The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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"Oh no, it's not over yet until one of us is knocked out. As long as she keeps getting back up, I have to keep fighting," Avalon answered Berserk before turning to Bernkastel. "Huh? What are you talking about? I'm using some of Seilong's powers so I expect Cuki to do the same with Byakko! After all, we agreed to both be going all out and having no one interfere."

Upon mentioning the name Seilong again and Avalon's association with the being, Zenta nearly froze in his spot. He gazed directly towards Avalon and felt some of the furs on his body stand up, finally aware of why the energy he sensed from Avalon felt strangely familiar. Once Bernkastel's voice trailed over to him, he snapped back to reality, slowly gaining his composure once again. 

"Yes, Byakko is present within Cuki but it seems that he does not want to appear, well, yet." The mentor replied. Still... could this boy be..?

"You still moving, Cuki?" Avalon said while casually making his way to the hole. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Cuki was battered, bleeding, and horribly beaten, yet, despite her condition, she refused to stay down even if Avalon was beyond her league. Her arms and legs shook as she pushed herself up and through the hole before rolling down on the floor from exhaustion. Once again, she refused to stay down and staggered back up on her feet. By this point, Cuki's hair was down and some of it dangled in front of her face. The sensation of all eyes on her made her heart race but she lowered her stance to the Tiger pose the group was familiar with. Avalon grinned at this.

"That's the spirit! Now, where were we?"

As Avalon scratched his chin, he didn't pay attention to Cuki rushing towards him. However, when Cuki managed to slam her fist against his jaw, the image of Avalon poofed into a light purple smoke. In the confusion, Cuki frantically searched for Avalon before having one of the water clones punch her directly in the gut. Although stunned for a brief moment, Cuki grabbed onto the clone's arm and tossed him towards the other clone. Both collided in a splash of water that fell to the ground. The Saiyan gasped for air thanks to the hit from earlier but barely had time to recover once Avalon grabbed the side of her face and slammed her against the floor. By this point, Cuki was barely able to defend herself and Avalon appeared to be getting bored of the fight.

"C'mon Cuki, I didn't travel all this way to be disappointed. Can you just try to fight back? Don't tell me this is the best you can do. Whelp, I guess I should end this, huh..." Avalon kept a tight grip on the face of a barely conscious Cuki as he held up his free hand to perform a few hand signs. The thin aqua veil surrounding his arm began to lower down to Cuki's face, covering her head with a bubble of water, preventing her from breathing. "Sheesh, I think the Blue Devil would have put up a better fight than you, even in his current state! He would have hit a lot harder, at least."

Cuki gripped Avalon's wrist, trying to get him to release her face and the bubble he trapped her in but she was too weak to move him. Yet, even in her condition, she still continued to fight by punching his face even though she did no damage. She continued to punch until her hits gradually got slower, no doubt from Avalon drowning her. Her vision blurred and the last thing she managed to do was grip Avalon's hair, refusing to let go as her body began to limp.

"Ouch! Still fighting back, huh? Whelp, can't say I didn't warn you." Despite Cuki showing no resistance, Avalon did not remove the bubble of water covering her head. "Man, I thought the Host of Byakko would be some super strong foe, not some pushover. Heck, you're part of the Breakers, aren't you guys suppose to be mega powerful? How can you be part of this group if you're, well, this weak?"

Avalon shrugged.

"Well, it's like you said, the only way this fight ends is if one of us gives up or someone breaks us apart. From the looks of it, you aren't giving up so neither will I."
 
Initially, when Cuki blasted through the room by Avalon, Lucifer didn’t let out any reaction. Instead, he chose to observe the battle to see the fruits of Cuki’s will. More specifically, how much will Byakko take before he interferes in this battle. Especially since he saw the glimpse of her power twice—first during the Broly v Gogeta and again when Hart teleported them in the Valley. 

Yet, as the battle progresses, Lucifer took notice of Zenta’s demeanor upon the word Seilong. “Aren’t you going to save your student? She’s practically on the verge of death.” The small angel turned to Cuki literally drowning in real time. “Or you’re going to let her figure out a way to get out of this? Or maybe, there’s something else that’s preventing you from doing so.” He eyed at the other Breakers [excluding Berserk]. They reacted but chose to do nothing. "Will you respect their wishes, or are you going to stop this fight?" 
 
Lucifer smiled as Avalon seemingly had the upper hand. “Regardless of your answer, Cuki isn’t going to win this. She lost the moment she accepted the challenge.” He declared with absolute certainty. "And the consequences will take place." 
 
Cross says to Lucifer "That for Cuki to decide for her self is she wants our help but she not out yet. She had survived that rigged game that cheat(Byakko) devised and forgiven us for our lack of insight. So I don't think the game is over yet."
 
Gogeta frowned at the sight of Cuki's current attempt to fight Avalon, picking up on Lucifer's words. He narrowed his eyes into a glare, grimacing a bit in pain before cupping his hands over his mouth, attempting to shout loudly so that Cuki could hear him through the water.

"C'MON CUKI!! YOU CAN BEAT HIM!!"
 
Bernkastel's eyes widened, frozen in her spot momentarily as she saw the water bubble surround Cuki's head. Zenta's words about Byakko waiting, or perhaps simply refusing, to manifest in any way.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?! What the hell is he waiting for!" She clenched her fists, clearly enraged. "You have to get up Cuki! Come on!!! At this rate--"

"She isn't moving anymore..." Berserk tilted her head as she floated in the air with her legs criss-crossed, checking her watch. "If she doesn't hold her breath all it takes is a minute before she drowns. Taking the slow and painful method knowing it's good as over-- you and the old man are kinda twisted, huh!" She cackled.

Fine, be that way, you useless god! All of them are the same, lying through their damned teeth so brazenly! Bernkastel's temper quickly boiled over just thinking about it. Spina was nowhere to be seen, and he most likely was still under the effects of Zenta's energy blockage.

"What's it gonna be? Time's ticking," Berserk hummed to herself, glancing at the door occasionally.

'Cuki is my family now.'

'She won't win this.'

It's the last thing she'd want, but is this one match worth becoming a coin over? Bern could not rationalize the stakes this fight entailed compared to other enemies they faced before. Either way, she had had enough of this particular scenario repeating itself. No more deliberation was necessary.

"Fine, then... I'll take the executive decision here," Bernkastel stated in a low tone, though her fists shook at first. Sucking in a deep breath the Witch strode over towards Avalon. 

"If she's unconscious, then as the strongest Breaker, my authority supersedes the parameters of this match. Whether Byakko decides to show his face, it doesn't matter; she's clearly not in condition to fight anymore-- but you choose to push her further towards death." She slowly raised her arm and glared up at him, her shadow flaring out as smoky wisps formed in midair. The rising anger boiling up in her pushed aside her gut reaction to get out of harm's way; as far as Bern was concerned, a god meant nothing to a non-believer.

"Which I won't allow. Stand down, take your win, and let her go..." After extending her pointer finger, the wisps quickly formed into crystals that elongated into icicles aimed for every available weak spot on Avalon's body, especially at the neck.

"Before I make you," she threatened.
 
Avalon watched Bernkastel and heard her threat. As the crystals formed around him ready to impale him on her order, he lifted his free arm, indicating he was backing off. He pulled his other hand away from Cuki's face which caused the bubble to pop and land as a splash on her face. The elf rose from the ground and pulled Cuki to her feet while patting her back. It took a second but Cuki began to cough out water as she desperately gasped for air. She shoved herself to the side and away from Avalon, unaware that Bernkastel called the fight.

"Whoa there! That's it, the fight's over, Cuki." Avalon said while pointing at the icicles surrounding him. "Bernkastel stopped the fight. Can't break the rules now."

"W-What..?" Cuki seemed distraught but turned to see Bernkastel and her floating crystals. "Why..?"

"You were on the verge of drowning. I think I might have gone a tad overboard but your friends--"

"I told you to not hold back!" Cuki coughed out once again. "T-This fight isn't over!"

"I have to disagree Cuki. This match is done." Zenta said as he finished his tea and slowly approached the two. "I respected your wishes for a fair fight where no one intervenes but this has gone far enough." 

Cuki growled under her breath, disappointed at her Master's choice and Bernkastel's decision to stop the fight. Her vision was still blurred from her near-death experience but all she thought about was her past experiences and failures. Every fight she was in, every time she had to prove herself ended with her failing. She watched the others move leagues ahead of her in terms of strength and even technique. No matter how much she tried, she could not catch up with any of them and it fueled a rage inside of her. Especially with the new Breakers, the gap between her and a certain other Saiyan made her jealousy grow.

"No! I'm not some weakling..! I'm just as strong as everyone here! I'm not... I'm not weak!"

Cuki rushed towards Avalon with her palms glowing white, ready to take down Avalon as he remained at Bernkastel's mercy. Zenta stood between the two, gripping her wrist and frowning in her action. Cuki, blind with fury, began to attack her Master in order to get to Avalon but the more she did, the more aggressive her Master became. Every hit was easily blocked by Zenta who gently swatted her palms away from Avalon. Once she started to grow more aggressive, he finally had enough. On the final blow, Zenta blocked her palm with his hand and elbowed her face, making the girl stumble back.

"You think I'm weak too, huh Master?!" Cuki spat as her eyes began to swell with tears. "Is that why you don't want to teach me stuff?!"

"I refuse to teach those who are blinded by rage, madness, or jealousy. I will not tolerate you attacking those who cannot defend themselves!" Zenta raised his voice for the first time, catching Cuki off guard. "Your jealousy over the other Breakers is turning you against them. You envy the bond between Gogeta and Bernkastel and it drove you to madness. You think risking your life will change that?"

"If I was stronger then--"

"Your strength will impact little on their friendship, Cuki. You wish to be in Gogeta's spot right now, both in terms of strength and happiness. You are so jealous of Gogeta that you refuse to see the pain you inflicted on the others!"

Cuki's eyes widen when her Master admited her secret to the group and at this point, there was no hiding it. Her tears began to roll down her cheeks as she sniffled, trying her best to hold herself together. Even the scolding from her Master hit close to heart when she realized the things she said to him. She nervously glanced at Bernkastel who was nearby and the floating Berserk. Avalon awakardly stared between Cuki and Zenta, not having any idea how the group was prior to him meeting them. 

"It's just not fair... I worked my butt off for a single friend and Gogeta just barges in here and becomes friends with Kettles overnight," Cuki bit her lip, still holding back the urge to cry. "I worked so hard but it was all ruined in one fell swoop... I never had a friend, and even if I did, it's not like I could remember. So when I saw how close they had become, it was like having my efforts laughed at." Her voice began to crack. "I thought that Kettles only liked strong people, why else would she hang out with Geegee? Hell, all of you probably remember Byakko more than anything I ever did! Maybe if I just leave then you guys wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore!”
 
Cross says to Lucifer "I gest I was off."

Cross says to Cuki "Bernkenstle jumped in to save you despite your self, Gogeta was cheering for you, Blanch and lusifer asked out concern for you, Your master showing concern, lastly Bara in her own way. I trust your smart enough to understand what that all means?" 

Cross says as a matter of fact "O nearly forgot the fact that If you were not attached to Byakko he would be suffering long before now."
 
A large bowl filled to the brim with various candies was then suddenly shoved in front of Cuki, courtesy of Majin Bara, whom was staring at her with her puppy-dog eyes.

"Bara no like seeing friend Cuki sad." She said.

"I agree with Bara," Brachi said, "I value all of my friends, including you, Cuki."
 
While Lucifer was quite amused of seeing Bernkastel jumping into the battle to stop the battle between Avalon and Cuki from continuing even further, he was, at the same time, disappointed at she exhibit a level of authority to cease the battle. “Quite a disappointment, but I can see why you chose for that path. But…” 

As Zenta and Cuki exchanged words with one another, with the latter breaking down to literal tears about her disdain and outright jealousy of the relationship between Gogeta and Bernkastel, the small angel frowned, his eyes dulled, and his voice deepened.

“Weaklings often created imaginary problems to justified for their own shortcomings." A devilish smile formed around his face. “I have to disagree on Cross here… I was not asking you out of concern. Rather, I’m simply curious to see how truly capable you are without such a being influencing your decisions. And yet, as I suspected, without [him], you’re nothing more than a pathetically weak vessel. Anger, jealousy, resentment do not change the heart of others, it’ll change yours. Those that harbors those feelings are the first to race to the top of the mountains but fall the fastest. Cuki, this is just a taste of your continuous flight to the bottom. Perhaps is it best that you leave—your absence will not make a difference here."
 
Gogeta sat quietly throughout the exchange, holding a frown. The fusion barely blinked, however, his solemn stare unchanged even after Cuki voiced her jealousy over his friendship with Bernkastel. He sat quietly throughout Lucifer's harsh words, narrowing his eyes a bit at the smaller angel but offering no initial rebuttal or challenge to what the baby stated.
 
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