During a breakfast time on a spring one day, Shiro gazed down at the archway to scoops a drink of water, he loved being the outside after spending his first twenty-four years at the Galaxy Garrison, as much as he wanted to come home, he felt freer here like nothing could stop him.
"Stats?"
"Thank you for worrying about me", Shiro suggested to his friend, Stats. "It seems my soul went flying out and back into my body but I seem to be perfectly fine".
Stats smiled, amused, and glad for Shiro's safety and wherever to all corners of the world. It was one of the many things he loved about him. But the only thing that's changed is Keith after his run-in with Allura, he spends more time staring into the distance.
Shiro and Stats are both worried about that, even if he doesn't remember the details. It was clear it was an awful experience. For both of them.
"Keith, You haven't touched one of your food," said Shiro.
"Of course I have, I have trusted this omelet".
"Keith, it's been a week... Since that... happened"
But Keith stands a distance away, looking at the sky. "I don't know anymore...whatever it is we are planning, will it help to become stronger inside? Can I truly forgive Allura? Or my heart will be swayed by something else?"
"Wow, that is deep?" Asked Shiro, "but I surely think that anyone could be swayed"
"That's all you have to say"
"Maybe, I don't know really"
"Stats"
"Whatever, Even I sometimes have things to say about".
"Stats"
"What do you mean that's funny"
"Stats"
"If you weren't so adorable, I would beat you up right now"
"Such sorrow from the quintessence Crystal. Allura claims that Keith betrayed her. Keith claims that she betrayed him. Their stories don't match. I just hope we can find out the pieces of the puzzle?" Shiro thought
Elsewhere, a man stands in the middle of a forked path. He was around the age of seventeen, dressed in a light blue shirt with a gray-brown jacket. The jacket is accented with black and orange, and blue jeans and white sneakers that are accented with black and light blue.
He throws his staff on the ground, which points to the right path.
"Okay, got go to the right," he said as marched down the narrow path, After a fifteen minutes walk, he arrived at a small town surrounded by a high fence. It was a Hamlet of some sort, little more than a rough handful of houses, here, though, set into one wall of the squarish fence was a sturdy enough gate.
Sitting next to the gate was a rest house that serves cupcakes and sandwiches for the locals and travelers.
The young man skidded to a halt in front of the rest house, he was desperate enough to grab a bite to eat, with enough coins in his pocket.
"I love divine intervention". He said as saw two girls with fair skin serving the guests. He pointed two fingers at them, winked, and called out, "Sup, my future wives"
"As if, I already have a Beyonce" the woman hissed.
"Me too," the woman said the same.
"Okay, way to go, Lance," the boy said in frustration, "you have to say something stupid, I thought that will work this time".
But it was a Normally day to let this one slide. Grab a menu and endless possibilities of self-confidence for the day.
Lance was about to order his food for the day when he overhears a conversation between two Merchants in the rest house.
"I hear the daughter of a rich man has been cursed and has taken to her bed"
"Oh My, that is a terrible thing."
That define intervention feeling Lance had on earlier on his way here, it came back stronger than ever, after eating his meal, he left to the rich man's house, Lance could smell the cash in the air.
"Gardenias," Lance said, dreamily to nobody in particular as he set sights on the mansion, the Mansion was nothing like you ever seen, it was almost in a mixer of a Chinese architect and American modern style.
Arriving at the gate, dressed in the appearance of a wandering monk. Lance makes his move on the rich man, who was standing in his office, the office was decorated in pictures of the family, surrounded by a wall of red.
"Are you sure this one's a priest of high virtue?" Said the man
"Yes. So he claims." Said the Serf
Under the orders, the man allowed Lance to sit with the lord of the mansion. Where he saw the red-painted and sparkling interior of the mansion, a room of treasures struck him as interesting.
"Monk, if you can't drive away from the daemon, I'll not offer you a piece of cake, understand?"
"Wow, to live in such opulence in a turbulent time. The people here must surely resent it." Lance said, looks at the treasures
"Impudence!" The man shouted, but he allowed the priest to walk into a room with him. A big gold statue of Buddha sits in a corner of the room. A young woman lies on a straw mat, sleeping away.
"Layla, a priest has come to see you."
"Pardon me. Let me see your face." Lance said, kneels and looks at her.
"Wow! Is her face swollen!" He sympathetic said.
"Her face always like that along with the rest, are you sure you are a monk?"
"Hey, That statue of Buddha..."
"Oh you know this, I received it from some impoverished nobleman. It's a blessed statue."
"Ok, that was very nice of them but there is a major problem with the statue".
"Excuse me"
"Yeah, the statue has two feelers are on its face, so it's the main source of your problem with your daughter being cursing all".
"So what do I do, do I get rid of it" the man panicking.
"No you can't it's too late, but I can begin the exorcism now".
"I see, then get to it".
"Okay, for this to work, you need to leave and take everyone else with you, but leave your daughter here".
"Okay but why you need my daughter"
"Because she's a curse", Lance said, basically "and you can't take a cursed person with you."
"Uh-hmm...all right".
"Good, and the least important thing, No matter what you hear, don't go in."
With no choice to agree with him, the richest man along with his co-wards leaves the room. Leaving Lance deal with his exorcism.
"Now..." Lance said as he turns to the statue, "Leave peacefully and I will show you mercy".
He said as he points his staff at the statue which shakes violently. The mouth of the Buddha suddenly turns into a menacing grin.
"So you are the problem" Lance whispered to himself as a weasel appears from the statue and flies at Lance like a comet.
"Who are you?" Demanded the weasel. "Who are you???".
Lance pulled a secret blaster off his belt, held it in front of his body, and hoped like the crazy lady that this building was blaster proof.
Outside of the exterior of the building, where the lord and his serfs look on. Unaware of the fight between Lance and the weasel or some part of it.
"What is it? That sounds like some beast..."
"What's going on in there?"
"Shall we take a look, my lord?"
"No, he said not to look until he gave the word. I don't want to catch any parts from the exorcism"
Not catch any parts indeed as the demon weasel continues to attacks Lance who dodges the assault, resolving him to crashes into the wall instead.
Seem the perfect Target, Lance blasted through another blazing shot at the daemon weasel. Finally, the weasel, growls in pain and defeat.
"That should do it," Lance said, excitedly about his victory beforehand.
"Is it me or it sounds like someone's searching the mansion".
"Just hold on awhile" the concern words popped into the rich man's mind as he continued waiting for the exorcism to be done and it was done later in the sunset. Where the man arrives in his daughter's room.
"So you say this tiny weasel turned into a daemon and attack you?"
"Yes, father," said the daughter, holds her face and blush.
"And what of the monk?"
"He left with no answer and my heart"
Then suddenly, the Serf arrived at the room delivering the sudden news. "Oh, my lord! It's a disaster!"
The rich man somersaulted off his current area, only to find his treasure room. Fill with coins, is now gone, to his complete shock.
"All the money in the vault has been completely taken"
"Damn it all, I have been had" the man, falls to the ground in total humiliation.
Lance had made it once again, halfway up the hill, away from the mansion that he swindled, skipping over the rocks in the field. Only when he had reached the summit of the hill did he pause for the moment and look back at the mansion.
Roughly his first swindle wasn't the best but after the first years, Lance undresses from his monk garb to his regular clothes and held three bags of cash, sensing the full amount weight, Lance tightened the straps of his shoulder bag and turned around to descend the hill.
Whistling merrily, he should do something about this cash and he did. So he did, the rest house might be able to into paying off the rest of his food and then go into the hot spring of the rest house for a well-deserved bath and peace
After eating their breakfast, Shiro, Keith, and Stats arrived at the Hamlet for a pack of supplies, during their time there. Shiro continues to felt like Keith was hardly telling him anything, he knows that Keith can take care of himself but feel like he should be doing more for him.
"Ah, Shiro?" Keith said. "Are you feeling okay, why are you suddenly quiet"
"Oh, sorry about that" Shiro didn't bother to start answering, he was still thinking about Keith, his mind was so reeling back to yesterday's events so much it made to Hamlet's marketplace, suddenly buying some fruit for the next day, resulting him to looked around.
"a vegetable stand, how did I get here," Shiro thought, wondering, since he didn't remember walking into the nearby area, getting more supplies for the journey ahead, or doing everything at all. "Oh my God, have I just been standing here this entire time, I feel like a total idiot, I meant time I was thinking about Keith"
"Are you going to buy something" whispered the clerk, who was standing next to him, behind the counter.
"Yes, I am, what you got," said Shiro, finally snapping out of it and finding Keith, carrying a bag of dried meats.
"Well I have a bunch of Cloudberry, Seaberry, golden apples, and gooseberry"
"Well, I'll take one of that Cloudberry and a few apples".
"Very well then," the clerk said, putting the fruit in a basket.
Not exactly the ideal fruits or not the exact fruits that he imagined, but thanked the clerk and handed her what he owed. Then, off to the rest house with a basket of fruit.
Then later in the nighttime at the rest house's spring, "this feels nice" Lance said, chilling out in the hot water as he baths in it. While looking at a piece of the coin from the cash that he has stolen from the rich man earlier. "I wonder how much I can use for discount, possibly for a new gun or a new shirt, the possibilities are endless," he said, excitedly.
Just then, someone came to the hot spring bath! How wonderful it could be for him as Lance peeps behind the boulders to the other side of the spring to see a naked Shiro enters the spring he was in.
After his embarrassing moment in the marketplace, Shiro decided to take a bath since he didn't wash for a few days. But unknowing to him. He still had the quintessence Crystal around his neck, extracting unwanted attention.
"Whoa, another man," Lance thought as he was the unwanted attention, "and he has the quintessence Crystal, wonder if I could use it for a quick buck" with that in mind, Lance moves forward until.
"Are you sure you don't want to" Shiro asking Keith, who was sitting with his back while facing Shiro on the other side of the hot spring?
Same go for Stats who also with Keith. "No thanks, you got nothing interesting going on" Keith confessed
"Um... Okay, just tell me what you need anything" Shiro said, turns around to enjoy his bath. "You don't have to be rude about it"
But soon, Stats walking over there, repairing to joining Shiro for his bath. Until Keith stopped him.
"Huh? Stats, what are you doing?"
"Stats"
"Whatever you blob, I have still no interest in joining"
"Stats, stats"
"What do you mean, I haven't gotten far with Shiro".
"Stats"
Keith's mouth dropped open, then closed. Finally, "Well, you don't understand".
In the spring, Shiro sinks himself into the water, thinking to himself, "why is he so difficult sometimes, is he still thinking about Allura, and if he is must have been hard for him looking back on it now, tomorrow I'm going to ask him"
Then suddenly, a hand appears from the clouds, resulting in Shiro turns around and notices it. "Hey, get off of me". Shiro shouted.
His screams have stops Keith and Stats' conversation and run to the spring, "What's wrong?" Keith said, jumps into the water.
But as soon as Keith touch the water, Shiro ended up thumping Keith on the head with a huge stone. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm fine". Shiro explained as he was not expecting several snow monkeys to sit behind him.
"Shoo! Shoo! Monkeys" Shiro said, putting his hand to Chase off the monkeys.
While all this was going on, Lance was putting on his clothes behind a tree.
"He's with someone else, normally I'm not the type to unleashed violence but what can you do," Lance thought as he was removing a gun, sharpshooter one to be precise. Showing up his response for an attack ahead.
Stats' thoughts on what he had to say to Keith stayed with him throughout the next morning when they left the rest house, at first Keith had thought he was going to get the scolding of a lifetime, but Shiro has been easy on him, for the time being, he was a guy and he generally seemed to look out for Keith.
And, hey, maybe Shiro have forgotten about the entire incident about him seeing his entire naked body, his gorgeous body, looking at it could send someone a nosebleed, if they are given the chance. So maybe Stats was right about Keith just going up and talking to Shiro.
Why not? Keith Wondering, today's already been full of disasters. A bump on the head can hardly be noticed for Keith. Yep, just a normal day by the mountain path. Or as soon as it's thought.
Looking up from the cliff, Lance overlooking them like a man on a mission. To do have an enormous Target in his sight. He prepared for his gun, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Straightening his pose from not being sulks, Keith marched over to Shiro, Along the way, Keith figured that maybe he should've taken Stats on his offer on not going very far with Shiro.
"Hey, Shiro," Keith said, taking a deep breath and continue to say, of all things, "how was last night"
"You idiot!" Screamed the old, questioning voice in Keith's head, but it was too late, Shiro and Stats were staring at him.
"You... What about last night" asked Shiro.
"Not!" Keith thought. "I mean I didn't see nothing, except your giant muscles, your lustrous muscles" but all that really out of Keith's mouth was "Uh....uh..."
"Stats, Stats," said stats as he stood to try to break the awkwardness between them.
Shiro got up to follow Stats but paused and asked, "Uh Keith, is this about what happened last night, it's okay to see your person naked, we're both guys, right?"
"Um...what," Keith said back.
"You know it's okay to tell me what you need to say" Said Shiro, he smiled at Keith, tucked his hand behind his back, and turned to continue the path ahead.
Keith couldn't help himself. He just had to say, "all right, not exactly I hope for but it works".
With his back turned to Keith, Shiro enjoyed a private smile. He'd been wanting to talk to him ever since that moment and in the moments before. Seeing Keith to finally asked him about his problems...well, Shiro didn't meet guys like him who were not interested in him. Other than that and the fact that his communication with others needed some work, Shiro didn't know too much other in their traveling together but he wanted to.
Lance dropped next to another Stone with a smile showed proudly, revealing a gun lock and loaded with a click, where Keith, Shiro, and Stats was up to usual stroll around the world, where he witness Keith been rubbed the wrong way. And the fact that he was messing up a conversation with Shiro.
Lance followed his gun, finding the right targets strike, and said, "Okay, obviously not the best I have to attack the guy, and then I'll take the other guy."
But why Lance go so much trouble? holds up his right hand, it'll be over in seconds but if he uses his hand, everyone around him will die.
With that out of the way, Lance shot a huge boulder, causing it to rolls ominously towards the gang.
"Huh?" Shiro and Keith said as they look up to the rumbling noises.
The boulder crashes into the gang. Shiro falls forward, while Keith falls down the cliff. The boulder continues crushing on Keith.
"Keith" Shiro shouted, runs to the cliff edge, feeling his concern rise at the moment of the attack.
Then suddenly a hand touch his shoulder, the part of his brain that made Shiro feel like time was running out also chimed in during situations like these. Shiro might be a nobody here but how could anybody let something like this happen to his person.
Shiro Head-butt his attacker. Which turned out to be Lance who pulls him onto his lap after his unexpected head butt attack "who are you".
"You have nothing to fear. I'm Lance...no one suspicious. When I searched for the quintessence Crystal, you were attached to it, you see."
"What you, what am I, a consolation prize"
Keith with a great push managed to dodge the boulder and continue to march over to the breezeway far more confidently than once before when he was with Shiro as he notices him with Lance
"Shiro! What's going on? That guy...!why does he have him" Keith thought, but he has time to think about that later, right now he needs to climb up the cliff site and rescue Shiro.
"Wow, what a vicious fiend!" Lance said, removes a chain of beads around his right hand.
"Got to get out of here," Keith said himself as soon a strong patch of ice suddenly blows on the path he's on, causing him to lose his balance upwards and almost fall onto a rock wall, luckily for him.
"Keith" Shiro shouted and pushes Lance to let go of him.
"Hey, don't you want to," Lance said, chilling as he puts the beads back on his right hand, "whatever I got what I came for", say to himself, holds up Shiro's chain of the quintessence Crystal.
A short while later, the threat of Lance had passed but still weighed on Keith the whole climb up. Not even the tangerine good morning or Shiro's constant chatter could rouse Keith from his worries.
"Keith, are you all right?" Shiro said, still reeling from Lance's assault.
"Damn... Who was that guy, anyway?" Keith wondered.
"He said that his name is Lance" Shiro asking him. "But what was it he did with his right hand?"
"Yeah you're right, I felt like dealing with a blizzard, how did he do up there". Keith said, now upright an idea forming in mind.
"Hey don't worry, the best thing that everything's alright," Shiro said, putting his hand on his chest, "Oh no!"
"What is it, what's wrong"
"He took it, the Crystal"
"What!" Keith shouted, "I look away for one second, and... this happens, come on"
Shiro nodded and closed the canopy. The threesome headed to the southeast to capture their little thief.
Leaving to the mountainside near the edge between the forested bluff, Shiro, Keith and Stats walked over peered down at the tiny regularized bumps erupting from the sun-baked plain below.
The haphazard collage of low-grade concrete, stone, and plastoid structure spread outward from a central power and water-distribution like the spokes of a wheel.
The town was considerably larger than it appeared since a good portion of it lay underground, looking like bomb craters from this distance, the smooth circular depressions of old launch stations pockmarked the cityscape.
A brisk gale was scouring the tired ground. It whipped the dirt about Shiro's feet and legs as he adjusted his backpack
"There it is" Keith murmured, indicating the unimpressive collection of buildings, "Mos Eisley port, the ideal place for that guy, not a more wretched collection of butt smacks".
"Well we're going to have a hard time," Shiro said, looking over his goggles. "Looks like the Galra owns this place, so we must be very cautious, Keith. The population of Mos Eisley should disguise us well".
Keith wore a determined look. "Don't you worry about me, Shiro, I'm just looking for the guy who does make us look like fools"
"I hope so, whoever this guy is he's pretty powerful I just hope you could handle this" Shiro thought, but he only nodded as he led the way back to the mountainside.
Unlike Arus and Balto, there were enough people in Mos Eisley to require movement in mind, even the oldest of the town's buildings had been designed to protect from the rain and hot days ahead.
Shiro and Keith walk from the center of the forest through the town's outskirts when several tall, gleaming forms appeared from nowhere and began to close a circle around them, for one panicked moment he considered gunning for Lance.
A startlingly firm grip on his arm both restrained and relaxed him. He glanced over to see Stats smiling, warning him.
So they continued at a normal pace around the town. Shiro and Keith hoping that the Galra Empire's troops were bent on business elsewhere. No such luck, one of the troopers raised an armored hand, Keith and Shiro had no choice but to respond.
As they stop on spot, they grew aware of the attention they were receiving from curious passersby, worse yet, it seemed that the trooper's attention was reserved on Shiro like he was a criminal or something.
"Excuse me let me see your identification" the trooper who had raised his hand barked, polite formalities were to be dispensed, to begin with.
Looking blank for a second, Shiro finally came up with "I must have forgotten, traveling a lot"
"It's true, traveling a lot can loosen some things" Keith put in, giving a wonderful impression of a naive person, not being careful with the world.
The trooper in charge did not deign to reply. He was absorbed in a thorough examination of the person in the landscape.
"Did you come from the swamplands?" he asked.
"No...no" Shiro answered quickly. "We came from the northwest near Lyra".
"Lyra?" The trooper murmured, walking around to study them up close, Shiro and Keith forced themselves to stare straight ahead, finally, the armored figure concluded his examination.
He moved to stand ominously close to Shiro and snapped, "let me see your identification".
Surely the man sensed his terror and nervousness by now, Shiro thought wildly. His resolution of not long before to be ready to take on anything had already disintegrated under the unwinding stare of this professional soldier.
He didn't know anything about this, he knew there were some areas under Galra control. If they find out that he doesn't have an ID or worse. Something seemed to be buzzing inside his head; he felt faint.
Keith had leaned over and was talking easily to the troops. "You don't need to see his identification". Keith informed the Galra in an extremely threatening tone.
Staring blankly back at him, the officer replied, "Remain where you are. Security will be alerted immediately". His reaction was the opposite of Keith's: his voice was normal at the time.
"Okay, I see you're doing your job," Keith told him pleasantly, before getting the jump on him with his dagger, rams him into the wall, and knocking him unconscious. Keith yanks his weapon out of his hand.
Shiro gapes. Unable to decide whether he should salute or nod or give thanks to him, Shiro settled going forward, when Keith grab him by the arm, drawing away from the circle of troops.
As they prepared to round a corner, Shiro risked a glance backward. The officer who had inspected them was now lying on the ground, surrounded by several comrades, though at this distance Shiro couldn't be sure.
He peered up at his daemon companion and started to something. Keith only shook his head slowly and smiled. Swallowing his curiosity. Shiro concentrates on the path of steadily narrowing streets ahead as they reach to a complete stop. Save from the soldiers.
Catching his breath, Shiro said, "that was too close to being in trouble".
"Well, what else am I supposed to do" Keith countered with Shiro. "This place is a Galra hotbed for the criminal imbalance, let's find this guy and get out of here".
"Ok Keith, but still we don't know where he is," Shiro asks him, But Keith seemed to have some idea where they were headed, Shiro studied the run-down structures and equally unwholesome-looking individuals they were passing, the had entered the oldest section of Mos Eisley and consequently the one where the old vices flourished most strongly.
Keith pointed and Shiro and Stats followed up in front of what appeared to be one of the original port's first blockhouse, it had been converted into a cantina whose clientele was suggested by the diverse nature of transport parked outside, some of them Shiro recognized, other he had only heard rumors of, the cantina itself, he knew from the design of the building, must lie partially underground.
As they were heading close to the cantina, Shiro's mind was too full of their narrow escape to understand. "I still can't understand how lucky we were, going by those troops, I thought we were just good as dead".
"Well if you're doing dealing with crazy psychopathic losers, you gotta be tough and battle-ready or otherwise you're going to end up good as dead".
Nodded without even knowing, Shiro indicated the run-down though obviously popular cantina, "do you think he might be in there"
Keith was heading towards the door, "I'm positive he is, if you are a criminal here, then this is the place to go, you should have learned by now, Shiro, not to equate ability with appearance".
Shiro looked at his appearance anew and felt ashamed. "So you better watch yourself, these places are rough like me".
Shiro found himself squinting as they entered the cantina. It was darker inside than he would have liked. Perhaps the regular habituès of this place were unaccustomed to the light of day or didn't wish to be seen clearly, it didn't occur to Shiro that the dim interior in combination with the brilliantly lit entrance permitted everyone inside to see each newcomer before he could see them.
Moving inward, Shiro was astonished at the variety of beings making use of the bar. There were one-eyed creatures or thousand-eyed, creatures with scales and fur, this type of Anniversary reminded him of his time at the giant tree.
Hovering near the bar itself was a towering insectoid that Shiro glimpsed only as a threatening shadow, it contained two of the tallest woman Shiro had ever seen.
They were among the most normal-looking of the outrageous assemblage of humans that mixed freely among alien counterparts. Tentacles, claws, and hands were wrapped around drinking utensils of various sizes and shapes, conversations were a steady babble of human and alien tongues.
Leaning close, Keith gestured toward the far end of the bar. A small knot of rough-looking humans lounged there, drinking, laughing, and trading stories of dubious origin.
"Pirates, most likely"
"I thought we were looking for Lance" Shiro whispered back.
"So we are, Shiro, so we are" agreed Keith, "Damn that guy! He can't have gone very far. I'll find him wherever he is, as soon as we figure out how where he is".
Shiro nodded and watched as Keith worked his way through the crowd. The locals' suspicion at his approach vanished as soon as he engaged them in conversation.
Something grabbed Shiro's shoulder and spun him around, "hey" looking around and struggling to regain his composure, he found himself staring up at an enormous, scruffy-looking human. Shiro saw by the man's clothing that he must be the bartender, it not the owner of this cantina.
"We don't serve that" the glaring owner, growled.
"What?" Shiro replied dumbly. He still hasn't recovered from his sudden submergence into the cultures of several dozen races. It was rather different from his time back home.
"Your weapons" the bartender explained impatiently, gesturing with a thick thumb. Shiro peered in the indicated direction, to see his sword, underneath quietly.
"You need to put them up over there, I don't serve fight clubs, only stuff for eating and drinking, not" he concluded with an expression of distaste, "Daemons"
Shiro and Keith didn't like the idea of having their weapons being put away but he didn't know how else to deal with the problem. The bartender didn't appear to be the sort who would readily respond to reason.
Meanwhile, the discussion had attracted the attention of several, especially since the most gruesome ones. Preparing for a fight.
"Yes, of course," Shiro said, realizing this wasn't the time or place to force your opinion on someone. "Where do we put them".
"Over there" the bartender pointed out, to show an entire stack of weapons in piles. "Keith, it's better than we do not cause any more trouble"
"Fine, even though I don't like it," Keith said, his gaze traveling past Shiro and the bartender to take in the unfriendly stares at the bar. "We're not going to stay long, we just going to find him and get out". With that out of the way, Shiro and Keith put their dagger and sword into the stack.
That finished things as far as the bartender was concerned but Shiro and Keith had another thing incoming, it's to find their target and get out. The subject of some unwanted attention was bad enough as it is to keep up the confidence they had.
For the life for Shiro that he couldn't understand what these creatures want or not want, a conversation to get over and over again, but they have one conversation to have is that is to find the thief. Even knowing that they become aware of isolation and felt ashamed as if one time or another every eye in the place rested a moment on them, that things human and otherwise were smirking and making comments about them behind the back.
So they start to sat and sipped the drinks there were given to them in splendid silence, Shiro's eyes roving over the crowd in hopes of meeting a responsive gaze that held on belligerence.
Suddenly, Keith finally answers the question to the bartender, "so we're looking for someone and we were wondering if he has come in"
"Who I meant I know a lot of faces, some stay, some go" the bartender bubbled challengingly.
"Oh really, looking for someone that has brown hair and brown skin, do you know a person like that" Shiro informed him.
"Well there is one person but he's in the woman area" the bartender explained. Pointing over to an area in the cantina, called the berry flower.
"Why would a robber hang around..." Shiro wondered.
"No one knows but it's one of the best parts of the cantina, my ladies after all know how to party"
"Well, who cares about that our thief is then so it" Keith observed solicitously. "And The butt whooping that he deserves, come on" with that being said, Keith, Shiro and Stats started to wend their way deeper into the bar, Keith parting the crowd like a graves storm cutting out trees from their leaves.
In the berry flower, Lance had appropriated someone else's drink from a waiter's tray as they made way to the rear of the cantina, he gulped at it with the giddy air of one who feels himself under divine protection.
If only if he didn't get the ugliest ladies, the same putty face that the daughter of the rich men had. Nevertheless, the several ugly ladies are singing off tune and playing musical instruments.
"Does anyone want to dance?" A girl said, obviously dancing awfully.
"We have nothing but beauties, he said? I'd have been better off drinking off with a different canteen this wasn't the only one". Lance grinned sardonically, turning to the exit. "What's this hope this charger is way better". He shook his head in amazement.
"Going somewhere, robber?" Said a certain character, bursts into the room with Stats and Shiro.
"Oh, it's you!" Lance stands and rushes to Shiro, holding his hand happily. "These girls were getting lonely, it's nice that someone like you would keep them company".
"Oh they would huh, don't worry I'll take care of them" Keith explains, flexes his hand on what is supposed to be holding his dagger. "Sorry, this is where the part I revealed my dagger".
"Oh, that's good news because I can do this" Lance said with a smirk as he hits his Target with his staff. "Such violence," he said.
"What do you mean?! Wasn't that you who attacked us?! With your super ice powers or something." Keith said, confusingly.
Upon hearing that, Lance smiles and holds up Shiro's necklace of the quintessence Crystal and said, "refurbish this something you shouldn't be holding".
Keith fell his anger boiled on the way to the top, sprints towards Lance with all his might.
But Lance escapes the room, leaps through the group of bartenders, and then to the outside of Mos Eisley.
"Hey!" Keith shouted as he, Shiro, and Stats started chases him through Mos Eisley, where it was surrounded by several people walking through the day in their everyday lives.
"Hold it!" Shiro said.
"I will not fight a senseless battle".
"Is that right? Then you'll die!" Keith said as he unsheathes his dagger for real this time and leaps towards him but Lance spins around and blocks Keith's attack.
"He stopped my weapon! This guy's no ordinary mortal."
"Why do you want to get punished by me, it won't look good on you"
"Who the hell are you?" Keith demanded.
"My name is Lance, Lance McCain and it's none of your business except I use my spiritual powers to save people.".
The villagers gather around Lance and Keith, wondering what's going on
"What's going on? Another fight"
"Where are the galra, they should be handling stuff like this"
"I doubt it, they're probably robbing our resources, or at least what I heard"
And soon Shiro and Stats started to run into the scene. Where Lance and Keith are, duking it out.
"You use your powers to save people? Give me a break, you're nothing but a robber. Give us back the quintessence Crystal. We went to a lot of trouble with"
"I understand…" Lance gloats, holding up the quintessence Crystal, "but you don't seem like the type to hold it, Keith"
"So, you know who I am?"
"Not at all". Lance explained, "your companion called you by that name"
"I guess he's not that's a bad person," Shiro said, starting to admire him.
"Stats" he explains, pinches Shiro's cheek.
"Don't worry I haven't forgotten he stole my crystal"
"You won't be flapping your lip when I get done with you". Keith scoffs as he sprints and swings at Lance.
But Lance blocks all of Keith's attacks easily while running backward, "You're very strong". He said, gloating.
"You're not bad yourself, you parry me every stroke".
"Thanks after all people called me 'The Tailor' because of how I thread the needle. Come around, come around! Come on, come on—!" But as Lance runs backward, he trips over a pile of logs and falls backward, resulting in Keith to knocks off his staff.
Keith points his dagger in Lance's face "how's that the Tailor, now hands over the quintessence Crystal." Keith demanded.
But Lance somersaults backward and sprints away, away from the target, and said, "People! Get as far away as possible, for your safety!"
But the people along with Shiro and Stats were gape in confusion. While Lance and Keith running to the outskirts of Mos Eisley.
Lance stops and turns around against Keith "Give up! You lost" Keith said.
But Lance smirks and holds up his right hand.
"His right hand!" Keith thought, nervously.
"Sorry, but I hate losing." Lance grinned as he removes the red beads around his right hand, "especially since I have ice blowing in my veins"
With that being said, Ice started to grow around him almost like he's controlling it, bending it to his will.
"Wha…!" Keith said, struggles to keep his balance now the cover ice ground.
"See I told you, there is a reason why I call the tailor", Lance explained as he thrust a wall of ice towards Keith but luckily Keith manage to dodge it but the rest of the building of Mos Eisley was getting damaged, causing the locals to panic. Shiro and Stats peer from behind a wall.
"Stats" Stats said, panicking as he was wanting to escape.
But Shiro has thought about a plan, the ice was everywhere and Keith was losing to Lance. He has to stop him but how.
"D-damn!" Keith shouted as he multitude of ice, coming from Lance's Palm.
"Give up, you're losing here"
"Forget it! It doesn't matter if I'm losing or not, I'm not leaving until I get the crystal back" Keith explains as he running towards Lance.
"You're crazy you know that I'll freeze you dagger and all"
Just then, lance gasps as he notices Shiro flying towards him, with his sword repairing to an attack.
"Shiro"
"What the"
"Fourth from: Taurus"
Lance immediately puts on the beads over his ice powers. Shiro crashes into him from inertia as he uses his sword to break through the areas that had ice in them and they fall backward.
"Shiro," Keith said, worried.
"Ow, that's smart," Shiro said, clutches her head after his latest attack, and discovered the beads on Lance's right hand.
"Those prayer beads… They seal off his right hand. He can control himself."
"Shiro, are you okay," Keith said, rushes to Shiro, "why did you Rush in? I couldn't handle it".
"I had to, you were in a fight that you never going to win and besides, this boy would have killed us a long time ago"
But Lance's eyebrows twitches and he surprising gropes Shiro's behind with his right hand. Causing him to shrieks and leaps off of him.
"Nevermind I was wrong, so wrong, kill him"
"You just blew your last chance" Keith glares at Lance angrily while Shiro clutches onto Keith's jacket.
"Settle down. We'll talk"
Then suddenly, a group of soldiers arrived at this scene of ice, "what happened here"
"Hey, you" a soldier shouted at Shiro, Keith, Lance, and Stats. "Care to explain what happened here"
"Uh, we got to go," said Lance as he leads the group out of the galra's clutches.
Elsewhere, Four imperial Galra troopers, their eyes darting rapidly from table to booth to bar had entered the cantina. There was muttering from among the crowd but whenever the eyes of one of the hardest and armed troopers went hunting for the muttered, the words died with sullen speed.
Moving to the bar, the officer in charge asked the bartender a couple of brief questions, the big man hesitated a moment, then pointed toward a place near the berry flower as he did so, his eyes widened slightly. Those of the office were unrecognizable.
The place was empty but leaving nothing but the fat girls. Still dancing and singing horribly.
After the escape from the heavily armed Galra men, Lance leads the group into an alleyway where Mos Eisley's inner regions the walls were high and narrow, turning the passageway into a tunnel.
Luckily this tunnel turns into a vibrant marketplace, similar to the one in Hamlet but had many fruits and vegetables and sometimes some extra clothes. Where Stats had secrecy took the fruit from a nearby stand, while Shiro, Keith, and Lance sit on the grass near the tree. Finally safe from the Galra.
Lance explains his predicament to Shiro and Keith. "Now that we're free now and out of danger, let's talk about the quintessence Crystal"
"Yeah you should, as asking why did you took it from us," said Keith.
"Well I needed it to defend myself and my family"
"Your family" Keith Wondered.
"That's right"
"Why you already have enough power with that right hand of yours," Shiro asked Lance
"That's true but with Zarkon, that is a different perspective, it all started a long time ago"
"It was my grandfather who battled the Galra in his youth, back into the earlier days of the war, the Galra would often raid human villages for their daemons". Lance narrated his story to Shiro and Keith.
"That kind of sounds similar," Shiro said, remembering his time at Alderaan.
"My grandfather had magical abilities, he was known as a caster human"
"A caster human"
"Casters are the type of people that were born with magical abilities inherited from parents with daemons, they are kinda like the cool peoples"
"I didn't know that but I bet he was a stealer," Shiro said
"Now you got something interesting but no, that's not the whole story" Lance explained.
"Being a caster has its perks, especially inheriting a cool ice arm that's been passed down through generations, is pretty amazing but it comes with its downsides"
"What do you mean"
"Well, I have to keep my ice powers from going berserk or otherwise it will kill me," Lance said, ominously, very ominously towards Shiro and Keith.
"Okay that's it," Keith said. "But why were you after the quintessence Crystal"
"I told you I needed to defend my family, were you listening to me, the crystal disappeared over years ago or something and Zarkon he went after the Priestess that protected it and killed her"
Keith gasps, "are you staying he killed the Priestess"
"Yeah why"
"He's probably the one who took my form and wounded Allura. There's no doubt about it". Keith thought as he grabs Lance and said, "Lance! You say Zarkon invaded your Homeland, do you know where he is now"
"If I knew that, I'd have found him long ago and besides I heard he lives in his castle, you have to be an idiot to go there"
"But he laid the trap for me and my friends, he made us think that we hurt each other"
"I hate to agree with Lance but he does have a point!" Shiro explains. Remembering that he knew how Allura died, but never weight on it then till now.
"What do you mean by exactly"
"If we keep looking for the samurai or more allies, we're sure to confront Zarkon, right?" Shiro said, holds up the necklace of the quintessence Crystal on his neck.
"How do you get that back"
"I took it when you were not looking"
"Thank you," Lance said, excitedly running over to Shiro but Shiro flips him around and pins him to the ground.
"if you do you want to go looking for Zarkon, don't go near my personal space"
"Okay, I knew you were a good person"
"They're starting to search the port central" the commander decided to have to alternately run a couple of steps and then walk to keep pace with the long strides of Lord Zarkon.
The dark lord of the empire was deep in thought as he strode down one of the battle station's main corridors, trailed by several aides.
"The reports just started to come in, my emperor" the commander went on, "it's only a matter of time with our suspicions are confirmed"
"Send more men if you have to, never mind the protest of the governor-I must have that samurai, if word got out, it will be chaos and rebels will finally have a tool against us"
"I understand, my emperor, we must increase our efforts starting with the experiment with the connection between humans and daemons"
"Very well, contact Sendak from Aurs, tell him it's time" Zarkon commanded from his throne in the darkness ahead.