Five horses and their riders set out that afternoon for much anticipated fun and relaxation. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge headed up the parade. Allea sat side-saddle with Keith on his white stallion, bringing up the rear. Allura rode apart from the group, off to the side. Keith kept half an eye on her and half on Allea. He didn’t like the idea of Allea riding side-saddle. She was too likely to fall, especially if they were to run into an ambush and had to make a quick escape. But she couldn’t really straddle the horse with what she wore.

Haggar peered out from under the cover of her hood. They had regarded her curiously when she insisted on wearing the heavy cloak, but she had reassured them she was prone to chills when breezes took up. She had to tell them something; she could hardly admonish her natural disdain for sunlight – that would raise suspicion.

She fought to keep her thoughts on the task at hand. Tonight, she would lure him away from his friends and put an end to Voltron. But why wait? This was the perfect situation in which to get him alone. He was relaxed and wouldn’t be expecting anything.

“Commander, I need to ask a favor. My home has been left alone since my injury, and well, I’m starting to worry about it. Do you think we could check on it on our way to the picnic?”

“Sure,” he replied swiftly. “I need to talk to you about something anyway.” He pulled out a small com unit. “Lance, Allea and I will catch up. We’re going to check on her place…see if it’s still there.” He winked to let her know he was kidding.

“Roger,” came the response from the other end. “You two take your time.” The transmission went dead.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Lance likes to be difficult.”

She pointed left. “It’s off that way.”

They rode for a while with only the Arusian countryside to keep them company. When several kilometers were behind them, Keith silently concluded that it was indeed good fortune he stumbled across her that day. This distance was already too far to travel on two good feet.

“How’s that ankle today?”

“Better. Thank you.”

“Allea.” He swallowed against his nervous stomach. “Why are you so quiet today? You barely said a word at breakfast. Is it about last night? I’m really sorry. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable.”

She wanted to forget about last night. As far as she was concerned, it never happened. And what actually did happen? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, I rather enjoy being in your company.”

A silent minute passed. “Allea, without sounding too presumptuous, you know that…I can’t commit to anything right now.”

“What do you mean?” For her own amusement, she would enjoy watching him stumble.

“Allea, you are a beautiful girl…sweet…smart…but you and I…we can never be.”

“Why not?”

Keith shifted a bit in the saddle. This was a difficult conversation to have with someone you had your arms wrapped around. “My position here on Arus is dangerous. It is dangerous to me and dangerous to everyone I know. If Zarkon and Haggar ever found out about…us, they would stop at nothing to get their hands on you.”

“What if I told you didn’t bother me?”

“It would bother me.”

“Captain?” she asked. “Do you enjoy my company?”

He avoided her steady gaze. “Allea, there is something about you that seems very familiar to me. Whether it’s your face, your eyes, your laugh - I’m not sure.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“If you would have waited for me to finish, I was about to say yes, I do enjoy your company.”

“But you enjoy being with me because I seem familiar to you?”

“No,” he sighed, now becoming exasperated. “You’re beautiful, and you’re an amazing girl…uh, woman. You’re only seventeen, but you take care of yourself without any help at all, and considering the…misfortune you’ve had in your life, that’s amazing. You’re pretty and…”

“You already said that. Is physical attractiveness a reason to like someone?”

“Of course it isn’t. See? You’re so difficult, yet I can’t seem to get enough of you. Maybe because you’re just so different from most of the women I’ve known.”

“How so?”

“Well, you constantly ask questions, which means you’re curious. You’re intelligent, funny, charming…” He paused. “Why am I even doing this? It’s all irrelevant anyway.”

“I’m intelligent?” Haggar could almost be sucked in by his idle compliments. It had been a long time since she had been granted any. All Zarkon and Lotor ever did was insult and degrade her. But then again, his compliments were meant for Allea, not Haggar.

“And there’s something else, in your eyes. It’s like you have a certain knowledge that others don’t, a wisdom of sorts. Does that sound weird?”

Haggar faced him, shocked, but hiding it well. “No, that doesn’t sound weird. I can’t say I know why you would think that about me, but it’s nice that you do.”

Keith only nodded, and they did not talk for the remainder of the ride.

“Over there,” she pointed. “It’s just through those trees.”

“I’m surprised you live so far out here by yourself. You don’t mind being alone?”

“I’m comfortable being by myself.”

“I know what you mean.”

Keith helped her dismount, but she did not immediately release him. Instead, she focused her witch’s sixth sense and listened. “You have an old soul. Did you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your soul; it has wandered the Universe for many lifetimes.”

“How can you tell?”

“Your aura is very strong, very bright.” She trailed off, her expression falling slightly. She leaned in closer and closed her eyes. “But your soul is also troubled. I can hear its call. It is searching for something.”

Keith couldn’t help but be lured into her trance. It seemed to surround him, and he could barely get out a whisper, “What is it searching for?”

“Peace,” she said, and she closed the distance between them, her body now brushing against his.

In that brief instance of silence, their hearts and bodies seemed to fall into a rhythmic synchronicity. He felt her warmth, the rise and fall of her chest with his own. Keith never became aware that the birds had stopped singing, or that the wind had ceased to blow. He could hear, see, nor feeling anything but that which was right in front of him. The moment seemed almost magical.

Keith hadn’t made the conscious effort, but his hand reached out to caress her face. She moved with his touch, and they seemed locked in an invisible embrace. Neither one could back away, but neither wanted to. Seconds seemed like hours. Finally, he moved toward her. It would do no good to fight it. The moment had taken him, and he wanted to take her with him. She met his intention, and he could feel her breath on his lips.

And then there came a crashing noise from inside the dwelling, knocking him to the ground. He quickly jumped to his feet, drew his weapon, and protectively moved in front of her, guarding her with his free arm.

“Who’s there? Reveal yourself!”

He braced himself as a small form crept slowly from the dark interior of the hut toward the door. A tiny, white animal crept out of the shadows.

“Oh, great! I almost shot a cat.” His stance relaxed as he replaced his weapon. “Are you okay, Allea?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Haggar loved her cat, but this might be unforgivable. She just about had the Voltron Captain. All they needed was to kiss, and his soul would have been hers. And yet…something strange happened when her soul entangled with his in that it left her feeling euphoric somehow. How could this be? He was a mere mortal. Mortal in form perhaps, but his soul was not of this plane, and that she knew for certain. The smell and taste of him was desirable, almost addictive, and she wanted more of it…she wanted to possess it. Change of plans. Now, she had every intention of taking him with her.

“Does this little guy belong to you?” Keith walked over to the small, white kitten and snatched him up.

“He, uh, hangs around. Sometimes I feed him.” Haggar couldn’t believe that Koba was letting the Voltron Captain hold him. Koba was her familiar and knew her enemies well.

“It looks like he missed you.”

Haggar held out her hands, and he reluctantly handed it over. “Pretty cat. I used to have one like this when I was a boy.”

Haggar suddenly became disoriented. Touching his soul for just that moment had completely drained her. She dropped Koba, and he ran into the bushes.

“Allea, are you alright?”

A new wave of dizziness swept over her. “Oh, no. Not now.” The ground beneath her began to give way, but it was too late to do anything. She reached for him as the blackness came for her. Then she slept for three days.

Keith was finally beginning to feel his usual self. This was the first morning he actually felt like conducting morning practice since it happened, but Allea had awoken earlier in the morning, and she was responding well to the doctor. She said she couldn’t remember much but feeling tired right before passing out. Keith wrecked himself over the entire event, wondering if and how he had caused it. Nights, he even heard her crying for him in his dreams. The whole experience had been maddening.

But this morning brought the answer to his prayers.

“Ready to form Voltron! Activate interlocks…Dynotherms connected…Infracells Up…Megathrusters are…”

A high-pitched alarm sounded inside Black Lion’s cockpit.

“What’s the matter, Keith?”

“I’m not sure. Give me a sec.”

As usual, Keith remained calm, systematically checking his gauges. His eyes widened when he noticed the thruster combustion level. During formation, it should be functioning at a ten-fold level. It was currently giving a negative reading. That could only mean one thing - a breach in the combustion chamber.

“Abort formation! I repeat, abort formation and move away from the Black Lion! Go! Now!” The Black Lion began to shake violently.

“Keith, what’s going on over there ?”

“Voltron Force, move away from the Black Lion. That’s an order!” Keith was trying to drop the chamber, but it was too late.

Lance sensed the unusual panic in his Commander’s voice. “You heard him, team! Let’s go!”

“But, Lance…!”

“He gave us an order, Allura! Retreat immediately!”

Keith could see the four lions withdrawing on the monitor, and he spared an extra instant to make certain the Blue Lion was clear. Turning back to his control panel, he realized it was too late to stop the explosion. He reached for the ejection switch, and his world grew dark.

Haggar flipped through a book she had seen Keith reading on the observation deck. “Tales of the Ancient AstroKnights and TigerFighters.” It was mildly interesting, but her mind kept going back to what had happened.

The experience, although pleasant, had been harmful to her. There was no doubt that his soul was that of the good spirit world; that was why it had rejected her, drained her. But it was harmful like Tyrusian wine - bad for the mind and body – feeling so good at the time. So very good that she had to taste it again. Who would have guessed that a mortal could have such an effect on her?

Suddenly, she heard and felt an explosion that seemed not far off. Her gut filled with an instant dread, pulling her from her thoughts. No doubt this was Zarkon coming for her. Her reality had finally caught up with her, and she would soon have to make her escape. She knew it had been inevitable, but now that it was real, it was more regretful than she anticipated.

As she ran to the window, her current concern was replaced by a new one. In the distant sky, she could see one of the robot lions falling to Arus faster than it should have been. Haggar looked more closely. She could see smoke streaming from the lion’s head as it fell limply toward the ground. She strained her eyes to see which lion it was, and her heart sunk. She closed her eyes and began to mumble something in another language, that which only witches know. When it was done, she exhaled. Her spell hit its mark, just before Black Lion hit the ground.

Pain.

Voices…but whose?

Bright lights.

Confusion.

Panic.

So tired.

A woman crying.

Darkness.