Hell Hath No Fury

Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters nor any of its alternate universe personas. So sad, I could become fond of a Lotor with green eyes…

Part 5 of the Chivalry story arc: 1. Chivalry; 2. Lion House Restored (& 2A. LHR – Allura's POV); 3. Doomed Quest; 4. Alternate Choices; and 5. Hell Hath No Fury. While some of the stories can be read as stand alone, this one must be read AFTER Alternate Choices for it to make sense.

Rating/Setting: Rating is T, bordering M. There are some topics that could be triggers for some people; I will try to post warnings for those chapters. However, I'm never graphic or explicit in any of my writing. If you've read Alternate Choices, you should know what the trigger topics are. Setting is DotU in flavor.

A/N: I had seriously only planned to have 4 installments to this story arc. However, I just couldn't get the Mirror-verse out of my head. Would the alternate Allura track Keith down? What would our Allura do if she did? They were questions my mind had to answer and instead of just keeping those answers to myself, I decided to write this story. I hope you enjoy it and our trip back through the looking glass. :-)

Chapter 2

6 months earlier, the day after their wedding…

It was mid-afternoon and Keith and Allura sat on the cottage porch with the quiet dark serenity of the forest in front of them. Keith had just finished telling Allura all the gory details about the alternate universe. He had told her slowly as it was a lot to take in. It had been a lot for him, and his alternate had been one of the good guys. How much more difficult to learn that your alternate was an evil despot who planned to rape the man you loved. He knew how he would have felt if his alternate had been similar. Actually, as he looked over to her, he thought she was taking it all remarkably well.

Allura had the most trouble with two facts about Allura Alt (the non-affectionate name Keith gave her to keep from confusing things). One thing was that Allura Alt had been willing to abort her boy child and then showed no interest in retrieving him. The other troubling thought was the horrible fact was that she had killed Keith Alt.

Allura drew a deep breath. The whole thing with Keith kissing Allura Alt as a way to gain access to the Black Lion key and escape now seemed to be an incredibly risky plan. The woman had already murdered his alternate and countless others. What would one more life mean? Especially if that one life might steal the one thing you had to protect at all costs. The fact that Allura Alt was obsessed with her husband and wanted to have a child with him created a cold smoldering anger inside her. It was an anger, not at Keith but at her alternate self, that would not go away quickly.

It had been a lot for Allura to absorb and it would take her some time. However, she was willing to accept a universe where things were opposites… antonyms… contradictions. And if this were her mirror, then at least she could take comfort in that fact – the fact that it wasn't her.

Calm, cool eyes turned to Keith. "She'll come for you so we need to be prepared."

He turned his eyes towards the forest as he remembered their last moments together. "Yes, she probably will."

Hearing the resignation in his voice, she said, "If she finds a way to take you, I'll follow you and bring you back." Even from the side, she could see the small smile that formed on his lips.

"You sound like Eleanor."

Allura stood and walked over to where he was seated and sat down in his lap. Her arms went up and around his neck. Looking at him she said, "That's where you're wrong, Keith. I've always been the 'Eleanor' from our time in Altea. I just have to push her to the back sometimes in my role as Princess." Using a finger to trace his bottom lip, she said, "Just know that the warrior princess is just as much a part of me as the one who leads boring Council meetings." Her focus continued to be on his lips. "I think we should continue the discussion of what to do later. Right now I have… other things on my mind."

Keith didn't have to be a mind reader to know what was on her mind. He was quite happy to put talk of alternates and evil queens to the side so that he could be intimate with his wife. After a quick kiss, he pulled back to laughingly say, "If you're expecting me to pick you up and carry you upstairs…"

Allura's laughter echoed back from the trees… "I know. I know. We'd both end up hurt on the floor." Then Allura's eyes turned to his in sparkling mischief. "Um, Keith, is there anyone stationed here for security?"

Wondering where she was going with this, he said, "No. Pidge and Hunk set up a sensor grid that is keyed to our bio-signatures. There are a couple of hidden sensor pads for those not programmed into the system to enter codes so they can come in. Why are you asking about that now? Are you worried about Allura Alt?"

Actually, that had been far from her mind at the time but it was a valid question. "Her bio-signature may be identical to mine. We need to have another way to verify that it's me."

Keith looked at her and thought. "How about if I ask you something and include my father's name… Something like, 'Did you see Robert today?'"

Catching on, Allura said, "And I could respond with something like, 'Why, no, but I did see Alfor.' By using both our father's names we'll be sure."

Leaning his head against hers, he said, "Don't be offended when I ask you that sometimes."

Allura stroked his dark hair, "After what you've been through, Keith, I could never be offended by that."

They sat in silence for a few moments thinking of secret passwords and universe-hopping villains. Then Allura remembered the reason she had asked Keith about the security. Now that she had her answer, she stood up and began pulling her shirt over her head.

Keith looked up in confusion and concern. Then as she smiled at him, he stood and started removing his own clothes. The benefits of having a secluded hideaway….

Later that day as they were eating their evening meal…

Allura moved the noodles about on her plate and thought about Allura Alt. She knew Keith didn't really want to talk about it right now, but pushing the concern away didn't make it go away. An awkward silence descended as she said, "I think that we should speak to my father about finding a way over."

Putting his fork down, Keith crossed his arms and looked at Allura. Finally, he just sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I can tell you're not going to wait on this."

With a snort of exasperation, Allura stated, "If the tables were turned and someone was after me, you'd have already met with my father."

"Allura, someone HAS been after you for quite awhile."

Blushing slightly, she retorted, "Um, well, yes. And you know how protective you are when it comes to Lotor. Why can't I be protective of you?"

Keith kept his face neutral. She had a point. He didn't have a corner on protectiveness after all. "Okay. We'll visit your father's crypt tomorrow morning after breakfast."

"Now, Keith-" Allura stopped. She had been ready to keep up an argument and was surprised that he had capitulated so quickly. "What did you say? We can go tomorrow morning?"

Smiling, he softly said as he leaned forward, "Yes. We can go tomorrow morning. Until then, I don't want any talk about Allura Alt, Lotor, or your father. Do we have an agreement?" He leaned back in his chair and waited.

Smiling broadly, Allura responded, "We do have a deal." The she picked up her fork and went back to her meal, finally able to enjoy it without worrying about her alternate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Keith and Allura rode their horses back to the castle. The closer that they got to the castle, the quieter they became as their thoughts went to the task at hand.

If the castle staff were surprised to see the Princess and Lord Kogane, they didn't let on. However, when Coran and Nanny met them at the entrance to the crypts, Keith and Allura knew they had notified the advisor and governess.

"Princess, Lord Kogane." Coran said formally as he bowed.

Gretchen gave them both a beaming smile and moved to plant a kiss on Keith's cheek. Stepping back to Coran's side, she said, "The staff told us you were heading in this direction. Is there something amiss?" Gretchen already knew the answer. She based it on the brief info that the team had of Keith's final quest and then the fact that he and Allura interrupted their honeymoon to visit the crypt.

Squeezing Keith's hand, Allura said, "Yes. We have concerns that my alternate may try to cross over to take Keith back."

Gretchen and Coran looked at Keith with startled eyes. Obviously, they hadn't even thought of that possibility.

With the curious eyes upon him, the commander drew a deep breath and said, "I don't want to go into details until all the team is gathered. However, I will say that that the alternate Allura is as obsessed with me as Lotor is with Allura. If possible, she is even more obsessed."

Coran and Nanny shared a concerned glance at each other.

"But you're back safe." Nanny was starting to wring her apron.

"I am and I plan to stay that way. It's just…" Keith looked at Allura and then back to Nanny. "She promised that she would come for me, no matter where I went. She's not a woman to make idle threats. Queen Allura WILL try to get me at some point if she's able."

Coran sputtered, "Well, we'll stop her, Lord Kogane!"

Keith smiled at Coran. "I know you'll try. But she's very crafty." Squeezing Allura's hand, he added, "We think it best to be prepared and know of a way that someone can cross over to bring me back if it comes to that."

Both Coran and Nanny nodded.

Allura finally joined back in as she asked, "Would you like to join us as we meet with Father?"

Seeing their nodded of agreement, they moved to the crypt room, praying that King Alfor would have some hope to offer them.

As Keith and Allura entered the room, the wall-mounted torches flickered to life throwing the room in a soft glow with dark shadows in the far corners. When the door closed behind Coran and Nanny, shimmering lights began to coalesce into the form of King Alfor. As the bright spots of lights gathered to create his form, Allura slipped her hand into Keith's.

Keith spared a glance down to Allura when her hand slipped into his, but her eyes were focused on her father. They both knew that he was their best hope at finding an answer to the threat of Allura Alt. If his father-in-law didn't have an answer for them…. Keith turned back to the former king who was now fully visible. Stepping forward, he pulled Allura with him. His voice was calm as he spoke, "We have a problem, King Alfor, and I hope you can help us."