Stardust (A Voltron Fanfic)

The Plan

Word Count: 1,216

There would be a parade to celebrate what would soon be a massive victory for the Galra empire in defeating Voltron, and I was to be the star of the show.

In the morning that followed my agreement to Lotor, he began his preparations to return to Faltris, and hours before I was scheduled to leave, I was escorted to a weird dressing room to change clothes under his orders for the "momentous" occasion.

I held the article of clothing in question up to myself, frowning, there was barely any fabric holding the thing together and I was surprised that it held itself together at all.

The only word I could come up with what I would be wearing to Faltris would be revealing.

It was an open-back lace dress, black in color, if I had it on, it would stop about mid-thigh on me. The plunging neckline would make it look like I had a little more than I actually did. Fighting for ten-ish years didn't really do anything but give lean muscle for combat, the rest wasn't as important.

I noticed with a slight frown that it only had one lacy sleeve stitched on and I realized it was to cover my injured arm, it looked a little out of place on the dress. The fancy flowers and intricate swirls would cover up the ugly, gash from view to keep me from looking like a horror while being escorted out on the streets.

"You must put it on." Haggar said, her voice low, sensing my sudden hesitation, "Lotor wants you looking nothing short but your best for this afternoon." Something in her tone told me she was about as thrilled about this occasion as I was, which was fine, I could care less about what she felt.

I glared at her, why the witch had to be with me while I changed, I had no idea, but she was beginning to get on my nerves. It wasn't like I was planning on slitting my wrists while her back was turned or anything.

Stripping down I pulled the dress over my head, moving the massive metal wings where they slid into the back and carefully, slipped my injured arm through the sleeve, holding back a cry when a sharp pain ran through it from snagging a tread on the sleeve.

I looked at myself in the mirror, disgusted. The color of the dress made me look even paler, the knee length boots I was ordered to wear stood out from my colorless legs, my purple eyes standing out from my face even more than usual. My hair had been washed clean, it now flowed over my shoulders in long brown waves, giving a bit of a softer appearance to my face. All-in-all, I looked better than ever, but there was an edgy feel about the whole get-up that just didn't sit right with me.

I noticed though, that the dress didn't quite hide everything, the poison had reached its limit on my hand, showing off black veins twirling around my fingers, but from a distance, hardly anyone would be able to tell that it wasn't part of the dress.

I forced myself to be still as I saw Haggar approach from behind me, placing a dainty tiara thing on my head, it's small gemstones glittering in the light as she positioned it on my head.

"You're ready." Her scratchy voice spoke from behind me.

I turned around, following the robed figure out the door, until I stopped, something caught the corner of my eye, forcing me to turn around to see what it was.

I caught sight of a worn box sitting in the far corner of the room, leftover scraps of fabrics hung out of the box, some already spilled onto the floor, but it wasn't what had caught my attention so suddenly.

Sitting on top of the pile of scraps sat the red, yellow, and white striped jacket that I had left in Red's cockpit what felt like ages ago, I had almost forgotten. It was Keith's jacket.

"What are you doing, child?" Haggar's voice sounded from behind me as I walked over to the box almost robotically, picking up the jacket, I slid it on, the sleeves slipping right over my arms, I hugged it close, taking in the lingering scent in the collar. It was all I had left of him, and if things turned out the way that I was certain they would, I wouldn't be seeing him again.

I slipped my hand into the pocket, surprising myself when my hand brushed against something cool to the touch. My fingers ventured even further into the pocket, slowly, and found a sharp edge.

It was Keith's knife. I must have put the knife in before I left with Shiro and the others to investigate Faltris and forgot about it since then. I guess somebody neglected to check the pockets before they threw it away.

"Taking something in case it's cold." I lied through my teeth, I wasn't about to leave it now that I knew what was in there, my voice sounded hollow, deprived of any emotion, which was good. It was convincing enough.

The witch cocked her head at my expression, taking me in with squinted, cold eyes, probably looking for any signs that I was faking it, or acting on her. Finding no such signs, she turned around, "Lotor expects you to be ready for departure in half a varga," she said, silently drifting out of the room leaving me alone with myself.

I nodded at the now empty doorway, turning back to what I had been doing, which was pretty much just me staring off into space. I fingered the dagger carefully, my hand falling over the handle, gripping it hard.

Some tiny rational part of myself was still screaming at me to stop what I was doing, that it was a crazy idea and I shouldn't even consider doing it. But I had a plan, and I was going to stick with it until the end.

In case I was wrong about the Marmora being there undercover to stop it before it was too late, I had one final trick up my sleeve. It was about as simple to me as it was hard.

If things didn't go well, I would wait until we were in the cave, I had no doubt that Lotor and Haggar would be beside me the whole time, making sure that the plan was actually carried out, then, when I had control of the stones before I lost my senses completely, I would re-collapse the exit, sealing Lotor, Haggar, and myself inside. I remembered Pidge's words about someone being in power of the stones would destroy themselves, and I was counting on that to aid me if things went wrong.

Something told me that Lotor wasn't aware of the circumstances after I had my hands on the stones, it would explain how eager he was to finally get the plan into action and bend me to his will. Well, I had a surprise for him.

I would take down Lotor, the witch, and myself, I would sacrifice myself for the good of the universe.

Kill two dangerous birds with one powerful stone.