Chapter 2: Escape to Reality
12 Years Later…
"Naruto…Naruto, wake up!"
Cerulean blue eyes fluttered open, focusing on the face in front of them. "Naruto, get up, it is time." The man known as 'Nine', or simply Master, shook Naruto again.
Naruto nodded towards the man, and slid off of his bunk. Reaching into his dresser, he pulled out simple black pants and a shirt, fingerless gloves and socks. Stepping into black, form-fitting shoes, Naruto nodded once again.
Nine held out a candle to Naruto, who took it and set it into a pocket. "Remember, purge the computer of all files on the Machine, and then set the facility's engine core into overload. We will meet up at the Machine, and then escape through it, back to your world. But first, we need the Relics of Angel."
Naruto nodded solemnly, and shook Nine's hand. He unlatched the grate to the vent that pumped oxygen into his room, and began crawling through it, setting the grate back in place.
Crawling through the duct, he measured the amount of paces he went, counting in his head. When he reached three hundred, he stopped, and looked down, through another grate, into a room. The room was dimly lit, with only one guard underneath the grate.
Digging his finger nails underneath the grate, and working them up, he popped the grate out of place. Setting it aside carefully, he crouched in the duct, then dropped onto the guard.
"Oomph!"
His weight forcing the man to the ground, Naruto wasted no time snapping the man's neck.
Standing and stepping off the dead guard, Naruto looked around the room. Spotting the objects he was looking for, he strode over to them.
Looking up at the picture of Angel, the Hero of the Systems, a man with reddish-orange eyes and golden blonde hair, Naruto couldn't help but feel the being was smiling down on him. Bowing to the picture, Naruto knelt and picked up Angel's sword.
It was a long sword, made of pure Endementium, able to cut through anything. Reddish-orange, like Angel's eyes, the hilt was black, runes and carvings decorating it, with a ruby as a pommel.
Naruto picked up the leather belt that acted as the sheath, and threw it over his back, sheathing the sword. Kneeling again, Naruto then picked up another leather belt, this one had bullets in holders all over it. He wrapped it around his waist and secured it. Finally, he grabbed the last item, a sun-colored revolver the size of his forearm.
Angel's Hell Fury. The first of it's kind. Strong enough to rip through the toughest armors, with enough kick to break a man's arm.
He holstered it, and pulled the candle from his pocket. Focusing his Will, Naruto blew a small stream of fire from his mouth, lighting it. Setting it down and bowing once more, he took off down the corridor, in the direction of the central computer.
"Hey, Tank, I'm here to relieve you…" A guard carrying an assault rifle appeared from around the corner. Looking around for the dead guard, he accidentally kicked over the candle. "Hm? What's this?" He knelt and picked up the candle. Noticing some scratches on the bottom, he peered closer.
"An End to All Things. What does that mean?" Shrugging, he blew the candle out.
…
Naruto reached the computer lab right as an explosion rocked the facility and alarms began blaring.
Cursing mentally, Naruto abandoned all pretenses of stealth, and began sprinting down the hall. He reached the central computer, jumping through the window to the door, surprising the two scientists inside.
Rolling and unsheathing the sword, he swung in an upward slash, cleaving through the two, one from the waist, the other from the shoulders, blood splattering the console behind them.
Flicking the blood off the sword, he sheathed it as he began typing furiously on the computer. Pulling a chip from under his tongue, his injected it into a port, and watched the loading screen appear and fill.
Once it reached full, he pressed enter. The computer began to beep wildly as all it's data was deleted. Naruto pulled a grenade and tied a string around the pin, running and leaping through the window as he pulled.
The grenade detonated, destroying the computer entirely.
…
…
"Well, master, it seems you still have some backbone after all." Argos sneered, his blade clashing against Nine's.
Argos's blade was a rapier, black as night, while Nine's was a white Katana. They separated, and clashed again, striking out and attempting to kill the other.
The Machine sat in the background, whirring and clanking as it powered up. Bolts of white light flew from it, striking the ground.
Argos whirled, deflecting a strike to his face, punching Nine in the stomach, and whipping him in the side with his rapier, blood staining his white robe. Nine gasped in pain as Argos hit him multiple times, each hit small, but still drawing blood.
They parted, Nine panting, and Argos smirking. Nine dove forward, katana spearing out in front of him. Argos twirled in place, rapier deflecting the blade away, and impaling the old man through the chest.
"NINE!" Argos looked towards center of the machine, and saw Naruto standing there, holding the Hell Fury in a ready grip, aimed at his head. Nine smiled a bloody smile at Naruto, grasping the rapier in both hands.
"I'm sorry, Naruto, but this was always the plan!" He reached into the back of his robe, and undid the sash. It fell away, revealing to Argos's horrified gaze…
A bandolier of grenades, beeping in activation.
Nine looked him dead in the eyes. "One last gift, from master…to student!" He pulled himself forward more on Argos's blade, wrapping the struggling man in a death-grip.
"NINE! NO!" Naruto shouted as the grenades detonated. The concussive force threw him back into the heart of the machine, as the engine of the facility reached critical meltdown, and exploded, leaving no trace anything, except pieces of scrap metal floating in space.
…
Konoha, Hokage's Office…
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, looking over steepled fingers at the woman in front of him. "Kushina, this is the thirty-second time you have beaten a man for hitting on you. You know the consequences of your actions, and will be expected to pay reparations to the injured party."
Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze was the last surviving member of her family. Her hair was no longer the shiny red it once was, no a lack-luster rust color, and her eyes no longer held any mirth, and seemed to have dulled from their violet color to a dim gray. Her husband had died when he sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko inside their son, and said son disappeared after wards. People nearby say they saw a flash of white light, and when they arrived, no Naruto, and a dead Minato.
"I don't care, old man. Just take it out of bank account." She humphed, and stood up to leave. "I don't know why you bother, old man. It's a waste of my time, and yours."
The Hokage sighed. "Kushina, I am sure that Naruto is out there somewhere, and is-"
An earsplitting whistle ripped into the room. A small ball of white light appeared, hovering mid-air in the middle of the room. Kushina drew her katana as the four ANBU always watching the room appeared, weapons drawn, menacing the little ball of light.
The ball grew in size, becoming the about the size of a full grown man. The light within churned like a maelstrom.
Something was hurled out of the portal, smashing into the desk. The light crumpled in on itself, and vanished with a wink.
All eyes turned to the thing that had been thrown out of the portal. Kushina gasped. Lying sprawled against the desk, was what looked like a miniature Minato, wearing black clothes, a sword strapped across his back, and a strange weapon strung across his waist. He looked no older than twelve. The same age Naruto would be.
She reached out slowly, ignoring the Hokage's warning, and gently shook his shoulder. Cerulean eyes fluttered open, and focused on her shocked face. "Nine..." he murmured weakly, before slumping down, unconscious.
The Hokage looked down at the boy, his mind unsure what to do. Seeing the burns covering the boy's body, he made up his mind, and ordered his ANBU, "Take his weapons away, and take him to the hospital for treatment. Make sure that there are two of you watching over him at all times, and call me if he awakens."
The ANBU nodded and set hands on the boy, disappearing in a swirl of leaves. The third turned to Kushina, and he was shock to see her crying. "Kushina, what's wrong?"
She turned her tearful gaze on him and whispered, "I think that was my son."
A/N: So, shocker that everyone saw coming. How was it? Review and let me know!
Until Next Time,
Keep Being Awesome!
-Sol