Chapter 7 You Can Never Escape Me
Haggar was being dragged through a long corridor by two Galra soldiers. Her vision was blurry and she passed out from time to time. When she woke up fully again, the Altean sorceress saw that she was chained to a steel wall and that she was being kept in a cell with all kinds of torture machinery around and a video cam pointing to her. She tried to use her magic to get loose but as she tried, she was electrocuted painfully, making her scream in pain. "AAAAAARGH!" When it was over, Haggar's head fell as the electric shocks stopped. After that, The cell doors opened, letting light coming from it blind her vision but she could see someone enter. It was Zarkon. Haggar's anger rose as she saw the evil emperor, for it was he who killed his parents and destroyed her planet and people so long ago and lied to her to keep her under his control...all for her great power. "ZARKON!" Haggar yelled with anger as she tried to get loose but was shocked again, making her scream in pain again. "AAAAAARGH!" She screamed as she felt even more weak but her anger was anything but gone.
Zarkon just evilly smirked at her, delighted to have the most powerful Altean in the universe back. "Haggar, you have returned to me... finally."
Haggar then looked to the 1 being who ruined hers and Allura's life together with nothing but fury in her eyes. "YOU MONSTER! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS AND YOU LIED TO ME, ZARKON! ALL THIS TIME YOU HAVE LIED TO ME ABOUT EVERYTHING!"
Zarkon walked up to her with an evil smile on his face. "What I did was unlock your true potential. And you did...on Altea. You have finally unlocked what I had hoped had happened 10.000 years ago. You have shown to me that your powers are equal to Voltron!"
Haggar's eyes went wide, as she couldn't believe what she'd heard. Are my powers truly equal to that of Voltron? But... that's impossible. No one in the universe has ever matched Voltron's power ever since it was created, especially not even the most powerful of Alteans."
As if Zarkon could read her mind, he smirked as he started to explain "When I wanted to rule the universe for eternity, I knew I needed the knowledge of eternal life through Quintessence and the only one with the right knowledge was you, but that wasn't the only reason."
This made Haggar confused of what Zarkon meant by that. "What are you mean that wasn't the only reason, Zarkon? You told me that you only wanted me for the Quintessence knowledge I possessed."
"Indeed, but when found out about you and searched through your records, I saw something astounding in your past. Something that your parents kept from you ever since you were a little 4 year old girl." He explained, making Haggar suddenly remember something... from a memory she didn't remember due to being 4 years old.
Flashback to when Haggar was 4 years old
Little Haggar and her parents were camping on a planet with a savanna environment and were having a great time. The 4 year old Altean was even feeding some very cute little animals that she also petted, making them rub against her face and making her giggle. "Aren't you all so cute?" She asked as she rubbed their fur, making her mother smile at her daughter's natural skills with cute animals.
Suddenly, growling and rusting was heard through the bushes of their campsite, making the cute animals quickly ran up the nearby trees as the Altean family stood up, with Haggar's father getting in front of his wife and daughter to protect them.
"Mommy, what are those things in the bushes?" Little Haggar said with fear in her voice, afraid of whatever was headed their way.
"Don't worry, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy won't let anything happen to you. Just stay behind us like a big girl, alright?" Haggar's mother said, trying to calm her daughter, despite her worry that everything probably wouldn't be all right.
A few seconds later, 4 wild leopard like animals leaped from the bushes and attacked the Altean family. Despite trying to fend them off and hitting them a few times, the creatures were too fast and strong and Haggar's mother pushed her daughter away as the leopards closed in for the kill.
Little Haggar was scared as she feared that she may have to see her parents being killed right in front of her. She wanted the animals to stop as her eyes brightened white and purple energy surrounded her. Then as her mother was being severely clawed by one of the animals, little Haggar was pushed over the edge. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as a huge powerburst came from her that not only completely vaporized the animals, but was so powerful that it created like an explosion.
When the dust settled, all their surroundings were destroyed but only little Haggar, her parents and their campsite was untouched. Her father didn't knew what he had just witnessed but looked on in shock as Little Haggar floated to her mother and used her powers to heal her, causing her mother to wake up just in time to see her daughter glowing with unimaginable power before she passed out from exhaustion, leaving her parents still in shock.
Flashback end
Haggar was shocked after seeing that memory, especially since she couldn't remember it until now. "I...never knew that I...was that powerful. But I did the same thing back on Altea when I destroyed that entire Galra fleet. Could...that power be the result of...my desire to protect the people I love?"
Zarkon smirked as Haggar was remembering what he told her before he spoke again. "You've had the potential of being just as powerful as Voltron all along, locked deep inside of you. And now that you are back with me, you will use those powers to capture Voltron...or destroy it if you must... after you become my high priestess...and my personal weapon."
But this made Hagger look fierce as she yelled defiantly. "I will never, ever serve you again, Zarkon. NEVER AGAIN!"
"We'll see." Zarkon said before he signaled his minion assigned to torture Haggar with a snap of his fingers to push a button on the control panel, electrocuting her as she screamed in pain.
4 days later
Haggar's torture was nonstop. Zarkon had tried to break her spirit first by physical torture, by electrocution, using whip slashes or the druids using their dark magic to hurt Haggar in nearly every muscle in her body. But she kept herself strong, as she still refused to serve the evil emperor that had taken everything from her ever again. Zarkon grew frustrated as the physical torture hadn't broke her spirit and instructed his druids to use their dark magic to send false visions into her mind, making them do as he commanded as the druids did as instructed and started to torture Haggar mentally.
Haggar saw images of her lover and the Paladins dead, hearing all the people in the universe blame her for all the pain she has caused. Or images of herself as a little girl, seeing her parents who wanted nothing to do with her. As Zarkon believed she was nearly broken, she broke false visions as she yelled out, sending all the druids against the wall with a powerburst. But as she passed out, she had another flashback from her forgotten memories.
Flashback 10'000 years ago when Haggar had turned 14
Haggar had woken up in the middle of the night, hearing her parents having a fierce argument in the living room downstairs. She hated it when her parents were like this, as the arguments were getting worse over the years and this one was the worst by far. The teenaged Altean wanted to know what they were talking about so she sneaked out of her room and went downstairs to listen better. When she got into hearing range, she heard her parents' fierce words.
"You can't do this to her! She has a life here on Altea, we all do!" Haggar's mother yelled, completely against the idea that her husband had for their daughter.
"Her powers are getting stronger with every year, you know that! They even rival that of Voltron! She has to study across the universe so she could control them!" Haggar's father argued, having been obsessed with finding a way to get Haggar to control her ever increasing powers. So much so that he had been monitoring his daughter's powers every week.
"But why can't she do it here on Altea, huh?! Tell me!" Haggar's mother demanded.
"It's too dangerous! What if she can't control her powers if she brings them out again!? She could kill everyone on the entire planet, if not the entire universe!"
"How can you say that?! She's not just some time bomb waiting to go off, she's our only child! She would never harm anyone unless her loved ones were in danger or unless she had no other choice!
"She will lose control if she's not trained in the proper way! You may have forgotten what she is truly capable of, but I have not!"
Then Haggar opened the door wide, surprising her parents as they had thought that she had been asleep. "What I'm capable of?! What do you mean by that, dad?! That I'm a monster ready to kill everyone on Altea or the entire universe!?" The teenaged Altean demanded, getting angry that her father thought of her as a freak.
Haggar's mother walked up to her, trying to calm her down. "Sweetheart, that's not what your father-" She tried to say but Haggar's father cut his wife off.
"What I said was that you need to control your powers, Haggar! Trust me, this is what's best for you, Altea and the universe!"
"No! I don't want to go! I want to stay here on Altea! I have my life here...and Allura!" Haggar argued, not wanting to leave the life she had on her home planet behind, especially her best friend... and the 1 she was secretly in love with.
"You can make new friends on other planets." Her father counterd.
"NO! I WANT TO STAY WITH ALLURA!" Haggar shouted, beginning to get angry.
But now her father had enough of the argument. "We are going, Haggar! Weather you like it or not! END OF DISCUSSION!"
Haggar was feeling her anger rise, wanting to crush her father right then and there as the walls were cracking and the ground was shaking. But when Haggar looked at her mother and saw how afraid she was, the Altean prodigy calmed down. She then could no longer control her tears and ran back upstairs to her room.
"Haggar!" Haggar's mother called to her as she ran after her, pushing her husband out of her way.
Haggar buried herself on her pillow, soaking her eyes out as her mother came into her room and slowly sat next to her daughter, rubbing her back. Haggar sat up and embraced her mother as she was sobbing on her shoulder. Making her mother hug her close to her in comfort.
Flashback end
After seeing that memory, she finally understood why her father was so obsessed with getting Haggar off Altea to start studying across the universe to learn to control her powers. He wasn't seeing her as a monster, but was trying to protect her, but to her, that still wasn't an excuse to keep her away from Allura, as she now knew that her powers were the result of her desire to protect her loved ones.
As she regained consciousness, the druids were forced to stand up by Zarkon, who ordered them not to stop and to continue torturing Haggar. "More!" He said with fury.
The Druids obeyed their master and started to send more false visions into Haggar's mind, making her yell in pain. But despite being in a false reality, she had something in her to fight back: the memories of her mother, her human friends...and her lover, Allura.
Meanwhile at the castle/Ship
Allura had been trying to locate where Zarkon could have taking Haggar for 4 days nonstop. Bags were forming under her eyes, showing that she hadn't slept at all in the passing days. She was tired and so were the Paladins, but she wasn't going to give up on Haggar. Coran had tried to convince her to take some rest, but she rejected any of it, which made him very worried, along with Pidge and her team...even her pet mice.
In the middle of the 4th night, Pidge was checking on her Altean friend while everyone else was getting their rest. But Pidge couldn't sleep, due to being worried about Allura, as well as missing Haggar. The female Paladin got to the bridge and saw that the Altean princess was busy checking for any trace of the wormhole and what course it set. Pidge also saw that Allura's determination was taking a huge high toll on her already bad condition.
When Pidge was close to her friend, she put a hand on her shoulder. "Allura?"
Allura was shocked and startled at first, but was relieved when she saw that it was Pidge. "Oh, it's you, Pidge." She said with tire in her voice before she went back to searching through the data she'd collected.
Pidge tried to tell her something to get the Altean princess to listen to her. "Allura, you have been working on finding Haggar nonstop for 4 days straight. You need to get some rest..."
"No! Haggar is somewhere out there, and I'm not giving up on her!" She said, cutting Pidge off before she brought up another screen.
Pidge wasn't going to give up and said. "Allura, this isn't normal! You need to get some rest or you could become sick-"
"I'm fine, Pidge." Allura said, interrupting her female Paladin.
As Allura went to the main screen, she was stopped by Pidge, who got in front of her. "No, you are not! We all know you deeply care for Hagger, we all do! But that doesn't mean we-"
Allura then pushed Pidge out of the way. "You can rest all you want, but I'm going to keep looking for Haggar, no matter what!"
This made Pidge angry as she couldn't allow her friend's obsession to take anymore of a toll on her then it already had. She then went to the main plug and pulled it, turning off all the power on the bridge and causing all the data Allura had collected to be lost.
"NO! What have you done?!" Allura asked with anger.
"You are getting some rest right now, Allura!" Pidge told her friend with a determined face as she held the plug.
Allura wanted to turn the power back on as she reached out for the plug, but was stopped by Pidge everytime. "No! PLEASE, PIDGE, WE CANNOT ABANDON HAGGAR!"
"Allura, calm down!" Pidge begged.
Then Allura unexpectedly grabbed Pidge by her shirt, pulling her to her as she took the plug and threw the female Paladin to the floor hard in obsessive anger! Allura plugged the power cord up, turning the power back on but as she went to restart the search, she saw Pidge was hurt, making her gasp as she finally saw that her female friend was right. Her obsession with finding Haggar was taking a toll on her that it caused her to hurt the only friend who had been supportive of her and Haggar since her purple skinned princess had been reunited with her and if it continued like this, she may end up going completely insane. And if she was going to hold on to her sanity and her friends, it had to stop now!
The Altean princess ran to help Pidge as she took her into her arms. "Pidge, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you like that! I...just…" As Pidge looked into her eyes, Allura could no longer hold her tears and as she cried, the female Paladin held her close. "I can't lose her, Pidge... not again."
Pidge started to recognize this behavior from Allura. The behavior of a person who had a loved one taken from them, the same as her. As Pidge broke the hug, she looked at her and asked. "Haggar is more than just your best friend, isn't she?" Allura froze in shock, unable to say anything at this point as her female friend continued. "Allura, I know that nobody would so deeply care for a best friend the way you care for Haggar. Tell me what's going on and I'll try to help you. You can tell me anything."
As Allura felt she could trust Pidge after she had supporting them since day 1, she slowly gathered her courage and said. "You're right, Pidge. We are more than just friends. Haggar and I... are in love."
Pidge was shocked for a second. Even though she felt it, it was not what she expected to hear from Allura. "Really? How... long have you two been...?"
Allura sighed as she told Pidge how hers and Haggar's romance started when they were just teenagers back on Altea 10.000 years ago and the promise they'd made to get married in the future they had planned together. After the story was over, Pidge had taken Allura to her room and sat on the bed together with her. "I understand now, Allura, but why didn't you or Haggar tell us before?"
"Haggar and I both promised each other that we should keep our love a secret until everyone had accepted her into the team and the right time had arrived for us to tell everyone. But because Haggar was taking a liking to you because of your support of us ever since we were reunited, we'd tell you 1st before everyone else." Allura revealed with sad eyes as she thought of her darling princess.
Pidge nodded, showing that she understood Allura and Haggar's choice. But then she spoke to her friend. "We care for you Allura. You and Haggar. But you need to get some rest... and...maybe it's better that the others know about you and Haggar." Before Allura could say anything, Pidge continued to explain. "They all need to know, Allura. If you're in love with Haggar, me and the others deserve to know why you are so determined to find her."
Allura thought for a moment, but slowly nodded. "You're right, Pidge. You all deserve to know the truth. You, the other Paladins, even Coran."
Pidge smiled as she covered Allura with her blanket. "Alright. But first, you need to rest. Don't worry, we will find Haggar. I promise." She said gently, making Allura gave her friend a hug before she then left the Altean princess' room, leaving her to sleep.
Allura fell asleep quickly, as her body finally could relax from all the nonstop work. But in her mind, she was vowing to herself. "Haggar, my darling princess, please hang on. I will come for you and then I'll never let you go again, my love. I promise."
In the prison where Haggar was being kept
The Altean sorceress was trying to keep herself from falling into madness, but then she could hear Allura's voice in her head.
"Haggar, my darling princess, please hang on. I will come for you and then I'll never let you go again, my love. I promise."
"Allura?" Haggar asked herself, beginning to have hope that her princess would come for her.
The next day at the castle/ship in Allura's room
Allura had woken up and felt a lot better since Pidge helped her. Her pet mice came onto her lap as she sat up straight, making them squeak a little happily as she rubbed their bellies. "How should I tell everyone else about Haggar and me? What will I even start with saying?" She asked herself before getting out of bed. "Whatever happens, I can't keep this up anymore. My obsession with finding my darling princess has already caused me to hurt Pidge and if I don't tell the others now, I'll end up doing it again. I have to tell everyone about Haggar and me now." She said to herself as she got dressed and called the other Paladins to the bridge before she headed there, where Pidge was already waiting for her.
When everyone was gathered, they all (except for Pidge) asked themselves why Allura had called them together. Lance, Keith and Hunk were thinking that it was probably another assignment to search for any trace of Haggar. They had been searching for 4 days and were near exhaustion, Luckily Coran convinced Allura the day before that the Paladins needed their rest. However, Shiro was thinking that it could be something else.
As Allura entered the bridge, she started to say to everyone. "Paladins, Coran, I know you all wonder why I have called you all here today-" she tried to say but was interrupted by Lance.
"Hang on! Before you give us any assignments, there is something we all want to say!" The blue Paladin said in frustration.
Keith then spoke. "Yes. We all want to find Haggar as much as you are, Allura. But we need to have a break! We have been searching for days and are all exhausted!"
Then Hunk spoke. "Yeah... Haggar is our friend, but the search is killing me. I only slept last night for 5 hours 'cause my stomach went crazy after hardly eating for the last few days."
Allura sighed as she said. "I know I have been pushing you all to search for Haggar. All I want to say is that I'm sorry...for everything that's happened the last few days. And...I think I owe all of you an explanation."
Coran ensured her that wasn't necessary. "You don't have to, Allura. We all know how much you care for your best friend."
Allura was getting uncomfortable as she wasn't ready to say it. But after looking at Pidge, who nodded in support, she had the strength to tell the others her secret. "Well, about me and Haggar. There is something you all have to know. We... are actually... more than just best friends."
All the others, except Pidge started to look surprised and Shiro noticed what was troubling the Altean princess. "Wait. Allura...are you telling us that you and Haggar-"
Allura slowly nodded before she revealed the truth. "Yes. Me and Haggar...are in love."
This came as a total surprise to everyone but Pidge, as she had already heard it from Allura yesterday and didn't mind at all. Hunk, Keith and Shiro were nonplussed, but now it it made some sense to them as to why Allura and Haggar were so close. Coran and Lance, on the other hand, were completely stunned until the Keeper of Altea spoke. "You and... Haggar are... in love?! So-so you have been in-" He said I shock before he laughed a bit and asked the princess "Allura. Hahaha. You're just joking, right?"
But Allura looked at him with what seemed like sad eyes, but in a way that she wasn't joking about it and was dead serious. Coran's face fell and his laugh died out. "But...but, it has to be a joke." He said before looking at the other male Paladins before looking at Pidge, who shook her head.
"It's not a joke, Coran. She and Haggar are in love." The Green Paladin revealed.
Keith then asked Pidge. "Wait, how did you know?"
"She told me last night." She answered before she looked at Allura and said. "And I don't mind at all." This warmed Allura's heart that her female human friend supported her in this.
Lance however, was reacting to this in a different way. "No wonder she wouldn't fall for my charms, she's only into women!" That got Allura to look at the Blue Paladin with a fierce look, which made him nervous as he said nervously. "Ehh... not that it bothers me anyway." He said before he nervously laughed before shutting up, as he didn't want to have Haggar on his tail if she heard him saying that.
But Coran had no idea how to cope with this. "No... no no, Allura! This is... unheard of that you, the crown-princess of Altea, is in love with... another Altean women! What would your father say if he was alive?!"
"I don't care what my father would say about this, Coran!" Allura said angrily to her servent/friend.
"You... wouldn't care?! Allura, you are the heir of Altea! The next in line to the Altean monarchy!" Then Coran was beyond control. "BY ALL THE GODS OF THE UNIVERSE, NO, I DON'T ACCEPT THIS! I MAY NOT BE OF ROYALTY BUT I'M SAYING THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! YOU ARE A PRINCESS AND IT IS YOUR JOB TO CONTINUE THE BLOODLINE!"
Now it was Allura that was beyond control. She was now more angry than before that even Coran was scared of her now. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY FAMILY BLOODLINE OR THE ALTEAN THRONE! ME AND HAGGAR ARE IN LOVE AND I DON'T CARE WHAT EITHER YOU OR ANYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE SAYS ABOUT IT!" Even tears were forming in her eyes, but she kept the same anger. "Let me tell you something, Keeper of Altea. 10'000 years ago, if nobody back on Altea would agree to my relationship with Haggar, including my father, I would have ran away with her and we would have started a life of our own, I told Haggar that myself when we went to the mystics to severe her link with Zarkon!"
This caught Coran off guard after she said that. "You...would...but you are the princess!"
"I don't care that I am a princess! I love Haggar and she loves me!" She then looked at the other Paladins, while Paige rubbed her back so that she would calm down. With tears in her eyes she said. "Now you all know why I have been so obsessed with finding Haggar. I can't lose her again!"
Then Shiro said as he walked up to Allura. "It's alright, Allura. We understand. And.. if you and Haggar are in love, it doesn't bother me at all." He said with a smile, making Allura smile as she whipped away her tears. Coran wanted to protest but was interrupted by Shiro. "It won't bother us! Look Coran, I don't know how you handle this in your culture, but back on Earth, we have a saying: Love is love. So you know what? Who cares that Allura is a princess and is in love with another woman, it doesn't bug me at all."
Shiro looked at Hunk, who said. "No, I think it is a beautiful thing for them to be together."
Then Shiro looked at Keith, who said. "It doesn't bother me at all."
Then Lance, who sighed. "I may have lost my chances with Allura... but you know what? Let them be together, then at least I can focus on the ladies who DO have an eye for me." He said, making Shiro smile as he rolled his eyes of Lance's macho behavior.
Coran couldn't believe that the Paladins were not against it, but rather supported it. "But... Allura is a princess... and she…"
Shiro then faced Coran. "Coran, I have nothing against you or your culture, but Allura and Haggar are part of our team and we are all into this fight against Zarkon. If you bugs you too much, then at least be there for Allura in our fight and try to accept how she is."
Coran then looked at Allura and thought about how she and Haggar are truly impossible to separate, even if one of them has the duty of being the next Altean queen. He dropped his face and said reluctantly. "Well... If you really love Haggar so much and the Paladins are supporting you, then... I guess I can try to cope with it."
Allura was so happy that everyone had accepted her being in love with Haggar. The Altean princess felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders was lifted as all the Paladins stood close to he before Hunk said. "We will find Haggar. That's a promise... from all of us."
All the Paladins nodded as tears of joy came from Allura as she hugged the Paladins. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
6 days later
Since Allura had told the others that she and Haggar are a couple, things had gotten a little better for everyone. But Coran however was still struggling to get used to the fact his princess is in love with another Altean women, but he was showing he was trying to accept it. As for Allura, she had now calmed down, but was still not giving up on finding where her lover could have been taken.
It was nearly the end of the day and the Paladins had just returned from Altea to search for any clue to find where Zarkon could have taken Haggar to. They were slowed down after a distress call from the Magna system that needed help after rising up against the Galra but after forming Voltran, the Paladins were successful in liberating the planet Magna from the Galra. When they all came to the bridge, Allura walked to them. "I had received your message. You all did well on liberating the inhabitants of Magna from the Galra." But she still wanted to know if they had found any clue on Haggar had been taken. "Did you... find anything that could lead to Haggar?" she asked with concern.
Shiro shook his head with regret. "I'm sorry, Allura. We have checked for any trace around Altea and the nearby planets, but couldn't find anything where Zarkon's ship was heading to."
Allrua sighed in sadness, as she was expecting that answer. "Then we need to look in the nearby systems around Altea. There must be a clue or at least a trace from there." She said as she went back over the controls while making another plan to keep searching for Haggar.
Lance then said to the determined princess. "But Allura, we checked those systems a few days ago already.
"I know you had already checked those, but maybe if we follow the course that Zarkon's ship took, then we will find out where Haggar could be right now!" Allura said as she had figured out a new plan to search for her darling princess.
Hunk then said nervously. "I... don't want to be complaining about this, but... if we check every system that Zarkon's ship passed, it will take us weeks to find Haggar, months even!"
Allura looked a bit angry to Hunk, but calmed down after realizing that it was true that it would take too long to find her beloved. "So...is it really hopeless? Are Haggar and I not meant to have our happiness in this life?"
Then Keith said. "Hunk is right, princess. There must be another way to find Haggar faster... before it is too late."
Allura knew he was right and said sadly. "Maybe you are right that this will take too long to find Haggar, but I just can't think of anything else to find her faster."
Then Pidge started to think until she remembered something important and said. "Hey wait a minute! You and Haggar formed that mental connection together, right?"
Allura nodded. "Yes"
"Well, can you try to use it to locate Haggar. I mean, like Zarkon had used a similar connection with the Black Lion to locate us?"
"Hey yeah! You can just use it to find Haggar, then we won't have to search every planet one at a time!" Lance said enthusiastically.
All the Paladins and Coran agreed that it would work, but Allura started to explain it was not that simple "It's not that simple, everyone. Haggar and I had only used it to small distances, like how we could find each other in the castle. We had never fully mastered it to try something like this!"
Pidge then walked to her friend. "Allura, me and the others had to deal with the same thing when we couldn't form Voltron when we 1st became Paladins. And in the end, you're faith in all of us had made us to form Voltron at last. Trust me, Allura, if we can do the impossible, then so can you. And I'm not giving up on you or Haggar... none of us are." The Green Paladin said with a smile.
This warmed Allura's heart and she gave the Green Paladin a hug, which she returned.
Allura then spoke when she broke the hug. "Alright, I'm going to try to locate Haggar through our mental link. In the meantime, you will search the other systems for clues...after getting some rest." All the Paladins nodded, showing that they agreed with this. "Okay, you all get yourselves some rest. I will be in my room to figure out to locate Haggar with our mental link."
When everyone was about to leave, Keith noticed Coran hadn't spoken a single word when they came back. He walked up to him and asked. "Coran, you were very quiet in there. Normally you would speak more than any of us."
Coran sighed as they walked out of the bridge. "I'm sorry, Keith. But I..."
"You are still not comfortable with Allura being with... Haggar?"
Coran nodded. "Yes Keith. She is the heir to the throne, the last of her line. How can the bloodline continue if a new heir won't be around anytime soon? That would be the end of the monarchy."
Then Keith said. "Well... maybe a republic could work?"
This surprised Coran completely, he stopped and said very seriously. "A republic?! Preposterous! Altea had been a monarchy for thousands of years and the system had always worked!" But then he became sad as he walked further. "Besides, what's the use of it anyway, if me, Allura and Haggar are the only Alteans left in the universe?"
Keith didn't said anything else after that. He left Coran and went to his own room. But Keith was thinking that there could maybe be a chance that there could be more Altean survivors, somewhere in the universe.
Meanwhile with Haggar
Haggar was still fastened to the same steel wall as when she arrived in this prison, or whatever this place was. There were scratches and bruises all over her body from the torture and she even barely slept, for when she tried, she was then put into another illusion by the druids to torture her in her mind, but thankfully was always able to break it.
Zarkon became more frustrated and furious as the days have gone by without Haggar being turned back to his side. "GRRRAAAAAAH! WHY CAN'T I BREAK HER!?" He yelled in fury as he smashed some controls, breaking them with his power.
All the soldiers were scared of their master, even the druids became nervous. Then a Galra scientist walked to him and tried to say. "Ehm... my lord-"
But then he was instantly grabbed by the throat by Zarkon. "What is it?!"
The scientist couldn't breath and tried to say. "The... machine... you asked for... is ready..."
Zarkon smirked as he released the scientist, who gasped for air. Zarkon chuckled evilly. "Good. Prepare your machine for my 'former high priestess'.
But then the scientist tried to say. "But, my lord... the Quintessence Drainer is only a prototype, it hasn't been tested yet and..."
Zarkon grabbed him by the throat again and smacked him to a wall. "Then you will test it ON HAGGAR!"
Nervously, the scientist nodded. "Y-y-yes, my Lord."
The scientist left for a few minutes before entering the cell again with the machine and Zarkon. Haggar opened her eyes, seeing the scientist putting a lot of needle-plugs in her body that really hurt her. "Arrgh! What... what are doing with me? Another one of your tortures, Zarkon?" She asked, mocking the 1 being who ruined her life and nearly took everything from her.
Zarkon didn't say anything but the scientist then said to her. "What I'm about to do... is using one of my new inventions on you, Haggar. A machine that you remember pretty well." Haggar didn't understand as the scientist went on. "After all, you approved the project. Project QD, also known as 'The Quintessence Drainer.'
Haggar's eyes went wide as she remembered the project that a Galra scientist was trying to make, but died before it could be finished. "What?! But…I thought it-?!"
"Was shut down? Yes, but after you... betrayed the empire, Lord Zarkon contacted me and I finished the project my grandfather started." He explained as he put the last needle-plug in Haggar's neck, making her get scared. The scientist started up the machine as he explained further to her. "We are going to drain all the Quintessence from your body, and there should be quiet amount of it, since you used a lot to keep yourself alive for 10.000 years. Once that has been done, you should be prepared for the side-effects that you will physically and mentally experience. For example: faster old age, weakening bones, damage to the nerve-system, fever, schizophrenia, madness and eventually... death." The scientist started powering on the machine as he continued. "Lord Zarkon insisted to use you as the first test subject. And since you have a lot of Quintessence, you are the perfect subject for this."
But as the scientist wanted to turn the machine on, Zarkon held his hand "Hold." He ordered, making the scientist obey as Zarkon walked to Haggar and faced her. "You have heard the scientist, Haggar. What you are about to embrace is far more worse then the tortures I put you through, but you can still save yourself... and your princess. Rejoin me, or die."
Haggar was scared of what would happen, but she was not going to betray the woman she loved, nor her Earth friends for anything, even her own life. She spit in Zarkon's face when she said with fury. "I... WILL... NEVER REJOIN YOU, YOU BASTARD!"
Zarkon looked angrily at her as he whipped away the spit from his face before looking at the scientist and nodding his head. The scientist pressed a button and the machine started, making Haggar scream as she felt the worst pain she had ever felt in her whole life. "AAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!" Haggar could feel the Quintessence leave her body slowly from the tubes that were plugged to her and slowly filled a tank with quintessence. After some minutes, the last of quintessence was drained out of her and the scientist turned the machine off. Haggar breathed heavily from all the pain as she felt different and weak.
The scientist then faced her while taking some notes. "You might be feeling a bit weak in the first few hours, but that will slowly go away. You may not feel any of the side effects yet, but they will slowly sink in, while I keep a full track of what will happen to you." He said while smirking. Then the scientist took the machine, full with quintessence and left the cell together with Zarkon before he asked his emperor while looking at Haggar through a monitor. "My lord, what do you want me to do with all the Quintessence?"
"Keep it in your lab, doctor. If Haggar rejoins me, the Quintessence you collected will be given back to her." Zarkon answered.
The scientist understood, but asked another thing. "And... what if she doesn't?"
Zarkon then looked at him while taking a file that said 'Top secret' in Galran language and gave it to the scientist. When he took it and read it, his eyes went wide as he faced his master. "If my high priestess still refuses to rejoin me, then you will begin with my backup plan. The Quintessence you have collected are then to be used for this project."
He nodded as Zarkon looked at him fiercely. "And remember, no one else but only you and I are to know about this. Understand?!"
"Y-y-yes, my lord." The scientist answered before he left the hallway and took the Quintessence with him to his personal lab.
After some hours, Haggar was starting to feel weaker. Her body was beginning to age and she was breathing heavily before she heard a voice in her head.
"Haggar."
"What...? Who's there?"
"Haggar." The voice repeated.
Haggar tried to keep herself under control but then was starting to feel dizzy as sweat came from her head. She then saw something in front of her that looked like dark clouds, forming a head of herself.
"Haggar." The voice in the dark clouds repeated.
"Who... who are you?" she asked the thing in front of her, but then shook her head, as it was just an illusion. "No. You're not real."
"I am you... and you are me... Don't fight it... or you will be killed... you heard what Zarkon said... join him and save your friends."
"No! I will not join him, not again!" Haggar said definitely.
The voice went away but Haggar was feeling more weaker as she was now nearly 24 hours without Quintessence. Her hair was now pure white and she was now looking like a 60 year old woman. "I... need quintessence... I need. NO! fight it Haggar! Fight it!" She said to herself, refusing to give in. However, Haggar was feeling more schizophrenic as the voice in her head was getting stronger.
"Why are you still fighting it, Haggar? Why do you still not embrace me as you did before?" The voice asked the rapidly aging Altean.
"Because you're not real!"
Haggar looked around as the illusion was gone, making her sigh in relief. But then the dark cloud with Haggar's face was right in front of her.
"I AM VERY REAL, HAGGAR AND YOU KNOW IT!"
Haggar gasped as the dark cloud showed her a vision of the Paladins and Allura reject and disown her.
"You are a monster!" Shiro said.
Then Lance. "You don't belong with us!"
Then Keith. "We trusted you!"
Then Hunk. "You used us!"
Then Coran. "You never deserved Allura!"
"I thought you were my friend, but I was wrong!" Pidge yelled.
"I loved you, Haggar, and you killed all those people!" Allura yelled before turning her back on Haggar forever.
Haggar knew that this wasn't real and closed her eyes tight and shook her head heavily. "NO NO! NO! NO! NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT!"
The voices stopped as she opened her eyes, but the cloud began to take the form of a person and Haggar was shocked to see that it was the form of herself, but then far more evil. This counterpart was wearing the darkest cloak like the 1 she wore when she served Zarkon, had black and red eyes and raven black long hair.
It smirked as the dark counterpart floated towards her. "You can never escape me!" The dark version of Haggar said darkly before she went back in the real Haggar's head to torture her in her mind with the worst illusions ever possible.
Haggar yelled as she felt more mental pain. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Meanwhile back with Allura in her room
Allura had sat on hers and Haggar's bed as she had tried nearly nonstop to master her mental link with her darling princess, but each time was unsuccessful. She broke her meditation and sobbed. "I can't do it. I… just can't do it."
Then someone knocked on her door saying. "Allura? It's me, Pidge."
Allura whipped her tears off her cheeks and said. "Come in, Pidge."
Pidge came in and saw that her friend was not feeling good. "Are you... alright, Allura?" She asked with concern.
"I can't do it, Pidge. No matter how I try, I can't do it!"
Pidge sat next to her and stroked her back. She wanted to see how she could help reunite her 2 friends.
"I tried nearly everything. Focusing on her or the nearby planets, but still nothing." Allura explained with sadness.
Pidge then thought of something. "I... think I know what the problem is."
Allura looked at her friend. "Really? What could it be?"
"I think you have too many thoughts in your mind." Pidge answered.
"Too many thoughts?"
Pidge nodded. "Yes. You focus on Haggar, the planets, and on the stars. Too many focuses. I know I'm no expert on these things, but you should try this: try not to focus on anything at all. Clear your head, no thoughts at all.
Allura thought that it was worth a try. "Okay. I'll try." She went back to meditating and told herself. "No mind." Allura tried hard by not thinking of anything, though it was hard for all she could think of her darling princess. But after some minutes of trying, she cleared her head and was not thinking of anything, not even talking to herself.
In Allura's mind
The Altean princess saw all the stars and planets in the universe but kept her focus, even if it was amazingly beautiful.
Then Allura heard a voice that she had wanted to hear for days: the voice of her darling princess. "Allura! Allura!"
Suddenly, the Altean princess' spirit was dragged through time and space as she saw so many stars and galaxies passing her, until she was on a planet that was filled with many Galra warships, and...a base. Allura then saw through the walls her beloved Haggar, nearly driven into madness as she was yelling out. "NOOO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! ALLURAAAAAA!"
Outside of Allura's mind
"HAGGAR!" Allura yelled as her eyes opened wide.
Pidge came to her and held her arms. "Allura! What did you see?!"
She looked at the Green Paladin and said. "I... I know where Haggar is."
Not long after, Allura informed Coran and the other Paladins of what she has seen and the location where Haggar was being held. She opened the map of the galaxy and the planet system before speaking. "Haggar is being held captive on planet Epatovo. It holds not only the largest shipyard of the Galra Empire, but also holds the largest military base."
Coran checked on more information on the military planet. "According to some sources, the planet and the shipyard together held more than 10 billion Galra forces and 1/4 of the entire Galra fleet in the universe."
Shiro was getting suspicious of the planet as he spoke. "That sounds more like the Galra are planning for something. Perhaps conquering new planets for Zarkon."
Coran nodded. "Yes, there is a big chance they are planning just that."
Lance then did a soldier pose. "I say we use Voltron and smash those Galra soldiers to pieces!"
Everyone rolled their eyes before Allura spoke. "It's not that simple, Lance. The planet is strictly guarded. We will be detected if we get 100 light years close to the base. We need to think about how we can enter the base without being noticed."
Everyone was thinking deep on what to do but Allura was ready for anything to go and rescue her lover. Then Shiro thought of something and checked the information about the base. It said that the planet was indeed being monitored, but also read that each day, over 100 transport ships are supplying the planet with food, weapons, soldiers and ammunition. As Shiro continued to read, he thought deeply and then... had the most brilliant idea ever! "Guys, I think I know how we can get ourselves to the base, without being detected and get Haggar out of there."
All were eager to listen to Shiro's plan. "What is your plan, Shiro?" Keith asked.
Shiro smiled and said. "Two words: Trojan, but in this case, Voltron Horse."
Allura and Coran raised an eyebrow as they had no idea what he meant by that, but the human Paladins thought it was brilliant. "That... THAT'S A GENIUS IDEA, SHIRO!" Pidge said very happy.
"Of course, why didn't I think of that? We pass the Galra unnoticed and then... BANG BANG BANG! They won't know what hit them!" Lance said as he was pretending he was shooting some Galra.
Coran really didn't know what Shiro or the Paladins were talking about. "Hold on! What are you guys talking about?"
"Yes. Even I don't understand where this is going." Allura said.
Shiro then explained his plan so the two Alteans would better understand it. "Okay, let me explain. We commandeer one of the Galra transport ships heading for Epatovo. When we do that, we disguise ourselves as Galra soldiers, land on the base, look for Haggar, free her and get out of there."
Coran was astounded to how well this idea could work. "That's... not a bad idea at all! Even I could have thought about that." he said, thinking how well he could have thought about this amazing idea himself.
But there was something else Allura needed to say of what she saw and said to Shiro "That's a great idea, Shiro. But if we want to free Haggar, we need to do it fast."
"What do you mean we have to go fast?"
"When I saw where Haggar was located... I sensed she was hurt and... her life energy was slowly getting weaker. Paladins, if we don't move fast... she will die!" Allura answered with concern for her darling princess as a tear came from her eye, not wanting to lose her true love if they waited for too long.
Everyone looked at each other as they felt for Allura because of how much Haggar meant to her and to them, especially Pidge. Then Shiro said determent. "Then we are going now!" He said as he put his helmet on, along with the other Paladins as they were as determined as their leader to save their friend. "Pidge, you load all the data from every Galra transport that heads for Epatovo!"
"Right!" the Green Paladin said as she went on her computer to download all the data.
Then Shiro looked at the rest of the Paladins. "I'll tell the whole plan on the way. Everyone get to your lions!"
"Right!"
Allura said while putting on her suit. "I'm going with you guys... and you, too, Coran!"
Coran was surprised that the princess told him that. "Oh.. ehh... shouldn't I stay here to watch the castle? If we are all going together, the castle will be easy to catch."
Allura shook her head. "Don't worry about that, we will leave the castle to where we can get to it and keep it cloaked. But listen, Coran, we need everyone on this, including you. Please, i'm not asking this as your princess, I'm asking this to you as a friend." She said with sad eyes to her servant/friend.
Coran was touched by Allura's words and after some thinking, he said. "Alright, Princess." He put on his suite and smiled, making Allura do the same.. "I'm coming with you guys."
When the team got the Castle cloaked at a safe location, far away from the Galra, All the Paladins were on their Lions, with Allura on the Black Lion and Coran on the green one.
As they went through a wormhole, Shiro explained the plan. "Okay, this is how it's gonna go. Pidge, you use your Lion's cloaking device to sneak on the ship together with Coran. Once your inside, you disable monitors around the ship and turn the security systems against the Galra soldiers, but don't let anyone at the bridge notice, otherwise this whole operation will fail. Then you lead me and the rest of the crew inside through the cargo area. Once we have all gathered, Pidge will disable all communications on board, so the Galra can't signal for help. Once we have taken control over the bridge, Allura will take over the controls and head for Epatovo while Coran steals the security codes that we can use to get deeper into the base. While we all disguise ourselves as Galra soldiers so nobody will suspect a thing. Once we have landed, we proceed with phase 2: rescuing Haggar."
But then Lance interrupted Shiro. "But why do we need to take the Lions with us? Won't the Galra notice them once we have landed on the base?"
Shiro explained further. "We don't need to worry that the Galra will detect the Lions. All the transport ships are on a waiting list once they have landed and the fastest 1 to be loaded out is within 2 days."
The Paladins understood but still wanted to know why they really needed the Lions, so Hunk asked. "We understand Shiro, but you still didn't tell us what we need the Lions for."
Shiro then explained it. "The Lions are needed for phase 3 after we have rescued Haggar. We use the Lions in our escape and form Voltron to destroy the base and the whole Galra fleet, including the ships that are still being constructed. The reason we need to do that is because we cannot leave a base like that intact like this. If we don't destroy that army and that fleet, the Galra can conquer even more planets."
Everyone understood but Hunk then said. "But Shiro... what if we don't succeed?"
But Shiro was determined. "We must succeed, Hunk, because we have only 1 shot at this if we want to save Haggar in time."
All the Paladins, Allura and Coran nodded. "Then there is no time to lose, Paladins!" Allura said to encourage everyone.
Later
The first phase of their so called 'Operation: Voltron Horse' was going flawless. They had taken control over the ship and taken out all Galra soldiers inside in less than 10 minutes.
While Allura set the ship on automatic pilot for Epatovo, she wanted to know where Trojan Horse came from and asked Shiro, who was putting on a Galra uniform. "Shiro, where exactly does 'Trojan Horse' come from?"
Shiro looked to Allura and answered. "It's from a part of our human history back on Earth. 3'000 years ago, there was a fierce war being fought between the city states of Greece and the Kingdom of Troy. For more than a decade, neither side could gain the upper hand. But then a Greek general came up with the idea to make a giant wooden horse, as a gift to Troy for offering peace. But inside the wooden horse were a group of Greek soldiers. Now, the Trojans believed the Greeks wanted peace and accepted the wooden Horse and brought the whole thing inside the city. So while everyone in Troy thought they had won, the Greek soldiers inside the wooden statue remained silent until it was dark and everyone was asleep. Once it was quiet in the city, the Greek soldiers sneaked out of the wooden horse and opened the city gates for the Greek army. And so, Troy was conquered and the Greeks had won. That's how this sneaking tactic was born: Trojan Horse."
Allura understood it now and started to wear also a Galra uniform. When Allura was alone for a moment, she used her mental link to call for Haggar to tell her that she was coming to save her. She closed her eyes and focused. "Haggar, my love. Please hang on. We are coming for you. Please hang on!"
Meanwhile with Haggar
The dying Altean sorceress was feeling very weak, feeling her life slowly slipping away. She had nearly reached the point of madness as the voice of her evil counterpart kept tempting her to lore her back to the dark side. But then she heard Allura's voice. "Haggar, my love. Please hang on. We are coming for you. Please hang on!"
Haggar's eyes went wide and a smile grew on her face. "Allura... my dear princess... please hurry..." She said weakly as her face fell, having nearly no strength left.
The voice of Haggar's dark counterpart tried to block the mental link with Allura. "No! Don't listen to her, Haggar! She was only slowing you down and holding you back!"
Haggar became angry as she yelled out. "ENOUGH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GO BACK TO WHATEVER REALM YOU CAME FROM AND JUST DIIIIIEEEE!"
Haggar's evil counterpart was furious for her other not embracing her. But then she smirked and whispered before disappearing. "Like I said, Haggar. You. Can. Never. Escape. Me."
Haggar felt relieved that her evil counterpart finally left her alone, but she prayed that Allura and the Paladins would hurry, for she felt that she couldn't hang on much longer. "Allura, my sweet princess... If you can hear me... please... hurry." She thought to herself before she fell into unconsciousness.
Back with Allura, the Paladins and Coran
Allura had heard her lovers voice through her mental link and looked at everyone. "Everyone, we need to hurry." She said with urgency, making the others nod before she contacted her darling princess. "Hold on, Haggar, my darling princess, I'm coming for you. And when I have you back with me, I'll never let you go ever again."
There you go, my friends, the chapter is finally complete. The next chapter will have Allura and the others rescue Haggar, the 2 lovers' 'first time' and what Zarkon's secret project is for the Quintessence taken from Haggar's body. Rate and review. See you soon, my friends.
