6 Years Ago...

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(Lance)

Lance peered around the corner of the alley, the child he was chasing having run down it. He loved playing with the alien kids, but they never had a good sense of self preservation. As he looked in, he only saw the child. With a sigh of relief, he walked in.

"Hey kiddo? This isn't exactly the best hiding spot, you know! Why don't you go under that table, the Red Paladin will never find you there!" he offered, smirk wide as he pointed to a vendor just outside the alley. The youngling nodded and did just that, sliding under the tablecloth just as Lance heard Keith shout a loud, resounding "60 ticks! Ready or not, here I come!"

 Lance made a mad dash towards the back of the alley, praying the darkness would at least give him a fighting chance. However, just as he finally processed exactly how dumb it was to go into a shady alley alone, a hand grabbed his mouth, and he felt a sharp jab in his neck. Darkness engulfed him, and he fell into oblivion with only one slurred thought: oopsie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Keith)

"60 ticks! Ready or not, here I come!"

Keith uncovered his eyes, searching all around for the four children he was playing with (Lance was one of those children, obviously). He saw a small reptilian tail behind a statue, and heard a small giggle emitting from an old cart, and he proceeded to pick them out of their places. As the two children filed behind him, he looked around for Lance and the last kid.

Keith knew finding a big enough hiding spot for any 18 year old would be difficult, let alone a tall one like Lance. As he turned, he saw an empty alley to his right and knew that was where Lance would hide. However, a glance in told him his hunch was wrong: no one was there. He whirled around and saw the tablecloth of a nearby vendor's booth flutter. Underneath he found the third child, whimpering.

"What's wrong buddy?" Keith inquired gently.

"The Blue Paladin said the alley was a bad place. But when he heard you coming he ran in! After I was under the table, I heard a scary noise, and he was gone! " the boy wailed.

"Gone?" Keith said, unsure. He was sure Lance probably hiding behind a trash can or something. He decided to investigate himself, and what he found shocked him.

An empty syringe, and Lance's comms device.



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