“They became pilots, now they sit here and pity you by sitting in on your lectures. How weak they must think you, if you’d only let me help you we could show them how wrong they are.” The voice was louder, unable to be blocked. Vince couldn’t hear this through their telepathy, plus they’d gotten good at only letting certain thoughts be heard. The new Green Paladin didn’t know how bad his infection was getting, so neither did Larmina. No one else had found out, either, which was good. Daniel had quickly become a good liar, even to his best friend. Like when he lied about prodding into Vince’s mind farther than normal and finding some subconscious thoughts like “Daniel looks cute today” or “Pidge really is crazy.” Little things like that kept him sane, against the Haggarium. Learning Vince had a little crush on him was something he would have to think about, but at least it confirmed that the evil voice was wrong.

           “Daniel.” Keith’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

           “Care to repeat what I just explained?” He could feel all eyes on him now, further raising his embarrassment.

           “Look at the way they view you, scrutinizing and harsh. They should be looking up to you as their leader, not some cadet. You know you want them to see you as a real pilot of Voltron, that’s obvious to even them. Taking it by force is the only way they will see you as anything of worth.” Daniel shook his head, hoping to rid himself of the voice.

           “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I will from now on.” Keith nodded, a small smirk crossing his lips. Daniel knew when and where to lie, and the Force knew all too well when he was bullshitting them. Most of the time, that is. Keith was talking about how splitting up could be dangerous, but effective in the right situations. For a force that relied so heavily on teamwork, solo-flying seemed pointless. But then what’s the use in great pilots if they can’t handle a foe on their own should the team be unable to help? It made some sense to Daniel, but not all.

           “I can make you powerful enough to be that one pilot, the one that can save your friends from any danger.” That voice, to be honest, was getting really fucking annoying.

           After their lesson, they were free to go for the rest of the day. With no true threat to the universe for the time being, their work was easing up. They were more like a last resort, and right now there was nothing that needed their full attention. In his room, Daniel was desperately trying to ignore the voice. Every passing day, it was getting hard to tell if it was his own voice or the infection he heard.

           “Daniel?” The third voice in his head made him jump, but it was welcome. Vince gave him something to focus on.

           “Yeah, what’s up, Vince?” It kind of amazed Daniel how normal Vince acted around him despite having a crush on him. Maybe it was like that from the beginning? No, stop thinking about that he might hear that.

           “You’ve been acting a little strange lately. Are you doing ok? Do you need any help with the infection, or is it about Keith?” Damn, that hit the mark right away. He wouldn’t tell him, but getting rejected as the Black Pilot was still heavy on his shoulders. He didn’t resent Keith or anything, he understood why it was taken away and that it was the right thing to do, but he still carried some bitterness. That only stirred his infection more.

           “Yeah, I guess I’m still a little angry about it, but I’ll fine. Sorry to worry you. The infection, I’ve got that under control.”

           “Are you sure? I can try to help with my powers. Didn’t you say it helps even a little?” That, too, was a lie. Somehow, Vince’s powers had no effect on the infection. Not even their connection helped, when Daniel was able to use Vince’s powers.

           “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You go back to being a Lion Pilot now, all right? I have some relaxing to do.” Daniel smiled a little at the small chuckle he heard from his best friend. At least he could find solace in the fact that his lies worked, and eased their worrying. The last thing he wanted was for them to worry about him. He wasn’t going to be a burden. After some concentration, he was able to fall asleep in his bunk.

           “Have you noticed Daniel acting strange lately?” Vince asked the other Pilots, looking up from his data pad. They weren’t really doing much, idle chit-chat filling the room. However, Vince was worried for his friend turned crush, and he needed all the help he could get. Everyone was in the room aside from Coran as he was away on Council duties, and Daniel.

           “Well if you mean how he got kicked out of the Black Lion and turned sour on us, then yeah, he’s acting a bit different.” Lance, blunt as always, drove the point home in a sarcastically accurate way. A few looks were exchanged between the group, all knowing too well.

           “I would have thought he’d gotten over it by now,” Keith started, “but since we chose him to Pilot when he wasn’t ready, it’s not like we can say we know him perfectly. I already tried to talk to him about it.” Keith had tried, several times in fact which was out of the ordinary, but Daniel had always brushed him off.

           “Maybe the person who personally took the key back shouldn’t try.” Allura said with a small, sad smile. Keith huffed at the response, earning a smile from the others.

           “Vince, Larmina, maybe you two could try. Even if you two are Pilots now, you’re still closer to Daniel than any of us are.” Hunk piped in now. He would have been a viable option, but the new Pilots were a better option.

           “I guess, he’ll still close up at the mention of it though. We’ll try our best.” Larmina said with a sigh. Vince would have more luck than her, but maybe they could at least pressure him into talking.

           “That will have to wait. Vince, we still need to run some tests. Creating a cure for Sven is our top priority right now.” Pidge said and brought up a trove of data on the main screen. Daniel crossed his mind at the mention of a cure, hoping they did in fact find one.

           “You don’t need them, with me you could take all of Voltron for yourself. Just like you had before, to control and be the sole Defender of the Universe.” The voice was back. It sounded like everyone they had ever fought; Sky Marshal Wade, Maahox, Kala, Lotor, and some other feminine voice all in one. The voice sounded all around him, and directly in his mind at the same time. He could see the team looking down on him, curses and cruel words. Keith taking the Black Lion key, the Lion itself devouring him, everything fading to dark.

           “Daniel, how could you lie about your infection? How could you lie to me, after everything we’ve been through? To think I liked you more than a friend.” Somewhere, he knew it was a dream. But the Vince in front of him, condemning him, was too real. His words cut deeper than any of the rest of the dream; no, nightmare.

           “I can help you, stop all of that from happening.” He could feel a figure lurking around him, like smoke. The voice was everywhere, and it was making more and more sense. When Daniel woke, it was with a scream.

           Vince was heading back to his room when he heard the scream in his mind. No, was that real? It was definitely Daniel so he rushed to his friend’s room. When he entered Daniel was already up, his hands out towards Vince.

           “Don’t come any closer!” He shouted, his head pounding. What perfect timing Vince had, really just the best.

           “Daniel what’s wrong? Wait, is this your infection? What’s happening?” Vince was ready to potentially stop Daniel from running or hurting him, but he knew he wouldn’t stop him if he chose the first. He’d still try though.

           “Vince, I can’t be around you, it isn’t safe. Please just let me go, I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He looked at Vince with a painful look, his eyes beginning to turn purple. Vince widened his eyes, realising the extent of the infection now. He was hiding it the whole time? But why?

           “I said move!” With that Daniel pulled his claws out and rushed past Vince, knocking him to the ground. He was no doubt out of the castle in an instant.

           “Vince, we just picked up a massive Haggarium spike at your location! Are you ok, what’s going on?” Pidge said through his Voltcom quickly.

           “I’ll be in the control room to explain…” No use in hiding it anymore when Daniel was in serious danger. Vince got up and ran to the control room as fast as he could. He could feel panic flooding his body quickly; he had no way of finding Daniel besides the Haggarium or his Voltcom, both of which could be basically turned off.

           “He’s what?!” Pidge seemed the most vocally surprised at the revelation, the others still not taking it well.

           “So, you’re telling me the three of you kept this a secret from us the whole time when he was a risk to us and you, even the whole universe when he was in the Lions?” Keith was visibly angry, Lance less so. Allura and Hunk seemed deeply saddened, as if by the fact Daniel didn’t trust them. Pidge, as always, was already formulating plans.

           “This is why he didn’t want you to know! He knew you would react this way, you could even kick him off the team permanently! Do you really think Daniel, of all people, would come clean about something that could ruin his lifelong dream?” Larmina was scolding pretty well, talking after her aunt. Vince wasn’t going to tell her that of course, knowing it would end in a swift punch.

           “That’s not all…” Vince said timidly, wincing a bit when all eyes turned on him again. Larmina looked at him in shock, not expecting to tell them about the telepathy either.

           “Oh please, tell us all about the secret lives you were leading that could have provided useful information to us. I’m glad the whole ‘team’ aspect of Voltron has been thrown out the window.” Lance spoke now, letting his anger more known.

           “Shut it, Lance, now’s not the time. Go ahead, Vince.” Allura said with a small smile, though it was forced. She wasn’t happy they kept secrets, but she could see the reasoning. More importantly, anger was not the way forward.

           “The infection happened when he was inside Voltron with the spider Robeast. When it was trying to merge their minds, the process was already started before I stopped it. The thing is, since we were both in there are the same time, it somehow connected our minds. I can speak to Daniel telepathically, and we can even share powers. We found out the powers part when Lotor invaded with his army of Lotors. That’s how I got to the green Lion so quickly.” While the others let that sit in, Pidge was astounded before the others. Hearing telepathy was probably why.

           “So being inside Voltron connected the two of you, fascinating. Can you find him with it?” The slight twinge of hope in their eyes made Vince even more guilty.

           “No, we learned to block the other from our thoughts. We didn’t want everything to be shared, obviously, but when he ran I realized he’s far better at it than me. He’s only going to be found if he wants to be found.”

           “Pidge, keep scanning for his Voltcom or Haggarium, we have to find him. We’ll go searching in the Lions.” Keith stated and in moments the Pilots were off, leaving Allura and Pidge to worry.

           Vince would be lying if he wasn’t worried out of his mind, but at least he knew the others were worried too. No matter how angry they were, they still cared deeply for Daniel and letting him deal with this alone was not in their agenda.

           “We’ll find him Vince, don’t worry.” Larmina said through a private channel to the Green Lion Pilot. Larmina had caught on to the crush, the other’s beginning to see it too. Especially since she told them. Really, everyone knew Vince had a crush on Daniel, even Daniel. But they had to work it out themselves, which they all could respect. It also prompted them make sure to keep an eye on Vince now that Daniel was in danger.

           “You’ve already lost.” Daniel really hated it when someone was right, but now he absolutely despised it. The voice was right, he lost. He couldn’t hold the Haggarium back anymore, he’d given in. The whispers and nightmares got to him, the thoughts wormed their way in. Maybe he deserved to succumb to the infection, he couldn’t stop it. Now he was on the run, a danger to the whole planet. He wasn’t a match for any of the Pilots, but with the Haggarium taking control he could probably do some real damage. The sound of a Lion flying overhead made him jump. His body wasn’t in his control, his will not his own any longer. But he could still sense everything. His mind was slowly slipping away. If he wasn’t fighting every waking second, he would be gone. Thankfully he didn’t have to fight physically.

           “Daniel…please, come back.” The quiet voice in the back of his mind snapped him back to reality. Vince was trying to get to him. He called out with all his strength, trying to claw his way to any scrap of humanity. After what felt like hours of trying, he could feel his message got through. As relief washed over him, he found it was short lived. The darkness grabbed hold of him and pulled him deeper than before, his senses going dark. He lost, he hated, and it only made the darkness stronger.

           “Vince, I’m sorry, all I can see are trees. I didn’t mean to lie, I didn’t want you to worry.” When he heard Daniel’s voice, his eyes snapped open.

           “Guys, I heard Daniel! He said he can see trees, but…I think he’s gone. We have to hurry!” Slightly relieving, slightly terrifying.

           “Got him! I searched for Haggarium traces in any forests based on his top speed radius in the time he was-” Pidge’s voice came from the coms, a marking showing up on their map of Arus. Before he finished, Lance interrupted.

           “We get it Pidge, you got him. We’re heading there now.” Even with the extreme seriousness of the situation, everyone cracked a smile. Maybe the antics provided an uneasy distraction, but it was nonetheless enjoyable. The Lions quickly encircle where Daniel was, leaving little room for him. The Pilots disembarked quickly and soon they were almost within arm’s distance of each other around Daniel. It was his body, but it was easily not his mind. The look in his eyes were calculating, tactic, leering, and purple. Daniel was reckless and strong for his age. Unfortunately for them, that first trait was gone.

           “Come on Daniel, don’t do anything rash.” Lance spoke, everyone drawing their weapons. After he spoke, he narrowly dodged three claws shot directly at his head.

           “Ok, I get it if you’re angry, but you know we’re going to kick your ass, right?” At that “Daniel” began to laugh. It sounded genuine, but given the circumstances it was unsettling.

           “We’ll see. Not even Vince’s powers could stop me, what makes you think you can without hurting me for real?” Another harsh reality; they wanted to disarm Daniel, not kill him. Daniel however, was more than happy to tear them to shreds at the moment. In a blur of movement, he was upon Lance, taking swipe after swipe at him. The dodges were close to begin with, but after a few moments they became blocks, and with a hit to his Voltcom, the pistols disappeared. Take out the only ranged enemy to make it a one on one the entire time. Then he was on Hunk, then Keith, then Larmina, then Hunk, then Vince. He was moving so fast that it seemed unnatural even for hi standards. Lance managed to get his Voltcom working again, but now they were all on the defensive. If he got a lucky hit in, they would be out a weapon for the rest of the fight. Against someone out for blood, not a recommended strategy.

           When he went for Vince again, Vince didn’t defend himself. Everyone panicked, but the claws stopped an inch away from his face. Daniel’s own face was strained, his arm shaking.

           “Come on Daniel, I know you can fight it.” He said aloud and in their minds, hoping that would help. Daniel was desperately trying to take control again. The infection was weakening, but still had a strong grip on his mind. Vince reached up and held Daniel’s hand, trying his powers one last time. The energy flowed from him to Daniel, but as soon as it did there was an explosion of force. Both of them went flying in opposite directions, luckily Hunk caught Vince. Daniel landed on his back, holding his head while screaming. His eyes were flashing a mix of purple and white, the intense positive and negative energy flowing through his body. After a violent convulsion, his body went limp. Keith rushed over and turned his Voltcom, letting Pidge gain access to his vitals.