Voltron Next Generation

Chapter Eight

"Nightshade"

By Cindra

Notes: I put colons between conversations noting silent thought between two characters.

' Is what I call the Heartlink or private communication between two characters usually a couple. Or rarely parent to sibling. (This is usually the way couples talk to each other when they don't want anyone to know what they are saying.)

( )Twin link can't be heard by anyone but the other twin…or only if someone is extremely strong in his or her mental abilities.

** or italics that represents thoughts of the characters.

(Nine months later)

Andy levitated, as she meditated in a lotus position. She mentally lifted a star and threw it dead center into a target twenty feet away. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw that she had hit the target dead in the center. "I am the master." She glanced over at the playpen Jazz was sleeping, but Jess had escaped.

"Mama…" Jessie looked up at her Mommy.

"There you are." Andy lifted her up onto her lap using her mind.

"Wee!" Jess squealed, she loved her mother's new abilities.

"You are supposed to be taking your nap." She smoothed the red gold curls on Jess's head with her fingers.

"Mama!" She reached up and grabbed a fistful of her mother's hair and began chewing on it.

"Nap time, Jessica." Andy walked over and placed her back into the playpen.

"No! Nap!" Jessie began to fuss.

"Jessica, please take a nap for Mommy." She pleaded with her daughter.

"No! Nap!" Jessie wailed.

:Jessica Raven, I said that you are going to nap and I meant it.:Andy closed her eyes and persuaded Jess to fall back asleep. "That's better, sweetie." Andy kissed each of them on their downy haired heads.

"Not bad, Andy." Darian chuckled and set his four-year-old daughter Sara down onto her feet.

"Pretty babies." Sara cooed at the sleeping twins.

"Yes, Sara, they are cute, but most of the time they're hell on wheels." Andy smiled at the fair-haired toddler that reminded her so much of Darian.

"Jess is mad at you." Sara gave her a knowing look way beyond her years and a fawn walked up to her.

"Sara, sweetheart, only a few animals at a time. Your Mommy had my hide when half the forest animals followed us home yesterday." Darian shook his head in defeat when animals began to flock around her.

"I love animals, Daddy." Sara smiled at her father.

"I know that, angel, but they need to stay here in the forest." Darian explained.

"And I thought that I had my hands full with the twins." Andy grinned.

"They become stranger everyday. Teddy, at two, builds things. She collects and talks to animals, and Shawn at seven takes after me." Darian sighed in defeat when a bear let Sara climb onto its back.

"Lilly is also showing the family traits." Andy watched the bear give Sara a ride. "Want me to get her for you?"

Darian looked at her with doubtful eyes and said, "Be my guest."

To his surprise Andy petted the various animals as she made her way towards Sara and her bear. "Sara, it's time for you to go bye-bye." She smiled at the toddler.

"No! I like my new friend!" Sara protested and refused to budge.

"Very well, I will just have to take you off myself." She lifted her up off the bear and into her arms using the power of her mind.

Darian waited for the creatures to rally to Sara's aid, but they sensed a greater force and moved out of Andy's way. "You've finally mastered your mind, instead of always relying on your other abilities." Darian was proud of her.

:You may return to your homes.:She ordered the other animals and they went on their way. "Yes, I have." She smiled at him.

"Why'd you take animals away?" Sara pouted.

"Because, Sara, you have called one animal too many." Darian frowned at her.

"Hey, angel face." Eric had returned home for lunch and saw that she was holding Sara in her arms.

"Hi, Uncle Eric." Sara beamed at him and leaped into his arms.

"Hello, beautiful, what are you and fang face up to?" He kissed her on the cheek and then gave Darian a look. Dromi had been up to something as of late and he suspected him of aiding her.

"I was checking on Andy. Come here, Sara, we need to get you home for your nap." He took her from Eric and vanished.

"So how goes the work on the new lions?" Andy smiled at him.

"It's almost finished and Grandfather is coming to see the new Voltron." Eric pulled her into his arms.

"Eric, I'm not changing my mind! Why should I after the way that Marshall Graham raked me over the coals for hurting Arus's Voltron, regardless of the situation! So telling him to shove the Galaxy Garrison and resigning felt good." She frowned at him.

"You love being on the team and you can't fly your lion unless you're on the team." Eric reminded her.

"Eric, I don't care about being on the team anymore, it's beneath me." She went back to meditating.

"This isn't going to work, Andy."

"Then allow me to demonstrate." She mentally plucked the star from the tree and brought it back to her and then sent the star flying to back to its target.

"Dad has me looking into the reports of people being rescued by a mysterious new vigilante." Eric watched her face for any reaction.

"So who's our new crime fighter anyway?" Andy arched a brow at him.

"No one admits to having been saved by the person, so I have no clues to go on. I can tell you this though, I will find him, and when I do I'm gonna set him straight!" Eric snarled.

"Him?" Andy frowned. "What makes you think the stranger is male?"

"Because this guy strikes fear into whomever he meets." Eric matched her floating lotus position.

'I suppose that you may be right.'Andy sighed and relaxed her mind.

'What did you say?' Eric opened one eye to glare at her.

"Why nothing, darling, just forget it." Andy smiled serenely at him.

'Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this whole situation?'Eric sighed in frustration.

*I think that I'd better distract him, before he figures out exactly what I've been up to lately.* Andy waited until he had closed his eyes again and then pounced on him.

"Why don't I take your mind off your troubles for a while." She smiled down at him.

'I will eventually find out what you're up to, and all the distractions in the world aren't going to stop me, Andromeda Marie.'Eric glared up at her innocent face, but that didn't stop him from allowing her to try.

Jenna paced the Sit Room and turned to glare at her Uncle. "What's so bad about having someone helping the people?"

"There's nothing wrong, as long as he remains on the right side of the law, and doesn't start taking the law into his own hands." Keith glared back at his niece.

"What makes you think that this person is a man?"

"Because, no one wants to admit that they've been rescued by this outlaw."

"Maybe, they're all just protecting him or her. I mean, they were all rescued by this person." Jenna reminded him.

"That doesn't matter, Jenna. And I have ordered a planet wide search for this vigilante with orders to shoot if necessary." Keith informed her.

"Uncle Keith, you can't serious!" Jenna stared wide-eyed at her Uncle.

"I'm deadly serious about this entire situation! Over the past nine months they've taken out over hundred castle guards!"

"And all of them were agents of my father and Uncle." Jenna countered.

"There is one fact that we do know about our mysterious vigilante, this guy hates Rand and Shaitan." Keith punched in the remaining information into the computer and then waited for it to give him a possible list of suspects. The list that he received shocked him to the core.

*What the hell! Eric, Andy, or me!?*

"Eric is as baffled by this as I am and Andy promised to stay out of things for a while." Keith frowned at Jenna.

"Between the three of us, we would know if Andy were up to something." Jenna paced the room.

"Then this person is a stranger and has to be stopped before he hurts someone!" Keith's mind was set.

A castle guard snuck away from his post to bring a message to Fawn. "Bring this to your sister." He handed her his report.

"She isn't going to like this one bit." Fawn read the note. "Thank you, Van. Now go back to your post before my father finds you missing." She smiled at the young guard.

"She saved my little sister and for that I would give up my life for her." Van smiled warmly. "Her father isn't gonna like it when he finds out what she's been up to though."

"Daddy will no doubt go nuclear when he finds out." Fawn sighed. "I have to watch the girls in a little while, so that should give her enough time to outfox all of them." She headed for Andy's and the guard went back to his post.

(Somewhere on Arus)

A new enemy is not pleased to find out that his men haven't been able to do anything to weaken Arus's forces.

"Did you even kill anyone this time?!" Khan choked one of his men.

"No, master! The stranger who keeps appearing stopped us!" The man gasped for air.

"Who the hell is this guy!?" Khan snapped the man's neck in his rage.

"I only know the stranger wears a mask and cloak! Please don't kill me, my master!" Another begged for mercy.

"Not good enough!" He snarled. "I want this guy dead!" He took out his aggravation on his men.

"But, Master! You can't hurt what you can't see!"

"It looks as though I'm going to have to take down this stranger myself!" Khan stalked from the room.

(Late that afternoon)

Eric watched as Andy brushed her new pet, a jet-black panther. "Where did he come from?" He eyed the cat warily.

Bella had leaped onto Eric's lap and was staring in apprehension at Shadow, who only had eyes for the snow-white panther.

"He followed me home last night. We happen to have a connection." Andy nuzzled Shadow on his nose.

"Are you sure that he's tame enough to be around us? Not to mention our eighteen-month-old twins?" He frowned at her.

"He's harmless, Eric, now let Bella go." Andy smiled at her husband.

"She doesn't trust him." Eric set her down onto her huge paws.

"Bella, this is Shadow. He's really a nice cat and a perfect gentleman." Andy scratched her behind her ears.

"She isn't falling for it and I want to know what you're up to and why that cat is in our home!" Eric snarled and Shadow raised his teeth at him. "Back off, cat!" He snarled at Shadow and Bella went to protect her master.

"He's a companion for Bella and a guardian for the twins." She smiled, as the two babies toddled over to Shadow.

The big cat nuzzled each with affection when they went to toddle away.

"Bella, go and greet your new mate."

The two cats faced each other, snarling at first, and then they began to circle each other.

"This is a bad idea."

"No it's not! Shadow, show some manners!" Andy hissed and the cat glanced over at his mistress. "I mean it, Shadow, that's no way to greet your new love!" She narrowed her eyes at him.

Shadow stopped his snarling and nuzzled Bella's neck.

The poor girl jumped back and then raced out of the room with Shadow in hot pursuit.

"Where have you been keeping him?" Eric pulled her into his arms.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She purred, giving him a nice long kiss.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Jenn told me to remind you that you promised to give her a lesson this evening." Fawn walked into the room.

Eric looked over at Fawn and then down at his wife and couldn't help but sense that they were both up to something. "Did you know about Andy's new pet?" He let go of Andy and walked over to Fawn.

"She saved him from a poacher's trap. She kept him over at Uncle Darian's, so he could treat Shadow's injured paw. He's a big teddy bear and adores the twins. Daddy wants to see you ASAP or that's what he told me to tell you." Fawn smiled serenely up at him.

"Dad wants this guy found before he gets someone killed."

"Father can't always get his way." Andy murmured.

"What did you say?!" Eric turned to glare at her.

"Nothing, darling, now go see what Daddy wants before he sends someone to get you." She walked over to kiss him on the cheek.

"You're hiding something, angel, and I intend to find out what it is." Eric grabbed his jacket and left for the castle.

"I have a little time left before I have to meet Jenn, so you can tell me about your day." She led Fawn into the other room.

"I have something for you." Fawn handed her the note.

"So he wants me found and has given orders to shoot if necessary?" Andy sighed, as she tore the note into little bits of paper. "What am I going to do with him?"

"You can't hurt Daddy! He only wants to make sure that you and the rest of the family are kept safe." She frowned at her.

"I'm not going to hurt Daddy, but I do have to find a way to get him and my darling husband off my tail." Andy scooped the twins up into her arms. "Momma has some work to do, so you be good for your Aunt Fawn." She carried them into the nursery and set them down in their cribs.

"I'll try to keep Eric from finding out that you aren't with Jenn." Fawn gave Andy a hug before she vanished from the room.

Andy appeared in her secret lair, which contained some very high-tech gadgets and her Uncle Patrick's latest toy, a high-speed speeder with a side compartment for Shadow. Her armory was set up in one corner of the mammoth caverns and her costume hung near a Japanese dressing shade.

She went behind the shade and donned her costume, a tight black sleeveless leotard that came up to cover her entire neck. Her hair was kept down and she used a black silk scarf as a means of keeping it out of her eyes or to keep it out of her way when she was in a fight. Black material covered her face from her nose to her chin, she wore black leather gloves that came up to her elbows, black spike heeled knee-high leather boots with tiny hidden pockets for extra weapons encased her feet. She strapped a knife to her thigh and strapped her Katana and Bo staff behind her back. The finishing touch to her outfit was a long black cloak that concealed her from her head to her toes.

Andy walked over to her state of the art computer, also a present from her Uncle, and asked for her next target.

:Shadow! We have work to do!:She called to her cat and he came running into the lair.

She then fitted him with his own armor and they went off to hunt down their next bad guy.

(Castle of Lions)

Eric and Keith used the satellites, but saw no sign of the mysterious outlaw.

"Andy has a new pet." Eric read the latest info that they had on the stranger and then threw the data pad across the room in fury. *I'll throttle her for this! *

"Really and what kind of pet does she have?" Keith didn't comment on the look of pure rage that had come across Eric's face.

"A Black Panther that she's named Shadow," Eric snarled.

"The vigilante has been seen with a large black cat." Keith now knew why Eric was so furious.

"She's also developed sleepwalking habits these past few months."

"I should have known that she wouldn't listen to a word that I said!" Keith roared.

"I'm gonna throttle my wife for this!" Eric seethed. "I'm willing to bet that she even has Fawn covering for her!"

"She's my child, I get first shot at her!" Keith really lost it when he mentioned that Fawn was in on this to. "Fawn is what!? Now that's going too far! I will not have Fawn involved with any of her crazy schemes!"

"I say we go back to my home and wait for her to come home. Then we can both let her have it." Eric snarled darkly.

Andy stumbled on to what looked to be the scene of a murder; a body lay motionless on the ground. The man was oddly dressed in chain mail armor. The victim had a bronze complexion, dark jet-black hair. He was tall. She guessed about six foot four or so and extremely well built. She scanned the area, but sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

"Whoever you are someone did a number on you." Andy frowned, as alarms went off in her head the second that she touched him.

*This is odd there isn't a mark on him and no signs of a struggle.* A split second later a sword whipped across her cloak catching her off guard.

"I expected a male, but you're obviously a female." Khan's emerald eyes glared murderously up at her.

"The last time I checked I was female. Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my planet?" Andy hissed, her whole body was on the defensive.

"Your worst nightmare, I'm going to own this planet after I dispose of you." Khan snarled.

"No. I don't think so. You see, you have a problem, because I like being alive." She taunted him with her sarcasm and tried to scan his mind with her own.

"How would you like to die?"

"Of old age decades from now."

"Your weapons are useless against me. My power comes from the ancient teachings that my family has practiced for thousands of years." Khan laughed evilly at her.

"What are you?" Andy demanded an answer.

"I am darkness, fear, and evil." He growled rising to his feet.

"What you are is insane!"

"I am Khan!" He snarled and she took a step backwards when he started towards her.

"You're off your rocker! Khan is a myth! He doesn't exist!"

"You are the first to see me in the flesh."

"So far I'm not impressed." She sneered.

"Why do you hide behind that cloak? Is it because of fear?"

"Fear isn't something in my vocabulary!" She snapped.

"Then I shall add it to your mind." Khan sent a mental blast into her mind and she barely had time to block him.

"Here's one of mine!" She hissed increasing his blast tenfold, sending it right back at him.

He flinched for a second and then laughed at her attempt to hurt him. :Why you, little fool! Go back to your daddy and play with your dolls, before I seriously harm you.:

"I don't have any family! I work alone!"

"Tragic." He shook his head at her, as if to mock her loss.

"That's right a man like you murdered my family and I vowed to avenge their deaths." She hissed, looking up at him with hurt angry eyes.

:You avenge against me? I don't think so, but I will give you a choice, since you aren't who you seem to be, and I detest doing my own dirty work. You can join me and live or refuse and die.:He gave her an ultimatum.

"Let me explain the situation to you, since you obviously need a little reminder. I have, for the past nine months, single handily spread fear in all of your men. The very mention of my presence strikes fear in the hearts of every evil occupant on the planet. I'm insulted by your offer." She picked up her cloak and refastened it around her neck.

"I also failed to introduce my partner Shadow." She grinned when Shadow pounced on Khan pinning him to the ground. His razor sharp armor enhanced claws dug right through the man's chain mail.

"Come, cat, we must be going. I tire of his presence." Shadow jumped onto the speeder. "Oh and one more thing… I would suggest that you remove your armor, because one of my little toys has attached itself to you, and you'll make a big bang in I'd say five minutes or so." With that said she vanished, bike and all, from Khan's sight.

Eric and Keith sat at opposite corners of the living room glaring at the front door.

Bella lay content on the fur rug in front of the fireplace.

"I still say that we should confront Fawn about this. She's been hiding in the study since we arrived." Eric growled, as he fed Jessie her nightly bottle. "Your Mommy is in hot water, Jessica, and I am willing to bet that you could tell us everything we want to know if you could talk."

"Fawn is the innocent in all of this and had better be studying for her midterm tomorrow." Keith was feeding Jasmine. "She's way beyond hot water, Eric. She passed that when she was in diapers."

"Why is she doing this, Dad?"

"Shaitan and Rand used her and she never wants to be put in that situation ever again." Keith sighed.

"So she's single handily taking on all the bad guys?" Eric groaned.

"Well, so far her new persona is making even the evilest of men crawl back into their holes for cover." Keith sounded rather proud.

"I'd rather she be safe in the Cats or be here taking care of our twins." Eric sighed in frustration.

"You can't cage Andy, son. She needs to have freedom, but I do believe that she's gone a little too far this time."

"I happen to call cleaning the planet of all of Rand's spies in less than two months! Not to mention taking out all the unloyal castle guards and hanging them by their feet off the castle balcony and then terrifying all the people that she saved into staying silent! Way beyond a little too far!"

"I know that, Eric! She's just too much like me for her own good."

"Damn right, Dad! She's exactly like you and that's what scares the hell out of me!" Eric snapped, causing Jessie to start to whimper. "Easy, princess, Daddy's just losing his mind because of your Mommy." Eric cuddled her against his shoulder and soothingly rubbed her back.

Andy arrived at her lair and found Fawn waiting for her. "Daddy and Eric have figured out what you've been up to and are way beyond furious with you." Fawn nervously bit down on one of her fingernails.

"I think that I'll change into my fancier costume with the gold and silver v neck and my silver mask. We mustn't disappoint my father and Eric." Andy peeled off her costume and replaced it with the armored one.

"What are you going to do to them?" Fawn asked when she stepped out from behind the dressing blind.

"Why I'm only going to teach them a lesson for not leaving well enough alone." Andy smiled at her little sister. "Can you stay a little longer and look after the girls while I handle the two lions upstairs?"

"Sure, I adore those two to death, but I honestly think that you're underestimating exactly how furious they are with you." Fawn tried to warn her, but she was already gone.

"I just know that I'm going to be grounded for life when I get home." Fawn sighed and exited the lair.

Khan stalked to his suite of rooms, after entering his sanctuary in his underwear. "No one dares to humiliate Khan and then lives to tell about it!"

Anyone who stared at him or looked at him any differently was quickly disposed of.

"Then again she's strong a fitting queen to rule beside me." He went from furious to calm in moments.

"Big brother, did you achieve victory against the stranger?" Kane entered his brother's room.

"No, little brother, but I may have found my future queen."

"Didn't you find the man who has been taking down our men?" Kane frowned in confusion at him.

"Yes, but I did not find a man." Khan growled.

"A female did those things to our men?" Kane gaped at his brother in surprise.

"She is my perfect match. Her abilities are limitless. The only problem that she has is that she's still unsure of her abilities." Khan owed her one for the loss of his heirloom armor.

"What now, big brother?" Kane growled.

"We set another trap, only this time I will not be alone." Khan grinned evilly. "I want everything that we have on the royal family, especially Princess Andromeda. I want to be sure that I am right before I teach my match a lesson that she will never forget."

The front doors to the house blew open with a gust of wind, which was odd since there was no way that any breeze could penetrate their dome. A dark cloaked figure stood in the open doorway.

"Have mercy." Eric whistled under his breath when she glided into the room.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Keith glared at his daughter, as he set Jasmine down on her feet to toddle over to her mother.

"Momma!" She squealed, pulling on the bottom of Andy's cloak.

Shadow padded over to the baby and picked her up by her t-shirt.

Eric had set Jessie down on her feet and she too went to toddle over to her Mommy.

"Up! Momma!" She pulled on the silvery material of her cloak.

Andy glanced down at her daughter and bent down to scoop her up into her arms.

"Miss me?" She nuzzled Jessie's nose with her own.

"Kitty." Jazz giggled.

Shadow had her between his paws and was bathing her with his tongue just as if she were a young cub.

"You stay there and don't move! I'm going to put the kids to bed for the night and then the three of us are going to have a talk." Eric glared at Andy and then down at Shadow, who still had Jasmine protectively between his paws, but when Eric tried to reach for his daughter the calm cat began to snarl at him.

"Back off, cat!"

Shadow's growl grew even more intense.

"Listen you overgrown pile of fur! I am going to put my daughter in her crib for the night whether you like it or not!" Eric roared at the cat, but Shadow refused to back down. He didn't trust Eric with the girls in the mood that he was in.

"Shadow, please take Jasmine to Fawn in the nursery." Andy ordered her cat softly.

Shadow picked the baby up with his teeth and carried her to the nursery.

Andy then set Jess on her feet and Bella followed Shadow's lead and carried her ward to the nursery as well. "Is that better, Eric? Really, darling, you must learn to control your temper. Shadow thought that you were going to hurt the twins." Andy chided her furious husband.

Keith had gone to personally make sure the twins made it safely to the nursery and to have a little chat with his daughter about her going along with Andy's latest scheme.

"Tuck them into bed and then go home." Keith ordered Fawn in his best you're-in-trouble-and-don't-make-it-worse tone of voice.

"Hi, Daddy!" Fawn had just put Jess in her crib and smiled up at her adopted father as if nothing whatsoever was wrong. "You look upset, Daddy. Is something wrong?" She walked over and gave him a hug.

"Don't play innocent angel with me, Fawn. Now how long have you been covering for Andy and why did you do it when you knew that what she was doing was dangerous." Keith took a step back, so he made sure that he had her full attention.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, but she saved my life and I am honor bound to help her in anyway that I can. I knew that what she was doing was dangerous, but she was always careful and never did anything life threatening. She would never leave her babies alone in this world and she was able to handle any situation that she managed to come up against. I know that what I did was wrong, but Arus did need a new protector while the lions were being rebuilt and she took up that fight." Fawn looked up at him with her expressive brown eyes and Keith couldn't stay angry with her.

"You know that I can't just let this slide and not punish you, don't you." Keith frowned down at her.

"Yes, I know that and I'm willing to take any punishment that you give me." Fawn nodded.

"The only thing that I can think of that would make you think twice before doing this ever again is to forbid you from seeing your sister for an entire month. You will come home, do your homework, and then be castle bound until further notice. If you try to break punishment then I will triple your grounding. Do I make myself clear, Fawn Angelica Edwards?" Keith waited for her response.

"Yes, Daddy, but I was only trying to help Andy. I'm sorry that I disappointed you." Fawn whimpered softly.

Keith pulled her into his arms and held her. "You just need to learn not to keep anything as important as this from me again. What if Andy had gotten hurt? No one would have know and been able to help her. Now do you understand why you're being punished?"

"Yes, Daddy. Can I at least get to tell her good-bye?" She pleaded with him.

"Tell her goodnight and then return to the castle." Keith gave in to her pleading looks.

"I love you, Daddy, even if you are grounding me forever."

"If the rest of your brothers and sisters took punishments the way that you do, then my job wouldn't be half that bad." Keith let her say goodnight to the twins, before he ushered her out of the nursery and back downstairs.

(Meanwhile downstairs)

"Lady, I have not even begun to lose my temper! You're lucky that I don't chain you to the bed and throw away the key!"

"Really, Lion, my father and little sister are standing over there." Andy giggled.

"That is not what I meant and you damn well know it!" Eric reached out and unclasped her cloak from her armor and it fell to the plush carpet in a pool of shimmering material. "And what do you have to say for yourself, little sister?" Eric pinned Fawn with a look that had her hiding behind Keith for cover.

"Leave Fawn out of this! This is between the two of you and me!" Andy defended her little sister.

"She covered for you for months and is just as at fault as you are for not telling us what you were up to!"

"I think that I can handle disciplining my own daughter, Eric." Keith growled. "She did it because she would do anything for Andy, since she did save her from Jace."

"Listen, baby sister. The next time that she does something like this and tells you not to tell me or Dad. Don't listen and tell me what she's up to, so I can stop her before she gets herself killed." Eric held out his arms and Fawn flew into them. "I only want all of my family to be safe and I can't do that if you and Andy hide stuff from me.

"I know and Daddy has grounded me from seeing Andy and I'm grounded in the castle for a whole month." Fawn frowned at him. "I think the punishment is a little harsh, but then I haven't seen Mom's reaction when she finds out about this."

"Seriously, Daddy, I'm not that bad of an influence on her. It's not like I took her out with me when I went out on patrol." Andy rolled her eyes at her dad in frustration.

"No, but she loves to spend time with you and keeping her away will show her that I mean business! I haven't even started with you yet, so don't even start with me, Andromeda Marie! You are suppose to be a good influence on the younger children and this is not what I call being a positive role model!" Keith snarled at her. "Fawn, go home and I will see you in a little while."

"Yes, Daddy. Bye, Dromi." Fawn gave her a hug then raced from the room in tears.

"Look, the only reason that I even came up with my alter ego was because it had to be done. The team can't even make a dent against the bad guys without the rest of the lions and I for one have hated that we've always had that weakness." Andy went to sit in her favorite overstuffed chair.

"Weakness! Listen, Andy! We wouldn't have a weakness if you hadn't blown up the lions!" Eric snarled.

"Would you rather have had me sacrifice our twins?" Andy didn't like where this was going one bit.

"No! But you could have found another way!"

"What's really bothering you, Eric? I have achieved in months what would have taken the Galaxy Garrison years!"

"You don't even have the faintest idea who you're up against! These crimes aren't the work of Rand and his goons!" Eric felt like strangling her

"I know exactly who's causing all of these crimes. It's a new crime boss. I think his name was Khan." She snapped.

"What did you say?!" Keith glowered down at her.

"I said that this new head guy calls himself Kahn." Andy frowned at her father.

"You have to be wrong, Andromeda!"

"Look, Daddy. I met him tonight and I don't think that I will ever forget his name. He's different. He uses his mind instead of using any weapons, but I sense that he's well beyond a master in all fighting techniques." Andy went over her confrontation with Khan.

"You were lucky that he didn't kill you, Andromeda. Khan makes all our other enemies look like rank amateurs." Keith was nearly pulling his hair out. "Did he see your face? Does he know who you are?!"

"I wear a mask, Daddy. No one can see my face, only my eyes are visible." Andy tried to be patient with her father.

"Tell us exactly what you did to escape him." Keith wanted more answers.

"Shadow pounced on him and dug into his armor." Andy started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Eric glared at her.

"Well...I put one of my magnetic bombs on his armor! I'll bet that his men laughed hysterically when he arrived at his base in his underwear."

"Do you like defying death every chance that you get! Is there some sick thrill that you get off on from it!?" Eric exclaimed in sheer frustration.

"I don't have a death wish, Eric! I merely use the male ego to my own advantage!"

"What has happened that has made you into this masked avenger?" Eric knelt down in front of her and pleaded to her with his eyes to talk to him. 'Why won't you talk to me?'

'My life and the danger that is all around our babies.' Andy frowned at him.

'The twins are safe, Andy. You are going to have to come up with something better than that or I may give into the urge to strangle you here and now.' Eric narrowed his eyes at her.

"I wear a mask and Shadow helps watch my back, so I never have anyone sneaking up behind me. The cloak that I normally wear is black as midnight and cloaks me from my head to my toes and my normal costume is jet-black as well. I only wore this to impress the two of you. I have agents all over Arus, who work as spies for me as payment for saving their lives. Oh and one last tiny little detail. I also have complete control over all the satellites." Andy blurted everything out at the speed of light, when she saw that her husband was very close to losing his temper completely with her.

"Why you, little brat! You're the reason that I haven't been able to track you down!" Keith shook his head in frustration. "Who the hell is providing you with all of this high-tech equipment!?"

"Sorry, Daddy, but that is only on a need to know basis and you both don't need to know. I put the whole costume on so none of what I do leads back to my actual identity, even Shadow wears armor over his fur." Andy sighed.

"Do you always let that mane of yours flow freely down your back?" Eric narrowed his eyes at her.

"Maybe!"

"Let me get this straight! You don't disguise your hair and everyone has seen the cat too?!" Eric began to pace the room again.

"Is there a point to this or are you just going to wear a hole in the carpeting?!"

"Why don't you just stick a sign on your head saying look I'm Princess Andromeda!?" Eric roared down at her.

"I wear a cloak, Eric! No one sees my face!" She screamed back at him.

"Did Khan see your face and hair?!" Eric reached down to pull her up out of the chair by her arm.

"Let go of my arm, Eric!"

"Answer me, Andromeda Marie or so help me I will finally show how much I have been letting you win since you were ten-years-old! I am twice as powerful as you are and I'm running out of patience with you!"

"Time-out!" Keith stepped between the two of them. "I've been wondering when this was finally going to happen."

"Are you saying that you've been letting me win for ten years?!" Andy screeched in fury at him.

"Yeah, it was convenient to let you think that we were equals." Eric tried to calm down.

"Convenient!" Andy shouted at him.

"Call it a compromise." Eric shrugged.

"You've lied to me for ten years…just to humor me!?" She felt like this was some sort of bad dream.

"You wanted to be better than I was, so I let you think that we were equals." Eric hated the look of betrayal that she was giving him.

"How dare you humiliate me like this!?" She was now in tears.

"Did you really think that I would still be the leader of the Voltron Force if you actually were better than I was?! You have always had this colossal chip on your shoulder. I knew that if I didn't let you think that you could beat me that you would never even give me a second glance until you finally won!" He snarled at her in frustration.

"He's right, Andy." Keith finally said something.

"What?!" She sprang to her feet and stalked over to her father. "Why are you on his side, Daddy?!"

"Eric happens to be telling you the truth. You happen to be one of the best in the universe, but Eric is the best." Keith looked her right in the eyes, as he spoke the truth to her.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm not a child nor am I the same girl that I was back then!?"

"I didn't want to hurt you and I wouldn't have had to do this if you hadn't acted like you were some untouchable goddess!" Eric wanted to hold her, but her father had already pulled her into his arms.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because, I love you enough to tell you the truth, and I can't bear the thought of living without you." Eric walked over and gently took her from Keith, so he could be the one to hold her in his arms.

"You love me enough to let me win all the time? No matter how much grief that they gave you at the academy." She whimpered against his chest.

"You were worth it, besides no one dared to raze me..." Eric kissed her on the top of her head.

"You always wanted to be her shadow and now you will be, because when she goes out as her alter ego you are going with her." Keith scowled at her.

"But, Daddy?!" Andy wailed in protest.

"No problem, Dad, besides I needed a new hobby anyway." Eric grinned at Keith and for that she punched him in the stomach.

"I've had it, Andromeda!" Eric tossed her over his shoulder. "Dad, will you and Mom look after the twins tonight?" Keith nodded in response, with that said Eric carried her upstairs to their room.

"Put me down!" She screamed in fury and he slapped her on the behind. "Hey, that hurt! I'm gonna hurt you for that, Eric!" She seethed at him.

"Behave or I'll give you a real spanking." Eric warned.

"You wouldn't dare!" She hissed.

"Try me." Eric glared at the cat on their bed.

"Shadow, kill!" Andy hissed at her cat and he rose from the bed.

:Back off, cat, or I'll skin you alive and use your fur for a throw rug!: Eric used his mind to threaten Shadow and he gave him a wounded look, jumped off the bed, and padded out of the room.

:Shadow, you traitor, get your tail back here!:Andy hissed at her cat.

'No not a traitor, just a cat who finally realized who the boss in this family is!' Eric tossed her onto the bed and then went to lock them in for the night.

'Now…Eric, don't do anything rash that you might regret in the morning.' She tried to soothe her furious lion of a husband.

'Angel, not even the kindest thought in the universe could save your skin at the moment' Eric stalked towards their bed.

"I'm sorry, Eric, but I had to see if I was good enough to make it on my own without you for back up and I am!" She stood her ground with him and refused to back down.

"You still don't get it do you?" Eric snarled at his whit's end. "It isn't about whether you can make it on your own! This is about you and I and the love and trust that we share as life mates and partners on the same team!" He shook his head in defeat, stripped, and then headed for the shower.

"Eric, get back here!"

'No, Andromeda! You win! Do what you want! Just don't expect me to sit and watch you endanger yourself and our babies!' He snarled back in her mind and continued to take his shower.

'Eric, I would never put them in danger! I know what I'm doing!' She hissed in her defense.

"Bull shit! Every time that you're Nightshade, you risk revealing who you are, thus endangering the girls!" Eric stalked from the shower.

"I love you and our babies! How can you even doubt that?"

"I don't think that love is in your vocabulary anymore, Andromeda! Power has taken over in its place! Since I rescued you from Shaitan I have watched you change. You've lied to me, betrayed any trust that had for you, and the worse thing about this is that it's like you seem to be becoming more like Kari everyday!" Eric looked at her hurt shining in his eyes.

"I love you, Eric, more than anything in this universe. I'm sorry that I've hurt you, but I felt so alone and vulnerable after everything that happened to me." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I never meant to hurt you or lie to you, but I had to prove to myself that I could still handle situations on my own." Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

"There was never any doubt that you couldn't still handle anything on your own." Eric growled hoarsely. "Why wouldn't you talk to me?"

"I felt like I had to do this on my own." She whimpered then buried her face in her pillow.

"Andy, I would have understood." Eric pulled on his robe and went to sit down next to her on their bed. "I was waiting for you to talk to me, but instead of leaning on me, you developed this new identity. One minute you're the woman that I love and the mother of my children and then you change into Nightshade and I don't even know you anymore!" Eric raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"I've changed, Eric, but it hasn't changed my feelings for you or our babies. My feelings for you are stronger and even more intense then ever. I love you and need you now more than ever." Andy looked up at him the tears still shining in her eyes.

"You've been hiding something from me haven't you? This guy scared the life out of you didn't he?! Dammit, Andy! Are you so bullheaded that you can't even admit that you need me as much as I need you?" He pulled her onto his lap.

"Yes, I need you! I can't do this alone anymore! He's too powerful and I only escaped with my life because Shadow came to my rescue." She sobbed against his chest.

"Was it so bad to ask for help, little fool? I love you, brat, even if you are a royal pain most of the time." He brushed away her tears and then kissed her until she was breathless.

'I've always liked you in that black skintight outfit.' Andy purred.

'I knew that you were giving in a little too easily.'Eric chuckled.

"Can I help it if I adore looking at my husband?" She now had him pinned to their bed.

"You don't see me complaining about your costume do you." Eric reached up and pulled her to him for another kiss.

'Beast, ' she hissed playfully.

'Only with you, my beauty, ' He growled back and the two of them continued to kiss and make up.

Keith walked into his quarters, heading straight for a relaxing shower.

Allura was reading to Lilly and stopped to give him a questioning look.

'Do you want to talk about it?' She asked him softly.

'Not really.' Keith sighed, as he continued on his way to the shower.

"Dromi's in trouble again." Lilly frowned at her father.

"Angel, you have no idea how right you are." He went back over towards the bed and kissed Allura hello before giving Lilly a kiss on the top of her head.

"Daddy, you're so silly." Lilly giggled.

"Do me a favor, angel, stay innocent, and don't try to follow in Dromi's or my footsteps." Keith hugged his baby girl.

"Okay, Daddy. I promise." Lilly kissed him on his cheek.

"Thank you, angel," Keith sighed in relief and headed back towards the master bath and his shower.

"Mommy? What's wrong with Daddy?" Lilly asked.

"I don't know, angel, but I imagine Andromeda has something to do with his strange mood." Allura sighed. "Now run along and get ready for bed. I'll be there to tuck you in after a little while."

"Okay, Mommy." Lilly scooted off the bed raced out of the room.

'Okay, Keith, she's gone. Now will you please tell me what on Arus is wrong?' Allura wanted some answers.

'I'll be out in five minutes, darling, and then I will tell you what's going on.' Keith answered back.

Allura stomped into the master bath and glared at him through the frosted glass of the shower door. 'Does this have something to do with that nut Nightshade?' Allura frowned.

"Yes, love, it does, now would you please let me finish my shower."

"What does that maniac have to do with our daughter?!"

'I will tell you in a few minutes, Allura!' Keith finally shut off the water in defeat and reached for a towel to wrap around his waist.

"You could have finished your shower, Keith. I would have waited for you to tell me what's going on."

Keith rolled his eyes heavenward then smiled at her and said. "That nutcase, maniac, and vigilante called Nightshade is our daughter."

"What?!" She fainted in his arms.

He carried her back to their bed and then returned to finish his shower in peace.

Khan slammed his fist into one of his computer screens. "Who dares rig my spying devices!" He roared as all of his systems crashed after being hit by a power surge.

"She needs to be killed, before she causes any more damage." Kane found himself being strangled by Khan for stating his opinion without being asked to speak.

"When I want your opinion I will ask for it!"

"Khan..." Kane gasped for air. "...You're choking me!"

"Listen, toad! I don't care if you are my only brother! If you so much as whisper when I am speaking, I will cut out your tongue!" Khan threw Kane into a monitor headfirst.

"Yes, my Khan." Kane croaked before he blacked out completely.

"That's more like it!" Khan signaled for his second in command.

"Yes my, Khan?" Derek entered the room.

"Take Kane to the medical ward, he seems to have hurt himself again." Khan growled.

"At once, my Khan," Derek picked up Kane and left the room. *Kid you will never learn will you.* He looked down at the unconscious sixteen-year-old in his arms.

(Castle of Lions)

Allura awoke to find herself in bed with a wet towel on her forehead.

Keith, now relaxed from his shower, was leaning on his elbow watching her as she slept.

"Hello, beautiful. Lilly is all tucked in, and Fawn is sound asleep in her room. We're alone whatever shall we do?" Keith leaned over and kissed her.

"Start talking and I mean every last detail, Keith Michael!" Allura sat up and glared at him.

"Can it wait till later?" He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again.

"No! It most certainly can't!" She pushed him away from her. "Start talking!"

"Fine, Allura! Just don't faint on me again!" He glared at her. "This new crime fighter is Andromeda."

'This is all, your fault!' She snarled at him in frustration.

"My fault!?" Keith snarled back. 'What exactly do you mean by that, Allura Danielle!?'

"She followed in your footsteps and look at what she's doing now! She's playing the part of this crime fighter and trying not to get herself killed!"

"This is all her doing, Allura! I have never done anything this asinine in my life!"

"And that makes it totally her fault!? Do you have any idea what kind of talk is going to arise when this gets out!?"

"No one is ever going to find out about this, Allura! If this were to get out then she and the twins would be in danger!" Keith pinned her with a glare.

"Oh Gods! What has she gone and done now!?" Allura was beginning to panic.

"Nothing as long as her identity remains a secret." Keith growled.

"Are you suggesting that I would ever place my daughter in danger!?" Allura socked him in the eye.

"Dammit, Allura, that hurt!" Keith yelped in pain. "I never said that you would place anyone in danger! Are you happy now! I think you gave me a black eye!" He had her pinned beneath him on their bed.

"Now, Keith, let's not overreact." Allura eyed him with wary eyes.

Keith's expression merely became darker and more intense, "Too late for that, Allura." He growled.

"I'm sorry about your eye. I must have misunderstood." Allura whimpered.

'Allura, you know that I would never lay a finger on you.' He kissed her.

'If this is my punishment then continue.' She smiled up at him.

'Oh, I intend to, my love.'

Andy frowned at Eric, who was trying to change what she wore as Nightshade.

"I don't mind the cloak or the boots, but the main outfit, what little there is of it, needs something more." Eric frowned in concentration, as he worked on the computer in the lair. "Let's see, we add some gold armor here, some chain mail here, redo the mask so it protects your face more, and lastly we disguise the hair." Eric grinned at the image of her on the screen.

"Darling? How am I suppose to move or fight in that thing?" She hissed into his ear.

"Simple, love, this is high tech cyber armor and the chain mail is lightweight." Eric explained. "We'll use quantamantium for the metal and chain mail armor."

"And where exactly are you going to get all of this?" She glared at him in annoyance.

"Its simple your Uncle's latest toy is going to create it for us." Eric hit a button and the machine went to work.

"Eric, I happen to like my original costume!" She whined at him.

"If you're going to do this then we're going to make sure that you're protected, comfortable, and able to use your fighting skills!"

"And what may I ask are you going to wear?" She hissed, angrily tapping her foot impatiently against the hard floor of the lair.

"My black cyber armor, consider me your lethal and protective shadow." He growled.

"No Way! If I have to wear chain mail then so do you!" She snarled at him.

"I can assure you that my suit is state of the art!"

"Not good enough, Eric! It's either that or nothing!"

"Andy, don't make me teach you a lesson in teamwork!" Eric was losing her patience.

"Are you giving me orders?!"

"Andromeda, we're a team and that means that we have to compromise!"

"Not when it means changing everything that I worked my butt off to achieve!"

"You need me as back up, Andy! I love you too much not to make sure that you're protected!"

"But you said that you liked my costume!"

"Yes, but only when it's for my eyes only!"

"Eric, you're being impossible!"

"Here go put this on and then you'll see if you still want to scream at me." Eric handed her the now finished costume.

"It seems like its lightweight." She dropped her robe and began to dress in front of him.

"You sure are murder on my blood pressure." He groaned, as he watched her dress.

"Strip. I want to see you in your black cyber suit." She ordered him.

"No you just want my body." He teased, but did as he was told. "That sure does fit you like a second skin."

"As does your outfit," She purred.

"Why do you have that wig in your hands?" She frowned at him.

"This is going to give you the illusion of a dual identity." Eric handed her the wig.

"No way, Eric! My hair helps keep me hidden, it's black as night, and it helps me blend in with darkness of the night." She tried to explain.

"You win, Andy. No wig." Eric compromised.

"Finally, he manages to listen to me." She muttered under her breath.

"What did you just say to me?!" Eric glared down at her.

"Nothing, sweetheart, you must be hearing things." She smiled, blinking innocently up at him with her amber eyes.

'Come here, brat.' Eric growled.

The lair was vast and large enough for a major part of it to be turned into a sparing room.

'Are we gonna see whose number one?' She challenged.

'No, brat, we're gonna see if you can move in the new costume.' He growled back.

'Hit me with your best shot, Captain.' She winked at him.

'Are you sure that you're ready?' He challenged.

'Try me and we'll see who gets the last laugh this time.' She smiled.

(Three in the morning at the castle)

Lilly had awakened from a horrible nightmare, about a very bad man. She ran to her parent's room, only to find that she couldn't open the door. "Mommy! Daddy!" She pounded her fists against the door of her parent's room. "Don't let the bad man hurt me!"

The door immediately opened and Keith scooped her up into his arms. "It's okay, baby, no one is going to hurt you." He carried her over to their bed.

"He was so mean to Dromi! He had me, so she couldn't fight, and he was really hurting her bad!" She sobbed, as she clung to her father.

Keith looked over at Allura. "Lilly, no one is after Andy and no one is after you." He tried to soothe her with his voice.

"No! He was mean and dressed like stories that Dromi reads to me!"

"I thought that I told Andy to stop reading those old history discs to you!" Keith was going to have another talk with Andy about this.

"She hasn't read to me, Daddy! She's never around anymore!"

"What else did you see in your dream?" Allura asked in a gentle tone of voice.

"Dromi was wearing something strange almost out of the story books." Lilly whimpered.

"Did you hear what this man called himself?"

"Uh-huh, his name was Khan and he was hurting Dromi and she couldn't fight back because he had me!" She buried her face against her father's chest.

'How could she possibly know about what's going on with Andy?' Keith frowned at Allura.

'It's simple, Keith. She and Andy have been bonded since she was a baby. Remember how she used to insist on taking care of her before she would even start fussing. I think that she's reaching out to Andy through that bond, because Andy isn't there for her anymore.' Allura sighed.

"Dromi's in danger, Daddy!" She sobbed.

"She's fine, Lilly, and I'm going to prove it to you." Keith placed a call to Eric and Andromeda.

The call was transferred to the lair and a monitor activated a fake background hologram around the entire area.

"Let me up, Eric. The castle is calling! Something might be wrong with the girls!" Andy gasped, as his hands roved over her body.

'Fine, but don't answer it wearing that or your cover will be blown.' Eric reluctantly let her up.

'I'm not wearing anything!' She hissed at him, as she reached for her robe.

'I know!' Eric growled, as he placed kisses along the back of her neck.

'Behave!' She hissed.

"Hi, Daddy. Is something wrong with the twins?"

"The girls are fine, but Lilly had a nightmare that really scared her." Keith frowned at her.

"Let me talk to her, Daddy." Andy suddenly felt the guilt hit her, as she realized just how much she had been neglecting her baby sister. "Lilly, it's Dromi. Do you want to tell me about your dream?" She asked her softly.

"No! I want you to come and see me now! Then I'll tell you about my dream." Lilly snapped at her.

"Lilly, I'd really like too, but it's three in the morning..." Lilly cut her off with a sharp reply.

"Now! Andromeda! I need you!" She ordered in her best adult voice.

"You heard the boss, Andy. It looks like we're going to the castle, besides I miss our little angels." He grinned.

"Okay, Lilly, you win. I'm coming to the castle and then you and I can have a nice long talk, okay?" Andy sighed, as she ended the call.

"I would say that you're in some very hot water." Eric frowned at her.

"She really is mad isn't she?" Andy sighed.

"I think that she has every reason to be mad at you. You haven't spent time with her in months."

"I've meant to take time out to do things with her, but I just haven't had time with this, the twins, and you taking up all of my time. I forgot all about Lilly and now she's having nightmares!"

"But this new side of you is more important than anyone in the family."

"That's not true! Lilly means the world to me!" Andy couldn't believe that he would say this to her.

"You send me every time she's asked you to do something with her, because you're too busy." Eric forced the issue.

"Are you saying that I care more about being Nightshade than I do about my own family?!" She gaped at him in shock.

"I wouldn't know from experience, because I'm one of the lucky ones. You can't ignore me or the twins. Lilly is six-years-old and doesn't understand that you have a busy schedule. Andy, you were even too busy to attend her birthday party. I covered for you, but she was hurt and angry with you."

"I've been doing this to protect the entire family!"

"Wrong, you've been doing this for your own reasons!" He snarled back.

They were now dressed and still arguing all the way to the castle.

"That's not true, Eric!"

"Then explain to me why Lilly isn't buying this story anymore than I am?" Eric narrowed his eyes down at her.

"Because…" Andy tried to think of a reason, but none came to mind.

"Well? I'm waiting, Andromeda Marie." Eric arched a brow at her.

"Oh shut up! We're already here at the castle!" She hissed at him and then stalked into the castle.

"I love it when I'm right and you're speechless." He chuckled.

"You're not right!" She hissed back.

"Then why are you so mad at me?"

"Because Lilly is upset!"

"No, Andy, it's because I happen to be right and you can't stand it." He stopped in front of her parent's quarters and knocked on the door.

"Mother? Father? We're here."

The door opened immediately.

"In here, Andromeda." Allura answered a little too quietly.

'Why do I suddenly feel like I'm going in front of firing squad?' She muttered to herself.

'Guilt, my love, you are feeling guilty as charged.' He growled back.

"Hello, daughter. It's a shame that a crisis is the only way that I get to see you these days." Allura frowned at her.

"Sorry, mother, but I've been really busy these days." Andy answered softly.

"Oh? What may I ask is more important than spending time with your family?" She narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

Andy didn't say a word.

"Surely, you can tell your own mother or have you been up to your old tricks again?"

"Mother, I thought that I was here to see Lilly, not to be interrogated by you." Andy snapped.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Andromeda Marie! You're lucky that your father doesn't formally charge you with everything that you've done these past few months!"

"Mother, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Andy acted like she was innocent and hurt by her mother's words.

"It won't work, Andromeda. I already know all about your latest attempt to rid the planet of all evil." Allura snapped regally at her daughter.

"Mother, I can explain…" Andy started to speak, but her mother cut her off in midsentence.

"Silence! You are here because Lilly needs you! Our talk will have to wait and Andromeda, you and I are going to talk!" Allura dared her to say another word.

Andy nodded at her mother then went over to see her little sister. "I'm here, Lilly. Now tell me all about your dream." She went to pick her up and set her in her lap, but her sister refused to let her touch her.

"I had a dream because of you!" She snapped angrily at her.

"How did I cause you to have your nightmare?" Andy was at a loss for words.

"I was taken by a baddie who had you prisoner!" She sniffled, "He was hurting you really bad, cuz he had me as a hostage!" She burst into tears.

"What bad man, angel?" Eric reached for her, to Andy's surprise, Lilly crawled into his arms.

"Khan…" She whimpered.

"What did you see? Tell me everything that happened in your dream." Andy couldn't believe that she was hearing this.

"You were dressed like my story books." Lilly frowned at her.

"Do you remember what he called me?"

"He was mad at you, cuz you tricked him, and he said he was gonna make you pay." She clung to Eric in terror, as she remembered her dream. "You were crying out in pain, but I couldn't see what he was doing to you."

"No one is going to take you or harm me. You were only having a bad dream." Andy told her softly.

"No! You're lying to me!" Lilly glared at her.

"I am not lying to you, Lilly. You were only having a bad dream."

"Yes you are!" She screamed at her sister, "You don't trust me!"

"I'm not lying, Lilly."

"I hate you, Dromi! You're lying to me! That man is real and so were you!" She jumped out of Eric's arms and ran from the room.

"Lilly! Come back here!" Andy ran after her.

"Well, I think that went over smoothly don't you?" Keith groaned, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"How can she possibly know what's going on?" Eric frowned at them in confusion.

"She has a link to Andy and this was no ordinary nightmare." Allura frowned.

"Then I know why she had her dream. Andy had quite a scare this evening."

"Someone needs to put some fear in her, before she gets herself killed!" Allura snapped.

"Khan would have taken over half of Arus, if Andy hadn't become Nightshade." Eric defended his love.

"What?!"

"It's simple, Allura. She has kept him busy, while we rebuilt the new Voltron." Keith saw what Eric was trying to tell them.

"Are you saying that this is fine with the two of you?!" Allura glared at the two of them.

"Look, Allura, until we know who we're dealing with and get the new Voltron back online, I don't think that we have much of a choice." Keith sighed in defeat.

"Don't worry, Mom. She's well protected. I designed her new night wear." Eric grinned at them.

"And what are you going to wear?" Keith frowned.

"My Black cyber suit," Eric's grin turned to a frown when he heard something clawing at Keith and Allura's door.

"What on Arus is scratching on our door?" Allura went and opened the door.

A Black Panther sat patiently waiting to be let inside, while four of the castle guards eyed the cat in sheer terror.

"Eric, is he yours?" Allura arched a brow at him.

"Shadow! I told you to stay home!"

"That's Andy's new pet." Keith was not so sure he trusted the cat.

"He's also her protector." Eric glared at the cat that was now snarling at him, "Shadow, back off!" He ordered.

The cat merely let out a loud growl and the four guards bolted in terror.

"He doesn't like you very much." Allura began scratching Shadow behind his ears. "You're such a beautiful animal." She smiled down at him.

"That's not a cat! That's a wild beast!" Keith pulled Allura away from the beast.

Shadow saw this as an attack and immediately pounced on Keith.

"Get him off me!" He snarled furiously.

"Shadow, back off! He's family, you stupid ball of fur!" Eric growled at him, but Shadow refused to budge.

"It's okay, Shadow, he won't hurt me." Allura told the panther and he got off Keith and walked over to sit next to Allura.

"I take it that he doesn't like men very much does he?" Keith glared at the cat.

"He's such a nice protector." Allura cooed at the cat purring continently at her feet.

"Yes, when Andy's working Shadow is her protector." Eric explained. "He's also amazingly gentle with the girls and adores Bella. Shadow, go find Andy." He ordered the cat, which got up and went in search of his mistress.

Lilly ran into her room and began throwing anything that Andy had ever given her into an empty toy box.

"I hate you! You don't come see me anymore!" She screamed in fury. "I hate you for lying to me!" She kept throwing things into the box.

"Lillian Allura, if you calm down and listen to me, I will try to tell you what you want to know."

"I don't believe you!" Lilly threw something sharp at her that Andy easily caught in her hand.

:Calm yourself, Lillian Allura, you do not have to continue with your tantrum.: Andy used her mind to calm her sister down. "Now sit down and we will discuss this calmly and rationally."

Lilly obediently sat down next to her sister and waited for Andy to say something.

"That man in your dream, he didn't harm you did he?" Andy asked.

"No." Lilly whispered.

"What was I wearing, Lilly? Can you remember that for me, because it's very important that I know everything that you saw in your dream."

"Something gold like knights in my storybooks," Lilly frowned.

"Was Eric with me?"

"No, you were alone."

"I'm sorry. Lilly and I promise that I will make all of this up to you." Andy placed all of Lilly's things back where they belonged and tucked her into bed.

"I miss you, Dromi." Lilly whimpered.

"I know that I haven't been there for you these past few months, but I promise that I'm going to make it up to you. I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep and don't worry about Khan I can handle him." She hugged her sister close.

Shadow padded into the room, jumped onto Lilly's bed, and nuzzled Andy's hand.

"Shadow? Where did you come from?" Andy scratched him behind his ears.

"Is he yours?" Lilly yawned sleepily. "Where did you find him?"

"Let's just say that he became my Shadow when I saved him from a poacher's trap." Andy tucked her back in.

"I know who you are, Dromi." Lilly yawned sleepily. "You're Nightshade."

"How?" Andy frowned at her.

"I just know." She smiled in her sleep.

"Come on, Shadow, let's leave her to her dreams." Andy whispered to her cat and they both left her room.

Eric and Keith were talking and Allura waited for Andy to return so the two of them could have their talk.

"Eric, let's go home." Andy had the twins in her arms and was ready to head for home.

"It's almost five in the morning, Andy, let's just stay here." Eric frowned at her.

"Eric and I will put the twins back in the nursery, while you and your mother have your talk." Keith took the twins from her and then he and Eric left the two of them alone.

"Like this is the way that I wanted to start my morning…" Andy muttered under her breath, as she took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs in her parent's sitting room.

"How is Lilly?" Allura asked.

"She's back to her old self again and fast asleep in her bed. I've made it so she won't have anymore bad dreams."

"What's happened to you?" Allura knelt down in front of her.

"I've grown up, mother. I'm not the naïve girl that I used to be." She answered quietly.

"What have we done to you?" Allura didn't like what was happening to her baby girl.

"You didn't do anything to me. I changed when Shaitan and Rand kidnapped me. They found that I had a weakness and now I've taken that weakness away." Andy answered her mother her voice bitter.

"But that's what makes us mortal, Andy." Allura frowned at her. "We need these feelings to stay sane."

"I have feelings, Mother. I've developed a way to cloak them when I'm around my enemies, so they sense nothing, and feel nothing when I come across them."

"How is that even possible?"

"Mother, the way that I am right now here in this room is the light side or good side of me. Nightshade is the darker more lethal side of my persona." Andy was losing her cool with her mother and just wanted to end the entire conversation.

"Maybe, you should have a nice long talk with your Aunt Cassie. These feelings aren't healthy, Andromeda."

"I'm not insane!" Andy narrowed her eyes at her in frustration, "You can't even grasp what I'm capable of, Mother." There was no emotion whatsoever in her voice as she spoke.

"Andy, you're obsessed. You need to talk to someone about this! You're too far into your alter ego and it's hurting you!"

"Mother, I've become something that will send the evilest of our enemies running to the nearest hole for protection." Andy snapped.

"You're obsessed, Andromeda!" Allura tried to get her to see reason.

"No mother! I'm the new peacemaker on Arus and if father tries to stop me then we'll go a few rounds." Andy got to her feet and vanished from the room.

*She needs help.* Allura walked over to her Tele-monitor and placed a call to Ziare.

Sheena squinted at the monitor and yawned. "This had better be important… its 2am…Here."

"I'm sorry that I had to wake you, but this is an emergency! I need you, Cassie, and Myria here as soon as you possibly can! We have a situation here and her name is Andromeda." Allura was absolutely frantic with worry.

"What is she up to now, Allura?" Sheena instantly awoke at the mention of her niece's name.

"She doesn't feel anything anymore, Sheena!"

"What do you mean, Allura?" Sheena did not like what Allura was telling her.

"She isn't the same anymore, Sheena! She's the vigilante that has been terrifying the bad guys into running for cover!"

"Andy is Nightshade?!"

"Yes and she doesn't think that she can be harmed by anything or anyone either!' Allura snapped. "And now Lilly is having nightmares about this evil man called Khan!"

"What did you say?" Sheena's eyes narrowed.

"I said that his name was Khan…Why? What's wrong, Sheena!?" Allura demanded answers.

"I haven't heard that name for a very longtime." Sheena replied softly.

"Who is this man?" Allura asked.

"He murdered my father." Sheena replied, her voice as cold as ice. "Khan is my older brother. Our father couldn't teach him enough. When Khan tried to overthrow King Oran, my father stopped him and Oran banished him from the far galaxy, but before he left he killed my father in cold blood. "

"Was he a master like your father was?" Allura dreaded hearing the answer to her question.

"He was fourteen when he murdered our father and yes he was a master." Sheena fell very silent.

"Oh my god! Sheena! Andy came face-to-face with Khan!" Allura cried out in sheer terror for her child's safety.

"Eric and Andy are better than Keith and I and they may be able to handle Khan. He was ruthless and cold-blooded at fourteen. I can't imagine how he is now." Sheena's words sent icicles down Allura's spine.

(Andy's Lair Hours Later)

Andy sat in her lair and listened to the recorded conversation between her mother and Sheena.

*So Khan is Sheena's older brother and far more powerful than I ever imagined. She also said that Eric and I could probably take him.* Andy pondered her Aunt's words.

*If Eric can take him, then so can I.* She frowned, as she typed some commands into her computer. "Grandfather is about to enter Arus's dome and the castle looks secure."

She scanned the area where they were finishing the new Voltron and found nothing out of place. She then activated the castle nursery's security camera and checked on her daughters, who were currently being tended to by a harried looking Eric.

She then activated the main satellites, so she could watch as her Grandfather and his fleet entered Arus's protective dome, but to her horror the entire fleet exploded, moments before they entered the protective barrier around the planet.

"Grandfather!" Andy screamed in agony and pure rage. "I will make you pay for this! Khan!" She vowed, as tears of rage and sorrow streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Grandfather, but I promise you that whoever did this will pay!" She immediately began a planet wide scan for Khan's hidden base.

(The Castle of Lions)

Keith stared in horror at the screen as the ships exploded. "No! Father!" He shouted in agony. "I want a planet wide search! Find me Rand and Shaitan!" Keith roared at Liam and his men, who bowed to him and then vanished from his sight.

"This time you die, Rand!" Keith vowed to avenge his father, as tears streamed down his face.

"Dad!? What's wrong? What's happened!?" Eric ran into the room.

"Dad and his armada just exploded outside our protective dome!" Keith snarled in fury.

"Why would anyone do this?!" Eric shouted angrily, as his grief hit him like he'd been slammed into a brick wall.

"I have some good ideas about who did this and their names are Rand and Shaitan!" Keith crashed his fist through the glass console in fury, and there were no cuts or gashes on it when he shook the glass off his hand.

"Activate the new robots and I will drag them in myself!" Eric also had tears of rage and sorrow streaming down his cheeks.

"What's going on? Why are the two of you ready to tear someone apart?" Allura ran into the room without Andy.

"There has been a terrible explosion and Dad died instantly as did his entire armada." Keith told her the news and she raced into his arms.

"Keith, I'm so sorry!" She cried.

"Where is Andromeda?" Eric narrowed his eyes at her.

"We talked and then she left. I thought that she was with you?" Allura frowned at him.

"If she finds out about this, she's going to go for blood!" Eric ran from the room and went to hunt down his wife. *Please, Andy, don't do anything stupid, like going and getting yourself killed.*

(An hour or so later)

Lilly had developed the habit of sneaking out of her room and going for a ride on her horse Pansy.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Shaitan chuckled, but didn't show himself.

"Who's there?" Lilly demanded in a shaky voice.

"Aren't you a little young to be up at the crack of dawn?"

"I'm a big girl and am not afraid of you!"

"Oh, little one, it's good to be afraid."

"What do you want?" She demanded in her best adult voice.

"I came for your sister, but you'll do for now." Shaitan finally made himself known and scooped her up into his arms.

"Let me go!" She started to scream for help, but he held a gloved hand over her mouth.

"No screaming, biting, or trying to get away and I promise that you won't be harmed." Shaitan growled and Lilly nodded in response. "That's more like it." He vanished with his her in his arms.

(Andy's Lair a few hours later)

Andromeda donned her new armor, as she prepared to wage all-out war with Khan. She armed herself with her father's Laser sword, instead of her katana, and attached it to her belt, with an assortment of other lethal looking weapons. She made sure that her hair was in a braid and out of her way before she finally put on her mask.

"I'm gonna make you pay for this, Khan!" She shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave as she vanished from sight.

She was at the castle a few minutes later, so she could check on her babies one last time before facing Khan. "I'll be back, my darlings. I want you to be good for your Daddy, Nana, Grandpa, and Aunt Fawn. I love you both so much and I want you to always remember that." She picked then up and kissed them. "If I don't return, I hope that you understand that I gave up my life to protect you. I want you to make your own choices and never give up on your dreams." She set them back down into their cribs.

Andy glanced over at the doorway and saw that Shadow had entered the nursery. "Stay, Shadow, I want you to protect the twins." She ordered, fighting back her tears when the babies began to scream and wail for their Mommy. She barely managed to vanish from the room before Eric and Allura ran back into the nursery to check on the girls.

Shadow immediately pounced on Eric.

"Get off me, you big fur ball!" Eric threw Shadow off him.

Shadow went flying across the nursery, but like all felines he landed on his paws.

"Why are you in here!? Where is Andromeda!?" He roared down at the cat in fury.

Shadow fled from the room in terror.

"Mom? Did you put these toys in their cribs?" Eric frowned at Allura.

"No they were laying on the dresser." Allura frowned at Eric. "Why what's wrong?"

"I'll kill her with my bare hands!" Eric ran from the room, only to be stopped by Cass, Sheena, and Myria.

"Who are you going to kill?" Sheena frowned at him.

"What are you three doing here?!"

"Hello to you too, Eric. Where is Andromeda?" Sheena asked him, not affected by how he was acting towards her.

"Oh she's only trying to get herself killed, but then that isn't anything new now is it?!" Eric snarled sarcastically, "Now move out of my way! I have a wife that I have to go murder!"

"I'm sorry about Uncle Michael. My men are already hunting down the suspects. Now tell me where Andromeda went!" Sheena snapped at him.

"I don't have time for this! She went to confront Khan! Now get the hell out of my way!"

"Khan is my older brother." Sheena told him.

"Say that again?!" Eric stared at her in shock.

(Khan's base)

Lilly clung to Shaitan's neck in sheer terror when he entered Khan's throne room.

"Excellent work, Shaitan! Keith wouldn't dare come after us with Lilly as a hostage." Rand reached for the child and Shaitan responded by laying his brother flat with one punch.

"The child stays with me!" Shaitan snarled at his brother.

"Enough of this! Who is this child?" Khan roared.

Lilly crawled over Shaitan's shoulder, onto his back, and hid her face against his neck.

"And why is she clinging to you in terror!?" Khan bellowed.

"This is King Keith and Queen Allura's youngest child, Master Khan." Shaitan explained.

"Keith? Now why does that name sound so familiar to me?" Khan scowled.

"You and our deceased father tried to have him killed when he was ten, unfortunately he survived." Shaitan filled in some of the blanks.

"Keith?! Is King Oran's, Keith?!" Khan bellowed.

"Shaitan," Lilly crawled down Shaitan's back and ran between a guard's legs, as she fled in sheer terror. "Your little hostage is making a run for it." Khan chuckled.

"Lilly, get back here!" Shaitan shouted.

:Allow me. Come here, young lady.: Khan commanded her with his mind and to her sheer terror she turned around and walked towards him.

"No! I want my daddy!" She wailed, as he tried to fight his control over her mind. "No!" She clung to Shaitan's leg in terror.

"How did you do that?" Shaitan frowned.

Lilly was once again in his arms and clinging to his neck in terror.

"You might be worthy after all." Kahn sighed, as he mentally pried Lilly off Shaitan and brought her to where he was sitting on his throne. "Now why are you so afraid of me?" He asked her softly.

"You hurt my big sissy really bad in my dream." Lilly whimpered.

"Who is your sister?"

"Princess Andromeda and Nightshade," Shaitan answered for Lilly.

"How old are you?"

"I just turned six." She whimpered.

"So you're a big girl. Do you promise to be good?" He asked softly and she nodded.

"I use this for my furry pets, but it will also work on you." He placed a harness around her waist, so she was only able to move a few feet away from Khan's throne.

"Good idea, Khan, now she'll behave." Shaitan grinned.

"Now we wait for my future queen to arrive." Khan smiled.

"Queen? Uh, Master, she's married and has twin one and a half year-old daughters." Shaitan frowned at Khan in confusion.

"That isn't a concern to me, fool! A husband is easily disposed of!" Khan narrowed his eyes at Shaitan.

"Captain, or should I say, Prince Eric Lawson is even better than his wife and isn't your normal everyday husband." Shaitan knew exactly how lethal her husband was, because he had just finished recovering from his last confrontation with the Captain of the Voltron Force.

"That is yet to be seen." Khan grinned, as an explosion rocked the base. "Ah, our guest of honor has finally arrived."

Andy tore the base apart, as she stormed her way to Khan. She easily took out anyone who got in her way and now stood in front of the main doors to Khan's throne room.

"Move or I will slice you in half!" She warned the young teen that stood guard in front of the doors. She gave him proof that she meant what she was saying by giving him a crew cut with her laser sword.

"I cannot allow you entry!" Kane growled at her.

"I'm serious!" She began pointing to where she was going to slice him next.

The sword easily cut into his clothing, until he was in nothing but his underwear.

"Open the door or this time I make sure that you never have a chance to have kids!" She pointed the sword at his lower anatomy.

Kane was no fool and allowed her access to his brother's throne room. :She's here, big brother!: Kane sent to his brother, his face red with embarrassment.

:Go dress yourself! You are embarrassing me!: Khan roared at him and the teen ran from the room in terror.

Andy breezed into the room, "You and I have unfinished business to settle, Khan!" She announced regally.

Lilly was now hiding under Khan's throne.

"How dare you murder my grandfather?"

"I did nothing. Shaitan and his brother were merely following what I ordered them to do." Kahn didn't even flinch from the way she was glaring murderously at him.

"You slime!" Andy snarled at Shaitan.

"Andromeda, you've changed a lot since last we met. I like the new you very much." Shaitan undressed her with his eyes.

"I'm going to make you pay for everything that you've put me through this last year." She promised.

"I don't think so, princess, because I happen to hold all the cards in this little game of ours." Shaitan winced when a sudden pain began pounding in his head.

"Not from where I'm standing you don't!" She laughed at him and increased the pain that she was making him feel in his mind.

"I have Lilly…" He now had sweat beading his brow as the pain in his head increased dramatically.

"Lilly is in her room at the castle fast asleep in her bed." Andy increased the pain even more and Shaitan fell to his knees in agony.

"What are you doing to me?!" He snarled through teeth gritted in pain. The pain was so intense now that he had to force himself from blacking out.

"Consider this pay back for almost killing Eric, taking my kids, making me blow up the lions, throwing me in that bloody harem as your little slave, and for trying to rape me!" She had him begging for her to stop the pain.

Unfortunately, her baby sister had decided that she wanted to see what was happening and crawled out from under her hiding place under Khan's throne.

"Lilly! What are you doing here?!" She cried out in surprise. 'Um, darling? I'm in major trouble here. I know that you're furious with me, but I think that I'm about to get myself killed.' She whimpered her message to Eric.

'I'm on my way.'Eric growled back. 'If you do something like get yourself killed, I will never forgive you.'

"He took me!" Lilly pointed to the man lying on the floor.

"You were supposed to stay home with Shadow!" Andy tried to think of a way out of this.

"I wanted to go riding!" Lilly pouted at her sister.

:You are six-years-old and aren't supposed to go riding alone or be outside unless Mom and Dad know where you are! You are in big trouble, young lady!: Andy scolded her.' Help!'

(Eric and Andy's Lair)

Keith, Jenna, and Sheena watched as Myria used the vast computers in Andy's secret lair.

Keith stared at everything in shock and then glared murderously at his sister. "Where the hell did she get all of this?!"

"They were given to her as a gift from Patrick and me on her twentieth birthday." Myria confessed to her brother.

"Do you have any idea what the two of you have done!?"

"Listen, big brother! She asked for my help and advice! All of you wouldn't even try to talk to her!" Myria snarled back.

"She didn't want to talk!"

"For nine months!?"

"Well, one thing is for sure with all of this equipment she can control everything on Arus." Jenna was awed by everything in the lair.

"She always has tried to keep one step ahead of me! That does it! I'm going to give her a well-earned spanking for putting us through all of this!" Keith snarled.

"She's married with kids of her own! You can't spank her!" Sheena frowned at him.

"She is my daughter and I can and will give her a spanking if I want to! Maybe then she will stop this madness!" Keith glared at Sheena.

"Quiet!" Eric roared, as he entered the main part of the lair in his black cyber suit.

"Oh wow!" Jenna sighed, as she drank in the view of him in skintight armor.

"Do you mind!" Eric snarled at her in annoyance and went over to punch in his wife's location on the computer. "Well, are you coming or not!?" He glared at the four them.

"Yes!" The four of them echoed.

"And just to get something clear, Dad! No one lays a finger on my wife but me!" Eric narrowed his eyes at Keith.

' I'm on my way, Brat! Try to stay in one piece until I get there!' Eric sent to his wife. *Please don't let her die!*

(Khan's)

"Shaitan, teach our guest some manners, after all she was uninvited." Khan ordered softly.

"I can hurt her?" Shaitan wanted some payback for what she had done to him.

"Yes, but don't kill her or mare her face in any way."

"I can do anything that I want, as long as I don't hurt her face?" Shaitan asked gleefully.

"Control yourself! I want her tamed not physically accosted!"

"As you wish, Master Khan, and this might be just the thing that I need to tame the little hell cat." Shaitan took the whip that hung beside Khan's throne.

"Very well, but I want the two of you to play nice." Khan grinned.

"Here Kitty, kitty, kitty," Shaitan slashed the whip across her cloak and it fell to her ankles.

:Khan, it's not fair unless I can play too.: She pouted and slammed the spiked heel of her boot into Shaitan's groin.

"Why you, little bitch!" Shaitan snarled in pain, but that area had been well protected. He slashed the whip across her arm.

"No not a bitch…Shaitan. I'm of a feline origin." She hissed back, trying to ignore the stinging sensation the whip had caused when it struck her arm.

"You'll regret what you did to me a little while ago!" Shaitan was getting a kick out of slashing her with the whip.

"I thought that you were finally learning, Shaitan, or are you Khan's lapdog now?" She hissed back, her teeth gritted in pain.

"I would not say such things if I were you!" Shaitan hooked the whip around her ankle, causing her to lose her balance and land on her face. He then began to relentlessly whip her across her back until she finally cried out in agony.

"If Lilly weren't here I'd kill you." She hissed, crying out in pain, as he continued to tame her.

:Admit to me that you have lost and all of this will stop.: Khan growled in her head.

:Never! I'd die before I would ever give you that satisfaction you murderer!: She snarled back.

:You are the one who angered me. I had to take my anger out on someone. How nice of chance to let it be your grandfather and the Grand Marshal.: Kahn smiled evilly.

:You'll pay for this, Khan! When Eric, Aunt Sheena, and my father find me they will make you pay!:She looked up at him and saw that Lilly had crawled back under his throne.

:Aunt Sheena, is your little sister, Khan. Don't you remember her?: Andy held up her arm, so the whip wrapped itself around it, and used everything that she had left to send Shaitan flying into a stained glass window of Genghis Khan.

He was now lying in a heap outside the throne room.

While Khan stared in fury over the loss of his window, Andy pulled a star from one of the pockets in her boots and tossed it under the throne.

"That was priceless!" Khan roared in fury.

"Where's your hostage, Khan?" Andy barely managed to get to her feet.

"She isn't the one I want to hurt! You are!" He used his whip to grab her weapon at her belt and now had the laser sword in his grasp. "Nice little toy, Princess, how fitting that your punishment is inflicted by your own weapon."

Andy didn't know what hit her, it happened so fast that she didn't have time to react. Khan had aimed for her entire arm, but Lilly had thrown the star in her hand and nailed Khan in his knee, so he only managed to slice off her right hand.

"Dromi! No!" Lilly screamed, as her sister fell to her knees in agony.

'Andromeda! No! 'Eric watched the scene unfolding before his very eyes. "Oh God!" He ran over to her.

Keith, Sheena, and Jenna gave Khan a barrage of throwing stars, as he tried to make his escape.

"I believe that this belongs to me, Khan!" Keith picked up his sword and ignited it. "That's my daughter, Khan! Let me show you how it feels to be sliced by this!" He managed to slice at Khan's armor before he managed to escape.

"No! Get back here!" Keith sliced at the doors that covered Khan's escape route.

Eric now had control over his emotions and had gone into immediate action to have his wife's life. He wrapped her arm in a mound of pressure bandages and placed a truncate around it so he could cut off the blood that she was losing. "Jenna, put her hand in this bag!" He handed Jenna a bag with instant ice in it.

"I'm on it, Eric," She tried to keep from bursting into tears and did what she was told. "I've got it!" She raced after Eric, who ran from the room with Andy in his arms.

"I goofed." She gasped and mentally willed her heart to slow down.

"You goofed!" He frowned, as he set her in the speeder. "Love, you royally screwed up!"

Jenna climbed onto the back of the speeder.

'I'm sorry, Eric, from now on I'll remember to bring you along for back up.' She sobbed.

Eric handed Jenna an oxygen mask in case Andy started to have trouble breathing. 'You are going to be fine, love. I would have taken Blacky, but this is more stable.'

"I can't breathe, Eric." She coughed.

"Give her the oxygen, Jenn." Eric growled hoarsely.

"I'm sorry, Alex, Ari…" She gasped, before she finally lost consciousness.

Minutes later

'Hang in there, love, we're at the castle.' Eric felt tears burning in his eyes. To his surprise twenty castle guards came running out of the castle with Ashley hot on their heals. After Ashley took the bag containing her hand from Jenna, the men carefully placed Andy onto a stretcher, and whisked Andy and Ashley into the castle.

"Where did they come from?" Jenna raced into the castle after Eric.

*Please don't let her die* Eric prayed as he entered the castle.

(Hours later)

Alex and Ariel sat next to their mother, waiting for news on Andy's condition.

Eric was going out of his mind with worry and was taking his fury out on the punching bag in the sparring room. It had been over eight hours and there was still no word on her condition.

Keith and Cassie had been trying to calm down Lilly, but nothing seemed to help.

"Why does she do foolish things like this?" Alex hissed in frustration, her whole body ached.

"Why do any of us do these things?" Allura sighed and willed the doors to open with news about her daughter's well-being.

"I knew that she was changing, but I had no idea that she'd changed this much!" Ariel tried to ignore her own discomfort and focused on willing her sister to be okay.

Eric punched at the punching bag in fury, as the minutes turned into hours.

Nate and Chris were also there with their friend, but he didn't even notice.

"She'll be fine, Eric, this is Andy, she's a fighter." Nate tried to give him some hope.

"He's right, Eric. Andy is a fighter and always pulls through." Chris echoed Nate's words.

"She's never lost like this before. Khan used a laser sword to slice off her hand!" Eric sent the bag flying off its riggings and into the corner of the room.

Nate and Chris were at a loss at what to say when they realized how badly Andy had been hurt.

"Oh Gods, Nate! What if she doesn't make it! I'll die without her!" He fell to his knees and finally lost it.

"Eric?" Ash called to him from the doorway.

"Andy?" Eric wiped away his tears, as he asked her about his wife's condition.

"Is going to be fine, I easily reattached her hand four hours ago. That wasn't the worst of her injuries. That armor of hers saved her life, but it didn't prevent her skin from being almost chafed until it was raw. I believe that she was being constantly whipped, because the marks are almost like lines. That's what has taken me so long. I had to cool down her skin, so she can be as comfortable as possible, since most of the marks are on her back and legs." Ashley carefully tried explained to him.

"Whipped as in tortured!?" Nate snarled.

"No whipped as in cream! Of course she means that she was tortured!" He snarled at Nate. "Shaitan is going to pay for this!" Eric vowed.

"Eric, there is something else, but I think that we need to be alone when I tell you." Ash spoke softly.

"Why is something wrong?!" Eric panicked. "Tell me!"

"Calm down, Eric. Andy is going to be fine and will be as good as new in no time." Ashley tried to remain patient with him.

"Look, buddy, we'll see you in a little while. You and Ash need to talk." Nate and Chris left.

"Andy is fine physically, but mentally, well, she has been through hell and back. I saw that she had been bleeding, so I examined her for any internal injuries." Ashley prayed that she had the strength to tell him what she was about to say.

"And what did you find out?" Eric knew that he wasn't going to like what she had to say by the look that she was giving him.

"She had been about eight weeks along and miscarried when she went into shock."

"A baby…she was pregnant?!" Eric eyed Ash in disbelief.

"Yes, but she wasn't very far along and didn't feel anything. Her body decided that her life was more important and that's why she lost the baby." Ash tried to reason with him.

"I'm gonna murder Shaitan!" Eric roared.

"Listen to me, Eric Anthony Lawson! Andy needs you! You have to stay in control and above all do not tell her about this!" Ashley snarled at him.

"You're right, Ashley, my wife needs me." Eric's voice broke, as ran from the room in tears.

Nate and Chris glared at the man in the energy cell.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Shaitan snarled.

"Scum at the moment!" Nate snarled.

"You are lucky that Eric hasn't ripped you apart yet!" Chris snarled at him.

"Since when do you carry a whip around as your weapon!?"

"It wasn't mine it was Khan's!" He sneered at the two men.

"Khan is the guy that cut off Andy's hand." Chris frowned.

"He did what?!"

"And you whipped her until her skin was raw." Chris narrowed his eyes down at their prisoner.

"Listen! She got me mad and I lost my temper!" Shaitan growled. "I would never hurt her by slicing off a body part!"

"No! You'd rather beat her till she was bleeding!"

"She was wearing her body armor!"

"It chafed her skin raw!" Chris shot him in the leg with his gun. "Now you are going to find out what we do to anyone that hurts our women!"

Eric held Andy's hand, as she lay motionless, except for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She was hooked up to so many wires and tubes that he didn't know if it was safe to even hold her hand. She was wrapped in gauze from her neck to her ankles and her right hand was wrapped up in bandages.

"Oh, Andromeda, what am I going to do with you." Eric chided her as he carefully brought her left hand up to his lips to kiss it. "Why do you insist on being the lone soldier?" Tears streamed down his cheeks as he spoke to her. "Jessica and Jasmine are calling for their momma, so you have to get better or we will never hear the end of it. I love you so much, even if you are a brat. Please, baby, wake up and glare at me." He pleaded with her to wake up.

'My fault, ' She whispered hoarsely, still not awake.

"Andy?!" He cried out in relief.

'Sorry, love you too…' She whispered.

"Your hand is going to be fine, baby. Ash made you all better." Eric tried to keep her with him.

"S...nice…" She opened her eyes and managed to give him a weak smile. "Lilly?" She was barely able to stay awake.

"Is fine, terrified out of her mind that you were going to die, but fine." He assured her.

"Saw everything…" She whispered.

"I know, sweetness. Who did this to you?" He growled softly.

"Shaitan…I'm sorry, Eric… I learned my lesson…I need you as my shadow…" She drifted back to sleep.

Keith held Lilly in his arms. "You're safe now, Lilly."

"Dromi is dying, cuz of me!"

"Andy is going to be fine." Keith assured her.

"I shouldn't have left my room!"

"I know that, angel, and that's why you're grounded for a month." Keith frowned at her.

"But, Daddy!"

"You were a very bad girl and are going to be punished."

"I had to watch them hurt her!"

"I know that, but that has nothing to do with sneaking out at dawn to go riding!" Keith was not about to let her off with just a slap on the wrists.

"You're a meanie!" She pouted glaring daggers at her father.

"Yes, but I love you." He kissed her on the top of her head.

"Daddy! Andy is awake and is going to be okay!" Fawn raced into the room to tell them the good news.

"That's great news, sweetie! See, Lilly, Andy is going to be just fine." Keith hugged her fiercely.

"Daddy, I'll keep an eye on this, imp, if you want to go check on Andy." Fawn grinned at him.

"Thanks, sweetheart, and make sure that she doesn't leave this room." Keith got up gave Fawn a hug and then left the room.

"Move!" Eric roared at the two guards on duty in front of the entrance to the castle brig.

"Sorry, your highness, but the last two that we allowed in here hurt the prisoner." The guard stopped him.

"Move or I tear you both apart!"

The guards ran for their lives.

"That's more like it!" He stalked into the brig. "Shaitan, you and I are going to have a little chat!" Eric snarled at the man lying on the cot behind the energy bars.

"I'd rather not!" Shaitan glared at him, through his good eye.

"It doesn't matter where you are! I could do this five miles away, if I wanted to." Eric gave him a deadly grin.

"Not again!" Shaitan held his head in agony.

"You like hurting innocent women don't you, Shaitan!?"

"Only when they hurt me first and your wife is not an innocent!"

"So you whip them!" Eric deactivated the cell and slammed his fist into Shaitan's face.

"I didn't cut her hand off, Eric! Why the hell are you trying to kill me?!" Shaitan spat blood from his mouth.

"Because scum like you doesn't deserve to live!" He kept hitting Shaitan.

"It's not like I was hurting her! She was wearing her armor! You act as if she lost more than her hand!" Shaitan was flung into the wall.

"She did!" Eric roared, as he continued punching him continuously.

Keith ran into the room and saw what Eric was about to do to Shaitan. "Eric! He's not worth it!" Keith tried to pull him off Shaitan.

"Don't touch me, Dad!"

"Andy is awake and is asking for you. That is where you belong!" Keith snarled at him.

"Andy!" Eric let Shaitan go and ran from the room.

Andy lay in bed extremely uncomfortable and wailing for Eric. "I want, Eric!" She whimpered miserably.

"Lie still, Andy, and don't move around or you'll pull out an IV." Alex snapped at her sister.

"Yes, Andy, you have to lie still. Eric will be here any second now, because Daddy went to go get him." Ariel tried to get her to calm down.

"Did I mention that I'm really sorry, Alex?" Andy was playing her injuries for all they were worth.

"Finally! She remembers what happens to us when she goes off and tries to get herself killed!" Alex glared down at her baby sister.

"Be easy on her, Lexi, she almost died."

"Yes, Lexi, go easy on me, I almost died." She blinked innocently up at her.

"That won't work on me, Andy. We watched you perfect the act remember!" Alex glared at her.

"You never learn do you?" Eric growled angrily, as he entered the room.

"Now you really are going to get it!" Alex grinned in anticipation.

"Ariel, Alexandra, please leave while I stay with my wife alone!" Eric snarled at them.

"But, I wanna watch this!" Alex protested.

"Let's go, Lexi!" Ariel dragged her from the room.

Eric sat down next to her bed, took her hand in his own, brought it up to his lips, and placed a kiss on her palm. "Welcome back, gorgeous." He growled softly.

"Nice to be back, handsome," She smiled at him.

"You had me worried, love. Why did you have to go and lose a body part like that? I mean, isn't chafed skin enough for you?" He winked at her, relieved to see that she was out of danger and back to her old self.

"I had to top myself in injuries." She grinned weakly at him. 'What aren't you telling me?' She could sense that he was hiding something from her.

'You are lucky that I don't strangle you at this very moment.' He frowned down at her.

"Is it my hand or is something worse wrong with me!" She began to panic and tried to sit up.

'Calm down, Andy! You are fine and nothing is wrong with you!' Eric jumped to his feet and gently pushed her back down on the bed.

"Ouch!" She winced in pain. 'Tell me what's wrong!' She pleaded with him.

'Nothing is wrong.' He lied.

'I can see it in your eyes, Eric! It's me, you know that you can't hide anything from me!' She was hurt because he felt the need to hide something from her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she broke down completely.

'Don't cry, baby, you know that it kills me when you do that! I promise that I will tell you when you are able to handle it.' Eric kissed her on the forehead.

"Please, Eric, tell me! I feel terrible as it is, what could make me feel any worse!"

"Do you remember anything while Shaitan was hurting you?" Eric gave up and began to tell her about losing their baby.

"I was in pain, Eric! Why? What does that have to do with what you are hiding from me?!"

"This isn't easy for me to talk about, Andy. Now can you tell me if you knew if you were bleeding or not?" He asked softly.

"I don't know, Eric! I was being tortured at the time! Bleeding was the least of my problems!"

"Eric Anthony Lawson! I want you to leave this room this instant!" Ashley glared murderously at him.

"But, Ashley, I…" Eric sputtered.

"You are upsetting my patient! Now say good-night and leave!" She ordered him, after she gave Andy a sedative.

"Ashley! He was about to tell me something!" Andy glared at her in frustration.

"All that you have to know is that you're going to be fine and whatever else that needs to be said will be explained when you have fully recovered!"

"I love you." Eric kissed his wife goodnight.

"Wait! Eric, where are you going! Get back here!" She whimpered, as she fought the effects of the sedative.

"I will check on you later." Eric promised her, as Ashley pushed him out of her room.

Keith and Allura were sitting in the sunroom with the girls in their arms.

"Well, have you decided what we're going to do about Nightshade?" Allura frowned at her husband.

"I think that she's learned her lesson, Allura." He smiled over at her, as he fed Jess her bottle. "Your Mommy is going to be fine, little one."

"I hope so, Keith, because things just seem to be getting more and more complicated with her everyday." Allura sighed.

"Hello, son, and how is our shadow doing?" Keith eyed Eric as he entered the sunroom and collapsed on the couch in sheer exhaustion.

"Andy is fine, although she thinks that I'm hiding something from her." Eric raked his fingers through his red gold hair in sheer frustration.

"Are you hiding something from her?" Allura asked softly.

"Yes, but it's something that she couldn't handle if I told her right now." Eric groaned.

"Daddy!" Jessie squirmed in her grandpa's arms. "Down, Grandada!" She ordered him.

"Well, what is it, son?" Keith refused to let her down, so Jessie refused to drink the rest of her bottle.

"Daddy!" She protested and Keith stuck the bottle back into her mouth.

That only angered Jess and she grabbed the bottle and sent it flying at her father. "Down!" She glared up at Keith.

"Who did that!?" He sat up to glare at the person that had hit him in the face with a bottle. "Are you teaching them to throw things at me now!?" Eric glared at Keith.

"Eric, Jessie has been calling for you since you entered the room." Allura shook her head at him.

"Daddy!" Jessie wailed.

"She has? I'm sorry, munchkin. Daddy is out of it right now." Eric went to go get Jess.

"She's fine, son, now lie back down!" Keith ordered him and Eric did as he was told. "Something happened that has really floored you and it involves Andy. Now do you think that you can tell us about it?" He tried to get him to talk.

"I can't!" He growled hoarsely.

"Yes you can, son. I promise not to tell Andy and so does Allura."

"He's right, Eric. I won't tell her." Allura promised.

"When Shaitan was hurting Andy, her body's defense systems went into high gear…Neither of us knew about it, soIguess that it kind of floored me when Ashley told me that…" Eric lost it and broke down into tears of anger and loss. "She had miscarried a fetus …she was about eight weeks pregnant and her body decided that she was more important than the new life that was growing inside her."

"Oh my god! Andy was pregnant while all of this was happening to her!?" Allura felt sick knowing that not only did her baby almost lose her hand, but she had lost her child as well.

"This is going to devastate her!" Keith snarled in frustration. "Is that why you were killing Shaitan?"

"Yes!" Eric snarled. "He took something from us that neither of us knew that we had and I wanted to kill him for it!"

"Dada! Dada! Dada!" Jess wailed at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy's here, sweetie." Eric walked over and cradled her in his arms. He then went to lie back down on the couch and fell into an exhausted sleep with Jess lying protectively against his chest.

Next Chapter nine

I in no way own any of the original characters in this story and Voltron. The new characters on the other hand are mine and under no circumstances are they to be used without my permission.

Cindra©1998-2015