Deepest apologies for taking so long to get this sucker done. I really had to put it away for awhile in order to rethink the whole thing. The good news is that I know where the next chapter is going already so hopefully there will not be anymore extended lapses between uploads. I think this one turned out okay, but I would love to know what you think. Please R&R.

Thanks to everyone for sticking with me this far. Happy Easter! Cheers!

"Last stop before we get to the cabin." Deirdre announced as she parked the car in front of the convenience store and released her seatbelt.

From where he sat next to her, Lance stretched his arms over his head before glancing in the back to see how the four crammed in the backseat were fairing. Romelle was tucked securely at Sven's side with his arm around her, both of them sleeping soundly. Keith was the only one still awake, but seemed less than comfortable with Allura turned into him with her head resting on his shoulder. She stirred and lifted her sleepy lids, blushing furiously as she recognized her own precarious position. Lance grinned at Keith.

Keith narrowed his eyes at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Lance shrugged, snickering as he opened the car door and stepped out. He fell into step with Deirdre as she made her way to the double glass doors of the building. "How much farther is the cabin?"

Deirdre stopped to allow Lance to open the door for her. "Only a few minutes or so. I figured we probably need to pick up some supplies."

Hunk grabbed the door as Lance followed her inside. The large man looked across the parking lot and saw nothing but woods. "Your buddy sure does live out in the middle of nowhere." He held the door as Keith and Allura filed in behind Lance. Pidge followed. Sven and Romelle waited in the car.

"Geez, Hunk, you act like you haven't eaten in weeks." Pidge teased as he eyed the three bags of chips, package of hotdogs, and case of sodas that the larger man dropped on the counter.

"Hey," Hunk rebuked, "we don't know how long we're going to be out at that cabin. Better to have too much food than to run out."

"Whatever." Pidge shook his head as he wound his way through the aisles of goods to the back of the store to the bathrooms.

The rest of the group made quick work of loading their baskets with groceries. The elderly man behind the counter turned off the small tv set he was watching, smiling graciously as they piled their goods on the counter in front of him.

"Where're you kids headed?" While he sounded as if he asked the question a dozen times a day, he was no less genuine in his curiosity.

Deirdre smiled at him. "A friend's cabin. Not too far from here."

"Just a little get away." Lance draped his arm around Deirdre's shoulders and gave the man a knowing smirk. The man grinned and gave Lance a wink of approval. Deirdre rolled her eyes. She was grateful when Keith and Allura finally made their way to the counter with more supplies.

With their goods stashed in the trunk with Deirdre's small arsenal, the group piled back into the car with Hunk and Pidge on the bikes. Once they were back on the road, silence fell among them, each staring out the window at the endless forest on either side of them. While it was only a little after noon, it had already a long day, and it had definitly taken its toll.

Allura shifted uncomfortably as she and Keith made an conscious effort to avoid touching each other. Things were awkward, to say the least, but she really did not have the time or the energy to ponder such things at the moment. There were too many unanswered questions. Between a traitor in Galaxy Garrison and General Graham's untimely dimise, Allura was afraid that the federation of planets that kept the peace in the known universe was coming apart at the seams. That could be mean rising tensions among the systems. Even all out war.

They finally turned off of the highway and onto a gravel road that seemed to lead them even deeper into nowhere. The tree line thickened, and if they didn't blink they could catch a glimpse of the local wildlife. Romelle squealed loudly as a doe and her fawn dashed across the road. Lance stared out the window and found himself getting lost in the lush foilage blurring across his vision. Being so far removed from the bustle of city, out where the land was nearly untouched, it was easy to begin to lose sight of the peril that had been following them since they had left Arus only two days prior. But if he wanted to be honest, trouble had been following them since they had stolen a Garrison cruiser to go in search of a missing Deirdre, only to be taken captive by Zarkon, then eventually landing on Arus and becoming the pilots of Voltron. He sighed loudly. That fateful day had begun a domino of events that had changed each of their lives forever.

In the back seat, Keith stared intently out the front window, his face set in stone. While everyone else pondered current situation, his mind had switched to command mode, which meant he was running numerous scenarios in his head, trying desperately to figure out a way to get them out of their current mess in one piece. He closed his eyes to ward off the impending headache. A sharp intake of breath from Allura snapped his eyes open. Turning to look at her, he saw her staring wide eyed out the front dash. Following her gaze, he saw that the road ended suddenly leading down an embankment to a large body water. The afternoon sun reflected brightly off of the smooth water reflecting the moutain of forest that stretched to the heavens just on the other side.

As they neared the edge of the water, Deirdre veered to the left onto a gravel drive, running parallel to the water. The drive wound around as lightly wooded area, leading to a two story cabin, nestled into the treeline just in front of the lake. The car pulled around the circle drive and came to a stop in front of the covered porch leading to the front door. Lance let out a low whistle.

"Looks like ol Mr. Vandersloot did pretty well for himself." He steeled himself for a least a punch in the arm from Deirdre. Surprisingly, she ignored the comment as cut the engine and opened the door.

"Door to door service." She announced, holding the door open as Allura climbed out, followed by Keith.

The living room was rustic and cozy with a large brick fireplace on the wall that separtated it from the kitchen. Once inside, the group let out a collective sigh. They were safe – for the moment. Romelle settled Sven on the couch in front of the fireplace. She propped up his knee before taking a seat on the floor next to him. From where she sat, she could see the lake out the french doors that led to the back yard. A fishing boat tied to the dock idled lazily, swaying with the ebb and flow and water. Romelle stared at the water and couldn't help think how wonderful things would be if it were just her and Sven, and they were at the cabin on a romantic getaway rather than running from the authorities.

While Hunk and Deirdre unloaded the groceries in the kitchen, Keith decided it was time to discuss their options. He stood in front of the group by the fireplace. As he looked at each one of them, he could see the tension on their faces. Pidge fell heavily into an oversized armchair, while Allura stood silently by the back door, staring out at the water. He took a deep breath.

"Alright, everyone. Time to get a plan together. Let's review where we're at."

Lance bristled from where he stood on the other side of the mantle. "Well, let's see. Someone offed General Graham and framed us for it. And let's not forget that someone, probably the same person, has been feeding intel to the Drules trying to get to Lotor. Does that about cover it?"

Allura felt her skin prickle at Lotor's name. With everything else going on, thoughts of him had been effectively pushed to the back of her mind. Now he was back, and somehow was involved in the mess they were in now. She snorted. Figures.

"Thanks for the recap, Lance." Keith said, solemnly. "So, what do we do about it?"

Sven, who had been silent since they had made their daring escape, winced as he adjusted on the couch. "What about Hawkins? Could we contact him?"

Keith nodded. As far as he knew, General Hawkins had always been the ideal officer, placing integrity and duty above all else. Keith had always looked up to him. He might be just the person they needed to tap.

"Hawkins retired three years ago." Pidge pointed out.

"Yeah," Keith responded. "But he still knows important people in Garrison. Maybe he knows something."

"Well," Lance pushed himself away from the mantle. "Let's go pay the old man a visit."

"Alright, Lance, you and I will go talk to Hawkins."

Hunk and Deirdre walked into the living room with a tray of steaming coffee cups.

"Pidge and I can go talk to Jeff." Hunk offered. "The Vehicle Voltron team might have heard something through the grapevine."

"Alright."

Pidge shifted in his seat. "I could hack into Graham's computer records. Maybe something there will tell us why he was killed. But I'll need my laptop."

Keith nodded in agreement, then took one more deep breath before facing the princess. "Allura."

Allura's back stiffened at the sound of her name. She narrowed her eyes at him as she stepped away from the backdoor and stalked over to where Keith stood. "No, not this time, Keith. You are not sidelining me now! If you think I'm just going to sit around while you guys try to figure out a way out of this mess, you're out of your mind!"

The air was sucked out of the room as the team watched Keith and Allura standing toe to toe, glaring at each other. The tension was palpable. Keith closed his eyes and counted to three before opening them to meet her angry gaze.

"I was going say," he kept his voice low and controlled, even as he wanted to throttle Allura for acting like a spoiled brat. "I want you to go back to the hotel to get a few essentials that we left in the rooms. Like Pidge's laptop."

Allura was taken aback, and she flushed with embarrassment. "Oh." Her voice fell. "Okay."

"You and Deirdre can get around the city more efficiently than any of us can."

Lance snorted. "Yeah, concidering we're wanted for murder, and you're not." Deirdre, who had somehow moved to stand next to the Red Lion pilot, elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow, you know, you really need to stop that!" He ground at her.

"Hunk and Pidge should be able to move around fairly easily too. They were with us when we got arrested, but Black Ops left them alone. I think the two of you are in the clear."

"You can take my car." Deirdre offered to Keith. "Allura and I can take Richie's HumVee."

Even Lance would acknowledge that there were times when he just couldn't keep his mouth shut. This was one of those times. "Ooh, Richie's got a HumVee. Isn't that special." This time he was ready when Deirdre made her move. He grabbed her elbow, stopping her in her tracks, and smiled wickedly as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I told you, you really need to stop doing that. Unless, course, you'd rather finish this later."

Whatever snide remark she had prepared for him died on her lips when Keith cut her off. "Cut it out, you two!" His tone made no room for arguement as he berated them both with his stare. "We don't have time for this! Allura, you and Deidre take the HumVee. Hunk and Pidge can take the bikes."

Sven spoke again. "Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, the two of you riding around on stolen bikes? Your just asking to get busted."

Hunk smiles. "Those bikes aren't stolen. I told you we borrowed them."

"How exactly did you convince the owners to let you take em?" Lance asked.

"Well, they just happen to be huge Voltron fans." Hunk said.

Pidge grabbed a cup of coffee off the table. "We kind of promised them autographs when we've cleared this mess up."

"Fine." Keith said. "Let's get going."

"Um..." Hunk cleared his throat. "is there anyway we can have some lunch first?" Pidge groaned. "What? I missed breakfast."

"I'm with Hunk." Lance said. "Can't clear our names and save the universe again on an empty stomach."

"Alright." Keith agreed. "Everyone get something to eat. We'll leave in an hour."

The meeting broke. Lance, Deirdre, Pidge, and Hunk took off for the kitchen. Keith watched Allura silently slip out the back door. He followed to find her standing at the edge of the water, watching a pair of ducks floating lazily by. A light breeze rustled the loose strands of blond hair that had escaped her ponytail. He stood next to her, keeping his eyes on the water. She was silent as he approached.

After a moment of nothing but the gentle water and sweet sounds of the song birds, she spoke. "I'm sorry, Keith. I know I acted like a child in there." She turned to look at him. "You've never done anything but try to keep me and my planet safe. And you've been successful so far. You don't deserve that kind of treatment from me. There is a reason that Voltron picked you to be his leader. I have no right to question you."

He met her sad gaze. "A commander that is never questioned is doomed to fail. Getting overconfident is the easiest pitfall that a leader can fall into." He stopped to make sure that she understood what he was saying. Her soft nod prodded him to go on. "Besides, I'm at fault too. I know that sometimes I make you feel like I don't trust your abilities." He took her shoulders in his hands. "Please know that's not the case. You have proven yourself time and time again, and I know that it doesn't always seem like I appreciate what you've done for the team. And I'm sorry for that."

"Keith..." she began.

"Allura, the team trusts you with their lives." He paused, not knowing how much more he should say. But he knew he needed to tell her. "And so do I."

The admission made Allura's stomach flip flop. It was a rare occurance when Keith was so open with her. As she looked at him, feeling the warmth of his hands on her shoulders, her face flushed and she wanted nothing more than to turn away.

But instead..."And I trust you, Keith." Her voice was breathy, and she suddenly found her mouth very dry. She prayed that he wouldn't notice the pink tinge that colored her cheeks.

If he did, he didn't show it. He did take a breath just before he released her to step back. "Okay, then. I think that we should grab something to eat. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day."

As she watched him retreat back to the cabin, Allura sighed. With the tension that had been building up between them since they had left Arus behind them now, she felt like she could breathe again. More importantly, she could focus on the task at hand. Protecting her planet, and proving Keith, Lance, and Sven innocent of murder.

"Why is the Voltron Force not in custody?" Lotor, the former Prince of planet Doom, narrowed his yellow eyes at the man in front of him. Curiously, the man did not flinch. Lotor suddenly longed for the days when all he would have to do was lay eyes on a man and have him pissing down his leg. But now, sitting in chains in a Galaxy Garrison prison cell, he was less than intimidating. He ground his teeth. No matter, he would have his power back soon, and those who underestimated him will fall to their knees before him and beg for mercy.

Wade watched Lotor from where he stood safetly on the other side of energy field that separated him from the prisoner. "We arrested the commander and his second. They were extracted from my men by their team."

Lotor would have choked every last breath out of the man if he hadn't been restrained. "They are five people! You have an entire army at your disposal!"

Wade still seemed unmoved and unafraid by the drule's outburst. "Relax, Lotor. Of course I have a contingency plan. And it will prove be even more profitable for us. As you say, they are only five pilots. And they are without their precious robot. They are nothing without Voltron."

"What is this contingency plan?" Lotor asked.

"Let's just say that I have made arrangements that will keep the Voltron Force, along with their precious princess, on an extended vacation on Earth for an undetermined length of time. Arus will be left unprotected for you to take at your leisure."

The Prince fell into thoughtful silence. The idea of having Arus and Voltron finally under his control nearly moved him to tears. Once he had Voltron, he would crush the Alliance and rule the universe. But over the years, he had made made many mistakes during the war with Arus. Most of them came from trying to outwit and overthrow his own father, Zarkon. He had been young and rash. As a result he constantly discounted the Volton Force. Especially their leader, Keith Kogane. The man was the bane of Lotor's existence and the only foe whom the Prince was never able to vanquish. He would never make that mistake again.

"I will offer you some advice, Wade." He waited to make sure he had the other man's attention. "Do not underestimate the Voltron Force." The tension was palpable as the two men watched each other with obvious distrust. Finally, Wade broke the gaze and turned to leave. "When am I getting out of here?"

"All in good time, my dear Prince." He could feel Lotor's stare at his back. The drule apparently did not like being mocked. Wade smiled to himself. "All in good time."

The sun was sinking lower in the late afternoon when Keith and Lance pulled up to the gate in front of General Hawkins estate just outside of Freetown. The shadows of the well manicured trees in the front courtyard began to stretch menacingly over the green grass. As the sky darkened the lamps on the front patio clicked on. Keith pulled up to the intercom by the gate and pressed the button.

"Yes?" A stern voice filtered throught the speaker.

"Commander Keith Kogane. I need to speak with General Hawkins."

"Just a moment." The speakers went silent.

Lance rested his hands behind his head. "We should have broken in. We're fugitives you know. What makes you think that Hawkins won't turn us in? Hell, he's probably on the horn with the cops right now."

"He'll hear us out." Keith stated confidently.

"You sure about that?"

Keith didn't answer, because he didn't have one. General Hawkins had been his mentor in the academy, and Keith respected him more that anyone else. He also believed that Hawkins respected him as well. Hopefully that mutual respect would get Keith and Lance the information that they needed.

The time stretched, and Lance began to get antsy. "What the hell is taking so long?"

"Relax. We'll give him a couple of more minutes. I'm going to check in with Allura." He pushed a series of buttons on his comm.

Time seemed to stretch into eternity, and Allura felt an uneasiness settle in her stomach as the elevator continued its journey upward. The numbers clicked slowly as she and Deirdre came closer to their destination. She let out the breath she had been holding as the car finally jerked to a stop. The high pitched ding echoed as the doors drew open. Deirdre motioned for Allura to stay put as she stuck her head out into the corridor.

"Looks like it's all clear." She announced and the two of them walked cautiously down the hallway.

"You check the guy's room." Allura said, pulling the electronic keys out of her pocket. She handed one of them to Deirdre who nodded silently.

They parted ways as Deirdre entered the room across the hall. Allura took a deep breath and let herself into the room that she had been sharing with Romelle and Deirdre just hours earlier. The common area of the suite was dark and eerily quiet. The magezine that Romelle had been reading was still on the floor where she had dropped it upon hearing the news that Sven had been arrested along with Lance and Keith. A sigh escaped her lips as she remembered how silly she had been to be so upset with Keith over something so trivial as being left behind while the guys went to investigate General Graham's murder. Things had changed in a matter of moments.

"Allura." The deep voice coming from the comm on her wrist nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"Yes, Keith."

"Are you at the hotel yet? Did you have any problems?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm standing in my room as we speak. And no, we had no trouble."

"Good." She could hear Keith let out a breath of relief and couldn't help but smile. While Keith knew she was more than capable, he was also a control freak, and she knew that there was a part of him that would always want to protect her. "Remember, Allura, get in and out as quick as you can. Only grab essencials."

"Make sure you grab my hair cream!"

"Shut up, Lance!"

"Have you ever seen my hair without product, Keith? I look like Willy Wonka. And not the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka. Straight up Gene Wilder hair."

Allura laughed out loud at her teammates banter, and she realized how good it felt to laugh at all. "Copy that, Keith. Only the essencials."

"We're getting ready to see General Hawkins. We'll see you back at the cabin. Keith, out."

The sudden silence brought back Allura's somber mood as she moved quickly to her room and grabbed a small bag that she used to carry her toiletries. She found her blaster in the top dresser drawer along with all of her traveling papers and id's and, most importantly, the key to her blue lion. All of it got tossed in the bag. Since they had been smuggled to Earth anyway, they had been forced to pack light. She tossed the smaller bag in her back pack with what little clothes she had brought and slung it over her shouler. Then she moved to Romelle and Deirdre's rooms, collected anything that they might need and jamming them into the bag with her stuff.

Taking a quick glance up and down the empty corridor, she closed the door behind her and moved quickly across the hall. Deirdre had left the door ajar, so she went right into the other room. A couple of bags were stacked by the door along with Pidge's laptop bag. Deirdre was standing in the middle of the living area, staring at the television which they had left on in their haste earlier.

"Deirdre," Allura called, confused as to why Deirdre would be wasting time watching T.V. "We need to go."

"Allura, you better come and take a look at this."

Now very concerned, Allura moved to stand beside Deirdre. Turning her attention to the television, her blood ran cold. How could this have happened?