Gears of Horror
Chapter 3: Getting To Know You
(a.k.a. the recap chapter for those unfamiliar with the franchises)
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The cavern…
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Bob Barbas shuffled his notes, watching the heroes with amusement. Kratos growled at him. "If you truly wish to do battle with us, then step forward and fight!"
"And here I thought you were becoming a 'good' god," Barbas teased. "That you 'hated' fighting."
"I am trying, and I do," Kratos said. "That I no longer wish to fight does not change the fact that I was a god of war and a Spartan warrior. Return our loved ones or find out what that means."
Dante and Bayonetta couldn't help but be a little impressed by that statement. Barbas just sneered. "Oh, you can't beat me," he taunted. "Because I've figured out the ultimate tactic to make sure that I NEVER lose to idiots like you. You wanna hear it?"
"Sure, why not?" Dante said, wondering if he could snipe Barbas' eyes from here.
Barbas stood up at his desk, grinned viciously, and said, "It's called… Never being dumb enough to actually fight you!"
The six heroes just stared at him incredulously as Barbas dabbed back and forth. Dante snickered, idly twirling one of his guns. "I mean… he's technically not wrong, that is a viable tactic to make sure he never loses to us…"
Bayonetta rolled her eyes while Kratos grunted in irritation. Sindri stared in disbelief while Nico just slumped over, annoyed, Rodin looking away to hide a smirk and failing.
Barbas sat back down. "Yeah, fuck actually fighting you guys. I got killed by the Dante of my world, and you alone like a more competent version of him. No, my only purpose is to set you bozos up on your journey, and explain the rules of my Queen's little game," he said.
"Why doesn't your queen introduce herself, then? Certainly we'd love to get a look at the woman in charge," Bayonetta said. And shoot her in the face, she added mentally.
"Because my lady has a sense of the theatrical and has put a series of 'boss characters' in your way. Some of whom you may be familiar with!" Barbas said.
"Oh goody, rehashed fights," Bayonetta said, irritated.
"Just means we know how to beat them," Dante said confidently.
"If they aren't fools they'll have learned from past encounters," Kratos said. "Be wary."
Barbas snickered. "I'd listen to grumpy grandpa if I were you," he said, the news ticker on the bottom of his screen saying 'Smelly Old Man only smart one of the heroes.'
Dante sneered. "All right, Bobby boy. You said the game has rules. What are they?" he asked.
Barbas smirked. "You are to travel the various realms we've set up and beat the challenges there. Meet the conditions we set, and because fuck you, you have to figure out what those conditions are, and you'll get a chance to rescue ONE of your family members."
Rodin sneered. "Fine by me," he said, cracking his knuckles, his eyes glowing red behind his sunglasses. "Been a while since I kicked some ass all proper-like."
"Ah ah ah!" Barbas said, holding up a hand. "Sorry, this particular adventure is for Kratos, Dante, and Bayonetta only. If you want to join in, you have to do it the same way you did before. Have the heroes pay you 9,999,999… Let's say red orbs, since that seems to be a common thing among your adventures. After that, they have to beat you in a straight up fight, and you have to act as one of Bayonetta's summons."
Rodin's eyes glowed behind his sunglasses. "And if I decide not to cooperate?" he said.
Barbas' screen switched to an image of all of the kidnapped ones, all wrapped up in dark tentacles of some kind. Bladed tendrils appeared and gently caressed the throats of each.
"NO!" Bayonetta cried out.
"Damn it, we get it!" Dante shouted.
"Enough, you've made your point!" Kratos roared.
"All right, fine!" Rodin said, holding up his hands. "Same rules as before! But what the fuck are me, van girl, and shorty here supposed to do in the meantime?"
"Keep their weapons in working order," Barbas said. "We'll be nice. We'll let you use Bifrost, Thule, the Gates of Hell, that ridiculous van, anything you feel you need. Its why we've given you weapons you used to have. Plucked them right out of their moment of destruction or stolen them from where they were stored or sold, and brought them right to you. Restored magic to you that you once had. Brought back summons you don't use anymore."
Kratos held out Mjolnir. "And what of this? Mjolnir was never mine," he said.
"Yeah, the Queen? She's one of those 'doesn't really understand sentiment' types. She doesn't understand why you didn't claim the hammer as your prize after besting Thor," Barbas said.
" Besting him was not the purpose of my battle with the thunder god!" Kratos snarled.
Barbas shook his head. "Hey, like I said. 'Just doin' the goddess's work.' You got your reasons, the lady in charge doesn't care. What she does care about, is that all three of you have experienced multiple multiversal events. That all three of you represent hope in some way. Especially you, Kratos. She's especially offended by you. A God of War that's also a God of Hope."
Kratos couldn't help but grin, feeling somewhat validated.
Bob continued. "That's why she's letting you have so many resources back, making it so that you can all understand each other despite any language barriers. She wants you at your best. So she can destroy you utterly. So she can crush hope. And by crushing hope, she will crush your worlds."
"Anyone else see that happening?" Dante said, amused. "No? Just her and her simps?" He shrugged. "Yeah, no. Sorry, Bobbo. The only thing getting crushed is your 'queen's' hopes and dreams."
"Indeed," Bayonetta said. "We're going to rescue our friends and family. And then maybe we'll pay you a visit and do horrible things to you."
"Keep dreaming, legs," Barbas said. "I'm keeping as far away from you three as possible." He then let out a girlish shriek as Dante slashed his screen.
"Sorry," Dante said, grinning wickedly. "Had to try."
Barbas, blushing in embarrassment and anger, adjusted his tie. "...A-Anyway. We'll set up links to the Hopeless Realms here in this cavern. If you're LUCKY, you'll find a way to get to my direct employers, Middle Management. You won't get past them and get to the Queen, though."
"We'll see," Kratos said. "Begone. Your presence is tiring."
Barbas chuckled. "I've said my peace anyway," he said, snapping his fingers, twelve portals appearing. "These are the Hopeless Worlds. Drowned in despair, their heroes broken beyond repair. They're worlds that the Queen has allowed to keep existing because they have yet to fail in destroying the hopes of every hero that has attempted to rescue someone from them. Have fun finding your friends, kids." The theme music starts up again. "This has been the Raptor News Network. I'm Bob Barbas… just doin' the Goddess' work."
Bob disappeared, leaving the heroes to glare at the spot he had been in. After that, they stared at each other. "...Well," Dante said. "I could use a fuckin' drink. Nico, did you see?"
Nico sighed. "Yup. More of our friends than who was with us got snatched."
"Who else did you lose?" Kratos asked.
"A seller I'm on good terms with, an information broker, a kid I took care of for a while that I'm fond of, and a demon girl whom I helped escape from her master," Dante said, shaking his head. "Fuck, I hate this…"
Rodin looked at Nico's van. "...I got a place for y'all to set up shop, park your van," he said. "Let me drive and I'll get us there."
"Oh no. No way. No one drives but me," Nico said. "You can ride shotgun to guide us there, but I drive the van." Rodin glared at her, but Nico, shocking Bayonetta and Rodin both, grabbed Rodin's cigar from his mouth and flicked it at him, the cigar bouncing harmlessly off of his face as she headed for the van.
Rodin smirked, immediately deciding he liked her. Bayonetta just shook her head. Sindri and Kratos looked at the van worriedly. "...What is that, actually?" Sindri asked.
"What, you don't have vans where you come from?" Dante asked.
"I traveled around via sled dogs," Kratos said. "All of this is very new to us."
Sindri looked at the sign on the van. "And what does 'Devil May Cry' mean anyway?"
"Couple meanings," Dante said. "Neither important right now. C'mon in."
Hesitantly, Kratos and Sindri got in the van, followed by Bayonetta and Dante. Rodin, hunching over due to how tall he was, got in the front passenger seat, with Nico starting the van once they were inside. "Just drive forward," Rodin said. "I'll take us where we need to be." Nico nodded, and the van suddenly found itself inside a dark tunnel.
Sindri, wobbling on his feet from the van's movements, looked over Nico's shoulder curiously. "Incredible… how is it moving without something pulling it?" he asked.
Nico grinned. "Not much in the way of advanced technology where you come from, eh?" she asked.
"What we have is advanced for us," Sindri said. "But this is so far beyond it…" Nico smiled at the dwarf and began to explain internal combustion engines, as well as the modifications she made to it. Rodin nodded, impressed with Nico's work.
Kratos, Bayonetta, and Dante just stared at each other while their technicians chatted.
"...Well," Dante said. "Sitting here in an awkward silence has never been my forte. I'm Dante. Son of the legendary dark knight Sparda, and a human woman. Who, regrettably, died in a fire while I was a kid. I have a twin brother named Vergil who's… kind of a douchebag and now that I think of it responsible for most of the biggest hassles in my life, but I still love the shithead. I'm a professional demon hunter by trade, although you might get some arguments on how 'professional' I actually am. Mainly from people I owe money to. Nico here is the daughter of the gunsmith my Dad used and a mad scientist I fought one time. I trust her completely. How about y'all?"
Bayonetta closed her eyes. "Bayonetta, although that's more of a title than my name at this point. You'll get my real name if I decide I fully trust you later. I am an Umbra Witch, capable of controlling and summoning demons, I can transform into animals and demons, I can summon torture devices from the ether, and use other forms of magic. In profession, I am a professional angel-killer and monster hunter. I am… among the last of my kind." She shivered softly. "I really hope that I'm not the last of my kind…" She shook her head and continued. "Rodin is the strongest man alive, my weapon's maker, and… well, its not my story to tell. He is my friend and business partner. Or at least I'm hoping we're friends."
"You pay your bills on time," Rodin said, smirking at her. "Close enough." Bayonetta chuckled, accepting that.
Kratos stared at the floor. "...I am Kratos. One of Zeus' many bastard sons, and God of War. In my early days, I was a creature of petty anger and pure rage. In that rage I destroyed Olympus and all who resided within. I have since tried to be a better person, with… varying levels of success. I became involved with a conflict with Asgard, and played a big part in bringing the Aesir to ruin. Although I did not kill them all as I did with the gods of Olympus. As with Bayonetta, further details will only be shared if I trust you more." He grunted. "...Sindri is one of two brothers my son and I befriended during my time in the Norse country. They became valued companions, although I feel we did not appreciate them enough…"
"You didn't," Sindri said bitterly. "But… after my brother's funeral, being on my own gave me time to reflect. I am… not without guilt for some of the problems we faced."
There was silence in the van, no one knowing what to say. Not long after, they pulled into what looked like a tavern, Rodin directing Nico to a place near a doorway. "My lab's through that door," he said. "Y'all can move your stuff in anytime if you want. I don't mind sharing with someone who understands the art of weaponmaking. As for the fighters… get out every bit of equipment you have, lay it on or around the tables. I want us to know what we're working with."
Kratos, Bayonetta, and Dante all took a table, and began setting out their equipment. Kratos was the most practical, having an array of swords, spears, gauntlets, and chains flails, along with a large warhammer. He had the Golden Fleece as well, along with the wings he took off of Icarus, as well. The Grecian warrior frowned, realizing he could also use literally all of the magic he had used in his time in Greece, spells that should have been burned out of him years ago.
"You okay, big guy? Looking kinda disturbed there," Dante said.
"Powers I thought lost have returned to me," Kratos said. "In addition, several of these weapons were destroyed or taken from me by the gods…" He held up a pair of gauntlets with lion heads on them. "I took these from Hercules during my fight to the death with him. But in my final battle with Zeus, they were shattered beyond repair."
"Hm," Dante said. "Yeah, I got similar weirdness…" He held up his sword, and it shifted forms between the Devil Sword and a smaller, slimmer sword with a skull hilt. "This form? Its called Rebellion. It was destroyed, and became the base for my Devil Sword. And this?" He held up a large Devil Sword, which unfolded into a scythe. "This was broken too. Used to be my father's. It should be a component of my Devil Sword, but this goddess likes playing with time, I suppose." He gestured to the table, sighing. "Some of these I sold off to pay the bills… Pandora's Box here I locked up because it was too dangerous…" He held up a large, silver briefcase with a skull, Kratos looking at it with alarm.
"THAT is what Pandora's Box is on your world?!" Kratos asked incredulously.
Dante chuckled, playing with the dials on it and making the briefcase shift a few forms. "Yeah. Multiverses are a bitch, ain't they?" He picked up a pair of relatively normal-looking swords. "Used these during my blue period. Not as effective as the others…" He shook his head.
Bayonetta's array of weapons looked practically silly. To Kratos, most of them looked like really large toys. "The ones I mostly use now can be used as both firearm and melee weapon, and are attuned with my Demon Masquerade ability, which lets me turn into a form based on the demon the weapon's attuned with," she said, holding up a serpentine whip. "Kulshedra here, for example… It's an excellent whip and it was quite useful on the adventure I used it, but it lacks a lot of the powers Alruna has. I didn't get rid of anything, you don't just throw away art," she nodded to Rodin, who tipped his hat appreciatively, "but I just kept them in storage in case I would need them again for any reason." She shook her head. "Apparently I do."
"Same with my weapon arms I made for Nero," Nico said. "I've been remaking them into gloves since his Devil Bringer was restored, thinking there could still be a use for them. Only got the Mega Buster done so far."
"That arm cannon you used in our fight, yes?" Sindri said. "It was… interesting… May I have a look at some of them?"
Nico nodded. "Sure," she said. "There's some in there that aren't for combat purposes, that I made as a joke, or for… other reasons…" She blushed as Sindri picked up a slim, white Devil Breaker with white lines all over it. He pressed a button on the wrist, and it began vibrating.
"Huh… Perhaps… Earth tremors?" Sindri said, looking over the mechanical arm.
Dante giggled. "No, but if used correctly it can make the Earth move…" he said, grinning cheekily. Bayonetta blushed, suddenly understanding the purpose, while Rodin stifled a giggle.
Nico took pity on the poor, confused dwarf. "That ain't a combat model," she said. "It's… I made it for Dante's nephew to use on his girlfriend. The vibrations are good for… ah… massages! The back and shoulders, the chest…" Nico blushed. "Between the legs…" She rubbed one of her inner thighs for emphasis.
Kratos blushed, finally getting it, putting a hand over his face to hide the smile. Sindri, his rupophobia triggered after months of ignoring it in his grief, grimaced, holding the mechanical arm in two fingers as he gently set it back down. "...It has been sanitized, I hope?" he said.
"Yeah, that's just a floor model," Nico said, grinning. "He chickened out of actually using it, said it be weird to have a robot hand designed for that."
"After all this is over," Bayonetta said optimistically, "once we get our friends back and you make a glove out of that, would you mind making one for me? I can pay you."
Nico grinned. "Sure thing," she said amiably.
Kratos coughed. "As amusing as I'm sure this all is, we do have a task ahead of us. The demon Barbas said we'd all had multiversal experience? I have had some, true, but a few stand out for me. Once, when I was younger and mistrustful of gods, I was drawn into a world under siege. A thunder god named Raiden asked for my help, entrusting me with the capture of a dream demon that had been plaguing his forces. To my surprise at the time, he kept his promise to send me home afterwards. I had yet to encounter a trustworthy god until then."
"Not everyone out there's an asshole," Dante said.
"Indeed," Kratos said. "The second of my notable encounters involved many warriors being drawn together for a tournament of sorts, but they were… strange. They included a 2-dimensional dogman that enjoyed flyting, a murderous jester, a boy with a strange aversion to monkeys, an elf accompanied by a strange weasel of some kind, and a talking raccoon in a blue hat. Among others. The whole thing was run by a strange cosmic being that I felt was struggling for relevance…" Kratos raised an eyebrow. "...Actually, one of the opponents I faced was similar to you, Dante. Even had the same name, although none of your wit."
"Weird…" Dante said. "Barbas said he knew another version of me too…"
"Reminds me one of my encounters… I barely remember it, but it was… almost joyful. There was fighting, and almost a hundred warriors from different worlds. We battled, but there was no blood, and even the evil ones were peaceful and friendly between fighters. But there was, at the end, a great battle against gods of light and darkness…" Bayonetta said, looking thoughtful.
Kratos and Dante both felt strange at the mention of a god of light, but the feeling wasn't strong enough to mention. Dante sat forward. "My first multiversal mess that I think was noteworthy involved me teaming up with a bunch of randos, the Japanese sun goddess who is also a wolf apparently, and a bunch of comic book-type superheroes. We went up against a planet-eating god that wanted to eat our worlds, and a couple of admittedly stylish supervillains that fucked up and got turned into his heralds. We BARELY won that one," Dante said, shivering softly. "There was another encounter after that, but it was kind of dumb. There was this bossy blond lady, me and this Chinese girl with great legs got hit with something that temporarily made our faces look weird, and there was a space raccoon that I think wanted to have sex with my guns."
"W-WHAT?!" Bayonetta laughed.
Dante held up Ebony and Ivory. "I mean, I don't blame him, but do you know how hard it is to clean sticky shit out of firearms?" he said.
Kratos rolled his eyes, grumbling.
Dante chuckled. "Anyway, that fiasco wasn't as scary. Bad guy was some super robot dipshit named Ultron…" He frowned, trying to remember. "...Ultron Smegma, or something like that. Whatever, the world eater was scarier."
Bayonetta shivered. "I wish my latest multiversal encounter with a robot was like that," she said. "I went up against a creature called Singularity, that was targeting variants of my world specifically." Her expression became slightly haunted. "…He'd destroyed over 2000 worlds by the time he got to mine… It was by sheer luck that I was able to beat him, after every other version of me who'd fought him failed."
"Two-thousand…" Kratos said softly, horrified.
"Oh my God…" Nico said, shaking in fear.
"A construct did that…" Sindri said, shaken.
"…" Dante remembered another time he was lost in the multiverse that haunted. "...During my blue period, after I helped a demon girl named Lucia escape her cruel employer, I… ended up in a world turned inside out, into something like a Junji Ito story… I ended up conscripted by the Devil himself into becoming a guardian of a gate…" He shook his head. "The whole thing was just disturbing…"
Kratos looked down. "...After those stories, I feel bad that my third one is so simple." He sighed. "It was after I had slain Balder and started Ragnarok. A blonde, pale-skinned man in a suit forcibly conscripted me and several others to guard something called a Zero Point, on an island in an alternate reality. The island itself was relatively peaceful, but everyone was mute and could only communicate through interpretive dance."
"...WHAT?!" Dante and Bayonetta said, laughing.
Kratos shook his head. "It was a strange place. None of my powers worked, forcing me to use the firearms that were the common weapons of the land, and as peaceful and friendly as everyone was, occasionally a strange, evil storm would come in and force one hundred of us to fight. I and all the other conscripts generally ignored the orders of the man in the suit, and I ended up forming an odd rivalry with a man with syrup-covered flatcakes for a head."
"...Is it bad that I sort of want pancakes now?" Nico asked, everyone else snickering.
"I remember you and Mimir vanishing for a while… How did you get back?" Sindri said.
"We won one of the hundred-man battles," Kratos said. He stroked his beard. "...In questioning one of the soldiers of the man in the suit that was on the island at the time, he said that even if we one, a 'snapshot' of us would be left behind that regarded the island as home. I'm not sure what he meant…"
"Time clone," Rodin said. "I've encountered that phenomenon before. Means that there's still a version of you and this Mimir you mentioned on the island. Same memories and powers most likely, just regards the island as where they're supposed to be."
Kratos frowned. He didn't like that.
Bayonetta looked thoughtful. "...Well, now that we've gotten our introductions out of the way, what say we get to work? There's some people I'd like to have back safe and sound…"
"One last thing," Kratos said. "That demon you summoned… What was it?"
"Madama Butterfly. My patroness," Bayonetta said, "and my most reliable friend among my demons. Long story short, some of the demons I have are from those alternate realities, as some of my previous ones were either slain or left me. The one from other worlds stayed with me because they have no where else to go, and the ones who left me have come back." She frowned. "They are all… oddly frightened…"
Dante frowned. "Big superdemons scared? Never a good sign…"
Kratos scowled. "We'll deal with that as it comes," he said, looking to the weaponsmiths. "Can you handle things here?"
Rodin looked to Nico and Sindri, who nodded. "We got this. You go kick ass and take names," he said.
"How can we get in contact with you if we need to return?" Kratos asked.
"The way into the Gates manifest through record players that glow with demonic magic. Just reverse the record and it will teleport us back here," Bayonetta said. Kratos nodded, satisfied with that answer, although he wasn't sure what a record player was.
As the heroes started collecting their weapons, Nico said, "Hey, leave here anything you feel you won't use all that often. We'll see if we can improve them."
The trio of warriors all looked at each other, and nodded, approving of the idea. They collected most of their weapons, leaving the ones they didn't feel would be that useful. Nico watching in fascination as their equipment all disappeared into subspace pockets, Kratos putting on the Boots of Hermes, the Wings of Icarus, and the Golden Fleece again.
"Never understood how they're able to carry all that stuff," Nico said softly.
"Sheer badassery leads to large pockets," Rodin said. Sindri and Nico gave him a look, and Rodin grinned. "Prove me wrong," he challenged, gesturing to the warriors as they sauntered out, Kratos lumbering, Bayonetta sashaying, and Dante strolling.
Nico rolled her eyes, going over to look over the weapons they left. She picked up a needlegun from Dante's pile. "Let's see if we can't make this stuff any better," she said, looking it over.
Rodin lit a new cigar. "You're taking this all pretty well," he said, addressing both Sindri and Nico at once.
Sindri, picking up one of the artifacts Kratos left behind (he had taken all the weapons), shrugged. "I've dealt with gods before. This? Is honestly a nice change. Plus at this point I just want to feel useful."
Nico shook her head. "And my family has worked with Sparda himself. Unfortunately, my daddy went off the deep end…" She frowned. "...I miss him a little. But I know Dante did right by puttin' him down for good. But mopin' about the past ain't the way to go about life. There's stuff to do, and new things to learn. And I'm all for it." She grinned.
Rodin nodded, gaining a bit of respect for the two. "Awright. Let's get to work, then," he said.
Outside, the warriors exited through the tavern's front door, briefly walking through a massive of red light and reappearing in the cavern with the portals. They looked them over, considering which to go through first.
"Eenie meanie minie moe?" Dante suggested.
Kratos grunted. "We start on that end," he said, pointing, "and work our way across."
"Fine by me," Bayonetta said, Dante shrugging. The three of them walked through the glowing white portal, briefly closing their eyes from the blinding light.
When they emerged, only Dante and Bayonetta recognized the hideous banners adorning the various buildings. "What the fuck…" they said as one, looking mildly horrified as they took in the décor of the world they had emerged into.
"What?" Kratos asked, gripping his axe tightly. "What is wrong?"
On the blood red banners was the infamous inverted swastika of the Nazi regime.
"We are in enemy territory, my friend," Dante said, hand twitching on the hilt of Rebellion. "We gotta be in Germany in the 40s or something…"
Bayonetta looked at a local newspaper stand, her eyes widening in shock. "No…" she said softly. "This is… Rosewell, New Mexico!"
Dante gave her an alarmed look. "America?!"
Kratos growled at them. "What's going on!?" he demanded.
Bayonetta and Dante looked around, at the banners, at the signs, at the soldiers in heavy armor intermingling with the citizens, at the floating robots, and the complete lack of any English writing in an American City. "...We're in a world that's been conquered by an evil army," Bayonetta said. "The newspaper talked about 'quelling the last rebels' in South America…"
Dante raised an eyebrow. "You can read German?" he asked.
"I have a bauble on me that allows me to understand any written or spoken language, similar to the spell effect Bob mentioned that lets us speak to each other," Bayonetta said, "as well as let me be heard in any language."
Kratos nodded. "That explains why I'm hearing you speak in Greek, then, while Dante still seems like whatever language he's using," he said. He hadn't really been paying attention to what Barbas said beyond explaining what they needed to do to rescue their families, and wasn't about to question something that worked.
"The enchantment isn't hard, I just need a couple more baubles. Even costume jewelry will do," she said. "In the meantime…" She glanced over, and saw robots and soldiers checking the identifications of random people. She quickly walked over to one of the stands, the seller leaving a sign saying she'd just gone to the bathroom, and quickly swiped three notebooks and two keychains. She whispered softly, casting a spell on the notebooks first. "Here. Keep these with you and flip them open to show anyone who asks you for identification. The language charm will take more time…" She handed notebooks to Kratos and Dante, the latter smiling.
"I get it," the white-haired demon hunter said. "Psychic paper trick, right? Anyone we show these to will see identification that will get us out of trouble." He noticed one of the robots floating by. "Didn't know it could fool robots, though."
"My dear friend Jeanne taught me that trick," Bayonetta said, her face turning briefly melancholy. "Come on. Let's go look around," she said, whispering as she removed a glove bit her finger, letting blood flow onto the keychains she stole as she channeled her magic into them.
In the meantime, Dante began to explain why the Nazis were such bad news, Kratos' fists clenching tighter and tighter. " Animals..." he snarled.
"Don't insult animals," Dante muttered, looking around, ducking into an alley briefly as a robot buzzed by. "This whole place is creepy…"
Bayonetta finished her enchantments, the blood merging with the keychains. "Here," she said. "Attach these to your clothes. You'll be able to read any language, anyone talking to you will hear their language, and anything you write will always appear as the language of the reader." Dante and Kratos accepted the keychains, clipping them onto their bodies. Just as they did, though, a heavily armored soldier wielding a high tech assault rifle came up to them.
"Excuse me, sirs and madam… I couldn't help but notice that you're carrying weapons openly. I do apologize for the trouble, especially on a day like this, but could I see your papers, please?" he asked, his pleasant tone belied by his stance, ready to bring the gun to bear.
"Yes, of course," Bayonetta said, holding out her notebook. "I believe you'll find everything in order." She nodded to Dante and Kratos, who held out their own notebooks, Kratos feeling silly at the blankness of the page.
"...Ah!" the soldier said, startled. "I didn't know that the Ultimativer Soldat program had produced results this quickly! But your uniforms, though…"
Dante shook her head. "Special permissions. We're allowed to be 'creative' in what we wear due to the uniqueness of our Reich-given powers," he said.
"And before you start questioning my gender, I've already produced four wonderful Aryan children," Bayonetta added, "that have grown up and proven worthy to serve."
"Forgive me, Hauptsturmführer Bayonetta, Hauptsturmführer Dante. I didn't know," the soldier said, saluting nervously.
"It's quite all right, Sturmscharführer," Bayonetta said. "The program itself isn't fully ready for release to the public yet, so we'd appreciate it if you'd keep this quiet."
"You can count on me, I promise. Heil Hitler!" the soldier said, doing a salute with arm and hand fully extended.
"Heil Hitler!" Dante and Bayonetta said, copying the gesture, a confused Kratos mimicking them. The soldier left, and both Dante and Bayonetta gagged.
"Ugh… Feel like I want to burn my tongue off for saying that," Dante muttered.
"Unfortunately, we'll probably have to do that more if we wish to maintain our cover…" Bayonetta said, looking equally ill.
"Alternatively?" Dante suggested bitterly. "We start shooting things with swastikas until we find out what we need to know."
Kratos stroked his beard. "No," he said. "For now, we maintain our cover as loyalists. Violence will come later. I will rely on the two of you to help with this, as all of this is… rather beyond me, even after my experience on the island…"
The trio looked around, getting stopped only once by a robot who wanted to check their credentials, the hovering robot getting fooled by the enchanted notebooks. The more they walked, the more they noticed various stands and carts about.
"Must be some kind of celebration…" Kratos said. "Vendors of all sorts all around…"
Dante, quietly pickpocketing someone, bought a newspaper from the newsboy selling them on a corner. "It's the… ugh… It's the anniversary of the 'American Liberation,' when the country was brought into the Reich."
"When they were conquered, you mean," Bayonetta muttered.
Kratos looked ahead. "...There is a cordoned off area up ahead. Perhaps we can learn more there?" he suggested. Seeing no better option, Dante and Bayonetta followed him over.
It was a parade, one celebrating Liberation Day. Soldiers, floats, and young men and women in Hitler Youth uniforms paraded by, a Master of Ceremonies on a podium across the street calling out every display that walked by.
Kratos, Dante, and Bayonetta had ended up near an electronics store. As they were watching the parade, Bob Barbas came on the screen, his familiar jingle catching their attention.
"Do you mind? We're watching the parade," Dante snarked.
"I'll be quick. It's almost over anyway," Barbas said, grinning viciously. "Do you know why you three, out of everyone else in your world, were chosen to go on this little adventure?"
"Didn't you explain that already?" Kratos growled.
"Part of it," Barbas said, smirking. "You were chosen because you three are keystone characters. You are the reason, the ONLY reason, your worlds are alive today. The reason that Nero and Viola were able to attempt to take up the mantle of keystone. You are literally the most important beings on your world."
"Debatable," Kratos said. Considering himself that important didn't sit well with him.
"Where are you going with this?" Bayonetta asked.
Barbas smiled wickedly. "You ever wonder what happens when a keystone gives up? What it looks like when a hero falls to despair?"
Dante, Bayonetta, and Kratos all traded looks, then worriedly glanced up to the platform where the MC was thanking everyone for coming.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest today! Today, we have the man who helped end the Jewish menace once and for all! The man who helped shatter the Resistance and made this country a safer place! The man who renounced his Jewish heritage and became a proper Aryan, ladies and gentleman, raise your hands and gimmie a Sieg Heil for B.J. Blazkowicz! Accompanied, of course, by his lovely wife, famous actress and Reich patriot, Sabine Vogel!"
A large, powerfully built man stood up from the stands behind the podium as the crowd both applauded and began a chant of Sieg Heil! Clinging to his arm was a sultry, beautiful blonde woman in a dress that looked painted on, showing off her figure. A smug look was on her face as she waved to the crowd.
B.J. was smiling and waving too. But Bayonetta, Dante, and Kratos could tell from the look in his eyes – he looked like he was praying someone in the audience had a gun and planned to shoot him.
"I've seen draugr that looked less dead than him…" Kratos said softly.
"What the fuck…" Dante said, horrified by the man's expression. "What did they do to him?"
Bayonetta shook her head. "Wait a minute. If he's Jewish, why did they let him live?"
"What could be better propaganda than a Jew publicly denouncing his faith?" Barbas said. "Oh, they're having fun parading him around. Vogel and Blazkowicz are married, yes. But Vogel's second job is to keep ol' B.J. here from killing himself. Have fun, kids. Enjoy the sneak preview of the look that's gonna be on your faces by the time this is done."
The TV switched off, Barbas disappearing. Kratos, Dante, and Bayonetta could only stare at the hopeless, helpless former hero as the considered their next move…
TO BE CONTINUED...