The month of August had ended up giving way to September, during all that month too much has happened since the departure of the two original members of the crystal gems: the search for the Holt brothers, the Off-Colors, Homeworld attacking again, Amethyst being poofied, Stevonnie confronting Jasper, Bismuth returning from his bubbling, Coran's accidental 'escape' into the warp, The Little Imperial Guard, the Taujeerians and Tau and last but not least the most unpleasant thing that has happened: the surprise incursion of the Drukhari.
All these days, Steven hoped the other girls were okay and hoped they had explained the situation to his father like Connie's parents and Pidge's mom. He still shuddered at the thought of the kind of reaction his father would give when he knew what his son was doing this last month. However, he also hoped that Garnet and Pearl would arrive soon so that he could be with them.
And the waiting is over…
A wide beam of cyan energy erupts from the Castle of Lions Galaxy Warp, as the Crystal Gems; Garnet and Pearl materialize on board after their one-month absence. The two Gems looked around and discovered that the Voltron Force had gathered around to welcomingly greet their returning allies. His return was so much anticipated that his presence alone was more than enough to boost their morale after the chaotic last month.
"Welcome back you guys!" Steven happily exclaimed as he, Connie, Amethyst, and Peridot run over and happily hug their family members.
"It's good to see you all again," Garnet said as she hugged the young Crystal Gems back; but for some reason, her response sounded staged.
"We missed you a lot. We've been looking forward to this day, too." Pearl stated as she joined in on the hug, but her response sounded staged as well, but far hammier. Being separated from her baby for a long time was hard on the skinny gem.
"Garnet, did you look into the future and see that we'd all surprise you?" Steven asked the Fusion with a knowing grin.
"You got me." Garnet embarrassedly answered. "I accidentally saw your planned surprise."
"But we didn't want to spoil your fun," Pearl added in as they all broke from the hug; she looked at the others with a smile before she noticed that Amethyst's appearance was different. "Amethyst, you… reformed."
"It's a long story." The purple Gem said with confidence.
"You can tell us when you're ready," Garnet said in a supporting tone. "We'll be here for a while."
"And it's good to have you both back." Shiro honestly added in, walking up to and offering a handshake to the two Gems; which they gratefully accept.
"Thank you, Shiro." Pearl gratefully said. "And it is good to see you again, too."
"How is Earth doing, by the way?" Shiro asked.
"It is still there if that's what you're asking." Garnet began. "Not much has happened during the month we were there; aside from a Monster hunt or two."
"Hold on, where's Matthew?" Pearl asks back when she can't see Matt anywhere.
"Umm… Right… here." The older Holt's weak voice echoed out of the room.
Matthew wore a long-sleeved gray T-shirt along with white pants and was barefoot. The two gems gasped when they saw his right arm or rather: the absence of one.
"Matt…" Pearl approached the boy, ignoring the rest of the others just to take a closer look at his condition, her gaze showing a mixture of shock and concern. "Your arm..."
"Heh, it's alright." Matt raised both arms feeling the ghostly pain that he lost. "As Amethyst said: a long story."
"Matt, I told you not to leave the bed when you are recovering." Pidge worriedly circled his older brother with an annoyed look.
"And miss the welcome from my friends?" Matthew asked incredulously and then with his good arm ruffling his sister's hair. "I may be hurt but I don't feel too bad."
"What happened?" Garnet asked Shiro seriously.
"Dark Eldar." Was the short reply from the black paladin.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Pearl insisted on the health of the young human.
Matt's smile widens a bit and he surrounds her sister with her good arm, nodding at the gem. "Of course."
"I can't wait for you to meet the rest of the crew." Connie added with an elevated tone that betrayed emotion.
"The rest?" Garnet raised an eyebrow without anyone noticing.
"Yes ..." Amethyst slurred the words a bit. "The rest of us would not consider it that way. Rather, they are our guests."
"However, they have been helping a lot lately with the cleaning of the castle." Coran scored clearly.
"Well, if you say so." Garnet nodded moderately.
"Oh stars, I nearly forgot!" Pearl exclaimed in a panicked tone, slapping himself right next to his gem as if he just remembered something. "We gave the messages you guys made to Greg, Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran, Miss Colleen, and your husband, Adam. But they also made messages you, too. I should have them right here."
The gemstone on Pearl's forehead began to glow brightly as the recording devices given to her by the Paladins materialized and levitated to Shiro, Steven and Amethyst, Connie and Matt and Pidge respectively.
"Thank you so much," Pidge said to the Crystal Gems, as she and her brother looked at the device.
"We'll look at them later." Matthew thankfully said to the Gems; with Pearl bowing respectfully and Garnet giving two thumbs up.
"Oh, I also have something for you too, Connie," Pearl remembered as she pulled out Rose's real sword from her gemstone and handed it to the girl. "Despite me explaining that you already have a weapon; your parents told me they would feel more comfortable if you had this by your side."
"Oh thank you, Pearl!" Connie thanked her mentor with a slight bow. "I can't wait to get back to training with this."
"It was no trouble; all of your families were thrilled to find out you are all right," Pearl said as she and Garnet looked at each member of the Voltron Force when they suddenly catch sight of a familiar looking person within the group; who looked back at them with happiness.
Garnet took off her visor to make sure that she was seeing who she thought she was seeing; revealing her three eyes that appeared to be on the verge of crying tears of joy. "It can't be…"
"Hey, Garnet… Pearl; did you… bismuth me?" The large woman punned.
"B-B-Bismuth!" Pearl cried with disbelief as she leaped toward and hugged the large Gem; both laughing as the metallic Gem embraces her, before holding her in her arms. "I can't believe you're back!"
"Excuse me, but the Pearl I know would never jump into my arms! Hey, did somebody lose a pearl? Who do you belong to?" Bismuth jokingly asked one of her longtime best friends.
"To nobody!" Pearl playfully and vigorously answered.
"You got that right," Bismuth responded, both Crystal Gems chuckling together.
"Alright, alright, settle down," Garnet told the two Gems as she walked over; pretending to remain stoic as usual.
"Oh, you're one to talk." Bismuth teasingly responded. "Sorry, I meant you're two to talk." Garnet scoffs and casually summons her gauntlets; playfully punching Bismuth in the arm. "Hey, cool it, your Ruby is showing." Bismuth further teased; while the rest of the castle's crew watches the reunion of the trio of long lost friends.
"Where have you been?" Pearl concerning asked her friend. "We thought you'd been captured! Or… even shattered."
"Shatter me?" Bismuth questioned. "Oh please, those Homeworld clods couldn't lay a scratch on this certified badass of a Gem."
"Bismuth, no profanity with the young ones nearby." Pearl kindly requested.
"Oh really? because Amethyst told me that one time you said…" Bismuth began.
"Oh, come on, everyone makes mistakes." Pearl protested with an embarrassed chuckle.
"But in all seriousness." Garnet began. "Where have you been?"
"It's a very long and complicated story that I'll happily tell you all once you're settled in." Bismuth answered. "Right now, you have friends who want to hang out with you and learn what you've been up to in the last month."
"Oh, we brought some pictures," Pearl said as several photos materialized out of her forehead gem; urging Steven, Connie, Peridot, and Amethyst to come and join them, which they did.
Out of the handful of photos that were taken; two of them stood out the most to the group and were coincidentally Garnet's and Pearl's favorite pictures as well.
The first picture was one of Pearl having her arm around a woman who bears a close resemblance to Rose Quartz, and stated she was her girlfriend, Sabina. Sabina had light pink hair of medium length with defined lips and piercing on the lower lip, as well as a dark-peach complexion. She was roughly around Garnet's height and had dark green eyes, with think thick eyelashes. Sabina sported a white crop top with rolled up sleeves and dark gray pants with black boots; she had a green jacket tied around her waist as well.
"Greg and I had a chat about moving on from the past," Pearl told the others. "So, I… kind of... took his advice; which led me to her."
"Well, we're all happy for you, Pearl." Connie truthfully told her mentor.
The second picture… the picture was just straight up adorable; as it was Garnet surrounded by a litter of five, recently adopted, kittens. The Fusion explained that she and Pearl found them rummaging through their garbage for food; so, they decided to take them in… claiming they missed having someone "cute and vulnerable" to look after. Which made Steven blush and receive some teasing from Amethyst as a result.
"This one's Simba." Garnet introduced, pointing at the tabby resting on her afro. "This one's Fluffy." Garnet pointed at the bi-colored kitten held in her left arm. "This one's Whiskers." Garnet pointe at the black kitten held in the Fusion's right arm. "This one's Whiskers II." Garnet pointed at the sleeping white kitten resting on the back of her neck. "And that little fella there is Cat-Steven," Garnet concluded, pointing at the one-eye calico sitting in the Crystal Gems lap.
"They're all adorable," Steven said.
"Yes, they are; before I left, I told Greg that it would be a big help if he could water them for me while I'm gone," Garnet explained.
"Yay, I have some cat-bros to hang out with!" Amethyst said out loud.
"Not all of them are male, Amethyst." Pearl pointed out.
"You know what I mean," Amethyst responded back.
The Crystal Gems all playfully chuckled with each other as they and the rest of the Voltron Force enjoyed the sweet reunion.
After their welcome conversation, Coran introduced Garnet and Pearl to Commissioner Elizabeth along with the Loud troop who were just finishing the castle survey. After the cleaning process of the castle was completed, the imperial guard were allowed to carry their weapons again as they had gained the absolute trust of Allura and the others, the Imperium soldiers were slightly grateful for this gesture of trust that by his side was mutual since he has shown them his mettle against the Eldar.
Pearl was visibly surprised, she never knew in her entire existence that there were other humans living in different places in the universe and the most surprising thing she saw is that they seemed to be more advanced than the humans on earth in terms of military technology.
Garnet was stoic as always as she shook hands with the blonde human and the troop of young humans she was with. Coran explained how they had met on a planet which was infested with a literal army of ratmen.
Some questions were asked and others answered, in the end, everyone found each other at ease.
Then came lunch and the two were brought up to date on the events that occurred in the previous month, the two gems were surprised on some occasions by the confrontations they not only had with the Galras and Homeworld gems, but also against other extremely dangerous species. that plagued the universe like the Orks and Tyranids. They also heard about his first contact with the Tau after finishing a rescue mission.
The two were visibly shocked to receive the stories that occurred in the Drukhari raid inside the castle; Perla almost fainted when she found out that Steven and Connie had no choice but to kill with their own hands in order to get out of this dangerous situation alive. Luckily Shiro was able to assuage her worries by saying that he had spoken about her worries and that if they had to let them out, he would be there to listen to him.
Garnet was grateful for it, it's not a game: she had seen the horrors of war in the days of the rebellion, she never wished that Steven would be part of it one day, but unfortunately she never had enough power to change the future. But no matter what it is, the two young men are going to get by with this.
A few hours later, it everyone decided to head to the quarters for the night, some stayed up, while others chose to turn in early; giving Shiro, Connie, Steven and Amethyst, and Pidge and Matt an opportunity to watch the video recordings from their loved ones in private.
For Takashi's recording, his husband Adam opened with tears of joy to learn that the man he loves is still alive and well. For two years, Adam Shirogane was heartbroken and was forced to take leave from the Galaxy Garrison's flight division to become an instructor; with his superior, Admiral Sanda, ordering it "for his own good." Then, he is greeted by two mysterious women who hand him a video recording of the man he thought to be dead for a long time and broke down into an ecstatic, emotional mess. Luckily Garnet, who he used to refer to as "the tall one with the afro" comforted him, stating that she knows exactly what he was going through. While he continues to work at the Garrison, Adam, along with Colleen Holt, had rented a shared house in Beach City two weeks ago, so that they can greet Shiro, Matt, Pidge, and Samuel when they return; as well as the other members of the Voltron Force for keeping them safe. They even met Steven's father, Greg Universe; who gave the two of them a tour around Beach City, with Adam also making a friend in the form of Garnet's calico kitten, Cat-Steven. Adam told his husband he loved him and wished for him to be safe.
Connie's recording is pretty much what she expected to hear from her parents when they find out that their one and only daughter is a participant in a 10,000-year war against a totalitarian regime; who seeks to rule the entire universe and is far worse than the Diamond Authority. Her mother, Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran, went off on a tangent explaining how worried she and Connie's father, Doug Maheswaran, are concerned for her; but after calming down, they both revealed that they know Connie is capable of handling herself, Pearl did teach her how to fight after all, plus she has "Mr. Universe's magical Gem-son" with her. But after the praise, came the punishment; once Connie was done saving the universe, she was grounded. Also, just because she's off saving entire galaxies doesn't mean she gets to neglect her studies; asking that Pearl bring all her school supplies with her, which are likely being stored in the Crystal Gem's gemstone. But despite all of that, Connie was as happy as she could ever be; just hearing and seeing her parents once more, even if it is in video form. The Maheswarns concluded their message with a "we love you" before the recording ended.
Steven and Amethyst were sitting on the bed in the latter's room as they watched and listened to Greg's message. The bearded man was worried for his son and a woman that he still considered his best friend, despite their somewhat rocky relationship. Greg admitted that when Steven and The Gems left for a mission and didn't come back, he thought that a Gem Monster had eaten them, or they kidnapped and taken to Homeworld, or worse. Then, Garnet and Pearl return with the latter having a new physical form and without Steven present; the two Gems tried explaining the situation to Greg, which nearly gave him a heart attack; but they calmed him down anything serious could happen. After that, they left for Empire City to speak to Adam Shirogane and Coleen Holt to explain the situation to them; they were relieved their families were alive, but equally worried for them as well. They both decided to rent out a home in Beach City, with Greg giving them a tour, to wait for their loved ones; they even got to meet the Maheswarans, too. Also, sometime during the month between Garnet and Pearl leaving for Earth, and their return; Greg became a millionaire after a series of events that involved Sour Cream's father and Greg's old manager, Marty. Steven's dad told his son he loved him and hoped he was safe.
Colleen's message to Matt and Katie was that of a mother worried for the lives of her son and daughter. When Greg and the Gems told her that her son, daughter, and possibly her husband was alive; she broke down into tears of joy and thanked the Gems, before demanding they take her to see them, now. The three of them explained that she can't; since their only means of doing so is locked for about a month, and even when it does open, they advised that it would be too dangerous for her. That was when Garnet and Pearl learned that despite all the Gem Monsters, galactic totalitarians and apocalyptic events they've dealt with as Crystal Gems; nothing… nothing was scarier than a mother with a desire to protect her children. But with some help from Adam, they were able to calm Colleen down and assured her that her family will be all right, and decides to stay in Beach City, where the nearest warp pad is, to greet them as soon as they get back. Mrs. Holt said that she loved them all and tells them to return home safe and sound.
Meanwhile, Bismuth had her talk with Garnet and Pearl; explaining everything that had happened to her. The two Crystal Gems were both shocked to learn that Rose would do that to someone who's been a part of their dysfunctional family for a long time. Garnet nearly split into Ruby and Sapphire after finding out how far Rose would go to keep her morals uncompromised but calmed down with help from Pearl and Bismuth. The large Crystal Gem further told them that she can't let go of what Rose did but understands if Garnet and Pearl need to find a way to justify Rose's actions. They did promise to standby and respect her choices, even if they couldn't understand them, and all that was important to her was that they knew the truth.
The Next Day.
Amethyst and Steven gathered Garnet and Pearl in the training room of the Castle of Lions to show them something; the Gems explained that after Garnet and Pearl left, they encountered Homeworld Gems. A skilled pilot named Emerald, a brute named Jasper, and a squad of rubies with cute little nicknames; they further explained the faced off against Jasper on an unknown planet and asked who they think beat her…
"I bet it was you two," Pearl answered in a proud tone.
"Or it could've been Peridot," Garnet answered in her stoic manner, that no one could tell if she was joking or not. "Stranger things have happened before."
"Garnet, Pearl, we have someone we would like you to meet. Let's mash it up!" Steven and Amethyst said simultaneously; embracing each other like last time. Their bodies glow brightly and merge as a familiar shape takes form.
"Heya, I'm Smoky Quartz! Nice to meet ya'll." Smokey Quartz introduced themselves to an awestruck Pearl and Garnet, who looked like they were about to faint right on the spot. "You better prepare yourselves, because I'm about to knock your socks off."
Pearl continued to look in surprise as Garnet got up from the stand and starts laughing with joy at this display.
"This is the first step on how I won against Jasper." Smokey began as they summoned their yo-yo; twirling it around. "The second step involves a little trick I like to call "Walk the dog"!" Smokey rolls her yo-yo across the floor and smashes it into a nearby wall.
"Explain! Explain EVERYTHING!" An amazed Pearl shouted as Garnet picks up the skinny Gem in her excitement and starts shaking her.
"This one's called "Jog the Dog"!" The larger Gem announced as she summoned another yo-yo and smashes it into another wall; before summoning a final yo-yo. "And this one's called "Dog-Walking Is Just My Day Job 'til I Finally Get That Callback"!"
The destruction in the training room continued until Pearl broke free from her overjoyed high and finally got Garnet to do the same as well. "Garnet, a little help?"
Before Smokey Quartz could cause more, unintended, destruction; Garnet and Pearl quickly fused into Sardonyx and catch the Gem weapons. "Hello there, Smokey." Sardonyx introduces as she squatted down to shake the new Fusion's hand with her index finger. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd say you've made quite the impression already. There's one on the wall over there, over there and there too... Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
"Sorry, it looks like I got a little carried away." Smokey bashfully apologized as they diffused into Steven and Amethyst.
"Oh, don't feel bad; your act was spectacular." Sardonyx complimented. "Garnet and Pearl definitely loved the show you put on."
"I'm sorry, but am I hearing the lovely Sardonyx right now?" Bismuth asked as she entered the room.
"And if it isn't the legendary master-of-puns herself, Bismuth." Sardonyx replied. "It is good to see you again, love."
"You too." Bismuth smiled back. "I was actually looking for Steven, there's something we need to ask Garnet and Pearl."
"Say no more, you'll have them in a moment. Ciao." Sardonyx concluded as she defused back into Garnet and Pearl.
"What did you both need?" Garnet stoically asked them.
"Steven, are you sure you want to…" Amethyst began, knowing the exact question Steven was going to ask.
"Bismuth and I need to know the rest," Steven explained. "You don't have to stay, you know."
"I know," Amethyst answered with a supportive smile. "But you were by my side, so I'm going to be by yours."
"Okay…" Steven began as he faced his two guardians. "What can you guys tell us about a Gem named Pink Diamond?"
Garnet and Pearl looked at Steven shock as the room filled with silence and bone-chilling tension; which was further reinforced by Pearl fearfully covering her mouth with her hands.
"Where did you hear that name?" Garnet questioned in a demanding tone; slightly scaring Steven, but he stood his ground nonetheless.
"When Steven and I fought Jasper as Smokey; she mentioned Pink Diamond's name and hinted that Rose may have done something to her," Amethyst answered. "We also asked Bismuth about it."
"How much do you know?" Garnet asked the three fellow Gems.
"I know that it was during the Gem war." Steven began. "And that Pink Diamond chose Earth to be her colony. Pink Diamond created my mom to be a soldier; but then, she began to like Earth and everything about it. Mom tried to make Pink Diamond stop, but she wouldn't listen; so, she had to rebel to save everyone and everything she cared about. But Homeworld wouldn't give up, and Bismuth proposed a way to stop them… and that's all I know."
"And that's all you need to know," Garnet said.
"No, it's not." Bismuth stepped in. "Steven deserves to know more… we deserve to know more."
"Steven isn't ready to learn more," Garnet stated.
"He isn't ready?" Bismuth questioned confused at her friend's words. "Are you serious? He's a Paladin of Freaking Voltron! He has done and seen things that a child like him should not, I'd say he deserves some answers after everything he's been through."
Pearl let out a troubled sigh. "I was hoping to protect him from it, but we can't keep it from him forever." The skinny Gem softly stated, much to Garnet's surprise. "But I'm telling you this now; you won't like what you hear."
"Pearl…" Garnet began to protest, but the slender Gem held her hand up to the Gem's face. "You can't…"
Pearl took a deep breath and revealed the rest of the story. "Around the time Bismuth… disappeared, the Crystal Gems claimed one victory after the other, and Homeworld began to take the rebellion far more seriously; that is when the tables turned on us all. After so many of our friends were shattered, and so many humans had died because of the war; Rose feared that soon she would have nothing left to protect. To save the Earth from the tyrannical reign of the Diamonds…" Pearl began shivering intensely as she worked up the courage to continue. "Rose… before a crowd of Homeworld Gems and Crystal Gems alike drew her blade... and shattered Pink Diamond."
A Dark Eldar that was well hidden could suddenly appear to kill them all, a Warp storm could suddenly emerge and swallow the entire castle with it, a fleet of Galra or Tyranid hive could immediately appear and bring them all down anything could have happened, and others could not know. Many things had been said about Rose Quartz: LEADER OF THE CRYSTAL GEMS, a most compassionate and pious woman who would not surrender until the earth was rid of those who sought to destroy it, a woman so gentle and caring that she had to abandon her own home to save the planet, a woman who was so loving and gentle who sacrificed her own life to give one to her son.
Steven, Bismuth, and Amethyst remained frozen in place; unable to believe what they heard, Rose Quartz, her mom, their leader, it was a murder.
"No," Steven spoke up, breaking the deathly silence with tears in his eyes. "No, that's not true! Mom would never do that! S… sure, she had to fight but… but she would never shatter someone!"
"Hey little bud, it's okay." Amethyst walked over and wrapped her arm around Steven.
"I'm sorry for the telling this, Steven, but it's the truth," Garnet said. "We never wanted you to know this, we thought your mother didn't want you to see her that way"
"Know what?" Bismuth began asking with a mixture of sadness and anger in her tone. "That his mother was a complete hypocrite?"
"What did you say?" Garnet asked Bismuth.
"Rose Quartz locked me away from all of you because she all life was important!" Bismuth furiously began. "But when things got too hard, that didn't matter anymore, did it?'
"H… How dare you!" Garnet strongly answered back with fire in her eyes. "Destroying Pink Diamond was the only way to save the Earth; for Amethyst to be the way she is, for Pearl to live the life she, for Ruby and Sapphire to be happy as me, for Steven to exist! You don't get to judge her because you weren't…" Garnet stopped herself at that moment.
"Because I wasn't there, that's what you were going to say, right?" Bismuth asked. "And whose fault was that? Did either of you even ask her what happened to me? Did you take a moment to use your Future Vision to find me? Did you even take a moment to consider that everything she was telling you was a lie? Because as far as I'm concerned, she did whatever she wanted whenever it suited her; consequences be damned… and you know that sound like… that sounds exactly like a Diamond!"
"Rose was nothing like a Diamond!" Garnet bit back with venom in her tone.
"Oh really, then why did you act like another Ruby and Sapphire following her like she was one?" Bismuth hurtfully asked; with Pearl, Steven and Amethyst all feeling the sting of that comment.
"Okay, let's just calm down before…" Pearl began, standing in-between the two Gems.
"No, we're done here." Garnet coldly said as she walked out of the room in silence. Bismuth left later as she returned to her quarters, opposite of the direction Garnet went in; leaving the remaining Gems alone and silent in the room. And like that, this sweet reunion had turned sour.
Pidge, Connie, and Keith all entered the castle's control room; Keith tagged along due to having nothing better to do, and Connie finished up a tenth of her studies and needed a break. Allura and Coran called the little Holt because the castle's devices have been acting strange, clicking sounds have been coming from their communication monitors; seemingly appearing at random and greatly annoying the two Alteans.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here." Coran gratefully said to the Green Paladin. "This infernal clicking has been going on for thirty dobashes; but no matter what we do, it won't go away. We've tried turning the blasted thing on and off again, but the clicking still persists."
"We need to keep our channels clean so that we can pick up any S.O.S.'s in the future," Allura explained.
"Don't worry, Princess," Katie assured as she walk over to the alien machinery. "I got this."
While Matt and Pidge worked on the machines, Keith's cat-like ears began to twitch upon hearing the noises, as if he subconsciously recognized them; something that Connie quickly caught notice of.
"Is everything all right, Keith?" The girl asked her fellow Paladin.
"Pidge," Keith called to the Holt siblings before they could work on the computer. "Can you hold off for a minute or two?"
"Why?" Pidge asked the Galra.
"I hear something in those clicks," Keith informed, as he closed his eyes and solely tuned his hearing to the familiar sound; or rather, its pattern.
"Those aren't just any clicks… it's a code." Keith said out loud.
"How's there a code in that?" A skeptical Coran questioned.
"Marmoran agents have a way of communicating with each other by creating code from those clicks," Keith explained. "It may appear as random sounds, but a message can be noticed through fine-tuned hearing."
"So, it's pretty much Morse code." Connie pointed out.
"The heck is Morse code?" Keith questioned the teenaged girl.
"It's pretty much Earth's equivalent to what you described," Pidge answered as she listened in. "Now that you mention it, Connie; I do hear the similarities."
"So, one of your fellow agents is trying to contact us?" Allura asked the teenaged Galra.
"Not us exactly, this code is too sloppy," Keith explained. "Whoever sent this was in a rush to get it out; hoping a Marmora agent would be nearby to pick it up."
"Well, don't leave us in suspense, what does it say?" Connie asked the young Galra; who was listening intently.
"It says…" Keith began, only to pause with his eyes narrowing. "This is from my father"
"The same one who is still in Castle Doom?" Allura asked.
"Yes," Keith answered. "It says that he has infiltrated one of Zarkon's transports disguised as a guard to free our friend, Ulaz; who is being taken to a slave labor colony. But he's run into trouble; three of Haggar's Druids is on board and it's monitoring the crew. The message is designed so that if any Marmoran agent hears it, they can follow it back to its source. "
"I thought the Blade of Marmora had a 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' mindset?" Pidge questioned.
"They do, but my father has always believed that no one should get left behind, ever," Keith explained, before turning to Allura. "Princess, we have to go after him, now."
"Keith, I know how much your father means to you, but do you even have a plan of what to do?" Allura asked.
"And it's not like we can just take the Castle of Lions and Voltron there." Matt's voice was heard at the entrance and everyone focused their gaze noticing that Elizabeth was next to him. "You told Shiro and me that prisoner transports have some of the strongest detection systems and fastest hyperdrives. If you show up in a 100-meter tall robot; that ship would just fly away before you could even summon a sword or two. Or worse, they could contact an entire fleet of Dreadnaughts and overwhelm us."
"To get out of a tight spot like that, you have to have a backup fleet to provide covering fire." The woman explained, adjusting the hat on her head. "Normally a squad of Astartes would be suitable for such search and rescue missions as the Space Wolves."
"I'm aware of that, which is why we won't take Voltron." Keith began, turning to the Princess. "If I may, I would like to make up an extraction team; we grab my father and Ulaz and get out. Considering how long they've been in Castle Doom, they are likely to know some of Zarkon's secrets; that knowledge should be worth the risk. "
"Hmm ... that would have merit, but you will need something to keep the focus away from you." Elizabeth said and pointed to herself. "I and my troop could do that separately while you guys search for whatever you're looking for."
Keith's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Do you ... want to help us?"
"Didn't you listen, brat Xeno?" Elizabeth raised an irritated brow at the young Galra and let out a very contained dramatic sigh. "The Galra Empire has been threatening various worlds of the imperium for millennia. We may be just a bunch of noisy guard soldiers and a clumsy Commissar but they are all they have in terms of combat experience."
The others fell silent at Cain's proposal. It was more than obvious to Keith that this woman only wanted to seek glory, but she has a valid point in terms of needing an extra hand for this all-important mission.
"Argh ... well, you're in." Keith replied grumpily and turned his gaze to Allura. "What does he say, princess?"
Allura remained silent for a moment and looked over the other options in her head; before making her decision. "The information could be useful." The Princess said. "Very well, I shall allow this mission; but if anything happens that ends up posing a threat to you or anyone else on this castle, you are to abort. Is that understood?"
"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen." Keith assured, instinctively banging his fist on his chest as if he was talking to a superior officer; which he technically was. "And I know who to bring along for this."
Allura called for everyone on board the Castle of Lions to meet in the control room; Lance, Shiro, and Peridot entered the room first with the loud troop, then Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl, and finally, Garnet and Bismuth; who did not address each other, not even with a single look. Something that the others instantly took notice of.
"What's going on, Princess?" Shiro asked the Altean sovereign.
"The Castle of Lions intercepted a message that Keith was able to decipher," Allura explained. "One Keith's fellow agents is requesting an extraction from a prisoner transport; he and his ally should know some information that we could use against Zarkon. Keith will be leading the operation and wishes to pick his team from amongst you."
"Oh, espionage" Peridot said to herself. "That sounds like it's going to be fun."
"All right, this is who I'll need for the mission," Keith spoke up as he stepped forward. "I'll need Garnet, Pearl, Matthew, and Lance. Garnet's Future Vision will be useful in determining which risks we should take, our goal is to make it out without drawing too much attention. From what I've seen… and experienced… Pearl is the best physical combatant on board the castle; if we do have to fight, she'll take out the enemy before they could trigger the alarm. Matthew is as smart as Pidge and a skilled fighter too, he'll help make sure that everything goes according to plan. And Lance, he's skilled with that bow and can take out targets that rest of us may not be able to get to in time. And finally we have the loud troop who will provide us with a safe escape route once we can recover the package. If anything goes wrong, we abort the mission and head back to the Red Lion to-"
"Hold a tick!" Pidge raised her voice to get attention, an angry look on his features. "Excuse my tone: but don't you realize that my brother is not fully recovered?"
"We know that, Pidge." Matt answered firm and straight. "I may be missing an arm but I can still fight.
"I understand that, but what happend if the mission-?"
"There is no need to worry about that." Leni interrupted little Holt and stood next to Matt. "Because I have decided to give you this:"
Leni pulls a rudimentary-looking blaster from her belt that elicits a multitude of gasps from Lynn, Lincoln, and the twins.
"Soldier." Lori began with a restrained tone. "Are you going to give this heretic a laser pistol forged in the same sacred world of Mars?"
"He's going to need something to protect himself with." Leni responded sternly to her sergeant.
Before Lori could object, Elizabeth's hand came to rest on her shoulder and she gave her a fixed look that made her refrain from continuing.
"But I have never fired a gun." Matt tried to protest, but Leni grabbed her hand and put the gun on it and then closed her fingers on it.
"Don't worry." Leni transmitted reassuringly. "The spirit of the machine of this weapon will protect you, it only needs your guidance."
And with that, Leni returned to her place leaving a stunned Matt who lowered his eyes towards the laser pistol that the Valhallan sniper offered him as a means of defense.
"Ok..."
"Well, if that's the case, I think we should use Green Lion." Katie continued. "Peridot and I have been working on a stealth generator that I've been planning to apply to all the Lions. Green's the only one that works right now, and I think having a camouflaged ship will help the mission go a lot smoother. Plus, I'll be your getaway driver… before you say anything; I'm aware of the risks, and I'm coming with no matter what you say."
Keith knew precisely why Pidge wanted to come; with a collection and extraction mission that has a high probability of failing, she wants to make sure that her brother gets out alive, and the Galran knows how stubborn the teenage girl is and knew that arguing with her wasn't going to change her mind. "Very well, Pidge will be our pilot. Unless anyone has any objections or wishes to back out, now would be the time to say so."
"Hey, if it puts us ahead of Zarkon; then I'm in." Lance confidently said as the others nodded in agreement.
We will either carry out this mission on behalf of the Emperor or we will die trying. "Lincoln announced who was accompanied by a chorus of: "HOOYAH!"
"All right, we'll be deploying ten dobashes from now. I hope all of you are ready." Keith stated.
"Always we ready." Lynn smirked with pure determination.
With that, the groups left the control room to take care of anything they need to finish or relax before the mission begins. Lance, Connie, and Peridot caught up with Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl; who were walking separate directions from Garnet and Bismuth.
"Um, is everything okay with Garnet and Bismuth?" The Altean Prince asked the Crystal Gems with some concern. "Because I could've sworn the air got colder as soon as they entered."
"I asked them some questions I shouldn't have asked, and they got into a fight," Steven answered. "I think I ruined their friendship."
"No, you didn't," Pearl assured the boy. "Garnet and Bismuth are the closest of friends. I know hurtful things were said, but they just need some time to cool off; I guarantee you that they'll make up with each other soon enough."
"Okay." Steven said to the skinny Gem with a small smile. "I hope you're right."
The retrieval mission was underway as the Green Lion flew through space on her own; with Keith aiding Pidge in tracking the signal to its source and drawing closer by the second, inside the loud troop is checking their equipment, today they would bring with them their most powerful weapons with Luan and Lincoln carrying powerful rifles and inferno pistols, Luna carrying a model shotgun Accatran and Lynn used an overloaded laser rifle, Leni like Lucy decided to take a standard laser rifle and Lori decided to use a Bolter, finally the twins were using two plasma weapons to the surprise of those around them.
"Are you sure you know how to use that?" Luna asked seeing such dangerous weapons in such young hands. "You don't want to turn into blue paste if it explodes."
"Huh, you can never be so sure when you go to war." Lola replied with disdain.
"We will need the best weapons in case those psychics seek our heads." Lana responded with a huge smile.
"That doesn't answer my question." Luna slurred the words slightly, totally distrustful of her battle sisters' dialogue.
"Don't worry." Lucy talk in his common empty tone. "Just give them a giant object to shoot and it's all done."
"Ok, listen up," Garnet announced and all world pay attention. "According to my Future Vision, we should be arriving at the location in sixty ticks."
"Understood," Pidge responded. "I'm activating the stealth generator now." The Green Paladin enters a code into the Green Lion's console, with the team then hearing a synthetic sounding noise coming from outside. "The Green Lion is officially cloaked."
The mechanical beast continues flying until she comes within range of a large Galra vessel; one that had far heavier plating as compared to others.
"That's the transport," Keith informed the others. "This stealth generator is something; normally, they would've picked us up by now."
"Hey, never doubt the power of team Pidgidot," Katie told Keith. "Now according to Green, the best entrance for minimal detection is a small exhaust port located underneath the ship."
"That will be the safest passage," Garnet informed the others.
"You have all you need?" Matt asks all the Valhallans present. "Are you taking your personal particle shields with you?"
The louds nodded firmly to the old Holt.
"All right, once we're in; we find my father, grab Ulaz, and get out of here," Keith told the others. "And remember, we have to remain undetected, if that happens: Unleashed the Hell."
"Uhmm… I don't sure if we unlea-" Pearl started talk to the Galra but Lance interrupt her.
"We'll be out of that place in no time," Lance assured Keith. "Then after we get the information from your father and Ulaz; we'll know all Zarkon's weaknesses, can fly up to his castle and challenge him to a fight."
"We don't know what kind of information Thace and Ulaz may have," Matt explained. "But if it gives us an advantage, it's well worth the risk."
"We're at the exhaust port, good luck to you all." Pidge told the others, giving all of them looks of reassurance; however, Garnet noticed her look towards Lance was different. Not like how she looks at her friends, or her brother, it was something that were familiar with it; but decided to keep to herself for now as they all exited the Green Lion.
One crawl through the exhaust port later, leaving the protecting team back. The infiltration team found themselves in a dimly lit part of the ship; covered in muck, grime and other filth that goes without saying.
"Aaahh! Gross, gross, GROSS!" Pearl disgruntledly chanted as she tried wiping her physical form clean.
"It wasn't the cleanest method of infiltration, but at least we're in," Matt said as he wiped the grime off his body and take the pistol of its holster.
"Okay, Garnet; do you see anything?" Keith asked the Fusion.
The Crystal Gem remained in silence for a moment. "Two sentries will be approaching from the east in a few minutes from now; I suggest we move and turn to the west corridor," Garnet instructed.
"You heard her, let's move," Keith stated as the group did exactly as Garnet said; successfully evading the duo of robotic soldiers. "All right, where to next?"
The group remains undetected from the Galra soldiers and sentries as they make their way to a control room; Lance uses his energy bow and snipes two of robot sentries from a safe distance, deactivating them.
"Nice work, now let's move." Garnet complimented the Prince as they make their way to the close door.
"How many soldiers do you think are in there?" Matt asked the Fusion, who quickly tapped into her foresight de ella.
"About a dozen," Garnet answered with a smirk. "The odds are not in their favor."
"The door locks from the inside, so we'll need to get one of them to open it," Keith explained.
"How do you propose we do that?" Pearl asked.
"Simple," Keith said with a confident smile as he knocked on the door; with, "Shave and a Haircut, two bits."
Pearl just stared at the Galra with a look that clearly said, "Are you serious."
"What, it worked for Connie." Keith protested.
But before Pearl could protest, the door quickly slid open. "All right, who is… what the!" The Galra soldier inside the room shouted in shock, only to get abruptly knocked out by Garnet; alerting the rest of the soldiers who drew their weapons.
Two sentries went for the alarm system only to get shot by Lance's energy arrows and Matt's laser beams and shut down.
Pearl went for the three Galra soldiers to the right of the room with her spear in hand; while Matt went for two on the left side of the room with his laser gun. The soldiers before Pearl opened fire on the Crystal Gem, who managed to dodge of the laser blasts with ease.
Pearl closed the distance between her and her targets and knocked them all unconscious with quick, hard strikes to their helmets.
The soldiers Matt went against swung their swords at the young man; but he ducks just before they can hit him and roll behind them and then point their blaster at his back and shoot them before they could do anything, leaving them with a couple of smoking holes in their bodies.
"Quiznack, this thing is amazing." Matt whispered looking at the gun the sniper gave him. "Thank you very much for this, Leni."
Garnet and Keith were ready to take out the remaining four soldiers; when suddenly, one of them turns his own weapon to the other three and guns them down, much to the Red Paladin's and Crystal Gem's surprise.
"I see you intercepted the message, my son." The Galran soldier said as he removes his helmet from him; revealing himself to be Thace.
"Father," Keith said as he ran over to the older Galra and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you again."
"You too, my son," Thace said as the two of them broke from the embrace. "And I see you've made some friends, but I figure the Red Paladin of Voltron would do so."
"How'd you know I was ...?" Keith began to ask.
"Word travels fast at Castle Doom," Thace explained.
"It's nice to meet you Mr.… Keith's father." Pearl embarrassedly said as she offered him a handshake. "Sorry, I don't know your name, sir ..."
"Thace will do." The older Galran assured. "I'll take the time to know all of you later; right now, we have to find Ulaz."
"Do you have any idea where they could be holding him?" Garnet asked.
"No, the Druids didn't tell us anything," Thace answered. "I suspect they know that I'm on board but doesn't know which soldier is… me. Keith, do you still have that codebreaker on you?"
"Gone." The purple teenager answered as he took out the device.
"There are multiple firewalls we'll have to break through before we can get any information,"
Thace explained. "But the system will eventually destroy the code breaker to protect itself after a while. And due to causing a ruckus, someone is bound to come and investigate."
"Understood," Keith said before turning to Matthew and handing him the code breaker. "Use this and find Ulaz, if any Galra try to come in the room, we'll keep taking them out."
"Let's talk about this plan of yours for a second." Lance interrupted. "I think it's good, except it kind of sucks; so, let me come up with a plan that is actually good."
"Okay smartass, what's your brilliant idea?" Keith asked the Altean, in an annoyed tone.
Without answering, Lance closed his eyes; His body grew to roughly Thace's size, with his skin turning purple as well. "Alteans are a chameleon-like people who can blend in with the local populations."
"And you're just telling us this now?" Matt asked in a deadpan tone.
"You guy's never asked a question to bring this up," Lance said in his defense of him. "Anyway, while I'm disguised as a Galra; I'll stall any soldiers that come by. And once the download is done, Thace will come out in his Galra armor and say everything is all right and there's no need to investigate."
"That ..." Pearl began to protest but stops herself. "Is actually a better idea."
"All right, we'll go with your plan Lance." Keith approvingly said. "Just don't do anything ..."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid," Lance assured the Galra.
"I was going to say risky." Keith corrected.
"That too." Lance said as he looked at all unconscious soldiers. "Now, someone help me find some armor my size."
In a dark room inside the Dreadnought, three druids sat in a lotus shape with their hands clasped in silent prayer. each of them was aligned towards an altar that glowed softly with a dim purple light, the altar was decorated with different arcane artifacts as well as runes bathed in gold and other precious metals that were being bathed in incense, in the center of the altar there was a small statue whose shape would cause tremendous pain to the eyes for the mere fact that the thing seemed to change shape slowly.
Because this being represented one of the gods that the Druids have followed since Galra's rise to the stars, one of the four undisputed beings of the entire warp, one of the four Gods of Chaos.
Tzeentch, the Lord of change.
One of the druids in the middle took out a small reserve of quintessence stolen from a gem and poured the entire contents into a large ceramite plate, after emptying it into the plate, he set the small tent aside and reached into the vital energy of the being they had sacrificed.
Immediately his mind was invaded by an endless cacophony of screams of total agony that would drive anyone who did not have a strong mind crazy as the druid absorbed all his energy to make it his own, the psychic Galra moaned with pleasure at feeling all that vital energy that circulating throughout her being, the quintessence drawn from the planets was fine, but this kind of energy completely overshadowed her.
His pleasure was such that inadvertently, a trace of psychic energy reached him inside the ship, the druid removed his hands from the plate and immediately looked over his shoulder at the entrance of his altar, his brothers did the same when they felt said signature of energy was more than obvious who he was.
"I'm going to the control room, you two take care of the dirt that is near the trash compactor." The druid in the center rose and with him, the other two druids rose simultaneously. "Take with you a squad of soldiers and sentries, also take a Jurgernaught for safety."
"For the lord of change and the Galra Empire". The two druids bowed.
"For the lord of change and the Galra Empire". He said goodbye in the same way as his companions and thus the three headed towards their respective objectives.
Five minutes later:
Lance was standing on guard duty, while disguised as a soldier; impatiently waiting for the others to finish their search for the other Marmoran agent. The disguised altean looked to the sides in search of signals from other enemy soldiers, not seeing anyone in the surroundings activated the communicator on his forearm.
"Guys, everything okay there?" Lance whispered as softly as possible to the hidden imperial troop.
"Everything in order, any soldier or sentry that passed through here have been dispatched quickly." Lori spoke from her communicator to the young prince. "The escape routes have been totally cleared."
"Excellent, keep it up and try not to be spotted." Lance said goodbye and quickly cut the transmission.
And, inadvertently, the air grew cold; colder than ice as Lance spotted a mysterious individual covered in thick robes with a bird-like mask over their face and comin to him.
"Soldier." The mysterious individual asked the voice sounding like a thousand raspy males and female voices speaking at the same time. "What's going on in there?"
"Oh, uh… everything is under control here." Lance nervously replied, trying to keep up the act; but he found it difficult as swore he felt the sweat on his skin from him beginning to freeze and his legs from him turn to jelly. "Normal situation."
"What happened?" The unnerving person questioned in his boot quivering voice.
"Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction," Lance answered, slightly flustered; now realizing that this was the Druid they've been warned about. "But, uh, everything's perfectly fine… all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you… um… How… how are you?"
"Move aside please, I shall examine the situation myself." The Druid said in a deathly tone as it began to approach the door.
"No… no… negative." Lance quickly said as he stood before the Druid; more terrified now than he was earlier. "A squad is already inside and is making sure everything is okay."
"Which squad?" The Druid asked with its eyes beginning to glow in a ethereal yellow.
"Uh… uh… uh… it's the one led by… by… by… Chief Information Officer Plyrox." Launch quickly made up on the spot; doing everything in his power from him to not sound like a whimpering coward. "Say hi Chief Information Officer Plyrox!"
"It's pronounced Plytox, you idiot!" Thace shouted through the door; playing along with the act. "Sorry, sir!" Lance apologized.
The Druid stared at Lance in silence and slowly moves his left hand up to the disguised Altean's face; only to then place it on his own chest.
"My apologies for any trouble I may have caused. Vrepit Sa!" The Druid said respectfully.
"Vrepit Sa!" Lance and Thace quickly said in response; while the former saluted and was sweating bullets.
"I will leave you to your duties." The Druid finally said as he turned around and left.
The Altean Prince let out a long sigh of relief; wishing for the others to finish up and that the freaky space warlock doesn't decide to pay him another visit.
The entire control room was quiet. Matt tried hacked away with Keith's code breaker that looked like it was on the verge of being destroyed at any minute now, but it turned out to be difficult to do it with one hand, but he stayed focused on his work anyway. Thace and Keith waited by the door Lance was at with their weapons ready; in case if someone does make it past him. Meanwhile, Garnet and Pearl were standing next to each other; watching their tied up, unconscious prisoners separated of the corpses.
Pearl held back a grimace and decided now is a better time than any to talk to Garnet about the… argument in the castle with Bismuth.
"I don't want to talk about it," Garnet said before Pearl could ask her question.
"I feel like we should," Pearl said.
"I'd rather not." Garnet stubbornly responded.
"Bismuth shouldn't have said what she said," Pearl admitted. "But she was angry, with good reason."
"Bismuth doesn't understand the sacrifices you, Rose and I had to make to ensure that we could all be free," Garnet said.
"But Rose was the reason Bismuth was gone for so long." Pearl reminded. "Back in the earlier days of the war, Bismuth told me why she looked up to Rose; whenever someone disagreed with her, Rose would never compromise her morals and continue to fight for what she believed in ... then, you find out that person, whose very morals is what caused your imprisonment, to begin with, broke them… it makes the truth far more painful. And she was right about one thing; we never looked beyond what Rose told us happened to Bismuth, so as far as terrible friends go, we are the most terrible. "
"So, what, am I supposed to admit to her that Rose and I were wrong and that she was right?" Garnet questioned scowled into his glases.
"Well imagine this scenario if you will." Pearl began. "What if there were an event that happened where poofing and bubbling either Ruby or Sapphire will guarantee the Crystal Gems would win. Then, either Ruby or Sapphire is freed after 6,000 years and discovered that their significant other hadn't tried to search for them because of what Rose told them. How would they feel?"
"Well, they would feel betrayed and angry, feel like they weren't important." Garnet listed off, lowering her head in realization to what Pearl was getting at. "And say… say things they didn't mean."
"And because of us, Bismuth is going through those emotions right now," Pearl said.
"We really are terrible friends, aren't we?" Garnet admitted leaning a bit more.
"Yes, But now we have another chance to make things right," Pearl assured. "You don't have to apologize right away, and neither does she; just let the emotions run their course, and you'll both know when you're ready to make up."
"Hm. I did not see this coming." Garnet giggled. "The one who is naturally emotionally stable is getting advice on how to be emotionally stable. Funny how the universe works, isn't it?"
"Quiznack, the code break burned out." Matt cursed as he removed and examined the now heavily damaged device. "Sorry about that, Keith."
"You've done what you could, did you find Ulaz yet," Keith asked his friend as he walked over to him.
"Yes," Matthew answered as he brought up the schematics of the ship. "Ulaz is being held in a detention cell in the eastern quadrant; cell 46-Beta."
"All right, we know where to go. Let's get moving." Keith said as Thace opened the door; making Lance jump in fear.
"What have you agitated?" Thace asked the Altean Prince; who shapeshifted back to his normal self of him.
"Oh geez, maybe it's because one of the Druids decided to stop by and scare the ever living quiznack out of me!" Lance complained.
"Keep your voice down," Keith told him. "We know where Ulaz is and we'll be out of here soon."
The duo of Leni and Lucy stealthily walking through the labyrinthine system of roads of the Galra ship, the loud troop decided to divide into groups of two in different sections to cover more ground by the time the retreat hits.
Things were calm for the moment, with Leni taking down two sentrys before the alarm was raised and Lucy breaking a soldier's neck with her powers.
"Leni, I want to ask you a question." The gothic woman spoke after levitating the corpse to a hidden place.
"Sure, shoot." Leni checked the two sentrys lying around.
"Do you still carry that pill with you?" Lucy glanced over her shoulder at the blonde.
"Why do you want to know?" Leni asked.
"You may need it." Lucy answered clearly. "I feel strong presences inside this ship and it may be necessary for you to use it. I understand that it is somewhat embarrassing for you but this is life and death."
Leni opened her eyes briefly in surprise but closed her eyes and nodded to her sister-in-arms.
"Good, just wait for the right time for it." Lucy put a hand on the girl's shoulder and then gave her a nod. "Come, let's go back to-"
Immediately her eyes widened when her psychic barrier had been breached, there were many Galra and Sentrys soldiers rushing to her position.
"Let's go! They're coming!" Lucy took Leni and they both ran towards the others.
Something felt off; the group managed to sneak into the detention center which had far less security than usual for prisoner transports. They all knew something wasn't right and kept their guards up as they drew closer to cell 46-Beta.
"This still feels too easy," Garnet said. "But I still don't see anything with my Future Vision."
"Well, it could be that we'll all be making it out alive?" Lance suggested to the Fusion, who was unconvinced that was the case.
"We're in, quick." Thace said as he finished entering the code and the door to the cell slides open; where the physically tortured Ulaz was chained to the back of the wall.
"Ulaz," Keith said as he and Thace ran to their fellow agent and uncuffed him.
"Keith, it is good to see you again, young one," Ulaz told his apprentice of him as he was helped up to his feet of him.
"You look awful." Keith honestly said.
"I've been through worse," Ulaz admitted. "But I will be fine."
"Come on, old friend; let's get you out of here," Thace said as he and Keith aided the beaten and bloodied agent out of the dark room.
"Okay," Lance self-assuredly began as he turned around. "Let's get out of here before… EEE!" The Altean Prince squealed in fear as the group finds the Druid standing across from all of them; seemingly manifesting out of nowhere.
"Just as I predicted, I found not only rogue scum, two naive gems, and a group of insane humans, but the red paladin himself." The Druid maliciously began. "You all came here despite your better judgment telling you otherwise."
"How did he manage to sneak up on us?" Pearl asked aloud as she summoned her spear.
"I should've seen him coming!" Garnet frustratingly said to herself as she materialized her gauntlets.
"Your Gem magic is nothing when compared to the power that the Lord of Change gifted to me." The Druid responded with confidence. "Your reliance on that power made it all too easy to distort."
"We're not scared of you!" Matt said drew the laser pistol while Keith drew his swords, and Lance took out his bow from him.
"Oh, but you should be." The Druid taunted as Garnet charged at it and swung her right fist; only for the mysterious being to disappear into smoke, leaving a sinister laugh in the air
The corridors had turned into a desperate battle. Not after Lucy had warned the others of the incoming troops, was her path blocked by a few sentries who without hesitation shot to kill, both of them would have been a heap of smoldering wreckage had it not been for Lucy's quick thinking. summoning a kinetic barrier, thus blocking the laser beams of the Galra blasters, then with a powerful roar he pushed the barrier towards them turning them into crushed scrap.
Leni whirled back and unleashed a flurry of shots at a pair of Galra soldiers, taking down one whose side exploded in a rich fountain of blood and forcing the other to take cover to avoid the same fate as his compatriot. The two immediately passed over the destroyed remains of the sentries to search for the rest.
On the other side of the site: Lincoln and Luan were unleashing a powerful charge of laser fire towards a group of Galra soldiers, the poor bastards were being turned into Swiss cheese when they realized late that even while in cover, the beams pierced them like if it was nothing. A shot went through the left side of a soldier's helmet, killing him on the spot and another was pierced in the chest sharing the same fate after agonizing seconds.
Lincoln fired the infernal pistol at him repeatedly as Luan took cover from a few shots to the other side, then turned to the other room, unleashing several rounds at a group trying to outflank them.
"Look how those Xenos are roasted!" Luan shouted in glee, leaping out of cover to unleash a furious laser blast at the incoming sentries.
"We must regroup with the others immediately if we are to survive!" Lincoln took out a grenade from his belt and threw it towards the enemies causing an explosion that repelled them. "Go!"
The duo ran to the side shooting anyone who crossed their path, they activated their personal shields to block the shots that came from behind, one of the soldiers made his way through his companions and took out a large weapon similar to a rail cannon , the soldier kept the trigger pulled increasing the power of his weapon and when he released it, he fired a powerful purple beam towards one of the louds and hit Lincoln's shield in a reaping explosion that sent flying towards one of the walls of the corridor.
"Frak!" Lincoln, fortunately, was still alive after that crash but the impact against the wall dislocated his arm and his personal shield was damaged. "That hurt."
"Those bracelets did do any good after all!" Luan yelled after unleashing another blast at the Galra, driving them back; then he extends his hand to help her. "Let me give you a hand, haha do you understand?"
"Oh… how I wish to shoot you now."
"You may have a chance if you stand up and let's go back to the rest." Luan snorted and helped Lincoln up.
Lincoln looks at his sister-in-arms and nods when suddenly heavy footsteps were heard and instinctively they both turned to see a massive form rushing towards them.
"Look out!" Lincoln pushes Luan aside with his good arm and they both step aside to narrowly avoid being crushed.
The massive form hit the wall creating a large cloud of dust around it. The two Valhallans rise quickly to watch the dust and smoke clear to reveal a huge individual.
It was massive, it was as tall as a Space Marine. Only the armor he possessed was a little thin from the waist while his chest, arms and legs were as swollen as an Ork's, his armor was the same color as the other Galra soldiers, only his helmet had a pair of small horns on his head and a protective glass that covered his entire face.
Lincoln's eyes widened as the giant turned his attention to him and extended the five fingers of his palm which then ignited in crackling purple energy, similar to a power sword.
"Oh fraking thing."
Elsewhere in a wide corridor: several soldiers and sentries were gutted by Bolter fire from Lori while the rest of the girls were fighting off the waves that were coming for her; Luna with one hand fired her shotgun into a sentry's chest while shielding herself from enemy shots with her personal shield with the other, Lynn roared in utter fanaticism as she swept her overloaded rifle towards the enemies around her as that Lola and Lana were crouched covering themselves from the shooting holding the plasma pistols in their hands who were overheating after several consecutive shots.
Lori stepped out of cover to activate her shield and then aimed her Bolter at an incoming squad and her Bolter barked several times mowing down a few with the Sentrys exploding and some soldiers ripped apart by the explosive rounds of the weapon while causing the rest of the squad to search. coverage.
Some robots entered the end of the corridor bringing with them a heavy laser turret with a Galra soldier pulling the trigger, almost all Valhallan's eyes widened when they were immediately assaulted by an overwhelming laser blast. Everyone's shield was able to withstand some impacts giving them enough time to seek cover, Lynn fired repeated laser rounds towards the turret but to her horror she saw that the two sentrys on the sides spread their hands creating a shield of particles through an energy field, leaving her with no choice but to take cover from enemy suppressing fire.
"Girls!" Luna yelled at the twins with her back resting on a large rubble from the ship. "If you're done loafing around, shoot that damn thing into oblivion!"
"Don't tell me what the fuck to do!" Lola roared furiously having her plasma weapon still overheated.
"The machine spirits of our pistols are not playing in our favor!" Lana screamed, narrowly avoiding a beam from hitting her face. "We need a little more time!"
"I don't think we have more time!" Lynn screamed.
The intensity of the fire increased as reinforcements arrived, Lynn tried to target a few but her weapon was destroyed when she was hit by a gunshot. Lori and Luna were lucky enough to fire a few shots but the laser fire was so high that they couldn't get out any more.
Meanwhile the twins heard a simultaneous beep from their weapons and saw that the plasma guns were back in line. The two looked at each other and nodded, then took out two smoke grenades and threw them at the enemy soldiers.
The Galra soldiers were engulfed in massive explosions of smoke blinding them completely and this gave him the opportunity to launch his offensive with his personal shields activated and his plasma pistols pointed.
The results were promising.
The gunshots and the plasma cells hit the enemy groups in flashing white explosions that bathed almost all of them in boiling plasma, more shots were fired by the Loud twins, completely destroying all the Galra reinforcements.
Screams? No ... the throats of the soldiers were dissolved shortly after the plasma splashed on them, one of the shots hit the turret's particle shield severely damaging it along with the two sentries who were making it personal, the second shot went through filled and melted the entire torso of Private Galra along with the blaster turret.
"AAAAAAHAHAHAHA! What did you think of that, you bloody Xenos!? "Lola and Lana clashed hands in a victory pose while the rest of them stepped out of their makeshift cover." Those aliens were like a sizzling puddle."
"I have to say that literally saved our asses." Lori told the twins beforehand.
They all heard footsteps approaching and to their total relief they saw that it was Leni and Lucy; the two Valhallans looked exhausted after running a lot but they quickly came to their feet.
"I see they've taken care of the dirt ..." Lucy said as she gazed at the number of bodies of both Galra soldiers and sentries. "Nice job."
"Good to see you here." Lynn said with a nod.
"Aww, did you miss us?" Leni cooed as she poked his chestnut-haired cheek to her irritation.
"Some sign of Lincoln and Luan." Lori asked lowering her Bolter to the two women.
Lucy was silent, using her psychic powers to find the two missing Louds when she suddenly felt two strong psychic entities very close to them.
"CAREFUL!" Lucy swept everyone away with her telekinetic powers before summoning a psychic bubble to ward off an intense attack in the form of black and purple lightning.
As she stood up, Lori saw to her genuine surprise two Druids suspended in the air firing several beams of warp energy from their hands at the young psychic. The twins fired their plasma pistols at one of the druids who lazily extended a hand and created a barrier, the two shots hit his shield and the plasma spilled all over the shield and the druid did something surprising for both of them.
All the plasma that was leaking began to levitate and then form several tendrils of plasma liquid that surrounded the druid and with another gesture of the hand he sprayed the plasma towards the group which had to move to avoid being melted.
"Huf… it literally seems like the Xenos don't want to make things easy." Lori said with a look of hatred towards the descendant druids.
"Human filth." The druid on the left descended to the ground. "They have chosen this place as their next grave."
"Your meddling here will be punished with the most agonizing of deaths." The second druid pointed to each member of the troop present. "His decaying empire will fall before the mettle of our emperor."
Everything was in a deathly silence with all the women looking at each other for a few seconds.
And then they laughed.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "Waahahahahaha!" "Hahahahahahaha!"
All the women including Lucy were laughing uproariously with free will while the two were speechless at the unexpected reaction of the frozen warriors of Valhalla.
"You guys really get the cake!" "Neither Luan would have done better!" "You guys are such idiots!"
"Hehehe! That literally lifted our spirits! "Lori exclaimed after taking a couple of breaths to calm herself down.
"Scoundrels!" The druid roared in fury as he saw that his threats were taken as a simple joke. "They dare to mock the magnificence of Emperor Zarkon; The one who will be the ultimate lord of the universe!?"
"Your emperor is nothing more than a mere petty thug!" Lynn sneered with the rifle pointed at the Galra psychics. "Something that could be seen on an Ork Warboss."
"You are an idiot if you think that by using powerful energy cannons, they make them as dangerous as you think." Luna blurted out.
"No one can be as magnificent as the god-emperor of mankind." Lucy said with her hair rising as an ethereal flare manifested in her hand. "His sacrifice was what managed to make us as an unbeatable unit against insignificant plagues like you."
The two druids whistled in utter fury at the insolent humans; Let them talk all they want to talk, they will only get a painful death.
The others looked around for where their adversary could've disappeared to, while its laughter continues to echo throughout the room. Garnet turned around and found the Druid now standing literally in front of her and grabs the Gem by the face with black and purple lighting erupting from its hand as the Fusion screams in pain. Lance fires six energy arrows at the Druid who disappears and reappears away from Garnet.
Pearl runs towards her downed friend, but the Druid begins to intercept her; only to disappear once more to avoid the energy arrows.
"Garnet, are you okay?" The slim Crystal Gem asked her friend as she helped her up; discovering the Fusion's visor is destroyed and her third eye forcefully shut.
Lance fires more arrows from his bow, only for the Druid to disappear and tauntingly laugh. Before the Altean Prince could draw his next attack, the Druid appeared right in front of him; knocking his bow away and pushing him to the ground. Keith and Matt attack and shoot the devious magic user together, but instead of disappearing, the Druid manages to dodge each attack before releasing a burst of dark lighting at the two of them; burning their hands as they drop their weapons. Pearl lunges the Druid with her spear, but once again, the dark magician disappears; however, just as it materializes behind Pearl; the Crystal Gem quickly reacted and nearly stabbed her opponent before vanishing once more.
"Are you all okay?" Pearl asked Keith, Matt, and Lance as Thace, Garnet, and Ulaz headed over to check on them too.
"We're fine," Lance assured the Crystal Gem. "But you nearly got it there, how'd you…"
"It's trying to unnerve us," Pearl said. "Don't listen to its taunts."
"He-Hahaha! Such wise words from a soon-to-be-dead rock. He-Hahaha!" The Druids legion-like voice taunted as it dropped from the roof above with a handful of dark magic. The group manages to leap out of the way but are still hit the shadow-filled shockwave and knocked down. "He-Hahaha!"
Thace activates his Luxite Blade as he, Pearl and Garnet rushed the robed assailant all at once; but once again, it just vanished into thin air. Lance ran over to grab his bow while Druid re-emerged and dealt with Keith and his Red Bayard blade, but the mages dark magic quickly took care of the young Galra.
Lance picked up his bow and was about to draw but stops himself. Shooting a bunch of arrows isn't going to work; the Altean Prince closed his eyes and blocked out the Druid's taunts. Instead of focusing where he is now, focus on where it's going to be. The Druid vanished just as Lance opened his eyes and drew his bow; firing an arrow at Keith, flying past the Marmora agent's left ear and striking the Druid right as it reappeared.
The Druid screamed in pain as the energy arrow struck the mage's shoulder, and while it is distracted, Keith takes the opportunity to stab the Druid through its chest; the dark magician he let out short, agonizing groans as he knelt on the ground with blood draining from the wound.
"Victory… or death…" The druid gurgled before falling to the ground convulsing a couple of times until he stopped moving completely, leaving a pool of blood on the ground and his soul being claimed by his god of chaos.
The Red Paladin and the rest of the group looking the body for a moment and breathe sighs of relief.
"Let's get out of this place." Keith finally said and looking the young Altean. "Lance: call Lori and the other and let's go."
"How? We killed a Druid." Matt pointed out. "It's still have two more and every Galra on board knows we're here now, probably they are fight with them right now."
"Quiznack, is right, they are in danger." Lance hit the wall in frustration and then looked at Keith. "You have to go for them."
"We never leave anyone behind, Keith." Thace told his son.
"All you right." Keith nodded with a frown and turned to the way to go. "We must move fast if we want to catch up with them."
Lincoln dove to the side, narrowly avoiding receiving a bright slash from the Jugernaught that had suddenly attacked them, multiple slashes around the corridor as their huge pursuer ruthlessly attacked them. He and Luan shot him repeatedly in different parts of his body but his armor completely ignored the damage and he kept going.
In the end the two had to abandon their inferno weapons since they were too heavy and did not allow them to move with much freedom, I know that abandoning useful machine spirits is a serious sin in the eyes of the Mecanicum and the glorious hands that forged it but they had to do it for if they wanted to save their lives. At least they hadn't dropped their melee weapons like Lincoln's Chainsword or Luan's combat knife.
The man stood up quickly and swung his weapon towards the neck of the Jugernaught Galra who blocked it with his forearm creating a shower of sparks with the friction of the blades and the powerful Galra armor. The gigantic being put the weapon aside and kicked at the chest of the young human who grunted painfully as he fell a few feet away from him. Luan let out a roar as he slid to the side of the Jugernaught and slashed his right leg with his combat knife but it was useless as he only made an imperceptible crack in the suit, then got up quickly to take a few more slashes in. the chest before trying to stick his knife in the visor of the huge Galra but he stops his arm with an iron grip, then he turned his torso and with it the young woman to throw it like a rag doll towards a recently rejoined Lincoln now with the two thrown to the ground.
"... You're ... very heavy, lately." Lincoln groaned totally in pain.
"Ha ... very ... funny." Luan sighed with strong exhalations.
The loud footsteps echoed and they both turned to see the Jugernaught approaching menacingly until he was in front of them with an aura of total threat, then he raised his huge boot ready to finish the job when two sharp objects dug into his back causing him a remarkable snarl. He turns around and both Louds saw two Luxite sheets embedded on his back.
The Jugernaught sees Keith and Thace in front of him who had thrown their Luxite blades towards the huge Galra's back to redirect his attention to them.
"Guys!" Lincoln cried out in joy at seeing the possible salvation of him. "This is without a doubt the first time that I am glad to see a Xeno."
The huge Galra drew the two Marmora swords from his back in a fleshy sound, in them there was a remarkable amount of blood on the tips, then he nailed them through the walls and with a powerful growl, charged towards the two with his hands shining brightly. Energy. The father and son duo did the same and by the time he was close enough they slid across the ground avoiding a deadly double slash and grabbed the Luxita swords stuck in the wall and leapt towards the Jugernaught who recently turned around in surprise.
They both stabbed their sword simultaneously in the chest of the huge Galra who undoubtedly let out a cry of pain and pushed them both away from him, his armor was staining with his own blood from his recent injuries but that did not stop him from standing still. He tried to counterattack only to receive a few more stabs of pain in his back and when he turned around he quickly received a tremendous blow to the face that destroyed his helmet and made him fall a couple of feet away, in front of him was Garnet with one of his gauntlets summoned and Lance with his bow extended.
"I am so glad to see that they are still alive." Lance under his bow showing a serious but relieved face.
"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Let's take care of that later, they have someone to defeat! " Luan pointed to the Jugernaught who to her sheer surprise was still able to stand up.
The huge Galra stood up to look them all in the face. They all gasped when they saw the disaster of burns and scars that he had all over his face, this was undoubtedly the aftermath of the hundreds of operations that he had to be forced to undergo to make him more intolerable to pain. The alien monster roared in utter fury and lunged at Garnet in a desperate attempt to finish off at least some of them until he suddenly felt a bright flash on his face and then nothing.
The Jugernaught fell to his knees with most of his face smoking and fell to the ground with a loud crash, immediately everyone looked at Matt who was holding his laser pistol with a serious gaze, then he took a few more steps towards the dead Galra and finished him off. with one more shot.
"For safe." Matthew quickly explained in defense and took Thace's nod. Nobody said anything.
"Let's continue." Keith announced and immediately everyone ran to reconnect with those who remain.
Lynn slammed into the wall with a grunt as she was sent flying against the wall thanks to the heretical powers of the Druids, her laser rifle shattered after blocking a beam of warp energy from one of the Xenos wizards.
The rest of the troop engaged in an intense fight against the two druids who demonstrated a greater mastery of the warp power that Lucy possessed, speaking of the gothic woman, she was engaged in a psychic power duel with both throwing powerful warp flames at each other. so intense they could melt the metal around them while the others took care of the second Druid.
Lori's Bolter barked a few rounds as they hit the Druid's psychic shield, the huge projectiles sticking together for a second before exploding harmlessly around the Druid and she reached out to a large rubble to levitate it and hurl it towards the sergeant who I dodge it by inches before resuming its unsuccessful assault.
Lana fired a round of plasma from her cover while Lola was tending to a wound Luna whose left foot was shattered when she suffered an attack from the enemy; The plasma bullet exploded and bathed the entire barrier of the Druid without doing him any harm at all, the sorcerer Galra looked at the teenage blonde as if she were an insect and extended his hand where a stream of dark energy shot out from his fingertips. towards Lana who invoked her personal shield but the warp energy distribution caused the circuits to burn and the shield exploded throwing the loud girl to the ground.
"Sis!" Lola cried out in concern when she saw her twin lying on the ground but her worries ended abruptly when Lana lifted her thumb.
In all the chaos of the battle, Leni remained hidden in one of the pillars that was standing, it was obvious to see that the confrontation was not in her favor and it would only be a matter of time before some of them died, that was why The young sniper looked for a bottle from one of her pockets and when she opened she took out a pill that was bright yellow in color, she stared at the pill, this implement helps her deactivate said antibodies in her blood that suppressed the properties of her gene in order not to affect the psychic powers of her friend Lucy; she now she had to use it if she wanted to gain any advantage over battle.
So without further hesitation, Leni put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it.
On the other hand, Lori released another burst until she noticed the loud click of her Bolter when she ran out of bullets, she tried to find another magazine but realized that she no longer had, she was too focused on destroying these sorcerers that she did not find out that it was empty.
"Frak!" Lori screamed and threw the gun to the side of her to pull the combat knife from her. "Lola!"
"Yes!?"
"I want you to lend me your plasma gun, now!" Lori reached out her arm towards her.
"But he only has two shots left!" Lola pulled her plasma gun from her belt. "Are you sure!?"
"Yes, I have a plan, now give it to me!" Lori ordered.
Lola stared at the weapon for a moment and nodded firmly and threw the weapon into Lori's arms and wielded it along with her combat knife.
With her gaze on the Druid, Lori recited a quick prayer and prepared herself for what she was about to do.
"The Emperor protects."
Then he ran suicidal as fast as he could towards the druid who was about to fire his rays but the sergeant drew first firing a plasma bullet making the Druid go on the defensive with a psychic shield, the plasma exploded and Lori kept running, in As soon as the liquid plasma dissipated again, he fired again as he got closer, dropping the plasma pistol with him; She hoped this could work because thanks to her psychic knowledge taught by Lucy: 'Psychic shields only protect their user from attacks coming from outside but they do not protect them from inside her'
Then once the plasma slid harmlessly from the Druid's shield, Lori jumped up almost in front of the Sorcerer and raised her knife to stab him in the neck.
But she was arrested on the spot.
"Pathetic." The druid scoffed at the imperial sergeant's action. "Did you think that by charging me like this you could have a chance to kill me?"
With that, the Druid Galra began to put pressure inside the Lori, the sergeant began to growl in agony when he felt that his mind was expanding and wanting to go out through all the possible orifices, the act of torture seemed to last whole minutes but in reality only a few seconds had passed.
"How foolish you humans are ..." The Druid smiled wickedly into his mask.
Another battle cry was heard behind the two druids and they all saw that it was Leni who was approaching with a combat knife. The Druid who was facing Lucy extended his other hand and from it expelled a wave of purple warp fire that completely enveloped the young blonde.
"LENI!" They had all yelled the sniper's name with absolute horror on her faces.
But that was where something totally unexpected happened to those present.
Leni came out of the warp flames, completely intact! The Druid who made the attack couldn't process it any longer as the blonde Loud lowered her knife and stabbed it right in his forehead, killing him instantly.
"What! -" The remaining Druid, surprised, lost concentration for a split second and that was what Lori needed to escape from the telekinetic trap and stick her knife in the side of the neck of the sorcerer Galra.
The dark wizard gave a loud gurgling sound as he felt the ceramite knife reach her heart, immediately her lungs filled with blood and she escaped through the slits of her mask as her life slowly disappeared.
Lori with a grunt withdrew the knife and finished the Druid with a powerful knee on her mask leaving a horrible crack that left the druid on the ground and did not move again.
Everything was in total silence for a few seconds, until everyone could hear the sound of footsteps approaching and all prepared their knives for the fight to come.
But that was not necessary since it was nothing more than Keith, Matt, Luan, Lincoln and the others who arrived and were stunned to see the total massacre that occurred. Pearl seemed to want to faint and Garnet looked deeply disgusted. Only Thace, Ulaz, Luan, and Lincoln seemed stoic.
"It seems they didn't need our help after all." Matt muttered with his eyes glued to a Plasma-melted Soldier.
"Matthew!" Leni screamed and jumped over to the one-armed Holt and locked him in a powerful hug.
Normally Lori would reprimand her for this, but, she alone wanted to leave this place immediately.
Keith cautiously approached Thace as he watched the bodies of the Druids lying on the floor, then they both looked into each other's eyes and both Thace and the red paladin nodded to the sergeant regarding it.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Lori asked.
Thace nodded and looked at Ulaz over Lance's shoulder. "The package is safe, now we have to get out of here."
"Well. Then the mission is almost accomplished. " Lori nodded to herself.
"And we must hurry in case more troops come." Keith explained idly.
"Keith." Ulaz began. "Did all of you come in the Red Lion?"
"We came in a Lion," Lance answered. "Why, do you have a plan? Please tell us you have a plan?"
"This part of the ship may be strongly fortified, but I doubt that it'll survive a blast from a Lion." Ulaz began to explain.
"If a Lion can make a hole in this part of the ship; then everything will be sucked out into space," Pearl concluded. "Including us."
"But a Lion would be fast enough to catch us before we suffocate," Matt said, as he activated his comms. "Pidge, do you read me?"
"I read you, Matt," Katie answered.
"Okay Katie, I need you to fire the Green Lion's Maw Cannon below where this message is coming from; at least ten feet away," Matt instructed his sister.
After a moment of silence, a loud noise was heard from beneath ground the group stood on as a massive, green energy blast bursts out of the metal floor and sucks them all out into space; where the Green Lion quickly grabs them.
"Why didn't you tell me you would do something that crazy!?" Katie screamed over her comms as the other groaned inside the Green Lion's cargo bay. "You're lucky that I caught you in time!"
"Sorry for the scare." Matt apologized. "Now get us out of here."
"I'm on it." Pidge answered the still cloaked Green Lion maxed out her thrusters and flew back to the Castle of Lions with their rescued allies.
Bismuth dipped a red-hot slab of metal into some water, cooling it off as steam filled the entire room; which quickly vented out as Steven entered the muscular Gem's quarters. "Oh, hey Steven." Bismuth greeted the boy. "Did you need something?"
"I just wanted to tell you that Allura says the others are on their way back." Steven honestly told.
"That's good to here." Bismuth replied as she took the cooled metal and placed it aside.
"Do you want to join the rest of us in the hangar to greet them?" Steven asked.
"I don't think Garnet would like to see me after what happened." Bismuth honestly admitted, halting her work.
"Are you still mad at her?" The Half-Gem asked.
"No, I'm not mad at her anymore." Bismuth began. "I'm mad at myself because I let my temper get the better of me… I was hurt and wanted to hurt someone back, even though I knew it was wrong. I've forgiven Garnet for what she said… but I doubt she'll forgive what I said so easily."
Steven understood what Bismuth meant, remembering back to when Garnet was tricked by Pearl into fusing with her over fake emergencies; the Crystal Gem leader didn't handle it well. "But you guys are like Connie and me, you're your own Jam Buds… Gem Buds."
"What?" A confused Bismuth questioned.
"Pearl told me that you and Garnet are the best of friends," Steven stated. "If that's true then no matter what you both said to each other or did; nothing is ever going to change that. And I think she would appreciate you being there to welcome her back."
Bismuth lets out a sigh and looks at the teen. "You're right." The Crystal Gem admitted. "I need stop ignoring the problem and face it head on, whatever might happen. I'll meet you in the hangar in a few minutes."
The Green Lion enters the hangar; letting the group out. Pidge informed the castle that Ulaz, Luna and Lincoln was in desperate need of medical treatment; so Shiro runs over to help Keith and Thace support the three, carefully carrying them to the med bay.
Steven, Connie, Amethyst, and Bismuth were shocked to see Garnet and Pearl as beat up as they were and quickly rushed to their aid. While Allura, Coran and Elizabeht checked on Lance, Matthew and the rest of the Loud Troop.
"Are you guys okay?" Steven asked Garnet and Pearl with concern.
"We're fine, Steven," Garnet assured the young Crystal Gem.
"We encountered the Druid," Matt explained to the group. "It was a difficult fight, but we won."
"You found one?" Lynn question with a raised eyebrow. "We met two and boy did they kick our ass!"
"Language, soldier." Elizabeth zapped the Lynn's forehead.
"At least everyone made it back alive," Allura said relieved and happy.
Garnet and Bismuth stared at each other awkwardly, they both had something to say to the other; but weren't sure how to go about it. Pearl placed her hand on Garnet's shoulder in a supporting manner, nodding and telling her it's okay.
Bismuth took a deep breath before she looked her fellow Crystal Gem in her two good eyes. "Garnet." Bismuth began. "I know I said some things… things I shouldn't have said."
"I'm aware," Garnet answered. "I said similar things, too."
"Look Garnet." Bismuth began, working up the courage to say what she had to say. "I…"
The Castle of Lions' alarm loudly goes off as everyone in the hangar feels the ground rumble multiple time. "What's happening?" Amethyst asked out loud.
Coran rushes over to the nearest control panel in the room and accesses the castle's scanners; his face turning deathly pale upon learning what is happening. "A dozen Galra Dreadnaughts have dropped out of hyperspace!" Coran informed the others in a panic. "Along with Castle Doom!"
"Castle Doom." Allura said in disbelief. "That means Zarkon is here!"
"We have successfully found the Paladins base of operations, my Lord." Haggar respectfully told her Emperor; kneeling as he rose from his throne and undid his cape.
"Excellent." Zarkon nobly said to his most trusted ally. "It is time that I reclaim what is rightfully mine."
The climax of the fight between the louds against the Druids was inspired by a clip from the video 'Astartes' if you want to see it look for it on youtube.
The next episode is going to be the end of the arc and of the story in. Then I will open a new story that will mark as the sequel to the previous one.
Please rewied
