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It was another boring day in a boring, average life. Lance was walking home from school, the weight of the homework in his bag dragging him down and making his movements slower and sluggish. He dreaded going home, not wanting to deal with the family issues that have been stirring up recently. Ever since their mom had died, their dad had been at the house less and less. When he was home, he was either drinking or yelling and hurting them.Lance envied his oldest brother, Luis, who was old enough to leave the house and had an apartment closer to the city. Veronica and Marco were in college, close enough to where they could still stay at home though. Then there was Lance and Rachel, the twins still in high school and ready to leave the house once and for all.Lance stopped in front of said house, the paint on the wood starting to chip off from age and there was trash littered around outside. Lance wished Rachel didn't stay after school for a club meeting, not wanting to have to deal with his dad alone. He took a deep breath before walking inside, making sure to keep quiet in case his father was asleep. He set his bag down, grabbing his work out from it and quietly heading upstairs.He shut and locked the door, Leaning his forehead against it with a heavy sigh. Lance turned to look out his window, the long stretch of beach and the gentle waves lapping at the shore bringing him a sense of calm in his hurricane of a life. He sat at his desk, blue eyes staring longingly outside, wanting nothing more than to just go for a stroll along the sand, barefoot and alone. It was his way of getting away from everything, clearing his head.He jumped when he heard a crash downstairs, his father must have woken and thrown something onto the ground in a drunken rage. If this keeps up, they won't have anything left. Lance shook his head, hearing the front door open again and the voices of Veronica and Marco could be heard. He heard his father yell at them before they rushed to their own bedrooms, the lock of their doors echoing throughout the hallway.Lance looked back down at his homework, starting to write an essay that was due the next day and ignoring the angry grumbling downstairs.That night, Lance waited until his family was asleep before grabbing his jacket and putting his shoes on, silently heading out the front door and towards the beach.The fresh air brought peace to his mind, the scent of sea salt like a drug that he never wanted to stop taking. He allowed himself a small smile as he strolled along the sand, stopping once he was a far enough away from his house and taking off his shoes, rolling up his pants and wading into the cool waters.The water felt nice on his caramel colored skin, lapping gently at his feet before retreating into the ocean again. A small hermit crab scuttled by, snapping at his toes as Lance got out and picked up his shoes before he continued walking. He looked up at the sky on impulse, seeing something from the corner of his eye and frowned. A bright light seemed to be coming towards the ground at lightning speed, a great big blazing ball of fire.Lance stared wide eyed up at the blazing ball of fire, drawing closer and closer to him. He quickly turned tail and ran out of the way, not exactly wanting to die via being burned alive by whatever this thing was. There was a loud thud behind him, the sand muffling most of the impact as it sent up a flurry of sand, Lance hardly able to see as he tripped and fell to the ground with a groan.“What the hell...” He muttered, rubbing his side before looking behind him as the sand cleared. There, in the sand, was a large red box, laying halfway on its side. Much to his surprise, it remined him of something in some British show he had watched with his siblings, a police public call box. It was slightly different than the ones he’d seen, red instead of the usual dark blue, but that didn’t explain why it had fallen from the sky. Lance stood, dusting the sand off his pants and looking at the box curiously. Nothing ever happened around here, so he took this as a blessing.While Lance was standing there in a state of slight shock, the door swung open and a man hauled himself out with a grunt. He was mumbling to himself, his clothes soaked to the skin, as he stumbled onto the sand and briskly turned around to examine his turned over box.He didn’t seem to realize Lance was there, said boy standing there gaping at the man, unable to believe any of this was happening.
The man seemed to be around Lances age, if not a little older, and had strangely pale skin. His dark, raven black hair was about shoulder length, curling gently around his ears and at the base of his neck.
He has a mullet. Lance thought with a small snort.The man wore a leather jacket with a red under shirt and skinny jeans with combat boots to top it all off. He reminded Lance of a biker in those gangs that always hung around. While Lance was examining the young man, he didn’t realize he was also being examined himself until he looked up and met the dark, stormy eyes of the young man.They stood there, staring at each other wide eyed, like deer caught in headlights.In a blur of motion, the man jumped back into the box, a soft thud able to be heard before the doors closed again and a loud whooshing sound came from it.
Lances eyes widened even more, if that was possible, as he watched the box disappear. He stood there for a moment longer before snapping out of it, glancing around. Had anyone else seen that? He frowned slightly, strangely disappointed, he must have imagined it, was probably just dreaming and he’ll wake up to his boring old bedroom any second now.But then, the whooshing sound came back, the red box appearing before him again, upright this time.Lance stood there, unsure of what to do as the door opened again and the man slipped out, slowly shutting it behind him. They stared at each other again, sharing twin expressions of shock and curiosity. Lance had to look up just the slightest to meet the others gaze since they were closer now. He felt like he should be more scared, running for his life and calling the police. But he felt...calm, peaceful even. He finally opened his mouth to say something. “Who ar-”“What date is this?” The man asked, rudely interrupting Lance.Lance narrowed his eyes slightly, bottom lip jutting out in a small pout. “It’s January 28th, 2019?”“Ugh, horrible year. I liked the 1900s better, why can’t you people go back to those?” The man grumbled, pushing past Lance and starting to walk down the beach.“Wha- Hey wait!” Lance hissed, jogging after him. “Who are you? What the hell is that thing? How is any of this possible?” He asked.“Lots of things seem impossible to your small human brains, anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Or think hard enough.” The young man huffed, not sparing the boy a glance. “As for who I am, everyone calls me the Red Paladin, and that’s all you need to know.” He said gruffly.“Ok then ‘Red Paladin’ what the hell in that thing?” Lance asked, gesturing to the red box they were leaving behind them.“That is my TARDIS, but I call her Red.” the Red Paladin responded. He suddenly stopped right in his tracks, looking at Lance. “Which way is the nearest town?” He asked.“Um...like a mile down that way?” Lance muttered, pointing forwards where the faint lights of the city could be seen.“Well, thanks for your ‘help’. Now go home, you have school in the morning. But if I were you...I’d stay home tomorrow.” The young man said, starting to walk again. “Goodnight Lance.”Lance watched him walk away, wanting to follow him like the stubborn boy he was, but something told him that he should go back home. He started to turn around before a thought came to him. “Wait, how do you know my name?” He asked, turning around again. But he was gone.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sunlight filtered in through single bedroom window, the blue curtains drawn aside to reveal the beach outside.Lance groaned, slowly opening his eyes and blinking rapidly. His eyes widened and he sat up, looking wildly around the room. He didn’t remember returning to his room last night.Lance practically jumped out of bed and raced to the window, looking out at the sandy beach. He could see the crater left in the sand from last night. So, all that had really happened.“Lance! Wake up and get dressed if you want a ride to school.” Veronica shouted from downstairs.“Just a moment!” Lance yelled back, swiftly getting dressed and grabbing his homework before making his way downstairs. He grabbed a chocolate muffin from the pantry, practically stuffing it in his mouth as he put his homework in his backpack and joining his siblings outside.Veronica and Marco dropped him and Rachel off at their school, pushing them teasingly out of the car so they ‘wouldn’t be late’.“You look tired Bro, you sleep alright?” Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow at her brother as they entered the school.“Who isn’t tired these days? Just up late doing homework.” He didn’t want to tell Rachel about what happened last night, knowing she’d think he was crazy.The two parted ways, Lance going to his first class and smiling slightly when he saw his two best friends, Hunk and Pidge, sitting at the back table.He took the empty seat in front of them, turning around and interrupting their conversation. “You two will not believe what happened to me last night!”“Lance, if you’re just going to tell us that you got laid, we don’t need to hear about it.” Pidge huffed, raising their eyebrow at him, brown eyes twinkling with amusement.“Ok first of all, if I'd gotten laid would’ve told you last night. Second of all, that’s not it at all.” Lance huffed.“Then spit it out man!” Hunk said.“Alright alright! Ok, so, I was taking a walk down the beach when-” Lance was cut off when the bell rang, making him groan in frustration. “I’ll tell you at lunch.” He grumbled, turning around to face the teacher.“Class, I’d like to introduce you to a new student that will be joining us today. Keith Kogane.” She gestured towards the door as a young man with raven black hair walked in, a scowl on his face. “You can take a seat next to Mr. McClain.”Lance felt his gut clench as he stared at the young man that came to sit beside him.You’ve got to be fucking kidding me He thought to himself, running a hand over his face as he tried to focus on what the teacher was saying instead of staring at Red Paladin.The Red Paladin seemed to be looking somewhere else though, off to the side where a girl sat a few desks away. Lance knew her from a few of his classes, Nyma.She seemed a little off today, her face pale and sickly looking, different than her usual cheery self.He nudged Red Paladin with his foot, gaining his attention. “Dude, why do you keep staring at her?” He asked, frowning.“It’s none of your concern. Didn’t I tell you to stay home today?” The Red Paladin grumbled, glaring at Lance.“Well really you suggested it, you didn’t exactly tell me to.” Lance whispered with a small smirk as the other gave him a frustrated look.“Well next time I'll have to give you a clearer order.” Red Paladin murmured, suddenly drawing closer until they’re faces were inches away.Lance blushed, thankful when Hunk cut in from behind them. “Um...I'm not really sure what is going on right now, but could you guys do it like...later?”“Yeah, get a room.” Pidge teased, a mischievous smile spreading across their face.“Is there something you four would like to share with the class?” The teacher asked, hands on her hips and glared at them.“No Ma’am.” They responded, watching as she huffed and turned back around.When the bell rang, Lance watched as Red Paladin got up, following after Nyma.“Hey! You have some explaining to do!” He hissed, pulling him aside in the hallway before he could lose him in the crowd.“I think you’ll find that I don’t have to explain anything to you. You simply happened to be at the right place at the right time last night and that’s it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must stop that girl from doing any more damage.” Red Paladin growled, trying to move away from Lance again.“Oh, don’t give me all that bullshit, you are going to explain to me what you’re doing here, I can stand here all day.” He really couldn’t since he didn’t want to miss class, it was hard work keeping up his grades.Red Paladin looked conflicted for a moment before sighing deeply, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before leaning close to Lance. “There’s something going on at this school and it has to do with that girl. You probably haven’t noticed, you humans never noticed anything, but there are kids going missing from this school. Almost half the desks in your first class were empty. I’ve come to find out what's going on and put a stop to it.”Lance frowned for a moment, looking away as he tried to calm his racing thoughts. “So, you purposely crashed on the beach last night?” He asked, tilting his head.“Well...no, but Red always takes me to where she thinks I need to be, and she’s never been wrong before.” Red Paladin shrugged. “Now can I get on with it?”“Yes, on one condition. You let me help you.” Lance said with a small smile.Red Paladin didn’t even hesitate before saying, “Absolutely not”. He pulled away and started walking down the hall to their next class, which was coincidently the same as Lances.“Oh, come on! Nothing exciting ever happens around here! You have to let me help, or I'll tell everyone that you’re some weird guy with a magic box.” Lance huffed, crossing his arms defiantly.“You really think people are going to believe that?” Red Paladin muttered, though amusement could be heard in his tone. “Fine, you can help, but you will do as I say, got it?” He sat down in the back, keeping an eye on Nyma as she sat near the front.“Yes! Thank you! I promise I won’t let you down. So, what is it exactly we need to do, Red Paladin?” Lances smile widened, sitting to Red Paladins right.“Yeah yeah, that’s what they all say. We need to get her alone somewhere, away from prying eyes.” Red Paladin explained with a small frown splayed across his lips. “Also, you don’t have to keep calling me Red Paladin, just call me Keith.” He murmured, almost like he was embarrassed.“Keith...alright then Keithy boy.” Lance smirked playfully, chuckling as the other glared fiercely at him. “Don’t make me regret it.”“Sure, whatever, so I'm thinking that we corner her during lunch, everyone's going to be in the cafeteria or outside so we can lure her into one of the empty classrooms and go from there.”“That’s...actually a better idea than what I had in mind.” Keith said begrudgingly, eyes still trained on the girl.“Well, Keithy boy, you’ll soon learn that I'm full of good ideas.” Lance smirked triumphantly.“If you call me that one more time I swear to god.” The Red Paladin grumbled before his attention was captured elsewhere once more. He half listened to Lance talking about something else, watching as Nyma stood up and slowly walked over to a shy looking boy.Nyma leaned down so she was eye level with him, whispering something before straightening again and gesturing for him to follow her. The boy stood up, seeming to be in a trance like state, following her as she led him out of the room.Keith immediately got up to follow them, ignoring Lances questioning look as the caramel skinned boy stands to follow him.“Keith? We can’t just walk right out of class!”“Too late, we already did. Would you rather miss class or have everyone you know disappear?”“I guess you have a point...but how do we deal with this if we don’t even know what’s wrong with her’? She could just be having a craving.” Lance shrugged, glancing up at the other boy.“No, she’s not having a craving. I don’t know what exactly the problem is, but I have a pretty good idea. She’s only going after males and her eyes had a yellowish tint around them, I'm thinking it's some kind of parasite but I'm just not sure...the symptoms seem familiar but what is it...” Keith mumbled to himself with a small growl, clearly frustrated as he tried to keep an eye on Nyma.“What like it’s alien?” Lance asked, tilting his head slightly as he got a hum as conformation. “Are you alien?”“Oh look, he finally figured it out! Ten points to the human.” Keith said sarcastically, peeking around the corner as Nyma led the boy into an empty room. “Looks like she’s taking him into a storage room, probably to suck the life force out of him if I’m thinking right.”Lance opened his mouth to speak before he heard a shrill scream coming from the room. His eyes widened in horror and without even thinking he barged into the room to reveal...nothing. “They’re gone...where’d they go?”Keith stood close behind him with a deep frown on his face, glancing around the room. “I left my sonic knife in my TARDIS, I can use it to find out where she went.” He said briskly, already leaving the room and heading outside of the school.“Your TARDIS, that red box, right? Could I see inside?” Lance asked, eyes filled with a childlike curiosity.“Lance this really isn’t the time to get distracted.” Keith groaned, walking up to the large red police box that was sitting idly on the sidewalk. He took a key out of his pocket, inserting and turning it in the lock before pushing the door open and walking inside. He took off his jacket, tossing it to the side, and started rummaging through his stuff.Lance poked his head in, mouth falling agape as he took in the inside of the box. He took a step back, walking around the box and examining it before stepping fully inside, blue eyes round as dinner plates. “It’s...It’s bigger on the inside!” He exclaimed, a broad smile breaking out over his face as he laughed. “This is amazing!”“Yeah, can you keep it down? You’re gonna give me a headache.” Keith growled, opening a section of the large console that sat in the middle of the room and pulling out a small device. He pressed a button on the side, and it formed into a knife, a glowing purple symbol on the side of it. He pressed on another button, a varying high-pitched whirring sound coming from the device as the Red Paladin moved around the room, pointing it in different directions until the whirring steadied. “Got her.” He smirked, grabbing Lance by the arm and pulling him out of the box.Lance protested with a pout, wanting to see more of the TARDIS before he was hushed by Keith. “I’ve got a lock on her now. She’s been taken over by a parasite from the planet Limora. Everything in the universe has quintessence and that’s the Limorans food source. With all you hormonal teenagers around you’re produces tons of quintessence, so that must have drawn it here, latched on to a female and used that to feed on the hormone prominent males.” Keith explained, rambling on and on about it.“I’m just going to pretend to understand what you’re talking about.” Lance muttered, rolling his eyes as he followed the other back inside the school. “So, what are you gonna do?”“The only thing I can do. I’m going to lure her to the TARDIS and blast the parasite to smithereens.”“But won’t that kill Nyma too?” Lance asked, a sense of dread forming in his gut.Keith said nothing, eyes staring straight ahead, a silent yes.Lance chose to say nothing more, staring at his feet before as the lunch bell rang. “How is it lunch already? Everything's all jumbled up with you around. You want to come eat with me and my friends?” Lance asked.“Nah, I don’t really eat much. Besides I’ve got to get everything set up so I can trap her. If you still want to help meet me outside in an hour.” Keith responded, leaving him and blending into the crowd of people pouring out from the classrooms.Lance watched him leave, a troubled frown on his face as he made his way to the cafeteria. He had lost his appetite, spotting Hunk and Pidge talking with two others as he went over to join them.“Lance! I was just telling Shiro and Allura about your new boyfriend.” Pidge smirked, gesturing to the two sitting across from them.One was a dark-skinned girl with bright blue eyes and flowing silver hair. The other was a well-muscled young man, a scar crossing the bridge of his nose and a tuft of white hair sprouting from the black hair.“He’s not my boyfriend! Just...someone I happened to run into.” Lance huffed, plopping himself down beside Hunk.“Anyway, what were you gonna tell us this morning?” Hunk asked, his voice slightly muffled with the food in his mouth.Lance tensed up, internally debating whether it was the best idea to tell them what was happening. “I...um...nothing, it was nothing. I just...had a weird dream! Yeah, a weird dream with weird...stuff.” He rambled nervously, ocean blue eyes flitting around.The group stared at him for a moment before shrugging it off and going back to their conversations.Lance breathed a sigh of relief, glad they decided to just ignore it. They’re probably used to tuning me out by now. Lance thought bitterly, eyes downcast to stare at the table. He kept checking the time, feeling jittery and full of adrenaline. When it neared an hour, he stood up and left the table without so much as a goodbye, racing outside. He couldn’t hide the bright smile that spread across his face as he saw the red box, going up and tentatively knocking on the door. It swung open and he was pulled inside, almost faceplanting if it weren’t for the hand on his arm.“A little warning next time would be nice, so I don’t fall flat on my face.” Lance muttered, though he still smiled. It had only been an hour, but it felt like days. He has only known the Red Paladin for a day and he’s already attached. Focus Lance“Sure, anyway, I’ve got everything set up and you’re going to be the bait.” Keith told him with a smirk. He grabbed a small bottle with a glowing liquid in it, passing it over to Lance. “Drink this, it should be safe. Hopefully.”“Yeah you better hope it is.” Lance hissed, wrinkling his nose as he sniffed at the liquid before gulping it down. He didn’t feel any different, but when he looked at himself, he saw he was glowing a light shade of blue. “What did you do to me?”“It makes your quintessence more visible, easier to access. She’ll be able to smell you from miles away. So, what you’re going to do is start walking down the hall until you find her, or she finds you really, and lead her back here then ZAP! Gone for good.” The Red Paladin explained, running a hand through his long hair.“So basically, you want me to seduce a parasite. I see you’ve noticed one of my many skills.” Lance smirked, putting his hands on his hips and swaying them like he was listening to some silent music.Keith rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. “Alright so you go now and try to find her, make sure she doesn’t go after anyone else and if she tries to attack you right away then use this one her.” He tossed something at Lance, the caramel skinned boy stumbling to catch it. “Just press the small green button and it’ll admit a sound at a frequency only the parasite can hear to stun her for a moment.”Lance held the device up, revealing the knife-like device Keith had been using earlier. “Aye aye captain! Hopefully I won’t die via gorgeous women, what a way to go." He sighed dramatically, smirking at Keith before he made his way out of the TARDIS and into the school.The halls were empty, everyone going to their last classes of the day. Lance jogged down the halls, peeking around corners and into empty rooms to see if she was there, but with no luck. He frowned, trying to think of where she could be before he heard a groan from down the hall, where the counselor's office was. He immediately headed that way, stopping at the open door to see Nyma practically sucking the face off a young boy, metaphorically and physically.The boy had the same bright blue glow around him that Lance did, but his was quickly fading as the parasite sucked the quintessence out of him.“Hey!” Lance hissed, gaining her attention as she pulled away from the other boy. “Why don’t you come over and get a taste of me hmm? I’m just bursting with quintessence.” He smirked seductively, or he hoped he was anyway.Nymas eyes seemed to flash red for a moment as she pushed the other boy away and advanced towards Lance, her own seductive smirk playing across her lips.“Shit alright then.” Lances eyes widened as he took a few small steps backwards, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he tried not to stumble over his own feet. He gulped as she began to walk faster, going as far to try and reach out and grab him, before he turned tail and ran, hearing her screech and start running after him with low growls.Lance burst through the large front doors of the school, looking back to see if she was still following him. She was, right behind him, actually. He yelped and ran towards the TARDIS, only to be slammed face first into the closed door of the red box. He struggled to move as his hands were pinned behind his back, Nymas warm breath being felt at the back of his neck. He was roughly turned around, blue eyes wide as he came face to face with the parasite. “Keith!” He yelled before being silenced as she kissed him. Usually he was be ecstatic that a girl was kissing him, but not now. The door behind him opened, Lance and Nyma crashing to the floor and pulled apart by Keith.The Red Paladin stood protectively beside Lance, moving a hand over one of the consoles many buttons. A bright green light came out, twisting around Nymas hands and feet, locking her in place. “State your name and species.” He ordered, a fierce scowl on his face as he crossed his arms.The parasite tossed her head with a playful smile, a mischievous look in her eyes.“You know what I am, so why bother to ask.” She mused, her voice sickly sweet. “But what about you, Red Paladin? Everyone who knows of you wonders what you really are, an all-new species perhaps? Maybe even a mixed runt, a runt too scared to fight for his own life and instead ran off in the middle of a war.” She cackled.Lance glanced up at the other boy, a concerned look splayed across his face.Keith's stormy grey eyes seemed to flare with a fire, slamming his hand down on the button again and watching as the parasite screamed in pain, being electrocuted tended to be painful, before she disappeared in a plume of smoke, nothing but dust.Lance stared down at the spot where she used to be, not sure what to feel about all of this. He gathered up the courage to look back at Keith, seeing he had moved away and was messing with some stuff on the console. “You killed her, just like that killed her, just like that...”“Yes.” Was Keiths blank, emotionless reply. The school dismissal bell could be heard ringing outside. “Do you want me to take you home?”“No...no I think I'll just...” Lance stammered, backing out of the TARDIS with a troubled frown. “I’ll, uh, see you later?” He mumbled before shutting the door and getting far away from the Red box. He watched silently as it made a loud whirring sound, slowly fading away and out of sight just as people started pouring out of the building.“Hey Lance, where did you go at lunch? You weren’t in any of your afternoon classes either?” Hunk asked, the larger boy approaching with Pidge at his side.“Probably making out with his new boyfriend in the closet.” Pidge laughed, earning a halfhearted glare from Hunk.“You know, I wish I was Pidge.” Lance sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning away from his friends, deciding he just needed to go home and lay down.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That night, Lance lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. In his mind he replayed the events of the day. He still wanted to see Keith again, he realized, even if he had killed one of his classmates and had a weird red box. He would probably never see the older boy again though, he had lost that chance. He sighed and tilted his head towards the window, looking out at the ocean. A soft whirring sound came from outside, making Lance instantly sit up at the familiar noise.A broad smile spread across his freckled face as he slipped his shoes on and ran as quietly as he could downstairs and out into the backyard.The red police box sat proudly on the sand, door open to reveal Keith leaned against it with a small smile. “You said you’d see me later, so here I am.”“Sure you didn’t just miss me?” Lance teased, walking up to him.“Pfft, as if. I came to say goodbye actually, I’ve been here long enough.” Keith sighed, eyes glancing nervously to the side. “And...and to ask if you’d...like to come with me?” There was a hopeful hint to his voice, stormy grey eyes flitting to ocean blue ones.Lances breath caught in his throat, his stomach feeling like he had butterflies in it. He wanted to go, so badly, to see what Keith had to offer...but what about his family? He couldn’t leave his siblings to deal with their father alone. “Keith...I’d love to but...I can’t, my family needs me. I’m sorry.” He murmured sadly, frowning.Keith mirrored his frown, kicking the ground lightly with his boot. “Ok, guess I’ll just head out then...” He huffed, taking a step back and closing the door.Lance took a step back himself, watching as the TARDIS began to make its whirring, wheezing sound and fade away from view. He hung his head and was about to go back inside when the sound came back, the TARDIS appearing once more. He tilted his head, confused.The door opened again as Keith poked his head out. “Did I mention that I can travel to any time or place and have you back before school starts?” He smirked, stepping aside and leaving the choice to Lance. Lance stared at him for a moment before smiling,Who would he be to refuse this?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“So, where are you going to take me first, Hot Shot?” Lance asked, shutting the door before skipping over to Reds console. “I can take you to anytime or any place your heart desires.” The Red Paladin said, moving around the large console as he flipped switches and pressing buttons. “It’s your choice, Lover Boy.” Lance ignored the name and tapped his chin with his finger, a contemplating look on his face. “I want to go to another planet! Earth is so original and boring, Hunk doesn’t believe in aliens, so I'll bring him back something to show they’re real.” “Typical, you might want to hold onto something.” Keith smirked, typing something on a random keypad before pulling down a lever to his left. Lance yelped as he was jostled, scrambling for a grip on the console so he wouldn’t get tossed around. “You’d think it’d be a smoother ride!” He yelled, glaring as he heard Keith laughing. The Tardis soon came to a stop, landing with a loud thud and shook the room, making Lance lose his grip, falling onto his back with a pained groan. “You alright?” Keith asked, smiling down at the blue-eyed boy as he extended a hand to help him up. “You should really work on your flying school,” Lance grumbled, rubbing his back as Keith helped him stand up. “Now where’s the fun in that.” Keith mused, pulling a small monitor screen to look at. “Looks like we’re in the right place. Also, you might want to change out of your pajamas.” Lance looked down at himself, realizing he did indeed have his pajamas on. “If you wanted to get me naked, you could’ve just asked.” He smirked, winking at a red-faced Keith. “Got any spare clothes?” “G-go down the hall and take a left, a right, and another left. There’s a big wardrobe room you can choose from.” Keith managed to get out, hiding his blushing face behind the monitor. Lance laughed as he passed by, making his way down the hall. He came back with a light blue t-shirt, jean shorts that showed off his smooth caramel legs, and still had on his worn-down tennis shoes. “Took you long enough.” Keith huffed, putting his leather jacket. “Hey, it takes effort to look this good.” Lance said, striking a ridiculous pose that brought a small smile to the Red Paladins face. “Yeah yeah, now come on.” Keith grabbed the boy by the arm, using one hand to cover his eyes, even as the other protested. They stepped outside and Keith removed his hand, “Welcome to the planet the planet Xorian, famous for its enormous market and ceremony of the twin suns. Lance stood there and took it all in, eyes wide and mouth agape. The market place was buzzing with life, aliens of all shapes, sizes, race and color wandering around looking at what the booths had to offer. Above them, the two suns of the planet could be seen, blazing brightly. They almost seemed to be alive, happy on this day of joyous celebration over them. “This place is amazing! Can we go look around? Pretty please?” He asked, giving Keith a pleading look. Keith sighed dramatically, a smile finding its way onto his face. “I guess, but if we want to watch the ceremony then we can’t be long.” He dug around in his jacket pockets for a moment before pulling out a handful of shiny purple coins. “Spend them wisely.” He said in a mock serious tone, a teasing glint in his dark eyes. “I can’t promise anything.” Lance chuckled, taking the coins before he was off, flitting from booth to booth with Keith trailing behind. Keith paused for a moment as he saw three figures, half hidden in a darker corner of the market. They seemed to be watching Lance, following his every movement. It made Keith uneasy, jogging to catch up with the other. The Red Paladin watched with a fond look as Lance picked up various items, examining them with interest and placing them back down in favor of looking at something else. “How come all the aliens here speak English?” Lance asked after a moment, looking at a dog like alien he had been talking with. “It's Red, she gets into your mind and tunes it to where you can understand what they’re saying.” Keith explained. “Huh...alright then. Ooo what's that?” And he was off again, picking up a small tin device. How is he ok with all this? Anyone else would have run for the hills already...Keith frowned slightly as he came up beside Lance. “It’s called a Weathermen, it becomes hot when it’s going to rain.” He told him, examining the small device. “Pidge would love this. They’re always doing some science stuff.” The caramel skinned boy smiled softly, handing the booth owner two of the purple coins and carefully putting the Weathermen into his pocket. “Alright you had your fun, now let’s hurry up and get to the ceremony.” Keith pulled him away from the booths and towards the entrance of a large stadium, aliens crowding around the entrance to get inside. More aliens started to crowd around, pushing them closer together. Lance looked nervously at the aliens that pushed around them, unknowingly grabbing Keiths hand and holding on tightly, like he was afraid of getting separated. Keith glanced down at their joined hands with a confused expression, then looked at Lances nervous look. “It’ll take forever to get through his crowd.” He said, holding the others hand tighter and pulled the boy off to the side, going up to a large alien in heavy armor, face hidden behind a helmet. “Excuse me, but we would like access to the royalty seating.” He pulled out a leather wrap from his pocket, holding it open so the single blank paper inside was visible. The guard leaned forward to see the paper before quickly straightening up again. “Of course, My Lords, right this way.” He motioned for them to follow as he led them through a different entrance that was more heavily guarded by the same heavy armored beings. Keith noticed something out of the corner of his eye, turning his head slightly as he saw the three cloaked figures again, still watching Lance with an intense sort of focus. “What did you show him?” Lance asked, pulling Keith back to the present as the guard showed them to another area of seating, the perfect spot to watch the ceremony. There were a few other aliens seated around them in pairs, wearing expensive fabrics and jewels on their bodies. “Psychic paper, shows them whatever I want them to see. Apparently, we are the kings of Earth. Hopefully the real ones don’t show up.” Keith mused. “The real ones? Does earth have a monarchy now? What year is it?” “Man, you ask a lot of questions, don’t you? If I'm correct, and I usually am, then we are in the year three billion, a few years before the earth gets burned actually. It’s the reign of the fourth great and bountiful human empire.” Keith explained, tossing the psychic paper up and down. He noticed that Lance was still holding his hand but made no move to let go. “Wow...so that means that I’m billions of years old right now...Everyone I know is gone...” Lance fell quiet, staring blankly at the ground. “Well aren’t you a joy.” Keith muttered, smiling when he saw the other roll his eyes at him. “How old are you, Keith?” Lance asked, perking up. “Shh, it’s starting.” The Red Paladin shushed him, using it as an excuse not to answer the question. The arena quieted as a group approached the center, everyone watching as the two small suns lowered closer to the arena. One figure in the group stood on a stand to speak. “We welcome all of you hear today to celebrate the creation of two of the universes most unique suns, Sun Xin and Sun Xor. Would the sacrifices please come forward.” Three more broke apart from the group, all three were little girl Xorians, dressed in different colored silks and fabrics and adorned head to toe in jewels. Lance frowned and leaned forward slightly, hearing a faint crying from the little girls. “Keith...they’re going to sacrifice little girls to suns? W-we have to help them!” He was about to get up when Keith stopped him. “Just wait, we don’t know for sure if it’s an actual sacrifice. I’ve been to this ceremony before, but it was much different then...i hate not knowing what’s going to happen.” Keith growled low in his throat, a sound that surprised Lance but he didn’t question it. Lance reluctantly sat back down, shifting uneasily in his seat. They watched as a temple formed between the two suns, looming over the arena. The crying of the little girls got louder, the other aliens in the center backing away until they were as far as they could get, leaving them alone. A beam of light came from the temple, surrounding the three little girls as their screams of fear echoed throughout the arena. The beam picked them up, dragging them into the opening at the base of the temple as they disappeared into its darkness. A low rumble seemed to come from the suns. “The twin suns are pleased with our sacrifices once more, let us celebrate!” The announcer said before the suns started rumbling again. The arena shook, startled noises coming from the other aliens. The beam came back again, scanning over the ground in the center before it started to move up the stands. It finally came to a stop on Lance, the boy's eyes wide. “Keith!” Lance yelped as he was pulled up into the beam. “Lance!” Keith had a look of horror on his face, snarling when he tried to reach out to him but was restrained by some nearby guards. “No! Let go of me!” He hissed, turning his gaze to Lance as he disappeared into the temple. Keith was released and he fell to his knees, watching the sun and temple rise back up into the sky. The announcer approached him with a frown. “Terribly sorry for that, I guess they wanted more this time.” He said it like it was no big deal. Like it meant nothing that Lance had been taken. Keith lurched forward, grabbing the alien by the collar of his suit. “You are treading in very dangerous territory right now. You either tell me how to get into that temple so I can save my friend, or I’ll gut you here and now.” His eyes turned a dull shade of yellow, staring straight into the announcers. “Unhand me! Who do you think you are?!” The announcer gulped, looking to the guards surrounding them for help. “Oh, haven’t you recognized me yet?” Keith smirked menacingly, showing off sharper than normal teeth. “I’m the Red Paladin.” At those words, the announcer immediately paled, eyes wide as saucers. Even the guards looked sick, slowly backing away as fear spread through every single one of them. “Now, where is Lance.” The Red Paladin hissed, tightening his grip around the alien. “I-I don’t know how to get into the temple, or if you even c-can! The elders might know.” The announcer stuttered. “Take me to them.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lance awoke with a start, panting heavily as he looked wildly around. He was in some kind of room, the walls made of worn-down stone that seemed to absorb any light that tried to enter. He looked over in the corner to see the three young girls that had been sacrifices, all huddled together and watching him with tear stained faces. “What's...what's going on?” He asked, staggering to his feet. His head was spinning, and he was having a hard time focusing on anything. “Y-you’ve been chosen by the sun gods to be a sacrifice...i-it’s the greatest honor.” One of the girls said. She had pale, almost white, skin and bright glowing green eyes. She was dressed in a variety of green silks and jewels. “I want to go home!” One of the others exclaimed, sobbing loudly as she clutched the girl beside her. They all looked similar, other than their eyes and clothes. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. I have a... friend... that will come and get us alright? I promise you’ll all get back home safely.” Lance said softly as he approached the girls. “I’m Lance, what are your names?” “My n-name is Aayla.” The green-eyed girl murmured. “These are my sisters, Ama and Askook.” “Well, Aayla, Keith will be here soon to get us all out.” Lance smiled softly at the girls. Aayla smiled back but her expression quickly changed back to fear as she looked at something behind Lance. Lance turned to look and got up to stand protectively in front of the girls. Two cloaked figures had somehow gotten into the room, though Lance couldn’t see any entrances. One of them raised a bony finger to point at Lance, shaking slightly, “You will come first.” It rasped. “First for what?” Lance asked, unsure if he wanted that answered. “The first to be sacrificed.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The announcer led Keith into a hut off to the side, four elderly Xorians sitting in a circle and talking quietly with each other while they ate. “Excuse me, sirs, but this gentleman would like to speak with you.” The elders stopped talking and turned to look at them, unamused and tired expressions on their faces. “What is it? We have important business to attend to.” One said gruffly, a dark scowl on his wrinkled face. “I need to get into the suns temple. My friend was taken into it by mistake.” Keith explained, trying to keep calm. The elder only laughed, shaking his head. “The sun gods make no mistakes. If your friend was chosen than that’s that, they’ll be dead by now.” “No one is allowed in the temple, not even us.” Another said. Keith narrowed his eyes and moved closer to the first elder. “Now listen here, sir, I am being very, very calm right now and since I'm being very calm, I'm going to ask one more time. You will give me access into the temple right now or I will make your life a living hell.” He hissed, eyes flashing gold. The elder shrunk back, shaking in slight fear. “Look, I wish we could help but we can’t. All we do is stay in charge of the celebration, we don’t have access to the temple.” Keith glared at him for a moment before sighing in defeat, hands curling into fists to hide the claws starting to form there. His head perked up when a commotion started outside, people gathering and pointing to something in the sky. He frowned and exited the hut, asking someone what was going on. “The first sacrifice is about to happen, it’s truly a beautiful sight.” The alien said, staring up towards the suns, the temple floating between them. It was hard to make out, but something was rising out of the temple, a tube-like shape with something inside. Long strands of light came from one of the suns, reaching out to surround the tube, to absorb it. Keith narrowed his eyes, trying to see what it was. His eyes widened with realization, jaw falling open in horror. It was Lance. He whipped around, searching for something to use. His eyes landed on an alien looking hover scooter, floating idly at the side. He bolted for it, hopping on and revving the engine. “Hey, that’s my bike!” An alien roared, stomping over to him. “I’ll bring it back, unless it gets destroyed.” Keith smirked, pulling a lever and zooming off towards the temple. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cloaked figures had seized Lance by both of his arms. No matter how much he struggled he couldn’t shake their grip. Pure fear began to rise in him, he was going to die. His family would never know what happened to him. The cloaked figures secured some kind of glowing chain around his wrists and ankles, pushing him forward. A cylinder-shaped container rose up from the stone, the aliens pushing Lance into it. “H-hey! Wait a minute!” Lance protested, turning around to face them as the container sealed shut. He met the gaze of Aayla, tears filling her bright green eyes. “I’m sorry...” He murmured. A hole opened in the ceiling and the container rose out of it, with Lance inside. Lance had to shield his eyes from the glare of the two suns, wincing at the intensity of it. When he was able to open his eyes, he could make out the market place below him, aliens crowding together to watch the sacrifice. He gulped, scanning the ground in hopes of seeing Keith. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, turning to look. A long, twirling tendril had come from one of the suns, expanding to surround the container. The container got increasingly hotter, making the boy sweat through his clothes and look like he just took a dip in the pool. Lance was panting heavily, having to lean against the container just to stay upright. He could feel himself being burned alive, his skin burning in some places. “Keith...” He whispered, his eyes fluttering closed as he collapsed. There was a loud boom, an explosion, everything shaking like there was an earthquake. The next thing he knew he was being surrounded by cold, fresh air. He gasped, eyes opening slightly to see what was going on. “....ance....Lan...ce...Lance!” A voice shouted, said boy jolting up, only to wince as his burns were scraped against. “Keith...? Am I...am I dead?” He murmured. He felt himself be lifted slightly and set down on something. “You’re going to be ok Lance...” Keith murmured as he sat the boy down on the hover scooter, or, what remained of it anyway. He turned the scooter around and drove it back to solid ground, getting off and lifting Lance up. “Someone bring me a blanket!” He barked angrily, complete rage coursing through his veins. An Xorian brought a blanket over and laid it out for Keith to put Lance on. “Keith...Keith wait...there was...three little girls in the temple.” Lance panted, making to get up. “Stay laying down, I’ll send someone to get them.” Keith whispered, brushing a strand of hair behind Lances ear. He stood the turned to a group of guards.” You two, I want you to go up to that temple and retrieve the three little girls inside and I don’t care if you have to break down the walls to do it.” He snapped, watching as they nodded and ran off to follow his orders. He turned back to Lance. “Let's get you back to the Tardis, I should have something for those burns.” He bent down again and picked Lance up, careful not to jostle him too much. A few moments later, Lance was resting in one of the Tardis rooms and Keith had gone back outside to where the aliens were still gathered. Three little girls approached him, the ones Lance was talking about. “Is Lance ok?” One asked, Aayla, he thinks. “Yes, Lance will be just fine after he gets some rest. But I'd still like to know who was responsible for him being taken in the first place.” Keith growled, dark eyes scanning the crowd. The cloaked figures he had seen earlier were slowly inching away from the crowds, trying to escape. “Gotcha.” He pulled his knife out and whipped it towards one of the figures, the sharp blade cutting through the cloth and pinning the figure to the outside wall of a hut. The Red Paladin walked over, yanking the hood down to reveal a purple furred alien with glowing yellow eyes and large fluffy ears. “Galra, what are you doing so far out.” He demanded an answer. The Galra glared at Keith with a rotten toothed smirk. “Lord Zarkon knows of your newest little pet, he knows what he is.” It hissed, yanking the knife from his cloak and darting off. “What he is?” Keith frowned, confusion written all over his face as he bent down to pick up his knife. He shook his head and turned towards the Xorians again. “There will be no more sacrifices, you hear me? Especially little girls who still have their whole life ahead of them. If I hear you’ve done it again, I will find you.” He snarled, making eye contact with the announcer before turning away and retreating into the Tardis. Lance joined him in the console room as he got prepared to leave, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Well that was eventful...where are we going next, Hot Shot?” Keith gave him a bewildered look. “Lance, you almost got burned alive and you still want to travel with me? How are you ok with any of this?” “Seriously? This is the most fun I’ve had in years! Plus, I’d rather die doing something awesome rather than just sitting at home.” Lance shrugged, a small smile on his lips. Keith just stared at him for a moment before shaking his head, mirroring his smile. “Well, I guess we’ll be off then.” He mused, pulling the last lever. He cast one last glance at the blue-eyed boy, whose eyes were shining with excitement and wonder, then at the monitor in front of him. He had scanned Lance secretly once he came back in, and what he found sent a sense of dread curling through his gut.