*****This story was previously known as Caverns of Fear.*****

*gulp* I am so sorry, everyone!

The past several years have just gotten away from me and, to be perfectly honest, I kinda forgot about this story. I got a review recently, though, and it reminded me that I left it at a bit of a cliffhanger - which I hate when I'm reading a story, so I thought I'd get my rear in gear and finish it off.

I've also taken the time to update & edit the chapters. For the sake of previous readers, I haven't combined chapters one and two, but I think just two more short chapters will finish it off.

So, without further ado, here is the NEW chapter three of About Time (New title - yay!).

For my previous readers, I hope you will still find this enjoyable & please re-read the first two chapters. For my new readers, welcome & please R&R!

Trekker

Disclaimer: I own no part of the series Voltron. I also do not own the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Arsenal of Freedom,' which served as inspiration for this story.

~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~

The hour or so it took Keith to locate Blue Lion and her pilot felt like days; the moment he saw the Lion felt like an eternity.

Blue Lion was laying flat on her stomach with what looked like several tons of rock crushing her torso and back legs. Only her shoulders, head, and front legs were visible through the rubble, although they had obviously not completely escaped damage. One front leg was lying at a funny angle and the head was severely dented.

Keith called out, sending his words thought the communication system and into Blue Lion's cockpit. "Princess! I'm here!"

He pushed Black Lion into a sprint, covering the last several hundred yards with ease. Skidding to a stop, he guided Black Lion's head next to that of Blue Lion before opening the hatch and jumping onto the damaged Lion.

Keith forced open the Blue Lion's hatch, paying no attention to his own injuries; he made his way inside and to Allura's side. "Princess! Are you alright?"

Allura's flight suit was singed and torn in places; her helmet was blackened as well. Her head rested on her shoulder and her eyes were closed. Keith reached out and gently shook her shoulder.

"Allura? Princess, can you hear me?" Her eyes fluttered open and tried to focus on him.

"Keith?" She raised her arms and tried to remove her helmet. "Here - let me." Keith reached over and eased off her helmet; Allura rested her head against the seat in relief. "Are you alright?" she asked, weakly.

His voice cracked slightly as he answered her. "Me? I should be asking you that. Black Lion and I are a little banged up, but mostly okay. No words from the others, though."

"So, we need to go find them," Allura said. She put her arms against the arms of her seat and tried to push herself up, but she only raised herself a few inches before she cried out in pain. Her right hand flew to her left forearm.

"Allura!" Keith cried, reaching for her. "Where are you hurt?" She raised her pain-filled gaze to meet his concerned one. "My arm, definitely, and maybe more...I'm not sure - everything hurts, really."

Keith slipped to the side of the cockpit and retrieved a simple first aid kit from it's storage place. Each Lion had one; it didn't contain much, really - just cleaning cloths, water, bandages, pain-reliever pills, a small flashlight, and the like. But it was enough.

He made his way back to her, then cleaned and bandaged the deep gash on her arm, although the blood was soon showing through the bandage. "Think you can try again?" he asked. She nodded.

Keith reached around, somewhat awkwardly, and locked forearms with Allura. Together, they began to lift her from the pilot's chair, but they made it no farther than where she had on her own before she cried out in pain again.

"Ah...sorry. I think my leg was hit, too," she said, her teeth gritted against the pain. Keith retrieved the flashlight and aimed the beam of light toward Allura's leg.

His heart sank.

A jagged piece of shrapnel was protruding from the side of her thigh. It wasn't connected to any part of the console, so it must've be torn free in the crash. About two inches was visible outside of the wound, but there was no telling how much of it was actually inside her leg. He swallowed and tried to steady his voice before he spoke again.

"There's a piece of shrapnel...I can't remove it right now without causing more damage." She looked up at him and gave a small, pained smile.

"Then it looks like Blue Lion and I won't be able to help you find the others."

Keith frowned and knelt beside the injured pilot. "I'm not going to leave you here alone."

Even as he said the words, Keith knew he would have to leave. Black Lion simply didn't have the power to dig Blue Lion out of the rubble on his own. Hopefully, the others, especially Hunk, had escaped damage and would be able to help.

He sighed and clasped one of her hands in his. "But...I can't get you out of here and Black Lion doesn't have the power to dig Blue Lion out. We need help - Hunk and Yellow Lion could get you both out of here."

Allura winced as she shifted in her seat. "I know," she said, her voice tight with pain. "Go - the sooner you find the others, the sooner we can get home." Keith reluctantly stood and reached into the first-aid kit again. He pulled out a container of drinking water, opened it, and set it within Allura's reach.

"Sip slowly on this for a while. I don't want to risk doing any more or giving you any medication until we get you home," he said. Allura nodded her understanding; Keith continued. "I'm going to keep the communications channel we used open the entire time. I want you to keep talking to me until I find the others and we can get back to you."

"Okay," she said. Keith didn't move from his spot. "Keith, you need to go." He nodded. "I know...I just..." He twined his fingers with hers again. Allura closed her eyes to rest; Keith leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Stay in contact with me - I'll be back soon. I promise," he said. He stood up and left the cockpit, all the while fighting every urge to return to Allura's side.

~KA~KA~KA~

Keith steered Black Lion down the tunnel, searching for the cavern that he crashed into. That spot had sides that were easily climbed by the Lion; the cavern that Blue Lion came through did not. All the while, he worked on the communications system, trying to reach any of the others.

"Black Lion to Red Lion, do you read?"

"Black Lion to Green Lion, come in."

"Black Lion to Yellow Lion, do you copy?"

"Lance, Pidge, Hunk - can anyone hear me?"

He received no answer, but Keith didn't really expect one underground. He finally found his way back to the cavern he landed in and quickly climbed his way up the sides and to the surface. As soon as Black Lion had all four paws on the ground, he took off again, deciding to risk flight now that he was above ground.

He repeated the hails and, this time, received an answer almost immediately. A chorus of voices met his ears; Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all responded.

"Where are all of you?" Keith asked, searching his sensor displays for signs of the other three Lions. "We're almost to your location," said Pidge. "We have you on sensors," answered Lance. "But there's no sign of the Princess - is she with you?"

Keith grimaced at the reminder - Allura had kept talking to him periodically as he ran through the underground tunnels, but he hadn't heard from her in several minutes. Shaking off the fear he had been fighting against since he found the buried Blue Lion, he explained the situation.

"The Princess and I crashed into some underground caverns. Black Lion and I are relatively okay, but Blue Lion's pretty damaged and partially buried under a rockslide; Allura's injured, as well. I'm going to need all of you to help get her out."

The others came into view at that moment and, without a word, followed Keith back down into the caverns.

~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~

So that's chapter three. The next chapter, which will also be the last, will be out soon, if not posted at the same time as this one. I hope you enjoyed and please review!

Trekker