The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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Nia peaked her eyes open to see the massive castle before her, and in an instant, her skin went pale. For a moment, she was entirely at a loss for words, until Lucifer brought her attention back to reality.

"Errm, not that I'm aware of." Nia bit her lip. "Though this is the first time the King has invited anyone... You guys must've really piqued his interest... Better keep your guard up."

"Yeesh... talk about a near-death experience..." Avalon grunted as he rose to his feet, dusting himself off in the process. "If I were to take a guess, I think that's the Central Hive you were mentioning earlier, right, Nia?"

"Indeed. The King is definitely in there..."

Zenta groaned as he picked himself up from the floor, shaking his fur clean of dirt and dust. He made sure to pat himself down, just to make sure he was still in one piece and alive. Checking the area, he also noticed that the Breakers were also all alive and well. Letting out a sigh of relief, he felt a wave of easiness take him despite returning to the familiar castle. As usual, he made his way to Bernkastel's side, carefully putting her on her feet while listening to the conversation between Detective Bage, Spawn, and Walter.

"Dinner? It could be a trap." Zenta said in a low voice. "We are in no condition to fight back either..."

"Rest assured, Zenta, the King has no intention to kill you yet. He simply wants to talk, and he is very excited to meet you all." Walter said confidently before turning to Spawn. "Not rescue, no, more like escort. See, I used my portals to transport you here and the Traitor somewhere else. She ended killing herself off, so it saved the King the effort of disposing her." Walter shrugged. "She exploded somewhere far away, the child is someone else's problem now."

Walter snapped his finger and a small portal appeared next to his right. Sticking his arm inside, he pulled out a planner and a crystal fountain pen as the portal quickly shut closed. Walter began to scribble something down and closed it. This time, a portal appeared to his left and he dropped his planner in the portal while it closed.

"I'll send Scouts to gather any Coins caught in the aftermath. We can use the area to study this odd energy further, so we can harness it properly."

However, Walter's attention quickly darted to Vegetto and his sudden outburst. As Vegetto rose to the sky and prepared his massive attack, Walter seemed indifferent to the attack on the castle and did nothing to prevent it. The Knight Xy'phers watched the massive attack rise above their heads and aim directly at the castle. They refused to move, almost as if something is telling them to stand down. Avalon gasped at Vegetto's sudden attack while Zenta seemed almost used to it at this point, yet, nonetheless, he, too, was shocked.

"W-Wait! No!" Nia shouted. "Stop! The barrier is too strong!"

As soon as Vegetto's energy sword slammed down towards the castle, it stopped, hitting something invisible and incredibly dense. It was a barrier similar to Nia's, yet, it glittered and glistened with the rays of light, almost like a rainbow. Upon hitting the barrier that protected the castle, Final Excalibur snapped in two, like a delicate piece of glass, sending the end piece flying off into the sky. It flung down and landed near the Breakers where the blade slowly dispersed its energy and disappeared. None of the Xy'phers paid any attention to the incoming attack and continued their duties as if nothing happened.

Avalon fell flat on his butt as the split end of Excalibur landed directly in front of the Breakers with a massive thud. He kept his grip on the shard Bernkastel gave him, holding as tight as he could. What could he do with it that Bernkastel could not? Seeing how easily Vegetto's attack was broken in two made him realize the dire situation they were truly in. If a massive attack like that was deflected with ease, what hope does he have in this fight? In a way, he felt so small next to the Breakers.

If Vegetto couldn't even scratch the surface of that barrier... then what the heck can I do? Avalon's grip started to shake in Bernkastel's hand, and his fear was starting to show. I'm just... a sittin' duck! Dead weight!

"W-Was that... the King's barrier..?" Nia said in a voice mixed in awe and fear. H-He's stronger than what I remember..!

Walter watched on as Vegetto's attack shattered without dealing any damage to the barrier protecting the castle. Once the flying piece hit the ground, Walter dug in his pocket, plucking out a crystal watch, and cleared his throat.

"Yes, it was." Walter disliked talking to Nia. "Anywho, are you done? I heard that venting anger is good, but you seem like the sensitive one..." The Xy'pher Elite faced the Breakers before turning his back to them and facing the castle. "I know you must have plenty of questions, but save them for dinner. Let us make haste, the King does not like to wait, and neither do I."

Walter snapped his fingers and a large portal suddenly opened under the Breaker's feet, and another opened under Vegetto as he was in the air. The Breakers fell through the portal, while the portal near Vegetto swallowed him. Eventually, all of them would meet in the same place: inside the castle. However, it felt both slightly nostalgic and new. The interior of the castle was absolutely breathtaking, with brilliant crystals shining at every moment. At this point, there were signs that it truly was Doom's castle, yet, the Red King had modified it so much that it barely resembled the castle interior the Breakers knew.

The room the Breakers were in was enormous, with ceiling high windows proving natural light in the area. There was a gentle and comforting breeze that swayed thin white curtains hanging from the windows. In the center of the room was a dining table made entirely of transparent crystal with gold and other precious gems. Even the plates and silverware on the table were crystallized. Above the table was a glorious chandelier with such a complex design, it was captivating to see, almost taking the breath away from those who viewed it. Angelic statues, guarded by Knights and smaller Xy'phers littered the hall. Traditional Xy'pher art was plastered on the ceiling. By each chair stood a crystallized Xy'pher Knight. They stood like statues as they awaited orders. The scent of fresh food whiffed in the air as Xy'phers dressed as chefs began to set up the table with food fit for royal guests. It wasn't crystallized, either! Actual food! It looked very inviting and the Chef Xy'phers worked gracefully to set up everything as the King instructed.

Finally, at the end of the table is an elegant throne made of the finest crystals. The way the light shined off them turned them into rainbows, transparent, and mirror-like all at once. Next to the throne, on each side, were two marvelous statues of two Xy'pher Knights.

Everything was so sterile, so magnificent, so perfect.

"Good, everything is prepared. Please, have a seat, the King will be here shortly."

The Xy'pher knights pulled the chairs out for each Breaker to have a seat. There was no hostility and no malice coming from any of the Xy'phers.

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Bara looked around.

"This place does look impressive..." She said, absent-mindedly wondering if there was any candy or something around for her to snack on, given that she is a Majin and therefore a sweet-tooth, although she has no problems with handling other kinds of food as well.
 
Bage's landing into the castle was a bit sloppy but he managed to land on his feet. His eyes scanned the giant dining area and despite it being complete crystals, it almost felt homey. The smell of the freshly cooked meal filled his nostrils, but he remained alert keeping an eye on the other knights as they seemingly were generous enough to pull out the chairs for them. Even if he was hungry, there was no way he would be fooled by this fake hospitality. He slowly approached Bara, seeing her eyeing the food in front of them, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be fooled, that food might not be what it seems," Bage mumbled to the Majin, enough for the Breakers around him to hear. A million thoughts, from poisons to crystal detonation devices crossed the Detective's mind as he watched the food being placed. "Be wary."
 
The Central Hive

“Here we go.” Lucifer opened an umbrella to block away all the incoming clouds of smoke and debris that emerged from Vegetto’s sudden flight to the sky.

Detective Spawn tumbled back few times before stopping. “What the hell has gotten into him?!” He was much in the dark as Detective Bage; the seething anger from Vegetto’s face confused him greatly. Upon hearing Vegetto’s screaming rant, and Bernkastel’s clarification on his sudden anger, Spawn turned to the castle in realization.

“This was the castle that Valeria sought out—” Detective Spawn held such thoughts. “I was under the assumption that it was entirely destroyed since she never found anything about it. At the very least, nothing but a pile of scraps. But here it is… in its full glory. Only crystallized to the liking of the Red King.”

Seeing the immense build of energy spiraling out of Vegetto until it shaped into an energy-like blade. The seething intensity of expression and irrational tirade made him out to be a crazed man. To be frank, what set him apart from Gravita who expressed similar sentiments at the face of her own demise? Perhaps, Spawn assumed now based on Lucifer’s earlier comment, that Vegetto had killed off Clark.

Spina, moments after Vegetto blasted upward, soon in silence and kept his eyes locked on Xy’pher Williams. Since Bernkastel and Vegetto confirmed that it was indeed the Castle of Doom, the old Saiyan clenched his fist: unclear whether it was anger or something else entirely. He turned to Cayde after the latter tumbled to his direction. He didn’t need to know the context despite not looking: the man had seemingly lost it. Nevertheless, Spina wanted to see if the Xy’phers were going to do anything since they looked unshaken by the massive attack coming down towards the castle. If Williams was able to transport Gravita elsewhere with ease despite being a bomb, then he should not be underestimated.

To no surprise, the castle was protected by a powerful barrier in a similar vein to Nia. The energy blade snapped in half, one of them landing just front of Spina. “Hmph…”


The Crystal Castle

Before any of them could say anything, they were transported to the castle and landed in dining room. Unable they haven’t even scratched the surface of castle’s complex design; it was clear as day that they were in the very building that started [some of] their downward spiral.

“Doom’s castle…” Spawn looked around, but he was impressed of how perfectly cut the crystals were at the very least. “Yeah. I wouldn’t bother eating anything.”

Powering down, Spina agreed. “Bring the bastard out if he went all that effort to fetch us.” He in said, feeling unease of being in the castle once again. “Forget the commodities.”

Lucifer, however, already took a seat on the dining table and began eating. “Oh Breakers, have some manners.” He took a bite. “The food is quite delicious. The meat is rather tender, and perfectly cook medium-rare.” He turned the meat to the side, showing the Breakers how it was glistering. “Just like a brilliant diamond. Perfection. Seasoning on point and balanced well with good sauce and garnish.” His eyes peered towards other plates. “Not a lick of toxins. Pure flavors.” He turns to Cayde. “You must try it, noodle bot. It might enlighten that robotic tongue of yours into something exciting.” He took another bite of the meat. “Come, Lilith. You must try this food as well. It at least we can do for preparing such delightful dinner.”
 
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May says unaffected by the blast "So far it's with expiations." As she moves with the group. " May thinks "so this is doom castle. I gest we stumbled onto an interesting fine."

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May says as a matter of fact "I got to partly agree with Lucifer on that point but is not proper manners too what for our host before eating?" May seems to be whiting for the king before she starts to eat.

May looks around and thinks "I wonder how long they will hold off before fighting wend the king comes before us?"
 
The horror and shock manifested clearly in Vegetto's eyes at the sight of his attack snapping in two. He audibly croaked at the sight of such ease behind the barrier, his eyes momentarily glancing around to see the lack of care or concern from any of the new inhabitants. The warnings issued of the barrier being too powerful, Walter's commentary of the failure, all of the voices muffled together within Vegetto's mind as the realization slowly dawned on him. Vegetto nearly trembled at the massive weight that began to creep back on him; years of work undone in an instant. He had moved on from the immense battle, he had buried his own guilt and hidden behind the costly victory against the Breakers' original nemisis. And even though Valeria threatened the stability of his fragile world, Vegetto still maintained his distance from the truth. A truth he hoped to deny by chasing such a small victory in destroying the castle.

Yet the Potara fusion trembled violently, shaking with swollen eyes in a timid fear as the muffled warnings and voices were drowned out by the boisterous, proud laughter of Doom filling his mind. His outstretched arms trembled and tensed up, his memory flashing back to the sight of the skeletal Dr. Doom floating before him. The bones shined like diamond; blinding in their brilliance. Vegetto's mind felt the desperation once more; victory was mere inches away from his grasp. The carnage on Doom's body was his indicator; the enemy could not last much longer. Yet through such devastation and pain, Doom's chest burst open in an explosive surge of energy; Doom's disgusting laughter in proclaiming his victory filling Vegetto's mind once more.

Internally, Vegetto clashed with Doom's beam, having unleashed a Final Kamehameha to finish the threat once and for all. His nightmare became reality once more as Vegetto continued to tremble in fear; Doom's beam gradually destroying his own and creeping closer in the final ditch effort. Unlike the true reality where the Breakers all came to add to Vegetto's attack, Vegetto stood alone in his struggle. Doom's attack continued to advance no matter Vegetto's struggle, the Doctor's immense pride and confidence filling Vegetto's mind with every proclamation of victory to further poison the sting of defeat.

"Seething, aren't we?"
"You couldn’t help your foolish wife to dodge erasure! You think you can dodge midair!?”

The beam crept closer and closer, and the depth of the failure became more apparent in the final words that stung in Vegetto's mind. Not just of Doom's voice, but laced with the dual voice twisted with self hatred.

“What was it that you said…If I make the mistake of challenging us again, make sure you can actually put up a fight next time…”

Vegetto winced in pain, the bright light overtaking him slowly; the burning sting of energy slowly vaporizing his fingers in the nightmare as he felt himself being slowly destroyed.

“Your statement got to me. It made me realized…what I truly am."

His vision faded entirely to white, the defeat overtaking him completely in the blame: it was his fault in his mind, that Doom defeated the Breakers. As Doom's final attack engulfed him in the nightmare, Vegetto screamed out in pain before he disappeared completely into the void.


Cayde quickly picked himself off the ground, his eyes turning up at the sight of the intense attack. Bernkastel's direct confirmation of the castle itself prompted Cayde's frown, watching on in silence. His eyes followed Vegetto without a word through the others commentary, until he found himself falling through a portal with the others. Crashing onto the floor with a loud mechanical thud, Cayde winced as he stood back up.

"Ow ow ow..."

His eyes lifted, however, in refocusing on the dilemma at hand. As Bernkastel had blatantly put, Vegetto had launched into an unhinged rage once again at the old memories surfacing. And while Cayde understood the trauma behind Doom, he knew in his mind that the outburst could not be tolerated. If wild and unhinged in rage, there would be no capability to catch the Red King offguard and any plan would go quickly out the window in the rampage Vegetto could unleash inside a castle that clearly haunted his memories.

The android lifted his gaze first to Spawn; a sense of the Detective's questioning gave way to the impression that Spawn felt the same. Cayde watched him silently with a stern stare for a moment, making note of the individual before his head turned back up with a frown in looking for Vegetto while he also reached for his holster. His eyes soon landed on the Potara fusion, but his hand moving towards his gun stopped in a surprised look at the man across the table.

Vegetto stood next to the chair meant for him with his head down slightly, his eyes towards the floor. The golden hair had vanished slowly away into its normal shade, the bright turquoise glow unable to mask the empty void in his stare before it had vanished too. A heavy frown was strong on the Potara fusion's face; his expression contorted in such a way that the man looked to be on the verge of tears.

Cayde blinked in pure shock at the sight, thinking momentarily to himself before hearing Lucifer's suggestion. He paused for a moment, a serious stare glancing between the sight of Vegetto and then glancing at Spawn, before Cayde's entire personality shifted on a dime as he turned his head down towards Lucifer.

"Fine fine...I'll try it! Sheesh...just because I know ramen is better than everything...doesn't mean I can't enjoy other foods."

The android lowered himself into the seat next to the angel, picking up his silverware and digging into the food. He leaned to his side, his head canting towards Berserk and waving a fork at her with a piece of steak stuck on the silverware.

"Oh, and to answer your question earlier...metal is better than meatbags. Think of it like metal stomachs and metal intestines...way better for eating tough things and not getting sick. So I can eat anything I want without problems...unless it's like...a really strong bomb. Then my intestines might break...hmm....note to self...don't eat bombs."


Vegetto lowered himself slowly into the seat in a rather docile manner, in heavy contrast to the immense display mere moments ago. He kept his head bowed slightly, his face still visible yet his empty eyes lowered to the table. He made no movements towards touching the food, still seemingly on the verge of tears while he sat on in silence.
 
Bara remained silent as she finally decided to move and eat the food that was presented to her, even if she discreetly scanned it with her headtentacle, just to be sure it was no ruse.
 
Bage squinted in annoyance seeing Lucifer and the others completely disregard his warning and dig right in. Although the detective couldn't read him most of the time, he wasn't surprised at all by the angel's behavior. At least, May had the decency to wait for the King. With a sigh, Bage silently took his seat with the others, still determined to avoid consuming the meal. "Who knows, but be prepared for anything to happen. This is no time to be careless." Bage replied to May with a sigh and crossed his arms as he settled in. He had to admit even in the midst of all this chaos so far, it was nice to have a moment of calm. But he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something truly terrible was about to happen. Occasionally, as the Breakers continued their idle conversation, the Saiyan detective couldn't help but glance at the knights looming over them and all entrances into the dining area, should anyone enter, or worse if they needed an escape.

The room was amazingly crafted, Bage had to admit, not a single thing had been out of place. and once the group had all been seated, there was an almost eerie silence that filled the air aside from the chatter among themselves. It would feel uncomfortably still in this moment of rest as they sat patiently. This was the calm before the storm.

Then suddenly there was an echo of footsteps that could be heard making their way into the dining area. Bage sat up a bit, turning to where the sound was originating. Was the king here already? His body tensed slightly gripping onto the crystal armrest as the suspense built up. Then finally there was someone, and Bage's eyes widened, a small gasp leaving into the air as they entered. This couldn't be...

Step, step, step...

they slowly walked carefully and calculated, their red and black outfit shined brightly against the glistening walls and furniture. The Xy'pher was none other than Atomic Flare. When... how...? They had just seen her a few hours ago! How could she have possibly been turned so quickly? Was she like this when they met with her and Null Knight? What did that mean for the others in the Atomic Force? Bage's grip tightened as the pieces started to put themselves together in his head. The Red King was always three steps ahead of them. Finally, as they approached the right side of the throne, the Xy'pher hero turned sharply toward the Breakers.

"Welcome and thank you for your patience, Breakers. The King will now take his place on the throne." Atomic Flare spoke in a firm yet soft voice, "Please rise for his illustrious and radiant Majesty."
 
Bernkastel eyed Avalon from the side of her vision, keeping a serious expression as they were transported to the inside of the castle. Motioning for him to go sit by Berserk, making no remark about leaving the shard with him, she sat next to Zenta with a gentle tug of his arm. However, she did not reach for anything on her plate; partially because etiquette dictates that the guest refrain from eating until the host of highest position is present, but partially because she was busy analyzing everything in sight. It appeared she was looking for something, or someone among the guards but since they all appeared unremarkable to her, she opted for silence.

Seated across from Vegetto at the table, Bernkastel stared at his utterly defeated posture with a neutral expression. She made no pointed remarks or even a haughty sneer in his direction. There was just the sight of a broken, pathetic man in the chair. For the moment they were all made to follow a script laid out by the Red King: experience told her there was no other recourse than to let the one doing it carry out their intended business. Waiting was what irritated her more than the act itself.

Berserk only had one good arm to eat with, but the adrenaline and fighting had left her starved. To take her mind off the pain in her arm, she acquiesced to conversing with Cayde in the meantime as she carefully seared lines through her meat using heat-vision to cut it. "But wait, if you can eat food people normally wouldn't eat cause it's gross or makes us sick... doesn't that make your stomach a glorified garbage disposal? But yknow if you can't eat bombs, what if we modified it so you could spit out acid like one of those dinosaurs in the movies? That'd be pretty sick!"

The overall chattering died down at the sound of someone walking into the dining hall, causing Bernkastel to turn her head. Upon realizing it was Atomic Flare her eyes narrowed instantly before standing up as instructed. Her glare rested behind Atomic Flare in anticipation of who would arrive next.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," she mumbled.
 
After the failed attempt to destroy the castle, Lucifer, admittedly, find it odd that Vegetto hardly said anything. Rather than protest or an uproar spectacle, the potara Saiyan simply sat in silence. Even Bernkastel held no reaction towards the broken man. In a typical fashion, the angel took opportunity of highlighting this fact.

“Quiet, aren’t we?” Lucifer sliced into the meat with precision; the meat juice oozing out after each cut. Lilith slithered around his neck and took a bite from the meat he offered. “But it’s refreshing to my ears to not hear your usual drivel.” He let out a light chortle. “I was so, so sure that the moment you appear, chaos will come. I mean, Spina managed to achieve a level and performed well against the Dark Xy’pher—just as I said. Opposite of that embarrassment display you did just moments earlier, against the very foundation that begun your descend to further lunacy.”

Lucifer hardly looked at Vegetto. “After boasting so much in front of Spina and the Breakers, I would laugh if it weren’t so pathetic. Those who placed themselves in high regard…” He turned his attention to Zenta. “Are doomed to such fate.” He glanced at Bernkastel. “Consider this as a lesson and do take it in mind, in an inevitable clash.”

Ending with that, Lucifer continued eating. His eyes darted around to examine the explicit nature and design of Doom’s castle. He closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. “He’s not here… his presence isn’t here.” Lucifer whispered to himself.

Detective Spawn took his seat after the chatter. In a similar vein to Bage, he was extremely caution of what to come and still didn’t touch any of the food. “Gogeta’s not here. I have a hunch that he told him that Ultraman is now Vortex Man, and he went off.” Spawn thought to himself. Before he can dwell on it anymore, the appearance of Atomic Flare took his attention. The fact that she was indeed a Xy’pher surprised him.

“She was a Xy’pher the whole time.” Spawn realized. He turned to Nia, motioning her for a bit. “Shorty, I need you to do something for me…” He whispered.

Spina, who sat down at the table but away from everyone else, turned to the arrival of Xy’pher Atomic Flare. He didn’t notice her before, but after taking a longer look, there was some familiarity about her. “Tch…” He scowled. For a reason, being asked to stand for anyone, especially someone of higher status, made him nearly gagged. “I ain’t standing for no one. Bring him out here already.” He demanded.
 
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