I am so incredibly sorry that this took so long and I know you all wanna see what happens to Lance and Keith. But I had to include some more of Blue's perspective, so here's both chapters seven AND eight so you get both. Sleepy out!
Blue recalled memory after memory, resolving to pass the time by visiting her memory banks to fill the growing hole she felt from being all alone.
...
It was a month after they'd crash- landed on Cortaalis. Blue was instructing Lance on how to attach some wires together in her chest cavity while he went on about a person he'd become acquainted with. He said her name was Idsa, and she lived in the city's junk yard where he frequented. He described her as old and grouchy, but always willing to lend a hand when he needed her. She didn't ask what he needed the parts for, and he didn't tell.
"And then she clocked me on the head afterwards! Saying something like-" Lance did his best impression of her, his expressive voice resonating in the spacious gash in Blue's chest, "'You fool! You're the reason I hate the youth!' Like it wasn't my fault those goons attacked us. They only did it because they couldn't stop arguing with me. They called me a 'loser' for hanging out with 'that crotchety hag'. Did she ever wonder how that made me feel?"
Blue purred in amusement. She seems wise. She thought at her paladin between feeding images of different mechanisms and how they worked.
"Yeah, Idsa's like a thousand years old or something. Can fight like a champion though. Ow, son of a bitch!" Blue felt a tickle as a bolt of electricity passed through a stream of wires, and heard the slap of a spark connecting with Lance's hand.
Be careful.
"Don't sweat it, it just caught me by surprise. Ow..." He stuck his finger in his mouth. "But anyways, at least I got that reactor we've been looking for. Idsa helped me get it working. Attaching it to you will take all night at this rate. Connecting every wire takes half an hour, and there's like a bajillion."
Then why don't you take a break?
"That's the one thing I can't do." Lance picked up a tool that resembled pliers and went on twisting the exposed wire into place.
You deserve it. A small sigh echoed through her. Then the tiny figure of her paladin poked out. He was covered in sweat and black marks covered him from head to toe. He wiped his forehead, leaving another black mark across his face, plopped himself down on the grass and fiddled with the pliers. Blue rested her head on the cool grass.
"Hey Blue?"
Yes?
"Do you ever wonder if we're the last ones still lost?" Lance was gazing longingly at the night sky, watching a star shoot across.
...Sometimes.
"It kills me to think that they're all out there somewhere. Did you ever think that stuff when you were alone in the underground cave? Y'know, before we found you?"
Ten thousand years is a long time to think many things.
"That must've been hard."
I am okay now.
Lance looked at her. She was watching the shooting star, yellow eyes gleaming. "...It's nights like these that make me realize how small I am."
She purred. You are quite small.
"But I mean... I didn't know how many different planets had people with their own cultures and problems. Like, Earth has nine billion people, and it was hard to conceptualize that every single person there had their own life and motivations and ambitions. And now... there's this whole universe full of countless galaxies, countless solar systems, countless planets, countless other beings. It's mind-blowing." He shifted himself closer to Blue.
The universe is a beautiful place.
"Is it bad that I would rather go home than explore it? When this 'saving the world' business is through, I want to visit home."
It is not a bad thing to be homesick, Lance.
"I don't like knowing that everyone lives in their own little idea of the world, and at the same time being away from mine."
But you are not. Blue nudged him gently with her nose. Things have changed, yes, but you still live in your world. The difference is, now your world has expanded to mean places far beyond Earth. Lance took another look at the vast expanse of space before him, identifying the cluster of stars that streaked the sky as the galaxy. You are part of a microscopic percentage of your race that has explored multiple galaxies. You may miss your home, and I will personally see to it that you see them again, but I beg you not to feel displaced. It is a horrible feeling, one that I have dealt with on many occasions. Your world has become larger, that is all.
"Wow... in a way, that makes me feel like I'm closer to them. Thanks, Blue." Lance hugged her snout tightly, smiling wistfully. "The first thing I'ma do when I go to Earth is go to the beach. I've been dyin' to teach my little sister how to surf."
Surf?
"Yeah, it's where you glide on the water's waves with a board. It's really fun."
How peculiar. Tell me more about the beach.
"Oh the beach is where it's at..."
