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...