As soon as they got on the Isle, Rolo parked the limo, under the pier in the old garage.
"Lance, help me with the tarp," Matt said as he grabbed the old tarp from on top of the wooden crates.
"Right," Lance said as he helped Matt unfold the tarp and helped cover the limo, less chance of something knowing where it was from the better.
"I got it," Rolo told Acxa with a smile as she kept glancing around, her eyes weary. "What's wrong?"
"It's really weird being back here," Acxa explained with a shudder.
"Don't worry," Rolo said with a smile. "We'll get in and get out.
"Right," Acxa said as Rolo helped Matt with the second tarp that was needed to cover the back end of the limo. Meanwhile, Lance walked over to the large pipe and looked in it, darkness meeting his eyes.
"Hey, what's in here?" Lance asked, his voice echoing into the pipe. The trio were quick to pull him away from the pipe.
"You don't want to know," Rolo said with a pat on his shoulder.
"Hey guys," Matt said as he fixed his hat. "Keep it chill alright, the last thing we want is for our parents to find out we're here." The trio nodded and they headed off to their "secret" hideout, where they knew Keith would be.
As they walked through the streets, Acxa covered the rear, her eyes making sure they weren't followed or that eyes weren't on them at all. As they turned a corner, Acxa found two children running at her, one pulling her coin purse out of her back pocket.
"Hey!" Acxa yelled as her wrists were held by one of the kids. "Hey stop!" she yelled again, pulling her wrists free and holding onto the two boys, determined to get her coin purse back. However, she took one look at the kids and her heart melted seeing how sad they were. She sighed and let go of their wrists. "Just take it," she said with a soft smile.
"Thank you!" the boys yelled as they ran off, smiles on their faces.
Axca turned and gave Matt and Rolo a shrug of her shoulders. It was then that she noticed Lance wasn't with them. Matt and Rolo hadn't seemed to notice so she took the lead.
"Oh Lance," Acxa said as she walked down the alley, the trio searching for the prince who literally knew nothing about where he was going. Or worse. Who he would run into.
Lance had ended up at the exit of the vendor's alley the group had been walking down. He was so caught up in taking everything in that he hadn't really noticed he had wandered off. He turned and noticed a boy in a coat and pirate hat leaning against a wooden pole. Lance gave him a smile and held out his hand for a handshake like he had been taught to do when he was younger.
"Hi," Lance was suddenly backed up when the boy growled and moved forward, Lance flinching as he did so very quickly.
"Lance stop," Acxa said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, Matt and Rolo stepping in between the prince and the boy. Luckily, the boy took the hint and backed off. "Just stop," Acxa said as Lance went to pull away from her.
"Why?" Lance asked in a mix of confusion and frustration.
"This isn't a parade, it's the Isle," Acxa said with a sigh.
"Keep your hands in your pockets and lets just stay low key," Rolo said as he gestured to the princes' pockets.
"You either slouch or strut," Matt chimed in as his own figure was slouched a little bit as an example.
"And never ever smile," Axca said as she pulled his smile off his face.
"Okay," Lance said with a nod of his head. "Thank-"
"No," Axca said as she lightly slapped his shoulder. "No thank you's, and drop the please to, "Axca said with a sigh. "Just..chill."
"Let me tell you something you can really trust
Everybody's got a wicked side
I know you think that you could never be like us
Watch and learn so you can get it right"
Lance nodded and backed up as the trio showed him what he was supposed to do to blend in. After all, he was an outsider.
"You need to drag your feet
You need to nod your head
You need to lean back
Slip through the cracks
You need to not care"
"Uh, you need to not stare," Matt said as he tilted Lance's head down, his eyes now meeting the concrete ground.
"You need a whole lotta help," Rolo sang as he pulled Lance's wallet out of his back pocket.
"You need to not be yourself," Axca said as she pointed to his wallet with a sigh. Lance gave Rolo a soft glare before sticking his wallet back into his pocket.
"You wanna be cool
Let me show you how
Need to break the rules
I could show you how
And once you catch this feeling
Yeah, once you catch this feeling
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (hey)
Chillin' like a, chillin' like a (hey), villain"
As they continued on to the "secret" hideout, Lance got distracted by a man with a trenchcoat selling trinkets and gadgets.
"You draw attention when you act like that
Let us teach you how to disappear"
Axca rolled her eyes and pulled him away from the man, however, not before he grabbed a pair of sunglasses, without her seeing. The trio then jumped onto the railings behind Lance, which surprised Lance with how balanced they were.
"You look like you would lose a fight to an alley cat
You gotta be wrong to get it right 'round here"
Lance watched again as the trio showed him more ways to blend in, making sure to make mental notes.
"You need to watch your back
You need to creep around
You need to slide real smooth
Don't make a sound
And if you want it, take it
And if you can't take it, break it
If you care about your health"
Lance went to copy the "break it" move but ended up falling down, a part of his clumsy side showing through. Something the villain kids didn't really have.
"Seriously, you need to not be yourself," Axca said as she pulled Lance back and the four sat on the railings.
"You wanna be cool?
Let me show you how
Need to break the rules
I can show you how
And once you catch this feeling
Yeah, once you catch this feeling
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like"
The group headed off the railings and back in the direction they needed to go. Lance starting to get the hang of the dance they were doing.
"I really wanna be bad a lot
And I'm giving it my best shot
But it's hard being what I'm not"
"Well, if you don't, you're gonna get us caught," Matt pointed out to which Axca and Rolo nodded in agreement.
"He's right, we gotta stay low-key
Now show us how bad you can be," Axca said to which Lance smiled.
"Like this? (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Like this? (yeah, yeah)
Oh yeah, I think I got this
Let's go, I'm ready to rock this," Lance pulled out Rolo's wallet, Matt's phone, and the sunglasses he took from the man earlier.
"And I ain't gonna thank you for your help
I think I found the worst in myself"
The four shared a smile before they headed down the alley which led to the "secret" hideout where Keith was.
"You wanna be cool?
Let me show you how
Need to break the rules
I can show you how
And once you catch this feeling
Yeah, once you catch this feeling
You'll be chillin', chillin', oh
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain (chillin')
Chillin' like a villain"
As Lance was showing off his newly acquired dance moves while the trio clapped for him, he didn't notice Janka running who ran into him.
"Hey man, hey," Janka said with a smile on his face. "Hey I know you,": Janka said as he caught a glimpse of Lance's face as the trio walked up.
"No, don't know you man," Lance said as he turned to hide his face.
"Uhhh, yeah you do," Janka said with a scoff. "Come on, really?" Janka asked to which Lance shook his head. It was then that Janka noticed the poster behind the group. "Wait, you're King Lance."
"Gotta go!" Matt called out as the trio pulled Lance away.
"And you're Axca, Rolo, and Matt, hey guys," Janka called out but the group was already gone. "Zethrid's gonna love this," Janka said with a smile as he ran off to the tell Zethrid.
"Come on," Rolo said as he grabbed a rock and threw it at the sign, Lance winced at the sound but noticed how the gate blocking the stairs opened up.
"Wish me luck I guess," Lance said as he slowly started to head up the stairs.
"All the way up," Rolo said as he pointed up. Lance nodded and continued up the stairs.
"Good luck," Axca called, as Lance kept climbing, the trio stood outside to guard the area. The last thing they wanted was anyone interfering.
When Lance reached the top, he heard the sound of spray paint being sprayed. He took in the hideout he was in. Each section of the large room had a different area for each kid. In the middle was decorated for everyone. As he headed more in, he found Keith on top of two boxes, spray painting a wall.
"At least I don't see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork," Lance said which made Keith jump and turn quickly, his violet eyes wide in surprise.
"Lance, " Keith said in shock and surprise. His hands starting to shake. Lance started to walk towards him but was stopped when Keith put his hands up in a "stop" sign.
"Keith I'm so sorry about our fight," Lance said with a soft sigh. "It was all my fault," Lance said as he dug into his pocket for something. "Please come home," Lance said as he pulled out his ring and held it out to Keith.
"Lance," Keith said with a sigh as he stepped off the boxes and put the spray can down. "I am home," Keith said as he slowly walked over.
"I uh, brought the limo," Lance said with a soft smile." It's a sweet ride."
"I don't fit in there Lance, I never did," Keith said with a shake of his head. "I really gave it my best shot.."
"I know that but-"
"But if you think that I can change, I think you're wrong."
"Then I'll change," Lance said with a smile. "I'll skip school, have more fun, you know I'll blow off some of my responsibilities."
"No," Keith said with a shake of his head. "See, I'm such a terrible influence," Keith said with a sigh. "It's only a matter of time before Altea turns its back of me but turn its back on you."
"Don't give up on us Keith," Lance said as he pulled Keith's hand towards him and laid his ring in his hand. "The people love you," Lance said as he felt Keith's hand shake. "I love you."
"Lance…"
"Don't you love me?"
Keith held the ring in his hands for a few moments. A bittersweet smile on his face as he remembered what it was like the first time Lance put the ring on his finger as tears filled his eyes. He took a shaky breath before placing the ring back into Lance's hand and closing his hand.
"I have to take myself out of the picture," Keith said as he blinked back his tears. "It's what is best for you and what's best for Altea."
"Keith please," Lance said but Keith shook his head and backed up.
"No," Keith said with a shake of his head. "I can't do this," Keith said as he turned and picked the spray can back up. "You should go Lance," Keith said as he climbed back onto the boxes.
"Keith..."
"Lance, please go," Keith said as more tears filled his eyes.
Lance nodded softly and nodded his head. As he left back down the stairs, Keith allowed his tears to fall down his cheeks.
The trio turned as they heard Lance walking back down the stairs.
"So?" Acxa asked, she expected to see Keith following behind, but that didn't happen. "Where's Keith?" she asked as the gate closed behind Lance.
"She's not coming back," Lance said as he wiped a tear sliding down his cheek.
"What?" Acxa asked with wide eyes. Lance shook his head and walked off (unknown to the other teens).
"You should talk to him," Matt said, Rolo nodding in agreement. Acxa nodded and headed over to where the communication device was.
"Keith?" Acxa asked but received no reply. "Keith it's Acxa, let me just talk to you for a second."
Keith huffed as he walked over to the communication device and pushed the button on the panel.
"Keith come on."
"GO AWAY!" Keith yelled and stepped away from the panel, wiping the tears he still had on his cheeks away.
"Let's give him a couple of hours to cool off," Rolo said as he gently pulled Acxa away from the device. Acxa nodded and that was when Matt noticed Lance was missing.
"Guys, where's Lance?" Matt asked which made Acxa and Rolo start to panic.
"Lance?" Acxa asked in a low tone as a shadowed figure approached them. "Lance!" Acxa called out louder, they mistook the figure for Lance.
"Lance man, don't scare us like that," Rolo said with a relieved sigh.
"Don't scare you?" a voice called out as the shadowy figure stepped into the light. However, it was not Lance. "That's my specialty though," the figure said with a smile.
"Ezor," Acxa growled out with a glare.
"What did you do with Lance?" Matt asked to which Ezor's smile grew. "Oh, well we kidnapped him of course, and if you want to see him again, Keith will come to the shop tonight," Ezor said as she pointed up to "hidden" staircase. "Alone, Zethrid wants a little visit.
Ezor sent a wink towards the trio before heading off, whistling the tune of the song that the four had sung earlier.
"We should tell Keith," Rolo said with a sigh.
"He's not gonna be happy," Matt pointed out with a shake of his head.
"He deserves to know," Acxa said with a soft sigh.
"Okay, but one problem," Matt started to say as he pointed up to the staircase. "Keith won't let us in, he can lock the gate from up there."
"Then we climb," Rolo said as he started to climb up the side of the building, Acxa and Matt following after.
Apoligizes for taking so long for this chapter, school has been busy and I just got my first cold of the fall season, so yay. This one is a little shorter than the other but I really wanted this chapter posted.
Anyways, enjoy!