Chapter three: Lance Falls Into a Dangerous Trap

Two days after the whole "Fake Water God" incident, Keith, Shiro, and the company had continued with their journey to find the quintessence crystal shards. During their travels, they had stopped at a neighboring village

Stats watched anxiously as Shiro and the others found a wild daemon in the village somewhere and decided to slay it, under the command of the villagers, they plan to get rid of it.

In full-on Battle gear, Hunk and Pidge with Lance were ready for action, waited anxiously about the daemon while Shiro fanning the smoke of burning incense in a bamboo container.

"It like we're getting rid of insects. Hunk, Pidge, are you about ready?" Said, Shiro.

Well, this was all going on, Keith feels all woozy, causing him to lie in the middle of the village square.

"Man, Keith's nose is awfully sensitive". Hunk said.

"Stats" Stats nodded.

As Lance repairs his attack, he notices a beautiful woman in the village crowd. "So beautiful," he thought as he leaves the crowd and follows her.

"Stats" Stats said as he witnesses Lance leaving. Then turned around to Hunk as he said. "It's coming! Get back!"

Stats turns around and gets into a preparatory stance where among the smoke. reveal a three-eyed vicious-looking daemon. It lets out a roar as it tries to escape the poisonous smoke. As it leaped out, revealing itself to a huge demon rat, which opened its maw as it lunged for Pidge.

Unfortunately for the rodent, it wasn't much of a match for her. She hammered one of her boomerangs right into its back, causing it to screech in pain as it shrunk to the size of a common rat, dead as a doornail.

"Shiro! It's all right now". Hunk said.

"Thank goodness! For a minute there I thought that would be some hype up daemon taking a Crystal shard!" Shiro told him.

"I doubt it, sometimes daemon hunting gets little tiresome sometimes," Hunk said, "speaking of which who's starving!"

Later that night, the evening meal was chicken strips and Frys. Along with bread and cheese By the time everybody met in the Great Hall for supper, Hunk was famished. Like his friends, he jammed a handful of bread and a hunk of cheese into his mouth.

"Keith, do you still feel sick?" Shiro said, rubbing Keith's back, then he looks around. "Huh? Where's Lance?"

"Stats," said Stats, explain.

"He left and went after some strange woman, are you serious".

"Stats," said Stats.

"And probably ask her to marry him!, Ok I am going to scream at the back of my mind, ahh!" Shiro said.

"Hey don't worry Lance will come back, I hope!" Hunk told him.

In the sunset, Lance tried to absorb the girl into the sound of his voice, his flirting doled out as he walked alongside the young maiden.

And hope one day, that someone will be interested in this awesomeness that all he is.

"I see.. so you are a lady of a very prominent clan" Lance stood in front of her.

"Yes but my clan was ruined by the war. And I am the last survivor of my House". Said beauty. "To restore my family, I wish to bear the child of a strong lord".

"And you sought any guy you could find out?" Lance said, places his hand on his chin. "Well, you picked the right place! I'll be happy to have your child!"

"Yes", the beauty said as she running over to hug Lance. "I would like that!"

The young man stared ahead of the hug but nevertheless enjoyed it. However, the hug suddenly turned deadly as, after a few seconds of hugging, gigantic mantis claws appear from the beautiful woman's back.

It looked like that Lance to been someone else's lunch. Lance cowered

"It's a trap!" Said Lance, terrified but calm down. "I thought it was too good to be true".

Lance shoves the woman away and hits her on the head with his staff. The daemon sheds its human skin to reveal its true form, a giant praying mantis.

"Giant mantis disguised as a woman!" Lance shouted.

"I devoured the insides of the real one!" The mantis explains as she attacks Lance with his claws but he dodges her they jump onto its forehead, somersaults, and lands behind the mantis.

"You picked the wrong victim!" Lance said as he removes his beads. Lance freezes the mantis but the sharp edges of its giant claws cut his hand, causing slits to appear around the perimeter.

"Damn! I got nicked!" Lance said, worried.

That night, Lance set out for Shiro and the others for dinner. There was silence all around, with Shiro glaring silently at Lance.

"I don't know if I'm imagining it, but Shiro has been looking at me quite coldly," Lance said, leaning over and whispering at Keith.

"Didn't you just go to pick up a woman?" Keith answered. "By the way, you kinda left us to deal with a daemon!"

"I'm so misunderstood. You may not believe me…" Lance said.

"Understood what, that you left us and hang out with a girl," Shiro said, interrupting. "I mean come on, you're just lucky that daemon we encounter wasn't a dangerous one if it was all those lives would have been in danger! Don't think for a second you're off the hook!"

Lance rolled his eyes and muttered, "I wish you'd hear me out at least".

"Don't care! The next time does not go out with a girl" Shiro snapped.

Poor Lance felt there was no escape from Shiro's glaring as was going to take a lot of apologies. To make up or what he did, he was known for being a deceiver but it was going to take a long time for them to trust him again.

Thus, the night went on and the group retired to bed. Shiro and Hunk slept in one room with Stats and Kiaion while Lance and Keith slept in another room with Pidge sleeping in another room alone.

However... Lance was the only one who was not asleep. He lied on his futon as he stared at his right hand...which throbbed in pain, causing him to wince.

"Shucks… It still hurts". Lance cursed, quietly. "That praying mantis cut my hand, I feel like but like an ice sculpture".

He then glanced over at Keith, who snored quietly as he continued to sleep on the futon.

When morning came, Keith grumbled as he woke up, groggily. As he yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he turned to wake up Lance...only to find his futon folded up and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?" Inuyasha muttered, just as the door opened to reveal a half-asleep Shiro, still wearing his PJs and his hair frazzled and unkempt.

"Morning, Keith," said Shiro "have you seen Hunk, this morning!"

"No not exactly" Keith replied. "But you wouldn't happen to have seen Lance, would you?"

"Huh?" Shiro muttered as she looked around. "Where is he?"

"I was kinda hoping you'd know," Keith replied.

"Lance is gone, again?" Pidge asked as she came in. "Typical...probably went chasing after another girl, again."

"Good point, it would have been past him" Shiro muttered in a deadpan tone. "But it's odd, that Hunk not here!"

"If you're looking for the young man and his friend," said the innkeeper as he came in, "they left sometime before dawn."

"Wait, what?" Shiro asked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Aye," the innkeeper nodded. "He asked me to pass on the message that he and Hunk will be traveling alone for a bit."

"Alone?" Shiro repeated, his voice slightly tinged with concern.

Even now, ever vividly, Lance could still remember the day when he first got his ice powers but also the day when it happened... The day that the empire attacks the home where his family lived.

It was a quiet night, just like any other. Lance, back when he was but a mere child of 8 years playing with his sister, Rachel, playing a good game of beach ball in the sand when a flying ship arrive, judging from the size of the ship, the village knew what it meant...then, all of a sudden the ship began to fire at them like mosquitoes being squished.

Lance saw villagers fought back against the soldiers that were coming down from the ship. "I'm going to find mom and dad," said Lance.

Lance attempted to dodge the attacks of villagers and Galra soldiers to reach his parents, then suddenly, someone grabbed him, it was a Galra soldier, trying to take him away as they did with every type of village.

But luckily, Lance reaches out his hand, crying out to his father or mother until something happened to the soldier...leaving behind a huge ice block.

All the boy could do was sit there, horrified and shocked beyond all reasoning.

"Lance, are you all right!" His mother said, hugging him but the boy could not say anything.

And now, 10 years later... Lance stood before the steps of the very village on the beachside where he spent the days of his childhood with Hunk and Kiaion standing at his side.

"My family and I had had a hidden power within, the ability to control ice without a daemon, my father had this ability, my brothers have it and my grandfather too! That's why the Galra attacked us in the first place" Lance narrated

Soon, Lance, Hunk, and Kiaion began to walk up the village entrance, where thanks to the war, many of the warriors of the village left, leaving women children, and people who could not fight to defend themselves.

"So, you grew up in this village, Lance? I always wondered" asked Hunk.

"That's right," answered Lance as they soon reached the location, a simple house in the center of the village.

"So this is where they lived," said Hunk. "Nice and simple, I kind of like it?"

"Yeah, my mom and dad more nice and simple!" Lance said, "let this hope they do not get mad now how I got my arm cut!"

Lance and Hunk entered the home... Where they were welcome by a middle-aged couple. There were Lance's parents named Rita and Tom' Jr.

"Lance!" Rita said. "Oh, it's so happy to meet you again!" He went to hug her son.

"Good to see you too, Mom!" Lance said in disbelief as he hugs his mother back.

"So what brings you back! Son" Tom' jr said. "Is it about, your adventurers finally cost you some trouble!"

"Well... Something!" Lance answered before he held up his right hand...and almost instantly, Tom's face seemed to sober up before he looked to his son, who sighed. "My hand was cut slightly by a mantis demon...do you think you can heal it?"

"Well, let me have a look, come inside" Tom replied as Lance and Hunk went inside the family home, the home was a very simple design just like outside, it had a couch and a portrait of the family.

In another room, with a table, Tom took Lance's hand in his palm, pulling back the glove slightly so as not to accidentally activate the ice power. It was there that he saw the tiny knick left by the mantis demon...and he had a somewhat disconcerted look on his face.

"Well?" Lance asked. "How bad is it"

"...I'm afraid you will die tonight, my son," Tom said, causing Lance's face to pale, instantly...but then, Tom snorted. "kidding!"

"Seriously, dad do you have to play one of your jokes again!" Lance said, annoyed.

"Well it's no joke Lance," Mushin said. "I can fix it for you, but until the wound has healed, I advise you not to use your ice power. Is that understood?"

By now, Kiaion had entered the room as well, but both Hunk and Lance had decided to ignore him for the time being.

"What will happen if I attempt to use it?" Lance asked him.

"Your ice power will begin to consume you...and you will die much sooner than expected," said Tom, grimly. "If that happens...even I cannot help you by then, Lance."

"Now then," Tom began as he stood up, "since it's been decided, I've got to go and prepare the herbs. Until then, go and purify your defiled body."

"Of course, dad," Lance said.

Sometime later, Lance was now dressed in robes of white as he sat beneath the waterfall behind the village while Hunk and Kiaion sat on the bank, nearby.

"So that's your parents, they seem nice!" Hunk said.

"Yeah they are, I meant they are the ones that understand me". Lance replied. "Among others!"

Just in, the unexpected sound of giggling drifted in the bushes. Hunk peered up and saw what appeared to be

As the shapes grew closer, they sharpened into focus. Hunk realized they weren't animals at all, but Lance's nephew and niece. They came out of the bushes like bunnies exploring the world for the first time.

"Uncle Lance!" they chorused.

"Are you coming to live with us, again?" asked Sylvio, a boy, who was around the age of six.

"Are you? Are you? Because that would be so much fun! Wouldn't it be fun" babbled Nadia, "right don't you agree!" a girl at four. The two children head towards Hunk.

Nadia squirmed free of Sylvio's arms and launched himself at Hunk. Then he joined in the bear hug his baby sister had started. Hunk stretched her arms wide to envelop the kids. he'd known Lance and his family since he was a young boy. So it wouldn't make it harder for Lance to introduce his family. Since his family is very welcoming to new people.

"Thanks, Nadia," Hunk said. "But we can stay for very long, we're trying to heal Lance's palm!"

"Oh, okay!" Sylvio said, hiding his disappointment.

"But on the bright side, why we are here I can teach you how to roll things along!" Hunk said.

Upon hearing that, Nadia and Sylvio's disappointment turned to excitement.

"All right, let's go," he said as his eyes popped open. That got their attention.

Meanwhile, on the porch... Tom stood there, staring at the horizon with a troubled look in his eyes...one that was free of any sort of humor.

"That boy… Going timid over little nicks like that. Well, I can't blame him. He's had such a tragic life".

Meanwhile, Back in the village, The gang is in a room. "Why did Lance leave us like that?" Keith said as he was leaning on a parapet.

"Stats," said Stats.

"What do you mean, we gave them dirty looks!" Shiro said, "Sure I was mad at Lance for leaving us like that, but with hunk, it's confusing!"

"Hah! As if he's so sensitive! Would it be just packed up and leave" Keith said?

"Yeah but bring Hunk on, that doesn't make any sense!" Shiro said.

"Well, I hate to break it to you" Pidge began, "but you and Keith were pretty harsh, Shiro."

Shiro winced as he glanced and biting his lip in worry.

"...Well...I really didn't give him a chance to explain himself, did I?" asked Shiro.

"Oh come on, Hah! As if he's so sensitive!" Keith said, walking into the room. "Besides if he brings Hunk on, this is proof he's not sensitive!"

Back at the seaside village, Hunk watch The children play, after all, they were the children of Lance's older brother and the best of friends. Hunk couldn't resist their's begging. The siblings ran down the village's fields, laughing as they hurried along. Entering the Great field, where all the flowers were held, they turned to each other.

"Are you ready?" Sylvio asked, smiling.

"Yes, yes!" Nadia cried, reaching out to tickle her brother. Sylvio giggled, and suddenly, snowflakes seemed to burst in a flurry from his hand!

Nadia clapped happily. She knew that her brother had a very special talent: she could create snow and ice like her father, uncles, and grandfather, even in the middle of summer!.

With a twirl and a wave of his hands, Sylvio magically summoned his icy powers. Quickly, he filled the Great field with mounds of fluffy snow, turning it into a winter playground. Then he stomped his hand and ice swept across the floor. He laughed to see little Nadia hopping around joyfully.

Together, they went to work building their snowman. Nadia did her best to roll out the snowman's body with Hunk's help. Then she ran to get a carrot for the nose. "Snowman!" she exclaimed proudly. Hunk laughed at the lopsided snowman. "Hi, I'm Olaf," he said in a deep voice, pretending to be the snowman. "And I like warm hugs."

The kids danced around their funny snowman.

Then Sylvio gathered his icy magic and made a swooping ice slide. Nadia squealed with delight. he climbed to the top of the slide, then zoomed down and soared up again along the icy curve.

Sylvio quickly created another slide to catch Nadia as she came down. The little girl gained speed and was tossed upward again. Sylvio had to work fast to keep pace with Nadia. he kept making more slides so his sister could stay aloft as she flew around the room.

"Nadia, slow down," Sylvio said, starting to get worried. "It's too high!" But Nadia was having fun. The little girl was fearless, jumping and sliding to each new slide as quickly as Sylvio made it. He raised his hand to create the next slide, but suddenly, his foot slipped and unable to create the next slide. Luckily he had Hunk with him, and he grabs the girl before something terrible has happened.

"Man, you got to be careful!" Hunk said, letting go of the girl.

"Thanks, Hunk, for a minute there I thought I was never going to forgive myself!" Said Sylvio

"Hey it's okay, I'm just grateful that you kids are all right!" Hunk said "anyway it's getting late! We should get back home!"

No arguments there, the kids felt very tired. The play game was done. "Ok, we are very tired!" Sylvio said. Rubbing his eyes.

"Then let's go, let's go back to your parents!" Hunk said as dusk began to approach, beginning to walk in the Frozen field and head back home.

Back in the house, Lance sat with his mother, who handed him some sort of elixir.

"A painkiller?" Lance said, curiously.

"Yes, your father assisted it!" His mother said. "He going to fix your wound. Drink that and you'll sleep right through it."

Lance nodded before he drank the liquid...which tasted rather bitter, but he forced it down, nonetheless.

"Now then... I better go see your father!" His mother said, "he probably has the herbs that are needed!"

As Rita entered the cellar and check on her husband...she heard something rustling behind her.

"Hmm?" She hummed before she turned around, only to see nothing but darkness. "Who's there?"

At first, there was no response...but then, in the dark, she saw a pair of glowing red eyes, glowering at him, which caused him to gasp.

"It's still day, but unusually dark.?!" She started...but the next thing she knew, something jumped out at her. She let out a muffled scream, followed by some sort of choking sound...and then, there was silence.

"Dear are you there!" Tom said as he preparing some herbs, then suddenly he was attacked by the same entity that took his wife, he passed out and toppled over into the ground.

Lance lied on the mat, the room lit by a small oil lantern with Hunk and Kiaion dozing off with Lance's staff and Hunk's own in his hands. Slowly but surely, he could feel the pain in his right hand starting to fade, ever so slightly. Drowsiness had begun to set in and before he knew it, he started to feel very heavy. He could barely keep his eyes open.

And soon his mother and father walk up to him and sit down.

"Did you take your medicine?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I did I feel sleepy!" Lance murmured.

"Sleep. It'll be over soon". Tom replied as he gently closed his son's eyes.

"I'm counting on you. Frankly, I don't want to die…" Lance said, dozes off.

As his father spoke...something seemed to slither out of his mouth, the same goes for his wife.

"Difficult you're not. I'll put you at ease soon". He chuckles evilly as he takes out a cleaver from under his robes.

Meanwhile, back with Shiro and the others... They were already about to leave, but the only thing that was missing was Lance and Hunk, they were already still away.

"Hey guys, let's go look for them!" Shiro responded, gently.

"Why should we, they don't care about us, Lance always leads with a girl and hunk all he thinks about is running away". Keith said

"Oh come on that's not true, I know hunk and yes he sometimes is scared he's never left us even if the going gets tough!" Pidge said "and besides, the last time I saw Lance, he kept staring at his right hand and seemed deep in thought. I'm not sure what he was thinking about"

Shiro walks up to Pidge and said. "Why didn't you tell us this!"

"You never ask," she said.

Shiro, Keith, and Pidge raced down the road away from the village, the thought of Lance in danger could be real. Little did Shiro and his friends know that danger was around the corner.

Elsewhere, Lance lied completely still, seeming unaware of the danger that he was in. His parents, under the influence of something more sinister than hugs and kisses, his father chuckled in a devious manner as he held up the butcher's knife and he swung down, the blade connecting as blood sprayed in the air. However, as the two looked up, he saw that Lance had somehow managed to rouse himself and roll out of the way...not completely unscathed, though, for his left shoulder was dripping with blood, staining his white robes red.

"Oh… are you still awake?" Rita mused.

"Who...who are you?!" Lance asked with a raspy breath.

"What do you mean, son?" asked Tom. "We are your parents, the people who raised you..."

Lance was no fool. His mother may have been the type to give out hugs and his father may have helped the needy for the right reasons, but even they wouldn't act like this. No, he could see clearly that something wasn't right. As Rita and Tom attempted to approach him, Lance saw these white, worm-like things, slipping in out of their mouth.

"They been possessed...!" he thought as he stumbled back toward the door while his parents advanced. Suddenly, Lance began to realize that perhaps he should have told the others where he was going, after all...but it was far too late for that, now.

"You can't move anymore", said Tom as he raised the knife. "Your body's already paralyzed"

As soon as he said this, Lance's vision blurred a bit and he could feel his body growing even heavier. He was right. The painkillers were beginning to finally take effect. As Lance slumped on the floor, struggling to stand, Tom, chuckled in a sinister tone as he raised the knife over his head.

"Go in peace!" Tom shouted as he swung down, but miraculously, Lance managed to roll out of the way, causing the possessed to hit the door behind him. As Lance tumbled, the door fell off its frame and ended up falling right on top of Hunk who was holding Lance's staff. Hunk cried out in surprise more than the pain before he looked up at the monk, who grunted as he tried to sit up.

"Lance what's going on," Hunk asked.

"Hunk!..." Lance groaned. "Quickly, my staff!"

Deciding it was best not to ask questions, Hunk quickly handed Lance his staff, which he used to block Tom's knife, again. Hunk gasped as he looked down at his master's wounded shoulder, then looked back at Tom, who growled as he tried to push Lance back. It didn't seem to take him very long to realize what was happening here.

With a scream, Hunk took out several smoke bombs from his vest and tossed them to the floor, causing them to explode in a cloud of smoke. Rita and Tom coughed as they covered his mouth with their sleeve, but as the smoke dissipated, he saw that Lance, Hunk, and Kiaion had both mysteriously vanished. However, this didn't seem to discourage them, for Rita simply smirked.

"You can run, but you can't hide," she hissed, the worm-like creatures slithering out of her mouth.

Hunk panted as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him while he held Lance, piggyback style.

"Nice work back there, Hunk," Lance said.

"Well, of course!" Hunk exclaimed. "If there's one thing that I know of know how to do, it's escaped!" He then turned over to Kiaion and said. "Kiaion, go find Shiro and the others.

Kiaion meows in agreement and then transforms into a much larger size and fly most of the distance to find the group.

Back at the group, a while later, Shiro, Keith, and Pidge were out on the open road again. But this time they're looking for their friends.

"I can't believe I was being too hard on him," Shiro asked.

"Stats!" Stats said.

"You really think so, I mean I always hated when he goes out of girls, I mean come on there's more important things in life than just girls!" Shiro said.

"Oh please Shiro, there's no reason to be worried, he probably just left we have to go after girls!" Keith told him.

"Yeah, but we never saw him went after girls, in fact, none of us saw him this morning and we never saw him hang out with a girl this once!" Shiro argued. "So that must mean something's wrong?"

Keith scoffed. "Oh, please. Lance's not some wuss. His feelings aren't easy." He then glanced off to his right...and put his hand on his dagger's hilt. "But more importantly... Who's over there trying to spy on us!"

With a mighty swing of his dagger, Keith sliced through the bushes...revealing a familiar figure hiding behind it; a big cat.

"Kiaion, it's Kiaion!" Shiro exclaimed.

"Kiaion!" Keith and Pidge shouted, then Shiro went on to pet him.

"Kiaion what is it is Lance and Hunk are they in danger" Shiro cried as he ran over to the lion and helped him. "Please tell me they're okay?!"

Kiaion roar in worried then pointed out to the direction where the beachside village is at.

"Is that when they are, why are they over there!" Shiro responded.

Kiaion nudged his head into Shiro's side, in a flash he pushing him to his back "oh boy, what are you doing!" Shiro shouted.

Shiro glanced back at the village where Kiaion pointed out. Where to his surprise, he saw a strange new storm swirling above the village. He could see dark clouds forming, putting it into an even deeper danger

"Guys I think I know where Lance and Hunk, he cried. Instantly, Keith and Pidge following the course and took off running toward the village. Kiaion scrambled and raced up behind them. He ducked his head and lifted Keith and Pidge with his head, then threw him onto his back. The group raced down the hillside.

Back in the village, Hunk and Lance were still running away from Lance's parents.

At that moment, Lance, weak as he was, noticed something out of his peripherals. "...Although," he said, "I think it's best if you saved yourself."

"What are you crazy!" Hunk questioned. "I won't just abandon you, Lance, you're my best friend!"

"Hunk, look closely," Lance told him, causing him to look up, only to gasp in horror as he saw a huge horde of daemons all around!

"W-where did they come from?!" Hunk cried. Sheets of daemons began to break through the village walls. The cracks grew across the walls, and the village's wall began to collapse and soon the village was overrun by daemons, screaming people began to run, trying to escape the wild daemons.

"We're surrounded," Lance said. "If you stay here with me, you'll end up getting killed."

"Uh...I guess you have a point there," Hunk admitted, nervously.

"Just go, Hunk," Lance advised. "Hurry...I can hide by myself once the medicine wears off."

"But...where should I take you?" asked Hunk, "Sure I take you where the rest of the family live?"

"My family I forgot about them!" Lance said, "I can't believe I forgot about them you need to find them for me!"

Hunk nodded before he took Lance to the very place that he instructed, just before he found him a place to hide away from his parents.

"Go," Lance said. "If you're caught here, you'll be doomed. I'll be fine on my own."

"O-of course," Hunk replied before he changes out of his regular clothes to his daemon explorer battle gear As he left, he glanced back at Lance, worriedly.

"I know he said he'd be fine," he thought, "but there's no way Lance will survive this by himself!" He then looked forward, determinedly. "Let's just hope that Kiaion finding Shiro and the others, before it's too late!"

Not far away, Shiro, Keith, and Pidge were riding on Kiaion's back, racing desperately toward Hunk and Lance.

"Come on! Come on!" Shiro urged Kiaion.

"I don't understand one thing," Keith said while he was behind Shiro's back while riding on Kiaion. "Why is Lance came here it's just a village that lives near the sea?"

"Not this any village, his home!" Pidge asked.

"His home, the one that was attacked by the Galra empire," asked Shiro.

"Exactly, it was attacked by Galra that part is true, but his family lives there!" Pidge clarified.

"Of course that's why he went there!" Shiro said "maybe it was getting attacked by the Galra empire again! I didn't realize..."

"And to think...we also treated him, horribly..." Pidge said.

"What I don't understand is why Lance would just up and disappear on us," Lance spoke. "I mean...we've traveled together for so long. I thought we knew him, by now."

"Hey, it's not your fault that the guy respected his privacy," Keith said. "I just cannot believe he didn't trust us enough!"

"Keith!" Shiro said as should be chided to him by now but he hates to agree with him, he was right Lance really does expect his privacy so much in fact that he didn't tell his friends.

Shiro opened his mouth to talk to him again until, at the moment, Kiaion came to a halt. "Whoa, Kiaion what is it," Shiro said.

The village wall was surrounded by wild daemons. Shiro, Keith, and Pidge jumped off Kiaion's back and stood in front of the swarm and drew their weapons to attack the wild daemon then suddenly a pack of ice begins to cover the daemons. The others soon turn around going to see Sylvio and Nadia with Hunk.

"Shiro, Keith" Hunk said. "Thank goodness that Kiaion found you."

"Us too!" Shiro said as he and the others ran over to Hunk, During that time, Hunk began to explain in full detail why Lance had left, even adding the part with his encounter with the mantis demon from yesterday.

"What, that's what he's been doing!" Shiro responded "all this time I thought he was flirting with some girl but it was serious, so much in the back, he decided to go home!... We should have listened to him, I should have listened to him!"

"It's not your fault, you came but right now Lance needs your help!" Hunk said. "With his hand-sliced, he can't use it!"

"What you mean he can't use his powers," Keith asked.

"We went to the village to mend it, right before Lance's parents turned strange," Hunk explained, "they told him that if he should attempt to use his ice powers now, it would widen from the mouth of the wound...and his already shortened lifespan will be cut even shorter!"

Shiro, Keith, and Stats gasped before they all glanced at each other, the latter two clearly worried...and even if his face didn't show it, the former was worried, as well.

"It looks like time is of the essence," said Pidge as she came out from behind a hut, wearing daemon explorer armor. "Let's hurry and save Lance!"

"Pidge...!" Hunk whispered in surprise. "Thank you!"

"Good," Keith said. "Let's get moving, then!" With that, they all head to the village, to Lance's home. As they did, Shiro couldn't help noticing the kids following after them.

"Wait, we can't leave these kids here!" Shiro said.

"Kiaion can protect them!" Hunk said.

"But we want help!" Nadia said.

"I know but these are dangerous daemons, and your powers are too much of a wild card," Hunk said.

"But okay!" Sylvio mumbled. Feeling defeated.

Back at Lance's home...the whole place was swarming with demons, all of them growling as they looked around for Lance...among them being three giant mantis daemons, one that Lance instantly recognize.

"Where is he?!" shrieked one of them. "I'll make him pay what he did to me!"

"Don't worry sister!" declared another one. "we will make sure he suffers slowly!"

What the daemons didn't seem to realize was that Lance was right in front of them...except that they couldn't see him. Why? Because he was sitting right in right into the place that hunk hide him...his hands folded together in prayer, having placed a barrier around himself, thanks to its training as a monk of course. However, it seemed that Lance was struggling to stay still.

"Damn...the herbs are still flowing through my veins," he thought. "How long will I be able to hold up this barrier?"

"Where are you, monk?!" questioned one of the mantis daemon sisters. "Show yourself!"

"So those three are all related oh man this was a trap," Lance thought as he sighed as he closed his eyes in resignation. "I suppose...this is where I die. What no I can't die, there are so many things I wanted to do, I'll hold up as long as I can,"

"I hope that hard-headed loser can handle himself". Keith said as he and the others, heading toward Lance's parents' home. At that moment, they can see the destination.

"Is that it?!" Sango asked.

"Looks...like kinda simple and nice, doesn't it?" asked Shiro.

Just then, a whole covey of demons came leaping out at the group, Shiro branch out his sword in attack mode.

"Consolation breathing, seventh from, Leo" Shiro shouted as slashed through them with his blade.

"Let's keep going" Keith shouted as he drew his dagger once again. "We don't have a second to lose!"

"Right!" Hunk shouted as he continues to attack the wild daemons with his hand cannons with Keith and Shiro slashed through them with their blades.

"Get out of our way!" Keith yelled as he kept hacking and slashing, but more just kept flying at them but luckily Pidge had the abilities of a fox, in fact, she was a fox, a Kitsune.

"Leave them to me, Shiro!" Pidge called. "You hurry and find Lance!"

"You sure about that?!" asked Shiro.

"Trust me! I have trained my whole life for this!" Pidge answered before she threw her boomerang, mowing down the daemons in seconds flat!

"Near will, I," Hunk said as the memory of the day he lost his nephew and almost his family at the hands of the galra.

"All right then!" Keith called. "We'll leave it to you guys!"

"Be careful, you two!" Shiro added as he and Keith run off to find Lance.

Lance panted as he tried to keep himself awake, but alas, it seemed that the herbs that his father used were more powerful than he realized. Though he tried not to, he stumbled as he ended up tottering to the side, forced to use his left hand to keep himself upright. However, in doing so, the barrier vanished, revealing himself to the daemons.

"There you are!" shouted one of the mantis daemons.

"Thought you could hide from us, did you, boy?!" asked her sister.

"Yeah I thought I would," Lance said "but if you want to rematch with me, then go ahead"

"Very well, we will finish you off!" The mantis daemon sister said.

Lance sighed as he closed his eyes in resignation. It seemed that this was it: his final chapter. As he waited for the daemons to rip him apart... All he could think about was his family and the friends that he made on his journey

"Well...at least Shiro and the others and the others aren't here to see me die..."

Just then... Lance heard the strangled cries from the daemons, causing him to open his eyes and gasp in disbelief. All around him, the daemons lied on the ground, their bodies rent to shreds...and standing in the middle of it all was Shiro and Keith, holding their mighty blades.

"Well, Lance," Keith mused. "You picked a fine spot to take a rest, didn't you?"

"Keith... Shiro?!" Lance whispered in surprise. "You guys are here!"

"It looks like we made it just in time," Keith said as he stared down at Lance, who panted quietly in an attempt to hide his relief. Truthfully, Lance was never happier to see them than he was at that moment. At first, he thought that maybe he had imagined him...but no, here he was, standing at the edge with their weapons in their hands.

"You guys never cease to amaze me!" Said Lance while Keith growled.

"Lance... That was a nice compliment". Keith snarled. "I thought too-"

"Lance!"

"S... Shiro...Stats" Lance whispered.

"Stats," asked Stats.

"What were you thinking, Lance?!" Shiro questioned. "Do you have any idea how badly you worried us?!"

Hunk and Pidge, after mowing down several daemons, landed on the ground near him.

"Lance, are you all right?!" Pidge asked.

"You...you're all here," said Lance. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course, they were worried!" Hunk answered. "They are our friends, Lance I thought you knew that by now!

Lance's eyes went wide. All this time, he didn't realize just how much he meant to the others...and yet, they were all here, worried for his safety. Even Keith, who usually seemed distant and hardy, came looking for him.

"I guess you're right," Lance said. "I feel embarrassed right now!"

"Well you kind of are but, well I'm glad you're still here breathing," Shiro said. Putting his hands on Lance's shoulder "The guys and I wouldn't be the same without you! Keith, don't just sit there, staring!"

"As if!" Keith spat. "You know I don't say that kinda mushy stuff!" He then looked away, grumbling under his breath. "Besides, you guys pretty much said it for me..."

"Hey, son who are those people which one of your with"

Shiro and Keith turned to see Rita and Tom, carrying a giant string of sutra beads over their left shoulders and another horde of daemons behind them. As for Lance, he gasped as he tried to get to his feet, but alas, his strength waned, forcing Hunk to try and help him.

"I won't tolerate such outrage!" Tom shouted. "I'll exorcise you, samurai!"

"So...you must be Lance's parents," said Keith as he held his dagger in his hand. "Go on and try it if you can!"

"W-wait!" Lance cried, causing Keith to glance back at him. "please...whatever you do, I beg of you, don't kill him!"

Shiro growled in his throat, clutching the hilt of his sword. "Damn...fine then! I'll go easy on you this time!"

On that, he lunged for Lance, who smirked at him with a bit of a glint in his eye.

"I am most grateful!" Tom exclaimed as he tossed the giant rosary at Shiro, who swung his sword in an attempt to cut through them. Instead, the beads ended up wrapping themselves around the blade, rendering useless.

"Oh, no!" Shiro cried. "My sword"

"Allow me to repay you!" Tom shouted before he coiled the beads around Shiro's body, causing him to cry out in pain as he felt a powerful shock, then collapsed on the ground.

"He's down!" shouted one of the daemons. "Hurry and kill him before he gets up again!"

Soon, about half the horde already came flying at Shiro, but luckily Keith who growled as he glared up at them before raising his hand, his dagger as he flexed them.

"Daemon nature art, Iron Reaver"

Any daemons were soon rent to ribbons by the half-daemon's mighty dagger. Even without the use of Shiro and his sword, Keith was still a force to be reckoned with. There was no way he was going to go down that easily.

"My, my," Rita mused. "You're certainly a strong one...to be able to fight so hard while being bound by our rosary." He then put his hands together. "However...that won't last very long."

Suddenly, Shiro gagged and screamed in pain again as the beads tightened around him, holy energy surging into his body. Nearby, Lance could only seethe in frustration. His friend needed his help, but here he was, lying, weak and exhausted. If he could just figure out what it was that was possessing his parents, maybe that would give them an advantage!

"Shiro, no!" Keith cried in horror before he glared at Rita and Tom. "Stop it! Let him go!"

"You're next, boy..." Tom hissed...causing whatever was inside to slither out of his mouth, once again.

"What the...?!" Keith whispered in shock. "What's that?! In their mouths?!"

"It can't be...urn worms!" Pidge said.

"Huh? What do you mean exactly." Keith muttered before he looked down at her right shoulder and saw Pidge, in her fox form sitting there. "Are you positive!"

"I'm sure of it his parents possess!" Pidge cried. "It's the only explanation for their odd behavior!"

"Is there a way for him to be saved?!" Lance asked, hastily. There had to be a way to save his parents...otherwise, the small wound on his hand wouldn't be mended, and Lance didn't even want to think about what would happen if it was left alone for too long.

"There must be a charmer nearby," said Pidge. "He's the one who commands the grubs. If you can take the urn from him and point it toward them! The grubs should release his body and return to the pot!"

"Got it," Keith said before he runs to look for them. "Let's go, Pidge!"

"Keith!" Lance cried as he attempted to reach out and grab her, only to wince in pain as he looked at his right hand

The ice was still spreading through his hand, making him weaker and weaker. he was determined but was losing strength with each step.

"GRAAAH!" Shiro roared as he kept slashing his sword at the daemons, tearing them apart whenever they got close. However, he panted heavily as his body wavered a bit, showing his fatigue. The fact that the beads were still wrapped around his body wasn't helping matters.

"Just hang on, Shiro!" thought Keith. "Just hold tight!"

"Keith!" Hunk called as he joined his side. "I've cleared the skies of most of the demons, but they still keep coming! What's Shiro doing?!"

"Lance's parents put a rosary on him and it's sapping his strength!" Keith answered. "Lance's parents have been possessed by urn worms, so we need to find the charmer and get the pot from him or her!

"Well, that means a lot, figures!" Hunk nodded. "Let's look together!".

"Right!" Both Keith and Pidge said in agreement.

Meanwhile, inside the temple, the urn worms charmer sat hidden within one of the storage rooms, muttering something inside the urn that he was holding...but then, all of a sudden, the room was suddenly filled with a cloud of smoke, causing him to cry out in shock as he covered his mouth. As the demon looked up, he gasped as he barely managed to dodge a boomerang that was flying at him.

"There he is!" shouted Hunk, wearing his metal mask while Keith wore a cloth mask over his mouth to make sure that he doesn't get infected by the smoke.

Sensing that he had been caught, the charmer turned and fled.

Back outside, Shiro panted as he found himself on his knees, the shredded bodies of demons lying at his feet.

"Dammit...!" he cursed. "These beads...are sapping my strength...!"

"Well, it seems you've weakened quite a bit, now," Tom said as he stumbled away from the porch, chuckling menacingly. As for Lance, he grunted as he tried to pull himself out of the crater, but he still groaned as he collapsed on the ground, his body heavy and his breathing ragged.

"This is bad!" Lance cried. "Shiro's not gonna last much longer! If only I could just...pick myself up...!"

"It's over," Tom said as he put his hands together, once again. "This time, the beads will tighten on you so much, your head will pop off!"

Shiro glared at the monk...then, to Tom's surprise, he managed to spring up to his feet and lunge for him, again!

Don't count on it!" he yelled before he caught Tom's robe in his hand, causing him to gag. "Gotcha!"

"Urrgh...gah...!" Tom croaked as he struggled to get away, but even then, Shiro's grasp was very tight on his robe.

"I've held back on you only because Lance asked me to," Shiro growled "so if you better don't want to snap your neck, you better not make me mad! You won't like me when I'm mad!"

Go ahead and kill me if it pleases you!" Tom taunted. "Just know that if you kill me, there will be no one to heal the wound on the boy's hand!"

Shiro gasped silently before he glanced back at Lance, who panted heavily as he tried to stand, only to collapse on the ground, once again. In his shock, Shiro ended up releasing his hold on the old man...who smirked, malevolently.

"Fool," he said before putting his hands together in prayer, again, causing the rosary to squeeze on Shiro again, screamed in agony as the spiritual power was sent coursing through him, his energy being sapped right out of him until he finally collapsed on his knees.

Oh, no! Shiro!" Lance cried out while gasped in horror.

"Heheheheh..." Tom laughed as he stood over on Shiro. "It's over...all of you are going to die, here."

At that moment, there was this flash of ominous light...and not long after, even more, wild daemons suddenly appeared from the darkness, all of them screeching and roaring as they charged at the temple!

At the back of the temple, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk, who were busy trying to find the urn worms charmer, also noticed the latest horde of daemons.

"Oh no! Not again!" Hunk cursed.

"Shiro!" Keith cried.

"Oh, man...!" Shiro cursed as he stared at the daemons.

"What a shame," said Rita. "You've no strength left to defeat such a vast army."

Lance growled in frustration and desperation. Enough was enough. There was no way he was going to go out like this!

Gaining a sudden adrenaline rush, Lance stood up on his feet...and pulled at the beads that sealed his right hand.

"Hey!" Keith yelled as he noticed this. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Lance?! Don't even think about it!"

"Lance!" Shiro cried from the ground.

"Don't tell me...!" Pidge whispered in horror. "Lance, no! Don't!"

"Wait! No, Lance" cried Hunk. "If you unseal your powers, now, your wound will make it bigger! And you freeze to death"

"I...don't... Care!" Lance yelled as he pulled the beads away.

"Lance, No!" Shiro shouted...just as his up, freezing in the horde of demons...and on Lance's right hand, the tiny cut suddenly split, dripping with blood as his body certainly freezes up.

"Lance", Keith yelled in desperation. "Have you gotten crazy?!"

Lance grunted as his ice powers continued to freeze up the many demons in its range...and the scar in his right palm seemed to get a bit wider.

"Lance, stop!" cried Shiro.

"His ice powers are freezing his body!?" Hunk shouted, but even then if he continued to let his ice powers consume him as it freezes up the daemons. However, he grunted as he began to stagger, the power of its suction beginning to overwhelm him.

"The fool!" Rita exclaimed with a bit of fear in her voice. "He plans to kill us along with him!"

"The idiot is he willing to give himself killed!" Keith growled before he glared at Tom and Rita, cracking his knuckles in fury.

"Screw this!" he yelled before he punched the old man in the face. "Get away you old guy!"

"Oof!" Tom cried before he fell to the ground while Shiro pulled off the beads on his body, then ran up to Lance, who tried to keep a hold on his right hand...but as he did, he was clutching his chest and his skin was pale, almost white. His strength was decreasing with each passing moment.

"...!" Lance whispered. "My Powers they are!"

"Stopping it, you idiot!" Shiro shouted.

All of a sudden, Lance gasped as he felt a familiar hands grabbed at his arm, and as he looked up, he gasped upon seeing Keith and Shiro, who quickly wrapped up Lance's right hand with his beads.

"K... Keith... Shiro!" Lance muttered.

"Guys, Lookout!" Pidge suddenly shrieked. "The daemons are coming back" just as the demon horde came flying in for the kill. With a growl, Keith soon drew his dagger while he stood in front of Lance.

"If you're gonna die," Keith began, "you won't do it on my watch, Lance! I don't want no guilt trips!"

Lance's eyes went wide, just as the demons were getting closer.

"You're not giving me that responsibility on me" Keith yelled before he raised his mighty dagger

With one powerful swing, the dagger unleashed a huge blast of magic power...completely obliterating the daemons!

"The...the daemons...!" Lance whispered. "They've all been vanquished!"

"I don't believe it...!" Hunk gaped. "And with just one swing?!"

"It's...it's just like I do it when I summoned my attacks" Shiro exclaimed. "Keith just used the full power with all his might for the first time, just like I knew he would!"

Even Keith was stunned as he looked down at his sword, which seemed to have this violet glow about it.

"...Whoa...!" he whispered in awe. "What was that...?!"

Just then, out of his peripheral eye, Hunk spotted something darting off into the shadows: it was the urn worms charmer, attempting to make his escape.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Hunk yelled as he shoots at him, completely stopping the daemon in his tracks and causing it to drop the urn on the ground. Shiro panted as he ran up and grabbed the jar, then ran over to the motionless Tom and Rita.

"Is they okay?" Shiro asked.

"Probably just unconscious from when Keith clocked him, and as for her, she was knocked out by the blast" Pidge answered.

"That's good," Shiro nodded with a smile of relief, then she placed the urn's tip toward Tom and Rita's mouth, where the urn worms soon came slithering out and crawled inside the pot. Shiro sighed in relief before he glanced down at them, who remained motionless.

"Huh?" Shiro muttered. "How come they not waking up?!"

"I don't understand it," Pidge said. "We got the demon worms out of them, right?"

Hunk turn over to the urn worms charmer with his arm blade on his neck and said "who sent you!"

The urn worms charmer gaped in shock by Hunk's segment. "Come on, talk! I know you have the answer?"

The man was assumed by horror, "I was simply sent...ahh!" He shouted as a sudden shock appears on his body disintegrating him to nothingness.

At that moment, Hunk stood there in horror along with everybody else, while all of this was going on, Keith trudged toward Tom and Rita, without warning, kicked the old man in the head.

"Wake up, you two, your son needs recovering!" he shouted.

"Ugh...where am I...?" Tom asked as he looked around.

"I don't know, honey," Rita said, "the last minute I was attacked!"

"They're fine," Lance deadpanned as Hunk carried him over with Stats at his side.

"Lance!" Shiro exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"...I am, now," Lance smiled. "Thank you...everyone, Shiro did more help than you"

Keith scoffed. "Thank us when you get that wound of yours fixed, first."

The following day as the sun began to rise, Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Stats, and Kiaion all sat outside Lance's home, waiting for the good news on Lance's wound. During that time, they help repair The village from the daemons attack.

He is sure is taking his time, isn't he?" asked Keith.

"Well, he did say he had to use sutures," Rita answered. "This could be a while."

At that moment, they heard the door open behind them and out stumbled Tom, who took a sip of one of the drinks that his wife laid out.

"That foolish boy," he grumbled. "You'd think he knows better by now."

"Tom!" Hunk exclaimed. "How is Lance doing?"

"He's sleeping right now," answered Tom before he glanced at Shiro and Keith. "You, there. Keith, Shiro, was it?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Keith replied.

"What do you need us for is it something wrong!" Shiro responded.

"Come with me," Tom ushered as they walked to the other side of the porch. "There's something I must discuss with you."

Shiro and Keith noticed the slight concern on Tom's face, which prompted him to stand up and walk with him, but not before he turned to the others.

"You guys can go and see Lance if you want to," Keith said. "I know you guys have been worried about him."

Hunk, Pidge, and Stats nodded before they soon headed inside while Shiro went and stood outside with Tom.

"So?" Keith asked. "Out with it, old man...did you fix the cut on his hand, or did you not?"

"...I only have this to say," Tom answered before he turned to Shiro and Keith with a serious face. "I did repair it but something has changed!"

"Hmm?" Keith hummed inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"...While I did manage to suture the wound," Tom said with a grim sigh, "his ice powers suddenly grew stronger."

Keith tried not to show it, but he did make a slight noise of alarm at the news.

"...Are you saying... Are you saying that Lance is going to have a hard time controlling his powers" Shiro inquired?

"I'm afraid so," Tom answered.

Inside the temple, Lance lied on his futon, asleep while Hunk, Pidge, Stats, Kiaion, and Rita all sat around him.

"... Lance..." Hunk whispered, worriedly.

"I...I didn't even realize just how much he's been through until now," Pidge spoke up, causing Hunk and Stats to turn to her. "He always seemed so confident and sure of himself...but I never once thought that he was so..."

"...Yes, I know," Rita replied. "But my son Lance is a good person, he always knows from right and wrong is even going out to the risk of his own, that's why sometimes I worried about his safety when he's out there in the world, he's always putting himself in risk!"

"Stats" Stats said, sadly.

"You said it, Stats" Pidge muttered in concern.

How much longer do you think he has left to live, old-timer?" asked Keith.

"I can't say for certain," Tom said. "He might have a few months ahead of him. At any rate, you must be careful, Lance is a caster human one of the few lucky people to control magic without a Daemon, do you know how dangerous that is!

Shiro and Keith nodded his head, knowing how dire the situation was.

"Trust us we know!" Shiro said, looking at his right hand.

"...I'll hold you to that," Tom replied.

"Uggh..." Lance groaned as his eyes began to open.

"Oh! Lance, you're awake!" Pidge exclaimed.

"Stats!" Stats cheered as he hugged the young man, who chuckled as he lightly patted his head.

"How are you feeling, Lance?" Hunk asked.

"Mmm...a a bit lightheaded," Lance answered, "but...I'm alive...aren't I?"

"Yes," Hunk nodded, trying her best to hold back his tears of relief and joy. "Your father managed to suture your wound closed."

"...I see," Lance replied as he looked at his right hand...but then he seemed to gasp in horror, causing the others to gasp as well.

"What's wrong?!" Pidge questioned.

"Is something wrong with your hand, Lance?!" asked Pidge...

"No I haven't had something to eat, I'm starving!" Lance said

"...Yeah...he's okay," Pidge muttered.

"Oh, Lance..." Rita bemoaned in disbelief.

"...I don't think Lance's gonna die anytime soon," Keith deadpanned.

"His bloodline is something to be feared, indeed," Tom mused before leaving the porch to grabbing a snack.

His bloodline is something to fear! Indeed luckily that's never going to happen. Not on Shiro or Keith's watch again, not even a pack of wild daemons on the move again. But no matter what happens they always have their backs no matter what.