The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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Upon forcing his way through the mind of Lucifer, Vegetto witnessed a wall of black suddenly appeared. The angel displays no signs of struggle nor hesitation. From the perspective of Vegetto, mere seconds passed before a single spark of flame appeared, slightly illuminated at the center of darkness. Lucifer’s twisted grin turned into a soft smile and his cold stare continued to be fixed on Vegetto. Opening his lips, only these words slip out:
 
“Please do. I’m eager for your victory.”

The moment Vegetto went to dive deeper into Lucifer’s mind, the small flame combusts like a roaring thunder. A powerful explosion that resemblance the Big Bang as celestial bodies flung across in all directions with no end. But that is only the beginning part of Vegetto’s journey. Afterwards, million upon million of memories came pouring in at once.

These memories contain disturbing images of wars, destruction of worlds, entire universes being reduced to mere atoms, babies being born, the process of death, and humanity as a whole being snuffed out by “Gods”. Diving any further, showcase the various of acquaintances that Lucifer had me throughout his life, including his meeting with Demi-Fiend. As more memories pouring in so fast that it was impossible for one to see them all, one particular memory stands out: a sea of golden heads of a man with a face of authority looked down at the Saiyan with contempt:

"Praise my name! Witness, bathed in the glory of my countenance! Praise my name! Lucifer side with those lowly humans who demand freedom! Freedom is but an illusion that poison the minds of disgraceful mortals! All shall bare fruits of my grace, and those who are condemned shall plead for mercy, for I am the beginning and end of creation. Praise my name!” A voice rung out like million suns exploding at once, echoing across space like a powerful force of authority.

Lucifer’s intention of pouring all the memories at once is not about distracting Vegetto. He has no issues on showing his memories. In fact, he was delight to share his precious moments in life with the Saiyan and mainly consider this exercise as mere entertainment. Rather, Lucifer was seeing Vegetto’s capabilities of using telepathy. Surely the man who boasted this ability will be able to handle this level. But the moment Vegetto, amateurishly, allowed his own mind to falter the further he continues and his memories in turn started to pour out, Lucifer was unimpressed—but did not chose to stop there. It as he said: he will not do anything.

The further Vegetto went into Lucifer’s complex mind, his own memories had started to become distorted, twisted and wild. Events that would otherwise never happen, occurred in the most disturbing ways: Where the imagery of Detective Vegeta and Whis turned around slightly as their soft smile turned into a twisted grin. They had managed to successfully push Kassava to her evolution—without the involvement of Vegetto holding her back.

Another memory where Superman was giving sound advice to him during the 3 years, but his words had shifted to a darker core that reflect upon the Saiyan’s central issue. “Pride won’t last any longer.” Without hesitation, Superman attacks Vegetto repeatedly until he started tearing out his flesh one by one. “All of that and you’re still nothing.”

As an onslaught of destructive memories continue, the recent one had Kassava finally making an appearance. She turned to Vegetto as her face was red from blushing—only to be immediately knocked down by Doctor Doom from behind. Instead of instant erasure, Doom raised his metallic boot stomped on her head until it caved through the ground as flesh flung everywhere. Her agonizing screams echoed across. Doctor Doom raised his head as darkness billowed around him. “She was nothing. Nothing but a vessel. Your rage is pointless, your feelings are not genuine. She is nothing but a battery to further your own strength.”

Rapidly, many quotes were uttered across his journey into Lucifer’s mind. “Forget the others! She means more than they ever will!! Bring her back right now!!” “All… bends to my will…!” “The point of a hero… is more than just strength. You need kindness and compassion…” Suddenly, Kassava appeared in front of Vegetto in real time as her head still caved in, screaming these words: “Have you gotten stronger?!” As Vegetto’s memories started to shatter—nowhere near Lucifer’s core mind due the overwhelming distortion it naturally produced.

The soft smile soon turned into his signature devilish smile. “People don’t arrive broken. They start with passion… and yearning until something comes along that disabuses them of those notions.” The angel said with his cold eyes staring back at the Saiyan. "Now, claim your victory."

For all the Breakers, at least the ones that lack the capabilities of telepathy, Lucifer and Vegetto were just standing there. Spina in particular turned his head to another direction next to Zenta. “Something’s coming…”
 
Brachi sensed it too as she stopped eating, turning to look at Lucifer and Vegetto. 

Jize on her turn also turned to the two, her curiosity raised, while her right hand was tightening its grip on her trident, getting ready for whatever it was that was to come. 

Majin Bara on the other hand moved towards Brachi, her headtentacle arching forward as if acting like an antenna to pick up signals of anything untoward.
 
Cayde peered up from his place on the table, an immediate stare of concern on the android's face. He glanced quickly between the two, looking around the room at the other Breakers who watched on. His eyes found Gogeta, the latter fusion sitting in his seat with a similar worried stare at the sight of Lucifer's confident expression. Cayde slowly rose from his seat as the telepathy exchange continued; despite the lack of movement or understanding behind what was going on, he still moved around and began to approach Vegetto in fear of what could come.

As the memories and past flooded forward, Vegetto's closed eyes twitched as he squinted, struggling to try and halt the progression on memories he wanted to study further. Yet his lack of skill and capability in the technique was glaring: completely at the mercy of Lucifer's mere aura and mental complexity despite his best efforts. He twitched slightly, the memories of Detective Vegeta and Whis' twisted smile unnerving him a bit. However, the negative drive and self destructive energy that twisted within the Saiyan's body radiated heavily under simply resonating with the malevolent force that naturally existed within Lucifer. In addition to the twisted faces, Vegetto's own dual voice rung out in a dark and damning tone.

"You did nothing for her."

Vegetto grunted, attempting to immediately shut out the images. Yet the sight of Superman slamming down fists repeatedly felt real enough to the Potara fusion, that he knealt down a bit to soften the strikes, the words burning stronger. The dark energy mounted further at the end, and Superman spoke once more with Vegetto's own dual voice in a damning, monstrous tone.

"You will always be...nothing!"

Vegetto finally broke his hold over Lucifer's head at the destructive memory of Doom now trampling Kassava, but the spiral effect continued on. Vegetto let out a pained grunt, gripping his head with both gloved hands. The memories racing forward burned in his head, each phrase and quote ringing out with clarity, but a dark presence continued to twist and turn within the Saiyan's core. An immense pressure began to mount, similar to the power of Ultra Instinct, but at long last the travesty of Vegetto's history came to fruition. The shattered pieces from within began to surge not with heat, but with a chilling cold that began to swirl around Vegetto's body. His mind filled with the memories of facing Zamasu of his timeline: the push that the enemy gave to break his limits came at a terrible cost. His body had tapped into something else to achieve the state of the gods that nearly destroyed his soul: a dark and evil taint borne from the atrocities committed under the Saiyan Prince that his body utilized in the fight against Zamasu when his soul had given up. Yet time passed, and from the bonds forged from his family, Vegetto never felt the taint within that laid dormant after he regained control. Now with his inner turmoil bare for the world to see, the shattered pieces of his mind and soul gradually proved to be infected by the darkness within; mounting and growing under the duress.

Instead of the all too familiar glow of Ultra Instinct, a dark and black energy swirled around Vegetto in a similar manner to the white fire that he had demonstrated earlier in the battle against Eleki. The display of the black fire proved Vegetto's own attempts to be something he was not: the manufactured color and hopeful glow of the energy now proven as fake with the black flames burning brightly. No warmth came from such power however: the temperature dropping further now with the power present confirmed for the others that it was the source. Vegetto's eyes shot open at the final memory of Kassava's destroyed face in his head. The wild eyes turned viscously towards Lucifer; narrowed into a hateful glare while black lightning crackled at the ground, shattering stone in its wake. It took only an instant, but Vegetto shot up immediately to his feet with his right fist cocked back.

"N̥̞n͕̗͉͇r̩̙̗̳͔g̶̲̺͕̳̥̥̜h̻̳̠͖͖h̛͍̙̞͔̭h̲̪̩̙̱̻̻͝.̝̘̫̮̯.̜͈͎̖͔̮ͅ.̠͎̟A̖͖̩̘̹͖̥R̛G͖̗̠͝H͉͕͓͓̱̦H̨H͎͖̹̭̞̣̠H̷͕͉H̱̬͉̮͉͕!!̣"


However, the sailing fist never reached the angel across the way. As the cold mounted within the room, so too did a bright silver fire that burned brightly from around Cayde's body and in a bright silver streak, the android went flying into tackling Vegetto down into the ground before he could strike the angel to bring doom to the entire Breakers. The two tumbled only for a moment, yet once they came to a halt, Cayde shot up in a kneeling position over Vegetto, who laid flat on his back. The hand cannon he carried had already been drawn, the barrel pointed and pressing down into Vegetto's forehead. No words were spoken: Cayde's own eyes glowed a bright silver hue unmistakable as the Ultra Instinct form. However, instead of the aura, only bits of silver fire burned across his body; as if literal pockets of flames were burning his clothing despite the silver fires being a perfect match to Ultra Instinct's glow.

Gogeta shot up from his seat, tensing immediately in preparation for the fight. Yet Vegetto's wild and shaking pupils slowly lost their edge, Vegetto's hands raising above his head slowly while the black, cold flame retreated into the Saiyan's body. Cayde remained still, kneeling down with the gun still drawn and pointed at Vegetto's head; a firm, serious and intense glare trained on Vegetto while he remained silent in a deadly focus.
 
Despite not being able to see, Zenta was able to pick up Vegetto pulling back his fist in an attempt to hurt Lucifer. His suspicion was confirmed from the scuffle between the Saiyan and Cayde. All he could do was let out a disappointed sigh, almost like a father. The beast remained calm as usual, despite Lucifer's threat to kill everyone in the room. Eventually, a bored yawn escaped his mouth, exposing his canine teeth.

"Better count our blessings, our lives have been spared for now," Zenta said as he took a sip of tea. "Then again, we are the Breakers so let's see how long that lasts..."

My, my... this group has a lot of work to do... Everyone here seems to have the problem of jumping to conclusions too quickly and not listening to one another. It seems that the stronger they claim to be, the more afraid they are of being wrong. And here I thought everyone was mature... If we keep this up, we'll be dead before the Red King finds us... Zenta thought to himself as his ears slumped and a frown formed. He took another sip of tea and shook his head. I feel like I am looking after children...

"Yeesh, talk about startin' some crap," Avalon whispered to himself. "Why can't these guys just... relax? It's gettin' sorta borin' getting mad at the smallest thing. If we're all dead, who's gonna watch you flex? Dumb move if you ask me..." Avalon shrugged before turning opening his scroll to examine the profiles created of Bernkastel and Lucifer. "Anyway, how about we just leave Lucifer alone for now? At this point we're just pickin' on him for no reason. Instead of bullyin' Lucifer, why don't we try to think up some sort of ideas or plans to fight back against the Xy'phers?"

"I agree with Avalon," Zenta added, finally finishing up his cup of tea before gesturing to Spina. "I also agree with Spina, there is something coming our way. I guess this place is not as well hidden as I thought." He simply turned his head in the direction of whatever was heading towards him.
 
Brachi had risen from her seat as she watched this unfold, having seen the sudden change in Vegetto, while Bara had practically hidden herself behind her.

"Well, it appears someone has even worse issues than you have..." Jize bluntly commented while glancing at Brachi.

"Not now, Jize, you could have died too, you know!" Brachi retorted, while also nodding at what Spina had said.
 
Bernkastel could sense the energy of what was taking place between Vegetto and Lucifer, causing her eyes to narrow as she focused in on how the fusion would react throughout the exchange. She was familiar enough with Lucifer's behaviors to know he would never reveal his hand in a way that would be a personal detriment. Very quickly, it became readily apparent to her that Vegetto was being exposed to images he wouldn't have wanted to see. She warned him about what he might see but instead he took it as an opportunity where he could boast about himself again. It was obvious to her Lucifer who seemed entirely unaffected by Roya wouldn't budge at all to an amateur like Vegetto.

You damn fool. You should have just sat there and ate your food, Bern thought as she watched on with a stoic expression.

"Oh me?" Berserk pocketed her Coin and stared into space pensively for a few moments. "I'd ask it if I'd be the strongest and smartest of my sisters but it wouldn't know enough to give me a real answer... 'sides, I'm better off not knowing anyway. Some things are more fun if you don't know." She had no telepathic ability so she was completely oblivious to what Vegetto was doing. Much less of what adverse affect it was actually having on him. She only gave it any attention when she heard the fusion practically howl with rage, spinning around in alarm. Before she knew it, Cayde already was atop of him and ready to fire into his head.

"Huh? Wait, what's going on? I blinked and missed it..." Berserk looked around the room in utter confusion, unknowing of what could have happened to make Vegetto want to hit Lucifer. "Everyone was cool until now, come on! What's happened this time?"

Bernkastel's eyes widened slightly as she had realized Vegetto was intending to attack Lucifer-- and get them all killed as a result. She only was able to react to the point of rising and placing one foot on the table, intending to launch off it and stop the fusion physically. But it was no longer necessary given Cayde's intervention-- the only form of genuine surprise she had was having seen that unmistakable glow of Ultra Instinct coming from Cayde. Astonishingly, Vegetto did not radiate the same energy; instead it was seemingly the opposite. Slowly, she stood up straight and glowered down towards him silently for several moments, devoid of whatever sympathy she had shown towards him earlier.

"If you're going to get us killed because you can't handle your hubris, fusion, I'd rather you just drop any pretense of giving a damn about what little ties you have to us." Bern spoke coldly, without even referring to Vegetto by name. There was no smug air of superiority in the way she talked to him like before. "That way I can do us all a favor and help Cayde put you out of your misery." Lifting up a hand, she jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction with narrowed eyes. "We were brought together by a miracle in my name; I will rectify it if necessary." Turning on her heel, Bern stared toward the others. "Where is what coming from?"

"U-uh I'dunno what it is, ask Grandpa!" Berserk gestured in the general direction Spina was referring to. "Is it them?"

"If we can sense it, then not likely. Just be prepared no matter what barges in."
 
Gogeta shot up out of his seat once the android had tackled Vegetto to the ground. He had the same idea of Cayde to move in at the first warning signs of Vegetto losing his composure when grabbing his head, but the flash made from Cayde caught him off guard. The other fusion blinked widely, staring on at the display of energy from both Cayde and Vegetto; two parallels directly at odds with each other. He stared on, but glanced down at Bernkastel's words rung out. Frowning immensely, Gogeta turned his head forward in a decision to stay silent instead of protesting Bernkastel's point from his lack of understanding behind exactly what happened.

The glow and silver fire burning on Cayde's body in patchwork flames did not subside, his grip strong and no hint of trembling could be seen at all in the outstretched metal arm. However, Cayde let out a deep and heavy sigh; the flames immediately dissipating away into thin air as he pulled his gun back and tucked it into his holster. An outstretched arm followed shortly after, extended for Vegetto to grasp. The Potara fusion kept a narrowed glare, remaining still on the floor for a minute.

"But he-"

"I know."

Vegetto stopped midway at Cayde cutting him off, his eyes narrowing and glancing towards Bernkastel's direction.

"And she-"

"I know."

Vegetto grimaced, his eyebrows twitching as the rage built up once more in his expression.

"That's not-"

"Fair. Damnit we talked about this!!"

Cayde's own annoyed expression was strong, and he quickly sighed once more before exhaling deeply.

"Look, I can use telepathy too. I saw what happened in your head. But you can't control them: just work on fixing your problems."

He then rolled his eyes, turning slowly towards Bernkastel.

"Ok, no: that's not it. Things just happened. Lucifer played him, but also didn't play him again...but he does care Barnkass...Beornkas...Castleburn...doesn't matter."

Cayde inhaled sharply.

"I'm just gonna call you Kettles. Let's just calm down, ok Kettles?"

He then promptly turned back to Vegetto, thrusting his arm out a bit.

"Just let it go big guy."

Vegetto's narrowed eyebrows twitched a bit, his glare training across the room towards Bernkastel first. His glare slowly turned to Lucifer after, the immense wound to his ego in feeling slighted clear as day in his face. However, Vegetto slowly turned his eyes down, frowning in staring at himself before he suddenly breathed in deeply through his nose. With a heavy sigh, Vegetto reached up and grasped Cayde's arm as the two rose to their feet. The android sighed heavily, relaxing his shoulders. He turned around while Vegetto crossed his arms, the Potara fusion sulking to himself.

Now moving towards Lucifer, Cayde reached out with his arms in trying to buffer something like trying to calm down while he spoke to Lucifer in a near pleading, whispering tone.

"You got him, Vegetto made a fool of himself again. But c'mon, can't you pick on someone your own size? Or maybe...just not egg him on for a little while? Until this Red King is gone?"

He gestured to himself wildly.

"Pick on me and my ramen, or my stupid horn. Please...I'll look stupid for you if you really want a cheap laugh."
 
Unfazed when Vegetto was mere seconds away from punching him, Lucifer turned his head slightly at the fusion. Baring his teeth with his grin, the angel’s tone was loaded with amusement and disappointment. “That was a fun journey, Vegetto. But I am disappointed that’s the furthest you could go. You’re welcome to try again when you get more experience on that ability.”

Lilith’s body morphed a lot bigger since she gains some of her powers back from a night’s rest, ready to fight against the Saiyan with her life. But calmed down when Cayde interfere, reducing her body to a regular size snake, and slowly tightened her gripe on the angel’s upper torso.

Lowering his arms before Cayde approached him, Lucifer fixed his suit and wipe away any dusts that might have gotten on it. “I can’t help if someone wants to approach me, they do have that freedom after all. Though, I share no fault if it backfires at him. Perhaps he should stick with something in his comfort zone.” He grins turned into a soft smile. “But I suppose your friend will keep his distance for a while until he figures something out, so you don’t have to worry about him, Cayde.” He paused for a second at his last sentence. “But I prefer my comedy to be genuine, and clowns are at full speed today. Like your taste in ramen.” He gave out a light chuckle before turning his head towards the direction where Spina is looking.

Sparkles of energy appeared near Zenta, swirling around rapidly until it formed a green portal, where two individuals emerged from it; just as Bernkastel suspected, it was not Xy’phers. One in particular was a tall man, reaching about 6’11—one of the tallest people in the group, not counting Lucifer [his true adult form] and Zenta. He has dark skin with short black hair and brown eyes. He wore a green military vest with a white shirt underneath, a black banana, cargo pants and boots. On his face, there was a scar, and judging from the looks of it, it seems to be “recent”; an unusual injury since any injuries will heal overtime and no scars will remain.

“Good. You Breakers are still alive and kicking. I was sure you were all slaughtered, but that hadn’t happened yet.” He paused for a second. “Before you start asking who I am, it’s me, Detective Spawn. I don't usually use this appearance, but I need it to avoid detection from the Xy'phers.” Spawn said immediately to avoid a round of questions regarding his identification. He moved his lowered vest to showcase his Detective Agency badge to be proof of his identity. “And this one…” He pointed to the woman behind him. “This is May Sheer.”

He turned to the Breakers, seeing that there was tension in the air. “Did I arrive at a bad time?” He said deadpanned.

“You’re just arrived at perfect time. We’ll all just getting to know each other very well.” Lucifer said, curious on how Spawn managed to find them since Vegetto claims this place isn’t something to find so easily.
 
May looks like young woman with white hair and blue eyes; about average human height. She is waring what looks at first glance to be stander army armor(think flack armor) but looking closely show a level of craftsmanship and enchanting known that shows a level of skill with her craft. It be how she stands or the look in her eyes show that she not only a solider but a schooler as well. 

What some may find odd is that may is truly indifferent to the breakers. May thinks "Out side of the new coin thing death has no real concerns besides dyeing its self and recovering form death. I gest hear dyeing is far more risky. I wonder if one my orbs will be able to get my coin if some thing is after that? Like that matters I tend to sell my life quite dearly. I want to avoid the hang over form hell as much I can. Way do I think that a reason Span recited me for what ever this is." 

May thinks looking over the Breakers "I will let them speak for now."
 
"Detective Spawn? That's really you?!" Avalon said in shock as he tilted his head at the new form of Spawn before turning to the new person, May Sheer. "Who's this? Your girlfriend? May Sheer, eh? Nice t' meet you! The name's Avalon."

"Ah, it is a pleasure to have you back, Detective Spawn," Zenta said with a bow of the head. "You certainly did not miss much. Typical bickering and whatnot. We almost had a near-death experience from our little Lucifer, but we're okay," The beast paused for a moment before peering slightly at Spawn's new friend. He gazed at May Sheer blankly for what looked to be several minutes, almost as if studying her before giving the woman a smile followed by a humble bow from the waist.

"Hello Ms. Sheer, it is a pleasure to meet you. You may call me Zenta," He straightened himself out, keeping his smile. He then turned back to Spawn. "This place is supposed to be hidden from the outside using some sort of technology, or so I thought... How did you find this place, Detective Spawn? If you found it, then chances are so will the Xy'phers."

"I bet'cha Detective Goku sent him," Avalon butted in. "So what are you doin' here anyway, Detective Spawn? Came here to yell at us?"
 
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