Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters. Time traveling belongs to me... well, in only regards to the story line.

Beta: Dawn - Let me consult Haggar's crystal ball as to how many more stories to be beta read...

This is the third installment in my "Chivalry" arc. 1. Chivalry, 2. Lion House Restored

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in flavor.


Chapter Seven

One month later and one month until the autumn solstice…

Keith had been unable to convince Lance and Nanny to keep quiet. He wanted to wait until he had another vision, but they refused to relent and so the team was told. For a month now, he had been avoiding Allura. Doom… he was going to Doom, and he'd be damned if he was going to allow her to be the pilot of that ship in his vision. He had seen it in her eyes as he told everyone about the visions. He would lock himself away when the visions came with frequency, and she wouldn't have the chance.

Pushing such thoughts about Allura away, he thought about the lack of progress they had made in figuring out what he was supposed to do on Doom.

The team had gone to work immediately using the methods that Nanny had taught them. They hadn't learned very much. There were no recorded accounts of any rescues from Doom. Keith didn't want another vision, but he needed one that might give him some clue as to what he was supposed to do. Right now, he had practically nothing.

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Haggar looked at her crystal ball. She had been unable to obtain the commander a month ago, but what she sensed after the battle gave her the direction she needed. Irritation in her grew as she looked into the crystal and focused her energy and thoughts. Opening her eyes again to watch as the crystal went from transparent to opaque, she looked for clues amongst the cloudy interior. She could see the interior of Castle Doom. She could see the Terran pilot on the floor dressed like a slave. He looked different but she knew it was him… there was someone with him…. Curses streamed from the witch's mouth as the shadows moved and she saw an Arusian man and woman in slave clothing. Who were they and what was their importance? As the questions came to her mind, the swirling mists encased in crystal dissipated and left her agitated. She would have to wait until she had another vision to seek her answers.

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It was late afternoon and the members of the Voltron Force were exercising in the gym. Keith had just finished a hard run on the simulator and needed some water. He had just taken a sip and was smiling at a joke that Naveena had played on Hunk when the water bottle dropped from his hand. The familiar dizziness and wind blowing came over him as he moved to grip a nearby table.

The room became deathly quiet after the water bottle dropped. Naveena moved to pick up the bottle as its contents leaked onto the floor. The rest of the team gathered to watch and wait. This was vision number three. Last time, the third vision was the last one before the onslaught of visions that would trigger his departure. The three minutes seemed to take forever as they stared into the black and sightless eyes of the commander.

When Keith's eyes cleared in the vision, he was standing in an entryway, but the door was closed. He could hear a thundering crowd on the other side and his heartbeat quickened. He knew this place and he knew exactly what he would find on the other side of the door. A heartbeat later, the door parted and he stepped out under the bright lights of Skull Arena. Looking around, he saw various weapons and across the arena, his opponent: a robeast in the making. It was huge and had the head of a bull. Its chest armor sported two large spikes and the beast roared as it beat its chest. The winds came to take him back before he could choose a weapon and engage. That was fine with him, if he had to fight the robeast on his quest, he didn't want to fight him again right now.

Blinking rapidly, he looked at his friends and let out the breath he was holding. "It's definitely Doom and I'll have to fight at least one robeast in the arena." Anger and frustration came over him. Seeing the water bottle that he had dropped sitting on the table in front of him, he grabbed it and threw it across the room. "Is that all they want me for? To fight? The spirits are no better than the Council who only values my military skills," he spat out. Letting out a growl, he headed for the door saying, "To hell with this."

Allura made a move to follow him, when she felt Hunk's hand on her arm. Turning, she looked up into his face.

"Give him a little time, Princess. Then you can go after him."

She nodded and then saw that everyone was looking at her. "It's just hard to let him go." It was true on many levels. "I'll wait," she said as looked at the door one more time.

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Keith stood at the entryway to Alfor's crypt clinching and relaxing his hands. He was trying to calm himself down before going in to speak with the deceased king. Hating to be out of control, he was working to return his body to a neutral state when the doors opened without his initiating it. There in front of him near the sarcophagus, was King Alfor. Keith's body and emotions weren't fully under control as he entered the room. It seemed that the king could sense this and waited for Keith to initiate the conversation.

Looking at the king, he quietly said, "I went to the Right of Challenge and I fought in an arena. I went a millennia in the past and fought in an arena. Now, I'm going to Doom and I'm going to fight in an arena. Is this all I'm good for? Fighting?"

Alfor could sense the pain in the young commander's questions. Keith questioned whether he had any other value besides that of fighting. The question was eating at him. "When you fought in the Challenge, you researched and studied to be prepared. You used many other skills in the past quest. I would say that your skills of leadership and teaching were more important than your fighting skill. In your current visions, is fighting all you do? Have you seen more?"

"It seems that I am there to rescue two Arusians," Keith replied hesitantly.

Tilting his head to the side, Alfor asked, "Arusians? How far in the past is this?"

Shaking his head, Keith said, "I haven't been able to tell yet. I haven't seen enough to figure out who the people are or the time that we are in."

"The spirits are once again keeping things from me and are probably keeping the spirits of those whom you helped from speaking with me. But I think I may have some clues for you." He saw Keith's eyes brighten at the prospect. "Tell Allura to bring out the Royal Notations. She will be hesitant, but it is time. You may find some clues there." The king started to glow and become more transparent. "And know this Keith, you mean much more to Arus than being a fighter… you are destined to rule with Allura."

With those words, Alfor faded from sight. Releasing the tension from his body, Keith turned and left the crypt. He needed to find Allura and learn what the Royal Notations were. Punching the buttons on the elevator, he realized that he might not be able to avoid Allura because of these Royal Notations… whatever they were. He just hoped that would give him something to go on.