Chapter Text
“What are you waiting for? The universe is collapsing and you’re the only one who can undo it!”
Honerva yelled and pleaded, but her protests fell upon deaf ears. A grimacing Allura had her arms crossed, responding curtly with a “No. Do it yourself.”
“Only you can fix the damage and save the universe!”
“You came to that conclusion rather quickly. No. You do it. You sacrifice yourself to fix the mess you made.”
There was no attempt to broach an alternate path, no negotiation. Immediately, Honerva yelled out that Allura had lost her mind, and the Paladins, with Lance and Shiro the most eager, holding her and trying to throw her into the rift to her death.
“Let me go! I won’t die for her sins!”
A quick punch to Shiro’s face knocked him to one knee, allowing Allura to run, just as the universe began to implode upon itself.
“You are becoming quite stubborn in your refusal to accept sacrifice!”
“An unfair universe doesn’t…”
“LIFE IS UNFAIR!”
The bellowing of the red light greeted Allura as she once again sat upon the office chair in front of the two lights, each of which continued to implore Allura to sacrifice herself. This was the third time they had returned her to the end of her universe, and the third time she had patently refused to do a thing. What was unnerving to her though was that no one had bothered to think of any other situation, even the people she thought loved her wanted her to die. The first time, Shiro tried to hog-tie her. The second time, Lance tried to move her at gunpoint. And this time, all the Paladins, with the exception of Keith, who looked on, tried to haul her to her doom like a sack of flour.
“Do you know what I saw this time when I peeked in the hole?”
“Tell me,” the blue light said. She was still the more polite of the pair, even if it was clear her wits were nearing their end.
“A woman leaves a message for a man, about to go on a plane and never see him again, but she decides that she loves him. He thinks she flew away, only for her to realize that she did get off the plane and meets him at her apartment. And they kiss.”
“And you’re mad she doesn’t look like you.”
“She was a good degree…lighter,” Allura said, “but I’m not here to take away their happiness. I just want my own.”
“YOUR UNIVERSE DOESN’T WORK UNLESS YOU SACRIFICE YOURSELF, CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?!”
“Stop yelling R!”
“Sorry, I’m just…angry at her!
“Well, you shouldn’t be. We just want her to learn the meaning of sacrifice. She is a great woman who doesn’t need a man to be happy.”
“You’re right,” R said. “You, Allura, are a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to be happy!” This only earned a sneer from Allura, who turned away from the lights.
“Well, I don’t need to die to be happy either!”
The lights remained silent for a moment before R spoke again.
“We…may be able to do this in a way that is more palatable.”
“Does it involve someone else dying for me?”
“Heavens no,” R said. “We will put you in a situation where your sacrifice is a more palatable one. If you can accept your sacrifice there for the happiness of others, then your body in the main universe will perform its sacrifice, and the universe will be saved.”
“So, as the saying goes, ‘same droppings, different animal.’”
“Crude. But there is no escaping the inevitable.”
“Try me,” Allura said. With a flash of light, she was gone.
“We’re running out of time,” B said with a clear sense of worry. “If he finds out we have not completed the ending, we…”
“It won’t come to that. Allura will learn the meaning of sacrifice, and she will die.”
Allura awoke on the plane. She was heading to Paris, to start a new life, a new career. She knew it would hurt to leave behind all her friends, but the fact is, the going-away party had occurred days ago, and it was clear that she had a responsibility to her employer. Once the plane took off, there was no turning back.
So why did she keep thinking about Keith?
Sighing, she picked up the phone on the plane, dialed a number, and made a final call to get her feelings in order. Unfortunately, no one picked up, so she left a message.
"Hi, Keith? It's Allura. I just got back on the plane. And I feel awful. That is so not how I wanted things to end with us. It's just that I wasn't expecting to see you, and all of a sudden you're there and saying these things... And... And now I'm just sitting here and thinking of all the stuff I should have said, and I didn't. I mean, I didn't even get to tell you that I love you too. Because of course I do. I love you. I love you. I love you. What am I doing? I love you! Oh, I've gotta see you. I've gotta get off this plane."
Scrambling to her feet, Allura was pushed down by a stewardess, an older woman who, like her, had white hair. "Miss, sit down."
"No, you don't understand! I need to get off this plane!"
"Miss, SIT DOWN."
"No, listen! I need to get off this plane!"
"Think of your responsibility to the other passengers!"
"NO! I need to get off this plane!"
"But if you don't sit down, we can't take off!'
"I don't care!"
Pushing others to the side, grabbing her things, she headed for the exit, with the confused stewardesses unsure how to respond. Before anyone could say otherwise, she was outside of the airport, hailing a taxi to Keith's apartment. A maddening 40 minutes later, she was running up the stairs, walking in.
Did she get off the plane?
"I got off the plane."
Keith was listening to the message on his answering machine, and as he begged and pleaded for an answer, Allura appeared at his door. His expression lit up like the lights of a metropolis at night.
"You got off the plane..."
The pair immediately kissed, passionately, desperately.
"I do love you."
"I love you too, and I am never letting you go."
Time seemed to stretch on for an eternity, just the pair kissing and embracing. But before Allura could say another word, she was surrounded by the white again, sitting in the chair. She had numerous questions. Why was Keith the man in that world whom she loved? Was there something unsaid between the pair? Then again, in the other universe, the other Allura, the blonde Allura, ended up with Keith, a happiness R and B were insistent she was not allowed to have, in contrast.
The stern voice of R echoed.
"You weren't supposed to do that."
"If that was your best lesson at teaching me responsibility and to embrace dying over a happy ending, you failed," Allura said. "Not to mention, if you have the power to put me in that situation, then assuredly you have the power to have something else sacrifice itself to save the universe. How about Voltron and its endless wellspring of Quintessence? Or how about the witch that caused all this in the first place?!"
"It doesn't work without you making the sacrifice," B said. "You being in that position was...weird."
"Because of my skin color."
"Not because of your skin color!" B yelled. It was clear the accusation of racism was one she did not appreciate. "I think it was because we put you in a situation that was too narrow. We'll give you a much wider situation, one where you see that sacrifice is the only way, and it's certainly a preferable ending than forgiving Honerva. You don't have to forgive Honerva."
"You think this is about Honerva getting away with her crimes? Some of it is, but..."
"But this scenario should allow you peace. Just remember, your sacrifice will save everyone."
Allura vanished again, but the tones of both R and B lacked the confidence they had earlier.
"If this doesn't work..."
"It will! She'll see sacrifice is more noble than wanting a man to save her. Still, I didn't expect Allura to embrace the Rachel role."
"You keep assuming she'll sacrifice herself with a slight nudge. This will be a full shove."