The Cryon IV Incident, Episode 5: Lotor Versus The Beast
By Papa Palpatine 2008
Notice: Characters of the Voltron franchise...don't own, don't sue...Dry Clean Only...
Well, let's get on with it!
The battle between Lotor and the Ice Beast had begun in earnest. Allura watched frozen in silent trepedation as the Drule prince barely managed to dodge each swipe the creature took at him with its claws. He had cut its hide thrice with his light sword, but inflicted superficial wounds at best and only enraged the monster that much more. Lotor was neither a weakling nor a coward, but how long could he last against such a monster? And what would stop that thing from having her for dessert after it finished off the Crown Prince of Planet Doom?
Her mind reeled, she needed to come up with a plan; one that would save both their lives. She looked around the chamber they were in for anything that could be useful, cursing herself for losing her gun in the cave in. There had to be an alternative, she certainly wasn't thrilled by the prospect of becoming food for that shaggy monstrosity. To say things were looking grim would be an understatement.
Wait a minute, she thought, looking high up at the icy ceiling above the two combatants. A giant icicle hung down like a great icy dagger. There were already visible cracks around its base, a good hit with something solid might just cause it to come crashing down like a sword of Damocles; she just needed Lotor to maneuver the creature directly under it at just the right time...
But could she bring herself to do something like that to any living thing, even one so immediately menacing? As a simple matter of survival, she realized, she would have to. The Ice Beast was sure to wear Lotor down soon, and then he, and soon after she, would be in its gastrointestinal track.
Lotor and the beast continued trading swings with each other; it with its claws, him with his sword. Allura called out to him: "Lotor, up there! Try and get it directly under that icicle!"
Lotor glanced up only breifly, then nodded that he understood. The creature took advantage of the momentary gap in his defenses to slash at Lotor's right arm. Lotor grimaced and held his bicep, which was already bleeding. He was fortunate the Ice Beast hadn't cut deep enough to sever his arm.
"Father, give me strength to do this." Allura silently prayed as she picked up a skull from the piles of bones that littered the floor. She thought: guide my aim, Father, please...
She threw the skull with all the muscle power her feminine frame could put behind it. Surpisingly, it hit! The crack in the base of the icicle was expanding. She yelled, "Now Lotor!"
Though wounded, the Drule warrior prince was able to goad the monster into position. It barely managed to look up as the great falling dagger of ice impaled it through its shoulder from above, sinking deep into the vital organs in its torso. The Ice Beast cried a terrible cry of agony before it collapsed at Lotor's feet, writhing in pain in a pool of crimson. Allura turned away with a wince as Lotor thrust his light blade through the monster's skull, ending its misery.
They were entering the cave single file. All of them had to squat down to avoid slamming their helmeted heads into the ceiling. The red one, the leader, was at point as the Krelvan came to where the cave had collapsed. It stretched out its arm, opening its claw hand and projected a heat beam from a weapon built into its gauntlet. The beam melted away the icy obstruction almost instantly, the red Krelvan glanced down momentarily at the broken lazon pistol that had been crushed under the untold tons of ice that had fallen during the cave in, and then it noticed the other passage. It gibbered and gestured to its troops, ordering them to follow.
Allura had the first aid kit from her pack laid out on the cave floor as she bandaged Lotor's arm. She had applied enough pressure to stop the bleeding, but by then he had already bled a significant amount. Lotor's light blue skin had faded to a pale, bluish white. He was drifting in and out of consciousness, Allura had to slap him several times to keep him from closing his eyes for good.
"Hey, you better not die on me," She groused at him. "I'll need you to get us out of this."
"I always knew deep down you really cared." Lotor smiled weakly. "I owe you my life, the Ice Beast would've had me for supper if you hadn't…well, I never would've imagined you had it in you to kill that thing the way you did."
"Unlike some people, I don't enjoy making other living things suffer, not even a dangerous monster like that." She pointed to the dead giant sprawled in the pile of bones nearby.
"I suppose I deserve that to some measure," Lotor said. "But it was that thing or us. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah," She nodded. "But it doesn't make me feel any better about it."
"No, I didn't think it would." Lotor replied. "But for what it's worth, I don't just go around making people suffer just to get my jollies, if that's what you really think of me."
"Honestly, sometimes I don't know what to think."
"Fair enough," He said. "But I've never lied to you about how I feel about you, I hope you understand at least that much."
Allura opened her mouth to speak, but then said nothing. What could she say?
When she was done, Lotor examined the bandages Allura had wrapped around his upper arm. "I'm impressed with your first aid skills, my dear. I've seen Drule battlefield medics who couldn't have done a better field dressing than this."
"Here, eat this." Allura handed him one of the emergency ration bars from her backpack. "You'll need to get your strength back up."
Lotor nodded gratefully and quickly devoured the ration bar. As he chewed and swallowed the last remaining bits, Allura said, "I just hope we can find a way out of here."
"We will," Lotor reassured her. "Cave systems like this one nearly always have more than one way in or out."
"I hope so," Allura said, glancing briefly at the pile of bones and the dead Ice Beast. "This place is really starting to give me the creeps."
To Be Continued…