PART 4
by DUSTIN RILEY
(c) 2000 Fourty One Seventy Three Productions.
DISCLAIMERS: 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. To prevent electric shock, match wide blade of plug to wide slot, and fully insert. [If you have a wandering mind, this could take on a very bad connotation.] Void where prohibited by law. We love to see you smile.
Dusty stood in total darkness, taking in the silence of the Arussian night. It was peaceful. "A little too peaceful," he thought. There were no crickets chirping, and the water in the Castle moat was so still, it looked like ice.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Dusty said to no one in particular. Maybe it was the drugs. Only through three doses of NyQuil and Allura singing Arussian lullabyes did Dusty finally fall asleep, only to wake up not more than ten minutes later. He had no thoughts of sleep in is mind.
Dusty turned to head into the castle, when he saw... him.
The sly grin, yellow glowing eyes, and warty face of King Zarkon greeted him before he could get to the main gate.
"Lotor's dead, and it's your fault," he said in a low voice. "He was my best soldier."
Trying to combat the intense fear that gripped him and held him in place, Dusty did the only thing he could. "If he was your best," he chuckled, "no wonder you get your butt whooped everytime you try to attack!"
Dusty noticed Zarkon reach for something, and his instinct made him jump to the side just as Zarkon fired his blaster.
Dusty rolled over to the side of the bridge. Zarkon fired again and Dusty barely evaded the energy bolt. He was knocked off balance and tried to regain it so he would not fall into the water.
Zarkon had some beans to spill, that would make his opponent go over the edge.
"Your father," Zarkon said, "the one on Terra, is dead. I killed him."
Dusty clenched his fists in rage. He knew it was true. Dusty was normally a sound sleeper, but when he could not sleep, it meant that something was terribly wrong. One of the only things that could tick Dusty off was anyone dishonoring his Terran father. Kenneth and Dusty shared a bond closer that some blood relatives. The man who had shown him how to ride a bike, how to fly a plane, and how to live his life was now gone. And his killer was in front of him. Dusty did the only logical thing he could. With tears in his eyes and a primal scream coming from his throat, he rushed the King of Doom and knocked him to the ground. Zarkon never had a chance to fight back. Dusty pummelled his arch-nemesis until Zarkon lost consciousness. Dusty then picked Zarkon up and threw him to near the Castle gate. The jolt of being thrown woke the king. As he staggered to consciousness, Keith and Allura came running out of the gate, only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw Zarkon. Allura's mouth was agape. Keith whispered, "Oh my..."
When Zarkon head Keith's whisper, he drew his sword and swung it in a round house style. Dusty seemed frozen in time as Zarkon killed his sister and brother-in-law. Dusty stood silent for what seemed like an eternity as Zarkon laughed a what he had done. Dusty was helpless. He could do nothing. He couldn't save his father, or his mother, or his sister and her husband. He was worthless. How could he ever be expected to rule a planet. Dusty sank to his knees, and with a heavy sob, he released his pain and agony in a scream that could be heard 'round the planet.
*-*-*-*-*
"Aaah! Huh? Wha...?"
Dusty sat up in his bed, his body drenched in sweat from head to toe. His mind caught up with his body as he realized he had had a nightmare. Or was it? It seemed real enough. He bolted out of his quarters to Keith's study. He knocked on the door, and heard a familiar voice say, "who is it?"
"Oh, Keith, it's Dusty, I was just checking to see if you were there. Thanks." And with that, Dusty bolted for Allura's bedroom to find her fiddling with her key entry pad. She had forgotten her unlock code for a brief moment. In a flash of brilliance, it came back to her and she opened the door, just as Dusty came running down the hall in his pajamas.
"Dusty? What on Arus are you doing?!" Allura exclaimed.
"Oh Allura, thank God, thank God you're alive!" Dusty blurted, and wrapped his arms around the Princess in a bear hug.
"Poor thing, you must've had a nightmare," Allura figured. It seemed odd to her, that she had to take care of her older brother, but you have to do what you have to do, she reminded herself.
Allura hugged her brother back, and tried to calm him down. "Ssssshh, it's all right, I'm fine. I'm here, Dusty. I'm not going anywhere."
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