"Could you maybe slow down before you get us both killed?" Lance shouted as he tightened his grip around Keith's waist. Keith's red jacket was billowing upwards in the wind slapping Lance repeatedly in the face as the two Paladins rode at a breakneck speed through the dense jungle. Lance had been opposed to the use of the small craft. It was roughly the size of an old fashioned Earthen motorcycle, though of course being Altean it hovered and was capable of moving at a velocity well beyond any Earthly vehicle could manage. This was a fact Keith seemed eager to prove as he steered the vehicle over rocks and fallen logs all the while dodging the fast approaching trees and vines which hung between them. Lance braced the forehead of his blue helmet against Keith's shoulder, he was afraid that if he looked up he would catch his head on a passing vine and that would be that - the end of Lance, the most beautiful and powerful Paladin the galaxy had ever seen.
"Not a chance." Keith smiled recklessly as he pressed his body forward leaning into the craft and urging the throttle open full bore. Keith felt hyper focused. As he raced under the canopy of the strange trees he felt the world melt away. Past and Future were replaced solely by the presence of Now; he hadn't felt this alive in weeks.
When they had explored the shuttle bay looking for a suitable craft Keith honed in on this alien bike. It was sleek with a simple steering mechanism and slightly flared bottom side, and it looked slightly dangerous, just the way he liked it. Keith didn't even care that the vehicle was clearly only built for one person. Shiro and Allura could order him around; tell him what to do and who to do it with, but this was a decision all his own. Growing up as a loner Keith was more comfortable with listening to his own advice than the orders of others. Lance kept trying to steer him towards a two person shuttle or even the Lions, but Keith was determined he was going to ride this machine.
The first thing they noticed upon opening the shuttle bay to the strange world outside was the humidity. The ship had landed on a rocky flat plane at the edge of a vast forest. On one side of the rocky outcrop the land dropped in a sharp cliff at the bottom of which laid a large misty valley filled with vegetation. Lance and Keith had started off in the direction opposite the cliff; down a gentle slope they descended into the jungle.
The trees were tall but fairly skinny, two grown people could easily reach around them and clasp hands. The bark appeared to occur in horizontal layers, though at the speed with which they were blazing through the forrest details like the texture of the bark went unnoticed by the two boys on the bike. Each tree spread out at the top with a large umbrella of long shiny green leaves. Near the base of the leaves were nestled clusters of yellow fruit. Thick dark green vines climbed up the tree trunks, wrapping themselves around the lower limbs of the trees and snaking across the forest like one long spider web.
Lance tightened his grip even further. The Paladin was mortally embarrassed that he had to ride like this sitting behind Keith. Why couldn't Keith had been reasonable and chosen a more suitable craft. Lance's death grip was beginning to hurt the driver. At first Keith could ignore his passenger, but at his current rate of body contact Keith was noticing his ribs start to hurt. Relenting slightly Keith eased back on the throttle and breathed with relief as Lance automatically loosened his grip. Wuss. Keith surmised. Any pilot worth their salt should have been thrilled with the speeds they were achieving. They had been riding for well over an hour now.
Keith straightened up on the seat and slowed considerably until he finally came to a stop. "W-what's wrong?" Lance stuttered, apparently winded from all the unnecessary screaming he had been doing. Keith stood and reached his arms up high, intertwining his fingers to enhance the stretch. The Red Paladin removed his helmet and placed it on the seat of the hoverbike. Keith shrugged in response to Lance's question. "Just wanted to stretch a bit. I've never seen so much green." Keith twisted to his left side and then to his right adjusting his spine after Lance had been hugging on it so tightly. Keith walked idly away from the bike and ran his hand over the bark of a nearby tree. The bark was fibrous and slightly scratchy, it reminded Keith of the shell of a coconut.
Lance also took the opportunity to stand. Removing his helmet he stared up at the vast canopy, craning his neck until he almost felt dizzy. Setting his helmet next to Keith's he too walked towards one of the trees. "Wow, it's like petting a possum." He mused with a blatantly idiotic grin as he stroked the bark.
"I'm not going to ask." Keith called out in warning. He knew by now that Lance was trying to bait him into some stupid conversation about his childhood or to make a bad joke. Keith was finally starting to unwind a bit and he was not in the mood for Lance's antics. He turned his back on his fellow Paladin and closed his eyes. Breathing deeply Keith could sense the planet. There was a rich dampness to the air which felt heavy but not oppressive. He could feel a faint cool breeze in the distance, perhaps the forest opened up somewhere nearby. There was also a distant rumbling of thunder. That suited Keith fine anyways, he was ready to head back soon. They had traveled quite some distance and while Keith had thoroughly enjoyed the ride he did not fancy getting stuck in some alien storm. "I suppose we should head back." Keith declared as he turned back to the bike.
Keith was surprised, and hated himself for being surprised. By now he should expect this. Lance had found some disgusting vine and was coiling it about his arm. The vine was a bright purple and appeared to be covered in a sheen of viscous slime. The vine was smooth and solidly built, Keith guessed it was probably a good eight inches thick at least. "What are you doing?" He finally asked as he put his helmet back on. He was not entirely sure if he wanted that question answered.
"I'm tired of goo. I want to take some of this back and see if it's edible." Lance explained as he gathered more of the long plant. "I just wish I brought a knife...I can't find an end to this."
Eager to end Lance's foolish quest Keith reached down into one of the pouches he always carried on his side and pulled out a sizeable pocket knife. Living on his own Keith had always thought he was prepared for anything. It turns out that he was prepared for nearly everything, but really who can predict giant robot space cats? "Here." Keith tossed the knife to Lance who clumsily caught it, dropping half of the vine as he did so. The vine made a wet plopping sound as it hit the forest floor.
"Thanks man." Lance acknowledged as he unfolded the knife and got to work sawing at its girth. The outer shell of the fine was tough, It took Lance a few moments to hack through, and when he did he was rewarded with one of the foulest smells he had encountered in his entire life. A thick black liquid began to ooze from the cut in the shell and brought with it the most malicious scent either boy had encountered. Lance immediately dropped the vine and pinched his nose. "Oh man, definitely not on the edible spectrum."
"Are you happy? Now come on." Keith grabbed a handkerchief from his other side pouch and slid it up over his face. Whatever Lance had discovered it smelled like a mixture of raw sewage and tar on a hot day. The scent even made his eyes water, it stung the air and attached itself viciously to the human's senses. Keith's annoyance level was rising back up. Why did Lance always have to mess around and break things?
"Yeah, yeah, ok." Lance complained as he wiped the ooze off of Keith's blade on nearby fern like plant and tossed the knife back to its owner. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. What's the hur-umpf!" Lance's voice cut out as he felt a thick coil wrap around his ankle and trip him unexpectedly. Surprised, Lance barely had time to stop his fall and ended up with a mouth full of dead leaves which thickly carpeted the ground. Lance shook his leg as he turned over on his back, trying to free himself from the tree root which he must of gotten tangled in. He tilted his head and scratched his scruffy brown hair, confusion clear on his face. When had the malodorous vine gotten wrapped around his leg? Lance kicked at the vine with his free foot a bit, but the more he kicked the tighter it seemed to grip. "Uh, Keith? Little help?"
The vine began to tremble and both boys heard a rustle coming from somewhere in the underbrush. It shook and wiggled and finally from a nearby bush the end of the vine came free; it popped up and hovered in the air. The movement of the purple mass had released Lance's foot. He stared dumbstruck up at it as a bulbous mass at the end of the vine turned towards the boys. There were three coal black spots on the top, the spots spun around in their sockets until they honed in on the humans with a beady black stare. Perhaps this wasn't a vine after all. Immediately below the primitive eyes was a gaping hole filled with long, curved yellow teeth. The creature widened its mouth, it's savage teeth dripping with foul smelling saliva, rattling as it released a shrill blood-curdling hiss.
"Yup! Time to go!" Lance concurred as he quickly got to his feet jumped towards the bike. The creature lunged for Lance, it's ferocious bite grazed his back ripping a long gash in his jacket. Without pausing to put on his helmet Lance assumed control of the driver's seat. His helmet was knocked off of the bike and fell to the ground, but Lance hardly noticed. Keith had no time to argue as the purple snake like creature stood up for another attack. "Floor it!" Keith commanded, sliding behind Lance just as the bike began to hover. Lance gunned the bike to full capacity. The attack vine was in pursuit. "It's gaining on us!" Keith watched with horror as the creature, who they could not see end from end, was fast pursuing them through the forest. It seemed to ricochet off of the trees as it moved, each strike sending a shower of loose bark flying as it bounced off and propelled forward ever faster. Lance leaned forward into the bike willing it to speed up.
The creature abruptly stopped the chase. Coiling around the midsection of a tree it hissed out a long piercing cry that struck both boys as incredibly erie. Lance glanced back over his shoulder to confirm that they were no longer being followed. "Hah, eat my dust alien space worm!" He shouted confidently. Keith felt uneasy, the thunder he had heard earlier seemed closer. It was almost deafening and one could feel the pressure of it in the air. Before he had a chance to say something the forest came to an end. The change happened so quickly it caught them both off guard and Lance had no chance to apply any flying maneuvers. They careened off of a cliff and found themselves falling into a deep abyss.
It looked like there was a hole in the planet wide enough to put eight Castles side by side and incalculably deep. From every direction rivers flowing out of the jungle poured into this hole. The air was filled with cool sprays of water the massive waterfalls churned into this deep pit. There was no chance to scream or call for help, there was no way to even hear each other. The seemed weightless as they free-falled into the pit. Keith closed his eyes and braced himself, holding tightly onto Lance as they dove straight down into the dark and tormentalous waters. The rumble of the waterfalls filled his head as the cold darkness swallowed them whole.
