Role Reversal ~ Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in flavor and is AU. You need to have read "Role Reversal" in order to make sense of this twist on the Voltron DotU universe. ;-)
Summary: Sequel to Role Reversal. What if Keith were the prince and Allura was the pilot? Please read Role Reversal before reading this one.
Author's Note: So, this story is the continuation of "Role Reversal" which was a challenge from the former KAEX group member, Cheetoy. In this case, Keith is the Prince and Allura is the Alliance pilot. It's hard to believe that it's been almost 7 years since I finished it. I've reread it several times since and it's one of my favorite stories. I decided that it was finally time to brush the dust off the sequel that I started writing when it finished. I scrapped the chapter and a half that I had written and began again. I hope that you enjoy learning the rest of the story.
If you have PM enable, I do reply back to reviews! :) A Thanks to all who are reading and an extra thanks to those who review!
** Goodness! I'm still on chapter 9! But after I post this chapter, I'm going to spend a little time working on it. :)
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Chapter Six
Romelle hurried through the cramped confines of the secret passages. A person of her height often had to stoop with the low ceilings and some places you had to crawl through; while useful, these passages were not meant for speed. The way toward the arena was an arduous one; but she wanted to tell Sven what she had heard. They definitely needed to be watching the arena tonight to see what Keith's powers were. Finally in an area where she might locate Sven, she lowered the dim torch she used to find her way. She looked ahead and saw another dim glow. If not Sven, then it would be another of the resistance but she dared not call out.
Sven had seen her light and moved to meet her in a section of the passage where there was a little more room. "Did you learn something?" he asked, searching her face.
"Yes. They have just transported Prince Keith to Silov in the gladiator chambers. He will be the main attraction in the final battle tonight."
"But that isn't really any-"
"And he will have use of his magic." Romelle's eyes glowed with the information. "They are removing whatever it is that constrains his magic and he will have use of that plus a lazon sword."
Sven said nothing, "They must plan for some safeguards. I can't imagine that Haggar would let a sorcerer of any strength free in the arena."
"Haggar told Lotor that should would be using a magical spell to shield at least the royal seating area. But I'm sure it will be more. Also, he will not be conscious until he is raised to the arena floor."
Sven nodded. "This is important. If they have him fight again, we might be able to intercept him on the way into the arena or when he's leaving it." He looked back to the arena. "But if he's unconscious and it's something magical that wakes him up, we don't need to have him unconscious and us struggling to get away."
"I agree. But first, we need to see what Keith can do with his magic. Perhaps there will be a way to get him out before they knock him out to remove him from the arena. If his magic is strong, then he may be able to help us, since getting weapons hasn't been easy."
"Agreed." Sven looked back the way he had come. "Let me show you where I think we should watch from tonight."
The two began moving back toward the arena area with their minds swirling with ideas and strategies. All of which relied heavily on a prince whose powers were completely unknown to them. And in the back of their minds, they wondered what Keith was thinking.
.**********.
That evening…
Merla sat on the edge of her seat to the left of her father, King Zarkon. Her brother, on her father's right, lounged back in his chair with a bored look upon his face. He reached over to grab some grapes from the bowl and tossed them into his mouth. Only then did his gaze turn to his sister. "Well, I will have to say that your prince will probably be more entertaining than the other battles tonight. What a waste of an evening." He looked over his left shoulder to Haggar who was standing at the right shoulder of the king and was between Lotor and his father. "Did you plan that the competition would be so meager so that he would appear favorable to Father, witch?" The sneer in his voice was unmistakable.
Haggar was unphased having years of experience ignoring the prince's sarcasm. "I had no say in the other battles this evening, Prince Lotor. I did select the robeasts in the making to fight against the prince. But that is all I had a say in."
Zarkon didn't even look at Haggar or his son but his gaze traveled over the space in front of him. "You have put the wards in place?"
Haggar reached over and took a grape from Lotor's bowl and tossed it toward the arena. It bounced harmlessly back to land on the floor and roll to rest at the king's foot. "The strongest ward is here in front of the royal seats. It travels around the whole arena but it is at its weakest opposite us."
"A waste of time. He probably won't have much more power than the grape you tossed at the barrier." Lotor didn't look at Haggar but at Merla. "Sister, you haven't commented. Don't you have anything to say."
Merla finally looked away from the arena floor to her brother. Her eyes narrowed slightly and then they took on a bored look as she looked back to the sands of the arena floor. "You haven't seen any of his magic but you dismiss the reports of those of us who have seen it. I think that you will be rather surprised, brother, at what the Prince of Arus can do."
Lotor only grunted as Merla smiled and said, "Now it begins." The crowd was roaring as two gladiators entered the arena and a section of the arena floor disappeared only to be replaced with a new section of sand… and a human combatant.
.*********.
Keith went from unconsciousness to fully alert in the blink of an eye. He sat up quickly, remembering Haggar's warning. Sand from the flooring stuck to the side of his face; he brushed it quickly off as he looked around. The section of floor was less than a foot from its destination and he could see around him in the arena. It was everything he had heard about… only louder. The roar of the crowd didn't scare him as he went to stand and the floor clicked into the place. Once in place, the force fields keeping the sand from falling in the hole and off the floor section dissipated and the sand blended together. Keith gave a small grimace at that. No way to even tell where the section was.
His hand went to his side as he saw the gladiators advancing toward him. He pulled the lazon sword off and ignited it. He knelt to one knee and touched the sand and said in his mind, Truth. It was the same as when he had touched Princess Merla in disguise as Boccara. In a flash, he could see how the arena functioned and where the plates could be lowered and raised as well as the space below. He glanced quickly to the side at a section of the wall. Besides seeing the mass of Drules and the royal seats, he also knew there were others watching from the shadows. He hoped they would help if he was ever able to escape this place.
A roar drew him back to his adversaries and he went into a fighting stance as the smaller of the gladiators, who was six feet tall, broke into a run. This gladiator was a humanoid with green skin and fangs that protruded from the upper and lower jaw. Dressed only in a loincloth and a chest plate strapped to his chest he rushed forward with a two-handed grip on his lazon sword. With just a thought, Keith created a shield for his left arm and rushed to meet this opponent who was similar in size and build to himself.
The lazon swords crashed together in a hum that sizzled and crackled. Keith didn't look at his adversary's face but at his stance. He knew that he was going to need to try things with his magic that he had never tried before if he hoped to escape. And to be honest, if he hoped that Haggar and Merla would see him as an asset. If they didn't, Lotor would get his wish and his life would end shortly. But Keith could also feel that dark side of himself reveling in this combat that was certain to be to the death. And to find the balance might not be easy…. His mind switched back to the gladiator as he backed off and the gladiator swung his sword only to have it crash into Keith's shield.
Keith quickly turned off his sword and stuck it back onto his belt and raised his right hand and sent a bolt of blue electrical fire to the legs of his opponent. With a cry of pain, the green gladiator fell to the ground. Keith dropped his magical shield and used his left hand to pin his opponent to the ground with a blue electrical field. He would have ended it with the lazon sword but the taller gladiator had now rushed to the spot where Keith was fighting.
Cries of "Kurza!" echoed around the arena as the dark gray seven-foot gladiator swung his metal broadsword toward Keith's head.
.**********.
Merla leapt to her feet but one hand remained gripping the armrest of her ornate chair; her eyes were riveted to the unfolding scene before her. Lotor laughed and said, "It already went longer than I expected." But he too was watching avidly and even waved off a slave girl who had offered him additional wine. Unnoticed by the siblings, Haggar and Zarkon remained quiet, understanding better than Lotor how quickly things could change when magic was involved.
Meanwhile, Romelle and Sven stood in almost total darkness and watched through a small crevice in the arena concrete wall. Their field of vision was limited and was incredibly frustrating but they could see the battle. Romelle put a hand to her mouth to stifle a cry of dismay as Kurza ran to engage Keith. Like Lotor, neither Sven nor Romelle thought that the outcome of the battle would be in Keith's favor.
.**********.
Making a decision on the spur of the moment, Keith released the gladiator on the ground at the same time as he dropped his lazon sword. He spun to face his new opponent and as Kurza slashed with his sword, Keith created a shield with each hand and quickly brought his hands together in front of him. As the two magical shields impacted each other, Kurza's arm and sword fell to the ground in front of Keith and coated him in a spray of dark purple blood. The shields had been mentally formed with razor sharp edges and had severed the arm cleanly. Kurza screamed in pain as he backed away, holding his spurting appendage up; it had been taken off just below the elbow.
Sensing the gladiator behind him, Keith moved forward just in time to only be lightly grazed by the lazon sword on his back. Dropping his magic from his right hand, he picked up Kurza's sword which was a little large for him and attacked the green gladiator, making him step back time and again. Realizing that Kurza would use the rest of his strength to attack, Keith sent a sent a push out toward the green gladiator which toppled him to the ground. Keith rushed forward and not knowing where this alien's heart might lie decided he had to go for the gruesome task of decapitation. He wanted to close his eyes as he swung the sword toward the now kneeling gladiator, but the darkness inside him refused and so he saw the whole thing. The spray of blood that flew back on him from the sword as he swung around now spotted him with a coppery-orange liquid.
But Keith had no time to dwell on the blood or the darkness growing inside him as the sword was knocked from his hand as he was rammed from the side by Kurza. Keith landed on his back, the sword about a foot out of his reach. Kurza was using his knee to pin Keith's left arm while Kurza used his left hand to grasp Keith's neck. With Kurza's greater height and natural build of his species, he was able to use just one hand to start choking the life out of the prince.
Keith was already seeing black spots dance before his eyes as he brought his unhindered right hand up to send blue fire into the face of Kurza. But Kurza knew he was dying and did not let go. Keith grasped Kurza's good arm sent the fire into that but the fire didn't stop there but enveloped the gray alien. His cries went unnoticed by Keith even after Kurza's grip had failed and the prince was no longer in danger of being strangled. Keith kept the fire going until Kurza was nothing but ash.
The crowd fell silent, having never witnessed anything like this in the arena before. Keith stood and turned a dark visage with his eyes looking like the pool of an abyss or perhaps… like a piece of obsidian. He took a few steps toward the royal seats and then crossed his arms in front of his face with fists in the air and then he quicky threw his arms to his sides in a great sweeping gesture. A wave of blue flame went out before him.
.*********.
Merla, Zarkon, and Haggar all stood in place as the blue flame raced toward them. Lotor, on the other hand stood up and then stepped back knocking over his chair and falling upon it at the same time.
"Do something!" Lotor cried out as he scrabbled backwards.
"It will hold," Haggar said calmly as the magical shield she had placed took the force of the fire. The fire raced up and down the shield and licked over the top but nothing broke through. At least at the royal seats. The fire was not as strong as it made its way around the arena and was non-existent behind Keith. However, the magical shield also lost effectiveness as it circled away from the royal stand and Drules in the sections to Keith's left and right were scrambling as the fire broke through and ignited some clothing with flames.
But Keith heard none of this. The magical blast had been too much, having never practiced with his magic on such a level. The last time he had done anything so large was when Sven had been attacked. The Prince of Arus lay unmoving except for the heaving of his chest as he drew in great gulps of air. The sand stuck to his sweaty body and blood spatters. Haggar stood above the fallen prince as the guards followed their orders and shot the unmoving man with two tranquilizer darts. Neither wanted to face Haggar's wrath for not following directions but then they also didn't want to face this unknown humanoid if he woke while being transported.
For those not fleeing the arena, they stood and watched the mystery gladiator and the witch. Word was he went by the name Obsidian.