After the Blackout incident started, many personnel, from local police to armed personnel and N.A.S.A. researchers were put on high alert. A coordinated defense plan for the elimination of the "Dusk" threat was put into action. Whenever there were reports of local sightings, a specialized task force was sent in to deal with the threat. Rumors were going around that these marines were using some kind of experimental tech reverse-engineered from alien equipment, though most continued about their daily tasks.

Within the Hampton Research Center near southern Delmarva, things were quiet. Among other things, the personnel there received and analyzed data for atmospheric conditions. The Blackout left a pretty big imprint, and despite ground conditions, the satellites were still somehow operational.

Now, they were tasked with keeping an eye for any similar incidents, and for any energy imprints left behind by the Dusks as they gathered up. The "Road-Runner," as people liked to call it, left behind a pretty big streak as it traveled across the country.

There was also a pretty big, and unusual, flare that shot up around the time Road Runner was eliminated. It didn't seem like there was much else to it, but for some reason the folks from the FBI seemed to think it was important.

More interesting, as James O'Connor saw it, was the sudden surge in energy near the north coast of the state just a few hours after the Road Runner incident, since the agency seemed to be all hush-hush about it.

It was obviously different from the readings that showed up in Arkansas, sorta like something like you'd pick up if there's a bomb going off, except all packed into one spot.

Then James heard a sharp beep from his headset.

He turned back to the screen, which had automatically centered itself around the middle of Keystone state.

This one was different, however.

"Boss, we've got something."

"Steven, wake up!"

"Wha…?"

Steven Universe felt his dad shake him out bed, or at least the sack he was sleeping in. He felt a cold breeze wash over him, and when he finally got to his senses, he saw Riku and Lea standing just outside the van.

"The government guys said they found something."

"Another adventure?" Steven said with a bit less enthusiasm than he should have.

"Looks like it," said Steven's dad.

For the past week or so, Steven, Connie, Riku, Lea, Lapis, and Peridot had been going all over the planet to try and beat up the Heartless whenever they showed up, along with trying to keep up with the Gems' normal duties. Understandably, Steven was a little bit tired, especially since it was in the middle of the night.

Once Steven finally got out of the van, he saw a pair of government vans resting right along the sidewalk. Agent Thompson, Agent Henderson, and Connie were standing just beside them, with Connie carrying her duffel bag.

Connie herself seemed noticeably tired as well, though Steven didn't take much note of it.

"Good evening, Steven," said Agent Thompson.

"Howdy," Steven yawned. "So what's the situation today?"

"We think we may have found a rift near central Keystone."

Steven perked up slightly, "You mean we might be able to find Amethyst and Pearl."

"Can't say for sure. All we know is that our sensors have found some strange activity in the area, and if what you guys have told us is correct, that mean we've found our first clue to the whereabouts of the enemy."

"Well," said Riku, "it's a start."

"We'll be taking the warp pad to the site near central Keystone. Less fuel consumption that way."

Steven off-handedly remembered that they were now keeping track of where each of the warp pads were located, now that the FBI guys got involved in all this.

Agent Thompson continued, "Once we're there, we'll have one of you two try and open it," Agent Thompson said, referring to Connie and Riku. "I suspect not all of you had a good night's sleep, so we all booked you a few rooms at a nearby motel. Not the best of places, but it should do the job."

"What's the point of opening a rift if we're not going through it?" complained Lea.

"Not yet at any rate. If the breach is successful, we'll be sending an advance squad through to monitor conditions on the other side of the portal. Once you're all ready in the morning, you'll be briefed on the current situation."

"Well, can't some of us come with?" said Lea.

"It's better if you all enter as a group, once we've determined whether the coast is clear. We don't want to lose all four of you, since you're the only ones who've directly fought with the Shrekpire's goons."

Lea sighed.

Riku placed his hand on Lea's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get our chance tomorrow."

"Eh, sure."

"So," said Agent Thompson, "you all ready?"

Although Steven's mind wasn't fully awake, it didn't take long for him to realize his current outfit wouldn't be suitable for whatever mission the government guys had.

"Wait," said Steven, "can I get changed?"

"You may get changed before we depart," said Agent Thompson.

Steven looked back towards the car wash and then said, "Okay."

After dad let Steven inside the place, Steven used the inside bathroom to change into his normal clothes, and then returned back outside.

"Anyone else?"

"I think we're all ready," Connie added in a somewhat tired tone.

"Good," said Agent Thompson.

"Well," Steven said as he turned back around towards his dad, "goodbye dad!"

"Be sure to come back soon," his dad said back.

Agent Henderson cleared his throat. "Everyone, this way."

Agent Henderson then began leading everyone present around the rising cliff and towards what remained of the Beach House.

Nothing remained save the warp pad, the temple doors, and whatever objects had not been caught in the fire. Most of the ashes and debris had been cleaned out, though some mementos remained. Steven preferred that some things remained untouched, as it served as a reminder of that day, when he lost both Pearl and Amethyst. At first, the sight saddened him, but Steven eventually got over it.

At least Connie and the others were still alive.

Riku had gotten a new white vest-jacket, fresh new jeans, and a plain black T-shirt since the other one had torn up during the fight. It might not have been as stylish, though it still looked good on him.

Lion seemed to be sleeping at the base of the hill which originally led up to the Beach House. An eye peeked open.

"Hey there Lion!" Steven waved.

The beast let out a great yawn, and then perched itself up.

"You stay here and make sure things are safe."

Lion watched as Steven and the others ascended up the steps that had been placed after the house had burned down.

After finishing up any preparations, the six of them stepped onto the warp pad in teams of three, and then made their way to the destination near central Keystone.

Although the place they exited out at was fairly forested, there was a small road nearby, with an FBI van, a transport truck, and a police car waiting for them.

"Agent Thompson," said an agent standing just beside the van.

"Agent Peterson," said Agent Thompson.

The two agents shook hands.

"These the kids?"

"They sure are."

"We have names, you know," said Lea.

"So what are they?" Agent Peterson said promptly.

"I'm Steven," said Steven Universe.

"Connie," said Connie.

Riku and Lea also introduced themselves.

"I see," Agent Peterson muttered. "The rendezvous point is about twenty minutes from here. I assume Agents Thompson and Henderson have briefed you on the situation?"

"Get to the site and open the rift, right?" Riku answered.

"More or less. Well, no point in waiting. You all getting on or what?"

At the agent's request, Steven, Connie, Riku, Lea, and the other two agents loaded themselves onto the vehicle Peterson had designated for them.

En route to their destination, Agent Peterson added, "We've set up a defensive perimeter at the site, in case everything goes to… well heck. Just gotta say, that thing doesn't look normal by any stretch of the imagination."

"Define normal," said Riku.

As they got close to the destination, they could hear the drone of helicopters soaring overhead. Much of the surrounding forestry looked like it had been cleared out to make room for some of the heavier weaponry. Occasionally, Steven could make out the outlines of people hiding behind tree cover and others lying low to the ground, with only the tiniest glint of their rifles visible to the naked eye.

The open clearing before them looked like a battlefield, with trenches, sandbags, and machine gun emplacements stretching everywhere the eye could see like something out of a war movie. Splotches of dirt dotted what must have once been lush greenery wherever the trees had been upturned, and wherever the troops decided to pile the stuff up. Makeshift bridges and ladders lied here and there, and almost the whole clearing had been transformed save for one splotch of grass in the middle of this ring of devastation.

There was a small sparkle, like a star in the sky, hovering just a foot or two above the ground right at the center of this circle.

That must be the rift.

As the three vehicles traveled down the winding perimeter perhaps a few hundred feet away from the massive clearing, they came across what appeared to be a few trailer vans and tents set up in the woods. Steven also saw a few government vehicles similar to the one they had been driving in, and a few of them seemed to have antennae sprouting from the top.

As they circled along, Steven could also see the barrels of a few tanks peeking out from the forest's edge, with dirt and sandbag walls rising up to conceal most of their front.

If there was anything coming out of that rift, it was going to get blown to bits, assuming it wasn't something like a Heartless.

The van stopped.

Steven and the others got out, and Agent Peterson made a call to someone informing them they were at the site.

Although they were partially concealed by the forest around them, there was a straight path to the rift in the center of the clearing, formed by a series of walkways.

Once the call was done, Agent Peterson turned to the others and said, "The men are ready."

"Riku," said Agent Thompson, "you may do your thing."

Riku nodded, and then summoned out his keyblade.

"Do I have to do anything?" Connie asked.

"This usually only requires one person."

Riku took a few steps out into the clearing, turned slightly, and then aimed his keyblade forward.

Light began to shine from the tip, and a laser-like beam shot out and channeled into the rift.

A golden outline of a keyhole-like shape formed around the rift, and then began to fill with light.

Soldiers within the trenches and makeshift defenses began to shuffle.

Once the "keyhole" was filled, it then shrunk into the rift, and then expanded into a bright, shining white oval. The surface of this portal seemed to shimmer with faint, rainbow-like gleams, like the surface of a bubble.

Some of the people closer to the rift were saying something, and after a second or two, about ten soldiers climbed out of the trench and ran into the portal. From what Steven could make out, they seemed to be wearing some kind of special armor, likely rebuilt from whatever the Shrekpire guys used.

"So…" said Lea, "our job here is done, right?"

"Yes, we'll take care of things from here," said Agent Thompson.

Agent Peterson received another call.

"We still have contact with Alpha squadron," said Agent Peterson as he held his phone to the side.

"Spectacular," exclaimed Agent Thompson.

"You mean… we can still communicate with each other through that thing?"

"Seems like it," said Agent Peterson. "Looks like they've encountered some light hostilities, but the situation seems to be under control."

"Good enough for me," said Agent Thompson.

"Alright," said Agent Henderson, "let's get some rest. You've got plenty of work cut out for you tomorrow morning."

Looks like playtime and games were over.

Pence made his way over to the ice cream shop, still exhausted from his most recent bout of running. Hayner had finally caught up to him today, and so now he was gonna have to buy everyone ice cream.

He was not looking forward to having to do homework for the day. He had held off almost all of his assignments for that week, and now he was gonna have to do everything once he got back to the hideout. There was, like, fifty pages he had to read for this week's reading class, and a bunch of questions and stuff.

Most of the reading assignments the teachers gave out were just plain boring. It just wasn't interesting, like actual real life stuff. What good did learning that stuff even do?

Things sure were boring around here.

Pence missed the days when he could just simply goof off. Well, he still goofed off, but not there was actual school and stuff.

There weren't any mysteries left to solve. There were still a few scuffles with Seifer and his gang, but after they helped Sora break into that alternate Twilight Town, things just weren't the same any more.

Or rather, things were too much the same.

Pence ordered his three sticks of ice cream from the shop. He thought about eating his ice cream right then and there, but then he'd just get hungry while Hayner and Olette ate theirs.

A shadow seemed to stand over him.

As he stepped away from the shop, he saw an old, slightly hunched, bald man with a white goatee wearing a long black overcoat, white gloves, a flip-collared white shirt, and large black boots step in to take his order. His skin had a somewhat dark complexion, and his eyes had a yellowish tint.

After the old man had taken his order, Pence stopped where he was and turned towards the man, "I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Well, this is my first time visiting this town," said the man. "It's a rather splendid place, I might say."

"I'm Pence. Do you know Sora, by any chance?"

Pence wasn't sure why this man made him think of Sora, but there was probably some reason for it.

"I might know him."

"Oh," said Pence, "well, if you see him, tell him I said hi."

As Pence began to walk off, he heard the old man say, "You grow tired of this place, don't you boy?"

Pence turned around, "Huh?"

"There are worlds that lie beyond this one."

"Yeah, so?"

"Don't you wish you could meet Sora once more?"

There was something strange, almost seductive about the way the man presented this.

"What are you getting at?" said Pence.

"You have much potential, my boy. With enough time, you may surpass even the greatest of legends."

"What do you mean? Who are you, anyway?"

"I am Master Xehanort. Like Sora, I too can wield the power of the Keyblade.

"You might not be aware, safe as you are in this sanctuary of a world, but the natural order of things has been torn asunder. A new menace has appeared from beyond the boundaries of time and space, and they have captured Sora and his friends."

Pence's mind didn't fully register this remark, "Huh?"

"It might be difficult for one such as yourself to believe," said Xehanort as he paced back and forth, "seeing how little you have traveled beyond the confines of your world. But what I say is the truth. A Great Shrekpire has arisen from beyond, and should its people ever discover the means to access this world, they will not hesitate to annihilate this town and everyone in it."

This was… a lot to take in. Pence still had doubts about what the old man was saying, but if he knew about Sora and Keyblades and stuff, there must have been some truth to what he was saying.

Just what the heck was a "Shrekpire" supposed to be anyway?

Whatever it was, it definitely sounded like bad news, and if they got Sora…

Before Pence could finish his thoughts, the old man leaned in and spoke once again, "But I believe we have what it takes to take on the Shrekpire, and expel them the greater World once and for all."

But if they were strong enough to defeat Sora and his friends, how was someone like Pence supposed to make a difference?

"But how…" Pence began to mutter.

"For you see," Xehanort continued, "with new realities comes new possibilities. In my travels through the Worlds Beyond, I have learned many new things. There are powers that surpass those of Light and Darkness, and my findings indicate that you are naturally attuned to such powers.

"Like I said before, within your heart lies great potential, and it is my duty as Master to see that those powers are awakened."

Powers… greater than Light and Darkness.

Pence had trouble taking this all in. Just what was this power, and why was Xehanort so certain that Pence had it?

Master Xehanort then materialized a strange, sphere-like object within his right hand. A thin, cloud-like white mist seemed to swirl around the surface of the sphere, while the inside was filled with a dim, green haze. A whitish, flame seemed to flicker at its center, though Pence felt no heat standing where he was.

At the same time, the strange object had a crystal-like sheen to it, and Pence could not help but be drawn into its splendor.

It was… calling to him.

Xehanort continued to speak as Pence remained fixated on the strange object. "What you see here is the soul of Lord Farquaad, a man of great legend and renown. He had been one of the few to oppose Shrek during his rise to power, though he had perished while fighting a powerful fire-breathing dragon. Since then, his soul has been lost with time, but I have found it.

"I myself cannot make use of it, but I believe you have what it takes to receive its powers."

As Xehanort held the soul of Lord Farquaad before him, Pence felt himself instinctively reaching out to grab it.

Pence also felt one of Xehanort's hands touch his shoulder, but he did not make much note of it.

Pence looked deep within the soul, like it had been some crystal ball.

He saw things as they once were, and he saw things as they would come to be.

As the boy slowly drew the flickering soul into his chest, a smile crept upon his face, for now he understood the true meaning of greatness.

"From now on, you shall be known as Lord Pence."

Lord Pence did not need the old geezer's recognition or praise, for Lord Pence was fully aware of his own destiny.

The old geezer turned around, and a shroud of darkness appeared before him.

"We'll need to gather some allies beforehand, but with time, the Shrekpire shall fall. And in its wake, we shall have sole dominion over the ashes that remain. This is the destiny that we must strive to bring to fruition, Lord Pence."

"My body is ready."