James put a hand on Ina's wrist and asked, "Do you really need to study this any longer? You memorized the entire district a week ago."

Ina's eyes flicked over the map, her concentration never staying in the same place more than a few milliseconds. James put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to look at him, her gaze following after a slight delay. Her eyes were wide with surprised confusion and he knew she hadn't heard him the first time.

He smiled and gently rapped her forehead with his knuckles. "Hey, Leif, what's the square root of nine thousand, six hundred, and four?"

Ina scrunched up her nose and answered, "Ninety eight. Why?"

James shook his head. "No reason. You ready to go?" Ina nodded. James looked her over one last time. The lost expression from the last three months was gone. James swallowed his nerves and reached for her hand. "The others are waiting."

Ina nodded again and pulled him toward the door. He lifted his chin and buried his fear. This was reconnaissance only. Go as far as they could and analyze structural integrity. If they encountered any hostiles, they were to retreat immediately. The rest of the team was in the utility shed behind the school. Hunk and Pidge had improvised weapons, the most creative being a flamethrower from salvaged oven parts. Hunk again proving himself as a genius in the kitchen.

James took a nail gun from Ryan and looked down the hatch that led to the sewers. Slipping the strap of the nail gun over his shoulder, he began descending the ladder. When he reached the bottom, he shone a small flashlight down the long tunnel. All clear. He motioned the others to follow and moved out of the way.

The walk was surprisingly dry after half a mile. It was a blessing, but also a reminder of how much they had lost as a species. They were all silent, walking as quietly as they could. Ina simply signaled when they needed to turn on their way to the shopping center. The ground above was silent as well. James shivered uncomfortably. He knew they needed to do this to learn more about their surroundings, but the sooner they returned to the school, the better.

When they finally reached a dead end, James sighed in relief. Ina whispered, "This should put us in the mall parking lot. James," she reached out and touched his wrist, "be careful."

He smirked confidently and winked. "Always."

He climbed the ladder and eased the manhole cover an inch off the ground, suddenly realizing how lucky they were it wasn't covered in debris. He peeked through the gap, but there didn't seem to be anything in sight. He slid the cover sideways and pulled himself free. He reached down and clasped arms with Katie and the two of them dashed across the parking lot to the front doors.

James watched the ground and sky while she disarmed the locks and security system. Kinkaid and Rizavi crouched beside him. Then the lock popped and Pidge pushed open the door. They ducked inside and hid behind the window displays. When they were all inside, they went further in to avoid detection.

Pidge whispered, "Do you think anyone else would come here?"

"It makes sense. Why?"

She shook her head. "It's just, the alarm wasn't set."

"The company was probably destroyed. No way to arm it if the home signal no longer exists," Hunk explained.

"Maybe, but the fire alarm seems to be analog."

James considered the possibilities and said, "Alright, we made it to our objective, but keep an open eye for hostiles or civilians. Since we're here, we may as well take what we can carry. Katie, Hunk, what do you need most?"

"Electronics," they both replied.

Ryan looked at the shopping display and grabbed a pair of duffel bags. "I'll go with the engineers. James, can you search for hardware?"

"Yes. Ina, Veronica, medical supplies. Rizavi, see if you can find the security office and download their video records from the attack and everything after until they lost feed. Meet back here in thirty minutes."

They split up to search out their goals. James hated how loud his boots were on the linoleum. He snagged a backpack and duffel bag before leaving the outdoor store and jogged down the empty halls. He stopped briefly to take a map from the central kiosk and then ran to the hardware store.

The shopping list he'd built in his head seemed extremely incomplete now that he was here. He went to the electrician's section and grabbed everything he could think Pidge and Hunk would need. He closed the pack and hooked as many coils of wire as he could carry to the straps with rope when a noise made him freeze.

He inhaled slowly and reached for the nail gun. A woman said, "Don't do it, kid." A handgun cocked and she instructed, "Throw the bag and nail gun away from you and put your hands on your head."

James licked his lips and asked, "Are you one of them?"

"You mean those freaks from space? No. But that doesn't mean I'd trust a thief. Do what I told you, boy."

James slowly dropped the bag and nudged it away with his foot. Then he tossed the nail gun, flinching at the noise it made. He put his hands on the back of his neck and said, "I'm not a thief, lady."

"Uh, huh. Then again, we're all just trying to scrape by." Her voice approached until she grabbed one wrist and he felt a handcuff circle it, then the other. She came around his side and grabbed the nail gun and backpack.

James looked at her. She was middle aged wearing a security uniform. Joanne was printed on a name tag pinned to her collar. She took hold of his elbow and said, "Walk out. How many of you are here?"

James didn't answer as she led him from the store. Three more security guards surrounded Rizavi where she sat near a floral display. Joanne led him to her and forced him to sit, dropping the backpack. James nudged Nadia's knee with his, lifted his head, and said, "We're sorry to be forced to steal, but we don't want trouble. We're from the Galaxy Garrison. The aliens imprisoned us and all of our classmates at the high school a couple miles from here." They were avoiding eye contact, clearly uncomfortable with what they were doing, but still untrusting. James practically shouted, "Look at our fucking uniforms!"

Joanne looked from him to her companions and asked, "Have you noticed any other intruders?"

"There's three more in the electronics store and two in the clinic."

A man close to thirty asked James and Rizavi, "What kind of weapons do they have?"

James ignored him and looked at Joanne. "Please, we don't have much time. If we don't return to the high school, our teachers are going to assume we're dead. You'll have doomed nearly three thousand children and their parents."

Joanne frowned and asked, "Why did the aliens keep children?"

"The fuck would we know?"

Nadia spoke up, "Before you found me, I saw your security footage. You had a good shot of what went down, but how did you survive? They were thorough."

Another man answered, "Basement shelter. That and the aliens haven't patrolled this area in weeks."

James let his head fall back and groaned. "Would you please just let us go. We promise we'll leave."

Joanne opened her mouth when Ryan shouted, "Griffin!"

James shouted, "Stay back!" and tried to stand. A security guard pushed him back onto the bench and he added, "We've run into a bit of a snag."

Veronica tried to shove past Ryan and called, "Nadia! Did they hurt you?"

Nadia answered, "We're fine. Will you please explain to these mall cops why the admiral sent us? They won't listen to us."

Veronica snapped, "Why the fuck are they-" She cut herself off and took a breath. "Look, we're starting a resistance group at the high school. You should come with us." Joanne considered the idea. Then Ina, Hunk, and Pidge flanked the mall cops.

Hunk added, "Please, we don't want to use force. This is not the time for discourse."

Joanne reached to her belt and tossed the cuff keys to her partner. "Release them. Kid, how did you guys get here?"

James stood in front of Rizavi and answered, "The sewers. Too dangerous traveling above ground."

"Smart. Girl, what were you doing with the security videos?"

Rizavi explained, "We're trying to figure out what's happening out there."

Pidge added, "Are they still functional? I could hook them up and maybe..."

"Link them to the school?" Hunk thought quickly. "That might work."

Joanne picked up the backpack and tossed it to James. "Looks like you aren't just a thief after all. Nice to know there's still people out there."

"Thanks. Pidge, how long do you need?"

"A few minutes."

James nodded. "We leave in fifteen minutes." He went with Pidge and Hunk. He was still concerned why the mall cops had threatened them. While the engineers rewired the circuit boards, he pulled Joanne aside.

Before he could ask, she apologized, "I'm sorry about earlier."

James folded his arms and answered under his breath, "I'm sure you had your reason."

Joanne chewed her cheek and scowled. "To spare you the details, it wasn't only aliens gunning people down."

The other security guard shot her a look. James replied, "We lucked out. The school was filled with kids and cowards."

Pidge straightened up and pocketed her transmitter box. "We're good here, James."

"Let's move."

They rejoined their classmates and returned to the sewer. Half an hour later, they reentered the school. Iverson and Sanda both sighed in relief and welcomed them back with hugs. Sanda whispered in his ear, "You're late, Griffin."

James waved the security officers forward. "We had company." He briefly debriefed their superiors and asked, "Pidge, when can we see the footage?"

Katie held the hardrive to her chest. "Give me a few hours to encrypt the computer lab in the library. I'll edit the raw film and alert you when I'm done."

"Hunk, Leif, help her out."

"Sir."

Joanne rubbed her arm self consciously when they saluted James and left. "Honestly, I wasn't sure you were telling the truth before, kid, but I'm glad you were. We were afraid there weren't any good folks anymore."

Sanda smiled kindly. "Of course there's still good in the world. Come. I'll show you around. Are you hungry? We don't have much, but everyone would be happy to see new faces."

James watched them go when Iverson put a hand on his shoulder. "Good work, cadet."

"Thank you, sir." Iverson winked with his good eye and walked away. Now they just had to be patient with Pidge and Hunk.

Keith braced in the pilot's seat as best he could when they exited the tunnel of light. He grit his teeth straining to control the red lion's trajectory as well as keep hold of the blue lion. The alarms went off. He looked up to see the rapidly approaching surface of a planet and shouted, "Brace for impact!"

Without his doing, the red lion released the blue lion. Keith watched in rising panic as the blue lion dropped into a nearby lake and screamed, "Krolia!" Then he was thrown from the seat when the red lion tried to correct itself. It took two steps before crashing onto its side and slid six hundred meters.

Thace demanded through the com, "Keith! Krolia! Respond now!"

He groaned and stood. "Keith here."

"I'm alive as well," Krolia answered with a pained exhale. "I need assistance..."

Keith stumbled toward the exit and started jogging when his feet hit the sand. "I'm heading to Krolia's location. Thace, we need to go back! I lost Lance!"

"... He's here, Keith," Krolia sighed. She sounded barely conscious. "Thace... Ulaz... I..."

Keith pushed to a desperate run and rasped, "Stay with me, Krolia!"

She chuckled weakly. "I was meant to save you, my little one."

The blue lion's eyes glowed dim as she drug herself from the waters. Her head fell into the sand with a loud crash and she opened her jaws just enough for Keith to squeeze through. She barely purred against his hand as he climbed to the cockpit. "Krolia! Where are you?"

"Kei..."

He followed her voice and found her holding Lance's unconscious body. She'd braced them by the pedals in the space beneath the control panel in front of the pilot's seat. She lifted her head and tried to crawl out, but gasped and faltered. Keith sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the metal rod stabbed clear through her thigh. Keith said through the com, "Thace, Ulaz, where are you?"

"We landed the cruiser and are on our way."

Keith crouched and eased into the cramped space. "Give me Lance. I'll be right back to help you."

She released her death grip on Lance and let Keith lift him over his shoulders. Smiling deliriously, she whispered, "Dal?"

Keith froze for a moment. "Yeah, my dad taught me the fireman's carry." Her head fell against the wall and Keith stood. There was a small mechanical whirring and her suit constricted around her wrist. She flinched and winced. He wasn't sure she was still conscious, but he reassured, "I'm coming right back."

The trip outside was made tricky by the sideways footing, but he managed to carry Lance and placed him in the sand. The cruiser rested in the distance creating a lopsided triangle with the lions. A vehicle traveling from the cruiser toward him left a trail of dust behind it. Keith ducked back inside and returned to Krolia. When he hooked his arms in her armpits to drag her free, she let out a pained shout. Keith apologized, "I'm sorry."

She hissed through her teeth. "I know."

"Can you stand?" He asked.

"If you help me."

He lifted her as much as he could and supported most of her weight when she leaned on him. "Alright, Krolia. One step at a time."

"I know, little one. The pain is more bearable now that the analgesic and adrenaline have kicked in." She gripped his knife in her hand and slashed down by her leg. Keith watched in amazement as it cut through the extra metal like butter. She put more weight on her injured leg and nearly collapsed.

Keith caught her and said sternly, "Forget it. You're not walking," and picked her up the same way he'd carried Lance. She was tall and heavy. It was incredibly awkward, but Keith was stubborn. When they emerged into the sunset, the vehicle slid to a stop and Ulaz jumped out. Keith walked toward the vehicle and groaned, "Help Lance."

Thace opened the door of the vehicle and helped Keith lower Krolia into a seat. She winced again and asked, "Where are we?"

Thace grabbed an unmarked box and opened it to reveal first aid materials. Keith took the tourniquet given to him and wrapped her thigh above the shaft of the rod and tied it off while Thace immobilized the foreign body. Thace explained while he worked, "I don't know, but I saw a construct of Altean origin due west."

"Altean?" Keith asked.

Krolia closed her eyes against the pain. "Like the lions. They were formed on planet Altea by King Alfor before the war."

Ulaz climbed into the vehicle and laid Lance across the bench. "He isn't doing well. Severe head trauma. It's a blessing he isn't awake to suffer the pain."

Keith slid over and grabbed Lance's hand. His fingertips were cold. Frowning, he asked, "What can we do?"

Ulaz and Thace shared a look. Ulaz shook his head. "The cruiser is meant to finish prepping it's full systems on its maiden voyage. The medical bay won't be operational for several quintants."

"There has to be something!" Keith demanded. They blinked at him with sympathy and he looked at Lance's face. "Please. I- I can't lose him, too."

Krolia sat up straighter and said, "The alteans. In their time, they had the best medical procedures. They might be able to save him."

Keith felt hope stop his heart when Lance murmured, "Keith..."

Keith squeezed Lance's hand and wiped Lance's hair back from his eyes. "I'm here, Lance. I'm here."

"I can't... can't... Keith?"

Ulaz hopped the bench and looked closer at Lance. "Ruptured eardrums and his eyes won't focus. Brain injury and possible permanent hearing loss."

Keith's new hope chilled in his chest and he desperately signed, 'Here,' against Lance's palm over and over. Lance's lip quivered and tears fell from the corner of his eyes.

Thace sat in the driver's seat and said, "Hold on."

Keith sat on the floor beside Lance, never letting go of his hand. When they entered the shadow of the cruiser, Thace cursed and slammed on the brakes. Keith heard approaching footsteps and then Coleen was there. She climbed over the side and pushed past Ulaz. "Keith, Lance, oh god what happened?"

"Coleen," Keith whispered in sudden childlike fear.

Thace didn't wait for more before gunning it again. Coleen half fell, half settled beside Keith and wrapped her arm around him. A new shadow fell over them and Keith looked up to see the front of what looked like a castle from a fantasy movie. Then he saw the lions limping toward them. The red lion roared and blue lights ran up the side of the bridge they drove across.

When they stopped, Krolia climbed from the vehicle first, declining Ulaz's support. Keith slid one arm behind Lance's shoulders and his other beneath Lance's knees and lifted him. Lance continued moaning for him. Keith's eyes stung with tears and he grit his teeth. Now wasn't the time. They had to continue.

Thace and Ulaz approached the castle first. When the lion roared again, a door opened. Keith carried Lance into the castle. The space was dark and he was too worried to bother taking in his surroundings. Ulaz looked at his gauntlet and whispered in the echoing silence, "I'm picking up energy readings from above."

They found and ascended a staircase. Coleen never strayed far from him and Lance. When they paused to catch their breath, she asked, "Keith, who are these people?"

Keith whispered back, "Assassins who oppose the empire." He felt Krolia's attention land on him even if she didn't look directly at him. He reassured Coleen, "They're on our side."

Then he pushed forward and led the party. They emerged in a dark empty room. When they were about halfway across, Ulaz frowned at his gauntlet. "They should be here."

Suddenly, the floor opened up and six pentagonal shapes rose from the floor in a nearly full circle. Thace and Ulaz drew their blades putting themselves between the frosted glass of the tubes and their companions. Keith felt a prickle and said, "Wait!" He shouldered between them and said, "The lions know this."

He gently placed Lance on the floor and approached the tube on the far left. That familiar buzz that he now realized was the lions became a reassuring purr and he touched the tube. The front vanished beneath his hand and he flinched backward as a figure fell toward him. He caught the woman, only just succeeding in keeping his footing.

Her hair was long and white, falling in graceful waves and curls. She wore a full length blue and white gown with pink accents. A simply jeweled tiara adorned her forehead. She moaned into his shoulder, "Father..."

Keith looked to the assassins for help before trying to shift the woman. He nearly dropped her, but then she noticed him. Her eyes focused on his face and she breathed, "Wha... Who are you? Where am I? Father!?"

Keith felt her wobble when she tried to take a step and firmly kept hold of her waist. "My name is Keith. We crashed on your planet and woke you up. The lions..."

"Lions! Then, my father is here as well!"

Keith was just as confused as she was and started, "I-"

A second pod opened and they both looked over. A man caught himself on the edge of the pod. The mist vanished to reveal bright orange hair and a bushy mustache. He held his head in one hand and stumbled calling, "Princess? Princess Allura?"

The woman in Keith's arms answered, "I'm here, Coran." She tried to take a step and would have fallen if Keith weren't supporting her. The man, Coran, looked around. His gaze focused on the others in the room and he shouted in alarm, "Intruders! Stay back, Princess!"

Ulaz and Thace appraised Coran's obviously questionable threat. Keith intervened, "Wait! We don't want to hurt you. The red lion brought us here after we escaped from the empire."

Coran glared at Keith and he wondered what he'd said. Coran defended, "The red lion is Alfor's to pilot. Did you steal it?"

"Wh- No! She saved me!" Keith looked around the room and asked, "Will someone explain-" His sentence ended in a surprised shout as Allura flipped him around and threatened to snap his neck. She was strong!

He was completely immobilized when Allura accused, "I don't know how you found us, but I would never listen to a galra. My father would never allow another to pilot his lion and neither would she. Surrender your weapons, or I'll execute the liar."

"Krolia, no!" Ulaz shouted.

Keith heard Krolia growl, "Release the kit, altean, or your awakening will be short lived. We speak the truth. The kit freed the red lion from captivity and she chose him as your father's replacement."

"Replacement?" Coran asked in shock. "Princess..."

"No! You're still lying!"

Ulaz slowly lowered his blade and dropped it to the floor. He approached with open hands and said smoothly, "Princess Allura, I don't know how long you've been unconscious, but it was believed that alteans were completely wiped form the universe during Zarkon's mass genocide ten thousand deca-pheobs past... right after he murdered his fellow paladins."

Allura was trembling behind Keith. She took a step back, dragging him with her, and Ulaz froze. His gaze flicked between Keith and Allura as she denied, "Stop! I won't listen to you!"

Keith relaxed and reached up to rest his free hand on her's where she held his jaw. He said soothingly, "I know you're scared and terrible things have happened, but I need your help. Look at the other woman, Princess. She wears the prison clothes of the empire, the same suit my dying friend and I wear beneath the marmoran armor. They aren't galra. They're victims like you and your father. Please. I just want to save my friend."

The princess took a shaky breath and sobbed hiding her face in his hair. Her trembling hands released him and she sank to the floor. Keith turned and knelt beside her. When he tentatively wrapped an arm around her, she threw herself into his chest. Keith looked to the others for help. Krolia finally lowered her sword, wincing as her leg gave out.

"Teacher," Thace exclaimed and caught her.

Coran skirted skeptically around the galra and crouched beside Coleen and Lance. Coleen's gaze hardened and she clutched Lance's arm. Coran asked, "May I examine him, madame?"

"You'll fix him?"

Coran nodded firmly. "If it is possible."

Coleen let go and stood, pacing with a hand over her mouth. Lance began to mumble again and Keith tried to go to him, but Allura still clung to him. Ulaz waved him to stay and said, "He is not aware, Keith." He knelt on Lance's other side and received a glare from Coran. Ulaz maintained a neutral expression and explained, "He was caught in an explosion during our assault. How can I help?"

"Remove his garb while I prep the pod." Coran stood and ran to the console. While he worked, Coleen and Ulaz stripped Lance. Ulaz lifted Lance's naked body and approached a pod that tipped until it was horizontal. Coran went to it and instructed, "Place him inside. The pod will calibrate while it fills."

Keith felt panic when the sound of running water came from the pod. He asked, "What're you trying to do, drown him?"

Coran answered without turning, "He will be fine if it isn't too late, little kit." The pod started tipping to its original position and the glass frosted again. Coran said sternly, "Princess, you should come to my side now. I do not like you near him."

Keith flinched and Allura startled before shoving away from him. He protested, "I'm not going to hurt her!"

Allura stood and trotted to Coran. Krolia glared at them and gripped the hilt of her sword tighter. Coleen looked between the alteans and galra and asked, "Why are you afraid of him? He's human. They imprisoned him too!"

Coran twitched his mustache and held eye contact with Keith. "You know that's not true, kit?"

Keith clenched his jaw and looked away. Coleen asked, "What is he talking about, Keith?"

Allura answered, "It's obvious. Galra always develop intricate familial bonds not based on blood ties."

Coleen gasped and covered her mouth. Keith's chest rose and fell rapidly and he stood. Shaking his head, he squeezed his eyes shut and said, "Coleen, I- Please, don't look at me like that!"

"Little one," Thace whispered.

Keith knew what was coming. What always came next. He lifted his chin and walked toward the door. Coleen called, "Keith!" He didn't stop until a hand circled his wrist and forced him to. "Don't walk away from me, young man."

Keith felt physically ill. "Let go, Mrs. Holt."

"You stubborn boy. Look at me, Keith! Look. At. Me."

With tears in his eyes, he turned to see tear tracks course down her cheeks. She yanked him to her chest and squeezed him so hard he could barely breathe. She tucked him under her chin and held the back of his head. "Don't walk away, Keith. Not again. I said I'd love you, that I love you as if you were mine. Don't think anything could change that."

Keith swallowed painfully and returned her hug. "I'm sorry."

Coleen kissed his forehead and said over her shoulder, "Human's don't focus on blood ties either. These boys are mine, Princess. I'll be taking them with me as soon as Lance is healed. Come, Keith." Her arm circled his shoulders and she guided him to leave the castle.

Please review? Should Lance suffer? Should Coleen and Krolia get into a catfight about mothering Keith? Hit me up... please?