HAGAR'S LITTLE HELPER - PART 10

“Damn hell, Modru! I don’t believe this!” Lotor flings his empty drinking goblet at the wall nearby, dashing it into a thousand pieces. His dancing girls flee in all directions, out of fear he might vent some of his wrath on them. Their worries are legitimate; he’s done it often enough in the past.

“Cossack had every soldier in this castle to draw from, and Talik knows the area like the back of his hand. How the hell did she get away?”

“She does know magic, Sire, and she’s obviously very resourceful. I believe I underestimated her capabilities when I first made up my plan. She hadn’t been in my company long enough for me to make a proper assessment of her skills. I beg your forgiveness and ask you to excuse my error.”

He glares at me. “Error my eye, you old houdah. You knew she was Hagar’s flunky, and you knew full well that she could use magic as well. You never wanted to kill her from the start. I’m almost beginning to wonder if you let this plan fail on purpose.” He glares at me with a murderous look in his eyes. I draw a slow breath and release it.

“If you truly feel that way, Sire, then you know you are entitled to take my life in retaliation for my failure.” I lower myself to one knee and cast my eyes downward to await my fate. Forgive me, my true Liege, for seeking such a quick and easy release from my vow. But the burden is almost more than I can bear these days, trapped here in the company of Zarkon’s spoiled offspring.

After a pause I hear the sound of him rising from the chair and his sword hissing free from its sheath. He stands over me in silence for what seems to be an eternity, then I hear the sound of the sword being replaced. He walks up to me and nudges my foot with the toe of his boot.

“I still have need of you, old man. Get up.”

I stand up slowly, keeping my gaze on the floor. Lotor claps me on the shoulder. I dare to look up at him then. He’s smiling from ear to ear.

“Boy, are you a funny old fellow. Come on, Modru, stop living in the past. You know I have no intention of killing you. You’re too valuable to me. I remember what you said before, if at first we don’t succeed. Don’t sweat it.” He gestures toward a group of women cowering behind a curtain. “Go pick one of them and take some time out to relax.”

And with those words I realize that my duty remains intact. I give Lotor a stiff little smile and bow, then I cross the floor to take a trembling, golden haired beauty by the hand. Lotor resumes his seat on his purloined throne and calls for more drink. The musicians begin to play a tune for the remaining girls to dance to.

My companion prepares to undress once we arrive at my personal chambers, but I order her to draw a bath and pour wine instead. After soaking away the last of my anxiety, I request a massage and nothing more. She seems to be a bit disappointed as I send her on her way. I have never believed in being harsh with those I acquire for private companionship, and it appears my reputation has gotten around the castle. But I’m really not in the mood for such an encounter. The recent events of late have been a bit too taxing.

As I cross the room to sit on the edge of the bed, my thoughts turn to the young lady who managed to slip out of the trap I’d planned for her. Lotor is right. I never wanted to kill the girl. And I couldn’t be happier that she managed to survive.

“Good night, princess,” I say quietly. “And fare thee well.” Then I crawl beneath the blankets and prepare for a good, sound sleep.

Zelaniel is trapped, the soldiers are shooting and Aria is crying and screaming his name. None of my spells can save him. None of them. I promised Aria I would help him if I could, and she trusted me...

“Oh!” I spring upright in bed and look around. Garn is still here, and my feet are still on his lap. I push my hair out of my face and blink at him.

“How long have I been out?”

“About an hour or so,” he replies. “I told your servant girls to forget the bath because it looked like you needed the rest.”

“Damn it!” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and run over to where I kicked off my shoes. Garn follows after me, looking mildly upset.

“They can draw another one for you, if you want it.”

“Never mind that - I have to go to the lab and talk to Hagar!” I start toward the door and turn back to grab his arm. “Show me the way - come on!”

Our footsteps pound the stone floor and echo off the walls as we dash through the empty corridor. There’s a thin strip of flickering light showing below the sliding doors of the lab. They open just as I reach them and it startles me. Then I remember that Hagar programmed them to let me pass automatically. I huff out a sigh and enter the room.

A lab table has been set up in the middle of the area. Zelaniel is lying on it, firmly strapped in place. He has wires stuck to him all over and an IV in each arm. He’s still dressed in what’s left of the soldier’s uniform but his boots are gone. He raises his head to see who just came in and a wistful little smile crosses his lips when he sees me, but he doesn’t speak.

“Heya, sweetcheeks.” Cossack gives me a grin and a wave from where he stands near the foot of the table. “You’re right on time. Hagar’s just about ready to throw the switch.”

“What…?” My gaze falls on an apparatus that looks much like a miniature laser cannon set up on the far side of the table. It’s aimed right at Zelaniel. I look from him to a place across the room where Hagar stands in a small cubicle, bent over a console. She makes a few adjustments, then she comes to the doorway.

“Hello, child,” she says with a smile. “I see you’ve changed your mind. That’s good. You’ll witness the making of a robeast as it happens.”

“But Hagar…!” What can I say to stop her with Cossack standing right there? I frown to myself. Hagar makes a shooing motion at me.

“Stand back, all of you. You need to be at least three meters away from the table when I activate the laser.”

Cossack immediately moves out of harm’s way. Garn gives my arm a gentle tug to pull me back as well. Zelaniel is still watching me but I avoid meeting his gaze directly.

Hagar withdraws back into the cubicle and throws the switch. A beam of brilliant energy from the laser device strikes Zelaniel in the middle of his chest. The bottles of liquid attached to his arms begin first to bubble, then to drain at an incredible rate. Hagar comes out of the cubicle to watch. Cossack makes a wide circle around the table to approach her.

“So what’s this gonna do, exactly?” He turns to watch the process unfold with genuine fascination.

“I’m using the process I normally apply to my mini-robeasts, with the intention of augmenting his natural abilities,” Hagar replies. “If all goes as planned he’ll become stronger, faster and tougher. His senses will be sharpened, and his reflexes will be lightning fast. He’ll truly be a delightful little terror - assuming he survives the process, that is.” She pauses to regard the prisoner on the table, then she glares at Cossack. “You did some significant damage to him with your whip, but I managed to heal most of it.”

Cossack cringes and frowns a little. “Sorry, old witch, but I had to see if I could make him tell me where my girlie was at.”

Hagar shakes her head at him. “You and your ‘girlie’, Cossack. Your obsession reminds me all too much of someone else.”

Cossack blinks at her. “Oh yeah? Who’s that?”

“Hagar rolls her eyes and returns her attention to the process. It appears to be turning painful. Zelaniel writhes in agony, grinds his teeth, then he throws his head back to scream. His body begins to take on a new shape, his slender form filling out, his muscles bulking, his chest enlarging. His short hair lengthens, tangling around his head as it tosses from side to side, and the right half of it turns coal black. He wails once more as his growing body strains against the limits of his now restrictive bandages and clothing. The slacks of the uniform split along the seams and the gauze wound around his torso begins to tear as he writhes and thrashes against his bonds. I finally have to look away. His screaming still rings in my ears. I clap my hands over them and hide my face against Garn’s chest. I feel his hands rub along my back.

A few moments later, the process ends. When I turn to look back Zelaniel is lying amid the rags and scraps of his former coverings with his eyes squeezed shut, drawing air in shuddering gasps.

“Whoa…!” Cossack whispers with awe in his voice. “Check that out. He ain’t the little wuss he used to be, that’s for sure.”

Hagar returns to the cubicle and presses a button on the console. The straps holding Zelaniel down come loose and he slowly sits upright, trembling bodily as he raises a hand to his forehead. The last of his bandages and clothing fall away to reveal smooth, unmarked skin. Not the even the scars where I healed him are there.

His eyes pop open and I see that they’re not the same sort of green they were before. They’re a brighter, unnatural hue and much more intense. He takes note of his new form carefully, holding out his arms and studying his hands. Then he takes note of his manhood, blinks in surprise, and smiles.

“Excellent!” Hagar crows happily as she clasps her hands together. “I do believe the process is a success. That’s an odd little side effect with the hair, but I think I like it. Very punk.”

Cossack is beaming from ear to ear. “This is gonna be great, Hagar. Once he gets turned loose on his home world, that’ll be it for the slave rebellion.”

I look at Zelaniel again. He’s glaring at Cossack with pure hatred in those wild green eyes. Cossack isn’t aware of it because he’s still got his attention on Hagar.

“Anyway, Hagar, I was thinking. Why can’t I use him to find my girlie for me?”

“It’s not that simple, Cossack. The magic I bound him with has to allow for certain freedoms if he’s going to be able to act and react at the best of his ability. He has to obey all orders given to him by royalty, nobility or officers in the Drule hierarchy. But he can’t be ordered to do certain things that are deeply against his will unless the wording is carefully done -”

“What - you mean he’ll do whatever I tell him to do?”

“Within reason. He’s not a mindless automaton. He can’t be if he’s to apply a creative approach to utilizing his new skills. Now, as I was saying, you have to -”

Cossack turns to Zelaniel. “Get up.”

Zelaniel swings his legs over the side of the table and pauses, his shoulders slumped. He scoots off of the table and his expression abruptly changes to alarm as his wobbly legs send him to the floor. He lands on hands and knees, trembling all over. Cossack looks at Hagar.

“It takes a while for a subject to recover sometimes,” she says with a shrug.

Cossack rubs at his chin. “And you’re sure I can’t make him go look for my -”

“Demons and devils of the foul black abyss!” Hagar hisses. “Let me get my crystal ball and we’ll look for her, all right?” She crosses the room to a pillar where the orb sits in a rest that looks like a clawed hand. Cossack follows after her. Hagar lifts the globe into her hands.

“Describe the girl,” she says.

Cossack rattles off a description of Aria in typical lewd fashion. Zelaniel fumes in silence as he uses the table to pull himself upright. I cast a quick look around the room and see a linen sheet resting on a shelf. I walk over to get it and return to offer it to Zelaniel. He arches an eyebrow at me.

“You look like you might be chilly,” I say to him.

He blinks, swallows and continues to stare at me as he straightens fully and takes the sheet from me to wrap it around his hips. I press a hand to my mouth as I take in his full height. Before, he was only an inch or two taller than me. Now my head is just about even with his shoulder. That makes him as tall as Garn is, perhaps even a little taller. I gaze up at him in amazement. He gives me a sly grin, then his attention returns to Cossack and Hagar. Hagar is still concentrating on the crystal ball.

“I don’t see anything,” she says after a moment. “Nothing at all.”

Cossack frowns. “What’s that mean?”

“It means she’s dead,” Hagar replies simply and she puts the crystal back into place.

“What?” Cossack is incredulous. “Are you sure? Couldn’t she have escaped the castle somehow?”

Hagar shakes her head. “The crystal ball still would have found her. The only things I can’t see are objects hidden by strong magic or displaced by extraordinary means. I’m afraid your little girlie is no more.”

Cossack’s face falls. “Aww, no, Hagar - come on! Maybe she’s just lost in the dungeon somewhere. Can’t you try again?”

Hagar shrugs. “I can, but I’ll get the same result. There are lots of dangerous places around here she could have blundered into, Cossack. You know that as well as I do. If she wound up anywhere near the robeast stalls in her attempt to escape, that would pretty much be the end of her. The men who work in that area are nearly as savage as the creatures they tend to.”

“Damn!” He throws his whip to the floor in disgust. “I really, really liked her too.”

“There’s plenty more where she came from. Go to the slave quarters and take your pick. Lotor gave you permission, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but it won’t be the same.”

“Don’t be silly. One slave girl is the same as any other.”

“Says you.” He sighs, picks up his whip. “Too bad, girlie,” he mutters to himself. “You sure were a sweet little thing.”

Zelaniel looks at me with a question in his eyes. I shrug at him in reply. We both know what the real story is. I’m not exactly sure why Hagar lied to Cossack, unless it‘s her way of getting even with him. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

“Guess it’s back to HQ by myself, then,” Cossack mutters aloud to no one in particular. He crosses the room and grins at me. “Hey, Sweetcheeks, no playing with my new toy. You’ll have to get Hagar to make you a robeast of your own.”

I look at Zelaniel. He gives me a quick little grin from one corner of his mouth. I turn to Hagar. “But he’s not really a robeast...is he?”

“Technically, yes. He’s been mutated by exposure to lazon radiation through a controlled process, and that, by strict definition, makes him a robeast whether he fires missiles out of his navel or not.”

Zelaniel turns to face Hagar. “Navel missiles? Really now. That would be interesting.”

“Interesting, but not possible,” Hagar replies. “I didn’t include weapons in your transformation sequence.”

“But you did do something extra, I think.” He rubs at the back of his neck. I catch a glimpse of some sigils tattooed below his hairline before his hair falls into place and covers them again. “I’ve got a funny little itch back here.”

“That ‘funny little itch’ you’re referring to is a special precaution. It prevents you from doing anything I wouldn’t approve of.”

“In other words, I’m on your magical leash for the duration.”

“Nope,” Cossack replies. “You’re on my leash, boy. And don’t you forget it.”

His remark triggers an immediate reaction. I see a spark of rage flare up in Zelaniel’s eyes, then he lunges at Cossack, but his hands stop just short of latching onto the other man’s clothing. His mouth twists into a frown as his arms drop back to his sides. Cossack frowns as well, then he turns to Hagar.

“Couldn’t you have given me a wider margin than that?”

“Sorry,” Hagar replies. “As I told you before, if he’s going to be effective, he has to keep most of his will intact. He won’t be able to grab a rifle and go shooting up our soldiers anymore, but he still has the greater measure of his independence left to him.”

Cossack frowns again. “I can see that.”

“So when do I get sent to your arena to beat up on something?” Zelainel puts emphasis on the words ‘beat up’ and grins at Cossack. Cossack takes a few cautious steps backward.

“Looks like you coulda adjusted the attitude down a notch, too.”

“Robeast making is not an exact science when it’s experimental,” Hagar replies. “But the results so far have been satisfactory, as far as I’m concerned. Let’s get him to a room so he can clean up, and we’ll test him out in the arena tomorrow morning.”

“Fine with me,” Cossack replies. “The sooner he’s ready to go back to Marlowe, the better.” He starts toward the door, as does Hagar. Zelaniel remains standing where he is. His eyes search my face, and I fidget slightly under his gaze.

In a flash - as quickly as he went after Cossack - he moves toward me and brings his face so near to my throat that I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. I give a little gasp at his sudden closeness and shrink back from him but he keeps with me, his face inches from mine.

“What are you doing, boy?” Hagar bellows. “Get away from her!”

Garn moves toward him quickly and snags him by the arm, but Zelaniel doesn’t budge. He ignores Hagar’s yelling and Garn’s tugging as he nuzzles my hair. His lips barely brush the side of my neck.

“Just collecting a memory,” he whispers, then he moves away from me. Garn steps in between us and makes a point of drawing his blaster, aiming it right at Zelaniel’s chest. Zelaniel gives him a flash of a grin in reply.

“Think that’s gonna stop a robeast, pal? Besides, if I were going to do something to her, I already had the chance.”

Garn glares at him, but he doesn’t lower his blaster. Zelaniel turns his gaze on me and I stare back at him as I press a hand against my chest in the hopes of calming my pounding heart. For a long, drawn out moment, no one moves or speaks. Then Cossack suddenly bursts into bawdy laughter.

“What’s the matter, princess?” He chuckles. “Are you afraid of monsters?”

Hagar interrupts before I can reply. “That’s quite enough, Cossack.” She motions to Zelaniel. “And for you as well. Get going. And everyone else out so I can close the door behind us.”

“Yes, Hagar.” I start toward the door. Garn makes a point of keeping between me and Zelaniel as I go. Zelaniel simply smiles and then starts after Cossack. Hagar locks up the lab and follows after.

Zelaniel takes one last look my way before he disappears around a corner. His eyes are twin points of brilliant green shining in the darkness. I stare right back at them without flinching.

“I am not afraid of monsters,” I whisper quietly.

I hear him laugh quietly, and then he’s gone. I sigh heavily and blink back the tears threatening to spill over, then I turn to leave as well. Garn sticks close to me as we head back to my room. He doesn’t linger this time, and I don’t try to stop him. I watch after him until he’s gone, then I rush inside to fall across the bed and cry myself to sleep.

“Okay, what happened?” Kyle looks up from his weapon cleaning to study me as I walk over to my bunk and sit down heavily on the edge of it. “It doesn’t look like anything good. Did you get too fresh with her? Did she slap you?”

“I wish.” I kick off my boots and flop back onto the bed. Kyle furrows his brow in thought.

“You wanted her to slap you around and she’s not into that kind of stuff?”

“No…”

“You didn’t get fresh enough and didn’t get slapped at all?”

“No.”

“You got fresh with the intention of getting her to slap you, but she slapped you harder than you wanted her to?”

“No, Kyle. There was no getting fresh, no slapping, no nothing.”

“Aha. And the nothing part is why you’re looking so glum.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

He makes a face. “I don’t get it.”

“Tira is upset because she couldn’t save Zelaniel from becoming a robeast.”

“And…? You have an ‘and’ written all over your face.”

“He’s very different now. His mannerism is much more aggressive, and he’s…quicker. Much quicker. Stronger, too. I don’t think I could take him down if I had to.”

“And why would you have to take him down?”

“Because he’s the one who got fresh with Tira, and it frightened her. But he was so damned fast that there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

“What did he do, exactly?”

“He kissed her on the throat, I think. I couldn’t see from my angle.”

“Not surprising. He obviously had a thing for her. I could tell.”

“So could I. But he has no problem with expressing his feelings for her openly, and he’s a robeast, and…if he tried something, in the future…I don’t know if I could stop him.”

“It’s not a problem. He’s going back to Marlowe with Cossack, and she’s going to be headed in nearly the opposite direction. You won’t have a thing to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“The princess isn’t staying on Doom. She’s got a whole new assignment.”

I sit up on the bunk. “New assignment? What new assignment?”

“I was talking to some of the guys down in the ship bay. They told me Hagar is hand-picking troops to accompany the princess on an off-world mission, and I got the impression that we’ll be chosen as well to be aboard her command ship when it leaves.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It wouldn’t be good for us to stick around here anyway. Lotor isn’t very happy with our rescuing her, and you know how things work when he’s not happy about something. He won’t make a point of it openly in order to save face, but we could wind up patrolling the robeast stalls, or worse, if you know what I mean.”

I make a face. “True...so what’s the mission?”

“Captain Talik said that Tira will be setting up a surveillance outpost on Hagar’s orders. But you’ll never guess where it is.”

“Pollux?”

“Nope.”

“Breve- we’re going right into the hot zone.”

“Nope again. It’s going to be set up on Arus.”

“Arus? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

He shakes his head. “I kid you not. Hagar wants the base set up before the planetary defense grid on Arus is fully operational. Right now, there’s supposed to be some gaps remaining in it - big gaps, but not the huge margin there used to be. So Hagar wants the base set up while the window of opportunity is still open.”

“On Arus...does she have any idea of how tricky that’s going to be?”

“Maybe not as tricky as you think. Talik said that we’d have some ‘allies in the proper places’ when we arrive.”

“Allies? On planet Arus?”

Kyle nods. “Yep. But he didn’t go into details, and I didn’t push it.”

“Well, this is some interesting news.”

“Sure is. I personally think it’s a great excuse to vacation on Arus, since I doubt they’d open their gates to us otherwise. Besides, I might even get a good look at Princess Allura while we’re there. Now that’s a royal privilege I wouldn’t mind being the recipient of.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Have you ever wondered what Lotor would be like if he actually ever did get his hands on her?”

“Yes, I’ve thought about it before. But sometimes I wonder if it hasn’t become the thrill of the chase for him anymore. He’s put so much time and effort into trying to capture her, I don’t think he’d know what to do if and when he finally caught her.”

Kyle breaks into a wide grin. “Oh, yeah he would. Even Lotor’s capable of figuring that one out.”

I grin back at him. “Would you?”

“Skankwog,” he sneers and whips his pillow at me. I snag it out of the air and toss it a couple of times before putting it behind my head. Kyle sits back down to finish working on his rifle.

“So when are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow evening. Talik suggested that we keep as low a profile as we can while we’re waiting, so I guess we should stay here for the duration. That gives us plenty of time to get packed, though, so I guess it’s not a bad deal.”

“I suppose.”

“So what’s Zelaniel look like now?” He asks, all of a sudden.

I frown a little. “He’s pretty much himself for the most part, with some physical alterations. He grew a bit, he’s got this weird two-toned hair thing going on, and his eyes are...strange.”

“Interesting.”

“I suppose…if you say so.”

“She really is upset about what happened to him, isn’t she? I can tell by your reaction.”

“She made a promise to his sister, and now she can’t keep it. I’m sure that’s all it is.”

“You’re sure that’s all, or you hope that’s all?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you saw how he was looking at her in that special kind of way when we were roaming through the dungeon. I think maybe he was hoping for a shot at royal privilege too.”

“Be quiet.” I snatch the extra pillow from under my head and throw it back at him. He smirks as he sets it aside.

“Looks like he’s not the only green-eyed monster lurking around here, eh?”

“Stick a cork in it, you.”

He laughs at me and goes back to cleaning his weapon. I fold my hands behind my head and glare at the ceiling for awhile before I finally get ready for bed.

To Hagar's Little Helper: Part 9

To Hagar's Little Helper: Part 11