Chapter Text
- Ashes
Voices. There were far too many voices in his head. This wasn’t the time, but she said it was the perfect time. Voltron was vulnerable and if Shiro went down, they would have no real leader. In one way, it was the most perfect moment to strike. They were on their way back to the Castle of Lions after helping some of Lotor’s people.
“Shiro, are you okay?” Pidge’s voice cut in. “Sorry, I just wanted to get things done back there and your arm was acting up.”
Shiro wanted to reply – the part of him that held the same memories as the person he was impersonating wanted to warn them, but it was if chains were bounding him despite there being no physical chains that could be seen to the visible eye. He knew no matter how he tried to explain, even if they understood, no one had ever been able to break free of her control. Her magic was at a level that was far more advanced than Allura and the Paladins would never be a match for that.
“Something is not right,” Allura said softly. “Paladins, prepare yourselves.”
“For what exactly?” Lance asked. Oh, they were so innocent. All of them were innocent. Not knowing the terrors that were awaiting them. The purple energy flowed through his hands, and he could feel Black being pulled into it. A part of him – a small part of him felt that this wasn’t right, that she had been used in this way before but the other part, the stronger part of him insisted that it was what she was made for.
“For this,” Shiro said in a voice that he didn’t recognise himself and he knew it wasn’t his voice. It was Haggar’s and the purple energy that shot from the Black Lion was not his either. It electrocuted the other lions, but he didn’t listen to their screams. Haggar’s voice deafened out anything that he could have or might have heard, shooting more beams of purple energy. They couldn’t follow – they wouldn’t follow. He would make sure of it. He could hear shallow breathing – were they awake? He moved in closer with the Black Lion. The lions were drifting in opposite directions and none of them were making a move to even fight back. It was time. Time for the next piece of the puzzle. Lotor had never been one of the Paladins – he knew that because Haggar did. There was too much dark for there to be light.
“Prince Lotor,” he said calmly through the comms, Haggar’s voice fading because otherwise this would not work – he would reject her offer immediately because of his hatred for her.
“The Paladins are down,” he continued. “Make your true move if you’re still not coward enough to show your true colours.” He fired one more blast at the Paladins, sending them flying in three separate directions. Some of them would end up together whereas others would end up alone. This was the last he did before he disappeared through a wormhole that Haggar had created for him. As he appeared on the other end, he felt his strength give away and everything that was holding him back disappeared causing him to crumble to his knees, the world around him fading to black.
Lotor stared at the comms device as he heard the answer and felt Coran’s glare at him but Shiro – was that even Shiro? – he still wasn’t sure at this point, but the point was clear. This was the time to strike.
“Forgive me for my impoliteness, Coran,” Lotor said calmly as he threw a miniature sword straight at Coran’s side causing him to collapse before he could aim to even try to attack. Not that Coran would be a match for him but there was really no point in fighting someone who was unable to fight back. He headed to the hangers. It would take some time to track Allura but with the pods on this ship being made in the Castle of Lions, surely there was a way to track the princess’s quintessence, given how long she had lived here.
It had been far from his plans to reveal his colours now but even he could not deny how opportune this moment was. Voltron was weak – separated – and Allura whilst stubborn would have to see it, that ruling by his side was the only real solution. Voltron had failed her – because the leader of Voltron had caused her this pain and suffering more than once. Voltron was the reason she had lost her home planet and he was nothing like his father, so he could provide her the shelter that she had lost because of the failure Voltron gave her every single time.
Where could she be though? Where had Shiro blasted her off too? Honestly, Shiro betraying the Paladins made little to no sense. Was he under Galra control? Was this why it had been so easy to gain his support on most things? None of the other Paladins had agreed to support him at the Kral Zera but Shiro had gone against everyone and even gone behind their backs to support him. He had never known Shiro before all this, so he assumed these disagreements were common between the Paladins. Allies did not always agree with one another, after all. He didn’t always agree with his generals.
The sensors were picking up on something – and it was a strong signal. It could be any of the lions but the fact that the sensors of this escape pod were going wild meant…something. He was not sure what just now, but he increased his speed in that general direction. His heart race increased as he caught sight of the Blue Lion and a small figure unconscious beside the lion and landed the escape pod there, stepping out, sighing. The planet was deserted, the sand flying around them, him having to press his foot firmly into the soft texture to avoid it from sinking in.
“It’s a pity that you have to deal with the fall out of constant betrayals,” Lotor said as he stepped closer to her, wondering if she would be able to hear him. “It is a sad reality when you keep putting your faith in the wrong people. My father, then Keith and now Shiro? They are not worthy of your faith, Princess.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek gently, feeling her shift at the touch. He had always felt she was attracted to him but her stubbornness, her fear of being hurt again kept her from admitting it. He pulled his hand away, examining how badly she was hurt. She would be easy enough to take with him but with Allura, he could not be certain. She was a lot more powerful than he had initially given her credit for. No, he would not make the mistake of underestimating her. But he also could not wait for her to wake because one of the others might still attempt to look for her. Coran wouldn’t be able to find him that quickly, but he also would not stay unconscious forever. This was complicated – he wasn’t weak, but neither was Allura even when she was injured and a one-on-one battle with her was not something he wanted to engage in right now.
He walked to her side, gently shaking her. “Princess? Are you alright?” He would have to play it safer than he had planned because if she came willingly, it would be a better option than having to battle her for it.
Allura slowly shifted, coughing, and opening her eyes. “L-Lotor? What’s going on? Shiro, he attacked us. I don’t know…” She winced as she slowly sat up and Lotor moved back, reaching out his arm to wrap around her shoulders. Good. She didn’t suspect anything – at least not yet.
“He attacked the Castle too,” Lotor told her. “I was in an escape pod, looking for you and the other Paladins since I got the news you were in danger, but I cannot seem to locate the Castle of Lions anymore.”
“I might be able to sense it…somehow, but Blue’s out of commission, I cannot hear anymore,” Allura admitted. “Why would Shiro attack us?”
Lotor shook his head. “I guess the leader of Voltron is something who no one should place their faith in. My father, Shiro and Keith have all seemed to fail at the position of it.” He silently thanked Keith for being the moron that he was because it had become a trend almost. He watched Allura’s face fall for a moment and quickly spoke up. “Princess, we should not remain out here long. I’ll use the pod to levitate the Blue Lion with us, but I have a place we will remain safe from the rest of the Galra. Without the rest of the Paladins, you are no longer safe out here.”
Allura nodded. “You are right, of course but where will we go? You were on the run from the Galra as well, were you not?”
“In our time together, I made a small place for myself in case things got out of hand,” Lotor said simply. “We are in a war after all. We don’t know when things will change.”
Allura slowly got to her feet, and he moved to support her since she was still a little unstable. Yes, this was most definitely the better way to go about this then revealing his true colours and risking a fight. She could beat him if she really wanted to, after all.
“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll pilot? You look like you could use the rest,” Lotor said gently and Allura took a seat, her eyes closing, and her breathing was shallow. It was clear that the attack had taken a lot out of her, which would prove to be an advantage. It was already starting to be as she passed out again from the extent of her injuries. This was going to be easier than he thought.