CHAPTER FOUR
Daniel, Larmina and Vince found themselves at the beautiful Garden of Arus. They saw the flowers glow in the darkness of the night, and the cadets were amazed by the beauty they saw.
"The Garden of Arus." Larmina sighed as she looked at the beauty of the garden.
"That's the Arusian Garden?" Vince asked. Larmina nodded, "The most beautiful place on the planet, especially at night."
"I can see why," Daniel replied, "But why would your story end up here?"
"You're about to find out," an unpleasant voice replied from behind them. The cadets gasped and looked to see Lotor standing in front of them.
"Lotor!" Daniel exclaimed. He, Larmina and Vince prepared to fight.
"What do you mean when you said 'we are about to find out'?" Larmina asked.
"I happen to have your story," Lotor replied before dropping three sheets of slightly crumbled up paper to the ground, "And now I don't."
Larmina ran and picked up her story. Seconds after that, Lotor grabbed her. Daniel and Vince tried fighting the evil king, but he got the upper hand against them. Larmina used her battle staff to hit Lotor in the head and she managed to regroup with the boys.
It didn't take Lotor too long to recover, and by then he managed to get a hold of all the cadets. Before he could do anything to them, Lotor felt a massive shock. He looked to see that the Black Lion has arrived.
"Commander Keith." Lotor smiled.
"Keith!" Daniel exclaimed. Larmina and Vince were as hopeful as Daniel. Keith stepped out of his lion and looked at the cadets and then at Lotor, "So you're at it again, Lotor. Why doesn't that surprise me?"
Lotor chuckled. Keith used his voltcom to contact Lance, "Lance, come in, Lance! This is Keith! Come in!"
"Yeah?" Lance's voice answered.
"I found Lotor. He has the cadets with him and we're at the garden of Arus. Get the others and head over to the garden. Stat!"
"Right away."
Keith looked at Lotor, who advanced the Haggarium induced sword towards him. Keith dodged in perfect timing, and got out his dual swords.
"You want a sword fight, Lotor," Keith declared, "well, you got one."
"That's what I've been expecting." Lotor replied, "May the best man win."
The commander swung his sword at the Drule King, but he dodged. Keith and Lotor engaged in a sword dual. Daniel, Larmina and Vince advanced over to try to help Keith take on Lotor.
"You three stay out of this!" Keith ordered, "This is my fight! Understand?"
It became Keith's fight for a while, that was until he became caught off guard. Lotor used that opportunity to make his move. He used his sword to cut Keith's left arm. The commander gasped as the pain of the sharp blade hit him. He looked to see the cut that wasn't real long, but he was dumbfounded nonetheless. As Lotor leaped towards him, Keith managed to kick him out of the way.
The cadets hurried over to help Keith.
"Are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"I think so," Keith answered, "It's only a cut."
Larmina looked to see that the cut that was on Keith's arm had disappeared, "Well, your cut's gone now."
Almost immediately after that, Keith felt a strange pain which caused him to gasp sharply.
"Keith?" Vince questioned in concern.
Keith started to feel dizzy, "I feel strange...my head..."
"Keith, what's wrong?" Larmina asked in concern. The cadets watched as Keith collapsed to the ground.
"KEITH!" Daniel exclaimed in shock. Larmina and Vince gasped. Keith struggled to get up, but he found himself too weak to do so.
"What's happening?" Keith said as he was nodding off, "Feel...so weak...and so...tired...gotta resist this...I gotta fight it. I must..."
Seconds later, Keith closed his eyes, giving in to sleep. The cadets looked at him in shock.
"Keith!" Daniel shouted as he tried waking him up, "Keith? You gotta get up! We need to beat Lotor! Get up! Get up!"
"Keith!" Larmina gasped. Lotor chuckled evilly. The cadets looked at him.
"Don't even bother," Lotor told them, "He won't hear you."
"What did you do to him?" Vince asked.
"Not as half as what I'm gonna do to you brats."
Lotor is about to attack the cadets, but he is stopped by the firey flames of the red lion. Lotor and the cadets looked to see that the Red, Yellow and Green lions have arrived. Lance, Hunk and Pidge all got out of their respective lions.
"So," Lance said, "You decided to show your ugly face again."
"Lance, Pidge and Hunk," Lotor grinned, "You decided to show up. That's good. I have all but one of the Voltron Force at the exact same place."
"Yeah," Hunk replied, "And we're here to finish you off."
"We'll see about that."
"Watch out for his sword!" Vince shouted, "That might have something to do with what's happened!"
"It has..." Daniel started to say, but he stopped himself before saying, "yeah."
Lotor aimed the sword at Pidge, but the Green Pilot dodged the attack. Hunk and Lance both dodged when the sword's swing came for them.
"You two get to Keith and the cadets," Lance ordered, "I'll hold off Lotor."
Pidge and Hunk reluctantly did so as Lotor tried aiming his sword at them. They managed to dodge and hurry over to where Keith and the cadets were.
"Alright Lotor!" Lance exclaimed. Lotor aimed a serious striking blow at the Red Lion pilot, but Lance got out his dual pistols and the fire that came from them struck down the sword in full blast, giving it complete damage. Lotor looked at the damaged sword, dumbfounded.
"Looks like your sword got burned out." Lance chided.
Lotor looked up and said, "No matter. At least I have one of you under the Haggarium's power."
"What?" Lance gasped.
"Keith? Keith, can you hear us?" he heard Pidge call out. Lance hurried to where the others were.
"What happened to him?" Lance asked.
"He's unconscious," Pidge answered, "But he's still breathing."
"He's breathing now, but not for long." Lotor replied. Everyone looked at him.
"What did you do to Keith?" Lance demanded.
"Alright. I'll tell you. ," Lotor answered, " It's simple really. My sword you destroyed contained a strong amount of Haggarium and it has placed your dear commander in a deep sleep which lasts for an eternity. If it wasn't for the young lady's story, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now."
Everyone appeared in shock, especially Larmina. Lotor got out a bronze bottle, "Now to make sure the effects of this is permanent."
He opened the lid in the bottle and dark purple mist came out of the bottle. Everyone became shocked when the mist entered Keith's mouth and nostrils.
"NOOO! STOP!" Lance screamed as he waved his hands in attempt to block the mist. Lotor chuckled evilly.
Everyone became terrified as Keith's skin faded to a deathly pale shade and then his body and clothes were glowing a light blue shade.
"What's going on?" Vince gasped.
"Keith!" Daniel shouted. Lance started shaking Keith, "Keith! Keith, wake up! Wake up!"
