A/N: This is going to be a 2-part series. This is a SasNaru/Narusas fic and there will be boyxboy love.

I do not own Naruto

Chapter one: Shattered

It was one in the fucking morning, and Sasuke still wondered what the hell he was thinking agreeing to come along. The streets were practically empty as the car moved quietly down the street. Everyone was in bed sleeping, the lucky bastards; he stifled another yawn.

"You didn't have to come you know." His brothers voice held a bit of amusement.

Sasuke glanced at him sideways, trying for a glare but really not in the mood for it. Instead he shrugged and slid down in his seat. "Nothing better to do."

Itachi grunted. "Still haven't decided what you are going to do yet?"

He just shrugged not really wanting to look at him. Itachi could glean way too much info out of him just from his responses. Sometimes it sucked having an older brother who was a genius. A hand reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Hey!" Sasuke hit his hand away. "Knock it off."

Itachi just smiled and turned back to the road. They settled back into silence again as they neared their destination.

"Want to talk about it?"

Sasuke heaved a sigh. He knew Itachi wouldn't let up, but it was one of the reasons he agreed to help his brother out on his project. Itachi always seemed to help him work out his problems, but he wasn't sure if he could help this time. He turned to look at him.

"I just don't know." God this was harder then he thought it would be. "I just feel...lost. I don't know what to do."

Silence again as Itachi pulled up to the entrance gate; he reached out and punched in the code. It was a warm night and they already had the windows down in the car. They pulled forward again as the gate slid opened.

"What about the Academy? You scored nearly one hundred percent on the entrance exam."

"Yea, but I only did that for Dad. You know how he really wanted one of us in law enforcement with him. But, I don't know. I guess that's an option, but I'm not sure if that's what I really want."

"There's also the University."

Sasuke glared at him.

"Okay, okay. You've probably already heard this all from mom. So, what is it that you want to do?"

What did he want to do? His mind was a total blank. Of course all those things everyone told him through school and home flashed through his brain. The Academy, University, hell he could even just do some traveling. But nothing really...appealed to him. Sasuke felt like he had fallen off the boat with no land in sight. "God, I have no fucking idea."

The car pulled up to the huge building and parked. With it being so late, or early depending on how he looked at it, there were only a few other cars parked. The lights flicked off as the engine died sending them into a semi-darkness as the too bright yellow light from the building illuminated them eerily.

"Remind me again why you have to do this so early?" Sasuke groaned as they got out and started gather up their things.

"Because my dear little brother, my project requires lots of energy and the best time to do that is when everyone is asleep."

"Hn," Sasuke replied as he opened the back door of the car and pulled out a box to pack inside. Itachi had his own hands full as they neared the door. He used his elbow to press the security button on the side.

"Bout time you showed up," A voice said from the box.

"Hey, we're early. Not all of us are work freaks like you." Itachi replied. "Some of us have lives you know."

"Whatever, just get in here. So troublesome."

The door beeped and Itachi pushed it open. It was just a short walk to the elevator, and with there being no one else in the building, it was waiting for them. It was a quick ride down and when they stepped off Sasuke already knew where to go; since he had been there so many times with Itachi he practically knew the way by heart. It was one of the things he enjoyed; watching his brother work. Itachi never seemed to have the same hang ups he did. He always knew what he wanted to do and he did it. Something he wished he could figure out himself.

Walking into Itachi's office he turned and set the box down and began to unload the recording equipment and laptops and set them down on the long table against the wall.

"Do you need help setting up the equipment?"

"Geez, you think this was my first time here or something." Sasuke growled back at his brother. "I got it, go set your giz up. I'll meet you in the control room when I'm done."

He continued to pull out the various equipment when a hand on his shoulder made him pause. He looked back at Itachi who gave him a small smile. "Give it some time. I know you; you will find what is missing and when you do, everyone better stay out of your way."

Sasuke smiled back at him, grateful for his brothers understanding.

"Or you can just become my personal assistant and forever be under my command."

Or not. Itachi ducked the swing Sasuke took at him. "Bastard!" Sasuke yelled as Itachi took off down the hallway, his laughter trailing behind him. He wasn't mad, not really. He turned back to the equipment and began to gather it up. He had at least a dozen spots he needed to hook the recording info up to, and not a lot of time to do it.

The building was huge, it was at least two football fields in length and width; and three stories underground. Its circular pattern making the journey longer then it really should be. Sasuke jogged to the next junction and quickly hooked up the recording box. Itachi wanted to take various readings this time and see what he could analyze out of it. He knew that each box was going to record something different. Even though his brothers work fascinated him, the mechanics of it all went over Sasuke's own head. Sure he could grasp the basic theories of what his brother was researching, but when it came to the actual processes, he had no fucking clue. Quantum physics, string theory, M-theory, alternate universes, right, whatever made his bro happy. He still found it interesting, which was why he came to watch his brother work. He swiped the sweat on his forehead and started to jog to the next junction.

With the last box installed, Sasuke made his way to the control room. He pulled the metal door closed behind him as he entered. The control room was dark, being lit only by computer screens and a small desk lamp. Before them was a huge thick glass window that had been enforced with so many things Sasuke couldn't care to remember. If reflected their mirror images of themselves as it was still too dark beyond to see anything. Itachi was already at the controls, warming the system up; his assistant sat beside him.

"Hey Shikamaru." Sasuke greeted the other kid in the room. The guy was the same age as he was, and he was already working alongside his brother. Not genius level like Itachi, but close. Shikamaru nodded at him, his attention on the data screen in front of him.

"Sasuke, glad you could come out."

"Everything up and ready to go?" Itachi asked without even looking at him. Sasuke slid into the chair next to him and grunted. He watched his brothers fingers fly over the keyboard. A small hum began as the machine warmed up.

"So, what's the purpose of this run?" Sasuke asked as Itachi handed him a pair of eye protection glasses. Sasuke slipped them on and looked out into the dark vastness of the room before them. He knew there was no need for them to waste their precious electricity on lights when it would soon be lighting up on its own.

"Well, if my theory is correct, and I've made the correct resonance and electric calculations, we should be able to get a glimpse into an parallel world."

"Hn," Sasuke replied. Okay, to be honest he was kind of excited.

"Engaging to twenty percent." Shikamaru said

The low hum intensified and a few sparks could be seen in the dark room before them. It almost looked like fireflies that winked in and out of existence. Itachi kept his eyes on the data in front of him, his fingers making quick adjustments as needed.

"Forty percent."

Again the low hum intensified and Sasuke could feel it begin to pulse slightly. The vibrations rumbled through his body. A pale light began to glow, barely illuminating the room, keeping the edges in shadows.

"Sixty percent." Shikamaru had to raise his voice louder to be heard over the noise.

Now the pulse seemed to intensify, getting louder and softer as it ran through its circuits. Points of bright light seemed to materialize within the room, reminding Sasuke of small balls of lightening as they sparked.

"Eighty percent." Yelled Shikamaru.

Sasuke had to admit that it was pretty thrilling. His heart hammered along with the pulse as the balls of lightning began to expand and then connect with each other. Within the bright light he caught sight of colors and, Sasuke gasped. He could have sworn he saw a landscape for the briefest of moments.

"One hundred percent." Shikarmaru yell was barely heard over the noise.

The light connected completely and seemed to merge until if formed what he could call a cascade of light. Itachi stood up and Sasuke couldn't help but stand up next to him. There within the light was, well, something. Sasuke's heart pounded with excitement. Landscape, trees, grass, sun. It was blurry, as if they were looking through a wet window plane. Sasuke grabbed hold of Itachi's arm, knowing he wouldn't be heard over the noise. Itachi looked back at him, a grin on his face.

"You did it!" Sasuke said, his returning grin huge on his own face.

Itachi turned back to the computer and began to make his final calculations before shutting it down. when the computers suddenly went black. You could feel the actual change in the hum as it was no longer controlled or monitored. Shikamaru flicked some of the on and off buttons to no avail.

"What happened?" Itachi yelled.

"Unauthorized power flux." He yelled back.

"Shit!" Itachi shouted and ran over to a power box on the wall. He yanked it open and began to flip switches restoring power back into the room. Red emergency lights began to flash, and the blaring alarm sounded that was barely heard over the already loud hum. Sasuke watched as they both flew back to their computers and began to type furiously, trying to bring the system back on line and get things under control. It was unnerving how that vibration felt unsettling to him. It was like listening to music that was off key or out of harmony.

He doesn't remember looking back towards the light, it sent unprecedented chills down his spine. The cascade was wavering and fluctuated. The light no longer pulsed in a uniformed pattern but was erratic, shooting lightning bolts that hit the floor and ceiling and walls of the room. But it didn't just strike but seemed to looking for something to latch onto; the ends curling and twisting against the surface. In the middle of the cascade light was a dark hole, which seemed odd to him since the rest of the room was so bright. A large tearing sound echoed through the room. It reminded him of material ripping but was so loud that he had to cover his ears. A fierce wind began to blow and the noise got so bad that even Itachi and Shikamaru stopped what they were doing and them had to cover their ears as well. The hum itself felt like it was going to shake Sasuke apart.

It was then that one of the lightning arms reached far enough and ensnared Sasuke. Sliding through the enforced glass barrier as if it were nothing. The light twisted around his body, effectively holding him still. If he could have screamed he would have, it felt like everyone of his molecules was melting and being torn apart.

"Sasuke!" He could barely hear Itachi over the noise. He wasn't able to move his head but his eyes glanced over to see his brothers panicked face and Shikamaru holding him back. Then his world went white, shattered and then black.