Lotura Week Day 4: Dianthus - Healing/Rebirth
Lotor’s eyes open slowly, his head swimming as he starts to come to.
It’s bright and takes his eyes a moment to adjust. Nothing around him looks familiar. He’s in a bed and the walls are painted in shades of off-white and orange.
He turns his head and sees a window that looks out onto an unfamiliar landscape.
He turns again when he hears movement and voices outside the door. He can’t make out what’s being said.
The door opens and Allura enters, wearing a strange orange uniform.
Her eyes widen when she sees that he’s awake and she rushes over to his bedside.
“Lotor! You’re awake! How do you feel? What do you remember?”
He shakes his head as he looks at her.
“We’re on Earth, Lotor. You’ve been unconscious for some time…”
As she says this, he remembers that moment on the bridge of the ship. When she threw him across the room. He doesn’t remember anything after that, though.
“I’ve been out that long? That shouldn’t have been enough…”
She shakes her head, looking guilty.
“No, it wasn’t… It was the closest thing, so we put you into a healing pod as we tried to sort things out. While you were in there, though, the machine picked up some very strange anomalies… Lotor, how do you feel? Mentally? Emotionally? Physically?”
He shakes his head once more.
“I’m not sure… Light-headed… But also clear, in a way? In general, I feel lighter…”
“Lotor… We discovered Creatures from the Rift living inside of you. Dozens of them, attached to you like parasites. It took quite a while, but we were able to extract them and get them contained. They seem to have taken quite a toll on you, mentally and emotionally more so than physically. They were mostly gathered around your heart and your head…”
“I’m saying… I’m saying I don’t believe some of the decisions you’ve made in the past were entirely your own. I’m saying… That I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head, reaching out to cover her hand on the bed.
“You needn’t apologize. Whether it was my choice or not, I should have told you. The project has been abandoned for a very long time, but you still had a right to know. I’m sorry, Allura.”
She raises her eyes to finally meet his, her own turning watery, she shakes her head, leaning in to wrap her arms around his shoulders as the tears start to spill over. His hands settle gently against her back.
All the while, the paladins remain in the hall, giving the pair the time and space they need to start to heal.
