Maple VS The Monster Development Department

by MiddleEarthThestral

A crossover with Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department. Kaede was just an ordinary girl living in a world of super heroes and super villains. She sometimes struggled to tell fantasy from reality and was plagued by an addiction to a VR MMO RPG. On the day before her interview with her dream company her life and and the fate of Tokyo would be changed forever!

2. Chapter 2 Maple's Interview With Evil!

Chapter 2 Maple's Interview With Evil!

2:35:21

2:35:20

2:35:19

Dressed in a smart looking skirted suit that thankfully covered her Dark Shielder Bracelet and armed with dozens of hours of practice and studying, Kaede faced her interview.

"Please introduce yourself and explain why you're interested in joining our company and this position as a test pilot in particular." said the strangely dressed man sitting in the center of a three person panel across from Kaede. The man like the man and woman on either side of him was wearing a business suit, but unlike the other two he wore a dark blue mask with white antenna like horns on the forehead, a white hood, and a set of prescription sunglasses covering up any distinguishing features of his mask's face.

"My name is Honjou Kaede. I am an eighteen year old high school student, and, uh, my interest in Armagadoon began when I played NewWorld Online for the first time and then heard from my aunt who works for Amagadoon's parent company about how Armagadoon was looking for new test pilots and well, I just kind of thought it would be cool to work with the company and test out their latest hardware."

Kaede felt like she could die. She had worked so hard and practiced so much for this interview, but when she finally got here, she felt like she just turned into a wreck! Her condition was not helped by the man in front of her seeming to be nearly twice her height.

"I am Mr. M. I hope you can appreciate that your aunt's position at Armagadoon's parent company will have no impact on whether you are hired or not. Our organization and affiliated organizations try to avoid any nepotism when possible. It goes against company policy."

"And we're so grateful for you being here Lord…" said the man beside Mr. M. before receiving a glare from the man, "I mean Mr. M.. Thanks to you being here, we hopefully won't have to worry about angering anyone downstairs and then getting eaten."

"No employee of ours or our affiliate companies will ever need fear being eaten by a member of staff. All the same, you are most welcome. I, as Chief of Staff, am also always happy to find the time to help evaluate new talent, but Mister Hirito, shouldn't you introduce yourself to Miss Honjou."

"Right, yes sir, I am Hirito Izumi, an Administrator for NewWorld Online. I have to say it's a real pleasure to meet The Maple in person.

Kaede was a little flattered and awestruck. This was an Administrator? He seemed so…normal, being just a slightly pudgy man with short black hair and glasses. She even thought she recognized his voice from one of her interactions with the Administrators who might as well be gods in NewWorld.

"And I am Mrs. Aki." said the woman. Her voice was another voice Keade recognized, this one being the stern glasses wearing Administrator who was always trying to find new ways to kill her. She should probably just feel lucky to have warranted any special attention at all from the Admins. "I hope you understand how much of a headache you have caused us over the last two years."

Kaede coughed feeling more than a little awkward before pushing her chair back half a foot and bowing at the waist. "Uh, I'm really sorry about that!"

"No need for that." said Mr. M., "You provided us with invaluable feedback, allowing Armagadoon to find and correct numerous bugs before those bugs could spoil the user experience of countless users of our products. Your work has already saved us countless hours of play testing and hundreds of thousands of yen, improved the quality of our product, and even provided free advertising by helping to popularize our game with young people across the globe. If anything we should be the ones apologizing to you for not offering you more recognition or even a place with the company sooner. On behalf of my company and our affiliates I apologize." The blue masked man bowed his head to her, the little nobody, game addicted Honjou Kaede. Kaede was feeling too many emotions at that moment. The constant back and forth emotional rollercoaster felt like it would be the death of her.

"That being said," said Mr. M. now looking up and meeting her eyes. Were those blue flames behind his sunglasses? "Don't think for even a second that your exploits breaking NewWorld Online as Maple, no matter how incredible, will give you a free pass to becoming our new test pilot. The new INSIDIOUS Nerve Gear System is a System with applications in both consumer and military markets alike and therefore requires a certain kind of test pilot with a very particular skill set and mentality as well as an ability to work with a diverse team of scientists, engineers, programmers, and specialists, so I must ask you what abilities or life experiences do you possess that you feel would help you thrive at Armagadoon?"

"Am I allowed to use non-exploit experiences from playing NewWorld?"

Miss Aki sniffed and wrote something on her paper, but Mister Hirito said, "If you believe them to be relevant."

"In NewWorld I was the leader of a guild called Maple Tree."

"A guild named after yourself." said Mr. M., "How can we be certain this does not indicate that you would act self centered, relying on a kind of cult of personality built up from your reputation however well earned? I certainly hope your guild was not just made up of a bunch of copycats."

Kaede was actually feeling a little defensive at that comment which she figured was probably not a good thing, "I see the idea of Maple as a way of celebrating individuality, of doing things differently. Just about everyone in Maple Tree has their own unique approach to playing NewWorld. Even the other Shielder in our guild has a completely different way of playing the game than me. Not only that, but Maple Tree is also a way for all of us weirdos to come together and cover each other's weaknesses in order to help everyone reach their full potential!" Kaede was panicking slightly at calling herself and her friends weirdos and how she had started raising her voice towards the end, "Um, Mr. M., sir."

"You should never feel contrite for being passionate about something you love!" said Mr. M., "But tell me, just how have you gone about helping those around you to reach their full potential?"

"Well, if I had to give an example, there are two sisters in Maple Tree, Mai and Yui. They, like me, had poured all of their points into just one stat, in their cases their strength stat. Where everyone else viewed them as just being a liability, especially at early levels, I saw their potential. All that they needed was just someone willing to support them while they leveled up and gained abilities, so I brought them to a Dungeon I liked and helped them speedrun it a few times. Even with a higher level they would always need someone to protect them, but that was fine. I have abilities, or at least I have abilities in the game that would allow me to cover for their shortcomings and they more than make up for their need to be protected with how they can with sometimes only a single hit defeat any opponent we are up against." Keade really had to remember to separate the abilities she had in the game and the ones she had in real life or else she would end up with another embarrassing accident like trying to use Deploy Armaments against a real life magical girl. She hoped that Magia Zwart, no matter how mean she had been, was feeling better. Maybe if she would apologize for attacking Kaede, Kaede would even return the magical compact.

"So, do you see yourself as someone who has to cover for the shortcomings of others then, especially in a group setting?"

"It's more that I know I can bring a special set of talents to the table, but that I can't do everything, so I need to work with other people, especially those who have a set of talents that cover what I am lacking, and preferably someone whose weaknesses I can cover for."

"If video games are teaching such an invaluable life lesson then I am glad that the youth of today are playing them so much." said Mr. M. "But tell me, what would you do if a member of Maple Tree kept on struggling and no matter what you did they could never pull their own weight. Perhaps the kind of build they were trying to play is completely unviable in NWO."

"I don't believe that any build would be completely unviable. I think the real problem would be trying to fit whatever build they were attempting to play into a role it wasn't meant for. I would try and guide them towards the tools they would need "

"A very valuable quality if you were going to be having any subordinates, but how well do you think you can handle being the one taking orders after having had a taste of true power?"

"I do it all the time in school and even sometimes within the guild, I am happy to let other people take the lead when they have an idea they want to try out. I know I don't know everything, so sometimes it is best to just listen and learn, you know?"

"I do know. Tell me Miss Honjou, do you have any experience piloting a vehicle either real or in virtual reality?"

"In the real world, I almost have enough hours driving to get my license, but in NewWorld I have piloted just about every vehicle that was created for it and have even made my own vehicles using abilities."

"You can drive a car while living in Tokyo?"

"Normally, I take the train, but we live on the edge of the city, so my parents thought it was a good skill to have, especially for when I move out."

"Interesting. And you say you made your own vehicles in NewWorld Online?" asked Mr. M.

"Miss Honjou has the worst habit of combining abilities that were never meant to be combined, for instance turning herself into a floating, winged, canon cloud or riding a giant flying turtle to dodge traps or reach what should be inaccessible locations."

"She sometimes even makes herself the vehicle. Normally carrying in video games is not as literal as turning into a kaiju and transporting your friends in your mouth." laughed Mister Hirito.

"So, you already have experience piloting the body of a kaiju as well as various vaguely military style vehicles?" asked Mr. M. stroking his mask's chin.

"You can thank the developers of NewWorld Online for all that." said Kaede.

"Thank you for your work already. I knew it was the right idea to task Armagadoon with developing INSIDIOUS." said Mr. M. turning to look at first one Admin and then the other before turning his attention back to Kaede, "Normally, I would not say such a thing, but I believe we now have enough information to make our decision. That being said, Miss Honjou, if you will humor an old man's curiosity, can you describe your experiences being in control of each of these vehicles and weapons platforms."

Kaede found herself finally relaxing. This seemed like it might be going well. She answered questions from all three members of the panel, going on to answer questions about her thought process when combining new abilities, a subject that had all three of the interviewers taking furious notes, and then answering questions about how she approached learning the limits of a new form or set of abilities.

The interview went on a whole half hour past the single hour she was told to expect from her confirmation email. Mr. M. asking her permission to go over time if she was comfortable with it. She was not, but she could not think of a good excuse not to continue other than asking about the next person in line for an interview today. Apparently, at the insistence of Miss Aki and Mister Hirito, a whole extra hour had actually been set aside for Kaede. Miss Aki had put it as, "Just in case Maple pulled another Maple."

During this last half hour, there was one question that did strike Kaede as being a little odd when she was asked what she would do in the event of a hero or monster attacking. She could definitely understand the risk of a monster attack, but usually hero attacks were reserved for evil organizations.

Kaede just shrugged and answered honestly that she would evacuate the building like she had been taught at school, maybe helping others along the way. When pressed what she would do if she was incapable of leaving the building she had responded that she would probably try biting the hero or monster. Mr. M. just nodded and made a note before continuing with the questions.

Kaede did flinch slightly after giving her answer about biting as she remembered the last time she bit someone in self defense. She wondered if eating a little Magical Girl Chicken Leg counted as cannibalism if you were wearing a cool armor suit at the time that gave you fangs. The armor suit connecting its fanged mask with her mouth was the only explanation she had for why Magia Zwart just tasted so delicious. If she was not trying to be a good person, she would happily take more bites out of that girl and not in the way that Risa might like to tease her over.

When the interview was at last over, Mr. M. gave Kaede a bottle of water, directions to her aunt's corner office on an upper floor of the building, and a promise to get back to her with the company's decision within 3 to 5 business days. He also added that he had very high hopes for her which was very nice to hear.

01:00:01

01:00:00

00:59:59

A Meeting Between Titans

00:53:01

00:53:00

00:52:59

Kaede had a plan. She was just going to say hi to her aunt and then immediately leave being done in hopefully ten minutes, walk to the station in five minutes, hop on a train with a wait of five to ten minutes, get off near the park which should only take twenty minutes, and then find a place to hide where nobody would see her which would hopefully take only five minutes. Nothing could go wrong.

Kaede was pretty sure she was hyperventilating. She was also tapping her foot and intermittently pacing outside of the locked office door in front of her. She had sent a text to her aunt who had sent a reply saying she had just started on her lunch hour and was coming upstairs from wherever it was that she really worked. Hopefully her aunt could get up to this floor, the eighth floor, soon.

00:48:56

She was running out of time. Kaede turned around in her pacing when she heard a voice cry out from behind her, "Coming!"

Kaede turned and saw her aunt, Karen Mizuki running down the hall towards her and waving her arms before slowing to a walk. Her aunt had short dark blue hair that was cut in a very similar style to Kaede's and purple eyes just a shade lighter than her nieces.

In spite of the approaching deadline, Kaede felt herself smile and relax at the sight of her aunt, her aunt who from the waist up was wearing a perfectly normal business suit, but from the waste down for some reason was wearing what almost looked like a combination skirt and codpiece with a long flowing half skirt. For some reason her aunt also wore armored boots as well.

"You don't have to run, Karen." said a blonde girl with pink eyes who looked to be about Kaede's age wearing a casual pink dress and a dark blue cap who was walking behind Kaede's aunt and from the way she was breathing slightly had apparently been running to keep up and who fell into step alongside her aunt.

"I may not have to run, but I felt guilty about making Kaede wait so long," her aunt loudly whispered probably not aware that Kaede could hear them in the otherwise silent hallway, "Especially after that meeting with JA went on a full hour longer than it was supposed to. I wasn't even able to finish changing."

"It may have taken longer than it should have, but the concerns President Mitsuru raised were quite… concerning for the future of our alliance." came the loudly whispered response. "I just hate that everyone thinks we had something to do with that mean rogue just because it looked like one of ours."

"Yeah, and that's all any of the representatives from the other organizations want to talk about. Do you think MDD should contain it or will you be starting your side job a little early?"

The blonde seemed to think for a long moment. "It may be best if MDD handles this one. Them just being seen trying to do something about the rogue should be enough to keep JA on board." she glanced at Kaede, "We should continue this conversation later." Then, as the two drew near the girl said at a normal volume, not that her whispering was all that effective to begin with, "Well Karen, aren't you going to introduce me to your niece?"

"Of course, Kaede, this is Akashic, she's a friend of mine who also happens to be part of the company I work for. Akashic, this is my niece Kaede." Kaede was surprised by how informal the introduction was, but figured based on the nervous smile the blonde girl sent her way that Akashic probably just wanted to be treated like a normal person. Based on the conversation Kaede heard about meetings with the presidents of other companies, this Akashic must be someone pretty high up, which was especially impressive given her apparent age even if she probably had a head start from being raised to go into business.

Kaede thought to herself how this could easily have left Akashic with very few friends her own age. The whole situation reminded Kaede of her friend and fellow guild leader Mii whose position, reputation, and role play style had left her almost completely isolated at the top. With these thoughts in mind she knew what she had to do. She gave the other girl a shallow bow of her head, just enough to be polite, and a smile, "Any friend of Karen's is a friend of mine."

Akashic gave an answering nod of her head, "You mean it? I mean, of course, it is only natural that you would want me as your friend."

"I mean it. I like making new friends though making new friends has been a little more difficult lately. Well, a lot more difficult." said Kaede scratching the back of her head and trying to force a laugh. The laugh died before it could come out.

Her aunt looked at her in concern while Akashic looked confused, "Why would you have trouble making friends? It's not like you're…" she seemed to have trouble finding the right words. After a few seconds she just said in a low voice, "like me."

"I can't imagine what kind of struggles you must be facing Akashic. My own problems are probably nothing to worry about in comparison."

"Probably." the girl said offhandedly. Kaede did not take offense. She had read enough manga about the rich and powerful being isolated and only ever having pretend friendships until their love interest came along to guess at what the girl might have had to deal with. Kaede was a little surprised when the girl waved her hand and said, "Still, I am curious now why you would be having problems. Other than being a little weird, you seem friendly enough."

"Well, I think people might be scared of me."

Karen blinked very slowly while Akashic tilted her head to the side and said, "Elaborate, please."

"Well, when I see someone new they sometimes get really pale and then run away as soon as they think I'm not looking. Even some people I only sort of know and want to make friends with will keep their distance from me. They'll do stuff like make excuses not to be around me and even if I can get them to do something with me, they'll act really odd. I don't know how to describe what's odd about their behavior. It just seems weird.."

Akashic nodded her head, a sad smile on her face, "I think I know what you mean. It's like they obey you without question and take everything you say too literally even if you did not mean to say the thing or you were just saying whatever came to mind no matter how stupid as if they are afraid of upsetting you."

Karens mouth was hanging slightly open.

"Exactly! but I'm honestly not sure I want people to fear me!"

"I know right, I mean don't get me wrong, it has its uses." Kaede nodded, she was quite familiar with some of those from her pvp battles, "but I could do without the stares and whispers. Do they really think I can't hear them?"

"I get that! I honestly could live with the strange things they say about me, but what they say about my friends, especially Risa, just goes too far! Like Risa doesn't seem to mind, even when I tell her that there are people saying things about her when she's not around, but it still bothers me."

"What kinds of things do they say?" Kaede was certain Akashic sounded a little angry and even personally affronted. Kaede guessed Akashic must be more deeply affected by the things people say about her than she was letting on. This was something Kaede felt, too. She never used to have trouble making and keeping friends before she became Maple.

In response to Akashic's question, Kaede said in a quiet voice even though she knew there was no chance of Risa hearing it even if the tough girl would even be affected by the words, "I'm pretty sure it was something about blood and slaughter and I think some things about wanting to hide as well."

Akashic was nodding and opened her mouth to say something when Karen spoke up, "A game, you're talking about NewWorld Online aren't you."

"Yeah, when I try to make friends IRL nowadays, it either ends in them thinking I'm a geek who plays too many video games or if we do actually get to talking and they know anything about NewWorld Online then they get scared of me IRL and start avoiding me." There was a boy in her class who would now jump whenever Kaede was called on to answer a question in class and had even received permission from the teacher to change seats to the furthest seat from Kaede. It was really annoying. "I've only made two real friends in the last couple months, aside from you Akashic."

Akashic did look a little disappointed that Kaede's experiences were in a game, but after only a moment her smile was back. It was a nervous smile, but it was definitely a smile, "I've actually been thinking about getting into NewWorld Online." Karen cleared her throat. "Getting into it after I handle my responsibilities, not playing it during working hours, and limiting how long I spend on any video game." said Akashic in a voice that was a little like a squeak. Karen nodded.

Kaede was a little worried. A girl Kaede met at the mall had said something similar. The two had exchanged numbers and even texted for a few days, but after the girl started playing NewWorld Online she very quickly joined the ranks of people who were too scared of Kaede to deal with her. "You aren't going to get scared of me, too, after you start playing, are you?"

"Never, so long as you promise not to get scared of me, no matter what… things you might learn about me. Not that there is anything you will learn about me or that I am hiding or anything." The last part was said with a fierce glare as if Akashic could intimidate Kaede into believing her words, but Kaede recognized the tactic from some of her friends who learned to be prickly as a defense mechanism. The joke was on them though as Kaede liked succulents. They were a real world plant she could actually consistently care for.

"Deal," said Kaede and she saw Akashic's nervous smile return. Kaede felt herself smile at the girl's hope. Kaede could risk heart break a hundred times if each time meant seeing a sweet and hopeful smile like Akashic. Kaede could only imagine how lonely Akashic's life had been before she found Karen.

Then Akashic surprised Kaede by pulling both her and her aunt into a hug. "I'm so glad I found you two!" the girl said while making a small choking noise. "Thank you Karen for introducing me to your niece."

"Of course Akashic, though please let her, shall we say, figure things out for herself." If Kaede did not know better, she would think her aunt's tone was somewhere between exasperated and worried.

"I know, I know,"said Akashic, who did not seem to notice the tone or maybe just did not care, "So, Kaede tell me more about this incredible and terrible power you have amassed in NewWorld Online."

And that was how Kaede managed to spend the next thirty or so minutes before she had what she imagined must have been an ever so small panic attack and excused herself to hide in the restroom, though not before being practically forced to swap numbers with the blonde girl, since Kaede's found that her phone was dead she accepted a fancy looking business card, and made a promise to play NewWorld Online with Akashic and help her learn the game.

As soon as Kaede was out of sight of the other two, she broke into a sprint for where her aunt had said the bathroom was. Finding the bathroom still somehow required an extra two minutes of fumbling around, back tracking, and asking for directions from a nice man who happened to be passing by.

After locking herself inside a stall, Kaede was unfortunately one of two occupants of the bathroom, she tapped her bracelet to call up the holographic timer.

00:06:02

Kaede could not believe it, but she also could believe it.

00:06:01

Why had she been so stupid and careless?

00:06:00

Kaede was definitely panicking now.

Maple's Perks, Traits, and Inventory

Dark Blader Bracelet (Shielder)-An experimental semi sentient monster developed by Agastia as a counter to the Divine Swordsman. This prototype was rushed into the field with more bugs than a Bethesda release. The most dangerous bug for your wellbeing is probably the part where you cannot take it off and will struggle to deactivate it. The Shielder configuration of the suit comes from one of the customization options introduced during the long string of patches as the development team struggled to remove the suit from its previous user/host. Your current configuration is maximum armor, a dangerous configuration equivalent to entombing yourself in metal. You will probably struggle to walk a block down the street without getting tired and don't even think about running. Your days of moving at a speed any faster than a quick walk are over!

Adaptive Defense-This perk allows your Dark Blader armor to very slowly develop resistances and even immunity to attacks if you are exposed to them long enough. DO NOT EXPOSE YOURSELF TO ENEMY ATTACKS JUST TO RAISE YOUR DEFENSE! This is not a game, and you will almost definitely be horribly injured or killed if you try. This perk also allows your armor to reactivate itself if it ever detects something it judges to be a sufficient threat. Did we mention that the Dark Blader Bracelet was also extremely buggy?

Prototype Magia Compact Mirror-Allows the copying of up to six observed abilities. Each copied ability is in some way inferior to the original, but the abilities can be used in conjunction with each other to create powerful combination attacks. Additionally, the compact has a limited battery that will take time to recharge using ambient mana. Summoning new objects and maintaining and repairing those objects when they are damaged will drain the battery faster. There is currently no way to choose what ability will be copied from a target, but a good rule of thumb would be that the compact will copy the target's most iconic ability.

Actual Magical Cannibal-You have eaten the flesh of at least one magical girl. There is no going back, but do you even want to? After consuming their preternatural meat you feel stronger and more healthy than ever. In just one bite your vitality is now beyond human, and any magical girl who hears of you will likely be some combination of disgusted and terrified. For obvious reasons, there are no studies on the side effects of an ordinary human committing such a forbidden act especially since no ordinary person has ever done this before, but there is a first time for everything. Good job, you got to be the first!

Public Enemy Number One-You are now the subject of a manhunt! Don't know what you did, but whatever it was, it must have been pretty unforgivable. Have fun!

You Got The Job!-It may not be official yet, but you basically got the job working for your dream company Armagadoon. You will be working as a test pilot for the new INSIDIOUS VR system. There is nothing suspicious about this at all or about the strangely dressed masked man who was interviewing you. Why did the interviewer with the villainous mask think having experience as a kaiju or piloting military vehicles was important? Obviously because Armagadoon is planning to release some top notch video games! Military contracts and the recent frenzy of research in the face of the invasion a few months ago? Just don't think about those things.

Great Leader Akashic's Business Card-The business card of your aunt's young friend who you have found to be strangely relatable. You both know what it is like to be stuck on a pedestal, isolated from those around you who fear you for your power. Perhaps this is the start of a very special friendship. At the very least you found a new friend to play games with when you are not enjoying your new life of crime.

Currently Saved Magia Compact Powers

Overarmor-(Rose Shell One)-Energy Drain Minimum (on summon and on taking damage)-Copied from the Dark Shielder Maple this power summons a suit of extremely dense, extremely heavy magical plate armor providing almost as much protection as the Dark Shielder Maple armor with a fraction of the mobility. This armor is so heavy that even a superhuman might need magical assistance to move around in it. Wearing this armor in addition to your regular suit of armor will turn you into a nearly indestructible statue.

Resistances

None

Timer

00:06:00

Tune in next time for a nice brutal battle as Kaede discovers the current limits of her defenses and has to fight for her life. Maple may be getting stronger, but mere strength cannot save her from her own delusions! The next chapter is already written and just needs some editing, but I will try to put out one of the Madoka Magica chapters first.

Please leave any recommendations for powers and exploits in the reviews. Even just exploits for regular video games, something you would like to see in a fictional vr game, etc. I'm also open to recommendations for ways that Kaede can continue to confuse reality and fantasy even if I do have some fun reality checks in store for the poor girl.

Writing has been slow going, but I am continuing on all writing projects. There have been a few bits of chaos in my life that did slow down progress, but writing is an excellent way to cope. I highly recommend it. I am a few thousand words into the newest chapters for each of the stories I have on here and the time I can devote to writing has also increased, so look out for new chapters for Beltane, Spyaka, and Maple V TMDD soon.