Lance Alone

Part 13 (Keith/Lance)

Keith decided to take the Red Lion for the trip instead of the Black Lion, since he needed its complete trust while going alone. After all, Red saved him from more than a few tight spots in the past. As he was leaving, though, he found himself wandering into the Blue Lion bay, looking up at the magnificent beast.

"You weren't really trying to lead us to Lance, were you?" he asked, "If you were, you would have made a beeline for Earth. Why did you do it?"

No response. But Keith didn't need one. He figured it out himself. "Lance has been like a replacement big brother for Pidge. I guess when he was gone, she needed someone to fill that space. Was that Lance's goodbye gift to Pidge?"

"Did he plan goodbye gifts for everyone? Or just her?" Keith secretly wondered what his gift would be--and then realized that he didn't deserve one, after being the one to push Lance away. "The paladins don't need goodbye gifts. They need Lance back. What do you say, we get him back?"

Blue's eyes flashed. She might have roared, if it wouldn't have drawn attention to them. Keith took that as a yes and pulled on his helmet.

"That's an answer I like to see. Alright, girl. Let's go."

They left as quietly as they could, Keith flying in the Red Lion, and the Blue Lion flying beside him. It was going to be a long trip without a wormhole, but Keith couldn't dream of asking Allura for one. Not only would she condone him leaving the team behind, but she would insist upon him opening up his feelings or whatever it was she wanted from him.

***

After Lance shared his story with everyone, the world leaders began to deliberate between themselves, acting as if Lance wasn't even in the room.

"We obviously can't tell the general population about this," one lady said, "there would be mass panic about an evil empire taking over the universe. For goodness' sakes, they don't even know about aliens yet, let alone malicious aliens."

"What are we going to do with the boy, then? Underground government compound?" another said, "He might still try and convince people if we let him walk free."

"But who would believe him?" a third man asked, with a voice so deep that it almost shook the window panes. "He'd just be another person with a conspiracy theory."

"He won't be just another one. He's been missing for months. People are going to ask questions about where he was. They might even be willing to believe the unbelievable."

"Hey!" Lance finally had to shout for them all to pay attention to him again, "I'm not going to live in some underground compound. I want to see my family. Can I at least do that?"

"Let us decide what's best," the first woman insisted, "We're the professionals in this line of work."

"No, I am!" he stood up in the nearest chair so everyone in the room could see him, "How many of you have directly fought against Zarkon's forces? Who here defeated him, time and time again? How many of  you have even been outside this galaxy?" he looked around the room, "None of you. That's what I thought. I'm the only one who can comprehend what they're capable of. They're not going to just go away if you pretend they're not there. So you're not going to pretend that I'm just some kid who can be ignored. You're going to listen to what I have to say, do what I say that needs to be done. Because the sooner we stand up for ourselves as a planet, the better off we'll be."

The adults all just stared up him, standing on the chair. Lance felt his fingertips buzzing, his heart beating too fast. It felt good, to stand up for what was right.

"Iverson, get him out of here," the director of the CIA ordered. Two burly men twice Lance's size grabbed him by the arm, picking him off the chair like he weighed nothing.

"Hey! You're making a huge mistake!" he shouted at them, but they just ignored him and carried him out of his room. They finally put him down back in his de facto prison, the unused Garrison bunk. Shutting and locking the door, he found himself alone once again. The bickering could be heard faintly through the walls, but it was too far away to make anything out. They were going to decide his fate without him.