Well, this chapter came along quickly. It was actually already written in my head, but just needed some tweaks. Things are pretty intense on Arus right now, but fear not, for it is always darkest before the dawn.

I've got to give a quick thanks to all of the lovely souls who keep supporting me and pushing me to keep going. You know who you are and are very much appreciated.

Enough talk, now, enjoy! Don't forget the reviews. I really need the feedback. Thanks!

Lance stood alone in the large area that served as the control room beneath the Castle of Lions. He stared up at the cylindrical glass casing that ran from somewhere beneath them, deep from within the planet itself, up through the granite ceiling into the castle's mainframe. He had chosen that spot because he knew that he would be alone. Pidge had been working tirelessly trying to get the mainframe back on-line, but even he needed a break. Lance just needed to think without interruption. Whenever Keith found himself with a dilemma, he often would retreat to some place quiet to center his thoughts. It wasn't working for Lance however because he found that the absolute silence was more distracting than anything else.

Silent footsteps behind him made him turn. Coran stopped a few feet from him, unsure whether he was welcome. Lance's only response was to turn back to his previous position. Coran took it as a sign that his presence was received. He moved to stand next to Lance, following the younger man's gaze into the center of the castle's mainframe.

"It sleeps." Coran said, quietly.

"What?"

Coran nodded toward the dark cylinder. "This is the heart of the Castle of Lions. An energy source deep from within the planet's core feeds the castle and the lions."

"Why is it dark now?"

"Hagar's magic has blocked the flow of energy to the castle."

Lance sighed. As if he didn't have enough on his plate already. "So, how do we unblock the energy and wake up Voltron?"

Coran shrugged. "We know next to nothing about the substance that powers the castle. Alfor and his scientists were the ones who learned of its existence and how to harness it's power. Unfortunately, that knowledge died along with him. Almost all records of his findings were destroyed during the first invasion."

"Great." Lance grumbled.

The advisor watched him for a moment. "But I have a feeling that the castle is not at the forefront of your thoughts right now."

Lance dropped his gaze, a sudden bout of guilt washing over him. Of course the castle and Voltron should be his top priority, but the fact of the matter was that it was not. When he glanced back up at the older man, he saw no anger or shame coming from him. Only compassion and empathy.

"You want to know how to save your friend." Coran said, matter of factly.

"Yes." Lance replied softly. "I just don't know what to do."

Coran nodded. "What do you think she would do if the situation was reversed?"

"Oh, there's no question about that." Lance gave a small laugh. "She'd kill me off. She's been wanting to do that for years."

Coran allowed a small smile at Lance's attempt to lighten the situation, but he remained silent. Lance was going to have to come to terms with it himself. He knew he was right when the pilot's face fell again.

"And because she knows that I would rather be dead than to be a slave. Especially to the likes of Lotor." He could not control the animosity that rang out as he said the bastard's name.

"Then I think you have your answer, Lance."

Lance nodded. He had known all along what the answer was. He just needed to admit it out loud. "God, Keith makes this leader shit look so easy." He ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'm just not command material."

Coran rested a hand on his shoulder. "There is no blueprint to being a good leader, Lance. No two people tackle it the same way. You are not Keith. You are Lance, and you do things the Lance way. However unorthodox that may be. We are still here because of you. We are alive and able to fight because of decisions that you have made." He paused to allow his words to sink in. "You must stop comparing yourself to Keith. He has faith that you will be successful or he never would have chosen you to be his right hand. The rest of us have faith in your command as well. Now all you need to do is find that faith in yourself."

With those words, Coran turned and left Lance alone again.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Richie bellowed from where he stood in the doorway of Keith's medical quarters.

Lance had called them all together to inform them of his decision. He looked around the room at each of them. Allura sat in the chair next to Keith's bed. Pidge and Hunk were on the other side. Romelle and Sven stood side by side at the foot of the bed.

Taking a deep breath, mostly to keep himself from throttling Richie, Lance pushed forward. "I have made my decision, but I have called you all here to get your input."

"I'll give you my input..." Richie started, but was interrupted when Keith spoke up.

"What exactly does the procedure entail, Lance?"

Grateful for Keith's interruption, Lance glanced at Pidge. "He knows more about the particulars than I do."

Pidge cleared his throat loudly, clearly uncomfortable being put on the spot. "Dr. Gorma will administer a drug that will slow her heart beat. A quick shock after that will stop it completely. Once the blood flow to the brain stops, her brain function will cease. Once brain death occurs, the parasite should disengage and die."

"Should?" Now it was Sven who spoke up. While he had not been as vocal as Richie, Lance knew that his friend had reservations.

Pidge nodded. "A parasite cannot survive without it's host. If it's life support is cut off, it will die." He paused and took a breath. "Once that happens, Dr. Gorma will shock Deirdre's heart again, and give her adrenaline to get her blood pumping again."

"What are some possible side effects?" Keith asked.

"You mean other than her dying?" Richie bit out.

This time Lance was about to go for him, but Sven's firm grip on his arm stopped him. He would have to deal with that ass later.

"If she is under too long, lack of oxygen to the brain could cause some cerebral damage." Pidge said.

"This is insanity." Richie huffed. "Why not just wait until we can figure out what that thing is?"

Lance walked to him and looked up. "We don't know what kind of damage that thing is doing to her already. The longer it stays, the more permanent the damage may become. It could eventually kill her anyway." He turned back to his team. "Now, if anyone else has any reservations, then I will be happy to hear them now. If not, my decision stands and we move forward with this."

Silence was his answer. He glanced back up at Richie. "Anything, Vanderlough?" Richie shook his head. "Good, I'll go tell Dr. Gorma." He moved to leave but was stopped by Richie.

"If anything goes wrong, McClain, I will break your neck." There was no sarcasm or any hint of a joke in the bigger man's voice.

Lance was undeterred however. He stared the bigger man down. "If anything goes wrong, Richie, I give you my permission to do so."

Richie blinked then narrowed his eyes as if he was seeing Lance for the first time. Something in his expression told Lance that Richie knew that he had not made this decision lightly, and that Lance would do whatever it took to bring Deirdre back to them. He released Lance's arm, nodded silently, and stepped out of the way.

Before Lance could get into the corridor, a number of hurried footsteps could be heard in the hall.

"Lieutenant!" a young man whom Lance recognized as one of the castle guards called breathlessly. "There's been a security breach, sir. The woman in the other med bay has escaped."

"What the hell happened?"

"We're still not entirely sure, Sir. Nanny went in to change her bedding. She was still sleeping. The next thing we knew she had taken Nanny at knife point."

Allura was on her feet and heading toward the door. "Nanny! She took Nanny?"

The young guard nodded.

Lance made a conscious effort to keep his breath steady while his heart raced a mile a minute. "Where are they now?"

"Last anyone saw, they were heading toward the south entrance." He paused to wait for Lance's orders. "Should we send some guards after him, Sir?"

He shook his head. "No! Deirdre has one objective, and she will kill anyone who gets in her way. Let us handle this, but keep your men on standby."

"Yes, Sir." the young man said before leaving to inform his men.

"Lance," Allura's voice was shaking, "she's got Nanny. What are we going to do?"

Lance put his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe, Allura. We are going to find them." He took a quick count of the concerned faces in the room before making his decision. "Hunk and Richie, you're with me. With luck, maybe one of us can get through to her and talk her down off the ledge. Everyone else stay put."

"I'm going too." Allura interjected, staring at Lance hard as if she was daring him to object.

But he only nodded. "Alright."

Keith cleared his throat. "Lance, I don't think she should..."

But Lance cut him off. "Have you been cleared for duty, Keith?"

"No."

"Then keep quiet. Okay, Allura, Hunk, Richie and I will go after Deirdre. The rest of you stay here with Keith. If something happens to us, you will be our last line of defense. Everyone got that?" There was a sea of nodding heads. "Okay, let's go."

Hunk caught his arm as they left Keith's room. "Lance, what are we going to do when we find her?"

Lance took a deep breath. "If Deirdre gets out of the compound and back to Lotor, we're all dead." He paused, not wanting to utter the next words. He looked at each one of them hard before he continued. "Do what you have to do to eliminate the threat."

The silence was profound as they contemplated their leader's orders. Allura watched him closely and saw something in his expression that was vaguely familiar. It was the same look that veiled Keith's face when he was in full command mode. She knew that Lance had been loathe to accept such responsibility, but now he stood before her in complete control. As any great leader would do, he was willing to do whatever he had to do to keep them from Lotor's clutches.

"Let's go."

The Explorer glided effortlessly through the silence of space. Wade and the Vehicle Voltron Force had been Arus bound for twenty-six hours and were still quite a ways from their destination. The leader of the Voltron Force stood in the dark of his quarters staring out into the starry blanket surrounding him. No matter how many times he took to the air, it never ceased to amaze him how overwhelmed he felt by the incredible nature of space. Outside the protection of the ship was nothing. No gravity, no air, and no sound. It offered such peace and promise, then become a place of unspeakable horror. He had witnessed it himself. Jeff wondered if he would ever be able to fly into space without its majesty being tarnished by war.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand tracing its fingers up his bare back. He allowed himself a small smile as a pair of arms wrapped around his chest. "Can't sleep?" Lisa asked, resting her cheek against his back.

"You know I have trouble sleeping in transit." he replied.

"Mm..." she sighed, snuggling closer to him. "What's on your mind?"

He continued to stare into space silently. He wondered if he should burden Lisa with the truth of his suspicions. But as it turned out, he didn't need to.

"You're worried about the mission. Aren't you?" she spoke against his back.

Jeff turned around in her arms to face her. "I don't know that I completely trust Wade."

"Well, if it's true that Voltron is under the control of the Drules and Keith and the princess missing..."

He shook his head. "There's more to it than that. Wade has always been ambitious but I think his judgment has been clouded lately."

"How do you mean?"

"I think that he has become power hungry." He paused. "Vehicle Voltron was created not only as a defense for the near galaxies, but also because Galaxy Garrison didn't want Arus to be the sole keeper of the most powerful entity in the universe. We also serve as a system of checks and balances of power. And Lion Voltron does the same for us."

Lisa nodded. "So, if Lion Voltron is destroyed, that system would crumble and there would be no stopping Wade from using our Voltron for his own end. But, Jeff, what if Lotor does control Voltron? There's no way that we can let him wield that kind of power."

Jeff let out a slow breath. "I know that."

"What are you going to do?"

He shrugged. "I don't know yet. But I do know that I am not going to write off Keith just yet. If he is alive and there is any possible way, he will find a way to keep Voltron out of Lotor's hands."

Lance gripped his gun, feeling the cold metal in his palm. It was only a stun gun, and it lacked the certain comport that his pistol afforded him when he wielded it. He hoped it would be enough to stop Deirdre if the need arose to use it, but to stay on the side of caution, he tucked his pistol in the back of his belt and prayed that he would not have to use it.

They had made their way to the mouth of the corridor leading to the south entrance of the bunkers. It was the same tunnel they had used before when they had first arrived. It led to the Green Lion's lair. He stopped at the entrance and turned to his team. Hunk, Allura, and Richie watched him expectantly. "Before we do this, I just want to make sure that we all understand what is at stake here. And what we have to do. Nobody has to go in there if they don't want to." They all nodded solemnly. "Alright. Allura, you come with me. Hunk and Richie, you stay here in case she gets past us and doubles back. We all have our communicators. We'll let you know if we need you."

"You sure you can do this, McClain?" Richie asked. But Lance noted that there was neither sarcasm nor suspicion in his tone.

Lance nodded. "I'll do what I have to do. You make sure you do the same."

Richie received his message and nodded.

"Come on, Allura." Lance stepped into the dimly lit corridor with the princess at his heels. They walked in silence, listening intently for any sound that might lead them to Deirdre. They didn't have to wait long. They slowed their pace as they neared a turn in the tunnel, mentally preparing for what they might find around the corner.

"The door leading to Green's lair isn't far ahead." Lance whispered.

Allura nodded. "Only members of the Voltron Force can open that door. Deirdre will be trapped with nowhere to go."

"I know and that makes me nervous. Have you ever seen a wild animal when it's trapped? It is not pretty."

"Lance, do you think you will be able to get through to her once we find her?"

He shook his head. "I'm not really sure about anything right now, Allura. All I know is that she is intent on killing all of us and taking Voltron to Lotor."

"We can't let that happen, Lance."

He stopped short and looked at her. "I know."

Before she could respond, a noise not too far from them caught their attention. It was the sound of someone struggling.

"Open the damn door!" It was Deirdre.

Nanny's voice filtered through also. "I-I can't." she whimpered. "Only the Voltron Force can open it."

As Lance and Allura rounded the corner silently, they found Deirdre with a scalpel to Nanny's neck, struggling to get the heavy metal door open. Lance raised his weapon. "Deirdre, let her go."

Seeing them for the first time, Deirdre hauled Nanny in front of her for use as a shield. Lance and Allura stopped in their tracks. "One move and she's dead."

Lance stared into her eyes and could see clearly that she was not going to hesitater. She would slit Nanny's throat in a heartbeat if she felt threatened. A sickening feeling settled in his stomach. There would be no negotiating with her. The Deirdre that he knew was lost to him.

"Put your weapons down." she growled.

He glanced at Allura and nodded to her. Both slowly crouched and placed their guns on the ground. "What can we do to resolve this, Deirdre, without anyone getting hurt?"

To his surprise, she laughed. "That is not an option. You know that I have my orders, and I must follow them."

"Alright," he said. "I get that. But Nanny will not get you any closer to the end game. Let her go."

"So that you can take me back into custody? You're kidding, right?"

Then Allura spoke up. "If you want a hostage, take me instead." Lance gaped at her, ready to stop her from speaking further, but she pressed on. "I'm the one Lotor really wants. You know that. I can open that door and take you back to your master."

Deirdre seemed to be thinking over the proposition, but Lance was livid. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"NO!" Nanny screamed. "I will not allow this! Do what you want with me, but leave the Princess alone." she wailed.

"I know what I am doing, Lance." Allura said firmly. "Just be ready for my signal."

"What signal?"

"Alright." Deirdre said. "Come here, Princess."

With one last meaningful glance at Lance, Allura moved slowly with her hands raised toward Deirdre. When she was close enough, Deirdre shoved Nanny away from her while grabbing Allura by the arm. She spun the princess around to face Lance with the scalpel planted firmly at her neck.

Lance felt incredibly helpless as he watched Nanny crumble to the floor and Allura take her place. He had to believe that Allura knew what she was doing, so he no choice but to wait for her signal. Then it came. Allura's body suddenly went limp. She drooped forward and began to slide to the ground. Deirdre, unable to hold up the princess's sudden dead weight, let go. As Allura fell at her feet, Lance knew what he had to do. Without hesitation, he quickly drew his pistol from his back, aimed at the now sheildless Deirdre, and fired.

The scream echoed through the corridor while he watched in horror as the blast knocked her off her feet. It wasn't until he had reached her unmoving body that he realized that the scream was his own. He dropped beside her, cradling her head in his lap. "NO!"

Things seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the life drain out of his friend. Somewhere in the back of his skull, he could hear what was going on, but he could barely comprehend. Allura was yelling into her communicator, calling for help. Then there was footsteps. Then a pair of hands hauled him to feet. He was barely aware of any of it.

"Lance!" Someone was shouting at him, shaking him. "Lance! Snap out of it!" When his eyes finally focused, he saw Hunk's face. "Lance, stay with me, buddy."

"Hunk...Deirdre..." His mouth was incredibly dry, and he had trouble forming the words. "We-we have to get her to sick bay! NOW!"

Hunk nodded. "Richie's got her, Lance."

Lance looked around to see Richie scooping up Deirdre's limp body and sprinting down the corridor with Nanny and Allura close behind.

"Can you walk?" Hunk watched him with concern.

His only response was to push the large man out of his way and try to follow them, but he found that his legs were made of jelly and he nearly fell. Hunk yanked him up. "Come on, buddy. I got you."

With his only choice to allow Hunk to support him, Lance watched in helpless silence as Richie disappeared down the corridor.

By the time they reached the medical bay, Lance had found his own strength and was walking on his own. They found Richie, Romelle, and Pidge standing just outside the open door watching as Dr. Gorma and his assistants worked feverishly to resuscitate Deirdre. Without acknowledging any of them, Lance pushed his way into the room. A hand on his shoulder stopped him from going any further.

Just inside the door, Keith, supported by Sven stared at him with a grave expression. On the other side of Sven, Allura watched with tears in her eyes. The doctor and nurses buzzed around the bed where Deirdre lay unmoving, but Lance didn't hear them. The only sound in his head was the uninterrupted buzz of the heart monitor that she was hooked up to.

Dr. Gorma pulled out the chest paddles once again in an attempt to start her heart. The jolt pulsed through her body, nearly lifting her completely off the bed. He glanced at the monitor. There was no change. Only a single red flat line traveled across the monitor.

"Doctor?" one of the nurses questioned.

He shook his head. "Call it." he said quietly.

The room fell silent as they watched in horror while the nurse turned off the monitor. Dr. Gorma hung his head as he moved toward the door. He placed a sympathetic hand on Lance's shoulder. "I'm sorry. There's nothing more we can do."