The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

[~ Z ~]

The Red King continues his final assault. The Psychic Void, as he dubbed it, tore away anything in its path. Whatever colors left in its wake, vanished within. Upon Vegetto rushing in and slamming against his core, the Red King laughed manically, with assistance of May’s white hole grenade to cancel the effects of his attack.

“Foolishness!” Red King mocked the Potara fusion. “Struggle all you want, but my powers eclipsed beyond your comprehension! No matter what you do, my word is LAW. IT IS JUST! AND I SAY, YOU WILL DIE BY MY HAND!” As the psychic void reached critical point, tearing away the fabric of reality around the Breakers like glass. “DISAPPEAR INTO THE PSYCHIC VOID, AND BEAR WITNESSED IN YOUR DAMNED HEARTS THAT I, THE CREATOR GOD OF EVERYTHING, BESTED YOU! THE RED CREATOR—”

There was the sound of shattering glass. Not from the fabric of reality being torn apart, rather the Red King’s core itself. The Red King looked down at his chest, feeling the sudden rush of pain consuming his body.

The Psychic Void halted, and the disruption of reality ceased. The aftereffect of May’s grenade kicked in, reversing the destructive gravitational pull and freeing the Breakers from its grasp. The King remained motionless; he lowered his head to stare at his core, seeing not just a shattered mess, but a massive gap in his chest. He looked up in front of him and saw Spina with his fist raised and tiny crystal fragments. He attempted to say something. Yet, in any attempt to speak, he violently coughed out fragments. Moments after, the Psychic Void itself, thanks to Vegetto’s last ditch punch, exploded violently, flinging all the Breakers back.

It was a brilliant explosion. The colors in the vicinity had outright vanished, replaced with nothing more than black, white, and shades of gray. There were pieces of reality missing, forming solid black voids in its place. It leads nowhere; the pieces that managed to fly out were scattered about the area. It looked like a puzzle with pieces in all the wrong places.

When the dust finally settled from the epicenter, there lay the King, his core shattered. The only thing left of him was his upper torso and a single arm. The Xy’pher did not move, or struggle. He knew the battle was over.

“How did I… lose?” He gasped. “I am… the supreme being…”

“Looks like you weren’t as tough as you thought…” Nia said as she floated towards the King. Now that the gravitational force was gone, all the Breakers would walk and fly easily. “This is not our world anymore.”

“That… shouldn’t matter. I am the embodiment of perfection… No matter where I go, I am superior. All bow to me…”

“Well, that did not bode well for you, now, did it?” Nia smirked. “You are of no threat now. You lost. I sense not an ounce of psychic powers left in you…”

“…I lost.” The King said softly. “Is this… how it feels? What happens now?”

“You’ll die. Your core is shattered beyond repair. Even now, your physical body is nearly gone.”

“Heh… Well then, not all is a loss. I take you down as well.”

Nia remained quiet as she watched the King lift his only arm into the air. To the King, he was reaching to the Vortex Moon, trying to grab it in his hand. The familiar cracks started to show across his body, light seeping through them. The King stared at his cracking arm, not in fear, but curiosity and awe.

“My body is starting to glow… Even in death… I am beautiful.”

“Hmph, still full of himself even in death.” Cuki said using her spear as a walking stick. Her missing arm was sucked into the void, disappearing. “Right Master…?”

“Indeed.” Zenta said while he stepped next to Cuki. His wound was worse up close. Some shattered ribs, pelvis, and part of his spine were exposed. Any organs in that area were ripped to shreds or shifted around mid-fight by Zenta. Despite his gruesome wound, the beast kept his usual composure, clasping his arms behind his back.

“I wonder… how will the Breakers fight the creature beyond the moon? The one who… nearly took my mind…?” The King gasped, his cracks getting bigger and bigger until the light started to blind everyone. “I get it now… This fate bestowed on me… Death… Maybe… this world… is not my own… Maybe… I am… not…the su…pre…m…e…be…i…n…g…”

The King’s body exploded into a small tuff of smoke and dust before the same dust swirled around and condensed itself into a single Vortex Coin labeled “RED KING.” On one side was a picture of his core and the other, the physical form the Breakers first saw him in. The coin spun around on the ground before finally lying flat.

“It’s over.” Nia sighed as she reached over to pick up the coin. “I guess this is farewell?”

“Where are you headed to, Nia?” Zenta questioned.

“No where, once the King dies, all Xy’phers die with him.” The Xy’pher laughed. Around the Breakers, Xy’pher cores began to pop, releasing the Coin trapped within. Any Xy’her that was still alive during the fight would pop and disappear, freeing the Coin within. This applies to any Xy’pher created within the Reality Vortex. “Take care of this Coin and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, Breakers.”

As Nia spoke, Panich’s body started to glow and instantly pop into a glitter dust, with a single coin at the bottom of the pile. Cuki’s face immediately morphed into horror as she pushed Bage out of her way and fell on her knees, gently cupping Panich’s Coin in her one hand. Her voice started to crack, and her nose sniffled.

“Pan-Pan… No… Please… don’t go.” Cuki gripped the Coin tightly against her chest, as if to hug it. “Don’t leave me…”

“Ah, yes. I should be next.” Nia cleared her throat. She did not seem scared to turn to a Coin. In a way, she knew that destroying the Red King would result in her death. “Farewell!”

Nia closed her eyes tightly. Several seconds passed and nothing happened. Long after the last ‘pop’ was heard, Nia remained. The Xy’pher opened one eye and seemed genuinely confused at the situation. After waiting nearly a full minute, Nia scratched the back of her head, blushing sheepishly.

“Uhh, I was supposed to die, so what gives?” Her eyes scanned the black and white surroundings. “Maybe… it applies to the Xy’phers made…here?” Nia looked at the Breakers as she held the King’s coin. “Well… uhh, what do you guys usually do to celebrate the death of a tyrant?”

 

[Z-Fighter]

Bara sighed of relief as she recovered from being flung back by the intensity of the explosion, resetting her body back with relative ease thanks to its unique composition, just in time to watch the other Xy'phers die.

"It's over..." she muttered.

 

[meta knight]

May says in an experienced tone "Nia and Cuki, I should remind you that death is not permeant in the vertex. I don't know how long the red king or Pan-pan will take to revive but they will revive. O and I think all those counted as sapient or "free will" I think get coined. The rules of revival seem random to me."

May says as she starts to take out orbs in order to scout the doom castle "Knowing the brakers luck I will for now you can count it as over for now."

May says "That is something I kind of wish to know. So far, this victory does not seem as hollow as the doom fight's ending seemed. No one has suffered a as close as we know a perma-death and coined people all seem limited."

 

[ShineCero]

The detective dropped the chains, releasing everyone safely to the ground. Panting hard, he’d cringed at Nia’s questioning about celebrating. “You’re so damn awkward. There’s nothing to celebrate about.” He lost a few souls in the process and took heavy damage from that explosion, but he was still stable enough to move around. “The Detective Agency will take that Coin off your hands.” The hellspawn swipes the Coin from Nia without waiting for a response. “Considering his reputation, he won’t be coming back after a long time.”

Naturally, the Detective also notices Spina’s changed demeanor who returned to the battle in one-piece. But something is off about him. Once again, he appeared in a different state, but it doesn’t seem to be a transformation of some kind. More like a mutation in Spawn’s eyes. Spina, from his perspective, always seems erratic in his behaviors. From overly aggressive to passively towards others, Spina was inconsistent. Here, for the first time, Spawn felt some kind of stability in the old Saiyan. He felt… genuine rage oozing from that man.

“What?” Spina side eyed Spawn, lowering his left fist. His strange state did not disappear, seemingly a permanent look.

“Nothing.”

“Good.”

Detective Spawn felt uneasy and left it at that.

--

“Breaking one’s limits requires adaptation and more importantly, a sound mind. Fogs of egotism inhibited his evolution and he fell from grace.” Lucifer spread out his first set wings, while keeping Bernkastel safe in the comfort of his second set.

“Miss Lilith. Are you still in one piece?”

Lilith emerged from Lucifer’s shadow and nodded once. “Yes…” She was clearly injured due to the destructive power from the psychic void attack. She could barely stand on her two feet.

“You may rest now. I’ll handle things from here.” Lilith disappears as Lucifer takes flight. Heading towards the pocket area that was significant changed from Red King’s final attack. The moment he entered; all his colors were replaced with monochrome tone.

“Rather bleak but comforting. Reminds me of years after I fell from grace.” Lucifer landed near the Breakers. “An interesting battle,” he clapped. “Marvelous display of strength. A sluggish start, a dreadful ending, but you limped to the finish line. Someone undergoing Limit Break is a rare sight, and you Breakers managed to pull a victory.” The angel observed Spina but did not comment on it. As with the others, he’s in the dark about what’s going on with the Saiyan Leader. “Lest be a lesson; they who pride themselves hasten, blindly, their own demise.”

Lucifer noticed the string of injuries on the Breakers. “I’ll attend to your injuries. You are all very tacky; quite embarrassing.” With a single clap, all the Breakers were healed, and their energies restored. However, only the Breakers recovered: the Detectives, Vegetto and Cuki did not receive the angel’s healing powers.

 

[Vegetto]

Limping up to the gathering team after their recovery, Cayde held up Avalon around his shoulders by the arm while he walked. His mechanical voice rung out next after Lucifer, a pointed tone showing his clear disdain for the condescending remarks alongside a serious, genuine appraisal of everyone's performance.

"Yeah yeah, don't listen to that backseat driver. Point is...we won...and you guys fought like real guardians today! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...not many people can say they killed a god and his entire army, you know."

The android glanced amongst the team for a moment, an uncomfortable expression forming as he watched Cuki and potentially Bage mourning the loss of Panich. Cayde shifted his stance slightly, uncomfortable yet doing his very best to avoid interfering with their mourning, but soon lifted his head towards Nia with a confident, salesman-like tone in his voice to answer her original question.

"Well, Nia...would you like to know what the most delicious food in the universe is?"

---

"It's over."

The words spoken by Brachi resonated with Vegetto as he floated high up in the air, the gleam of his silver hair and eyes glistening in the sunlight. With the Red King defeated and gone, reality began to slowly set in for the Potara fusion, who stared down at the gathering Breakers while praise was lauded their way. He looked on passively while the team conversed; his eyes watching Cayde brighten up in their presence and couldn't help but form a small smile of his own. Yet it quickly passed as Vegetto realized that he felt just as he was in the moment: an outsider looking in.

By his own hand and words, he had scorned the Breakers with viscous and terrible commandments. He had attempted to make them even bend their knees to his whims; perhaps for even worse reasons than the Red King because it was all in pursuit of misguided vengeance. In the end, the battle was a joint effort to defeat a common enemy and with that enemy gone, Vegetto felt he no longer deserved to be welcomed by the Breakers' company. The Potara fusion quietly lowered his head, a somber acceptance of his actions having the consequence as he thought to himself.

Sorry Clark...Cayde. I know you wanted better from me...but this is my best. Even after all this time...I could only help them a little bit...while they were the ones still saving me.

Vegetto stifled a small huff of amusement, a small smile forming as his silver eyes turned up towards the sky.

I get it though...now. Everyone was right...I am weak. And I was so scared of that truth...I still am a little bit...but I realize now that means I have so much more to do here. I get to be like that little guy who went from fighting in local tournaments...to challenging the gods.

Vegetto's silver eyes continued to stare down at the Breakers, a long exhale escaping his nostrils.

Thank you...Breakers..for saving me. When I leave...the last ember of that fruitless battle will die out. And at last...those old evils will finally be gone.

The Potara fusion slowly floated to the side, turning his back to the team below while he looked out over the horizon. Thanks to the Breakers, he was finally free from the chains that haunted him; his love for battle reignited in the optimism to become stronger once more. It was a mutual trade in his mind; his strength helped them win against the Red King while they gave him the chance to be whole once more. Now unburdened by his past, Vegetto looked out and began to think on his decision to leave not just the Breakers, but Clark and Cayde as well. It would be better for everyone, he rationalized, for him to leave now that there was no longer a powerful foe threatening them. To no longer take from others, and set out on his ambition to be better than what he was.

Yet he did not fly forward in a bright gleaming dash at the prospect, despite every rationalizing thought he entertained at the notion. Vegetto remained still; a pervasive point slowly kicking its way into his brain as he couldn't help but feel that he was repeating another problem of the past: running away. He narrowed his eyebrows, looking out into the distance again in realizing that the direction he wanted to go was not as bright and vibrant as the area he currently floated in. The dark storm clouds in the distance held a strange familiarity to them; the downpour of rain and the intense clouds masking what laid out in the distance he stared into. Instinctively he thought of how cold and decrepit it seemed, and his mind wandered immediately instead to what he wanted.

Warmth, and sunshine. The petty, yet vibrant bickering of the apartment. Laughter and food, surrounded by people trying to come together. People he did not know well, but an anchor held him there. Vegetto frowned as he reached up, lightly touching his right arm in an attempt to remember the smaller, feminine hands that used to cling to it in those moments. His head remained forward, but his silver eyes turned back down, longingly moving towards where the Breakers all gathered and conversed.

 

[~ Z ~]

“He will come back, huh?” Nia turned to the Red King’s Coin in Spawn's hand. “Well, let’s make sure we’re prepared for it. I heard that those who did bad things take longer to come back. Hopefully, he stays as a Coin for a very long time.”

As the group was healed, Avalon began to stir from his unconscious slumber and flutter his eyes open. He turned to Cayde and looked around the battlefield, confused as to why everything was black and white. The questions will have to come later as he shifted himself to stand up without Cayde’s help. The ninja stared at his hands, opening and closing them.

I feel stronger… Sure, I’m tired as hell, but I feel… different.

“I’m guessing we won.” Avalon said. “For a second there, I thought I died.” He paused before staring down at the ripped shirt he had. In the middle was a hole, no doubt from the javelin the King skewered him with. “Ehhh, maybe I shouldn’t talk about it.”

“A noble act of courage, Avalon.” Zenta spoke up, his left side morphing back to normal from Lucifer’s healing magic. He then turned to Cuki and slowly approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. However, as he petted her back, he felt that her arm was missing. “Cuki, are you hiding your arm?”

“No.” Cuki said while she straightened herself out and used her single arm to clean her face. “It was torn off by the King.” She lied.

“I see… Did Lucifer not heal you?”

“Guess not.” Cuki mumbled. “Doesn’t matter.”

A frown formed on Zenta's face. The way his student lied to him only confirmed several things in his head.

“Oh, hey! Cuki!” Avalon perked up when he heard Cuki's voice. “Hey, hold on!”

“What?” Cuki spat coldly.

“I just wanted to apologize.” Avalon took a step towards the youngster. “Look, I know we started off in the wrong foot, but I’m really sorry for sayin’ all those things to you and, uhh… nearly killing you.”

Cuki remained silent through Avalon’s apology, eyeing and tracing over Panich’s coin in her hand. While it seemed that she was not paying attention, she listened to every word from Avalon.

“…Listen, I was a jerk to you, so I understand why you might hate me, but I was waaaaay over my head. I stuck around with the Breakers and helped them out because I knew I’d eventually find you. I really wanted to apologize because, well, I was a total ass...” Avalon bowed his head to the youth. “I’m sorry, Cuki.”

There was a long pause from Cuki as she continued to fiddle around with Panich’s coin. Zenta turned his head to his student, silently waiting for her response. He felt anxious, fearing when—and what Cuki’s response might be. His ears immediately twitched the moment he heard her voice.

“It’s okay.” Cuki said gently. “Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes.” She then turned to Avalon, giving him a smile. “Thanks for sticking with the Breakers.”

“Y-Yeah! We had our ups and downs, but they’re pretty cool! They can fly and shoot friggin’ laser beams!”

The way Avalon praised the Breakers brought a smile to Cuki’s face, and for once, she seemed…back to how they remembered her. However, as Cuki reminisced, a mist began to appear around her body as well as the area the Breakers were located in. By instinct, Cuki’s eyes rolled, and her lips pressed into a thin line. Zenta, on the other hand, let out a sigh, fully aware of who was about to make his presence. All the Beast did was walk to Bernkastel’s side and lift the Witch into his arms, cradling the female.

“Here we go…” Zenta muttered to himself.

“Ah, what nice things to say about the Breakers, little Avalon~! They are quite the spectacle, aren’t they?” Byakko teased, resting his chin on the top of Cuki’s head. The ladder swatted his misty hair away from her face.

“Well then, don’t you have something to say too, Byakko?” Cuki scolded. “Now’s a good time.”

“Ooh phooey, must I? I don’t feel ready…”

“You said you wanted to do it, right? What are you waiting for?” Cuki grabbed his chin and turned his face right to the Breakers. “Go.”

Byakko yanked his face away from Cuki’s grip, glaring down at her. The Divine Being stared awkwardly at the group before letting out a long sigh. His shoulders slumped as a slight pink hue flushed his face. Stubbornly, he pulled his chin up to hide the embarrassing blush.

“Well, if I must…” Byakko eyed each Breaker before taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Breakers.”

Zenta nearly dropped Bernkastel after hearing those three words come from Byakko, of all people. Byakko was not lying about it either, his apology was genuine. As the beast listened, Byakko’s posture became soft and his usual quick and sarcastic wit was silenced.

“I… I am sorry for my actions in the past. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a big fan of your actions—in fact, I absolutely detest you, but I should not have taken Cuki away from you. I just… didn’t want Cuki to get hurt. Your actions back then were so… reckless and irrational, yet Cuki saw nothing but light and joy in you. Like a puppy. I thought that if I took over her body, that she wouldn’t get hurt if you ended up abusing her trust, but, well…”

“My, my! An apology from the Being of Willpower?” Zenta said with a toothy smirk. “What an honor this is!”

“Shut your trap, or I’ll rip your teeth out one by one. My apology is not meant for you, it is for the Breakers. Do not speak to me, you vile, disgusting beast!” Byakko hissed. His calm and collected composure instantly became tense. His eyes narrowed, and his pupils turned into slits matching a cat’s eyes. All this from Zenta’s voice. “You disgust me… Of all the people to come to this realm, you had to be one… Hmph!”

“Whoa, whoa, Lord Byakko! Zenta’s cool too!” Avalon butted in, trying to defuse the tension. “No need to get… stressed.”

“As I was saying,” Byakko turned his back to Zenta as he lowered his head to bow humbly to the Breakers. “I am sorry for the confusion, strain, and grief my actions have caused you. However, please do not blame or look down on Cuki, her actions reflect primarily on mine… I simply wanted to protect her.”

What the hell happened before I got here? Seems like a mess… Speaking of mess… Avalon stared at Cuki’s state, noticing that she was one of the few who did not get healed. Her arm was missing, and it did not seem to be regenerating. I thought Lucifer healed us?

“Hey, what gives?” Avalon spoke up. “Lucifer, why didn’t you heal Cuki or Spawn? What gives? Playing favorites?”

 

[LoopyPanda]

Berserk stared over the horizon at all the Coins shining on the ground. "So this is how it feels to save the world from devastation?" She asked to nobody in particular. "It was a real adrenaline rush, I'll give ya that... but I dunno if I'd do this for a job on the regular." The delinquent caught a glimpse of Vegetto hovering up above the group, but saw he was clearly deep in thought about something. Examining his line of sight she slowly understood the silent hesitation. The conversation below was between the apparition she believed to be similar to Seilong, and so left the topic between Byakko and the original Breakers who had quarreled with him.

"It's not really my place," Berserk tilted her head to meet Vegetto's gaze, "But if you're gonna bail on 'em, the least you can do is tell them what happened to Gogeta. Or is that also too inconvenient?"

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

Bernkastel was stirred awake from the racket Byakko was making towards Zenta. Slowly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, the Witch took everything in-- the drastic change in surroundings, the silence around them, and all the Coins were a rather jarring contrast to what she saw before losing consciousness. Immediately her instinct was to look for Spina, staring at him intently from over Zenta's shoulder. Her blank expression softened the longer she took in the changes to Spina's appearance.

If I knew how to use it properly, I could've stopped it in time... I'm still too weak.

"...But you're alive." Bernkastel turned back to see the others. "Everyone is alive?" Staring straight at Cuki, the Witch almost couldn't believe it. There wasn't a trace of crystal on her. Worse for wear, certainly, but still alive. "So you were the one who escaped the castle... what a relief." Even though her emotions were heavily dampened and she was harsh on herself, Bernkastel was still able to feel relieved that additional casualties were prevented. "But wait... if you're alive, then who was the other captive?" She quirked a brow pensively before realizing Cuki's missing arm, as well as the Detectives were sporting heavier injuries; the others were pristine as could be. That wasn't how she remembered the state of them.

"... I may have missed something while I was out," Bernkastel concluded plainly.

 

[Panich]

In the blink of an eye the battle was over, Spina had returned, the Red Kings core was shattered and the void was gone. Bage could feel a sudden relief at finally seeing the Red King's coin, finally solidifying the end of the long battle. He watched in silence along side the Breakers and his fellow detectives.

Panich looked in the air along with the others, finally relaxing once the King was gone. Watching Nia pick up the coin she smirked, chucking at seeing the Red king reduced to a coin and nothing more. If she were her she'd find a way to destroy the pitiful thing once and for all. However, in her silent celebration, she had almost missed Nia explaining that once the King had gone, they would be next! Her attention shifted once she began glowing, and soon she realized she didn't have anytime to say goodbye to Bage or Cuki.

“Bage.” She called quietly, causing the other to instinctively turn his head from Nia. The Saiyan detective gasped slightly seeing the glow as she smiled softly at him. “See you soon. Take care of each other.”

The moment felt like it would drag on for an eternity, then without a moments notice her crystal body popped and all that was left was her coin.

Bage hesitated a moment, still processing Panich's sudden disappearance the message that was given to him. He finally attempted to reach for the coin but was shoved away by Cuki frantically diving for the coin herself.

Bage namely panicked, he had finally gotten to see her and now she was a coin in another person's hands other than his. The saiyan detective approached Cuki in an attempt to get the coin from her, but seeing her cupping it so carefully. He was starting to understand what Panich meant by taking care of one another.

He waited patiently as Byakko had finished his apology and Avalon seemed to scold Lucifer. Then he took this opportunity to sit with her.

“Hello Cuki. I know this may seem like a bad time for introductions but… I'm Bage, Panich's partner. I see that she was very important to you too.” He said with a somber smile, looking down at the coin in her hand. “I'm really glad she was able to make friends while I was gone for so long…”

Seeing Cuki holding the coin so close, it almost made the detective feel guilty for what he was about to ask her.

 

[Vegetto]

Vegetto froze in mid air at Berserk's comment, a slight stunned expression on his face at the notion that he completely forgot about Gogeta's death. He paused at the thought, thinking hard on the battle to recollect what happened and immediately frowned. The battle had unfolded due to his beliefs and thought processes, but in the end, it was Clark who dealt the final blow that killed Gogeta. He thought for a moment at that prospect; perhaps the Breakers would fully blame him for Gogeta's death if he explained it fully, but there was still a chance that Clark would be their target regardless. His eyes narrowed a bit, a determination clear in his expression for what he was about to do.

"Oh...right."

He turned back towards the Breakers, his gaze never once meeting Berserk's as he descended slowly down to the ground nearby. Only a foot away from the group, Vegetto exhaled slowly; the silver gleam on his hair and eyes vanishing into thin air. Standing still, the Potara fusion watched on while the others conversed and spoke, hesitant to break the topic and drop the news. Yet after a few seconds, Vegetto cleared his throat audibly, his dual voice ringing out strong through the air.

"Listen everyone...I know you heard the Red King say that Gogeta is dead."

Vegetto paused briefly, his determination still strong but faltering ever so slightly as he glanced down. His eyes soon shot back up, however, his eyebrows narrowing with a firm stance once he continued speaking.

"I killed him."

 

[Z-Fighter]

"Wait what?!" Bara asked, overhearing this while at the same time watching the others move about and do their thing, seeking out coins herself to salvage and seeing Bage and Cuki fretting about the coin that was Panich.