Okay so here is a NEW story arc that is based on the 30th Anniversary comics. I don't know about anyone else but I HATED what happened. So my muse has been going crazy on what to do to make it better. This story starts before the den ship takes off into space and will end on a happier note. Eventually will be HEA for K/A and D/L. Those following Corruption. That story is not abandoned I will be writing both. You will see some similarities between my first arc and this one because I like some of what I wrote in my first arc. So enjoy the ride. This story is for the moment rated T but may be upgraded later.

Hidden Within: Finding the Light

Chapter 1

On Planet Doom:

Haggar was waiting for the doctor to emerge from Lord Dannor's room. She and Lotor had changed Daniel's name. Not drastically, but just enough so that he couldn't have any possible breakthroughs. Lotor came down the hall just as the door opened.

Dr. Horde addressed the prince. "The procedure is complete and Lord Dannor is resting comfortably. It should hold him for a month. After about six monthly treatments, we may be able to reduce the frequency and he would least likely retain his memories."

Haggar chuckled menacingly. "You have done well."

Lotor nodded. "Yes we will begin our next assault in two weeks. Will he be up to it?"

"He should."

"Perfect," Lotor said.

VFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVFVF

Allura Raimon Daughter of Arus was officially on a Diplomatic Mission. Unofficially, was another matter altogether. For the first time EVER, she had lied to her husband, Keith. She said that she was going to the west province and would be back in time for dinner. She took Pidge with her leaving the other Lion Pilots behind. Pidge didn't know what she was planning. She simply gave him a sleeping drug in his water after they boarded and took off towards her destination. She needed his brain and hopefully between the two of them they could get some answers.

Hunk was currently working on the construction of the Den Ship and was going to need Pidge soon for the wiring and computer stuff. But she knew they needed more information on Voltronix, which according to all known documentation only existed in myth. However, the Voltron Force knew that it had to exist because of Voltron's power.

According to the First Officer's log on the old explorer ship, pieces of a map to the distant planet were left behind on Voltron-friendly planets. Allura believed in her heart of hearts that there had to be a master copy or another copy of this map somewhere. The first place she was going to look was back on Ariel, in the chamber where Voltron was originally forged.

A small cough beside her got her attention. She turned and saw that Pidge was stirring.

He blinked once…twice…three times. "Sorry Allura. I haven't gotten much sleep. Are we there?"

Allura was grateful that he hadn't checked the scanners first. "Yes we are at our destination. Don't get mad Pidge but…I sort of kidnapped you."

"Huh?" He looked out and saw the forge and his eyes widened in shock. "Holy circuits Allura! Okay…what…no…WHY?"

"Pidge, you and the force need more information on Voltronix. If you think about it, where is the first place you want to look for clues?"

Pidge rubbed his face. "Here. But, how long have we been gone?"

"A couple of hours. We aren't expected home until dinner. We might make it home by tomorrow."

Pidge blanched. "You have no escort…no guards! We have no defense! Keith is going to murder me when we get back!"

"I'll tell him you didn't know Pidge…try to relax. We have to do this. Otherwise this could take years…decades. You're looking for a needle in a haystack."

Pidge sighed. "Since we're here we might as well take a look."

Allura smiled. "That's the spirit."

Allura stepped off the ship and was greeted by Chief Kalan.

"Welcome Daughter of Arus."

"Hello Kalan. I know we aren't expected."

"You are always welcome here." He gestured to the young man beside him. "Daigo will escort you anywhere you want to go."

Daigo bowed to them. "I am honored to be of service." When Kalan left, Daigo gestured towards a dwelling. "First you have to be united with your pride."

Allura didn't know what to reply until the door opened. She bit her lip. The rest of the Voltron Force burst out of the dwelling.

Keith's look was one of annoyance but there was also forgiveness in his eyes. He pulled her into his arms. "Did you think I wouldn't know what you were up to?"

"I'm sorry. I felt like I had to. I didn't want to leave Arus defenseless."

Lance stepped up. "We aren't. Jeff and the Vehicle team are there right now. This is important."

Hunk nodded. "Yup…too important."

Vince scanned the area. "We have to hurry. We don't know what we'll find."

Larmina hugged her aunt. "I had a dream that we had to come here. It was so strange."

Pidge smiled. "I'm glad we are on the same page. Keith, I swear I didn't know about this."

"I know Pidge…trust me if you had. I'd have let you know."

Pidge gulped. His Commander wasn't kidding either.

Keith turned to Daigo. "Daigo can you take us to the forge?"

Daigo's face brightened. "I will do anything you ask. I will do anything to help Voltron. "

Allura walked before the temple. "We need to look at the room where Voltron was forged again. We need to look for clues to Voltronix. Voltron needs to evolve in order to stop Lotor and Haggar."

"Any luck on getting Daniel back?" Daigo asked.

"Not yet," Lance said.

"Have faith he will fulfill his destiny," Daigo said.

Pidge activated his Voltcom. "Let's go team. You realize that we are going to have to complete the trials again?"

"Let's do this!" Keith said.

Daigo sat on a nearby rock while Voltron force went inside.

They made it to Balto's chamber and the circuits immediately started jumping around. Pidge ran around the room this time, avoiding the circuits on the floor and quickly solved the puzzle. They moved into the next room.

Pidge gasped at the blades. "I'm kinda glad I was asleep the last time."

"Just be careful," Allura said.

They all ran. When they came to the other side, they were all gasping for breaths. However, they didn't have time to stop. The square towers started firing at them.

Allura ducked one beam but another one grazed her arm. She grabbed it as they ran.

Pidge threw smart stars at the cubic towers and they were finally able to breathe.

"You're hit?" Keith asked, panting.

"Just a scratch. It's nothing," Allura replied.

Pidge pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wrap around the wound. "That will have to do until we leave."

They went into the next chamber and were bombarded by robots. Luckily, they were very skilled, and quickly disabled the robots. Then, they went to the final room. They expected several pillars to rise from the floor. However, this time around, only one pillar rose in the center of the room. To their astonishment, two Voltcoms appeared.

Pidge took them. "What could this mean?"

Allura shrugged. "I don't know."

Then, the room seemed to glow and a spirit appeared. It wasn't the blacksmith like before but a spirit of a man. A man that Allura recognized. "Aldus!"

Larmina gasped. "Is this real? Father?"

"My daughter… A new Voltron Force must emerge to fight this new evil so that Voltron can once again be whole. The one corrupted in darkness will return to the light. A strategist and flame will join the pride. The strategist lives among prides. The flame dwells on a home crafted from her own. She will ignite the spirit of Voltron from his core and is the gatekeeper of light. You already have the key in green. Together, they will return the destined leader to the light, and unlock the greatest power of Voltron from within him. Black for leadership and courage; Red: fire and spirit. Green for intelligence and perseverance; Blue: telepathy and hope. And Yellow for strategy and strength. Continue to bring hope to our people, my daughter and sister. Farewell."

When Aldus vanished, Allura and Larmina were both crying.

The room was silent like a tomb.

Keith held Allura in his arms while Vince held Larmina's hand.

Pidge walked up to the wall where the picture of the five planets was located. He stared at the energy planet's picture for several minutes. Raising his Voltcom, he began taking pictures of the entire room at varying angles. He then walked in front of a separate display. It stood out from the rest. "Look!"

They gathered where Pidge was pointing. They stared at the small glass case with a piece of a cloth inside.

Allura exclaimed. "This is it! This looks like one of the pieces of the diagram we saw on the explorer!"

Keith examined it. "It does look like it."

Pidge took a picture of it. "Okay…so we found one. Now we have to find the other three. It's strange…I remember seeing something like this when I was little on Balto."

Allura beamed. "Where?"

"I don't remember. It's going to drive me crazy!"

"I'm going to have to mark this on my calendar!" Lance said teasingly.

Keith chastised. "Not now, Lance. Let's focus on what the spirit of Aldus said. That was a lot of garble."

Pidge wheeled around. "A lot a useful garble."

Hunk shrugged. "Sounded like a warning to me. Well…somewhat. I get where he said the one corrupted by the dark will return to the light. He means that we will get Daniel back. But how?"

Allura wiped a tear from her cheek. "A strategist and flame will join the pride. That sounds like more cadets."

When they all left the forge, they were all thinking about what they had just seen.

Daigo walked over to them. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Keith nodded. "Some."

Daigo nodded and gestured to everyone to follow him. "You should rest. You can continue your journey in the morning. The sun has almost set over the savannah. I'll show you where you can stay for the night."

Allura was too tired to argue and her arm was hurting too. How long had they been in the forge? She looked at her watch and cringed. It was ten in the evening in Arus' time. Wow! The time really flew!

Daigo took them to a relatively large brick structure within the compound. "There are many rooms that branch off from this main area here. Just over there, you will find a kitchen; we have food and drink enough for everyone. Through that door is the bathroom. The ladders go up to different rooms with beds." He pointed to the different rooms. "That one on the far left has a single twin bed. The two in the middle have two twin beds, and the one over there with the door has a full size bed. Make yourselves comfortable. I will be next door in my family's home if you need anything."

Keith nodded. "Thanks, Daigo."

Daigo bowed and left.

Larmina yawned. "Well…now what?"

Pidge set up a sensor at the door. "We sleep. If someone does try to come in, we'll be alerted and we'll be on high ground. Lance, Allura, and I have ranged weapons. We should try to rest."

Keith nodded. "I agree. We can talk about Aldus's premonition in the morning."

Lance yawned. "Okay. Keith and Allura, take the room at the end. Larmina, take the single. Hunk with me…and Vince and Pidge in another."

Keith gestured to the ladder and Allura went up first. She climbed through the door and saw that the room was comfortable. It had electricity and a small air conditioning unit. There was a lantern lit on a small dresser by the window. The bed was fitted with a red and blue quilt.

When Keith closed the door, Allura just stood and waited. She knew that he had wanted to talk to her about her little detour.

Keith simply raised an eyebrow.

"Look, before you start, like I told Pidge…you guys need a starting point. Otherwise, you are going to be in space for years…maybe decades. I don't want to be away from you that long. I don't care if you are mad at me and I don't care if I sound selfish. I need you. Arus needs you. I already endured your absence once and…now…" Tears burned her eyes. She turned away.

In two strides, Keith pulled her into his arms. His lips brushed lightly against her temple. "Do you think it was easy being away from you? It nearly killed me. And this mess…I don't know what is going to happen…" He let out an exhausted sigh. "However, after hearing your brother's spirit today…for the first time in months, I felt peace in my heart and hope about our future."

Allura put her arms around his neck. "I want to feel hope again…for us and for our people."

Keith kissed her softly and murmured, "Have faith, my love. Good always wins over evil…always."

Allura didn't say anything else. All she felt was her husband's loving embrace. Right now, nothing else mattered but their love.