A special thank you to Steph ("Lady Chani") for permission that allowed me to use her "Cool On Your Island" plotline and go off on a tangent with it. Thanks Steph! ;)

CONTINUED FROM PART ONE (cause the stupid editor actually HAS a limiting capacity for text!)...

Once reaching the final fork along his path, he hesitated. To go left, he'd find Merla's private quarters, go right and he'd find the docking bay with ships within, just itching to take him out of this hellhole. Shaking his head at the stupidity of even thinking there was a choice, he ran right. Easily overpowering the unsuspecting guards at the bay entrance, he slinked around boxes and crates until he reached a small fighter craft. With his waning condition, he'd need the ship's weapons to defend himself rather than his skill. There were no guards to knock silly near this ship. Who'd guard a ship that's supposed to be guarding other ships anyway?! Hitting the afterburners, he gave the little ship full throttle and bolted upward, shooting out the roof as he did so.

Merla was quickly alerted to the escaping ship who took an unusual launch vector through the roof, but gave no orders to pursue. She even made an excuse to Lotor when he inquired about the situation and why an unauthorized fighter was leaving Doom airspace.

Keith, expecting an entire Doom onslaught, was bothered by what didn't exist. He was fully expecting a life or death struggle, not some smooth line away from the evil planet. Now strange questions formulated in his head. Was this Merla's doing? Was he capable of forgiveness? Did she have a reason for doing what she did besides defiling his image? Again, he sent the questions away. Time was a factor and he'd think about it again later. Right now he had a ship to fly and a fight with the old injuries he'd sustained. In the skirmishes, they'd worsened. With one last vector setting he programmed into the ship, he breathed a sigh of relief...destination: Planet Arus.

The little fighter arrived on Arus to a blare of alarms. Keith didn't hear them. Four lions intercepted the Drule craft and escorted it to a secured clearing near the castle. The lion statue overlooking the Arusian castle and landscape, emitted low growls, its eyes glowing brightly in the dark, starry night.

While Hunk and Lance, weapons drawn, stormed the cockpit, Allura glanced back at the proud lion statue. The active lions too, flashed their eyes.
{"Keith? Is it Keith?"} she muttered to herself, her heart beating in rapid anticipation.

Lance and Hunk emerged from the cockpit carrying a scantilly clothed form. Red streams coursed along the entire body.

Allura gasped. She recognized him immediately. "Is he--"

"No,but he's barely alive. He's lost an enormous amount of blood, princess and the wounds are numerous. He needs medical attention ASAP!" Lance replied, trying to remain calm, but losing it realizing he may lose his best friend. He and Hunk rushed him to the med bay. Under the bright lights of the corridor, Lance noticed bruises in the strangest places along his friend's body. Lance became extremely worried. Keith may not WANT to fight to live.

Allura and Pidge were kept behind to inform Coran of the situation. Lance didn't want Allura to see him in such a state.

Several weeks passed and Keith did fight for his life...an insistent, stubborn princess at his side, nagging him, no, ordering him to do so. While in his coma, he could've sworn he heard Allura confess her love for him, but he couldn't determine if it was reality or a haze of dreams. His physical wounds healed and fortune with him, left little trace of their existence. His mental wounds, however, were still open and festering. In his mind, he'd betrayed Allura, his only true love. Could he ever reveal what really happened to him to her? Would she think less of him? What about his friends and teammates? How would the truth affect them?

Keith's report to the Alliance and Coran was vague and unrevealing. It'd indicated torture and interrogation, but Keith cited his intermittent and failing consciousness as reason for his lack of detail.

Lance approached Coran and Dr. Gorma. All three had suspicions that the symptoms Keith now exhibited went much deaper than standard, brutal interrogation. Something just wasn't piecing together. Even Allura noticed Keith maintaining a distance from his friends that was even farther than when he first arrived on her planet. Once again, this young man was holding something inside. Time was the key. If left to fester, whatever it was could permanently destroy him, from the inside out.

During these several months, Allura approached Lance and gave the Red lion pilot the motivation to confront his closest friend and commander. Lance exited his friend's quarters bruised and bloodied, but he did manage to get Keith to open up and reveal the horrific act though Lance had trouble following him about climbing some active volcano, but that was typical Keith--always managing a way away.

Slightly eased now that it had been released, Keith found the courage to confront the others with the truth. He worded the tale carefully, not wanting to cause distress or discomfort to himself or the others. Coran asked him what actions he wished to take now since he had willingly withheld information from the Alliance, yet Merla could not go unpunished for such a horrendous war crime. Keith simply replied, "Forgive, forget, move on."
The others couldn't tell if he was directing that to himself, them, or both, but in respect for their courageous leader, they complied and let him lead them down whatever path he chose. They really didn't want to stress him any more than he already was. Time again, was the essence.

Still more months passed and Keith slowly began to find his old self. The only indication of the event still existing within him was the occasional nightmares and speedy efficiency of the team sending Lotor squealing back to Doom whenever he was dumb enough to attack. Merla remained unheard of until an unsually coded message was sent privately to Keith. Using classified recon codes, it translated,

It's a girl. I've named her, Tarrah. She secures the continuance of my empire and will free it from Drule sphere of influence. No words can define my apologies to you nor can any actions ever redeem me. I didn't want to deal with matters in the way I did, but alternatives were non-existent and time against me. It is war. As one warrior to another, you should understand though I never ask you to comprehend why. I just hope that some day, you'll forgive me and Tarrah will one day look happily, into her father's eyes.

Queen Merla

Keith switched off his personal comm console and desk lamp. For several minutes he just sat there, staring at the dark console, his expressionless mask hidden in the darkness of the room. Not even the walls could see the quick spark of pride in his eyes nor his final expression of understanding. It is 'human' to make mistakes. It is an even grander human to admit that mistake. And the greatest human of all is the one capable of forgiveness.