Chapter 4
In outer space, the Venator
Words cannot describe the insanity that is taking place on the venator. However, they will do a good job at painting the picture that is happening in outer space. While Naruto only saw one Providence class ship. There were actually three along with a couple of frigates that were surrounding the ship.
All of which were opening fire on the venator. Within a couple of minutes, the venator had already lost it's shields and was only a few steps away from being a massive pile of junk in the sky. With no reinforcements or troops on the ship to lend support.
Naruto, B, Ratchet and Clank were all on their own against General Grievous and the onslaught of droids attacking the hangar.
"Guys, we really need to find a way out." Ratchet said as he fired on the droids with his blaster.
B was just swinging his omniwrench at the droids that came too close. He then took cover when a few super battle droids fired their wrist rockets at him. Ratchet took cover across from him before realizing he was low on ammo. B also checked his reserves and went wide eyed.
'Maybe I can recycle something out of the destroyed droids.' B thought as he saw a B1 droid's head land beside him.
B scratched his head in contemplation before watching as Naruto ran away from Grievous.
"Your screams are music to my audio receptors!" Grievous yelled.
"Then let's see how well your head feels with a rocket to the face!" Naruto yelled.
Naruto turned around and fired a rocket directly at Grievous who was sent flying back. Naruto grinned before almost being hit by a wave of blaster fire. He quickly slid down near some cover and pulled out his assault rifle.
"Hey pal, got any ammo to spare?" Ratchet asked.
"You could try the ammunition droid. That's where I get mine." Naruto said as he pointed at the droid.
"I guess it's worth a shot." Ratchet said before feeling the ship shake. "What about ships? Maybe find a way off of this metal death trap?" he asked.
Naruto sighed before throwing a couple of grenades at the droids and running to the back doors.
"Get to the control room!" Naruto ordered.
Ratchet and B followed Naruto where they found the system for the automated turrets damaged.
"It wouldn't be much, but we would have needed the auto turrets." Naruto said.
B scratched his chin before having an idea. He quickly asked Naruto to switch to the pilot to give him the fusion cutter. Naruto quickly did as requested and handed B his tool before taking cover.
B then got to work on trying to fix the automated controls while Clank hopped off of Ratchet's back. He then ran to check out the other rooms where he found the shield reactor had been destroyed as well.
"I would not mind a few tools as well. At the very least, I can try to buy us some more time." Clank said.
"On it!" Naruto said.
"Look out!" Ratchet shouted.
Ratched then tackled down a super battle droid and proceeded to bash it with his omniwrench. Once finished, Ratchet kicked it back outside.
"Thanks Ratchet!" Naruto said gratefully.
Ratchet nodded before almost getting shot in the head. Naruto and the Lombax took cover before watching as Clank managed to lock the door. Where the sounds of blaster fire were being muffled by the door.
"Well, we're trapped. Where's the nearest escape pod?" Ratchet asked.
Naruto sighed, "If this was Elite Squadron, I could lead us there." He said.
"If this was what?" Ratchet asked.
"Nothing." Naruto quickly replied. "Looks like I won't be able to get another fusion cutter." He said.
"That is fine, I think I may have found something else." Clank said as he sat behind a console.
"Ah Clank, that computer is only good for manually shooting with the turrets." Naruto said.
"I know, but I may have made modifications thanks to the information that DiZ had lent me. In fact, I think he's on his way here." Clank said.
B raised a brow at Clank as he finished repairing the shield reactor. That was when they heard the sound of ships outside. Clank chuckled as he could see that reinforcements arrived.
"It appears that DiZ has arrived." Clank said.
"What? How do you know?" Naruto asked.
Clank pressed a few buttons before they could hear a voice within the console.
"Attention Gamers, this is DiZ, I have located the anomaly you have all been trapped inside of. I am sending reinforcements to support you." DiZ said from a radio on the console.
From there, they could hear some explosions in the distance. Naruto decided to hop onto a console and look through the turret. Where he saw a pair of venators along with a small fleet of starfighters combatting the onslaught of droids.
"Well that's something." Naruto said. "Remind me to thank DiZ when we get out of this." He said.
Moments later, Naruto saw the ship was surrounded with a green hue that protected critical systems on the venator. Meaning that the shields were online again and the ship had more time to defend itself.
"Haha! B, I knew you could do it!" Naruto said before hopping off.
B gave Naruto a thumbs up before handing his fusion cutter to Clank who began to fix the terminal connected to the auto turrets. As he got to work, everyone jumped at the sound of multiple lightsabers igniting. Where they turned and saw a couple of lightsabers trying to drill a hole through the locked doors.
"That cyborg is back!" Ratchet yelled.
B whistled into his fingers to get Ratchet's attention. Where he then pulled out a Pyrocitor and gestured for Ratchet to do the same.
"Well I guess anything is worth a try." Ratchet said.
The pair then stood near the doors just as Grievous began to make his way through.
"This game of cat and mouse bores me!" Grievous yelled.
Just as he tried to climb through. B and Ratchet ignited their pyrocitors and started setting Grievous on fire. The cyborg general cried out in pain as the intensity was hot enough to make him back away and try to put himself out.
"Ah, General Grievous, half the time he's this scary badass. The other half of the time, a typical generic villain that runs away when hurt or scared." Naruto said with a chuckle.
Once Ratchet and B stopped their attack, Naruto raised his rocket launcher over his shoulder and fired through the hole Grievous made. Destroying several battle droids that were clustered together as a result. He also threw two more grenades for good measure, just to get a good view of the hangar.
As they looked, a pair of gunships arrived and several clone marines came out to open fire on the droids. With a few firing rockets at the enemy gunships to prevent any more droids from spawning. However, that's when Grievous came back while covered in scorch marks. He ignited his lightsabers again and began cutting through multiple clones.
"Enough games! Bring me some Jedi!" Grievous demanded.
As Grievous ranted and the battle continued. Naruto stepped outside when he saw a clone running towards him.
"Sir, this is from command." The clone said as he raised a lightsaber into the air.
Naruto smiled and extended his hand towards it.
"I was given specific orders, to only… argh!" The clone screamed as Grievous cut him down.
Naruto gasped as he saw the clone die and the lightsaber roll towards one side of the room. He then locked eyes with Grievous who looked between him and the lightsaber before glaring at him
"Another prize for my collection, once I kill you that is." Grievous said.
That was when B jumped out and tried to scare Grievous away again with his flamethrower weapon. Only for Grievous to growl and face the fire headfirst. He pushed through the pain and sliced the weapon in half before kicking B into a wall.
"No more trinkets for either of you!" Grievous yelled angrily.
Naruto decided to ignore Grievous by throwing more "trinkets" at him. Although some people would refer to such things as thermal detonators, or grenades for short. Grievous noticed them and quickly took cover before the explosives went off.
"That's right! Either run or be a badass! You can't be both!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards the lightsaber.
However, that witty comment angered Grievous who sprinted after him. Luckily for Naruto, this was the 2005 version of Grievous with the generic animations. Not the super intense one from the 2017 version that had a lot more abilities. But it didn't help Naruto's situation as he was running away from a maniac.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to put this jerk in Dead by Daylight next." Naruto said before avoiding a lightsaber slash.
"Come here, little clone." Grievous said.
"I'm not a clone!" Naruto yelled as he ducked.
Grievous missed his next strike and watched as Naruto rolled towards the lightsaber. Which he quickly picked up and ignited, switching him into the hero class.
"I'm a Jedi!" Naruto said before Force Pushing Grievous away.
Grievous shouted as he was sent across the room. Naruto then helped B stand up before blocking the incoming blaster fire.
"Let's go B, we gotta clear up this hangar." Naruto said.
B nodded before watching as a clone trooper tossed a blaster rifle towards him to catch. As B supported Naruto, he wondered if Crimson was nearby. Not realizing how close she was.
On the surface of the planet
After a brief fight with a generic skeleton boss with a stick for a weapon. Crimson and Lightning continued their way through the endless hordes of monsters in Dracula's castle. Eventually, their path led them to a hall full of candles before entering a new room. Where a very tall and muscular minotaur with an axe stood before them.
Luckily, the creature was dumb as it was aggressive. With a loud roar, the minotaur roared and jumped high into the air. It then tried to slash at Crimson with its axe, only to miss as Crimson rolled out of the way.
"Okay, it's slow and brutish." Crimson said to herself.
"Then it makes it easier to hit!" Richter said before tossing several crosses at the minotaur.
The minotaur cried out in pain before swinging and missing at the Belmont. Richter smirked as he avoided each attack before rolling under the minotaur and whipping it a few times. The minotaur turned around and jumped into the air and repeated its same attack. This went on a few times, with Crimson and Richter repeatedly whipping it and throwing crosses at it.
"Really? The werewolves were more intense than this thing. So lame." Crimson commented.
The minotaur howled again before jumping into the air one more time. Only for Crimson to throw several knives into it. Causing it to hit the ground and scream before seemingly collapsing.
"I can't even fathom how many of these beasts work under Dracula." Richter said with a tired sigh.
"Your ancestors probably asked the same. Don't bother complaining." Crimson replied.
Richter was about to say something but chose to sigh and stay silent. He knew it was his duty to fight the dark lord as with many of the ancestors who came before him. However, just as they were about to move, they heard a loud scream coming from the "dead" minotaur.
The pair turned and saw the minotaur stand up and roar at them. The beast tossed aside the axe and started pawing the ground with its hooves before charging. Crimson and Richter both ran away from the minotaur as it came close. When they decided to run in opposite directions just as it came close.
However, instead of hitting the wall like an idiot. The minotaur decided to try and uppercut them as its fist was covered in green fire. Obviously it missed, but soon after, the beast's flesh was burned away and all that was left was a pile of bones. Which left Crimson feeling curious and decided to pick one up.
"That was something out of Street Fighter." Crimson murmured.
Richter didn't comprehend what she said but chose not to question his mystery companion. Not that he would gain anything from the girl who seemed to know a fair amount of his situation. He just respected her as his temporary partner.
"Then let's continue forward then." Richter said before feeling the castle shake. "I don't suppose that minotaur resurrected, did it?" he asked.
Crimson looked at the pile of bones and shook her head. Before feeling the castle shake some more. WIth that, the goth girl quickly ran out of the room with Richter and saw a bunch of Flea Men hopping around. Possibly one of the most annoying creatures as these things are fast and agile despite being so weak. Just as Crimson took a step forward, Richter grabbed her as he heard a loud sound.
"Something is coming!" he yelled before taking cover with her.
Moments later, the whole castle shook as a loud sound could be heard nearby. Crimson raised her head and looked around before hearing the sound of lasers.
'Okay, what's going on now?' Crimson wondered.
Richter took the lead and saw a strange sight.
"I think we have new visitors. Some in the form of metal men." Richter said.
"Metal men?" Crimson asked as she followed after him.
Where she immediately saw several battle droids opening fire on the monsters. All of which were fighting back and destroying several droids in the process. However, that's when Crimson saw that a wall was destroyed with more portions of the structure being attacked. As a droid gunship had opened fire on the monsters before dropping off more droids.
"Okay, this is beyond weird." Crimson said as she was confused.
"What are they? Some kind of demons of hell?" Richter asked.
"No, they're man made." Crimson answered.
"Man made? Then who sent them?" Richter asked.
"I don't know, but I can tell you that those things aren't our friends." Crimson said.
Once the corridor was cleared of monsters, the remaining droids turned to Richter and Crimson and opened fire. They both took cover and Crimson started throwing her knives at the droids, which did little as the super battle droids kept moving forward. So she used her whip to grab one by the leg and pull it down.
Richter followed suit and jumped out of his cover and ran across the wall. Where he avoided the incoming blaster fire before sweeping the legs of multiple battle droids. Luckily for him, they were all clumsy and only the regular battle droids were capable of standing up on their own while the rest were too heavy. Leaving Richter with time to destroy them to the best of his ability.
"I didn't expect the whips to be enough." Crimson said, sounding slightly surprised.
Richter nodded, "I guess humans have their own faults too. I'm just glad these things were as clumsy as the monsters." he said.
As the two fully understood that new threats were incoming. They did not move on just yet as the explosions in the sky became more intense. Where a streak of fire could be seen falling from the sky. Like a star having lost its grace and leaving the heavens.
"Something tells me that's not a shooting star." Richter said.
Crimson was still confused as to what was causing these changes. All she could do was assume it was more glitches and that it involved the droids she just witnessed. Only, she was about to learn about who else is involved.
In the atmosphere
Despite the help from DiZ and the clone troopers he sent. The venator was far from invincible despite B and Clank's attempts to repair the systems onboard the ship. Resulting in critical points of the ship breaking down and falling from outer space and towards the planet. Although, it didn't help that the droids also had the ability to just rush the control room.
Besides Clank, there were only two auto turrets in the main room along with a couple more in the engine coolant room and the life support system room. So with those destroyed after a lengthy battle, it was about time that everyone realized that they needed to escape the ship.
"Clank! We gotta get out!" Ratchet yelled as he ran into the control room.
Once Ratchet destroyed the remaining droids in the room. He picked up Clank and stuck his sidekick to his back once again.
"Ratchet, how are B and his friend doing out there?" Clank asked.
"Well, B destroyed the robot gunships so less machines are after us. As for the machine boss, Grievous I think was his name. Well, that Naruto guy is having some trouble." Ratchet explained as he exited the room.
Once outside, Ratchet started clearing the hangar of the remaining droids while B and Naruto were dealing with Grievous who was on his last legs.
"B, we almost got him." Naruto said.
Grievous snarled as he stumbled around before shaking violently. Where he began to glow and shift, before looking like he was hit by a computer virus. The droid general looked like the result of a game being corrupted and having a difficult time trying to reboot.
"Okay, that's really terrifying to watch." Ratchet said.
B scratched his chin as he saw Grievous literally glitch out. He kept his gun up and wondered if Grievous was about to die or become something much worse. Much to his own disappointment, the latter occurred and Grievous stopped glitching as his appearance slightly changed and he began laughing.
"I curse these appendages, yet I welcome this new upgrade." Grievous said as his appearance looked a bit more polished.
"Shoot the droid!" a clone trooper yelled.
Grievous laughed before getting on his hands and feet and crawling like a spider. Grievous quickly dashed at Naruto while avoiding the blaster fire from B and the clones. Where Naruto used his Force Push again only for Grievous to stand his ground and lock his feet onto the floor.
"Your tricks and sorcery are not enough anymore!" Grievous yelled before thrusting all four lightsabers at Naruto, sending him into the wall.
Grievous then turned his attention to B and the clones before crawling on the floor rapidly again. Where he avoided the incoming shots before knocking over the clones and reaching B. Who he picked up with one arm and slammed into a nearby Republic gunship.
"Anything to say, whelp?" Grievous asked B.
B raised a finger before presenting a thermal detonator. Like a Looney Tunes character, B shoved the grenade into Grievous' free hand. Grievous dropped B and looked confused before realizing he was duped. Before the explosive went off, B escaped Grievous' grip and rolled away. Where he then watched as the droid general fell onto his back.
'Naruto was right, half the time that guy is incompetent.' B thought as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
Then he watched as Grievous raised his head and glared at B. Grievous quickly got on his hands and feet and crawled very quickly toward B. Who decided to run away before the general could catch him.
'Okay, maybe this guy deserves to be in Dead by Daylight after all.' B thought.
"Come here little human!" Grievous yelled as he kept chasing after B.
Grievous stopped once he felt the omniwrench hit him on the head. He stopped and saw the omniwrench return to Ratchet like a boomerang. Grievous glared at Ratchet before trying to chase him only to feel a large lightsaber slash across his body. Grievous howled in pain as he saw Naruto recover and return to the fight.
"Come here you little metal nightmare." Naruto said.
Grievous snarled as he rushed at Naruto. Naruto dashed to the side to avoid the incoming lightsaber swings. He then proceeded to try and block the rush of attacks from Grievous and dodged the multiple lightsaber thrust of his.
'I think I get it now. He somehow upgraded to his rebooted self.' Naruto as he recognized Grievous' pattern of fighting.
Naruto then went behind Grievous' back and used Force Push to stagger him again. Before slashing at his back a few times, making the droid general cry out in pain. Grievous turned back around and blocked Naruto's flimsy strikes before parrying his blows. Before Grievous could try to take control of the fight, the venator began to shake violently with loud creaking noises violating his hearing.
Naruto and Grievous realized that the venator was approaching the atmosphere of the planet and beginning to burn up like a meteor.
Naruto quickly slashed at Grievous while he was distracted, damaging his mask and making him hold his face in pain. Naruto quickly ran to one of the Republic gunships as B and the others were getting ready to leave.
"Is now a good time to leave!?" Ratchet asked.
B whistled towards the pilot who started up the gunship. Grievous could then be heard angrily screaming as he ran towards them.
"Can this thing hurry up?" Naruto asked.
B started shooting at Grievous who blocked each blast. Only stopping as Ratchet threw his omniwrench at Grievous again. The omniwrench came back before the gunship doors closed and took off.
"Everyone hang on, we're just now exiting the stratosphere." The pilot announced to everyone.
As expected, the gunship shook violently as it escaped the venator along with two other gunships. No one but the pilots could see the venator falling like a shooting star before hitting the ground in a massive fiery explosion.
"Okay, that sounded intense but this is definitely what Battlefront 3 should have been." Naruto said.
B just rolled his eyes while Ratchet was still terribly confused as to what was going on and what Naruto was talking about. Regardless, the gunships started making their way to the surface where several droid starfighters and gunships were making their way towards Dracula's castle.
"I wonder where we're going now." Naruto said.
With Crimson
Crimson started to feel exhausted with all of the droids and other monsters surrounding the place. As she took cover with Richter, she saw one of the droid gunships explode. Moments later, the wall tore itself open and as a gunship opened up to reveal a few familiar faces who opened fire on the monsters and droids in the hall.
"This is the weirdest crossover that no one asked for." Naruto said.
"This is the weirdest adventure I never asked for." Ratchet said.
Crimson raised her head and looked surprised by who she saw.
"Naruto? B?" Crimson asked.
"Crimson?" Naruto asked.
B then pointed at Richter.
"Belmont?" Naruto asked.
"Spooky girl who I never met before?" Ratchet asked.
"Ratchet and Clank?" Crimson asked with a confused expression.
"Strange men and weird animal person?" Richter asked.
B whistled into his fingers very loudly to interrupt the weird introduction and greetings.
"This is an odd reunion I must say." Clank said.
Crimson shook her head and tried to clear her head of the confusion. The droids and random glitches were one thing but seeing her friends again along with other game characters were something else. So she marched up towards the floating gunship.
"What are you guys even doing here?" Crimson asked.
"We have no idea, it's probably some weird glitch or something. My game was acting weird and then B showed up with these two." Naruto explained.
B nodded before taking a deep breath and beginning to explain some more details. Which no one but Crimson and Naruto could hear as Richter and the others heard a mixture of blaster fire and monstrous screaming. However, Crimson seemed to understand whatever it was that B said.
"I guess DiZ really was trustworthy. Anyways, can you give Richter and I a ride?" Crimson asked.
"Yeah, sure thing. This game already looks like it has too many levels." Naruto answered.
B extended his hand to grab Crimson while Naruto helped up Richter. Who immediately felt a bit nauseous given how strange the gunship was to him. Even more so once the gunship closed its doors and flew directly towards the top of the castle and shot at Dracula's fancy windows.
The doors opened and revealed a slightly pissed looking Dracula who glared at him with his bright red eyes.
"Hey Mateo!" Naruto greeted.
"Mathias." Crimson corrected.
Dracula didn't look remotely amused as he saw the Gamers and their game character companions hop down from the gunship. With Naruto signaling to the gunship to leave while they handled Dracula. The dark lord himself stood up and put down the glass of what the boys hoped was wine and not blood.
"Bad time to mention this, I'm conflicted." Crimson whispered.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"Because I'm actually a fan of Dracula. Then again, this isn't Vlad III, but still. You get what I mean." Crimson said, showing a rare moment of weakness.
Naruto just sighed and ignored Crimson's strange feelings. Naruto had to admit, he felt close to some of his game companions too and B likely felt the same way. However, they were programs and they could be reloaded if they died. It sounded cold and selfish, but that's all Naruto could consider for now.
Also, Dracula is a villain and has that typical evil guy behavior. This wasn't Netflix's Dracula who was a lot more complicated and broken. Then again, the Castlevania games had a weird timeline and Naruto didn't know them well enough to know this version of Dracula's personality. But that might change as Dracula looked ready to fight.
"So you are the Blood of Belmont and these must be your companions." Dracula said, his eyes flashing.
"We are about to put an end to your evil!" Richter said.
Dracula scoffed, "Do you know why I always return, Belmont? Because of the desires of humans. You lesser beings are always filled with desire and powered by your wanting of more." he said.
"Perhaps humans are imperfect and seek more, but it's our desire to come together that we fight you together!" Richter said.
He then extended his whip with Crimson doing something similar. Ratchet twirled his omniwrench in one hand and his blaster in the other. B adjusted his pyrocitor and released a small wave of flames to show he meant business. Naruto spread his legs and bent his knees a bit before igniting his lightsaber and taking a stance his mother taught him.
Dracula snickered as his bangs covered his eyes.
"Then you do have desire. I will show you the folly of humanity and why I rule the night." Dracula said before disappearing a beam of light.
"Spread out!" Crimson warned.
Everyone separated and kept their guards up as they waited for Dracula to appear. When he did, he chuckled and threw fire balls at Richter who destroyed them with his whip. Before anyone attacked, Dracula disappeared and appeared again in another spot to throw more balls of fire.
Dracula repeated this attack before Richter threw a cross at him, making the vampire grunt in pain. Before finding his head colliding with the omniwrench, making him stagger back.
"You think you're so tough, Spooky?" Ratchet asked as he prepared to hit him again.
Dracula seethed before disappearing and avoiding Ratchet's attack. He then appeared behind Ratchet and gripped him by the head before squeezing his head.
"I have no time for you, odd creature." Dracula said before squeezing tightly.
"Clank! B! Little help here!" Ratchet cried out.
At that moment, B released a torrent of flames at Dracula who dropped Ratchet. Dracula raised his cape, attempting to block the flames before disappearing again. B kept his guard up and looked around before watching Dracula appear to throw fireballs at him. The silent teen jumped out of the way in time for Crimson to whip the fires away.
She then rushed towards Dracula who disappeared again. This time, appearing in front of Naruto who blocked his fireballs with his lightsaber. Naruto then proceeded to slash at Dracula who snarled at the great pain he felt.
"I am not pathetic like that foolish metal man!" Dracula said before kicking Naruto across the room.
"Metal man?" Naruto asked before hitting a wall.
Naruto shook his head as he recovered. He looked up and saw everyone combining their attacks. While the blond boy started wondering what Dracula meant to say. When he heard the vampire speak once more.
"I can only imagine how pathetic Grievous must have been if he could not handle two children. Leaving me with all the work to stop you pests." Dracula said before avoiding a whip attack.
"How does he know about Grievous?" Naruto asked.
B's eyes widened as he used that big brain of his to consider the possibilities. He opened his mouth to say something when Dracula slammed him into the wall.
"Hey! Pick on someone your own size… please!" Ratchet pleaded while shooting at Dracula.
Dracula snarled before disappearing once more and appearing by this throne.
"I will do you one better. I will use my power to increase my size and power." Dracula said before floating into the air.
Richter threw his whip at Dracula again only to be blinded by a bright light. The next thing he and everyone else knew. Dracula had changed into his second form, one where he became a dark bat-like demon with horns and sharp claws. Dracula screeched at everyone before flying into the air and unleashing a wave of fireballs on everyone.
Everyone did their best to dodge and survive the attacks. Before finding themselves dodging Dracula's pounce attacks. Where the vampire started hopping and trying to slash at them with his claws.
"I can't fly but I can sure jump!" Naruto shouted as he jumped into the air with the Force.
WIth his great agility, Naruto met Dracula and slashed at his body. Only for the attack to have no effect or leave any damage.
"Stupid Disney lightsaber!" Naruto cursed.
"That's not it! Dracula can only be hurt by striking the head!" Crimson warned before being clawed at.
"Crimson!" Richter shouted as Crimson hit the floor hard.
Naruto picked up Crimson and helped her up before moving out of the way. Leaving themselves open for Dracula's next attack only for Richter to hit him in the head with a cross. Dracula growled as he turned to the current Belmont.
"You want to live in this hellish darkness? Then you have to beat me. The blood of Belmont as you call me." Richter said, goading Dracula.
Richter avoided Dracula's fireballs before throwing another cross at his head. Leaving him open for B to fire more flames at, making the monster cry out in pain. As well as feeling more pain as Ratchet shot him in the head.
"It's not so fun now, is it?" Ratchet asked, feeling vengeful for the bad headache Dracula gave him.
Dracula roared at him and before he pounced on Ratchet. Naruto threw his lightsaber towards Dracula's head. Which nicked his head and cut off a horn, causing him to fall back down. He then saw Naruto retrieve his lightsaber with the Force.
Naruto then ran towards Dracula who tried shooting more fireballs. With Naruto countering the projectiles with the Force and swinging his lightsaber at Dracula a few times. As Dracula was distracted with the boy, Crimson threw a bottle of holy water at his head. Dracula screeched in anger before watching Richter jump at his face and whipped across the face a few times.
Dracula collapsed and returned back to his original form.
"See Dracula? This is when humanity unites. We are flawed like you said, but we'll always be ready to fight dark forces such as yourself." Richter said.
Dracula chuckled, "Normally, I would mock you Belmont. However, I have bigger plans." He said.
"No way, we beat you!" Ratchet spoke up.
"For now, but what I said was actually half of the truth. Humanity did awaken me, but I was not here for the same reasons as before." Dracula said.
"What is he talking about now?" Naruto asked.
Dracula then stood up as flames appeared behind him as his eyes flashed bright red.
"For once, I am not able to do as I please." Dracula said cryptically. "Even so, if you are convinced that unity is enough to defeat me. Then you will need to amass an army when forces bigger than myself arrive." He continued to say.
"Then you know about the glitches?" Crimson asked.
"You will all learn in time. This is not the last time we meet again, Blood of Belmont. The same goes for the children and the yellow creature." Dracula said.
Just as they tried to question him again. Dracula bursted into bats and escaped into a portal that was surrounded in glitches. But that's when a wave of souls escaped the castle before everyone felt it beginning to shake and crumble.
"Why can't we stand in one place without it falling apart!?" Ratchet asked.
"This way!" Richter yelled.
Outside of the castle
The group escaped the castle and watched as it sank into the sea. Leaving Crimson with mixed feelings that she would get over with time.
"Well, maybe I'll just save up money and go see Bran Castle in real life." Crimson said with a shrug.
"Well I hope that was the end of it." Clank said with Ratchet nodding in agreement.
The group looked up at the sight of the other Venator flying over the sky as the Republic cleaned up the remaining droids and possible other monsters that were set loose.
"This may have been the weirdest day, but it was a good day. For the Republic!" Naruto exclaimed.
"The what?" Richter and Ratchet asked.
"Ignore him." Crimson said with an eye roll.
Then moments later, a set of golden portals opened up.
"Well, that's the end of our mission for the night." Naruto said.
B yawned and waved at his companions before going home. Crimson and Naruto followed suit and returned to their own rooms as well. But not without noticing that Ratchet was freaking out.
"Hey! You can't leave us! We don't have a ship anymore!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"This is quite the predicament." Clank said.
Richter scratched his head in confusion as he wasn't sure how to help his new acquaintances. However, he didn't need to as a gunship landed near them and a man in a black and brown tunic with a mechanical prosthetic arm came out.
"Ratchet and Clank?" The man called out.
"That's us." Ratchet said.
"My name is Anakin Skywalker, I have orders to escort you to Planet Aridia." The Jedi said.
The Next Morning, at Ashford
Naruto felt a lot more physically exhausted than usual. He barely woke up and already felt like he had been through a whole day of labor. He didn't understand it and wondered if his time in the video game universe was taking its toll on him or something.
'Maybe it was that weird crossover from last night.' Naruto thought as he made his way towards class.
Of course, Naruto didn't have the chance to bring it up to his friends yet. However, he noticed that B was a lot more quiet and less focused during class. Even if the lectures were boring and difficult, at least B seemed capable of keeping up.
'I guess he's affected too. I bet Crimson must be going through the same.' Naruto thought as he yawned.
At this point, Naruto thought the long lectures would kill him rather than vampires and robots.
Lunch hour
Like many, Naruto survived a boring day of lectures. Well just the first half and regardless, he still was still a bit far away from the weekend.
As Naruto ate with his friends, they confirmed that they also felt exhausted. The trio just assumed that it had something to do with the dreams. However, this only left them with more questions as they were concerned with the "glitches" as Crimson continued to refer them to. There's also the fact that Dracula mentioned that bigger forces were getting involved.
"Do you think we should ask Integra?" Naruto asked.
"Probably, we can tell Seras and she can pass on the message." Crimson answered.
While the goth girl still had some reservations regarding the whole adventure they have gone through. There's only so few people they can talk to about this. As Crimson brought this up, she saw B pointing at a sketch of DiZ he had.
"Oh right, we might have to bring up DiZ." Crimson said with a sigh. "And there's no doubt she's going to be super suspicious of him." She said.
Like Crimson, Integra would not trust a game character that has become self aware. Although Integra is a lot more serious and understanding of the video game universe. Added with how Integra sees this as some military type of campaign, she might be very distrusting of DiZ and likely might see him as a potential enemy.
The best case scenario, Integra would probably prepare hundreds of contingencies to eliminate DiZ should he turn against them. Which made sense as there's no assurance as to his true goal and decision to cooperate with them.
"Well, we have to bring it up anyways. Otherwise the old woman might get angry and lecture us or something." Naruto said with a tired sigh.
"That's putting it lightly." Crimson said.
The trio decided to go for an honest and direct response. Hoping that they can sort everything out by reporting their recent adventure.
Later that day, with Seras
Seras had a very hard time trying to understand and consider what had happened in the dream. Although there are some familiar subjects she picked up on.
"I can tell you for sure that glitches are not unnatural but not common. It's also quite rare for two or more gamers to interact in the same dream." Seras said as she tried to explain what she did know.
However, the whole attack was confusing and it became more concerning once they got to DiZ and explained everything. Which only got Seras feeling suspicious and rather tense.
"I suppose I better bring this all up to Ms. Hellsing. She might have some words with you all." Seras said.
"I knew it." Naruto said with a groan.
"Yes, Ms. Hellsing is very intense. Especially with potential dangers that you all may have stumbled onto." Seras explained.
She understood that Naruto and maybe B were scared while Crimson expected a lecture or something. However, she would just have to wait and see how Integra takes this information while consulting her assistants in the organization.
"That reminds me, I was hoping to cover this after the competition but there were some new updates. They were not very urgent, but I suppose I will tell you shortly." Seras said.
"What? Is it some secondary initiation?" Crimson asked.
"Ah, no not really. It's more of a secondary process. Kind of like the end of your training phase or a promotion depending on how you view it." Seras answered.
"Promotion? That actually sounds nice." Naruto said, feeling less anxious.
Seras grinned, "Good, you will receive orders tonight via text before bed. For now, just keep up with your studies and hopefully your dreams are less out of the ordinary." She said.
Naruto and B sighed while Crimson crossed her arms.
"Then we'll see you later, Seras… I mean, Ms. Victoria." Naruto said as he packed up.
"Have a good day, you three." Seras said as they left. "Now then, I hope Ms. Hellsing doesn't freak out much." She said as she opened up her laptop.
It looked like things were moving at a faster pace for the three new agents. So now Seras had to prepare them with the instructions Integra left for her. Assuming Integra doesn't have new instructions with the new information coming to her.
That night, in the Gameverse
That night, everyone received their message from Seras. They were quickly annoyed, wondering if the British woman was messing with them or was too sheepish to reschedule their talk.
Her text message only said "Have a good night everyone and sleep well".
So now, the trio expected either to return to their respective games or run into another weird venture. Somewhat surprisingly, it was the latter and it just left them feeling a bit stressed as they expected the worst. At least all three of them were fully equipped and ready for whatever danger came.
"Okay, I'll take point." Naruto said as he adjusted his blaster rifle
"Wait, are you seriously the only one wearing a weird suit?" Crimson asked.
Naruto looked at his friends and realized Crimson and B were dressed normally. B did mention that he was wearing the original Doom Guy outfit when he was in the Doom game. However, it looked like he didn't get a unique outfit from Ratchet and Clank. Crimson didn't get one from Castlevania much to his surprise.
"You know, with you playing Castlevania. I expected some mix of Victorian Gothic and modern clothing." Naruto said.
Before Crimson could respond, B whistled into his fingers and then pointed in the distance. The trio looked and saw some kind of theater with a booth at the front. They ran up to the booth and saw a worker eyeing them for no more than a second before speaking.
"Memory cards please." He said.
The group was confused before B stood at the front and presented his. The booth worker nodded before looking at Naruto and Crimson who slowly followed suit. The worker then flipped a switch and a loud sound was heard by a door to the side.
"Go through there, drop any weapons you have on you and the hideout is at the door at the end of the hall." The worker said cryptically.
"What?" Naruto asked, sounding confused.
The booth worker sighed and leaned forward. Where he proceeded to be a bit more specific. Starting by pointing at a door that looked insignificant.
"Go through there, leave your weapons on the side and I'm assuming you have a sense of direction. Go through the only door at the end of the hall." the man said, trying to dumb it down.
Naruto felt annoyed, "I didn't ask for you to repeat yourself. I was asking…"
"Naruto, don't argue with him. Look, let's just get this over with." Crimson interrupted.
Naruto groaned as he followed after Crimson who opened the door. Once through, several lights turned on and revealed wooden racks that held old fashioned guns and knives. B looked around and scratched his chin as there was some sense of familiarity and nostalgia even.
B shook his head and tried to focus on the mission at hand. He dug into his pockets and placed his omniwrench, blaster and pyrocitor on the rack. While Crimson placed a bottle of holy water and her whip down. Naruto did the same by hanging up his blaster rifle, pistol and thermal grenades along with his lightsaber.
"What do you guys think this is? Some kind of speakeasy?" Naruto asked.
Crimson looked around and shrugged, "Either that or some kind of gangster hideout." she answered.
B continued to ponder about the place before opening the door at the end of the hall. To his surprise, Seras was in the room and standing behind the counter. The young woman was humming as she cleaned up some glasses where several bottles of alcohol were displayed behind her. She smiled at B and the others once she looked up and noticed them.
"Oh good, you're here. I'm glad you got my message." Seras said.
"Yeah, very specific." Crimson said sarcastically as she took a seat at the counter.
Seras gave a nervous laugh as she scratched her cheek sheepishly.
"Well, I meant to say more but… well I didn't know how to put this into words." Seras said as the boys got settled in as well.
Naruto took off his helmet and placed it on the counter before taking a deep breath.
"I'm guessing you sent a message to the boss lady?" Naruto asked.
Before Seras could respond, they heard a loud glass hit a wooden table. They turned and saw a serious looking Integra staring at them with a shot glass on hand. Her glasses reflected off of the lights on the ceiling and it made it difficult to read her expression. But given the straight face and the glass on the shot glass on hand, they can take a guess as to how the superintendent felt.
"Seras told me about "DiZ" and I am not too keen on trusting him. I want to hear what you know about him. As well as your experience with the anomaly you three experienced last night." Integra said as she adjusted her glasses.
"Wait, is she a gamer too?" Naruto asked with wide eyes.
"We'll get to that later." Seras replied.
Before Integra would consider explaining how they are all meeting now. She demanded a report on the events of the battle in Dracula's Castle and the space battle taking place in outer space.
Most of it Integra didn't care for as it sounded like typical conflict. A few interactions and changes of actions were natural in the process. Sometimes the games don't always follow their original script by the letter either based on experiences from agents of other branches. What interested Integra was the sudden connection between all three of her subordinates.
Especially the frequent glitches as it told Integra that there was some deeper meaning behind the anomalies. What concerned her is that this was becoming something worse than a potential invasion. Considering what they said about DiZ and added with the slight paranoia that Integra already had. It told her that the enemy game characters were becoming more aware of the human world and started to work together.
"This is an interesting find, but I expect you three to keep your guard up. The operation of this organization is relatively new itself. But consider yourselves fortunate to have survived that." Integra said.
There were some congratulations in order but there was no time to do anything big. Despite how unfair it seemed, Integra saw these three as soldiers fresh out of training. While she worked from behind and commanded the troops, it was up to them to fight and bring back any information they could obtain. Of course, Integra is nothing without supporting and compensating her soldiers as well.
"Seras was meant to give you access to this after the competition but you might as well get started during your down times." Integra said before reaching into her jacket.
Integra pulled out a few blank looking cartridges and placed them on the table. At that moment, Seras jumped over the counter and put down an old looking machine.
"As you three can see, this secret tavern area is not from any game you are aware of." Integra said.
"It was inspired by that one commercial. The one with the video game characters that came together and said "For Michael" over and over again." Seras explained.
B hit his fist on top of his hand as he remembered that commercial. It was meant to hype up players by making them see their favorite characters cheer on a player named Michael. Which was a metaphor about how they appreciate the gamers and feel like the player is a comrade in arms. It was a pretty amazing commercial in B's opinion.
"Oh yeah, I remember that commercial too." Crimson said as Naruto snickered.
"Yes, I can tell you are all nostalgic. However, these domains are special. I won't go over the science and history behind it. For now, you three seem ready to use them properly." Integra explained as she presented them with the device.
Seras then pulled out her own cartridge which showed a photograph of the tavern. Which she used as reference to help teach them.
"You will all be able to create your own domain. You may meet up together in meetings of great importance. You three were able to appear because of some backstage manipulation of my own." Integra said.
Which only made the teens feel suspicious about Integra and how much control she has over them.
"Regardless, you three can meet at will once your domains are finished. If need be, you may use these domains to speak with other branches should emergency missions come up. In rare cases, more than one Gamer will be needed for a single game." Integra explained.
This must have been the closest multiplayer experience that two or more people can have since couch co-op. But it didn't sound like a good time to have fun like in the olden days. At least the olden days before developers thought couch co-op was too much of a hassle to make anymore.
"So basically little hangouts, but for important meetings and other stuff that might come up." Naruto said, trying to summarize it.
"Exactly, you will also be able to use this space to access tools and weapons you gained from other games. Rather than solely relying on the tool shed from the original chips." Integra explained.
She didn't mention this yet, but the chips she had Seras give them were also being updated right now. The cartridges were just a manifestation of the updates themselves. It was a lot of strange science Integra couldn't explain in simple terms, but luckily no one cared enough to ask.
Once the trio were done with the initial process. Integra finished her drink and stood up.
"We are done now. Remember to send any other concerning updates to Seras. Good luck with the incoming competition, although I never expected that club of yours to have real relevance." Integra said before walking out the door.
"Bye ma'am!" Seras said as she waved.
Seras sighed as she saw the trio take their seats and unwind for a moment.
"Anyways, I might as well go over the rules of the competition. Most of it is fully of technicalities and rules that should be obvious." Seras said.
"So basically like not cheating or what actions are considered cheating?" Crimson asked.
"That's right. Just some technicalities and rules regarding behavior. Such as not disrupting your competition by doing something like screaming or throwing things. Just childish things to avoid." Seras said with her sweet smile.
Everyone sighed and listened to the rules. As some of them were pretty specific and harsh which would lead to disqualification. As well as being literally thrown out of the building as well.
"Okay, that's a bit much and that's not even for assault." Naruto said as he winced.
"Yes, but I guess the company sponsoring this wants to avoid their public image from looking bad. Typical business nonsense, you understand." Seras said as Naruto nodded.
Seras finished up with the rules and other details to watch out for. The competition was less than a couple of weeks away and it was good to keep track of time.
A few days later, at school
The dreams reverted back to normal and the trio continued with their normal adventures in the game universe. Albeit, some minor glitches have been noticed but unless anything significant like enemy characters developing new behaviors or rifts appear. Seras said it was nothing to worry about and Integra would only accept wild and unnatural events.
Now, Naruto and his friends were attending the first club meeting of the week. Where they were mostly just messing around with the sound booth as it looked like it was meant for music.
Where B just shook his head and went on about how the equipment was such a waste. Not that he could really see much of a reason for students and staff to use it as they have music rooms for music related classes. That and the room itself was a bit smaller compared to those classes and wouldn't need much of a reason to record.
"Okay, we get it. At least now you can enjoy using it." Crimson said, ending B's rant.
B sighed and nodded as he looked at Naruto who was behind the glass with a guitar.
"Wait, he plays guitar?" Ennui asked as he looked over his shoulder.
"Yeah, his dad taught him but it's been a while." Crimson said.
Naruto nodded as he played a few chords from within the booth. Meanwhile B used this time to record and adjust the sound. Just to try out the tools and get used to them for potential projects in the near future.
"How does "Cliffs of Dover" sound?" Naruto asked.
Crimson rolled her eyes, "How come every guitar playing amateur feels like an old man?" She asked.
There were those times when someone would learn an instrument and suddenly find themselves attached to classical music. Not like how piano players and violinists play classic music as many songs they play aren't even from within the past century. Crimson just thought it felt random for some people to play music from the 60s to the 90s like they lived in that era.
"Playing old music gives me an old soul." Naruto replied.
"Hey, if you leave this world too early. Could you leave me out of the will?" Ennui asked, sounding as monotone as possible.
"Good joke, babe." Crimson said with a light smile.
"That was a joke?" Naruto asked.
Seras just snickered in the background as she saw the students go back and forth with their random topics. At least it was better than them needlessly antagonizing each other like teenagers on television. Still, she always reminded herself that there is an important mission regarding this, this isn't some social hour.
As Seras let the students continue living in their own world. A member of the student council came into the room.
"Hi, I'm just here to drop off a couple of things. Just some technical jargon." She said.
"Oh, I see. Thank you… Kallen was it?" Seras asked.
"That's right." Kallen answered.
Seras then took the papers and signed off on them. She then noticed there was a signature for Naruto as he was assigned as Team Captain.
"What are they doing back there?" Kallen asked as she looked at the recording studio.
"B is a technical wizard, so I let him tinker with anything that won't explode. As for Naruto, he's playing classic rock or something." Seras explained before walking up to the group.
Naruto stopped playing the guitar once he saw Seras wave her hands.
"Hi, sorry for interrupting but the Team Captain needs to sign some things." Seras said.
Naruto sighed as he put down the instrument and opened the door. He then got to signing while Kallen looked around curiously.
"So, what do you guys do here besides play video games?" Kallen asked.
"A little of everything. Graphic design, sound/audio stuff, basically whatever everything in this room lets us do." Crimson said.
"You don't sound thrilled." Kallen pointed out.
Crimson silently stared at Kallen for a whole minute.
"I am super excited." Crimson said.
At this point, Naruto and B were not sure if Crimson was being ironic or if she was just messing with Kallen. It would have been easier if Kallen knew she was a goth and that most goths hate showing emotions.
"Okay…" Kallen said awkwardly.
Naruto finished signing wherever his signature was requested and gave Kallen the papers.
"So, are you going to see us at the competition?" Naruto asked.
"I think Milly will send someone. She's always about connecting with the teams and that stuff." Kallen said.
Naruto nodded, "That's cool, maybe I'll see you around." He said.
"Sure, maybe." Kallen said before checking the papers. "Anyways, good luck with this weekend." She said before leaving.
C.C. then leaned closer to Naruto, "What is the prize if we win?" she asked.
B whispered something over to Crimson who gave a rare smile.
"Naruto buys you more dinner. Even if we lose, he owes someone dinner." Crimson said.
"B, I swear." Naruto said as he raised his fist.
"That's acceptable." C.C. said.
"You might earn a trophy out of this." Seras spoke up.
"I always wanted to be part of a group that earns a piece of tin painted gold." Ennui said.
Seras sweat dropped, "Was that sarcasm? I cannot tell with you or Crimson." she said.
Ennui just stared at her in silence before printing out the team banner.
"It's 100% Loki approved." Ennui said as Loki nodded.
"Well at least your team spirit is genuine." Seras said with a sigh.
Naruto yawned, "This weekend can't come soon enough." he said.
The next weekend
At a large building in downtown, The Technology Club arrived in uniforms custom ordered by Seras on behalf of the team. As they arrived, they saw several banners from other schools to note who is here. There also appeared to be a bigger banner to present the publishing studio who had sponsored the contest.
"How many studios or publishers go this far to look good?" Naruto asked.
"A lot." Crimson said.
"But how many make these events to present something good?" Naruto asked.
"Define 'Good'." Crimson said.
There are a lot of events where a video game publisher or at least a studio tries to go all out to present a new product or get everyone hyped. Sometimes it falters, sometimes it's a bit overrated and sometimes there is something good to present and then they showcase one of their lead music directors to play a banjo on stage.
At this moment, B started playing a banjo that he randomly found. Playing the theme of the original Last of Us game.
"Okay, okay, I'm not the only one with musical skill." Naruto said as B snickered.
The group then made their way to their side where they saw Milly waiting for them along with her grandfather, the principal.
"I'm happy to see you youngsters made it." the principal said.
"We're kind of surprised to see you too, Principal Ruben." Seras said, feeling a bit sheepish.
"Well, I had a free weekend today. I won't belittle our sports teams, but they always play late at night or in the afternoon for me to visit even once." Ruben said with a chuckle.
Somehow the eSports team counted as a team. Perhaps Ruben didn't have a busy schedule or maybe he really did want to show some pride for his school. Although he's up for school spirit, Ruben isn't like his granddaughter who is a bit mischievous and can take things a bit far when it comes to it.
"Anyways, I won't ramble on. Milly here wants to give the four of you some words of encouragement." Ruben said as he nodded to his granddaughter.
"While this isn't a traditional sports team. I'm still your student council president and wish you luck. Don't worry about winning or losing, just literally have fun. Don't do this to look good, just do what you're best at. I don't want you all worrying about letting anyone down. Honestly, the first challenge is just stepping through the door." Milly explained.
It sounded simple and wordy, but the group accepted Milly's words. At least taking them in a way to understand that while this is a competition. It's just gaming which they have always enjoyed and just have to remember that if they do suddenly feel stressed.
"Thank you for the kind words, Miss President." C.C. said.
"As team captain, I promise full victory." Naruto said.
"And he accepts full blame if we fail." C.C. added.
"Exactly… hey!" Naruto snapped.
Milly laughed in response, "Good luck anyways, if you do win. I'll be sure to reward you." she said.
The team could only imagine what Milly had in store as she was impossible to read when she was excited. Though it probably isn't a gift card or a handmade present she forces her friends to help her to make.
"Well, you better take your positions." Ruben said.
"That's right everyone. Ennui, you and Loki will follow me while everyone else goes to their spots." Seras said.
"Good luck babe." Ennui told his girlfriend.
Crimson nodded in response and nodded again at Lok who stared at her. The rabbit then jumped onto Ennui's shoulder and left with him. Seras bid her students good luck and left to join the spectators with Ennui.
"There better not be a crowd. I hate a lot of noise going into my ear." Crimson said.
Despite video game competitions sounding like a very stupid and not a very interesting thing between the 80s and 2000s. The gaming community has grown at least enough to where it has gotten attention to the point large crowds started attending these events. Crimson just hopes her home town hasn't attracted that much attention.
Then again, this isn't some old village in the countryside.
"I doubt it. You better adjust those headphones." Naruto suggested. "Especially since my mom is here." he said.
B raised a brow and made a confused gesture.
"Yeah, she hates video games but it's her obligation as a mother to embarrass me in the form of support." Naruto explained.
"Then she won't be difficult to discern from the crowd." C.C. said as she imagined the type of person Kushina is.
The group then walked towards their spot while looking at the several teams that were also getting hyped up. Despite the obvious reasons as to why the competition is being held. No one realized who would really benefit in the outcome of the competition and how it would affect the world as a whole.
TO BE CONTINUED…