Let me know if it's awful, terrible, adequate, or some-what good. :p

Chapter 3: Cheeseburger Backpack

Keith was sitting on a rock (it was the tail of the lion statue) waiting for the mailman to bring him a package. "Keith!"

Startled, Keith fell off the tail and crashed into the ground. He rubbed his head and blinked a couple of times before he noticed the small man in front of him. His was wearing a mailman uniform, and a big smile. "Good morning, Keith," the mailman, Klaizap, said respectfully.

"Do you have a package for me?" said Keith, skipping the formalities.

"Yes, actually. Let me find it," Klaizap replied. He rummaged through his pack, pulling out a bunch of letters, a box shaped like a loaf of bread, and even a weapon that resembled a swordfish nose. Then finally, he pulled out a large box labeled Wacky Sacks. "Here it is, Keith." said Klaizap. He read the label on the box before handing it over to Keith. "Why do you need a 'wacky sack?'"

"It's going to help me save the world." Keith said simply, before running back to the front of the temple. Klaizap smiled at Keith's antics. Then his face turned pale.

"Wait, I need a signature! If I don't get one, Zethrid will yell at me!"

...

Keith walked into his house with one of his rare smiles on his face. Though finding his living room covered in feathers dampened his mood. "Hello Keith," Blue said. Her hair had a bunch of feathers in it.

"Hunk, we don't need that! It won't fit in the fridge!" Shiro scolded. Hunk was trying to get what looked like a giant egg into the fridge. "Calm down, Shiro. I have this." replied Hunk.

The egg was at least two feet tall. The only way to fit the egg in would be to take everything else out of the fridge. So it came as no surprise when Hunk dumped everything in the fridge on the floor and set the egg inside. "Look, it fits!" he cried in triumph. Then, he slammed the fridge door shut and the sound of the egg breaking proved that the egg could not fit in the fridge. Hunk was totally unfazed by it though.

"We could make a giant omelet, or quiche, or sunny-side up…" Hunk continued to rant.

"We fought a giant bird." Shiro explained. "We can only stay for a second. We got to go back out."

"Why? What's going on?" Keith questioned.

"We need to place this," Shiro held up a small statue of a woman holding up a large diamond, "moon goddess statue on top of the Lunar Sea Spire by midnight, or the whole place will fall down." Shiro then smiled, "The Spire was an oasis for gems on Earth." As he said this, a hologram projected from the pearl on his forehead. It was of a large tower, surrounded by a waterfall. "It's abandoned now, but we can still save it with this." Shiro once again held up the statue.

Keith felt another rare smile creep up on his face. "I can carry it for you guys, in this."

He opened the wacky sack box, and pulled out a backpack that was shaped like a cheeseburger. Everyone stared blankly. "A hamburger?" said Shiro.

"It's a backpack. You know? For carrying stuff? On you back?" replied Keith.

The others continued to stare blankly. "Look, I know you don't think I should come on missions because I can't control the powers in my gem. But there are other ways I can help!" Keith said.

"With a hamburger?" Hunk asked.

"Keith… This is important gem business." said Shiro.

"I'm a gem!" Keith cried angrily. He lifted up his sweatshirt, showing the others his gem.

"Yes, you are. But you still have a lot to learn." Shiro told him.

"So you should let him come." Hunk wrapped his arms around Keith. "It'll be educational!"

Shiro looked between them. "Alright." He caved. "You can carry it in your hamburger."

Keith flushed. "Wait, let me pack extra supplies."

...

No matter how many times he did it, Keith could not figure out warp traveling. He often found himself floating and bouncing around in the warp stream. But it was faster than taking a boat.

When they made it to the Sea Spire, the first thing he noticed was that the warp pad was on a cliff next to the seaspire. After taking that in, Keith noticed the Sea Spire. It was tall, and elegant. But it was run down.

Kind of like the ruins in Rome.

"Blue, what's the status of the place?" asked Shiro.

Blue looked around. "I'm sensing structural instability." she replied. That's never good. Keith thought. Then he heard a cracking sound.

He looked down. Before he could register that the section of ground he was standing on was collapsing, Shiro had already grabbed onto him and yanked him to safety.

"Alright! We're taking Keith back!" Shiro screamed this as he wrapped Keith up tightly in a hug. Then a noise came from his backpack. "Ring around the rosie," Keith pulled out a doll. "I might have accidentally brought the Rosalyn doll." Keith muttered, with his signature blush across his face.

Blue smirked. "Accidentally?"

"Keith." Shiro used his stern voice. "I'm not sure you can handle this."

'I can!" Keith defended.

"We should get going." Blue cut in.

Shiro looked at her for a second. "Right. Let's go."

…

The first obstacle they came across was the cliff. The space between the Spire and cliff didn't seem that wide. Hunk choice to voice that fact. "Can't we just jump across?"

"No. The magic that sustains the whirlpool creates a vortex that would pull us below." Blue demonstrated by throw a giant rock across. Halfway to the other side it stopped in midair, and fell into the water.

"So we can't jump?" asked Shiro.

A little light bulb went off in Keith head. He pulled a couple of sweaters out of his backpack. Everyone stared at him funny. "What are those for?" Hunk asked.

"They were for keeping warm." Keith replied.

Then, when he was sure the knot was secure, Keith ran right past the Paladins, straight for the cliff. He slung one end of his sweater rope around a pillar and jumped right off the edge.

"Keith!" Shiro cried out in alarm. Keith could feel the strength of the magic pulling him down.

"He getting sucked in!" Hunk yelped.

But Keith wouldn't give up. He made a stronger grip on the sweaters, and slung himself over to the wall of the Sea Spire. He then ran/climbed up it with all the strength he had. As soon as he made it to safety, he let out a relieved sigh. "Nice one Keith!" He heard Hunk call out.

Hunk then brought his gun out, and removed one of his capturing nets from the ammunition pocket of the gun. "Grab on!" He told the other two Paladins. They did, and Hunk wrapped part of the net around the pillar and got them all over there in the same way Keith had.

As soon as they were all in the Sea Spire, Shiro practically screeched, "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry," Keith mumbled. Blue ruffled his mullet, which annoyed him to an explainable amount, Hunk gave him a one-armed hug, and when he let go, Shiro came up to Keith's side. "That was… pretty great." He complemented.

And for a record of three times in one day, Keith smiled.

…

If I had a dollar for everytime Shiro has complained about the state of this place…

As much as he loved and respected Shiro, Keith was really starting to get annoyed.

"This used to have a head." Shiro was pointing at a statue.

They were near a little break in the long set of stair they had to climb. It had decorative states and pillars all over.

"Don't worry Keith. Once we put the statue back in place, it'll restore all this to its former glory." Shiro smiled. Then he screamed, and sliced the statue he had pointed at right in half with his laser gauntlet.

There had been some kind of green and pink slug on it. Why is Shiro so scared of a little slug?

"Crystal shrimp." Shiro muttered.

"You guys!" Hunk called out from the top of the stairs.

Keith and Shiro ran up to meet them. In front of them was a large room, with more of those crystal shrimp things all over the floor. "It's an infestation." Blue pointed out.

"And we have to go through here to get to the top." agreed Shiro. Just past the open room was another staircase.

"Alright, here's the plan." Shiro's gem glowed, and a hologram of Hunk came from it. "If Hunk sneaks around to the side and distracts them with a sneak attack…" Then the hologram shifted to looking like Blue. "And Blue, if you move to the ceiling, and strike," Shiro made an extra hologram in the shape of an X, "this exact spot. Then I can advance with my-"

Before Shiro could finish his explanation of his plan, Keith put two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

"Dinner time!" He called out. He threw two sandwiches in opposite directions, and all the shrimp scurried over to try and eat one or the other.

Blue smiled, "Brilliant." she said. Keith turned red.

Shiro was baffled. "How did you know that would work?"

Keith turned even redder. "Well, if I were a shrimp, t-that's what I'd do."

Hunk laughed. "You are a shrimp" he told Keith affectionately.

The four Paladins then snuck past the feasting parasites, and made their way up the stairs.

"I just want everyone to know, my plan would have also worked." Shiro said as-a-matter-of-factly.

…

As they continued their journey, they came across a hallway with several alcoves in it.

This room is probably the worst wrecked we've seen so far. Keith thought.

"Watch out!" Blue suddenly screamed, stopping everyone dead in their tracks.

Just then, one of the alcoves exploded, and a rush of water came pouring out, blocking their path.

"What are we going to do?" Hunk asked. Everyone turned to Keith.

Keith noticed the stares.

"What, me?" he asked sarcastically.

"What have you got?" Blue asked, her voice completely serious. Keith blushed for what must have been the fifteenth time that night. He pretty much became a tomato and both Hunk and Shiro started chanting "Cheeseburger backpack" under their breaths.

"Will this work?" he asked after pulling out what looked to be an inflatable raft. Blue and Hunk gave small gasps of shock and approval, while Shiro said, "Keith, that's so smart!"

At least it was smart until Keith inflated it and chucked it into the rush, Making it get swept out of the room and into the ocean outside. "Crap." Keith murmured.

Behind him, Blue had already found another solution to crossing. She kicked the support out from under a column and then elbowed the pillar so that it would fall across to the other side of the river. "It was a good idea anyway, Keith." she told him as they walked across.

"They can't all be winners." agreed Hunk.

…

When they finally made it to the top, Keith got a full view of the surrounding sea. And boy was it gorgeous.

"Here it is; the Moon Goddess Pedestal." as he said this, Shiro pointed at the large altar in front of them. "It's not too late to save this place."

"Keith, the statue." commanded Blue. Keith nodded, and looked through his backpack. Then he looked again. And again. It's not here. He paled.

"What's the holdup?" asked Hunk.

"I don't have it. I must have left it on the bed." Keith admitted. The Paladins gasped. Shiro turned to the moon. "There's no time," he breathed.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Keith rummaged through his backpack, and pulled out the old Rosalyn doll.

"Could that work?" asked Hunk.

Blue and Shiro exchanged looks, before they both just shrugged.

Keith walked over to the pedestal, and placed the doll on it.

Everyone held their breaths. The moon lined up with the pedestal, and its light created a beam that slowly began to lift up the Rosalyn doll. But, the doll was not a magic statue, so it exploded, and the Sea Spire began to collapse all around the four Paladins.

"Stand together." said Blue, right as Hunk crashed into her and made her fall down.

Shiro called out Keith's name, and tried to grab him, but Keith to far away from the others, and the ocean was coming all to quickly to crush them.

…

Keith surfaced, and took several deep breaths. He looked around. Where were the others? Were they okay?

Shiro, Hunk, and Blue's heads broke the surface. A very large blush made its way across Keith's face.

"I'm sorry. I ruined the whole mission." Keith said. Why am I so useless?

Shiro flushed. "No, no, Keith!" he told him. "The Seaspire was falling apart when we got here!" Then he smiled. "You worked well under pressure. You did great!"

"Yeah!" Hunk chimed in. "2 out of 4 of your ideas worked! That's 50%!"

Keith looked between the two of them. "I guess you're right." he conceded. "They can't all be winners."

But then, the four Paladins heard a bubbling sound, and they all turned their heads towards it. The inflatable raft from earlier surfaced.

"Yes!" Keith whisper shouted, pumping down one of his fists.

The Paladins all climbed in and got comfy.

"It's a three hour paddle home." Blue spoke. Crap.

Everyone traded exasperated looks.

Keith pulled a plastic bag out of his backpack. "Anyone want a wet bagel?"