Chapter 8: Gilded cage
Lance came to awareness slowly, it felt as if he was drifting as his heavy eyelids stayed closed even as he became aware of his sleeping state. Distantly, he was aware that he should be feeling pain for some reason or at least be uncomfortable, but all he felt was softness all around him and no pain to be found. In his peaceful state, he wanted nothing more than to stay dozing in the softness of the bed he was most likely in, nothing like his bed in the castle.
Reality then came crashing down on Lance as he recalled the last thing to happen to him, Zarkon choking the life out of him only for Lance to stab him with an arrow and fall into darkness not long after. His eyes shot open and he sat up, now wide awake.
The room around Lance was dark, but a soft glow emanating from crystals that hung from the ceiling allowed him to see a basic outline of the room he was in as well as realise he was in a bed. Pulling the covers off of him, Lance shuffled to the edge of the bed before swinging his legs over, giving a small gasp when his bare feet met with the cold floor. Using the bed as support, Lance pushed himself to his feet and was relieved when he didn't feel dizzy or faint, as if he'd woken up after a normal sleep rather than from being knocked out cold after a torture session.
'Shouldn't I be in a prison cell?' Lance thought to himself.
The crystals or whatever powered them must have had motion sensors, because as soon as Lance took a few steps from the bed their glow increased to allow Lance to clearly make out the room around him. The walls of the room were coloured blue along with the floor, with one wall lined with bookcases and another wall with cabinets and shelves, figurines scattered about on them, there were a few fountains of varying sizes but no water was spouting out of them and Lance couldn't feel any water in the pipes. On another wall Lance spotted his Paladin armour and bayard behind a glass case, along with a few other glass cases that displayed weapons, Lance rushed over to it but was unable to open any of the doors, and he had a feeling that the glass wouldn't be easily breakable.
Lance continued to check around the room, noting that despite how everything seemed to be in pristine condition, it also seemed very old at the same time, like a room left untouched for years minus the dust. Lance eventually gave up his searching of the room, find no exit, no access to water, and everything of use locked away as if to mock him. He sat down on the bed he woke up on and sighed, staring down at his lap.
It was then that Lance took notice of what he was wearing.
Considering that his Paladin armour was on display, probably to mock him about its inaccessibility, it was obvious Lance had to be wearing something else, but he had been expecting clothes similar to what Shiro had been wearing when he arrived back on Earth. Instead, Lance wore a blue top with the symbol of the Galra printed in purple on the front, a matching blue skirt that was short on his right leg to show off his Gem and then got longer as it went left and behind him until the skirt almost touched the floor, and blue arm and leg warmers.
Lance was not happy.
Not because of the skirt, he'd grown up playing dress up with his little sisters and cousins too much to be bothered by that, but because the style of the clothes was way too similar to what he'd seen pictures of his mother wearing to be a coincidence.
He also felt a slight panic because this meant that Zarkon knew about him having his mother's Gem, but mostly annoyance because he was being dressed up like her.
"What is Zarkon playing at?" Lance asked himself aloud as he looked over himself.
There was the sound of something shifting and Lance turned towards one of the wall in time for a door shape to appear that then open, revealing the Galran emperor himself.
"I am glad to see you awake, Lazuli." Zarkon said as he entered.
"Says the guy who knocked me unconscious in the first place." Lance snarked back automatically, regardless of the danger that would come from doing so, before realising what Zarkon had called him. "And what did you just call me?"
"I am sorry for being so violent, if I had known it was you, I would have not caused you so much pain." Zarkon said.
"That's nice, but you seem to be confusing me for someone else." Lance said, moving away as Zarkon came closer.
"I am not." Zarkon said firmly. "I know it is you Lazuli, there is no need for you to continue this lie."
"I am not Lapis Lazuli." Lance insisted.
"I cannot be fooled, you act the same and you have the same Gem." Zarkon said, grabbing onto Lance and forcing him to face him. "Or has whatever has been done to you to make you take on this form also taken your memory from you?"
Contrary to how Lance behaved, he was not stupid, he knew it'd be within his best interest to lie and going along with pretending to be his mother, something that would likely ensure his safety until he was rescued or could escape on his own, but pretending to be his mother was just not something Lance would do. And if Zarkon wouldn't believe him, Lance would just have to tell the truth, omitting some details to protect those on Earth, obviously.
"Look, I was born from Lapis Lazuli, she became me but I am not her." Lance told Zarkon.
"Is that what they made you believe?" Zarkon demanded.
"What who made me believe?" Lance asked, confused.
"Those who turned you into this, turned you against me. Who are they?"
"No one did this to me. I'm telling you that I'm not Lapis Lazuli, she's my mother. And she was never with you!"
Lance yelled as the grip on his arm became painfully tight.
"Do not take that tone with me!" Zarkon growled. "You may be my daughter but I am still your emperor and I will not to be spoken to in such a way."
"Let go." Lance cried, trying to escape the painful grip. "I'm not your daughter!"
"Once you have been fixed, you will be again." Zarkon promised. "Soon all will be as it rightly should. The Black Lion will be mine and you shall be at my side, and we shall squash out the remaining resistance to my rule together."
Zarkon loosened his grip but still held onto Lance's arm.
"You're demented if you think I'll ever join you." Lance challenged.
"Once you have been returned to your correct mind, you will come to see sense." Zarkon said.
Zarkon released his grip, causing Lance to fall to the ground at the unexpected slack after pulling against the grip.
"You should rest, you will need your energy." Zarkon said as he turned to leave.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Lance asked as he stood.
Zarkon did answer, leaving through the door.
"Hey!" Lance exclaimed.
Lance tried to run over but the door had already closed behind Zarkon. Lance looked the door over but found no way to open the door himself, not even a lock to open it from the inside.
Lance sighed.
"Okay, Lance, there's no need to worry about this." He said to himself, walking around the room, trying to find an escape opportunity he'd missed. "The team will come and rescue you before Zarkon can do anything to you, they have to." Lance's face then fell. "But do they know where I am? I was taken by those space pirates, they may not know I was taken to Zarkon." Lance shook his head. "No, they'll find out I'm here, it's obvious who I'd be sold to, and the Blade said they had Galra on the inside. I need to stop worrying."
Lance sat on the side on the bed and looked the arm Zarkon had grabbed, he took off the arm warmer and rubbed his arm, trying to tell if it would end up bruising.
"Okay, so let's try and gather all the facts. I'm captive in what has to be Zarkon's main ship, meaning the team's going to have a tough time when they come for me, even harder if it's back at the centre of the empire, and Zarkon's so in denial about mum being gone that he's decided I'm her, and he's going to do something to most likely brainwash me into believing I am my mum and joining his side." Lance sighed again. "I'm hungry. And thirsty."
Lance stood up and looked around again, trying to see if there was a fridge or a food cupboard of some sort in the room, but there wasn't. It was obvious that this room was made with Lance's mother in mind, and Gems didn't need to eat, and as long as Lance showed rebellion he doubted the fountains would provide him with water to drink.
After a few more laps around the room and then sitting back on the bed, Lance's head snapped up as he heard a sharp hissing sound, he looked up to as a gas emerging from points in the ceiling, he grabbed the discarded arm warmer and pressed it over his nose and mouth as he looked for a place to escape the gas, but it was everywhere and he eventually began to cough as it made its way through the material of the arm warmer. The gas was fast acting and Lance collapsed down onto the bed, the arm warmer falling from his grip as he fought to keep his eye opened.
There was the sound of rushing air and the gas was vented from the room, too late for Lance though as everything began to get dark, before his eyes were forced closed, Lance saw the door open again and someone step through.
"Have all forms of liquid been removed from the area?" Haggar asked one of her Druids.
"Yes, lady Haggar." Her Druid answered.
"Good." Haggar said as she watched her other Druids carry out their task.
The other Druids were securing Lance to the table, activating the straps to ensure he stayed where he was when he woke up. Zarkon was close by, watching.
"Will this harm her?" Zarkon asked.
"We need to first research what has been done to your daughter to make her take this form, the tests should not cause any damage, but reverting her back to her original form most likely will." Haggar informed him.
"My daughter is strong, she can put up with whatever pain is needed to return her to her original form." Zarkon said.
Zarkon walked over to Lance and caressed his sleeping face.
"I would not have chosen her if she were otherwise." He said.
There was the sound of shouting and struggling and Haggar and Zarkon turned to see two sentries dragging a purple woman through the door, the woman doing her best to escape while throwing insults, the gemstone on her lower left arm identified her as a Gem.
"Why is that here?" Zarkon asked.
"I needed something close to Lapis Lazuli's original form to be able to analyse the differences, it is the closest thing we have since we have no other Lapis Lazulis as of current." Haggar answered.
She didn't mention that the reason there were no other Lapis Lazulis was because Zarkon had shattered the ones they did have captured in a fit of rage.
"Cease your foolish struggles! I can easily have you shattered and another to be used in your place." Haggar ordered the struggling Gem.
The Gem scowled at Haggar but stopped struggling and went silent. The sentries then dragged her over to a large tube and pushed her inside, a glowing purple field enveloping the tube behind her.
"What the…?" The Gem looked at the purple field and reached out a hand.
"Unless you want to have to reform, you won't touch that." Haggar told her. "It has been reversed engineered from your destabilisers."
The Gem gasped and drew back her hand, going back to scowling at everyone in the room.
"Begin analysing!" Haggar ordered.
A metal ring flipped up at either end of the table Lance was strapped to and began to move up and down the table as they glowed, scanning Lance's body. Similarly, glowing rings moved up and down the tube the Gem was inside, still scowling but also trying to work out what was going on.
"It is clear that your daughter is now an organic being instead of her form being crafted from light, that is how she became so injured without destabilising and the sleep gas worked on her, that much is sure." Haggar said. "We will find deeper information soon."
"Inform me when you are done." Zarkon said, turning to leave. "I will continue my search for the Black Lion."
"Yes, sire." Haggar said.
Zarkon left along with some Druids to help him in his search.
"Alert me when the scan in complete, I have other matters that require my attention." Haggar said, leaving as well.
It wasn't long after Haggar left that Lance began to stir. He groaned as he opened his eyes and looked around, quickly discovering that he was bound to a hard surface.
"I have got to stop waking up in weird places." He said. "Uh, where am I?"
The Druid that was left in the room said nothing.
"Hello?" Lance tried again.
"You're in one of the witch's labs." A voice answered.
Lance turned his head to look at the Gem trapped in the tube. She had purple hair that went to her chin at the front and was tied in a long thin braid at the back that went past her hips, both her skin and eyes were different shades of purple, she wore a purple turtle-neck jacked that went down to a point at the front and back with her right sleeve going down to her wrist and her left sleeve rolled half-way up her arm, a blue diamond was on the front of the jacket with the pointed end of the jacket making up one half with the top half going up the sides and ending just below her chest, and she wore what looked to be purple leggings that led into knee-high purple boots with blue diamonds on the knees.
"You're a Gem." Lance realised, spotting the purple gemstone on her arm.
"Astute observation." The Gem commented. "And so are you."
The Gem eyed Lance's gem where it was uncovered by the skirt.
"Through, you don't look like any Gem I've seen, maybe that's why the witch is doing these tests. Hey, what's this stuff about you being Zarkon's daughter by the way? I certainly can't see the resemblance."
"I'm not Zarkon's daughter." Lance said, annoyed. "My mum was, but she became me when I was born, and Zarkon's not listening when I tell him that I'm not my mum."
"Became you, how did she become you? Who was she?" The Gem asked, curious.
"I don't really understand it, she just did." Lance answered. "She was a Gem and a Paladin of Voltron."
"She was a Gem? But how is it possible that she is your mother, Gems can't give birth, we're an inorganic species?" The Gem said, shocked.
"I just said that I don't understand it, she just did, but whatever happened meant she had to give up her physical form to become part of me, hence her Gem on my leg and all of the confusion."
The Gem hummed. "My Diamond will be very interested in learning about this." She said. "And you say Zarkon thinks you're his daughter? And was a Paladin of Voltron? If I remember my history correctly, that would make the gem on your leg a Lapis Lazuli. My Diamond will definitely need to hear about this."
"How are they going to hear about anything when you're just as trapped as I am?" Lance asked.
The Gem smirked at him and tapped the side of her nose.
"So, Lapis Lazuli, are you still part of Voltron?" The Gem asked.
"Don't call me that." Lance protested. "My name is Lance."
"Lance, huh? Okay, I'm Iolite." The Gem introduced herself.
"And yes, I'm part of Voltron."
Iolite nodded.
"Hey, are you just gathering information from me?" Lance realised.
"Well, it is my job." Iolite answered in a 'no duh' tone.
"Well, I'm not going to give you anymore." Lance said, looking away from her.
"Don't be so sure about that." Iolite said promisingly.
Lance and Iolite noticed when the glowing rings stopped passing over them and a screen appeared in front of the Druid that was still there.
"Scan complete, alerting Haggar now. Documenting information learned from conversation between the two Gems." The Druid said aloud.
"Whoops, sorry." Iolite apologised to Lance, not realising the information she learned had been handed over to the Druid.
"It's fine." Lance said. "I want them to know, to know that I'm not my mum."
Iolite looked at him sceptically. "If you say so." She said.
Haggar soon appeared and read over the information found during the scan and the Druid listening in on their conversation.
"Take the Iolite to a holding cell for now and keep her physical form intact, I do not want to wait for her to reform for when further tests are needed." Haggar ordered.
Her Druid nodded and went over to Iolite's holding tube.
"Try to escape and it will end very badly for you." The Druid told Iolite.
Iolite held up her hands in surrender with a confident look on her face.
"I won't." She promised.
Iolite let the Druid take her out of the tube and secure her hands behind her back, leading her out of the room.
"These results are interesting." Haggar said as she finished reading. "It opens up so many possibilities. But for now, there's the matter of you."
Haggar walked over to Lance.
"I'm not Lapis Lazuli." Lance insisted before Haggar could say anything.
"I know you are not her." Haggar said.
"I'm telling you, I'm… Wait, you believe me?" Lance looked at her, shocked.
"You are similar, but your quintessence is different, even in that gemstone of yours. The readings of the scan show that the hybrid nature you claim is possible, you truly are her son." Haggar said.
"Then you can tell Zarkon that, right?" Lance smiled.
"No." Haggar said.
"What, why?" Lance asked, frowning.
"My lord believes that he has his daughter back after ten-thousand years, I am not going to deny him this." Haggar said.
"But I'm not my mum!" Lance exclaimed.
"You may not be, but some experimentation will change that." Haggar said, promising darkly.
Lance gulped in fear.
"Take him to the waiting cell, I need to analyse this information for now." Haggar ordered the druid, who had returned.
The straps were undone and the Druid grabbed Lance, unlike Iolite he put up a struggle, but was shocked by black energy by the druid until he went limp. The Druid carried Lance out of the lab and to a nearby room where he was thrown into one of the cells, the Druid closing the barred door behind him before leaving.
Lance grunted as he propped himself up on the wall, trying to recover from being shocked by the energy.
"Are you alright there?"
Lance turned to see Iolite in the cell opposite him, but instead of a door keeping her in the cell there was a purple field.
"I'm guessing you can't just walk through that?" Lance asked.
Iolite shook her head.
"Gem destabilising energy barrier." Iolite said, looking the field over. "Reverse engineered from Gem tech'. Yellow diamond is not going to be happy about this."
"Is Yellow Diamond your leader?" Lance asked.
"She's a leader, but not my Diamond, my Diamond is Blue Diamond." Iolite said, a look of reverence on her face. "She's your Diamond too, I think. You do have a Lapis Lazuli Gem, so you should, but you're not a Gem yourself, are you?"
"I think we can settle on her not being my leader." Lance said. "I'm my own man, I follow my rules, I'm cool like that." He decided to switch on the charm.
Iolite raised and amused eyebrow.
"Well, you're not the worst flirt I've come across, but you're a little late on the pickup." She said.
"Huh?" Lance dropped the charm in favour of being confused.
"I've been flirted with before, it unfortunately comes with the job." Iolite said, still with an amused smile.
"What job?" Lance asked.
"Us Iolites are chroniclers, it's our role to go out and explore the universe, gathering information for Homeworld such as on different species and planets. And while researching some species I end up getting flirted with occasionally." Iolite elaborated.
"Oh, so that's what you meant when you said gathering information was your job." Lance said.
"A little slow on the uptake, aren't you?" Iolite said teasingly.
"Hey!" Lance said.
Iolite laughed before switching to curiosity. "So, what's the witch got planned for you?" She asked.
Lance shivered. "She knows I'm not my mum, but since Zarkon's so adamant that I am, she's going to do something to make me her."
"I'm guessing I shouldn't get to attached to you then." Iolite said.
"Hey!" Lance exclaimed, not liking that the Gem had already expected him dead.
"I'm kidding." Iolite held up her hands defensively.
Iolite leant against the non-destabilising wall and slid down until she was sitting like Lance was.
"What do you suppose the witch has planned for me." She asked. "I'm here because they need a Gem to tell your differences, that much I know, but after that…"
"I don't know." Lance said. "But I'll get out of here, my team will come for me, and when they do I'll bring you with me."
Iolite smiled. "Thanks." She said.
Lance and Iolite spent the next few hours speaking with each other, telling each other stories about themselves to pass the time. Lance told Iolite about his time in the Garrison, training to be a fighter pilot, Iolite told Lance about a few of her missions to other planets, blending in with the local population and researching the planet and species. They were eventually disturbed by the door opening and a Druid entering.
"Haggar has decided what is to be done with you." The Druid told Lance as he pulled the Blue Paladin out of his cell.
Lance grunted but didn't fight beyond a small struggle, not wanting to be shocked again.
"Stay strong, Lance!" Iolite called after them.
The Druid dragged Lance back into the lab and strapped him down with the help of a sentry.
"What are you going to do to me?" Lance demanded as he struggled to escape his bonds.
The Druids didn't answer.
Haggar walked around the table until she was standing at Lance's head.
"Do not fight me, it will only cause you more pain." She told him, placing her hands either side of Lance's head.
"What-Ahhhh!"
Lance cried out in pain as black energy shot out of Haggar's hands and into his head, his body convulsing as everything quickly went black.
Author's note: A chapter released to celebrate the arrival of season 3.
And with season 3, certain things have come to light that may mean changes to the story, not big ones but they may come up. Trying not to give away spoilers for those yet to see season 3, but we get some back story on Zarkon and the previous Paladins, and they obviously aren't the reference characters I put in there to fill the blanks or Lazuli. So, this is a question for those who have season 3, should I change the backstory of Ocean Blue to better fit the canon backstory? I don't have to change the characters, but I mean stuff like how they came about to be Paladins, how Lazuli met Zarkon and stuff like that. There isn't that much in Ocean Blue right now that contradicts the current canon backstory, so it wouldn't take that much to rewrite.
Also, the concept art for Iolite can be found on my DeviantART page, DreamVixn2511.