Disclaimer: Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.
Author’s Note: This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC’s here and there, as while I like Princess Allura’s character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, “Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!” And that’s when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.
Opposites Attract,
"You may be a hellcat, but sometimes you really are like a kitten, in some respects," Lotor raised his countenance and peered at her with a sort of sobering joviality, "I have always considered you an intelligent woman, Allura, but the levels of your naiveté never cease to amaze me."
She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. "What do you mean?"
Laughing to himself once more, he casually stepped away from his chair and stretched his towering body. Allura shrank away slightly, which Lotor noticed, so he deliberately slowed his movements so as not to spook her.
"Okay, let's suspend everything for one moment... Why do you suppose that Voltron always seems to defeat my fleet?"
"Because... we're the good guys?" Allura formulated hesitantly, like a student struggling to answer a complex problem within a classroom.
"No!" his long, white main flew out slightly as he whirled around to face her, "It's because of me! I let you win. Think about it - do you think it just coincidence that an old-as-hell robot time and time again thwarts the as of yet undefeated military power of the galaxy? I must admit that the technology with which Voltron was created is truly superb, but it's even more outdated than Haggar is. I've defeated planets that had more sophisticated defense systems than the one you currently possess, trust me, so why should you be the exception to all of this?"
"Because... we have justice on our side?"
"No, again! Justice has nothing to do with it! What makes the difference is who has the bigger guns!" Lotor exclaimed impatiently as he spread his hands out in exasperation, "It is not by chance that my fleet comes off as incredibly inept regarding your puny, floating rock in space; there is no such thing as coincidence! I am a seasoned fighter and my record is excellent, so I don't think my edge would all of a sudden be dulled for absolutely no reason at all. I also don't have my father repeatedly jump down my throat over this whole affair because I like it or I think it's particularly good for my health. On top of that, I don't like to lose! So there has to be another explanation for all of this. And what do you think it is? Come on, just take a guess."
"Because... you're evil?" Allura tried a third time.
Lotor smacked himself on the forehead and sighed, irritated.
"Okay... Aside from all of that, I don't even really care about Arus. It is very beautiful, but it's more of the line a thorn that's been stuck up my father's ass for years, not mine. We have minerals and wealth enough. If I had wanted to, I could have turned your planet into nothing but a pile of rubble by now, but I haven't, so there has to be another reason why I'm constantly losing, on purpose, to Voltron. Since I evidently have to spell it out for you, it's because of you. That's right, you. I have, much against my better judgment, allowed a woman to distract me from my main objective."
"You just wanted my people for slaves, and probably me as a bed wench," she laughed hollowly.
Lotor ceased in his movements, staring at her incredulously. Allura hastily gathered up her dress in her arms, preparing to bolt, when he strode towards her once more, but he simply bent down until he was face-level with her.
His gaze piercing through her own, he said quietly, "Do you honestly believe that?"
Strongly contrasting with her earlier innocence, she squared her jaw and replied staunchly, "Yes... In fact, I do."
Squaring his own jaw line, Lotor locked horns with her head-on.
"I will admit that was what I first intended," he insisted adamantly, "But do you really think that I would willingly make a mockery of my military career with that goal still in mind? I've said it once, I'll say it again - I could have burnt Arus to the ground already if I had chosen to, but I didn't," Lotor then whispered fiercely to her, "And if I had simply wanted to fuck you, and nothing more, I would have done it by now! But I haven't, because I wouldn't do that to the woman I was in love with! Now tell me to my face again that that's all I want of you!"
"But, but, but...!"
As it was intended to do, his sudden and vehement statement left her with her mouth hanging open, unable to devise either a good sentence or a competent rebuttal. Satisfied, Lotor rose back up onto his feet and retook his seat.
Opposites Attract,
Meanwhile, Allura remained rooted to her bed, statuesque, as her mind still reeled from the ferocity of his brief speech. ...Could he be telling the truth? No, he couldn't possibly be... He was Lotor, of course... But then again, why would anyone argue so persistently for a lie like that unless it was the truth? It didn't make any sense to her... and was she really that naive?!
"Why do you go about it the way you do, then?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"Because, I don't what else to try," Lotor explained gently, "You will not come to me willingly, even though there is something there, so I must do this, instead. I know it is not the kindest way, but I've always felt that you would change your mind in the end. I've already told you, I only have the best of intentions for you."
Her tone slowly regaining its steadiness, Allura managed to reply wryly, "Generally, a woman reacts better to a potential suitor if he's not the scourge of the universe."
He seemed to be able to relocate his usually ever-present smart-ass smirk, as well.
"Well, I'd send you flowers, but Doom doesn't really have a real ecosystem. I'd send you gifts, and I have, but I think your... governess?... would trash them first. Hell, I'd even serenade you, but frankly, my dear, I don't really have the talent for it."
Allura almost collapsed on her bed from the mental image of Lotor at the bottom of her window with a guitar, singing his heart out while pushing Keith's struggling head away with one hand.
"What, this coming from a man who usually gets told 'Stop!', 'No!', and 'Don't!'?"
"Well, I have been told that before...," Lotor mused, rubbing his chin as he feigned deep thought, "But I think you have it backwards; I've always gotten 'No!! Don't stop!!'"
Allura fought to keep a straight face, but it was a difficult as a crooked smile threatened to break through her carefully constructed defense. Shaking her head, she was about to reply with a snappy come-back when she all of a sudden inhaled a deep intake of breath, wincing, as she gingerly rubbed the back of her neck, which was now mysteriously sore; she had probably been sitting in an upright position for far too long. Lotor noticed this, of course.
"What's wrong?" he inquired, concerned.
"It's nothing... Oh, god... Ow...!"
"Here, let me help," he offered as he ignored her remark, promptly leaving his seat and going towards her, "Lay on your stomach."
"Look, it's okay!" Allura protested, "It's just-"
"I said, lay down."
His voice was solicitous, but it was edged with some of his old authoritativeness.
"Fine!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she humored him, "I still don't see any reason to- OhmYGoD!!"
Allura's eyes rolled back into her head as Lotor lightly straddled her backside and brushed her hair aside, digging his hands into the back of her neck.
"Now, since I've answered your questions, more or less," he spoke nonchalantly as he proceeded to rub her both overly-sensitive and overly- tense shoulders, "I want you to satisfy one for me. I already know what the answer will be, but I more of the line want to hear you admit it to yourself - how do you feel about me?"
Biting down on her lip to stifle the moan of pleasure that was threatening to slip out, she only heard about half of what he said as she practically writhed under his powerful grip. She felt as if she had exploded into a cloud of pure, uninhibited bliss; toiling away under Nanny's stern tutelage, doubled with the responsibility of running a planet and constantly evading enemies, one of whom was giving her quite an excellent massage, was enough to give anyone huge knots in their muscles. And hers were un-kinking away into blessed nothingness. Lotor's hands were considerate, gentle, even (when he wanted to be, at least), but they also remained oh-so-deliciously firm and overwhelming. Finally, she regained enough of her scattered bearings to at last reply to his question.
"WEll, uH, I DoN't REalLy KnOW hOw tO ANSweR ThaT...," Allura faltered, one of her blue eyes bugging out as she dug her nails into the blanket she was lying on top of, "YeS, I wILl AdMiT, I'M... (ugh) aTtRActed to yOu. ThERE, aRe YOu haPPy? DoES tHaT INFlatE YOur EgO eNOUGh?! YoU HaVE ABSolUteLy NO iDea hOw guiLTY tHAt mAKEs mE FeEl...," she then added, "LoVE thE HaIR, thOUgH!"
By now, Lotor had worked his way down to her mid-back.
"That's good," he reasoned, "I knew that, but... that's still good to know." His tone sounded like it was prodding her on, nonetheless.
"UM... YoU alSO ScArE ThE HEll Out oF ME."
This time, it was Lotor who paused.
"I knew that, too," he frowned, "But that's... not good."
"Hey, who told you to stop?!" Allura demanded, pounding the bed brattily with her fists (hey, she's a princess! You have to cut her some slack).
A smirk slid across his features as his golden eyes glinted mischievously.
"I cannot begin to count the amount of times I've gotten that, too," the Drule prince chuckled in a toned down version of his usual arrogant laugh, "Sorry, love, but it's done," he fluidly dismounted the bed, which bounced back to its usual rigidity, but not before casually copping a friendly, good-natured feel, which she chose to ignore, "This one was a freebie. I charge for extras, and... well, yeah," he laughed once more, "I take it you've never had a massage before? It sure as hell felt like it."
Pouting cutely, Allura briefly straightened herself out as she reluctantly rose up from the bed.
"No, not really," she scowled, but then abruptly smiled, "You know, Lotor, for being the spawn of evil incarnate, you make one very unlikely masseuse."
Lotor shrugged his broad shoulders and flushed a dark blue, momentarily looking boyish, "Aw, shucks... Well, I'd give you my card, but I think you already know where I live."
"Right...," she trailed off knowingly, tactfully choosing to change the subject yet again, "Since I guess we're both bearing our all to each other right now, I might as well ask - why me?"
Opposites Attract,
"What do you mean?" he asked quizzically, arching an eyebrow as he twisted his head back to face her again.
"Come on! I mean, of all the people in the galaxy, why did you choose me to pick on and stalk on and so forth? Why-?"
Holding a hand up to halt any further criticisms, Lotor's eyes narrowed slightly as he addressed her defensively, cutting in, "Pick on? Hold on, I'd hardly call romantic coercion 'picking on'!"
"Is that what you like to call it?" Allura replied humorously, her musical peals of laughter filling the room, "Oh, yeah, it's really won me over! Keep up the good work!" when her laughter finally died away, she added gravely, "Seriously, though, why?"
Shrugging helplessly, he gazed pensively at her for a moment, "You know, I have asked myself that time and time again... I don't really know. Opposites attract, I suppose... When I first saw you, you were beautiful, no doubt about it, but I was an asshole then. I like to think that I've changed somewhat, so don't you even think of inserting some sarcastic comment in there. I thought I'd easily be able to conquer your feeble, little planet while having my fun with you, but you made things quite difficult for me... Either way, you put up a good fight, you intrigued me, and the rest, as they say," he said coolly, "Is history."
She sat cross-legged on her bed, a thoughtful expression on her face as she absorbed what he said like a dirty bathroom rug.
"I'm glad that we were able to sit down and talk civilly without you trying to kidnap me or me screaming my head off," Allura spoke meditatively as she refocused her attentions back on him, "But now that we're pretty much through with this... what now?"
Lotor sauntered over and bent down to her level when he got there.
"I don't know - why don't you tell me?"
Allura was momentarily taken aback.
"What makes you think that I'd know any more than you?"
He opened his mouth, but as he was about to say something, he abruptly changed his mind and sighed.
"Allura, you know what I want. I'm in love with you, and I always will be; I have never been so adamant about anything in my life," he told her bluntly, his intense gaze boring into her own, "But love is useless if it's not reciprocated. I know that you do not feel for me as I do for you, at least not yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed in the meantime; I wouldn't have... stalked... you this whole time if I had thought otherwise," he exhaled heavily.
Still seated upon her bed, Allura's eyes clouded over. Her hand reached out and lightly brushed his cheek in perhaps the first touch she had ever willingly bestowed upon him short of slapping him.
Lotor inadvertently realized the importance of her action, and his large hand came up to cover own as if to preserve the memory, his azure skin tone contrasting with her fairness.
"I know that in the past that I demanded this, but I'm asking you now - will you marry me?"
"Lotor, you know that I can't," she said solemnly, her voice edged with... regret?
True to his nature, though, he hardly flinched. Instead, he smiled slightly, almost sadly, as if he expected her answer to be that all along.
"You know that I will always love you, Allura, even though I will never quite know exactly why myself," Lotor murmured to her gently, "And you would never want for anything... Your planet would be saved... You have built it up marvelously from the ruins it was before, but you cannot keep this up forever, facing the likes of the Empire..."
"And you are the future head of it," Allura replied in a soft tone, "It is not that you offer isn't tempting, don't get me wrong, Lotor, but there is no way it would ever work out. I would never be able to willingly submit myself to the very thing I am trying to save my people from and look myself in the face again, not now."
Although his attention immediately sharpened on the phrase "Not now," the Drule prince's eyes hardened slightly.
"I will admit, I have done things that I have even reveled in, but I cannot change the past; I am what I am."
"But you can change the future!" she countered despairingly, "Nothing is ever set in stone!"
"I don't know, Allura, but you are right... Time is a fickle thing."
Allura appeared almost relieved. Relaxing, she withdrew her hand, which Lotor reluctantly let go of.
Meanwhile, he looked at her once more as he said, "You know that this won't dissuade me."
However, instead of sounding like a threat, the statement resonated of an endearment.
Smiling her beautiful smile again, Allura surveyed him with what seemed like a new outlook.
"I know... but we'll see," she hinted lightly, rising up from the bed, "I must admit, you have grown on me, even that dumb-ass smirk of yours."
The same said dumb-ass smirk resurfacing across his annoyingly immaculate features, Lotor kept his peace. It killed him to no end to not do something, anything, to sweep her off her feet to his, as Allura put it, own stinking planet, but something told him that tonight had gotten him surprisingly further with her than any of the myriad plots he had ever hatched. A lot further. And so he stilled himself.
"Someday, I hope we're going to look back at this together and laugh," Allura remarked off-handedly to herself as she casually stretched her arms over her head.
...Me, too, beloved, me, too...
Opposites Attract,
Lotor gradually rose up from his stooped position and tried to pop his back; it had been a while since he gotten an opportunity to move his stiff limb muscles. Stealing a quick peek at Allura's watch, he saw that it was 2:30 AM. So, two and a half hours had gone by already!
"I know that Haggar's drug put us both through hell, but you especially got nailed by it pretty hard. It's a bit late to be saying this, but I'm s-," Lotor carefully sounded out the word he hadn't heard or used for a quite some time, at least towards her, "I'm s-orr-...I'm sorry for what I did... and for everything else."
"What?" Allura asked, swiftly turning to face him, amazed that she even heard that word come out of his mouth.
It was like hearing Pidge suddenly asking, "What's a computer?"
"You heard me. I'm...sorry," he replied awkwardly, running his hand through his white mane.
...Man, this nice guy shit is not easy!!...
Giving her jaw time to close, Allura smiled at him.
"I forgive you."
Now it was Lotor's turn.
"What?!"
"You heard me, I forgive you," she repeated, and then proceeded to say something even more surprising, "Actually, I'm glad that you were stupid enough to go through with your plan... yeah, it sucked, no questions asked, but... I like how it has brought us closer together, although not quite in the way that you wanted. It's... nice; now I can see that you do actually have a heart."
"Thanks...," he said dryly.
"Well, what else did you want me to say?" Allura shrugged helplessly.
Lotor stuck out his hands as if he were reading a headline, "How about... 'You are a god, and I absolutely must have you! Let's elope!'"
"Or how about... 'Lucky for you, I'm starting to change my mind about you, so get your ass out of my room before I sic security on you!'?" she responded witheringly.
"Gotcha," he agreed, not wanting to press his already bountiful luck as he began to meander his way to her window.
Allura couldn't help but smile yet again. He always seemed to know when to make her laugh, even when it was totally unexpected.
Pausing for a moment, she suddenly received a wicked idea. The sheer audacity for what she wanted to do pressed tightly against her, but Nanny probably wouldn't have approved of it... which made her desire to do what she wanted to do that much stronger. Shrugging her shoulders again, she thought 'What the hell?' and stepped towards him. Everything else was going out the window, anyways.
Lotor's saffron gaze fixed on her once more, confused as to why she was willingly coming near his presence.
"What are you up to, woman?"
The question was almost suspicious.
The princess stuck out her bottom lip in her best "Who, me?" look, but she dropped her playful expression as she neared him. Her cerulean eyes played host to a strange combination of hesitancy, mild fear, and even some enjoyment at what she was about to do.
"Lotor, I wanted to thank you for releasing me earlier," she spoke slowly, trying her best to look him in the face, but as always, he towered over her, making her feel dwarfed, "You were not compelled into doing it, but you did it regardless. Thank you."
Without warning, she hauled herself up on the startled prince of Doom by hooking her hands around his neck and covered his mouth with her own in an impulsive, sensual kiss, well, as impulsive and sensual as she could make it.
Lotor's eyes abruptly rolled back into his head in shock; never had Allura done anything even resembling this to him of her own free will! This was a freaking milestone!! He felt as if he would faint!
Meanwhile, Allura was still latched onto him, giving him all that she could within a reasonable context. She did gradually become aware of his hands going down, down, down towards her waist and parts beyond as it probably registered in Lotor's brain that a woman was in front of him. He returned her kiss with even more passion and fervor as he tightened his grip on her.
...Dear god, he is in love with me!..., she thought incredulously to herself as it suddenly dawned upon her, ...You can tell just by the way he touches me!... Why didn't I see this before?...
However, a certain, little thing shattered her mind-numbing revelations, and as she quirked a blonde eyebrow, she soon discovered what it was.
"What?! What is it?!" Lotor asked, bewildered, when she separated from him, dashing the mood to pieces.
"Lotor, please kindly remove your hand from my ass," Allura ground out sweetly.
"Oh," he replied, unabashed, as he peeled his hand from her pert bottom, "Sorry."
Allura would have rolled her eyes, but a sudden voice floating through her bedroom door interrupted her.
Opposites Attract,
"Princess, are you alright in there?! We heard voices coming from your room!"
Judging from the tone, it could be no one else but Keith.
"Shit!!" Allura swore quietly to herself as she disengaged herself all the way from Lotor, "What am I going to do?!"
"Lotor isn't in there, is he?" Keith asked loudly, his question reeking of suspicion.
Meanwhile, Lotor himself tensed up, his eyes narrowing as he prepared for yet another onslaught with his absolute favorite person in the universe next to his father. Fortunately, Allura thought more quickly than he could leap into action.
"Uh, I'm talking with... Romelle, yeah!! She stopped by for a surprise visit, didn't you, Romelle?" she cried frantically, elbowing him in the ribs.
Lotor looked at her like he wanted to ask, "What the hell do you want me to do?", but upon seeing the panicked expression befalling Allura's face, he sighed and smacked himself on the forehead.
...God, the things I do for love...
"Oh, yeah, hi, Kogane- I mean, Keith!" Lotor, at his beloved's urging, raised his voice to a ridiculously high falsetto for a man of his size, "How are you?? Me and Allur- I mean, Ally were just picking out clothes to wear to the next ball!! Tee hee-"
His career in doing impressions was cut pitifully short when Allura smacked him across the head.
"What did I do?" he hissed towards her, "I did what you asked!"
Allura glared at him as she whispered, "Romelle does not sound that ditzy!!"
The alien prince did nothing but chuckle quietly to himself.
But evidently, Lotor's scintillating portrayal of her cousin was enough for Keith.
"Hi, Romelle!!" he greeted her cheerfully, still on the other side of the door, "How's Sven? Can me and Lance come in and see you?"
"NO!!" both Allura and Lotor, this time forgetting to speak in his falsetto voice, broke in.
"Oh..." the intrepid commander of the Voltron force trailed off disappointedly, "Well, then... carry on. I guess we'll see you in the morning."
Only when
the sound of Keith &
As the two men strode down the hallway, Lance tiredly proposed an intriguing question, "What do you suppose Romelle was doing here so late?"
"Who really knows?" Keith yawned, the effects of the double shot espresso he imbibed earlier wearing off, "All that I can say is that I never really noticed how much her voice sounds like Lotor dressed in drag."
Lance grunted in ascent before they separated for their respective bedrooms.
Meanwhile, back in her bedroom, Allura was hurriedly pushing Lotor's unwilling mass towards her window.
"You've got to get out of here now!" she shouted in alarm, heaving against his greater weight, "Who knows when he might come back here?!"
"Fine... I can take a hint," Lotor muttered with ill grace, crossing his arms indignantly, "I'll go."
He began to walk towards the window himself, but his unexpected movement almost sent Allura sprawling.
"You know exactly why you have to do this," she moaned, extracting herself up from the floor.
He turned around and winked impishly at her, "I know. I just like to give you a hard time. You ought to know that by now."
She smiled again, despite her rampant consternation.
Lotor reached over and gently touched a wisp of hair that had escaped her bun.
"I know that this meeting of yours started with a bad beginning, but perhaps it has the potential for a better future," he stated quietly.
"Oh, fine...," Allura rolled her eyes impatiently, "I'll see if I can set up being 'stranded' in Blue Lion, or something. Maybe. Just don't make me have to use the stun gun I keep in there."
"You'd do that?" Lotor's eyes lit up as he spontaneously kissed her on the mouth, "Oh, that'd be great!"
"I said maybe!!" she repeated vehemently, but he acted like he didn't even hear her as he practically floated out the window and into his hovering fighter.
...Geez, he's still as dense as ever...
Shaking her
head, she slowly followed his path of travel towards her window. It was still
dark outside, but the outline of the Lotor's sleek craft was evident against the
skyline. Leaning against her windowsill, she watched as he waved briefly at her
before beginning to rise towards the sky. Belatedly, Allura realized she still
possessed his blanket and his fighter's control unit, souvenirs from her foray
out into
Finally, Lotor's ship disappeared altogether, and Allura was left standing gazing meditatively out into the blackness. What had just happened... seemed to have happened in a crazed whirlwind of random insanity. Her and Lotor... on speaking terms? It couldn't be. And yet it was.
...Oy, what am I getting myself into?...
Could what he had said come true? Lotor had shown that he was capable of kindness. It didn't seem likely, but... looking at just what happened...
She would need time to sort out her jumbled feelings towards him, of course. She did not know what the future would hold, either, but in a freak, parallel universe, if the circumstances changed... would they...? Just thinking of the possibility frightened her, so she ceased in rambling musings. But as she gazed out into the rippling waters of the castle lake, the darkness did not seem to be as dark as it used to be.
Opposites Attract,
Tiredly wiping his sweaty brow with a large hand, Zarkon slumped against his throne with a loud thud. His heart was still racing like a lab rat's from his recent trudge from the arena to Castle Doom, and he had been nursing a terrible headache for the past few hours that was just now starting to fade away. He hadn't been this weary since... well, never! All week, he had been busy, all week... sloughing through robeast shit, cleaning out their stalls with a pooper scooper that could barely hold a golf ball, let alone the refuse of one of Haggar's mutated beasts... All of this the result of the mischief wrought by the white powder Lotor had blown into his face.
...Lotor!!...
Zarkon's jaded, cat-like eyes narrowed until they were nothing but burning slits in his countenance as his listless state was suddenly replaced with thoughts of his impertinent spawn. And they weren't very nice ones, either. His hand curling into a tight fist, he slammed it vengefully against the arm of his throne, narrowly missing the pointy end of his golden scepter. Lotor was a dead man, no doubt about it. What he had done last week was nothing short of digging his own grave.
He had had to suffer indignities and humiliations that no man of his station should ever have to suffer through. For days on end, he worked his hands to the bone in that stinking pig pit, and although he was conscious of every movement he made, he, for some reason, couldn't stop. It was as if the very thought of the boy being unhappy fueled his undesired actions. But what the hell did he care about Lotor's feelings? The whelp was merely a tool...
"And my wittle bittie baby!" Zarkon suddenly gushed out of the blue in an over exaggerated fatherly pride, his pupils morphing into heart-shapes, "And I'm his daddy! I wuv him so mu- what the hell?! Damn it!!"
Violently shaking his head, he jolted the last of the ...drug's?... influence free as his eyes shortly returned back to normal; from time to time, he was still forced to endure temporary bouts of insanity induced by the blasted substance, whatever it was. Hopefully, they would go away soon.
...They had damn better well!!...
Another minute of him acting bipolar and fawning over his offspring seemed unbearable. Just thinking about it made Zarkon want to stick his tongue out in distaste and puke his guts out. It just... just... wasn't him. And what would everyone think if the all-powerful Lord of the Doom Empire suddenly became a slave to his boy's whims? He would have to institute more mandatory public whippings just to keep the fear factor level the same around here!
...Ah, Alfor must be laughing in his grave, wherever he is..., Zarkon grimaced as he momentarily thought of his formal rival, ...First, his daughter sticks my son's head so far up his ass he can't see daylight, and now... well, look at me!...
Ever so slowly, Zarkon's pent-up rage had continued to grow and fester as he vehemently declined any help offered to him by puzzled onlookers while he was pitching robeast crap over his shoulders with the ridiculously tiny pooper scooper in hand. Why had they been puzzled? Because he had been performing the duty reserved for the lowliest of slaves. But after his adamant refusals, they had simply shrugged their shoulders and went on with their business, obviously accustomed to the eccentricities of their monarch.
However all encompassing his wrath towards Lotor was, though, it was, oddly enough, offset with a grudging admiration. He was still pissed off as hell, but what the kid had done had taken guts. He had spunk. Zarkon hated spunk, though, at least when it was directed towards him. The boy would have to pay, alright. Big time.
Perhaps Haggar could do something to counteract the effects of whatever it was that had been blown onto his handsome self. He vaguely remembered the witch twittering inanely about some emotion-reversing potion she had concocted a couple of weeks ago. Could this drug be the one and the same? Probably. Knowing Lotor, he could have swiped it or blackmailed it off of Haggar in yet another no-brainer ploy to get in between the sheets with that damned princess. Or to knock off his old man in some way. Who really knew?
As if reading his thoughts, a familiar, stooped form abruptly materialized out of the darkness, scaring the crap out of him, as usual.
"I really wish you would stop doing that...," Irritated, Zarkon greeted his advisor as he massaged his temples with calloused hands.
"Oh, poor baby, does Zarkie have a boo-boo?" Haggar simpered condescendingly as she neared him, gripping her staff in a feigned concerned manner.
"Didn't I tell them not to let you in until you were finally housebroken?" he retorted errantly, trying unsuccessfully to wave her away.
If his statement had bothered her in the least, it didn't show, for she laughed as if it were the funniest thing.
"Eeheeheehee! If there's one thing I've always loved about you," cackled Haggar, winking at him impishly, "It would have to be your crass sense of humor."
"Well, I'd tell you to shove your wand up where the sun don't shine," he sneered, tucking a few strands of imaginary hair behind his webbed ears, "But if I remember right, you left the batteries out this time, and I know how much you like those." He sent a curt smirk towards her, making it obvious where Lotor got his infamous half-smile from.
"And you'd know that, wouldn't you, stud muffin?" she snickered, looking unfazed.
"Damn it, quit calling me that!!" Zarkon shouted in frustration, but immediately regretted it as his pounding headache returned with a vengeance, "It feels like I have a freaking hangover!"
"You are almost fortunate Lotor didn't do anything else to you," Haggar pointed out a bit more seriously as she bent down to scratch behind the ears of her ever-present familiar, who had appeared just as suddenly as his mistress.
Zarkon felt another inner pain akin to the one in his head that felt like a robeast and Princess Allura's governess sumo wrestling in the recesses of his brain. "You have got to be kidding me! You knew about that?"
"Well, just about everyone saw you cleaning up after the robeasts, Sweetums," she explained, fluttering her eyelashes and standing back up as her blue cat rubbed his head against the hem of robes, "And what man in his sane mind would willingly do that?"
Sourly leaning back even further into his throne, the Drule monarch curled his lower lip in disgust, "Well, I suppose there's nothing that can be done about it now, other than to order the executions of everyone who witnessed me... doing what I did, but I'm too tired to do even that... And geez, I thought I told you to quit calling me those nauseating pet names!! I am not your 'sweet-heart', 'sweet-ass', or 'sweet' anything! Not anymore!!" He shuddered shortly after saying that.
"Whatever you say, my burning hunk of passion," she tittered mischievously, obviously paying no mind to his complaints, "Anyways, I came up here to let you know that I have something that will make me - I mean, you, feel a w-h-o- l-e lot better."
"Really?" inquired Zarkon stupidly, suddenly jumping out of his seat with a renewed vigor and curiosity, "You have something that'll clear my system of that stuff Lotor blew at me?"
"Eh, sure, whatever, “ Haggar shrugged, "It'll make you forget all about it, at least."
"Well, then, lemme have it!!"
A facetious glint sparked in the spry woman's yellow eyes. "I thought you'd never ask!"
Dramatically moving a withered hand into her robe, she gradually withdrew it, revealing a small box, suspiciously similar to the one Lotor had possessed, in her clenched fist. Opening it reverently, she unveiled an odd, white powder that was also suspiciously similar to the substance his son had blown into his face.
After a long while, his dinosaur brain finally put two and two together.
"Holy shit!! That is the same stuff!!" Zarkon gasped in horror, preparing to dive behind his throne for cover, "You wouldn't dare, witch!!"
But she did.
Opposites Attract,
As Haggar looked on, the veritable whirlwind of bone-white powder then swirled around Zarkon's quaking form and up into his nostrils, dislodging a small, Drule coin he had shoved up there when he was just a bratty, little kid a long, l-o-n-g millennia ago.
...damnitdamnitDAMNIT!! Not again!!..., the defeated monarch swore in wild abandon as his now-curiously limp body slumped back with a huge thump into his gilded seat of power, ...I just freaking got nailed TWICE!!...
As he at last began to succumb to one of the emotion-distorting drug's trademark sneezing fits, Haggar, the knowledgeable witch that she was, wisely decided to step back and watch her potion at work from a distance. Her golden eyes twinkled both with caution and the mischief born of woman who was simply bored and had nothing better to do than to wreak havoc as Zarkon's head reeled back from sneeze after robeastian sneeze.
Finally, the aged king expelled his last sneeze and his prone body collapsed back onto his throne, his bloodshot eyes glazed like donuts. His crimson robes draped over his tall form like a massive curtain. Zarkon's face was perfectly statuesque until a wide, vacant smile suddenly curved across his large lips.
Meanwhile, Haggar gripped her hands together tightly and blinked expectantly. ...What would happen? ...Would the drug even work?!...
While her mind fairly bubbled with fantasies of all of the different ways her king would sweep her off her feet, Zarkon continued to grin like an idiot, and the sorceress continued to stare.
...And what a sorceress she was! His suddenly lustful gaze darted rapidly over her just-as-suddenly very shapely-appearing body as he eagerly strained forward in his seat, his knuckles turning a shade of light-blue from gripping his throne's armrests so tightly. He had never really noticed, but... Haggar was... quite att...ract...ive...
Zarkon inwardly shuddered over this unwilling epiphany over his own witch and he struggled to swallow the lump that was now forming in his constricted throat, but his forced appraisal of her continued on in horrifying detail as if it had a will of its own.
Her eyes, which had seemed so harsh and outlined before, now gleamed like two dusky stars as she peered at him hesitantly (she was still wondering if her powder was working) like a shy doe (whatever the hell that was) from under her cowl, and her curvy curves played hide-and-seek with him from within the folds of her all-but-too concealing shabby, brown cloak, hinting at the sexy (blegh!) body beneath.
Oh-so-slowly, almost dramatically (cue music!), Haggar raised her hand and pulled her hood back to get a better look at her handiwork, forcibly making the Drule monarch's heart jump up pounding into his throat.
Until this moment, he had never known what it was like to have his breath taken away... unless you counted the time when Lotor punched him below the belt when he was five... but that's another story all on its own.
...No! Make it stop! Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop!!..., Zarkon mentally begged and pleaded to any God who might've been listening to him at the moment to show mercy on him, but to no avail; there was no sudden, blinding miracle to save him from what was about to happen.
He wanted to screw his eyeballs shut with an intense desire and run far, far away, as if he had run into one of those mythical Terran gorgon-creatures, from the sight that now awaited him, but instead of being magically petrified, his pulse quickened a hundredfold.
...There was no mere word that could begin to describe the vision that greeted his roving stare...
Long, luxurious hair (...she's got hair?!...) crowned a chiseled face, framing Haggar's beautiful..., no, ethereal features and immaculate, pale flesh... The rest of it cascaded like a rushing stream of ecstasy behind her graceful, swan (whatever the hell that was, too)-like neck. She was gorgeous, no... She was an angel! No... A GODDESS!!
Zarkon was in awe (and salivating, but that's beside the point)... for the first time in his life, he felt inspired to the bursting point. He found himself wanting to all of sudden spout bad poetry, to trot off to the distant corners of the galaxy and do gallantly megalomaniacal deeds to earn the devotion of this dream woman, to... have a roll in the sack. Whatever.
In the meantime, Haggar had not budged an inch from her spot, although her shrewd brain was still at work, noting any changes that occurred to Zarkon's, albeit blank, fiendishly-smiling visage with an almost infinite patience. Something was happening... that was for sure.
And finally, that special something did occur.
Leaning back into his throne at last, Zarkon relaxed his grip and, neatly summing up all of his newfound scrutinies and romantic aspirations for his advisor, suavely stated, "You look very becoming in that... ah... whatever the hell it is that you're wearing, Haggar..."
The witch immediately felt the onslaught of a blush coming on.
"Why, thank you, sire! I made it myself out of a potato sack!" she giggled like a school girl a quarter of her age.
With a Lotor-like smirk, he leered, "Of course, if I were on you, I'd be-"
"Okay, you just watch your mouth, mister," Haggar interrupted witheringly as she impatiently drummed her fingers across a hip, brutally cutting the king's come-on short, "Just because you run things around here does not give you the right to act like your fool son!"
Zarkon gracefully rose up and swept his robes to the side with a large hand.
"If I didn't know any better, Haggar, I'd think you were trying to give me lip,” he replied dangerously, the same, crooked half-smile on his face, advancing towards her in a predatory manner until his breath was hot on her neck, "...No one tells me what to do... And I have punished slaves for even less... You didn't need to be... punished... did you, Haggar?"
A calculating grin spread across the wily sorceress's visage, her miffed-ness banished immediately as she took in the full effectiveness of her drug. Oh, she knew that this wouldn't last (Lotor and that damned Arusian princess were a prime example of that!), but oh, the fun she was going to have while it did... Haggar was thrilled to the core. Zarkon's gargantuan frame was still near.
She sobered up her features with the most innocent expression she could manage.
"And just what are you going to do to me, Your Lordship?" she inquired as naively as Allura-ly possible, a coy arch to one of her eyebrows.
In a low voice that sent shivers running down her spine, the oh-so-cool leader of Doom simply answered, "That, my dear, is for me to know... and for you to find out."
"Eeheeheeheehee!" Haggar cackled with ill-concealed glee as he swiftly hefted her up into his massive arms and proceeded to make off with her like a bandit.
In reply, Zarkon merely smirked once again as he made a beeline for behind his throne.
"Who's your daddy now?"
Haggar only continued to giggle like a teenaged girl... It was about damned time that some of her work paid off around here!
Opposites Attract, Ch. 48
The very faint light of Doom's nearest star spilled through a window in Castle Doom’s throne room and fell across the king of the Doom Empire, and Zarkon decided that he felt like something a robeast had sat on. Granted, he wasn't in any physical pain, but his mind felt like it was strained to its utmost limit, as if it had been forced to endure some great labor or weight... Just what the hell had happened to him, anyways?!
Inwardly, he knew, but he wanted so badly to deny that it ever happened. But he knew the truth... the terrible, horrible, gruesome truth... that in one night, even though the flesh had been unwillingly made to be willing (try saying that five times fast!), he had mentally been reduced from the terror of the universe to a whimpering, cringing child in the worse way possible...
...In one night, I was neutered of all my pride and manhood like a dog..., he reflected with dread, and shuddered yet again with remembrance, ...But the way I went, no one, not even a slave, deserves to go that way... SO WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!..., Zarkon wanted to yell indignantly to the very heavens, but, of course, couldn't, ...I never hurt anyone! ...Much...
Zarkon, however, was past the stage where he would normally run around in a panicked frenzy, screaming bloody murder from the horror of it all for the whole galaxy to hear; logic, for once, had set it in for the aged monarch. After all, when Lotor, that beloved spawn of his, had blown that blasted dust of Haggar's into his face a few days ago, had he not found the powder to have but a temporary hold on him as he gradually came to while mucking out the robeast arena like some insipid slave? So should it not behave similarly now??
...Pleaseohpleaseplease wear off soon!..., he silently begged.
He did not want to spend the rest of his days as his own witch's private plaything. Zarkon mentally blanched with fear as last night's events replayed themselves in his mind like some old bad horror movie from Earth.
In an odd contrast to his turbulent inner thoughts, however, the ruler maintained a very calm, and almost lazy, exterior. From behind his throne, he lounged underneath his out-spread royal garments with his brawny hands resting underneath his head, conveying an image of utter satisfaction, and of someone who had just conquered a brand new planet - without a single frickin' care in the universe. His crown dangled haphazardly from one of his large, webbed ears, and with his lips, Zarkon languidly played around with his newfound prize - a Terran cigarette (he stole it from a slave, okay?).
As the cigarette's smoke slowly leaked out of his mouth and curled into the air, a new outline began to emerge next to him; Haggar momentarily wriggled and surfaced for air from underneath his robes, and her eyes glimmered with a now-youthful, golden spark.
Unfortunately, she also opened her mouth.
"Wow! That was just so amazing!" she gibbered unendingly, "And...," Zarkon, at this point in time, decided to tune her out, "... Just wait until I tell...!" "...the best time..." "...Can we do that AGAIN?!"
Biting down on the edge of his cigarette with a pointed canine, he irritably drawled out as he glanced incredulously in her direction, "Damn it, woman, I told you - I'm spent! What do I look like, some bloody amusement park ride?"
Stilling herself, the witch managed to recapture some of her dry wit.
"Well, the all-powerful Lord of the universe you certainly aren't today, are you?" Haggar's tone fairly dripped with sarcasm.
Zarkon leisurely flicked his ashes into a corner and grinned cheesily at his indignant advisor, "That ain't what you said last night, baby..."
Haggar rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling in disgust.
"Charmed, I'm sure..." she muttered as she suddenly rose up (censor bars! CENSOR BARS!!) from within the folds of his clothing, all of her previous ardor for him forgotten at the moment, "...Men! They think with one thing, and with one thing only! I swear!..." The latter she more of the line sighed to herself as she gathered up the shredded remains of her cloak from where it had been carelessly tossed onto the side of the throne.
The Drule king, who still remained on the floor, gave her his best "Who, me?" expression.
"Hey, I didn't mean for the rest of the day! I just meant for now!" he shrugged his enormous shoulders helplessly as his eyes widened plaintively, "I just need some time to recuperate, that's all. There's plenty of Zarkon to go around!"
"Don't let me hold the line up," Haggar answered wryly as she began to exit the throne room, her battered garb unashamedly flung over one arm (luckily, there were no soldiers, servants, or slaves around to see this because... uh, they were all out on a company picnic, yeah - it was a nice a day out), "Coba, come!"
At the sound of her command, the sorceress's blue cat obediently trotted out from somewhere beneath the throne, his yellow, saucer-like eyes frozen in an unblinking stare because, unlike the fortunate castle staff who happened to be gone for the morning, he had not been spared from witnessing the evil, evil event that had transpired in this very room last night... And so the poor familiar somehow avoided bonking into random objects as he followed his mistress back to her lab.
It wasn't until Haggar had actually left the room that Zarkon finally dared try and regain some of his shorn dignity.
"Eh, it's her loss, I suppose," he reasoned to himself out loud, methodically rubbing his chin in thought.
Shrugging his shoulders once more, the monarch of planet Doom merely rested his forearms beneath his head again and proceeded to doze off, his serene expression never betraying the shock and horror his mind was still reeling from.
Opposites Attract, Ch. 49
At that moment, Haggar, with Coba in tow, was still making her way towards her lair, but for some reason, she was no longer as cross or exasperated as she had appeared when she last departed Zarkon's presence. There was now a hint of youthful color to her cheeks, and her eyes glinted like she was a sprightly 16 years old again. In fact, some of the castle personnel who were just now returning (from the picnic, remember?) could almost swear that the now (thankfully) fully-clothed, old witch had some extra spring in her step. Just what was her secret? Well, whatever it was, it was evident that she was going to keep it to herself.
Humming a random song to herself under her breath, Haggar practically floated down the hallway. It was as if years of stress had been melted away from her soul! Zarkon may act like a buffoon sometimes, but he was a man, and like all men, he was just one of those aspects of life that sometimes frustrated the hell out of her and made her unexplainably happy at the same time. She had missed him terribly, but she had been forced to bide her time for many years... until now...
A crafty smile sprang to Haggar's lips as she habitually reached down with her withered hand to feel her familiar's fuzzy presence. Oh, she would definitely have to get back to work on her emotion-altering drug. It was far from perfect, but given a little time, she would be able to make it really pack a wallop - now that she had had the chance to use a guinea pig (who just so happened to be the tactless prince of Doom) on her powder, she was beginning to appreciate the more subtle ways in which her powers could manifest themselves. Haggar tittered diabolically to herself as new plans and ideas began to spin about in her head.
So maybe she had cheated a little in returning to her beloved's arms; the dust had, after all, reversed Zarkon's feelings for her. But what he didn't realize was that, buried deep beneath his apparent distaste for her, fond memories of their times together before Lotor's birth, and when she had been beautiful, still resided. So the dust had not created an entirely artificial longing for her; could the drug have operated differently than how she thought it would? Perhaps, instead of messing with the dominant emotion, it instead enhanced and distorted the hidden feelings that lay beneath? ...Was it possible that she did not know some of her very own spells as well as she thought she did?
...I'll be damned... I'll have to research my sources more closely...
Haggar paused momentarily as a new thought struck her. Could this also be the case with Lotor and his precious princess? Oh, she was very much aware of everything that had transpired between the two royals over the past couple of weeks. After all, a bored witch with a crystal ball, untold dark powers at her command, and a month's worth of munchies had to have something to snoop on and laugh her ass off at late at night, right? And she had laughed... and laughed... and laughed... and then watched, to her almost sheer disbelief, as the two seemed to develop a deeper bond and understanding of each other, despite the insane circumstances at the time.
...Well, pop my eyeball out and call me Yurak... I never thought I'd see the day..., the wizened hag pondered to herself.
Haggar knew that, underneath all of the myriad kidnap attempts and weekly demands for such-and-such a surrender, Lotor really did care for that Arusian tart, and that underneath all of her noble objections and protests, Allura was at least a little attracted to the sometimes thick-headed prince, but for her to actually willingly warm, at least a little bit, to him when he, for the first time, did not try and force it from her? Impossible.
But crazier things have happened.
...Just look at Mogor... he's still here...
But then would that mean... her spell, which was designed partially with the intent to wreak mischief (which it certainly did!) in mind, had also wrought some twisted form of white magic, as well? Haggar had to restrain herself from vigorously shaking her head back and forth. No way. There was just no way her brand of magic could be contaminated with the likes of that goody-goody rubbish. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
With that aside, her private meditations eventually meandered back to where they had been (the sorceress was definitely now taking her sweet time in getting back to her lair), and she stumbled across yet another unlikely mental roadblock.
...You know... I think I almost envy the princess... To be loved so intensely by someone... God knows I would give anything for Zarkon to love me the way Lotor loves her... And yet his son and I have more in common than we acknowledge... to love somebody who cannot love us back... It's almost as if someone is playing some grand, cruel joke on us…, Haggar chuckled mirthlessly to herself, ...And yet I have seemed to have unintentionally given a light of hope to Lotor for what could possibly be his only chance at real happiness in life...
Haggar all of a sudden stopped in the middle of the hallway and Coba, of course, still blinded, collided into the back of her legs. For the first time in her life, the old crone realized that she didn't care. Doom... Arus... Voltron... the Empire... the Alliance... the war... the conspiracies... none of it was important at the moment. All that mattered was going for that one seemingly unattainable goal... and Lotor, branded a love-sick fool time and time again despite his feared reputation, was the only person she knew who had the courage and infinite patience and perseverance to obtain what was most important to him, regardless of the daunting odds he faced. And for the first time, Haggar genuinely respected him for that.
...Whatever comes your way, Lotor, I know that you will be blessed in reaching what you truly want... After all, that which is pursued must eventually be caught..., the sorceress then carefully looked back and forth to make sure no one was looking when her wry smirk momentarily transformed into a peaceful smile, which looked almost out of place among her distinct features, ...And one can almost hope that I will have your same good fortune...
And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the tranquil look vanished.
"Eeheeheehee!" Haggar cackled out loud, sounding more like her old self again, "Geez, Coba, you almost let me get philosophical on myself again!"
And with that, she yanked her familiar up into scrawny arms and hugged him tightly.
"You know, I almost forgot! Do you remember what today is?"
"Mre-ow?"
The old witch slowly brought her face up to his own and eyeballed him.
She whispered cryptically, "... It's Grooming Day... and you... need... a... bath!"
Coba made a sound like he was coughing up a hairball, and he made a few token attempts to wriggle out of her arms and escape, but he was simply too tired to put up as much of a fight as he had last time. And so he resigned himself to his fate.
Tucking the listless, blue-furred cat under one of her arms, Haggar blissfully continued on. She would need to put off working on her emotion-altering spell because of Coba’s bath time, but she couldn't help but think that, for all the grief that it caused at first, maybe it was for the best that Lotor had bungled up with her handiwork. Even if some people didn't realize it yet. Haggar smiled to herself once more as her thoughts turned towards her currently prostrate king.
But he would... he would... She would make sure of it.
End
Back to Evil Fan Fiction