Chapter 9 - Ally
Allura pushed forward, inwardly cursing the design of her dress as it hindered her movement. The castle came into view and as she burst through the doors to the control room, she was breathless.
Coran turned to face her, alarm on her face.
"Where were you?"
"Pisa... village... lion... please," she gasped out. Coran's eyes widened as he raised the pedestal to allow access to the lions.
"I thought I saw Drule activity in that area. Has Lotor turned on us?" He asked as he signaled the other pilots to join him.
"No, he's holding them off for now," Allura explained, leaping down the chute to her lion, leaving a stunned Coran behind.
"He's doing... what..." he asked no one in particular as she disappeared.
The rest of the space explorers flooded into the room glancing to Coran as the Blue Lion launched on the screen in the background.
"Coran, what's happening?" Keith's voice strained as he stood on the edge of the shuttle to his lion.
"I... have very limited information, I'm sorry. We picked up a Drule invasion near Pisa village. Allura just came back from there and grabbed her lion. Apparently Lotor is... defending the village," he finished, his tone conveying his disbelief.
"...Well, never thought I would say this but... let's go give Lotor a hand, team!" Keith signaled for the launch of the other four lions, following behind Allura.
Cossack cursed as fire rained down on him. Blue Lion came to stand right behind Lotor, pistols pointed at the Drule commander. He knew that the former crown prince was being defensive with him - otherwise he would be dead. Lotor was one of the most skilled and lethal Drules he knew, and the fact that he only earned nicks and cuts when he attacked attested that the prince was playing it safe. Why, he couldn't fathom. Perhaps Lotor couldn't bring himself to kill his former commander - but the princess certainly had no problem lighting him up with her weapons.
"Launch the robeast!" Cossack ducked back into his ship as one of Haggar's infamous coffins appeared. It released a shockwave explosion as it opened, and a gladiator quickly expanded enough to match the size of Voltron. Debris, wind, smoke and fire whipped around from the coffin during the rapid expansion and Blue Lion quickly crouched in front of Lotor's bracing body to shield him.
As the monster lifted into the air, stretching and contorting as it embraced its new form, the hatch on top of Blue Lion opened. Allura popped out, dressed in her white and pink spandex suit and held out a hand toward him.
"Get in!"
Lotor wasted no time in heeding the princess's beckon, leaping on top of the lion and dropping into the pilot's chamber. She closed the hatch behind him and took her seat before tossing him a strained look.
"The cockpit was never meant for passengers. There are some cargo straps and anchor hooks in the corner, I would suggest settling in as best you can there and bracing. This may get turbulent," she warned; her eyes full of concern. Turning back to her screen, her hands flew over switches and buttons, powering up her lion and preparing for rough combat.
"Thank you," she said after a moment. "You saved me from him."
Lotor said nothing as he pressed against the back wall, gripping one of the large rings designed to tether cargo cables. Blue Lion lifted up quickly, just in time to avoid a phaser blast. Allura cautiously circled the enormous robeast while keeping her distance. She moved away from it before stopping to wait for it to follow.
She's leading it away from the village, he realized.
"Keith!" Allura's voice bloomed with relief that made Lotor jealous as the commander appeared on her view panel. "It's good to see you," she said, nodding once.
"Good work here, let's save us all some time and just form- ...Is that Lotor behind you?"
Allura glanced over her shoulder before looking back to her commander.
"...yes," she admitted shyly. Keith's exasperated sigh echoed across the intercom.
"Well, nothing to be done about it now. Lotor, I guess you get to see how Voltron forms from the inside for once. Into formation, team! Get your dynotherms up and let's get this going. I swear, I think Haggar must have beauty contests with these guys. Each one is uglier than the one before it," he muttered, his video feed cutting.
Lotor caught himself from laughing outright, though a chuckle did escape.
"Infracells up!" He watched with rapt attention as her hands flew across the control panel, pulling switches and hitting buttons with an expertise only four other people in the entire universe had. Five, if the former pilot Sven were counted among them. She grasped a handle, turned and pulled it with obvious muscle memory.
"Megathrusters are go!"
Allura joined in the cheer at the lions fell into place. "Let's go, Voltron Force!"
Lotor was surprised by how the lions responded to each other. They seemed to roar to communicate, and while Allura was guiding her lion, there was an aspect that seemed to be far more organic than simply five mecha lions forming into a larger entity.
"Feet and legs!" The Blue Lion shifted around them to accommodate the new shape, though the cockpit remained unaltered.
"Arms and Torso!" Red and Green Lion clicked into their new shape. Keith's voice continued to echo through the cockpit.
"And I'll form the head," he said as the fantastic robot, Voltron, locked into place in its entirety. Each lion head roared as it assembled.
"Passing mobile controls to Keith," Allura murmured more to herself than anyone. "Engaging retrorockets, go." She pressed a button on her panel and helped power the robot forward.
"Keith, we're still too close. That thing is big and it could really damage that village. Can we pull it further back?"
"You got it, Princess. Lance, think you can get its attention?"
"My pleasure," the sassy pilot replied before launching a blast of fire right into the robeast's face. It snarled and hissed in fury, sending a shiver down Allura's spine. Voltron turned and started moving away from the village and as predicted, the monster followed.
"Alright, I think we're clear now, Keith," Allura said as she pulled the robeast up on her monitor. It was gigantic compared to some of the others. It had two heads and an army of spikes across its shoulders and arms, glittering an eerie metallic silver in the sunlight.
Lotor felt lead drop into his stomach. Allura gasped as he lurched forward and placed one hand on her shoulder and one on the back of her chair.
"Watch out for those spikes," he said. "I know this beast from the coliseum. Those spikes are detachable and they are vicious. It also has a torpedo on its left arm; you'll want to avoid that. I have no idea what else the witch has added to it, however. Be very careful," he cautioned. Allura looked over her shoulder and up at the prince.
"Are you... helping us?" Hunk's voice belied the confusion the rest of the team felt, save Allura. She instead gazed up at him as he studied the beast on her screen. When he glanced down to her, her cheeks colored.
"Yes," he said with confidence, his eyes locked on Allura's.
"Alright, well, you heard him guys, watch those spikes," Keith instructed as Allura looked back to her dash. Lotor continued to stand right behind her, his muscles flexing as the lion shifted around him, grasping the back of her chair for stabilization.
It was a comfortable closeness, she realized, as she worked over the controls, maneuvering her part of Voltron in tandem with the others. Had the incident on Charin never happened, Allura couldn't fathom a situation in which having Lotor hovering right behind her, his strong palm on her shoulder while she flew Blue Lion, would feel like a comfort.
From the chaos, there birthed a comfort in his nearness. His lips were near her ear, murmuring guides and suggestions for dealing with a monster he had seen before. In a louder voice, he echoed recommendations to the commander. He was always careful to keep them as suggestions and was very aware that anything remotely resembling a command would irk the leader. While Keith consistently conveyed a sense of wariness and scrutiny, he did always seem to take the Drule's suggestions to heart and his trust was consistently rewarded.
Voltron dodged lethal shot after shot and landed blow after blow on the beast, all choreographed based on Lotor's prior knowledge of the creature. The monster eventually struck a point and raged, and began moving faster and faster. It swung its barbed fists at the robot with frantic aggression as it became more desperate to land a hit.
Without warning, the robot punched Voltron as the latter was trying to put some distance between them. The fist slammed into Blue Lion, knocking Lotor to the ground. Spikes jutted through the sidewall as Allura screamed. She leaped out of her seat on pure, adrenaline-filled instinct, narrowly avoiding a grisly fate.
"Princess! Do you copy?"
Keith's panicked voice came over the intercom as Allura rose to her feet and trembled. Her pilot's chair had been skewered by one of the spikes from the monster, and she now stood in front of her control panel.
"I-I'm here, Keith," she said.
"Are you okay?"
Allura just turned and looked at the silver spike twice the size of her body that had smashed through the hull of her lion and impaled the very place she had been sitting.
"Princess?"
She exhaled slowly, her shaky voice becoming calmer and more focused.
"I'm fine. Lotor wasn't kidding - watch those spikes. They punched through my lion like it was made of paper," she said, focusing in on the robeast and typing quickly across the control panel. Her voice was eerily calm as she spoke. Allura looked over her shoulder.
"Are you hurt?" She directed her question at Lotor. The concern in her voice focused on the silver-haired Drule caused his heart to stutter in a way that was unfamiliar to him.
"No," he said after a moment, coming to stand on his feet. She gave him a resolute nod, turning back to her controls as Voltron took another hit, rocking sideways a bit.
Her weight shifted as she kept her balance, now without a chair. Despite what they had been through and the heat of combat, he simply couldn't help himself as his eyes slide down her back to her hips as they shifted to accommodate the movement of her vehicle.
"Princess," Keith checked in again with her after a moment. "You're not reacting to a near-fatal hit. Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm not. But I'm fine for now. Keith, if I think about that could have happened, I really will lose it, and I can't do that yet. We still have a job to do; I'll contemplate my near-death experience when I can safely panic over it and not endanger us further. Do we have the blazing sword online yet? I would love to finish this. How's it going upstairs, boys?"
Lance and Pidge chimed in, eager as well to slice and dice the robeast after what it did to their princess's lion.
"You heard her, guys! Form Blazing Sword!"
The comforting ting that rattled through the hulls as the Red and Green Lions touched elicited a sigh from Allura. As the sword birthed into existence, she felt a swell of relief rise in her chest.
"Move!" Voltron lurched suddenly on Keith's frantic command. Both Allura and Lotor went sliding across the cockpit at the surprise movement. Copies of the spikes rained down on the place where Voltron had been standing.
"Keep it together team, we're close but don't trip the finish line on this one. Princess, are you there?" Keith's voice had calmed as he tried to rein in the emotion the rest of his team was experiencing with this particularly lethal creature.
Allura pushed up from the corner of the cockpit. Lotor was not far behind as she grasped her controls again.
"Yes, I'm here, just lost my footing. Let's do this," she said with determination.
"Alright team, carefully get in range. Watch out though. We only need one shot at this, no need to charge in to our deaths carelessly," Keith advised.
Allura glanced over her shoulder to the mangled chair behind her and winced. "I concur," she murmured.
"Steady… Pidge release your Ion Darts, see if you can catch its attention. When it looks at Green Lion, Lance I want that sword through its skull, copy?"
"With pleasure, Keith," Lance's voice was laced with venom. He was still pissed off about the shot to the princess. Lotor was surprised by the promise of death on the pilot. He was – from his limited interactions – the most easy-going and laid-back of all of them. His relaxed attitude did not make him any less loyal to Allura, however.
The left arm of Voltron released a stream of miniature missiles that successfully struck the beast in the face. It snarled in fury and turned toward the green arm.
"Lance!"
The sword of Voltron was already in the process of cleaving the monster into two pieces before Keith's call to action sounded. The team backpedaled as an explosion sounded, signaling the death of the creature.
"Oh hell no!" Keith was already moving Voltron toward Cossack's fleeing ship when Allura moved to the intercom.
"Keith, let him leave!"
"Are you sane? He almost killed you! We can easily catch him in Voltron, we can end him," Keith beseeched her, his video feed flashing onto her monitor. His eyes widened, taking in the wreck of her cockpit for the first time, and a cold fury settled in his face.
"No, it's not what Voltron does. We do not attack, and we certainly do not attack people who are fleeing. They've surrendered the fight – we won," she said firmly with a shake of her head.
"But look at your cockpit! That could be you! And you're okay with letting him run?"
"Yes," she said simply, a weak smile on her face. "We defend. And we win. That is all we do, Keith. We did both of those things today. While it was a little closer than I would care to admit," she glanced warily to the enormous spike still in the center of her control area. "I knew the risks when I signed up to fly. This is a reality we all face and are prepared to accept if there are no other options. We're in a war. It's not like he walked up behind me and stabbed me in the back while on a peace talk, you know," she chided him lightly. Her expression was kind but her words were firm.
"Besides," she continued, regarding the stern and furious face of her commander. "If anything, we should check on the village and get Blue Lion back to the repair bay. She seems to be spending a lot of time there these days. Engaging in further, unnecessary combat seems dangerous."
Keith stared at her before shaking his head once, exhaling. "Alright. Break off team," he murmured in defeat, the lions breaking apart. Blue Lion landed awkwardly with a spike still skewering the midsection and curling into the head.
"Lance, you and I will go check on the townspeople, make sure the village is still in one piece," Keith directed.
"Copy that," Lance said as Red Lion headed back toward the town.
"Pidge and Hunk? You guys escort the princess back to the Castle and start work on her lion right away, please."
"You got it, Commander," Hunk's cheery voice echoed across the communicator as the five lions scattered.
"You could have let Cossack die," Lotor commented once the communication lines closed.
"If it is even remotely possible to avoid it, I would never shoot someone in the back as they were retreating. The battle is won; my mission is accomplished. Underhanded treachery only fuels more hatred in the end," she responded quietly, watching her controls as she navigated her wounded vehicle back toward the castle. Lotor briefly wondered if she had been responsible for any - if not all - of his successful retreats.
After easing the lion into the open bay doors and powering it down on the pedestal for repairs, both she and Lotor popped out.
"By the gods," Coran murmured, regarding the massive spike impaling the mechanical beast. "Thank the stars you are unharmed," he said, gathering the princess in an uncharacteristic embrace. Allura simply shrugged and patted him comfortingly on the back.
"Just… don't tell Nanny. She'll lock me in my closet and never let me leave if she knew," she said teasingly as she stepped back. The look the two exchanged under the playful tone told Lotor there was a grain of truth to the testament.
"I'm afraid that I cannot grant you a moment of rest, your Highness," Coran murmured, bowing low as Allura leveled him with a wary gaze. She sighed and shook her head.
"What is it?"
"I'm afraid there's a call waiting for you in the command room. Galaxy Garrison has been trying to hail you for a while, now," he murmured, watching his charge's face with concern. Allura remained impassive, brushing a stray strand of flyaway locks from her face.
"Well then. It sounds like the Marshal means business," she murmured. "He didn't waste much time in retaliating." The look of exhaustion on her face resonated with Lotor. He felt a strange part of himself wanting to scoop her up and carry her off somewhere private and secluded – not just for himself. He'd had the fantasy many times before on his behalf, but this urge stemmed from a desire to shield her from parade of trials that she weathered. Despite all the blows raining down on her tiny planet from Doom and the twisted machinations of the Galaxy Alliance; she smiled. It was a weary, fatigued smile, brimming with determination and sheer will to press on, but a smile nonetheless. She placed her hand on her Guardian's shoulder reassuringly.
"I'll go take his call now, and I'll see what he wants. Thank you for looking after things when I'm away. You do a fabulous job running the Castle, and I think that often goes overlooked. I couldn't possibly do what I do if I didn't have you keeping things moving forward in my absence."
She turned and started to leave the repair hub, pausing to regard her strange new ally with curiosity. "Will you be joining me or heading elsewhere?" Lotor was at Allura's side before she finished asking the question. A blush stained her cheeks and she nodded once, making her way to the control room, Lotor at her side.
Coran watched them go with quiet curiosity. "Fascinating…" he murmured softly, baffled by the puzzle that was unfolding before him between the former prince and the heiress to the throne.
Keith and Lance joined Allura in the control room just as another hail from Earth came across the line. She took a moment to take a few deep breaths, relaxing herself after combat. She didn't bother with the chessboard this time and Lotor deduced that it would either be a brief conversation or that she had no idea what to expect from it. Her pink helmet tucked under her arm as she nodded once to herself and pushed the button to receive the transmission just as Coran entered the room behind her.
"Round two," she murmured warily.
More Bridges! Still going strong. I honestly didn't expect what I thought would be a four-parter of stranded fluff to evolve into something so much bigger, but I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading this far!
