Glad you're all enjoying it so far. Again, I don't own them, so please don't sue.

Have a great day.

"Allura?"

Lance hurried over. Keith had his arms chained over his head and was slumped forward, his knees not quite touching the floor. He was barefoot and had been stripped down to his black flight pants. Lance knelt down in front of his friend. "Keith?"

Keith moaned and opened his eyes. Lance went pale. "My God!" Instead of their usual chocolate brown, Keith's eyes were a strange reptilian yellow. What Lance had taken for bruises on Keith's skin, were in actuality brownish-green scales. Keith moaned again. "What happened to him?" Lance's voice shook.

Dorma was rummaging in her packs for something. "They are turning him into a Robeast. Take this." Dorma handed her husband a syringe filled with glowing blue liquid. "Inject him in the neck." Without another word, she closed her eyes, placed her hands on Keith's temples and pressed her forehead to his.

Lance looked up at Allura, then taking a deep breath, plunged the needle deep into his best friends neck. Keith howled and started thrashing around.

"Vey, vey cochova. Belie sovt." Dorma held her grip firm as Keith tried to break free of her grasp. For long minutes there was no sound, except for Keith's moaning. Finally Dorma let go and sagged to her knees. Lance grabbed her. She shook her head. "I am fine. Get the chains off him."

Lance held his gun against the chains and fired two quick bursts. The chain links shattered, leaving the manacles attached at Keith's wrists. Keith slumped forward. Lance grabbed him before he could fall, and eased him to the floor.

Allura knelt at his side. "Keith? Honey?"

Dorma placed her hand on Keith's forehead. "He is coming around."

Keith opened his eyes. Allura breathed a sigh of relief at seeing them back to their normal coffee hue. "A—Allura?" He whispered.

"Keith, I'm here." She pulled him into her arms.

He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. "I thought I'd never see you again." Keith told her hoarsely.

She drew him towards her again. "I'm here now." She told him softly, holding him close.

Lance grinned down at his wife. "You alright?" She nodded. "And him?"

"He will be. He is very weak. He has had no food or water in days." Dorma told him quietly.

Lance snarled in disgust and knelt down next to his friend. "Keith? Here buddy, drink this." He lifted his canteen to Keith's lips.

Keith managed to swallow a few mouthfuls, then lay back. "Thanks…Lance." He said weakly, closing his eyes. Allura reached into her belt and pulled out a small vial. She opened it and waved it under Keith's nose. He sat up quickly, coughing and spluttering. "Where am I?"

"You're on Deylinus. Haltor captured you." Allura told him, putting away the vial and handing him an energy bar.

"I remember that part." He paused and looked up at her. "Wait a minute, Deylinus? He's parked on the moon?" Keith asked, wolfing down the bar.

Lance shook his head. "He's got a whole base built here Cap. God only knows how long it's been here."

Keith looked confused. "A base? He's been here all along?"

Lance nodded. "Sure looks that way."

Keith was quiet a moment, then looked up at them. "You tracked the homing beacon?"

Dorma smiled. "Not us. Hans, Troi and Dreana found you. Without them, we would still believe you to be dead."

Keith looked puzzled. "Why use the kids? Cliff should have been able to track it. He's got my signature."

Lance met Allura's eyes and shook his head slightly. "He's been busy taking care of the rest of Haltor's troops." Lance said, avoiding Keith's gaze.

Keith got shakily to his feet. "It's coming back…The battle, you and Cliff went down, then Pidge. The kids and I took down the Robeast, and I got captured." He looked at them in confusion. "Then what happened?"

"Ginger's forces surrounded the command ship, trying to take it down. Before they could do much, Haltor set the self-destruct. We found no survivors and figured the worst." Lance told him.

"It was a decoy ship." Keith paused and looked closely at Lance. "You crashed. Crick told me you had a broken arm and a concussion."

Lance grinned and draped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "I had a little help recovering."

"And Cliff? What about Pidge?" Keith persisted.

Allura placed her hand on his arm. "They're fine Keith. They're back on Arus waiting to hear from us." Her voice shook. "After the ship blew, we all thought you were dead."

Keith was stunned, trying to sort through everything they told him. His head began to throb. "But then…how did I get here?" He asked, visibly puzzled.

"We were hoping you could tell us Cap. You've been missing for three days." Lance answered.

Keith shook his head. "I got dragged aboard with a tractor beam, then—" He was interrupted by a pounding on the door.

Lance whirled, aiming his gun at the door. "Is there another way out of here?"

"Yeah, Haggar always appears back that way." Keith pointed off to one side.

"You three head that way. I'll cover you. Move!" Lance ordered.

Keith started to protest, but Allura grabbed his hand. "You've got no weapons and you're in no condition for a fight. Let us handle it."

Keith smiled down at her. "You're right. Come on, this way." He took her hand and led her across the room. Lance winked at Dorma and they followed close behind. Just as they got to the door, it opened and a soldier walked in, starling them.

Acting quickly, he grabbed Allura and held his gun to her head. "Move and I shoot." They froze in place. The soldier spoke into his radio. "My Lord, I have them in the lab. They have freed the prisoner and are trying to escape. I have the Queen."

Haltor's voice crackled across the speaker. "Hold them there. I'm on my way."

"Yes Sir!" He tightened his grip on Allura. "One move and she dies."

Keith shrugged. "Go ahead, kill her. What use is she to me?" He asked coldly.

Allura's eyes widened in shock. The guard had the same stunned look on his face. "She-she is your wife, and the Queen of Arus." His voice sounded bewildered.

Keith laughed. "So? Why would I settle for a Queen of a mere planet, when I could be the consort of an entire galaxy?" Without turning, Keith held out his hand. "Isn't that right Dorma?" C'mon Dorma, follow my lead.

"Of course my love." Dorma stepped forward and placed her hand in his.

Keith smiled at the guard's confusion. "So you see, she is no use to me at all. Do what you want." He forced himself not to react to Allura's stricken expression.

"You son of a bitch!" Lance threw himself at Keith. "You've been lying to me all along! I'll kill you! I'll kill you both!" He swung at Keith, knocking him in the mouth.

"You can try little man!" Keith threw a punch of his own and the two began to wrestle in earnest. The guard watched with interest as the two combatants went at it. So intent was he on their fight, that he never saw the punch that hit him.

Lance and Keith had maneuvered close to Allura. Lance threw another vicious punch, but Keith ducked at the last minute, throwing himself at Allura. He knocked her to the ground just as Lance's fist connected with the guards face. The man crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Everybody all right?" Lance asked, pulling Keith to his feet.

Keith stood, unsteadily, dabbing at the blood running down his lip. "Dammit Lance, why do you always have to hit me in the mouth?" He asked irritably.

" 'Cause you've got a glass jaw Cap, and you bleed like a stuck pig. Adds a nice touch of realism, know what I mean?" Lance grinned at his friend.

Keith rolled his eyes, and helped Allura to her feet. "Allura?"

"I'm fine. You just…surprised me." She told him, not meeting his eyes.

"Allura…" He stepped forward, and swayed drunkenly, one hand holding his head. He moaned softly.

"Cochova?" Dorma stepped forward.

Keith shook his head to clear it. "I—I'm OK. What do we do with him?" He nudged the fallen guard with his toe.

"Leave him." Lance pulled off the man's boots and shirt, and tossed them to Keith. "Here, these are a little big, but they're better than nothing."

As Keith pulled the shirt over his head, Allura noticed for the first time, the deep scratches on his back. She started forward, reaching out to touch him, then pulled herself back, biting her lower lip in worry.

"Let's move, it won't take Haltor long to figure out we've escaped." Lance cautiously opened the door and led them out. It led to another room, this one filled with various weapons in different stages of assembly. Some matched the bombs taken from Black Lion. "Looks like they've been planning this for a while." Lance said glancing around.

Keith nodded. "From what Haggar alluded to, she's been grooming Haltor since he was a kid." Keith paused and bowed his head. "He blames me for Lotor's death." He said quietly.

They all heard the guilt in Keith's voice. Allura placed her hand on his arm. "Keith?"

He looked up at her, his face pale. "What Allura? It's the truth. I killed him."

"Look," Lance interrupted. "Deal with your demons later. Right now we need to get out of here before it's too late."

Dorma nodded. "I agree."

"We've got to get to Black." Keith turned and started towards the door. Halfway there, he stumbled and grabbed at the wall for support.

"Keith!" Allura rushed forward and placed a steadying arm around his waist. What's the matter?" She asked.

Keith stood very still, one hand on his head, the other on the wall. "J-Just dizzy a moment." He opened his eyes slowly, then closed them again. "Not seeing too well either." He held his other arm clenched around his stomach.

Dorma hurried over. "Cochova, you must relax. Robeast poison will take a few days to work its way out of your system, antidote or not."

"Can you walk?" Allura asked, concerned.

Keith carefully opened his eyes, and waited for the room to come into focus. His left eye didn't seem to be working correctly. All he could see out of it were vague shadows. "I think so." He lied, taking a few shaky steps forward, still holding his head. "I'm not sure if I can fly though." He said quietly.

Allura knew what it cost him to admit that. "I'll take him to Black." She turned and handed her Key to Dorma. "Blue will accept you. She'll let you fly her back home. I'll take Keith and pilot Black."

Lance shook his head. "I'll take Black, you three get back to the others."

"And how are you going to get the Key? He's locked. The voice activation system Pidge installed remember? I'm the only one who can disengage it. " Keith told them irritably.

A wave of grief washed over Lance at the mention of Pidge, but he pushed it aside. "Then I'll take you. Allura, you and Dorma get back to Blue and Red. We'll meet you there." Lance said.

Allura shook her head. "I'm taking him." She said firmly.

"Look, can we argue about his later and just get out of here?" Keith shook his head one last time. "Fight over me when we get home."

Dorma agreed with him. "Lance, we must leave. Your father is waiting for our signal."

"Signal?" Keith asked.

Lance nodded. "Dad's standing by waiting to hear from us. As soon as he does, Jeff'll launch with a fighter squadron and blow this place apart."

"Jeff's here too?" Keith's mind was reeling.

"We do not have time for talk. Haltor will find us any moment. Allura will go with Keith and find the Black Lion. We will get to the others." Dorma's violet eyes bored into her husband's emerald ones. Lance snarled and motioned to Allura. Dorma then turned to Keith. He was pale, and sweat had broken out across his forehead. She eased him to a sitting position on the floor. "Cochova, you are not well. Robeast poison is very, very powerful. One dose of the antidote will not cure you."

Keith smiled. "Yeah, I kinda figured that out already." He closed his eyes again. "God, I'm so dizzy, and the pain…" He whispered.

Dorma placed her hands on his temples. The dizziness and some of the pain eased. "There is not much I can do here."

Keith cautiously opened his eyes. "Dorma, I can't see out of my left eye. It's making me sick trying to." He said quietly.

Dorma peered closely at him, then she bent and tore a thin strip of fabric from her long tunic. She tied it around Keith's head, covering his wounded eye. "That may help, at least until we get you home."

He opened his eyes. His brain stopped trying to focus through his bad eye, and he could almost see clearly. Almost. "Thanks Sis." He smiled wanly.

Lance meanwhile, had drawn Allura aside. He handed her the gun he had pulled off the Druhle soldier. "Are you sure about this?"

Allura nodded. "Yes. Lance, I'm not a tactician. Jeff needs you to co-ordinate the attack. You won't be able to do that if you're trying to get Keith home. I can take him. I want to take him."

Lance sighed. "I just…It doesn't feel right."

Allura placed her hand on his arm. "We'll be fine. I'll take care of him."

He smiled down at her. "I know you will." He looked up to where Dorma was tending Keith. "Let's move."

They walked over to Keith and Dorma. "Everything all right?" Lance hauled Keith to his feet.

Keith nodded. "I'll be better when I'm off this rock."

Dorma took Allura aside. "My brother Hazar will have synthesized more of the antidote by the time you get back. He will instruct Dr. Gorma. But you must hurry. Keith's cells are merely stabilized for the moment. If he is not given another dose quickly, they will begin to break down again."

"What will happen to him?" Allura asked hesitantly, her blue eyes filled with fear as she looked over at Keith.

Dorma shook her head. "I do not know for sure. But we must get him back to Arus as soon as possible." She finished quietly.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Allura nodded at Lance, and the four of them crept out the door into the hallway. Voices could be heard in the distance. Lance turned to Keith and Allura. "We'll head them off and get to the Lions. You two make for the hanger and Black."

Keith and Allura nodded and headed off. Lance turned to Dorma. "Ready Babe?"

"Yes." Together they stepped out into the open. Laser fire erupted all around them, but Lance and Dorma fired back boldly, knocking out the first line of troops. They sprinted forward, taking the offensive. Haltor's troops scattered before them.

"This is going to be easier than I thought!" Lance grinned over at his wife. Dorma shook her head and they continued towards the doors leading outside