Chapter 1

A shadowed creature rush through the rainforest treeline as jumping right after it was Garnet and Pearl from the Crystal Gems, "There it is! Don't let it get away!" Garnet yelled after as from the side, chasing after it was Amethyst, formed up in her spike ball mode, "I got it!" She claimed before the creature took a sharp right, making Amethyst crash right into tree. "Ah!...Eeeeeeh…" Amethyst was laying upside down against it, a little dazed.
"Come on Amethyst, it's already got a lead on us." Pearl encouraged as Amethyst stumbled slightly from getting up. "Garnet, are you sure this plan will work?" Pearl looked over, a little concerned.
"Trust me, he seemed confident enough." Garnet smiled as they continued to chase after the target. When far along enough, a pink bubble encircled around the creature, fully capturing it. "I got it! I got it!" Steven smiled brightly as he was standing on top of the bubble. Inside of it was a corrupted gem that was stylized after a Cheetah. "Great work Steven." Garnet and the others walked over as she gave Steven a thumb's up.

The group eventually returned back to the Crystal Temple after bubbling it up and sending the corrupted gem into the containment room that laid within the heart of the temple. "That was so cool! I was actually able to catch it! I did~!" Steven jumped off from the telepad and ran right into the living room, "Although, I wouldn't have known what to do without Garnet's help." Steven admitted as he turned around to smile at the other Crystal Gems. But there smiles faded when they saw Steven's slowly going away, "But he wasn't there either…" Garnet went over and kneeled down to Steven, "Steven, the world is a very huge place. It may take a while before we find Zircon."

"But it's already been months! How much longer do I have to wait?!" Steven yelled, almost crying. Garnet retreated some, hating it when Steven is sad. It made her feel terrible for not being able to prevent it. She slowly hugged Steven to her. "Don't worry Steven…I miss him too." She then thought of something, "Here come with me." Garnet took Steven's hand as she walked through the Gem door and led him into the containment room where all of the bubbled, Corrupted Gems were. "Garnet, why are we-" Garnet gently shushed Steven, "Just watch." Steven looked up as soon, there it was. A corrupted gem was transported in in a tinted, green bubble, making Steven's eyes widen. "Wh-What?"

"I noticed these coming in about a couple weeks ago." Garnet crossed her arms, smirking at the sight, "It means he's still out there, Steven, fighting the good fight. And the fact that he still sends the Corrupted Gems that he has defeated back here, means he still thinks about us as well." Steven was still crying a little from Garnet's words, but he was smiling now instead. "Zircon…please come home soon."

Somewhere in Canada

Crashed right through a couple trees and landing in the snow with a long skid trail was a corrupted gem in the style of a giant bear. Before it could get up, a hooded figure landed a kick on its neck, making it poof back into its gem state. The figure was wearing a red hoodie, that was unzipped showing a grey shirt underneath and wore a black trench-coat overtop of it all. He slowly knelt down to pick up the corrupted gem as he stared it for a bit with his sickly green eyes before placing it in a green bubble and transporting it to somewhere else he knows. He sighed out, looking up at the sky as his hoodie slowly slipped off, revealing his sickly green skin with green veins coursing from the forehead and sides of his face. His healthy, green, short shaved hair was getting trickled with snow as the one long bang hung from the front of his face as it curved to the right. "Hey, why so glum, Zircon?" Zircon's head slowly turned to another person, a girl, who was with him. This one was wearing a knitted, blue and light blue striped sweater with a pink scarf wrapped around her neck and ear muffs worn on her head. Her skin was also a tinted, sky-blue and her knee-length hair was a turquoise color. On the backside of her right hand, an oval-shaped gem was imbedded into it. "Is it because you're thinking of that place that you're sending those Gems back to?" Zircon slowly nodded, "Yeah…" He pulled on his trench-coat and tugged on it to keep himself more warm from the cold weather as he and the girl started to walk along. "Um, are you ever going to tell me about this place? These "old friends" that you had back there?" She leaned over to look at Zircon's face while they were walking.

"It's too much of a long story to tell…and honestly, I'd get bored from telling you by the halfway point, Labra." He spoke at her in his old, monotonous tone. This Labra girl pouted from his response, "God, that's what you always say. You're just avoiding having to tell it."

"Well if it annoys you so much, why do you still travel with me?" Zircon raised a sneer as his pupils shrunk a little in annoyance.

"Hah, after what you've done for me, you honestly think I'll leave you be until I return the favor?" Labra looked up at the sky with her eyes closed as she smirked.

"Geez, this is what happens whenever I save someone's life. I always get stuck with them afterwards." Zircon scowled with comedically narrowed eyes as he started to walk at a faster pace.

"Speaking of which, another thing that you were never able to tell me is why you're going around the world anyway?" Labra ran after Zircon, not wanting to be left behind.

"I already told you that. I'm looking for someone." Zircon avoided.

"But you never told me who or why and we've been in this about two weeks now. If we're going to be a team, you need to start being truthful!" As Labra went on, she bumped right into Zircon, who suddenly. "Ah! H-Hey why'd you stop?"

"So annoying…fine, I'll tell you." Zircon finally caved in, making Labra smile, "Well it's about time."

"I'm looking for someone who's done something to me that made me leave my old home in fear of hurting my friends…" What Zircon said made the smile quickly leave from Labra's face. Zircon slowly looked back at her with his left eye showing. His pupil was frantically switching back and forth between its normal, black color to a bright, orange color. This made Labra jump back some, "Wh-What is that?"

"Something that was embedded onto me by a Gem Witch…whenever my focus or will is weakened, it makes me go into a state of fury and violence, acting upon my own Gem's genes…the only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the witch." Zircon explained, having a cold stare the entire time.

"Y-You mean…" Labra's eyes widened as Zircon made a crushing motion with his hand, making Labra gulp. "If you get cold feet, I wouldn't blame you…" Zircon was about to walk before his right hand was held back by Labra, making him stop again. "But…if she's gone along with this "curse" of yours, then you would finally be able to return back to your home, right?" Zircon slowly looked back at Labra who tilted her head up with her usual, bright smile. "Then, that is how I will repay my debt to you." Her words made Zircon flinch slightly before he turned his head and smirked, "Have it your way." The two would then continue their walk through the snow, continuing on Zircon's personal mission.