Chapter 25 –

"So what is the plan for today?" Shiro asked as he, Black, Blue, and Lance all followed Ed and Al to the base, just as they had done each morning since after their second night in Central.

"Same as it was yesterday, unless we get to the base and someone tells me that they've found Lotor," Ed told him, a touch of regret in his voice. "We can't really do much more than follow up leads since I can't just have me and Al scan each part of the city with my tracking array to find him. It'd be a waste of time and energy since Lotor can't be picked up by the array and neither one of us can power the array longer than eight minutes, which is far less time than what we'd need to cover half the city in one go," Ed explained, sounding rather annoyed with all of it.

"Chasing down leads is fun," Lance told him cheerfully. The look from Ed that he got in response told the Cuban that the blonde alchemist obviously thought he was insane. "What? We get to explore a new city, people's reactions to the Lions are either funny or heartwarming and we get to try new things," Lance said, a little defensively.

"Brother doesn't like going more than three days without a physical fight," Al stage-whispered to Lance, earning himself a bark of laughter from the Blue Paladin and a glare from his brother.

"Like you enjoy sitting still much more than me," Ed muttered, still glaring at his little brother.

"I haven't gone and sought out criminals to fight just because I'm bored," Al snarked back. The four Voltron members looked like they were following a very interesting sparring match.

"Neither have –" Ed started saying but Al just gave him a look.

"Can you actually finish that statement without lying?" Al asked, though his tone left no doubt in the Blue and Black pairs that Ed couldn't.

"… shut up," Ed mumbled after a few moments. His cheeks pinkened slightly when Al's laughter was joined by Lance's. Though Shiro didn't laugh, he couldn't suppress his grin and neither Lion bothered to pretend they weren't amused. "I hate you all," Ed grumbled, though his pout turned into a grin when Lance threw his arm over his shoulders.

"No you don't," Lance told him cheerfully.

"I hate it when you're right," Ed sighed dramatically. His grin widened when he saw Lance's cheeks flush darker than his had been moments earlier. They rounded the corner and saw the base come into view. Blue and Black perked up at the same moment as Ed and it didn't take long for the others to figure out why when Yellow, Green, Red and their Paladins came into view. Ed raised his hand in greeting as the three Lions not with him looked over. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey!" Hunk called back while Pidge and Keith raised their own hands in greeting.

"What's up? How come Mustang isn't with you?" Ed asked once he and the others had joined up with the Red, Green, and Yellow pairs and realised that his commanding officer wasn't there.

"Apparently he has a meeting scheduled this morning that he forgot about. Since he knew this was when you guys normally arrived, he told us to wait here," Keith told him.

"How did he remember the meeting if he'd forgotten about it?" Ed asked curiously. It wasn't the first time Mustang had forgotten a meeting – on purpose or accidentally – but it was the first time Ed had heard of him actually remembering it himself.

"Captain Hawkeye left instructions with us to remind him he had one when we saw him report for duty this morning, Sir," one of the guards at the front gate answered before any of the Voltron members who travelled to the base with Mustang could.

Ed's face split into another grin that had Al wanting to smother his brother so he couldn't say anything about this. "Thank you very much for letting me know that, Sergeant," Ed said, his voice filled with a mix of gratefulness and mischief.

"You're welcome, Sir," the sergeant replied, either not noticing or ignoring Ed's tone. "Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes left us a message for you as well, sir," he told Ed, which got everyone's attention.

"Really? What is it?" Ed asked immediately. Everyone else looked just as eager for an answer as Ed was.

The sergeant looked a little taken aback by their interest but didn't let it stop him from answering Ed's question. "He asked that you visit his office first thing," the sergeant relayed and Ed looked both hopeful and cynical.

"I hope it's good news this time," Ed muttered to those with him. "Thank you, Sergeant," Ed said, looking back up at the guard who'd passed the message along. "Have a good day, both of you," he said, nodding to the second guard.

"You as well, Sir," they both said at the same time, pairing their well-wishes with a salute each that Ed immediately waved them out of before he led Voltron and his brother into the base.

"What do you think Brookes wants to tell us?" Al asked as they headed up the stairs.

"I'm hoping he's gonna tell us they found Lotor's dead body in a storm drain or something," Ed told him honestly.

"That would make our lives easier," Black mused as Al tried to berate Ed for saying something like that in public.

"Black agrees with me," Ed immediately said, cutting Al's lecture about public image off.

"She would," Al muttered but left the topic alone, though his displeasure was still entirely obvious. Black didn't look too impressed with the tone Al had used.

"What do you really think Brookes wants to tell you?" Shiro asked, deciding to not comment on anything Al or Black had said.

Ed shrugged a shoulder. "Honestly, I have no clue," he told him. "I had him pull together a K-9 unit to go to Elena's Bakery yesterday to scent the wall our witness said Lotor leant up against and try to track him that way. It's probably got something to do with that or another lead's come in that Brookes thinks is promising," Ed said, barely paying attention to where they were walking.

"How come you didn't ask Yellow to try and pick up Lotor's scent?" Hunk asked curiously.

Ed rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "To be honest, I was more concerned with picking up Elysia on time yesterday and I completely forgot that the Lions could track someone as well, if not better, as our K-9 units," Ed admitted.

"You're an idiot," Al sighed, yelping when Ed punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't sass me if you don't wanna get hit," Ed told him, holding up a finger warningly when Al looked like he was about to retaliate.

"That's enough," Shiro said sternly. The whispered 'space dad' from who Shiro suspected was Lance went ignored if only for the sake of his dignity. The amusement from Black was not ignored however, though Shiro didn't comment on it out loud.

Ed and Al did listen to him though it didn't take them long to start bickering about something else – namely what Ed had been thinking when the sergeant revealed Hawkeye had left a message with them for Mustang, showing her complete lack of faith in her commanding officer's ability to remember the meeting himself. That discussion had been prolonged by the four younger Paladins adding comments here and there until Ed realised they had reached the corridor they'd have to turn down to get to Brookes' office.

"I'll do what I want," Ed told Al before he knocked on the office door, preventing his younger brother from being able to say anything back. From the look on Al's face, it was very likely that this conversation would be continued later. "Morning, Miss Sheska," Ed greeted once he and the others were permitted entrance to the office. "Morning, everyone else."

"Good morning," Sheska greeted them all, giving Ed and Al a warm smile while Voltron was giving a somewhat nervous one. Though she had met them all – Lions included – Sheska still wasn't awfully comfortable around them all just yet, mainly because she hadn't spent a lot of time with them.

"We got told Brookes was looking for us by one of the front gate guards," Ed told her as the other members of Brookes' team nodded or waved to them.

Sheska nodded, as though she had expected that to be what Ed would say. "He's in his office. Let me just check he's not on the phone," Sheska said before she left her desk to do just that.

"How's everything going in here?" Ed asked as he approached Clarke's desk to peer at the papers on her desk.

The red head gave him a soft sigh. "Aside from this Lotor situation, we're still working on our regular cases. It's been pretty full on," she told him and Ed winced in sympathy. He'd had to deal with trying to hunt down a serial killer as well as Mustang's regular job and he'd had the BAU there to help him with the first half and Hawkeye there for the second. Brookes' team had him, Al, and whichever soldiers he could grab from Mustang's teams to help lighten the load since technically Voltron could only help by being extra eyes and ears. "It doesn't help that Generals Widdon and Combes have been either distracted by something else or have decided to be, well, petty towards us because Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes helped you prove General Mustang innocent," Clarke divulged.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Ed asked, ignoring the others for the moment as he gave Clarke his undivided attention.

"Well, we report directly to General Widdon, as you already know," Clarke said and Ed nodded. He still wasn't sure how Widdon managed to get himself in charge of the whole of Investigations but at least he was a tiny bit better than Combes. "However, he left the office early the day he and Combes had that meeting with Fuhrer Grumman and the other generals," Clarke told him and Ed huffed in response. Mustang had told them what had happened during that meeting and to hear that Widdon had left the base early because he didn't get his way was not surprising in the least, "which made it so any of our reports and whatnot that needed to be signed off by him weren't done until late the next day. But then both he and Combes left the office for a couple of hours the next day and they were gone again yesterday for about two or three hours, from what we can figure," Clarke revealed. "Their teams either don't know, don't care, or have been ordered not to tell us where they're going. The only reason Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes hasn't reported them to Fuhrer Grumman for this behaviour is because General Widdon informed Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes rather brusquely yesterday that what they were doing was for the Fuhrer and was none of Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes' business," Clarke told him, obviously still irritated by either the way Widdon had spoken to her commanding officer, the lack of detailed answers or both.

"Ed, Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes can see you all now," Sheska said, unintentionally interrupting Ed and Clarke's conversation.

"Thanks, Miss Sheska," Ed said, flashing her a smile before he turned his attention back to the irritated Clarke. "I can see if Mustang or Hawkeye can talk to Grumman, if you want? Make sure that whatever those two morons are doing is actually for Grumman and not them trying to cover themselves," Ed offered. "They're still on probation after the bullshit they pulled during the Belmont incident so if we're lucky, whatever they're doing will get them investigated and kicked out of the military for good," Ed said hopefully.

Clarke gave him a warm smile. "Thank you for the offer, Ed, but I think Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes has plans to speak with Fuhrer Grumman himself about unrelated topic so he will likely bring up his concerns then," she told him.

Ed sighed slightly but nodded as he stepped away from her desk. "I'll make sure he is when I speak with him and if he is, I'll leave it in his hands," Ed promised her.

"Thank you, Ed," Clarke said, preparing to get back to her work and feeling better now that she was able to get her worries off her chest with someone who wasn't her team.

"All good," Ed said, giving her a smile. "I hope your day's a little easier for you," he said and she gave him a thankful smile in response before Al evidently got sick of his brother dawdling and pulled him along by his sleeve. "Hey!" Ed snapped at him, yanking his sleeve out of his little brother's grip. Clarke snorted in amusement before returning Ed's little wave he gave as he disappeared into Brookes' office, ignoring Al's lecture about paying attention rather than gossiping.

"Hey, Ed. Thanks for swinging by," Brookes greeted the older of the two alchemists.

"All good," Ed said as he flipped Al off before he paid attention to the older man. "What's up?"

Brookes sighed as he slumped slightly in his chair. "Unfortunately the dogs I sent out yesterday weren't able to pick up Lotor's scent lingering near the café. It didn't help that we didn't have a known sample for them to use to be able to lock onto the scent but I had hoped Lotor's would be so different to what they're used to that it wouldn't matter," Brookes told him, looking apologetic about it. "I did have the soldiers try and find any more witnesses in the immediate area but they also came up with nothing new," he added.

"Well, it was a good try," Ed said, also a little annoyed that the news wasn't anything better. "I was reminded this morning that the Lions are very good trackers," Ed told Brookes, who sat up with a reinvigorated interest. "Since Yellow and Green have fought against him, they'll be our best chances of picking up his scent after so long," Ed said, looking at both Lions while he spoke.

"Actually," Pidge asked, a touch nervously, "can Green and I not be sent out? I promised Sergeant Fuery yesterday that if I got the chance, I'd look over your radio systems and see what I can do with them to improve them," she explained.

"Oh, he never said," Ed commented before shrugging a shoulder. "I don't mind if you hang around here," he said before looking at Lance and Blue. "Do you two mind going with Hunk and Yellow?" he asked.

"I have no problems spending all day with my bestest buddy," Lance told him, grinning widely as he leaned against Hunk, who looked resigned and amused all at once.

"I've got no complaints," Blue assured him and Ed gave them a nod.

"Okay, so you four can go with Breda," Ed said, tapping his chin in thought. "He shouldn't be too busy today hopefully. I'll go with another pair and Al can team up with the last pair. Pidge and Green can stay here and help Fuery," Ed said decisively. "Have you got the next lot of tips sorted or do you want us to do it?" Ed asked Brookes, who shook his head as he reached for some files.

"No, we got them sorted," he told Ed, handing the files over. "Pick what areas you guys want to search and give me the rest back. I'll send some soldiers out to cover them," he instructed.

Ed gave him a nod before he flicked through the files in his hands. All in all, there were ten folders filled with new tips and Ed grabbed the two that seemed to hold the more promising tips. "Al and I will take these ones," Ed said, handing the other files back to Brookes.

The lieutenant-colonel took them with a nod. "Happy hunting," he said, giving Ed a sympathetic smile when he groaned.

"It had better be," Ed muttered, gesturing for the others to head to the door. "Hey, Lieutenant Clarke mentioned what was going on," Ed said, gaining a questioning look from Brookes. "With Widdon and Combes," he elaborated and Brookes' face pinched at the mention of their names. "Do you want me to tell Mustang and Hawkeye or do you want me to wait until you've spoken to Grumman about it?" he asked.

Brookes seemed to contemplate his options. "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for them to be told. That way they'll have a heads up if Fuhrer Grumman wants the two investigated," Brookes admitted. "I have a meeting with Fuhrer Grumman tomorrow afternoon. I'll make sure to let you know what he has to say regarding everyone's favourite generals," Brookes promised.

Ed's lips quirked at the codename before he nodded. "No worries. Mustang's in a meeting right now – or he should be anyways – so Hawkeye is probably with him. I'll let 'em know at some stage today," Ed said, shrugging a shoulder.

"Thanks, Ed," Brookes said. "Have fun today and good luck," he said, nodding to the files in the blonde's hands.

"No problems and same to you," Ed said, giving the pile of papers on his fellow lieutenant-colonel's desk a look.

Brookes grimaced slightly before nodding his thanks and Ed took is as the end of their conversation it was and started herding everyone out of Brookes' office, something that was dragged out a little by everyone wishing Brookes a good day. Ed nodded to the team and Sheska as he led everyone else out of the outer office, giving Clarke a thumb's up when he caught her eye. The lieutenant dipped her head in response just before Ed had slipped out of the door, followed quickly by the others, leaving Brookes and his team in peace.

"What was that about, Brother?" Al asked the moment the door had shut behind them.

"While I was gossiping," Ed gave Al a pointed look, "with Lieutenant Clarke earlier, she told me that Widdon and Combes have been disappearing for hours at a time every day since that meeting a few days back," he told them. Al had the decency to look a little sheepish at accusing Ed of just chit-chatting with Clarke but he didn't comment. "When Brookes asked them about it, since it was affecting Brookes' work as he has to have Widdon sign off on some things before he can go ahead with his cases, Widdon told him that the pair of them were working for Grumman," Ed recounted. "Of course, Brookes doesn't believe that and neither do I so Brookes is gonna bring it up to Grumman during a meeting he has with him tomorrow and I am going to warn Mustang and Hawkeye because if Grumman decides to have them investigated, he'll give the case to us," Ed told them.

"You think the generals are up to something?" Keith asked as they headed down the corridor towards Mustang's office.

"I always think they're up to something," Ed told him, earning a chuckle from just about everyone. "However, they're still on probation and will be for the next month and a half or so. They'd have to be far stupider than even I believe them to be to do something more illegal than jaywalking right now," Ed said. "I just don't know why they'd be leaving the base for hours without permission," he admitted, looking a little annoyed that he didn't have an answer.

"Well, if they are up to something, you'll only have to wait another day, maybe two, before you can figure it out with the Fuhrer's permission," Shiro pointed out, trying to lighten Ed's mood.

It seemed to work if the way the blonde perked up was any indication. "You think I can sneak into Grumman's office before Brookes and embellish the details a little?" Ed asked.

"You wouldn't be able to get an audience with Grumman before Brookes' appointment," Al pointed out, side-stepping a passing soldier.

"I have permission to go and annoy Grumman whenever I want," Ed said, waving another soldier out of a salute without looking.

Al gave him a flat look. "Yeah, in regard to the Lotor investigation," Al reminded him as they crossed another corridor.

"You're a killjoy," Ed informed him, pouting slightly and earning himself snorts of laughter from everyone.

"You'll survive," Al said, completely unphased by the looks he was getting from his brother and passing soldiers who were only getting the tail end of the conversation.

"Rude," Ed sniffed before he smacked Al in the shoulder with one of the two files in his hand. "Here's your list, by the way. Who do you wanna take?" Ed asked, ignoring Al's grumbles as he accepted the file.

"I'll take Red and Keith, if you two are okay with that?" Al asked, looking back at them.

Red just nodded while Keith said, "we're good with going with you."

"That means Shiro and Black are with me today," Ed said, smiling at the aforementioned pair and getting his smile returned.

"There are zero complaints from the two of us," Black informed him happily.

"Good because they wouldn't have been listened to," Ed told her, a cheeky grin in place, letting out some laughter when she bumped up against him. "Alright," he said, still chuckling, "let's go get Breda and hope today's interviews go better than yesterdays." Not a single person or Lion made a noise that wasn't some kind of agreement.

Lance and Hunk were masters at keeping a relaxed smile on their face even in the worst diplomatic situations. They had been able to smile and nod understandingly when numerous alliance attempts seemed to be on shaky limbs before Allura or Shiro managed to find a way to speak with the planet's inhabitants in a way that made joining the Coalition more appealing. They were able to calm Allura down in the privacy of the Castle-Ship when she seemed close to losing her temper because a royal member of a planet was being exceedingly difficult to deal with or put their ability at saying one thing but meaning another to use when they couldn't get Allura to the privacy of the Castle in time. Though some planets' people had come close to breaking their masks, they hadn't yet and it was point of pride for both Paladins.

However, dealing with the numerous, repeated questions from people – some curious, some suspicious, some a mix in between – as they followed Blue and Yellow, Breda close behind them, about what they were doing on this street, in this alley, looking at this house and so on was slowly starting to wear down their infamous patience. In the last hour, Breda had taken it upon himself to field the questions and both Lance and Hunk couldn't have been more grateful for the man.

"Don't act so amused by us," Lance scolded Blue through their bond when he realised what her amused was actually in response to. "It's not like you weren't contemplating biting the next person who asked us what we were doing," he pointed out.

"Touché," his Lion said after a moment. From the look on Yellow's face, she had just had a similar conversation with Hunk through their bond.

They'd started their morning at Elena's Bakery, just as they had planned. Yellow had picked up on Lotor's scent almost immediately but it took Blue a few moments to do the same since she hadn't fought him in Resembool and had to try and find it amongst every other scent there was, including Ed, Hunk's and Yellow's from the previous day. The fact that Yellow and Hunk were with her as she tried to find the scent complicated matters but with some helpful descriptions from her sister, Blue managed to locate the scent that Lotor had left. Blue had been a little surprised that Lotor's scent was still strong enough for them to track but she kept her surprise to herself.

It had been obvious from the way that Lotor's scent had disappeared at the curb's edge that he had been picked up in a car – which led to the group unanimously agreeing that Lotor had someone helping him since a taxi wouldn't have dropped him somewhere and let him go without paying them and there had been no recent reports of a taxi driver being ripped off or murdered. This information had led to them pausing their search so Breda could borrow Elena's phone to call in the information to the office while the Lions told Ed and their sisters. Ed had been delighted with the news and asked them to pass along instructions to their pilots to have Breda ask anyone along the street about seeing any suspicious cars in the area two nights ago.

Unfortunately, the lead hadn't panned out – which they told Ed after twenty minutes of interviewing every possible person they could – so they ended up going back to Elena's Bakery, bought some drinks from her and started tracking Lotor's scent. Lance had been the one to point out that if Lotor had been standing on the sidewalk waiting for someone to pick him up, it meant he had to walk to the meeting place, leaving them a scent trail that would hopefully lead back to his hiding place. Hunk had agreed with him and Breda decided it was worth a shot so had agreed to the plan. Both Yellow and Blue had picked up the alien prince's scent once more and starting carefully tracing it backwards.

That had been nearly three hours ago and Lance and Hunk knew the process had been drawn out by them having to answer people's questions and the fact that Blue and Yellow couldn't rush themselves since the scent was already days old. There was the sense of urgency that the longer it took them to trace it, the more likely it was the scent would be eradicated at some point in the search and they'd lose it but couldn't let themselves jump the gun, incorrectly assume the direction Lotor had gone and lose the scent when they doubled back. Blue and Yellow had been keeping Ed and their sisters up to date on the – so far – empty search but they could feel their own apprehension and excitement echoed by Ed and their missing sisters. It seemed like this was going to be the lead that would finally get them to Lotor after days of unsuccessful searches.

"Honestly, I'm begrudgingly giving Lotor points for his dedication at making sure he wasn't picked up close to his hideout," Blue grumbled as she and Yellow kept their noses pinned to the ground.

"This is getting tedious," Yellow agreed. "We can't even hope we're close to where the search ends and just start sniffing around random places he could be hiding because with the way our luck has been working, we'd find nothing and we'd lose the scent," she complained. Blue nodded in complete agreement with her sister.

"I'm sure it can't be much longer until we find him," Lance said, speaking low as he tried to soothe both Lions since it was pretty easy to see that they were both irritated. "It looks like we're starting to get closer to a less populated part of Central," he pointed out.

Both Lions looked up in surprise and noticed Lance was right. There weren't as many people here, nor were there as many businesses that weren't factories or mechanical stores, places that needed a bigger floor space. The roads were quieter and one the street they were actually on, Blue could see maybe ten cars parked outside buildings. There wasn't anyone else on the street except for them and Breda but both Lions could see movement in a couple of windows, telling them that they were being watched by curious or suspicious onlookers.

"I'm gonna call the office and let them know our position," Breda told them once he spotted a phonebooth several metres away. It had been something agreed on yesterday before they'd all split up to cover their search areas. Periodic updates needed to be called into the office by everyone except Ed who – in his own words – had never bothered doing something like that before and him doing so now would only raise suspicion so that no one would question how they'd all gotten the same information without meeting up in person or being in contact with the office. "Please try not to get out of my sight. I don't want to have to explain to the chief how I lost you all when I have to ask the office to have Green act as messenger between you and me," Breda said with a grin.

Both Lance and Hunk couldn't stop their barks of laughter. "We'll do our best," Lance promised, returning Breda's grin.

The portly red-head headed for the phonebooth he had spotted while Lance and Hunk continued following their Lions down the street. They made it to the end of the street before Blue and Yellow realised the scent followed the corner, which meant they'd leave Breda's sight. "What do you think, Lance?" Hunk asked as they came to a stop.

Lance seemed conflicted. "We can't lose the scent now," he finally said. "We'll wait here so Breda can see us while you guys keep tracking the scent. If you have to turn another corner, let one of us know and that person will catch up with you to stand at the corner. I'm sure Breda will be back before you have to turn a third corner," Lance said.

The Lions didn't look awfully sure about the plan but neither one of them could think of another solution. "Alright," Blue finally agreed, rubbing her head up against Lance before she and Yellow continued on the scent's path, once Yellow had nuzzled Hunk's hand.

The boys had only been waiting for a minute at most, long enough for the Lions to get a good couple hundred feet from them and short enough for Breda to be still on the phone with whoever had answered his call when it happened. A car – one that looked like just about every other car in Central – drove out of a nearby business up the street, drawing their attention for a moment. However, it was long enough for them not to notice the other car speeding past Breda until it screeched to a stop in front of them. Three men armed with guns they weren't bothering to hide jumped out of the vehicle before it had even come to a stop and quickly surrounded the two Paladins before they could do anything more than gasp.

"Get in the car if you don't want us dropping you right now," the biggest of the three men ordered the two teenagers, gun held unwaveringly so it was pointed right at Lance's head.

Hunk was gripping Lance's arm, looking torn between pulling his friend away and grabbing for his own weapon, which every Paladin kept on them at all times. Both Blue and Yellow were too far away to help them without risking the boys getting shot and the boys knew it. These three men certainly seemed like they meant business and Lance had no desire to get killed when their Lions would be able to track them no matter where they were in the city.

"Come on, Hunk. It'll be alright," Lance said, leading Hunk towards the car, making sure their actions were open and obvious so they weren't shot by a trigger-happy kidnapper.

Lance could see Breda running for them, his own weapon out, and both Lions were coming back down the street, trying to get to their humans even as they climbed into the car, the three men following them, crowding them in the backseat with their guns still aimed on them in order to prevent either of them thinking about leaping out of the other side of the car. Just as quickly as the car had pulled up, it was gone, speeding down the street Blue and Yellow had been following Lotor's scent up. Lance could see their Lions turning to chase the car down and a thought struck him.

"Stay there," Lance told Blue, knowing she would tell Yellow what he said. "Tell Ed what happened and wait for his orders. You two can track us and I'm positive this has something to do with Lotor. There's no other reason for someone to risk Ed's or the military's fury by taking us now. You need to tell Ed and get his instructions," Lance told her, speaking rapidly so she couldn't argue and they wouldn't get too far from Breda.

"You had better stay safe until we get there. Ed won't be able to stop us from coming after the both of you for very long," Blue told him as Lance watched both her and Yellow come to an immediate stop on the street. He could just see Breda turn the corner.

"We will," Lance swore. He glanced at Hunk, noting the nervous look on his face and the determined glint in his best friend's eyes and knew Yellow had been passing along what Lance had said to Blue. However, despite knowing his best friend was with him and Ed would soon be working on getting them back, Lance couldn't help but feel as though he and Hunk had just been taken to be used as bait to lure the rest of the team into a trap.

Ed was laughing at something Shiro had said when two frantic voices echoed in his mind, causing him to feel a sudden but mild headache. "What was that?" Ed asked, causing Shiro to stop flat but Black looked a moment from panicking. Ed could feel Blue and Yellow's impatience and irritation that he hadn't gotten what they said right away. He could sense their urgency but having two Lions speaking in his mind at once, especially ones so frantic, made it impossible for him to understand either of them, even if their franticness already had him on edge. "One at a time," Ed ordered, feeling both of them ready to speak at the same time again.

"Lance and Hunk were just kidnapped!" Blue snapped, unable to hold her annoyance at having to repeat herself back. Ed could feel her worry and helplessness so he didn't hold it against her.

"What the hell do you mean they were just kidnapped?! Who kidnapped them?!" Ed asked, voice a hiss. He felt something tugging at his arm and he stumbled before he could get his feet under him as Shiro dragged him into an alleyway, likely so there was less chance of someone overhearing them.

"We don't know! But Lance thinks they're working for Lotor. He doesn't think anyone else would've tried kidnapping them now," Blue told him.

"Okay," Ed said, fighting to keep himself calm. He off-handedly wondered if this was anything similar to how Al felt when he received news that Ed had been kidnapped. "What else did Lance say? Did he give you anything that could help us find them? Did you notice anything about the car? Its tags, maybe?" Ed asked.

"No, nothing," Blue told him mournfully. "Yellow and I were too far away to be any help stopping them from being taken and Breda was as well. They had guns pointed at both of them! The boys didn't have a choice but to get in that car," Blue said. "Yellow and I were going to trail the car but Lance told us to tell you what happened and wait for your instructions," she said.

Ed leaned against the alleyway wall, rubbing his temples as he tried to figure out what to do. Shiro was likely being told everything by Black but Ed wasn't paying attention to them right now. "Where are you?" Ed asked even as he looked out of the alleyway, trying to remember where in Central he, Black and Shiro currently were.

"I don't know the exact address but there are signs on this corner," Blue told him. "We're standing on the corner of Clayton and Hedge Roads," she said.

Pulling up his mental map of Central, Ed was a little surprised when he realised how far from Elena's Bakery the five of them were. "Alright, I need you two to listen to me carefully because the two of you are going to be the difference between us walking into a trap blind and us walking into a trap and ready for it," Ed told Blue, bringing Yellow into the conversation. "I need you to keep your heads. You're both connected to Lance and Hunk so you know when they're hurt or upset and you know they're as okay as they can be at the moment, right?" Ed asked and felt both Lions reluctantly agree with him. He knew their desire to get their humans back to safety was just about overtaking every other sense but he just hoped their trust in him would let them listen to him and follow his instructions.

He felt Blue and Yellow physically calm themselves down, which took a few seconds before determination filled them. "What do you want us to do?"

Ed, Shiro and Black burst into the outer office to find it in organised chaos. Al, Keith and Red were already there but Breda wasn't, the car sent out to get him having to go almost entirely across Central to do so. "What have we got organised?" Ed asked, not bothering with niceties as he strode into the room.

"I pulled the plans of the building Blue and Yellow identified," Brookes told him, waving him over to where he and Mustang were standing at the desks.

After getting Blue and Yellow to calm down enough to listen to him, Ed had them lead Breda back to the phonebooth and call the office – something that had taken several 'yes or no' questions from Breda before he understood what the Lions wanted him to do. With Breda on the phone and using Green and Pidge as a relay system for the rest of the team, while using Red and Keith to keep Al in the loop, Ed had told them the plan. While Shiro, Ed and Black would head for the office – same for Al, Red and Keith – Blue and Yellow would start tracking their humans. The two Lions hadn't waited to hear the rest of Ed's instructions to take off in the direction they could feel their humans were in. Ed wasn't surprised to hear that from Green as he and the Black pair headed for the office.

Shaking his head, Ed had continued telling the Lions that Blue and Yellow were to take it slow once they were close to where they sensed Lance and Hunk were being held. Their job then was to call out any landmarks for Ed, who would then identify and relay them to Green, who would have Pidge repeat it to the team. They would then find the plans for the building the two Lions identified was the one holding the missing Paladins and the team would start planning their attack. Blue and Yellow informed Ed that they wouldn't be waiting outside of the building for them to turn up. They would be going into the building to try and rescue their Paladins.

Shiro had almost ordered Black to forbid them to do so but Ed had stopped him. It had caused a large argument between the two – the only major one they'd been in during the six months they'd been friends – but Ed had won it. He'd pointed out that with Blue and Yellow inside, they'd be able to use their superior senses to get the best data possible. Plus, Ed had pointed out when that argument hadn't been enough, no one knew about the Lions telepathic abilities except people they could trust completely. It was extremely likely that someone working for Lotor would talk about their plans in front of Yellow and Blue and that would give them an extra edge in the upcoming mission. Shiro hadn't been happy but he had finally gotten onboard with Ed's decision to allow Blue and Yellow to do as they wanted when Black pointed out that they couldn't actually stop her two sisters from rushing in to help their humans.

"They're being held in an old warehouse that was used by multiple small companies to hold their stock," Brookes told him as Ed joined them. Shiro stood right beside Ed, almost pressing completely against the blonde in order to see the plans. "It's three levels, all open plan with only a small room on each level. There are staircases leading up from the ground floor to the third level as well as a large elevator big enough for a forklift to fit through. There's a receiving bay around the back of it that has large roller doors big enough to have two trucks backed up to them at the same time," Brookes continued explaining the layout to them.

"Have you heard anything from Blue or Yellow that can help us pinpoint where they're holding Lance and Hunk?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

"Just as we were coming into the base, Yellow contacted me," Ed told them, immediately seeing everyone perk up. "They made it to where they're holding Lance and Hunk – which was the second floor – before they were surrounded and led up to the third floor. They're being held in the office, where they have five people constantly watching them. From what they last saw of them, Lance and Hunk are being held here," Ed pointed to the corner at the back of the warehouse, in the right corner "and there were another four people watching them. Both Lance and Hunk still have their bayards on them. Obviously no one has searched them yet because they would've been confiscated since no one in Amestris would've known what they were," Ed told them, rolling his eyes at the kidnappers' stupidity.

"Are they alright?" Keith and Pidge asked at the same time and Ed nodded.

Just as they went to move on, the doors opened and Breda came in, a little flushed and panting slightly. "Sorry, I got here as fast as I could," he told them. Both Ed and Mustang nodded at him before they returned to the building's plans.

"So we know there are at nine people in that warehouse, ten if you count Lotor," Ed continued.

"Have they sighted or scented Lotor?" Mustang asked and Ed nodded.

"They told me his scent was all over that warehouse and it was strong. He's been there for at least three days and recently," he told them.

"Well at least we won't have to deal with Lotor after this," Shiro sighed, obviously frustrated that he wasn't able to be out there right now, fighting to get back some of his team back and out of danger.

"Now that everyone's here, we're gonna go over our plan," Mustang told them, getting everyone's attention. "Fullmetal, Alphonse, myself, and the remaining members of Voltron will be entering the building itself. Falman, Fuery, Havoc, and Breda will be guarding the back exits, which are the roller doors and a fire exit." Mustang looked up to see the four nods from his male subordinates. "Captain Hawkeye will be finding herself a sniper hold and providing us coverage for the first floor, which I'm sure is where we will find ourselves facing resistance. If she can't find one, she'll join those of us who will be entering the front of the building," Mustang said. Hawkeye didn't look happy she might not be directly on his six but nodded at her orders.

"Now," Mustang continued before anyone could say anything, "I know the six of you will want to get Lance, Hunk and their Lions out of danger immediately but I want you focusing on Lotor. With his weaponry, you face the best chance against him," Mustang told Voltron. "Fullmetal will be the one to locate and rescue your missing members while Alphonse will stay and assist me and Hawkeye, if she is with us," Mustang told them. Now it was Alphonse who didn't look too happy with Mustang's orders.

"What if Lotor isn't there?" Keith asked.

"If he's not there, you'll escort Fullmetal on his mission. It's likely that Lotor will be waiting for you to find your missing Paladins and Lions, if he's not part of our welcome party," Mustang told him. The six Paladins and Lions looked happier with that order than their original one.

"Do you want me to contact Fuhrer Grumman for search and arrest warrants, sir?" Hawkeye asked and Mustang shook his head.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes discovered the building was abandoned over six months ago when its owner passed away and none of their family members expressed an interest in taking it on," he told them. "According to our laws, we don't need warrants to conduct searches on abandoned properties," he said. "Lieutenant-Colonel Brookes and his team will be joining us once they've told Fuhrer Grumman about what has happened – which he will do once we move out – but they will be acting as back-up and in their Investigative roles," he informed them, Brookes nodding next to him.

"Please remember that none of you have jurisdiction to arrest anyone, including Lotor," Brookes said, looking a touch apologetic that he was worrying about technicalities at this time. "If you try to arrest someone or act as though you have the power to arrest someone or grant someone immunity from being charged if they give you information, any further arrests or deals could be voided because of it," he explained.

"We're aware," Shiro told him, a touch tersely. "We'll be too busy dealing with Lotor anyway, I believe, to make any arrests," he added and Brookes nodded, relieved that they would remember that and not cost the rest of them their arrests since Brookes believed that any Amestrian helping Lotor voluntarily would be a person he wanted on the streets to start with.

"Is there anything else we need to cover?" Ed asked, impatient to get his friends back from the clutches of the psychopathic alien prince. None of the Voltron crew with them looked any more patient than he was feeling.

"Further orders will be given once we're at the scene," Mustang told them and the pre-mission tension flooded the room in anticipation of his next words. "Let's go get our friends back."

A/N - Here's 25 for all of you and we're about to reach the climax of the story! I'd also like to take this moment to let you all know that this story will definitely end with 37 chapters so we're now also 12 chapters from the end. Thank you to those of you who left reviews on the last chapter and I hope to hear from all of you after you've read this chapter. See you all next week!