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!
**Well, I AM still around. :-) I see that it has been 6 months since I updated and I apologize for that. I used to not publish a story until it was either complete or almost complete. Back in May, I had chapter 8 and half of chapter 9 complete but was waiting to publish the chapters when I wrote something more. But this time, I'm going ahead with Chapter 8 in the hopes it will encourage me to go ahead and finish this story up. I don't think there are too many more chapters to go, so I'll try to finish up.
Chapter Eight
The soft beeps of medical equipment were Keith's first indications that he had survived his time in the arena. The restraints on his arms also told him he was still a captive. He opened his eyes which felt rather sticky and blinked a couple of times to clear them. The lighting was dimmed and he was on a bed and the first one he had been in in days. A sound in the corner of the room drew his attention and he tensed thinking it was Haggar but instead it was Princess Merla who emerged from the shadows. He didn't say anything but took in his situation. A bag of fluids hung nearby and dripped into tubing that ran to his arm. The dull silver cuffs were back on his wrists and restraints were around his forearms just above them. He was covered in a sheet up to the middle of his bare chest and other than that, he didn't know much else about his condition. The room itself was very bare except for the bed and medical equipment. His attention was drawn back to Merla when she spoke, breaking the silence between them.
"That was quite a show you put on."
His gaze met hers. "I call it surviving."
"Even the energy wave you sent out at the end after you had already defeated the gladiators?"
He didn't break her gaze. The darkness that was inside him had sent out that blast. For that moment, he felt like he lost control of himself and he no longer felt his bond with Allura. It scared him to think of it now.
Merla stepped closer and rested her hand on the end of the bed. "You were angry and released it."
He didn't answer.
"Father is giving you two days to recover from the battle and then he wants to see you perform again."
"Why?"
"Why do you think, Prince of Arus?" Her lips formed a mocking smile. "Your anger is the key to unleashing the dark sorcerer within you."
"Even when I direct that dark magic at him?" Keith raised an eyebrow. "Zarkon must be very certain of you and Haggar."
Merla's smile froze on her lips and then she thawed. "Haggar is very certain of herself and the herb that she has given you that you must continue to take. As for myself… well, my father is getting older and you I can rule together from Arus the worlds we are given control of and take on our own. My father will not oppose us and neither will Haggar as long as she gets what she wants." Both their eyes slid to the cuffs upon Keith's wrists.
Keith thought about it. It was reasonable and even a bit… attractive. He closed his eyes. The darkness inside himself painting a future not with Allura but with the beautiful Drule princess at his side. He frowned, his dark brows drawing together. His eyes snapped open as Merla barely skimmed the skin of his arm with her fingers. Her touch had set his skin tingling.
"Think about it Keith, think of what we could be together." She moved closer and then leaned over and lightly brushed her lips against his. Her eyes looked into his as she pulled away and silently slipped out the door.
Keith stared at the closed door. Its dark coldness broken only by a window that let in light and allowed cursory checks on him by the medical staff. He closed his eyes and found the bright spot within himself that he knew was his bond with Allura. He found that it was not as clear as it once was and it troubled him greatly as he wrapped himself around it protectively. Two days and he would try to escape.
.**********.
Allura felt the eyes of the team and Coran on her. Kara Timmons and the Alliance plan to recover Keith would be arriving tomorrow by noon. They needed to know if the lions would cooperate with yet another pilot change. Her eyes drifted up momentarily to the "1" above the dark opening, the T-bar just visible inside. It was time to face her fears and what the lions would or would not say. Without a word, she bounced on her heels and then began to run to the entrance. She could have stood at the opening and just jumped but they ran a lot of the time and it just felt right. Her hands grasped the bar and the spiral down began almost immediately. She closed her eyes momentarily, already knowing from practice when she would let go and drop into the shuttle. She opened her eyes as she fell into the seat. Having never ridden in the black shuttle she realized his ride was even shorter than hers. The transparent tubing raised to connect under Black's head and then the seat locked in place and the ignition panel opened, awaiting the key.
Allura's hands went not to the key, but to remove her helmet. She placed it on the floor beside her and shook her head so that her hair cascaded around her. Only then did she pull the key from the uniform and held it in her gloved hands. She blinked rapidly; she didn't want to cry. She didn't want the Lions to get a sense of despair from her and to be honest, she wasn't usually the crying type. As she sat with the key, she felt a soft rumble and she looked up to the display panels. Nothing. But she had felt something.
She drew a deep breath and released it. "I'm sure you know that Keith has been captured by the witch Haggar and has been taken to Doom." She hesitated for a moment but a moment only. "We have a replacement pilot on the way and we plan to go rescue Keith and Commander Holgersson who is also held captive there." She closed her eyes and continued. "I can feel the bond that Keith and I began the night he was taken. We are to be married." She felt the rumble again and took it as a positive sign. "We will get them back but we will need Voltron to do it. And for that, you will need to allow one of us to take Keith's place and then convince the other lion to accept the new pilot, Kara. Can you do that? Will you do that?" She waited a moment but there was no answer that she could see or hear. "How will I know who you have accepted?" She looked around. Remembering that Red at first did not respond to the key for Lance, she decided to try it in the ignition. Maybe with the lion functional, she would hear the response. Placing the key in the ignition, she watched with happiness as Black Lion came to life and roared.
"Allura! What did you learn? Has he accepted you?" Coran's voice was urgent.
"Hold, Coran, I'm still working this out." She looked around the cockpit. It seemed that Black was accepting her as pilot and she was honored and thrilled. Softly she queried, "Is it me?"
And then, very faintly she could hear, "It is you." And then, miraculously, the lion… purred.
And now the tears did come, but they were far from tears of sadness. She rubbed her hands over the console and she said over and over, "Thank you so much!"
.**********.
"It is rumored that the prince will fight again within the week," Dova said as she, Romelle, Sven, and Plenta sat together. Plenta was member of a dwarf-sized species known as the Jang. He was attending the meeting, not so much for what he could provide militarily, but to assist with coordinating the other members of the resistance who would be too old or too young to provide much assistance during an escape. He also had the advantage of being a worker for the kitchens and was currently assigned to the gladiators. He was a primary supplier of food for the resistance and sometimes was able to assist those escaping.
"You found a ship that would be the size we need that would be leaving this week, didn't you?" Plenta asked, his pale-yellow skin contrasting sharply with his short-cropped purple hair.
"Yes, it is an armed freighter that Yurak and the Death Fleet captured from Galaxy Garrison a few weeks ago. It only needs a few minor repairs. It had just finished repairs at the shipyard on Alba when the Drules raided the shipyard and stole it. Zarkon is planning to send it out with the next fleet that returns."
"It being of Garrison design works in our favor. I, along with Zeb and Lyra will be able to adapt quickly to the controls," Sven said with a nod of his head. Zeb and Lyra were GA with Zeb having been a troop carrier pilot. Lyra's knowledge was weapons which would be handy. "But the truth is, we'll need to get off a distress call as soon as possible before Doom starts jamming us. There is a large probability that we will be recaptured."
The faces around him were grim. They all wanted to escape. Living in the tunnels of the castle was no life to lead.
Then Romelle spoke. "But with Prince Keith on board chances are they won't shoot us out of the sky."
"I'm not sure that wouldn't be better," Dova said softly. Her eyes showed her fears of being recaptured by the Drules. The fear was mirrored in Romelle's eyes who would face a certain return to Lotor and an excruciating punishment.
"I have heard you speak of the magic of Prince Keith and there are whispers by those spying about the castle…. Could he shield us or provide some sort of attack?" Plenta asked, looking to each face around him. His fears for the group were well founded.
Sven drew a deep breath and let it out. "I would have said 'no' if I hadn't seen him the arena last night. His power is beyond any I've seen except for Haggar's. But I honestly can't answer and we don't know what shape he will be in after his battle in the arena. I'm certain that he will be drugged again before going to the arena and we don't know how to wake him from the magical part. We can't have him unconscious the whole time." Sven shook his head. "We won't know how Prince Keith can help with magic, but I can tell you that he is an exceptional pilot with innate abilities. He won't slow us down, and as Romelle said, just having him with us gives us a better shot. With Keith in the castle proper receiving treatment, we don't have information on his current status but we'll have to keep watch on the gladiators' area to listen for updates." He looked at each of his conspirators and continued, "Now, here's my plan."
.**********.
The next day…
Keith paced his cell, he listened only slightly to the talk of the other gladiators around him. After his release from the medical facility that morning, he had been brought here so that he could exercise today and tomorrow and he would fight tomorrow night. Of course, he had on his magic sucking cuffs. He glanced angrily at them and then looked back up as he heard the hall door creak open. The hall had cells only on one side with cots and toilets and nothing else except a door that allowed access to the training field directly from the cells. Keith stretched as he saw the slave assigned to bring meals pushing a cart of food. The gladiators received better rations that general prisoners because they needed energy to fight; however, Keith had little hope that the meal would taste good.
He approached his door and knelt down to receive the tray of food through the small area that did not have bars going to the floor. As he did so, the slave with the pale-yellow skin whispered, "We will try to get you out after your match. Take heart."
Keith did not make any sudden moves but said in a normal tone and volume, "Thank you for the food." He then closed his eyes briefly as the alien moved to the next cell. Keith now opened his eyes with hope; maybe he wouldn't need to find a way to kill himself to save his people from Obsidian.
.**********.
The Voltron Force and Coran were waiting at the landing zone for the shuttle containing Lt. Kara Timmons. Everyone was tense. So much depended on the news the lieutenant brought with her.
As personnel departed the small shuttle, one in particular scanned the area and when she saw the small group, she immediately hastened in their direction. Lance moved to meet her with the rest of the group right with him.
Lt. Timmons stopped a few paces away and saluted. Lance returned the salute but before he could speak, Kara walked closer and said, her tone indicating the gravity of the situation, "We have no time to delay. We need to begin preparations immediately."
.**********.
Keith closed his eyes as he turned around in his cell. His eyes were closed to keep out the liquid he was being sprayed with. What was the liquid? Something to make his skin shine under the lights of the arena but that the sand wouldn't stick to. At least that is what the Drule holding the spray wand told him. And Keith could remember the gladiators he fought… though they weren't pleasant recollections and their skin did shine but he had thought nothing of it. But now he was getting the same treatment as the gladiators had gotten, including their lack of clothing. He wore a black loin cloth and had a matte black chest plate that had thick leather straps that went across his shoulders and around his ribs. This would go on after he had 'dried.'
"Done," the sprayer called and Keith could hear him rolling his cart down the corridor to find another one fighting this night. As an afterthought to the 'new' gladiator, he called back, "Don't sit or lay down until it has a chance to dry. It will make it sticky."
Keith truly wanted to sit and buck the norm for the gladiators but he also didn't want a sticky film over him, so he stood and looked out the window in his cell door to the training ground beyond. It was a matter of hours before he'd be in the arena. His chance to escape was at hand.
.**********.
The Voltron Force, with their newest member, and Coran hurried from the conference room. When Kara had said there was not time to delay, she had meant it.
Coran hurried to raise the dais amid looks of curiosity by the Arusians manning various station. There was no time to explain what was going on and best not to include too many in the plan. There were, after all, still Drule spies on Arus.
Allura explained what would happen when Kara went down the chute. It had been decided that Allura and Kara would go first as it would be a first for Kara and Black wasn't Allura's usual lion. Kara would be headed to Blue while Allura would be going to Black. And even though Black Lion had agreed for Allura to pilot him, it would be a first her and for him.
Allura looked to Kara one last time and said, "Here's how we do it." Then she took off at a jog to her entry and leapt for the bar.
With only a moment's hesitation, Kara took off after her to the Blue Lion entry. Cheers from the rest of the Force followed her.
.**********.
Kara looked at the controls in front of her as her pilot seat locked in place. The displays were all dark only the lights that lit the cabin when the chair entered were on. She supposed they stayed on all the time or until the pilot departed with the seat. The metal all gleamed under the lights and the black glass displays reflected the machinery and one her own self. The accents on her uniform were gray. None of the team had been able to tell her what the colors would be as it was determined as the pilot went down the chute.
Allura's voice came through the comm system. "Okay, Black. Lt. Kara Timmons is in Blue. She brought us a plan and while we'd love to take a couple of days to get her familiar with Blue and for Blue to get familiar with her… well, we just don't have that time. The plan is to move out at dawn tomorrow after we've all rested." Allura laughed, "Not that we'd get much rest on our own. Dr. Gorma will help with that but we've got to go in rested and ready to battle. Kara will either hang to the back of the battle or will be joined as part of Voltron. But we need to practice at least some with her so she knows what to expect and the weapons she has and what they can do. We need Blue to help us."
.**********.
Kara sat quietly. She couldn't hear or feel anything else going on with the lion she was in. She startled as Allura spoke to her after a few moments of silence.
"Kara, place your key in the slot."
"Here goes nothing," she said softly as she put the key in. Immediately the lion started coming to life and she breathed a sigh of relief. "The lion is coming online!" she called out gleefully.
.**********.
Allura leaned her head back against her command chair and closed her eyes. She knew that the lion would respond but she supposed that some small part of her was worried. So much was riding on Blue accepting Kara. And now that Kara was accepted, they would soon be off to rendezvous with the Alliance 7th fleet and rescue Keith. Is it possible? Can we do it? She had no doubt that they could conquer the Death Fleet at Doom, but would Keith live through the assault? Will he still be Keith? Her tie to him was so small….