Pidge was able to set up a separate alarm system in the new Voltron wing so they could set it off without waking the rest of the castle. It was tested the first time at 0445 on Monday morning.
"Nearly two minutes," Keith said, looking at the stopwatch in his hand as the gang raced into Castle Control.
The five teammates stood before him, Sven, and Pidge, their hands clasped behind their backs and their heads bowed.
"That's not great, but it will do for your first time. We will continue to hold drills, they could come at any time, so be prepared. Go dress, meet back here in fifteen minutes."
"Yes sir," the five saluted and turned to leave.
"Excuse me, sir."
Keith turned to the guard who approached him, "What is it?"
"This just came across the wire," he held a printout.
"Thank you," Keith took it and skimmed it.
"What's it say?" Pidge asked.
"It's another Intel report. Vinn is on the move again, but he has changed direction."
"Away from us?"
"Well, more to the side."
"Should we put off this test?"
Keith shook his head, "No, they should be back by noon tomorrow."
"I'm not happy about being up this early," Lance groaned as he stumbled into Castle Control.
"You're getting soft in your old age," Pidge smirked.
"Bite me, little man," he grumbled in response.
"Somevon is out of shape," Sven teased.
Hunk walked in, a mug of coffee in hand, "Good morning."
Lance followed his nose to the smell of caffeine, "Where did you get that?"
"The kitchen."
"Go grab some coffee," Keith said, holding up the report. "After we drop them off, we have some things to discuss."
……………………………………………………………………..
"Any idea what's going on?" Declan asked Sky when they met in the hall.
Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Sky shrugged, "Nope. I don't think we're supposed to know."
"Do you know what we should wear?" Brina asked as she joined them.
Sky looked at her jeans and long sleeved t-shirt, "I'm sure that'll be fine. If there was anything special that we needed, Keith would have told us."
"And you look beautiful in anything," Declan added.
"Thank you," she purred.
Sky rolled her eyes.
"What are we waiting for?" Gideon asked as he stepped from his room.
"Probably me, sorry," Erik walked out of his room.
"Primping?" Gideon asked.
"We can't all roll out of bed looking good," he replied, laying a hand on Sky's shoulder.
"Okay, let's just lay down a few rules here," Declan said. "You two are together, that's great and all, but there will be no fooling around on the job."
"This won't have any effect on our work," Sky assured him. "They are completely separate."
"That's right," Erik agreed. "Let's head down to Castle Control, they're waiting for us. Come along, Sweetiepie." He took Sky's hand.
"Anything you say, Honey Bunch," she replied huskily.
"You shouldn't have said anything," Gideon muttered to his brother.
"Awww, Pookie, it looks like we're upsetting the boys," Erik dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"They'll just have to get used to it, Sweet Cheeks," she patted his behind. "I just can't seem to keep my hands off you."
"You won't have to, Babydoll."
"You just make my heart go pit-pat, you sexy beast."
Declan threw his hands in the air, "All right! All right! I'm sorry I said anything, I know you guys won't let this get in the way of your work."
"Damn right, boy," Sky crossed her arms over her chest. "We're professionals."
Gideon snorted.
"You just made it," Keith said as they entered Castle Control.
"Dad?" Sky was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to wake up," Lance said, taking a sip from his mug.
"All right team, follow us," Keith said, leading them across the room. "We are going to go for a ride, we'll explain once we get there."
A long, white van sat in the garage. Hunk pulled open the door and stepped back to allow the others to file in. Three bench seats took up the back behind the driver and passenger seats. Sky climbed in first, followed by Erik, and then Brina, taking up the last bench. Declan and Gideon followed, sharing the middle row with Pidge. Lance and Sven took the front bench while Keith pulled himself up into the driver's seat and Hunk climbed into the passenger seat. Keith reached between the seats and tossed a small bag to Lance.
"Hand them out."
"Here," Lance reached into the bag and pulled out black blindfolds. "Put these on."
"Are you serious?" Declan asked, holding up the blindfold.
"Are you questioning an order?" Lance asked."No, sir."
As soon as all five of them were blinded, they listened as the garage door went up and the engine roared to life. They were all silent as the van pulled out. Sky tried counting turns. She knew the area well enough to figure where they were going. Unfortunately, she was distracted when she felt a hand on her knee. When she didn't stop him, Erik moved his hand up a little higher. Knowing it couldn't go any further, Sky laid her hand on top of his and squeezed gently. He took the hint and turned his hand over, curling his fingers around hers.
The van bounced over uneven road and they continued driving. Left turn, right, left, left again, right. They traveled for what seemed like an hour before Sky had to admit that she had no idea where they were headed. It was still quiet in the van and every so often, Erik would gently squeeze her hand and she would respond in the same way like they were reassuring each other that they were still there.
The van halted rather suddenly and Keith announced. "We're here, keep your blindfolds on, we'll help you out."
Sky listened as the door slid open. Lance and Sven jumped out followed by Pidge who grabbed Gideon's arm, leading him out of the van. Declan was next, then Brina, Erik, and finally Sky. Hunk and Lance lined the five teammates up. They stood in silence, listening to the low murmurs of the five men talking and the sound of the back door of the van being opened. There was some rustling and the door slammed again.
"Hold out a hand, all of you," Keith commanded.
Sky held her hand out in front of her, a moment later she felt the strap of a heavy bag placed in her hand.
"Each of you now holds a bag containing everything that is stored in the Lions for survival," Keith explained. "There is a first aid kit, a canteen, tablets to purify water, food rations, a blanket, light sticks and waterproof matches. You have your communicators and your blasters, but they are only to be used in instances of extreme emergency. You have been dropped in the woods and you are to find your back to the castle. Don't look so smug, Sky, Declan, neither of you have been in this part of the woods. I have set Gideon's watch to go off, you are not to remove your blindfolds until it goes off. Any questions?" He waited a beat, but no one spoke. "All right, good luck."Sky slipped the strap of her bag over her shoulder and listened as the five original Voltron pilots climbed back into the van and took off.
Birds were chirping and a breeze swirled around them, ruffling tree branches. No one spoke, but the sounds of the guys shuffling their feet and clearing their throats could be heard. Sky was ready to rip the blindfold off when Gideon's watch beeped.
"All right," Erik said, the sound of his voice surprising everyone. "Let's take the blindfolds off."
"Why did we have to wait?" Brina asked.
"So they could get away and cover their tracks," Gideon explained. "So we can't follow them out of here."
Sky looked around, taking in the trees and brush. They had been dropped off in a small clearing in a totally unknown area.
"There are three possible directions they could have gone," Declan said, scanning the area. "There are three paths wide enough for the van."
"Are there any tracks?" Erik asked.
Gideon, Declan, and Sky each took a path and examined it. Two of them were too rocky to show any tracks and the third was just too torn up by use.
"No tracks, here, but we were most likely on one of the rocky paths, judging by the way we were jostled around in the ride here," Declan said.Sky turned and walked back to join the others, "Or that could have just been Uncle Keith's driving."
Erik took his watch off and turned around, using the compass, "North is that way."
"How long were we driving?" Sky asked.
Declan glanced at his watch, "We were in Castle Control at 0500 and it's now 0736, so we were out at least a couple of hours."
"We could be any distance away," Gideon pointed out. "There were so many turns, we could be only a mile from the castle or we could be a dozen or so miles away."
Declan, Gideon, and Sky joined at the junction of the three paths. The three of them had spent most of their childhoods roaming the woods.
"What do you think?" Sky asked.
Gideon shrugged, "None of these look familiar, but that one slopes up and I don't remember coming down a hill like that."
"Well, we know the woods stretch out as far as 124 miles from the castle to the north," Sky said.
"So we should head southeast," Erik suggest as he joined them.
She nodded, "That would be our best bet."
He looked down at his watch and pointed to the roughest path, "That's the way we go."
"Of course it is," Declan rolled his eyes. "Dad would pick that one, wouldn't he?"
"Let's get moving," Erik shouldered his pack and started down the path.
"So who do you think came up with this idea?" Declan asked.
Sky snorted, "Are you kidding? This has my father's fingerprints all over it."
"It was probably a group effort," Erik pointed out.
"What happens if we can't find our way back?" Brina asked nervously.
"Our communicators all have homing devices in them," Gideon explained. "They know where we are and, if we have to, we can contact the castle with the communicators. We'll be fine."
"But if we don't find our way back on our own, they'll be pretty disappointed in us," Declan muttered.
"We'll find our way back," Sky announced.
"Are you always this optimistic?" Brina asked.
"I know these woods," she replied stiffly. "I would be disappointed in myself if we didn't."
Noticing Sky's tone and knowing that she was getting her dander up, Erik decided to interject, "Okay, so the five of us are alone in the woods. As we find our way home, this would be the perfect time to chat. So, Brina, you said you have a couple of siblings?"
"Uh, yeah," she skipped ahead and caught up with Erik. "I have a younger sister, Brigid, she's sixteen, and my brother, Daimien, he's fifteen."
"What about your parents?" Declan asked.
"My mother is a professor of mathematics at the University and my father manages a gift store in town, 'Welcome Home'."
"My mother loves that store," Declan told her.
Gideon and Sky followed the other three, listening to the conversation and learning more about their newest teammate. Sky scowled as Brina laughed and tilted her head toward Erik. Almost as though he could sense it, Erik glanced over his shoulder and winked at her.
"So you and Erik, huh?" Gideon whispered.
"Yeah. So you and Lynnai, huh?"
He smiled, "Yeah."
"How're things going with her?"
"Good," he answered quickly. "Well, she is trying to deal with all this and she is being understanding and all, but, well, she is a little disappointed that I'm going to be so busy now."
"She's a good girl," Sky assured him. "Once we're fully trained and everything is under control, you'll be able to spend more time with her again."
"Yeah, I know."
Sky threw her arm around his shoulders, "It'll all work out, Gid. We are the Voltron Force. We can do this."
"Hey, Whitaker, keep your hands to yourself," Erik called over his shoulder.
"She's the one touching me," Gideon replied before mumbling under his breath, "jackass."
"Hey," Sky said amusedly. "I'd watch what you call him in front of me."
He rolled his eyes, "Great. I can't believe you guys are going out. Just do me a favor and don't make out in front of us."
"I'll try to contain myself."
"Please do."
…………………………………………………………………………….
"…and then there was the time we had the Cady convinced that the there was a ghost in the west tower, but Sky had to ruin that for us." Declan glared at Sky.
"What happened?" Brina asked.
"She marched right up there, hoping to find the ghost, and then came downstairs all angry because there wasn't one. That's when Dad found out what we were doing and we got in trouble."
"I just wanted to see the ghost," Sky said simply. "But that was nothing compared to the time you guys had Charlotte convinced she was adopted and that she had been left on the doorstep of the castle. Your parents didn't want her, but Cady had told them she wanted a pet, so they let her keep the baby. Or the time you told Tess your parents were having another baby because they didn't like her and they wanted to replace her."
"You did not tell her that!" Brina gasped.
"Yeah we did," Gideon smirked. "She was four, she believed it."
"How did your parents ever handle you?"
Declan laughed, "We have cleaned the stables more times than you could ever imagine, we have been grounded, forbidden from riding in the lions, we've had to help Nanny clean house…"
"And none of it stopped you from misbehaving," Sky interrupted.
"No, but it made us the strong men we are today."
Sky let out a loud, quick laugh, "Oh, sorry, you were serious."
The gang had been hiking over the rough terrain for several hours as the sun rose above them and the temperature went up. Sky checked her watch, noticing that it was near noon. They had been walking and talking for about four hours, getting to know Brina better and reminiscing, well, more like sharing stories about the twin's misadventures over the years.
"I am so glad I only have one brother and that he is younger than me," Brina giggled.
"I'm just glad to be an only child," Sky added.
"Come on, Sky," Declan grinned at her. "You're as much a sister to us as Cady is."
The corners of her mouth tipped up in a small smile, "Yeah, and with you guys, I know what it's like to have obnoxious little brothers."
"Any of this looking familiar yet, Sunny?" Erik asked.
Sky shook her head, "We've gone at least eight miles."
"Maybe we should pick up the pace, we should be able to cover at least four miles an hour."
"Oh, come on, Erik, it's a beautiful day for a leisurely walk through the woods," Declan said.
"But this isn't for leisure, this is a mission."
"So, uh, where'd the nickname Sunny come from?" Brina asked.
"Sunny Sky," Erik told her.
"He came up with that when he was about eight and never let it go," Sky explained.
Gideon rolled his eyes, "You're so original, Erik."
"Now, which one are you, Gid, Dumb or Dumber?" Their commander asked.
"He's Tweedledee," Sky said. "Declan became Tweedledum when he tried to take Black for a flight when he was seven."
"And I would have taken off if Lance hadn't caught me," Dec muttered.
"No you wouldn't have! Black wasn't about to take off with a seven year old in the cockpit."
"At least I'm not afraid of clowns."
"That was low, Declan," Erik warned.
"You're afraid of clowns?" Brina asked.
Sky scowled at Declan, "I don't like them."
"And for a very good reason," Erik added.
"When I was four, a circus came to Arus that ended up being an elaborate front for an illegal adoption ring. They tried to kidnap me and used a clown to do it." She explained. "I haven't been very fond of them since then."
"That's awful," Brina gasped. "What happened?"
"Well, let's just say you should never cross my parents."
"I don't know about you guys," Erik said. "But I am starving. What do you say we find a place to stop and have a little lunch."
Declan nodded, "Sounds good to me. We need to keep up our strength."
Fifteen minutes later they came upon a small clearing, large enough for them to all sit comfortably and with a spring rushing over low rocks.
"This is perfect," Erik declared. "We can refill our canteens and grab a quick bite."
"Are we sure we're going in the right direction?" Gideon asked.
Erik shrugged, "Why? What do you think?"
"Well, we've covered probably ten miles and nothing is looking familiar. One of us should notice something by now."
"We were in the van quite a while," Sky pointed out, kneeling beside the stream to fill her canteen.
"I just want to know what Dad meant by food rations," Declan said, digging into his pack.
The five of them sat in a circle, taking out their prepacked MREs."Make sure to ration them," Erik said. "We don't know how long we'll be out here."
"Mmm, makes you really appreciate Nanny's cooking, huh?" Gideon grumbled.
"It's not too bad," Sky said.
Declan grinned, looking down at the little green foil packet, "Remember when we were younger and Dad would give us these to use when we played soldier."
"That was so much fun," Sky added.
"Remember that time we camped out in the meadow behind the castle, we ate MREs, told ghost stories, and toasted marshmallows," Gideon said.
Erik laughed, "But Cady was too afraid of bugs to sleep outside all night, so she dragged Sky back up to her room."
"But I sneaked back out," she reminded them.
"Into my sleeping bag," Eric said nonchalantly.
Brina raised her eyebrows, "Oh really?"
"It wasn't anything like that," Sky muttered, her cheeks reddening. "I was eleven."
"It was totally innocent," Erik agreed.
"He had the biggest sleeping bag and mine was still in Cady's room and I wanted to be out with the boys and…" she trailed off, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.
Declan doubled over laughing, "But the best part was when Uncle Lance caught her out there. His face was actually purple!"
Gideon snorted, "I remember that! Aunt Darcy actually pushed him into the lake to cool him off, he kept yelling and telling Uncle Sven that he needed to neuter his son."
Erik crossed his legs, "Yeah, that was a scary moment in my life."
"Nothing happened!" Sky reiterated.
Erik glanced at his watch, "If everyone is done, fill up your canteens and let's get a move on."
Brina stood, "Sounds good to me."
"Schuyler."
She looked up at Erik, surprised by his tone. "What?"
"Don't move," he said slowly, reaching for the blaster in his hip holster.
Brina gasped. Declan swore and jumped to his feet. Gideon seemed frozen.
"Nobody move," Erik hissed through his teeth.
Sky felt the hair rise on the back of her neck and her heart raced, not quite sure what had her so scared. A sudden burst of hot breath brushed the back of her neck causing her to tense and her eyes to widen.
Erik raised his blaster and aimed it right at her. "Don't move, Schuyler. Just…just close your eyes and trust me."
"Erik…"
"Just do it!"