It seems he has left us.
Well, can't we try again?
No, it is impossible. His heart cannot be reached for the time being.
But why?
I don't know. There is something strange about this place.
It doesn't seem all that strange to me.
You really think so? Can you not sense the strange magical undercurrents that pass through the very fabric of this realm?
Yeah, I sense it too. I don't know how, but I've felt this before, somewhere.
Well, call me a sucker for sore eyes.
So what do we do now?
The same thing we always do.
No more fun and games?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Whatever course of action we take, I would watch that boy if I were you. There is no denying that his heart hides some special power, if only we could see what it was.
Steven Universe let out a great yawn as he rose up from bed, with the light shining in from outside.
"Good morning!" said Steven to no one in particular. "Oh hey! The power's back on."
"Sure is," said Steven's dad as he took a bite from a bowl of dry cereal. "Oh, Connie was trying to call you earlier this morning, though I don't know what that was about."
"Hold on!"
Steven jumped out of bed and acquired his phone.
There were two messages on it.
Although he thought of calling Connie right away, Steven instead decided to play the first message.
"Uh, hey Steven, I didn't realize you weren't up yet, but I just wanted to leave a call. Anyway, the power's back!
"I'm gonna try and ask my parents if they'll let me come over again.
"Oh, by the way, did those guys come over again last night? Anyway, I'll talk to when you get up. Bye!"
The message ended, and Steven played the next call.
"Hey Steven! Did you hear the news this morning? Apparently there's this car Heartless that's causing trouble on the interstate. I…"
There was a soft knock.
"Hold on, someone's at the door."
There was a pause for about twenty seconds or so.
"I'll talk to you later."
The call ended.
Greg looked up from his meal. "What was all that about?"
"Not sure. I'm gonna try calling her back."
Steven tried redialing Connie's number, but was only met with a voice message.
"Huh, that's weird."
"She didn't answer?" asked Steven's dad.
"Nope."
Steven sidestepped past Garnet's body and then headed downstairs.
"Where's Pearl and Amethyst?" the boy asked.
"Doing Gem stuff, probably."
"Well why didn't they wake me up before?"
"Beats me."
Once finished, Greg took his bowl to the sink and proceeded for the door.
For a second, he turned back towards Steven. "You think it's safe out there?"
"Maybe?" Steven shrugged. "What do you need to go out for?"
"I just figured I'd go out and get some groceries."
Greg opened the door halfway, but then stopped.
"Mr. Universe," a gruff voice said from outside.
"Oh crud!"
As Steven approached, his dad opened the door wider and said, "Steven, you might want to see this."
Just as Steven arrived at the door, two large, burly men wearing black suits, sunglasses, and earpieces stepped upon the porch. The first man bore a some resemblance to Mr. Smiley, though his mustache was thicker and did not go past his upper lip. He also had a somewhat sizable goatee. The second man had a considerable tan, and a sharp, blond, military-style haircut, though it went at least three inches over the top of his noggin.
The two of them held out their wallets, both of which were jet black leather.
The black man was the first to speak, "Special Agent Thompson. We're with the FBI."
"I can see that," remarked Greg.
"May we have a look around?"
"Uh, sure?" replied Steven, though he wasn't sure about these mens' presence.
The two agents stepped inside the Beach House and looked around, though Agent Thompson stopped when he saw Garnet.
"Where are the others?" asked Agent Thompson.
"You know them?" Steven asked.
"More or less. Enough stuff happens in this city that it's hard for us not to know about it."
"What happened to her?" asked the other agent.
"We're still not sure," said Greg.
"Must've had something to do with the flash," said Agent Thompson.
"Flash?" Steven responded.
"The aurora, or whatever you might call it. Except it wasn't…"
At that moment, Pearl and Amethyst materialized on the warp pad towards the back of the room.
"Steven?" Pearl uttered.
"Who are these guys?" said Amethyst.
"They said they're with the FBI or something," said Steven.
"Correct," said the currently unnamed agent.
Agent Thompson cleared his throat and said, "This is Special Agent Henderson, and I'm Special Agent Thompson. We need help dealing with a certain Heartless threat."
"Uh," said Amethyst, "what do you think we've been doing this whole time?"
"How do you know they're called that anyway?" asked Greg.
"We asked your friends," said Agent Thompson. "They're not from around here, right?"
Before Steven could object, the agent added, "Riku and Lea, I mean."
"Right," said Steven, grasping hold of his arm.
"Excuse me, sirs," said Pearl, "but what exactly do you wish us to do?"
"Did any of you see the news this morning?" asked Agent Thompson.
"No, not really," Steven replied.
"We don't really watch human television all that much," said Pearl.
"You have a phone, right?" asked Agent Thompson.
"Yeah, why?" said Steven.
Steven pulled out his phone and handed it to the agent.
The agent typed a few things into it, and then the phone began playing a video from the morning news.
"Oh my!" Pearl remarked upon seeing the screen. "How did we not see this?"
"Dear god," said Greg, "what happened?"
"This is bad!" said Steven.
Upon the screen, buildings forming a wide arc had crumbled to the ground, and fire was rapidly spreading through the small town. Several vehicles, including two ambulances and at least a dozen police cars, had been turned over or wrecked, and several mangled bodies had been visible throughout. Heartless were crawling throughout the city, though many of them seemed to wander aimlessly.
The voice of the reporter then spoke, "Earlier today, an unidentified black and yellow vehicle has been spotted throughout Delmarva, Jersey, and Kennedy driving through buildings, civilians, and mountains alike. Police and military personnel are on the chase, though this renegade vehicle shows no signs of stopping. The death toll is currently estimated to be at roughly 1500, with several thousand more wounded or injured. It is currently unknown whether this incident is related to the giant hand incident from several months before, but more information will be available as the situation develops…"
The video stopped there.
With a few more taps and swipes, the screen then displayed a clip of a black-and-yellow-sprayed sports vehicle racing towards the camera's bottom left with six grayish tower-like things floating alongside it. A prominent Heartless emblem displayed on the car's hood, and three large drills crackling with dark energy protruded out from the front. The windows were too dark to see through, though something about the car's general shape seemed familiar.
Two long trails of purple, shadowy fire followed in the wake of the car's path, cutting through the ground it crossed.
A pair of police vehicles closed in from behind the Heartless sports car. One of the towers turned around, briefly revealing its beady yellow eyes, leaned forward, and then fired a laser-like blast at the vehicle to the police car on the right, destroying it in a fiery explosion.
During this, the other police car attempted to swerve in along the sports car's right side. The police car's driver lowered his window, holding out a standard issue pistol.
Three shots were heard, but they all bounced off the Heartless car's tire and chassis.
As the police care came close, the trunk suddenly opened, and a large, red hammer held by a white, spring-and-beam-supported glove rose out from it.
-POW!-POW!-KABOOM!-
Without creating any noticeable bounce or tilt from the vehicle housing it, the heavy end of the giant hammer slammed into the police car's hood, and then reached straight above the driver's seat before sending it off into another fiery explosion.
"How is that thing still even standing?" Pearl remarked.
"Our experts aren't sure either," said Agent Thompson. "We think it's got something to do with magic or supernatural phenomena."
"You mean the police car?" Greg said, confused.
"No," said Pearl, "I mean that hammer. How can those materials support something something that heavy without snapping? Especially when they're that thin!"
"Magic," responded Agent Thompson.
"Yeah," said Steven, "I mean you built that robot thing, right?"
"Yeah but…" Pearl let out an annoyed groan, and then let her arms go loose.
"Ahem!" said Agent Thompson. "This footage was taken about three hours ago. We've dispatched armed personnel to take care of the situation, but this 'Heartless vehicle' seems impervious to most conventional weaponry. Its drill also allows it to go through most barricades we set up for it.
"Normally, we wouldn't ask something like this, but we're running low on options."
"So, you just want us to take this thing out, right?" asked Amethyst.
"Essentially, but you're going to need our help."
"And why is that?"
"Because this thing is fast. We normally let you Crystal Gems take care of things by yourselves, but this time you're gonna need an extra set of wheels or wings if you want to keep up with this thing."
"Guess that makes sense," remarked Greg.
Steven began to say, "But what about…"
"We know that a couple of you Gem-folk have got a few special skills of your own, but we'd rather not waste any more time than is necessary," said Agent Thompson.
"Alright," said Pearl, "so where are we going?"
"We'll be taking a plane over to Fort Carson. It'll be a long ride, but once we're there, we expect to intercept the renegade vehicle once it reaches that part of the states."
"Fort Carson?" said Greg. "That seems like it'll take a while."
"Can't we just take the Warp Pad?" asked Steven, pointing towards the back.
"Warp pad you say?"
The two Agents turned to where Steven was pointing.
"You sure that thing won't kill us?" asked Agent Thompson.
"Why do you think it would do something like that?" said Steven. "Connie's used it before, and so have Lars and Sadie."
"Hmm," said the leading agent.
"As long as it doesn't take us somewhere dangerous, it should be safe."
"Come to think of it," said Pearl, "you wouldn't happen to have a map or something, right?"
"Just use Google," replied Agent Thompson.
"Oh, right," said Pearl.
Before Pearl could take the phone herself, the agent made a few more adjustments to it before handing it off.
As everyone gathered around it, the phone now displayed a map of the country, with a large dot located at the military site.
"I think there's a pad somewhere around where that dot should be," said Pearl.
"Good to know," said Agent Thompson. "I'll have your friends come on in. Just make sure it takes us to the right place. I'd prefer to take this thing out before it can cause more trouble."
The two agents made their exit. As they left, Steven could see them running down the beach towards the end where his dad's car wash was.
Sometime after the agents went out of sight, Lion leaped up to the front balcony and then trod into the house.
"Lion! You're here!"
An idea then popped into Steven's head.
"Say Lion, do you think you could take us to where the Heartless is?"
Lion nodded.
"Great! Or maybe you could come along with and help us fight it!"
Lion simply watched and blinked.
"I'm not sure how well he'd be able to keep up with that thing, but I'm sure he'd be able to help in other ways," said Pearl.
"Well," said Greg, "I guess I'll see how some of the others are doing and get some groceries while I'm out. Have fun on your adventure everyone!"
"Bye dad!" said Steven.
Greg Universe waved to the Crystal Gems and then descended from the balcony, before circling around to the right.
After some time, they then saw Connie, Riku, Lea, and the two agents approach from the left side. Connie seemed to be straddling Rose's sword over her shoulder, but for some reason the blade seemed to take on the shape of an old-fashioned key.
Lea was the first to enter the Beach House. "Sup?"
"Hey, Lea!" said Steven, "How's it going? Oh, Connie, is that…?"
"Well," said Connie, examining Rose's sword-turned-keyblade, "kinda. It looked normal before, but when I touched it this morning, it just sorta turned into this thing."
"That's a keyblade for you," Riku remarked offhandedly.
"Say, did you get my calls from earlier?"
"Yeah," said Steven.
"So I assume these guys told you about what's going on, right?"
"Yup."
A sharp dialing tone was heard from Agent Henderson's pocket. The agent then pulled out a somewhat bulky, outdated phone from his pockets and began heading out the door. "Sorry, I gotta take this."
"Anyway," said Agent Thompson, "we might have to make a slight adjustment to our plans."
The agent then pulled out a map of the United States from his pockets and unfolded it in front of the Gems.
"How about here?"
Agent Thompson then pointed to a dot sitting roughly near the center of Oklahoma.
"I'm afraid I don't quite follow," said Pearl.
"The Warp Pad. Do you know if one of its hubs might link here?"
"Possibly…" Pearl said as she took the map into her hands.
Agent Thompson then looked around the room once more, seemingly indifferent to Lion's presence.
"Also, where's Greg?" Agent Thompson said as he adjusted his sunglasses.
"He went to get groceries," Steven replied.
"Hmm…" uttered the agent. "Well, we'll be leaving shortly. I'll arrange a transport to bring us to the base once we get our bearings."
Suddenly, Agent Henderson popped in through the door and said, "Sir, we've located two more gems."
"The report mentioned something like that. What's their status, Agent Henderson?"
"It seems like they're willing to cooperate with us, sir."
"Where are they right now?"
"They said they're about fifteen minutes from Beach City. They're heading our way as we speak."
"Good," said Agent Thompson, "Anyway, I seem to have drifted off topic." He then turned to everyone else. "Once we arrive at the destination, we'll have you undergo some basic orientation. While I don't doubt some of you might already have combat experience with these things, we don't want you bruising yourselves during the fall."
Agent Thompson then turned to Connie and Steven, "You two will be receiving this training as well, but you'll be staying behind during the mission."
"What?" Amethyst blurted out.
"But why?" said Steven.
"We've handled these things before," said Connie. "So why not now?"
"You're still kids after all," the agent replied.
"You do have a point there," said Pearl.
"C'mon! Let them come with," said Lea.
"Sorry, but despite whatever chances these kids might provide us, I'd rather not put these kids on the line unless it's absolutely necessary."
Steven turned to Connie. "Connie, why don't we…"
"Yeah," said Connie, "I was just thinking that. But now?"
"We gotta help defeat this Heartless somehow!"
"Well, here goes nothing!"
"What are you…?" said Agent Thompson.
"Steven, Connie, wait!" Pearl shouted.
But before the older Gem could react, Steven and Connie held each other by the hand and began their little dance. The world spun around them, and their minds blended into a single consciousness.
They were now Stevonnie.
Agent Thompson took off his sunglasses and looked on in shock.
"Well, now I've seen everything."
"You can… do that?" uttered Riku.
"So," said Agent Thomspon, "you're a gem too."
"I am," said Stevonnie.
Stevonnie briefly examined the pink keyblade in their hand, and then conjured their shield shortly after.
"Guess that changes things, though I'm still a bit fuzzy on the details."
"Like what?" asked Amethyst.
"How does this whole… fusion thing even work?" Agent Thompson asked after polishing his sunglasses and putting them back on.
"Well," said Pearl, "it's sort of an intimate process, but when two gems, or in this case a gem and a…"
"Actually, forget I asked that," said Agent Thompson. "What I need to know is whether this process somehow grants you kids the sense and responsibility that comes with being an adult."
"I know I can do this," said Stevonnie. "I know how to drive after all."
Agent Thompson seemed to eye the human-gem fusion from behind his shades.
He then uprighted himself and said, "Alright, but try not to mention that to anyone else, got it?"
"No problem," said Stevonnie.
"Now, all we've gotta do is wait."
After several more minutes, more agents would arrive with Lapis and Peridot. Once they were briefed on the situation, everyone proceeded onto the warp pad in small groups, with Pearl returning after the first warp to escort the second group. After that, they would head to the nearby Fort Milo with the help of transports Agent Thompson had called in earlier, and once there, they would receive their mission briefing.
The fate of America was in their hands.
Sergeant Russel Benedict Seymour sifted through the thick underbrush, with his three compatriots following close behind. Although they had been armored from head to toe, their lightweight and transformable armor ensured that their movements would not make too much noise.
Not that there was anyone around these parts who might chance upon them.
Their mission had been simple enough, to apprehend Riku and the red-headed scoundrel that escaped with him, but the two of them had a knack for complicating matters.
Already, the boys had managed to escape through five separate universes, but the longer they were left to their own devices, the more likely there would be further problems down the line.
Not that he doubted the Ogrelord's immense power. Far from it. The Shrekpire was truly immortal, and it was thanks to the iron faith and ingenuity of its citizens that it would truly endure the test of time and space.
But Sergeant Seymour had duties to carry out and a name to uphold.
If he failed here, who knows what the boy could do. The boy could establish an organized resistance before the Shrekpire even laid its eyes on any outlying worlds, or perhaps he could unleash a menace that could take the Shrekpire head on.
No, that was not true. Nothing could penetrate through the Shrekpire's almighty layers.
Sergeant Seymour returned to the situation at hand. Just where were they?
"Earth, right?" Private Barney Sandford asked.
Sergeant Seymour swiftly replied, "Indeed it is, young comrade."
Or rather, this was an Earth to be more precise.
Indeed, there were many universes containing the planet Earth. In fact, there were some studies suggesting that his home world, the very seat of the Shrekpire, had once been one of these Earths until Shrek had bestowed upon it his divine ogre love. But much of that was outside his own area of expertise.
While Sergeant Seymour had been a scholar and a gentleman, he was first and foremost a man of war, ready to fight and die for the glory of the Shrekpire.
Private Indigo Black stamped her heavy black keyblade into the ground, "Which one is it?"
"Patience, my dears," Sergeant Seymour said as he raised his fingers to his subordinates. "Perhaps by accessing this dimensions networks and databases we might be able to discover that answer for ourselves."
Sergeant Seymour pressed a button on the suit's built-in watch, causing a hologram of this dimension's earth to appear about an inch above it.
"Well, let's see here."
The Sergeant used his thumb and index finger to magnify the image until the squadron's current position was visible. Luckily, this version of Earth had already developed Internet-level technology, so there was no need to find details through more cumbersome means.
"Well, this is interesting."
"We seem to be in the States," remarked Private Black.
"No, not that," said Sergeant Seymour. "Look at the names."
"Oh."
Indeed, while most versions of Earth contained the United States in some shape or form, most did not share this peculiar combination of state names.
"Kennedy, Delmarva, Jersey…, see if you can find anything on that."
"Roger!"
As his three privates began searching through their on-board computers, Sergeant Seymour began thinking through this odd peculiarity.
Where have I heard those names before?
And then the answer came to him.
"Aha!" the Sergeant said aloud.
He exited the signal-accessing program on his watch and briefly delved into his computer's database before finding the material he wanted.
With the final press, a poster-like image of Steven and the Gems shot out from Sergeant Seymour's wristwatch and rotated for the others to see.
"Huh? Steven Universe?" said Private Chester Almond, perplexed by the strange image.
"Care to explain?" Private Black asked.
"Don't you see?" said Sergeant Seymour. "This image contains the answers we need! This boy and the Gems that surround him are the keys to this universe! Wherever these four might be, we'll likely find Riku and Axel as well!"
"You mean Lea?"
"Whatever! They're the same bloody person anyhow!"
"You haven't really played through all the games, have you?" said Private Almond.
"I've done my fair share! But that's besides the point! Gents…!"
Private Black let out a loud cough.
"And ladies… we have a mission to fulfill. Although we may not know where Riku and Axel are right now, I am reasonably certain that by finding the boy, Steven Universe, we shall find our targets. Although our reconnaissance is minimal, it would be wise for us to adopt more suitable attire so as to blend in with the locals. Remember, we are on a mission from the High Emperor-Pope himself, so we must ensure that we, as representatives of our glorious Shrekpire, remain on these peoples' good graces, so that one day they too may understand the greatness that is Shrek!"
"Yes sir!" said the three underlings.
"And what was that I just heard? I could've sworn I heard something other than the standard prayer! Let me hear that again!"
The three privates stood to attention, withdrawing whatever weapons they might have had on them.
"Shrek is love! Shrek is life!"
"Good! Good! Excellent!" said Sergeant Seymour, swinging his fist. "The Ogrelord shall be pleased with our devotion! Now let us proceed with our valiant pursuit of the keyblade warrior and his companion!
"Soldiers, Shrek Disciples, Onion Knights and all," the sergeant said as he drew out his keyblade, "today we shall traverse this great jungle and march onward to Beach City! To victory!"
A/N: I'm not sure how well I executed this chapter, as I kinda had a few blocks while trying to figure out the logistics of how everyone would fight Kevin's Heartless. It's also possible I might have overlooked some pre-established way that the gems could get to the fight. While I probably could have done some calculations on how far Kevin's Heartless would be able to travel and stuff, I just sorta picked a somewhat arbitrary location for the fight to be, even though I'm not that familiar with the geography of the area.
Also figured this would be a good time to introduce the Shrekpire pursuit force/the so-called 'keyblade warriors,' even though the Shrek stuff probably scared people away.
Just as a heads up, I'm probably going to go straight to the fight next chapter and might have the narrative skip over the part where Steven & friends visit Fort Milo and stuff (I think I made up that name on the spot, even though I had reference to a list while writing this). I don't think that there will be much that's important that happens at the base itself, other than learning something basic like how to use parachutes and getting briefed on the mission, though I'm not really an expert on this stuff. I've definitely overlooked some stuff, but if you've got any ideas as to stuff that might become relevant during the upcoming fight, feel free to mention them.
Anyway, that's that for now. I probably rushed some things, but I figured this would be a good stopping point in the story. If you've got any questions, comments, critiques or whatnot, feel free to say/ask them. Hope y'all stay tuned for more to come!