Beauty in Darkness. Shadows of Change.

Moving through the shifting tunnels of the cavernous hive, Luna and I begin searching. Surprisingly, we don't see any more changelings inside. Unfortunately, I keep stealing glances at Luna. Specifically, the black energy swirling around her wrists.
What is that stuff? Is it really darkness? Or some sort of dark matter?

Response: That is inconclusive. Unfortunately, my sensors are having difficulty even detecting the energy. It emits no light, in fact, it seems to absorb light, it doesn't appear to have physical form yet it seems to have mass. No records of anything similar to it exists, in my records or Galra ones. It is truly a mystery.
Well then, let's see if we can get some answers.

~~Luna?~~ I ask, still walking beside her. She faces me.

"Did you find her?" She asks me immediately, her voice still thrumming with power.

~~No, but… Luna, what is that stuff?~~ I ask her. She looks down at her arms, only now seeming to notice the darkness flowing through her. She clamps her eyes shut.

"I don't know and I don't care. All that matters now is stopping Chrysalis." She answers, continuing to walk forward.

~~Luna, this could be important. Voltron says he has no idea what it is and he has extensive knowledge on just about anything. And from the look on your face, I can tell you recognize it. Please, tell me what's going on?~~ I plead of her, standing in front of her. She sighs and lowers her head.

"I do not know either but… for the past weeks, I have felt something following me. I felt something behind me when there was no one there. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I sat before the nobles of my kingdom. I felt a hand against my back as I stood before my soldiers."
What?

"I shared this with Shining Armour. I told him it felt as if… my own shadow was trying to get my attention, trying to tell me something but I couldn't hear it. He asked if I thought it was the return of Nightmare Moon but I assured him it wasn't. That feeling was urgent and active. And it felt exactly like this." Luna continues, clenching her fist, causing the darkness to pulse with her hands.

~~Why didn't you tell me?~~ I ask.

"I felt I could handle it. The only reason I told Shining Armour was because he implored that I seemed off. But now, I feel lost and confused and…" Tears started dripping from her eyes as she stared at her hands. "I feel as though the world has fallen out from under me and all I can focus on is what stands before me. I am scared, but I cannot show fear. I am confused but I must stay vigilant. I just wish-" I cut her off as I envelope her in a strong hug.

~~Let it out, Luna. I'm here for you and I promise I won't let you go. Alright? I'll be the rock you can stand on, as long as you promise to stay standing.~~ I declare. Lulu melts into my embrace, wrapping her arms around me and crying her heart out. After a minute, she stops and wipes her eyes.

"Thank you, Diego. I needed that." She says, her voice returning to normal.

~~Sometimes, it's good to cry a little. Now, come on Lulu. We've got a~~- I stop as I notice something. Luna has a small embarrassed blush on her face and a small wisp of energy is leaking out of her side. Hearing faint hissing, I draw my Bayard and chuck it at a dimly lit hole in the side of the wall, impaling a changeling on the tip of my halberd.
B*****d. I curse as my halberd reappears in my hand. Luna stares at the weapon in awe.

"That's a new one. I didn't know you could get new forms for your Bayard." Luna says, looking at the white weapon.
What? I think as I look at the spear-like axe, not recognizing it at all.

~~Holy moly, I unlocked something!~~ I shout in surprise, inspecting the unique weapon.

"Unlocked?" Lulu asks.

~~Yeah. I asked Voltron a while back and he said I have my own Bayard forms, not just ones from Legendary Defender. This must be one of them.~~ I say in awe. I spin the weapon in my grip, turning to walk back down the tunnel. ~~Come on. We got a runaway queen to catch.~~ I say over my shoulder.

"Coming!" Lulu says, her darkness calmly flowing around her.

As we continue looking around, I look back at Lulu to see her looking down at the darkness around her hands. She looks to be in deep thought.
Hey Voltron, any idea where Chrysalis is?

Response: No. I do not know how but she appears to have masked her quintessence signature. Either she is no longer in the hive or she has hidden herself in it.
Keep searching.

Response: Of course.
Thanks.
Looking around at the dismal walls of the hive, I keep looking for any signs of movement. Unfortunately, with the walls constantly shifting, it is a bit difficult to tell what was what.

"Where could she be?" Lulu mutters, looking around as well.

~~Don't know. And with the walls changing all the time, she could be anywhere. Voltron is looking around but he hasn't~~-

Notice: There may be a possible detection method for finding the queen.

~~Hold on, Voltron has an idea.~~ I say, stopping for the moment.

Recommendation: I will scan the walls of the hive for quintessence fluctuations, as there seems to be a set pattern of change for the hive walls.

~~Meaning that any changes not within the pattern may be because of Chrysalis. Good idea partner.~~ I say.

Gratitude: Thank you, Diego. Scanning now.

"Diego? What's going on?" Lulu asks me.

~~Voltron says the walls shift in a pattern. However, he is also detecting fluctuations from it, meaning someone is messing with the walls.~~ I explain.

"Chrysalis!" Lulu exclaims.

~~Correct. So, if we can find out where the fluctuations are coming from…~~

"We can track her down! Let's go." Lulu says, beginning to walk with me.

~~Voltron, track her down.~~ I order.

Response: Understood. Tracking now. Voltron says as I feel myself scanning the walls around me. We continue moving, walking slightly faster now.

Notice: I found her signature. She keeps moving through the walls, avoiding us as she shifts the walls around. She appears to be trying to lead us out of the hive. Voltron says as the lion face icon appears in my vision, moving around to my right.

~~Ten four. Found her.~~ I say, shifting my Bayard into its bow form. Materialising an arrow, I fire at the hive walls, hearing a shout of pain as the arrow lands. Chrysalis phases out of the wall, falling to the ground. I put my bow away as I hear her land on the ground.

"There she is. Let's go!" Lulu says, running towards her.

~~Right behind you.~~ I say, running after her. Suddenly a wall springs up around where Chrysalis is, forming a room around her. ~~Well, that's an inconvenience. Lulu, could you knock please?~~ I ask, my arm swept towards the wall.

"Of course. Open sesame!" Luna says, punching a hole through the wall with her fist covered in darkness. She flexes her fingers, the darkness around them shivering as she does. She seems to be thinking of something.

"S-stay away!" Chrysalis shouts as the wall begins closing slowly, a large hole in her arm. I grab the edges of the wall, ripping it further open.

~~Now now, that isn't how you treat your guests.~~ I sass her, stepping forward with Lulu. I draw my Bayard, forming my sword a moment later.

"Surrender Chrysalis. You can't win." Lulu warns her, her darkness winding swiftly around her body. The hole in the wall closes behind us, the only light now coming from me and Chrysalis's glowing green eyes.

"No! I will not be defeated so easily!" Chrysalis yells, firing a magic bolt at each of us. Lulu blocks with her darkness as the second bolt bounces off of me.

"You don't stand a chance Chrysalis. Surrender now and we can settle this peacefully." Luna warns her, her voice low and commanding.
Voltron, relay this for me.

Response: Of course.

~~And if you don't surrender, I will kill you.~~ I say, Luna looking at me with slight surprise.

"Command: Surrender or die." Voltron says as I raise my sword at Chrysalis. Other changelings quickly swarm from the surrounding walls, quickly forming into a wall around their queen. Their eyes glow a malicious green

~~Die it is.~~ I say, raising my sword before Luna suddenly raises her hand in front of me.

"Diego, wait. Let me handle this, please?" She asks me. I stand still for a moment, looking into Luna's azure eyes. I see her drive but I also see a spark of compassion.

~~Alright princess. I'll let you do your thing. But if they step out of line, I'm exterminating them.~~ I say, stepping back and sheathing my Bayard.

"Thank you, Diego. Now, I wish to have an audience with your queen." Luna says, stepping forward, her darkness receding into her clothes.

"An audience? After you attacked our queen?" One of the changelings hiss.

"She kidnapped me and forced my friend to come here against his will. We responded to that. But it doesn't have to be this way. As my sister would say, "we can find another way"." Luna says, standing regally. The changelings part slightly, letting us see Chrysalis again. I can see that her arm seems to have healed.

"I will not speak with you if that thing is with you." Chrysalis says, hissing at me. I feel tempted to raise my tail and shoot her but decide against it.

"Fine. Diego, will you give us some privacy, please?" Luna asks, looking back at me. The wall behind me opens again, letting more light into the room.

~~Alright. But if I hear anything, I'm busting the wall down.~~

"Thank you, Diego." Lulu says as I walk through the hole, it closing up again behind me.

(Luna POV)

I turn back to the wall of glowing eyes, my cloak of darkness shifting underneath my dirty clothes, bits of resin still sticking to them.
Ugh. I will have to have these cleaned when I get home. Back to the matter at hand. I think, looking Chrysalis in the eye.

"Why did you kidnap me?" I begin.

"Why should I tell you?" Chrysalis hisses at me. The wall around the room shakes with an impact.

"Diego would like to know as well." I say, my voice sharp. Chrysalis flinches before glaring at me.

"Fine. I kidnapped you so that I could have leverage over your friend. That thi-" I glare at her, stopping her hiss.

"His name is Diego." I warn, my voice reverberating for a moment.

"…Diego has more energy inside him then anything I've ever seen. If we were to feed off of that energy, we would have been able to sustain ourselves for years. Possibly decades." Chrysalis continues.

"Sustain?" I ask, confused by her words.

"Changelings all suffer from the Hunger, an ever present need for the light of a person's heart. Without that light, we wither and die." Chrysalis explains.

"Light… do you mean quintessence?" I ask.

"Quintessence? I have never heard of that." Chrysalis remarks.

"It is the energy that Diego uses. He says that quintessence is a form of life energy generated by living beings. But why are you so dependent on it?"

~~Their bodies don't function correctly.~~ Diego's voice muffles through the wall.

"What do you mean?" I call back to him, holding my hand up for silence, Chrysalis looking at me with confusion.

~~Their bodies don't process energy correctly. It's why they look so withered and malformed. They constantly suffer from cellular decay, their bodies constantly break down so they need more energy than what they have to survive. Therefore, they need to absorb, as Voltron puts it, "positive energy" to live. It counteracts the decay.~~ I hear through the wall.

"Do you know why that happens?" I call back again.

"Are you talking to-" Chrysalis tries to say.

"Shush." I quickly say.

~~It's a flaw in their biology.~~ Diego answers back.

"A flaw? Can it be fixed?" I ask, looking back at the changelings, seeing the holes throughout their bodies.

~~Voltron says it may be possible but he isn't sure.~~

"I see. Thank you." I call back to him before returning my attention to the queen. "Apologies. I just needed some clarification."

"Did you just talk to him?" Chrysalis asks in confusion.

"Yes. I am able to hear his voice."

"That doesn't matter. What were you talking about?" Chrysalis asks.

"The reason you need quintessence. Or "the light of the heart", as you call it." I explain.

"How does he know about it?" Chrysalis asks.

"Probably Voltron. A voice only he can hear that possesses a large amount of knowledge and helps him use his powers." I explain. Chrysalis looks at me with befuddlement before shaking her head.

"Ugh, you are speaking in riddles!" She exclaims angrily.

"Apologies if you do not understand. Now, back to what I was saying. You kidnapped me so that you could bring Diego here. What were you going to do then?" I ask.

"Hold you prisoner next to my throne so that neither of you could use magic, then drain Diego of his energy so that my changelings could survive." Chrysalis decrees. I almost chortle in amusement.

"That would never have worked." I say.

"I can see that. First Diego starts shooting blasts of pure energy with no effect from my throne, then you start throwing darkness around while also not being affected by my throne!" Chrysalis huffs, her hand moving her hair out of her face. "I just want my children to survive. Is that too much to ask?" She looks up at me, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"If you wish to survive, why did you not ask for help?" I question.

"Can you honestly say you would have said yes? Can you honestly say that your people would have accepted us?" Chrysalis rebukes. I look down in thought, realising that she was right.
Our subjects would have been appalled to help such beings. They would turn their back on them.

"Now you see. Desperate times call for desperate measures." Chrysalis says.

"I understand. You had to do what you did in order to survive. While I do not agree with your methods, I can understand your actions." I say, bowing my head. I lower myself down to the ground, hands on my legs with my head bowed. "Please, forgive me of mine. If it is in my power, I will try to help your kind." I say, to the shock of the queen. I hear knocking on the wall behind me.

~~Luna, what are you doing?~~ Diego demands.

"Please Diego. I know what I'm doing." I call back to him. He stops striking the wall.

~~I am right on the other side of this wall. If I hear anything happen…~~

"I understand." I call again. Chrysalis looks at me with confusion and suspicion.

"How do I know this isn't some trick to get me to lower my guard?" Chrysalis accuses me.

"On my name as a princess, I swear to help the changelings in any way I can." I declare, a mark of binding appearing around my horn.

"A mark of binding… fine. I hereby confirm that you have made an oath to me and accept it's responsibilities." Chrysalis says, to the shock of her changelings. "To the best of my ability, I will help you to make my children and I prosper, by the mark of binding you are bound to." Chrysalis decrees.

"By the mark of binding." I repeat.

(The Heart of the Empire)

"Your Eminence. We have received word from the hidden armadas. They are ready for combat and they have begun mass production of the weapons you designed." A druid reports.

"Good. Tell them to be ready for anything. We shall be deploying them as soon as the weapons are completed. How goes the quintessence mining occupations?" Zarkon inquires.

"Quintessence mining operations are moving swiftly. Outpost Alpha 3 reports a rebel attack against the base. All rebels and infiltrators were executed. However, outpost Sigma 18 has gone silent."

"What was their last transmission?" Zarkon asks.

"Code black. The Weblum returned. Outpost Sigma 18 has been determined as being destroyed." The druid reports. Zarkon growls in agitation. "Quintessence acquisition is 10% greater than anticipated. The excess has been diverted to the hidden armadas." The druid finishes. Zarkon leans forward, resting his chin on his meshed fingers.

"Good. You are dismissed." Zarkon orders, the druid vanishing a moment later.

Author's Note

This chapter was fun. Also, I surprised myself and my co with how long it was.

Bazinga.