Author's Note: Wow, I cannot believe how many readers are looking forward to the conversation in Black Lion. I hope that the characters and I - we all had some input - have done it justice. Thanks especially to Wade Wells for all of her invaluable suggestions and help.
Thank you to everyone who's here and still reading. I adore you guys. As always, I only own my characters.
To Cha - Thank you as always for your correspondence!
To Craze - I'm glad you enjoyed the battle scene! But for some reason, I think you'll like the interaction back at the castle even better...
To Sally On - That Cossack is a true survivor, and like you've mentioned before, he's a lot smarter than he looks!
To PandaRox - You got it!
To Emie Mac - This battle's over, but there's always next time.
To bknbu - Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. And I too am noticing a problem posting reviews on this site. What gives?
To Wade Wells - Once again, Love, you're fabulous. I hope you're as satisfied with this chapter as I am - but there's still more to come!
Title Song: "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane
After the battle - and victory - on Crydor, the teams were buzzing with excitement. The fact that the three robots had worked together to destroy three robeasts and send Lotor's command ship off running and in need of some serious repairs was worth celebrating.
Allura was secretly pleased with herself for her actions during the battle. As the lead lion and the center of Voltron, she had taken very little direction from Keith. She had commanded the team to the best of her ability, and even though she knew they had other allies on the battlefield with them, she couldn't help but think that she had helped in bringing about the day's victory.
Heading back to Arus as five separate lions, the princess was overwhelmed with pride. Nothing could make her feel better, nothing could ruin her mood. The private audio channel to Blue Lion beeped, and she answered it.
"Princess Allura? It's Morgan."
Her heart sank.
"Princess...I'd like to speak with you."
Well. That ruined her good mood. "Go ahead," she replied brusquely.
"Not like this. My husband is in Blue Mecha with me. I'd prefer for our conversation to be private."
"Is it about Keith?"
"Partially."
Allura gritted her teeth together before she answered. How should she respond to this? She wanted no part of Morgan Feld Rackens, and yet she seemed to be the key to understanding Keith. It was sad. Only days ago, she thought she knew exactly who Keith was as a person. It was only now, when his sister and his ex-girlfriend and a whole bunch of other misfits who masqueraded as his old friends had been introduced, that she had no idea who Keith really was.
It bothered her tremendously.
The words found their way out of her mouth without her even knowing. "Then I will speak with you when we get back to the castle, Mrs. Rackens. I will call for you after we land and get settled."
"Until then, Princess." Morgan paused. "I don't know about you, but I would love to be a fly on Black Lion's wall right now."
Allura smiled. On that aspect, she did agree. "I'm with you, my dear. I shall speak with you later." Then she cut off communications. She wanted to revel in her victory a little while longer before she had to face reality.
With his sister in the rear seat, Keith found it easier to hold a conversation. If he wasn't looking directly at her, he could stay Captain Kogane, instead of reverting back to Akira-chan. The latter would automatically transport him back to when he was twelve years old. That year, he lost his parents and his sister, and had been placed in his first foster home.
Essentially, the worst year of his life.
"Are you all right?" he finally asked. He was gentle - reverent, almost. This woman in Black Lion had his same eyes and hair color. She looked like him, but he knew so little about her. Where else could he start after twenty years of not knowing his sister?
In the rear seat, Christiane touched her lower lip. "I'm fine, I think," she answered hesitantly. She trembled, the gravity of her situation now finally beginning to sink in. When she had been captive on Lotor's command ship, she had forced herself to get through it without dwelling on each event. Even on Crydor with Sven, she felt safer, but not rescued. Now she finally felt rescued.
She didn't say anything else for a long time.
In part, she wanted him to work. She had tried to bridge the gap between them twelve years ago, and he couldn't do it. She didn't blame him, exactly - she understood all too well where his feelings of hurt and loss and helplessness had stemmed from, and she could see how they had transformed along the way to apathy and fear. Fear of rejection, fear of love, fear of letting anyone too close. Even though Keith was her blood, she couldn't just let him off the hook for hurting her.
On the other hand, the flashbacks were starting to manifest. Wade knocking her unconscious at Sullivan's Bar. Lotor striking her and splitting her lip. Lotor raping her repeatedly for hours; though he hadn't been cruel or violent with her in his bed, he had done the act without her consent. Her escape ship being blasted at and crashing onto Crydor. Her horror at Sven hacking his way into her downed ship.
She'd been through seven hells in this ordeal.
Finally, after what seemed like ages of quiet, Keith cleared his throat and started again. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me about what happened? I'm here if you'd like to talk."
Well, it was a start. It wasn't anything earth-shattering or groundbreaking, but it was a start. She realized how hard this was for him, but then again, it was hard for her too. She had been hurt. Her brother had hurt her. Although she had accepted it a long time ago, she now wondered if she had ever really forgiven him for not wanting to forge a relationship with her once he knew she was at the Academy. "What's there to say, Keith? Wade hit me. Then Lotor hit me. He chained me upright and he hit me. He split my lip." She paused, swallowing back the horror at her memories. Then, softly, she added, "He raped me."
The words, barely audible over the roar of Black Lion, made Keith freeze. Putting Black on auto-pilot, he muttered, "Did you just say what I think you said, Christy?"
"Yes." She was emotionless. There would only be facts right now. "Lotor raped me. Repeatedly."
Keith slammed both fists on the control panel.
"Don't tell Jeff or Morgan." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Please. They will freak out, and I don't want them to do that. I just want to heal and move on."
He drew a sharp breath. "I. Will. Kill. Him," he growled, narrowing those turquoise eyes. "I will make him regret the moment he laid a hand on you. I'll make him regret even thinking about capturing you."
"Keith, calm down. It's in the past, and I just want to move on. Really, I just want to move on." She pursed her lips together. "See, this is why I don't want Jeff or Morgan to know. If you're freaking out, and you haven't seen me in a dozen years, imagine how bad they'll freak out."
Though she hadn't said it to hurt him, he felt like Christiane had sucker-punched him in the jaw. What she said implied that they were more important than he was. In a way, that was true - Morgan and Jeff had been there for her more than he ever had been. But they were there because he had asked Jeff to be there, and wherever Jeff went, Morgan inevitably followed. If she didn't already know that, it was time that she learned.
"Christy," he started uncomfortably, a small amount of anger at the edge of his voice, "did you ever stop to think that maybe Jeff has been there for you because I asked him to be there? And Morgan is my ex-girlfriend, so no matter what, she and I will always love each other to some degree. Don't you think that maybe she's there for you because of me, too?" He paused. His breathing was coming in harsh gasps, and he forced himself to calm down so he didn't end up screaming at his sister. "In my own twisted way, I did care, even if I wasn't able to show it that day on the quad. Just knowing you were at the Academy made me feel like I was watching over you, and when I went to Arus, I asked someone to watch over you in my place."
She knew he couldn't see her, but she nodded anyway. She already knew that information, both from her visions and what she'd been told by Morgan and Jeff. She was the seer; she would not let her emotions get the better of her the way they were getting him. "I do know that. One of my first visions was of you, looking like this, telling me pretty much what you're saying right now."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Your visions?"
"I'm a seer, Akira-chan. I get visions. And I read things." She paused, running her tongue over her lower lip. By now, the crevice in it had become almost comforting in a twisted sort of way. "I was able to see some things in you when I first came aboard Black Lion."
"You're a seer?"
"Yes." She nodded again. "There are a lot of things you have to learn about me."
Keith shook his head. "These last few days have been the craziest of my life," he murmured, staring at the control panel. "I don't know what to say to you or how to make everything up to you."
There was a long span of quiet in between. Finally, when she spoke up, it was in a small voice. "Akira-chan, you've just got to let me in. Tell me, when will you? When are you gonna let me in?"
"I'm trying, Christy. I swear to God I'm trying."
From the anguish in his voice, she could tell that he meant it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to forgive him yet, but she could feel that she was on the path. It would take a few more days, a few more talks. Maybe she could even talk to some of his friends on the Voltron Force, suss them out for information, or at least for clues as to who her brother was as a person. It would take effort, but it would be worth it if she finally got her brother back after twenty years.
Once the lions had landed in the dens, the five pilots and two passengers rode up the elevators to Castle Control. Coran, Larmina, Vince and Daniel were all waiting there for them. They looked like they had never left.
"You're back!" Larmina cried out, rushing towards her aunt. "Did you find Keith's si - oh, hi, Sven. What the heck are you doing here?"
The Norwegian glanced at the cadet with amusement. "Nice to see you again, Larmina. Thank you for the warm welcome."
She blushed. "I didn't mean it like that," she stammered.
Daniel's eyes wandered over to the female by Keith's side. She looked like him - A definite family resemblance there, he decided - and suddenly felt very humble. This woman was his idol's sister. Without realizing it, he walked over, his eyes open wide with awe. "Keith, this is your sister?"
"Yes, she is. Everyone, this is Christiane," Keith introduced her. "Christiane, this is the Voltron Force: Princess Allura in Blue Lion, Pidge in Green, Lance in Red, Hunk in Yellow."
"Hiya," Hunk greeted her.
"These are the three cadets: Daniel, Vince, and Larmina. Larmina is Allura's niece as well as the Lady of Arus."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Larmina offered diplomatically. Keith could feel Allura's pride at her niece's development. It was a comforting reassurance that he hadn't lost all of his connection to his girlfriend, no matter how badly he'd bungled their relationship in the past few days.
"And this is Coran, our prime minister as well as castle diplomat and strategist."
Coran cleared his voice before extending his arm to shake Christiane's hand. "It's truly an honor to meet you, Ms. Kogane. Your brother has been an honorable servant of this castle and this planet for many years. The people of Arus, royalty and non-royalty alike, are truly indebted to him."
"That's wonderful to hear," Christiane replied as she shook Coran's hand. She used the same diplomatic tone of voice that Larmina had used moments earlier. "I am very proud."
After she released Coran's hand, Christiane headed over to Sven. A pleading look was shining in her eyes, and without words, the Norwegian nodded in understanding. She wanted him to keep his mouth shut about the things she had discussed with him on Crydor. As far as the beating and the rape were concerned, then yes, he would say nothing. As far as discussing the idea of The One with his elskede, well, that was entirely different.
"We made it," he finally cracked.
"Yeah. You did good, Sven."
"Takk." He wrapped an arm around the seer's shoulder. "Now, we should get out there to greet your boyfriend when the Vehicle Team lands. And Albegas, too."
Lance's face lit up. "And let's not forget about the Explorer. I need to sneak onto that thing when it lands." Ignoring the curious expression on his old roommate's face, he continued, "Come on, Viking. We've got a beanbag chair to steal back."
When the door to his on-site lab creaked open, Maahox thought for sure it would be Lotor, ready to pounce on him for the failure of the three robeasts. He winced in anticipation of the king's angry words, readying himself to recoil from whatever physical intimidation might follow.
There would be none of it. Instead, it was Wade at the door.
"Maahox." The Sky Marshal greeted the occult scientist formally. "By now, I am sure you have heard that the three robeasts have fallen in battle against Lion Voltron, Vehicle Voltron and Albegas."
"Indeed." Maahox squirmed. "Tell me, how is His Highness taking it?"
"Not well. He took out all shortcomings on Cossack, of course. However, I have mollified him for the time being."
"Oh? How did you manage to accomplish that?"
Wade smiled a heartless grin. "Cossack told me that you had this...monstrosity...called a Predator Robeast. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is." He wondered why the general ever would have thought to tell Wade that. Unless...
"I told Lotor that you were already hard at work performing upgrades on the Predator Robeast. I also told him that you would have sent it out today, but the upgrades are painstakingly slow, and you are quite fastidious with your methods of infusing the five segments with Haggarium. That seemed to pacify him." Wade shook his head. "He's still quite cranky, though."
"Oh, you noticed, did you?" Maahox shook his head. "However, I should thank you, Sky Marshal. It will take me a long time to get the Predator Robeast's Haggarium levels high enough to where victory against Voltron would be imminent. It may even take two to three years."
"Think nothing of it." Wade dismissed the thought. "As we agreed upon earlier, you and I are the brains of this operation. I expect to be amazed when you are finished with this robeast." With that, he turned away from the command ship's lab, leaving Maahox to do his work.