Hello again, back with another update! I had a wonderful time on my vacation, the two most important highlights of which involve seeing a newborn baby horse and staying literally right above where they were filming a movie, which was both neat and vaguely inconvenient. But, now I'm back, and rearing to go! Just in time for us to finally enter into season three territory, which I am super, super looking forward to writing, for obvious reasons.
Keith? Not so much. He is definitely not looking forward to any of this I promise you.
who you are in the dark
chapter nine
emperor
Central Command.
He could feel the tension buzzing against his skin. It hadn't been that long since he'd left here, clad in foot solider armor and following vague promises of freedom. Now here he was, his freedom assured, in exchange for becoming one of them.
He felt sick.
He forced himself not to show it. He couldn't afford to show weakness, not here. Despite his armor feeling like it weighed nearly ten tons, his bayard even heavier, he held his head up high, kept his back straight, and braced himself. This wasn't what he'd thought would happen when he made this choice, but now that it had, he just had to accept it.
Not that he knew exactly what had happened.
No one had spoken to him the entire time. He didn't doubt that Lotor knew the reasons for his summons, but he was purposefully being kept in the dark. Sensing this, he hadn't asked. He'd probably be informed in good time, and at least from the sound of it, Voltron had gotten away, even if they had failed to do what they had set out to do.
But somehow, he didn't think so.
Folding his arms in front of him, he watched as their ship drew closer to Central Command. Seeing it from the outside, it was truly massive- but he could also make out signs of clear damage. He recognized some of the damage as being from Hunk's shoulder canon, and in spite of himself, smirked at it.
Good.
Maybe they hadn't been able to destroy it, but at least they'd done significant damage. He just hoped that the Galra hadn't done just as much damage to them.
"Come," Lotor spoke, "-let us pay our greetings."
Trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible, Keith fell into step behind the other generals. Only Narti was to remain with the ship- the rest of them were to follow Lotor, himself included. He caught Acxa's eye as he did, picking out a glint of suspicion in them, but he chose to ignore it.
She was right not to trust him.
Looping his tail around his waist so that it couldn't give him away, he squared his shoulders. As large as Lotor's ship was, there was no hangar large enough to fit it, even on a ship as massive as Central Command. It had been hooked up to a docking port, with an elevator bringing them into the main ship itself. He couldn't deny the tension that he felt, apprehensive that he might be seized for a second time, his brief freedom ending without him having even done much of anything.
He knew Lotor wouldn't allow it, but that thought didn't make him feel any better. It just made him feel like the pawn that he knew he was.
He caught the witch's scent almost as soon as they stepped off the elevator.
Fur raising, he fought back the urge to growl, not wanting to draw attention to himself. It didn't matter- the witch focused her attention on him almost immediately. For a moment, all she did was narrow her eyes, holding his gaze- before she turned away from him without a single word.
It left him with a sense of unease.
He'd done what she'd wanted, he dimly realized. Biting down on his tongue, he fought the urge to be sick. No- that wasn't quite right. He hadn't betrayed Voltron. Maybe he was wearing the colors of the Empire, but his allegiance was still with the paladins.
"Prince Lotor," she began, "-it is good that you responded so quickly."
"Spare me the pleasantries, witch." Lotor's words were laced with such disdain, that it was hard to believe they were anything but genuine. "Let us not waste time on such trivial matters. I wish to know why you have summoned me after all this time."
If she had any reaction to being spoken to in such a fashion, it didn't show on her face. "Very well. Come with me."
Haggar turned, and Lotor, after a moment of consideration, followed. Though his sense of unease hadn't faded, he nevertheless found himself falling into step behind the other generals. There was a tense mood among them, as if they could all sense that something of critical importance had occurred.
If being allowed to walk freely through Lotor's ship had felt strange, then being allowed to walk freely in Central Command was enough to make his skin crawl. There were other Galra here, not just sentries, like Lotor's flagship, but if any of them spared him a glance, it wasn't because they saw him as an outsider.
He tried to drown out anything that he heard. Most of the chatter, thankfully, was about Lotor. The exiled prince, returning- it was bound to stir up some gossip. In other circumstances, he might actually find himself amused that even the Galra were not immune to it, but as it was, it was all he could do to ignore it.
He still heard the words red paladin spoken.
He forced himself not to react, not to turn in the direction the words had come from, to see who it was. Was it someone who had watched him in the arena? He wasn't sure how long he had been announced as the red paladin there- things started to blur together after awhile. Still, that they had the red paladin of Voltron in their custody was not something they were like to forget.
Now he was here, clad in the armor of one of Lotor's generals. Free.
But he'd anticipated this.
Fixing his gaze straight ahead, he left the hushed whispers behind him. Let them think what they wanted. It had been a long time since he'd truly cared about what other people thought of him.
There was Shiro, but... well, one time, he hadn't cared what he thought either. He just had to train himself to do it again. It'd make dealing with the inevitable betrayal easier.
Besides, if they thought he'd joined them, maybe he'd be able to use this. Trust loosened tongues, and there were Galra here from every corner of the universe. One of them probably knew something useful. If he couldn't find Pidge's family using their database, then maybe he could find them the old fashioned way.
(He was ignoring the fact that he wasn't great at talking to people.)
Eventually, they left the whispers behind. It went without saying that he'd never been in this section of the ship before- but he hadn't missed the amount of security that they had passed on their way here. Even just outside, there were druids posted.
Maybe it had been Haggar who had done much of the work on him, but he didn't exactly have any fond memories of the druids either. It was because of one of those faceless bastards that he had ended up here in the first place- what he wouldn't give for a chance to punch their face in.
Would it solve anything? No.
Would it make him feel better? Yes.
Did he even know which druid it was? Not a damn clue.
Haggar came to a halt outside of the grand door. The pair of druids nodded, stepping aside to allow her to enter. Turning back on her heel, he could have sworn that she looked down her nose at him, quite the feat, given that he was now considerably taller than her.
...that part he actually kind of enjoyed.
"Your generals are to remain out here." Haggar instructed.
"I can assure you that none of my generals would-"
She didn't let him finish. "Emperor Zarkon's orders."
He watched the way Lotor grew stiff at her words, before narrowing his eyes. Gaze flickering from him towards Haggar, Keith narrowed his own. Was Zarkon still alive?
If that was true, then it meant the paladins had failed. Biting down on his lip, he couldn't help but feel Haggar's gaze on him, narrowing in assessment. She'd yet to say anything about his presence here, which didn't sit well with him.
"Very well." Lotor said. "Acxa, remain on standby."
Giving the prince a salute, Acxa bowed her head. "As you command."
Inclining his head, Lotor turned on his heel, following Haggar into the chambers beyond. Tilting his head to try and get a better look as to what was in there, he barely got the chance, the doors slamming shut behind them, leaving him with nothing more than the impression of a vast space.
And the uncomfortable feeling of being left behind with two druids.
Glancing their way, his lips twisted into a frown, unable to even so much as tell if they were looking in his direction or not. They didn't even smell different from each other- it was eerie.
"So," Ezor began, leaning back against the wall, her hands folded behind her back, "-what do you think we're here for?"
"Obviously something to do with Voltron." Zethrid said. "You heard the transmission."
He could feel Acxa's glare, but she also wasn't the only one looking at him. Frowning, Keith folded his arms back in front of him, leaning back against the wall. "Don't ask me."
"What, don't have a connection to your kitty anymore?" Ezor inquired.
The question came across as innocent enough, but it still made his fur bristle. Narrowing his eyes, Keith glowered at her. "Like I said, I'm not a paladin anymore."
Frowning, Ezor merely shrugged her shoulders. "Huh. Shame."
Turning his head away, he glowered towards the druids. Maybe he couldn't tell where they were looking, but he swore they were staring at him. Heaving a short sigh, he shut his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He couldn't let his temper get the better of him like this.
Guess he really wasn't any better at talking to the Galra than he was humans. He'd effectively managed to kill all conversation, leaving the hall in an awkward silence. Staring down at his feet, he tried not to think about the way the red lion had reached out to him last night, or what he'd chosen. He knew he'd done the right thing, severing his end of their bond, but the feeling of loss remained.
It was like someone he had known all his life was just... gone.
It was funny, really. Red had been a part of his life for a shorter time than even Allura had been, if only by the span of a few hours. And yet, it felt as if he'd known her all his life. Maybe that was just what it was like, the bond between a lion and their paladin.
Now that bond was gone.
But it had been gone for months before now, while he had been a prisoner. He could handle it. Better than risk the lion falling into the Galra's hands.
Letting out a breath, he lifted his head, gazing towards the doors. He couldn't keep moping about something he'd chosen to do himself. She was in better hands now anyways.
He wondered what had happened. If everyone had made it out okay. He hoped so. What he'd told them was true- he had no way of knowing.
But with Shiro in command, he knew that they couldn't have failed. Maybe Voltron could go on without him, but Shiro? It needed Shiro.
"You know, you really ought to rest."
Looking up at Coran with a frown, Lance knew he had a point. They had just come off of a difficult battle, and the last thing he needed to be doing was burning the midnight oil. Staying up late wasn't exactly his thing- heck, he was pretty sure he was the only one on this ship with normal sleeping habits.
But he just couldn't.
Sensing that he wasn't planning on sleeping soon, Coran took the seat across from him. "You know there was nothing you could have done."
"I know," Lance admitted, "I know, but-"
Shoulders slumping, Lance sagged in his chair. It still didn't feel real, to be honest. Even if he knew that all he had to do to see Shiro's prone form was to turn his head, it still felt like this wasn't reality.
Like they hadn't pulled Shiro's barely breathing body out from the black lion. Like he wasn't in stasis in a healing pod, while they tried to figure out what to do. He should have known something was wrong when the black lion stopped responding, but he hadn't thought...
They were just lucky they got to him when they did. Any longer, and he might not have made it. The healing pods were amazing, sure, he was testament enough to that- but they couldn't produce miracles.
"How did we never notice?"
Coran just frowned. "I would imagine because Shiro didn't want you to."
There it was, laid out in the open. So simple, and yet he just couldn't accept it. Didn't want to accept it. Shiro, their fearless leader, his idol- that he would be keeping something like this a secret from them all, it just... he didn't get it.
"He should have told us." Lance said. "We could have-"
Could have what? Helped? The reason he was still in the healing pod was precisely because none of them knew how to help. All it had been able to tell them was that whatever Zarkon had done to the black lion at the very end, it had exacerbated some kind of condition Shiro already had- but it wasn't like the pod could tell them anything about it.
Of course it couldn't. It wasn't calibrated for humans. It could heal their bodies, but it didn't know the first thing about human diseases. Given enough time, it could reverse the damage, but according to what Coran had told them, that might take a long time- months, even.
They didn't even know what condition it was. It wasn't like they could just wake Shiro up and ask him.
"Keith probably would have known."
It slipped out, without meaning to. Frankly, he was glad it was just Coran here. It wasn't like bringing up Keith was taboo, but with Shiro in the state he was in... well, it was the same as having lost another paladin.
And he didn't think the black lion would accept a replacement so easily.
"They were close, weren't they?" Coran asked.
"I mean... yeah, I guess." Lance frowned.
Come to think of it, he didn't know what the story was there either. All he had known was that Shiro had somehow been behind Keith getting into the Garrison, and back when he was fourteen, that, and Keith's attitude, had been enough to tick him off. He'd always seemed so smug, like he thought he was better than the rest of them.
Now he was pretty sure it was just because Keith didn't know even like, the rudimentary basics of normal social interaction- and okay, maybe he did also think he was better than them. Like a little. But he hadn't actually been that smug about it, in hindsight.
James, maybe. But Keith? Yeah, smug didn't really fit.
There was a lot he didn't know about Shiro- or Keith, for that matter. Neither of them exactly talked about themselves a lot, and it wasn't like Keith was even here to-
God. He was in a funk.
This sucked. Heck, he should be happy! They'd defeated Zarkon! Maybe they hadn't been able to finish off Central Command like they'd wanted, but they'd done some serious damage to it- he couldn't imagine they'd have it up and running anytime soon. Allura was already working with Kolivan on plans to free planets on the fringes from Galra control.
And she had more reason to be exhausted than any of them. Powering that massive teleduv, on top of piloting the red lion? Getting the quintessence sucked right out of her couldn't have done her any real favors, even if she'd seemed to bounce back from that quicker than the rest of them.
Speaking of Allura, she'd been acting kind of weird, ever since this morning. It kind of felt like there was something on her mind, but she hadn't actually said anything, which for her, was pretty rare. There hadn't been any time to focus on it while they'd been fighting, but he could still kind of feel her hesitation from her end of the bond.
It was weird. Something like that should have affected Voltron, especially with how tenuous their current formation was, but if anything, it felt stronger than ever. Heck, he didn't think it had felt quite that way since Keith had vanished- something which he was trying not to dwell on, thank you very much.
It was a good thing too. He wasn't sure they would have won against Zarkon's weird robot suit if it hadn't been for that.
But it still didn't feel like a victory.
Sure, they'd trashed Zarkon's robot, but they didn't actually know if he was dead, not for sure. The Blade of Marmora didn't have a spy in Central Command anymore- yeah, Thace had made it out, but his position had been pretty soundly compromised. And yeah, Kolivan and Antok had been able to destroy that komar thing, but Kolivan had come back from that, alone.
So here they were. Two paladins down- one missing, the other nearly dead. So yeah. Maybe he was in a funk, but for good reason. Maybe... maybe everything was just catching up to him all at once.
Still sucked.
Heaving a sigh, Lance pushed himself to his feet. "You're probably right, Coran. I should get some rest."
"Don't you worry about a thing." Coran assured him. "I'll keep an eye on Number One."
Giving him a weak smile, Lance nodded his head. "Right. Thanks."
Pausing to look at Shiro's pod, he tried not to think about how pale he looked. He knew, objectively, that he couldn't get any worse so long as he was in there, but it still felt like he was paler than he had been an hour ago. Shiro... Shiro shouldn't look like this.
And Keith? Who even knew if he was still alive. Maybe he'd been right. Maybe he had been vaporized by that druid. It wasn't like he wanted to be right- that theory sucked! Sure, maybe he and Keith weren't exactly on the best terms, but it wasn't like he wanted the guy dead.
So yeah. This sucked.
"Well, well, if it isn't Prince Lotor's pet generals."
Snapping his eyes open, Keith turned to glower at the newcomer. He didn't recognize them, but he could tell from their armor that they were of high rank- probably a Commander. They were also probably one of the uglier Galra he'd seen- and he'd seen a lot of ugly Galra.
(Granted, he had no idea what the standards of beauty for Galra even were. Didn't exactly care.)
He couldn't tell if it was just his armor, or if both his arms were metal. Given Sendak's, he wasn't willing to dismiss the possibility, especially not since his left eye was also artificial- as well as a section of his skull. He'd either suffered a critical injury somewhere, or just really liked being a test subject.
Having been a test subject, he frankly couldn't imagine the latter.
"Commander Branko." Acxa spoke, her posture stiff. "Do you have business with Prince Lotor?"
Merely smirking, the Galra- Branko, if what Acxa had said was right- just eyed them. "No business. Just come to see if the rumors are true."
At once, he felt himself tense. Branko made no attempts to disguise the fact that he was looking at him, and he was grateful his tail was still looped around his waist, otherwise it would doubtlessly be thrashing. From how still Narti kept hers, he was guessing his wasn't supposed to be so animated.
Not like it was his fault. He'd only had it for a few months, so of course he barely knew how to control it.
"So it's true." Branko said. "Lotor was the one who helped the paladin escape."
He'd admit, the fact that had been a rumor took him by surprise. In hindsight, maybe it shouldn't- he was starting to gather that Lotor was infamous for having half-Galra so high up in his ranks. If a half-Galra prisoner went missing, it wasn't exactly unfair to assume it was Lotor's doing.
It didn't make his fur bristle any less.
"And now you wear his colors." Branko observed. "If only I had known, I could have shaken your former comrades to their cores."
Standing up straight at that comment, Keith felt himself growl. He didn't like the idea of the paladins learning what he was doing, but he liked the idea of it being used against them even less. It was something he should have thought of, a hanging possibility, but he hadn't.
"Ah, there's that ferocity!" Branko almost seemed to beam. "I enjoyed seeing it in the arena. Shame I never managed to catch any of your matches live."
"You talk pretty big for someone who lost to Voltron." Ezor cut in. "I'm just surprised to see that you actually dragged yourself back here after that failure."
Zethrid seemed to chuckle. "Heh. Vines."
Ears twitching at that, he felt the tension leave his body. What, so this guy had already lost to Voltron? Was that why he was here? To taunt him to make himself feel better?
Oh. Okay. He could handle that.
(Also, what was that about vines?)
"I thought I heard something about them freeing another planet from Galra control." Keith retorted. "I take it that was you."
He couldn't tell if Branko hadn't expected him to talk back, or just talk at all- but either way, he didn't like it. Stiffening, he glowered at him. "For someone who was replaced, you talk big yourself. Did the paladins find you expendable? No wonder you went slinking off to Lotor, since he's about the only one who would be willing to accept a halfbreed mutt like yourself."
Gritting his teeth, Keith glared at the commander. He wanted to say that they hadn't known about him being half-Galra, but he had to bite that back. He didn't want it to be used against them.
But he couldn't think of any other retorts.
Because the worst part was, he might be right. It was clear that the empire itself held no love for halfbreeds- even if he was stupid enough to consider joining them, but he doubted the rest of the universe would spare him much love either. Especially now that he looked it.
Maybe this was the only place for him.
"I didn't-!"
"Ah, Commander Branko," flinching at Lotor's voice, he turned his gaze back to him, wondering when he'd even left what had to be Zarkon's chambers, "-always a pleasure to see you again. How did things go Olkarion?"
He knew full well how things went on Olkarion- probably the planet in question, but the question was enough to make the commander deflate. Narrowing his eyes, he turned his focus away from him, and onto the Galra prince. "Lotor. I see you haven't changed your habit of picking up the empire's strays."
Lotor didn't so much as blink. He was alone, he noted, no trace of Haggar.
Fine by him. The less he had to deal with that witch, the better. If there was one thing about Lotor he could understand, it was how much he detested the witch, if not exactly why.
"You are referring to Keith." Lotor observed, tone cool. "Yes, I admit that I had a hand in freeing him from his imprisonment. But as you can see, he has since sworn his loyalty to me."
Like hell he had.
"To you?" Branko asked, sounding skeptical. "A former paladin? How do you know you can trust him?"
He couldn't. He definitely could not trust him.
"He can be trusted." Lotor stated simply. Something about his tone made him bristle. There was no way Lotor actually believed that, but he had an image he wanted to present. One of taming the half-Galra paladin, the half-feral beast from the arena- or some other bullshit like that. He didn't know.
It was one he didn't have much of a choice to refute, either. Not if he wanted to remain free. The idea of even acting like he was loyal to Lotor was enough to make him nauseous- it might not be the same as swearing his allegiance to the Galra Empire as a whole, but it was still bad.
He just hoped Branko didn't choose to challenge it.
"If you wish to be done in by a feral halfbreed, be my guest." Branko said, apparently not choosing to challenge him today. "It will make the path to the throne that much clearer."
Blinking, Keith's tail twitched. Path to the throne? Had something actually happened to Zarkon, then?
He had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, good. Zarkon needed to be taken out. But with Zarkon out of the picture, the clear line of succession fell to his son, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to be a general to the Galra Emperor yet, even if it did put him in a choice position to gather intelligence.
It would just as likely put him in the path of the paladins, a lot faster than he thought. The encounter with Hunk and Lance in the Weblum had been one thing, but that had been... they hadn't actively been fighting each other. At least, not till the tail end of it, and Lance had been the one who had triggered that conflict, not them.
"You're always welcome to challenge me." Lotor told him. "But I think your talents lie elsewhere."
Okay, he was pretty sure that was just an insult. It was a good one. He'd give Lotor that.
Branko merely narrowed his eyes. "Another time, perhaps."
"Well," Lotor began, "-should you wish to take me up on that challenge, you will know where to find me. But if that is all, I have much to discuss with my... what did you call them again? My pet generals?"
Narrowing his eyes, Keith leveled his gaze with Lotor. Had he been listening from that point?
"That's what he called us." Ezor supplied. "Cute insult."
"Hm." Zethrid frowned. "Needs work."
Grumbling, Branko didn't even try to mask the haste of his departure. Frowning, Keith folded his arms in front of him, feeling more wound up than before. He didn't like the image that was being painted of him- of the treasonous ex-paladin who had decided to throw his lot in with the halfbreed prince- but what choice did he have?
He couldn't even say it was wrong.
"Branko's bark has always been worse than his bite." Lotor observed- and for a moment, Keith wondered if he'd picked that up when he'd been studying the English language, or if that expression was simply that universal. "But irregardless, we do, in fact, have much to discus."
"Is this about daddy dearest?" Ezor asked, her tone jovial. "Guess Voltron did some damage after all, huh?"
Lotor didn't even blink. "My father is... indisposed, at the moment, yes."
Indisposed. That could mean a lot of things, but he was pretty sure it didn't mean dead.
Leaning in, Ezor didn't even attempt to hide her curiosity. "Am I sensing a promotion?"
"I suppose you could call it that, yes." Lotor said. "While my father recovers, I am to take his place on the throne. Temporarily, of course."
Keith felt himself pale. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear.
Except it also kind of was. Lotor's ascension to the throne meant that Shiro's plan- and he was just kind of assuming at this point that it was Shiro's plan- had actually worked. With Zarkon out of the picture, Voltron would be able to make headway in dismantling the Galra Empire.
The one that he was sort of part of now.
More than sort of. If Lotor was becoming Emperor, that meant he was definitely a part of it. Suffice to say, this was way more than he'd bargained for.
It was also a damn good reason to stick close. If Lotor was going to take over as Emperor, it was more important now than ever to keep tabs on him. Sure, he still hadn't exactly worked out a plan on how to get information back to Voltron, but he'd think of something.
Besides, now he'd get the chance to see firsthand whether or not Lotor actually meant all that talk about peace. He doubted it- at least, he didn't think he didn't have some kind of other ulterior motive behind it.
Lotor, damn him, caught his eye. "Is there a problem?"
"No," narrowing his eyes, Keith straightened his back, looping his tail back around his waist so that it couldn't give him away, "-no problem."
Lotor's gaze lingered for a moment longer, before he turned it away from him- but not before he caught what he could have sworn was a twinkle of amusement. The thought that Lotor might be getting a kick out of this made his fur bristle.
Glad to know someone found his current circumstances amusing.
Heaving a sigh, Keith's shoulders slumped. He couldn't exactly say he hadn't asked for this. Just for some dumb reason, he hadn't expected it to happen so fast- stupid, really. After all this time, he didn't know how life coming at him fast still caught him by surprise.
Ever since he'd found one of his father's coworkers coming to pick him up from school instead of him, it had always been that way. Anytime there was a lull, it was just bracing itself for something else that would come along and shatter whatever it was that he'd managed to establish for himself. He should be used to this.
But he just hoped, like an idiot, that every time would be the last time.
"Good," Lotor's voice drew him out of his own thoughts, looking up towards the prince-turned-emperor with a frown on his face, "-in that case, as I said, we have much to discuss. There will doubtlessly be... resistance, to the idea of my taking of the throne, however temporary."
So even their halfbreed prince was viewed with disdain, he couldn't help but note.
Maybe that was why his mother had left. Because she didn't want to have to deal with having a halfbreed for a child. Especially not one who looked- or had- so un-Galra.
"I take it you have a plan." Acxa observed.
"The roots of one, yes." Lotor said. "All we need is a bit of patience."
Patience. Yeah, he could do that.
