The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

[LoopyPanda]

Mysterious Manor – The Room of Eden
"Considering how much we had to bust our asses so Detective Goku didn't kill us, it had better have been for something," Berserk grumbled. "At least we have a better grasp of their plan now. We were already thinking of taking the King down, but now stopping him is way more urgent than before."

"Hart isn't as much of a threat without her Coin Gauntlet, so I could see her being a prime target... that's if she hasn't gotten a replica." Bernkastel wondered who Vortex Man was since she had never come across the superhero in person at Reflection City; just someone in armor from the hero group he was leader of and they didn't seem all that chatty. "Not that I'd worry over her well-being that much, but if having gotten her evacuated ruined their plans, I can live with it. The rest of the answers we need so far eludes me still..." she placed a hand over her mouth in deep thought with the other mysteries surrounding the Red King's primary objective, among other matters. When Lucifer offered his opinion on what she had shown everyone, her empty eyes flickered up at him with a vengeful glint.

"If there is anyone in this realm that is going to drag the Voice down from his disgraceful throne, that glory shall be ours. Forget negotiations; I'm going to get what I seek by force if I have to. Looks like this is going to be an arms race of interference after all; it just won't do if the King beats us to him," Bern said with a contemptuous half-smirk. "It may not be for centuries, but we'll surely reach the moon our own way. But we can't even think of how to go about that until we survive this whole ordeal, and fix the mess that has become our reputations." Making a tight fist around the sea glass, she pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly fighting off something at the edge of her mind. Bernkastel's voice remained defiant if yet bordering on a resigned exhaustion. "I won't stop moving forward... I can't. Not until that day is reached."

"Hmph, guess there's always going to be someone vying to be at the top of the food chain. But where's the fun in that if it only goes to one person? I wanna take on all kinds of fighters-- just one guy ain't enough!" Berserk stated. "Maybe you'll be counting me in on fighting that Voice guy someday. But if the King's going after Vortex Man, that's troublesome for me since I intend on getting a good fight outta the hero groups around here. So, if you (Nia) can't pinpoint the hive as well down here, whaddo we do?"

"Perhaps splitting up again would be a bad idea... but we haven't much time to debate on what to do. See?" Bern pointed towards the widening cracks on the floor before glancing back up at Spina. "Something is getting closer to us."

 

[Panich]

All this information was a lot for the Senior Detective to take in. The Red King hoping to use the entire vortex population to take on this Voice deity, and not only that this god was an enemy of the Breakers? Just the agency's luck. This mission was starting to get crazier and crazier by the second. As the others conversed about the King and Voice, he too was deep in thought about the group's next steps. It was clear that they were getting nowhere fast with this mansion, and it seemed all the information gathered here gave them their goal. Find the last bottle. Find the Red King. That was all that mattered to Bage right now.

He began to remember why this investigation was had in the first place. Arrogant god or not, innocent lives were taken by the Red king. They were able to find some normality within this mixed-up realm and he took it away from them just so he can fight some crazy entity that lives on the moon? It was sickening to think about. And Bage couldn't care less about this Voice character. As far as he was concerned, that was a Breaker problem. His job was to return these possessed masses back to their normal lives, at least what normal lives they were able to create in all this mess of a reality. Anything else would have to come after.

After Bernkastel pointed out the growing cracks in the floorboards, he quickly went to formulating something. "Well, in any case, if we've gotten all we need from this place and Nia can't think straight to get the hive's location, I think it would be best to leave while we can and re-evaluate our next steps somewhere safe. I've got a hunch that that last bottle will have just what we need." He prepared to exit the room, but not before taking a few notes about the room and their encounters in his trusty little journal. "Any objections, let's hear 'em now because as Bern has said, we don't have a lot of time."

 

[~ Z ~]

Avalon was oddly quiet the entire time, taking notes as each of the Breakers spoke, making sure to record every bit he could for future reference. The Voice's history with the Breakers was new to him, and it explained certain behaviors from them. Even the scars that the Breakers had, Bernkastel's short raggy hair, Spina's missing arm, the hole in Brachi's stomach... it all started to make sense to him. In a way, he almost felt bad he barged in their lives unexpected. The harsh and somewhat rude way they handled outsiders shows the pain they have gone through.

Sheesh, these guys have been through a lot, huh? Avalon bit his lip. They just want to be left alone...

"If I remember correctly, there should be only three hives. The small one that consumed Metropolis in order to capture you, the one here, and the Central Hive the King resides in." Nia said before her head shot down towards the cracking floor. "Oh no..."

"What? What's wrong?" Avalon said as the cracks under his feet started to part away and nearly breaking the room in half.

As the cracks started to get wider and wider, the light from within them shined brightly under their feet. The gravity that the group felt earlier was back, this time far stronger than before. The way the room shook felt like a powerful earthquake, and the damage was very similar. Zenta was hopping from spot to spot, avoiding falling into one of the large cracks. He had no choice but to cling on to the wall using his short claws, but it was clearly not enough for him to hold on. He struggled to get a proper footing or grip and with the increasing gravity. Avalon was the same, desperately trying to keep his footing to keep from falling. The floor began to crumble into what seemed like an endless abyss of crystals, and as the gravity grew stronger, the Breakers were being pulled in to what looked like a crystallized black hole, unable to escape.

"T-The main entrance..!" Nia grunted. "That's it!"

Scampering up the hole and along the walls of the room were Xy'phers that launched themselves towards the Breakers in an attempt to pull them into the hole. Nia was quick to put up a dome barrier to stop the Xy'phers from pummeling them. However, the barrier was slowly withering away due to Nia's lack of concentration. The constant onslaught of Xy'pher and Debris distracting her and the overwhelming gravity were all disrupting her focus. The gravitational force had almost reduced the floor to nothing, and those who cannot fly were desperately trying to find something to stand on. The only place that still had floor left was around Nia's barrier. Avalon rushed to Berserk's side, but before he could make it, he was tackled into the void by a sneaky Xy'pher, disappearing within the debris.

"Waaaaaaaaahhh!!!"

"Holy crud..!" Nia watched Avalon fall and dropped her focus for just a moment. Unfortunately, that moment was when a large piece of the roof slammed against the barrier, breaking it in half, exposing some of the Breakers.

The wall climbing Xy'phers took this chance to attack the few that were exposed. One launched itself towards Spina like a missile, hitting him right in his chest. It grabbed on to him, trying to pull him down. Another Xy'pher flung at May from behind, wrapping itself around her wait and flipping backwards into the pit, taking her with it. Finally, a pile of Xy'phers landed on Lucifer's wings, making it heavier for him to stay afloat. They scratched his wings and plucked at the feathers as the Fallen Angel started to feel the immense weight on him, more so thanks to the gravity pulling them in. One last Xy'pher fell on top of Lucifer's head, giving the Angel the push to fall and spiral into the pit. Nia's barrier was being piled up with more and more rubbish, making it heavier than what Nia can support. Cracks were seen visible on the barrier, ready to break at any moment.

"Not good..! I can't..!"

Nia's barrier finally collapsed thanks to the lack of focus she had. The debris fell directly on top of Bara and Berserk, pushing them down into the entrance at lightning speed. The Xy'phers picked off any stragglers. Three Xy'phers launched themselves at Bernkastel, Bage, and Spawn, aiming to take them down. Zenta launched himself from the wall he held on to tackle the Xy'phers aiming for the trio before falling into the void since he was unable to fly. The small opening gave Nia a chance to create a new barrier to block a Xy'pher from attacking Spawn's backside. The barrier enclosed Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage in a dome, protecting them for the meanwhile, and since it was smaller, Nia was able to maintain her focus longer.

The gravity grew stronger and stronger, so strong that the entire room collapsed in on itself, taking the Xy'phers and the remaining Breakers with it. The bubble barrier Nia placed herself and the remaining Breakers in sank like a rock, bumping and rolling down the pit for what seemed like hours. Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage were tossed around inside the barrier as it crashed through hundreds of feet deep into the ground. Only when it began to hit crystals would it begin to crack. The farther down they fell, the more crystals they saw, but with more crystals around, the barrier would hit each one making the ride worse for the Breakers. Finally, after minutes of feeling like they were in a sick game of pinball, the barrier finally broke; luckily for Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage, they were already close to the ground near all the rubble. The landing was still rough.

"W-We made it..." Nia panted as she looked up the hole they fell in. They were so far down that she could not see the light at the top. "We fell quite a way... Ah! Your friends!"

From the pile there were the crystallized coins of the weaker Xy'phers that killed themselves to take the Breakers. Nia removed the rubble bit by bit in hopes that they can spot the remaining Breakers. Zenta's tail was the first to be spotted, jutting out from the side of the rubble, motionless. As Nia continued to lift rubble away, she exposed more of the Breakers.

 

[Z-Fighter]

Bara simply grunted as she was hit and sent down into the entrance, however her unique physical make-up enabled her to survive, but it DID made her angry, so much so that she was now emitting steam from the holes in her body akin to Majin Buu, and was now doing her best to lift up whatever debris was on top of her, which would also allow Nia to find her right away because of her unique pink skin. That and while lifting the rubble up, she was also reassembling herself along the way.

 

[meta knight]

May takes out a pistol and shoots the Xy'pher that grabbed her. May grabs its arm and starts to use its body as a way to protect herself from the fall and token out a large shield to protect herself from the rubble. May thinks "well that was surprising."

May gets up by using the shield to blast away the rubble holding her down. May puts away the shield and asks, "who is a live and with me?" May takes out a pill and consumes it. May thinks "that should cover any harm I may incurred on my way down."

 

[ShineCero]

The Hive

Although it may come across as insignificant in a grand scheme of things, but the memory of the voice somewhat revitalized the Breakers’ morale. In the continuous onslaught of vicious emotions that the individual Breaker had against one another, this moment was like a breath of fresh air.

Spina, in particular, felt more relaxed than ever. His mind, voids of paranoia, destructive thoughts, felt a sense of pride of oneself. Berserk mentioning that fighting Voice isn’t enough… she wants to fight all sorts of people sparked a memory in him. No longer scattered or manipulated, one memory, restored fully, came to his mind.

“Good or evil… doesn’t factor in it… what matters to a Saiyan’s pride… is their strength.” A comrade that ventured with him long ago. “Once you beat that prince, you’re just gonna seek new heights in battle, huh?”

Crossing his arms, Spina held a smirk to showcase his excitement. He turns to Bernkastel and Bage, both of them gave warnings to the cracks that became more apparent. “There’s nothing here then, so let’s just go—”

Before the conversation can go any further, the floor collapsed underneath them. The old Saiyan lost his balance from the sudden event and tried to stay afloat with little energy he held. However, he was unable to dodge the Xy’pher slamming itself against his chest. His arms flailed outward and he cough up saliva. His decreased power, strong gravitational force and the Xy’pher holding him down, it come to no surprise that he was unable to escape from their grasp.

As opposed to the others that either fought or at the very least, resisted, Lucifer simply let himself be struck and pulled around. As white feathers scattered around briefly before falling straight down, the angel slammed against the pile of rocks below, more falling on top of him.

“S-shit!!” Detective Spawn said as he was bounced around the barrier multiple times. It felt like eternity since it was an unexpected attack, but thanks to Nia somehow minimizing the damage, it wasn’t too gruesome for the trio within the barrier. For the others, it was hard to say.

Upon the rough landing, Detective Spawn looked around to see the endless field of crystals sticking out of the walls. “Guess we’ve found the entrance then…” He turned to the pile of debris, and the first thing he saw May rising from the ground. “No doubt she’ll survive this. She trained for things like that…” He turns and spotted Zenta’s tail. “Tch…” quite easily, the Detective grabbed it and pulled him out of the debris towards the floor. “Found one. Where’s the others?”

---

The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Silence fell over where they stood. It was a reasonable question to ask Vegetto. The man had killed Gogeta; whether or not his reasons were justified have no bearing in this discussion. The deed was done, and this is the reality that Vegetto had to confront. Since their reputation was tainted; this would mean that Gogeta will remain was a coin for a long, long time.

Clark was not surprised that Vegetto would feel some type of way about this. In fact, e fully expected the fusion to not forgive, but also seek vengeance against him. He was in no position to move; his lanky body provided no type of resistance to break out of Vegetto’s grasp if things spelled danger for him. But that did not deter him nor made him fearful of his life. Instead, he’d simply accept whatever actions Vegetto will take—because he completely understands.

However, what truly caught him off guard is when Vegetto asked the question of their friendship. Clark’s eyes widened; even Wordplay seems put off by this response.

It was almost amusing. Not because he was mocking Vegetto for asking the question. But rather, it was a question that he should have never asked. Whether Clark’s action during this quarrel was justified or not, the main thing was that Clark felt sympathy. Despite his serious stance, deep down, he knew Vegetto was hurt. In ways that possibly no one could understand, except for himself.

Taking on a serious expression, Clark didn’t need to think about it. Once again, such question was met with a light chuckle: not out of mockery, but that Vegetto didn’t need to say it—he already knew the answer. “No matter what happens,” Clark said, making a feeble, weak smile. “Always.”

 

[LoopyPanda]

In the very short time that Bernkastel was floating out in the open, she clearly was trying to fight against the sudden pull of gravity. She grit her teeth and visibly strained while the flowing parts of her hair and clothing seemed to be sucked downwards with the rest of the 'black hole'--- it took all her might just to put up a good enough resistance against it to not fall down with the others.

She collapsed onto one knee once she saw the dome form under Nia's control, panting heavily. "We have to get them off us!"

"Not if you want this barrier to stay intact!" Berserk fired shorts bursts of eye beams to try and engage the Xy'phers in a skirmish while assisting May. "Shit, feels like I'm underwater...! What the hell is this?!" Turning her head, Berserks eyes widened having seen Avalon tumble down into the abyss below, reaching an arm out. "NO! AVALON!" She attempted to extend the sword so the final segment could reach him and grab onto it, shifting her focus off anything going on above her. Noticing a growing shadow over herself, Berserk quirked a brow before looking up... proceeding to stare wide-eyed at the slab of debris headed straight for her and Bara. "Oh shi--" the sound of her shouts was drowned out by the rumbling earthquake-like chaos going on around them.

Bernkastel didn't know what to do, pressing her hands and face to the walls of the psionic dome as she helplessly watched Zenta and Spina fall beneath the safety bubble. And before she could open her mouth and call out to them, the bubble itself was sucked in and rolled down along the tunnel; she only uttered a series of shouts while getting tossed about in the bubble between the other three inside it.

Since she was of petite size she essentially ricocheted between the brawny built Spawn and Bage or bumping into Nia and the earth debris within a very cramped space. Once it popped, Bern scraped her elbows and knees along the jagged crystals of the crevasse's bottom. "Ow... is it... over?" By the end of their long dive down the hole, the poor Witch was practically green with dizziness.

"Hey, easy, he just fell..." Bern scolded Spawn for roughly handling Zenta's tail. "For however long we fell."

"Officer down...." Berserk's disoriented and muffled voice weakly drifted into the cavern's air under a pile of debris. The sword was strewn about but presumably pulling on the segment like a long string of handkerchiefs would lead back to the Powerpunk.

 

[~ Z ~]

Once the Breakers were in the hive, they were completely surrounded by crystals of all shapes and sizes. The color, shine, and delicacy of all the crystals was very beautiful. Despite being in the hive of the enemy, the hive was incredibly gorgeous with the countless crystals that surrounded them. It was quiet after the rubble settled and nothing else seemed to be stirring, at least for now. The moment of peace was what Nia needed to help unearth the trapped Breakers. She was still very careful not to hurt them.

“This is a Xy'pher hive, a small one…” Nia said. “I sense Xy'phers nearby, so we must be careful. It's odd though... I sense only a few when I thought there would be a lot more in this hive considering what happened in Reflection City...”

As Zenta was roughly pulled from the debris by his tail, he scoffed towards Spawn for rough-handling him, but ignored him for the time being. His attention went to the Breakers who were pushing themselves out of the rubble. As more and more Breakers started to come out, only one was still stuck under the mess, and that was Avalon. Nia and Zenta continued to push away piles of rock until Nia noticed Avalon's arm sticking out from between two huge boulders. There was blood tickling down his arm and as Nia went over to help him out, his arm fell off from where it was wedged by the rocks. Oddly enough, there was no blood, but water instead.

Without hesitating, Nia lifted more boulders off the ninja until his body was finally visible. His lower half was entirely crushed and pinned beneath a piece of the roof. He, miraculously, was still alive, although for how long was to be determined. Nia dared not to move the piece of rubble pinning Avalon down, not wishing to see his guts or the damage from the fall. The ninja's breathing was incredibly labored, and it was obvious he was not going to make it. Nia slowly turned to the other Breakers, parting away, so they can talk with the dying Ninja. All she could do was bow her head to show some sympathy.

“Hey guys... are you al...right?” Avalon said with a slight gargle before turning to eye the Breakers emerging from the rubble, followed by the group near Nia. “Heh, barely a scratch on ya'... Go figure... You guys are just too tough.”

“You should... avoid talking a lot, Avalon. You need to save your strength...” Nia said, trying to ease the situation somehow.

“Nah... I know what's happenin'...” Avalon coughed violently. “I messed up, didn't I..? Aww shucks, I knew I couldn't keep up... I never can...”

During the moment in which Avalon was talking to the Breakers, down one of the halls hopped a small toad with a single horn. It was an odd looking toad with sting-like hairs that seemed to constantly flow in an 'invisible breeze'. It was also purple and had an odd flap of skin on its back that oddly resembled a scarf in some way. It eyed Bernkastel for a brief moment before slipping into the room, closer to the dying Avalon.

“I'm sorry guys, I let ya' down...” Avalon slowly began to show the lifelessness in his body. “I'm totally... useless...”

As Avalon's eyes glazed over, he ceased to move and his entire body went limp, yet, something unexpected happened. His body burst into water! This Avalon was a clone the entire time! While the water dripped to the bottom, the little toad made its way to the Breakers, slipping in between the cracks of where the Avalon clone died.

“A clone..?” Zenta gasped, caught off guard. “Avalon managed to... fool me? I must have been... negligent.”

“Uhh... a clone?” Nia stared at the Breakers for a moment. “So... he fakes his death often? I'm confused...”

“It means that this Avalon was a clone the entire time.” Zenta smiled, almost impressed by Avalon. “My, my, I wonder where our little ninja has gone. Seems he is true to his name and being stealthy is his forte.”

The toad croaked once and poked its head out of a small crack, holding the infamous Scroll of Truths in its mouth. He wiggled free from the tight pinch and hopped over to Bernkastel, where it stared directly at her and let out a muffled croak. It hopped in place multiple times, trying to get her attention, before jumping back towards the hall in which it came from. It croaked once again, desperately trying to get the attention of the Breakers, almost as if urging them to follow it. It would take a few hops before looking back to see if they followed it.

“It wants us to follow it?” Nia scratched her head. “Earthling frogs are not this smart...”

“Is it a Xy'pher?” Zenta questioned.

“No, definitely not. It's just... a dumb toad. A weird looking frog.”

The toad croaked in defiance towards Nia's comment, but it certainly was trying to get the group to follow it.

 

[meta knight]

May says "Someone use that scroll in the frog's mouth." Pointing right at the Scroll of Truths. May thinks "If my hunch is on the mark on whom this frog then we should trust it."

May says "someone get Lucifer and confirm he not a coin." May starts to make a mental check lest of those that down hear.

 

[Panich]

Bage turned toward the door, his eyes still on the notes he had just taken. However as the cracks began to grow and snap through the floor boards, he could feel the gravity in the room gradually getting heavier. He turned to the others and gasped seeing the floor open up into a portal trying to drag the group. In an attempt to escape with everyone, the head detective reached out toward the others to keep them from falling into the black hole. But suddenly a Xy'phers had flung itself and latched onto his face.

He struggled in a muffled panic, grunting as Bernkastel was flung against him, all while trying to repel himself away from the gravitational pull of the hole. His attempt failing miserably before everything suddenly went quiet.

The detective opened his eyes seeing Spawn and Bernkastel first, then Zenta as he was hoisted up. "What the hell was all that...?" Bage scanned the beautifully constructed crystal walls, taking no time at all to understand where they were. "I looked away for a second and then we were falling...."

After Nia explained that this was in fact the hive, it confirmed his suspicions. "So we made it! That's perfect! Well... It might not be for the plan if we can't find our way back out... But if it's a small hive we can use that to our advantage-?" Bage began enthusiastically before hearing Zenta and Nia rummaging through the rubble to find Avalon's horrifically dismembered and crushed body.

"A-Avalon..." Was all the Detective could muster before rushing to aid the both of them. No, they were supposed to be stronger than this! They couldn't afford to lose anymore people. It was already bad enough he dropped the ball with Spina, but now Avalon would...

"Don't say that. Don't go blaming yourself for something like this, got it..!" Bage agreed with Nia, if they were going to save him... Could they? Bage's frown relaxed slightly in surprise as Avalon's lifeless body burst into a puddle of water. After a moment of hesitation, Bage blinked a few times in disbelief, almost as if to check and make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. He couldn't say anything as the toad appeared before them, oddly requesting they follow. Bage had shook his head, giving himself no more time to process the cruel joke played on the group before walking toward the toad.

"It must be Avalon's if it has his scroll... Right?" He turned back to the others questioningly.