Author's Note: Yeah... Um... I'll explain everything at the end. I don't want to bore you guys with excuses, and my life story. I feel like you all deserve a well overdue chapter to make up for lost time.

Anyways, Enjoy!

Chapter 17: An explosion of a reunion

Keith POV

I lashed out my sword, the tip of it grazing Hunks shoulder. His grip on me loosened completely, and I managed to escape his hold. I could hear Hunk grunt in pain, and I internally winced at the pained sound. I really didn't want to hurt him, but too much was at stake. Nothing was making sense and too many questionable things were happening.

I glanced back at him, and I saw blood pouring from his wound. There was a straight cut on Hunk's uniform, and the crimson stained the yellow suit.

"You'll pay for that", the yellow lion pilot growled!

"Yeah", I said backing up, watching him summon his sledge hammer. "I doubt that."

Hunk charged at me with a vicious warrior's cry; his hammer raised up high.

I temporally felt like scolding him for such a reckless move, but instead I blocked his strike with my sword, and kicked his stomach with a powerful round-house kick. That move would surely leave a bruise.

He stumbled for a bit, but he quickly regained his balance, swinging his sledge hammer wildly.

The way Hunk was fighting was erratic. His attacks were blindly executed and there was no precision what-so-ever. This was definitely not how Hunk would normally act in battle, and I am determined to find out why.

I rolled to the side, dodging a swing to my head that would have knocked me out cold. Just because his attacks were sloppy, it didn't mean that the strength behind his blows were effected by his performance.

"Hunk, stop this", I said receiving a powerful hit on my side. It brought me to my knees, but I quickly got up. "You can fight this."

"Kristine controls all!" He swung the hammer down. It connected to the ground, and large chunks of rock and dirt flew from the powerful empack.

"No, she doesn't. Whoever this Kristine is, she is only using you and the rest of the Force to her advantage", I tried to reason. "For all I know, she is evil."

"Don't you dare speak of our Master in such a way", Hunk yelled defendedly!

The sledge hammer got the bottom of my calf. "She is not our master", I grunted. It was time to end this.

Swiftly, I dropped down and kicked Hunk's feet from under him. He fell on his back; the air knocked out of him momentarily. Hunk tried to get up, but I had my sword positioned right under his chin. He eyed me warily, the electric glow of the weapon eliminating parts of his face.

His eyes were dim and clouded over, its usual friendly brightness gone. All that remained was darkness; something that nobody in the Force held.

"Give up", I said meting his murderous gaze. "I don't want to hurt you."

I expected another comment on Kristine's behalf, but instead I received a disturbing laugh from the brainwashed Voltron pilot.

"On the contrary", Hunk said, a wicked grin spreading itself on his face. "We do."

We? What's he talking about, and... Oh!

Crap! I forgot all about Allura.

Turning around, I was face to face with an arrow pointing directly at me.

"Allura, don't", I breathe out. "I can help you, if you'll just listen to me, and..."

"Quiet", she ordered! "If you keep on refusing to be fixed, then I have no choice but to-" She released the arrow. "- kill you."

Daniel POV

"Lily, stay behind me", I said activating my claws. "Make sure you stay with me at all cause. Alright?"

She nodded. "Okay."

I looked over at Larmina and Vince. The princess's staff was drawn out, and Vince's eyes were charged with power.

"Let's do this", I murmured.

As if on cue, three ninja throwing stars flew out of mid-air heading straight towards us. No, not us. But at Vince, who was looking the opposite way.

"Dude, look out", I warned!

"What", he shrugged his shoulders? "Nothing's came out yet, and - Ahhhh!" Vince whipped up his right foot as quick as lighting, and the three ninja stars embedded in a row in the same spot his foot was just a second ago.

"Whoah", Larmina commented, coming up to stand beside him. "You were either extremely lucky, or Pidge's aim is a little off."

Vince chuckled nervously. "Well... You know.. What can I say? Maybe my reflexes have gotten better."

'I doubt that', I teased over the mind link.

"Ah, guys", Lily pulled at my pants leg?

"What is it", I asked seeing the fear written all over her face?

"Are the stars supposed to be blinking like that?"

That got all of our attention as we looked at the throwing stars, which were indeed rapidly glowing on and off.

"Run", shouted Larmina!

We didn't have to be told twice, as we ran as fast as we could away from the green stars. It wasn't a good distance, but we were far enough to escape the worst of the explosion.

I bent over Lily, using my body as a human shield to protect her from the blast. Searing heat cascaded my back, penetrating through the heat resisting uniform. I could feel it burn painfully, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had left a few burns and blisters.

But it wasn't just the heat that hurt, but the powerful shock wave that came during the explosion. It had sent us flying a couple feet in the air, before we landed on the ground hard. A little too hard, I might add.

I waited for the dirt and debris to settle down before I even moved. My eyes were closed tight, and my ears were ringing. There was no telling how much damage the explosion had caused, but by the number of pebbles that had plummeted my skin, I would guess that it was quite a lot.

"Daniel", I heard Lily's soft voice?

"Yes", I answered just as softly.

"Are.. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I felt one of her small hands touch my left arm tentatively. The hand was shaking, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. I could feel my own quiver as well, but I forced it to quit vibrating. I had to be strong. Strong for my sister.

"Are you injured", I asked, not knowing if I'll like the answer or not?

"I don't think so", she said. "I can't feel anything that hurts, so I guess I'm fine."

"Good. Good", I said relieved.

Silence fell between us. The only thing that could be heard were trees and other stuff falling onto nature's floor. A few birds could be heard squawking from above, and an over-so-often growl could be heard from a distance.

I began to contact Vince, but I didn't get any response. It was as if he were cut off from the connection.

"Daniel", whispered Lily.

"Yes."

"Do you have your eyes closed?"

"What do you mean-"

"You do, don't ya?"

That's when it donned on me that she had her eyes shut as well. We were both too afraid to see all of the destruction around us.

"Yes. I do", I said truthfully. I felt her had squeeze my arm in comfort.

"It's okay to be scarred. You don't always have to be strong for me."

Despite the situation we were in, I smiled at her words. It was almost sad, yet fortunate for Lily to be so compassionate and grown up. A six year old shouldn't have this much wisdom, but should have the curious, childlike mind. Lily was too observant, aside from her blatantly having powers, and too strong for such a young age. Those facts made me wonder if I had done the right thing by leaving her at the orphanage.

"We need to move", I said after a while. "We have to find the others and get out of here. How does that sound?"

"Like a reasonable plan", she replied.

"Alright. On the count of three we open our eyes and get up."

"Okay."

"One. Two. Three."

Both of our eyes flew open, and from the look on her face and mine, I guess we were both in bad condition. She had a couple scratches on her face and a bruise above her right eye. There wasn't any major injuries on her, but from the expression on her face, for me was a whole 'nother story.

"You're bleeding."

"I know, Lily", I lied, because the truth is I had no idea that I was. Now that it was brought to my attention, I did feel something warm and sticky sliding on the side of my neck. Maybe a rock or something had scraped me pretty hard? But right now was not the time to be assessing my well-being, for time was running out. "Let's go."

The two of us stood up, and as soon as we did a red bullet whizzed passed us.

Lance was near by.

We both took off running. I was surprised to see how much power was in Pidge's ninja throwing stars, for it had left a good chunk of the Arusian forest baron. Most of the trees were practically disintegrated, and only a few plants remained. The only things left were rocks and craters.

More bullets came flying our way, and we bobbed and weaved to prevent us from getting hit. I could now hear foot steps coming from behind us, so I assume that Lance had ran out of high ground to shoot at us.

I looked behind me to confirm he was on ground, and he indeed was. He seemed to be catching up to us, and his shots were becoming more accurate.

"Daniel, look out!"

A massive force tackled me to the ground hard. It felt as if a large freight train had ran over me, but I knew that wasn't the case. There was no mistaking the pain of a Demanouson's claws digging into your flesh.

"Get off of me", I growled, struggling against its weight! The heaviness was crushing me, and I could feel the pressure cracking a bone in my rib cage.

The creature's teeth snapped at me in all directions, and I had to move from side to side to keep myself from getting bit. Its nails continued to seep into my skin, and the pain sent shocks up and down my arms. The saliva dripped onto my face, sending shills up my spine.

"Daniel!"

I could still hear Lily's voice, which was a good thing, but I wanted her to be as far away from here as possible. Nowhere was safe, but anywhere was better than this.

"I should go after the little shrimp after I'm finished with you", the Demanouson sneered. "She'll be a wonderful snack once I deliver you to Kristine."

"Don't you dare touch her!" I landed a solid hit on his face, but unfortunately it had no effect.

It only laughed at me. "Nothing can save you now."

I felt the bone in my ribs finally crack, and I hollered out in agony. During my pain, I saw an electric glow in the corner of my eye. A wave of relief washed over me, as the weight disappeared.

"Daniel? Daniel!"

I groaned, rolling over to my side clutching my wound. How? How was it possible he was here? Isn't he supposed to be brain washed or something? Wasn't he working for Kristine?

"Keith?"

Yeah I thought this was a good place to stop. I know last time I left you guys with a cliff hanger, and here I am with another. but, I do have good news that school is finally over, and updates might be normal again.

Isn't that great?!

But until next time, please review a.s.a.p.

P.S. Did anyone else see the Voltron Force marathon in May? I was so surprised when they showed it, and I hope that they'll bring it back one day.

P.P.S Just in case you're all wondering, Keith's escape from Allura and Hunk will be explained later.