"Duck! Take cover!"

Lance didn't have to be told twice to do as Hunk said. He dove behind the safety of a nearby wall and heard some kind of mini-explosion. As expected, though, nothing much came of it. One of their allies had him and Hunk covered with a glowing blue shield. Lance heard guttural screams and a series of pops and zaps and thuds. Area 51's forces were easily overwhelmed.

The whole thing had started out as a meme. Everyone knew that. Nobody had been sure of whether or not to take things seriously— the government included. But internet humor was, as it turned out, a great way to disguise a legitimate movement. In all of the gen-z chaos, an actual organization had gotten wind of things.

Aliens. They were here now. And the US forces proved no match for them.

It was the teenage super-hacker Katie "Pidge" Holt and her equally talented older brother, Matt, that had successfully gotten into contact with the aliens using some complicated system. Lance and Hunk had watched, mouths wide open, as the four of them became some of the first human beings (outside of the government) to communicate with alien life. They had negotiated, and now, here they were— at that very place.

The battle wasn't easy, even with the aid of their alien sponsors and benefactors. The Karens and the Kyles were quick to fall. Lance had to step over many of their crumpled forms as he sprinted after his allies, though he did spare a glance over his shoulder just long enough to confirm that they were being attended to by the aliens in the grey and orange suits.

The grey and orange suits were the trademark of the rebels. Lance personally thought that they were the coolest aliens because they were very similar to the rebels in Star Wars— people from all over that had formed a rag-tag army to fight the Galra empire out in space. Apparently the Galra were a really nasty bunch that colonized planets and enslaved people. Lance had met at least one rebel in person, a chill purple guy called Rolo, who lent him a laser gun. Some kind of rifle. So Lance waited for a break in the noise and risked abandoning his shelter to fire off a few shots. Several robotic guards fell. Hunk cheered, and Lance dove back behind the wall before fire could be returned. A rebel thanked him for the cover and stormed forward.

"You're pretty good with that," a familiar voice said. Lance turned to see that Rolo had managed to make it forward with Pidge and Matt in tow. Two other rebels guarded the siblings from behind. It was important that those two stay alive. "If you ever get bored of earth, you oughtta come join the fight with us."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lance replied, grinning. He would. He was a damn good shot and he had to admit that the concept of space adventure sounded cool as hell. Even so, he didn't want to leave his family behind, and he was hoping to find something today that would make earth life significantly less boring.

Hunk and Lance aided Rolo and the other rebels in getting the Holts closer to the building— Hunk had some big gun that laid down rapid covering fire. Pidge had a complicated contraption attached to her laptop that they were careful not to jostle. Once they'd finally found a safe spot within the proper range, Matt sat down on the ground to join his sister and they got to work.

"We'll need cover, since this will take at least ten minutes," Pidge explained. "We're gonna disarm the cameras, the communication systems, and the security measures. Matt's gonna jam any outgoing or ingoing signals and render a map of the place." Pidge looked up at one of the aliens near them, this one not one of the rebels, and grinned. "Thanks for the extra tech, by the way! Making a map would have been a huge pain without your software."

The alien bowed gratefully. Lance thought these ones, the Olkari, looked like giant grasshoppers. But they were really smart, and they had lots of crazy high-tech stuff that Lance could have only ever dreamed about before. They could make something from almost any material, too, with their interface headbands. Helping the Holts upgrade their systems had been an easy task for them.

Lance took a deep breath to steady himself before he and Rolo rushed more of the guards. A few came dangerously close to stopping them with physical force, but Lance's aim was true and the armor provided by the rebels did wonders at rendering the bullets that hit it useless. It still hurt to get hit, but it would likely only bruise. Whenever a guard managed to grab hold of him, another rebel would quickly come to his aid and subdue his attacker. As soon as a guard was taken down he was knocked unconscious with some kind of gas mask, cuffed, and dragged to a safe zone.

"All clear!" Rolo shouted after Pidge gave him a thumbs-up and gestured at the front gate. Dozens of rebels rushed forward and into the building and Lance could hear the chaos within. He turned to look at the wounded nearby. He recognized a figure and ran to her, kneeling down to be by her side.

"Nadia!" He cried, taking her hand in his. She groaned and rolled to face him better.

"Th-They got me, kid," she said apologetically, her voice strained. "Heh. Sorry."

Lance sighed as he frowned. She was obviously trying to be cool. He had no way of knowing how bad her injury actually was as long as she was pretending to be an anime character on their deathbed, cracked glasses and all. An Olkari joined them before long and found that she had been shot in the hip, and that the wound needed to be treated, but that she would ultimately be alright.

"Hey, Lance," she called out as she loaded onto a stretcher. "T-Take this... and go on without me, won't you?"

With a trembling hand, she held out the distinctive cloth-and-metal badge that had been tied around her head. It looked a lot more like a real badge of honor with the bit of blood splatter on it. Lance's eyes widened. He tearfully accepted the gift, opting to wear it around his neck, and gave Nadia's hand one last squeeze.

"I will. Promise. I'll tell you all about what was in there when I catch you at the hospital ship!"

He saluted her as she was taken away. Away to command central, the hospital ship, where all of the raiders could wait safely for the chaos to die down before returning home.

"A little melodramatic, isn't it?" James asked, eying the headband. Ryan, beside him, gave James a judgmental look. Lance shook his head. James just didn't understand.

The Olkari were taking care of the remaining guards and staff on the inside, and that would likely take a while. In the meantime, phase two of the operation had to be implemented— the barrier.

The Olkari had some kind of device, called a particle barrier, that would put a huge force field around the entire base. It would keep reinforcements from arriving and guarantee them all safety while they searched the premises. But it meant that they'd have to keep the perimeter secured while sensors were placed around the edges of the area. Lance, armed with his rifle, joined several others, both aliens and humans, in climbing to the highest points they could and guarding the exterior. Anyone that dared come close enough was quickly sniped.

There was eventually a loud sound, a whoosh, and a blue shield formed around everything and everyone inside. It glowed and looked to be made of thousands of hexagons. And it looked like something one could easily walk through— like a light show and little more— but any and all attempts to cross it or break it were futile. It was just the kind of science fiction stuff that Lance had wanted to see.

"The particle barrier has been erected," a large and scary-looking alien next to Lance said into a communicator as they walked back to the gates. Lance tried not to giggle at his choice of words and failed. The big guy didn't understand why he was laughing. "Begin phase three."

The big guy was part of the third alien group that had converged on the place. He was Kollivan, leader apparent of the Blade of Marmora. The Blades were Galra themselves, but unlike the rest, they wanted to overthrow the evil emperor Zarkon. And they were doing what they could to destabilize the empire from the inside.

Kollivan was very serious, and he didn't seem to understand how to make small talk or joke around, but Lance thought he was pretty cool. He was a real live double agent and a hell of a fighter. He had demonstrated for Lance and the others how his special knife worked, and had explained that only Blades carried those. Lance had promised him to keep an eye out for those inside. Kollivan feared that many of his underlings had been captured because the US government couldn't distinguish them from other Galra.

"Are we just locking up all aliens indiscriminately?" Hunk asked as he and Lance and the others waited for the signal that it was safe to enter the building. The Olkari leader, Reiner, gave a hum of confirmation before looking back at the waiting crowd.

"...We do not resort to violence lightly," she explained, "but your Earth forces would not be negotiated with. They have captured many of our peaceful people, including our king, Lubos, and refuse to set them free. At the same time, they have taken captive several Galra warlords and know not what they trifle with. We aim to recapture them and bring them before the Galactic Coalition to be tried for their crimes."

"Understandable. Understandable." Hunk nodded as he said that.

Phase three was just fancy talk for clearing out and mapping the building. Pidge had already disarmed the defenses, but she was hard at work converting her schematics into a file that she could send to everyone. The aliens had communicator devices to hand out. There was a limited amount of them, but Lance and his crew had already received some. And they got to keep theirs! Lance marveled at the idea of being able to casually call up his alien buddies even when they were in space.

"Alright," Matt announced with a final and intentionally loud button click, and he sounded out of breath. Even though he had been sitting down. "I think we've got it... we've left the individual containment cells locked for obvious reasons, but I've accessed the proper security codes and uploaded them to the devices. Scanning them against the keypads should open most of the pods. If you come across one that you can't open, call me, or my sister, or Reiner!"

"And I've got the schematics up and ready," Pidge added. "There's a 3D map of the building accessible from each device. It's kinda huge, so don't get lost!"

"Each of these devices can easily contact me, the Earthling Holts, and Commander Kollivan," Reiner further elaborated as she handed out the little orange squares to a single-file line of raiders. Lance thought they were like futuristic smartphones. Everything operated on a holographic display and the interface was streamlined and simple. "Use them to contact us whenever you locate Galra of any kind! Exercise extreme caution when releasing any and all aliens. It would be safest to seek approval before opening any pod. I will be sending Olkari and rebels to accompany you throughout the building to aid in completing the process as swiftly as possible."

"We request that you also keep your eyes open for these," Kollivan said, holding up his special knife. He was blocking the entrance in such a way that everyone had to pay attention. "Blades like mine belong exclusively to members of my organization. Galra who carry and can activate these are not dangerous and should be released and brought to me. Be careful not to allow other Galra to spot them during escort, lest we risk losing our cover and jeopardize the entire mission."

"Are we understood?" Reiner asked. Most of the raiders had already gathered together and those who had been quick enough had collected their communicators.

There was a loud and resounding "Sir, yes sir!" Hunk scoffed.

"Reiner is a LADY," Lance yelled.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am! Sorry!"

Surprisingly, even Reiner chuckled at that. The last few guards were dragged out of the building and a rebel flashed a thumbs-up. Kollivan proclaimed that the building was all clear, and then he stepped aside. It was finally time for some answers.

Most of the younger raiders were a bit too eager to sprint into the building with their arms back. Lance took his time to thoroughly inspect the lobby and Pidge's map after accepting an energy drink from a surviving Kyle and calming down a Florida Man that was still full of angry attack energy. The room branched out into three hallways, and each of those branched out again, until the whole of it formed something of an interlocking grid made of corridors. There were at least ten floors, too, most of them underground, and it seemed like the lower floors were more secured. It was a labyrinth of secrets.

They, the raiders, had all reached something of a silent agreement— each person got to take home one alien and one object, with some exceptions. Nobody got to hog everything or go home with an entire army. Some people, it seemed, were impatient. They found their companions quickly and high-tailed it out of the building as soon as they had, turning over their devices and bidding everyone a fond farewell. Lance saw little horned snail people and tall noodle people and even something that looked like a mermaid being dragged in a rolling bathtub. The Olkari by the edges of the particle barrier had to let people through it and transport them to the safety of mission command in one of their cruisers, or they could be snatched up by angry government workers or the cops. It seemed there were already a bunch of aliens on the loose.

While he waited and weighed his options, Lance saw a familiar face that he hadn't expected.

"Veronica!" He shouted. "What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for a lab partner," his (uninvited) older sister replied with a shrug. "Or just a roommate. I'm having trouble paying the utilities and finding a decent roommate has been a real pain— I don't care if they're human so long as they pay, or at least help with the chores."

"You spent, like, a month lecturing me and telling me I was stupid for even wanting to attempt this!"

"That was before I found out that you were hiding your alien contacts." Lance turned red. "Did you think I didn't notice how secretive you were being, mister? Once I realized this thing was legit I signed up!"

"I never saw you outside."

"I wanted to surprise you," she said with a wink. "Guess it worked?"

"Yeah. It sure did."

Veronica laughed, and she patted Lance's shoulder as she passed him.

"Don't make that face. I promise I won't outshine you! This whole thing wouldn't have been possible without you and your friends, anyway," she assured him. Then, she was gone, and by the looks of it headed straight for an elevator. Lance knew she wouldn't bother with all the amateur aliens on the first couple of floors.

"That's your sister?" Rolo laughed. "The aim must run in the family. She took a buncha guards down from her outpost."

Lance, despite his best efforts, smiled. He didn't know if the aim ran in the family, but he did know that he'd learned from the best.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Since Lance had his own device, he felt safe exploring the building alone.

He also knew where his friends were, since they showed up as little color-coded blips on the map projection.

Even so, he was still surprised on occasion when he ran into somebody he knew.

The first time, it was James.

He was staring at a pod, his face stern and his arms crossed, as whoever was within yelled at him and banged on the glass.

"I am telling you, this is an outrage!" The captive bellowed. He had some kind of accent. British but not quite British. "When King Alfor gets word of the way that I have been treated here, let me tell you, sir— your planet will be in great trouble indeed!"

"You're saying you're going to gather your buddies and attack Earth? If that's the case, why should I release you?"

"W-Well..." The not-British man started to sweat. When Lance stood beside James, he could see that this alien was the kind that looked pretty human. His only distinguishing marks were his unusual clothes, his pointy ears, and the blue triangle markings on his face. Other than that, he looked like an average middle-aged man, even if the orange mustache was something one didn't see every day. "Not attack, no. Highly unlikely. Altea is not a warring planet, you see, and all of our forces are quite busy with keeping the Galra threat in check before it gets out of hand..."

James smirked.

"Oh yeah? Then what's your king going to do?"

"W-Well— I will have you know that Altea is a major trading force all over the galaxy, and if your people ever feel the need to get their hands on our products and supplies, well... Well, you'll be out of luck! Ha ha!"

"You're not very good at being threatening, are you?" Lance teased. James gave him a devious smile and they shared a chuckle at his expense. Before he could start yelling again, Lance gestured at the alien to calm down. "Listen, man— we all came here to free people. Our government has been hiding you guys! Most of us earthlings don't even know that we've come into contact with people from other planets."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes, it is," James confirmed. "I'll let you out if you settle down, but first... you mentioned a king, right? Are you a member of a royal court somewhere?"

The alien's demeanor changed almost instantly. He stood with impressive posture, back completely straight, and saluted. It was a bit hard for him to do so, seeing as he was stuck in a tube, but he managed.

"Indeed! I am Coran Heronimus Wimbledon-Smythe, and I hail from the planet Altea— the most beautiful in all the galaxy! I am also a member of the royal court and King Alfor's right hand man! I accompany our great king on journeys all around the cosmos and keep a watchful eye over his daughter, the esteemed Princess Allura!"

"I see. I'm James, and this is Lance. We're, uh, earthlings." James pulled out his communicator and held down a button. "Hey, Commander Reiner— are the Alteans nice?"

Reiner gasped loudly enough for Lance to hear it.

"Do not tell me— has your government captured people as reasonable and benevolent as the Alteans?!"

"It would seem so. I'm talking to a guy who says he's a member of the royal court, actually. Says his name is Coran?"

More gasps, and a bunch of chatter.

"We are familiar with the one called Coran," Kollivan's voice said. "In fact, he is a decorated veteran and a talented pilot who has been essential to the war effort. That he would be held here without trial is an intergalactic disgrace and does not reflect well on your planet, I'm afraid."

"That's what I've been saying all this time!" Coran yelled. Lance feared for the guy's blood pressure. "I demand to be released at once!"

Coran could be awfully loud. Kollivan and Reiner heard him even through the transparent barrier.

"We sincerely apologize, Sir Coran. Someone will be along to escort you as soon as possible, if you do not mind waiting."

"...W-Well, no. I suppose I do not. But in the meantime, I must ask that you keep your eyes peeled for my travel companions! I was attempting to escort Mistress Romelle and Lord Bandor to the planet Poig when I made the mistake of stopping on Earth's single moon to refuel. Before we knew it, we were forcefully apprehended by barbarians! These earthlings are violent folks, I tell you!"

"Hey now!" Lance protested. "We're letting you out! Do you have any idea what we had to go through to get in here?!"

"Hmmph." Coran pouted. "It so often seems that the youth must change the barbaric ways of their institutions, whether by democracy or by force... very well, then. I do thank you young people for your courage thus far."

Coran bowed, and Lance and James bowed back. They wanted to start off on a good foot with these Alteans if they were as important as they were implied to be. Maybe one day they would get to meet that King Alfor guy.

"Since the big guns are gonna come and take you where you need to go, we'll be moving along," James explained as he scanned his device. Coran sighed with relief as he was able to jump out of the tube and stretch his arms out. "But we'll keep an eye out for your companions. What are the distinctive features of an Altean?"

Coran had to think about that for a moment, and he studied Lance in a way that made him uncomfortable as he did.

"Well... for the most part it would seem that we resemble you earthlings rather closely. But Alteans bear markings like these," he pointed at his cheekbones, "and do not have, er, hideous ears like yours."

"What's wrong with my ears?!" Lance demanded, covering his own with his hands. Coran didn't answer him and James dragged him away. Coran waved at the two of them as they left.

"Thank you for your assistance, Earthlings Lance and James! I will be sure to reward you once I have been, er, reunited with my things."

As they rounded a corner, Lance heard Coran make a disapproving noise and mutter something about earthlings having the most bizarre names.

Lance and James exchanged a glance and laughed before continuing, together, down the hallway.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

"So what brings you to Area 51?" Lance asked. James smiled somewhat mischievously.

"Ryan and I are looking for an alien to share. Either a friend or a pet, we think. With the two of us together we could afford to take care of a bigger or more difficult one. Even if the house isn't exactly huge."

"I didn't know you two lived together."

James gave him a flat stare. Lance didn't know why and he was kind of afraid to ask. He'd missed something, apparently. As if he had arrived just in time to save him, Matt appeared from around another corner. There were so many damn corners in this place. Lance just knew that something was going to sneak up on him at some point.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted cheerfully. Lance hadn't actually expected to see him— not this early, anyway. "I got held up talking to Kollivan, but I'm more than ready to get started."

"I thought you would be stuck running communications," James laughed, and Lance pointed at him to emphasize that he had voiced Lance's exact thoughts. Matt laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah— I guess I was supposed to be, but Reiner could tell that Pidge and I wanted to go, so she had some of her Olkari guys take over. Most of the work is done anyway! They just need to make sure nothing happens to it. There are probably some angry people outside trying to jam our signals."

"Listen, man, we get it. You didn't wanna come all the way here just to sit out the exciting part and miss out on all the alien madness, right?" Lance guessed, and Matt nodded. With that, he had joined the temporary group. For now.

"In all seriousness, I was curious about these Galra people," Matt elaborated. "Kollivan was explaining why everyone is taking it so seriously, and... man. It's getting pretty bad out there in deep space."

"Yeah?" James gave Matt a concerned look, one eyebrow raised. Matt nodded again.

"Seriously, they're like... they're like Space Nazis." Lance started to say something, certain that Matt must have been exaggerating, but was cut off. "I mean that! They take over planets, deplete all the resources, and force all of the people into work camps. Or make them fight for their amusement like Roman emperors."

"That... that is bad," Lance agreed. Matt's third nod was a solemn one.

"Yeah."

He seemed oddly serious. Lance wondered if he felt compelled to help. Lance felt compelled to help, and he had only been in it for the fun stuff at first. Just to be able to say that he had done it. He was quickly realizing that for some people, there were very high stakes here. Earth needed to get with the times and help out. Or, at least, stop getting in the way.

The three of them travelled along the winding halls for a while and passed by several aliens. Some of which they freed, and others they left behind. Lance hadn't expected to find a grey— the typical big-eyed aliens one saw on TV— but lo and behold, they actually existed. He was surprisingly chill about things as he was released. He claimed to like Earth aside from the whole government capture thing and said he planned to sell Earth souvenirs when he got back home.

One particular cell seemed a bit smaller than the others. It wasn't actually smaller, but the alien within was so erratic, constantly climbing around the walls, that it seemed more cramped somehow. He was rambling on and on about something. Lance didn't find that part all that strange. He would be mad if he was stuck in such a tube.

"Hey!" He rapped on the glass with his knuckles. "Settle down in there! We're here to rescue people!"

The creature within snapped to attention with comical speed, and he threw himself at the glass so suddenly that all three humans jumped back. It was even harder to tell what the hell he was supposed to be when he was smushed against the clear surface like that. If Lance had to describe him he would call him some cross between a centipede and an otter. But green. With a beak.

"You have arrived? To set me free?!" He screeched. His eyes were bloodshot. Lance was already beginning to question his decision in having told him that. "Oh, joyous day! But— wait— how can I trust you?! How do I know that you are not with THEM?!"

"We're not with the government," James assured him. That was a reasonable fear. "Why would we go to the trouble of pretending to be somebody else? Nothing would stop us from taking you. We would have no need to earn your trust."

"No, not the humans!" Lance was slightly relieved to hear that at least one alien knew what their species was actually called. "How do I know that you do not plan to take me back there? To the Galra?"

"Oh," Matt gasped. "Were you their captive before? We know all about the Galra. They're the bad guys."

"Yes! And you are surely with them! I can see it in your eyes!"

"Do we look purple to you?!" Lance couldn't help but sound annoyed. With that, the green guy cowered in the back corner of the tube, trembling and facing the ground. Matt sighed and pulled out his communicator.

"This guy says he was a Galra captive. Do you know him?" Matt pointed the screen at their current troublemaker. Kollivan made a noise of recognition.

"Indeed. That is Slav. He is a genius inventor, masterful with any and every form of technology."

"...This thing. This thing?" Lance clarified. "This... this thing?"

"Can you not think of anything else to call him?" James asked. And Lance didn't have an answer for that, because he couldn't.

"I know that he is... unconventional," Kollivan admitted, and that was a careful choice of words. "But trust me when I assure you that he is brilliant. Were it not for his cloaking devices our organization would have been destroyed long ago. Even now... today's mission command center is utilizing his cloaking technology."

"This thing?!"

"Shut up, Lance." James glared at Lance for a brief second. "So you would recommend that he be released, then?" He directed the question at Kollivan. There was a grunt.

"Highly. He will need to be turned over to the custody of the Blades and moved to a safe zone. Zarkon and his minions have been looking for him for some time now. ...I feel that I should apologize in advance for his eccentricities."

"Didja hear him, Slav? Kollivan knows you. We're gonna let you out and take you to him," Lance said loudly and cautiously. James took a step back and Matt prepared to scan the keypad. Lance, too, took a step back. He wasn't sure why he had felt some instinct to do so until the glass slid open and Slav launched himself out of the pod, latching onto Matt with horrifying speed that nearly knocked him off of his feet. All three of them screamed.

Matt tried to remove Slav. James and Lance tried to pry him off. But the guy had, like, eight arms, and it wasn't like they could cut them off. Slav had chosen Matt and there was nothing they could do to change that.

"What is your favorite gemstone?" Slav asked. Matt froze, stopping his flailing and screaming. He looked up as best he could with three arms covering his head.

"What? What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Alternate realities! Everything, everything is connected! It is imperative that we all decide, here and now, which gemstone is superior or there is a forty-seven percent chance that the particle barrier will fall and the US government's forces will descend upon us at any moment!"

Lance blinked. As crazy as the proposition was, Slav had somehow guessed that they were using a particle barrier to keep the US forces out. He doubted that their chances of survival had anything to do with gemstones, though.

"I, uh, like topaz," James muttered. Matt slapped out an arm as if hoping to strike him and missed without the aid of his eyes.

"A fair choice, though I am partial to Skulltrite!"

"That's not a thing!" Lance screamed. He was losing his mind. So early in the mission and he was already losing his goddamn mind.

Slav wasn't satisfied with the gemstone thing. They managed to take about three steps before he shouted at them to stop again, and it wasn't like they could ignore him as long as he had claimed Matt's entire body for his own. Lance was no longer sure who the real captive was. Slav had these ideas about parallel worlds, about how every tiny action had the potential to set off a chain reaction, about how tiny and seemingly random rituals would mend these cracks in reality and decrease the chances of disaster. The disasters weren't even connected. At some point Slav claimed that Lance's older sister would go blind if he did not recite his favorite song word for word while spinning in a circle. How did he know that Lance had an older sister?

James and Matt were in another shouting match with him, this time one in which Slav had managed to hook two arms around James' shoulders, and Lance decided that he had had enough. He looked around and confirmed that no one else was around to spot him and call him out, and then he bolted around the safety of one of those ubiquitous corners and left the other two to handle Slav themselves.

This whole "alien" thing was already harder than Lance had imagined it would be.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

"Oh, hey! Hunk! Hunk!"

Lance was delighted to see his friend again and sprinted to his side. Hunk could tell that he was trying to run from something, and he made a knowing face, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Hey, man! What have you been up to?"

"I've met some, uh, characters. It's a lot to get into. What about you?"

"It's about the same. Met some cow people, they were pretty cool. Not what I'm looking for, though."

"That reminds me," Lance mused, "you never did tell me. We forgot about all that stuff in all the... you know. Government espionage and stuff."

"I'm... not sure what I'm looking for, really. I just know what I'm not after. I'm thinking of maybe finding myself a pet? Something little, but obviously alien. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I get you. Respectable choice. Not my thing, though."

Hunk gave Lance a very apprehensive look and Lance was almost offended.

"What are you looking for?"

Lance grinned and struck a pose.

"An alien lover."

Hunk sighed.

"Of course you are. ...Can I at least ask why?"

"Katy Perry."

"Oh my god."

Hunk decided not to address that, either. Lance just snickered at his expression. He didn't need anybody else to understand his fantasy— he was a simple human man and he wanted a hot alien girlfriend. Or boyfriend. That was all there was to it. It was unlikely that he would find anything to match up to his daydreams, but it was worth a shot.

A man can dream, can't he?

Hunk and Lance walked and talked until they came upon a prisoner that caught their eye. Same as usual. This pod, though, was different in that it was big and square compared to the usual tube. The government kept the larger and less humanoid creatures in this area, and the two boys found themselves looking at something tall, fuzzy, and purple. Lance's limited knowledge led him to believe that it was, possibly, a Galra. Because those were the only three characteristics he had really pegged down for them.

"Hey, Kollivan?" Lance took the liberty of calling him up and pointing the screen at the alien this time. "Is this a Galra? Not to say you all look alike or anything, I just don't know my aliens well enough yet to be able to tell."

Kollivan, to Lance's surprise, squinted into the monitor.

"I... can safely say that that is not one of my kind. What it is, however, I am not sure."

"You don't know?!" Hunk was shocked to hear that.

"The universe is enormous. More so than you could possibly comprehend. There are planet systems that I am personally unfamiliar with and species that I would not recognize at a glance. That is the simple truth of it."

Kollivan did get Reiner's attention. And she, too, had no idea what this particular alien was. It must have been from the opposite side of the galaxy or something. Which made Lance wonder how the hell it had ended up on earth.

"Well, uh... thanks anyway, I guess," Lance huffed. "We'll try talking to it before we go releasing it."

Kollivan thought that that seemed like a reasonable strategy. Not that there were more complicated strategies that they could employ in this instance. Lance hung up and folded his arms to take a step back and give the creature a once-over.

It was kind of unsettling. It looked like a huge monster. The kind that would eat people. But it sat patiently and quietly by the glass, blinking through it at Lance and Hunk. It occasionally wiggled as if it was excited. Lance didn't know if that was a trick or not.

"Can you, uh... can you talk?" Lance asked. He felt kind of stupid. If it couldn't talk it wouldn't answer him.

The creature tilted its horned head to one side.

"Yup."

"Whoa." Hunk and Lance flinched, at once, and scurried backwards, away from the glass. "I... didn't think it could do that!" Hunk cried.

"You speak English?" Lance asked, thinking that he might just be able to have a conversation with this thing.

"Yup."

"Huh." Lance was almost confused. "Well, uh... We're not sure if we should let you out or not. Would you say that you're dangerous?"

"Yup."

Hunk straight-up jumped that time. Lance cringed and hissed through his teeth.

"At least you're honest!" Hunk sputtered.

"Yup."

"So are you actually violent, or are you just messing with us?!"

"Yup."

"Dude." Hunk groaned. Now Lance was just plain bewildered. He couldn't find any words, so Hunk continued in his stead. "Are you just gonna answer all of our questions like that?"

"Yup."

"Is... Is that the only thing you can say?"

"Yup."

Lance and Hunk both made some kind of exasperated sound, because they didn't know if he was answering their question sarcastically or confirming that suspicion, in which case it still wouldn't technically be a "yes" because the creature was physically incapable of saying "no".

"We're looking like a couple of idiots here! This isn't going anywhere!" Lance whined.

"Yup," the creature said. Lance pointed at it, like a silent threat.

"Hey!"

"I don't think it knows what that means," Hunk assured him.

They moved through a variety of questions meant to test the creature's capacity to answer, and with the same mixed results. It didn't seem unfriendly, so Lance had a feeling that it wasn't trying to mock them, but he didn't want to be wrong and open the gate just to be mauled to death and eaten.

"It seems to be enjoying itself, at least," Lance said, his voice high and cheery. He was trying to be optimistic. The creature reacted to his tone and assumed a pose that seemed familiar somehow. Hunk's lips parted as he squinted at it, and Lance saw the spark of an idea in Hunk's head.

"Are you... are you a good boy?" Hunk asked, seemingly out of nowhere and in exactly the the tone that always accompanied that question, even if it sounded hesitant. The creature almost reacted. Almost. "Are you a good girl?"

"Yup!"

With that, the creature hopped around gleefully, each of its landings creating a loud and metallic thud. Lance now recognized that pose as the kind that certain pets assumed when they wanted to play, or when they were excited by their owner's return home. His jaw dropped.

"You're kidding me!"

"...Dude, I think it's a dog," Hunk laughed. "A big, scary cow dog."

"Nah. Can't be. It's gotta be some kind of trick!"

Their savior happened to arrive just then. Lance saw Rolo approaching out of the corner of his eye. He ran to him, startling the man to the point that he put his hands up as if to defend himself.

"You've gotta help us," Lance insisted. "We have no idea what this alien is and we think it might be making fun of us, but it could also be a totally harmless space dog, and we don't know what the hell to do with this thing."

"Oh, in there?" Rolo strolled up to Hunk and smiled through the glass. "Well hey there, pretty girl! Who's locked you up in here?"

"It IS a dog," Hunk cheered. Rolo was already pulling out his device and scanning it against the keypad, laughing almost gleefully.

"I guess you could say that," he confirmed. "It's called a Yupper."

"It's a Pokémon," Lance and Hunk said at the same time. Rolo clearly had no idea what they meant by that and Lance wasn't about to spend several minutes explaining the entire concept. In any case, the glass retracted and the Yupper rushed forward. Even knowing that it was docile, Lance couldn't help but dodge.

"They're only ever dangerous because they're so big," Rolo added. "They don't hurt anybody on purpose. They're household pets and they're totally non-violent unless they're trained to guard something." The Yupper bent down and he scratched the back of its ears. Hunk carefully did the same. He lit up when he realized that, yes, it was a harmless creature. Lance felt safe in joining in the party.

"Should we find some kind of leash?" Lance wondered. Rolo waved a hand to dismiss that idea.

"They're not literally dogs. Chances are she can find her way out on her own. Besides, Yuppers prefer to pick their masters. Kinda like Rift Wolves."

Lance's mouth formed an o. Rift wolves. He didn't know what those were, but he wanted one. Before he could ask, though, the Yupper skipped merrily away, and moments later, the Holt siblings arrived. Pidge was looking nervously over her shoulder at the galloping beast. Matt had a glare prepared just for Lance.

"Oh, hey, Lance! Thanks for your help back there!" Matt said bitterly. His hair had been messed up pretty bad. Lance scratched the back of his neck and avoided Matt's eyes.

"Well, hey, you got rid of him eventually, right?"

Matt answered that with more of a growl than anything else. Hunk lightened the mood by asking Pidge what she was looking for.

"We're looking for robots," she proclaimed, patting her brother on the shoulder. This effectively seemed to reset him. "I'm not as interested in the aliens as I am in their tech!"

"But there's a surprisingly limited amount of tech here so far," Matt added glumly. "Most of the seized gear is just survival stuff or devices like the communicators we already have. It's not like we can fit one of their ships in our garage, either."

"Funny you should mention that." Everyone turned to look quizzically at Rolo. He smirked and extended a hand as if extending a challenge, and that hand held out his communicator, which displayed a picture of what looked to be a pretty alien girl. "...I ought to be honest. I came here for a reason— see, they've got my partner. We were partners in crime before we joined the rebels."

"That doesn't surprise me. You give me Han Solo vibes," Hunk said.

"I have literally no idea what that means, but listen— I can't leave here until I've found Nyma and so far, no luck. If one of you two can find her first..." Rolo grinned and looked at the Holts. "You can claim Beezer. He's our personal robot, and we like him plenty, but he doesn't seem to like being a rebel much. I think he might want to settle down."

Matt and Pidge took their time to study the picture and didn't respond right away, but Lance felt it, and he knew that Hunk did too. A sibling rivalry was brewing. Competitive energy flew through the air like crackles of electricity as the Holts turned, slowly, to eye one another. They held the stare for several seconds. And then they both sprinted in separate directions.

"...Is that a yes?" Rolo asked, looking to Hunk for help. And Hunk laughed hysterically, not realizing that Rolo had not been joking.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance and Hunk had a hell of a time working their way through the halls.

They'd arrived at a floor full of troublemakers, apparently. Some four-armed guy begged them to let him out, promising them riches, but something about him seemed really suspicious and Reiner confirmed that it was best they leave him for the rebels. A shockingly short Galra gave them a similar speech, and Kollivan was very firm about leaving that guy where he was. They only got to open a couple of pods.

Ina, though, had had more luck. They found the blonde girl genius in the process of punching buttons. For two pods, not just one. Both of the captives were literally hopping up and down in anticipation. Lance recognized the markings on their faces.

"Oh, hey! More Alteans!" Hunk shouted cheerily. He and Lance ran together to Ina's side. She gave them a smile as she finished unlocking the cells, and then both opened at once and the Altean prisoners rushed out.

"A thousand thanks, kind earthling!" The taller of the two was also a blonde woman, and her long hair was tied into a somewhat fanciful hairdo. She grabbed Ina and pulled her into a crushing hug. The other Altean, a young boy with reddish hair, waited patiently, opting for a handshake instead as soon as Ina had been freed.

"You two must be Coran's travel companions," Lance guessed. The lady Altean seemed surprised to hear him utter that name.

"We— yes! Yes, we are!" She adjusted herself until she was standing in a more elegant way. "We are members of the Altean nobility and were in the process of transport to the planet Poig for a banquet."

"Poig... I think I actually met a few of those guys earlier," Hunk mused. "The cow people, right? They have little horns?"

"That is correct!" The child confirmed. "They are essential allies of ours. They have been a great aid in the war despite their pacifistic preferences."

Lance glanced over at Hunk to find that he was typing something into his phone. He playfully nudged him with his elbow.

"Are you taking notes on all of this?" He asked. Hunk nodded.

"I mean, if we're gonna get to keep the space phones we should know who we're potentially talking to, right? I've gotten a few numbers today. They call them codes, though."

"Huh." Lance contemplated that for a moment. "I wouldn't have thought to ask."

Ina coughed, likely to interrupt the side conversation before it got any further, and both boys stood at attention. The blonde Altean bowed.

"I am Romelle," she said, then gestured at her side. "And this is my brother Bandor. For your service, we shall see to it that you are welcome anywhere in Altea, should you ever decide to visit."

"Coran said something like that. He says Altea is the most beautiful planet in your solar system," Hunk recalled. "Would you say the same thing?"

Bandor nodded furiously.

"It most certainly is! Should you ever visit I would recommend the Juniberry fields— sweet-smelling and vibrant flowers as far as the eye can see!" He stretched out his arms to emphasize that he did, in fact, mean that these fields were huge.

"That does sound pretty cool," Lance agreed. "A really romantic date spot." He smirked at Hunk. "Maybe I'll take my alien there."

"Yeah, Lance, you do that." Hunk sounded very disappointed for some reason. Lance decided he just didn't have enough imagination.

Romelle was eager to give the earthlings her number. Like Hunk had implied, it wasn't quite the same as an Earth number— more like a code registered to a specific device that could be used to pull up a face-to-face conversation. Bandor was polite enough to show them how it worked, and Romelle made a joke about him knowing because he fiddles with his all the time. Some things were apparently the same on other planets— kids often knew more about technology than adults. Lance chuckled to himself as he recalled teaching his grandmother how to send an email.

"If you're looking for Coran, he's waiting in the lobby," Lance directed. "He should probably be with Kollivan. I can call some Olkari to take you up there."

Romelle thanked Lance as he hit a few buttons. And then they waited awkwardly. Usually the alien-summoning-machine worked quickly, so Lance had expected several Olkari to arrive within moments. Instead, they waited several minutes, and then only two of the green guys showed up and they seemed out of breath and distracted.

"We are terribly sorry for the delay," one of them panted. "We've run into a bit of a dilemma."

"What kind of dilemma?!"

"Don't worry about it!" The other one assured them. "We will take care of the Alteans. Don't worry!"

As the Olkari retreated back to the upper floors with Romelle and Bandor in tow, Lance and Hunk exchanged a glance. Ina seemed to be thinking it over and stared down the hallway.

"They came from over there," she said, pointing. "We should investigate."

"May as well," Hunk agreed. He and Ina were off before Lance could have possibly talked them out of it.

It didn't take long to find where the frazzled Olkari had come from. As soon as they entered a certain hallway they heard a commotion that they followed, and at the source of the noise they found a large room full of dozens of Olkari. Everyone seemed angry and confused and at the center of the room stood one Olkari that looked a bit different from the others.

"What's going on over here?" Hunk asked one of the aliens near the door. Said alien was glaring at the figure in the middle and shook his head.

"We've located King Lubos," he answered, his tone bitter. "And he's a bit different than we remember him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take one look at him! He must have gained a whole Yelmor's weight in pounds!"

Lance didn't know what a Yelmor was, but he was guessing that that was a lot, and that the Olkari was saying that their king hadn't been fat when last they'd seen him. There was nothing wrong with being fat, of course, but it raised a question.

"That's... weird," Lance said, his tone accusatory. "How did he manage to get fat in here when everybody else is practically malnourished?"

"Precisely," the Olkari agreed. Hunk hummed lowly and shook his head.

Before they could ask for more details, an Olkari escort with Reiner in tow shoved past Lance and Hunk.

"Lubos!" Reiner shouted. Her voice and her expression were downright scary. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Reiner!" The king recognized her. Reiner had claimed to be his advisor. Maybe she was the one who usually called the shots. The voice of reason who never really got the credit she deserved. "You must believe me— these humans, they're scoundrels! I was given no choice but to talk once they captured me!"

"Nice try," Ina retorted. Hunk desperately tried to quiet her. Lance was shocked to hear her acting so bold. Ina was so matter-of-fact that maybe she didn't even think she was being bold. "We have seen the state of the other prisoners. They were forced to talk through methods of torture and barely kept alive. You, to put it mildly, seem to have been well taken care of."

"She's right," a rebel said as she entered the room. She carried a communicator and had pulled up something that looked like a prison log. "According to Earth's government records, Lubos was never captured at all. He willingly surrendered himself."

Everyone else gasped. Hunk and Lance said "ooooooh" and pointed at the now-disgraced king. Soon, there were jeers and insults being thrown around. Lubos tried to calm the crowd, insisting that the log was a lie, but his own demeanor betrayed him. Apparently he hadn't seemed too happy to be rescued.

"If you were tired of being a king you should simply have said so," Ina scoffed. "You cannot have your cake and eat it too!"

"Yeah, man! There's no shame in retirement!" Hunk agreed. He, too, was glaring. "But you just had to have your whole planet worried sick about you, huh? These guys could have died helping us earthlings bust in here!"

Lubos tried to argue, but no one was hearing it. He was recaptured, this time by the Olkari themselves, and dragged off to a chorus of chanting voices. As the dust settled, confusion settled in with it. Who would lead the Olkari now?

For some reason, the group nearest Lance looked at him. Like he was supposed to have an answer. He kept forgetting that he was technically an Earth official and currently outranked most of these common Olkari.

"...Well," Lance said, clearing his throat, "what do you all look so bummed for? Seems to me like Reiner's been doing just fine without that Lubos guy. I don't see why she can't be in charge instead."

"You surely do not mean to suggest—"

Reiner, far too humble for her own good, was interrupted by Hunk.

"As an OFFICIAL FOUNDING MEMBER of the Earth-Olkarion Committee and a LEADING human ambassador, I must concur with my colleague!" Hunk firmly patted Lance on the back. "Reiner has been instrumental in this mission and without her we may never have bridged this gap and successfully completed this heist."

Several voices rose up in agreement. Reiner looked quizzically at Lance, who stood at attention with his hands on his hips.

"I... do appreciate the endorsement, but I am afraid that it is not quite so simple."

"Lubos has heirs?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then a vote should do it, right? We can claim it's an emergency circumstance. We're not even on your planet! You're technically in hostile territory," Lance reminded her. A very tall Olkari next to him agreed.

"The earthling is correct, ma'am! Wartime rules do apply here."

"Call all the other Olkari!" Ina commanded. A young guy grunted agreement and ran out of the room, communicator in hand, to round up his people. If the vote was going to be fair, all available heads had to be counted. Lance, Ina, and Hunk agreed to represent the minimum of three required votes from an allied human council. They would vote on the behalf of Olkarion's newest ally— Earth. ...Or, they weren't officially allies yet, because there was still the government to worry about, but Lance and his friends represented Olkarion's first human friends, and they had promised to recruit as many people as possible to their cause.

They waited patiently until the room was as full as it could get. Olkari spilled out into the hallways and were crammed against the walls. In the middle of the room was a small clearing. Reiner stood in the very center. Another Olkari carried the crown that had once adorned the head of Lubos. Lance, Ina, and Hunk formed a unit. Kollivan and two of his men formed another, representing the Blades. Rolo had spared some time to stand in with two of his friends on behalf of the rebels.

The very nervous Olkari cleared his throat.

"T-Today, King Lubos has abdicated his throne. And in accordance with the Altean-Oklari Wartime Treaty of 648, we call to order an emergency vote to crown a temporary monarch. Should there be no contest upon return to the planet Olkarion, the monarch will be permanently instated. The vote shall include all present Olkari and all involved planetary parties, represented by committees of three!"

"I kinda wish I was better dressed for the occasion," Lance whispered into Hunk's ear. Hunk tried to keep a straight face. Kollivan then elbowed Lance, nearly knocking him off of his feet. No one paid it any mind.

"Are there any present who would also lay claim to the title?" The Olkari asked. Nobody spoke up. Lance would have been surprised if someone had. "Very well, then. By a show of hands— all Olkari in favor of instating Reiner as temporary monarch, show yourselves now!"

A whole bunch of willowy little grasshopper limbs shot up. Several people had to count them. As far as Lance could tell, the vote was unanimous. Why shouldn't it be? he thought. Reiner's done a damn good job today. She didn't exactly blush, because she was green, but Lance could see that Reiner was touched.

"What say the Galra? All in favor, say 'I'!"

Kollivan voiced his agreement, as did the others. The process was repeated for the Human coalition. Lance avoided the temptation to say something silly instead of just saying "I". Largely because he could feel both Ina and Kollivan glaring at him.

"Then it is agreed!" The Olkari took the crown and placed it carefully upon a very wide-eyed Reiner's head. "All hail the new queen!"

Lance let out a celebratory whoop. And then took the knee, as everyone else did until Reiner bowed back at them, which seemed to grant them permission to stand up again. The room seemed like a party all of a sudden and Lance felt welcomed even if it didn't concern his planet.

She thanked them all for their help, and for the honor. And her first official act as Olkari Queen was to bestow the various coalition members with "crowns" of their own— strangle little wooden circlet that acted as some sort of interface— which would allow them to use the Olkari method of transforming nature.

Should they ever get around to visiting Olkarion, of course.

Lance was promised that he and his friends could visit any time they wanted and that when they did, they would be welcomed with a feast.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance had assumed that nothing else in the building was going to top having been present for the impromptu crowning of an alien monarch. And yet, he was still delighted to run into another familiar face.

"Hey, Ryan," Hunk greeted. Ryan didn't answer him. He didn't even turn around. He seemed really engrossed in the conversation he was having. And there was something very weird about that.

"...You, uh, discussing intergalactic politics or something?" Lance asked in a low, teasing tone. Ryan finally seemed to notice them and he gave them a pleasantly surprised look over his shoulder.

"Oh. Hey, you two. We were discussing film techniques, actually."

"...Film techniques."

"Mm. That and alien cinema. There's a surprisingly diverse world of film out there that I know nothing about."

Lance stared openly at the alien before him. If it could even be called that. It was a noodle. A noodle man. A walking, sort-of-talking noodle. He'd seen a few of them in the lobby, but they seemed less noodle-y than this one did.

More importantly than that, he wasn't saying anything. The noises it was making were not words. They just weren't. Beeps, maybe, but not words.

"What, uh, are his qualifications?" Hunk asked carefully. He and Lance exchanged a look. Ryan gestured at the noodle-man as if introducing him.

"This is Bi-Boh-Bii! He's a television star on his planet. Mostly sitcoms, but he's in the process of developing a daytime talk show."

"Bi!" Bi-Boh-Bii said. He, too, was a Pokémon, only capable of saying iterations of his own name.

"I see." Lance paused. "...Ryan, are you aware that he's not actually saying words?"

"Huh?" Ryan looked to Lance, and then back at Bi-Boh-Bii. "I can understand him just fine."

"But he's not saying words!"

"I know that. I just... get it. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it's a tonal thing?"

"If we were talking about, like, yes or no answers, that might make sense," Hunk said, "but how are you getting the intricacies of art from a bunch of beeps and boops?!"

Bi-Boh-Bii made a sound that Lance assumed was a scoff as he and Ryan exchanged a glance. Ryan indignantly crossed his arms.

"Maybe it's a filmmaker thing."

Lance shook his head. He wasn't about to engage this conversation. Instead, he walked up to Bi-Boh-Bii. He was wearing a suit and what looked like a headset.

"He says he just got captured a few days ago," Ryan explained. "He was trying to get some documentary footage to feature on the talk show. Not a lot of aliens have gotten pictures or videos of Earth."

"I wonder why," Hunk droned sarcastically. Earth was surprisingly capable of kidnapping aliens and stealing their stuff and absurdly reluctant to listen to them. "How did he wind up this far down?"

"They classified him as hostile. Because he fought back."

"That doesn't really seem fair," Lance complained. "Are you supposed to go limp when a bunch of guys with guns yank you out of your ship and throw you in alien prison?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Anything else gets you punished, so I guess that's what they expect. Compliance. It's also kinda hard to give them a trial since almost nobody can understand them."

"...This... this kinda sucks, you know?" Hunk said, finally voicing the thought that had been in Lance's head for a while. "There's so much unfair stuff in here. I never would have thought we were just locking up so many perfectly nice aliens."

"I mean, we lock up plenty of perfectly nice people," Ryan reminded him. Hunk seemed to deflate.

"Fair enough."

Lance extended a hand towards Bi-Boh-Bii. He had some trouble bending over enough to let Lance shake his noodly arm appendage.

"Well, I'm Lance," he greeted as politely as possible, "and that guy over there is my friend Hunk. I'm a pilot-in-training and swim in my spare time, and Hunk is good with computers and machines and likes retro video games."

Bi-Boh-Bii made a pleased sound and chirped something at Ryan.

"He says he's a fan of retro video games himself," Ryan translated. "He says that his people have had video games for... for about seven hundred years now."

"Whoa!" Hunk looked taken aback. "Feels like we just got them yesterday by comparison!"

Lance ended up on standby as the others had a three-way conversation about media. He didn't feel jealous or annoyed, though, because they seemed to be having fun and had a lot more in common with each other than Lance did with them.

There was another sound. This time, Lance was close enough to distinguish that it was some kind of roar that dissolved into a hiss. Everyone seemed to find it scary. Even Bi-Boh-Bii shivered. Which looked more like the wobbling movements of one of those inflatable tube men outside of a car dealership, but still. Hunk shook his head.

"You know," he said, "I think I've gone far enough. I'm not going down there just to get eaten. No way, no how. If YOU wanna go ahead, you can."

Lance laughed mockingly.

"Me? Scared? Never! I came here for a hot alien lover and I will not rest until he or she is mine," he declared.

"You came here for what?" Ryan asked, his brow knit into a concerned furrow. Hunk waved an arm at him, telling him not to bother. Bi-Boh-Bii made a judgmental noise.

Lance didn't need any attitude from a talking straw.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance moved on shortly after parting ways with Ryan and Hunk.

He had not seen his sister in a while. And knowing her, he had known she would be up to something, but even he hadn't expected to find her on the second-to-last floor looking as unfazed as possible.

"Veronica, what are you up to down here? Reiner says the aliens probably get more dangerous the further down you go."

"I know that," Veronica snorted. "They also seem to get cooler and smarter the further down you go." She winked at... something. Not in Lance's direction. "So here I am."

Veronica was sitting on the floor, and sitting casually, the way that one might sit on a picnic blanket while on a date. Lance couldn't tell what she was looking at. It was a containment pod and it had at least two cameras looking right at it.

"Who is that?" He heard a new female voice ask. It seemed to be coming from inside of the cell. Veronica smiled at the glass. At whoever she'd winked at a moment ago.

"Oh, him? That's just my little brother. His name is Lance. He's been a pretty big part of all of this!" She grinned at him. "I'm proud of the little guy."

"I'm not little," he muttered. "Not anymore."

"I cannot see him..."

"Lance, get over here, will you?"

Lance felt a strange hesitation. It just then occurred to him why— wouldn't Veronica have just let the captive out by now if there wasn't something strange about her? Veronica must have been waiting for Kollivan's approval. And when he walked to stand beside his sister and looked at the alien, he could see why.

She wasn't quite a Galra. They were usually purple, as far as Lance knew, and this lady was blue. But she had the right face, and he could see it in her eyes. At least some part of her was Galra, and maybe that was where the conflict about releasing her came from.

"Hi," Lance said awkwardly, "I'm Lance."

He sat down on the floor rather suddenly. He felt weird being the only one standing up. The blue lady, too, was seated, even if her knees were folded in a way that looked uncomfortable. She didn't have a lot of room to move around in that tube. He stared, waiting for her to respond, and concluded that she was very pretty, even if she did look like she could probably kill him. Some people would probably think that made her seem even more attractive. ...After thinking on it a moment, Lance concluded that he was, in fact, one of those people.

At last, she nodded. She was the type to stare directly into a person's face while they were talking.

"Hello, Lance. I am Acxa. Your sister has been keeping me company for a while."

Lance raised an eyebrow at that, looking over to Veronica in the hopes that she would explain what was going on here. For some reason he felt like he was intruding on something. Like they already know one another very well.

"Acxa's a half-Galra," Veronica said. She sounded sad. Her smile was the same way. "Kollivan is looking into her background. He's not sure if we should release her or not."

"Why's that? Did you do something?" Lance asked, directing the question at Acxa herself. She looked like a warrior.

"I..." She searched for words. "I have made questionable choices. I aligned myself with someone that I thought understood me. I was part of an elite team of several half-breeds. We were aligned with neither Zarkon nor the Blades... an independent force. I have clashed with Kollivan. I have also aided Kollivan."

"At least he's not taking it personally," Lance replied. "A lot of guys would make you stay here just because you'd attacked them before."

"I suppose so." Acxa sighed. "The group... whatever it was, it fell apart. Even our leader was no longer certain of himself. He doesn't want to be like his father, but he is not sure what he should do instead."

"...His father? Whose?"

"Oh. Right. I was in the service of Prince Lotor."

"Zarkon's son," Veronica whispered. Lance's eyes went wide with shock.

"This space war is complicated! So Lotor, like, doesn't agree with his dad's mission?"

"No." Acxa shook her head. "He rightfully believes that Zarkon is a barbarian, and Zarkon was less than kind to his son. He has been exiled for many years. But... Lotor has a deep internal conflict. He has thrived on anger for too long. And I was the same once, so I did not question it."

"So what changed?"

"I... grew tired of the hatred. Lotor's decisions became more and more erratic, his logic less sound. I once believed that the ends would justify the means, but I no longer knew what the ends were, and I don't believe that he does either. So... I stole a cruiser. And I tried to get away. Lotor couldn't let me escape. He didn't know my intentions, so I do not blame him— he must have thought I intended to betray him and turn him over to his father."

"But that's not what you did, right?" Lance guessed. "That's not what you wanted. It doesn't sound like you hate Lotor."

Acxa smiled weakly.

"I wanted a new life. That's all. I had hoped to change my name and identity and become someone else, but... there aren't many places for someone like me to go. I thought that Earth was far away enough that I might have a chance. Instead I was apprehended and imprisoned here."

"Someone like you...?"

"A half-breed," Veronica clarified. "Apparently space racism is a thing too!"

"You're KIDDING," Lance groaned.

"I'm afraid it is true. The Galra are... supremacists. Only pure Galra can rise through their ranks. Lotor himself had an Altean for a mother, and so his own people reject him as a potential emperor."

"That's just the Galra, though, right? Why not go hang out with the Alteans or something instead?"

Acxa clicked her tongue.

"The rest of the galaxy fears the Galra. Even the Blades are treated with suspicion and disdain. It is... understandable that they would feel that way. The Galra have terrorized every corner of the universe for well over a decade now." Her face was solemn. Her eyes were weary. Lance could see, when he looked at her, that she had suffered. And for a very long time. "It's hard," she said bluntly. "I've been called a mutt for as long as I can remember. I didn't know what else to do but join Lotor, and eventually, even that place was no longer right for me. I began to fear that there is no place in the world in which I can belong."

"I'm... really sorry," Lance said softly. "Life's not always fair. I'm sure you didn't ask for any of that."

Lance frowned. It was amazing that there was such a complicated conflict going on out there in space and that humans didn't know anything about it. But maybe it was best that they stay out of it? Humans couldn't even get along with one another, and often over the most arbitrary things.

"We've been talking for a while," Veronica concluded with a huff of breath. "I believe her. I told Kollivan that I would take her, but he has to do his job. So we're just waiting."

"I do not fault him for it," Acxa said. "I wouldn't trust me either."

"Geez. At least you're honest," Lance laughed. She gave him a strangely grateful nod.

"I hope to lead an honest life from here on out, if I am granted the chance. A life free of violence. ...I do fear that it would never be possible for me elsewhere. I would be imprisoned by either Zarkon or Lotor and I do not know which is worse."

"Maybe Lotor will figure out what he wants eventually. You said he's half Altean, so maybe he'll line up with that King Alfor guy."

Acxa smiled, and this time it looked slightly hopeful.

"There is a possibility. The princess has a way with words."

"The princess... uh, Allura, right?" It took Lance a moment to remember what Coran had said, what he had called her. "I kinda met her nanny earlier."

"Coran?"

"Y— Yeah! How did you know?!"

Acxa gave him a strangely grim look.

"Do not let his bombastic nature fool you. That man is not to be trifled with. Particularly when it comes to that princess."

"I'll, uh... I'll keep that in mind," Lance mumbled. It was one of the last things he said before he left Veronica and Acxa to continue their conversation alone.

He would keep that in mind. Just in case he ran into Coran again. His pace quickened as he made his way for the elevator once more and heard the familiar roars accompanied by high-pitched screams.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance heard nearby panting when he reached the bottom floor. He assumed that it must have been connected to the cacophony from earlier, so he followed the sound until he found the two troublemakers.

"Guys!" He scolded. Pidge and Ina were slumped against a heavily bolted gate and breathing heavily like they had outrun something. Ina's face had been drained of all color, and Lance rarely saw her emote that way. "Were you the ones behind all that racket?"

"You don't understand!" Pidge yelled back, immediately defensive. "It's not like we were gonna let the thing out— it's just so awful that you can't help but scream if you even see it up close!"

"Let WHAT out?!"

Ina pointed a trembling hand behind her, at the gate.

"Whatever the creature inside is called. This is a maximum security containment unit. There's an aquatic beast inside. It looked like a whale or something similar from a distance, but do not be fooled!"

Lance stared at the gate.

"...I kinda wanna see it." Lance shouted over both girls as they tried to dissuade him. "Just out of curiosity! It's your fault for making it sound so horrifying in the first place!"

Pidge grabbed onto his leg in a desperate effort to stop him, but Lance pried the gate open, which took a great deal of his physical strength, and kicked her off before he made his way into the room. It really was high security. This wasn't a holding cell— it was more like a cage at a zoo. There were levers and alarms and LED displays all over the walls, and several layers separated Lance from the enormous water tank at the very back of the room.

He stood as close to it as he could. It was a bizarre tank and the water was murky. So dark that he could hardly see the thing moving around inside. He would have mistaken it for a decorative boulder if he hadn't seen it move.

"You're not so bad," Lance mocked as the grey blob approached. "I was expecting something a lot bigger!"

Lance quickly ate his words. The moment the taunt left his lips, the blob shot forward with alarming speed and crashed into the wall. And it unfolded— no, unfurled?— it unleashed itself, revealing that grey shell to be only a warning of the horrors it contained. The thing bellowed, crashing into the tank wall with all its might. There were tentacles and teeth and pincers. Lance screamed at the top of his lungs.

Soon enough, he, too, was on the floor by the sealed gate.

"I tried to warn you," Pidge groaned. "I-I know it must not be able to get past that barrier, but it sure does seem like it COULD, you know?"

"You said it was a creature," Lance argued. "Like an animal. That thing is an eldritch abomination and you damn well know it!"

"Maybe. It's kinda hard to classify something like that."

"It is called a Snick," Reiner informed them once Ina had called her up. "And it is one of the most dangerous creatures known to us. It devours any and all living things and can crush an adult with ease, even tearing limb from limb, and it uses its stealth abilities to sneak up on those least suspecting. Trust me when I say that I have no idea whatsoever how your measly Earth forces were able to quarantine one!"

On any other day, and under any other circumstances, Lance might have taken offense to having his whole planet described as "measly". But the horrifying knowledge that hellbeasts like that thing existed out in space made him adjust his perspective a bit. Reiner was probably right.

"Should we leave that one, then?" Pidge guessed.

"Yes," Reiner clarified. "The very real possibility that we would lose some of our own in the process of recapturing and transporting it is simply not worth the risk. I will send someone to guard the door and make sure that no one else gains access to that room."

Reiner's guards arrived before long. Ina declared in a near-whisper that she had had enough of this floor before trying to storm away on wobbly legs. Pidge, at first, intended to keep Lance company. But her communicator beeped, and she let out a defeated groan as soon as she read the message.

"That was Matt! He says he already found Nyma," she whined. Her shoulders fell and she looked almost dejected. Lance gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Sorry, kid. I know how much you wanted that robot."

"Yeah. ...Hopefully I can find something else." Pidge shook her head to clear it of negative thoughts and stood up straight. "Well! Even if I can't keep it, I still wanna see this robot. And meet this elusive Nyma person. I'll catch up with you later!"

Then Pidge, too, was gone, and Lance was alone with the Olkari guards. For a few minutes, anyway. Just as he started to make his way through the hallways again he heard footsteps, and from around a corner, someone's head appeared. He was carefully turning over to check around the blind spot, his back pressed against that wall, like cops and spies did in movies.

"Lance? Is that you?" He asked, and he seemed immediately disarmed. "Were you behind all of that screaming earlier? I feared that we were done for. That the guards had broken back inside."

"Oh! Adam!" Lance practically skipped forward to meet the man halfway. "It was nothing serious. There was a really scary monster in one of the high-security rooms."

Adam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Can't you read? Did all of those warning signs mean nothing to you?"

"Oh, they meant something. They made me curious. If you saw a box labeled 'don't look inside this box, there's definitely nothing interesting inside this box', wouldn't you immediately, you know... wanna look in the box?"

"...I suppose so."

Adam was about as important to the mission as a person could be. He, too, was allowed to keep his communicator. Because he was their double agent— their man on the inside. He worked for the government, for some kind of space program, and had gotten ahold of sensitive information that had made their plan run smoothly very shortly after requesting to be transferred to Area 51. Had they not had him, they might have all been doomed from the start.

Still— despite having worked so closely with him for the last few months, and despite having met him in person on many occasions, Lance felt like he hardly knew the man. He still didn't know what his motives were. Adam had insisted on keeping it a secret.

"They've never let me down here," Adam said quietly. "Even working here didn't get me access to everything. You need different security clearances to access different floors and different wings. They wouldn't let me so much as access the database just to know what's down here, and... even with help from the Holts, it seems like they don't write it down."

"It's THAT classified?!" Lance had trouble believing such a thing. That there was a super top-secret section of a top-secret building that was so top-secret they weren't even allowed to speak about it in writing. Adam nodded.

"Yes. Which leads me to believe that I'm on the right track." Adam fiddled around with a door, having to bypass several locks and override an alarm, until it opened. A quick scan of the room and he concluded that it didn't have what he was looking for, and he marched swiftly on. Lance had trouble keeping up. "...They put up a hell of fight. They didn't want me working here and I have my suspicions as to why."

"...Well, why? You've literally never told us why you agreed to go along with all of this. What exactly are you looking for down here?"

Adam didn't look up from the next keypad he had already arrived at.

"I," he angrily punched several buttons, "am looking," he bypassed the lock, "for my boyfriend."

He nearly punched the keys and the door gave way. Once again, it didn't have what he wanted. He didn't waste time speaking to the alien contained within. Lance ran in to free it— some Galra that Kollivan conformed wasn't a fighter and just ran some food stand in a mall— in his stead, and then he chased Adam down, now very intrigued.

"Your boyfriend? Are you dating an alien?!"

"No! I'm not." Adam was seething. He was good at keeping a straight face, but Lance could see the fire in his eyes even through those glasses. Lance guessed that he had been looking for a long time. Long before today.

"Then what happened to him? Why would Area 51 have him?"

Adam huffed.

"He was an astronaut. He was on a mission, repairing a satellite, when he suddenly disappeared. The official story that my superiors put out was that he had crashed his pod and died. Pilot error." He scoffed indignantly. "Pilot error— can you believe that?"

"You don't think he would have made a mistake like that."

"No. Never. Takashi was flawless— he IS flawless. He would never have crashed, not unless something awful happened." His grip tightened on the laser pistol that Lance just then noticed he was carrying. "I searched in any way that I could, and I found enough to tell me that they were hiding something, but I'm not a hacker by trade. Finding the Holts proved what I had always suspected. The readings and footage don't line up with what I was told. He was taken by... by something."

"Aliens," Lance gasped. "He was abducted." 

"Correct." Adam ran through the same process with a third door. The room was empty. "And I have reason to believe that he was recovered. That he returned to Earth somehow."

"What makes you think that?"

"The Holts found evidence of what appeared to be a small Galra cruiser making an emergency landing out in the desert about four months ago. It was damaged, like it had been shot at, and a wing was on fire. The vehicle might have been commandeered. But more importantly, the landing was incredible. No normal pilot could have landed that thing without totaling it." The rage in Adam's eyes was replaced with something else for a moment. Something pained and raw and lonely. "But the pilot reportedly survived. ...That's my Takashi. I knew it. It had to be."

Lance just whistled. He didn't know this Takashi, but he already sounded pretty cool. It was one thing to be abducted by hostile aliens. It was another thing altogether to escape them by stealing one of their own ships and somehow surviving a fiery emergency crash-landing on earth.

"Okay. I've got it. I'm in!"

Adam have him a quizzical look.

"You're in...?"

"I mean I'll help you look!"

"I will, too."

Lance jumped and screamed at the intruding voice. Ryan. He was so often silent that he had a way of sneaking up on people, and he had apparently finished talking to Bi-Boh-Bii. Adam didn't so much as flinch. He was one of those cool-under-pressure types, so he just turned to look at Ryan.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," Ryan replied with a shrug. "I could hear you from a couple hallways down. There's a hell of an echo in this place. But it sounds important, so I thought I ought to help out." He frowned, looking more genuinely sympathetic than Lance had thought he could. "I... I don't know what I would do if something happened to James."

"Oh—" Lance smacked himself in the forehead. That was why James had looked at him like he was stupid earlier. "I didn't realize that you two were— okay. Alright."

Ryan actually laughed at that. Then, the three of them split up. They could cover a lot more ground that way. Door after door, hall after hall, alien after alien... Lance released quite a few prisoners.

In one room, Lance found another mermaid encased in a water tank. She claimed to be a queen. He didn't know how he was supposed to release her without killing her, though, so he signaled for some Olkari to come and see what they could do for her. In another area, Lance found several more of the little snail guys. One of them was relentlessly slashing his tiny sword against the glass, determined to free himself by force. Lance respected what he stood for. Clyzap and his buddies were soon freed, and Lance thought they ran surprisingly fast for such small aliens. There was a Galra that Kollivan identified as Ulaz, one of his own, and he was retrieved by several other Blades.

All kinds of people, but no sign of a human. Adam had described him as a well-built Japanese man in his mid-to-late twenties with a strong jaw, but Lance hadn't found any humans at all, much less someone matching that description.

Just as he was ready to give up hope, and just as he began to think that maybe Takashi wasn't here after all, he heard Ryan shout for them. Adam's heavy footsteps were racing in the direction of his voice before Lance could even process it. Lance ended up following those thuds more than Ryan's voice.

Sure enough, Ryan had found a room with a single metal table in the center of it and many medical machines and surgical supplies all around. Someone was more or less strapped down there, and tightly enough that he probably couldn't move much, if at all. At least he was sleeping. Morbid as it sounded, Lance would have thought he was dead if he didn't see his chest rising and falling.

"What did they do to you...?"

Adam's voice was soft when he addressed Takashi, even when he couldn't hear him. Lance immediately knew why he sounded like that. Takashi looked a little bit different than he had in Adam's description. Adam had said nothing of a white streak of hair or a pronounced and rather fresh facial scar. And Lance was sure he would have mentioned a prosthetic limb. Someone had cut half of the man's arm off. Whether it was the Galra or the government probably didn't matter.

"I didn't wanna wake him," Ryan explained. "He doesn't know me. It might just freak him out."

Adam understood. He carefully leaned over Takashi and patted the side of his face, then his chest. Gently enough so as not to hurt him but firmly enough for him to feel it.

"Takashi," he called. "Wake up. It's time to get you out of here."

Takashi groaned. His eyes fluttered open, and he jerked violently. The table rattled and Adam jumped back. It was no wonder they'd had to strap this guy down.

"Leave me alone!" He bellowed. "No more! I don't know anything!"

That made Lance's heart ache. Had they been torturing him for information he didn't have? And right after he had escaped a different form of captivity? Poor Takashi couldn't catch a break.

"Takashi! Takashi, it's me! No one's here to hurt you!"

It took several minutes to calm him down. Even after he had stopped thrashing, Takashi was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide with panic. He literally couldn't believe that it was, in fact, Adam, and that he was finally going to be set free. He had been fighting to survive for so long that he couldn't remember how to relax. Eventually he recalled it, and then he just looked tired.

"The Galra," he said, his voice a croak. Ryan was fiddling with the straps and doing his best to unclamp the man. "That satellite was too close to them. They took me and made me fight after they fixed my muscles."

"The arenas?" Adam asked, and he clearly hadn't wanted to hear that. Lance didn't know what Takashi meant by "fixing", but it wasn't any of his business. Takashi nodded weakly.

"They gave me this arm... a weapon. They called me a champion. But I didn't want to hurt anybody. A man, a Galra, he helped me escape...!" He paused to cough. "But as soon as I returned home, they just captured me again. They were sure I had information about the Galra or that they sent me back to do their bidding. I-I told them everything I know, Adam! They just wouldn't listen to me!"

"I know. I know. And I believe you, Takashi. We've freed a lot of innocent people today. The important thing is that you're getting out of here and I'm taking you home."

As soon as he was freed, Takashi sat up, and he practically fell into Adam's chest. Ryan and Lance said nothing and waited as they held one another for what was probably several minutes. Adam hadn't seen Takashi in over a year and had been told to assume the worst. Takashi had been through hell in that time. They needed this.

When he felt up to it, Takashi tried to stand. It was clear that he was weak.

"I'll help," Ryan announced. He and Adam each supported one side of the taller man. Adam looked grateful, but reluctant.

"Are you sure? You came here to explore, and this will probably take a while... it's a long way to the lobby."

"I'm sure." Ryan smiled. "James already found an alien for us. He's waiting to surprise me with it up there. ...Lance, you go on ahead, alright? Don't worry about us."

"Okay." Lance sighed and nodded. "You guys really ought to talk to the Blades. ...Kollivan probably knows who freed Takashi."

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

By the time Adam and Ryan left with Takashi in tow, Lance felt like he was one of the last people left in the building. Even Veronica sent him a message informing him that Acxa had been given the go-ahead and that they were, apparently, looking for Acxa's cat together. Whatever that meant.

That lonely feeling might have been just because he was in the deepest part of the place. The second half of the lowest floor. There were cameras everywhere and Lance had to pull out his scanner to bypass some security gate every few minutes. It was really feeling like a heist now, he thought.

Most of the smaller pods along the hallways had been emptied. The aliens that were left, for the most part, were awaiting identification. Some were just boring, or were openly rude. Lance didn't pay much attention to those. He made a beeline for the very back of the building, and there, he found that there were entire rooms that were almost untouched. These were containment rooms, like the one they'd found Takashi in. Not temporary holding cells. There were cells inside of each room, but also ominous-looking supplies and stuff to keep a person busy for a while, like workout equipment or plain-looking books and the occasional abandoned food tray with what looked like tasteless sludge on it. The aliens in these rooms had been slotted for long-term stays, whether they wanted to be there or not.

Some of them were hostile Galra. That much was to be expected. Lance ended up totally by himself after a while, as the rebels nearby had to lead the dangerous warlord they'd found down there— a guy named Sendak— back to their transport ship. Lance had to admit that that guy was terrifying. He'd stumbled across him by accident and the man had had the nerve to try and threaten Lance into setting him free. It was no wonder he had to be escorted by six people. As he was dragged off, he shouted more threats at Lance, promising that he could destroy his entire family for having the audacity to "defy the glory of the Galra empire". Lance just stuck his tongue out at him. Sendak didn't like that very much.

Lance promised the rebels that he wouldn't do anything crazy if left to his own devices.

Then, he was alone with the bottom floor.

Lance treated it like an adventure. He took the time to fully explore every winding hallway he stumbled across. He found cool robots, and he found ancient contraptions, and he found a giant spaceship that looked like a black robot lion surrounded by some kind of force field. There were a number of smaller ships. He was studying flight in school and would love to pilot one of them, but he didn't know how he would get it out of the building. Or where he would keep it.

Lance eventually found himself in what seemed to be an experimentation room. Just one of many. The walls were bright white and the lights were blinding and there were a bunch of machines and screens for computer readings. One of them almost looked like a torture device. Lance could easily see where a human being— something the relative size and shape of a human being, anyway— would lie down just to be strapped in place with metal clamps. That was how they'd found Takashi, after all.

The difference was that Takashi's room had been smaller, and it had seemed like a temporary place. Like they had brought him there for the purpose of a single operation and had planned to place him in a regular long-term containment room when they were done with him. This one was different in that it was a combination of both types of room. It told Lance that the creatures kept in rooms like these were experimented on and generally messed around with constantly.

Lance shuddered and shook his head. How inhumane.

At the very least, the hypothetical alien had some things to do in here. There was a smaller confined area that could be described as a bedroom. It was still stark white and locked behind that plexiglass, but it had a small shelf of a bed with a floating metal nightstand. Also inside there was something like a treadmill, and some weights. There was a stack of comic books by the apparent bed. There was a shower, and a sink with some basic hygienic supplies, and a toilet. No privacy, though. Kind of like prison. There was a table and a chair, and on the bed there was what appeared to be a big pile of ugly grey and purple blankets that didn't look very soft.

Lance wondered what the purpose of the standard cylindrical pod was if the alien was usually kept in that room-within-a-room. Maybe it was like solitary confinement? Maybe they put the creature in there, in the tube, if it misbehaved. Not having any room to stretch or lie down would be a punishment that Lance couldn't stand.

Something else about the room suddenly caught Lance's eye when he turned away from the containment areas— on a table, under a bright lamp, there was a small blade. Lance ran gleefully to it. If he was right, it was one of the Marmora blades. He would definitely get brownie points for retrieving one of those. He picked it up with careful hands, grateful for the gloves he had thought to wear, and turned it over, observing the way the polished metal glinted in the light. It looked almost supernatural.

Behind him, he heard what sounded like someone pounding on a door, and it startled him so much that he dropped the knife and screamed.

"...Hey! HEY! Hey, you! Come here! Get me out of here! Let me out!"

Why was everything sneaking up on him today? Lance regained his composure as best he could, certain that his face had drained of color, and squinted at the other end of the room. Someone was in the pseudo-bedroom. Kneeling on the floor was what appeared to be a human man about Lance's age. Lance hadn't noticed him before. He had assumed the cell was empty, but he must have been inside that pile of shitty blankets.

Lance took slow steps in his direction, tilting his head to one side as he eyed him. He was pretty cute, sure, but other than that he looked like a normal human. Definitely not the kind of thing that belonged in a high-security alien containment pod and locked behind a heavy bolting door. But whatever the reason, there was a simple boy in that pod, and he pounded on the plexiglass with a weak but angry fist. He was cuffed. His arms were chained together in a way that allowed him a minimal amount of room to move them apart. His legs, too. It seemed like it was designed to let him move freely enough, but to keep him from running or attacking.

"Dude, how did you get in there?" Lance's tone was unintentionally condescending. Like he was looking at a toddler who'd managed to stand up on a chair and going "look at you!"

"They put me in here!" The boy shouted in a raspy voice. Lance looked around.

"Who, the others?" A lot of the raiders had been young idiots who were only in it for the internet clout, so he wouldn't put it past them to cuff one of their buddies and lock him in one of the cells. Even if those cuffs did look oddly heavy-duty and futuristic for normal teenagers to have. "That's not cool."

"No, not the stupid raiders," he retorted, sounding annoyed. "The— The government, I guess?! I don't even know!"

Lance blinked in surprise, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He would have to ask later how this guy even knew about the raid.

"...What? The Area 51 guys put you in there?"

"That's what I'm saying!"

"But you're a person." Lance paused. "...Right? I mean, you look human to me."

He did look human. Nothing about him said "alien". Something about him said "emo", or maybe "kid who had disciplinary issues and got into too many fights in high school", but not "alien". He had long and fluffy black hair. He was dressed in something like a morph suit in black and blue and purple with silver accents— come to think of it, a lot of the prisoners had worn something similar. Takashi included. They must have been forced to wear it.

This captive also had a dazzling pair of eyes, the color like that of a violet evening sky. ...And there was some kind of scar or something on his cheek. Maybe that was a birthmark? Lance couldn't tell, and the more he looked at it the weirder it looked. It wasn't the right color, he thought, to be either of those things.

"I AM human," he insisted angrily. He looked around as if making sure that no one else was around to hear him and Lance observed the unnaturally sharp shape of his apparent... Wound. Birthmark. Thing. "...Mostly. I thought I was just another human until they took me away."

"You're—" Lance rolled back and forth on his feet in his surprise and excitement. "Are you, like, an alien hybrid?!"

The boy nodded.

"I guess so? I-I mean, I never actually knew my mom, but I thought she must have just died or something. Like my dad did. But I guess she was an alien."

"Dude." Lance pumped his fists in the air. "DUDE. That's so cool!"

"It really isn't!" The other guy protested. "Th-They won't leave me alone. They keep strapping me to that table over there, running blood tests and poking and zapping me, and they keep me caged in here like some kind of animal and I don't even know what I did wrong!" His voice was racing now. It was obvious in his desperate tone and wild gestures that he hadn't properly spoken to another person in a while. Especially not someone his own age. "As far as I knew, I was another normal guy, but I went in for a medical exam and the nurse freaked out about my DNA or something and called some agency, a-and then these guys in suits just showed up—"

"What, like, Men in Black style?"

"Yeah, like that! They restrained me and knocked me out and I woke up in this stupid building. And they haven't let me out of this room in... I don't know how long it's been, exactly, but I know it's felt like forever. It's been years. I'm sure of it."

"Years?! Holy hell, man. Did you, like, pull some weird alien stuff?"

"No! I was just a foster kid! B-But when they tested my DNA they said it was 'the hostile species'. Whatever the fuck that means. ...I-I mean, I dunno. Maybe it explains why I've always had so much trouble controlling my temper."

Lance took in the boy's story and tried to absorb it. Hostile species. So far, he only knew of one that was so violent that even Earth was aware that they were dangerous. He glanced back at the table. The object there was definitely a Marmora knife. He retrieved it and walked it back towards the cell, holding it out so that the prisoner could see it. His eyes looked like those of a man who hadn't eaten in months spotting a hot bowl of soup.

"So this knife here—"

"It's mine!" The other boy interrupted, and he did the grabby-hands gesture. He really wanted the knife back. "My mom left it for me; I've had it my whole life. They won't let me have it!"

Lance raised his eyebrows at him, and then back at the blade, and whistled.

"Hoo, boy— did they never tell you what this is? Why they took it?"

"No. I know the symbol glows sometimes, and I never have to sharpen it, but I thought it was just a cool knife." He glared. "It's kinda my comfort object, if you don't mind...."

Of course it is, Lance thought with a chuckle. No stuffed animals or blankets for this guy, I guess.

"This is a Marmora knife."

"A what?"

"The Blades of Marmora." Lance gestured at the door. "There's a bunch of them out there— they're aliens called Galra. Apparently in space the Galra are warlords and terrorize everybody, but there are double agents hiding in the ranks, and they're part of an organization called the Blade of Marmora. Only they have knives like this."

The prisoner blinked.

"Are you... saying that my mom was some kind of super-space-spy?"

"Seems that way. Which could mean she's still alive, of course, but out in space somewhere."

The boy groaned and banged his head against the glass.

"Dad, what did you do?!" He wailed. Lance burst out laughing. He hadn't thought about that, but, yes. There were some implications there. "I... I really AM a half-alien," he realized out loud.

"Yep! You're a Galra! That must be why they thought you were hostile. It's not really fair, though. I think most people would start acting hostile if you treated them like lab rats. I know I would." Lance flipped the knife in the air and caught it. Keith's eyes were glued to his hands and they sparkled as if he thought it was a grand romantic gesture. "If you wanna know more about your mom I could take you to Kollivan. He's in charge of the Blades and might know where she is."

"...You could do that?"

Lance squatted in front of the cell, so that he was roughly at the other guy's eye level, and nodded.

"I sure can." The half-alien began to stand up. Lance hushed him and gestured at him to remain seated. "Before we get ahead of ourselves, though... well, first of all, what's your name?"

"Keith," he answered. "Keith Kogane."

It wasn't exactly an alien name, but it would have to do. At least Lance could call him something other than alien or prisoner.

"Okay. Cool. I'm Lance McClain, and I helped a bunch of aliens sorta temporarily overthrow the base and break me and a whole bunch of other people in— it's a whole big thing, but the point is that most of us aren't going home alone. We're bringing home alien roommates and pets and stuff."

"Alright," Keith said warily, eying him with open suspicion. He had a gaze so intense that the layer between them did nothing to lessen its power. His perfect eyebrows helped make it even more potent. "What about it?"

"Do you, uh... do you have anywhere to go, Keith?"

Keith's beautiful eyes seemed to dull. He looked at the ground, slouching down. Lance could tell that that was a no. That Keith was all alone now.

"I'm probably too old to go back to the foster home," Keith grumbled. "And I don't have any family. Not to mention it's not like I can get a proper job my first day out of government captivity... it'll take me a while to get on my feet."

He looked scared. How long had they kept him here? He was really pale, suggesting that he never got to embrace the warmth of the sun, but that could have been his natural complexion. Lance hummed and smiled as softly as he could.

"You're in luck! I could easily squeeze in a roommate. But if I'm being honest, I was actually looking for something a bit... CLOSER than that. You, uh, wouldn't happen to like guys, would you?"

Keith stared at him, surprised.

"...I mean, yeah. Only guys. Why?"

Lance grinned. He stood up, and he deactivated the keypad keeping Keith contained. It did take a little while, since it was a high-security lock and an Olkari had to bypass it, but the glass gave way and Keith practically collapsed. Lance dove onto the floor and slid across it in time to catch him and support his weight. They were basically just hugging now, Lance thought.

"Why?" Lance repeated once he was sure that Keith was safe in his arms. "Because I think you're pretty cute, and I'm getting you the hell out of here!"

Lance proclaimed this confidently. He could hear the pride in his own voice.

"I won't argue with the second point, at least. ...Fine. We can see where things go," Keith mumbled into his shoulder. Lance raised a fist as a symbol of victory and pumped it in the air a few times. Keith's hair, tickling his cheek, was unreasonably soft. Lance couldn't stop smiling. His alien might not have looked much like an alien, but he had a funny feeling that he had hit the jackpot. This otherworldly sensation was exactly what he had hoped it would be.

"That settles it!" Lance patted the top of Keith's head as gently as he could. "If you'll have me, we're boyfriends now, and you can stay with me for as long as you need to. Forever, even. And I'll keep you safe, too! I won't let those guys take you back."

"I... appreciate that." As he pulled away, Lance confirmed that Keith was smiling. Just a little bit. Without any warning, he leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on Lance's cheek. "Thank you," he nearly whispered. Lance couldn't help but blush. He hadn't expected his alien to agree so quickly and easily. He'd hoped to find an alien lover, but hadn't planned on forcing anyone into the arrangement. That would have been a dick move.

Maybe Keith was feeling the same invisible pull that Lance was.

Lance did make sure he wasn't making a horrible mistake and checked in with Kollivan before trying anything. Kollivan was surprised to learn that a Galra and an earthling could produce offspring, but promised that Keith had no allegiance to either faction in the intergalactic war and was, very likely, just a human boy who didn't know anything about the conflict at all. Just as Lance had suspected. Kollivan promised to inspect Keith's blade if they turned it over. Keith, who was clinging to it like a teddy bear, looked less than thrilled about the concept of surrendering it again. Lance was sure he would do it anyway. His desire to find a family surely outweighed his attachment to his favorite knife.

One could tell just by looking that Keith was really tired. He wasn't going to be able to make the long walk back to the lobby on his own. Lance wrapped an arm around Keith once he returned the communicator to his side bag (adding Keith's knife) and tucked it under him in such a way that he could easily pull him up and off of the floor. Keith rose slowly, like an old man, with muscles straining and joints audibly complaining of their stiffness with a series of clicks. He put a hand on Lance's chest once they were both at least partially standing up.

"You really don't have to—" Keith abruptly stopped talking. His hand found the cloth draped around Lance's neck. He looked horribly confused and Lance couldn't help but laugh. "Is that a fucking sand village headband?"

"You bet!"

"Oh my god." Keith groaned, rubbing his eyes. "You're actually a child. You're a literal child. And a weeb."

"Says the guy who knew at a glance that it was the sand village?"

Keith froze. He didn't bother replying to that. Lance snickered away at his expense as Keith got into position. With an arm wrapped tight around him, Lance was able to help Keith hobble out of the room. He wondered if the Area 51 guys had been feeding him properly, because he felt kind of thin, and his legs seemed pretty weak. He was guessing that they weren't, if those plates full of sludge were any indicator of the standard diet here. Between that and the lack of sunlight and comfortable sleeping arrangements, it was no wonder that Keith seemed so fatigued.

Lance wouldn't even dare breach, just yet, the subject of the metal experimentation table. He didn't yet want to know what these people had done to his new boyfriend. Instead, he simply promised himself that he would make up for it tenfold— that Keith would live a life of such luxury, a life so full of love, that this place would become a meaningless afterthought for him.

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance helped Keith stumble through the hallways for a while. His legs didn't want to cooperate with him. He wasn't heavy, but he kept jerking away and nearly pulling Lance down with him.

"Did you break a leg or something?" Lance asked, trying to sound more sympathetic than annoyed, seeing as it wasn't Keith's fault. Keith whined.

"Not exactly. I'm just not used to being able to walk freely. They exercised us the bare minimum just to keep the muscles from atrophying."

"Oh." Lance frowned. "...Well, this clearly isn't going anywhere. Hang on."

Lance moved to sweep Keith up in his arms. Keith practically hissed and swatted his hands away.

"What are you doing?!"

"Carrying you!"

"I'm heavy!"

"Maybe you used to be, but not anymore. We're gonna have to fatten you up first thing once we're out of here."

"I would like some decent food," Keith admitted. Lance could have sworn his stomach rumbled on command. "Fine, fine."

Keith put on a dramatic pout as he went limp and allowed Lance to pick him up. Strangely, he didn't say anything about the fact that he'd chosen to do it bridal-style rather than throwing him over one shoulder or something. Lance looked down at him once he was secured. Keith almost looked like he was taking a nap. Too tired to protest, apparently. Lance would probably have to help with physical therapy until he got his muscle strength and his stamina back up. Whatever the case, it was a good thing that Keith trusted him, right?

Lance made his way through several hallways until he located the elevator again. Keith was hardly any trouble at all for the moment. He was sure he'd be feeling it later, though. Heavy lifting was usually like that.

When the elevator doors swung open, Lance caught the sight of familiar figures in the distance. He called after them. Keith stirred, groaning something about trying to sleep. Lance apologized under his breath and was careful not to jostle him too much as he half-jogged after his friends, all of whom looked equally perplexed.

Matt and Pidge stood at the end of the hallway with Rolo and a lady alien that Lance didn't recognize, and they were accompanied by a rolling tower of metal and a bunch of floating puffballs. One thing at a time. Their eyes were fixed on Keith as if he was the strangest thing in the room.

"Hey! What's up! I found myself my hot alien," Lance announced to the siblings. Matt crossed his arms and shook his head.

"No, I'm— I'm pretty sure that's just some dude!"

"What would you know?" Keith growled. He sounded almost offended. Lance laughed.

"He's funny. I like him. He's my boyfriend now."

"As long as you're happy, dude," Pidge said tentatively. Lance appreciated that even if she didn't really sound like she meant it.

"I assume that this is the Beezer I've heard so much about?" Lance asked, leaning past Pidge to get a better look at the unfamiliar robot behind the siblings. It was bigger than what he had been expecting and had expressive ears. Matt proudly slapped the top of the machine.

"It certainly is! My prize for today," he boasted. "Rolo and Nyma here really want me to join the rebels. I've told them I'll think about it, but I want to tinker around with Beezer first."

"Wouldn't you joining defeat the whole purpose?" Lance asked pointedly. Rolo snickered. "Rolo said Beezer wanted to retire." Matt glared at Lance.

"I told Pidge she could look after him if I decide to go," Matt explained, huffing. Pidge gave Lance a look that told him everything he needed to know— Pidge was going to do everything in her power to convince Matt to leave for outer space and Lance was expected to play along.

"That's nice of you. If I can address the elephant in the room real quick—"

"Oh, these?" Pidge held up an arm, and several of the floating aliens perched themselves there like a flock of space birds. "I don't know what they're called, but they're even better than a robot." She said that like she was trying to convince everyone in the room, including herself. Probably because she was still bummed about losing out on Beezer.

"We call 'em Puffles," Rolo said. Lance was... pretty sure he knew that name from somewhere. "They hang around junk satellites and the like. They're good with gadgets!"

"Those things?!"

"Yep. They'll help you hold your stuff and can even help to remotely power certain things. They've saved my butt out in deep space more than once." Rolo gestured at the lady alien, who had waited quietly until then. "Speaking of deep space missions... my partner, Nyma."

"Nice to meet you at last!" Lance bowed. Tried to, anyway. "I'd shake your hand, but they're kind of full at the moment."

"You can put me on the ground for a minute," Keith mumbled. Which startled Lance. His eyes had been closed for a while and he didn't bother to open them as he spoke.

"No, no, don't do that!" Nyma insisted. "It's no big deal. I'm just glad to be out of here. It's been months." She leaned over, trying to look Keith in the eye. "How long have you been in here?"

Keith just sighed. 

"He told me it's been, like, years," Lance answered for him. Rolo and Nyma both winced. "He was down in the experimentation rooms, too," he said more quietly. He kind of hoped that Keith wouldn't hear him say that. "Anyway, I wanted to ask— OH MY GOD."

"What?!" Pidge jerked in place, her many companions clinging to her as she did so. Except for one that had decided to sit on Keith's chest.

"Puffles. I remember where I know that name from."

"Wh— Where?"

Lance looked at Matt, as he assumed Pidge was too young to know what he was talking about.

"Do you remember Club Penguin?"

Matt didn't answer Lance. He just laughed. Almost maniacally. Pidge rolled her eyes. Rolo and Nyma were confused. Keith opened his eyes just enough to see the creature atop him and carefully scratched at the top of it with one finger. The way someone might pet a hamster. Lance smiled at the sight of it, thinking to himself that maybe Keith would like a pet. Something small, maybe, like a cat. His apartment building wouldn't allow anything bigger.

"A-Anyway, that's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to know if one of you could check up on Hunk. I'd do it myself, but again, hands are tied. I haven't run into Hunk in a little while."

"I can do that!" Pidge volunteered. "He hasn't seen my Puffles yet. ...I don't know if he ever played Club Penguin, though."

They waited as Pidge called up Hunk on her device. It took him a while to answer. A bit too long.

"Hey, guys!" Hunk greeted. Lance breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't really talk right now, but I'll be up at the lobby soon, okay?"

"Can't talk? What are you up to over there?" Pidge squinted at the screen, trying to find a hint of what Hunk was dealing with. Lance definitely heard several other voices overlapping in the background.

"I can't explain right now! It's easier if you just see it in person. I promise I'm okay and that I'll have a really cool surprise for you! My hands are kinda tied," Hunk rambled. Lance wiggled his eyebrows at that last sentence. Were Hunk's hands tied in the same way, perhaps?

Hunk hung up without a proper goodbye. They would have to take him at his word when he said he was safe.

"...If that's all, Nyma and I should get back to mission command," Rolo said. He looked a bit sad, honestly, at having to leave everyone else. "It's been a real ride! And that invite goes for you too, Lance." He winked at Nyma while pointing at Lance. "Kid's a hell of a shot. You should have seen it."

Lance puffed out his chest, which he really hoped Keith couldn't feel him doing.

"I'll keep it in mind! For now, though, I need to get this guy settled. I hope you understand."

"Right. Got it. Feel free to give us a call if you change your mind."

The rebels shook hands with the Holts and saluted at Lance before they departed, once and for all.

Maybe when Keith was recovered, he would want to join Lance as a space cowboy. 

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

By the time Lance was nearing the lobby, he was, admittedly, getting tired. He had planned to pretend that this was not the case. Keith had apparently missed the memo.

"You're getting winded," he said, voice flat. Not a question.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. I can tell from where I am," Keith reminded him. And Lance definitely couldn't argue with that. Keith's ear was pressed up against his chest, so he could likely hear both his heartbeat and his lungs.

"Well, whatever, we're almost there."

"Where's there, anyway?"

"Oh— the, uh, the lobby. The whole alien crew should be waiting there. My friends, too. I'll see if I can find Kollivan. He's the one who might be able to find your mom."

Keith hummed. He sounded pleased. Lance imagined that he, too, would be excited to find out he had a mom. Setting aside the fact that Keith's was probably an eight-foot-tall space warrior.

Lance heard many voices and saw many figures before he rounded the final corner. He wasn't the only one headed to the lobby. There were plenty of stoned teenagers and nerds heading for the exit with their spoils. Keith kept one eye open and scanned the crowd. Looking for animals, apparently. His head would turn to follow anything fluffy. When was the last time the poor guy had seen a real, live dog?

Speaking of dogs— Lance heard a familiar voice. One that kept saying the same word over and over again.

"Hey, girl! How did you get all the way up here?" He called out to the Yupper as she came into view, towering above most of the measly humans beside her. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered and a couple of younger guys were eagerly stroking her head as her tail wagged. Keith's eyebrows raised and he looked alert.

"What's THAT?" He asked, voice cracking.

"That's a Yupper. It's like a giant space dog. I ran into her earlier."

"We're calling her Laika."

Lance turned to his right, and there, he saw James smirking proudly up at the creature. Lance pointed as best he could with his head.

"Is that the surprise you had waiting for Ryan? He said something about that when he was helping with the whole, uh, abductee thing."

James nodded, only then seeming to notice Keith. He raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.

"I ran into her and she didn't seem to want to leave. Rolo said they pick their masters. Guess she likes me, huh? We sat down and picked a name out together." Lance gave James a questioning look. "...I read her a list of possible names and she seemed to like Laika, okay? She hasn't objected to it so far. ...Not that she can talk, anyway."

"Laika was a Russian space dog," Keith droned. He sounded kind of delirious— high, maybe— and Lance tried not to laugh at him while James gave him a look.

"That's right, Keith," Lance giggled. "Ryan did say you guys have a lot of space, but Laika is... kind of huge..."

"Oh, don't worry about that. We live on a little ranch."

"Yeah?" Lance was surprised to hear that. He knew both Ryan and James from college, and he knew that they didn't live on campus, but he would have assumed they lived in a nearby apartment building like him.

"Yeah. Got left to him by his grandma. Fenced-in yard, a barn, the works."

"Huh. ...I was worried you wouldn't be able to fit her through a door, but if there's a barn she should be fine. Maybe I should swing by and visit sometime?"

"Yeah, maybe you should."

"Where's—" Ryan appeared before Lance could ask where he had gone. He had a handful of his own. Lance grinned. "Hey! Clyzap!"

"The one and only," Ryan confirmed. "Got a little sidetracked helping him out... He wants to stay here on Earth, so I'm taking him to Nadia. I think they would make a good pair."

Lance awwed at that. It was definitely a good idea— Lance knew that Nadia, too, would respect Clyzap's chaotic energy, and he did feel bad that she'd never gotten to go inside and look at the aliens for herself. Hopefully her injury wasn't too bad and she was okay.

"Why do you wanna stay?" Lance asked the snail creature, who Keith was staring at. Maybe because he had a little sword? Keith did seem to like knives. Clyzap struck an arrogant pose. He looked like a bizarre parrot upon Ryan's broad and well-defined shoulder.

"I have defeated all available enemies on my own planet! My people will return to Ares with a message for my family, and I shall stay here in search of new challengers."

"Wow. You're, like, your planet's bravest warrior, huh?"

Clyzap nearly sparkled with pride at that. Apparently, he was. It was probably why he'd been in such high-security containment. He was tiny, but he didn't mess around. Clyzap meant business.

"I like combat," Keith said, smiling as politely as he could manage to. Whenever he spoke, everyone in the vicinity looked at him, likely because it was unexpected. "Maybe he'll teach me a thing or two."

"You don't mind giving sword lessons, do you, Clyzap?" Lance asked him hopefully. Clyzap assured the earthlings that he would be happy to teach them his ways. "Maybe you'll learn to use that knife of yours. Once Kollivan is done with it, anyway."

Lance was forced to explain, once again, who Keith was and what was going on with him. Ryan was shocked to learn that there were alien hybrids hiding among humans. Lance admitted that his arms were starting to get pretty tired. A rebel dragged over a big metal crate that Keith was able to sit down on comfortably. Said crate did rattle every once in a while, but they would have to ignore that for now.

It was time to relax and to wait. The Holts left and bid the others farewell, and they were accompanied by many Blades to protect them from the angry government forces that surely wanted to imprison the mysterious hackers that had infiltrated military tech. They would have to keep low profiles for a while. Somewhere far away from campus. Lance, too, had been told to lay low and hide for a little while— at least the aliens were helping them with that. They'd done all they could to keep their identities secret. It was entirely possible that the name "Lance McClain" was not associated with alien heists in any way.

Coran appeared with his travel companions, Romelle and Bandor, and he had gifts for Lance and for James. He had a really cool board game (a tabletop RPG that sounded a bit too similar to Dungeons and Dragons to be a coincidence— did copyright infringement exist in deep space?) and a holographic program that would allow someone to learn the Altean language. Lance, of course, grabbed the game before James could claim it, and Ryan seemed a bit jealous. They would all have to get together to play it sometime soon. James, as an intellectual sort, seemed happy enough with his prize. If any of them ever did visit Altea it would come in handy.

Romelle, too, had some "gifts" for Ina. She had been traveling with space mice— that's what she called them, not Lance— and had found, upon relocating them, that they had multiplied. As mice, you know, tend to do. And so Ina, who had failed to find an alien companion, was gifted four oddly-colored mice. She took them eagerly, as apparently even her closet-sized apartment was big enough to hold them.

Lance got word that Kollivan had already moved on to the mission command ship. Veronica, however, had not. She and Acxa appeared before long. And Acxa had a companion this time.

"Huh. That really is a cat," Lance said, not sure what he had been expecting. She shrugged.

"You may call Kova a mere cat if you wish, but I must warn you that she has the power to possess you by forming a psychic link with your mind and to then drain you of your life and all of your memories."

Lance's jaw dropped. He opted against petting this particular cat. Keith, too, if his wide eyes were any indication of how he felt.

Veronica, thankfully, changed the subject. She circled Keith, adjusting her glasses as if to observe him more closely. Keith clung to Lance's side and eyed her apprehensively. Lance whispered to him that this was his sister and that he had no need to fear, but that didn't disarm Keith. He'd been imprisoned a while— it wouldn't be that easy to earn his trust, Lance guessed. Even though Lance seemed to be exempt from his disdain thus far.

"And who's this?" She finally asked. It was obvious in her tone that she knew what was up. She knew her brother's type by now. Lance squeezed his shoulder and smiled down at him.

"This is my new boyfriend! Found him in maximum security. Apparently the government literally, like, kidnapped him and kept him here just because he's half-alien." Lance laughed somewhat sheepishly in Acxa's direction. "Seems like we're both leaving with half-Galra— funny how that worked out."

Acxa seemed strangely happy to learn that she wasn't alone. She and Keith shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. And, to Lance's surprise, she convinced Keith to hand over his knife after explaining her situation.

"I must be speaking with Kollivan anyway," Acxa explained as she pocketed it. "I am not permitted to leave before doing so. I may as well get this to him while I'm there. He'll surely recognize it."

"Just be sure to take good care of it," Keith warned.

"Keith isn't an alien name," Veronica teased, and Keith reddened slightly, whether it was embarrassment or irritation.

"It's... not in the Galra custom, no," Acxa agreed. Keith scoffed.

"Well, what do you want me to do?!" Keith threw his arms up in protest. After a few seconds of silent staring from the girls (in which his glare seemed powerless), he seemed to deflate. "...I guess that does explain why my middle name is so weird," he admitted. Defeat. Lance egged him on.

"So? What's the middle name?"

"Yorak," Keith said, sounding completely ashamed. Acxa seemed to think it was a very normal name, though, and replied with a quiet "ah". Lance gave the top of Keith's head a sympathetic pat.

Eventually, Veronica and Acxa moved on with their demon cat and Keith's knife in tow, and then it was just the two of them, Lance and Keith, and a gaggle of strangers. Lance checked his alien phone. He was beginning to worry about Hunk.

"Should I call him again...?" He wondered aloud. Keith shook his head.

"He said he was busy. This place is bigger than I remember it being, so... it must be something important, right?"

"Maybe they've expanded the place since they locked you down there."

"That's... entirely possible."

He was bummed out again. Lance tried to cheer him up.

"My apartment's not exactly huge, but... you can have my bed. Until we get you one of your own."

"Where are you supposed to sleep?"

"I've got a pullout couch. But, hey, that's not important— I'm a good cook!"

"...Yeah?" Keith did seem to perk up at that, just a little bit. It had probably been a long time since he'd had good food. He'd said something about that earlier, Lance thought.

"Yeah. I'll have to ask the doctors how soon you can eat, and how much, because I don't wanna get you sick. But no more sludge. That's for sure."

"No more sludge," Keith repeated to himself. He seemed to be coming around to the idea of living with Lance. Not that that meant all that much. Anything was probably better than this place.

"A-And clothes!" He tried to think of another incentive. "We'll take you shopping and you can get whatever you want. ...As long as I can afford it. And there's a spa nearby, so you can take a nice bath instead of using that crummy little shower... We could get you a pet, too, so you won't have to be lonely while I'm at school and-or work."

Keith had started laughing quietly at some point during Lance's spiel. Lance wasn't sure when. It didn't stop him from rambling, though, because he took that to mean that it was working.

Before he could think of another point to list in his own favor, Lance heard what he thought was Hunk's voice echoing from somewhere down a distant hallway, giving someone directions. He was nearly drowned out by the sounds of many heavy, stomping feet.

As soon as the crowd of newcomers came into view, Lance and several others were quick to announce their surprise in gasps and incredulous bursts of laughter. Hunk entered the lobby in the same way that Keith did— carried bridal-style in someone else's arms. Which was an impressive feat. Hunk would be the first to admit (brag, even) that he was a bit of a hefty guy. But unlike Keith, Hunk was proud of this fact, posed like he was a god being carried on a throne by his worshippers.

"What the hell is all this?!" Lance asked through a wheezing laugh. The question was directed at everybody in the entourage. Definitely not humans. If he had to describe them, he would call them rock monsters. They were big and broad and grayish-brown and dressed in plain tunics. Hunk nodded at the alien that was carrying him, who placed him promptly and carefully on his feet.

"These, my friend, are the Balmerans!" Hunk reached up to pat the shoulder of the one nearest him. "Totally docile, by the way. NO idea why the government locked them up. O-Or, well, I do know why, but it doesn't make any logical sense."

"It's simple," one of the Balmerans said bitterly. "They trespassed on our home and didn't appreciate being asked to leave after showing no respect for our way of life!"

"That does sound very American," Lance admitted with a heavy sigh. "...Where exactly is your home?"

"The nearest Balmera," a different one answered. The one that had been carrying Hunk. Lance flinched, startled, at her feminine voice. He probably shouldn't have assumed, but he hadn't expected her to sound like that. "You Earth folk seem to mistake them for your average moon, but a Balmera is a living creature!"

"Whoa!"

Lance and Keith were both genuinely invested as the Balmerans explained their home and their history. Or, Keith tried to pay attention where he could, but he was sidetracked by Hunk. Lance talked to the rock people while Keith got interrogated again, and he occasionally spared a glance in Keith's direction to find him woefully torn between conversations.

Balmerans were organisms, technically, that helped sustain the planet-sized creature that gave life to them all, and said creatures produced crystals that were great for powering just about anything. Done right, those crystals could be sustainably mined without causing any harm to the Balmera. Because the Balmerans could talk to it and heal it and ask nicely. Done wrong, the practice hurt and slowly killed the creature. And apparently the US government didn't have the patience to wait for the crystals to regenerate.

The Balmerans had not liked that much, so, well, here they were. Locked up together in a big maximum-security room containing many individual cells, with no idea what was happening to their collective mother. Until one Hunk Garrett came along, that is.

The whole lot of them seemed understandably thrilled with Hunk. He'd been hard at work clearing their names for the last hour or so, Lance was told, because the Balmera named Rax had put up a hell of a fight during his capture and the government had labeled the whole species hostile, shackling them to the floor like wild animals and leaving warning messages against their release wherever they could. Kollivan and Reiner were only being cautious, so it wasn't their fault, but the whole thing meant that Hunk hadn't been able to just hit a button and let them all out. He'd gotten their side of the story and negotiated an agreement between the parties.

"He has a bright future in intergalactic diplomacy," the young lady Balmera said, patting Hunk' shoulder with a hand the size of his head. She was pretty obviously smitten with him, this Shay. "Were it not for him we may never have seen freedom!"

"We have been imprisoned many deca-phoebs," an old lady Balmeran said. Lance glanced at Hunk.

"Years," he clarified. "They use different units up there. I mean, why wouldn't they?"

"...I hadn't thought of that." Lance's perception of time and space were tiny. Which made him feel tiny. "A-Anyway, at least you guys are out now. What were you planning to do with your newfound freedom?"

Hunk crossed his arms and studied the group as if he, too, was waiting on solid answers. Several of them whispered amongst themselves. Rax smiled at a Balmera slightly taller than him.

"Father and I will join the rebels," he said, and the other one nodded a confirmation. "This whole ordeal has made me rethink my perception of our universe. It was easier to ignore the conflict when our Balmera was all I knew."

"We will return to her and see that she is well," the oldest one said, speaking of the Balmera itself. "The Olkari and those Blade fellows have vowed to help us reclaim her in the event that your Earth forces linger there."

"What if... what if she's NOT well?" Keith asked, his voice strained. The old woman smiled sadly at him.

"Then we shall mourn her. And find another. ...We can only pray that it does not come to such a thing! With the help of the Olkari we should be able to find an Altean to help us."

Lance looked at Hunk for clarification again.

"Apparently the Alteans have space magic. If anybody can fix a broken Balmera, it's one of those guys. Maybe that princess everyone is always talking about."

Lance nodded at that before he realized that one Balmera had not yet answered his question. He looked to Shay, who had a strangely pleasant and kind face for a rock.

"What about you, Shay? What do you wanna do?"

She smiled at Hunk. Lance grinned before she even said anything.

"As I have discussed with my family... I intend to remain here on Earth. It is my understanding that you are dealing with some sort of energy crisis? That your climate, perhaps, is in jeopardy?"

All three of the present humans shared a tense, nervous chuckle at that.

"You could say that," Lance said.

"You don't know the half of it," Keith agreed before scrunching up his brow. "...Actually, how much worse has it gotten since they took me...?"

"I could help," Shay volunteered. She sounded optimistic about it. "You could say that my people have mastered the art of renewable energy! If I could somehow perfect a method that works on your planet... perhaps I need not even do so! Perhaps I could simply convince your officials to use our crystals responsibly. To let us assist them in a more egalitarian mining process."

"We're gonna be roomies!"

Hunk's version of the plan was simpler. Lance got the gist. Shay had a long road ahead of her, considering the way alien folk had been treated by the US government thus far, but she had a positive attitude and a good head on her shoulders. If they worked together, maybe she and Hunk really could solve the energy crisis. Hunk was a pretty smart guy.

With that, they parted ways. Lance and Hunk high-fived and Shay tightly hugged her family members farewell before the new couple left hand-in-enormous-hand. Lance turned to Keith once they were alone and smiled.

"You ready to get out of here?"

Keith smiled back. There was tangible relief in his tired eyes.

"As I'll ever be."

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

The hospital ship was crowded despite the fact that it was much bigger than what Lance had been picturing.

It was more like a floating base than a standard ship. There were hallways and dozens upon dozens of rooms, all full of tech and staff. Most of the beds that they passed were full, whether aliens or injured raiders occupied them, and their friends and families and the Olkari nurses surrounded them and bustled about. Like a normal hospital, most of the rooms were open to the halls with only curtains for privacy, while certain paths led to wings with sealed emergency rooms where surgical procedures were being conducted.

"Your government was not exactly gentle," one nurse explained. Lance had been given a lightweight floaty wheelchair with which to push Keith around until they found an empty room. "Many of the patients are suffering from malnutrition and torture-related injuries. But don't fret— our technology should go a long way in seeing them all towards a safe and speedy recovery!"

The nurse hurried off, as she likely didn't have time for idle conversation. Keith watched her go. He was visibly nervous about his surroundings. Lance patted his shoulder and promised they would find him a warm bed soon enough.

And find one they did— the nurses practically stole Keith from him as soon as Lance found an empty room. They cooed at him, worried sick about how thin he was and the bags under his eyes. Lance was barred from the room until Keith was in his hospital garments and finished his tech-prep and his preliminary exam. Which, he was promised, would only take about twenty minutes.

With a bit of exploration, he managed to find Nadia. He returned his bloodstained headband to her and boasted that he had found a boyfriend that recognized it. She was happy for him, and she was delighted with her new friend Clyzap. He had taken to sitting on her belly and weaving tales of his many victories in battle for Ina, who sat in a chair beside Nadia's bed with four mice perched on her head and her left shoulder.

He asked a nurse if they knew of a human patient named Takashi. He was told that he had been rushed to intensive care. That worried Lance, but he was assured that the medical staff were good at what they did and that Takashi would be just fine. And maybe he would be, physically, but Lance still feared for his mental state.

When Lance returned to his and Keith's room, he found Keith in loose orange clothes and tucked comfortably into his bed with wires coming out of his wrist and a funny headband on. He was tired, almost asleep, but he was smiling softly at Lance.

"Hey, you," Lance said as he took a seat beside the bed. He seized Keith's hand and it was no longer cold. "You feeling better?"

"A little," Keith answered honestly. He squeezed Lance's fingers. "Thanks," he mumbled. "It doesn't feel real. I really don't have to go back there?"

"No. Never. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Taking a bit of a risk, Lance pulled Keith's hand towards him and kissed the back of it. Keith did not yank his arm away and did not protest, but he did stare at Lance, and Lance couldn't quite tell what he was thinking.

For a while, they weren't really able to talk. Nurses fussed over Keith, taking different measurements and adjusting the settings on the machines he was hooked up to. One of them told Lance that Keith would have to be careful switching back to regular feeding. No greasy food or heavy meals for a month, at least. They'd wean him onto solid food while they had him. They swore that their feeding tubes and monitoring devices were quite sophisticated. Lance was also told that Keith needed physical therapy, as his movement had become stiff and his flexibility was poor, and that he needed a lot of sunlight.

Keith was told that he would have to be interviewed by a therapist, who would assess the state of his mental health, before he would be allowed to leave, and that he might receive instructions to continue seeing a therapist. He frowned, but relented.

"I guess that makes sense," he grumbled.

"I'll help in whatever ways I can," Lance whispered, lowering his head until only Keith could hear him. "Whatever you need, you can talk to me. I won't judge you. You've been through a lot."

Again, Keith just looked at him. Maybe he needed time to think things over. Maybe he had trouble believing that Lance was sincere about all of this.

After about an hour and a half, the curtain opened. Veronica and Acxa appeared. Keith's eyes lit up at the sight of his knife in Acxa's hands and he snatched it back possessively once it was extended towards him. He cradled it to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut as he exhaled. Lance looked at his sister.

"If you guys are back, I assume Acxa got the OK." Veronica nodded. "And if you're giving Keith his knife..."

"Kollivan did, in fact, recognize the blade," Acxa said. She was talking to Keith, not to Lance. Which was fine. Keith was the one who needed answers. "He knew instantly the woman it belonged to and boasted of her accomplishments. It was during this exchange that I realized... that I have already met your mother."

"You have?" Keith looked up, eyes full of a fragile kind of hope that could have broken Lance's heart. Acxa smiled in a surprisingly tender way as she sat carefully down on the side of his mattress opposite Lance. Maybe it was hard not to act like that towards a visibly thin and tired young man in a hospital bed.

"Indeed," Acxa confirmed. "The Blades' warrior woman, Krolia. She and I clashed once on a mission. The resemblance between the two of you is plain and you bear one of her facial markings." She must have been referring to that not-birthmark on Keith's cheek. Acxa gently cupped one of Keith's hands. "And so I can promise you... that she is the kind of woman that could tear a grown man limb from limb."

"Really?"

"I swear it. I narrowly escaped our encounter with my life."

Lance faced the wall and tried not to burst out laughing at how incredibly touched Keith sounded. Acxa hummed an equally sweet confirmation— this conversation was ridiculous. Apparently it was an alien thing that Lance just couldn't understand. But, hey, whatever. If Keith was proud of having a really tough mom, good for him.

"Apparently Krolia is constantly out on missions, so she can't just stop by Earth... the Blades wouldn't wanna ruin her cover. But they said that if you guys ever make your way to space they can arrange a meeting for you in one of their safe havens," Veronica elaborated. "They all seemed pretty shocked that she has a human son. I hope she doesn't get in trouble or anything."

"My dad... he must have loved her," Keith said, mostly to himself, as he studied his knife. "He wouldn't have had a kid with just anybody. He never liked to talk about my mom, but I know he must have loved her."

"Kollivan said she was stationed on Earth for a little while, but that she suddenly demanded a transfer." Veronica shrugged. "Maybe you guys were close to being discovered? If she left you that knife she must have wanted you to stay safe."

"I'll bet that's what happened," Lance chimed in. "I'll bet she had to leave because you could have gotten hurt if she stayed here. And that she would have come back for you in a heartbeat if she had known you were in trouble."

"I... hope so," Keith replied.

Veronica and Acxa left, before long, with plans to go to Veronica's apartment. Hers was bigger and nicer than Lance's, so she probably had plenty of room. Acxa would get her own bedroom. ...If she wanted one, anyway. It had only been a matter of hours, but this blue lady already seemed pretty attached to his sister.

"We can go find her," Lance said nonchalantly. Keith seemed startled. "Your mom. Krolia. Kollivan said he would help."

"How do you intend to get into space?" Keith asked pointedly. Lance blushed and waved that off.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, just think about how much fun it'll be! A space road trip."

Keith stared at the ceiling.

"I hadn't thought of it that way..."

"It'll be great! We could go sightseeing. I got lots of alien phone numbers today. I could take you to all sorts of amazing planets and things. We'd be some of the first humans to explore deep space! We could meet royalty! It'll be incredible."

"...You promise you'll take me?"

"Of course! I told you I was gonna take care of you and I meant that."

"I guess I just don't understand your motivations," Keith admitted, averting his eyes from Lance's. "We kind of just met."

"Listen. Keith." Keith hesitantly looked at Lance. "This has been a huge fantasy of mine since I was a little kid obsessed with Star Trek. You're, like, my dream alien prince. Really."

"Huh." Keith chuckled. "I guess you're just weird?"

"Yeah." Lance smiled affectionately at that. "I'm weird."

"Lance."

A quiet voice interrupted the mushy exchange. Lance turned to the hallway and saw the curtain pulled back a small and polite distance. He could just barely see Adam through the crack. He nodded, giving him permission to enter the room.

"Hey, you. Your guy's okay?" Lance asked, and his expression must have betrayed his fear of the answer, because Adam waved a scolding finger at him.

"Just fine, thank you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I figured you would want to know. He's expected to make a full recovery, but he won't be able to eat solid food for a while and they're still looking at his arm."

"That arm is... Galra tech, right? Can they confiscate it?"

"I can only hope it doesn't come to that. If it's just a prosthetic there should be no harm in letting him keep it."

There was a weird pause. Lance looked at Keith. Adam was squinting past Lance at him and seemed mildly agitated. Keith just looked confused.

Several seconds of silence.

"...Adam...?"

"Oh my god."

Before he could register what the hell was going on, before he had even properly finished his sentence, Adam was at Keith's bedside and had grabbed him. For a second, Lance jumped up, thinking that Adam intended to yank Keith out of bed, or hurt him somehow. But... no. It was— a hug? Sort of? The closest thing they could manage to one in their respective positions, and a surprisingly tight embrace. Both squeezed tight as if they had not seen one another in a very, very long time. They stayed that way for a while. Long enough that Lance started to wonder if he should leave and let them be alone. Adam was nearly crying. That guy had been through a lot in one day, Lance thought.

He waited. He knew it wouldn't be right to interrupt. He didn't say anything. And that was, apparently, the right call. Before long, the two of them started talking, and Lance tried to put the puzzle together while he listened.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Adam was trying to be stern and failing spectacularly. He was very red-eyed now.

"They put me here— the government. I went in for an exam and they found something in my DNA and I've been locked up here ever since. Today I finally got some answers." Keith's eyes flickered around like he was embarrassed. He touched the marking on his own face. The one so distinctive that it was surely how Adam had recognized him. "These Galra that everybody keeps talking about? The hostile species? Apparently one of them is my real mom. It's what this thing is. She gave me my knife, too."

Adam blinked in surprise, and it took a long moment for his mouth to catch up with his thoughts.

"I— I know they always said you were a bit strange, but I couldn't have guessed it was something like that." Keith smirked knowingly. "D-Did you meet her? Your mother, is she here?"

"No. She's out in space. But I know who she is. They can help me find her. Lance is gonna take me." Keith looked over at Lance almost like he had forgotten he was there. "Oh, uh, Adam, this is—"

"I know who he is." Adam's interruption was sharp and quick, and he was now staring straight into Lance with his arms crossed. "What exactly are your intentions here?"

"Why do you even KNOW Keith?! I'm totally innocent here! What are you, his dad?!"

"Something like that. I could have been, anyway," Adam answered casually. Lance's face went blank.

"Wh— What?!"

Adam sighed heavily, visibly annoyed that he had to explain things.

"Takashi and I were trying to foster Keith. We were going to bring him into our home. I was going to cut back on work so I could spend time with him at home while Takashi made most of our money. I've always been better at the cooking and cleaning— which isn't saying much, since Takashi couldn't cook if you put a loaded gun to his head, but still."

"Wow." Lance wasn't looking forward to explaining to Keith where Takashi was right now. "I'm... surprised to hear that. I mean, you're pretty young, for one thing, and Keith's been locked up a long time, so..."

"We were definitely pretty young to be adopting," Adam agreed, "and we weren't married either, but we had the money and we both knew what we wanted, so why wait? We couldn't see any reason to wait." Adam shook his head. "It... became obvious rather quickly that not everyone saw it that way. That adopting a baby from an agency would be too difficult for us. So we decided to try fostering an older child instead."

"Oh. I get it."

"Right... The child might think of us as older siblings rather than traditional parents, they warned us, but did that matter if we were a family? We certainly didn't think so. We thought it was good enough to give a kid a good home— Takashi didn't really have one of his own. We could either formally adopt them once they'd spent a while with us, or they'd become adults and go their own way and we'd wish them well and keep in touch. And then, who knows? Maybe we'd do it again. We were very young."

"So why Keith?" Lance asked. Keith gave him a slight look, so Lance grinned at him and squeezed his shoulder. "I-I mean, I happen to think he's pretty great, but what drew you guys to him?"

"Hard to say," Adam said, his tone almost teasing. "The home warned us that he was a 'problem child' or something, but we didn't see that. Though, it... wasn't me so much as it was Takashi," Adam insisted. "These two... Really, I could have sworn they were separated at birth or something. They just got each other. Something clicked."

"They sure do have a lot in common," Lance grumbled. Adam frowned at him. Keith gave him a questioning look, and Lance watched as the realization hit him.

"Wh-When you came in here you were talking about some patient—"

"Yes," Adam sighed, not bothering to let him finish. "I was. Takashi... See, he was off on one of his missions when he went missing. I was told that he'd crashed and died, but I knew that wasn't true. And I was right. He was captured by the Galra and forced to fight in their arenas, and when he finally managed to escape he was just recaptured by the government and locked up here. Before today, I hadn't seen him in well over a year."

Keith didn't have words for that. Just a sound. They both allowed him a moment to process that. Lance touched his shoulder when it seemed like he had waited long enough.

"So... why not mention those two?" He asked gently. "You made it sound like you didn't have anybody looking for you."

"I thought I didn't! I wasn't gonna bother somebody who wouldn't even care. They told me you guys had changed your minds," Keith nearly whimpered. "That... That you didn't want me anymore."

Adam shook his head furiously.

"No. No. That's not true at all. We were told that you'd been adopted and that the family wanted total privacy— distant relatives, they said."

"Heh. Awfully convenient timing for them to finally show up, isn't it?"

"Which is what I said! But we couldn't think of any reason they would lie, so... we tried to let it go. It was really hard for Takashi to accept. He thought you would have put up a fight, at least."

"Oh, trust me, I did. It's how I ended up in maximum security."

"So they really had both of you down there," Adam scoffed. He swore under his breath. "Did I— Did I do something to piss off the US government?!"

Lance laughed. They all did, for the first time in a while.

"It sure seems that way!" Lance concurred.

Adam would probably have difficulty trusting authority figures for a while, seeing as they'd stolen everyone he loved. Lance frowned— they'd all have some trust issues, he thought. He wondered if Takashi would have trouble with the revelation that his younger pseudo-brother was the exact kind of alien that had held him captive and tortured him. If Adam would be able to manage re-adjusting Takashi to a life of freedom. If either of them would blame themselves for not rescuing Keith, for not even knowing that he had more or less been kidnapped.

He shook those thoughts out of his own head. The important thing, for now, was that they all still loved each other. That time and distance had not been enough to erase that.

"S-So— Adam, you would know! You can tell me. How long have I been here?" Keith asked suddenly. Adam paused to think it over. His expression soured.

"That... Keith, you were thirteen. That was seven years ago."

Another sound. Another bit of information that would take Keith a long while to process. A quiet knock on the wall to announce yet another visitor.

"Pardon me," Reiner said. Lance beamed at her.

"Well, well! If it isn't the Queen herself," he greeted. She clicked her tongue and waved him off.

"Never mind that. I was sent by the coalition to inform you that we have successfully vacated the facility with all raiders and prisoners intact. We will evacuate shortly. Once we have secured safe drop-off points for all parties."

"Cool. Got it."

"Furthermore..." Reiner dropped something metallic in Lance's palm. "You were promised a reward. This is the key to your very own space cruiser. Any time you wish to make use of it, you need only call and you will be transported to the hangar where you may access it. Suits will be provided as needed."

"No way!" Lance jumped out of his seat in excitement. "What capacity?!"

Reiner had to think that one over.

"A bit cramped, to be sure, but I would say that five to six earthlings could fit comfortably inside. Eight at the most."

"Road trip!" Lance's shout startled Reiner, and even Adam, but Keith smiled. He knew what he meant. Reiner took her leave and Lance returned his attention to Adam. "I promised Keith I would take him on a space road trip to find his mom. You two are welcome to come along once Takashi is feeling up to it! I'm sure we could use an astronaut."

Adam chuckled.

"You'd think he would be reluctant to get back into space after what happened to him, but Takashi is nothing if he is not a stubborn man. I'm sure he'll be eager to join. Hell, he'll probably want to join the fight against these Galra people."

"That... wouldn't surprise me," Keith agreed. He looked at Lance again. "He's a really heroic type. I'm sure you'll like him."

Adam smiles at the ground for a few quiet moments.

"A road trip, huh...?" He looked up, directing that smile at Keith. "We'll have to take you up on that. We have a lot of catching up to do."

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

Lance didn't mind spending a few hours in silence. He needed the time to wind down and process everything that had happened. Keith needed the peaceful sleep.

Lance studied his board game as he waited. He'd have to consult James if he wanted to learn how to play it, as the instructions were written in Altean. They would have to have a game night after all. Did Keith like games? Or did he like to read instead? Was he a sports guy, maybe? He had said he liked combat, but Lance had assumed that was the Galra thing talking.

When Keith finally woke, he smiled, apparently pleased that Lance was still there.

"Hey, you," Lance greeted, just as he had the last time. "You sleep well?"

"Great." Keith laughed. "Did I miss anything?" 

"Nothing much." Lance held up his phone. "Movie night plans. My buddy Ryan got a bunch of movie files from this film star alien. If you ever wanna have an alien cinema viewing, their place is ready for us."

"That sounds... interesting." Keith said that, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. Lance tapped his arm.

"Lot on your mind?"

"I'd say so. I'm... a little overwhelmed. I missed so much school. Seven years? It's gonna be really hard to get a job or anything."

"You don't need a job. I'm gonna get a really good one and take care of you."

"Maybe I want a job," Keith argued.

"Do you?"

"...I'm not sure. I know I wanna do SOMETHING, I just... don't know what. Not yet."

"Well, that's alright. After all that time in there, I think it's fair to let you have some time to figure it all out." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Did you ever have, like, a dream? Something you thought about while you were in there. Something that gave you hope for when you got out."

Keith was silent as he searched his memories.

"A dog," he answered, and Lance sputtered out a laugh.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just wanted a dog," he confessed. "I liked the idea of living somewhere open and forest-y. I wanted to find my dad's cemetery, pay his grave a visit. And... a boyfriend. I think I knew I was pretty starved for affection, but I had trouble imagining a whole family dynamic. Especially since they convinced me Adam and Shiro didn't want me."

"Shiro?"

"You've been calling him Takashi. ...Most people call him Shiro. Adam might be the only one who really uses his first name."

"I see." Lance would probably stick to Takashi until he was told to do otherwise. He captured one of Keith's hands once more. "Well. I may not be able to give you everything you want right away, but at least you've got one item on your list checked off already!"

Keith blinked.

"You're serious," he said. "You want to date me."

"Didn't we go over this already? You're exactly my type."

"I thought it would wear off. That maybe you'd be over all that by the time I woke up."

"Do you want me to be?"

Keith refused to look at Lance for several seconds. His hand tightened slightly around Lance's and he could swear he saw a bit of pink on his cheeks, though it was hard to tell with all that hair in the way.

"No," Keith admitted. Lance grinned. "Weird as it is... it's all pretty romantic. How you just showed up to save me and all." He shrugged. "You said I was like some alien prince. I guess that would make you... kinda like my knight? You know." Keith, apparently, heard Lance's facial expression without looking at him. "Fuck me," he muttered under his breath.

Later, Lance thought, even knowing that Keith hadn't meant it that way, but he made sure not to say that out loud. He chose to focus on the "knight" thing and put his free hand on his own chest.

"Your knight in shining armor?!"

Keith huffed.

"And a Naruto headband."

Lance let out a cheer as soon as he was finished laughing. He'd been a bit worried that Keith had only agreed because he'd felt like he had to. So it was quite a relief to know that Keith was starting to like him, too. He knew he had to think of an amazing idea for their first date. Then, he could prove his own worth. Until then he would have to do so in the big little ways. Good food, friendly conversation, small acts of service— the works.

The building-ship had started to properly empty in the time that Keith had been sleeping. Some of Lance's friends stopped by with their aliens and knick-knacks to bid him farewell. They usually let him know where they would be hiding and what names they would use while they waited for the government to lose their scents. Keith wanted a fake name. He decided to call himself "Akira". Which fit, so Lance said he'd allow it. Keith was... probably Japanese? The human part.

"Hey, Lance! Got your boy some clothes!"

Pidge announced herself haughtily as she ducked into the room without opening the curtain, followed closely by her Puffles. Most of them, anyway. Some got stuck in the fabric.

"Really?"

"Yeah! They had a whole pile of stuff people donated and brought for the aliens. Just in case they needed help blending in, you know? You two look like you're about the same size and I had a feeling I would know what he'd like."

Pidge held up a leather jacket. Which Keith did like, to her credit. Pidge had scoured the supplies and assembled an outfit for Keith to wear out of the place, complete with a pack of those cheap boxers you buy in bulk from Walmart, and stuck the rest of the things she had found in a duffel bag.

"Wow. This is fantastic! You really didn't have to," Lance said, and Pidge feigned humility with a shrug. He knew she would expect something in return later. Which was just so she could brush off heinous accusations of her "being a sweet girl who really cares about her friends", but still.

"I got a few hair ties, too," she added, "since he has so much of the stuff."

Keith snickered. He was well aware, and apparently quite proud of it. Lance couldn't wait to help brush all of that beautiful hair.

When Pidge left, the halls and rooms were almost empty. Lance waited to see if anyone else would turn up. After a few minutes, he concluded that they were alone. For now. He made sure the curtain was properly closed.

"You should get out of that hospital stuff," Lance said.

"Won't it be hard to do that with the tubes? And my, uh, hat?"

"O-Oh. I guess you're right."

They had to wait several more minutes before they could do that. A nurse came by to unhook Keith, and to take him to the therapist he had to talk to— they'd opted to let him sleep first, but he still had to do it. Keith groaned. He had forgotten about that part, but he went along anyway. Lance promised they'd get him into some fresh clothes when he got back.

That, of course, took about an hour. Keith returned to the room with discharge papers, a diagnosis sheet, and a sour expression. Lance didn't ask to read the paper, as the exact state of Keith's mental health was really none of his business unless Keith wanted it to be. Keith didn't complain, though, so Lance assumed he was alright. For now.

Keith was surprisingly casual about letting Lance help him change his clothes. Which was not unreasonable. There was nothing sexual about it, really, and Keith still had some trouble stretching. Putting on his socks and getting his pants over his ankles proved especially troublesome for him to do alone. Lance chose not to comment on the markings he saw all over Keith's body. Little circular scars, and perfectly straight lines, all too intentional to be anything but surgical wounds. He could only guess what they had done. If they had taken organs from him.

Keith got to pick his first outfit out for himself. That probably meant a lot to him. He settled on a black tee and dark blue-grey jeans. He set a pair of black boots (which were just a little bit too big— something they could live with for free clothes) and the leather jacket on the end of the bed. He'd put those on when it was time to go. His hair, which likely needed to be properly washed, was something he wanted to get out of his way, so Lance helped him tie it back. Keith had planned on a ponytail, but he didn't stop Lance from putting it into a messy little bun.

"Better?"

Keith nodded.

"Much better," he sighed. "I haven't felt like a real person in what feels like forever."

"I guess that lifestyle would have that effect on a person."

There was a quiet rap against the wall outside. Just in time.

"I have a bit of a surprise..."

Lance heard Adam's voice in the hallway again, past the curtain, and he instantly knew what that was about. Keith, eyes eager, pulled himself along until he was seated at the very edge of the hospital bed, nearly knocking his new shoes off of it in the process. Lance moved to stand by the curtain and get out of the way.

"You ready out there?" He asked Adam. A quiet hum was the only confirmation he got, but it was all he needed. Lance whipped the curtain back.

Takashi already looked better, Lance thought. There was life, fire in his kindly eyes. He had fighting spirit the likes of which Lance had never seen. Somehow he already knew that that man and Keith were, in fact, cut from the same resilient cloth.

He moved, slightly, against his wheelchair (was it still called a wheelchair if it did not have wheels?). He leaned in with a face full of disbelief. He squinted. Lance watched the gears shift in his head. He saw the moment it all clicked. The spark of recognition followed by at least forty rapid-fire questions.

Then, a blur.

Takashi was scolded as he stood up, since he probably wasn't supposed to do that just yet, but no one stopped him. Keith had the same idea. They both properly stood on their own feet for the first time that day and practically fell into one another's arms. Lance had been unable to tell, for sure, if Adam had been crying earlier. Takashi definitely was. Keith, too.

"I never thought I would see you again," both of them sobbed almost simultaneously.

Takashi did have at least forty questions, but he wasn't allowed to properly ask them. Adam and Keith both talked at him at a speed that hardly let him get one question out before he got six more answers. Keith had his own questions. Takashi was less willing to talk about the specifics of what he had been through. Lance did not have to imagine why that was.

"I've gotta say... when I signed up to find an alien lover I wasn't expecting anything like this," Lance eventually whistled. Takashi raised an eyebrow at him. He had moved his chair as close to the end of the bed as he could, where Keith had resumed his earlier seat, and they held one another's hands as if making sure that the other was still there.

"He's fine," Keith told Takashi. "I actually kinda like him. I guess."

"A glowing endorsement," Adam teased. "...Really, though, Lance is fine. He helped us all out a lot. You probably don't remember, but he was there when we found you."

"It was all a blur," Takashi said with an apologetic shake of his head. "I knew there were other people there, but... I only really remember Adam."

"Hey, no one's faulting you for that! You should probably track down and thank Ryan, though. He's the one who properly found you. He even helped Adam get you upstairs."

"I'll have to track down and thank Ryan," Keith murmured. Lance gave him an affectionate jostle.

"You can thank him when we have our movie night! ...Maybe we should make it a raid reunion. This seems like the kind of event we should collectively reminisce about at least once a year."

"How the hell did you kids even pull something like this off...?" Takashi wondered. Adam snorted.

"Please. Don't underestimate the Internet. Or the modern teenager. Most of this would have been impossible without some seventeen-year-old tech wizard."

"I'll have to meet her," Takashi said, amazed. Lance beamed.

"I'll tell Pidge you're a fan!"

The conversation moved. It moved to their current predicament— what each man would need before they could all resemble a semi-functional family unit. Takashi was choosing to focus on his physical recovery for now. Keith, meanwhile, seemed preoccupied with the areas in which he now felt inadequate.

"I'm just... kinda scared," Keith explained. "I've missed out on so much. Adam told me it's been seven years. That's seven years without a single day of schooling."

"Never mind that," Takashi assured him, squeezing Keith's hands. Keith kept staring at the metallic one, though Takashi didn't acknowledge that. "I can tutor you until you're up to speed! It'll take time, but we can do it at your pace. And you won't have to get used to people you're not comfortable with."

"With all due respect, are you sure that you're qualified?" Lance asked timidly. Adam made a sound between a laugh and a scoff at the sheer audacity. Takashi chuckled, and did so much more nicely. 

"We don't go to space all that often," he answered. "When I wasn't preparing for or on a mission I worked as an instructor for the guys still in training. I can't claim to have an expert understanding of every subject, but I do understand how to teach."

"I was also an instructor before I got into the heist business," Adam added. "I think Keith will be just fine in our hands."

"I-I just don't know—"

"You're going to be alright. You can do anything. You just can't see that right now because the road ahead looks so long from where we're standing, but... you just have to focus on the here, the now. One step at a time. Patience y—"

"Yields focus. I know." Keith rolled his eyes and pretended to be annoyed, but smirked. And just like that, Takashi had successfully reignited the guy's will to fight. Lance gave Adam an incredulous stare. Adam shrugged.

"He's always been at his best when he's looking after other people."

Lance nodded. He understood.

"He's right," Lance said. "You've... got a long way to go, but you don't have to go it alone, yeah?"

Takashi smiled. It was pained, because this probably wasn't the kind of thing he had hoped to bond with Keith over, but it was sincere. Contact information was exchanged with promises to reunite soon. Adam was very gentle with the chair as he guided Takashi out, giving one final appreciative nod in Lance's direction before he did so.

"...I don't want to know what they put him through," Keith admitted through a shaky breath once he was certain they were alone. Lance patted the top of his head.

"He'll be okay. Different, but okay. He has the two of you."

"Right. ...Right." Keith snapped out of it after a few seconds. He became aware, very suddenly, of how utterly empty the building-ship was, of how they may have been the last two earthlings on board. He sat up straight and fixed his eyes on Lance and managed a polite smile. "So. It's just you and me now, huh?"

"Just you and me against the US Government, baby," Lance agreed with a wink. He extended a hand. "You wanna get out of here?"

Keith did not respond immediately. He looked around the room, looked down at the knife in his lap, before he placed the item decisively in his duffel bag and zipped it shut.

He firmly took Lance's hand.

"...Yeah," he said with a shy smile. "Let's go home."

— ◦ ✦ ◦ —

A/N: holy SHIT this took forever bc i had to go and include like six hundred characters??!!? editing and formatting was a bitch, too. but i like it! it's a fun lil adventure. maybe i'll do the road trip sequel one day. little detail: keith gets a legal fake identity since he's been erased from the system. he uses "akira" but also gets to keep "kogane" bc it's not his legal last name. his legal last name, as far as he knows, is "doe", bc his dad kept him pretty off-the-grid knowing what would happen if ppl found out about him, and he never knew his actual last name. so they just slapped something on him and didn't bother correcting it later bc keith's dad used many names and they weren't sure what the real one was. shiro will prob have to change his name too. i like to imagine he picks something like "kuro kogane" so he and keith match. he's enough of a dork to want to stick to the color theme.