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VOLTRON AND ITS ELEMENTS ARE OWNED BY WEP.

Mystery of the Christmas Star

Chapter Five

As time passed without any sign of the others, keeping reality away was becoming more and more difficult. Planning their wedding day had kept the danger from the couple's minds. That is until the alarms went off in full force!

Keith switched the sound off and checked the gauges. Shortly his face showed the truth – his worse fear had hit at last. "We're out of fuel, and the oxygen has been leaking somewhere. The air in the cabin and these emergency masks are all that's left. Snuggle closer love, because it's going to get cold fast."

"How long have we been here, Keith? Maybe the others are close by." Allura was trying to keep her thoughts positive, but she could already feel the cold leaking in around them.

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 It had only been four and a half hours, but the team was nowhere near the couple. It was going to be another half-hour just to find the planet.

Lance docked in Lotor's ship, picking up both Lotor and Haggar. The fact that Red Lion wasn't pitching a fit at this made Lance wonder. Red never liked anyone in her outside of her pilot – whether or not Lance was in her.

The gravitational pulls were worse than what had first been reported. Two landing attempts failed – forcing the team back into an orbit. Pidge was doing all he could to figure it out, but the team was no closer to helping their friends than before.

Ten minutes later Pidge had the answer to what was going on – but it was not good news. Various gravitational pulls were covering the planet's surface very much like wind shears on any other planet. Which meant that the team would have to find a window between the pulls.

But, then Pidge detected there were four large churning gravitational pulls centered just East of Keith and Allura's position – the force was equal to four category five hurricanes hitting all around the same spot. Meaning that the group would have to land at another area.

Even if they were to do that, the force of these pulls effected to the surface level. They couldn't just land and walk over to the crash site! At the rate the storms were moving, they weren't going to clear for another six or seven hours!

Keith and Allura's life signs were already beginning to show the couple was in trouble. The cabin temp was dropping and the air level was running low. They wouldn't be able to wait much longer!

Haggar began to search the cave from orbit with her crystal. Being this close would make it easier and more accurate. Still it was going to take time. Their friends were not going to make it much longer.

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"Keith, I'm cold and afraid. Remember how I wanted to make this trip all by myself? That would've been a stupid idea." Allura tried to not complain, but things were bad. She could see it in her love's eyes.

Keith wrapped his coat around her, followed by his arms in a tight embrace. "That should help you keep warmer. Do you think that I would ever let you off on a diplomatic mission on your own? Even if you had pitched a fit, I would've been here."

Allura softly whimpered against his chest, this was quickly becoming too much for her. "It's so hard to breath. We're not going to make it, I know that now."

"We have to keep believing. It's all that we can do, my love. The air is thinning out, that's why you're having a hard time breathing." Keith was frustrated, a sound in his voice easily remembered from the days he was training her in martial arts.

"Do you want me to stop talking? I will …" Allura started to say, but then Keith cut her off.

"No love. Keep right on talking. You're right; time is running out. And if the team isn't already here, then there's little chance that they'll be able to rescue us. I'm sorry … I should've kept on piloting rather than try proposing to you."

Allura sat straight up on his lap and dropped his coat, losing the little heat that had held her warm. "Prince Consort Keith … I don't know you by anything else. Anyway, I do NOT want to hear that from you ever again! Had you not allowed our titles to be dropped and made a try for my hand in marriage, where would I be now? Dead – sucked out into space!"

That's all Keith would let her get out. Before Allura could say more, he had his lips molded over her own. He didn't want to remember just how close he had come to losing her. Both had finally accepted what seemed to be their deaths – in each other's arms.

"Did you have to use my title in this life? I could've done without that."

This brought a weak chuckle out of Allura. Her love was facing that there was little hope of seeing their friends again. "Improperly, but that was the best I could do. I don't know your full name. Besides, I'd like to hear it once before we leave this life – though this wasn't how I meant it by dying in each others arms when I wrote it in my diary."

Keith looked at her in shock. "Exactly how long have you been planning our marriage?"

"Since the third month after you and the boys walked into my home and pledged to protect me and my people. But, I fell in love with you just before Koran introduced me to you and the others."

"Aaron Robert Falton," Keith whispered before softly kissing her cheek.

Allura looked into his brown eyes. They were serious, but glazed as well – she could easily see that they would not have much time together in this world. "What did you say?"

His smile was shaky, and his breathing labored. But, Keith still spoke so strong that it inspired her to be happy about the death that would soon claim them both. "Keith Aaron Robert Falton; it's my full name. You said that you wanted to hear my title properly. My last gift to you, my only love."

"Prince Consort Keith Aaron Robert Falton and Crown Princess Allura Josette Nicole Falton. If only we could hear that announced to our people, the cheers they would give at that," she softly smiled as she settled comfortably in his last embrace.

Keith could feel himself start to slip away. "Yeah. Josette?"

"My mother adored an old Earth program called 'Dark Shadows'. Josette was her favorite of all its characters. I feel so strange." And Allura did – as if she wasn't quite real.

"It's our bodies giving up our souls. Not much longer now. A last kiss in this life my love?" Keith's eyes were beginning to fail; he could just barely see her face. All around them was darkness

Quickly they kissed their final deep kiss, which made them both heave for breath because of the little air in the cabin. A few minutes later Keith became still and limp. Allura knew that she was alone with his corpse.

Instead of being disgusted of frightened, Allura was happy. Her love wasn't suffering any longer, and she was sure that she would soon be joining him in the afterlife. She settled against his cold chest with a soft smile on her face.

"I'll be with you soon, Keith. We'll be together where it is warm – forever. I'm a little scared love, it's getting dark all around me. At least I'm beginning to warm up."

Allura knew that she sounded like a mad woman. But, she just had to keep talking – she was scared that Keith would give up and go on home without her. She thought that if she kept talking to his spirit, he would wait for her. The last thing Allura wanted was to die completely alone.

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Pidge had remained in orbit to keep a look out on the planet's weather patterns, and to monitor what was happening. Then all hell hit! "Pidge to Lance! Where are you guys? Keith just went flat line, and Allura is close to flat lining herself!"

"We still have four kilometers between us and them! Any chance of you getting to them faster?" This had turned into the worse of possibilities!

Lance didn't mind taking up the job of leading this rescue mission – but, there was NO way he was ready to turn it into a recovery mission and then take up the leadership of the Lion Force! This was just the wrong time of the year to lose either of them, much less both on the same day!

Pidge didn't have very good news for them. "No. The grav storms are still too strong. Just try to hurry, there is still a chance too … strike that! Allura just went flat line! Hurry guys! At best we only have minutes to bring them back!"

But, there was no way to hurry any faster than they were. The way was treacherous, and they were already pushing the safety factor to its limits. Lance quickly realized why Keith had chosen him for the position of second. Hunk was shaking and needed to be pushed and encouraged all of the way. While Pidge was in tears over the mikes.