Dharkwynd Castle: It was later that day, and Allura was sitting on one of the comfortable chairs on the balcony, admiring the view that the mountains gave her. She was no longer dressed in her VF uniform, but attired in one of the dresses in her closet. Lotor had insisted upon it. At first she had refused, but then reconsidered, seeing that perhaps if she cooperated, he would relent and let her go. Surely he knew he could not keep her here forever - everyone would be looking for her and someone would eventually find her.She felt a pair of large hands grasp her shoulders from behind, and without looking she said, "Hello, Lotor."
The tall prince looked down upon her golden head and smiled. She made such a pretty picture sitting there. He bent and kissed her head. He came around and sat beside her. Allura saw that he was handsome again, and wondered if he could really stand going through all that pain of changing. She felt guilty because he seemed to be doing it for her.
Lotor held her hand and said, "Are you enjoying it here, Allura?"
She gave him a wan smile and said, "Considering that I can't leave -'
Lotor frowned. "I want you to enjoy it here, Allura. Everything here is for you."
She sighed and looked out at the view again. "Everything but freedom."
Lotor took his hand, and gently turned her face towards himself again, "I don't want you to feel that way, my sweet."
She said, "How do you expect me to feel, Lotor? Love doesn't force someone to stay against their will. Love compels them to stay or to return."
Lotor smiled and said, "Do you feel compelled to stay, Allura?"
She looked into his eyes and said truthfully, "Part of me does, Lotor."
His eyes lit up and he said, "Then you do-"
She cut him off and said, "I said, part of me does, Lotor. It doesn't mean that I -"
He cut her off with a kiss. He slipped his hands around her waist and held her. He whispered, "If you would stay-marry me. I will give up my vengance upon Voltron. Please, Allura, I beg of you."
Allura was shocked. Lotor? Beg? He had never begged before.
She said,"Lotor, I have my responsibility to my people."
He drew back and said, "Your people! What about yourself, Allura? Are you going to wait until they set you up with some prince you do not love? Will you be happy with that?" He brought his face closer to hers and murmured, "No..I am the one who can make you happy."
Before she could protest, he kissed her again, this time passionately and she responded, feeling both guilty and thrilled at the same time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they stayed that way for at least an eternity until suddenly Lotor gasped in pain.
He jerked back and said, "Let me go, Allura. I'm -aggh!!"
Allura held on tightly to his neck. She said, "No! I'm not letting you go!"
He started to shake and she could see him changing before her eyes. He screamed in pain and still she kept holding him,feeling like her arms would break. He moaned, covering his face, and Allura kept holding him, murmuring, "It's all right, Lotor, I've got you..shh..." She started to weep, for she could feel his pain.
After a few moments, he stopped shaking, but she continued to weep. He raised his head and with his real hand gently lifted her face, streaked with tears.
He said gently, "Do I repel you so, Allura?"
She shook her head, "No, Lotor,I feel your pain. It hurts to see anyone - even you in such pain."
He looked at her wonderingly and said, "You have always been so tender, so compassionate towards others. I never could understand that-but I am glad that you are, Allura. Perhaps that is part of why I love you so."
Allura could see even though his face was the metallic skin of his surgery, the ghost of his former self still remained in him. He did love her and always would. Nothing would change it, and she would have to accept it.
Allura said, "I was wrong before- to say that you had no heart, Lotor. I know you love me and I accept that."
Lotor felt a thrill. She accepted the fact that he loved her at last! He said gently, "Do you love me, Allura?"
She looked at him and said, "I - I don't know, Lotor. I know that I don't hate you like I did before.."
Lotor sighed. It was a start and a long way from when he had first captured her long ago to make her his slave. He remembered attempting to kiss her when she slapped him and said she hated him. He remembered that after she was rescued, he was more determined than ever to have her for his own. That fact had never changed. Even though in the past there had numerous other women and his very brief "marriage" to Queen Merla, his heart belonged to Allura.
Whenever she refused him or rejected him, it felt as someone were stabbing him in the heart. Why he had never given up was beyond his comphrehension. All he knew was that she was the only woman in the world for him. No one else would do. No one.
Lotor said, "Well, that is a start, Allura." His hand gently caressed her face and he said, "No matter what happens, no matter where we may be, I will always, always love you, Allura."
Without thinking about his appearance, he kissed her gently, when suddenly, a voice interrupted them. "What a touching moment - Beauty and the Beast, eh Hagar?" Allura and Lotor both gasped and turned around to see Zarkon, leaning against the doorframe of the patio entrance,Hagar by his side. The old witch cackled, "It really is amusing, isn't it, sire?"
Zarkon smiled wolfishly and said, "Very."
Lotor bolted up and said, "How did you get in here,Father? I demand to know!"
Zarkon laughed and said, "You're right, Hagar, those surgeons did forget to put his brains back in - not that there was much to begin with!"
Lotor made as if to charge Zarkon, when suddenly he felt a bolt of pain in his head and was driven to his knees. He groaned in pain.
Allura rushed to his side and yelled at Zarkon. "What have you done to him?"
Zarkon grinned down at her and said, "I? Zarkon the great and noble philantropist? i have done nothing, dear Allura. Thank Hagar for that."
The old witch cackled, "Yes that elixir he drank is quite effective, isn't it?" She laughed with glee.
Allura held Lotor and whispered, "Lotor..are you all right?"
He gasped and said, "Yes, let go." She did and Lotor raised up to face his father and said, "So, you have found me. What do you want?"
Zarkon walked over to where both he and Allura were kneeling and said, "Want? Why I am going to take the princess back to her friends, and you, my metallic idiot, are going back to prison."
Lotor said, "I figured that."
Zarkon laughed and said, "You figured nothing, boy!" Soon, I will rule this universe again!"
Allura gasped and said, "But you - "
Zarkon cut her off and said, "What, my dear, I've turned good? No - I have merely adapted. You fools took it all in."
He laughed again. "You actually believed that I turned good!"
Allura cried out, "I knew it! I knew that it was all an act!"
Zarkon came over and lifted her chin roughly. "A lot of good that will do you now, Princess Allura,or your friends on Arus! "
Lotor said, "Leave her alone, Father, or I'll - "
Zarkon turned to his son and said, "Always defending her,eh? I see you still love her. Hagar said so. That was part of my plan and it worked!"
Allura asked, "What do you mean, Zarkon?"
He turned to her and said quietly, "Soon you will learn to show respect and obedience to me, Allura..but I will humor you for now. You see, Hagar cast a spell and my fool son took it, hoping to win your love with his new appearance. Of course, the spell is temporary and cannot be permanent."
Lotor's mind reeled. So it wouldn't matter if Allura loved him! He would still be his hideous self.
Zarkon saw the pain in Lotor's eyes and smirked. "I can't believe you actually believed her, Lotor!"
The witch said, "He's very gullible when in regards to the Princess, sire!"
Zarkon nodded his head in agreement and said, "Since Allura is here with you, no Voltron! Her friends have not been able to find her because they've been kept busy by my friend,Marshal Amalgamus."
Allura said, "Commander Amalgamus? But he would- "
Zarkon grinned at her and it was the evil grin she remembered from long ago. "My dear, Amalgamus is a robot. Do you happen to know where he was made at?"
She said, "At the GG Planteria Galactus."
Zarkon said, "Very good, Allura, He was assembled there but he was created by - tell her, Hagar."
The old witch moved forward towards Allura and said, "Amalgamus was constructed and created in my lab! I mixed his metal parts myself!"
Allura was horrified.
The old witch continued. "His parts were placed at GG Planteria Galactus by myself long ago, as well as his programing! His primary program was to serve GG, but he has a secondary program - a program that is activated by several words, "Nightshade, Doom's Dawn..Amalgamus serves King Zarkon now!" She cackled in glee. "King Zarkon runs Galaxy Garrison, hence the Alliance AND the Voltron Force!!"
Lotor was speechless. He knew his father's goodness had been a charade, but he didn't know that he had been planning this all along.
Allura said, "You're insane! The GG troops won't follow you blindly!"
Zarkon shook his head and patted her cheek. "Dear Princess - they will. Hagar has made a gas - a gas that cannot be smelled, tasted or detected. This gas was placed in a canister that was attached to the life support systems when all the GG ships were refitted two years ago. All I have to do is activate a timer switch. When the gas is released into the vent systems, all personnel in the ships will be tractible to my commands. As for the people on the ground, well I have some robeasts that will take care of them,and the lazon to do it with,thanks to my freakish son here! Thank you for keeping your silence, boy!" He laughed loudly.
Lotor raised up in anger and tried to lunge for his father when the pain came again. Lotor screamed and held his head.
Allura screamed, "Stop it!"
Zarkon laughed and said, "Oh, I'm not doing anything, Princess Allura. If my son would just be civil and stop acting so hostile."
Lotor ground out, "You're the one who's hostile, Father!"
Zarkon came up to his son and said, "When you are back in prison, Lotor, I will arrange for you to have unbreakable mirrors in your cell - all over - so that you will never lose sight of that pretty face of yours."
Zarkon turned to Allura and said, "As for your friends, Princess,they'll be the first to fight in my robeast tournaments on Arus."
Allura rose up and replied, Arus? You'll never get your hands on it!"
Zarkon took his hand, reached out and twisted her hair. She gasped in pain. Lotor tried to rise up and he was hit by a tremedous pain in his head again. He groaned in pain. Zarkon forced Allura to her knees again. He said with a grin, "I find I like you in this subservient postion, Allura.."
He jerked her head to where she faced him. He said, "Hagar hid some robeast eggs on Arus, my dear - all we need is the lazon from Lotor's hidden base to activate them. Of course, my friend Amalgamus is taking care of that. I will hold my tournaments at the Castle of Lions - my new castle - since Voltron had seen fit to destroy mine on Doom."
Allura was in shock. Zarkon in her father's castle? On Arus? No! She said, "The Voltron Force will - "
Zarkon jerked her hair again making her wince. "The Voltron Force will do nothing but fight my robeasts! And you will watch every moment of it, princess!" He looked at the shocked look on her face and smiled. Then he looked at his son and said, "Since you, my son - are a fugitive, a war criminal and a freak of nature - not to metion an utter failure..you are no longer my heir."
Lotor, despite the pain in his head, said, "Like I really care!"
Zarkon laughed and said, "Oh, but see I'll need a new heir - one who will be strong, sprited, yet will obey me in everything." Zarkon glanced down at Allura and said, "Well, my dear, perhaps I can bestow the honor upon you!"
Allura felt nauseated at the thought and said, "I'd rather die first." Zarkon merely laughed in amusement.
Lotor yelled, "I will kill you for that!" He lunged at Zarkon again, ignoring the blinding pain in his head. Zarkon yelled, "Hagar!"And Hagar flicked her wrists and Lotor passed out from his pain.
Allura, despite the hold Zarkon had on her hair, reached for Lotor. Zarkon barked, "Leave him alone!"
She yelled "No! You are the cause of all his suffering!" Lotor was coming to when Zarkon laughed and said, "You don't know how right you are, Princess!" He leaned over to her and said, "It was not Voltron who fired the fatal shot upon that freak's ship- it was I!"
Allura gasped. Zarkon fired upon his own son? Zarkon enjoyed seeing the look of horror on her face. He added, "And I arranged for his surgery, too! I had some Alliance doctors under my pay. When I found out there was a chance Lotor could live, I arranged the surgery. Don't you think they did a good job my dear? He's handsome, isn't he?" He laughed fiendishly. Oh he hadn't had such a good time in a long time!! It was so good to be so bad!!
Hagar interrupted him. She wasn't too thrilled about Zarkon paying attention to the princess. "Sire, we should be leaving for Arus now."
Zarkon straightened up and said, "Yes, we should,shouldn't we?"
Allura, still on the floor, cradling Lotor's head in her lap said, "We're not going with you, Zarkon! And I will - "
He jerked her up by the arm ruthlessly and said, "Youwill be quiet and do as you're told or would you like see Lotor's brains ooze out of his head? That elixir is in his bloodstream. If Hagar applies enough pressure, his brains will burst - would you really like to see that?"
She gasped in horror. This was no man. Lotor, even disfigured as he was,had more feeling than this monster could ever have!
She said quietly, "You're a fiend, Zarkon."
He smiled and said, "Why thank you, my dear, I will take that as a compliment! Now, you will fly this freak..." he gestured at Lotor, "and myself back to Arus and you will say nothing, do you understand me? I will tell your friends after my troops take over the castle - which they will do under orders of my friend Amalgamus."
He held his grip upon her arm and yelled to Hagar, "Hagar, you will fly my cruiser to Arus and activate the first robeast! By now Amalgamus will have the lazon. But don't do it until my signal, old witch. I tolerated your screw ups in the past, so you had better do this right!" Hagar grumbled something under her breath and left.
Zarkon released Allura's arm and said, "Now since the freak will not harm you, my dear, you will place these on him while he's incapcitated. (Lotor had passed out again) He produced a pair of cuffs which Allura recognized as Lotor wearing in prison. She hesitated and Zarkon said, "Hagar may be gone, Allura, but I still hold Lotor's life in my hands. Surely you have compassion, my dear! You are well-known for it! " He growled and said, "Put them on him! That is an order!"
Allura complied. Hate was in her heart for this tyrant, this one who killed her father. She had thought she hated Lotor, but she never hated him as much as she hated his father. She placed the cuffs upon Lotor and Zarkon said, "Good, you obeyed me." Zarkon turned his head and yelled "Guards! " Allura saw two guards in GG uniforms come in. They were not human! They were robots! Doom robots!
Zarkon gave them the order to place Lotor in the shuttle just outside. They complied quickly. Zarkon turned to her and said, "Shall we go, my dear?" He took her arm roughly and dragged her outside to the waiting shuttle.
To Chapter 10
To Cloak and Doom Menu
Beyond Denubian Home