I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.

~James Arthur Baldwin

Chapter Twelve

Allura coughed as she slowly regained consciousness. She became aware of lying on her stomach, her cheek pressed against something cold. Her chest hurt where she was shot, but vaguely realized that Lotor had shot her with a tranquilizer not a laser--she was not burned. Her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were tied together at the ankles. She opened her eyes, her vision hazy for a moment, but she knew where she was. She could make out the steps leading up to where Zarkon sat, watching her.

"Just kill me and get it over with," she said, not bothering to try getting up. "I'm not going to give you anything you want."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Lotor said silkily.

He crossed the floor to her and pushed the hair from her face. His hand lingered against her cheek and Allura recoiled from the look of desire in his eyes. She blanched as she realized the true meaning of his words.

"Never," she hissed.

He laughed. "You actually think that you have a say in all this. Guess again, Allura."

"That's Princess to you."

"She has spunk," Zarkon said. "It will be a challenge to break her."

"I like challenges," Lotor said, hauling her to her feet. She nearly lost her balance and he pulled her closer to him, tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "But I bet Keith didn't have much of a challenge when it came to you, did he?"

Allura only snarled at him.

"Didn't think so," he said with a sigh, shoving her roughly.

Allura landed hard on her back, cracking her head on the floor. The room spun crazily, but she held on. Lotor knelt and untied her.

"What are you doing?" Zarkon questioned suspiciously.

"She's not going anywhere, Father," Lotor answered.

When she was free, Allura sat up, rubbing the back of her head. Her hair fell in golden waves around her and Lotor felt his need for her rise.

"Don't even think about it," she said, glaring at him. "I swear to Riaru, Lotor, I will never submit to you. I will fight you and you'll kill me before you can have me." She smiled without humor. "But after that, my body is yours."

He slapped her hard across the face. She only wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

"I want the Lions," Zarkon said.

"Too bad," she said.

"I have the Blue Lion."

"So? The others will destroy this ship before you can leave."

"Even with you in it?"

"The more the merrier."

"Keith would never kill you," Lotor sneered.

Allura's blue eyes were cold as she looked at him. "He would if he had to. He knows that and deep down you know that. So this conversation is pointless, isn't it?" She turned to Zarkon. "What is it about Arus that draws you to it? There are hundreds of other planets to pillage, but it was mine you destroyed and keep on coming back to attack. What did we ever do to you? What did anyone ever do to you?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I just love a good fight?"

"No. No one would commit this kind of mass destruction just because they wanted a good fight." She glanced at Lotor. "Well almost no one."

"Your father and I were good friends once," Zarkon said, his eyes focusing on something far away. "He took me under his proverbial wing and tried to instill a goodness in me. For a while, he thought I could actually change, but he underestimated the darkness that was inside me. He underestimated me."

"You murdered my parents," Allura said, hating him so much that she could taste it. "You took them away from me and then you took my home too."

"Before your parents were married, I saw your mother in a news clip. She was so beautiful and I fell in love with her. I knew I had to have her, so I had Hagar bring her to me."

"YOU MONSTER!" Allura screamed, her hands clenched at her sides.

Zarkon laughed. "She said the same thing, but as you can see, I am rather larger than she was."

Allura started for him, but Lotor held her back, though it was a halfhearted attempt. His eyes were on his father. Somehow, he knew he was part of this story.

"It was two months later did I find out that she got pregnant. She was about to abort the child, but I had Hagar intervene. By then, she'd met Alfor and he was trying to court her, despite her efforts to discourage him. Hagar wiped her memory of me and took the unformed child inside her by using her black magic. She carried the child to term. Alfor and Carina were married within a year, and then I came into the picture. Carina didn't remember what I'd done to her, but she always kept her distance."

"What about the child, Father?" Lotor asked.

"You were born a month after their wedding."

Allura and Lotor looked at each other, disgusted.

"He's my half-brother?" she spat. "Of all the luck..."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lotor demanded, his eyes shooting daggers at Zarkon.

"Then you never would have attacked Arus," Zarkon said. "You wouldn't have gone this far with your plan."

"Do you think I'm soft?" Lotor exclaimed.

"Yes."

Lotor's hand went for the blade hanging at his side, but one of his father's guards pointed a blaster at him. He put his hands up.

"For some strange reason, you have a strong sense of family," Zarkon said with a sad shake of his head. "Your attachment to me is evidence of that, even though I treat you like the scum that you are. If you had found out sooner that Allura was your sister, nothing would have kept you away and you would have stood in my way."

"That was a nice little story, but you didn't answer my question," Allura said before Lotor could respond.

"Hagar's memory wipe didn't last as long as she thought it would. Carina remembered what had happened, Alfor banished me, and I came back to destroy them. Simple."

He came down from his throne and smiled at Allura. It took all she had inside her to not step away from him. Lotor watched silently, a battle raging inside him. He watched as his father advanced upon his sister dangerously. For all his life, Lotor thought Zarkon was the only family he had and despite his upbringing, despite the ideas he'd been exposed to, he cherished the idea of family. For every ten sins Zarkon had committed against him, one kind word would erase any memory of the sins. But now--with the knowledge that he had another blood tie--he was torn. His father's words had cut him to the core and he knew that he'd had enough. Allura looked at him with hate in her eyes and a part of him died when he learned they were siblings because he knew that she could never forgive him. His breath coming out in erratic gasps, Lotor took one step closer to them, wanting to stop this.

"You're just as beautiful as your mother was," Zarkon purred, putting one hand at her nape and drawing her close.

"I'm not going to let you do to me what you did to her," she growled.

"You have no choice," he said just before his mouth descended onto hers.

Lotor took another step towards them, but then Zarkon jumped back, yelling and putting a hand to his mouth. Allura faced him defiantly.

"The little bitch bit me!" he yelled. "Kill..."

His words were cut off by a loud blast and the ship shook. Allura looked up as if she could see the Lions flying around them. A soldier ran into the room.

"Sire, the Lions are attacking."

Zarkon whirled on Lotor. "I thought you destroyed them."

"So did I."

"I knew you would fail," Zarkon said acidly. "Somehow, I knew you would find a way to fail."

Lotor's expression crumpled and Allura almost felt sorry for him. Almost...

"Make yourself useful and go out there," Zarkon ordered. "Destroy them."

Lotor saluted, but it was mocking. "Yes, Father."

"Fighters are coming out," Lance said.

"God, do they have a freaking factory in there?" Pidge said frustratedly.

"They have a witch," Hunk pointed out.

"Focus, Fellas," Keith said. "Cripple but don't destroy."

"Gotcha, Chief," Lance said.

The Lions danced around the ship, circling and firing at certain spots on its hull. Crippling the thrusters, but not the stabilizers. Destroying their laser cannons, but not the sensors.

"We can't get to her like this," Lance said.

"She'll find a way out," Keith said. "We just have to keep them busy."

"Is that what you're calling this?" Pidge asked, barely dodging a laser blast.

As Zarkon gave out orders, Allura's eyes darted around the room for some kind of weapon. At the doorway, Lotor turned and caught her eye. In that split second, she knew that he was sorry for what he'd done. For everything he'd ever done. Gone was the cockiness in his stance and the strength in his eyes. Instead, she found herself looking at a man taken down one too many times by the Father he loved. But he would no longer sacrifice anything or anyone to gain his father's admiration and approval. He knew that it was hopeless for Zarkon was too full of hate. The only thing that he could do now was to help the sister he never knew he had.

After a moment's hesitation, he reached into his holster and threw her his blaster. She stared at him, dumbfounded. He only nodded once and left. She knew that he would not come back.

Allura ran to where Zarkon was and hooked an arm around his neck, pointing her blaster at his temple.

"Land the ship," she said. "Or I will kill you."

"Then my men will kill you."

"You'll still be dead."

"I have a better idea," Hagar said, appearing before them. "If you kill the King, you don't die." She smiled. "But your unborn child will."

Allura gaped at Hagar. "What? Don't try anything, Hagar. Even you're susceptible to lasers."

"Your precious commander is rather virile," Hagar said conversationally, circling Allura and Zarkon. "It only took one time and he's planted his seed inside you. You will live to remember the child that you sacrificed."

Allura face was white as she dropped the blaster. Zarkon reversed their positions, squeezing her neck hard so that she could only gasp for air.

"It was a nice try, Little Princess. But your father failed to defeat me and so will you." He turned to Hagar. "Those Lions are pests. I want to finish them myself."

"What do you propose, your Highness?"

Zarkon looked thoughtful. "I want to crush their heads with my hands. Turn me into a Robeast."