Title: Mind Games

Warnings: NCS and Violence

Keith: 22 - captain
Lance: 22 - pilot
Sven: 24 - second in command; security
Pidge: 20 - computer expert and medic
Hunk: 21 - mechanics expert and gourmet (y'all will see ^_~)

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Staring out at the dense forest, Lance banged on the controls of the land craft in frustration.  "Okay, someone tell me why we are on this god forsaking planet!  A week of this humidity is driving me nuts!"

“We're the chosen ones.” Keith chuckled in response to Lance's frustration; he could just picture what Lance's face must look like… his body all hot and dripping with sweat… he suddenly decided he 'shouldn't go there' if he actually wanted to get any work done today. “Don't complain too much, babe, for a first assignment this ain't really all that bad.”

Hunk leaned over and grabbed the communicator from Keith's hand.  "I am sure Keith can cool you off when you get back, Lance."

Keith blushed deeply and snatched the communicator back, giving Hunk a nasty glare in the process.

Hunk fell to the ground laughing, followed by more laughter from Sven and kissing sounds from Pidge over the communicator.  One of the problems with only one line for all communications.

Keith's blush darkened. “You're all just jealous is all.” Keith glared at Hunk, daring him to even attempt to say anything in response… after all Hunk was the one right there he could 'seek revenge on'.

Coughing came over the communicator.  "If y'all are finished, I would like to finish this job before I sweat to death."  Luckily no one could see that Lance was blushing redder than a strawberry.

“I'm sure that's not the only reason you want to finish the job soon.” Sven teased.

“Just get back to work already, you dirty minded little…” Keith's voice trailed off, as he chose not to finish the sentence. “Or I'll get you for insubordination.”

A chorus of 'Yes Sir' could be heard over the communicator, followed by quiet snickers.  Except for Hunk, who was still rolling on the ground in hysterics.

Reaching into the land craft, Keith picked up a half eaten muffin that Hunk had been eating for breakfast, though now it was slightly stale and just a little hard, and threw it at the laughing man.

Hunk's hysterical laughter was replaced with coughing as the muffin landed directly in his mouth.  Regaining his breath, Hunk glared at his captain.  "That was a little extreme sir!"

Keith grinned at Hunk trying hard not to break into hysterical laughter, though a few chuckles still escaped. “That'll learn ya... next time finish your breakfast.”

"Hey!  Are you two behaving yourselves?"  Sven's voice laughed over the communicator.

“Of course we are behaving. Have you ever known me to not behave…” Keith started to say. “On second thought don't answer that.”

Choking and gagging sounds came from behind him.

Keith rolled his eyes at Hunk's over-exaggeration. “The problem here has been taken care of.”

Strangled laughter was heard from the communicator.  One could practically hear Pidge sneering.  "Be careful, Keith.  Lance may not like it if you have to give Hunk mouth-to-mouth."

“I'm sure you'd rather come here and do that… but we do need to get some work done here.” Keith said. “Me I'd rather stick to mouth-to-mouth recreation with someone who knows how to kiss.”

The responses were interesting to say the least: sputtering from Lance, hysterical laughter from Sven, and choking from Pidge.  The best response was from Hunk.  He blushed deep red as his mouth rapidly opened and closed, unable to come up with any response.

"Uhm, guys?"  Lance's voice turned serious.  "Is this planet suppose to be inhabited?"

“Yeah other then some assorted wildlife.” Keith responded. “Why do you ask?”

"Since when do wildlife eat Snicker's bars?"

“Well… with the way Hunk chows them down he could be considered wildlife.” Keith joked. “Maybe there was another team here before us, it's the only possible explanation.”

"Maybe...something just doesn't feel right."

“You're just being paranoid.” Keith said, though not entirely unkindly.

"Keith's right.  Probably the dense vegetation and all this humidity is just getting to you."  Sven said.

Lance shrugged, though of course no one could see it.  "Y'all are probably right.  By the way, none of you have answered my question on why we are on this damn planet!"

“I did answer your question. We are here because we were sent here as our first mission. To decide if this … rock is suitable to start a colony on.”

Lance snorted.  "Only if you have webbed feet or fins.  The humidity is so damn thick you could swim through it!  Sven should feel right at home here.  Right, Flipper?"  He quickly started to hum Flipper's theme song.

Sven cursed Lance in Swedish, knowing that Lance wouldn't understand a single word he said.

“Look there is only a couple hours of daylight left, why don't we just call it a day.” Keith said, knowing that they were not going to get any more work done today.

Three 'Okay's responded, though 'Flipper' could still be heard from Lance as well as more cursing from Sven's end.

“Alright, enough already, Sven… remember that some of us do know what those words mean.” Keith said. “And lay off the Flipper music, Lance.”

"Yeah.  Popeye is so much better!"  Pidge popped up.  "Toot toot!"  He immediately started singing in his 'sailor' accent.

“Oh good lord.” Keith mumbled under his breath, hoping that none of them started to sing The Smurfs.
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Keith and Hunk were the first to arrive back at the campground. Keith was getting a fire started as the others arrived, one by one.

Lance was the last to arrive, skipping.  "Hi Honey, I'm home!"

“Hey, babe, about time you got back, I was starting to think that I was going to have to send out a search party.”  Keith said.

"No need.  I am a regular bloodhound.  I can always find my way to you."

“Dang it. I guess that eliminates ever being able to take you out into the woods and abandoning you.” Keith said, leaning back against a rock, near the fire.

Lance stuck out his tongue. "Ha ha.  Very funny.  I am afraid you are stuck with me."  He sat away from the others, ignoring the snickering from the other three.  "That goes for the rest of you.  So be afraid.  Be very afraid."

“It is a terrifying thought.” Sven said.

Keith nodded slightly, though didn't make any further comment. His eyes were on Lance who had chosen to sit on the far side of the fire.

"Ya got that right buddy."  Lance glanced at Keith and winked.  "Who knows, I may even get the skipper here to help me out."

“Oh yeah… Duddely-Do-Right is really someone to fear.” Sven teased Keith.

"Hey, don't underestimate him.  He can surprise you without warning."  Lance laughed, though his eyes kept glancing at the night shadows.

“Oh please spare us the details of those surprises.” Sven said in mock horror.

“Are you expecting company?” Keith asked Lance, since he hadn't taken his eyes off Lance it was rather hard for him to miss the fact that Lance was watching the woods.

"Huh?"  Lance jumped.  "Oh, of course not.  I am just looking around."  He flinched when Keith gave him the 'I-definitely-don't-buy-that' look.  Lance quickly stood up and stretched, avoiding Keith's eyes.  "Boy, am I bushed!  I am gonna hit the sack early guys."

Keith jumped to his feet, and called after his retreating lover. “Lance…”

Sven reached up and grasped Keith's wrist before Keith could follow after Lance. “Maybe you should just let him be.  I think he's a little upset about earlier.”

Hunk blinked.  "What is so upsetting about a silly candy wrapper?"

“I think he's more upset about the teasing.” Sven pointed out.

“I probably should go check on him…” Keith said, as he stared towards Lance's tent.

“Leave him be, he just needs time to cool off.” Sven said.

Keith turned to reply but was cut short by a scream coming from Lance's tent.  Lance stormed out of his tent, swinging his arms around wildly and cussing so fast in his native tongue that not even Pidge, with his sharp mind, could even hope to translate what he was saying.

Even though Keith couldn't make out a single word Lance said, one thing was clear – Lance was upset. From the second Lance had scream Keith had pulled away from Sven and was sprinting towards the tent. Keith gently grasped Lance by both his arms. “Are you okay?” Keith asked his voice fraught with concern.

Lance pulled away from Keith, his eyes wild.  "WHO put that...that...DAMN spider in MY sleeping bag?!?"  He glared at everyone.  "A joke is a joke, but that...that FUCKING spider is almost a FOOT long!!"

“Whoa, settle down.” Keith said reaching out and placing a hand on Lance's shoulder. “Nobody else has been in the tent. There are a lot of spiders around here.  Maybe it crawled in there, seeking the warmth.”

Sven walked over.  "That is probably what happened.  A one in a million chance that that will happen....."

Lance let out a yelp and nearly plowed into Keith and Sven in his haste to get to the other side of the campfire as the spider calmly crawled out of the tent.  The others were not far behind Lance.

Pidge's eyes were huge.  "SHIT!!  That sucker is bigger than Hunk's appetite!"

Keith pulled out his gun and shot the spider, killing it with a single shot. “Not so big no more.”

Lance just dropped down on his knees, hyperventilating. "No way...no how...am I gonna SLEEP in that...that tent!!"

Keith knelt down beside Lance and put an arm around him. “It's dead, there's nothing to worry about.” Keith gently rubbed Lance's arm in a comforting fashion and softly whispered in Lance's ear. “Just relax, babe, it's not like you'll be alone at night….”

Lance leaned into Keith, clutching his shirt and mumbling over and over.  "I hate spiders.  I hate spiders.  I hate spiders....."

“Sh, I know…” Keith gently stroked Lance's back. “It's gone now, nothing left to worry about.”

Lance only buried himself further into Keith's embrace, his entire body shaking violently.

Hunk walked over and kicked the dead spider out of sight.  "I think maybe we better all turn in."

Sven agreed.  "Except be sure to check your sleeping bags.  We need to be careful since we still don't know what types of wildlife live out here."

Keith stood up slowly, pulling Lance up to his feet at the same time. “C'mon, we'll just sleep in my tent tonight, okay?”

"Okay."  Lance whispered.  He was no longer shaking as much, but he still held firmly to Keith and his eyes glanced around him frantically.

After everyone had said their goodnights Keith led Lance to his tent. He checked the sleeping bag for a spider, or any other kind of 'creepy crawler' before sitting Lance down on the bed. “How ya doin'?”

"Better.  I...I'll be okay."  Lance wrapped his arms around himself.  "Just seeing that...that thing crawl out of my bag....."

Keith rested his hand on Lance's shoulder, offering comfort. “I know… I don't think anyone would exactly remain calm seeing that crawling out of their sleeping bag.

"Maybe.  I still feel silly."  Lance managed a weak grin, before turning serious. "Is something wrong with you?  You seem kinda distant tonight."

“You're not silly… or at least no more then normal…” Keith said with a smile.  “Nothing's wrong.” He fibbed.  Knowing Lance wouldn't accept that answer even before the other man had a chance to speak, he relented. “I guess I figured you might still be upset about earlier….”

"Earlier?"

“The fact that I got everyone else… laughing at us.”

"Is that all?"  Lance chuckled.  "Hell Keith that doesn't bother me one bit!  If I remember correctly, I was helping you!"

Keith smiled. “Yeah… that's all.” He wrapped his arms around Lance and rested his head against Lance's shoulder. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

"Yeah."  He wrapped his own arms around Keith and pulled him closer.  "I never get tired of hearing it though."

“I love you with all my heart.” Keith told him. He lifted his head and looked into Lance's brown eyes, there was still concern clearly etched into his black eyes. “How are you doing… really?”

Lance immediately tensed.  "I...it's nothing...really."

“It's still bothering you, ain't it?” Keith asked, gently running his fingers through Lance's soft brown hair and down along his neck. “You know you can always talk to me about anything.”

"I...I know."  Lance sighed.  "It's just...I...I don't know what it is."  Without thinking he pulled Keith even closer to him.  "Something just doesn't feel right.  I have been feeling this since we got here.  I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen...and it is not just that fucking spider!"  Lance's body started to shake again.

Keith pulled Lance closer, rocking him slightly. “Nothing's going to happen, I won't let it.”

"I know.  I know."  Lance smiled weakly at his lover.  "Maybe you are right.  Maybe I am just exhausted."

“Yeah, that's probably it. It's been a long day.” Keith agreed. “So what do you say we get ready for bed?”

"Sounds like a good idea."  Lance started to lie down, but stopped and lifted the pillow up.  He smiled pathetically up at Keith.  "Just...just checking."

Keith grabbed an extra blanket, and shook it out, before tossing it across the end of the cot, since it was a rather tight squeeze to try to zip both of them up in the sleeping bag.  “You should at least take your boots off.”

Lance blushed.  He somehow managed to strip down to his boxers without standing on the cot, though he was under the blanket in a flash.  Clutching to the blanket like it was a lifeline, he looked up at Keith.  "Hold me?"

Keith smiled lovingly at Lance. He climbed into the cot next to Lance, clad only in his boxer shorts. He didn't answer with words he answered with action as he pulled Lance into his arms.

Safe.  Lance always felt so safe and warm in those arms.  As Keith pulled him closer, he relaxed as all the events of the day disappeared.

Keith gently stroked Lance's back, until he could feel all the tension leave Lance's tight muscles.  He lay awake listening as Lance's breathing evened out as he fell into a deep, contented sleep, before even considering sleep himself. He kissed the top of Lance's head, which rested on his chest, and closed his eyes and drifted towards sleep.
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"ARGH!!"  Lance and Keith screamed as they woke to the feel of ice cold water splashing on them.  Sputtering, they tried to get up, but were so tangled in the sheet that they only succeeded in crashing to the floor, with poor Lance on the bottom.  Looking up they saw an evil smiling Hunk holding an empty bucket.

Hunk laughed.  "I told you I could wake those love birds up."

In the background Sven groaned.  "You are a dead man Hunk."

Keith managed to de-tangle himself from the blanket and Lance, quickly scrambling to his feet, his black eyes blazing with anger. "You are so dead." He growled. He lunged towards Hunk, who at least had enough sense to run out of the tent – followed closely by Keith.

"Uhm, Keith...never mind."  Lance shrugged and quickly got dressed.  Keith would eventually notice the 'draft'.

Keith stopped short, though his eyes were still on Hunk as a slow smile spread across his lips. "You know what they say about paybacks, my dear friend…." Keith started to say, noticing a worried look on Hunk's face. "I don't think your job today will be quite so fun… "

Sven rolled his eyes in a 'I told you so' gesture.  Pidge was struggling not to laugh.  Snickering, Lance walked out of the tent and wrapped the blanket around Keith.  "I told y'all not to underestimate him."

Keith cast a glare in the direction of Sven and Pidge, as though daring them to say anything. He turned to head back towards the tent; he took a few steps and stopped turning back to Hunk, as though he had thought of something he had forgotten to tell the other. He dropped the blanket off his shoulders and before Lance had a chance to stop him he ran towards Hunk.

Hunk let out a worried yelp, but had little time to react before Keith was on him. Keith tackled the larger man, knocking them both into the wide stream that the camp was set next to.

When the two of them came up for air, the camp was in hysterics!  Pidge was rolling on the ground laughing so hard.  Sven clutched a tree trying to keep from falling down laughing.  Lance was on his knees, doubled over laughing.  All three had tears running down their cheeks.

Keith sat back, still sitting in the water, grinning from ear to ear. "I just thought you looked like you could use a nice cold bath too."

That sent the others into another hysterical fit.  Hunk just glared at his captain, sputtering.  "Ya know pilgrim...this means war."

"Oh so you want a war do you….?" Keith questioned threateningly.

"GUYS!!"  Sven gasped since he still couldn't stop laughing.  "Bath time is over unless you want a cold breakfast."

Keith stood up, offering Hunk a hand to help him stand. "I guess that's what they call being 'saved by the bell'."

Hunk mumbled about muffins, water, and paybacks while Keith helped him up.  Keith just smirked.

Pidge came forward with towels since Lance was still on his knees wiping his eyes and snickering.

Keith toweled his hair as he made his way towards his tent wanting to put on some dry clothes before eating breakfast. He paused by Lance long enough to give him a stern look over his excessive laughter, but didn't comment, before finishing on his way into the tent.

Sven chuckled.  "All of you better hurry.  Breakfast is almost ready!"

Keith emerged from the tent moments later; his thick black hair was still wet and mostly sleeked back.  His already tight jeans clung to his still damp skin, as did his red T-shirt – all accenting his firm muscle tone.  "And just what is for breakfast?" Keith asked. He didn't make any comment on the fact that if Sven made it that it just might not be edible.

Sven smirked.  "You have nothing to worry about Keith.  It is one of those 'add water' meals."

"This coming from someone who can burn water." Keith teased in good nature.

Sven just stuck his tongue out.  "I can make you starve, you know."

"I think that might be better then eating what you cook." Keith teased. "Your cooking is dangerous... I mean after all that muffin dang near knocked Hunk out."

Hunk started choking again.  Lance snickered. "I see what you mean.  It's still choking him!"

"What is this suppose to be anyways?" Keith asked as he poked at the food in the pot with a wooden spoon. "Cement mix?"

"Not just any cement mix, Keith.  Blueberry flavored."  Pidge added.

"Oh well in that case I'm sure it's very… " Keith paused as he tried to think of a suitable word.  "good. Good for building with that is."  He walked over and sat down next to Lance. "I think I'll pass on breakfast. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some berries to eat… like maybe some nightshade berries, they'd be a lot safer."

Sven snorted.  "Just put some honey on it and it will be fine."  He glanced in the pot.  "Lots of honey."

Hunk snickered.  "Yup!  Freeze-dried honey will do the trick.  Where is it anyway?"

"My tent."  Lance's body stiffened.  "I...I'll get it."

"Why would the honey be in…"Pidge started to ask, then his face darkened with a blush. "On second thought, I don't want to know why it's in Lance's tent."

Keith watched Lance walk to his tent, knowing Lance was still upset about finding the spider last night but also knowing that Lance needed to deal with it to be able to ever go back into that tent.

Sven glanced at Keith.  "He is still upset over what happened last night?"

Keith nodded. "A little bit." He glanced over at Sven. "I think the spider just has him a bit spooked."

Pidge shivered.  "Who wouldn't!  If I saw that thing coming out of my bag, I......"

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!?"

Keith jumped to his feet and darted towards Lance's tent, his protective instincts for his lover coming out in full force.

"You think it's another spider?" Hunk asked looking towards the tent.

Sven didn't say anything as he quickly followed Keith.  Hunk and Pidge were close behind.  Stopping next to Keith at the tent opening, all three gasped at the sight.  It looked like all hell broke loose inside!  Everything was shredded with clean cuts, even the boxes.  Nothing appeared to be missed.  Lance stood in the middle of the tent, all color drained from his face.  He just stared wide-eyed at the mess, clutching a small picture frame to his chest.

Sven growled.  "If it was a spider, it was the two legged kind!"

"Lance." Keith softly spoke his lover's name before placing a hand on Lance's shoulder, trying not to startle Lance any more then he already was. "You okay, babe?" He asked concernedly.

Lance slowly turned toward Keith, his face completely in shock.  His arms shifted, allowing Keith a glimpse of the picture.  It was a picture of Lance sitting on a rock with him standing behind Lance.  Keith had his arms wrapped around Lance's neck and both were smiling.  It was Lance's favorite; he always took it with him on long trips.  However, the picture had been punctured through the glass and frame several times.  All the slashes were on Lance's figure in the photo.

Keith stared at the picture, his face paling when he saw the damage that had been done to it. The ability to think rationally… let alone speak, eluded him. All he could do was give Lance's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

The shocked look on Keith and Lance's faces slapped Sven into action.  "Hunk!  Pidge!  I doubt the intruder is still around but check the parameters anyway.  See if you can find anything that may hint as to who or what came into our camp last night.  I will check around the remaining tents."  Hunk and Pidge ran out of the tent.  Sven paused to give Keith and Lance each a small squeeze on their shoulders before running out.

Keith took a deep breath and slowly released it, calming himself down before talking so he could hide his own uneasiness from his voice. He placed a hand against the side of Lance's face, his fingers softly caressing Lance's cheek. "Are you okay?"

Lance stared blankly at his captain.  "What...what is going on?"  His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I don't know but we're sure as hell going to find out. Once we find that bastard he won't stand a chance." Keith glanced over Lance's shoulder at the destruction in the tent. "Let's say we go outside and get some fresh air." He suggested, guiding Lance out of the tent before he even had a chance to respond to the suggestion.

Lance felt numb.  He barely felt Keith's hand on his arm as he was guided out of the tent.  Everything just seemed to go in slow motion.  Nothing seemed able to register in his mind.  Once at the campfire he just sat down and stared straight into the flames, his face completely expressionless.

Keith took the picture from Lance's hands and set it on the ground away from where they sat. He gathered Lance into his arms, worried at how little Lance objected to all of it. His heart ached at the sight of his normally active friend so distant and scared...making Lance seem like a child frightened by a nightmare. Keith rocked Lance back and forth, reassuring him with gentle words.

At first, Lance didn't respond.  Then slowly, painfully slowly, he leaned into Keith's arms.  His lover's warmth and soothing voice gently picked away at Lance's shocked state allowing his senses to return.  Lance mumbled into Keith's chest.  "Gonna beat the crap out of that bastard."

"Yeah, well you'll have to wait in line… you can have whatever is left by the time I finish with him." Keith said. He gently kissed the top of Lance's head.

"Sorry Lance.  I get him after Keith."  Sven squatted next to them, concern in his eyes.  "Are you two going to be alright?"

"Yeah, we'll be alright." Keith said, answering for both of them. He gently stroked Lance's back one more time then looked at Sven. "Did you find anything?"

"No!"  Sven growled.  "Pidge and Hunk are checking the parameters one more time, but I doubt they will find anything.  Whatever did it must be part cat to work so silently to not wake anyone up!"

Lance snickered weakly.  "Must have been since you and Keith wake up at the drop of a needle."  He looked up at Keith.  "Well, except for this morning."

"Cute." Keith said. "I doubt they'll find anything… " Keith started to say more but stopped, deciding it probably wasn't a good idea to share his thoughts on why he doubted it, at least not in front of Lance.

Sighing, Lance stood up and walked toward his tent.

"Lance… wait…" Keith said, getting to his feet and taking a couple steps towards Lance. Lance turned around and looked at him, and Keith knew that Lance didn't want to be followed. "Why don't you just go lie down in my tent." He suggested instead.

Lance smiled.  "Thanks.  But first I want to see if I can salvage anything to wear.  You and Sven are too tall, Hunk is way too big, and Pidge is too damn short for me to wear any of y'alls clothes.  And I really don't fancy the idea of wearing this same outfit for the rest of this mission."  He growled.  "Fucking son of a bitch ....."  Lance's rant was lost as he entered his tent.

"Bloody hell." Keith cursed under his breath, as he rubbed his hands over his face, before sitting back down beside Sven.

Sven whispered.  "I take it Lance is the target for some reason."  Keith jerked his head around and stared hard at Sven.  Sven smiled weakly and handed Keith the picture.

Keith stared at the picture for a moment. "I don't get why this guy singled Lance out. Or just how the fuck some nut is running around an uninhabited planet in the first place." Keith sighed in frustration, throwing the picture away.

Sven stared at the fire for a moment.  "I am hoping it is just some hermit who got a kick out of Lance's reaction to the spider last night and decided to play a very sick joke."

"It's too professional to just be some crazy old hermit's joke. Whoever it was knew how to do all of the destruction and not make any noise. They had to have extensive training to be able to do everything they did and leave no clues."

"I know.  And I know Lance knows it as well, even though he is trying to make light of it."

"The thing I don't get is why Lance. Why single out him? I could see if he were to go after you or me, since we are the higher ranking officers on this mission. Or Pidge because of his computer knowledge… maybe they think he knows something he shouldn't.  Hunk may seem dense at times but he is a mechanical genius. But Lance?"

Sven put his hand on Keith's shoulder.  "And who keeps the moral up on this team?  Provides the emotional support, the laughter, and the hope?  Not to mention the finest pilot I have ever seen!"

Keith smiled slightly, though it never reached his eyes. "This… none of it makes any sense. I'm worried about what this guy might do next to get at Lance… or any one of you." Keith looked at Sven. "You know no matter who the target was I'd be concerned about all this, right?"

Sven laughed.  "Of course."  He wrapped his arm around Keith's shoulders and gave him a playful squeeze.  "Don't forget about your own safety junior.  We are a team, and we take care of each other."

"The safety of the team is my responsibility…" Keith's voice trailed off, he leaned slightly against Sven. Sven had always been like a big brother to him and right now he needed that comfort and strength that he could only get from Sven. "It's my responsibility."

Sven immediately trapped Keith in a headlock.  "Listen to big brother.  We are a family first, a team second.  We look out for each other.  Got it?"  He proceeded to turn Keith's already wild hair into a static fuzz ball.

"HEY!" Keith protested, trying to pull free from headlock. "Cut it out!"

"Not until you agree with me!"

"Fine!" Keith responded sharply. "I agree already! Now let me go!"

"Awww.  Wook at the wittle kiddies play."  Pidge popped his head from behind a nearby tree.

"Damn!  I wish I had thought of that move earlier this morning."  Hunk's head popped up above Pidge's head.

Keith wriggled out of the headlock Sven held him in, thanks to the distraction loosening the grip. He looked at Hunk and Pidge. "Let me guess… not one single clue, right?"

Hunk shook his head.  "Nope.  We checked the parameters at least five times."

"I didn't think our mystery guest would exactly leave any clues for us." Keith said. "From now on we'll take turns keeping a night watch, and someone will remain at the camp site at all times to reduce the chance of any of us receiving any more unwanted surprises."

"Sounds good to me."  Hunk glanced in the pot by the fire.  "Sooo, anyone still hungry for breakfast?"

"After all that, I have even less of an appetite then I did this morning." Keith grinned at Sven. "Besides by now it'll be rock hard."

Pidge picked up the pot and turned it upside down.  The contents hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces.  "Yup!  You're right Keith.  Though the 'rock' was a little brittle."

"Ya know all we have to do to get rid of this guy is serve him some of Sven's fine cooking… he'll never come back after that… mainly because he'll be dead from food poisoning." Keith said, as he looked at the hard, gravelly looking mess.

The expression on Sven's face sent all of them into hysterical laughter.  Before he could even come up with a comeback, a bright light temporarily blinded them.  The little dots finally vanished to reveal Lance standing in front of them with a camera.

Lance smirked.  "Well, I see my camera still works.  Lovely picture Sven.  If you want copies, it will cost ya!"

"How about you just give me that roll of film… and nobody gets hurt." Sven suggested.

Lance stuck out his tongue.  "You and what army, pretty boy."

"I don't need any army to take you down, boy." Sven said.  He was to his feet and quickly stalking towards Lance in the blink of an eye.

"I don't think so buddy."  Lance grinned evilly.  Before Sven react, Lance pulled out his water bottle from his back pocket and drenched Sven.  "YEEHHAAWW!!  I am still the fastest gun in the galaxy!"

"Why you…." Sven sputtered as the water dripped from his hair over his face.

"What is it with everyone and water today?" Pidge wondered out loud.

"I don't know but this is one water fight I'm staying out of." Keith replied.

"Well, I would have used my water pistil, but it got trashed.  So I had to improvise."  Lance grinned, pulled up his camera and with a quick 'Smile for me Sveny' took another picture.

Keith chuckled as Sven looked even more enraged about the second picture. He couldn't help but smile at how well Lance seemed to have recovered, how Lance proved as resilient as ever bouncing back as though nothing were wrong.

Lance glanced down at the shattered mess on the ground.  "Hmmm...I take it we are no longer having blueberry cement for breakfast."

"Can't get nothing past you." Keith said, grinning at Lance as everyone shared another laugh at Sven's expense.

For the first time since last night Lance smiled an ear-to-ear smile.  "Why thank you very much kind sir."  He gave a very exaggerated bow.  "All of y'all are way too kind.

Keith smiled and shook his head over Lance's antics. "Let's get some actual food and then we can see if we can actually get anything done today."

"Sounds great, as long as Flipper ain't cooking."  Lance's chuckle was quickly interrupted by a yawn.

Sven chose to ignore Lance's comment.  In truth he didn't make a nasty comeback because he figured Lance had enough 'grief' for one day.

"I'd say he's cooked his last meal." Keith said. He looked to Hunk. "You can take care of the cooking."

Hunk nodded in agreement, after all cooking was the one thing he loved almost as much as he did working on mechanical things.

"After we finish with breakfast we will break into teams for today's work." Keith started. "Hunk and Pidge, you guys take quadrant four. Lance and I will work quadrant two. Sven, you stay and watch the camp… for signs of any unwanted visitors. Everyone will stay in contact and report in every two hours."

"Okay.  I will help Hunk with breakfast...actually lunch since it is almost noon."  Pidge winked.  "Don't worry.  I will make sure he doesn't eat everything."
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It was nearly an hour later by the time lunch had been prepared and everyone had eaten. Keith reminded everyone that they were to check in every two hours. Hours later Keith found he wasn't getting too much work done since he kept watching Lance and was hypersensitive to every movement from the shadows.  The slightest gust of wind that rustled through the trees had him ready to go on the defensive.

Lance laughed and placed a quick kiss on Keith's cheek.  "And y'all call me paranoid."

"Can I help it if I'm concerned." Keith closed his eyes and sighed softly, before looking at Lance. "It just scares me to think what may have happened if… if you had been in the tent." Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's waist. "I don't think I could handle it if anything ever happened to you. You are my heart and soul, my reason for living."

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's neck.  "I know.  I promise that I will be careful.  However..."  His right hand moved and tweaked Keith's nose.  "I want you to promise too, Cat.  I know I wouldn't be able to handle anything happening to you.  You are my world, my everything."

"I'm always careful." Keith assured Lance. "I won't allow this bastard to hurt you… or anyone."

"I know that.  But you still need to promise me."

"I promise." Keith said, and smiled at Lance. "You know there is nothing I could ever deny you."

Lance snickered as he leaned in closer.  "I will keep that in mind."

Keith brushed his lips lightly across Lance's lips, with a feather light kiss. "I love you, Lance."

"I love you too."  He whispered as he pulled Keith into a deeper kiss.

The loud squawk of the communicator prevented things from progressing any further.

"Never fails." Keith sighed.

"Shit.  Sometimes technology sucks."  Lance muttered before releasing Keith to answer it.

"About time you answered." Sven complained.

Lance couldn't help it.  He burst into laughter and not even Keith's glares could make him stop.

"I don't want to know. I just don't want to know." Sven said.

Keith snatched the communicator from Lance. "It's nothing, get your mind out of the gutter."

"That is kinda hard with this team." Sven's remark sent Lance into another fit of laughter.

"How is everything there?" Keith asked. He didn't want to get another conversation like yesterdays started and chose to ignore Sven's comment.

"All's quiet on the western front."

Lance placed his hand on Keith's shoulder.  "I am going down to the stream to take water samples.  It is only a few meters behind the boulder over there.  Meet me there when you are done."

"Okay." Keith said, looking in the direction Lance had pointed, as though judging the distance. "Just be careful okay, babe?"

"Aren't I always? On second thought, don't answer that."

"I mean it, Lance." Keith said. "Be careful."

"Jeezes!  I will!  I will!"  Lance waved and walked behind the boulder out of sight.

Sven's snickering came over the communicator.  "Flyboy being difficult? Or are you falling into your 'mother hen' routine again?"

"Can I help it if I'm a little worried? He could've been hurt last night if he had been in the tent." Keith said. "I'm going to worry about him, and for everyone's safety, until we catch this guy."

"I know, I know.  Anyway, Pidge and Hunk are doing fine.  Well, with the exception of a few annoying mesquites."

"A FEW?!?"  Hunk hollered over the communicator causing both Keith and Sven to cover their ears.
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A figure slid through the shadows like quicksilver coming up behind Lance without making a sound. He grasped Lance and flung him into the river. Lance twisted to try to escape but couldn't go any further then his unknown assailant allowed. Lance was forced under the cold rushing water, lying on his back on the rocky bottom while his attacker sat straddling his waist, holding his head under.

Lance struggled for all he was worth, but he couldn't escape his attacker's grip.  Nothing he did fazed the guy.  His lungs burned for air as he mentally screamed for Keith.  He could feel the water slowly replace his air until darkness claimed him.
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Keith could sense that something didn't seem right, there was a feel of danger in the air. He glanced in the direction Lance had gone and the feeling intensified. He dropped the communicator and ran towards the river.

Keith's heart seemed to stop when he saw Lance lying motionless in the river. "LANCE!" Keith screamed as he raced into the river.

He gathered Lance into his arms and pulled him to the shore. He put his ear to Lance's chest, trembling to find that Lance wasn't breathing, the lifelessness of Lance's body frightened Keith more then any words could ever begin to describe. He frantically began CPR.

"C'mon, Lance, breathe… damnit... breathe." Keith pleaded. Continually begging and praying for Lance to breathe and not leave him.

Minutes slowly passed, but Keith refused to give up.  His perseverance paid off when finally Lance began coughing up water, gasping for air.

Keith turned Lance onto his side so that Lance could cough up all the water that had filled his lungs. "That a boy… " Keith whispered, tears of joy staining his cheeks as his best friend took that first, crucial breath.

Lance kept coughing and gasping trying to get air in and water out.  Images of the attack flashed through his mind adding to the panic and confusion.  Instinct took over and he weakly tried to fight against whatever was there beside him.

"Sh, it's okay, Lance… you're okay." Keith said, gently checking Lance over for any sign of injury. "You're okay, babe."  His voice grew a little more confident about the fact that Lance had no visible injures.

His lover's voice managed to break through the panic and confusion, calming him.  Lance blinked a few times, but his vision was blurry.  Closing his eyes he reached blindly for the warmth next to him.  "Ke...Keith?"

"I'm right here." Keith assured him, as he gathered Lance into his arms and held him close.

Lance clung to him, shivering.  He just couldn't stop coughing.  "Whe...where...is that...bas...bastard?"

"I don't know… I didn't see him. By the time I got here he was gone." Keith said. "Did you get a good look at him?"

He slowly shook his head.  "I ne...never...heard him.  To...too fast.  I sa...saw...black.  Hair...maybe."  His coughing started to slow down allowing him to take in more air.  "I cou...couldn't get him off!  He...he pinned me.  I couldn't...."

"It's okay." Keith reassured Lance, gently stroking his lover's back. "We will find this guy. I promise that he won't get away with hurting you."

Lance didn't say anything.  He just leaned further into Keith's embrace.  "Safe." Lance mumbled.  In those warm arms Lance gave up the fight to stay awake, passing out as exhaustion took its toil.

"I'll make sure of that, I promise." Keith whispered.

Keith gathered Lance into his arms as he slowly stood up. Lance's head rested against Keith's shoulder, as Lance trustingly slept in Keith's arms, seeming like a child that had fallen asleep and trusting their parent to carry them safely to bed.
************************************************************************
Keith almost made it back to his land craft when Sven pulled up.  Sven nearly flew over to them.  "Are you two alright?  What happened?"

"Someone… tried to… tried to drown him." Keith explained, his voice trembling slightly. "Almost did… he wasn't breathing when I found him."

All color drained from Sven's face.  "Son of a...get into my craft.  We can have your vehicle follow by remote control.  I told Pidge and Hunk to return to camp immediately when I lost contact with you."

Keith nodded and climbed into Sven's vehicle, never letting go of Lance. A wide range of emotions flashed through his eyes from worry to a burning anger.

Sven quietly pulled a blanket from behind one of the seats and wrapped it around Keith and Lance.  He quickly climbed into his seat and started the engine, pausing only to give Keith's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  "Let's get you both back to camp and dried as quickly as possible.  You will give me the details once we get Lance to bed."

Keith remained silent, he continued to hold Lance close, as though he never wanted to let him go.
************************************************************************
When they made it back to the camp Hunk and Pidge were already there, pacing around nervously, looking anxious as Keith stepped out of the craft holding a sleeping Lance.

"Wh-" both Pidge and Hunk started to ask, but stopped when Sven raised a hand to them.

"After." Sven told them.

Keith carried Lance into his tent and laid Lance down on the cot. Lance stirred slightly but did not awaken. Keith covered Lance with a blanket, and kissed Lance's forehead.
When he turned around he saw Sven standing in the doorway of the tent.

"Are there any injures?"

"None that I could see." Keith said. He glanced back at Lance, then motioned to Sven to step outside the tent to finish the conversation.

Sven let out a sigh of relief before following Keith back to the campfire where Hunk and Pidge were anxiously waiting.

"Is he going to be okay?"  Pidge asked.

Keith nodded. "He'll be fine, he just needs some rest."

Hunk growled.  "What the fucking hell happened?!?"

"Someone attacked him. Snuck up on him and held him under the fucking water." Keith replied, almost growling as he spoke.

Lightening flashed in Sven's eyes.  "Did you or Lance see who did it?"

"By the time I got there all I saw was…. Lance in the water. There was no sign of anyone. He said he didn't see the bastard...he snuck up on him too quickly…. All he said was he thinks the guy had black hair."

Pidge rubbed his eyes, his face pale.  "Not much to go on.  Maybe he will remember more once he has rested."

"Maybe." Keith said, though he doubted Lance would remember anything else. "I think I will call in to report this. Have them send the shuttle to get us off this fucking planet."

"I agree."  Sven's body was rigid.  "Till then we better be careful.  While the attacks seem to be focused on Lance, they could shift to anyone of us at anytime."

Keith nodded and made his way to the communications radio. He came back over several minutes later his eyes blazing with anger, cursing under his breath.  "THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS!" he swore loudly as he sat back down with the others.

Hunk snapped the large stick he was holding, eyes narrowing.  "Let me guess...they said no."

"They said they don't feel the situation is critical enough at this point to send the shuttle before the pick-up date." Keith grumbled. "How the hell do they figure it's not critical enough…. Lance could've been killed. Any of us could be targeted next. And who knows if our luck will hold out."

Eyes wide, Pidge scooted closer to Hunk, letting Hunk put his arm around him.  "They said that someone attacking Lance and almost killing him is NOT critical enough!"

"There was no damage done, no injury… so thus not critical. We have no choice but to handle this situation on our own now." Keith said, his eyes darkening. "What we have to do is find this guy and kill him. If we have to catch him ourselves then that means we should also get to dispense his sentence."

Sven glanced at the grim and determined looks on everyone's faces.  "I don't see any objections.  However, this guy is good.  Even with Lance's sharp hearing and sixth sense, the guy still got the drop on him."

"Yeah." Hunk agreed. "This guy is as good as Keith."

Pidge glanced around at the shadows.  "It is possible that this person may have gotten similar training as you Keith.  I still don't see why the focus is on Lance though."

"I don't know. He could've had… but that doesn't explain why he'd be going after Lance." Keith said. "Or how he's even on this planet… just one unanswered question after another."

"Questions that will have to wait until morning."  Sven rubbed his eyes.  "I will take the first night watch.  However, I also suggest that no one sleep alone.  This guy is damn good, and even with a night watch it will still be safer to sleep with a partner."

Everyone nodded, and Hunk and Pidge made their way to Pidge's tent after saying their goodnights. Keith glanced towards his tent then back at Sven. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Sure.  Don't worry.  I am going to stay near the campfire.  You just take care of Lance."  Sven smiled.  "Oh, and Keith...."

"Yeah?"

Sven reached over and snared Keith into a headlock.  "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!!  Do you understand me?"

"Hey!" Keith complained. "Let me go, dirtball!"

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Yeah, I understand." Keith said. "Now will you let go?"

"Good boy."  Sven released him, but not before he gave Keith a hug.  "Now you get some sleep.  You look like shit."

"Yeah, well you don't look so hot yourself." Keith teased, as he returned the hug. "I'll take second watch."

"Nope.  Hunk will, followed by Pidge.  You stay with Lance.  He needs your presence near him, as much as you need his right now.  We can handle tonight."  Sven shoved Keith toward his tent before he could argue.  "I will be fine.  At least I got out of all the cooking."

"That would be a good 'reason' for the blueberry cement… if I already didn't know how bad your cooking is." Keith said.

Sven scowled.  "Get your ass into bed right now young man, or I will make breakfast in the morning and cram it down your throat!"

"You're mean." Keith grinned at Sven. His smile faded though as he became serious again. "Just be careful."

"I will.  I promise.  Now you have 5 seconds to get into that tent or you will suffer the consequences.  One..."

"I'm going… I'm going." Keith said, his hands up in a relenting gesture from the 'threat' before he continued into the tent.

Keith looked at Lance, relieved that Lance was sleeping peaceful, the steady rise and fall of Lance's chest showed that he was breathing perfectly. Keith changed for bed and crawled in under the cover, pulling Lance close to him. He lay awake for at least an hour just listening to Lance breathe.  It was a calming sound, especially since Lance had came so close to stopping breathing forever just a short time ago.
************************************************************************
Lance didn't know where he and Keith were but he definitely didn't like it.  They were in some sort of tunnel, a brilliant light coming from one end while a dark ghostly glow from the other end.

"Which way should we go?"  Lance asked as he leaned closer to Keith.

Before Keith could answer, golden strands appeared out of the light end of the tunnel.  They wrapped around Keith and pulled him toward the light.

"LANCE!!"

Lance rushed forward to grab him, but black strands seized him tugging him toward the opposite end of the tunnel.  He screamed as Keith disappeared from his sight.  Then he was pulled into the darkness.
************************************************************************
Keith woke up when he felt Lance moving around on the cot next to him, making incoherent noises. He sat up slightly, and ran his fingers through Lance's soft brown hair, in a soothing gesture, wanting to ease Lance out of whatever nightmare held him. “It's okay, babe, it's okay…” he softly whispered.

Lance jerked awake, gasping for air.  He was covered with sweat and shaking violently.  "Oh god, oh god, oh god....."

“Sh, it's okay.” Keith reassured Lance, while gently caressing Lance's cheek. “You were dreaming.”

Lance pulled himself up to a sitting position.  "Just a dream...just a dream."  Hands shaking he covered his eyes.  "It...it seemed so...so real."

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, rubbing Lance's back with one hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

"No...no.  Not right now, anyway.  I just need to get something to drink."  Lance laughed shakily.  "Surprising since I had plenty to drink earlier."

Keith frowned slightly, not sharing the same sense of humor as Lance. “I'll get you something.” Keith said after a moment. He climbed out of the cot, and opened one of his trunks and found a bottle of 50 year old brandy, that he had carefully wrapped in a soft cloth. He poured some into two glasses, and went back over to the cot, handing one to Lance. “Here. Drink it slowly.”

Lance grinned cheekily.  "And why do you have some of this stuff skipper?"

“Because it's a good brandy.” Keith explained. “Besides it helps me to relax.”

"I thought that was my job."  Grinning he took a few sips.  He could already feel his muscles relaxing.  "Thanks, I needed that."

“No, you're better at things that require… a lot less relaxing.”  Keith grinned suggestively at Lance.

Lance didn't need further invitation.  After setting his drink down, he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck and pulled him into a seductive kiss.  He could taste the brandy as his tongue slowly explored every inch of Keith's mouth.  Pulling away, Lance smiled at his breathless captain.  "Was that what you were referring to, Cat?"

Keith set his drink down. “More like this…” Keith gently lowered Lance back onto the cot, and leaned over him, trailing kisses along Lance's neck.

Lance moaned as Keith's lips gently explored his neck.  Lance's own hands were caressing the muscles along Keith's back and shoulders, pulling him closer.  "I don't know what you put in that drink, but I really, really like it."

Keith didn't stop long enough to say anything in return; instead he just continued to trail kisses along Lance's throat, while undoing the buttons of Lance's shirt. Once the shirt was unbuttoned he began to trail the kisses down onto Lance's chest, while his hands caressed Lance's sides. He used his tongue to play with Lance's left nipple before pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it, while bathing it with the occasional flick of his tongue.

Again Lance moaned, loving each tender kiss and caress.  He arched his back, trying to get more of himself into his lover's delicious mouth.  One hand continued to massage the muscles of Keith's back while the other slid into his silky black hair and began to massage his neck and head.

Keith slid his lips along the warmed flesh to capture Lance's other nipple, playing with it with his lips until it became a hard nub. Keith continued with the trail of kisses, down along Lance's muscular chest, his lips stopping just above the waistband of Lance's jeans. He lifted his head enough so that he could look into Lance's eyes. “This is all for you, babe.” He lowered his head and licked his tongue over the front of Lance's jeans.

Lance's eyes filled with tears at his captain's tender words.  Reaching down he gently cupped Keith's face, raising it so that their eyes could meet.  He tenderly caressed Keith's soft cheeks, his own voice choked with emotion.  "You are the other half of me that I can't live without.  I love you with all my heart, all my being."

“I love you with all my heart and soul.” Keith whispered in return, his eyes moist with tears of joy and love. He turned his head to kiss each of Lance's palms before lowering his head once again.

He slowly undid Lance's jeans allowing his hands to trail over the front of Lance's cotton boxers, feeling Lance' erection straining to be released. Keith slowly slid his hands under Lance, raising him slightly as he pulled both the jeans and boxers down at the same time.

Lance laid back allowing Keith to free him of the rest of his clothing.  Once Keith removed his own clothing, Lance reached up and pulled Keith down on top of him.  One hand slid into Keith's hair, pulling him down for a slow, but through kiss.  The other hand slowly explored the rest of Keith's body.  As the hand reached Keith's ass, Lance's legs spread wider.  The hand pulled Keith's body even closer to him, allowing their erections to rub together in even more delicious friction.

Keith captured Lance's lips in a deep kiss, parting only when they both needed to catch their breath, before claiming Lance's lips once again. He braced himself up on one arm, so he didn't put too much weight onto Lance's chest. He slid his other hand in between them, capturing both their erections in his hand, rubbing them together.

Lance's hips bucked instinctively as his legs spread wider.  His grip on Keith tightened, trying to pull them into one being.  All rational thought fled as Lance was overcome by the waves of emotions Keith was creating, moaning into Keith's mouth.

Keith's emotions flooded through him so quickly it was hard to focus on one, and one alone. He could feel Lance was warm and alive beneath him and it filled his heart with joy, it seemed to be the proof he needed to truly believe Lance was still alive. He wanted this to be special for his lover after all Lance had been through, nearly dying and having a horrible nightmare.

Their lips were locked as they came together, drowning out their cries of pleasure in a sensual kiss.

Exhausted, Keith fell on top of Lance.  Lance wrapped his arms and legs around him, pulling him closer to him.  Resting his head above Lance's heart, Keith burrowed deeper into Lance's embrace, mumbling an 'I love you' before falling to sleep.

"I love you too."  Lance whispered, placing a butterfly kiss on Keith's forehead before falling to sleep himself.
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The next morning the five members of the team gathered around the firepit, as Pidge worked at making breakfast.

Sven smirked as he noticed how close Keith and Lance were sitting together.  "I see you two slept well."

Keith blushed slightly and avoided looking at Sven. “Yeah, we slept quite well.”

Hunk chuckled at the way Lance was suddenly very interested in a bug walking by.  "I bet you did."

Pidge laughed as he looked up from his pot.  "Care to give us the details?"

“A glass of a fine 50 year old brandy really helps you sleep well.” Keith replied.

"Yes, a good glass of brandy does help you sleep."  Sven leaned back against a rock, still smirking.  "Among other things."

“Oh? Like you'd know anything about a good brandy… with that cheap whiskey crap you drink.” Keith retorted.

Lance laughed.  "Maybe that is why his cooking is so bad!"

“No, I think his cooking is just plain bad… don't need an excuse for it.” Keith laughed.

Sven scowled as the others burst into laughter.  "Fine!  Remember paybacks are hell.  So what is the game plan today, captain."

Keith went quiet and leaned back against the rock. He didn't feel much like completing the mission any more… not after they had been refused any help after Lance had been attacked.

Pidge jabbed at the food in the pot angrily.  "Personally I think they can all go to hell and then some.  Maybe we should just focus on finding a better campsite...like one with more cover and not so many damn trees!"

“There really isn't any better location. From the area we have surveyed this is the best location for a campground. Most other areas are more densely wooded. Besides, I don't think it would make a difference where we set up camp at this point. We can assume whoever it is is watching our every move already, he'd only follow us.” Keith said.

"I know, I know.  I just hate feeling like a sitting duck!"  Pidge growled.

“We don't have too many options. All we can do is hope we can catch this guy before he tries anything else.” Keith said.

Lance shivered.  "Does anyone have a sweater I can borrow?  All of mine were kinda turned into scraps."

“You can borrow one of mine.” Keith offered.

"Thanks.  I promise not to mess it up...too badly."  Lance quickly got up and headed toward Keith's tent.
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A dark figured slipped through the shadows, smiling as Lance walked away from the others, making Lance an easier target. He loaded the dart gun and took aim at the brown haired man.
************************************************************************
Sven was laughing with the others at Keith's expression over Lance's comment when he suddenly froze, eyes scanning the forest.

“What's wrong?” Keith asked concernedly.

"LANCE!  GET DOWN!"  Sven rushed after Lance, tackling him to the ground and covering Lance's body with his own.
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The dart whizzed through the air, missing its original target and hitting Sven in the back of the shoulder. At first the figure in the shadows frowned, but a slow wicked smile spread across his lips… perhaps this target could prove to be fun as well.
************************************************************************
Lance glanced back in time to see Sven's face scrunch as the dart hit his shoulder.  "SVEN!"

Sven looked down at Lance.  "Are you alright?"  When Lance nodded, he smiled weakly as he held Lance tighter.  "Good.  Now stay down."

Keith drew his gun and fired several shots into the woods from the direction the dart had come from. He looked over at Hunk and Pidge. “Go see what you can find… carefully.” He told them before rushing over to check on Sven and Lance.

Sven moaned into Lance's neck.  He could already feel the drug coursing through his veins.  Lifting his head, Sven opened his eyes to check for any danger, but all he saw was blurry images and flashing colors.  Tarium.  It had to be Tarium.  Only Tarium could work so quickly in such a small dose.  Sven closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Lance, keeping him covered.  Keith needed Lance.  And there was no way he was going to let this demon hurt Lance or his little brother more.

Keith knelt down beside Sven and Lance, immediately noticing the dart embedded in Sven's shoulder. Keith placed a gentle hand around the dart and pulled it out with a fast fluid motion, fearing what may have been in the dart. “Are you both okay?” Keith's voice was fraught with worry.

Lance couldn't move; Sven had him pinned.  His face was ghostly white as he turned his head to look at Sven's own pale face.  "Sven?  Are you alright?  Sven?"

Sven managed to smile a weak smile at Lance.  "It's Tarium."

“C'mon, Sven…” Keith said trying to move Sven off of Lance. His heart was racing at the name of the drug, Tarium. It was a powerful hallucinogenic and was known to have some severe side effects.

Slowly, Sven stood up one hand holding his head while the other arm somehow keeping Lance pinned to his chest.  Lance's eyes were wide, terrified to make any sudden movements for fear of what this 'drugged' Sven may do.

Keith put a gentle hand on Sven's shoulder, not wanting to make any sudden movements that could result in either Sven or Lance being hurt. “Sven, you can let Lance go now.”

Eyes glazed, Sven growled as he swatted Keith's hand off of his shoulder.  Slowly he started to move back, pulling Lance with him.  Lance started gasping as the grip tightened, increasing the pressure on his lungs and forcing his air out.

“Let him go.” Keith repeated, only this time his voice was more firm and demanding.
Sven's eyes were glassy and wild, making him look like a wild animal.

Keith slowly drew his gun and set it on the lowest stun setting. He fired off a shot, hitting Sven in the shoulder, leaving the Swede with little choice but to let go of Lance. Sven stumbled back a couple feet and Keith was on him as fast as cat pouncing on a mouse. Keith pinned Sven to the ground, straddling Sven's waist, pinning Sven's arms to the ground. “Just relax, Sven.”

"Get off me!!"  Sven growled, thrashing around wildly trying to get Keith off him.  His eyes narrowed when he heard Lance gasping for breath in the background.  "You son of a bitch!"  Sven quickly twisted his lower arms around allowing him to grip Keith's lower arms giving him enough purchase to jerk Keith off of him and roll away.

“Settle down, Sven.” Keith said. He kept himself between Sven and Lance as he moved towards Sven again. “It's okay… just try to settle down.”

Sven glared as Keith moved toward him.  "I WON'T let you hurt Lance or Keith or any of the others!"  He shifted into a defensive stance.  "Now move away from him!"

Keith tossed his gun back in Lance's direction, though never taking his eyes off Sven. He put his hands out at his sides, showing that he was unarmed as he slowly continued to approach Sven. “Just relax, Sven, everything is okay.”

Sven closely watched Keith as Keith moved forward.  For a brief moment, his eyes shifted past Keith's shoulders.  Seeing Lance on the ground barely moving, he howled in anger and tackled Keith to the ground.

Keith groaned as he hit the ground hard, momentarily knocking the wind out of him, however that moment was long enough to allow Sven to get the upper hand. Keith looked up at Sven, his black eyes trusting.

Sven froze when he gazed into Keith's eyes.  "Ke...Keith?  Wh...what?"  Clutching his head, he rolled off of Keith.

Keith sat up and gently put his arms around Sven. “Tarium.” Keith replied with a one word answer. He rubbed Sven's back gently and glanced over in Lance's direction to see how Lance was doing.

What little air that was left in his lungs had been knocked out when he hit the ground as Sven released him.  He could hear the fighting, but he was helpless to help as he struggled to breathe.  Finally he was able to turn and see Keith holding Sven.  The fight was over.  Sighing with relief, he managed to get to his feet.  But as he tried to move toward Keith and Sven, the world around him spinned causing him to collapse to the ground.

“LANCE!” Keith hollered when Lance collapsed to the ground. He didn't want to let go of Sven because Sven could have a relapse and be a possible danger to any of them, including Sven himself. Yet, he knew he needed to check on Lance, who lay unmoving on the ground.

Lance tried to push himself up again, but as he did the dizziness hit, forcing him back down.  "I...I will be okay.  Just...just dizzy.  Stay with Sven."

Keith was torn between what to do, whether to stay with Sven or tend to Lance. He cared deeply for both of them; he hated to see either one of them hurting, or in any kind of trouble… having them both hurt at once left him rather frantic. He doubted that Lance was as fine as he claimed, and he knew Sven needed to be kept calm and relaxed to try to avoid another relapse… and soon the pain would start to set in, even in small doses Tarium was known to cause severe withdraw pain. “Lance, just lie still, just try to focus on breathing, okay?”

Lance managed a weak laugh.  "Don't...worry.  I don't...think I can...go...anywhere."

In the distance, Hunk and Pidge could be heard running towards camp, yelling if everything was alright.

“Oh sure everything is just fine.” Keith said sarcastically.

Hunk and Pidge burst into camp.  Seeing two people down and saying 'Shit' in perfect unison, Pidge ran to check Lance while Hunk went to help Keith.

Hunk knelt down on the other side of Sven.  "Is he okay?"

“He should be… in a few hours.” Keith replied. “He was hit with a dart of Tarium…” Keith glanced in Lance's direction. “I think Lance just got the wind knocked out of him.”

Hunk gently picked Sven up.  "Fucking shit!  Pidge?"

Pidge had turned Lance over onto his back to make it easier for him to breathe.  He was whispering to Lance as he comfortingly ran his fingers through Lance's hair.  "Take it easy Lancer.  Breathe deeply.  That's it."  Sighing in relief, Pidge glanced up at the others.  "Lance will be fine.  He just needs to stay still for awhile.  I have some sedatives in the medical kit that will keep Sven from hurting himself or anyone else.  Let's put Sven in my tent."

Keith placed his hand gently on Sven's head for a moment. “Don't worry about anything, you hear me? Everything is fine.” He told Sven softly. He pressed a light kiss against Sven's forehead, in a paternal fashion, feeling the warmth of the fever that had begun to ravish Sven's body.

As Hunk carried Sven to Pidge's tent with Pidge close behind, Keith moved to knell down beside Lance. “How you doing, babe?” He asked as he lightly caressed the side of Lance's head.

"Okay."  Lance moved to sit up, only to fall back down, again.  "If I could just get up, everything would be just peachy!"

“You should just stay still.” Keith told him.

"Yeah."  Lance closed his eyes and suddenly began to pound his fists into the ground. "It's my fault!!  If I...I had just paid more...more attention, then Sven wouldn't...he wouldn't have been hit!"  Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he spoke in increasing gasps.

“It's not your fault.” Keith firmly told Lance. He gently gathered Lance into his arms. “Nobody else saw anything… or sensed that anything was about to happen.” Keith gently rubbed Lance's back. “Sven will be okay, he just needs some rest and he'll be good as new.” In thought he added, 'I hope'.

"Damnit Keith!  It is my fault!"  Lance tried to pull out of Keith's embrace.  "That dart was meant for me!"

Keith held Lance closer, refusing to allow him to pull away. “You can't blame yourself, it won't do any good. You want to blame someone, blame me. I should've known something was wrong sooner. I should've done more to ensure the safety of everyone in this group.”

Lance was silent for a moment.  "No, you're right.  It is not my fault."  He paused to look into Keith's eyes.  "But it is not your fault either.  It's that good-for-nothing lunatic out there playing games with our minds!"

“Yeah.” Keith agreed. He knew that ultimately the unknown attacker that always seemed to be lurking in the shadows was to blame, however he couldn't stop blaming himself for not being able to protect his team against this attacker.

Lance leaned further into Keith's embrace.  "Forget what I said yesterday.  I'm gonna fucking kill him!!"

“Only if I don't kill him first.” Keith said, seriously. “Maybe you should be lying down in the tent.” Keith decided.  He gently gathered Lance up and carried him slowly towards their tent.
************************************************************************
Sven looked around at his strange surroundings, everything was wrong. The sky was purple, the ground was dark yellow all the plants and trees were blue. Sven blinked and rubbed his eyes, hoping things before him would change, but everything remained the same. Sven reminded himself of the dart; he had been drugged so that was the only explanation. He turned around and the sight he saw made his heart leap into his throat… Lance was lying on the ground, dead.

"But... but… I saved Lance he can't be dead…." Sven stammered. "How can he be dead?"

As if to answer his question a foul beast emerged from the woods. Lance's blood stained its claws and teeth. It stood on its hind legs, standing at least as tall as a large grizzly bear, thick black fur that was matted with dirt, and blood covered its body.

"YOU FOUL BEAST! YOU KILLED LANCE!" Sven yelled in rage.

Sven charged at the beast, sinking a broad sword into the throat of the beast. The beast howled in pain as blood sprayed in all directions, splashing all over Sven's body, though he took little notice of the blood as he rejoiced at the beast's death. The beast collapse to the ground, its eyes glazed with death. Sven looked into the dead black eyes and felt his world give away… the black eyes that looked back at him were Keith's eyes. He watched in horror as the beast shifted forms and Keith lay dead at his feet. Sven dropped down by Keith, gathering Keith into his arms. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, and he began to scream "NO! NO…."
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Sven sat straight up on the bed, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. His eyes were wide and unfocused and he kept screaming that one word over and over. "NO!"

Keith heard Sven screaming and ran from his tent, bursting into the tent where Sven was resting.  He sat down on the edge of the bed, and placed a gentle hand against the side of Sven's face. "Sh, it's okay… it's okay."

Sven starting rocking back and forth, staring down at his hands, still mumbling the word 'No' repeatedly. His mind was still trapped in the nightmare and he could see blood coating his hands, Keith's blood.

"Sven, look at me." Keith told Sven, who remained unresponsive. Keith gently turned Sven's head so Sven was looking at him; however Sven's midnight blue eyes remained unfocused and he seemed to be looking through Keith rather then at him.

"Just take it easy buddy.  Everything will be okay."  Hunk added, standing on the other side of the cot.  Pidge stood next to Hunk, nodding.

"See, everything's okay." Keith reassured Sven. He assumed Sven had a nightmare, induced by the Tarium.

Sven blinked, he finally appeared to be looking at Keith, but from Sven's expression it was apparent that Sven still really wasn't seeing Keith. "My fault… I didn't mean to… my fault." Sven moaned.

"What's your fault?" Keith spoke gently to Sven like a mother or father would speak to their child who had just woken from a horrible nightmare, making it a reversal of their normal 'roles' with Keith playing the big brother.

"I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to…." Sven voice trailed away. He tried to look away from Keith, but Keith held Sven's head firmly.

Pidge gently placed his hand on Sven's shoulder.  "Tell us what you saw.  It's okay."

"NO!" Sven yelled. "It's not okay…" Sven pulled away from Keith, and with cat-like reflexes grabbed Pidge's gun and shoved the barrel of it into his own mouth.

"SVEN!" Keith yelled. His body trembled with fear that Sven would pull the trigger. He was worried if he tried to pull the gun away that it could go off accidentally. "Please put the gun down, Sven… please." Keith begged.

Hunk turned pale. "Whoa!  Take it easy man!  At least tell us what is wrong!"

Sven shook his head, his finger trembled as it danced over the trigger.

"Please put the gun down." Keith begged again, his voice trembling in fear and worry.

Slowly, Sven lowered the gun, his head hung down with tears streaking his cheeks. Keith grabbed the gun away from Sven and handed it back to Pidge, before gathering Sven in his arms and holding him close.

"It was a dream, Sven. Only a dream, everything's okay." Keith assured Sven as he stroked Sven's back in a comforting fashion.

After giving Hunk the gun, Pidge sat down next to Sven, tightly holding his hand.  Hunk moved closer, not touching but still radiating comfort.

Keith could feel Sven relaxing in his arms; he lightly kissed Sven's forehead, feeling a faint fever still clinging to Sven's body. "Do you want to talk about it?" Sven shivered in Keith's arms and he took that as a no.

Suddenly Sven's eyes went wild as he tried to pull out of Keith's embrace.  "Lance!  Is he...is he...."

"He's fine. He's asleep in my tent." Keith replied.

"He's...he's...not dead?"

"He got the wind knocked out of him, but other then that he's doing perfectly fine."

"The bear didn't...didn't kill him?"

"What bear?" Keith asked. "There wasn't any bear. You must have dreamed that part."

Sven didn't respond.  He leaned into Keith, mumbling about bears and blood before his breathing evened out into sleep.

Keith held Sven a moment longer before gently lowering Sven back onto the bed. He stood up and covered Sven with a blanket. "Just stay with him in case he has any more nightmares. I'm going to go check on Lance."
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Something, a vibe or feeling, brought Lance out of his sleep.  He jerked up, only to stop and smile at a familiar figure.  "Hey, is Sven..."  He froze as he stared into ice cold black eyes.  "Wait!  You aren't..."

The figure lunged forward, clamping his hand around Lance's mouth and pinning him to the cot with his weight.  Lance struggled, trying to get him off, but his attacker only put more of his weight on him, gripping his mouth tighter.

A wicked smile crossed his attacker's lips as he pulled out a syringe.  "Do you know what is in this, my pet?"  He laughed silently as Lance's eyes widened and then tear up when he plunged the needle into his neck.

"You soon will, baby.  You soon will."  He whispered as he leaned down and licked up the blood from the puncture wound.

Panicked, Lance's struggles intensified but to no avail.  His vision was quickly blurring and spinning.  He could feel his strength slipping away rapidly.  In desperation, he grabbed for his attacker's throat, but only succeeded in grasping a chain with some sort of tags.  Quietly laughing, his attacker used his free hand and pulled Lance's right hand away, silently breaking the chain.

His attacker leaned forward and twirled his tongue inside Lance's ear.  "Mmmm.  Time to go back to sleep, my sleeping beauty.  You and I will play more later."

Then there was only darkness.
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Keith thought Lance seemed to be sleeping at an odd angle, but was used to Lance falling asleep in even stranger positions as Lance had always been one to be able to fall asleep anywhere. He sat down on the edge of the cot and ran his fingers through Lance's hair.

Keith frowned, something didn't seem right; Lance's skin was far too cool to the touch. "Lance…" When he received no reply he spoke a little louder. "Lance!"  Panic clutched at Keith's heart as Lance still didn't reply. "LANCE!" Keith yelled firmly, shaking Lance lightly.

Pidge came running into the tent.  "Keith!  What's wrong?"

"Something is wrong with Lance… he's completely unresponsive." Keith explained, without even casting the slightest glance in Pidge's direction. He pressed his fingers to Lance's throat, finding a slow, but steady pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief.  When he pulled his fingers back it was then he noticed the needle mark. "He was drugged with God knows what."

Pidge leaned forward and gently placed his shaking hand on Lance's forehead, lifting Lance's eyelids to gaze into his eyes.  "It looks like some strong sedative...but I am not sure."  He straightened up and gently squeezed Keith's shoulder.  "I...I can't do anything since I don't know what type of sedative it is.  I'm sorry Keith."

"I shouldn't have left him alone." Keith said. "I should've known it wasn't safe for him to be alone."

"Keith, don't blame yourself. There is only one of you and you can't do everything.  Lance will be okay.  He will just sleep it off."  Pidge tried to provide comfort, but he couldn't hide the worry in his own voice.

"Yeah but for how long….what if there was something else mixed in with the sedative… like a progressive poison?" Keith questioned angrily, though neither the anger nor the questions were directed at Pidge. Keith reached for Lance's right hand, finding a broken chain with what looked like military dog tags on it clutched in Lance's hand. Keith gently pried it out of Lance's hand and stared at the tags.

Pidge blinked.  "What is that?  Where did it come from?"

Keith didn't reply, he just continued to stare at the tags. The tags looked almost identical to his only the coding was reversed. Like his own the tag only had the code and no name stamped into the thin metal.  The same symbol was also marked on a tag. Keith had never been sure what the symbol had been and had given up asking when he was young. Keith had had his tags as far back as he could remember; even if his recollection of his childhood was fuzzy at times the tags always stood out in his memory. He flipped the tags over and saw another code, the exact same code that marked the back of his own.

Pidge blinked.  "Uhm...earth to Keith?  Is anyone there?"

Keith glanced up at Pidge, his face pale. "Lance had these in his hand…" Keith handed them to Pidge. "They are almost identical to mine. Only the code on the front is reversed…"

Pidge rolled them over and over in his hand.  "Hmmm...I think I have seen this symbol before.  Do you think these are from our friendly guest?"

"Probably…" Keith paused before he could finish the sentence and changed his answer. "Definitely."

"I know I have seen this symbol before.  I will have to check my computer files."

"Yeah, well I don't know what it is. So if you do, I'd really like to know." Keith said.

"Well, I can definitely find out!  One of the advantages of being a hacker ya know."  Pidge winked.

Keith gave a half-hearted smile. "Go see what you can find out then."  He turned his full attention back to Lance, gently caressing the side of Lance's face. "You did good getting those tags, babe.  Maybe now we can find out who this bastard is."
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Yawning, Hunk stretched as he step out of Keith's tent the next morning.  Seeing Keith near the fire on watch duty, he walked over and sat down next to him.  Hunk shook his head at Keith's questioning glance.  "No, he hasn't awaken yet."

Keith looked into the fire, his eyes remained fixated on the orangish-red flame. "Starting to really wonder if he ever will wake up."

"Don't give up on him yet.  Lance can be stubborn as hell at times, especially when the chips are down.  He will wake up...just give him some time."

Keith rubbed his hands over his face. "This whole mission has been one nightmare after another… I'm getting tired of sitting around and waiting for the next attack, waiting to see who gets hurt next or… how much worse it'll get."

Hunk started to reply, but was interrupted by Sven walking unsteadily out of Pidge's tent with Pidge arguing close behind him.

Keith stood up and walked over to Sven, taking Sven gently by the arm to steady him. "You're suppose to be laying down and resting."

"The next person who tells me that is gonna get his ass kicked all the way back to Earth!  I will be fine!  I just need to walk this off."  Sven did allow Keith to help him sit next to the campfire.

"Temper, temper." Keith scolded jokingly.

Sven stuck his tongue out at Keith.  "Humph!  You are no better!"

Pidge sighed. "Well, if y'all can keep him doing as little as possible I will go check on Lance.  Between Sven and Lance and the computer, I am starting to feel like a damn yo-yo."  Pausing to place a quick peek on Hunk's cheek, Pidge picked up his laptop and walked into Keith's tent.

"How are you doing?" Keith asked Sven, the concern in his voice was genuine. Sven still looked pale, and Keith could tell that Sven's hands were trembling slightly before Sven had stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket to hide his hands from concerned watchful eyes.

Sven smiled weakly at Keith.  "I...I will be fine.  Most of the drug has worn off.  Don't worry about me.  All I need is some of Hunk's cooking and I will be in tip top shape."

"How's the fever?" Keith asked, quickly pressing his hand against Sven's forehead before Sven could reply. "You still feel a little warm, but at least you're not burning up anymore." He could tell by the look in Sven's eyes that Sven was about to complain again about all this babying. "Can I help it if I am just a little concerned?"

Sven laughed.  "You should be more concerned if I decide to try cooking again."

"Yeah, but… that's concern for everyone else's health… not yours."  Keith told him.

"Thanks little bro, but seriously I will be fine."  Sven paused and placed his arm around Keith's shoulders to give Keith a small squeeze.  "There is no way in hell I am letting you, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk have all the fun in beating the crap out of this guy."

"Yeah, well I'm just glad you're better. You had us all really worried for a while there." Keith replied, his eyes drifting back to the fire. "Besides we haven't even found this guy yet."

Hunk growled.  "Don't you worry Keith.  We will.  And then he will get what's coming to him."

Sven nodded in agreement.  "How are you holding up Keith?  Pidge told me about Lance."

"Oh, I'm doing just fine." Keith said sarcastically.

"Oh, and we can all see that!" Sven grunted.

"Well if you can deny anything at all is wrong with you…." Keith grumbled, pulling away from Sven and standing up. "So can I. Everything is fine. This fucking planet is paradise."

Sven got up.  "Keith..." He was interrupted by a very pale Pidge coming out of Keith's tent.

"What's wrong? Is Lance okay?" Keith asked worriedly, fearing Lance had taken a turn for the worse.

Pidge waved his hands frantically.  "NO!  No, Lance is fine.  He is still sleeping.  I don't know what the hell that bastard gave him to knock him out for over twelve hours...most sedatives only last three...but he is fine.  Uhm, well...do you know anything about a Project Killian or a Dr. Edmond Kalevi?"

"I've never heard of anything about a Project Killian, but I do know Dr. Kalevi. He worked at the center that I grew up at after my parents were killed. He was like an uncle to me." Keith replied. "Why? What does any of that have to do with any of this?"

"Uhm, well...Shit!  You aren't gonna like this..."  Pidge turned back into the tent and came out with his computer.

"Is this about the tags?" Keith asked, not sure he really wanted to see what Pidge had found out. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was more then just your 'average' bad news.

"Unfortunately, yes."  Pidge sighed.  "Well, the symbols on the tags stand for Project Killian.  I saw the symbol before while at the academy when I was doing research on military DNA research.  Project Killian was designed to create the perfect warrior.  According to the files, the project was dropped due to humane reasons."  He sat down in front of the others.  "Uhm, all of you may want to sit down."

"Yeah but…" Keith's voice trailed off as he sat down, his face was pale. Since he had the same tags as the unknown attacker it could only mean one thing… that he had been a part of this experiment as well.

Pidge looked into Keith's eyes and nodded.  "When I finally located the Project Killian files, it took me most of the night to hack into the system.  Once in, all they would tell me was that the project was terminated."

Hunk glared. "That alone is suspicious."

"Yup.  That is what I thought so I kept hacking."  Pidge rubbed his eyes.  "When I finally broke their stupid code I found that the project is still up and running, despite the public outcry to such a project."

Keith looked confused. "Is it like that case of the DNA enhancements… back twenty years ago when a batch of people were splicing their DNA with animal DNA?"

Pidge shook his head.  "The same idea, but for this project they only used human and alien DNA of highly intelligent and combative skilled species.  When I entered the numbers from our resident bastard's tags, I got this file."  He turned the computer screen so that the others could read it.
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Project Killian

Project log of Dr. Edmond Kalevi

Entry:001 - 15/07/3028

Project Killian began its quest to create the perfect warrior. One that is:  skilled in all forms of combat, and has a high intellect. This ‘warrior’ is not only to fit the need for a fighter but for a leader.

In the quest to accomplish this task two subjects have been created, using combined DNA. DNA was taken not only from human samples, but also from some of the most intelligent and combative skilled species in this galaxy. Each of the two subjects had identical DNA, yet both are modified to see which is the best ‘personality’ to use for the warrior. In a way they are Remus and Romulus.

Subject one:

This one will be more human, capable of using emotions to determine his course of action. I consider this one to be, the good one, Remus. The DNA was altered to use only the inherently good genes.

Subject two:

Romulus. The DNA of this subject was modified to remove the conscious and human emotion. Thus leaving him more capable of following orders and finishing his mission no matter the cost to the lives of others. Making this one be more of an ‘evil twin’.

Entry:002 - 25/08/3028

Both Remus and Romulus are growing at a surprising rate. Both have already seemed to reach more of a fourth month human embryo growth in just this past month. Both have shown awareness in the embryo-tubes. If they continue to develop at this rate they will be able to be ‘born’ by next month. I only hope that this is not a sign of a short lifecycle.

 Entry:003 - 16/09/3028

As I assumed both Remus and Romulus were able to be removed from the embryo-tubes, in effect they were born. By all appearances they are like any normal human twin babies. Only they are identical in all ways, there is nothing different about them except both have begun to show signs of individual personalities.

Remus is an inquisitive, happy, and gentle baby. He reminds me a lot of the child I lost many years ago.

Romulus is an aggressive creature. He has already attempted to injure two of the nurses that were caring for him.

Entry:004 - 22/09/3028

We’ve had to separate Remus from Romulus ahead of schedule. In mythology Romulus killed Remus and just that was attempted this morning.  Fortunately the damage done was minimal, Remus proved able to defend himself against his brother’s attacks. Though, for safety Romulus has been removed to another facility. I hope to never again have to see that foul creature. I feel Remus will prove to be the warrior they are looking for.

Entry:005 - 17/10/3028

Remus has still continued to develop rapidly. He is already to the stage of an one year old infant. I think the progression is from the DNA of the Syambion, their children progress rapidly in the first year of life.  They develop to the age of an five year old human child, and progress by natural human aging after the first year.

I have come to think of Remus like my own child; while this can never be I can at least give him a real name, name him for the child I lost: Keith.

Entry:006 - 16/09/3029

Keith is now an five year old child, and it seems obvious that he will no longer progress at the rapid rate that he did for the first year. He has already shown to have a good grasp at problem solving. Showing signs of all the skills they wish him to have. At times his emotions prove helpful, and other times they are a burden.

He has not been told about the project, instead he has been told his parents were killed in a plane crash. It breaks my heart to see this young child forced to mourn for ‘non-existent’ dead parents.
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Keith looked even paler, looking as though he was going to be sick. After all it's not every day that you find out your whole life has been nothing more then one lie after another.  It's not every day that your world was shattered.  He didn't want to accept that what he had read was true, but deep down he knew that it was true… he was nothing more then a common lab rat.

Pidge continued.  "It seems that our guest is Romulus.  Though I still have no clue why he is here or why he is attacking us!"

Sven didn't say anything.  He just put his arms around Keith and pulled him into a comforting hug.

Keith pulled away from Sven, jumping to his feet. His black eyes held a wild looking quality. "So in other words he's a lab rat and so am I. Nothing more then some fucking little lab rat." Keith was almost yelling by the time he finished. He clamped his hands into tight fists, his short nails digging into the soft flesh of his palms. "Not even that. At least a lab rat is actually born… at least a lab rat has a soul."

Sven jumped up.  "Keith, please calm down!"

Hunk shrugged and walked over to Keith.  Calmly, he grabbed Keith and threw him over his shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Keith yelled, pounding his fists against Hunk's back.

Hunk said nothing but continued to walk toward the river.  Once there, he calmly threw Keith into the freezing water.

Keith sat unmoving in the water, not even seeming to realize how cold the water was. He was no longer yelling about the truths he had just learned about his life, nor was he yelling at Hunk for throwing him into the water.

Hunk sat down next to the bank.  "Tell me skipper...did you feel that?"

Keith didn't reply he just stared blankly down at the water, giving no indication that he had even heard Hunk.

Hunk continued.  "Well, something with a soul has feelings.  You don't have to be born to have a soul.  I have met a number of beings who were born but definitely didn't have a soul.  Do you care about this team?"

Keith nodded meekly, though still didn't look up. His body trembled from a mix of coldness and emotions that raced through his body.

"Something without a soul would not, like Romulus.  A soul is obtained from living and developing a conscious.  You don't have to be born to have a conscious."  Hunk grinned.  "Another question...do you love Lance?"

Keith nodded, trying to blink back the hot tears that burned in his eyes, but the tears refused to be held back and began to roll down his cheeks.

"And he loves you.  I see it every time his eyes light up when you are around.  To him, you are the most precious being in the entire universe.  Would a being without a soul be able to receive and give such an intensity of love?"

Keith looked up, his cheeks stained with tears. He opened his mouth to say something but his lips moved soundless a couple times.  He couldn't seem to find his voice or the words to say, so he closed his mouth again.

Hunk stood up.  "I can't say that I truly understand what you are feeling right now, but I am familiar with having your world turned upside down and inside out. I know that I speak for the others when I say that we don't give a fucking shit about your past and how you were created!  All we care about is our captain, our friend, our brother. It hurts like hell having your world shattered, but you have friends who care about you and are here to help you.  And you have a man who loves you more than life itself."

Hunk leaned over and offered his hand.  "How about we get you out of that ice bath and dried off before that man finds out.  He will kick my butt into next week if you catch a cold."

Keith gave a half-hearted smile that just barely touched his eyes. He accepted Hunk's hand, and Hunk pulled Keith to his feet. "Thank you." He said sincerely, thanking his friend for so much with those two simple words.  The words seemed inadequate but it was all Keith could come up with at the moment.

"No charge for that chief!"  Hunk grinned evilly as they walked back to camp.  "Besides we are even now."
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Keith glanced nervously at Pidge and Sven as he walked back over to the fire.

Sven immediately walked over to Keith.  For a minute, he just stood there, staring into Keith's eyes.  Then he smiled and, ignoring how wet Keith was, he enclosed him in a fierce bear hug.  "It's gonna be okay."  Sven whispered as he stroked Keith's wet hair.

Keith leaned his head against Sven's shoulder, returning the hug. From the day he had first met Sven, Sven had been like a big brother to him, in the way he had taken Keith under his wing and had helped Keith to break out of his quiet shell. The knowledge that nothing had changed that, not even the new found knowledge of Keith's 'existence', brought tears to Keith's eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say right now, but he couldn't find his voice to say a single word.

"Shhh.  You don't have to say a thing."  Sven pulled Keith closer to him.  Silently, Pidge walked up and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist. Hunk followed and wrapped his arms around all three of them.  Keith was stuck in the middle of the group hug.

Keith was quiet for a moment before finally speaking. “I don't know how to tell Lance if… when he wakes up.” Keith spoke so quietly that his voice was almost inaudible.

Sven sighed and grabbed Keith by the shoulders, shaking him.  "Just tell him the truth!  Jeezzess Keith!  He loves you not your past."

“I'm not talking about 'past' I'm talking about…” Keith's voice trailed off for a moment. “The fact that I am not human.”

Hunk groaned and bopped Keith in the head.  "Haven't you heard a word we said?  HE...LOVES...YOU!!  Lance loves who you are, not what you are.  Besides, we have always known that you weren't human.  You are the only one who can eat Sven's cooking and not get deathly sick."

“I'm just … afraid of losing him. It's real easy to tell myself that everything will be fine… but it's damn near impossible to convince myself of it.”  Keith said.

Pidge laughed.  "You worry too much captain.  You are stuck with him, whether you like it or not.  When it concerns you, Lance has a one track mind."

“Speaking of which you should go get changed into dry clothes. Lance'll kill us if we let you catch cold.” Sven told Keith.

“Yes, sir.” Keith replied, before slipping out from between the others.
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Silently Keith entered the tent and changed his clothes.  He was so preoccupied that he barely heard the weak voice behind him.

"They're right, Cat."

Keith spun around, almost dropping the shirt he was holding. He rushed over and knelt down beside the cot. “You're awake.” Keith pointed out needlessly. “I thought you were going to play a Rip Van Winkle on us.”

Lance smiled weakly.  "And miss all the fun?  No way."  He weakly raised his hand and lightly touched Keith's face.  "I heard what y'all were talking about.  Are you okay Cat?"

Keith's face paled slightly as he looked away from Lance, twisting the T-shirt he held in his hands that he still hadn't put on. “What all did you hear?” He finally asked after a long moment of silence.

Somehow Lance managed to sit up and grab Keith's face with both of his hands.  "Cat, I love you.  Nothing will ever change that.  Everything I do, I do for you."

He placed a quick kiss on Keith's lips before lying, actually falling, back down.  "Hunk is right, you know."

“Right about what, babe?” Keith asked.

"You do have a soul.  I can see it in your eyes and in everything you do.  You are the most caring and compassionate person I have ever met.  Despite all the shit that gets thrown at you, you never stop caring.  Romulus doesn't have a soul.  I saw it in his eyes."  Lance shivered as his hand rubbed the bruises around his mouth.

Keith leaned over Lance, resting his head against Lance's chest for a moment, as he wrapped his arms over Lance. He held him like that for a long moment, never wanting to let go. He lifted his head slightly and brushed a tender kiss over Lance's cheek. “I love you so much…. “ Keith lifted his head to look into Lance's eyes. He took Lance's right hand and held it between his own two hands. “And I am so sorry that he has hurt you because of me.”

Lance placed his free hand with Keith's hands and squeezed.  "It is not your fault.  None of us dreamed he would be so bold as to come into camp in broad daylight!  I thought it was you until I looked into his eyes.  There was no warmth in his eyes or voice."

“It is my fault. And I don't just mean this last time…. I mean every time.” Keith said. “He's going after you because… he knows hurting you will hurt me worse than anything he could do to me. I don't know why he is here exactly but I do know for some reason he's challenging me.”

Lance sighed as he closed his eyes and tightened his grip on Keith's hands.  "I know, I know.  He is trying to break you.  He will try again.  The last thing I remember is him telling me that we would play more later."

“Not if I find him first!” Keith growled, his black eyes flashing with anger. His eyes softened as he looked into Lance's eyes. “Then he'll be playing our game.”

Lance smiled lovingly up at Keith.  "I agree.  I think it is about time we started playing by our rules."  His face quickly turned serious.  "Promise me that no matter what happens, you won't blame yourself."

“I won't allow anything to happen.” Keith said, and before Lance could object Keith finished. “I promise, no matter how things turn out I won't blame myself.”  In thought though he added, 'Because if anything happens to you I doubt I'd live long enough to blame myself.'
************************************************************************
A short while later, Lance drifted back into a more peaceful sleep. Keith stood up, pulling on his black T-shirt, and walked out of the tent.

The others all turned and looked at him expectantly.

“He woke up…. actually he's been awake for a little while, long enough to hear about everything.” Keith smiled. “And I'm not above admitting you were all right and I was wrong.”

Pidge looked up at the sky.  "Either my hearing is bad or the sky must be falling!"

“Yeah, that's something I don't think I've ever heard.” Sven commented.

“That's because it's never happened before.” Keith grinned. “I've always been right before.”

Hunk snorted.  "Whatever.  Don't make me throw you in the river again."

“Hey. I admitted I was wrong this once. And that's just because of all this stress.” Keith said. His eyes darkened slightly and his smile no longer looked quite so friendly. “And I know just how to solve the problem. I am going to track down Romulus. Only thing is this time it is Remus who kills Romulus.”

Sven jumped up.  "I'm coming with you.  I have something that I would like to discuss with him!"

Keith shook his head. “No. I am doing this alone. I want you to stay here and look after Lance.”

Hunk growled.  "I don't like this Keith.  One of us should go with you.  That will still leave two to watch over Lance."

“I stand a better chance of tracking him alone.” Keith said.

"I really don't know who is more stubborn...you or Lance."  Pidge reached into his pocket and handed Keith a small electronic tracker.  "Take this with you.  If you get into any trouble, just press the button.  One of us will be there in no time."

Keith nodded and stuffed the tracker into the pocket of his jeans. He checked the setting on his gun; he glanced at the three members of the team one last time before sprinting off into the woods.
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Keith moved through the woods his eyes constantly scanning for even the smallest of clues. The woods barely seemed to have been disturbed, except for where the members of the team had been. At first all he could find were footprints that matched the pattern left by the regulation boots they wore for this mission. Though as he looked closer, a few sets of the prints were slightly different, and looked like someone had walked over the tracks wearing a smooth bottomed shoe. He followed the footprints into a denser section of woods that made it nearly impossible to see any footprints. A few branches looked broken, so Keith continued further, seeing other branches that had been cut neatly and some that had been broken.

The sounds of the woods surrounded him, and were the only sounds he could hear giving everything an almost eerie quality.  Keith was beginning to wonder if this path was a little too easy to follow, as though Romulus were trying to lead him somewhere, though he didn't care as long as it was away from camp, away from his friends. The path ended abruptly at a rocky cliff; the rocks curved making almost a half tunnel along the side of the rock, probably carved out by water hundreds of years ago. Keith followed the cliff for a while and found signs of a small encampment. Keith bent down by the charred remains of an old fire, feeling the pieces of burnt wood.  All were cold to touch, letting him know that Romulus had not been there for quite some time.

Keith stood up, brushing his hands off on his legs. He wondered if Romulus had found a new location to set up camp, perhaps even closer to their camp. Keith turned and headed back towards camp, watchful for any other pathways Romulus had created through the woods.
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Hunk kept pacing by the campfire.  "I don't like this...I don't like this..."

“He should've let one of us go with him.” Sven said, he paused for a moment. “Though I'm not really surprised that he insisted on doing this alone.”

Hunk threw his arms in the air.  "HE is the one who always insists that we have backup with us!"

“Yes, but I think this is a little different.” Sven began to explain. “After all that has happened… after all he found out today, he needs to be the one to get Romulus.”

Pidge nodded.  "I agree with Sven, love.  This is more of a personal thing to him...especially since all of Romulus' attacks have been on Lance."

"I know, I know."  Hunk's shoulders slumped.  "I still don't like it though."

Before the conversation could go any further a small black canister rolled across the ground, landing dangerously close to the fire.

“What the hell is that?” Hunk questioned taking a step towards the canister and reaching down for it.

“DON'T TOUCH IT!” Sven yelled.

By the warning Hunk pulled his hand back, but he didn't moved quick enough. The canister exploded, sending shards of hot metal through the air, slicing a deep cut across Hunk's hand. Black smoke filled the air, making it nearly impossible to see anything, much less breathe.

Hunk fell to his knees, coughing and clutching his hand.  "GET...BACK!!"

Pidge tried to move toward Hunk, but he only got a few feet before he fell to the ground coughing and gagging.

Sven turned towards Keith's tent where Lance was sleeping, knowing this smoke bomb could only be the work of Romulus, but the thick smoke made it impossible to see anything, and even harder to breathe… making it impossible to reach the tent.

Lance jerked awake.  He weakly managed to get on his feet and out of the tent, only to stop due to the dense smoke.  "What the fuck?"

Before Lance knew what was happening, he was tackled from behind and shoved into the ground as something straddled his back.  A hand jerked his head up as a voice whispered in his ear.  "Time for us to play."

"KEITH!"  Lance jerked up trying to dislodge Romulus, but the bastard held on.  The last thing Lance heard was Romulus laughing before pain and blackness took over as his head was repeatedly slammed into the ground.
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By the time Keith returned to the camp the smoke had cleared. Hunk sat looking quite pale as Pidge tended to the large gash on his hand. Sven sat staring at the remnants of a canister.

Keith ran the rest of the way into the camp. “What happened?”  He asked even though he had a sinking feeling he knew just what had happened - Romulus had attacked while he was gone.

Sven looked up at Keith, his expression pained.  "Romulus."

Keith glanced towards the tent. “Lance?”

"Got him."  Tears ran down Sven's face as he clutched his head.  "Oh, god Keith.  I'm sorry.  We couldn't..."

Keith moved to knell down in front of Sven. He wrapped his arms around Sven and pulled him close. “We'll get him back.”  Keith gently stroked Sven's back in a comforting fashion. “It's okay, Sven…. I know there was nothing else any of you could've done.”

Hunk growled.  "HOW?  We have no clue where that bastard has taken him!"

“We start searching.” Keith said. He pulled away from Sven, squeezing Sven's shoulder one last time before standing up. He turned to look at Pidge and Hunk, standing nearby. “This time we'll all be out looking, and we'll go in teams of two. Soon as we find anything we contact each other.”

Pidge nodded grimly.  "Right!   I heard footsteps running to the east.  Hunk and I will take the southeast side and fan eastward."

“Well, I guess that means Sven and I will go towards the northeast.” Keith said.

Sven growled.  "Let's get Lance back and kill that son of a bitch!"
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Romulus carried Lance across his shoulder as he trudged through the dense woods. He was careful leaving only the barest of trails that only the most experienced tracker could follow. He knew Remus, or Keith as his 'brother' had later been called, would be able to follow the trail. However he didn't plan on allowing that to happen until he was ready for it.

Romulus entered a large, dank cave throwing Lance's still unconscious body to the ground. He sat down, straddling Lance's waist, looking the unconscious man over wondering just what his brother saw in this pathetic human. Romulus frowned slightly, things just weren't any fun if his captive was asleep; there were no cries of pain to be heard that way – and Romulus loved to hear those cries.

"Wake up!" He growled, slapping Lance across the face with repeated sharp blows.

Lance groaned.  Somehow, despite the four star band playing in his head, he regain consciousness.  He tried to open his eyes, but his vision was blurred and his eyes stung from some sticky liquid that he could feel running into his eyes from his aching forehead.  Not to mention that the blows to the face were really not helping matters either.

"About time you woke up." Romulus growled. He leaned his face down closer to Lance's, grinning wickedly. He flicked his tongue out, lapping the blood off of Lance's temple, away from Lance's eyes. He sat back slightly licking his lips, taking a sadistic pleasure in the taste of Lance's blood… and fear.

Lance was terrified, but damn if he was going to show it to this bastard.  His eyes still burned, keeping him from seeing Romulus or his surroundings - not exactly helping his situation any.&nbssp; It took all his control to not jerk back as Romulus' tongue touched his face.  Lance growled.  "Get off!"

"You don't need to act brave, there is nobody here to fool, my pet." Romulus sat back, roughly rubbing his hands over Lance's chest for a moment, before pulling out a pocket knife.

Lance growled.  As soon as he felt the weight shift, his hands shot forward blindly hoping to shove off his attacker and get some ground between them.

"Not a very wise move." Romulus scolded. To prove his point he sliced the knife across Lance's chest, slicing the thin blue fabric and drawing a shallow cut just above Lance's left nipple. "Now I suggest you lie very still...unless you care to be cut some more."

Lance winced as the blade cut his chest.  The son of a bitch just had to have a knife, didn't he?  His eyes still closed, Lance gritted his teeth in frustration.  "What do you fucking want?"

"Oh, there are a lot of things I want." Romulus answered as an evil grin slowly spread across his face. "But what I want from you is to use your suffering to get to Remus. And so far it has been working like a charm."

Anger flowed through Lance as his left fist shot out towards that sick voice.  "LEAVE KEITH ALONE!"

Lance's fist connected weakly with Romulus' jaw, making the smile fade. "I don't have to do anything to him. Your death will do all the damage for me. He is weak...all those useless human emotions make him easy to defeat. I will prove once and for all that I am the superior warrior." Romulus shoved Lance down to the ground and leaned his face in close to Lance's. "It is going to be such a pleasure to take you apart piece by piece."

"Don't bet on it!"  Lance wrapped his hands around Romulus' wrists.  Using Romulus' forward motion, Lance kicked his legs up under Romulus and threw him over his head.  Not really wanting to wait for his attacker's reaction, he scrambled to his feet.  His eyes still burned and his vision was still blurred, but Lance could faintly see a dim light and quickly made his way to it.

Romulus growled in rage and leapt to his feet, tackling Lance from behind. "That's wasn't a very wise thing to do! Not wise at all!" Romulus roughly manhandled Lance, as he pulled Lance's jeans and boxers off in a swift movement. Romulus wrapped his arm around Lance's waist, forcing Lance onto his knees. "Since Remus seems to like fucking you so much I think I'll find out why."

Lance's heart froze.  Blindly he jerked forward as he desperately tried to squirm from Romulus' grip.

"You're not going anywhere!" Romulus kept his one arm around Lance's waist while pushing his own pants down. "You're mine now!" Romulus rubbed his already half-hard erection with his free hand until he was fully erect. He gripped Lance's waist with both his hands, leaving bruises.  He didn't 'waste time' to prep Lance, he just forced his way inside with a hard and vicious thrust.

Lance released a heart-piercing scream as intense pain shot through him.  His muscles tore inside him as each thrust pounded harder and deeper into him.  Romulus' grip on his waist tightened painfully as he jerked Lance back violently into each thrust, pushing his erection even deeper into Lance, ripping him apart inside.  His eyes burned more intensely as the blood mixed with his tears and ran down his face.  Lance could no more stop the tears than he could stop the blood rushing down his legs.

It didn't take long for Romulus to climax. He slowly pulled out of Lance, slapping Lance's buttocks. "Damn, you really are a good fuck!" He let go of Lance's waist allowing Lance to fall limply to the floor of the cave.

Lance weakly cried out as Romulus' release burned like acid inside of him.  He barely felt the slap or the ground when he hit.  Anger, pain, and helplessness flowed through him as the blood and cum ran down his legs.  Mumbling a weak 'Bastard' he struggled to lift himself up off the ground.

Romulus grabbed Lance roughly by the back of the neck and hauled Lance to his feet. He dragged Lance over to a wall and tied a rope tightly around Lance's wrists, so tight that the rope dug into the flesh drawing blood. Romulus ran the other end of the rope through a metal ring he had hammered high into the back wall of the cave earlier. Romulus slowly used his knife to cut off Lance's shirt, nicking Lance's skin occasionally.

Lance struggled weakly, but all his strength was gone.  He winced as the rope dug into his wrists, feeling his blood run down his arms as they were raised above his head.  Bound, blind, and weak Lance had never felt so helpless in his life.  It terrified him as well as infuriated him.  All he could do was grit his teeth and hang there as Romulus slowly tore at his shirt and chest and roughly rubbed his hands and mouth over Lance's entire body.

Romulus stepped back, grinning at Lance before retrieving a long whip. He snapped the whip across Lance's chest. At first Lance refused to cry out but after the fifth strike he gave into the pain and screamed as the whip tore across his flesh. Lance's screams were like music to Romulus' ears, pushing him to strike faster and harder. Whip marks and blood were crisscrossed all over Lance's chest and arms before Romulus finally cast the whip aside. "What do you think Remus will do when he finds your broken body? Do you think my weak little brother will kill himself? I could leave you just on the brink of death so you could find out...would you like that?"

Lance's entire body felt like it was on fire, accented with running warm blood.  Even with the pain clouding his mind, Lance still managed to spit at Romulus.  "Doesn't matter.  You have already signed your death warrant."  Lance said hoarsely.

"You think your dear lover will avenge you? You are sadly mistaken. If he is still alive once I've taken you away from him I'll go after the next one… I believe his name is Sven. Tell me is Remus fucking him too?"

Lance laughed bitterly.  "You won't live long enough to find out."

Romulus laughed. "There you go with that false bravery again…" Romulus began using Lance's body like a punching bag with a series of hard punches and kicks, cracking at least three of Lance's ribs before he stepped away, laughing.

Bloody tears ran down Lance's face as each blow pounded into his body.  The blood moving up from his lungs and into his mouth kept him from crying out.  Fortunately he soon could no longer feel the pain or the blows.  'I'm sorry Keith.  I love you.'  Lance thought before darkness claimed him, drowning out Romulus' sick laughter.
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"BLOODY FUCKING HELL!" Keith yelled in frustration, pounding his fist against a nearby tree.

Sven jumped.  He had known Keith for years and he had never seen his friend lose his control.  "Uhm, Keith...beating up that tree is not going to help."

"Yeah well the only other thing to hit is you." Keith sighed and looked at Sven. "I didn't mean that. I wouldn't…. you know that, right?"

Sighing, Sven walked over to Keith and gently squeezed his shoulder.  "I know that.  Just like I would never hurt you.  But right now we have to stay focused."

"Every minute we waste searching is another minute that… could lead closer to…" Keith's voice faltered and he found that he couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Don't even think it!  Let's stop talking and start..."  A heart-piercing scream echoed through the forest.

"LANCE!" Keith yelled and took off in the direction the scream had come from with Sven close at his heels.

The path they were following changed from woods to a more rocky terrain and they found themselves standing in front of a series of caves.

"Fuck." Keith cursed under his breath. "I think we should split up and search these caves. We've wasted enough time and…." Keith didn't have to say it, there had been nothing but silence since they heard the scream.

Sven was about to object, but stopped when he saw the grim determination in Keith's eyes.  "Okay, but be careful.  I will contact Pidge and Hunk and have them back us up."

Keith nodded and rushed towards the caves. He found nothing in the first cave, except for a few bats there were not too happy about being disturbed from their slumber and fluttered angrily over his head.

A chill ran down Keith's spine as he entered the second cave. A few feet into the cave he saw a motionless body tied against the back wall of the cave. "Oh my god…."

Keith rushed towards Lance, his heart racing. "Lance…" His voice was nothing more then a whisper as he reached out with shaky fingers to check for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one, it was a weak pulse but none the less it was a pulse.

Keith was almost afraid to touch Lance for fear of causing more damage. "Just hold on, babe…" Keith found the discarded knife laying on the ground and cut the rope that held Lance's arms up, catching Lance as he slumped forward and gently laying Lance on the ground.

There was no movement, except for weak shallow breathing.  Streams of blood ran down Lance's entire naked body, mixed with white streams on his legs.  His chest and arms were covered with cuts, deep lashes, dark bruises, and lots of blood.  Drying blood coated most of his face.

Keith knelt beside Lance, tears that he refused to allow to fall, burned in his eyes. "C'mon, wake up…." He rested his hand gently against Lance's head, on one of the few places that appeared uninjured.

Nothing.  Minutes passed.  Then a weak moan.

"That's it… c'mon…. wake up… wake up damnit."

Lance could faintly sense another presence near, but all the pain kept him from figuring out who it was or recognize the voice.  Feelings of helplessness and fear flooded his already confused mind causing him to try to escape from the presence.

"Sh, settle down…" Keith said, placing a gentle, restraining hand on Lance's shoulder. "Calm down before you worsen your injuries."

Sven ran into the cave, stopping short at the sight of Lance weakly struggling against Romulus, a knife in his hand.  "NOOO!!"  He quickly fired, hitting Romulus in the lower back.

Keith's eyes widened in shock and pain, as the hot searing pain of the beam tore through his body. The knife, which he forgotten that he had still been holding, slipping from his fingers as he brought his hands to touch the blood that was quickly soaking through the front of his shirt. All the color drained from his face and his lips moved soundless as he could taste his own blood in his mouth.

Sven froze, eyes staring in disbelief.  He could do nothing but stare, mumbling 'Oh god...oh god...' over and over.

Keith's body swayed slightly, as though moving to an unheard rhythm, before collapsing on the ground next to Lance. His eyes were glassy from the pain as he kept his hands pressed against the wound. He struggled against the darkness that threatened to overtake his mind and body. His head rolled weakly to one side, turning to look at his shooter, to look at the man who had always been like an older brother to him.

Keith's pained eyes tore at Sven's heart.  Dropping his gun, Sven ran to Keith's side.  Tears fell from his eyes as he gently gathered Keith in his arms, rocking him.  "I'm so sorry...oh god...I thought...oh god no...what have I done...no...I'm so sorry..."

"Not… your fault." Keith told Sven in a weak voice. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before leaning into Sven's arms. "Just… just … take care … of Lance… for me." Keith had to struggle to get the words out, his breathing was labored as he gasped in between almost every word to catch his breath...only to have more blood seep into his mouth.

Sven was sobbing uncontrollably as he pulled Keith closer to him.  "I...will...I...will.  I promise.  Just...just hang...hang on."

"Tell… tell Lance…. I love him…'kay… bro?" Keith asked. His body shuddered as he began to cough on the blood and then his body went still as the darkness over took him.

"KEITH!"  Sven screamed as Keith's body went limp.  Seeing that Keith was still breathing, he pulled Keith closer and kissed his forehead.  "I will bro...but you are gonna live and tell him yourself."  Sven glanced over at Lance's bloody, barely breathing form.  'If he lives long enough for you to tell him.'

Go to Part 2