Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Go, go, go!"

Lance ushered Hunk and Pidge away from the oncoming mob, and the two of them turned and started to make their escape. Keith was another story––he was still standing motionless in the middle of the square.

"Keith." Lance grabbed him by the wrist. "Come on!"

Keith looked up at him as if he'd just been shaken awake from a nightmare. He hesitated for half a second, taking in the sight of the swarm of armed aliens advancing on them, then gave a short nod. Without waiting for any further permission, Lance turned and dashed into the crowd, yanking Keith along behind him.

Lance’s head raced with all the information they'd just learned: So, Keith was a prince. He was also possibly an assassin who had killed his parents in cold blood. Lance had about a million questions, but he could save those for later. It was a little hard to concentrate on anything else right now when there was an angry mob chasing after them through a crowded city square.

They barrelled their way through the throng. Lance took the lead, somehow managing to keep a tight hold on Keith’s wrist despite being jostled from all sides. His heart raced as he craned his head, desperately seeking out Hunk and Pidge amidst the chaos.

Luckily, he caught sight of Hunk’s bright orange headband and elbowed his way towards the familiar flash of color. “Hunk! Pidge!” he called out, stumbling as someone knocked into him from behind.

His arm strained as he kept struggling to keep hold of Keith, who had gotten caught in the densely packed mob. Lance just barely managed to tug him free, the momentum flinging them both forward.

They almost ran into Hunk, who had turned at the sound of Lance’s voice. “Lance!” he exclaimed. Then his eyes widened and he ducked as a laser beam zipped through the air right over their heads. "Whoa. Quiznak,” he cursed. “Um, guys? What's our plan?"

"Get to the hoverbike," Lance said, reaching for the stun gun at his waist. "We need to get back to Blue."

He dared to look over his shoulder and winced when he saw that the number of pursuers had increased, brandishing weapons as they shouted and barged their way through the pandemonium.

The hoverbike was fortunately where they'd left it, parked crookedly by the side of the road. Coming to a split-second decision, Lance shoved Keith towards the bike. "Keith, you drive. Hunk and Pidge, get on after him. I'll ride on the back and stun anyone who tries to attack us. Let's go."

"Why––" Keith started to say.

"No time for questions. Now let's––"

"Why are you trusting me?" Keith blurted.

As much as Lance realized they needed to get out of here––fast––the question stopped him in his tracks. Keith kept his fingers locked around Lance's wrist, his dark eyes intense and questioning.

"Because," Lance said but then hesitated, unsure of how to explain himself. "Because I just do! We can talk later. Come on."

Keith took in the sight of their oncoming attackers over Lance’s shoulder. His mouth set in a grim line and he nodded, swinging a leg over the side of the hoverbike.

Pidge clambered on after him, followed by Hunk. Keith had already started the motor by the time Lance leapt onto the back, gripping onto Hunk's shoulder with one hand and clutching his weapon in the other.

Unfortunately, some of their pursuers had gotten the same idea and had broken off from the crowd to jump onto their own vehicles. The sound of engines revving buzzed in the air all around them.

There was a split second where Lance worried that Keith didn't know how to start up the hoverbike, but that fear was quelled a second later when the engine roared and they immediately took off at a breakneck speed.

Lance cried out and clutched tighter to Hunk's shoulder to prevent himself from flying off. He had been told that he was a reckless driver, but Keith––Keith's driving was something else. He had taken off at an insanely high speed that made Lance's stomach drop, but it was also clear that he was a skilled pilot, judging by the way he managed to navigate the vehicle through the bustling city square without hitting anyone.

If not for the circumstances, Lance might've had more time to be impressed. But right now, he was distracted by the laser beams flying at them from all directions. He turned around to see a swarm of hovercrafts in hot pursuit, a sea of blazing headlights, pointed weapons, and faces snarling in fury.

"Guys, keep your heads down!" Lance yelled, hoping his friends could hear him over the roar of engines and the rush of wind.

He gritted his teeth and aimed the stun gun, firing at an alien who had come dangerously close. The alien froze, his weapon dropping from his hand. His hoverbike veered to one side and crashed into the vehicle next to him, sending them both spiraling to the side of the road.

Lance winced, hoping he hadn't seriously injured anyone. But he knew he had to do whatever it took to get him and his friends back to Blue.

They were getting closer to the docking area, and Keith was still expertly navigating them down the narrow city streets. Although they had left a good deal of their pursuers in the dust, a few stubborn ones were still gaining on them quickly.

One vehicle pulled up beside them, driven by a tall green alien with four muscular arms and glowing yellow eyes. He rammed his vehicle against the hoverbike, sending them swerving to one side. Pidge shrieked and clutched Rover tighter to her chest. Keith put on even more speed––but at this point they seemed to be traveling about as fast as they could go.

The alien tried to pull up alongside them again, reaching for the gun in the holster at his waist. But right then, Hunk let out an angry yell and lifted one foot, kicking the alien hard in the side. Although it didn't knock him off his bike completely, it at least put him off-balance enough that he went veering towards the side of the road. That bought them just enough time to pull ahead.

"Whoa––nice job, Hunk!" Lance cried, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Lance," Hunk answered, although he sounded a little shocked by what he had done.

They didn't have much time to dwell on it, because right then they entered the plaza where they'd parked Blue. A large crowd of people still milled about, and every head turned when they saw the chase scene barreling into the square. Aliens scattered left and right, crying out in alarm as Keith flew right towards the array of hangars.

"Wait, how are we gonna get all the way up to where Blue is?" Hunk shouted over the noise. "We don't have time to take the elevator!"

"Hold on," Keith said. He leaned closer to the handlebars and grasped them tightly, twisting his wrists backwards.

"Keith, what are you––" Lance started to say, but the rest was lost to a startled cry as the hoverbike veered sharply upwards, almost at a ninety degree angle.

By some miracle, Lance managed to grab hold of Hunk––who was also screaming––and not fly off the back of the vehicle.

“Are you trying to get us all killed?” Lance yelled, but he wasn’t even sure Keith could hear him over the swift rush of air and the growl of engines as the other vehicles chased after them.

It didn’t matter at this point, anyway, because Keith had somehow flown the hoverbike straight into the hangar, bringing them to a skidding stop.

Everyone collectively let out their breath, but the relief didn’t last long as lasers started firing from outside, pinging off the metal walls.

Lance ducked down. “Quiznak—everyone get to the ship!”

None of them had to be told twice. They all leapt off and dashed towards Blue. Her gangway lowered for them with a loud creak and they sprinted up the steps.

Lance was the first to make it onto the ship, and he wasted no time in rushing to the cockpit, sitting heavily down at the dashboard. He immediately began flicking switches, his hands shaking.

“C’mon, Blue. We’ve gotta move!”

Outside her windshield, Lance could still see a swarm of hoverbikes outside the hangar. But most of them had dispersed, their riders headed for their own ships.

The other three stumbled into the cockpit, wheezing for breath.

“Lance—” Hunk started to say.

“I know, I know. I’m going as fast as I can.” Blue’s dashboard lit up and Lance gripped at her controls. “Okay, girl. Give it all you’ve got.”

Blue responded right away, her engines roaring to life. The ship rose from the ground and shot forward. The vehicles hovering outside dispersed to make way for them—although Lance heard a few lasers ping off Blue’s side.

“Everyone hold on!” Lance yelled, and he pushed Blue’s controls forward as far as they would go.

The effect was immediate as they shot upwards, narrowly dodging between the tall skyscrapers of Xannova before taking off into the silvery clouds. Blue’s hull quaked as they began to break through the atmosphere. Lance was dimly aware of the other three crying out in alarm, but he was more focused on getting them out of there.

“Hunk, I need you to get to the co-pilot’s chair. See if there’s still anyone on our tail. Keith and Pidge, just—hold tight.”

Hunk rushed over to the co-pilot seat, pressing buttons and muttering to himself nervously as several holographic screens sprang to life in front of him. Pidge kneeled behind the seat with her eyes squeezed shut, clutching Rover to her chest.

And Keith—Keith was being strangely quiet despite the situation. He stood by Lance, a hand gripping the back of the chair. When Lance stole a glimpse of him, he could see that Keith was staring out of the windshield, jaw tight and eyes like steel.

"Lance, there's five jets on our tail!" Hunk shouted, grabbing Lance’s attention. "Or––oh, wait. Make that six. What do we do? Fire at them?"

Gritting his teeth, Lance clutched more tightly to the controls and continued to steer Blue upwards through the atmosphere as fast as she would go.

"No, hold the fire unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm gonna try to leave them in the dust."

"Lance, I don't think Blue can handle––"

"We can make it. Just trust me. Now everyone, hold on tight!"

They broke through the atmosphere then, the sky darkening around them. As they hurtled into the stars, Lance dared a quick look at the map hovering in front of Hunk, hoping they had left their pursuers behind. But there were still a handful of flashing dots on the floating screen, indicating the jets flying after them.

Lance jerked the controls forward, causing his three companions to cry out at the drastic change in speed. Blue's engines made a series of unsettling whirring and clanking noises.

"They're closing in!" Hunk yelled. "What should we––"

Before he could finish the question, the sound of a laser firing echoed through the sky. The hull rattled violently and the whole ship tilted to one side. A red warning screen flashed next to Hunk's elbow.

“Oh, quiznak. We’ve been hit!”

“You don’t say,” Lance muttered. He tried not to lose focus, but he was shaking with adrenaline and it was hard to think past the alarms sounding around them in the cockpit. “How bad is the damage?”

“I––I don’t know. Doesn’t look like it’s anything too serious. But this is getting hairy, Lance. I really think we should––"

"We're not firing on them. I can do this. Just ..."

Lance stopped, exasperated. At this point, he wasn't even sure what he was trying to do––only that he was starting to feel a strange burning feeling against his sternum, like some greater force was guiding him in the right direction. He just needed to trust it.

Before he could come up with a plan, though, another violent rattle trembled through the ship. Lance was slammed backwards from the force of it, whacking the back of his head against the seat. The others cried out around him.

"Lance, I have no idea what you're doing," Hunk said once the ship had stabilized again. "But you'd better make a decision now or––"

"Uh, guys?" Pidge said.

She was still kneeling on the floor, one hand gripping Hunk's armrest for support. When Lance looked her way, he could see her face had gone even paler than usual. Before Lance could ask what was wrong, he followed her wide-eyed gaze and saw exactly what she was staring at.

Keith's talisman was glowing.

It was subtle enough that Lance didn’t see it at first, but it rapidly grew more apparent as the soft light at the center of the red gem grew brighter and brighter.

“What is it?” Keith asked when he noticed everyone was gaping at him. “Why are you all––” He looked down and gasped, wrapping his hand around the talisman. Its crimson light continued to grow stronger, seeping from between his fingers.

“Whoa, what’s that?” Hunk exclaimed, pointing out the windshield.

Lance turned back around––and when he did, he had to blink several times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. They were flying directly towards a hazy, glowing blue shape amongst the stars. As it began to spread, it formed a swirling blue circle against the dark backdrop of the sky.

Even though Lance had no idea what it was, he felt a fierce and indescribable pull towards it. At the same time, the warm sensation against his chest grew steadily more apparent––and he realized that it felt like it was coming from his talisman, burning directly against his skin.

“Looks like some kind of portal,” Pidge exclaimed, jumping up and running to the dashboard. “Or like––like a wormhole, maybe. But that’s––”

She was cut off as another explosion rocked through the hull of the ship with a resounding boom. This time it was so violent that Keith and Pidge both toppled to the floor. Several more flashing warnings appeared over Blue’s dashboard.

“Lance, they’re right behind us and they’re starting to open heavy fire!” Hunk cried, clapping his hands over his ears. “We really need to––”

“I’m going in,” Lance said.

He was only distantly aware of how strangely calm his voice sounded, but he wasn’t thinking about much else right now besides reaching that swirling portal––or wormhole, as Pidge had called it.

“Wait, going in where?” Hunk demanded, and then inhaled sharply. “You don’t mean––oh, no, no. We don’t know where that thing goes, Lance. It could take us to somewhere on the other side of the universe, or a black hole, or––”

“It won’t. Trust me.”

Lance couldn’t explain his reasoning, but he could feel an insistent pull towards the portal that grew more intense with each second. That, and he suddenly felt a deeper connection to Blue than he had ever felt––almost like she was speaking directly into his mind, urging him forward and promising they’d be safe on the other side.

He was distantly aware of his friends protesting and demanding to know what he was doing, but he pushed it to the back of his mind as he drove Blue’s controls forward. They accelerated at such a high speed that Blue’s whole hull rattled with it and her engines made a high-pitched whirring noise.

Lance gritted his teeth and kept going, squeezing his eyes shut as they dove directly into the light.

––

Silence.

That was the first thing that struck Lance as soon as they’d entered the wormhole. One second he’d been drowning in a sea of noise––the roar of Blue’s engines, the alarms blaring through the cockpit, lasers firing at them from behind, his companions all crying out in fear.

As soon as the light enveloped them, the noise was immediately snuffed out. It was such an absolute silence that Lance wondered for a moment if he was dead. He couldn't even hear the ringing in his own ears, and he felt strange and weightless, like he didn't have a physical form.

Then, just as quickly, it was over. Lance could feel his hands clenching around Blue's controls, his whole body jerking forward with the sudden jolting movement as the ship was flung from the wormhole at top speed.

He fell back against the seat, gasping like he'd been pulled out of deep water. The inexplicable burning sensation still lingered against his chest, and he was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness when he tried to sit up straight again.

As the disorienting feeling faded, Lance blinked several times and started to regain his bearings. Outside of Blue's windshield, there was nothing but the dark sky scattered with stars. The alarms had stopped blaring, and there was no sound but a few quiet blips from around the cockpit and the sound of everyone breathing heavily from the shock of what had just happened.

"What," Pidge wheezed, "was that?"

"Wasn't it a ... whatever you said that thing was? A wormhole?" said Hunk. “Wait, no no no. This is crazy. That’s––That’s impossible. We can’t have gone through a wormhole.”

“Well, seems like we just did,” Pidge said. She climbed unsteadily to her feet, legs wobbling underneath her. Rover beeped and hovered next to her elbow, and Pidge gave the droid a reassuring pat.

“Wait a second. Keith, your necklace thing … it was glowing,” Hunk said slowly, as if he wasn’t sure what he was saying was true. “Right? I didn’t imagine that?”

Keith had been huddled on the floor between the pilots’ chairs, and now he slowly shifted into a crouching position, one hand clutching the armrest of Lance’s seat. His other hand clenched around his talisman, lifting it up so he could stare at it. The glow was gone now, and the gem had returned to its usual opaque red color.

“I …” Keith started to say, and then stopped short.

“Did you do that?” Hunk asked, shrinking back in his chair a little. “Create the wormhole?”

No answer. Keith gradually rose to his feet, turning the amulet over in his hand as if searching for a clue. Very slowly, he looked over at Lance.

Lance had listened to the whole conversation as if from underwater, everyone’s voices sounding muffled through the ringing in his ears. A bead of cold sweat ran down the back of his neck as he managed to sit up straight. The movement made it feel as if the ship was pitching unsteadily around him.

“I don’t know,” Keith said at last. “I didn’t try to do anything.”

Hunk scratched the back of his neck. “Well, doesn’t really seem like a coincidence. First your necklace starts glowing and then a giant wormhole opens up in the middle of space. Seems like those two things must be––whoa. Lance, are you okay?”

He’d stopped in the middle of his thought process to stare at Lance, his brow furrowing in concern.

“Huh? Yeah, fine,” Lance said. He rubbed at his forehead. “Why?”

“I dunno. You look like you’re about to pass out, man.”

Lance waved a hand dismissively. “What? Nah, I’m okay. I feel kinda dizzy, that’s all. It’ll go away in a minute.”

The other three stared at him skeptically, and it wasn’t until then that Lance noticed that none of them looked as unsteady as he felt––maybe a little shaken from the whole ordeal, but not like they were on the verge of collapse.

“Guess I get motion sick from wormhole jumps,” Lance said to break the silence, forcing a reassuring smile. He cleared his throat. “Anyway. There’s not anyone still following us, right?”

Hunk looked like he was going to say something else, but then bit his lip and turned towards the screens hovering in front of him. “Not that I can see. Blue’s not picking up anything on her scanners. Looks like the wormhole closed up behind us, so all those guys who were chasing us must’ve been trapped on the other side.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Lance said, slumping back in his seat.

“Yeah, but now we need to actually figure out where the heck we are,” Hunk said, hands flying over the buttons on the dashboard. “Plus, Blue took a bit of damage. If there’s any planets nearby, it’d probably be a good idea to land somewhere and do some repairs. Regroup a little. Decide what to do about …” His eyes flitted towards Keith. “Um. Things.”

Even though Hunk hadn’t elaborated, Keith went rigid at the words. He still had his fingers wrapped around his talisman, and he glared down at the floor.

A tense silence descended over the group, with no sound but the faint whirring and beeping noises of the cockpit around them.

“So,” Pidge said at last. “Are we going to talk about it, or … ?”

“Talk about what?” Lance asked.

“You know what.” Pidge had been relatively quiet through the whole conversation, and Lance hadn’t realized until then that she was watching Keith with a wary expression, her arms crossed. “The announcement we heard. What we saw. Keith, you—you’re a prince?”

He still didn’t look up, like he was concentrating hard on something. But after a moment of hesitation, he gave a tense nod.

“And you’re from Daibazaal,” Pidge said. There was suddenly something very clipped about her tone, but there was a slight wavering note to it. “You’re Galra.”

The way she said the words was so pointed, and it made Lance frown in bewilderment as he tried to determine what Pidge was getting at. Maybe the wormhole jump had scrambled his brain a little, but he couldn't think of any reason why Keith being Galra was such a big deal––although truthfully, Lance didn't know much about Daibazaal except for the rumors he'd heard floating around various marketplaces. He knew there'd been turmoil there recently, but he'd never gotten any specific details besides what they’d found out today.

Keith, on the other hand, seemed to sense a much more unpleasant implication in what Pidge had said. He winced, still staring pointedly at the floor.

“Yes,” he said at last, quietly.

Pidge said nothing in response, only drew in a sharp breath. Lance met Hunk’s questioning gaze over the top of her head, but he looked just as mystified as Lance felt.

Meanwhile, Pidge let out her breath in a shaky exhale. Her arms unfolded, dropping to her sides as her hands curled into loose fists. She looked like she was about to say something else, but then bit her lip and looked sharply away. Lance could have sworn he'd seen tears in her eyes. For some reason she looked hurt at this sudden revelation.

Before he or anyone else could ask what was wrong, Pidge turned on her heel and marched away. “Pidge?” Lance tried to call after her, but she had already stormed out of the cockpit with Rover in tow. Not long after, the sound of the doors to her room sliding open and whirring shut echoed down the corridor.

“What’s gotten into her?” Lance muttered. He'd turned around in his seat to look after her, but the movement caused his head to spin unpleasantly. He turned back around to face the dashboard, rubbing at his temples.

“Beats me,” Hunk said. “But we should probably focus on landing Blue somewhere.” There was an anxious furrow in his brow as his hands flitted over various holographic screens hovering in front of him, searching the maps.

“Right,” Lance said, putting his hands back on the controls. He noticed then that his fingers were shaking, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Keith still standing there, completely frozen except that he was swaying slightly on his feet. A tense silence settled over the three of them left in the cockpit, none of them looking at each other.

“You …” Keith started to say, his voice so small it was barely audible. He paused for a moment before he spoke again. “You guys aren’t going to turn me in?”

Although he was trying to focus on steering the ship, Lance couldn’t help but look up at Keith, catching a glimpse of the shell-shocked expression on his face. He exchanged a look with Hunk, who wore a wary expression like he was depending on Lance to make the call on this one.

“Depends,” Lance said. “Are you really a bloodthirsty murderer?”

“I … don’t think so.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think so? I thought you said you remembered everything.”

“Wait, you did?” Hunk blurted, looking from Keith to Lance and back again, his eyes wide. “Since when?”

“I don't remember everything,” Keith said tightly. “Just … some of it.” He rubbed at his forehead as if doing so would jog his memory.

Even with just a brief glance in Keith’s direction, Lance could see how pale his face looked and the dark circles under his eyes. Something heavy settled in Lance’s stomach as he recalled everything they’d heard in Zarkon’s announcement: how Keith’s parents had been murdered, how there had been attempts on Keith’s life before that. Whatever Keith had remembered, Lance imagined it wasn’t easy to relive it.

“Hey, we don’t need to talk about it right now,” Lance said. He had a strange urge to reach out, to touch Keith’s hand or something, but his fingers remained clenched around Blue’s controls instead. “I know it must be a lot, but we’ll figure it out somehow. Right now we just need to concentrate on landing somewhere.”

“R-Right,” Hunk agreed, although he sounded a bit wary. He paused like he was thinking of adding something else, but then let out a short sigh instead. “Looks like we’ve ended up in Sector VX-51 … ? I’ve never been out this far before so I don’t really know what’s around here. Closest planet is one called Cinoria according to the map here, so that’s probably our best bet.”

“Alright, let’s set a course,” Lance said with a curt nod. He focused again on steering Blue forward, turning his attention to the holographic map that appeared in the air to his right.

A million questions swarmed in his mind––questions about who Keith really was, whether he'd really killed his own parents, why Keith's talisman had been glowing, why his own talisman had felt like it was burning against his skin at the same time, how the wormhole had opened up ... But as pressing as all of these matters were, it would need to wait until they had landed safely.

For now, Lance tried to push his worries aside and ignore the woozy feeling that had overcome him. He kept taking deep breaths and letting them out again shakily, eyes flitting anxiously to the map to make sure there was definitely no one on their tail anymore.

He also tried to ignore the glimpse of Keith he could see out of the corner of his eye, posture stiff and unmoving. And then there was Hunk, busying himself with pulling up various maps and charts––but he was being extremely quiet in a way that Lance knew meant he was upset. Not to mention Pidge had marched off with no explanation and hadn't re-appeared since shutting herself in her room.

A dull headache had started to pound inside Lance's skull by the time Cinoria appeared nearby on the map. Suddenly alert, Lance directed Blue in the direction the blinking light indicated. Sure enough, up ahead was a faint red dot amongst stars, and Lance assumed that must be the planet. He hadn't realized how tense he'd become, and he tried to let his shoulders relax as they approached their destination.

They all remained quiet as the planet drew nearer. Lance winced when he heard Blue's engines rumble in protest; he knew she was damaged, but hopefully she was still in good enough condition to make a smooth landing.

"Okay, here we go," Lance said, although it lacked his usual enthusiasm.

Holding his breath, he pressed a few buttons on the dashboard and kicked up the speed. As long as Blue was still able to go fast enough to break through the planet's atmosphere, they'd be okay. Almost there …

There was a familiar drop in his stomach as their velocity increased, and then they were accelerating towards Cinoria’s surface. As the clouds broke across Blue’s windshield, the landscape of the planet stretched out below them. It was vast and mountainous, the red desert sand so bright that Lance had to squint.

Fortunately, they were nearing a large plateau. As they descended from the sky, Lance slowed Blue’s pace and guided her towards the flat area. Clouds of dust billowed around them as they landed, filling the surrounding air with a smoky crimson haze.

Blue’s engines made some clunking and sputtering noises that made Lance cringe, but at least they had managed a stable landing. Heaving a long sigh, Lance patted the dashboard.

“It’s alright, Blue. We made it.”

Lance expected Hunk’s usual ridicule for talking to the ship, but Hunk was still being uncharacteristically quiet. Keith was also silent, although that was a bit more expected. Despite the gravity of the situation, Lance wished that someone would say something just to break the tension filling the cockpit, but no one seemed to want to be the first one to speak.

“I––I think I need some time. To think,” Keith said haltingly. “Outside.”

“Oh,” Lance said. “Okay. Well, uh … I can lower Blue’s gangway.” He reached across the dashboard to press the button, and heard a loud creaking noise behind him as Blue’s hatch opened. “Are you sure you want to go alone? You might at least want to bring a weapon or something, since we don’t know what this planet––”

“I have my knife. I’ll be fine,” Keith cut him off, and the sudden terse tone of his voice prevented Lance from protesting any further.

Without saying anything else, Keith turned and walked out of the cockpit. Lance didn’t turn to watch him go, but he heard footsteps echoing down the metal stairs and then silence.

Lance sat stiffly in his seat, still trying to bring himself down from the shock of everything that had just happened, but it was too much to take in at once. He gazed blankly out of Blue’s windshield, across the flat plateau and towards the sweeping valley beyond it.

Hunk broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Well … I’m gonna go outside and take a look at the damage.”

“Right,” Lance said, breaking out of his stupor. “I’ll, uh … I’ll come with you.”

Outside, the bright light reflected harshly off the red sand. Lance squinted, shielding his eyes with one hand as he stepped off the last step of Blue’s gangway. Hunk followed after him, and they made their way around to the side of the ship.

Lance hissed in a breath as he caught sight of some of the blackened scars along the ship's hull––but fortunately there were only a couple of places where the plating had been ripped off, exposing wires underneath.

Hunk let out a low whistle, putting his hands on his hips. "Alright, alright. Well, it could be worse," he said. There was a forced cheeriness to the words, but Lance could detect the stress underneath.

Lance bit his lip. It was almost physically painful to look at the damage, like the wounds had been inflicted upon himself rather than on Blue. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt that he’d gotten her into such a mess. I’m sorry, girl.

“What do we do?” he asked, wiping a sleeve across his forehead.

“Hmm, I’ll need to get up there on a ladder so I can get a better look,” said Hunk. He scratched his chin. “Hopefully none of the wiring is too damaged––but even if it is, it’s nothing I can’t fix. Then I’ll probably just need to cover up the holes with some scrap metal. Might not be able to finish it by nightfall, but I can give it a shot.”

“Well, I can give you a hand,” Lance offered. “I mean, I don’t know how much help I’ll be with the actual repairs, but I can at least hand you tools and stuff.”

“Yeah, that might make things go a little faster.” Hunk clapped Lance on the shoulder. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

“Any time, bud.”

Lance offered him a tired smile, which Hunk returned––but only for a moment before the expression gave way to a slight frown.

“You sure you’re okay, Lance? You still look kinda … out of it.”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” Lance said hastily. He shrugged Hunk’s hand off his shoulder. “Just, you know. A little overwhelmed after everything that happened today. And now we don’t even know where in the universe we are, and Blue is damaged, and Keith is a prince, and Pidge is upset for some reason, and …” He rubbed his temples, feeling a little dizzy all of a sudden. “I don’t know. It’s all too much and I feel like everything is falling apart.”

As he spoke, his eyes followed the trail of Keith’s footprints, which trailed across the red sand and disappeared over the crest of a hill in the near distance.

“Hey, slow down,” said Hunk. “Everything’s not falling apart. I mean … yeah, we don’t really know where the quiznak we are right now, and about everything else you said … I’m just as confused as you are.” He let out a short sigh. “But hey, we’re all still alive. And I’m sure we’ll figure things out.”

As much as Lance wanted to take comfort in the words, he still felt a sense of dread gnawing at the inside of his stomach as he continued to stare off at the horizon.

Seeming to understand what he was worried about, Hunk put a hand on his shoulder. “Keith will come back soon,” he said, more quietly this time. “He probably just needs to … think about things.”

Lance’s eyes stung from the glare, and he blinked rapidly as if waking up from a trance.

“Yeah, I don’t blame him.” He chewed his lip, trying to imagine what Keith was going through right now and not even being able to fathom it. It worried him. But he had to trust that Hunk was right and that Keith would come back when he was ready.

He turned his attention back to Blue with a sigh. “Okay, girl. Let’s get you fixed up.”

—

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon, and Hunk and Lance were still busy patching up the scars on Blue’s side. Both had discarded their jackets long ago, their shirts soaked through with sweat in the afternoon heat.

Lance was now sitting on the edge of Blue’s wing, a toolbox sitting to his left. Various tools, as well as handfuls of nuts and bolts were scattered around.

“Hey Lance, can you hand me that drill?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Lance picked up the tool Hunk had indicated and handed it over.

Balancing on the ladder propped against Blue’s side, Hunk reached out to take the drill. “Thanks, buddy.”

He flipped a pair of goggles on and started to drill new threaded holes into a panel in Blue’s side. A high-pitched whirring noise filled the air as sparks flew from the metal.

Lance sighed, his legs swinging over the edge of Blue’s wing. He rested an elbow on his knee and propped his chin up on his hand. He’d lost track of how much time had gone by, but he was fairly certain it had been several vargas since they had started on the repairs.

In all that time, Keith hadn’t returned from wherever he’d wandered off to, and Lance was starting to fear the worst. Although he wanted to believe that Keith was fine and that he’d just needed some time to think, he worried that Keith had gotten lost, or encountered some hostile aliens, or …

“Lance?”

“Hmm?”

He looked up again to see Hunk watching him, an eyebrow raised expectantly.

“I said, can you hand me the wrench?”

“Right. Sure,” Lance stammered, handing Hunk the wrench and taking back the drill as Hunk handed it back to him. “Sorry, man. I was just … thinking.”

The hesitation in his tone must have implied there was a lot lurking under the surface, because Hunk paused in his work to look over at him with narrow-eyed suspicion. “About what?”

Lance ran a hand through his hair, cringing a little when he felt how damp with sweat it was. “I don’t know. Everything. Do you think Keith is okay?”

Hunk hesitated and then shrugged, turning back around to tighten a screw in Blue’s side. “I don’t know, man. Depends on what you mean by ‘okay.’ I think he’s pretty freaked out after what happened––I mean, we all are. Or at least I am, I don’t know about you.

“But, like, if you’re asking if I think he’s physically okay … well, I guess don’t know that either. But my guess is he’s probably wandering around somewhere nearby and that he’ll come back whenever he’s ready.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Lance murmured. He squinted at the horizon, where the rust-colored sand of the desert met the pale blue of the sky.

Without even thinking about it, he reached up to pull his talisman out from where it had been tucked underneath his shirt. He looked down at it, running a thumb over the dark gem at its center.

“Hey, Hunk?”

“Yeah?” Hunk said, not looking up from his work.

“Can I tell you something? Something that might sound a little crazy?”

“Crazier than Keith being a prince and us jumping through a wormhole to some distant galaxy? Go for it, man.”

If it weren’t for the circumstances, Lance might have laughed at that. But the thing he was about to admit was possibly as crazy as both of those things.

“You know how when we went through the wormhole, Keith’s talisman started glowing?”

“Uh, yeah, that was pretty noticeable. Why?”

“Because …” Lance paused, chewing his lower lip before he blurted out the rest. “I think my talisman might’ve been glowing, too.”

Hunk nearly dropped his wrench but managed to catch it in midair. He whirled around to look at Lance with wide eyes. “What?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Lance went on. “I couldn’t see it ‘cause it was under my shirt, and I was a little busy piloting Blue through a wormhole to escape a bunch of aliens who wanted to kill us, but … I don’t know. It felt … warm?

“And right before we went through the wormhole, I felt this crazy energy, like––like it was being channeled into me, but I don’t know where it was coming from. From Blue, or from the talisman, or from …”

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “From Keith?”

Maybe it was the desert heat, but Lance’s face felt absurdly warm all of a sudden. He huffed, looking away. “I told you it would sound too crazy.”

“Hey, I didn’t say it was crazy! I’m just trying to understand what you mean.”

“I just meant …” Lance tried and failed to come up with a better explanation than the one he had already given, and he sighed in frustration. “Quiznak, even I don’t know what I mean. All I know is that I could feel something weird right before we went through the wormhole, and I think … I think the talismans might have something to do with it.”

He closed a fist around the talisman, as if clutching it would somehow reveal its true meaning, but nothing else came to him.

“Hmm,” Hunk murmured. He leaned forward on the ladder, which creaked slightly at the movement. “That actually makes sense. Like I said before, Keith’s talisman glowing—and maybe yours glowing, too—right when the wormhole appeared … that’s gotta be related somehow.”

“But how?”

Hunk didn’t provide an answer—not that Lance had expected one. With another deep sigh, Lance leaned forward with his elbows propped on his knees, staring into the distance again. A slight, warm breeze moved over the landscape, causing the sand to shift in flowing motions like an ocean.

All of a sudden, a fierce determination rushed through him. With a frown, he tucked the talisman under his shirt again and clambered to his feet.

“Lance?” Hunk said warily. “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now. I’ve put it off long enough and … I don’t know. Maybe if I tell him the truth, it’ll help him remember something. Now, can you move the ladder over here? I need to get down.”

“I don’t know, Lance. Now might not be the best time to––”

“Are you serious? You’re the one who keeps telling me I need to talk to him, and now you’re telling me I shouldn’t?”

“That’s … That was before––ugh, never mind,” Hunk relented with a sigh. “Fine, just give me one second.”

He finished up tightening a bolt, and then climbed down the ladder so he could prop it against the wing. Lance descended the rungs and jumped down onto the sand.

“Thanks, man.” He faced the horizon as he squared his shoulders. “Okay, I’m going.”

Even as he said it, he could hear the slight tremor of anxiety in his own voice. He hadn’t realized until then how nervous he was, that the thought of finally confronting Keith and telling him about the talisman was terrifying for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

Hunk put a hand on his shoulder as if sensing his thoughts. “Good luck, dude. I should probably take a break from repairs and go check up on Pidge to make sure she’s okay.”

“Good idea. See you in a bit?”

“Yeah, see you. Don’t get into any trouble.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Hunk smiled sheepishly. “Well, you know … last time we left you and Keith by yourselves, you both almost got killed.”

Lance opened his mouth to protest, but then stopped himself. “I … okay, fair enough. I promise I’ll be okay. And I still have my stun gun with me in case anything exciting happens.” He patted the weapon at his hip to illustrate. “I’ll be back soon, promise.”

“Alright. Bye, Lance.”

Hunk gave him a quick hug, which Lance returned gratefully. Then he stepped back again, offering Hunk one last reassuring smile before he faced the endless stretch of desert.

––

The sun hovered low in the cloudless sky as Lance made his way forward. Heat shimmered off the ground, and Lance kept wiping a trembling hand across his sweating forehead.

He still felt strangely woozy, and it occurred to him he was probably super dehydrated and it wasn’t a great idea to be out in the middle of the dry desert, but he couldn’t turn around now. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable way his shirt stuck to his back, and how the weight of the talisman around his neck felt heavier with every step. He had to focus on his mission, had to concentrate on following the winding trail of boot prints Keith had left in his wake.

Keith had walked a long distance, apparently, and Lance was starting to worry that he wouldn’t be able to find Keith before the wind erased his footprints from the sand. But finally, the trail snaked downwards into a sprawling valley, and into the mouth of a small cave in the side of the cliff. With a sudden thrill of hope, Lance quickened his pace and sprinted towards the opening.

He was breathing hard when he reached the cave, stumbling through the entrance and putting a hand against its wall to steady himself. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the dimness after being out in the sunlight for so long. But as the bright spots dissipated from his vision, he caught sight of a familiar figure sitting on a flat rock not far from where he stood.

Keith had been sitting hunched over with his knees drawn up to his chest, but he stiffened and sat up at Lance’s entrance. His hand flew to the dagger at his side before recognition sparked in his eyes and his shoulders relaxed. “Lance?”

His voice rasped, and Lance could see now that his eyes were bloodshot and his face was splotched red. He’d been crying. Keith seemed to realize Lance had noticed it and he suddenly looked down, wiping the back of his hand across his eyes.

Lance had a sudden tight feeling in his chest, and he wondered if he was being too invasive. He hovered at the mouth of the cave, unsure of whether he should step forward or back away.

“I––I’m sorry,” he stammered by way of greeting. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, obviously you’re not––um. But, you know, wanted to make sure you hadn’t passed out in the middle of the desert or something. If you want me to leave, I’ll––”

“No,” Keith said with a firmness that surprised Lance. He cleared his throat, speaking a little more quietly as he continued. “You don’t have to go. You can, uh …” He trailed off, but he shifted over on the rock to make more room.

Lance strode cautiously forward. He was conscious of the way Keith briefly looked him up and down as he approached, and he realized he probably looked like a mess––patches of sweat on his T-shirt and his damp hair curling in the heat. If Keith noticed, he was gracious enough not to say anything.

Lance climbed up onto the rock next to him, although he maintained a few feet of distance between them. He still felt a little winded from all the walking he’d done and he tried to catch his breath, leaning over with his elbows resting on his knees.

They sat in silence for several minutes, without speaking or even looking at each other. Outside, the valley gleamed in the sunlight, the sides of its surrounding cliffs layered with rings of different shades of orange.

“I didn’t kill them,” Keith said at last.

Lance startled a bit at the words, then turned to look at Keith questioningly. Keith continued to avoid his gaze, glaring down at the earthen floor of the cavern. He still had one knee drawn up to his chest and the other stretched out in front of him. One of his hands wrapped around his talisman, thumb tracing its edges.

Some of the tension eased from Lance’s shoulders. He leaned back a little, placing his hands down on the rock on either side of him.

“I know,” he said quietly.

At that, Keith suddenly looked over at him. Something flashed across his eyes that Lance couldn’t quite read––surprise, maybe, or confusion––before his expression hardened again.

“How do you know?”

There was a slight edge to it––a challenge, almost––that caught Lance off guard, but he could hear a hint of desperation under the surface, not so much a demand as it was a plea for reassurance.

He let out a long breath, leaning his weight back on his hands. “Well,” he said at last, “I guess I don’t know for certain, and it’s not like I’ve known you for super long, but … I’ve never gotten the vibe that you were some heartless murderer. I know you wouldn’t hurt any of us––me or Hunk or Pidge, and you’ve only known us for like a week, so I doubt you would’ve hurt your own family.”

It maybe wasn't the most solid evidence, but it was difficult for Lance to articulate the gut feeling he had that there was no way Keith had killed his parents. He didn't know how many times he could say I just know without Keith demanding another reason, so he figured trying to rationalize it would help.

And it seemed to work, to an extent. Although there was still a stony expression in Keith's eyes, he didn't ask for further explanation.

Lance watched him for a few more moments before he asked quietly, "Do you remember what happened? I mean, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but ..." He trailed off, biting his lip to keep himself from saying anything that might come off as insensitive.

If Keith was insulted at all, he didn't show it. After a moment of concentration, he shook his head. "I don't. Not all of it, anyway."

Lance drummed his fingers against the edge of the rock. "So, when you came up to me in the square and said you remembered who you are ..."

"Like I said, I didn't remember everything," Keith cut him off. “Just some things. My name, for one.”

“Oh, right,” Lance said. “Akira.” He tilted his head quizzically. “Is that, uh … what you want to be called now?”

Keith hesitated, then shook his head. “I think I would prefer that you guys keep calling me Keith. I’m kinda used to it now. I might change my mind when I remember more, but right now …” He paused, frowning. “I don’t know how to describe it, but that name, Akira … it doesn’t feel like me. Or it does, I guess, but it’s like this past version of myself that doesn’t exist anymore. That probably doesn’t make any sense.”

“No, it does,” said Lance, which earned him a surprised look. “I get it. It’s like, this whole past life that you can barely remember, so like … you’re still kinda detached from it.” He stopped himself when he saw Keith’s eyes widen. “I—I mean, I’m not trying to put words in your mouth or anything, I just …”

“No, no. That’s exactly it. It just feels wrong somehow because it’s … it’s part of my life that I only remember pieces of. And a lot of it, I don’t really want to remember.”

Keith went silent, chewing his lower lip in contemplation. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, rough around the edges.

“That memory I had before, of all the … the blood all over my hands …”

Oh. “Your parents,” Lance said numbly, and then regretted saying it out loud when he saw how Keith flinched at the words.

Without even thinking, he reached out to put his hand over Keith’s where it rested on the rock between them. Keith’s hand tensed at the touch, but he didn’t pull away.

“Keith, I … I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how horrible that must have been.”

Lance was afraid the words came out sounding hollow, but he didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t like he could do anything to change what had happened, but he still wished desperately that there was some way to alleviate the pain Keith was going through. It almost physically hurt to see him like this, glassy-eyed and devastated.

After a few moments, Lance drew his hand back again, nervous that he had crossed a line. Keith still didn’t show much of a reaction, only letting out a shuddering breath as he lifted his head, the hazy orange light from outside highlighting the angles of his face.

“I don’t know how much of it I truly can’t remember and how much of it I’m blocking out, but … I––I sort of remember … finding them. When it was too late.” He swallowed, his hand curling into a fist at his side. “If I’d gotten there sooner, maybe I could’ve …”

He trailed off, voice becoming too choked to continue. Lance immediately felt an urge to reach out and touch his hand again, but he resisted this time.

“Keith,” he said instead, gentle but insistent. “It’s not your fault.”

That earned him a surprised look, the furrow in Keith’s brow easing away a little.

“Thanks,” Keith said at last, hoarsely. “I want to believe that, but I still feel like I should’ve been there to save them.”

Lance could practically feel the guilt rolling off of him, and it was a gut-wrenching emotion that Lance knew he couldn’t even fathom.

“Listen,” he said, carefully trying to find the right words, “I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now, and I understand it’s hard not to blame yourself. But … I know you’re a good person, Keith. And I think whoever did that to your parents … I think they want you to feel this way, to think it was your fault.”

Keith shot him a quizzical frown, and Lance frantically tried to put his thoughts into words.

“What I’m saying is, someone is manipulating you. Trying to frame you. Something about this whole thing just … doesn’t add up.”

He hadn’t had much time to think about it, but now all the pieces seemed to be coming together right in front of him and his mind raced to catch up.

“That Zarkon guy … he said something about how there were several failed attempts on your life, that somehow you staged those to make yourself look innocent. But that doesn’t make any sense.”

Keith stared at him in bewilderment. “What are you getting at?”

“I––I don’t really know,” Lance admitted, rubbing his temples. “But I think maybe … whoever the assassin is, they left you alive on purpose. So that they had someone to pin the blame on––and when you escaped, they could claim that you had killed your parents and run away. Which would then give them the justification to hunt you down and kill you, too.”

He immediately worried he’d been too blunt in his rush to get the thoughts out. Keith’s shoulders stiffened, but he seemed to mull over what Lance had said, gaze searching the ground in front of him.

“I think you’re right,” he said. “Zarkon is behind all of this. I know it.”

His jaw tightened, and there was suddenly a murderous flare in his eyes that was almost frightening. After sitting still for several long moments, he jumped down from the rock.

“Keith?” said Lance hesitantly. But Keith wasn’t even looking at him, just pacing furiously and massaging his temples. “Are you okay?”

He slid down from the rock until his feet touched the ground. “Did you remember something?”

“Not really. But I’m trying.” Keith stopped pacing, although his brow remained furrowed in concentration. “All I can remember is that Zarkon worked closely with my parents. He was … I don’t know, a military general of some kind. I remember being suspicious of him, that he and my parents had some kind of disagreement, and …”

He stopped. There had been a temporary gleam in his eyes like he’d been on the verge of a breakthrough, but it flickered out again in an instant. Keith growled in frustration, kicking a small stone near his foot and sending it skittering across the ground.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Lance said, taking a cautious step towards him and raising his hands in a calming gesture. “Don’t strain yourself too much over it. It’ll come back to you, even if it’s only a little bit at a time.”

Although he didn’t look entirely convinced, some of the tension eased from Keith’s shoulders. He turned away to stare out across the valley, crossing his arms.

“I know, but I just … I feel so helpless. Like it’s right there but I can’t reach it.” He closed his eyes and opened them again, sighing deeply. “And the weird thing is, part of me almost doesn’t want to remember at all.”

Lance hesitated and then stepped up next to him, following Keith’s gaze.

“That’s not weird,” he said sincerely. “Remembering all that stuff … it must be really hard.”

He almost winced at his own words, knowing they weren’t enough. But Keith barely even seemed to have heard him.

“The thing that I remembered, back in the market square …” he said at last. “I think I remembered one of those attempts on my life that Zarkon mentioned.”

Lance took a moment to fully process what Keith had said, and then inhaled sharply. He struggled to find something to say, but wasn’t able to think of anything before Keith continued.

“There was an explosion. A bomb, I guess––I don’t quite remember. It would’ve killed me, but someone pushed me out of the way.” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “That was Shiro.”

Lance frowned in concern as the true horror of the story set in. “Oh … oh, no. Was he … ?”

“He survived––as you already know, I guess. But he lost an arm. I never really stopped blaming myself for that.”

“Keith––”

“I know it wasn’t my fault, but still. It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been protecting me.” Keith huffed out a breath. “I remembered something he said to me shortly afterward, about how now we were ‘even’ because he gave me this scar.”

He traced a finger over the marking in question, a faint diagonal line near his jaw.

“Shiro did that?”

“It was an accident. Happened when we were practicing sword-fighting.” Keith dropped his hand to his side again, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. “He was way more freaked out about it than I was. He thought my parents were gonna kill him.”

The smile faded again, his eyes turning to stone. “If what Zarkon said is true, that Shiro is being held prisoner because he helped me escape … I have to do something about it.”

Lance stared at him, his blood suddenly running cold. “You mean …”

“I have to break him out of prison.”

There was no trace of doubt in the statement, and Keith turned to look at Lance then with a steadfast determination in his eyes. Lance might have thought he was joking, but that didn’t seem like Keith. They may not have known each other that long, but Lance already had become familiar with Keith’s stubbornness, with his reckless streak.

“Whoa, wait. Wait a second,” Lance said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to wrap his head around what Keith was saying. “You’re going to what? That … that’s crazy, man. And dangerous. We don’t even know where Shiro is, but I’m guessing if he’s been imprisoned for treason, it’s probably somewhere with pretty intense security.”

A muscle in Keith’s jaw twitched. “I know that. But I figure that if I can at least get back to Daibazaal, I can find a way to save him. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but … it’s like I said yesterday. Once we get to Galjor, I need to find my way back.”

From the firm tone of his voice, Lance had a feeling it would be difficult––maybe impossible––to change his mind. But the thought of Keith going back to Daibazaal on his own, especially now that he had a bounty on his head, made him feel dizzy with panic.

“Keith,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. “I know you want to save Shiro. But maybe you need to give this some more thought. It’s already bad enough that Zarkon has accomplices all over the universe looking for you. If you go back to Daibazaal, you’ll be walking right into a trap.”

Keith bristled at the words, hands balling into fists at his sides. “What else am I supposed to do, Lance?” he snapped. “I can’t just do nothing while Shiro is probably being tortured in prison. He’s my best friend, practically my brother, and he’s risked his life for me more times than I can count.” Some of the fight seemed to leave him then, hands uncurling again. “He never gave up on me. I can’t give up on him.”

With that, he turned on his heel and started to march towards the mouth of the cave. It took a second for Lance to recover from the shock of Keith’s outburst, and then a tight knot formed in his chest as he stumbled in tow.

“Keith, wait.” He managed to catch up just as Keith stepped into the sunlight. “Will you just listen to me for a second?”

That somehow stopped Keith in his tracks, although he didn’t turn around. Lance stood warily behind him, taking a deep breath as he searched for the right thing to say. All of a sudden, he found himself thinking of what Hunk had told him the night before: Maybe he’ll change his mind if you tell him. More than ever, he was painfully aware of the weight of the talisman under his shirt, resting against his pounding heartbeat.

“I’m not telling you to give up,” he said at last. “I’m just trying to tell you that you don’t have to do this alone.”

That seemed to catch Keith’s attention, his shoulders stiffening as he turned to look at Lance in surprise. But the momentary vulnerability vanished in an instant, replaced by that stony expression again.

“I’m sorry, but I have to. I’ve put you all in enough danger as it is.”

Now it was Lance’s turn to be stubborn, frowning as he crossed his arms. “I don’t see why it makes a difference. We’ve already been seen helping you escape. Even if you go to Daibazaal alone, you think there won’t still be people hunting us down and demanding to know where you are? We’re in this together now, whether you like it or not.”

Keith stared back at him, wide-eyed, but then looked down and shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m grateful for everything you guys have done for me, but I just can’t …”

He trailed off, and in the pause that followed Lance felt like the planet had shifted underneath him, like some unshakable force was pulling at him from all directions. This was it, he realized. It was his last chance to say something.

He could barely hear through the sudden ringing in his ears, could barely feel the ground under his feet or feel the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on him. His own voice sounded distant when he finally spoke.

“Listen. I––I’m not trying to force you to change your mind. But … there’s one other thing I should tell you. Something important.”

The words tumbled out of him, halting but insistent. They at least managed to catch Keith’s attention, and he looked up at Lance again––eyes glinting with something unreadable. Curiosity? Bewilderment?

“What is it?” he asked carefully, when Lance didn’t say anything else.

The panic Lance had felt moments ago gave way to an almost eerie calmness. He’d rehearsed this moment so many times in his head, it felt surreal that it was unfolding in front of him. He hadn’t exactly pictured it this way, had hoped it would be under better circumstances, but … well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

His heart pounded so hard it was almost painful, as he took a cautious step forward. Keith remained glued to the spot where he was standing, tensing as he watched Lance approach.

When there was only a few feet between them, Lance came to a halt. He’d tried to think of something to say as he’d inched forward, but his mind seemed to have gone completely blank. Besides, he couldn’t really think of any warning sufficient enough for what he was about to reveal.

Drawing in a deep breath, he hooked a finger under the collar of his shirt to tug at the thin chain around his neck. Then, slowly, he pulled the talisman out into the light.

He didn’t know what to do or say at this point. As many times as he’d practiced an explanation in his head, words completely failed him. All he could do was hold the amulet out for Keith to see, watching the other boy’s face with careful scrutiny for any hint of a reaction.

It was subtle at first––Keith’s eyebrows knit together slightly as his gaze traveled down to the talisman and lingered there. Then, his eyes widened a fraction as they flitted back up to Lance’s face and back to the talisman again.

“What––” The one word came out faint, choked. Keith’s hand drifted up to close in a fist around his own amulet, and he kept staring at Lance’s like he thought it might disappear at any moment.

There was a tense silence as they both stood there, as if frozen in place. Then Keith took a staggering step forward. Lance still didn’t say anything, his heart racing and ears roaring. Keith had closed the distance between them and, slowly, he reached out to brush his fingers over Lance’s talisman.

Lance went rigid at the unexpected gesture, his heart stuttering as Keith's hand brushed against his own. Not many people had touched the talisman before, and something about it felt strangely intimate, like Keith had reached out and touched Lance's face. Long moments passed, tense and silent, as Keith wrapped his fingers around the blue pendant and turned it upwards so that the sun illuminated the symbol etched into its center.

Finally, still not letting go of the talisman, he looked up––right into Lance's eyes. Lance tried to read the expression written in Keith's gaze, but the emotions flitted by so quickly it was difficult to decipher them. Confusion, mostly, but there was something else under the surface, something almost ... hurt.

"I ..." Keith said at last, voice faint and dazed. "I don't understand."

Lance tried and failed to answer, his mind refusing to come up with an explanation that sounded reasonable. "Honestly ... I don't, either," he admitted.

He attempted a reassuring smile, but Keith didn't return it. He just looked down to Lance's talisman again, his thumb tracing over the map-like etching, before he snatched his hand back all of a sudden like it had burned him.

"How––How long have you ... ?" he stammered. He seemed unable to complete the question, but he still managed to meet Lance's gaze again, searching desperately for answers.

Lance was still holding on to the talisman, but now he let it drop back against his chest. It felt surreal to finally have it out in the open where Keith could see it, and he kept fighting the urge to shove it back underneath his shirt collar again.

The blaze of the afternoon sun suddenly felt about ten times warmer, and he wiped the back of his shaking hand across his forehead.

“I’ve had it since I was a baby,” he explained. He chewed his lower lip before he continued the story; it wasn’t exactly easy for him to talk about this, and only a handful of people knew. “I was found with it.”

“Found?” Keith repeated, frowning in confusion.

Lance swallowed and nodded. “I was abandoned in the woods on Deldia. That’s where my parents––or, well, I guess they were my adopted parents––found me and took me in.” He looked away, glaring into the shifting sands of the valley below. “I didn’t know until about a year ago, right after I finished flight school. My parents had kept the talisman hidden that whole time, but then they … they finally decided to tell me.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, as if doing so would banish the painful memory of that night––the brutal shock of the news, the things he'd said that he wished he could take back.

"They said they did it to protect me," he continued, trying not to let too much emotion slip into his voice. He idly fiddled with the talisman as he spoke, turning it over between his fingers. "They thought maybe someone was after me. Or the talisman. They weren't sure. Just that after they'd found me, there were soldiers patrolling the town, knocking on doors, asking questions. They wouldn't explain why, apparently. But my parents didn't think it was a coincidence.

"I guess I understand now why they kept it a secret from me, but at the time I ... didn't take it super well. I kinda lashed out at them, 'cause I felt like they'd been lying to me my whole life. It took me a few days to process it, to forgive them, but at that point I'd still decided that I had to find out the truth. Which is part of why Hunk and I decided to leave Deldia and explore the universe. So I could find out who I really am."

He stopped, afraid he was explaining too much at once––and he figured that Keith was still too shocked to be processing his whole life story anyway. Judging by the way he just kept staring at the talisman, he was still struggling to keep up with what was happening.

"So," Keith said at last. He shook his head in disbelief. "You knew ... You knew this the whole time, and you never said anything?"

It was difficult to determine his emotion from his tone of voice, whether he was shocked or angry, hurt or confused. Or, most likely, a combination of all of those things.

Although maybe Keith hadn't intended it as an accusation, Lance felt the words like a backhand across the face. He winced, tugging nervously at the collar of his shirt, which had been sticking uncomfortably to his skin.

"Yes," he admitted, avoiding Keith's gaze. "When we first found you, I saw your talisman and thought maybe I had finally found some answers. But then, you didn’t remember anything, so ..."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw some of the tension ease out of Keith's posture, his shoulders sagging. "Oh," he said, and a weighty silence fell between them. "Lance, I'm––"

"It's okay. It's not like it's your fault." Lance offered him a small smile before looking down again, thumb wandering the edges of the talisman as he kicked absently at the dust. "It's just that, once I knew you didn't know what your own talisman meant ... I don't know. I couldn't bring myself to tell you about mine. I know it sounds stupid, but I worried it would be too overwhelming with everything else that was going on. Or that it'd seem manipulative somehow, like you'd think I only wanted you around because I wanted answers out of you."

He cut himself short, his face somehow managing to burn even hotter with the realization that he'd basically just admitted that he wanted Keith around for many more reasons than that. Reasons that were starting to feel very big and confusing, but he hastily shoved the thought to the back of his mind to be examined later.

Meanwhile, Keith was being very quiet. Lance was afraid to even look at him––but when he dared to lift his gaze again, he found that Keith didn't look angry. At least, not necessarily. He was glaring at the ground the same way Lance had been moments ago, frowning in contemplation.

"It's not stupid," Keith said at last. "I mean, I wish you'd told me earlier. And now ... now I'm not even sure what to think. I wish I knew what it meant."

"Me, too." Lance sighed. Despite how confusing the whole situation was, he felt a tinge of relief that at least Keith didn't seem to be mad at him for withholding this information. "Especially after ... well. There's one other thing I should probably mention."

At that, Keith looked up, eyebrows raised.

"When we went through the wormhole," Lance continued, "you know how your talisman started glowing?"

Keith nodded.

"Well ... I don't know for sure, because my talisman was hidden at the time. But, it felt really warm? And I was kinda focused on getting us to safety and all, so it's not like I could've checked anyway, but ... I have a feeling my talisman was glowing, too."

Lance blurted it all out before he could second guess himself. On one hand, he didn't want to overwhelm Keith with too much information. But he also figured that now that his biggest secret was out in the open, he might as well lay everything out on the table.

Keith inhaled sharply, glancing down at Lance's talisman as if he expected to see some proof of his claims. He looked like he was going to say something and then seemed to change his mind, running a hand down his face.

"I know, I know," said Lance. "It's a lot to take in, and I'm still trying to understand all of it myself, but ..."

“No, it’s …” Keith started to say, and then stopped short. He rubbed a hand against the side of his neck. “I mean, yes, it is a lot. But now that you mention it, I––I felt something, too. When we went through the wormhole.”

Maybe it was just the colorful afternoon lighting, but Lance could have sworn there was a slight flush to Keith’s face all of a sudden, and his own face continued to feel strangely warm.

“Oh? What kind of ‘something’?”

“It’s hard to describe. It wasn’t just the whole glowing-talisman thing, it was more than that. It was like there was this weird energy that was coming from everywhere.”

“Whoa, yeah. Exactly,” Lance blurted. His pulse had suddenly picked up and he took an involuntary step forward. “I felt that, too. Like something was pulling me towards the wormhole.”

Keith blinked, like he was surprised by Lance’s sudden close proximity, but he recovered a moment later. “Y-yeah,” he stammered. “Or … I don’t know if I felt the exact same thing, but it was similar. It was more like I could sense some huge source of power, and I was feeding into it, almost. Magnifying it somehow.”

At that, Lance’s excitement dwindled. He frowned, struggling to understand. “A source of power?” he repeated. “Coming from where? The wormhole?”

Keith fell silent, the flush in his face growing more evident. “No,” he said at last. “That’s the thing. It didn’t feel like it was coming from the wormhole. It felt like …”

He took a deep breath, gaze traveling down to Lance’s talisman and then cautiously back up to his face again.

“It felt like it was coming from you.”

That had been about the last thing Lance had expected to hear, and he couldn’t comprehend it right away. As the words settled in, a prickling sensation raced up his spine.

“What?” he choked out. “What do you mean?”

Keith inhaled slowly, his eyes searching Lance’s like he was expecting to find answers there. “I––I don’t know,” he admitted. “I wish I understood it, and it all happened so fast that I can’t remember it clearly enough. I just know that I felt it right before the wormhole opened.”

The implication hit Lance like an avalanche. All of a sudden, he remembered being back in Blue’s cockpit, remembered Hunk asking Keith if he had created the wormhole––remembered how Keith had given him that long and curious look, almost like he thought …

“No way,” he breathed, holding a hand up to his forehead. Everything suddenly felt different, the universe slightly askew. “Are you saying that you think I … that we … ?”

“Made the wormhole appear?” Keith finished the question for him.

Lance swallowed and nodded.

“I can’t say for sure, but … When it happened, it really felt like we were––like, I don’t know,” Keith stuttered. “Like maybe our talismans were connected or something. I mean, why else would they have both been glowing at the same time?”

Lance pondered the question, his heart racing, but he couldn’t think of any alternative. The talismans had to be connected somehow, and had played a part in the wormhole appearing. And then what Keith had said about feeling a source of power coming from Lance … it didn’t make any sense. Yet, Lance had an unnerving feeling that it was true, that somehow he had unwittingly done something. But he didn’t understand what.

When he didn’t respond, Keith let out a heavy sigh. “What does this all mean?” he murmured, running a hand through his hair.

“I wish I knew,” Lance said, before he looked up to meet Keith’s gaze with a steady intensity. “But I think the only way we can find out is if we stick together.”

––

Although Keith didn’t seem entirely convinced that he should stay with the team, he also didn’t seem so insistent about leaving after this new development. He’d been oddly quiet since Lance had broken the news, and Lance could only assume he had to think it over––not that Lance could blame him, since he had a lot of things to think about, too.

The sun had started to sink lower on the horizon, and they’d decided to head back to the ship before it got dark and before Hunk and Pidge got worried. Lance had told Keith he didn’t have to come back yet if he wasn’t ready, but Keith thought it was best he returned before night fell. Besides, they had some important decisions to make as a group.

Their trek back was mostly silent as they walked side-by-side across the desert. At least the temperature had cooled down as the evening approached, although heat still radiated from the ground and the air was so dry that Lance felt like his throat was covered in dust.

By the time they reached Blue, the last rays of the sun were crawling over the horizon and shadows pooled in the orange sand. The ship sat there silently, haloed in the light. There were now several more metallic patches welded to her side––there had been quite a few of those already, but they were rusty and faded compared to the new additions. Although it hurt Lance a bit to see any damage come to Blue, he couldn’t help but feel a warm twinge of fondness at the sight of her; after all, every little imperfection only gave her a bit more character.

But more than that, he was relieved to return to the ship after such a long and exhausting day. Despite everything they had been through in the last few vargas, Lance felt some of the weight fall from his shoulders as he and Keith ascended the gangway until they were safe inside Blue’s walls.

Hunk hadn’t been outside, Lance had noticed, and he wasn’t in the cockpit either. The ship was almost completely silent except for the droning hum of Blue’s generator.

“Hunk?” Lance called down the empty corridor. “Pidge?”

There was no answer, and Lance felt something cold burst through his veins as he started down the hallway.

“Maybe they went for a walk or something?” Keith suggested as he followed Lance.

Lance didn’t respond. He knew he was probably just overly paranoid and on edge after everything they’d been through today, but that didn’t stop his heart from climbing into his throat as he cautiously made his way down the empty corridor.

He was just about to raise his hand to knock on the door to Hunk’s room, when he heard muffled voices coming from the end of the hall. Relief flooded through him as he followed the sound, pressing a button on the wall to open the doors.

Sure enough, Hunk and Pidge were seated in the small lounge area at the table in the corner. They both looked up in alarm, but visibly relaxed once they saw who it was.

Right away, Lance saw how exhausted Pidge looked, her hair in disarray and dark circles underlining her eyes. “Oh,” she said, sinking back in her chair. “Hey, Lance. What’s …”

She trailed off abruptly, her gaze suddenly fixing on the talisman dangling around Lance’s neck. She sat up straight again, looking over at Keith as he slid into the room and stood by Lance’s side.

“Um,” she said, blinking like she expected to wake up from a dream. “You guys have matching necklaces now?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah,” Lance stammered, glancing down at the amulet in question, his face burning. Truthfully, he’d been so caught up in everything else that he hadn’t really stopped to think that Pidge hadn’t known about this already.

“Did I know that? I don’t think I knew this.” Pidge turned to Hunk. “Did you know?”

Hunk held up his hands defensively. “Look, Lance was the one who wanted to be all weird and secretive about it––”

“Hey. I was not being weird about it,” Lance huffed, crossing his arms.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I am glad that you finally told Keith, though.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Pidge had now stood up from the table and was rubbing furiously at her temples. Rover hovered in a circle around her, beeping in confusion. “I––I don’t understand. Can someone please explain what’s going on?”

“Well …” Lance started to say. He looked over at Keith, but found that Keith was watching him already, supposedly waiting for him to give an explanation. Lance sighed, turning back towards Pidge. “Long story short …”

He tried to tell the story as concisely as possible: how he didn’t know who his birth parents were, how he’d been found with the talisman as a baby and it was the only clue he had to his true heritage. How he had immediately recognized Keith’s talisman as a match for his own, but he hadn’t said anything about it until now because––well, there had been a lot of other stuff going on.

“So, you don’t know what it means?” Pidge concluded.

Lance shook his head. “No clue.”

“Well, Keith has remembered a bunch of things recently, right?” said Hunk. “So … maybe he’ll remember what it means soon.” He sounded uncertain, but looked up at Keith as if waiting for a confirmation.

Keith stiffened at the mention of his name, one of his hands rising to close in a fist around his talisman. “I––I don’t know,” he said. “All I can remember right now is that I’ve had it pretty much my whole life, that it’s something important. But I still don’t know why.”

They were all quiet for a moment before Lance cleared his throat.

“Anyway, we can figure out the details later. What we do know is that the talismans are probably connected somehow. Not just because they look the same, but … well, there’s one other thing.”

Hunk and Pidge stared at him expectantly, and Lance tried to form the words to explain. He had kind of hoped Keith would chime in––but when he only gave Lance a blank look instead, Lance let out a short sigh.

“We think maybe … we created the wormhole.”

At that, his friends gawked at him. “Wait, what?” Pidge blurted.

“I know, it sounds crazy,” Lance said, “but listen …”

He explained it as logically as he could––how Keith’s talisman had been glowing when the wormhole appeared, how he’d felt his own talisman getting warmer, how they’d both felt some huge spike in energy. Obviously, they didn’t know much more than that, but it had to be connected somehow.

“Hmm. Like I said earlier, it does somehow make a lot of sense,” Hunk said after Lance had finished. He scratched his chin. “Although I’m still trying to wrap my head around what it all means.”

Lance scoffed. “You and me both, buddy.”

He fiddled with the chain on his talisman, trying to ignore the sudden heavy feeling in his stomach. There was still so much he didn’t know, and he didn’t even know where to begin. Some part of him had secretly hoped that Keith would remember something as soon as he saw Lance’s talisman, but it seemed that now they were left with more questions than answers.

“Anyway, we need to decide where to go from here. Obviously we’re kinda on the run now, what with Keith being wanted by the Galran government and all. So, maybe it’ll be best to lay low for at least a couple more days. And then …”

He looked over at Keith, who was now staring intensely at the floor. “I think I need to go back to Daibazaal,” he said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Hunk and Pidge both visibly stiffen at the words.

“Whoa. Keith, are you sure that’s a good idea?” said Hunk, brow furrowing with worry. “It seems like that Zarkon guy really has it out for you.”

“I know.” A slight edge had crept into Keith’s voice, but then he sighed and continued more calmly. “But I can’t just do nothing. I––I know I didn’t kill my parents. Zarkon is behind this somehow, plus he’s holding my best friend captive. I have to do something about it.”

Hunk chewed his lip for a moment in contemplation. “Okay, I get that. But you can’t just go back to Daibazaal by yourself. Unless …” His eyes widened with a sudden realization as his gaze shifted over from Keith to Lance. “Wait, Lance you weren’t thinking … No, no way.”

“Look, I don’t know,” Lance said, holding up his hands. “Obviously, we need a more solid plan. But, think about it. If the talismans are powerful enough to create a wormhole, who knows what else they can do? They might be the key to helping Keith rescue his friend, and––who knows, maybe even face Zarkon.” He noticed how Keith went rigid at those words and added, “Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself there, but still …”

He looked around at his friends, trying to gauge their reactions. Keith looked very pale, face drawn and brows knitted together in a frown. Hunk looked like he was about to throw up.

Pidge, on the other hand, had been strangely silent for the past couple of minutes. She stood next to the table, her head lowered, one hand clenching on the back of a nearby chair.

Something occurred to Lance then, and he felt a twinge of guilt as he realized he hadn’t thought about how all this was affecting her. He took a step forward.

“Pidge, I’m really sorry,” he said. “I know this is all getting in the way of you going to meet your brother, but maybe we can––”

“Wait,” Pidge cut him off, with a sudden firmness to her voice that stopped Lance in his tracks. She closed her eyes and opened them again, releasing a shaky sigh. “I need to tell you guys something.”

The other three exchanged bewildered looks before turning their attention back to Pidge again.

“Okay,” Lance said slowly. “What is it?”

Pidge bit her lip before answering. “I … I haven’t been telling you guys the truth about where my brother is. He’s not on Zuleraan.” She swallowed. “He’s on Daibazaal.”

Lance wasn’t sure what he’d expected to hear, but it hadn’t been that. He could tell Keith and Hunk were just as surprised, judging by how their posture stiffened.

“Whoa, what?” Hunk exclaimed. “Why?”

“Just … let me explain.” Pidge reached up to scratch the back of her head. Rover seemed to sense her distress and hovered by her shoulder, but she waved the little droid away. “My name isn’t really Pidge Gunderson,” she said. “It’s Katie Holt.”

Katie Holt. The name sparked something in Lance’s brain, and he started to fuse all the puzzle pieces together. Holt … Why was that name so familiar?

Then it hit him all at once: how he could’ve sworn he’d seen Pidge somewhere before, how she’d seemed so freaked out by the sign of the Galran symbol on the ship that had landed on Rivlax, how upset she’d been to find out Keith was from Daibazaal …

“Wait a second,” he blurted. “You … you’re Samuel Holt’s daughter, aren’t you? Samuel and Matthew Holt are your dad and brother.”

Pidge winced a little and then nodded.

Hunk gasped.

“Holy shit,” Lance breathed, running a hand down his face. “I can’t believe it.”

“Um … what?” Keith said, looking back and forth between the three others. “What are you talking about? Who are Samuel and Matthew Holt?”

Pidge hesitated, glancing from Hunk to Lance and back again like she expected one of them to jump in and explain. When neither of them said anything, she drew in a deep breath.

“My dad is a war journalist. He and my mom met during the Trona-Julinak War—I wasn’t lying when I told you guys that part, just the part about my parents both being doctors. Only my mom is.

“My older brother, Matt … he’s been studying war journalism the past few years, too, so he’d been working with my dad on a lot of projects. The two of them went to Daibazaal together on an assignment, since there’d been a lot of tension there recently.

“It wasn’t supposed to be super dangerous or anything. They were just supposed to gather some information about the current state of things and report back home, but then …”

Pidge stopped for a moment, a long breath shuddering out of her.

“The assassination of the Emperor and Empress happened. Zarkon took the throne—and he pretty much put the whole Galran empire on lockdown. Just … nothing and no one being allowed to leave. Not even any news, besides anything he decides to broadcast out to neighboring galaxies.

“No one really knows for sure what happened to any foreigners on the planet, but …” Pidge’s voice had started to shake, and she took a moment to compose herself again. “It’s highly suspected that any of them, especially journalists, would probably have been captured, or—or worse.”

“Yeah, this was like … all over the news across multiple galaxies,” Hunk explained to Keith. “Everyone was talking about the Holts, people were holding these protests demanding for them to be freed.”

Pidge nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. “It didn’t make any difference,” she said darkly. “Zarkon is running a dictatorship now, and the Galran army is armed to the teeth. Other planets could try to start a war with them, but right now everyone seems to be waiting for some kind of negotiation to happen instead.”

She wiped a trembling hand across her eyes, and there was a sudden fierce gleam to them when she looked up again.

“I couldn’t just wait around to see what would happen. My dad and brother are trapped on Daibazaal somewhere. And I’m going to find them.”

Lance tried to process all of this, rubbing at his temples. “Wait. You were going to try to go to Daibazaal and break your brother and dad out of prison by yourself?”

Pidge crossed her arms and stuck her chin out stubbornly, although there was still a pained look in her eyes.

“What else was I supposed to do? They’re my family.”

“I know, I know. Listen, I totally understand that. But like, did you even have a plan?”

After a moment, Pidge looked away sheepishly. “Well … no, not really,” she admitted. “I was hoping to get to Galjor and then make my way to Daibazaal from there and then … I don’t know. Try to track down as much information as I could. I at least have the information about where Matt and my dad were located, so I figured I could start there.”

She looked around at the other three in turn, her eyes finally landing on Keith. “I’m sorry I seemed upset earlier when I found out you were from Daibazaal, Keith. I just … I’ve spent all this time hating the Galra because of what happened to my dad and brother, but I … I know none of that is your fault. I mean, yeah, I’m still trying to get used to it and all, but … I shouldn’t have judged you like that. I’m sorry.”

The words all came out in a rush, like she had been rehearsing them in her head for the past couple hours. Her shoulders hunched as she looked up at Keith nervously, and he blinked back at her in surprise.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. He looked around at the others one-by-one. “I understand if any of you don’t trust me, now that we know the truth. And if––if you think it would be best for me to leave––”

“Hey, no,” Hunk said, standing up from his seat at the table. “We don’t want you to leave, Keith. We’re all on the same side here. Right, guys?” Lance and Pidge nodded in agreement. “I don’t think any of us trust Zarkon one bit. And we want to help you. I mean, I’m not thrilled at the idea of going to Daibazaal, but if your friend Shiro is in trouble there … and if Pidge’s brother and dad are there, too … it kinda makes sense for us all to stick together. Plus, maybe Lance is right––maybe the talismans are some kinda clue, or could help us somehow.”

Hunk brought his rambling to a stop, glancing around at everyone as he waited for a response.

When no one else spoke, Lance cleared his throat. “Good point, Hunk. It seems like all the signs are pointing to us going to Daibazaal.” When he noticed Keith prickle at the words he continued, “We don’t need to make a decision right now––and obviously we’d need to work out the details, since we can’t just go waltzing into some high-security Galra prison or whatever.

“But if we’re gonna save Shiro and Pidge’s dad and brother, we all need to be on the same page. No more secrets between us, okay?”

After a moment of hesitation, the other three nodded.

“Good. Anyone need to lay anything else out on the table?”

There was a brief silence. Then Hunk blurted, “Lance and I used to be smugglers.”

“Hunk.”

“What? You’re the one who said no more secrets!”

“Wait––you what?” Keith said.

Lance sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was really stupid, okay? When we first left home, Hunk and I met this guy named Rolo at a trading outpost and he offered us a ton of gac to transport this mineral called scaultrite. We didn’t know at the time it was being used to make some kind of illegal explosives. But anyway, long story short … Rolo eventually got caught and ratted us out.”

“Oh,” Pidge said, her eyes widening with a sudden realization. “Is that why you were acting so weird in the marketplace when I met you guys? You thought someone was trailing you?”

“I wasn’t acting weird!” Lance huffed. “But, yeah. Some guy was watching me and talking into some kinda comm. It’s not the first time it’s happened.

“Anyway, our smuggling days are long gone. We gave it up as soon as we realized what was going on. On the bright side, we made enough money to buy Blue.” He patted the wall of the ship affectionately. “Plus, uh, we have bigger problems to worry about now that we’re wanted for harboring a runaway prince.”

No one seemed to disagree with that.

“So,” Lance went on. “Now that that’s out of the way, any last secrets anyone wants to share?”

Everyone looked around at each other, but nobody seemed to have any other hidden truths to divulge.

“Good, me either.” Lance held his hand out, palm facing the floor. “Team?”

Hunk nodded right away, stepping forward to put his hand over Lance’s. “Team.”

Pidge was the next to come forward, reaching up to place her small hand over Hunk’s. “Team.”

The three of them all turned towards Keith, who was staring down at their overlapping hands like he was witnessing some strange ritual he had never encountered before. When he noticed everyone watching him expectantly, though, he took a hesitant step forward.

Then, with a firm nod, he laid his hand over the others’. “Team,” he agreed.

Lance felt a surge of something in his veins then––an unshakable confidence that no matter what was going to happen, he had all the right people by his side. He was still looking at Keith, and despite the circumstances, he found himself smiling.

But what was perhaps was more surprising than that was that Keith was smiling timidly back.