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. Setting is DotU in flavor.

Chapter Sixteen

~ Sometime After Noon on Day Five in the Mirror-verse

Once Allura had thrown the dagger, Keith felt Naveena step away from him. Sensing her bewilderment at what was going on, he knew he had to take advantage of it. If Allura Alt was truly dead, it was only a matter of time before he joined her if he didn't get that band off his arm. Allura Alt's words rang through his head from just days before… 'If it queries my status and finds nothing, the electric pulse to stop your heart will automatically be triggered.'

Lance moved up twenty yards to better cover Naveena but also to be close enough to sprint back to the shuttle if he needed to. He had split his attention between the Alluras and Naveena, but now his attention was drawn to Keith.

Keith shook his arms the best he could and stood at an angle pulling away from the tether. He needed Lance to shoot the chains holding him. Seeing that Lance was now looking at him, he pulled the chains taunt so Lance could see.

Neither Allura nor Naveena knew what was going on with the two men, but Naveena did know that she was out-numbered. She knew that the armband would soon trigger a fatal response and she was counting on that to cover her getaway. She wouldn't bother with any of them. They would soon go back to their universe and leave her alone. She was actually looking forward to it. The Queen's death would leave a vacuum in the command structure and she planned to be the one to fill that void. So, carefully backing away, she retreated as they ignored her.

Lance quickly recognized what Keith wanted and knew that there had to be a very good reason why he needed to be free right now. Raising and sighting the blaster, he fired a shot. He didn't take the time to congratulate himself on what was a difficult shot. Instead, he watched as Keith immediately went to work trying to loosen the armband. It was then, that it hit him. The armband. Taking off at a run he yelled at Allura. "The armband! You've got to get it off now!"

However, Allura was already on it. Once she had followed the direction of Allura Alt's gaze, she had taken off at a run toward Keith. She reached him right after Lance had shot off the restraints. Pulling the lock pick from her boot, she grabbed Keith by the arm. She and Lance both carried one, knowing they would need it to remove the armband. The problem was removing it would take time. Due to the nature of their use and the likelihood that someone would try to remove them, the armbands were made to withstand tampering.

Looking into Keith's eyes, she realized that time wasn't something they had. She had started working on the lock when the pulse hit him. One moment he was fine, the next moment he was on the ground convulsing. Dropping to his side, she could do nothing but hold his hand. He was jerking around too much for her to use the lock-picking tools.

Lance dropped to the ground beside her, his eyes frantically looking for something to do. Then suddenly, Keith was still.

"No. No. No." Allura whispered over and over as she clutched his hand.

Giving her a slight shake, Lance said, "I'm going to start CPR, you've got to go back to the shuttle and signal the Resistance. Get the anti-grav sled while you're there."

"The amulet!"

"No!" Lance said as he began compressions. "It's too dangerous with him in this condition. We don't know where we'll end up or what effect the transition will have on him."

Allura watched Lance for just a moment and then she took off at a run for the shuttle. Lance was right; she couldn't use the amulet until they had let the Resistance know about Allura Alt. It was imperative that they recover the body… just in case Haggar had some more tricks up her sleeve.

It wasn't long before Allura was back with the sled and she almost started crying when she saw that Keith's eyes were open. Lance was sitting back on his heels and catching his breath. "It's done," she simply said. "They should be here in two minutes."

Keith felt exhausted. Lance had smiled at him when he came to and welcomed him back to the land of the living. However, he wasn't sure how long he would be here. The armband would continue to query for the queen's life force and it would continue to find it missing. Getting enough energy, he grabbed Lance's hand as Allura dropped back down to his side. Once he had Lance's attention, he pointed several times to the armband.

Realizing what he wanted, Allura grabbed the lock pick and went to work. She groaned in frustration as she heard a sizzle and realized that the locking mechanism had fused together.

Lance looked at his friend's tired face. "They did something so you can't talk?" He saw Keith nod as Alllura continued to work. "Will it wear off?" Lance released the breath that he was holding when Keith nodded that it would. "Can we wait to take this thing off?"

Keith emphatically shook his head no. The three of them looked at the armband, unsure what to do next. Looking up, Keith saw the Resistance shuttle landing and pointed to it.

Lance helped Keith to stand and the three of them began walking toward the shuttle, making a wide detour around Allura Alt's body. They had barely made it past the body when the next pulse hit Keith and dropped him to the ground.

This time, once Keith's convulsions stopped, Lance said, "Let's see if we can get it off before I start CPR. We can't keep doing this." Lance looked at the band carefully.

"Lance, we don't have time. Perhaps we should use the amulet."

Shaking his head as he looked at the band, he was going to speak when they heard a buzz. Both of them turned to look at the body of the Queen.

"It's her com unit." Allura dashed over. She was unsure if she should answer it or not, but then, chances were that whomever was calling wouldn't know she was an imposter. Gathering her courage, she answered the com. "This is the Queen."

"This is the Queen? Hmmm. That would be Allura Kogane, Queen of Arus?" Naveena's voice was clear and confident.

Allura moved back to where Lance was working on Keith. Concern was in her eyes as she answered Naveena. "It is. What do you want?"

A grim chuckle sounded over the com. "Don't worry; I have no interest in you or your husband. In fact, I can thank both of you for creating a void in the empire that I plan to fill." Another chuckle.

Allura grimaced and looked at Lance who was once again sitting back, catching his breath as Keith was breathing once again. She didn't have time for games. "I'm sure you didn't call just to thank me. What do you want?"

Naveena sighed, "So impatient. Something the two of you had in common. But I digress. Actually, I did call to thank you and give you a parting gift."

Now it made sense to Allura. Naveena didn't want her and Keith to stay. It could cause interference. In fact, Allura could wreak havoc in the empire by pretending to be her duplicate.

"By now, I'm sure you've had to revive Keith." Allura's eyes met Lance's over Keith's still form. "The electric shocks will continue until you get the armband off. It's searching for the Queen's life force and since it can't find it, it seeks to terminate Keith's life as well."

Allura held her breath for a moment and then said. "That's interesting but doesn't help us much."

"Well maybe this will. The band has been modified since the last time he was here to dissuade tampering. Without the key, and not even I was told where that was, you will have to direct a focused laser beam into the locking mechanism. It will have to be something strong and precise, like a surgical scalpel. "

Lance nodded at Allura and took off toward the Resistance shuttle. Hopefully that had a decent med kit on board.

"I'd thank you, Naveena, but you would have been more helpful if you had freed my husband before all this happened."

"Ah, my Queen, I'm afraid that was impossible. My life would have been forfeit if I had attempted anything so foolish. Allura had been keeping Keith on a short leash and any move on my part would have been noted. I was looking for a way to take over the empire with a coup. Now, I don't even have to do that and for that, I will once again thank you."

Allura merely grunted.

"Now, please pack up your friend and your husband and leave our universe."

Before Allura could come back with a snappy reply, the transmission was cut. "Just as well," Allura muttered as she looked over to see Keith sitting up with Hunk beside him. Lance was just returning with the med kit and she saw Orla walking slowly towards the body of the Queen. Moving to kneel beside Keith, she reached out and touched his face. She could barely restrain herself from pulling him into a tight hug. However, for the moment it was best to allow Lance to work on removing the debilitating armband.

Keith looked at Allura through slightly dazed eyes. The shocks and resuscitations had left him weak and slightly confused. In fact, he wasn't sure which Allura this was. The thought was a disturbing one. He wanted to ask her a question but found that his voice still wasn't back. Turning from Allura to Lance, he pulled on his friend's arm and pointed to Allura.

Lance had just located the laser scalpel when Keith tugged on his arm. He was slightly confused for a moment as he watched Keith point to Allura and then look back at him.

It was Allura, who said, "Lance, he's confused. He's not sure if it's me, even with the brown hair."

Realization dawned upon Lance. "Ahhhh. The shocks and reviving must be playing with his memory." Taking the time to look Keith in the eyes, he said, "She's your Allura. Allura Alt is dead and that's why we've got to get this thing off your arm before it kills you." He waited only a moment for Keith to acknowledge that he understood and then he went to work using the laser on the band.

Keith watched Lance for a moment before turning back to Allura. This time he reached out and touched her face, specifically, a scratch on her cheek.

Reaching up, Allura took his hand and held it in hers. "I'm fine. I just have a few scratches." Giving him a small smile, she added, "I faired a lot better than you did after your challenge."

Finally realizing that she was okay and that it would soon be all over, he smiled back at her. It was almost at that same time they heard a snap as Lance cut through the locking mechanism on the arm band.

"You're free buddy." Lance smiled as Keith turned immediately to take his wife in his arms.

Keith kissed her with all desperation he had felt over the last five days.

Lance turned away with a chuckle as the Queen and her Prince Consort had their reunion. Walking over to Orla, he stopped beside her as the Resistance members carefully and gently placed Allura Alt's body on a stretcher. Watching them, he spoke softly to Orla. "She cheated. Haggar must have placed some spell on her so that most mortal wounds would heal. If Eleanor hadn't had the talisman from our universe, this could have ended much differently."

Orla's eyes followed the stretcher as it made its way to the shuttle. "I hold no blame over any of you. She made her own choices." Glancing toward the couple on the ground, who were now just holding each other tightly, she added, "Her choices could have been so much better."

Seeing the direction of her gaze, Lance said, "We don't know yet what happened with Keith. What we do know, is that they did something to take his voice away. Once he and Allura have had a moment, we'll get him to type some information on a data pad. I'm sure he has some new knowledge that would be helpful to the Resistance."

Frowning for a moment, Orla looked around. Spotting the correct person, she called out, "Medic! Attend to the Commander please!"

"Yes, Seer!" he called out before turning in the direction of the royal couple.

Turning back to Lance, she said, "You'll be returning to your universe soon?"

Nodding, he responded, "As soon as Keith has provided you with information." Giving her a wry smile, he said, "We need to go back and see what Keith's nemesis has been up to in our absence."

Shaking her head, Orla said, "It is so hard for me to see Prince Lotor as evil. I understand completely why Keith had so many problems viewing Allura that way. It goes against everything that I know."

"Well, he and your niece are like peas in a pod, but he is obsessed with Allura."

The medic was working on Keith and Lance wanted to see if there was any progress in getting his voice back. Moving back in that direction, Lance was stopped by a gentle but firm grasp on his arm. Looking at Orla, he saw her eyes were closed and she was breathing rapidly.

Visions usually came to Orla during her dreams. This was her first to occur during the daytime while she was awake. Opening her eyes, she looked from Lance to the couple. "I need to speak to them." Her voice was urgent.

Grabbing her arm, Lance stopped her. "What did you see?"

Shaking her head, Orla responded. "Let me tell you all at once."