The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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As the muzzle was put on Zenta, he started to breathe harder, clearly not a big fan of it. As Atomic Flare stomped on his face, more cracks were visible on Zenta's visor. Zenta said nothing and did not fight back, even as Atomic Flare continued to beat him down. Only once he was in the safety of the room with Lucifer and Cayde, did Zenta sit up. The beast was roughed up, but he at least could move around.

With a muzzle over his jaw, all he could do was make small muffled noises and grunts towards Lucifer. For a while, it seemed that he was looking for someone until he stared directly at the pile of Vegetto-cubes. Almost instantly, the fur on his body spiked up, yet, the calm bloody expression he had as still there. Slowly, he turned away from the pile, giving Vegetto his back as he made his way to the corner and sat there. From there, he silently watched the Vegetto-Cubes. He still had a few swords sticking through him, but the Medic-Xy'phers were quick to rush to his help. Normally, Zenta would swat them away for touching his fur, but this time it was different. His entire body was still, unmoved, as he gazed at Vegetto, like a dog waiting for the enemy to move in order to pounce. The only move Zenta did was tap the muzzle, almost as if asking Lucifer to help him out.
"Oh, the King's Psychic powers?" Nia frowned. "His psychic powers are very powerful. He is able to create barriers that can reflect any attack. When attacking, his psychic powers stop you in your tracks. The King gets very creative with his psychic abilities, but his preferred method of killing people is through crushing them very slowly... However, there is one major weakness that I remember."

Nia used her psychic powers to cast a barrier around her and stared at Spawn. However, nothing happened. Only when the barrier was gone, did Spawn's body float in the air.

"The King cannot attack and defend at the same time. In order to bring the full potential of his psychic powers, he needs to focus on whatever is in his line of sight."

"That's easy!" Avalon butted in. "I can make a ton of smoke bombs to block his vision. When he's blinded, we hit him on the head and victory is ours."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. He's not a fool and is fully aware of his weakness. He is able to connect with each and every single Xy'pher under his rule, so he tells them to watch his blindside. Why do you think he surrounds himself with countless Xy'phers? It's a glaring weakness, yes, but he is making damn sure he isn't caught off guard."

"So hittin' his blind side will be twice as hard, especially with a bunch of Xy'phers watching his flank."

"Precisely."

"Well, how did'ja beat him?"

"He underestimated me. He is incredibly arrogant and did not think I was as strong as I was. Now... He's beyond anything I can do. Still, using smoke and lights will benefit us."

"At least it'll give us an advantage..." Avalon sighed. "I can tell this won't be easy."

The ninja then turned to Bernkastel then to the Doom Door. He squinted his eyes at how a weird door wasn't destroyed by Spina, and after hearing Bernkastel explain how her magic wouldn't work, crossed his arms.

"So magic doesn't work on doors? Errm, computer doors? If Spina can't punch it open, and Bernkastel can't miracle-magic her way in..." Avalon bit his lip before approaching the door and knocking on it. "Can't we just blow the wall next to it? Would that work?"
 
The Room

As the Breakers left the room, Lucifer once again took notice of Bernkastel’s appearance. It was apparent that there was a change. After seeing that strange bunny girl that held similar colors in her eyes and hair, it provided additional context to that change. If there was a connection between the Bunny Girl and Bernkastel, the angel will seek answers to such.

It won’t be long before Zenta was tossed into the room by Atomic Flare. “Oh,” Lucifer stared at the bloody beast. “You’re still alive…” A small devilish formed.

“You just missed the best part, young one.” Lucifer chuckled lightly. “While you were having fun with Atomic Flare, I had to let out some frustration.” He shrugged his shoulders as cubes of Vegetto floated around the angel. “Oh, do I hate having to take the initiative, but it’ll be problematic otherwise.” His eyes squinted at the beast, noticing Zenta pointing at the device that kept his mouth shut.

“That won’t do, everyone should be allowed to speak.” Lucifer said, reflecting on his conscious choice on allowing the Potara to speak, despite his situation. He snapped his fingers, and a glimpse of magical energy cackle around the muzzle. Within moments, it shattered, freeing Zenta from it.

“The Breakers departed from this room to explore a little bit. I’m sure it was to get away from here, though.” Lucifer narrowed his eyes. “You can join them.” However, the angel held a sneer. “But I have a feeling that you want to stay here instead. An opportunity that you cannot let it pass now that others aren’t in the picture to get in your way.”

===

The Secret Door of Doctor Doom

“So, the King had to constantly switch between offense and defense.” Spawn landed on his feet after Nia demonstrated such to him. “The Xy’phers aren’t just for show. They are literally his unlimited amount of fodder to compensate for his weakness.” Crossing his arms, he thought about Avalon’s suggestion on using smokes or flashy lights. “We need more than that. If we can force him to be on the offense, and his defense is exposed… we can rock him. We need good coordination and teamwork—”

Before the hellspawn can say anything else, he felt a sense of dread forming in front of him. He raised his head, only to see Spina looking at him with pure annoyance. “Huh… What was that?” It was brief, but there was an alarming level of darkness embroiling underneath the older Saiyan the moment he mentioned teamwork. “Hmm…”

Setting that aside, Spawn pondered on their next move if they cannot access the door. If Spina can brute force their way in, and Bernkastel seems sure that her magic won’t do much good, which includes himself and possibility Lucifer, then their only way is to guess the password. “Most likely that the door prevents the crystals from taking over, so even if we blow those crystals way, we won’t be able to get into the actual room. Otherwise, May would’ve done that by now. Finding the password is our only option… but I assumed you guys barely know anything about him. Hell, you just found out that Valeria had connection to him—”

The keypad picks up the name Valeria, only to reject it. “Access denied. You now have one more chance.”

“Shit.” Spawn realized he made a mistake.

“Tch…” Spina grunted in annoyance. He recalled when he managed to enter that strange manor and thought if he did it again, he can bypass the password. The older Saiyan stare at his lifeless left arm and trying to see if he can tap to that strange power from before.

Moments before Spina even tries to attempt such, in the perspective to only Bernkastel, everything had slowed down. In slow steps, Guardian appeared behind Bernkastel, hugging her in a way like a mother cradle her child. “Hesitation again, little one. Clear Mind is the key that allows you to bypass these kinds of threshold. She said, gently brushing Bernkastel’s hair with her fingers. “Even the mightiest of technologies, Clear Mind will pave the way to find a solution.” She stares at the older Saiyan for a second, before turning her full-on attention at the Witch. “It’s a opportunity to gain experience with Clear Mind, for the things to come later….”
 
The Room

Cayde gasped a bit as his eyes shot open, shooting upright on the bed he slept on. He glanced around briefly, noticing the team had already left and quickly took in the immediate scene. His focus dialed in at the sound of Lucifer's voice, watching on while the muzzle covering Zenta's mouth suddenly split open and dropped to the floor. The android narrowed his eyes slowly, shifting his weight and sliding his legs to hang off the side of the bed. He sat with his back to Lucifer and the floating cubes of Vegetto, his mechanical voice nearly flat in delivery.

"You want some help?"

Vegetto's dual voice first rung out with a scoff while the cubes continued to float, his proud tone strong in determination at the threat Zenta posed.

"This is my fight, Cayde. I don't need your-"

"I wasn't asking you."

The one visible eye in the cubes blinked at being cut off, the exasperated and annoyed tone in the android's voice cutting through the Potara fusion's speech. Whether or not the question was intended for Lucifer or Zenta, however, would not be answered as Cayde promptly rose from the bed to his feet, his back still towards the pair.

"You know what...no...you're not even worth it. The amount of times I covered for your bullshit...how many times Clark covered for it...it's left me tired. It's not a weakness to rely on your friends for help..but I guess you'll always be too damned scared to trust anyone other than yourself. The Rogue Breaker can't be bothered by common peons like me...so I'd better stop wasting time with him and get on to helping the real heroes."

Vegetto grunted in frustration, his dual voice raising out again in annoyance while Cayde began to walk towards the door.

"Damnit Cayde, I wasn't just going to leave you behind! Don't you get it? You...Clark...and I could be free of this worthless place. We could rebuild my world...use the Dragon Balls to make a new universe. I could bring back my son...my wife...and Gogeta. Think about how much better it'd be with all six of us, free of bastards like them!"

Cayde froze in place, his head still down and away from the view of Lucifer and Vegetto while he stopped walking. The android slightly turned his head but never faced towards the pair, a near sarcastic tone in his mechanical voice while he spoke in a mocking enthusiasm towards the suggestion.

"Yeah sure...that sounds great. But only on one condition-"

Cayde fully turned around, his narrowed eyes piercing like daggers in a viscous glare towards the cubes floating around Lucifer and his voice firm in conviction.

"-you don't get to be apart of it. Me...Clark... and Gogeta...deserved better than you. Hell...even your family shouldn't have to put up with you a second time."

Vegetto's one eye rapidly enlarged in rage, yet his dual voice resonated with focus and controlled vitriol.

"You better choose your next words carefully, or else they might be your last Cayde."

Cayde scoffed.

"Ok fine, in that case...here are my last words to you."

The android kept a fierce glare in meeting the cubed eye, his posture never once wavering under the threat.

"Doctor Doom did your wife a favor. Being vaporized from existence is a better fate than having to support a rat like you."

The cubed eye blinked hard in response, red veins slowly beginning to bulge in the whites of the Potara fusion's eyes while Cayde promptly turned his back to the cubes and Lucifer. The android stood a few feet next to Zenta with his face only visible to the beast, his eyes to the floor. A pained, melancholy expression hung on the android's face while he slowly inhaled through his nose; as if regretting the notion of leaving off on that final note. Yet Cayde's head lifted once more, exhaling slowly and committing to detaching from Vegetto as he strode towards the exit and disappeared into the hallway.


The Secret Door of Doctor Doom

The loud crunching of metal and leather striking the ground began to grow louder after the door uttered a final warning for the password, Cayde panting heavily as he finished running up towards the group. He leaned forward and gripped his knees in bending over, panting heavily.

"Ughh...jeez...I'm so out of shape. Sorry I'm...late...whew...slept in a little."
 
"I'd much rather we don't get attacked by him if he'll crunch us down into puzzle cubes," Berserk said. "But there's no way we can get rid of every last Xypher he has either, it's impossible. The only thing that works for sure is once one Xy'pher attacks another, they'll practically eat their own. There's gotta be some way of using that against them."

Bernkastel glanced over her shoulder to glare over at Spawn in annoyance of his mistake, holding a hand up to silence the group before tensing her body language once Guardian appeared.

"You know, you don't look like the type to be touchy. Or is this your way of getting me to slip up my concentration?" Bern half-joked in a deadpan tone at the invasion of her personal space. Since the space around them was distorted she figured it was okay to respond through her thoughts. To everyone else, Bernkastel was just silent. "It's not hesitation anyway... I just haven't gotten used to having this sort of help is all." The last part of her sentence was strangely melancholic.

Holding her breath in, her eyes flashed a bolder white with her gaze glossing over the doors. "We just need to get through these double doors.... where could I find the password?" She glanced at Guardian questioningly. "Or is there a way of using the keypad directly?"
 
May takes out a portable hacking kit and sets it up and starts to hack the lock. May says "you do know that I may have some experience doing something like this it doesn't mean that I know every password or how each keypad works like the back of my hand. Despite my knowledge and what other think I am; I am still classified as human." May starts to hack the keypad in order to open the door.

May thinks "It might be uncommon but it's one I worked on before so it should be easy for myself to unlock."
 
As the muzzle was released from Zenta, he rubbed his jaw. For a moment, he said nothing, trying his best to remain composed, until finally, a long sigh escaped his lips. He took several deep breaths before letting his shoulders droop to a neutral position as his body finally relaxed. The beast gave Cayde a humble bow before he left and swiftly turned to Lucifer.

"Thank you, Lucifer. I do not like having those devices on my jaw, they are rather uncomfortable." Zenta said, before examining the Vegetto Cubes floating around the Angel. He seemed intrigued, yet, understanding. "I am not surprised you managed to pull something like. Seems like your initiative is chopping people into cubes. Your magic fascinated me."

Zenta circled Lucifer, but was more interested in the Vegetto-Cubes. He reached out and poked a few, just to see what would happen.

"So the others left. I see... Well then, why not have a conversation before our executions?" The Beast then stood before Lucifer, similar to how they spoke in Rogue City, and just like before, Zenta spoke in a similar fashion. "Why did you dice up Vegetto, anyway? Not that I am complaining, but still..." Zenta chuckled as he poked another Vegetto-Cube. "How long will you keep him like this?"

==============

"Teamwork is exactly how I defeated the Red King back on Earth." Nia said to Spawn. "The King is a tactical genius, so he is not afraid of sacrificing his own Xy'phers for a greater goal. You guys are a great team, tho'! You all remind me of me and my friend..." Nia's cheeks blushed, and a sincere smile formed on her lips. "Without Mesha, I don't know if I would've been able to beat the King... You are all lucky to have such growing bonds and each other. Cherish yourselves..."

"Berserk's right... Xy'phers are practically coded to kill anyone who betrays the King." Avalon bit his lip, pondering. "Hey! What if I turn myself into a clone of the King? Would that fool the Xy'phers?"

"Not exactly. See, the Xy'phers kinda share a mind with the King. Well, more like their minds belong to him. The King is able to relay orders to Xy'phers in their heads. So they don't exactly have to 'hear' the King, but rather, obey the voice in their head." Nia shivered. "Like literal brainwashing..."

"So if we can find a way to speak into their minds, then we can control them?" Avalon frowned. "But how are we gonna do that? None of us can use mind powers, right?" The ninja turned to Bernkastel before tilting his head. "Maybe Bernkastel can, but I don't think she can cast a spell that can control each and every Xy'pher..."

"Even if she could, that would only work for a short while. They will regain their senses... Fighting him head-on would be dangerous, especially since he's got his weaknesses covered. I recommend taking out as many Xy'phers as you can before aiming at the King. That's how Mesha and I got the best of him." Nia sighed. "Thing is, I don't know how many Xy'phers this army has..."

"Crowd control, eh? That reminds me! Hey Bernkastel, that crystal you gave me, I can clone it, right--" Avalon stared at Bernkastel and saw how silent she was, almost as if she was staring off into the distance. He did not understand what was happening to Bernkastel, so he left her alone for the meanwhile. "So, uhhh, anyone else got some plans?"
 
The Room

“Oh, it was quite an event!” Lucifer purposely over-exaggerated. “I’d grew tired of hearing drivel, immature philosophy that even [distorted sounds] perished in embarrassment!” The angel crossed his legs in an elegant manner. “It creates a false sense of pride, delusions, and entitlement! Ooh~, as the symbol of pride, it just breaks my dear, old heart to see pride so pathetic! A disaster that prevents any chance of achieving creator’s essence!” After speaking in a joking manner, the angel’s tone grew serious. “I have no interest in his routine and his constant interference with the Breakers’ progression. And until my mood improves significantly, he’ll stay like that.”

Seeing that Cayde left the room after exchanging harsh words to Vegetto, Lucifer simply let out a hearty laugh. A whiplash of his grim tone just moments before. “Cayde just left when we’re just getting into the best part, Zenta.” The angel grabbed a specific piece of Vegetto’s cube and pierced his fingers through it. He pulled something out of it and turned to Zenta. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll join in this hilarious discovery, hmm?” He placed two coins on Zenta’s palms. “Take a guess of what I just handed to you.”

===

The Secret Door of Doctor Doom

“I have no doubt of your abilities, May.” Detective Spawn said. “But considering the level of technology Doctor Doom has, and not even the Red King can brute force his way in, that’s another risk that we can’t afford to make.” He turns to Nia. “Don’t know about that, but thanks for the information. I’d highly doubt Lucifer would be participating in the battle, so he’s out.” The hellspawn turns to Bage. “Any ideas?”

Spawn noticed Cayde catching up to the group. "Decided to tag along with us, huh? Not surprised you don't want to be around that punk."

“You’re quick the uptake, little one. Though I do admit that embracing you does humor me somewhat.” Guardian responded, slightly narrowing her eyes when she expressed discomfort of achieving help. “You are my pupil, after all. It’ll be a tragedy for you to fail.” She rests her chin on top of Bernkastel’s head.

“For now, focus on the keypad itself. Once you bypass the magical properties, you’ll gained access to the voiceprints for the password you seek.” Guardian said. “Quite simple… though, I would advise to ensure that your concentration won’t be disturbed once you discover it.”
 
"I agree, the constant display of this plastic pride does get annoying very quick. Recently, it has been more persistent, however, I am more keen to ignore it at this point. Like background noise!" Zenta laughed alongside Lucifer. However, once Lucifer's tone turned serious, so did his.

Creator's essence? What is that..? Zenta tilted his head slightly, yet, a sly smile formed on his maw. He lifted his hand to cover his smile. Another slip of the tongue or a deliberate clue, you never cease to surprise me, Lucifer Morningstar. You always keep me on my toes.

"Ah, well, do try not to humiliate him anymore, Lucifer." The beast lowered his hand to show his devious smirk. He, too, enjoyed Vegetto's suffering and seemed to be on par with Lucifer's sadism. "More discoveries, eh Lucifer?"

As Lucifer placed the two coins in Zenta's hand, he said nothing for a moment. Due to his blindness, he cannot outright see who's coins it was and only assumed the worst. Starting with the first coin, he gently trailed his finger all over the Coin, painting a picture of it in his head. his mouth muttered the letters he was picking up.

"Ah, this is Air Dancer's Coin." Zenta finally said, holding up the coin and pretending to examine it. "He was an odd fellow, that was for sure. At least he is not taken by the Xy'phers. I will keep this Coin hidden." Zenta began to touch the second Coin, carefully tracing over every detail. "Now then, who is this?"

There were several moments of silence as Zenta quietly deciphered who this Coin was. In the back of his head, he assumed it was his student but the details were off. As his fingers trailed around the Coin, he carefully sounded out the name under his breath.

"Go...ge...ta--"

Zenta stopped and pulled his finger back, quickly realizing whose coin he was holding. The beast gazed down at the Coin, frowning as the realization settled in. His shoulders slumped in defeat and his expression was that of grief as he shook his head. A hand went through his hair while the Beast exhaled a long sigh.

"Well, that explains why Gogeta is not here with us." Zenta said, pocketing Air Dancer's Coin and holding Gogeta's Coin in the air. "At least not physically. He did not have to suffer this fate... A death lost to the wind, never to be spoken of, not even by his own brother. He meant that little to you, didn't he, Vegetto?" Zenta continued to circle Lucifer and the Vegetto Cubes, his sinister smile returning. "You are lucky Lucifer got to you before I could. Blessed, truly. Not only for hiding Gogeta's death from us, but insulting my student. ...I will be sure to inform Lady Bernkastel about Gogeta's demise, should we survive our executions, that is." Zenta's smile withered down to a frown. "I only hope Gogeta went quickly."

Zenta paused before glancing down at Gogeta's coin, almost at a lack of words. He only remembered the time when he was a Coin and that he was still able to hear voices, albeit, very faintly. Maybe it will work on Gogeta.

"I will protect you better than your brother, and I promise to reunite you to Bernkastel." Zenta said to the Coin. "I'll be waiting for your return, Gogeta. After all, you owe Cuki a spar, yes?" Taking a deep breath, Zenta stuffed the Gogeta Coin safely deep within his fur tuffs on his chest. No matter how hard he moved, the Coin would stay in place, protected. He turned to Lucifer, fixing his fur back into place.

"Now then, you mentioned something... Creator's Essence. Care to elaborate a tad?"
 
May says as she keeps at it "Worst case scenario I just have to bypass this lock in other ways. It seems so far, it's mostly soul locked. Did not look like a world like doom's magic was that advance. The best way to deal with these is to trick both parts of this lock." Keeps looking over this being careful not to trip anything.

May says "Besides that I only running simulations unlocking the lock at this point. Odds are good that someone will unlock it making all my work mute any way."
 
Bage followed along listening to the others try to formulate a plan to escape the execution. it wasn't until Avalon mentioned the Xy'phers attacking due to betrayal toward the king that got the gears turned in his mind. He remained silent until Spawn called for his attention.

"Well... If taking out as many Xy'phers is the main priority, I think I have an idea." Bage stated, "It's almost guaranteed that at least one of those Xy'pher elites will be in the fight to ensure we go down. And between Walter and Atomic Flare, I'm willing to bet Atomic Flare will be in the ring with us since thus far, she's shown a lot of aggression toward us in the small amount of time we've met her. And Walter seems to always be at the Red King's side because of his ability, so he'll at least be watching close by. That's where the plan comes into play!"

He turned to Avalon first, "Instead of aiming for the King to imitate since as Nia said, they'll see Avalon as an obvious fake, He can clone himself after Atomic Flare and Walter. We know that all of the elites so far have had free will of their own. So if Avalon were to do anything that looks like betraying the king as both them, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary from the last few times its happened! my hope is that a good amount of the foot soldiers will focus on putting down the elite, because they wouldn't be able to sense that the clones are fakes." Bage turned to the rest of the group as he continued.

"Once that happens, we'll need complete and total teamwork to take the Red King down. That will be our only chance before the Xy'phers get finished bombarding the Elites. How does that sound?"
 
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