Chapter 1: Introduction and changes
Chapter Text
MEGA MAN CRYSTAL HUNTER X
DISCLAIMER the followings is a non-profit Fan based AU crossover fan fiction Mega Man X is owned by Kenji Infuane and Capcom Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Rebecca sugar, please support the official release
Hi Everyone!
this is going to be my first Mega Man X story and first mega man story in general, in my second crossover of Steven Universe
in this story, we'll be seeing the maverick hunters of the future, mega man x and his best friend zero join the crystal gems in their fight to protect earth from their own home, and from those that were normal gems, now reduced to mindless beasts, as they fight to return home, helping the crystal gems in their fight along the way
it's also gonna include a few twists of my own on the mega man X universe, as well as Steven Universe
Also, I assure you I haven't given up on my marvel and Steven Universe crossover, please check that out when you get a chance
here are the changes in this crossover for both worlds
For Mega Man X
Character Changes (includes enhancements for unarmored and armored for mega man x, zero and Axl)
Mega Man X can switch from unarmored to any past armors or mix and match past armors via an upgrade from dr light's capsules
Zero and use his Z-saber and Z-buster just as well,
Z-Buster Power is equal to Z-Saber
Mega Man X and Zero can learn new special weapons and techniques by touching their opponents arm (namely mavericks and potentially gems) as an alternative to defeating them
Mega man X and Zero can use both of their arm busters simultaneously if nesscary
Zero's power is on equal footing with mega man X
Axl's copy chip is more powerful then canon, on pair with the new generation reploids (but without the data of sigma)
Axl can stack transformations after his upgrade (look for the White Axl upgrade in story changes AU below for more information) transformations include defeated mavericks from X7 to command mission and can use their move sets including annihilator hadouken from ninetails
Axl's transformations can mimic their voices as well
Mega man X has access to hadouken, shinku hadouken, shoryuken and shinryuken in any armor or even when unarmored
Mega man x's armors have more enhancements then in canon
The Golden Chip (Hyper Chip) can affect any armor, depending on which X is wearing if he needs to use the chip
Mega man x can use his buster on both arms (inherited from wearing his second armor in X2)
The plasma shots are more effective
Mega man x and zero are more durable then in canon
Mega man x can access all his previous special weapons from the previous canon games, the same goes for zero and his techniques via stacking internally
Mega man x's unlimited potential continues to grow and evolve
Zero has access to his black zero and absolute zero forms
Axl has access to his stealth and White Axl forms
Absolute Zero can still use his weapons, including his Z saber and Z-Busters and his melee arsenal
White Axl is it's own upgrade for Axl it's appearance and color scheme is reader's choice
Story Changes (canon)
Follows the mega man X5 good ending for 3 years later
X1 follows the same elements as maverick hunter X (including the day of sigma OVA)
Story changes (AU)
Sigma is gone for good, just like in X5, he was never resurrected in X6 (this time, he stays dead)
Iris is alive (i believed zero deserved better)
The events in mega man X4 turned out different, due to the colonel of the repliforce disarming and coming in for questioning as a show of good faith, to clear the repliforce's name, and he knew it would be what his sister would want for her brother to do and most importantly, swallowed his pride
with magma dragons defeat, Repliforce's name has been cleared
the government and the maverick hunter organization in general have a stronger moral compass and is more fair
In X5 Zero didn't die and X didn't get killed by sigma in his last moments
The stories of X6, 7, 8, and Command Mission have been altered as spin off stories during the 3 year time skip after X5's good ending
Lifesaver never instigated the fight between X and Zero
Dynamo fought his last battle in zero space
X never left the maverick hunters in X7 and took the fight to red alert alongside zero
Lumine remained the mastermind behind the jakob project and the new generation reploid incident
Vile stayed dead after X3
Dr light continues to watch over X
Red and Gate are their own masterminds of their own incidents in X6 and X7
Lumine didn't strike Axl's head crystal in the ending of X8 and was destroyed by the maverick hunter trio
Axl's White Axl, Stealth mode and copy chip upgrade came from an upgrade chamber at maverick hunter HQ curtesy of Douglas due to prior research on Axl when he is in need of repairs
Armor enhancements (changes to the mega man x armors and zero's two forms from canon)
The first armor (light) helmet upgrade can headbutt enemies
The second armor's (giga) tracer doesn't use up energy
The third armor (max)'s GPS helmet function is more accurate to the surroundings and doesn't show just the map
Fourth Armor can switch between both of it's arm options,
Falcon Armor and Ultimate Armor can infinitely use hover or flight
Falcon Armor Can Charge Special Weapons, has an indefinite air dash
Gaea armor has faster dashing speed then normal, can air dash, has faster charging speed and allows usage of parts and special weapons, has twin jackhammer punches, has more decent mobility and maneuverability
Shadow Armor has faster reaction time, faster running speed, can air dash twice at a time, can cloak or camouflage for stealth, has a quicker charge up time, can use double busters for ninja star shots when need, can use indefinite hover, glide via a hidden wing pack on the back, or full indefinite flight, it has it's own sabers, can still use it's giga attack, it has it's own nova strike
Blade Armor has it's own sabers (which can be used left, right or both if needed) and when mach dashed downwards can perform a devastating ground pound,
X-Fire has normal armor effects, the X-buster in this armor can also be a flame thrower, as well as make shock based attacks, can still use special weapons
Ultimate Armor has a healing factor, unlimited special weapon energy usage (normal and charged), indefinite air dash, hyper charge, can switch between it's X4-X6 form to command mission form at any time, can still use special weapons in either form
Black Zero has indefinite hover, is faster mobility, agility and speed, has the same effect set in X5 and X6, further dash distance
Absolute Zero has indefinite flight, a chest blaster form the orb on the armor's chestplate, allows both special weapons and techniques, has hover boots and two small jets on the backpack to stabilize or boost flight if necessary, has more endurance and faster mobility, agility and speed, has a cloaking device, can teleport when using the calamitous arts technique
Axl stealth mode has an unlimited cloaking duration, cloak covers his weapons and transformations as well
White Axl has indefinite flight capabilities alongside indefinite hovering, increases durability mobility, agility and speed, adds more power to weapons, copy chip, A-trans and copy shots are even more powerful in this form and still has unlimited transformation time
Special Weapons Arsenal Changes
Includes weapons and techniques from X1 to X8 for X and Zero
Rolling Shield charged shot is much stronger then canon and X can still fire his weapons in it
Shotgun Ice's charge shot can be used as a freeze ray
Electric Spark and thunder dancer can also be used to power up machinery
Dark Hold can be turned on and off at will and special weapons and techniques cans till be used while it's active
Certain special weapons can be fired rapidly,
Zero's techniques don't require weapon energy
Aiming laser can lock on to more targets then canon
Soul Body charged shot can mimic X's current appearance wether he's armored or unarmored
Zero's Twin Dream has a longer duration
Tenshouha is used as an alternative name for rakkouha
Meteor rain is more powerful, and can ricochet either hitting a wall, or a ceiling
For Steven Universe
Canon
Steven is 13 years old
a Week before Gem Glow
The crystal gems are still defending earth and hunting corrupted gems
Story changes (AU)
The hourglass is more powerful then canon and is powerful enough to access alternate timelines
Lapis never got trapped in a mirror and has received training from the crystal gems and is a lot more friendly then canon
pink diamond never left spinel behind and she is now a member of the crystal gems
Bismuth didn't succumb to bloodlust and got bubbled like canon and never developed the breaking point
Steven has been to the hospital before, and has a medical profile
greg teaches Steven homeschool and is more responsible
Steven and Connie are friends (I'm not good at romance, sorry)
the maheswarans are less strict and more supportive of connie and allowed her to have a circle of friends from the beginning
the diamonds use sizeshifting more often
blue diamond has more experience in battle then canon
spinel, bismuth and lapis each have their own rooms in the crystal temple,
Steven has a wider circle of human friends then in canon
thanks to bismuth the crystal temple has a wider arsenal,
the diamond's power works on humans (except destabilization)
the diamonds have their own weapons
lapis and spinel have their own gem weapons, crafted by bismuth
Whoo! that's a lot of stuff and changes!
also, I'm not even sure if I should include Axl, to be honest, I'm neutral about him, I just think people would be more happy to have the titular maverick hunter duo x and zero
if you want me to include Axl or not just let me know and I'll see what I can do, even add the change to him on the changes list if he gets in
UPDATE (July 8 2021) Axl is added to the roaster with his changes and enhancements
anyways, the reason I made a lot of changes to the mega man X series and to X, Zero, and Axl was because I thought that since this isn't going to be like the games, they would need to be at their best/prime and with they're entire arsenal to boot to, if they are going to battle homeward and the diamonds eventually
honestly, I feel like I've created a monster
and as for the crystal gems having more members from the start, I thought about if spinel, lapis, nor bismuth were not left behind they would be a great asset to the crystal gems
and I'm really looking forward to writing this story,
if I need to tweak anything in the changes please let me know,
and now, let's begin our story of the maverick hunter alliance from the future with the crystal gems...
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Chapter 2: Chapter 1 Prologue + Opening Stage
Chapter Text
Warning the following paragraphs below contain spoilers for the entirety of the mega man X series, including some changes for the story of X4. If you haven't watched it or played it, please check out the series before continuing. Also, you don't have to read this whole prologue narration If you don't want to
In the year 21XX...the 22nd Century, a golden age of robotics and technology emerged thanks to the discovery of a sleeping blue android inside a lone capsule in an abandoned laboratory found by the archaeologist and scientist Dr. Cain, gave birth to a new breed of robots dubbed reploids, intelligent humanoid robots with the incredible ability to think, feel and act on their own accord, however, none of them could compare to the sleeping robot who had been awakened from the capsule, for this blue android housed limitless potential and can think and feel more deeply than normal reploids and can grow and evolve as he fights, his name was Mega Man X .
However, as peaceful as the first few months of harmony among humans and robots were, it did not last, for even as dr cain used mega man X's design to give birth to the reploids, he couldn't comprehend the dangers of immorality upon the reploids as reploids started going berserk and committing violent acts of crime and destruction, as a deadly virus was infecting those reploids who were then dubbed, mavericks afterward dr. Cain, seeking to atone for his mistake, created an anti-maverick task force dubbed "maverick hunters" led by their commander sigma, who was one of the most advanced reploids of their time, with X among them as a B class hunter .
The maverick task force was victorious in numerous missions to destroy the Mavericks who seek the destruction of the earth,
however, garma's maverick Hunter unit located a secret laboratory and unearthed another capsule containing a Red, white and green Android who, upon awakening, slaughtered the maverick hunter unit. His name was Zero .
The maverick hunter commander himself, Sigma stepped forward to engage in a brutal showdown with Zero in which Sigma nearly lost until suddenly, zero's head crystal showing a W symbol disorienting him, Sigma taking this opportunity, threw one last defiant punch at zero's forehead shattering it completely and emerged the pyrrhic Victor, and requested zero be repaired and analyzed by dr Cain,
After reawakening, zero didn't show any more signs of his maverick behavior and placing his strength at the Maverick Hunter's command. He was enlisted into the 17th elite unit as an A-Class Hunter, where he became a mentor and best friend with mega man X, who was hesitant as a hunter but still willing to help .
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In the next few days that followed, the maverick hunters continued to battle crime throughout Abel City under Sigma's command. Zero continued to mentor and comfort X in his times of hesitation due to being a pacifist at heart .
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However, after a discussion with dr Cain, Sigma seemed to begin to change as the aftermath of his fateful battle with zero came in full swing. Though Sigma was designed to fight off the infection of the maverick virus, it didn't bend him to its will. The deadly virus merged with Sigma's programming, becoming one with his body and mind and emerged even stronger than before and with a new outlook on humanity, viewing it and the world as something holding back the true potential of reploids and thus, must be terminated .
Sigma's first act as the master of the Mavericks was to use a berserk mechanoid as a distraction for the hunters and then release ex hunter Vile from his imprisonment due to his violent behavior. After attacking X and Zero, Sigma launched all the missiles store in a missile base miles away from Abel city, causing widespread havoc and destroying many lives and property. In his rage, X snapped, tapping into his limitless potential and scarred Sigma before finally shutting down, zero barely surviving his injuries during the fight brought X back to Maverick Hunter HQ. Afterward, new commander Signals was made the new Commander. Sigma was condemned alongside vile as a menace to all humanity, thus making it mega man x's duty to fight them and the Mavericks who followed them.
As X battled across a highway on Abel city, he encountered vile who was determined to destroy X out of nothing but sheer jealousy in which he aimed to achieve it by using a massive ride armor mech suit, in which X was hopelessly outmatched but before the final blow was struck by vile, Zero charged in and saved mega man X by blasting the ride armor's arm clean off with his Buster, vile barely escaped, X, doubted himself. However, Zero still held confidence in his best friend, telling him if he keeps on fighting and uses all of his powers, he may be able to grow stronger, perhaps more powerful than Zero himself...
After battling through 8 mavericks who were former hunters gaining new weapons along the way, X encountered five mysterious capsules, each containing an upgrade for his systems and body, all designed by his creator, the late dr light, who had X sealed away, understanding the dangers of free will and robotics and thus sealed him away for morality testing in which was successful upon awakening and had these capsules scatter for X to find, in anticipation that the world would need a new champion. Afterward, zero discovered the location of Sigma's fortress, and the duo set out to end the former Commander's reign of terror .
battling through the defenses and resurrected mavericks x and zero came across vile once again with his ride armor once again weakening X, but zero jumped at the ride armor and sacrificed himself to destroy it, and X destroyed vile in a rage afterward, Zero, with last breath, encouraged X to fight Sigma and lent X his Z-buster parts to fight him, before finally succumbing to his wounds
Determined to avenge his fallen best friend, X finally confronted Sigma, first battling his robotic wolf and then battling the former Commander himself in battle, but just as he was defeated. His body exploded, Sigma's head remained, and was suddenly attached into a giant mechanical wolf-like body, leading towards a climactic final battle which ended in X's favor as the gigantic fortress then exploded, but the victory was bittersweet...x and the maverick hunters mourned the loss of zero. He knows that he will have to fight once again against the mavericks .
However, the war was far from over, as Sigma's mind survived due to becoming one with the maverick virus and swore revenge against X as he will soon possess new bodies to fight him. During the six months that passed afterward, X discovered that he could stack his special weapons and Armor and switch back and forth at any time thanks to finding a secret 6th dr light capsule, the dash ability was even integrated into his systems, but with which there would be many more to come...
The remnants of the rebellion were led by the X-hunters who swore to fight X for Zero's new body parts. Meanwhile, when zero's original body was destroyed, the maverick hunters possessed his control chip, so it was possible to bring him back. However, the blueprints for his original body were too complicated to replicate, and there was only one man who understood Zero's design and creation...the late dr wily .
Mega man X accepted the X-hunters' challenge and battled all three of them for zero's new body while also handing 8 new mavericks along the way, Dr. Cain worked hard to resurrect Zero by installing his control chip into his new body and was successful as the crimson maverick hunter was reborn with new weapons. Meanwhile, X battled his way through the X-hunters' fortress while battling the maverick trio again, but by the end, he fought off with Sigma once again in a newly rebuilt body, and the true nature of his revival was revealed, Sigma's true form is that of a deadly computer virus, called the sigma virus that can turn reploids and mechanoids alike into mavericks, thus allowing Sigma to return in a new body again and again,
after defeating Sigma a second time, the maverick hunters were forced to fight Sigma again, and his infected accomplice Dr. Doppler, his minions bit and byte, and a resurrected vile who had used a fake vaccine for the sigma virus to lure reploids in as new recruitments into Sigma's ever-growing forces after fighting to doppler again and Sigma again, X and zero implemented an actual vaccine, and temporarily kept Sigma silent for a while
Sigma soon returned with a plot to turn the maverick hunters and the Repliforce against each other with a temptation to the general. When that failed, Sigma ordered ex-maverick hunter magma dragoon to make sky lagoon fall and make it look like the repliforce was involved. After the battle, X and zero met the colonel, who came by to disarm and come with the maverick hunters for questioning as a show of good faith and to clear the repliforce's name. His sister, iris, lent her assistance as well. Zero took up an interest in iris, seeing her as the love of his life over time as he and X battled the mavericks who were trying to tarnish repliforce's reputation. After fighting them, the maverick hunters learn that Sigma is launching an orbital laser cannon aimed at earth. X and Zero wasted no time reaching the orbital space station, defeating Sigma, destroying his orbital cannon, and thwarting his plans once again. Afterward, zero pursued a relationship with iris, who was permitted to be a full-time maverick hunter navigator, but her brother would often visit from time to time .
Several months later, it was soon time for the final battle with Sigma. He hired a mercenary named Dynamo to infect the giant space colony Eurasia and set it on a collision course for the earth. Meanwhile, x found zero injured at a sector of Abel city, there he encountered Sigma in a head-like form, upon defeating him. However, it soon turned out Sigma lost on purpose, as the sigma virus suddenly spread worldwide, making mavericks everywhere by. They also got word of the damaged and infected space colony Eurasia, and they had 16 hours until impact .
with the doomsday clock ticking, the maverick hunters quickly come up with a plan to destroy the space colony with the help of an aging super cannon called the enigma, but to make it work again, they need 4 parts, and 4 mavericks possessed them, X and zero wasted no time in getting to them with iris continuing her work as a navigator for zero, after collecting the parts for the enigma the base was under attack by Dynamo in which X and zero intercepted him forcing Dynamo to retreat,
afterward, the maverick hunters, with the fate of earth hanging in the balance, fire the enigma cannon, and it was successful in obliterating the space colony, thus averting disaster, but there was still more work to do as there were 4 more mavericks to take down
But there was one last thing to do: X and Zero were sent into a cyberspace-like world called Zero space in southeast Asia at point 11F5646, which was created when occupied by a new virus strain. The zero virus, which was created by the sigma virus and the colony virus created by the infected Eurasia, X and zero set out through zero space to investigate and end the threat of Sigma in cyberspace once and for all,
while there, X and Zero encounter dynamo one last time and destroyed him for the destruction he caused at Eurasia. Afterward, they confronted Sigma for the last time, where he explained why he infected Eurasia and sent it on a collision course...
it was to awaken zero's true self to destroy humanity and accomplish dr wily's dream of world domination, even if it meant destroying humanity with zero
Enraged x and zero defeated Sigma for the last time as his programming and AI vanished entirely from the network along with zero space, deleting Sigma permanently. However, x and zero spent 2 months being repaired afterward due to their final battle leaving them heavily damaged. Still, the maverick hunters were grateful the x and Zero will live, especially iris .
In the three years that passed since then, the maverick hunters dealt with the remnants of the maverick virus. Their later adventures included battling Gate, the mad scientist, Red, the greedy gang leader. While fighting him, they gained a new ally named axl, who is a prototype of a new generation of reploids and can mimic any reploid and perhaps anyone. Then The maverick hunters battled Lumine of the new generation reploids, Epsilon of the rebellion army, and the manipulative Colonel Redips.
During the years that passed, X became more optimistic and more willing to fight if he has no other choice. Zero became more open and happy as well, thanks to his relationship with iris. Axl also became more mature and understands more why the maverick hunters risk their lives every day, and maverick crime was at an all-time low without the influence of Sigma .
X enjoyed the peace, but something in his heart can't shake off a feeling of impending danger, for he and his maverick hunter allies would soon embark on another adventure in an alternate time...
This is the story of Crystal Hunter X!
in another time on the Present-day 21st Century
In a small town named beach city, there lived a young boy named Steven in his house, the crystal temple alongside the crystal gems his guardians. They were getting ready to take off to the sea shrine underwater, where they hope to find the legendary hourglass of time, an artifact that enables time travel, and it only reforms every 100 years.
"steven! are you ready?" called pearl from downstairs "we have to leave soon!"
"oh! right!" called steven as he went downstairs. "I'm coming, guys!"
Steven went towards a crystalline warp pad. There standing on it were garnet, amethyst, and pearl, and soon as steven stepped on it, the warp pad glowed with power and transported the crystal gems to the sea shrine, which looked like an ancient temple underwater at the bottom of the ocean. at the center of the temple stood a thousand hourglasses
"whoa! look at all those hourglasses!" awed steven as he rushed to the center of the temple, the other crystal gems following suit
"Okay, everyone listen," said pearl "we have to be careful which one we choose. You remember what happened last time."
"What happened?" Asked steven
"the sea shrine flooded, and it wouldn't reform for another 100 years," answered pearl.
"But wait, don't gems not need to breathe underwater. What would really be stopping you from coming back?" Asked Steven
Pearl was about to retort but relented when she realized he was right. Just what were she and the other gems thinking?
garnet, amethyst, and pearl spread out as Steven searched the nearest corner of the hourglasses until he came across a smaller orb-like hourglass
"hey! How about this one here?" Asked Steven, pearl rushing over to his side
"what one?" Asked pearl looking at the orb
"This little one, it's ador-orb-able!" Said Steven with stars in his eyes
"Steven," scoffed pearl as she walked towards a bigger sized hourglass, "the legendary glass of time won't be so small and insignificant. It'll be beautiful and grand, like this one!"
"I think it's this one," beckoned garnet.
"whoa..." awed steven.
"you mean the biggest one?" Asked pearl, "how are we even supposed to get that back to the warp pad?"
"I can carry it," smirked garnet popping her knuckles.
"wait, remember what I said earlier. We need to be careful," cautioned pearl.
"what about this one?" asked amethyst as she views another odd-shaped hourglass.
"oh! what about the one I picked out!" suggested steven as he turned to the one he found
"wait, steven! are you sure it's the right one?" asked pearl.
"maybe, but I'm gonna give it a try!" said Steven as he ran towards the orb hourglass. "I'm gonna get the one I picked out!"
"STEVEN!" called garnet and pearl.
.the young gem hybrid ran towards the hourglass orb and picked it up
"my name's steven. You're gonna live with me!" said steven cheerfully as he then pocketed the orb.
The gems looked around nervously if the sea shrine would flood the whole room, but after a minute, nothing happened. It appeared the one Steven grabbed was the right one.
"w-w-what!?" Stuttered pearl in amazement. She couldn't believe it The so-called small and insignificant orb was the correct hourglass! "But how?!"
"well, it looks like this small and insignificant glass of time was the right one!" Cheered Steven "yay!!"
"well-done, steven," smiled garnet "you made the right choice."
"Thanks, garnet!" Said Steven, "does this mean we're done?"
"yes, let's go home," nodded garnet.
"hang on. I'm coming!" Said Steven rushing towards the warp pad."
"Right behind ya ste man!" Joked amethyst as the crystal gems got onto the warp pad, and we're transported back to the crystal temple
after they returned home, Steven rushed up to the stairs
"hot potato!" He cheered As he then looks at the gems holding the hourglass in his hands, "so, what are we gonna do with this?"
"I dunno, dude," said amethyst "if this glass can take us through time, I really dunno where to start with that..."
"Well," said Pearl as she stepped forward from the warp pad, "now that we have the hourglass of time, we should have it locked away for safekeeping."
"Okay, but where?" asked steven
"I'll bring it inside the temple," garnet spoke up.
"great idea, garnet!" chimed pearl "steven, would you please hand us the hourglass?"
"sure thing!" smiled steven as he began to walk down the stairs, but then, the door swung open. There was a blue gem with waterlike wings and wore a dress.
"guys! Thank the stars you're back! I've got Bad news!!" cried lapis with worry as she dissipated her water wings "centipeedles are crawling all over beach city! melting everything in sight, and some of them are heading here!"
"What!?" cried pearl "that must mean a mother is after us!!"
"quick! we must get out there!" commanded garnet
"right!" nodded pearl and amethyst.
"that's great to hear, guys," smiled lapis
"wait, where are the others?" asked steven
"spinel and bismuth are out there fighting the centipeedles right now," explained lapis "we'll need a helping hand for this one!"
"well, you got 'em!" nodded amethyst "let's go get 'em!"
"wait! what about me?" asked steven
"stay in the house, Steven!" Called pearl as she dashes with the others to follow pearl, "it's too dangerous for you!!"
"Aw, man! it's always too dangerous!" Cried Steven as he saw his guardians leave the house to join up with spinel and bismuth "it's not fair...."
Steven went up to his bedside and looked at the hourglass in his hands with sad eyes. It wasn't fair indeed, the crystal gems. They barely let Steven do anything with him, and they're barely around, except maybe lapis, spinel, bismuth, and amethyst still. Steven sometimes feels like a burden to them...
"man...they're always so busy with gem business..." sighed Steven as he lowered his head from the hourglass, "I just want to help, and I barely get to hang out with the gems for real...I just wish some people wouldn't be like this...I just wish there was someone who understands me."
And then, when Steven wasn't looking, the hourglass faintly glowed with power as he then hid it in his pocket and went to the couch, waiting for the crystal gems while also hoping they would protect beach city from the Centipeedles.
The Year 21XX
Abel City Maverick Hunters HQ
At the center of Abel city stood the maverick hunter HQ, home of the elite police task force assigned to fight the mavericks, one of their best hunters, a blue android called X, was standing on top of the roof, enjoying the seemingly peaceful scenery, it had been nine months since their bout with the Jakob elevator and rebellion army incidents, and as of now, maverick crime was at an all-time low. Still, X and the others enjoyed the peace while also keeping up their training. They never know when the next crisis is...
his thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of an elevator opening, and exiting was the crimson maverick hunter Zero and his beloved iris holding hands with each other
"oh? Zero! Iris!" smiled X as he turned around and waved to his best friend and his beloved girlfriend.
"hi X!" waved zero
"Hello X," greeted iris smiling sweetly at X "how are you?"
"I'm doing well, thank you, iris," smiled X "is there anything going on, zero?"
"no, iris and I have been doing well," Nodded Zero "it's been a long time since we had to deal with a maverick attack."
"yeah, maverick crime has downgraded ever since we defeated Sigma, even more so after we defeated colonel redips," thought X, "but we fought so hard to get to where we are zero, let's least enjoy the peace here."
"Like always, X, you're right," smiled zero "your optimism's always refreshing! Even in these peaceful times."
"X is right, Zero," nodded iris "my brother's usually hard-working, and so are the rest of you, but sometimes, you must take the time to enjoy the peace around you that you worked so hard to achieve."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, iris," smiled zero "hey! Do you, X, and Axl want to go riding on our ride chasers sometime?"
"oh! I'd love those!" Cheered iris
"me too, zero!" Smiled X "let's go sometime later this week!"
"it's a deal, X! Iris!" Nodded zero, feeling just as positive as X, "I'll later talk to Axl about this as well" Zero was more than happy to take a ride around Abel City until suddenly alarms rang all over the building
"EMERGENCY ALERT! EMERGENCY ALERT! ALL MAVERICK HUNTERS ON STAND-BY ASSEMBLE IMMEDIATELY!!"
"uh oh! It sounds like there's trouble!" Gasped X
"well, it looks like that free ride can wait!" Said zero as he turned to the elevator, "let's go, everyone! Axl should also meet us at the command deck with commander signas."
"right, Zero!" Nodded X as he ran with iris into the elevator into the command deck
"EMERGENCY ALERT! EMERGENCY ALERT! ALL MAVERICK HUNTERS ON STAND-BY ASSEMBLE IMMEDIATELY!!"
"Commander signas!" Said X, Zero, and Iris as they reported the center of the command room. Many maverick hunters were there, Axl joined them soon afterward.
"Commander! Axl Reporting for duty!" Saluted the young new generation reploid prototype
"At ease Axl," smiled signas "now then, I'm glad you could all make it here. Alia has just discovered something. Would you like to elaborate, please?"
"yes, sir," nodded Alia as she brought up an image on the central screen. Showing strange energy readings, but they were not like any other they've seen before. These were energy waves of temporal origin.
"what are those?" Asked X, "I don't think we've seen those waves before..."
"you're not gonna believe this, but these waves appear to be temporal."
"TEMPORAL?!" Asked X and zero shocked, could this be because of their time-stopping dark hold ability?
"Yes, they appear to be coming from Abel city sector 24 west of here," said Alia, "most of the citizens are startled by this strange phenomenon."
"Well, whatever It is, we'll handle it," said Axl, confident
"Signas, what are your orders?" Asked X
"X, you, zero, and Axl are to be dispatched immediately for that strange energy point and investigate," Signas ordered, "Iris will remain here to navigate zero alongside layer, and Pallette, you may also use the ride chasers to get there,"
"Yes sir!" nodded iris as she went to her navigation station.
"ROGER!" Saluted X, Zero, and Axl As they ran to their ride chasers
three of the ride chasers shot out of the maverick Hunter garage as The trio sped towards the strange energy readings in Abel city as Alia got on Mega man X's communication channel
"X," said Alia, "can you hear me?"
"Yes, Alia," nodded X, "go ahead."
"you're getting closer to the strange waves," said Alia "there's bound to be civilians up ahead, so watch out!"
"we'll be careful, Alia!" nodded X, as he continued to drive his ride chaser
"Zero? Can you hear me?" Iris' computerized voice rang through zero's head
"loud and clear iris," acknowledged Zero "is there anything up ahead?"
"yes, the strange readings appear to be getting stronger and stronger by the minute," said iris "please be careful."
"We will, iris," said zero
As they speed on ahead to the center of the waves, they were getting closer and closer until it was time to slow down, until...
"Hey, guys?" Axl spoke up, "do any of you feel strange?"
"I don't think so. Why?" Asked X
"Because I think I'm..." before Axl could finish his sentence, he was suddenly engulfed in light along with his ride chasers and disappeared.
"AXL!" Cried zero and X, and then suddenly, the crimson maverick hunter was engulfed by the same light as well and disappeared with his rider too
"ZERO!" Cried X, and then he contacted "Alia, can you-" and then X with his ride chasers disappeared too
"X! Zero! Axl!" Cried Alia as she suddenly lost contact "we lost them!"
"Oh no! Zero!!" Cried iris in distress but then suddenly as she looked at herself she was engulfed by the same light but couldn't speak fast enough before disappearing
"iris!!" Cried signas "she's gone too!! Alia! What could be the meaning of this!?"
"Commander signas," said Alia, "it looks like those waves took X zero Axl and iris through time itself! The temporal energies caught them!"
"it appears so..." sighed Commander signas as he realized he led his best hunters and one of his best navigators into their doom, it seemed "but to where?..."
21st Century
Beach City Delaware
In a forest just nearby beach city, four lights materialized in the forms of X, Zero, Axl, their ride chasers, and iris as they all dropped to the ground as their hoverbikes stopped.
"uuuuuhhhh....." groaned X as he slowly got up, "where...am I?..."
"X!" cried zero's voice as he got up and turned to his best friend/fellow maverick hunter "are you alright?"
"Zero!" called X with relief."yeah, I'm alright."
"that's great to hear," smiled zero "where's Axl?"
"over here...." groaned Axl as he got up "what happened? where are we?"
"I don't know, Axl," said X in confusion, "but it looks like we're in a forest..."
"and a truly organic forest at that," said zero as he looked around "it looks so peaceful though..."
"z-zero...?" came iris' voice as she stumbled towards the maverick hunters.
"iris!" cried zero as he rushed to iris' aid "what are you doing here?"
"I, I was caught up by the same light that got you, X and Axl," explained iris, "that same temporal energy Alia described.."
"temporal energy?" asked zero.
"Hey, wait a minute," thought Axl, "that temporal energy must have been the same light that engulfed me earlier!"
"and it got the rest of us!" said X, "well, I think we better take a look around for now until we can get some shelter."
"yes, that would be best," nodded iris.
"Now, let's be careful, everyone!"
"right!" nodded Axl as he followed his fellow maverick hunters and iris through the forest
meanwhile, at the crystal temple, steven was still waiting for the crystal gems to return from their battle,
"I wonder how the others are doing," thought Steven, but then suddenly, some Centipeedles melted their way into the temple house and were coming after Steven "wah!! Gem monsters!!"
Steven jumped out of the couch and headed for the door as some of the Centipeedles cornered him but then, a Huge pink glove fist shot through the window and smashed some of the Centipeedles, and then stretched over to grab Steven out of the house.
"spinel!" Cried Steven as he was being held in the giant gloved hand
"Stevie! Are ya alright?!" Asked the pink elastic jester, who then got out into the beach
"I'm okay, spinel! Thank you!" Said Steven, "those little guys almost had me, though..."
"well, don't ya worry!" Encouraged spinel as she stretched another fist, "we'll handle them!"
"you got that right, spinel!" Called lapis' voice as a waterlike fist knocked another swarm of Centipeedles away
"Yeah! We'll take 'em down bismuth style!" Cried the voice of the crystal gem's number 1 blacksmith as she smashed a Centipeedle with a mallet arm
"Go get 'em guys!!" Rooted Steven as spinel again made her hand massive to swat away a Centipeedle before they could spew acid
Ahead garnet, pearl, and amethyst could be seen fighting the Centipeedles, they were in a desperate battle for beach city's survival, and pearl knew that as soon as they find the mother Centipeedle, this battle won't end...
On the edge of the forest nearby beach city, the maverick hunter trio and iris had just reached a high enough vantage point to get a good look at the city below them and the world they are in
"Whoa...look at that!" Awed Axl, "what a place to be in!"
"It looks so peaceful," Said X softly as he looked at beach city
"it's definitely not like Abel city..." said zero "what timeline is this anyway?"
"I don't know," answered Iris. "I can't contact Alia or Maverick Hunter HQ."
"really?" Asked X in worry, "this might mean we really did end up in an alternate timeline..."
"Yeah, but hopefully, we can handle it!" Encouraged Axl
"Axl's right, X" comforted Zero "we've been through tougher situations than this. Hopefully, we'll find a way back home,"
"zero's right, X," said iris. "I don't know how but we'll find a way home, and if we have to help others along the way, we will."
"thank you, everyone," smiled X, but then something caught his eye "guys! Look down there!"
Iris, Zero, and Axl looked down below at beach city to see small creatures spewing acid on some homes, melting the wooden structures, and people below were panicking. This almost looked like a maverick attack.
"It looks like there's trouble!" Said zero
"Yeah, those little guys are melting those structures!" Said Axl pointing towards the acid-spewing creatures, "and it looks like they spew acid!"
"then we have to be careful," said X, "that acid might melt us if it touches us."
"could those creatures...be Mavericks?..." asked iris
"Their actions talk maverick, but they don't look like reploids," said Zero
"Regardless, innocent people are in danger, and we have to protect those who can't protect themselves," said mega man X as his arm transformed into the X-Buster. He usually doesn't like to fight, but there's no time for that. Innocents are at risk "it's our duty as maverick hunters."
"that's right, X!" Nodded Zero as he gripped his Z-Saber.
"I'm all in for some maverick busting!" Smirked Axl as he took out his twin pistols the Axl bullets
"yes, we must protect the humans, no matter where we are!" Said iris determined
"right, iris!" Said mega man X, "let's go, everyone!"
"Right!" Said the maverick hunters as they dashed downwards to beach city to fight the corrupted gems
READY!
Mega Man X came running through the streets with X-buster in his hand, the corrupted centipeedles saw him and started to crawl towards him and spit acid towards him, but X dodged and fired his shots at them, destroying them as they all poofed into dust. Two of the citizens were bewildered. Who was this blue armored hero among them? but they did not have the time to ask questions as X sped on to fight more of the centipeedles, continuing to fire his X-buster at them, and then when one of them sprayed acid towards him, X used one of his many special weapons
" SHOTGUN ICE! " cried X as his Buster fired a shard of ice,
the shard then made contact with the acid spit. It was frozen in its tracks, but then smaller shards fanned out and touched the centipeedles freezing them in blocks of ice, and then fell to the ground where they then poof as the ice broke apart.
Mega Man X continued on through the road jumped over the cars as he hunted for more of the centipeedle mavericks, as he fired a charge shot at one of them.
Battling his way through beach city, Zero ran through the streets, coming across more of the centipeedles. They noticed the crimson maverick hunter's presence and spewed acid at him in which zero dodged, but the acid started to melt a portion of the road.
"Alright, let's do it, mavericks!" cried zero bringing out his Z-Buster and blasted two of the centipeedles before more of them came crawling towards him.
Acting fast, zero pulled out his Z-Saber and slashed one of the centipeedles the jumped towards him.
The crimson maverick hunter then slashed two more of the centipeedles before making his way to the rooftops seeing more of the centipeedles there as he continued to slice through them. Below him, iris was careful around the centipeedles,
Axl was down on the road and at the edge of beach city when he saw a swarm of the centipeedles. He brought up his axl bullets and rapidly fired at them. Poofing many of them, he continued to run until he encounters another swarm of cenitpeedles
"Geez, they're all over the place!" cried axl as he then switched weapons to his plasma gun, which then fired a torrent of electricity which zapped the centipeedles, which stunned them before poofing. After a few seconds, "exterminator at your service!"
the young new generation reploid prototype then continued his way through the beach, blasting more of the centipeedles
at a car wash nearby, a man with long hair was trying to fend off the centipeedles with a waffle iron trying to protect his van and his car wash
"get away! I have a waffle iron!!" Cried the man smacking one of the Centipeedles with the iron but got away a few steps when they tried to spew acid on him, but before they could do it again
"BOOMERANG CUTTER!" cried mega man X's voice as a crescent-shaped boomerang slice through a centipeedle and then used a charge shot to poof the other one.
"whoa!" awed the man. The blue robot before him continued to shoot the centipeedles before one of them tried to jump him.
"SPINNING BLADE!" cried mega man X as he turned around, and his Buster fired two spinning blades slicing the centipeedles in two.
Other centipeedles came for the man from behind as he turned around, but then, they were each sliced by a laser blade. The wielder was revealed to be Zero.
"whoa! nice sword!" said the man
"thank you," said Zero
"Are you okay, sir?" Asked X
"Yeah, I'm alright, just a little banged up," said the man "who are you guys anyway?"
"I'm X, sir," said X. "I'm a maverick hunter."
"maverick hunter?" Asked the man
"Yep, and I'm Zero," said the crimson maverick Hunter as he gave a thumbs up
"You're name's zero?" Asked the man, and then he noticed zero's long blonde hair, "hey...that hair, it almost looks exactly like mine!"
"now that you mention it, it actually does!" Thought Zero as he looked at the man's hair
"zero!" Cried a voice. It was iris
"huh? Iris!!" Called zero as he went towards his beloved "are you okay?"
"yes, I was careful around those creatures," said iris
"that's great to hear, iris," said zero
"wait, is her name iris?" asked the man
"Yes, sir," nodded iris, "it's a pleasure to meet you."
"thank you!" He said
"What is your name, sir?" Asked X
"Oh, I'm Greg," he said. "Greg Universe"
"Greg Universe?" Asked X, "what an odd name."
"I could say the same about you two," said Greg, but then his thoughts snapped, "Steven!!"
"who!?" Said X in concern
"my son Steven!" Said Greg, "he might be in trouble at the temple!"
"the temple?" Asked Zero, "what temple?"
"Oh! It's down there!" Said Greg, pointing to the side of the beach on the left "you can reach it through there! Please make sure my son's alright!"
"we will, Mr universe!" Said X as he readied his Buster and dashed towards the beach alongside zero and iris
On the way there, they met up with axl, who was more than happy to meet his fellow maverick hunters again in battle. They blasted another few centipeedles before they made it up to the beach, where they saw lapis, bismuth, and spinel fighting the centipeedles while protecting steven.
"whoa, those girls look like they're fighting those mavericks!" thought axl
"and they seem to hold special abilities as well..." said X, "I think we better back them up!"
"right X!" agreed zero as he activated his Z-Saber and dashed into the beach, his other maverick hunters following suit.
" STORM TORNADO! " cried X as his Buster shot out a long horizontal tornado and blew away the centipeedles in the area.
"whoa! nice shot!" awed steven, but then he saw more centipeedles heading towards the group as lapis washed them away
"RAKKOHA!" Yelled Zero as he then punched the ground with his energy-charged fist, and just then, beams of light shot down, creating small explosions and destroyed swarms of the centipeedles
"Whoa! That made short work of them!" Cried bismuth
"you're tellin' me!" Said spinel "just where do those beams come from?"
"Sometimes I ask the same question," said zero "are you all alright?"
"Yes, we're alright," nodded lapis "thanks for the assistance!"
"you're welcome, all of you," said Zero
"what's with these creatures? What's going on here?" Asked X
"those creatures are called Centipeedles, and they're attacking the city here," explained bismuth "we're trying to find the mother."
"the mother?" Asked X, "is she the source of these Centipeedles?"
"yes, and unless we put her down, they'll just keep on coming!" Exclaimed bismuth
"then we gotta put a stop to her!" Commented Axl
"ya' got that right!" Nodded spinel
"Who are you guys?" Asked Steven
"I'm X," he introduced. "I'm a maverick hunter."
"maverick hunter?" Asked steven
"You bet, we hunt down mavericks who attack the innocent," said the crimson maverick Hunter. "I'm Zero, by the way."
"Zero, huh?" Asked Steven but got a bit distracted by zero's long hair, "wow! Awesome hair! It looks like my dad's!"
"he actually said the same thing!" Smirked Zero
"wait, are you Greg's son?" Asked X
"Oh! Yeah! My name's Steven!" The little boy introduced, "it's nice to meet you!"
"it's nice to meet you too," smiled X patting the boy on the head
"hehe, thank you," giggled Steven iris and zero awed at this moment before them.
"Hey! Guys, wait up!" Called Axl as he ran up to them
"Oh! Axl!" Said X as he waved to axl
"oh, hi, guys! I'm Axl!" He introduced
"it's nice to meet ya'll," said spinel, but we really have to catch up to the others!"
"the others?" Asked X
"yeah, the other gems." answered lapis "we have to go!"
"we'll go with you!" Called X as iris soon caught up to the trio and followed the other crystal gems battling their way through the centipeedles
after a minute, they saw garnet pearl and amethyst fighting off the remaining Centipeedles surrounding the crystal temple and joined the fight with them alongside the maverick hunters
"what the?! Who are they!?" Asked pearl
"I dunno by they seem pretty awesome!!" Called amethyst as she cracked her whip at more Centipeedles
"We could use all the help we can get!" Said garnet as she fired her rocket gauntlets
steven watched the battle unfold as the maverick hunters and the entirety of the crystal gems swept up the rest of the centipeedles, proofing them, and most of them were exhausted, especially pearl
"whew....that's a lot more than we usually deal with..." panted amethyst
"Just where is the source of these Centipeedles?..." asked pearl. "I'm getting tired of this!"
WARNING!
from a section of the sands, an enormous torrent of acid bursted out, and a giant Centipeedle, which was also longer than usual, burrowed out of the ground roaring and snarled at the crystal gems as acid drooled out of its mouth
"it's the mother!" Cried garnet as she summoned her gauntlets and charged at the snarling beast
*CUE LIFE BAR FILLING SFX
"stay in the house, Steven!" Cried pearl as she prepared her spear
Steven nodded as he ran to the crystal temple house but watched out the window as he watched the battle unfold.
"Wait!" Cried X in worry as he then turned to face the Centipeedle mother, Who just snarled and X realized he has no choice but to fight "Zero! Axl! Let's go!"
"right!" Cried Zero and Axl as they brought out their weapons
"Wait! This is our fight," said pearl "stay out of this! This is our fight!"
"well, now it's our fight too!" Quipped Axl as he shot his twin pistols
iris hid behind a rocky corner and watched the battle unfold as the Centipeedle mother sprayed out a torrent of acid that eroded much of the ground, forcing the maverick hunters and the crystal gems back, save lapis who using her liquid manipulation abilities, forced back the acid
"BOOMERANG CUTTER!" Cried X as he fired a crescent boomerang at the Centipeedle mother knocking her mouth away and stopping the flow of acid
"thank you!" smiled lapis as she dissipated the acid flow.
"your welcome!" nodded X as he then watched Zero and Axl take on the centipeedle mother afterward.
" RYUENJIN !" Shouted Zero as his Z-saber ignited with fire, and he jumped up and performed a flaming upward cut causing the centipeedle mother to shriek in pain
In retaliation, the centipeedle mother let out another acid breath, zero. However, he dodged out of the way.
as the centipeedle mother sprayed acid, spinel stretched a huge pink gloved fist at the centipeedle mother in the face again as axl meanwhile fired his gattling ice weapon at the monstrous beast shooting various shards of ice
"take that!" cried Axl as he kept firing as the centipeedle mother then summoned more centipeedles
"CHAMELEON STING!" Shouted X as his Buster fired a green beam that soon split into three, hitting the three centipeedles at once
"cool!" Awed Steven as he watched the blue maverick Hunter, impressed by his variable special weapons
"This guy's serious!" cried zero as he prepared his Z-Saber
"I'll say!" called bismuth, "and unless we stop her here and now, she'll make more and more centipeedles!"
"We have to take her down here before she hurts steven or the humans!" said garnet
"Right! Time to get serious!" said Mega Man X as he then concentrated and Summoned his Armor of light.
"whoa! you can shapeshift?" asked amethyst "sick armor, by the way, dude!"
"thank you! But no, I can't exactly shapeshift. I can only summon my Armor," replied X as he then charged up his Buster to level 3 and fired a huge red spiral shot at the centipeedle mother. "OVER HERE!!"
The centipeedle mother screeched as she was knocked into the seaside of the beach. Seeing this opportunity, lapis made the water rise from two sides, shifted them into giant arms with hands, wrapped them around the corrupted monster, and carried it into the beach, still held by waterlike arms as the centipeedle mother screeched in pain.
"guys! attack now!" cried lapis as the crystal gems summoned their weapons
" ELECTRIC SPARK! " Cried X his Buster then fired out an electrical burst at the centipeedle who screeched in pain at the electricity coursing through her body "guys! I think we figured it out!"
"yeah! she hates the electricity! nice job, X!" cried amethyst
"gems! weapons" called garnet as all of the crystal gems summoned their weapons, including lapis who released the water hold due to the centipeedle mother being stunned by electricity "let's do it!"
garnet charged in first with her gauntlets throwing two powerful punches at the centipeedle mother, amethyst came next with her whip, then pearl slashed with her spear, lapis struck with twin blue rapiers, spinel then came in with her scythe, then bismuth made her move with her mallet hands and smashed the beast, making the centipeedle mother screech
axl then fired his plasma gun and shocked the centipede mother again, then zero came in with his Z-Saber charged with electric energy
" DENJINKEN !" cried zero throwing an electric charged upward slash, shocking the centipeedle mother again. "X! shoot now!!"
" CHARGE SHOT!!" shouted X as he charged his Buster to level 3 and fired another spiral crusher shot, this time. It was enough to poof the centipeedle mother as she exploded in a cloud of dust and a gem fell to the floor.
"they did it!!" cheered steven from his window
X looked confused. The maverick he and his friends just fought exploded into a cloud and dropped a gem on the floor zero. Axl and iris were just as baffled, curious the maverick Hunter walked towards the eye-like gem and picked it up in his hand. But, It almost felt as if a new program was being uploaded to his systems...
"What is this?..." asked X curiously as he looked at the gem.
"excuse me," said garnet, making X look up and held out her hand for the gem. "I'll take it from here?"
"this, miss?" said X as he gave garnet the gem
"yes, thank you," said garnet as she bubbled the gem and made it disappear "you and you're friends have fought well for humans."
"human? But we're not humans. We're reploids," replied X
"Reploids?" asked pearl "what on earth are those?"
"let's just say we're robots with feelings," said axl.
"I dunno, you look pretty human to me, dude," said amethyst
"I suppose you could say that," said zero as he then turned to his right as he returned his Z-Saber, "iris! You can come out now! it's safe now."
"Okay! Thank you, zero!" said iris as she came out of the corner and came to Zero's side.
"who is she?" asked lapis
"oh! I'm iris!" she introduced "nice to meet you!"
"guys! you beat her!" said Steven as he ran out the door towards the gems and maverick hunters
"steven!" called X as steven ran up to X"s leg, and the blue reploid hugged him back. "I'm glad you're safe!"
"Thanks, X!" said steven "you too!"
"thank you, steven," smiled X "but, who are these guys?"
"oh! guys, introduce yourselves!" said steven calling to the crystal gems in front of them.
"yo, I'm Amethyst," she said
"I'm pearl," she said
"I'm garnet." she introduced herself.
"I'm lapis lazuli," she said with a smile.
"The name's bismuth." she grinned.
"and I'm spinel! your new best friend!" the pink gem cheered
"it's great to meet you all!" said axl
"it's always a pleasure," nodded zero.
"it's a pleasure to meet you all," said X, "but I think we need to go inside, so we can talk more about this"
"looks, we've got a lot of explaining to do!" said steven as everyone entered Into the crystal temple...
WEAPON GET!
X GOT TOXIC TORRENT
- (Normal) It fires a constant stream of highly corrosive acid to melt almost anything
- (Charged) will launch 3-Directional torrents of acid
ZERO LEARNED 腐食性激 FUSHOUKUGEKI (CORROSIVE FURY SLASH)
- Z-Saber will become a blade of acid with either an acid cut or launching an acid wave
AXL ACQUIRED ACID SPRAYER
- This weapon shoots out acid in a stream
Chapter 3: A New Home and a Laser Light Cannon
Chapter Text
Inside the crystal temple, the crystal gems and the maverick hunters went inside. They spent the last 2 hours explaining everything that had happened, namely the maverick hunters' appearance in beach city, and what the centipedes were...
"So, you guys mean to tell us you're from the future?" Asked lapis in awe
"it's a possibility, but I can't see the direct future they are all from..." said garnet adjusting her visor "perhaps...a different future?..."
"That could be possible," said X "we're not in Abel city, though..."
"if anything, we might be an...alternate timeline?" Wondered Zero as he had his hand on his chin in thought
"I think that might be it," thought axl
"Wait, an alternate timeline?" Asked steven
"yes, why do you ask?" Said zero as he turned his attention to steven
"I think I know what might have brought you guys here!" Said steven
"ya do?" Asked spinel, "what was it?"
"the thing!" Said Steven as he took out the hourglass orb out of his pockets "you pulled them out of time, didn't you!"
"steven!" Cried pearl, "you mean the hourglass pulled these 'reploid' humans here?"
"It could be possible," theorized garnet, "it is capable of transcending time."
"transcend time?" Asked zero concerned, "is that really what brought us here?"
"it could be zero." Said X, "but listen, Steven, if what you say is true, then could you please use that orb to help us get back home?"
"I would but did you guys just get here?" Asked Steven, "at least take the time to know people around here and get settled in"
"But, we don't belong here..." said X
"Neither do we," lapis stepped in, "and yet we still fought for this planet and made it our home."
"Whoa! Really?" Asked axl
"it's kinda a long story..." said spinel
"we'll when we got the time, we can all sit down and hear it," said zero "for now, we may need to rest for a while since we're not going anywhere anytime soon."
"I agree with zero," said iris "we'll need to learn more about our surroundings."
"Oh! Oh! You could settle in with my dad and me for the time being until we decide where you guys could stay, miss!" Said steven
"we would appreciate that," smiled iris "oh, and my name is iris."
"you're very welcome, iris," said Steven "beautiful name, by the way."
"*giggles* thank you, Mr steven," smiled iris.
"We would appreciate your hospitality, too, steven" nodded X
"that's great!" said steven "let's go see dad!"
"see you soon!" waved X as he and his friends and steven exited the temple.
The young gem hybrid led the maverick hunters to his father's garage near the "it's a wash" station. X and the others also meant to inform Greg Universe of his son's safety.
"Hi, dad!" Said Steven as he opened the door
"Schtu ball! You're okay!" Called Greg as he hugged his son as he rushed to him
"Mr universe, don't worry, your son is safe now," reassured X as he stepped forward.
"yeah! we made short work of those roach mavericks!" smirked Axl
"no wonder..." said Greg "they all seemed to have vanished after a while. I wonder what happened?"
"we've run into a bigger centipede, and when we destroyed him, the others seemed to have vanished into clouds of smoke," explained zero "though, I myself am just as puzzled."
"me too, zero," said Steven, "but at least beach city is safe!"
"yes, but now, we would like a place to stay, Mr universe," said iris.
"sure thing, iris," smiled Greg, "for right now, you're welcome to stay at the car wash, my van, or my U-Stor."
"U-stor?" asked X
"that's my storage facility," explained Greg, "but as I said, you're welcome to stay in any of my places if you like until we can settle on a home for you guys."
"thank you, Mr universe," said X
"no, X, I should be. Thank you and your friends for protecting my son alongside the crystal gems." smiled Greg.
"you're very welcome, Greg. We were just doing our duty as maverick hunters," nodded X
"still, it's very much appreciated," said Greg. "I'd like to talk to stchu ball here for a little while,"
"very well, Greg," nodded zero "in the meantime, we'd like to check out your U-stor."
"wait! while we're at it, we should pick up our rides too!" said Axl
"Oh! That's right!" Snapped X "we have to go back to the forest!"
"you got it!" Said Greg, "see you guys soon! I'll check up with you at my U-stor!"
"bye!!" Waved X as he and his friends made a dash for the forest for their ride chasers
After reaching their ride chasers, the maverick hunters rode to Greg's U-stor after finding him again. Then, after arriving at the formally rented storage facility, Greg was there waiting for them.
"Hi again, guys!" he greeted. "I see you got your rides."
"We sure did, Greg!" Said Axl stepping off of his ride chaser
"So you guys will be staying here for a while?" Asked Greg
"at least until we can find a proper place to stay in." added zero.
"I understand you guys; make yourselves at home here until then."
"thank you, Mr universe," smiled X as he and his fellow maverick hunters entered the storage unit.
"This seems like it'll have to do for a while..." said Axl as he looked around. "Greg's really packing a lot of stuff in here...."
"I'll say," said zero as he and iris moved into a clearing of the storage warehouse where they found two small windows and a small Tv. The maverick hunters all settled in the nearby chairs when something caught zero's eye.
"Is something wrong, zero?" Asked X
"I think I saw something in there..." said zero as he pointed in the direction of a slight pink shine. The crimson maverick hunter stood up and walked closer to the source of the pink light, followed by his best friend X
"What is that?" said X as he and zero saw the source, it looked like a bulky crystalline cannon that's almost shaped like a floral rose but closed,
"it looks like some kind of cannon..." thought zero as he then lifted the cannon as if it was a medium paperweight "maybe the crystal gems know about this?"
"I think they might," nodded axl
"Hopefully, we'll find out more tomorrow..." said iris "for now, let's rest. I'm sure we'll have a lot to do."
"you're right, iris," smiled zero as he set the cannon down right next to his spot as he sat back down, and the maverick hunters rested for the evening.
The next day, x and zero were outside the storage unit with axl and iris at the back door of the storage unit.
Suddenly they heard footsteps coming towards them. It was amethyst and Steven.
"how do we stop it?" Asked axl
"the only thing powerful enough to destroy the red-eye is the Laser light cannon that belonged to rose quartz." said garnet as she adjusted her visor
"laser light cannon?" asked iris.
"if rose were here, this would be so easy!" Groaned amethyst
"I know, but she's not here, and the cannon is missing," said pearl
"The cannon is missing?" Asked X, "since when was it missing? What happened to it?"
"We...had the cannon for a long time before the rebellion ended, and we've been fighting these corrupted gems," explained pearl "after we met Greg, somehow the cannon turned missing ."
"What would rose have done?" Asked X,
"well, she would..." thought pearl even she was unsure about her supposed owner's mindset "uh...find another solution?"
"Hey!" Said Steven, "if it belonged to my mom, I bet my dad knows where it is! He can help us save the day!"
"that's a good place to start!" Agreed axl smirking
"I agree!" Nodded zero his detective skills coming into effect
"I believe so, steven," smiled iris "let's go see your father."
"Yeah!" cried steven, waiting for the crystal gems to agree "eh? Eh? eh?"
The gems were silent for a little bit, hesitant to explain their distrust of Greg because they believed that Greg took their leader rose quartz, from them by rose giving up her physical form to give birth to her son, steven. Pearl held the most animosity more than any of them.
"Greg is...nice Steven," pearl said nervously, "but I doubt rose would entrust someone like him with such a powerful weapon."
"But don't you think rose would have trusted you all with where the cannon is?" Replied X pointing out maybe this rose wasn't as bright or as perfect the crystal gems thought she was
the crystal gems then fell silent, realizing the blue maverick hunter had a point about rose, including Steven, even pearl couldn't bring herself to retort, and all she could do was stutter, unsure of what to counter with
"ya know, the blue guy has a point," thought bismuth.
While pearl was stuttering to herself, zero was in deep thought, a laser light cannon? He could have sworn he and his fellow hunters saw a huge pink crystalline cannon back at the U-Stor when they were resting.
"wait a minute," zero stepped in, focusing steven and the crystal gems' attention on him "what exactly did this laser light cannon look like?"
"Well..." said pearl as she showed a hologram of the laser light cannon in it's accurate appearance from her forehead gemstone steven watching the hologram with awe, "rose's light cannon is a large sundown pink cannon like powerful weapon made up of crystalline material. It's bulky and hefty but still powerful."
Zero looked at the hologram of the cannon in thought along with X, axl, and iris, almost ignoring pearl's verbal description of it, placing a hand on his chin. The crimson maverick hunter then saw a connection...the shape, the form, it all matches the same cannon he and the other hunters saw last night!
"...why do you ask?" Finished pearl
"Because what if I told you..." said zero "steven's father DOES have the laser light cannon."
the gems gasped so did steven, but then he looked at zero with stars in his eyes
"you mean it zero?" cried steven
"yep," nodded zero, "I think we saw a cannon of pearl's description while we were at that U-stor thing."
"Yeah, I could have sworn it looked like a cannon from what it looked like back then," thought axl.
"you might be right, zero!" agreed X "let's go check it out!"
"Yeah!" cheered steven
"But, it's impossible!" snapped pearl holding her head in disbelief.
"why?" asked x, zero and steven
"well...because there's no way she would have entrusted the cannon to a human!" replied pearl
"and yet you don't seem to think for a moment that humans are just as capable as we are?" sneered zero crossing his arms deciding to defend humanity, despite the fact zero never considered himself a hero "humans built us robots and reploids in the first place, so it's obvious that teamwork and collaboration should be no different for them In this scenario."
"I don't appreciate your tone." said pearl sternly
"get used to it then..." countered Zero, not having any of it with pearl.
"We should go now, we have to hurry, or the red-eye will collide with earth!" cried X bringing everyone back on task
"right!" nodded axl, zero and iris
"let's go!" cried steven, just about to leave.
"We can handle this, steven," insisted garnet, and she turned to amethyst "ready?"
amethyst nodded, and then garnet grabbed jumped up high, spinning and then tossed amethyst into the red-eye, but when amethyst made the impact, it was not very effective, and amethyst slid off of the scout ship into the ocean below
"that doesn't look like handling it to me..." quipped axl iris nodded with him as she knew even his brother, the colonel, could almost come up with a better solution than just throwing people at things
"Yeah, we're gonna go," said steven
"we're on our way, steven!" cried X, the maverick hunters and iris following him and steven
"Okay...good luck wasting your precious time..." waved pearl.
"speak for yourself, pearl..." groaned lapis with her arms crossed with a disapproving face.
"lapis Ain't wrong ya know?" Added bismuth "we ain't even making a crack on that thing!"
"I KNOW! RIGHT!!" Cried amethyst in the distance swimming back to shore
"You know what? I'm going with them!" Cried lapis spreading out her water like wings and flying to follow the maverick hunters
"me too!" Said spinel changing her feet into springs to hop after lapis and join the maverick hunters
The maverick hunters and steven, led by zero, ran as fast as possible to the U Stor unit. They went across Greg first and let him know they needed to find rose quartz's laser light cannon.
"It should be where we were last night..." said zero while running with the maverick hunters and Steven towards the storage unit with the others seeing Greg at the U-stor up ahead; however, behind them was lapis and spinel following, wanting to see if zero and Steven were right
"dad! dad!" cried steven as he saw Greg, his father
"sthu ball!" cried Greg hugging his son "what are you guys doing here? I was just going to clean up my storage unit."
"Mr universe, we're sorry to intrude," replied mega man X, "but we need to look into your storage unit where we were resting yesterday."
"of course, you can look inside, but why do you guys need to look into my storage?" asked Greg raising an eyebrow
"We need to find something called a laser light cannon to blast something out of the sky," answered zero.
"what do we need to shoot out of the sky?" said Greg, confused
"to shoot down the red-eye, dad! look!" cried steven as he pointed a finger at the incoming red eye, which was somehow on a collision course for the earth, seeing amethyst get thrown at it again only to fail again
" idiots... " thought zero in his head as he facepalmed at the sight of the crystal gems' narrow-mindedness and lack of imagination.
"seriously!?" said axl, almost as if reading zero's mind, "they already tried that!"
"that's what we said!" rang a voice. It was lapis lazuli swooping down from above with spinel following her.
"lapis! spinel!" cried steven with stars in his eyes, happy to see two of his five favorite crystal gem friends
"hiya, ste man!!" replied spinel as she stretched her arms over to hug her brother-in-law.
"oh my..." gasped iris.
"what the!?" said X surprised amazed by spinel's ability to extend her body.
"What's up?" Asked spinel while she hugged steven
"you can extend your arms?" asked X
"Sure I can!" smiled spinel as she let go of steven and focused her attention on dr light's greatest creation's amazement "gems can shapeshift after all!"
"just like me?" replied axl reminding him of the new generation repliod's ability to shapeshift as well using their
built-in copy chips
"yeah! wait, what?" said spinel, baffled
"We can demonstrate later, guys," reminded lapis "we've got bigger problems right now."
"she's right," nodded X. "Mr universe, we need to look inside the storage unit again where we rested yesterday."
"oh yeah, that," said Greg, "that laser light cannon you guys mentioned, yeah! I think you guys can have a look!"
"Thanks, dad!" cheered steven as he and the others headed to the front door of the U-Stor.
"allow me," said zero as he gripped the bottom of the metal door to the storage unit and lifted it all the way open almost effortlessly.
"whoa..." said Greg, "you're pretty darn strong, ain't you?"
"you bet" nodded zero as many would expect no less from dr wily's greatest creation's power and strength.
"How far do we need to go inside?" asked steven
"If I remember right," thought zero, as he pointed at the path where they went into when the hunters rested yesterday, "that cannon should be at the far back of the storage unit."
"Okay, let's check it out," said X, "but we have to hurry before collision!"
Steven and the maverick hunters wasted no time going into the storage unit. The maverick hunters had cleared most of the path due to moving the stuff inside out of the way when the hunters were staying for the night, making it easier to navigate through the mess that laid ahead until...
"over there!" said steven, seeing the pink crystalline cannon. "is that what we're looking for?"
"yeah!" smiled zero "that's the one we saw last night!"
X and Zero went over to the laser light cannon and picked it up, and began to haul it out of the storage unit.
"guys!" cried X, "I think we've found the cannon!!"
"I thought it was still in there!!" smiled Greg
"well, what do you know!" cheered lapis lazuli, amazed that her newfound friends flung from the future were right "she did leave it with him after all!"
"Great job, guys," waved spinel, "but now we have to hurry. The red-eye will hit the earth any minute now!"
"you got it, spinel!" nodded axl as he looked at the cannon "soon as we figure out how to get it working."
"how do we activate this laser light cannon?" asked X
"well..." thought lapis trying to remember rose saying any about how to activate the laser light cannon but had no luck due to rose's addiction to secrecy. "I wish I knew...if only rose quartz had told us about the light cannon and how to work it..."
"now that you think about it..." said spinel, "she never told me about it either..."
"aw, man...I wish mom would have told any of us about the cannon," sighed steven, knowing the planet is doomed without the cannon's functionality.
"oh dear..." worried iris knowing her brother's superior. The General of the repliforce wouldn't hide how their weapons would work, and neither would the maverick hunters "this isn't looking good..."
"well, if every pork chop were perfect," said Greg, "we wouldn't have hot dogs."
suddenly just as Greg said that the laser light cannon began to glow, and the top started to bloom like a rose
"what the hey!?" cried zero as he and the others saw the cannon
"that actually worked?!" gasped mega man X
"It worked!" cheered Steven.
"Thank you, Mr universe," smiled X, "and now we must hurry back to the others."
"Right!" everyone cried as they raced back to the crystal temple with X and zero carrying the laser light cannon, almost like a paperweight. Greg was almost suggesting they use his van, but the others could manage with X and Zero's strength.
"look! the red-eye has almost here!" cried lapis, pointing at the sky
"oh no!" gasped Iris, running with the others back to the beach.
"We must hurry!" cried X. This almost reminds him and zero of the Eurasia space colony incident
a few minutes the maverick hunters made it back to the crystal gems who were still throwing amethyst at the red eye
"throw me again!" groaned amethyst. "I think I'm cracking it!"
"it looks like you haven't been doing anything to it in THE LAST 10 MINUTES!!" snapped lapis, already having enough of the gems' ignorance. "I thought you said we needed rose's cannon to destroy it!"
"I did," said garnet, "gems! they got it!"
"h-he he actually had it!?" stammered pearl "but how!?"
"if you actually listen to us and the other humans, you might learn something!" snapped X
"Okay, let's get this thing working," said Steven "now what was it? That dad said earlier?"
"I think it was if every porkchop were perfect, we would have hot dogs," said X
Just as X said it, again, the laser light cannon started to glow. Now it was time to aim the cannon,
"quick! aim it!" cried iris
lapis spinel steven zero, and the other crystal gems helped aim the laser light cannon at the red-eye. meanwhile, X again assumed his first armor
"axl!" cried X while preparing a secret technique gathering blue energy in his hands
"you got it, X!" acknowledged Axl and then glowed brightly as he used his Copy chip to shapeshift into one of the deadliest mavericks the hunters have ever encountered, Ninetails
"whoa..." said spinel, "he can shapeshift like us?"
"in a manner of speaking, yes," said Axl, his voice assuming ninetails' own accent.
"it's right on target!" confirmed Zero "everyone! now!"
"fire!" cried Iris, almost sounding like her brother the colonel for a minute.
"if every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dog!" cried steven, causing the laser light cannon to fire a beam almost resembling rose quartz's form and figure at the red eye
"HADOUKEN!" Cried X, thrusting his hands forward firing a large blue ball
"ANNIHILATOR HADOUKEN!" Cried Axl as Ninetails also thrust his hands forward, firing a similar projectile but a straightforward beam
The combined power of the laser light cannon and the twin hadoukens vaporized the red-eye, sending it's debris into the ocean as most of the remained had been destroyed by the blast before it could hit beach city any falling debris were shot down by X and axl
"good job, you guys!" cheered amethyst "you all saved the town!"
"Mission accomplished!" nodded, raising an arm in triumph zero and axl joining him.
"oh, thank goodness!" nodded iris.
"yes, the red-eye has been stopped," sighed pearl in relief, "but how did you get the cannon to work?"
"It turns out it needed a passphrase to activate," explained zero.
"like a magic word?" asked steven
"something like that," answered zero, shrugging.
"I think It happened when I said the thing is usually said," theorized Greg.
"the pork chops?" questioned pearl.
"yeah, that 'if every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs' thing," thought bismuth "rose always seemed to like that."
"no wonder she put that as vocal confirmation for the laser light cannon," garnet concluded.
"yeah, but that could be an issue if any of us forget that phrase..." said bismuth. "I might have to adjust it when I take the light cannon back to the forge..."
"forge?" asked X
"oh, sorry, I'm the gems' blacksmith," said bismuth. "I make and design their weapons and armor they need for our missions."
"a gem blacksmith?" thought mega man X "interesting..."
"yep, it sure is, when I get down to bismuth!" chuckled the crystal gem blacksmith
X raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting the joke at all, but axl was chuckling.
"uh, I don't think they all get it, bismuth..." said spinel rubbing her head, "except that guy."
"Oh, sorry, guys..." said bismuth.
"Hey, it's alright," said X Although axl would crack a few jokes here and there, it was not to this level of comedy. "I'm just not that used to jokes, is all."
"Thanks, uh...X was it?" said bismuth, in which the blue reploid nodded "well, I guess we better be getting down to bismuth on cleaning up and securing the light cannon in case we need it again."
"Okay, bismuth," nodded Greg "steven and I need to go back to clean up the car wash anyways."
"Okay, dad," nodded steven.
"We better get going too," said zero as he and the hunters turned to leave "call us again if you need us!"
"we will!" cried lapis "see ya!!"
"bye, guys!" waved axl as he left alongside the hunters back to the storage unit.
the crystal gems and the maverick hunters went back to representative homes for the day as Greg and steven then went to have some father and son bonding time at the carwash bismuth then took the light cannon back to her forge and worked on it to create a failsafe feature on the laser light cannon should any of the crystal gems need to use it someday in the future but can't remember the passphrase
in the storage unit, the maverick hunters seemed suspicious of rose not telling the gem that she left the laser light cannon and didn't tell any of them how to work when they needed it if it weren't for steven or zero finding out about the cannon beach city would have been destroyed it seems rose quartz has not told them everything and keeping secrets from them even from beyond the grave, but the maverick hunters decided to keep an eye out for more activity like that among the crystal gems until further notice
the next day, however, steven went to the storage unit of the maverick hunters, having worked out a more permeant residence for the hunters to rest and be available when the crystal gems needed them
"guys! guys!" steven called in, opening the door. "I think we figured out a new home for you guys!"
"where at?" asked axl
"the beach city lighthouse," said Steven, "and the best part is you guys will be nearby us at the crystal temple on top of the hill slope where it's at!"
"that's wonderful news!" smiled iris beaming with happiness
"Okay then," smiled mega man X, "lead the way, steven!"
Steven and the maverick hunters all then headed to the Beach city lighthouse to establish their new home in the past to protect the people of the past and future...
WEAPON GET!
X GOT QUINTET-LIGHT CANNON
- Normal shot fires five intense beams of peach-pink light that either home in on targets or form a more powerful beam.
- Charged shot, ten more peach-pink light beams are fired, forming a continuous barrage or become a massive, devastating laser.
ZERO LEARNED 天光波 TENKŌHA
- Zero punches the ground making pink beams of light rain down from the sky like a meteor shower.
AXL ACQUIRED LIGHT BAZOOKA
- fires an intense peach pink blast which causes enormous area damage
Author's note sorry it's been months since I last posted a chapter on this story, and I'm pretty frustrated with myself for that, but I'm glad I finally wrote in a chapter on mega man crystal hunter X. Be sure to tune in next time as the hunters establish their new home in beach city and receive their new mission from the crystal gems in learning about each other .
Chapter 4: X's Audition
Chapter Text
AUTHOR'S NOTE sorry to keep you all waiting, everyone. Writing has been a little slow on this story lately; I'm worried it might take me years to finish it. I feel the same way about the other stories I've written .
I'm determined to see them through, however, and make them as entertaining as possible if I ever lose interest and my stories become incomplete as a result.
Anyway, thank you all for your patience, and Please enjoy this latest chapter of Mega Man Crystal Hunter X .
Making their way to the top of the large hill overlooking the crystal temple, the maverick hunters X, Zero, Axl, and Iris followed Steven to a tall lighthouse, where they saw Greg and Garnet waiting for them.
"hi, sthu ball!" waved Greg. "I see you've brought our new friends here."
"Yeah, I have, dad!" nodded steven "hi, garnet!"
"Hello, steven," greeted garnet, steven's Adoptive Square mother.
"Is this it?" asked X "a lighthouse?"
"Yeah, we figured it'd be the best place for you guys to stay after what happened," said Greg. "I still can't thank you all enough for saving my son and beach city yesterday and the day before."
"you're welcome, Mr. Universe," nodded mega man X "we were just doing our duty as maverick hunters."
"That's real generous of you," said Greg, "and please just call me Greg."
"sure thing Greg," said mega man X,
"Are you sure we'll be fine inside this lighthouse?" asked zero.
"yes," nodded garnet, "after your performance the past two days, I believe you four will become valuable members of the crystal gems."
"you really believe we will?" asked X, seemingly doubting this invitation.
"I have foreseen it," smirked garnet, a light shining on her visor and shining behind it, her third eye, "in the future"
"What?" cried the hunters and iris in shock
"yes, I can see the future using my future vision," explained garnet, "but it's not 100% accurate."
"interesting," said iris, almost looking a little shy
"yeah, garnet has a habit of doing that. Sorry guys," said Steven, "anyways, I hope you all like your new home here!"
"I think...we will, steven," said X, "but where are all the supplies inside the lighthouse?"
"Hey, don't worry about it. Steven and I took care of all that," said Greg. "I think you'll find them on each floor inside the lighthouse."
"we'll look at them, Greg. Thank you," said Mega man X
"we'd appreciate this new home of ours," said Axl
"Please make yourselves at home," said garnet. "I believe you will have a big day ahead soon."
"we'll face it when it comes," the confident crimson maverick hunter said.
"I hope you guys like you're new home!" said Steven as he, his father Greg, and garnet prepared to leave them "we'll see you all soon!"
"bye, steven!" waved X as he and the maverick hunters settled in the lighthouse. They had much to do to get settled in beach city.
The next few days passed quickly. The maverick hunters had sorted out all the supplies given to them by steven and Greg. They placed the supplies on each floor of the lighthouse.
It was a long and challenging job, but X zero, axl, and iris completed their new home in beach city. Still, they were soon worried about what had been happening back in their world in their timeline.
Commander Signas would undoubtedly be worried, and so would repliforce, especially iris' brother, the colonel. The time-displaced hunters were hoping they could at least let them know where they were while they got settled in beach city for the time being
One day in beach city, there was a knock at the door on the top floor of the lighthouse. Iris went to answer.
"oh! hello, garnet," greeted iris.
"Hello, Iris," nodded garnet. "I've come to speak with your friends."
"X zero and axl?" said Iris. "Oh sure, they're here, this way."
Iris led garnet to the center of the room. X and zero stood overlooking the window while axl was lying down, twirling one of his Handguns.
"X, Zero garnet is here, and she wants to see you." Spoke iris.
"garnet?" said Mega man X. "hello! how are you?"
"I'm doing fine, thank you," replied the embodiment of the romance between Ruby and Sapphire of ages past "how are you and the others here?"
"we're doing fine," nodded X, "is there any trouble?'
"no trouble yet," said garnet. Adjusting her visor, "but otherwise, we're doing well ourselves."
"That's great to hear," said X trying to shake off the ominous feeling "what are you doing here, by the way?"
"I'm here because I would like to ask you to join us for training," answered garnet "if you and your friends are going to help us out, we need to see what each of you can do. One at a time, however."
"we'd be happy to oblige you," said zero "which of us will go first?"
"We decided that we would see X's skills first," said garnet pointing to the blue reploid
"me?" Said, X
"yes, if you would, come with me to the crystal temple, and we will begin," nodded garnet
"Okay, garnet, I'm on my way," said mega man x as he turned to the others. "I'll be back soon, guys."
"we'll be here, X," said axl, the young prototype new generation reploid recruit
"good luck, X," nodded zero adding a thumbs up to His best friend, to which X returned in kind.
Garnet took the maverick Hunter to the crystal temple, where they discussed the training at the sky temple, where they would test mega man x and his various special weapons.
Soon enough, garnet and X warped to the sky temple with lapis, pearl, amethyst, steven, and spinel.
"here we are," said Pearl, "the sky temple!"
"wow.. so it's like a flying platform?" asked X
"Yeah, you could say that," nodded lapis as they all stepped into the arena of the flying temple. "this is where we usually train any crystal gem recruits."
"Amazing..." awed X as he examined the surrounding floating arena. This was where one of the first fights against the crystal gems' homeworld Gemtalsis tyranny began.
"Before we begin, I would like to tell you that after you're done, we will have your friends Zero and Axl along for training in separate sessions," explained pearl. "now, for today's training lesson, you are to show us more of your special skills against multiple holo pearls."
"holo pearls?" asked mega man x "would be holograms of you?"
"Why yes," nodded pearl, "after you and your friend's performance from what we gathered from lapis, bismuth, and spinel, you seem to have extraordinary abilities from that weapon that comes from your arm, but garnet says that may not be all of them, so we wish to see more."
"Okay," nodded X, "is there anything else I should know?"
"yes, if possible, we would see how good you are with a psychical melee weapon like a sword," said pearl
Megaman x
Upon seeing X accept the challenge, pearl got to work on materializing the holo pearls as a beam shot out from pearl's forehead gemstone and constructed a hard light copy of pearl, but with empty eyes, pearl soon produced more until there were 30 holo pearls. Long ago, pearl programmed the ability to materialize multiple holo pearls at once for various training sessions for the crystal gems into her internal systems.
"Woah, that's a lot of holo pearls," said steven in awe.
"you don't know the half of it, steven," giggled lapis, the water goddess of the crystal gems.
"yeah, but something tells me it's gonna be one heck of an exhibition," nodded amethyst, eagerly anticipating the battle ahead.
"be careful, X!" cried steven from the bleachers
"I will, steven, don't worry about me!" nodded X, then turned to face his hard light foes.
" do you wish to engage in combat? " asked the holo pearls monotonously.
Usually, X hated violence, but this is training, so unless he shows what he can do, he won't be able to win the crystal gems' trust. So the blue maverick Hunter clenched his right fist and had his X-buster armed and ready, then he took aim.
"... I do," said X hesitantly, his pacifism wavering.
" you are foolish to come at me! " said the holo pearls all at once as five of them charged at X
Mega Man X made the first move by firing a few standard shots from his x buster at two of the holo pearls making a direct hit in the stomach and at the right shoulder of one of them.
"X! Look out!" Cried Steven from the seats
Looking to his left, x side-stepped upon seeing one of the holo pearls nearly cut him. The blue maverick Hunter then responded with a special weapon: his blue became red, and his cyan blue parts became orange.
" FIRE WAVE! " Cried mega man x his x buster then shot out a torrent of flame as it burned the holo pearls in front of it and disappointed their hard light forms.
"whoa! That's hot!" said amethyst. Garnet, partially her ruby half, gave a chuckling smirk.
A holo pearl came rushing at X with a sword in retaliation, but x reacted quickly.
" SONIC SLICER! " x's color palette changed again as two crescent-shaped blades of energy shot from his buster and sliced the holo pearl's weapon in half. The second slicer cut through the holo pearl's stomach, which made X cringe a little bit.
" I will not go so easy on you this time! " cried a holo pearl as she went toward X
" STRIKE CHAIN! " cried x as his buster shot out an energy chain and gripped a nearby pillar, and x was grappled away by it just before the holo pearl could hit him.
"he's really thinking outside the box!" Said Steven watching x use one of his utility special weapons to escape the holo pearls
"yeah, it was a clever move to grapple away from those holo pearls!" Complimented lapis
"Hey! Just like me!" chuckled spinel as she stretched her right arm long before returning to the average arm's length.
"I'll bet!" said amethyst with a chuckle of her own before seeing mega man x recover his footing and prepared another attack "heads up, I think he's going for another shot!"
" THUNDER DANCER! " Shouted mega man x as An arc of electricity shot out from his X-buster and hit a holo pearl, but then it ricocheted to the other holo pearls
"and he can shoot electricity!?" gasped steven as the holo pearls soon disappeared, having been short-circuited from the chain of lightning "he's got all sorts of stuff up his sleeve!"
"impressive," said garnet stoically, as always.
"Very good!" Clapped pearl, offering a sword to X as she halted the holo pearls with a mental command, "now let's see how well you do with a melee weapon."
"Okay, pearl," nodded X as he was handed the weapon, "but if you don't mind, I have my own"
"oh? where is it?" asked pearl, but then she soon found herself staring in awe as mega man X's armor started to shine and transform.
The armor transformed into what looked like a fusion between x's first and third armors. However, this armor had more blue around the white areas and green power crystals on the shoulders, knees, and solar plexus chest. It also had gold details stacked vertically and a crown with a red jewel on the forehead while the crown fins stuck straight up in a V shape.
The buster also looked different as it now had hand guard-like fins resembling a bow, and they would open when used in z-saber mode. The buster would then resemble a sword hilt.
This armor was called the Blade armor. It is designed to focus on mobility and its own version of zero's Z-Saber from template design data, the buster,
"Cool!" cried lapis. She liked this so far; with luck, she may be able to create a water-like in X"s likeness in the future in case they run into any corrupted gems.
"he almost looks like a samurai!" awed steven with literal stars in his eyes, having enjoyed his favorite movie, the lonely blade.
"he has another set of armor!?" asked amethyst in amazement.
"impressive, but for this challenge, you will need to face only one holo pearl," said pearl as she made the holo pearls present disappear save for one "now, you may begin, and please be careful. We'd sure hate to lose you too soon now."
"I'll do my best, pearl," Mega man x nodded. Then he materialized a hard-light arm blade shaped like a katana from his buster, almost like zero's Z-Saber, when I had it for a time while zero was recovering.
"whoa! Lightsaber!" cried steven, having watched a lot of star wars movies (except the sequel trilogy)
"ooh! That's a neat sword ya' got there!" complimented spinel with an enlarged waving hand in the bleachers.
"thank you, spinel!" smiled X, then the original reploid turned around to face his final opponent for today's training.
" zero has more experience at fighting mavericks with blades or swords with his saber... " contemplated mega man X as he looked at his blade armor's signature buster weapon, remembering his best friend's incredible swordsmanship, even though, for a time, zero lent X his Z-Saber to utilize while he was heavily damaged " but...if I don't do this...no, there's no time to be wishy-washy here! "
" do you wish to engage in combat? " asked the holo pearl holding a hard light rapier.
"...Yes, I accept your challenge!" Nodded x with determination, igniting his blade armor's X buster in saber mode
" you raise your sword in vain, challenger! " taunted the holo pearl taking a stance with red eyes glowing with power. And then lunged at X, beginning his final challenge for the day.
X then clashed swords with the holo pearl in front of him. Their blades of light locked for a while, moving forwards until they broke off, jumping away from each other. X hesitated a bit as he saw the holo pearl move towards him but quickly regained focus to intercept the holo pearl's rapier of light.
" zero's still better at this than me, " thought X as he deflected blow after blow from holo pearls rapier.
After breaking off from each other holo pearl swung again. Still, X dodged the slash this time and tried to slash at the holo pearl, but she jumped away from the blow, almost telegraphing X's movements.
" PARRY! PARRY! " shouted holo pearl as she executed three parries but then switched to thrusting when X intercepted one of the parries. " THURST! THURST! "
"she's relentless!" cried X as he took one hit from the thrusts, but it only sending him back a bit though it still hurt,
"X!" cried steven and spinel in worry over their new friend taking a hit from a holo pearl
"unh! I'm fine!" reassured X, but then he saw the holo pearl kept coming, but this time, X was prepared as he intercepted the thrust with his Buster Saber.
Despite zero's experience with his Z-saber far exceeding X's own experience with his blade armor's saber, X felt like he was learning and getting better somehow.
As the duel between the last creation of dr light's genius and the holo pearl clashed swords. The crystal gems are commenting on Megaman x's performance.
"he seems to be holding his own so far..." commented garnet, even as she focused her future vision a bit on mega man X's potential future on where his training will take him
"yeah, he might be one of us after all," nodded lapis, almost thinking of what it would be if the water demi-goddess of the crystal gems created a water clone of mega man X. "I have a good feeling about that,"
"I think so, too, lappy," joked amethyst as she watched from a cloud floating above the bleachers "he's got moves!"
"Yes, our friend from 'another timeline' is showing promise, he does seem to have a lot of abilities at his disposal, but I think he might need to go through more before we can welcome him and his friends," Pearl, "but how far do you think he'll go in these training sessions, garnet? He might have a long way to go."
"Well, I see he will go very far, pearl," said garnet, "in fact, to tell you the truth...i...I can't see any end to his growth."
"What!?" gasped pearl and the other gems.
"you mean he'll keep getting stronger forever?" asked steven in concern
"it appears so..." said garnet, her voice trembling as sapphire's gem shook with fear due to being unable to see an end to mega man x's limitless potential with her future vision. Garnet almost unfused from mental instability.
"Are you serious, garnet!?" asked lapis lazuli in awe "he'll become that strong!?"
It took a little while for garnet to answer their question. Ruby within garnet did her best to comfort the love of her life, sapphire, then garnet continued, "i... I've seen multiple paths of his future, most leading to dark times of his world and life, but of his growth...there's no end."
"do...do you mean...?" said pearl in fear and worry
"his potential is..." said garnet in awe as she removed her visor to reveal her three eyes. "...limitless,"
The crystal gems gasped in awe at the limitless potential mega man x was designed with when dr light created him, along with sentience and a heart of gold. The gems were a little worried. Still, they calmed down since X had shown good intentions so far.
X continued to duel with the holo pearl. With his X buster in saber mode, x was still struggling to keep up with the holo pearl's movements. However, he was still getting better and better as the original reploid then side-stepped and swiped the holo pearl's sword out of her hand, sending it flying and finishing it with a horizontal slash through the waist at the holo pearl ending the fight once and for all.
" Challenger wins! Defeat accepted! " said the holo pearl as her eyes returned to normal and her whole body vanished into digital particles.
"Well, I think That concludes our training session for today, X," said pearl calling for his attention. "you might just have what it takes to be a crystal gem."
"thank you, pearl!" smiled mega man X as he disengaged the blade armor and returned to normal "although next time, you might ask my friend zero for these sword fight lessons. He's more experienced at it than I am."
"no worries," said lapis as she approached X, "we'll definitely ask him to show us what he can do. And take on a holo pearl."
"thank you," said X "so, what now?"
"Now I think we should all head home for the day," said steven. "I'm sure we're all pretty tuckered out."
"speaking my language, ste man!" giggled amethyst as she hovered her cloud over to steven.
"um, where did you get that cloud?" asked X curiously. A little bit of hope reignited within him, which might come from the relief that at least this world isn't as war-torn where he, zero, and axl come from "and how are you sitting on it?"
"I just found it near the sky temple. Why? You want one~?" teased amethyst playfully as she got close to the blue maverick Hunter.
"um...maybe?..." answered mega man X innocently. "I'm just curious, that's all..."
"heh, it's alright, we all do," said spinel as she came up to X as well. "but yeah, she should be going home now. That was quite the show ya put out there!"
"thank you, spinel...even though I don't exactly enjoy fighting..." admitted X, still being a pacifist at heart even after all the mavericks he had been forced to put down.
"Well, to tell you the truth x, neither do i..." sympathized steven, "but seeing the gems go at it seems fun!"
"I see," said x, and then everyone left for the warp pad to return home to rest until tomorrow
"thank you all for having me here."
"it was our pleasure," smiled garnet.
The warp pad then flashed as everyone was transported back to the crystal temple in the warp pad room.
"Welcome back, guys!" waved bismuth, who stayed behind at the crystal temple to guard the house while her fellow crystal gems were gone.
"hiya, bismuth!" greeted spinel with a slightly enlarged waving hand "we've just got back from our audition with our blue friend here!"
"That's great!" said bismuth "how did he do?"
"he shows great promise," said garnet. However, there was a slight shudder as she looked at X. She was almost reminded of her worst enemy, blue diamond, but relaxed after ruby and sapphire reminded each other that X was not like their worst enemy. "I believe he will make an excellent addition to the team until he and his friends decide to return home."
"yeah, this guy's almost like a walking arsenal and a powerhouse mixed in one!" complimented amethyst, "I think he'll fit right in!"
"and we'll have to consider seeing what his two friends are capable of next time." added pearl.
"Thanks for the compliments," smiled x as he placed a hand behind his head, "but I was only doing what I had to if I were to earn your trust."
"Hey, don't worry about it, x," reassured steven as she approached him. "I trust you. You save me and my dad's lives after all."
"yeah, if steven trusts you, then so do I," added lapis as she stood next to steven, ruffling his hair.
"any friend of steven's is a friend of mine," said spinel extending an arm to X's blue metal shoulder
"thank you all," said X, starting to feel like he might fit in thanks to steven, lapis, amethyst, and spinel vouching for him
"don't mention it, X," smiled steven, the young son of rose quartz, sensing the beginning of a beautiful friendship "feel free to come back and hang out with me sometime this week."
"I'll consider it," said X as he walked to the door to leave the temple for the day, "I think I should be going now."
Okay, see you, X!" waved steven and the others as they watched the maverick Hunter leave.
"Goodbye!" X waved as he exited the temple's front door and walked off into the sand beaches
Mega man x then returned to the lighthouse, where he met up with his fellow maverick hunters and iris and told them about what had happened today at the sky temple.
X almost felt a sense of relief in his heart. Initially, any reploid he tries to make friends with runs the risk of turning maverick at a moment's notice, as zero had warned him numerous times before. Even though X himself was not responsible for the reploids going maverick, he still blames himself for everything that happened in his world.
X hated war, even though he was forced to fight and had to make numerous hard decisions.
It only got worse whenever x had to put down those maverick hunters that had turned maverick or were maverick after all, like magma dragoon and double.
Zero and Alia, and the other maverick hunters were there to support X; however, when things got rough for him.
but perhaps in this world, despite the dangers and even greater ones that still occupy it, X and his friends could find relief, a break from fighting the war even, but eventually, X and his friends will have to go back to their time, but not now,
for now, they will make their home here in this timeline
Soon it would be zero's turn to take the crystal gem audition.
But the maverick hunters will also have to face their first serious mission with the crystal gems, for there are hundreds of corrupted gems around the globe.
Chapter 5: The Sea Spire
Chapter Text
Author's note I'm sorry for being absent from this Crossover for three years, for a long time, I got caught up with life and other things elsewhere
But now I finally have gotten the motivation to work on this again! Crystal Hunter X is back! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
At the lighthouse high above the hills of the giant crystal temple, the maverick hunters had been busy at work for the past few days, making rooms for each other. Ever since X's audition with the crystal gems, the hunters realized that they would be stuck in Beach City for a while, so they would continue making their home away from home at the lighthouse.
And X, while settling in, felt like he couldn't leave Steven behind. He started feeling a need to be there for him.
The hunters had adjusted furniture and set up technological equipment with some financial help from Greg as gratitude for protecting his son. He was all too happy to return the favor. As they were setting up their new home, X and Zero worked on the furniture, Axl did his best with moving the computers around, and Iris was hard at work building a med bay to treat the wounded, reploid, human or otherwise. She had remembered her training as a medic while working for repliforce and as a navigator of the maverick hunters, and she was determined to help in any way she can
X had wished his navigator Alia was there with the hunters. Her past scientific expertise would be a great help for setting up the tech around their resting place on the lighthouse, but for now, the hunters would make do with what they had. After all, they had a duty to fulfill and would see it through.
One day, while sitting on a brown, soft fabric couch, X felt curious and decided to visit Steven and the crystal gems at the temple below while the others were working. After all, they had much to learn about each other, so he sat up and walked towards Zero, who was walking to the living room carrying a Box of tools.
"Hey, Zero," Greeted X, getting his best friend's attention.
"Hey, X," said Zero, facing X while carrying the tools. "What's up?"
"I'm going out to the crystal temple and visit Steven for a while," Answered X. "I'd like to get to know him better; you and the others keep up the good work here."
"Okay, X, but be careful," said Zero, who nodded his head. "something tells me there's more to that kid and his family than meets the eye."
"You think there's something more to the crystal gems?" asked X
"I think so, X," Said Zero skeptically, "especially with their leader, the mysterious rose quartz..."
X looked thoughtful. Zero had a point. Rose Quartz hadn't told the gems about the light cannon when they needed it to destroy the red eye on a collision course with Beach City, nor did she tell them the password.
"Anyway, we'll think it over later. X," Zero Spoke up, knowing this wasn't the time for theories. "Have fun with Steven, and take care of yourselves, okay?"
"We will, thanks, Zero," X smiled as he walked out the door. "I'll be back, guys!"
"Have fun, X!" Said Axl, who was pushing a table supported by steel beams
Zero nodded with a smile and returned to the task at hand, still wondering about Steven and her mother, Rose Quartz. He then laid down the box of tools and started assembling another table, which had just arrived earlier today by delivery.
Later, X arrived at the beach shore at the Crystal Temple and was getting closer to the house when he saw lapis lazuli exit the front door. When she turned around and noticed X after hearing his mechanical footsteps approaching
"Hey! X!" Waved Lapis with a smile, summoning a waving water hand from her back gemstone, and she rushed towards him.
"Hello lapis!" Greeted X with a gentle smile. "How are you?"
"I'm doing good today," said lapis. "How are you?"
"I feel the same way," nodded X. "How's Steven? Is he in the temple?"
"Yeah, he just came half an hour ago," nodded lapis, turning toward the temple. "he also got something in the mail earlier."
"Really? What is it?" Asked X with Curiosity
"He said it was some sort of backpack..." answered lapis, rubbing the back of her head
"A backpack?" Questioned X
Suddenly, The Temple's windows flashed with bright light, Catching X and Lapis' attention, who heard the commotion and saw the glowing blue lights before they faded.
"That must be the others!" Exclaimed Lapis, who ran towards the temple. "Come on! Steven's waiting for us!"
"I'm on my way!" Cried X, following lapis to the temple. Sand began blowing everywhere with each running step.
lapis and X each entered, opened the door to the temple and saw the three primary crystal gems in the room. Garnet was covered in feathers, pearl, and Amethyst, bickering over a giant egg from their recent battle, trying to get it to fit in the refrigerator and make an omelet out of it. All the while, Pearl was holding a strange idol-like statue in her hands, shaped like a woman holding a blue-white jewel with a shaped bottom on the pedestal.
Steven was on the couch holding a recently arrived package when Jamie, the mailman, noticed X and Lapis entering the temple and was delighted to see them.
"Hey X! Hey Lapis!" Greeted Steven with stars in his eyes again
"Hello, Steven!" X greeted with a smile before turning his attention to the gems
"Hey, Steven!" Smiled Lapis, who then hugged Steven in her light blue arms
"What happened to you guys?" Asked X, noting the feathers on Garnet's cube-like afro
"We fought a giant bird," said Pearl with a sly smile she was holding.
"You guys fought a giant bird?" asked X, surprised to find out that such bizarre creatures exist
"Yep, and we brought back an egg!" Said Amethyst with a grin and chuckled
"Cool!" Awed Steven
"We're only back for a second, though," said Pearl. "We got to go back out."
"Why?" Asked Steven from the couch
"What for?" Asked X before noticing the statue in Pearl's hands. "And what's that you're holding?"
"This Is the moon goddess statue," Explained Pearl, "and we've got to place it on top of the lunar sea spire before midnight; without it, the whole place will fall apart."
"What is the lunar sea spire?" Asked X confused
"Oh Steven, you and X should have the spire in its hay day," said Pearl excitedly before creating a holo projection from the gemstone on her forehead showing the spire and the gems who lived there millennia ago during the war for Earth "It was an oasis for gems on earth."
"An oasis for gems?" Said X, surprised. "You mean there's more like you guys?"
"Yeah, there are X, but..." said lapis before crossing her arms and sighing sadly. "not all of them are like us, though..."
"Very true, lapis," nodded Pearl, who then disengaged the holo-projection. "It's abandoned now, but we can still save it with this statue."
"Gasp! That's perfect!" Cried Steven
"Why is that, Steven?" Asked X, raising an eyebrow under his helmet
"Because I can help carry it for you guys!" Answered Steven, who then opened his package. "In this!"
Steven then made dramatic and enthusiastic noises as he unveiled his delivery, a backpack shaped like a cheeseburger. Steven pulled out his new backpack and presented it to the gems.
"A Hamburger?" Asked Pearl, not knowing what to make of Steven's new gift
"It's a novelty backpack shaped like a cheeseburger!" Said Steven, who looked at his new backpack with pride. "Aw, man...I blew it."
"Why do you say that, Steven?" asked X, concerned.
"Because X, I was just gonna wear it one day, and they'll think I'm cool!" Said Steven, putting on his new backpack. "but this is important gem business,"
"Yes, so you should let us take Care of it," said Pearl nonchalantly
"Whaaat?" Steven said in disbelief before lifting his shirt and unveiling his belly gem. "I'm a gem too!"
"What?" Said X in surprise before kneeling down to look at the gemstone in bewilderment. "But aren't you human?"
"Oh yeah, I never told you and your friends X..." said Steven "I'm half gem!"
"Half gem and half human?" Asked X, "How is this possible?"
"It's..a long story. I'll tell you about it another time," said Steven, rubbing the back of his head before facing the crystal gems again. "the point is I'm a crystal gem too, and I should go with you,"
"But you still got a lot to learn," said Pearl sternly and rather condescendingly
"Now hang on a minute, pearl," said a female voice, causing Pearl to widen her eyes in surprise
Pearl and the others looked up to see Spinel hanging upside down on a wooden beam of the temple, her elastic legs wrapped around it. She released her legs and fell to the floor, only to spring back up straight while looking at Pearl with disapproval.
"How's Steven gonna learn if he doesn't try?" Said Spinel with a frown and sternly tapping her foot, which made squeaky noises
"Yeah, Pearl, let him come!" Vouched Amethyst: "It'll be educational~"
Pearl thought about it for a moment. She thought Steven wasn't worthy of joining them on missions because she did not know enough of his powers, but on the other hand, Spinel was right. How is Steven going to learn if he doesn't try? She then relented
"Alright," sighed Pearl, passing the moon goddess statue to Steven, "you can carry it in your hamburger."
Steven grasped the statue, knelt down, and opened his backpack, revealing its many functions. X looked at it with curiosity.
"Check this out! Everything's a pocket! Even the cheese is a pocket!" Exclaimed Steven excitedly
"Is it really?" Asked X, having never heard of a backpack shaped like a cheeseburger before
"Yeah! I could fit a lot more stuff in here!" Said Steven before rushing off around the living room. "Give me a minute! I'll pack extra supplies."
"Okay, but hurry," nodded X, "we gotta leave as soon as possible!"
"Don't worry, X! I'll be ready," said Steven as he began loading stuff into his backpack
"I just love him," smiled lapis
"Yeah, he's adorable!" squealed Spinel, placing her gloved hands on her left cheek.
X had to admit that this was a nice change of pace from how he and his fellow hunters did their missions and with such pleasant company.
"Alright, When Steven's ready, I'd like to go with you guys," Requested X, hoping to keep Steven safe alongside the gems.
"I'm coming too!" said Lapis. "Knowing what's over there, you may need my help too!"
"That's fine by us," nodded Garnet, her future vision already at work. "The more, the merrier."
"I guess I'll stay here then," said Spinel with a hint of sadness. "Try not to be gone too long!"
"We'll do our best, spinel," reassured X, placing a hand on Spinel's squeaky shoulder. "and Don't worry, we'll be back."
A few minutes passed, and Steven continued to pack things in his new backpack with X watching over him on his bed. Steven had made sure to pack things that may be useful on the way to the lunar sea spire.
"Steeeeeven!" Called Pearl impatiently. "Let's goooooo!"
"Coming!" said Steven before coming down the stairs in a hurry
X went to follow Steven when the blue reploid Noticed something on the floor and picked it up. He then decided to hang on to it and put it on his back before rushing to the other crystal gems on the warp pad in the center of the temple.
"Woah, Steven, did you pack your whole room?" Asked pearl
"I don't think that backpack can carry a whole room pearl," replied X
"She was just joking, X," said Amethyst teasingly
"see you guys soon!" said spinel, waving an enlarged hand "please be back soon!"
"Let's warp!" Announced Garnet before the warp pad lit up and shot out a pillar of light, engulfing the group except Steven, whose gut was blocking a section of the warp streamX noticed this and grabbed him back into the warp pad. The pillar of light then fully engulfed the crystal gems and transported them across a light tube. The blue maverick hunter held on to Steven to keep him from floating away. The young gem hybrid laughed in excitement all the while,
A few moments later, the warp took them to the lunar sea spire. The building was enormous, a gigantic tower whose architecture was similar to Ancient Rome with a spiral staircase to the top of the ancient alien tower, but what amazed X and Steven the most was the water surrounding it was being held back from engulfing it by a gravitational field keep the ocean waters from flooding the structure while the ground they stood on was the seabed of the ocean
"Whoa..." awed Steven, taking in the area's beauty as X put him down. "The sea spire!"
"What is this place?" Asked X with wide eyes, never having seen this type of structure in his days as a maverick hunter
"Welcome to the lunar sea spire X," sighed lapis, who walked forward when suddenly a section of the sea spire broke off and crashed into the raging whirlpool below the tower
Everyone walked off the warp pad and took in their surroundings on the seabed floor. X and Steven, the most curious among them,
"It wasn't like this a hundred years ago..." sighed Pearl as she stepped forward
"I'm foreseeing structural instability," said Garnet as she adjusted her visor
Steven was about to comment when he felt the ground cracking beneath him. When he saw what was happening, he backed up before bumping into X's left armored leg. Steven looked up and saw X looking down at him. The other crystal gems looked relieved to see Steven was all right.
"Are you okay, Steven?" Asked X before he knelt down and helped him up
"Yeah, I'm okay, X," replied Steven
"I'm glad, but you've got to be more careful," said X, worried for Steven's safety
"I know, but I can do this X!" Nodded Steven
"I know you can," nodded X, "but please stay close to us. We'll protect you."
"Okay, X," said Steven with a thumbs-up
"Alright, let's keep moving!" Said X, getting everyone back on track
The crystal gems moved toward a cliff that would be a bridge to the sea spire, but there was no bridge to get across. Garnet signaled everyone to halt.
"What's the hold-up?" Asked Amethyst, "We can clear this easily!"
"No," said Garnet cautiously, looking down at the whirlpool below the spire. "The Gravity field that sustains the whirlpool creates a vortex that will pull us below."
To demonstrate this, Garnet threw a nearby rock over the ridge, only for the rock to freeze and plummet down to the whirlpool below, pulled by the intense gravitational pull of the whirlpool.
"So, we can't jump?" Said Pearl before turning to lapis. "Can't you use the water here, lapis?"
"I'll try," said the aquatic crystal gem, holding out a hand to manipulate the water around her to create a bridge. But she couldn't; the vortex's G-forces were too intense. "Ugh...I can't. The whirlpool's too strong."
"What do we do?" Asked X
"Wait a minute!" Said Steven, who just had an idea before he pulled out two sweaters from his backpack and tied them together
"What are those for?" Asked amethyst
"They were for keeping warm, but check it out!" Said Steven before he slung the two sweaters onto a hole on the spire railing before positioning himself and grasping the other end like a grapple rope
"It's like a grapple!" Cried X before he also got an idea. "Hold on a minute, Steven."
"What are you gonna do, X?" Asked Steven, looking at his Reploid friend with interest
X Turned his Armor Purple and Equipped his X-buster, charging it up before aiming at the same hole Steven used to secure his grapple hold on it. He fired his Strike Chain special weapon at the hole. The hook at the end of the chain wrapped itself around the hole with its claws tightly. With the grapple secure, X moved towards Steven's side while keeping his strike chain secured at the grapple point.
"Cool!" Steven cried, amazed at X's Special Weapon. "You have a grapple, too!"
"Thank you, Steven," smiled X as he nodded at Steven. "It's called strike chain, actually."
"Okay, let's do this," said Steven as he took a deep breath and prepared himself, but the crystal gems looked on with worry
"Steven!" Cried Amethyst, worried for her little adoptive brother
"Wait," cried Pearl with anxiety, "it's not safe!"
"Don't worry, guys," X reassured as he wrapped a metal arm around Steven and grasped his waist. I'll protect Steven."
"Let's go! X!" cried Steven, eager to make the jump
The Original Reploid Nodded and the duo rushed off the cliff and jumped across with their grapples. Suddenly, the vortex's gravitational pull pulled them down, and they found themselves hanging for dear life. The crystal gems cried out Steven's name with worry.
"STEVEN!" They yelled with horror in their eyes
X, refusing to lose Steven to the vortex, held him closer and planted his metal boots on the side of the spire. Steven placed at X for a moment and shared a look of gratitude with X before they let out a loud cry of determination as X and Steven pulled themselves up the top, fighting against the vortex's pull until they landed at the top of the spire, X and Steven Panted as they released their grapples and the other crystal gems looked on in shock.
"Way to go, guys! You made it," cheered Amethyst before turning to the other crystal gems. "C'mon, guys! Steven and X style!"
"Right behind you, amethyst," smirked lapis
Amethyst summoned her whip and wrapped it around the same hole Steven and X used to get across the spire. She then held garnet and pearl around her left arm while lapis lazuli piggyback rode Amethyst's back. The purple crystal gem then rushed off the cliff and, just like before, struggled against the vortex's gravitational pull, but Amethyst didn't give up and landed her boots on the side wall of the spire and got to the top before releasing her passengers.
"Whew! Don't ever do that again!" Pearl Scolded Steven, who was waiting by X's side
"I'm sorry," said Steven, rubbing his left arm awkwardly
"...But, it was pretty great," said Pearl, ruffling Steven's hair before they continued on their joinery through the sea spire to the top
The crystal gems continued their trek across the sea spire. They saw the structure had been worn down by sea erosion and dilapidated for centuries. Pearl continuously lamented the spire's fate for having been abandoned for so long, which annoyed Lapis because she felt Steven wasn't getting enough credit or respect.
X looked confused since he didn't know much about Gem history yet. He was confident, however, that he and his fellow hunters would cross that bridge when they got there. Still, as X was walking with his friends, his thoughts were focused on Steven as he looked at him with worry in his heart and how he was hanging for dear life earlier against the vortex, X was glad his strength could protect Steven from falling, but he was still worried about him but respected his determination nonetheless.
Lapis noticed X's body language as they walked through the spire and placed a blue hand on his left metal shoulder pad.
"What's the matter, X?" Asked Lapis, ignoring Pearl's spiel about the damage to the sea spire
"I'm just worried about Steven..." Sighed X,
"Aw... don't worry, X," said Steven with a smile, still carrying his backpack. "I'll be alright."
"But...you almost fell into the vortex," said X. "If you did...I..."
"Hey, don't worry about it, X!" reassured Lapis. "Steven's safe right now, and he has us to look after him! He'll be fine."
"Yeah, don't worry too much, X!" Replied Amethyst. "Steven Can do this! We're all in this together!"
"... you're right!" Nodded X, regaining his resolve and sweeping his thoughts aside, "There's no time to be wishy-washy here! We still have a mission to complete!"
"That's the spirit X," nodded Garnet with a smile, and they continued.
Later, coming across a ledge, Pearl, X, and Steven looked at a four-armed statue with two hands clasped together, two hands waving upward, and a head that was missing a section.
"Oh, Steven, X," sighed Pearl, looking at the statue's structural damage. "Once the statue's in place, it'll restore all of this to its former glory..."
Suddenly, small invertebrate-like gem creatures crawled out from behind the statue's back, causing Pearl's anxiety to spike through the roof, and she stammered before she summoned her spear and sliced the statue in half with one swipe. Making it fall into the whirlpool below
"What was that goober?" Said Steven, startled by Pearl's frantic outburst
"Crystal shrimp!" Cried pearl, still shaken by the statue's infestation
"Crystal shrimp?" Asked X. "I don't think those looked like shrimp..."
"You guys!" Called Amethyst, "We got a problem!"
The trio joined the rest of the crystal gems to find an infestation of crystal shrimp. The invertebrates were worming their way around the floor, and on two pillars, they were everywhere, blocking their path to the top of the ancient structure.
"It's an infestation!" Said Pearl, disgusted by the sight of the crystal shrimp infesting the spire grounds. "And we have to pass through there to get to the top."
"Can't you just squish 'em?" Asked Steven, leaning toward the shrimp
"Don't touch that! Don't touch that; their shards are deadly!" cried Pearl frantically, grabbing Steven from behind before shoving him aside. "We need to clear a path!"
Pearl began to lay out a complex plan to get past the crystal shrimp with garnet and Amethyst, projecting holograms in the process, but while she was talking, Steven looked down at his backpack before looking at X and lapis, who gave him a thumbs up in approval, showing a grateful smile Steven rummaged through his backpack until he found ingredients for a bagel sandwich with them in hand, Steven created two of them quickly and rushed out just as pearl was finishing her plan.
"Bagel sandwich!" Cried Steven as he flung out the two bagel sandwiches he had made at the crystal shrimp. They then crawled to the two sandwiches to devour them with ease and, in the process, cleared the path.
"Oh hey! What do you know!" Smiled amethyst
"Brilliant!" Smirked garnet
"Cheeseburger backpack saves the day again!" Cheered lapis with a thumbs-up
Pearl stammered and couldn't believe her eyes, not only were the crystal shrimp out of the way, but her complex plan was outwitted by a far simpler one; she then walked up to Steven in disbelief.
"how...did you know that would work?" Asked pearl
"Well, if I were a shrimp, that's what I would do," replied Steven
"Simple but effective," smiled X, giving Steven another thumbs up. "Great work, Steven!"
X and Steven rejoined the crystal gems on their walk to the top of the spire.
"Thanks, X!" Nodded Steven and followed the other crystal gems past the invertebrates
"I just want everyone to know: my plan would have also worked." Said Pearl, trying to preserve a shred of dignity
"Pfft yeah right," scoffed lapis, rolling her eyes, not believing Pearl before rejoining the others
The group climbed the spiral staircase to the top, but then Garnet saw something in her future vision that foresaw danger up ahead after narrowing down countless possibilities. She halted the crystal gems with a hand.
"Watch out!" Cried Garnet, holding out a hand to stop everyone urgently
As Garnet halted everyone, the wall began to crack and then exploded open with a torrent of water shooting out of it, flooding and breaking apart the bridge in front of them, blocking the gems' path again. The crystal gems looked in bewilderment as they wondered how they would be able to get across
"What are we gonna do?" Asked Amethyst
"Lapis," said Garnet, Already predicting the answer to their problem, "You're up!"
"You got it, garnet," nodded lapis, who walked forward and stretched her hands, making them pop. "This is a job for me!"
With a mere gesture of her hand, lapis lazuli halted the flowing stream of water in its tracks and turned it into a water bridge to get across. X looked at Lapis' powers with amazement. He never met anyone with that much control and power over water. He wondered just how powerful she was
"Great work, lapis!" Smiled Steven with literal stars in his eyes
"Anytime, Steven!" Waved lapis before walking across the bridge construct "Come on everybody,"
"We're right behind you, lapis!" Nodded, X followed lapis across with the crystal gems behind them
They climbed up the rest of the stairway to the top of the lunar sea spire. As Pearl talked more about the spire, X grew more curious about the crystal gems and the corrupted gem he and the hunters fought when they arrived in this timeline. Just what were they, and where did they come from? X knew that this was not the time and place to find answers to those questions.
The group continued their way up the lunar sea spire until, at last, they reached their destination, the top of the sea spire. The sky had turned dark, indicating that it was nighttime from where they were, with the moon almost overhead in the beautiful night sky; Steven and X marveled at the beauty; the top was surrounded by triangular-shaped edges, while in the middle stood the moon goddess pedestal, which was comprised of a cone shape with a section made to hold the moon goddess pedestal.
"This is it! The moon goddess pedestal" gasped Pearl before looking at the sky to see the moon. "And the moon is almost overhead!"
X and Steven followed Pearl's excited gaze to see the moon nearing its overhead orbit. The moonlight shone down on Steven and reflected off X's Blue metal body.
"It's not too late to save this piece of history!" squeed Pearl with excitement
"So, placing the moon goddess statue on the pedestal will restore the sea spire?" Asked X. "the place was falling apart every step of the way."
"Yes, that's right," nodded Pearl, "and don't worry, I'm sure this will work."
"Steven," said Garnet, turning to the young gem hybrid, "the statue."
Steven nodded and opened his cheeseburger backpack to find the moon goddess statue, but his eyes widened when he couldn't feel it; frantically, he tried again, searching all the pockets in his backpack. The crystal gems looked at him as he tried vainly to find the moon goddess statue.
"What's the hold-up?" Asked amethyst
"Yeah, is everything alright? Summer fun, buddy?" Said lapis
"...I don't have it," realized Steven with fear and sweated bullets
"What!?" Gasped pearl
"I must have left it on the bed!" theorized Steven
Pearl looked at the moon just inches away from being overhead from the sea spire. Steven looked guilty. He felt this was all his fault. He had forgotten to pack the statue before they left the temple that morning.
"There's... There's no time..." stammered Pearl. "Without the moon goddess statue, the sea spire will never see the light of day again..."
"Do you mean this?" Asked X as he grabbed something from his back and revealed it to be the moon goddess statue, making the crystal gems widen their eyes and smile with relief
"There it is!" Smiled Steven with relief
"That's it!" Cried Pearl with awe. "The moon goddess statue! Where was it?"
"I found it lying on Steven's bed when he was packing up before we left," explained X with a smile. "I knew we couldn't just leave it there."
"Oh X...thanks a lot!!" Said Steven, hugging X's right leg
"You're welcome, Steven." nodded X and hugged him back.
Then, the blue maverick hunter kneeled down and passed the statue to Steven.
"So Steven," said X, "would you like to do the honors?"
"Do I ever!" Said Steven, grabbing the statue and walking towards the pedestal with the moon goddess statue in hand
"Hurry, Steven!" Cried Pearl. "The moon is almost overhead!"
Steven continued to walk towards the pedestal and set the moon goddess statue on it where it would fit the spike-shaped bottom. The pedestal shot out a beam of light that struck the moon at overhead orbit in perfect alignment and engulfed the statue, causing blue lines to form underneath the pedestal. The statue began to levitate above the pad as the crystal gems watched in awe.
But at that moment, as it rose, the moon goddess statue began to disintegrate and then exploded in mid-air, leaving behind a cloud of dust. The crystal gems looked dumbfounded, but their troubles were not over yet. The lunar sea spire suddenly began to shake and rumble, and everyone held for dear life. X and Steven suddenly saw the ocean water starting to close in to fill the hole in the ocean after countless millennia with the gravitational barrier destroyed.
"Everyone! Keep Steady!" Cried Garnet, trying to keep everyone on their feet, but Amethyst and lapis fell over as the structure continued to wobble and collapse
"No! No! No!" Said Steven repeatedly
X tried his best to keep his balance, but he saw lapis on the floor of the spire, too shaken by the quake to concentrate and use her powers. X knew he had to act quickly, or he and his friends would be buried in the ocean, putting on a look of determination, the blue maverick. Hunter Dashed toward the tower's edge; the crystal gems watched as X Charged up his X-Buster before waving out his hands and unleashing one of his special weapons.
"FROST TOWER!" cried X. Suddenly, a gigantic ice shard materialized in the sky and crashed into the ocean before them, making big waves creating a giant ice platform. "Everyone! Hurry!"
"Good thinking, X!" cried Garnet as she ran over to jump on the ice platform
One by one, the crystal gems rushed over to the ice platform and jumped on it. X went to jump on the ice platform, but it was too late. The floor split in two, and X fell down with a cry before he was swallowed up by the ocean along with the spire. Steven rushed out to grab him, but he saw X sinking into the sea below.
"X!!" Cried Steven with sadness, and tears were forming in his eyes before turning to the gems. "Guys! Come on! We have to rescue him."
"We're right behind you, Steven," nodded lapis with a look of determination.
"Yeah, we're not leaving our buddy behind!" Nodded Amethyst
Lapis then created a giant water bubble in front of the ice platform. The crystal gems nodded to each other and got inside the bubble, with lapis taking place at the center; she commanded the bubble construct to dive underwater but kept the water from getting in and drowning Steven inside; the young gem hybrid looked around in the bubble for any sign of X until he saw him sinking into the water with his arms raised, moments later he landed on the ocean bottom and gathered his barrings before turning his attention to the collapsing sea spire.
Steven and the gems searched for X on the bottom, who was dusting himself off; lapis continued to steer the bubble before she spotted X and moved the bubble towards their robotic friend in need; the crystal gems got ready to jump out of the bubble, and into the bottom sea level to rescue their friend.
"Look! There's X!" cried Steven, who pointed at the original reploid, who turned his head to Steven when he heard him. "Guys! Let's hurry!"
"No problem, Steven!" Said Amethyst as she, Pearl, and Garnet jumped out of the bubble to land beside X, who then rushed toward his friends
"X!" Are you okay?" Asked Garnet with concern; she was unfazed by the water level since gems are immune to needing oxygen
"Yeah... I'm alright, " said X with a frown. "But the spire, it's destroyed."
"Aw...this is all my fault.." Sighed Steven with sadness, "I broke it..."
"No...Steven, the spire was already falling apart when we got here," said Pearl, trying to reassure Steven. "you and X handled everything well under pressure; you both did great,"
"Are you sure, pearl?" Asked X
"I'm positive X" nodded pearl
"Yeah, don't worry, Steven," said lapis, ruffling Steven's hair. "you did a great job on this mission with us! And got to see the spire up close!"
"And besides, you and lapis also did a good job of taking care of Steven," Comforted Garnet, placing her hands on X's metal shoulder pads. "don't blame yourselves for this outcome."
"Thank you, Garnet," nodded X. "I'm glad I could help take care of Steven."
Steven was starting to feel better as he hugged lapis by her leg, and lapis shared a heartwarming smile. But then, suddenly, they heard an underwater growl. The crystal gems and X turned their heads toward the source of the sound, got into defensive stances, summoned their weapons, and lapis braced herself in the bubble.
*siren effects*
WARNING!
From out of the shadows of the water came a Corrupted gem with a barrel-shaped gelatinous body with three pairs of short stubby legs with four fingers; the creature resembled a water bear parasite; its head had a lavender-violet coned gemstone on it, making it it's eye, the water bear crawled towards the gems and roared out again, threatening them.
"What is that thing?" Asked X, gripping his X-buster arm
"It's a water bear!" Cried Pearl, grasping her spear. "Everyone! Attack!"
The water bear jumped up and tried to body slam the crystal gems, but they rolled out of the way just in time; lapis controlled the bubble to steer away from the ongoing battle and protect Steven. X rolled to the side and fired several shots from his X-buster at the water bear, dealing damage to it and getting it to roll over; the water bear then got back up and retaliated by firing an orb of blue ooze out; X charged his buster and fired at the glob, making it explode.
Garnet unleashed a double rocket punch from her gauntlets at the water bear, hitting its left side. The water bear sprawled over, injured, and let out a growl of irritation. Then, charging at Garnet, Amethyst hit her in the face with a spin dash. The water bear retaliated by knocking Amethyst to the side.
"Amethyst!" Cried Pearl as she rushed to recover amethyst
"You're gonna pay for that!" Cried X as he fired his X-buster at the water bear
The water bear took some damage but crawled towards X and jumped to body-slam him. X barely got away from the water bear, but he was sent sprawling over; he then recovered and fired two homing torpedos at it in retaliation; the water bear squealed in pain from the two projectiles and rushed toward X again, but suddenly, the water bear was wrapped around its stomach by Amethyst's whip, who looked at the corrupted gem with a grin.
"I don't think so, dude!" Smirked Amethyst before swinging the water bear around and around and then let go, sending the corrupted gem flying across the ocean
"Go get her, guys!!" Cheered Steven, rooting for the crystal gems and their robotic friend
The water bear slammed against a giant rock on the ocean floor and sprawled across it before roaring and charging at the crystal gems blindly in a rage. Pearl attacked swiftly with her spear and slashed the water bear three times before firing an orb of light at it, knocking it down to the floor.
The water bear barely recovered when it was hit by several shots from X's buster. This pushed the water bear back and allowed the crystal gems to regroup near X, who kept his buster trained on the corrupted gem as she struggled to get up from the damage it was taking in this underwater battle. The crystal gems readied themselves to deal the final blow.
"Looks like she's almost down for the count!" Said Amethyst, cracking her whip
"Yeah, but when this is over," said X, keeping his arm cannon aimed at the water bear, "I would like an explanation on these kinds of gems!"
"You'll have one soon enough," Nodded Garnet, holding up her fists. "Now, let's finish this!"
The water bear roared and jumped up to do a body slam, only for X to fire his shotgun ice special weapon, launching a shard of ice and freezing the water bear upon impact, seeing their chance garnet and amethyst attack with a one-two punch combo and a spin dash, breaking the ice off of the water bear, X charged up his X-Buster to level 2 and fired at the water bear, dealing significant damage as the water bear shrieked in pain.
But Garnet was not done yet; she jumped up and delivered one final punch to the water bear in the stomach and slammed it crashing to the ground, sending sand and pebbles everywhere. With one final roar, the water bear exploded in a cloud of dust along the ocean seabed, and only her gemstone remained. Garnet knelt down and bubbled it before sending it back to the crystal temple with a simple tap.
"You did it, guys!!" Cheered Steven, pumping a fist. "You got her!"
"Great job everyone!" Nodded X. "Mission accomplished!"
"Thanks, X!" chuckled Amethyst
"X! You did it!" Called Steven, catching X's attention, whose eyes then widened upon seeing Steven in the bubble
"Steven! Are you alright!?" Asked X, worried for Steven's life, thinking that he would drown inside the water bubble construct
"Don't worry, X! He's fine," reassured lapis with a smile. "As long as I'm holding up this bubble, Steven won't drown!"
"You...you can control the water?" Asked X in bewilderment
"Yep, I sure can!" Said Lapis. "By the way, how are you not drowning?"
"Yes, that's what I would want to know as well," said Pearl, who walked up to X, curious about his ability to survive and function underwater. "any other human wouldn't survive down here,"
"But... I'm not a human..." said X, who turned to face Pearl. "I'm a reploid."
"Repli-what?" Said Amethyst, confused,
"Reploid," corrected Garnet.
"A reploid is a new type of robot who can think and act independently," explained X. "Just like human beings, it's a long story."
"Whoa! That's cool!" Said, Steven
"Very Interesting," agreed Garnet. "but I think we should hear more about it when we get back to the temple."
"I'm with you, Garnet," nodded lapis. "Come on inside, X! It's time we head back up."
"You got it!" Nodded X, who dash jumped up to the bubble alongside the crystal gems
With everyone inside, lapis brought everyone back up to the surface near the frost tower ice platform X created before the battle below, and everyone sat down on the ice. Steven looked at the former sight of the sea spire with distraught eyes; he felt like he had failed the mission despite that they had managed to poof a corrupted gem in the process.
"Sigh...this is all my fault!" sobbed Steven "I broke it"
"No...Steven, the Spire was falling apart when we got here," comforted Pearl, who walked up to Steven and sat down next to him. "You and X handled everything well under pressure. You both did great!"
"And don't forget we got another corrupted gem monster poofed!" said Amethyst, who joined Steven and Pearl next to them. "It's not a total loss at all!"
"And at least we got to see the spire one last time." nodded lapis
"Yeah! I guess you're right!" Steven said. " It was a successful mission, after all."
"That's the spirit, Steven!" Nodded X with a smile, "and I'll be more than happy to tell you guys more about reploids"
"We would appreciate that X," said Pearl, who then put a hand on her chin. Now then...how will we get back to the temple?"
"Steven?" Asked X, who walked up to Steven, "Any ideas?"
"Wait...me!?" asked Steven, surprised the gems were looking to him for ideas
"What have you got?" Asked Garnet, referring to his cheeseburger backpack
Steven snapped to attention, opened up his backpack, and began to rummage through it for anything that would get them back home, during which Amethyst chanted "cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack!" several times and got Pearl and lapis to join her, giving Steven more confidence as he rummaged through backpack for the answer to their problem until he pulls out...
"A raft!" Cried Steven, pulling out a yellow colored inflatable raft with a red plastic handle on it"That could work!" Nodded Amethyst
Steven pulled the red handle on the raft to inflate it. Once fully inflated, Steven tossed the raft into the water, and everyone got on board and sat down. Then, they prepared for the long trip home by sailing the ocean back.
"It's a three-hour paddle home," notified Garnet.
"I'll try to speed things up," said lapis, putting out her hand and commanding the water to push the raft forward. "this way, we don't have to worry about any tidal waves on the way back."
"Thanks a lot summer fun buddy!" Smiled Steven "And X?"
"Yeah, Steven?" Said X, glancing at the young gem hybrid
"I'm glad you could come with us on this mission," said Steven with gratitude
"You're very welcome, Steven," smiled X with a thumbs up and looked at the sea before them.
Steven laid down between lapis and X as the raft carried them home to the crystal temple, leaving the destroyed lunar sea spire behind. While the gems sat sail, garnet ruffled Steven's hair with a smile. Steven and X had many questions forming in their minds, what are reploids? And what are these corrupted gems? These would be answered in time over at the crystal temple; it was a long boat ride back; X then activated his com-link to contact his fellow maverick hunters back at the lighthouse, telling them he was going to be a while before he and the gems return home...
Chapter 6: Chapter 5 Getting To Know Each Other
Chapter Text
A few hours later, on the edge of the beach outside the crystal temple, Zero, Axl, and Iris stood close to the ocean, awaiting the return of their dear friend X. The crystal gems beside them were Bismuth and Spinel, who looked anxious as they watched the waves wash over the sandy shores in the sky. The sun was almost setting, the skies darkened, and the sun's light grew brighter and shone across the waves.
After receiving a call from X, Zero gathered the other maverick hunters and informed Bismuth and Spinel that Steven and the others wouldn't be warping back to the sea spire's collapse not too long ago. Thankfully, Steven loaded a raft into his new cheeseburger backpack and was now using the raft to swim their way back.
Zero stood with his arms crossed, his long blonde Ponytail dangling in the wind on the right, and he waited alongside the others. He knew it would be a while before X and the others returned, but Zero had faith in X. They were like brothers to each other and always had each other's backs during the wars they fought long before Iris and Axl came along.
Zero still had suspicions about the crystal gems and their origins, particularly their leader, the mysterious rose quartz, and whether or not they could be trusted. So far, they didn't seem to trust Greg in the slightest, and it appeared that Rose didn't tell them about the light cannon, which was left with Greg all along, brushing these toughs aside. However, Zero knew this was not the time for that as he stood watch in front of the ocean.
"Two and a half hours had passed," said Zero, looking at the ocean before them. "they should be back any minute now."
"I sure hope so," said Spinel with a worried tone, "they've been gone an awful long time."
"Hey, don't worry, Spinel," Bismuth reassured, placing a hand on Spinel's squeaky shoulder. You heard what Zero said. They had a mishap along the way…but they'll be back soon and back to Bismuth!"
"Back to bismuth?" Chuckled Axl with an amused grin
"It's a figure of speech," said Bismuth jokingly. "You'll get used to it!"
"You know… I'd actually like that," nodded Axl with a thumbs-up
"Heheheheheh! I like you already!" Spinel giggled with a toothy grin before looking at the ocean again. "Though…I suppose you guys are right! They'll be back…right?"
"They will be back, Spinel, don't worry," said Iris softly, walking up to Spinel; the wind was making her long maple brown hair flow to the left. "X told us they're coming…so please be patient."
"But... what if…" Spinel said uncertainly, but Iris surprised her with a warm hug, making her body squeak like a toy.
"Spinel, let's not worry about that," reassured Zero, turning to face the pink jester with a smile at Iris hugging her. "focus on the here and now, and if it makes you feel better, I'll give X another Call."
"Thank you, Zero, Iris." Spinel nodded, returning Iris's hug. Right, I'll keep waiting!"
"That's the spirit!" Nodded Bismuth
"Yeah! But know you…I wish I had gone with them," said Axl as he twirled one of his Axl bullet guns on his right arm. "I'd be glad to blast some bad guys."
"X and the others had it covered, Axl," said Zero. "Don't get careless."
"I know, but still..." sighed Axl, putting down his handgun before something caught his eye at the ocean. "Wait! Could that be them?"
Axl pointed a finger at the ocean, and everyone followed his finger to see the raft X and the crystal gems were on; lapis continued to use her powers to boost the raft's speed and direction to the crystal temple; the others watched with relief as the raft was closing in on the temple.
Onboard the raft, Steven had fallen asleep during the long journey back to the temple; garnet watched over him, and Amethyst looked out along the front of the yellow raft, her lengthy hair flowing along the wind. X and Pearl awaited the sight of the crystal temple. When X saw Zero and his friends at the beach waiting to form them, he raised his head and smiled at them.
"Zero! Axl!" Cried X, waving a hand. "We're back!"
"Wha?" Stirred Steven, waking up from slumber. "What's going on?"
"We're home free, dude!" Cried Amethyst. "Hey, guys!! We're back!"
"We are?" Steven said before looking out to see the crystal temple dead ahead. Steven smiled when he saw it. "We are!"
"Yep! Welcome home, everybody!" Said Lapis, who released her hold on the sea and let the raft swim on its own
"Hey, guys!! "Steven waved a hand, and X also waved a hand. "We're back!"
"X! Steven! Everyone!" Called Zero, waving a hand at them. "You made it back!"
"Oh, Steven!! "Spinel called, with hearts in her eyes for the young boy. "Welcome home!"
Spinel ran her legs so fast they turned into wheels; she ran up to the raft just as it was embarking on the shore and tackled Steven, wrapping her elastic arms around him in a bear hug. Steven giggled at this as Spinel nuzzled her checks on him. Bismuth chuckled at the sight of this, and she and the others approached the raft to welcome their friends home at the crystal temple.
"Hiya Spinel!" Chuckled Steven as the stretchy gem released her hold on him
"Oh, Steven…" said Spinel with a relieved smile. I'm so glad you're home!"
"Me too, Spinel!" Smiled Steven "I'm sorry for making you worry about me…"
"Awww, don't worry about it, Steven!" Giggled Spinel, placing a gloved hand on Steven's hair. "I'm just glad you're back safe and sound!"
One by one, the crystal gems and X got off the raft. They walked up to the shore, and then Steven pulled the raft off the coast a few inches before opening the air valve and deflating the raft; there was no need for it at this point, anyway. The crystal gems greeted each other while X walked up to Zero, and the duo shared a handshake.
"So glad to have you back, Steven!" Smiled Axl, who walked up to the young gem hybrid
"Aw, thanks, Axl!" Said Steven, looking up at the young reploid prototype
"Steven!" Called a voice in the distance. Steven turned his head to see his father running up to him from the right of the temple.
"Dad!" Cried Steven, who rushed up to his father, Greg, with a smile
"Welcome home, Schtu-ball!" Cried Greg, rushing up to Steven and wrapping his son in a father-and-son hug
"Aw, thanks, Dad!" Said Steven warmly, returning the hug
"You gave me a heart attack out there, though," said Greg with a concerned look on his face. "For a long time, I was worried you were…"
"Don't worry, Dad. I'm here now, safe and sound," said Steven, "thanks to X and the gems!"
"Oh yeah…the gems," nodded Greg, looking at them with a hint of uneasiness before turning his attention to the blue reploid. "And yeah, X did a good job, too!"
"Thank you, Greg," said X, walking over to him and Steven. "I'm glad I could help."
"I appreciate it, X," said Greg, "but I'm pretty curious…are you human? By any chance?"
"No, Greg, I'm a reploid," said X, placing a hand on his metal chest
"A reploid?" Asked Greg, raising an eyebrow; he couldn't believe he was talking to a robot. "What in the world is that?"
"X said he and his friends were gonna explain it to us when we got back," replied Steven, but then he yawned, "…at least I think he is."
"I will, Steven, but I think we should get you to bed," smiled X. "It's been a long day."
"Awww, but X…" said Steven, who looked tired after a long day of swimming back to the temple on a raft
"X's right, schtu-ball," said Greg, ruffling his son's hair. "You've had a long day; let's rest up!"
"Yeah, and then tomorrow we'll explain everything," said X, "but I would also like to know more about the gems!"
"Oh…okay, Dad," said Steven before showing his new cheeseburger backpack. "By the way, Dad! Do you like my new backpack"
"Oh! That backpack looks tasty!" Joked Greg, already loving the cheeseburger backpack
"Thanks, Dad!" Giggled Steven. "I'm glad you like it."
"Yeah, it really came, though!" Smiled X with a thumbs-up
"It sure did, seeing how you guys managed to make it all the way back here," said Greg before turning to X. So, what say tomorrow we all sit down at the temple and get to know each other better?"
"Sure thing, Mr. Universe," nodded X.
"I think we can manage that," said Garnet, walking up to Greg
"Garnet, are you sure?" asked Pearl, who approached Garnet from the right side. "We don't even know anything about X and his friends."
"I'm positive, Pearl," nodded Garnet. "If X is willing to tell us about his nature and where he comes from, we must share some of our histories, too."
"Oh, alright…" Pearl said, rubbing her arm, clearly uncomfortable, "but I don't like it."
"Ugh, chill out, bird queen," Teased Amethyst. "It'd be cool to hang out with those metalheads and get to know them!"
"Amethyst's right pearl," said Garnet, putting a hand on her shoulder, "and besides…I see that X and his friends will be valuable allies for us in the future."
Even though Garnet was optimistic about a possible alliance with the maverick hunters from an alternate future, she was still frightened of X's limitless potential due to her future vision being unable to see an end to it no matter how hard she tried; it was a never-ending cycle of possibilities, to the point to where Garnet almost unfused due to the mental stress and fear of being unable to see an end when she is used to seeing the future and it's countless possibilities, brushing those thoughts aside however, garnet focused on the here and now such as how X was proving himself a valuable and ally, and looked forward to how Zero and Axl would do as well in the future.
Zero walked up next to X alongside Axl and Iris; behind them, Bismuth and Spinel were cleaning up, and lapis was moving the inflatable raft back inside the house, hoping to use it again in the future before they went to rejoin the others at the Maverick Hunters' side after their work was done.
"I'd be up for some history lessons here, too," Zero nodded before turning his head to Axl and Iris. "Are we all in agreement?"
"I'm up for it!" Nodded Axl. "it might not be the same as blasting some bad guys, but I guess it'll do."
"I'm also as curious of the gems as X is," nodded Iris. "we'll come by."
"Aww, thank you, Iris!" Smiled Steven, the maple-haired reploid giggled at Steven, loving ht young boy's innocence
"Then it's settled," nodded X. "We'll come to the crystal temple tomorrow after we have rested and learn more about each other."
"You got it, X," agreed Greg, placing a hand on Steven's shoulder. "I'm gonna go get Steven tucked in back at home."
"We'd better get going too," said Zero, "back to the lighthouse after a long mission."
"Tell me about it!" Chuckled Greg, "Let's go home, son."
"Okay, Dad," nodded Steven. "See you tomorrow, X!"
"See you tomorrow, Steven!" said X with a thumbs up. "Great job today!"
After bidding each other farewell, the gems returned to the temple. The maverick hunters walked their way back to the lighthouse on top of the gigantic slope of the crystal temple, and the crystal gems walked back into the beach house of the temple itself. Spinel waved Steven farewell for today, and the young gem hybrid returned the favor as Greg walked him to his home.
Greg took Steven back to his house; although Greg didn't make much money at a car wash, he was able to afford a modest living space at a coastal house over at the old docks of Beach City; it was nearby Greg's workplace, then it's a wash car wash shop.
"Here we are, the ball," said Greg with a smile. "Home sweet home!"
Steven smiled as he looked up at his home with Greg; it was a simple house that was based on coastal architecture and was two levels tall; the house sported a patio in the backyard with wooden floors and a patio cover that had sections where the sun could still shine, the front had a white staircase that leads to the front door, on the bottom had parking space for Greg's van and a small workshop where he keeps all of his tools, the walls were painted navy blue and had a bronze-colored roof.
"Whew…feels good to be home after a mission, Dad!" Smiled Steven
"I bet it does!" Nodded greg, "come on in! I'll whip up some good dinner tonight!"
"Oooh! I'd love to, Dad!" Chuckled Steven, already climbing up the stairs to the door, eager to eat dinner
"Wait up, Steven!" Greg chuckled back and ran after his son to the door. "This one's on the house!"
The father-son duo entered the house eager to have dinner after a long day. Greg cooked Steven's dinner, and they ate to their heart's content; they were both excited and curious about the world X and his reploid friends come from
After eating dinner together, Greg tucked Steven in his bedroom for the night. The room sported a small bed for Steven, with a side window casting the moonlight from the left side of the room. There was another window on the front side of the room overlooking the neighboring houses of Beach City. The room had brown-painted walls. Finally, it had a desk and a TV hoisted by a wooden pedestal, complete with a remote and gaming system hooked up.
Greg told his son goodnight and walked to his bedroom to rest. Just as he entered the room, Greg remembered the days when his wife, Rose Quartz, was alive and giving birth to Steven.
Years ago, before Steven was born, Greg, during his musical career under the alias of "Mr. Universe," decided to work harder on earning the money needed to afford a household when he realized that when he and Rose were going to have a beautiful young boy, Greg had to step up as a father and take responsibility, to provide a good homemade for Steven and have a place of his own outside of his beloved van.
It would not be easy, especially when it comes to learning how to be a father to his future son, but for the first time in Greg's life, since he ran away from his former home years ago, he was willing to take the risk.
Eventually, after many hardships and struggles, Greg earned enough money to buy a house for sale with a garage suitable for his van.
Moving in was challenging, but with the help of the gems, putting aside their differences, Greg moved into the house with Steven, and there they lived together for a long time. As the years passed, Greg would allow Steven to visit the crystal gems and stay over at the crystal temple, but he reminded Steven that he would always be welcome in the home he grew up in with his father.
After reliving those flashbacks of his life, Greg went to bed and retired for the night; he and Steven had a big day ahead of them tomorrow, after all.
The Next Day, the maverick hunters arrived at the crystal temple after waking up from the lighthouse on a beautiful day; they walked along the beach sands until they climbed up the stairs and reached the front door of the beach house.
X knocked on the door gently, hoping Steven and the gems would be home so that they would have their promised meeting from yesterday. Zero, Axl, and Iris stood behind him.
"Steven?" Asked X, "Are you home?"
The doorknob twisted, and the door opened to reveal Steven, who looked happy to see his new robotic friends.
"X! I'm glad you and the others came!" said Steven before opening the door further to let the Reploids in. "Come inside! We got a lot to talk about!"
"Of course!" smiled X with a nod. "I did promise I'd tell you more about us."
The Maverick Hunter trio and Iris went inside the beach house to find Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Spinel sitting on the couch waiting for them. Near the warp pad was Bismuth, and leaning next to a pillar in the kitchen was lapis, with her arms crossed and sporting a calm look. Steven went to Garnet and eagerly sat on her lap, who ruffled his hair in return.
"It looks like everyone's here now," commented Zero, taking in his surroundings
"Hey, metalheads!" Smiled Amethyst, waving at them, "So glad you could make it here, dudes!"
"Same here!" Nodded Axl, "wouldn't miss this for the world!"
"Me neither!" Steven excitedly said, "We'll learn a lot about you guys!"
"Us too, Steven!" Smiled iris. "It will be great to get to know one another!"
"Alright, everyone," said Bismuth, "please take a seat, and let's get down to Bismuth!"
Lapis lazuli and Spinel both walked to the couch and faced the four reploids; lapis stood up while Spinel sat down on the floor and made a squeaky noise as she sat down; the hunters looked at Spinel bewildered by her making squeaky sound effects as if she was made of rubber, iris and Axl in particular Spinel responded with a grin and with eyes closed.
"Hehehe! Don't worry about it, hon!" giggled Spinel. "It's just a little thing I do!"
"Okay…" muttered Axl, amused
"Now then," said Garnet, getting everyone's attention focused on her, "let's begin first, X."
"Yes, garnet?" Said X, snapping to attention
"What is a reploid? And what are they?" Asked garnet
"A reploid is a robot who can think and act for themselves just like human beings," answered X. "I'm considered the first among them."
"No way! You guys are robots!?! "Steven said with stars in his eyes, his curiosity abounded. "Who can act like people?"
"That's right, Steven," nodded X, "And I'm the first reploid ever."
"Wait, you're the first reploid ever?" Pearl asked, astonished. "Are there others like you four?"
"Yes, a scientist named Dr. Cain found me sealed away in a capsule one day and used my design to create and produce reploids," said X, explaining his backstory. Since then, we've lived alongside Humanity in harmony, but… It's not as glamorous as you may think it is…"
"What do you mean?" Asked lapis
"There are reploids who rebel and commit crimes against humanity…" said X, his expression turning grim. "these berserk reploids were labeled mavericks, and they would do anything to get what they want."
"Oh my…" said Pearl, a hand over her mouth
"To fight these mavericks, Dr. Cain founded the maverick hunter organization and developed Reploids specifically to help us fight them," said X. "I joined them as a B-class hunter while Zero joined as an A-Class hunter, and we fought the mavericks ever since,"
"With me later joining the ranks of the maverick hunters," said Axl before lowering his head, painful memories returning to him. "Though I didn't have the best of beginnings though…"
"Hey, it's alright, dude!" encouraged Amethyst. "You're with them now and kicking evil robot butt!"
"Heh! Thanks, Amethyst," said Axl, giving a thumbs up to Amethyst, which she returned
"Another organization, called Repliforce, was also founded by Dr. Cain to help handle the large-scale maverick rebellions and support the maverick hunters as a result," said Iris, remembering her past experience with Repliforce. "my brother, Colonel, leads the main attack forces."
"Brother?" Steven asked, astonished that Iris had a sibling. "You have a brother?"
"Yes, Colonel and I are siblings," nodded Iris. "But that's a story for another time. Do you have any questions, Steven?"
"W-what makes a Reploid go maverick?" Stammered Steven, already a bit frightened
"Program errors, a burning desire for independence, short circuits in the electronic brain…but most of all infection from a deadly computer virus," explained Zero. "And even then, the very things that give us Reploids our advanced processing power could also be our greatest weakness as well…"
"But even then, we shouldn't give up," said X determined. "I don't like fighting, but even if mavericks keep showing up to destroy Humanity at every turn…and humans may not trust us…as long as there's hope, we can still fight for a world where both Reploids and Humanity can live in peace! But until that day comes…we maverick hunters must fight for ever-lasting peace!"
"Well said, X," smiled Garnet in respect of X's resolve
"Yeah, dude! You said it, X-Man!" Smirked Amethyst, throwing a thumbs up at the blue reploid
"Yeah! We shouldn't give up!" smiled Steven, literal stars in his eyes. "We just have to keep working hard and fighting the good fight!"
"That's the way to do it, X!" Said Bismuth, feeling inspired
As Pearl was hearing all of this from X, she felt like she was in the past with her beloved rose quartz during the gem rebellion for the earth, inspiring countless gems to rebel and forge their own path, their own destiny against all odds, protecting the earth…even if it came at a heavy price…these memories made pearl wish rose was still with her now.
Rose would have liked X and his friends…
"But X, I'm curious," asked Steven, curiously grabbing X's attention. "Who created you?"
"A brilliant scientist named Dr. Thomas Light," said X, recalling his past memories. A century ago, he created me to be a new type of robot who could think and choose for themselves, which was before the Reploids were built…I am his last and greatest creation."
Iris and Axl were blown away by what they just heard. X is the original reploid and the last creation of Dr Thomas Light. Without X, neither of them would be here right now; neither the Repliforce nor the new generation reploids
On the crystal gems' side, they were just as amazed at what they had heard. A human managed to create such an advanced robot? The gem homeworld's robonoids in their minds could never come close to how advanced X and his friends are, and they were from another world.
"Woah…" gasped Steven, amazed at what he was hearing. "Dr. Light sure is smart!"
"He is, Steven," said X with a nod, "and he was said to be the foremost authority in robotics, from what I read in the Abel City historical archives."
"That's…incredible!" Complimented Bismuth, "a peridot might be put to shame if what you say is true, X."
"A…peridot?" Asked X confused
"A Homeworld gem," explained Pearl. "When we have time, we could tell you more."
"Please do," said Zero. "Any information would be useful in our current situation."
"We'll try to keep that in mind," nodded Garnet
"But I don't get it, man," said Amethyst. "Why did Dr. Light name you X anyway? It sounds like a cool name, don't get me wrong, but… it's confusing."
"Dr. Light said the name X is a variable," explained X
"A variable?" Asked Steven
"He said that X represents limitless potential as a variable," said X to the shock of the crystal gems around him. "At least that's what he told me anyway…"
"Limitless!?" Gasped Steven "That's awesome!"
Garnet couldn't believe her ears. X had limitless potential. No wonder she could not see an end to X's growth with her future vision, but she still couldn't believe such a robot, one who could think and feel, could have limitless potential.
"Yes, limitless potential and limitless danger…" sighed X as he looked down
"But then, why were you sealed away?" Asked pearl
"Because Dr. Light said that mankind wasn't quite ready to accept me…" said X. "they would have seen my limitless potential as something to be afraid of…and I didn't blame him, but when Dr. Light was building me…his life was on it's last legs...he would not live long enough to see me enter the world…"
Steven looked down in sadness. Garnet touched Steven's hair for comfort as the young gem hybrid listened. Dr. Light spent the remainder of his life creating mega man X. Steven felt he could relate to X; however, he tragically never got to meet his mother, Rose Quartz, who died giving birth to him or say goodbye to her.
But at the same time, Steven felt relief in knowing he wasn't alone in that regard.
"He had me sealed away for a hundred years for diagnostics and morality testing," said X before raising his head with determination in his eyes. "But before he did, I promised him that I would use this power he gave me to honor his dream and fight for justice! To fight for hope!"
"It's very inspiring to know you have promised your creator this X," smiled Garnet
"Thank you, Garnet," smiled X. "I'm proud to have Dr. Light as my father."
"Yeah! We're glad to have you, X!" Cheered Steven, his spirits raised by X's declaration. "And maybe someday, I could learn how to use my powers like the gems do and also fight for hope!"
"Your powers?" Asked X curiously
"Yeah! I have my mom's gem and some of her powers!" Steven said excitedly, showing his belly pink gemstone before slumping over in sadness. "Only, I don't know how to make them work when I need them…"
"Have the gems had any luck teaching you how to make 'em work?" Asked Axl
"It's…a work in progress…" said Pearl nervously. She hardly knew Rose enough to figure out how her powers worked.
"Yeah, but don't worry, Ste-Man!" said Spinel. "It'll come to you eventually!"
"I truly hope that is the case…" said Iris, concerned for Steven. "I don't want you getting yourself hurt trying to figure them out, Steven…."
"No worries, Iris," reassured lapis. "we've got Steven's back."
"Thanks, guys!" Said Steven
"Well, with that out of the way…" said Zero, getting everyone back to the matter at hand. "Do you guys know anything about that monster we fought and the one X fought at the sea spire?"
"They are corrupted gems," said Garnet statically
"Corrupted gems?" Said X. "What are those?"
"They're monsters that we fight that….used to be like us gems," answered Amethyst, much to the shock of the maverick hunters. "Yeah, I know…crazy, isn't it?"
"How horrible!" Gasped Iris with her hands covering her mouth in distraught. "All those poor gems…turned into monsters…"
"… it's similar to the mavericks we fight back home…" lamented Zero, sympathetic to the tragic fate that has befallen all those gems stuck on earth.
"Is there any way we can change them?" asked X., wanting to help cure the corrupted gems in any way. The situation already feels similar to the Maverick Virus and the wars that followed from it.
"We…we don't know," sighed Pearl, depressed. "We really don't…sigh. All we know right now is that we have to take care of them wherever they are, subdue them, contain them… It's the best we can do for them…"
"Don't fret too much over it, X," said Garnet, already anticipating X's response with her future vision. "We feel the same way you do. We also want to help them…but as it stands, we must stop them from harming innocent humans and poof them out of their misery and bubble them here in the temple until we can find a way to undo their corruption."
"Poof them?" Said X, confused. "What does that mean?"
"Poofing happens when our bodies are badly enough damaged; we release our physical bodies and retreat into our gems to regenerate," explained Garnet. "proofing is a term rose invented."
"So, in other words, hunters," said Spinel, standing up and making humorous hand expressions, "hit 'em hard enough, and poof! They go back into their gemstones."
"So all we have to do is defeat them and bubble them back here?" Said Axl with a cocky smirk and twirled one of his axl bullet handguns. "Piece of cake!"
"Don't get overconfident, axl," warned Bismuth. "they can be pretty tough, even when corrupted, and rampage on instinct. We shouldn't underestimate them."
"Right, sorry," sighed Axl before a thought struck him: "Wait a minute. Retreat into your gemstones?"
"What does that mean?" Said Zero, finding it hard to believe. "You guys can regenerate even if your bodies are destroyed?"
"Yes, we can," said Pearl before stuttering nervously. "As long as our gems remain intact, we'll always regenerate into a new look and form after a while…"
"But…if your gemstones are targeted…" said X, coming to a horrible conclusion
"Yes…we would be shattered," said Garnet hesitantly; the other crystal gems shuddered at such a thought
"I'm sorry to bring that up…" said X apologetically.
"It's not your fault, dude," said Amethyst. "You guys were just curious, that's all."
"Thanks, amethyst," smiled X, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly
"What are your bodies made out of anyways?" Asked Zero
"Our forms are a conscious manifestation of light," replied Pearl, "and as a result, we can change our shape as well, but not the size of our gemstones."
"Wait, you guys can shapeshift like I can?" Asked Axl, the young prototype new generation reploid was astonished at the fact that gems can shapeshift like he can with his copy chip
"Yeah, but…we can't hold forever," said Amethyst. "Trust me, I would know."
"I see," said Axl
"So…you are like holograms?" Asked Iris, astonished that she was seeing holographic aliens right now
"Yeah, you could think of us as holograms, but with mass" answered Lapis
"Wait, did you say you could shapeshift like Amethyst can?" asked Pearl, wanting to know how axl was able to shapeshift into Ninetails when they destroyed the falling Red Eye Spy drone
"Sure I can!" Said Axl with a grin. "Let me show you guys! Transform!"
Axl activated his Copy Chip, and his body began to glow brightly, causing them gems, except his fellow reploid maverick hunters, to shield their eyes. Axl changed his shape into a simple guardrail, a new generation reploid soldier, and the bright light diminished when the transformation was completed.
"How do you guys like that?" Said Axl
"Why… that's incredible!" Said pearl amazed
"That's a neat trick, kiddo!" Smiled spinel
"Yeah! You can change shape just like Amethyst!" Said Steven with stars in his eyes
"Yeah, I sure can," nodded Axl, who rubbed his head sheepishly. "Though it doesn't last forever either, but that's not all."
Axl returned to normal and activated his copy chip again, transforming into a swallow-like reploid named Mach Jetra by accessing the DNA Data he copied upon his defeat; when the transformation was completed, Axl twirled his Scepter around jokingly before lowering his head, placing a hand on his chest, and waving out his cane.
"How do you do, Mr. Universe?" said Axl jokingly, momentarily imitating Mach Jet's British accent and voice.
"Cool!" Said Steven. "You're so incredible, axl!"
"Thanks Steven!" Chuckled Axl, changing his shape back to normal; his copy chip's time limit had run out
"How are you able to do that?!" Asked Pearl, baffled by Axl's shapeshifting capabilities
"It's thanks to my copy chip," said Axl. "It allows me to access the DNA Data programs of reploids or mavericks with my copy shot. I can then transform myself into any of them, but only for a limited time and as long as it doesn't exceed my mass and shape too much."
"Hold on…DNA?" said Pearl, confused. "But, you're robots. Robots don't have DNA."
"We reploids do," said Zero. "DNA data is a vital component in what makes us reploids what we are today, and can be analyzed in various ways."
"Then…can X, Zero, and Iris change shape like axl?" Asked Steven
"No, only axl can do that," said X, shaking his head. "you see, he's a prototype for a new generation of reploids. They and Axl have complete immunity from all computer viruses because they can change their DNA data, meaning they can only go maverick by their own accord…"
"New generation reploids were built to work on the Jakob Project" Explained Zero "It was a space migration plan by humanity to create an orbital elevator, colonize the moon, and set up a central base there, looking to escape from all the chaos the maverick wars waged in our time."
"Whoa…" gasped Steven, amazed at Humanity's capabilities of building an elevator to the moon in such an advanced age. But he still had one more question. "But then X, one last question."
"Yes, Steven?" Said X
"How can you make a lot of things come out of your arm blaster thingy?" Asked Steven. "I thought all that came out of fit would be lasers and stuff."
"Yes, I've been wondering that myself since we saw him in action," pondered Pearl.
"It's a special system called the Variable Weapon System," answered X. "It allows my X-Buster to Copy and use special weapons from mavericks I've defeated in the past from their DNA Programs, but only if it has enough energy to use them."
"Is that Energy like ammo?" Said Steven
"I suppose you could say that," said X
"And you can use their weapons from the guys you blow up?" Asked Steven as his eyes lit up
"That's right, Steven," nodded X.
"whoa…this is a lot to take in…" said Steven, amazed by all he had learned in the last hour, "but it's really cool at the same time! We've learned a lot about each other!"
"Yes, we have Steven," said Garnet Stotically, "but we all still have much to learn, but it seems we can also relate to one another here."
"Yes…but what happens from here on out though? there are still so many problems…" Said Pearl, unsure of what would happen next after today. "Many corrupted gems are still out there, possibly preying on innocent humans; X and his friends are trapped here with us, and Steven hasn't learned how to use his powers yet…."
"Hey, take it easy, pearl, we'll figure something out," reassured Lapis lazuli, placing a blue hand on pearls shoulder
"Yeah, we'll always find a way," encouraged Bismuth. "That's why Steven believes in us!"
"I hope so, lapis, bismuth….I don't know about it, though…" sighed Pearl before thinking about her former master, Rose Quartz. "Especially….without her by my side, guiding us all…"
The crystal gems huddled around Pearl, trying to comfort her. Steven looked guilty; hearing Pearl sound so unsure about herself made him feel guilty. He knew the crystal gems had always missed rose quartz since she died giving birth to Steven, and now they were lost without her, even with Garnet taking the reins as leader.
Steven looked crestfallen and guilty. He couldn't help but feel that all of this was his fault despite having absolutely no control over it.
X Looked thoughtfully at Steven, noticing how guilty he looked. The blue maverick hunter knew. Eventually, he and his fellow hunters must return to their world and their time, but X has been starting to enjoy Beach City.
Deep inside, X knew he couldn't let Steven and his friends face the corrupted gems or the problems ahead of them alone, nor could he forsake his duties as a maverick hunter despite his hatred for fighting...
The crystal gems were in disarray, and they needed help; the corrupted gems had to be stopped no matter what
After thinking it over, X stepped forward to the crystal gems, having made his decision.
"Crystal gems, Steven," said X, getting their attention. "I think we can help each other out!"
"We can?" Asked Steven, snapping out of his thoughts
"Yeah," said X with a look of determination. "We have to go back to our world eventually, but I think we should also take the time to understand your world, and we'll help you take down those corrupted gems!"
"Really?" Gasped Steven, his eyes lit up. "You will!?"
"Of course, Steven," nodded X. "We'll handle anything that comes our way! It's our duty as maverick hunters to protect Humanity!"
"Are you suggesting…an alliance?" Said Pearl, surprised at this
"I agree with X," smiled Zero, crossing his arms. "We still have to figure out how to get back, but like he said, right now, we should stay and help you guys out! You may need it more than you think."
"Yes, I would also love to help if I could," smiled Iris. "I don't like fighting, but we must still fight for a peaceful world!"
"We'd love for you guys to hang out with us!" said Amethyst. "Do you think you guys can handle those gems?"
"Yeah!" Smirked Axl, "Just tell me and the others where to shoot!"
"That's the spirit!" chuckled Bismuth, admiring Axl's enthusiasm. "Let's all work together and stop those corrupted gems!"
"Yes, until we can find a way to cure them," Garnet agreed. "Until then, we should let them help and work together to defeat the corrupted gems."
"I don't know about this…" said pearl
"Come on, Pearl! You heard what X said. We can help each other out!" said Steven, bringing out the hourglass orb. "And who knows? We could learn more about this time thingy, and I can also figure out my powers along the way!"
"Yeah, plus I'd love to hang out with them more," Vouched lapis lazuli. "From what they told us, I think we can trust X and the others."
"Yeah! Let them stay with us for a while, Pearl! "Spinel enthusiastically replied, "You can never have too many friends!"
"Yeah! Let our new awesome robot from the future friends stay with us for a while!" Cheered Steven, hoping Pearl would agree
"Oh, alright, Steven," sighed Pearl in defeat. "they can stay with us and go on the missions with us."
"Yay!! New crystal gems!" Cheered Steven
"Yeah! They rock!" shouted Amethyst with delight
"I suppose an alliance is in order," said Pearl reluctantly before turning her attention to Zero. "But in the meantime, Zero?"
"Yeah?" Asked Zero
"We already saw what X can do, but now we need to see what you and axl can do as well," explained Pearl. "when you have the time, we would like you to come to the sky temple so we can start training."
"I'm up for it!" Nodded Zero. "X already had his turn anyway. "I'll show you what I can do at the sky temple!"
"It's settled then," said Garnet. "Now then, maverick hunters."
After setting Steven down on the couch, Garnet stood up and walked up to X, raising a hand toward him to shake hands. X returned the gesture, and they shook hands. Steven smiled at the sight, his heart relieved that the crystal gems had gained new allies.
"Welcome to the team, maverick hunters," smiled Garnet
"We're happy to help, Garnet," nodded X. "From now on, let's all work together to protect the earth!"
And with that, an Alliance was Forged between the crystal gems and the maverick hunters. They would now work together to protect the earth from the corrupted gems and help the maverick hunters return home one day once they've mastered the mysterious functions of the hourglass orb that brought them to Beach City.
But until that day comes, the hunters will make their home in this time and help Steven overcome the challenges and trials that await him and the gems on earth.
Author's Note: Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone! But I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter of Crystal Hunter X. It was a pleasure to work on this!
To explain Greg's changes in this story, his car wash job pays him more money than canon; as a result, enough money from his job, combined with the money he made on his musical tour as Mr. Universe, to afford a house in Beach City for Steven and his van to live in, therefore giving Steven a proper Childhood home to live and grow up in with his father, when he's not living with the crystal gems at the crystal temple.
Greg's a good person, but he needed to step up as a father.
Anyway, the Next Chapter will be the Crystal Gems' Interview with Zero at the Sky Temple, where Zero will demonstrate his skills to the team.
See you all then!
Chapter 7: Zero The Z-Saber Fighter Part 1
Chapter Text
The next day, Zero decided to take up the Crystal Gems' offer to demonstrate his skills to the team of alien freedom fighters and audition for a spot on the team. Zero felt he had kept them waiting long enough.
The next day, Zero decided to take up the Crystal Gems' offer to demonstrate his skills to the team of alien freedom fighters and audition for a spot on the team. Zero felt he had kept them waiting long enough.
As he neared the front door to leave for the crystal temple, Zero turned to look at his fellow maverick hunters, who were still busy establishing their new home on the lighthouse. Axl was picking up a box of electrical components. Iris was still scanning the interior around them to see where they could stay and rest for the evening, and set up computers and communications.
Progress on constructing the maverick hunters' temporary home away from home in Beach City is going well. The electronic equipment is almost complete, with some computers already built and fully operational. The furniture and TVs have been placed accordingly, and the medical bay is halfway done. However, alas, there was still work to be done.
Right now, Axl and X were trying to figure out how to build a workshop to build new gear and possibly set up a garage for their ride chaser hover bikes, during the initial stages of construction of their new home on the lighthouse, the maverick hunters searched for their ride chasers, they found them at the exact spot where they had first appeared in this timeline.
Though they appeared damaged, the ride chasers still functioned, albeit barely. Fortunately, they had just enough fuel and power to reach the lighthouse atop the crystal temple, and they were placed in storage until they could be repaired.
The hunters wished Alia and Douglas were with them right now; they had more experience with construction and technology than they did, but still, they vowed to do their best
As Zero was about to depart for the Crystal Temple, X and Iris approached him near the front door, while Axl was still hauling electrical components behind them.
"Good luck out there, zero," X smiled at his best friend. "You got this, buddy."
"You bet, X," said Zero, flashing a thumbs-up, "thanks."
"Please come back soon, Zero," said Iris softly, "we'll be waiting for you."
"Don't worry, Iris, I'll be back soon," reassured Zero, his beloved, always worried for him and her brother, the colonel of Repliforce, "and I'm counting on you, X and Axl, to take care of things here in Beach City while I'm gone."
"We'll do our best, Zero," said X. Deep inside, he was still worried about the corrupted gems lurking about
"Yeah, we can handle those corrupted gems," said Axl as he put down his heavy cargo and twirled one of his axl bullet handguns. "But anything would be better than doing all this; my trigger finger's getting itchy."
"Axl!" Scolded Iris, unamused, "This work is just as important as protecting the humans!"
"Relax, Iris, I was only messing with you," Axl chuckled before putting away his handgun and picking up his box.
"But Axl's right zero," said X with determination in his eyes, "if there's trouble, we'll be there to stop them."
"That's what I like to hear, X," approved Zero before opening the front door. "Alright, I'm off! See you guys later!"
"See you soon, Zero!" Said X, waving a hand
"Please come back safely!" Waved Iris
And so, Zero left the lighthouse and made his way toward the crystal temple by jogging down the massive hill overlooking the ocean and the temple below it. It was a magnificent sight to behold from up top.
Later, Zero reached the bottom of the hill, bent a left corner, and went to the temple, passing the 'it's a wash' car wash shop. He was halfway across the sandy shores to the crystal temple when he saw Steven appear around the corner with three teenagers behind him, and they looked like they had a fun time.
One of the teenagers was a skinny male with platinum-blond hair. He wore a grayish-blue hoodie over a gray-colored undershirt, large orange pants, and green tennis shoes.
Walking beside him was a brown-skinned girl sporting a black, puffy bob hairstyle and wearing a bright red and white striped crop top with a black mini-top underneath, paired with pale sea-foam green jeans and mint-colored flats.
The second male teenager had light brown-coral skin and wore a pair of black sunglasses, almost hauntingly similar to Garnet's very own. He also wore a white shirt with a yellow lightning bolt in the middle. On top of it was a large red Button-up shirt with unbuttoned cuffs. He wore dark blue slim-fit jeans and blue sneakers.
Finally, the girl beside them had brown skin similar to her twin sister's and dark brown hair bundled up by a beige scarf with a ribbon on the right side. She wore a light yellow sleeveless shirt, black jogging shorts, and lime green tennis shoes.
Suddenly, Steven saw Zero walking across the beach sand, and his eyes unbelievably turned into stars; he gasped with delight at seeing one of his new robot friends.
"Zero!" Cried Steven before turning to his friends, "Hey guys! That's zero! That's one of my new friends I've been telling you about!"
"Whoa, is this blonde one of your new friends?" The skinny male, impressed by Zero's armor and long blonde hair, said, "He's rocking that hairstyle!"
"Yeah, Steven, he looks so cool in that outfit!" smiled one of the girls. "I love it!"
"he looks ready to get some butt in that costume!" Complimented the girl's twin sister
"Interesting.." Said the sunglasses-wearing teenager coolly
"This isn't a costume." Corrected Zero, shaking his head, "This armor is part of me."
"Wait, wait a minute, a part of you?" Said the puffy-haired girl, "So you're… a robot?"
"A Reploid, to be more specific," said Zero. In truth, however, Zero didn't know whether he could consider himself a Reploid; he wasn't built using X's Template by a long-gone madman.
"Repli-what?" Asked the jogging girl in confusion, "What in the world is that?"
"Reploids are advanced robots who can think and act for themselves," explained Zero, "in a sense, we're just like you humans."
"Whoa?" Said the DJ teenager, "Like in the movie, Terminator?"
"Yeah, except not all of us are out to exterminate humanity," said Zero. he and X had watched the Terminator movies before, and X was quite unnerved by them. "And for those that are, that's what we Maverick hunters are for, to stop them."
"Maverick hunters?" Asked the puffy-haired girl, raising an eyebrow
"It's a long story, guys," said Steven sheepishly. "Hey! You guys haven't introduced yourselves!"
"Oh yeah! Sorry about that!" Apologized the DJ, "My name's sour cream!"
"I'm Jenny Pizza!" She introduced herself with a smile
"Buck Dewey," he said, adjusting his sunglasses.
"And I'm kiki pizza!" She smiled before hanging an arm over Jenny's shoulder, "I'm her twin sister."
"She's my favorite twin!" Chuckled Jenny, turning her head at kiki
"I'm your only twin!" Pointed out kiki
"Wait, Jenny and kiki…pizza?" Said Zero was bewildered that such a strange last name was used. "Is that a legitimate last name?"
"Believe it or not, yeah," said Jenny, "I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."
"Our whole family was built by that last name," said kiki, "both figuratively and literally."
"Yeah, pizza's kind of our job!" Said Jenny, rubbing the back of her head
"We make some of the best pizzas in Beach City!" Said Kiki
"Though I'm more interested in hanging out with you guys than cooking pizza," said Jenny. She was not as enthusiastic as her sister, who works in her family business. "It's much more fun that way!"
"I see," said Zero, "but then, what's kiki doing here with you guys?"
"Jenny…kinda talked me into taking a break and hanging out with her and her friends," said kiki, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I just couldn't say no to my sis."
"I saw them coming by my house after they texted me this morning," said Steven. "They asked me if I wanted to hang out with them, and I said yes."
"That's good to hear," said Zero, happy to hear that Steven's hanging out with good company
"So zero," said Steven, "what are you doing here?"
"I was on my way to the temple to show the crystal gems what I can do," said Zero. "I did promise Pearl yesterday after all."
"You know those crystal gems?" Said sour cream, "Those mysterious gem ladies protecting our town?"
"It's a long story, sour cream," said Zero, "but you might say my friends and I ran into them while being flung across time and space."
"Time and space?" Asked kiki, raising an eyebrow, confused, "Are you for real?"
"Very much for real," nodded Zero, "otherwise my friends and I wouldn't be here right now."
"Point taken!" Giggled kiki, "Anyway, we gotta get going."
"Where are you all going?" Asked Zero
"Oh! When they asked me to hang out with them, we agreed to go to the Funland arcade!" Explained Steven, "They have a lot of cool games over there!"
"An arcade? Here?" asked Zero again
"Yep! And it's one of the best," smiled Jenny. "If you like, you could come with us and hang out too."
"Yeah! You'll love it there!" Said Sour Cream
"Guys, I appreciate the offer, but I gotta meet the crystal gems at the temple for training," sighed Zero. "Besides…I don't know if I'll fit in at games anyway."
"Why not zero?" Said Steven worried for his crimson robotic friend
"Because I've never really been to arcades before," said Zero grimly. It's funny, you know? Most of my life, I fought mavericks, and I can't even remember the last time I had fun at all…"
"That's not funny," said Steven sympathetically. "That's super sad."
"That's what happens when you fight in a war, Steven", said Buck Dewey, "no time for fun and games…"
Steven looked down, feeling sorry for how tough zero's life had been since he took up arms against mavericks all his life since he had awakened, to the best of his knowledge anyways, his father once told him that there was no no such thing as a good war, each of the maverick hunters' lives and the past gem rebellion were proof of that as countless innocent people lost their lives.
The young gem hybrid wished there was a way he could help Zero, and then, he had an idea.
"Well…maybe when you're done training with the gems…" said Steven, "you could hang out with us?"
"Yeah, you're welcome to join us afterwards!" Said sour cream
"Thanks, guys," said Zero thoughtfully. Admittedly, he was hopeful about hanging out without worrying about a maverick attack. "I'll… I'll consider it."
"Okay! We gotta get going now!" Jenny said as she and the others went to the Funland arcade. See you later, Zero."
"Say hi to garnet, amethyst, and lapis for me!" Waved at Steven as he followed his teenage human friends
"See you soon!" Waved back Zero and continued on his path to the crystal temple, his yellow ponytail dangling in the wind
It didn't take long to reach the gigantic gem-made structure at the bottom of the enormous cliff. Zero climbed up the hill and went upstairs, standing before the temple's front door.
"Let's hope they're home," said Zero as he stepped forward and knocked on the door
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it…" Groaned Amethyst's voice before she opened the door to see Zero and smiled, "Yo! Z-man! What are you doing here?"
"Hello, Amethyst," greeted Zero. "I came to show the gems what I can do as promised."
"Aw, yeah! We're gonna see what you got!" Cheered Amethyst, "Come on in, dude!"
Amethyst opened the door further, and the crimson maverick hunter stepped inside to find Garnet crossing her arms with Pearl, Spinel, and lapis waiting for him. Garnet smiled as she released her arms and walked up to greet Zero.
"Welcome, Zero," Garnet greeted before adjusting her visor, and it gleamed for a brief moment. "We've been expecting you."
"You have?" Said zero, raising an eyebrow, surprised that the crystal gems knew he was coming
"Yes, we have," said Pearl, walking up to him. "I see you came for our training session today."
"Yeah," nodded Zero, "I did promise you after all."
"And we're glad you could make it zero!" Said Pearl before turning to the warp pad, "Now then, let us go to the sky temple so we can begin your training session."
"Got it," nodded Zero before noticing one of the crystal gems was missing. "Hey, where's bismuth?"
"Oh, her? She's busy at the forge," Smiled Spinel, walking towards the warp pad
"The forge?" Asked Zero, "Is she a blacksmith?"
"You betcha!" Nodded Spinel, "She made all our weapons during the war."
"Very impressive," complimented Zero
"Yeah, I still remember the time she made my weapons," said lapis before reaching to the gemstone on her back and pulling out a navy blue rapier with a cyan-blue colored crystal-edged blade
"They were awesome, lapis!" Said Amethyst, "Seriously, if you need something made, just ask Pearl or Bismuth."
"We'll consider asking her sometime," said Zero as he and the others all soon gathered onto the warp pad, ready to be transported to the sky temple to begin training
"Let's warp," commented Garnet, and activated the warp pad as it flashed a bright blue light before it warped everyone to their destination
A beam of blue light shot out of the sky temple's warp pad before dissipating, revealing the crystal gems and zero having been successfully transported to the floating structure. They all walked off the pad and entered the exposed and dilapidated arena.
Zero and Pearl stood at the center of the arena, facing each other by two feet, while Amethyst, Garnet, lapis, and Spinel stood on the sidelines awaiting the training session.
"Aw, man, this is gonna be epic!" said Amethyst, eagerly awaiting Zero to showcase his skills and secret techniques. I can't wait to see Zero in action."
"You already saw zero in action," commented Garnet, turning her attention to Amethyst. "Back when they arrived, and they helped us fight the centipede mother."
"Yeah, but I have a feeling we didn't get to see all of him in action," said Amethyst. "We've seen X in action, but not Zero or axl yet."
"All the more reason why we're here, Amethyst," reminded Lapis with a smile, "and right now, I think Zero and his friends will do great with us."
"Aw, thanks, Lappy!" Said Amethyst, Amethyst is grateful
"Ahem!" Said Pearl, silencing everyone, before turning her attention to Zero. "Zero, are you ready to begin?"
"Yep, let's do this," said Zero, cracking his robotic knuckles and making a loud, mechanical noise as they popped. "What are we doing today?"
"Well, first, we'd like to see what you can do in a sword fight," said Pearl before turning around and activating her gemstone, summoning a holo pearl clone, "and we already have the perfect sparring partner."
"Unregistered Combatant detected," said Holo Pearl as she saw Zero facing her
"A hologram…of you?" Said zero, raising an eyebrow, "You can make holographic clones?"
"Yes, but I mostly use them for sword practice," answered Pearl
"Yep, but she can make them by the dozens!" Said Spinel before she shuddered at how tough the holo pearls were in training mode, "though…those holo pearls are no joke in a fight."
"Yeah, trust me, I've sparred against those holo pearls time to time back then," said lapis, remembering her brutal training duels with the holo pearls, "and let me tell you I almost got poofed a couple of times."
"But even so, you prevailed, lapis," comforted Garnet, looking back at Lapis' past training during the gem rebellion, "and you became one of our best sword fighters ever since."
"I'm glad to hear it," smiled Zero, flashing a thumbs up at lapis, which she returned with a thumbs up of her own. Beside her, Spinel giggled.
"Now then," said Pearl, turning her head to the hologram Pearl next to her, "training session level 1, ready yourself, Zero."
"I will," nodded Zero, preparing to meet his holographic opponent in combat.
"Don't let her get ya, Zero!" Cheered Spinel waving an enlarged pink hand before deflating it back to normal
Pearl then walked away from the upcoming battle by walking towards the sidelines with the other crystal gems and watched as her holographic doppelgänger issued her challenge to zero.
"Do you wish to engage in combat?" Challenged the holo Pearl staring in front of Zero
"Let's do it!" Zero nodded with a smirk before reaching his right hand to his backpack and pulling out his Z-Saber. The blade ignited with a bright green flash, swung around, and assumed a sword-fighting stance.
"You've already made a mistake by challenging me!" Taunted Holo pearl, materializing her holographic Rapier sword and assuming a stance with her right hand outward, pointing her sword at Zero
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Countered Zero, "Now come at me!"
"Training mode initiated. Level 1," Said Holo Pearl before her eyes narrowed and turned red. "Commencing Duel!"
And like a thunderclap, the sword duel began with both sword fighters rushing toward each other, and their blades of light and holo matter clashed, creating an air shockwave that encircled the field. Both fighters held their blades at each other before they jumped backwards, skidding across the floor by a few inches.
Holo Pearl charged forward to continue her attack and swung her sword, but Zero was ready for her and swung his Z-saber at the blade, and they clashed again and again for a few minutes, with Zero slowly being pushed back by the clash.
"Parry! Parry! Thrust!" Cried, Holo Pearl as she kept swinging her sword at Zero's Z-Saber
" RAIJINGEKI ! (Thunder God Attack)" cried Zero, thrusting his Z-saber forward at holo Pearl, the blade sparking with blue electricity
However, the blow did not connect as Holo Pearl sidestepped out of the way and swung her sword again at Zero, sensing an opening between attacks.
"Opening detected!" Stated holo Pearl as she swung her sword at Zero, who widened his eyes, he barely had time to dodge out of the way
Zero rolled out of the way, but Holo Pearl's sword scraped Zero's left shoulder guard, leaving only a minor cut. Zero gritted his teeth as he recovered, but he was far from defeated as he stood again to face the hologram Pearl, who turned her attention to him.
At the stands, Pearl, Garnet, and lapis were impressed by Zero's skill with his Z-Saber so far, but they showed a worried glance at Zero as he got cut. Fortunately, it was only a minor scratch, and Zero soon recovered, ready to continue the fight.
Zero dashed toward Holo Pearl, who held her sword up to block the blow. Once again, they clashed their blades, and Holo Pearl tried to slash Zero between his legs, but Zero wasn't about to make the same mistake twice and backflipped out of the way, landing a few feet in front of Holo Pearl.
"Yo! This is quality entertainment right here!" Cheered, Amethyst. Amethyst pulled out a box of popcorn from her gemstone and started eating it.
"You can say that again!" Giggled Spinel, who was also in awe of Zero's skills, was also amazed at how some of Zero's skills were unique compared to Pearl and her holographic Doppleganger
"Hmm, he's most impressive," complimented Garnet
"Yes, his uhhh…skills are unique," said Pearl with an analytical look on her face
As Pearl watched how Zero was holding his own with the Holo Pearl, she couldn't help but notice how Zero's techniques were unique compared to her sword fighting style, especially with how, so far, he showed a sword technique that made his Z-Saber spark with electricity.
That said, Pearl feared that Zero's techniques might surpass her own and that he could defeat her in a sword duel if she challenged him.
"Yo Z-man! Kick Holo Pearl's butt!" Cried Amethyst, cheering zero on
"Yeah, give her what she wants! "Spinel cheered. We're rooting for you!"
"Hush, you two, focus," scolded Pearl, who didn't want Zero to make the same mistake she made a while ago that traumatized Steven for the rest of his life.
"Fun police…" muttered Amethyst, annoyed.
"You're no fun most of the time, you know that?" Scolded Spinel under her breath at Pearl
The gems then focused on the battle again, as Holo Pearl launched another attack at zero.
"Take This!" Shouted Zero, swinging his Z-Saber vertically at the holo Pearl, the blade suddenly ignited with red-orange fire. " SHOENZAN! (Soaring Flame Slash) "
"Whoa! Now it's a fire sword!" Cried Amethyst with amazement
"He can make his sword…ignite!?" Said Pearl with wide eyes
Holo Pearl jumped, narrowly dodging the fiery death blow just in time. Still, she was not about to give up so easily. She narrowed her red eyes before preparing another attack, planting a foot forward and another at the far back, holding her sword with both hands and pointing at Zero.
"I won't go easy on you this time!" Said holo pearl before dashing forward with her sword, intent on slicing the crimson maverick hunter in half
" SHIPPUUGA ! (Hurricane Fang)" Cried Zero, unleashing one of his secret techniques, and dashed toward Holo Pearl with his Z-Saber, whose blade flashed pink and performed a twirling slash at Holo Pearl, slashing her at the waist and cutting her Holo Sword in half for good measure
"Defeat Accepted," muttered Holo Pearl before her body and broken sword disintegrated.
Zero swung his Z-Saber in victory, then deactivated it and slowly slid the handle back into its backpack compartment. Zero recomposed himself as the wind blew his blond ponytail to the right.
On the stands, amethyst spinel and lapis cheered at Zero's victory over the holo Pearl with applause and raced over to the Crimson Maverick Hunter.
"Whoo! Way to go, zero!" cheered Amethyst.
"Heh, Hardly a fight," Sighed Zero with Relief.
"Whoo! Way to go, zero!" cheered Amethyst before gesturing for a high five, which zero returned in kind with a smile.
"Yeah! That was some fancy sword fighting ya got there!" Smiled spinel
"Heh, Hardly a fight," Sighed Zero with Relief, flashing a thumbs up.
"Hardly? Holo p gave you a run for your money!" Amethyst pointed out
"I suppose that's true," said Zero
As the gems celebrated Zero's victory, Garnet wore a thoughtful expression on her face underneath her visor, placed a gloved hand on her chin, and began thinking about Zero's elemental techniques, particularly his Z-saber, which was displayed, especially the fire element.
As Ruby and Sapphire, on rare occasions, there were times when Ruby accidentally set something on fire, and Sapphire would also freeze the ground around her when she was stressed or afraid.
But seeing zero find a way to harness fire on purpose, Garnet was inspired and wondered in her two minds, that if zero could use fire on purpose, who was to say Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet could learn how to use their elemental powers on purpose?
As the gems praised zero, ruby, and Sapphire in Garnet's mind, began to converse with one another in figuring out how they could train their fire and ice powers, and when would be the best time to do it, Garnet was already using her future vision to figure out the best time and the place to do it.
Garnet's concentration, however, was broken by Pearl's following words, addressed to the crimson maverick hunter.
"Yes, well done, Zero," smiled Pearl. "That was an exemplary job, but I think we should cover more on what you can do."
"Aw man, did I miss 5%?" Asked Zero with a frown
"Hey, don't sweat it, dude." Smiled amethyst "95% is as good as golden"
"Amethyst is right zero," said Garnet. "Don't push yourself too hard."
"Yeah, no one's perfect, zero," comforted Lapis, placing a blue hand on Zero's shoulder.
"Thanks, guy," smiled Zero before turning his attention to Pearl. "What's next then?"
"Hey, are you sure you'll be alright, dude?" Asked Amethyst with concern, pointing at the cut on Zero's shoulder guard. Holo p got you good there."
"Don't worry, it's only a scratch," said Zero, placing a hand on his shoulder guard cut, knowing that Iris can treat it when he returns to the lighthouse. "It's gonna take more than that to take me down."
"We admire your spirit, zero," smiled Garnet
"Very good, you may just have what it takes to be a crystal gem, zero," smiled Pearl with pride. "Now for this next session, we're going to"
Before Pearl could explain the next duel to zero, he suddenly got a chirp on his comm-link on the left ear of his helmet. Zero was surprised and glad his communications were still online even at such a distance from the other hunters.
"What was that?" Asked Pearl with a raised eyebrow
"Yeah, ya ear's actin' weird," said Spinel, stretching a gloved finger over at Zero's ringing comm
"Hold on, I'm getting a call," said Zero before placing a hand on his comm and activating it. "This is Zero, go ahead."
" Zero! This is Iris! Are you there? " Came Iris' voice on the communication channel
"Iris? Is that you?" gasped Zero, surprised that the hunters were successful in setting up communications.
" Yes, it's me zero! " Replied Iris with a grateful tone, " Thank goodness we've been able to get communications established! "
"Great job, Iris!" Nodded Zero, "This will be a great help on our stay here."
" I have no doubts about it, zero , " said Iris, but she then turned serious. " But I'm afraid we've got trouble in Beach City! "
"What's going on?" asked Zero with a serious tone
" Beach City is under attack! " Said Iris anxiously, " A corrupted gem is attacking downtown! And what's worse is…Steven and his friends are in trouble! "
"What!?" Cried zero with wide eyes. This made the crystal gems look at him with concern.
" X and Axl are engaging the corrupted gem right now, but they may need your help , " said Iris. " Please hurry back to Beach City Zero! They're counting on you! "
"Please tell them to sit tight and hold out a little longer, Iris," said Zero determined, "I'm on my way."
Zero then hung up and turned his attention to the crystal gems, who were all looking at him while he spoke to his beloved Iris.
"What was all that, dude?" Asked Amethyst, "It sounded serious."
"It is serious, amethyst," Zero answered grimly, "Steven and his friends are in trouble with a corrupted gem!"
"What!?" Said the crystal gems in unison with surprise
"My little brother's in trouble!?" Shouted Spinel, pulling her heart-shaped curly dark cerise pigtails with worry, lapis, and Amethyst scrambled to comfort her
"Oh no…this is bad," muttered Pearl anxiously, placing her hands on her head. "We leave for ten minutes and everything goes off the rails!"
"Pearl! Spinel! Calm down!" Snapped Zero, making Pearl jump a bit, and Spinel calmed down a bit. "We're going back to Beach City! We'll save Steven and his friends, but we need to hurry back!"
"You heard him, gems!" Cried Spinel with determination, she enlarged her gloved fists and pounded them together, "Nobody messes with my little buddy and gets away with it!"
"Everyone! Back to beach city immediately!" Called Garnet
"Right! Let's go!" Nodded Zero, determined to assist his fellow hunters against the corrupted gem attacking the coastal city
And so, with their training session cut short, the crystal gems with zero in tow rushed back to the warp pad and teleported back to the crystal temple in hopes of reaching Steven and protecting Beach City before irreparable harm was done to the people and the young gem hybrid.
There, they would see some real action from zero.
To Be Continued…
Chapter 8: Chapter 7 Zero The Z-Saber Fighter Part 2
Chapter Text
-READY?-
From the inside of the crystal temple living room, the Warp pad lit up. It flashed out a pillar of blue light and dissipated, revealing Zero and the crystal gems as they arrived home to rescue Steven and meet the challenge of the Corrupted gem threatening Beach City and its citizens.
Zero stepped forward from the warp pad and turned to the other crystal gems.
"Alright! We're back!" said Zero before putting his hand on his comm to contact Iris. "Iris, this is Zero. We've made it back!"
"Thank goodness zero!" said Iris over the comm-link. "The corrupted gem is attacking downtown Beach City, and it appears to be firing…small blue drills from its shell!"
"Small blue drills?" said Zero, raising an eyebrow. This description of the corrupted gem reminded him of the maverick's tunnel rhino and the crescent grizzly, also known as the grizzly slash.
"Yes, they're all drilling all over Beach City right now!" cried Iris
"This ain't good," muttered Zero. "Where's X and Axl right now?"
"X and Axl are engaging the drills along the coast of Beach City," said Iris. "They're currently at the big donut! Hurry! They might not hold out much longer!"
"Roger that!" Cried zero, hanging up, and turning to the crystal gems, "c'mon! We've gotta hurry and take out that corrupted gem!"
"Right!" Said the crystal gems together
The team sprinted out the door and made their way down the slope leading to the small beach house, but as they rushed to Beach City, to their surprise and shock, blue stars started to shoot up from the sand and the ocean surrounding the crystal gems and Zero as they all backed into each other. They each summoned their weapons, bracing themselves for imminent combat.
"Oh my stars…." Gasped, Pearl, with widened eyes, as she grasped her spear
"There are so many of those little guys!" Cried Amethyst, tightening her grip on her whip
"Don't panic, gems," reassured Garnet, pounding her fists with a loud crunch. We can still take care of them!"
"Let's hope so, Garnet!" said Zero, assuming a defensive stance with his Z-Saber.
"Yeah, these little guys are gonna pay for messing with my little bro!" Scowled Spinel, enlarging her pink fists
"Here they come!" Cried Zero
One by one, the small starfish-shaped creatures turned into drills and shot directly toward the crystal gems, intent on piercing holes like Swiss cheese.
"I got this guy!" Cried Lapis with a determined glare
Lapis lazuli waved her right hand and commanded the water around the shore to come to the aid of her friends. Lapis made a portion of the water into a dome. In contrast, she commanded the other half to become a giant water hand, and with a motion of her free hand, lapis lazuli smacked most of the small drills out of the way, causing them to explode in dust clouds.
Unfortunately, some drills pierced through the watery barrier surrounding the crystal gems and struck the ground near them, forcing the gems and Zero to retreat. Lapis almost lost her concentration due to the small floating drills' attack.
"Come on, guys! We gotta stop 'em!" Said Spinel, stretching an enlarged fist right through a section of the drill swarm, eliminating a large section of them
"Yeah! We need to save Steven and the city!" Rallied Zero as he slashed one of the drills in half and barely dodged another one that went straight for him. "We Must Save The Humans!!"
'Except Greg, he's just another human,' thought Pearl with anger and mistrust, rolling her narrowed eyes as she sliced another drill with her spear, just barely making the cut with how fast the drill flew at her, and besides, he took my rose quartz away from me.'
"Yeah, but how!? "Amethyst cried as she focused on dodging the small drills shooting right toward her. "At this rate, we'll be overwhelmed!"
Amethyst was correct; the small, teal-blue drills continued to emerge from beneath the earth and the ocean, even as the crystal gems fought them. If this continued, the gems would be shattered long before they could stop whatever was causing those drills to appear, destroy Beach City, or save Steven and his friends.
Zero continued slicing drill after drill with his Z-saber. Still, he needed to put a Stop to this onslaught, and soon, thinking quickly, he charged energy into his left white-gloved fist. Pearl and Garnet were confused as to why Zero was doing this. Before they could ask what zero was doing, the crimson maverick hunter aimed his fist at the ground.
" RAKUHOUHA! (Falling Feng Crush!)" cried Zero and punched the ground with his energy-charged fist, unleashing an explosion of nine teal-green energy bolts at each of the small drills, destroying each one of them
In minutes, the field was cleared of the drills swarming the crystal gems as they stared at zero with widened eyes as the crimson maverick hunter resumed his stance.
"Did he just do that?…" muttered Pearl with surprise
"Eyup! I think he did!" Smirked Amethyst, impressed with Zero's secret technique
"Whoa…." Gasped garnet
"Well, in any case, that clears them out for now," sighed lapis with relief.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling we're not done yet," said Zero, pointing a finger at Beach City, which showed more of the drills attacking. "We'll still have to save Steven and stop those things from reducing the city to scrap metal!"
"Those guys are everywhere, dude!" cried Amethyst. How are we supposed to stop them all?"
"There must be a corrupted gem form where all these drill creatures come from," theorized Garnet with her future vision, placing a hand on her chin, "we'll have to save Steven and find that corrupted gem."
"We're going to have to split up to find our friends!" said Zero before turning to the other crystal gems. "Pearl, garnet, you two find the corrupted gem!"
"Got it," said Garnet softly, pounding her gauntlets together
"We'll…do our best," said Pearl, albeit with little confidence in herself or her allies
"Lapis, you go topside and try to fend off those drills," said Zero
"I'll try as hard as I can, zero," nodded lapis, already summoning a portion of the ocean water and waving it around.
"Just watch yourself, though, lapis," warned Zero with concern. "Those drills are as fast as bullets; if you're not careful, it'll be all over for you!"
"Okay, zero, I'll be careful!" Said lapis
"Okay now," said Zero, turning his attention to the two remaining crystal gems, "Amethyst, Spinel, you're with me to find Steven, X, and the others!"
"You got it, dude!" Said Amethyst, tightening her whip
"I'm with ya all the way, zero!" Cheered Spinel, shining a salute to the crimson maverick hunter, jokingly
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" protested Pearl. "There are too many of them!"
"I'm sure, Pearl, I know we're outnumbered here, but in this situation, splitting up will cover more ground", said Zero firmly, not wanting to waste time. "Besides, we don't have time to argue; innocent lives are at risk every minute we stand here!"
"Zero's right, Pearl," said Garnet before Pearl could protest, "We can't just stand here and watch as they tear Beach City apart."
"You heard the tin man's gems!" Cried Spinel, "We gotta get crackin'!"
"Good, now let's move it, everyone! and good luck!" Shouted zero before dashing off towards the Funland arcade
Amethyst and Spinel were behind him. Spinel had turned her legs into springs, allowing her to easily bounce down the hill and increase her speed. She was bent on pursuing Steven's attackers and rescuing her adoptive little brother and his friends.
"Let's go, Pearl!" Cried Garnet before she and Pearl ran off to search for the source of the small but deadly drills
"I'm counting on you guys!" Cried lapis with a determined look on her face, before she summoned her water wings and took flight toward the skies to fend off the drills
Later, Zero, Spinel and Amethyst arrived at the entrance to the Funland arcade seeing more of the teal blue drills fall from the sky, taking up arms, the trio fought through the onslaught of drills, zero slashed them with his Z-Saber, Amethyst flung her whip at the drills, just barley dodging their attacks, and Spinel stretched out her right arm and inflating her right gloved hand and then smacked a fleet of drills out of the way.
More drills were coming; however, not as many as the trio had predicted. At this moment, a large, water-like appendage appeared out of the sky and swatted the drills out of the sky like flies. Amethyst already knew where that construct came from and sported a thankful grin.
"Thanks, lapis!" Called Amethyst, waving out a lavender hand
"Come on!" There's no time to lose!" Cried zero as he and Spinel raced inside the arcade to find Steven
"Hey, wait up!" Said Amethyst, following her friends inside the arcade
As the trio searched the Funland arcade, zero took in the sights of the Funland arcade and marveled at how the entertainment center looked form the inside, he saw arcade machines such as meat beat mania, crane games, a cafe, a prize counter, and even sported a grill at the outdoor section of the arcade before continuing on his way to find Steven.
"Steven! Steven, where are you?" Zero called out
"I'm over here!" Steven's voice called out; it was coming from the very back of where Zero and Spinel were standing.
"We're here over here too!" Called Jenny Pizza from the same spot
"Hang on, Steven!" Cried Spinel as she sped over to the source of Steven's voice, followed by Zero and Amethyst
The trio soon discovered Steven and the cool kids huddled next to a cabinet and an arcade machine, Steven stood up to face the heroes with stars in his eyes, Spinel squealed with relief as she stretched over to Steven, and wrapped around him with her stretchy arms hugging him, the cool kids could only stare with widened eyes at spinel'sSpinel's cartoon-like elasticity, finding it almost quite endearing to how Spinel was hugging the young gem hybrid.
"Hi, Spinel! "Steven giggled as he struggled to hug her back. 'I'm glad you and the others are here!'
"I was so worried for you!" Said Spinel with tears in her eyes
"Are we glad to see you guys!" Said Sour Cream, getting up from his spot, along with his friends
"The feeling's mutual", smirked Zero, who then turned his attention to Steven, "but what happened here, Steven?!"
"We were hanging out here after we decided to come to the Funland arcade," explained Steven, rubbing the back of his head
"Yeah, we were having fun hanging out in the amusement park," said Jenny Pizza, "when these blue….drill things came out of nowhere!"
"Yeah, they're everywhere!" Said kiki pizza, "They've been tearing up holes all over the place!"
"It's like they want to turn this place into Swiss-cheeseville!" Exclaimed Buck Dewey, which made Spinel lightly giggle
"They're doing worse than that, I'm afraid," said Zero. "They'll destroy everything if we don't stop them here and now!"
"Yeah, but how can we stop those guys?" Said Steven with worry, "There are so many of them!"
"I've had Garnet and Pearl look for the source of these things," said Zero. "This seems almost similar to the centipede situation when we arrived here."
"Now that you mention it…" Spinel thought, placing a gloved hand on her chin. It does seem awfully familiar."
"Then… there's gonna be a gem calling the shots of all these little guys, right?" Said amethyst
"That's what we're going to find out!" he said, "Zero," before turning to Steven and his friends. Steven, you and your friends stay here, and we'll be back."
"What? No! I want to help, too!" cried Steven, disheartened. "I have a shield!"
"Steven, please! You could get hurt!" said Zero sternly, not wanting to see the young gem hybrid be killed by the drills
"Zero's right, Steven," said kiki pizza with a worried look. "You go out there, and those drill things will turn you into Swiss cheese!"
"And not in a good way!" Interjected Spinel, waving her arms about
"Aw, but I like Swiss cheese!" Said Steven
"I don't think she meant that in a good way, Steven," said Amethyst, shaking her head. "But she's right, it's better if you stay here where it's safe."
"But amethyst I…" said Steven sadly, before he felt a white gloved hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Zero
"Steven, I appreciate you wanting to help, don't get us wrong," said Zero with a pleading look, "but we don't want you getting hurt and getting yourself killed, Greg would never forgive us if that happened to his son."
Zero's words made Steven pause for a bit. He knew his father, Greg, indeed cared deeply for his son, despite the struggles of being a father, especially with his adventures involving the crystal gems he had visited occasionally. The dangers awaited him there were no different from those at Beach City.
More than anything, however, Steven was grateful for not only zero and the hunters looking out for him but also for not hearing an 'you're not ready' excuse, as doing so would have proved quite fruitless, especially when he was trying to prove himself to the gems who kept leaving him at Crystal Temple most of the time.
"Hey, don't worry, ste-man," soothed Jenny Pizza, "like Zero said, we're just trying to look out for you, and we don't want you getting hurt."
"Thank you, guys," Steven said with a smile. The smile faded; however, suddenly, a thought came to his mind: "Dad! Is Dad alright?"
"We'll find him, Steven. You have our word," said Zero with determination. The two crystal gems next to him nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, guys," Said Steven with a bittersweet smile, suddenly remembering the last time he saw Greg today. Hold on! I just remembered! Dad said he was going to the big donut to take a break from his job!"
"Are you sure, Steve?" Amethyst asked, confused. "He hardly ever takes a break from his job; he is a mess after all."
"Well, we all have to have a break once in a while, Amethyst, or else we'll just break down," Reminded Zero before getting to the matter. "But if what you say is true, Steven, we'll look for him there!"
"Please do zero, I'm counting on you guys!" Nodded Steven
"Are you guys going back out there?" Asked for sour cream
"Yeah, it's too dangerous out there!" Said Jenny Pizza with concern
"They'll turn you guys into Swiss cheese!" Finished kiki pizza with widened eyes
"We appreciate your concern, guys, but we have to go out there and stop those mavericks," said Zero with conviction. "It's our duty as maverick hunters and crystal gems; we must protect everyone here."
"In that case, we'd better get goin'!" Cried Spinel as she raced out of the Funland arcade, her legs turning into wheels because of the speed she was running
"Hey, wait up!" Called Amethyst following Spinel outside
"Alright, we'll be off," said Zero, preparing to leave before addressing the cool kids huddling over Steven, "please take care of Steven, you four."
"Don't worry, pal, we will," said Buck Dewey, adjusting his glasses slightly
"You can count on us anytime!" Smiled Jenny Pizza
"Zero, you and guys, please be careful," said Steven with concern, "and please, find my dad."
"We'll find him and protect him from those drills, Steven," said Zero, turning away, his blonde ponytail dangling slightly, but not before sharing one last glance at Steven, "I swear it."
And with that being said, the crimson maverick hunter dashed out of the arcade center to pursue his fellow maverick hunters. Steven was kept company inside the arcade by the cool kids, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt in his heart and mind; he wanted to help the Crystal Gems despite the risks. Still, he remembered Zero's words, as he didn't want Steven to get hurt or lose his life to the corrupted gem out there, causing havoc in Beach City outside. More than anything, he was scared for his father's life out there at the moment.
" If only I could get my powers working right ," Steven thought sadly as he slumped down. Maybe then I'll finally be helpful , and maybe…* sigh* perhaps I won't be a burden to the gems back at the temple… "
Seeing Steven's sad look, the cool kids did their best to comfort him. Jenny wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which Steven returned before he drifted back into his thoughts.
" Zero, guys…please save dad for me ," prayed Steven in his thoughts, wishing his friends the best of luck saving Greg and Beach City from the drills
At that moment, high above beach city, lapis lauzli was doing her best to fend off the airborne drills in the sky she directed her water arm construct to form a fist and punched straight through a section of the drills, poofing them, but they had no gemstones, next she flung a hammer-like water construct at an incoming squadron of drills coming straight at her, lapis was barely able to flung the hammer at them and poof them. Still, she almost got hit by one of the drills, which she narrowly avoided.
"Stars! These guys are everywhere!" Cried lapis before dodging another drill and was forced to fly backwards a bit, "Take this!"
Lapis commanded the water hand construct to open and flung it at a section of the flying drills, smacking them out of the sky and poofing them with a single slap. Unfortunately, lapis saw more drills coming at her, narrowing her eyes. Deciding to fight fire with fire, she turned the water construct into several sections of floating water before freezing them, turning them into icicle projectiles, and flung them at the drills, destroying them.
"Whew," sweated lapis, feeling overwhelmed even with her power over water. There are too many of these guys. They'd better hurry and fit their sourem soon!"
Suddenly, out of the corner of Lapis's eye, she spotted Zero, Spinel, and Amethyst headed towards the big donut, where she also saw three familiar figures. Two of them were fighting the drills, while the other was in hiding, cowering in fear before the power of the teal drills, which were tearing up the surrounding area.
"Hang on, guys! I'm coming to help!" Cried lapis as she flapped her water wings toward the big donut
Zero swung his Z-Saber below, slashing through the various drills that tried to pierce him. Spinel and Amethyst followed him through the trek to the big donut. Another barrage of drills approached zero, and he gritted his teeth as he jumped up in the air to perform a secret technique.
" KUUENZAN! (Air Circiling Slash)" Cried zero perfuming a rolling slash with his Z-Saber, slicing through any of the drills that came straight for him
before landing on the ground with a metallic thud
"Man! He can do a lot of neat tricks with that laser sword of his!" Said Amethyst, "I'd say a lot more than pearl probably."
"Maybe, but let's not go that far, ame!" Giggled Spinel before she saw two familiar figures near the entrance to the big donut, "Hey! Isn't that…?"
"It is!" Cried zero, "It's X and Axl!"
The trio ran over to X and axl, who were shooting at the drills with their X-buster and A-bullets. One of the drills almost hit X, only for that drill in question to be sliced in half by Zero's Z-saber. X then noticed his friends running towards the hunters and looked relieved to see their friends arriving just in time to help.
Spinel enlarged her fist and punched away another barrage of drills coming right for them, poofing them away and taking care of the drill swarm. The pink jester turned around to address the two maverick hunters.
"Zero! Spinel! Amethyst!" Smiled X "I'm glad to see you guys!"
"Same here!" Panted Axl, "We were starting to get overwhelmed!"
"I'll say…whew," sighed Spinel, wiping her forehead. They're everywhere!"
"Watch out! Here comes some more!" Cried Amethyst, pointing at the sky
Multiple drills were headed straight toward the heroes of Beach City. They prepared to defend themselves despite such overwhelming odds, when suddenly they were knocked away by a giant wall of water. The group below looked up to see lapis lazuli flying in the air.
"Are you guys alright!?" Asked the gem master of water
"Thanks to you, lapis!" Called X, "We appreciate your help!"
"It was no problem!" Said Lapis as she swooped down and landed on the ground, her blue bare feet hitting the sand, and she dismissed her wings for now. "I'm glad I got here when I did!"
"Me too!" Axl, sporting an annoyed scowl, said, "You guys sure took your sweet time showing up!"
"I'm sorry we kept you two waiting," Zero apologized before looking around the area. "Where's Greg? Is he okay?"
"Don't worry, guys! I'm right here!" Said Greg's voice, catching everyone's attention before he revealed himself beside the dumpster of the big donut shop
"Mr. Universe!" Zero cried as he ran towards him. "Thank goodness you're alright!"
"Whew, same goes for you guys!" Said Greg, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "I don't know if X or axl could hold out a little longer!"
"Well, I'm glad we made it in time," said Zero. "Steven was worried about you."
"Steven!?" gasped Greg, realizing his son was in danger. "W-where's my little stchu-ball? Is he alright?"
"He's safe," confirmed zero. "he's hiding in the Funland arcade with his friends."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Greg sighed with relief. Ahhh…that kid is killing me."
"Well, don't worry, Mr. Universe, we'll protect him," said X. "You have our word!"
"I appreciate that X," said Greg with a smile
"What happened here anyway?" Asked Zero
"I was on my way to the big donut when all of a sudden these…magic drill things came out of nowhere!" Explained Greg
"We saw Greg, Iris alerted us to what was happening," said Zero
"Axl and I were out on a walk when these drills started attacking the city," said X, telling his side of the story
"Yeah, I tried to help fight them off as best I could, but…" said Greg sheepishly, before showing his waffle iron with a gaping hole in the middle, "those magic things…put a hole in my waffle iron."
"Yeeesh!" Hissed Amethyst with worry, observing the hole the drill made, "They really did a number on that thing."
"Yeah, in hindsight…maybe a waffle iron was not the best plan against these drills," said Greg nervously, rubbing the back of his head
"Hey, cheer up, Greg!" Spinel said, trying to lift Greg's spirits. You can always get another!"
"Very true," said Greg, but then he sighed, "but it'll be a while before I can make waffles for Steven again…"
"Well, all that matters, Greg, is that you're safe," said Zero. "Steven was so worried about you."
"Hey, I'll make sure stchu-ball knows I'm all right," said Greg, "thanks to you guys."
"You're welcome, Greg," said axl, who twirled his handguns. "So what now?"
"We have to find out where these drills are coming from," said X sternly, "and we need to hurry before more people get hurt."
"Agreed, I've had Pearl and Garnet look for it," said Zero. "Hopefully, we'll have our answers soon."
"Yeah, where are they anyway? "Before Amethyst could finish talking, she saw a familiar figure of pale white and light cyan flying straight at them. "Guys! Heads up!"
The Crystal Hunter team saw Pearl flung straight at them and land hard on the ground. She slid across the beach sands before she stopped just a few feet from Zero's red and white metal boots. The team all looked at Pearl with concern. She had bruises all over her body, and her spear was a few feet from her hand.
"Pearl!" cried Zero with widened eyes. He ran towards her and tried to get her on her feet. "Pearl! Hang in there!"
"Uggh….that could have gone better…" said Pearl, dazed. The hard landing almost made her poof before looking up to see zero "z-zero?"
"Yep," nodded the crimson maverick hunter, "what happened?"
"Well, Garnet and I found the source of these…things…but-"before Pearl could finish, however, a voice rang out.
"Heads up, gems!" Screamed Garnet's voice as she ran towards where Pearl was. "It's headed our way!"
Garnet approached her fellow crystal gems, then she turned around and summoned her gauntlets, raising them. Her friends also summoned their weapons and prepared to defend themselves, while Greg nervously stepped back.
WARNING!
The ground on the right started to rumble and shake before a mound began to form and exploded, spreading sand everywhere to reveal a gigantic turquoise brittle star with drill-like apparatus, burrowing out of the ground before turning itself right side up with its short spiked arms. It showed a massive disk with radial symmetry with small drill-like cones along the dorsal.
"It's a Blue Chalcedony!" Cried Garnet, "That's where the drill parasites are coming from!"
"Then we need to take her down!" Said Axl, "and quickly before she lays to Beach City!"
"That's just what we're gonna do!" Smirked Amethyst, cracking her whip
"Yeah! I'm gonna make her regret messing with Steven!" Said Spinel, stretching her legs a few inches and putting up stretched fists
X aimed his X Buster at the blue chalcedony in front of him. The sight of the corrupted gem reminded him of the spider-like mechaniloid he fought back when Sigma led the maverick hunters before he became the supreme maverick himself. X wished he could reason with the corrupted gem. Still, X knew it was not to be since the corrupted gem lost its mind due to its mutation, so he prepared to fight.
"Alright, guys! Be careful!" Said zero, gripping his Z-saber and pointing it at the corrupted gem before them, "If that gem is the source of those drills, we can't let her hit us!"
"Roger, zero! We'll be careful!" said X before charging his X-buster. Let's go, everyone!"
"Right!" Said the crystal gems before they started charging toward the corrupted gem
The blue chalcedony growled and made the first move by firing the drill parasites off its dorsal toward the heroes, forcing them to dodge the projectiles. A few of them, however, almost hit Pearl, X, and Amethyst. After recovering, X charged up his X-Buster and fired a charged shot at the corrupted gem, making it stagger. At the same time, Lapis flew into the air and commanded the water to destroy the drill parasites. She then turned the water into a spiked ball and slammed it onto the blue chalcedony, dealing further damage.
Growling, blue chalcedony extended her arms towards zero and garnet, the gem fusion dodged one arm and ran on top of another, one of the arms reached towards zero, who swung his z-saber at it,
The corrupted gem growled in pain from the attack. In contrast, Garnet jumped up, summoned her gauntlets, and slammed on the blue chalcedony with both hands, making the corrupted gem lose balance, but it was not over yet.
Garnet quickly jumped off just as Blue Chalcedony was getting back up and fired more drill parasites at Garnet in retaliation. Alas, they could not hit Garnet as she dodged one after another due to her future vision, but a few of them chased Zero, who quickly cut down each of the drills launched toward him.
The corrupted gem was about to attack again when Spinel stretched toward it, inflating her fist, and punched blue chalcedony a few feet back.
"Hey! Don't forget about me!" Cried Spinel, putting up her dukes and stretching toward the corrupted gem, before dealing a stretchy one-two punch
Pearl pointed her spear at the blue chalcedony and charged up energy before unleashing a blast at it, releasing an explosion that staggered the corrupted gem. Zero dashed forward, jumped high into the air, and pointed his Z-saber at the top of the blue chalcedony, executing a Downward thrust. The z-saber's laser blade suddenly began to be encased in ice, forming a giant icicle blade.
" HYOURETSUZAN! (Ice Fury Slash)! " Cried Zero as he slammed the icicle-encased Z-Saber on top of the blue chalcedony, leaving her stunned by this elemental technique
While blue chalcedony was disoriented, Garnet dashed towards the drill apparatus. Suddenly, the drill unfolded to reveal five turquoise arms. All of them tried to hit Garnet, but she anticipated every one of their attacks.
"Freaky," commented axl before firing his axl bullets at the corrupted gem again, trying to distract her.
As Garnet fought off the tentacled arms coming at her, Blue Chalcedony tried to retaliate, but lashing out her main arms at the heroes as she stretched them towards them, only to be slashed by Zero and fended off attack after attack by Blue Chalcedony. Beside him, X fired another charged shot after gathering energy in his arm cannon, sending Blue Chalcedony reeling.
The corrupted gem was about to retaliate when Spinel stretched her body around the blue chalcedony, coiling around it and binding her, creating an opening for Garnet to finish the fight.
"Garnet! Now!" Called Spinel, stretching her upper body up from her snake-like hold over the corrupted gem
Garnet nodded and grabbed one of the bottom tentacles before summoning her gauntlet on her free hand, punching through the mouth, and grasping the gemstone inside the mutated gem. This caused her to poof and explode in a massive cloud of dust. Everyone shielded their eyes as Garnet walked forward with the bubbled gemstone. It was light blue. It had multiple facets, with cone-shaped spikes protruding from each vortex.
"Alright! We did it!" Cheered amethyst
"Not yet, look!" Said Pearl, pointing a finger at the ground
On the ground surrounding the defeated, corrupted gem were remnants of the drill parasites as they began to stir and fly up into the air, before spinning and aiming at the ground. The crystal gems realized they had to act fast before they could retreat and cause destruction for Beach City another day.
"Take them down!" Cried zero, "If they escape, they'll return!"
Seeing no reason to argue because of what they had witnessed, the crystal gems quickly went to work and destroyed each drill parasite with their weapons. While the maverick hunters blasted them out of the sky, they could barely eliminate the last remaining drills before they burrowed underground, ending the threat to Beach City for the day.
"Whew…that was close," sighed axl with relief. "One of them almost got away."
"I'll say!" Said Amethyst, "I almost had to dive down after one of them."
"Well, what matters is we've stopped the corrupted gem and Beach City is safe," reminded Zero, relinquishing his Z-Saber. "Now, where's Steven?"
"Guys! Guys!" Steven called out, "I'm over here!"
The heroes all spun around to see the young gem hybrid running towards them, with the cool kids behind him in hot pursuit. Steven went over to his father, who, to his relief, saw that he was safe and sound. Greg shared the sentiment as he kneeled down and hugged his son.
"Dad!… you're safe!" Cried Steven with tears of joy
"Steven…my son!" Smiled Greg, "You're okay!"
"Yeah! The cool kids kept me company," said Steven, but I was so worried about your dad!"
"Hey, don't worry, stchu-ball," chuckled Greg, ruffling Steven's hair. "Daddy's not going anywhere, not with these guys around."
Greg waved a hand toward the Crystal Hunter Alliance beside him as they were awed by the scene before them.
"All in a day's work, Greg," said Zero. "I'm sure glad Iris called us back when she did!"
"Me too, zero! " said Steven, "Thanks for saving my dad; you and your friends are my heroes!"
"Thank you, Steven…" said zero after a pause before sporting a side glance, "but I don't recall ever calling myself a hero."
Steven raised an eyebrow at that. Why would Zero not consider himself a hero? He and his friends had saved his father and Beach City from
"Aw, cheer up, Zero!" Said Spinel, "Steven's right!"
"Yeah, ya saved his dad after all," said Jenny Pizza as she and kiki walked up to the heroes
"That makes you a hero in our book," said kiki pizza
"Us too zero!" Thanked Greg
"Thank you guys," smiled Zero, feeling a bit proud right now
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but we had a long day today!" panted Amethyst. "Let's hit the hay!"
"That sounds good to me!" said Steven before turning to the cool kids. " Do you guys want to hang out again tomorrow?"
"Hey, you're welcome to hang out with us anytime, Steven!" Smiled sour cream
"Feel free to drop over at my place, Steven!" Said kiki pizza, "and I'll be sure to whip up a good pizza for you!"
"And hopefully it'll be on better terms," Said X
"Likewise," nodded Buck Dewey, "we should be going now!"
"Us too!" Said lapis before waving them goodbye, "See you!"
"Yes…uh…see you," said Pearl awkwardly, not feeling comfortable talking to humans before turning to walk away
"See you tomorrow, Steven!" Said zero as he and the maverick hunters took their leave
"See you tomorrow, zero!" Said Steven, before following his father back to their house
"By the way, zero," said Sour Cream, catching Zero's attention, "that's a cool laser sword you got there!"
"It's actually called the Z-saber, but thank you!" Said zero with a side glance before turning away and walking back to the lighthouse with his fellow maverick hunters, their task completed for now
And with that, everyone returned home after a hard day defending Beach City from the drill parasite onslaught. The maverick hunters returned to the lighthouse to inform Iris that their mission had been a success, much to her great relief, knowing that Beach City was now safe. Steven was secure and went to his father's home to relax for the rest of the day. Greg comforted his son from the doubts he faced during the invasion.
Later that night, at the crystal temple, the crystal gems gathered for a meeting about today's events and how Steven was doing. They were grateful that Iris had warned them about Steven's peril, and they rushed back home when they did. But Pearl almost lost her mind when she heard Steven was in trouble. Spinel and Amethyst eventually calm Pearl down,
As the meeting continued, the crystal gems covered how Steven performed on his expedition to the lunar sea spire. How eager he was to prove himself, Pearl was still against it, but some of the gems vouched for Steven regardless, and seeing how the maverick hunters did well with helping Steven on that mission, the crystal gems soon came to a decision that night…
It was time to take Steven to his first serious mission!
usernotfound (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 05 Oct 2024 04:25PM UTC
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metalhunterSPT on Chapter 2 Sat 01 Mar 2025 07:28PM UTC
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usernotfound (Guest) on Chapter 2 Tue 06 May 2025 06:24AM UTC
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Eisha (Guest) on Chapter 6 Wed 10 Sep 2025 10:38AM UTC
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Eisha (Guest) on Chapter 7 Wed 10 Sep 2025 10:54AM UTC
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metalhunterSPT on Chapter 7 Wed 10 Sep 2025 11:26AM UTC
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