The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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Still slightly upset from Lucifer's view of his universe, as well as those who perished, he bit his lip. However, once Berserk spoke to him and gave him a pep talk to continue marching forward, he felt a large wave of relief. Even when he felt low, he was happy to have Berserk by his side, even if she was a troublemaker. He laughed and placed a hand on Berserk's head, ruffling her hair.

You're just like Fayimi, y'know... You know how to cheer me up, huh Berserk? 

"You're right Berserk! I guess I got a bit too emotional, huh?" Avalon chuckled. "I think you got a point about Bernkastel's tail bein' fake. It's not as fluffy as Zenta's tail. Hmm, it would be rude to ask her to lift up her dress," He held up his scroll towards Bernkastel with a cocky smirk. He zipped it open and began to write in it. "Maybe she's a cat-hybrid."

"My, my, the children seem so interested in the biology of our Lady," Zenta said as he hid a chuckle behind his hand. "Though, I am curious as well."

Once Avalon was done writing, he laid the scroll flat on the floor so the others can see. The scroll let out a slight glow as only one of the questions began to glow. Almost as if etched into the paper, the answer to one question revealed itself but the other were left blank. The scroll stopped glowing as if that was all it was going to give. Avalon lifted the scroll so the others can see the questions he asked as well as the answer it provided.

Does Bernkastel have dark hair? Yes.
Is Bernkastel's tail real?
Is Bernkastel human?
Where is Bernkastel from?

"Huh, guess there's a limit? Pops mentioned that it has the power to reveal secrets but I forgot how it does it... I guess I still got a bunch to learn." Avalon sighed before allowing the scroll to quickly roll itself shut. He seemed a little disappointed due to not being able to wield the scroll as proudly as his father. "But I'm sure we'll get answers along the way, right?"

As Avalon tossed his scroll in the air, he shrugged before listening to Cayde's little comment. "Fate of Vortex? What are you... hey! Berserk's not my girlfri--" The scroll bonked Avalon on and the head and spun its way towards Bernkastel before rolling to a stop by touching her feet. "Ooow..! Yeesh, don't go sayin' weird stuff like that, Cayde! Berserk's gonna get grumpy after hearing that!" Avalon made his way to the scroll while rubbing his head. "Sorry 'bout that Bernkastel."

Yet, when Avalon went to go reach for the scroll, the usual bright orange outer color it has started to turn a dark blue-ish color, almost identical to Bernkastel's hair. Avalon backed away from Bernkastel before watching the scroll glow with an aura that seemed to match Bernkastel's colors. Finally, the scroll rolled to the center of the group and opened itself. The questions from before were starting to move and reword themselves and the ink was glowing as if made of light. A small image began to form on the side in a tiny box using the ink from the questions. The image was that of Bernkastel's face as well as a full-body image. The scroll began to portray the information like a profile of the Witch. There were even boxes made to hold her fingerprint if she provided it. Small bits of information started to appear, such as her height, weight, eye color, and other basic generalized information. The questions asked earlier we no longer the exact same, at least not how Avalon left it.

Bernkastel is a woman that has short, dark blue hair. She has a black, cat-like tail with a blue bow. The tail is part of her anatomy. She is commonly seen wearing a black and white dress with a blue bow around her neck that matches the one on her tail. Bernkastel is a Witch and possesses strong magical abilities. She specializes in magic. Her capabilities are extremely dangerous, be cautious. She currently resides with a group known as The Breakers located in --- The world she resides in is known as ---​

Likes eating fish, ---, ---, and reading books. Dislikes ---, ---, and ---​
Bernkastel is --- years old.​
Capable of ---. Approach with caution.​
Bernkastel's origins are Unknown.​

There were some things about her that appeared 'scratched' off, indicating the scroll did not know things such as Bernkastel's past, where she's from, or her life outside of Reality Vortex. It seems that the scroll, upon touching Bernkastel, managed to find out general information as well as fix any misinformation Avalon wrote about her. Avalon leaned over to stare at his scroll and then back at the group. He quickly bit his lip and wrote something down to test it further.

Bernkastel's dress is long and drags on the floor. Bernkastel has black socks.

The words quickly lit up and began to erase the false statements and then rewriting them to be truthful.

Bernkastel's dress is short with frills. She has white socks with black shoes.

Suddenly, the new sentence disappeared and added itself to the short paragraph describing Bernkastel.

"Well, ain't that somethin'?" Avalon said while turning to the group. "Looks like once my scroll touched Bernkastel, it learned all about her. Well, sorta. It even corrected my mistakes about her!" He gazed back at his scroll with wide eyes. "It's almost like a mini profile about Bernkastel! That's so cool! I bet'cha if Bernkastel tells us more information about herself, the scroll will update itself!"

"This is certainly helpful when it comes to gathering information," Zenta said with a nod. "This could be useful if we manage to catch a Xy'pher. Basic information is better than no information. I wonder if it works on Coins..."
 
At that moment, with a mischievous grin on his face, Lucifer could not help but let out a light chuckle at Vegetto’s response. “If only you had this level of confidence yesterday.” Yet, despite saying such, his face was telling a different story: a combination of disappointment by Vegetto’s response, but ultimately please with the results it granted him. “I would not blame you for taking it that way; I expected as much.” Lucifer finished off the last bit of water in his glass before placing it on the table. “But I am pleased to hear that that merely replicating Naoki’s mannerisms got such a reaction for you to put all that struggle in that response. It gives me confidence when I go seeking for my next disciple by using [Naoki] as the base after all.” His face turned to observe the others, his eyes landing to that of Berserk, then shifted to Cayde for a moment. It is unknown whether it was a coincidence that his eyes land on them or simply indicating a deeper meaning in his intentions.
 
Facing Vegetto once more, Lucifer placed his hand on right cheek and gently rubbing it. It wasn’t done out of malicious intent, but rather than genuine appreciation to the Saiyan. “Thank you, Vegetto. I wouldn’t had come to this realization without you. So, your struggle wasn’t all wasted.” Standing up, the angel focused his attention to the scroll that Avalon had. “Now then if you excuse me. Let’s test out that scroll so you can be in peace of mind of my conduct."

Seeing the scroll updated itself with information with a mere touch; this further added to potential it could give to the Breakers. Although, it seems to only have access to basic general information since it was not a relic from this world. “Let’s further test its potential to see if it can detect any lies.” Lucifer approached the scroll without hesitation and touch it with his finger. “Oh scroll, will I, Lucifer Morningstar, will attack the Breakers or prompted a fight against them at any point from now to the future?”

Spina’s eyes shifted to Lucifer touching the scroll—practically ripping part of the table due to continuously dragging his fingers against it. Upon seeing what the scroll can do, and Bernkastel’s comment that even if Lucifer betrayed them, Spina was left feeling excited. If Lucifer were to betray them, that would be a battle he’s looking forward too, just as he looked forward to fighting Bernkastel. The old Saiyan increased the speed of dragging his fingers, hoping that the scroll would say that Lucifer will indeed fight them.
 
Upon being touched, the scroll began to glow grey as Bernkastel's information began to shift and contort into that of Lucifer. The information appeared similar to that of Bernkastel with his height, weight, hair color, and eye color as well as an image of his current adult form. Lilith was not present at all in any of the information given. Suddenly, Lucifer's question appeared on the scroll followed by the brief biography given. Since Lucifer asked the scroll a question about himself, the paper under his hand started to morph an answer.

Lucifer Morningstar is a --- with blond hair. He is commonly seen wearing a tuxedo. He has --- wings. Lucifer can perform --- and is capable of ---. Lucifer is also known as ---. His path is --- and he seeks ---. He represents ---. Lucifer is very charismatic. He currently resides in the group known as The Breakers with Bernkastel. ​
Lucifer Morningstar likes ---, ---, and ---. Dislikes Gods, ---, and ---.​
Lucifer Morningstar is --- years old.​
He is capable of ---. He is extremely dangerous.​
Lucifer Morningstar's origins are Unknown.​
"Will I, Lucifer Morningstar, attack the Breakers or prompt a fight against them at any point from now to the future?"​
Lucifer Morningstar will not fight The Breakers at any point. This is certain.​

As the scroll continued to say more information about Lucifer, Avalon tilted his head slightly at how the scroll said Lucifer will not attack them. He wondered how the scroll was so sure so he reworded the question several times only to get the same response each time. In a way, he felt relieved, even thrilled that someone like Lucifer would not attack them.

"Well, looks like Lucifer's telling the truth. He won't attack any of us," Avalon said before looking down and pointing at the scroll. "At least that's one good thing. So it looks like it's not based entirely on my knowledge of you guys... Huh, that's something to note. It certainly helps tho'."

"Ah, and here I thought I would have a nice spar with our little Lucifer should he act out. I often learn many things when fighting others," Zenta said as he sipped his tea. "Oh well, perhaps another time then."
 
Vegetto leaned back into his seat, his eyes never once leaving Lucifer as he spoke. The Potara fusion kept his arms crossed, cocking his right eyebrow up once Lucifer finished speaking before touching the scroll.

"Next disciple? What the hell are you going on about?"

His eyes turned down, his posture and rigidity unchanged in watching the scroll reveal information once more on the subject that touched the scroll. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly at each blank or empty piece of information about Lucifer that was left in writing. However, at the final sentence, the confident smirk faded entirely as Vegetto nearly scowled down at the scroll.

"You put too much faith into this thing. All it did was spit out information about these two we already know, and it couldn't even clarify their feelings or history."

Vegetto scoffed audibly.

"I can touch someone's head and read their memory in an instant. So if this little toy can't even do that, why are you putting so much faith into it just because it made a bold claim that just happens to be what Lucifer wants us to hear? How do we even know Lucifer didn't use some magical power to alter the scroll?"

However, Vegetto's eyes darted to the right, a commanding tone soon ringing out from his dual voice at the sight he saw.

"Cayde! Get away from it!"

Cayde chuckled to himself, having managed to sneak around the table during the bout between Lucifer and Vegetto, as well as the scroll itself, drawing attention away from his movements. He held a pen in his right hand; kneeling lightly and carefully avoiding touching Avalon on his right side. The android stepped back, playfully blowing on the end of the pen like blowing out a candle with a proud boisterous press of his chest.

"Sorry boss, the fate of the entire Vortex is at stake on this one. When this is over...I will have won against him, and he will be exposed for the liar he is. Thank you, magic scroll, for this opportunity."

Written on the parchment of the scroll was a single sentence; one Cayde had written down in chicken scratch hand writing. The line read:

Lucifer secretly wants to eat Cayde's ramen.

Cayde shook his fist, like an excited gambler nervously sweating the results of his risk.

"C'mon magic scroll, don't fail me now!"
 
"See, I knew you can-- hey, did you just say I'm his Girlfriend?!" Berserk balled up her hands into fists as she fumed indignantly at Cayde. "Why I ought to blow you up and turn you into a blender for that!"

Bernkastel blinked down at the scroll as she watched it react to touching her foot, seemingly staring at the text while she mentally filled in the blanks herself. "These lips are sealed... I can't go around divulging sensitive information each time I'm asked. But I can't deliberately trick you now. I suppose that's just too bad it won't happen." She paused before giving a slight yawn. Vegetto's complaints of the scroll's seemingly useless nature made her shake her head with a smirk to herself, having seen this sort of display before. "Oh ye of little faith; some things just don't change."

"Aww, what? So I won't get to see Lucifer fight at all?" Berserk pouted with a huff at seeing the scroll declare the opposite of what she was expecting. Despite being perturbed by his aura flare from before, Berserk seemed genuinely curious based on the others making the idea seem like a fun pastime. "At least Cayde's having fun with it; you're just a party pooper." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Vegetto with a gradual look of disgust. "You can read people's minds... just by touching them? What a pervert! That's not something you should be bragging about at all."

Bern bit back the urge to laugh, clearing her throat with a cough. "Well then, there's no need to be so upset. If you're settled on the matter, why stand there wasting time when you can confirm it yourself? It should be as easy as putting your hand on Lucifer's head." Her tail swayed behind her in a leering manner. "I doubt he'll even stop you. What you'll see is a different matter..."

"Guess we'll keep experimenting with it. Ooh, I have my Coin still on me!" Berserk reached into her shirt pocket to fish it out. "If it can read this, we can try it with those bottles. Bage still has a few on him I bet... not sure if it'll reveal anything we don't already know about the Xy'phers but it's worth a shot if it'll work on a Coin," she said before handing Avalon the Coin, 'Oppressor Plutonium' engraved on it. "Just gimme it back once you're done."
 
"Indeed, I would like to hear the wonderful thoughts of our little Lucifer," Zenta said while picking his teeth with some fish bones. "I am rather curious to see how your technique works, Vegetto."

"Well if you can read minds, who's to say you aren't lyin' about what you see? So far, my scroll corrected all my lies and mistakes in real time," Avalon shrugged before catching Cayde writing in the scroll. "Hey! Hey! This is a sacred item, man! You can't just ask it stupid questio--"

Avalon glanced down at the scroll and watched the sentence written by Cayde shift around and burn out a few words in his sentence before editing and adding new ones.

Lucifer does not want to eat Cayde's ramen. He hates all types of ramen. This is certain.

"Well, that's one way of knowin' Lucifer won't eat your food," Avalon gave a confused smile to Cayde. "Don't sweat it, Cayde! Maybe Lucifer just has a bad experience with ramen. I bet'cha he'll eat something else you'll make. Watch," He directed the robot's attention to the scroll where he wrote a sentence.

Lucifer will eat and enjoy Cayde's food.

However, the words quickly shifted around to morph to an entirely different sentence.

Lucifer will never eat or enjoy Cayde's food. This is certain.

"Oh..." The man sweated before slowly slipping the scroll away from Cayde and turning to Berserk and taking the Coin she gave him. He lifted it into the air letting the light reflect off of it as he examined it. "Oh yeah, we should give it a test real quick. If all it needs to do is touch someone to get some info, then maybe these Coins will leak a bit of info too." Avalon placed the Coin on the scroll.

For a few moments, the scroll began to light up but then immediately die down. Every time Avalon attempted to place the Coin anywhere on the scroll, the same thing happened. It looked as if the scroll was trying to get information out of the Coin but was unable to get anything at all. Avalon seemed to get more and more confused as he tried to find ways to get the scroll to read the Coin but no matter what he did, nothing changed. The only thing that appeared on the scroll was a single line.

Opp---sor Plut---ium ... Unknown

"Huh. Seems like these Coins might be out of its range," Avalon said while scratching his chin and returning the coin back to Berserk. "Maybe because the scroll comes from my universe, it can't exactly break the rules of this one? I'm not sure how to explain it. Some of you guys have been here longer, so I bet you guys know a lot more. Maybe that's why it knew more about Bernkastel than Lucifer? I wonder what the limits are or if I just need to study it more..." He then turned to Berserk and held the scroll up to the girl. "Looks like that Coin you got is mighty special, but I bet if I learn more secrets about this scroll, I'll be able to get more info out of your Coin. Pops told me this scroll can change the way people look, but I'm not sure what he meant. Maybe it can change the way people look at others or the future? Eh, I'm probably gettin' ahead of myself. Well, I'm sure I'll get it in due time! You got any question you want to ask it, Berserk? Now's a good a time as ever."
 
"Wait, that magic scroll can answer any questions you ask it?" Majin Bara asked, being curious about it.

Brachi also looked at the scroll in interest, although she didn't say anything yet as she had her mouth full of food at the time. 

"How curious..." Jize commented, her curiosity raised at this.
 
“Hmph.” Spina said. “So Lucifer won’t fight… Disappointing.”
 
Lucifer studied the scroll when Berserk placed a Vortex Coin on it, seeing that it failed to add information on it. Perhaps since it is not a person but rather an object that it cannot notch down anything about it. Based on that observation alone, the angel speculated that the placing the bottles on it will be pointless and asking for the location of the Red King will not do any good either.

The scroll did pique his curiosity though. If someone touched the scroll, and another person ask a question relating to the former, it can update it with relevant facts—especially regarding that he’ll refused to eat any kinds of ramen. And if Avalon’s explanation is true that any falsehoods will correct itself in real time, then it possible to capture a Xy’pher or two and use that to find out the Red King’s location. Though it seems to be limited in some aspect, it could prove to be a very useful device for the Breakers. He wanted to ask a follow-up question, but it seems that Avalon is more focused on getting Berserk’s attention than anything else, so he did not press on. That is a question he’ll save for later when the time comes.

The angel’s ears perked up when Bernkastel suggested Vegetto to verify Lucifer’s intention by using this to read people’s memories. “Indeed. You are quite upset with the results, but yes, do seek out my memories if you want to be absolutely sure that I won’t fight you all.” Lucifer walked towards the Saiyan until he was in front of him, and quickly grabbed his right arm. Wasting no time, he placed Vegetto’s hand on his face, until only his right eye is exposed to stare at the Saiyan. The angel’s blue eyes narrowed; his grin was noticeable, and the cold stare locked onto Vegetto’s eyes. “Come now, read my mind. In fact, how about you give me a hard squeeze instead. I won’t do anything—” Lucifer spread his arms wide and completely lowered his defense. “I won’t fight back if you want to throw a punch instead.” Lilith, rather, is completely rattled as she squirmed around Lucifer’s neck, and studying Vegetto’s movements.

“Though, I do have to mention that thing I did yesterday; however, is still on-going.” Lucifer said. “Any kind of injuries or pain, no matter how minor or major—will trigger death among them. I’m sure the Breakers’ lives and your little citizens' lives aren’t that valuable to you, but that little ramen-eating droid, though. But anyways, I thought I warned you since it’s not fair to not give out choices since the lives are in your hands, Mr. Hero of the Universe. Now then… show me everything you got. I won’t make a single move.”
 
Bage remained silent for most of the conversation. He ate quietly, appreciating the meal Brachi and her friends had prepared as the chatter grew into questions and challenges toward one another. His mind wandered a bit on the topic of this mission, even though he had wanted to relax himself. His head turned up toward Avalon and the others suddenly at Berserk's mention of the bottles possibly being used to get answers from the scroll, "That's a pretty good idea Berserk, we can certainly try seeing what additional information we could get. But judging how the scroll reacted to that coin, I don't think we can expect much more." He said skeptically, his mind diving even further into his work thoughts that he tried to escape from for relaxation. And this feud Lucifer and Vegetto had going on was not helping with that either. He sighed, looking up toward the two while the two practically sized each other up.

"I hope you two won't be making a habit out of this. I would like to at least eat a meal without insults being thrown and my life being threatened all within the first few hours of the day. You might as well just end us all right now, if that's the case."​

Even if with the mention of death being triggered by any harm to Lucifer, the detective didn't waver. Whether it would be here or by the Red king, Bage somehow come to terms with the constant thought of death lingering, even in this moment of peace. It came with the job, especially a job involving the Breakers.
 
Cayde groaned audibly, collapsing down onto his knees and letting his arms flail on the table with a defeated mechanical whine.

"No!! I was so sure! Guys like that always bluff when they make fun of my ramen!!"

However, in a strange transition of emotion, Cayde deftly picked himself up after Avalon moved away with the scroll. The prospect of eating any of his food being denied did not seem to hurt the android further, but Cayde sighed heavily as he rested his arms on the table and his chin on his forearms.

"Ah whatever. I don't even know how to cook ramen anyway."



Vegetto blinked, being pulled along to stand and grasp onto Lucifer's head against his own volition. His eyes soon narrowed, however, once he realized what was happening. The Potara fusion looked on for a moment only at Lucifer despite the other disparaging remarks from Berserk, Bernkastel and Zenta, but at the prospect presented by Lucifer that any harm coming to the angel would mean death for all, Vegetto let out a confident and audacious grunt of amusement.

"As much as I'd love to crush your skull in my hands...it wouldn't be a true victory. But if you want to leave yourself wide open like this, then don't be mad when I come out on top in your own little game."

In an instant, an immense pressure radiated from the gloved hand that gripped Lucifer's head in a strange shockwave that could only be felt by strong telepaths in the immediate area. Upon the sensation, the technique presented was revealed immediately as a basic form of telepathy undoubtedly understood by Lucifer. Unlike the signs of a master manipulator or practitioner of the skill, Vegetto's telepathic energy that probed and invaded Lucifer's mind was easily identifiable and could be destroyed by strong willpower at any given time, or routed in its efforts by anyone that understood its energy and could outmatch Vegetto's raw power.

Like a brute attempting to tear its way into Lucifer's memories, Vegetto's telepathic energy continued to drive deeper for answers as well as probing his mind to discover his emotional connection to any of the events that unfolded. Yet unbeknownst to the Potara fusion, his lack of expertise and skill in this field was glaringly obvious in that the energy that probed into Lucifer's mind also served as a gateway back to Vegetto's own memories. The immediate presentation of an old memory of Goku using the same technique to read Krillin's mind on Namek all those years ago from Vegetto's universe, was prevalent in its journey through Lucifer's mind as an indicator of how Vegetto used his own memories to attempt the very technique he was using.

Yet to an expert telepath, this bridge alone could dive and delve deeper within the Potara fusion's mind. The battle in Doom's castle with Vegetto using multiple clones to barely land a single hit on Zenta with his Final Kamehameha, the immense pride and love he had felt in seeing Kassava utilizing Ultra Instinct and unleashing a massive beam of silver and golden energy against Demi-Fiend from the small window he could see into the dimension where Kassava and Cuki battled the protege. However, despite the emotional bias Vegetto had towards Kassava's involvement in the memory, Demi-Fiend's last words were notable and readable in his mind. Yet despite the phenomenon, the end of Demi-Fiend's sentenced morphed a bit in Vegetto's memory, and instead of the former protegee's voice, Vegetto's own dual voice rung out in place.

"Death's vastness holds no peace. I come at the end of the long road. Neither human, nor devil...all bends to my will."

Deeper too, the memories flowed of his gloved hands gripping the sides of Kassava's face. The look of her bewildered and blushing face crystal clear despite the other slight blur of the other memories, and the glow of silver in her eyes fading away while Vegetto's pouting voice rung out with a muffled sound in the background while notably Whis and Detective Vegeta looked on.

"Hey wait...don't go. I want to see that glow again."

Past the memory of Kassava's full transformation thanks to the efforts of Whis and Detective Vegeta came the core memory of it all. Buried deep under walls of rage, sadness, and even attempted means to dispel the memory using happiness and joy came the memory of Kassava's face and head being chunked off by Doom's initial beam of death. The connection to the core of the Potara fusion's emotions was effectively still present, yet however, the memory of her dying in his arms seemed to be the catalyst of the man's entire pysche. A delicate balance of control could be felt to show that while Vegetto had never truly moved on from the pain of Kassava's death, he had in turn, managed to use his intellect to take her death and wield the immense emotional turmoil as an inner power that served to make him stronger.

Traces of a smoldering ash like substance in his emotional memory that drove him in the beginning could be felt around that core, but they could be seen in a similar manner to Kassava's shattered dead body. Instead of a normal Saiyan that operated like a fire that could be snuffed out, Vegetto's body improved and became stronger on its own from the unyielding flow of constant cold and dark anger that served to raise his capabilities in a manner like Kryptonians; always growing and improving. This in turn, could serve as to why the Potara fusion failed to demonstrate any of the usual transformations that normally amplified normal Saiyans: each one served like fire or light that hampered the darkness that gave him immense, unyielding strength from within that allowed him new feats of regeneration and body manipulation that performed based off his memories against his very first rival, Majin Buu. Yet despite the setback, enough time had passed where it was clear Vegetto's body had risen well beyond even the state of power behind his Ultra Instinct form against Doom, along with memories of the past few years where Vegetto had spent much time learning unique abilities and martial arts over learning how to connect with the people he had saved.

Vegetto's eyes continued to twitch a bit, searching deeper to uncover the memories within Lucifer's mind as a way to understand his motivation despite the very core and existence of his body open to the angel.
 
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