Night poked her head around the corner of the hallway, squinting, trying to adjust to the dim light.

"Lance said the pool was right here." Night muttered to herself.

"Lance said what, now?"

Night whipped around. Lance stood in the shadows, wearing his trademark green army jacket and dark blue jeans.

"You... you really have to stop sneaking up on me like that." Night pulled on her black braid.

Lance shrugged. "Sure, whatever. Anyways, what did I say?"

"You said that there was a pool," Night said. "But I don't see one."

"Ahh... The pool is down there. You have to go through the door. Did you even pack a swimsuit, anyway?"

Night held up the crimson red leotard from the Spirit World.

"Where did you get that, Night?"

"The spirit world. Didn't I tell you yesterday?"

Lance nodded slowly, not really processing his thoughts properly. Lance was tired

NIght pushed open the doors of the elevator, stepping inside. "I'll see you later, Lance."

The doors slid shut, and Night exhaled. The walls were light and clean in the elevator, but the chamber was still small. Night hated small spaces. They made her anxious.

The elevator stopped, and Night stepped out into the room. The pool was upside down.

"What? How does that even work? And how am I supposed to swim?"

Night put on the red leotard, folding her tunic neatly by the side of the pool. The floor was cold and smooth beneath her bare feet.

She glared up at the messed-up pool.

How am I even supposed to get up there?

Night saw two ropes at the far end of the room and picked them up. She tied them together, creating a lasso.

Night flung the ropes, attaching them to one of the ornate pillars that flanked the pool. She pulled herself up.

The clear, glassy water was now directly above Night's head, and she touched it with one cautious finger. Then she stuck her head into the water, pushing her shoulders in, too. All of the sudden, she felt right-side up. Her vision flipped, and the pool looked normal.

Night let herself sink to the bottom of the pool, relishing the feeling of being alone.

She floated back up to the top and swam to the edge. Night sighed blissfully and pushed off, starting to swim a few lengths.

Night noticed a metal track at the bottom of the pool. It was about as wide as her finger, and about one finger deep. She took a deep breath, then dove down towards it. The metal piece appeared to be an inscribed plate, in some language Night could not read.

Interesting.

Night ran out of breath and resurfaced, dragging her arms languidly over the water's surface.

Suddenly, a voice sounded below her. Well, Night heard it as above her, because she was upside-down.

"Oh. You're here."

It was Keith, standing on what Night interpreted as the ceiling.

"Keith? What?"

"Hi, Night. How did you get up there?"

Night frowned. "No, how are you standing on the ceiling?"

"What? No," Keith frowned back. "You're floating in an upside down pool, on the ceiling."

"Oh... I used that." Night pointed to the rope she had attached.

Keith looked up at Night. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"I dunno. Lance said there was a pool, and I wanted to check it out. What are you doing here?"

"Honestly," Keith sighed. "I kind of just wanted to be alone."

"Same here." Night agreed.

Keith shook his head. "Well, that's not gonna work, is it?"

"Well," Night grinned. "You could leave!"

"You could, too." Keith smiled back at Night.

Night crossed her arms. "I was here first."

"You are too much for this universe, Night. Honestly." Keith moved so he was standing directly below her.

All of the sudden, an alarm sounded. Night jumped up, forgetting she was upside down. The gold paladin fell twelve feet to the ground.

"Ow! Stupid Altean pools! What's going on?" Night asked, picking herself up off the ground.

Keith ran towards the door. "I don't know! But that alarm means we have to get to the control room, now."

"I'm wearing this!" Night protested. "I can't fight if we have to! Let me get into my armor! Please!"

"No! We're going, now!" Keith grabbed Night's wrist, dragging her out the door.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Night and Keith thundered into the control room, panting, gasping for breath. Night had left a trail of water behind them. She sank into her control chair, completely winded. She had just run the full length of the castle.

The other paladins came in behind her, all in full battle gear. Except for Keith, who was wearing his red jacket still.

Great. Seriously, Keith? They had time to put on their armor.

Allura stormed up to the front. "Night!" She snapped. "Why aren't you in armor?"

"Keith isn't in armor, either." Night pointed out.

Allura glared at her. "I don't care about what Keith is wearing. Get in your armor, now. Lotor is approaching."

"What?" Keith gasped. "Everyone to your lions! Hurry up!"

Night sprinted out the door, towards her hangar.

She turned around sharp corners, grabbing her armor out of her room on the way. Night hopped into the leg pieces, pulled on the chest plate, and was putting on the arms when she slammed through the doors of her hangar and bolted into Gold.

Night shoved on the rest of her armor, cringing at the wet feeling. She slid her helmet over her damp hair.

"Guys? What's the plan?"

Keith's face appeared on the screen. "We take out Lotor, now."

Night frowned. "Who is Lotor, exactly?"

"Dude," Lance said. "He's our main enemy, here."

"Ohhh... So this will be a tough battle? Like, really hard?"

Pidge's face appeared on the screen, too. "Yeah. Make sure you're ready."

"Considering I was at the pool ten minutes ago, I'm probably not ready. My hair's still wet."

All the paladins laughed half-heartedly.

"Alright, paladins. Enough talking. Let's go."

Night shot out into space, taking in her surroundings. They were near two twin stars, creating an eerie light of blue and red over the battlefield.

Night spotted Lotor's ship over the red star. Everyone else did, too, as all the lions sped after the streamlined ship which Night recognized as the fighter she had seen on her mission with Lance a few days ago.

They flew in their formation after the ship, which was way faster than it looked. It weaved through Keith's fire easily. Night heard Keith growl in frustration.

Suddenly, a voice sounded through all of their cockpits.

"Greetings, Paladins."

"Lotor." Night heard Allura snarl.

"That's me. Now, don't shoot, I come in peace."

Night sighed. His voice was getting annoying already. It was sickly sweet, and dripping with danger.

"What do you actually want, Lotor?" Keith asked.

Lotor laughed. "Well, I see you have a new lion, and I'd like to see how it flies. I want to challenge it. You win, and I guess you kill me, leaving the empire with no leader. I win, well, that's that."

Night gulped.

Why had Lotor singled her out first?

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" Lance tested.

Lotor laughed his stupid, annoying laugh again. "It's not, trust me. You can stay with the gold lion if you want, but no shooting."

"Guys," Night sighed. "I'll do it. I'll be fine, I think. Just let me kill this Lotor guy, for once and for all."

"You better be careful, Night. Lotor has dirty tricks in play." Pidge warned.

"I know. Don't wait for me." Night, overcome with sudden confidence, sped after Lotor's ship.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

Night faced Lotor in the range between the two stars. Gold growled and clawed at the fabric of space.

"Whenever you're ready," Lotor encouraged. "I don't mind."

Night fumed in anger. This guy was so annoying. Gold charged at Lotor, firing a quick storm of lasers, but, as before, Lotor just easily dodged them.

She sighed. Maybe Gold has lightning? Night summoned her bayard and placed it on the control panel. All of the sudden, Night heard Gold's wings shifting aside, making room for something else. It was a cannon.

Night lined up the crosshairs with Lotor's ship, and the cannon locked onto the target. But before she could fire, Lotor shot at Night.

Gold's wings blocked most of the shots, but it threw Night off balance and caused her to lose her aim on his ship. She took a deep breath and realigned the cannon. And fired.

A bolt of lightning sped out of the cannon, and Night smiled.

But Lotor weaved in between the tendrils of electricity. She growled in frustration.

His ship is way too agile.

They flew in and out, weaving through the skies of space. Night tried to catch him, but Lotor was far too fast. His ship appeared to be modified for speed.

Night dove through a cloud of space dust, Gold's wings flaring out as she moved. She sped towards Lotor but couldn't catch up with him. They were back between the two stars now, but Night could feel a magnetic force emanating from the blue star.

I wonder if that will have any effect on my lighting?

Night summoned the shoulder cannon again, narrowly avoiding Lotor's shots. She zeroed in on his ship and fired.

The magnetic field seemed to have no effect on her shots, at first. The bolt screamed towards Lotor, and time seemed to slow down.

Lotor began to pull his ship out of the way, but halfway through, the lightning began to transform.

First, it thickened into a rod about as long as the training deck, and about as wide as Gold. Then it began to take shape, morphing into a dragon that hurled through the sky.

Night gasped.

Lotor took no notice, still busy with maneuvering out of the way. The bolt, if it had traveled in a straight line, would have passed by him, but the dragon turned, its electric eyes locking onto the ship.

Now Lotor noticed. He zoomed out of the way, but Night, the dragon, and Gold followed. The dragon was almost more agile than Lotor's ship. Dragon chased after ship, twisting and turning. The dragon flipped around, bringing its tail onto Lotor's ship. Lotor spun out of control, flying away towards the red star. Gold sped after him.

The dragon dissipated, but the damage had been done.

Night brought Gold's bladed wings down on Lotor's ship, tearing deep lines on its side. She growled in rage, wings cutting deeper. Gold dragged her claws along the ship's front.

Lotor tried to shoot, but the dragon had damaged the blasters.

Then Lotor spoke.

"Enough. You win."

Night ceased her cutting but kept a firm grip on the damaged ship.

"You fight well," He noted. "Much better than I expected from such a young pilot."

Night sighed, tired from flying so hard. "Alright. However, I didn't kill you, so what do we do now?"

"I have something," Lotor began. "It's kind of... a deal."

"A deal?" Night echoed.

Lotor laughed. "That's right. You fight just as well as some of my best pilots."

Night had no idea where Lotor was going with this. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying," Lotor explained. "How about you ditch this paladin business and work for me? We could be powerful, you see. Controlling so much. Kty'hipta would be remembered in history, forever. You could-"

NIght cut him off. "Stop. I'm not taking your job offer."

"Are you sure? You could live a life of luxury." Lotor's voice was deadly quiet.

"I'm sure." Night said.

"But, think. You could get away from Allura..."

Night frowned. She wasn't going to bow and bend to Lotor's persuasion. Even if she barely knew him.

"I already said," Night growled. "I'm not taking your job."

Lotor shifted in his ship, causing Night to readjust her grip. "Alright, have it your way."

Suddenly, a battle cruiser appeared on the horizon. It sped towards Night, ensnaring Gold in a heavy, purple tractor beam.

Night tried to fight it, but the beam was too strong.

"Lotor! What are you doing?"

"Consider it a favor. Life as a paladin is hard. Why live like that? And don't worry. I treat my prisoners nicely."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Night slammed her fist into the door again, to no avail. Lotor had taken her captive aboard the cruiser. And said the only way she could be freed was if she agreed to the job. Or else she could say goodbye to Gold and the others.

She had tried to contact the other paladins, but something about the magnetic field of the twin stars interfered with her signals.

Don't wait for me, she had said.

Why did I say that? They probably think I'm fine right now.

Night sank to the floor. Lotor had left her a heaping serving of real food, the first she had seen in a few weeks, but Night refused to eat.

So help me if I starve. Better than working for this guy.

She picked up the loaf of bread and threw it across the room. It thudded to the floor. Night sighed.

There would be no escaping. Lotor had taken her bayard and Cygnus. She had no weapons beside herself.

At least she was treated nicely. Night had heard of some Galra soldiers torturing their prisoners and forcing them to fight. Apparently, Pidge's brother, Matt, had been one of those prisoners. And Pidge was intent on searching the whole universe for him.

Night looked around her confinement. It was nice, probably all to convince her that life as a Galra soldier was nicer than a paladin's life. She was sitting on the floor, a large, luxurious bed on her right, a table with tons of food in the middle, and a large couch on the left. It was almost too much.

She was used to a small space, and not many things. Having too much stuff made it hard to concentrate for Night.

Night stood up, pacing the length of the room. She had set down her helmet on the table; trying to call for help was useless.

She picked up the golden helmet, turning it over in her hands. Night, again tried radioing for help, but no one answered, only the lonely voice and whisper of static.

Night sat down on the bed. She was tired. Lotor had allowed her free run of the ship; she could go anywhere but the control room. The only rule was no killing guards.

But Night preferred to stay in her quarters. Going outside would only remind her of the castle, with its long halls and pale light.

Night heard a voice.

"Hello?"

Night looked up. It was her helmet. The paladins were there! She ran over to the table.

"Anybody there?" It was Lance.

"Lance?"

"Night?"

Night heard Lance speaking to the others. "Night's alive! She's okay!"

"Wait," Night said. "How did you reach me? And how did you know I was in trouble?"

"Well first of all," Lance explained. "Pidge hacked through the magnetic field and found your helmet as the only non-galra communication in the area, so we figured it was you. And Black started acting really weird, like not listening to Keith and all that, so we figured something was up. Anyway, where are you?"

"Lotor took me, prisoner. I beat him, but he was, you know, weird, so he took me hostage and wants me to work for him. Because I have inside info on you guys."

Keith cut in. "He took you, prisoner?"

"Oh, hey Keith. Yeah, I'm a prisoner. But I'm being treated fine. I think he's trying to persuade me to work for him. He really wants me to, for some reason. I'm not even that good at flying!"

"Alright," Pidge began. "I have a map of the battle cruiser. I could scan it from here. It's got heavy defense, so us rescuing you isn't an option. Instead, I'm gonna send you to escape plans, and you're gonna get yourself out of here."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. You're getting yourself out!"

"I can't do that!" Night protested, keeping her voice down.

Pidge sighed. "Yes, you can. I'm sending the escape plans to you in a minute."

Night sat down in the chair. She sighed.

How am I supposed to break out of this ship!? Lotor will kill me!

Her helmet displayed a complex document and NIght transferred it to a bigger screen, the holo-screen on her wrist. It was a multi-level, three-dimensional map of the cruiser, complete with a bio-rhythm scan that showed all signs of life.

Below were detailed instructions on how to get out, with a route and hangar guide on getting Gold free from her "prison".

"Pidge, how do you know all this?"

Pidge sighed, again. "I was researching prisoners and Galra tech to see if I could find anything out about Matthew and his prison. I guess it paid off."

"Thanks, Pidge."

"Anytime. Now, you need to escape. The thing is perfectly timed with the guard timetables, so you will have the best opportunity to escape unnoticed. I know you don't have a weapon, so you'll need to be careful. The map shows you where your bayard is." Pidge explained.

Night looked at the document and took a deep breath.

Alright, Nightshade. Time to escape.