Summary: When something happens that makes Killer Queen realise that she has to protect her people, she contemplates how to control the resistance of the Bohemians.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the show itself, nor do I own the title, which is actually a line from the Queen song: "Who Wants to Live Forever." So obviously I do not get any money for this story.
A/N: This story is set before the musical and you have to assume that Commander Khashoggi is about twenty-five, while Killer Queen is about five to ten years older. (I know, not true, but necessary for the purpose of this story) Also, this story was written for the challenge of Werepuppy Black.
When Love Must Die
As she walked through the spotless white halls, Killer Queen noted proudly that hospital technology had much improved under her reign. Almost every illness could be cured. There was a medicine for everything. Yet there was one thing that had proven to be incurable: the resistance of the Bohemians. Her plan had been to convert them peacefully, but they still refused to cooperate. Recent events had made her struggle with the rebels more personal than ever.
Killer Queen reached the end of the hallway and stepped inside a sterile hospital room. A man lay in a bed there, hooked up to various machines that monitored his breathing and heartbeat. Still uncontious, the man looked even younger than the twenty-five years he really was, his white hair making him very pale against the sheets. He was not alone in the room. There was an orderly sitting a few feet away from his bed. The second man got up quickly upon seeing her.
"How is he doing?" She asked him, her eyes still on the sleeping man.
"He is going to be alright," The orderly answered, much to her relief. "They managed to extract the bullet in surgery and he will probably wake up in a couple of hours."
Killer Queen nodded, before ordering the man out. She grabbed his now vacant chair, pulling it closer to the bed and then sat down, watching the Commander of the Secret Police. She knew he was young and inexperienced, but yet she had made the choice to promote him. He had shown so much potential and she trusted his judgement. Yet his judgement had failed him today, when he had chosen to trust a Bohemian. Commander Khashoggi had been careless and that's why one of the Bohemians had managed to smuggle a gun into the Headquarters of Globalsoft. The Bohemian had shot her Commander, who now had to pay the price for his trust in the rebel. The Bohemian had then attempted to escape admidst the chaos that had broken out, but fortunately, he had not succeeded and when he was overpowered, he had been locked up in a cell at Globalsoft Headquarters.
It was the final straw, Killer Queen decided in that hospital room. Her father had been right all along. Negotiations had proven to be useless and she felt that now the time had come to surpress the resistance with violence. When she had taken over the reign of Planet Mall, the resistance of the Bohemians had been steadily growing. At the present, they were uncontrollable. They had become too wild, too free. Alcohol and drugs were part of their lifestyle and many teenagers were influenced by them. This very hospital was full of the victims of their so-called freedom. She had been warned many times that this would happen, but she had been convinced that using force would only make things worse. However, in order to protect her people, she now felt she had not other choice. She needed to prevent future violence and pain. The only way to do that, was by controlling the Bohemians. Banning all real music had been the first step towards a peaceful system, taken by her family in the past. That step had been designed to decrease their rebellion. It had only encouraged violence.
Years later, her father had found another method to shatter the strength of those who fought to destroy the peaceful world that her family had created. She had rejected the method, because it was harsh and cruel. She had locked those orange helmets away, deeming them not necessary, convinced that she could handle the problems herself.
Killer Queen listened to the steady beeping of the monitor that showed the Commander's heartbeat. She cared too much to let the Bohemians get away with this crime. It was time that she stood up for those who were in danger. She laid one hand on the Commander's head, showing her affection when she knew that he couldn't feel it. Then she left the room. She cared about, even loved, her people and especially this young man, whom she carried responsibility for since he was recruited for Globalsoft by her family ten years ago, but she could not tell him that. She had always been taught that love made you vulnerable and weak. She remembered that her father once told her that love was therefore too dangerous to be showed. He told her that ruling Globalsoft required something stronger than love.
"You'll realise at some point in the future," He had said to her, "that love must die before you can make the decisions that will affect the course of this world."
She had not understood him back then, but had yet decided that she would always protect her people from a distance, like her father had also done for her and her family. But after today, she knew why her love had to die. It made her vulnerable and defenseless against the sorrow of the people she had to protect and rule. Care and love had affected her judgement for too long. She had feared to take action and to stand up against the rebellion, not wanting to lose her humanity, but her father had been right. She had reached the point now where love must die.
That day, Killer Queen opened the door to the helmets of her father. That day, she blew the mind of the Bohemian who had shot Commander Khashoggi. That day, she decided at all cost to protect her people from the individuality of those who destroyed what she held dear.
The End