Subj: My Better Half 2 Chapter 6, Part 3 Chapters 1-6
Date: 8/18/99 9:10:16 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Kakyuu P
To: Samara9

Chapter 6:

It was very late evening, according to Doom standard time. All throughout
the day and now the night, the doctors struggled to keep the prince under
control. They finally inserted an IV line to continuously pump sedative
into Lotor's body. Still, he bordered on the edge of consciousness and
would moan occasionally, fighting weakly against the magic bonds.
Meanwhile, the king felt as if his brain was about to explode from the lack
of sleep. Hagar felt even worse; the efforts to restrain the prince
severely draining her. She certainly wouldn't be able to stop him again if
he was allowed to come out of his drugged state.
The doctors were still perplexed about the entire situation. Something was
altering the structure of each cell, down to the very DNA of the prince.
They couldn't figure out the mechanism behind this mutagen. It acted sort
of like a virus, then again, it didn't. Was it a chemical? They couldn't
even begin to formulate an antidote without knowing what it was. Witch
Hagar insisted it was magic, but in what form? Energy? Chemical? Plant
extract? What?
"You know, come to think of it Hagar," commented the king, "if he hadn't
lost all sense of reason, that kid would make a hell of a robeast with those
powers."
"I can't disagree with you, sire," Hagar replied in a fatigued tone.
"I just wish I knew more of what I was dealing with!" one of the doctors
suddenly proclaimed in frustration.
Hagar growled in silent turmoil. It was against her better judgement, but:
"Well, Doctor..."
"Jannick."
"Well, Doctor Jannick, I suppose I could let you...have access to my lab
work."

* * *

The Voltron boys finally arrived back at the castle shortly after sunrise.
"Man! Nanny's gonna be so mad at us!" Pidge said with a laugh.
"Ah, who cares? We needed a little break! So, what was the best?"
"That stupid new horror movie!" declared Pidge.
"The lovely dishes at the pub!" Lance gave a wolf whistle.
"The NACHOS!!"
"Leave it to you to think of that one, Hunk!"
"I like the new theater. They did a great job of blending it into the
surrounding old buildings."
"I liked the popcorn, too!"
"Ha ha!"
"You made your point, Hunk."
"Uh oh! Watch out, team," Keith warned, "Nanny's on the warpath."
"Hi, Nanny!" the boys said in unison.
"Und just vhere have you been?" she asked in a shaky voice. Keith noticed
that her face was very pale.
"Well," started Lance, "you see, it was like this..."
"I don't vant to hear it! I don't..." Nanny suddenly burst into tears.
"Nanny! Nanny, what's wrong?"
"We were just in town. We didn't..."
"It's not zat! It's not zat!" she managed through her sniffles, "Just come
in und talk to Coran."
They headed towards the control center. There sat Coran staring at one of
the computer consoles. His face shared the worried look of Nanny's. He
finally turned around. "Voltron force! You're back!"
"What's wrong?" asked Keith.
"It must have happened around midnight," Coran mumbled.
"What? Is Zarkon attacking?"
"No."
"What's wrong?" the boys asked in one voice.
Coran took a deep breath. "Allura's gone," he told them, "and so is Blue
Lion."

* * *

Just a few minutes away from the Doom sensors' perimeter, Allura prompted
Blue Lion's directional thrusters one last time, before cutting all power.
She should be invisible to detection now. She headed for a section of
wasteland just beyond the pit of skulls. Hopefully, the rocks and chasms
would give the lion enough cover. She opened the lion's emergency parachute
to slow her descent; she couldn't dare risk anything else. As Blue Lion
made a rather rocky landing, she kept asking herself what in the world she
was doing here, knowing that the answer lay at the castle in the distance.

About half a mile from Blue Lion's landing site, two figures met in the
darkness of Doom afternoon. One wore a green cape, the other a strange
hunting garb. The hooded cape hid a mass of black and gray hair, the
triangular felt hat lay on top of reddish locks.
"So, this is the place?" the red-haired asked.
"Yes," replied the woman in green.
"Very miserable."
"Indeed."
"Lifeless. Sunless. Ominous."
"It's perfect?"
"It's perfect! You sure the inhabitants won't pry?"
"No, I'm not," the black-haired woman said, "But think of it this way:
there's so much wasteland here. Why should they mind if you use just a few
square miles?"
"You have a point," the red-haired replied, "and if they do mind, I can
deal with them.

End of Part Two!


My Better Half
Part Three: Nowhere to Go

Chapter One:

"I could have sworn I picked up something on the scanner, sir."
"Where?"
"Well, it's gone now, sir."
"Must be an instrument malfunction. Have the computers checked."
"Yes, sir."

* * *

The lights from Castle Doom flashed in random patterns. The thick gray
haze swirled up the walls, eventually joining the circle of vultures at the
four-horned top. The Princess of Arus crouched in the dark shadows. She
could hear her teeth chattering, not from the cold, but from fear.
"What am I doing here?" she kept asking herself over and over. This was
insane; following a face in a mirror. She couldn't get into the castle, not
with all its defenses. Even if she could find a way in, what was she
looking for? For Lotor? Why? Why? But, she had to. She MUST get in
somehow. If only she knew...
"Okay, Allura, think rationally." Allura sorted through the thoughts in
her mind. "Who can get into the castle? Well, the warriors, the guards,
and the slaves. Can I pose as one? Yeah, maybe, but who's going into the
castle right now? No one, that's who!" She pressed herself closer against
the wall as a guard passed close by. "Maybe I could snag him. But, how
long is his shift? Would they let me in? Would they ask for a report? Oh,
this will never work!" Her head turned away from the castle, towards a
shape in the background. "Or will it?" She thought a little bit. She
smiled. "It might. It might!"

* * *

"Allura!" Keith hollered into his com link, "Allura, are you there?" Black
Lion was investigating the farther right side of the search field Coran had
devised, according to Blue Lion's exhaust trail. After hours of searching,
he still came up empty handed. Why are you doing this, princess? he thought
to himself. What makes you do these crazy stunts?
Yellow Lion pulled into view. "Any luck, Keith?"
"None, Hunk. Not a trace."

* * *

Captain Untor arrived in the infirmary and immediately inquired for the
whereabouts of the king. The assistant pointed to a chair near one of the
beds. The captain was momentarily taken aback by the king's extremely
fatigued appearance, but approached nonetheless. "King Zarkon?"
"WHAT?!" the monarch snapped back. "What the hell do you want, you
miserable excuse for a biped?"
This response made the captain nervously wring his hands. "Well, sir
I...uh just w...wanted to..." he stuttered.
"You worthless MORONS!!!" Zarkon bellowed. He glared at the quivering man.
"I should execute the lot of you!"
"But sire, I..."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"I just wanted to inform you that the scout team from Eko-Parm was back."
His voice audibly shook with terror.
"Well, let them in, you warped rotten maggot! Is that so hard?"
"But, you did tell me before that you wanted to oversee..."
"Are you in charge of the project?"
"Yes, sire."
"Then, get those slimeballs in here!"
"But, the report said you wanted to personally oversee..."
"I CHANGED MY MIND! Okay? Who's the king around here anyway?"
"You?" the captain squeaked.
"Very Good! Just for that, I won't kill you right away. Now, get out of
my sight!"
"But, what do I do with the scouts?"
"Send them to bed! I don't care!"
"But, the info..."
"OUT!!!" To emphasize his last word, the king threw the chair he had been
sitting in, just impacting the captain's left knee. Untor hurriedly limped
out of the room, a red trail following behind him.

Later, at one of the entrances to the castle, Captain Untor, still bleeding
through the makeshift bandage, quickly called in the last of the scouts.
The pain in his leg made him forget to record the identifications of the
men, but they were all there. Satisfied, the captain stumbled back towards
his quarters to get some medical attention for his wound. He passed the
last scout, not even noticing the stray golden curls escaping the confines
of the helmet.

-Kat

Chapter 2:

"I hate those bastards! I HATE THEM!!!" King Zarkon plopped back into his
new chair: "Oww! Damn it!" and was immediately back up again. After the
pain subsided, the king sat down more slowly. He looked to the side at his
son. Lotor seemed to finally be asleep. At least someone could sleep.
"What I go through for you, you brat," Zarkon murmured under his breath.
"Sire, we all need rest." Hagar yawned and approached the king's side.
"The doctors can watch over Prince Lotor, and I'll stop by later as well."
"I'm not watching over him, old witch. I could care less," the king
grumbled. Then, he noticed his hand was, for some reason, resting on his
son's hand. When did I put it there, Zarkon thought as he quickly removed
his hand and dizzily stood up. "All right, Hagar. I guess I don't want to
pass out."
"We'll inform you if his situation changes," Doctor Jannick told both the
witch and the king as they exited the infirmary.

"Where would he be?" Allura wondered. She had a computer map of the castle
pieced together from knowledge derived from the raids on Planet Doom. But
Prince Lotor's chambers weren't on the map. Only the main rooms were given:
the throne room, the torture chambers, the communications control, the
infirmary...
"I can walk, Hagar!" King Zarkon was approaching! Allura couldn't find
any escape, so she lowered the face visor and bowed in reverence to the
king. "Let go of my arm, you old witch! I don't need a nursemaid," Zarkon
continued. Thank heavens! They were walking past her. Oh man, her heart
was pounding from that!
"Sire, you're almost falling over," Hagar pointed out.
"I am not," he insisted, shaking free of her grip at last. But, Hagar soon
had hold of him again as he stumbled and just stopped the king from falling
forward.
"Ha!" she declared, "So, you don't need my help?"
"Hagar," he growled.
"You don't want to have to join your son in the infirmary with a broken
skull now, do you?" With Zarkon still grumbling in discontent, the two
walked out of sight of the disguised princess.
"The infirmary," Allura breathed.

* * *

The last assistant left the main room of the infirmary after switching off
the lights. The doctors connected the machinery monitoring Lotor's
sedatives and vital signs to their personal alarms, and they would take
turns monitoring for the rest of the night. If any change came to the
prince's condition, they would know immediately. The assistant nodded at
the guard as he took his place by the door. She yawned and started back to
her quarters. It had been a long day.
And the night would be even longer. Inside the infirmary, the prince still
struggled to regain consciousness. No matter how hard he tried, the drugs
thwarted his efforts. Then somehow, perhaps a small fluke in the machinery,
the flow of tranquilizers was slowed. It was soon corrected by the doctor
in charge, but not before Lotor's eyes opened slightly and a smile crossed
his face. Someone had heard his cry for help. Someone
would...help....him....esc.......

-Kat

Chapter 3:

The alarm clock kept buzzing. No matter how hard he hit the damn thing, it
kept blaring on. He tried smashing it with his shoe. But, it reformed and
danced across the bed stand, its voice as strong as ever. "Shut up!" he
screamed at the annoying clock. Then, he realized he was asleep.
Doctor Jannick finally woke up, figuring out that the sound he heard was
not an undying alarm clock, but his personal alarm again. He had already
altered the prince's drug flow once during the night. It was probably
another fluke. He slowly got out of bed, carrying his small beeper with
him.
Upon reaching his desk, Jannick plugged the beeper into the computer. He
punched the readout for the drug flow. "That's funny," he murmured, "All
seems to be in order." So, he proceeded to check the other readouts... "Oh
hells!!"

* * *

Allura heard the warning alarms throughout the infirmary. Thankfully,
there was no one but that guard at the door. The micro-needle patch for the
IV lay dangling off the side of the bed. Allura was working on the magical
bonds when she heard a groan. She removed her helmet and bent to look at
the awakening figure.
"Ohhh..." Allura watched as the prince moved his head, shaking off the
sleep. What was he doing in the infirmary? And chained up as well? The
bonds looked like Hagar's handiwork, but why?
"Lotor?" She dared to reach out a hand and shake his shoulder. "Lotor,
wake up!"
"Wha...?"
"Lotor!" I can't believe I'm doing this!
"Doing what? Huh?" His eyes opened. He looked at her. "You!" He smiled
at her. She was the one! She had heard his cry for help!
But why was she suddenly afraid? Allura had backed up when he smiled and
reached for her blaster. Oh, why was she so foolish? If this was a trap,
she had walked right into it! Lotor tried to sit up, but couldn't because
of the bonds. He looked at them. It took a little effort with the drugs
still in his system, but he heard the satisfying snap as he broke the
restraints with his powers. With that, he sat up to get a better look at
his rescuer. But, she seemed to be even more fearful of him than ever.
"Why are you afraid?" he questioned. He could see her memories; a man
chasing her, holding a glowing sword to her throat, threatening her...HIM???
"Do you know me?"
The fear changed abruptly to confusion. "You don't...know who I am?" she
asked him.
"I don't remember ever seeing you before."
"You are Lotor, aren't you?"
"Yes, that's my name. What's yours?"
What was wrong with him? First, he performed a magical feat by
deactivating the bonds, then he seemed to be suffering from some sort of
amnesia. Something's very wrong with him, Allura thought.
"What's wrong with me?" Lotor looked at the young woman, studying her
face.
"Can you read my thoughts, too? What's happened to you, Lotor? What have
they done to you?" Lotor just stared at her, trying to remember. Allura
looked into his cat eyes. But...she looked closer. His eyes! There was
white around the edges of his eyes! What the...?
Lotor was also looking at eyes. Those crystal blue eyes. Blue eyes...blue
eyes...gold hair...gold...gold...so pretty...and who are you, my pretty?
"A..."
"Lotor, you're changing!"
"llu..."
"Your eyes, they used to be..."
"ra?" He looked at her for some response. He saw it; her eyes had
widened, and he felt her recognition. "Is that your name? Allura?"
"Yes," she whispered. So, he did remember her. She took a deep breath to
help her think. "Okay, you called out to me?"
"Yes."
"You needed help?"
"Yes! I need help! Someone has trapped me here! They say they know me,
but I..." He shuddered, remembering his fight with the old woman. Then,
that person...Father? But, it was so horrible to be here! It felt like
death everywhere! "I want to leave!" he told her.
"Leave?" Leave his home?
"I can't stand it here! If it is my home, I don't remember! I don't know
anyone or anything! Allura, please help me! I know you will, please!"
Realizing that time was probably short; they would soon find out the
communications throughout the castle had been disabled by the princess,
Allura decided to trust him. She stuck the helmet back on her head. "All
right, Lotor. Come on!" She extended her hand to him. "We're getting out
of here!"

-Kat

Chapter 4:

Doctor Jannick came tearing down the hallway just as Hagar was approaching
from the other direction. "Your Highness! The life signs of the prince
have been suddenly cut off. It's like someone severed the IV connection..."
"And someone has broken my magic bonds!"
"I tried to call for guards, but..."
At this time, a guard also ran to the king's chambers. "Sire, the control
panel for the intercom communications has been destroyed! So have the
back-ups!"
"QUIET!!!" Zarkon yelled at the three. What a way to wake up!
"But, sire..." Zarkon grabbed the disobedient guard by the throat and
slammed him against the wall.
"WHAT???"
"*Cough* We have a saboteur!"
"A saboteur?" Zarkon dropped the guard to the floor and turned to the
witch.
"It must be Prince Lotor," she declared, "He has escaped! There's no other
explanation!"
"Call the infirmar...no...(no intercom), get a team down there! Bang on
all the door if you have to. IMMEDIATELY!!" Zarkon then returned to his
chambers to get dressed.
As the doors slammed behind the king, Doctor Jannick turned to the witch.
"The prince sabotaged the communications equipment? I find that hard to
believe, Witch Hagar."
"Well, who else could have done it? He broke free of my magic bonds, thus
he must be conscious."
"But, his IV drugs and level of consciousness were steady until the point
that the connection was severed."
"Your point being?"
"Someone else must have pulled the plug. But who? And why?"
"You know what I think?" asked the witch.
"What?"
"I think we need to stop speculating and find out for ourselves who's
responsible." The witch then turned to head to the infirmary.
"I couldn't agree more," replied the doctor as he followed. Soon
afterwards, the king reappeared and, with his personal guards, started
towards the infirmary as well.

"They're coming." Progress was slow for the princess and prince. He was
still slightly incapacitated, barely able to walk without running into the
wall or Allura. She finally gave him her shoulder to lean on as they tried
to find a way out of the castle. The princess had hit yet another dead end
when Lotor made his supersensory announcement. This new bit of news was not
something she wanted to hear at this moment.
"Where are they?" she asked him.
The prince was silent for a moment, his eyes looking up. "They're above
us, heading down a staircase."
"Not that one in front of us?" she questioned.
Lotor looked at her as they both began to hear footsteps. "Yep," he
replied.

-Kat

Chapter 5:

"Stop where you are!" came a voice from the stairwell.
"Oh no..." The princess looked around and found no escape save down the
lone corridor, which ran right into the stairs. Behind them was only a
window, and that was at least twenty stories up. Allura pulled out her
blaster, wondering if there was any way they could run past the stairs
before...
The first soldiers came into view. "Shit!" she whispered under her breath.
They both backed up against the wall. "You don't happen to have any
suggestions, do you?" she asked Lotor. It was then she realized that he did
not seem to share her concern. Instead, he looked at her and smirked.
She felt his arm go around her waist. "Hold onto me," he told her.
"What?!" She felt herself tremble slightly.
"Hold onto me," he repeated. The soldiers were now running towards them.
"STOP!!!" they yelled at the two. Allura had no other choice but to do as
Lotor said. She wrapped her arms around his back. He now held her tightly
with both arms and started to lean back...
Out the window? "What are you do...AAHHHhhh!!!" Allura's stomach did
somersaults, the helmet flying off of her head and the wind whipping through
her hair, as they fell down...down...up? They were rising! She opened her
eyes and stared at Lotor, who was still smiling at her. They were now
hovering a few stories below the window. Soldiers stared, flabbergasted, as
Lotor took them both farther away from the castle.
"So, where do we need to go?" he asked her finally.
"You can FLY?!" Allura clung tightly to him, her cheek pressed against his
chest, still not believing her own eyes.
"Of course."
"But...but..."
"Is there somewhere we can go?"
"But...I...yes! Yes, go right a little, then straight across the
wasteland. My ship is out...you can FLY?!"

"What are you staring at?" yelled Doctor Jannick as he approached the still
stupefied soldiers. "Why are you looking out the window?"
"They went out the window," said one of the guards.
"WHO?!" demanded the monarch.
"The...the prince and...someone else. I couldn't see who..."
"They JUMPED?! But, the window is at least..."
"They didn't fall, though. They...flew."
"FLEW?!"
"OHHH!" the witch groaned in anger. Of COURSE an elf would be able to fly!
"GET A TEAM OUTSIDE!"
"Now he's escaped!" continued Hagar. "Now what'll we do?"
"WHO HELPED HIM?" bellowed Zarkon.
"We couldn't see the face," replied one soldier, "It was covered by a
helmet. Then, it was too dark outside.
"From the scream, I would guess it was a woman," another soldier chimed in.
"A woman?"

"I'm ge...getting..." The prince's magic was taxing his already depleted
strength. They were flying slower and closer to the ground. "Getting
tired..."
"Hang on, Lotor. It's just ahead. Over that ridge. There!" Blue Lion
came into view. Allura's feet were scraping the dusty rock in the ravine
where the lion resided. She stumbled as Lotor powers finally gave out, then
rose to her feet and looked around her. "That's odd," mumbled the princess.
"I don't remember seeing a forest here the last time I looked, let alone
anywhere on Doom." Yet, there were trees, popping up out of nowhere a short
distance away from the wall of the chasm. She turned to Lotor, who lay on
the ground, his eyes open and glassy.
"Are...are...are we...?"
"We're here, Lotor, thanks to you."
He smiled weakly. "Nothing to it," he stammered out. With some effort,
Allura managed to get Lotor inside Blue Lion. She lowered him carefully to
the floor and placed a spare blanket underneath his head. He looked at her
as his eyes were closing. "You're...so...beautiful." Lotor fell asleep.
Allura felt herself blush. She watched the prince to make sure he was only
sleeping, then activated Blue Lion and quickly prepared to take off.

* * *

"Princess!! Where have you been?" Coran stared for a moment in disbelief.
"And would you mind telling me why you're dressed like a Doomanian soldier?"
he asked.
"Well, Coran," Allura started out, "it's a long story." She disappeared
from the hatch for a minute, then reappeared half carrying the unconscious
prince.
"Princess! Who is...WHAT THE DEVIL?!"
"Uh, that's an even longer story, Coran."

-Kat

Chapter 6:


"Would you care for something to drink, Prince Lotor?" Coran knew at least
he'd need something strong to deal with this very odd situation.
"Well," said Lotor, "I suppose..." But, as Coran opened the bottle, Lotor
smelled the scent of alcohol, "NO! Uh...no, thank you." Coran eyed the
prince for a moment, then shrugged and poured one glass. He downed it in
two seconds.
"By Jove, I needed that!" he declared, wincing slightly at the burning
taste of the alcohol. Oh, what a day! The princess suddenly disappears,
then a day and a half later reappears. And who with but their enemy Prince
Lotor!
But, he had changed so much. His skin was no longer the tint of a Drule
but an ivory color. His eyes, after he awoke, were found to look human,
with a circular iris and pupil. His ears were still similar, but they had a
finer point to them.
And what of his lost memory? Lotor had awakened in the presence of all the
Voltron force and Coran himself, and the only one he was able to recognize
was the princess. Scans of the prince's brain indicated that a great number
of his memory storage sites were, for some reason, inaccessible to Lotor.
They were still there but somehow were pulled away and replaced by new empty
ones. It seemed like half of his entire memories was dislodged by this
process, while the other seemed unaffected. His brain also seemed to have
increased in strength, the mental pathways becoming hyperactive. Enormous
amounts of energy were detected in his mind, known to be associated with
supernatural power.
It was a good thing that Lotor's amnesia and new magic abilities could be
scientifically explained. Keith looked about ready to kill Lotor, and Coran
himself was skeptical, thinking it was a trick. Princess Allura went
through a great deal of explaining, about her leaving in Blue Lion
unannounced to her "rescue" of Prince Lotor. Apparently, Lotor had sent a
signal to the princess, asking for her help. How could she deny a request
for help, Allura had explained. Coran wasn't altogether convinced that that
was the only reason for helping the prince, but how could he say? And what
could he say to this...elf, as he called himself?
"Okay, Prince Lotor," Coran started out, "We need to talk." But, what
about?
"I don't know."
"Pardon?"
"I don't know 'what about.'"
"Oh." That's right, thought Coran. He can read minds. He probably knows
quite well that people here think of him as a threat.
"Yes, I do," Lotor responded.
"A word of advice, Prince Lotor: only respond to what we speak, not what
we think. If you have to read our minds, keep it to yourself. It's...it's
just confusing to us non-mind readers."
"I'm sorry." This confrontation made Coran feel so weird. Lotor had
changed so much. He still acted similar to the old Lotor. That was
evident in the clinic when the prince first threw Keith's drawn gun, then
Keith himself across the room with his mind powers. But, at least he was
listening to them instead of trying to blow them up. He seemed to have more
respect, only acting in self defense, but...oh, Coran didn't know. He was
just so confused by the prince's appearance and actions. Lotor was
listening. The Prince of Doom was listening to others, and actually asking
for help from the enemy. And the princess was willing to protect him? How
could Coran make sense of this?
"All right, Lotor, you know that we think of you as a threat."
"Yes, but I don't know why."
"You can't remember?"
"No."
"And, you can't read the cause in our minds?"
Lotor paused for a minute. "I'm sure I could," he began, "but..." He
remembered what he had sensed from Allura. He had attacked her? Lotor
hadn't attempted another deeper mind probe since his encounter with Allura's
memories. "I don't know if I want to. I know I want to know what's going
on, but the memories are...disturbing."
"I understand," Coran told him. "Well, you know that we're going to be a
little antsy about trusting you."
"Yes."
"So, I suggest that you be careful of how you act. Don't start, you know,
levitating objects or people or otherwise showing off your magical
abilities. At least, don't make a habit of it. Since you don't prove much
of a threat so far, and you are here under, as it were, amnesty, I'll let
you have a free run of the castle and surrounding outside. I would suggest
you be accompanied by either myself or perhaps Princess Allura, if she feels
comfortable with such an arrangement."
"No problem with that," Lotor said, hiding a slight smile.
"Don't give me cause to change my mind about this," Coran warned, and he
received a head nod from the prince. "And another thing: do you remember
the others you saw in the clinic?"
"Uh...Keith, Hunk, Paige, and..."
"Pidge, actually."
"Pidge and Lance?"
"Yes. I would suggest you be extremely polite to these four. They really
have a grudge against you. Especially Keith, whom you earlier..."
"But, he had that..."
"I know. I know. Just be respectful. Don't upset them. They've been
through a lot; trying to find the princess, then discovering that you were
here. They're still peeved by you, so just watch out."
Lotor shrugged. "Okay," he said.

-Kat