The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

Status
Not open for further replies.
"Hm?" Bernkastel briefly stared at Bara with her eyebrows lifting slightly at the question before realizing her own magic worked on different constraints. "Oh, right... I don't believe you've seen it up close too often. This realm has limited the extent of my power quite a bit due to its mysterious nature, but my magic is still powerful enough for me to hold my own. In fact, some of my more talented kitties can draw their own magic circles." When talking about her familiars, her tone became emotive enough to show the pride she held in raising them herself as her posture seemed to relax further from being near Zenta's tails. "They might act like ordinary housecats now, but many of them just followed me home..." her momentary doting trailed off once she saw Vegetto step forward to literally punch in a portal to a different area. Wide-eyed, Bern looked on in silent observation at the feat Vegetto casually performed.

"Whoa!" Berserk leaned into the portal when she got the chance to go near it, looking around in awe. "This looks a lot like the Training Mode level in one of my fighting games. No variables here at all... this is perfect, thanks Vegtoe! I don't want you goin' easy on me either, old man... fight me like you did Mr. Gogeta when we first met, alright?" Her gaze momentarily shifted to a more serious expression as she sized Spina up. In her mind he was the perfect stand-in for her sister Brute, who had a much more serious temperament for fighting. Berserk had no intent on getting weaker by the time she would her again. Her cheerful, excited expression returned as she gestured towards Avalon to go in with her, immediately flying through the portal after Gogeta and onto one side of the vast field to wave her arms. "Over here, Avalon! You can watch from where the little house is!"

Upon seeing the exchange between the two fusions, Bernkastel briefly appeared puzzled by the meaning of Gogeta's statement as it seemingly flew over her head. However, when he looked at her and spoke about his new aspirations, her shocked breath caught in her throat; the 'kind' side of him had started to take its place back from that. Does that mean we're still...? Bern cut that thought off immediately, face growing hot. No. Stop that. 

Stuffing that yearning feeling back whence it came, Bernkastel's back straightened as she stuck her nose up in the air. "The feeling is mutual since I find you extremely unpleasant, Detective Spawn. Zenta, let's go watch the others train before he opens his vulgar mouth again." She tugged at his arm much like a child intending to pull their parent away. "Are you coming along, Miss Lilith?"
 
May thinks "Come on like most every one in the Vertex I watched the Doom battle but that the existent of my knowledge of the Breakers." 

May says flatly but still matting her professional "Spawn I don't care if you like them or not but we do need to have at lease get a long with them for the time being." There is the since she speaking as a soldier. May takes out a number of orbs form her hammer and orders the orbs "Each you watch another grouping of the Breakers." The orbs do obey may's orders and do as they are ordered to do. May says with her normal professional voice "I should remain hear as well. So the Orbs will show me some your powers/abilities this will give me a better idea of whom I working with."
 
As Vegetto made the portal to the training grounds, Zenta seemed uninterested, or curious, it was hard to tell. He kept his gaze steady at the area in front of him. He was unable to see what was inside but knew that there was energy before him. His only reaction to it was a silent tilt of the head. Whether he was impressed or not will never be known, but his ears perked up immediately upon Gogeta mentioning friends and enjoying life in this realm.

I want to have fun with the people I care about. And I think she'd want that for you too...

Even though Gogeta was talking about specifically Kassava, Zenta's ears soon lowered as he thought about Cuki and the long talk they had prior to the Breakers returning to the apartment.

I just want to have fun with the Breakers and enjoy the new life in this realm. I want to help them and be a part of their lives somehow... After all, that's what family's about, right? I can't remember my old family, but I'm happy I never forgot about you, even if my memories are a bit fuzzy... Speaking of fuzzy memories, I should tell you about my opponent in Doom's castle... He calls himself Demi-Fiend...

Zenta lifted his head slightly as he turned away from the portal to face the hallway. His gaze and attention quickly shifted to his tails gently touching on Bernkastel's body. Normally even at the slightest touch, he would pull his tails away but the trust and comfort he had with Bernkastel put him at ease.

"Whoa..! That's awesome Vegetto!" Avalon said as he opened the portal. "I guess we can't get in trouble in there, right? Heh, this place is perfect for you, Berserk! It's like a backyard dojo, just with less destruction... maybe."

As Avalon was about to go inside the portal, he noticed Lilith without Lucifer. He did not think it would be right to leave a snake all by itself, even if it was Lucifer's friend. With a bit of hesitation, he walked over to the snake and carefully lifted her up so she would rest over his shoulders. He wrapped her around his body similar to how Lucifer would, hoping she would be comfortable. In a way, he felt cool with a snake around his shoulders while he turned to Bernkastel, fixing Lilith on his body.

"'Course she's comin' along, Bernkastel! Can't leave a lady snake by herself, right? Besides, what if she gets lost? Lucifer is gonna act up if he found out something happened to her. At least with Lilith by our side, she can tell Lucifer what she saw...and stay out of trouble."

Zenta chuckled slightly as Avalon kept Lilith by his side and felt Bernkastel tugging at his arm. He walked with the Witch obediently before stopping moments prior to entering the portal. In a swift move, he nabbed Avalon by his scarf and pulled him closer to both him and Bernkastel. The ninja nearly tripped as he made sure to shield Lilith from the sudden jerk.

"Hey! What's the big idea Zenta?" Avalon quickly lowered his voice upon seeing Zenta kneeling down slightly to meet Bernkastel at eye level.

The beast took Bernkastel's hand and cupped it tenderly in his own as he bowed his head to the Witch.

"I would love to see this glorious fight with you, Lady Bernkastel, but I have something I need to do. I need to empty my room of its belongings because, well, as a blind man, I do not need much. I also want to make sure Detective Spawn did not plant any more things in my room." His cheeks tinted red from embarrassment before lowering his voice to a whisper, hoping Avalon or Spawn wouldn't hear him. "...That and I do not want fleas or other disgusting parasites hiding in the furniture..."

He chuckled sheepishly towards Bernkastel before gently bumping his forehead with hers. It was his odd way of showing affection before pulling the Witch close to his chest, allowing her to nestle on his warm, soft fur. She would feel safe, as if she could hide in that fuzzy chest of his. His hand then guided Bernkastel's smaller hand to Avalon.

"Please keep Lady Bernkastel some company, Avalon. If I have not returned, then kindly accompany Lady Bernkastel to her room. I will allow her to brush my tails if she desires it."

"W-Wait, this is..!" Avalon quickly took Bernkastel's hand. His cheeks had the usual light blue tint of him blushing. "Errm, I thought you didn't like people touching your fur?"

"Lady Bernkastel is the only exception I will make. As I mentioned before, she is incredibly precious to me and I will make sure to always be by her side so she is never alone. She... She is the second person who gave a beast like me a reason to..." There was a small pause before Zenta cleared his throat. "Any who, if I receive even one complaint from Lady Bernkastel, I will paralyze your legs so be on your best behavior around her."

"Uhh, sure thing," Avalon sweated. How can he say that so calmly?!

"Good. Please be good to my Lady," Zenta bowed his head before giving a warm smile to the two. Despite his threat, he was too gentle and too kind to follow up on it. He then turned on his heel and left to the hallway where their rooms were.

"Golly, he sure cares a lot about you. I think he likes you! It's kinda weird that Spawn called you and him a monster. Maybe he just doesn't like furry people," Avalon joked. "But we should hurry along, Berserk is gonna kill me if I don't watch her fight the Boss!" He pointed at the portal. "Ladies first!"




As Zenta walked down the hallway, he did indeed remove the furniture in his room, mostly tossing it out in the hallway. However, he stood in front of the window, silently staring into the abyss. He opened it, allowing the wind to brush his fur before he lifted his head up to sniff the air. The large ears on his head flicked occasionally. Before long, he pointed his head in a specific direction moments before hopping out of the window and disappearing before he ever touched the ground.

In the city, he kept himself hidden behind the tall buildings or the vast rooftops. The beast moved swiftly and without any noise. As he dashed throughout the rooftops, he kept his nose in the air, still sniffing his target. It wasn't long until he found him, Lucifer Morningstar. Zenta gazed quietly at Lucifer from the rooftops at a distance, being extremely vigilant as to not alert him. The way he moved appeared as if he was stalking prey without the intent to kill. He inched closer and closer to Lucifer before moving from the rooftops to the ground. He hid behind a building, listening to Lucifer's every step and watching his every move, matching his steps with Lucifer's so the angel would not suspect anything.
 
Brachi decided to follow Vegetto into the training room, her interest in any case piqued by the Ultra Instinct form.

"You're really going in there?" Jize asked.

Brachi nodded.

"Of course. The more I can learn, the better," she said, "and I'm eager to see if I can get the hang of this Ultra Instinct state too."

"I hope you know what you're doing..." Jize said as she watched Brachi go.
 
Lilith immediately tightened up her body until she was choking the life out of Avalon—but only for a few moments before she releases him and slithered away from his body. It seems that it was payback since Lucifer was hurt under Avalon’s watch during the Roya incident. As the angel said, Lilith doesn’t like to be touch—or rather, she doesn’t like to be touch by others unless it was under extreme circumstances. She slithered inside the portal to find any valuable information about the dimension, and of course, watch the battle so she can inform Lucifer whenever he returns from his morning walks.

Spina didn’t care about the specific details about how Vegetto recreated a phenomenon from his world nor ask questions. Instead, now there is a place for them to have a battle in. When Vegetto asked the others if anyone was interested in Ultra Instinct, it seems that Spina was about to approach him for that offer. However, the old Saiyan simply pushed him out of the way and jumped straight into the portal.
The vast emptiness all around, aside from the hut, was the first thing Spina took noticed. Barely any sounds before the others came in, the old Saiyan stared to the endless nothingness. He took a deep breath and held his head back before unleashing a powerful yell. “ARGH!” He screamed as loud as he could even though he was right next to Gogeta; his voice echoed across until the sounds were no longer audible to him. It was merely a test to see how “vast” this place is.

The old Saiyan smiles as he turned around to see Berserk. “What… battle?” Spina didn’t seem to recall both times he had battle with Gogeta—it seems that such memories is fleeing from his mind. The old Saiyan arching his body forward and letting his arm hang low: a different battle stance that he usually does. “It doesn’t matter… I’m giving my all… Berserk.” He said as pressure around him spread outward. “Let’s go…”

===

Detective Spawn glare at Bernkastel and Zenta when the former criticized his use of vulgar language and expressed her displeasure of meeting him. Indeed, Spawn approached them rather harshly; or at least, hurling his anger to the ones he considers as “the most dangerous”. Upon May scolding him that he needs their cooperation, Detective Spawn nodded his head in agreement. “I know.” Spawn said, his eyes remain fixated until a few of them entered the portal. “They are useful, and we do need them.” He paused for a moment. “But I cannot the scent of death to that kind of level and acting as if they are anything but that.” Detective Spawn has a unique ability to see if a person had killed in the past—and if they did, he would see the number of souls that they have victimized. He spat at the ground in disgust before turning to May, Cayde and Bage.

“But I’ll try to keep my thoughts to myself, May…. Until this is all over. Though, this place is a fucking dump. Don’t you have a better place we can discuss?” Spawn asked Cayde. He didn’t get the chance to actually looked around the city nor understand why there wasn’t a single soul aside from them around. “I assumed the Xy’phers must’ve ambushed this place… so I’ve assumed you guys have experience with them as well. Any valuable information you can give us?”

===

Lucifer walked aimlessly on the streets in Rouge City. Indeed, it seems that all its inhabitants seemingly vanished in a number of hours. He went inside a restaurant and saw no one working there or enjoying the food. He picked up the menu, seeing ramen as their best recommendation. Making a face of disgust, he placed it down back on the corner and exited the place. “That’s one place I’ll avoid.”

After making a mental note, Lucifer continued walking throughout the urban area. It was not as technological advanced in comparison to other cities such as Metropolis and Reflection City, but he can appreciate its scenery. It was… rather comforting, Lucifer felt, and relaxing rather than the busybody that other cities had. He saw a vending machine that had several beverages. Although there was not any alcohol, it did contain juice. Pressing several buttons to get the item he wanted, Lucifer used magic to cause it to release it. “Ah, cranberry. Never thought I’ll find myself enjoying this.”

Back on the streets again, there was a moment of pause when Lucifer stared at the bottle. The bottle made him remember something fondly: when Gods were finally vanquished, and humanity were finally free from their shackles to determine their own destiny. “Heh…” He let out a small chuckle. As he stared ahead with a smile on his face, Lucifer closed his eyes. “No need to hide from me, Zenta. If you want to approach me, do it. I’m not particularly dangerous.” The angel called out the beat.
 
"Hey Lilith, you're gettin'... too..." Avalon gargled slightly as Lilith strangled him before slithering away. With a quick gasp of air, the ninja straightened himself out. "S-Sheesh! You could've said somethin'! Nearly strangled me to death..." He rubbed the back of his neck before flinching at the sudden yell Spina made to test how large the space was.

Looks like Boss is eager to fight. I wonder why he wants to fight Berserk tho'... Huh, I guess he just wants to see how tough she is. She better not let her guard down!

Avalon stayed close to Bernkastel's side, as Zenta demanded. He felt a little awkward, not knowing if he should talk to her as he does to Berserk or heed Zenta's warning about the complaints. For now, he decided to be a little more respectful towards the Witch.

"We should stick to that little house if we aren't going to fight. I'll cheer for Berserk and Boss, tho'... Boss is actin' really strange. Well, stranger than usual." Avalon pointed to the tiny hut mentioned by Berserk earlier. He leads Bernkastel to the small hut before taking a seat, preparing to watch Berserk and Spina's fight. He glanced at the floor briefly. Despite presenting himself as a happy-go-lucky person, he only seems to be that way mostly around Berserk. His ears slumped, and a long sigh came out of his mouth and he seemed like an entirely different person to the Witch. The tone in his voice was soft and low.

"I bet you guys were like family before that Mega-Doom fight that scrambled things up. It... sucks to see you guys like this, y'know. Things have been so chaotic, I never thought I'd be stuck in a situation like this..."


As Lucifer casually mentioned Zenta's name, the beast's frown turned to a smirk. In a way, he almost enjoyed that Lucifer felt his presence. Slowly stepping out from a building in front of Lucifer, Zenta finally made his presence known to the Angel. His arms were behind his back, showing that he did not want to cause any trouble to Lucifer.

"I am not surprised you managed to spot me, Lucifer," Zenta smiled to the angel. "You must be wondering why I followed you. Truth is, I have a little more information about your student, the Demi-Fiend. I also find you quite intriguing to talk to." The beast shrugged before letting out a playful chuckle. "Unlike the others, I will not be quick to judge you. Consider this just a friendly conversation between two beings."
 
May says still professional tone "all I ask is that you able to work with them Spawn. You are free to share you thoughts but I ask you don't risk provoking."  

May asks Cayde "How good is the Coffee in this city?"
 
"Oh? Well, I suppose that's fine..." Bernkastel watched Zenta leave before her expression visibly soured at being left with Avalon-- she didn't seem to like him very much as almost instantly her grip loosened completely, not hesitating to let go of his hand at all. His joining the Breakers started on the wrong foot for her in particular. Despite her initial reaction, she tilted her head to the side and remained silent for a few moments at what Avalon said. "'Like' me? Well, I suppose he does..." she phrased it in mild puzzlement, like she wasn't sure herself. "Perhaps that means I'm doing something right for him to not dislike my company. Still, he says things I don't quite understand at times. He's a strange person." Leaping through the portal after Lilith, she floated her way down to the tile flooring by the hut as Avalon instructed.
======
"Memory problems, huh? Old age does that to you. But like you said..." Berserk stopped when Spina let out his echoing scream, no change in her expression beyond mild discomfort. She stuck her pinkie in her ringing eardrum. "Well damn! If your pitch was a few octaves higher, I'd have thought you got that from Brat. But enough chitchat..." Berserk flipped a section of hair over her shoulder before grinning mischievously. "Ready or not, here I come!"


Berserk leaped into the air and flew in random zigzag patterns on her way to Spina's side of the field, sword glowing red until it crackled with Berserk's plasma energy. Coming closer until she was just above Spina, she dove in ready to swing her sword down on him for an immediate heavy-hitting attack. The moment she'd land would unleash a shockwave of red electricity that surged through the ground itself from the impact.

====
Bern crossed her legs and floated like she were sitting in an invisible chair, crossing her arms as she silently observed from a distance. Her dead stare rested on Avalon when he spoke up, taking notice of how much more reserved he suddenly had become. She didn't immediately respond. "Family... to tell you the truth, I don't think most of us even thought to call one another 'friends' until we pushed through Doom's trials. I never got along with Vegetto, that's for sure," Bern gave a half-shrug as she complained. "Why, there were more times we argued over meaningless drivel! And..." She grew quiet upon remembering the photos taped up on the walls in Cuki's room. "And yet... the better moments completely slipped past me. Forgotten to me, but treasures to another. Things were happening around me, but I just shut everything out... until I couldn't anymore. Now it's all messed up." Bernkastel turned her head away from Avalon, frowning with her brows furrowed in resignation. "... I know what you're going to say. Can't be any worse than what I've already heard."
 
Lucifer stopped in his movements when Zenta brought up Demi-Fiend with supposed new information about him. Because of that, the angel decided to humor him. “I’d been judged already by the Great Will—their impressions on me are a compliment, really. I’m not concern of why you are following me—you can have your reasons.” The angel shook the bottle for a few seconds until the bubbles formed on top of the juice. “Though, it seems that I’m pretty popular today since everyone wants to converse with me.”

Loosening the plastic lid of the bottle, Lucifer took several sips of juice before turning to the beast. As usual, the angel has a face of confidence beaming through. His warm smile accompanied by his eyes of curiosity. “Well, you do have my attention then. What more can you tell me about Naoki?”

===

Spina followed her movements intensively: his eyes locked onto Berserk’s zigzag patterns right before she just over him to swing her attack. The Saiyan made no effort of dodging—whether Spina could’ve move out of the way or simply tank the attack is unknown, but regardless, as the blade connected against the top of his forehead, he crashed against the floor.

His arms flail around in reaction to the surge of energy and left behind a small explosion around his body. Such powerful attack from the get-go resulted a small cloud of smoke to form and covered the Saiyan from being seen by her and the others. After a few seconds of silence, a red dot appeared within, followed by a punch that parted the smoke away completely. Using his [natural] left hand—for the first time in three years—he struck Berserk’s face to push her back.

Spitting saliva that had blood in it to his right side, Spina grinned. “I knew it... you’re definitely tough.” His body shook with excitement—a stark contrast in comparison to his previous battles upon until this point. He was indecisive, confused or mentally holding him to a higher standard to avoid a “place he didn’t want to be in”. Now, he’s completely free from those limits that bounded him. As the result, his fighting style, posture and approach completely changed.

Spina rushed towards Berserk, leaving a trail of flames behind upon each step. Leaping into the air just slightly, the Saiyan throwing multiple brutal blows rapidly to force her into a closed combat.
 
"Aww shucks, don't beat yourself up Bernkastel, at least you're capable of doing somethin' to change that. You're a great person! I mean, you got cool magic powers, and you're super smart. Unlike me..." Avalon chuckled slightly at his words, hugging his knees closer to his chest. "I feel like you guys were just fine until I came along and ruined everythin' for everyone... Gogeta's right... I'm the reason Cuki left and that's probably why I feel so alienated in this group. You should've killed me when you had the chance, I totally deserve it... I never seem to help people the way I say I do. I just keep making things worse. What can I even do to help you guys at this point?"

Avalon lifted his head slightly to stare at the fight between Spina and Berserk. The look in his eyes were dull, but he still wanted to give Berserk the feeling that he supported her. Every time he looked at her, he couldn't help but smile. The words coming out from his mouth were entirely different.

"I can't use magic as good as you do, I can't do that energy thing Zenta does, and I can't even fly... What good can I do with the whole Xy'pher attack goin' on? I made a huge mistake back in Metropolis that almost got all of us killed. I... I was so confident that I got us out of that mess and saved us, but it ended up bein' a trap that I fell for... I'm useless. Not only that, but I'm..." His voice began to tremble slightly. "I'm... I'm so scared, Bernkastel. I'm scared that I won't be able to help you guys... T-That's why I wanted to fight Byakko because I wanted to fight someone with real talent to prove to myself that I can find and save my sister. When Cuki said all those things about me and the Breakers... I just didn't believe her..."


Zenta walked alongside with Lucifer, keeping him in his 'sights' at all times.

"Well, as you might have heard from Vegetto, your pupil, Naoki, did indeed have a fight between Cuki and Kassava, however it was not entirely as Vegetto said. It was certainly one-sided, but not for Naoki," Zenta casually pretended to look around the city. "See, Cuki told me everything about that fight, and it was one that left a mark on her, literally. She informed me that no matter what she or Kassava did, nothing hurt Naoki. Not magic, not time, and certainly nothing physical. They both hit Naoki with every ounce of their power, and it barely left a scratch on him. Cuki said that Demi-Fiend looked as if he was toying with them. Your pupil was defeated, but not entirely by Cuki or Kassava... there was a third variable in the fight that Cuki said was the only thing that hurt Naoki."

Zenta looked up at the sky before turning to Lucifer.

"A gun."
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom