Note: I'm sorry for deleting Chaos without warning; I was just having so much trouble with the story! So this is the second "reboot" of Chaos, so I hope you like it. I know a lot of you liked the original but I just wasn't too happy with it. I'm not trying to add too much to my work load so updates might be slow on this story. So sorry for the huge delay, I know someone had asked me about it but I sort of got caught up in transferring colleges.

My focus will probably be more on my Digimon and DBZ fics (btw to my readers for those fics, I'll be double updating those to make up for the inactivity). If updates for Chaos are too slow I might try to post two chapters (on special days maybe three) whenever I do get the chance to update.

Anyway, so here it is. I hope you guys like it.

/

I

Hunted

"May I ask why you're looking for the boy? Sky Marshal Wade asked as he pulled up the file on Daniel Chandler. "There didn't seem to be anything to extraordinary about him as a student."

The elder gentleman looked up at his two guests, giving them both wary looks. They were both quite young; neither could be a day over twenty. So young and I have no doubt that they've both killed a dozen men on their own. He eyed the black tiger insignias sewn into their uniforms with distaste. It was the emblem of Sector 7 and if Sector 7 was involved, it couldn't be anything good.

What did that stupid boy do that attracted Sector 7's attention? He certainly couldn't be anything that special.

Both men were clad in dark clothing, simple soldiers' uniforms. One of the men was tall and had long black hair that fell to his shoulders. His bangs were cut short, revealing cutting eyes the colour of obsidian. Wade wasn't sure he liked this youth too much; no friendly light flickered behind his gaze. It seemed like he was always looking at you in contempt. It was like he was always plotting to end your life.

His partner wasn't much better company. He had a friendly face but like the other man his eyes gave it away. The man's frosty blue eyes held a certain darkness within them, as if he never felt happiness. However one naïve soul could probably be fooled by that sly smile he wore. It seemed friendly enough, but Wade was smart enough to know that this man was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Our people tend to be good at things like stealth and hiding." The dark-haired man replied as he walked forward to retrieve the file. His dark eyes narrowed as he sifted through it; of course it had been full of useless information. Their boy was better at covering his tracks than they thought he was.

He tossed the file back onto the desk with disgust. The Sky Marshal arched his brow. "Not what you were looking for?"

"The only correct information that file has is the kid's name." The man told him. "Everything else is a bunch of bull. You wasted our time here. Nat we're leaving." He told his partner as he turned to exit the room.

The one called Nat held his hand out to stop his companion. "Hold on, Aiden." He told him and countered with a glare of his own when the other man frowned at him. Nat then turned his attention back to the marshal. "The information in his file is false but I'm going to assume that you at least know where the boy went?" he asked.

The older man chortled causing his visitors to eye him suspiciously. How sweet it would be to see how the confrontation went between Voltron and a league of blood-thirsty mercenaries. As much as he would enjoy it, he wasn't sure how he truly felt about Sector 7 becoming active. The organization usually kept a low profile, only calling war when they had to. However Sky Marshal Wade wasn't sure if this clash with Voltron would necessarily start a war with Sector 7. Especially over something so simple.

The one called Nat prowled over, a fake smile on his face and death threat in his eyes. The Sky Marshal watched him warily, his hand drifted down to a desk drawer, it was where he kept a pistol in case of emergency. "Sky Marshal Wade," the young man began, his voice cool, "if you know something I advise you to speak up about it. We need to find Daniel Chandler."

"And how would it benefit me, telling you where he and his little friend ran off to?" Wade asked with an arched brow. Intimidating the Sector 7 agents were, but he would not be scared into submission like they had done with everyone else.

A nerve in Nat's cheek jumped. The man seemed like the kind to be short-tempered and was probably not that far away from losing it. "I don't believe you understand how important it is that we find this kid."

"That is correct. I don't know why the boy is so important to you…Chandler was never an extraordinary student. Tell me, how does a plain little boy like him attract the attention of such a dangerous organization?" the elder gentleman asked.

"You're not protecting him, are you Sky Marshal Wade?" Aiden asked.

"Of course not. I just want to know what's so special about the boy." The Sky Marshal responded. "You must understand the anger I feel right now. A former student at this academy suddenly disappearing and right on his heels you people stalk in. I don't know the boy; I knew nothing about him besides what's on file which according to you is all a lie.

"Sector 7 is nothing to laugh at; I know what your agents are capable of. From what I understand if Sector 7 is after you then you must have done something to get someone angry or offend Sector 7 itself. So the fact that a teenage boy, one who has to be one of your most typical students turns out to be the target of you people, one can't help but to wonder what it is that this child did.

"An even more disturbing fact is that he willing hid among his innocent peers knowing fully that he was wanted. I don't usually believe in the notion that if you're hiding something then you must be guilty but the fact that Mr. Chandler went through great lengths in providing false information to cover his tracks concerns me. What…what was it that this boy has done that's cause Sector 7 to want him so badly? A man truly has to wonder."

Aiden snorted. "You don't get to know confidential information like that. All we can tell you is that he's important to the captain himself. Now if you could point us in the right direction, that'd be nice."

This did not satisfy the Sky Marshal. "I will give you the information you seek." He contemptuously said. "Are you familiar with Voltron?" he asked them.

Nat and Aiden exchanged looks before both nodding. "Why do I get the feeling like you want something in return for this information though?" Nat asked him.

Wade laughed. "You can read people well." The old Sky Marshal moved out from behind his desk. He strolled over to look out of the window. "You may not hold many qualms with Voltron but I certainly do. Before I give you information to Daniel Chandler's location, I want you to make a deal with me."

"Sector 7 does not bargain." Aiden growled out.

"You do if you want to find this boy of yours." Wade shot back knowing full in well that a retort like that could put him on the organization's bad side. However in that moment, he didn't seem to care. His own greed for what he wanted seemed to block out all sense.

He heard the sound of a metal sword being drawn from its sheath. The Sky Marshal didn't even bother to turn around to face the soldier. "How dare you!" Nat snarled out through bared teeth. He brandished his blade in front of him and advanced on the elder man.

"Put that away, Nathaniel!" Aiden commanded his companion. Nat listened to him but he seemed to do it begrudgingly. "I say we listen to what this man as to say. Sector 7 doesn't do bargaining…but I'd rather not report back to the captain empty handed again. Wouldn't you agree my friend?"

"…I…I guess so." Nat replied as he slid his blade back into his sheath. "Very well, Sky Marshal, name your price."

….

"Everyone has their bad days, I know. I understand that people have their moments when they're a little testy. However I don't think you should let your temper get the best of you to the point where you're actually throwing fists." Keith Kogane told the scowling cadet.

Daniel stood there, arms crossed over his chest. "Lance had it coming." He bitterly spat.

"You gave the man a bloody nose." Keith arched a brow. "Tell me again what warranted a punch in the face like that?"

The boy looked away causing Keith to feel a pang of impatience with him. How long had they been out here, an hour? An hour of Keith dealing with the boy's attitude and it seemed like they were getting nowhere. Were all kids this hard to deal with or was it just Daniel who tended to be a pain in the neck?

The older man let out a long sigh. Why was the kid being so difficult today? Was he always this closed up? Keith was no expert with children; he had no clue how to deal with them when they had their tempers.

"Are we done here?" Daniel asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his tone. The last thing he wanted was Keith trying to play therapist with him. "I kind of want to be on my own right now." He made a move to walk off but Keith caught him by the arm.

"Now hold on, you're not getting off the hook until we can talk this out." The Black Lion pilot told the boy as he dragged him back.

"And what if I don't want to talk this out?" Daniel snapped as he tugged his arm away, surprised when he noticed how strong Keith's grip was on him. He made a mental note not to take the man on in a fight.

"Why are you acting like this?" Keith asked. He never knew the boy to ever be temperamental. Sure Daniel had his occasional hotheaded moment but he usually knew when to calm it down. However, right now the cadet seemed to have suddenly become easier to agitate. He also seemed a little more skittish; he was always tense as if expecting something to jump out at him.

Keith had only managed to pick up on this awhile ago. First he noticed how the boy would fidget a lot, then he noticed how distant he seemed like his focus was elsewhere. Every time he looked away from Keith the Black Lion pilot noticed how he would try to subtly scan his surroundings. Something certainly had the young cadet nervous today.

The older man scanned his surroundings himself to see if he could find anything that could unsettle the cadet. Nothing seemed to be disturbed, the birds were still chirping, and the world seemed to be going about business all around them. Keith glanced back toward Daniel whom still seemed twitchy nonetheless. It caused a twinge of worry to grow inside him that there was something he couldn't see that was making the boy anxious.

Had he always been like this? The Black Lion pilot tried to recall the last few days; this sudden testiness couldn't have come from nowhere. It had to have built up in some sort of way. Keith mentally cursed himself for simply brushing it off as teenage attitude the times before. Then again maybe that's all this was; perhaps it was just Daniel's attitude flaring up. He was at that age after all; then again Keith was no professional when it came to dealing with children.

"You seem a little nervous today. Is everything alright with you?" Keith asked while studying Daniel closely. While he was no expert with kids he knew how to read body language well.

He watched with hidden curiosity that Daniel had suddenly shut himself in when Keith asked the question. The teen became more defensive in his body language; his arms were crossed and his head was down avoiding eye contact. Something must have been bothering him if he so quickly chose to retreat back behind his walls. It was worrisome and that was saying a lot because Keith tended not to be the type of paranoid person to worry so much.

Hoping to reach him somehow, Keith placed a comforting hand on the cadet's shoulder. "Look," the man sighed, "I'm not a parent or anything; I don't know what to say in these kinds of situations. Nonetheless I'm here for you if there's anything you need to talk about. There's clearly something bothering you and I don't think it's good that you're keeping it to yourself like this."

Daniel looked up at him in surprise and for a moment Keith thought he had gotten through to him. Something odd flickered through the boy's eyes—perhaps a moment of indecision— before he suddenly batted his mentor's hand away. "There's nothing wrong, I'm just in a bad mood today. I don't feel like talking about either. So can we please just drop this?"

Keith scowled and crossed his arms. "I told you that you're not going anywhere until we talk this out."

"There's nothing to talk about." Daniel grounded out a response.

Keith took notice of the way the boy's hands were balled into trembling fists. He arched a brow and locked eyes with him; blue staring at violet. "Hitting people is what got you in this situation in the first place." He warned his student. "Might want to keep that temper of yours in check, kid. I'm the one trying to understand you; I want to be on your side."

Daniel stubbornly looked away.

Why do you have to make things so hard for me? Keith mentally groaned to himself. Did dealing with Daniel always give him such a headache? "Fine, if you're going to walk around with an attitude then I'm going to have to take care of this situation as such. A month without access to the Lions and," he added before Daniel could voice his protest, "you'll be confided to your room. You'll only be allowed to leave for training."

Daniel seemed at lost for words for just a moment. It was only after a few seconds that he managed to find his voice again. "A-are you…grounding me?" he asked incredulously.

"In a way, yes." Keith replied.

"But…"

"Until you can fix this attitude of yours, Daniel, I don't want to talk about it. You wanted to be left alone right? So you can go be alone in your room."

Keith waved him off, gesturing for him to head back to the castle. For a moment, Daniel thought about being stubborn and disobeying Keith's orders. However he thought better of it when he met his mentor's glare. He didn't want to get into anymore trouble that would worsen his punishment. Better to not make this day any worse.

Holding his tongue, Daniel grimly began making his way back to the castle. At least Keith was right about one thing, he'd be left alone in his room. However he never intended to get himself into any trouble.

"When you're ready to talk I'll lift the punishment." Keith called from behind him.

No…I'm pretty sure you'd add to it if I told you anything. Daniel thought to himself as he left him. As he walked, he couldn't help but to cast nervous looks at his surroundings. It felt like at any moment someone was going to jump him. A shudder of displeasure ran down his spine as the mental image formed in his head.

For about a week he's been feeling paranoid. Just when he had been getting comfortable here, his fears begin to get the better of him again. Maybe it was a sign that he needed to move again? Sometimes it was best to trust your gut instinct; it could save your life one day. However Daniel was sure that his fears came more from irrational paranoia rather than gut instinct.

Nervous violet eyes darted from side to side, making sure that no one was going to attack him. He was being an idiot and he especially knew it, there was no reason for him to be this anxious. It's been four years. I haven't heard anything about them since then, they haven't caught onto my trail. I'm safe, if they haven't found me yet then they probably never will. The young cadet repeated this over and over in his head until his nerves were calmed.

"They won't find me…" he breathed out.

While he did manage to calm himself down, Daniel still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. His nerves had been really bad all day; perhaps he'd feel better once he got back to his room. A nap might help clear his paranoid mind. He actually hadn't been getting enough sleep at night lately, so maybe all he needed was to rest for awhile.

Yes, rest that was all he needed.

The cadet pushed his paranoia down and walked onwards toward the Castle of Lions. He was completely oblivious to the fact that he was indeed being watched. A young man watched him from the shadows; green eyes tracking him and never once moving from him. A small smirked played across his lips; he had found his prey.

Now all there was left to do was corner it and go in for the kill. Only thing holding him back was the fact that the area was too in the open, someone would see him. He was already taking a risk by being this close to the castle. In his mission briefing the boy recalled being told that there were security cameras set up all around the area. If he were caught on footage then this mission would be a failure and he wouldn't be able to return to HQ…not unless he wanted the captain to kill him.

"This is Kyle reporting in, Daniel Chandler is in my sights. I am waiting for orders." He relayed into a radio.

He waited for a moment before the radio crackled to life and the person on the other end replied. "Do you have the advantage of surprise in the situation, Kyle? We need this extraction to be quick."

The young man chewed his lip, debating on an answer to that. His training told him that there was no chance he could accomplish this without being caught. If he were caught someone would come after them, there was no doubting that. Then there was the fact that Daniel would be putting up a fight the whole time and that would only slow him down. That wasn't a risk that his people were trained to be willing to take. However the rashness in him was telling him that it didn't matter.

"Kyle, do you have an advantage? Kyle, do you read me, soldier?"

He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that they were still waiting for a reply. "No sir," he replied, thinking it best not to do anything stupid. If they wanted this to be a quick and clean extraction mission then it paid to be cautious, "it's too risky, I won't be able to get near him without being caught by one of his allies." The word "allies" rolled off his tongue as if he were speaking about some disgusting parasite. The young man had no love for the members of Voltron. If he had it his way he'd kill them all and take the boy.

"Return to camp for a briefing." Was the reply he got. It wasn't the reply he wanted but he knew better than to go against Sector orders.

The young soldier, Kyle looked back towards Daniel's figure disappearing in the distance. Four years this kid had managed to evade Sector 7 and now they've finally found him. It was almost unbelievable; the captain had almost been ready to call off the search that was until they got a hold of some very helpful information.

You're running days are over. He thought as he began fading back into the shadows. It irked him that he was just letting Daniel go like that but he knew it was necessary. Rash decisions would not be tolerated on this vital mission. He was trained in Sector 7; he was trained to have a clear head in the field. All that would be flushed down the toilet just because he let his emotions get the better of him.

He didn't have to go too far to return to the others. Their "HQ" was a simply spot just west of the beach. It seemed secluded enough for them to discuss their planning there. Although the area may practically be deserted, it was dangerous to have a high number of agents here. To stay under the radar only six men—himself included—had been assigned to this extraction mission.

Even six was pushing it; a simple extraction mission shouldn't have to take that many people. Idealistically, only one would be able to complete this job efficiently, at most it was preferred that two people take this kind of mission. Sector 7 agents may have gone through extensive training but even they couldn't handle being outnumbered.

These were military people they'd have to go through to reach their quarry. No doubt about it the members of Voltron were just as professionally trained as they were. Two agents might be able to hold their own against five people, but eventually the tide would turn in favour of their opponents. The cadets the agents were not too worried about. They were simple children; unlike their mentors they lacked the experience that would make them intimidating adversaries.

"Soldier River Kyle reporting in." the young agent said as he approached the group.

"Excellent, now we can finally speak about our tactic. Sit down, Nat and I were about to give the others the lecture." Aiden, the leader of the small squad instructed him.

River settled down on the grass and looked up expectantly at their squad leaders. Nathaniel Juarez and Aiden Collier—both of them were the captain's handpicked lieutenants. They were also the captain's closest friends—or so it seemed as they were the only ones allowed to address him but first name. If anyone else did it they'd be punished for insubordination.

"So what's the plan?" one of his comrades had asked when River settled down.

"There are two plans, actually." Nat was the first one to speak up. He stood up so he could stand in the middle of the group. The man glanced around at all of them to make sure all eyes were on him. "The boy is a little run away but he has a conscious. He won't be able to stand the thought of innocent people getting hurt because of him. So the best way to draw him out is by using someone he cares about as bait." He used the word 'cares' very loosely. As if the idea of Daniel getting attached to anyone was impossible.

"So what you're suggesting is we kidnap someone and hope we can draw the kid out?" one of the soldiers—a young woman—asked from where she sat reclined against a log. She chuckled, obviously thinking the plan to be awful. "You sure it would reel the kid in and not one of those Voltron packrats? I'm pretty sure they'd be angry too if you took one of their own."

"Then Miss Howard," Nat responded, "we make it obvious that Sector 7 is involved. That will surely grab his attention. He'll come to us in exchange for the safety of the innocent life."

"And if that fails?" Howard asked.

"We throw your pessimistic ass off a cliff." River muttered under his breath. His comment stifled a few laughs from his allies. Even Aiden had a grin on his face and he was known to be the most stoic member of Sector 7.

"Then we have no choice but to get violent. We'll have to take is as a refusal to cooperate on Voltron's behalf." Aiden spoke up. "We'll even call in back up forces if we have to. Captain says that he doesn't want any of us returning until we have Daniel Chandler in our custody."

"I thought we supposed to make this a clean mission. No incidents and no bloodshed." Another soldier spoke up.

"That's our goal on our mission." Nat let out a heavy sigh. It was the goal for every mission, however they were borderline desperate. For years they've been trying to catch this kid and now they were presented with the opportunity. They were willing to do anything as long as it ended with Daniel Chandler in their grasps. "However, this boy is very important to the captain. We may have to bend protocol a little."

"So that's it then?" the soldier called Howard asked. She didn't like how simple the mission seemed. "Sounds a little easy if you ask me."

"Oh it'll be far from easy, Howard. It just sounds easy, wait until we actually get to do the dirty work." One of her companions told her.

"We'll be going over the plans in more detail later on if that reassures you." Aiden told her.

Howard nodded, partially satisfied with that.

It was a short briefing, River was surprised at that but also relieved. That gave him more time to go scouting again. He wasn't satisfied with just sitting around doing nothing while they could be out trying to get Daniel. The sooner this extraction mission was over, the better. River would feel less anxious once that had the boy in their custody.

Four years since he's last seen Daniel Chandler; four years since he chose to abandon him. River felt couldn't help but to feel a little resentment towards the little run away. He just up and disappeared one day, he didn't even bother to tell him anything. The boy felt like he had been betrayed.

He had been ready to give up; he had been ready to leave the search team. It had seemed hopeless; he thought that Daniel was lost to them forever. Now that they've found him, life has felt like a dream. He could barely believe that any of this was happening; he couldn't even believe it when he actually saw him. This was happening, after all this time of tirelessly search, they've finally found him. If he was positive that he wouldn't be tormented for it, he'd actually let his tears fall. He felt that relieved.

A hand on his shoulder caused River to look up in surprise. "Oh, Lieutenant Collier, sir. Is there something you needed?" he asked, immediately straightening up.

Aiden motioned with a jerk of his head to a spot somewhere outside of their camp. River quickly stood up and followed him. Never before had he been approached personally by any of his higher ups. He wondered what Aiden had pulled him aside for; hopefully he hadn't done it to tease him about being emotional. Then again, Lieutenant Collier hardly laughed so River doubted he was being pulled aside so his leader could poke fun at him.

"I understand your emotional connection to this mission, Mr. Kyle." Aiden was the first to speak up. The subject of this conversation was already making River nervous. "It may cause you to have clouded decisions. However I have to remind you that I know how you feel. I'm in the same position as you. I need you to keep a clear head through this, understand?"

River nodded, he didn't need to be told this. He didn't need to be reminded of how important this mission was. The young man already knew how important was. "I understand, sir." He turned to return back to the others.

"I didn't dismiss you soldier. I'm not finished speaking with you." Aiden called to him, causing River to stop in his tracks.

"Sir?"

"I need to know that you'll be going into this with a clear head before I put you in the position I'm going to." Aiden placed a hand on his shoulder. "We won't fail, River I can promise you that. However this mission can only be accomplished if we don't charge into this blindly. Even one person can mess this up for us."

"I understand." River replied. "Lately it has been a little hard keeping my emotions in check. I have to constantly hold myself back from acting rashly every time I'm on scouting duty. I just want this to be over as quickly as possible." He said in a gloomy tone.

Aiden offered him a smile, a rare sight from the man. He gave the young subordinate an affection pat on the shoulder. "Hold it together, we will not fail. Nothing will stand in our way." That said, the dark haired Sector 7 agent left the young soldier to his thoughts.

River watched him return to the rest o their squad. He then turned to look in the direction of the Castle of Lions. "Nothing will stand in our way…" he whispered to himself. Oh he'd definitely make sure of that. Even if that meant cutting down anyone and anything that dare try to block his path. If killing someone is what it would take to win his prize then River would do it.

….

Keith ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. That boy was going to be the cause of him going grey. It was the only thing he could think of doing, he couldn't deal with Daniel's stubbornness for a moment longer. He'd probably end up hitting the kid himself. What was the young cadet's problem anyway?

Keith had his fair share of bad days but he knew better than to take it out on teammates. Daniel was young though, he lacked proper impulse control. Though he should be old enough to know that misplaced aggression doesn't make things any better. Whatever was bothering him would be fixed after a couple of days—that way he'd have time to cool his head. Maybe he'd be calm enough to go to Lance with an apology.

Something still bothered him though. Daniel's skittish behavior left him a bit paranoid himself. The kid could not keep still while Keith was talking to him. He was afraid of something, Keith could gather that much. What exactly it was that had him so scared was another story. For a heartbeat Keith feared that one of the other members was hurting him; that could explain how defensive he acted. However, the thought was dismissed as quickly as it had appeared in his mind. Keith knew the others too well; none of them would ever harm the cadets.

So what exactly was it that had the young cadet so riled up? Daniel had immediately closed himself up when Keith questioned him about it. The Black Lion pilot would have to confront him about it once he had taken time to calm down. If there was something his cadet was worried about then he needed to know. With Daniel acting so out of character, he needed to know.

The way he was looking around…it was like he was afraid something would jump on him. Keith gave his surroundings a once over. He could see a few places where one might choose to hide so he could partially understand Daniel's anxiety. However the thing that was stopping him from brushing it off was the fear he had seen in the boy's eyes. Daniel honestly looked like he was terrified that someone or something was hiding and waiting to ambush him. One wouldn't call that normal, healthy behaviour for a teenage boy. He shouldn't have anything to be so paranoid about.

He was keeping something from him. Keith wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. If there was something that could possibly pose as a threat his teammates then he needed to tell someone. How were they supposed to trust him if he kept important things from them?

He'd have to deal with Daniel later. Just thinking about the situation was enough to make his head throb. Tomorrow. He made a mental note. I'll try dealing with him again, tomorrow. Hopefully by then, the cadet would be a bit more cooperating.

Rubbing his chin, Keith pondered something. Daniel's sudden temper did bother him but so did his skittishness. "Pidge," he spoke into his voltcom. He needed some of his fears put to rest, "I need you to do me a favour. Check the security footage around the castle."

Keith could only guess that the cause of Daniel's fear might be something he saw around here. Worst case scenario is that the boy caught someone sneaking around and was given a death threat if he ever told anyone. If Pidge couldn't find anything on footage then Keith wasn't sure what he'd have to do about Daniel's odd behaviour. He guessed that it would have to be something to wait out then.

…

Vince was on his way to the room he shared with his friend, Daniel. He hadn't seen his fellow cadet since the incident that had happened this morning during class. Lance seemed pretty peeved when Daniel hit him, he probably would have hit back too if Keith hadn't intervened. The Black Lion pilot had dragged the mischievous cadet out the room pretty quickly while Hunk was holding back an obscenity screaming Lance.

The rest of the lesson had been taken over by Allura. That had been a few hours ago now and he hadn't seen Daniel all day. When he asked Larmina, she told him that she hadn't seen Daniel either. The last time she saw Daniel or Keith is when she caught sight of them leaving the castle earlier. She told him that it looked like Keith had been giving Daniel quite the earful on the way out too.

He thought about going by and asking Lance; Keith would have made Daniel apologize to the Red Lion pilot. Vince decided that he'd check with Lance after he visited the room. If he didn't turn up in either place then he could only assume that Keith was still scolding Daniel outside.

When he stepped into the room he was actually surprised to see the dark hair boy laid out in his bed. He wore a bored expression and was tossing something up in the air over and over. The other boy didn't seem to have heard his friend enter the room. To get his attention Vince cleared his throat.

Daniel sat up, taken by surprise. He quickly stowed whatever he was tossing under his pillow. "Hey." Vince greeted him, ignoring the sudden suspicious reaction.

Daniel paused for a moment, hesitant on replying. He knew what Vince was going to say and he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to have the same conversation again. He was lucky that Keith wasn't the type of person to pry; Vince and Larmina might be a little more persistent to get answers from him.

"Sup." Was his casual reply.

Vince arched a brow at him. "Sup? That's all you have to say after what happened this morning?" he questioned.

"Well what did you want me to be like?" Daniel asked as he hopped down from his bed. "Leave me alone or else I punch your light out too?"

"You just seemed in a really bad mood this morning." Vince said holding his hands up in defense.

Daniel rolled his eyes and almost said something cruel but ended up biting back his retort. Vince wasn't his enemy; he was just a concerned friend who wanted to know what was going on. It wouldn't do him any good to antagonize him. Lance was already mad at him for possibly breaking his nose; he didn't want his best friend mad at him as well.

Daniel absently rubbed the back of his neck. "Keith talked to me for awhile. I'm pretty much grounded until I find a way to drop the attitude. No access to the Lions, I'm not even allowed to leave my room except for training." He solemnly told him.

Vince grimaced. "How long?"

"A month."

"Yikes."

Daniel hopped back onto his bed and reclined back.

Vince wandered over to the desk chair and settled down in it. "So all week you hadn't been in the best of moods. What made you snap today? All Lance did was ask if you were doing okay." When he was talking to Daniel he wasn't exactly looking at him. Instead he busied himself with a pencil lying on the desk. "Does concern piss you off or something?"

Daniel let out a sigh; looks like he would have to put up with the same conversation twice. This time he made a mental note to be calmer with Vince. Keith did say he'd lift his punishment if he got rid of his rotten attitude, best place to start would be with Vince. "Today just hasn't been a good day for me. This entire week hasn't been good for me." He responded gloomily.

"Why is that?" Vince asked only to get silence in response. Boy did it hurt to get shut out like that by your own best friend. "Come on man, you can tell me anything. You know I won't tell anyone else unless you want me to."

"Bad memories." Was all he said after a few minutes passed by.

"Care to elaborate?" Predictably he was met with another long silence. Several minutes had passed by before Vince realized that he wasn't getting an answer. The cadet began to feel guilt for popping such a question on his friend. Why would someone ever want to willing talk about their awful memories? "Never mind about it then…just forget I ever asked."

"Don't worry too much about it." Daniel said with a yawn. He turned over on his side, with his back toward Vince. The other boy took this as a signal that the conversation was over.

Assuming that the other teen was about to fall asleep, Vince kept quiet. It would be pretty boring sitting around until Daniel woke up. He recalled that Daniel had wanted to hang out in the woods when they finished up with the lesson. There was an area in the thicket the cadets liked to run away to whenever they wanted to get away from the veteran members. It wasn't as overt as their other "secret base" but it was a nice escape and no one would find them there.

Sighing, Vince stood up. "Hey Daniel, Larmina and I are heading to the spot in the woods. I'll tell her the situation okay?" of course he was only met with silence. It wasn't like he was actually expecting a reply from him. Vince didn't stick around to see if he'd eventually get one either.

Assuming that Larmina had already made her way out to their usual spot, Vince didn't even bother to check by her room. He made his way outside and began headed down the path they usually would take to get to the woods. The Arusian forests were thick and hard to navigate, not many people took to exploring them. Too dark and too easy for one to lose their way. However the trio of cadets never had any trouble navigating through the woodland. Vince could only guess they were lucky with that.

He carefully stepped into the copse, ducking under low branches and hopping over briar patches. The boy ran his hand against a tree that had the Roman numeral "VI" slashed into the bark. It let him know that he was going in the right direction. The markings acted as sort of a bread trail for them whenever they chose to hang out in this area.

When Vince passed by a Roman numeral "VIII" he knew that had had to be somewhere close. There was a clearing somewhere nearby, this close the trees would start to become less dense. Already the forest was starting to become brighter. Vince was just about to call out to see if Larmina was around when the sound of someone else's voice cut him off.

"Hey there, friend."

Vince nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard him. The boy had to take few steps back to put the stranger at a safe distance away. He gave his surroundings a quick once around before glaring at the newcomer. Not many people fancied coming this deep in the woodland; their mentors did even seem to like venturing into this place. "Too easy to get lost" was what they told the cadets when trying to discourage any expeditions born from curiosity.

Of course this had only added more fuel to Daniel's hunger for adventure and he managed to pull Vince and Larmina along with him. There were times they'd almost gotten lost but learned to find their way before they were missed at the castle but that didn't discourage them from exploring further. Most people would be scared away after the first bad experience; however the same could not be said for the Voltron cadets. They were probably the only people who wanted to willing end up here.

At least that's what the trio had always assumed. Now Vince was staring right as someone else who seemed to have the same idea as they did. The boy was a full head taller than he was and probably a year older as well. Winter green eyes stared out from behind his long fringe; a mop of wheat coloured hair fell down to his shoulders. The boy was oddly dressed from head to toe in black attire. Black shirt with a black jacket tossed over it, black slack, and a pair of black military style boots. Sewn into his jacket was a strange tiger insignia that Vince wasn't familiar with.

The stranger arched a brow; his greeting hadn't received a reply. "Can you talk?" he asked him with a charming—yet chilling—half smile.

Warning bells were going off in Vince's head and if he had any sense he'd listen to them. However, he chose to ignore what his gut was trying to tell him. Instead he stood there, stunned that someone had stumbled onto their hiding spot.

"Vince, Daniel? Is that you guys?" Larmina asked as she came wandering out of the thicket. She stopped short immediately when she caught sight of the strange boy. "Where's Daniel and who is your new friend?" she asked.

"Ah at least someone is capable of speech." The stranger grinned as he pivoted on his heel to speak to Larmina. His brow arched with interest as he observed the pretty girl. "The name's River. River Kyle; and may I ask who you are?"

Larmina nearly scoffed at the flirtatious note that had crept into his tone. She wondered if she could get away with busting this guy's face in with a tree branch. Already she didn't like the boy and she hadn't even been in his presence for a full minute. "My name is Larmina and that over there is Vince. He can talk….he's just a little…taken off guard." As she spoke the Voltron cadet eyed River's attire with suspicion. It looked almost like something a military official would wear. River couldn't be any older than them, how'd he get a hold of something that nice?

Finally Vince snapped from whatever daze was in. He absently rubbed the back of his neck, still not quite sure how to handle the situation. "Not many people take to wandering through these woods. We've been coming out here for a while and we've never seen anyone else."

River merely offered a shrug. He then proceeded to glance around curiously as if looking for something. "There's no one else out here with you?" he asked. "I heard you called out two names…Daniel was it?"

"A friend of ours." Vince said.

"Ah," River nodded, "where is he? I'm not trying to be a creep or anything. Sorry if I come off as one."

For some reason that didn't reassure Vince too much. If anything it made the warning bells in his head ring louder. This River guy had a strange vibe surrounding here and it wasn't too comforting. It was like standing near a bear while it was tearing into a carcass. It was horrifying to watch and if you moved you might just end up as a meal yourself.

Unsure of River's intentions, Vince thought it to be best not to let his suspicions show. If his distrust was too visible then River might chose to become unpleasant. "He's inside; he got into a little trouble earlier and can't come out right now. That was a suspicious question; why would you ask something like that?" the boy inquired coolly.

Once more all River could offer him was a shrug. "I'm a people person, I like making new friends. Sorry about what happen to that friend of yours."

Of course this was news to Larmina. She perked up immediately when she heard about Daniel. "So Keith decided to punish him? What did he decide to dish out?"

"He has him under a month long hold." Vince glanced over at River, not very comfortable with talking about something like this around a stranger. Especially when it was someone as shady as he was. "He can't have any access to the Lions and he can't even leave his room. Only time he can is for classes and meals I guess."

Larmina crossed her arms and made a face. Boy did Daniel have a knack for getting himself into trouble. "That seems kind of harsh, don't you think?"

Vince shrugged it off before returning his attention to River. He didn't like the guy, not one bit. If he wasn't raised with good manners then he would have kindly told the guy screw off somewhere. However Vince had been raised with good manners and was taught that kind of stuff was considered incredibly rude. He did think about making an exception for River though.

"So River, what brings you here?" Vince asked.

"Just felt like going to for a walk. I've never been in these parts of the woodland before." He responded as he began to pace around. Vince could feel his skin tingle unpleasantly as River rounded on him. Something just did not feel right about letting the guy stand behind him. He half-expected a knife to be stabbed between his ribs.

"You should probably be careful about that." Larmina warned while eyeing River suspiciously. She gave Vince a quick glance taking note of the uncomfortable expression in his eyes. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one who didn't fancy the newcomer. "My aunt tells us that it's easy to get lost in here. We can help you find your way back home if you're having trouble finding a way out." The sooner they got rid of River, the better. Something didn't feel right about him.

Larmina looked around nervously, suddenly gaining the feeling that she was being watched. Maybe the cause of her anxieties was caused by River. There was something oddly foreign about him. Normally she wasn't the type to be put off by strangers. He's dressed so oddly. She thought as she gave his clothing a once over. Her eye was drawn almost immediately to the silver tiger insignia sewn into his chest. There was something familiar about it; something that she recalled Allura telling her about.

I remember her telling me something about a tiger. I think it had to do with some organization. The girl chewed the inside of her cheek while she racked her brain for the information. Whatever the significance of it was, it made Larmina feel extremely unsafe around River.

"Your aunt?" River arched a brow. "Who's your aunt?"

"Why do you need to know?" Vince growled from behind him.

Suddenly it had become very, very hard to trust River in the moment. The young man smiled, it was a vile smirk. It was the kind of grin that the Devil would give you just before he dragged you down to Hell. "Allura, royal princess of Arus." He said, ignoring Vince as if he had never spoke at all. His pale green eyes had Larmina locked in their sights. "At least that's what the file said. Our intel team hardly makes any mistakes."

Fear went through Larmina like she was struck by lightning. She could taste the bile on her tongue. "Who…who are you?" she asked as she slowly edged closer to Vince. Once near him, she grabbed onto his arm so as to be ready to pull him with her when they had to run.

River ignored the question and began to round on the teenagers. He was like a cat prowling and about to pounce on a pair of baby birds it found. "Where's Daniel Chandler?" his voice was scarily calm when he asked the question. It was the type of deadly calm that only someone dangerous would have. His intentions were hidden, there was no telling if he planned to harm them or not.

"Why do you—"

"Where is he?" River interrupted her, his voice rising a little. He casually unzipped his jacket and pulled out a knife. It was a frightening tool, about the length of his forearm. One would think that he wouldn't be able to hide something like that so easily. "I didn't want to do this, it'll only make the mission harder to accomplish. If you cooperate we all can walk away from this with no incident and no blood drawn."

Larmina watched the weapon warily; she doubted he'd actually use it, he probably only had it out to add a threat to the situation. She absently rubbed at her bare wrist, hating herself for not wearing her voltcom out here. The trio had assumed that it was safe enough to come out here without them. If she had it with her right now oh boy she would be making River swallow his teeth. Of course even without her voltcom she still knew how to fight; so perhaps she wouldn't need it to make this creep choke on his teeth.

Let's see what you can do with that little knife of yours. Larmina darted forward, springing into action. She pivoted and swung her leg around for a well aimed kick at his face. River through his forearm up to block it and threw her off balance. The cadet stumbled into a tree, thinking quickly she snatched up a tree branch and attempted to charge at River once more. Learning from the first time, she feinted left and then came in for an attack on the right.

River fell for her feint but recovered surprising quick. He managed to dodge but just barely as his shoulder was clipped. Her opponent stumbled and Larmina took advantage of that advantage of weakness to strike again. She slammed the branch across his back, sending him to the ground. Just as she was about to hit him again, Vince grabbed her arm, preventing her from attempting to beat River to death.

"Let's go we have to warn the others." He told her as he began pulling along before she could protest. "Leave him, I have a bad feeling he has friends out here."

Nodding Larmina tossed her weapon away and followed Vince. The two teen rushed through the woodland not caring how much noise they were making. The only thing that mattered was that they get back to the castle in time. As he ran through the brush, Vince made sure to keep an eye out for anyone that might be with River.

The area seemed to be growing lighter, that meant that they were getting closer to the exit. Almost home free. Vince thought as he observed the trees beginning to space out. At least that's what thought before he practically had the sense knocked out of him. One moment he was running to get out of the woods and the next he saw stars and was lying on his back. It felt as if a charge had gone through his body, stunning him. He lost all feeling in his legs and collapsed.

Seeing that Vince had fallen, Larmina dodged out of the way just as someone jabbed a pronged weapon at her. It appeared to be some kind of trident and it was humming with a strange energy. Observing what it had done to Vince, Larmina knew it would be in her best interest not get hit by it. However as she scrambled back she was stopped by the feeling of a blade against her neck.

"Sector 7 has no moral when it comes to killing children." A woman's voice hissed at her. The blade pressed harder against her neck, drawing a thin trickled of blood. "So if you make any sudden movements you'll lose your head."

Larmina went still, not wanting risk anything. Unlike River, this woman seemed like she was serious. If she did anything stupid, it would cost Larmina her own life. Glancing out the corner of her eye she could see that this woman was similarly dressed to River. Like him he was dressed head to toe in black and bore a tiger symbol on her uniform. Looking over at the man whom had dispatched Vince, she noticed that also was dressed the same way.

"Easy Leo." he told her as he kneeled down to put a pair of cuffs on Vince. When the boy groaned in protest he gave him a cruel kick in the side. He then stood and walked over to examine Larmina. "Nat and Aiden gave us instructions to avoid causalities. No matter how angry they make us."

The one called Leo snorted and pushed Larmina away from her. Larmina tried to use this brief freedom as a chance to run but her attempt was interrupted. She let out a cry of pain as she was tackled and shoved into a nearby tree. Her arm was twisted behind her and in and iron-like grip. She tensed up as the pronged weapon was slammed into the wood beside her face. She could feel the energy humming through the bark. The charge in it made her skin tingle.

"They didn't say anything about maiming though. Which is what will happen to you if you try something stupid like that again." That man hissed the threat in his ear. Larmina could feel her wrist being fitted with cuffs. "You're not going to cause any trouble are you? ARE YOU?" his voice rose.

Larmina flinched and nodded. Sector 7. Larmina thought as she recalled what her Aunt Allura had told her about the organization with the tiger insignia. They're an overt organization made up of highly trained soldiers and assassins. Only the most unlikely of people were targeted by this dangerous group.So what was it they wanted with them? No…it wasn't them they wanted, it was Daniel. What did they want with Daniel?

He shoved the cadet down next to her companion. "What did you do to him?" Larmina demanded when she saw that Vince still hadn't recovered. He was just lying on the ground still groaning and writhing in pain.

"He'll be fine." The Sector 7 agent dismissed her worry. "I just stunned him a little. He'll recover in a few more minutes."

"Ah I see you've caught them." River said as he came out of the thicket to greet his companions. He racked a sneer over Larmina and Vince when he laid eyes on them. There was so much disgust in that look that you'd think he was looking at some type of vile vermin. He twirled his knife at his side as if tempted to slash one of their throats.

"Only because you couldn't" Leo cruelly jabbed at him.

River merely rolled his eyes at her little comment. It was obvious that the intent behind was to hurt him. Petty insults didn't get under his skin that easily. He walked over and kneeled down so that he was at eye level with Larmina. "You know this could've gone some much easier, you wouldn't be in this situation if you had just told me what I want." Larmina spat at him; River calmly wiped the spittle from his face and chuckled. Then he slow raised the blade up to her face. "Killing you is unnecessary…but we will do it. I'm sure we can get the information from your friend over there."

"So kill me. Give the others a reason to hunt you down and do the same to you." Larmina snarled through gritted teeth. They were brave words but Larmina wasn't even sure if she actually meant them.

River laughed at her again, finding her bravery to be quite amusing. Maybe he knew that she was actually bluffing. "You must not know how these things work, girlie." He pointed with his thumb at the silver tiger insignia on his chest. "Sector 7 comes after you; you don't come after Sector 7. Not unless you had some sort of death wish."

"Cut to the chase, Kyle." The man told him, a note of impatience creeping into his voice. "We don't have all day. Nat and Aiden are expecting us to report back with Chandler in tow by nightfall. We've already stayed long enough on this forsaken planet."

River waved off his partner's nagging. "Right so let's try this again." He said as he brandished his knife right in front of Larmina's face. It took so much impulse control not to flinch away from him. "Where is Daniel Chandler? Where can I find him and how can I reach him without your little teammates jumping on my back?"

The girl stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

I see so it's going to be that way. River thought with the arch of a brow. He studied his knife for a moment, contemplating on accepting her invite on simply killing her and be done with it. Tightening his grip on his blade he slashed her across her cheek in one quick movement. He watched with a blank expression as she cried out and tried to scramble away from him. Scarlet liquid dripped down the side of her face, falling from the gash just below her eye.

River stood up and cleaned the blood off on his pants. He turned to face the other two soldiers. "Leo, Brendon, drag these two back to camp so Nat and Aiden can deal with them. Maybe they can get them to cooperate."

"And what do you plan on doing?" Brendon asked, his chin was raised in challenge. He wasn't too fond of taking orders from someone who was practically young enough to be his son. However, Nat and Aiden had put him in charge of this squad so he had no right to complain. Going against the pecking order would only get him put in hot water.

The younger Sector 7 agent gestured in the direction of the Castle of Lions. "I plan on carrying out the mission. I'll call for backup when I need it."

If Brendon had anything to say against River's plan, he didn't dare to speak up. Instead he and Leo did as they were instructed and grabbed a hold of Larmina and Vince. "Wait. River, I said wait." Larmina's voice stopped them in their tracks. "What do you want with our friend?"

River glanced down at her for a brief moment before looking away. He stifled a light chuckled, as if there was something very amusing about her curiosity. "He must have played you pretty bad if you actually think he sees you as a friend." Was his cryptic reply.

/

Note: I had to make a few edits to the writing, I had noticed a few mistakes a little too late after I punlished the first chapter. I think I caught the all if there's any more that bother you let me know.