When Allura came to she was lying on the cold metal floor. Her body throbbed with pain. It hurt even to think, but it was impossible not to. She was grateful that the lasers had only been set on stun. She was sure she was no longer at Castle Palddon. It felt like they were moving, and she dreaded to think where she was being taken. Her thoughts turned to Lotor. He had been struck several times by the laser blasts. She saw him lying across from her, hands bound with thick leather straps. His hair fell in front of his eyes and she was not sure if he was awake, but he did not move or speak so she thought he was not. Allura heard soft crying. She rolled over slowly and saw Ayli bound as well and lying on the floor. Her pretty ball gown had been torn, and her cheek had been bruised.
"Don't cry," Allura whispered softly. "Perhaps, there is a way out of this."
"I have a terrible feeling about all this," Ayli declared, fresh tears spilling over her face "They only took the three of us. There are no other prisoners! Why?"
Allura didn't know what to say to the young girl. She was frightened too. If only she had told the truth to Keith and the others. They would rescue them. It was a bad situation. Suddenly, she heard heavy steps walking toward them. She watched in horror as a masked guard strode over to Ayli and kicked her in the side. Ayli tried to crawl away and sobbed loudly. The guard just laughed and called to the others.
"Hey, this one's awake. What should I do?"
"Awww, shoot her again. I told you it took more than once to keep them out until we got back."
Allura clenched her teeth and fought back a shout as the guard raised his gun and shot Ayli in the chest. Ayli slumped back to the floor. Allura tried to close her eyes and pretend she was still unconscious, but the guard had seen her open eyes.
"So, you're up too. Well not for long." A shot rang out and there was darkness for Allura again.
After he was quite sure the Arusian princess was truly out, the guard strolled over to the prince and pulled the trigger of his laser rifle.
"Just one more time for good measure. Can't have you waking up and trying some grand escape. Wouldn't want to lose the king's prize, now would I?" the guard stated, laughing loudly. He walked out through the doors, and there was silence again.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lotor woke suddenly. He was in excruciating pain! It felt like liquid fire rolled over and through his body. He fought to focus his eyes and stay conscious. He needed to orient himself to his situation if he was to survive. He knew his arms were bound tight behind him, and he was lying on the ground. Sharp rocks poked through his clothing and bruised his flesh. He opened his eyes and surveyed the scene. There were guards everywhere. Doom guards! He was on DOOM! He could smell the familiar acrid scent of Doom's foul air and taste sulfur on the breeze. He saw the castle rising like a vengeful spirit in the distance. He rolled over and pain shot through him again. Stun lasers hurt more than most people knew. They not only stunned your body, the pain was so intense that even if your body could physically move the mind would not be able to handle the pain message and would shut itself down. That's where the real stun came from. Pain, and an overall weakness remained quite a while after the initial blast. Lotor turned over and saw Allura and Ayli lying face down in the dirt. They lay so still he thought they were dead. Both his precious angels were dead! Then, he saw the slight rhythm of breathing. Allura and Ayli groaned and awoke almost simultaneously, and he sighed in relief. His relief would be short-lived, however, for he saw a great throng of people moving toward them and he felt quite sure they were not coming to release them.
A guard stepped forward and announced in a loud voice, "Make way for King Zarkon of Doom!" Zarkon stepped from the midst of the crowd to stand only a few feet from Lotor.
"Well my foolish son! It appears as though your plans to overthrow me have failed! Did you honestly think you could go behind my back, steal planets, and try to capture my throne out from under me without rousing my suspicions? Well you were WRONG! No one defies me! Not you, no one! Now, all of these people will be present at your execution for high treason, and as an added bonus, I will get rid of Ayli and Princess Allura as well. Arus will fall to me and my power will be SUPREME!" Zarkon raised his arms as if to enfold the universe and laughed.
Lotor could bear the old tyrant no longer. He had threatened his sister and love. A low growl rose deep in the back of Lotor's throat, and he was blinded by fury. He rose to his feet and rushed forward to cast Zarkon from the cliff on which they stood. Zarkon was ready for the attack, he had sought to provoke it, and raised his golden scepter to strike down his son. Lotor stepped aside and took a glancing blow, but the force of the blow was enough to gash his forehead and send him tumbling to the ground. Blood flowed freely from the deep cut and across his face. He tried to rise again, but he had landed on his back and with his arms tied he could not push off to get up.
"You are nothing, father, NOTHING! Even if you kill me, the planets I rule will not bow to you. Someone else will take my place and lead them to crush you. You're reign is over! You don't know how easy it was to sway your own planets to follow me!" Lotor shouted, shaking with rage.
Zarkon frowned and seemed momentarily unsure. Then a slow evil smile spread across his horrible face. He reached down and grasped Lotor by the front of his shirt and pulled him up and forward. Lotor thought his father would finish him now, but instead the king clasped him in a tight embrace and laughed.
"After all you've done I'm actually proud! I've instilled something evil in you. After all, you plotted the downfall and subsequent murder of your OWN father, and it almost worked. My spies didn't find out until just days before you were to attack. However, without a leader your forces will NOT attack!"
Lotor wrenched himself free and spat in Zarkon's face. "You disgust me! I am sorry I ever tried to please you. I was so wrong to listen to your lies. You should have been drowned at birth. I should have listened to my mother's warnings!"
"Oh yes, your dear mother. I felt nothing more for her than you would feel for a worthless whore! She was a tool with which to achieve my goals, a pawn like yourself. I pushed her from this very cliff, and crushed that worthless necklace into powder," Zarkon informed his son. "And while I'm confessing at this moment of triumph, I killed Intaya too. She knew too much with that damnable Sight and I knew she would discover what I had done to your mother and tell you. I had thought then that you would be loyal and my successor, but you're really not up to it, are you?" Zarkon declared. Zarkon turned his back to Lotor and faced the crowd of guards, citizens, and the royal court.
Zarkon delared with a thunderous voice, "YOU WILL ALL BE WITNESS TO MY SWIFT AND TOTAL JUDGMENT! MY SON HAS BETRAYED ME AND IS IT TO BE EXECUTED FOR HIS CRIMES AGAINST THE ROYAL HOUSE OF KYLDARE!"
Zarkon reached down and grasped Lotor by the back of the neck and one leg and raised him high above his head. Lotor couldn't believe his father's strength! Hagar must have cast a rejuvenating spell upon him. Lotor struggled, but could not free his arms to stop his father from hurling him from the cliff. He looked and saw Allura weeping and Ayli staring mute in shock. At least now, at the end, he knew Allura really loved him. He closed his eyes in surrender and waited for oblivion.
"Heed well my words and never think to betray your king!" Zarkon warned and moved forward to cast Lotor down. He did indeed drop Lotor, not from the cliff as he had intended, but backwards to the ground. Ayli had rushed forward and struck the king in the legs causing him to lose his balance. Ayli tore at Zarkon's face with her hands and screamed in her mother's tongue. Zarkon quickly recovered and grasped her arm. He dragged her roughly toward the edge of the cliff. Ayli was too small to fight him.
"Don't try and resist me Ayli! You will die as your mother and sister before you! You may go before your brother if you like. I never had any need or love for you!" Zarkon claimed.
Lotor looked on in desperation. He had failed his beloved sister. There was nothing he could do to help her. Suddenly, he found his hands free and looked to see Keith peering down at him. He could have wept with relief upon seeing his most hated enemy.
Keith and Lance had discovered a coded message from the ship that had transported Lotor, Allura, and Ayli from Palddon to Doom. At first, they had thought it was simply a message about the many slaves Doom captured, but when Pidge had finally deciphered it the team had launched for Doom at once. It had been too risky to fly their ships so close to the place of execution. They had feared Allura would have been harmed if they had been discovered, so they set down on Doom far away from prying eyes, and had traveled by foot the rest of the way. They had witnessed all the events and had found it safe, only now, to act.
Lotor rushed forward with a loud cry and attacked Zarkon. During the attack, Ayli lost her footing and slipped from the cliff. She caught the edge with her fingers, but the ground was crumbling away. She could see the jagged rocks reaching up for her from below. Allura seized the moment of confusion and grasped Ayli by the arm. She could not pull her up because she was still too weak from the stun lasers, but she kept the girl from plunging to her death. Ayli dangled freely and grasped Allura with all her might. Keith and the others soon found themselves enthralled in a great battle with King Zarkon's men. They dove and ducked behind large boulders to avoid being hit by a blast. There were so many guards, and they were unable to get near the princess to help her.
Lotor struggled on the ground with his father. Twenty-five years of hatred had made him strong, despite his wounds and the lingering stun of the lasers. Lotor struck his father several times and red blood streamed from Zarkon's face. Then he wrapped his hands around Zarkon's throat and squeezed with all his might. He wanted to snap his father's neck and feel his life leave his body. Nothing he could do to Zarkon would ever be enough to avenge his family's pain and suffering. Zarkon appeared to be weakening when he reached into his robe and brought out a long dagger. He thrust forward and buried it to its jeweled hilt in Lotor's thigh. Lotor howled in pain and Zarkon managed to knock him backwards. Lotor lay on the ground bleeding and looked up at his cruel father.
Now, Zarkon held a sword, given to him by Hagar, and placed its tip against Lotor's throat. Zarkon applied light pressure and blood trickled from the cut. The sword was sharp, and any sudden movement would slit Lotor's throat easily. Lotor laid his head on the ground in defeat. Zarkon looked around to survey the battle. Keith and his courageous team found themselves surrounded by guards, outnumbered and out of options. Allura and Ayli both cried out in fear as Ayli started to slip from Allura's grasp. Zarkon had know this was the only way it could end. He raised his sword to end his son's life when he heard it. A loud roaring sound. Lotor opened his eyes, looked into the sky, and laughed. Everyone stared at him. They thought he had gone insane, yet he continued to laugh.
Zarkon and the others turned their eyes to the sky. HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of star cruisers and battle ships were entering Doom's atmosphere. The sky was thick with them and they blocked the sun from view. Everything stopped and everyone stared in awe. Lotor took his opportunity and grasped the blade of his father's sword, ignoring the bite of its metal and the blood flowing from his hand. He took the sword and rose to his feet. He put the sword to Zarkon's chest.
"You SEE father!" he said. "I told you I would take your throne from you. My followers are loyal and YOU ARE NOTHING! Your reign IS OVER! It has been too long in coming, but I finally have my sweet revenge. Perhaps, you are not so proud that you taught me so well."
Zarkon backed up in horror to get away, but his escape was impeded by a great boulder. Zarkon started to say, "I am your FATHER. You can't do this."
"No father, I CAN do this. This is when it ends." Lotor grasped Zarkon by the shoulder with one hand and with his sword in the other ran his father through. Zarkon sank to his knees and looked up in surprise. He had never actually thought this day would come. Lotor looked into his dying father's eyes, leaned close, and whispered.
"You made me a monster, so reap what you sow."
Zarkon pitched forward and the last of his life's blood spilled onto his son's boots. A strange look crossed Lotor's face and then a small grin of satisfaction touched his lips. He turned to help the others.