-Entrance of Sector F3-S1 towards Pink Diamond's Zoo. Segmentum Ultima-
"This literally sucks." Said Sergeant Lori who, along with her platoon, was sitting on the ceramic floor of the Gem scout ship.
"Language!" Pearl raised her voice at the Sergeant's vulgar word.
"I can give it to you, sis…" Luna said as she drank from her canteen the infamous Tanna Tea. The bitter drink gave him the perfect air for the monotonous situation. "To think that the Lady Inquisitor would send us on this kind of mission along with these stunted Xenos."
"Hey." Keith called the Loud Troop from just a couple of meters from the deceptively large ship. "We still here don't you know?"
"Don't worry, he wasn't talking to you guys." Luan responded positively and raised her finger to point. "Luna was referring to the stunted Xenos of the Gem race."
"Have you already faced gems?" Amethyst asked curiously.
"Well, no. But we heard from people in other regiments that they did." Lana replied after taking from her canteen. "Our squadron had been deployed to assist the local PDF on a remote planet near a Sanctuary-world but when we arrived the battle was in our favor thanks to the Space Wolves and another battalion of our special regiment."
"There were also other battles." Lola added for her twin sister as she tied her hair. "The Siege of Corun, the Gax Hive Massacre, the Medusa Landing Offensive, and the Fifth War for Armageddon. These were all major battles that these aliens were a part of. Lana and I had spoken to a member of the Steel Legion and he said that it would take dozens of lasgun shots to take down one of those quartz soldiers."
"So they chose to use flamethrowers and plasma or Melta weapons." Lana added.
"Melta? What kind of weapons are those? Amethyst asks, too curious.
"Dangerous fusion weapons." Lance answered. "I haven't seen one but I was told they fired a short but super powerful flaming blast so concentrated it could melt a Space Marine's armor at close range."
"I guess your gemstones can't withstand extreme temperatures except for rubies and garnets." Pidge accompanied.
"I never thought this place would be so spacious for such a small ship." Luan told the whole group. "They look like those Eldar ships we've been on a long time ago."
"Well, Homeworld technology can be malleable to the needs of each gem." Pearl said with a slight tone of pride and pointed to the control panel. "In fact the gravity of this ship can modify our physical form depending on what kind of gems we are."
"Booooriiiiiiiinnnnggg!" Lynn exclaimed lying down with his head resting on her equipment. She then communicated on the Vox channel. "How's it going back there with the other three, four eyes?"
"Clear at the moment, I have not contacted signal of nearby threats in our path. Lucy also found no threats, but she anticipates that we will reach our destination in minus twelve doboshes." Lisa expressed herself in her usual monotonous tone.
"Keep up the pace and don't forget to stay alert." Lori said ending her call with the pilot. "Very good, group. Let's stand up, we're going to reach our destination."
The female group stood up and did a few stretches for later since the term comfort did not apply to this species.
"Again I ask the reason why we are going to go to a Xeno barracks unarmed, Sergeant." Lynn asked her superior and it was Lance who answered for the blonde.
"Easy, we are going to enter that Zoo with you as an offering for the attractions." Lance started, and that already earned him some nasty looks from the Imperial Guards. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend."
"No offense taken, there is nothing like us being bargaining chips for the filthy aliens that dwell on the Emperor's sacred soil." Luan commented without changing his jovial tone.
"Just the thought of those abominations kidnapping humans and putting them on display like animals fills me with rage." Lynn commented with clear anger in her voice. "Does the inquisition know about that hellish place?"
"I do not know." Lori responded with a shrug. "But as the slave Xeno said: she must be very well protected."
Pearl felt a pang of anger at being directed that way but she didn't give them a look.
"We have arrived." Pearl announced to slow down and enter real space.
Everyone moved toward the ship's visor, and what they saw left some with a faint but fearful chill.
Floating near a gaseous planet was a huge pink space station whose shape was almost cylindrical and there was a large ring orbiting around it. Around the station were more than three dozen ships and war cruisers ranging from the common hand-shaped ships and Solar Incinerators to Destiny Destroyers and Enlightened Shuttles, orbiting away from the station and the small parked fleet was a small group of Red Eyes who were the lookouts of the place and moved slowly in search of undesirables.
"…Well," Pearl said after several seconds of silence at the startling sight of her. "I don't remember seeing him so protected."
"This was a bad idea." Lori said doing her best not to let her nerves betray her tone of voice. "We must turn around before-"
"No, they won't notice us if we stick to the plan." Keith said keeping his tone calm.
"I've activated the ship's cloak and disabled the primary power spikes to prevent them from finding us," Lisa spoke from the vox channel. "Time is running out, so hurry up."
Some looked at each other showing her disagreement but none said a word and Lori nodded to continue.
The Red-Green-Yellow trio with the little Imperial Guard and The Crystal Gems carefully flew the Homeworld scout ship, dubbed the Red Eye and other ships transiting the surrounding space, closer to Pink Diamond's Zoo; doing everything they can to make sure they don't draw unwarranted attention. Everyone was staying alert and on nerves of steel as other scout ships and Incinerators glared at them.
"We're close now." Amethyst couldn't believe how easy things were turning out at the moment but she didn't say those thoughts out loud.
Right at that moment, a voice appeared on the center panel where Pearl was piloting. "This is Nephrite Facet-3 Cut-7FO communicating with the ship heading to Port 5E. What is your business at this facility?"
Everyone could make out a pair of cannons pointing at the ship they were on. Some let out groans of fear.
"Pearl, do something…" Lance muttered totally nervous.
The white gem coughed a couple of times to clear her voice and press a button on the panel. "This is a Pearl assigned to a Sapphire and her Serpentine as an escort. We are passing through by order of my Mistress with some humans as prisoners to add to the existence."
A few tense seconds of silence passed as everyone watched the defense cannons continue to aim. "Permission granted, a thousand apologies to your clarity." Several gasps of relief came as they saw the weapons stop pointing at them and allow them to pass.
"Praise be to the Emperor." Lynn made the Aquila gesture with relief in her tone.
"The first phase is complete. I'm going to set up Phase Two," Pidge said before quickly going to work.
"Slav is in there," Keith said in a tone of resolution. "We just need to find him and break him out."
"Let's hope he's as good as the Blade-Boys say he is," Amethyst added in.
"Keep it steady Pearl; we're only going to get one shot at this," Pidge told the skinny Gem.
"I know, and I'm ready," Pearl replied as they slowly fleet in the now near entrance of the station.
"All right, beginning phase two of the plan," Pidge said as she cracked her knuckles. "I'm initiating a sonic scan of the structure; if we're lucky, we'll get the information we need in less than four dobashes." Pidge began typing away at the simplified Homeworld technology, as faint blue waves of energy fired from the scout ships front, nothing too loud or damaging to provoke the Zoo into attacking. "And it's done; that took about sixty ticks. Uploading the data, now."
"What do you have for us, Katie?" Keith asked just as Katie made a giant hologram of the structure's interior for all of them to observe.
"I've compiled the data from the Red Eye's sonic scan and was able to create this map. Based on what I can tell, it appears that three concentric levels comprise the entire prison; with each level displaying different types of security measures." Pidge explained.
"Last time I was here, there had been only one level and less security," Pearl said to herself. "The Diamonds must be determined to keep this place safe and running."
"We see it." Lance said looking a Destiny Destroyer moving slowly under them.
"That's weird." Katie interrupted.
"What is?" Lance asked.
"I was under the impression that the recently added third level would only have one exhibit: Slav." Pidge began. "But I'm showing two cells there instead. What else would be held there?"
"Ugh, Typical of the Xenos always wanting to complicate everything." Luna said with a smirk.
"Just spit-balling here, but maybe a big scary monster." Lance teasingly suggested.
"Can you get us a visual on the cells?" Keith asked.
"Negative, not from here," Pidge answered. "And even if I could, we don't know what Slav looks like."
"Then I guess checking both is our only option," Pearl stated.
"When we get inside, I'll go to the command center and try to access the security system," Katie told them.
"All right, Pearl. Take us in." Keith ordered the skinny Gem, who carefully and carefully flew the ship into the Zoo's assignate hangar; via its outer ring.
Once inside, the five of them instantly notice some gems walking around doing their homework. Some were Rutiles who transported materials from a gravity shuttle and others were Bixbites, a whole squad of Bixbites moving in coordination towards a deceptively small transport ship while some Jades talked to each other peacefully. The group ignored the bustle and focused on the main entrance which was guarded by two Gem guards standing in front of the entrance. They had body builds like Jasper, but were purple like…
"Those Gems…" Amethyst began, not believing the possibility of this day coming.
"Amethyst guards." Pearl groaned. "Right, nothing is easy.
"Well, all of I knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park," Katie responded.
"You think?" Lynn said with annoying sarcasm. "There are a lot of those things and we don't even have a knife to defend ourselves!"
"I remind you, soldier, that the mission requires it." Lori responded with a harsh tone and then turned to Keith. "What's next?"
"Phase three of the mission." Keith said as he pointed to Gem Low. "Amethyst will come out disguised as a high-ranking gem along with Pearl and a Lance disguised as an Escort. Our alibi is the delivery of several prisoners as an offering to one of the sections of the Zoo."
"Hmm, I see. That will keep them off guard." Lana thought out loud.
"It's a good idea, but you think it works?" Lori seriously asked the Galra.
"It will work, I'm sure." Keith said adamantly.
"It's our turn, friend." Lance said and he along with Amethyst began to shapeshift with Lance changing her skin to a shade of green and his hair to a shade of gray close to silver as Amethyst transformed into a Sapphire.
"Do I look convincing?" Amethyst asked as he stood up straight and brought his palms together like any other Sapphire.
"You look just like…" Pearl began softly; the corners of her eyes moistening. Amethyst didn't just disguise herself as any other sapphire but as the Crystal Gem Sapphire.
"She was the only one I knew," Amethyst lowly admitted, before taking a breath to regain her composure. "Hear me out. Today, I'm a sapphire traveling with my Serpentine guard and my personal Pearl." The purple Gem looked over at Lance, then to Pearl. "We've come here with a batch of humans to add to the Zoo and rest after a long journey. We'll talk with the Amethyst guards and ask them to escort the human prisoners for processing; while they focus on his task, Keith and Pidge will sneak out and continue the plan. Once the two of you are out of the hangar, I'll dismiss Lance from his duties, and he'll join up with you in finding Slav. We'll come back for the rest and get out of here.
"Considering that this is our only plan, it may be the best one we have," Pearl admitted.
"Are you sure about this, Amy?" Lance questioned. "What if I mess up?"
"You just need to look the part, and you'll do fine," Keith assured the Altean; placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Now, as Sapphire would say in this situation." Amethyst began; doing her best, respectful impression her friend. "Stick together. Play it straight. And let's change the freaking future. Except she wouldn't use freaking."
"Perfect, it's our funeral." Lola declared with a face showing false positivity.
"RAGH!" Zarkon cried out in pain once more as he absorbed more of the Quintessence into his body; the pain ceased as soon as it began, and the Galran Emperor collapses on to the floor. "More! Give me more!"
"My Lord, your vitals are reaching a dangerous point." One of the Druids stated as it walked over to his master of him. "We can't continue without threatening to kill…" Before the dark sorcerer could even finish its sentence; Zarkon summoned his Black Bayard blade and turned on a Drukhari Segment Sword and with a flick splitting the fool diagonally, the Druid let out one last gurgle of agony before dying in a copious pool of his own blood as the Sentry moved to clean up the mess. for the hundredth time
"Are there any further objections?" Zarkon calmly asked; as all the Druids remained silent and full of fear. "Remember who your master is. Now, give me more!"
The Druids obeyed their Emperor as they summarized their ritual; while Jalda looked on in worry over her Emperor, and the diminishing grip on her sanity.
"Lord Jalda."Another distorted female-accented voice sounded in his mind and he turned around to see another female-looking Druid. She this she had darker and black robes and her mask was an onyx color with red crystals in her eyes, on her neck hung shards of broken gems that glowed faintly.
"Master Soulforge Scyx." The Accolyte wordlessly greeted the Necromancer Druid via mental link. "As always a pleasure."
"I was just coming to inform the Emperor that a new batch of Hollows are ready." The Necromancer's gaze shifted as she saw her leader suspended in midair above the platform where the Komar was set up. "But I see you are… unwell at the moment."
"He's desperate." Jalda said, her gaze returning to Zarkon. "Her wish for him to retrieve the Black Lion became his highest priority."
"It won't do if he tries to force the bond like that." Scyx said telepathically to the sorcerer warrior. "He can only get it back if he kills the current Paladin in the physical world."
"He wouldn't see it that way. Even if we've been loyal to him for many millennia, he's never going to give us approval of any kind unless Haggar recommends it." The Accolyte gave his scepter a little squeeze. It was always like that, he had to be a total idiot to blindly trust Psykers to dominate the galaxy. A totally obvious example was Chaos and the warp itself.
But the Druids never followed in those footsteps unlike other worshipers of Tzeentch who only abused the power given to them for their own ambitions. Tzeentch represents progress and with it the Galra Empire is so powerful today and none of them needed the Emperor's thanks from him as from the beginning he was totally obsessed with Voltron ever since he spread out across the galaxy.
All the things they ever did were for Zarkon, it was for the Empire as a whole.
The Acoolyte did not know what would be the result in his final clash against Voltron, there were thousands of constants in the future to look at the correct one but I pray to the god of change that when the battle is over, there may be another dawn for the Galra Empire.
Sapphire-Amethyst, Pearl, and Serpentine Lance exited the Red Eye and calmly approached the Amethyst guards with the new prisoners los cuales estaban encadenados y en linea recta con expresiones aburridas en sus caras.
"State your purpose." One of the guards stoically demanded.
"We wish to see the inside of the Zoo," Sapphire-Amethyst said in a calm and collected manner. "We brought a group of humans to add to the enclosure."
"We will not serve your evil games, Xeno scum!" Lynn said theatrically as she rattled the chains boringly.
"Oh, have you seen?" The first guard said with an amused smile at her partner. "They have brought more humans."
"Well, bad news. The Zoo shut down." The second guard stated with a mischievous grin. "That means we'll just have to throw you all in space."
Amethyst, Pearl, and Lance all gave a slight whimper at the threat. None of the women of the Valhallan regiment were not intimidated by anything.
"Hey look, they believed me." The same guard said as both busted out in laughter.
"Oh, Ooohhh… that was a good one," Sapphire-Amethyst he said with a small laugh. Lance and Pearl didn't laugh and tried not to look at her. The rest kept a monotonous face.
"Well, would you look at that?" The other Amethyst guard said. "A sapphire with a sense of humor."
A true rarity. They are usually stoic and serious all the time." Her partner added of her and gave the whole group a quick glance before shrugging. "Anyway, welcome to the Zoo, we hope you enjoy your stay."
"What are you doing?" An authoritarian voice asked as a new Gem walked into the hangar from behind the guards. She periwinkle blue skin, with lavender hair, styled into two-pointed side buns. Her attire included a navy top with a blue shawl and royal blue pants with white boots that go up to her thighs.
Holly Blue Agate Facet-4 Cut-6VS
Block 5E Supervisor
"Nothing, Holly Blue Agate." The guards quickly responded as the blue Gem looked at their visitors and gasps upon seeing Sapphire-Amethyst. "We-
"Silence, why didn't you miscreants tell me there was a sapphire here? What have you been saying to them?" Holly loudly asked as she kicked the purple guards in their shin; much to Amethyst's annoyance.
"They were just doing some light teasing; nothing harmful." Sapphire-Amethyst defended.
"Oh, you'll have to forgive them, your Clarity," Holly said with a slight chuckle. "This gems are from Earth and unlike the people in the other blocks of this humble facility, I still walk them to conform to 'disciplinary' norms." Sapphire-Amethyst nodded at that comment; mustering all her willpower not to call this blue Gem a certain word that would be associated with a female dog. "Now apologize you two."
"Forgive us." The guards respectfully said, only to get punched in the shoulder by Holly.
"Say it right!" Holly ordered.
"Forgive us, your Clarity!" The guards corrected, with their treatment continuing to vex Sapphire-Amethyst.
"Now, what brings you three all the way out here?" Holly asked of the trio.
Sapphire-Amethyst took a calming breath. "We came from a raid on a Human controlled planet somewhere in this Segment and have kidnapped a group of Humans to add to this compound. The gems that accompanied me had to stay on the planet by order of our Hessonite but Serpentine has voluntarily offered to accompany me along with my personal Pearl."The purple Gem made up on the spot.
Pearl was surprised at how well Amethyst was taking her role but didn't make a move to keep up appearances.
"Ah, I see; we have a lot of our people defending our territories lately in these last two decaphoebs, those filthy organics. I would be honored to give you a tour." Holly Blue replied with a bow. "Right this way, your Grand Clarity. Though, your serpentine will have to stay behind."
"But…" Lance spoke up; trying to make his voice sound as feminine as he could.
"Stay. Here." Holly repeated in a stricter tone. "You will help this two to take this humans to be processed."
"Oh, all right." Lance said with a shrug and that earned him a completely frown from Agate and a nervous one from both Amethysts and Pearl before standing his ground and saluting. "I mean: Yes, Holly Blue Agate."
"By the Radiant One. You are even worse than these pebbles here." Agate shook her head with a disappointed sigh, then turned around with her arms crossed behind her back.. "Follow me, your clarity."
"We'll be back," Sapphire-Amethyst assured Lance; lifting her face-covering bangs to give the shapeshifted Altean a confident blink with her cyclopean eye as she and Pearl followed Agate down the hall.
Once the Crystal Gems were out of sight; Lance needed to do his part and keep the guards distracted so Keith and Pidge can carry out their assignments. "Man, that Holly Blue is… like a total… clod… isn't she." Lance nervously stated, trying to play the part.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it." One of the guards spoke up. "I know she's just doing her job like the others Agate, but she is annoying about it."
"Yeah, not to mention that she's a major kiss-ass when it comes to the Diamonds." The second guard spoke up.
"And she's also rude." The first guard added in.
"But why do you put up with her then?" Lance asked.
"Did you just pop out of a kindergarten yesterday or something?" One of the amethysts asked. "We have to put up with her because that's how it is. There are more of us here in the Zoo, and we wouldn't be here if not for Blue Diamond. Otherwise, we would've been… put down."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Lance tried to apologize.
"It's fine." The other guard said. "It's kind of nice being able to talk to someone else about this."
"HEY!" Lori exclaimed loudly and caught the two Amethysts off guard. "Aren't they supposed to take us to trial or whatever you fucking Xenos call it!?"
"I already feel my feet falling asleep from standing here!" Lola exclaimed as well as the rest of the women in the squad.
"These humans sure are noisy." The Amethyst said and gave Lance another look. "We'll take care of them here, you don't have to worry about us, so Holly scolds us, we do our job well."
"Really?" Lance said surprised, but paused as soon as he saw Keith and Pidge sneak off in the corner of his eye. "Well, if you'll excuse me; I'll be back. There is something I need… to check on."
"It's cool." One of the guards replied. "Just make sure you don't go where you're not supposed to, I have heard scary stories about Tanzanites lurking in dark corners of this facility and cutting down anyone who enters them without authorization."
"Can do and thanks for the tip," Lance said as he left the two amethysts to meet up with Keith and Katie; quickly shapeshifting back to his usual self once he was out of the Gems' sights.
"Do you always allow you pearl to walk next to you?" Holly asked Sapphire-Amethyst as the three of them walked down the halls.
"Oh, uh, I'll just be right here," Pearl said as she blushes and steps a few feet back from Sapphire-Amethyst.
"Chatty one, isn't she?" Holly asked the purple Gem.
"She'll grow on you," Sapphire-Amethyst stated.
"I highly doubt that," Agate stated in a deadpan, yet respectable manner. "Now, this facility originally belonged to Pink Diamond in the glorious times for Era 1; housing and staffing the otherwise useless quartzes that she produced and what was her colony, the planet Earth. However, Blue Diamond and her trusted and pure Agates, have been maintaining this place since the dawn of Era 2 and turned it into a wonderful Fortress to protect the memory of one of our fallen leaders."
Amethyst clutched her fist tightly at that remark but decided to let it go for the sake of the mission. The tour group kept walking until they come across a door and stop; with Holly Blue looking at both Pearl and the door as if expecting something.
"Is she going to do it?" Holly asked Sapphire-Amethyst. "Or should I say something?"
"Wha… Oh, right. Pearl the door." Sapphire-Amethyst quickly said.
"Yes, my Clarity." Pearl sarcastically said as she unlocked the door.
"You're so patient with her, how do you do it?" Holly Blue asked.
"I'm a sapphire; do you need to ask?" Amethyst bluntly responded. Pearl tensed for a second at her friend's slip.
"Oh of course," Holly said as she smacked her forehead. "You can see that she'll eventually do it. Come now, let's continue."
Sapphire-Amethyst and Holly Blue walk past Pearl with the fellow Crystal Gem giving her friend an apologetic look. "I'm sorry." The purple Gem said.
"Do keep up," Holly ordered Pearl, who let out a grunt as she followed the two Gems.
"The bottom half of this magnificent structure is devoted entirely to specimen containment. Organics don't take well to captivity and some are to violent and voracious to lock them up with other exhibits, but once you understand their needs and… lobotomize them a bit, they're easy to control." Holly Blue stated as her tone turned from one of praise to one of somber. "It is tragic. Pink Diamond's existence was so very finite; she was only four-thousand years old before Rose Quartz murdered her like the coward she is. However, Blue Diamond, who was very close to Pink, did a selfless act to step forward and spend both her own time, energy and resources to preserving this place in her baby sisters memory. It's a real testament to Blue Diamond's merciful and giving nature. Don't you think?"
"Yes." Sapphire-Amethyst quickly answered; she don't know how the real Sapphire or Ruby were here right now, they would've lost their cool at the mention of Blue Diamond. Amethyst can't think about them right now, she needs to keep this act up. "I-"
Amethyst paused for a moment when she saw a pair of gems walk away from her. They were just as tall as Jasper but had a build like Garnet's, their purple skins and icy gazes leading the way. One of them fixed Amethyst with a stony gaze that sent an immediate chill down his nonexistent spine. That feeling stopped when the two gems passed by and continued on their way without any discomfort.
"I can see that he noticed the Tanzanites, your clarity." Agate said showing a haughty tone to hide her concern. "Yes, they usually have that effect on the other gems. They are warriors as fierce as an experienced quartz soldier but unlike them, the Tanzanites have a mentality that in my own point of view I consider: Sociopath? Psychotic? Calculator? In all honesty, I'm not totally sure about that. Now, can we continue?"
"…Yes, lead the way please." Amethyst nodded when his mind started working again and she went on with his mission.
"...That gem was not a Sapphire." The Tanzanite in the back spoke to the couple in front of her.
"Oh? You noticed it faster than me, TS7." The other Tanzanite said in an amused tone. This Tanzanite had an extensive blackened mark that almost covered half of her face. She was a burn scar from a human fusion weapon that was usually covered with her straight hair.
"Why would a mere Amethyst pass herself off as a high-ranking gem, TS6?" TS7 asked her partner who stopped and crossed her arms.
"I have seen many other gems do that, they do it to experience that false sense of social superiority." TS6 responded with a bored tone. "Most of the time they work if people don't pay enough attention."
"Should we report it?" TS7 asked. "I can send a message with my ground beetle to the chief overseer. An act like that is highly unacceptable."
"Let it be. I don't think a single gem could cause so many prob-" TS6 trailed off as she began to rethink the matter. "Thinking about it... I think I should head to the third level of the exhibits."
"Why exactly?" TS7 asked his partner.
"As organics often say: A hunch."
Katie, Keith, and Lance successfully made their way to the Zoo's 5E block control room; which surprisingly had little security, and the Green Paladin instantly got to work on hacking the systems.
"I'm in," Pidge told them. "Now I got the map."
"All right, what's the best route?" Keith asked the teenaged girl.
"It looks like amethysts patrol the top level," Pidge answered as she observed all the cameras. "The second level is patrolled by some orb shaped drones…"
"And the third level?" Lance asked.
"Closed system," Pidge answered. "I can't get in from here."
"You can't get in from the command center?" Keith questioned.
"No single location can access the entire place," Katie stated. "It's a security measure. When you reach that level, you'll have to find your way in. However, I can scramble the monitors for everywhere else except here."
"Good thing I brought these then," Keith said as he took out two code-breakers from his back pouch; handing one over to Lance. "We'll make our way down, to the third level and keep in contact with you." The Galran concluded.
"We must be careful. The Amethysts here say there may be Tanzanites around." Lance said lastly getting a mutual nod as they departed to carry out their tasks.
"And while you're doing that." Pidge said as she took out a hard drive; placing it in the computers as she hacked. "Hm. Let's see if we can access a few of the Diamond's dirty little secrets." As she continued her hacking, she found some blue prints for ship designs, colony plans, war strategies, economy records of the block the last phoebe, some selfies by a yellow pearl and eventually came across a file that instantly caught her interest; an unfinished design for a machine of some sort, and based on what she was able to translate, the name of this machine is… "Lion Slayer?"
Keith took the left sector while Lance took the right sector; with the monitors scrambled and lack of security, it made sneaking around for the Red Paladin a lot easier. The young Galran eventually came face to face with doors far more massive than the previous ones.
"Lance, I'm standing in front of a huge door. How about you?" Keith asked over his comms.
"I am too." The Altean Prince answered over his comms.
"Slav should be behind one of these doors, place your codebreaker on a nearby control panel and let it do its job," Keith instructed.
"On it," Lance answered before ending the call.
Keith searched for anything that would resemble a control panel, and after finding it; he places the Marmoran device on it and patiently waits for the codebreaker to complete its hack. A dobash and a half went by before the right code was found and the large door opened.
"Lance, my doors open and I'm heading in," Keith informed his ally.
"Same here on my end," Lance stated. "Good luck."
Keith walked through the door, which took him to a strange habitat of trees and grass with only one creature inside. The alien gasped upon noticing Keith, it stood on two stubby legs, and had six arms and beak, along with fur around its body and tale, and wore a blue sweater. "Are you Slav?" Keith asked.
"Vhat do you vant vith me?" The strangely eccentric and paranoid being asked in a thick accent, confirming his identity. "Arrre you herrre to torrrdurrre me?"
"No, I'm here to save you," Keith calmly explained. "I'm a Paladin of Voltron."
"Oh, no, effen vorrrze." Slav worriedly stated. "In ninety-eight and thrrree hundrrredths of ein berrrcent of rrrealidies vith ein brrrizon prrreak, I die! Und yourrr chances arrre effen vorrrze!"
"…What?" Keith frown in confusion.
Lance walked through his door and found himself in a condensed, metal room where the only habitat was a giant, purple-furred creature that seemed to be chewing on some metal. The beast stops and lets out a growl as it slowly turns its attention to Lance with hungry, yellow eyes.
Lance fearfully shrieked upon seeing the beast but quickly regained his composure. "Are you… are you Slav?" The Prince asked with a shaky tone.
The beast stood on its own two feet, walking over to the scared Altean and easily towering over him as it looked down and responded in a deep voice, "Yup."
"Oh?" Lance said with disbelief. "You're not what I imagined. But don't worry Slav; I'm here to rescue you. I'm with Voltron. Do you know Voltron?"
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Then you know we have a plan on getting you out of here, right?" Lance asked.
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"This is going easier than I thought," Lance said to himself as he turned on his comms.
"Pidge, I've got Slav." "Pidge, I've got Slav." Both Keith and Lance said at the same time over their comms, much to everyone's confusion.
"What?" Pidge asked over her comms.
"I said I have Slav," Keith answered.
"No, I have Slav. Wait, hold on…" Lance replied as he turned off his comms quickly and turned to "Slav." "Tell me the truth; are you Slav?"
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"We don't have time for this!" Katie shouted over the comms. "You're just gonna have to bring them both back."
"All right, contact Pearl and Amethyst when you can," Keith ordered the Green Paladin. "Lance and I will find our way back to the hangar."
"Understood." "Copy that." Pidge and Lance said at the same time.
"You ready to go, Slav?" Lance asked the giant alien.
"Yup." "Slav" answered as the two of them left the cell.
"Come on; we've got to hurry," Keith told Slav.
"No, zanks." Slav quickly replied.
"What? We're finally going to stop Zarkon. We have the Olkari, Blade of Marmora, the Eldar and many others on our side. But, without you, we can't do it." Keith frustratingly explained. "I can have you on the Red Eye and gone in no time, but we must hurry!"
"Oh, ein Red Eye. Vhy didn't you zay so? Red light has ein frrrequency petveen nain-hundrrred-zix to nain-hundrrred-eight terrraherrrtz." Slav stated.
"Is that going to jam their scanners or something?" Keith asked with a look of confusion.
"No, zat's chust mein lucky rrrange of terrraherrrtz. Let's go." Slav stated. However, instead of following Keith, the multi-armed alien turns around and begins messing with what looks like a grass bed. "Okay, uh, morrre to zee left. Mm... Zis needs to be rrright. Um... Oh, but not too rrright."
"What are you doing?" Keith loudly asked, making the strange man jump and mess up his work.
"Arrrrghh! Now, I kotta sdarrrt offer." Slav grumbled.
"Are you quiznacking serious!?" Keith cursed to himself as the "smartest being in the universe" continued "fixing" his grass bed.
"Berrrfect! Okay, now, zerrre's ein tvo berrrcent chance zis mizzion von't rrrezult in ein horrrific, deadly firrrepall." Slav enthusiastically stated as he rushes ahead of Keith. "Let's leaffe beofrd that spuki Zanzzanites zee us!"
"Suddenly, I'm wishing to be on the weblum mission." Keith grouched as he followed Slav from behind.
"And past this way is the health reservation sector..." Holly Blue said as she continued the tour. "And here is the human disposal shoot; where we dispose of all their... waste."
"Holly Blue Agate! Holly Blue Agate!" Another amethyst guard shouted as two more of them rush down the hall to greet their superior.
"Excuse me! Running and or shouting in these hallways is prohibited!" Holly Blue responded.
"I'm sorry, but…" The guard said in a quieter tone.
"Quit your mumbling!" Agate responded. "How else am I supposed to know what you're saying?"
"It's Laika." The guard quickly responded. "She's escaped."
"What!? Why didn't you tell me that sooner!? Those two Tanzanites are going to kill him as soon as they see!" Holly loudly berated the amethyst; before turning to Sapphire-Amethyst and Pearl. "I'm sorry, but something that I can't ignore has just been brought to my attention. So, I'm afraid my part of the tour ends here." Holly then turned her attention back to the guards. "Well, don't just stand there, you useless chunks of rock! Make yourselves useful and continue the rest of their tour!"
"Yes, Holly Blue Agate!" The guard responded with a salute just as the blue Gem left the four of them alone; with Sapphire-Amethyst nervously smiling and feeling as if her disguise is going to give out at any moment.
"So… where's the next attraction?"
"I think I'm lost." Lance said as the Altean and "Slav" continue walking through the structure. "Slav, am I going the right way?"
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"What am I saying, you're a genius, of course you do." Lance said ignorantly. "Well, since we're going to be walking for a while. I might as well tell you about the others."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"There's the awesome leader of Voltron, Takashi Shirogane." Lance began. "Then there's the Yellow Paladin, Amethyst; she's also our chef and just a cool girl to hang out with next to her is Pearl. Pearl is someone too dense when it comes to conversation but she is a good instructor and friend. There is also Bismuth who, although we have started off on the wrong foot, is a kind person with great charisma."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Then there's Keith." Lance continued. "He's a bit broody but is nice when you get to know him, his mom is so hot and his Father is so cool, the both work for the Blade of Marmora: a secret organization to put end the Galra Empire."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Then there's my cousin, Allura, and Coran; who are just wonderful." Lance praised. "The three are the last ones of our kind."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"And there is also Katie, who is the hacker of our group," Lance said in an affectionate tone.
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"I know that I've only known her for a short while… however, there's something about her that I can't describe…" Lance admitted as he stopped. "That probably sounds silly for a mind of your caliber."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Yeah, you're right," Lance admitted. "But… there's something... to her. I don't know if it's her smarts, bravery, or determination towards family; but whenever I'm around her, I feel like my heart wants to say something, but my brain is too stupid to figure it out."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"You know, you don't have to agree with me so quickly," Lance responded. "I know this is strange, but… I like her… like, like her, like her. If you know what I mean. When I found out how my father died, I wanted to aspire to everything he was by becoming a paladin, but when Zarkon betrayed us, that opportunity left with Altea. She is everything I want to aspire to but I feel so pathetic and weak that I don't feel up to her expectations."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"I want to tell her the truth... how I truly feel... but I'm afraid I'm going to screw up as usual," Lance admitted. "We have a good friendship, and I'm afraid to ruin it. But with our final battle against Zarkon drawing nearer; this may be my last chance to do something with this. Do you think I should tell her my feelings?"
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm probably worrying about nothing." Lance said. "I don't understand why I keep doubting when I am technically the king of Altea.
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"Then that settles it; when we get to Olkarion, I'm going to tell her how I feel," Lance stated with confidence. "Thank you for listening to me, and what I had to say."
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
However, unbeknownst to the Altean Prince; "Slav" wasn't the only one listening…
Pidge continued observing Keith and Lance on the monitors and overheard everything the latter just said. The Green Paladin just eavesdropped on a friend who just admitted to having feelings for her; she was so stunned by what the Prince revealed that she didn't know how to react. She always assumed Lance had the typical posture of a young noble womanizer because of how he acts with Pearl and other girls in his adventures. But maybe that was just his way of distracting himself from how he honestly felt. Katie would be lying to herself be she said she didn't feel the same way towards Lance. However, she didn't believe she had a shot with him; an alien Prince and technologically obsessed nerd from Earth just seemed unlikely.
"Oh my stars…" Pidge clutched at her cheeks which were as red as her ears with a strange feeling inside her stomach. "Is this really happening?"
However, before she could continue pondering, the door to the control room opened as two amethyst guards walked in; Luckily, Pidge hid underneath the control panel in time. Well... that's what she hoped…
"Gotcha!'" An amethyst said as she found and picked up the Green Paladin with ease.
"Hey, let me go!" Katie squirmed as she tried to strike the large brute. "Put me down!"
"Stop that!" The guard barked; which made the girl stop in surprise. "You are in big trouble."
"Und zomedimes I sneak into zee Human hapitat veneffer I get zee chance to scharrre mein zeorrries vith zem," Slav explained to the disinterested Keith as the Galran carried him the from here on out; he got tired from running around and asked to be carried. "I'm not zurrre if zey fully underrrsdand what I am zaying, zey zeem to pe morrre interrresded in my drrramadic flairrr. Alzo, zome of zem zink I'm "kute" like Jay-Ten and Wy-Six. Alzo, you'rrre zo schtrrrong. I guess it's pekauze you arrre Galr… AH!"
"Oh, what now?" Keith groaned.
"Look at all zoze crrracks!" Slav screamed as he pointed them out to Keith. "I kan't sdep on zoze!"
"I'm carrying you." Keith reminded with annoyance in his tone.
"Oh, zen I guess you don't karrre apout vat habens to yourrr mother's back," Slav responded, folding all his arms.
"What are you talking about?" Keith asked in frustration. "Nothing happen!"
"I'm talking apout quantum rrrealities herrre." Slav dramatically explained. "Crrracks inidiate sbace-time temborrral fizurrres, Evul warp munstruoziitis vich mathemadikally make higher brrrobabilidies forrr alderrrnate rrrealidies in vich yourrr mother has ein brrroken back."
Keith looked at Slav with a dumbfounded expression; having no idea how to respond to something that sounds so smart but is also so stupid. "Well, is there a different route we can take? One without cracks?" The young Galran asked with a sigh.
"Vell zurrre, ve kould ko out zee scree duct, put, you know, it's all full of scree," Slav said. "Zerrre's also zee vlaxenator, put you kan hearrr zee vater frrrom zee Human hapidat drrribing in zerre."
"And let me guess, you're worried about drowning?" Keith asked in a tired tone.
"Now, you'rrre getding it!" Slav responded.
Keith let out a sigh as he activated his comms. "Pidge, are you there? We need an alternate route." The Red Paladin requested, only getting static. "Pidge? Pidge?" Still not getting a response, Keith contacted Lance. "Lance are you there?"
"I read you, Keith, what's up?" The Altean asked over the comms
"I'm trying to contact Pidge, but I'm getting nothing," Keith stated. "Have talked with her yet?"
"No, I haven't," Lance responded with a more worried tone. "You don't think she's…"
"If she is, she can handle herself," Keith assured. "Just keep heading to the hangar, we'll meet each other soon." The Galran turned his attention back to Slav and asked. "How about I cover your eyes and carry you across?"
"I'll know." Slav stubbornly responded.
"We just only to-" Keith, fed up with his stubbornness, could not notice that something was moving in the shadow of a corner of the corridor.
Fortunately, Slav was able to spot her in time. "LUK OUT!"
Keith grabbed Slav and immediately rolled to the ground as a sword was plunged into the ground along with a tall gem with short lank hair and a blackened burn scar on his face.
"We found you…" TS6 said with a villainous smile.
"Noooo! Zhey got us!" Slav cried out in fear and clung to Keith's back for protection as Keith stood up with his Luxite sword drawn.
"You're one of the Tanzanites Lance warned about." Keith said with a sharp look at the gem who had his sword resting on his shoulder.
"And you are an organic who along with other organic trash and traitors dared to invade this special place for my diamond." TS6 said in a way that betrayed total indifference. "I think you picked the worst place to die."
TS6 charged towards the Galra with his sword pointed forward which Keith rolled away and quickly got up to block several offensive strikes from the gem. The Tanzanite made a sweeping move but Keith did a backflip and just as he hit the ground he activated his jetpack (being careful not to accidentally burn Slav) and mimicked the same move towards the Tanzanite, it didn't move and blocked the attack. Keith, starting a struggle between the two which TS7 was losing as Keith still had his thrusters activated on his back.
"Huh, you move well for a Galra." TS7 said with some effort but holding her ground despite slowly backing away. "But don't flatter yourself, I've faced several Dark Eldar myself and let me tell you, you'll need more than that."
"I'm just getting started!" Keith declared and activated his left calf thruster to perform an upward kick which the Tanzanite evaded and with a leap of her own double kicked Keith's torso with such force that it sent him flying halfway down the corridor, at which point Slav he couldn't hold on well and ended up literally rolling like a wheel on the ground until he stopped and raised his torso with a dizzy expression.
Keith shot up into the air and landed on his feet taking a deep breath as he kept an eye on his opponent who was walking quickly towards the pair.
"Slav!" Keith walked over to the being and scooped it up in his arms bridal style. "Are you OK?"
"Yea, bat I fil dizzzi." Slave rubbed his head uncomfortably. "For luk, we do not tuuch any crrracks or we ar in troblow.
"We need to get out of here now, but I need your full cooperation on this." Keith gave the caterpillar-shaped being a totally stern look. "Our lives hang on it."
Slav was conflicted but a quick glance at the approaching Tanzanite convinced him. "Fine."
"Well, we just let's just give it a try, ok?" Keith said with a low growl as he covered Slav's eyes and tried to carry him across the cracks, only for the multi-limbed alien to start struggling and screaming in fear; eventually breaking out of Keith's grasp and running far from the corridor. "Hey, what did you say to you!? Get back here! And no screaming!"
"I'm going scrrreaming?" Slav questioned in a panicked tone as he desperately tried avoiding the Red Paladin and the Assassin Gem.
Pidge continued to struggle in the amethyst's grip as she was carried into a room full of other quartz soldier and dropped onto the floor.
"This the one?" The guard asked while the other soldiers of varying colors and sizes all laughed intimidatingly.
"Katie!" Amethyst screamed as the quartzes reveal to have both her and Pearl held hostage. "They found us ous!"
"Let them go. Now!" Katie demanded as she summoned her Bayard weapon; ready to fight all the muscular warriors head on.
"Oh my stars!" Una Jasper alzo sus brazos con un tono fingido de miedo. "tiene un arma!" algunas Quartz se rieron del comentario.
"You won't believe what I've been through with these amethysts." The Crystal Gem responded. "They're really, really... great!" The little Gem's look of worry instantly turned into a humorous one.
…
…
…
"What?" Katie said with disbelief as she lowered her weapon.
"AAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!" "HAHAHAHAHA!" "BAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Pidge looked up, utterly confused to see the crowd of Gems around her roaring with laughter, some leaning on each other while others dropped to the ground giggling.
"Hahaha! Oh stars, you should've seen the look on your face." One of the guards said with boisterous laughter; before turning to the Yellow Paladin. "You were right! That was priceless!"
"I still fail to see the genuine humor in scaring her half to death." Pearl spoke up as the quartzes released their "prisoners."
"Wait, it was a prank? Oh, you jerk!" Katie angrily responded with an embarrassed look. "That wasn't funny!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Amethyst apologized as she runs over and gives Pidge an assuring hug. "I just couldn't pass up this kind of opportunity."
"And what's going on?" Pidge asked as she looked at all the other Gems in the room.
"These Amethysts, they're all from Earth! They're from the Prime Kindergarten!" Amethyst excitedly said; before turning to another one of the purple Gems. "Hey, 8XL!"
"Yeah?" A dark lavender amethyst with a gemstone on her hip asked; standing next to an amethyst with pink skin and a gem on her right hand, along with a with curly haired amethyst with a gemstone on her left shoulder.
"You guys, I'm an Eight! Tell her. Tell her!" Amethyst repeated.
"The amethyst under me never popped out," 8XL explained. "We're all waiting, and… pfft… nothing."
"I'm 8XM! Facet-5, Cut-8XM. That's me!" Amethyst clarified. "And these two are 8XG and 8XH."
"I'm J." The curly-haired amethyst corrected.
"Ah geez, sorry." Amethyst apologized. "I'm worse than Holly Blue!"
"Aren't we all?" 8XJ asked, as all the others laughed.
"Prime, prime, prime; ya amethysts are just a cliquey lot of rocks, aren't cha?" A slim orange Gem with red stripes and a round gemstone asked in an easygoing manner.
"Skinny here is a Jasper!" Amethyst stated. "There are Gems her from the Beta Kindergarten, too! Hey, where's Carnelian?"
"Celebrating," Skinny replied just as a Gem around Amethyst's natural height runs and a gemstone on her shoulder runs up to the short Crystal Gem and lifts her over her head.
"I'm not the shortest anymore!" Carnelian screams with joy as she runs around with Amethyst; both laughing.
"This is… kind of sweet." Pidge said with a smile as Pearl walked over to the teen girl.
"I'm happy for her," Pearl stated. "We sent the others back to the ship, apparently they did not want to share their time with us."
"It is normal." 8XH said with a shrug. "Humans only like themselves and the other humans we have here don't like either."
8XL winced a bit. "That reminded me of when we brought that human wearing that thick black armor into the human habitat, as the humans called her? Sororita?
"I was in block A7 when it happened." Skinny I speak. "I heard that several Gems were executed for not lobotomizing her first."
"Hey, great talk but could one of you guys please explained why you kidnapped me?" Pidge loudly asked.
"Oh yeah. That…" 8XL began. "8XM told us about your friends wanting to break out someone named Slav from one of the lower exhibits. Well, her pet, Laika, escaped her pen on the lower level, too. And she's now searching for her. La peor parte es que hay Tanzanitas ahí abajo por lo que pueden estar en un serio peligro."
"We need to inform Keith and Lance." Pidge quickly stated.
"Some of the other amethysts are looking for your friends as we speak; once they find them, they'll bring them to the hangar, and you can all leave," 8XL explained. "J, M and I can take you and Pearl to the hangar now, but we need to be quick."
Lance and "Slav" continued down the hall when the Altean Prince hears footsteps in the distance.
"Quick, somebody's coming," Lance said as he ran towards the nearest cover; priming his energy bow. He looked over at "Slav" and saw he was standing in place. "What are you doing? Are you trying to get us caught?"
"Yup." "Slav" answered.
"I've found you!" Holly Blue Agate's voice said in a please tone as she walked closer to "Slav."
Believing that there is no other option now but to fight, Lance reveals himself; drawing his bow and pointing it at the Homeworld Gem.
"Stay away from my friend!" Lance shouted.
"There's your kidnapper!" Holly Blue shouted with rage as she reached for the back of her head; where her gemstone was and pulled out a whip with electricity emitting from it. However, before Lance or Holly could make a move, "Slav" suddenly got on all fours and charged forward, accidentally bringing Lance with him as the Prince found himself riding on the massive creatures back as they rushed past the annoyed Agate. "Come back here! I'm going to make you pay for this!" Holly shouted as she ran after the two of them.
Keith tilts his head back, missing his opponent's blade by inches and raising both of his swords to block another powerful attack.
"I don't understand what you can do here." TS6 said with his sword pointed at him. "Besides acquiring that insignificant thing."
Keith launched a rapier which she parried as well as other attacks from the young Galra. This gem proved to be a skilled opponent not only with sword but also in strength as no matter how strong he executed his attacks, the tall purple gem was undeterred.
Another clash ended in a struggle by Keith but TS6 was not moving. "He is valuable to us!"
"Oh yeah?" TS6 asked with a sneer before pushing Keith away and giving him a light front kick to the chest to get him out of the way. "Explain, if I like what you have to offer maybe he can let them go."
"And because?" Keith frowned without letting his guard down at all. "Why would you be interested?"
TS6 let out an exasperated sigh as he plunged the tip of his sword into the ground, leaving it wide open. "This place is the most boring place there is; my diamond I keep this place abandoned by the warp to honor the memory of his late sister: Pink Diamond. "
"I already know the story." Keith responded by lowering his swords on him.
"He has spent the last six millennia mourning his loss in this dump when he could do his part to safeguard our species and exterminate dirty organics like you. And like a battle-born gem, I am trapped in this place as a guardian of these vermin instead of annihilating my enemies." TS6 spoke with a look of hatred that turned into an indifferent smirk. "Normally I would be betraying my diamond to tell you this. But I dont care"
"Then you are telling me that you despise your Diamond." Keith reformulated. "You're basically what she would qualify as a caged animal who wants to go into her natural habitat and she keeps you here to take care of the exhibits."
"I wouldn't say 'despise', rather I resent him for the state he is in." TS6 said casually then rested both of her palms on the hilt on her back. "And good? Are you going to tell me the reason why they are here?
It took Keith a little while to think about whether he should tell her or not. But if this construction of light is telling the truth then he has nothing to lose by this.
"We came to this place for the purpose of finding an individual to help us defeat Zarkon."
"Zarcon?" the gem's eyebrow rises in mild interest. "I have heard that the Galras kidnapped countless of our kind for harvest. A very powerful organic with a strong army."
"We are with various groups of powerful people with a plan to destroy it forever and free the universe from its oppression." Keith said firmly.
"I see." TS6 raised her sword and rested it on his shoulder. "Do you think that erasing him from existence will make this universe a safe place?"
"…No." Keith responded but gave the gem a fierce look. "But his fall will usher in a new era, an era in which new generations do not have to be born and die in the flames of conflict, an era in which there can be true progress without having to make unholy deals with entities that alone What they want is the eternal suffering of all living beings."
The Tanzanite fell silent as she analyzed the organic's words.
"And let me be clear on this: once the Galra Empire is dismantled. Rest assured that you and the Diamond Authority will answer for your actions." Keith gave the gem the fiercest, most determined look he had.
"Oh! That means we will meet again then." Saying that, TS6 made his sword vanish and turn around. "Well, if you're really going to keep your promise, I'll look forward to our reunion in the near future."
And with that, the Tanzanite left the site leaving a bewildered Keith who shook his head and resumed his search for that elusive Slav, which didn't take long as he found him leaning against one of the corridor windows.
"There you are!" Keith yelled making Slav jump and he starts chasing after him.
Leafe pissed me off!" Slav screamed trying to escape from the young red paladin.
"We've! Got! To! Go!" Keith shouted as he kept trying to catch the elusive Slav. "My friends are in trouble! We must go now! We are walking over those cracks. It's our only option!" The Red Paladin shouted lastly as he finally caught Slav in his arms. "Got you!"
"No, no, no, no!" Slav repeatedly shouted as Keith built up a running start and sprinted over to the cracked floor, and with a quick, yet powerful wall-jump; the Blade of Marmora agent managed to avoid the cracks and kept running. "You managed to affoid zee crrracks?"
Slav said with disbelief as Keith kept running. "Effen zough zerrre vas ein thrrree-hundrrred berrrcent chance zat you vould'fe failed and sdebed on one." As Slav continued talking, he and Keith eventually met up with Lance and "Slav;" both running in the same direction.
"Keith!" Lance shouted with joy at seeing his partner.
"That good that you're well!" Keith spoke to then look at 'Slav' "Who's with you?"
"Oh, vow, you haffe Laika. Agate von't pe haby apout zat." Slav dijo.
"Who's Laika?" Lance asked as he continued riding on the giant alien.
"She's Holly Blue's pet yupper." Slav explained, pointing at "Slav."
"Wait… You're an animal?" Lance loudly asked the being he initially thought to be Slav.
"Yup!" Laika responded.
"Oh, I zee vherrre zee konfuzion vas forrr you," Slav stated as he observed the Altean and yupper.
"Old man, really?" Keith gave him a truly pitying look. "How dumb can you be?"
"Hey, I was just doing what Pidge told me to do!" Lance made a vain attempt to defend himself.
"Yo, guys!" Amethyst's voice shouted as the Altean and Galra turn their heads and see Amethysts, Katie and Pearl; along with several other Gems by their side. Keith stopped in his tracks, and Lance hopped off Laika; who stayed as well, as they greet their allies.
"Hey, Amethyst." Lance greeted. "Who's your new friends?"
"Long lost relatives." The little Gem corrected.
"They're going to help us get to the hangar," Pidge explained. "But we need to go, now!"
"You're not going anywhere; none of you are!" Holly Blue's angry voice shouted off in the distance.
The group makes a break for it, running down the halls as fast as they can, with the yupper accompanying them for some reason; probably because she likes Lance or something.
After several minutes of sprinting, they all arrived in the hangar where the Red Eye remained where the Voltron Force members and Crystal Gems last left it with the Loud troop.
"Let's get in there and…" Pearl began.
"I've finally caught up to you!" Holly Blue shouted as she walked through the hangar's doorway; her electrical whip tight in her hand. "Crystal Gem and organic scum! Not only do you disguise yourself as a grand sapphire and waste my valuable time; you also steal one of the exhibits and my yupper! I guess this is what happens when you leave incompetent Quartz to do all the hard work. Well, I guess the organic saying is true after all; if you want to ensure something is done right, you do it yourself. You are coming with me!"
The agate cracks her whip and throws it in the direction of Slav and Keith, but Amethyst quickly leaped in front of and grabbed it. She felt the electricity course through her body at first but was able to power through the pain; much to Holly Blue's genuine surprise.
"Get Slav on board!" Pearl ordered as Keith nodded and did so; while Amethyst held her grip on Holly's whip and spin dashes towards the blue Gem, wrapping the weapon around the Agate and tying her up. The little Crystal Gem could hear her fellow amethysts and jaspers cheer her on as she does so.
"Oh, you don't know how long I've been waiting to do this," Amethyst said with a smirk as she jumps and uppercuts the bound Holly Blue Agate. "Shoryuken!" Amethyst turns to the other Gems, blowing them a kiss. "Famethyst for life!"
"What are you doing? They're traitors! Destroy them!" Holly Blue ordered the ecstatic quartzes, who just stood where they were; cheering for their little cousin and laughing at their disgraced tormentor. "I'll report you to the Diamonds!" Agate threatened as she dispersed her weapon; freeing herself. "All of you! You'll all be shattered!"
"Oh." Pearl smugly said as she walked over to the still downed Gem and kneeled in front of her. "You're gonna tell the Diamonds that you allowed a band of traitorous rebels and "organic scum" to infiltrate a highly secure facility; successfully escaping from right under your careful watch?" Pearl takes a sharp breath; imagining to herself all the terrible thing that could happen and placing that fear in Holly's mind while she boops the agate's nose. "That... does not sound like the smart move, Holly Blue. So, go and do yourself a favor; keep your mouth shut. That will be all."
"Yup!" Lance said with delight, while Amethyst claps her hands at that severe burn as they board the Blue Eye.
"Goodbye, cousin!" Skinny shouted.
"We'll miss you!" Carnelian cried out.
"I hope we see you again!" 8XL added in.
The Famethyst all said their goodbyes and waved as the Blue Eye took off with Holly Blue groaning to herself in disappointment.
Once the azure vessel left their sights, the Famethyst left the hangar; leaving Holly Blue all on her own, with Laika.
"Well, at least, you're okay." Holly said to her pet as she proceeds to give her pet an affectionate belly rub; which she happily accepts. "That's a good girl. Yes, you are. Who's a good little yupper? Who's the good little yupper?"
"Very well!" Luna spoke to apparently no one. "That is all?"
"I think so?" Luan answered her being just as confused as her sister in arms.
"Don't you get the feeling that our role in this mission has been totally irrelevant?" Lynn asked the whole group.
"Don't say that." Lincoln spoke through Luan's vox. "We have offered a good alibi and we did not go without any casualties."
"Literally these are the dumbest Xenos I've ever met." Lori officially declared.
"They are just as gullible as the Tau." Lola said.
"I'll back you up on that, Sis." Lana answered her twin. "I can't wait to receive praise from our Commissar for our achievement."
Several of them nodded in complete agreement. As pathetically as it ended, this mission has been a resounding success.
Both Lance and Keith were listening but they didn't take the conversation seriously.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Lance said as he sat in one of the scout ships chairs; putting his feet up on the control panel and reclining.
"Maybe not for you." Keith grouched as Slav overlooked everything in the Blue Eye.
"The only time I got scared was when we lost contact with Katie," Lance admitted.
"When you lost contact?" The Green Paladin stuttered with a blush.
"Yeah, I was afraid they found and hurt you." Lance genuinely admitted. "But I'm glad your safe."
"Th… thanks." Pidge said as she quickly turned away in bashfulness; a part of her wanted to tell the Altean Prince about what she had overheard but didn't want to make the situation any more awkward. "Thank you, Lance."
"You know, I always had a feeling that my kindergarten family was somewhere out there." Amethyst began with happiness in her tone. "And this whole thing showed that I was right. That also may not even be all of them for all I know."
"While you guys were looking for Slav, I found some information on Homeworld and the Diamonds," Pidge explained. "I have a lot to go through with Peridot, but it should be helpful."
"I'll contact the Princess and tell her we're on our way to Olkarion," Pearl informed as she attempted to open a communication with the Castle of Lions. "As well as let her know that we have Slav and we're ready to make the virus and build the teladuv with the Tech-Priests."
"Vat? No one zaid anything apout ein teladuv!" Slav exclaimed and opened his eyes with horror. "Ang Tek-Priess!? Efen wurse!"
Keith's face started to turn from purple to fiery red as he looked like he was on the verge of wanting to murder Slav.
"What's the problem, now?" Keith shouted. "We need you to help build a teladuv and we need all the help. So, count your hair follicles or fluff a pillow, or whatever you need to do to make sure it is one-hundred percent operational in this reality!"
Everyone on the ship looked at Keith with completely shocked expressions.
"I vas chust koing to boint out zat teladuv trrraffel is ferrry efficient. But, I don hafe in vha guds wif da Tek-priesses." Slav nervously answered; with Keith letting out an annoyed sigh as they continued flying through space.
"Someone wants Tanna?" Lana suddenly offered.
"Memememe!" Slav gamely raised his hand..
"RAGH!" Zarkon continued to cry out in pain; absorbing more of the Quintessence into his body.
"That's enough!" Haggar ordered her Druids as they halted the ritual, and the Emperor collapses onto his knees.
"Why did you stop?" Zarkon questioned his witch as she walked over and kneeled beside him. "Star over again!"
"Your body can't take this kind of strain anymore, my lord" Haggar explained. "You can barely stand as it is."
"None of that matters." Zarkon weakly replied. "Once the Black Lion is recaptured, no one will stand against me."
"You can't find the Black Lion if you are dead." The sorceress rebuked.
"Then what do you suggest I do?" Zarkon spitefully asked. "The weapon needs the Black Lion, the only thing that can power it; none of the tests have been successful!"
"Maybe not," Haggar responded as she helped her lord up. "But, there's a solution."
"What do you mean?" The Galran Emperor asked as one of the Druids walked up to them; taking out a strange device.
"I have speaking with our Dark Eldar guess." The witch explained. "And tell me that they found a suitable replacement for the Black Lion as a power source. Moreover, we know where to find her." The Druid tapped the top of the device as a one-foot tall hologram of a Gem manifested itself before the Emperor. However, this wasn't any ordinary Gem… this was one of the most powerful Gems… Blue Diamond.
I'm only leaving this message to deeply apologize for being so long without an update. Months ago the internet in my house was cut off and my phone does not have the capacity to offer data to be able to access the internet (And that the laptop I am using is usually a bitch with me)
I want to add that I am working on the next chapter and they will have it very soon (if possible)
Until next time!
PD: I'm still looking for a beta reader, drop a comment or PM if you'd like to volunteer to become one.