The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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As Bage stepped through the portal with Spawn, he was a bit surprised to see a normal-looking town. It was almost as if he was expecting an anthill or an intricate building... like a beehive. The thought of Xy'phers walking along into a hill like ants to their queen appeared in Bage's mind overhead as the others shared their thoughts before his mind returned to the group conversation at hand.

"I guess it should be expected that they would take advantage of hiding in plain sight. They caught us off guard successfully yesterday, so who's to say it won't work again." He mentioned, turning to Spawn at his thought on evacuating any civilians. "No Spawn. As much as I hate to say, we can't afford to involve ourselves with any of these people. That risks putting our plan, maybe even our lives in jeopardy. So assume everyone here is a potential Xy'pher threat. Don't attack or conversate with them beyond pleasantries. The distraction will allow any actual people a chance to evacuate while the Xy'phers are following after us."

Bage looked around at the civilians casually going on about their day. His eyes scanned the town before he spoke up again. "I think Bern has the right idea to split up now. They could be listening as we speak. What do you say, Spina?"
 
As Zenta waited for the group to pass, he felt Lilith wrap around him and drag him towards the portal by force. As much as he did not like to be touched, this was much worse than he could tolerate. Trying not to make a scene for himself and atone for his mistakes, he did not say much against it at first, though, the way his heels dug into the ground and left trail marks indicated the discomfort he had. His tails instantly grew stiff and bristled with disgust that his fur is touched by someone other than Cuki or Bernkastel. He remained silent for the most part, yet it was clear he did not like being in front of everyone or touched. Only once he went through the portal did he finally speak up.

"At least warn me if you are going to do that again," Zenta said with a chuckle. "And I prefer to watch things from behind, where I am not a bother. But alas, if you insist on giving me the spotlight, then I will comply willingly." The beast then crossed his arms behind his back and made his way to Lucifer's side. He did nothing but smile, almost as if impressed. "So now I am in the front row for everyone to see me. No room for mistakes or 'slip-ups' it seems. How subtle... I will admit, you truly are cunning, if not conniving, Lucifer Morningstar..." His smile grew. "I know what you are trying to do; I welcome it," The beast looked at the Angel to give him a smile, a genuine smile. A smile that matched his own. Zenta laughed slightly before walking past Lucifer. He barely noticed Bernkastel stand by his side for the brief moment he spoke to Lucifer.

I like this game, Lucifer. 

"I promise I will not ambush you, though, I understand the suspicion you harbor towards me." Nia said. "Take as many measures you need to monitor me, I do not believe in 'personal space' as the humans do."

Avalon hopped out of the portal and stood by Berserk's side, taking a view of the small town just ahead of them. He stared at it silently, watching the traveler go in and out. The manors interested him, especially the biggest one of the group. He was quiet, almost too quiet given how loud he usually is. The ninja also seemed to keep himself away from Zenta's view as best he could, as if he did not want the beast to notice something. Then again, Zenta seemed distracted by other things to notice him.

"Maybe you should hold off your explosives for a sec', Berserk." Avalon chuckled. "Last thing you want is to accidentally blow up Team Stealth if we happen to be too close. Maybe Nia should give a signal once she found the Hive's entrance or somethin', that way you guys can hog all the attention away from us as we slip in."

"That sounds like a good idea Purple-Creature."

"Maybe Spawn and Lucifer can relay the message? They got that weird mumbo-jumbo magic stuff. In the meanwhile, we should follow Nia since she can sniff the Xy'phers out." Acting like a leader of his own, Avalon pointed at the Distraction Group members. "I reckon that we keep communication between each other, so no bumpin' heads, okay?" He particularly looked over to Bernkastel. "Nia should go on ahead while Boss thinks of your next move, Team Distraction."

"I can sense the imposters, so I will be sure to alert Team Stealth. Please send the text messages to each others to keep an eye out." Nia nodded, not understanding what texting is. "Anywho, we can think and move, this place is not safe; being in the open is dangerous." Nia felt herself dragged by May and pointed to the biggest manor in the town. "There! I sense something odd from there..."

Nia managed to guide the Team towards the manor she spoke of.

"Let us prepare for the worse," Zenta said before turning to Spina. "Well then, what shall we do, Mr. Spina?"
 
May says flatly to Nia "the fear of you knowingly betraying us only 10% of way I put a just a tracking device on you." 

May asks Nia letting Nia go "Is that odd felling heading toads us?" May takes out an assault-rifle.
 
Traders Market

Cayde followed after the group in mostly silence, his mechanical eyes scanning the area while he walked with the team. The strange presentation of the area also wasn't lost on the android; like the Detective, Cayde expected a beehive or some underground fortress of sorts. Yet a town in the middle of the day with the unusually large manors seemed, unpredictable and concerning.

Because of his intent intrigue in investigating the scene, Cayde's eyes caught Avalon in his suspicious behavior in avoiding Zenta's view. The android narrowed his eyes a bit at the sight, and upon the ninja launching into light hearted conversation, Cayde began to steadily inch his way over to walk a few feet behind Avalon while the team moved towards the manor. The android continued to glance around in an effort to make it seem as if he only moved in his pathing to observe the surroundings, but one of his mechanical eyes would occasionally glance down to look for anymore suspicious behavior from Avalon.

--------------------------------------

The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

The intense negative energy beam blasted forward towards the determined and stone stanced Vegetto. The beam seemingly slammed into the Potara fusion's chest, and upon impact, Vegetto fell backwards. As if an omega beam had begun to disintegrate his body, Vegetto rapidly disintegrated into thin air while the Neutron Beam blasted past and off into the distance.

However, only a second passed as particles as small as the snow droplets began to formulate and reconstruct a few feet to the left. Bright silver energy coated what small little shapes of Vegetto's body could be seen, and within an instant, Vegetto reformed into a full body and dropped down initially to one knee while panting lightly. The immense output of power needed had momentarily winded Vegetto, and in the push beyond his limits, a few bundles of his spiky hair had changed into the familiar silver color that matched the fire that swirled around him. The streaks of silver were less than the remaining black strands of his hair, but his energy continued to rise in gradually relearning the lost transformation. The heat and pressure around his body continued to steadily grow; his silver eyes turning upwards in watching Clark advance towards the agonizing Gogeta on the ground. 

The threat was clear: Clark wasn't going to stop. Vegetto's mind emptied once more as he inhaled deeply through his nose; the commitment to the battle and its potential result made in his latest decision. The Potara fusion bolted forward, the speed and power in his dash closing the gap instantly to the walking Kryptonian that had dismissed him seconds ago. Just as it would seem Vegetto would strike at Clark's back on the ground, he suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Reappearing in a flash of a teleport in front of the Kryptonian, Vegetto floated only half a foot above Clark for a second. His right arm was cocked back, and with an intense pressure of wind erupted forth once Vegetto's fist sailed forward. Despite the growth within the transformation still being incomplete, Vegetto unleashed his current full power into the melee strike for the first time since the battle with Doctor Doom; the devastating and destructive damage it could unleash threatening to completely eradicate the ruins of his city off in the distance and more of the land in its wake if Clark dodged the strike. The white gloved fist sailed forward with the immense pressure, and strangely seemed to catch as if pushing through an unseen fabric. Yet tears in the very air itself began to show; a black void that formed as if Vegetto's punch tore through the fabric of reality like paper. The rip rapidly reformed quickly in the wake of the punch however, as it sailed closer and closer to Clark's chest.
 
Traders Market

After Zenta walked past the fiendish and cunning angel, Lucifer’s lips curled into a smile, beaming with pride and arrogance. “Glad we’re on the same wavelength, my boy. I, too, enjoy games. You ought to bring your best, Zenta.” A sly, direct response to Zenta’s thoughts, indicating that Lucifer had peered into the beast’s thoughts when the latter simply walked past him.

Prior to Berserk requesting Lucifer a continuation of their conversation last night, Bernkastel, Zenta and Bage turned to Spina for their next plan as they head towards this strange manor.

“Understood, Boss.” Detective Spawn didn’t argue with Bage since his points made sense. Noting to himself that he was unable to tell the difference between a normal person and a Xy’pher at this point; it was too much of a risk to do an excavation.

The Vortex Moon was fully visible in the sky as Spina faced the Breakers with the smirk on his face, showcasing a confidence to lead his team efficiently. However, his eyes were contradictory to such; filled with contempt to several members in the Breakers.

“We’ll split up once we know where the main entrance.” Spina commanded in a stern way that completely dismissed Avalon’s orders. “The core Xy’phers are hiding deep underground somewhere,” After observing Nia’s reaction towards this specific manor, the old Saiyan pointed his finger at it. “And I bet that’s the way in.” He spoke. His assumption that the manor would be a lead way to the supposed Xy’phers core was based on his guts and personal experience. To him, a large manor that stood out among the others in this small community struck him as odd. “Team Distraction will go in while Team Stealth standby until we give the signal.”

Spina pushed Avalon to the side, staring him down with disgusted in his eyes as if he was saw something. “Don’t call me Boss. I ain’t anything to you, so don’t act familiar with me. You have your orders, so stick with it and shut it.” Not giving the ninja any chance to respond, Spina moved ahead, just before Zenta, Lucifer, May, and Nia towards the manor. Turning his head slightly towards Bernkastel, Spina held a rather genuine smile; in Bernkastel’s perspective only, there was a dreadful face eroded briefly before disappearing. “Let’s see what’s inside, eh?”

Recalling their conversation from last night, Lucifer’s eyes fixated on Spina’s left arm. To those with sharpened eyes, there was slight, subtle movements whenever the old Saiyan was fleeing from his usual demeanor. However, it was no concern, for now. Instead, his shifted his attention to Berserk. “Ah, yes.” Lucifer recalled, holding up a small, worm-like creature that wiggle with his right hand. “The Magatama, an essence of a demon; capable of changing anyone to become a demon and grant many abilities.”  The angel squinted his eyes. “I believe you possessed the perfect compatibility for it if you’re interested.”



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

The intense destructive punch landed against Clark. Consequently, powerful whirlwinds were so severe, one could mistake it to a raging hurricane. It kicked up dozens of tons of snow into the air, obscuring the view of the Kryptonian briefly; only his twirling glasses were seen flying within the destructive snowstorm formed from that connected punch.

As the sun finally rose and the Vortex Moon being visible in the sky, the snowstorm dispersed just as quickly as it came; revealing that Clark had no visible damages. Clark held a tight grip on Vegetto’s punch, preventing the punch from connecting. Lowering the Saiyan’s arm, the Kryptonian’s eyes sharpened once more upon seeing the Potara fusion attempts to access Ultra Instinct.

“I, too, thought attachments were mere nuisance. I adhere that heroism confined my strength. I implied that bonds robbed me of what I thought was my divine right to freedom.” Clark tightened his grip on Vegetto’s wrist. “Such mindset made me weak. So weak, that even you managed to put up a fight.”

Clark slapped Vegetto with so much force, that the snow around their vicinity evaporated instantly, flinging him back towards Gogeta.  “But I realized that they are not an obstacle. They are the means to greater strength to overcome anything.” The Kryptonian walked towards the two fusions as his eyes was beaming with light. “Ultraman underwent a dramatic change because of his bond with Hart was on the line, allowing him to reach new heights in power than he ever could.” He continued. “Had you and Zenta fought. He would’ve obliterated you easily. Had you fought with Bernkastel or Spina—you’ll be reduced to mere atoms. You would never stand a chance against yourself during the final stand with Doom. Why? Each held powerful convictions; bonds that allow them to push even further than their natural limit, even at the cost of their lives. You demonstrated new heights when your beloved Kassava died; showcasing a untap power to fight against the aggressor. Now you’re just a hollow shell, your powers , including that Ultra Instinct, stagnating before me. Not enough power to fight them. Not enough power to fight me. Not enough power to even save your brother Gogeta as he clings to life.”

Standing over the two, Clark furrowed his eyebrows. “Heroism was more than just getting silly praises. It was to humble you, mold you to forge bonds, motivate you to push forward as it did for me. I was wrong. You lacked conviction. And now you’re a dangerous individual that emits toxic energy to make all just as miserable.” He raised his foot and slammed against Gogeta’s chest, burying him deep into the ground; the Vortex Moon in plain sight in the sky behind the Kryptonian.

“And that is my reason why I’m ultimately here. Hart called me to warn me an impending doom if you remain with the Breakers; the constant toxic energy will simply accelerate Spina’s progress. A monster, she claims, seeks those lost in the sea of isolation.  If nothing is done about it, the monster will come seeking for new avatars to play with, and it’ll be disastrous if the Red King captures them. Cayde warned me that you are clearly unhinged. I should’ve listened.”

Clark stared at Vegetto. “But I have rambled on enough. None of that matters once you’re both gone. Perhaps, I should eliminate Cayde as well since he did also tap into Ultra Instinct a few times if I remember. Who knows if your toxicity rubbed off of him as well?” He tensed his muscles tightly as he levitated from the ground. He glanced at Vegetto once more, seeing the attempt effort to tapping Ultra Instinct. “An empty mind,” He said with snark with a smirk, “Makes the most noise.” He tilted his head back as veins around his arms bulged. “Atomic Beam…” He uttered, ready to fire towards the fusion duos.
 
The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto's silver eyes immediately widened at the sight of Clark catching his punch, stunned and slapped down to the ground in a heavy handed strike. Rock and rubble kicked up in his wake in sliding into Gogeta, the pair slightly tumbling over each other. Vegetto coughed audibly as he struggled up. He panted heavily, resting down on one knee as he glared up at Clark, the Kryptonian approaching slowly. The words cut into the fusion deeply; the mixed strands of silver spiky hair with his normal black radiating a bit as his pupils dilated. But as Clark laid into Vegetto with the hard truth, Vegetto's silver eyes turned down at the tug he felt on his boot.

Vegetto blinked, watching on while Gogeta shuffled around on his back near his side on the ground. The other fusion wheezed heavily; the labored breathing a sign of impending death despite the strong warrior's attempt to even remain conscious, let alone move. His one arm shuffled around, as if trying to slip into Vegetto's boot despite trembling and shaking violently with the bright cracks along his chest. Vegetto quickly turned towards Gogeta, dropping his arms in an attempt to help him stablize.

"Hey stop! Save your energy-"

Yet the movement itself was challenged; Gogeta's one arm shaking and causing both fusion's to stumble a bit in the awkward movement. Vegetto's silver eyes followed Gogeta fall, however, a noticable piece of parchment like a trading card in his hand. Gogeta contorted his face heavily from the impact on the ground, his nose scrunching as he began hyper ventilating in a bid to recover. Vegetto blinked hard at the sight, watching on while Gogeta forced his neck up once more and struggled in tremendous pain to lift his arm towards Vegetto's boot once again. Neither one spoke a word, the graphic image of Kassava on the trading card catching Vegetto's concentration in the brief moment of reprieve until Clark's boot came crashing down towards Gogeta's chest. The other fusion stared up with tired and weak eyes; Vegetto's more primal and desperate stare indicating his state of mind as he quickly threw himself forward to catch Clark's boot before making contact

"Clark don't do this!"

Vegetto clawed at the leg in vain, the incredible might and power of the silver fire unresponsive in his drive to fight against the Kryptonian as he continued his speech.

“Had you and Zenta fought. He would’ve obliterated you easily. Had you fought with Bernkastel or Spina—you’ll be reduced to mere atoms. You would never stand a chance against yourself during the final stand with Doom. Why? Each held powerful convictions; bonds that allow them to push even further than their natural limit, even at the cost of their lives. You demonstrated new heights when your beloved Kassava died; showcasing a untap power to fight against the aggressor. Now you’re just a hollow shell, your powers , including that Ultra Instinct, stagnating before me. Not enough power to fight them. Not enough power to fight me. Not enough power to even save your brother Gogeta as he clings to life.”

The truth of failure and the revelations on how Vegetto had become a shell of his former self stung at the core of the man desperately pushing up at Clark's leg; his pupils dilating heavily in his mounting rage from his wounded pride. The silver strands of his hair illuminated greatly; the sensation of the Ultra Instinct fire mounting finally. However, it only rose in tandem to the black energy now swirling within; the black strands of Vegetto's hair glowing alongside the silver to showcase the inner turmoil he faced along with the two energy signatures at war inside him. He shook heavily in the rage of his own self hatred, the battle of his pride against his determination to be better manifesting in the furious scream while he shook against the slow advance of Clark's boot towards Gogeta's chest.

"nnnRAAAGHHHHHH!!!!"

The black energy began to die down ever so slowly, Vegetto slowing the advance just a bit while the silver fire mounted. Vegetto twisted by the hip to push his back towards Clark's boot, shaking violently against the motion while he faced towards Gogeta a bit in a hurried tone in his dual voice.

"He isn't gonna stop...get out of here! Run!"

Gogeta peered back at up Vegetto with a furrowed stare for a brief moment, the slight pause in reaction prompting Vegetto to widen his eyes in a flared expression as he shouted.

"GO!!"

Vegetto cried out in pain, however, stumbling forward a bit and leaning closer to Gogeta from the advancing kick from the Kryptionian. However, his silver eyes met Gogeta who had not moved from his spot; the wounded and amputated fusion chuckling through a pained gasp of air and his dual voice hoarse.

"Ha...heh...there you are! I finally...found you!"

Vegetto furrowed his brow, the confusion evident on his face while he stared down at the relieved but pained Gogeta on the ground, the other fusion still half chuckling with his only remaining hand now half way into Vegetto's left boot.

"Maybe now...you can be...friends with her..."

Vegetto felt his grip slip at the final line, the silver eyes widening as he screamed out in falling forward.

"NO!"

Unable to fight against the advancing kick any longer, Vegetto collapsed forward and let go of Clark's boot; the kick coming down straight into Gogeta's chest as Vegetto fell down onto the ground next to the massive crater that formed from the impact. Vegetto shot up from his position, however; the impending threat of Clark a secondary focus at he tore through the ground and quickly lifted the rocks left in the wake of the kick. Vegetto panted heavily, his silver pupils dilated and trembling in his panic while he tore into the landscape.

However, his breathing finally slowed as he moved the final rock out of the way; the silver eyes locked on the source of what Vegetto desperately searched for. The Potara dropped to his knees as his arms went limp for a moment, the resounding defeat in his expression while he knelt down and slowly reached out into the dirt. His gloved fingers scooped up the new coin now neatly resting in his palm; Gogeta's delighted and naïve expression at the center in the engraving.

Vegetto lowered his head down and rolled his fingers into a ball while clutching the coin in his hands, tightly shutting his eyes in a melancholy stare towards the ground. The pressure and swirl of heat around his body never ceased or diminished, however, despite the aura disappearing while his head bowed down during Clark's speech.

“And that is my reason why I’m ultimately here. Hart called me to warn me an impending doom if you remain with the Breakers; the constant toxic energy will simply accelerate Spina’s progress. A monster, she claims, seeks those lost in the sea of isolation.  If nothing is done about it, the monster will come seeking for new avatars to play with, and it’ll be disastrous if the Red King captures them. Cayde warned me that you are clearly unhinged. I should’ve listened.”

Vegetto's posture remained unchanged throughout the revelation; the unknown entities spoken of doing little to jar Vegetto in the moment despite listening in on Clark's every word. Yet Vegetto's eyes snapped open; Clark's threatening tone piercing his murky thoughts.

"Perhaps, I should eliminate Cayde as well since he did also tap into Ultra Instinct a few times if I remember. Who knows if your toxicity rubbed off of him as well?”

Vegetto nearly gasped at the threat, his silver eyes twitching. Yet the resounding rage never came; incredibly, Vegetto let out a small, pathetic whimper at the threat. His mind raced immediately at the thought in glancing down at the coin in his hand; the memory of Kassava's body disintegrating from Doom's beam and now Clark killing Gogeta despite Vegetto's best efforts fresh in crippling Vegetto's confidence in himself. The toxic energy came full force this time not as rage or hatred, but as the pathetic fear that seized and gripped Vegetto's mind while the silver fire retreated ever so slightly. The fear of always living in pain with the loss washed over his mind only for a moment, however, as Vegetto suddenly stopped in his shaking in self reflection. His eyebrows slowly narrowed in a bit; looking inward to see that toxic energy finally in the open before him for the pathetic hold it had over his mind and heart with the shattered walls of his pride no longer hiding its presence. A singular phrase struck in his mind as he saw the fear for what it was finally, his eyes lifting a bit.

I don't want to hurt anymore.

Vegetto thought to himself for a moment in his momentary reprieve; his eyes turning down as he listened to Whis' advice once more in his training years ago. He thought to himself finally, the toxic energy receding quickly at his own dual voice within his mind.

It's not about what I want.

Vegetto clenched his fists slowly together, gently shutting his eyes once more.

It's for...Kass...for Gogeta...

The silver eyes shot open, the gleam of familiar fire rolling off Vegetto's pupils.

"For Cayde."

The intense heat and pressure of the aura suddenly surged forth from Vegetto; the immense power rapidly expanding outwards in every direction. The energy growing within radiated outward in easily eclipsing any display of power Vegetto demonstrated mere minutes ago; his nostrils flaring in a deep exhale of burning wind to the ground. The very dirt and rocks caught fire immediately from the wind blasting downward, as Vegetto slowly rose to his feet and let his arms relax at his side. His eyes glowed brilliantly in the silver energy, the scorching flame for an aura encasing his body while his entire head of spiky hair now matched with the silver gleam of the transformation.

Now fully transformed for the first time since the climatic battle with Doctor Doom, the returned glare of Ultra Instinct met Clark high in the sky while the Kryptonian charged his Atomic Beam. Vegetto stood on in silence, waiting and relaxed in watching Clark build up his power.
 
Bernkastel chose to be mostly silent and simply listen in on the conversations going on around her, her attention taken off the cryptic exchanges going on between Zenta and Lucifer towards Avalon's authoritative rambling. She didn't give an immediate response, trying to weigh his improvised plan against Spina's. It seemed too risky to have Nia go in by herself, causing Bern to wonder if he was intending to bait out a response from the Xy'phers and disprove Nia leading them to a potential trap. Otherwise the Stealth mission could easily be jeopardized.

"It's best we stick with Spina's plan unless things go haywire like May said. Don't take it personally, I'm sure he just wants to get from Point A to Point B efficiently. You should have spoken up when we were deliberating last night; remember that for next mission." Bernkastel disliked needlessly improvising. She turned back to Spina, "Right?-- ah--" cutting herself off at the sight of the old Saiyan standing before her.

The moment their gazes had met, Spina had taken on a terrifyingly withered appearance. It was such a jarring change that she still felt startled by it after a delayed blink showed him back to normal. Was it her imagination messing about again, or was it some sort of sign? Bern quickly glanced around herself and saw nobody exhibited any form of reaction to it; once more, it seemed only she was seeing things. It was just Spina smiling warmly at her.

"Y-yes, of course..." Bernkastel replied. "Once we get in there and start smashing up the Xy'phers in their own territory, I'll be alright." she gave him a small smile as she tried to push the unpleasant feeling away and give off a lighter mood. "Let's see who'll destroy the most Xy'phers, just for the hell of it. Think you can keep track?"
===

Berserk tilted her head and made a somewhat-disgusted expression upon seeing a strange worm-like creature squirm between Lucifer's fingers. "Compatibility? How's that work-- it just looks like a weird centipede." She made a slight pause as she considered what it meant for her. "Changing into a demon sounds pretty serious, even for me... hmm..."

It definitely isn't a way to cheat yourself up the power scale if this thing needs you to be compatible with it.

"I dunno about right this second. Say I do end up using this little bug thing; what happens? Will I still be me?" Berserk asked with a serious look in her eyes. There was some hesitance but it was a tempting offer for her.
 
As Lucifer read Zenta's thoughts, the beast's fur bristled in a wave-like fashion from his head to his tails. In a way, it seemed that Zenta was excited rather than concerned. For the most part, the beast nodded to Lucifer at his remark and kept by Bernkastel's side as Spina spoke. Avalon, however, was not impressed by Spina but there was not much he could do without being blasted away. With a minor huff, he felt Spina push him and look down at him then immediately smile and look up at Bernkastel. He narrowed his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets, not liking how Spina treated him after all he wanted to do was help.

"What the hell is your problem?" Avalon lowered his head slightly, feeling so small compared to the others, especially how Spina treated him. "Hmph, whatever. Well, let's see your master plan unfold, Spina."

Clearly annoyed that Spina always treated him unfairly, he grumbled to himself and said nothing more, walking past Spina. He stopped momentarily to eye Berserk and Lucifer's exchange and the offering Lucifer was giving the Powerpunk. He bit his lip, almost as if he wanted to say something to Berserk but refused to say anything at the moment. He raised his shoulders to hide his face slightly, but it was obvious that he did not want Berserk to change herself, at least personality-wise. He, on the other hand, eyed the odd worm-like creature in Lucifer's hand curiously.

"Sounds like a pretty big commitment to me. Turnin' into a Demon sounds cool and all, but I think you're cool and awesome just the way you are. Maybe bein' a demon just ain't really 'you', y'know?" Avalon's cheeks bashfully tinted to a turquoise color. "Bah, don't mind me, I'm just bein' a big brother! I really should just mind my own business, huh! You should give it some thought after this mission, tho'; right now, we need the best you can give us, y'hear?"

He turned on his heel, keeping up with Team Stealth, and still visibly annoyed with Spina. He followed his orders and went towards the Manor in question.

As the group entered the town, they would feel small tremors and see tiny cracks form on the ground. It was nothing they should be concerned over, despite how frequent it was. The cracks would heal as soon as they appear, thanks to how Reality Vortex works.

The real elephant in the room was the manor. With the largest manor being a beacon of attention, it seemed brand new compared to everything nearby. Nothing from it looked out of the ordinary. It was well-kept for and extravagant looking with a gorgeous front garden and running fountain. However, upon getting closer to the manor, it was much bigger up close than what they originally thought, literally towering over them like a mountain. Even compared to the other large manors in the area, this one was a titan compared to them. Behind the mansion were two black towers that radiated a strange yet familiar energy to that of Dark Energy. All the windows are tightly shut, entirely impossible to open. The manor did not have a traditional front door, but instead, it had two sets of doors, each one on opposite sides of the mansion, primarily corresponding to the two massive towers behind it. The towers and the manor are connected, so the Breakers could meet up again if they needed to, but it would take them a while due to how enormous the mansion was. It was almost as if it was made for giants...

"The hive is very near..."

"Is the manor the actual hive?" Avalon questioned as he leaned his head back to get a full view of the manor. He couldn't even see the top.

"No, think of it like the tip of the iceberg. We might have to dig down to find its true size. From what I can sense... it isn't that big, but I do not know what kind of enemies you will face." The Xy'pher squinted as she stared at the manor's windows. "I can only sense one Xy'pher in this mansion... but it's so massive, there could be more."
 
May says Berserk "If you are going to choose to become a demon hold off on it till after we completed the mission and if I were you, I would look into the costs of becoming a demon." It's a mix of telling her to hold off and advice.

May gets in position so wend the stealth team is ready to move it can.
 
Bara also gets ready, using her antenna to scan the area for anything untoward, while also getting an insight in the area around using the microscopic, tiny specks of her body which she had released earlier.
 
Traders Market

“Hmph.” Spina nodded. “I’m game. Don’t pout when I racked up more than you.”

“Your body will change to that of a demon with markings as evidence, yes. But the Magatama yields no impact towards your heart.” Lucifer’s expression grew grim, his blue eyes glistering. “Only you can change who you are.”

Lucifer nodded once. “But worry not, young one. I’m simply informing you. Do seek me out once the mission is over when you make your own decision.” He released his fingers, and the Magatama broke into pillars of light before disappearing. “I’ll be waiting.”

---

As the Breakers traveled through the Traders Market town, the architecture of some of these buildings were clearly decades, if not centuries, behind. Even the dated scenery of Rouge City was more ahead in terms of presentation. The paint job of some of these houses were completely washed out; some are falling apart and the terrain seems to be used repeatedly—barely a thing grows here with few notable exceptions.

“Felt like we’re walking through the ancient past…” Detective Spawn observed his surroundings. “I know things were barren before we got drag here, but this is completely on a different scale.”

Upon arriving in front of the manor, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this manor seems to house only giants. It was easily over 5000 ft tall; it’s a wonder that it still looks perfectly kept in the times compared to the rest in the town.

“You got to be kidding…” Detective Spawn couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Surely something as huge as this would’ve been easily seen during his travels. Yet, this kind of manor doesn’t ringed a bell upon inspection—he can’t recall if Detective Goku, Bage nor Battler mentioned this place at all.

Hearing that the hive is located in the manor, and most likely dug underneath, Detective Spawn approached its wall. “I’ll leave a mark here just in case—” Upon placing his hand on the manor’s wall, Detective Spawn was immediately engulfed with fiery energy, engulfing his body completely before pushing him away. Tumbling against the ground until he landed near Bage and Bernkastel, he groaned in pain. “S-shit…!” He cursed underneath his breath before becoming more audible. He checked his right hand, seeing his palm completely scorched. “The hell was that?”

“Looks like a defensive mechanism of some sorts, though it’s faint.” Lucifer observed the manor. “If I were to presume; whoever the lord of this domain left this to prevent outsiders from getting in.” The angel smirked. “Though, it seems that didn’t prevent the Xy’phers from turning it into their little hub. It seems that it only responds to the high use of energy.”

Spina stared at the manor, mainly the two black towers that gave off a strange familiarity of Dark Energy. He felt that he sensed this kind of energy before, but could not pinpoint when exactly. As he got lost in thought briefly, Spina's left arm moved slightly when Detective Spawn was repelled back after using high levels of energy on the manor but returned back to being numb. The Vortex Moon, ever present in the sky, eyed the lone Saiyan. Snapping back, Spina observed the two giant doors that clearly leads to opposite sections of the manor. “Unfeasible to have a single team go in there in a large manor,” Spina turns to Nia. “You. Can you pinpoint exactly where a large number of Xy’phers is at and lead directly towards it?” He asked for clarification again. “If so, can you tell which door is the closet?”
 
The closer the Breakers got to the manor, the more they would see how tiny they were compared to it. It was actually comical to see how small they were even next to the door. The area around them would feel slightly distorted but nothing odd was seen to happen. Mor eimportantly, the Vortex Moon above them appeared to be staring directly at the manor, and in turn, the Breakers. All the Breakers would feel like they were being watched.

"Whoa... this place is huge!" Avalon looked towards the manor and squinted his eyes as he looked up. "I can't see the end of it!" His attention then quickly shifted to Spawn who had his hand burned by touching the house. "Lucifer mentioned that it's a defense thing, could it be Xy'pher magic?"

"Not that I know of." Nia answered.

"How can we be sure?"

"I believe Nia completely," Zenta said as he took a step forward, watching the manor intently. He did not touch the manor like Spawn tried to, but instead, held his hand out to try to touch it but stopped himself before he could. "This energy I see... it is none like we have seen before but it is incredibly familiar... This is not Xy'pher energy, right Nia?"

"Correct."

"I see, then this might be something beyond what we could be used to. It is best to be on guard at all times."

Upon hearing Spina's question, Nia bit her lip and stared between the two black towers that rested on each end of the manor. The normally expressionless Xy'phers showed confusion as she stared at the two towers. Without hesitation, she lifted both her arms to point at both towers as an answer to Spina's question.

"I sense them in these directions. It's possible that this weird energy is messing with my senses, but I certainly sense Xy'phers inside."

"Both towers? Huh..." Avalon turned to face the towers. "Sounds like a prime time to split up, don'cha think?"
 
"I should've figured as much. You always say things about being able to make your own choices after all. Though I'm not as keen on the appearance part, but as long as I retain my shockingly good looks it can't be so bad!" Berserk joked lightheartedly as she ran a hand through her wild orange hair. She turned around when May and Avalon respectively spoke up with a somewhat sheepish expression about having been overheard.

"Is that what it's like to have a guy sibling? You worry too much-- I got this! I'm a Powerpunk Girl ya know!" She said confidently, jabbing a thumb towards herself and a hand on her hip. "It looks like the opposite but I wasn't planning on it right here and now. If it's a super duper rare emergency, I might... but I'll bet these rock chumps won't force me to use even 15% of my power!"

======

Bern followed Spina and stopped before the massive manor, furrowing her eyebrows at the sheer absurdity of the contrasting scenery. It was hurting her neck just trying to see where the towering building ended. Staying put, Bernkastel leaned over and examined the severity of the burn that was left on Spawn's palm.

"... so much for drawing the ants out of the hill idea." Berserk said. "But if it's just the tip of the iceberg, why the heck is it so stupidly huge from the ground up? Nearly all the Xy'phers we've seen are just regular-sized."

"There has to be some way of bypassing the security.." The witch rubbed her chin in deep thought as she eyed the building exterior while Zenta examined it. "It will probably react to any magic I attempt on it directly too... anti-magic can be quite nasty to deal with. What to do..." Bern turned to look up at Zenta, feeling an odd sense of dread wash over her the longer the black towers stood in her peripheral vision. She also didn't like how eerie the moon appeared in spite of the manor looming over them.

What's the point of building towers if the true hive is underground? The longer I think about why, the less it makes sense. Bernkastel coughed once. "Odds are 50/50. Down to a mere coin flip... aah, things like that are a pain in the neck. But it can't really be helped, can it? Just know that once we go in, I have a sinking feeling we won't be able to come back out until our target is dealt with. Teleportation and portals might only be within the manor itself, if even that."

"So if we screw up..." Berserk prompted.

"Yes. This place will become our tomb." Bern narrowed her eyes. "Nothing is guaranteed once we split up. But no guarantees is the perfect condition for miracles to occur, you know. Provided you don't lose your nerve that is. So I'm in."
 
May asks Nia "Can you tell anything more? Like how strong each towers seems compared to each other." May is thinking one of them may be a fake at best. May thinks "How interconnected are these Towers?"

May seems ready to go to whatever tower.
 
The tower's intimidating presence was almost too much to bear as if the creepy abandoned marketplace wasn't enough. The senior detective walked along in silence as the skyscraper of a manor nearly challenged the Vortex moon in size. He examined each of the towers on both sides carefully, only taking his eyes off Spawn for a second before he was burned by the manor. 

"Al!" He shouted in a worried tone as he rushed to the other detective's side. Hoisting Spawn up, he listened to the others' suggestions and assumptions about the Manor and how they would go about the plan now that this barrier seemed to have thrown a wrench in it. "So other than this now being a practical suicide mission, will we still follow the original plan? They must be using a power acquired from one of the coins in their collection. I mean there are all kinds of people in the Reality Vortex... Just imagine the powerful people they could have killed to create this hive, this forcefield even."
 
Trader's Market

As Cayde followed behind Avalon off a few feet to inspect the ninja in his suspicion, his attention began to shift at the growing presence of energy far off the in the distance behind the group. The android turned his head slightly as he walked, a growing pit in his stomach forming at the massive surge in Clark's signature in the distance. His own fears grew in recognizing the diminishing difference initially between Clark's and the fusions; having to struggle to even pick up on the brothers through Clark's staggering show of force.

He walked along in silence while the group conversed; his own expression empty and having completely forgotten his intuition to see what Avalon was up to in the walk towards the main manor. The back and forth in the combat was the only focus he could study; the swelling energy off in the distance and fluctuations in power giving him some sort of read on the battle. The rise of Vegetto's energy, and then the dying flame that was Gogeta stoking his fears of the worst. Until a sudden, familiar pressure washed over the android's senses; the surging heat of Ultra Instinct reaching far enough for him to pick up on. Miniscule and easy to miss at the range, Cayde was only able to pick up on it from the sheer sensation he remembered from witnessing the transformation for the first time. His eyes narrowed a bit; the powerup could signal many changes and the fear that the fight could go on even longer than he imagined began to rise within.

Yet the small thunderous explosion from Spawn's attempts suddenly jarred Cayde back into reality, his eyes widening at the sight of the detective falling onto the ground. The android quickly glanced around, picking up on the discussion and trying to educate himself as quickly as possible in the little time frame he had while he stared up at the massive manor in pure confusion. He blinked a couple of times, but at the mention of splitting up, Cayde scratched the back of his head with a nervous voice.

"Do we really have to? Maybe we can just...stay out here...and make a big enough boom to draw them out?"

He nodded to the manor.

"This place just screams, 'dimensional warping reality' and maybe we shouldn't fight them in a plane of existence where we don't even know the rules."

Cayde then paused, turning his eyes up a bit as he thought and openly argued with himself with a concerned tone.

"Then again...they've kinda won even when we did...so I guess we're damned if we do, damned if we don't."
 
Traders Market

“Figured as much.” Spina said in response to Nia pointing both directions. Splitting up was the intention upon arriving at the manor, but seeing how abnormally huge it was, both teams needed to go in there. As the group conversed ways to bypass the manor’s supposed defense, with Cayde suggesting that they should simply make a big enough explosion to draw them out, the old Saiyan went a different route. Instead, Spina formed a high energy ball in the palm of his right hand and causally tossed it towards the sky away from the manor. Within seconds, the fiery energy burst forth in a silent strike, nullifying it.

“Not even a single sound,” Spina noted that there was no trace of his attack. “Making a big explosion won’t be feasible. Only option is to seek out the entrance on the inside, and we need both teams to cover more ground now. But how to get in…” Lucifer seems to imply that this manor isn’t created by the Xy’phers, rather that they simply took over the place. Perhaps Bage was on to something that they used someone from their collection to create this defense mechanism. It could also be a trap to lure someone in, with one of the towers being fake as May suggested. However, as with Spawn and Zenta before, Spina also approached the manor. Unlike the two, Spina felt strangely drawn to it: not only his left arm sprung into life, the black marks on the edge of his fingertips grew to cover his fingers upon getting close.

Despite what happened with Spawn, and Zenta taking precautions, Spina pressed his left hand against the manor without hesitation. Once again, a surge of energy bursts forth and struck Spina: but it did not damage him. Instead, the energy darkened dramatically, whipping around like a small raging tornado; Spina looked grim, baring his teeth as the surging storm blocked out his facial expression. The old Saiyan then turned his left hand slightly sideways, the gigantic doors creaked opened in reaction.

The darkened energy disappears and Spina’s left arm dropping by side as it became lifeless once again. The grim expression he held vanished, and his usual expression took on once more.

“What the hell? What did you do?” Detective Spawn was quite alarmed of what he saw, after being hoisted up by Bage. When Spina was surrounded by the surge of energy, he lost any life energy around him as if he was dead. “How did you know it’ll work?”

“….” Spina was seemingly confused about Detective Spawn’s question and simply went silent. “No idea.” He finally spoke, approaching the entrance of the door. “I guess…” In the eyes of Bernkastel only, once again, he appeared withered. He stopped as he step one foot through the door and turned. “It was instinct.”

Suddenly, arms slowly appeared in front of Bernkastel, wrapping her around in a gentle hug from behind. “Ah, he’s edging closer…” A familiar voice was heard that only Bernkastel can hear, see, and sense—she cannot be sense by others at any capacity; it was impossible for them. A giant woman who goes by the name, Guardian, crouched down to match Bernkastel’s size and pressed her face against her right cheek. “He’s advanced well into his first stage. Such a fascinating sight to see. Can you see it?”

Detective Spawn blinked once at Spina’s answer. “That really didn’t explain anything.” 

“Stranger things happen, Detective. At least the doors are opened, so we can continue with our objective.” Lucifer sharpened his eyes, seeing the genuinely confusion on Spina’s face when he somehow unlocked the doors. The angel eyed his fingertips and it seems that went back to normal, despite seeing them grow significantly when he approached the manor. “Hmmm…” He wondered curiously with a devilish smile. “Worry not, Cayde. I’m confident that we’ll venture onto the depths of danger without issue. Don’t get distracted by small things, noodle machine.”

“May.” Spina called her out. “You take Team Stealth, along with Nia, and head to the tower on the right. We’ll take the left. If either one of us find the entrance to the hive, informed the other team.” He turned to the black abyss that waits for them inside this strange manor that Xy’phers controls. “You damn well know that this could be a trap, but we’ll go in anyways since we don’t have much choice in the matter.” He said, heading inside to lead Team Distraction. 



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Clark looked down towards a familiar, transformed Vegetto who stood amidst of raging flames. The Kryptonian should’ve felt relieved once he saw the potara fusion dispersed the toxic energy. He should’ve felt sorrow for killing Gogeta. At the very least, felt some kind of emotion towards his friend. It was an important step for him to truly acknowledge and take control of the fear that haunts him.

There was none at this time. Clark continued to build up energy until it started to crackle around his eyes. Upon completion, there was so much energy that it was trailing around like wisps whipping the air. “Is that your second wind, or your dying gasp?”

He was unconvinced that Vegetto’s sudden change in posture would move him in the right direction onwards. Instead, he considers it as a mere spur in the moment because of the events unfolding around him. Would such attitude stick after this battle? He cannot be sure—and he was not going to risk it based on this one incident. The toxic energy could return, Vegetto could easily be swayed to this mindset again, or the monster Hart forewarn about will make its move and take advantage of this situation.

Clark arched slightly forward: the moment Vegetto and Gogeta was edging on the side of becoming brutes determined his decision. Just mere seconds when the Kryptonian let out a thunderous road and release his attack, a bruised-up figure appeared in between the two of them in the sky.

Rubbing his fractured jaw, hatching up chunks of fluids, the figure turned to the direction of Clark, instantly recognizing him. “Clark!? Thank goodness, you’re still alive!!”

“Wordplay!?” Clark’s eyes widened, instantly turning his head so that the Atomic Beam fired at the different direction. It slammed to the remaining debris of Snowy Mountains; instantly turning everything into pure, red ash.

Wordplay rushed to Clark in a panic state; sweating, panting, his clothes was practically ripped apart and completely ignoring the tense situation going on at hand. “Clark!” He let out a hacking cough. “You suck at answering your phone, but never mind that!! They're tracking me down!!"
Clark raised his brows in confusion, while eyeing Vegetto at the same time. “What? What are you talking—”

“It’s those rock things that appeared on the news a little while ago!! I don’t know how they did it… but when Metropolis was getting torn apart, I ran into a couple of them. I got away because I wasn’t interested in fighting anymore and didn’t think much of it. But somehow, they knew where I live currently, and went out of their way to single me out of the thousands that live there.”

“The Xy’phers?” Clark said. “Why would they go out of their way and hunt you down?”

“I don’t know… I overheard them mumbling that they are tracking down anyone that have any ties to the Breakers….” Wordplay paused to catch his breath. “The completely decimated the town… I tried my best but…”

Clark narrowed his eyes. “But….?”

The friction in the air changed dramatically; it erupted into a minefield of explosions around Clark, Wordplay and Vegetto. It managed to knock out Wordplay, flinging him backwards towards the crater Clark made from his stomp.

The Kryptonian swipe away the smoke generated the explosion; his eyes widened to see horde of Xy’phers suddenly appeared on the ground. One Xy’pher in particular, seemingly leading the pack, was familiar to Clark. He had to do a double take before confirming it. “Air… Dancer?”

Xy’pher Air Dancer crouched before dashing forward, launching a fury of air bubbles, filled with explosives, towards Clark, the falling Wordplay, and Vegetto; the latter being its primary target.
 
Trader's Market

Cayde blinked once, watching the explosion of energy disperse without the usual fireworks. His body language remained unchanged, an amused and almost flat tone ringing out while he sighed lightly.

"Oh goodie, they control the rules out here too."

He paused and watched on at the strange display from Spina, the mechanical eyes narrowing slightly in studying the old Saiyan's arm when he raised it to the door; specifically taking note of the black markings growing along it. The android stood in silence, warily watching Spina disperse the shield from the strange sensations felt when he initially "died" back in Rogue City. Cayde himself wasn't an all powerful energy wielder, but even he could sense the seemingly lifeless state of Spina in the moment and his hand dipped down slowly towards his holster while Spawn questioned the older Saiyan.

Yet at Lucifer's assurance, however, Cayde pulled his arm back a bit. Despite the angel's effective trolling of his friend, Cayde himself actually relaxed the second Lucifer mentioned that stranger things happen, as if hearing Lucifer's lack of concern was enough to dispel any of Cayde's concerns on Spina's behavior. The android watched on while Lucifer moved past, stifling a small half chuckle at the comment.

"Heh...noodle machine. That's pretty good."

Cayde turned on his heel in following after Spina, a more carefree stride in his step while he walked with a small smile and more enthusiasm in his tone.

"No working plan, no back up, and into the depths of a harrowing trap we go. Just another day at the office!"



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto had spaced his legs apart further in preparation for the battle, the narrowed eyes locked with Clark's throughout. The desire to avoid fighting one of his only friends, the change in his motivation away from selfish ambition; all of it was insignificant in the moment. Unlike Clark who momentarily speculated on the uncertain future for the Potara fusion's path, Vegetto stared down Clark with a focus only in the immediate moment. Whether he would rise up this time or fall to the toxic energy once more was irrelevant: all that mattered to Vegetto was the inevitable rematch against Superman in a fight to survive.

However, the silver eyes widened at the arrival of Wordplay: Vegetto having recognized the figure from Reality Metropolis when he watched over the Breakers at Wordplay's bar during the Hart crisis. The Potara fusion stood silent throughout the two's conversation, the silver fire crackling wildly around his body. His eyes met Clark at the side eye stare, and with their battle now inevitably on hold, Vegetto momentarily relaxed his stance even more than its current fluid state.

Vegetto listened on for a moment, but his eyes instinctively narrowed before the pressure in the air had changed. He glanced around once, but then suddenly volted to his right at the eruption of smoke and fire in the devastating explosions. The Potara fusion lept back with the fire from the blast washing over his body; the yellow and red flames being consumed by the silver fire that flowed around his body once he landed on the ground a few feet away while watching Wordplay fall into the nearby crater.

The Potara fusion turned his head towards the arrival of a horde of Xy'phers; the silver eyes glancing among them all while Clark mentioned a name he did not fully recognize in the moment: Air Dancer. Vegetto quickly slipped Gogeta's coin inside of his right white glove for safe keeping, clutching it in his palm as he balled both hands into fists. His silver eyes widened to the brim, a massive surge of heat and pressure erupting from his body while the silver fire grew immensely once the bubbles of air had been freshly launched.

Vegetto shot his left arm forward with a devastating wind blasting outwards in every direction; his arm seemingly vaporizing at the move. Yet instead, thousands of molecular pieces of the Potara fusion's left arm shot forward; each independent mass of his body moving on its own and targetting the explosive air bubbles meant for the three. Slamming into each one of them before the air bubbles could move far from the Xy'phers, Vegetto forced the entire supply to erupt into massive explosions in a bid to not only counter the move, but hopefully turn the attack on the Xy'phers themselves in forcing the destructive result in close enough proximity to damage the horde.

The groundshattering explosions rung forth and created the momentary wall of smoke that covered the horde and the Xy'pher Air Dancer from sight, with Vegetto slowly pulling the stub of his left arm back. The appendage began reforming as the glowing silver chunks of his flesh began to fly back in from the smoke cloud; his skin and arm covered in black soot and cuts from the damage in the blasts; a massive difference in battle damage to his right arm. In the momentary pause, Vegetto turned to Clark with a firm and determined stare.

"Get him out of here Clark, I'll hold them off!"
 
"At this point, turning back and goin' home isn't shaping up to be any better than just going in," Berserk added. "We're going to be at  disadvantage either way since they know where the city is. Welp," the punk turned towards Avalon and held out her hand for a high-five. "Guess I'll catch you on the flip side, nerdo?"

Bernkastel's brows furrowed as she watched what unfolded before them, becoming disconcerted at the way Spina managed to bypass the invisible barrier with such ease and not even a string of reasoning. What instinct can possibly compel such a methodical sequence of actions, let alone attempted on something that appeared to be a clearly dangerous measure of filtering out non-Xy'phers? This didn't seem like something Spina could merely reason his way into or even force it, yet he achieved it seemingly with no visible damage left on him. Her eyes flickered to the burn mark on Spawn's hand and then back to Spina's regrown arm. With what they just saw with Spawn, Spina shouldn't even have been standing yet he stood unharmed. Seeing the Old Saiyan become withered again only deepened the pit in her stomach from before, beginning to cringe at the jarring visual change before her eyes widened seeing a pair of arms appear from behind herself.

Eyes staring dead ahead, she stayed put in her spot and began to bristle with revulsion at having her personal space suddenly invaded; Bern looked to the side where Guardian showed herself. As the mysterious woman spoke cryptically, Bernkastel's eyes narrowed in suspicion. First... stage? For some reason, that gave her a feeling of deep unease. It invoked a memory from the other day where Spina dragged his fingers across the side of his throat. What's more were these peculiar marks on Spina's arm that appeared seemingly overnight. And they seemed to move whenever the arm wasn't merely hanging there limply at his side. Add that to these odd flashes of a withered man, and Bern felt something was afoot just as Guardian was implying. But why? Nothing seemed overtly wrong with Spina's demeanor presently.

Bern glanced around before shielding her mouth with one of her hands. To everyone else it was merely the body language of someone who felt apprehensive about what they were about to do.

"Why? It shouldn't be that way," she replied, her voice a mere whisper lost to anyone else's ears in the volume around them.
 
As Spina shattered the barrier that protected the manor, Zenta watched the energy that protected the manor shatter and break apart, disappearing into particles that vanished into the void. The beast seemed both suspicious and intrigued by Spina as he displayed more odd behavior. Regardless of how Spina acted, the fact that he managed to rid the barrier impressed him to say the least, especially since it reacted harshly towards Spawn.

Well, stranger things truly do happen, it seems... Zenta thought to himself. Still, I am excited to see what this manor has in store...

"Let us proceed then." Zenta said. "We must not waste time or risk getting seen."

Avalon was in awe, yet, oddly stoic upon seeing the barrier break, sparking out his odd behavior. The only time he seemed to act like himself was he could focus on one person at a time or when it involved Berserk. He smiled brightly towards Berserk as she offered to give him a high-five and fist-bumped it instead.

"Totally! Try not to blow everythin' up without us, Berserk! Can't have you hoggin' all the fun, right?" His voice grew a little softer as he gave off a small chuckle. "Just be careful, alright? See ya' soon!"

The dorky and socially awkward Ninja gave Berserk a pat on her head before giving her a two-finger salute as he turned to follow the Stealth group. He lifted his scarf to cover the lower half of his face and turn it into a hoodie, keen to his ninja traits. In a way, he seemed mature and grown, but it was just a tiny detail that barely registered to the others.

As each group entered the manor to their respective towers, the first thing that stood out is how ancient everything looked. A complete contrast to its modern-like appearance on the outside. In conjunction with its ancient appearance, despite the recent Xy’phers activity, it seems that the manor hadn’t been touched for a number of years, possibly spanning over centuries. There were plenty of relics, shredded portraits, peeling paint, numerous holes in the walls and floors, an abundance of dust bunnies, etc. Just as Detective Spawn noted earlier, it felt like the Breakers walked into an ancient past; given how massive the inside of the manor was, it was like they entered a brand-new world.

Once the Breakers venture onward to the two towers respectively, there is a noticeable lack of lighting in the halls. The lights flickered in and out, and some did not work at all. This gives out a grim appearance where darkness roams, making it harder to see anything further down without some assistance. If one were to try to light the way, it had to be used infrequently and softly, just enough to see a little hit ahead; otherwise, making it larger will likely attract unwanted attention.

Dark Energy is present in this manor, but not in a way that is dangerous to the Breakers. It was more of a faint trickle, hardly enough to warrant concern. But it is there, and it's like a hanging miasma, those who encountered it beforehand will be familiar with it. Those who never encountered it before will feel a sense of dread; something weighing heavy on their bodies, like a bad omen.

Another aspect of this mansion that speaks volumes of its size and its otherworldly feel is the sheer number of doors all over the place, ranging up to a thousand or more. Some doors were hinged tightly, unable to be broken through even with force: some had claw marks indicating that someone or something tried to break into it but failed. Others seemingly had their hinges broken through. And most importantly, some doors were flat out bigger than others—especially the ones towards the end of the hallway.

Once again, the tremors from earlier continued, and this time, there was an increased level of gravity. Cracks formed beneath the Breakers, and the looming pressure lay heavy on their chests. And despite the manor being unusually quiet, every once awhile, there were occasional little 'pitter-patter' noises heard echoing, no doubt the sound of Xy'phers. Strangely, none of the Xy’phers had issued an attack; so the Breakers were safe to venture out for now, provided they don’t make too much noise and attract their attention. Most likely the Xy'phers were unaware of the Breaker's presence, but due to the dim lighting, chances they were unable to see the Breakers. Running into the Xy'phers would be bad if their paths ever met.
 
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