The Third Sphere Part I: Keith's Redemption
Author's Note: Some of the scenes were taken from Issue 12 of the Dynamite comic book version of Voltron.
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of the characters. I'm just an avid fan of the universe.
-oo-
Chapter 2
"Princess, have you finished setting our coordinates?"
Princess Allura didn't reply. She was staring blankly into space, her hands still on the console with fingers suspended above the keys. Her mind had drifted back on that moment before they left Earth. The last moment she had with Keith before they took off for this mission…
She was still upset with him. They were not able to resolve whatever was going on between them. So when he was there at the landing bay, giving out last instructions and saying his farewell to the rest of the team, Allura held back, pretending he was not there.
When the rest of the team began to ascend the platform towards Voltron, Keith held her arm, stopping her from moving forward. His last words to her felt like a knife carving through her heart.
"Always remember that I love you with every fiber of my being. Whatever I do next will be because I love you and I wanted to protect you."
It sounded so much like a goodbye that Allura couldn't help the single tear that slid down her cheek. She looked at Keith as green met blue when their eyes met one last time and gave him a kiss. It was just suppose to be a quick kiss goodbye but Keith deepened the kiss. He kissed her back with so much passion, that the goodbye felt so real. They held each other and brought their feelings out through that kiss. Her anger of him completely gone replaced by fear on what he was about to do that would need him to be away from her. She let him feel her fear for him with their kiss, along with how much she really loved him. She clung to him not wanting to let go. Her kiss became a way of beseeching him to change his mind and join them in their mission. Keith answered with his own. His kiss was that of apology and a goodbye.
Keith slowly withdrew from their kiss, albeit reluctantly, Allura held his hand giving it a squeeze. It was her last chance to change his mind but still Keith was adamant with his decision to stay. They locked eyes once more and Allura saw regret for not coming with them in this mission. But there was something else there that she couldn't understand, something that wasn't her "Keith".
"Be safe, Keith," she said. "I mean it."
"You too, 'Lura," he answered. "You too."
"Allura!"
Allura came out of her reverie, startled by the urgent voice that called her name.
"I'm sorry, commander," Allura replied and hurriedly typed their coordinates on the console.
"Are you okay, Princess?" Pidge asked concerned.
"I'm alright, Pidge," she answered. "I just drifted. That's all."
When she finally finished setting their coordinates, she looked up to see the rest of the team looking at her with concern. With the lions formed as Voltron, their cockpits were combined into one command station. All four of them were seated on consoles giving access to certain areas of the mighty robot. All seats were taken except the commander's chair. Even with Lance having assumed leadership, he was reluctant to take the chair that's reserved for Keith.
"Princess," Lance said. "From all the years that I have known you, you have never 'drifted'. Look, Voltron is on auto-pilot now. So let's have it. What's going on?"
"Is that a request from a concerned friend?" Allura asked, teasing. "Or an order from our new commander?"
"A little of both," Lance answered seriously. "I mean, I need you to be in the game. So whatever's bothering you, you have to let it out. Otherwise, you might become a liability to the team. On the other end, we are your friends. And we know that you and Keith are in the rough at the moment. If we can help you out in any way we can, you know you can count on us for that too."
"Yeah, Princess," Hunk added. "You know that we're here for you…Even if Keith is a bit secretive lately. We're here for the both of you."
Allura looked from one teammate to another. They were all looking back at her hoping that they would be able to provide some help or comfort. She really wanted to tell them what's going on. She wanted to tell them everything about the new Voltrons that were created on Earth. She wanted to tell them what she knows about the Voltron that attacked Arus and Doom. She wanted to tell them everything, like her plan to tell Keith everything. But a magical force was preventing her from saying anything. Every time she tried, there was only jibberish that came from her mouth.
For the past few months since Voltron was returned to them and the revelation that she could not reveal anything, Allura delved into research and meditation, looking for a way to break the magical block. But whatever she did to try to communicate what she knew, she just couldn't.
It frustrated her that she couldn't tell Keith. Her frustration over this far exceeds the frustration and anger that she had over whatever it was Keith was keeping from her. It made her realize though that whatever secret Keith was hiding from her and the rest of the team, it must be eating him up inside as well.
And now here she was, being stared upon by three different sets of eyes waiting for her to say something. But what can she say that can relay what's really happening without the magic blocking her? She sighed defeated and just said the other thing that was on her mind.
"Well," she said. "I am a bit worried about Keith. On the platform before we left, he said something that felt like a goodbye."
"The Commander has been on edge lately," Lance stated, sharing his observation. "I mean, I know Lotor isn't good news but it's not like Keith to bite off his head, even if Lotor deserves it."
"He's been very secretive about a lot of things," Pidge added.
Allura recalled Keith's last words to her and she said, "he said, all he wanted to do was to protect me."
"Well that's not news to any of us," Lance remarked with a smirk. "Ever since that day we came to Arus, all he ever did was protect you."
"Keith would go to any length just to know that you're safe, Princess," Hunk added. "Even if it means giving you up."
'Even if it means giving you up.' That was not a thought that Allura can accept. She shook her head and replied, "but we could always talk things through. We never hide anything from each other. He never hid anything from you guys either."
"Not really the case, Princess," Pidge remarked. "He did hide stuff from us. He hid incriminating information that usually protected us from inquiry. He usually lets himself be the fall guy, clearing us of any wrong doing. That's the kind of guy he is. That's the kind of commander he is. He never lets his team get into trouble. He'll protect us anyway he can."
"Always protecting us," Lance finished, mostly to himself than to the rest of the team. "Damn that bastard! He's at it again!"
"What?"
He stood up and began to pace. Lance has bulked up over the years. He was a bit more muscular as Keith was leaner. Lance continued to pace, like restless lion in his den. The others followed his movements as he began to walk back and forth around the cockpit.
"That's why he opted to stay and train the new pilots," Lance exclaimed. "He's protecting us from something. He must have found a plot of some sort and is in way over his head with his investigation."
"You mean he's in trouble?" Allura asked.
"Yup," Lance answered. "He's in deep shit. And whatever it was he discovered, it's coming for him and it won't stop until he's dead. He's doing his 'noble leader' thing again by sending us away from the firefight because he doesn't think he'll be coming out of it."
"You don't mean that, Lance," Allura said. She stood up from her seat and approached Lance, she continued, "you sound like Keith doesn't trust us."
"It's not an issue of trust, Princess," he answered. "He knows he can trust us with this but he's the kind of guy who would carry the whole world on his shoulders as well as the whole galaxy on his back without asking for assistance."
"Like Lance said," Pidge added. "'Noble leader' syndrome. Keith always has our backs during missions; he forgets that we have his back as well."
"An endearing yet annoying quality of Keith that you should be use to by now," Lance finished with flair. "I am going to wring his neck when I see him."
"We need to draw straws on who's going to be first," Hunk remarked with a smile.
The three men started laughing, remembering the good ol' days when they were known as SE Squadron 686. Keith was always the person who would protect them, whether it was from their superiors or from their then former commander, Sven.
Allura looked at the men laughing at an inside joke that they had shared before she became part of the team. She could see that they were really close, bonded together from their missions together. They were like brothers. She also saw from their stance how they really admired Keith, that despite him keeping secrets from them they still respected him.
"It has to have something to do with Lotor," Hunk said after they have sobered up from laughing. They were back to serious business as he continued, "like Lance said, he wants to bite off the guy's head if he can manage it. It must have something to do with the new Voltrons, the one that attacked us and the new ones that will be coming out."
"Well whatever it is," Lance said. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder for reassurance. He could see from the princess's state that she was still worried. He continued, "we'll have his back, even if he doesn't want it. We'll finish with this mission and head back as fast as we can."
Pidge yelled an affirmative a little too eagerly. Allura smiled and just nodded. She knew that she won't be able to hold her emotions in check if she were to say anything. Hunk though was silent. He was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his thick thighs with his massive hands covering his face.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Hunk muttered. He knew that all eyes were on him now waiting for his affirmative. This was supposed to be his last mission. After this, he said he was out. He will no longer be part of the Voltron Force. But would his conscience really take it if Keith really needed their help and was just too stubborn to ask for it?
He sighed out loud and stood up. He walked towards Allura and Lance and said, "well our fearless leader needs our help. Let's finish this mission and head back ASAP!"
"Let's start prepping our weapons and review the brief," Lance ordered, as he patted Hunk's back and gave Allura's shoulder another reassuring squeeze. Everyone's demeanor was back to business.