Voltron Fan Fiction ❯ Desert Rain ❯ Apparitions ( Chapter 2 )

All is silent within the Darkness, it's malicous serenity constant in its existance. For the majority of souls who are unknown of its existance remain in the Darkness, blindly searching their way, while others with the ability to see not just with their eyes, shall see the answers that are not present in physical form, but sometimes though such a sight can drive a person down to the bowels of the Darkness itself, and the unfortunate thing is. They can see everything...

"Huh? ...Where am I?" Hunk murmured softly as he opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the inky blackness of the dark. The pupils of his eyes embraced the darkness as it opens wide to adjust to the lack of light, the pain that was once in his head has finally faded off as well as the temperature that was burning his flesh. He could not remember too well of the incident at the Castle of Lions, hell he could hardly remember anything! The last thing he remembered was flying in the air with the other pilots and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, surrounded by his friends, frantically seeking medical attention. The period of time between them was blank, just like the darkness he's in now, he is confused and bewildered at the ignorance of his actions.

He weakly lifted up his hand and felt around his surroundings, he could feel the cool, crisp bedsheets underneath his calloused fingers, eventually starts to stroke along a metal bar at the side of the mattress. He realized that he was in a hospital bed, whether or not he was in a hospital, he couldn't tell. Hunk then felt around again and found a couple of IV tubes connected to his arms, slowly withdrawing them from his skin, a couple of warm liquid drops dripped upon his arm, he couldn't tell if it was blood or glucose since he could not see the color.

"How long was I out for?" he thought to himself as he pulls himself up from the mattress. The darkness has become a familiar to him now, as he gazes around the tiny room, the silhouette of the furniture enlightened by the faded moonlight. The sky outside the room was cloudy, no stars were to be seen, no light to follow.

Hunk then got up and walked around for a bit, and felt around the room, and was shocked to feel that the walls were... padded. And something warm and sticky was painted upon the cushions. The hairs upon the back of his neck shot up in fright, something told him that something was wrong with this place. "Where... who...what?"

Suddenly there a erratic, electronic static sort of sound coming from the other side of the room, followed by a soft bluish glow. He turned around to see that a television hung upon the wall, was on, but a question popped into his head... who turned it on? He certianly didn't

Hunk gazed at the screen almost in a hypnotic glance, he could almost swear that he could see a face in the electric snowstorm. The pupils in his eyes suddenly shrunk as he heard a high-pitched whisper coming from the television screen. Softly whispering "...Help...m..me..."

Hunk stuttered "Whose there?", his skin cringed at the sound, and jumped when he saw the face semi-clear in the screen. The gray tainted face of a young boy about eleven or twelve years old, with wavy hair and dark eyes. Hunk shivered at the sight of the boy looking straight at him with pain in his eyes as he whispered again "H-help us..."

"Who are you?" Hunk replied
"...Salvation..." The boy cried softly, with tears in his eyes

"What's the matter? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" muttered Hunk in a paternal tone of voice. The boy did not reply, he just hung his head low, with his hair covering his eyes. Soft sobbing stuttered through the screen, it sounded like the boy had gone through a lot of pain, Hunk felt great pity for him, for he knows what it feels like to be that small and helpless. "How can I help you? Please tell me..."

"You can't..." he moaned
"Just tell me where you are!" says Hunk
"...no..." the boy sniffed

"You came here wanting my help and now you won't give me any information!" Hunk muttered in a more serious voice. He didn't want to get mad at the kid but he'll have to get serious if he wants to know what's going on. "If I can't find you then how can I help?"

"You must stop it..." The boy whispered
"Stop what?" Hunk murmured, now getting a little more impatient
"The Awakening!" he choked "You must destroy the project before it awakens!"

"I don't understand!" Hunk replied more forcefully "What are you trying to say?!"

And then from out of the blue, the upper half of the boy's body shot OUT from the screen, his hand grabbed Hunk by the shirt and yanked him towards the tv screen and bellowed in an almost unhuman voice "It does not matter if you understand or not! What does matter is that it must be stopped or else all that you know and love dear will be destroyed!!!"

"W-What are you?!!" Hunk stammered

"I does not matter now... for you must seek the truth..." He growled angrily, his hands releasing his shirt and place themselves upon the larger man's face, digging his nails into Hunk's flesh, and sharply turned his face around to the padded walls and ceiling of the room. And there Hunk gasped in horror.

"Oh my god!" Hunk screamed nearly close to losing his lunch, for up upon the walls, glowing a grayish blue, were dark streaks upon the wall. Streaks of blood, scratched upon the padding by human hands. Each of then spelled out words which were burned in his mind.

"YOU MUST FIND IT, YOU MUST SEE THE DARKNESS THAT IS HIDDEN WITHIN THE LIGHT!!" The boy yelled, holding Hunk's head tightly within his small hands, feeling the big man shake in fear. Hunk was terrified, he could not move, all he could do was to stare at the fresh blood upon the walls and ceiling. He winced at the many bone-chilling screams echoing in the room, growing louder and louder until it was almost to the point where his ears were bleeding. Hunk cried out for the boy to stop but all he did was grip tighter "You have to open your EYES! You must find the hand that holds our fate as well as YOURS!!!"

The boy then sharply turned Hunk's face upwards to the ceiling, he tried to scream but nothing came out of his throat as he gazed at the horrible sight. There upon the ceiling was a female body cruxified against the padding, covered in lacerations and wounds, the blood was thick and dripped from her hands and feet pinned with knives. And surrounding the body was more words, Hunk whimpered as he read them:

"What is this?" He stuttered

Suddenly the eyes of the body shot opened, and a bloodcurling scream came out of her mouth, soon more screams were heard from all directions, louder than before. Hunk could no longer hear the boy preaching, all he could do was crumble to the floor, curled himself up in a ball, covering his ears tightly.

"Please make it stop..make it stop...make it stop...make it stop!"

"Hunk!"

"...make it stop...make it stop...make it stop..."

"Hunk wake up!"

"MAKE IT STOP!!!!"

"Hunk are you alright?" A soft voice whispered in the darkness. Hunk opened his eyes and saw Keith, Lance, Allura and Pidge standing over him lying in a hospital bed. It was daylight outside, the snow swiftly blowing in the air. No room, no screams, no blood on the walls, just peace.

"What happened?" Hunk murmured
"You had a nightmare that's all..." says Allura concerningly "You acted very strange at Lion Practice today!"
"Like you need to tell him twice!" smirked Lance "Since he almost fired at our asses!"

"Lance!" Allura snapped "We're trying to help him. He's been having a rough time!"
"What made you go all nuts like that?" said Keith sternfully "Why did you attack us?"
"I dunno... I don't know why I did the things I did. I did not mean to hurt you.. really. I just got angry and-"

"That's enough for now!" Allura replied comfortingly, placing her hand upon his. "You must get your rest now and we'll discuss things later. Do not beat up yourself over it, I am sure you did not do it on purpose, it was just the influence from that fever... Maybe we can arrange you a vacation for a couple of weeks for you to recover."

"No no! I'll be okay in a day or two!" Hunk jumped frantically

"What's your problem Hunk? God! I'd kill for a vacation!" Pidge piped up, when he saw the other glare at him, he blurbed out "Figure of speech of course! Besides it's not like we're disbanding you. We'll just get a subsitute for a while until you get over this relapse!"

"Okay then..." Hunk murmured softly, lying back upon the bed, looking around the room, then realizing that he was not in the Castle Infirmary. He turned his head to Keith and asked "Where the hell am I anyway?"

"Unit 3 of Zenai Hospital." Keith replied "The illness became to critical for Dr. Gorma to take care of, so we had to take you to the city hospital in order to bring back to normal. Those last few hours were very intense, we thought we almost lost you."

"I'm sorry I've caused a lot of trouble." Hunk grimaced
"Meh! The most important thing is that your okay!" says Lance
"Thanks!" replied Hunk

"Come on boys!" says Allura, with a sweet smile on her face, leading them towards the room door, "Let Hunk get some rest, in the meantime we'll go and get something to eat!"

"Oh god! I hope it's not the hospital food!" Pidge bickered "Puke city!"
"I know! Let's get take out!" grinned Lance "My treat!"
"Would you like something too Hunk?" asked Keith, peeking through the door

"Er... no thanks. I don't feel well enough to eat yet." winced Hunk, trying to shake off the thought of a cheeseburger combo, with extra size fries and coke. If he did eat anything it probably wouldn't stay in his stomach for long.

Keith then nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Leaving Hunk alone in the room.

"Just lovely... what the hell was I thinking back there?" Hunk pondered angrily, trying to figure out why he went all bonkers over at the castle. His sickness all started out with a misson to planet Athora, in a rescue where a benign Drule settlement was being attacked by unknown forces. One of the weapons they had used was a disease called Mestophilitis, or "Hell's Fever" upon the Drules whom had no vaccination for the severe ailness. Most of the Voltron force as well as any other soldiers in the Academy, had a vaccination for Mestophilitis when they had entered. Hunk for other reasons did not recieve his for he did not entered the Academy like the others...

So far though, the fever had caused him to have an abnormal body temperature, severe headaches, dehydration from excess perspiration and vomiting, as well as some psychological ones as hallucinations. To those whom were first diagnosed with the case, had described as being within the pits of hell itself, Hunk for that matter did not disgress to that one. Luckily it seems that he had gone through the worst of it... at least he hoped!

"No sense really staying here. I don't feel that tired..." Hunk thought humbly as he pulled himself upwards from the bed. Stretching himself out from the god know how many hours he's had in bed, trying to rid himself from the gruesome images in his head. What kind of dream was that anyway? It felt so real... And who was that kid telling him of some "awakening" that was gonna destroy them? This is not some science armageddon, anything vile would have happened a long time ago but then again, not all information is valid.

"Oh! You're awake!" called a voice from the left. He turns his head to see a doctor at the door, flipping through a clipboard, dressed in a white shirt underneath her lab coat with the stethoscope around her neck. It seems as if she was the doctor whom was taking care of him during those critical hours. She smiles at him and adds in "You seem to be looking better today that's for sure. Keith and the others were quite worried about losing you, I was sure you'd be vaccinated.. but nothing really matters now for your body already made it's own antibotics for the disease."

"How long was I here?" asked Hunk
"About two days. Why?" asked the doctor

"Was I behaving strangely while I was asleep?" said Hunk in hardly a whisper, trying not to give the notion that he was some crackcase due to the sickness. The doctor just smiled comfortingly and replied, "Well... you were mumbling things but it was so garbled that we could not tell what you were saying. But don't worry about it too much for this happens a lot. It increases the temperature in your cranial cavity causing the cortex of your brain to lose control of concious thought and your senses, thus your hallucinations."

"Okay...I was hoping that I did not say anything that was not to be said!" Hunk blushed

"I doubt you'd blab some of your most embarassing moments!" She chuckled softly, then adding in with a sly grin "Although we have had some hilarious stories with sleeptalking in the past! But nothing with your name attached to it!"

"Good." smiled Hunk

He watched the doctor flip through the clipboard, writing in a note or two, then turned his head to the window, the snow was lightening up a bit and the sunlight was starting to pour in, which gave the room a more pleasant glow. The sweet scent of baby's breath and lilies linger through the room, a refreshing change from the usual death odor he was accostumed to; he was not too fond of hospitals, it made him feel really uneasy at times.

"Excuse me." the Yellow pilot asked
"Hmm?" replied the doctor

"Would it be alright that I could go out for a walk or something?" he answered sheepishly, the one thing about hospitals, the faster he can out of them the better! Even though he may not be well enough to leave, if he could at least get out of the hospital bed, that would suffice as well.

"Well, if you can walk then go right on ahead!" she answered back "But I'll have to escourt you for a little bit to see if you are well enough... if that's okay with you Mr. Jarreth?"

"Please call me Hunk." Hunk grinned as he get up from the bed, grabs his IV pole and walks toward the door, accompanied by the young doctor as he makes his exit, not noticing the static line dancing along the black television screen...

The halls were dimly lit as Hunk and his guest Dr. Medieros strolled along the walkway. moving past the paramedics with stretchers, past the patients siting by the window, casually chatting with friends or family, eating some food from the cafeteria or puffing on a cigarette in the shelter of the doorway to the outside. Most of the patients were from unit 3 -the Emergency Ward, Unit 6 -the fire victims ward or unit 8- the maternity ward.

"Rough week huh?" Hunk asked his escourt whom looked sleepy-eyed
"Always." says the doctor "The ER was very hectic last night."

They kept on walking through the hallway, giving a few smiles and hellos to the people that pass by. A couple of patients walk up to Hunk and asked how he was doing, how was things at the castle etc. After they left, Hunk then kept on going, enjoying the feel of the warm sunlight passing through the large hospital windows, he still felt uneasy about being there, due to some of the mood's on people's face but he just kept on walking, trying to calm himself down.

"How bad was it?" asked Hunk

"Well... let's see, a few burned victims, a woman in labor, a man with a heart attack and a psychiatric patient as well as many other patients with a whole array of problems. It's say it was a busy night!!" Dr. Medieros laughed trying to shake off her drowsiness, Hunk laughed as well trying to cheer her up, but something in that sentence caught his attention for some reason.

"Psychiatric patient?" asked Hunk "I didn't even know you had a Psychiatric ward!"
"Unit 13." says the doctor "We've been very underfunded and has been needing money for a long time now."

"Oh. What was a problem with the patient?" asked Hunk, a nagging thought in his head warning him that maybe he shouldn't ask her. Dr. Medieros replied calmly "Apparently last night, somebody found a person in a crashed airship nearby Zenai city, they brought her into the hospital through the ER, but when we tried to help her, she woke up and something snapped within, making her go beserk. We had to sedate the patient in order to tend to her injuries. Ever since that night, she has not spoken a word, she didn't even tell us her name."

"And I thought you had it bad with me!" Hunk says to her nervously. Now he feels very uncomfortable here.
"No. I've been through worse." says Medieros "Anyway.. enough talk. Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"
"No problem Doc. I'll be okay." answered Hunk, swallowing his discomfort

"Good. Well, come by to your room later for a few more tests before we can send you home." Dr. Medieros says, pivoting and starts to walk in the opposite direction, as her name is being called in the speakers, requesting her presence in Unit 7.

"Great. What can I do now?" Hunk thought to himself, he gazes around the hallsway, looking for a place to rest for a moment. When suddenly he saw something in front of him that made the hairs of his body stand on end. "What the hell! What are you doing here?!!!"

There in the middle of the hallway, amongst the crowd of people, stood the little boy, glaring at him evilly. He was still colored in the fainted shades of grey, and his body was quite fuzzy and unclear but the boy was there. The images from the dream came rushing back to his head, as gruesome and graphic as it's ever been, he shakes his head violently, trying to get rid of the thoughts. When the dream vanished, Hunk sighed in relief, glad that it was only a mental relapse. He looked back up to see that the kid was still there unfortunately. It looks like he's no dream, although it was strange that no one else can see him.

"Oh god! I must be hallucinating again!" Hunk mumbled to himself, his heart pounding at his chest, trying not to make a scene with the other patients, making him sound like the lunatic that Dr. Medieros was talking about. "Yeah...that's it! I'm seeing things again... Oh god.. I don't feel good. I need to get to Dr. Medieros."

He pulls his head back up at glanced briefly at the boy whom was now signalling Hunk to follow him. The Yellow lion pilot cocked an eyebrow at the gesture. What was the kid trying to tell him? What was he leading him to? Well.. the only way to find out is to follow him. So Hunk swiftly strides along behind the boy, trying not to make himself look like a dumb sheep as he walks through the crowds.

"Where are you taking me?" Hunk thought to himself, shuddering slightly at the mere thought of clumsily walking into someone or babbling on as a schizophrenic creep. He glanced again at the boy picking up the pace, swiftly passing by the crowds, as Hunk was fumbling through. The people glancing behind him wondering what's with Hunk, but he was too concentrated on the boy to notice the chatter.

Soon the crowds were almost a blur, as Hunk dodges through the human obstacles, eventually the metallic pole caught itself in the doorway, ripping the IV needle out of his arm. It was too quick for him to notice the pain, nor the small trickle of blood running along his forearm. "Goddamit! Why won't you-"

The kid stopped.

Hunk stood there, dumbfounded, wondering why the child had stopped. His dark eyes stalking, as the kid walks towards a large figure hunched over in a chair. It looks like one of the patients, too bad he couldn't see the face. He noticed the kid lowering himself towards the person, until his lips were near the patient's ear, whispering something very very faint. Hunk couldn't tell if the person could hear him or not, but neverless it got its attention.

"Who? Wha?" Hunk mumbled to the ghostly figure, the child just smiled, patting the patients's shoulder, which in turn she reacted by slowly pulling its head upward. It was a young woman, no more than his age, with reddish-brown hair, tanned skin upon a thin oval face, hidden by her bangs. He noticed quite a few scars along her head, the biggest one, near her left eye, the white line stood out in contrast to her dark skin. But one part that definitely got his attention. Her eyes. The left was green and the right was blue, very rare to see in a near genetically perfect world.

A touch of nostalgia suddenly wept over him, this person looked very familiar. He walked over and knelt down in front of her. She did not react very quickly to his presence due to the mild sedatives given by the doctors, concluding that she was the psychiatric patient that caused so much trouble.

He looked down from her face, seeing her drabbed in medical clothes, her hands bound by leather straps exposing her veins which in the doctors' case makes it easier to inject her with medication. He also noticed the black velvet choker around her neck with a silver medallion of St. Dominic, dull and scratched after many years.

"Are you...." Hunk whispered softly, gazing into her glazed eyes. The woman looks back with an emotionless expression on her face but it seems that she knows what Hunk's talking about. Her broad dark hands clutches the choker, nods her head slowly and reached out a hand towards his face. Ever so slowly until the air between them thins out and slides along his smooth cheek pulling his head towards her, resting him upon her shoulder.

"I knew it... I knew it was you." Hunk whispered softly in her ear. His next sentence was then cut off by a sharp pain in his chest and abdomen area. Hunk crouched down upon the floor over in pain, realizing that she had given him a hard uppercut in between his ribs and diaphragm, cutting off his wind for the moment. He looks up at her face which was twisted with anger, as she mouthed out the silent word, "Prick". Hunk held his throbbing stomach, trying to relieve himself of the pain. He knew for some reason something like that was eventually gonna come along.

"Stay away from her!" A voice calls out from the right. Hunk looks up to see Dr. Medieros and a few security guards following from behind, "Stay away from her Hunk, she's very dangerous. If I were you I'd let us go and take care of the situation. Now if you'll excuse us-"

"Doctor wait!!" Hunk called out, but it was too late. As the warden placed a hand on her shoulder, Hunk noticed a evil glimmer in her eyes. Everything else came as a blur as the woman jumped up from her chair, elbowing the guard in the face and at the same time knocking Hunk off his knees and smacking himself against the wall.

He looked up from the floor to see the young woman struggling against three guards, even with those brutes and her hands bound up, she still held her own. Slamming her fists at one guard's face, kicking the guard to her right in the abdomen and slamming the bloody-faced guard against the wall. The guard that was punched got back up and tried again to restrain her. This time he managed to grab a hold of her arms, but she suddenly leaped backwards and slammed him on the metal door, knocking him out cold. The next two guards got back up and grabbed her by the limbs, but she released herself by knocking her head against one of the warden's knocking him unconcious, distracting him from his hold as she brutally kneed the other guard in the ribs.

Hunk's eyes bulged out of his head as she pulled her hands apart, breaking the leather straps from her wrists, then with that evil glitter in her eyes again, she grabbed one man by the hair and pulled him off the ground, while her other hand reached over, grabbed the wooden club in his belt and raised it high over his head. If Hunk doesn't do something quick, somebody is going to be seriously hurt.

"DOMINIQUE STOP!!!!" Hunk cried out, his words was then followed by silence. The woman carelessly released her grip on the guard, the club and allowed both to fall to the ground. Dr. Medieros looked at him, pale as a ghost, stuttering "You know this woman? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You never showed her to me." Hunk replied innocently

"Well, nevermind about that now. We must get going." Dr. Medieros stuttered softly, gazing at the bruised up guards. She placed a hand on Dominique's back, signalling her to follow, then walked towards the doors leading to the hallway, with the soft clicking of heels and rustling of starchy clothes. Dr. Medieros glanced back at Hunk and muttered "Come by to room 456, my office and maybe you can tell me more about your friend here."

"I can talk for myself thank you very much! I am not a dumbass like everyone thinks I am!" a harsh female voice buzzed from behind. Dr. Medieros looked up to see Dominique glaring at her. The giantess leer was enough to give chills on your spine. Even for the doctor whom had probably has seen worst cases.

"About time you spoke! Your silence was really starting to creep me out." says the doctor
"Yeah, like everyone else in Unit 13!" spat Dominique angrily
"Watch it Dominique, or else I'll have you in Maximum security!" threatened Dr. Medieros

"Ever since the I CAME here I was in maximum security! And I don't think it can get any worse than that Doc, so don't try to scare me with your petty threats." hissed Dominique as she pivoted on her heel and marched out the door.

A second later her head peeked out the door as she looked at Hunk and muttered "Oh and you might to get some ice for the three stooges here!" just before she walked out the door, escorting herself to Unit 13. Dr. Medieros eventually followed behind her, leaving behind a dumbfounded and clueless Hunk standing in the middle of the hallway.

A while later, after that weird little encounter, Hunk is seen back in his hospital room. His minding a whirl with thoughts about the last couple of days. But the last few minutes was fresh upon his mind, pondering to himself "How could that be? How could have this happened? I thought I would never see her again..."

That woman who beat up the guards, was much different compared to the young girl she used to be, the person he once knew and cared for.

Dominique LaCroix, originated from planet Terra like himself, from the faraway side of the world, in the land of Australia. She moved to the Americana continent, in the United States region, when she was four years old. That's where she met Christopher Jarreth, now known today as the pilot of Yellow Lion, Hunk.

The two children were best friends, as close as Hunk and Pidge are today. Living in the small commune, nearby a native reserve, these two would never be seen apart, whether it is at school, home or visiting friends. But all wasn't fun and games throughout their lives. It all ended abruptly ten years ago, in an horrible incident where their friendship and eventually their entire home in the commune was shattered.

It has a been a long time since Hunk had ever thought of his old home, or her. Which in this case he'd rather it was never brought up. The last thing he needs is to do some digging into his childhood or worse have her remind him of what happened. Unfortunately for him, some many things are spinning around, too fast for him to handle.

"Maybe I'll take that break after all..." Hunk muttered, cradling his face in his dark hands. "Everything is just going whacko right now.. and I really need to get away from everything for a while."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Hunk replied to the sound, muttering "It's open."

The door quietly opens and Keith's face peeked inside, seeing that Hunk was not busy he opened the door wider and slipped in, clutching a small bag in his left hand, which lingered with the smell of a freshly grilled double cheeseburger, extra-large fries and a large vanilla milkshake. Hunk's favorite.

"Hey there!" Keith says with a smile "How are you feeling?"
"Okay I guess..." Hunk replies

"I bought you something to eat from Eddy's" Keith quipped, holding out the brown paper bag towards him "I got you everything you liked. Wasn't very helpful to my wallet but neverless, here you are!"

"Thanks!" Hunk smiled grabbing the bag, reaching inside and pulling out the burger in the wrapper. The warmth flowed through his hand as he eagerly start to feast on the burger, taking little bites at first, as to not upset his stomach. Enjoying each morsel of the juicy hamburger piled heavily with melted cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon and mayo.

"Must be glad to be to able to eat food again." Keith smiled
"Have you ever eaten the food here?!" Hunk says halfway through bites "Not very appetizing!"
"I know. That's why I always get Lance to fetch me something!" laughed Keith

An awkward silence fell between the two for a few seconds, either one not able to look at the other straight in the eye, due to the weird occurance from two days back. Keith doesn't know whether to feel sympathetic or angry at Hunk about his actions at Lion practice, and Hunk... well he just felt awful.

"Listen. Why don't we check with the doctor and see if we can get you to leave early today... that is if you feel well enough to come back to the Castle." says Keith, finally breaking the ice.

That little sentence was probably the best thing Hunk's has heard all day. He's do anything to get himself out of here! He grinned slightly and muttered "Yeah. That'd be great commander. And by the way Keith, I'm sorry for being a bastard back there, I didn't know what I was thinking... maybe I do need some time off."

"That's alright. I know I can be an asshole myself once in a while." replied Keith then noticing Hunk's bewildered expression, he added in with a soft chuckle "Aw come on! I know you, Lance and Pidge bitch about me all the time after lion practice!"

"I didn't know you were listening." Hunk blushed
"Neither did I." said Keith "Now, let's go see the doc and get you home!"

"Alright then." muttered Hunk as he pulled himself up from the hospital bed and followed Keith towards the door. But then remembered something he said in his last sentence, "....Hey! How do you know we bitched about you?! Did you have a camera rigged in the locker rooms or something?!!"

All remained in the hospital room was Keith's laughter as Hunk sped out the door.

After the checkup done by Dr. Medieros, it seems that Hunk was in a well enough condition to leave the hospital and go back home. Which was all too a relief for Hunk since he didn't have to stay there any longer. So without further ado, Keith helped Hunk get his things and prepare for the ride back.

"Hey Keith?" said Hunk as his searched through the room.
"Hmm?" replied Keith

"Do you know where my pocket notepad went?" asked Hunk as he sifted through the bed covers, underneath the bed, in his jacket pockets. Keith just cocked an eyebrow and muttered "Why is that electronic piece of junk important to you?"

"It contains vital information... as well as some private stuff.." Hunk muttered with a red face.

"It shouldn't be far off, maybe you left it over at the Castle, or inside Yellow Lion." Keith says shrugging, then smirking as he added in "Even then I'll have the staff on the look out for it... besides it's not like Lance's PC, containing his extensive collection of adult photos that he uses for his own personal entertainment!"

"...Thank you for the mental images Keith, I really needed to see that!" muttered Hunk sarcastically
"At least you weren't the one who accidentally stumbled into his files!" grimaced Keith, blushing furiously.

After shuddering off that thought, the two pilots grabbed their things and set out from the hospital room, down the hallways towards the parking garage downstairs. Meanwhile Hunk was lost in his own thoughts, thinking about that encounter with Dominique that morning. The part that really freaked him out were those eyes, like a savage beast ready to feast upon its prey... the same sort of eyes of someone else a long time ago.

But that was then and this was now. He's no longer at the commune, no longer on earth with those memories. This is the time to live on, rather than dwell upon past deeds but he can't help to think, if she's willing to move on with her life as well, or allowing the past to consume her.

Neverless, she seems to be way beyond help. Sorry to say is that he'd rather not see her again, and think back.. to those painful days.

"Hunk." Keith asked, waking him from his trance
"Huh?" said Hunk "What was that?"

"Dr. Medieros told me to give these to you." Keith says giving him a small bottle of blue colored gel capules. Then explained, "She says that even if you are practically cured of your illness, you may still have a chance of another relapse, so take two capsules a day and in case you are beginning to have another relapse, take two more and call the hospital."

"Thanks." Hunk mumbled, placing the bottle in his jacket pocket. Annoyed at the fact that there's a small chance of returning here. Neverless, he'll obey the instructions, so he won't have to come back to the hospital.

Afterwards, Keith and Hunk continued on to the parking garage, Hunk noticed that he was passing the same place that he saw the strange boy and Dominique. He stares out in open space, expecting the boy to appear. After a second realizing that he wasn't there, Hunk sighed and moved on.

Soon the two were on the road, in Keith's red corvette. The snow outside has sped up a little bit but nothing too threatening. All was quiet in the hovercar, except for the soft sounds of classical music waltzing within and the humming of the engine. Hunk can't seem to get his mind of Dominique and the kid, was there something to these two that are important? Is there some kind of connection?

"Hey Hunk are you okay?" Keith asked noticing his worried expression.
"Huh? ..uh Yeah. I'm fine." Hunk muttered "I'm just sleepy that's all."

"Well.. you can get as much sleep you need when you get back." Keith smiled as he gazes his attention back onto the road. "We can all get some rest, that's for sure."

"Yeah." Hunk grinned slightly, rested his head against the door of the car and relaxed, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep before they get back to the castle of Lions. "I hope I can be able to relax for a while... I haven't been feeling too good lately."

Suddenly, the car took a really sharp turn, then another and another. Hunk was awaken suddenly, when the last turn threw him unto the dashboard. He got up from the floor to see Keith speeding along the road like a madman, holding onto the car for dear life, he screamed, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOI-"

His sentence was cut off when Keith suddenly stopped the car by the side of the road. Keith reached over to his right and grabbed the blaster gun hidden beside the seat. Hunk thought that Keith is going mad, but he noticed that Keith drove the end of the gun towards the back seat. Keith, red-faced and sweating screamed out "Alright now, COME out with your hands up! I'm armed with a gun and I am not afraid to use it!!!"

"Keith!! Are you crazy?! You nearly threw us off the goddamn road!!" Hunk yelled, but his next words stuck in his throat when he noticed something moving beside him. He turned his head, having his eyes bulge out of his head when he came nose to nose with the stowaway...