Lance complied in uncharacteristically diplomatic silence, opting not to remind their resident mechanic that those stabilizers were exactly what Lance had posited as the potential problem before they even started this test flight. Not that he expected him to remember; actually, he'd been counting on just the opposite. Used as the big, plain-spoken man was to being thought stupid or slow by those who didn't know him, Hunk was always very patient with his less mechanically inclined teammates but still tended to shut them out if they tried to diagnose their own machines. Hovering a finger over one particular switch, Lance chuckled softly. If Hunk was incapable of crediting anyone else with even passing knowledge of the Lions' innards, such small annoyances were cheap payment for his considerable expertise and fierce loyalty to the team.

Besides, mechanically ignorant as he himself was, Lance was surprised he was actually managing to circumvent Red Lion's numerous magical and mundane fail-safes without getting caught.

Suppressing an evil snicker, he flicked the switch down to the first notch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hunk's voice boomed over the comm simultaneous with the appearance of his worried face on Lance's vid-screen. "Now you're venting fuel! What happened?"

"I don't know," Lance lied smoothly, pulling the switch down another notch before flicking it all the way back up. The shower of glittering powder and crystal shards ceased as he did his best to look like he was fighting with the controls for an entirely different reason than he was. "How bad is it?"

"Intermittent. Looks like it may have capped itself off, for now. The altitude change must have ruptured a damaged line or something." He sighed heavily, obviously frustrated and worried. "We better head home before anything else blows up. You got enough power to make it back to the castle?"

Lance glanced at one of the many gauges liberally scattered across his control panel, confirming what he already knew as he guided Red Lion into a wide turn. "I should . . . " ~ . . . but heading back now would just spoil all the fun . . . ~ " . . . if I don't have any more problems."

"Shugoi." Yellow gracefully ghosted Red's arc, sidling over until the two machines were as close to shoulder to shoulder as safely possible. "Keep it steady and we'll be back in no . . . Lance!?"

Damn, but that was a useful button just now, particularly when paired with a downward twitch of the stick. "My controls are getting really sketchy here. Am I losing more fuel?"

"Like crazy . . . ch'k'sou!" Hunk swore roughly as Red took another miniature dive, preceding him back under the cloud line. "You're not going to make the castle; can you find a place to set down?"

The raw panic in his friend's voice was making him feel like a complete baka, but there was no way to abandon the plan now without wasting a full week's meticulous planning, the serendipity of the recent attack, and getting Hunk furious at him in the process . . . not to mention losing the wager with Keith. No, he was just going to have to tough this out. "I see a clearing four, maybe five clicks north of here . . ." ~ . . . three more than I planned on; I must have miscalculated the location . . . probably shouldn't have vented quite so much fuel . . . ~ " . . . I may be able to make it . . ."

Red Lion chose that exact moment to shut down completely and for no apparent reason.

Gravity quickly rediscovered the giant hunk of metal floating high above the surface of the planet and made immediate efforts to rectify this patent violation of the laws of physics. Completely ignoring its pilot's frantic attempts to regain control, the machine plummeted toward the expanse of forest thousands of feet below. It was easy to forget the mystical aspects of the robot Lions, but they had an annoying way of reasserting themselves at the most inopportune times.

"Shimatta! Hunk, I've lost all power!" ~ Come on, old friend. I know you're unhappy about being misused like this for a stupid wager, but that's no reason to destroy both of us . . . is it? ~

Swearing rather inventively himself, Hunk maneuvered his Lion under Lance's, supporting the one on the back of the other and firing his own retros. It helped, but not enough. Red Lion was smaller than Yellow but he already had too much momentum. Hunk's efforts did little more than change the fall from a downward thing to more of a forward, but still very much a fall. They were definitely going to make the clearing now . . . it was the force with which they were going to make it that had him worried.

His view taken over by the shifting greens and browns of the rapidly approaching forest, Lance managed to move Red's hind legs manually, just enough to leapfrog clumsily over Yellow, refusing to entangle a well-meaning Hunk in the coming collision. It's effective weight suddenly all but halved, Yellow Lion shot backwards on full retros, out of sight. Branches and treetops snapped sharply against Red's body, slowing it slightly, still not enough to make much difference. Ignoring Hunk's indignant, frantic protests, Lance braced himself for a face-first introduction to the local soil . . .

WHAM!

For an instant, the world was only muffled darkness.

" . . .Lance!? Lance! Can you hear me? Are you all right?"

"Hai, daijoubu," Lance managed after a moment, trying to sit up but realizing that up had become an uncertain direction. His temple bore a nasty bruise he knew he eminently deserved - for taking today's casual attire to the extreme of neglecting his helmet, if nothing else - which throbbed angry protest when Yellow Lion carefully lifted Red into a sitting position and him therefore back into his seat. Still, somehow, he'd managed to survive in one unbloodied piece. He'd actually begun checking his instruments before he truly realized that he had instruments to check . . . and therefore power again. Red Lion's key contracted and slipped from its place with a hum Lance could only describe as smug, the gauges going dark again as he pocketed the medallion and made his annoyed way through the hatch and down to the ground.

Outside, Hunk grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, swept aside the reddish-brown bangs with which he had tried in vain to conceal the bruise, checked him over for any other injuries and then, finding nothing serious, pushed him casually aside to attend to his Lion. Insulted and amused all at once, Lance sniffed, vaguely surprised that Hunk had noticed him at all in his fever to check on the Lion that was, to all intents and purposes, one of his babies. Red was leaning on Yellow heavily, as if in need of support, but there was no external sign of damage.

~ The least you could have done was suffer enough hurt to cover my tracks, kisama. ~

As if reading his thoughts - who knew, maybe it could - Red Lion seemed to sit up even stronger than before, its shoulder now barely touching Yellow's. Lance stuck his tongue out at it with a smile, fond as always of a machine capable of as much childish behavior as its pilot was. He concealed the gesture as quickly as he could when Hunk turned to look at him, confused.

"I have no idea what happened here," the other pilot offered with a grimace, wiping his thick hands off on his threadbare jeans. His deep brown eyes - the rich, comforting color of fertile soil - narrowed as he pondered, scrubbing a hand through shaggily cropped hair of a similar dark shade. "I see no ruptures, no cracks . . . there's barely a scratch in the chassis, even after that zero-point landing! Do I call it operator error?"

Finding that a little too close to the truth for comfort, Lance shrugged and put on his most innocent expression, lids lowered slightly over eyes so pale blue that the irises often faded completely into the whites. "Nothing you can repair?"

Hunk laughed. "Nothing to repair! Nothing visible, anyway. We'll just have to call the others to come piggyback Red home; maybe I can figure all this out back at the . . . Lance, what are you doing?"

Grinning, Lance dropped the ancient leather coat he always wore for luck - even in the height of summer - and started pulling off his T-shirt. It was younger than the jacket but in infinitely worse shape, a faded rag that had once been blue and decorated with snatches of Dharhliva'an poetry. "Getting ready to go for a swim," he answered cheerfully, gesturing in the direction of the forest pool sparkling invitingly on the other side of a hill and a few trees toppled by a too-close encounter with a mystical robot Lion.

"But, Red Lion . . ."

"We can call the others for help in a little bit, Hunk," Lance cajoled, kicking off his boots. "It's too nice a day to head straight back to the castle!"

"Aa, souka," Hunk nodded sagely. "Not even Prince Lotor would be cruel enough to attack on a sunny day, especially with Red Lion - and therefore Voltron - already out of commission, ne?"

Lance snorted his opinion of that statement even as he began to undo his jeans. "If that man had half the sense you credit him with," he offered, pulling the denim down his long, smoothly muscled legs and kicking it away, "he'd have beaten us five times over by now. Come on! He sent a RoBeast yesterday!" He gathered the rest of his clothes into a wrinkled ball and stood, resting the bundle against his cocked hip. "It'll be at least a month before he comes up with another surefire, never fail, ultimate, end of the universe 'KILL VOLTRON!' plan, same as always. Now, are you coming?"

"Yes, sir, Lieutenant, sir!" Hunk chuckled at his friend, standing there in nothing but a grin and his black briefs. "Just give me a minute to make sure your Lion doesn't keel over while you're AWOL."

Still grinning, Lance tossed off a mocking salute, turned on his heel and headed toward the pool with perhaps a touch more swing of his hips than was absolutely necessary. He resisted the urge to toss a glance back over his shoulder, less than optimistic about the chances his scantily-clad ass had of capturing Hunk's attention over his own Lion's potentially wounded derriere. Still, he might or might not have been reading too much into the distracted cough that followed him around the curve of the rocky hill. The others did tend to think of he and Keith as one another's property these days, he knew.

He'd have to work on that, but for now the marvel before him suddenly demanded all his attention.

Keith certainly hadn't been exaggerating when he described the beauty of this tiny little corner of Eros; it was lovely enough to stop Lance in his tracks, even on a planet renowned for its natural wonders. Black Lion's pilot had discovered the pool while on a diplomatic mission of sorts fairly shortly after the team arrived on Eros and reactivated the Lions. At that time, they'd been taking the Lions quite regularly to as many villages as possible, giving the people a chance to see that - while these new pilots weren't Erosian by blood - they were still decent people with the best interests of Eros and the Alliance at heart. One of the first villages to really adopt and accept the Voltron Force was only a few clicks from here, and Keith still visited it every once in a while.

It seemed only natural to use the place against him now, Lance thought with an evil snicker. Keith had been so very drunk that night, he probably didn't even remember challenging Lance to seduce Hunk before the month was out, then laying himself on the table as a potential slave for all of next month if his lover and second-in-command was successful. All of which was, of course, exactly why Lance had made him repeat himself . . . twice . . . after he laid hands on a voxcorder. There was also the small matter of the terms if he failed, but . . . well, come to that, all he had to do was neglect to mention it, convince Hunk to do the same, destroy the tape and let it all quietly disappear. Too good a deal to pass up all around.

The crystalline pool, tinged a faint blue-green by the sylvan shadows the surrounding forest cast on its surface, rippled clear over a smooth, gray and white pebbled bed that was probably twenty or even thirty feet down at its deepest but looked close enough to touch even from the bank. It was fed by a stream that chimed merrily down the exposed rock of this side of the hill, melt-water flowing from the higher lands and ultimately the mountains visible in the distance. Beside the falls, three aged Erosian Dark Willows bent low in a timeless tripartite dance, dangling purplish-black canes decked in pure white blossoms in the water as an enticement for fish.

Carefully depositing his clothes on the grassy bank, Lance glanced up. Above, Red and Yellow's solemn leonine faces regarded him silently, the hatch in Red's cheek open and Hunk's rear poking out as he peered into the cockpit. The big guy would be a while, it seemed, so Lance decided to start without him. Taking a deep breath and a running start, he knifed into the water at the deepest part of the basin. He surfaced a moment later, gasping and with considerably less grace, flinging red-brown hair out of pale blue eyes gone wide and a few shades darker with the shock of the pool's deep chill.

"K'sou!" he swore breathlessly. Summer heat or no, he could feel the ice that capped those distant mountains stealing the warmth from his flesh. All around him, tiny gem-colored fish swam in shifting, shimmering schools, twirling curiously around his goose-pimpled body. Through the rippled water, even they looked like they were shivering. Taking a few shuddering strokes toward the shore, Lance was forced by his own retreating biology to admit that water this cold was probably not the best medium for seduction. There was always the sun-speckled bank, though . . .

"BANZAAAAAAAI!!!"

"Nani . . .?" Lance turned his eyes skyward in utter disbelief. ~ Surely he wouldn't. He's almost three stories up! Surely he isn't . . . oh, dear . . . ~

A good many more inventive oaths came to mind but Lance saved his breath for a mad swim toward the shore, desperately trying to get out from under that approaching human cannonball. His fingers actually brushed the grassy bank an instant before Hunk hit and a wave more akin to an aerial explosion than a liquid thing tossed Lance several feet into the air. Tumbling like a doll caught in a front-load washing machine, Lance found himself face to face with a tiny, sapphire-scaled fish - looking rather perturbed about the whole operation - for what seemed like several seconds before gravity had it's way with him a second time. Water forced its way into his mouth and nose as his face forced its way through the surface and for a very upsetting moment he was afraid he might actually drown. Finally, he managed to snag and cling to one of the rocks by the waterfall, cursing and retching and praying that the cold, slimy lump he'd felt jam itself down his throat was not what he thought it was.

"Ch'k'sou! This water is freezing!" Hunk spluttered behind him.

Lance glowered wetly at him between fits of choking.

Paddling over, Hunk peered solicitously into his reddened face. "You OK, man?" When Lance didn't respond, Hunk gave him a hard blow between the shoulder-blades with one big hand, staring in naked wonder as a little blue fish popped forcefully out of his friend's mouth and swam away at a rapid - if ever so slightly crooked - pace. "Good trick. You gonna live?"

"Maybe," Lance coughed, breathing a bit easier now, "if I stay away from you."

Hunk chuckled and splashed him playfully. "Iye, you'd miss me too much."

"Sure, I'd miss you," Lance returned the splash more forcefully, ducking behind his rock for shelter, "about as much as I miss the space sickness I used to get as a cadet."

"Oh, insults now, is it?" Feinting left, Hunk managed to get Lance to dodge face first into the chibi-tsunami produced by his other hand. He grinned fiercely. "Come on, back it up!"

"That is it!" Lance snarled, diving down.

Suddenly looking about as comfortable as a bleeding seal in shark-infested waters, Hunk began trying to keep an eye on the water on all sides of him at once. If he'd sat still, he would have been able to see Lance's every move simply because of the crystal clarity of the pool; as it was, his frantic splashing obscured the view, and he quickly lost all track of the quicker man. Hunk was a strong enough swimmer to get by but remained too distrustful of the element to try swimming under the surface, even in self-defense.

Lance gladly took full advantage of this fact, hiding in the shadow of his boulder until Hunk had his back turned and then arrowing in for the kill. Despite the weight of the water in his ears and the red-tinged screaming of his lungs for precious air, he was still able to hear Hunk's howl of protest when he yanked off his boxers. He very nearly caught a flailing foot in the chest for his trouble, but it was all worth it when he scrambled out onto the shore, laid out panting in a sunbeam with his prize, and got his first good look at Hunk's expression.

"This is not funny, Lance!"

"Of course not," Lance deadpanned. "It's absolutely hilarious."

Hunk uttered several words Lance didn't understand - probably something in his native language - but they gave the air a distinctive blue tinge. "I'm not kidding! Give those back!"

"Come and get them."

"There's a village right near here!" He actually lowered his voice: as if the people of Karille - three miles away - might hear him and be offended. "People may have already seen the Lions and be coming out here to see what's going on! Women and . . . and children!"

"Oh, the humanity." Lance laid back and closed his eyes. "Come and get them quickly, then." The response he got for that probably didn't mean anything in any tongue, but the sentiment behind it was enough to make Lance's ears burn a little. He couldn't stop laughing, though. The people of Eros knew well enough to stay in their homes when the Lions were about, particularly if there was trouble; anything strong enough to take out a Lion was not going to run screaming from a villager with a pitchfork. As soon as Hunk realized that, he'd clamber out of the water, retrieve his skivvies and probably smear Lance into a greasy stain in the grass. All the more reason to enjoy the shadow-broken sunlight dribbling over his damp form while he still could, breathe in the sweet perfume of wildflowers and wild places, and just enjoy being alive as one only can on such a perfect midsummer's morning. Petals white as angel's pinions dove from the willow canes to dance on the wind, tickling his face like butterfly wings as they fell, and it seemed only natural to close his eyes and appreciate the sensation properly.