Hello fuckers, it's been a while huh. Well. Have this. Uh. You're welcome :) I guess

Ps- sorry for not updating anything for like half a year or something, it's been a rough ride lately so y'know, Uh, idk

--

Keith had never felt so alone.

Not when he was at the academy, or when Shiro had left and he was left alone, nor when he found out he was half galra. Those were at least bearable.

But this, this was on a whole other level.

On this planet, filled with brown wilting shrubbery and constantly clouded skies, lay Keith, broken beyond repair. His legs wouldn't move and his arms felt like lead. There was this constant weight on his chest, as if a mountain was casually chilling there, and a throbbing headache that wouldn't go away.

He knew he could move, that he would need to so he could survive, but Keith couldn't bring himself to get up at this moment. The heartbreak of being rejected by everyone he knew was more then he could take.

He was in shambles, reduced to atoms, and nothing could fix him.

So Keith lay there, eyes wide open, staring at the space his ex-friends and family used to stand, glaring at him with such hatred that Lotor would've been impressed.

How did he get here? You ask.

Well, it's quite a story, one that'll take a long time to explain. One that'll exhaust every part of your soul, leaving only the smallest shred of sanity as your world is torn down and rebuilt over and over again.

Be prepared, young or old, for the many misunderstandings and accusations to be pushed upon others.

You've been warned.

-----

It started long before the young paladin was born. Long before the birth of christ and before the birth of planets.

It all started with a god who was tired.

The god was millennium old, one of the first gods to have been created, and he was very tired.

The god had created matter, planets, and space. He had grown alone save for the insignificant organisms meandering throughout space. He had seen foreign life live and die. The old god had seen everything.

And he was very tired.

The god learned early on that some races were peaceful. They were happy and lived fulfilling lives. But there were other races who lived their lives suffering. Those who lived by pushing down others.

He learned early on that there were many more races who intended to harm than those who intended to heal. He knew that if any species interacted with a harmful race, as he put it, they would most certainly be harmed.

And so, the old god created five warriors to protect the universe. Five paladins to fulfill the needs of the peaceful and destroyed the progress of the harmful.

The god spent many years creating the paladins. He traversed the universe searching for souls worthy enough to hold the weight of the universe.

First, he found the Gold Paladin. The Gold Paladin lived on a planet long forgotten, with people who were long gone, and yet managed to push down the ghosts around him. The god watched the Gold Paladin care for enemies and friends alike, not being pushed over but not being bossy. The god was intrigued for the first time in many years, and decided to visit this young Paladin to be to see if he was worthy.

The god found himself in a meadow alone.

No trees nor bumps. Only flat grass and yellow flowers.

The god turned around to see the young paladin laying on the grass. Calmly, he walked over and sat next to the boy.

"Tell me,"
The god began

"What do you like to do?"

-----

The second paladin the God met was the Emerald Paladin.

This young one was one of the few females populating a breaking civilization. The god knew next to nothing of what came of his creations, he knew some were good whilst some were bad, but he wasn't prepared to see such a creation in so much ruin.

The race there had contracted a strange disease that spread through contact, which ended up targeting most women and causing a long, painful death.

The Emerald Paladin had contracted such disease, and was practically on her deathbed, but she still moved and lived. The god watched the young paladin move through her life as he watched her timer slowly tick down.

He saw the young one give help to those without help, he saw her create things he never would've thought of with ease and give it over just as quickly. He saw many things that the young paladin did, but the one that stuck out most was when she was helping a young child.

The small one had lost their mother to the disease and their father had gone mad from it as well. The child's sister had left to find food in the city two days ago and had not returned.

The god looked through the Emerald paladins mind and saw it flash to a memory of a young girl kicking and screaming while being dragged away by the hair on her head. She winced in anguish.

The god knew that the sisters soul was long gone from this world.

The Emerald Paladin squatted down and examined the child. Their clothes were tattered and blood was smeared under their nails. Little crescent shaped indents covered the youngins arms and legs. They most likely did it theirselves.

On the bottom corner of the child's mouth was the tell-tale sign of the disease, splotchy red dots and pus and the pained scratches across it were enough to know.

The Emerald Paladin knew how much pain the child must've been in. They had lost everyone and everything in their life, and now was suffering even more.

The Emerald Paladin grimaced, as if she had made up her mind, and shakily scooted next to the child.

Soothingly, she started a story

"There once was a young boy named Peter Pan."
The god smiled, one of the first characters he had written.

"This young boy had looked up to his parents and brothers and sisters. He had wished to be as strong as them and wished to be as wise as them."
She paused to check if the child was paying attention. They were.

"Everyday, this boy would walk up the mountain by his town and drink the spring water there, before walking back down the mountain and doing his work. One day. Peter Pan walked up the mountain as usual, only to meet another young boy sitting by the spring."
The Emerald Paldin had a contemplative look on her face. She had been trying to create a story on the spot.

"The boy had his back to Peter, and was wearing strange box like clothes. His feet were dipped in the water and he was humming lightly. Peter quietly walked up to the boy, as if trying not to break the peace around him, while he listened to the boy hum. After a couple of minutes, the boy stopped and turned around to look at the stunned Peter."
The child was quite interested by now, openly looking at the paladin with wide eyes.

"The boy asked Peter a question. Peter was quite confused, he had never heard such a language from anyone he knew. The boy asked again, but Peter only grew more confused. And eventually dipped his hands into the spring and held it out to Peter."
The paladin put up her pointer finger

"He motioned for Peter to drink from his hands, like this--"
She did a small gesture, as if a siren calling a sailor.

"--And Peter drank. As if in a trance, Peter left the mountain and went back to his home. Years passed, and his brothers and sister grew tall and strong, but little Peter did not. He stayed the same as everyone around him changed. He was soon left alone as his family went to make their own families, and became lonely."

"No one would talk to him, no one recognized him, no one came back for him. Peter was stuck in time, the same age forever, and he was unable to cope."

"Hundreds of years passed. His brother and sisters had all been buried in the ground and their lineage had grown. Peter watched new children be born and raised and growing, and became jealous. Why couldn't he grow up? Why couldn't he be like the others? Why couldn't he exist?"
The child seemed to be losing energy.

"Peter once again walked up the overgrown mountain he had not climbed since he met the boy, and was met with no one. Peter was frustrated, lonely, and angry. He stomped over to the long dried up spring and spit at it. Words burned his throat and thoughts filled his mind, be he couldn't say anything other than one thing,"
The child was drowsing off, but still had enough energy to ask

"What did he say?"

The Emerald Paladin smiled gently

"He said, "you've killed me, haven't you?" Peter collapsed on the ground in front of the dried dirt and cried. He cried for the lost childhood and the lost family. They hadn't even mourned him, he seemed to cry, they didn't even notice I was gone."
The child had red eyes.

"Why would the spring boy kill him?"
The child asked, and the Emerald Paladin merely smiled.

"The spring boy knew Peter's feelings. And so did Peter. Peter could tell he was unloved, he knew no one looked at him, he would only grow up twisted and desperate. The spring boy  didn't kill anyone, Peter ended himself."

The child gasped.

"Not everyone has that choice, y'know"
The Emerald Paladin said after a long pause.

"Not everyone can stop themselves from dying."
The child looked down, and a long silence filled the space.

"Your family loved you, young one, but they are no longer here. They are unlike Peter's family, who lived without care. Your sister died because she cared. Your mother died because she didn't have a choice. Your father left because he knew he would hurt you and your sister if he stayed."
She ended.

The child was silent.

"Thank you."
Was all they said before they limped off into the distance.

The god was confused. She only told a story and was still thanked as sincerely as when she created ground breaking tools.

Hours passed as the paladin sat there, eyes closed in silent acceptance.

"I have one question for you,"
The god said, sitting down next to the Emerald Paladin

"Was that story based on your own?"

-----

Uh I'm gonna end it here bc it's 2 am and this is like 1800 words, so uh. Maybe a part two? Also sorry about not posting anything for like a year, I kinda forgot about writing fanfiction and only read it. Plus I've been really tired. But now that I'm only doing online classes I'll have a lot more free time to write hopefully :). See you next time fuckers 😗