Unveiled enemies

A/N: Once again, I own nothing.

Keith watched as a moth flew and battered the hot bare light above his head repeatedly, unaware of the futility of its mission and the dire consequences of its repeated actions against such an immovable force. As he lay on the cold concrete floor, sore from the beating he'd received just hours before, he wondered how this moth managed to mirror his current state in existence. The cold gray walls did nothing to flatter the small cell they'd thrown him in, so small a box that the only room he had was enough to stretch full length with only a couple of inches between his feet and the wall. He shivered as the cold from the floor seeped through his flesh and brought with it a dull throb he could feel deep in his bones. He knew they had lowered the temperature of the room, most likely to slow his response time and fatigue his muscles enough to make him sluggish but not hypothermic, making any plans of escape impossible. He had tried to count the number of hours he had been imprisoned but it was impossible with no watch on him or on the wall.

Isolation tactics were standard military procedure with three intended purposes: Questioning, sweating out a confession or holding for a possible court-martial.

"All three." He said to himself as he watched the moth finally singe its wings on the hot metal at the top of the light before it dropped beside him. He didn't have any sympathy for the insect. He had his own problems to deal with.

After escaping from the crazed drule in Altair, Keith had carried an unconscious princess out of the library and back through the tunnel, only to emerge to what he could only describe as hell. The heat, the smell of scorched, blackened earth welcomed him as he exited the tunnel. He could see the amber color in the distance, testament of a huge forest fire that he knew was going to consume a better part of the woods he had to pass through. At the time he knew that going back via their pervious route was impossible and the only option was to follow the river down until he could find somewhere safe to rest. He looked down at the princess, suddenly conscious of how he hated how quiet she was. She was pale and still, the side of her golden hair stained a deep red from the bleeding gash. He felt his blood boil at the thought of the demon that had hurt her. He hated the familiar way the bastard had spoken to her, how possessive he was of her. He hated how scared she had been, how uncharacteristic it was of the girl he had spent time with the last few days. He loved her spirit, proud and strong. He had gotten used to the sound of her voice the last few days. Sure she didn't know what to make of him, but at least she wasn't afraid of him. He quickly lowered both of them into the river until they were both soaked before starting a steady jog away from the burning sky. What he hadn't expected was to stumble upon 3 mecha lions and his own team less than thirty minutes later.

The beep of the door and the swinging bolts brought him back to reality as he saw four unknown soldiers enter the cell. No one said a word as he was dragged up, hands and bare ankles ankles chained as they led him out into the corridor. More soldiers were lining the corridor with rifles, safety off and the tension was thick. As he passed a few cells he, Sven and Lance's eyes met before Sven responded with a quick nod. The game was on and if they were going to all survive, it depended on well they acted and how much they knew.

"Oy. Traitors of the crown. Yes, you sons of bitches that grilled our families." Lance shouted as he threw himself straight into the cell door. When his guards flinched in fright and paused, Keith had to hand it to the Red lion's pilot. The guy hit well below the belt, where it really hurt. The tension in the air was heavy before, now it was unpalatable. When they had been shoved through the bunker at gunpoint the smell of blood had been strong, bodies of deceased soldiers still coming in and the wounded screaming in pain. It was obvious that their new leadership was more concerned about seizing power quickly and not about the aftermath of the battle.

"If I may, I have to ask a question. Don't worry, it's not about your noble cause, no no no. I just want to know how the princess is, you know, since she was still unconscious and all."

Keith felt the guards' grip increase as the ones holding him turned to the Lieutenant.

"She's alright. She has regained consciousness and is to be the key witness in this man's trial. Her cooperation will ensure his execution and a new direction for all of us." The guard to Keith's left responded proudly.

Lance almost cussed at the rhetoric the man was spewing, but managed to hold his sarcasm back. It was obvious that this guy was a foot soldier, a bottom feeder since he didn't know much except how to regurgitate manifestos. Lance hated to admit it, but the chained bastard between those guards was right. Revealing all their cards was dangerous not only for their captured fathers, but for them as well. He just hoped that the princess would be able to pick up their strategy for all their sakes. They had to buy enough time to locate their brass and the princess.

"You son of a bitch!" Lance yelled as he punched the bastard that had hurt his sister. The guy had not dodged the first few punches that Lance had thrown, but decided to catch Lance's fist at the last one. Shock and fear had raced through Lance as he had seen the princess unresponsive, so a beat-down was inevitable. The bastard just stared blankly at him which angered Lance even more. He had never wanted to kill someone so badly.

"What did you do to her?" Lance yelled, grabbing Keith's collar and shoving him against the foot of his lion.

"Nothing." The guy responded quietly as he let the lieutenant grill him.

"The princess disappears with you, is unheard from for days, comes back unconscious. With you. And the best you can come up with is nothing?!Why am I even asking?" Lance was about to pommel Keith again but was caught by Hunk and the dark haired guy from Dispa that they had been talking to. Pidge watched from a distance as he was running a diagnostic scan of her Highness. He was worried and scared. What had happened to them just now felt the same as the time when he had lost his twin. Fear, anger, mistrust. Fear. Fear reigned, and if it continued to reign there would be blood. He watched as the soldiers from Dispa whispered among themselves on one side and the confrontation occurring at the other. He couldn't even imagine what was happening at the bunkers.

"Lance, we don't have time for a fight. Let him say what he needs to say before we decide what to do with him. We aren't in the safest of places right now and Zarkon can come back at any moment. We need to figure out who is in charge too." Hunk reasoned. He didn't trust the guy in front of him. It was natural. Allura was a sister to him, but reigning in his anger was necessary at the moment.

Lance let go of the guy with a cuss before moving back to Allura, tugging at his flight suit collar so that he could breathe. He hated this feeling of helplessness. The world was burning in front of him, people had expectations of him and he didn't know what had happened to his father. He was helpless right now. That's why he hated being in charge.

"Fine. Start talking. 5 minutes is all you need. If I don't find your story convincing after 10 seconds, I'll blow one of your limbs off. That includes your head too." Lance said, pulling out his blaster and setting it to max before pointing it at Keith. Keith's men kept quiet as they all knew military protocol. Treason was punishable by death at the hands of your superior officer out on the field. They weren't getting involved because they knew the stakes. That Keith knew the stakes.

"Gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to return to your ships and check your radars for any incoming or SOS from the troops. Turn off your receivers too. It's better if you hear nothing. All of you except you, Holgersson."

"Yes Sir!" Shannon shouted with a mock salute. They'd all been waiting for their Chief to return with all the juicy details for days. They all went back to their ships grudgingly, hating military protocol. With a signal from Lance, Pidge brought out a device and turned it on, scrambling any receiver that would pick up their conversation for miles.

"Let's get to it 'Chief'." Lance mocked, waving at Keith to start.

Keith took out a black oblong shaped disk and threw it to Lance, who caught it instinctively. He knew what it was as he stared at it, running his thumb over the smooth dark surface. He had one just like it, except his was a fiery red.

"How am I doing on time, Lieutenant McLain?" Keith asked quietly, leaning against the steel foot he'd been thrown against. Lance bristled in anger as he heard the emphasized title. He looked at the bastard of a commanding officer he had and had a feeling that his days of lounging in were over. Sven, being Sven, was completely cool as he observed the shock-horror-anger waves that passed on the Red Lion pilot's face. He never got tired of watching soldiers' reactions to Keith's ways. He wondered how the fair princess had faired with his ass of a friend since she had to deal with him for days.

"What you're holding in your hand is my birthright. Right now the people who know that I have that key are the people right here. I went to my home to collect it, but we found rats running around there. And one of them did that to the princess. I was late in protecting her." Keith explained, somewhat apologetic for the last part.

"Anyone we know?" Sven asked curiously. Drules typically razed cities from the sky with the formidable firepower. Being on foot had become a new and annoying occurance.

"No."

Keith left it at that about the white haired bastard due to the fact that he could feel his anger spiking and he needed to talk to her highness about the guy first. These guys looked overprotective and would want to know a bit too much. He caught Sven's eye and the other man knew that that topic was over with.

"So you're our boss?" the big guy near them asked.

"Apparently."

"Hell No!" Lance shouted. "You're trouble, I can smell it. You've been in hiding for years and now you're showing up like some fucking phoenix?! Cowards are one step away from becoming traitors 'Chief' and there is absolutely no way I'm following a damn wimp!"

"Lance, there's no reason to cuss him out. Besides, we don't know anything about him!" Pidge responded as Hunk nodded.

"You're siding with him, shrimp?"

"Who're you're calling a shrimp, bedwetter McLain?"

"What did you call me?!

"Pidge, Lance, calm down. This isn't the time…"

Sven watched as Keith inhaled deeply before he dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his head furiously in frustration.

A pretty princess, a playboy prick, a prickly teenager and a pacifist were his team mates for the foreseeable future.

"Are you alright Keith?!" Sven asked cheerfully, not envying Keith at all.

"Fuck off Sven." Keith groaned, feeling the onset of a glorious headache.

.

A deep throbbing headache greeted Allura as she tried to open her eyes. She felt as if someone had hammered her head in countless times, pain shooting from one particular point on her side. Groaning, she begged someone to do something, anything, to make the pain stop. After what felt like an eternity, she felt the pain begin to subside whilst the humming in her ears became clearer and she could make out voices from people that surrounded her.

"Your Highness. Your highness." A female voice that she didn't know called out to her. She in turn refused to unfurl from her position on her side, desperate to escape the blinding light.

"Sir, she has a concussion. She'll need to rest for the next few days so as to reduce her light sensitivity and headache. Other than that, she's fine. Someone, dim the lights please."

"Daddy." Allura whimpered, desperate to find someone she knew. A reassuring voice was what she needed, not these people humming around her. As she lay there, she opened her eyes slowly and looked at her surroundings.

Plain white walls, hospital bed. White hospital gown. Antiseptic. Nurse. Blanket.

She slowly looked at her arm, and sure enough there was a needle and tube tapped on her outer hand.

IV, medical machinery, wheelchair, chair.

All these were normal, considering the pain she had woken up in. She was being treated for that said pain.

Tobacco. Two armed soldiers with rifles by the door. No one she held dear.

Those were abnormal. Very abnormal.

As she looked at the six faces in front of her, she felt it just as much as she saw it. Something bad had happened to her father.

"Your highness, are you feeling better?" Wade Wells asked her gently. Allura almost burst out in laughter. Gentle did not describe this man at all. Ruthless. Cunning. Deceptive. Now those were descriptions. The other gentlemen, three from Dispa and two others from their bunker all looked anxious as they awaited their response. A nurse came up to her and helped her into a white robe, which helped her realize that no, she wasn't dreaming.

"I've been better, thank you Admiral. Where's my father? Why isn't he here?" Allura asked cautiously, fighting back her desire to turn these men away.

"Your father has been immersed in negotiations. He cannot be called here at the moment. My apologies." Admiral Wade responded, obviously keen to be the key respondent.

"What negotiations can occur without high sitting military officers such as yourselves present? Why are there armed soldiers in the medical ward?" Allura watched as the men in front of her cleared their throats as they were trying to avoid answering the question.

"Your highness, there has been a situation that requires your immediate attention. This is why we couldn't wait for you to leave here before we came." Wells stated unflinchingly.

"Your true personality suits you Admiral. I prefer this side of you than your false concern." The princess spat back at him. She didn't like snakes, and his beady gleaming cold eyes reminded her of one.

"Wonderful. So we are on the same page as usual your highness. So I'll get straight to the point…"

"Wells you're not supposed to expose…" one of the other man said, cutting the Admiral off.

"Gents, whether we tell her now or later is irrelevant. She is going to find out anyway. She's tough and nosy like her father. Let's get it over with, shall we?" Wells replied, taking out a cigar and lighting it in front of her highness. No one stopped him, including Allura who was waiting for her answer.

"Your highness, as of 1200hrs today the Arusian military has disposed of the current government of Arus and has taken over all military and civilian functions. Due to the failures by our previous leaders in giving us a decisive victory over our enemy, we have taken it upon ourselves to lead this war to its proper end, as well as give Arus a new future."

Allura felt her heart stop, shock coursing through her as she comprehended what Wells had just said. She saw him smile at her and cursed herself internally for failing to school her emotions. He was enjoying her confusion and grief, the bastard.

"You're not here for me to applaud your efforts, are you? What do you want then?"

"We need your cooperation your highness, for the sake of the masses as well. Transitions are never easy, you see. Restructuring results in a massive amount of confusion, anger and dissatisfaction. In the military that's normal. But the masses obviously will not understand this. They may be placed in dangerous positions by selfish individuals who don't see our vision. This is where we would like you to come in. As a voice of reason and comfort for the people."

Allura sat there quietly for a few minutes, and as Wells watched her, he wondered how she would attack him. The princess wasn't known for her patience either, with a temper that would flare unexpectedly. She would have made an excellent soldier by his standards if she could just throw aside all these unnecessary sentiments. Family connections he had rejected because in the course of his life, he had seen how much they destroyed one's potential. Being female made it worse in his opinion. The cost he had paid was well rewarded by the benefits: a strong military career, respect from his peers as a thought leader, secret allies that he could manipulate. He had acquired almost all that he has wanted by using the most simple reasoning: Man is selfish by nature. Cost-benefit analysis made more sense than hopeless dreams.

'Alfor was a fool. Leaving such powerful weapons at the hands of mere children was his ultimate mistake. Soon I'll have it all.' Wells crushed his cigar into the tray by the princess' bedside, disregarding the nurse's look of approval. He needed an answer quickly before he left the room.

"Your highness."

"Why do you keep calling me your highness when my father is no longer king. Lieutenant is fine." Allura responded coldly. She would grieve her families' failures later, in her room, behind closed doors. Right now she needed to get to Lance and the others.

"It's only a formality. Lieutenant it is. Your answer." Wells asked smoothly.

"I have no intention of placing any civilians in danger. They are, were, my people and my duty is to keep them safe. Whether as a member of the royal family or not, my commitment to them does not change. That said, I still will not play puppet in your Junta. I will neither be a spokesperson, figurehead or political sacrifice for your coup d'etat. You're on your own Admiral."

Allura smiled as Wells bristled visibly at her reply, obviously upset by her response. The other men in the room looked quite upset at the turn of events. It was obvious to Allura that they expected a blubbering mess of a girl, crying out for her daddy to save her and turn back everything to the way it was. Truth be told, her heart burned with grief. She felt as if someone had poured acid down her throat and she could feel it slowly spread across her chest. She wanted to sob, to cry, to scream. But she couldn't show weakness. Shewouldn'tshow weakness. To these men or to Lotor. She had promised herself, never again.

Suddenly, she sat up, wide eyed. She had forgotten about him. About Keith. The memories came rushing back in a flood. The library, Lotor, Keith fighting Lotor. The lion. If she was here, it meant that he also had to be here. Oblivious to the men in front of her, she started to get out of bed, much to the disapproval of the nurse. She had to find Lance and tell him everything that had happened. They had five lions now, meaning they had a chance. But if she was here and they had Keith, they would most likely arrest him since by now the news of her 'kidnapping' would have become public knowledge. She had to get to him before their enemies did something irreversible. However, before she had taken her third step, Allura found herself grabbed by two other nurses that forced her back onto the bed, impeding her escape.

"Let me go! Unhand me! Don't touch me!" she screamed before she pulled and kicked one of them, causing all three of them to crash onto the floor.

"We're not done talking, Lieutenant." Wells yelled loudly.

"Well I am! Tell them to let me go, you sonofabitch!" The men in the room gasped, shocked by the princess' behavior. They hadn't expected her to be this unreasonable. Anger was radiating off of Wells in waves. The soldiers by the door looked at each other nervously. They had never heard anyone insult their superior in such a blatant manner. Allura kicked one of the nurses in the face, feeling bone break and resulting in a loud screech. The other nurse let her go, terrified of having the same thing happen to her nose. When she finally stood up, Allura was nauseous and tired. She could feel how weak she was and how heavy her breathing was. Her head felt heavy and she had to lean on the bed to steady herself. She would not fall in front of them. They would have to kill her first if they wanted to force her to do what they wanted.

"Since you've decided to be stubborn, your highness, we'll have to difficult on you. Bring her. We'll see who will bend first. Her or her father. We are holding a special court-martial for the disposed king and his supporters. We need accountability for this kingdom's current state. Since you're an officer of the military, a military tribunal applies to you especially. Doesn't it, Lieutenant?"

The soldiers at the door came forward and between the two of them dragged a weak Allura behind the Admiral and his men as they entered the corridor and into the elevator. She couldn't hear what they were saying amongst themselves, but she knew it was no good. As Allura's head dangled, she stared at her bare feet and wondered how the hell they were going to get out of this.

Keith, help.

….

Your woman's in trouble.

I know.

You're not denying that she's yours now.

I'm being objective here. I have no time to argue with you. Can you help her?

She has her other half. If her life is in danger we'll act. However…

However?

She is of Ariella's bloodline. Her family have respected the will of her people for centuries. This respect cannot be broken by a stronger power otherwise, what trust is there between a monarch and her people?

What diplomatic creatures you are.

It's not my policy, but your father's. And those before him.

What?

The lions alone are not enough. You are aware of that. He was aware of that. There are lessons that the power can never teach you. You have power but little loyalty. You have made a mortal enemy that requires you to master that power. You need people to do that. And people require proof. Of course, if you're lacking at this moment you will die.

What mortal enemy? What will happen to you if I die?

Half a soul can't live, can it.

I'm not a politician.

Young one, you're biggest battles are internal. You just don't allow the outside to see it. You rose to the rank of Captain whilst hiding your internal warfare. In this war, it's no different. You're greatest strength comes from deciding who you're fighting for. Then, it was to survive. And now? A man has many enemies but he never goes to war with all of them. Remember that.

Keith opened his eyes as he felt the soldiers leading him stop. In front of him were large heavy dark wood doors. The corridor he had come from was lined with soldiers fully armed. It was suspiciously empty considering the upheaval in the bunker. What dragged Keith from his observation was the increased tension of the soldiers in the corridor as a group of high officials approached them. As they got closer Keith got the shock of his life as he saw them dragging the princess along. She was pale and barefoot, wearing hospital robes. The gash on her head had been treated and wrapped under thick bandages but she didn't look good at all.

"Princess!" Keith exclaimed, before getting struck on the head by a guard.

"Quiet Prisoner."

Allura raised her head and through the curtain of her hair she saw Keith. Relief washed through her as she realized that despite a black eye, split lip and obvious bruises and cuts, he looked relatively ok. He was in the clothes she'd last seen him in and was barefoot.

"Is this the man?" pointed a uniformed man that stopped in front of Keith that smelled of tobacco. He looked about the same age as Graham with salt and pepper hair and a mean stare. No doubt he was one of this bunker's officials. He looked amused as he stared at Keith from head to toe.

"He is." Responded one of the officials from Dispa bitterly. General Connors despised Keith Graham. The boy's guardian had thrown out the idea of making changes to the current system so much so that Connors wondered if Graham was comfortable dancing to archaic tunes.

"Leave the dreaming to the kids before you lose everything Connors. Making all these claims as if they're all your own shows how desperate you are for validation."

"Apples don't fall far from their trees do they, Captain? Bound in chains seems to be a father and son thing. Shame to have wasted such talent." Connors gloated as he patted Keith's shoulder.

"Where's my father?" Keith asked dangerously, annoyed by the fat hands that were touching him.

"You should be worried about yourself at the moment, young man. You're about to get your dues today."

Just then the doors in front of them were opened, ushering Keith and Allura before the masterminds of the destruction of the 5 kingdoms.

Lotor shoved the maid that was cleaning the cut on his face roughly away from him, tray and ointments spilling on the dark marble floor. He stalked his dark marble reception room in anger. He had never hated a human more in his life. He ground his teeth in anger, tasting blood as it tricked from a loose tooth in his mouth. Stopping suddenly, to the horror of his servants, he widened his mouth and grabbed the tooth with his fingers before he yanked it out viciously, blood seeping from his mouth as he did so. He threw the tooth to the wall, kicked through his furniture and shattered most of the priceless artifacts he had collected. Still, his anger would not dissipate.

As he had walked back to his shuttle alone, he was greeted by a punch from his father straight to his left jaw. The accompanying soldiers did nothing in his defense. They were his father's men, not his. His father was king, not him. His father had power, he did not. At the moment, all he could do as the light dimmed outside the Kingdom of Altair was clench his teeth in anger.

"Well, what has the great Lotor achieved? You're coming back like a wounded dog with it's tail between it's legs. Who told you to disregard my orders, you weakling?!" Zarkon yelled as he knocked Lotor to the ground.

"Father, it was all for the glory of our empire. I wanted to arrange a proper welcome on our people's first conquest for the emperor…" Lotor ground out before Zarkon cut him off.

" I know what kind of fool of a son I have. Keep your flattery to yourself you disgrace. Haggar?"

"My King." The witch replied from a burst of light before she appeared, bowing before Zarkon.

"Why did you not report to me that Lotor was moving on Altair against my orders? Is he now your liege?" Zarkon yelled at Haggar. The witch was wise enough to remain bowed down to Zarkon in an attempt to appease his anger.

" I sent word immediately as I heard of it. The prince would not be deterred despite my warnings my Lord."

"Then where are the men that went with you? Why is he the only one to return?"Zarkon asked. He had destroyed the human army and this was cause for celebration at the citadel. News of his overwhelming victory had reached his allies and foes and promises of celebration had been made. His stupid son was the one annoyance that was ruining an otherwise excellent day.

"They are dead, my King. Killed by a human."

"Killed?" Zarkon asked. In the light of dusk he analyzed his son's appearance more closely. His nose was broken, there was cut along his swollen darkening cheek. His lower lip was broken and his jaw was swollen. As Zarkon observed, he noticed that while his son lying on the ground, his left arm was covering his mid section in pain. His normally pristine appearance was completely upended.

"A human did that to him? The same human?Pathetic." Zarkon's laughter rang out and to Lotor's dismay, he saw his father's soldiers ask each other what the King found amusing.

"My prince, his majesty summons you immediately." His father's human aid announces, drawing Lotor out of his recent memory. Lotor despised the traitor. He hated how his father kept the human close to his affair whilst he was left out.

"I am not well. Decline on my behalf." Lotor spat before he grabbed the wine decanter to chug from it, not caring about the spillage on his clothes.

" His majesty insisted that if you did not come willingly, you would be dragged to him." At those words Lotor saw 10 burly soldiers that were some of his father's loyal soldiers enter the room. Lotor cursed his ill-gotten fate of being Zarkon's son. He could hear laughter and singing as he approached the banquet hall where his father entertained his supporters. As soon as Zarkon saw him enter, he silenced his crowd until Lotor stood in front of him. Lotor observed that other drule kings were in attendance, as well as their relatives that were whispering amongst themselves, looking at him in disdain.

"My compatriots, today is a glorious occasion. Not only is this the day that I completely annihilated the human venom in their greatest mass, it is the day that proved that even the fabled lions are no longer a match for our great strength." Zarkon stopped long enough to receive a resounding applause fron the hundreds gathered. He bathed in his victory and in the approval.

"Today marks a great day as well. This is the day of Lotor's taste of defeat at the hands of one human, one human. It is an incredible feat that only my son could achieve. Please, applaud him!"

"TO LOTOR!" Hundreds of voices shouted, raising their goblets, with Lotor at the center of them all.