One year latter….

The hover bikes zoomed across the Altean fields. The land bared a slight resemblance to the deserts back on earth, or at least in structure, but had a diverse variety of flowers and plants growing from all around. The same went for the trees, which were large in scale, but also slim, almost like the trees found in Africa ten thousand years ago. Over the centuries, humans had migrated to Altea, where the vast majority of the population resided. Over time, the alien world began to resemble earth more and more, aside from the alien creatures and a few descendants of the earth's original animals. It was one of the few remaining planets which had not been conquered by the Galra, and they hoped to keep it that way.

A few Garrison students were having a hover bike race, which was a common activity in Altea. They students were mostly having these races out in the open fields, not too far off from the Garrison itself. A boy in a blue colored hover bike grinned mischievously as he cut through the curve, overlapping his opponent.

"Come on, Rolo. I've had turtles that move faster than you!" he laughed, his short brown hair flapping in the wind.

The purple alien gave a sly grin and rammed the side of his bike to the blue one. The driver managed to regain his balance at the last minute. "Dude, that's not cool!"

"Aw, come on, Lance. We're your competitive spirit?" Rolo taunted.

"Oh, so you want some competition, huh? And here I thought we were having a friendly race. In that case." Lance revved up his engine at full throttle and zoomed forward, past Rolo. He clenched his jaw and accelerated his speed. The sound of the roaring engine was like music to his ears.

A small triangle shaped floating device hovered over the racers, floating around them, its circular lance recording every detail. Back at the Garrison, just outside the building, various students surrounded a human fourteen-year-old girl with orange red hair and ember eyes wearing glasses, holding a techpad in her hand. From her screen, they could see the racers in high definition.

"Looks like Lance just past Rolo." she said. The moment she did, another student, a rather, large young man, with dark skin and dark chocolate colored hair. He wore a yellow bandana around his forehead most of the time.

"Oh man, he's not gonna be too happy about that." he said, smiling proudly, "Make him eat space dust, Lance!" he shouted, practically blowing off the girl's eardrums.

She angrily shoved him to the side. "Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm, Hunk. I'll send you the bill for my new hearing aid." she said, wiggling her finger into her ear.

"Sorry, Pidge."

When the camera came to Lance, he waved and winked flirtatiously, "Sup, ladies!" he said. Some of the female students swooned and blushed. The girl holding the screen only rolled her eyes.

Back on the fields, Keith watched the racers go by from where he stood. His hover bike resided on a nearby hill, looking down on the pathway where the racers zoomed by. He smiled and placed his helmet on his head, revved up his engine and speeded down the hill towards the race. Rolo's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar red bike, and a mullet, suddenly seamlessly ease his way into their race.

Lance, on the other hand offered the new racer a high five. "Welcome to the party, Keith!"

"Thanks for the invite!"

"Are you kidding me?" Rolo exclaimed in frustration. He shook his head, "You just can't give it a rest, can you half-breed?"

"Let's hope you can race faster than you can talk." Keith taunted, right before speeding ahead.

Lance gave a haughty laugh, "Ha! Burn!" he said and caught up with Keith. His smile quickly melting into a frown, "You know, you really gotta work on your trash talk skills, man."

Back at the Garrison, the students either groaned or booed in frustration. "What's that mutt doing?" one student asked.

"He's at it again?"

"He'll ruin the race!"

"Mind your own business, Galra trash!"

Pidge and Hunk ignored their bigotry and proceeded to watch the race. From the looks of things, Keith was now in the lead, only passing lance by a head. Rolo clenched his jaw tighter. There was no way he was going to lose to that Galra. The race proceeded across the ridge, leaping over rocks and lakes. Keith's heart rate accelerated. There was nothing he loved more than speeding across the wide open space. With the right amount of imagination, one could almost compare this to flying out in space.

He laughed as he zoomed his bike, looking back to see Rolo right behind him. Lance was still a few feet behind, but he too laughed alongside his friend. While Lance often enjoyed winning, seeing Rolo get a taste of his own medicine felt like a prize all on its own.

Keith let out a loud "Woo-hoo!" as he was lifted into the air once he leaped over a small hill and over a pond. Once he landed onto the other side, Keith noticed at the corner of his eye that another mysterious biker had also joined the race. Odd, where was this person at the start of the race? And, his bike certainly didn't look like Garrison tech. As the newcomer came in closer, he realized that this stranger was actually female. She wore a full body white color jumpsuit with blue black and pink outlines, and a helmet that covered her entire face, leaving only her eyes visible.

"Who's that?" Keith asked.

"No idea." Lance replied.

The mysterious stranger revved up her bike and speeded right back Keith and Lance, causing the dust to rise upwards, nearly blinding the two.

"Hey!" they exclaimed in unison.

Keith wiped the dust from his helmet. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play."

Lance arched an eyebrow to see Keith speed off, right past Lance and the others, catching up to the mystery racer. Rolo finally managed to catch up to Lance, cutting his way through. "Who's ahead now, Martinez?"

"Still not you." Lance taunted, nodding his head forward towards Keith and the new racer. Rolo narrowed his eyes in anger and ambition.

The triangle shaped floating robot suddenly shifted his attention from the actual racers to Keith and the mystery racer. "Who's that?" Pidge asked, "I've never seen her before."

"Maybe she's a new student?" Hunk asked.

"Then why isn't she using one of the Garrison hover bikes?"

"No idea. But whoever she is, she's definitely got Keith a run for his money."

Hunk could not be more right. Keith had seen many skilled racers, and even if everyone else refused to admit it, he had managed to best most of them in speed. But this racer, she was somehow on the same level as him. Not on the exact same level, but surprisingly close. The two were now ahead of the others, nearing the finish line at the Garrison. Students booed upon seeing Keith coming in closer.

The mysterious racer turned her head towards Keith, who kept on a stern and focused look on his face. But, even underneath his helmet, she could see a traces of sadness and hurt. Her blue eyes softened and, to Keith's surprise, she suddenly turned away, ridding off from the area, away from the racer and the Garrison.

Keith looked on in confusion. "Hey, wait!" he call out, but it was already too late.

"Go, Keith!" Hunk called out, cheering him on. "You're almost there."

Keith returned his attention back to the race. Lance managed to cat up to him, smiling proudly. "You're almost there buddy. You've got this."

Keith nodded in gratitude and picked up speed. He completely ignored the angry cries of everybody else, the sound of the revving engine filled his ears. Unfortunately, he was a tad too caught up in the moment to notice Rolo rush to his side, collide his bike with Keith's, which in turn collided with Lance. The two friends screamed as they were tossed off their bikes and rolled onto the ground while Rolo took the finish line for himself. The students cheered him on, save for Hunk and Pidge who rushed to help their companions. The pyramid hovering robot floated towards them.

Rolo removed his helmet, smiling victoriously while waving to his audience. "Hold the phone!" Lance called out from behind Rolo, getting his attention. "You can't take this win, you knocked us over!"

"All's fair in war and races, Martinez."

"You only cheated because Keith was about to beat you!" Pidge called out in frustration.

Rolo laughed, "That mutt? For all I know, he would have done the exact same thing." he said, speaking in a low, almost threatening voice as he approached Keith. The two narrowed their eyes sternly. "You Galra are known for fighting dirty." Rolo said, his face inches away from Keith to the point he could smell the purple alien's bad breath.

"Leave him alone, Rolo!" Lance intervened, stepping in between the two. "Keith would never do anything like that."

"Quit fooling yourself, Martinez. It won't be long before he stabs all three of you in the back. Literally."

Keith's face tensed, his hands closed into tight fists while his friends stood in front of him before Rolo. "The only backstair around here, is you!" Hunk exclaimed, pointing his finger at Rolo's chest, only to have the alien rise his clawed hand upward and Hunk reeled back cowardly.

Rolo simply scoffed, "It's your funeral. Don't say I didn't warn you." with that, he turned away, returning his attention to his fans. Lance, Hunk and Pidge stared daggers at the alien.

"Don't listen to him, Keith." Lance said, turning around to see that the raven haired boy was no longer standing behind them, but rather had boarded onto his bike and rode off from the scene. "Keith!"

The three friends stood there, watching in silence as their friend rode off on his own. The hovering robot approached Pidge, who gently rubbed it's side. "It's okay, Rover."

While Keith rode off, the mysterious racer watched him from afar. As much as she wished she could, she couldn't finish the race with the others. Besides, she didn't even go to the Garrison. Removing her helmet, she allowed her long silvery hair to bellow in the wind. Her blue eyes locked on the poor boy who disappeared into the distance.

(~)

Allura breathed in a sigh of relief once she parked her bike in the garage. In her quarters, she had chanced back into her typical daily princess blue, white and pink gown and slipped out of her room, acting casual. She made sure to wear some extra perfume to mask the smell of motor oil and sweat.

"Allura!" a voce called out. An older Altean male approached the princess, panting once he reached her. "Oh, thank goodness you're back! I thought you got lost! Or worse, that somebody spotted you!"

"Coran, calm down. I know these fields like the back of my hand. And nobody saw me."

"Are you sure? Because you know how your father feels about you going off to race with the Garrison students."

"I don't understand what the problem is. It was just a harmless race." Allura frowned. "Besides, It's not like I snuck into the building, stole a ship and flew off into space."

"Yeah…but you still wish you could." Coran said, his voice softening. Allura sighed sadly, looking downwards. "How long are you going to keep doing this. It's far too dangerous."

"I was perfectly safe, Coran." Allura protested.

"I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about me! I can't keep lying to your father, they have laws against that!"

Allura softly shook her head and kindly patted Coran on the back, "Come along, now. I'll make you some tea. It'll calm your nerves."

"Thank you, Princess."

(~)

Keith angrily tossed his helmet to the wooden floor of his shack. The young boy lived in a small one in the outskirts of town. It was a tad dryer where he was, but there were still field of the famous Altean flowers all around. He sat on the front porch, sighing and hanging his head dejectedly.

A small lateen coyote pup popped his head from behind Keith, jumped onto his lap and started licking his face. Immediately, Keith smiled and laughed at the ticklish sensation of the coyote locking his cheek. "Ha, ha! Okay, good to see you too, Balto. Down, boy."

The little pup curled in his lap and sat down, still panting happily while Keith petted his head. Balto was a small gray/blue colored pup with light purple irises with darker purple pupils and scalera. Keith named him Balto, after the famous siberian husky from earth.

Keith pulled out a dagger from his back pocket, the same one he had carried his entire life since his mother passed away, as well as his step-father. Who was, in reality, more of a real father to him than his biological one ever was. He wasn't even ashamed of never having known him. Even if they had met, no doubt he would have wanted nothing to do with him.

He looked down at the flowers around him. His mind drifted off to memories of the past. Where he would often see his mother picking these flowers for her vases inside the house. The small shack always smelled like sweet candies because of those flowers. While his mother was preparing dinner, Keith's father would often be playing with him and Shiro. Despite sharing different fathers, the two brothers were as close as two peas in a pod.

Shiro was the one who first taught Keith how to defend himself. When they were younger, Keith would often pout about not being as good as Shiro. But the older brother never once made fun of him for that.

"Come on, let's try again." he would often say.

"Why bother?" Keith asked, "I'm just going to lose again."

"Well, you will if you stay down. One more time and I promise we'll stop."

Keith eventually complied, and just when he felt he was close to loosing again, something inside of him ignited and he managed t best his brother by knocking him down in a single swoop. Keith panted, feeling an insane rush of adrenaline, only to suddenly reel back in terror. Shiro dusted himself off, smiling proudly.

"That was amazing! I knew you could do it!" he said. But Keith curled up into a fettle position on the ground. "Keith, what's wrong?"

"I could have hurt you." he said. "I felt…my other side come out. It scared me."

Shiro sat down beside him, wrapping his arm around the frightened boy. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

"Everybody else is afraid of me."

"That's because they don't know you."

"No. It's because I'm Galra! How do I know I'm different from those monsters?"

"You may be half Galra, but you're also half human. It doesn't matter what's in your blood, it's who you are that counts. Nobody decides who you are. Only you can decide who you become. So, who do you want to be?"

Keith thought about it for a moment. He looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun was setting over the horizon. The sky was slowly darkening, allowing for the stars to appear one by one. A smile formed across Keith's face. "I want to be a pilot. I want to go out into space and save the universe like the Guardians do!"

Shiro laughed softly, "Well, looks like we've got the same dream."

"But, can I be a pilot? Even though…I'm…"

"Of course you will. You're going to do great things someday. I have no doubt."

Keith smiled and hugged his brother. Shiro then ruffled his hair and the two raced back inside when their mother called them for dinner.

It had been over a year since Shiro had left, and not a day went by that he didn't think of him. After his mother had died due to illness when Keith was fourteen, and his father died in an accident no more than two years after that, it was just him and Shiro. Keith was always an independent soul, able to fend for himself without help from anyone, and was somewhat of an introvert, preferring some quiet serenity over too much noise, but even he sometimes grew tired of too much silence and solitude. He had his friends, but they were often studying at the Garrison, and the only times when he could see them was during their free time.

So, as expected, Keith spent most of his time alone, with only Balto as company.

"Hey, Keith!" a voice called out from nearby. The raven haired boy looked up to see Lance arrive on his bike, with Hunk and Pidge ridding behind him. Lance was the first to get off and approach his friend. "Listen, about what happened down there with Rolo, we-"

"It's okay, Lance." Keith interrupted. "He was right. I shouldn't have even been in that race. Even if I did win it wouldn't have mattered. They'd probably hate me more than they already did."

"No, it's my fault." Lance said with regret. "I was the one who invited you in the first place. I just know how much you love racing and since, you know, you can't study at the Garrison now I just thought-."

"And I apreciate it, really." Keith said with sincerity, though due to his often stoic demeanor, his sincerity did sometimes come off as a dad dry. Thankfully, his friends new him better. "Guys, I'm fine. It's not like I'm not used to it by now."

"I still think it's stupid." Pidge said, crossing her arms, "I mean, Keith is the fastest pilot I know. The Garrison would kill for someone like him."

"Well, he did kind of did go on a blind rampage, attacked Rolo and the Commander said they'd never enroll a Galra into the Garrison." Hunk pointed out…only to receive some very, very nasty looks from both Lance and Pidge.

"It wasn't Keith's fault! Rolo was the one who started it for talking trash about his mom!"

Keith remembered that day. His terrifying strength and aggressive nature in battle deemed him far too unpredictable and unstable to be disciplined. A true Galra in the eyes of many. His only chance of becoming a pilot had long since flown right out the window before he even had a chance to walk through the door.

Pidge then realized what she had just said. She had briefly forgotten how sensitive Keith was about the topic of his mother. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Guys, it's fine." Keith replied, forcing a smile. "Like I said, I'm used to it. You don't have to sugarcoat anything for me. I'm not some little kid you can protect."

"He's got a point." Lance said, wrapping his arm around Keith, "Tell you what, how's about we put all this behind us and the four of us hit the town tonight? Get some drinks, catch a movie. I know a supper cute girl at this cafe, I could hook you up with one of her friends."

Keith chuckled nervously and stepped back, removing his friend's arm. "As tempting as that sound, I think I'll pass. I'm not in the mood to be around…large crowds."

"Okay, okay, dully noted. Or we could just play some video games and watch a home movie."

Hunk rose his hand enthusiastically. "Oh, I'll bring snacks!"

"I'll bring the games!" Pidge rose her hand.

"I'll bring the movie!" Lance rose his hand, "How do you feel about musicals?"

Keith laughed at his friends' enthusiasm, "Alright, fine. Why not?"

"Great. We'll see ya after class is over."

"Catch ya latter, Keith!" Hunk waved farewell, as did Pidge and the three rode off on Lance's bike, leaving Keith back to just him and Balto.

He squatted down and petted the dog's head. "Better clean the place us, boy." he said. Keith went back inside. As small as this place was, it was rather unkept. The shack consisted of a couch, a table and an old television set, but it still worked. Once he proceeded to spruce up the place, he came across a photograph of him and Shiro. It was on the day of the launch. The older brother was ruffling Keith's hair, something that always annoyed him, but over time he had actually come to miss it. It was just Shiro affectionate way of showing he cared.

The rest of his wall was filled with news paper articles about heroic pilots who managed to win several battles against the Galra. Some had statues commemorated for their greatness, while others were pictures of ships, sleek and sophisticated machinery that Keith would give just about anything to fly on.

It was so hard for him to both look at them, but also hard to look away. He knew nobody would even allow him to become an official pilot, but he refused to stop trying to fight for that goal, even if nobody else would want him to be a pilot due to what he was.

It as a noble pursuit, but also exhausting. There had been times where he wondered if it was easier to just accept the reality of the situation and search for something else. A thought the fiery ambitious spirit within him refused to accept.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Balto accidentally made his father's old wooden guitar fall. The soft strumming sound filled the small shack. Keith gently picked up the instrument and strummed on its cords. Music somehow managed to always calm the ragging beast within him.

(~)

Allura adored the soft music of the Altean love birds. The princess retreated to the royal garden to spend some time with the animals. Four Altean mice happily ate the treats she held for him in her hand. The sweet sugary smell of the Altean flower filled her nostrils. This was her mother's favorite place in the entire castle.

A new presence had entered the castle, making Allura look up. "Oh, Father. You're home."

Allura's father, King Alfor, was a strong-looking Altean man with copper skin, identical to his daughter's. His hair was snow white, as was his beard. Like her, he too had pink markings under the side of his eyes, except his were blue instead of pink. His eyes were ice blue, just like Allura's. He wore a full metal armor with neon blue trimmings, and a long blue cape.

"Hello, Allura. How was your day?"

"It was alright."

"Anything interesting."

"Not particularly. I mean, aside from your council meeting nothing much else happened today."

"Really? I thought, maybe you would find something entertaining to do while I was gone."

Allura shrugged her shoulders casually, "I guess it was just one of those lazy days."

"I suppose." King Alfor said as he approached the aviary where the birds were. One willingly landed on his finger and he gently stroke its soft feathers. "You know, while I was there heard that the Garrison students were having an unauthorized race today."

Allura's body froze for a split second. Her back was to her father, keeping her focus on the mice. "Did they?"

"They also said something about a mysterious racer suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and then suddenly disappeared." The king said. The princess kept her composure, though her heart was pounding.

"I'm surprised you'd be interested in something like that." Allura said, "It's just students having a bit of fun. Didn't you used to do those races when you were young?"

"Yes. But, at least I had the discipline to ask my father before doing such a reckless act." his voice became hard and somewhat cold.

Allura knew she had been discovered. She sighed, sat back and and faced her father. "If I had asked you, you would have said no."

"And with good reason." Alfor replied sternly. His eyes quickly softened and placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Allura, you know why I don't feel comfortable you participating in these types of events."

"Because you don't believe I can handle myself?"

"No, because I know you. I know you do this as an outlet to fuel your desire to pilot a ship."

"And what's so wrong about that?" Allura's voice rose in volume. "You used to be a pilot once, as was mother! You both fought in the war against Zarkon, you didn't just sit in a castle doing paperwork and attend ceremonies, you actually did something!"

"And that is exactly how I lost your mother! These people need someone to lead them! Our family gives them hope, you will be of no use to your people if you are dead!" the King's anger flared. Allura was silent. The bird had ceased their singing, and the mice had hidden themselves in a nearby flower pot. Alfor took in slow deep breaths, his eyes and expression softening. "One day, the throne will be yours. These people will look to you for hope."Alfor placed his hand on her shoulder. "You don't know the things I have seen, Allura. How many lives I had failed to save, including your mother's. I don't want to lose you too."

"I just don't believe it's fair that countless people are risking their lives and we aren't." Allura said.

"You're still young. When you're older, you will understand."

Allura did not say a word. She turned her head away from her father, her eyes stern and cold. Alfor sighed and left her be. Just like her mother, he knew it was wise to allow her to be on her own to think things through. The birds sang their soft song once more, while Keith continued to strum on his guitar.

(~)