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!
.
Chapter Eleven
The group of ten 'slaves' were pushing gravity sleds with large boxes labeled with replacement parts toward the small armed freighter that was their destination and hopefully, salvation. The boxes contained not parts, but other escaped slaves. Even though it may have been safer for the group to have Romelle and Keith inside a box, neither could bring themselves to do it. The others understood, knowing what the two would face at the hands of Zarkon's children. But Romelle's hair had been dyed and Keith's had been cut to his shoulders in an effort to make them less noticeable.
A harsh command rang out from their captor who snapped a whip near one of the captives who flinched and the group pushed harder. Their guard carried not only a whip but had a blaster holstered on her hip. It was Dova, of course, and she rarely looked away from her group of 'captives.' She did an excellent job of giving the appearance of a guard enjoying her duties.
None in the hanger spared them a glance. Most were wishing they were at the arena, where the games were continuing despite the Arusian prince's escape.
But all heads sprang up as klaxons began to sound and the lighting flickered for a moment. The group stopped as a voice came over the loudspeaker, "Battle stations! Battle stations! Alliance fleet entering the system! Battle stations!"
The warning continued to blare, and Dova stared at Sven and then snapped her whip. "Faster you fools! We have to get the supplies to the freighter NOW!" Her voice was loud and sounded even over the surrounding noise. The captives pushing the sleds did as she ordered, pushing all the harder now that their chance at escape was even greater. No longer would they have to make it to the jump gate at the edge of the solar system, they would just need to make it to the safety of the Alliance fleet. Assuming that their fleet didn't shoot them out of the sky thinking they were Drule.
In just a few minutes, they were on the freighter. Keith couldn't believe their good fortune as he sat in one of the pilot's seats beside Sven. "How do you think the Alliance knew-"
Sven broke in before Keith could finish. "It's you, Keith. You are the reason." Sven never stopped going through the pre-launch routine and after a moment, Keith began his own. "Strap in everyone, it's sure to be a rough trip."
They had just warmed up the engines and were beginning to move to the take-off area when Haggar stepped out of the angular shadows and into their path. Her staff was pointed at the ship and it was crackling with yellow fire around the crystal at its tip.
Sven went to increase speed and attempt to get past the witch when Keith reached out and grabbed his arm, his eyes still on the robed figure before them. "No. She will use everything in her power to stop my leaving."
"But we can't stay here-" Sven began as Keith's hand dropped to his harness.
"No, Keith!" Romelle cried from the seat just behind the cockpit. "You can't stay!"
Sven's head whipped to the side, his eyes leaving Haggar. Keith was undoing his harness and Sven understood. Keith was staying so they could leave… but could Keith keep Haggar from disabling the ship? "You said you could take Lotor but not Haggar…."
Keith stood and looked back to Sven and his eyes seemed to darken with his countenance. "No. As Prince Keith I can't, but as Obsidian…." He shrugged and moved to the back of the ship where Dova was opening the hatch that he could easily jump down from.
Sven took one last look at Keith as he jumped from the ship and then he concentrated on the path before him that was still blocked by Haggar. In just a moment, Keith walked in front of the ship and his hands flashed with blue fire….
.**********.
Haggar stared at the man before her; she could sense the darkness about him. He was turning into Obsidian right before her eyes. But this wasn't the way it was supposed to go. It wasn't how the visions had shown her. This… this was dangerous in the extreme. A confrontation in this matter could easily put the dark sorcerer in opposition to her. She pulled up her staff and moved toward the wall of the hanger, her eyes never leaving the dark-haired man who moved to the side with her. His eyes stayed on her while the ship carrying the escaping slaves moved to exit. She would not stop them; she had something bigger to do.
.**********.
Keith had his eyes on Haggar but when he heard shots being taken at the freighter, he threw up a forcefield in front of him and then sent blue fire in front of the ship. The magic caused the cannons that were being fired to explode. With a glance to make sure that the freighter had a clear exit, he turned back to Haggar. She was right where she had been before.
"We don't have to fight, Prince of Arus," she hissed as the lights in the hanger bay flickered with the power surge that had just happened. The voices of Drules could be heard in the background, but none would come to interfere with this particular confrontation. Haggar continued, "I won't try to stop your friends from leaving."
"I don't think you could stop me," he confidently replied. He could feel the magic building in him, and he knew that there would be a fight… and he knew he would win. He took a slow step forward; his feet making little noise on the metal floor. "You were there when my parents died." His eyes darkened and he saw the witch take a step back. "I don't need any other reason to kill you." His arms came up, one hand created a shield that formed as he released blue fire from his other hand.
Haggar staggered back against the onslaught of the brightly hued magic. It had been decades since she had encountered anyone with close to her power and she now relied heavily on her staff to channel her magic and block that of anyone else. But it wasn't created to handle the power of a sorcerer of Kogane's ability. While it was sending out attacking energy, it wasn't blocking all of Keith's attack. She took one hand from the staff and threw out some distracting lights and noises with a spell and then turned and ran. Running. It wasn't something she had done in decades either.
.**********.
"Poseidon this is Commander Sven Holgersson on the Alliance freighter Honshu requesting permission to board," Sven calmly said over the radio as he silently voiced a prayer. He repeated the call as he left the planet surface and headed toward Alliance fighters coming toward Doom. Sweat popped out on his forehead.
"Honshu, this is Poseidon. What proof do you have?"
Sven switched to visuals and sent the stream. He could tell it was received and in just a few moments, a return signal was sent showing the inside of the Alliance battle cruiser. Sven breathed a sigh of relief as Admiral Graham appeared in the small viewscreen set into the dash of the freighter. Admiral Graham had personally selected the team for Arus and knew him by sight.
"We feared the worst for the captives taken from Ebb. Tell me there are more of you," Graham said while his eyes tried to see behind Sven as to who else may have escaped.
"I have only two others from Ebb with me on this ship, but there are more in the dungeons on Doom." The fighters flashed by Sven on their way to engage Doom's defenses.
"Did you happen to see Prince Keith while on Doom?" Graham's voice was hopeful but he didn't appear to expect a positive response.
"Not only did we see him, but we rescued him-"
Graham broke in, "You have the prince on board?!"
"No. He stayed behind so that we could escape. Haggar showed up just as we were leaving and he stayed to face her."
Graham's head dropped with a sigh, "Then he is lost."
"I wouldn't count him out, Admiral," Sven said with a grim smile. Graham's head came up. "Go to a secure station and I'll give you what I can, but just know, as soon as I land this thing, I'm going to need a fighter because I'm going back to get him."
Admiral Graham gave him a nod as Sven's eye fixed on the opening hanger of the Poseidon.
.**********.
"We'll be exiting the jump gate at the outer edge of the Drule solar system in three minutes," Lance said from the front of the formation they were flying. "Remember, we'll take visual stock of the situation as we head toward Doom. We'll only contact the fleet if we need to, or they need to contact us. Everyone knows their job." Lance focused on the space in front of him. Things were getting ready to change and he hoped they were all for the better.
