Lotor peered at the remains that had once been Castle Doom and sighed. The last war with Voltron had been devastating for both sides. Lotor shrugged and decided that since he had nothing left he would have to go out and find something to do. Being too lazy – and bored – to conquer a new empire and start anew, he decided that he would go out find a job. With a loud sigh, he left Doom and his dead past.

Meanwhile, back on Arus, Coran stood before the pile of metal that was once the mighty five Lions of Voltron.

"I’m sorry, this is totally unacceptable." Coran shook his head sadly. "You’ve destroyed Voltron. There is nothing we can do now."

"But we managed to destroy Doom." Keith insisted, cringing as he looked at the twisted wreck of Black Lion.

"True." Coran noted. "But as it stands, you men are now without work. The Alliance, from what I understand no longer requires your services either. Space Marshal Graham has told me of their downsizing. According to him, the budget cut included the Voltron Force. Doom is gone, Lotor is nowhere to be found and Voltron is non-operational. To top things off, the people of Arus have decided that a monarchy is outdated and have voted to remove the Princess."

"What!" Allura shrieked in surprise.

"Princess, they have voted to run this Arus as a democracy. They have voted me as their leader. I’m sorry, but I must serve the people. You too are also out of a job." Coran shrugged. "They would like to turn Voltron into a tourist attraction to bring in the much needed funds to rebuilt this planet to its former glory."

"Hey, do you need someone to help rebuild?" Hunk asked hopefully.

Coran shook his head sadly. "I’m sorry, but we are no longer hiring. You have a week to pack and head out. You too, Allura. Don’t forget that you now only have the clothes on your back. Your belongings belong to the people. The royal funds belong to the people. I’m sorry, but this is all I can afford to help you with." Coran handed Allura a hundred dollars.

"Coran you can’t do this." Allura cried.

"I don’t want to, but the people have decided." Coran said, then turned to leave them.

Lotor cruised the galaxy aimlessly for a few days, ran out of funds and saw a "help wanted" sign. Being in a distracted state of mind, he went within the building and applied for the job.

"Give me the job… Now!" He commanded, forgetting that he was no longer the Prince of Doom.

"Hum…" The spectacled man behind the desk looked down at his papers. "Good authority."

"I’m not joking here! Give me job or face my wrath!" Lotor snarled.

"Persuasive." He made another check mark. "Very good, sir. You may have the job. Thelma!" He called back. "Please lead – er – what did you say your name was?"

"Prin- Ahm, I am Lotor."

"Lead Mr. Lotor here to the back and train him."

A portly Ukrainian woman stepped from the back. It was Nanny. "You!" she snarled.

Lotor choked.

"Bob, you can’t be serious! This man is a menace. He cannot be trusted to care for little children!" Nanny stomped her foot down.

Before Lotor could answer, Bob had stood up, glaring at Nanny. "Thelma, you will train this man. We are severely understaffed. We need someone to take over a few of the students. Now go show him the ropes."

"Bah!" Nanny motioned for Lotor to follow.

"Children?" Lotor asked, shocked.

"Yes, iddy-biddy ones." Nanny said. "I hope you know how to change diapers at least."

Lotor turned to Bob. "There has been an awful mistake." Lotor backed towards the door.

"Quick, Thelma, grab him before he gets away like that feisty pilot last week." Bob rushed behind Lotor, and locked the door. "Quick. Get him into the classroom. I’m sure he’ll figure it out himself."

Lotor dug his heels in. "Let go! You’re making a mistake! I’m Prince Lotor of Doom!"

"I don’t care what your stage name is, rock star boy. The children need you." Bob said.

Nanny, after years of dealing with the four members of the Voltron Force, picked Lotor up over her shoulder and carried him into the back.

"Let go of me." Lotor commanded. "Aieeeee! Help me!" Lotor pleaded to Bob. "Unhand me, woman!" He said commandingly to Nanny. But it was too late. Nanny had dropped him into a room full of toddlers.

"Children, this is Mr. Lotor. He will take care of you." Nanny said, and locked Lotor into the room.

Lotor looked up heavenwards. "I guess my punishment starts now."

A tug at his pant leg brought his eyes back down. A child with sticky hands stood holding onto him.

"Can we call you Unca Lottie?" the blond haired girl asked.

"Guuee…" Lotor groaned.

"Whatdya mean not qualified!" Keith demanded of the portly manager of Burger Galaxy. "How hard can it be flipping burgers and hotdogs?"

The manager shrugged. "Well, it’s not only that, but we’ve already hired someone else for the position."

Just then Pidge waltzed in, a stupid paper hat on his head. "Hey boss, we need you out here."

Keith threw his arms up and walked out, defeated. He grabbed the newspaper from his bag and scanned through the dozens of ads that had been circled then crossed out. He added this one to the crossed out list.

Allura had just walked up, and was about to head in.

"Don’t bother. Pidge beat us to it." Keith said.

"Keith, what are we going to do?" Allura said, sadly. She handed him a piece of mail. "This came for you today."

Keith opened the letter, and scanned the contents. His eyes grew wide with shock. "Five?"

"Five what?" Allura snatched the letter from Keith’s hands. She backed away and quickly scanned it.

"Keith, is this true? Do you really have five children?" Allura looked shocked.

Keith shook his head. "No. I don’t. I don’t even know these women. They’re going to drop off these five kids off at my apartment today."

"And you’re just going to take them?" Allura asked, incredulously.

"I can’t just leave them." Keith said gallantly.

Allura crossed her arms. "Well, you better find a job quick. And it looks like you’ve gotta find something quickly. According to these paternity suits, all five are in the Happy Planet Day-care. That must be expensive."

"Don’t remind me." Keith groaned.

Lotor brushed off his hands satisfied with his job. He surveyed the room again and took inventory of the situation. Whereas the kids were giggling, he didn’t suspect this was the best way to go about entertaining children. At that moment Nanny and Bob walked in and startled at the sight. All the kids were hanging by their ankles from the ceiling and were finding the whole situation rather comical, giggling delightfully.

"Lotor, you monster!" Nanny shrieked.

Bob pulled her back. "Shh. They seem to like it. I think we have something here." Bob turned to Lotor. "Good job Mr. Lotor. I’m glad to see that you and the children are getting along so well."

One of the children, a raven locked boy, wearing a smaller version of Keith’s flight suit had managed to undo himself and landed on top of Lotor.

"Hey Unca Lottie, you’re the best!" the child giggled, gripping onto Lotor’s hair for balance. "Can we play horsy now?"

"Guuee…." Lotor disengaged the child off himself. "Look, I really gotta get out of this place. I’m not cut for the job and this pest has been particularly pesty!" He tossed the child away. "See, I’m unqualified! Let me outta here!!!"

The child returned, a huge smile across his face. "Unca Lottie, that was fun! Let’s do it again!"

Bob smiled. "You’re quite the kidder, Mr. Lotor. I’ll see you later." Bob walked out.

Lotor thumped his head quite dramatically against the wall. "Let me outta here!" he cried, just as the other children managed to untie themselves from the ceiling.

Lotor rushed to the door and started banging his fists upon it. "Let me out! I was only following orders! I promise to be good. Merla was right. Being evil is bad. I swear I’ll be a good little prince!"

Keith managed to bum a ride off Lance, who had been hired on at the Intergalactic Checker Cab Company. He tore through the solar system, cutting off several Florida Planet pilots.

"Get outta the sky, you old bats! Or learn how to drive!" Lance shook his fist at them. Keith was feeling quite green.

"Lance, are they still hiring?" Keith asked.

"Who, the cab company?" Lance asked. "Nah, you see, they’re unionised. I’m so much of a liability they can’t afford anyone else to pay off insurance and they can’t fire me because I bring in a lot of business."

"In body bags, no less." Keith muttered.

"Have you tried the Sanitary Department?"

"They say I’m not qualified." Keith snarled.

Lance shrugged, and picked up a newspaper, totally disregarding the fact that he was still flying at a great speed.

"How about this? Growing company requires ‘team’ player for its motivated staff…" Lance said over the loud noises of beeping as the cab swerved into on coming traffic.

"Shut up." Keith snapped.

"How about Allura, how’s she doing- Get outta the sky you idiot! Where’d you learn how to drive?" Lance yelled, his hand flying up enough for the other pilot to see the gesture.

"She’s still trying to get that record deal. She’s given up on trying to find a job."

"Really? What kind of music?"

Keith handed Lance a picture.

Allura’s blond hair was gone, replaced by a blue mohawk. Her nose pierced, and a few leather straps strategically placed for clothing.

"Meow!" Lance said.

Lotor gazed at his paycheck after an arduous two weeks working with the brats. He sighed loudly and went to see Bob.

"Look, if you want to keep me here, you’re gonna have to give me more money. I need to buy a condo and a Lamborghini Countashe. So, how about it?"

Bob took Lotor back to his classroom. "Lotor, these kids love you! How could you just leave them like that? Little Keith Jr.’s father tells me he can’t get enough of you. All he does is talk about you everyday. I’ll give you a raise, but only if you promise to take another few students."

"How can I leave? Well, it’s very simple." Lotor walked out and heard an eruption of crying.

"Lotor, the raise is yours. So you’ll take on five more kids?"

"Alright, alright!"

"YAY!" The kids cheered.

Lotor waited until Bob left. "Hey brat!"

"Yes?" Came the chorus of children since Lotor referred to all of them as brats.

"Guuee!" Lotor groaned. "Red and white brat."

"Yeah?" Keith Jr. ran up to him, wrapping himself around Lotor’s leg.

Lotor shook his leg like a cat with a wet limb. "Is your father’s name Keith? Is he the ex-pilot for the Voltron?" He asked curiously, trying to shake him off.

"Yeah. That’s my dad. My mom dumped me on him a while ago. She’s suing him for big bucks, pain and suffering of having me all by herself for all these years." Keith Jr. pointed at four other children, sporting the same raven locks as his own. Two girls and two boys. "Their mommies are doing the same thing. We’re all his kids. That’s what our mommies told us. He sent us here because he’s trying to find a job."

The raven-haired girl, thumb in her mouth ran up to Lotor and parasited herself to Lotor’s other leg. "Unca Lottie, are you the guy who tried to hurt our daddy?" Her thumb left her mouth only long enough to speak. "He said, ‘Team, I’ve been away fighting Prince Lotor, protecting Planet Arus from him. That’s why I wasn’t around. Prince Lotor and I fought a lot.’"

The three other alleged offspring of Lotor’s hated enemy took this opportunity to latch onto Lotor’s arms and waist.

"Yeah, are you Prince Lotor?" They asked in unison.

"Look, I really don’t like your father and I really want to do him some vital damage." Lotor shook himself, sending the kids flying off him. "I am Prince Lotor of Doom and you brats should not be attached to me like this!" He sighed. "It just looks bad."

They all giggled. "Unca Lottie, you’re more fun than daddy is. We love you!" They said. "Daddy never let us hang off the ceiling like you do. He says ‘Team, that’s dangerous, get down.’ It’s a drag."

Lotor hung his head in defeat. "Fine! Then why don’t we go out on a field trip today." He looked particularly evil. "We’ll go rock climbing!"

"Yay!" the entire class cheered.

Lotor took them to Death’s Gorge, a cliff known to kill most enthusiastic rock climbers. "Last one up is a slug!" He sent them up without any equipment and took a trail up.

"Unca Lottie is a slug!!!!" The kids shouted as he finally made it up the cliff breathless. He groaned creatively, his plan foiled.

"That’s it!" Lotor picked them up one by one and tossed them off the cliff, thinking himself pretty devious for thinking this up. He took the path back down, whistling quite happily to himself, and startled visibly when he heard giggling and shouting. He ran over and fell gracelessly to his rear when he saw the kids splashing around in a pool at the other side of the cliff. Lotor hung his head in defeat.

Keith had walked into the welfare office to collect his soldier’s pension and his monthly allowance. He noticed that Hunk wasn’t there that day, as he had been for the past few months.

As Lance drove him home, Keith inquired about Hunk.

"Oh, Hunk. He’s got a job at the college. He’s teaching Robotic Engineering." Lance said, cigarette hanging from his lips. He gestured at several drivers.

"Teaching! Robotic Engineering! Hunk?!" Keith choked on the cigarette he had bummed off Lance.

"Yeap. Who woulda thought, eh?" Lance laughed. "How’s your job search coming?"

Keith growled, and took another swig from the bottle he had wrapped in a paper bag.

"Ah." Lance said. "How are the kids?"

"They keep talking about this Unca Lottie guy. They haven’t told me anything else except that they love him. I gotta meet this guy. Maybe he’ll adopt them."

Lotor picked up the kids by the scruff of their necks and tossed them out of the room. "Get out! Out!! OUT!!!" He shouted. "I don’t want to see your dirty little faces until tomorrow!"

"Tee hee hee!" He could hear them giggling as they left.

"Um, Unca Lottie?" Keith Jr. was standing in the doorway. "Can I ask you something?"

"Can this not wait until tomorrow?" Lotor said thinking about the cold beer in his fridge.

"Um… nope. You ‘member that film you showed us on the bad things about alcohol consumption." Keith Jr. rested his head at Lotor’s desk, peering up at him.

‘Much against my will.’ He thought. "Yeah. It was to keep your quiet for half an hour and it worked, thank God." He paused. "Why do you ask?"

"My dad, he’s um coming to pick us up. He smells like cheap alcohol. Would you tell him that’s it’s bad? Show him the film if you have too." Keith Jr. looked at Lotor with great big puppy dog eyes.

Lotor, who lacked any heart strings to be plucked by this action, looked flatly at him. "Why should I bother? Your father is just a wino. There’s nothing really wrong with that."

"Oh pleeeeeeeeease! Please Unca Lottie! Please! Please! Please!" Keith Jr. continued pleading.

Lotor picked him up by the scruff of the neck and threw him out of the class. Keith Jr. ran back in and attached himself to Lotor, continuing to plead. Lotor, seeing that he was not going to win over this argument, gave up, picked him up by an ankle, and led him to the outside doors where he saw Keith and the other four children.

"Here you go, wino. This thing belongs to you." Lotor handed Keith Jr.

Keith snatched Jr. away from Lotor. "What the hell are you doing here?" Keith snarled.

"This is Unca Lottie!" KJ giggled.

Keith blinked slowly. "Excuse me." He stared at Lotor puzzled. "You’re this kid’s hero?"

Lotor, looked smugly at him and rubbed his nails on his lapel. "When you’re hot, you’re hot." He said offhandedly. "Unlike some winos I know, I’m admired by them and I do not upset them."

Keith glared at Lotor, through his drunken haze. The other four children ran up, parasiting themselves to whoever’s leg was free. KJ hugged his father and remained in his arms.

"Dad, you gotta listen to what Unca Lottie says. He’ll make you watch a film to keep you quiet for half an hour and it will work if you don’t." KJ said.

"See, even this brat has more sense than you, oh great fallen Cap Akira." Lotor sneered, shaking kids off himself. "But, oh dear, I forgot!" Lotor continued his sarcastic tone. "You don’t know what to do now that your little Lion blew up. Ooops!" Lotor looked flatly at him. "Let me tell you how much I enjoyed driving that thing into the tallest tower of Castle Doom.

Keith recalled the last battle. Lotor had knocked him out of the Lion, high jacked it and then, not knowing how to pilot it at all, did the next best thing and crashed it.

Keith, despite the fact he was quite drunk, thought better of decking Lotor across the face in front of these kids, although they were still hanging off of him, being quite annoying. An idea formulated in his head.

"Lotor, did you know that Lance has eight kids just dying for a teacher?" Keith smirked. "He’s thinking of sending them here, to your classroom. I think I’ll recommend you."

"Don’t you dare!" Lotor snapped and managed to shake off one of the kids who flew away giggling, bounced off a wall and rushed back to attach herself to him again. "You’re loser! Why are you drinking around the kids anyway?! KJ here asked me to speak with you because you’re causing him so much misery!"

"I’m an adult. You don’t have to talk to me about anything!" Keith turned away. "Come on, team, we’re going home."

"Is Unca Lance driving us?"

"Yes."

"Yay! Maybe he’ll let us drive again." KJ cheered.

"As usual, Keith, you’re playing the coward." Lotor crossed his arms and snatched the bottle from his outside coat pocket. "Hum… What’s this? Evidence?" Lotor smashed the bottle down on the ground. "Run away, little man. Put your tail between your legs and run into the sewer you crawled out of, you social delinquent."

Keith grabbed Lotor by his shirt. "You asshole." Keith snarled. "That was the last bottle of gin I had."

Lotor grabbed Keith back, and looked at the kids that were clinging on to them. "Go play in traffic, brats! This is gonna get messy." He shouted to the kids.

"Yay!" They shouted and ran to the busy freeway.

"Want to get your ass whipped again, little man?" Lotor taunted.

"Team, get back here!" Keith yelled, but it was already too late. They heard a tremendous crash, and could see all five kids quite happy, still running around. "Lotor, you wouldn’t know how to kick my ass-sh." Keith stumbled a little.

Lotor shook his head. "Get out of here, you sorry excuse for a human. I pity your kids having to live with such a loser." He pushed Keith away roughly.

Keith fell on his rear end. He made no move to get up. Lotor snorted in derision and headed back into the school. Straight into Bob’s office.

"Mr. Lotor. I figured you’d be long gone when the bell rang!" Bob offered Lotor a seat.

"That was my intention, believe me. Generally, I like to beat the kids to the door." He paused. "Look, I’ve had it. Dealing with parents on top of dealing with the brats is just more than I can handle!" Lotor crossed his arms. "I’m outta here, bud. See ya!" Lotor strolled towards the door.

Bob ran over and stood before Lotor, not allowing him to pass. "Mr. Lotor, uh, wait. Remember what you said about a condo and a Lamborghini? I’ve spoken with the school board and they love your performance so much that they’ve provided you with something close to your demands. They could not provide you with a condo, but they have come up with this humble studio loft by they Lakeshore/Harbourfront area of the solar system." Bob looked nervous.

"Go on." Lotor appeared unimpressed, but inside he was ecstatic.

"And, while we could not find a Lamborghini Countashe, we did manage to scrounge up a fully loaded Ferrari. Unfortunately the only colour we could get was red. I hope these and this small cash – er - gratuity will convince you to stay for a little while longer."

‘I am evil Lotor, I am evil Lotor.’ Lotor sang to himself in the cha-cha style. "I suppose this will have to do." He yawned, hiding the shock over the gratuity. That alone could buy him the Lamborghini. "I’ll see you on the morrow."

Bob sighed with relief once Lotor left the office.

Keith returned home only to find that he’d been evicted. He thumped his head on the door. Luckily his ‘kids’ were in school at time. He sighed, gathered his stuff that had been tossed carelessly in the hallway and started moving it into his very rusted out Hover Volkswagen Van that he’d scrounged up from the scrap yard down the street. The thing barely ran and he was unable to drive since he’d lost his pilot’s licence a month ago for F.W.I (Flying while intoxicated).

He found a flyer stuck under the windshield wiper. It was an advertisement for Allura’s new CD. He thumped his head on the van, only to have the exhaust crash to the ground.

Lotor was about to click "start" on the microwave when there was a loud bang on his door. He looked around and stashed the microwave’s instructions in a drawer, lest anyone see that he was quite clueless as to how operate kitchen appliances. The floor was still singed from his attempt of barbecuing an egg earlier. The turkey baster lay in the garbage after Lotor screamed startled at the sight. He wondered who had used it before and what it was doing in his kitchen – he did not know what it was actually for! The eggbeater had been moved to his bedroom since he believed it to be some kinky implement and he had plans for that later!

He went to the door and saw three cops, Keith and his five kids. Lotor startled and looked at the cops. "May I help you?" He asked anxious, thinking that they were there to arrest him.

"Uh, yes sir. This man here is being taken into custody. His children have shown signs of extensive abuse." The officer pointed to the bruises left by Lotor and all the roughhousing he’d dealt them in the now three months that he had been their day-care teacher. "Unfortunately they do not have any relatives we can locate at this time and you seem to be the only one they’re willing to stay with."

"Hey, you’re Unca Lottie, aren’t you?" the other officer said. "You’re the guy who takes care of my daughter. She loves you, you know."

Meanwhile, Keith was grumbling and muttering something about having to pay for Lotor’s current housing with his pension.

Lotor assessed the situation quickly and decided that he would take full advantage over the situation. The ‘I am evil Lotor’ song began to play in his head again. It would become the sound track of his life.

"Yes… This naughty, naughty man abusing his kids and drinking in front of them. Bringing in women to – er – you know and probably does the deed in front of these innocent eyes" Lotor paused dramatically. "He’s a wicked little man. He killed my father, destroyed my home, stalked me for years!" Lotor sniffled. "It was so terrible! He stole my bride at the altar. Came in, bashed me on my delicate head, threw her over his shoulder and took off. I’ve never been the same. The emotional scars I carry are too much for me to bear even talking about it." Against his better judgement, but just to drive the knife deeper into Keith, he decided to do what he would regret for the rest of his life. "Come, brat- kids. Come in and be happy. You’ll find peace and love within."

"Lotor, you liar!" Keith moved to do him a high degree of violence.

"See, see! That man is obsessed with inflicting violence upon my person!" Lotor jumped away, trying his best to look the hapless victim.

The officers pulled Keith back, who stumbled, still quite drunk and sat dejected on the floor. "Officershs. I’m innoshent!" Keith slurred. "He’sh the one who did all thosh thingsh!"

Lotor was still cowering back, enjoying this whole situation to no end. "Please remove him! He will try to kill me and hurt his children more." Lotor hugged the kids that had parasited themselves to him, suppressing a groan. "Lock him up tight." Lotor paused dramatically. "Oh, I do feel faint."

Keith looked at his kids desperately. "Come on team, tell the police the truth!"

"Tsk, tsk. He doesn’t even know his own children’s names." The officer said. "Well, thank you very much, Mr. Lotor. Sorry to have had to bother you so late in the evening." The officers dragged Keith away, who kicked and screamed, very upset at having to pay for Lotor’s posh loft. And would have screamed even louder if he had seen the Ferrari.

Lotor kicked and swatted the kids off himself. "Alright. Which one of you know how to cook?"

The kids looked confused at each other. "Dad does."

"And he makes really, really good margaritas, at least that’s what unca Lance said." KJ said proudly.

Lotor looked thoughtful. "Wait here." He ran out after the officers. "Say, how about I take him in as my butler. That way he can work and you can still keep an eye on him." Lotor suggested to the cops.

"What!?" Keith and the two officers said at the same time.

"What about him trying to kill you and everything you said before?" The officer looked suspiciously at Lotor.

Before Lotor could answer, Keith, seeing the opportunity to finally have a job cut in. "Ah, you know, Lotor, he’s quite the kidder. Him and I, we go a long way back. Isn’t that right?" Keith looked at Lotor desperately. "So how about you tell these nice policemen that everything is cool and I can start cooking your favourite meal, whatever you want."

Lotor blinked confused. "What is it?" He asked quite clueless as to what his favourite meal was, since he had always lived in a strict diet of junk food and microwave dinners.

"You like um… um… Chicken a la king." Keith said.

"Yeah… Chicken!" Lotor was puzzled but hid it well. "So, how about it? I’ll make him my slav - er – butler and it’ll all be good. I was just a little confused earlier. Must be all my childhood traumas acting up. But it’s all good. I am in therapy for that and – hum…" Lotor just stopped before the hole he was digging got too deep.

"You know, he might be right. Taking these kids’ father away is very traumatic. Maybe this way, the kids will adjust a bit better and Mr. Lotor can help reform this delinquent." The officer said to his partner.

"Well, this is highly irregular, but sure, why not?" The officer unhand cuffed Keith. "Mr. Lotor, if he does anything bad don’t hesitate to call."

"Believe you me, I won’t." Lotor said. ‘And the morgue too to pick up the pieces.’ He thought to himself. The soundtrack of his life played again. Keith was now to be his personal slave. He led him back into the apartment, where the kids where hanging creatively from the chandeliers and diving onto the plush couch. "As my butler, you’re to address me as Lord Lotor." He said with smirk.

Keith straightened himself out, tucking in his shirt and buttoning it up again. "Fine. But you still have to arrange pay, Lord Lotor."

"How about…. Eight hundred space credits biweekly, subject to increase if you mix drinks well?" Lotor crossed his arms. "And your own rooms." The sound track played again.

Keith nodded. "Excellent, sir. What do you wish to drink, Lord Lotor?" Keith was doing his best to maintain a professional attitude, but his head was beginning to hurt.

"Hmmm…" Lotor said thoughtfully.

"Yay! Dad’s got a job!" The kids cheered and reparasited themselves to Lotor and Keith.

"A margarita would be pleasant." Lotor kicked one of the kids who flew away giggling into the next room. "Make it a double."

KJ’s information was true to fact. Lotor had the best margarita he’d ever tasted, and the best meal he’d had since he could remember.

"Alright…" Lotor said quite woozy. "Your raise is in effect. Eight-fifty." He moved towards his room. "The dog cage is out on the balcony. Make yourself comfortable. You brats can share the couch." He left.

"Dog cage?!" Keith looked very affronted. "If you don’t mind, I’ll sleep on the floor instead, sir."

"I would feel safer with you in the dog house." Lotor laughed.

The dog cage looked made for a regal dog. Keith frowned. What little dignity he had left would not allow him to sleep in the cage. "Lord Lotor, I don’t care if you shackle me to the post over there. I am not sleeping in the dog cage."

Lotor’s soundtrack played again. He went to the kitchen and pulled out an extension cord. He tied one end of it to Keith while the other remained firmly attached to the stove. He then raised an eyebrow.

"How about this. You sleep in the oven. I promise I won’t turn it on." He scowled. ‘Not that I know how anyway.’ He thought.

Much to Lotor’s surprise, Keith had managed to untie himself and repair the stove, where Lotor had cut the extension cord from. He had each child dressed and ready for school, all seated quietly eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Lord Lotor. What may I get you for breakfast?"

Lotor regarded the scene before him and moved to get his usual staple of frozen Eggo’s since he had no clue how to work the toaster either. He buttered the frozen waffles and ate quickly.

"Make sure this place is spotless by the time I get back." He said, still wondering how he had ended up sharing an apartment with Keith and five kids.

Two days passed and it became apparent to Lotor that his loft was not enough to house himself, Keith and these five very rowdy children. He scowled during dinner that evening.

"Lord Lotor, is something troubling you?" Keith asked, placing a very sinful looking desert in front of Lotor, who promptly demolished it full heartedly.

"This bloody place is too small for the seven of us…" He said in between mouthfuls. "I think it’s time I see Bob and get another raise." He smirked.

"May I inquire as to how you obtained this loft? Did the board supply it?" Keith asked, curiously.

"Of course!" Lotor sat back. "Do you think I can afford all of this? I keep telling them I’ll quit and they give me more stuff…" He sighed. "I still haven’t got the condo though. Or the Lamborghini."

"Lord Lotor. May I assist in your negotiations? I’m particularly good at that." Keith said in a slight British accent that Lotor had noticed developing over the past day.

‘Weirdo.’ He thought distractedly. "Sure, why not? You have always been particularly annoying at everything you have ever done. Maybe this will straighten out Bob and Nanny."

"Of course, sir. And just to clear things up, I had to be annoying." Keith handed him the job description for being the Captain of the Voltron Force.

‘Position: Commander/Captain of Voltron Force.

Requirements: Good piloting skills, team player, must use the word ‘Team’ in excess, must be particularly annoying to hormone driven Drule Princes, must be heroically gallant to the point of being disgustingly good. Must be able to handle hot-shot second in command, willing to deal with oversized mechanic, willing to deal with child genius pilot still in diapers and must allow Swedish commander to die or become injured so that the Princess can replace that position. Must be willing to wear only two outfits, one with white go-go boots.

Assets: Willing to defend bimbo princess at all costs from the hormonally driven Drule Prince. Willingness to state the bloody obvious also a plus. Good space mouse interrogation skills a plus. Fashion sense not required for this position (see Hot-shot flyboy posting)’

"You see, I was just doing my job, Master Lotor." Keith said. "And I try to excel at any job I attain, as I hope I am doing now."

"Master Lotor?" Lotor asked.

Keith placed a book on the table. ‘The Idiot’s Guide to Good Butler-ing.’ "It says that I must address you appropriately. Master is more appropriate than Lord, unless you wish to be addressed as Lord instead."

Lotor nodded, not sure if Keith’s sanity was present or if it ever was for that matter. ‘And I thought I had issues.’

"Well, sure, why not? Imps, to the brat-mobile." Lotor said, referring to his Ferrari.

"Can I drive?" KJ asked.

Lotor just stared flatly at him. "Not in your life time, bro." He walked out. "Keith, you can have the trunk."

"Master, might I remind you that your trunk is quite small. I don’t fit." Keith suppressed his reaction to throttle Lotor. "I will meet you there at an appointed time, sir. I still have chores to complete here."

"Very well." Lotor left, swatting the kids off himself.

At the end of the day, Lotor walked into Bob’s office, with Keith following him.

"Mr. Lotor, what a pleasant surprise." Bob said dryly. His personal budget had been cut, apparent by the shambles that his office was in and by the bad plaid polyester suit he was wearing, to allow for Lotor’s extravagances.

"Well, I came here to negotiate, but seeing that you’re having a bad day, I’ll just quit instead." Lotor turned to the door. "Come, little butler. I’m going to apply to Happy Kids Day-care."

"Mr. Lotor, wait. What do you need?" Bob said.

Keith stepped before him, handing him a list. "Master Lotor requires a larger house. The loft you provided him is hardly acceptable for one of his status. And the car! Disgustingly inappropriate for a day-care worker. You should be ashamed. Making this man live in utter poverty while you live in the lap of luxury!"

"You think this is luxurious!" Bob motioned around the room.

"At least you have an office. Master Lotor requires a place where he can prepare his lessons for the day."

"Look Mr. Keith, I don’t know what kind of drugs you’re on but…"

"Insults will not help keep Master Lotor here. Perhaps Master Lotor was right, the Happy Kids Daycare will be more than happy to provide him with…"

"Alright. Alright. Let me see…" Bob looked at the list.

"A Lamborghini, yeah, I know. A Mansion! No smaller than his previous home on Doom?! With suitable living quarters for the butler! A limousine! A pool! A tennis court and full gym! A park-sized garden! Personal physician! Nightly entertainment!" Bob looked exasperated. "I’ll clear it with the board. It may take a few days."

Keith looked at Lotor. "Is that reasonable to you, Master Lotor?"

"Suitable living quarters for the butler? I thought I wrote kennel!" He looked affronted.

"I refuse to live in a dog house, no matter how luxurious it is." Keith said, suppressing his anger, then added. "Sir."

Lotor crossed his arms. "We’ll go over this later." He looked at Bob. "I’ll come back at the end of the week for your answer, Bob. Make sure it’s good. I would hate to have to, well, quit."

A week of giggling happy kids and well cooked meals and clean clothes later….

"Well, Mr. Lotor. It’s been decided. Here’s everything you asked for." Bob said, wearing only a barrel to hide his nakedness.

"Good." Lotor said, happier than he had ever been in his life. He never thought that holding a job would turn out to be more profitable than being the Prince of Doom. True, he couldn’t sleep in everyday like before and he didn’t have ‘Royal’ before everything, but he was doing far better. He was glad for the turn of events.

Lotor returned to his new home, but found that his date for the evening had cancelled.

"Slave?" Lotor called. "I need a date for tonight. Find me one. Make sure she’s hot and willing."

"Yes, sir." Keith said, fists clenched. He had just spend the day catching up with his old friends, who took immense pleasure in teasing him about his new job, especially Allura. "Would a glamorous rock star suit you well enough, Master Lotor?"

"Hum… I suppose it will have to do." Lotor said. "Tell her to meet me at La Carve at seven, table nine." He went to his room to change.

Lotor walked into the casual restaurant, a little later than he had wanted because of traffic. Not that he minded too much, since he now had his Lamborghini. He went to the table and saw a blue haired woman, with leather straps strategically placed to be considered clothing, a pierced nose and smoking a cigarette. Lotor stopped dead on his tracks and just stared at the all new and ‘improved’ Allura. He swore he heard Keith snickering somewhere.

"Allura?" He asked quite shocked. "Allura as in Princess of Arus?"

"Lotor!" she looked shocked. "You’re the hot date Keith set me up with?!"

"I guess I am." He sat gingerly across from her. "What happened to you? Looks like you been put through a drier and your hair is full of static, after you got washed with the blue load…" He knitted his brow. "And the ring? Is its purpose to hang something?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny." She tossed him a copy of her CD. Her and several other ex-princesses had formed their new-wave punk band. She was the vocalist, Romelle was the guitarist, Merla the drummer.

"They let you do this in your time off? I guess Coran has grown soft. And I never suspected the people of Arus would allow their ‘dear’ princess to look like… well, YOU!" He accused.

"Oh that. Keith didn’t tell you, did he? I’ve been fired from that job. This is what I do for a living now. And judging by the fact that the CD’s gone triple diamond, I think we’re doing okay." Allura put out her cigarette and lit up another one. She took a sip of her wine, her royal elegance not lost completely.

"What’s this? The Josie and the Pussycat revival?" He asked flatly and took a deep swing off the drink the waitress had just placed before him. "Did everyone go weird after I left? Was I the only thing keeping normality in check????" He took a deep breath. "Well, Keith is certainly going to get it tonight. Not only does he hook me up with a freak, but she’s not willing either!"

"Oh, I never said anything about that." Allura said, and watched Lotor swoon gracefully and fainted.

Allura splashed a glass of water on Lotor’s face.

Lotor sat up and shook himself. "Okay, sorry. I was having a delusion there. I thought for a moment you were willing to hop and skip back to my pad and get tangled in – er – the sheets." He shook his head. "What a strange place my mind is!"

"I never said that either." Allura said. "Look. The war’s over. I think I can push all differences aside and start anew. Besides, the last few dates I’ve been on have been a complete drag! The record company set me up with this new rock star and it turned out to be Cossack! What a bore he is! And Keith! My god, I went on a date with him out of pity and he broke the bartender’s nose because he was cut off!" Allura sighed.

"So tell me. What are you looking for? I admit I’ve lost all my touch. My new job is not exactly glamorous." He stated. "If you’re looking for a wild ride, all I’ve got is a car."

"What do you do anyway? I know Keith’s your butler. You must be a movie star or something." Allura looked curious.

Lotor looked like he had been hit where it hurt. "Let’s not go there. Let’s just say that it’s nothing remotely interesting or exiting, okay?" He paused. "So, have you been busy yet?" He leaned forward curiously.

"Busy?" she looked unsure. "If you mean like working, yes. I’ve been doing a lot of promotional stuff."

"No, that’s not what I meant…" He looked around to make sure that they were alone. "You know, busy… as in, frolicking around in beds, etc." He wiped his face roughly with his hand. "Have you had sex yet?!" He asked frustrated.

Allura looked affronted and if it hadn’t been for her new style, she would have looked like her old normal self on Arus. "That’s none of your business, Lotor."

"Ahh… I see, you’re still, inexperienced?" He smirked.

Allura looked upset. "If Keith wasn’t so far gone that night…. Never mind."

Lotor stood up angrily and tossed some bills on the table. "Well, I give him the nights off and now he doesn’t drink anymore, you’ll get lucky then. ENJOY!" Lotor stormed out.

"What ever gives you the idea I would ever go out with that total square again? All night he was going on about ‘team’ this and ‘team’ that. I think he still hasn’t recovered from the head injuries that you dealt him." Allura looked completely insulted at Lotor.

Lotor stopped and crossed his arms. "Well, you always seemed to adore your team-squared! But I’m sorry, I forgot. You’re Princess Allura of Freaks. What was I thinking?" He said sarcastically. "Sorry to have taken from your time and consequentially bored you. Another bad date to add to your list."

Allura crossed her arms. "Well, I see you haven’t changed much, you arrogant bas-bum!" she snapped, her nose up in the air.

Lotor stopped what he was going to say, staring at what the straps had inadvertently revealed when she had crossed her arms. "Yeah, bas-bum!" He echoed.

Allura looked down, and covered herself up quickly. She stood up, angry. "Good night, Lotor!" she turned to leave.

He held her arm and pulled her close to himself. "Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a – prune." He paused. "I have missed you so much." He looked into her eyes.

"Humph." She crossed her arms, more carefully this time. "Well you sure do have a funny way of showing it."

"I know…." He paused. "So, do I have a chance?"

"We’ll see…" she smiled, and led Lotor to her waiting limousine.