

They were mid entree when Lotor's fork clattered to the floor. He cursed his clumsiness. "I'll be right back," he told the room, "I need to go ask for a new fork."

Lotor walked the way he had seen the king leave a moment prior until he came to a room. Inside the room was the king, who was speaking to someone sitting in a corner, on the floor.

The person sitting on floor was a man with long, unruly black hair and pale skin littered with scrapes and bruises.

'Is he a prisoner?' Lotor wondered, 'How could they have prisoners if we only just freed them from the Empire this morning? How could they have taken prisoners so quickly? What laws do they even have to arrest someone for breaking?'

Lotor moved so the king wouldn't see him observing. He saw the king move his lips and strained his ears to hear what he was saying.

"I said for you to dance for our guests."

"Well," The prisoner responded, "I said no."

"What's the good of you if you don't do as you're told? Prince Lotor and his generals saved my planet from your kind. The least you can do to repay them is to provide entertainment."

'Your kind?' Lotor wondered, 'But he doesn't look Galra. Then again, neither do I.'

"Do it yourself, asshole. I don't live to be paraded around and humiliated."

Lotor saw the king's lip curl up in disgust, then into a cruel smile as he pulled a remote from his pocket.

A terrified look spread across the prisoner's face. "No, stop! I didn't mean to call you an asshole, please don't- aagggghhhh!"

The prisoner's sentence was cut off by his shrill screaming. He clutched at his neck, seemingly trying to claw off his skin, until Lotor saw he was wearing a thin metal necklace- no, a collar.

'Vrepit Sa, he's electrocuting him,' Lotor thought, too shocked to move.

The prisoner clawed at his collar until blood began streaming down his neck and he collapsed to the ground when finally the king took his finger off the button.

"Stop embarrassing me, you useless mutt."

'He's not a prisoner,' Lotor realized, 'This planet keeps slaves.'

"You think I'm embarrassing you?" The slave growled, lifting his head and surprising Lotor with his fangs. "Imagine how I must feel."

The king reached out and struck the prisoner's face. "How dare you speak to me like that! There will be consequences for this."

The king walked through a door leading out of the room.

"Are you just going to stare at me or are you gonna say something?" The prisoner called out to the room, scowling toward where Lotor was hiding as if he had been the one to hit him.

Lotor stepped out from his hiding spot. "How did-"

"How did I know you were there?" The man pointed to his ear, "Galra hearing."

"I didn't-" Lotor started, but he cut himself off. Of course he knew that some of these planets had slaves. He just hadn't thought that one did. It wasn't as if he could do something about it. Once he was emperor, freeing them was going to be one of the first things he did, but until then, he tried not to go into that corner of his brain.

What could Lotor possibly say in this situation?

He shouldn't treat you that way. Well, Keith knew that. It wasn't as if he chose this life.

I'm sorry this is happening to you. He should be.

No one deserves this. Yeah, no shit.

"Is there any way I can help you?" Lotor finally decided on.

"You can get the fuck out of my sight." The prisoner replied, body still trembling from the electricity. "And not bother me again."

Lotor did as he was told, not wanting to cause the man any more distress.

"What's gotten your armor in a twist?" Ezor asked when Lotor sat back down at the table. "Didn't think you needed a new fork that badly. You could have mine if it means that much to you."

Lotor lowered his voice so only Ezor could hear. "It's not the fork. I went to find someone I could ask, and I found that King Algon has a slave."

"What? But... didn't we just save them from being enslaved from the Empire? That's kinda ironic."

"The worst sort of irony possible," Lotor agreed. "And I have no idea how to help him."

Ezor turned away from Lotor and whispered something to Axca, who in turn whispered something to Zethrid, who whispered something to Narti.

Narti then proceeded to telepathically whispered something back to Zethrid, who in turn whispered to Axca, who whispered something to Ezor, who turned back to Lotor.

"We're going to try to break him out."

Lotor nodded in agreement. "Do you have a plan?"

The whispering chain began again, this time discussing possible plans, but stopped abruptly when the king walked back into the room, dragging the man with the collar behind him by a leash.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lotor demanded.

"As a thank you for saving our planet," The queen said, gesturing to the king and the prisoner, "We wish to give you our prisoner as a gift."

"Wait, what?" The man exclaimed, "What the fuck is wrong with you people? I wasn't told that I would be the-"

The man fell to his knees, clutching again at his throat.

"My apologies for his rudeness," King Algon said when he was done electrocuting the man, "I wish I could say it's because he's new, but in truth, Keith's been here for a decapheobe and he's still disobedient. That's where the collar comes in handy."

"His name is Keith?" Ezor asked.

"Yes, but you could always rename him. He's not the prettiest or the brightest," The king said as if that was what was wrong with the situation. "But he is half Galra. We figured that you would all get a kick out of him."

Lotor stood up, clenching his fists and glaring at the king. "Do you not see the irony here? You were just freed from the Empire, and yet you keep a Galra hybrid as a slave?"

The king just laughed. "The Galra kept us enslaved for hundreds of decapheobes, it seems fitting for us to have a few of them."

"Besides," A noble spoke, "He's very fun to play with."

"I'm not your toy," Keith snapped at her.

The noble acted as if she couldn't hear him. "You offer him some food or freedom and he gets all jumpy, thinking you're serious. It's very entertaining to watch if you're bored. And there are other games you can play with him, too. He's not nearly as good at pleasing you as my slave, but he'll do in a pinch. My favorite game is making him sing for me. He's soooo bad at it, it's hilarious!"

"Maybe I'd be better at it if you didn't keep shooting electricity into my neck," Keith rasped. "I'm surprised I can talk at all at this point."

"This...." Axca said, "Is so messed up."

"It's straight up wrong," Ezor added.

The nobles all turned to Keith. "Look what you've done," The king sneered, "You'll be punished for this."

Keith's face paled significantly, which Lotor hadn't thought was possible given how pale he already was.

"Please, no, I-"

"We'll take him!" Lotor cried out, unable to control himself.

The nobles turned to look at Lotor. "Are you sure?" The queen asked, "We could get you a different one. My husband would surely understand if you wanted a different one."

"Of course!" The king said, "I simply though this one was the most fitting for the situation. But if you'd prefer another-"

"This one is excellent!" Lotor said, panicking considerably. By taking Keith, was he saying he supported this? But by not taking Keith, Keith would have to stay here with these wretched people. Lotor decided that taking Keith with them would be the best option. They could figure out how to help the rest of the slaves and imprisoned people later, but for now, this was all Lotor could think to do.

The king handed Lotor the remote and the leash.

"Thank you," Lotor said, "This evening has been lovely. However, we have to get going. Planets aren't going to free themselves, you know."

"We understand," A noble said, "Thank you for saving our planet from the tyrannous Galra Empire."

Lotor was bombarded by questions the moment the door of the ship closed.

"What the quiznack?"

"I feel nauseous."

"They have quiznacking slaves?"

"And we took one?"

"I'm going to puke on your shoes, Axca!"

"Don't puke on my shoes!"

"Why the quiznack does anyone even have slaves in this day and age? We have sentries now!"

"And it's quiznacking wrong!"

"That's a given!"

"What did they even do to him? That lady said something about pleasure? What kind of pleasure was she talking?"

"I think we all know what she meant, Ezor!"

"Yeah, but that's disgusting! He obviously couldn't say no!"

"And they've been torturing him with that collar!"

"And with weird twisted games."

"Generals!" Lotor shouted, drawing his generals' attention. "We need to keep calm for the sake of our new guest."

"I'm right here," Keith said, startling the others. Lotor wondered if they had forgotten he was there. "You can drop the chivalrous hero act and put me in my cell or whatever."

Lotor frowned. "We aren't going to put you in a cell. The only reason we accepted you as a gift to begin with is because slavery is wrong."

"How flattering."

"What he means is," Zethrid said, sounding far gentler than Lotor had ever heard her, "You're free here. You want us to take that collar off before or after you take a shower? You smell like burnt hair."

"Yeah, that's my burnt hair." Keith deadpanned. "You know, I thought you'd wait a few minutes before playing the 'make Keith act like an idiot in exchange for freedom you're never going to give him' game."

"Hm." Lotor thought back to when the noble had told them she liked to offer Keith food or freedom to make him 'get all jumpy,' as she had put it. "Keith, I promise you we won't hurt you. Especially not for being part Galra. We're all Galra, too."

Keith looked unimpressed. "And why would that change anything? I'm still a mutt."

Lotor flinched at the slur. "No one minds you being half Galra. Partly because we're all half Galra."

Keith's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You are?"

"I'm half Galra, half Altean," Lotor told him.

"I'm half Carlsean!" Ezor chirped.

"I don't know what my other half is," Axca confessed, "But I don't really care."

"I'm half Lovinopien." Zethrid said, "And Narti's half Ametrinian."

Keith looked at each person as they spoke. "Huh. They told me I was the only one."

"They lied."

"I'm impressed," Zethrid said, "Being in capturing for that long would've broken most people. But you're still full of snark! My kind of guy."

The faintest trace of a smile appeared on Keith's face. "They couldn't break me because I was already broken when they took me."

Zethrid laughed. "I like him!"

"We all do, I'm sure. Keith," Lotor looked down to Keith, "Would you like to bathe or eat something? You look a bit sick."

"No offense, of course," Axca chimed in, "Slavery and/or imprisonment will do that to you!"

Lotor sat and talked with his generals while Keith took his shower.

"I think he's starting to trust us," Axca said, "When I set clothes out for him, he didn't flinch away from me, so that's progress."

"And you took his collar off?" Lotor asked.

"I asked Ezor to do it. She's the friendliest, so I thought she'd be best at the task."

Ezor raised her hand. "I took it off! His skin was all purplish underneath. He said it was bruised and I told him that I could lend him some antibiotic gel, but he just kinda looked at me funny so I guess he didn't want it."

"We should destroy it," Zethrid said, "Along with the remote."

Lotor pulled the remote from his armor's front pocket. "I didn't want to activate the electricity by accident."

Zethrid took her helmet off her head and smashed both items. They gave off a final blast of electricity that harmed no one, then shattered under the weight of the helmet. The group sat in silence for a moment before Lotor finally spoke up. "I suppose we must address the yelmor in the room. What are we to do with Keith?"

"We can't just leave him on a planet somewhere," Axca said. "He'll just get taken prisoner again. The universe isn't exactly kind to hybrids."

"I have an idea," Lotor murmured after a long moment of stifling quiet, "But you would all have to be okay with it..."

"What is it, boss?"

Lotor stood and walked over to a window. He gazed out at the stars. "How would you all feel about adding a fifth general to our little half Galra family?"

Gasps arose from the generals.

"Like... he'd be one of us?" Ezor asked.

Lotor looked back to them and nodded. "Like I said, only if everyone is on board."

Surprisingly, Zethrid was the first to speak. "I'm in. Keith's cool."

"If Zethrid's in," Ezor said, "Then so am I."

"I'm not saying I'm against the idea," Axca said, "But does Keith even want to be a general? He was enslaved for a decapheobe. Maybe he's tired of all the drama and just wants to settle down on his home planet or something."

"His home planet gave him up," Ezor said, drawing everyone's attention as she often did. "He told me when I was taking his collar off. Like Axca said, the universe is mean to hybrids."

"That's an understatement," Axca replied, "But we should still ask him what he wants. Let him know he has a say in the matter. It's his choice."

Everyone looked to Lotor for approval. He nodded his head. "I think that's an excellent idea. Let's go ask Keith."

When Lotor saw Keith, he was stunned at how much better he looked. His hair was cleaned and brushed, put in a small braid behind his head. His skin was clean and while he still looked pale and thin, his eyes seemed to burn with the fire of one thousand armies.

'He's a fighter,' Lotor thought, 'I wonder if he'd like to spar sometime.'

"Psst, Lotor," Zethrid whispered to him, "We get that you're gay, but stop ogling the poor guy and ask him if he wants to stay."

Keith snorted when Zethrid said this and Lotor felt reminded of his superlative hearing. He hoped his embarrassment wasn't obvious.

"Oh, um. Yes, of course. Keith, please understand that we would never force you to do anything you don't completely wish to do. But if you'd like, would you perhaps like to join our family and become of of my generals?"

Keith blinked slowly. "Are you fucking with me?"

"I... I don't think so? I must admit, I'm not familiar with your species's slang, but from context I assume you're asking if I am lying to you, and the answer is no."

Lotor inwardly grimaced. Usually he was so articulate. Today he was not. Luckily for him, Ezor picked up the slack. "We'd love to have you!"

"If you want," Axca added, "But it'd be great if you want to stay. You'd be our equal, not a slave or a prisoner."

Keith looked to each of them, eyes scrutinizing as he scanned each of their faces. "If you're positive that that would be okay... and as long as what you said about me being your equal is true.... then sure."

"Hooray!" Ezor cheered, kissing Zethrid's cheek. "We've got another general for our little family."

Lotor laughed when Zethrid was too stunned by the kiss to speak. He turned to Keith and held out his hand for Keith to shake.

"Welcome aboard."

Notes: Keith and Lotor don't get together in this one because Keith's still dealing with the trauma of being enslaved etc., but there will be a sequel fic on Day 14.