Author's Note: After writing "Fallen Empires," I really got into the idea of exploring what the VF did during Wade's reign over the Alliance. I have been asked by a couple of people (Sally On and Wade Wells in particular) to do a few stories - I hope you all enjoy.
Before anyone decides to blast me for what happens in this story, I just want to say that this is a hugely dark time period for the Alliance and for the VF. People are sad, frightened, helpless, depressed...but mostly lonely and desperate. I hope I convey these emotions accurately enough.
As always, I own nothing except my planets and characters, and I do this only for fun/entertainment/stress relief purposes, not profit.
The lyrics to this amazing (and favorite of mine!) song are dedicated to Mer3Girl.
"I want to hide the truth
I want to shelter you
But with the beast inside
There's nowhere we can hide...
Don't want to let you down
But I am hell-bound
Though this is all for you
Don't want to hide the truth
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come
When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide"
- "Demons" by Imagine Dragons
The money was too tempting.
Keith Kogane had been on the run from Wade for roughly a year. When he first disappeared, leaving Princess Allura and the rest of his teammates on the Voltron Lion Force behind, he'd liquidated any assets he had. Not that he owned a lot, but he knew that he would need all the intergalactic currency he could get his hands on if he was going to start out properly on this mission.
Wade. Sky Marshal Wade had taken his Black Lion. He had to get it back. There was nothing that could keep him from his mission.
Not even Allura.
It wasn't easy for him to forget about her. No, she haunted him. He thought of her during every spare moment of the day; he dreamed of her at night. He wouldn't admit to himself how much he missed her, and perhaps that was the reason he didn't sleep well. Or maybe it was the stream of gorses* he'd been picking up lately. Yeah, that's probably got a lot more to do with it.
Keith was out of money, and it was near impossible to pull off a mission of this caliber without deep pockets. Information did not come cheap, and there seemed to be a price on his head, undoubtedly because catching the rogue captain of the disbanded Voltron Force would fetch a very tidy sum indeed. The only thing he could do was carry out the hired tasks that no one else wanted to do. The tasks that would pay a large amount of money by the desperate fool willing to perform them.
The tasks that would end a life.
There were plenty of warlords and crime lords across the galaxy, and plenty of men and women who needed to be rubbed out. That was where he came in. Between his training at the Space Academy and his reputation from leading the Voltron Force, the name Keith Kogane actually meant something. He hadn't wanted to become an assassin-for-hire, but somehow the position fit.
This mission? This mission might be the worst of all, he thought grimly.
He was on Planet Basicilia, watching - well, more like stalking - a criminal by the name of Jerrod Tez* * who was wanted throughout the Near Universe for plenty of reasons. Extortion, bribery, theft, drug peddling, money laundering, rape, and lying under oath all made the short list of reasons he was wanted, dead or alive. Preferably dead. The money was the same regardless.
Could he honestly take down the yellow-skinned, four-armed behemoth? He was confident that he could, but he knew it wouldn't be easy - Tez was much more intelligent than the average criminal. With a chill, Keith realized that if he wasn't hesitant at all anymore about these missions, then he was glad that Allura wasn't there. He couldn't bear for her to see what he'd become.
Although some might have considered the girl too old for it, Princess Allura tucked Larmina into bed. She adored her niece; if it hadn't been for her, she would have collapsed after Wade disbanded the Voltron Force and hid Black Lion away. She would have had nothing to look forward to, nothing to fill her days outside of Lance's random visits. Sure, she was the reigning monarch of Arus, and her days were crammed with meetings, appearances and royal events, but her life had never felt so lonely or so empty.
"Aunt Allura," the young teen piped up, "why do you look so sad all the time? I noticed it today when I sat in on that summit meeting. You looked like a robot. Like you were there, but you really weren't."
The Arusian princess felt her ears perk up at that statement. I forgot, Larmina picks up on a lot more than she lets on. "Well, you know how it is, my love. It's..." Do I really want to burden a child with this? "I miss my friends."
That was the truth. It might not have been the whole of the truth, but it was the bigger part.
"Huh," the girl snorted. "At least you can say that you have friends. I've got nobody...unless, of course, you count Nanny, Drea and Sofia." She shuddered. "Yikes."
Allura giggled. "Fair enough, my girl," she offered, planting a firm kiss on Larmina's forehead. "Now, go to sleep and dream sweet dreams. I love you, and I'll see you in the morning." She watched as her niece's aquamarine eyes fluttered closed, her long strawberry-blond hair spilling over the pillow.
When she was sure that Larmina was asleep, she headed back to her own room. The royal quarters - which used to belong to her parents and which should have been her brother Allistaire's - were the largest in the castle. Inside, she flopped down onto the large bed and buried her face in a pillow.
It was the only place where she cried. Allura would only allow herself to cry in the privacy of her room. Not in public, and never in front of Larmina.
She missed Lance already. During this dark period in her life, he'd proven himself to be the one bright spot, the one consolation prize. She missed Hunk and Pidge; she missed Keith more than words could express. Flipping onto her back, Allura clutched the pillow to her chest. If only the lions hadn't gone crazy...
She thought back to the victory celebration on Earth. What had they missed? She remembered the tour of the Garrison grounds while Wade's men inspected the lions…Out of sheer fascination and curiosity, he'd said. Then, after they'd gone crazy, the Colonel-turned-Sky Marshal blamed a computer virus borne in the lions' memory metals and ordered them grounded, stealing Black away to a secret location. And then Keith disappeared, punching Lance in the face so as not to implicate his second-in-command. As team captain, he'd taken on all of the responsibility and all of the blame.
Sitting up on the bed, Allura wiped the tears out of her eyes. During Lance's last visit - come to think about it, during all of Lance's visits - every time she began to slide back into her depression, the former Red Lion pilot would do something to cheer her up. Sometimes they went shopping. Sometimes they stayed in and drank Earth imports together - she liked the Patrón tequila best - while he smoked cigarettes. And sometimes they went out, often to a little up-and-coming lounge known as Heaven Bar, where they had become friendly with the staff and the owner.
That's what she would do. If she didn't have her true friends with her right now, then she would find solace in the company of her surrogate friends. Amanda, Nicole, Luana...they were just what she needed right now.
Trying to channel her inner Lance, she began to dress herself for her night out.
When his eyelids opened, his first thought was, I slept through the night.
That was a rarity for Jonathan James Hawkins, the current second-in-command to Sky Marshal Wade. He never slept for long; since he was four years old, he'd only sleep for two hours at the most at any given time. The only time he slept throughout the entire night was when he shared his bed with the woman he loved.
It was too bad that she didn't know he was in love with her. Not yet, anyway. But she would after this weekend, when he finally worked up the nerve to tell her how he felt about her.
They were in Boston, in the two-bedroom condo his Uncle Jacob had purchased before his passing - the same spot where he was hiding Lenora Stensson from Sky Marshal Wade. From the moment that madman took control of the Garrison, and therefore of the Galaxy Alliance, he'd put a price tag on her head to ensure that she didn't challenge him for the position that was rightfully hers. That was the reason Jon had hidden her away; he couldn't stand to lose her.
He rolled over on the mattress until he was pressed against her backside. Lenora was still fast asleep, curled up on her side, and he relished the solitude with her. It wasn't often that he spent time alone with her, so whenever he had the chance, he savored it.
Technically, they weren't alone right now. He'd given his bed, the one in the larger second bedroom, to his personal driver. Carlo, who had worked for his uncle before his death, had picked Jon up late Friday night and chauffeured him straight to Boston from Manhattan. By the time they arrived, it was far too late for the man to return to New York, so the commander had offered for him to stay the night.
Carlo had Jon's bed, and Jon shared Lenora's. Not that he was complaining.
He threw his arm around her and attempted to fall back to sleep. He knew it wouldn't happen - he was lucky enough that he'd slept through the night - but he never passed up a chance to hold her. She stirred as he draped his arm around her, and without opening her eyes, she curled her fingers over his hand.
"Mornin', Hawkins."
He lifted their joined hands to his lips. "Jon."
"No. We've been over this already. Not until I get my rank back."
"Hmm." He closed his dark eyes and inhaled; he loved the scent of her. "I suppose one of these days I'll break you down enough to call me by my first name." He pressed his lips to the back of her shoulder.
They had never kissed normally on the lips, but in different ways, their relationship was even more intimate than that. They often shared a bed, held hands, talked. The kisses they did share seemed brief, stolen, and practically illicit: hands, cheeks, foreheads, necks, shoulders. He could tell that she wanted to move their relationship to the next level, but she was very hesitant about doing so.
There were a number of reasons. Wade, for one, and the price tag on her head. For another, Aidan Dalloway, the boyfriend she'd left behind when she went into hiding. He knew that she still felt incredibly guilty about the sudden way their relationship had ended - though, for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. She'd admitted that she had never been in love with Aidan. To Jon, it seemed like an unbelievable waste of time to stay in a relationship but not be in love. And then there was the distance between them. They didn't often get to spend time together, so how could they make a relationship work under such circumstances?
She must have felt what he was thinking. After finally opening her chocolate-brown eyes, she sat up on the mattress as if to get away. "I'm gonna start breakfast," she announced. "What does Carlo like?"
"I'm not aware that he consumes anything besides coffee."
"Well, then, he hasn't eaten a breakfast cooked by Lenora Marie Stensson." Bending over, she retrieved her black flip-flops from underneath the bed and stepped into them. "I'll get the coffee going first, Hawkins. Then the eggs. And from there," she shot him a naughty grin, "I'll surprise you."
With a groan, Jon rolled onto his back. "Every day with you is a surprise, Lenora."
She winked and closed the door behind her as she skirted off to the kitchen. He smiled to himself - he couldn't believe that they finally had a weekend to themselves. Well, at least they would after Carlo returned to Manhattan.
As he sat up, he heard his phone ringing. Who could be calling me so early on a Saturday morning? A frown settling onto his face, he checked the caller ID and swallowed.
It was Lieutenant Brown.
Allura knew that if Nanny had seen her when she walked out the door, she would have been whisked away and locked in her room for probably the next fifty years. But she had to tell someone she was leaving, preferably someone who wouldn't run off and snitch to Nanny. That left out Drea and Sofia. She settled on Coran.
Her advisor wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of the princess heading off to a bar by herself at such a late hour, but he did stop to remind himself that she was twenty-five years old and not exactly a child anymore. They compromised - he promised not to tell Nanny if she promised to bring plain-clothes security with her. It seemed like a fair enough exchange.
She brought three guards with her. One would stand outside the main entrance, the other two would sit inside the bar and order non-alcoholic drinks while keeping a non-suspicious distance from the princess.
The three security personnel laughed and chatted with her as they made their way through town to Heaven Bar. Dressed in jeans, a fitted white T-shirt, and brown kitten-heeled leather boots, with her hair long and loose, she looked like an ordinary girl - not like Arusian royalty. It felt...good. She'd even removed her tiara before she left.
"Your Majesty," the first guard caught her attention, "you'll stay out here with me while the other two go inside and secure your booth. Then, once I get the all-clear, you can go inside the bar." He studied her face for a moment. "Will there be anyone to accompany you?"
Allura shook her head. "No one besides the girls who work here. Their names are Nicole, Luana and Amanda, just in case you should need that information for future reference."
The guard shook his head. "I shouldn't have to tell you that I don't approve of this scenario. And if I don't approve of it, I can only imagine what Prime Minister Coran must think."
"I don't care what Coran thinks. He never seems to mind when I come here with Lance." She frowned. "I have the three of you here with me tonight. I have more security with me now than I've ever had in the past."
He sighed. "Just be careful, your Majesty."
"Of course."
Tapping his earpiece once, he looked into her emerald eyes. "Your booth is ready, my lady. You may proceed."
"Thank you." Allura headed into Heaven Bar, her kitten heels clicking along the polished wood floor as she made her way directly to the private banquette that she and Lance usually sat at. It was a circular red velvet half-booth surrounding a small table, closed off by drapes and lit by candles.
As soon as she sat down, she felt lonely. She was so used to being there with Lance that it didn't seem right without him. It felt so wrong. Maybe this was a bad idea.
She was about to stand up and leave when the drapes flew open. Luana, clad in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a cropped black tee, opened her arms for a hug. "Girl! It's good to see you again!" she cried out, kissing the top of Allura's head. "Where's Lance?"
I forgot that she has a huge crush on Lance. "He's back on Earth, Lu. He never gets to stay on Arus for very long."
"Boo." Luana made a face. "Well, I'll tell Mr. Halix that you're here. He always enjoys stopping by whenever you make an appearance."
"Will he make my drink for me?"
The waitress winked. "For you, he always does. One Blue Lion Pilot, comin' right up."
Lenora was in the middle of scrambling eggs with sour cream - it was a trick that Lisa had taught her; It makes the eggs so much fluffier, she'd insisted - when the commander entered the kitchen. His face was ashen, and his eyes glimmered with nervous energy. "Uh-oh. I don't like the look on your face, Hawkins. Here, have some coffee." She pushed a mug of the freshly-brewed beverage across the marble-topped island.
Knocking his head back, he swallowed the coffee in nearly one gulp. Placing the empty mug back down on the island, he asked, "Tell me something, Darling: have you traveled out of the state recently?"
She blinked, confused. "Yes," she answered slowly, trying to piece the situation together. "I was bored more than usual last weekend, so I hopped on a shuttle to go down to the casinos in Connecticut for the day." She shrugged, turning back to the eggs on the stove. "Why? What's wrong with that?"
Jon closed his eyes. "You were spotted."
"Huh?" She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Don't forget, Wade has contacts and surveillance all around the country. That demon has somehow found you. He tried to contact me last night after I left Manhattan, but he couldn't get ahold of me, so he contacted your friend Don Brown instead." His dark eyes glittered murderously, and for a moment, Lenora thought he was furious with her. "Brown just called me to let me know."
She took the pan of eggs off the burner and moved towards the commander. Wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his chest, she whimpered, "I'm sorry, Hawkins. I shouldn't have done that - I wasn't thinking. Please don't be angry."
He wrapped both arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not angry with you, Darling. It's Wade. I'm angry at him. This was supposed to be our weekend together, and now he's ruined it." The weekend when I told you that I'm in love with you. The weekend when I convinced you to let go of the past and be mine.
She looked up at him. "So now what?"
He sighed. "Well, it's a good thing Carlo's still here. Get dressed, Lenora. And pack your things. We're going to New Jersey."
"New Jersey? Why? What's in New Jersey?"
"Teterboro."
There he is. I finally found him.
Keith had never, not for one moment, doubted his tracking skills. After all, he hadn't led the Voltron Lion Force - and ranked Number One in his graduating class at the Space Academy - without reason. But if he could be honest, it wasn't as though his target was that difficult to spot in a crowd. Once he had the tracking coordinates, Jerrod Tez stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.
He was a behemoth. He stood well over seven feet tall and was powerful by any standards - two muscular legs and and four even more muscular arms, a well-defined torso, a strong back. His black hair was teased into a mohawk, in stark contrast with his yellow skin, and the expression behind his piercing eyes was pure menace. Keith could understand why he was wanted solely from the look on his face.
And he's ugly, too.
Since the hard part was over - killing him would be far easier than tracking him down - Keith waited. He had to be careful; too many people would claim Jerrod Tez's hide as their own, especially since the stakes were so high. He had to do it when there were no witnesses, no vultures to swoop in. There needed to be no question as to whether or not he'd really been the one to take this demon down, otherwise he wouldn't get the reward money.
If he didn't get the reward money, he couldn't buy more information to find Black Lion. And if he didn't find Black Lion, he would never see Allura again. Well, he could, but it wouldn't feel right. Keith's pride and sense of duty and honor had always outweighed any other emotion, and now was no different. If he returned to Arus without Black Lion, he was a failure. Oh, he knew that Allura would never think of him as a failure, but he would never be able to shake off the guilt that would come with the knowledge that he'd failed to bring back the main lion of Voltron.
Things would never be right between the two of them if he didn't bring Black Lion home.
And so he waited. Patience was a virtue, one which he had cultivated over the years. He had to be patient in this. There was too much at stake.
Allura had never realized how long it took to make the signature house drink. The Blue Lion, made with Arusian rum...blech...and other secret ingredients, was the most painstakingly-crafted drink in the lounge. On every other occasion she'd been here, she was with Lance, and time seemed to fly by. But now, by herself, the minutes ticked away slowly, almost as though they had something better to do than keep track of the hours.
"Your Highness."
Startled, she looked up. Normally, it was one of the waitresses who brought the house drink to her. This voice? This was no female. This was a man. And not just any man - it was Brent Halix, owner and head bartender himself, coming to deliver her drink in person.
She smiled in greeting. "Mr. Halix."
"Please...it's Brent." He waved off her words as he placed her drink down on the table in front of her. "You know, the house drink is actually called the Blue Lion, named in honor of you," he teased. "It's ironic that the person it's named after doesn't prefer it the way it's made."
She let out a little giggle. "It's Lance's fault that I like tequila instead of rum."
"Ah. For some reason, I'm not surprised. One Blue Lion Pilot, for the Blue Lion pilot." He waited for her to take the first sip, which she did eagerly. "How is it? Did I make it to your liking?"
"Of course. You haven't made me a bad drink yet."
"I'm so glad." He turned his back to her before allowing his face to fall. "Well, your Highness, it was such a pleasure to see you again - the highlight of my day, really. But now I'll leave you to your drink. I've got to get back to the bar."
Noticing how his emotions had suddenly changed, Allura felt a wave of concern rush through her body. "Wait a moment, Mr. Hal - Brent. What's wrong? You look so...sad." She knitted her eyebrows together in compassion. "Is it Natanya?"
Sighing, he lowered his gaze to the ground. Without looking back at her, he replied, "Is it that obvious, your Highness?"
"Allura. Call me Allura." So she was right - his mood was related to his wife. "And yes, it is very obvious. The last time I spoke with you, you told me that things were rocky between the two of you. Has it gotten worse?"
His gaze didn't come up from the floor. "She served me with separation papers this morning."
The princess gasped. "Are you going to get divorced?"
"I don't know yet. She asked for a trial separation. I don't know why for sure, but she said something about this bar being more important to me than she was, amongst other things." Brent lifted his head but still could not bring himself to look back at Allura. "I've spent the entire day thinking about it, dealing with it. Spoken with lawyers, signed contracts. This might just be the worst day of my life."
That was really saying something; Allura and Lance had learned Brent Halix's life story when they first started frequenting Heaven Bar. They both knew that his home had caught fire and collapsed when Zarkon first began attacking Arus. That he had tried to rescue his little sister, but she, much like their parents, had been killed immediately in the blast. That the collapsing beam struck him in the face and tore open the flesh beneath his left eye, narrowly missing ripping the orbit out of its socket. If today was worse than that day, then Brent was at the bottom of a black hole.
The words were out before her brain could even process what she was saying. "Sit down with me. Please."
He finally glanced over his shoulder to look at her, and she couldn't help but marvel at how handsome he was. Yes, she'd always appreciated his good looks, but it had always been in passing, as she had Lance's conversation to keep her mind occupied. But now, Allura could fully admire his long, deep brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. His hazel eyes, similar in color to Lance's, but with more depth and sadness. His well-built physique, muscular and lean without being too bulky. And of course, that long scar beneath his left eye, still darker than the rest of the skin on his face.
The scar should have made him ugly, but to Allura, it only enhanced his beauty.
"Please."
Inhaling, he muttered the words, "God help me," under his breath before turning back towards the table. He slid into the booth next to her; they were so close that their arms bumped together. Then, with an amused expression, he murmured, "I can't refuse your request. You are the princess, after all."
She laughed. "Finally, my title is useful for something."
He laughed with her, and their eyes locked. For an instant, everything was okay. Not perfect, but okay. His marriage was still unravelling, and she was still nowhere without her friends and Voltron. Without Keith. But just for a moment, things looked liked they might just turn out all right.
Opening the portal was easy. Keith's contacts, the shadowy figures who wanted Tez dead, had supplied him with almost anything they could to ensure that the mission was accomplished. This is kinda cool, the rogue captain thought as the behemoth disappeared out of sight. And for the first time in a long time, it's not a total gorse.
Flicking his turquoise eyes to the side to confirm that no one had seen the portal or Tez's sudden disappearance, he dove in after, ready to finish what he had started.
In a way, he felt bad for Tez. Of course, this man was a demon; he undoubtedly deserved death for all the evil he'd done. But Keith felt as though this punishment was perverse. He'd be profiting immensely from this execution - there was no other way to put it - and it felt wrong. Necessary, but wrong.
He swallowed his feelings anyway. It's for Voltron. For Allura. I will do anything for Allura.
The portal was like a rabbit hole, and when it was done, both Keith and Tez ended up alone in some dark alley. It was raining - Basicilia was notorious for its icy-cold, razor-sharp droplets - and they both shielded their eyes to get a good look at each other. Tez regarded him with amusement flickering in those flinty eyes.
"I know you," he said simply.
"Yeah. You do." Keith stared him down. His skin prickled as the rain matted his long hair onto his neck.
Tez was unfazed. "Why do I know you?"
He felt it was only fair that the behemoth know the name of his assailant. "My name is Keith Akira Kogane, rogue leader of the disbanded Voltron Lion Force." He stared back at Tez, a look of compassion and hatred mixed in his eyes.
Tez sneered. "Oh, yes. That's why I know you." He paused, allowing the former captain time to fully process the words he was about to deliver. "There are so many wonderful things said about you, Keith Kogane. But in the end, you are a coward. A coward. You ran from the Garrison instead of facing Sky Marshal Wade. You hid in the shadows, stalking me." He licked his lips, delighting in his foe's tormented countenance. "Definitely a coward. What kind of man would track down his prey in this manner? And what kind of man would run away from his own team?"
Keith's vision turned red, and his skin felt blazing hot beneath the icy rain. Tez was calling him a coward? A coward? He no longer felt any sorrow or pity for this criminal. "Think whatever you want," he exhaled, his voice eerily calm. "I know I'm no coward, and that's all that matters."
Before Tez could retort further, he pulled out his laser gun and aimed for the behemoth's throat.
It was a clean shot. All four of Tez's arms flailed wildly, his black eyes round and shining as he locked his gaze on Keith. As the blood poured from the fatal wound on his neck, the demon grasped his throat, collapsing to his knees in the midst of the pouring rain. He died like that, laid out on the ground with four hands clasped around the bullet hole.
For a long while, Keith stood motionless, pummeled by the icy-cold droplets as he stared at the dead body. Tez was officially gone, and it had been even easier than he thought it would be. Now he could collect the reward money and would be one step closer to finding Black Lion and returning to Arus. Returning to Allura.
But somehow, it all felt wrong.
"I've got to go," Brent laughed, his lips obscenely close to Allura's ear. "You, my dear princess, have monopolized all of my time tonight. If I wasn't the owner of this blasted lounge, I'd lose my job for sure." His breath lingered over her delicate skin, sending goosebumps down the length of her arms. "I've got to go."
"Are you sure?" Allura's question lingered in the air as the bartender scooted along the velvet banquette. "Why would you want to leave?"
"I don't want to leave." His velvety lips curled into a smirk. "You're a very difficult woman to leave, Allura. I have had more fun sitting with you tonight than I have in all of the years I've been married to Natanya." He curled his fingers over her hand. "But you're a princess, and I'm just a bartender."
Just a bartender. The words left a sour taste in Allura's mouth. Hadn't Keith said something like that to her a long time ago? Something about how she was a princess, but he was only a pilot? That there was no point in them starting up a relationship because her status was too high?
No. She was not going to go down that road with Brent. Wait a minute...what am I thinking here? Am I considering Brent as a possible contender? No, that's insane. I love Keith. I could never leave him for Brent.
Then it dawned on her: she had never told Keith that she loved him, much less heard Keith say that he loved her. They weren't together or in a relationship, and in all honesty, she had no clue where he was and when - or if - she would ever see him again. All she knew for sure was that Keith cared about her, and that was as far as it went.
She couldn't leave Keith, not when she didn't have him to begin with. And she couldn't live her life on hold for him, either. Not when she didn't know for sure that he loved her.
"You are not just a bartender," she told him firmly, lifting her half-full glass to her lips. "You have been incredibly kind to Lance and me. You and your staff have taken care of me better this past year than anyone else." She swallowed. It was the truth.
He inclined his head. "I appreciate your sentiments, Allura. I do. But your words will not bring the love back into my life, and though I enjoy caring for you and Lance, it does not fill my empty bed at night."
She blinked her emerald eyes at him, staring at that scar on his face. Now or never, Allura. "I'm sorry, Brent. I know that I can't do much to ease that sting. But I can invite you to dinner tomorrow at the Castle of Lions." She grinned. "Like a date."
He lifted his eyebrows at her in surprise. "A date?"
"Yes."
He drew a deep breath. "Well. I was not expecting that."
She giggled. "I'm full of surprises."
"That you are." He smiled, the first real smile he'd shown all evening. "Tell me, dear princess, what exactly is one supposed to wear to dinner at the royal palace?"
Flirting. Brent was flirting with her...and she liked it. Well, two can play at this game. Allura batted her eyelashes. "It depends, Brent."
"On what?"
"On whether or not the person dining at the palace is the royal monarch's escort."
He smiled up towards the ceiling. "Oh, you are going to be the death of me, Allura. But yes, I will come for dinner tomorrow night." His eyes then trailed down to hers. "Consider me the royal monarch's escort. I'll even bring flowers."
"I'd settle for a decent bottle of wine."
"Both it is, then." She noted the look of hope that briefly flashed in his hazel eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Allura."
As he slipped out of her private booth and closed the drapes behind him, Allura smiled into her glass before taking another sip. Her teeth, lips and tongue were sure to be stained blue right now. "That you will, Brent. That you will."
It had been a hectic morning; they'd needed to hit the ground running. Once they'd eaten breakfast, Carlo tidied up the condo while Jon and Lenora took care of the details. There was money that was needed, clothes to be packed. While she had a passport, a visa was required, and the commander would have his work cut out for him trying to figure out a way to allow the once-and-future Space Marshal to live in a foreign country in excess of three months. It didn't matter. He would do it. There had to be a way, and he would find it.
The alternative would mean Wade getting his hands on Lenora.
Once everything was in order, they locked up the condo and loaded everything into the vehicle. Carlo took command of the controls while Jon and Lenora sat in the backseat, gripping hands the entire time. She'd gone white, he'd gone grim.
The ride to New Jersey was a long, silent one. There were no words of comfort to exchange as they travelled out of Massachusetts and headed towards Teterboro. How is this even happening? Jon wondered in exasperation. Why does Wade keep ruining everything? And when will he figure out that I'm not just going to hand Lenora over to him?
That might have been the scariest thought of all. If the Sky Marshal ever figured out that his second-in-command was acting directly against his orders, then the consequences would be severe: imprisonment in the Void or death. For at least him, and perhaps for her as well.
At the gates of the private airport, Carlo stopped for security, rolling down the window to show his ID. Jon felt Lenora's hand clench his a little tighter. She's scared, and I don't blame her. The easiness of this morning seems like a lifetime ago.
He was so angry. Right about now, they should be getting ready for dinner. He'd had everything planned out - his outfit, the restaurant, the wine. He had been prepared to tell her that he wanted them to be together, that he didn't care about Wade or the distance between them or their age difference or whatever had happened in her past. They were supposed to be together, he knew it. And now the Sky Marshal had blown his plans apart.
Carlo chauffeured them right onto the tarmac and stopped in front of a private jet. Lenora's chocolate-brown eyes grew huge as she took in the image. "Hawkins? What in seven hells is that?"
He couldn't look over at her. "It's my private jet."
"You have a private jet?" she squeaked.
"It was my uncle's. He used it for business. But he also used it for pleasure." He shook his head sadly. "It was easier for him to get to Paris this way."
"I can't believe I'm going to Paris."
"Believe it. You're not just going there, you'll be living there." His throat closed on the words. The idea of his Lenora living in a different country was difficult to wrap his head around. The only thing worse would be to lose her to Wade.
Her face held an expression of excitement laced with fear. His heart sunk a little further into his stomach. She'll be safe in Paris. But I'm going to miss her.
The pilot helped Carlo load the luggage into the jet. With the both of them preoccupied, Jon turned to Lenora to say goodbye. It was for the best, and they both knew it. But it was still more difficult than he'd expected.
"Hawkins." She regarded him with a mix of gratitude, excitement and disbelief. "I don't know what to say. I'm overwhelmed by everything you've done for me." She opened her arms and embraced him, placing a kiss on his throat. "But I'll miss you more than words can ever express."
"I know, Darling." With his arms wrapped around her, he closed his eyes and inhaled, trying to burn her scent into his memory. "I'll miss you too."
She gazed up into his piercing dark eyes. "Will you think of me while I'm gone? Because I'll be thinking about you."
He grinned. "Every day."
"Good." Taking his hand in hers, she raised it to her lips and kissed it. "Good luck dealing with Wade, Hawkins. And thank you again for keeping me safe. I promise, once that jerk is out of power and I have control of the Garrison again, I will never forget what you've done for me. I swear it."
"I know you won't."
He escorted her to the rickety staircase and stopped at the bottom, kissing both of her cheeks, her forehead, her eyebrows, and even her closed eyelids. She had to climb into the jet herself - if he went any further with her, he'd get on the plane, too. He'd leave the country with her and never look back. She frowned as she ascended the steps, and at the very top, she turned to blow him a kiss, her chestnut hair whipping in the breeze.
Then she ducked into the plane and was gone from sight.
"Hey Lance," Hunk called out, "are you sure you wanna leave? I mean, heck, the football game's barely even started!"
"Yeah!" Pidge chimed in. The systems analyst had prepared a huge spread for the game - hot wings, nachos, mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, and enough beer to get them through the entire football season. "Come on, when was the last time you watched the Giants tackle the Dolphins?"
Lance grinned at them. "Hey guys, you know I'd love to stay, but I feel claustrophobic in this apartment of yours. So I'm gonna have to bail." He scrunched up his face. "Besides, there's no pizza."
Hunk threw a mozzarella stick at him.
Lance ducked, narrowly avoiding the piece of fried cheese. "I mean it, guys! No offense, but you two live in the Valley. There is absolutely nothing happening here. I've gotta go where the party is...or at least back to my own friggin' apartment, where there's pizza."
Pidge twisted the cap off a bottle of beer. "Get lost, McClain."
Lance wrinkled his brow. "What did you say, Shorty?"
"I think he told you to get lost." Hunk nonchalantly bit into a hot wing. "Seriously, man. Get lost. If you don't wanna be here, then we don't want you around. We can finish up this spread on our own, we don't need your help."
"Exactly." Pidge reinforced the big engineer's words by cramming a loaded nacho into his mouth.
Though Lance pouted, he was secretly pleased. "Later, kids," he told them while heading towards the door. "I'm off. Try not to miss me too much."
"Oh, get out of here already!" Hunk aimed a jalapeño popper at him.
The former Red Lion pilot ducked out of the apartment, laughing, and slammed the door shut behind him. Despite the love he had for the Giants, he had no desire to sit around and watch the football game with Hunk and Pidge. There was something coiled in his belly. He was uneasy, and right now, he'd prefer to be alone.
Well, not exactly. He'd prefer to be with her. But that wasn't going to happen.
Lance trekked back to his apartment alone. Normally, on a night like tonight, he'd be living it up. He'd be downtown in a bar, picking up a woman and closing the deal with her afterwards in a meaningless fling. But lately, he'd been thinking about sky-blue eyes fringed with long lashes. A perfect halo of golden curls. Sinfully luscious red lips in a sumptuous pout.
Once he was alone in his small apartment, he collapsed onto the couch. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine the beautiful Air Team pilot next to him. He could practically smell her, taste her, feel her; he would have given anything for her to be there now. How could they both be in New York and not know where each other was? Blasted Hawkins, he thought bitterly. He won't give the information up. He's way too overprotective of his hidden Vehicle Team members.
Helpless. He was helpless to find her. No matter how many women he bedded, he really only wanted Ginger Ellington. Had he known that he would never see her again after graduation, he might have tried harder to make their relationship official, or at the very least, public.
With a groan, he rose from the couch and headed for his refrigerator. After pulling out a slice of cold leftover pepperoni pizza, he opened the liquor cabinet, where he retrieved the crystal-blue bottle.
Pizza and alcohol in hand, he plopped back down on the couch and turned on the viewscreen. He had no desire to watch the football game; he was looking for company, not something to engage him. He settled on the nightly news.
His eyes fixed on the viewscreen, Lance lifted the bottle of Bombay Sapphire to his lips. If he couldn't have Ginger there with him, at least he could have her favorite gin.
Jon sat in the backseat alone, his head down, his hands pressed together, as Carlo drove him back to Fifth Avenue. He felt numb. His heart felt as though it had been ripped out of his chest, bloody and still beating.
Lenora was gone.
It was only temporary, he tried to remind himself. He had to keep her safe from Wade. He was the only one with the resources necessary to hide her out. He needed to be the one to protect her, and the only way to do that was to put an entire ocean between her and the Garrison.
It still hurt.
From the front seat, Carlo cleared his throat. "Commander Hawkins?"
He looked up. "Please call me Jon. We've known each other long enough to do away with formalities, Carlo."
The driver gave a short nod. "Understood. I've…" He paused, allowing time to properly put what he wanted to say into words. "I've known your family for a long time now, Jon. I remember your uncle, and I remember you from when you were a small boy."
"And?" Jon was growing impatient.
"You're in love with her, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.
He drew a deep breath. "Yes," he finally admitted. "I am. I'm in love with Lenora, and I have been from the moment I met her. I know that she's ten years younger than I am, and I know that she has her own history that she's having trouble moving beyond, but I can't help the way I feel about her."
"I thought so." The driver winked at him in the rearview mirror. "Don't give up, Jon. I've known you and your uncle long enough to know that you'll never give up. So keep fighting. She'll come back to you."
From your lips to God's ears. "I hope so, Carlo," he frowned. "I hope so."
It was late by the time the three guards escorted Allura back to the castle. They were not pleased by the night's events, but the princess was rather proud of herself. Not that she had done anything so wrong - she'd only imbibed two drinks and asked the owner out on a date, after all - but she certainly hadn't acted quote-unquote appropriate for the royal monarch of Arus.
Maybe it was time for a change.
Coran greeted her upon her arrival. From the look on his face, the guards had already alerted him to the night's events. She didn't care. She was ready for him and his inquisition.
She dismissed the guards. "Thank you for all of your help this evening. I appreciate it."
Once her security team had saluted and left the room, Allura faced Coran with every intention of reminding him that she was a grown adult. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I can tell that you already know about everything that happened tonight."
Her advisor nodded. "I do."
"I'd appreciate it if you'd allow me some breathing room. I am no longer a child, Coran, and right now, I'm no longer a pilot. I'd like to be able to enjoy myself from time to time."
He sighed. "I wasn't going to chastise you, Allura. I agree with your sentiments - you're not a child, and you do deserve some pleasure in your life." He gazed at her sadly. "Is your bartender really coming to the castle for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Please warn Nanny for me. Tell her I'm sorry that I didn't give her more notice." She shrugged. "Apologize to Drea and Sofia for me, as well. I'm sure that Nanny will be unbearable to work with tomorrow when she finds out about our dinner guest."
"Very well, Princess."
"Good night, Coran."
"Good night."
Allura headed towards her room and locked the door behind her. For the second time that evening, she flopped onto her mattress, burying her face in the pillow. What have I done tonight? she thought in desperation. Did I really plan a date with Brent Halix? What about Keith? How's Keith going to feel when he finds out about Brent?
She was tormented by her inner demons. What if she never saw Keith again? What if he failed in his mission to find Black Lion and refused to return to Arus? Worse yet, what if she never got the chance to tell him that she loved him? At the rate she was going, she would be grateful for even that. She didn't care if Keith had never loved her and never would; she only wanted to chance to tell him how she felt so she could move on with her life.
Oh, gods...what if he dies before I get the chance to tell him how much I love him?
Her gut clenched at the thought, and a single tear spilled down her cheek. That was the reason she'd asked Brent to dinner - well, that and the fact that she would do anything to help someone who was hurting. She had to prepare herself. She had to steel herself for the worst, that maybe Keith might die during his rogue mission, that he might not make it back to her. She had to move on, at least a little bit. It would help her deal with whatever came down the road.
Allura hoped beyond hope that Keith would return to her. Her greatest fear was that he wouldn't. But no matter what happened, she had to be ready for whatever fate had in store for her. She had to harden her heart enough so that she could move on if the worst came to pass.
She prayed to whatever god would listen that it wouldn't.
Flush with reward money, Keith returned to the dive motel room he'd secured for himself on Planet Vardilos. His body ached from the events of the day - tracking Tez, confronting him, assassinating him, and dragging his body back to the mobsters who'd wanted him dead. The cash might have made the entire ordeal worth it...if only it hadn't cost him his soul in the process.
Sitting down on the shabby bed, he buried his face in his hands. Visions and thoughts swam around in his head. Lance. Pidge. Hunk. Sven. Jeff. Morgan.
Allura.
Christiane.
His mind battered back and forth between the love of his life and his sister. He had to make it. He had to see his mission through to the end, he had to find Black Lion and return to Arus. He had to make sure that Allura knew that he loved her.
And, if it was even possible, he had to find a way back to Christiane and make amends. He had to apologize for the way he'd treated her the last time he saw her, how he'd turned his back on her and left her shivering in the snow. And maybe even Morgan - he'd never treated his ex-girlfriend right, not in all the years he'd known her, and she deserved an apology.
The three people he should have been closest to were the three people he'd managed to hurt the most.
He stood up from the bed and wandered into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and splashed his face with cold water, his thoughts still occupied by Allura: her smiling face, her sparkling emerald eyes, her trust and faith in him. He couldn't let her down. He had to return to her.
Looking up in the bathroom mirror, Keith caught a glimpse of his haunted expression. As he studied his face in the mirror, he marveled at how he looked older. Harsher. Colder. Angrier. More dangerous.
He'd become the demon.
THE END
*Gorses, as defined by "Voltron: Year One" Issue #3: "The most difficult, most high-risk engagements a[n S.E.] squad can draw...It means maximum exposure from the beginning of the op to the end...An almost complete lack of command resources and tactical support...The deepest end of the deepest pool."
* *Planet Basicilia is mentioned in "Voltron: Year One" Issue #1, while Jerrod Tez makes his appearance in "Voltron: Year One" Issue #4.