Chapter Ten

Lotor studied his fingernails while the battle raged on below. His flagship was well hidden behind a blanket of storm clouds, but it wasn't as if they were being searched for. The Arusians and Niloc's forces were too busy to care who was out there.

"Count!" he called out.

"The Arusians have lost a quarter of their fighters, and their numbers are steadily dropping, Your Highness," someone answered. "Niloc's men appear to have the upper hand."

"What about those ships that came in a few minutes ago?" Lotor asked.

"They did not make a big difference. They are outnumbered."

Lotor laughed. "As I predicted. Let's wait a few minutes before we lend a hand. Just because I don't want Niloc to defeat the Arusians, doesn't mean I don't want to see them sweat for a little while. Wait for my signal."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hagar!" Lotor called.

The witch appeared from nowhere and stood beside Lotor's seat. Her warped staff was gripped tightly in her gnarled hand and her blue cat slithered around her ankles. The smell emanating from her was enough to make Lotor gag. He made it a point to show her he was holding his breath.

"How is our little spy doing?" he asked.

"He is in Castle Control," she replied. "Would you like to see what is going on?"

"I would."

Hagar waved her staff and an image, like a photograph, appeared in midair. Allura stared back at them, her blue eyes like ice and her expression like stone. Lotor sneered. "Ah, the fair Princess Allura," he said. "Soon she will be in my hands."

"If Niloc does what you think he's going to do."

"I know exactly what's going through his head," Lotor boasted. "He wants to exact some kind of sick revenge on Porterfield and the best way to do that is through the Princess. The one time he got drunk, he confessed to me that he wanted Porterfield to feel the failure that he himself had once felt. The best way to do that, he told me, was to take the Princess away. Since the good commander is Allura's bodyguard, it'll be a low blow if she's in our hands."

"Niloc isn't known to drink," Hagar said.

"Let's just say I worked my own magic."

Hagar watched the Princess of Arus give out orders frantically, rushing around the command room as her people were dying outside. She was obviously a strong young woman and would make a good mate for Lotor. Hagar nodded silently, a small smile creasing her ancient face.

Skillfully, Pidge wove through the enemy fighters, leaving damage and destruction in his wake. He could feel the sweat dripping down the sides of his face and blinked away the few drops that fell into his eyes, but nothing could break his concentration. He couldn't risk it. He had his hands full. The castle had begun firing at the enemy without a break, backing those in the air and on the ground as best they could. Still, Pidge saw the green dots on his screen disappear at an alarming rate. His eyes constantly darted to the long-range sensors to see how close the others were.

Ten more minutes, he told himself. They'll be here in ten minutes...

Green Lion took a hard shot on its left side and Pidge's head snapped back from the force. He gritted his teeth as he fought back the dizziness that threatened to overtake him and his head cleared just in time. A Doom fighter, on its last wing, was hurtling towards him at a tremendous speed.

"Solar wind!" he yelled.

A gust of air burst out of Green Lion's mouth and knocked the enemy back.

"Eye beams!"

He scored a direct hit and the fighter exploded. An Arusian fighter appeared through the fire, followed closely by another bogey. Green Lion took chase. Pidge fired a torpedo at the fighter.

"Take that you...."

His words where abruptly cut short when Green Lion was stopped right in its tracks and his head shot forward violently then back again. Coughing, Pidge checked his sensors. When he saw what it was that had him, his eyes widened.

It can't possibly get any worse than this, he thought.

Sven made one last check on the grounds surrounding the castle to make sure no one was left outside. Only one truck was out making a last round to make sure no one was left behind. Romelle was still at his side, lending her eyes.

"Looks clear," she said. "Are we ready to seal the doors?"

"Yes," he answered.

He pushed a button. Red lights came on and a klaxon went off, signaling those still around the doorways to clear out. The soldiers and castle workers down there ushered the few who were still loitering about. The huge blast-proof metal doors began to slide closed slowly. The loud, screeching sound they made as they slid across their tracks was a clear indication that they hadn't been used before. Sven stared outside at the villages, the houses, and the shops that the Arusians had worked so hard to build. Two and a half years after they had resurfaced, the people were back underground again. All because of Zarkon's single-minded quest for power.

Ven iz dis going to end? he thought, giving a sorry shake of his head. Dese poor people don't deserve dis.

The doors closed with an echoing bang, but Sven continued to stare at them. Romelle put a hand on his arm to get his attention. He met her dark ocean blue eyes and managed a small smile.

"Let's go back to Castle Control," she said. "They're safe now."

"I vill go back," he said. "You vill stay down here wid dem."

She frowned. "Don't start with me," she said. "You know you need me up there. I'm no use here."

"I vill feel better eef you stay down here," Sven argued.

"Well, you're going to have to cope with it," Romelle said, picking up her heavy skirts. "I'm not going to hide. I'm done hiding and that's that. This discussion is closed."

Before he could say anything, she had disappeared through the doors and was nearly around the corner when he came out. Knowing it wouldn't help matters if he forced the issue, he silently followed her. He pulled out his communicator to find out what was going on when it beeped just as he was about to turn it on.

"Sven, get up here," Allura said in a rush. "There are two Ro-Beasts out there and one of them's got Green Lion."

The response came just as Lance was beginning to wonder if Red Lion's booster rockets were damaged as they were still too far from Arus for his liking. When his computer beeped that he had a message coming through, he sat up and patched it through.

"Lance," Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Silver said solemnly. "We're headed towards Arus right now. We'll be there shortly."

"Jeff!" Lance exclaimed. "Which ship are you on?"

There was a pause and Lance frowned as Jeff looked hesitant.

"It's classified," Jeff replied. "But I think you'll find out soon enough when we get there."

Niloc stood before the viewscreen, his hands behind his back. He had a smug expression on his face as he saw the destruction his Ro-Beast, an enormous biped that resembled a Lion, had caused. Fortunately, Voltron wasn't around to stop it and he laughed out loud when he saw it catch Green Lion in a large black paw. His fighters fired at the Lion while it was trapped. The Green couldn't fire back because the Ro-Beast had closed its hand over most of the Lion's torso, successfully blocking all the weaponry unless the pilot wanted to risk blowing himself up.

"Wouldn't it be funny if a giant Lion destroyed the Castle of Lions," he said. "I appreciate the irony."

He turned to his crew and saw them looking back at him blankly. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the viewscreen. The Ro-Beast was now squeezing Green Lion slowly and electrical sparks began flying every which way. The Arusian fighters began to fire at the Ro-Beast, but it merely swiped them away. The warship was keeping its distance but was firing all its cannons at it. It didn't show any sign of weakening. Hagar had made this one strong.

"I think it's time to make contact," Niloc said. "Open an audio-only channel to the Castle. "