The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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The crystals hovering in the air lowered before eventually dematerializing, but Bernkastel's expression was obscured by her bangs. For a long time, she didn't give an answer while the others gave their responses. Her arms lay at either side of her, standing still as a statue.

"... I don't understand," she finally spoke using a voice eerily devoid of the smoldering anger she had exhibited before. To be given such an outburst in exchange for intervening was not what she expected, the genuine confusion coming through in her flat and blunt tone. "Isn't this what 'friends' are supposed to do? You're alive because I did you a favor; your lapse in judgement could have been costly."

Berserk silently watched the exchanges happen with a bemused look on her face. Since she had no knowledge of Byakko, she simply looked around the room to find him fruitlessly.

"This isn't about Byakko. You cannot use him to pull wool over my eyes this time." Bernkastel struggled to keep her curt tone even and at a low volume, her lips pressed into a thin line. "I remember very well that only days ago you were fixated on choking Gogeta to death. I can say with absolute certainty that was your decision and yours alone, but I looked past it. I was willing to forgive Byakko's years of mind games too-- I could because I thought you really were trying this time, without testing us."

Her frustrations were mounting, and most of them stemmed from trying to keep the peace between others and curb the conflict. Regardless of whether she acted or not, it made someone else unhappy and she didn't understand what she was doing wrong. Feeling upset and embarrassed, she refrained from raising her voice throughout.

"But the truth is you're just fighting over me out of deep-seated jealousy, like a prize." Bernkastel felt like she wasn't being perceived as a person, like eyes were looking through her rather than at her. Her gaze was downcast and empty but they burned holes into whomever looked. "I thought you wanted to be friends... Were you just trying to trick me?"
 
Cuki silently listened to Lucifer’s bashing, each word slicing her down more and more until she lowered her head in shame. The silence from the others broke her down even more. Cuki said nothing in her defense, almost accepting Lucifer’s words as fact. All she felt was shame, even after finally admitting the truth, yet, despite it all, her pain continued to grow in the silence. Her face was full of sorrow, unable to handle the weight on her chest. She looked weak, physically and mentally but continued to put on a façade to hide her screaming agony.

He’s right… I’m weak. I’m just a… a pathetic vessel for Byakko’s agenda. I will never amount to anything… I can’t… be strong… I can’t…

However, once Bernkastel said her piece, Cuki’s ears flicked and her face slowly turned to the Witch. Her sad expression contorted into confusion and disbelief while she slowly took in the words she heard.

…you're just fighting over me out of deep-seated jealousy, like a prize

I thought you wanted to be friends... Were you just trying to trick me?

You're alive because I did you a favor…

The youngster stared at Bernkastel for what seemed like hours but the more she did, the more her expression contorted from depressing shock to rising anger. Without saying much of a word, she shoved Bara and her bowl of candies away from her and slowly made her way to Bernkastel, standing just a few feet from the Witch. She looked up at her as water dripped from the loose hair pressed against her face. Her eyes narrowed while she looked right back into Bernkastel’s eyes as she slowly spoke from a whisper.

“What did you say..?” Cuki huffed, her voice getting gradually louder. “A favor..? Tricks? You think I’m doing this to mess with you..?” The girl took a step back from the Witch, running her fingers through her hair before looking up towards the ceiling. “Baby Lucifer is right about me. I’m a weak pathetic loser who is trying too hard to make up for three years of broken bonds and friendships. A pathetic worm who is terrified of being all alone in a world she knows nothing about with nothing to call her own. No identity, no memories, nothing..!”

Cuki dropped her hand from her hair as she turned to face Bernkastel.

“And yet, here I am, in my absolute lowest point of humiliation and failures that I can endure… you come up to me to tell me that I’m trying to trick you? It’s all a lie? You somehow turned yourself into a victim by using my failures and insecurities against me…” Cuki began to chuckle. “You really are the Witch of Miracles for pulling that off.”

The Saiyan laughed some more before her laughs were choked out by her inability to hold back her tears. By this point, the girl had tears rolling down her cheeks but kept her broken smile.

“You know, I’ve noticed something about you, Kettles. You don’t like to lose. You hate it when people laugh at you, mock you, or call you weak. You cannot stand failure, especially if it results in making you look bad. If a piece fails, you simply replace it without a second thought, right? Pieces or living people, it’s all the same to you!” A hand swiped across her face in order to wipe away her tears but they continued to fall. “You’re so mad Byakko tricked you that you’re taking it out on me! You think all my efforts to fix three years’ worth of mistrust and abandonment is just… a trick against YOU?!"

Cuki growled under her breath as she rushed to Bernkastel to be suddenly stopped by her Master. Zenta held Cuki by her abdomen as she began to finally break down, her body finally succumbing to her cries. She struggled against her Master but he kept a tight grip on his young student to prevent any physical altercation. His ears lowered, the cries of his student being too much for him to bear.

"I'm trying my best but it's just not good enough for you! Any of you! I picked you above the rest because I treated you the worst, Kettles..! I wanted to make it up for you and you don't care about any of that, do you?! You just don't want to look bad and I'm ruining your image, huh?! Is it because I'm weak?! Naive?! Not worth your time?! Huh?!" By this point, Zenta lifted Cuki up and began to head towards her room. Cuki struggled to free herself as she continued to scream. "You want the truth?! I never hated Geegee! I just didn't want him to see how weak I was! I wanted to get stronger to make it up to him! I was scared! I was wrong for hurting him! I was wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! You're the problem, Bernkastel! YOU! You lost Vegetto, you lost me, and if you lose Geegee, I swear I'll--!"

As Cuki made her final threat, Zenta slammed the side of his hand on the back of her neck, instantly knocking her out. As the girl limped in his arm, he gently cradled her in one arm as he opened the door to enter her room. He sighed as he turned his back to the others, his shame apparent.

"I am deeply embarrassed about the events of today but I am more disappointed about how the situation was handled. Tend to Gogeta and we will see what tomorrow brings."

Those were the final words said of Zenta as he slowly closed the door behind him with his tail.
 
Bara yelped as she was being shoved aside, the candies falling and rolling onto the ground, before she stared at Cuki while the latter went on her tirade, still having her puppy dog eyes on and whimpering, clearly upset by the whole affair and not just by Cuki's actions. She then felt a hand on her shoulder, noting it was from Brachi, who pulled the upset Majin into a gentle hug, which the Majin reciprocated by just burying her face into Brachi's chest to calm down. On her turn, Brachi turned to Bernkastel and Lucifer.

"Well done, you also happened to make one of the most innocent souls I've known in the entire universe upset. I hope you're proud of yourself!" She said in a condescending tone, before moving to retreat with Bara towards her own room, with Jize shaking her head disapprovingly about the whole affair.

But before she left however, Brachi stopped.

"You lot are lucky that Majin Shaza isn't here; if she heard about this, she will kick your asses for making Bara upset without question." She said before she and Bara were gone.
 
"You insolent little brat... You don't know a damn thing about me... and you never will. That's why you'll never understand; you don't know how good you've got it," Bernkastel muttered in a dark tone under her breath, moving around the room to kick over debris as her arms violently shook, ready to swing at any slight source of agitation. "Mouthing off the way you do knowing your teacher will jump in before you get a well-deserved beating... attacking people who can't defend, picking fights knowing he'll break them up for you... heh. Not only are you deceitful, you only get bold when it's convenient for you. Sheltered brats really are spineless at their core. I should have expected as much." Whether or not Cuki's efforts to rebuild what remained were actually genuine, Bernkastel's ingrained paranoia and bitterness already took hold of her judgement. Brachi's scolding only made her fury grow.

"SHUT UP! Don't act like it was ME who pushed her! If you're gonna blame me for what that shitty brat did, then LEAVE!" She shouted before she threw a couch cushion over into the hall, but Brachi's door already had shut, causing her to let out an infuriated grunt.

There were a lot less problems when she didn't care if she was liked by people. People seemed to respect her more when she had been unapologetically cruel, even if from a distance. But now that Bern was trying to be a team player, it was a constant source of frustration and stress. It was a complicated mix of emotions that made her unpredictable with her reactions. Feeling fooled into nearly letting her guard down, she put her walls back up-- a few instances of kind words were too risky to overlook the deception.

"I save you from dying so pathetically, and this is the thanks I get? What an idiot I am thinking playing nice would change anything." Popping the shield, Bernkastel held her hands over Gogeta and began using her healing magic while rambling an angry tirade to herself. "Spina didn't come running for you... he didn't even apologize to you... your useless god left you to die, and yet you still hate me the most!" Her body started trembling as she started to hyperventilate, standing over Gogeta as she involuntarily felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. "Fine, I don't care. I don't care..." Bern choked up.

Next time, I'll give you a real reason to cry! The next one who mouths off at me, I'll obliterate them!

"I think she's gone off the rails now... I thought my sisters were a handful, but this is a lot too." Berserk sweated uncomfortably, whispering her thoughts so Bernkastel wouldn't hear. "These guys really aren't a team. I've seen literal criminals get along better... does this happen a lot?" She asked Lucifer.
 
Cross thinks "Have I forgotten how dense the living can be?"  Cross starts to read a book.
 
Jize sighed.

"Looks like some of her bitterness has resurfaced," The Supreme Kai said, while looking in the direction of Brachi's room, "given what she feels has lost so far... how she has acted can baffle even me at times. Then again, with the rules in place in this realm... I feel even Brachi's beating herself up over this now."
 
Cross says "That may be true but chances are as good its that cheat messing with her."
 
Lucifer’s expression remain constant throughout the exchange between Bernkastel and Cuki. Although amused, he was, at the same time, disappointed at the event that unfold in front of his eyes. “I cannot say about the full extent of the relationship with this group—I joined only recently when they are conspired into the anarchy route. Though, even then, I can tell that they weren’t exactly the right state of mind then.” He told Berserk. Seeing Cuki being dragged off by Zenta, the small angel nodded his head at the action. "That was a show, but once again, the conclusion was taken." 

It hasn’t been the whole day since the apology, and the Breakers are on the verge of tearing themselves apart once again. Neither side were willingly to sit down and talk like rational adults, and their stubbornness continues to be the main strain that prevents them from working as a team—and if that continues, the Detective will obviously use this against them. In the end, it was a decision that the individuals have took, and he’ll see it to the consequences it cause.

However, when Brachi and Bara stormed out of the room, Lucifer had a confused expression on his face. “Who were they again?” He asked to himself, not remembering their names at the moment. He didn’t understand why they were upset nor why they stormed out the area. Considering the lack of communication with himself and those two, Lucifer completely disregard their outburst as insignificant to the actual problems blowing up before them.

Yet, the small angel was not finished with the scene. No, instead, he decided to push the boundaries a bit more. “Feeling a bit exposed, Bernkastel? It tends to happen when you surrounded yourselves with people who have approval of gods.” He asked, not asking about her personality, but rather it seems that Bernkastel feeling she let her guard down. “I suspect such an outburst from a weakling that continue to become a tryhard, but to see you react such a way. You’re understanding of Gogeta’s feelings, considering you were basking in the idea of marriage. But when it comes to her, there’s no attempt of reasoning nor understanding, but pure rage and anger. An opportunity to finally allow some understanding yet squandered by paranoia of this divine god. People that allow themselves to be consumed by paranoia are themselves the cause of such.” Before Lucifer can even continue discussing further, Spina entered the main room.

Covered in soil that dirtied his right hands, legs, and lowered torso, dragging mud into the carpet, Spina turned around to see the situation. “The hell happened here. I heard nothing but shouting and screaming for several minutes.”
 
Gogeta sat in silence as the argument began, his frown strong in seeing the two argue. He mostly recoiled at the sight of the fight between Bernkastel and Cuki; like a friend caught in the middle and doing their best not to make the situation worse. His eyes widened a bit at Cuki’s mention of Vegetto, the prospect of the words igniting a strange thought.

His eyes trailed to Bernkastel, his own curiosity taking hold in wondering what Cuki meant.

She drove him away?

His frown remained strong, seeing the toll of the strained relationships the group had when Brachi finally snapped. The fusion clearly saw the second side to the whole argument on Cuki’s fierce claim; perhaps the entire situation began with Bernkastel and Vegetto? His mind wandered on the thought of seeing now multiple people challenge Bernkastel on the same point of her instant connection to him and how seemingly little they viewed her attention had been given to supporting them. The significant amount of people turning on Bernkastel resonated within him; reminding the fusion of the world’s hatred for him.

Gogeta watched on as Bernkastel began to heal him with her magic, his strength slowly returning. His own sad and solemn stare followed her and the second his battered body had been healed enough to move, Gogeta suddenly reached out and scooped Bernkastel into a strong bear hug.

He kept his frown, his eyes turning down.

“I don’t know why everyone’s mad at you...but if you’re worried about losing me, then don’t. I’m not like Vegetto.”

Gogeta broke out into a small half smile, releasing the tension on his hug to allow Bernkastel to look up.

“I’m better than him.”

His eyes turned slightly in seeing Spina enter the room, but soon shifted his gaze back to Bernkastel and paying the older Saiyan no mind, despite the damage inflicted by him earlier.
 
Oh man, I'm starting to think I stepped into the wrong house... Things got a bit too heated for me. Avalon sweated as he awkwardly stared at the Breakers. Maybe if I just lay low for a bit, maybe things will settle out. But... why do they have a distaste for Byakko? Did something happen between them?

Avalon took a step back, slipping next to Berserk as Bernkastel, Cuki, Brachi, and Bara yelled out to each other. He placed a hand on the back of his head, feeling a little guilty that the fight turned to something far more drastic. He felt somewhat responsible but did not know what to say without starting another fight. However, the things Lucifer said to the girls did not sit right with him and he crossed his arms.

"Well, no offense little guy, but you kinda made things worse." Avalon addressed Lucifer. "You bashed on the kid when she was fighting her hardest, and now you take a whack at the Bernkastel-chick. You should just keep your mouth shut if you got nothing nice to say. At least they both tried to do something..."

Avalon's shoulders slumped, trying to understand what happened. Just like Berserk mentioned earlier, he also thought they were a team but after the events of today, he didn't seem to believe that anymore. To him, they were all scattered and none understood each other. There was a burning sensation within him to try to make things right, or rather, help them out in any way he could. He barely noticed Spina reappear while he continued to be deep in thought.

"I think I'll stick around until tomorrow since the area gets a bit dangerous at night. Hope that's alright with you guys... errm, even after what happened. I'll sleep in the living room, so don't mind me!"
 
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