At dinner that evening, the Voltron Force joined Allura in welcoming the queen, to Arus. She had invited a number of close friends: Terra's brother-in-law, Sabin; the general of the Royal Figaro Army, Celes; Celes' husband, and treasure-hunter extraordinaire, Locke; they're daughter, Raya; Retainer-to-the-throne and master swordsman, Cyan; former assassin, Clyde (Shadow); Clyde's daughter, the famous artist, Relm; an old scholar, who raised Relm as his own granddaughter, Strago; and a young man, raised in the wild, Gau.
During the actual meal, the conversation was light and friendly. They talked about Voltron's many victories over Planet Doom. But after the plates had been clear, the Voltron Force, Terra, and her friends, remained at the table.
"So, what exactly happened that night?" Lance asked carefully, after what seemed like eons of silence.
Terra took in a sharp breath. "Do you really want to discuss that?" she asked.
Lance nodded solemnly, his usual sarcasm gone.
She nodded slowly. "After I sent you away…"
FLASHBACK
Terra turned to her husband as Celes and the children fled. "Did we do the right thing?" she asked.
He shrugged. "We're doing what we hope is best for him. That's what we always do."
The robots had begun to surround the castle. Terra and her husband drew their swords, and ran off into battle.
Terra swung ferociously at the robots, knocking them down in a single blow. But they kept coming, and their numbers made victory seem impossible. Terra took a deep breath as she tried to regroup behind a fallen piece of concrete. As she stepped out of her hiding place, one of the robots grabbed her shoulder and hit her in the stomach. She doubled over, dropping her sword. The robot grabbed her wrist and shackled it with a heavy chain.
"What the-!" she began to scream. She kicked out with her leg and knocked the robot back. The heavy chain pulled her arm down. She struggled to reach her sword. As her fingers curled around the handle, she was knocked over by an explosion.
"No!" she screamed as she saw the desert sands explode. She feared for her son as the bombs continued crashing all around them. Another robot picked her up effortlessly by the neck of her nightgown. She tried to fight free, but the robot was much stronger than she was. It shackled her other wrist and carried her back toward the castle.
Apparently, no one had fared better than she in the short battle. Many of the castle residents, the guards and soldiers, had already been captured and gathered back at the castle. Near the castle steps, a hideous blue-green man in a crown laughed maniacally at the prisoners.
"That was too easy!" he shouted. "This pathetic world didn't stand a chance! We should have captured them years ago!"
Terra saw robots throwing Celes and Raya into the crowd of prisoners. Celes was struggling ferociously. "Let go of me, you creeps! I'm a general! Not some opera floozy!" Celes yelled at them. Terra ran to Celes and Raya, frantically scanning the scenery for Lance.
"Where is he?" she asked, her voice tight from fear.
Celes looked down, ashamed. "They attacked us when we were running- I… I don't know where he is, Terra. I'm so sorry," she said through choking sobs.
Terra's eyes widened in distress. "They- they got him…" she whispered, unbelieving.
Suddenly, a glint of light behind a sand dune caught Terra's eye. She became hopeful, realizing Edgar, her husband, was still safe. He leapt from his hiding spot, his sword drawn, ready to strike- when a blast of sickly blue light hit him in the chest and knocked him to the ground.
"Oh, one last pathetic stand?" the hideous man asked mockingly. "Thank you, Witch Hagar, for taking care of him."
He picked Edgar up by the collar.
"And who are you, you brave fool?"
Edgar spat in his face. The man threw Edgar to the ground. "That's quite disgusting."
Edgar tried to get to his feet, but the blast had injured him more than he realized. Still, he chuckled, a sincere smile on his face. "This is pointless of you, you know. Even if you destroy Figaro a hundred times, we'll just rebuild it a hundred times."
The hideous man, Zarkon, laughed. "Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic." He kicked Edgar in the side, knocking him down the stairs.
A guard pushed past the robots and knelt beside Edgar. "Sire! Are you alright!"
"Sire?" Zarkon asked, his interest piqued. "Is that what your problem is?" Zarkon knocked the guard aside and motioned for the robots to lift Edgar back to his feet. He winced in pain at the sudden movement.
"So, you're the king, huh?" Zarkon asked, his voice oozing with evil. "Isn't that lovely? You know, you and I have something in common. I am also a king."
"You're no king," Edgar seethed. "You're a coward!"
"Is that so?" Zarkon replied, calmly removing his sword. He slapped Edgar with the blade, leaving a thin trail of blood across his face.
Edgar laughed heartily. "Is that the best you've got? A slap?"
Zarkon clenched his fist and punched Edgar in the stomach. "I'll show you who's the real king!"
Zarkon eyed the crowd. "I'll make a deal with you. You're clearly a good warrior, dedicated man, that sort of thing," he said, the evil in his eye. "I'll spare you, keep you on as one of my generals-"
"I'll never serve the likes of you," Edgar seethed. "You're a coward."
"Oh, but you didn't hear the other option," Zarkon side, his voice patronizingly sweet. "You can stay on as my general, OR you can die. Of course, if you choose to save your own skin, I'll have to make it up by killing all these people. But, you'll be alive. Won't that be nice?"
Edgar's eyes filled with rage. "I will never sacrifice my people!" he declared firmly, his voice angry. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Why don't you release me and fight me man-to-man?"
Zarkon stared at his sword a moment. "I prefer not to get my hands dirty, but for you, I'll make an exception."
He motioned for the robots to push Edgar to his knees. "And I don't need to prove myself to a fallen king." With one swift motion, he brought his sword down.
A single shriek of terror, rage, and ferocity rang from the crowded prisoners. Terra had fallen to her knees, not even realizing she was screaming.
"Take the prisoners onto the ship, then set this planet on fire," Zarkon commanded as he stepped over the fallen king's body. "I need to wash my hands."
END FLASHBACK
"How awful!" Allura exclaimed as Terra finished the story. "That monster!"
Lance was silent, but his feelings were quite visible. His teeth were clenched, and he was shaking with rage. Without saying a word, he got up and left the table.
No one followed him immediately, unsure of what to do. "Perhaps I should go talk to him," Terra offered, rising from her seat.
"Let me," Allura said, gently pushing Terra back down. "I think I understand what's going on."
On the terrace outside the Castle of Lions, Lance was leaning against a stone wall, his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket.
"What am I supposed to do, Allura?" he asked when he heard footsteps approaching.
"How'd you know it was me?" Allura replied, stepping to his side.
He shrugged. "Just seems like you have a habit of finding me out here for these unpleasant conversations."
She looped her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I can't leave the Voltron Force- not until I've stopped Zarkon. But now these people all need me- or they think they need me, anyway."
"They do," Allura said quietly. "You're they're king."
"Some king. I don't even know how to be a king. I didn't even know I was a king until a few hours ago. How am I supposed to be a king anyway? I'm just a pilot."
"First of all, you're not JUST a pilot. You're a member of the Voltron Force, and a true hero. Secondly, we can always find a replacement if we need to. I know Sven would help out, and you will too when we need you. Besides, Zarkon's all but done with, so we don't have a lot going on anyway."
"I can't let him get away with what he's done!"
"He's got nothing left! No followers, no robots, no fighter ships! All he has is his stupid son and that witch!" Allura protested. She took a deep breath and continued. "Lance, I know you'll do fine. It seems like your father's been grooming you since you were a kid for this job. You're brave, selfless, and strong. And you have a sixth sense that seems to help you make the right decisions, even if they are quite rash."
Lance rolled his eyes. "Sixth sense? Nah, that's ridiculous. I don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. We never had magic or anything like that on my planet."
"That's not the point. You just need to believe in yourself as much as everyone else believes in you."
Lance sighed. "Thanks. You know, it kinda' sucks. I finally start feeling like I could be a good king, and now I have to leave you."
Allura's eyes began to tear up. "It's okay. I'll always love you, Lance."
Lance wrapped his arms around Allura and held her tight.