So this is basically the very beginning of episode 1, but with Night Vale Keith. Keith rescues Shiro, and meets the garrison trio. Also, mildly sentient granola bars

Keith sat on the couch in his shack, recounting his explosives. He had to be prepared for...whatever was going to happen tonight. His feelings and theories just couldn't be wrong though. It was something his uncles had instilled in him. Strange feelings were always to be trusted without question.

He stood, shouldered his bag, and walked out to his bike. Keith wondered what could be arriving tonight as he flew. A comet? Aliens? Or…no. It couldn't be him. He shouldn't dare to dream about that. Focus on the mission. Victory or death.

"Woah," Keith muttered to himself as he parked his bike. "Where did that thought come from?" He shrugged it off and planted the bombs. Nothing too harmful, but the perfect distraction-a variety only sold in his hometown, that seemed real from a distance, but up close you could see the multicolored, carnivorous popcorn popping. Rechecking the positioning one last time, he called it good and drove off to where he knew the landing would be.

"Right on time," Keith muttered to himself as he watched the ship crash to the earth. He adjusted his mask and waited for the opportune moment. Garrison professors and soldiers began to swarm the area faster than Keith had anticipated, and he grimaced. He'd always felt uncomfortable around them, as they reminded him of a watered-down version of The Vague, Yet Menacing Government Agency. If your going to be sinister, at least go full out. He would wait until the caravan of high-tech vehicles stopped coming. Then he'd detonate.

The plan went off without a hitch-everyone went to examine his distraction, leaving only a few med techs in Keith's way. After punching his way through, an unexpected sight left him breathless.

"Shiro?"

The man Keith had long considered a brother, who'd been lost in space for a year, was lying unconscious in front of him. The one person who Keith hadn't dreamed of seeing here. Immediately, Keith cut through the bindings with his mother's knife and hoisted Shiro up. He turned to leave.

"Nope! Nope nope nope, I'm saving Shiro!" Keith vaguely recognized the speaker, a kid his age with tanned skin like his Uncle Carlos' and bright blue eyes. He was flanked by two other cadets.

"Um," Keith asked, a little taken aback, "who are you?"

"Uh, the name's Lance!" Keith still couldn't place him. "We're rivals! Ya know, 'Lance and Keith, neck and neck'!"

They had been in the same class…"Oh, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."

Lance looked offended. "Not anymore!"

"Cargo pilot is nothing to be ashamed of," Keith said as they helped Shiro to the bike. "You need to be brave to tackle those beasts, especially when their poison glands grow in."

The taller boy seemed confused, like he wanted to ask some questions, but another boy(what was his name? Harry? Hunter?) yelped "They're coming back! Mind if we catch a ride with you?"

Keith rolled his eyes and mounted, followed by everyone else. He drove off, pursuit hot on their tail. He was immediately reminded of the time he his friends had broken into the library for fun and had almost got eaten by the Librarians. The stakes weren't as high, but Keith knew how he could lose the chasers.

He took a hard right, trying to ignore how loud everyone was screaming. He found a suitable cliff (coincidentally, The one Shiro himself had taught him how to dive off of), And, just like jumping into the ravine behind the library on his cousin's wheelchair, complete with screams of terror, Keith dove, pulling up just in time to keep from killing everyone.

After parking, he and a shaken up Lance had helped Shiro onto the couch. When the older man woke, Keith gently launched himself at him, and Shiro gasped.

"Keith! What...where?"

"We rescued you!" Keith murmured cheerfully. This was the happiest he had been for a long time. He handed Shiro some clothes. "I think these were my dad's," Keith explained, "they should fit."

Shiro nodded and changed out of the weird clothing. Keith went to grab some granola bars for his friend. When he went off to school, his uncle's had sent him a care package with a lifetime supply of granola bars from The Ralph's, Keith's favorite snack. He also offered some to the other kids.

"I've never seen this brand before," Hunk said, taking a few.

Keith shrugged, and went to go find Shiro. They talked a little, then went inside to find the garrison trio wreaking havoc.

"What, in the name of the Almighty Glow Cloud (All Hail), is going on in here!?"

"THE GRANOLA BAR BIT ME!" Lance shrieked.

"You just have to assert your dominance," Keith said, annoyed. He grabbed the snack by its purple wrapper, growled at it, then tore off a chunk with his teeth. Some people. It's like they've never seen a mildly sentient granola bar.

All three of the cadets started chattering at once. They were worse than the Whispering Forest. Lance was nearly screaming about "the devil food", Hunk was babbling about "why does the food have fangs!? This is the most terrifying thing that's ever happened!", and Pidge was rattling off just how "scientifically improbable it was that a foodstuff could gain sentience".

"CADETS!" Shiro had to yell to be heard, using what Keith had dubbed The Dad Voice™. The Trio froze, then straightened at Attention. "I know that was exciting-"

"More like terrifying," Hunk mumbled.

"Everything is exciting," Keith countered, "Particularly existence. Existence is the most exciting fact of all."

"BUT, we can't freak out right now. Keith has something to show us."

there ya go. Thanks for all the support!

RN