I do not own Voltron or anything even remotely associated with it. Heaven knows if I did, I would still have the toys. I apologize for leaving Lance and the others cramped in Keith's cockpit for so long. And it's long, so hopefully it'll last you for awhile.

Lions Retrieved

"Damned if I know," Keith muttered a moment later. This was something none of them had thought of previously, to their shame. Glancing back over his shoulder at his cramped companions, he scowled and turned his attention back to the Black's controls. Behind him, Lance and Pidge attempted to jiggle their way into the other's position and succeeded only in wedging themselves more tightly on either side of Hunk. Forced into a corner, Allura could only watch, her shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles. Brows drawing together, Keith ignored Lance's subsequent stream of curses and Hunk's retorts. There was one way...but none of them were going to like it. Sighing, he looked heavenwards as if for forgiveness and closed his eyes as he pushed the necessary button. All at once, the floor underneath his companions opened and with one half shout from Lance, all four toppled from the cockpit down into the spreading trees below. Quickly extending one of the Black's front paws, Keith managed to safely catch Allura while Lance just barely managed to grasp one of its claws. Completely off guard, Hunk toppled face first into the trees, his feet kicking wildly in the air as he tried to right himself. Displaying an unknown feat of acrobatics, Pidge managed to land gracefully in one of the upper branches near the green lion's head.

"Was that necessary?" He shouted up to Keith, even as he saluted him mockly.

"Help!" Hunk cried, his feet still thrashing madly and Pidge obligingly moved to assist him. Awkwardly clambering up onto the paw next to Allura, Lance removed his helmet and shook his head.

"Don't envy the big guy, but I don't see how we're in much better shape. How're we getting back in?"

"I'm going to swallow you," Keith replied, using his free paw to push away the branches blocking Pidge from reaching Hunk.

"Bad idea. Can't you just..." Lance protested as he rose to his feet. Still brushing away the branches, Keith allowed the Black to roar softly and flipped the paw holding his two teammates. Before either had a chance to cry out, the compartment that had originally dumped them into the air reopened and they found themselves flying back into the Black's cockpit. Slowly picking himself off the floor, Lance wasted no time in striding over to where Keith sat, still helping Pidge and Hunk reach the Green's head and promptly slapped him alongside of the helmet. It was difficult to say which of the two men yelled the louder, Keith with his aching head, or Lance with his stinging hand. In the background, Allura simply looked at the two of them with her mouth open, completely speechless.

"That is for waiting ten years to develop a sense of humor," Lance said, shaking his hand and looking very much like he wanted to give Keith's helmet another slap. Releasing the controls as Pidge and Hunk cleared the last of the branches leading to the Green's open mouth, Keith took off his helmet and rubbed gingerly at his head.

"I didn't think you'd lost yours. GG's corrupted you as well."

"Don't say that," Lance groaned, resting the hand that wasn't still stinging from making contact with Keith's helmet against the arm of the pilot's chair. Wryly Keith looked up at him and then turned his attention to the scene unfolding before them. Tentatively Pidge made his way through the Green's mouth while Hunk lingered outside, looking far from comfortable. Stiffly Allura rose, unnoticed, and made her way to the back of Keith's chair to watch.

"Pidge?" Keith finally queried, grasping the Black's controls again out of habit. In the Green's mouth, Hunk folded his arms and tried to look nonchalant but his gaze continually flickered to the drop between his perch in the lion's mouth and the ground below.

"Pidge?"

"Sorry, the controls aren't that responsive," Pidge's voice came through a moment later, the reception scratchy in some places. A faint hum issued from within the Green Lion and then a light flickered in its eyes and the head began to move.

"Hey, wait a minute, hey..." Hunk cried, his feet giving way beneath him as the Green abruptly turned its head back into a normal position and he slid out of sight. Grinning, Lance shook his head and said,

"Just so we're clear, you are dropping me off at my Lion in the most dignified manner possible."

"And what if it landed head first?"

"You'll find a way," Lance replied loftily, tapping Keith on the shoulder. Keith simply shook his head.

"Everyone okay?" He asked, listening as the Green Lion hummed a second time and began to thrash about in the trees.

"It's working better now. Who piloted him last, Allura?"

"Drake. Why?"

"I've never seen the controls in worse shape. Even the time I took the blast in the mouth from Lotor. It's as if someone deliberately mangled them. My guess is that whoever took Drake had to come in here to get him and he didn't come willingly. It looks like a war zone in here."

"Can you fly?"

"I think I'll be able to, if we give the Green a few moments. It's not sure it's me yet, I think."

"Even your own Lion doesn't know you any more? Hagar's breath, Pidge, what kind of research have you been doing?"

"Hagar's breath?" Keith and Allura said together, both of them turning towards Lance with expressions of mingled disgust and amusement. Something that vaguely resembled laughter echoed from Pidge's end before he replied,

"What I've been researching just might affect us all, Lance, if my hunch is right. Where you have been lately should be of more interest. 'Hagar's breath' is a phrase I've only heard from travelers from the farthest quadrant. I didn't think GG had any diplomatic interests there."

"Got that Lion working yet, Pipsqueak?"

"I think so."

Abruptly the Green Lion ceased its seemingly aimless thrashing among the trees and righted itself. Stretching, the metal flashed briefly in the patches of sunlight as the exterior damage began to fade. Faintly audible over the intercom, Pidge let out a soft sigh of relief and the Green Lion promptly leapt free of the surrounding trees. For an instant it wobbled in mid-air and the breath of the three onlookers caught until it righted itself and flew straight. Guiding the Lion through several circles and even a flip, Pidge realigned the craft in front of the Black and said,

"The controls are working well enough to fly, but I don't know if it'll make it to the Yellow and the castle by itself."

"Get Hunk back to the Yellow and then wait, I'll send either Lance or the Princess to you in case the Green can't make it."

"He'll send me," Lance interjected. Keith elbowed him away from his chair.

"Right-o, Captain." In response the Green Lion roared and then bounded away through the skies towards the south. Keith watched until he could no longer see any traces of the Green before turning the Black to the north. Calling up the Red Lion's position on the monitor, Keith relaxed slightly at the controls and concentrated solely on flying. At his right, Lance gradually ceased to lean against his armrest and moved to sit against the wall. Dimly Keith was aware of his pointed search for bruises but he chose to ignore it. As for Allura, she remained behind him for only a few moments, her gaze riveted on the passing scenery before moving to sit beside Lance. A silence that was neither comfortable or tense filled the Black's cockpit, broken only by the sound of the controls as Keith maneuvered the Black through the air. Resting his elbows behind his head, Lance glanced over at Allura and nudged her gently with his shoulder.

"You're quiet." Her brows raised and she shrugged carelessly before answering,

"The rest of you were so happy doing the old act, I didn't want to interrupt."

"You were a part of it, too, remember?"

"I remember." She smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes and her gaze soon fell again to the floor. At the controls, Keith glanced at their reflections but said nothing. Lance watched Allura, his own brows drawing together as he continued in a voice that was far too casual,

"It is just like old times, isn't it? The three of us. I'd think it was the old days, if not for good old Liran. Say, what happened to Cael? I've never seen him less excited at a launch."

"He isn't very happy with me at the moment. I revoked his dessert and museum privileges."

"That wasn't very sporting of you. What did he do to earn such a fate?"

Allura's gaze met Keith's in the reflection of the monitor and she sighed before answering,

"He read the Voltron logs."

Lance let out a long appreciative whistle and folded his arms.

"Remind me to smuggle Cael dessert for the next week."

"Lance!"

"He deserves it for accomplishing something the rest of us tried for years to do. You didn't tell His Majesty did you?"

"Not yet."

"I suggest you don't otherwise Cael'll suffer from more than a lack of sugar. Liran will never forgive him for reading what's always going to be forbidden to him. What is in those anyway that the two of you are so desperate to hide?"

"Nothing," Keith said sharply. Lance snickered and shook his head.

"I'm not going to fall for that one, Keith. If it was nothing, you'd have let me read them. You'd let Coran read them. Hell, you'd even let Nanny read them if she wanted. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if she knows how. No one's ever asked..."

"She can. The logs are no different from the ones you submitted to Coran every day, they just go into more detail and include some observations that Keith and I would rather not everyone be privy to."

"Your 'spirit of the lions' mumbo jumbo?"

"That and other things."

"Will you stop referring to it as 'mumbo jumbo'? I know you've felt it too." Keith took his eyes from the screen in order to glare at his so called second in command. For the first time since their return, Lance quailed under his gaze and uncrossed his arms.

"What I feel or don't feel when I'm flying Red is not important. But what's in those logs is. I wonder if that's the only secret the two of you have."

"Lance," Allura said suddenly, her voice rising in pitch. Both men stared at her, unaccustomed to her taking the words out of Keith's mouth. The Black swerved unexpectedly and Keith returned his attention to flying, though his grip on the controls tightened.

"I was only thinking out loud, it's a terrible habit of mine, I've tried to cure it, but you know I'm beyond curing. Is that Red on the horizon?" Moving as if to rise, Lance let out a cry of surprise as Allura held him in place and yanked the helmet from his head. Shaking the stray strands of hair from his face, Lance tried in vain to move as Allura continued to hold him in place with one hand while removing her own helmet with the other. Glancing briefly up at Keith's dark head, she turned back to Lance and fixed him with a fiercer glare than he had ever seen from her before.

"What do you think you're doing!" She hissed, her gaze again flickering to Keith in spite of her efforts to prevent it. Assuming a chagrined expression, Lance shrugged innocently and replied in the same whisper,

"I don't know. What do you think I'm doing?"

"Stop being cute, I'm not your precious Calinda."

"How in the blazes did you...fine. Believe it or not, Allura, I'm only trying to help."

"This isn't helping!"

"You're not going to, are you?" Lance studied her face for several moments and then dropped his gaze in disgust. Shaking his head, he reached for his helmet and raised it over his head. Again Allura stopped him, her gaze holding his as she replied,

"I can't. Not now."

"Not ever, you mean. I never thought you were a coward, Ally, but this..."

"Lance, please, don't turn your back on me, too. I can't do it alone." Lowering his helmet, Lance held her gaze while his features softened and he replied,

"I know. That's why I...I suppose I was going about it the wrong way? I don't know if your way is any better, Ally, but it's not my business really. I swear I won't turn my back on you.You'll always have me."

"Thank you."

"I've sighted the Red Lion," Keith said abruptly, his gaze still riveted on the monitor in front of him. Startled the pair behind him hastily scrambled to their feet, the Arusian Queen clasping the shoulder of Voltron's second in command that was not lost upon the Captain. Pretending to readjust the controls while the two of them fiddled with their helmets, Keith forced himself to loosen his grip. Pain lanced through his fingers as he flexed them and a stiffness suddenly arose in the shoulders he hadn't realized had stiffened. What had been said between them, he hadn't heard clearly, nor did he want to. It wasn't meant for his ears and that was what rankled. Lance could jibe him all he wanted about having secrets with Allura but the two of them had their own share of things that remained between the two of them. Over the years Lance had never said directly that he and Allura maintained the close relationship they had had while on Arus, but Keith had always known things were still well understood between them. It was a relationship he couldn't help but envy. In this he was not so different from Liran, though unlike the King, he understood that their feelings would never go beyond that of close siblings. Even so it was irritating. Once he had been the one Allura confided in...it seemed he had been replaced in every way that mattered. Keith ignored the fact that he had willingly relinquished his role as her confidant and brought the Black closer towards the Red Lion. Beside him, Lance cried out in triumph but didn't say another word, instead contenting himself with pointing cheekily at the Red before folding his arms. The Red Lion hadn't landed head-first, but on its side, against a rocky ledge. Its legs were splayed in odd directions, however, and its head was tilted downwards as if in submission. It took only a moment for the cockiness on Lance's face to be replaced by concern and then all emotion vanished.

"It doesn't look too cheery either. I've never seen that many scratches on Red. What could have possibly done that? All over it."

"I haven't the faintest idea. Where are those two? They should have reached the Yellow by now." Absently Keith flicked some switches and satisfied himself that the Green Lion was still functioning. It was odd, however, that they hadn't heard a word from their companions. Bringing the Black closer to the Red Lion, he stopped a few feet above its head and opened the compartment in the floor.

"Be careful, Lance. We'll wait until you're sure you can fly, then meet up with Pidge and Hunk. If you need us..."

"I'll let you know. Thanks for the lift." Keith muttered something that made Lance grin until he caught Allura's gaze on the other side of the Black's cockpit. Throwing her a carefree smile, he dived through the open compartment and landed gracefully on the upper part of the Red's front leg. Above him the compartment closed and Lance took advantage of the distraction to put a hand against the Red Lion's side. Underneath his hand, the metal felt strained and weary and his brows drew together as the sensation washed over him. Uneasily he threw another glance at the hovering Black Lion before putting his other hand against the Red and murmuring,

"Easy, Red. I'm back, it'll be all right now. And don't tell Keith I talk to you." From the metal there was no reply, but the sensation of strain began to lessen and Lance couldn't help but smile as he made his way towards the cockpit. Easing his way inside, Lance slipped into the pilot's seat and determinedly ignored the feeling of belonging that swept over him. Possibly eleven years ago, in a moment of weakness, Keith had first told him about his spirit of the Lions theory and being the way he was, Lance had laughed it off. He suspected Keith had never forgiven him for it and more than once he had regretted the way he reacted. The truth was, Lance knew exactly what Keith was talking about, but anything that went beyond his level of understanding made him uneasy and Keith's entire theory about the Lions did just that. Back then he hadn't wanted to understand or examine it, now...now he wasn't so certain.

"I know you whisper to him, too. After all, he's the only man alive who can pilot all five of you," he continued muttering to the spacecraft as he routinely checked the controls. There was no sign of a struggle within his cockpit, but the machinery didn't seem too keen to respond to his touch. Something was definitely amiss...he didn't think it would keep him from flying. Perhaps his Lion was having difficultly recognizing him as well. "But you tell him anything about our conversations and I swear I'll never fly you again. And I know that's not what you want. It might not be what I want either but I'll do it. Come on, Red. Come back to life." Closing his eyes, Lance flicked the final switch and breathed a sigh of relief as the Red Lion stirred beneath him and began to move away from the ledge where it had landed.

"Everything's okay, Keith. It's a little rusty but I think it remembers me. If your theory's true, they might have gone to sleep in the six weeks they've been waiting for someone to rescue them. Easy now, Red, we've got to check on the big guy and the pipsqueak. Maybe the Yellow landed head first and they can't get in, I'm sure it's nothing, Captain. Perhaps Hunk doesn't fit anymore. If you'd be so kind as to send me the coordinates...thank you. No monkey business without me there to supervise."

Allowing the Red to both stretch and roar, Lance guided it upwards into a brief somersault and then took off towards the south. Every few feet he continued to practice his old maneuvers, reacquainting himself with the craft he loved to fly but would never admit to having any affection for. Again Keith waited until he could no longer see the disappearing Lion and brought up the coordinates for the Blue Lion's location. Without speaking, he turned the Black westward, both relieved and disappointed that his part in the mission was almost accomplished. It was troubling that all of the Lions seemed to have sustained damage that was only partially repaired by the presence of their original pilots. Even more troubling was that the more he found out about the attack on the Lions, the less he understood about it. Unfortunately that meant his stay on Arus was likely to be prolonged and the prospect was less than thrilling. Returning to GG didn't appeal to him either, however. The more he stayed here, the less certain he was that he wanted to go back to his life of teaching, however enjoyable he found the training of the cadets. He wasn't certain of anything really anymore. Looking back over his shoulder at Allura, he was surprised to see her still sitting on the floor with her head buried in her knees. The suspicion that she was crying rose up within him before he instantly dismissed it. Crying was something the younger Allura would have done, and even then it was infrequently. This was something else altogether and still his voice didn't sound like his own as he inquired,

"Are you all right, Princess?"

"Yes. It's just...it's strange, being back up here. I've gotten so used to not being able to I never thought I..." She answered, raising her head and giving him a brief glance before turning her gaze back to the floor.

"I know what you mean. I never thought I'd do this again either. But I'm glad I am."

"You are?"

"Yes. The Black and I...still have a bond. I thought it would attach itself to the other pilots, but it seems to still have a preference for me. Zarkon knows why."

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Lance is rubbing off on me." He threw her a sheepish glance and she smiled, however faintly, and rose to stand behind him again. Placing her hands on either side of the chair, she sighed and studied the monitor.

"I'm worried about the Blue Lion. Everyone else's seems to be in disrepair. I can't think of what could cause it. In all the years we flew them, they never suffered damage to this extent."

"No one saw what happened? There was no surveillance, no witnesses, no..."

"Frank is a lot like you, he didn't like outsiders watching Lion patrols. He was very strict about those things. Most of the time the team themselves didn't know what time the patrols were until the night before. Seeing the Lions on patrol was a rarity under his watch. The Black seems to like that sort of pilot."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It isn't an insult. Its tastes are better than the Blue's, she always seems to go for the more impulsive types. Though that doesn't really fit Sven, does it?"

"You didn't know him at the Academy. Ask Romelle sometime."

"I would if she would speak to me."

"She won't speak to you?" Keith arched a brow and threw her a questionable look. Allura flushed slightly and said softly,

"I forget you don't know, I thought Lance would have...you don't talk to Sven that much either, do you?"

"Not for a lack of trying. Kingly duties is the excuse I usually get."

"His kingly duties often involve trying to secure an heir for the throne."

"I see."

"She doesn't mean to, but she begrudges me Cael. Every time she's seen him, she just looks at me with envy...and hate...and I stopped trying to pretend I didn't see it. Now it's simpler if we don't talk any more than we have to."

"It seems I've missed a lot the past ten years," Keith remarked, shifting the Black on a more accurate course towards the fallen Blue Lion. For a moment Allura simply looked at him, studying the shorter yet still shaggy black hair, the more prominent aspects of his features until she abruptly turned away.

"More than you know," she whispered.

Unable to find any words, Keith tried to swallow past the lump that had unexpectedly risen in his throat and scanned the horizon for any sign of the Blue. Even though it was his own decision, he had dreaded being alone with Allura and he had proven himself right yet again. It had seemed only natural, however. Indeed, he had ordered it without even thinking. Once the two of them would have been glad for time away from prying eyes and now...everything was still awkward. At times it seemed as if ten years hadn't passed since they had last seen each other and other times it loomed between them like an impassable wall. Scowling at nothing in particular, Keith recognized the form of the Blue Lion in the distance and looked back at Allura. Her back was still turned to him and he checked the dismay that coursed through him at the sight of it.

"Princess...Allura...my coming back...I didn't know what to expect. Things aren't like they were...and I can't say we should just pick up where we left off but I don't know how to act either. Our current solution isn't working very well." At this she actually laughed somewhat and turned to face him with a faint smile.

"No, it isn't, is it? We can't go back exactly but...it is kind of silly to keep acting like strangers...even though sometimes you seem like one. I'm sure I do too. We could try being friends, I suppose."

"Princess, you and I can never just be friends."

His own honesty surprised him and she blinked rapidly but continued to look back at him steadily.

"What does that leave us then?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out. Perhaps I shouldn't have stayed away for so long."

"I always knew you'd come back eventually."

"Did you?"

She threw him a smile then and nodded, moving forward to stand beside him as the Blue Lion became more than a shape in the distance.

"The Black would call you back, if nothing else would."

"I didn't come back for the Black." At this the controls veered slightly underneath his grasp and he smiled, amending in his thoughts that flying the Black had played at least some part in his decision to stay.

"What did you come back for then?" Allura asked after several moment's pause, her gaze riveted on the ever growing shape of the Blue Lion on the monitor. Keith tilted his head to one side and positioned the Black at a better angle of descent towards the Blue Lion and answered,

"To answer a question. Don't ask what question."

"Will you tell me when you have the answer?" She replied, a smile curving itself across her lips.

"That you can have my word on, Princess. You needn't have worried. It looks as if the Blue is only damaged as much as the Black was. It hasn't even landed like the others...it's almost as if it's pilot came peacefully."

"Erran couldn't have been in league with whoever took them. He was incapable of lying. If he allowed himself to be captured, it was probably in order to buy time for either a rescue or an escape. I seem to remember someone else behaving along the same lines on more than one occasion."

"Don't bring Lance into this," Keith replied but the look he shot her acknowledged the truth in her statement. Secretly he was amazed at her continued ability to read his mind; it was one of the things that had made them a good team in the past and he hadn't expected it to still be true in the present. Silence rose up between them however as he guided the Black to the fallen Blue Lion. Unlike the others, the Blue had not crashed into anything, instead it was lying on the ground, its back paws stretched out behind it while its head rested between the two front ones. Several scorch marks littered the side facing them and it looked as if its jaws had somehow been damaged, but compared to the others, it seemed relatively intact. Hovering just above its head, Keith looked at Allura and nodded before opening the compartment. Nimbly Allura exited the Black, landing rather gracefully on the head of her own lion before disappearing into the cockpit. Raising the Black up a few feet, Keith waited for her report with the barest traces of relief, not only at her absence, but to finally be alone in the Black again. The flight back to the palace was looming ahead of him and he was already contemplating what moves he would engage the Black in and wondering if he would still be capable of performing his favorites. Despite their somewhat standard controls, flying the Lions, especially the Black, was different from flying regular spacecraft and he was nearly certain that he had grown a little rusty after ten years. Still, he didn't think he would be entirely disappointed.

"Everything okay, Princess?" He asked, flying the Black around in a circle over the Blue Lion mainly in an attempt to calm his own nerves.

Seated before the Blue Lion's controls once more, Allura didn't answer him immediately. Her eyes were closed while her hands grasped the controls in front of her, flickering and humming just as they always had. It had been four years since she had last sat here, four years since she had defied Liran's wishes that she never sit behind the controls of any Lion again, even if all of the substitutes were unwell and she hadn't forgotten for a moment what it had felt like. The last time she had felt guilty the entire time and had hardly been able to commune with the Lion at all, plus there had been Cael and the need to avoid detection until it was too late to stop her. Before then, the last time she had flown had been in the first months of her pregnancy when she had thought nothing of assisting the newly assembled Voltron Force with any problem that arose and Liran hadn't had enough authority to prevent her. The Blue had recognized her the moment she entered its cockpit as well, she had felt its presence from the instant she sat down. It was strange how the others had spoken of not being recognized when it seemed as if her lion had been waiting for her return. Keith hadn't said anything, however, but she suspected that the Black had been waiting for him as well...all of them had to have been. Of them all, she was the only one who put any real faith into his theory, but she was also the only one to have heard it in depth and through its various stages. Breathing deeply, she opened her eyes and moved the controls slightly. The Blue raised its head and stretched out its front paws and she found herself smiling. Unbidden the hope rose within her that the missing pilots might stay missing for as long as possible, just so she could fly the Blue for longer than a few days. As soon as she gave birth to the hope she dismissed it, resolving instead that she was no longer going to allow Liran to keep her from the Blue Lion. It was a part of her and she was only hurting herself by pretending otherwise. Perhaps it was time Liran got used to not having everything go his way.

"Princess?" Keith's voice broke through her reverie and she quickly flicked the necessary switches to establish communication with him.

"Everything's okay, Keith. There aren't any signs of a struggle in here. Erran must have let them take him, I can't imagine anything else. Should we check on the others?"

"I'm going to try to establish contact with them. Whatever is taking them so damned long had better be important. Take her up and see how she flies and if I can't get anything from them, we'll head south." Allura nodded and did as he suggested, flying the Blue around in several wide loops above the Black Lion and trying not to revel in the joy of flying again.

Frowning, Keith tapped into the frequencies of all three lions, his frown only deepening as the monitor indicated that all three were still fully functioning. Sensing a conspiracy on the part of his companions, he sighed and spoke,

"Lance? Hunk? Pidge? If the three of you aren't together..."

"We're fine, Keith, relax. The Green didn't make it and it took us awhile to find the best way to support it between the two of us," Lance's voice came through and Keith breathed a sigh of relief.

"How's the Yellow, Hunk?"

"A bomb went off in my cockpit and half of my tail is nearly falling off, but other than that, she flies all right. How's the Princess?"

"The Blue has the least amount of damage we've seen, besides the Black. Nothing's adding up about this. Do you need our help?"

"Nah. We're nearly there anyway, thanks, Keith," Hunk answered.

"Sorry about not reporting, Captain," Pidge put in.

"He was too busy crying that his Lion had died," Lance interjected.

"If the Green wasn't wounded, I'd swipe you. Next time we form the Blazing Sword, I'm going to wield it."

"I'd like to see that. A left-handed Voltron. Arus would riot."

"Keith?" For a moment Pidge sounded so like his old self, Keith again forgot that ten years had passed and he found himself grinning as he answered,

"It's an idea."

"Ha!"

"He'll never go through with it."

"We'll see."

"'We'll see,'" Lance mocked, muttering a few choice curses under his breath that only made Keith's grin all the broader.

"I'll see you two back at the palace. Pidge, make sure your lion gets immediate attention. I want you to stay with it while they work on it, for awhile anyway. It'll help to have a pair of our own eyes overseeing the proceedings. Tell them you can't be parted from it or something like that."

"Cry again, that'll work," Lance interjected.

"I'll manage without crying, thank you, Lance. Right-o, Captain. I was going to suggest it myself."

"Thanks for letting me think I'm in charge."

"Anytime."

Ceasing communication with the others, Keith flew to where the Princess had perched the Blue Lion overlooking one of Arus' lakes.

"Ready to go home?" He asked, rather certain that her answer was the same as his.

"No, but I suppose we have to. Do you trust me enough to let me take my own route?"

"You're a better judge of whether or not the Blue can handle it than I am, but I'll wait to land until I see you safely in the lake just the same."

"Thanks, Keith. I owe you one."

"Just don't take too long. I don't want to have to answer to His Majesty or the Prince if you turn up missing." Allura laughed and took off, leaving Keith alone at last with his lion.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" He mused aloud before taking off in a different direction from Allura. And for awhile, at least, there was nothing but him, the Black, and the sky.