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Summary: Allura has been hiding a secret from the Paladins, something painful from her past forced her to remain quiet. However that all changes when she finds a beloved object of someone she held dear. A simple pendant that hangs around the Blue Paladin's neck. Altean!Lance

Chapter Two

Coran lead them all to the pods down below in the end bay, where Shiro had been hours before. The royal advisor stood before a podium typing on a keypad as two pods glowed blue to signify they were ready.

"It's simple, you both just stand inside one and I run a scan," Coran explained as he typed away on the keyboard, "Once the scan is done, you two step out and hear the results."

Lance hadn't said a word since he reluctantly agreed to this test. His thoughts were racing and his emotions were an endless swirl of anger and fear. He was angry to even consider the possibility and afraid that Allura was right, that he was the missing Altean prince. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, gripping his jacket tight enough for his warm knuckles to turn a shade paler.

The paladins all noticed the tension building in the Lance the longer it took for Coran to set up the test. Allura had noticed as well, but she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to take it into consideration. The very possibility that her brother was alive and next to her was enough to make her heart hammer away inside her. It terrified her and excited her all at once, but she knew she couldn't bring her hopes up.

It was also incredibly possible that Lance acquired the necklace simply because his parents found it. Or perhaps when Casimir landed, he made a life for himself and started a bloodline of his own. Allura wasn't sure which she preferred really, she definitely wanted him alive, but she wondered if it would be for the best that he was gone. Then he would no longer have to suffer, then he would not have to continue in this fight. He always wanted to fight for something, for Altea.

"All set," Coran said as the two pods opened, "Each of you step inside and I'll start the scan."

Allura glanced at Lance, wondering if he would still go through with this. He didn't look at her, but he knew she was watching him. Without a word, he walked forward and stepped inside the pod on the right. Lance turned around as the glass closed him inside the pod. While he had been in these before, he was not their biggest fan. First reason because he was trapped in one once and almost frozen, the second because he had to be healed in here. Neither of those were terribly pleasant.

Allura stepped in the pod beside him, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. The glass closed over her as she faced the others. She couldn't hear anything they were saying, no matter how hard she concentrated and she couldn't their lips. The pods glowed white, air rushed up from their feet whipping their hair around a bit. The lights flickered a couple of times, signaling that the scan was taking place.

After each flicker, Allura felt the tension build in her and the fear. Lance felt the same, each flicker caused his chest to feel heavier and grow tighter. He knew it wasn't from the actual pod, only his nervousness was setting him over the edge. Lance swallowed. He really, really, really, hoped that Allura was wrong. One so that he could be right for once and two so he wouldn't have to deal with this relation. The lights faded away, a few moments passed before the glass opened allowing Allura and Lance to exit the pods.

"Well," Allura asked expectantly and nervous.

He took their silence as a good sign. Lance folded his arms, he felt a bit triumphant at this moment, but sorry that Allura was let down. He didn't want to be the cause of her sorrow.

"It's almost done loading," Coran said, his eyes focused on the screen.

Lance felt like a deflated balloon, their silence was because they were waiting, not because he was right. He felt his stomach sink the longer this went on. Allura wasn't sure exactly how to feel at this point, whether or not she should be excited or nervous. Allura and Lance could see the light on their teams face hangs.

It went from white to purple. It flashed against their faces, but none of them offered any words. The paladins expressions didn't help Allura or Lance when it came to figuring out what the screen said. Lance wondered if it was because they most likely couldn't read the language. Pidge was still learning, but her face wasn't giving anything away.

Coran looked up at Allura, then at Lance, "It's a match, his DNA is an exact copy of Prince Casimir's, but with a few human chromises added, I assume those are from his parents on earth."

Lance's shoulders fell, his heart stopped beating in his chest and he forgot how to breath. Altean Prince Casimir. This had to be some kind of sick joke or horrible dream. All Lance could see were flashes of his parents on earth, of their smiles and caring for him. He could see his sister teasing him, he could see himself playing with them. How could they not be his family? Why didn't his parents ever tell him he wasn't theirs? That he showed up like Superman had in the comics. His chest ached and head started pounding.

"Lance is Altean," said Hunk in awe.

"A prince," said Keith.

Allura turned to face Lance, he looked at her, his eyes showed how horrified he was. His expression a mix between afraid and angry. His shoulders were trembling, his blue eyes were frantic as he struggled to process the news. Altean, he was Altean.

"Lance," Allura started, but he wasn't listening.

This couldn't be true, he couldn't be, how could he be. His parents on earth, his sisters back home… they weren't really his. Had they ever been? No, he supposed not. Lance felt his breath quicken, it was the only noise the others could hear beside the quiet hum of the podium that Coran was once at.

Lance pulled the necklace off of him, he clenched his fist around the pendant that used to be his source of his hope, his connection to his family. Now it was a source of a life he didn't want to know, of a truth he wished wasn't real. Allura could clearly the turmoil in his watery eyes, his once bright eyes had dimmed. He threw the necklace onto the floor and turned sharply away, running out of the room. His feet carrying him as fast as he could will then to move.

Allura watched as the necklace clattered on the white floor while the others called his name.

No one moved to follow Lance, no one was sure who should go after him and talk him down. Shiro seemed like a viable choice as he was the bet at handling these sort of situations, but Hunk was closest to Lance and had been his friend for a long time. Keith always knew what to say to Lance to get him to either step back or step forward while Pidge was a good listener. Coran was good at talking to him and the two had a fair relationship, but they were certain that Lance probably didn't want to see either of the Alteans at this time.

Allura wanted to speak with him, to ask him questions, to help him, but she was powerless. He may have been her lost brother, but he had no memory of her. Allura got on her knees and picked up the forgotten necklace. The stone was cool against her warm fingers.

Tears built up in her eyes, "Oh Cas…"

The paladins and Coran stopped their bickering on trying to decide who should speak to Lance when they noticed Allura kneeling on the floor. While Coran could hardly believe the prince was alive, he knew the revelation was groundbreaking for the princess. Coran moved over to Allura, his heart aching at the sight of her trembling shoulders and choked back cries.

He kneeled beside her with one hand on her shoulder, "Princess?"

Allura looked up at him, clutching th necklace to her chest, "He's alive. After-after all this time, he's alive and he doesn't know me, doesn't remember me…. his whole world has been changed."

"Perhaps, but now he knows the truth," Coran said, "One way or another, the truth would have come to light. It just happened now."

"Now we can focus on what happened in the missing time, or learn something about how he managed to survive all this time, how to retrieve is memories," Keith added a bit hurriedly.

"We hopefully have some time before we're called to an emergency, I suggest we use it to find those answers," Shiro said.

"In the meantime, who's going to talk to him," Hunk asked glancing between the group.

Allura released a sad sigh, "I know I'm the last person he wants to see, but…"

"Maybe it should be you then," Pidge suggested, "After all, this mainly affects the two of you."

"The situation is already unfamiliar enough to him," commented Keith, "Someone he's more comfortable with should be there. I say it's Hunk or Shiro."

Before anyone else could say anything, a brief alert went through the castle. A lion had just taken off.

"The blue lion," Keith said, "Lance is running off."

"Paladins, let's move," ordered Shiro, "We have to make sure Lance doesn't go to far."

Lance had found himself in front of blue, he had no idea where he was going and just found himself here. The lion purred in his mind, a question filling the air. Lance's felt his shoulders slump, his breathing still ragged from running and from the cries he struggled to hold back.

He clenched his fists, whether from sorrow or anger, he wasn't sure. His tan cheeks were a shade paler and a pinkish glow could be seen on them, his eyes red rimmed as he continue to stare at his lion. The same puzzling feelings came off the lion in waves. The lions were alive in their own way, once bonded with a lion they could share their feelings through a telepathic bond. While Lance was sending waves of anger, sadness and fear, Blue was sending concern and comfort his way.

His right hand reached up to where his necklace usually was, the absence sent a pang of emptiness through him. His hand clenched into a fist. That necklace meant everything to him, now the thought of it sent a sharp stab in his heart. He lowered his hand slowly back to his side.

"We're going on a ride Blue," Lance said decidedly, "I need to get out of here."

He entered Blue and started his regular take off procedure before leaving the hangar. Blue sent waves of uncertainty and reluctance, but decided not to stop her paladin from trying to leave. She could tell he was in a lot of pain, he needed the escape.

Hours had passed since the Paladins had left on their search or really chase of Lance. They found him easily enough, but then he continued to run off. The Red Lion was the only one to catch up to him, but Blue was lost in an asteroid field. The Paladins has split up searching, but the signature was hidden.

Finding Lance would be much harder with Blue hiding her signature from the others. Coran was currently running through possible routes of the Blue Lion, he was sending the other Paladins in various directions, but there was still no luck. Allura was standing at the bridge in front of the window, her arms wrapped around her stomach. She hoped that Lance would have been found by now, but she supposed she couldn't hope for too much.

"Oh Coran," Allura said turning to look at the advisor, "he's alive after all this time and he wants nothing to do with me. He doesn't even remember me."

Coran frowned, "I know it's difficult princess, but don't worry. Once Lance has been found and has settled down a bit, it will all be okay."

"How can you be so sure," Allura said dejectedly.

"If the universe brought him back to you after a thousand decafobes, it's clear to see that there's nothing the two of you can not overcome," Coran said with a gentle smile.

He could still remember all the troubles those two either caused, got into or has to deal with do to their royal blood. They were quite the force to be reckoned with when they were younger, Coran could hardly imagine what they would become.

"What if we don't, what if he doesn't want to work with this or acknowledge it," said Allura sadly, "What if I've found him only to lose him again? What if he hates me now? What if-"

"You could asked yourself 'what if's' until we're all long gone," Coran interrupted with a knowing look.

Allura turned back to look at the stars, "What do I do Coran? I need to find him, I need him to remember… what if we don't find him or he doesn't want to remember?"

Coran released a soft sigh, "He was always good at playing hide and seek, but you were very good at finding him when no one else could. You'll find him. As for him not wanting to remember… If that's the case, leave the past in the past and look to a future with him."

Allura nodded wordlessly, still staring at the stars when an old memory flashed through her mind.

"I'm the best hide and seeker," said Casimir, "I have the best hiding spots and always know where other people are going to look."

"That's quite a talent," Allura commented grinning.

Casimir nodded, "Indeed. You have to use magic to find me, don't you?"

Allura answered, "Always. I can never find you without a bit of help."

Casimir laughed triumphantly.

Allura gasped, "Of course."

She could always find Casimir through magic, he always knew where to hide and not be found, but a trail of magic would lead her to him. The princess closed her eyes and concentrated. In order to find him, she had to think of him. While she wanted to think of her younger brother, his trail was mostly weak and no guarantee it would be shown. She had to think of Lance.

She recalled the time he was braiding her hair, he was talking about his sister's and how they taught him. He became very good at it and it was a hobby of his. The darkness of her eyelids began to fill with dots like stars before they came together and turned into an image.

A vision of Lance was sitting in Blue, looking out the windows. It worked! She could see him, she could find him. All that was left was a location. She looked around the cockpit of the lion and found his location on the Blue Lions monitor.

Allura opened her eyes, she went over to Coran.

"I know where Lance is," Allura said, she spoke into the comms as she typed the location, "Paladins, I've found Lance. Meet at these coordinates."

"We're on it," answered Shiro, he looked at the coordinates she sent, "ETA, twenty minutes. See you soon."

Allura knew she'd get to Lance first, she supposed that would work. Talking to him about what happened. Without wasting another moment, she moved to the steering position and sent the castle in Lance's direction. It took her under five minutes to find Lance, she knew he spotted the tower as the lion was facing the castle. But he wasn't flying away, only hovering. Allura connected to the Lion's comm which to her surprise was open.

"Lance," she said hesitantly.

She was greeted with only silence.

"Lance, please answer," Allura said sadly, "I know you're upset, but you cannot run from this."

Again, only silence and soft hum of static greeted the princess. Allura sighed, she didn't know what to do. What could she possibly say to Lance? How was she going to convince him to talk? She was the last person he wanted to see, but she had to be the one to talk him down, to bring him back. He was her brother, he was her friend and he was in pain.

"I thought, I thought you were dead, that you were gone," Allura started, her lips trembling, "I remember when you born. You were so little…. brilliant blue eyes, a scruff of pale blue hair…. I know this-this is hard and you don't remember and you are lost, but please you cannot run away. Nothing has to change."

Lance's face materialized on the screen at that. His eyes were the same as Allura saw in the image minutes ago. Red rimmed, glazed over. His face set in the saddest expression Allura and Coran had ever seen on him. It looked so out of character, it was enough to send even more worry through the Alteans before the screen.

"Everything has changed," Lance said, his voice raised, "You're telling me that the discovery of being an Altean and your long lost brother is not going to change anything? That this revelation won't change things?!"

"It doesn't have to," Allura insisted albeit sadly.

She hoped that if she ever found her brother that they would pick up where they left off, that they would catch up and grow. She supposed that wasn't going to happen, not if it was going to cause Lance anymore pain. Despite her want to know him more, to want that relationship back, she knew that if Lance was to return and stay in the right frame of mind, she couldn't push him.

Lance glared, "It changes it all. How am I supposed to pretend what you said isn't true? That I'm an-an Altean prince who was born over ten thousand years ago! How are you supposed to pretend that we didn't learn anything? That we didn't find the truth! Neither of us will let it go and the others won't see us the same! Ah. This is a nightmare."

Lance jumped out of his seat angrily. He swung his arm as though he intended to hit his chair, but he stopped short. He couldn't hit blue, no matter how upset he was. Angrily he let his hand fall to his side as he turned away from the screen, angry tears building in his eyes.

Allura took a gamble and sent a wave of warmth and peace to him, an old bond of magic that the two had formed when Casimir had been an infant. She hoped it was still there, she hoped it would help. Allura thought of waves, of the tides and currents, a sense of calm curled around her and sent the feeling through the bond that was thin as three. She knew the moment it reached him that he felt it. He jerked in his spot on the screen in surprise.

He snapped his head to look at her on his own monitor, the shock visible on his face. The teen could feel feelings of peace and warmth curling around him. As if he were standing on a beach. It was similar to Blue's calm waves, but it was much weaker and felt unsteady. As if it was an old tool that hadn't been used in a longtime.

"Lance, please come back to the castle," Allura pleaded her words coated in desperation, "I know you do not see me as your sister, but you are my brother by blood and my friend. I remember you, all of the good and bad times we shared as Lance and as Casimir. I've lost you once, please, I beg that you don't have me lose you again."

Lance stared at Allura hesitantly. He looked torn between wanting to scream and wanting to cry. It was the first time Allura had ever seen Lance look so helpless and lost. The teen always had an air of self assurance with himself, that even if he was a bit lost he knew which way to go in order to get where he needed.

Lance's image disappeared and Allura nearly choked in surprise at the sudden feeling of loss. Did that mean he was going to leave? Was he not going to at least let them talk this out? Before Allura could do anything, she noticed on the castle's censors in front of Coran showed an incoming ship, the blue lion.

"He's coming in," Coran announced, a grin on his face, "I'll alert the other Paladins."

"Cas," Allura whispered softly, "Thank the stars."