Goddamn. I don't even wanna look at the date this was last updated. Sorry everyone, this is still the hardest fic to write in the series, and this year hasn't made anything easier. We're almost through it, though! Hope you enjoy.
Throughout the year and change they've been at this 'Defender of the Universe' business, Pidge has only ever thought she would straight up die one time. There've been many close calls, of course - part of the growing pains of becoming a Paladin, she supposes - but only in nearly getting defeated by Zarkon in their last, climactic duel, did she fully expect death to finally claim her.
As far as they know - which, admittedly, isn't much - it did claim Shiro, no matter how much they all might want to believe he's out there, somewhere, miraculously saved by the Black Lion at the last second.
Pidge can only hope Shiro really did survive, because for the second time in her life as a Paladin of Voltron, she's reasonably sure she's going to die.
All things considered, they did fairly well; working together, she and Lance were able to trick the Jasper fusion into poofing the Ruby soldiers, and subsequently managed to pop the fusion by overcharging Pidge's bayard again, but their luck ran out almost immediately after that. Lance went down first, rendered unconscious after shoving her out of the way of a charging Jasper and getting flung against the hull of the ship and falling two decks down. His sacrifice was short lived, as the shock of seeing her friend take such an awful hit was just the opening Fire Agate needed to lash out with her flame whip, which, even while damaged, managed to burn through the exposed, armored bodysuit at her midsection, searing the skin and muscle underneath and effectively taking her out of the fight with some nasty, debilitating third-degree burns all across her abdomen.
"You should be commended." -the Agate smirks cruelly, standing above her. "For organics, you've lasted much longer than expected."
Pidge hisses, pain shooting through her torso. "Keep underestimating us, see what happens."
"In two-thousand, four-hundred and one years of service to the Diamonds, I've yet to be bested by one of your kind." -Fire Agate scoffs. "I think I'll take my chances."
The Gem raises her boot, ready to deliver the final blow, but it doesn't come - instead, a massive blast of heat and light sends her stumbling backwards. Pidge hunkers down in the fetal position, but the energy barely seems to interact with her, almost...gentle.
Ruby and Moonstone are gone; where they lied, now stands a massive figure, perhaps fourteen or fifteen feet tall. Pink smoke wafts from their form, which almost seems to 'cool down' into a solid shape, like tempered metal. The figure has long, muscular limbs - two legs, four arms - wide hips, and broad shoulders. Their hair is like a blocky, front-heavy bouffant, the color of red wine, held back by a bronze-colored, metallic headband. Indeed, their outfit is vaguely sporty, the upper half akin to a short-sleeved jumpsuit, maroon bracers protecting all four of their wrists. Her bottom half is clad in mid-thigh, form-fitting shorts, just under the flowing edge of their top, knee-high boots completing the look.
Immediately, the Jaspers roar with outrage, charging at the newcomer, who merely opens their eyes - dark pink, like their skin - and grins, holding out one pair of arms, which catch the Jaspers mid-charge, tossing them in the air in quick succession. The other two hands, balled into fists, slam against each other, the falling Jaspers caught in-between and poofed with laughable ease.
Pidge stares in disbelief as two little circular gemstones clatter to a stop on the catwalk, harmless. The figure giggles, gleeful. "Wow! I guess I don't know my own strength!" -they say, as they approach Pidge. "Oooh, that looks like a nasty burn."
"It's not great." -Pidge mutters, mustering the necessary sarcasm. "Who...who are you?"
"You!" -Fire Agate hisses behind them. "You desperate, pathetic weakling, you would dare fuse with that wretched rogue!?"
"It's fun, you should try it." -they drawl, irreverent. "And the name-calling? So uncalled for. The name's Bixbite, little Homeworlder, and you better start using it."
"You-you'll be shattered for this!" -Fire Agate screeches.
"Really? Multiple counts of treason, impersonating a member of Blue Diamond's court, impersonating a higher class Gem...and, y'know, three-way fusion?" -Bixbite smirks, listing off her crimes. "I feel like I'm beyond shattering! Come on, give me some credit. Really, I won't settle for anything less than getting personally atomized by Yellow Diamond."
Fire Agate shakes her head, disgusted. "Fusion has driven you mad."
Bixbite crosses one set of arms, the lower pair resting on her hips. "Fusing has given me perspective. Reminded me what Homeworld truly is. From the moment Ruby emerged from the soil, she's feared you and your ilk - feared that any mistake, no matter how insignificant, would be her last." -she says, harsh. "And it would be one thing, if you upper crusts felt an iota of the fear of disappointing the Diamonds that any of the so-called lesser Gems do. If you were similarly forced into this servitude. But you enjoy it, don't you? The control, the forced respect...the power."
"I will not be lectured by a traitor, let alone three."
"Oh, but I'm not - not anymore. My components, sure." -she says. "But I'm a brand new Gem, and I was born holding no allegiance to anyone but me and mine. And you. Don't. Scare me."
Fire Agate lashes out with a renewed flame whip, but Bixbite doesn't even bother dodging, instead catching onto the blazing tip. Her hands start glowing with heat, but the fusion shows no discomfort whatsoever, tugging on the whip and pulling Fire Agate toward her with ease. Bixbite readies Moonstone's pike, and bats the Agate away with the blunt end, slamming her into the hull. Unlike Lance, the Gem doesn't bounce off, instead cracking the crystalline material and becoming embedded there, her form flickering, on the verge of poofing.
Pidge almost shakes her head in awe. Gems are freakin' tough.
Bixbite then manifests a ball and chain - Ruby's personal weapon, no doubt - and combines it with the pike, creating a large, bladed morningstar. "Any parting thoughts, Fire Agate?"
The Homeworlder groans in agony. "Ugh. Just...do it already, freak. Shatter me, and be done with it."
"You sure you wouldn't rather tell your Diamond that a fusion and some organics kicked your ass?" -Bixbite says, smirking.
"You know as well as I do that we'll likely be executed for this." -Fire Agate says, bitterly. "Even if we're lucky enough to survive Yellow Diamond's wrath, we will be made an example of, replaced with a fresh batch of colonists. I hope the continued existence of the Ruby within you was worth ruining our lives."
"Guilt trips aren't a good look on an Agate. Especially one who would've gleefully killed all of us, had the tables not turned." -Bixbite says, unfazed. "Besides, Warp Pad's right there, Homeworlder. No one's making you stay after we leave."
"I'm no traitor." -Fire Agate spits out.
"No, but you are a failure, in the Diamonds' eyes." -Bixbite drawls. "Same difference."
"Then I will accept whatever punishment our Matriarchs deems appropriate." -she says, grim.
Bixbite shrugs. "Suit yourself." -she says, and swings the morningstar at the Agate. The blades barely make contact with her form before she poofs - it's a much bigger, harsher explosion, too - her gemstone bouncing back into Bixbite's waiting hands. Pidge thinks, just for a moment, that the fusion is about to crush the gemstone between her hands, but she makes a cupping gesture, and a dark pink bubble spawns around the fallen Homeworlder, the stone suspended right in its core.
The fusion shakes her head, sad. "They really are all like this, aren't they?" -she mutters to herself, sounding disappointed.
Holding the floating bubble in one hand, Bixbite jumps down below the catwalk. Pidge struggles to rise, applying a numbing and disinfectant spray from her wrist-bound multitool to the burns. She'll have to take a nap in the Castle's cryo-replenishers, but she'll at least be able to walk. The same can't quite be said for Lance - she's been keeping a hawk's eye on her HUD, monitoring his vitals, holding weak but steady. Bixbite climbs back up, gently carrying the unconscious Blue Paladin in her lower pair of arms. "I feel like I know way too much and not nearly enough about organics to tell, but...he'll be fine, right?" -Bixbite asks, somewhat embarrassed.
"Yeah, but we need to get him to our home base as soon as possible." -Pidge says, urgently. "Which means we need to go back to the Lions."
Bixbite hums. "I suppose we can book it." -she says. She taps the top of the strange bubble holding Fire Agate, which squishes momentarily, and then vanishes into light particles. The fusion takes in her concerned expression. "Don't worry. I sent her to Moonstone's home on Knowhere. The bubble will keep her from reforming until she can decide what to do with her."
"I honestly thought you'd shatter her." -Pidge admits. "Moonstone didn't seem to have a problem with killing."
"She doesn't. Ruby does." -Bixbite shrugs. "It was a close thing, but...ultimately, horrible person though she might be, Fire Agate is just as indoctrinated as any other Homeworlder. Like I said, fusion gave me perspective."
"Speaking of surprises, holy crap." -she says, finally allowing herself to take in the fusion. "I never thought you guys would fuse."
"Desperate times." -Bixbite says. "Now that I'm me, though...I completely get it. Not just the power, but...the companionship, the intimacy, the...completeness. It's like finally becoming a version of yourself that you never even knew could exist. Like achieving your life's purpose without knowing what it was."
It's not the same, but Pidge can relate - she doesn't quite believe in destiny, but there is no denying that, in becoming the Green Paladin, she gained something that made her feel...well, like she wasn't quite just Pidge anymore. Like she was more.
"So...are you...staying Bixbite, then?" -Pidge asks, feeling like she's somehow asked too personal a question.
Bixbite chuckles. "No, no. I feel great, but Moonstone and Ruby are two separate people, and I think they'd prefer to stay that way. I'll unfuse when we're safe." -she explains, then leans down, tone conspiratorial. "Still...don't tell them I said this, but I'm totally down to exist again. I'd appreciate it if you guys got in enough trouble again that I'm needed."
That sounds about half a dozen different kinds of messed up. "Uh...sure." -she mutters. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but we really need to go."
The fusion nods. "Right." -she says, then picks up the two fallen Jaspers and bubbles them away, while Pidge picks up the Light Prism. She considers handing the poofed Peridots over to Bixbite, but figures she's already put enough on Moonstone's plate - especially considering this entire thing has been a huge detour.
The trio of Pebbles stares up at her, expectantly. "Take?" -the middle one asks. The other two echo her request.
Really, it's a no-brainer. Even if the Pebbles weren't the size of oranges, the Castle certainly has more than enough room for their new, surprisingly violent allies. "Climb on." -she says, offering her arm for them to jump on. The excited little Gems form tiny sickles for hands, leaping onto her and hooking onto her shoulder pads. Pidge isn't sure how - Altean armor plates are sheer surfaces, so there isn't anything for them to hook onto - but she's not in the mood to figure out Gem oddities, for once.
"Ready?" -Bixbite asks.
Pidge nods. "We're done here." -she says, and activates her thrusters, taking the plunge.
It's a mad charge after that; most of the colony's Gems don't attack, but they do raise the alarm and run away in fear, so their escape more resembles a stampede. The guards and soldiers do their best to try and get to them, but between Bixbite's morningstar keeping them at bay, Pidge's bayard zapping anyone who manages to get too close, and the general mayhem around them, they barely have to dodge a spear or two on the way to the Warp Pad. As far as desperate Voltron escapes go, it's almost pleasant.
They step on the pad, and thirty real-time microseconds later, they're back on the hollowed-out Gem colony. Bixbite wastes no time bringing her mighty weapon down on the Pad, cracking it into half a dozen chunks before any daring Homeworlders can come through. Compared to the rest of this adventure, it's something of an anticlimactic conclusion, which Pidge can only be thankful for.
Bixbite's eyes widen, looking up at the starry sky. "I think your ride's here." -she says, nodding skyward.
Sure enough, the Castle of Lions hovers about a dozen kilometers above the defunct colony's surface. "Pidge! Pidge, come in!" -Allura's voice crackles through her comm.
"We're here, Allura." -she says, exhausted - from the fight, the chase, the nerve-wracking stealth section, and most of all, for being no closer to finding her family than she was before. The Pebbles snuggle up to her helmet - she can't really feel it, but she appreciates the gesture. She scowls, looking at Lance's unconscious form. "...we're here."
As always, thank you for your attention! Make sure to comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. Look me up on Twitter as Darthkvzn or Tumblr as darthkvznblogs if you'd like - and on Ko-fi, as Darthkvzn, if you like what I do and have a buck to spare.
Bixbite, once again, is not my OC, but Artifiziell's 'what-if' for a Moonstone x Ruby fusion. She intended for the Ruby to be the Crystal Gem version, but I tend to subscribe to the notion that the same Gem components make the same Gem fusions. Please, go follow her on Tumblr and look up her fanart for Bixbite, it's super good! You can also find the design on Artifiziell's wiki - which I didn't even know was a thing, but it's extremely cool.
Until next time!