PART 3
by DUSTIN RILEY
(c) 2000 Fourty One Seventy Three Productions.
DISCLAIMER: Storyline and "Dusty Anderson" character are (C) 2000-2001 Fourty One Seventy Three Productions. All other characters are rightful property of World Events Productions, Ltd. I just took a lease out on them. Finance charges may apply. Author does not take responsibility for the tendency to dress as a chicken and hum the theme from "Three's Company."
And remember, if you are celebrating on New Year's Eve, designate a lion pilot to get you home safely.
VERY O.T. NUMBER FOR THE DAY: 2 (the number of cashiers that are scheduled to work on New Year's Day at the Kmart store where I am front end manager. After christmas, they took away my front end. Does this mean I only have a rear end and my two sides to manage?)
AND NOW, BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED FIC.
Dusty coughed and convulsed. He had forgotten to get his flu shot this year, and of course, his forgetfulness came back to haunt him.
Dusty had already taken three days off from the new high school that was just built. He had taken his love for music and his life of learning with him, and became a music teacher for Planet Arus.
As of yet, he was no Mr. Holland, but all of his students liked him, and many of them sent get-well cards to the fallen prince.
The young man who was once so full of life was now a groaning, lifeless body under a mountain of sheets and quilts that would make Martha Stewart proud. About the only thing nice about this flu is that his sister and he weren't arguing anymore. Allura conserved her strength to think of ways to increase crop production so the people of Arus could stockpile for next winter. The winter that had just passed was difficult on them, and for Allura too.
Nanny had flung up her nose at what she considered her new charge and said in a thick accent, "What were they thinking on Planet Neeve? Not giving their own king a influenza vaccination. Thank Arus he was healthy before he got the flu, or he'd be a lot worse."
The other half of the dynamic duo, Keith remained locked in his office for most of the time since he ordered Coran to decide who would rule Arus. And, to be completely honest, he was a bit jealous.
Of course, he knew if he or any other Voltron Force member were to come down sick, she would help Nanny and Dr. Gorma take care of him. But he was losing what precious little time he had with her. Almost every waking moment, she spent with her brother, nursing him back to health. "He's a son of Alfor, for God's sake!" he said to no one in particular. "He was able to heal himself after his ship crashed and after Lance beat the crap out of him, and he's down for the count over one little.... ah...... AH-CHOO!!!"
Keith's sneeze nearly shook the ceiling-to-floor windows in his office.
"...Bug." He completed his thought. He glanced at his desk and saw the foot-high stack of reports he was supposed to be approving and groaned. Red tape and paperwork ranked right up there with Lotor on the Voltron Force's public enemy #1 list. Just then, his door swished open silently and his best friend Lance strolled right in and sat down on the couch next to him. In his hand was a piece of sheet music.
"You know, Keith," Lance began, "if you come down with the flu too, that means your wife's going to have to take care of both of you! I swear, you and Dusty are the two luckiest men in this galaxy, having *her* right with you. What I wouldn't give to be Allura's brother."
"Why is it that Lance always knows EXACTLY what to say to piss me off?!" Keith thought.
Lance noticed the intensity in his captain's eyes, and knew that if he didn't back off, he was going to lose an appendage. He chuckled, a bit uneasily. "You know, Allura has a right to spend some time with her brother. They're just making up for, oh, say *twenty years* they've lost." Do you remember that old Terran movie "Return of the Jedi?"
Keith was thrown off-guard by the lieutenant's sudden change of topic. "Um... yeah, that was part of that 'Star Wars' story, wasn't it? The one where Luke finds out he Princess Leia's sister... and..." Keith's voice trailed off as a lightbulb went off in his head.
Lance nodded, with a grin on his face. "And that Han Solo guy was jealous because he thought Luke was moving in on HIS territory? Lance pulled a Return of the Jedi videodisc from under his leather jacket and handed it to Keith.
"Sometimes, you can't find the answer in a ghost." Lance chuckled. "Do you know that within 20 minutes of each other the other day, you, Dusty, and Allura all went down and consulted with King Alfor? I was on watch that day and noticed the amount of activity down in the crypt, so I reviewed the security access log. I'll bet my very favorite leather jacket that all three of you asked him the same thing: am I the right one to rule. Am I right?"
Keith couldn't help but smile and nod. Lance had him figured out like an eighth-grade algebra equation. "So, what do you think?" Keith asked.
"About what?" Lance said.
"This whole ruler thing. Why can't we all three rule at the same time?"
"Because," Lance said, "you're too anal-retentive, Allura's too sensitive, and Dusty couldn't find his way out of a parking lot, much less an entire planet."
Keith fumed, "I am NOT anal-retentive!! I just like having a system for everything so there's no mess and no confusion!"
Lance replied, "My point exactly. Anyway, has Coran made a decision? It's been five days already, and he hasn't come out of his study. The only other person that's been in there has been Nanny, and Coran made her vow not to speak a word about anything."
"I haven't heard a thing," Keith replied. "But this is a decision that's affecting the whole planet, so I'm sure he's taking his time."
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