Pidge saw Keith less and less. He kept leaving on missions with the blades. She missed having him around he was like a brother and a brother she could count on to stay up all night with her if needed. Now she would wander the halls alone. She didn't want to wake anyone up either due to them all not getting their fair amount of sleep either. Keith was a night owl she didn't need to wake him up, he was just always there. She missed it.

Tonight was different she was wondering the halls when she heard him speaking to her. She followed his voice tell she came to the training room. There he was standing in the middle of the training deck facing away from her. "Keith?" She inquired. He turned to face her holding his Bayard in his hand. The sword shown in the light. "You think I'm a monster. don't you." Her heart felt like it had turned to ice. Yes, it was Keith, but it was no longer his voice it was Zarkons deep and raspy one. But that's not possible, she thought he's dead. She put her hands to her head. It was fake she knew it was fake, but she also knew it could be dangerous, She has almost died once because of this. Her heart speeded up a little faster as Keith approached her, an evil smile on his face.

"You're not real, I know you're not! Keith left" she choked on her words then continued "He's with the Blades now, he's no longer a paladin." tears now streaming down her cheeks. Keith had left to join the blades earlier that day, it was unexpected, and it hurt Pidge, she expected him to at least give her more than a five minutes notice before taking off with his new buddy's, she knew it was stupid and even selfish for that matter but she didn't want to accept the possibility that she might never see him again.

"Really?" Said fake Keith "Really!" She tried to sound brave but failed he charged, and she ran. That was all she could do, yes it wasn't Keith but it sure looked like him, and she didn't want to be hunted with the fact that they flighted to the death. She ran out of the room into the dark hallways of the castle ship. She knew her way through the halls very well and skidded to a halt behind a big whiteboard that she used as a barricade. "My pet, where did you go?" came Zarkons evil voice. Silence fell, and she wondered if it was over that her head was done playing with her, she was wrong. Keith's sword plunged through the barricade making contact with her pajamas making a gaping hole in them. Pidge knew that wasn't fake she felt the ice cold melt run up agents her bare skin, she took off running once more with her heart beating in her ears.

"My paladin, what's wrong? let me help, My paladin!" Came her Lions very concerned voice. "Shiro" she shoved the thought to her lion, she knew he would be the best to help, and he knew that he now piloted the Black Lion once more and that the Voltron bond would reach him. A slit thought of this being some weird game of telephone, and she prayed that the message would get there in the right order

"Paladin, you must awake, Paladin." "Can't it wait?" he was tired and had just fallen asleep, sleep was so precise to him, between missions, nightmares and pure worry he didn't sleep much. "I would not wake you if it were not urgent, it is Greens paladin, she is crying out to you" Shiro sat straight up. "Crying out? What? How? and how do you know?" He questioned out loud. A deep rumble of comfort came to him. "Me and my sisters are one, we form Voltron with our ponds, with both paladin and sister, not just through gears and levers" Shiro nodded as he walked out of his room, letting Black guide him.

"You can't hide forever, come out come out where ever you are." Came the insulting voice of the former Galra Emperor. Her heart was racing unconvertable fast. She was now hiding behind Hunks chair on the bridge. She breathed hard wondering how she could get to Shiro's room. When Keith jumped out ready to fight. She had no choice, she was cornered. She went on defense rather than attack, she blocked his punches and kicks, his sword had disappeared so that he could fight with his hands. "Your fake! you can't hurt me!" She yelled. Which landed her a solid punch in the face, she tasted blood. "ow!" Now she was even more scared, "How is it possible?" she thought aloud putting her hand to her cheek she felt it starting to swell, she ducked as he swung another punch, she knew a punch wouldn't get her anywhere with her wrists, so instead, she kicked him off his feet. He fell with a loud 'thud.' She took off running out the door and back into the dark hallway. She could hear Zarkons voice cursing not far behind her, she looked back to see Keith angry face as he charged at her, she ran harder, around corners though rooms and staircases but he was always right behind her. When she was about ready to give up, she ran into Shiro, literally ran into him as she rounded a corner she hit him then the ground with a 'splat.'

Shiro knelt done in front of her worry in his eye as he questioned the girl "Pidge, what's wrong" Her frightened eyes met his worried ones. "Grrr!" She heard the voice again, more tears stung her eyes as she clung to Shiro. "Don't let him get me! Please, Shiro, I'm scared" Shiro looked up and saw nothing "Pidge, who?" She pointed a finger in the direction she came from, "Him!" she yelled. He put his hands to her cheeks, but she jerked back in pain "That hurts, he punched me there!" she informed him. "Pidge your face is fine, and no one is here but me and you" "I can feel it Shiro, the pain, it can't be fake" she cried then screamed leaping from his lap and started to run. "You're not real!" she screamed at nothing "Keith is with the Blades, and Zarkon is dead.!" She yelled out in pain as she put her hands to her side as if she had just been stabbed. She fell to the floor breathing hard. Shiro knew what he had to do. He scooped up the young paladin in his arms and ran.

Matt woke from a nightmare he had figured the screams of his sister where all in his dreams but they were quite real. He jumped out from under his covers and ran into the hall as Shiro ran passed with his sister in his arms. "Get Coran! Meet us in the med bay" Matt didn't question Shiro but did as he was told, he took off running in the opposite direction towards Coran's room. he banged on the door "Coran!" he yelled as he banged on the door some more "Coran open up!" the door flung open "What is it" Coran asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes "Pidge" Coran meet Matts' eyes "lead the way" Coran ordered

Shiro was scared, something was hunting Pidge, and whatever it was, was casing her real pain, he hated not being able to see the enemy he wished he could see what she saw to better know what to do. He rounded the corner into the med bay, he sat Pidge down on a bed. "Do you see anything?" He asked she shook she head "No. But I can hear him, and he's getting close." Him? Who was him that she was referring to? He wondered to himself. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a tight hug, as a few tears of his own escaped he tried to tell her it was ok, but his voice betrayed him as it cracked. He could feel his shirt getting wet from her tears, she was crying hard, gasping for air.

"What's wrong?" came Coran's urgent voice, Shiro quickly told what he knew to him and Matt. Coran nodded and got to work. He hooked up vitals to Pidge, to monitor her breathing, heart, and brainwaves. It was not hard to see that her brainwaves were going crazy. "What are you seeing Pidge" Matt ventured "Tried that, she just says him" Shiro whispered "Well let's find out, Shiro I'll need you to take a seat next to her. He unwrapped his hands from pidge's head and sat next to her as Coran worked. He approached Pidge with an IV "No, NO more!" she yelled Matt understood what she meant and intervening "Katie listen. You're safe, but we need to know what's wrong, a light prick then you will feel all better" She looked at him and nodded. And Coran continued. Once the IV was in he began to push fluids through as he explained to the scared girl what he was doing "This medicine is going to help you relax, you might be a little drowsy but that it. ok?" She nodded as he continued "Now I need to put this on your head so..." she cut him off "He's here! He's coming." the medicine was kicking in because she didn't sound as frightened as earlier. "NO!" she yelled at nothing "Keith's gone and your dead!" She screamed as Coran put a ring of metal on top of her head and placed an identical one on Shiro's head. He pressed a few buttons. "Shiro see anything?" Coran questioned Shiro looked around for a moment then spotted Keith. "Keith?" he questioned aloud "Keith?" Matt asked looking in the direction Shiro was looking in But saw nothing. "My pet has herself a bodyguard? how cute" came a deep evil voice that he recognized as Zarkons "Wow, not Keith" he stated in shock

"My dear remember who you belong to, you are mine and always will be" Keith snarled Pidge pulled her knees to her chest wrapping her arms around herself and whispered "No, you're dead." almost too quiet for Shiro to hear. "What do I do Coran?" He asked. "Get rid of whatever the Quiznak it is." was the reply "You can't get rid of me, I'll always be here, in her head hunting her every move, hunting her every dream" Shiro cut the voice off "Not if I have anything to say about it!" he stood letting his Galra hand heat up. Keith charged but not him, he charged at Pidge, she just sat there expecting her fate. But Shiro intervened grabbing him with his Galra arm, he focused on the fact that he was not really Keith put a nightmare that had to end. Upon contact, Keith turned to face him with a snarl. Shiro easily disarmed him. "Pidge close your eye!" he demanded he did not want her to see Keith real or not die at his hand. she bared her face deep into Matts' chest while Shiro finished him off. "I'll be back she mine!" was the last words that could be heard as she drifted into much-needed sleep

Matt laid her down on one of the beds and looked at Coran "Was that the effects of the drug again?" "I'm afraid so," he replied as he scanned her, "The good news is, there is none left in her system, she clean and shouldn't have any more problems" Coran stated

"Shiro" Matt began "What did you see?" Shiro took a deep breath "Keith. But not our Keith an evil Keith with the voice of Zarkon. He called her his pet, claiming she belonged to him." He paused for a second then asked "Coran, what did you do? how did you make me see him?" Coran scratched his chin "Well, I made your pain waves mimic hers so you could see with your own eyes, but still see what she saw" He finished

"What do you mean my own eye?" Shiro asked, "Well I didn't want you to see through her eyes because that would have limited you."

"So it won't happen again?" Matt quizzed Coran "No, it should never happen again, the weird thing is I wonder what took it so long, I thought it would happen again sooner.

"She's had a lot of bad dreams every night," Matt told him "Well" Coran began as we fiddled with his mustache. "I guess it could come in the form of a dream, I didn't think of it like that. But now that you say that it makes sense. No more nightmares should happen either" Coran said rather cheerfully while Matt and Shiro shared a glance, knowing that the nightmares never honestly go away.

"Let's keep this between us," Shiro said "Normally I would never suggest keeping a secret from the team but for Pidge's sake"

Matt and Coran both agreed.