Chapter 8
Naruto's House, one week after the dance
Naruto yawned as arrived home that afternoon. After a long day of hanging out. Naruto decided to relax his body before he knew it would be time to sleep and return to the video game universe.
After last week, Integra hardly said anything to him and his friends. However, with the little she said along with what Seras reported. It looked like the superintendent was focused on having to plan for any other potential attacks. It looked like Integra and her organization were likely stressed out and didn't need to use him or the others as an outlet.
Or be pestered to seek out information or prepare for the literal unknown.
As for the homecoming dance, no one but them and Seras were aware of the attack. DiZ did contact them at one point but said the damage was undone due to a reset. DiZ didn't go much into details but said it worked like loading up a save.
The end of the invasion just allowed the two universes to reset back to the moment before the Covenant and other forces arrived. Which explains why the earthquakes and electrical outages were still remembered by everyone. For those were part of the initial effects caused by the wormholes being opened.
"From another point of view, that would have been fun. At least now, I don't need to see Grievous again." Naruto told himself.
After resting for a few minutes, Naruto got up and left the room to get something to eat from the kitchen. Just as he went down the stairs, he started getting a call on the phone and recognized the caller id.
"Hey C.C., what's up?" He asked.
As Naruto spoke on the phone, he was overheard by little Arashi who was heating up some chicken nuggets in the microwave. The younger Uzumaki boy looked at his brother and wondered who he was talking to. Being so small, he got curious and listened closely.
"Yeah, I guess." Naruto said into the phone.
Arashi's face scrunched up as he couldn't hear the other line.
"Seriously? That's weird." Naruto said next.
A moment later, Kushina was walking by and started hearing the conversation.
"Sure, I got nothing going on tomorrow. It's cool." Naruto said while digging his head in the fridge.
Kushina started poking her head closer and it was enough for Naruto to notice. He glared at her curious face before putting his hand on her head.
"Hey! Who is that?" Kushina asked.
"I'll see you tomorrow, bye." Naruto quickly said into the phone.
Kushina pushed her son's hand away and pouted at her older son. Just as she was about to ask, Arashi spoke up.
"Big Brother has a girlfriend!" He exclaimed.
"No I don't you little brat." Naruto said.
"Mama, he's hiding things." Arashi said while looking at Kushina.
Kushina just laughed it off as she did assume it was a girl. She quickly picked up Arashi and grabbed his plate from the microwave.
"Just eat your nuggets, baby." Kushina said. "And Naruto, don't come home late tomorrow." She added.
Naruto groaned as he watched his mother and brother leave him alone.
Elsewhere
Sasuke Uchiha was sitting in his room at the computer being the usual loner self he is. As he was going through his personal work. He stopped and sighed as he saw his computer freezing up for a moment.
Being impatient and quick to anger, he bashed some of the keys on the keyboard. Waiting on the computer to start working again. When he suddenly saw a pop up and thought it was a dumb Trojan virus.
As Sasuke continued to struggle with fixing his computer. Things only got worse and his frustration reached high levels. At least not to the point where he would punch or throw away his computer. His patience had not reached that far yet but luckily, the computer stopped acting out against him and finally started working again.
"Finally! This piece of crap is too old now!" Sasuke exclaimed.
Just as Sasuke continued, he saw an email from the PlayStation Store and thought it was another advertisement. When he opened it, he expected another ad regarding PS Plus or some deals on buying some hardware or upcoming games. Instead, Sasuke was startled by the image of Polygon Man's face drawn with white lines and a black background.
"What the hell kind of stunt is this?" he asked.
The face began to move and moved its eyes around as if to study its surroundings.
"You are an impatient one. I'm almost starting to question my own goals." Polygon Man said.
"This is a stupid marketing scheme." Sasuke replied, thinking it was another ad.
"Boy, I'm not a worthless salesman." Polygon Man said.
Sasuke raised a brow and double checked his surroundings. He wasn't sure if that was the email talking or if he heard his family say something. It wasn't until Polygon Man came to life coming out through his computer screen when Sasuke realized the bizarre situation he was in.
"What the hell!?' Sasuke asked.
"Don't raise your voice at me. You're in the presence of a higher being." Polygon Man said.
Just as Sasuke prepared to run and get help from his family. He ran into a wall made of virtual polygons, the same type used for animation. Sasuke then fell back onto the floor as the floating head looked down at him.
"Save yourself the embarrassment and listen. You have already embarrassed yourself at that contest by losing to your rival." Polygon Man said.
Sasuke was confused for a moment as it took him a minute to understand what this virtual monster was telling him. His mind then went back to the video game competition and how his team lost to Naruto and the Technology Club. However, he didn't have time to think back to an embarrassing defeat as he was more disturbed by Polygon Man coming to life and knowing his life.
"Don't cower now. In a contest you saw as insignificant. I offer you strength and much more in your mundane life." Polygon Man said, using a tactic similar to what he said with Suguo.
"What the hell are you? Some kind of monster?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide his fear.
"I am a god, not a monster." Polygon Man said as he floated closer. "And if you can keep a collected mind and understand loyalty. You can become my apostle." he added.
"Apostle? What are you? Forming some kind of cult?" Sasuke asked, sounding annoyed.
"Do not patronize me, BOY!" Polygon Man exclaimed.
Sasuke blinked in surprise and felt a shiver go down his back. He watched as Polygon Man floated backwards a bit before continuing.
"There is so much this world has but not everyone is equal. Equal in the sense of being more, I mean." Polygon Man started.
He then went on a basic explanation about how everyone desires to have more. Yet not everyone can have more because of certain limitations. What was the most interesting aspect is the goals everyone has and what it means to obtain more.
"Like your imagination, your human desires are endless. Isn't there a time of day when you wish you wanted something or felt like you deserve more?" Polygon Man asked.
Regardless of Sasuke's response, he knew the answer and expected it.
"I would be lying if I said I didn't have enough."
And that's all he needed to hear before getting straight to business.
The next day
At the mall, Naruto was just leaving B's father's store as it was almost time for his date. He gave his tech savvy friend a wave as he left the store after hanging out a bit.
"Thanks for the advice B." Naruto said.
"Good luck." B replied.
Naruto nodded as B went back to handling his father's store. The blond boy adjusted his jacket and other clothes to make sure he didn't look like a mess. He wasn't trying to look handsome and attractive, but at least look good enough to stand around.
'Thinking about it, I've been hanging around her more often.' Naruto thought.
Initially, C.C. was just a girl he and the others recruited to form their club. Then he found himself being forced to buy her lunch. After that, he thought she was just a bit bossy and had to play nice since she wasn't mean or anything like that.
Heck, this girl became his date for the Homecoming Dance. C.C. didn't really change much around that time other than interacting with him a bit more. Still, Naruto wasn't social in terms of getting to know someone in depth. He felt like C.C. was trying to keep her personal life and details obscured.
"I'm just overthinking it." Naruto said to himself.
A few minutes later, Naruto walked towards the mall movie theater where he found C.C. arriving. As usual, she kept that blank look on her face as she approached him.
"Did I keep you waiting?" she asked him.
"No, I just got here." Naruto answered.
C.C. leaned closer to him as her hands intertwined behind her back. Naruto held back from sighing at C.C.'s odd behavior as she leaned back.
"Too bad." She said.
"Why too bad?" Naruto asked.
"I can test your worth through your patience." C.C. answered as she turned towards the movie posters.
Naruto decided to ignore that and wondered if C.C. was just going to mess with him the whole time. Was she trying to see if he met the qualities she wants to see in a boyfriend? If that was the case, maybe picking the movie is the next test.
"What do you want to see?" Naruto asked.
"Something where the characters won't annoy me." C.C. said, sounding almost childishly.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "So action and horror movies are out." He said.
The horror movie on display looked like torture porn anyways. Before, they used to give him intense nightmares but horror movies like Saw just make Naruto feel like he needs a long shower rather than feel terror.
"And don't think about trying to get lucky." C.C. Said, almost teasing him.
Naruto looked at C.C. and saw her briefly glimpsing at a risque movie poster for some romance movie.
"How about this one?" Naruto asked as he pointed at a science fiction film. "It looks like it's good for nerds and casual enjoyers." He added.
C.C. shrugged, "It looks interesting." She said.
Naruto nodded and went up to the ticket booth. Not noticing his phone beginning to spark as he moved around.
A few minutes later
After grabbing some snacks, the pair made their way towards the theater room. Along the way, Naruto noticed an advertisement for yet another live action adaptation for a video game.
"That's an easy way to go bankrupt." Naruto commented.
"I'm sure the studio will find a loan somewhere. Isn't that what modern filmmaking is all about?" C.C. asked.
C.C. did have a point there, so long as a studio head with authority and some left over money exists. They can make whatever movies they want, even terrible ones. As long as the film doesn't start a controversy or leave anyone dirt poor, they can keep making films. Studios just want money and attention these days over creating quality.
Which is why a certain studio likes reusing a certain controversial actor rather than make instant millions by animating superhero films.
But for now, Naruto could try and enjoy a film about cars, action and family.
"To be honest, I started the series with the fifth film, rather than the first." C.C. suddenly said as she took a seat.
"Was it really fifth? I heard these movies change their names completely with each sequel." Naruto said.
C.C. genuinely started thinking as the car film series didn't use a numbering system. Instead choosing to use a brand new name with each sequel up until now.
"I forget. It was called Fast Fi-"
C.C. was cut off by the sound of a dramatic movie trailer starting up.
"Never mind." She said.
Naruto took his seat next to her and gave her some of the snacks she ordered. As he got comfortable, he didn't notice the theater projector sparking. Leaving even the staff unaware of the further technological issues going on around them.
Back with B
B finished up speaking to a customer at checkout when he heard someone calling out to him.
"Excuse me! Young man! I think one of your smart fridges is having technical issues." A customer said.
B sighed as he went to check out the damaged fridge. Either someone pressed something and got scared or it was having issues connecting to the store's private server. However, when B got there, he saw the touchscreen turning on and off which made him a bit anxious.
B could not access the main menu to see if it was an internet connection issue. So he started relying on what his father told him should this event occur. B then proceeded to go through a long reboot process which fixed the screen. Where he watched the screen open up to the YouTube search bar.
'It looks fine. I better set it back to the Home Screen.' He thought.
Just as B prepared to walk back to the counter. When he saw various other devices flickering much to his annoyance. B then decided to check the internet modem and see if that was the central cause given how sensitive some of the store's products are.
The ignorance of what is happening to all technology continued.
Elsewhere
Suguo Nobuyuki was currently going over the prototype machinery given to him by Polygon Man. So far it functioned well and some part of him did get nervous. Mainly because he was still testing it and using it on some group of boys.
He was afraid that they would get hurt. It would be traced back to him Suguo would either be jailed or sent to a mental hospital for claiming that a video game program came to life and threatened/bribed him into using dangerous equipment. However, it looked like everything was going well and the only errors were just synchronicity related issues.
'At least I made this batch of testers sign wavers. Along with a small compensation of 20 American Dollars.' Suguo thought as he looked at the active reports.
Luckily, his loyal technicians didn't really question him much as they saw the wonders this could do for the company.
"Are there any issues with mentioning?" Suguo asked, maintaining a confident voice.
"So far, just minor synching issues. Sometimes the equipment doesn't register certain triggers and actions." One technician said.
"I think we might have to adjust the lenses too. One of them looks pretty dizzy." Another said.
"Any problematic symptoms to worry about?" Suguo asked, wiping his forehead with a cloth.
"I would say it's as bad as staring at your cell phone for too long." The same technician answered.
Suguo nodded, that was one less issue. He quickly skimmed through data before looking at the one with the highest synchronization rate.
-Uchiha, Sasuke 78%
Suguo raised an eyebrow as the highest rate so far barely reached 50% so far. Every volunteer more or less appears to be healthy and does not have any outstanding traits to make them look better or worse. Even the equipment is the same with none being better or worse in condition.
'Is it skill or luck?' Suguo thought.
In another room, several test subjects were on a special set of platforms. Similar to the prototype devices used for testing new forms of virtual reality equipment. Right now, everyone was using a prototype set of armor-like VR equipment.
Most of them seemed to more or less had no issues. Although a few minor bugs and performance issues were very evident.
"I swear, it's like the controller is breaking." Said a random player.
"Stop complaining, it's a game. It doesn't need that much brain power." Sasuke spoke up, having the least amount of issues.
A few players either scoffed or continued playing on their VR equipment.
For Sasuke, he started to literally feel like he was experiencing the game. Not in the sense of feeling excitement like the game looked realistic or that the equipment made the virtual world feel real. It felt like his mind shut down and transcended into another world without disconnecting him from his body.
Right now, the black haired boy was playing a game called Gorn. It was a silly yet slightly gory game where the player fought as a gladiator to slay goofy looking enemies. At first, Sasuke felt a shiver run down his back and his skin felt sticky with the blood effects flying around with every hit.
After a while, Sasuke felt some sense of nausea but started to brush past it. He could only guess this was the secret purpose of synchronization.
"There's an offer to try a new "game" system. Take it and you will reach the first step towards power. Try to steel your nerves. Otherwise you won't connect to my world."
At the time, Sasuke was confused and a bit irked that Polygon Man didn't explain more. However, this experience started to tell him that Polygon Man was from a universe where video games were real. Then he was slowly becoming connected to the game world through these machines.
'Did that thing approach someone else before me?' Sasuke wondered, not noticing how much data he gave to Sugou.
Sasuke would play it safe to understand his situation and plan for whatever Polygon Man planned for him and anyone else he may be trying to manipulate.
Later, with Naruto
After the movie ended, Naruto led C.C. outside towards the lobby. Both felt entertained by the racing movie they watched.
"I think that series is one of the good movies where you don't need to be an old fan to enjoy it." Naruto said.
"It's more interesting if you see the whole series." C.C. said, despite not having seen some of the older ones.
Naruto nodded and can see why that makes sense. It would be easier to see them all from the beginning to better understand the characters and their development.
As they left the theater, they noticed various maintenance workers hovering over various electrical devices. Such as clocks, the screens that show the different films and their showtimes and a few other miscellaneous objects. Naruto even noticed a few disappointed movie watchers coming out sounding annoyed.
"Everyone, we apologize for the inconvenience! The theater will refund your tickets and offer a discount!" An employee announced.
"What's up with them?" Naruto asked.
"Perhaps they released a bad movie that angered the crowd." C.C. suggested.
"Was that a joke?" Naruto asked her.
C.C. kept her blank face on as she grabbed his hand.
"Let's go." she said.
Naruto sighed, "You really make it difficult to understand you, ya know." He said.
He didn't notice a small smile creep onto the green haired girl's face. Perhaps C.C. really did enjoy messing with the people she was around. Maybe it was a defense mechanism to determine what kind of friends she wanted to make.
At the same time, Naruto wondered what was up with all the technical difficulties around the mall. Not realizing that the angry crowd was displeased because their own theater projector failed on them.
Later that night
Naruto and C.C. got off of the bus that dropped them off near C.C.'s house.
"You did not need to walk me. The trip would have been safe with or without you." C.C. said, sounding condescending with her monotone voice.
"I just had to be sure. There's a lot of creeps that can come out at any time." Naruto replied.
C.C. gave him a curious look, "Then are you doing this out of guilt or to feel good?" She asked. "Or perhaps, you wish to increase your favor with me." She added.
Naruto sighed, "Look, I can be a jerk and just leave you to go on your own or I can be considerate. I don't expect a reward for doing what seems to be the right thing." He said.
C.C. silently stared at him for a moment, "I see." She said.
C.C. then led Naruto to her house and stopped to face him one more time once they reached the door.
"Thank you for going with me tonight. It was nice having someone with me." she said.
"I guess it was nice. It's better than staying home by myself again." Naruto admitted.
C.C. gave him a curious look, "If you wish. You can initiate the next event." she said.
"You call these things, "events "?" Naruto asked.
"My mistake. I meant to say hang out." C.C. said, briefly looking away.
"Right. I'll uh… let you know ahead of time." Naruto replied.
C.C. nodded before reaching for the door and entering her home.
"Good night." she said, closing the door a moment later.
Naruto sighed, 'I think I'm making progress. Slow ass progress but progress.' he thought.
At the same time, Naruto didn't know why C.C. gave him those weird questions earlier. Was she testing him? They sounded critical, as if she wanted to see how genuine Naruto was feeling about hanging out with her. Almost as if to catch him and make him ad it to some negative intentions.
Naruto can only make sense of one thing from the experience.
'Girls are complicated.'
At the same time, C.C. silently laid back against her door while thinking about Naruto and how he tried to answer her. After a moment of thinking, she smiled and looked over her shoulder.
'He's a nice boy.'
That night
Once asleep, Naruto found himself back in the lower levels of Mallet Island. It was about time they reached the end of the game and faced Mundus. At the same time, he looked at Dante who loaded his pistols.
At the same time, Naruto remembered That Dante had his own issues with women. Given how the lady dream ended with an argument with Trish.
"Hey kid, are you ready?" Dante asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Naruto said.
He then followed Dante inside of what looked like the entrance to a cathedral. Where a large statue stood before them and began to resonate with energy.
"I don't think this is the typical church where I leave my dollar in a basket." Naruto said.
"Strange that I must face a Sparda yet again. With some child too." The statue said.
"Strange in an ironic way that it will end the same way. With or without my employee." Dante replied, already wielding the Sparda blade.
"Irony is in your favor today but I warn you to not blink." the statue said.
Suddenly, a light appeared and pointed to the top of the doors behind them. Revealing Trish who was chained to the wall. Before anything else was said, Dante was shot with several red beams that began to make him cry out in pain.
This prompted Naruto to shoot at the statue.
"You jerk! You think your cheap shot makes you all powerful!?" Naruto asked as he repeatedly shot at the statue who laughed.
"Humans will always be humans, no more. Sparda blood must have spoiled over the ages." the statue said as its third eye began to glow.
"Crap! Grab Trish and run!" Naruto yelled as he dragged Dante.
The two barely avoided a powerful blast that hit the ground. Which would have hit Trish had she jumped down from her position a moment earlier.
"Oh, you were free? Wait, were you just hanging out up there?" Naruto asked.
Trish didn't get the chance to make a response as the statue continued to shoot at them.
"DIE!"
Naruto dragged around his injured boss as the statue began to crack. However, at the last moment, Trish shoved them both aside and took the hit.
"No, Trish!" Dante yelled.
'That's why I don't deviate too much. Then again, I barely remember every detail.' Naruto thought.
The statue then broke down completely and showed a more monstrous and corrupt statue that began to fly. Naruto raised his guns and started to shoot again when Dante made him stop.
"Boss?" Naruto asked.
Dante looked away from the boy and gazed at the statue as he glowed with red energy. One that told Naruto that the son of Sparda was about to reach his strongest form.
"Those eyes… I see the same light as in Sparda's eyes." the statue said.
Dante didn't respond to that but had a question of his own.
"Why my mother?" he asked.
Naruto looked back towards Trish and remembered that one detail. While Naruto remembered the reason for it, he couldn't help but feel creeped out. It didn't help that he could hear the statue, Mundus, basically say that he had no care for Trish like a typical villain. While also admitting that he created her and is free to make as many copies of her as he wishes.
"Kid, keep Trish safe." Dante ordered.
"Uh, sure–"
Naruto was then interrupted by Dante entering his Devil Trigger form with his father's sword. He then watched as the world around them changed and Naruto started to fall through the air.
The boy cursed and used his own Devil Trigger and grabbed Trish before flying around. Once he had gotten used to his surroundings. He held onto Trish and looked around for Dante and found him in a heavy fight with Mundus. Which ended with the man launching a giant dragon at the demon who began to fall.
"Hang on, Trish." he said as he followed after Dante.
Once Naruto reached him, he saw Dante was shooting at Mundus who was manipulating the shape of the world around him. He surrounded himself with six orbs that shot bolts of energy at Dante who dodged them all before landing on a floating platform.
Using the Sparda sword, Dante repeatedly slashed at Mundus' exposed chest before eventually being sent crashing away. Just as Mundus prepared to attack him again, he was distracted by Naruto repeatedly shooting at him.
"You're not just facing a Sparda! You got an Uzumaki too! That's double the trouble!" Naruto barked as he kept shooting.
"I will not remember such an irrelevant name." Mundus said before trying to shoot him down.
Naruto avoided the next attack before shooting at the surrounding orbs, exposing Mundus again.
"Dante, take him out!" Naruto shooted.
Dante nodded and quickly thrusted his sword into Mundus's chest and once again repeated his attack. He hacked away at his father's enemy until he began to weaken.
Much to the annoyance of Mundus, Naruto made it harder to focus on Dante. With Naruto repeatedly slashing at him whenever Dante was forced to retreat. Not that Naruto had it any easier with Trish hanging in one of his arms.
'Wait, why am I carrying her? She was going to be fine in the next scene.' Naruto thought before getting hit by a stray blast.
Naruto cursed and gritted his teeth as he began to spiral out of control before landing hard on his back and almost dropping Trish. He grunted in pain as he looked to see Mundus preparing another attack. Forcing Naruto to think quickly and desperately before grabbing the sword he pried off of Dante's store's wall.
Naruto charged up the sword with all the energy he could muster and threw it straight into Mundus' exposed chest. The impact made Mundus real bad and exposed him to Dante's final strikes, causing the demon to scream in pain before seemingly dying from an explosion and causing the cathedral to appear again.
"Okay, that was a short fight but it was definitely not sweet." Naruto commented.
Dante then grabbed Trish and placed his mother's amulet on her chest.
Just as Dante was about to embed the sword onto the ground and lay Trish to "rest". The whole island began to shake. Acting as if it was about to sink to the bottom of the ocean.
"Dante, I know you don't want to hear it and you want to honor her in some way to honor your parents. Which I want to respect, but we gotta leave." Naruto said.
Dante was about to respond when the shaking continued.
"Look, I'll carry her the whole way. I'm tough enough to handle whatever comes." Naruto added.
Dante paused for another moment before picking up Trish.
"No, I'll do it." he said.
"You sure?" Naruto asked.
Dante nodded, "Just take the lead, new guy. Show me what you learned." he said.
Naruto nodded and drew his pistols before kicking open the door. Leading to several minutes of running through the hell that Mallet Island put them through. Fighting through the various demons and jumping over the platforms that nearly killed them both on multiple occasions. Where they would eventually reach the upper floors where the catacombs were.
Unfortunately, Dante was going to learn that people don't stay dead. Mundus decided to reveal that he's a sore loser by returning in a more grotesque form as the rest of his stone body chipped away.
"The gate is now open. Human, you and Dante will not escape." Mundus said, revealing a more nightmarish face.
Naruto raised his guns but before he said anything. Dante gently laid Trish against a nearby wall.
"Neither of us is going anywhere." Dante said before shooting at Mundus.
Mundus snarled before swinging at them and missing. Dante switched to his shotgun and kept shooting at point blank range while Naruto hacked and slashed at Mundus. Both realized that Mundus wasn't going down despite all the damage they were dealing.
"You will both die!" Mundus said as he slammed his palm onto the ground.
"This will be your burial ground as well!" Dante said, not letting up.
Naruto started to look exhausted, "I know you won't break that promise but uh… he's not going down." He said before being slapped away.
Naruto cursed as he rolled across the ground. When he came to a stop, he felt a pair of legs land right beside him. Where he looked up to see Trish charged up with brightly colored energy.
"Kid, you and Dante can use my power." Trish said before zapping him.
Naruto took a minute to get used to the new energy that rejuvenated him. Once ready, he saw Dante was already powered up and hitting Mundus even harder.
"Kid! Final lesson! Jackpot!" Dante yelled.
Naruto got up and aimed his guns in a crossed fashion. He took aim and used the energy Trish gave him.
"Looks like we have a winner." She whispered behind his ear.
Naruto then fired two powerful blasts that hit Mundus with enough force to crash into a magic seal. The boy and his two companions witnessed Mundus scream in agony as he struggled to stay in this dimension. Only to fail as he was banished the moment the seal closed up.
Once that was done, Naruto watched Dante and Trish hug it out. With the latter beginning to cry real tears.
"Dante, this is…"
"Devils don't cry, Trish."
Naruto stifled a laugh, "He almost said the name." He whispered.
However, just as Dante gave his heartfelt speech about the difference between a devil and a human. Naruto felt the island shake again as it began to sink. He then turned his attention towards a crop duster that conveniently fell through the ceiling.
"Well ain't that convenient." Naruto said before running towards it.
Naruto then checked to see if the plane was able to work and got the engine started just as Dante and Trish broke away from their embrace.
"Well I'm glad you two are finished because we gotta leave." He said as he jumped onto wings.
"Wait, this can only carry two people." Trish said.
"I'll hang on by the wings. This is what I trained for." Naruto said.
Trish just gave him a blank stare.
"It's an aspect of the training." He added.
By this point, Dante already got her onboard and began to fly away. Giving the trio a wild ride through the collapsing castle with many near death collisions along the way. With Dante destroying the rocks with a mounted machine gun on the plane as they made their escape.
"How are you holding up?" Dante asked Naruto.
"I got it. I've seen Bayonetta do this once." Naruto answered.
"Who?" Dante asked.
"Never mind." Naruto replied as they escaped the castle and left Mallet Island behind. "Now those are some sunny skies I can appreciate." He adds.
"The sky, it's so clear, it's so blue." Trish said, mesmerized with how nice it now looked.
"It's always been there and it's not going anywhere." Naruto said, also seemingly enjoying the warm sky.
"That's because the sky is fair and is always above our heads, it's no different." Dante said.
"Like my heart… it feels as clear as the sky." Trish said.
As the plane flew across the ocean, Dante needed to remind them of one thing even if it meant ruining the peace.
"The Underworld's evil is still alive. They're going to return." He said.
"But the world still has the Dark Knight, Dante. Along with his sidekick." Trish said,
Naruto smiled, thinking Trish complimented him.
"And his loyal employee!" she added.
Naruto frowned, realizing she was the sidekick. He didn't know if being the sidekick was better or worse but he felt like it meant Trish outranked him.
Later, at Dante's business
The business was renamed "Devil Never Cry" with Trish as one of the employees. The front doors were fixed and business continued with Trish answering the phone.
"Devil Never Cry. Yes. Okay, great. where's the place?" Trish asked as Naruto readied his equipment.
Trish listened closely before hanging up the phone and receiving a nod from Dante.
"They had the password. It's serious." Trish told him.
"Okay, let the kid deal with it." Dante told her before looking at Naruto. "Try getting it done in ten minutes. Don't miss any of those suckers." He told him.
"Got it!" Naruto said as he opened the doors.
Trish snickered as she saw Naruto run away into the night.
"He'll be done in five minutes." she said.
"Either way, he earned his pay." Dante replied.
As Naruto ran, he ended up finding himself entering the golden door that signified the end of the game.
Reality
Naruto quickly sat up and looked around, finding himself back in his room.
"I hope I don't get my pay cut for skipping out on the job. Even if that was the end of the game." He told himself.
Just as Naruto got out of bed. He accidentally knocked over an envelope from his drawer. He picked it up, wondering if he received any mail last night but nothing came to mind as he read it.
-To Naruto Uzumaki (xxxx street name, state initials)
-From Devil Never Cry (Formerly Devil May Cry, LLC)
Naruto wondered if this was real and opened it up. Revealing a small amount of money that did get him smiling.
"Fifteen bucks! It's not a lot but… it's something. I have a good boss." He said before stuffing the money away.
After getting dressed and heading downstairs to get breakfast. Naruto saw his siblings watching Adventure Time and watched the episode where they entered BMO. Naruto snickered at the irony as the next scene showed Finn and Jake exiting the robot with the "treasure" Jake collected.
"HAHAHA! Jake only got a penny!" Mito said, laughing hysterically.
Naruto stifled a laugh as Jake got the short end of his stick. Then again, fifteen dollars wasn't good compensation for fighting demons on a remote island.
Meanwhile, Suguo's Company
Suguo was impressed with Sasuke's progress but couldn't rely on the efforts of a singular person. However, everyone else that was in the testing phase was still on average. While Suguo would try to stay patient and await for improved results with time.
There was another individual who caught his attention despite having poor synchronization with the first half of the initial play testing.
"Ms. Scarlet, correct?" Suguo asked.
"That's correct." said a young girl.
Suguo looked up and saw a typical nerd with the outfit of a librarian. The young woman in front of him had red hair tied in a bun with glasses, displaying some sense of professionality.
"From what I read, you're more of an expert on software and hardware. What brought you to the company knowing it was meant to test gaming?" Suguo asked.
Scarlet adjusted her glasses as she answered. Her appearance and gesture made her look like an intellectual who would likely speak like a lawyer. With Suguo hoping she would just get to the point and not be a typical nerd that needs to speak like she's reading from a thesaurus.
"While gaming isn't my forte. Technology always expands and branches out. I just wanted to have an opportunity to interact with your technologies as the virtual world isn't solely for entertainment." Scarlet explained.
In summary, she wanted to see if the company prototypes had potential.
"Interesting, so besides the current technical issues. What would you say you have discovered?" Suguo curiously asked.
"That perhaps while the equipment does make the virtual surroundings feel more real. I feel like the connection that the other players have allows for extended ways for individuals to interact." Scarlet answered.
"Are you referring to cooperative play? Because we haven't reached that stage yet." Suguo asked, only half understanding the equipment.
"Not exactly, I see cooperative play and multiplayer as a goal but not the full potential of your equipment. Assuming the resources needed exist in the future. I would like to imagine entirely new spaces to allow people to interact in ways other than gaming." Scarlet explained.
Scarlet then went on to explain how the concept of multiplayer could exist on other platforms. Whether for social media, business and other internet related spaces. Something that would sound like the dream of any shut in that really hates going out.
"It's an ambitious idea but I can't help it if I believe that's a difficult goal to reach." Suguo replied after listening to all that.
"I know, however, even if it's not a goal now. The technology to pioneer such a connection is being built right here in your business." Scarlet said.
After a few more minutes of talking, Suguo reviewed a couple more documents. Ones mentioning Scarlet under some strange circumstances that he can't believe. It wasn't anything bad that would make him want to kick her out. Namely, accusations of the girl hacking into databases through computers in her school and supposedly intimidating others.
People may not seem to be what they appear but given the lack of evidence. Suguo had nothing to concern himself with just yet.
"Ms. Scarlet, if you feel interested in continuing this testing. How would you like to participate through a different angle and work with one of the players?" Suguo asked.
"If I must interact with someone regardless of their personality. I will do it. I just ask for some clarification." Scarlet said, adjusting her glasses again.
Suguo smiled, "Since you are so interested in my technology. What would you say to being able to work on helping to test some of the software's synchronization with one of the player's as a test subject?" he asked.
"Had I not signed a waiver. I would have more questions. For now, this is an interesting offer I can't turn away from." Scarlet answered.
Suguo nodded and stood up, "Very good, now then. Please follow me so you can have a better look at what we're dealing with." he said.
What Suguo did believe after reading the documents were the great technological skills of Scarlet. So he decided to see if she had any worth by trying to have her work with Sasuke by reading his synchronization rate and being able to adjust the game to see if Scarlet could increase it.
At the same time, Suguo left his computer on with the intention of letting Polygon Man listen in and keep track of progress. As well as decide on who else would make a useful pawn in his schemes.
The next day, at Ashford
Naruto yawned as he sat behind a computer working on some sound editing from his previous guitar sessions. B sat next to him to give him some lessons on sound quality.
"I think I get it. Let me try this." Naruto said, playing his song.
The two listened to the new tune with B giving a "so-so" hand motion to describe the final product as being somewhat satisfactory.
"It was just an experiment anyways." Naruto said as he sighed.
Whenever Naruto wasn't gaming on the computers. He was playing the guitar with B recording him doing some covers. Sometimes it felt nice to try something new to change up the pace.
Especially when the group were already forced to live through video games in their dreams. To a normal person, that would be sick and something very insane to live through.
"Hey Ennui, if I make some good cover songs. Would you design my album?" Naruto asked, turning to look at the goth boy.
"It depends on the song. I have to understand how it feels and then the art will come to me." Ennui said as Loki nodded in agreement.
In other words, it can't be something girly or too sentimental unless made in a way that doesn't annoy a typical goth.
As the boys continued talking about music and the ways to make it more interesting. Crimson noticed something off about C.C. and the typical blank face she had. The goth girl felt genuinely confused as she noticed the green haired girl wasn't looking detached from reality as usual.
At first, Crimson didn't think much of it and assumed C.C. was going through some personal stuff, stuff which she wanted no part of and wasn't about to pry into. When she noticed the way C.C. looked at Naruto and had a sense of familiarity with that look.
'No way, I remember making that same face the day I saw Ennui's artwork in middle school.' Crimson thought,
It didn't take long for her to realize who C.C. was looking at which did further surprise her.
"Hey, C.C., are you feeling alright?" she asked.
Crimson could see the very subtle change to C.C.'s face. A look most stoic people do when they do start to show emotions.
"I'm quite fine. Thank you for asking." C.C. said, sounding monotone again.
Crimson stared at her for a moment before speaking up again.
"I'm not the type to get into these things but you're looking quite emotional." she said.
C.C. was about to respond when it occurred to her that Crimson could still understand human emotion despite being a goth. She was apathetic towards certain feelings, not apathetic from human emotion itself.
"I suppose our club leader has gotten me thinking." C.C. said, skipping over any sense of denial.
Which made Crimson already regret sticking her nose into this. She started expecting this to lead to some "Girl Talk" and advice on relationships or something. Then again, she was talking to a girl who also looked like they were detached from the typical banter of the world.
"I know Naruto seems loud and sometimes obnoxious but he can cool when you open up." Crimson said, hoping that was enough.
C.C. pondered on this, "I see, but shouldn't I wait for him to open up first?" she asked.
Crimson gave her a blank stare filled with silence.
"Oh right. My mistake." the green haired girl said.
"So are you going to talk to him and keep studying him?" Crimson asked.
"...I suppose I understand him enough to let him read me." C.C. said before standing up. "Good talk, Crimson." she said before leaving her side.
Crimson felt a slight shiver, 'Thank goodness that's over and it was short too.' she thought.
Crimson started having episodes about bad teen shows where romance was apparently more difficult than rocket science. With every generation after the baby boomer age acting like socializing is a stupid thing that would never work. Then again, her own relationship with Ennui didn't start with them acting like it was love at first sight with flowers and candy.
C.C. meanwhile had gotten behind Naruto's chair and started dragging him up from his seat.
"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I need to borrow you." C.C. said.
B snorted as he saw C.C. dragging Naruto towards the recording room before setting things to mute. The tech genius took a few guesses as to what was going on but didn't think much about it. Luckily he and the two goths had the common decency to note listen into a private conversation.
However, they would not have had the chance as Seras arrived.
"Hello there, is everyone still having fun?" she asked.
Everyone either nodded or shrugged as a way to answer Seras. With the woman turning her head to see Naruto and C.C. talking in the recording room.
Seras decided to worry about that later and handed some sheets to the students.
"Anyways, I just needed to cover some minor details. Just a few rules they added for clubs for safety reasons, just minor gibberish." Seras said.
As B looked at the paper, he saw a small note meant for him, Naruto and Crimson at the bottom.
"Tell the others to expect a meeting tonight. I'll be pulling you into my domain. The one that looks like a bar.
-Seras (drawing a grinning chibi Seras)
P.S. Burn this paper after you're done.
P.P.S. Don't worry about the paper since it's just redundant rules about attendance."
B sighed before listening to Seras go on about the new rules regarding attendance during club meetings. Which was just the school's way of catching people who aren't really participating. As well as making sure some students are not just finding a place to hang out and goof off.
Not that the Technology Club does anything besides gaming and interacting with computer software.
Just as Seras was finishing up, Naruto came out looking confused with life or something. Either C.C. was playing more mind tricks on him again or she used the most complicated method of saying she was interested in Naruto. At least that's what B and Crimson assumed as they saw him take his seat.
"Oh, Naruto and C.C., I see you two are done with your chat. Don't worry about my announcement. Your friends can fill you in on it." Seras said
"Oh uh, sure. I promise not to ditch and stuff." Naruto said, barely listening to what she said.
B snickered as he could only imagine what his friend was thinking about. Maybe he would ask him when they meet up at Seras' domain.
That night, Seras' Domain
After falling asleep and entering the game universe, the trio moved past the teller at the front and left their equipment on the racks near the door. From there, they found Seras behind the bar again but this time she was alone.
"I expected the superintendent to be here." Crimson said.
"Oh, don't mind Ms. Hellsing. She just wanted me to go over a big but quick postage." Seras said before walking up to a board covered in charts.
The group then watched as they saw a few mini posters of several games as well. All organized and scattered in a way that confused the trio.
"So far, you have all done well. However, this may effect efficiency. This new plan is sort of a way to allow you to help each other." Seras began to explain.
Crimson sighed, "This isn't some team building or positive reinforcement speech, is it?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
Seras shook her head, "No, no, no. You get enough of that from me. But like I said, this may reduce efficiency given the amount of game worlds you have all finished." She said.
Seras then pulled out a pointer stick and started showing a map basically detailing their progress. Along with a drawing indicating what else she would be covering.
"Now then, you have had to work together given the strange ambush that led to DiZ saving you all. However, thanks to the cooperation of the organization. We reworked it so you can all meet up in your respective games." Seras explained.
"I get it. It's less efficient because we would basically pause our progress by giving each other a hand." Naruto said.
"Exactly! However, given the dangers. We can't afford to lose one or more of you but that's not all." Seras said.
Crimson sighed, wondering what other technical stuff was going to be covered. Before considering the whole thing a waste of time. She watched as Seras pulled down the posters of the other games.
"From now on, you can all decide what games to participate in and you can now rotate between four games at a time." Seras explained.
B responded with an impressed whistle while Crimson shook her head.
"Okay, ignoring the tempting freedom of choice. How is this possible?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Seras asked, confused by the question.
"I'm saying, how do you control this flow despite it being random? I don't mean the complicated science stuff but just choosing before actually getting one of these worlds." Crimson explained.
"Oh that? Well forgive the poor excuse but it's a whole lot of science business I can't explain. However, this was meant to be implemented once your domains were implemented but given recent events, I see you weren't able to form them. At the end of the day, your dreams were meant to be in your own control." Seras explained.
That did little to explain how the whole game selection was possible. All it did was explain that this was more technical stuff that was meant to be explained earlier.
"Don't worry, if you're really worried. I'm sure Lady Integra might have some scientist explain all that mumbo jumbo." Seras said.
B looked the most contemplative about listening in on the weird explanation but shook his head.
"No more questions, good? Now then, let's get started on those domains. First, show me those memory cards and we can start from there." Seras said, beginning the lesson.
A while later
Naruto gasped and expected to find himself back in his room. In a big fancy looking movie theater with a wide interior. He looked behind him and saw some glass doors along with a teller's station. Behind the glass appeared to be a dark sky with an empty parking lot and some nearby buildings with no signs of life.
"Okay, that's a bit creepy. Still, is this place my domain? Just a movie theater?" Naruto asked himself.
Naruto couldn't help but wish he imagined something more awesome. When Seras was explaining what to do to generate the domain. She just told them to picture a place that seemed like a fun place to visit and Naruto absently thought about all the movie trips he had with his parents. Then again, Seras added that they are free to adjust their domains as they wished at a later date.
"I guess it doesn't matter. Didn't Seras say this place might be randomized by what I imagined?" Naruto asked.
He didn't mind the nice scene but wouldn't mind decorating the place a bit with some of his own ideas. However, before he could try to turn this into SimCity or something, Naruto heard a loud muffled scream.
"Help me!"
Naruto looked around for the sound of the voice and saw a nearby closet. Where he pried it open and saw Seras fall out with a giant back of popcorn land on her back.
"Okay! That had to be the least scary thing tonight!" Seras exclaimed as she looked around.
As Seras pushed the popcorn off her back. She studied her surroundings, she noticed that she had to be in the fanciest and most pristine looking movie theater. The surroundings weren't overly imaginative but it did have that nice aesthetic and even carried that smell of fresh popcorn.
"Sorry if I didn't go deep into decoration." Naruto said.
Seras waved him off, "No, that's fine. You don't have to… I almost expected something intense." She said.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Let's just say, your friends used more of their imagination than you did." Seras said.
Seras sighed as she remembered Crimson's domain was a dark Victorian Castle in an industrial era city where the sky was red and the moon was always out. Whereas B's domain was on a giant space station that was hovering over an exotic looking island.
"At least you literally kept your domain down to earth. Now, let's get to the more important details." Seras said.
"And what are we meant to look for?" Naruto asked.
"There should be a central place to allow you to access the other game worlds along with visiting your friends should they need the help." Seras explained.
Naruto was about to question it before having an idea. He quickly ran down one side of the theater and saw several doorways. All of them looked like typical doorways into a theater room.
"There they are. You can move freely from there." Seras said.
Naruto approached the doorways and saw five of them. Seras then pointed at signs on top of them. They looked similar to the digital signs shown at some movie theaters.
"Four of them will be for the games of your choosing and the fifth will let you decide to join your friends for co-op." Seras explained.
Naruto turned towards the fifth one on the far left end and saw a symbol in the shape of two game controllers. However, the other four were blank and appeared to be inactive.
"So, how can I pick the game worlds I want to visit?" he asked.
Seras pulled out a CD-ROM disc and slid in a brand new compartment that suddenly appeared. It then started to make the digital signs turn on and show various symbols and numbers. Acting as if they were booting up and getting ready to display information.
"Well this is easy. B had this techno mumbo jumbo to get through and Crimson's domain is going to give me nightmares." Seras said as she set everything up. "Oh and that popcorn. I really should see a movie soon." she added.
As Seras finished up, Naruto saw three posters light up. One showing Dante teaching Naruto how to fight demons. The second shows Alice Liddel and Crimson reaching out to each other as they fall into Wonderland. The third and final poster showing the Master Chief in his iconic Halo 2 pose while B is shooting a Hunter to death.
-Devil May Cry (sold out)-
-Halo 2 (Now Playing)-
-Alice: Madness Returns (Now Playing)-
"Well, I can let you load up the other games once the other two are done. If you want, you can join your friends and help them finish up." Seras instructed.
Naruto nodded, "Sure, I just walked in through the co-op one and that's it?" he asked.
"Of course, you should be able to decide who to join from there." Seras answered.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." Naruto said before running through the co-op doors.
Seras snickered, "Once he knows what he's doing. He's ready to dive head first into danger." she said, sounding impressed.
Seras then tried to find a way to leave the theater before the smell of delicious popcorn drove her insane.
As for Naruto, once through the door. He saw the movie posters showing the two games his friends were in and settled for Halo 2.
"Crimson can handle herself for now." he said before reaching out to the Halo 2 poster.
Installation 05
Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his reflection in a nearby water stream. To his shock, he was a Sanghelli and it freaked him out. It took him a moment to adjust to the strange form but ended up shaking his head.
"Damn, I wanted to be a Spartan." Naruto cursed.
While this wasn't Naruto's first time being a nonhuman creature. The first being when he became a dragon in Spyro.
Naruto did feel conflicted as he remembered feeling apathetic in killing so many Elites when the real world was attacked. Perhaps this was karmic justice or something, he didn't know. What he did know was that he had to find B and finish the game.
That was when Naruto came across the familiar face of the Arbiter who was talking to Rtas 'Vdam who was riding a Covenant Wraith.
Just as Naruto listened closely, he heard the sound of a piece of metal hitting the ground. He instinctively reached for an energy rifle on hand. Only to find a Spartan standing there looking at him with confusion and trying to make gestures to say he's not an enemy.
'Wait, this isn't the Master Chief. He should be on High Charity.' Naruto thought for a moment. 'Organized gestures, not sign language but still a form of communication.'
Naruto lowered his rifle and put his hand on the Spartan's shoulder.
"B, is that you?" he asked in a whispered voice.
B looked at Naruto, his reaction unreadable due to the helmet.
"It's me, Naruto. I went through the co-op door." Naruto whispered.
If B was surprised, his facial expression would be unreadable. However, Naruto was quick to remind him of what Seras said. Which led to B thinking that the game world turned Naruto into an Elite since the game usually let the player switch to the Arbiter at certain points.
It was then that B had to explain to Naruto that he remained in Spartan form the whole time. Explaining that since final levels were happening at the same time between the Master Chief and Arbiter, neither had noticed if he had gone missing. All of this explained through several drawings B made on the dirt which Naruto understood.
"Well that's a real headache, but I would rather not be a freaking lizard thing. Is this my punishment or something?" Naruto asked as he gestured to his body.
B just laughed and shook his head while patting Naruto on the shoulder. His entertainment ended when the Arbiter took control of the Wraith and got their attention.
"Brother, I see you and the human have been acquainted. Let us go now so that we may face Tartarus." the Arbiter said.
Naruto nodded, "Yes Brother, right away!" he said.
The Arbiter and Rtas went off ahead leaving Naruto and B behind. Only for the two boys to notice an extra Wraith waiting nearby next to a Ghost. Prompting the two to stare at each other before playing Rock-Paper-Scissors.
"No fair! I'm missing some fingers!" Naruto argued after losing the game.
B just shook his head and likely had a smug look on his face behind his helmet. The silent boy then climbed into the Wraith and followed after Arbiter. Leaving Naruto to sigh and climb onto the Ghost to give support fire.
"Whatever, Scorpion Tanks are better." he muttered.
A few minutes later
Supporting the Arbiter and the resistance they built up against the Covenant's remaining forces. Naruto and B made their way past a whole series of passages filled with Brutes and Jackals.
"I think I cracked my skull a few times." Naruto whispered to B.
Suddenly, the Arbiter raised up a hand and motioned for everyone to stop. He peaked around the corner and narrowed his eyes before looking at B.
"Human, wait with the Hunters. The Brutes are holding our brothers prisoner." Arbiter said.
B nodded before watching as Arbiter gestured for Naruto to follow him.
"Activate your cloak. Take a good position and strike when I do." he ordered.
Naruto nodded and instantly turned invisible before entering the cell block. There he saw the variety of former Covenant aliens that were either betrayed or abandoned the Covenant during the Schism. However, Naruto suddenly noticed something very out of place in this circumstance.
Naruto blinked a few times to make sure being a Sanghelli didn't distort his vision. Naruto looked at one of the cells and saw a familiar looking girl with green hair staring at the wall. Naruto couldn't deny who the prisoner was and hit the forcefield containing her.
'There's only two people who can look that apathetic. That's C.C. for sure.' Naruto thought.
Naruto then aimed for the small generator that formed the forcefield. Only to be reminded of his mission as he heard plasma shots and animalistic screaming. Naruto snapped out of it and saw the Arbiter had killed two Jackals and a Brute before taking cover.
Naruto slapped himself and snapped out of it before opening fire on a pair of Jackals. This then earned the attention of a Brute who growled at him. Luckily for Naruto, a stray shot destroyed the generator of another cell and released a pair of Hunters who slammed into the Brute.
Naruto turned and saw B had taken the shot.
"Thanks!" he shouted before continuing his attack.
Once the remaining opposition were killed and the other prisoners were released. Naruto gestured for B to look at the remaining cell and instantly surprised him.
'It's that girl again.' B thought as he recognized C.C.'s apathetic expression.
Suddenly, the Arbiter walked up behind them and noticed C.C. as well, only looking slightly surprised. He then turned to B and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I see not all of your kind were killed. How fortunate." Arbiter said before handing him a fallen plasma pistol.
B took the pistol and blasted the generator, freeing C.C. who seemed to be confused. However, C.C. didn't show much concern or even get up despite being freed.
"This nightmare is quite absurd." is all she said.
Naruto sighed and was glad that she wasn't as scared as Rivalz and Milly.
"C.C., it's us." Naruto called out.
"You know my name." C.C. pointed out, not recognizing them.
B just shook his head and gave Naruto a tap on the shoulder. Then decided to follow Arbiter and the others to fight Tartarus. Leaving Naruto to try and get C.C. to leave her cell.
Then again, it might be safer to leave the girl there than to participate in a fight.
"C.C., it's me, Naruto." he said.
C.C. just stared at him.
"From Ashford."
She still stared.
"We're in the same club. The one my friends and I formed."
Still staring.
"I took you to the Homecoming Dance and to a movie."
Her head tilted and Naruto sighed.
"Remember that conversation in the recording room?"
"I must be very infatuated if you're invading my dreams."
Naruto sighed and slapped his forehead before she stood up and approached him.
"Dream or not, you weren't this handsome when I last saw you." C.C. said, reaching for his oddly shaped face.
Naruto groaned and grabbed her hand, "C.C., just listen to me. This isn't a normal dream. Right now, you're in a video game called Halo 2."
C.C. didn't show it but she was doubtful as she wasn't a real gamer. Then again, she could barely comprehend her surroundings.
"I suppose I will follow you for now." she said.
Naruto sighed and began to walk away when C.C. grabbed his wrist.
"Should this be real to an extent. You owe me dinner." she whispered.
"Yes, dear." Naruto said sarcastically.
Naruto then gave C.C. a discarded red plasma rifle before following after B and the others.
TO BE CONTINUED…