Steven groaned as his eyes slowly opened, and the ringing in his ears finally stopped. He forced himself to sit up and look around; he was on a bed in a room he did not recognize. "Where am I?" Steven asked himself as he rubbed the side of his head and noticed his neck felt a little stiff. He gazed down to see he had a mechanical collar around his neck. "What the... what is..." The memories of what happened on Galaluna were starting to rush back to him. How the Lions were restrained, how Stevonnie fought Sendak, and how he and Connie were... "CONNIE!" The Half-Gem looked around in a panic and spotted his girlfriend lying on another bed. "Connie!"
Connie's eyes slowly opened and slowly sat up. She tried to stretch her arms but discovered that her hands were cuffed. "What the..."
"Connie!" Steven shouted as he ran and hugged his girlfriend. She tried to hug him back, but couldn't; so, she just rested her chin on his shoulder in an affectionate manner. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Steven. I was going to ask the same of you." Connie said as they broke from the hug. "I'd hug you back, but..."
"Don't worry; I got this," Steven said as he grabbed her handcuffs and tried to pull them apart; but couldn't. "Come on! These should be easy to break." The Half-Gem stepped back. "Let's see if my shield can break them." Steven tried to summon his shield the same way he always does but found that it wouldn't appear. "What?"
"Hold on, let me see if I can summon our Bayard," Connie suggested as she stuck her hands out, but the weapon did not appear.
"It's no use trying to do that." A third voice spoke in a more upbeat tone. "That collar on your neck inhibits your Gem abilities. And your Blue Bayard is locked away."
"Who's there?" Connie asked as she and Steven stood ready for a fight.
In the corner of the room, a woman with an athletic body and crimson scales uncamouflaged herself. "Hello." She greeted with a forthcoming smile and wave.
"Um... hi..." Steven replied.
"I hope everything here is to your liking." The alien woman said as she pointed at the beds. "Apologies for the restraints; just a precaution for when my Emperor wants to talk to you."
"You're a Galra?" Connie asked.
"Half-Galra." The woman answered. "The name's Ezor."
"Where are we?" Steven asked.
"Well, I thought that it was pretty obvious that you're in a cell," Ezor replied. "But you got one of the fancier ones. All the others don't have beds."
"Where's General Modula?" Connie asked. "We know that you have him."
"Oh, that grump is with the witch; doing who knows what to him," Ezor stated. "I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."
"You know you're not going to keep us here forever," Steven told her. "Our friends should be on their way right now, and they're going to..."
"You know, you are kind of cute when you try to act all tough and threatening." Ezor teased. "I can't believe that someone as adorable as you, is actually a Paladin of Voltron. You, and your pinchable cheeks."
"My cheeks are not pinchable," Steven grumbled with a look of embarrassment. "Well, they were, but not anymore."
The door behind them suddenly slid open as several others entered the cell; one of them Steven and Connie recognized as Lapis. "Enough with the teasing, Ezor." Their leader ordered. "You're embarrassing the young man."
"Sorry, Lotor, just having a little fun," Ezor stated as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Who are you?" Connie asked.
"I suppose that introductions are in order." He said. "I am Lotor, son of Zarkon, and Emperor of the Galra Empire. A pleasure to make an acquaintance with the Blue Paladins. Steven Universe, and Connie Maheswaran."
"You know our names?" Steven asked, disturbed by that fact.
"I've done my research on you, with reliable sources," Lotor said as he looked over at Lapis and Narti.
"Lapis, you told us you weren't with the Empire." Steven reminded the blue Gem.
"At the time, I wasn't," Lapis answered. "But things have changed in the Empire, Steven. And for the better."
"How is this better?" Connie asked. "You're working for Zarkon's son. After everything that he did to you."
"I may be Zarkon's son." Lotor began. "But I am nothing like him."
"Forgive us if we have trouble believing you." Connie retorted.
"Fair enough." The young Emperor replied. "My father's evil has tainted the Galra Empire, and that taint is still present. I intend to cleanse it. We don't have to be enemies; we do have similar goals in mind; protecting the universe."
"You attacked a planet that was recovering from your invasion!" Steven shouted.
"Ranveig was the one who attempted to conquer Galaluna," Lotor stated. "I gave him, and my other soldiers order to find allies who'd fight by our side. Sending him was obviously a shortsighted error on my part."
"That doesn't change the fact that if you think we'll join you, you're wrong!" Steven shouted.
"The spirit of a young warrior," Lotor said in an amused manner. "I've seen it many times before. While you may have been treated better than most prisoners now, you won't be from here on out. Narti."
'Sleep.' The telepath communicated to the teens. Steven's and Connie's eyes glowed yellow and began to struggle. 'Your minds are quite strong for your age. But I am stronger. Sleep!' Eventually, the two of them passed out. 'They're unconscious but unharmed. I scanned them for any useful information. I gathered some, but I can't dig deeper without causing permanent damage.'
"It'll have to do," Lotor replied. "Zethird. Take them to their new cells. Imprisonment below should change their perspective."
"Yes, my Emperor." The General replied as she picked up the two teens with ease and left; Lapis accompanying her to make sure she doesn't hurt them,
"What about the other Paladins?" Acxa asked. "They will come for them."
"Yes, they will." Lotor replied with a confident smirk.
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"GRRRRRRRR!" General Modula grunted loudly; not giving Haggar, or her Druids the satisfaction of his screams as he hung from his hands chained to the wall.
"You're similar to a Marmora agent we've held deca-phoebs before." One of the Druids told the General. "He wouldn't break either. But unlike with him, we won't be so gentle."
The Druid fired another stream of dark lightning at the General, making him grunt loudly again. "GRRRRRRRR! GRRRRRRRR!"
"Enough, the Mistress wants him alive." Another Druid spoke.
"The Mistress also wants him broken." The tormenting Druid replied.
While the two Druids bickered, Witch Haggar worked at her table; mixing liquids and dusts together in an unholy amalgamation of science and dark magic. When she was done, all that was left in her mixing bowl was a black egg. The witch picked it up, brought it to her lips, and whispered to it in her demonic tongue. Cracks emerged across the egg, and a creature of smog hatched from it; flying into the ventilation.
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"I can't wait around any longer!" Amethyst said as she armored up and prepared to leave the control room.
"You can't go out there alone," Coran said as he stood in her way.
"Move, Coran. Or be moved." The purple Gem threatened.
"While I know for a fact that you could move me with ease, I'm not stepping aside." The mustached Altean stated. "The Coalition is working as fast as they can to come up with a strategy."
"We have Mutraddi and Galalunans who are scared and angry! And they're projecting all of that on to us! And Steven and Connie are in the hands of someone who is pretty much evil incarnate!" Amethyst bit back. "I'm tired of being patient! I'm not losing another Crystal Gem to the Galra!"
"Amethyst, I know this hard for you," Allura spoke up. "It's hard on all of us, but we need to be smart about this."
"The Galra managed to beat four Lions," Peridot added. "Now, we only have two that can fly."
"When the odds were stacked against us, we would just form Voltron to get back on top," Katie added. "We don't have that luxury anymore."
Then, the doors behind Coran slid open, making the Altean jump in surprise. On the other side, stood Keith garbed in Shiro's armor, minus the helmet.
"Keith?" Allura asked in surprise.
"We may be down one Paladin and a Lion," Keith stated. "But we're far from out."
"Does that mean..." Lance began.
"The Black Lion found me worthy," Keith answered. "I'm doing now what I should've done then."
"As we have seen, the Black Lion is faster than Red and stronger than Yellow." Pidge pointed out. "Having her out there will give us an edge, but not by much."
"Well, I say don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Lance said, before turning to his girlfriend. "I said that right, right?" Katie nods in confirmation. "It's a weird phrase, but always wanted to say it."
"We'll need to re-evaluate our strategy, now that we have the Black Lion," Peridot stated.
"The Black Lion isn't the only factor to take into account." Keith pointed out. "The Galra have a new fighter at their disposal. It's fast, tough, and the pilot's an ex-Marmora agent; a rather skilled one at that."
"Want to add anything else we don't know about. I don't think there's enough doom and gloom in the atmosphere." Amethyst sarcastically groaned.
"We know that the Galra have new weapons to combat their enemies," Keith stated. "Even before the Coalition existed. The Marmora have fought the Empire longer because we have learned to make patience a part of our lives. And through patience, we learn how to beat our enemies. Not through superior technology, or numbers; but by turning our enemy's strength into their weakness. Even the strongest offense and defense have an exploitable weakness. All we need to do is just find it."
"But, Steven and Connie..." Amethyst spoke up.
"Will be saved." Keith assured. "First we have to make a plan. Then, we get to our Lions."
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"There has to be a way out of here!" Connie said as she and Steven searched for something, anything that they could use to escape their new cell. "Maybe there's something I can use to get that collar off of you?"
"We'll find..." Steven began, only to stop and cough violently.
"Are you okay?" Connie asked as she ran to her boyfriend's aid; she placed her hands on his forehead. "You're not running a fever."
"I'm fine, Connie." Steven tried to assure his girlfriend. "The room must be musty or something. But when we get back to the Castle, I'll get myself checked out."
"But that's not the only thing bothering you, isn't it?" Connie asked as the two teens sat down.
"It's that obvious?" Steven sighed.
"It's seeing Lapis again, isn't it?" Connie asked.
"I just don't understand," Steven stated. "Why would she join the Empire? She told me that the Empire's different now, but what we saw on Galaluna... And then there's Ezor. She seems like she could be a nice person, but even she's with them. I just want to know why? Maybe Narti's brainwashing them, or it's Stockholm syndrome, or..."
"Or maybe it's because they believe in Lotor," Connie stated. "Not all tyrants use fear to rule. Sometimes, they appeal to a person's ideals to gain obedience. But whatever the case, we won't learn anything as long as we're stuck in here."
"Then, you won't learn anything at all." A third voice stated as the two Paladins hopped on their feet, expecting Ezor to pop out of the shadows.
"Who's there?" Connie asked.
"You're neighbor." The voice said as Steven and Connie heard banging from the wall next to them. "The name's Skinny."
"Skinny?" Steven asked. "As in Skinny Jasper?"
"How do you know that?" The voice replied.
"Amethyst told me." The Half-Gem stated. "She told me about you and the Famethyst."
"You know that amethyst?" Another snobbier voice asked. "Just what we needed, to be neighbors with Crystal Gems."
"Quit whining, Holly," Skinny replied. "It's not the worst thing to happen to us."
"We heard about what happened to the Zoo," Connie told them. "We're sorry about everything."
"Why? There's nothing you could've done then." Skinny replied.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but how are you all still alive?" Steven asked. "I thought Haggar would harvest all Gems."
"We would've been," Skinny replied. "But Lotor decided to have us imprisoned instead. Something about uniting the Galra and Gems under one banner for his new universal order."
"Haven't you tried to escape?" Connie asked.
"Escape?" Skinny replied. "We wouldn't make it ten feet without getting poofed."
"Besides, Homeworld will never take any of us back," Holly stated. "Not after we failed to protect Blue Diamond."
A moment of silence went by when Steven spoke up. "How about you come with us instead?" He suggested.
"Why would you take us in, we're enemies?" Holly asked.
"But we don't have to be," Steven told her. "We can help you escape, and after that, if you want to stay, you can. If not, then you may go."
"But how do we get out of here?" Skinny asked them. "Both of our cells are guarded, and we have collars that nullify our powers."
"We'll think of something," Steven assured, then turned to Connie. "Any ideas?" The Blue Paladins began brainstorming; when Steven got a thought. "I have one. Let's do "Get Help."
"What?" Connie questioned.
"Get Help," Steven repeated. "It's the oldest trick in the book."
"But that doesn't mean it works every time." Connie rebuked.
"Do you have a better idea?" Steven asked.
"Not at the moment," Connie admitted. "But we're not doing "Get Help."
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The guard outside the Blue Paladins cell stood their stoically but jumped as soon as he heard a scream from the girl.
"Help! Please!" She screamed. "He's dying! Get help! Help him!"
The guard began to panic, as he was fully aware of how valuable his Emperor saw these prisoners. And if one of them were to perish under his watch, Lotor would not look favorably upon it. The guard unlocked the cell and rushed in, only to be immediately jumped by the two teens and knocked into unconsciousness.
"I told you it would work." Steven gloated as Connie took the guard's rifle.
She placed the barrel of the blaster right on the locking mechanism of Steven's collar. "Stay completely still," Connie told him and pulled the trigger. The laser melted the lock, and the power dampening device fell to the ground. Steven summoned attempted to summon his shield and succeeded. He took Connie's cuffs and broke them off with his strength. "All right, let's free the others. Find our Bayard and Modula. And let's get the hell out of here."
The two teens rushed out of their cell, and Connie pointed the rifle at the digital lock of the Gems' cell and fired. The door slid open, and the two Paladins met Skinny, Holly, and two green Gems. "You two actually did it," Skinny said with surprise.
"We always find a way," Steven said as he walked over the jasper and broke off her collar, followed by Holly, then the two green Gems.
"Finally!" The two of them shouted with joy and hugged each other. Their bodies glowed a bright green and merged into one. The Fusion had a light green hue, and like any other fusion, she was larger than the sum of her parts. She looked like her components with the addition of two extra arms, six fingers on each hand, and four eyes. Her hair's a light green and styled into spikes on top, and messy on the bottom. She wore a green dress with puffy sleeves and dark green stripes located on the skirt, along with a dark green shawl with Diamond Authority insignias found on the trim. She also had a pair of tan, yellow boots with blue rings located on the ankles. Her gemstones were located on both of her cheeks. "It's so good to be me again."
"Ugh, disgusting." Holly spat.
"Who are you?" Steven asked the Fusion.
"The name's Lemon Jade." She replied. "But you can just call me Jade."
"Let's get out of here," Skinny said.
"We can't leave yet," Connie said. "Steven and I need to find General Modula."
"A friend of yours?" The jasper asked.
"Sort of," Steven replied. "But we just can't leave him here."
"We have our freedom. We should take it." Holly Blue stated.
"We're going to get the General," Steven said. "You three head to the hangar and stay safe."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to go alone," Jade asked.
Steven and Connie embraced each other and fused into Stevonnie in front of them. "I'm never alone." They said as they ran off to find the Galalunan General.
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"Emperor Lotor!" One of the bridge soldiers addressed. "Our scanners have detected a large energy rift forming not too far from where we are."
"Put it on the display screen," Lotor ordered.
The soldier did as he was commanded, and the display screen showed footage of the Castle of Lions emerging from a teladuv portal with the Green and Yellow Lion ahead of it. "So, they've come to rescue their friends." Commander Sendak stated. "Their value for the lives of others is a crutch. Deploy all fighters and destroy them!"
"No." Lotor countered. "Send our fighters, but not all of them."
Sendak glared at the Half-Altean. "Why hold back?" He questioned. "They stand no chance against us."
"The Paladins aren't fools." The young Emperor stated. "After what happened, Galaluna, they wouldn't blindly charge in like this, even to save loved ones. No, they would have a plan. They can't form Voltron, and they know what we're capable of. If they do indeed have a plan, it is not worth it to risk all our fighters."
"Then what do you suggest we do, my Emperor," Sendak said with disdain.
Lotor looked over at Ezor, Acxa, Narti, and Zethrid. "Take the Sinclines and engage the Lions. Do not take any unnecessary risks, and report everything you see."
'It shall be done, my Emperor.' Narti communicated as the four of them took their leave.
As soon as the four Generals left the bridge, Lotor's pearl quickly ran in. "My Emperor." She began. "The Blue Paladins and Gems escaped!"
"What?" Lotor questioned as he clenched his fist but raised his head as an idea came to him. He looked over at Lapis. "I know where they are likely to head. Come with me."
"Right." The blue Gem responded.
"Shall I send a security team to find them?" Sendak asked.
"No," Lotor replied before they left. "We'll handle this ourselves."
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In front of the Lions were a Dreadnaught and a few Cruisers. If the Paladins had to take a guess, Steven and Connie were on the former. So, they'll have to deal with the ships until they are safe. With no gravity in space, the Empire's reverse tractor beam strategy won't work; but they were still at a disadvantage of not being able to harm the most significant ship.
"Let's get our friends back!" Amethyst shouted over her comms as the Yellow and Green Lions charged into battle.
"Here come the fighters!" Katie informed over her comms as the Green Lion's scanners detected as a smaller squad of Ertos, Djalgs, and two unidentified ships. The two Lions of Voltron entered combat with their oncoming opponents. Several of the fighters engaged Lions with extreme tenacity, firing a barrage of lasers at the alien vehicles.
"Let's go, girl!" Amethyst shouted with determination as she rammed Yellow into a group of Djalgs before firing her Maw Cannon at some Ertos. But the Yellow Lion was then hit by a barrage of laser fire, hurting her and her Paladin. Two ships like the ones Keith described zoomed past, quickly turning around to fire another volley. "Keith, we've got two of these things now! We need you out here!"
"I'm coming!" Keith shouted over the comms.
The enemy fighters fired another volley, with half of them striking the Yellow Lion. The arm-like wings of the enemy ships sprouted a pair of blades from both sides, and charged the tougher, but slower Lion. But before they could strike, they were rammed into by a faster, harder-hitting object that seemed to disorient the pilots.
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"What the hell was that?" Zethrid angrily shouted from her co-pilot comms as Narti stabilized the Sincline.
"Whatever it was, it's fast," Ezor stated over her co-pilot comms.
"There's only one Lion that fast." Acxa said over her main comms as she stabilized the Sincline and got a good look at their new opponent; the Black Lion.
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"Amethyst. Pidge. Peridot." Keith began over the comms. "I'll deal with these two; you three take care of the other fighters."
"Got it!" "Understood." "Loud and clear." Amethyst, Peridot, and Katie all replied over their comms.
"All right." Keith said to himself as he gripped the Black Lion's controls. "Let's do this!"
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Allura and the other members of the Castle of Lion's crew watched the battle unfold. The Black Lion managed to hold her own against the two new ships, but the dogfight was very back and forth, with both sides continually gaining an advantage over the other. Meanwhile, the Green and Yellow Lions shot down incoming Djalg and Erto fighters to make sure they wouldn't interfere. All active crewmembers fired the castle's defenses to give the Paladins aid. But the Princess felt that there was more that she could do. But she doesn't know what.
Allura.
The Altean Princess heard a gentle voice call to her. If that was what she thought it was, she knew what she had to do. "Lance, I'm giving you command of the bridge." The Princess told her cousin.
"What for?" Lance asked.
"I have an idea that could greatly help the others," Allura answered.
"Would you care to share what you have in mind." The Prince asked.
"I'm not sure if it'll work," Allura admitted. "But I need to try."
Lance looked at his cousin and nodded. "Then go for it." He said.
Allura nodded back and quickly left the bridge.
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Stevonnie managed to avoid being detected, which unnerved them to a point. Not that they don't want to engage in conflict, but how strange it was no soldiers were there to apprehend them yet.
The human-Fusion stopped at the door for what they assumed to be a turbo lift. The door opened to reveal a small group of Galra soldiers inside. Stevonnie and the soldiers just looked at each other. "Before we get started." The Blue Paladin broke the silence. "Does anyone want to get out?"
The soldiers raised their weapons, and Stevonnie manifested their shield. They charged into the lift and fought the soldiers in the tight space. The Blue Paladin bashed one of their heads with the shield and kicked another to the wall. Then punched one right into the controls, which sent the lift upward. One of the soldiers tried to restrain Stevonnie, which caused them to drop their shield, but they headbutted him out cold, and Stevonnie punched out the remaining ones just as the elevator went ding. They then flipped the shield back into their hand with a quick stomp.
The Blue Paladin noticed that one of the soldiers was still conscious and picked him up with one hand. "Where's General Modula?" They asked.
"He's with the Witch. The first door, down the hall." The soldier replied in a cocky manner. "You can try and get him, but you won't get far."
"Thank you," Stevonnie said, then knocked him out. The human-Fusion moved onward but began to cough violently once more.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Connie's side of Stevonnie asked.
"I'm fine. I promise." Steven's side of Stevonnie assured as they kept going. They made it down the hall and arrived at the first door, which slid open, and they stepped inside with their shield raised.
The human-Fusion saw General Modula chained to a wall and ran over to him. "Are you all right?" They asked as they broke his chains and slung his arm around their shoulders.
"Your concern isn't needed." The General weakly replied. "But it is appreciated."
Stevonnie couldn't help but feel unease. They would've thought to have run into Haggar, or one of her Druids in here. But all that was in here was the General. The Crystal Gem was about to leave when they noticed on a nearby table, their Blue Bayard. The Altean weapon instantly dematerialized and manifested into their hand.
"This feels too easy." Connie's side of Stevonnie stated.
"I agree." Steven's side of Stevonnie admitted. "But I'm not complaining."
The human-Fusion carried Modula out of the room, only to run into another soldier. "Stop right there!" He ordered but was then electrocuted from behind and fell to the ground. Stevonnie saw that the attack came from and electro-whip wielded by Holly Blue, who was accompanied by Jade, Skinny, and two amethysts.
The first amethyst had pinkish skin and bright white hair and had her gemstone located on the back of her right hand. The second amethyst had violet skin and curly off-purple hair, and black, bushy eyebrows, and had her gemstone situated on her left shoulder. And both were garbed in Homeworld uniforms, with Blue Diamond's insignia.
"What are you all still doing here?" Stevonnie asked.
"We were going to leave after finding 8XG and 8XJ." Holly began as she put her whip away and looked at the amethysts
"But Jade talked us into going back for you," Skinny stated.
"We... I... didn't want to leave you here." Jade admitted. "Is that your friend you have?"
"Yes," Stevonnie answered. "Now, let's get out of here."
The Blue Paladin and the Gems moved out. They knew they needed to find the hangar but did not know where to look. Or even begin to look.
Stevonnie.
The human-Fusion heard the familiar, yet different, voice in their head; it was almost like the Blue Lion's, except... fierier.
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I hope you're excited for the next chapter. Stevonnie vs. Lotor. And Keith, Stevonnie and Allura settling into new roles.
Sorry for not updating for a while, I've been engaged in writing my other stories; like He Did It For Me – Steven's Legacy. Originally a one-shot, I promised to make into a full story if demand was high enough; which it was. I recommend you check it out.
Author's Note: The elevator scene is based on a suggestion by CoyotePrime1100, which was based on that one scene from Captain America: Winter Soldier. Also, the "Get Help" scene is based off of Thor: Ragnarok's scene.