Lion Tales, In the Beginning...

BACKGROUND:  This fan-fic takes place roughly four years after the end of Season One.  Zarkon has remained missing since his defeat at the hands of Voltron, and rumors as to what has happened to him range from his death in exile to his eventual return to the throne of Doom.  Lotor has assumed the throne as King in his father's absence, and so far he has managed to maintain control of the Empire with the aid of Modru, a royal counselor under King Zarkon's rule.  Modru survived Lotor's purging of his father's advisors and remains in service to him to help him keep things running smoothly. Lotor hasn't given up on his desire for Allura, however, especially now that he's King.  He is more determined than ever to have her as his Queen.  Hagar remains a regular at Castle Doom, and she has been plotting Voltron's demise as usual.  While Lotor has accepted her decision to stay and work for him, he hasn't forgotten her former loyalty to his father, and he dwells in a near-continual fear that the old witch could turn on him at any time.

Lotor's biggest problem to date has been to maintain his sources of lazon to power his mighty fleets.  The source of all his trouble with keeping the lazon flowing smoothly is an old enemy from long ago; Bandor's older brother has recovered from his robeast transformation and, after many years of recovery on a remote island, has returned to assume the throne.   Avok hasn't forgotten what Doom did to his world and what Lotor did to his sister.  He has sworn revenge for both and he works tirelessly on the fringes of the Doom Empire to unravel Lotor's control, planet by planet.   With the help of a former Voltron pilot, he has been smuggling weapons and other supplies to any and all who would rebel against Lotor's rule, with his most recent efforts turned toward Marlowe, a planet rich in lazon and one of Lotor's chief sources of the fuel.  Because of these continual clashes with Avok, Lotor's attention to Arus has been close to nil, especially for the last couple of years.

On Arus, Allura has taken advantage of the temporary peace to establish new laws and invest her personal wealth into planetary development on several levels to make Arus a more modern world.  Keith has been busy as well, taking his own steps to develop a planetary defense force and convert the Flying Fortress into an orbital platform named Arus One.  In this way, he hopes to protect what Allura is working so hard to build for her people.

CH. 0 - THE NEW ARRIVALS:

With Keith's planning and Allura's approval, additional Lion Pilots and castle staff are welcomed into the fold.  The result is one rather interesting Orientation Week.

CH. 1 - HAGAR'S LITTLE HELPER:

The tension between Lotor and Hagar is turned up several notches with the arrival of Lotor's not so long-lost half sister, Princess Tiralyn.

CH. 2 - ALLURA'S NEW GROOVE [WARNING - contains mature situations and dialogue]:

Tasia Mallory, Red Lion's backup pilot, leads a gang of the castle gals to help Allura get out of the castle and spend a day shopping.

CH. 3 - PERSONAL DEMONS [COMING SOON]:

Allura's casual offer for Sven to rejoin the Voltron Force sparks off a series of internal conflicts for the rest of the team as they recall the painful events surrounding Sven's separation from the group.

CH. 4 - THE BOOK OF VOLTRON [under minor revison]:

The Voltron force finds King Alfor's lost lab, and a history they never knew of.

CH. 5 - FROM DAYS OF LONG AGO [under minor revision]:

The surviving members of the original VF join forces with the new teams to resolve a major crisis when it's discovered that Voltron's main computer has been corrupted by Hagar.

CH. 6 - HEART OF THE DEFENDER [under minor revision]:

Captain Dexter Stiles draws on the memories of his early days in the VF to steel himself for a confrontation with Voltron's diabolicial AI.

CH. 7 - LIONS HAVE MORE FUN [under minor revision]:

A celebration is planned after the battle to save Voltron ends in victory.  Some crazy things happen when Prince Bandor's attempt to play cupid for his sister during the party gets out of hand.

CH. 8 - A PATH LESS TRAVELED [under major revision]:

A chance encounter with an unusual Doom robot causes the VF to take a different approach to dealing with their unseen enemies.

CH. 9 - TRIAL BY FIRE [outlined, but not fully written]:

An accident occuring during a routine session of Lion Combat Practice leads to the eventual discovery of traitors in Arus's midst.

CH. 10 - FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW [being written]:

Pidge is captured in the process of trying to expose Princess Allura's enemies, and is aided in his escape by a Doom soldier seeking asylum.  The two become cautious friends as they flee for the safety of Castle Arus together.

CH. 11 - SHOWDOWN ON MARLOWE [outlined, but not fully written]:

Allura attempts to play diplomat to some uneasy rebels on a distant world, and a series of mishaps cause her to be stranded with the last person in the universe she wants to be with - King Lotor himself.

CH. 12 - SARALINDA [the Director's Cut, featuring scenes with Team Two; minor story revision]:

A long-lost heirloom treasured by Allura becomes the focus of Keith's quest to give the ideal birthday gift, and the key to a wager between Allura and Lance.

CH. 12A - SARALINDA, ORIGINAL VERSION:

Same as above, without Team Two thrown into the mix.

CH. 13 - A ROYAL AFFAIR [outlined, but not fully written]:

Keith finally pops the big question to Allura and romance, chaos and merry mayhem ensue, not to mention the wrath of King Lotor, who tries to prevent the happy moment from occuring.

CH. 14 - RED LION VS THE PRINCESS OF DOOM [major story revision]:

Lance crosses paths with Tira, and they become reluctant partners when the scheming Baron Kellek decides to make his move against Princess Allura.

CH 15 - OPERATION CHEESECAKE [minor revisions]:

A perceived slight in dessert privileges sparks a war between Team One and Team Two.

The following are stories that may or may not become full-blown additions to the series:

CH. 16 - ALLURA'S DOOMED THANKSGIVING [outlined, but not fully written]:

Pidge speculates on what would happen if Lotor paid a visit during that special holiday.

CH. 17 - THE AZURAH INCIDENT [outlined, but not fully written]:

Drules shouldn't drink coffee. Trust me on this one.

CH 18 - A KEITH BY ANY OTHER NAME [outlined, but not fully written]:

An ace robeast pilot captured in battle is actually a clone of Team One's Captain.

CH 19 - LI'L RED DEVIL [outlined, but not fully written]:

Too much alcohol makes Keith a baaaaad boy.

CH 20 - DOWNTIME [still in development]:

A typical day at Castle Arus, as seen from Coran's point of view.

CH 21 - A QUEEN, A KING AND MANY PAWNS [outlined, but not fully written]:

When Merla discovers a powerful weapon from ancient times and threatens to put it to use, Lotor and Keith must join forces to stop her.

CH (?) - LIONQUEST [former title: Long Live Black Lion - outlined, but not fully written]:

Dexter leads his team on a mission to intercept Doom scouts sent to search out additional sources of lazon for Lotor's war machine.

CH (?) - LOTOR'S LAST STAND [outlined, but not fully written]:

Lotor has the throne of Doom taken from him and he couldn't be more thrilled.